Keeping up with the Millers

Christmas-no pictures

2010-12-27T19:27:00.000-08:00

I had every intention of uploading the Christmas pictures (and the others that I have not gotten up yet) but can't find the cord...again. I am pretty sure I brought it with me, but can't find it. I plan on putting them up later. Be on the lookout.

In the meantime...

We have had a fantastic time! Christmas threw up in Bobby's living room and Santa brought WAY TOO MANY gifts for all three kids. It was CRAZY. Christopher made it about halfway through before deciding he had opened enough and wanted to play with his stuff instead of just opening. Overall, it took a few hours (I lost track of the time) to get all the gifts opened. Colin was super awesome and well behaved. Asking a 5-year-old to be patient while opening gifts can be a ridiculous request, but in this case it was heeded. I was so proud of him!

Roger and I were treated very well, too. We got pretty spoiled. Roger was very well-behaved as well.

This was just a quick overview but I wanted to let you know that we had such a wonderful and blessed time with family. Those who weren't with us were greatly missed! Oh, and bonus...we had snow!

2010-12-20T20:33:00.000-08:00

Promises, promises...

2010-12-16T08:43:00.000-08:00

I have a lot to post about, but it will have to wait. I plan on sitting down for at least a little while during the Christmas break to blog. Just know you have quite a lot of excitement ahead. Lucky you!!!!

The Miller Thanksgiving 2010

2010-11-25T18:58:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful day of food, laughs, and joyful interaction with new friends. We were invited (approximately a year ago) to go to Roger's mentor's home for Thanksgiving dinner. They live on a mountain in Asheville, so we made the drive up to eat. It was such a wonderful time. I was so proud of the boys because they were both so polite and well behaved. I received many compliments about them throughout the day and it brings pure joy to my heart. There was a small group of college age girls there for dinner and they instantly won the boys' hearts. They played hide and seek, tag, got buried in the leaves, and they just had an overall great time with them. It was nice to have some adult time and not worry about them!

One major thing was missing for me, besides the obvious family members that I miss so much. Mashed potatoes. I might have to whip up a batch tomorrow because there is something wrong with Thanksgiving and no mashed potatoes. Just saying.

This year definitely beats last year's drama of football, broken legs, hospital visits, 10-hour drives, and stress. Oh, and the Cowboys lost today (I love you, Roger!). Great day!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Snot, snot, snotty, snot...

2010-11-17T18:22:00.000-08:00

EW. Snot. Disgusting.

I HATE snot. I have always hated it. I remember vividly going to Shoppers Food Warehouse once with my parents, brother, and sister, and my brother (who had an uncanny ability to gross even the most stable stomach out) to get groceries. Well, my brother sneezed and a giant glob of you-know-what shot out and landed on his sleeve. I just about vomited all over the floor I was gagging so much. Kids also have the ability to gross me out with their many sneezes and coughs in which giant blobs of green stuff come out and I am forced to wipe it before I throw up on them. When I was pregnant with Colin, I was riding in the backseat of my sister-in-law's SUV with my niece (she was almost 4, I think) and yep, she sneezed, and yep, total disgustingness was all over her face. I couldn't even look at the poor thing without gagging, and Elizabeth had to stop the car so she could wipe her face. I got out of that one because I was pregnant, but it's a hang up that I am forced to deal with, and it never seems to get easier.

This time of year (at least in terms of snot) is the bane of my existence. I am sure that the tissue companies just LOVE this time of year and are making bazillions of dollars taking care of the snot that is running like rivers. I wipe noses all day at the preschool, and babies (for those who don't know) HATE having their noses wiped. They turn their head in protest, which just serves the purpose of prolonging the snot wiping session because what was once only at the nose, is now all over the cheek, in the hair, and on the ear. Wonderful. Thanks, Baby.

That's why I hate this week. Colin and Christopher both have tons of snot right now and they have lovingly let me in on the game. The main difference is that I don't have to see my own, so it doesn't gross me out to the extent that other people's snot does. Call me judgmental, but my snot isn't gross. I don't like hearing your snot, seeing your snot, and definitely not touching or wiping your snot. I do it out of necessity because vomiting every time I see it is not an option. That just gives me more to clean.

Anyway, being sick sucks. Snot sucks. Being sick and having snot doubly sucks.

Sooooo, who wants to come for dinner?

Veterans

2010-11-10T20:09:00.000-08:00

I know I have posted before about veterans and their importance in my life, but I am still so in awe of their sacrifice that I feel like I should do it again. And again. And again.

These men and women have all of my respect--no matter how young or old, they are in it for me and that is truly something special. Here is a list of those that I know directly (I apologize if I leave anyone out. Feel free to call me out on it!). God bless them and let them know that they are appreciated. Always.

Roger Miller (my husband)

Forrest B. Snyder, Jr. (my dad)

James Snyder (my brother)

Ann Snyder (my sister in law)

Bobby Miller (Roger's brother)

Michael A. Miller (my late father in law)

Stephen Previti (my uncle)

Stephen Marsh (my cousin who is currently in Afghanistan)

Dan Previti (my cousin)

Justin McKevitt (my cousin's husband)

Carole Anne Stephenson (my great friend and running buddy)

Mark Camblos (my friend's husband)

Leevi MacDonald (my friend's husband)

Alex Parker (my friend's husband)

Timothy Williams (friend from high school)

George Graham (my grandad)

James Previti (my grandfather)

John Steinberger (my friend's father)

Thank you.

Halloweeeeeeen...

2010-11-07T07:10:00.000-08:00

I have discovered that I dislike Halloween. I dislike it a lot, and I hate that I am such a Halloween Grinch (I coined this term for myself. You may borrow it if you want to.) but I really hate the lead up to the day and all the costumes and decorations bug me. See, Grinch.

I remember in college, people would get all dressed up for Halloween and I always looked at them with such disdain, while secretly talking about them in my head. What about this day made it any different to go to a party, drink lots of alcohol, and eventually wander back home, only to pass out and wake up with a headache, but on this day you were expected to make an ass out of yourself and dress up in a costume. It never did and still doesn't make any sense to me. It's not fun for me to play dress up--I never liked it. I could drink beer whether I was dressed up or not. Grinchy, grinchy, grinch, grinch.

The only reason I even "celebrate" it at all now is because I have two little munchkins who think dressing up in costumes is a blast and their smiles make it worth it. Here are the pictures of my two very cute Halloweeners. Ha ha, I said weeners.

Playing catch up...again

2010-11-07T06:44:00.000-08:00

I don't have too much to report this time. :)

I ran my second half marathon October 24th. It was the Myrtle Beach Mini Marathon. It was painful (really painful) but I did it, and managed to beat my previous time by about 16 minutes. My time was 2:12:04. I must have stopped to stretch about 70 times, but I did it. The craziest thing was that even through all the pain, I was able to spend some time hanging out with Carole (or K-roll as she was dubbed by Colin when he was just 2 and couldn't say her name right) afterwards. Roger and the kids were hanging out at home so I got a girl's weekend with a little run thrown in. We had a blast, but I was reminded why drinking all day is no longer a part of my life! I am sure I will run another one, but for now, my body needs time to heal. It's hard for me to sit and wait but it has to be done. Maybe I will just start eating a lot of crappy food instead! :)

This is us directly after our finish...ew.

This is us all dolled up for post race food and drinks. Much better.

Playing Catch Up

2010-10-11T19:10:00.000-07:00

I have spent my entire evening catching up on 5 months worth of blogs. I made it through two and am starting to feel my eyes cross. I want to apologize to all of you who write them for not being more involved in your daily happenings. In my months long blah blogging attitude, I have neglected you all, and in doing that, have missed out on your lives. I am sorry and look forward to continuing my game of catch up and hopefully in the process, keeping you more involved in my life as well.

P.S. Here is a random video of the boys just so that I can post something.

The addition that I didn't think would happen...

2010-10-08T15:58:00.000-07:00

Well, we did it. I didn't think we would and outright said no at one point, but here we are. Meet the new addition to the family, Buckeye.

Buckeye is a chocolate lab and is going to be a monster. He is six weeks old and as cute as anything you have ever seen. Unfortunately, having a puppy is a ton of work, and the world is his toilet. Thankfully, he spends a lot of time outside with Sophie (who I think would rather not have a little ankle biter after her, but is coming around and will eventually love having him here) and seems to enjoy being out there more than inside. I am happy that the boys have a dog to grow up with them. God put this dog in our laps, so he must really belong with us! If we can get past the not sleeping, pee on the floor, whining, and nibbling, I think this will be a great thing! Pray that this all comes together quickly so that I don't totally lose my mind!!!

PS. I think it is funny that Christopher can't quite say his name, yet, and lovingly refers to him as Buttguy. Hahahahahahahaha!!!!

My latest endeavor...

2010-10-08T14:56:00.000-07:00

I did it! I finished the Virginia Beach Rock 'N Roll Half Marathon. My official time was 2:29, but according to my friend and training partner Carole's Garmin watch, it was actually 2:23. Her watch stopped when we stopped, so it's actually more accurate. At least that is what I am telling myself! It was a great accomplishment for me and I am very excited. I am already signed up for my second one at the end of the month in Myrtle Beach--I must be crazy, considering that my recovery took me so long and I walked around like a very old lady with terrible arthritis for at least a week! Oh well, I will rest someday!!!!

I also raised almost $500 for T.A.P.S (Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors) which takes care of fallen soldiers' families. I was honored to be a part of that. I ran in honor of Sgt. Jason Schumann, who was with my brother in Iraq and was killed. I am including a picture of my brother, who also ran the race (much faster than me) and is the reason I know about T.A.P.S in the first place. It's a great organization and if you want more information, you can go to http://www.taps.org/.

Here is a picture of Sgt. Jason Schumann.

Colin's and Christopher's first days of school...

2010-10-05T13:23:00.001-07:00

And they're off...

Colin's first day of Kindergarten was August 16th. It is quite a bit early around here, but no one seems to mind it in the great state of South Carolina that they cut off a month of summer. Oh well, I guess he got an early start on learning how to speak hillbilly...just kidding. Well, sort of.

His first day went well. He came home telling me how much he loved his teacher and all about it. The next day and the days that followed (for the first 3 weeks) were not so hot. He cried every morning, told me it was boring at school and that he missed me when he was at school (blatant lie because he would proceed to do nothing but give me a hard time when he got home and often told me he wished that I wasn't his mommy anymore), and even claimed to not feel well a couple of mornings. Eventually, he came around and now goes in happily and comes home with lots to tell me. Mostly he tells me about who was on yellow or red, what kind of backpacks and shirts the kids have, or everyone's name and carpet number. I think he is fine and doesn't miss me anymore. I am anxious to go to the conference this month to find out how he is doing academically, because he won't (or can't) tell me too much about what he does in school. We'll see if I will have to bring up all of the teacher's spelling errors or not...

Christopher started preschool on September 1st. He did great except on the playground. What kid doesn't love the playground? Mrs. BethAnn said that he was happy until she told them they were going out and he burst into tears and cried the whole time! He did that for a few days and then she learned that bribery works. She told him (and the rest of the class) that they could have a gummy if there were no tears on the playground. Apparently that was all he needed to hear because he has been great since. Also, he changes his superhero identity daily so they never know who he is going to be on the playground that day. If he starts to tear up or get weepy, they just ask him to show them who he is. He gladly obliges and forgets about whatever it was that was making him sad! By far, his favorite part of school is his new backpack, and he proudly shows it to everyone he sees. I love that he is so happy about it!

All in all, the start of school has been a smooth transition and we are enjoying it. I will let you know when the redneck accents start appearing and I have to fix their pronunciation of things. That might end up a blog all its own!

Very important day!

2010-08-31T12:46:00.000-07:00

This is not one of the greatest pictures of us, but it's the one we got that night!!!

Roger and I celebrated our 6th anniversary on August 28! I got a hotel for the night and splurged for a babysitter to stay with the kids. We headed to downtown Greenville on the motorcycle and spent the evening walking around downtown, eating dinner, and eventually heading to Sharkey's pub, where we enjoyed some adult beverages. We haven't been able to do something like this since before getting married because I found out I was pregnant 4 weeks after we got married! It was so nice to be just "us" for the night. We had a fantastic time and I still feel so blessed that God gave this man to me!

Rundown of 5 months in one post? Let's roll!

2010-08-31T10:20:00.000-07:00

Yep, I don't want to post too many times, so here is a basic rundown of our spring and summer. Hold on to your hats, ladies and gentleman!

1. April--We went to Florida! Disney accepted us with open arms, as did Universal Studios and the Epcot Center. The boys had a ton of fun and even though we couldn't ride the big rides, it was enjoyable to watch the kids' faces every time a character made an appearance. We got to eat lunch with Winnie the Pooh and his friends (who all gave lots of hugs to the kids), and we saw many more!

At Universal (or Universival, as Colin called it), we had the best interaction ever--Spiderman! Colin was in awe, especially because he was wearing his Spiderman t-shirt (and so was I, just for the record). Then there was a call for heroes and we watched him run out of the store! What an experience. While at Universal, we saw lots of Dr. Seuss stuff. There is a whole section devoted to him and his zany stories! Colin and Christopher were super excited to meet Thing 1 and Thing 2, to whom Colin proudly announced, "I have your shirt!" Watching their reactions were priceless! I would be posting a picture or two, but crazy Angela has lost the memory card with all of the pictures on it. Oops. So much for those memories! If I find them down the road, I will be sure to post them.

2. May--My birthday and Mother's Day were on the same day this year. I got treated like a queen. We went to Concord, NC and visited the Great Wolf Lodge. It was a lot of fun to be away and to hang out with the kids and Roger, but jeez, it was unexpectedly expensive. It is definitely a trip to take with older children and after some money saving! We had a good time together, though and it meant a lot to be the special one for a whole weekend!

Also this month was Colin's 4-year-old graduation. I think it is silly to have a big graduation with gowns and hats, but that is what was done. He was so proud and earned "Most likely to replace Toby McGuire as Spiderman" for his class. He sang some super cute songs and there was an adorable slide show put together for the class. Again, no pictures due to that pesky memory card. Bah.

3. June--One 5-year-old and one 2-year-old coming up!! We celebrated with the kids and their friends the weekend before their birthdays since both were in the middle of the week. I actually have some pictures of that! We braved the massive thunderstorm that hit right as we set up shop at the park, and the kids ended up having the time of their lives playing in the rain and puddles! It turned out awesome, albeit a little bit wet and windy!

