Homewood Henderson's

Yummy Strawberries

2010-06-26T19:08:00.002-05:00

Surgery day

2010-04-24T17:43:00.003-05:00

Curly had surgery Thursday because of his frequent ear infections lately. He got tubes in and his adenoids out. His doctor said he desperately needed this surgery. His was the most immediate need of the day we found out afterwards. Hopefully, he will be freed of his incessent cough and yuck runny nose. He came through like a trooper and actually didn't want to leave the hospital. All their big cars were a favorite of his for the morning.

My new hobby

2010-03-22T19:32:00.003-05:00

I can't stop watching this video

2010-01-21T23:43:00.000-06:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTPvEKi6Bwo

Merry Christmas 2009

2009-12-21T22:42:00.002-06:00

Santa Baby

2009-12-09T21:48:00.004-06:00

Today my baby turned 15 months old. He is quickly becoming a "non-baby" and turning into a rambunctious little boy. So tonight in the tubby, I gave him bubbles for the first time. We had just a tiny amount of baby wash left in the bottle and it just wouldn't come out well no matter how much shaking I did. So I let the tub water run into it a few times and filled the tub with bubbles. Curly LOVED it. He has decided to try and blow bubbles in the tub almost every bathtime. This time, he had suds everywhere. So, below, you can see the result. I think he makes the cutest little Santa anywhere.

The Halloween crash

2009-11-02T08:03:00.002-06:00

So this is "the morning after"...Halloween that is.

The reason why...

2009-10-30T23:17:00.002-05:00

Larry is in "Enrichment" at his elementary school which is, I suppose, the equivalent of the gifted or accelerated program. Anyway, his teacher, Mrs. Williams, asked the class to write an essay about why they were chosen to be in Enrichment. Larry wrote this:

"Well first I am in this class becuase she may think I am smart but thats just my thout I don't no its right. Well I am in this class because I love any proublums with math, since [sic. science], and evy thing els. But most of it is that I'm smart.
I would put friendship in this class and become better friends with people and do my best work. I will contabute my head to learning.
I want to lean some math, since, and evy other thing you teack me Mrs. Willyams. this class can help my brain grown when my brain grows I grow."

A little piece of heaven

2009-10-15T18:29:00.004-05:00

On the way home from Mississippi Monday I suddenly noticed that the van had gotten very quiet. This is what I saw.

I just had to capture the moment digitally. Otherwise, who would've believed me?

Happy First Birthday

2009-09-12T22:04:00.002-05:00

Curly had a big birthday on Wednesday. He turned one!! I can hardly believe it's been a whole year since that sweet little soul joined our family. We took him to a local restaurant for his birthday dinner and were served a gigantic piece of caramel pie to celebrate. He could hardly wait until it hit the table. When the waitress came around the table from the kitchen with the dessert Curly nearly jumped out of his high chair. She could barely put it down on the table before he had his mouth open waiting for a bite. It was hysterical and we all had a great time.

Then on the Friday we had a few friends meet us at a local ice cream shop for scoops and cake. My wonderful boss made the cutest cake for Curly. It was a big orange T-Rex with green spots. Curly was reluctant to dig in but finally did enjoy getting icing on his hands. He enjoyed his vanilla ice cream more than the cake, but then again, he'd never really had cake before and didn't know what it was. Ice cream on the other hand, is one of his favorite treats.

Welcome to my world

2009-08-22T12:05:00.003-05:00

It's been a long time since I've posted. Life happened. My children are older, school has started back, work has begun, and I am sleepy. Most of the time. But it's ok. Surely by the time Curly starts elementary school he'll be sleeping through the night, right? In his defense, and in my denial, he has had some issues. Like his first ear infection. Big Stooge took him to the doc yesterday b/c his school teachers had said he hadn't been his happy smiling self for the past couple of days. (Believe me, I'd noticed!) And the doc said he was starting in a big ear infection. If we hadn't brought him in [yesterday] we surely would've [today]. I had the doc check him out last week when I took Larry in for his eight year old checkp up b/c of a cough and runny nose and he said it all looked fine then. But thankfully, we were able to start w/ some medication before it got way bad.

And I am just today taking his eleven-month-old picture. Now that he's almost a year. Oh well. It was the toughest one yet. He didn't want to sit OR smile OR be beside his dinosaur. So what you get is what you get.

Future Olympians?

2009-07-17T10:07:00.002-05:00

Our boys are fabulous and talented swimmers, if I may brag a little. They have both been on swim team for the past three summers and absolutely love it. We all do. The meets, although sometimes long and hot, are a lot of fun. It always seems the season ends just as we're getting into the groove of things. This season, the only competition remaining is Senior County. For it, a swimmer's personal best time must be as good as or better than a particular standard. The meet we had on Tuesday of this week was the Divisional meet. All six teams in our division swam against each other. Our team placed 2nd overall and got a nice trophy.

Larry and Moe had awards of their own and did very well. We are so proud of their efforts. Both are considering trying year round swimming.

Happy Ten Months Old

2009-07-09T12:23:00.002-05:00

I can hardly believe it's been ten months since I gave birth to Curly. The time has simply flown. I almost can't stand it. It's hard to think he'll be one very soon, especially since he's still pretty small really. I know several babies younger that are several inches taller and several pounds heavier. I know he's fine;he's just short. Like his daddy. And his grandaddy. So, happy birthday, Curly!

