Milk Sippin' FUN

I used to LOVE going to the grocery with my mother when I was little. In fact, she told me that when I was four, I would tell her all the things she actually forgot to purchase on her list. Okay, okay, I know I'm a bit of a TYPE A in the personality category, but I can TOTALLY be TYPE B too. I love to socialize and consider myself fairly flexible. When you become a parent, you learn very quickly that patience is the key to sanity. I can think of nothing more relaxing than taking three kids to Wal-Mart. We went there today. While maneuvering the world's largest Zamboni through the store, I managed to buy some groceries to make a quiche for a friend, grab a wedding gift for my cousin, purchase Isaac some $.88 markers, and reluctantly buy some Fruit Loops Cereal Straws. I would've have avoided these disgusting, gooey tubes of sugar when Karson was a baby. But today, I've learned the childlike euphoria of drinking milk through a cereal straw. Miles has gotten to experience the many JOYS of having two older siblings.

Tag, You're IT!

I was tagged by Carla so here goes...

A- Available or married: Married and soakin' it up with my soulmate Matt =).

B- Beach or Lake: try to frequent both, but I guess the beach.

C- Cake or Pie? Pie (mmmm...Derby Pie)

D- Drink of Choice: sweet tea

E- Essential Item you use every day: a coffee pot =)

F- Favorite Color: Brown and turquoise

G- gummy bears or Worms: worms

H- Hometown: Bowling Green, Kentucky

I- Indulgence: Custardchinos (which are no longer at Culver's), Java Chillers, MooLattes, any kind of coffee drink (hot or cold)

J- January or February: January (my sweet Isaac's birthday) and usually a snow month =).

K- Kids & Names: Karson, Isaac and Miles

L- Life is Incomplete without: Matt, he's the best part of my day. I'm thankful we get to share this life together.

M- Marriage Date: June 5, 1999

N- Number of Siblings- I have an older sister

O- Oranges or apples: Apples

P- Phobias: Isaac's wet undies and potty training in general.

Q- Fave Quote: I can't put my finger on a favorite. I love music because certain songs really speak to me. I've had the song "Hangin' On" by Everyday Sunday on my MP3 player ever since I heard it on the radio a while back. Here are the lyrics, and they ring true in my life at the moment.

God I’m in this place again I’m trying so hard not to fall,but everything keeps coming down with the rain. And I try so hard I forget to call. Everybody’s looking around, and wants to be found. And I’m just hanging on; I give You all that I am. I come to You with all that I am, Ibring to You all that I have,and all I have is nothing, and I keep on trying, and all I want is You.
Everybody’s looking around and wants to be found, and I’m just hanging on.I give You all that I am. And as I sit here in the midst of You, I come to You; I bring You all that I am. Everybody’s looking around and wants to be found,and I’m just hanging on.I give You all that I am.

R- Reason to Smile: God has fortunately given me three kids, and I cannot imagine life without them. Eveyday with them is a reason to smile.

S- Season: Fall, it's the best.

T- Tag 3 or 4 people... Shannon, Larie, Melissa D. and Kim K.

U- Unknown fact about me: Pulled the school fire alarm in 5th grade and ran all the way home. I was double dog dared =). Didn't get caught neither!

V- Vegetable you don't like: tomatoes

W- Worst Habit: picking at and popping blackheads and pimples on my face.

X- Xrays: besides teeth and ultrasounds, I can't remember any.

Y- Your favorite food: cereal. We go through two gallons of white milk each week and one gallon of chocolate.

Z- Zodiac Sign: Aries

White Alligator, White Alligator, what do you see...

a bunch of sweaty, sticky, tired people looking at me. We braved the Louisville Zoo today. Me, Matt, our kids, Shannon and her kids and my Mom began our adventure early this morning. We saw a wide variety of animals, played at the Outpost Playground, went through Gorilla Forest, splashed around at Glacier Run waterpark, visited the Tiger Tundra, the Islands and HerpAquarium which houses King Louis, the white alligator.

The waterball. This rolling, ginormous attraction managed to get Isaac soaked upon entry to the park. Luckily, we started out in our swim gear.
Is there a book called "Strollers for Dummies"? Matt and I spent about five minutes trying to push and shove this stroller up the first hill only to learn that we still had the parking brake on.

Smitten with the gorillas. I wonder if there are cages like these for toddlers? Miles would be in heaven swinging around on ropes, climbing through trees and entertaining a crowd.

By the end of the day, Miles was looking through all the glass windows saying "see dat, see dat".

Miles managed to give us a scare while we were at lunch. He loved the rental strollers that we rented (is that redundant?) because he could push them around and wreak havoc on the shins of passers-by. He loves inflicting pain. As he was attempting this maneuver again amid the MASSIVE lunch crowds, he and my mom were making a game out of it. SO, my precocious toddler was behind me playing one second and gone the next. While I assembled the SWAT team (me, Matt and Mom) and had one of those crazy, frantic Mom moments that you never wish to encounter, we spread out and found him hanging out in the Islands Cafe line (basically right next to where we were). He was hanging out, playing on the black, elastic line rope without a care in the world. Maybe he wanted something else for lunch, who knows, but he was safe and back in our arms ready to bite, scratch, hit and be put back down again.

We came, we saw, we conquered!!!

A Day of Freebies

OOoohhHH, how to spend a Saturday? We've been to the swimming pool twice this week and thought about going again this morning. THEN, it dawned on me, our kids love the sprinkler and our new downtown has a huge sprinkler area at Circus Square Park. The best part is that it's FREE. As Matt prepared our delicious lunch of sandwiches, chicken fries, Doritos, Pringles and CapriSuns, I got swim suits on and greased the kids down with sunblock. Once packed, out the door, and in our MEGA-FUN minivan jammin' to Veggies Tales, LO AND BEHOLD, we spotted something amazing. Yet, another, FREE, attraction. The Grave Digger Monster Truck was parked at Advanced Auto Parts. After cutting a few people off and peeling into the turning lane by Krystal's, we (in our swimsuits, oh yeah) got to see the truck up close. It was very cool, and the attendents were giving everyone FREE 8x10 posters and pens with The Grave Digger on them.

Circus Square was loads of wet fun. The kids had a wonderful time splashing around in the fountain. We'll certainly be back soon!



The kids are resting after this busy day. We're heading to Pap and Nana's tonight for a Fish Fry which means FREE food! We hit the FREE jackpot today (aside from an expensive trip to Sam's on the way home that involved diapers and Pull-Ups)!!!

Cookoo for Cocoa Puffs

Breakfast has a whole new meaning when wearing a safari hat! What a clown!

Matt and I have a morning routine. He gets up around 6:00, makes coffee and runs. I get up around 7:00, drink coffee and walk. The kids are usually up around 7:00-7:30 and the CHAOS begins. This morning was no different. It was early and I was fixing breakfast half awake. Miles and Isaac had Lucky Charms, and Karson had Cocoa Pebbles. I managed to spill half of Isaac's cereal on the way to the table, and Miles managed to spill half his cereal all by himself =). Our lives are anything but dull.

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Welcome to our morning: