IT SNOWED!!!

Last night we were supposed to get some snow....we went to bed at midnight and it never showed.  This morning I was very surprised to wake up and find that not only was it snowing but it was also sticking!!  The kids and I bundled up and went outside to play.  There are about 60 pics of kids and dogs playing in the snow on Facebook.  It has almost all disappeared now but it was wonderful while it lasted:)  

As far as Christmas goes we should be in Stephenville.  The kids, dogs, my dad and I will be driving out on the 14th and Matt is going to fly in on the 18th.  We will have to leave on the Saturday following Christmas so if anyone wants to get together it needs to be the week of Christmas to see all of us;)  I think we may make a trip to Fossil Rim on Wednesday of that week (apparently they have discount Wednesdays!).  We are definitely going to Mary's Cafe, of course we may do that before Matt gets there since he doesn't share the same affection for chicken fried steak that I do.  I hope we get to see everybody that we have missed in the past couple of visits.  We look forward to seeing you all:)!

Build-A-Bear

Today we went to a Build-A-Bear store.  It was so much fun!!  The kids picked out their animals and then we had them "stuffed".  They let them decide how soft of firm they want the animal to be and they also let them get a little heart to put inside.  They get to rub the heart to warm it up and give it a little kiss and this is what brings their animal to life.  It was AWESOME!!  I wanted one for myself by the time the kids got done.  Once they have all their parts in place they get stitched up and you get to pick an outfit, shoes, wigs, bloomers, roller skates.....pretty much anything you can imagine.  Then you pick a name and register them so that you can print out the birth certificates.  It was a great experience and Addison has already asked about a night gown for her bunny.  

Michael got a puppy he (okay, we) named Ruff.  He got him a Spiderman costume.  It came with a mask pre-cut with holes for his ears and everything:)  Addison got a rabbit that she named Sparkle.  She picked out an Ariel (The Little Mermaid) costume for her bunny and it came with a wig!   

Now here is my wisdom tooth debacle update.....

I was going to post pictures of my gum where the dry socket had actually cracked the thing open. After taking and looking at these pictures I have decided against it. They are pretty gross! I am still in pain from this tear...not the actual cuts made by the surgeon or the other three sockets that are now empty. I may have to make another trip to the surgeon's office just for more pain meds until this thing heals up:(

Other than that we have had a really good weekend full of friends, beautiful weather and fun!

Wisdom Teeth

So I finally had my wisdom teeth pulled.  It only took 10 years and 3 dentists telling me that it had to be done.  The xray this time showed that I had one tooth that was laying completely sideways and it was in the process of taking out one of my molars.  This was enough to make me schedule the surgery....I am not a girl who would be happy if I could not easily chow down on a steak:)

The surgery went well and I was even dealing with the pain pretty easily until the Sunday after the procedure.  Matt made me call in on Sunday for more pain meds and then call again on Monday for an appointment.  I ended up with dry socket in the part where they had to cut out the sideways tooth.  It has been an incredibly long and painful ordeal....with no yummy food to make it any better:(

Now I am just hoping for a speedy recovery so that I can bite into a big roast beef sandwich!  I need a steak too:)  

The kids have been pretty great during my week of laying around.  I know they are going a little nuts and getting on each others' nerves but overall they are handling it pretty well.  

We will hopefully be getting to Texas for Christmas.  It depends on Matt's schedule how long we will stay but we should be there for at least a week.  We will let you all know when we know!

Home

Well, we survived the two week trip to TX and back and now we are in the recovery stages.  The kids and I had a wonderful time visiting with family and friends and we desperately missed Matt the entire time.  

Since we have been home it has rained and rained and rained.  Which is awesome because we really needed it!  The kids and I have been busy this week getting drawers cleaned out and new toys put away.  We also had to restock the house with groceries.  Matt would probably starve to death if we hadn't gotten married.  I didn't even have enough stuff in the house to put together one complete dinner.  Today we are probably headed out to Sam's Club.  There are just some things that cost too much to not buy in bulk....steak, chicken, toilet paper, chocolate syrup....all the must haves;)

I am about to go on a cleaning up rampage and get rid of a bunch of the kids toys.  Neither one of them really need a rattle anymore and it annoys me when I find one out for no reason at all.  Plus, with Michael's birthday coming up and Christmas right around the corner, now is the time to cut back on the toys!!