On Colin's actual Birthday, we filled him up with Iron Man toys and let him pick dinner. He picked Red Lobster! I guess all my bad mouthing of McDonald's has worked! I have a couple of those pictures, too.

Christopher also had an Iron Man kind of day, although those pictures are on the same memory card as the rest that are MIA. (Ugh. This is starting to depress me!) We had another fun day, and I believe we went out for lunch on his day, although my memories are a bit blurry here.

On June 5th, we headed up to my parents' house to stay for a 3 week long vacation. It was such a blast! We celebrated the boys' birthdays yet again, and were inundated with toys (mostly super loud ones thanks to my lovely family members). They had the time of of their lives! I was able to help mom weed her flower beds (it took us quite a while, but we got it done) and I helped my Grandma prepare for her move to Florida. I got to spend a lot of time with her which is always such a blessing to me. I loved spending so much time with my mom and dad as well...and I even got a little bit spoiled by them. :)

During this trip, Roger had a business trip in DC, so he was up for the weekend in the middle and we got to spend an evening in DC while Mom and Dad hung out with the boys for us. We went to Morton's Steak House for dinner, and once we stuffed our eyes back inside our heads after getting the bill, we walked back to the hotel and just relaxed without worrying about what the kids were up to. We still have nightmares about that dinner bill, but we figure we don't do stuff like that, say, EVER so one time will not ruin us! We headed back to my parents' stayed one night, and then drove to Stafford to visit with Roger's family for Father's Day. What an added blessing that they live so close to my parents. We had a wonderful day of water slide and food, some adult beverages and Rock Band, with some badminton thrown in for kicks. It's always a lot of fun with Bobby, Elizabeth, Danielle, and Sue. There was also the added bonus of Aunt Doris being there that put the cherry on top. It's times like these that we really wish we lived closer to everyone so we could have more weekends like this! After our weekend, Roger drove back down south, and I headed back to my parents house.

Colin was also taking swimming lessons during this time, and in 3 weeks, went from non-swimmer to being able to float without assistance (in deep water) and swimming like a fish under water. It was really fun to watch! He had a lot of fun, and Christopher even decided that he wanted to learn to swim...he is an eager kid and wants to do everything that Colin does. He thinks Colin is the bees' knees!

4. July--I was deep into training for my half marathon, Roger was deep into studying for his full load of courses, and we were all deep into the summer heat! We had several days over 100, which keeps my "I hate heat" self inside. You would think that this would make me do things around the house, but nope, I just enjoyed my leisure time with the kids. My nephew came down for a week during this month and stayed with us. It is always fun to experience my nieces and nephews on a solo trip. It's cool to get to see more of their personalities that sometimes get overshadowed by their siblings when everyone is around. It is also a special bond for me. Watching them grow up has been amazing!

5. August--This month has been spent preparing Colin for Kindergarten and me preparing to kill my body in a 13.1 mile run over Labor Day. Colin had shown anxiety about Kindergarten all through the summer because he was afraid of not knowing anyone. We talked and talked about how great it would be, and finally, right before the meet and greet with his teacher, he decided that he was excited about being a big kid. I found out that his teacher was Mrs. Watson (the same teacher who in the parent orientation told us that we could make learning "funner" for our kids if they don't know they are learning. Anyone who knows me can attest to the fact that this blatant mistake in speech drives me bananas. I was none too pleased with this teacher selection, but decided to give her a chance. Upon actually meeting her, I found that she is a very nice and seemingly knowledgeable person and Colin seems to like her, too. Unfortunately, at the meet and greet, he had one of his famous headaches and couldn't wow them with his happy, smart, talkative self. I felt so bad for him! He started school on August 16, and cried every morning for the first 2 weeks. He seems to have finally gotten used to it, and has loads to tell me every afternoon!

Christopher is going to preschool! He starts tomorrow for 2 days a week in the 2-year-old room with Ms. BethAnn. I had gone back and forth all year about whether or not to send him this year, and when the job thing kept changing, I just decided to not put him in. Well, as soon as Christopher saw that Colin was going, he literally was begging to go to school, too! "Me go school! Me go school, too!" I was so excited to get the call that there was an opening!

I am also excited to announce that I will be working at the preschool those two days a week that Christopher goes in. I will be in the baby room! I can't wait to get my hands on those adorable little ones! It will be nice to be in the same place as Christopher, with people that I trust, and also be here for Colin in the mornings and afternoons. God blessed me with this schedule! I will also be able to maintain my training schedule with my clients and will be picking up a couple of new ones in the process. Looks like it will be a busy year for me! Can't wait.

So this leads me to now...I am supposed to run the Virginia Beach Rock and Roll Half Marathon this weekend with my brother, Jimmy and my friend, Carole (who I have been doing all of my training with). I will have to let you know how that turns out, considering that Hurricane Earl is supposed to hit at the end of the week. Hopefully, I don't blow away!

I hope you enjoyed this encapsulated version of the Millers' lives this summer, and I will do my best not to wait so long in the future...it was annoying to try and remember it all.

Months later, but here I am...

2010-08-31T05:25:00.001-07:00

Well, my hiatus is coming to an end...for now, anyway. I always restart my blogging with a renewed vigor and then it fizzles out on me. This is unfortunate especially considering that our lives don't stop during these breaks. This means that there is always a lot going on and those of you who still read this (or attempt to read my lack of posts) are missing out. I just simply haven't felt like writing. Now that summer's over, I will try to write more. I promise. Maybe.

Work, shmirk...

2010-04-11T20:22:00.000-07:00

Yep, it's happening. I'm going back to work. Not just 7 hours a week when I see my clients regularly work...real, get up in the morning and go to work, work.

This brings on many different emotions for me. Fear (can I still be an effective teacher?), anxiety (what has changed in the last 5 years?), excitement (It will be nice to be with adults and to use my skills again), and, oddly, pride (I was a great teacher to my students!).

Mixed emotions doesn't necessarily mean it's a bad thing. Yes, I have been out of teaching for 5 years and I am sure there have been some changes. Not to mention that I will be starting in a totally different state and having to relearn different state methodologies. I will have to get used to a very regularized routine again and will have to do it with two kids in tow rather than just myself. This is probably what brings me the most anxiety. Anyone who knows me knows that I HATE MORNING. Even with all of these doubts, fears, and what ifs, I am feeling overall pretty positive about it.

I did some great things with my students. For example, take the 10 year old 4th grade ESL/non reading student with a learning disability who after 3 months of intensive reading help was reading on a 2nd grade level by the time she entered 5th grade. I hadn't even started with her until January and by the end of 5th grade, she was doing even better. I also remember a 4th grade student with emotional disturbance who would shut down and not talk and told me he "f***ing hated me" on the first day of school, who was able to be totally mainstreamed into the general ed math class in 5th grade. Then there is the 4th grader who was pulling his hair out, literally, and had bald spots due to high anxiety over his home life, who was able to go in the general ed classroom for most of his day by 5th grade. Then there was Edwin (he passed away while a part of my class in 2002) who till the day he died referred to me as the one who loved him the most. These stories are some of my greatest joys from my days of teaching and those are the things I have missed.

Unfortunately teaching was not always fun and games and joys and triumphs. I had run-ins with administrators who didn't see that what I was doing was effective because the test scores didn't reflect that. I was told by one that I was too emotional about my students. I was told I was not doing a good enough job by an assistant principal who had me under a microscope about everything from my wording on IEPs (Individualized Education Programs), to my teaching methods, and right down to what I drank my coffee in (she didn't like that I drank out of a mug). Then watching them totally botch Edwin's situation (ask me about it, it's too much for this blog) and treat he and his mother like dirt really pretty much ruined me for teaching back then. I couldn't get past the fact that if all I had to do was be with the kids and work with them the way they truly needed and the administration and yep, I'll say it, the GOVERNMENT would stay out of my classroom then I would have a lot more of those great stories to share. There were too many rules that they tried to apply to my kids that wanted them to fit into a mold and didn't take into account why they were in my class in the first place. Just plain stupid of them if you ask me.

Anyway, I have chosen to get re-certified and get back into the grind. I am hoping that my experience will be better this time and hopefully I can make a difference for some kids who need it. Frankly, who need ME. Please pray that God is able to make the best use of these talents of mine to be the best wife, mother, and teacher that I can be and that I don't want to punch too many administrators in the face. That would look bad on my resume, right?

Who doesn't love puke?

2010-02-25T08:17:00.000-08:00

Ah, joy of all joys.

Christopher is sick. Not just a little sick, but puke all over the foyer and himself, then slip and fall in it, take a bath, go to bed, wake up fine until after breakfast then poop 5 times in 15 minutes and puke all over Mommy 3 times sick.

Fun.

The poor kid seems so much better after he pukes, but then he wants to eat and his stomach apparently doesn't appreciate that. So, I think I am going to just starve him until whatever this bug is goes away.

Maybe if we are really lucky it will make its way through all 4 of us and we can all get to experience it. That would just be awesome. I'll call it family bonding, or the key phrase "quality time." I guess it's time to break the Lysol back out. I don't want that kind of bonding.

Justice

2010-02-25T07:57:00.001-08:00

Justice

February 11, 1999-February 18, 2010

We love you!

For those of you who don't already know, I am sad to tell you that we had to put Justice down last week. He was starting to suffer and his body was completely giving out on him. I will save the details, but suffice it to say it was time. It was by far one of the hardest things I have had to endure, and don't think that I will be buying any new pets in the near future. It's hard enough knowing that Sophie will not be around forever and having to go through the heartwrenching decision again. I stayed with him through it all, and am glad that I did, however much I want to get the vision out of my head. He went very peacefully, but I will never forget the vet saying "He's gone." Much harder than I ever anticipated. Thanks for all of your support and love, Justice was a phenomenal dog and I will be forever grateful for the 6.5 years that he was a part of my life.

Justice loved being allowed on the bed...I love this picture of him.

Justice loved playing with Sophie, his partner in crime.

Sophie will miss her buddy, as will the rest of us.

Snowing in the Carolinas

2010-01-30T09:27:00.000-08:00

Well, the weather man actually got it right this time! Our first snow of the winter season arrived last night and is still here! Usually it comes in at about 1/2 an inch and is melted by midday. Not today! Unfortunately, the snow is covered in about a 1/2 inch of ice, but that didn't keep Colin and Christopher from wanting to play in it! I love it when it is white outside! It's beautiful! So here are the pictures of our giant South Carolina snow--aka the blizzard of 2010!

Change

2010-01-29T18:30:00.000-08:00

I woke up feeling a bit off this morning and had a hard time figuring out what the deal was. Did I just not want to clean like I knew I needed to? Did I not feel like playing referee to the boys today? Was I just anxious for Roger to get home? What was wrong with me?

As I was preparing myself to mop the kitchen floor (joy of all joys), I glanced at the calendar and caught the date. January 29th. I immediately had a flashback to a night in college that changed me forever. After realizing the date, I couldn't get it out of my head, so here I sit, contemplating the date, the event, and the aftermath, even though it was 11 years ago. I guess the memory will always be as vivid as if it were happening again.

Many of you know about this occurrence because you were there for it. Not the actual event, but the time before and the time after were part of your lives, too. It was a time of turmoil in my 20-year-old life and I had to figure out who I was and who I could count on. The event didn't wake me up as some might have hoped. I still went back. I even stood up for the guy. A lot. I kept trying to make it all right, to make it seem as though it had changed not only me and my outlook on things, but his, too. Wrong.

A switch flipped inside me, although outwardly it may not have seemed like it. I had always sworn that it would never be me, that I would never put up with something like that. And why couldn't people just see that it was OK, he was sorry? Because he wasn't. Everyone saw it. As much as I hated to admit it, I saw it, too. He didn't change, but I did. I became angrier and less trusting. I shrank into myself and tried to become someone I wasn't, someone he and his family wanted me to be. As hard as I tried, I couldn't be that person, but instead of stopping the charade, I just built up higher walls. I figured this was what was supposed to be for me and my life, so I had to figure out how to make it work.

Life doesn't always work out the way that it was planned out in your own head. What you think you know often turns out to be totally false and gets flipped around. Luckily and by the grace of God, the lie was revealed to me a couple of years later when everything that I deep down already knew was going on came to light. He hadn't changed in those years, and we still had times where he was just plain mean, treating me like dirt. Had he not made the decision that he didn't want to do it anymore with me, then who knows where I would have been today? As soon as he left, my eyes were opened and my heart, once broken, seemed to start healing. It wasn't easy at first, but shortly I realized that it was the best thing that could have happened. The realization that I could move on and find real love was uplifting and I felt the real me start to come back. The fiery, competitive, fun-loving me.

Fortunately, I was blessed with just that. God gave me Roger and showed me what I wanted in his eyes and heart. He was my prayers' answer. Unfortunately, I brought along a bit of baggage. I still tend to guard myself and have a hard time with trust. If I feel that someone is trying to control me, even if it is something as small as asking a simple question, I buck up against it. Roger is great at reassuring me during these times that it is OK that I have an opinion, even if it doesn't match his, but that I don't have to yell and scream to get it across or fear some sort of retribution. I just have to be me, as long as I am letting him be him, too.

I thought that I was pretty much OK with all of these memories, but today I realized that I probably need to release more of the hurt and anger. I'm a work in progress, I guess. Thankfully, it's not a never ending job and I can see the building going up, even as my walls are coming down. Yep, I'm a changed woman, and this time for the better.

Love, hugs, and busted lips?

2010-01-21T19:37:00.000-08:00

Colin and Christopher have decided that they adore each other. Just this afternoon they were rolling around on the floor giggling and hugging each other. Christopher walks up to Colin and gives him kisses, and Colin tries to make Christopher laugh by tickling and being cuddly with him. Those are the times that parenthood are so joyful and wonderful and I get teary eyed. I love that they love each other so much.

Then there are the times when they are playing together upstairs in the bedroom and all goes well until Colin drops Christopher on his head into the footboard and Christopher busts his lip and bleeds everywhere. Oh, and even better when Mommy isn't home and Daddy who can't walk has to crutch his way up the stairs to take care of it. Ah, yes, parenthood. Who doesn't love a fat lip? I know this is just the beginning of the fat lips and black eyes and possible broken noses, so I guess that I will just have to stock up on band aids, Neosporin, and health insurance and enjoy the ride.

Here is a sweet picture of the boys...

