Three Tuesday Tots

Wheels of Glory

2012-01-29T19:25:00.015-06:00

Jimmy = Isaac Chazz = Miles

The boys don't quite fit the titles above, but we're hopeful they'll eventually become skating GREATS like Jimmy and Chazz. Both Miles and Isaac got their first taste of roller skating yesterday. Our weekend was full of excitement. Our neighbor Mia has a birthday just days before Isaac and celebrated with a party at The Skate Box. Karson has been skating numerous times, but the boys have never been. Walking into The Skate Box brings back floods of memories for me--the chewing gum mountain, the cubby holes which housed loads of skates, the super slick restroom floor, sock races, the Hokey Pokey, blisters, and the list goes on.

Skating and photo taking requires much more skill than you think. I'm thankful Karson has gone "pro" with her skating and didn't require much attention on the rink. The last time she went roller skating (which wasn't long ago) she got a terrible blister on her toe. We came prepared this time around with TWO pairs of socks.

Is she not the most beautiful child?

All I can say about Isaac is that he was determined to master the art of skating on Saturday. He went through THREE skate changes in the process. He started out on bright orange skates which cannot be adjusted. He was basically pulling my shoulder out of socket trying to boomerang around the rink. If he wasn't on the floor, he was completely out of control. I told him we needed to find some different skates--preferably ones that can be fine-tuned (aka, tightened wheels). The tan skates (above pics) offer that--more controlled skating to get a feel for it. He liked those for a while but towards the end of our session was READY to trade them back in for the orange, lightening speed skates.

Uh, yep, that's him LAID out in the middle of the rink which is where he remained most of the time in in the orange skates.

Here's another shot of him maintaining his balance. By the end of the session, he really was getting the hang of it. I was proud of his perseverance. I've never seen him try SO HARD at something. I guess he's growing up in that area. He's ready to go skating again although his legs look like he's been badly beaten. I told him the next time we go he needs to wear Karson's volleyball knee pads. He said, yeah and a HELMET. Look out Skate Box.

Sweet Miles enjoyed every minute skating. He loved it. I could hardly drag him off the rink (except for drink breaks). Granted, it took almost ten minutes to make a lap around, it was still fun. I have a feeling we'll be returning to The Skate Box sooner rather than later.

My 7 year old Beach Boy

2012-01-27T12:21:00.024-06:00

Here's the invitation that went out.

Here's the venue of the birthday celebration.

Here are the people I walked in on when the hotel gave us the wrong room. Just kidding--this picture is off the hotel website. But the hotel did make that mistake and gave us keys to someone else's room. I knew something was off when I noticed boots on the floor and suitcases on the bed. It could've been very awkward if the people had been in their room.

Here are the table decorations, sunglasses and leis, and the beach cake. I also got smiley face beach balls and water guns but realized I would give those out as favors at the end of the night. Plus, I wanted to be courteous to the other people using the hotel pool.

Here are three anxious kids waiting for party guests to arrive. We booked a hotel room for the night so Matt and Isaac could have a boys night. Since check-in was at 4 p.m., we decided to head on over right after school and make the most of it.

Here are some of our party guests.

Here the guests are enjoying pizza. Thanks goodness Domino's in directly across the road.

Here are some guests dancing under the sun lights.

Here's Isaac blowing out his 7 candles.

Here's Isaac opening up his gifts.

Here's the smile that makes all the planning and preparing TOTALLY worth it.

And, finally, here is the mantel showcasing all of Isaac's birthday cards and wishes. My friend Lisa made him the most adorable balloon wreath.

I think this was the best birthday ever for my little 7 year old. I highly recommend a pool party in January.

Happy 7th I.M.D., our MIDDLE child

2012-01-25T12:50:00.020-06:00

"Many experts have studied the placement of children in the birth order of the family unit and have discovered that each group displays certain traits and characteristics. Oldest children tend to be born leaders while younger children tend to be affectionate and creative. Middle children characteristics are a little harder to pinpoint as these youngsters usually stand apart from the other children." Isaac Matthew Deaton has certainly stood out. From the time he was born, on January 25, 2005 at 7:11 p.m., he has definitely not been your typical MIDDLE child.

Isaac was the best baby any parent could have. He ate well, slept through the night at a very early age, rarely cried, was a completely CONTENT baby. Isaac likes to be in the spotlight but only on his terms. He is incredibly smart, creative, popular, not attention seeking--unless for a laugh, of course, funny, accountable (he will go to time out when he's done something wrong and NOT argue about it) and HAPPY. I wonder if we'd named him something else if we would've gotten different results? The name Isaac fits him PERFECTLY. When I google "middle child personality traits", Isaac doesn't really fall into the "my parents don't pay any attention to me so I act out all the time syndrome." I, as a 2nd child, have been very careful to make sure that Isaac has the same experiences as Karson--taking JUST AS MANY baby pictures of him, making sure he has 1-on-1 time with people (not just us), encouraging him to be involved in things like sports, camps, WKU classes, etc. Isaac, however, can't really be told what to do--everything has to be on his terms. I think that makes him a leader, in his own way. He likes what he likes.

Karson spent lots of time explaining to him that SHE rules to roost, but he didn't listen to well.

I love that our new printer has a scanner. I don't remember when I first got a digital camera, but our computer(s) have crashed so many times, I've lost some of these cute pictures.

Isaac was a good little eater as baby, and when I think back to his "meals of choice", they usually involved MEAT of some sort. He liked Chicken and Rice, Chicken and Apples, Chicken and Pears, Beef with Vegetables--you get the picture. The boys has always been a protein eater. I guess that's why he looks skinnier than most 7 year olds. He's a no-carb kind of kid. I have been cracking down lately and making him try more foods. It hasn't made him like any of the "new" foods, but he doesn't complain about it much anymore.

I love this picture of him checking himself out in the mirror. There was a mirror on the flip side of this walker. I vividly remember rolling him up and down our driveway with his footed sleeper on--so much so that we wore holes in the sleeper toes--oops.

He spent lots of time playing in his farm. Like I said, completely CONTENT. I'm not exaggerating when I say he rarely cried--he's the same way today. You know if Isaac's crying, it's something serious.

Isaac loved ANYTHING with a steering wheel. He had a few toys that had steering wheels. He would sit on the floor and "drive" those things like a speed racer. It was so stink in' cute. I remember one night he and I stayed home from church when he was little and a terrible storm came knocking out the power. It was to early for bedtime and kind of scary being alone in a dark house with a toddler. I decided to take him to the van and let him play with the steering wheel. We sat in there, and he played and played until the power came back on. I used the picture above on his 1st Birthday invitation. At this point in time, he'd found his tongue and had it out in every picture. I think he liked raking it over his freshly cut bottom teeth.

Isaac doesn't have a shortage of lunch guests that come to school and eat with him. I'm reminded in the front office that he has many visitors on a weekly basis. I love that! I usually only come eat on cheesy bread day (my favorite) which is THIS FRIDAY, whoop whoop. I would come more often but with my school schedule and Miles's preschool schedule and the kids EARLY lunch time, it doesn't work out to well. It makes me happy knowing that his pap and uncles come and visit with him, like they did today.

Here we are celebrating at school! Nothing rounds out the school day better than donuts and milk.

His birthday cupcake on the Plano wall.

We're having a birthday swim bash on Friday night. Check back for party pics.! Happy 7th birthday Isaac, you light up our day and make us proud!

Watery Eyes, Blood on the Comforter and the Missing Hat

2012-01-22T14:05:00.018-06:00

Okay, so now that I have your attention with that juicy title, I'll proceed to tell you how all of those things were part of our weekend. My darling daughter has been wanting to go skiing with our church the past two years. However, my (and her) commitment to basketball have prevented that from happening. Not this year. We decided early on WE WERE GOING. I got her a great Columbia ski jacket at Nat's basement sale, found a ski bib at Target at the beginning of snow season (aka the end of summer) and paid full price. I later took it back and re-purchased it for half price (frugal mom, I know) when I saw the mark down one day--Target is one of those weekly shopping places for me, got her a cute fleece hat at Old Navy, scored some cute Snow Boots at Hyder's, and we were ready.

I used to be one of those highly organized packers who would begin getting ready for a trip days in advance. I don't do that anymore. I tend to do my best packing at the last minute. And, for this trip, we only needed the necessities. So I'm throwing everything into my handy, dandy 31 large utility tote and cosmetic bag Thursday night, thanks Melissa M., and doing loads of laundry on Friday for some of the things we need (which have been in my attic storage and are a bit musty). **One mistake I've made with skiing in the past is wearing TOO MUCH layering. I decided a base layer, an additional layer, bib and thick jacket were plenty this year. I'm usually burning up in all those layers and feel like Randy on "A Christmas Story." Just the basics this year, nothing more.

We take off for Indiana/Ohio right after school Friday afternoon. We hitched a ride with Shannon, Paul, Evan and Elizabeth. Matt and the boys had no desire to go. I'm hoping we can convince Isaac to go next year. All his church buddies had a great time. Okay, so we take off. The trip is not a quick one so we opted to leave Friday night and spend the night so we'd be fresh the next day, and it wouldn't be to tiring making an 7 hour trip in one day. The trip went smooth until about an hour out when the weather started getting bad. Our friends, the Vernon's, were a few miles ahead of us and told us of the icy conditions on one bridge and a truck wreck smack in the middle of one lane--it got crazy quickly. But, fortunately, all of us made there safely or were we??? BWAHHAHAHAHA (scary sounds)

We arrived at the Comfort Inn in Harrison, Ohio around 8:30 p.m. As Larie described it in bible class this morning, and I think it's pretty accurate, "I wouldn't let me dead dog stay there." It's probably one of the nastiest places I've ever been in. The kids were eager to swim so we got our room keys quickly and headed up to the room for a change. Our room might as well have been a meat locker. It was freezing. I turned the heat on full blast hoping it would warm it up by the time Karson finished swimming. As we all sat in the pool area, I noticed my eyes were watering constantly. I thought I was just tired, WRONG. Everyone had watering eyes. At one point, Shannon looked like someone from Islam wearing sunglasses and towel turban over her head/face. All of us had watery eyes. I couldn't take it anymore and went out into the lobby to watch from the glass out there. About that time, the kids had all had enough--the parents too. Karson had a red rash around her eyeline. The rest of the kids spent the evening coughing and congested--awful.

When we got back to the room, it was still frigid. But we'd only been gone for about 45 minutes. I filled up the bath for Karson reluctantly. The towels were yellowish looking, the wallpaper around the bath look like it had mold growing on it. I decided to survey the rest of the room--the un-vacuumed carpets, a big hair wad on my comforter and what I believe to be blood spots on my bedspread. The room never warmed up so Karson and I slept together despite two queen sized beds to preserve warmth. It was a rough night. Larie informed Perfect North the next day that they needed to remove this hotel off their lodging page. But, it wasn't going to put a damper on our day.

We made it to PERFECT NORTH!

Karson attended ski school. I think it's cool that Perfect North offers free lessons to beginners. They go through different stations trying to learn how "it's done". I think the lesson kind of helped Karson, but she never really got the wedge down. If you can master that, that's when skiing becomes safe because it's how you slow down and stop. Skiing is hard, but I sure was proud of Karson for trying. She didn't complain to much and kept trying.

GO KARSON!!!

After ski school, we took a lunch break and warmed up.

Snuggling up in the lodge.

After lunch, we did a little tubing. This is where everything went SOUTH, so to speak. After walking about 10 miles (probably 1/2 mile but it sure felt far), we made it over to the tubing area. We had made a couple of runs and were having a blast. On our final run, Karson and Elizabeth decided to go down together. On the way down, Karson's cute fleece hat flew off her head. I didn't know until Shannon and I came down. She was visibly upset, and I asked the tube POLICE monitor if I could run up there and grab her hat which wasn't far up. They, of course, said no because it was to icy. The tubing hills looked like accessory graveyards--full of hats, gloves and whatever else flies off. I didn't care that much about losing it because I think it cost $1.50 at Old Navy, but Karson was really sad about it. Shannon and I decided to head back up the track and see if we could grab it on the way down. Sometime during our transition, someone MUST HAVE snagged it because it was NO WHERE to be found when we came back down. Shannon said something to the monitor about it who seemed uninterested in hearing it. We were surprised that she didn't notice or say anything to the person who grabbed the hat, OUR HAT? Weird.

Fortunately, I had packed a hat and an ear wrap so I had two things for the head. So long cute Old Navy hat. It took a while for Karson to recover from the loss. We made our long trek back to the lodge. I told my teary eyed girl we could look for a new one in the Loft Shop. Once there and seeing that the prices were INSANE ($20+), we decided my ear wrap would work. Plus, she was not in the mood to shop. We relaxed in the lodge for a while. Did I mention Karson got up at 5 a.m. ready to go? The slopes don't open 'til 10. I knew she was tired, and quite frankly, so was I. We didn't call it a day yet but rested for while. We ventured back out with about three hours left on our session. After a couple of runs, we finished for the day. Thankfully we ALL made it safely back home to Bowling Green. Karson has already talked about wanting to go again next year. SUCCESS!

Look Out Amy Chua

2012-01-19T13:57:00.008-06:00

This Western Tiger Mom has placed her children in piano. The kids began their piano adventure this week with Ms. Cothran (the music teacher at Plano). She decided to combine the first lesson with both kids this week since they were covering the basics, like correct posture, finger numbers/exercises, piano tones, etc. She told them that learning the piano is like anything else, the more you practice at home and on your own time, the quicker you'll move through the beginning lessons. I imagine Karson will probably take off more quickly than Isaac. She has been wanting to learn how to play for about two years, but we simply didn't have the materials we needed or the time. When Uncle Mike gave us his keyboard and with basketball starting to come to a close, I figured NOW is the perfect time to get them both involved. AND, if I have to hear the songs "I Dropped My Dolly in the Dirt", "Mary Had a Little Lamb", and "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" AGAIN, I might lose my mind =). I'm so very thankful that Ms. Cothran is their teacher. Not only is she incredibly talented, she knows my kids well--and it helps that the school is so close to our house. We worked on a month to month schedule and are looking forward to this new journey with her.

Karson and Isaac playing their first notes.

Learning about the insides of a piano and how everything works.

Miles practicing his skills on the xylophone.

**I'll post videos of them playing soon, so check back.

And That's OUR Morning

2012-01-10T15:45:00.004-06:00

Who needs an alarm clock when you have this:

I tried to zero in on the clock, 7:17 a.m. This is what the kids were doing bright and early this A.M. I will be happy to send them over if any of you have a Wii and need a pick-me-up in the morning.

HAH!

Whew! Here we go.

2012-01-06T13:15:00.023-06:00

New Year's Party

"Contentment isn’t a state of organization, a weight on the scale, a state of better: better kids, better marriage, better health, betterhouse. Contentment is never a matter of circumstances; contentment is always a state of communion — a daily embracing of God. A thankfulness for all the gifts – and momentsand life, just as He gives it. Trying harder may only bring harder trials. And contentment, it won’t be be found in the resolutions, but in the revolutions – in the turning round to God."

I read the above quote from a friend's facebook status a few days ago and LOVE IT. I've read it everyday since. I think I'm going to read it EVERYDAY this year and try to put it into practice. As Matt says, "we are restless unless we rest in God." SO TRUE. I have found that this specific week--the week the kids go back to school and life returns to "normal" after the holidays--as busy as it it usually is, feels like a relief. The gifts from Christmas have all found a spot in the house. All the trash and recycling has been picked up. Gift returns have been made. Old toys/stuff has been weeded out and taken to consignment shops or Goodwill. Post Christmas sales have been done, and Christmas decorations have been put up (which is when all my snowmen stuff comes down). I'm not as fond of the kids going back to school, but it's a routine they need (and we moms do too). Back to the contentment quote, I guess life becomes content again, not so much running around and going and doing and eating and anticipating and all the comes with the holidays. As fun as they are, it's nice to just BE again.

