Day Two at St. Mary's- Dad' perspective

Leaving St. Mary's last night was not easy. The silence in the elevator was more empty than usual, the gloomy night seemed emphasized by the current situation and arriving home without company was just strange. Nevertheless, I knew Connor and Jenn were in good hands and cared for. So, I tried to get some rest in hopes that his recovery would be progressing through the evening. Carly was at Nonnie's house. It was actually not hard to fall asleep after a day of emotions.

I awoke early and the update was good from St. Mary's. Connor was getting better. Treatments were spreading out and he was sustaining his health and breathing between them. I was relieved. The other bed in the room had remained vacant, which was also good news for them.

In route to the hospital, I made my family update calls and stopped by Panera for bagels for the wonderful nurses and doctors at St. Mary's. As I was approaching the entrance I was greeted warmly by Pastor Rick, the Pastor of our church, who was leaving. He immediately asked me how Connor was and I was a little perplexed. How closely does he speak with God anyway? = ) Actually, he explained that e-mails had been sent and he graciously offered comfort and prayers for which I was appreciative.


It was a relief to see Connor and mommy sitting together and smiling upon my arrival. He was in good spirits and doing well. His morning treatment at 7am was done and we would wait until 11am to see the results.

As we sat in the room, Jenn set an appointment for Carly with the doctor , who had a rough night at Nonnie's house. Wow, what next? Just before Jenn left Connor and I to pick up Carly, an amazing event took place. We were introduced to a gentleman who entered the room with a gift in hand. He was smiling and we listened as he greeted us generously and handed Connor the wrapped present. We didn't know what to make of the situation, but Connor had no trouble with his responsibility. He was ready to find out what this unexpected surprise was all about. He proceeded to open this gift and it was a CAT motorized forklift to play with, which was something that he, ironically, asked Santa for this Christmas. Miracle? Well, this time maybe! The gentleman openly answered some more of our questions and told of his story. He was 8 years old and was hit by a car. He was admitted to the hospital during the holiday season for 6 months. This impacted his life significantly. He remembered the isolation and depressive times there and wanted to impact children here in a positive way during their stay. What an unbelieveable and inspiring story! In short, we could not express our gratitude enough and asked him to pose with Connor in this picture. He is an example for us all.

11am treatment is happening and we are told we may leave soon after. Jenn and Carly are seeing the doctor now elsewhere and those findings are pending. We are hopeful and excited to go home and we will hopefully all be united again very soon. Thanks to everyone for your support and encouragement.

Spending the Night at St. Mary's

I am writing from St. Mary's Hospital, where I have been with Connor since 11:30 this morning. I took him to our pediatrician's office first thing this morning because he (and the rest of us) was up most of last night coughing. Cough medicine wasn't working, neither were the nebulizer treatments, or the steroid he had been on since his croup-y symptoms started on Tuesday. Needless to say, when he arrived at the doctor's office, his oxygen level was far below normal - low enough to have him admitted to the hospital. Numerous Albuterol and oxygen treatments proved ineffective in trying to raise his oxygen level. They sent us to the ER because they had done all they could do. Similar story throughout our 5 1/2 ER stay. Treatments weren't as successful as they should've been so at 5:00 they finally admitted him.
When he first got to his room he had a roommate (a little boy about 5 years old who had had a colonoscopy...eeks!) but he has since gone home and now we have the room to ourselves. Initially he was quite disappointed by the fact that he'd be staying overnight in a hospital room, but as soon as Nonnie arrived with three of his favorite movies, he's been better and more agreeable. The poor thing has not had a nap, and is utterly exhausted, but hyper from the every two hour Albuterol treatments. Tonight they will continue the two hour treatments and begin the three hour treatments at midnight. Should be an interesting night!
I thank God for my mother, who has had Carly since this all started and for Matt who came home immediately after he got my call on our way to the ER.
Right now, Connor seems fine - breathing well and in good spirits. Let's hope that continues.
Thank you to all of you who have called offering support and well wishes. Listening to your messages on my voicemail brought tears to my eyes just hearing your concern and offers of help. I also thank God for you, my dear friends.
I'll update as I have time. Good night!

PreSchool Christmas

Well, today was Connor's Christmas party at school. They completed a basic, but cute, craft, had snacks, and then they exchanged books. Each classmate brought in a wrapped book that Mrs. Hurt distributed to the another classmate. Connor received the book that Ethan brought in and Ethan got Connor's. Hmmm...interesting! Hrs. Hurt must've strategically done that as Ethan is his best little buddy in the class. Afterwards Connor and I did a little shopping together (he picked out a cute gift for Carly) and then we had a nice lunch together. When we got home I was unpacking the bag of goodies sent home and in one small lunch bag was a collection of ornaments Connor had made. UGH...absolutely adorable (see the picture below)! I can't imagine Mrs. Hurt making ornaments with 12 preschool children, especially this many. I just love North Run!

Weekend Recap

WOW...our weekend was jampacked with fun! We celebrated my mom's birthday all weekend and enjoyed many Richmond traditions. I'll highlight some...

Friday evening Matt had an evening activity so my mom and I took the kids to the Grand Illumination in downtown Richmond. It was freezing, so we all bundled up and braved the cold outside of the James Center (the office building where I work) with a million other people. We all watched as the countdown ended with all of the city's lights being illuminated. It was spectacular. Later, Santa, turned on the lights on the enormous Christmas tree and the reindeer scattered across the entire courtyard area in front of the James Center.

Saturday morning, my mom and I went to the Bizarre Bazaar as we traditionally do each year. We both found a couple of goodies. Then Saturday evening we went to the Bethlehem Walk. This is the first time we had been and we were amazed at the elaborate production. We got there at 4pm, which is when it opened and already we were group 22 (they lead groups through every 3-4 minutes). The entire "reenactment" was awesome. Connor and Carly really seemed to enjoy it. Carly was especially intrigued with Baby Jesus...going up "on stage" to see Him up close. While we were there, it started snowing - just beautiful! We ended the evening, covered in snow, at Sal Cataldo's for our favorite spaghetti and meatballs. A perfect ending to a great day!

Sunday, my mom came over for her traditional chicken in wine sauce. Afterwards we spent some time driving around to look at some "tacky" lights.

It was a great weekend...Happy Birthday Mom!!!

Thanksgiving Weekend Recap

We spent the weekend doing three of my favorite things:

Eating

We spent Thanksgiving day at my mom's house. Yes, I still take advantage of the fact that she is my mother, so I let her do the cooking. This year, to ease me into preparing my own feast someday, she asked me to bring cherry and pumpkin pies...which turned out okay. Of all 5 of us at the table for the feast, Carly took the prize for the most impressive appetite. Our little Carly, who may go days only eating small portions at every meal of the day, began to show us what Thanksgiving was all about for her. She ate and ate and aked for more. Dessert went down without hesitation as well. Although the meal was delicious, the highlight of the day had to be Connor's public display of what we now call the "naked funky turkey dance". As we were finishing up a game of Old Maid, Connor spontaneously removed his clothes (all of them) and proceeded to jump and dance around the livingroom flapping his arms like a chicken. We were all hysterically laughing as his arms were snapping against his sides and he was shamelessly dancing around in his birthday suit. When we all caught our breath after the unexpected display, I think we all had the same question,.....where did Connor learn this?

Aren't these cute napkin rings and placecards? My mom made these with C&C.

Shopping

I spent a record amount of time shopping, beginning at 5am Friday morning.

Decorating

Matt brought the Christmas decorations down from the attic Thursday evening and started in with the outside lights Friday morning. Aside from the tree, we're all decorated! Nice job Matt!

Oh yes she did...

