Life Breedlove Style

Speakerless Retreat for the Exhausted

2012-01-30T10:34:00.001-08:00

That is what we titled our itinerary that we created for ourselves.

I went with my bible study this weekend to a self-created retreat. We went to a retreat center in the mountains of TN and had an amazing time. We had study/prayer time, praise time, testimonies, and even had time to take a small hike in the middle of the day on Saturday. It was so nice and so very needed. Eliza went with us seeing as she was a girl too, and she LOVED it. She literally just sat in the middle of the circle and talked to EVERYONE. She was the center of attention and she loved it. I have never heard her talk as much as she did this weekend. I suppose she learned from example!

Our attempt at a self photograph.... two of the girls stayed behind in the cabin to talk, and we unfortunately never got one of all of us.

We even made smores! ....in the microwave.

The boys had their own boys weekend. Their cousins came up for the day bringing our new adopted dog Scout. They have spent hours throwing ball for her the past few days. I think everyone involved loves it! We have wanted a dog for quite a long time and Scout seems to be perfect for us. She was a family dog that had to be given away because of space.... and she is so much fun. 4-5 yrs old with lots of energy and very well trained! Seriously, what could be better!

Stayin Afloat!!!

2012-01-23T11:14:00.000-08:00

So, I have been avoiding this post. There have been so many events and SO many pictures to go with them that I couldn't face putting it together. Christmas, family wedding,... to name a few. I have finally decided I will not do them justice either way and to put a few of all of them up. I will comment only briefly.

Random light show put on by some "southern" people a short drive from my house put up every year. They put up over a million lights! It was a sight for sure!

Candle Light Christmas Eve Service at my parent's church

A tacky Christmas Eve Statement....thanks mom.

Toys for Boys

The Wedding and other family activities!

Kids activities!
Thursday night party.

Bridesmaids luncheon

Rehearsal Dinner

Getting ready

It was a December 31 wedding and went until after midnight. It was LOTS of fun. I haven't stayed up until the "ball drop" for quite a long time. And when Eliza woke up at 4 to feed and 6 for the day after I went to bed at 2..... I remembered why!!!

Since then....

Alabama won the National Championship

Steven had his Kindergarten Interview for next year!

and the giants are on their way to the Superbowl!

Happy January to all!

Gingerbread Houses Part II

2011-12-09T13:48:00.001-08:00

Ever since we went to see the gingerbread houses at the Grove Park, my boys have wanted to make their own. I was a little nervous about the proposition knowing it takes forever to make the ginger bread, glue like icing, and not to mention they would not be able to make something that seemed worth my time in prep. But when I was at ALDI I found a kit for $5.99 which included gingerbread, icing, candy, and a stabilizing tray! I was all in.

Sam helped me put together the houses while Steven was our photographer. These are by far the best two pictures he took.
After "naptime" we got busy decorating. It was a perfect afternoon activity for our rainy week. I will say Sam's ended up being a bit better because he let me put the icing on for him (for a lot of it) while Steven "is good at building lego houses." Which OBVIOUSLY transfers to tubing icing and candy on a gingerbread house. I was very impressed with the kit. It held up really well and the boys loved it!

Picture taken by Sam

Picture taken by Steven

Picture taken by Mama

Totally doing the kit again next year. When we are skilled enough to enter it into the competition at Grove Park, we'll go from scratch. But for now.... kit all the way.

Gingerbread Houses

2011-12-01T12:26:00.001-08:00

Today my amazing angel of a neighbor kept Eliza while she had her morning nap and the boys and I headed off to the Grove Park to check out the gingerbread houses. Every year they have a national gingerbread house building competition and the winners are AMAZING. Seriously, they are ridiculous. No idea how long it takes these people to do this or how they ship them here. It's a pretty impressive spectacle.

We started our boy and mommy date by getting some chocolate milk and then headed to check out the Christmas decorations in the lobby of the hotel. It was great fun.

visible evidence for Sam's disobedience. sigh.

We had a really great time. We even listened to our local Christmas station all the way there. We're in the spirit now! And it should be noted that they thought This one is for the Children by New Kids on the Block was worth playing. Sad.

This igloo was simply decoration.... not edible.

First Foods

2011-11-14T05:17:00.001-08:00

Bananas......yummy!

Happy Halloween

2011-10-31T17:39:00.000-07:00

There! I said it! It's always the whole debate... I'm a Christian, should I participate? I didn't in college, but that was because of what it stood for at UNC. But since we've had little ones it has been a fun holiday to be a part of. Tonight we had 4 other families at our house for a potluck (which was surprisingly low key for the amount of people here - 12 kids and 10 adults) and then we all caravanned to one of the neighborhoods we frequent and did a 3/4 mile loop of trick or
treating.

Steven was a recycled giraffe, Eliza a recycled duck, and Sam was a home-made cardboard Wall-E. It was priceless. I must say Sam's outfit turned out to be a bit cumbersome as he had to walk the .75 mile and he refused to let me carry his candy bag. He had to do it, "my-by-own." His eyes were intended to be on his head, but a good tumble (which involved crying, a 30 second double take by mom and dad, other parents laughing incessantly, and Sam stuck like a flipped turtle) ended up necessitating them on top of his head. It was quite cute and he got lots of attention.

Steven definitely said "trick or treat" with a sucker in his mouth. What a bad mom. How rude!

Eliza was not impressed

Then we came home to our neighbors who gave my boys bags filled with candy, toothbrushes, glow sticks, and recorders! They also had an outfit and a book for Eliza! Over the top! What great neighbors we have! We'll see if I still think that tomorrow when the recorders are walking around the house.

One Step Closer

2011-10-26T17:47:00.000-07:00

Any of you who know me well know that I'm just waiting until the point when our whole family can go on a family bike ride. That will be SO much fun for me. Sometimes I dream about it..... three trailing bikes with all of them trying to outrun their father. And maybe we pull up to a campsite as a family on our bikes.... anyway.... we're one step closer to my dream!

Steven Edward started working on a glider bike a couple months ago and my Nanny found this bike at a yard sale for us. It is a bit too big so we're going to probably have to find one that is more his size. But he LOVES it. He wasn't so sure at first, but after about 1/2 mile on the first ride he fell in love with it. By 3 miles he told his Daddy he was starting to feel achy. Funny!

That was Eliza sneezing in the background!

Here are also some pictures that I failed to put up last week! We were graciously given a year pass to the Biltmore, so we are going to have to take advantage of the beauty and fun that it offers! There is so much to do there.

How cute is this laughter?

Sam's 3rd Birthday!

2011-10-22T16:58:00.001-07:00

While I feel like Sam has been 3 for quite some time (based on him always following his brother and doing as he does), today was his actual birthday. It really was the perfect day for a 3 year old. We started with a gift from Papa and Nanna Sally - a glider bike. His older brother is quite good on a homemade version, but it was a bit big for Sam. So he was given the real one (which is much smaller). He literally was glued to it all morning.

Then this afternoon his Daddy took just him to the book store to pick out his own book for his birthday. His father steered his choosing and he ended up with a Little Bear Treasury. When he was gone, his godparents showed up to help me decorate the house. And he was able to come home to a small surprise.
He had the sweetest smile on his face and was so excited his friends were there. Then we opened presents.

This is what occupied the kids (and dads as you can see) while dinner was cooking. For dinner - good ol' Sam-picked steak, asparagus, and roasted potatoes. Looks like we are in for pricey birthday dinners. What happened to a kids' favorite.... pizza, spaghetti?
Eliza is also a form of entertainment for the sweet Krueger boys.

Then on to cake - We chose this birthday to start our little lego collection, so I used them for the cake. Legos....

I think this smile pretty much sums up Sam's feelings about the day.

Sam is his own little person. He is so much fun to be with and IMPOSSIBLE to sum up in words. Instead I will give you some of the things he has done or enjoys doing.

*Peeing outside or in a cup. If you give him either of these options the boy would be potty trained. Otherwise, he may wait until Kindergarten.
*Sam is a meat-hound. He ate an entire steak by himself tonight.
*He is incredibly focused when he wants to be. He can sit for hours doing a task he loves.
*He loves little things. His friend Ryan gave him a miniature pumpkin and he carried it around most of the night. He also does this with pennies, and I'm sure he will do it will little creatures as he grows. I will have to check pockets at laundry time!
*He is incredibly affectionate. He spends much of his day nuzzling his sister.
*If he wants something, he is very stubborn.... persistent we'll say. He will sit for an incredibly long time on a swing waiting to be pushed. That is a moment when I know he is a middle child.... his older brother is pumping and his younger sister is nursing... Sam is sitting on the swing waiting for his mother.
*He knows his physical abilities incredibly well. He is incredibly daring physically, but only when he knows he can do something. He will jump from ridiculous places, yet he is happy to watch his brother higher in the tree because he is not quite ready to follow him to the top.
*He is a bit argumentative. He will argue with his brother FOREVER even when I have told him he is wrong. For example, tonight at bedtime Steven said, "I'm bigger." Sam's response was, "No, I am." He continued much past my correction.
*He is always the last to the table. Slow and steady.... or in his case, not so steady sometimes.
*He is happy for you to do things for him.....feed him, tell him his birthday...whatever.
*His is really gentle much of the time, but when he blows, watch out. He will come swinging, even with a toy in his hand.
*When he doesn't want to do something, he just stands still and pretends not to hear you. Even if you are inches away....and if you are not his parent... good luck getting him to listen if he doesn't want to! I have to drag him off the playground weekly at church to eat. It is almost a ritual.

Fun filled family weekend

2011-10-09T17:34:00.000-07:00

This weekend Eliza was baptized and therefore lots of family was able to come visit. On Saturday we went apple picking for the second time and had great success with my favorite variety (blushing gold).

The boys spent the entire time with an apple in their hands. Afterward we went to their favorite restaurant. What a day for boys!

Eliza was able to wear the same baptism dress that has been worn for 60 years by her family. It was actually made by her Great Grandmother!

The actual baptism was incredibly sweet and we had an amazing turn out of supporters. Thanks guys. It was a really special weekend for us.

Our Conversation Today

2011-10-04T09:17:00.000-07:00

Was spawned by the item below. Having two preschool aged boys in my house, poop is a common topic of conversation, but this was a different issue entirely.

