Bro/sis pics

So true!

To all the friends I have telephonetically neglected since having children, I apologize. I promise that as soon as I drop Sam off at his first day of kindergarten, I will call you back.

A day in the life...

Joey goes to Mufreesboro, TN to play golf with a friend of his so I'm left to figure out how to fill up a Saturday by myself. Since it's a million degrees outside I decide we must stay indoors. We will go to the mall. I throw clothes on all of us, pack a diaper bag and off we go. We find a great parking space in the parking garage and get inside with no problems. Finley decides she wants to go to the playground first. We walk to the end of the mall with the playground, she takes off her shoes and starts playing. 5 minutes later: Mommy, I'm hungry. It's almost 11 so I suggest we go eat lunch and come back to play later. Her highness agrees. We eat Chick fil a. Finley drags her entire shirt sleeve through her polynesian sauce. No biggie. We clean up our table and head over to the mall jumpie thing where Finley says "I want to jump" about 15 times. I'm fine with it, but she has just eaten so I make her go to the toy store (other end of the mall) before we jump. We play at the toy store for about 30 minutes and I buy her a puzzle We walk back to the jumpie thing (other end of the mall) and see a "will return promptly" sign. We walk to Build a Bear. Finley puts her own doll in the imaginary bath tub and then walks around pointing to outfits she would like her doll to wear. Who needs to buy a bear? We walk back to the jumpie thing. Yay they're open! Finley gets hooked in and after a couple seconds of sheer terror, she gets into it and LOVES it! I forgot to mention that for about 30 minutes I have been smelling something terrible. It's certainly not my children! Finley gets off the jumpie thing and is begging to do it again when I bend over Sam to do a sniff test. Um, yeah, it's him. We walk to the family restroom. Finley goes potty and puts her hands right on the toilet seat and then uses those hands to wipe her hair out of her face. She gets done and is washing her hands for 10 minutes while I change Sam's diaper and clothes. I pick him up and put him over my shoulder and he barfs all over me. I'm pretty sure the entire bottle I just gave him came up. The new formula we are using to supplement is for gassy babies and it smells even worse than the regular stuff. I wipe off the excess, take my shirt off and wash it in the sink, then I dry it under the hand dryer. I'm hoping no one is waiting for this restroom because it's going to be a while. We leave the restroom and I decide to let Finley jump again. She has been on her best behavior and we have nothing else to do. She jumps again. We go to Gymboree (other end). We go back to the playground (other end). I suggest we go home and play with her puzzle and, thank the Lord, Finley agrees with no whining or crying. The elevators are broken so I have to get Finley and a stroller with an infant seat down the escalator by myself because there is no way I'm walking back across the mall to Dillard's. A nice lady holds Finley on the escalator while I handle the stroller. We get home, I feed Sam and put him down for a nap. I clean the house up and do the dishes and a load of laundry. Finley just announced that she's tired and is going to get in her bed. Whew! Only 3 more hours until Joey is home.

Sam's 4 month check-up

Sam had his 4 month check-up today. He is 26 inches long (97th percentile) and 14.2 lbs. (50th percentile) He had to get 3 shots and they made him furious! He did great though. Dr. said he looks great. He still has a little cradle cap, but it is much better than it was just a couple weeks ago. He has some dry patches we think is eczema. Dr. said that is really common in babies especially if they have cradle cap too. We got the green light to start rice cereal, but I think I'll wait a few more weeks when he is sitting up a little better. I'm glad he's growing, but I'm not ready for him to be 4 months old :( I want my newborn back!!!!! Time flies by even faster with the second one.

Dancin' shoes!

Registration fee and class tuition $190.00
Leotard, tights, tap shoes and ballet shoes: $65.00
Required dance bag: $30.00
40 minute drive round trip to dance studio: tiring
Seeing your daughter on stage at her recital in a precious costume : It better be PRICELESS :)

Empty bank account aside, I cannot wait! I really hope she enjoys it!

I love reality tv...

