Greetings from Savannah

Just a quick post as we are out the door to take a trolley tour of the city. Yesterday we made the trip over to Savannah, GA and arrived safe and sound. The weather was a little drizzly but we were able to get out and walk around a bit and enjoy a delicious dinner on the front patio of Tapas by Anna in the City Market. It was a fun evening.

quick post tonight

We have a ton of tv to watch tonight. We have 45 min. left of the movie "There Will Be Blood" and then we have to watch CSI and Without a Trace while Tivo records the season finale of Grey's Anatomy. I'm looking forward to the summer when I'm not tied down to the TV so much.

This morning GG got her hair done by my hair stylist Cary. It was just a wash and set but still a nice treat for GG. While she got her hair done the kids and I ran to the grocery store and I intended to get back to the salon to pay for her up-do but while at the store GG said she was all done and paid. So...it's the thought that counts right?! I intended to pay.... hmmm. Now GG is looking like an authentic southern belle for our trip to Savannah tomorrow.

Back home the kids had a snack. It was Oreo balls (from the 100 calorie snack packs they sell.) Lauren ate hers in a civilized manner but Tyler shoved all 10 balls into his mouth and ran around foaming at the mouth until they all dissolved. It was a hoot to watch...he was pretty crazy during this dissolving period. =) Then it was nap time for the kids and exercise time for me. I had a great workout and I'm all set for Savannah now. Hopefully I'll find some time to get some exercise but I know I worked out pretty hard this week so it won't be too detrimental if I don't get in a good workout while on vacation.

For dinner we had tasty Greek Pita Pizzas. GG and I ate a whole one each and Tyler and Lauren shared a whole one...which is saying a lot because I don't believe they've ever ate any pizza that wasn't just plain cheese or pepperoni. I'm still stuffed from dinner but with all this tv watching ahead of me I'm sure I'll have some room left for popcorn.

After dinner I gave the kids a quick bath and then sent them downstairs to read books with GG while I showered off my earlier workout. When I came down I found Tyler wrestling with GG's cane "Henry" and saw him almost take both those girls out. He thought he was pretty cool.Now the kids are in bed and I'm finishing up this post while GG gets comfortable in PJs and then it's TV time until we crash into bed. G'night Y'all.

"look at your big bottom"

Today was a good day until my daughter opened her big mouth. =) I had just finished a marathon of a workout and she had just woken up from her "quiet time" (we don't take "naps" anymore.) Anyway, I was changing out of my sweaty clothes into a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. Lauren was watching me. When I put on my shorts she said, "I love those shorts, they fit just right." But when I leaned over the drawer to pick out a shirt she said, "Wow, Mommy, look at your big bottom!" I said "what did you say?" and innocent as day, she said, "Wow, Mommy, look at your big bottom!" Hmmm. Gotta love those kids and their honesty, huh? Tomorrow my workout will by an hour and a half. hmph.

Other than hearing sweet nothings from Lauren we didn't do much today. I needed a few things at the grocery store so we got dressed and headed to Kroger in the morning. Tyler opted to stay in the car with GG while L and I rushed through the grocery store to get batteries, milk, butter and bottled water.

Later, while I made dinner (ground chicken & sauteed veggie burgers) GG, Lauren and Tyler sat on the stairs (where the old child gate used to be) and read book after book. They looked so sweet and I took a ton of pictures. Hopefully one of them will turn out for this post....let's see....
After dinner the kids wanted to watch ANOTHER Thomas the Train show. I've been seriously thinking how to cut down on the TV shows. Bystanders (GG and I) can only take so many Thomas shows in one day. So I've made a couple of rules. Rule #1) Toys must be picked up before we watch a show. If we are going to watch TV then we aren't playing with our toys. Rule #2) After we watch one show we turn the TV off and play with toys, play outside or anything but watch the boob tube. Does anyone else have any suggestions for curbing TV usage. (side note: do not say to cut it out entirely because I NEEEEED it sometimes to get things done or enjoy a brief moment of Only-Mommy time.)

