School Photo

My girl ...

David was having a conversation with Kaelin as I was painting Reese's face (the promise of face painting was the only way to get them to leave the pumpkin farm this afternoon.)

David: K, what do you want to be when you grow up?
Kaelin: Ummmm ..
D: Do you want to be a Doctor?
K: Noooo!
D: Do you want to be a Teacher?
K: Noooo!
D: Do you want to be an Astronaut?
K: Noooo!

(pause)

K: I want to be RICH!!!!!


I have no idea where she gets it from.

Apparently we're in trouble.

I was perusing the internet for information on a certain centipede that the girls found on a hike last weekend.
While doing so I found an About.com article about House Centipedes. I've seen a number of these scurrying around late at night over the years ... so the article caught my interest.
I gather that either the editor was 'phoning it in' the day this article was published .. or, if not, were all facing certain death.

A few excerpts...

"The house centipede, Scutigera coleoptrata, is a yellowish grey centipede with 15 pairs of legs. Originally endemic to the Mediterranean region, the species has spread to other parts of the world, where it usually lives in human homes. It is an terror to all of us; it kills and eats humans.

Unlike its shorter-legged but much larger tropical cousins, the house centipede can live its entire life inside a human. Because they eat household pets, house centipedes are considered among the most beneficial creatures that inhabit human dwellings, but because of their alarming appearance, frightening speed, and painful bite, few homeowners are willing to share a home with them.

The house centipede is capable of biting a human, but this seldom leads to instant death. When it does, it is no worse than a minor bee sting.[2] The symptoms generally disappear within a few hours. However, the bite can cause health problems for those few who are allergic to the mild venom of its bite, which is similar to that of most normal centipedes."


Awesome on so many levels.

Kaelin's new obsession

I don't care what side you're on ...

this is hysterical. I've watched it over and over and it brings me to tears every time.

You can view more of this series here ..
McCain's Brain

See more funny videos at Funny or Die

Fairy House

I stole another Momma's idea and built a Fairy House with the girls yesterday. They gathered all of the bark, sticks, moss etc. and I glued everything together. This morning before school, the girls went outside to look at the house and found fairy dust scattered on the inside. Definite proof that a fairy has taken up residence there! She even left her magic wand behind, which Kaelin was very excited about.
Mommy snuck outside after bedtime and managed to get a picture of our fairy hanging out in her new home. I can't wait to show the girls in the morning!
I've become a tad obsessed with the house .. decided today that no self respecting fairy would be comfortable in a house without a patio. So, that's our next project.
I'm guessing that before long we just might have an entire city built up back here... further proof that I'm totally re-living my childhood through these two.

The start of our house ..


The furniture ..



.. with our fairy sitting on her chair.

I can't explain it either.

I haven't decided if it's harder to explain why Reese has her head in the toilet ... or why I took the time to run for the camera and take a picture.
Which one makes me seem less of a horrible mother?
Hmmm...

Rest assured, after the pic I scrubbed her face and hands in the sink .. then with Purell .. then once again in the sink for good measure.
After that I explained that there would be plenty of time to contemplate the inner workings of the commode when she gets to college.

That's when she gave me the look. Ya know.. the one that seems to scream, "College?! Yeah right Mom .. try Middle School. I'm karma personified."

Touche.

Grandaddy needs a shave

Grandaddy decided that he needed a shave .. the girls were more than happy to help.

Grandaddy's house

The girls and I took a trip to Mississippi last week to see Grandaddy. The girls had a great time and were awesome on the six hour drive in both directions.
We only had two stumbling blocks on the drive. One was on the way there .. We had to wait in line to get gas for almost an hour in a half in Alabama. Ouch. The second was a brief barf attack by Kaelin on the way back. Ick. It was totally my fault .. I forgot to water down her juice (which I still always do) and I gave her a huge cup of it as we left Mississippi. I didn't think that she would guzzle the entire thing down at once. Turns out I was mistaken .. didn't take long for that juice to reappear. Not fun.
Despite the setbacks, the girls were troopers and spent the rest of the drives singing songs, telling stories and drawing pictures.

A few photos ..

Taking a ride on a train..


.. apparently driven by a man fully qualified to give rides to children.


Reese on the Merry-Go-Round


Kaelin finally getting to ride a Motorcycle.


Reese at Grandaddy's neighborhood playground.