I love him (15 weeks)

Kindle Book Review (s)

Slammed by Colleen Hoover: LOVED IT! If you long for the forbidden romance from the Twilight series you need to read this book. It creates the same effect minus the vampires, werewolfs and other "yeah right" scenarios.

War Brides by Helen Bryan: I love WWII historical fiction! If you do too, you'll like this one.

The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom: Eh, I wasn't crazy about this one. Again, I love historical fiction, but this one has so much tragedy it becomes completely unbelievable. It's like the author thought of every horrible thing that could happen to a person and put it all in one book. Don't bother.

The Mill River Recluse: A bit boring, very predictable

On the Island by Tracey Garvis Graves: LOVED IT! I'm realizing how much I love a good forbidden romance.

Can You Keep a Secret by Sophie Kinsella: I didn't love this one. I think it would be a good beach read, but it was a little too light for me.

Relocated beach portraits

I bought really cute matching outfits for the kids so I could take pictures of them on the beach when we went down for my mom's birthday. Since it rained the entire time we were there, I never got to do them :( So, I had to settle for Sam's bedroom.

Haute Hair by Elizabeth

I think that's what I'll call my new salon ;)

Ha! She can't twirl her hair into a rat's nest anymore! I realize now that I've seen these pictures that I need to go back and even a few places out, but overall I'm happy with it. I'm even happier that I didn't have to pay $20 :)

Finley says...

Last night when Finley got out of her bed for the millionth time
Joey: Finley go get in your bed, NOW
Finley: walks as slow as she possibly can
Joey: Finley, GO
Finley: I'M GOING!
Joey and Elizabeth: turning purple from trying not to laugh

Today at the pool
Finley: (whining) Daddy, I want to get in the pool (says it 10 times)
Elizabeth: Finley, stop saying that, you can get in the pool after the break
Finley: I'M TALKING TO DADDY!
Elizabeth: Well, I'm talking to you and you better stop whining

oh my...

Sam at 3 months

My little man is 3 months old! I can't believe it. It actually makes me really sad. I never realized until Sam got here how much I love the newborn stage. I think it's actually my favorite :) I don't know his exact weight and height, but he is approximately 13 lbs. He is in a size 2 diaper and 3-6m clothes. He is so sweet and good! He still loves to nurse and get a few bottles of formula a week. He goes down to sleep between 8:30 and 9pm and usually gets up around 4 to eat. He is usually up for good between 6:30 and 7am. He takes two long naps a day with a catnap or two in between. He HATES riding in the car :( He loves his paci and so do I! He has decided he doesn't really like his bouncy seat, he wants to lay flat or be held upright. He smiles all the time and has started to giggle. He loves taking a bath and putting his feet in the swimming pool. He can roll from his back to his tummy, but is still trying to get that arm out from under him once he's done it. His eyes are still blue. We think they may stay blue because by this time Finley's eyes had turned hazel. We think he's teething too. He has started chewing on his hands like crazy and drooling everywhere. Finley didn't cut a tooth until she was 8 months old so this may be another difference between them. He loves to watch Finley and smile at her, although sometimes she gets too loud and he sticks his lip out. Finley still loves her brother and gets so excited around him that we have to remind her to be gentle. We love you so much buddy, now stop growing up so fast ;) !!!

Math woes...

My math woes began in the 4th grade when we started long division. For whatever reason, I was never, ever able to do math. Eventually, just the thought of having to take a math test or do math homework made me anxious and mentally I would quit before I even began working out a problem. I am determined that Finley will not struggle the way I did. I realize she is only 3 and this probably isn't making much of a difference, but it's my way of taking action :) I'm praying that she has inherited Joey's mathematical prowess and won't have to whip out a calculator figure out what she owes the kids at the 5 cent lemonade stand.

These Kumon flash cards are great! They have letters and shapes too. 

Magic Mike

Channing Tatum has improved his acting skills although who really cares about his acting ;) I thought the movie was good, but I may have been persuaded by the all the rippling muscles and inappropriateness. I won't spoil it for those who haven't seen it, but there were a lot of giggling girls in the theater.

