Potty Time!

Well let me first say sorry again for not keeping up with the blog like I should. It's been very neglected and I'm trying to be better about that. Soo, two weeks ago now, we decided it was time to clear a weekend to dedicate to Aiden and potty training. We psyched him up, talked a lot about it, even to the point that we'd ask him what we were doing that weekend and he'd tell, "potty train!" So, that Friday evening, Sept. 12, I changed my very last diaper ever. I put that last diaper on Aiden that night, realizing that when we did this potty training for Alli, he was still very much in diapers so I knew I wasn't going to miss changing them. But now, it hit me that this will just be another thing they don't need me for anymore. Kind of sad. But pretty amazing seeing them grow up too. 

Saturday morning came around and we made a big scene about throwing every last diaper away. He had fun doing that. Then we went about our training, following the same book and guidelines we did with Alli. We asked about 809 times, tell us when you have to go potty, okay? He already started to get annoyed and would answer back okayyyy mommy!!! Ha! Eric took Alli away for a bit so we could concentrate. He had quite s few accidents but also several successes. He also managed to perforate my eardrum that morning by using a toy screwdriver and shoving it straight in my ear. We were playing on the couch, trying to pass time, and he just shoved it in - so fast I think we were both in shock. I had to have hearing tests and have had several ENT exams so far, we're hoping it will just heal on its own. But I guess that's how he felt about being stuck inside potty training.

Day 2 was similar to day 1, with some major successes and I could definitely read his cues much easier. Again, Eric  tried to distract Alli so I could concentrate on him. He was definitely starting to get it and things were clicking.

Day 3, I felt like a failure. We had lots of accidents and very few times on the potty, but I knew it was almost through the intense three days and he had to be absorbing some of this and "getting" it. I just hoped for the best and we sent him off to school the next day with long talks with his teachers about our methods, no pull ups!, and lots of spare clothes just in case. 

Fast forward two weeks now, and he has had only two accidents at school. One at home. That's it! He might not like to tell us all the time, but he's pretty predictable and easy to read. We couldn't be prouder of him, and can't believe he's caught on so quickly. 

Now, onto our next adventure....! (Nothing exciting planned, but I'm sure something will come up, that's how it goes with us!)

Summer trip to Ohio

Funny how things turn out… just as I put up a post about how Mommy B had finished her Master’s work and that she’d have more time on her hands, a month goes by without hearing from us. Well, a lot has happened in that time, including our annual pilgrimage back to Ohio to see Mommy B’s family.

A few months ago, Mommy B and I decided it was high time we took the kids to Ohio when it wasn’t snowing for a change. So as a way to take a “summer vacation” to celebrate Mommy B’s graduation, we decided we would book a flight for the whole family over the Labor Day weekend. It was to be our first airplane ride as an entire family – even though Alli had technically ridden on one when she was not even a year old yet.

One of the disadvantages of flying out of Charleston is that you almost always have to connect through another city to get anywhere. As I began my search online for flights, I was not liking what I was seeing. Hour flight to Charlotte, 2 hour layover, 2 hour flight to Dayton… Hour and a half to Baltimore, hour and a half layover, another hour to Columbus. You get the idea. Not to mention that no matter where we flew into, we’d still have another hour or more driving to Findlay. Once I added everything up, we would be traveling almost as long flying there as if we just packed up and drove it straight through! However, I was determined to make it work in between nap times and all that jazz. I kept searching and searching, and finally came across a direct flight from Charleston to Detroit, which is actually the same distance from Findlay than the other airports. The price for each ticket was about the same – and flight time was only 2 hours. And to sweeten the deal even more, each flight was early enough that we’d reach our destination just in time for naps. Umm, yes and yes… I’ll purchase now, thanks!

The flight to Ohio couldn’t have gone any better. It was early on a Wednesday morning which meant the flight was barely half-full – and we weren’t the only ones on it with small children. The kiddos were so excited to go to the airport in their pajamas, and were even patient going through security. They got to watch as their stuffed animals went through the X-ray scanner, then magically appeared on the other side. I purposefully selected the 4 seats at the back of the plane for both trips, so we let everyone else board first. We figured the least amount of time the kids would be confined to a small space, the better. They loved running down the gangway, and even got to wave to the pilots as we boarded. They loved looking out the window as we took off, seeing the ground zip by then watched in awe as we ascended through the clouds. It was a very cool experience for Mommy B and I – watching them take it all in for the first time. They were absolute angels for the whole ride, thank the lord. We brought lots of snacks and things for them to do in their seats, and before we knew it we were descending into Detroit. We met Grandma C out front and began the trip back to Mommy B’s home town.

After naps that afternoon, we took both kids to the Hancock County Fair. Now, for those of youse not from a small rural town, the County Fair is THE event of the year. I’ve heard Mommy B talk about going to the fair since we started dating 11 years ago, but we had never been in town when it was occurring.  So we spent that afternoon hauling the kids around in a wagon as they got to see horses, cows, pigs, hens, roosters, chickens, pet bunny rabbits (after which Alli said she needed one), ate Elephant Ears, rode ponies, sat on tractors, and rode some carnival-type rides. Mommy B even showed off her hidden talent at the Cane Game. If you have to ask what that is, you’re not alone. The kids had a blast, and by the end of the day were totally wiped out. So much so that they didn’t even care about sharing a bedroom!

The next day, we took them back up the road to the Toledo Zoo. This time, Uncle Tom and Grandma Great came with us. We again spent the day looking at animals and goofing around on the play sets. That evening, Grandma and Grandpa Great put the kids to bed for us while Mommy B and I went out for the evening. We spent some time out with Grandma C, then met up with Grandpa Ron for some adult drinks. We warned him that we’d be bringing the kids over the next day to go swimming, just so he’d be ready for the little tornado headed his way! It was good to get out on our own for a little bit and see some family and friends. And the weather was absolutely perfect – as it usually is for about 2 weeks out of the year up there.

On Friday, we went over to Grandpa Ron’s house to let the kiddos swim. They had never been to Ohio when it was warm enough to swim, so we were hoping this would be something fun for them to do. And boy, was it ever! After playing for a little while, Mommy B headed to Dayton to meet up with her best friend Jamie. I spent the rest of the afternoon splashing in the pond with the kids and riding them around on the tractor. After dinner it was more quality time wrestling in the living room with Grandpa Ron. They had such a fun time – lots of giggles and laughs had by all. By the time I got them home and in bed, they were wiped out once again.

Saturday was spent hanging out with family. Everyone came over to Grandma C’s house to play with the kids and have a good ol’ fashioned family cookout. The kids had fun spraying the hose at passers-by, and splashing around in two small baby pools we had filled up for them. Everyone got their turn playing with them and getting soaked by their little squirt guns. Mommy B and I took turns taking pictures in between scarfing some delicious corn on the cob. I love you South Carolina, but you just can’t compare to Ohio’s corn. The kids loved seeing everyone and loved all the attention from family members… it warmed my heart to see them smile so much.

Sunday was spent relaxing and a couple more visits from friends, followed by lots of laundry and packing everything up for the trip home. We made one more stop at the County Fair, at which point Aiden decided he wanted to ride the ponies too. The next morning we made the trek back up to Detroit and made the 2-hour flight back to Charleston. That was after Mommy B’s hand got swabbed and she was flagged by security. So there I was, standing in the middle of Detroit International Airport security lines with all our bags and two kids who wanted to know why Mommy had to go with security and they couldn’t go with her. Off she went into the private room for an extra pat down and for TSA to rummage through her bags. Good thing too, they almost let a terrorist onto the plane armed with a debit card and coloring books!

 I knew we were really headed home when the pilot came over the speakers and said, “Local time is 9:50am in Charleston and it’s currently 90 degrees. We should be there in just under two hours.” 90 degrees already, eh? Yeah, it was only September 1^st. The kids were a little less impressed with the flight home, but still did amazing. We made it home safe and the kids immediately jumped into bed to take a nap. It had been a fun trip, and they were excited to get back into their own house and back into their own beds. Things couldn’t have worked out any better, which was shocking given the last few times we’ve flown anywhere.

Except for a few minor meltdowns here and there (what 2-3 year-olds don’t?) the kids did wonderfully the entire trip. And I was glad that I was able to give Mommy B some much-needed family time that she’s been wanting for a while now. It was such a good decision to go up when we did, as I mentioned the weather could not have been any better. It enabled us to take the kids out and do more fun things with them, as opposed to being cooped up in the house because it’s 20 degrees outside in December.