Addison starts her dance class on Friday and I think I may be more excited than she is about the whole thing.  I know that she wants to do it but I am getting butterflies for her:)  I will be sure to update with pics if they let me stay...maybe I will sneak some even if they don't!

The Ballerina

These are the newest clothes in Addison's closet:) We signed her up for a ballet, tap and jazz class this morning and had to get all the things on the list for her "uniform".

She had to have ballet slippers and black tap shoes...she definitely likes the tap shoes more but quickly realized that the slippers are more comfortable. Ahhhh, the trials and tribulations of being a woman!


So the kids and I should be in TX on Monday night. We plan to stay at least a full week and probably closer to two depending on scheduling. You can all keep up with me on Facebook....I seem to post there alot more often than here;)

Updates:)

Well today was a day of making small changes around the house thanks to a trip to Lowe's. That store has a way of making you feel like you are a DIY professional or something! We bought a small cubicle storage shelf for Addison's ten thousand books. I think it looks more little girl than a tall book shelf and I don't have to worry about anyone climbing up it and having an accident. Matt made himself a shelf next to the computer desk for the trash and shred. We got stuff to treat the yard and the house for all kinds of creepy crawlies. And finally, since rain is a distant memory and we have 3/4 of an acre to keep watered, we had to buy a better sprinkler that covers more ground. All-in-all a pretty good and very productive day:)

I am thinking that the kids and I will be heading to TX at the beginning of August...around the 3rd or 4th. We will be staying at least until the 13th. It really depends on how badly Matt misses us. Who knows, maybe he will want us to stay until the 23rd;)! But we really do need to get back by the third week of August so that Addison can start her dance class and I can get the kids registered for a winter swim class. I cannot believe that these kids have such a busy schedule already and they haven't even started school!

We found out that we will be having more company too! Matt's friend and office mate from Charleston will be headed our way on the weekend of August 6th for a job interview with TVA and Oak is coming out for a few days before Labor Day. I love getting to see everyone and showing off our beautiful home:)

Lots of Company!

We have had lots of going to see friends and lots of company scheduled for the next couple of months. At the beginning of the month we were in KingsBay, GA visiting with old friends and enjoying the 4th of July and this week my parents were in town for a visit! This week I also got a flight scheduled for Nana to come and see our new home in TN and made plans to try and get to TX sometime in August.

I also looked into a "Fairytale Ballet" class for Addison. It should start around the third week of August and she is super excited. The class does a different fairytale every week and they supply all the costumes. There is a recital right around Christmas time to show off what they have learned. The class is 3-4 year olds and I think it will be a good chance to start her socializing with other little girls and get her used to a "classroom" setting.

I am also hoping that we can do a winter swimming class for the kids. Addison is a total waterbug and I get kinda nervous at her lack of fear when it comes to water. I will feel much better when she knows how to keep herself afloat! Michael is the complete opposite. If the water is deeper than baby pool level he wants nothing to do with it. I really want him to learn not to be afraid, hopefully that is what his lessons would give him:)

Matt is still studying away and getting closer and closer to a license with TVA. By next month he should only have one year left of training before he officially an SRO:) This also gets us closer to the big cruise we have been planning! After talking about it we may opt for an all inclusive resort instead....but we still have some time to decide.

That is all that is happening here for now. I hope everyone is doing well and we hope to see you all soon:)



Just a random shot taken on the computer camera...sorry the quality isn't great but I thought it was a pretty cut pic anyway;)

I Met Paula Deen!!!

I don't have any pictures to share but I did get to meet the queen of everything southern on Sunday!! Chattanooga hosted a SHE Expo for women and Stacy London was the VIP for Saturday and Sunday it was Paula Deen. I stood in line for 4 hours but I did get to meet her and get her (and her husband, Michael) to autograph one of the cookbooks I have of hers:) It was super exciting and I am still floating around beaming!