And to close...since I think GG is getting tired of reading bedtime stories to the kids as I write this... i will add this sweet picture of Tyler showing how much he loves Lauren. He grabbed his "blankie" (as he calls it) and snuggled up to Lauren while she was still eating her dinner. He's such a sweet boy and loves his sister soooo much.

thunder storms are so cool

I'm writing this as lightening is flashing and thunder is roaring. There's no fear of a tornado with this storm...it's just a powerful thunderstorm....so cool! Here's a pic I took outside before it came over us. It just looks eerie (even moreso than can be seen in the pic.).

Here's a recap of the past couple of days...if I can remember.

Sunday was a relaxing day for some of us. Matt mowed our lawn and demolished a part of the basement bathroom to get it ready to put in a toilet and shower. Maybe we'll finally finish it...although I'm not looking forward to cleaning yet another bathroom. But it will sure be nice to have a bathroom downstairs for the poker games and also the guest bedroom we have down there. While Matt was so busy I took off alone to get my nails and toes done, buy the weeks groceries and then headed back home to cook dinner. We had a Thai Chicken and Noodle Salad from my stellar Everyday Food magazine that I love so much. The salad was delicious as expected.

GG kept herself busy doing puzzle after puzzle with the kids and also folding about 5 loads of laundry. I tell ya...everyone needs themselves a GG. I'll be so sad and lonely when she's gone.

On Monday, GG decided she needed some new puzzles to do. She couldn't stand to put together the Thomas or Butterfly puzzle one more time. So we loaded up the troops, stocked the juice-water and headed to Fayetteville to Toys R Us. We found 2 Mickey Mouse puzzles to add to our repertoire. After Toys R Us I stopped at a couple more stores but the kids quickly lost interest and became PAINS. Note to self....hit Toys R Us as the last stop in a series when shopping with the kids. Otherwise they don't want to go to anymore stores....duh.

Monday night I went out to dinner with Dana and Mary and Matt had his Monday night poker game. GG got to have the TV all to herself that night.

Today, Tuesday, Matt left early for his flight to Spokane, WA. He'll be there for a couple days. The rest of us hung out at home. We relaxed and took it easy just like we love to do. GG did some research for our upcoming trip to Savannah and I got the main floor vacuumed and got a workout in so it wasn't a completely lazy day. Since our men were out of town (Dana, Mary and myself) we all got together at my house and had fajitas and Puerto Rican rice and a delicious dessert brought my Mary. It was chaotic since we had Mary's two boys - Houston & Cabe, Dana's - Shep & Emma and My - Lauren & Tyler. But thankfully the weather held out and the boys were able to play outside before and after dinner.

When all the company left we quickly got a bath in and GG was able to read 2 books. The kids were so tired at this point that the last half of the 2nd book was read with both of them in tears. I'm sure they'll sleep well tonight...despite all this house rumbling thunder.

Ok...I'm off to watch the season finale of Dancing With the Stars. Night y'all.

Here's a pic of Tyler testing my statement of "stay off the coffee table" He thinks he's so funny.

Let's go Braves!!!

Let's see...what can I say about Friday. We accomplished a big step in our family development today. We took the gate at the bottom of the stairs down. Tyler is able to crawl up and down by himself now so we really don't need it collecting dust and just being in the way anymore. I'm surprised to say that it makes me quite sad that the kids are old enough to not need a gate. I want my babies back!! Other than that monumental event we had our Friday playdate. It was my turn to host again. Last time, I let the kids make their own pizza. In order to keep up with what I started I figured I had to plan some activity. So this time I made home-made jello with orange juice. I cut it into 4 big pieces...for Lauren, Tyler, Abigail and Isabella... and gave the kids shape cutters to cut their own pieces. Tyler ate his entire piece but everyone else thought it was a bit sweet and took some home as leftovers.

The kids (well the three girls) played together so well and for so long. Tyler chose to snuggle with me and chat with the adults. It was a fun morning.

Later that evening we had Morgan from across the street come to watch the kids while GG, Matt and I went to Frank's Family Restaurant to celebrate Mother's Day (or Grandmother's Day in GGs case). Frank's is a hole in the wall joint located behind a gas station about 5 minutes from our house. The food was excellent, however. We bought 2 turnovers (apple & cherry) to enjoy for breakfast.

This morning (Saturday) GG, the kids and I spent a couple hours soaking up the sun on the back deck while Matt trimmed and mowed Mike and Connie's lawn and also Frederick and Maria's lawn. He needs to earn his poker money somehow. He was going to mow our lawn too today but the fertilizer company came and sprayed. He'll have to do it tomorrow instead.