Now that our trip is over, it’s time to focus on ourselves more. Spend more time with the kids, and do some things around the house that we’ve been wanting to do since we moved in. The weather will (eventually) be getting colder here, so what better time to make some improvements to the house we’re working on calling a home. It was good to spend some time away to remind ourselves what’s really important in our lives – and that’s the people that are in it.

I'm back!

Since Mommy B can't get logged into the blog at the moment, I'm posting this for her:

So, wow. I have left this blog for almost 18 months, and it feels so good to be able to write without the thought in the back of my mind that I have six other papers I should be writing right now. I am DONE. Pending all results of my last few paper submissions, final portfolio, and practicum evaluations, I will have completed my MSN degree. I am proud, thankful, and appreciative of everyone that has made it work along the way. Especially and most importantly of all, Eric. He's been my rock, my supporter, single dad, and the one who has held this family together. I have had moments of sheer and utter breakdown, crying for no reason (or for every reason!), and I have been mostly unavailable for all the normal bath and bedtime routines each night. Dinner has usually been whatever we can find laying around, and I'm sure he's glad that normalcy is hopefully around the corner.

I have been looking into job opportunities, but taking it slow and trying to find something that makes me happy. I want to teach, in some capacity, but still work with patients, families, and nurses. I am looking but not too desperate, I do love my area I work in right now but I want to grow and develop professionally, hence, the reason for continuing my education. I am now on track to finish my RN III advancement within MUSC too, a huge accomplishment within the organization that I am excited about as well, we'll see if I get that advancement by the end of October! So, that's me in a nutshell, I have finally reached the end of my journey, for now. Who knows what I may feel like doing again once the kids get into school-aged years!

In other news, we have been extremely busy with trying to update things on the house, and still make it "home". I have taken the time to update color schemes in the living room and our bedroom. I want to paint some more, I want to update the garage/storage for in there, and we want to take on the task of updating our shower in our master bathroom. We just can't sit still apparently. We'll see how that all goes!

Onto the kiddos... they are growing up way too fast. I don't even remember the last time I got to update on the little things they have been doing and saying, but I am trying to make a point again to cherish those moments and record as many as we can. Alli is so smart, and picks up on and remembers EVERYthing. Aiden's not far behind, either. He's a little parrot these days, and loves to copy his big sister. They have been playing more and more independently together, and she loves telling him that "she's a mom" and can do anything he needs rather than running to me all the time. (That's wonderful! Ha!). He recently, two days ago, moved out of his crib and into a big boy bed in his room. Eric and I stood back for a moment the first night we went up to check on him, and couldn't believe we'd never put another baby into a crib. Our babies are growing up fast. It's incredible, emotional, and exciting. I can't lie and say I will miss the baby years, as everyone tells us we will, I just was never that much of a "baby person", and as much as I loved the snuggles, the other times were much more difficult for me than the troubles these days. I can handle temper tantrums about God knows what rather than having a baby cry all night and not knowing why. To each their own I suppose, I know some people will tell us that someday we will miss that, but, I'm not so sure I'll miss those parts.

I will definitely be back in the swing of things, as soon as I can figure out my password for the blog again... seems I've forgotten it after all these months. 

So much going on right now – Part II

When I last left you Followers, we were getting bombarded visited by family members and I still needed a car. Well, that all has changed. We’re back to normal capacity around the house, and the vehicle situation has been resolved. Speaking of the car situation, I paid my BMW off about a month ago, and have yet to receive my title in the mail from the DMV. I have called them twice now and have basically gotten the same “meh” attitude where they told me it was in “print pending” status and it would be a few more business days until I received it. Well here it is, another week later and I still don’t have it. It amazes me every day how any government agency gets any work done.