On the down side, standing in one place for four hours has done terrible things to my lower back:( I have been limping around all day and the kids are tired of my being so useless.

We had a fantastic time on vacation. We were mostly bums and it was fabulous!! We did manage to take the kids to the St. Marys Aquatic Center one afternoon and we had a good time doing sparklers and fireworks on the 4th of July. Matt got a guys' day out and I got a girls' day out. The kids got to catch up with their friend Tyler and now all Addison does is beg to go back;)

Not too much else is going on right now. Matt is fully into the Systems phase of his training and the amount of studying has increased. The kiddos are still enjoying the things that Chattanooga has to offer. We will be making a summer trip to TX and maybe another down to GA now that I know how easy the drive is to make!

Vacation!

Well people, we are headed to KingsBay, Ga either tomorrow afternoon or very early on Saturday! The kids and I are super excited but Matt has a test to take before he gets to leave so he is concentrating more on that than the aftermath:) We are planning on being there until the 5th of July and hopefully we will get to see all those friends that we left behind in Georgia.

I am not sure I had posted pictures of my little plants so here are some. I put a tomato plant in a container and one in a topsy turvy. They are doing very well. I also planted sweet banana pepper plants and I have had to replant them into bigger pots:) Bring on the fresh produce!!



This last picture is of the rack Matt made for me for the topsy turvy. He said he couldn't guarantee it and when I went outside to inspect the work I found this fun note;) Needless to say, the original has been replaced by a much better version!


I probably won't be updating again this week or next week but I should have some fun pictures of our vacation and the holiday to share when we get back!

Easter Egg Hunt!!

I had some more time while Matt is playing Call of Duty 4 so I thought I would put some more pictures on the blog:)

This is the "cheese" face we got after Michael found his first egg! I think we have a picture like this of Addison from her first birthday party.

This was Addison's first find of the day...the first of many. That kid has a serious knack for egg hunting. She beat out the boys hands down:)

I had to put in a shot of her on the move. We did the hunt at Travis and Kristina Uptegrove's house and she was all over the yard. She would see a little bit of color and take off running!

Matt had to give the boy a little direction...it was his first time getting to participate. He didn't mind daddy finding the eggs for him too much. After he realized that each one had candy in it he sat down and started eating!

And this is Michael's first full piece of pizza. Up until this point we had always torn off the crust and cut the rest up with a fork into tiny little pieces. This time I thought I would let him try to do it himself....let me tell you the kid took to it like he was born in New York. We have a for real pizza eater on our hands. He ate almost two full pieces of pizza! I forsee the day when he and Matt "fight" over the last piece:)


We had a great day today playing at the mall. Tomorrow we are headed to the aquarium and I may try to get some pictures. Apparently our penguins have begun laying eggs!!! This is super exciting because it doesn't happen very often at all in captivity. Also, we have a new jellyfish exhibit that recently opened. Addison loves to watch them float around and change color (thanks to some special lighting). I know she would spend her day there if we could get Michael to slow down for a little while.

More Pictures!

These are some pictures from Addison's Birthday Party and Easter.

Matt was teaching the boy to build cup pyramids and then tear them down:)

Our two little wonders! Aren't they cute all dressed up?

This was the ridiculous cake that Addison demanded for her birthday. We had to cut into the present budget to pay for this one.

Michael is a real lady killer lately. He says, "'Sup?" Ha ha!

Addison just loves anything princess. This card is courtesy of Grandma. We have saved it for her and every once in awhile we pull it out and let her walk around the house singing along!

I would've posted sooner (I have been trying to do so for almost 5 days now) but blogger was having some picture loading problems. Things here are good. We are gearing up for a trip out to GA/FL next weekend. This weekend we have plans with friends and some serious Father's Day celebrating to do! Our house is still open for all those summer vacations I know you all are planning:)

Here are those pictures I promised:)

These are some recent pictures we took on an outing to the Chattanooga Zoo. Our zoo here is kinda small but it is perfect for wearing out Addison and Michael:)

This is Addison petting the dog at the "Ranch" part of the zoo. They have sheep and goats and pigs and horses and camels but Addison went straight for the dog...I guess it is because we don't have any at home. Wait a minute.....