During naptime yesterday I got my nails done and then did some shopping. Matt was outside raking and cleaning the gutters. I got home around 5:00. Everyone was outside playing, riding bikes, etc... Each time I looked at Carly, I couldn't help but think that she looked different. I kept thinking it must've been because her bow wasn't in her hair anymore. It must've fallen out during her nap. Matt commented that she took a great nap, didn't get up until about 4:45. WOW...that was a long nap!

Little did we know that Miss Carly had woken up and come out of her room (Matt unlocked the door to her room after Connor woke up so that Carly could just walk out and come outside to join them). She marched into the office, picked up my scissors and gave herself a haircut! We don't know the full extent to what she did, but we did notice that she drew an elaborate picture on the walls of the bathtub with the bath crayons. Who knows what else she got into!

I must say I am saddened that her cute haircut isn't as cute anymore, but she actually did a pretty good job. I know it could be MUCH worse! I just wish she had waited until after we took our Christmas pictures.

Having this blog saved her...rather than yelling or overreacting I just kept thinking..."This is going to make for a good blog post!"

We now refer to Carly as Miss Bangs...

Frequent Flyer Miles

OK, so today marked our second trip to the Emergency Room in three weeks. Thank God everything is okay, but for a brief minute today I wondered whether the doctors and nurses may remember our names. Anyway...
Connor had another asthma episode. Yesterday he was sent home from North Run after being there for less than 30 minutes because he was coughing so badly and having difficulty breathing. He spent the day with my mom, receiving nebulizer treatments every 4 hours. Last night, his breathing got dramatically worse and the Albuterol treatments didn't seem to be helping the way they should. Of course the doctor's office had closed for the evening. We debated taking him to the ER last night, but we thought we'd be able to keep it under control. He slept with us (and kept us up most of the night with his breathing) and seemed to be "stable" although we both agreed that he should see the doctor first thing this morning. (In hindsight, we should've taken him to the ER last night)
I was able to get him in first thing, and after evaluating him and giving him Orapred (steroid), they recommended we take him to the ER because his right lung was not moving air the way it should be - a concern for pnemonia. Matt came home from work and met us at St. Mary's. In the ER, they treated him and did a chest X-Ray. He did not have pnemonia and his symptoms were getting better. His breathing was much better and did not appear to be struggling as much.
Trying to keep this active four year old still and calm (especially after receiving Albuterol) has been quite a challenge. We've been watching lots of movies! It's time like these that force us to slow down. Let's hope we don't earn any more Frequent Flyer Miles to St. Mary's this year!
I am so thankful that my sweet boy is feeling better...Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

A Big Day

Our sweet Carly has never had her hair cut. Never. She's almost 3 years old.

Last year I was so excited that it was long enough for pigtails and ponytails. I love playing with her hair each morning and deciding which hairstyle she'll wear and which accessories will be used. I've toyed with the idea of cutting her hair into a cute bob, or stacked bob, for months. I've seen so many young girls with that style and they look so cute. I always teetered back and forth. I love the style of shorter hair, butI also like the flexibility of longer hair. It has taken a long time for her hair to grow this long. Oh, if I cut it, will it look cute? Will I regret it? How long will it take to grow back?

This morning as I was blow drying her hair after her shower, the idea entered my mind again and I folded her hair under to see how she would look with a cute little bob. Adorable. Matt walked in the room and I exclaimed, "I'm doing it...I'm going to take her to get her hair cut!" (I want you to know that I didn't just make this decision without any input. Matt has told me on many occasions that he doesn't care either way whether we cut her hair or not...he has no preference...so ultimately, the decision was mine) He agreed that it would look cute, although I'm sure in the back of his mind, he doubted that I'd actually go through with it.

After naptime this afternoon, we took her and Connor for hair cuts. As soon as we got to the salon, Carly hopped up into the chair and said "I get a hair cut." She didn't seem to mind getting her hair cut at all and kept the employees laughing as she made faces at herself in the mirror. As soon as she was finished, Connor exclaimed, "You look beautiful!"