...and seconds later.

Update

2010-01-21T19:21:00.000-08:00

Roger is doing extremely well in his recovery and healing. His range of motion is far exceeding what the doctor and physical therapists expected. The doctor was very impressed with his own work as well, saying that if it weren't for the screws and plates visible in the x-ray that his bone and joint were perfect!

This progress has been a huge sigh of relief for everyone involved, and if I'm being honest, Roger is the most relieved. I am dying to have him totally healed and back to normal, but I think that he wants it even more than me. He has been back to work pretty much full time and is getting less and less tired during the week, even after being on the crutches or in the wheelchair. I am back to my training schedule and it is keeping us pretty busy.

Anyway, I thought everyone might appreciate a progress report on the crazy last few months. It's going well and we are so appreciative for all of the continued prayers and love!

Some pictures to join my brain dump from last post

2010-01-01T18:26:00.000-08:00

These photos are not in chronological order, but I don't like messing with the pictures on here too much because it is a pain in the neck.

This is where Roger spent his Thanksgiving day. Poor thing. You can tell he was a bit drugged up though, huh?

Christopher went swimming, too. I was too chicken to go in the water so my Uncle John took him in. He was in heaven.

Colin in the pool in Florida. He had a blast!

Colin was the ring-bearer...he was so cute! He walked down the aisle with his hands in his pockets looking all GQ!Christopher hanging with Aunt Alicia before we left to go downstairs to the wedding. Mr. Smiles.

This is Roger and I before the wedding...yep, we're hot!

Yes, I still live...

2009-12-31T19:01:00.000-08:00

...although I am not sure how I have survived the last 4 weeks somedays. It has been a terribly busy and stressful time at our house so blogging has taken a backseat. Not that bloggable stuff hasn't happened--it definitely has. It unfortunately has happened over and over and over again, while in the meantime not giving me any time to really get it all down. I will do it in list form so that I can get it out. I will not go into too much detail, but hopefully this will get me back on my blogging track. I hate that everyone is missing out on our family's lives. So here it is...4 weeks in a nutshell:

1. We attended my cousin John's wedding in Longboat Key, FL the weekend before Thanksgiving and had a wonderful time. We stayed the week of Thanksgiving in Holiday, FL at the newlywed couple's house while they were on their honeymoon. My other cousin Robert and his fiance Kayla live 2 doors down from the house and we got the pleasure of hanging out with them a lot. We took over their house in the morning because John and Mary didn't have a coffee pot! Poor things...and let's just say that they got more than a taste of what it was like to have children in the house!! We had a great time with them. My Aunt Nancy lives about 15 minutes away from their so we were lucky enough to get to spend some time with her and Bill, as well as Grandma and Uncle John and Toni (who were all in town for the wedding and Thanksgiving, too!). Robert and John's youngest brother, Stephen, was in town for the wedding on leave from the Army for the occasion. It was great to see him--we are all SO proud!

While in Holiday, we were also very blessed that Roger's Aunt Doris lived literally about 2 blocks away from John and Robert! This allowed us the great pleasure of spending some time with Doris and I finally got to meet Roger's cousins, Spike, Tony, and Michael. I had heard a lot about these guys, but had never met them before. What a great group of people! We had such a good time and even got some adult time together with Tony and his girlfriend while Robert and Kayla took the boys for a few hours. We spent Thanksgiving dinner with them as well. Which leads me to number 2.

2. "Hey Roger, do you want to play flag football tomorrow morning? I know some guys who are getting together." "Sure, sounds great." This conversation has come to haunt me. Roger did play flag football with Robert, and did well from what I understand. Unfortunately, I was not able to see him do well because on my way to the game with the boys (so that they could watch their daddy play football) I received this phone call. "I need you to bring me some ice. I hurt my knee." I said ok, and stopped at Starbucks to get coffee and a bag of ice while my brain was screaming "Oh, crap." Little did I know.

We spent the day in the ER getting X-rays. Happy Thanksgiving. Roger had broken his tibial plateau (look it up, it's too much to explain on here) with displacement and fragments. Oh, lovely. Surgery here we come. We spent the evening at Doris' house for Thanksgiving with Roger staying in one place because he couldn't move. He was miserable, but trying to have a good time with his cousins that he hadn't seen in a while. When we got home, we had to prepare for the 10 hour return drive to SC so that we could try to plan for his surgery. It was a super long day and I won't go into details, but we were so glad to get home!

3. ER visit number 2. Roger was losing feeling in his foot so we decided to get to the hospital and see if we could get it better taken care of and possibly get in with an orthopedic surgeon. Of course no one was going to operate on the holiday weekend, so we got a prescription to call the office Monday. Thanks for nothing. He had been broken for 5 days by the time we got to the doctor's office. They scheduled the surgery for Wednesday, he came home Thursday evening. No weight bearing for up to 12 weeks. Crutches and a wheel chair. Pain, pain, pain. The first day home was terrifying. My strong husband was struggling so much and it hurt me deeply to see it. Thank God my mother in law was here! She stayed through till the next Thursday morning and was a God sent Angel!

4. I have discovered that when my life is out of control, that I obsessively clean my kitchen. I can't control Roger's pain, his recovery, or the stress that comes with that. I am stressed about the kids, it was Christmas, the dog is dying (more on that later, too), and the only one who can do anything is me. When my life feels crazy, I clean the kitchen. I never had the desire to clean the kitchen like I do now. But, I guess it's always clean, right? Now, if I don't keel over from the fumes of this obsessive cleaning, we will be in business.

5. Justice and I have made several trips to the vet in the last couple of weeks. Each visit was sad and anticipatory of saying goodbye to him for the last time. He is still here, but we are on our last treatment option and we know that it's temporary. He made it through the holidays and we are just sort of waiting now. Please pray for us that the goodbye is painless for him (and us). It's hard on all of us.

6. Last, but not least, I have a 4.5 year old and a 1.5 year old who both miss their daddy and for at least the first week seemed mad at Mommy because of it. They are adjusting to Daddy's boo-boo now, so we are getting better. We made it through Christmas (pictures to come, I promise) even though there were no Christmas cards this year. They will be super late, but will get there, so bear with me. They are growing like weeds and are both so funny. Colin is coming into his own and starting to enjoy learning to read. Nothing major yet, but it is so awesome to see his wheels turning. Christopher is at that hilarious age where the things he says are so funny either because he is repeating something that he has heard or just jibber jabbering to himself. His latest is if you ask him a question that he doesn't know that answer to, he replies "Ohhhh. Nutning." (Oh, nothing). He is always ready with a grin for you and you can't help but smile back. These boys, while driving me insane have the uncanny ability to keep me sane. It's the oddest thing. I love them so much and this has brought me to tears more than once in recent weeks!

So that is it in a nutshell. I am sure there is more to tell and I will try to be better about sharing, but for now just know that I am doing my best here and sometimes it will make it into the blogosphere and sometimes it won't.

Oh yeah...HAPPY NEW YEAR! I hope that everyone has a very successful and fulfilling 2010!

Halloween

2009-11-02T07:03:00.000-08:00

Our Halloween was fun but became overrun with me getting sick and pouring down rain while trick or treating. The funniest thing about it is that Colin will not take off his costume. He loves being Spiderman! Christopher was Superman and had already had enough after like 2 houses so he spent most of his time in his stroller, covered by the umbrella! Anyway, here are the pictures of the cutest superheroes ever!

Going green

2009-10-26T13:30:00.000-07:00

Nope, not environmentally. That's not the green I'm talking about at all. I am talking about Colin and his frequency of green cards. He has been doing AWESOME at school and is 5 cards away from earning his special treat. For his treat he has chosen to go to a movie with the family...all 4 of us. My sweet boy loves his family! So I just wanted everyone to know how well Colin is doing at school. I am super proud!

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood

2009-10-25T12:33:00.000-07:00

The wind is blowing ever so gently and the leaves are turning colors. I see bright oranges, reds, and yellows everywhere that I look. The breeze is cool and comforting, whether it is coming in through the windows or I am outside enjoying it with my boys. It is a time of chili and beef stew for dinner, and coffee on all day with mint creamer in it (not that the coffee thing is new, but the creamer is). Football is on the TV all day and Roger and I each pull out our NFL jerseys to wear in support of our favorite players--AJ Hawk (Packers) for him, and Peyton Manning (Indianapolis) for me. Oddly enough, neither of them play for the two teams that we mostly claim as our own. Weird. Anyway, fall is the best time of year for all of these reasons, today being one that reminds me.

Colin is forever asking me to play cars with him and today is no different. I generally do not enjoy playing cars because it requires me to get into a character and it is my least favorite thing to do. I prefer just to push them around and race them. Since today is so gorgeous outside, I had the bright idea to take his cars outside and race them down our driveway because it has a downward slope towards the garage. That way we played cars and got out into the beautiful weather all at the same time! It was a total blast! He tired of cars after about 25 minutes and then Christopher came out to join us after waking up from his nap and eating some lunch. He was content to sit on my lap in the driveway and watch as Colin ran all over the yard, tagging the curve sign, the tree, the lamppost, the bush, the fence and whatever else I told him to. Colin ran super fast and Christopher's smile spoke volumes.

When we headed inside, Colin's nurturing side came out in full force, almost bringing tears to my eyes. He grabbed Christopher's hand to help him in through the garage, navigating him around the car tire, the trash bags that are waiting to go out to the trash can, and up the step. His gentle words were so kind and loving. I thought it was over and then I asked Christopher if he wanted me to take his jacket off. Immediately and without even thinking about it, Colin jumped up and walked over to where Christopher was standing. He unzipped his jacket, helped him pull the sleeves off, and put the jacket up on the table for me. It's these times that remind me of why I became a mom. The absolute bursting of my heart when I see them do something so kind and utterly innocent makes every tantrum, every frustration, every scolding worth it because I know that he is becoming a loving, caring, responsible person. I am so proud to be his mom! Even though I don't have pictures for this post, the ones that are in my head will never leave.

Grandma Sue rocks!

2009-10-19T08:27:00.001-07:00

After writing my previous post, I realized that I did have something pretty un-boring to talk about!

My awesome mother-in-law, Sue, came and hung out with us on Columbus Day weekend and it was anything but boring. Relaxed, yes. Boring, no.

Sue is everything that I could have put together on my own in a perfect 2nd mom. She loves me as her own, is silly, funny, calming--well, motherly. I love her very much and feel extremely blessed to have been accepted so fully into her family.

While she was here, we did a number of things. Saturday we spent the day at the Greenville Children's Museum, which was really quite awesome. It has been under construction since we moved down here, and it finally opened this year. Never have I seen so much hands-on opportunity for the kids. Both of them had plenty that they could do and they enjoyed it very much. I think we will be heading back there in the future for sure!

Sunday we had chili and watched some football. Sue is NOT a Redskins fan and made sure to let me know how she felt about them! It was quite funny to hear her--sweet Grandma Sue--cheering whenever something went wrong for them (which as any of you football fans know has been more often than not this season, but that is a whole other post). Then, horror of all horrors, she cheered for the Cowboys! Ah jeez, as if Roger being a Cowboys fan wasn't bad enough, I was stuck in my living room with two of them! I love being able to tease each other and know it is all fun. After the football "fun" was done, Roger and I were able to get some time together and went to a movie. We saw "Couples Retreat" and it was absolutely hilarious. It was really nice knowing that the kids were having some fun with their grandma and were being spoiled appropriately while we were gone. Sue is wonderful about playing cars, superheroes, trains, and whatever else Colin wants to do--over and over and over again. She is much better at it than me, and Colin eats it up. They had a great time and Roger and I appreciated the chance to be adults only for a couple of hours.

Also while Sue was here, we bought a puzzle to complete. I love puzzles and usually don't have them sitting on the kitchen table to work on because that doesn't make much sense since that is where we eat. Sue and I bond over puzzling. The last couple of times she has come to visit, we have worked on puzzles. We talk about a lot while focusing on where those blasted pieces go. We get serious, we get silly, we laugh. It's truly a great time for me. I hope she enjoys it, too!

So there you have it, my un-boring weekend with Grandma Sue, topped off with a trip to Target so that Sue could buy each of the boys a toy. Colin wanted a Transformer, and Christopher ended up with a K'nex Police Elmo. Overall, everyone got what they wanted--except maybe more time for Sue to stay. Colin didn't want to say goodbye and was very sad when he left for school on Tuesday knowing that Sue wouldn't be here when we got home. Thanks for a great weekend, Sue! Can't wait for our next one!

I will post pictures soon...I have to get them from the camera. One thing at a time!

Blog free lifestyle

2009-10-17T21:51:00.000-07:00

I have been reading up on my friends' blogs and have come to a conclusion or two.

One, I live a very boring life. Yes, things happen in my daily life that could make a blog, but I don't always think people need to know about the daily details. At this point, those details just entail Christopher's diaper rash and driving Colin back and forth to school. Not the most exciting news ever.

Two, I have had no desire to write down the simple things lately. My life with my kids and Roger is absolutely wonderful. Lately, however, I don't feel any push to take the time to sit down and make a witty story out of it. I just want to live in it and enjoy it all, even when I'm not always enjoying it. If I stopped and shared every event, every cute smile, and every cute/funny saying I would be too concentrated on my grammar and spelling of the event and not on the event itself. That's no way to share things.

Having said all of that, I am going to try and do better at sharing the funny stories and the not so funny stories as well because they are all important to me. This is my life, boring as it may be sometimes, and I love it. That's what makes it worth sharing. Diaper rash and car rides here we come!

Randomness

2009-09-26T08:41:00.000-07:00

It's been a while, so I will just throw a bunch of stuff at you with no real purpose. :)

Christopher is really coming into his own lately and is discovering that he can make us laugh pretty easily. This either means that he is really funny or we are easily amused. I haven't figured out which one it is yet, though. He has become pretty fascinated with going potty, or "otty" in his words. Any time that anyone goes in the bathroom or if he pees he starts chanting "otty, otty, otty!" The other day he had an uncomfortable look on his face and he said, "Otty." I asked him if he went potty and he stopped in the middle of the kitchen and nodded his head while wiggling his hips around in a circle "adjusting!" It bugs him a lot more than it ever did Colin to be wet. He often will tell me when he needs a change. He'll say "poo" (which sounds more like boo) and point or "pee" and point. He's brilliant.