So on Friday I emailed the claims jerk whom I’ve been dealing with this whole time and explained what the DMV told me. He called back about an hour later and basically said, “Have you found a new car yet? No? Yeah… I’m gonna need you to take the rental car back by the end of the day Monday. We’ve had you in that thing for a month and a half.” To which I replied, “Fine,” and promptly hung up on him. Looks like Mommy B and I had our weekend plans made for us! Since the last Honda place sold the car I had transferred here to some other sucker someone else, our options were wide open. We stopped by a small dealership near our house to check out a couple cars that Mommy B had found online, and test drove a couple cars they had on the lot. Well as luck would have it, Mommy B fell in love with a 2010 Lexus HS 250 hybrid that had a killer price tag on it. After doing a little homework over the weekend and making sure the car checked out, I told Mommy B that since I hadn’t found a car I was really excited about, if she found a car that she really liked I would get it for her and I would drive her Pilot. She was a little resistant to the idea at first, but eventually came around with a little convincing. Besides, it was her turn to get a newer car anyway – annnnnnd I felt that this could serve as an early graduation present. Hopefully I earned myself some brownie points in the process. So I took a half day on Monday to return the rental car and buy Mommy B a shiny new Lexus. Technically it’s used, but it’s new to us. And it’s very pretty, much like its new owner.

Now, about those kids…

Alli is really starting to assert her independence these days… which is a good thing and a bad thing. The good part is that she knows what she wants, when she wants it, and can tell us such. The bad part is that she knows what she wants, when she wants it, and can definitely tell us such. She has become very easy to take care of – as long as you have the clothes and food she wants. If she can pick out her own “pretty clothes” and her own meal, she’s a happy camper and will go with the flow. But God forbid something in there goes wrong, and it’s potential for meltdown central. Everything is a crisis these days, whether it’s because she only got 2 crackers instead of 3 (since she’s 3) or it’s that Aiden said “No” when she asked him if he was her best friend for the tenth time that day. She has even mastered the taddle-tale voice already. You know the kind, “Aiden won’t share with meeeeee…” or “I need my magic waaaaaand…” But she is still so smart and remembers everything – which I know I’ve been saying forever. She actually used the word ‘otherwise’ in a sentence the other day, correctly. I looked down at her and just shook my head. I hate that she has a late birthday, because I really think she needs to be in kindergarten by the time she’s 5. If she has to wait until she’s almost 6, that’s going to be tough.

Aiden is talking more and more as well. I’m sure that having a fluent big sister around has helped his cause, and we can tell that he has picked up on a lot of the things she says. His vocabulary has exploded and he’s able to pronounce almost any word that he’s trying to say. And if he can’t say it, he’ll point (or drag you) to whatever it is he wants or needs. He’s almost as tall as Alli it feels like, but they both are growing so fast. He still loves playing outside, moving toys around (mostly the big ones), and going for rides in things. He wants to help with anything and everything, especially if it involves tools or the vacuum. He’s also figured out how to plug something into an electrical socket, which we found out a few weeks ago. Luckily there was no incident involved, but we found one of our phone chargers randomly hanging out of the socket and knew someone had figured it out.

We tried taking both of them to the movies this past weekend because the weather was crappy. The new Planes: Fire & Rescue movie had just come out and they both loved the first one, so we figured it would be a good chance to see how they would do. Well, whatever idiot decided that starting a kids movie with 20 minutes of previews was a good idea should be taken out back and force-fed baby food until they explode. Aiden did great for about an hour, but at that point he was ready to get moving. I went out into the lobby with him while Mommy B stayed a little while longer with Alli. After about 15 more minutes, I saw them coming out as well. We were actually able to get our tickets refunded due to having to leave the movie early, so that was nice. It was the first pleasant customer service experience I’ve had in a long, long time.

Meanwhile, Mommy B’s graduation can’t get here fast enough. She has less than a month to go, and we’re both very excited that the end is so close. We’re planning on making a trip to Ohio sometime this summer or fall and it’ll be the first time the kids have ridden on an airplane together. Technically, Alli rode on one when she was about one year old, but Aiden never has. I scoured the Interwebs to find direct flights to and from our destination, as the smallest amount of time spent in a small, confined space is going to work out best for everyone. We’ll see how the flying with small children goes, but I know Mommy B is looking forward to some much needed R&R. Aren’t we all…

So much going on right now – Part I

I know I’ve been neglecting you, Followers. And that is never my intent. As many of you know, or can tell from reading this blog, our lives are rarely short on action. There is always something going on, something moving (literally and figuratively), or something changing. It is this constant flurry of action that often tears me away from being able to post for sometimes weeks at a time. Naturally, that just snowballs as more things happen the longer I wait to catch y’all up. Let’s see if I can recount the happenings…