So here's what's going on in our lives at the moment:

I booked THIS cabin for our Spring Break trip to Pigeon Forge. It's called Ooooh My. We are going with Paul and Shannon and their kids. If you look at the top of the cabin, it's divided into TWO Master suites on each side. I can't wait to have a relaxing week in the mountains with my family.

I signed Karson and I up for the church ski trip. She has wanted to go the past two years and hasn't been able to because of our commitment to basketball. This trip could be good or bad depending on her mood. Karson can sometimes be a very determined chick. Take roller skating, when she's out there, she's like Bliss Cavendar on "Whip It" determined to be the best, fastest skater in the rink. She takes some major spills but gets up and continues to go--ouch! SO, skiing could be that way or the dreadful "other way" of fit throwing, whining, complaining, yada yada yada. We'll see. The trip is in two weeks.

The kids are starting piano lessons with our music teacher from Plano Ms. Cothran. My uncle Mike was wanting to get rid of his keyboard, and we snagged it from him. We bought a stand from Amazon and viola, we have a practice instrument. Ms Cothran had me order a playbook, theory book and flash cards. I told her if I hear the songs "We Wish You and Merry Christmas" and "I Dropped My Dolly in the Dirt", I might go insane. I'm excited about their new venture.

Miles is totally addicted Just Dance 3 on the Wii. He plays it MULTIPLE times during the day. However, he only likes ONE song called "Hey Boy Hey Girl" by The Chemical Brothers.

We're gearing up for Isaac's birthday this month. Since Karson and Miles both had big birthday parties this year, it's only fair that Isaac gets one too =). He's chosen Best Western Motor Inn for a POOL party. Yes, that's right, we are SWIMMING in the middle of January. We're doing it on a Friday night and even booked a room for the night. I've been to Hobby Lobby multiple times this week, taking advantage of their 40% paper coupon. You can only use one per day so I printed a few out and have been using them all week. Why spend full price when you can get a discount, right?

Speaking of Isaac, here is his new domain. We added The Beatles poster that Karson got him for Christmas right above his top bunk. I love his little area of the room.

We're completing our Winter Reading logs. If you recall, Isaac won a Snow Screamer sled this time last year from the library. The kids have already filled up a total of three cards. This year, we're going for the cash cards.

I finished my 3rd puzzle of the season. I snagged this cute one from Hallmark the day after Christmas for half price. I love puzzles, always have. I wish the library had puzzles you could check out. I'm starting to build a HUGE collection.

Miles got these guns for Christmas. They are the roll cap guns. I love 'em. They remind me of guns we had as children. They are loud, smoke and pop when firing. I have NO IDEA how these have passed inspection with the toy people, but they are awesome.

With the cold months ahead, we are stocked up with lots of wood for our fireplace thanks to my dad. Dad and Matt spend an afternoon splitting logs and stacking them up to help us stay warm and toasty this winter.

Here's to week full of contentment at all the blessings God has granted.

Holiday Road

2011-12-26T22:36:00.039-06:00

After Isaac's and Miles's Christmas programs, our holiday road continued with WINTER parties at Plano. I love that Karson and Isaac's classrooms are in the same hallway at school. Most of the 3rd grade classes are on the opposite end of the school. I'm not sure why Karson's class is in the wing with the 1st/2nd graders, but it sure is handy on party days.

Isaac's class was rolling on FULL throttle when we arrived (can you tell based on the picture?). Karson's class was calm and collected. I've noticed as the kids get older, the parties seem more low-key. I chalk that up to a variety of reasons: the kids are "to cool" for Christmas BINGO, making reindeer magnets for the 4th year in a row gets old, parents aren't as involved and look goofy taking pictures (aka ME, I think I'm the ONLY 3rd grade parent that STILL takes pics at parties), the realization that Santa is a myth?, all they really want to do at the end of the day is eat pizza and do a gift exchange, and so on. SO, Miles and I usually spend most of our time with Isaac. Miles is the weirdest lil' guy when we attend these parties. He's SO anti-social and clings to me like a leech. I wish he'd relax a bit and enjoy the party--Ms. Vincent and Ms. Tinsley are always welcoming him in and trying to get him involved, but NOPE, he won't budge. Because of my extra appendage, it makes it pretty impossible to help with crafts or snacks. I usually trip right over him. I sure hope he isn't as clingy when he starts kindergarten. It will be hard enough sending him to school, and if he's crying, it will tug at my heart strings something fierce.
Isaac and Patrick playing with their reindeer magnets. Karson's class did a book exchange which I liked because Karson likes reading. AND, bonus, books are cheap. Isaac's class did stocking stuffers. I purchased sticky hands for 22 kids.

Isaac putting the goodies in the stockings.

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SCHOOL'S OUT which means it time to begin our Christmas-time fun. We started with building our Ginger Bread House. Why is it that the house on the box looks WAY better than the finished product?

I only included Karson and Isaac in our house photo. I didn't include Miles mainly because I get tired of seeing him in his UNDERpants 24/7. I preferred a nice picture with my TWO clothed children.

The kids decided to EAT the Ginger Bread House this year instead of letting it sit and rot and eventually be thrown away. This method was FINE BY ME. I would much rather them eat the thing and be done with it.

I did snap some pictures of Miles in the "devouring" stage. My kids only had a few bites before they were D-O-N-E. I think Isaac ate about 20 gumballs in a row.

The Community Kids annual Christmas play was on Sunday. The play was titled "Live From Bethlehem". The play was told from the perspective of news reporters surrounding the scene of the Christmas story.

Here are a couple of interesting characters from the play. Karson was a mom traveler in her scene. Isaac and Evan were her kids. They were supposed to act wild and unruly during their scene--it was HARD for these two boys but somehow they managed to pull it off--HAH =).

Karson, Walker and the hooligans in their scene.

Miles and Trapper in their traditional preschool roles of "extras". Miles was a cow, and Trapper a shepherd.

The preschool crew.

A Christmas clip.

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We were able to spend some time with some of our closest pals, the DeVries, on Monday night. They had us over for dinner. The kids had the best time hanging out, and the adults did too! The kids had fun playing the X-Box Kinect Dance Central. Miles had his first dance experience that night. I don't think he's ever played. Sidenote: I got all the kids SD cards for their DSi's so they can play music on their game systems. They all LOVE music. Isaac has an extensive list of artists and songs. He loaded his up with all his music: The Beach Boys, Beatles, Coldplay, Michael Jackson, Ke$ha, Gaga, Maroon 5, The Spice Girls and so on and so on. Karson had a much smaller list. Her favorite song right now is "Stereo Hearts" by Gym Class Heroes. Miles had TWO main requests: Rump Shaker and U Can't Touch This. Miles was SUPER excited that the song RUMP SHAKER was on the Kinect. I think he did that dance at least 10 times while were there.

On Tuesday night, we went on a group date with Shannon and Paul and Lisa and Daniel to Nashville. We ate at Logan's Steakhouse and went to the IMAX to see Mission Impossible IV.

A friend of mine organized a trip on Wednesday to Extreme Gymnastics in Glasgow. I think I've been there one other time for a birthday party but didn't remember much about it. It was wonderful! It was $5 for the entire day. You could bring in food and drinks. Lots of Karson and Isaac's school friends went, and we pretty much occupied the entire place. It was a nice way to burn off some energy.

Group picture in the foam cube pit.
The kids had sleepovers that night. Karson and Elizabeth spent the night with Meme. Isaac spent the night with Evan. I planned a playdate at Chick Fil A that Thursday morning with Miles's friend Samuel so he would have something to look forward to (and not feel left out). Karson and Elizabeth went with Meme to Zumba at Curves the next day. Mom said they were the cutest, and all the ladies at Curves enjoyed having them there. After CFA and Zumba, we went over to Shannon's for some playtime.

We took the kids to see Santa at the mall on Friday afternoon.

And then to the library afterwards. If you remember, Isaac won the sled last year from the Winter Reading log at the library (with only TWO entries). He's already filled up an entire card and is working on his second one. Karson is reading longer books so hasn't filled up a card yet but is almost there. Maybe we'll get lucky and win again???

The holiday BEGINS Christmas Eve morning at my parents house.

Mom got Karson and Isaac WhatNot Muppets. Poppy sporting a Muppet wig =).

WE LOVE THE MUPPETS: here we are at the theater opening day!

Miles got a Mario Kinect set. When mom and I got it at Toys R Us a few weeks back, I didn't think it would take up THAT much space. It covers most of our living room floor right now. And, the race cars have already gone through one round of six AAA batteries. But, he sure does like it.

Miles showing Poppy all the tricks of a Kindle Fire.

Just Dance 3 for the Wii. Thanks Uncle Mike for this present for Karson. We spent the afternoon dancing. I have started using the Just Sweat workout. Dancing (in the privacy of my own home) is a quick and easy way to lose some weight. I've been to one Zumba class, and the girl in front of me might as well have been on "Dancing With the Stars." At one point, I thought about sitting down and just watching her dance. I don't think group dancing is my thing at this point.

We went to Matt's Mamaw's house late that afternoon and evening. I ask for you blog followers of mine to keep Mamaw Deaton in your prayers. She's been in pain for some time now. It started around October 1 when she had a bad sinus infection. It's been a downward spiral since, and she cannot get any relief from pain on the right side of her head/neck. She's been working with my brother-in-law Paul this week at the Pain Clinic. We're hoping he can find a way to get her comfortable again.

CHRISTMAS
MORNING

AT OUR HOUSE!!!

Whoa, the kids were up and ready to go at 6:45 a.m. I think most of the presents were open by 6:50. Karson had her typical toy overload meltdown and time out around 7:15 and Miles followed around 7:30. Isaac got some new Dino Lego's, Miles got his 3DS and Karson got a Squinkies Mall. And, obviously, based on this gigantic mess, they got a lot of other things.

Since Christmas was on a Sunday this year, our church simply had worship only. We met at 10:30 a.m. The children did most of the service alternating reading lines from the birth of Jesus, and we sang Christmas carols in between. It was the perfect way to honor our Savior.

We went home and decompressed for about two hours before heading over to Colvin and Debbie's for Christmas with them and the Bradford side of the family.

I didn't get a picture of Isaac opening his gift. He manages to open presents ultra-quick. I did get pictures of Karson and Miles. Our children are blessed beyond measure and so are we. Happy Holiday Road 2011 to all!

Keeping Up with The Pogues's

2011-12-17T15:48:00.019-06:00

A week ago tomorrow we celebrated Christmas with the Pogue's at Okolona Church. It's hard to believe it's ALREADY been a WHOLE week since that event. Time sure does move quickly around holidays. Shoot, it moves quickly PERIOD.

We, unfortunately, arrived 2 hours late. Ugh. With Louisville being on eastern time and us being on central time, it's hard to work around everyone's schedules. Plus, we couldn't miss church because our kids had their dress rehearsal for the Christmas play. Lots going on. We rushed to Louisville right after service and still arrived terribly late but JUST IN TIME for Santa. My cousin Mark played the role this year, and what a fabulous job he did (he should consider getting a part-time gig as Santa). This year is bittersweet on the Santa front mainly with Karson:

Karson's Santa thoughts: we had a conversation a few weeks ago about Santa. It was an incredibly odd week. I had a preschool mother tell me that she had told her 3 year old daughter the TRUTH about Santa. I really wasn't sure how to process that information right before all the holiday madness. This was a first for me. The mom told me that she told their daughter NOT TO SPOIL it for others but that she simply couldn't lie to her. Without giving my thoughts on that matter and respecting their decisions, I bring you back to my Karson. I believe it was the same week, Karson and I had the Santa discussion. She had said a few things about him making me think she no longer believed. I finally flat out asked her, "Karson do you know something about Santa?" She said, "yes." I said, "well you know who doesn't know?" She said, "yeah I know, Isaac and Miles." I said, "Yeah, and we need to keep it that way." I feel like if I had KEPT Santa going at this point, it would be lying to her. She is 9 years old and pretty smart. I wouldn't feel right about it, BUT I certainly don't want to steal the magic away from the other two. I talked to Shannon about it, and she told me Evan and Elizabeth have had lots of questions about Santa too--it's only a matter of time before the 7 year olds figure it out. AND, I know there are school kids who blab about it which is probably why Karson started questioning it in the first place. SO, this year has changed for Karson. I can tell she is more hesitant about asking for stuff =( since she knows the TRUTH.

My sweet BIG girl!

Isaac's Santa thoughts: I can ask for an iPad, iPhone, animal, whatever I want and he will DEEEE-LIVER. I'm surprised he hasn't figured it out because I am ALWAYS coming up with some rebuttal to his requests. Seriously, an iPhone? Isaac always has a list as long as I-65.

This year's list: dagedars, the trash pack, dino leogs, labtop, headphones, helium tank, donkey kong for dsi, xbox 3 for kinect, just dance 3, and #10 a box of money. Oh what a list!

Isaac loves everything about Christmas. Last year he resembled the Tasmanian Devil on Christmas morning, ripping through his gifts and smiling ear to ear. I think Santa not existing will be a real let down for him. He wrote this during class one day:

His teacher loved it so much, she emailed it to me. If you can't read it, it says: Your mom and dad are always your mom and dad. even when they are old. December 25th Santa will come. will always come on December 25. that is funest day of the year!

My lil' wild child tearing into his presents.

Miles Santa thoughts: well he's five and hasn't clued into the fact that he's already told a few different Santa's what he wants for Christmas. Of course, I haven't listened in on the conversations. I would hope he might say, "How many times do I have to TELL YOU!?!?" (like he adamantly says to me when he has to repeat himself). He has never been afraid of Santa. He's not afraid of much. He has to be one of the most content 5 year olds on the planet. My mom took him birthday shopping back in October and he came home with toys he already had =). Turkey! He hasn't told me one thing he wants for Christmas but has finally settled on a Nintendo 3DS because it has NEW Mario game. Gee, thanks for that one Nintendo marketers. I don't know why I bother getting him other presents (besides the Santa one). Last year his stack of unopened gifts sat dormant for hours on Christmas morning. He got a Dsi from Santa and really wasn't interested in anything else. In fact, I think I even took some of the gifts back. On the bright side, if anyone is interested in a practically BRAND NEW Dsi, I will have one for sale after Christmas. Let me know.

My content child.

We weren't in Louisville very long since we were late and the party had to wind down around 5:oo for church service. I was able to snag just a few photos. I love this one of Miles and Katie Bell (my cousin Lyndi's little girl). She was intent watching Miles play his game. I heard her say in the sweetest little soprano voice, "Did ya win?" CU-TE. If only we all lived closer, oh the fun all of our kids would have together. They are all so close in age.

Our Dirty Santa tradition continues. I always buy gifts that I want and usually COME HOME with those gifts. This year it was a Gingerbread House (prevents me from having to buy one) and a Christmas puzzle (ditto). These are things I like to do with the kids and viola, I managed to get both =). Win, win for us.

Miles completely wiped out after our whirlwind travel. Love that I get to see all my dad's extended family. I know a day is coming when we will grow TO LARGE for get togethers, but I cherish our time together now.

Christmas With Miles

2011-12-14T16:30:00.005-06:00

Miles had his Christmas Program at Greenwood Park EEP on Monday night and what a show it was! The came in and sang "Oh Christmas Tree" for their first number. Check it out.

