I've been doing some reflecting lately.  The topic of careers past and present has come up on a site I belong to.  It's no secret on this page that I have no clue what the hell I'm going to do once the kiddos start school.  However, this site has sorta forced me into the past.  I don't like to dwell there.  The past is just that...the past.  I do like to visit every once and a while.  Anyway, the subject of theatre came up.  I miss it.  I miss it a lot.  When the kids and I are playing we listen to Pandora radio on line.  I have my Quick Mix on Pandora set with a lot of Musical Theatre music.  When songs I love come on, it's very difficult to not drop everything and just start singing... in fact, many times that happens and we have a little dance break.  There are days I wish, no, long, to be back on stage.  I am totally jealous of those that are there.  Sure, there is the possibility that I will go back, but it won't be in the same capacity.  My life focus has changed drastically over the last four years.  I love that it has changed.  I expected it to change.  It doesn't mean that I don't miss it.  Has it changed who I am?  Maybe.  But I love the person that I have become.  It was part of what used to define me, and in that aspect, I guess it makes sense that it feels like a part of me is missing.  But I move on.

Jerry and I were talking about his goals.  He had planned on pursuing a PhD in Physics after UNCW.  And now... will it happen?  Probably not.  Maybe if we win the lottery.  But does it make him less of a person?  Not in my eyes.  Not in our kids' eyes.  Are there moments of jealousy of former classmates that are doing what he thought he would be doing?  Possibly.  But he is here. Now. For us.  What we have is what makes it all worth it.  There is always the want for more... more money, more education, more space.  But we live.  We are healthy.  Our children are healthy.  We are able to pay our bills.  We have a roof over our heads.  We have a world of possibilities in front of us. 

Having to settle seems to be a fact of life.  But I'm happy with settling.  I was recently going through my baby book.  There was a page in it that I filled out.  It pretty much asked some silly questions.  But the last one was what did I want to be when I grew up: a mom.  So I guess that I am fulfilling my own prophecy.  And in all honesty, I wasn't putting as much effort into the acting as I could have.  But it doesn't mean I don't miss it.  It doesn't mean that I wish I could ignore my kids at night and go to rehearsals and sing and dance and play and let someone else take care of them during the day.  BUT, I couldn't do that.

So I will settle living vicariously through friends, Pandora, dreams, and movies.  I am content to dream.  Because in the grand scheme of things, what I have now is priceless.  My dreams are in the making and I am living them right now.

"Got no silver, got no gold, what I got can't be bought or sold.  I got the sun in the morning and the moon at night!" --Annie Get Your Gun

            then                                                       now

but satisfaction brought him back right?  I hope the same is true for little boys.  Elijah has entered the question stage.  This is all well and good, I really try to encourage questions asked and finding answers... but there really should be a limited on questions asked before 9 in the morning! 

It's actually all good.  Here is a sampling of the questions we have been getting lately:

• What's that?  (pointing to random things... most frustrating is while in the car and I can't see what he's pointing to... the question increases in volume and intensity until I, thinking my head is going to explode risk the lives of myself and our children to see what the hell he is pointing to only to find that whatever he was pointing to is gone since he started pointing to it 5 minutes ago.)
• What's that train/plane/truck/car/bird/bug/tree (you get the idea) does? (Yes, the grammar is bad, I try to restate the question correctly, but he doesn't get it...yet... sigh, this question seems to be easy right?  Not so much.  I have tried saying the following, "What do you think it does?" (response: I don't know mommy, what it does?) "It takes people places." (response: WHERE?) and finally, "I don't know!" (response: why you not know mommy...) sigh... also, Air Force One does touch and go practice once a month here.  I made the mistake of telling Elijah that it was Barack Obama's plane, so through in the mix of this, "Mommy is that Orock Omama's plane?" "Yes it is." "Where he going?"  lather, rinse, repeat....)
• Why? (I ask myself this question often... At least, thus far (KNOCK ON WOOD) it is usually just one why, I try really hard to come up with good answers as to nip the 9835769 whys in the bud, but we'll see...)
• Where does steam/smoke/rain/thunder/lightening come from? (again, try to answer as best I can... have had the Why question follow these...)
• Will you/Gracie/Dadoo play with me?  (I love this question, because he really just wants you to sit on the floor with him.  But he comes up with the best stories during his playing.  You will get dressed up as a fire boy or ride in a plane or build a dumping trash garage, but it's totally worth it!  Grace ends up getting distracted within a few minutes.  He will also ask me if others can play with him.  I tell him it's not up to me.  He needs to ask that person.  This is probably my favorite question.)

This stage is definitely keeping me on my toes, but I love that he gets it and remembers things we tell him/he sees.  At the same time, it makes me a little sad.  He's growing up (literally and figuratively) SO quick.  He really has only been speaking understandable sentences for a year.  It's CRAZY!  Sigh... My little guy...

my folks left yesterday morning.  They arrived last Sunday for a visit.  It was a quick adjustment to come home from vacation then to dive into hostess, but my folks stayed at a hotel this visit and this allowed for a little more downtime in the evening and waking up time in the morning.  Unfortunately, the weather wasn't as nice as it could have been, but it's all good.  We hung around the house on Monday.  Tuesday we had soccer, so mom and dad played with Elijah and Grace for the morning.  Right before we left for soccer mom and I went to get the right sized bolts for the baby bike seat.  Wednesday was a HUGE day.  Elijah had his first dentist appointment.  I was very nervous since he would NOT open his mouth for the doctor at his 3 year old well child check.  I also thought that they would simply look at his teeth and count them and make sure everything was okay.  HE DID GREAT!   I was SO proud!!  I seriously almost cried! not only did he let them look at his teeth, he let them polish them, and floss them!  We decided to just bring him to our dentist instead of a pediatric dentist because of insurance and convenience.  They said that if there were any problems then they would refer us to a pediatric dentist, but his teeth were perfect!  He got to choose two toys from the treasure chest and got a new toothbrush.  My folks then took him down to a local cafe while I had my teeth cleaned.  Turns out that I had a cavity.  But the scheduled me in for 8 the next morning.  So Thursday I went in and had the filling, then I went to the cafe until about 9:15.  At 9:30 I had an appointment to tour the preschool where we may send Elijah.  We are looking for a year from August.  But I want to start looking now so we can start putting money in Jerry's flex spending account at work.  This one is in a church about 10 minutes from our house.  It's 9-12 (or 1 if we pay an extra fee per month) 5 days a week.  Our biggest thing is to get him comfy around teachers and other peers.  They do a lot of learning through play which is a big deal for us.  I'm excited for him, and a little sad since it means my little guy is growing up. Thursday was also our 9th anniversary! Friday morning was spent at the beach.  Mostly because it was the first day that it wasn't freezing cold or raining.  My daughter has no fear!  This child LOVES the water.  We had to bring her out after about 10 minutes because it wasn't THAT warm yet, but she was fascinated.   And her confidence wore off on Elijah a little bit.  He came into the water as well.  I decided, though, that it would be really hard to take them together on my own.  So it will be a rare day that we go by ourselves.  Not that the beach is that fun without at least another adult.  So we got back, ate lunch, and I sent the kiddos off to nap while I got ready for an actual DATE!  Jerry and I went ot see Angels and Demons while mom and dad took the kiddos to a local free family concert.  We met up afterward for dinner and ice cream.  Elijah did not fall asleep until 10:00!!!  And then woke up at 6:45 on Saturday...WTF?  SO anyway, with grouchy toddler in tow we met mom and dad for breakfast before they hit the road.  I got my lawn mowed.  Dad weed whacked my back yard.  I ALMOST have the pool rid of algae.  Overall life is good.  We have ordered a new mower, an electric one with a cord.  I love our reel mower, but it's already getting SO hot...so this is another option.  I really wanted a battery powered one, but the one I want is REALLY expensive, so this is something that we know how to use and it will be easier than the reel mower and still low emissions.  So hopefully it will all be good!  Our garden is looking better.  It rained so much that all the nutrients in the soil washed out, so we fertilized and sprayed the worm poop on there a few times and it's looking much better.  I'll get pics soon!  okay... I'm going to go enjoy the fact that Jerry has an extra day off this weekend and watch a totally brain candy movie!!!

I wrote a huge entry about Grace's Well Child Check Up, but stupid Windows Live Writer froze and it got lost in cyber world... sooo the gist:

Grace weighs in at 20 pounds (25-50%), is 29.5 inches tall (75%), and I can never remember her head size, but it's in the 50%.  She is all around well.  She does have low iron so we are on a Multi-vitamin with iron for her.  Her eczema is really bad, so we (after lots of talking!) broke down and got her a steroid creme.  I now feel like a total jerk for not getting it for her six months ago.  Overnight her eczema is gone.  We can only use it 5-7 days at a time and then have to take her off it for 4-5 days, but keep her lathered in the thickest lotion one has ever seen.  So far, GREAT!  So, I've made peace with it.  Two days after her appointment Grace took many independent steps, while on the ferry on vacation, she took off!  She is officially a walker now!

Okay VACATION!!!! WAHOO!!  (This is a REALLY long entry...but it's our whole vacation...so sorry in advance!)

We went to the Outer Banks hanging out in Kitty Hawk, to be more specific.  Here's how our week went (I will add an album of our week shortly!):

Saturday:  Got up bright and early to be on the road by 7:00 a.m.  We had to be at the ferry gate by 10:00 and made it there by 9:52.  Luckily we had pre-ordered our ticket as the ferry was full and if you didn't have a ticket, you were out of luck... or at least stuck waiting for the next ferry 3 hours away!  Elijah thought the ferry was the cat's meow and we spent the 2.5 hours wandering around talking about how the waves were generated, what a life buoy was, and why channel markers are VERY important!  We also saw a bunch of HUGE jelly fish (to which he informed me that it was okay, because the turtles will eat them...thanks Diego!) and some dolphins.  Grace found her sea legs and loved wandering around in the air conditioned part of the boat.  Afterward walking so much, Jerry and Grace took a nap in the car while Elijah and I explored the ferry yet some more!  Once we got off the first ferry, we raced to the next one.  This one was only 30 minutes.  So we hung out in the car.  Then it was a 1.5 hour drive to Kitty Hawk.  After unloading the car, Elijah, Grace, and I went to the pool and the playground on the grounds while Jerry went grocery shopping.

Sunday: We lazed around and explored the grounds a little more.  We went to the main rec area and checked e-mail and played around.  After lunch and a nap, we went to the beach for some afternoon playing.  Elijah got to stay up a little later and watch Finding Nemo (thanks for the movies Kristie!!!)

Monday: It was rainy and chilly.  So we decided to hit the aquarium.  Elijah was excited to see the "diving boys" in the tank and when we arrived we rushed to the big tank.  The question/answer time with the divers was over, which actually worked in our favor.  All the big groups were gone, but the divers were still in the tank cleaning.  So we got a front row seat to see the divers and the HUGE sharks.  I'm not sure you could pay me enough to be in there with those sharks.  Obviously the sharks knew what it was all about, they seemingly would swim by where all the people were standing and SMILE, showing off all 8703245 teeth they have!  My kids were FACINATED!  They loved it.  So after the divers finished cleaning, we went back to see all we had missed.  It was a good day.  Elijah and Grace were awesome!  So we stopped by the gift shop and Elijah got a souvenir of a truck with sharks on it!  cost: $23

Tuesday: The rain was gone, the sun was out and the temp was perfect at 67.  We hit the Roanoke Island Festival Park.  This is by far the best day we had!  This park has a replica of the Elizabeth II ship.  Complete with actors in New World garb and speaking in Old English-ish style.  This is all well and good, but I always don't know how to react...  Anyway, we had a nice visit with the boat, but that wasn't the end of it!  We walked a little way down a forest path and into an English settlement with tents and a blacksmith.  We were given a tour of the tents and then got penny nails made for us from the apprentice black smith.  (Fun fact: 100 nails cost a penny then...sounds cheap... not so much... one penny then is worth 100 DOLLARS today.  So nails were only used to hang doors.)  So THEN we walk up the trail a little more and there is a GREAT hands on museum.  We were greeted here by a museum worker who was thought that Elijah pretending to be a puppy was cute and totally played along.  She guided us through the whole museum, personally.  This museum ROCKED!  There were dress up clothes, boats to climb on, tents to walk through, a pirate that told funny stories from his ship, a general store, and a house.  There were interesting things for the parents to read and no one was saying, "NO DON'T TOUCH THAT!!!"  In fact, there were little hand prints and foot prints that led through the museum for kids to follow and to know that it was indeed ENCOURAGED to put their little grubby paws on things!  THEN we went out to a fossil digging area where you are encouraged to dig and sort through dirt to find sharks teeth and other various things.  Apparently there was even more to see, but we had to get the kiddos fed and napped.  The pass is good for two days and next time we will go back the second day for sure!  It was worth every penny!  cost: $16 (kids under 5 are FREE!!!) 

