First Visit with Santa - 2012

Santa arrived by boat on the Beaufort waterfront on the Friday after Christmas. We went for a visit a little later in the afternoon.

The children were very excited to see the big guy, although Avery was a little too nervous to remember any of her list!

Stop and Smell the Roses

A few weeks ago, we went to Raleigh Little Theater to see “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” (thanks Mimi for the tickets!!!).  The children really enjoyed the show…not sure I have ever seen either of them sit so still for a whole hour!

After the show, all the actors were available for autographs.  Avery hopped right down to the action and was looking in awe at the “big” girls…..she was staring intently at one and kept reaching back for me. I thought she was reaching for my hand because it was crowded and full of strange people and every time I gave it to her, she pushed my hand away. I finally realized she was reaching for the program so she could get it autographed!! Too cute!

We then ventured out to the Rose Garden, where we snapped a few pics. Granted, it isn’t the best season to take pictures, but I was surprised they still had some roses. 

Will and Avery helping us remember the simple things….

The kids also had a fun time running around and stretching those little legs that had sat so very still for the previous hour.  We got this neat series of pics of Avery running….can’t you just hear the angels singing?

And then she tripped….

And hurt her bum……

It’s only funny and cute because she wasn’t really hurt.

Thankful

My awesome friend and neighbor made us this beautiful "thankful tree".

It has been such a neat thing to do as a family. In fact, Matt and I have had a hard time picking just one thing every day. We are very fortunate to have that problem!!

A few glimpses at our 2012 Thankful Tree....

A Constant Companion

I was in Will’s room the other day and this picture on his nightstand caught my eye. Then I realized it is ALWAYS there. Other pics, books, treasures, etc… come and go from his nightstand but this particular photo is always there and seriously has probably been there for a good 2.5 years or so. This has always been one of his favorite pictures of Avery and he obviously always keeps it close.

Such a sweet boy. And girl.

A Day in the Life

I saw someone do a blog spot earlier this week about “A Day in the Life”……and I thought oh what a neat idea. I should totally do that to record just how life is for us these days. I should do this a few times a year. Too bad I didn’t start this blog when Will was first born because I think it would be a really neat progression to watch unfold over time. So I had all intentions Wednesday night of doing just that. Up until about 8:30 that night at least, the day had a few quirks, but most days do, so it seemed like as good a day as any to start this.

And then…..PUKE. Poor Avery was a very sick girl that night……over and over and over. Will was the only one who got any measurable sleep. 

So top off the stomach bug that has now hit there is Borax all over our house right now.  The dogs have been dealing with fleas for a week now (UGH) and yesterday the vet suggested putting down Borax on the carpets and furniture. This has just about put me over the edge. The dust is everywhere. Every step I take, it crunches under my feet on the hardwoods. Granted we didn’t put it on the hardwoods but it has obviously migrated there with our movements. How on earth did my pugs get fleas??!?!?!?!

So we have little piles like this everywhere from sweeping it up.

In all honesty, the fleas are worse than a stomach bug I think!!!! They are making me lose my mind.

The house is a disaster. D-I-S-A-S-T-E-R. The furniture is covered in blankets and sheets….at first to keep the Borax off of us when we sat down and now to protect it from projectile puke. 

We still haven’t put most of our bedding back on the bed because I want to make sure all offending items (fleas and puke) are gone so I don't have to wash again and now there are gobs and gobs of Avery’s bedding everywhere. No lie, since last Friday around noon, we have probably done close to 35 loads of laundry. And we weren’t even here for 2 of those days!!!! My bed alone is 9 loads of laundry and a trip to the dry cleaners to get every item cleaned and puke and flea free.

I hate a cluttered house. My MIL probably chuckled out loud when she read that because every day when she comes over, she sees a cluttered house. But I can’t stand it. Every night before bed I try and de-clutter but it is always a disaster again in a matter of minutes.Now today we get to spend literally hours trying to remove all the Borax. I spent a good hour last night doing a first pass at sweeping.

Obviously sweet Avery couldn’t go to school today so Matt and I split the day with her at home. She took a good long nap for me today. I popped in to check on her and this is what I found….she was snoring her little head off!

So I do want to try "A Day in the Life...." post one day......but I'm going to let things get at least semi-normal first!