He is in a stage now when he will just randomly walk through the house and babble. He is usually aping something that Colin has done previously, and it's really cute to watch. He has taken to being Spiderman like Colin and points his finger and shoots the webs while making the "sheeeeu sheeeu" sound.

He is doing very well with walking and most of the time does great, but still falls pretty often. He gets frustrated and yells at his feet. He falls down, shakes his feet while yelling "tee, tee!!" (feet, in Christopher speak). It's pretty humorous. He has also taken to showing his muscles for everyone. He puts both arms up and growls. Needless to say this impresses all the ladies and goes along with his flirtatious behavior at the--well, wherever we are. We are loving this time of his life that is so full of discovery and growth.

Colin has been enjoying his preschool and we often hear stories of playing superhero on the playground, who is favorite friends are, and who got in trouble that day. Of course he isn't so forthcoming with the other stuff. Such as when he has a yellow day. Green cards are a good day. Yellow is the warning day, meaning he doesn't get a sticker for the day, putting off his pick from the treasure box. He has had a number of these yellow days in the last couple of weeks. Mostly for wild behavior mixed with some kicking and disrespect of the teacher. Aaaaaaahhhh! My kid can't be the problem child! Noooooooo! I talked to the teacher and she assures me that he is just doing age-appropriate things and not to worry too much, but to really praise his good behavior. I agree with her wholeheartedly, but I also think that it is my job to nip it in the bud. He gets a separate punishment at home on these non-green days, and I have also implemented a smile chart for him to work towards a special treat from us. He earns a smile on his chart for every green day. Once he fills up the chart with smiles he gets a special treat. So far it is working great...although it's only been two days since implementation, but we have two smileys so we are off to a great start.

The other day we were heading out to the garage to get in the car. I went ahead of the kids so that I could get my armfuls of stuff into the car before having to pick up kids to put them in. I leaned out of the car just in time to hear Colin saying "Come on, Christopher, I'll help you" and simultaneously leaning down, wrapping his arms around him, and assisting him down the step into the garage. It was so sweet that I teared up. It's a welcome change from him knocking him over for moving. :)

On a whole other note, we have been on a bit of an emotional roller coaster the last couple of weeks with Justice (one of our dogs for those of you who don't know). He was diagnosed with cancer in March or around that time period. Well, in the last few weeks, he has stopped eating, lost a ton of weight, and started vomiting at night. We changed his food, which seems to have helped for a short time, but it seems to be starting again. It is totally heartbreaking to watch, and we are preparing ourselves for the time that we have to make the difficult decision to give up. He is 11 years old and it is obvious what is coming. Please say some prayers for Roger as this is his baby. He is a wonderful dog and a true part of the family.

One baby pot band + 1 brother= AWESOME

2009-08-29T19:01:00.000-07:00

I have a picture of Colin around Christopher's age playing my pots and pans like drums. Of course I had to allow Christopher the same opportunity. Unfortunately, it is now a daily occurrence while I make dinner. A very loud occurrence. He just loves it, and Colin likes to join in. That's when the fun really starts...

This is Colin.

This is Christopher.

This is the two of them doing a duet.

Mr. Creative

2009-08-29T18:53:00.000-07:00

Colin has been playing a lot with his trains, cars, legos, and blocks lately and here are some of his creations. The kid might have a future in engineering or architecture. His brain surprises me with the intricate details that he can visualize in his building of things. I know all kids have imagination and creativity, but it is still impressive to me.

I dare you to not be impressed by this train track! He did it with no help.

This is a picture of a block city he built...I can't recall what everything was, but he told me.

This is a Lego monster truck. It has a giant lift. Ugh, we must really live in the south.

Exercising my life away

2009-08-29T18:44:00.000-07:00

As many of you may know, I am a certified personal trainer. I exercise at least 5 days a week and watch my diet the vast majority of the time. I think it's important, I think it's good for me, I want to keep losing baby weight and toning up, and I actually enjoy it. I thought I was pretty fit.

Apparently not as fit as I thought.

Roger and I started the P90X program (www.beachbody.com, look it up) together 3 weeks ago.

Holy. Crap.

Intense doesn't even begin to describe this program. It is a mixture of strength, cardio, diet, flexibility, core, etc. that is reminiscent of some of my preseason days. The first night that we did it, we did chest and back and ab ripper x. I woke myself up my abs hurt so bad that night.

As the three weeks have gone on, I have learned a few things. 1) I was not as fit as I thought, 2) Yoga X sucks total balls 3)Diet and exercise really are the only way to improve your health and meet your weight/body goals and I don't need ice cream every night. I am seeing results after this short time, and am thoroughly impressed with the program. I am noticing that each workout gets easier, while remaining hard. I will kick ab ripper x's butt, I will. I can't wait to post some pictures, but right now I am still just a bit too embarrassed of the before ones. I will post them together when we are done with the program.

If you have reached a point in your working out that you need something new and different, this might be what you need. It is definitely not for beginners though, so be warned!

Colin's first day of K-4

2009-08-29T18:32:00.001-07:00

Colin started his K-4 (known in most places as preschool, but for some reason here, it's considered Kindergarten 4--welcome to SC) last Monday. He goes 4 days a week from 9am to 1pm. He is doing great already, although his stubbornness was a problem on day 1. He didn't want to do anything the teacher wanted him to do. After a little talk with me after school about how important it is for him to listen to his teacher, he didn't have another problem all week. He learned all of the routines right away (kiss me goodbye, go in, hang up his backpack, put his lunch box in his cubby, put on his name tag, put his monkey on the tree (it's a system for taking roll), and go sit at his table. I am so proud that he can do this by himself! I want nothing more than for him to be as independent as possible when he is away from me. He had 4 green days and that meant that he was able to pick a treat from the treasure box on Thursday. He was very cute in his excitement of wanting to show me what he got. As crazy as he makes me, I love that kid!

Things are a bit different for him this year as instead of 8 kids in his class, there are 20! Instead of 1 teacher, there are 3. He seems to be adjusting fairly well, although I think I need to find a way for him to blow off some steam every day when he gets home. I will work on that. Here is a picture of him on his first day.

Atlanta Zoo

2009-08-29T12:49:00.000-07:00

I had the joy and pleasure of meeting an old soccer friend from my high school years at the Atlanta Zoo (actually called Zoo Atlanta, but that irritates me so I changed it). She moved to Arizona when I was about 16, and I hadn't seen her since. We have caught back up on Facebook and it turns out that our children (she has two boys) are months apart. Colin is a couple of months older than Kegan, and Christopher is 1 month older than Kamden. It was a blast to hang out with them together and they got along really well. I enjoyed meeting Autumn's husband, Travis, as well. I only wish that Roger had been able to join us, as that would have made it even more perfect. Here are some pictures from our time there. Hopefully we will make some plans in the coming years to travel to Arizona to visit!

Colin kept us all informed of where we were and were going the entire day by using his map. He really did a great job following it!

Colin and Kegan with the lion statue.

Colin and Kegan on the gorilla statue with the sign behind them that says do not climb on statue. Oops.

Looking at the sleeping panda.

Christopher and Kamden driving the school bus. Aren't they cute?

Anniversary to remember

2009-08-29T12:13:00.000-07:00

He looks innocent, doesn't he???

So as I said yesterday, we celebrated our anniversary. We didn't have a babysitter so we took the kids with us to dinner. It was fun and Roger and I deviated from our clean eating and enjoyed a Greek dinner at The Olympian. Yummy.

Then, just to add to the fun of the anniversary, we headed to Lowe's to search for glue to install our new hardwood flooring. Of course Lowe's didn't have it. This means an extra trip to Simpsonville (about 25 minutes away) to Lumber Liquidators. This also means an extra week before we can get it done. Oh well. Such is life.

After our trip to Lowe's (where the kids were angelic) we headed to Wal Mart--just to cap off the night. Living large, we are! Unfortunately, our angelic 4-year-old became possessed while we were there and threw the fit to end all fits all because I took him to the bathroom. Needless to say he had to go badly enough that he was doing the pee pee dance, because in his world that is irrelevant. If I didn't know that he was my child and I had seen this event as a bystander, I would have thought that the child was being abducted. I was carrying him by this point because he refused to walk and he is screaming "DAAAADDDDYYYY!!! I WANT MY DAAAADDY! NO, NO, NO!!!!" I was mortified, but determined that he was going to go to the bathroom. Oh yes, this 31-year-old will win the fight with the 4-year-old. Little did I know that he had more defiance left in him. Great. In the bathroom it took 10 more minutes of him screaming that he didn't want to be in there, for him to finally go to the bathroom. Which, by the way, sounded like a hose in a pool of water--nope, he didn't have to go at all.

I thought it was over, but no such luck. We went back to where we had left Roger, and he wasn't there. Meltdown number 2. I actually sat him in the middle of the floor in Wal Mart for a time out. Then I told him that I was no longer speaking to him and that he was going to be quiet while we walked around looking for Daddy because I was pretty upset with him. Did he want to do that? Nope. Oh well, he can trail behind me whining and complaining until we find him. And he did. A lot. We finish our shopping (with Colin now under Roger's care, and Christopher with me in the cart) and head to the truck to leave. Meltdown number 3. "I'm not getting in the truck!" I picked him up and placed him ever so lovingly in his car seat and started to buckle him...again the screaming started. "STOP IT! STOP DOING THAT!!!!!! STOOOOOOOOOP!" I gently...ok, not exactly gently, shut his door and told him to buckle himself.

Then we fought with him after we got home because he was going straight to bed--missing out on his dessert, a story, and special routine with us at bedtime. Two hours later, he was asleep.

Happy Anniversary, Mom and Dad. Aw, thanks, Colin.

I love that Colin is so much like me. Most of the time. His stubborn streak doesn't mesh well with my stubborn streak. It's a good thing we love each other. Sometimes I think that if given the chance, that he would trade me in for a newer, cooler, nicer model. Until then, he is stuck with me...the one who loves him the most, no matter what.

As a side note, Christopher was in the mood of a lifetime throughout all of this. Giggly, talking, and laughing.

5 years!

2009-08-28T06:33:00.000-07:00

Happy Anniversary to us! August 28, 2004 was a beautiful, sunny day and everything about it was perfect. Well, that is excluding the small fight I had with the florist for forgetting a boutonniere, but that is minor and was fixed immediately after a short, not so patient phone call from me!

The wedding ceremony was very simple and so much fun! Not one tear, but tons of laughs! Roger smiled through the entire ceremony, which made me smile (and giggle like a school girl). Every time that the pastor took a pause, Roger said "I do." It was funny--he couldn't wait to be Mr. Angela Snyder...uh, I mean to make me Mrs. Roger Miller. :)

We had such a wonderful time there that we decided to continue it on into the reception. We had a great time and (BONUS!) only one fire! One of the candles that was around the cake fell over during our dance and started a fire on the table cloth. Luckily my sister-in-law Elizabeth was able to get to it before it got bad. My 2.5-year-old niece, Danielle, gets the shout out for seeing it first! There was dancing, some drinks, and lots of food, and then it was on to the Tiki Bar in Virginia Beach for a party with more friends. We had our own section of the place because we knew the owners and it was wonderful to see those who didn't get to come to the reception, but were able to come hang out with us anyway.

We have had a wonderful 5 years together and I look forward to many more.

Our crazy little boys...

2009-08-08T20:34:00.000-07:00

Here is a really cute picture of Christopher sitting with Roger at the computer and "borrowing" his headphones. For some reason, Christopher is fascinated by these things and can often be found pulling them out of Roger's computer bag and attempting to put them on his head. This generally results in him wrapping the cord around himself, but short of the lack of oxygen, it's pretty funny. OK, he hasn't ever gotten to that point...we do watch our kids. Except when they are eating earrings, picking up blocks, I am shutting the car doors, etc. Details, details.

Anyway, there is also a little video of Colin running through our newly painted hall. This is a daily occurrence because he has to show me how fast he is. I love the way his arms pump so feverishly and he is so proud of himself. One of these days we will be running together and I will have to show him that I am faster than he is. That's right, I will compete with my kid. He has to know who's boss. That includes in the running world. Until he can beat me and then my work is done!

The house be painted!

2009-08-08T20:20:00.000-07:00

We got the painters out to the house last week and in 3 days our foyer, upstairs hallway, and living room were transformed from white (with lots of fingerprints and dog marks, as well as some beautiful artwork by Colin) to Golden Fleece (foyer and hallway) and Compatible Cream (living room). I think that I want to be the one to name paint colors. I could come up with a fewlovely ones, I'm sure. I would normally have been happy (well, willing, anyway) to paing my own walls, but as you can see we have GIANT ceilings and neither Roger nor myself were getting up on a ladder to paint these walls. It was totally worth paying someone else! Anyway, here are the pictures. It is such a relief to have it finished! Now I just have to figure out how to decorate. Help!

Indianana

2009-08-04T18:13:00.000-07:00

Yes, I understand that I spelled Indiana wrong. But that is where Colin said that we went and I like it. So you did not get me in a spelling error. Nice try, Amy.

We left for Indiana on July 4, early in the morning. Fortunately, it was a beautiful drive and even ended up being only 7.5 hours of driving instead of the 10 we were expecting. It was definitely different than when Christopher was only 8 weeks old! We were going to go and see some fireworks in downtown Indianapolis, but we got there and it POURED. It had been going all day, and I think the fireworks were even cancelled, so there were no "ooooohs" or "aaaaaaaahs" for us. Maybe next year.

Christopher and Nancy--he was tuckered out!

We did have a very full week: building a porch for Aunt Nancy, Children's Museum, building a porch for Aunt Nancy, the pool, a day of swim lessons for Colin, building a porch for Aunt Nancy, the Train Museum, trip to Urgent care, saw the Ice Age movie with Rita, and did I mention that we built a porch for Aunt Nancy?

Looking up into the glass sculpture at the Children's Museum.

Colin talking Ms. Jackie's ear off about something before his lesson.

He seemed to enjoy his time on the kick board.

Colin liked the caboose.

Roger and Christopher on the caboose...Christopher wasn't quite so enchanted by the trains as Colin!

Colin on the dining car at the Train Museum.

We also got to see "the house." This is the house that Roger's dad and his sisters grew up in that his grandparents had built (well, had built for them) in the 1950's or 60's (sorry if I don't know the exact dates). In 2007, Roger's family took a big hit losing Grandma, Grandpa, and Mike (Roger's dad) during the summer. After this, Rita was able to take over the house and had it fully renovated. We hadn't seen it since because it wasn't ready last summer while we were there. It is absolutely beautiful, while still maintaining a lot of major parts of Grandma and Grandpa Miller. Great job, Rita!!