Wednesday: Again, the weather was sunny and warm.  So we packed the kids up and headed up the coast to Corolla to the Currituck Lighthouse.  After a brief screw up in directions from yours truly we arrived at the lighthouse.  Elijah and I decided to climb to the top.  All well and good in thought... not so much in reality.  First, I forget how much I really don't like places that are high up.  Secondly, I had a 3 year old to worry about in addition, which was rather nerve wracking.  Walking up the stairs you can see through to below.  There is a space in between each stair and I was left wondering if it was indeed big enough for Elijah to slip through and down many stories... It didn't help that it goes around and around, making me not only wary of the height, but also rather dizzy.  But it was fine.  Elijah was GREAT going up.  He climbed all on his own (mostly with me holding onto his hand.)  We stopped at each landing that had a window and looked out.  When we got to the top we waved to Jerry and Grace.  Then we walked around the top.  Elijah was excited and wanted to stand on the bottom railing.  This left me wondering why the hell there was no plexiglass covering the whole top of the lighthouse.  So, of course, when I tried to pull him back, he had a massive breakdown.  I explained that it was very dangerous to be that close to the edge and it made mommy VERY nervous.  He then decided it was time to go back down and I was more than willing to oblige.  Of course, we had to wait for 5 of the slowest people in the world to finish climbing (there is really no room to pass at the top.)  Then it was down the lighthouse for us.  This started out okay and then Elijah realized that he could see all the way to the bottom and FREAKED out!  He got scared.  He wanted me to carry him.  My legs were already sore from climbing the 8 million stairs to the top, no way was I going to carry him all the way down.  So we stopped on a landing and I hugged him and reassured him that it was fine and I would hold his hand.  What tickled me was what got him to agree to walk down.  I told him we could count the stairs in between each landing.  This seemed like a great idea to him and he made it all the way to the next to the last landing, where he suddenly declared (very loudly) that he had to pee!  Screw the tired legs, I scooped him up, waited for some dazed looking children to hurry the hell up the stairs and ran him down the stairs, stopping only to pick up a sticker that said we climbed to the top, and ran him to the bathroom, where he peed in the toilet without incident!  We then walked back to Jerry and Grace and I went in to the gift shop and got a little snow globe for Elijah.  I was very proud of him!  We took a stroll out to the sound and then headed for some food and back to the condo for some naps.  cost: $12 (including admission to the lighthouse and souvenir)

Thursday: Warm, sunny, and WINDY!  We headed to the Wright Brother Memorial.  I have to say, that this is not a great place to take kids.  Well, I shouldn't say that...it's not a great museum to take kids.  Elijah wanted to see the big plane.  They were giving a lecture where the big plane was... we had to leave the area, Elijah broke down.  BUT I got him excited by (foolishly) coercing him into a race to the top of the monument.  So, once he agreed, I had to actually do it!  SO, Elijah and I raced to the top of the monument.  I am still feeling the soreness in my thighs from the lighthouse climb and the shin splints from running up a big-ass hill...sigh... Anyway, it was fun.  Even more windy at the top.  But great view.  After hanging out up there for a bit (read, catching my breath) we RAN down the hill to meet Jerry and Grace at the airplane sculpture.  This is where you should go if you bring children here.  The kids can climb on the plane and hang on the figure and all around get all the sillies out.  In fact, had I known it was back there, we may have forgone the museum all together.  Though there are some interesting things in there and SOME hands on stuff, but not a lot.  So the day redeemed itself at the end.  cost: $14 (including a 7 day pass to the park (wish we had known this beforehand as well.  We would have gotten it at the beginning of the week and gone a couple more times for the kids to play) and a souvenir.)

Friday: This was our last day on the islands.  What better way to spend the day than climbing up Jockey's Ridge.  The climb is tedious and there is no easy way to get up on top.  Don't be fooled.  But I think it's worth it.  You climb up these huge dunes and really see how thin these islands are.  From the top you can see the sound and the beach.  And regardless that there were three school groups there, you can completely feel very isolated.   We took some sand toys up.  This is where people hang glide as well.  We happened to be there on the first day of a hang gliding festival.  Unfortunately, Elijah got antsy so we only got to see some practice flights as they tested where the best take off place would be.  Some of the high schoolers that were there were sliding down the dunes.  Elijah wanted to slide down SO much.  So I thought, what the heck.  I walked down in front of him and since he didn't have anything to slide down on except for his tush, he scootched down the whole way.  But he thought he was something else!  He smiled the whole time and laughed!  So it was good.  At the bottom, he wanted to go back and do it again, but with bribes of going to the beach, he left willingly enough.  cost: free!

Saturday: Our trip home was uneventful (thankfully!)  We drove all the way back and for this I'm thankful.  1) it is really hard to schedule the long ferry ride.  If you don't make it you are stuck for 3 hours and that's saying the next ferry isn't booked.  You can only get on and off of Okracoke Island by boat.  2) it was raining and rough water...not so much for Erin.  So we drove.  It's only about 5 hours, but that's a bit of a trip with kids and only a few rest stops.  Nevertheless, it was fine.  Elijah entertained us the last leg of the trip with made up songs about: bedtime, bears, a twinkle twinkle little star remix, good and bad dinosaurs, mama and dadu raccons, peeing and pooping.  He also made up some stories that he "read" from some construction paper that he had in his little pack (can I just say this was a handy little investment and I filled it with things for him to do including: coloring books, chalk, crayons, dry erase markers, books, lacing cards, and toys!  Got one for Grace too!) 

Overall VERY good vacation.  Busy, but you have to be with kids or they get bored and then you go crazy.  We also utilized the resort's indoor pool a few times, as well as their video rentals.  The costs I included did not included the MANY times we ate out, but I thought that we did A LOT of stuff for not a lot of money!  Best kind of vacation!!

We had cake!

and more cake...

and more cake

and played

and ate

All surrounded by friends!  It was really windy, but warm.  Overall a pretty darn good birthday!!

One year ago today we held you for the first time and were overwhelmed with how lucky we were to have such a perfect baby girl!  On year later you:

• are trying to walk
• are learning new words
• are playing with Elijah
• will play independently
• love to dance
• can climb
• are sneaky
• smile easily
• love to cuddle
• still have eczema
• are night weaned
• love broccoli
• love chicken
• refused to every eat baby food
• can drink from a straw
• have a few signs down pat
• is very tolerant of Elijah's games where you are the dog...

Grace and I have had our first argument.  It went like this:

me: Look Grace, it's a plane.

Grace: bird?

me: Well, it flies like a bird, but it's a plane.

Grace: bird.

me: It's a plane sweetie.

Grace: Bird!

me: It's a plane.

Grace: BIRD!

I'm pretty sure that I lost.  Of course, she was riding in the car with Jerry and said, "plane."  (punk!)

Anyway, Happy Birthday Baby Girl!  I hope that you are as happy with us!  We sure love you!!!
  