BEFORE

DURING

and after...

Ta da!

Her hair automatically did this "flip" thing. Of course tomorrow morning I'll play with it a little to see what else it can do! Ahh, the joys of having a little girl!

Hey Look What I found...

So Matt is still up in Fredericksburg...it's 10:13pm (yup, you read that right) so as I'm waiting for him to get home, I decided to browse some cool websites and blogs I've seen and bookmarked but never had a chance to go back and read further. Look at what I found!

The most adorable photo cards for all occasions. I found several options for our Christmas card! Hmmm...decisions decisions. You can order the cards right from them or they will send you the jpeg file of your card so you can print it yourself (or from Wal Mart or Target)...neat-o!

Note: Through more browsing, I discovered that Skip to My Lou (which is also a neat site filled with free downloads, patterns, and plenty of inspiration) is hosting a giveaway for one of these free digital files. Sign up here...

Reading this makes me feel like a totally boring mom, but she has some really cute ideas for family togetherness...love the muffin tin meals!

I love all of the neat craft ideas here...

Hi honey, how was your MOPS meeting?

MOPS,......I ask frequently how the meetings went and usually get a response about a good guest speaker, a cool arts and crafts activity, or rich discussions that may have taken place. MOPS,...a great place for women to bond and associate with one another to share ideas, laughter and thoughts about motherhood. MOPS,....a great support group for many to get to know people, help people, worship and have fellowship. It's an awesome group that I'm glad Jenn has found to bond with so many special people. Yet, when I picked up the children tonight on my way home from a long day at work I had an interesting observation. I found Jenn engaged in a new activity that I had not yet heard about before after asking about these meetings. HMMMM.

It was intimidating to open up the door and peek into a room full of women in a MOPS meeting and try to glance around as quickly as I could to find my wife. I tried to avoid disrupting the meeting and was glad to have a familiar face at the door to help me locate Jenn. Yet, when she stood up and came to the door, the laughter carried through the room and into the hallway. So much for a discrete visit. I was met there by Jenn holding a beautiful baby and smiling bright and cheerful. OK,....so now I see why you love these meetings so much! You will be a MOPS mom forever! I get it!

9-1-1...What's Your Emergency?

My two year old daughter spilled hot wax on herself. It's all over her face.

Would you like me to send help?

Well, yes, I guess we need it.

What is the address?

(I gave her my mother's address, phone number, etc...) In the meantime, can you please advise me as to what I can do while we wait for help to arrive? Should I put an ice pack on it?

I'm sorry ma'am, I can't tell you that.

OK, well is there someone I can speak to, or call, to get advice. While we're waiting for help to arrive, I need to do something to help soothe her. Is a cold pack okay to use?

I'm sorry ma'am, I can't give you any of that information. I don't want to tell you the wrong thing. My advice is to wait until help arrives.

OK, thank you...good bye.

So, I had to work today and as I walked into my mother's house at 5pm, Carly was sitting on the counter near the sink, crying, and my mother was holding her saying, "You need to call the doctor." I searched for the telephone and as I dialed the phone number (mind you, it was 5:00), I asked her what I was calling for. She told me the story of how Carly reached up onto the counter and somehow tipped the small dish of melted candle wax (from a tart burner) onto herself. It had completely covered the left side of her face (her eye was completely closed and her eyelid and lashes covered in wax, her left cheek was covered in wax, and she had spots of wax all through her hair and on her shirt. The doctor's office was closed, so I called 9-1-1. Running through my mind was the face of my beautiful daughter scarred and burned.