We built the porch for Aunt Nancy on Monday, Tuesday, and finished Wednesday. She was expanding an existing 7x7 porch to a 12x12. If only it had been as easy as placing some more paving stones down. Nope, we had to level the ground first. Wonderful. What did Nancy provide for the leveling agent? Cow crap. Yep, cow manure. Lots and lots of bags of cow poo were spread. Super fun times. Luckily it didn't smell as bad as you would think, but it still grossed me out. We went to the store about 769 different times to get more materials because some calculation somewhere had been off. Finally, we got to Wednesday and were rolling right along, spreading poop, adding a little paving dirt, placing a paving stone, and on to the next one. We could see the light at the end of the tunnel!

Then Colin decided to show us how strong he was.

He picked up one of the 20+ pound paving stones that was in a stack (we weren't using these and they were going to be returned) off to the side of the porch (that he had been told not to touch already) and promptly dropped it right back on his fingers. I heard, "Mommy! Look how strong I...AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

Before Roger or I could get there to pick it up off of his finger (incidentally the same finger I had smashed in the car door last fall), he had ripped his hands out and there was blood pouring down his hand. Now remember, Roger and I have been elbow deep in crap all day, so there wasn't a clean hand, so I grabbed him on the elbows holding a hand under the dripping blood and rushed him into the bathroom so I could wash hands (his and mine). It was bad. He had split his finger open and ripped a bunch of skin off of it in a different spot. I got it covered up with band aids (they must have been from the 70's because the paper just about disintegrated in my hand when I was opening it) and some gauze and we ran out the door to the Urgent care center. There we had quite a traumatic time with x-rays (no broken bones), the doctor's examining of the finger and deciding that steri-strips covered with gauze was the best solution, and a lot of screaming ("EVERYBODY GET YOUR HANDS OFF ME!!!!!"). By the end, he was all wrapped up and in an OK mood. The doctor said something to the effect of "It hurts, doesn't it?" to which Colin replied "Duh." Ha ha ha. Overall, it was awful, though, and I hated seeing him in that pain. No more swimming lessons for him because he couldn't get it wet. So much for that idea.

Colin displaying his boo-boos.

The finished porch. Isn't it great?

Nancy, Colin, and Jerry at Nancy's birthday dinner. She is REALLY happy that it's her birthday! :)

Christopher was having a good time, too!

Christopher demanding some of the ice cream cake for Nancy's birthday.

The best part of the entire trip for me was spending so much time with Roger's family. I love just sitting around with them. Generally there is a puzzle going on at Nancy's at any given time. I completed one with some help from Rita, and then I started another. I did it all by myself. So proud.

We also played lots of Guitar Hero with Jerry (Nancy's boyfriend) and Roger tested out his vocal skills and we had a good laugh at some of the most ridiculous lyrics that we have ever heard. I laughed so hard I was crying. Hysterical. The time that we got to just hang out was fantastic and those are the memories that I will always hang on to the most. It was a wonderful vacation--even if Nancy did make us work. And no, I will NOT help you build a porch!! If she ever says, "I've got a small project for you guys" again, I am running away!

Scattered Memories

2009-08-03T12:11:00.000-07:00

As you all know, I have been putting off writing my blogs. Not because I don't want to, I do, but I have not had the motivation to upload the hundreds of photos and video from my camera. I finally bit the bullet and did the upload. This post is a compilation of random pictures from the summer. One exciting event is that Christopher is taking his first steps. He is getting more and more comfortable on his feet and is standing all alone more often. He takes quite a bit of coaxing to actually move his feet, though. I figure he will go when he's ready and then I better watch out! I can see him taking off at a run right out of the gate. Anyway, here are some of the random photos.

Colin doing a rare academic activity.

They adore each other when they aren't trying to beat the other up.

Enjoying some mini oreos.

Another tender big brother moment. They are looking out the window.

Christopher digs some ravioli!!!

Drama, drama, drama...

2009-07-26T06:04:00.000-07:00

OK, so barring all of the other things I have to blog about, I am deciding to write about something seemed to cause some confusion for those on my facebook page. I had set my status to say something about the past needs to remain in the past, it's over, move on, blah, blah, blah. Melodie and Amy were curious and suggested that I should blog about it. At first I wasn't so sure, because it is stuff that no one really cares about, but then I thought about it in terms of blogging. Isn't that what blogging is supposed to be for? Yes, it's great for the stories and photos and fun times, but isn't it also a way to burn off some frustration and get thoughts out? So here we go.

I started playing travel soccer at age 9 on a team called the Sterling Blast. This would be the team I stayed on until graduating high school. It was a GIANT part of my life and I am still in contact with many of the girls that I played with back then. The coach of the team and I were very close from the time I made the team. He taught me all sorts of skills and encouraged me to get better and try new things on the field. He became a sort of father figure through the years, and I was close to his family as well. As those years went on, he left our team and moved on. I was upset at first, but I maintained close contact and even helped him coach his little girls team once in a while. Then it all changed. I went to college and on one trip home, my mom sat me down and told me that my coach was leaving his wife and he was not only leaving, but was "seeing" someone. Someone that was only 3 years older than me and I had played high school soccer with. Someone who had dated his son and referred to the coach as "Pa." I was shocked and disgusted immediately. I was also hurt, and my vision of this person shattered. I mourned the loss of the person I had known and decided that I just didn't want anything to do with him anymore. I remained a part of his wife's life, as well as his son and daughter, avoiding any sort of conversation about him. There was a time in my freshmen year of college that I spoke to him on the phone and told him how I felt about it. It didn't go over well, and his attitude was pretty much, "I don't care what you think or feel." That was the end of it.

Until yesterday.

Facebook is wonderful and terrible for many reasons. You can find people that you want to find. Old friends, relatives, and acquaintances that you have previously lost touch with come out of the woodwork. I have rekindled some very special friendships because of facebook (right, Robin?). Then there is the downside, with people being able to find you, too. People you thought were no longer a part of your life and you didn't want back in. You don't even have to be "friends" with someone for them to be able to contact you. I have run in to this now twice.

Yesterday I received an email message from my old coach through facebook. It made me angry. Not because he emailed me, but because of the attitude he gave me in the email. "Still mad at me after it has lasted 13 years?" That is how he started it. As though I had done something wrong when I was 18 years old by being hurt by someone I had previously admired. So I wrote him back and pretty much told him that no I wasn't angry, because I didn't care about him or his relationship, and that I never thought of him at all, but the fact that he felt he needed to justify it to me was interesting. This is a 60+ year old man and he apparently still worries about what I think of him. Sad. He seems more worried about my opinion of him than he did of his own family 13 years ago. It still grosses me out.

So for those of you who were wondering what the drama was about yesterday, this is it. It's really not a big deal, but it was to me when it was going on a while back.

Lazy blogger

2009-07-25T08:35:00.000-07:00

Ok, I have tons to blog about...but no desire to do it right now. I have to upload some pictures from Indy, as well as others of the kids. I just don't want to. So forgive me, but I will catch up soon. Maybe tonight. Maybe not. It will happen though. Someday.

June has come and gone...

2009-07-02T11:53:00.000-07:00

What a crazy month June was! My boys both had birthdays, my sister tied the knot, family visited, and we slipped into July. I know I promised pictures of Alicia's big day, and I am still working on it, I promise. For some reason when I try to post them, they come out as tiny little thumbnails. I want you to actually be able to SEE them, so I have not put them up yet.

I do, however, have some recent snapshots of the boys and some of the visitors we have had in recent weeks. Roger's brother and his family came for a long weekend and it was a GREAT time. We always have fun together and Colin got to spend some real quality playtime with his cousin, Danielle (who is getting more grown up by the hour). They got to go to a Father's Day baseball game and both ended up with foul balls! Unfortunately I was home with a very sick Christopher who had a high fever due to his 4 molars coming in (although if you ask a pediatrician, they will tell you that teething doesn't cause fevers...they are lying). I hated to miss it, especially after seeing the pictures of the very fun day!

Here are the pictures we have taken this summer. I have a beautiful family. Every last one of us is striking. :)

Angela and Alicia before the wedding.

Roger and Colin on the bridge in downtown Greenville.

Colin and Emily at their birthday party at the park. It was hot and they had been playing hard!

Danielle and Colin playing in our pool.

Christopher playing in the jump-o-lene.

Danielle and Christopher playing.

Danielle and Colin at the baseball game with their foul balls.

Roger, Colin, Danielle, and Bobby at the game.

What Christopher did while they were at the game. Poor thing.

My sister is a Mrs.!

2009-06-17T19:27:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, on June 13, Alicia and Justin tied the knot in a beautiful ceremony at Topsail Island, NC. Everything went extremely well and it was really a wonderful weekend.

We started everything off Friday night with the rehearsal and the rehearsal dinner. It was seriously the most laid back rehearsal I have ever seen. It was kind of "you will go, then you will go, then you will go, then the kids, then me, then we'll say some stuff, then we'll do rings, then we'll walk out and you all will walk out, and then we're done." Nice. Then we ate a yummy shrimp dinner and drank some beer and talked a lot. Also, Justin's dad put together a really sweet video of Alicia and Justin which included childhood photos as well as many as a couple. It was great. The couple gave out gifts to the wedding party and that started my first tears of the weekend. Colin (he was the ring bearer) received an awesome Lego car picked out by Justin and upon opening it exclaimed, "WHOA!" We have built, broken, and rebuilt that car a few times. Great gift!

That night after the dinner, we converged on Tiffany's (our hotel) and took over the lanai (fancy word for balcony with chairs and tables). Aunts, Uncles, cousins, my brother, my mom, and lots of alcohol. My mother took a shot of Patron!! Craziness. But as always, very loud and lots of fun!!! We have a wonderful family and always have a great time when we are together.

Saturday morning started with breakfast (and a rough start for some) at a little restaurant on the other end of the island and then Roger, Grandma, and Grandad took the boys to the beach for a few hours since the wedding wasn't until 6 pm and I had to go get hair done with Alicia. The kids had a blast, but I am not sure if we got any pictures or not. I was sad to miss it, but as most of you know I hate the beach so I guess I was kind of relieved to be getting primped instead! We all got ready and then it was time! Alicia looked absolutely gorgeous and everything went off without a hitch. The weather held out and the hairspray held. My brother, Bradley, did the ceremony (he was ordained last summer) and it was beautiful. He added some humor, but his words were very meaningful and heartwarming. They did their vows, swapped some rings, and then kissed. Beautiful. Not too many tears, but some choking up (we are an emotional bunch). OH, and Colin made the most handsome ring bearer in the world and walked up the aisle holding Addison's (Justin's god-daughter) hand. He made me so proud!

After the ceremony was the reception and as always, lots of fun. Colin still loves to dance and didn't fail us in that regard! He had his first "couples" dance with a little girl named Logan, and even stole a kiss! It was so cute but so shocking! Apparently, Logan gets around. Her mom wasn't surprised in the slightest, and was convinced that she made the first move! Colin followed up the smooch with "Do you have any cool toys at your house?" Ha ha ha!! Priorities, huh? I gave the speech that I had spent months preparing. It was time for the tears! Thank the Lord I had written it down. But I was able to get it out and apparently I made my family members cry (Alicia, too, SCORE) so I was glad. Colin did not like seeing me cry and walked up to me on the "stage" and said "Mommy, why are you crying?" He was on the verge of tears himself and later when I was holding him, he wiped my tears for me. It was too sweet!! Unfortunately, this was around 11 pm and the kids had about had it! As soon as the speeches were done, I gave hugs and took the kids back to the ho-tail (as Colin called it) for bed. We then converged on the lanai (as people started trickling in from the party) for another night of loud conversation and beer. Great times.

So, Alicia is now a Vanderspiegel. It's so awesome and I am so happy for the newly married couple!! Pictures to come!

Doctor visits

2009-06-09T18:17:00.000-07:00

Thank the Lord that we have gone to the doctor for the first time all year and NOT, I repeat, NOT had an ear infection!!! Infection free!!! Woohoo!!

We went for their yearly checkups and everything looks good with Colin. He is growing well and is in the 75th percentile across the board. He is also doing all of the things that he is supposed to be doing (and then some) for his age group. Unfortunately, he left the doctor's office with three new puncture wounds, and he was not too happy. But the lollipop from the nurse made that all better. I hate having to hold him down so they can hurt him. I know it's in his best interest, but at the time it sucks.

Growing like a weed...getting him started on his momma's sport!

Christopher is infection free as well, and is hitting milestones when he is supposed to. His growth was a small concern to the doctor, as he is only in the 4th percentile (yep, 4th) for weight, and the 41st for height. He hasn't even hit 20 pounds yet...shoot, he hasn't even hit 19!! They don't seem too worried, but said to definitely up his milk intake and to offer him the Pediasure shakes to help get him some extra fat and calories. Oh, and I forgot to mention his head size. His head is in the 85th percentile. So, we have a bobble head according to the numbers. Considering how huge Colin always was, this news came as quite a shock to me. I never saw myself having a tiny peanut (especially one that was born at 9 lb 2 oz) especially having had a chunky monkey previously. I guess I will just have to enjoy the baby size for a little longer. Can't say it's all bad!

Does this look like a bobble head to you???

This week we are in preparations for my sister's wedding on Saturday. I have a few things to do in order to look better than her, uh, I mean, look pretty at the wedding. I got my hair cut and colored today, the boys haircuts today, and I am getting my nails and spray tan done Thursday evening. I am very excited for the wedding and will be posting about it after I get home and recover! It definitely beats holding my kids down for their shots!

Christopher is 1!!

2009-06-06T18:36:00.001-07:00

On June 4th, we celebrated Christopher's first birthday. It has been a crazy birthday week in our house! I don't know if I have ever eaten so much cake in my life. Anyway, we woke up at the normal 7 am and I went to get Christopher out of bed. He was screaming by this time to get our attention. I was greeted by a giant poopy diaper up his back. Happy Birthday, buddy.

Probably the best part of the day was when Roger, Sue, and I were standing in the kitchen and Colin and Christopher were playing in Colin's new "Jump-o-lene" in the office. We hear Colin's sweet voice say, "Happy Birthday, Christopher." Kiss. "Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday day dear Christopher....Happy Birthday to you. I love you, Christopher." He probably pushed him over or took something from him not long afterwards, but we will always have that memory of him being so sweet to his little brother. Those are the precious moments.