Dear Clover,

You are very soft under foot.  You also have non-annoying flowers... However, you attract bees.  And while this is not a bad thing... it IS inside the fence in our back yard.  See, while your softness is much nicer on our feet than scratchy grass, a bee sting to one of the kids might send me packing to Alaska (not really, because they have very little sun there in the winter and too much in the summer...but you get my drift.)  Therefore, I'm sorry, but I'm cutting you down.

Sincerely,

Erin

Dear Bees,

I know that you are in peril.  I am a BIG fan, believe me.  BUT, you tend to scare my kids, and let's be honest, me.  And I know they scare you too.  I really am sorry that our house has invaded your area.  And you are most free to buzz and pollinate OUTSIDE the fence, but I am cutting the clover down and composting the remains.  Please vacate the premise immediately.

Sincerely,

Erin

Dear Ants,

There is a perfectly good ditch not very far away that you can move too.  Our backyard has lots of little feet running through.  Leave now.  Please. This is your only warning.  I suggest you vacate immediately or you will be behold the wrath.

Thanks,

Erin

Dear Reel Mower,

I know that you are environmental.  I really like that our grass looks much better when we use you.  I like that you don't scare the kids.  I like that you don't pollute their little lungs.  But come July, you may be retired for a battery powered alternative.  But we'll see.  You were very helpful today and we did get the WHOLE lawn mowed...  Just wanted to give you a heads up.  We still love you... but it's hot out there...

Love,

Erin

Dear Spiders,

GET. OUT.  GET. OUT. NOW.

Erin

Dear Dandelions,

I admire your ability to adapt.  I cut you down, you simply grow back shorter.  It's really rather spectacular.  I have decided I don't really mind you.  Please just don't attract the bees, or I shall have to send you a letter similar to the one addressed to the clover (see attached.)

Thanks!

Erin

Dear Summer,

We are looking forward to you!  We are ready to have fun!  Bring it on!!!!!

Lots of Love,

Erin

Over the past year I have made a couple of very good friends.  Kristie and Katie.  We started hanging out due to some unpleasantness that happened over a year ago.  This past summer we instigated Wednesday Friendsday.  We have been hanging out almost every Wednesday.  I feel very much that I am surrounded by kindred spirits with them. 

A few weeks ago Katie's husband played for Wilmington's Country Idol.  While he is not a country singer, he is a talented singer and you do what you gotta do in the biz.  Anyway, we all went to support him.  I left my house after dark, for the first time...well, in a REALLY long time!  And I didn't get home until midnight.  It was insane!  But a lot of fun!

Then a week after that, Kristie's husband got stuck in NY due to really bad weather.  Kristie's little guy had not been napping and she was missing her hubby, so Katie and I showed up and hung out, drank some wine, sang some karaoke (not well!) and ate junk food until one in the morning!

My point is, that there are not many that I would do this happily for!  These women are the best!  We don't always agree on everything.  And that's okay.  I don't feel like I have to prove myself to them.

Last summer, when we really started the Wednesday Friendsday, we were rearranging our schedules to be able to hang out.  We were laughing one day that people were going to start thinking that we were a couple.  But a couple is only two people... so we became... the few!   I have to admit, almost every friendship I have been in has suffered if there are not an even number of people in the group.  The only time I have been GOOD friends with just two other women was in college.  This is not to say that I didn't have other friends.  But the three of us hung out a lot.  This is only the second time that I have been GOOD friends with two females together and it work.  Does that make sense?  For me, threes just haven't worked out.  Someone gets left out.  Feelings get hurt.  Sure Katie and I hang out with out Kristie.  Kristie and Katie hang out without me.  Kristie and I hang out without Katie.  Everything is fine.  None of us is threatened.  It's what I love about us!

And, who knows.  Maybe it's about growing up and growing older and getting over yourself.  But I don't know. 

I still don't plan anything on Thursdays for that playgroup.  And I love the women in that group as well.  It's just a different dynamic.  It's a bigger group.  It's a different comfort.  Wednesday Friendsday is small.  I like that there is a difference and a balance.

I think it's important in life to learn who your true friends are.  I think it's important to put faith and trust in them. 

I don't have a ton of friends, but the ones I do are the ones I care for and about.  I put energy into friendships.  And with these women, I feel the energy come back "few" fold!

Today it was 86 degrees.  Not kidding... 86 degrees!!!  Holy monkey!  It was hot!

We had a great time at the Bearth Day Party.  I only took 4 pics and three were of the cake!  I can't believe it!  But hopefully, Kristie & Co. got more and she'll share.  Anyway, here are a couple I took!

We are the few (to be explained in a later post!)

This is the cake...well, cakes... My friend Jenn made the sheet cakes.  There were FOUR different flavors.  I made the rice krispie treat Earth (with fruit roll up continents.)  It had some earthquake issues with the humidity, but hey... it's all about taste right?

Friday I realized that the heat was coming and we have no pool... sigh... so the kids and I went out and got one:

It's HUGE!  Has a pump and everything!  Pretty exciting thing! Of course, Elijah is completely scared of it... Alas, this too shall pass....probably tomorrow!

Our garden is starting to come along.  I realized that I planted the spinach WAY to late, so I hoed it under and planted cucumbers in its place.  Our okra, green beans, and carrots are coming up.  And our peas are going hog wild!  We will fill the second garden tomorrow and I will plant tomatoes, green peppers, corn, and squash.  WAHOO! 

We went strawberry picking on Wednesday.  While there I purchased 2 new blueberry bushes that were already loaded with blueberries, albeit green, but they will turn blue.  Planted them on Friday near our other two.  I'm hoping to have some yummy blueberries when we get back from vacation.

We have been spending lots of time outside.  I think that one of the best purchases we have made is the swing set!  The kids love it!  Elijah climbs all over it and it expands his imagination...not to mention improves his already great balance!  Grace LOVES to swing.  This child is crazy about going high.  She'll giggle and laugh.  My only wish is that we had more shade in the morning.  The swings and the slide can get rather hot.  But for the afternoon, it's perfectly in the shade!  I moved the little picnic table (which Grace has decided is her Everest and climbs EVERY chance she gets...sigh) over near the swing set so we can have snacks and drinks right there.  It's close to perfect!

And finally... a sign that summer is indeed on the way?  ICE POPS!!!  I love a good ice pop.  Be it the ones you buy in the store that are really just frozen kool-aid or homemade from juice...you just can't beat it on a hot day!  I like to make them out of V8 Fusion.  It's 100% juice and it have veggies and fruit and comes in yummy, perfect for ice pops flavors.  The kids LOVE them too!!!

So here's to summer... bring it on!!!

