The Girls: Then and Now

A few weeks ago when I was in Texas I had dinner with some of my oldest girlfriends. (I don't mean as in age! I mean, as in we've been friends the longest, lol.) Sarah and I met the summer before 3rd grade and have been friends over 20 years. We grew up 2 houses apart! Angela and I met Freshman year of high school and were in band together. The 3 of us were really close all through high school and have kept in touch over the years! Our 10 year high school reunion was this summer, and even though I couldn't attend (Shane was leaving for CA the next morning) it has still made me nostalgic. I feel so lucky to be able to still say these are some of my dearest friends! Here's a little walk down memory lane...

Angela, Sarah and me-10 Years Later and better then ever!!!
Me, Angela and Sarah-Right after Graduation 1998
Angela, Sarah and me-Freshmen Year of High School 1995


Posted in: on Friday, October 31, 2008 at at 10:26 AM 1 comments  

The Tortuous and the Hare

We hosted our playgroups Halloween party today. It was a lot of fun! I'm too exhausted to write much now, but here are some pics. Logan and I went as the Tortuous and the Hare : )

A shot of my bunny tailI have no idea what I was doing in this picture but I think it really funny This shows the table and a friend of ours at the party

Some spooky ghosts stopped by! I made the little spider treat bags for everyone. There are girl and boy spiders.


I'll write more later! Logan's taking a nap and I'm off to put my feet up for a bit.










Posted in: on Thursday, October 30, 2008 at at 2:41 PM 1 comments  

Is Vaseline Toxic?

I have to say that we're going through some sort of a transition. The tricky thing about toddlers is that you don't always know what you're transitioning into....but, such is life. Naps were hit or miss all weekend and last night he turned into the strangest baby! I think he is getting frustrated because he cannot tell us what he wants. Or, rather, he is trying to tell us and we don't understand him. So, we're walking that fine line where you're trying to get them to communicate with you but also trying not to encourage the screeching that IS them trying to communicate with you. Grrrrr.....


He now understands that there are fun things on top of tables and countertops. He'll sweetly ask to be picked up and then reach for whatever is on the counter-none of which he can have. This does not make him happy. I've caught him not once, but twice, playing with the Vaseline. One time, he figured out how to open his top drawer of his dresser, reach in, and take everything out. I did NOT think that he was tall enough for this. Then, this morning, he apparently reached up and got it off the table in our foyer where I had hidden it the last time. I sure feel silly that my child has eaten Vaseline not once but twice this weekend. I don't think he actually ingested that much but I guess it's more the principle of it all. He is getting into everything!!!!
We went this weekend and bought a new gate for our fireplace. We had one in there that was flush with the molding, but you couldn't light the fireplace with the gate on. I LOVE the fireplace in the fall and winter, and usually light it every day. So, this new gate was a must!!! Shane did a great job installing it : ) Here is a picture.


We planted pansies in our front yard on Sunday and Logan helped. This is him working on the window boxes for our deck out back. If I dug a hole, he would chunk the flower in there. He was so proud when he pulled two of them out and brought them to me!!!

He loves to play with the pots. He would pick up rocks and carry them over to put in his pot. He also helped us mulch the beds and would take handfuls of mulch out of the bags and throw them in the flower beds. It was so cute!Shane had to water the new flowers after everything was planted. Logan loves water! So, he started running for the hose. Shane kept trying to miss him, but he eventually got wet (of course!) Luckily is was 80 degrees here yesterday. (Although this morning is is 41 degrees! Ouch!)

Well, I'm off to get busy with my week. I just got L down for a nap (I think!) after our walk/run with the dogs this morning. I'm going to try to get some work done on the crafts for the Halloween party that I'm hosting for our playgroup this week. We have our usual storytime at the library this morning and lunch with friends. Hopefully, he will sleep until we have to leave.

Posted in: on Monday, October 27, 2008 at at 8:57 AM 2 comments  

Saturday Morning

Uh-Oh-here's proof that my baby is a talker! Oh and I forgot that he is also saying bye-bye : )


It's amazing how quickly kids can pick up on things. Logan is now a climbing maniac and loves to be on the couch with us. But, once he is up there, he climbs immediately over to this table we have in between them and trys to sit on it. He has a picnic table outside and now he loves to stand up on it! Talk about trying to give me a heart attack!!!

Here's a picture of it...




I think we're also starting to transition from 2 naps a day to 1. I've really been trying to avoid this day, and am still not sure that I am ready. I really love knowing that if he skips one nap, he'll have another one later. It seems like everyday over the last few weeks has been different. One day he'll take 2 great naps and then the next day he'll take a long morning nap and then no afternoon nap. The hardest part is that I do not think he is ready to go from 6:30 or 7:00 when he wakes up, until after lunch for his nap. He is usually asleep by 9 or 10!! So, maybe he isn't ready...maybe all of the travelling has messed him up. Yesterday he napped 2 hours and 45 mins in the morning and 1 hour and 45 mins in the afternoon. Then he still was asleep last night by 8pm and slept until 7am this morning. Who knows?!?

This is Logan playing with my cell phone this morning. It is one of his favorite "toys!" He opens it and holds it up to his ear and starts "talking!"


This is the little bike that my parents gave Logan for his birthday. It rocks right now but can be converted into a real bike (you can see the pedals on the front) for whenever he is big enough. He can now climb on and off by himself and rock it. He has so much fun!!!

Posted in: on Saturday, October 25, 2008 at at 9:19 AM 1 comments  

Uh Oh

Logan is saying "uh oh" now! It is the cutest thing ever!!!! My baby boy is now saying 3 words consistently-Daddy, Mama and uh-oh! Woo hoo!!!!