After naps, we opened up gifts and had cake. He wasn't sure what to do with all of the stuff he got. It didn't help that Colin wouldn't let him open half of them without taking over, so we had some disagreements there, but he got the hang of it and when we opened up the toy boxes and he got to play, all was well! Christopher is quite the cake connoisseur these days and he dug right in. He enjoyed us singing to him, but was happy when it was over and he could eat! Here is a short video and the pictures of the wonderful day that was my big boy's 1st birthday!

Colin is 4!

2009-06-04T14:30:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday to my big boy! I am so proud of our 4-year-old. I am so happy to have been blessed with such a sweet, loving, rambunctious boy. We had a wonderful day on Tuesday hanging out at the house. Grandma Sue is in town to help celebrate and everything has been very relaxed.

Colin woke up on his birthday at 6 am (ugh) and said, "Daddy. DADDY!" "Yes, Colin." (still sleeping) "Daddy, am I 4?" "Yes, Colin, you're 4. Now lay down until 7:00." You could hear the excitement inside of him as he laid back down on the air mattress. It was very cute.

Colin had gone to bed with a frog in his throat, and it wasn't better in the morning. He sounded adorable. As the day went on and he got phone calls wishing him a happy birthday, he got to talk to my mom. She sang to him and he said, "Thanks! Grandma, my voice is broken. Eea, eea, eea. Did you hear that?" It was really cute and if you have ever lost your voice you know exactly the sound that he made.

After naptime, we opened presents and ate cake. He had chosen a Wall-E cake and it was really yummy. I think that Christopher enjoyed it the most though. I guess he was practicing for his own day.

Days from...uh, you know where.

2009-05-20T13:32:00.000-07:00

Colin has definitely been trying my patience today. Unfortunately he is winning. Roger is out of town again and the kid has decided that it is my fault. Yep, all of it. Roger being gone, he bit his lip earlier, he hit his brother across the head with a toy, he didn't want to wear long sleeves today, he doesn't like sleeping, he won't eat the pizza for dinner because his lip hurts, and I am sure a slew of other things such as the wind is blowing, and the sky is blue, too. He actually said to me earlier, "I want you to go to someone else's house and I want Daddy to stay with me. He won't fight with me." Wow. He has already lost his trains and cars until Roger gets home because he had a red card at school yesterday. He has been in time out twice today, and there have been so many tears I could probably name a river after him. My own role in this has not been totally innocent, I must admit. I have let my temper get the better of me and my raised voice (okay, yelling voice) doesn't ever help manners. I have had my own share of apologies to make. Fortunately, this week will not go on forever, and tomorrow will allow for a deep breath and a new start for both of us. Thankfully Christopher has gone a little bit easier on me. Wonder how long until he wants me to move out, too?

Two weeks after the fact, but who's counting?

2009-05-20T12:16:00.001-07:00

My Birthday and Mother's Day weekend was fantastic. I have simply been too lazy to blog about it until now! I was treated like a queen the entire time and could not have felt more special.

On my birthday I was allowed to "sleep in" to the late, late time of 7:30. Even at that very normal wake up time, it was wonderful to hear Colin saying, "Happy Birthday, Mommy!!" Roger and Colin left shortly after I woke up to go and do some last minute preparations for my day. Christopher went down for a nap and I was able to lollygag in the shower as long as I wanted to. It was glorious. I took my sweet time getting ready for the day while Roger and Colin came home and I was beckoned down the stairs. Colin was holding a gorgeous bouquet of bright pink roses for me. He had picked them out all by himself and was insistent that those were the ones I needed. They were perfect! Then I was sent back upstairs so Roger could "set up." In the meantime, Christopher woke up and we spent some time playing while we waited. When I was allowed to go downstairs, I walked into the kitchen to a beautiful spread of a cake with candles (no, he didn't put 31 candles on there, but he had bought the "HAPPY BIRTHDAY" letter candles and the numbers 3 and 1). Here is a picture of the spread. It was awesome. I have the best husband (and children, too, I must say)! The rest of the day was spent with our neighbors at the zoo and eating a wonderful pizza dinner at the Mellow Mushroom. It was really yummy and we had a great time!

Christopher REALLY enjoyed the cake...I guess this is practice for his 1 year party!

Colin at the zoo...I had to catch him at random moments because he hates having his picture taken.
Mother's Day was more of the same pampering. Just getting some time outside in the flower garden was a joy for me. It was great. Until I came in from pulling weeds and pruning bushes with dirt under my nails and all over me and realized that I also had a very interesting new tan line (um, shall I say burn line to be more accurate?) on my low back. Apparently my shirt had been exposing my lower back while I bent over pulling weeds and had remained that way the entire time I was out there (probably a total of about 2 hours). I am not a sun worshipper in the slightest sense of the word, so you can imagine what it looked like--and eventually felt like. I am not sure that I have ever had such an oddly shaped burn in such a random place. Who needs sunscreen?? Me, apparently! Other than that, the day was wonderful AND my front flower bed looks fantastic! I am truly loved by all of my boys, as well as my wonderful family and friends. I am a blessed woman and I appreciate every bit of it. Well, except the scorch mark on my back.

Maybe I spoke too soon...

2009-05-07T12:05:00.000-07:00

I just got word this afternoon!

http://news.cnnbcvideo.com/?nid=K4x6hecs5A7UqnUlBFr1rjIzODkz&referred_by=15531713-4VKnaSx&p=moveon

Stripped of Mother of the Year...

2009-05-06T17:48:00.001-07:00

Well, 2009 will not be my year. Not only did I forget Easter, but after over a week of raving about how excited I have been about my Mother's Day Tea today at school with Colin, I forgot. Yep, forgot. Not something came up and we had to change plans--FORGOT. I woke up extra tired today for some reason and was lounging around in pajamas, hanging out with Colin, feeding Christopher breakfast, thinking how great it was that I didn't have to do anything until the evening when the "OH, NO!!" moment hit.

I looked at the clock and it was 9:36 am. The Tea started at 9 and ended at 10. I FREAKED OUT!!! I immediately started crying and flew up the stairs to take a 2 minute shower and grab some clothes for the kids so I could try and get there. Keep in mind that we live at least 25 minutes from his school, so I knew we weren't going to make it even close to the time. I called the school bawling my head off and told the director what happened and she said to come on when I could get there because there was stuff for me. She was so sympathetic which made me feel worse! Oh, and the WORST thing was that Colin was much less concerned about missing the Tea, and was very worried about why I was crying. He said "Mommy, why are you crying?? Big girls don't cry...that makes me sad when big girls cry!!" At this he proceeded to cry with me. Oof. He could have punched me in the stomach and it would have hurt less! It was so sweet to know that he was concerned. Granted, I probably scared him to death with my hysterics.

Anyway, needless to say, I didn't make it in time, but I did get to pick up the cutest art that Colin had made for me. I will take pictures and post them in the near future. But after my emotional day, I am going to gorge on some ice cream and lament the loss of my baby's first school Mother's Day event.

Colinisms..

2009-05-05T19:59:00.000-07:00

Colin has been talking a lot lately about "when he was big." This afternoon after school we were talking in the car and this is how the conversation went.

Colin: "When I was 20, I was jumping really high."

Me: "Really? What about before you were 20?"

Colin, exasperated: "I was 19!!!"

Dumb question, Mom. Everyone knows 19 is before 20!!!

This weekend we asked Colin about marriage.

Aunt Alicia: "Colin are you going to get married?"

Colin: "No, I'm too little!"

Aunt Alicia: "When you are big, are you going to get married?"

Colin: "Yeah."

Aunt Alicia: "Who are you going to marry?"

Colin: "Mommy."

Awwwwww!!!! He loves me!

Here is another one from the car ride home.

Mommy: "I missed you while you were at school today."

Colin: "I missed you, too. Because I love you."

He is so sweet I could eat him. :)

Urrrrgh...

2009-04-29T18:52:00.000-07:00

I might give up. Maybe I need to just concede and keep that bacteria pile I had a while back around as punishment or something. I swear I don't see an end in sight!

Colin had another migraine attack on Monday night. I should have seen it coming when he was weepy after his nap and cried for the first hour we were at the gym (which he never does anymore). I got him to calm down, stop crying, and actually play a little bit by bribing him with McDonald's after the gym (plus milkshake). I went to pick him up an hour after that and the first thing he says is "Mommy, my head hurts." Oh, great. I pumped him with some water and prayed that we would make it home before the inevitable barfing began.

Nope. Not this time.

We went through the drive through and I thought that he would try his milkshake. Instead I got a headshake and the look. I said, "Maybe close your eyes and rest for a minute and your head will feel better." Grasping for straws because I knew what was coming. We made it about another 10 minutes (I had given him a bag by now) and I heard the splat. Poor thing was 5 minutes from home. It probably doesn't help that the ride home is all country roads and really curvy. Oops, my bad, Colin. Who doesn't like riding in the car when they are nauseous and it's curving all over the place? Unfortunately, the bag didn't protect everything (he missed a bit). I get him calmed down and cleaned up enough (thank God for baby wipes) to get back on the road. I gave him another bag, but thankfully we didn't have to utilize it! I called Roger to give him a heads up when we got home. The rest of the night was ok, and he went down for the night just fine. Phew. Game over, right?

Wrong.

Tuesday morning he was up and happy. That lasted about a minute. He layed on the couch all morning still complaining of a headache, but with no other symptoms. We had planned on driving up to see Roger at work for dinner and I was really hoping it would work out so I told Roger we would play it by ear. He and I took a nap together and he awoke a new child so we made the drive and had a great time visiting Daddy and meeting some of the police officers that he was teaching for the week. He was fine.

Fast forward to the evening. We get home, get Christopher (who has been fine since his surgery, by the way) in bed and Colin and I read a couple of books and he goes to bed fine. At 11 pm I hear his door open and he says, "Mommy, my teeth hurt." What??? So I make my way upstairs to get ready for bed, and when I get up there to him he is on fire. I go through the questions: does your head hurt? No. Do your ears hurt? No. Does your tummy hurt? No, just my teeth, Mommy. Geez. I take his temperature and it is 102.8. I am freaking out but don't want to scare him, so I give him some Motrin and tell him he can sleep with me (Roger had to stay overnight at work). I go through the questions again and he assures me he feels fine except that his teeth hurt (which I discover is a result of him grinding them and tell him that is why they hurt so he stopped that). We woke up around 7:30 and fever is gone and he is as happy as he has ever been.

I am at a loss as to what the fever was all about, but we have a doctor appointment for a recheck on his ears tomorrow anyway, so I figure I will bring all of this stuff up then. I just don't know what else to do at this point. I am going to request a referral to an allergist to have him tested. He has nosebleeds (which he has had two of in the past 3 days as well, just to add to the fun) as well as the headaches, and I wonder if it isn't allergies. Please pray. Both for his well-being and my sanity. I am quickly losing the latter!

The end of the ear saga?

2009-04-23T18:44:00.000-07:00

Today Christopher's ear tubes were put in. People are not kidding when they say the surgery is the easiest thing ever. We ran into a small snag, however, when Christopher woke up this morning with a 100 degree temperature. This boy has not had a fever in weeks and today was the day he got one. The anesthesiologist was hesitant to do the surgery, but finally said if it goes to 101 then we won't. They checked it again in about 5 minutes and it hadn't gone up (it was 100.6 when they measured it both times) so they went ahead. Thank the Lord! The doctor seems to think the fever is related to the new teeth he is getting or the (shocker) ear infection that is the reason for the tubes in the first place.

After handing Christopher off to the nurse to take him in, I literally walked from the pre-op room, went to the bathroom, sat down in the waiting room for 2 minutes and they were calling me back in. He was done!! Total, 5 minutes. Then the doctor came and talked to me and I was able to go back into recovery and get him. He was groggy and fussy and STARVING, so he drank a bottle. He sucked it down! Then we were able to take him out...we were out of there by 8:40 am.

Overall, he was fussy and groggy through the day, but began playing and crawling and exploring like he usually does by the end of the evening. I am hoping that after a good night sleep (and when those stinking teeth come through) that he will be back to normal. I was pretty nervous about this (even though I downplayed it a bit, or at least tried) and having it go so well has really been a relief. Thank you for all of the well wishes and encouragement. It is priceless. Now, let's hope it sticks and we don't have to do it again!

Crazy week

2009-04-20T17:43:00.001-07:00

On Saturday morning I got up with the kids around 7 and was in the process of scrambling some eggs when I got a phone call at 8:00 on the dot. It is strange for my mom to call me that early (considering that most everyone knows that I am not a morning person). Unfortunately, she was calling to inform me of my Grandad Previti's (her dad) passing the night before. Not a fun phone call. I looked into trying to get up to Northern Virginia for the funeral and to be there for her, but with this week being nuts and the airfare prices being exorbitant I am unable to go. My heart, mind, and prayers are with my family right now.

Saturday afternoon, I took Colin to his friend Reid's birthday party. We, of course, left the present and the basket for the egg hunt in the kitchen. Bah. My mind is really struggling to connect things this week and this was just the beginning. He had a blast. A lot of friends from his class were there and I got to talk with some of the moms which was nice. It was a lot of fun.

Sunday, we were planning on going to the Greenville Drive baseball game, but due to rain we decided it was not a great idea. Instead, I made a delicious meatloaf, potato, and broccoli dinner and we had our neighbors (who are wonderful, especially since she made this FABULOUS pineapple cream pie for dessert) over. They have a little girl named Maddie who is 2 days older than Christopher and we always have a really great time together. It was a fantastic alternative to the game.

Today, I took Christopher to get his 10 month portraits done and they turned out really great! I can't believe he is growing up so fast. He is very photogenic and it caused problems when it came to decisions about which ones I wanted. I spent a little bit more than I planned, but I am happy with my choices. Now, if I can just send them out with the 8 month ones we had taken 2 months ago then we will be in business. When we got home, I got to play with Colin and watch my favorite Disney movie, Tarzan. I can't believe how much I still get into it. The scary thing is that it came out when I was already an adult. I used to dance a blue streak with my niece and nephew to this soundtrack (almost 10 years ago) and I loved sharing it with Colin. He and I have been really needing some time together and this was wonderful.