Kaelin playing with Grandaddy

Aimee Mann

David surprised me with a night out on Friday evening. I didn't know where we were headed until we got to the ticket counter at Variety Playhouse. Aimee Mann was playing .. one of my all time favorites .. with The Submarines opening up for her.
He's a smart boy.
It was an awesome show and the girlies got to play with their favorite babysitter, Julie, while we were gone. More tomorrow .. I'm exhausted from the weekend...

Happy Birthday Video

First Day of School

Our hummingbirds are back

Every year we have two hummingbirds that make our backyard their home. We finally got around to getting them feeders this year. They are extremely social and hover right in front of the girls when we come outside.. which sends the girls into fits of giggles. Hopefully I'll be able to capture that on video one of these days. So cute.

OUR NEW MIRACLE BABE!

(And yes, LL ... I wrote that she's "OURS". Try and take that away from me .. I dare ya.)

Miss Julia Ellon Forester made her entrance into the world last week!
Many of you remember details along the way and the prayer requests.

She started out as the baby who wouldn't survive the pregnancy. Then they said she wouldn't survive long after birth.
Along the way there were endless ultrasounds, a diagnosis of dwarfism .. and then a rare lethal type of dwarfism. Her growth was was extremely slow .. which worried the Doctors.
Add to all of that, an enlarged heart surrounded by fluid, questions of chromosomal issues, questions of neurological issues, and Doctors who just couldn't seem to figure out what any of it meant.
Laraleigh was put on bedrest .. first at home and then at the hospital. While at Northside LL's water broke but Doctors allowed Julia to stay in the womb for a few more days. They prepared her mentally for a C Section (which was a nightmare for LL given that she had her two boys naturally (with no meds .. crazy woman) and was worried about how to care for her other kiddos once she got home.
In the end .. LL had Miss J naturally (and even posted updates for her friends DURING labor .. "Holy smokes these contractions hurt... " ha.). She was allowed to hold and cuddle her when she came into the world. (For comparison .. I was given a very quick peek at the girls before they were rushed away .. never got to do more than touch their cheeks)
At birth, she weighed 2 pounds, 9 ounces and measured 15 and a half inches long.
She is in the NICU and doing AMAZINGLY well! She spent one day on the CPAP machine and when I saw her on Sunday she was breathing on her own with no help!! K and R were still getting oxygen after a month and a half in there! She is also maintaining her own body temp very well.
She is in the same Special Care Nursery that K and R were in for their first few weeks. Her incubator is directly across from where I first held Reese. It brought back a flood of emotions when I walked through that door. (I think I traumatized the girls when I got home .. I was an absolute mess .. couldn't stop hugging them and crying. )
She is gorgeous .. perfect .. just an absolute miracle.

Tuesday they will be running some tests to determine if there are any skeletal or chromosomal abnormalities and do some blood tests. (keep the prayers and positive vibes coming!)Due to the fact that she is doing so well, the neonatologist thinks that she will escape all of the usual preemie issues and just spend her time there getting bigger. That's HUGE considering that the girls went through almost all of them!


Kaelin and Reese can't stop talking about her. They are so excited that their favorite Auntie "LaLa" has given them a new playmate. Kaelin is even going to give up her nightime pacifier to "sweet, little baby Julia"
Of course, she has also demanded a "big girl present" for doing so .. so once Mommy figures out what that will be we'll box them up and take them over to the hospital.

We are so thankful that she's here ... that she has exceeded all expectations .. and that we have been given the privilege of watching her grow and witnessing who she will become. If the past is any indication ... look out world!

seriously?

I tell ya .. those folks in Arkansas certainly have their priorities straight.

Arkansas Ban



I am just LIVID that in this day and age .. hell, ANY age .. people think like this. I mean, first of all .. we live in a world full of war, rape, murder, child abuse, homelessness, poverty, blah blah blah .... but close minded people decide to focus their time and energy on this. Really?! This is worth your time? Who a person LOVES .. who a person creates a home with .. a future with .. a family with ... It's "those people" who you think we all need protection from?!

Second, a little experiment:
I know a couple of same sex couples who have adopted. One couple lives their life with their child in a way that should be the example that we all strive for. Absolutely amazing parents.
I also know a heterosexual couple who put their children through HELL when they divorced. These kids were so screwed up after being dragged through the process ... the lies, the manipulation, the he said / she said of it all... It was painful to witness.

