We'll take it!

I was starting to get worried about this winter - it just wasn't looking like we were going to see any sort of snow at all this year. Finally "the big one" brewed up this week and we caught the fringe, ending up with 30 seconds of snow, and 7 hours of sleet. We can work with that!

I think the entire neighborhood woke up to the 6:45 AM shriek of "Mommy, it snoooooooooowed!" Knowing the likelihood of sleeping in on a snow day is about the same as on Christmas morning, I got up to find Claire already in her ski bib and hunting for her jacket. True to Claire, she had already had a quick breakfast and we went back upstairs to get Chloe up - who, along with everyone else, was awakened by the shriek. Chloe did refuse breakfast when she realized that "snow pants" and "outside" were being used in the same sentence. So, with everyone bundled up we headed out back.

It really was a pathetic site. Crunchy, frozen grass pushing through a meager icy coating - you almost needed a sledge hammer to break it up to make a snow (ice) ball.

The deck was a sheet of ice, it was starting to sleet again and it was 30 degrees out. The kids didn't care - they were ready to play! Ignoring the fact that there wasn't any decent snow, the slide became an acceptable substitute.

Finally the rest of the kids on the street came out and started sledding down the icy street. It might not be snow, but it does make for a fast saucer ride and a pretty view!

Anger Management

There is a new face of evil in town. If you live in the Greenville area you may have seen it. It is frequently seen in many of the area restaurants, the malls, and many parking lots of retail establishments or the local pre-school.

Sometimes it is hard to recognize - after all, we are talking about a face that is on a short yet slightly pudgy stature and is surrounded by curls.

Do not be fooled by the exterior. There is evil that lurks within.





In fact, here is a shot of the face in question:

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It doesn't have to be this way... according to Chloe. In fact, she finds that she is VERY easy to get along with. There are a few simple rules that we, the rest of the world, need to follow - and there will be no problems! It's just that simple!



Here is a list of Chloe's rules to ensure a happy and peaceful life:



1) Do not change my diaper unless specifically asked to.


2) Naps are for sissies. Do not expect them to be taken.


3) I will not sit in a car seat.


4) When I am playing outside, do not attempt to take me in before I am ready.


5) Food should be available at all times, as well as a chilled sippy of milk.


6) The toys belong to me. All of them. Occasionally I may let siblings play with them - like when I am sleeping (see rule # 2.)


7) Markers belong to me, and are for running around the house when not capped. Washable markers are for sissies.


8) Chap stick / lip gloss / nail polish belongs to me. I will apply it when I see fit.


9) Shoes and socks will not be worn in the car. They will be promptly removed.


10) I will be allowed in the potty with whoever I want, whenever I want. You may not have privacy from me.


11) Parking lots are open space to run around in. Do not attempt to hold my hand.


12) Restaurants are to serve me food immediately. I will sit in the booth with no booster seat, high chair or bib. I will hold the knife whenever I want.


13) There is no such thing as an "inside voice." Please stop implying that there is.


14) The dog is my personal soccer ball or punching bag.


15) The Barbie Jeep exists so that Claire can drive me around whenever I wish.



The rules are pretty straightforward and easy to understand. Is it really too much to ask? Unfortunately we broke rule # 7 last night - and we were all promptly punished.

The 'Creepy Crud' stikes again........

Friday evening was fairly normal. I just got back from Atlanta and spent some quality time with the girls but dozed off on the couch after we put them to bed. I decided around 10 pm that I should retire to bed and maybe watch Leno to hear his latest barbs towards NBC and their huge screw-up with the late night programming.

I should mention that Chandra was already asleep by the time I got to bed and it didn't take long before I was out. I was awaken by Chandra getting out of bed and leaving our bedroom. We sleep with our door closed and I heard her open the door, leave the room and shut the door behind her. Almost immediately after the door shut I heard a thud that was the unmistakable sound of someone collapsing on the floor

I sprang from the bed knowing something was bad! I opened the door and Chandra was passed out on the floor! I lifted her head and began frantically asking "what happened? what's wrong? are you o.k.?" to which Chandra replied, "I've got to get to the bathroom I'm going to be sick".

