Valentine's Day

Rachel loved her new books!
Bradley is trying out a new "ham" face...but it comes across a little smirky.

Today was a busy but fun day. Me and the kids got up and went to Loganville chick-fil-a to see Nana. She didn't have very long to talk since it was an early release school day and she had to get back to her bus. But, at least we got to see her and give her a cupcake. Then, we went to see Gramma at Parkwood and that was great. You could tell that she was thrilled to see the kids. Her face lit up and she really wanted to hug them and talk to them. It was wonderful to see her reacting like that since she's been so depressed and has had such a hard time getting motivated to do her rehabilition exercises. Today was the first day in about 2 weeks that she's had on clothes instead of pajamas. She was also sitting in a rehabilitation chair instead of laying on her back. She also wheeled herself into her room after physical therapy instead of being pushed. Aunt Linda and dad were there too, so we all got to chat for a little while. It was a nice morning.

Of course the kids were very tired and slept a little on the way home, but Bradley was super grumpy this afternoon. We gave the kids their Valentine's presents...books...after supper. Rachel loved hers and wanted us to read them all right then. Bradley looked at one of his and then didn't care about reading them at bedtime. I think he was just too tired to care tonight. So now, the kids are in bed and hopefully Nick and I are going to have a full night's sleep to make a perfect end to a nice day!

An early start to a great day!

We had a really early appt. for Bradley at the ENT to re-check his ears. This is his first visit since he had tubes put in. Thankfully, his ears look great!! He won't need to come back for another 4 months. While we were there, I decided to be "gutsy" and ask Dr. Dempsey if he would look at Rachel's ears. He said they were infected and one had fluid in it, so I had to call the pediatrician and ask for a referral to see the ENT the right way. Silly insurance and all the crazy rules! But, at least we don't have to go see the pediatrician AND the ENT. Anyway, I know the kids are as sick of going to the dr. as I am, and since Rachel has been begging to go to Chuck E. Cheese for a couple of weeks now, we ended up there today. We got there at 10 and just stayed for an hour, but it was a much needed change of pace than doctor's visits and grocery stores. We didn't even have to buy any coins since the last time we went, Gege bought $20 worth. Papa met us there and we had the whole place to ourselves. Guess everyone's at school on Wednesday mornings! It was so much fun!



For the past two days we have been home while a tile repairman was fixing our shower. We didn't do too much except laundry and play, but it was nice to be home. But, today we were really ready to get up and go somewhere.

Also, Nick and I got to celebrate Valentine's Day one day early by going to eat On the Border tonight. It was delicious even though I gorged myself on chips and salsa! I just don't have any control when I eat mexican food! We were also able to finally pick out the kids' Valentine's presents without them being with us. I decided books were the way to go this year, so we went to Barnes & Noble and picked out a few. They really love reading books and we love reading to them, but Nick and I get tired of the same old ones! So, the new books really benefit us both.

The Perfect day for a picnic

Rachel has such adorable ideas! For the past week or so, she has wanted to have a picnic lunch at her picnic table in her playground. I had put it off, but today decided "what the heck!" So, we made peanut butter sandwiches, packed up some cookies and chips and headed out to the backyard. Rachel was thrilled that we were finally having a "picnic". She and Bradley enjoyed having their special lunch outside and shared some of it with Dixie. It was a beautiful day...the weather was perfect, and as it turned out, we didn't end up needing the jackets that we had on. It was so sunny that we were plenty warm.

Anyway, here are some pictures from today.

The coolest park in GA!!

Wylie driving the fire truck.

Bradley walking across the wobbly bridge.


The adorable Ashley...love the pigtails!

Wylie having a good time on the tire swing!

Rachel riding the frog!

Bradley and Ashley swinging

Bradley driving the fire truck

My sweet Rachel playing in the sandbox

Aerial view of Rachel

Wylie and Ashley

Precious Bradley jumping on the flimsy bridge

Bradley ridin' on a whale

My sweet girl balancing on the tight rope

Rachel swinging

Today, we met up with our friends, Emily, Wylie and Ashley at the World of Wonder Park. This is the coolest park in the world! It's got a toddler side and a big kid side with multiple sized slides, swings, sandboxes, climbing ropes, sliding poles, and castles to explore. This was Bradley's first time to actually play at this park. He's been before but was too young to play and he absolutely loved this park!! Rachel and Wylie ran all over the place together and Rachel even made two new friends. Bradley ended up in the sandbox and threw sand on himself and another kid. I took lots of pictures and I'm going to post as many as I can.