I had to help Michael pet anything the first time we went and now the boy is fearless. He even yelled at one last time because he got bumped!

This chimpanze was incredibly interested in me and Addison. He even waited for everyone else to leave before coming over to say hi! I think we had a moment;)

The kids thought the chimps were awesome. We actually spent most of our morning there checking them out.

This is the picture that was destined to happen. I cannot tell you how many pictures there are of me and my sister Amanda doing the exact same thing at different zoos and parks across the country. When I took this shot I had to laugh at how completely things have really come full circle:) On that note, thanks for the awesome memories Dad!!

I have a ton more pics to share and I will really try to keep up this time, for Jeff's sake;)

Okay, okay, okay....

So I suck at blogging lately! I get it:)

Now for an update. Matt is taking his NRC exam today over his most recent subject, I think they call it GFES???? The kids and I had planned a trip to Texas but we got totally derailed by illness. I ended up with a sinus and ear infection and Addison had a never ending hacking cough and then the moment passed. We had already filled up the rest of June with festivals and Creative Discovery Museum visits and Father's Day and a trip to GA. We are hoping to make a trip sometime this summer so I will update when we will be on the way!

We finally broke down and got the kids a pool...it has been HOT!! I am really amazed that it is just getting crazy hot in June. I think I have discovered another thing to love about TN...summer actually starts in summer here:)

Michael is adding to his vocabulary everyday. His most recent additions are "Dude" and "Ka-chow"! I know, we are awesome parents, right? It's all about the cute stuff when they are this little though. I mean at least we aren't teaching him to curse....

Addison is more and more opinionated every single day. She regularly puts her little brother in his place and has started trying to do the same to me and Matt. She is a waterbug and it takes all my effort to keep her in the house even when the water temp is only 65 degrees.

That is it for now. I have many, many, many pictures to upload so look for new ones soon:)

Happy St. Patty's Day

I have corned beef in the crockpot and cabbage ready to be boiled...however, I think we are going out for Japanese instead. How very Irish of us:) I really only wanted the corned beef so that I could make hot corned beef and mozzarella sandwiches. I love to take sourdough bread and pile it high with the corned beef and cheese and then toast the whole thing...yummy!

The rain finally stopped for a day so the kids and I spent some time outside this afternoon. It ended in a temper tantrum by a little girl who refused to take a nap today and instead followed around mommy while I cleaned the bathroom. The dog tracks that are all over the place are driving me insane. I just keep mopping and they keep finding more mud. I think I may give up since there is more rain in the forecast for Thursday.

Michael says hello to everyone...this post is taking forever thanks to his curiosity about what I am typing. The kid just won't leave the laptop alone:)

Better get going, I don't know how many other Irish folk will be at the restaurant and we don't want to wait too long!!

March

....is flying by! We made the trip out to Texas and had a wonderful time while we were there. The kids are really getting used to the ride to and from Texas. Needless to say, they are always a little more whiny on the way home.

Matt and I had a fantastic time on our weekend away. Thank you so much again Grandma for taking care of the little monkeys!

We don't have any major plans for the rest of the month. Addison turns 3 on the 24th and we are having a party on the 28th. We have already ordered the ridiculously expensive princess castle birthday cake (thank goodness for the $3 coupon we got in the mail). I am going to try and get her to shy away from going all the way princess with the party since we are only inviting little boys. It seems like there are no little girls in our circle of friends....that are her age anyway. Addison truly doesn't seem to mind though. I guess boys are a little easier to boss around anyway:)

Matt is getting a week of vacation around the end of June and we are planning on heading down to GA for the week. There are so many friends we haven't seen in such a long time. I really hope that we get to see Scott and Anna and the kids while we are out there. Time is really flying by and the babies I remember are now going to school....INSANE!