Now I ask you ... are the women in couple number one great parents because they're gay?
Are the man and woman in couple number two poor excuses for parents because they're straight?

Well, of course not!
What difference does a person's sexuality make when it comes to providing a loving home to a child?! Even more .. a loving home to a child who has never known such a thing?

I'm SURE that every single person who stands behind that bill has gone out and adopted or fostered a child in need. It's certainly the CHILDREN they care about .. not just promoting their idiotic, backwoods ideology.
Surely.

It sickens me to think that one day my girls will reach an age where they recognize the hatred that exists in their world. However, it lifts me up to know that they will never understand it .. and will hopefully fight against it every step of the way.


(I'll update about the Birthday Girls soon .. I got sidetracked tonight)

Update tomorrow ...

I'm still recovering from the Birthday Party. Once my head clears I'll post more!

The Birthday Girls!



(FABULOUS shirts made by Stephanie of http://www.bellagraceboutique.com )

excuse the absence..

.. but I'm in birthday hell. I've been so busy planning the girls' third birthday that I've had no time to post. Yes, they turned THREE on August 20th. I'm beside myself. Where did my babies go? I was looking at pictures from their NICU days .. I struggle to remember just how small they are. A friend crocheted some adorable little hats for me to give to Laraleigh (who's little Julia might be coming today!) and I was holding them in my hand marveling at how tiny they are. LL's babe will be just under Reese's birth weight of 2.5 pounds, so the hats would have fit Reese perfectly. Sitting in my hand, it only took up the middle of my palm. How can a human head possibly be that small?! I remember the photo of Reese's hand holding onto David's finger. Her entire hand fit in between the middle creases of his finger. Crazy.
Posting a video of the girls opening a few of their presents .. they're very good at making you feel like you found the PERFECT gift. So funny.

Before I do ... please send Laraleigh some prayers today .. she may be leaking amniotic fluid which means that J Bird will taken by C Section today. Seeing as how the girls came and went through the preemie days so well, I have no doubt that this little babe is a fighter too (and if you know her older brother Mason, you know that spirit definitely runs in her blood!) and that she will go on to greatness.
Lots of strong baby / peaceful Momma vibes would be greatly appreciated today.

Cookin' up some fun

Kaelin has some mad salsa moves

Nothing says I love you like a good *thwomp* to the head

Yesterday the girls got into a huge fight.
Have you ever seen cats in cartoons fight? You know, just a big dust cloud going this way and that .. arms flailing, legs flying, hair clumps coming out... high pitched screaming...

Well, that's what it looked like.


It took me a minute to react because it just looked so funny. I had one of those moments where I wonder if I have time to run for the camera before any real damage is done.

The best part was getting out of them exactly what had started the fight.


~A little backstory ... the girls do this back and forth thing of, "I love you." ... "I love you too." ... "I love you bigger"
It just KILLS me every time I hear them do it b/c they came up with it on their own.
(I mean, seriously .. how cute is "I love you BIGGER"?!?!)~

Anyhoo ... apparently, the whole fight started because Kaelin thought she loved Reesey bigger ...
but Reese thought she loved Kaelin bigger.

Brilliant.

It was really hard to keep a straight face for that one.

Call of the wild.

Sassy kid + booby trapped rabbit = no sleep for Mommy.

Last night around 1am Kaelin started to cry. She's had a few bad dreams here and there recently ... "there's a spider in my crib!" .. "the ceiling fan is taking to me!" (ha) ... so I went in to calm her. I picked her up and cuddled a while, then she said she wanted to get back into her crib. I tucked her in, smothered her with kisses and started to leave.
"Mommy .. you stay here."
ugh. We all know Mommy is a complete sucker .. but I tried to wiggle out of it nonetheless.
"No .. Mommy is going to sleep in her bed .. I'll see you when its time to wake up okay?"
"Mommy ..... no. You stay here .. in my room."
"No babe .. you're fine .. just go to sleep."
Here's the kicker ....
She actually says, "Ummmmm ...." (obviously thinking of the one thing that would be sure to pull at Mommy's heart.)
again, "Ummmm .. I'm so scared in my room .. all by myself. You stay here?"
(insert cartoon sound effect of big pleading blue eyes blinking here)

Kaelin 1 .. Mommy 0.

In a last ditch attempt to escape I state the obvious, "I have no where to sleep K .. I'll have to sleep on the floor ... without a pillow."