The Final Countdown

2009-07-06T23:33:00.003-05:00

Larry's eighth birthday is one week from today and he is counting down the days, I'll tell you. This weekend we were at my parents' house in Mississippi and he and Nana decided to make a cake to celebrate. He got to help make it and ice it and decorate it. Poppa bought the mix and icing so he got the flavors he wanted but Larry really isn't picky so it worked out well. And we all had fun eating it. He wants to have a laser tag birthday party and if I can get it together we might actually do that. Nana and Poppa also bought him a portable CD player when he told them he'd listened to mine on the drive over to their house.

Happy 4th of July

2009-07-04T00:05:00.004-05:00

We're in Mississippi at my parents' house. The boys have been having a blast with my brother. We saw Mammaw and Pappaw today and my uncle D. I took the boys to Wal Mart and they bought a few Pokemon cards. Why, oh why, do I let them do that? Anyway, I guess it's fine.

Curly had an extremely difficult time going to sleep tonight. Actually, he went to sleep easily around 8 p.m. but awoke suddenly about an hour later and was inconsolable. Finally he crashed back out around 11 p.m. I guess. I actually fell asleep with him in the recliner for a while so I don't know when he actually went to sleep. I hope I don't wake him when I get into bed. He's on a nice little soft pallet on the floor.

We will probably try to get Larry a cake for his birthday either tomorrow or Sunday. He will turn eight years old in ten days. I remember July 4th, 2001. I was home alone while Big Stooge had Moe out of town for a family reunion. I was due with Larry any minute and therefore wouldn't make the trip. (I think I was really due on 7/24 and nobody wanted to believe I might go into labor early but I wasn't taking the chance). I sat on my back patio (actually it was the neighbor's patio but nobody lived in that apartment at the time) in the rain and watched the local fireworks display and hoped that I wouldn't go into labor early. I didn't obviously, luckily for me. Can't believe that was eight years ago. My little Larry is growing up. They all are.

Hope your celebration is decked in red, white, and blue. Thanks to all my fellow Americans in the service. I appreciate what you do and have done for me! God bless America!

Three at the pool

2009-06-25T21:46:00.004-05:00

Today we went to the pool for swim team stroke clinic and stayed for a couple hours after just having fun until Curly got really tired. I finally remembered to bring the camera to get him "swimming". He is so funny. He absolutely LOVES to swim. Apparently I wasn't moving fast enough getting him ready and he saw the floatie and just flipped out. Eventually we got into the water and he was just fine, even getting splashed in the face.

Home again, home again

2009-06-19T21:51:00.002-05:00

When we got to Camp Maywood to pick up Moe, he and his group had just gotten to the pool to swim. He told us that after swimming he HAD to play baseball and then basketball so he couldn't leave yet. We opted to get a late lunch (which we had originally planned to do anyway but just thought he'd be ready to have something besides camp food and would go with us) and come back to get him. Luckily, when we returned he was ready to go, having apparently missed the games he wanted to play by opting to swim instead.

He got in the car talking about what he was going to do next year and what he needed to bring. I knew he would love it. And Larry's ready to go, too. He actually wanted to stay on Sunday when we dropped Moe off. We told him he'd have to wait until next year for his turn.

Moe said he only took a few photos this week. Since we didn't get home tonight until 7 p.m., obviously we haven't had those developed yet. Tomorrow is a swim meet (invitational) so we'll be at the pool most of the morning I am sure. When we get the pix back if there are any "good" ones, I'll post then.

Camp

2009-06-14T22:15:00.003-05:00

Today we took Moe to camp for the first time. He was very excited but also very nervous. We met nearly our entire family there b/c most of the children of my cousins are going to be there this week as well and everybody showed up to welcome the kids to the wilderness, so to speak.

Moe wanted a top bunk but we got to camp and checked in just late enough that only bottom bunks were left. I think he was disappointed but didn't even complain. I left Larry to do the job of photography and we only got a few decent shots that weren't ridiculous. Oh, and I won't even mention the video he got of Moe in the bathroom!

So, we'll go pick Moe up on Friday, only a few hours short of when camp is over anyway, because the boys have a swim meet (invitational) on Saturday. I sent three disposable cameras in the suitcase and can't wait to see what kind of photos we land from those.

The elusive great white

2009-06-09T13:00:00.006-05:00

...teeth, that is. I have been trying to capture Curly's first two teeth on photo with no success. Today is his nine month celebration and in taking his monthly photo I captured a glimpse of those elusive pearly whites. Enjoy!

Also, I have been remiss about taking Moe's nine year old photo. Everytime I think about it it's not been a good time. So today, I finally got it done. Only four months late. Voila!

World's cutest baby

2009-06-07T22:13:00.002-05:00

Need I say more?

Summer Haircuts

2009-05-29T22:55:00.005-05:00

We were finally able to go get the boys their summer haircuts yesterday since school is out. Larry has been waiting all year for his. He gets so excited! So I present to you, in living color, with a lot of flair:

My mohawk men! Gotta love it!

Swimming: A Non-contact Sport?

2009-05-27T23:02:00.003-05:00

We had our first swimming casualty this afternoon. Spent a good deal of time wondering if we should brave the ER for stitches. In the end, decided on just a band-aid. Hope I made the right choice. I did ask a friend of mine who is a nurse who was at the practice with her own stooges. Of course, she's an ENT nurse so I'm not sure that counts as the same thing. She said it was deep enough for stitches but the location would make it a purely cosmetic thing. Since it was underneath the chin, I opted out. Of course, Larry thought he wanted stitches but his reasoning was he thought stitches would make it stop hurting. Luckily for us all, he's never had to endure the pain or trauma of stitches so he was clueless if not a little pitiful. Even the life guard at the pool offered to call the paramedics but all that was way too much drama for me. Especially since this wasn't a very bad cut at all and we had the bleeding stopped except for slight oozing by the time practice was over. Being that I used to work for a plastic surgeon, I knew that if we didn't go right away to the doctor, our window for stitches would be closed. I usually didn't see a lot of beforehand photos but did see lots of afters. This one was minor and I am grateful.