So yesterday was my 33rd birthday.  We celebrated over the weekend.  Jerry got me family portraits as my birthday present.  I'm really happy with them.  We got the kid's portraits done as well and they also turned out really well.  My actual birthday was okay.  I hung with grouchy kids, went to Costco, and went to the park in the afternoon to hang with Kristie and co.  Kristie's birthday is tomorrow and we are having a joint Bearthday party this weekend to celebrate Earth Day and our birthdays.  I think it will be fun.  Thus far there are about 80+ people coming.  I'm making a rice krispie treat earth and my friend Jenn is making a sheet cake for the earth to sit on.  We will have a craft for the kiddos.  It's at a park, so there will be a playground for the kids to play on and a field for games and whatnot.  We are having a freecycle table for people to give/take what they want to get rid of/find to take home.

Okay on to the review:

This year has been a good one.  I had Grace.  And while we didn't go on a summer vacation, we did get to spend a week in the mountains and celebrate 10 years with friends from WWC.  I feel like I have learned to stop being concerned (as much) about what other people think of me/my parenting.  I have tried to get a thicker skin and not let my feelings get hurt so easy.  I have gone through the emotions of a new mom and learned to try not to let guilt get the best of me.  I have kicked myself for having two kids so close together in age and then turned around and found something like this:

  and realize I wouldn't want to have it any other way.  With the help of Jerry I potty trained Elijah and am SO glad...now onto night training!  I have learned to split my time between the kiddos.  I have found myself becoming more domestic-ish... in cooking and attempting to clean more.  I have found that my heart can indeed hold even more love than I thought.  I have supported Jerry through leaving an undesirable job to one that is MUCH more enjoyable.   I have gained a lot of perspective on what makes a true friend and have vowed to put forth more energy on friendships that will hopefully last, as for the others...I will definitely put the energy out there, but am not going to lose sleep over them.   I definitely get a kick out of the kids.  They are hilarious.  I will not feel bad that Elijah isn't in school, or that he doesn't know every color in the 64 count crayon box, or can't count to 10 without skipping a few number, or doesn't know his ABCs from rote memory.  I will take comfort in the fact that my children are happy, laugh easily, have fantastic imaginations, can make up incredible stories, love to play outside, love to pile up on Jerry and me, will sit and listen to stories, then make up their own (well Elijah does...Grace doesn't have enough words yet!) get along with their friends and show genuine concern for them, love to bake cookies, love to make mud pies, love to paint, love to play soccer.  I take comfort that I am a good mother.  This year has taught me that I can handle many things.  That my patience is VERY STRONG, but has a tendency to falter when there have been too many "NOOOOOO!!!!"'s   That I can run after my kids.  That my energy level is dependant on the attitudes of the kids.  I am continuously amazed by Jerry and his willingness to come home after a 8+ hour work day and chill with the kids.  That he will stay up with Grace and her itchiness.  That he will, without (to much) complaint watch over us and endure a horrid job in order to provide for us and make sure we are fed, have insurance, a roof over our heads, and a car to drive. (Now that he's in this new job, we joke that we don't have that much to talk about over dinner anymore!)  I am amazed that he puts up with me and my (occasional) insanity.  Though I shouldn't be.  We will have been married for 9 years next month.  It shouldn't phase me that I got such a GREAT husband.  It shouldn't phase me that he is such a phenomenal dad...but it does.  Maybe this year I will work on being okay with having all this... and feeling like I do deserve it!!

So that's it... for now... another year is starting for me and I think it will be just as good... if not better!

From the Jones' Easter Bunnies!

So my folks came in last Monday and then left on Saturday morning.  It was not long enough!  The weather limited us a bit as well.  We also decided not to build a deck...at all.  We may do some of these over the existing concrete and possibly under a gazebo/canopy thingy.   We'll see.  We found a decent deal on them on an e-bay store.

Anyway, my folks... We went to the big ship that's docked downtown and then to soccer class on Tuesday:

on the boat                                                         the boat                                                       soccer class (coach J)

On Wednesday we went to the spin-y park.  I really like this park.  There are lots of spinning toys, which make me a little sick to my stomach, but the kids like them.  There is also a good walking path around the water shed.  I will say that this park will be a late fall/winter/early spring park because the mosquitoes will be insane soon.  But it's still a good park.  Jerry took half a day and we wandered around Lowe's and Target ALONE....sans children... we had an actual conversation!

On Thursday we went to a local indoor play place.   Since the weather was starting to become rainy it's nice to go somewhere that's inside.  We don't go there often in the winter due to cold and flu season, but I really enjoy it in the spring and when it's 973249570 degrees outside.  (On a side note, there is a great Children's Museum here.  We hadn't gone until the had a free day there a few weeks back.  They charge for anyone (including parents) over the age of 1 and it's 8 bucks a pop.  So, it will be a special treat.  But we are thinking about getting a membership there.  I think it will be worth it once Grace is one...in 1 month!!!!  HOLY MONKEY!!!)  So anyway... Thursday...

Friday Jerry and I got to go on a date!!!  We went to see Duplicity.  I really liked it.  I thought the storyline moved and was fun.  It was, again, nice to get out without the kiddos!

Mom and dad brought my bike down so that I can ride with Elijah.  This weekend we got a seat for Grace and a helmet for her as well.  I haven't installed it yet, but once I do, I think it will be fun to throw the bikes on the back of the car and ride at a park.

Yesterday we went to the park with Kristie&co. and Katie&co.  Usually we have Wednesday Friendsday, but it's supposed to rain (AGAIN) tomorrow, so we played on Monday.  Today a couple friends came over for a tie dye play date.  After they left, I had some dye left over, so I dyed Grace's diaper covers.  Lately we haven't been using cloth because Grace's bottom breaks out when there is the slightest moisture.  I think that this has a lot to do with her eczema, which is flaring up from the stupid pollen that is EVERYWHERE... nevertheless, I'm hoping to give it another try in a couple weeks.  I hope the wraps turn out super cute!

On the topic of Grace:  She'll be 11 months tomorrow and I simply cannot believe it.  I have sent out the e-vites for her birthday party.  We're having a potluck in the back yard!  She is walking with her walker now.  She LOVES music and dances often (Jerry taught her the fist pump and it's pretty funny to watch her do it.)  She has four teeth.  She REFUSES to be fed and will NOT eat baby food.  She wants real food or nothing.  She loves broccoli, peas, corn, pasta, chicken, rice cakes, apples, and pizza crust.  She is drinking from a sippy cup and is mostly night weaned.  She starts out the night in her bed which is in the same room as Elijah.  He has adapted very well to this arrangement and sleeps through her waking.  She is fairly laid back and is quite chatty. 