Just a typical sunset here....I feel so lucky...This is Logan and I at our local park playdate last weekLogan and a cute little friend of his here!Right after his bath
Well, things have just jumped right back into normal, I guess! Monday was a really busy day for us. First thing, I had to give Lucy a bath since I had planned a visit at the Childrens Home for her in afternoon. (She has to have a bath within 24 hours of every visit! This is not easy since she is 75 pounds and sheds like a maniac!) Then, we had our usual Monday storytime at the library. My Mom was still in town and so I wanted her to be able to come and see it. We have so much fun there every week! They sing songs, read books and do a craft. It is truly "toddler time" and they are free to dance and sing! It's adorable to watch. Usual errands after that-the bank and Target. We ran home so I could grab some lunch and then Lucy and I loaded up for our visit.
We had a really great one. We got to meet with the preschoolers since I was able to do a weekday visit. They are some of my favorites! They love Lucy and just climb all over her. It was really funny though because there were some guys doing construction on the building across from where we were. Lucy likes to check things out so I took her over there to see. One of the guys asked to see her, so I said "This is Lucy and she is a therapy dog." And, then he laughed and said "Well, I feel better already!" HA HA HA. I couldn't help but giggle. After we wrapped up our visit, he called us back over and started asking questions about how to get involved and what a dog has to go through to become a therapy dog. It's funny how the word can spread!!!
After our visit, Shane and I loaded up for our date night : ) We left Logan with Memaw and went to a really nice restaurant for dinner and spent the night at a hotel downtown. So much fun! We had an old gift card for the restaurant and used hotel points for our night. That made it even better!!! You really do appreciate a night alone and out on the town. We had a wonderful time. My Mom was so amazing to help us with Logan. I can't thank her enough!
Cute story really quick. Tonight when I was reading Logan his good night book I started asking him to point to the animals. I said "Where's the cow?" and he pointed to him. I went through several animals (sheep, dog, cat) all of which he knew. Then, I said "Where's the snake?" And, he looked at me and did his hands like "I don't know???" It was so cute! I guess he didn't know the snake yet! The other funny thing is that he knows which dog is which. He will point out Booker or Lucy without fail, yet to most people they look exactly alike! (Booker is more gray and taller/thinner then Lucy so we can tell. There are a few other small things, but most people always ask how we can tell them apart.) It really is amazing to be with him every day and see him learn and change. Every day, he seems to grasp more things and understand a little bit more.
Okay, I'm off to bed because it's after 11pm and I have a busy day tomorrow!

Posted in: on Tuesday, October 21, 2008 at at 10:51 PM 0 comments  

All Together Again!!!

We're all back in AR safe and sound-together!!! My Mom, Logan and I drove in on Thursday afternoon and Shane came in Friday night. We're so glad to have him home with us! Things have been pretty busy since then. On Friday, I had to go to Children's to get ready for the dog evaluation that we had this morning. I have to have a male volunteer in every evaluation and my token guy got sick. So, Shane got talked into volunteering with me today. He did a great job! We only evaluated 4 dogs and only 1 passed....it's a pretty tough test. (Most of you know that Lucy didn't pass her first time either.) In November, we'll be testing about 24 teams so hopefully we'll have a better pass/fail ratio. I'm just really relieved that this first evaluation is over. Now, I have a system and know what I'm doing so from here on out it should be a lot easier.

Logan has taken to holding your hand and leading you places now. It is so cute! Most of the time he takes you to the front door to go outside and play. He is really glad to have Shane back. He keeps saying "Daden" which is how he says daddy. It is so sweet. I don't have much else to report. I'll probably post some more pictures soon because we have some cute ones!!!

Posted in: on Saturday, October 18, 2008 at at 4:58 PM 0 comments  

Headed back to AR



Mom and I are headed back to AR tomorrow. Logan and I have been in Texas one week already and we've had so much fun!  But, it's time to get back to real life I guess. This weekend, I have my first dog evaluations at the Children's Hospital since I took over as the evaluation organizer. This has been a huge job! Our biggest evaluation is in November when we'll be testing over 20 teams. The one this Saturday is going to be small, but I'm still pretty stressed about it. I have had to organize all of the volunteers, book the room at the hospital, schedule everyone to test, send out instructions and many many emails....it's a lot of work! But, it is really rewarding if more teams can get out there and start volunteering. I have to go Friday night to set up and then be there on Saturday to coordinate the evaluation. I'm glad that my Mom is coming back with me to keep Logan. I have a lot of work to do to get ready and set up!


We're hoping that Shane will be back on Saturday. I'm so excited! We're going to make sure to have a date night before my Mom leaves. I can't remember the last time that we had dinner out at a restaurant alone. Actually, I can. It was our anniversary-May 24. 5 MONTHS AGO! I'd say we're due a night out : )  

One of my girlfriends told me that she read a study that said the average married couple talks only 12 minutes a day. Unfortunately, I'm sure that we have been in that average while he has been gone. It is so difficult having children and busy lives to make time for each other. In our normal lives, Logan goes to bed early (usually around 7:30pm) so we do have time in the evenings to ourselves. We usually treasure this time to reconnect after a long day, but sometimes it's hard not to sink into the couch and veg out. My marriage is one of the most important things in the world to me. Both Shane and I feel like it is crucial to make time for each other because someday, the children will be grown and gone and we will only have each other. We want to still know each other and enjoy each other as much then and we do now. I know that 12 minutes a day is certainly not enough to achieve that goal!!! We also know that we're setting the example for Logan as to what a healthy marriage is and trying everyday to provide him with positive examples for him to learn how to treat people.

I'm looking forward to having my husband back and hoping that we appreciate the time that we have together and continue to find creative ways to reconnect despite the business of having a one year old.


Posted in: on Wednesday, October 15, 2008 at at 11:04 PM 1 comments  

Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)