Every house needs a blessing

Mom and Dad are adding on to their house.  While Mom and I did "planning" this weekend, Avery decorated the walls. She even gave the house a cross....every house needs a blessing!

Now hopefully she will know not to write on the walls once the sheet rock goes up!!

American Idol

Future American Idol, Avery, and her backup dancer.....

Avery's Fall Festival

It’s Fall Festival time again. This year Will was supposed to be more of a spectator but the teachers all love him so that they let him participate in everything.

They both had a good time playing the games. Thankfully the whole event wasn’t as crazy as I have seen it in years past, especially since I had both Will and Avery and another little girl under my charge.

The “bobbing for doughnuts” game was probably my favorite! Will managed to quickly get a good grip on his. And Avery tried to pin hers up against Will so she could get a bite of hers!

They bowled...

Danced...

And got tattoos...

Happy Fall Y'all!!!

Mr. Marathon Mile

Through his after-school program with the YMCA, Will has gotten into running, participating in running clinics in the afternoon.  The Y is connected to the City of Oaks Marathon and even sponsors the kids one mile fun run, also known as the Marathon Mile.   The Y was encouraging students to sign up so Will asked me about and after I did some digging, Matt and I agreed.

Thank goodness for Daylight Savings Time because we needed that extra hour just to help us not have to get up so early for the race!!!!  He was up at 5 something, yelling from his room about his sock having a hole in it. From the comfort of my own bed, I yelled back to throw it away and get a new pair. Next thing I know, there is a foot in my face, showing me the (nonexistent) hole. I repeated my instructions again and he said “No, that’s okay. I’ll wear them”. ?????

A quick breakfast and a number pinning later and he’s ready to go!

Avery and I planned to leave after the boys since we didn’t to be out in the cold for so long (it was in the low 30s).  Honestly, she and I got out of the house about 10 mins later than I wanted to leave, but we were still on the road by 6:45. Yes, that’s AM. I had my parking plans all figured out, and then I hit a race road closure. And then another. And then another.  Here Avery and I are circling Cameron Village, trying to find a parking place.  I eventually find one about 2 blocks east of CV. It’s 7 minutes until start time and we are 0.7 miles away (I just Google mapped it).  I jump out, assess the situation for no parking signs, grab the stroller with a wobbly wheel and all our stuff, get Avery zipped up in her coat and gloves (but not me!) and off we go. Did I mention it was mainly an uphill sprint for us(me)? Over awful, tree root cracked sidewalks? People were actually laughing at me.  Mainly because Avery is screaming at me to slow down!! Or she’s constantly dropping stuff. 

I was a little sweaty when we got there!

BUT, we make it. We get to the starting line right as they are saying “runners take your mark….”.  I didn’t actually see Will start the race but I knew right where he was standing because Matt was right beside him.

So we hook up with Matt and after fighting off the urge to puke from my cold weather, asthmatic self sprint, I get to work on my signs for Will. Not time like the present, huh!?!??  I am just finishing the signs when the first runners crest the hill towards the finish line.

This is where I insert why I will never win parent of the year!  It was really cold that morning. Will had been in a really strange mood all day on Saturday,  got up really early on Sunday and then had to exercise. I honestly didn’t have high hopes for the day.  He had told me about all the practicing he was doing…running 23 laps around the school track, etc… When I asked him who counted and he said he did, well, you know…I sort of discounted him.  I actually had already played the morning out in my head, which concluded with him being one of the last to cross the finish line with a counselor walking with him.

And then low and behold, I look up and see a pair of red NCSU pants (of course). Someone was blocking my view of his face, so I didn’t think it was really him at first. But wouldn’t you know, there he was……..He finished in the top probably 30 or so of 300. My little barely 6 year old! I was immensely proud of him. In fact, I bawled right there in front of the Bell Tower while hugging his neck so tight. This was something he wanted to do. He sought it out. Practiced. And he did great!

Some of the pics are blurry! I think I was jumping up and down too much! Look how big everyone else near him was!

 

Water break on the steps of the Bell Tower.

 

Sissy was only a LITTLE excited for him!

 

We forgot to bring him a coat! Oops! So he wore my big coat, which I thought looked like a big parka that athletes wear!