Tomorrow evening, I am getting to go out with the girls!  My friend Katie's husband is entering a local singing contest so we are going out to show our support!  WAHOO!

Okay... I think this is it for now. I leave you with my two favorite pics from the past week!

We're home!  We had a GREAT time!  I wish we could have stayed for longer, ah well...next time!  I gotta say that this was one of the nicest places we have stayed.  There were two indoor water parks.  We were right on the beach (though it was rather cold...but ya know!)  There are restaurants on site, so you don't HAVE to leave...and we only did once.  Everyone that works there was SUPER nice!  I do have to say that I cannot imagine being there at peak season.  I don't know how booked they were, but it was fairly crowded...not so much that it was bothersome, but if they were at full capacity, I don't think it would have been as fun.  The kids had a blast in the water.  I posted some pics in the February album ( had more but apparently there is some mystery error so a bunch didn't uload...whatever...)  I wish we had brought the camera the second day, but on our way out Elijah's hand got caught in the door and we got sidetracked.  The second day we went to the second park.  There was a lazy river and smaller slides that allowed tandem sliding.  Elijah actually went down with me twice...but that enough for him.  The other water park is cool too.  It was in our tower, so a little closer.  It had a submarine that had water features all around it, and I think that was Elijah's favorite thing.  Grace LOVED the water.  A friend of ours lent us a little float for her and her little legs just kicked and kicked under there.  It cracked me up!  She was just happy as a little clam hanging in that and watching everything!  The two bedroom unit was the way to go.  We tried the kiddos in the same room and it worked really well.  I slept in their room and Jerry slept in the big master bed.  When Elijah would wake up and want to sleep with me, I transferred Grace to Jerry.  But they slept well together in one room.  Elijah even slept through Grace crying when she woke up.  That was my biggest thing about transferring her into her own bed in their bedroom.  So I think we will start that transition soon.  This morning we got up and went for one last play in the water before check out at 11.  We got back to the room by 10 and changed clothes and went to load stuff up.  We had to wait a while for an elevator down and then decided to just carry our stuff across the road to the parking deck instead of trying to fight the insane check out traffic.  If we had expendable income, I seriously think we would consider getting a time share at this place.  Even if we were there at a warmer, more crowded time, we could walk just about anywhere anyway!  There's also a new bypass (or maybe it's not new...but whatever) that made getting to this place super easy (we did it in just over one and a half hours.)  On our way home we stopped at the outlet mall for lunch and went into Old Navy.  They were having a huge clearance sale so we walked out with a bunch of new clothes!  Now we're home and (sorta) ready for another week!

Today we took Elijah for his 3 year well child check.  While a little late, we wanted to wait until we had our new insurance...which is nice because well child checks are free on our insurance (well, no copay anyway!)

So here are the stats: He's 36.6 pounds which is the 90% for his age.  And he's 40.5 inches tall which is 97% for his age.  He is roughly the size of a 4.5 year old!!  He grew 5 pounds and 4.5 inches in one year!  The doctor was impressed that he grew that much.  Though he doesn't think I'll have a 7 foot kindergartner, he probably will be one of the taller kids in his class...unless he stops growing (ha!)  Elijah is healthy all around.  The doc answered my questions about the car seat/booster seat thing (he said to go by weight as opposed to age...so in a 3.4 more pounds or two more inches, he's in the booster part of his seat) and reassured me that his speech issues were normal.  I figured they were, but it's always nice to hear from a doc. There is a cool little form you fill out at the beginning of the appointment to see where you child is developmentally.  Elijah does everything on the paper except say his first and last name when asked what his name is...which is something we just started working on anyway. During the appointment Elijah was super shy and wouldn't let go of me until the doc said he was done and then Elijah was all about saying bye bye.  Grace was a very good girl though the whole thing.  We went to McDonalds as a treat afterward.

  my little guy!!!

We are now waiting for Jerry to get home so we can load into the car and hit the road to Myrtle Beach for the weekend. We are staying in a resort that has a HUGE indoor water park, so even though the weather isn't going to the warmest, we'll have a fun time.  I have been fighting a nasty cold all week and think I'm finally nearing the end of it.  I sound all low voiced, but I feel a lot better...mostly due to Jerry being so great.  He kept Grace the past couple of nights and brought me soup and juice and zicam and cough syrup and anything else I could have needed.... JERRY ROCKS!!! (in case there was any doubt!)

I've been soooo bad about blogging lately.  I honestly, have wanted too, but...well, am too lazy.  Though, we have been busy.

So last weekend I went to see He's Just Not That Into You.  Good movie, great cast!  I went with tow of my good girlfriends and we had an absolute blast!  I love hanging out with them.  Usually I'm not a good triangle friendship type of girl.  But with these women, we seem to really connect and have a good relationship with just the three of us.  It was really nice to get out of the house!  On Sunday I went to a baby shower and I took Grace.  It was nice and low key.  Again, nice to get out of the house.  The weather was absolutely great!