While we were waiting for help to arrive, Connor began crying and saying "She's going to die, she's going to die." I was trying to comfort him insisting that she was not going to die. Soon, Carly says, through her tears, "I'm going to die." UGH! Where do they learn this stuff? My mom and I had to chuckle a little at that. The firetrucks arrived and three firemen entered my mother's kitchen. They spoke to Carly, and carefully inspected her and washed her face and eye. They didn't think there was any burn, but encouraged me to take her to the hospital to be checked to be sure. I, of course, agreed. We all continued to try to comfort Carly, who was not crying anymore. Within a few minutes, the door opened and in walked not one, not two, not three, but four rescue squad members. My mom's house is not large, and it was filling up quickly with all of the emergency personnel. One of the firemen asked if I'd like to take Carly in my car, or in the ambulance. I asked what the difference would be, and he said there really wasn't any. He said the ambulance was here, ready, and free (and I was thinking that maybe she'd be seen quicker if we arrived in an ambulance) so we went with them.

All the way to the hospital, Carly was talking with the rescue squad (volunteer) members and quite pleasant. If it weren't for the burnt orange, pumpkin smelling wax all over her hair and clothes, you wouldn't think anything was wrong with her. They all got a kick out of her and kept her quite happy and occupied.

Once at the hospital, we were seen fairly quickly and the doctor was happy to report that she came out of this one unharmed! Thank the Lord! Now, the question was, "How are we going to get this orange wax out of her hair?"

The internet will surely have some suggestions. Someone must've done this before...surely! Uh, nope! As soon as we got home, I ran upstairs and Googled "wax in hair" and other similar phrases and only one recommendation came up. Some kind of glue remover from the hardware store, and possibly vegetable oil. So I got the vegetable oil ready and put Carly in the bath tub. Matt decided to drench her hair with detangler and try combing it out. It worked like a charm! Within minutes, the burnt orange wax was gone and no trace to be found.

No burns, no bumps, no orange hair...or short hair cut!

These pictures were taken once we got home...

What a night!

Thankful Thursday

WOW...I have so much to be thankful for! A snippett...
I am thankful for...
my two adorable children. They always make me smile. The things they say amaze me. Their hugs are calming. Their minds are open. Their laughter fills a room. They are mine.

the friends who inspire me to be a better mother, better crafter, better wife, better follower

my XXL sweatpants and sweatshirt (my mom bought for me when I was pregnant - very pregnant). As soon as I get up in the morning or walk in the door from work I can't wait to put them on. They are huge and SO comfy! I hope you never get the chance to see me wearing them! (although I did run to Target in them tonight!)

Halloween. It gives me a reason to have all of my favorite chocolate candy in the house (aka 100 Grand)

North Run Preschool. I have never met a more dedicated and nurturing group of teachers. Thank you, Dawn, for finding it for me!

my photo printer. Seriously, it has to be the best one on the market. Thank you honey for getting this for me for Christmas last year. Each time I print a perfect picture from it (any time I print something), I am amazed at the quality of the product.

date nights with my honey

e-mail

EBay...I think I'm addicted!

Cox Farms

We spent the day yesterday visiting with a college friend and his son, who is Connor's age, in Northern Virginia. We went to Cox Farms (http://www.coxfarms.com/). They were having their annual Fall Festival. WOW! When I tell you this place was at least twice, if not three times the size of our local Berry Farms, believe it. It was huge! They had everything you could imagine for kids to play with, on, and in. They had slides of all different heights, an enormous corn maze, a rope swing over cushioned mats and foam, a hayride, a goat farm, pigs, chickens, pony rides, and so much more. They had yummy eats, too, like candied apple slices, cider, kettle corn, and burgers and hot dogs too.
Luckily we got there soon after it opened so there wasn't much of a crowd and the kids didn't have to wait in long lines. But by the end of the day, it was crowded and the children were getting antsy waiting in line. We stayed for about 6 hours and the kids were pooped by the time we left (and so were the adults!) It was great fun! Thanks, Greg and Alex, for showing us such a great time. (And thanks, Diana, for sharing this photo mosaic website...love it!)