The 4th!

We went to visit my dad and step-mom in Lawrenceville this past weekend to celebrate the 4th. We had a great time! Joey and I went to a Braves game on Friday night, the aquarium on Saturday, we had a cookout at the pool on Saturday night and then me, Catherine and Natalie went to see Magic Mike on Sunday. (more on that later) I tried desperately to get a great picture of Finley and Sam in their 4th of July outfits, but I don't think a great picture of a 3 year old holding a 3 month old exists. At one point, Finley dropped Sam face first into the grass. He took it like a man and didn't cry even though he had grass in his eyes, nose and mouth. Here are the best ones.

These are funnier though....

The DREADED root canal

I had to have a root canal. I've never had one before and I was so nervous because you always hear people say how terrible they are and I already can't stand going to the dentist. Here's what happened for those who care or for those who have never had one and are curious...I went to the dentist because I was experiencing "sensitivity" (pain) when I drank or ate something hot or cold. I probably need to point out that I hadn't been to the dentist in, wait for it, 5 YEARS!!! Yeah, I hate the dentist that much. Anyway, I figured it was a cavity and had already resigned to the fact that I probably had several more. I was thrilled to find out it wasn't a cavity, it was just a tiny crack in an old filling. They could just fill the crack, right? Wrong. I would have to have a crown. Okay, no biggie. My jaw was sore from holding my mouth open for so long, but the worst part was the shot and I hardly felt it so no complaints. I went home and the very next day I started having deep nerve pain on that tooth. It wasn't caused by hot or cold. I couldn't figure out what was triggering it. All day long I was anticipating this sharp little pain to try and figure out what was bringing it on, but I couldn't. After a talk with the dentist, we decided I needed to go see a root canal specialist. he might as well have told me I needed open heart surgery. That's how nervous I was. Anyway, to add even more wonderfulness to the situation, no endodontist in Huntsville takes my insurance. Awesome. I would have to go to Birmingham. I was already going to see some friends so I scheduled my appt. for the day before, packed up the kids and headed for Birmingham. I went to my appointment and honestly thought I was going to throw up. Why I was so scared, I don't know. I think it goes back to my fear of the unknown. The same reason I would have done anything to avoid a c-section with Sam. Even if I know something is going to be terrible, I would rather do it that try something I've never tried before even if there is a possibility it won't be as bad. I went in, they took some pictures of my tooth, the doctor came in and started explaining the procedure. I played it cool and told myself it would be over in an hour. I tried to focus on watching HGTV which they had on a television in the perfect position for me to see it past the dentist drilling a hole in my tooth. I can say this, a root canal is no worse than having a crown or a cavity filled. At least not this root canal. Once they numbed me, I didn't feel a thing. The shot was the worst part, but even it wasn't bad. I think once you've had a baby, you can handle almost anything and this was nothing :) My jaw was sore and I had to take antibiotics or a few days, but I have been pain free and I'm glad to have it behind me. I'm still eating on only one side until I get my permanent crown put on next week.  just know I'm going to have to make a conscious effort to start chewing on both sides again. So that's my root canal story.

I just realized I have an entire blog post about a root canal. My life is just so exciting.

Dora, Dora, Dora the Explorer!

We got together with our little group this month and had lunch at Another Broken Egg and then went to see the Dora the Explorer exhibit at the McWane Center. It was great! Finley's favorite part was Diego's Animal Rescue Center. She rescued an alligator...no, really, she tried to take it home with her. It made a slick getaway at the entrance. My favorite part was getting to catch-up with Amy, Amanda and Jennie. I cherish our little playdates and wish we could have more of them. Sam hung out with Grammie and had a great time surfing in his exersaucer.

H.O.T.

Most of my followers are here in the South so I don't have to describe the heat we've been having. It's hot every summer, but this one is a scorcher!!! Last week I pulled Finley's plastic pool under the carport and broke out the box fan to try and keep the heat stroking to a minimum.