Michael and Addison go for their well-baby visits on the 23rd of the month. Addison is weighing in on our scale at 26lbs and Michael is at 29lbs. I hope Addison is doing all right with her weight and height. She is a healthy kid so I am thinking she will just be a little bitty for awhile:) I have a feeling Michael will maintain his reign at the top of the food chain. The kid has been in the 90th percentile since his 6 week checkup:)

The weather is really starting to be perfect here. Mid sixties during the day and low forties at night. If we could get the sun to shine just a little more often it would be perfect!

Good news!

This post is for everyone in Texas but mostly for Jeff:)

Matt, the kids and I will be heading to Texas at the beginning of March! The plan is to drive out there the day of the sixth and then leave to come home the morning of the 12th. Matt and I will be celebrating our ten year anniversary on the sixth and he just happens to have a seven day off period so we are headed to see family and friends in Texas:)

Matt and I are actually going to sneak away for that weekend and be back in Stephenville on Monday afternoon. Sonia (grandma) has graciously agreed to keep the munchkins for us so that we can actually have some time alone for the first time since Addison made an appearance in 2006. We haven't ever left the kids before so I am incredibly excited and extremely nervous!! I know that Grandma and Grandpa will have no problem with our "little angels"....I mean, look how well I turned out:)

Anyway, I am hoping that I get this out early enough that we can make plans and see everyone that we love. I do know three things for sure...Matt and I will have the weekend alone, Mary's is definitely part of the trip for some amazing Chicken Fried Steak and we must go to Taquito Millionaro!! Why do two of those things have to do with food? Hmmmmmm.

Oh, I tried to post yesterday with some pictures from the aquarium and some of our other excursions here but I kept getting an error. Maybe I will try again tonight after the kids are in bed and I have more time.

It has been beautiful!

The kids and I have been enjoying our 60 degree weather very much. Most of our days have been spent outside on the trampoline or in the back yard. With Matt having to sleep during the day we have been really fortunate to have such great weather. Travis and Kristina also got their outdoor play set yesterday and we spent some time down at their house testing out the new equipment!

Today is going to be much the same as the past few days and I think we may try to take a walk or go to the park. Maybe just more trampoline. Addison would jump for hours everyday if I let her. She told Matt the other night to just go in because she was staying outside. She continued to run and jump and play for another 20 minutes before she even noticed that she was alone outside (I was watching from our kitchen table of course).

Matt finished up his run of night shifts last night and he has off until Friday when he starts day shifts for three or four days. I really don't mind the shift work too much and Matt is dealing with it pretty well too. The kids don't care as long as they get to see Daddy for at least an hour a day:)

I made some banana bread yesterday and it was good. I had about seven bananas that were on the verge of not being good for anything anymore so I had to make two loaves. The guys that Matt works with really appreciated the second loaf that I sent with him to work.

We are waiting for all of the promised company in the spring....we would love to have some guests for Addison's THIRD birthday! I cannot believe how quickly time has gone by:( Gabe and Amber...I am talking to you:)

I have been sick

Luckily it was a sinus infection and non-contagious so no one else in the house was bothered by it. I guess they might have been bothered by all the leftovers that were eaten this week but nobody else got sick:) Unfortunately I have not had a chance to play on the Wii Fit since I haven't been feeling well and I think tonight is the night to get back to it.

Matt starts his four days of nights today and he is now banished to our spare room upstairs to sleep all day. As long as I can keep the kids busy it usually works out okay for him. The problem this time is that it is over the weekend so I am a little more reluctant to venture out to the kids favorite places because they are crawling with other children. As cold as it has been here there is always a snotty nose or hacking cough to watch out for when we are in public. Plus it seems like once one of us gets something we just pass it around to each other for the next month!

We had a pretty productive week.... We spent a day at the aquarium (Addison's favorite haunt), we went to Playworld Down Under (which is a big indoor playground) and Matt finally got the garage cleaned out and both vehicles are now parked inside!! If you ask Matt, that was the most important part of the week.