More photos from this weekend.

2009-05-19T22:57:00.003-05:00

We really enjoyed visiting with The Henderson's this weekend. Thought I'd post a few photos of my in-laws and nephew, Nana and Poppa. We all had a grand time. And don't see you all enough, btw. Love you!

All in the Family

2009-05-16T19:25:00.002-05:00

Big Stooge's family is here this weekend for Curly's baby dedication. Plus, Uncle Stooge and his family are moving back to the U.S. from overseas and are passing through to their new home. We are having fun visiting with them. It's been quite a while since we saw any of them and the boys are enjoying playing with Cousin Stooge who is five years old. Today had two baseball games and two soccer games on the schedule but the rain started about ten minutes before baseball and both those games were cancelled. The first soccer game had a spattering of rain and then cleared up. We had fun watching Moe's team wax the competition in both those games even though the humidity level was HIGH, HIGH, HIGH!

Happy Mother's Day

2009-05-10T17:15:00.002-05:00

to all the mommies out there: in reality, in your dreams, in your future or in your past. And to Grammaw Ara, Mama Grace, Mammaw Shirley, Nanny, Anne, and the matriarchs I didn't have the privilege to meet: Thank you for helping to make me who I am today through your direct actions or directing the actions of those I love. I hope I can follow in your footsteps and be the best mom I can be to my three sons. I love you all.

new pix

2009-05-08T23:14:00.004-05:00

Just wanted to post a new pic of the boys. They were reading together tonight. I loved watching the big brothers teaching Curly. Good times.

Oh, and the first one is my newest favorite picture. Sweet feet!

Two days later...

2009-05-05T23:19:00.004-05:00

What a difference a couple of days make. This is some video of the same creek looking more "normal" at its current water level. In fact, most of the time it's not even this noisy and high water.

Raging Waters

2009-05-03T16:16:00.003-05:00

We had storm warnings today. Lots of fast rain all compiled into a 30 minute stretch. And flood warnings. Turned our usually nearly dry and quiet nearby creek into this:

We love Homewood

2009-05-02T19:14:00.002-05:00

Today has been a good day. We thought the boys' baseball games may be rained out since it was sprinkling when we woke up this a.m. but we didn't get a call from the coach so we packed up the stuff and headed down to the fields. It was raining lightly off and on for about thirty minutes but we continued to play nonetheless. Eventually the rain stopped and the games were fun. Larry's team didn't fare very well but they had loads of fun trying. Moe's team was smokin'! They actually tied, 20-20(runs are limited to five runs per inning) but the teamwork was outstanding. Moe picked off a hit mid-air for an out and made some other terrific plays. All the boys played well and had fun.

After lunch we went to "We love Homewood Day" and hung out for a bit before coming home. They had some "rides" and games but the ticket prices were steep and we just spent a bundle last weekend at the elementary school spring festival fundraiser. So
we didn't stay long before coming home to veg. The boys have been outside all afternoon playing with the kid across the street and now playing with the two new kids that live next door. Curly and Big Stooge took a nap. I watched "Nanny McPhee" and folded clothes. Now we are watching basketball. Actually, Curly and B.S. are watching. I'm tolerating. And typing.

Winding down

2009-04-28T21:58:00.003-05:00

Can't believe April is almost over. Only three more weeks of work before the summer. Looking forward to the pool and playing and training Curly to sleep through the night. Got a haircut today. Actually not a good one but that's ok. It'll grow back fast enough. At least it's off my neck, just doesn't seem to have much style. Not much to this post. Can't really think right now. Just felt obligated to put something down "on paper"? for some reason.

He is Risen!

2009-04-12T18:09:00.004-05:00

Happy Easter! We have had a wonderful day. I made communion bread for church last night and it was pretty fun. I apparently made enough for today and next Sunday as well. I was told to double the batch which apparently was quite enough. We were assigned one month at a time. I picked April to maybe give Curly enough time to get into a routine so I could manage better. Last week we were still in Lent so we didn't even do communion. Next time I make it I hope to not be waiting until everyone is asleep so the boys can help me. I think they'll have fun.

We awoke to some filled Easter baskets and I think the boys were pleased. Curly sure was interested in the goodies in his. I tried to snap a few photos of the boys together since the last group photo I had of them was back in the fall. We had an amazing service at church and then after lunch had an Easter egg hunt at a friends' "new" house. Larry found two prize eggs and even Curly found an egg (with a little help from Big S. When we got home the boys played with the neighborhood kids in various yards while B.S., Curly, and I had a much needed nap. Now we're all just chillin'.

spaghetti dinner

2009-04-08T23:17:00.003-05:00

My seven month old, as of tomorrow anyway, apparently has no idea he isn't a big kid, or even an adult for that matter. He has decided that he should be able to feed himself whatever anyone else is eating. Never mind that he has no teeth or that he has yet to eat anything that isn't mush. After downing his baby food tonight and complaining the entire time, I just gave him a spoonful of noodles all cut up. He didn't say another word. Just tried to eat it all himself and didn't mind when they stuck all over his hand. Boy oh boy. I think we're in trouble!

