You Might Be A Redneck If…

  You go on a “camp out” in your storage shed in the backyard.

  Originally, it was supposed to be all of us, but Grady did not like the air mattress one bit . (Which explains why Jason is sleeping on Care Bear sheets with a safety rail.)  After Grady was settled in his crib, I volunteered to miss out on all the fun and sleep inside with the little bits.

  Turns out, I didn’t miss much. The space heater didn’t come on like it was supposed to and Emma woke up around 4:30 AM and told her dad that she was cold and the camp out was over. 

  Now it is time to buckle down and use the shed for its intended purpose – as a receptacle for all the junk in our garage so that it can be turned into a playroom.  Of course, it would be easier just to turn the shed into a playroom….hmmmm…

Hoppy Easter!

   We had a wonderful Easter this year! We went down to Jason’s dad and Carol’s (Mimi and Papa) house and spent the night Saturday so that we could get up and go to church with them on Sunday. 

  Mimi and Papa live on the St.  John’s River. Literally - the river is their backyard.  They have a wonderful screen porch and deck, then there is a boat dock that the kids love to run down.  We ate dinner outside on Saturday evening and just sat and talked and laughed.

  We woke up early Sunday to discover that the kids had done a bit of a shuffle in the night.  Grady was in bed with Jason and I, Emma was on the floor next to Jason, and Jake had made his way into Mimi and Papa’s bed.

  After we all tried to get a little more sleep, the kids woke up to find the Easter Bunny had made it all the way down to St. Augustine!

  They were all excited to find out what the bunny had brought them – there were crayons, books, treats, and of course, eggs!  Jake quickly figured out the best way to open his eggs.  He shook them to make sure something was inside, and then dropped them to the floor where they cracked open to revel their contents.

   After the excitement and sugar, it was difficult to get the kids ready for church, but we made it with a couple of minutes to spare.  Their church is a small community church and the spirit there is so sweet.  The service was wonderful, and we got to hear Mimi sing in the choir!

  We tried to get some pictures of the family after church, but the kids were not so cooperative.  I did manage to get a couple…

                 

We had a fantastic lunch, and then it was time to hunt Easter Eggs.  I love to find clever places to hide them – I am especially proud of the one I put in the orange tree:

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  Gretchen wasn’t much into hunting eggs, so she just chilled in her sun bassinet.  

   It had been a fun, full day, but there was still one thing Emma wanted to do, and Jason was happy to oblige.

  We are so glad that Conference fell on Easter this year, and that we got to spend it with Mimi and Papa – thanks, Easter Bunny!

Rookie Mistake

Jason and I haven’t been first time parents for a long time, but we are still suffering from some of our stupidity.

When we got pregnant with Emma, it was quite a surprise. We had not been planning to have children for another couple of years, so there was quite a bit of apprehension when we found out. However, the initial shock soon wore off and the shopping began.

Back then Jason and I both worked full time, so we had two incomes. We also found out we were expecting a girl right before we got our income tax rebate. So, first time parents + money + rebate money = some stupid purchases.

Things like the infant bathtub. My sister assured me I didn’t need one, but I had to have it. I think over the course of two kids I may have used it 3 times. Then there is the bottle/baby food warmer. While this did get used frequently, a cup of hot water works just as well.

I could keep on and on, but getting to my point…when I got Gretchen out of the tub the other night I reached into the vanity and grabbed what I thought was a hooded baby towel: (Even though regular towels work just as well.)

Doesn’t she just look so happy and comfortable? Well, although it may look like a hooded towel, in reality it is the stupidest purchase we made….

Yes, that is a bathrobe. For a baby. It’s cute, but have you ever tried to put clothes on a soaking wet baby? Not to mention that it only comes to her knees, so I had to use a towel anyway.

I guess I shouldn’t feel too bad – after all, baby gear is a huge industry, and there are warehouse-size stores and websites dedicated to all the stuff and fluff we “need” to properly care for an infant. Plus, I have managed not to buy the diaper wipe warmer, the microwave bottle sanitizer, the baby food processor, the video baby monitor, pacifier wipes….but I still really want one of those Bumbo chairs!