After that, the kids sang "Christmas Lights". I thought I got it on the digital camera but apparently recorded it on our other camcorder. I am a DOCUMENTING machine =). I wish I had it to show. The kids had the best time waving those colored lights all over the place. Thankfully, they actually did pop them up on cue most times.

I did get "Santa Had a Christmas Tree" ho ho ho ho ho, with a jingle, jingle here and a jingle, jingle there.

All the classes give each child speaking parts for individual portions of the event. Miles came home with his part right after Thanksgiving break. We worked on it during our ride home that day, and he pretty much had it down. His part was "The color of Christmas is emerald, just take a look at the tree." I was really glad his buddy Layne and him shared the spotlight together.

There are LOTS of adults (including myself) who DO NOT enjoy getting up in front of large crowds and speaking. Not these 4 year olds...they nailed it. I was very proud of ALL OF THEM! Great job!

Ms. Teresa's bunch.

When I picked up Miles from school one afternoon (prior to the program), Ms. Teresa made the following statement, "I talked to Matt about him doing closing prayer at the program." I simply assumed she meant she had talked to Matt (aka the minister) about saying the closing prayer. When Matt got home that night, I said, "I heard you were doing prayer at the program." He said, "No, not me, it's Miles." I said "WHAT?" Now, I wish I could confidently say that we have a very active prayer life with our children, but we don't. I know, I know. I had NO idea how Miles would do with this new task. We gave him a short, simple prayer and tried to rehearse it with him but were getting no where. Teresa told me she wasn't worried about and would just let him speak from his heart. Oh my, gasp, what in the world would he say???

Well, here's the video to prove it.

I wish the recording sounded better. He sighed RIGHT before. I call it "The Sigh Heard Across the Nation." Ms. Teresa had to quietly feed him lines =). If everyone had their heads bowed and hearing aides turned down low, I think he probably pulled it off. I was proud regardless!

After the program, we got to wait and line and see SANTA. Miles loves Santa, always has. Isn't this the sweetest picture.

Merry Christmas! From, Miles

Tacky and Wacky Christmas

2011-12-13T18:49:00.006-06:00

Matt and I went to our FIRST Tacky Christmas sweater party on Saturday night. I love friends like the Vernon's who open up their homes for fun events such as this one. I honestly thought it would be easier to find a tacky sweater than it actually was. Matt and I went on "the hunt" last Wednesday night. After TWO different Goodwill stops, zilch was found, and we needed to get to church. I had some ideas from google searches, but even those weren't do-able with the Goodwill selections. What to do? What to do? I really didn't want to spend any money and didn't want to hit up all the consignment shops in town. SO, I decided to text my friend April who has attended some of these parties. She brought me a stash to EEP the next morning. My mom also found a sweater she had from "back in the day". Matt and I sported matching snowmen attire. We look purty tacky, don't ya think.

Some more tacky party goers.

Love making memories with the bestest of friends!

It's Beginning to Look A lot Like...

2011-12-06T16:09:00.018-06:00

...the end of November birthday season

We wrapped up November with Nana's 60th birthday. Both my mom and my mother-in-law turned 60 in November. Wanna know something even cooler (I don't think I've ever mentioned this in my blog), my mom and Debbie were pregnant and working together at Dishman when Matt and I were seedlings. Our families were such good friends, we even went on vacation to Fairfield Glade and have some kid pics of us together. If I had a scanner and actually knew where the pics were, I'd share them. I know they are up in my attic somewhere. Anyway, my mom and Debbie are still the closest of friends and took a beach trip with some other friends this summer to celebrate their 60th.

Me and the sister-in-laws decided to give Debbie a Pandora bracelet and some charms. Here she is opening up all her cards. Our kids especially got into making cards for Nana. Isaac's was super cute. It had cats all over and said "Have a PURRtastic birthday". I was thinking PURRfect, but he said PURRtastic. Love it! We had a wonderful celebration with Nana.

Matt celebrated #35 the last day of the month. Over Thanksgiving Matt's cousin Katie brought a delicious pie to Mamaw Deaton's. It was from the Pie Kitchen in Louisville. I brought a slice of it home. Trust me ya'll, it wasn't a little one. It was a whopper. Matt and I devoured it the next day and were yearning for more. I decided to order one online and got it the day BEFORE his birthday (yesss, love it when things work out). I hid in the fridge and surprised him with it the next day.

Umm yeah, gonna be ordering more of these in the future.

I got him a South Warren sweatshirt. Being the undefeated bowling coach and all, he needs to look the part. All the kids at school love it because it's Underarmor.

I also got Matt a gift card from Karson for IHOP. We just got one in Bowling Green and cannot wait to try it. She also made him the cutest card with his life time-line.

...fun events with friends season

Roller skating to celebrate a friends birthday and hanging out with Ms. Tinsley her teacher.

Miles BFF Samuel spent the day with us last Sunday. Miles and Samuel simply can't get enough of each other. I wish I could've caught the shot of them holding hands on the way into Pap and Nana's for lunch. C-ute!

I had to run a couple of errands and left the boys with Matt. When I returned home, they were in FULL super hero gear and jumping on the trampoline. Love these boys and how well they get along and just LOVE each other.

...the beginning of basketball season

What a difference a year makes. I decided NOT to coach Ms. Karson's team this year. I sure am glad about that decision. Matt's bowling matches have fallen on the nights of our practice and usually overlap a great deal. I have had to drop Karson off a couple of times just to avoid trying to "contain" the boys for an hour+. Her practices are two nights a week and now that games have begun, once a week. The sad thing about the new practice schedule (now-January) is her practices are on Wednesday nights. Ugh. I don't think it's THAT big of a deal to miss church, but Karson likes CHURCH and wants to be there. I am leaving the decision in her hands. I think she's leaning towards splitting it up--such a smart girl.

Team Shock had their first game on Saturday and got STOMPED. However, my little #4 was all over the court, the ball, her girl, and even got a foul. WHAT? She has gotten aggressive and knows what it's all about this year. She scored 4 out of 10 points. I couldn't have been prouder and LOUDER. I am going to have to work on that. I swore I would never be "that parent"--eeek.

Coach Brock rallying the team after our the SMACKing. I could tell Karson was blue. It's hard coming off an undefeated volleyball season and experiencing a loss after ALL the hard work they've put in at practice. I have a feeling we will win a few though.

....Christmas program extravaganzas

I DARE you to find a cuter elf than my Isaac. Oh my! Isaac was the only one at Plano in the Christmas program this year. It's for grades 2nd and down. This year's performance was called "The Incredible Reindeer". I love our music teacher Ms. Cothran. She is so talented and creative with these programs. We're blessed having her at Plano. I did, however, have a TIME finding Isaac a solid red elf suit. You would think it would be easier to find green or red sweatsuits this time of the year, but I struck out everywhere I went. I ended up with a pair of fleece pajama pants from Wal-Mart, and a fleece jacket from Children's Place. I was afraid Isaac would complain about it because he's so HOT natured, but he didn't. He even got into put the rosy cheeks on. LOVE IT!

It's hard to read, but my caption says, "Here's Isaac, behind the giants with ears." Isaac is such a shrimp.

A clip for your enjoyment.

I love this season and time of the year. Looking forward to more HOLIDAY posts!

Family Photo Shoot

2011-12-02T13:56:00.011-06:00

I have been meaning to post these family pictures for a while. I love blogging but simply haven't had time to devote to it lately. I was so glad that Debbie scheduled these family pictures last month. I can't think of the last time we had ACTUAL family pictures by a photographer. My skilled friend Melissa can take some excellent pictures. I don't know what it is about picture taking that annoys my kids, well, mainly MY BOYS. I'm glad I have lots of individual pictures of the kids from school, and Karson has even more because of sports. I promise I don't take THAT many pictures, but I do love chronicling our lives. And really the only way you can do that is through pictures, video and journaling. So KIDS, get over it =).

I had this one blown up to a 16x20 by MPix. I took it to Hobby Lobby today for framing. The pictures posted above are the ones I used for our Christmas cards this year. I ordered 50 from VistaPrint and loved the cards, but the picture wasn't quite as clear as I wanted (and it looked a little distant). I ordered an additional 50 from Wal-Mart this week and actually like them better. Here are some more of my favorite shots from the SHOOT:

The Deaton Ladies
My family-in-law. Aren't family-in-laws great! I seriously don't know what I would do without mine. Wonderful, wonderful people!

I think Debbie used the color version of this one for her Christmas card?

I LOVE this picture and would consider it my favorite, but Matt's smile is odd and Isaac is looking down instead of at the camera. I thought the colors and editing were beautiful though.

Family close up.

Just a swingin'. Hope you enjoyed our photo shoot!

Hogwarts 101

2011-11-21T13:35:00.006-06:00

Super Saturday classes at Western has become one of Karson's favorite fall activities. She's been attending since she was in first grade. Matt and I are fortunate having a "gifted" child that is quite talented academically. In first grade, I was asked to attend a meeting at Plano for gifted children. I was basically told at the meeting that there is no funding for children like Karson and anything they can do outside of class/school to enrich their learning would be highly beneficial. That statement makes me sad for many reasons. One of them is that I can't understand why our state wouldn't want to put extra funding behind these (meaning MY) child who has SO much potential and could expand her thinking by LEAPs and BOUNDs by being challenged. But, fortunately, Matt and I can and will make financial sacrifices for her to attend the gifted studies programs at WKU and place her in camps (all per her request) to help her achieve all the academic goals she wishes to reach. Our Isaac is equally as smart but has NO desire to do Super Saturdays. Part of me wants to push him, but the other part says don't sweat it, there's time. And, honestly, he's 6 and still has A LOT of growing up to do.

Karson was one of the fortunate FEW at Plano that was able to get into Hogwarts 101 with Ms. Neesa Richardson. All I can say is WOW, this woman brought her 'A' game to class every week. The first day of class, the children used the sorting hat to determine which Howarts House they would belong to.

Waiting for the results....

Karson was selected for Ravenclaw along with another girl-

-I have no idea who she is or where she goes to school.

Karson was really wanting something that identified her with her house. I scored a scarf on Amazon and since we're PRIME members, had it in 2 days =). She wore it to class the second week. She also brought a Quidditch trophy I altered to make it look like something they might receive at a match.

Her friend Becca was the only other Plano student in the class. Becca and Karson played volleyball together this season. It's nice knowing a buddy in class.

The class concocted some kind of green potion on this day also. Karson was tickled by it. Me, not so much. My kids don't do well with anything like that. It usually ends up stuck in their hair, on their clothes, carpet, anywhere that it doesn't belong. Glad she had fun with it in class because it went straight into the garbage when we got home. I know, no FUN mom, but truly, that stuff was messier than ten tubs of Moon Sand.

On the third week, the kids got to play Quidditch. This was Karson's favorite day.

The kids grabbing at the seeker.

I didn't take MOST of these pictures. Her teacher provided each child with a powerpoint of the Hogwarts experience on the last day, HOW COOL! Karson always came home with a newletter or some project they worked on like wand making, broomsticks, potion (ick), etc. The class experience was worth WAY more than the cost of attending. We can't wait to take our kids to Universal Studios SOON so they can have the Harry Potter Experience. Thanks NEESA for a wonderful class!

Life is Grand When You...

2011-11-14T13:45:00.020-06:00

I love my Paint'n' Place plates with the kids handprints on them. Here's Isaac's turkey plate, gooble, gooble. We often move from Halloween straight into Christmas and simply forget all about Thanksgiving. I don't think there's anything wrong with looking forward to Christmas and the events that surround it--and THE FOOD. However, Christmas isn't even on my RADAR right now. Not only was October a BIG month for us this year with fall break, birthdays and Halloween, but November is too (and not really because of the holiday). My mom and Debbie both celebrate their 60th birthdays, and Matt celebrates his 35th. But before I get to the birthday part, I want to take a moment to cover some of last week's events ........
I finished my FIRST scrapbook. I decided to do a sports themed one since I have MANY loose team and individual sports photos of the kids. I am in NO WAY a pro-scrapbooker and really don't intend on taking this up as a hobby; although, I can see why so many people are drawn to it.

Karson made Plano Elementary school's Academic Team as a 3rd grader. She took the test a couple of weeks ago to see if she qualified. We got the news this week. She will be competing in the language arts portion. We're very proud of her but know it will be hard work. She has practice every Wednesday morning at 7:15. Eeek, that's early. Fortunately, her teacher has offered to help get her to school--Ms. T is a God-send, for sure!

Miles hasn't been feeling the best lately. I decided to take him to the doctor on Wednesday when he was complaining about his throat hurting. Fortunately the doctor didn't think he had anything but allergies and maybe a virus? He hasn't had a fever or anything, just feeling bad. 24 Zyrtec and Mucinex were flowing in the ol' household. The picture is of Karson helping Miles with some of the school work he missed on Wednesday. I'm thinking we may need to let her educate him--he responds better to her.

Karson had her first basketball practice last Monday but within minutes jammed her finger. She was kaput and had no interest in continuing. Good thing because her finger swole up and was pretty bruised around the knuckles. While I was at the doc with Miles, I asked him about Karson's hand and went ahead and got the "go-ahead" for an x-ray if we needed it. Her finger was better by the end of the week, but it was touch and go for days =).

Since we were off for Election, Karson's friend Emma invited her do some running around with her family. I knew if she did this, I would never hear the END OF IT with Isaac. My little chicken is always complaining about never getting to play with friends--especially when Karson has them (which is often). I then have to explain to him how he NEVER wants me to leave him with friends and that he's had lots of playdate offers--which he has declined. Tuesday, I decided to take matters into my own hands and invite his buddy Patrick over for a playdate to buffer the Emma-event. He and Patrick had the best time. Isaac told me afterwards that he would go to someone's house if they invited him. We SHALL see.

Yes, that's right, we've been drawing on the carpet. Why, you ask? Because the kids are getting NEW carpet tomorrow. Oh YEAH! I can hardly wait to have their nasty carpet ripped out and replaced with the beautiful carpet we have in our bedroom and living room. Here's hoping the stomach bug won't rear it's ugly head this year!!!!

Karson and Elizabeth's BFF girls on the carpet. Love it!

The boys bunkbed is the hardest to tear down. I kind of like having a "camp-out" on the floor. I miss snuggling with the boys. It's terribly hard to do in a bunkbed.

I got my first SMART phone. My contract was up for renewal back in July, but Matt really wanted (and needed) a Smart Phone for school. We combined accounts for a few months until his contract was up for renewal (last Friday). I've been brand loyal with Samsung for years, but the company is working on a new version of the Showcase and didn't have their new product at the cell company when we went in. I ended up with a Motorola Milestone. The idea of a smart phone simply doesn't appeal to me. I know it's wonderful to have information at your fingertips AT ALL TIMES, but seriously, I think I need a break from technology sometimes, ya know. I'm sure I'll jump on the Smart Phone band wagon, but for now, it's simply my telephone to talk and text on.

-------------------------------

BIRTHDAY #1 ~ November 13

I wasn't blogging when my mom turned 50, but I sure wish I had a post about it. It was pretty comical. We planned a surprise party for her at Mancino's (which is a local grinder/pizza joint). My mom DOES NOT like Mancino's! I'm starting to wonder why we had it there??? Anyway, a new restaurant opened close to her house with a big party room--oh, yeah that's why we had the party there. We planned a menu and secretly invited guests, unbeknown-st to mom. That night, she had a pot of chili going, was in her comfy clothes (aka NON-dressy) and ready to hunker down for the night when dad suggested they go to Mancino's to meet all of us (me, Matt, Shannon & Paul) for dinner. Grudgingly she agreed and left her delicious stew on the stove. The rest was history--SURPRISE--she couldn't believe everyone was there and "in on it". I don't remember much else. Like I said, years ago, and the only pics. I have are hard copies--maybe one day I'll get a scanner?