So I helped her to her feet and she headed towards the guest bathroom at a brisk pace. As she was exiting the kitchen, she ran into the wall and completely passed out falling backward like a cut down tree. TIMMMBERRRR! Boom! Her head hit the hardwood floor with a sickening thud. I ran over to her and she was stone cold lights out. Holy crap. I didn't know whether to call 911 or what. All the thoughts that rush through your head, its terrible. Our girls are upstairs asleep. What do I do with them? Run to the neighbors?

Well I lifted her head and torso and began lightly slapping her on the cheeks. She slowly came-to and again said "I've got to get to the bathroom I'm gonna puke!" So I helped her crawl the last 10 feet to the bathroom just in time.

Oh man, I just knew she had a concussion. I mean this was about as hard as you can hit your head............I was really worried because after she was done throwing-up, all she wanted to do was lay down. I know that anytime there is a head/brain injury people getting tired and want to lay down but they advise never do that. Well I look at the clock and its 11:30 pm. Of course she's tired. Is it the head trauma or just the fact that its 11:30? I felt the back of her head and she had a HUGE bump! I asked her if she had a headache and she just said it hurt on the back and on her brow. I examined her brow and decent bump there too (probably from the first fall that I didn't see).

So I tried to convince her to at least sit-up in the bathroom but she was feeling dizzy so I just let her lay down on the bathroom floor with a pillow. We later tried to move to the guest bed (the closest one) but she was concerned about being able to make it back to the bathroom in an emergency so we made a make shift bed in the bathroom. I stayed up for about an hour and a half just to make sure she wasn't having trouble from her head trauma and when things appeared to be o.k. I went back to bed.

This morning she seems to be doing better so we're not sure exactly what it was..... Possibly could have been the leftover pizza she ate for dinner?? Who knows but at least she is better.

So anyway, I'm watching the kids and need to clean the house for the baby shower we are hosting today for our good friends Brooke and Patrick.

A funny continuation to the last blog about Chandra giving in to the requests for junk food. First of all, I said it wouldn't kill the girls to eat a pop tart. I never said load up on, corn dogs, french toast sticks, pop tarts and cinnamon toast crunch. Geez, let's not go overboard here..............

So I was awaken promptly at 7:00am this morning by Claire.

Claire: "Daddy, where's mommy?"
Daddy: "She's sick, leave her alone please"
Claire: "Can I have a pop tart?"
Daddy: "Sure, I guess so. I need to check on Mommy anyway"

So I fired up the toaster, threw in 2 strawberry pop tarts and Claire was giddy with excitement. Once they were done I warned her to wait because they were hot from the toaster. It was like watching a dog looking at a bone. I think I even saw some drool running down her chin.

While waiting, Claire said one of the funniest things I have ever heard her say.

Claire: "Daddy"
Daddy: "Yes Claire"
Claire: "Do pop tarts grow on trees?"
Daddy: Laughs hysterically............"No sweetie, there's no pop tart tree"
Claire: "Well, where do they come from?"
Daddy: "A factory"
Claire: "What's a factory?"
Daddy: "A place where they make pop tarts"
Claire: "o.k."

So the pop tarts are cool down and I allow her to dive in. The verdict..................
Claire: "Daddy"
Daddy: "Yes?"
Claire: "Chloe can have this pop tart" (there are 2 and she points to the one she hasn't touched)
Daddy: "O.k. we'll let Chloe try the pop tart too"
Claire: "Daddy"
Daddy: "Yes"
Claire: "Chloe can have this one too" (pointing to the one she has picked on)
Daddy: "what's a matter? You don't like the pop tart?"
Claire: "Can I have a Cheerios?" (not willing to admit her disappointment)
Daddy: "sure"

So there you have it. It's just like you always hear. As a parent, sometimes telling kids is not as effective as letting the live a little and find out for themselves. Here Chandra's worried about a quality diet and because of their eating habits, they don't even really care for the junk. I guess you call that a win-win?

P.S. Chloe wouldn't eat the pop tarts either....................
Break out the shredded wheat!

Jason

"Can I eat _____ ?"

