Happy Halloween!

These are the best we could get from one who was sooo excited about dressing up and trick or treating and one who just wanted her costume off!

The big "5" today

5 years ago my life changed forever. 5 years ago today I headed to the hospital to deliver my first child. I was so excited yet scared all at the same time! I had so many hopes and dreams for this little baby already. After an "easy" labor experience I was able to put my hands on this sweet baby boy...

From that day forward my life would never be the same! Gavin has taught me so much. I've learned to appreciate the little things, sacrifice for others, the importance of patience, and how to love someone like I never loved before.

Today I am just as much in love with this boy as the first day I saw him. He is all boy and he most definitely works my nerves on a daily basis, but he is mine and I wouldn't trade him for the world!!

So what's new at 5?

* He loves being a big brother (well.. most days!) He even tells Megan not to call him Gavin... his name is "big brother". I think it has something to do with his love of being in charge!
* He loves to play outside. It doesn't matter what he is doing just as long as he isn't inside.
* He's a smart cookie! Some of the things he already knows are all his letters and sounds, colors, shapes, how to spell his first and last name, his address, and phone number. He can even add!
* Daddy is still his favorite parent! No contest here!
* He is having his first sleepover birthday party in 2 weeks. He has been talking about this "camp out birthday" for at least 3 months now!
* He is starting to understand that there is never enough money! Haha!
* If there were only two things he could eat for the rest of his life.... right now he would choose... PB&J and strawberry toaster streudels!
* He talks like he is in his 30's.... this has been known to get him in trouble alot as well!
* He must be in everyone's conversation whether he was being spoken to or not
* He will never leave to go somewhere or go to bed without finding each member of the family to give them a hug and kiss :)


To my "big boy". Happy 5th birthday buddy. Mommy loves you more than you may ever know. Hope this year is the best one yet!

Vollmer Farms

Each year we go to the pumpkin patch. Last year I think we ended up going 4 times with all the birthday parties we had there! And every year... we always go to Hillridge Farms. It's a really nice farm with all the usual pumpkin patch stuff. But this year we decided to go to a different farm. I had been to Vollmer Farms with Gavin before and although it's a little farther out (and a little more expensive) it isn't nearly as crowded as Hillridge. I'm pretty sure just about everyone goes to Hillridge in this area!

Vollmer Farms also has more things to do than Hillridge. In addition to picking your own pumpkin sliding on the big tube slide, playing in the corn and the hay ride they have rat racers, a zip line, a big inflatable pumpkin that is like a trampoline, and a cow train! They have some other stuff as well but those seem to be the main attractions!

My kids had a blast. What were the favorite activities from my kids? Gavin loved the zip line and Megan LOVED the cow train!

Riding on the hay ride!

Megan and Daddy on the hay ride

Rat racers

Jumping the big pumpkin!

It's not easy to crawl in corn!

Where did Gavin go?

Riding in the "Moo Cow train" -- Doesn't Daddy look thrilled!? I'm pretty sure he rode it at least 3 times... the things you do for your kids!

And a video of Gavin's favorite part...

Some kids will change your life....

During the first year that Wake Forest Kids R Kids was open I had a little girl in my class named Lilly. Before coming into my class my director informed me that she wasn't just any ordinary kid and that her mother had requested to meet with me to go over Lilly's "issues". Lilly was diagnosed at 6 months with a severe dairy allergy. She was even contact reactive. The first part of the year I was scared out of my mind! I was afraid to touch her or even let any of the kids come near her out of fear they may have eaten or touched something dairy. As the year went on my fear was no longer there. I was definitely extremely careful but not crazy!

I came to love this little girl. We just clicked and she quickly became my little Lilly Lou! She is now in first grade and doing wonderfully. However, she now also has been diagnosed with a peanut allergy. Yesterday I participated in the FAAN walk to help raise money for individuals with food allergies! As I came to find out being her teacher, food allergies don't just affect the person with the allergy they affect everyone around them! I'm so glad I was able to be a part of this walk and even more excited that I got to see my Lilly Lou again!!

Polyandry

Let's get one thing straight. I do not believe in polygamy at all! The bible states that a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife. It doesn't say wives!