When this year rolled around, #60, Shannon and I talked about having a party for mom on her birthday which fell on a Sunday (yesterday). We settled on Mariah's for ease and convenience to our downtown church. When we mentioned it to dad, his response, "Let's make it a surprise." So, the wheels were back in motion to pull one over on Mom, AGAIN. I got the invitation together, Shannon mailed them, I booked Mariah's and got a count together. Family and friends RSVP-ed.

Our plan worked. Look at mom's face....

Party guests included family,

friends,

Mom's parents and brother were able to make it.

It was a perfect day to celebrate with Diane/Mom/Meme!

Blowing out six candles is much easier than 60! Mom's facebook status of the day "My mind screams thirty, but my body screams sixty." HAH!

Opening up her party gifts.

Happy birthday MOM! We love you!

Student of the Week

2011-11-08T08:19:00.009-06:00

We've had Karson as "Surfer of the Week" earlier this year, Isaac as "Sailor of the Week" last week (both at Plano), and this week Miles is "Student of the Week" at E.E.P. I am a PRO at this by now =). Let's face it, these are Mommy projects, and RIGHT UP MY ALLEY. I based Miles poster on Isaac's from last week, listing a few of his favorite things:

We started with his name: Miles Collin Deaton--his middle name is unique to us because it's after both of his grandpas. Col = Colvin, lin = Lindle creating Collin.

I put both of his school pictures on there from E.E.P.

A few of his favorites~color: blue, food: PB&J, sport: golf, and pet: Green Jill (our turtle).

I put a picture of our family on there along with an "altered" picture of Miles as Choo Choo train driver. Our kids especially liked it. Then, Miles wrote his name at the bottom--we're working on those gross motor skills and getting there slooooowly.

Miles has thoroughly enjoyed this year at preschool and made some new buddies, Layne and David. Miles and Layne have had a few lunch dates, and Miles and David have a playdate tomorrow. Both children (and their moms) are precious!

These pictures were taken at the school's field trip to Jackson's Orchard earlier in the year. I meant to write a post about it but never got around to it.

The kids weren't supposed to pick the corn but the sign didn't say anything about the playing with the corn on the ground. Miles and Layne enjoyed locating all the trampled on stalks, peeling them, and then throwing them into the field as bombs. Good times =).

Class picture at the cornfield maze. Love how David is giving the camera a thumbs up.

Miles found his pumpkin in the patch pretty quickly. We were "speed" looking because the hayride guy told us if our class moved quickly, he'd wait for us before picking up another group.

Playing around! How lucky are we B.G. people to have a place like Jackson's Orchard! I can't imagine going a single year without a trip to the patch. And every year they add something new and exciting. Thanks Jackson's for all the memories made over the past 9+ years. Oh yeah, and thanks for those delicious fried apple pies. YUM!

We're awfully proud of our little student of the week!

To SAY we've been busy LATELY...

2011-10-29T20:06:00.019-05:00

is a COMPLETE understatement. I will attempt to blog about all the projects/happenings/events in our lives JUST this week.

I got to eat lunch with the kids on Monday at Plano. I rarely get to do this because I get out of preschool (T/Th) at the same time the kids go to lunch, and Miles is at preschool on the other days (M,W,F) dismissing at the same time. In order for me to eat lunch with them, I have to book it to town and grab Miles a little early from school and book it back to Plano (and hopefully not get a speeding ticket). SO, when I get to go to lunch with them, the lunch better be good, right? And for me, there is no other day that's better than CHEESY MAX STICKS day. Warren County follows a three week lunch rotation so Cheesy Bread only comes around once a month, and this is the day I eat with them =).

Isaac came home with an "All About Me" poster project. He is the Sailor of the Week in his class.

I especially love his answers, particularly in the last photo where it says "I show others I care by _____listening_____. Isaac is quite selective in his listening skills. It's definitely not his strong suit. I do love this poster though and how he decorated it.

Karson came home with a PROJECT. And that means, our house is turned upside down until it's complete. Actually, she hasn't been to demanding with this one. I wish the 3rd grade teachers would call this project what it is, a PARENTS project. Karson is supposed to creatively construct a cabin based on the story, "William's House". Since she misplaced her reading book and was a bit panicked, we had to reserve a copy from the library. I emailed her reading and homeroom teachers to let them know about the missing book. And while I was heading to town to pick up the library copy, her teacher texted me and said they found her reading book. Go figure!

The building of William's house prompted Isaac to start an Art Company. He loves playing with the Woodsies Popsicle Sticks. I've had my glue gun going for days as we attempt to do all of our building.

Karson met with her basketball team on Tuesday evening. No, I'm not coaching this year. Karson has high hopes of going skiing with the church. We haven't been able to do this in the past because of my commitment to the team. We're excited about the upcoming season (and going skiing with the church). Nat's is having their basement sale this week, and I scored a great new ski jacket for her.
Karson has been working on thank you notes for all her nice birthday gifts. I love that she is old enough (and wants) to tackle that responsiblity now.

Her birthday cupcake on Plano's wall.
I've been diligently packing treat bags for school events. I'm thinking 3rd grade may be my cut off year for doing this. Plus, Karson's class isn't dressing up this year (which is fine by me). Isaac has decided to be a doctor zombie (see trunk or treat pics below). Fortunately I found a costume that suited him on Amazon.com. Thank goodness for prime. I ordered on Monday and had it Wednesday for Trunk or Trreat. He LOVES it. However, I doubt he will be able to wear it to school on Monday--I emailed his teacher to check??? The verdict, no blood, guess we'll have to be a wolf ninja again.

Wednesday night was Trunk or Treat at our church. It's nice having these events and fellow- shipping with our neighbors.

SOME GHOULISH TRUNKS

SOME GHOULISH CHARACTERS...

LOTS OF SPOOKTACULAR FUN!

I started a nielsen diary this week. I have a soft spot for advertising marketers. I did my share of cold calling and surveys during my time at WKU. I always feel an obligation to fill out surveys and participate in consumer reports. The cool thing about nielsen is they actually pay money for their reports. The books are easy to fill out. And because we aren't big T.V. watchers, I don't have much to report. Win, win.

Worn-out Miles in his chair. He reminds me of Al Bundy--this chair is HIS chair and he stakes claim on it daily. He fills it with all his things--toys, Dsi--I find all kinds of knickknacks in this chair.

Thursday Karson and her friend Kaylee had their last talent show practice. Brandy (Kaylee's mom) and I went over to the school to practice. It was way to COLD and WET that day, and the girls needed at least one more practice. Wish we had thought to go there before...it was nice having the gym to work on their routine.

Friday was the "Plano's Got Talent" talent show. The show was NOTHING like when we* were kids and simply performed in front of our classmates. *I say "we" but should say "others"--I was never brave enough for Talent Show. Karson's talent show was nothing like that. You actually had to audition for a part in the show. There was an admission fee for us audience members. It was kind of a big deal. Karson and Kaylee were the 3rd act and performed beautifully. I was super proud of them. It's not easy getting up in front of all your peers, their parents, teachers and staff and showcasing a talent.

Their performance.

Matt and I went to an adult Halloween Party as Bacon and Egg afterwards.

SIMPLE was on the agenda. Our week has been so crazy, we didn't have time to be very creative. I thought our friends had some of the best costumes EVER though.

Me and my girls!

Paul and Shannon had the most HILARIOUS costumes!

Karson started Super Saturdays at WKU today.
Karson is in Hogworts 101. Her friend Becca is also in the class. They divided up the first day, and unlike 90% of her classmates, she chose to be in the House of Ravenclaw (not Gryffindor). I asked her why to which she responded, "Their symbol is an eagle which is intelligent, and I'm intelligent." Pretty good answer, eh? I tried my best to get Isaac to participate In Super Saturdays this year, but he had no interest. I wouldn't care to push him, but it costs $80. AND, I don't want to go to battle with him the next four Saturdays over it.
We spent the later part of the afternoon carving pumpkins from the Farmer's Market. Busy, Busy, Busy.

SPA-Fabulous Deaton Style

2011-10-22T07:45:00.023-05:00

Karson's birthday was an EXTRA special affair this year. Since her birthday fell on a Saturday (today), we decided to have a BIG to-do. She mentioned something months ago about having her birthday at Spa Fabulous (a local day spa for girls), and I really didn't mind that. BUT, I have a team of talented friends that can pull off something like that but EVEN better. On top of that, I knew we could do everything for a fraction of the cost. I wanted her party to be perfect in every way. She hasn't had a big celebration since she was 5 years old. She has developed friendships at Plano with girls that I have absolutely fallen in love with. I knew this party would truly be FABULOUS!

Karson with her fingernail polish wreath, compliments of Aunt Lisa.

**You can find some fabulous wreaths on her facebook website: Lollydots.

No party with girlfriends is complete without a chocolate fountain. Can I get an amen ladies?

I think the girls loved this more than the pampering =)!

My talented friend Larie Vernon whipped her up some cupcakes, and I added Bon Bon nail polishes to spa-them-up.

Chocolate can be good for other things too--like FACIALS!

We love BEING GIRLS!!!!

Crackle polish anyone? Shannon is the master ARTeest on nails. She had her nails painted all different colors with crackle so the girls could pick and choose the look they were going for. I wish I had gotten a picture of her nails (they looked like those display nails at salons).

Feather hair extensions are a definite MUST. Karson told me all the popular colors at Plano. She already has TWO in (pink and purple) and added a blue one at the party. I ordered a bunch of different colors off of Amazon and stylist Lisa threaded them in. We also got some spray glitter and hair color to make them all extra sparkly!

My mom became our make-up artist by default. One of my friends who is a Mary Kay representative offered to glam the girls up but had a great uncle pass away and was unable to attend. Luckily, my mom is a Mary Kay consultant and had loads of extra palettes on hand. I thought she did a wonderful job and the girls loved MARVELOUS.

The glamorous bunch!!!

We had a fashion show after all the glitz, but I didn't get any pictures. They girls came down the "catwalk"/stairwell to Katy Perry's "Teenage Dream." Lisa got it all on video.

Blowing out 9 candles--WHAT, I have a 9 year old??? I also forgot to get a picture of the champagne flutes I bought. I made sparkling pink punch and served them in colorful flutes.

Opening up her SPA-tacular gifts. She got all the gifts a glam girl should get--like Justice clothes, Pandora charms, Bath and Body glitter, Barbie dolls, the works. Her adorable teacher Ms. Tinsley took most of the photos for the evening. Karson was so tickled that she came. We sure do love being Plano Panthers and for all the friendships made there the past four years. Happy 9th to my precious daughter. We are thankful and proud of you every single day!!!

5 Steps to PAR-TEE with Miles

2011-10-17T09:50:00.025-05:00

Sweet Miles turned 5 years old on October 17th. I decided weeks back that he definitely needed to have a golf birthday party this year. The boys LOVES it. He played almost every time we were at Beech Bend this summer, and Matt takes him to play at Otte pretty often. I really didn't anticipate the struggle it would be to find party ideas and supplies that were golf related, but it WAS. I would have preferred a birthday party at an ACTUAL golf course or driving range but none around here offer that sort of thing. SO, I had to settle on Southern Lanes Bowling Alley which has a mini-golf course in the back. Then, I had trouble finding a golf themed cake--apparently, they are non-existent in Bowling Green. If you don't have a specialty cake made, you are stuck with an edible image cake from Sam's--which is what I settled on since 4-5 year olds would be hacking into it. Wanna find golf plates, cups or napkins? Good luck with that. Unless your child hasa football, basketball, baseball or soccer party, you are PLUM out of luck, even at PARTY 1 SUPERSTORE--are you kidding! I looked for golf-themed decorations, had no luck. I had to settle for golf tees and "We're #1" and "Go Team" green tattoos. I looked for shirts with golf on them, zilch. You would think with a million children's clothing stores at our local mall that have GRAPHIC tees, you could find at least one golf shirt in the mix. Nope. I was forced to come up with my own designs and ideas for everything---why, oh why, do I put myself under this kind of pressure--weirdo!

5 STEPS TO MAKE THE PERFECT 5th PAR-TEE:

Step 1: Book Southern Lanes Bowling alley for October 16. Sunday afternoon works well for a birthday. Check!

Step 2: Go to Mighty Dollar and grab some white and green table cloths to use instead of the standard margarita tablecloths (you bowling alley people do REALIZE this is a party room for kids--see the clown?). Sprinkle tattoos and golf tees all over the table...

so Andrew, Isaac, Tucker and Trapper can use them to stab their food and cups =). Check!

Step 3: Snag a great photo of Miles golfing, get it developed and turn it into Sam's for the cake. Check!

Step 4: create a shirt with an iron-on transfer for Miles to wear at his party....

only for him to spill ketchup on Applebee's before his party (see the huge blot right under his chin). He sure enjoyed his ice cream sundae compliments of the Applebee's staff. Check!

AMF Home Videos

Step 5: Create and invitation and invite some party guests. Woo Hoo! Check!

My adorable golfer leading the pack!

His fabulous golfing crew!

And a couple of silly characters!

PIZZA and ...

CAKE (bet you thought I was gonna say corn).

Happy 5th birthday baby boy!!!

Time for presents, yesssssss!

Finishing off the afternoon playing games and winning tickets in the arcade.

Our family of five celebrating #5 with the 5th member of our family. We're FIVE alive!

Destin BABY

2011-10-01T20:00:00.047-05:00

I've said it before and will say it again and again, there is NOTHING like the beach in the fall. I cannot imagine spending Fall Break anywhere else, and there is no place more beautiful than Destin, Florida.

WE LOVE THE BEACH!!!!!!!!!!!

SATURDAY, there are going to be some "sidenotes" throughout this blog. In fact I will begin with one. SIDENOTE: Saturday was monumental for Isaac. On the drive to the beach, he was munching on a banana Laffy Taffy and hurt his tooth. Now up until this point, he hasn't lost ANY teeth. I think Karson had lost half her baby teeth before 1st grade =). His teeth are growing in exactly like Karson's--in a row right behind the baby teeth. Isaac already has two permanent teeth growing in, and the tooth he hurt was right in front of one. I knew it was just a matter of time before it came out. The tooth bothered him all day/night when he was eating. Before bed, I decided to yank it on out. It was bloody and tender around his gums and came out. Isaac went NUT-ZO. He was so MAD about losing a tooth and said he wanted to keep ALL his teeth. He was so hysterical--Matt said, "buddy, you're acting like you lost your best friend." After he finally calmed down, he climbed into bed with my mom. We told him that the Destin tooth fairy pays better than the Bowling Green one. As well she should, you should've seen the POSH digs we stayed in this year.
Isaac and Evan texted for about an hour on the way down. You can imagine the "texts" that came through.

Here was the VIEW from our porch. WOW!!!

Back to Saturday, after a long 9-hour excursion, we arrived at Villa Coyaba, our home away from home. Actually V.C. is NOTHING like my home. It was one of the most gorgeous places I've ever been. Our condo looked like something off MTV Cribs.

Ground Floor, room 106
The first day we arrived, the kids immediately stripped down and got in their swim suits and headed straight for the beach. The weather couldn't have been more perfect this week. Matt and Shannon tackled the groceries later that evening. I think we ate almost every single thing they purchased in about a day and a half. What is it about being at the beach that makes you HUNGRY ALL THE TIME? While they were gone, I took the kids crab hunting. Last year they covered the sand as far as the eye could see, but Saturday night, they were M.I.A. We may have gone to early in the evening???