I never considered myself to be one of those health-nut mommies. I mean, both of my kids had eggs and peanut butter before they turned 1 and I allowed them to dig into a legitimate sugar cake for their first birthday. I do *try* to steer them towards food that are "good for their bodies" even though there are chicken nuggets and pizza that do make it in on occasion.

It's been Claire's begging of late that has gotten me thinking that I have turned into a food nazi. They don't drink juice or chocolate milk and most things have a healthy slant - like whole grain bread, lots of fruit, veggies are required, milk or water only to drink, low sugar cereal, etc. The peer pressure has arrived in full force for Claire at school - "so and so" has pop tarts, "so and so" has fruit loops, "so and so" has chocolate milk/juice box/cookies/gummy snacks, etc etc etc.

I am worried about food nazi tendencies backfiring. I grew up with a friend who's family lead a very healthy whole-grain-only type lifestyle - before it was trendy. Let me tell you - she would put away some red steak and au-gratin potatoes when she would come to dinner at my house. I know that she is still a healthy eater at this point in her life, but I still saw that glimpse of "Yahoo, freedom!" when she came to our house.

Sorry mom, but I can't build from my own experience. My parents did provide healthy and balanced meals, but there were also the yummies that were always around: pizza on Friday nights, donuts on Saturday mornings, the 12 pack of tacos from Taco Bell, Little Debbie swiss cake rolls in the fridge, frozen corn dogs and toaster strudels (you know, those ones with the lovely icing to drizzle over??) in the freezer. Mmmmmm.

Jason told me this week that I needed to lighten up. Would a pop tart really cause lasting damages? Today I was feeling particularly guilty because I was having a bad week at work and Jason was out of town - which meant my kids got to turn on the lights at school in the mornings, and shut them off as they were picked up at night. Add that to the fact that I did not do my normal Sunday grocery shopping, and I had to pick them up and take them to the grocery store tonight at the time when experts say not to go - when we were starving. Claire started in on her requests as we walked the aisles of the store - and me in my guilty frame of mind and Jason's "live a little" mentality in my head ... I gave in. We left with: Easy Mac bowls, Scooby Doo Graham Cracker bones, hamburger helper, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, French Toast Sticks, Pop Tarts (with frosting), and non-low-sugar yogurt.

My kids are happily eating microwave corn dogs and boxed mac and cheese as I type. For my own sake, we did bring home some apples, cantaloupe and bananas - it's all part of a balance.

Sick day

So Chandra and I were going to go out to eat Saturday night with our friends (Alex and Alisha Frost and Chris and Jennifer Bagwell) at Outback. We packed up the kids and off we went.

About 2 miles from the restaurant we hear the oh-so familiar sound that no parent wants to here.............. Yes, you know the one, the gurgling sound of your child vomiting all over the place. Chloe was sick! Oh boy, immediate change in plans. I busted a detour back to the house and thanks to quick thinking by Chandra, her "tote'r" caught round 2. Instead of steak with friends, it's back home to scrub up puke out of the car.

Claire was devastated. She was disappointed that we were going back home and was complaining about the smell. No problem, I cracked the windows for the ride home. Did I mention it was around 25 degrees outside?

So we got Chloe bathed and to bed and I cleaned out the car.

Sunday was low key because we knew Chloe didn't feel well. She did o.k. and we just went out for lunch and to a couple sporting good stores to look for a ski jacket for Chandra for her birthday.

That brings us to Monday morning. We were running a bit behind so Chandra got the girls dressed (normally my job) and had them eating breakfast by the time I was clothed. Chloe seemed fine until.............you know it. PUKE! Oh boy, looks like I'm staying home today. Well I got in some Regis and Kelly, Price-is-Right and even caught the matinee of "Talladega Nights". All in all, it's been very low key and Chloe seems much improved so that's all folks.

Jason

Dang, it's cold!

As the entire country knows, we have been iced over along with everyone else. No, we didn't get any ice (thankfully) but it has just been bone-chilling cold over the past 10 days or so. For the most part the poor girls have been stuck in the house on the weekends. January is a tough enough month to keep everyone entertained, but this one has been really hard and we're only a few days in!