Fixing things & Cuddling

Well, we didn't do too much today and it was very nice. I actually got to clean my bathroom (sort of) and tidy the kitchen. It doesn't sound like much, but that is a big accomplishment since it usually gets ignored on a daily basis. I had to do the bathroom because Nick has decided that he wants to replace the messed up tile around our shower. For some reason, maybe when the house settled, the wall shifted and so there are cracks all the way around the shower. We could just re-grout them, but it won't be as nice as replacing some of the tile. So, we had a tile guy come over to give us an estimate. Nick's also got the itch to replace the kitchen countertops to granite. We have formica right now, and we think it'll be better for re-sale purposes to have a nice countertop. We're not selling the house yet, but maybe in a year. I can't complain, because I'm going to enjoy having a nice shower again AND I'm going to love new countertops. So, we'll see how many more things Nick thinks of that will increase the value of our home AND make me happy!


On a completely different note, both my kids are cuddlers! They both love to sit and cuddle with me and Nick. Obviously Bradley wants to cuddle, which explains why he wakes up every night and cries until we come in there, pick him up and rock him. He's usually very content and just precious while we're rocking him and it's a very sweet time. Of course, it does get old when it's multiple times during the night or when you're just "dog tired" and have to get out of bed during the middle of the night. But, I try to remind myself that he's going to be big one day and not want much to do with me, so I'd better enjoy these sweet, needy moments while I can. Just today when he woke up from his nap, he just wanted me to hold and rock him in the den until he was fully awake. His little head was on my chest and he was watching tv, but he wanted to cuddle, and it was sooooo sweet! Rachel is an extremely affectionate cuddler too! And, she's the biggest "rewarder" when you do cuddle with her. She likes to say several times, "I love you, mommy" or "I like you, mommy." It's so sweet! In the mornings, she wants to lay in bed with us and snuggle or sit on the couch and cuddle for as long as you have the time to sit or lay with her. And, during Bradley's nap, if we're watching tv, she wants me to hold her or sit as close to her as I can. Again, with lots of rewarding sentiments the whole time. Anyway, I know my kids are the sweetest kids and that I'm so blessed to have been given the opportunity to to be their mommy. I hope I'll always appreciate this time when my kids want to be with me sooo much! I know one day I'll probably be the last person they want to spend time with! I love them sooooo much!

A new gymnastics class for Boo Boo

Now that boo boo is approaching her 4th birthday, she and her other gymnastics buddies were asked to move out of the 2-3 year old class and into another class. I was disappointed at first, because I really liked the Tuesday, 11am time slot of her class. The only other one that would work with Bradley's nap was the Wednesdays at 4pm class. That is a 4 and 5 year old class and she had her first one tonight. I wasn't sure how she would like it without her usual buddies in there. Luckily, one of her friends, Raquelle, also moved into this class, so she did know someone. The other 4 students were 4 years old and there was a 6 year old. (go figure!) Anyway, the class was so neat! The teachers did much more challenging things with the students and more was expected from the kids. Rachel did awesome!! She has the ability and was able to copy all the things the other kids were doing, she just had to be shown what to do. I was so proud of her! The biggest difference between her age and an almost 5 year old is the attention/listening factor. She still gets in her own little world at times and doesn't hear when her teacher says to do something. But, she caught on eventually. What was really funny was when she had to wait her turn. There was a lot of this going on and since she's not in school yet, her only exposure to taking turns and stuff is at gymnastics. She would get the grumpiest look on her face and cross her arms when she was asked to wait her turn. But, her little face would light up when it was her turn! She's such a funny little girl! I got such a kick out of watching her! She looked so cute and like such a big kid walking forwards and backwards on the balance beam, balancing on one foot and kicking with the other, doing straddle jumps and v-sits and pikes. She just looked like a little adorable gymnast. I would love for her to continue this on for years and years, but we'll see if it's something she continues to enjoy. I want to expose her and Bradley to lots of different things to see what they enjoy and want to excel at.