SUNDAY, I promised Isaac I would take him to Build-A-Bear, and Shannon had a great coupon that expired THAT day. Isaac has never gone to B.A.B.W. but has always wanted to build his own bear. Since the other two kids have bears and have had the experience (Karson, more than once), I wanted him to have his OWN special day doing that. Me, Shannon, Evan and Isaac went, and the boys had a great time making their bears. Evan chose a dog which Isaac kept referring to as a Build-A-Dog. Isaac picked a black bear and named him Josh. He's all about the "formal" names for his stuffed animals. He picked out a Darth Vadar outfit and light saber for his bear.

BOYS DAY!!!

We spent the rest of day at the beach and pool. Our friends the Vernon's came over and hung out. All of our kids get along so well.

Family Photo shoot before dinner.

We went to The Backporch for dinner. It always a good time. I don't think the food is the greatest but the atmosphere is fun. The kids can play on the beach playground while the adults can visit and enjoy a peaceful conversation.

We took some wonderful sunset pictures.

MONDAY, Shannon and I went for a nice, long walk. Afterwards, me, Mom and Shannon did some outlet mall shopping. My goal was to try and find Karson some size 9's from Gymboree, the ONLY store that carries that size. SIDENOTE: Really, who in the world dictates sizes for kids. I'd like to have a little chat with them. It goes straight from 7/8 to 10/12? Do they really think girls that are 9 years old can wear clothes for girls who are 12? They need an 8x like the 6x. It's been so hard finding Karson a wardrobe for this winter. Size 8's are small and Size 10's are BIG. I had no luck at Gymboree with sz. 9's but did find some cute buys. The more outlet mall shop, the more I realize, the deals aren't all that--they really aren't much different from regular retail store sales. I think they are feeling the "recession" like everyone else. At any rate, we did walk away with a few deals. We spent the rest of the day beaching it up.
We met some friends at Pompano Joe's for dinner. Since our party was large, we decided to sit outside on the patio. Our kids aren't designed for long amounts of time at restaurants, and since our party consisted of 22, dinners are long. The cool thing about sitting out on the patio was that there was a guy there singing and playing some great music.
The kids had a blast dancing ESPECIALLY Ansley V. and Miles. They danced the night away. We were waiting for A.J. to plant a wet one on Miles.

TUESDAY: The guys planned a golf outing for early afternoon so us girls had a "morning out" at the fabulous DONUT HOLE. Afterwards, we took the little girls to the mall for some shopping.

GIRLS DAY!!!
We headed out to the beach when we got back and hung out with our friends the Caffey's (who arrived the night before).

That afternoon/evening, mom, Shannon and I we did a little more shopping at the Destin Commons. It's so much fun shopping at a "ritzy" mall. I think we had the most fun at Sephora having make-up applied. SIDENOTE: we just got an ULTA in Bowling Green. I can't wait to go there for a "free" makeover and to do their Dermalogica Flash Exfoliant facial.

We went to see "What's Your Number?" with Anna Faris.

WEDNESDAY, we (me, Matt, Paul, Shannon and dad) did a BIG breakfast sans kids at Another Broken Egg Cafe. The pancake I got was about as big as a whole pizza. When we got back home, Shannon and I took a nice, long walk to burn off some calories. The guys took the kids to the park up the road. We spent most of the day at the beach/pool getting crispier by the minute. I had gotten some facial sunscreen at the Life is Good store for 1/2 price the day before and decided I needed to make another trip to the Destin Commons for more. It's good stuff and CHEAP. I took my uncle Mike with me so we could do some birthday shopping for my mom. I also needed to swing into the outlet mall and RETURN a dress I bought for Karson--remember I suffer from buyer's remorse.

Mom, Dad and Mike wanted to have an early dinner so they went to Outback. When they returned, we did a dinner date with Paul and Shannon at P.F. Chang's, the outlet mall and The Track.

I managed to get the slowest car on the wooden track, go figure. I guess they knew my nickname in high school was "chicken."

Game Playing. SIDENOTE: Karson has been asked to join the chess team at Plano. She informed that it's only for 4th-6th graders but her teacher felt she is smart enough to be on the team. All we need is ONE MORE THING to do, ya know =). She called Pops and asked if he'd teach her how to play. He brought a set to Destin with him and taught her the basics. Isaac is also playing.
The kids also came up with a "bowling game" with empty coke bottles/cans and a volleyball. They played that almost daily.

THURSDAY, I did some working out that morning (I've tried to keep up with some kind of work out routine this week but feel it's been effortless with all the EATING). After the work out I got in the pool with Karson. Have I mentioned that our pool is most definitely the ICY-est on the beach! It's a beautiful infinity pool that is NOT heated and quite chilly. I didn't stay in long, and since we don't have a hot tub at our place, swimming is limited. Karson and Isaac were ready to head over to Brad and Millie's place (next door) and get in their pool/hot tub. Matt took them, and I relaxed on the beach with my mom.

Meme and her girls!

Thursday is a BIG night for us. All of us B.G. peeps go out on a group date.

Me and my smokin' hot man!

The night begins with a trip to our favorite resturant Louisianna Laginappe, followed by Krispy Kreme donuts...

and ending with a trip to Hurricane Lanes.

FRIDAY, we spent the morning at The Track. I had been wanting to take Miles mini-golfing all week. He LUVS it. SIDENOTE: I wanted to score a nice "golfing" picture for Miles's birthday cake. Apparently, there are NO GOLF THEMED cakes available in Bowling Green. I am stuck with an edible image cake which is fine, but I needed an image to put in it. And, I wanted that image to be of my almost 5-year-old golfing.

Matt wanted an action shot.

I wanted a great big CHEESY picture.

Isaac had ZERO interest in golfing but did some quality time with his bear Josh--they were inseparable this week.

A boy and his bear.

Isaac wanted to take a picture with the large giraffe. He sleeps with a small giraffe-like horse (wierd combo, I know) that he likes to call Jerry. In the picture, he said, "Mom take a picture with me and BIG Jerry."

Friday evening is also the "dreaded" family pictures event. I say dreaded but thought the kids did really well this year, especially in the goofy photo.

Fortunately, Paul's camera had a timer on it for our group picture. I'm thinking this may be mom and dad's Christmas card this year. It definitely depicts us WELL!

This is the first year that I have NOT been ready to come back home. Don't misundertand, I love being at the beach but am usually winding down towards the end and ready to get "back in the saddle" so to speak. NOT THIS YEAR! The weather was exceptional and the beach was more beautiful than ever. A month trip may have been enough, not sure? The week was superb! I can't wait to make Destin my permanent HOME, one day....

Look Out America's Got Talent

2011-09-26T21:37:00.015-05:00

I have one child (Isaac) who isn't interested in doing ANYTHING. And, then, I have a child (Karson) who is interested in doing EVERYTHING. I guess the balance is good and helps me to maintain my sanity (if that even exists when 3 kids?).

The ONLY thing my daughter took away from the FIRST day of school was that there was a talent show this year. She's been talking about it for weeks. And, I've been wracking my brain trying to help her come up with something to do "talent-wise".

The saga beings with 10 points: (1) I call my brother in law Ben to see if he could play the guitar if Karson and Isaac did a funny Veggie Tales skit--he said he would. (2) Isaac adamantly said that HE WILL NOT do the talent show (no surprise there)--Karson's on her own. (3) Karson has been trying to learn how juggle and wants to take lessons (anyone?, anyone?). (4) I tell Karson to ask her talented friend Leslie if she might want to do something? (5) Leslie tells her NO. (6)I've been telling Karson that she's very talented in sports and smart, but you need a talent such as singing, playing an instrument, dancing, tumbling to do something in the talent show. (7) As she is mulling those VALID points over, she tells me, "Mom, all I need is carpet and a wall." =) Not sure if I mentioned in any prior posts that my children are obsessed my doing handstands. I have dirty feet prints all over the walls of the house. (8) I tell her a hand stand IS talented, but she still needed to come up with something else. (9) She finally has some luck when her friend Kaylee agreed to do something with her--WHEW. (10) They decide Karson will jump rope and Kaylee will hula hoop. AND the act is BORN!

I was thinking the show would probably be at the end of the year (ours always were), but Karson assured me it was SOON. Sure enough, the audition papers came home about a week ago. When the sign up sheets was posted, Karson waisted NO time getting their names on the list.

Brandy (Kaylee's mom) and I really wanted the girls to do "their thing". We helped them come up with some basic steps. Brandy picked up some hoops, and I made them some dancing wands. The girls both had identical shirts from the Taylor Swift concert that they wore--so they looked like a team. They chose the song "Baby, Give Me One More Chance" and came up with a minute's worth of material. We figured if they made it through try-outs we could help them come up with MORE, but a minute was enough for the small amount of time we practiced.

Check out their act...and decide it you think they made it to the show?

**Okay, I won't leave you in suspense. THEY MADE IT! Brandy and I acted like a bunch of teenage girls on American Idol--jumping up and down with excitement. We're SO proud of them. The show is on October 28 which only gives us a few weeks to come up with a 3-minute routine. We welcome ANY and ALL help =).

Ya Win Some, Ya Lose Some

2011-09-25T21:58:00.010-05:00

For the past two weeks, our royal castle (aka 2,000 sq. ft. ranch style home) has been hustling and bustling preparing for Karson's debut as a Royal Court Princess Nominee for Plano Elementary. After being elected by her peer's to represent Ms. Tinsley's class, she accepted the title proudly! She came home and got to work but not before mentioning that they had to elect three different BOYS to be prince for her class. Apparently royal courts aren't for the boys! In fact, when I vaguely mentioned it to Isaac, he gruffly said, "aaack, I don't even know what you're talking about and I wouldn't do it anyway."

This has been our first experience with the royal court, and from what I've heard, it's only been done one other time--the first year Plano opened. The court is set up to raise money for STLP (student technology) and to assist kids financially for the state competition in Lexington in the spring. Each child selected was supposed to send in two photos (a baby and a current photo) for a slideshow--which I'm sure was put together by STLP.

All class representatives created a box. The students voted by placing money in the boxes each day. There was only a thirty minute window for voting. Then the money was collected, counted and locked up. Each penny raised was 1 vote. Coming up with money was no problem for Karson. We are fortunate having such a strong support system of family and friends. The money rolled in--plus lots of her school friends were voting for her. Karson got more and more excited as the weeks passed. I don't know if it was Karson's confidence that sold me or what, but I sure felt like she had a VERY good shot of winning.

The court was broken down as follows and winners were to be announced at Fall Festival: Duke and Duchess (Grades K-2), Prince and Princess (Grades 3-4), andKing and Queen (Grades 5-6) for our school.

Our neighbor Mia was selected as a duchess representative for Kindergarten.

My biggest stressor before Fall Festival was what on earth to dress her in? Karson doesn't have a large closet full of selections, I'm a minimalist, ya know! She only has a handful of dresses, and to me, none of them seemed appropriate for a Fall Festival event. I bought a cute little number at Crazy 8 and after trying it on Karson decided that I didn't like it that much. I have THE WORST case of buyers remorse and am always taking stuff back. I chose something more practical from Gymboree and thought she looked beautiful.

With my fingers crossed and my stomach in knots, the announcements were made. My sweet Karson DID NOT win. I was proud of her and how she kept her composure because I know it must've been hard not hearing her name called. The court closed all the fall festival activities, and we made a b-line for the exit of the gym. Karson burst into tears immediately after we were outside. Both of the boys reacted like...what in the world is she crying about? They had no idea what had happened and then spent the next couple of minutes comforting their sister. It was a sad and beautiful moment =).

**A couple of bright notes: (1) the court raised $2500 for STLP and (2) the true honor for Karson was being elected by her peers. The rest of the contest had to do with how much money was donated, and we will never know those results.

In other fall festival news, the kids enjoyed their time there. We visited all the classrooms, played all the games, collected all the junk, uh, I mean prizes, ate enough candy to make Dr. Elliott angry, and fellow shipped with friends. At one point, Miles won a 2-liter Coke which I had to carry around all night. After a while, I popped it open and started drinking out of it. Why not, right?

Miles never quite got the football kick down. I felt sorry for the poor guy chasing the ball everywhere.

I didn't take as many pictures this year. I had a lot on my mind with court and getting Karson changed and for this reason...

Seriously, my children (minus K) DO NOT like having their picture made. They don't realize it would take 2 seconds to smile and get it over with, but instead they choose to whine for 10 minutes, and I NEVER get a good shot. Any opinions of preventing this??? I'll take 'em.

Belated Grandparents Post

2011-09-18T22:14:00.009-05:00

I meant to post this sooner considering Grandparent's Day was LAST Sunday and not today. BUT, it's hard keeping track of everything with three kids going in three different directions at ALL times. Miles had his Grandparent's Day Program at Greenwood Park EEP last Monday. I was keeping my fingers crossed that he would actually "perform" this go around. Last year his only preschool program was the Christmas Show, and Simon Cowell would've torn him apart if he had been there judging. Miles looked like a knot on a log, and to top it off, he happened to sit next to the most musically animated gal in the class, Ms. Lydia. Occasionally he would shift his eyes over to Lydia and kind of mimic her motions but nothing much.

Miles has been much more musical this year. He always comes home from school singing his color or bible songs. I was very proud of his performance. I video-ed the "I am Special" song which was the last number. Can you tell which little one is Ms. Lydia? You guessed it, front and center, in the pink dress. I LOVE her enthusiasm and animation--such a doll!

Miles has made some new buddies this year. The little boy behind him in the yellow is named Layne. My mom recently subbed at EEP and said the two of them play so well together. Ms. Teresa has also said that--we may have to schedule a playdate soon. The boy in the brown is named Dastin. His family lives a street over from us, and we have become fast friends. I have his little brother Zian in my 3 year old class. Precious family, and there is good chance Dastin and Miles could be in class together at some point at Plano. I was hoping that Miles would make some new friends this year. His closest pals Trapper and Samuel are not at EEP this year which made him (and me) a little sad. BUT, based on the his huge smile, it looks like Miles is happy as a clam with his new buddies.
How did I get so lucky having such a precious 4 year old son? Although his entire first year was a complete blurr to me, I am SO enjoying these moments with him. I love watching him grow and learn and make me proud =)!

Our Moment to SPEAK NOW

2011-09-17T20:55:00.023-05:00

Karson and I finally made it to Taylor Swift's SPEAK NOW concert. Whoop, whoop! It has definitely been a journey. Read my July 6, post titled "Song of the South" to get up to speed with our Taylor saga. I had tank tops made for the summer concert we planned to attend. Thankfully the weather has still be pleasant enough for us to sport them in September (with jeans, of course).

After getting all dolled up, we took off for Nashville around 5 p.m. yesterday afternoon. I figured two hours would give us plenty of time to get there. The concert started at 7 p.m. After quick stops for gas and some Wendy's, we rolled into Nashville right around 6:45 and were stuck in downtown traffic. Ick. The concert was at Bridgestone Arena. I knew we could find some parking fairly close but was concerned when I saw ALL the traffic. Parking downtown is a nightmare. I had a parking plan in mind (based on prior internet research) but quickly squashed it when I saw the digital clock in the Camry ticking away and bumper to bumper cars. I knew we wouldn't miss much if we were a little late, but we were SO excited. I made a quick left on 8th Avenue and found a really great lot about 1 block from the concert. Whew!

I can't think of the last BIG concert I attended, but I am very certain that it was NOTHING like this one. Nashville was hopping. The vibes that night reminded me so much of our trip to Disney a few years ago. Everything was so magical and euphoric. We soaked the whole experience up.

We even walked the red carpet. Karson told me a few days before the concert how lucky she felt and that she couldn't believe she was seeing her very first celebrity. Love her!
Need to Breatheopened up the show. I had no idea who they were and had to ask the 10th grader sitting next to me. I only recognized one of their songs called "Something Beautiful". They did a fantastic job.