"Boys, what would you do if you were playing and you saw a bear?"

Steven looks up at me and says, "run."

I respond with, "where would you run?"

"In the house" he responds.

"Yes," I say. "You would yell for Sam to run too, and you would run inside and shut the door."

The whole time Sam is taking it all in and watching. Eventually he responds....

"If it is a good bear we wouldn't run. Right momma?"

"No Sam. There are no good bears."

"But if it didn't growl. We could wait and see...."

I interrupt in mid sentence, "No Sam. You would run. Good bears don't live here. Steven make sure Sam was inside and then shut the door. If Sam isn't inside run tell momma and I'll go get the bear."

"What would you do momma? What if it got Sam."

"It wouldn't get Sam Steven. I would get it and I wouldn't let it get Sam."

At this point Sam is still thinking. Eventually he replies,

"But we could hit it in the eye. And smash it. And Daddy would say, 'what is that brown thing?' and we would say, 'A Bear!'

"No Sam, you just run and make a lot of noise."

Sam never pauses while I say this and when I tune back in I hear, "but if if were a bear-bee it would fly up in the air...."

At this point I see this is useless and I just hope I got somewhere with this conversation. Upon pulling in last night I saw a bag of trash in the yard. I walked upstairs to inform my husband and he went to check it out... with a big light and a bat. He stumbled upon some big tracks and what you saw above. It was still warm...

Funny Little Things

2011-09-20T11:27:00.001-07:00

There are really fun moments as a mom. I thought I'd share one to make you laugh.

Today I was reading to both boys. It was just after lunch, but Sam looked at me (mid-sentence, mind you) and said, "Can I have a banana?"

I, being the ever-caring, never-annoyed mother, responded with, "Sure. Just let me finish this story."

At this point he started making a noise that was somewhere between a high-pitched hum and an "I'm pooping" noise. I just looked at him and said, "What are you doing?"

Without missing a beat he says, "Starving." I laughed and asked "If I get you a banana, will you stop starving?"

He said "yes," but amps up the volume as I walk to the kitchen. Indeed the sound did stop and we haven't heard it since. Silly Sam. I'm sure it will appear on another day when he needs to make me laugh or is hungry.
Poor little Eliza has her first fever today. She is handling it like her momma would....needs to be held and whines all day. I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree!

And as for Steven.... his statements are often unknowingly pretentious. This one wasn't quite so bad, but they always come out a little differently than I think he intends. Or, potentially just like he intends but not what an adult wants to hear! At church on Sunday he looked at a little 3-year old boy who had long curly hair (adorable spring type curls) and asked if he was a boy or a girl. The little boy responded adamantly, "BOY!"

To which my son responded, "You are very hard to explain."

When pressed about this later he said, "But he's a boy AND has long curly hair...." as if this was impossible to fathom. Love it!

WNC State Fair

2011-09-14T17:23:00.001-07:00

Today we headed to the WNC State Fair. Let me first say, there is a large concentration of interesting people to look at while walking around at the fair. Even if you fail to fall into the trap of the yummy smelling grease in the air, the 3-5 dollar movable rides, or the irresistable male trap of the games..... you can just watch the people around you. I saw more amazing tattoos, hair, and clothing than I've seen in quite awhile. But the kids had a blast! It was the first year we've really gone for anything other than the animals. We started with some "pig" racing (with a few ducks and goats thrown in as well), then we headed to a one ring circus (which was actually pretty impressive, and we finished with a few rides for the boys (this was the fastest I've seen $20 go since we visited a casino in Niagara in 2005!). The boys had a ball and I'm ready for bed at 8:30 tonight! I must say we'll have to do that again. But next year... we'll have to get pre-ride tickets before the fair starts for half-price. I think the boys are hooked... and well... so is their mom.

Here's us by the farm animals and the tractors.

Waiting for the pig races to begin. They even gave them NASCAR names and numbers, and baited them to run with cheese doodles (I'm not making this up!). It was pretty comical, especially considering that this is what the couple that runs it does all the time!

Waiting for the circus to start.

See the guy balled up in the air?

Daddy joined us after he got off work for the last bit of the circus and the rides.

I think we'll be talking about this for awhile.

My Children!!!!!!!!!

2011-09-12T10:17:00.000-07:00

This weekend we took a 24-hour trip to Greensboro because we knew that my Nanny was going to be there. It was such a good time, and it made me want to do trips to our family, for no reason, more often.
A tidbit about the little ones -
I never remember to actually comment on my kids. Life is going by so quickly and at such a hectic pace that taking a shower is impressive, let alone posting an update on the daily lives of our children!

Eliza is beautiful, fat, and lots of fun. She is incredibly happy the majority of her life. She sleeps through the night, talks to you, grabs and plays with toys, and smiles all the time. She loves to stand, and is incredibly social as long as she can see. Overall, she is happy. She does have female opinions though, and she never fails to let you know them. She is not okay with you picking at her in anyway or sitting in her own poo (I mean....honestly who should be?) She captured the hearts of Nanny and George this weekend. She is also doing so much better in terms of allergies! Going to our allergist/acupuncturist and time have created a baby that lets her mama eat whatever she wants!

Sam the ham. That is what my Dad called him, and it seems to fit quite well. He is still all out in terms of discipline, but he is so much fun. He is in all the pictures and always has a big goofy grin on his face. If he thinks it will make you laugh, he'll do something over and over and over and over again! He loves life and lives it to the fullest. He is literal in all senses of the word, and he sees life in black and white. He still has a couple funny little sayings, like "by my own," but for the most part he speaks pretty normally. But he isn't so good at pronouncing "l"s. So Eliza name sounds like, "wiza". Which reminds me, he also has an incredible wit. He has named his baby sister Cry-za and runs around calling her such. I can't believe he will be 3 in a little over a month!

Steven is just as sensitive as ever. He LOVES to flatter, which is the funniest thing he does currently. After the second day of Vacation Bible School, when I picked him up, the teacher informed me that he had been "kissing" the girls. I was HORRIFIED! We had a long discussion about only kissing girls in our family. So now he's really planting them on Eliza! We are also a part of a church plant (so it is VERY small) and a new family came on Sunday. In the car on the way home he said, "I like Kate, she's pretty." Insert jaw drop by mother and smirk by father. Looks like there is another discussion to be had, Daddy! Other than that, he is doing quite well. We are doing some slight work on reading, drawing, cutting, etc. His newest major accomplishment is learning to pump on a swing. On Sunday he was swinging so high that the swing would bounce at the top, shouting while he pumped, "NO ONE HAS TO START ME, NO ONE HAS TO START ME" over and over again.

Just writing this post brings a smile to my face. What fun children are. Constant work, lots of trying moments, but LOTS of fun. I am so blessed to be able to be at home with mine and even though I forget it at times, I wouldn't trade it for all the money in the world.

Apple Picking

2011-09-03T19:03:00.001-07:00

I'm sure we'll go again, but this Friday we went apple picking for the first time this season (we'll probably head back again in late September to get our favorite variety - Blushing Gold). Thomas and Kate came up for a visit and joined the chaos of the stay-at-home mom on an adventure. It was adventurous to say the least. Eliza decided it was too hot to be in her carrier, so I had to hold her the entire time. The boys actually did amazingly well, seeing as it was their naptime and they walked the entire time. The meltdowns came later in the day as we went to pick out a celebration dinner at Earth Fare. Picture a mother exiting the store, pulling a screaming 4.5 year old. Luckily, Kate was with me to pay and man the other boy. Sigh. Each choice has it's consequences, hence apple picking during nap time without the father in 90 degree weather comes back to bite you around 5.

How big is big?

2011-09-02T18:11:00.000-07:00

Well according to the charts my daughter is only 97%. I would like to meet the other 3%.... she is 16 pounds 3 ounces at 3.5 months which translates to huge. Huge to carry around.... huge to not be able to sit down on her own.... huge to have on your lap eating.... huge. This is not complaining. I'm fully aware I would rather have a fat baby any day of the week than have to worry about my child not eating enough....I'm just sayin'.

In this picture it looks like she is the same size as Sam!!!!!!!!! Her legs totally look like the Michelin man.

I also had to celebrate the fact that our husbands all gave us a night out together to celebrate a birthday. It was such a blessing! We did dinner, a movie, and yogurt!!! Thanks guys!

False Alarm....

2011-08-24T13:46:00.000-07:00

They were runaways from the neighbor! After a day of convincing and lots of excitement.... sigh. The boys are handling it better than the mother.

Well, who expected this!

2011-08-23T17:44:00.000-07:00

After an earthquake tremor during nap time and finding these under my porch, I can emphatically say it was not a normal Tuesday!

Meet Joy and Glory. Joy is the black one and Glory is the tail-less white one. Named and cherished by two toddlers and still being "considered" by the father. We'll see how this all works out! This contraption is my life saver. I didn't have it for the boys, but for my third I'm glad to have commandeered it! Eliza seems to be very social so she loves feeling like she is a part of things!

Sidewalk paint and Barber Shops

2011-08-17T18:25:00.000-07:00

Looks like I can't find the time to post every time something happens.... so I am combining two. We finally got around to giving our boys their summer buzz cuts. I'm fully aware that most people do this in May, but we were a little busy then. So we headed out to the deck with the trimmers and the leaf blower. This what keeps the boys entertained. Once they are covered in clippings their Daddy blows them off. It's lots of squealing (yes even for boys) and running around with big smiles on their faces.

The second is a recommendation of a good friend from NYC.... sidewalk paint. I checked out a site online and found a recipe. The kids had a really good time. We will definitely be doing this again! Thanks Beth.

I actually like her!

2011-08-07T17:17:00.001-07:00

For those of you who don't know me extensively as a mother.... that statement is a big deal. It took me about 9 months to say that about Sam. Knowing what I know now about my diet and how it affects her and knowing that it must have affected Sam in the same way, I wonder if I could have sped that process along by eliminating more foods while I nursed Sam. But nonetheless, it took quite a long time to pass from "I love my child" into the "I actually like my child." Babies are like puppies, in that they break the world down into two categories of people.... those who get the puppy in order to have a dog, and those who want a puppy but don't actually want the dog. I fall into the first category. I suffer through the pains of infancy in order to have another toddler. Go figure. Either way, the probability that this may be our last makes me pay more attention and try to take greater notice of Eliza and her phases. Either way, I have really been enjoying her lately. She has gone through some difficult and trying phases (and has even been called birth control by people who will remain unnamed), but has emerged into a smiley, opinionated little girl whom everyone in the family loves. I thought I would post some pictures of her smiley-ness.