Then Monday happened... sigh... I was striped of my Mother of the Year card for sure!  We went to walk the loop (I am determined to get in shape!!) and everything was good.  Though Elijah now understands landmarks and generally where things are.  Since the loop goes right by the beach, he KNEW we were there, and would NOT stop asking about it...so I reluctantly crossed the road and allowed him to spend time at the beach.  I thought that we would get out there and he would want to leave because the wind was really strong and a little chilly.  sigh... not so much.  He was perfectly content to play.  As was Gracie.  So I let them.  It was fine.  I had very little to do that day, so why not.  We were there for about 30 minutes and I was starting to get hungry and we needed to stop by the grocery store on the way home, so I gave Elijah a five minute warning, then a two minute warning, then a one minute warning and then told him it was time to go.  I picked up Grace and started back toward the stroller.  Elijah screams, "NOOOOOOOO!" and takes off running in the wrong direction.  Okay. I think, he's going to stop and come back, because he knows better.  or not.  So I say, "Elijah Jacob Jones, you need to come back here right now!"  And I proceed to count to three.  He doesn't stop.  So I start walking slowly after him thinking, SURELY, he is going to stop and turn around and come back.  SURELY he KNOWS that I'm already mad. He DOES stop and turns around and sees that I am coming after him, and starts running faster!!!  Now, my blood is physically boiling.  I am honestly thinking about sitting down and crying, because this is what happens to me when I get REALLY mad.  I'm at a loss.  I have a 20 pound baby I'm carrying as well as a jacket which contains my camera, keys, and wallet (not too light) and I'm on the beach alone.  I stop for a minute.  Elijah stops. Then starts running again.  He is now about 100 yards in front of me.  I drop my jacket and start jogging in sand with Grace.  I'm not covering any ground.  My only two choices are, watch Elijah run away out of my sight, or put Grace down, sprint after Elijah and hope that Grace is fine for the couple minutes she'll be out of my sight.  I choose the latter.  I sprint (mind you I don't run) after Elijah and have to contain myself from not ripping him a new one because the girl child needs me to get back to her.  Grace is, of course, happily eating sand and could have cared less, but the fact that I had to put her down pissed me off beyond belief.  So I'm half dragging Elijah back to Grace.  He's laughing which irks me to the point I am seeing red.  I say, "That's it Elijah, we are going straight home, you will have lunch, and go to bed.  No chicken fries (McDonald's), no TV, NOTHING!"  Elijah suddenly realizes, hey, mom's pissed!  And collapses on the sand crying.  I say, "GET UP NOW!"  He goes limp (must be opposite day I didn't get the memo.)  I jerk him up, and do something I thought I would never do, I swatted his little butt.  He walks for three steps and collapses again.  At this point, I don't care anymore.  All good parenting has left my being and sailed away on the ocean.  I let go of his arm and say, "Fine.  You know what Elijah?  I'm done.  You can stay here.  The tide is coming in you might want to go up to higher ground, good luck."  And I walk away.  I pick up Grace and I keep walking.  My lungs heart, my heart is racing, and I just want to curl up and cry.  Elijah comes bolting up next to me saying, "NOOOOO MOMMY!!!! 'Ijah want to go with mommy!!!!  P'ease...... 'Ijah going to be a good boy now."  I say, "You may come with us, but you need to make big boy choices."  He says nothing, just follows us back to the stroller where I chug the rest of my water and sit down while I calm down.  I then start getting the good parenting vibes again.  I explain to Elijah why it's dangerous to run from mommy.  He apologizes and we finish our walk.  He was upset that there was no special food and no Curious George, but every time he whined I said, "Next time you won't run from Mommy" and he shut up.  After nap we started fresh and had a great rest of the day!  sigh...

On Tuesday we had soccer. I LOVE this class!  Elijah is doing well in it as well.  We got home from soccer, Elijah watched about 5 minutes of TV and announced he was going to bed...and then did so!

Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday we played at various parks because the weather was sooo AWESOME!  I wanted to get to the beach again, but the wind was REALLY strong AND I didn't want a replay of Monday.

Yesterday we went to a really fun birthday party at Monkey Joe's.  This is big indoor area filled with inflatable jumpy things.  Elijah and I have been there before but he's been to nervous to really do anything and I was either preggo or had Grace so I couldn't really do the things with him.  Yesterday, though, I got to play with him and we had a BLAST!!!  Jerry worked for a bit and then brought home chocolates for me.  Next weekend we are going to Myrtle Beach and staying at this place.  It has a HUGE indoor water park, so I think it will be really fun.  Today we walked around Home Depot and daydreamed about home improvement stuff.  We priced a bunch of stuff and I think much of it will be doable within the next year.  We also went to Target because Elijah's feet have grown (AGAIN!)  I bought shoes fro him three months ago a size to big and he's outgrown them...sigh... so new shoes for him.  Ohhh, and I forgot, I treated myself to some Fit Flops.  They are not THE fit flops, but they are 1) MUCH cheaper and 2) helped out our neighborhood Avon lady.  I picked them up Friday and wore them for about 2 hours.  They are SUPER comfy and Saturday morning, my thighs were a little sore.  So I'm really excited about them.  I mean if I'm going to wear flip flops anyway...right???

GRACE: has three teeth now, is crawling like there is no tomorrow, have the funniest chuckle EVER!, occasionally says some words (other than mama and dada), and is pushing up...not so much pulling up.  She pushes up on her legs to stand.  This only works if she has her hands on something, but she doesn't seem to pull with her arms so much as just use them for balance.  She LOVES doing downward dog and REALLY wants to stand up fromt hat, but alas, gravity (and strength are against her in that endevor...soon baby girl too soon!)  She loves to go into the playroom when Elijah isn't in there and play with all the toys by herself.  It is AMAZING to me EVERYDAY how absolutely different the kiddos are and yet rather similar.  Grace also LOVES her veggies.  She will eat corn and peas and broccoli.  She also LOVES rice of any kind.  However, said food must be whole.  None of that mushed up crap for her.  Easier for me!  Oh, and of course, the world might stop spinning if we run out of cherrios!

Okay... so this is a REALLY long entry...but now ya know!  I'll post some pics and hopefully I'll write sooner than later.

February (what a weird word...) has started with a bang.  I guess January wen out with one.  We went to a super fun birthday party.  They rented a bounce house and while it was chilly, all you had to do was jump jump jump to get warmed up!  It was a blast!  Elijah had a great time once he got over the initial shyness of being around people (that he's around at least once a week...)  Jerry kept Grace at home and therefore making him stay away from work for a little bit.  He hasn't taken a whole day off since Jan 17th (not that I'm counting... well, really I am!)  And while that's a lot of overtime, it is becoming obvious that Elijah and Grace miss him a lot.  Grace sees him and immediately wants to crawl over to him and snuggle.  Elijah has a tough time after lunch when Jerry goes back to work and then coming to the table to eat dinner.  The latter because Jerry comes home and plays with him.  But it's okay.  I have something for every weekend the rest of the month, so he'll have to be here.  And I need a little break too!  I'm going out with the two K's this weekend to see a movie and I'm soooo looking forward to it.  Honestly, it could be a blank screen for 2 hours and I"d be fine with that!

So the weather has been all weird!  Today the high was supposed to be 35 by Sunday it's supposed to be 70!  So whatever!  Yesterday we had 20 minutes of hard snow and then it stopped, but was FREEZING the rest of the day!  We went to a friends house and iced Valentine's Day cookies and had lunch.  Today we went to the train museum (where Elijah had his party last year!) and had it completely to ourselves.  I was happily surprised.  They have a great children's room and I thought it would be packed with moms that wanted to get out of the house...alas, it was not the case.  So that was nice.  I think that I might get a membership there.  I mean if we go just 3 more times it would pay for itself and they do cool stuff like Polar Express readings and whatnot... so we'll see. 