Waiting for Taylor...We love TAYLOR!!! I don't think we were alone!

SPARKS FLY

YOU BELONG WITH ME

OUR SONG

BACK TO DECEMBER, Karson's favorite

Taylor came into the crowd at one point during the show and made her way to the other end of the arena (our end) which was practically a stone's throw from where we were sitting. A tree came down from the ceiling where she sat and played about 3 or 4 different slower songs. It was awesome!

SPEAK NOW

The crowd went INsanely wild when Taylor started talking about meeting up with some of her friends in Nashville which included Haley from Paramore. Haley came out and rocked Misery Business. Very awesome moment in the night!

I wish I could say we lasted the ENTIRE show, but we didn't =(. Karson got incredibly tired and started getting cold around 10:30 at which point she also had to pee which meant we had to climb over about 20 people to go the restroom. Plus, (and I'm not complaining just adding) our section consisted of about 6 rows. We were in the 2nd row. There was one row in front of us that had a retaining wall and rail. I'm not kidding when I say our ENTIRE section was sitting down but a pack on girls directly in front of us. There were about 5 of them and they stood up the entire time. I can understand standing for an hour, even 2 hours, but after 3 hours, come on! I'm tired of standing up, and I KNOW Karson is tired. Half of the little girls in our section were already out cold. NOPE, not the gals in front of us. They came to party hard. I'm not knocking them, but I wish we could've switched places so Karson and I could sit and see the show (and not stand the WHOLE time). SO, Karson was over-done, and I was tired of looking at a wall of backs. I also didn't mind leaving because I knew we had an hour drive back home. I felt good about our decision because when we left, all the police officers were lining up outside which told me that the concert was about to end. I can't wait to go to another Taylor Swift concert. It almost makes me want to get tickets to the October show in Louisville (tickets that I sold on StubHub so I could attend this one). If you've got a little girl, this is a concert to see! An ENCHANTED evening with a Cover Girl (and Taylor too)!

Weekly Run Down...

2011-09-09T14:04:00.031-05:00

just in case anyone out there is wondering. My life is officially in FAST forward. Whether or not I'm ready for the school year to begin, it's chucking right along, rather quickly I might add. I think that's the thing I don't like about the kids going BACK to school. It makes the year go soooo FAST! It's already September, and Matt informed me last night that progress reports go out soon. Eeek. SO, how is OUR life progressing...well let me tell ya...beginning with last Friday. Karson, as you know, is playing on the Sassy Spikers. Our coach organized a scrimmage with another team from our area--let the competition begin. Volleyball, at this age, is NOTHING like basketball or softball where NO score is kept. Volleyball scores must be kept in order to determine a winner. Teams play the best 2 out of 3. I had no idea what to expect considering volleyball is new to us, but I can recognize pure talent when I see it. Karson has some "players" on her team. We have two girls who can overhand serve and practically ace it every time. This has to be ab-normal at this level of play. And, some of the girls on our team have siblings that play for SWHS Middle/High school. Our girls KNOW the sport. I felt sorry for the other team we scrimmaged. We didn't cream them by any means but did win all three of our matches. Go PLANO!

The girls had their first official game on Tuesday and won two games in a row. We're good! And the most important thing is Karson really enjoys it.

Saturday, we spent the day at Nolin with family. There is no shortage on boats at our place. I think everyone in our family has one. My cousin Lori and her husband Craig took the kids out tubing in their boat.

No boating adventure at the lake is complete without a trip to the candy dock.

We couldn't get Isaac in a tube. He was completely content eating snacks and basking in the sun. Can't say that I blame him! I was never big on water sports myself.

Evan and Isaac...two crazy peas in a pod!

It was a special day. We laid my Papaw Pogue to rest in the lake, his favorite place. The sunset was so pretty I had to take a picture. God shows up at the right moments in life. Matt read the 23rd Psalm and had a prayer. My cousin Brent spread his ashes on the water close to our cove. It was such a nice tribute, and I can't imagine a more appropriate burial for Papaw.

CAPTAIN Miles and his side kick Pops.

We took the kids to Dog Creek afterwards. They had been begging to go to the beach all day.

Sunday is always busy as usual. Thankfully it was a 3-day weekend. I spent Sunday afternoon cooking--for Labor Day. I was looking forward to a relaxing Monday. We planned to go to Paul and Shannon's Monday afternoon for a Labor Day get together.

Mmmm...Chocolate Scratch Cake.

I wanted to make a run to Hobby Lobby Monday morning. Karson and I were on a mission for some glitter paper. Since Matt was playing golf, the boys had to tag along. We decided to pick up some other goodies while we were there. The morning was rainy and gloomy, but at our house, it was CHEERY and messy as we painted.

Our finished products which will most likely end up in the trash at some point next week. I mean REALLY what do you do with stuff like this? It's temporary fun and helps them be creative, but other than that, it's trash-bound. We spent the afternoon having some good ol' fashioned fun at the Mags.

I'm not sure at what point I put out all my Halloween decorations. I was up in the attic going through clothes since it's cooled down so much and decided I might as well get all that decor down. As fast as my life is moving these days, Halloween is tomorrow.

This white ghost came down with my Halloween loot, and Miles has played with it like he plays with his army guys or power rangers. It has instantly become one of his favorite toys. Since the arms and legs are held on by screws, I am constantly trying to repair it for him. I guess I should be glad he didn't choose the glass ones to play with.

I picked up a dreadful Monster High outfit this week. Karson wanted to be a werewolf for Halloween a few weeks ago but has decided to go this route instead. Ick. Will these creepy people go away already! I managed to find some dress up clothes and a wig that didn't seem TOO mature.

Isaac has decided that he wants to be a zombie. The BIG orange tent is up which means a weekly trip to Halloween Express (aka free time for Mom). Isaac has found a bloody limb that he wants there which translates into being a zombie. However, when I show him pictures of what zombies look like, he's not at ALL interested in dressing up. He simply wants the bloody limb. SO, I may have a kid dressed in street clothes flashing a bloody limb for Halloween. WHATEVER, right!

Speaking of October, which is a BIG month for us, Karson and I have been planning her birthday party (thus the trip to Hobby Lobby on Monday).

Her birthday falls on a Saturday this year so I told her we could have an actual party this year. We celebrate her birthday every year but haven't had a FULL blown birthday party with lots of friends since she was 5 years old. We talked about Spa Fabulous but decided we could probably pull off our OWN spa party. My mom has offered to host it, and I've talked to my sister, Lisa G. and MacKenzie, my group of posh ladies to help in assisting with it. We're going to do chocolate facials, feather hair extensions, and manicures/pedicures with crackle polish. Lisa is going to bring her chocolate fountain, and I found some cute, colorful champagne glasses for punch. Aren't her invitations the cutest! She was ready to send them out this week, but I convinced her we needed to wait. Her birthday is over a month away, but she is SO excited. Okay, I KNOW I am planning WAY ahead people, but like I said, my life is in fast forward and showing no signs of slowing down.

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AND I also have to plan a 5th birthday for Miles. His won't be quite as elaborate and will have to involve golf. He loves GOLF. I had to dig up my $30/ea. soft touch holly bushes this week. Thanks Alvaton nursery for selling me FOUR that managed to DIE this summer. Miles has been using his putter and golfing off our front porch into the giant holes. Golf is his passion. Matt usually takes him to Otte once a week (they went yesterday) for some "golfing with holes" as Miles refers to it. I wish Otte had a party room. I would SO prefer that to Southern Lanes which is a bowling alley with a mini-golf course in the back. Ugh.

Photo Of the WEEK. I like how Miles is using his underwear as a cell phone clip along with his glock, glock guns. He's all gangster. His favorite song right now is "This is Why I'm Hot" by Nims (edited version of course). We have to listen to it mutiple times in the car rider line. If you hear thumping around 3:00-3:30, it's me and my thug.

Karson came home incredibly excited on Wednesday. She had been selected to represent her 3rd grade class as part of the Royal Coronation court for the Fall Festival activities. Two students (boy and girl) are selected from each class as a representative. The kids vote for their favorites during the week of Fall Fest and then at the actual event. I had to email the coordinator two pictures of Karson--a baby picture and a current picture. Here is what I selected:

There will be a slide show at Fall Fest, and the winners will be crowned. I know she has high hopes of being selected, and like Maid Marian, it's a long shot but what an honor to be selected. Very cool!

Here is the box she took to school today. VOTE FOR KARSON!

Last night we headed over to SWHS for the girls volleyball game. I am totally into volleyball right now, and the game was amazing to watch. SWHS didn't pull out a win, but they looked great. We spent the remainder of the evening terrorizing Matt's classroom. I always loved going to my mom's classroom as a kid, but she didn't have all the gadgets that teachers have now--LIKE Active Boards and ginormous iMacs. The kids LOVE his classroom--we're so proud of him!!!

Today was Grandparents Day at Plano. I usually don't attend but heard it was better than ever this year. Miles will have his program on Monday. I decided to call my grandparents today to chat. It's been a while since I've talked to them. I wish they lived here so I could see them all the time =(. At least I'll get to be with Uncle Mike in a few short weeks at the BEACH.

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I've noticed our turtle hasn't been herself this week. She's looking kind of lethargic. A lethargic turtle, Tiff, how do you know? Well, let me tell ya, she isn't moving as much and hasn't been eating. Mind you, we keep her outside in a $6 tank I found at Grandma's Attic. I change her water a few times a week, and she has a basking rock. However since the temperature has dropped so much this week, her tank has been cold and no sun = no basking. This morning I decided to google: turtles in the winter. I read that their feeding habits slow down and that they hibernate deep in the pond mud for a couple of months for warmth. It got me thinking...maybe it's time to let Green Jill go??? Karson absolutely ADORES the turtle. She gets it out daily to play with it, feeds it, makes sure I change the tank water, a faithful companion. I tried to break the news to her this morning that maybe it was time to let her go. I explained that she was probably cold in her tank and needed to hibernate, laying it on thick and trying to convince my daughter we could find another one next spring. The next thing I know, the kitchen sink is on and I hear sniffling. She's filling up a cup with hot water to put in the tank and trying to hold it together. I call for her and tell her not to be sad and that I will figure something out.

After I dropped Miles off at EEP this morning, I headed over to Petco and pleaded my case to a sympathetic and HELPful employee. I managed to escape spending TONS of money, but let's just say I spent WAY more than I planned to on the free turtle I found months back on the side of the road. I can't help but think of the song by The Fray called "How to Save a Life". We saved a turtles life today (and probably an 8 year old girls).

AND that my friends is one WEEK in our house.

Let's Try This Instead...

2011-08-30T14:49:00.018-05:00

A couple posts ago, I mentioned that Karson decided to try out for a part in the Robin Hood play at PTK which begins next month. However, I failed to write a post about what happened as a result of those try-outs. Let me catch you up...we went to PTK, read/filled out the application that said a resume is encouraged, watched miniature Selena Gomez's act on stage like they already belonged on a Disney show, watched my sweet daughter deliver three character scripts, knew it was a shot in the dark for her to even get a part as a townsperson, got in the car...I'll pick up here. SO, we get in the car, I tell her how proud I am of her, that I would have never gotten up in front of ALL of those people and did what she did. She was being JUDGED people, like contestants on American Idol, and the competition was FIERCE. We talked, and I told her that I could tell a lot of the kids on stage were very comfortable up there. Some of them were currently participating in the PTK play Annie Jr. Like a said, mini professionals. She was completely unphased by that comment and said, "yeah, but they need young kids mom. Salome (the part she was gunning for) is young, and I'm young, I might get it." Mind you, Salome is one of the lead parts and probably a part that MOST girls are going for, but in her head, she had NAILED it. You gotta love the confidence of a child. The cast list was supposed to be posted on Facebook by Friday at noon. Friday noon came and went and NO cast list. I was out and about and Matt called me and asked if I could swing by and check the list (per, you know who's, request). By this point in the week, confident Karson decided she probably got the part of Maid Marion. Love that girl! I pull up to PTK and check the list. There are TWO casts and she didn't make either one of them =(. I had to make the dreaded phone call to Matt and break the news. My Karson was a legend in her own mind, but PTK didn't see it =(. Matt texted me and told she was crying in her room. It's hard when life let's you down. Honestly, I was a bit relieved she didn't make the cut. The commitment to theater is intense--way to intense for our family of 5. Not only is PTK 25 minutes from our house, practice was every night for two hours and on the weekends. AND, the practice began in July. YIKES.

Since acting is on the back burner at this point, I convinced my girl to do Warren County Youth Volleyball instead. I know zilch about volleyball besides playing in co-ed leagues back in high school at Lampkin Park and watching Jerry Mack spike one on little Amy Grace Satterfield's head at church camp (remember that Josh O.?) back in the day. Karson was on board. She needed something after "losing the Oscar".

A friend of mine told me about a clinic South Warren High School was hosting for girls volleyball. I was glad Karson would have some exposure to the techniques before the season started. Her friend Emma was there with her.
DIG, KARSON, DIG

She is playing this season for the Sassy Spikers who are all from Plano, and their practices are at Plano. The season begins next week. I doubt it will be very competitive since most of the girls haven't played before or are new to the sport (you can start volleyball in 3rd grade). Parents are line coaches and score keepers. I'm hoping to see some good volley-ing action, but based on my daughter's skill sets at this point, I'm kind of doubting that =). I got her some nice knee pads which still look brand new after three practices--she's MY daughter--and mark my words...there will be NO diving after a ball--fat chance! I asked her why she didn't dive like some of the other girls did during practice and she gave the exact answer I did when people asked me why I didn't slide into bases during softball, "I MIGHT GET HURT." Can't say that I blame her--we're cautious =).

I also got her a really nice, fairly expensive volleyball from Amazon. I didn't care to spend money on a more expensive ball since she will be playing with it for the next four years if she sticks with volleyball. AND normally, I wouldn't purchase a PURPLE volleyball being that this is BGHS's colors, but I was totally going for cheapest price and wasn't going to spend $5 more based on a color. It was nice and beautiful when it arrived and now looks like a Magic Eraser's nightmare.

While I'm doing a post on Karson, I have to mention what has been occupying her time most afternoons. Isaac came home with a form for a poster contest for the Transportation Cabinets Adopt-a-Highway program. Karson saw it and dedicated almost three solid days to working on her project. Here is the finished poster:

Hope she puts this much time and effort into her volleyball game.

This is It ~ EEP 2011-2012

2011-08-17T15:44:00.006-05:00

My third child is officially entering his last year as a preschooler. Is that even possible? What happened to my nest? My little birds are starting to fly---AWAY. Miles threw a FIT last Tuesday when Karson and Isaac started back to school at Plano. He was ready to go back too. I had to explain to him that his school didn't start back until next week (this week) which made him even madder. A chocolate milk and cinnamon crunch bagel later--thanks Panera, he settled down and accepted his punishment, hanging out with me all day =). Greenwood Park hosted Open House on Monday. Miles already knew his teacher was Ms. Teresa. He's met her many times before, and she keeps a constant supply of Crabby Patties on hand, for HIM.
His actual FIRST day of school was TODAY. I took a duplicate photo of the kids for Miles's first day of school. He was a cheesing machine, and the other kids gave him a thumbs UP for a good day!

The smiles were flowing for my sweet little 4 year old. He was SO excited about school.

Waiting outside with all his buddies.

Sharing some laughs before going to class.

Miles and his friend Reese~all smiles.

Hanging his backpack up on his hook.

Playing with toys in Ms. Teresa's class and catching up with friends.