Shamelessly Late

2011-08-05T17:33:00.001-07:00

I have no excuses. Here are some pictures of our adventures over the past month..... of which include camping, a visit from the Linden's and the Jamieson's, a visit to Montgomery, and a visit to Nanna Sally and Papa's for Nanna's 60th.... man, I thought this was going to be a slow summer! Enjoy. Forgive me for not commentating. Just thought I should go ahead and put these up regardless of my lack of inspiration with words.

A Visit from the Jamieson's and the Linden's!

Camping at Hungry Mother State Park in VA

Oh... and I forgot.... a chubby little girl

A visit to Montgomery AL

The effects of a time change and lots of fun! Don't worry.... this is probably the only time he's done this in the past year!

Eliza.... waking and eating!

2011-06-30T03:51:00.000-07:00

Well - because of the lack of sleep and an increased amount of chaos in my house (it's amazing how a crying baby in the background can make any routine task seem stressful) I have failed to post. If you are not tuned in to my life in other ways you may still think I'm worrying about my daughter's weight gain..... well not any more. All of the sudden (at about 4-5 weeks of age) she decided to chunk up. Now she is an amazing 12 pounds at 7 weeks (which is about 9 ounces larger than my oldest son was at 8 weeks!) and is in the 90 percentile for her uncorrected (not taking into account her being early) age. Well, in weight that is, as in height (in typical Breedlove fashion) she is only in the 50 percentile. Looks like we're going to have a chunker on our hands. Which is typical of our babies.

She has definitely woken up. I have gone through the painstaking science experiment of trying to figure out what makes her cry. She was having definite stomach pain so I have eliminated several things from my diet - dairy (sigh), caffeine (man, I'm loving this process), and peanut butter. It still seems like some days she spends the majority of the time crying, but I suppose that this is because she is just a baby. She is not quite old enough to "schedule" yet, but she is too old to sleep the day away. So we're left in no-man's land. She wants to be held all the time to fall asleep, then she wakes herself up after 15 minutes, and then she cries from being overtired. All that to say - my life looks very different now than it did 3 weeks ago, 2 months ago, or a year ago. I suppose we can always say that!

One thing has remained the same. The boys still adore her and Sam still claims to have a baby in his tummy. Often at funny times. For example, they were all eating cookies for dessert at my mother's house and I had to settle for synthetic crap.... candy corn. So Sam turns around and says he wants some. I explain that he had a cookie and that Eliza won't let momma eat a cookie or she'll cry. He explains to me that his baby in his tummy doesn't like cookies either (even though his is 4/5 gone) and it needs candy corn too (insert melt down). Sigh. Sam. Never a dull moment.

Long lost pictures

2011-06-27T11:50:00.001-07:00

I suppose I have an excuse - but here are some delayed pictures. We've been to my parents house twice in the past month. Once to visit with Nanny and George and once to visit with the family including my sister and her girls. Enjoy.

Things I've Learned

2011-06-06T16:39:00.000-07:00

* The grossness of boys is more apparent to the tired mother. I think the gross things my boys do wasn't usually an annoyance to me..... now I find when a little boy asks to smell my breath or eats his brother's booger extremely offensive!

*This also holds true for the loudness of boys.... I seem to notice the volume more if I'm sleep deprived!

*Little girls are different! Eliza totally freaks out if she is scratched accidentally by my finger or if I attempt to get something out of her nose or ear - a different level than the boys did!

*That the postpartum visit is partially there to make the new mother stop eating cookies - hence the reason they put you on a scale 3.5 weeks after giving birth.....

*That Sam has some incredibly funny and defiant moments. As he was attempting to put crayons up his nose I explained that the doctor would have to cut his nose open to get it out.... this was my attempt to stop him (which my husband later revealed to me as a boy this might make it more appealing). He then started putting it in his eye and told me it was his i-phone.

*Sam also told me as I threatened him with discipline upon his repeated defiance that if I punished him God would come down and take him to heaven..... at this point I break down in tears (as two other children are crying in the background) and say I'd like to go to heaven too. At that moment I realized my hormones were still not quite back to normal. But on the up side.... it was the first time Sam felt sorry for me and choose to obey (while saying, "don't cry mama.")!

*I also see how very much the boys love their sister. They are always nuzzling, kissing, touching, patting, or generally loving on her. Everyone we meet is told about our new baby whose name is Eliza (or wiza from sam). Sam often tells them she is his baby and that she came out of his belly.... or while doing some form of belly dance that there is a baby in his belly that is moving.

2.5 weeks old

2011-05-30T07:53:00.000-07:00

I realized we hadn't really taken any pictures since Eliza has been home, so today I took a few! Mainly for my mother who is convinced that in the 1.5 weeks since she's seen her, she may have changed drastically!

Eliza went to her 2 week appointment on Wednesday and she looked great. She was 7 lb. 5.5 ounces. Somehow this was a little disappointing to me as my boys grew SO fast. The Dr. was very pleased with her growth and she was well past her birth weight (which is the goal by 10 days to 2 weeks), so I tried to be pleased as well. When one of your major roles in life is to be a human dairy barn for your child, it is difficult when they don't grow as fast as you think they should. It somehow feels like a slight to you!

There is a bit of medicine on her eye which is why they have a slight shine.

And this is one of the first pictures of me that I have allowed to be public. I was intentional about NOT being photographed for the first few weeks (even though originally I said it would be 6 months!). With the first child, you take pictures coming home from the hospital etc... then years later you look at these pictures and wonder what in the world you were thinking! So this time I stayed away from the camera! And if anyone comments that I look tired I will have to stop talking to you for at least 3 months. There are some things better kept to yourself.

This is one of my husband's favorite occupations, letting her sleep on his chest. He loves his little girl so much and is such a proud Papa!

Things you thought you'd never do

2011-05-22T11:57:00.000-07:00

When I graduated from college bound for the altar and the classroom, there were some things that I vowed I would NEVER do. Some were based on stereotypes of teachers and some on stereotypes of wives and mothers, but either way I would be different.

*The first declaration dealt with big hair and big bangs.

*The second was thematic clothing of any type - namely dealing with holidays. I would never wear Rudolph sweaters with red noses, or jingle bell earrings (and even though one of my siblings swears that this had to do with the teaching of elementary school.... I swore I would never cave).

*The last was owning a van. To me a van was a sign of a dorky soccer mom.... and while I wanted to be a mom and I indeed played (and coached) soccer, somehow this was a sign of weakness. But one day I woke up and realized I was a mom! And now that I have 3 kids, there were some serious advantages to owning a van..... the number one in my mind was the power sliding door that I can control from my key fob! I wanted space, convenience of my children being able to get in and out of their own, and all the special perks they add to vans just for mamas! Either way - I have been coveting vans for 6 months and as of this weekend, I now have one of my own. Key fob activating door and everything. Now we're living the life.

I suppose if you break one vow of what you'll never do you should somehow change or create a new one. So in order to do this publicly, I will do so now. I vow to never put a 13.1 sticker or stick figures of my family members (or pets even though I believe this should go without saying) on the back of my van. Sorry Tiff.

Eyes Open

2011-05-19T11:01:00.001-07:00

Claire Elizabeth Breedlove

2011-05-13T12:02:00.000-07:00

This is a quick post to welcome the newest edition of our family! Eliza Breedlove! She was born on May 11, 2011 at 2:05 pm. She weighed 7 lbs 1 oz even though she was only 36 weeks. Her brothers adore her as does her father. I'm sure this will be the first post of many with lots of pictures. Enjoy.

My husband will protest....

2011-05-08T06:45:00.000-07:00

BUT.... in honor of only having 3 days left until until our baby girl comes I have changed the color of the blog. My husband and blog editor is currently at his brother's graduation so it will take at least 24 hours for the complaint to be lodged.

Please pray her lungs are ready and that she is ready to arrive on Wednesday! Mamma is MORE than ready for her to be here.

In the last few days we've had some adventures!

The boys cousin's (well actually children of their father's cousin.... but who is counting) stopped by for a play date on their way through to Alabama. The eldest cousin is a few days older than Steven and then they have twin boys that are 19 months! Man Katie is a busy woman!

While playing with their friend Caleb, the boys were a part of a mulch tornado. There was mulch EVERYWHERE. Once Sam's diaper was opened a cup of mulch found inside, it was quite apparent that a wipe down was not an option. This resulted in a mid-day bath with 3 boys.

Then Nana BB and Poppy came up to allow my husband to head to Chapel Hill to celebrate his brother Thomas's graduation. While here they did lots of grandparent type things..... picked strawberries, saw some horses at the AG center, had a movie night with pizza, and ingested some frozen dairy products after eating at Chick-fil-a!

Hopefully on 3 more days of bed rest!

We're Getting Closer

2011-05-01T13:49:00.000-07:00

Only 10 days away until delivery day! I like to narrow it down by categories..... 3 more Doctor Visits, 2 more gymnastics classes, and one more weekend!

I wanted to update you on some fun the boys have been having since I last posted.

Some friends were kind enough to take my boys with them on a day trip to the Greenville Zoo. The boys had a blast! Jenny was so kind to take LOTS of pictures for me so I could see all the fun, too. Thanks guys for loving us so much!

When asked about this specific picture, Steven responded.... "Mrs. Jenny said to smile, but I was a pirate. And pirates don't really smile." Very insightful.

We had a visit from Nana BB

We had our first real Easter Basket experience

Not to mention lots of good time with Daddy

And Uncle James, Aunt Millie, Lije, and the boys' newest cousin Tadd came to visit for the day!

We have been so blessed to have such great experiences even though life has been a bit different as I spectate from the couch!

Thanks Kate!

2011-04-20T09:02:00.001-07:00

Kate had the honor of two helping toddlers in a cookie making process. After Sam dumped the entire cylinder of oats on the ground and the boys had ingested more sugar than the cookies themselves contain.... I felt like she truly understood what it was like to have two boys 4 and under helping.
But in all seriousness -she has been such great help and we couldn't have made it the last few weeks without her! Thank you so much Kate for all you've done for us.

