Grandmother's

Grammy & Mimi, I didn't mean any harm in saying that you may not have to patience to feed Tristan like a birdie. It was just part of my plea with him. You are going to do great, that is what Grandmother's are for! He has taken a bottle twice before, long ago, so there is hope. Smooches and I didn't mean any harm, promise.

T-Bone

Well, I took little stud-muffin in today to get checked out, he has bronchiolitis. Seriously thou, you wouldn't know anything was wrong with him! He has not run a fever or anything, just a cough. So, we get to nebulize about every 4 hours for 2 days. It seems that every time Michael and I try go out of town, we have a sick kid. Tobbie started the tradition and Tristan is riding on that gravy train. This pic does make him look pitiful!

Dearest Tristan

I am going to take a cue from Mandie here.

My dearest Tristan,

I love you more than life itself. You are Mommy's little prince, my badge of honor, and my mini-stud. I am so blessed that I have been able to breastfeed you since birth and that you have never had a bottle of formula. I wasn't able to breastfeed your sister because of her prematurity, but I was given this opportunity with you. It is our special bonding time and something that only I can do for you. Your survival depends on my body providing you with the nutrients that you need to thrive and grow into a healthy little boy. But my darling, your daddy and I are going away this weekend for some "mommy/daddy" time and I really need to to learn how to drink from a bottle. Your Grammy and Mimi need you to do this to make it easier on them. Remember that they will have your sister to deal with also. You know she is a princess and requires a lot of attention. Just please let me know that you can take a bottle so I won't spend my entire weekend worrying about you. Please take the bottle baby, Grammy and Mimi may not have the patience to feed you like a little birdie. You are a big boy, take the bottle, you will love it, I promise.

love,
Mommy

Sunday Best

Whatever happened to Sunday Best? You know, as in clothing? I have started taking the kids with me to church since we have moved. NO, lightening didn't strike nor did the church burn down when I walked in! I figured that since Tobbie is going to a church pre-school, that maybe she would like going to church, and she loves it! Anyways, it has changed a LOT since I last attended a service. I understand that each place of worship will have its own flavor, but OMG people, you are wearing jeans, jeans!

Maybe I grew up in a ultra-conservative church, but you didn't wear jeans to church. You also didn't clap your hands while you sang hymns or said "Amen" out loud. Mom, I know you are reading this, could imagine this going down at Bellevue?

I am enjoying the sermons so far, and the pastor seems nice, but he talks about people at the pulpit! Part of me is thankful that Michael hasn't gone with me yet because he would have a field day with that one. He could care less about going to church. He says that it is just a bunch of hypocrits trying to make themselves look/feel better by going to a service once a week. He says he can worship on his own at home or in the woods. This pastor would prove his point exactly.

Wait, a thought just came to mind. Have I become a little liberal? Michael seems to think so. He claims that by me using my "green bags", really, they are the color green, to shop with, that I am liberal. WTF? He is so silly.

Anyway, just wanted to get that off my chest. As for me and my children, we will wear our Sunday Best to church, even if people do stare at us for dressing up.

I'm a lucky girl

Yep, I am a lucky girl! Today is mine and Michael's anniversary. We have been married 6 whole years! WOW is all I have to say. About six weeks after we got married I thought about it and came up with this: "Marriage is the best and worst thing I could have ever done for myself." And it is true. There are days when I just want to strangle the crap out of him, but he does hold the key to my heart and I love him dearly.
here are some funny memories I have of us:

On our wedding night, leaving the reception, we decided we needed more beer to go along with the picnic of food the caterer had put up for us, plus we needed gas. My dear darling new husband didn't want me to have to pump gas in my wedding gown, so he had me go in to buy the beer. I know it sounds redneck, and maybe it was a little.

Also on our wedding night (we stayed at Henderson Village, an old slave plantation) when we both smoked, we locked ourselves out of the cottage we were in, in our robes. Michael had to walk a mile in his robe to the front desk!

After each miscarriage he held me tight and promised me that one day we would have the most beautiful family, and he has given me the most beautiful children in the world.

One Christmas we were decorating the outside of our house and he decided that he wanted to be Clark Griswold. So he got out his ladder and climbed on the top of the house and went to stapling! He put so many lights on that roof it wasn't funny. I had to talk him out of writing our names in the lights!

Probably the most funny thing is we went "hiking" on Pine Mountain when we lived at Ft. Benning. We got caught in a storm on a 1 mile "hike". That 1 mile turned out to be 8, in a thunderstorm. I was pissed!

I love that guy and look what he gave me for our anniversary. This is two years in a row that I have gotten diamonds.



and I got my haircut yesterday

For Realz?!?

Ok, hubby went hunting and out to dinner with his buddy Brad, both kids are asleep and I found my new best friend...

guess I need to buy stock in Sky Vodka while M is deployed!

ETA: the "new best friend" is only the mango flavor. I'm no stranger to the triangle glass (that is what tobbie calls it)!

Cuteness

My husbands parenting skills

I think these photos explain my husbands parenting skills, 'nough said.

Tristan was cruising thru the house in his stroller with a beer up front






Tobbie with a duck decoy in the tub (he claims he couldn't find a rubber ducky)

ETA: He said that we did just move back to the South and we needed to act like it!

Michael's 33rd Birfday!