Non-worrier

2009-04-07T15:01:00.003-05:00

So normally I am not a worry wort (or wart, hmmmm, don't really know what this word means so I can't know if I have the correct spelling...guess I'll chalk it up to "doesn't matter"? sorry, my ADD kicked in). But Curly has had a cough for simply months. I remember back at Thanksgiving being concerned about his cough. It eventually developed into bronchitis for which we got a strong antibiotic and he was fine. For a while. A short while. So now the cough is back in full force and each time I take him to the pediatrician I am assured that his chest is fine, i.e. they don't hear anything with a stethoscope and his ears are fine, i.e. no infection. But he still has a horrible, nasty, persistent cough. I've called in between times I've taken him in and we've been advised to try allergy medicine and cough/cold medicine. I've done both. Both knock him completely out so that he sleeps stone cold still and doesn't cough...until he sits upright or wakes up.

Oh the blessing

2009-04-05T09:44:00.001-05:00

I am so proud of my boys. For all the crap they put me through on a daily basis, I wouldn't trade them for anything. Moe and Larry are really growing up. They've become obssessed with Paul Simon. Whenever they ride in Big Stooge's (borrowed) car, they crank up the PS way loud on the CD player. And yesterday they had it playing all afternoon as they drew their comic book in our room. So, this a.m. while Curly and I still slept, Larry put on the PS and shut the door and just lay and listened until we woke up. For clarification, Moe was spending the night at a friend's and Big Stooge was not home. We've been mostly sleeping in the guest room for reasons unknown for the past few weeks so Larry was sleeping in "our" room. But Larry had the presence of mind to close himself off so as not to awaken Curly and me. I was blessed by his thoughtfulness although I always knew he had it in him. Guess it doesn't always have a chance to break through when he's in survival mode with big brother, Moe.

Love you, Larry! You're a great man

one more video

2009-04-04T20:57:00.002-05:00

Random photos

2009-04-04T19:54:00.003-05:00

Oh, these are fun. I keep trying to get all three boys together in one photo but the two older ones act like fools and won't smile right when they are together. So, here's a couple seperate. Moe went to a hockey game with Big Stooge and Uncle Stooge the other day and came back with blue hair. Then Larry and Curly were being sweet so I snapped a couple of them, too.

Sports day

2009-04-04T19:42:00.003-05:00

We were finally able to play our games (mostly first of the season) today and the weather was gorgeous. Last weekend was completely rained out. Although we messed up and scheduled baseball and soccer together we're trying to juggle and work it out. We'd hoped that Moe's soccer games would alternate between morning and afternoon start times so we wouldn't have a huge issue with his baseball games. As luck would have it, all baseball games are at 11 a.m. and all soccer games are at 11:30 and they're all way, way outside the city. Oh, well. The poor little team they played today were just not very coordinated. Moe's team won something like 12-0. May not have been that much but I stopped counting at 7 goals. Our coach pulled a couple players out and instructed our boys to deliberately not score more goals. It was obvious when they started playing back down the opposite end of the field when they were about to score.

Larry's team didn't do as well with baseball but there's hope for improvement. They all said they had fun though which was nice.

I'm so good...

2009-03-20T17:27:00.003-05:00

I can do this in my sleep. (Maybe I should consider putting springs on his bed?!)

So long, old friend

2009-03-16T20:06:00.005-05:00

So, yesterday we got rid of our old faithful car. She was the first car I ever paid for entirely from my own pocket, although my mom co-signed with me. We practically drove her into the ground (the car, not my mom, although I am sure some days she would beg to differ!)and she's been sitting behind our garage for around three years now. Well we got a notice from the city that our big van, which has been sitting out in FRONT of our house now for about five months, has to be moved or face being towed away. Since we think the big van can be repaired rather inexpensively and some day plan to do just that (I know, those of you that really know Big Stooge really well can let out a chuckle under your breath). Long story short we finally found some guys to come haul her away so now if we need to we can move the big van into her spot in the back.

Fun at the soccer park

2009-03-06T20:09:00.003-06:00

Long Live Matthew Henson

2009-03-04T22:02:00.002-06:00

The other day Larry's second grade class had living museum day. All the students had picked and researced a famous American, someone who had made a difference. They then had to read a biography and/or do research on this person, create a report, dress like the individual, and present to the class as this person.

Larry chose Matthew Henson, the first American to reach the North Pole. Henson was a remarkable person. He was orphaned by an early age and had little to no education. However, he became central to Robert Peary's expedition and exploration of the North Pole. As an African American, Henson was denied credit for being the first person to reach the pole as this honor was bestowed upon Peary. However, Henson reached the summit forty-five minutes prior to Peary.

Larry was outstanding in his portrayal of Henson and we/I are/am very proud of him and his efforts. We even borrowed the jacket from a friend of mine at work to complete his look. Congratulations, "Larry"!

March Snow

2009-03-03T22:05:00.002-06:00

Seems like, whenever we get significant snow in Birmingham, it's always in March. Sure enough, Sunday, which was March 1, gave us several inches of beautiful, powdery snow. We got out and played in it for a little while about midday and by the afternoon it was mostly gone. Today there are still traces here and there and several big snowmen dotting around town. It's really strange to see a giant huge snowman on a grassy green lawn I must say. Maybe, if there's still one left tomorrow, I can get a photo.

Happy Birthday to you, "Moe"

2009-02-28T15:41:00.004-06:00

Today is Moe's ninth birthday. My how time does fly. It's unreal that nine years ago today I was recovering from my first childbirth and my newborn son lay in the NICU. He has been one of my most challenging projects to date.