Shower of Ruffles and Lace

2011-04-16T10:59:00.000-07:00

Once again, this is going to be a post bragging on how blessed I've been! Some of my friends threw me a small shower at my house last weekend. They had planned it long before I went on bed rest, and they decided to bring it to me. China, silver, chicken salad, pink, and lace. It was so much fun and was such a blessing to me emotionally. One of the harder parts of being on bed rest for me (being as outgoing as I am) has been the lack of social interaction. This was a day where I felt almost normal (other than that the group picture is surrounding a sitting mother)! It was so much fun and I think they even enjoyed it, as the husbands were all at home with the kids and we all had a chance to eat on fine china. Thanks guys.

Her first tutu!

My friend Hannah is incredibly talented and she painted canvases to match the quilt I picked out for our girl several months ago. I didn't actually get the baby quilt; I got the twin quilt so that I can drape it over my rocking chair and she can use it when she moves into a "big girl bed." Therefore I asked Hannah to create me something I could put on the wall around the crib to tie in the theme. She went above and beyond! They are AMAZING! We spent at least 15 minutes of the shower trying to convince her that she should start her own business! On the floor you can see the pillow sham and the quilt that I picked out and resting against the hearth, you can see the set of four canvases she created to match it. It looks like I ordered them straight out of the catalog! Thanks Hannah!

While Momma Sits....

2011-04-11T16:10:00.001-07:00

Here are some of the activities my boys have done!

Gymnastics Class

2011-04-05T12:29:00.001-07:00

Now that I'm housebound, my neighbor takes my boys to gymnastics for me each week. This week she was kind enough to send me pictures from her smart phone so I could feel like I was a part of it all. Wasn't that kind! The one of Sam in the foam pit was too cute for me not to share.

Steven Turns 4!

2011-04-03T16:48:00.000-07:00

Today was Steven's 4th Birthday. I know every mother says this in these situations... but I seriously can't believe that he is 4.

We have decided to have parties only on alternating years, so this year was our family birthday celebration. We tossed out lots of different ideas and options, but based on our current circumstances we stayed close to home for the day. Daddy spent the day creating homemade activities that our boys thought were great.

We started with a homemade pin-the-tail on the donkey. Then the boys got to color our donkey!

After that we did some finger painting on the deck with our neighbor,

and we finished with a scavenger hunt around the living room.

After dinner we topped it all off with a cake a good friend made for Steven, modeled after Lightning McQueen (one of his FAVORITES!)

In case you were wondering about the "current circumstances," I have been on bedrest for about 2 weeks and will continue to be on the couch or bed until the end.... May 11th. So my dear husband chose to do birthday things that I could be a part of from a distance. Bedrest has had it's challenges, but we have been overwhelmed by the amount of love and support we've received. We have had lots food, someone to clean my house, and lots of support in helping with the boys during the day. It has been humbling, but an amazing way to see the provisions of God on a daily basis.

I have found lots of ways to be involved from the couch - reading, puzzles, games.

We would love your prayers for the health of our baby girl, that my body is a safe place for her to grow, and for the added stress on my husband and the boys as I have to watch from the couch. Thanks everyone for your love, support and prayers.

Cholestasis of Pregnancy

2011-03-15T04:25:00.001-07:00

Well - this isn't a witty story or a cute picture. I almost didn't even blog about this, but I figured there are people who I don't keep close contact with who may read this and be able to pray.

As many of you know I have had difficult pregnancies in the past. Steven Edward's entry to the world and the circumstances surrounding it were dramatic to say the least. And while Sam's was more "normal," it still had it's share of complications. These come from a very rare condition I have during pregnancy (less than 1/10% of women have this.... that is like 1 in 10,000) called Cholestasis of Pregnancy. The briefest way I can explain it is to say I have an over active liver. It creates high levels of bile acids and liver counts which could ultimately end in a still born birth in the third trimester. But my Doctors have always assured me that with careful monitoring and me paying close attention to her patterns, this won't be me.

What it means for me is that I go to the Dr. two times a week for several hours each time to do blood work, ultra sounds, intensive monitoring, and see the doctor. It also means I have to keep careful track of how often baby girl moves (I have purchased a timer with four buttons that I actually carry with me all the time and press every time I feel her so I can always know when she moved last). My doctors are amazing and have taken great care of me so far -but needless to say this condition comes with fears and lots of emotional stress (as well as the physical stress of my entire body itching all the time). Best case scenerio would be that all the monitoring goes smoothly, I do an amniocentesis at 36 weeks, and they take the baby by C-Section later that day assuming her lungs are formed.

Please pray that ultimately my baby girl will be safe and healthy, that the Doctors will have a clear indication of what to do at each step, and that if there is something wrong with her.... I will know beyond a shadow of a doubt. That is how Steven Edward made it here... I just had a sinking feeling something was wrong and Doctors who were super on top of it. God has brought us through this twice before and I have faith he will and can do it again. Please be in prayer for me, my Doctors, and my husband based on the extra pressure this puts on him.

Never a Dull Moment

2011-02-24T11:12:00.001-08:00

With two boys under the age of 4, there is truly never a dull moment. Today is but a simple example of the adventures that we experience daily as stay at home mothers of toddlers.....

We had just finished lunch and my boys jumped down to embark on a game of hide and seek before nap time. This alone is comical enough because the rules of hide and seek are very specific to a 3 year old, and that doesn't always transfer to a 2 year old mind or even correspond to the actual rules that the rest of the world adheres to. Either way, I stay at the table to help the little girl I keep finish her lunch so that she can play too. As a mother you become an expert of sounds.... there are sounds that you're used to (banging, yelling, laughing, the clanging of certain toys or objects etc.) and sounds that alarm you (like the jiggling of a handle that won't open, or comments of a toddler like..."i didn't really pee on the floor Sam, I was just pretending").

As I helped Anna eat I heard what sounded like someone stuck in the closet. Assuming it was my youngest, I yelled for Steven to open the door for him. To which he responded, "I can't." Sigh says the 6.5 month pregnant mother as she rises from the table to take care of the problem herself. I get to the linen closet door and realize it is indeed locked and Sam is indeed inside. I actually happened to be talking to my mother-in-law on the phone at the time and she calmly suggests getting an ice pick - the obvious response, we all learned to pick doors as children right?

Well, I didn't, my sister was the champion of that at our house. But it is currently beside the point, because this happens to be a door that needs a key to be opened. To further complicate the situation I have NO idea where the key is and my husband is unreachable. I find a key that fits the lock but it won't turn. After walking through several options with Sally.... looking for external screws, ways to take the handle off.... we conclude that we may have to call the fire department. Somehow Sam is in there quietly playing with things on the shelf and completely oblivious that this is a big deal. I try coaching him on how to turn the internal knob lock, but frankly I'm not even sure that door has one, and he responds with, "I can't, I'm busy."

I happen to look out the door and see my neighbor, a man in his late 50s with daughters my age who are both currently pregnant. I figure if anyone will help me, it would be him. So I sprint across the lawn (I didn't even think I could run at this point - how wrong I was.) and ask him to come help. He calmly walks in and after about 10-15 minutes of unsuccessful attempts he manages to pop off the hinges and pry the door open from the wrong side (this was trickier than you would think since it was locked). I hug the man.....a man whom I have maybe spoken 15 sentences to in my life, and then continue with the beginning of nap time procedure.

The thing that sticks with me through this was how unaffected Sam was. He walked out smiling and when my neighbor Keith asked him if he had a good time in there, he smiled and said, "yeah." He even, just before we pried the door off, started sliding photographs under the door out of a miscellaneous box of things I need to scrapbook. Sigh.... children. So now I sit on my couch with a latte wishing it were a glass of red wine - but for many obvious reasons (pregnancy, 2 in the afternoon, babysitting other peoples children while mothering my own), I stick to other addictive substances like caffeine and sugar.

So now the door sits propped against the wall in the hall, awaiting the return of my husband who is in for a good story, some handy work, and turning the knob of that door around so it can never be locked from the inside again!

Thank you Sam for teaching me something I otherwise would not have learned, how to take locked door off its hinges. I'm sure I'll be able to thank him for many other bits of information as I raise him as well.

My how time flies

2011-01-31T10:43:00.000-08:00

I listened to Sam singing Itsy Bitsy Spider in his bed and marveled at how quickly time flies. It is so true that the days are long but the years are fast. I can't believe my baby is over 2, my oldest is almost 4, and there is a little girl in my belly who is about to begin the cycle again. I digress. I suppose my point is that things are moving forward. Bunk beds sit stained downstairs, two new quilts for the boys are purchased, and our X Terra is listed. Onward we head to two boys in one room, a nursery, and a van. I am constantly amazed at the blessing that God has bestowed on our family. From the ability to have these things.... to the new life we are awaiting. Thanks be to God.

Third Time is the Charm

2011-01-20T11:51:00.000-08:00

Looks like we're having a baby girl. My mother and mother-in-law were able to come to the ultrasound with me and Steven - they were all giddy to say the least. We picked up our first bits of pink and purple on the way home and my husband was glowing the entire visit. The best part of the visit was finding out that my liver counts had gone down since the last visit. We'll keep hoping and praying for a normal pregnancy this time!

Endless Winter

2011-01-12T14:13:00.000-08:00

If this is Narnia.... I want to know who the white witch is, because I have some complaints to lodge. I know she allowed Christmas.... but I'm done with this. It's only January 12th and I'm wishing for parks, sunshine, and picnics. Enough of this COLD!

I'm starting to see why Beth was never excited in NYC. Sigh. I miss the child-like excitement.

A Month in Pictures

2011-01-10T12:04:00.001-08:00

Almost a month ago my computer power cord quit working. And since my laptop battery died over a year ago I was without a computer for quite sometime. The first day it felt like there had been a death in the family.... but gradually I realized.... "I don't have to check my email 20 times a day or look at my homepage every several minutes." Either way, by the time the cord came in, I was glad to have it, but was no longer stressed about not having a computer. My blog has been totally neglected because of it, though. And since we are currently being hit by another southern snowstorm (8+ inches and still coming) I have time to upload some pictures from the past month! Enjoy!