Yes, today was Michael's firty-fird birfday (that would be from the mouth of our darling Tobbie). We celebrated at his parents house with a low-country boil and a beautifully decorated cake designed by our very on Sweet T! Tobbie had a blast decorating the cake. Relish in the photos from the party! Oh yeah, he is older than me!

Callaway Gardens

We headed west today and took a trip to Callaway Gardens. I hadn't been there in years and I don't think Michael had ever been. Tobbie LOVED it! The first place we stopped off at was the butterfly house. She was so in awe of all the butterflies, but scared at the same time. I got an evil look from one of the elderly workers there because my loving husband shouts out, "Virginia, watch where you are going, you just killed that butterfly!" Nice considering you aren't even allowed to touch the butterflies, but the darn thing was on the ground and I rolled over him with the stroller. It's a boat of a stroller and I couldn't see the darn thing! Thanks for calling me out my dear husband. smooches right back at ya!

After the butterfly house, we headed over to the Virginia Hand Discovery Center and ate our picnic lunch by the lake. We were literally the only people there. After our yummy lunch, Michael and Tobbie spent some quality time discovering tad poles and throwing pine cones and sticks into the lake.

Our next stop was the horticulture exhibit. Being a silly mommy (kicking myself here), I decided to NOT take in my camera. WTF? I take pictures of everything and the one place I decide to not take it, I see the most beautiful plants ever. They had plants shaped like bunnies and little chicks, wish I could show you, sorry.

Upon our exit of the horticulture exhibit, someone decided to start going SUPERNOVA on us, so we decided to call it a day and head back east.

We had a fantastic family day and it will be one that we will treasure for a long time.

an owl butterfly, the kind I killed with the stroller


scouting for butterflies with daddy


a look of amazement


Tobbie and I enjoying ourselves


a walk with daddy


she loves the outdoors


Tristan enjoying the gardens


smelling the flowers

Catch up

Seems like I have been doing a lot of catch up posts lately. With Michael not working, he seems to take up a lot of time. I totally mean that in a good way. We have just been trying to get things around the house done and trying to spend as much time together as possible since he will be leaving soon.

Here are a few things I have found around the house lately:


These are things that my loving husband has left behind. Is it really that difficult to put on a new roll of toliet paper? And, I know I have asked a million times to not leave spit cups sitting around, but look what I found!



This is Tobbie ready for her first day of school (at the new school).


We don't like to call it babysitting, we call it parenting, but this is what Daddy does when he is in charge.



My boys all snuggled up.


Mango Martini's, my other new favorite.


Mr. Cuteness



ready for cousin Jessica's wedding

It's official, I'm allergic

I think I can say it is official, I am allergic to Georgia! The pollen has gotten to me and it hasn't even come down good yet! I will be in a world of trouble when it does come down good! My body will adjust, I hope!

Things are good around here. Tobbie started school this past week and she LOVES it! She loves it so much that she has come home and taken 3 hour naps! Mommy likey too! We decided that when she gets her spring break (i didn't realize that pre-school got spring break) we are going to take the kids down to Destin. The Army has a MWR place down there and it is cheap. Oh, I can't wait to sit on the beach!

Tristan is doing well. He seems like he is on the verge of rolling over. He laughs and smiles a good bit. He is still my chunky monkey and he is the size that Tobbie was at a year old. Crazy!

Thank the Lord!!!!

Literally, Thank you God!!! I found Tobbie a pre-school today! She will be attending Shirley Hills Baptist Church for pre-school!!! She will start tomorrow and I get to go to the commissary without a screaming 3 year old!!! I don't know who is more excited, Tobbie or me! Yippee!!! She really is needing to get involved with something and the silly AirForce base here mislead me on their hourly daycare! They only offer hourly daycare if a regular child in regular daycare is out one day. WTF (gotta watch my language now with Sweet T attending a church school)?!? What they do then is call who is on the waiting list and see if they want to come in for that day. Who does that, seriously? CRAZY! Anyway, Sweet T will be going to school 3 days a week. And, she has been sleeping in her bed and has had a nap the past 2 days!!! I think we are making progress on the stress of the move.

We are enjoying our new home. I love it! I still haven't taken a real bath in my jetted tub and I refuse to read my people magazine until I hop in. Maybe tonight I can do that!

Tonight we are going to drive and meet my baby brother half-way so he can meet T-Bone. His baseball schedule hasn't allowed him to come home yet, so we decided to meet half-way. Can't wait to see him!

This past weekend we had our families over. Michael's parents and grandmother came over on Saturday night and we cooked dinner for his parents 40th wedding anniversary and then we cooked dinner for my family on Sunday. Check out Tobbie and Tobbie! They are a cute pair!

Almost Finished!

Well, we have gotten all our household goods and unpacked EVERY box inside the house! I didn't say that it has been put away (majority has), but it has been unpacked! We are loving, loving, loving our new house! Tobbie has enjoyed being outside like you wouldn't believe! Tristan, well, he still doesn't do much. We have been playing outside and I think I am going to have a HUGE yard sale to get rid of all the indoor/rainy day toys we have built up over the last three years! It is going to get up to 75 over the weekend and I think me will have some margarita's on the back porch! Oh yeah baby, I also have little umbrella's to put in my drinks!!!

Ok, here is a picture of our new house and starting next week, I will get back on my blogging roll!