It's been quite a while since I last posted. Our home computer is sick, sick, sick. So, we/I got a new laptop on Thursday night. Satellite reception has been a bit screwy since then with all the bad weather so I haven't been able to even get online until now.

We rode the train down to Slidell a couple of weekends ago and then headed over to Baton Rouge for the long weekend with grandparents. While there, Moe had a surprise birthday party with neighborhood friends and cousins. We also attended a great LSU basketball game. It was Curly's first time in LA. We had a fun weekend.

My, oh, my...

2009-02-07T17:28:00.002-06:00

...how time does fly. I can hardly believe it's been so long since I last posted. But, then again, I can hardly believe we are already one week into February. How did THAT happen?

We have been sick with the crud for about two weeks at least. I say, "we". Really, Curly has had it worst. I have taken him or called the doctor at least four times in the past two weeks but he's had it for at least a month. They keep telling me that there is nothing they can see wrong with him. Nothing they can "kill or cure" as the doctor put it. However, I know with my mother's heart that there is something not right with my little baby. He has a horrible, terrible, gagging cough. I have done everything they've told me. Suctioning, saline, elevating, humidifying, Vick's baby rub. Finally they told me to use an OTC cough med which helped MY horrible cough for sure but doesn't seem to be touching his. Big Stooge said to give it one more day before we call them back. I just read a blog from a church acquaintance that her daughter has what her doc called a cross between pneumonia and bronchitis. I think the difference was fever. Curly may have had a fever off and on but if he did it was very, very mild fever. So, anyway, I just am hoping whatever it is backs off soon. It has been pretty scary a couple of times when he starts to cough and can't seem to stop. His whole little body shakes and his face turns red. He always tells me it hurts afterwards. I swear. Nobody believes me that this baby talks but HE DOES! We had a very meaningful conversation just a couple of days ago. He'd say something and then I'd say something and then he'd reply and we had this back and forth for at least five minutes.

Today was the last basketball game this season for Larry. He finally made a basket. He'd been SOOO close several times. I teared up because he'd said on more than one occasion that he'd like to "just make one basket this season". Then we went to the church next door and raced pinewood derby cars with the scouts. Neither of our guys won anything but we thought they should've gotten an award for hardest worker or something. It was pretty obvious that the other kids' cars had so much more adult help than ours. We want them to do it mostly for themselves although we always help them cut. I'll post pix later. At the library. Or whenever I can get to a computer with a port for my memory card. This old fossil isn't compatible with new technology. I need to post new pix soon anyway since Curly will be five months old in two days. Can't believe it.

Hello, Margaret

2009-01-24T17:12:00.007-06:00

Don't know if any of you are familiar with Ray Stevens and his comedic music to catch the reference in my blog title but I like it so there you go. Anyway...I know it's been quite a few days since I posted. That's because nothing much is going on around here except for life. School/work has been uneventful. Curly is still doing well and I am getting along nursing him usually once during the morning on a break. He's faked out his teachers a couple of times making them think he needs a bottle when I think he really didn't. Don't know why I am trying to hoard my little well fought for stash of breast milk when he's the whole reason I pumped it anyway. He should use it up as needed for that is the whole point. I just feel like I need to keep it for a "rainy day" but that's kinda stupid in the grand scheme of things. Anyway, Larry's basketball team finally tied a score at their game today. They all played really well and actually put a double digit score on the board. They've been beaten badly at every other game. Today they looked like a real team out there. Only a couple more games to go. Darn. Just as they were starting to play well together. There's always next year.

It's a laugh riot

2009-01-11T21:01:00.003-06:00

Tonight, for the first time, baby Curly laughed out loud several times. It was the most precious thing ever! We happened to be at a financial peace introductory class so I couldn't share with the Big Stooge, who happened to be sitting right next to me. It was after the video, during the sharing/questioning section so I thought he might have heard it, but he missed the whole thing. Too bad! Hopefully I can get him on video soon laughing and we'll post it. I was so impressed. He really is a genius, you know (tongue-in-cheek). Also, he's been sleeping like a champ at night for the past several nights. Last night he went to sleep at 9:30 p.m. and didn't wake up until 7:30 this morning. WOW!

We had a nice weekend. Larry played basketball with Upward again. His team is improving although they haven't won a game yet. There's a lot of pounding up and down the court and a lot of snatching away the ball if possible and not much scoring or technique. But it's fun to watch. This week there was a little gaggle of cheerleaders as well. They were so funny...all these little girls over in the corner with their uniforms and little green and white pom-poms. They seemed to be well rehearsed and even did a little one cheer half-time show. I, unfortunately, didn't have the camera with me so couldn't take a photo. I'll know next week, though.

Soon enough we'll start soccer again. Moe can hardly wait. Can't say that I blame him. He's really good and therefore it's fun for me to watch.

Welcome back, real world

2009-01-08T23:35:00.002-06:00

So, can you tell we all started back to work and school this week? I haven't had enough time to dedicate to blogging this week and am just grabbing a moment to catch up a little before I hit the bed for some much needed rest. Actually, this week has gone swimmingly. Everyone has adjusted back to the regular routine and reentry wasn't so bad. Even Curly has been doing great and is back to sleeping through the night. In fact, last night was an eight hour stretch. It's so nice. Now, if I can just learn to go to bed right after he does I'll be doing fine.

The bigger boys brought home report cards today. Moe got all A's and all A+'s except for one. Moe doesn't have letter grades yet but he improved in all his marks or remained the same as before (which was good). We are very proud of them. Way to go, guys!