Dress Rehearsal

As it does every few years, General Conference falls on Easter Sunday this year. General Conference equals watching the feed from Salt Lake in our living room, usually in pajamas. This means that us mommies that live to dress our children in adorable clothes miss the chance to find the perfect spring dress for our little girls, and to dress our boys in pastels. No problem…we’ll just do it the weekend before! (Sorry daddies – those wallets won’t get a break this time.)

Since we are usually in our own ward on Easter, this year we decided to go to church with Jason’s dad and stepmom in St. Augustine. Today we celebrated Easter with my parents.

I dressed up the kids in their spring finery and we went to church. We discovered that although Grady’s shirt and sweater vest fit perfectly, the scrawny little thing’s shorts are waaaay to big. Guess I need to pin them before next week.

After church, we went to my mom and dad’s house and the kids found a surprise waiting for them:

There were three little baskets sitting there and a trail of eggs that lead to their Easter gift from Nina and Papa – a “gift certificate” to ride the hamster balls at the mall.

I love that in the note, my mom instructed them not to push and shove, and that it didn’t matter how many eggs they found. I wonder who she might of had in mind when she included that line….

After a wonderful breakfast that mom and I cooked together, Jake and Emma went in the backyard to hunt the eggs again. I put some in really obvious places for Jake, but I made Emma work for them – most of hers were above her head.

The kids had so much fun that I told them to have Nina help them hide eggs and then Jason and I would go hunting. There was some trash talking, but I won by default. Jake decided not to hide his eggs, so his (full) basket was sitting by the slide. Jason picked it up and declared himself the winner. I call that cheating!

Once all the eggs had been found (or claimed), Jason came up with the greatest game EVER. The rules are simple: pelt the children with plastic eggs, which they can throw back and (try) to hit you with. I think I am going to have to keep some eggs around the house…I got some aggression out, and they thought it was hysterical fun!

Unfortunately, the rain came and ended our fun. Meanwhile, Grady and Gretchen finally woke up from their naps and I was able to get a few pictures of my littlest Easter egg:

It took a couple of tries to get a good one, and as you can tell she wasn’t really into it:

I do love that picture. Some of my favorite pictures of my kids are the ones when their true feelings and personalities shine through!

As far as dress rehearsals go, this one was great - and I really can’t wait to teach Mimi and Papa our new game!

I think I need…

 

  A bigger bathtub!  It’s getting kind of crowded in there!

All Aboard!

Even though Jake’s birthday was last weekend, his party was today. Jake has the honor of sharing his birthday with one of his friends, so they swap weekends for thier parties!

Jake is obsessed with his Mo-Mos. (That is a whole other post…) Suffice to say that they are little train people, so his theme this year was trains. We had his party at the Main Street park in Middleburg, and he was lucky enough to share his day with a whole ton of family and friends.

Be sure to click on all the little pictures!

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To all our friends that couldn't be there due to illness, baseball games, soccer games, and family trips...we missed you! Although we had a great time, it just wasn't the same without you!

Why the Tooth Fairy has skipped our house

 

   Recently I got wondering when Emma was going to start loosing teeth.  Most all of her peers have lost at least one tooth, some of them two or three.  Then she came home from Nina’s house one day and my mom asked “Have you looked at her teeth lately?” Guess I should do more checks after teeth brushing because this is what I found:

  Good heavens! Where did those come from? When did those come from?  I asked Emma how long she had had extra teeth. She said she never noticed them.  I guess I can’t feel too guilty for not seeing them, considering they are in her mouth and she never felt them.

   We had a friend of ours (who is a dental assistant) take a look at them, and she assures us while it isn’t  exactly normal, its common. However, the new teeth usually come in close enough behind the baby teeth that they make the baby teeth fall out.  In Emma’s case, the new teeth are far enough back that the baby teeth are going to have to be pulled – just don’t tell her that!

    Did I mention that she is so scared and uncooperative with dentist that she has to go completely under anesthesia before the dentist will touch her?  I sure hope she has matured in the last year and a half…I don’t think any of us is ready to go through that again!

***I wrote this post as a draft a couple of months ago.  Today, Emma went to the dentist.  She was spectacular! No whining, no fussing, no complaining.  Her new dentist told me that the office I had taken her to previously over-uses IV sedation.  I guess that is why you always need a second opinion.   I was right about those “shark teeth” – they have to come out, but so do the two on either side.  She goes back on April 19th…I hope she is as well behaved as she was today! (Wish us both luck.)