Carving Day

Today was the day. I decided it was time to carve our pumpkins. This is always such an exciting time for me - not so much for Matt. He complies because he knows it has to be done. Carving pumpkins is not exactly his favorite thing to do. Of course I won't let him get away with simple faces, either. Last year I couldn't find our carving tools so I ran to the store at the last minute. The only tools they had were part of a kit, including a pattern book. What fun! I perused the pages, found my two favorites, and shared them with Matt. There was no talking me out of those two designs. So, here is what we ended up with last year...

So this year as I was looking through that same pattern book, I was disappointed with the remaining pattern choices. I spent some time online browsing free pumpkin carving patterns and was quite impressed with what I found. One of the neatest sites was Better Homes and Gardens (http://www.bhg.com/). They not only had some neat patterns, but they also had a pumpkin stencil maker. It allowed you to select from a variety of face parts and create your own pattern. Then you could either print it or e-mail it to yourself. Although I didn't choose to go that route, I thought it was a neat concept. Check it out... http://www.bhg.com/bhg/multimedia.jsp?multimediaId=/templatedata/bhg/multimedia/data/PumpkinStencilMaker.xml

After quite a bit of searching, I found my two favorites and shared them with Matt (the poor thing...even if he didn't like them, he would never say so and if he thought they were too difficult, I would just try to convince him that we could do it, so he really has no choice in the matter...such a good guy!) and then "traced" my pattern on the pumpkin. Connor helped remove the insides, although he wasn't too excited about touching them with his hands. Matt completed his pattern and got Carly's assistance removing the insides. She, too, did not want to touch the slimy "guts" with her hands. Matt and I both began carving while Connor and Carly played in the rain. They finally got bored with that and decided to come inside. Matt and I were left on the porch carving their pumpkins by ourselves. We joked and laughed as we wondered what anyone driving by watching us would think as we sat on the porch by ourselves carving pumpkins without our children. Who's pumpkins are these anyway!? Anyway...we were thrilled with the end products - and so were Connor and Carly! This year I decided to get some of those battery powered flickering "candles" to put inside the pumpkins rather than using candles. I'm probably the last person on earth to think of that, but I am excited that they really work. So, what do you think...???

This is the one I did... (and it was marked "beginner", by the way)and here's Matt's...

The Mayor

As we were sitting at the table enjoying our dinner, it occured to me that Pre-School Picture Day is tomorrow. Connor's hair has been in desperate need of a haircut, and I really wanted it to look decent for pictures, so I ran him across the street to Great Clips for a haircut. Matt has taken him there before so I knew they'd do a nice job.
As we walked in, there were people already waiting. A man, and a woman with her two children. Connor walked right in and sat down next to the little boy. Feeling a bit embarrased, I encouraged him to come sit next to me, but he insisted on sitting next to the young boy. The conversation began...
"Hi"
"Hi, my name is Connor. What's your name?"
"Aidan. How old are you Connor?"
"Four"
"I'm in first grade. What grade are you in?"
"Pre-K. Do you like Star Wars?"
"Yes, how did you know?"
"I like Star Wars too...C-3PO and R2D2 are my favorite."
The conversation continued for quite some time. The little boy was telling me that Picture Day was tomorrow so he needed a haircut. He went to Longan Elementary School. He was showing Connor all of the different types of candy in the dispenser...
"Those are M&M's. The ones with peanuts in them."
"I'm allergic to peanuts"
"You are? There is a girl in my class who is allergic to peanuts"
"Yeah, but I like peanuts with butter on them (peanut butter)"
Then, Aidan was called to get his hair cut. Connor had to use the bathroom, so we did that. When we came out, there was another mother sitting in the waiting area with her two boys - one sitting next to her and the other sitting across the way near where we were sitting. Connor immediately went and sat next to the boy near our previous seats.
"Hi my name is Connor"
"Hi Connor, I'm Donald"
"Donald, how old are you?"
"Ten - how old are you?"
"Four"
Then "Baracuda" came on the radio and Donald said,
"Hey, this is Baracuda. I can play this on Rock Band."
"I can dance to it...wanna see me dance?"
"Sure"
I began to get a little nervous about what was going to happen next (since he definitely gets his dance moves from his father and the waiting area had now filled up completely) I tried to convince Connor that maybe this wasn't the place to show off his moves and that maybe we could wait until we got home. He said, "No, mom, it's all right." He proceeded to break dance in the middle of the waiting room floor. Everyone was smiling and trying real hard not to laugh hysterically out loud - myself included. Matt must be giving him lessons on the evenings I'm out! We (I) was saved when Connor was called to the chair. Sigh.
After his hair was cut, we headed for the door and Connor stopped to say goodbye to Donald's brother and asked him to say goodbye to Donald for him (Donald was getting his hair cut).
I think Connor is practicing to be Mayor. Such a social butterfly...must get that from his Daddy too!