From my own personal viewpoint there are SEVERAL reasons why I believe one husband is more than enough! (See previous post)

However, I was thinking the other day... I sure would like to ask a woman who is into polyandry (marrying more than one man).... if she ever has a "honey do list" that doesn't get accomplished!?

For a brief "crazy Lauren" moment I really thought that having more than one husband could be beneficial. You see... with more than one husband I might could have a much shorter honey do list.
For example...

The piles of stuff in the dining room that I've asked to be taken up to the attic numerous times may actually find their way to the attic

Or....

 The infant seat that Megan hasn't been in for almost 2 months now would also be in the attic instead of on the air hockey table. And the picture that is right behind it.... yeah.. it would be hung on the wall!

OR...

The deck that we talked about fixing in the summer wouldn't wait until 2 weeks before my son's party and then only be 3/4 of the way done causing me to have a slight anxiety attack!

Sounds pretty good huh?

Yeah, I thought so too..... until I walked into my bathroom that I just cleaned on Tuesday and saw pee all over the seat and was reminded again why one husband is more than enough for me!!

REALLY??!!

REALLY??!!

Who is this happy while cleaning their house?! Like most families Matt and I have definitely taken the traditional roles in the relationship. My domain in everything inside the house and his domain is everything outside the house. Not uncommon right? And in all honesty most days I really don't mind it! The thought of getting all hot and sweaty with nasty bugs flying around you while you cut grass or trim bushes is less than appealing. Cleaning out a garage that smells due to the trash that has been sitting there for a week with no air circulating just isn't my idea of a good time! I mean there are certainly indoor tasks I don't enjoy either but at least my air temperature remains constant and I can even turn on some tunes to jam to while I do the neverending tasks!

However, there comes a point where I start to feel a little taken advantage of. It's no longer just a matter of doing "my share" of the work. Matt gets mad.. ok sometimes... downright irate if I go into the garage and get something and then don't put it back exactly where it belongs. I get the 5 year old lecture about how if you take something out you should put it back where you got it and la la la. If Gavin dares to park his bike or any other riding toy other than where Matt made a space for it he will get all kinds of grief! If a piece of trash doesn't make it's way into the trash can because it flew out you will without any doubt hear...."don't just put it on top or next to the trash can... put it in it!" All of this makes sense I agree however it is all so one sided!!

First of all there is FAR more stuff that needs to be done inside the house than outside! The kids must stay inside while he works out in the yard because he can't watch them but when I have stuff to do inside the kids are at my feet or tearing up what just got cleaned! You see he just doesn't seem to understand that it works both ways!

Just as the small piece of trash that didn't make it into the trashcan should be picked up and put in the can... so should the dish be placed in the dishwasher that you placed next to the sink and expected me to clean or the clothes you left next to the bed instead of putting in the laundry basket. Just as there are sharp tools outside that can hurt little ones there are poisonous cleaning chemicals that can kill them if they ingest them!
I'm just saying... I'm expected to do my share and still help by bringing up trashcans and putting them away and maintaining a clean garage. Yet, when I ask for the dishwasher to be started "I forgot" is what I hear the next day when all the dishes are still dirty.

I'm done with the "it's not my mess" attitude around my house by everyone! I sure would be interested to see how this house ran if I took the same "it's not my mess" attitude!

Ask More Than Once

Surprise!

I don't know how this role came about but it did. Ever since Gavin was a baby bathtime would be Daddy's job. Now there are the few times that I do bath but for the most part that is Daddy's job.


We had just gotten home from dinner and Megan had pooped so Matt decided instead of putting a new diaper on her he would just clean her up and put her in the tub. Bad idea.... why you may ask? Cause she apparently wasn't done! All I could hear from the bathroom was "AHHHH, MEGAN.... NO!" When I went to find out what was going on Matt was draining the water and cleaning out the bathtub. Megan was naked sitting on the floor. He told me she pooped in the tub and I giggled to myself glad that I didn't have to deal with that! I told Matt he should have made sure she was done before putting her in the tub and turned to walk away when I noticed this after Matt picked her up to put her back in the tub!