The Perfect Snow Day

2010-12-12T10:11:00.001-08:00

Today was the perfect snow day. We got around 3 inches, which was plenty to play in, but not enough to making walking impossible for a toddler. Then the temperature rose to around 36, which felt incredibly warm. Somehow 36 on a snow day feels quite warm, but 36 on any other day is the type of day that I want to stay indoors huddled by the fire. Why I wonder?

Either way, it was the perfect temperature to spend an hour and a half doing all types of fun snow games!

Sledding..... can you still see the smiles as they topple? They're there!

Snow ball fights.

And of course.... a snow man! Don't you love the hair! That was the Daddy's touch. Well - most of it was Daddy's touch, but they loved it. Then Daddy threw a snow ball at it and based on the slight slant of our hill, he tumped to his death. But he sure was fun while he lasted!

Our boys loved EVERY minute of it. And just like their momma.... we have to convince them to wait until 9 to head outside. They wanted to be out by 7 when they awoke and saw the ground covered. And we had to use hot chocolate and Charlie Brown Christmas as motivation to head back inside as Momma and Daddy were spent from a million hikes up our hill. For many of them, Daddy had boys in tow on a sled. No wonder he is their hero.

Punch Cards

2010-12-09T11:51:00.001-08:00

What ever happened to punch cards? You know..... you eat here 9 times and the 10th one is on us! They used to exist, but I never see them anymore! Panera used to have one for hot drinks (of course Starbucks is too good for this....) but it disappeared almost a year ago. I think it was a great idea! A kind of "frequent buyers" card. Never the less, they are not found at the places I frequent.... and the past 10 weeks for me it's been Chick-fil-a. They do have the calendar, but they load the front half of the year with the good coupons and by November all you get is a free coke zero or a bottle of Dasani water. Seriously? You think I want to come to Chick-fil-a for bottled water? I think not. Why the rant, Courtney? Well.....

As you can see from picture.... we're pregnant (Steven Edward is holding a picture that says, "I'm going to be a Big Brother). I'm a bit over 14 weeks right now and this baby is making me earn it. If you had asked me in my first two pregnancies if I had morning sickness I would have responded by saying, "it usually comes in the afternoons, but yeah." But now, I scoff at the idea that what I had with the boys was even close to nausea. This time I've been suffering since about four weeks, wearing sea-sick bands daily since about 5 weeks, breaking blood vessels in my eye and making my nose bleed... I'll stop there. I suppose the point is it could be worse. It is often hard to believe that it could be worse in the middle of it, but when my eye had popped a blood vessel, I had a friend tell me about someone who had all 4 parts of her whites red (unlike mine - which was only one!). I had another friend detail for me her sickness runs in the corners of the subway stations in Manhattan.... luckily mine has been outside, on the side of roads, but mostly in the comfort of my very own bathrooms (if you can call crouching on the cold tile floor with your hair pulled back and glasses off comfort).

Eventually my doctor prescribed a medicine that I can take to help with the nausea. I hesitated to take it at first, but eventually I started taking it daily - as it seems that once the day starts to go bad it is hard to recover it. But before I was taking that the only thing I could keep down was Chick-fil-a. I went from running all the time and being a reasonably healthy person.... to refusing vegetables and water, and only desiring things fried in peanut oil topped with a pickle. It is a bit sad really. As I wait in the drive-through line I can feel myself getting fatter... but as any pregnant woman will tell you.... at the time, you don't care. I can't run, I can't enjoy a glass of wine with my husband, and I'm generally miserable all the time, so why not get a number one from Chick-fil-a with a half and half sprite/lemonade (not that I've done that before). Who cares about the food budget (show me a family who has had a sick pregnant woman in the house who has stayed within that!) or the amount of calories I'm taking in? Give me pancakes every morning, protein all day long, and chick-fil-a when I can't stomach anything else.

Well - I'm 14 weeks and this should hopefully be ending soon. I tried to go a day (today) without taking my medicine....

11am - start to feel gross
11:15am - take medicine
11:30am - vomiting
11:45am - take medicine again because you're sure the first never made it in your system
12:30.... waiting in a drive through line.

I actually saw a friend through the plate glass window and she looked at me with a knowing smile. Hopefully in a couple weeks this will be gone right? I'll like vegetables again, think hydrogenated oils are icky, and carry my Nalgene around full of water? Only time will tell.

Holiday Spirit

2010-11-29T17:22:00.001-08:00

I never seem to get out the camera when I'm at my family's house. Everyone else has their camera out so it feels like overkill. But I always regret it later! Here is what I got from one afternoon and thieving from my sister! We went there for Thanksgiving and the boys had a blast! My sister came with her 3 girls and my Nanny was there as well. Lots of family fun crammed into a long weekend.

My sister's family

The smile I get from my introvert

The smile I get from my entertainer

The whole family
Our family

We came home a day early and decided to spend the next afternoon decorating for Christmas. It was a very fun and relaxing day to recover from our travels. The boys seem to be a little confused about the difference between the Christmas Season..... and Christmas Day itself. Every time someone walks in the door they proclaim... "Merry Christmas!"

the boys helping us set up the creche

Decorating the tree
Is it that hard to get all the boys together?
Evidently.
A little more cooperative this time.

Niki's Wedding

2010-11-15T12:22:00.000-08:00

This past weekend I had the privilege of being in a close friend's (from college) wedding. We have done so much together and it was fun to watch her enter a new phase of life! I was more dressed up than I've ever been and it was one of the fancier weddings I've ever been a part of! People were hired for hair, make up, and I was in designer clothes! It was an evening of dancing, food, and fun, all "dolled up."

Trick or Treat!

2010-11-01T11:32:00.000-07:00

So, I'm not 100% how I feel about participating in Halloween. We always used to go to "fall festivals" at churches when i was a kid and somehow that felt better. But is that really any different? They aren't technically calling it Halloween, but it seems to be just a glorified form of it that we use to make ourselves feel better because it is on the grounds of a church. And those people love Jesus right? So it has to be okay? Yet we still follow the same traditions.... pumpkins, dress up, and candy (this is not a slam at you Mom, even though I know you'll read it that way). But when I start to head down that road I realize there are lots of things that I should really bring into question.... Santa Clause, stockings, the Christmas tree, the Easter bunny and Easter baskets, and the list goes on. So instead of worrying too much about it, after awhile I just dress my children up in happy costumes that have nothing to do with evil or the dead and out we go to enjoy the festivities with our other friends who also love Jesus! This year we went trick or treating in a small neighborhood where 2 of our friends live.

But seriously.... theology or no... isn't that the cutest dinosaur you've ever seen?

And even though I found Steven a 'Mater costume at the flea market, it wasn't a head to toe type costume.... and as soon as he saw his friends in their whole costumes, Mater was no longer an option. Sigh. $2 down the drain.

Can you picture the tail swishing behind him and the banana in the pocket? Steven did inform his friends that the banana was not real. Priceless.

I must say we've glimpsed a side of Sam being an addict. It started with his passy and then yesterday moved towards sugar. We let him have one piece and he literally sobbed all the way home saying, "just one more, I be done momma." That is what they all say Sam.

*One funny story for the evening. The kids showed up at a house that indeed had their light on.... but evidently the wife had just stepped out to pick up the candy. So the husband raids the closet and brings out Little Debbies, packs of crackers.... and Sam actually Vienna Sausages. Um... thanks.

The beginning of winter!

2010-10-29T17:49:00.000-07:00

October has really been a mix of weather..... anywhere from 30s to 70s. It has been quite bizarre. But it does appear that we are headed into the winter months. As tradition at the Breedlove house, cold days mean lots of fires. And the boys LOVE the fire. They love everything about it - the popping, the warmth, and most importantly, helping Daddy build it. Tonight it was used as a warmer after bath time. What a great place to get your "jamas" on!

How can you not love pictures of two brothers warming themselves by the fire!

A little late

2010-10-24T12:24:00.001-07:00

... but not forgotten!

Sam turned 2 on Friday! He has felt like 2 or awhile to me.... great tantrums, 5-9 word sentences, and doing everything his brother does! We had cupcakes at the park with friends and then a quiet dinner (as quiet as a meal with 5 kids can be) with a cake and presents to culminate the evening.

I know I should put lots of statistics about him. But Sam cannot be summed up in words. He is adorable, has a joy for life that is hard to match, is often mischievous (and yet since he's 2...is rather obvious about it), and pushes the limits of everything.... he is a 32 pound bundle of joy. We love you Sam.

From the Same Genes You Say?

2010-10-17T17:09:00.000-07:00

My sons are as different as night and day. This can really be seen on many levels - attention, attitude, obedience, smile.....a good example of this surfaced in our annual pumpkin patch visit.

As you can see, by the pumpkins they chose....
I have a predictable child....

and an.... um... somewhat less predictable child. This child was INSISTENT that this was the pumpkin he wanted. And oddly enough, the funny looking one cost more because it was "original." Much like it's future owner.

But odd or normal - they were both good enough for painting!
Nana BB came up, and we had lots of fun in beautiful October weather.

We climbed at the park.

...enjoyed new yard tools from Nana and Poppy for Sam's birthday (which isn't actually until Friday).

...and enjoyed a new bike helmet...

... just like his brothers!

Thanks for coming Nanna. It was a breath of fresh air for all of us!

Apple picking

2010-10-09T12:05:00.000-07:00

One of the great perks of living in the Mountains is the beautiful fall weather! The amazing leaves, the crisp air, and the fresh apples! The county south of us is one of the largest apple supplying counties in the US. There are TONS of U-Pick farms and today we headed out to one for a family apple picking adventure. It was a ton of fun. We were only there 1.5 hours and we picked an entire bushel, and this was at toddler speeds. My personal favorite was an apple I'd never heard of before today called a Blushing Gold. They are delicious! It was a beautiful warm day and the boys had a great time.

There were plenty of apples at their height, so they had tons of fun.

Sam had an apple in his hand the ENTIRE time. Pretty sure we won't have to worry about constipation over the next few days. They both ate at least 4 apples a piece today!

Gotta love the head cut outs.

We're a little short for the one below.

This one's for you Beth.

Shirtless In October

2010-10-08T12:29:00.001-07:00

Who ever would have thought it would be warm enough again for this based on our cold snap at the beginning of the week!

We got Steven a new bike last weekend at the Veritas Flea Market. It has been all the rage. And both boys have loved wearing the helmet (much to my dismay).