Back in November of 2012, I bought my dream car from a neighborhood friend. A platinum-gray 2008 BMW 535i with the Sport and Performance package, twin-turbo 300-horsepower engine, murder-tint on the windows… you get the idea. Alli used to say, “Daddy, you have a race car!” I promise I didn’t speed with the kids in the car, but she thought it looked like a race car. Well, on May 29^th, 2014, that dream came to an end. As I was sitting at a red light on my way home from work, about to turn into our new neighborhood, a gentleman in a Chevy Silverado 2500 must have been too preoccupied with his phone (or something) and barreled into me. He hit me so hard that it pushed my car halfway into the turn lane, jarred the sunroof shade completely back into the roof cavity, and sent my work badge flying from its home in the center console all the way into the back seat. The rear bumper and left tail light were obliterated, the trunk lid was folded in half, and the rear windshield completely dislodged and shattered – glass was everywhere. By the grace of all that is holy, I was not injured by this idiot’s negligence. And more importantly, the kids were not in the car. I don’t even want to think about the emotional scarring it could have caused much less any physical injuries caused by being in the back seat so close to the impact.

I knew the moment I got out of the car and looked at the damage that the car was totaled. Well, the gentleman’s insurance company didn’t think so (at first). I can’t even begin to tell you the number of phone calls and haggling I’ve had to do to get this situation handled. It started off with the claims representative who got my claim taking a week’s vacation right after it got filed – without telling anyone (like, say, me) and without delegating his workload to anyone at the office. When he finally got back and around to returning my numerous voicemails, we had a situation of getting the car released from the tow yard where it had been taken the day of the accident and over to the body shop. Countless back and forth, dealing with shady tow truck drivers, idiot appraisers and everyone’s favorite, the DMV, have made the last month a total nightmare to deal with. On the up side, I’ve been driving a rental car for free ever since the day after the wreck (and still am to this day).

We finally got the situation down to a matter of finances after the body shop found more damage that wasn’t in the original estimates that put the cost of repairs above the 75% threshold to consider the car totaled. The insurance company offered me $18,120.26 to buy the car out and call it a day, or $16,025.26 and I could keep the car and do whatever I wanted with it. Well, a friend of Grandma C suggested I contact some salvage yards and see what they would be willing to pay me for the car in its current state. I found a buyer who was willing to pay me $5,200 for the car as-is. Well, for Johnny Thinwallet here, that’s a no-brainer. By doing a little more legwork myself and hanging on to the car a little bit longer, I could make myself another $3,105? I’ll take what’s behind Door #2, Monty. (Sorry, Old Guy reference). So my poor car now hides in shame in our garage, waiting for the salvage title to come back so she can be taken away and sold at auction, likely to be stripped for parts. Talk about a drag – walking past her every morning on my way out of the house. I hate to quote a cheesy line from a Disney movie, but this seems to fit quite nicely, “I guess that’s the good part about dreams… now you get to go find a new one.”

So the hunt is on for a new car. I had been eyeing a Honda Accord I found online, and even had a dealership bring it here from Concord, North Carolina (just north of Charlotte). I test drove it and loved it even more. That experience ended with me walking out of the dealership after the sales manager refused to negotiate with me on the price whatsoever. And they wonder where the saying “worse than a used-car salesman” comes from? I’m offering you cash, dude, WTF? The saga continues…

To help alleviate some of the stress, Grandma C came to visit for a whole week. She went into full grandma-mode, which basically means I barely saw my kids the entire time she was here. While I can’t say I was bummed about the much-needed “break,” by the end of the week I felt like I had really missed out on spending time with them. But I certainly didn’t want to take away from Grandma C’s time with them, since she only gets to see them once every couple months or so. However, I don’t think Grandma C wanted to spend time with them the way that she did, where both of them were a bit under the weather and prolonged periods of, um… lower digestive issues. If you know what I mean and I think you do. To make matters worse, I was not immune to whatever had inflicted the kiddos, as I battled the stomach bug for a few days myself. Nothing like spending the 4^th of July in the bathroom!

The day Grandma C left, Grandpa Ron and Uncle Jacob arrived. They stayed with us for the weekend of the 4^th of July so they could see the kiddos as well. I still wasn’t feeling fabulous, but the kids were finally starting to come around to the healthy side. We decided to keep the kids up late and take everyone out on Pops’ boat to see the fireworks in the Charleston harbor. Around 8pm we loaded everyone on the boat and headed down the river, and dropped anchor just in front of the aircraft carrier that they shoot them off from. It was a heck of a sight, and the kids seemed to really enjoy the experience. They even slept in the next morning until 9am! I can’t even remember the last time I slept that late, much less them sleeping until that hour.