I also wasn't sure how bubba would do with this new time for gymnastics, but he did awesome! I took lots of snacks, and since he had woken up from his nap at 3:00, he was well rested. He actually enjoyed watching her and only got a little cranky at the end of the class. I know he wants to be doing the same things and playing on the equipment like he sees her doing. I hope I can start him in some kind of class once Rachel starts school. I know he'll love it. Raquelle's little brother, Eli, (15 mo. old) was there so he and Bradley shared some cookies and got in each other's faces a little bit. (in a good way!)

I decided to post some pictures from yesterday and last week to make the blog more interesting. The ones of the kids doing crafts are when Rachel decided to make a heart valentine for JuJu. Bradley HAD to color too, but as you can see, he wanted to draw on the chair AND on the table.

I had to include the picture of him in the blue lacoste shirt, because I didn't know it was a lacoste shirt until the receptionist at the pediatrician's office made a big deal about how she didn't know they made baby lacoste shirts. I didn't either because I don't even know what's so special about a lacoste shirt in the first place. (Thanks Leigh Anne, for Carter's hand me downs!)

Doctors, doctors, doctors!

We're all so sick of going to the doctor! One big reason is of course the $ factor. Those co-pays really add up and make you cringe when you think of other areas where you could have spent the money. But, the biggest reason we're so sick of the doctor is that we're tired of being sick! Poor Rachel and Bradley have had so many little colds and ear infections, I can't even remember them all. All I know, is that we have been to at least one doctor per week for December and January. We were back at our pediatrician's office this morning for Bradley's 18 month check up (which we had put off) and for a re-check on Rachel's last double ear infection. Good thing we went, because Rachel STILL has an ear infection. Poor little girl hasn't even been complaining about it although Dr. McCorkle says it looks bad and he's surprised she hasn't said anything. I chalk it up to the fact that she's a girl (and we know how tough we are and how we have a high tolerance for pain) and that the infection was sooooo bad she just knows it doesn't feel as bad as it used to feel. Anyway, we got to go back to Publix to get another 10 day prescription for a nasty medicine that she hates taking and makes her want to throw up. She took the first 1 tsp. pretty well. We took breaks between and drank large sips of coke. But, when I had to give her the last 3/4, she was done. She wouldn't cooperate or be still, so I had to hold her down and squirt it in her mouth while she was screaming and crying. Of course, most of it ended up in her hair and on her shirt. I hope the first teaspoon will do the trick, because I'm not sure how I'm going to get her to take the last bit for 9 more days! Poor Rachel!!!!



Bradley's 18 mo. check up went well too. Thankfully, my kids LOVE Dr. McCorkle and all the nurses at his office. So, rarely do they cry or get upset about being examined. I had to get Bradley naked so he could be weighed, and he was 25 lbs. 1 oz. ,he measured 31 1/2 in. long. His little head is 19 1/2 in. circumference. His percentages were: 35% for weight, 21% for height and 88% for head. So, even though some people might think he's a big boy, he's actually just right!! He's grown in all directions since his 15 mo. check up and is developing just right! The worst part of the visit was that he had to have a finger prick and a shot. The finger prick made him mad because the nurse held his hand still and squeezed his finger. The shot hurt because it was in his little upper arm. He also didn't like the bandaids, so he quickly pulled the one off his finger and cried for about 5 minutes until he calmed down. Bradley was really using his "angry eyes" today when he looked at Dr. McCorkle and the nurse. He had a very furrowed brow and his little lip poked out. I think he was mimicking daddy, because I KNOW mommy never has that look! (yeah, right!) Anyway, at least he doesn't have to go back until his 2 year check-up. Hopefully, Rachel won't have to go back before she's 4 either. We're hoping we can keep everybody healthy!

I know I've sounded dramatic here, because I'm very thankful that the kids only have minor illnesses that are treatable and that I'm able to care for them. I can't imagine how parents feel who's daily lives are made up of visiting doctors and specialists about very serious, life-threatening illnesses. Thank you, God, for mine, Nick's and the kid's good health.