The rest of the week is going to be just as nuts. Tomorrow is school and I have to work at the gym in the evening. Wednesday we don't have any set plans (thankfully) but I have to go to the gym in the evening. Thursday morning is Christopher's ear tube surgery. I am a bit nervous, but I have heard there is nothing to it, so I am trying to keep my mind positive about it. I am confident that this is going to be the best thing for him and that he will not have and problems so at this point I am slated to go to the gym that evening, but we'll see. Please pray that all goes well. Then Friday, I am leaving for Wilmington to go to my sister's house and we have a hotel room (ocean front suite, actually) for her Bachelorette Party on Saturday night (wooooooo!!). Exciting! I am glad the week will be ending on a positive note.

Easter laziness...

2009-04-13T12:58:00.001-07:00

Well, I have been faithfully reading my friends' blogs about their Easter celebrations and looking at their pictures of the elegantly decorated baskets, the egg hunts, and beautifully baked treats. Well done, everyone!

Notice I don't have any pictures of anything. I totally slacked off this year in the Easter department. No excuses, other than that is was kind of an afterthought this year. I realized Saturday night that I hadn't bought ANYTHING for Easter baskets. The boys got them, but you could tell they were thrown together. Luckily they don't have a clue yet about proper planning! So forgive me for being a lazy Easter Bunny this year. Glad everyone else was on top of it all. There's always next year!

Rain=long grass=drought???

2009-04-10T18:15:00.000-07:00

In the midst of the great "drought" that we have been having in upstate SC, the rain has not gone away for more than about 3 days at a time. Case in point-right now it is POURING and thunderstorming across the area. But according to the weather people we are in this horrible drought. Looking at the height of the grass in our yard, and the lush, green foliage that is coming in, I must say they are right. I don't know what we are going to do with this lack of water. Not to mention the extreme heat of 65 degrees. Doesn't it look miserable? Please pray for us in this great drought of '09.

These are pictures of Roger cutting the grass for the first time in the Spring. Note how green and long it is. He hadn't been able to get out and do it because there had been so much rain that even days later it was too wet to mow. So here are the pictures of the big day.

SO excited to be mowing!

It was pretty long...
...and then it was gone!

Ears, ears, ears...

2009-04-09T20:08:00.000-07:00

Update on Christopher's ears: tubes will be put in on April 23. After 5 rounds of antibiotics, he still has an ear infection. The ENT described it as him having what looks like "yogurt behind his eardrum." Disgusting. But at least he will be getting better soon and this will be over for him. Poor baby.

8 kids, 2 dogs, 4 adults and Guitar hero...

2009-04-09T19:27:00.000-07:00

This Tuesday afternoon I had the pleasure of hosting my two older brothers and all 6 of their kids (my wonderful nieces and nephews) at my house for a few hours. It was such a great time! Anyone who has ever hung out with our family when we are all together knows that it can get a bit chaotic. I think one of our goals is to see who can talk the loudest, laugh the loudest, or tell the funniest story.

This time was an extremely good time with some loud conversation, kids playing together, and best of all, Guitar hero. This is some video of my less than musically inclined eldest brother playing "Eye of the Tiger," on beginner level. Note how proud he is of himself and how intently he is focusing.

I should also mention that my niece, Elinor (age 11), KILLED it on hard level. She blew us all away with her immense skill. I'm a bit jealous. She put us all to shame. Enjoy the video. I love you, Bradley!

Colin cheering everyone on...he loves that pom pom.

I was getting down and dirty...

Matthew with Luke shoving food in his face in the background...

Braelynn...who said she was allowed to grow up???

Andrew...goofing around as usual. Not sure why the picture flipped when I uploaded it, but it fits here!

Bradley and Jimmy rocking out...well, Jimmy is, anyway, Bradley (bless his heart) is trying to keep up.

Christopher hanging out with Elinor.

Here is the video...ha ha ha!!!

Who doesn't love bathroom humor???

2009-04-05T20:18:00.000-07:00

Conversation in the bathroom this morning led to some laughs. It went as follows:

Mommy: Wow, that was fast!
Colin: That was just a baby poop.
Mommy: Oh, ok (giggle).
Colin: This is the daddy one. It's a big one.
Mommy: (ha ha ha ha ha) Oh.
Colin: The mommy isn't coming out.

By this time, I am laughing out loud. NO IDEA where he might have gotten this side of his humor. :)

Ear infections all around!!

2009-04-03T18:41:00.000-07:00

Wow, we are the lucky family right now. We know that my kids have been battling illness all winter. Well, now, it's moved on to not just them, but Roger has had a horrible time this week with his own. He was teaching this week, so had to go to work, and is doubly glad that this week is over. I have been able to stave it off--mostly. I have been successfully ignoring the itch in my throat and the ache in my bones because if I ignore it it doesn't exist, right? It won't take me this time. It can't. I don't have time to be sick. Although, sometimes it feels as though being sick would be a luxury. How crazy is that??? But think about it...if I got really sick, and couldn't get out of bed--hold it. Stop right there--COULDN'T GET OUT OF BED? Sign me up...I am due for some catch up sleep from the last few years.

But, seriously, please pray that we can get out of this illness rut, and soon. We go see the ENT for Christopher on Thursday so we will know more about where we go from here. My main goal is to get him healthy so that we can get him off of the antibiotics. I HATE THEM. They tear up his system so badly. Now, Colin is on amoxicillin again, too. Hopefully that will kick his in the butt before it gets horrible because his system has actually had time to rebuild between rounds.

Illness attacks again...

2009-03-24T17:36:00.000-07:00

I keep thinking that we have beaten the bugs. Silly me. I'm starting to wonder if my poor baby is just destined to have an ear infection all the time. He has been having trouble kicking it. We go back for the recheck with the highest of hopes, just to have them dashed. This time he had to get a shot of antibiotic in his fat thigh AND go on another round of augmentin for 10 days. This of course led to the wonderful diaper rash that is par for his course. This time he will at least eat some yogurt so the diaper rash didn't last long. He's doing fine, but I won't say that I think he's beaten it because that would make it not come true. Just pray that it is going for good this time.

On another note, Colin had another migraine this weekend. This concerns me because he is just a young child and it seems to be happening about every 3 to 4 weeks. He becomes so helpless and meek. I can't stand it. I have started keeping a log so that maybe we can pinpoint what's triggering them, but there doesn't seem to be a pattern other than timing. Please pray for him...I don't want him to be plagued with this for his entire life. Actually, I don't want him to even be plagued with it for any amount of his life.

Here are some recent pictures. I am getting really lazy about taking and posting pictures. Sorry!

The boys at the park...

Colin had to do his puzzle "all by myself!!!"

While Daddy's away, the boys will play...

2009-03-22T21:11:00.000-07:00

Another week has gone by with Roger out of town for work, and a major change in schedule for the boys. This week was admittedly much better than previous trips that Roger has taken. Colin and I seem to have reached a point in which he doesn't feel the need to fight with me the entire time Roger is gone. He is certainly growing up and proving to be a fantastic help for me around the house and with Christopher. It is very fulfilling to watch the transformation of my big boy. I can't believe that only a few months ago I was sharing with the world that my 3-year-old had lost his mind (eating earrings, tearing up his advent calendar, and getting into the vitamins), and now I am singing his praises as a maturing almost-4-year-old. I am thankful that I didn't auction him off to the highest bidder like I was tempted!

Christopher has discovered a few new things this week. He thinks it is fantastic to laugh and giggle for no reason. He'll be sitting on the floor or wherever, he'll look up and say "heh heh heh!" He is becoming more skilled at crawling with his belly off of the floor, and has learned to pull himself up to standing on pretty much everything. He is very proud of this new skill and looks for praise with a giant grin once he gets up. His smile lights up the room and as the front desk lady at the gym informed me, he could be my "cash cow" if I wanted him to. I tend to agree, as he is always ready with a smile and now a giggle. I might be a bit biased. Here is a video of the boys playing together one afternoon this week. Parts of it get long and boring, but bear with it because it shows Christopher and his newfound skill. Just ignore the voice in the background. I never realized I had a man voice until hearing it on tape. Horrible-and no one saw fit to tell me. Thanks, everyone. Thanks.

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood

2009-03-07T05:24:00.001-08:00

After our snowy weekend and beginning of the past week, we are in a heat wave. It is gorgeous outside. Clear, blue skies, breezy, and supposed to get into the 70s. Yesterday was wonderful as well and after I got some cleaning done (the snow wreaked havoc with our red clay and our crazy dogs tracked it EVERYWHERE. Thank God for the Dyson!!) Colin and I went outside and cleaned up the backyard a bit. There were all kinds of old, broken (aka, dog chewed) toys around the yard as well as our pool which was kindly popped by Sophie at the end of the summer, so we got rid of them all. Now we have to get something for Colin to do outside. We need to put more sand in the sandbox and get him some fun sports equipment to play with (that the dogs can't destroy) so that he can spend as much time out there as possible. He loves to be outside but gets bored and entertains himself with the rocks--which Sophie loves, but she is too stupid to realize that eating the rocks upsets her stomach and we end up cleaning up rock vomit. Fun. Anyway, after cleaning up the yard, we headed to the front yard where Colin and I ran around the yard re-enacting the moving Wall-e. He was Wall-e and I was Eve. I must have looked so cool running around with my arms out like I was flying and yelling "WA-ALLL-EE!!" We had lots of fun, though, and I am glad that I am not pregnant this year so I can enjoy many more days like this.

Today I think we will head to a park and spend as much time outside as we can. I will take some spring style pictures of the boys and just enjoy the sunshine. Of course, Spring makes me think of all of the things I want to do around the house. I am dying to get some of the boxes out of our garage that have all of our books and stuff that we had displayed in our old house (yes, 2+ years ago). The problem is that we have no shelf to put it all on. Then this reminds me that I want to get our living room and foyer painted. This would include someone climbing a giant ladder (probably scaffolding) as our 18 ft. ceilings are a bit high up there. Neither of us is willing to do it, but hiring someone seems as though it would cost a bundle. I keep asking for this for birthdays and Christmas, but have yet to get it. Hint, hint. I also need to get into our flower bed and pull some dead weeds and trim the bushes. Something many of you might not know about me is that I LOVE pulling weeds and trimming the bushes. I may not be good at the trimming part, but there is something about the weeding that relaxes me. Weird, considering that I know nothing about gardening. I can't wait to take pictures of our beautiful flowers this year. Again, now that I'm not pregnant I can get out and do these things without getting out of breath so I am ecstatic! Anyway, look for spring pictures of the kiddos soon.

Tastefully Simple

2009-03-06T12:45:00.000-08:00

I am just writing this blog to let those of you who don't already know that I have started a business as a Tastefully Simple Independent Consultant. I have a website available for those of you who have not heard of the company and want to learn more. For any of you who might have heard of it or know of the products, you can order them directly from the website to your door no matter where you live. The food is really great and exceptionally easy to prepare. Just thought I would shamelessly plug myself. Here is the site. http://www.tastefullysimple.com/amiller7

Babble babble babble...

2009-03-02T17:35:00.000-08:00

Here is a short video clip of Christopher utilizing his new voice. It's amazing the things my new camera can do. It's even more amazing when I use these features!!! Enjoy.

Oooh yes, the Dyson...

2009-03-02T10:15:00.000-08:00

I got the vacuum of my dreams, if there ever was such a thing that I dreamt about. After fighting a losing battle with a piece of garbage vacuum cleaner from Bissell in which many expletives were spoken (ok, yelled), I decided that I needed a new one. I researched and then came to the conclusion that every vacuum that seemed like what I might want compared itself to the Dyson. Now, why would I want one that is "like" the Dyson that will only last a year or so? The Dyson (which is warrantied for 5 years) is quite obviously the King of the vacuums, so I decided to bite the bullet and pay the money. I am now a vacuum dork but am LOVING the machine. It's more like a part of the family now. Christopher definitely agrees, and Colin loves the color. What more could we ask for? Kids are happy AND a family member who does the dirty work? Priceless.

An actual snow day!

2009-03-02T09:16:00.001-08:00

Well yesterday we finally got some snow! I had pretty much given up on seeing any this year, but leave it to good old March to bring it in!

Unfortunately, I was out when it hit (my stupidity for not believing the weather report) at a Tastefully Simple get together well across town. I got in the car to drive home and was SLAMMED with the worst of it. It turned my 30 minute trip into 2 hours. Not to mention that I was sliding ALL OVER THE ROAD. About 3 miles from home, the snow on top of the Xterra slid down the front windshield and blocked the driver side wiper. I pulled over to the gas station on the corner and cleared the snow off...which did no good at all. The wiper was burnt out after struggling against the heavy snow. Great. I am now 2 miles from home in a crazy snow and have no windshield wiper on my side. I think "I can make it...I am going to get home." Again, stupidity. Not even a minute after turning out of the gas station, my car starts dovetailing like crazy...slowly, but crazily. Going, going, going, straight into the ditch on the right side of the road (luckily missing the stuck, abandoned Mustang that was sitting there). Thank God for good samaritans because a man saw me struggling with trying to get back on the road and stopped for me (while I was freaking out on the phone with Roger wondering what to do, he was trying to talk me through how to do it, but nothing was working). He pulled me out with a chain and I was able to get moving again (still with no wiper, but if I sat up and to the right a little bit I could see out the other side of the windshield; safe, right?). Luckily, I got home and shakily grabbed on to Roger as soon as I walked in. I scooped Colin up (Christopher was in bed already) and just hugged him. It was scary and I will not go out in that kind of weather purposely again.

Anyway, waking up this morning was pleasurable because Colin came in (at 7:23, not 5:30--we seem to have broken that habit finally!!!!) and said "Mommy! Mommy! Can we go outside and play in the snow????" He was so excited! I said "Yes, you can go out, but get Daddy. I was up all night with Christopher" (which is true, I think little man is getting more teeth). But no harm, we all got up and got bundled to go outside. Here are the pictures of the boys having fun. It is truly a beautiful thing as long as I am not driving in it!!!!

Updates in language...

2009-02-24T12:41:00.001-08:00

Just want you all to know that Christopher now will wave and say hi to you. He started doing this in unison this weekend at my sister's. It is quite a milestone and I expect cards and gifts. Ok, maybe not that extreme, but it is very exciting. :)

The Miller Family photo

2009-02-24T12:34:00.000-08:00

We have yet to have a picture taken as the four of us. Yes, we are a bit behind. Maybe by the time Christopher is out of high school we will have one taken. Until then, this is as close to a family shot as we have. I was having a rare creative crafty moment with Colin and the mood just struck. We don't get to sit and do crafts often, so here is a picture of proof that I do hang out and do some hands on stuff with Colin. He helped pick out the outfits we wore for our picture. Hope you all like it and don't be jealous of the great quality.