All smiles AGAIN at the end of the day. We are looking forward to a super fun year at EEP!

A New Year as a Panther

2011-08-09T13:51:00.013-05:00

I actually teared up today as I left the kids at school. I know this is a common occurrence for some, but it usually doesn't happen with me. I believe parents and children alike need SPACE from each other, it's healthy for all relationships. AND I am confident that my children are in excellent hands at Plano so my worries are small. BUT today for some reason I just got emotional on the ride home. I think one of the main reasons is because Matt wasn't there for the first time to see the kids off. I'm happy for his new chapter of teaching at South Warren but sad for the moments he'll miss, like this.

The rumor mill swirls at Plano (and every other school, I'm sure) especially in the summer. I heard some teachers were let go, I heard some teachers were moved or shifted around to other positions, I heard there were going to be split classes, this and that, that and this. I was nervous about this school year. My kids academic success is a priority for me--I want them to succeed and do well. I want them in the right class with the right teacher and in the right school. My prayers this summer became more specific than usual on the school-front. Open House was on Sunday. It's a chance to meet and greet your new teacher, fill out enough paperwork to require a hand transplant, see who's in your class and make a mad dash to Staple's for all your school supplies. I am happy to report that our prayers were answered.

Karson is exactly where she needs to be--with her teacher from last year. Her name was Ms. Pridemore last year, but she married over the summer is now Ms. Tinsley. Ms. T knows Karson (strengths and weaknesses and every in between). She told us that the teachers received an edited list on Saturday, and she said I was SO hoping that Karson would stay in my class. She also sent me the kindest email after the first day of school say, "I know you know this, but Karson is so special! She's by far the most well-mannered well- behaved child I've ever had. She kept me going on this rough first day of school. " I told her that this is the compliment every parent wants to hear about their child, and that it's my hope that her brothers follow in her footsteps.
Isaac wanted NO PART of taking a picture with his new teacher Ms. Vincent at Open House. I finally convinced him to get one shot with her, look how he's stretching as far away as possible. I know he loves her because he told us everyone who has her loves her. His heart still belongs with Ms. Rather, but I feel like Ms. Vincent will quickly become a replacement. She's been wonderful so far. I felt like I needed to email her and tell her about Isaac finicky eating habits. For some reason, lunch causes him anxiety or it did last year. Here was her response (which was quick--love that), "Thank you for this email. I ate at Isaac's table during lunch just minutes ago. I noticed that he wasn't eating the hamburger buns and asked him if he didn't like bread. He told me that he was a picky eater. He seemed perfectly fine telling me that and then going right along with eating what he wanted. I'm glad he didn't stress. I'm happy to have Isaac in my class and thank you for the kind words! We are having such a wonderful day!" Love this year and love our teachers!

First day of school photo session out front. I always get the kids 1st Day outfits from my neighbor Jenny. She owns an adorable little boutique called The Polka Dot Door. At the end of the summer, she has 50% sale which is about the only way I can buy clothes =).

There were some new murals in the school and in the gym. I love the Panther eyes that welcome you into the primary hallway.

Hard at work in their classes. Miles will start preschool next week. He was terribly upset that he didn't get to go to school this week. He and Ms. Teresa are looking forward to a fun year at EEP.

An Impromptu Trip to Orange Beach

2011-08-01T18:08:00.017-05:00

It has been years since I've taken an impromptu trip to the beach. I remember one weekend, one summer, me, and my friends Summer, Amanda Jones and Lisa Roberts decided at the last minute to take a trip to Panama City completely on a whim. We stayed in a cheap, roach motel and had the best time. I can't say that our trip this week was anything like that besides the part about it being last minute.

Our friends The Vernon's asked us about a week ago if we'd like to join them in Orange Beach for the week at the Phoenix VIII. At the time, I kind of wanted to go but Matt didn't. Then later in the week, he wanted to go and I didn't. Funny how things change...we both decided that it was to good of a deal to pass up. Weston's family has a condo there, and it wasn't going to cost much. SO, we enjoyed some fun in the sun before school begins. After camp last Sunday, we came back home, did some laundry and loaded up for the beach. We arrived in OB around 1 a.m. on Monday and crashed.

The week was perfect. We get along so well with the Vernon's, and our kids are stair steps of each other. We ate out at the Wolf Bay Lodge on Monday night.

At WBL, it's on located on the bay so we were able to see one of the fishing boats come in with all their catch.

I must admit that Orange Beach has some of the best seafood places I've been to. The Shrimp Basket was superb (Karson snapped the above pic. of Matt and I). We ate there on Tuesday night. Prior to eating there, we took the kids over to Air Naval Base that houses the Blue Angels. The museum is completely FREE. The kids had a great time looking at all the air crafts and getting into different cockpits. Karson and Isaac also got ride in a simulator (it actually cost $5, but it supports the museum which is cool). There was a really neat area that we called "The Town" which was set up to resemble what it would've been like to have lived in 1943. The kids also enjoyed being in the living quarters of an air ship. It was simply COOL.

I did a little specialty shopping at The Wharf Wednesday afternoon. I needed to get some gifts for people and scored the perfect gift for my sister's birthday next month. Matt and Weston played golf on Wednesday and Friday. Mostly our days have been spent at the pool and on the beach. One night we went crab hunting. There's more skill required in OB than in Destin to find a crab. They don't cover the beach there, and you really have to look. We found a couple of small ones at first, when all of sudden...

Matt found one of the largest crabs I've ever seen. He was a feisty sucker. Matt trapped him with his net, and I had to take my net underneath and try to wrangle him in our bucket. I didn't have my camera down at the beach but Larie snapped a picture on her iPhone. We called him King Crab. Isaac was extra proud and decided to show it off to everyone lounging at the pool. He would just look at the bucket, look at the person and give them a nod, like "beat that, nuff said." Karson and Tucker were completely panicked by it and had to return to the room with me =).

We have done so much swimming this summer that Karson's best swimsuit is simply starting to fall apart. I got it on sale at Dillard's last year. It's such a cute suit, but seeing her get in and out of the pool this week with sagging, droopy drawers, I decided she needed a new one ASAP. Wednesday, we made an ice cream/candy run and drove down the main strip looking for some shopping. We landed at WINGS and Alvin's Island. The suits were a little more than I wanted to spend, but she needed a new one-- --plus we scored some fun water guns for the pool. Our $4.99 guns lasted a WHOLE day. We got robbed, but hey, that's what happens on vacay right?

Isaac could spend every minute of his life in a hot tub. The only bad thing about the condo was that the hot-tub was at the indoor pool which was more like a fitness pool. There were only a couple of benches to sit on, and the pool was small. The hot-tub was even smaller (looked much like a man-hole). Isaac logged many hours in the tub =).

Matt and I took the kids to Adventure Island on Thursday. A.I. kind of reminds me of The Track. There are bumper boats, an arcade, racing track and mini-golf. Like anything of that sort, we spent a pretty penny. BUT, fun was had by all.

CHEERS to golfing in a volcano.

Karson and Isaac enjoying the CYCLONE.

We decided to go eat at The Hangout for breakfast on Friday morning. We'd heard it was a neat place and that kids ATE for FREE. The breakfast was home style with bacon, sausage, eggs, biscuits, grits and potatoes. BUT, we really didn't go for the breakfast. We went for the show. There is a pirates and princesses show daily. Pirates run around the restaurant (even on the tables) sword fighting and showcasing. The kids LOVED it. Every kid got a pirate bandanna and gold and even got to go on a treasure hunt.

I especially thought the wish wall was neat. When you walk into the restaurant, there is HUGE wall filled with colorful paper and wishes. I wish I had known what to wish for at that moment because tragedy struck later that day.

We had decided to maybe(?)stay an extra night. We planned to leave on Saturday but were having so much fun, leaving on Sunday sounded even better. Little did I know...I received a phone call later that day from my dad saying that my Papaw Pogue had died that morning. Papaw was at the lake, Nolin, his absolute favorite place, in his truck when a neighbor found him. My mind completely left the beach at that moment, and I was ready to come home. Initially I was sad because of the way he died and thinking of my Mamaw being alone, but honestly, my Papaw hasn't felt well for years. He's been on oxygen, struggled with congestive heart failure, and had trouble getting around and has simply felt bad. In fact, Matt and I spent some time with Mamaw and Papaw at the beginning of the summer. Matt was asked to speak one Wednesday night as part of Okolona church's summer series. My point, when we arrived I went in to hug my grandparents, and Papaw told me, "please don't, please be very easy." He was in so much pain that the physical touch of another, no matter how gentle was still painful to him =(. Poor guy. When the minister (Larry Sawyer) did his eulogy today, he said, Jack has been trying to die for years. As sad as it is for us to see him leave this world, I am confident his salvation is in the Lord. AND, he is in better place struggling NO MORE. That gives me a great deal of comfort. I have been one lucky lady having all FOUR of my grandparents up until this point. SO although our impromptu trip to the beach ended poorly, we rejoice for the times we get to enjoy this life especially with family and wonderful friends. Hug someone you love today very tightly!!!

InsIde oUt and uPsideE Down

2011-07-22T14:24:00.021-05:00

Family Camp at Whispering Pines never disappoints. This is our 3rd year of church camp. Matt and I have been working with small churches (200 or less) since we were at Western, and I have to admit I love it. I'm not knocking the large church, I grew up in one, but being part of a small church body allows us (as a church family) to do things like we did this weekend. I'm thankful that my kids will have memories of being at church camp and doing all the things I got to do as a kid.

Our theme this year...fix your attention on God and you will be changed from the inside, out. Love our red shirts--they've been blue the past two years. We ladies cried foul and chose another color this year =).

Since our camp is a weekend getaway, and we only have one full day on Saturday, we try to make the most of our time there even on Friday night. Bill always organizes some spectacular event, much like the Amazing Race, but it's called The Amazing Family Challenge. We divide up into teams and do all kinds events. It's to complicated to explain, but it's so much fun.

Shannon and I talked about having a spa night with all the girls up in the camp lodge on Friday--with facials, manicures and pedicures.

All you ladies know how popular that Crackle polish has become, and we're completely addicted to it. We had all colors of polish along with crackle, nail stencils, nail pens and everything in between. We did avocado and oatmeal facials. Larie did a sugar scrub pedicure. We were in heaven =). I believe every girl at camp did something--mainly polish--but we did do lots of facials. I heard a friend comment about what a great idea it was. I'm thinking we may have to do that every year!

Elizabeth and Karson de-puffing their eyes. I believe Karson told me she ate her cucumbers when she was finished. Angela, me and Larie joined in on the pampering.

Saturday we were up and running bright and early. After breakfast, I usually do the camp crafts. This year I decided to do sun catchers. I love the way they turned out and sparkled in the window. I found that many of the boys didn't do one so maybe this isn't ideal for them (although my boys did them)?

After crafts, the day was spent in the pool...in the lake...canoeing...tubing...mudding...water ballooning...shaving creaming...showering =).

I think Miles looks like a choir director in this picture. Maybe they were singing "Wade in the Water" ?

My camera fogged up when I took the picture of Karson and Annabel--such cute girls.

Spencer and Karson snuck away in a canoe. They have become buddies this summer.

We had some interesting visitors during lunchtime. Watching Matt and Weston improv is simply entertaining. I think their names were Cletus and Rufus? I especially like Weston's giant headphones =). Crazy fellas!

After lunch, it was time for the mud pit. I totally planned on getting in this year. I took one of my nicer bathing suits last year and didn't want to mess it up in the mud. This year, I brought an old one specifically for the mud pit. I felt like I got two days of spa treatments.

Karson and Elizabeth soaking it in.

As if mud isn't messy enough, we had a shaving cream fight afterwards. I guess that's one way to get a clean smell back.

Sunday is fast and furious. We eat breakfast, clean up the camp and end with worship. After worship, we have a giant group picture and head home. FOR US...something different was in store. See the next post.

Living it UP at the Bend

2011-07-20T21:10:00.011-05:00

I can't imagine a summer without Beech Bend. We are fortunate having such a nice amusement park right here in little ol' Bowling Green. The kids LOVE going there regardless if it's 1,000 degrees outside or not. They usually make it to 1-2 rides before begging to go to the waterpark. We usually hook up with my sister and her kids when we go--they all enjoy being together and riding the same rides. Miles doesn't mind being odd man out as he likes his routine of riding the "kiddie" rides.

I decided to take my camera yesterday and try to capture some pictures of the kids before our summer is over. Here the foursome is on the TORNADO.

I didn't manage to get ANY pictures at the waterpark mainly because our older two like to swim in the BIG pool which is simply a regular swimming pool. And Miles likes going to Tiki Island where he can go down the slides and has even mastered some of the big one's by himself. Matt has a pass and always goes with us so it makes it easy splitting up. For those of you unfamiliar with BB, the waterpark is huge--and taking pictures is next to impossible with all the commotion. The kids didn't spend as much time in the pool as I would've liked yesterday, but they wanted to ride rides after lunch. My kids have become completely NUTS over the new and "improved" haunted house. They have to ride it multiple times. While we were on that side of the park, the kids decided they wanted to go see the Kent Family Magic Show. It's the 2nd time we've seen it this summer.

Karson and Elizabeth both got to be part of two different acts. This family of entertainers from CALIFORNIA are wonderful and bring so much excitement to the park. The Kent's have seven children who all perform, quite a talented bunch.

The kids posing with Princess Olivia and Buttercup the snake. The girl in the red dress behind Elizabeth is attending school--Berea College--in Kentucky. After the show, we talked to Jugglin' Jim who is thinking about moving to Bowling Green permanently. How cool! The kids have been quoting Victor Kent all day long. There's a part in the show where he actually eats flaming torches. When he's finished, he touches his rear end and says, "I'm spicy." Then he follows it with (your parents are saying) "no, you're creepy." I've heard, "ooo, I'm spicy. No, you're creepy" all day long. After church tonight, we took the kids to Wendy's and Miles was balancing a french fry on his top lip with his hands out to the sides (like Jim) and motioning his fingers for you to clap. He then proceeded to climb up on the booth trying to balance the fry, still with hands out and fingers moving. I guess it's not that funny if you haven't seen the show, but it was cracking us up because he looked just like Jim.

Here is our Miles performing as Indiana Miles the "whip" guy. Our Miles is using a stuffed snake as his whip. I apologize for the underwear attire, but it's all he wears most days. I love in the video how he catches his snake whip in the face and recovers by wiping it on the couch. He ends with a nice spin move and bow for a spectacular performance.

I hope to snag a couple more pictures at BB before the summer ends. It's such a great place, and we've made such wonderful memories there.

Let the Good Times Roll

2011-07-18T08:17:00.018-05:00

As our summer slowly winds down, we're still HARD at it enjoying every minute we have left. We spent almost the entire week (last week) at the pool. It was entirely TO HOT to be anywhere else. We've swam at Mamaw and Pappy Maglingers, Beech Bend, Indian Hills, and this weekend...the University Plaza Hotel. Karson's bestest friend at Plano KAYLEE celebrated her 8th birthday there. We adore Kaylee and her mom Brandy. They are some of the sweetest people we know and are very thankful for their friendship.

We got Kaylee a Monster High doll. Not sure what the appeal is with these spooky gals, but I figured Kaylee would like one. Got a text from her mom the next day saying she LOVED her doll. Karson has also gotten into the Monster High dolls lately.

