Madison's Birthday Party

Preston laughing with Dillon

The birthday girl ready to eat cake!

Today we travelled to Mebane for our niece Madison's birthday party. It was a long day, but our kids were awesome in the car! We even made it back in time for a quick trip to Concord Mills where I was able to get Savannah some Easter shoes and a cute sweater to complete her Easter ensemble. Anyway, the party was adorable . . . everything Tinker Bell. That girl racked up too. She got some of the cutest clothes and tons of new toys. I'm not sure what is going on with my camera, but most of my pictures were really blurry. ;( I guess I'm going to have to beg for a new SLR camera for mother's day/birthday?!

9 Months, A Sleepover, and Triples

This past Saturday Preston turned 9 months old! It's crazy to even think that he is almost a year old . . . I guess time really does fly the older you get. Anyway, we had his well visit today and as we thought, he is "thriving". His stats are still in the 75-90th percentile: Weight ~ 22 lbs 12 oz (smaller than I had measured so maybe there's hope for my weight too) and Length ~ 29 inches. Both of these measurements are smaller than Savannah at this age which makes me wonder how in the world I ever carried her around for almost a year! Preston is still doing the army crawl and refuses to sit now that he can get around. He's into EVERYTHING and loves to chew on shoes, yuck!

Now I just had to share some funnies from Savannah. Her friend Sara spent the night last night because Miss Chelle wanted to be at the hospital this morning when her dad had surgery. I agreed to let them sleep in the same room, but over an hour after we put them to bed I still heard talking and giggling. I have to admit it was sweet at first, but after the second time I went up there I had to lay down the law. I walked in and the first thing Savannah said is "my closet is a MESS!" that was quickly followed by "Sara did it, mama". Yeah right, Savannah. I'm sure she did it all by herself. Anyway, after cleaning up and putting them back in bed again, they finally were asleep by 10:30 pm!! Whew! I can't wait for the days when we have lots of giggling girls sleeping over! :)

After school today (God bless Miss Peggy and Miss Karyn) I decided that since I had 3 kids with me, it was the perfect time to do TRIPLES at Harris Teeter. I had a list and did so well they actually paid me $.14 to take 3 bags of groceries from the store. Maybe they just wanted me to get my 3 kids and get the heck out of there, but who cares. I did great! Woo hoo!! I have more coupons that I thought . . . back tomorrow for trip 3!

Alyssa's Birthday Party

This weekend we travelled to Greenville, SC to celebrate our niece Alyssa's 5th birthday! What a beautiful day for an outdoor party . . . the kids all had a blast! The party started with lots of playing on the playset and bubbles too. Then they each had a flower pot to paint.

Savannah hard at work painting her watering can

Daddy and Preston enjoying watching everyone

The birthday girl blowing our her candles

Preston enjoying the gifts too!

Finally, a quick picture with Grammy and Papa before we hit the road.

Doing the Army Crawl!

Yesterday Preston started what I thought looked like an army crawl . . . and today he's in full force!! This kid is dragging himself all over the house and is really into everything. His favorite mess to make so far is Savannah's play food. We are going to be in big trouble once he gets faster.

When It Rains, It Pours

Just when I felt like things were under control: house cleaned, last load of laundry in the dryer, dishwasher running, workout completed, showered, kids fed and in bed, and mail sorted, things begins to pour . . . literally! I was putting the last load in the dryer when I heard this faint water running sound. I quickly thought that maybe Savannah had awoke from her nap and gone potty; sometimes her toilet flapper hangs and causes the water to run continually. Mommy is the pro at fixing that, so I went in and fixed it - or so I thought. I went back downstairs and started to put something in the fridge when I realized there was water EVERYWHERE. I looked up and sure enough it was pouring from the recessed light in the ceiling! I immediately called the home warranty company, which assured me they would escalate the claim since it was causing secondary damage. Guess when they're coming?? TOMORROW!!! I called my dad, the expert, and he assured me as long as the water to the toilet was turned off and that it was no longer pouring from the ceiling I should be okay until tomorrow. Ahhhhhh!!! Who has time for this when I need to be fixing the computer security that now says it's at risk???!!!

Mama See, Mama Do!!

For weeks now Savannah has watched as I've washed, hung, pinned, and priced all of her old clothes for the consignment sales. Today she decided to have her own sale. This is what I found after her nap today. She took her doll's clothes and some of my old tags and carefully tagged her items! :) Train a child in the way she should go . . .

Girl Time

Yesterday was the long awaited "mommy and me" day. Savannah and I got an early start at Target before dance class. We then headed to dance, Bath and Body Works (where she got some new lip "floss"), Victoria Secret, and another Target. We then finished our morning at Chick fil A with some delicious lunch. I think her favorite part was the play set at CFA! Although she still has a cough and isn't quite 100%, we did enjoy some time together out of the house. At bedtime last night she was already planning her special day with daddy for next week.

An Emotional Roller Coaster

This week has definitely been an emotional roller coaster for me. I guess it started last weekend when Savannah came down with an awful cold. She was just miserable for the weekend, but by Monday was feeling better. She had school on Tuesday, which went well, but by Wednesday things had turned sour. I was trying to get a quick grocery shopping trip in when I think she may have bitten her cheek. So for the next 3 HOURS she whimpered, cried, pouted, and then really cried about her mouth hurting. This turned into her tummy hurting, her face hurting, etc. I even called the doctor again asking what I could possibly do to help her mouth feel better. Long story short, it was a very, very long day that didn't end very well. Thursday was an all out battle trying to get her to go to school. Everything seemed to hurt, but she had no fever, no runny nose, nothing. Apparently she had enough energy to want to go to Jack's party, just not school.

Finally, I sat in the floor and tried to reason with her. I tried to explain that she had to tell mommy the truth and couldn't make up stories to get her way. Although I'm sure not much of that got through her head, I do know that when I offered a mommy and Savannah day on Saturday that seemed to make everything better. WOW! Someone really wants to spend that much time with me?! Anyway, she had a good day at school, but again once she got home it was the same old "this hurts, I'm sick, etc". After I finally got her down for a nap I had my quiet time where the Lord really showed me that she was in need of mommy's attention. Do unto others as you'd have them do unto you kept running through my mind. I've spent all week trying to figure out what was wrong, wondering if it was someone at school, being jealous over Preston, or heaven forbid really being sick. Nope, just needing mama. I love spending time with my kids, but honestly, sometimes I just would rather get my chores done, e-mails returned, etc. However, it was super clear to me that Savannah has been feeling neglected. :(

So, last night after Jack's party I made her my #1 priority . . . we rested on the cough together while daddy did the Wii, we watched TV before bed together, and miraculously not one ailment appeared during bed time! It was hard for me to leave the dishes in the kitchen sink, plates on the table, dishwasher full of clean dishes, dryer full of clean clothes, and many other chores until today, but I knew that she NEEDED me.

She woke up this morning happy and the first thing she reminded me of was our mommy and Savannah day. Then she told Dave that he had to stay home with Preston. Thankfully, he's on board. (Not that anyone wouldn't go for several hours of a quiet house.) I am so excited about our day tomorrow and thankful that for now, my little Savannah loves spending time with moi!