We had snow on Monday. It was really coming down and Addison thought it was hysterical that the flakes stayed on our hair and faces. I couldn't get her into the car fast enough because she wanted to hang out and get snowed on:) We had flurries on Tuesday and Wednesday and today we have a high of 57 degrees with "abundant sunshine". Gee, I wonder why everyone is dealing with colds?

7 Days Off!

Matt has started shift work again and he is actually starting with a seven day off period! Have I mentioned how much shift work rocks? I don't know that we have any big plans but Matt is determined to get his side of the garage all cleared out so he can park his car in there.

The kids are excited that Matt is home today... I wonder how excited they will be when they realize that he is home on morning #3? Addison and Michael are big fans of their daddy. As a matter of fact they are waking him up as I type!

My Wii Fit is still awesome!! I have used it every night after the kids go to bed since we got it. The funny part is that the yoga is what is really kicking my butt:) The other activities don't feel too much like a work out because it is set up in little games. Like the aerobics section has hula hooping and basic step so you don't realize that you are doing anything until the section is over and you are breathing hard and sweating. It works great for me!

We are having really nice weather lately. It is a little colder than what we are used to but the sun has been out almost all week. They are calling for snow showers on Tuesday so we will see if anything actually sticks this time:)

Today's outing

I don't know how I did it but I have convinced Addison that going to the grocery store is just as much fun as going to the Aquarium or the Creative Discovery Museum. She gets her coat and shoes on and waits patiently on the couch while I finish up dishes and make my list and get Michael ready to go. You would think we were headed to the park or something...it is awesome!

So, yesterday Matt got a package with "an early birthday present" in it. He told me he had spent $90 on an early birthday present and because his birthday is before mine I assumed that he had bought something for his own birthday. Much to my surprise it was a Wii Fit for MY birthday. We had so much fun on that thing last night! I love it!!

I am trying to decide what is for dinner tonight. I want to make something out of the ordinary but my sinuses have my energy level at a zero and I may have to go with an old standby like Italian breaded chicken with rice and a veggie. Hey, maybe I could do a salad too and spice it up a little:)

I am going to try and post more often so hopefully I will start a habit of blogging and then it won't be like pulling teeth. It isn't that I don't like to let you all in on what is happening in our lives...it is simply finding the time between yelling at kids and doing laundry and doing dishes and cooking three meals a day. I know, excuses, excuses! Oh well, on to the grocery store!

So what if I'm a blog slacker...

I know, I know... It has been almost two months since I last blogged and I don't even really have an excuse. I mean besides having two kids, a husband, a house and two spoiled dogs to take care of all day every day:)

Anyway, we did a lot of traveling in December but managed to make it home to Tennessee before the holidays. We really enjoyed our time in Texas and we are incredibly thankful that Matt's new job is so laid back about time off...especially during the holidays:)

The kids had an amazing Christmas. They played for two days straight with all of the new loot they acquired which meant Matt and I vegged out on the couch for those two days and enjoyed the peace and quiet!

We had the pleasure of getting to see Eric, Traci and Daniel this month over the MLK holiday. We had a BLAST!! Shortly after saying goodbye to them, Dad and Sonia made the trip from Texas to visit the grandbabies. We did a ton of stuff and I am sure that Grandpa and Grandma are probably more tired after their vacation than they were before. We went to the World of Coca-Cola Museum in Atlanta, GA. Very cool! We had a great time and we stopped at Sonny's BBQ on the way back to TN. We also visited the TN Aquarium and the outlet mall in Dawsonville, GA. We did alot of driving:)

Addison has been asking to go to "High School" lately. I believe she might be smart enough to skip right into the 9th grade, but I could totally be biased:) Michael is surprising us a little more everyday with the things he is starting to say. Just out of the blue yesterday he told the dogs to "Stop!" when they started playing too rough for his liking. He has also mastered "Go" when they are outside and hanging out on the porch instead of taking care of business. Being a parent has got to be the most bittersweet job ever...as much as you want them to take that next step in growing up it means that you are losing what you had yesterday. The constant struggle between being proud and being sad is exhausting!

I will have to find some pictures of our recent excursions to the Aquarium and the Discovery Museum to post in the next blog. TTFN!!