All I can say about these dolls is "eeewww". I can't understand what the appeal is of a doll that looks gothic, creepy, dressed like a ghoulish/vampire/Dracula/wolf or whatever, but the are the "new" thang. Two of Karson's friends at church have brought them and wanted to play. Karson doesn't own one but wants one SO bad. Since she is a saver (when it comes to her piggy bank), I told her she could buy one with her money. Matt took her on a run to try to find the one she wants--TRU, Target, Wal-Mart--nada. Little did we know, it would turn into a wild goose chase much like the desirable Cabbage Patch doll or the Zhu Zhu pet. Apparently, the one she wants (pictured above) is impossible to find and not one of the newer dolls. SO, lucky us, when we googled it, it cost(s) WAY more money and is hard to find. I lucked out and found one on Amazon. She/WE waited and waited for it to arrive. AND, when it did, it was the wrong doll. When I talked to the customer service rep., he said it was probably pulled from the wrong area. I'm thinking...they are ALL pulled from the wrong area--these dolls are creepy. We had to take it back to the post office and return it--currently am waiting on a refund. I found another one from K-Mart. com which happened to be cheaper--yeah! I ordered it and a day later received an email saying there was an error in the processing, and I needed to call. Sheesh. I called and was told that K-Mart didn't stock it but Sear's did and they could re-order it through Sears. Okay, sure, do that. At this point, I have been charged by THREE different places for this doll. Then, I received another EMAIL from Sears stating the same thing as the Kmart email. I called yesterday and was told that the doll wasn't in stock, and I would receive a refund. NOW, I am waiting on THREE refunds and haven't told Karson because I know she would have an aneurysm. I found the doll on Mattel's website and ordered it. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. That's been the small drama of the week (it's always something, right).

Isaac had a sleepover with cousin Evan on Friday night. He doesn't sleep-over with many people, usually only Pap and Nana or Meme and Pops. It was kind of a big thing for him to stay with Evan. However, my 4-year old Miles had NO problems at ALL spending the night with Samuel Garcia last Sunday night (his 1st overnight with a friend). Anyway, when I went to meet up with Paul and Isaac, I decided to take Isaac to Toys R Us and go backpack shopping. Plus, we needed some Nerf bullets for the new gun Paul had just got him from ESSEX (the best store in BG).

Here's his pick. Isaac has really gotten into Star Wars lately. He gets the DVD's at the library, along with the chapter books.

I was up in the attic the other day (melting alive) and found these. I knew they would come in handy some day. Luckily, there is TWO flat sheets. Isaac and Miles have been carrying them around the house =).
Speaking of backpacks, Karson picked hers out a few weeks ago. She wants to carry a messenger bag this year, and Justice has some of the cutest ones I've seen. Justice is the store that girls "graduate" into past Gymboree and Children's Place. I don't like all the styles in there, but there are a couple I like (that aren't TOOOO mature). We found her bag there and spent way more than I wanted to--it better hold up. And, I got her a thermal lunch box from 31. Karson picked out the garden lattice design which goes quite nicely with the bag she picked out.

Today is an extra special day because the twins celebrate their 7th birthday.

Evan asked us for a box of money--he was very serious about his request so I took it very serious. I found a box at Office Depot and had the kids paint it green, and I added some money signs and tied $19 in cash like a kite string with Mighty Beans at the end. We got Elizabeth the game Hedbandz and some Monster High stickers.

Paul and Shannon planned a day full of activities like tie dying shirts, making paper airplanes, face painting, making jewelry and hairbows and a water balloon fight. The kids had a blast.

Today was busy. Karson decided she wanted to try out for Robin Hood at PTK later that afternoon (after the party). I didn't know what to expect since Karson has never been involved in theater, aside from PTK camp which she attended for the first time this summer. I had talked to my friend Chas moments before to try and get a feel for what we should expect--her son Walker has been in many PTK performances. When we walked in, I could tell these kids came to ACT, you know what I mean. I read on the application that a resume is encouraged. A resume? We walked into to the theater and watched a couple of acts--WOW. I immediately felt scared for Karson and told her she didn't have to do it. Plus, there are lots of people, parents and kids, in the audience watching and listening. To my surprise, she said, "Mom I want to." I told her what Chas had told me, make sure she speaks LOUD and enunciates. There are many kids there for try-outs so they pair them in groups and have the kids actually do a scene from the play with scripts in hand. The kids get to practice with their partner(s) ahead of time. Karson read three different times. I was SO PROUD of her. I thought she did great. I know she has high hopes of getting one of the bigger parts, but honestly, I'm not sure if she did. Like I said, the kids there came to PLAY. They were very animated, and the age ranges were 7-18 so Karson is definitely one of the youngest. When we got in the car to leave, I told her that I was SO proud of her and that there is NO WAY I would've done that at her age--that she was very brave. Then we talked about being prepared for whatever part they assign (if any??). It makes no difference to me if she decides to pursue acting or not. The committment is HUGE--two hours a night for the entire week (minus Wednesdays). I'm not sure for how many weeks either? We'll see. I'll keep you posted =). After try-outs, we headed over to Chick Fil A afterwards to meet up with the birthday kids again for dinner with our families. A super-de-duper day all around!

Song of the South

2011-07-06T15:08:00.009-05:00

Not sure if it's the fresh peach I just ate or the mood I'm in, but Song of the South seems to be an appropriate title for this post. This month, or summer no less, has been such a whirlwind. I think getting out of school in June has caused this feeling of "summer rush". I am NOT ready to be back in a routine at ALL, but I am starting the see the dim light at the end of the summer tunnel.

We've been making the most of July. It started with a Friday trip with all of our bestest friends to Holiday World. Would you believe that I have never been to this theme park? My children have been a couple of times, but not me. All I can say is...we will be back...most likely before the summer is over. Our kids loved every minute of it (besides the mandatory photo ops.). Here is our Holiday crew:

Here are our Holiday hooligans.

You can see how COOP-erative Miles is in every picture. Actually, Isaac is looking pretty pathetic too. Why do my kids have such a hatred for pictures? Not sure? I really don't take that many pics and rarely go to photog studios.

As long as they are goofing off, I can usually get a good photo. Stinkers!

Who ya gonna call?

The highlight on my trip was seeing the DIVE show. Very awesome! I'll spare you all the cool details, but you can imagine how neat the show was/is.

Oh yes, we must spend at least $10 on a miniature stuffed dolphin. A definite must.

We stayed at Holiday World until close. The kids were completely pooped and so were we. Great memories!!!

We (me, Karson and Matt) had tickets to see Taylor Swift in concert at the KFC Yum Center in Louisville on Saturday, July 2. I could hardly wait. She has been one of my favorite artists from her beginning. Love her, love her, love her (sadly she has replaced Martina McBride as my #1 vocalist--I do still love me some Martina though). My friend Lisa whipped Karson and I up some cool tanks and head gear to wear to the show--I also scored some great guitar earrings at Claire's. Lisa also made some friends of ours some matching shirts. Trips to Louisville are never a waist for us--we have the best extended family in the world and love visiting with them. We planned to get to L-ville early Saturday, hang out with the fam most of the day, attend the concert that night and spend the night. Our plans CHANGED, sniff, sniff. Hours before the show, my friend called and told me that they had just arrived at Yum and were told the concert was cancelled. Sniff, sniff. We later found out Taylor got sick and had to cancel--doctors orders. I really wasn't sad about her getting sick, that happens to us all. The bad part is that the concert was rescheduled for a TUESDAY night in October. Ugh. Our plans are still up the air about the postponement??? I would prefer to see her in concert at Bridgestone in Nashville which is way closer and falls on a weekend in September. However, I need to recover the cost of my L-ville tickets first. Ugh again. I know we'll see her soon either way!

The photo above is on July 4 which literally was a BANG. We went over to Colvin and Debbie's for dinner. Matt's brothers had purchased some of the grand-daddy fireworks. Now that all fireworks are legal in Kentucky (you don't have to cross the Tennessee border to purchase), it was like a fireworks extravaganza on every street in our neighborhood. There was no shortage on a good show. I was looking forward to our "show". Ben lit the first one and poof, it was beautiful, silver, sparkled in the sky--awesome. Seth lit the second one and unbeknowst to him put the firework in upside down. Poof, it came out the side of the tube, on the ground, green, glittery and smoking. Needless to say, we only saw two fireworks in our show =(. The tube was busted and Seth was needled the rest of the night. Poor guy.

One of the things I love about July is picking wild blackberries. They are worth the sweat, the needle pricks, the chiggers you may acquire, all of it for a cobbler or simply to munch on. If you wait to late, you'll miss picking. I always use July 4 as my mark and raid the fields around the Deaton farm.

Karson is fortunate being around her grandparents so much. I love it when she comes home talking about helping Pap Colvin in the garden. We also love the yield we get to enjoy like green beans, squash, cucumbers and peppers.

There is also a great fruit/vegetable stand close to our house where we like to stop and get watermelons and fresh peaches. Summer is delicious. I guess that's an appropriate end to this Song of the South post--now I'll shut my mouth =).

Sunny Days

2011-06-26T19:34:00.014-05:00

Sunny day, sweepin' the clouds away

on my way to where the air is SWEET

Can you tell me how to get...

how to get to Sesame Street.

Come and play

Everything's A-OK

Friendly neighbors there

That's where we meet

Can you tell me how to get...

How to get to Sesame Street.

It's a magic carpet ride

Every door will open wide

To happy people like you

Happy people like---

What a beautiful

SUNNY DAY!

We had us a nice visit with the whole gang from Sesame Street LIVE at Bridgestone arena in Nashville this afternoon. The letter of the day was "I" and the number of the day was "3". And three kids (and many others) used their imaginations to take them everywhere from the African Jungle to Mexico. Since Miles is our 3rd, I try my best to make every effort to give him the same experiences that the other two kids got (organizing playdates, spending 1-1 time with him, seeing shows, doing things that pertain to his AGE specifically). When Karson was his age, she got to see Sesame Street LIVE and the Wiggles LIVE. Isaac also got to see the Wiggles and Monster Truck Jam. NOW, it's Miles's turn--and our other two kids didn't mind tagging along.

Hope everyone had a SUNNY Sunday! We sure did.

The Perfect Friday

2011-06-24T19:48:00.013-05:00

How does the perfect day begin...let me start with today. It began with a warm cup of coffee loaded with caramel macchiato creamer. After that, a 20-30 minute workout on the elliptical and another 15 on the treadmill. Actually the perfect day would be no exercise at all and very little guilt over the chocolate iced donut I scarfed down for breakfast. I exercise so I can EAT--ugh. Since Matt mowed the yard during my workout, and the weather was gorgeous (about 70 degrees), I decided to do a few minutes of sunning on the trampoline. I say a few, because Miles came out and immediately wanted to play (tackle, airplane, wrestling, etc.).

My friend Sarah had planned a lunch with some dear college friends at 11:30 at Buckhead. It worked out nicely for me because another friend Weston had invited our kids to Southland Swim Club for the day. Are you tracking with me on the best day ever...I love hanging out with girlfriends. There is nothing like being with friends laughing, reminiscing, catching up, laughing some more--I LOVE IT. The girls in this picture are special to me for so many reasons. It would require a couple of blog posts to tell you how awesome they are. We were at BH until 1:30. After that, I headed over to Southland to join our kids. I have many memories of times at Southland from my childhood. I'm glad Weston included us--our kids had a blast!

Hanging out with great friends--Walker, Tucker and Karson, google buddies.

Sliding down the slide.

Doing UH-mazing tricks in the pool.

Enjoying Ring Pops.

Flipping off the diving board.

After a long day at the pool, we were ready for some down time. Matt had a prayer meeting that afternoon so I took the kids home for post-swimming baths. Karson and her friend Kaylee spent all day together on Wednesday. The highlight for them (and for us moms) was going to Claire's. Karson spotted some chocolate facials that we HAD TO HAVE. We decided to do facials after our swimtime and baths. Isaac was our photographer.

Supposedly chocolate facials are supposed to make you look younger.

Here are our results, I thought we both looked younger and stunning =). For those of you racking your brain to figure out who these people are...Katie Holmes and Shiloh Pitt.

The boys also needed some body altering tactics and opted for Ed Hardy tattooes courtesy of Uncle Andrew.

Matt took the kids over to his parents house so we could go out for a nice date. We went to TGI Friday's which is not part of our normal resturant circuit but will soon be added to it. Our meals were really good. Afterwards, on our date, we went to grocery--woo hoo. We are having some guests over tomorrow night for a cook out and needed to grab a few things. The day ended with the kids tucked in bed and Matt and I out on the trampoline looking at the stars with our new iPad app. called Skywalk. The perfect end to one perfect day.

Sunburst

2011-06-17T21:03:00.012-05:00

Summertime means summer camps. The only attendee interested, my brave daughter KARSON. Last year she attended two individual camps--clay camp (art) at the Kentucky Museum and basketball camp at WKU--and then of course, our favorite, church family camp at the end of the summer. With many, many, MANY snow days last winter, our kids got out of school in June this year. Ugh. I feel like our summer together is already speeding right past us. I signed Karson up for SUNBURST theater camp which happened to be the first two weeks in June (two different sessions). I opted for the 2nd week simply because I felt odd putting her in camp the first week of summer break since it's from 10-3, and she has been in school all year. We needed at least one week to catch our breath and have NO WHERE TO BE (which really didn't happen as we spent most of our week traveling back and forth to Louisville, but that's another story). Karson has developed an interest in theater. This isn't a recent happening, but we only have time to pursue one passion at a time, knowhatImean. Theater hasn't been at the top of the list because I know the commitment level it involves. However, after performing in our church's annual Christmas show and then have a speaking part in the Plano Christmas program, Karson's love of memorizing lines and performing has blossomed. She's a natural at this kind of thing. Her memory is concrete--if you say it, you better mean it, because she will NOT forget it.

I hadn't done much research on the local arts in BG, but I have picked the brains of a couple of friends and found that the Public Theater of Kentucky (PTK) is probably the best fit for us. Karson has loved every minute of theater camp this week. She received her speaking part on Monday and devoured it. She knew all her lines probably before we even got home that night, and trust me, they weren't simple. I've loved hearing her talk "stage" talk and about what she's learning. For example: (1) there is a mean girl in her skit. I don't mean a girl who acts like a mean girl, but a girl that Karson doesn't care for simply because she isn't nice to ANYONE (2) she eats lunch with a boy named Logan everyday and recently Xavian and John (3) house left and stage left don't mean the same thing (4) they haven't painted any props and she was looking forward to that (5) she wished she had gotten Chris as her director and not Beth (because Chris is funny). (6) late Wednesday afternoon....oh yeah, Mom we're supposed to dress up like cowboys tomorrow (ummm, no I can't improvise that quickly and unfortunately our boys have never been into cowboys so we own NO cowboy dress up clothes, but if you want an oozing swamp thing with eyeballs dangling or a snow wolf ninja, I can hook you up). Can't you see how much she's learning??? She told me that she wasn't afraid to get up in front of an audience and perform because she had to do it in front of everyone at the camp. I, of course, know this because she performed at Plano in a super crowded gym with standing room only. I guess she thinks I need to know she's now a professional. The most important thing is that she cannot wait to go back next year, and guess who wants to go with her, Isaac Matthew. Woo hoo! They are certainly dramatic in my book.

The entire performance is composed of a bunch of different skits with snippets from Alice in Wonderland to To Kill a Mockingbird. Karson's skit is called Striking Out. The name of her character is Hustle.

Photo shoot the night of the BIG performance with mom and dad.

Her cheering section. A special thanks also to the Garcia's and Pappy and Mamaw Maglinger for coming out to support Karson.

We weren't supposed to take pictures during the performance so as not to distract the "acting". But I figured it was okay to snap one or two if I turned off my flash (I mean really who is going to follow that rule--kind of like the no clapping until every graduate has walked the line rule). AND, since my digital camera is also a video camera, I recorded most of Karson's performance.
Our proud performer.