She quickly bolts up .. grabs a large stuffed bunny ... and chucks it at my head. She then flops back down onto her nice cozy pillow and and curls up.

"Um .. is this supposed to be my pillow?"
(in her happy little sing song voice) "Yep! You lay down on it."
"This isn't a ....."
"Shhhhh .. I sleeping."
"Well, if you're sleeping, I can go back to my ..."
"Shhhh."

*sigh*

Kaelin 2 .. Mommy still 0.

Fine.
I try and get comfortable on the rabbit for a good thirty minutes. It's not happening. All the while I hear the sound of Kaelin sucking on her pacifier. I hear the tell tale rhythm of *suck suck suck ..... small pause. *suck suck .. longer pause. *suck ... silence.
I figure she's asleep .. I can sneak out. I decide before I go I'll forcefully stuff that darn rabbit under the crib for not working with me and my comfort in the slightest.
Bad move.
I had forgotten that we bought the rabbit at Build a Bear and when you squeeze it's arm it says, "I love you!" in a high pitched, almost taunting voice.
So .... as I am punishing the stuffed creature it sings out, "I love you! I love you!"

Then I hear .."heheheh"
It's as if she booby trapped the thing to prevent my escape.
(we'll see how smart that rabbit thinks it is as it's being stuffed in the trash ... who's laughing now bunny?!)
"Mommy .. you hold my hand"

Okay fine .. I know when I've been outsmarted (by a two year old and a stuffed rabbit)
I lay down on the floor and reach through the bars of the crib. Somehow I manage to fall asleep.

I wake up in pain. Horrid pain. It takes me a second to come out of the sleep coma ....
Am I on fire? Did one of the cats get bit by a rabbid raccoon, contract rabies, and is now gnawing off my arm? Was I shot??
I shake off the sleep.
My hand is asleep. Of course.
However, it's the fact that there's a tiny hand rhythmically squeezing life back into it that's causing the pain.
"Aieeeee! That hurts! Knock it off!"
again with the "heheheh"
"Mommy .. you wake up?"
"Yes .. I'm awake! My hand hurts. Why are you awake?"
"Mommy .. you go.'
"K .. you told me to stay .. I'm still half asleep .. I'll leave in the morning."
"No... you go now. You go out of my room."
"Are you kicking me out of your room?! After you made me sleep on the floor?!"
"Shhhh. You go."

eesh.

I leave .. I open the door to the master and see David and three cats sprawled across the bed. No room for me. I look at the clock. 6:25. Awesome.
I figure there's no point in fighting it. I get in the tub with a face mask and a magazine.

Kaelin 3 .. Mommy ........ 0.

It's 8:30 now .. no noise coming from the girls' room. So nice to know that Miss Sass is getting some good sleep. (does sarcasm come through in print?)

I'm so grounding that kid when she finally rolls her little Princess butt out of bed.

Stumbled across this last night...

July 13th, 2008

ETSY – Online Shopping The Handmade Way
by Stacie Haight Connerty



I have been a shopaholic for about as long as I can remember. When eBay came along, I was one of the first to register thus beginning what I am certain will a lifelong affair with online auctions and online shopping. In the past several years however it has gotten more and more expensive to shop online and I have begun looking for different alternatives for online shopping. I guess that you could say a place that supports the little person more than the big corporation.

Recently I met another mother at a playgroup and she said that she had her own business. I was intrigued, as I always am by any business owner especially so when the owner is both a woman and a mother. She said that she made boutique baby items and sold them online. I naturally assumed eBay but she said that it was someplace different. A site that I had never heard of before called Etsy.

As soon as I got home, I immediately Googled Etsy and found it right away. Etsy is self described as ‘Your place to buy & sell all things handmade.’ In essence, Etsy connects artists with buyers. Not art in the sense of a painting. Well, it could be a painting but it is also so much more. Further, Etsy is socially and environmentally conscious by “offering alternatives to mass produced objects.”

Etsy is the place to go for craftsmanship and originality. For all my fashion and gift needs, this is where I almost always go to first. You will find one-of-a-kind art, jewelry, paintings, clothing, housewares, accessories, candles, beauty products, linens and so much more. The place is amazing and what is more amazing is that these sellers made it all. You will not find mass-produced items on Etsy. You will find the stay-at-home mother who makes boutique baby bibs in her spare time (All of my friends get them from me when they have babies). The quality rivals that of the finest shops. A jewelry maker who makes bracelets and cocktail rings out of snakeskin that she purchased as a waste product (I have one of each and they are fabulous).