Wait... you didn't see it....

POOP!!!

I busted out laughing (hey.. it was funny especially since I was cleaning up after it!) and said... "By the way babe... after you put her in the tub... she left you another surprise on the floor where she was sitting!

HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

Learning to eat like a big girl...

During Megan's morning snack I've been trying to help her learn how to eat with a spoon. It has been less than successful! She just can't grasp the concept of scooping up the food. However, today, with just a little help from mommy she fed herself most of the pears on her plate. I would scoop them and she would put each bite into her mouth! Yeah! Way to go big girl!

Can you tell she was a little annoyed that I was taking her picture?

Amen!

I know it is too small to read... but please go to this site and read this article from the Washinton Post!

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/22/AR2007052201554.html
After reading this I just wanted to stand and clap! Haha!

Oh Baby!

This past weekend we headed up to Maryland for my sister's baby shower. My mom and I hosted a completely zebra themed baby shower and I must say it was super cute! Actually I shouldn't lie, if you asked me if I wanted anything zebra printed I would probably say I never want to see another zebra printed anything! Haha!

It was a great time and my sister got a lot of really nice things! I'm so excited. In 1 month I'll be holding a brand new baby girl! Can't wait to meet my little Lilly Lou!

Here are a few of the pictures I took...

Each food item had a corresponding book. (A very cute idea I got online)

Cupcakes I made from baby socks

Kendyll's "big sister" present from her Aunt Amanda!

Jen opening just one of her many gifts :)



Durant Road Nature Park

I had my rehearsal dinner at Durant Road Nature Park. It was an awesome location and VERY affordable in comparison to other places! It is a great place. It is about 10 minutes from our house and has about 237 acres of wooded land.Some of the many things that this place has to offer are a playground, 2 small lakes, and 5 miles of hiking trails! It's just beautiful!

Anyway...
today the weather was gorgeous and I decided to take the kids to a different park! I hadn't been back to Durant since my wedding so we decided to go and check it out! It brought back so many memories!

We enjoyed a picnic under one of the MANY pavillions and had an awesome time playing on the playground, walking the trails, and watching the turtles at the lake!

Fall means....

Fall means cooler weather.... and cooler weather means.....playing outside with daddy on the weekends! We all already know that Gavin is a big daddy's boy and he loves to be outside so this is his dream come true! Looks like Megan (although not a daddy's girl yet!) loves to be outside just as much!! Love to watch my kids playing with their daddy!

Surgery Again

Sorry for the late posts but I've got a million and one things going on at one time and haven't had a chance to update the blog!


As I mentioned in an earlier post, Gavin had to have emergency ear surgery on Sept. 30. His ear was attacking the tube with tissue and it all needed to be cut out before he lost hearing altogether. Now, this surgery thing is old news to us. We've done it so many times that it's like second nature to us! However, now Gavin is older and he actually understands what it going to take place. Add that to some crazy anxiety issues the boy already has and you have well.... A HOT MESS!

Before the surgery it started with, "I'm not going!" "I'll run and hide and you won't find me!" "I hate doctors!" You name it he said it!

The night before we tried to play the whole thing up. Let him stay up till midnight, eat all the food he wanted and drink anything his heart desired! Sounds fabulous right?! Well it was until the next morning when he realized not only was it FAR too early to be up but he REALLY didn't want to do this!

Tears all the way to the hospital. They gave him a drug to calm him down and make him loopy but he is so stubborn it didn't work! Just more tears....

So.. he got another dose. This seemed to do the trick cause then he was just silly and completely trashed! Wow... you really don't want to see this kid drunk!

Surgery lasted a little longer than expected... there was more tissue than originally thought but all went well. They ended up giving him more pain medicine.

Woke up in recovery... seemed to be OK... got some juice and a new teddy bear and we headed home! Not so bad right?!

Yeah, until he started hallucinating in the car, telling the child a million times the same thing cause he didn't remember anything and then an afternoon full of throwing up! Looks like he is like his momma when it comes to anesthesia! Poor buddy!

However, the next day... was like it never happened! Back to new! Here's hoping those tubes did their job and there will be no more surgeries!