Why always on Friday after 5?

2010-09-24T16:10:00.000-07:00

At 5:05 to be exact... Steven Edward fell off a swing that we have hung from a tree in our back yard. At first it seemed like any other fall - there was a long pause before the cry for a "wind up," but that can happen for a normal fall. We went through the normal actions. No one ran... no one overreacted or stressed... we stayed calm. Then I noticed blood flowing down his neck. I no longer felt calm. My insides started jumping and I ran frantically to find the phone to call the doctor before office hours were over. Luckily our doctor has amazing after-hours and I was able to get into the system and wait on hold. After getting a look, we decided he probably needed stitches.... so off goes the husband with the bleeding son, and left behind is the mother with the not bleeding son. Turns out that the not bleeding son comes down with a fever in the hour they are gone.... so for sanity's sake, we administer Advil and put on a movie (Cars of course). Steven Edward comes home with 2 staples in his head (for the second time) and a smile on his face. Evidently he didn't even flinch when they put them in.... the Doctor said he was the bravest patient he'd ever had! I bet he says that to all of them, but I'm going to pretend he meant it. So for a fun evening we ate our pasta in front of the TV and finished it off with chocolate ice cream. Man, what an evening.

Bleeding boy excited about ice cream and Cars

Temperature boy not watching the movie and giving you a good fake smile to show off his chocolate stains.

Asheville Citzen Times Half Marathon

2010-09-18T11:10:00.000-07:00

In April 2006 I ran a half marathon in Charlotte with a friend. I'm not sure I'd have made it without her support. It was one of the hardest things I'd ever done and I swore I would never do that again. Well..... never say never.

My goal after having my boys was to have at least one race season where I was in shape enough to actually run races. This season so far, I've run 6..... 3 5ks, 2 mudruns, and as of today... a half marathon (13.1 miles).

The course is/was ridiculous. I know I live in Asheville, but there have to be easier places to run 13.1 miles. According to their own website, "the Southeast's most scenic and challenging run, voted as one of the top best half marathons in the Southeast by Blue Ridge Outdoors magazine" Either way...... it was incredibly hilly and I was running with a friend who had never run one before. My goal was to be a support to her (like a good friend was to me 4 years ago), to help her finish, to run the entire thing (no walking on hills! yea!), and to finish. We did all those things with flying colors. And even though this half was post baby, higher altitude, and incredibly hilly, we only finished about 13 minutes slower than my first!

We had an AMAZING fan club. I had friends and family cheering me all along the course. It made for such a fun day and was a huge testimony to how much they love me! Thanks for your support guys!

Steve's 60!

2010-09-09T18:23:00.000-07:00

We went to Chapel Hill over Labor Day weekend to celebrate Steve Breedlove's 60th birthday. Nanny and Reese flew in from Montgomery and we had quite the time! We all went to dinner at Bu*Ku - with babysitters watching our kids! It was a great night and I must say I'm lucky to have such wonderful in-laws. I'm blessed to be a part of your family, Breedloves! Yea for Steve.

Steven was the camera man, so there are no pictures of him!
And here are some pictures of my boys over the past few weeks

Steven and Anna procrastinating before nap time. Aren't they cute!
Steven and his friend Caleb enjoying some gum for a "potty treat"

One of the students I tutor was getting rid of things they didn't need anymore and we benefited! Look at our new art easel!

The Joys Of A Stay At Home Mom

2010-08-25T06:20:00.000-07:00

So, it is true that God will not give us more than we can handle. But there is no real clarification in that verse.... does that mean without the aid of substances. My particular choice this morning was chocolate covered pretzels, pacifiers, and Advil.

Sam told me he wanted oatmeal for breakfast. So after the 20 minutes it took to fix, we all sit down. Happily at first, but once a bib is part of the equation all else starts to fall apart. First it is Sam's finger. Not quite sure what went wrong with his finger. I kiss it repeatedly but the sobs continue. I turn him around until he gets control. The offer of juice is a healthy motivator and he is able to join the table again. But it doesn't take long before that wears off and we are crying again. Why this time? Not sure. Maybe because he has spilled some of his juice on his shorts. So then a banana is offered. That is great at first, but I give it unpeeled (which was the way he wanted it yesterday... like a monkey). Well, this is a major crisis. Now, even though that banana can be peeled and re-offered it is somehow contaminated and is an unacceptable form of nourishment. It is refused again. He continues to sob. At this point I call a friend for moral support. She suggest Advil. I administer the medical advice in hopes (and fear that this is potentially only one of four) that it is teeth. We as mothers always blame things on teeth no matter the age really. I think I will say that until he is graduating High School, they are fussy... we see drool... it must be teeth. At this point my oldest informs me that he also needs medicine. "No you don't" I respond. To which he informs me he is also getting teeth.... um.... nope. So I offer a vitamin instead. This is a gummy goodness that often soothes problems. Sam gets one as well. This, as well as a cup full of medicine, stop the crying for a brief moment. The oldest is done and the youngest is back to crying. He is strapped in he'll be fine. I decide to email my husband so he can have a feel for the morning... in the background Sam starts screaming finger... finger... I ignore him because his original cry was for no real reason. I eventually turn to see there is oatmeal on his finger. The napkin AND rag he has in front of him are not good enough. At this point I'm done. I let him down, oatmeal untouched (other than by a finger evidently) and off he goes to his room to find his passy.... which should be up on a shelf only reserved for nap time. I head to the fridge to gorge myself on chocolate covered pretzels that I made two days ago. And in the midst of this I ask you... am I treating my children as souls or as animals who have desires that need to be kept at bay in order to keep my own sanity. I dismiss this question and eat some more chocolate as I prepare for departure for the park. At the park I'll have a run and they will be outside.... and we've talked about having another? WHAT?

Will I ever update this?

2010-08-19T17:17:00.001-07:00

Staycation Part Two

2010-07-24T10:17:00.000-07:00

Our second day of our "staycation" was a hike. The word hike here is a bit of a misnomer because my toddler was walking - but none the less we headed on a woods outing that including walking up big hills and playing in water. We went to Dupont Forest where there are falls rather close to a parking area and brought a picnic. It was great. I must say though, doing fun things is rather exhausting. Today has been a lot of around house time just to catch up!

Preparing to head out

Getting ready to "swim" at a nice place in the river

Triple Falls

Hooker Falls

The non-toddler section of the hiking party did a lot of this.... looking back and waiting.

Snacking - there weren't a lot of pictures taken in the actual water portion.... with Sam's leaping history mixed with a current... I was not so keen on taking my eyes off of either of them for one second. Not to mention our snake encounter!

Staycation Part One

2010-07-22T17:11:00.000-07:00

Well - we have been doing lots since our last post. Steven Edward is in the process of taking swim lessons (which I'm sure I'll post on later). While at swim lessons Sam tried to attempt toddler suicide by jumping into the pool when no one was close and doing a dead man float face down, until I jumped in to rescue him..... um.... yea. But that is not what this post is about either.

Due to many different circumstances we didn't really get our traditional summer vacations (the lake and the beach) this year. So in lieu of that, we decided to do some day trips around here! Today we ventured out to Gatlinburg TN to the Ripley's Aquarium. It was great and the kids had a great time. The aquarium was superb, the gawking drive at all the kitschy stores and tourists was sublime, and our lunch was quite enjoyable. We went with some of our good friends, and they even came back for some pizza and slip and slide action after our nap on the way home. It was a very fun day. Here are some great pictures from the aquarium.

There was a slow moving conveyor belt that took you on a tunnel through the sharks tank (which was huge). The sharks swam all around us and the boys loved it!

There was also a tunnel you could crawl through in the penguin exhibit. Every time we took our eyes off Steven he darted back inside!

Sam is angry at me here. He is refusing to pose.

Hope you enjoyed our tour! We did!

2010-07-08T11:46:00.000-07:00

This post is going to have very little in the way of words. Quite the opposite of the last one I suppose. We have been doing a lot of traveling and are finally home for a long stay. The boys have had a great time in many different places. We went to Richmond/DC while my husband was at a conference in Williamsburg (man it was hot up there). Then we came home for a couple days and off we went again to Chapel Hill to spend time with Nanna Sally and Papa. We didn't get any pictures there but we had an amazing time. The following are random photos from the summer so far.

Here we have Steven feeding Sam. A very effective strategy when we can't get him to eat! My how he loves his brother!

Sam LOVED the sweet peas from the garden. Our garden has produced wonderfully and the boys love to help Daddy with the harvest!

The above 3 pictures are from today when we went to the pool with our friends Jenny and Ryan. They boys had a blast and Steven Edward is totally ready to learn to swim! He was putting his head under, jumping to me and kicking... I was really amazed! Swim lessons here we come.

This is a great picture from my Nanny's house. She spoiled the boys in EVERY respect. I think she got them at least 2 milkshakes a day... and here we have the last morning where she insisted that we watch the Jungle Book while having breakfast in bed. As you can see... the bed was pretty full. I pulled up a chair beside it.

What fun water brings. When water is involved... everyone is happy really!

An Adorable Sam

2010-06-20T17:02:00.000-07:00

I really wanted to put a picture from Sam's 18 month photography session on here (big props to Warren Sanders - anyone in Asheville.... if you want a photographer.... look him up. He's great), but I seem to have lost the image. You will just have to come see it on our wall!

Because of lack of time, I have not been able to post about Sam as he has grown as often as I did with Steven Edward. So this post is solely devoted to my second son. He has completely captured my heart in a way that is indescribable. His smile has the power to melt an onlooker's heart and his charm is unmatchable. He loves people and he loves to entertain, and if the opportunity matches what he already desires to do.... he also loves to please.

He has literally hundreds of words. He can say whatever he wants. In fact his newest trick is to walk around saying my name - corn-ey. Finally after attempting to ignore it, we've had to start disciplining him for it, because he uses it as an act of rebellion... but I do have to admit it often makes me smile. One day he just walked up to me, calling me by name.... as if he'd made a new discovery all by himself. And man was he proud.

He is the definition of the child who can't be forced to do anything. He won't eat, apologize, or bathe unless he wants to (well, unless he is kicking and screaming through the process... and man can he scream). Often in the bath his entire body turns beat red from screaming so hard - not wanting to get in, not wanting to get out, or not wanting you to wash his hair. This doesn't mean he dislikes baths - with Sam it truly just depends on the night. He will teach me new creative discipline strategies as he grows that I never knew existed.