Most aggravating is the huge snow storm that moved across the country yet somehow managed to completely miss us. Atlanta and Knoxville both got snow, but not us. We did have a few wet flakes late one night, but nothing that accumulated. It sure would be nice to have a snowfall to play in while we are freezing cold! Of course this is the year both girls got snow pants and boots for the maybe-once-per-year snowfall that we usually get that still sit in the closets with the tags on. At least we have our ski trip in February to look forward to!

I have bundled up and taken the girls out to play a few times, making sure to watch for signs of skin blue-ness. Then I have to convince them to come in and they never seem half as cold as I am. Their favorite activity is to tear around in Claire's Barbie Jeep. Chloe loves being the passenger in the Jeep despite suffering a little whiplash that comes with the Jeep's three speeds: stop, reverse, and wheel-squealing forward. Claire understands that Chloe is little and puts her hand behind Chloe's back and head to prevent her from whipping into the fog lights - every time she punches the gas or jumps a curb. And Chloe just loves it!

Thankfully by later this week we should be in the mid 50's - much better then the 16 degrees it was this morning!

A reflection on the life we've had.. (so far!)

I had a good life

Before you came

I had my friends and my freedom

I had my name

Still there was sorrow and emptiness

'Til you made me glad

Oh, in this love I found strength

I never knew I had

And this love

Is like nothing I have ever known

Take my hand, love

I'm taking you home

I'm taking you home

~ Don Henley

Tomorrow marks 9 years of marriage for Jason and me - over 12 years as a couple. The years have truly blessed us - providing us with a fantastic life and two beautiful little girls that we couldn't be more proud or thankful for.

I thought back today (on the eve of our anniversary - thought it would be tacky to bury in the computer on our actual anniversary...) on the years we have spent together.

It all started back at the most wonderful institution known as Clemson University in September 1997 where a couple of sophomore Electrical Engineering majors shared a C language computer programming class (can you feel the romance building???) Jason was a self-proclaimed 4.0 GPA super-student, and I was barely clinging to the 3.0 required to keep my out of state tuition waiver (the Gators were calling....) He somehow thought I knew something about programming, and I wanted to figure out how to get him away from those books. So we studied together.

A few weeks later we had a couple of real 'dates' under our belts (1st being the Clemson Peppino's restaurant, 2nd being the FSU game in which we lost) we blossomed into a real relationship - making sure the studying continued. Thanks to Jason, my GPA made a stark recovery out of the danger zone - was there time for anything else??

Over spring break, on the boardwalk over looking Vero's Beach, we got engaged in March 1999. The engagement was long while we trudged through school. Graduation was December 21st 2000 and the wedding was January 6, 2001 - allowing our still in college friends to attend the Florida wedding and make it back for the beginning of Spring semester classes.

From there, we settled in a small and slightly ghetto apartment, bought our first house (May 2001), welcomed our first daughter (August 2005), moved to our second and current house (May 2007) and welcomed our second daughter (April 2008.)

These days are spent running from home to jobs, gymnastics and to the lake. We love our life and our family and look forward for the years that are to come.

Happy Anniversary, Jason!!

Miss Independent(s)

While refusing to let go of every second of possible sleep on the last day of non-work, we got up late this morning and ended up in an all-out sprint to make it to church on time. In the mist of my rushing, Claire popped into the bathroom, all dressed and showered, having prepared breakfast for herself and her sister. OK - to be fair, it was leftover donuts this morning, but normally she gets herself and Chloe some yogurt, cereal, milk, etc with utensils and a place mat with nothing but permission from mom or dad. So this morning after she has breakfast and is watching me brush my teeth, she exclaims "I just brushed my teeth and now I'm going to make my bed!" And she bounces back up the stairs.
I head up the stairs to check out the bed-making and expect a full-meltdown frustration tantrum, but was pleasantly surprised...

And she did it. Better then Jason could have. Next up - driving lessons.

And not to leave out Chloe, Claire is desperately trying to convince Chloe it's time to hang up the diapers and use the potty like the rest of the world. Chloe is having none of that, but has agreed to sit on the potty via Claire's cleverly placed stool.