So after almost a week and a half of being spoiled, loved on, bussed around, and playing hookie from school, the kids are getting back into their normal routine. Everyone finally seems to be feeling better (myself included), which of course makes Mommy B and I’s lives much more pleasant. It’s a good thing too; we were starting to run low on sheets for everyone! We get a few days reprieve playing host before Uncle Tom comes to town. He’ll only be staying with us for a couple days, then staying in a rental on the beach (like a real vacation?) for the rest of the week. He’s got it figured out – only staying in the nut house for a couple days before running off to hide at the beach. Man, when do Mommy B and I get to do that again?

Happy (belated) Father's Day

Here's the link in case the video doesn't show up.

I came across this yesterday and I have to admit it choked me up quite a bit. I won't lie, I probably watched it about 5 times back-to-back because of how much it grabbed me.

In my opinion, THIS is what Father's Day should be about. In my humble opinion, there are way too many videos and articles out there now where all the parent talks about is how they don't want to be with their children on their respective "holiday." And it's not just Father's Day, it happens on Mother's Day too - all that parent wants is to be left alone and have a day of relaxation to themselves.

Well, I think that mindset stinks on toast. Look, I get where they are coming from - everyone needs a little R&R every once in a while. But pick a different day to do it. How about the Saturday after Mother's Day to go get a massage and a mani/pedi? How about the week before Father's Day to go fishing with the fellas? But not on the actual day!

Come on, people... they're your friggin' kids, not some annoyance you just have to deal with. I get that you need a break, trust me, I know. But you signed up for this deal, and that means you're on duty 24/7 until they are grown and gone. Until then, get your rear end in gear. As I mentioned I've watched this video quite a few times... and I didn't see any shots of the dad sitting on the couch. Or lying in bed. Or out bar-hopping with his buddies.

The point I'm trying to make is near and dear to my heart. Father's (and Mother's) Day should be spent with your kids, not without them. Do you know what all the deployed soldiers would give to be back home with their kids on Father's Day? They would probably puke if they knew how much we civilians joke about avoiding our kids on those special days. Or what about the fathers who have lost their children to car accidents, cancer, or these mindless school shootings? Try asking one of them how they feel inside every year when Father's Day rolls around and they spend it visiting their child's grave instead of their playhouse.

The video is called "Calls for Dad" for a reason. Come on, dads... answer that call. Don't take Father's Day for granted. Spend time with your kids. Because there are lots of fathers out there who don't get the option.

Grinding it out

Nothing really Earth-shattering going on at the moment, just marching our way towards summer and all that entails. A few updates on things here and there, just to keep you in the know.

The “new house” is slowly but surely coming together. We still have a ways to go to make it perfect (if there is such a thing), but little by little we’re getting things looking the way we want them. We’ve painted our bedroom and have decorated (most of) the walls with pictures and other artwork that Mommy B has acquired/created. We also purchased a desk so we could have the computer in a more permanent location than the kitchen bar area. Having this desk set up also allowed us to put away and organize some of the few remaining boxes of stuff we still had lingering around. The computer and our paperwork now have a home and our bedroom looks much less cluttered. I feel better now.

Next on the honey-do list was painting and updating the laundry room. The previous owners (bless their hearts) painted the laundry room this dark, burnt-brick color that makes the poor room look ever more claustrophobic than it already is. This is the second time in as many houses I’ve owned that the previous owner painted some random room that color – must be a southern thing. In any case, that color choice and the single ventilated shelf wasn’t going to cut it for us, so we gutted it and are starting over. I’ve spent the last couple of nights cleaning, mudding, taping, and painting to get this room looking much more inviting. Not that someone ever really wants to spend copious amounts of time in the laundry room, but we figured with two kids we’ll be spending enough time in there that it should look better than it did. Tonight I’ll be sanding the holes I patched and putting on the final coat of paint. Then we’ll be calling in the professional, a.k.a. Pops, to help us install some shelving and cabinets to put the finishing touches on the room.