On another note: I love our crock pot!  It's my new favorite thing!  I mean we had one before, and I guess I just wasn't that into it or something.  It just didn't seem to cook things right or something... of course, the only thing that ever really cooked was beef stew... But I have been trying all kinds of things in it and most recently I made BBQ!  It was so easy and SO yummy!  I love it!  Just wanted to share! ;)

Tomorrow we are heading for a park since it's going to be in the 50s.  I also have a baby shower that I'm taking Grace to this weekend.  While it's nice to get out, I really wish I just had two days to really work on the house.  I don't know what the solution is to the toy room, but there has to be a better way.  Maybe I'm just not diligent enough at keeping things where they go, but Elijah is REALLY into piling things up.  That's fine, but then when it's time to clean up everything gets all mixed up and unless I go through and sort it all out it's impossible to find things.  THEN he gets all whiny that he can't find one specific toy and tears up the room finding it.  I really think shelving maybe the answer, but when the heck am I going to have time to install them?  sigh... My folks are thinking about coming down for a week in March, so maybe I can do it then.  I really think that I depend on order.  And while I don't want to be anal, or pass this tendency onto my children, it really makes me a little crazy to not have organization.  We won't even talk about the mess that is the master bedroom right now...though it may say something to my lack of sleeping well lately...hmmmm... sigh...again... time...

Okay...that's all for now...

I don't know why I even try to keep track on my days anymore.  I went through most of today thinking it was Friday... sigh...

Anyway, after the snow on Tuesday our week went by fairly quick. 

Wednesday the kids and I drove our to an acquaintance's to pick up a climber/slide and delivered it to kate&co.  That was an adventure in and of itself, but the kind where you had to be there and know the people involved, so I won't bore you.

Thursday we went to the park for playgroup.  Not many showed up.  It was still chilly and the snow/ice was melting, but in the sun it was nice and the boy child needed to be outside.  Kristie&co met us there too and we ended up going to the mall and purchasing the last two Mario Kart games for the Wii!!

Friday we met Kate&co at the park for more play time.  I got to exert my badass-ness toward some jerk-y high schoolers.  They were trying to break the kid's equipment and were cussing and scaring the kids.  I went over and yelled at them and then hunted down their teachers (across the park relaxing under a picnic shelter!) and (nicely) told them to get their kids off the playground equipm,ent that was meant for 5 year olds.  I couldn't believe they let the kids out there unsupervised.  Jerry said I should have asked what school they were from and called the principal...hindsight and all.  My adrenaline was pumping after all that.  I was REALLY mad.  Elijah wasn't even playing on the equipment, but there were lots of little kids and they were getting trampled.  I can't believe that more parents didn't stand up to them.  I mean what are they going to do?  Call you a name?  Whatever.  Anyway, we were all okay and the high schoolers were made to leave the playground area.

Saturday, Jerry had to work.  So I packed up the kiddos and went across town to the model train expo.  Elijah loved it.  He stared at one exhibit for two hours straight!  Insane!!  We left and met Jerry for lunch.

Sunday, Jerry worked again.  The biggest thing to happen was Elijah learned to pee standing up!  Not sure this is a good thing, but so far he has really good aim. 

We are relaxing today.  I booked us a mini vacation in Myrtle Beach for mid February.  This place has got a huge indoor water park.  I'm sure the weather won't be great, but I'm just excited to get away.  We have something going on every weekend (except Valentine's) so I'm sure we'll be ready for a break.  I also confirmed with my folks our Outer Banks vacation.  We are going in early May.  Again, probably not the warmest weather, but I think it will be nice enough for the kiddos to enough the sand dunes and the light houses.  We are also going to see about going to see the wild horses in Corolla.

It very rarely snows here.  And when it does it very rarely lasts more than 10 minutes.  Today it started snowing around 10 and it's still flurry-ing now.  Since it is also inauguration day, I had the TV on all day.  But I totally didn't think to take pictures of Elijah and Grace with the TV watching our new president get sworn in.  Sigh...  Ah well.  Elijah and I talked about how great it was that we have a new president and that it was historic.  Here's our conversation this morning:

Me: Elijah who is that?

Elijah: Obak Mama

Me: Barack Obama?  Who is he?

Elijah: yes.  Obak Mama is the presidennn.

Me: Oh okay.  He's the new president?

Elijah: yes. Mommy, it's 'nowing?  Go p'ay?

So, out we went. Into the snow and this is what I did get pictures of:

cheese!!                                                     sledding into the ditch                                 she liked it!

still time for swinging                                 making a snow angel                  hitching a ride!

It was a good day!   And these two videos sum it up!!!

sledding down the only hill...a ditch...                                  tasting snow....something every child should get to do!

So my parents left on Saturday morning.  (boooooooooo!)

But before they left, I was able to clean the WHOLE garage!!  It was a huge relief to be able to do this.  We've been trying to since we moved in!  And it's done and it's looks soooo good!  Our biggest issue is the recycling.  For some reason we just take forever to take it to the place.  And every time we do it, I'm always amazed at how little time it really takes.  So I moved our recycling to beside the garage door into the house.  My reasoning is if it's right there (instead of across the garage) then maybe we'll take it more often...we'll see.  I should have taken a before and after pic.  Someone came and picked up the front loader too, so that made a huge dent.

We also had a picnic at a local park and played outside before it became bone chilling cold.  Elijah has mastered his bike and I bought him a bell and fashioned a basket on the front.  I think I'm in for a faster walk in the mornings and afternoons.  He can go a lot faster than he could on his tricycle.  But he's (so far) good about listening and pulling off the road when a car comes by.  Grace has taken off with the crawling and is in to everything.  She is very stealth.  Half the time you don't even realized she's moved, until you look for her in the last place you saw her and realize she's gone!  It's pretty cool and I think that she's quite proud of herself!

On Friday we went to the serpentarium.   It was neat, but a little creepy.  There were a lot of snakes in there and I gotta say that they were just in these glass cages with hinges and one dinky little lock.   There were some big honking snakes there as well as a man eating crocodile.   There was a cobra that was all riled up behind the glass and trying to strike at us as we went by... eek!   I"l post some pics in a bit.  Friday evening we met Kristie&co. at Brixx Pizza to celebrate Jerry's birthday and his new job.  We had invited some other friends, but due to weddings and the sickies, were unable to come.  I gotta say, we had to wait for a LONG time to get a seat, so I think it worked out for the best.  We'll have to go another time with all the friends and plan to get there at like 4 to be able to eat by 7!  Anyway, the food and company made up for it!  Today is Jerry's actual birthday and he went into put in a little overtime this morning.  So Elijah, Grace, and I went out and got balloons and a cake for him. 

We have a busy rest of the month ahead of us, including birthday parties, an inauguration viewing, preschool, wednesday friendsday, and play group.  In February Elijah will start a soccer class.  He's really taken an interest in soccer, so we signed him up.  It's a parent participation class, so Jerry will take his lunch early to watch Grace and I'll go with Elijah.  If he likes it, we'll continue with other classes and eventually a team.  It's wild to see him grow up and really like and dislike things.  I will try to keep on top of things and post as often as I can!