After naps Matt and I left the kids with GG while we headed up to Atlanta for the Braves v. Oakland Athletics game. When we got home GG and the kids were all in bed so we don't know how it went but I'm sure it was smooth sailing. The kids love their GG and Lauren does anything she can to help out. We'll find out for sure tomorrow.

Unfortunately, the Braves lost but Matt and I had a good time together. We got there early to eat dinner at the restaurant in the stadium where we caught a glimpse of batting practice and then we made it to our seats right at the fair ball line in left field. No complaints from me for our free tickets. There was a group of loud mouthed, yet funny, New York business men sitting behind us. They kept us laughing with their antics and New York accents. (we heard "yous" a lot in their converstion.) It was sure a fun night.

Here's a picture of our view...the game was not sold out...which was a little surprising since it was a Saturday and BEAUTIFUL weather.

Matt and I at the game

Last Day of School

And Lauren is off to school for her last day of 3 year old pre-school. It was a busy morning for all of us. First, we dropped Matt off at a gas station near the interstate so a co-worker could pick him up for a short overnight work trip. Then it was off to school for Lauren. After dropping her off, Tyler and I came home to pick up GG before heading back to school for the Art Show and End of Year Picnic. We got to see a lot of Lauren's artwork from throughout the year and also brought a picnic lunch/snacks which we briefly enjoyed before the rain came.

After the school party we headed to Chik-fil-A to meet a couple ladies from church. The eating part was fine. Both kids enjoyed 2 piece chicken tender kid's meals with chocolate milk. When all the kids went out to play on the playground is when it got not so fine. There were a lot of bigger kids who would trample the smaller ones and both Lauren and Tyler spent most of the time crying. It wasn't long before I gave up and we headed for home for much needed naps...for everyone.

After naps I made dinner while GG and the kids played and put together puzzles. Here Tyler is clapping because someone put in a puzzle piece correctly. Puzzles are all the rage these days.

For dinner we had Quick Fish Chowder. It was easy to make (read: microwavable) and filling and delicious. Ingredients included....(since I can't find a link to the recipe)... cod, bacon, onion, celery, potato, orange bell pepper, diced tomatoes and chopped parsley. Plus a secret ingredient.

here is the secret ingredient...yuck?, yum? all together it tasted pretty good

After dinner GG volunteered to keep the kids while I went to community group. It was my week to bring dessert so I had to go even though Matt is out of town. I made Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie and for the kids brought Vanilla ice-cream and Strawberry Rhubarb topping.

GG said the kids did great. Lauren was a big help...especially when Tyler threw his blanket downstairs during the bedtime routine. He probably knew GG has a little trouble making it up and down the stairs. Lauren was such a big helper, however, that she went downstairs and brought his blanket back up for him. The kids gave her no trouble and didn't even cry like they usually do when I left. GG has this all figured out. Which is good because at community group I was given 2 tickets to the Braves game for Saturday night. Ya wanna go with me Matt?

Tuesday and Wednesday (for lack of better title)

Lauren had her 2nd to last day of school on Tuesday. They celebrated Aloha days. She came home with stickers, a headband and a bunch of other little thingies she earned by doing stations during her Aloha party. It didn't seem like the parents were invited so GG, Tyler and I went shopping instead. Boy, did we do a good job. I had a coupon and GG found a dress and a jacket on sale. To get full use of the coupon I had to sacrifice and buy myself a pair of jean capris and flip flops. I'm always game to take one for the team. After the successful shopping stop we dropped by Tuesday Morning to kill some time and I found a Thomas the Train lunchbox/puzzle and also a little something for Matt.

That night we watched Emma during her brother's baseball game. She really latched onto GG and sat on her lap or talked to her the entire time. Finally we sent all the kids out to play in the sandbox so GG could get some breathing room.

On Wednesday I had my follow-up Drs appointment. It was during the kids' nap so I left them with GG. I was in and out of there so fast that I even stopped at the grocery store and they still hadn't woken up when I got home. At my appointment I got the results back from the blood work they did and she said I'm perfect on paper. My main concern was cholesterol. LDL was 96 (should be under 100) and HDL 60 (should be b/t 40-135).

The rest of the day we spent playing....

Here's a new game for Tyler.

He's full