Since the weather has been so nice the last couple of weeks, I’ve also been doing some outside chores that needed to get done. Said chores include trimming the dead prons of a couple of the palm trees we have in our yard (I know, tough life, right?), cutting down a small tree, and clearing about 800 square feet of woods/brush from behind our back fence. Much of the foliage was starting to creep over the fence and into the yard, and the decomposing brush just beyond the fence had the potential to house various snakes and other critters. Well, with two small children and a nosy dog just feet away, I knew that had to get addressed. Pops and I got out the chainsaw and limb cutters and went to town. Not only did it clean up much of the crap that had been just tossed over the fence for years, but it also exposed some huge palm trees that were previously hard to see from the house. Nothing like improving your view from the porch while making the place a little safer for the kiddos, am I right? I’m sure the deer appreciate a nice clean walking path as well.

Once the laundry room gets its final coat, the next room to paint will be the playroom. We already have the supplies (including the paint) and Mommy B has already taped off the majority of the room. So once I finish in the laundry, we’ll head upstairs and begin cutting in. My hope is that we’ll be able to get cut in and I can come hard with the roller and knock it out. Our goal is to get the room painted as soon as possible so we can begin hanging up some Ringling posters and other circus memorabilia. The room has looked pretty bare since we moved in, and even though we finally have a pull-out couch for guests to use, we still want to get the room decorated for any potential visitors.

Mommy B is on her last “break” before her final quarter of school. We’re trying to get as much done around the house as we can while she’s free because once this final quarter starts, I might not be seeing her very much. For this final quarter, she has to shadow some other nurses during her already-limited “free time.” I forget how many hours she’ll have to log for these classes, but it could entail her entire day off each week as well as some hours here and there after her regular 9-hour shifts. She might even pick up some Saturday shifts so that she can have another day off during the week to shadow. Bottom line, it doesn’t sound like it’s going to be much fun for the next 12 weeks… for anyone. But, the silver lining is that this is the last quarter, the last dance, the anchor leg, the final 100 meters down the home straightaway towards the finish line. Anything and everything that’s left in the tank gets used right now. The end is in sight, and she’s almost there. It’s been tough, but we’re optimistic that it’ll all be worth it when it’s over. I know a certain someone who’ll be looking for a big ol’ bottle of wine come August. And maybe a vacation to somewhere more tropical.

Kids? Oh yeah, them. Well, they’re still simultaneously testing our patience and stealing our hearts on a constant basis. The things that Alli puts together and figures out on an almost-daily basis astounds me. Even when they’re mildly gross and/or inappropriate, I still stop and think to myself, “Wow, she really thought of all that on her own?” For example, last week she randomly said “We don’t go pee-pee in the pool because it’ll turn yellow… and the pool has to stay blue.” Well, not quite the reason I would have given, but I like where you’re going with that one. A few hours later in the bathtub, she said “If you toot in the bathtub, it’ll make bubbles.” That is A) gross, and B) very true. Good observation, precious. Not all of her proclamations lately have been of the bodily-function variety, but you get my point. Grossness aside, these were statements she conjured up all on her own, without any input from anyone… she was simply stating something she figured out on her own. Hopefully not from experience with the whole peeing-in-the-pool statement… but you never know.

Aiden is fitting right in with his new classroom. Granted, he has known most (if not all) of the boys he’s in there with for a long time. But his teacher said it took him less than a week to really come out of his shell and stop playing the shy, quiet kid. We all knew better, and figured it would just be a matter of time before he started being his usual self. He’s saying more and more words these days, and if I can’t understand what he’s saying, Alli will translate for me. He still wants to do everything big sister does – if not before her, then immediately afterward. We took him to the pool a couple weeks ago and tried out some puddle jumpers that actually fit him now. Yeah, it took him about 2 minutes to figure them out and start swimming after his big sister. They are both such water babies, which is a good thing living on the coast. We haven’t taken them to the beach yet this year, but I have a feeling that might change very soon.

My brother’s wife and their two kids are coming down for the long Memorial Day weekend. Our plans basically include spending as much time outside and on my parent’s boat as possible. The weather is supposed to be gorgeous, which will be a nice change since the last time they came down it rained the whole time. I’m really hoping that Alli and her cousin Max pick up right where they left off last time, because they were absolutely adorable to watch playing together. I’m sure Aiden will try to keep up, as will his cousin Charlotte, but I’m sure that will come with time. Just gotta keep on grindin’…