He loves to smile, dance, tackle his brother, antagonize his brother, cuddle, laugh, tickle..... and after I've tickled awhile yell... Stop Mom! (something like... Top, Mom!).

He has grown to love reading just like his brother always did. He will bring me book after book and say, "read it." After I finish he will look at me and say, "again!"

He loves to swing and be outside. And while he is incredibly agile and adventurous for his age - he has a keen understanding of what his body can do and very seldom tries anything he is not sure he can tackle. He climbs ladders at parks, goes down the biggest slide by himself, climbs over the arm of our couch and drops to the floor, jumps off of steps with both feet, and pretty much takes life running head on.

But one thing Sam has never been is easy. As high as his highs.... he can turn on a dime. He is the child I have to watch at every turn. For example.... as his brother makes a puddle of urine on the ground outside.... Sam is the one stomping in it (true story sadly). Or as I am helping Steven at the potty.... Sam is sneaking his tooth brush out of the cup and running to dip it in the little potty, which we unfortunately have not emptied yet. I literally could go on with stories like this for several paragraphs. But somehow, with that much personality you can't help but love him and laugh right along with him. His personality and joy for life is contagious.

Mudrun take Two

2010-06-12T19:32:00.000-07:00

So after our first mud run, it was a must that we do another. So we found one in Pinnacle NC (where is that you say? who knows really..... between pilot mountain and hanging rock at a camp ground). We created two teams, a boys team (which someone ended up just being Steven and a guy named David) and a girls team (which included Millie, Stephanie, Mary and myself). It was quite an adventure and MUCH different than the first one we did. Not as many man made obstacles, but much harder terrain (God made obstacles! Huge hills, rivers, lots of steep climbs, and over 90 degree heat in the middle of the day). The last obstacle was a mudpit that far outdid our last race..... enjoy the pictures.

Our team name... the Nimble Newts (I defintely had a 50 year old woman ask me what that meant).

Mary made all the t-shirts... aren't they sweet!

We did have a fan club.
This was a group start..... I think the speedo boys won.

The masses headed towards the trail head

The mud pit.... stocked with Marines to yell at you.

About to take the dive
Yep.... there ya go.

There were ropes, so you had to literally crawl. I think my husband actually swam.

You had to cross the finish line linked arm in arm with your team. As you can see the terrain was a bit slippery! I almost lost a shoe going into the pit because the clay was so.... sticky.

This was after the race.... see what a fire hose can do! Doesn't Millie look shiny?!

***And I can't forget to give a shout out to my mom, who watched 3 toddlers and a dog while we ran.... and my Dad, who was our own personal photographer. Thanks guys! *****

Slow to Update

2010-06-11T10:57:00.000-07:00

Sorry guys - I seem to be slow to update my blog lately

Last weekend, my husband and I took the trip down to Atlanta for the weekend. One of my closest friends from college was having an engagement party.... and for fear we won't be able to make the wedding, we made it priority to be there now! So my parents came up to watch the boys, and we headed down childless to Georgia! It was great. We were very generously given a place to stay by a friend (thanks Mark!....and for the suggestion Jen!) so we were able to make the weekend of it for a very affordable price!

We started our morning by heading out to a great breakfast at Thumbs Up. It was a great little place (that could have been in Asheville based on its decor and menu) in East Point. Then we headed to Atlanta's biggest art museum. The High Museum of Art.

It was really a mix of all types of art... but i must say after living in Manhattan, it wasn't quite as impressive as a NYC museum. We were pleased to find out that we even got in for free for being Bank of America customers (this is true on the first Saturday of every month).

Their special exhibit was on cars entitled The Allure of the Automobile. It was interesting, but not what i expected in a fancy art museum.

As always though, my favorite was French Impressionism. I loved the Monet and my husband like the Pissaro.

Then we headed to Little Five Points to hang out and eat lunch. I will refrain from stating my opinion publicly about that adventure - but I will say we had wonderful Turkish food.... but if you want it, maybe you should carry it out.

Then we headed out that night to the party for Niki and Seth! We had a great time and it was so good to catch up with old friends. Congratulations guys!

Cousins

2010-05-18T17:03:00.000-07:00

We are blessed that Steven's cousin (Irby) has in-laws in town. So every now and then they stop by for a visit and we are blessed to benefit from this too! This time they were in town for 10 days, so Katie and I got our boys together twice - and they were able to come over for dinner as well.

It has been SO nice to spend time with family in the midst of our crazy lives. Katie and Irby have 3 boys.... Irby is the oldest, and then there are identical twin 7 month olds... Griffin and Charlie. I always wanted twins.... but watching Katie I'm not quite so convinced. While they were fussing I asked her, "how often do they cry at the same time" (thinking of the times mine do this and wanting to punch walls) and she responds... "well this isn't crying, but... everyday." I'll be honest... the dinner wasn't exactly what I'd call relaxing... but it was enjoyable none-the-less.

left - Charlie right-Griffin

It was cute to see their own little personalities!

A makeover... for two

2010-05-09T17:22:00.001-07:00

Let me just start by saying my husband is RIDICULOUS! He "relaxes" by doing things around the house.... yard work, handy-man activities, etc.

Last weekend in an afternoon he pulled up the majority of the MASSIVE hedges that lined our deck and replaced them with small azaleas and gardenias.... AFTER we ran the mud run and went to a gala the previous day. Then this weekend he cemented a wall, dug and moved plants, pressure washed our deck and side walk, sanded the deck, painted the front door, and then stained the entire deck (a "honey white) - all virtually single handed! I luckily get to benefit from my husband's workaholic tendencies! I think it makes our house look SO much better!

make over one:

make over two:

Luckily this happened the day AFTER his 18 month pictures! He was walking (either on the sidewalk or the driveway... bad mom? she doesn't even know! I was helping Steven Edward in the garage) and fell. I heard the crying from a distance and didn't rush because, as great as Sam is, he is known as a bit of a drama king. But when he rounded the corner bleeding I quickly picked up the pace! Then I pulled back his hair to reveal a slightly smaller than golf ball sized blue bump (still slightly covered by hair in this picture too). Nice. We watched for concussion signs, but after a few tantrums and refusals to eat veggies, we deemed him normal.

All in a Day's Work

2010-05-02T05:13:00.000-07:00

Today was a rather funny mix of our lives - we started with a Mudrun. It is a USMC sponsored boot camp type run. It was a 4 mile trail run with 32 obstacles ranging from 4 foot deep mud pits, to an 8 foot wall, to a 15 foot cargo net, or a piggy back ride across the finish line. You had to start and finish in teams of 4 (and I would never have made it over the 8 foot wall without my team!). It was more fun than I anticipated and a LOT muddier than i expected - there were 4 mud events (to see list of events click here). It was an absolute blast and I have already started searching the internet for another one! I do understand now why they recommended long sleeves and pants - and therefore why the army/military doesn't wear shorts of tank tops!

After seeing these pictures, Steven Edward looked at his Daddy and said, "Daddy, next time you run through a mud puddle, please don't hug me." It was cute.... and a little telling.

Then we rushed home (after multiple showers) and got ready to go to a Gala to support Veritas. It was fun of a different kind. They had both a silent and live auction - and if you didn't look too closely at my ankles (which I failed to scrub quite well enough) or noticed the scrapes on my elbows you would have had no idea that we were swimming in mud that morning!

All in all it was a great day! My boys were great for my parents and my husband and I had a great day full of fun and events! Would totally do the whole thing again!

Veritas Spring Fever 5k

2010-04-24T11:10:00.000-07:00

Steven and I signed up for and ran our second race together this morning. It was a 5k to benefit his school's athletic department and for this one, we both ran at "our own pace" - which meant Steven left me right at the start line and we paced by ourselves. I will say, running by yourself is not as much fun as running with someone, and next time I will have to bring my Ipod. But nonetheless, we both ran well. The race was a bit harder than I thought it was going to be. The last mile was all a slow, uphill climb, which proved challenging for everyone. In fact, I did not add one picture of me at the finish line that looks as if I had just been tortured (potentially today I may have described it that way!). The boys waited at the finish line with our ever faithful babysitter Alexandra. Steven finished 11th overall at 22:14 (which is a 7:10 mile pace) and I finished 35th overall at 25:04 (an 8:05 pace).

waiting for mom and dad
Just after the finish line
Steven has just passed (the grey shirt and shoe on the right) and as you see the clock says 22:16! Unfortunately for Steven he finished 3rd in his age cagtegory (the 30s are actually the most competitive category for runners) so he failed to get a sugar cookie.
I however (because I am a spring chicken just shy of that 30s group) finished 1st in my age group and was able to come away with a fondant iced sugar cookie with a one on it. Nice.

Two people failed to stay to claim their prestigious sugar cookie prize.... and our boys benefited greatly. Thank you Anthony!

How are they so weird....

2010-04-19T17:04:00.000-07:00

.... with such normal parents?!

On their own volition our boys found plant pots.... placed them on their heads... and spent at least 30 minutes gleefully running around our driveway. It was a great memory. And to top it off Steven Edward has fallen in love with any form of water.... more specifically the hose and sprinkler. It is going to be a fun summer!

Buku

2010-04-13T12:12:00.000-07:00

This is my shameless plug for the restaurant where my sister-in-law Ellen Breedlove works. We were able to go this past Saturday with our good friends John and Alanna and the food was amazing. Their theme is global street food, so they have different food from all over the world. Their head chef puts his own spin on things, but overall the place was great and I would recommend it to anyone who is in Raleigh or happens to be passing through. Here is their website if you want to check it out. It has only been open a couple months and I was uber impressed. Way to go Tony.

Here I am making them begrudgingly pose with me as they should be hard at work.

And then here are several shots of us at the WNC Nature Center last week. We had a great time in Chapel Hill, but it was a bit of a whirlwind so I failed to get any pictures other than our night out on Saturday.

Don't they look old in that picture!

We're so thankful it is warm!

My Boy is Three!

2010-04-05T18:25:00.001-07:00

Steven Edward turned 3 on Saturday, April 3rd. There are plenty of things I could write about him here... the tens of funny sayings he has... or the clever ways he gets what he wants... or how he is like his father.... or his newest tantrum or loving thing he's done for his brother... but instead I'm just going to put a bunch of pictures. I couldn't really capture him here anyway - enjoy the visual.
Our first present of the day... still in pajamas.