I have adjusted well back to school as well. It's fun being back with the kiddos and they didn't have any trouble transitioning from Ms. K to me. All in all it's gone much better than I anticipated. Curly has needed a bottle most every day but fortunately, I had enough milk stored that we haven't had to use formula yet. I am certainly not opposed to formula and have a distinct feeling we may have to go to that sooner than later simply because I cannot ever seem to get much from pumping. He's getting bigger though so surely things are going well. We go to the ped. on Tuesday for his four month check up. Tomorrow is his actual "birthay" so I try to take his photo and update if I can.

Ok. I am now taking my own advice and going to bed. My eyes can't stay open much longer. Good night, all.

Happy Birthday to me

2009-01-02T23:42:00.002-06:00

So, ok. Like, today is my birthday. It was a little ho-hum. Except that my two big boys came in and sang Happy birthday to me first thing when they woke up. It was a fantastic gift. I don't think they even realize it.

So the Big Stooge (hee, hee...I love saying that. I COULD just shorten it to B.S. but I really don't think that would be appropriate) took me to dinner tonight at one of the places I like best to go on special occasions. It isn't that it's that expensive. It's just that nobody in the family except me has a real appreciation for Thai food. And it was good. Curly did ok and went with us but Moe and Larry stayed home with two friends and played Wii, which they got for Christmas. Everyone did very well and were very well behaved.

About that Wii...My parents and brother went in together and got it for our family along with the sports game. Then Santa brought Rock Band 2. When the boys play Rock Band 2 they'll only let us play Eye of the Tiger. It's a hoot. They know this song pretty well anyway from the radio and since it is relatively easy it's the one they go with. Granted, they've let us experiment a little bit but when we all want to play together as a family, that's the one they want.

Larry, at first, refused to sing because he said he wasn't good at it but tonight when D and T came over, he got picked to sing because T couldn't read the words. (In fact, when we returned from dinner, the friends' dad, M, said that T thought the words to the song were "I love the tiger". Isn't that cute! He's only 5.) Moe played drums, and D played guitar. Because, let's be honest, everyone wants to play the guitar part. And so far, since we only just got this for Christmas, we only have one guitar and have to take turns. So, since company was over, they got to pick the parts. But at the end of the night, Larry was saying how great he was at singing and he loved the singing part. It was funny. He has no problem with self-esteem. He is "great" at lots of things in his opinion. He's right, actually.

So, this birthday is winding down and reminding me how old I am. Maybe from this point on, I'll go backwards on my birthday. I really don't care how old the calendar says I am. I don't feel 38. It just sounds so "mature" to actually say it. And I don't feel all that mature. Luckily, I am slightly less naive than I was at 22, 23, 25, 26...something like that but those years, for the most part were ok.

I really can't think of anything else to say right now. My 38 year old brain is getting pretty tired I think so I'll go to bed. Hopefully, Curly will sleep for extended hours tonight. I think he is still recovering from his cold. He's just not been himself for the past couple of days. Last night, with a six hour stretch, was the first time in a few weeks that he's slept longer than about three hours again.

Bon Voyage, 37. It's been real.

Happy New Year 2009!

2009-01-01T18:34:00.002-06:00

Happy New Year. Today was a beautiful day outside with temperatures in the comfortable-with-a-light-jacket range. The dismal, gray winter look was put on hold and the skies were blue with slight wispy white clouds. Not that we took advantage of it until late this afternoon. In fact, we mostly slept in because we all stayed up late to ring in the new year. The boys enjoyed watching the ball drop but what got their attention even more was some sports thing where some crazy stunt guy jumped on top of a building on a motorcycle and then dropped from the roof on the same cycle. But the clincher and the thing they HAD to have me watch was when the guy broke his hand in the freefall and blood was gushing out. Now that's the way to ring in the new year!

Larry came flying into my room at a few minutes past eleven shouting, "Happy new year, Mommy, happy new year! The ball dropped in New York so it's happy new year!" I didn't have the heart to tell him New York is an hour ahead of us and our new year wasn't started yet. Apparently he already knew though b/c he and Moe just had to stay up until midnight. Then Curly woke up at 1:30 something and then again at 4:30 something. Whatever happened to the few times around Thanksgiving that he slept for eight or nine hours straight at night? Granted he hasn't been feeling well for the past few days and sleep isn't exactly what he wants most of the time.

So well, this day has been a real struggle for me because of my bad habits. I have been trying to avoid sweets and soda. I am feeling my sugar addiction tempting, tempting me to go ahead and just have a little. So far, I have held off...mostly. At lunch/dinner I did have two sugar free chocolate chip cookies with just the tiniest bit of whipped cream for dessert and I ate good veggies and no fried stuff. Hopefully I can begin a new way of life with food and get some of this weight off. Don't hold your breath. I am taking it one minute at a time.

A Little Challenge

2008-12-29T10:14:00.005-06:00

The past day or two have been a little challenging. We have all been slightly under the weather. My throat has been scratchy but not exactly sore but yesterday I felt like I could never quite wake up. I actually did sleep a good portion of the day, as did Curly. I can tell he doesn't feel well. His eyes have been goopy most of the time we've been here but it would get better and then get worse. Nothing was ever very bad so I was waiting to see what would happen. He had the same problem at Thanksgiving and we got antibiotic drops. But I didn't bring those with from Alabama. I called yesterday and got his doctor's office to call in a refill and we've been using those. Also, he's run a slight fever off and on for the past couple of days and he's congested. I don't think he was awake more than about three hours all of yesterday. He'd wake up briefly, eat briefly and then go right back to sleep. No muss, no fuss. And THAT is totally not like him. Fighting sleep is the name of his game usually. So, today he's obviously feeling somewhat better or at least different because it's been the opposite of yesterday. He hasn't slept much at all until about an hour ago. He was refusing to nurse but acting very tired and of course, crying makes the congestion that much worse. He finally kept in the pacifier long enough to get still and fell asleep on my chest. I fell asleep, too and we rested nicely in Poppa's chair. I got up about fifteen minutes ago and managed to execute a transfer to the couch where he still seems to be resting nicely.