After the celebration and watching fellow friends cross the finish line, he pipes up “I passed Dunkin’ Donuts on my run and it was open. Can we go get some more breakfast?”  Yes, we can Runner Boy, yes we can!

Fall Soccer Wrap Up

Well, put another notch on our belts…..we’ve wrapped up another season of soccer. And this was the real deal as we were juggling both Will and Avery playing soccer, in 2 different leagues at 2 different locations. You know, just a taste of life in a few years!

As I reported, Avery didn’t love soccer to start with but really came around towards the end of the season and was actually one of her team’s best players.  Once the Y figured out how to make the league work for 3 year olds and she got to play in the game constantly, she really shined. But man, what a competitive spirit……she would get SO UPSET when she didn’t score or when the other team took the ball away. And that actually happened a lot because there were two REALLY REALLY good kids on the one other team (that we played every single week). 

But she got her shiny, big trophy and life is good. Although she did take her soccer socks out of her drawer last night and announce that we didn’t need those anymore! Ha!

Will had a little bit of a rough season, but overall it was good for him. We moved him over to a more competitive league which was great for him because he was playing with/against other good kids instead of being the kid who dominated the whole game and made kids like Avery cry! But it is safe to say that Will is not used to not being the biggest/fastest/best so it has been hard on him. But a good life lesson as well as skills lesson. Plus, the coaches are really interested in developing him (if we want to go that route) and just love his “passion”.  I’m not sure I would classify it as passion but…..

But he got a shiny trophy too and again, life is good.

Youth sports is another hard balance. The kids have fun and like stretching their legs and running around with the friends. And of course the snacks and trophies!  Sure I played year round sports growing up, but don’t want to pressure them into the same.  One mom told me her 6 year old plays a different sport every night. I probably gave her a “you’re bat sh*t crazy” look. Of course she probably doesn’t work either and enjoys getting out of the house.

For now, it’s a few free Saturdays for us, and we are all looking forward to that!

Trick or Treat, Smell my Feet!

What a fun Halloween!! The children are just perfect ages for fun and even better than last year, it didn’t rain!!!!  We had to take care of some business first though….Avery had to get her flu shot (mist) late that afternoon, which actually worked out great because I got to leave work early. After the dr, we went to pick up Bubba, who had just returned to school from his day at the Y.  Will actually got to wear his costume to track out yesterday and as a result it was pretty dirty and I was actually kind of upset. Mainly because I knew this was going to happen. So maybe I shouldn’t have been upset. He was funny though…..”Can’t you just sew some yellow fabric over the dirty parts?” Um, no.

I changed Avery into her costume in the back of the van at school and then we jetted over to Mimi’s house for trick or treating. 

They each got a few pieces of candy and 2 new books. Can’t wait to read them this weekend!

Back to the house we head for a little down time as we waited on Daddy, pizzas, and our friends the Lingg’s. This is at least the 3^rd year in a row they have trick-or-treated in our neighborhood. It is always so much fun to have someone to talk to and for the kids to have someone to run around with.

A few pics before they burst out the front door!

I love that one of Will and his "women"!!!

And they were off. Sprinting.  Will and Gabrielle never slacked off the whole night.  Samantha faded first and she and her Dad spent a bit sitting out, fueling up on candy.  Avery lasted a long time…we were just a few houses away from being done when she slowed down, yelling “Wait up for Sissy”.  Which was just especially cute because she never calls herself that.

The problem with Halloween pics is you always get their worst side!!!

Three houses into the night, Will is doing the pee-pee dance on the front porch. We try desperately to get him to run home and use the restroom. He loudly declines over and over and instead just starts running in a circle because “running in a circle makes it go away.”  Well, only for about 5 houses at a time because about every 5^th house, we would catch him running in a circle while waiting for someone to come to the door or for the other trick-or-treaters in our group to get their loot.

Another funny story, and embarrassing too, was what my children were evidently saying at the door.  I didn’t walk all the way up to many doors with them, but one of the other parents did. I heard him at one point tell Will and Avery to maybe not sing the whole song because it took so long. Better yet, why don’t they just say trick or treat.  And then I found out what they were singing….the “trick or treat, smell my feet…….or I’ll pull down your under…..”  Yes, nice job kids.  The worst part, I actually think Will learned this song at Sunday School!!!

 It was a successful and fun night, for sure!