We decided to have a party for him (which was a larger undertaking than I thought it would be... Thanks Mom and Dad for all your help!). It was a lot of fun. We started with a scavenger hunt....

... and then headed towards a painting activity... some people went with chance leaving clothes intact... others went with the Father's undershirt theory.... while others abandoned all stainable objects and resorted to painting in the nude.

... then headed to lunch, cake, and present opening... sadly my camera died at this point... so I will be relying on the photography of others!

Upon Steven Edward's request I made him a bulldozer cake. I followed the example of one I found on someone else's blog!

Life is Crazy

2010-03-31T10:47:00.000-07:00

So we went on a spring break trip to Topsail Beach NC while my husband chaperoned a trip to Europe... it seems my life is crazy right now getting back into the swing and I haven't been able to put time into my blog. So i am giving you two links of other people's blogs where you can view pictures! We had a great time but... boy were we ready to get home.

Here are the links:
Jenny
Tiffany

Totally Underestimated My Son

2010-03-09T05:13:00.000-08:00

Why is it that we are very quick to say our child can't do something..... but given the opportunity I have found that mine often prove me wrong. Once a friend was talking about how their child could recite the ABC's (Steven was young at this point), and I was all, "Yea, Steven can't do that yet." And then from the backseat I hear my eldest bust out with the ABCs song! Well today was another example. A friend gave us a 100 piece Melissa and Doug puzzle and I was very skeptical. We have a 32 piece puzzle that Steven refuses to try on his own.... so I figured a 100 piece would be totally out of the question. Well - I helped him group them and helped him pick out some.. and totally did the sky because it was all blue.... but honestly Steven did a lot of this on his own. He even put a few pieces in while I left the room to get something! I was floored!

So I suppose now I can conclude that he is in fact bored with our other puzzles and that is why he would goof off and not try. He would jokingly (i hoped or else he was obviously unintelligent) try to put the cow's feet on his head etc.... and I eventually lost my patience. So this was the first shot at a puzzle in a month and he LOVED it! He ate it up and totally worked on his problem solving skills. Goes to show that the mom doesn't know everything. Way to go Steven Edward! It also helps that it was Pirates and he currently thinks Pirates are awesome.

Life in 40 degree weather....

2010-03-06T11:38:00.000-08:00

not worth livin....

this page is in honor of our snowman.... who "lived" an honorable 2 days.... we will miss you.

Extended Vacation

2010-03-02T17:21:00.000-08:00

Looks like our weekend vacation was disturbed by one day of work before our next two days of play. The boys took advantage of the wet snow to make some large snowmen and a huge fort. Okay.... my husband did it while Steven Edward stomped around and Sam followed me saying, "hold me.... hold me." But Steven Edward showed his gratitude by looking at his daddy after Sam and I went inside and saying, "Daddy, I like you."

Weekend Away In Charleston

2010-02-28T16:36:00.001-08:00

As a combined birthday present to each other, Steven and I went away on a weekend to Charleston. Steven's mom came up to watch the boys and we had an amazing 48 hours alone! We talked for long periods of time about things that had nothing to do with our children..... ideas..... history.... it was a great weekend. Thank you Sally for being willing to watch our children (who by the way had a wonderful weekend with their Nanna).

We stayed at a great Bed and Breakfast. The accomodations were great and the breakfast was amazing.

We took a ferry out to Fort Sumter (where the first shot of the civil war was fired) and toured the remains.

We walked the entirety of the city looking at all the beautiful mansions. Here is one by the water on the battery.

This is part of rainbow row

These were like most of the houses closer to our bed and breakfast (which was on the edge of College of Charleston)

And then we spent much of our Saturday morning walking the historical part of the city and touring old churches. This was one of the highlights for me. I loved all that I learned and I enjoyed our conversations that arose from the tours.

What a great weekend away. It was the perfect amount of time - I was excited to see my boys by the time we got back on Sunday.

Thank You Steven!

2010-02-22T04:36:00.000-08:00

I thought I should put pictures online of my husband's newest projects. The barrage of snow days has given him time to dive into some wood working projects.

Here is a book shelf that he built for Steven Edward's room. He had built one for Sam's room....and then books would start making stacks in Steven's room creating a bit of a mess once the boys started knocking them off the toy chest. Thanks!

Here you have a kids craft table I found at Goodwill for $10! The chairs were sturdy, but the top was little and very particle boardish.... so my husband took the legs and created his own top! It is a huge hit as you see. Now I can leave the boys with arts and crafts things a little more unattended and not fear stickers will end up on my dining room table. I have come to the conclusion though, that since it is beside a wall.... the first time I leave Sam with a marker he is probably going to draw all over it. Sigh.... the grey hairs begin with the second. Stay tuned to the blog, I'm sure that post will appear at some point.

And obviously.... since my SERIOUS husband has a toddler and some mounted deer antlers.... you would end up with a toddler with antlers at some point. Thanks for the inspiration Uncle Thomas.

Races, fun times, and construction

2010-02-20T16:26:00.000-08:00

So here are a few happenings over the past few weeks. First, I turned 29..... whoo-hoo. My husband and I had a great time celebrating together at Frankie Bones (which is a great restaurant owned by some friends of ours). Some good friends also took me out for breakfast at the new Tuepelo Honey, and I got some very thoughtful gifts. Below is a picture of my boys and I celebrating with candy necklaces sent by my nanny.

I went to a huge consingment sale, and found some great cheap toys for the boys. Below you see them sporting the new Home Depot Tool set I found for $3. Steven is proving how truely useful the hard hat is in this picture.

Steven and i were signed up to run in a Valentines 5k in Black Mountain last weekend that was postponed because of our most recent battle with global warming. We ended up running the race today for my new personal best since high school. We ran it in 25:35 which is around an 8:16 pace! This beats my last race by 3 1/2 minutes (Asheville Citizen Times in September 29:18). I forgot to get a picture at the race....so here we are, post number.

And then, Steven's younger brother Thomas came in town this weekend with his girlfriend Kaitlyn. We have had a great time just being together. Below you see some pictures of an impossible croquet course they set up on our sledding hill..... there's even a bit of snow left. It was a very frustrating competition that consisted mostly of us running behind our ball begging it to stop. Fun none the less.

And Beth, there is one of the new frames. I actually ran in my new prescription sunglasses! Thanks Zenni Optical! I'm obsessed.

Zenni Optical

2010-02-17T16:44:00.000-08:00

I am writing this post to inform all glasses wearers that there is a great site online to get your next pair of glasses (assuming you know your prescription).

Evidently after pregnancy, a woman's body is never quite the same.... in many ways I suppose. One difference for me is that my eyes no longer seemed to like my contacts. It started with me in denial.... I would have to wear glasses about half the day but would still eventually switch to my contacts by mid day. Several month and several eye infections later my husband helped me realize that it was okay for me to simply be a glasses wearer. In fact he said he liked me in glasses. So I decided if I had to wear glasses, I wanted to have several pair to choose from. So on the recommendation of a friend I checked out Zenni Optical. It's an online company that has glasses and lenses starting at $8.00! I ended up getting my first pair (shipping included) for $25 dollars. I was a little nervous that the lenses wouldn't be quality lenses or that the frames would feel cheap (based on the price). But this was not the case at all! So then I went back and ordered several other pair (one that even had tented lenses for outdoor fun!). They are quality knock off frames, but since a pair at Lens Crafters was going to cost me about $300 - I'm totally okay with knock offs. I mean.... in NY I definitely picked up a purse from China Town, so how is this really that different. Totally check it out if you need new glasses. I'm a huge fan and will NEVER go to a store again. The only down side is that you have to wait 2 weeks to get them. A small price to pay for a savings of $275.

Hope this comes in handy for someone.

Global Warming Anyone?

2010-02-12T15:43:00.000-08:00

So, this by far has been the coldest, craziest winter for us here in Asheville in the past several years! Two snowfalls of at least a foot.... countless of 1-4 inches..... and it is currently snowing outside again. It has snowed almost everyday this week. As soon as it starts to melt, here comes another snow fall.

So my question to you is - does anyone believe that our planet is really getting warmer?Instead of people hacking into an environmental data base and finding countless emails covering up scientific evidence contrary to a political agenda, and instead of 2/3 of the weather data collection stations being shut down because they were not giving the "correct data" (in other words, data that verified their agenda), and instead of Obama's avid support of the theory............ seriously - let's just look outside or at our thermometers and make our own opinions. Please feel free to take part in my survey. Thanks!

Better than a picture mom!

2010-02-11T17:39:00.000-08:00

Evidently I'm pretty bad at keeping up with this blog now that I'm a mother of two.... something about the only free time I have I spend doing things for me.... working out, reading my bible... not entering information in cyberspace (much to the chagrin of my mother). So here is an update so all relatives who live at a distance can see my boys. Enjoy

I got a sweet new flip video for my birthday - which has resulted in fewer pictures (but dropping my camera 12 feet onto concrete also didn't help my case much). So enjoy mom.

Sam at 15 months..... almost

2010-01-18T16:37:00.001-08:00

There are no concise sentences that can describe this boy. He is incredibly charming, incredibly opinionated, incredibly fun to be around, and incredibly difficult at times. I suppose incredibly is the best way to describe him. His personality has emerged as more independent (which may explain why he was so much harder when he wasn't able to do things on his own) as his walking has improved. Since walking actually, he has been so much more enjoyable. He is currently charging all over the house trying his very best to be just like his big brother. He has around 10-15 words, 9 teeth (one molar) and weighs somewhere around 24 pounds. He has learned to do things so much quicker than Steven Edward because he can watch his brother (whom he adores). He just dropped his morning nap last week, which has opened up my life incredibly. And thankfully it has been very warm this week so we have spent several mornings outside. But one thing is for certain.... you can't spend a morning around Sam and not fall in love with him. He has an amazing smile and an incredible amount of life. He (as maybe you can tell by his picture) also received his first hair cut last weekend.

One foot later

2009-12-19T09:28:00.000-08:00

And the thing about a foot in the south is...... yea, we're not equipped to handle it. Most of the roads look like this too.