I think we'll be heading home tomorrow. Moe has a doctor's appointment on New Year's Eve day and I don't even know when that is. I think Wednesday and I think today is Monday. It's definitely hard to keep up. We need to transition back to school hours and routine because we all start back on January 5. All of us. Even Curly. I hope that doesn't prove to be more of a challenge than the past two days. Anyway, check out this cute video of Curly playing with the toy he got for Christmas. He's making the lights and music go with his feet. This was during a brief period of time this afternoon before he decided his world was coming to an end, pre-nap.

Merry, Merry Christmas 2008!

2008-12-25T15:48:00.006-06:00

We have had an outstanding Christmas this year. The entire family was present last night at Mammaw and Pappaw's house. Well, I guess you could say that one of our "regulars" wasn't there. My great-aunt, Coy, who sometimes comes by on Christmas Eve wasn't there and we missed her. Her birthday is today, by the way. Happy Birthday, Aunt Coy! We love you! The boys had a blast passing out the gifts with my two youngest cousins. What melee! What glee! We were very fortunate, too, to have Pappaw there as he's had a very precarious year health-wise. He is doing great considering what major surgery he had earlier this year.

This morning we went to my aunt's house for her annual Christmas brunch. Almost everybody from last night was there this morning, too including a few extra friends whom we also consider to be family.

Tomorrow afternoon we are going to my dad's brother's house for a late lunch. We used to open gifts there, too, but since we have so many people involved now we've decided to forego the gift giving and just visit.

Right now we are enjoying our new Christmas toy. My brother and parents bought us a Wii with sports package and Santa brought the Rock Band 2 game. We are having a ton of fun so far with the whole thing. We have been very blessed this Christmas and are very thankful for all that we have and received.

Christmas Eve, eve

2008-12-23T07:51:00.003-06:00

My children have had such fun with the title phrase this week. You know, a few days ago it was "Christmas Eve eve, eve, eve, eve, eve. Needless to say, the day before the "big day" (or night in our case)they were very, very obnoxious, but I guess, in a cute way.

It's Christmastime?!

2008-12-21T10:53:00.002-06:00

I am in total disbelief that this year is coming to an end. Ok, yeah, we had a great summer and the boys had a blast on swim team. Then there was the pregnancy with Curly which I now barely remember (I hate that I don't seem to hold things in memory very long; never thought I'd forget how HARD he kicked). All that aside, it's now time to ponder the past year and look forward to the new year.

Yesterday, I had lunch and dessert with a few friends from high school. We've been trying to meet once or twice a year for the past several years. We've added an ornament swap to the festivities as well as sharing the memories of the past and the goings-on of the present. It's really cool. Several of us have had or will be having babies within the past couple of years and it's fun to share that. Some of us are enjoying the single life and all the freedom that entails. It's good to get a different perspective and bounce around ideas over a good meal and laughter. Thanks, ladies, for the great time. I am looking forward to the next go 'round. (Sorry I don't have any photos to add with this. Maybe somebody will send me a few and I'll be able to post later.)

Later this week we'll celebrate Christmas with both sides of my family. We are looking forward to seeing aunts, uncles, and cousins that we don't see often. It'll be a lot of fun.

Welcome to December, Part two

2008-12-11T14:31:00.006-06:00

We took the boys to the zoo this week. It was Curly's first trip. It was 75 degrees outside. How weird. And now the forecast is for snow. Non-accumulating snow but snow nonetheless. We let our membership expire when the older two boys seemed to lose interest and we got busy with other things. But we mentioned to grandparents that we'd like to start going again especially now that we have Curly. They obliged with an early Christmas present so we went. The bigger boys were so excited and we were reassured that we made a good choice. Curly enjoyed his time there so much that he was completely worn out by the time we left. I am sure we will go back soon.

I can't believe it's only two weeks until Christmas. I have done NO shopping. My children have really not asked for anything this year (how refreshing!) and that means I have no idea what to get them. Not that they need a single thing. In fact, I think this year I may buy gifts/necessities for other people's children and tell my own that their own gifts were donated to needy children. In fact, I don't really think they'd even notice the difference. I know they will be getting gifts from other family members anyway. So, maybe one thing for each child from Daddy and me and whatever Santa brings. I hope Santa is listening. Think small, Santa. Minimize. Simplify. That's my new mantra.

Anyway, we did manage to visit Santa at the mall this year and get photos made with each boy. In fact, I think I may have mentioned that we saw Santa at the Peabody in Little Rock over Thanksgiving as well. So I guess we made up for last year's non-photo by having Santa pix made twice this year. Sure, I'll tell myself that. Sounds good.

We are waiting out the days until Christmas holidays. Then in January comes the big change. I will be starting back to work at Day School in the 2K but will go back as a Monday through Friday teacher instead of MWF. I think it will be good. I hope so. Curly will be down the hall in the nursery and I love, love, LOVE, his teachers. This will be a new "thing" for me, however, as Moe and Larry didn't start school until they were two years old. I know we can handle it. It's a necessity for now and as I always have said, "I can do ANYTHING for a few months."