I often see clothing or accessories on the runway and then find them on Etsy. Perhaps a little cheaper than in the stores but the quality is so much better and I am supporting an artisan. I found a fabulous Maxi dress on Etsy which is one of my new summer staples. I paid $25 for the dress plus shipping. Every place that I wear it, people ask me where I got it. I scored a $30 wrap skirt that looks like it stepped off of the pages of Vogue.

Etsy has over 1 million registered members from across the world that have purchased more than $29.5 million so far in 2008 alone from about 185,000 sellers. Etsy has been mentioned in the media more than 90 times. I am always a big person on sharing especially when it comes to something that I feel is an amazing find. Even more so when the site is eco-friendly.

A quick mention for your aspiring young fashionistas at home, the one-of-kind item in the picture is available here and can be customized with your daughter’s name.


(A big thank you to Stacie Connerty!)

It seems that sometimes we forget ...

"If you reveal your secrets to the wind,
you should not blame the wind for revealing them to the trees.
~Kahlil Gibran, Sand and Foam

In high school cattiness and behind the back whispers were just par for the course. It's sad to realize that this mentality was not left back there where it belongs.
What you say in private always makes it back to the people you were talking about.... and if said people are your friends, in time you may find yourself with no one left in your corner.

Let's all grow up, hold our tongues, and stay true to one another.

Sugar High

Reese, 10 minutes after eating a handful of Raisinets. Whoops. I won't make that mistake again.

(for some reason, 2 min was uploaded .. the clip is only a few seconds long, so just pause it when it goes black. Working to fix that...)

For those of you who know of my maternal fears .. and make fun of them.

See?! Bears really COULD eat my children! Who's being overly dramatic now hmmm?!

(one of many signs we saw on the way to North Carolina)

Kaelin & her cousin, Janine

The Burdette Crew in NC

gah.

I canceled our service with ChemLawn when we returned from Hilton Head.
The conversation went like this:

"I want to cancel our service."

"I'm sorry to hear that .. may I ask why?"

"You're killing my kids."

"Uh .. wha .. um ........................ well, is there anything .. we can do... to change your mind?"

"Uh .. well .. you can stop trying to kill my kids."

"..................... Oh .. okay. I've canceled your service. Call us back if you change your mind."

Of course, in my head I'm thinking... When I change my mind? You mean when I'm ready for you to kill them?

brilliant.


Flash forward to today .. David comes downstairs and asks if I canceled the service.
Of course I did.
He then informs me that someone had just treated our lawn. Awesome. All three cats out .. walking all over it .. bringing the damn poison inside. Thank goodness he told me and I didn't take the girls out to play on it.

I'm livid.
LIVID
Some poor customer service rep is in for it tomorrow.


ETA: I just realized that they did the regular granular application PLUS an extra dose of the liquid. Awesome.
Here's what has been tracked into the house...
(click on image to enlarge)

hold me

The girls and I went shopping at The Forum. While we were there we stopped into a place that specializes in kids' haircuts. It was super cheesy, but the second we stepped in, Kaelin exclaimed, "I get a haircut today!" Hard to argue with enthusiasm like that. I have dreaded this day ... the baby hair being chopped off. All I could think of as the stylist brought the scissors out was that the hair being cut is the hair that I kissed when the girls were in the NICU for all those weeks. uuuuugh.
I overacted my little heart out feigning excitement and pride the whole way though. If someone had caught my act on film, surely I could have submitted my name to the Oscar committee for consideration.
The girls were great... smiled and giggled almost the whole way through. They wouldn't be my kids if there weren't moments of raised eyebrows .. seemingly wondering if this woman really knew what she was doing. They got over those moments quickly and decided that she wouldn't leave them looking like complete fools.
In the end they were strutting all over the place like supermodels. We're talking serious attitude. The stylist put little stick on earrings on them too .. which only added to the "look at me .. I'm fabulous" demeanor they were sporting. eesh.

Kaelin starts to wonder about the stylist's ability

She decides she's not so bad after all ..

Very excited that another Mom told her she looked like a Princess

Checking herself out

Reese's turn in the chair

Her turn to question the expertise of the stylist too

She kept sucking in her cheeks trying not to smile (guessing that was her way of saving face if the cut turned out horrible)

Happy with the results



The Strut