Another Great Weekend...

The weekend began Friday night with the ladies. Liz and I hosted another Bun Bun Bag party since the last one was such a hit. They have added several new styles to their collection, and the fall fabrics are so cute! While the consultant was busy displaying the bags before the party, I immediately found my favorite. It is one of the new styles which is not even up on the website. Since I had previously viewed the fabrics online (bunbunbags.com), I already knew that I would be ordering the brown and white polka dot pattern. Love polka dots! All of the ladies had fun checking out the styles and getting each other's advice regarding colors, fabrics, monograms, etc... It's so nice to have other ladies around while you're designing a new handbag. I know Matt wouldn't have been much help in that department. The nice thing about this company (which was started a few years ago by a woman in Chesterfield County) is that you get to design the bag. You choose the style, fabric, lining color, pocket number and location, monogram vs. applique, snap, zipper, etc... After the bag is ordered, it is custom made and delivered 4 weeks later. I just love this concept. In fact, so much so, I am considering becoming a consultant myself. The best part of the night...The hostess (which would be me) receives a custom bag from the next season's designs for free that night! Mine is adorable.

Saturday morning we played around the house - in our pajamas. Our good friends, and Carly's godparents, called because they were on this side of town (yet another close friend who moved to the southsided!) and wondered what we were up to. We invited them over to play and have lunch. Because I didn't have too much time to plan, I ran to Ukrops (so conveniently across the street) to get the fixins for soup and sandwiches. We enjoyed our time together catching up and Connor and Carly had fun playing with Jacob. If only we could see them more often.

While the kids were napping, my mom came over to finish the wallpaper in the foyer. We ran out of paper 3/4 of the way through and it took me several months to order another roll. Thanks mom for the nudge on that one! It looks great!

My mom invited Connor and Carly to spend the night with her, so Matt and I had a date night. We had intended to have dinner and catch a movie (I wanted to see Nights in Rodanthe). The best laid plans...our dinner ran a little long so we missed the movie. We decided to check out nearby Five Below, and the new Trader Joe's . It was our first visit to Trader Joe's. Neat place. We looked like alcoholics walking out of Trader Joe's with our three bottles of "Two Buck Chuck" and a six pack of beer.

We were able to sleep in a little this morning before heading to church. We enjoyed Pastor Rick's final message in the "I Do I Don't" series titled Family First. We were happy to hear him encouraging the congregation to eat together as a family each night. Something Matt and I completely agree with. When we arrived at my mother's house, this is what we found...


My mom had prepared brunch for us...delicious! Afterwards, Matt took off Connor's training wheels on the 16" bike my mom has for him at her house. We were anticipating that he might have some difficulty since this bike was a bit larger than his bike at our house. Nope...check him out!