So, in case I don't get to post again for a while, Merry Christmas to all and please remember the real reason for our celebration: The birth of Christ the Lord who has made it possible by his death on the cross at Calvary for us all to be reconciled to God. Thank you, Jesus, and Happy birthday!

Welcome to December, Part One

2008-12-02T14:46:00.006-06:00

Well, the weekend in Arkansas was terrific. Curly slept all the way to Little Rock going and all the way back coming home. We had a short layover in MS to get the rest of our "stuff" including our dog.

The game was a definite heart breaker. LSU couldn't pull out the win despite their best efforts. The winning points were scored by Arkansas with about twenty seconds left in the game. What a disappointment. On an upnote, Curly also slept through most of the game after getting his tummy full soon after we arrived. It was cold and rainy for most of the game but we all made it fine...until the end...twenty seconds from the finish...like I said before. We are still reeling.

But, we also had a fun time in LR. We went to the Peabody Hotel on Saturday evening to see the ducks retire for the night and learned that Santa would be there the next morning. So, we got Santa pix made in Little Rock. Nobody was dressed in holiday attire, but at least we got the photo made. Last year we missed a Santa photo op altogether. First time ever. Hopefully, I'll be able to post photos to go along with this soon. Right now, the computer at home is down because we decided to deconstruct the room and rearrange furniture.

By the way, we found a terrific pizza place in Little Rock. If you're ever in LR and have the time, be sure and look up Damgoode Pies. They have a varied selection of crusts and sauces as well as toppings. They also had a diverse selection of beers (we noticed but didn't imbibe) as well as desserts (which we didn't try either). We actually ate there twice during our three days in LR. We tried to convince them to open a franchise in Birmingham but they weren't interested...yet. They apparently want to canvas the Arkansas area before expanding beyond state lines.

Happy Thanksgiving

2008-11-27T08:45:00.003-06:00

Well, another year has flown by, seemingly under the radar. A lot has changed since last Thanksgiving...namely, the addition of Curly to our family. Right now we are in Mississippi visiting with my family (have been here since Tuesday night) but we are leaving in a few hours to travel to Arkansas to spend a lovely Thanksgiving weekend at a football game with hubby's family. It'll be our longest roadtrip yet with five members of our family. Hopefully, tonight will be a lot better in terms of sleep. Last night was pretty crummy since Curly didn't want to stay asleep. Luckily, Nana has had better luck getting him to sleep today than I had last night. See their picture above.

I am thankful for my family, my job, my "new" boss, my coworkers, a warm place to stay, plenty of food, and the love of my God.

Soccer mania

2008-11-18T22:13:00.003-06:00

Well, this weekend was a total blast for our whole family. Our oldest son was picked to play at a soccer tournament. He and two other boys from his team were picked to play with other boys from our hometown in The Governor's Cup. They had four games: one Friday night, one Saturday afternoon, and two on Sunday. These incredible boys won their first three games and lost the final game 2-1 in a heartbreaker. The most awesome thing about it was that these particular boys had only had four practices together before even going to the tourny. We have several teams of U9 boys but no one team was able to attend the tournament. It turned out that several boys from each team were interested in playing so the director formed a new team of those three or four from each team who could play. These guys were fantastic. They won their first game 3-1, second game 6-0, third game 4-0, and lost the last game against a very challenging team. So, they came in 2nd overall. To add to the challenge, it rained all during the game on Friday night and then turned extremely cold and windy on Saturday and Sunday. The sun finally peeked out for about thirty minutes on Sunday before disappearing again behind a massive blockade of clouds. If you can't already tell, I am a very proud mama. We all had a good time and the baby cooperated as well. He did GREAT on the first night in the hotel (and not so wonderful but still ok on the second night). It gives me great hope for the Thanksgiving weekend when we are supposed to meet family in Arkansas for the LSU/Arkansas football game and stay in a hotel again.

One step forward

2008-11-08T16:13:00.003-06:00

Here I am again with just a few minutes to spare. The house is quiet for the moment. My hubby and oldest son are out of town on a spur of the moment trip; my middle son is playing outside with the neighbor, and the baby son has been fed, swaddled, and put down for a nap. The in-laws have gone to a wedding and I am blessedly all alone. Now is the time to tackle the laundry...all four baskets of it. Maybe I shouldn't be blogging now since I have a few moments to get some actual work done around here. But this could be so much fun! I hope to be able to get more adept at this as my time frees up a little more. And maybe one day post some photos. I am told we should develop aliases for protection of our fragile identities. I am not sure my creative-yet-sleep-deprived side can dream up anything cute enough. For now, we'll refer to the children as Larry, Moe, and Curly. I don't know much about those three but I think it might be fitting. And the hubby can be the biggest Stooge of all?! Would that work? So now that only leaves me needing an identity. Hmmmmm. I'll have to ponder that while I get to work on that laundry. More later...

In the beginning...

2008-11-05T11:38:00.001-06:00

So, today while I have five minutes (if my newborn son stays asleep that long!) I'll try to set up a blog. Just for fun, just for kicks, just for sanity, whatever. I have been reading a few blogs of friends and links to blogs of people I don't know and it's kinda fun. A way to stay connected to the world outside my home. A way for people to stay connected to me. Hopefully, I can become adept enough to post a few photos now and then as well as thoughts for the day. Well, my five was cut to about one since I hear the little prince calling. Maybe I'll get back to this later.