Ooooh, he's a ramblin' man!

2009-02-15T12:19:00.000-08:00

Christopher is exploring the world of movement and speech. He is trying so hard to get this crawling thing down, but definitely prefers the army moves. He has started talking non-stop (can't imagine where he might have picked that up) and squealing really loud. He says ma-ma-ma-ma, da---da---da, va-va-va, ba-ba-ba, t-t-t, and now he says oooooooooo. My little grammar king in training.

In other news, Colin is fighting a double ear infection (lots of fun) and Christopher has been feverish and fussy for a couple of days. This after going to the doctor at the same time as Colin and being given a clean bill of health. The cough he had has gotten worse, and I am thinking that we will be making a new trip to the doctor tomorrow. At least now his fever is gone, but the poor kid can't seem to shake this whole illness thing. I guess that's what he gets for being the second child--not as many pictures and all the germs that his brother doesn't want. I should start paying for therapy now, huh?

And so it begins...

2009-02-15T12:14:00.001-08:00

Today we were all sitting at the table eating lunch and I noticed Colin had an uncomfortable look on his face and was rubbing himself, uh, down there as though he had to go to the bathroom. Here's how the conversation went:

"Colin, are you ok? What's the matter?"

"Um, my pee-nahs is getting big."

"Oh, why is it doing that?"

"Because it wants to be bigger."

Needless to say, Roger and I were looking at each other and trying incredibly hard not to laugh hysterically. I also want to point out that I do know how to spell the proper name for the male reproductive organ, but I had to spell it this way so that you could "hear" how he says it. This will definitely be a story used for embarrassing him (only after he's married, of course). :)

Update

2009-02-04T16:15:00.001-08:00

We have a crawler and a well 3-year-old who will be going to school tomorrow. Yay! Wonder what will come next week!!!

Number 2 of the day...

2009-02-03T17:58:00.000-08:00

On a happier note, Colin and Christopher have been enjoying their time together lately. They are actually enjoying each other's company! Colin has discovered that having a little brother isn't all bad. He still rips his toys out of Christopher's hands, but he is actually getting on the floor and crawling around with him now. Progress.

Christopher has been "army crawling" since he was about 5.5 months old, and has recently found an interest in attempting the REAL crawl. He gets about two "steps" and then decides it's much easier and faster just to drop down and drag. But he gets up on all fours and rocks and rocks and rocks. He also talks the whole time. It's like he's saying, "I'm going to do it this time. I'm really gonna do it!"

Christopher has also decided that cheerios and puffs are baby's best friend. When I first gave them to him, he literally gagged. He hated them. Well, overnight, he decided that he not only could stand them in his mouth, but he could chew them, swallow them, and shove more in his mouth while picking up his sippy cup to get a swig of water. Then he smiles and babbles to me. Amazing.

So, the kiddos are getting along and Christopher is growing up like crazy and Colin has decided that being the big brother doesn't suck. Here are some pictures of the two of them playing and Christopher showing his "pre-crawl."

Poor sick boy!

2009-02-03T17:39:00.001-08:00

I picked Colin up from school today and when I walked in his head was on the table. When he saw me, it wasn't, "Hi, Mommy!" It was, "Mommy, my head hurts." Now, historically when this happens, he is not making it up. He scrunches up his little face and holds his face in his hands and says "Ow. Ow. Ow." Then he inevitably vomits in the car.

He assured me today that he didn't feel sick, but his head just hurt. I told him to close his eyes and rest in the car and he would feel better after a nap. He fell asleep in the car and I thought sure that all was well in headacheland when we arrived home with no puke. He said his head still hurt as I carried him up the stairs, so I promised I would lay with him for a while, which is something I don't generally do. Poor thing was miserable.

So there we are laying in his twin size bed and I keep thinking that he'll fall asleep any minute because I am starting to drift also. Um, nope. An hour later, he's still awake and still complaining of his headache (I had given him some Motrin when we got home, I'm not evil). He gets this horrible look on his face and barfs all over himself and his bed. Thank God I was on the other side.

Then came the decision of how to get his shirt off without spreading chunks of vomit all over his face and through his hair. There was one spot with no vomit. Did I mention that I am trying hard not to lose MY lunch at this point? Well, I got him undressed (unsuccessfully avoiding the hair, by the way) and into the tub. He assures me he's "done" so I get him redressed and put him in my bed while I scrape the chunks off of his clothes and bedsheets so I can get them in the washer on sanitize mode.

He's laying in our big bed looking so small and he gets the look. I make him get out of bed and we start walking to my bathroom and he says "But, I'm going to get sick if I get up." :( And yes, he vomited more (he made it this time). This went on all evening and I must say, it is THE most heartbreaking thing to watch his little body wracked with the dry heaves. So hopefully this was a short-term thing and he will be on the up and up tomorrow.

My Punk Rock Kid

2009-01-28T13:27:00.000-08:00

I decided to mess with Christopher's hair last night after his bath. I have often heard from others that he has the perfect hair for a "faux-hawk." Turns out that this is an accurate statement. He looked super cute. Now if I can just get him a tattoo...

The Big SC Snow of '09

2009-01-28T13:21:00.000-08:00

This was our giant snow storm. Don't be jealous, maybe you all will get this type of blizzard someday! Colin even had to shut his eyes it was coming down so hard.

Rollin', rollin', rollin'...

2009-01-28T13:06:00.000-08:00

Colin got a great gift from Uncle Bill for Christmas. A genuine Tonka truck, sharp metal edges and all. He loves it and pushes it all over the house, usually while running madly and driving Sophie crazy. I was looking at it the other day and found that it was the perfect size for a certain Miller boy's butt. Here are the pictures of the trucker and his driver.

Have you ever seen such true admiration before? He loves his big brother!!!

Aging gracefully?

2009-01-27T18:39:00.000-08:00

I was washing my face the other day and my mind started to wander (as if often does these days). I have started using Cetaphil on my face because the Clean and Clear now makes me break out worse. Exciting, right?

This got me to thinking about the fact that I am using a grown up facial cleanser and seem to have graduated out of the teenage brands that I have used since, well, since I was a teenager. This then led me to the thought of how Clean and Clear cream cleanser was a staple in our dorm in college. Then I got to thinking of one of the most hilarious face washing moments that has ever occurred in my life. We were all getting ready for bed on 5th floor Frazier (yep, 6 girls in one bathroom). Some were brushing teeth, Amanda was probably asking me to get something off of the top shelf in her closet, but everyone was getting ready for the next day. Next thing I know, I hear "AAAAAAAAH!!!! AAAAAAAAAAHHH!!! HOLY ****!! OH MY GOD!!!!!!" Amy strikes again. (I am laughing hysterically as I write this.) Amy had been washing her face and decided that the tingly feeling that the Clean and Clear offers for your face would feel good in her eyes. Apparently her eyes disagreed!!! HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!!! It was so funny.

That is my aging story...I have graduated from kid style face wash to adult style. I will do my best not to get it in my eyes. Thanks for the lesson in face washing, Amy!!!

Rising early is for suckers

2009-01-25T05:00:00.000-08:00

Colin is in a new stage. He likes to wake up before the sun comes up...lately around 5:30 am. He is convinced that as soon as his eyes pop open, he is ready to begin the day. This is SO not the case. Every morning he gets up, turns on his bedroom light, goes in his bathroom (which he shares with his brother--it connects their rooms) and turns on that light, goes to the bathroom, and returns to his room. Usually, he leaves the bathroom light on, which wakes up Christopher. Then he proceeds downstairs where it seems he turns on every light in the house. That is when we wake up.

This inevitably brings on the "Colin, turn off those lights, get upstairs and get back in bed."

"No. I don't want to go to bed."

"Get up here now or I am taking your trains."

"Don't take my trains!!!!!" Waaaaaaaaah! (lights going off, pitter patter of running feet)

"Colin, you know you are not allowed to leave your room until 7-0-0. Go back to sleep."

Then we all go back to bed.

Then in 15 minutes, he decides it's time to get up and turn on his light. It all happens again.

During the week he even waits until Roger leaves for work and then sneaks out of his room again. Except that his sneaking consists of turning all the lights on again...so it's not really a very stealthy operation.

My friend Amy has been having "early riser" problems with her baby. I just want to assure her that it doesn't end there. Have fun, Amy, have fun.

Sibling rivalry already?

2009-01-23T06:07:00.000-08:00

World War III anyone?

As Christopher becomes more and more mobile, I think Colin becomes more and more stubborn about letting him touch his things. You would think that Christopher was taking his trains or cars or blocks or train tracks or uh, EVERYTHING, and trying to claim them as his own. Granted, he is spitting all over them, which is gross, but it's not the end of the world, right? Well, according to Colin it is.

"MOMMY!!!!! HE'S GETTING MY TRAINS! COME GET HIM! WAAAAAAAH!!!"

He then proceeds to grab him by the ankles and drag him away or he simply pushes him out of the vicinity of his toys. Christopher does not take to this very well, as he has inevitably gone to great pains to get to these toys so that he could chew on them. It usually entails him making a 6 foot crawl, staring longingly at Colin and his toys through the gate, sneaking out of the gate (that should be closed), and then the final lunge to get to whatever it is that he is reaching for. It's quite the workout, I'm sure. So when Colin gets upset, grabs his toy back and pushes Christopher over, I get the wailing cry from Christopher that says, "MOMMY!!! HE WON'T LET ME EAT HIS TOYS AND THAT MAKES ME MAD!!!!" (He doesn't sound very clear, but I swear that's what I hear coming from his mouth.)

We have our living room sectioned off at the moment to try and prevent some of this. The largest area is devoted to Christopher's baby toys (which, incidentally, Colin feels that even though Christopher is not allowed to play with HIS toys, that the same rule doesn't apply to him with the baby toys--he owns those, too) and plenty of room to crawl and play. Then there is a smaller section that Colin uses to build his masterpieces. It doesn't work. Ever. I don't know why we still bother. Maybe I secretly like watching the fights unfold and envisioning our future of fist fights and wrestling matches. Or, I just truly love seeing the adoration of a big brother by his little brother. Christopher absolutely lights up when Colin comes in the room and he will do anything (even fighting the gate) to play with him. It's a beautiful thing. I also think that Colin secretly enjoys knowing that his baby brother loves him so much. This is why he will "allow" Christopher to chase him around the living room giggling the whole time. I know this is just a precursor to the wild life with two boys. Bring it on, boys, bring it on. Momma's gonna win.

Ugh

2009-01-18T05:23:00.000-08:00

I am infinitely tired of hearing about this "historical inauguration." Good God. If this was any other person, if it was (dare I say) a white republican, would the fanfare be so grand? Oh, and according to foxnews.com, $150 million dollars for an inaugural party doesn't seem excessive to Obama's crew. DOESN'T SEEM EXCESSIVE???? What the hell? Isn't this the same guy who vowed to "share the wealth?" I guess having a big party is WAY more important than using that money to say, bail out the financial and auto industries for making bad business decisions---oh wait...that was already done. Economic crisis my ass. I will not be watching or taking part in any of these inaugural festivities. I will be too busy trying to figure out how to work and pay my bills.

Yep, 2 in one day!

2009-01-15T18:07:00.000-08:00

I can now go on to tell about what has been happening around here lately.

As soon as we got back to South Carolina, it was back to reality. Roger traveled the next week to Salemburg and it was just me and the boys for a few days. Those weeks are alway rough. Colin is at the age now where he really feels his dad's absence. It's quite hard for me to watch and know that nothing I do will help.

This leads me into my experiences with Colin as a 3 1/2-year-old. This poor boy is trying so hard to figure out this world. Usually at the expense of my sanity. Leave behind the memories of eaten earrings, swallowed vitamins, and torn up advent calendars. Now we are into the stage of talking back, getting in trouble at preschool, and bolting away from me in stores. Where did my little sweet baby boy go? I had forgotten during all of my babysitting days what this stage was...oh wait, I wasn't entirely responsible for those kids. Now, every single decision affects his life. Wasn't I just a carefree college student yesterday? When did this life of responsibility hit me? Phew. I am assured that this is normal and will pass. Boy oh boy I hope it goes soon. The bonus is that he is also extremely affectionate. We are getting lots of cuddle time and extra "I love you, Mommy" moments. So I must be doing something right.

Playing catch up

2009-01-15T17:43:00.001-08:00

Ok, it's been forever, I know. Get off my back (AMY). I finally got around to getting the Christmas pictures off my camera. So here is the corresponding post.

We spent 2 weeks in Stafford with our family. We had a great time! Not living near family really starts to take its toll on us sometimes, so the 2 weeks was well needed. It was so great to see everyone and to watch the boys with their cousin, Danielle. Colin just adores her and copied her every move. Even the cheerleading ones! It was so funny watching him jump around with pom poms. Of course that led to many jokes from Roger's brother, but hey, he's 3. Get a grip!

Roger's Aunt Rita and Aunt Nancy from Indianapolis joined us for a few days which is always a great time. We are so blessed to have them in our lives!

We had lots of fun hanging out with my parents as well. We got to see my brothers and their families one day and we were able to spend some time with my Grandma, Aunt and Uncle from Florida, and 2 of my cousins.

As usual, the kids got WAY TOO MUCH. We told ourselves we weren't going to do that, but everytime we saw something it was like, "Oh, he would LOVE that!" What economic crisis??

Anyway, we had a fantastic time. Here are some pictures of the kids.

Christmas

2008-12-26T17:30:00.000-08:00

Yes, it was Christmas, and no, I haven't gotten pictures up yet. I will. I promise. But I'm on vacation. I can assure you all that the pictures and stories will make it up here. You will just have to be patient, AMY.

She's baaaaack...

2008-12-26T10:17:00.000-08:00

As many of you know, I recently had the misfortune of being an idiot. I am not used to this kind of thing, because as many of you also know, I am quite the genius.

Apparently not when it comes to blogs.

I accidentally deleted my blog.

Oops. Idiot.

After many weeks of waiting for blogger.com to come to my rescue, I have decided to just start over. So all of my 2008 blogging brilliance is lost. I guess I will just have to wow you in '09.

Welcome back.