We got home just in time for naptime. Afterwards, I had fun snapping some shots of Carly outside. I bought this dress for her a while back and just fell in love with it. I have been waiting for the weather to be cold enough for her to wear it, as it is made of sweater material. I wish I could have a matching one...
I am a little biased, but is she not the cutest thing you ever saw!?

And while I was at it, I snapped a few pictures of the front porch, as promised...

Thankful Thursday

I am thankful for my two healthy, sweet, and lovable children. They fill my days with so much joy and my heart with overflowing and unconditional love.
I am thankful for my husband. My sweet, hardworking, selfless, and dedicated husband.
I am thankful for my mother. She the primary inspiration in my life, and she never stops giving to others. She is an amazing grandmother to my children. I can only hope that I am half of the mother she has been to me.
I am thankful to have married into such a wonderful family. My in-laws are the most generous and thoughtful people I know. They adore their grandchildren and spoil them rotten.
I am thankful for the flexibility my job allows - that I can work as often or as little as I want to and I can create my own hours.
I am thankful for the MOPS group I am a part of, and for all of the things I've learned from the other moms in the group and the speakers we've had.

A fantastic, fun-filled weekend!

WOW! What a weekend! I can't remember a weekend like this one in a long time. It was perfect! It started Saturday morning...

Matt cooked us all cheese omlets and them we headed to the "Touch a Truck" event held at Short Pump Middle School, sponsored by the Junior League of Richmond. I had never heard of this before, but apparently this was their 3rd Annual. It caught my attention after a friend, and fellow blogger, forwarded the flyer advertising the event. This was incredible, and if you've never been before I highly recommend it. There were 30 plus trucks of all types for the children to explore. There was a dump truck, bulldozer, excavator, 18 wheeler, ambulance, city bus, firetruck, cement mixer, etc... The children could climb on and IN them. They got to sit in the driver's seat and push buttons and most importantly, honk the horn! It was so much fun, and because we were among the first people there, there were no lines to wait in. They had inflatables for the kids to jump in, games, crafts, and carnival type food.

We left from there and headed right to the University of Richmond for the Down Syndrome Association of Richmond's Buddy Walk. We had joined Team Katiebug (a friend who's daughter, Katie, was born with Down Syndrome) and were walking in support of her. We picked up our t-shirts, had a bite to eat, and began the 1 mile walk around the campus. What a beautiful place. It reminded Matt and I of Elmira (where we went to college) and agreed that we'd love our children to attend there (although our bank accounts won't). Connor walked with Will (Katie's brother) and they had a great time entertaining each other - most of the time bopping each other in the face with their balloons and Carly had to be carried some of the way. We were pooped, hot, and tired by the end so we headed home for naptime!

This morning I worked in the Nursery at church, this time with the 2 and 3 year olds. It was my first time in there and they were so much fun. We had at least 15 little ones in there. I even got my fill of crying children! There were a few times, after mom and dad dropped off their little one, that I was able to hold and comfort a crying child. I loved every second of it! They stopped crying and played happily the rest of the time.

After church, we stopped home to pick up everything we'd need for a picnic lunch - and bread to feed the ducks - then headed over to Crump Park for a picnic lunch. We fed the ducks first, of course, and then enjoyed our lunch. Back home for naptime. During naptime, I ran over to the Greenhouse and purchased some mums and a haybale to display on the front porch (I'll post a picture of that later). Matt got some time to relax in the sun before the kids woke up. After naptime, Connor and Carly played outside a bit with neighbor Hayden, throwing the frisbee and riding bikes. We had been talking with Connor about removing his training wheels - although I felt I needed to purchase some protective gear before we actually did it. This afternoon, though, Connor was so excited about it and Matt was ready to go, so I went along with it. As soon as the training wheels were removed, before I could even get the camera ready, Connor was off riding - never looking back. He rode around the driveway, then down the small slope, into the road and all around the cul-de-sac...all the time pedaling and smiling. None of us could believe it. He never fell, not once! Yahoo!!!

A jam-packed weekend!