A much-needed break!

Nick and I enjoyed the most relaxing time we've had in about 6 years, this past weekend. Since our extra-special 10th Anniversary is just around the corner, we wanted to acknowledge it without going anywhere or spending much money. This just isn't the year to be spending money! We figured we would stay home, childless, and just relax. We wouldn't even worry about household chores...we would just do whatever we felt like doing. And, that's exactly what we did. We dropped the kids at Gege and Papa's on Saturday morning and came home and just couldn't decide what to do! All this freedom is so unlike our day to day lives. Our daily schedule revolves around 3 very precious and important people and for the first time in a long time, we were able to focus on ourselves-and each other! So, we decided to get dressed and go eat Brett's in Athens. We love that place and the huge variety of food they offer...and the quality is outstanding!! Nick enjoyed a big, juicy, bacon cheeseburger. I enjoyed some buffalo tacos that were out of this world-good!!!!! Soft, flour tortillas filled with chunks of buffalo chicken fingers, topped with shredded cheese, diced tomatoes, homemade-delicious slaw and drizzled with ranch dressing. Can you tell I liked it???? I couldn't stop telling Nick how much I was enjoying the tacos. They had lots of heat to them, but that cool slaw and homemade Ranch was such a nice balance. YUM!! Anyway, we left there, went to Kohl's to look around and then came home, just in time for the 3:30 UGA disappointment. Nick watched the game while I watched a movie on tv that I had never seen before...The Negotiator. I loved it. I enjoyed sitting here doing nothing and watching what I wanted to watch! Finally, at 7pm (SHOCK! Not 5pm like we Usually eat) Nick and I went to Longhorn's to pick up some food to bring home and eat. The food was DELICIOUS too! And, I wasn't even that hungry from our yummy lunch! Anyway, after dinner we watched our Netflix movie, Robin Hood, which was fabulous and then we went to bed. It was so quiet all day long, but I had no idea it would be so quiet without the monitor and noisemaker shushing in my ear. I slept pretty well, but did wake up a couple of times. Then, this morning, we laid in bed all morning till we decided to get dressed and get something to eat...again. This time, it was Your Pie...so yummy! I love their "Thai Pie". Dee-lish! Back home to do a little cleaning-because I wanted to- and then we went to get the kids. We missed them, but so enjoyed and needed the break. It's always interesting picking them up since the boys are usually not too thrilled to see us...thankfully Rachel is always glad to see us and gives us hugs. (1 out of 3 ain't too bad, I guess.) We're grateful to Gege and Papa for keeping the kids for sooooooooooo long, entertaining them with all the awesome things they came up with and letting us have a break! Thanks G & P! The kids had so much fun that the boys were asleep by 7:30 and Rachel was asleep by 8! :)

I'm so very thankful to God for providing me with such an awesome husband--I love him so much and enjoy getting to spend time with just him!

Also...a HUGE thanks to mom, dad, Joe and Deb for the special treat of being able to eat out 3 times this weekend! It was YUMMY! Now the reality is back...hotdogs, peanut butter sandwiches and grilled cheeses! :)

Kidd-o Updates-

I don't have any cute pictures because I don't feel like finding the camera and uploading any pics. These days are very busy around the Milligan home. Seems like we always have something going on!



Trenty has discovered that he can turn doorknobs...so he loves opening and closing doors. We (now) can't keep him out of Rachel's room as easily and he even opens the door to the garage to go outside. We have to keep the doors locked so he can't go outside unattended. This is a little bit obsessive right now. Trent loves hearing his own voice...and it's not always a pleasant sound. If Trenty doesn't get his way, he makes it loud and clear that he's not happy about it. He wants to be big like his brother and sister and do the things they do. He likes to take a toy that they're playing with and then cries angrily when they take it back. He loves to aggravate Bradley and this has turned into some almost big boy "brawls" for the boys. All this 1 year old behavior, though, is balanced with a very sweet, loving, kind little boy who loves his family. He gives lots of hugs and kisses, likes to be doted on and included and is so very bright! He wavers between wanting to be a big boy and wanting to be a baby...he still loves to be held while he drinks his juice cup. He likes to (most of the time) sit with me and put his fingers/hand on my mouth. For some reason, this is very soothing to him. It's almost like he's still "nursing" even though it's a cup he's drinking. I think it's sweet and enjoy these "baby" moments since I know he won't want to do it forever. He is, after all, my baby.



Bradley is doing AWESOME in school! I am amazed at how much he has learned and how quickly he has learned his alphabet! He's started writing his name and writes it as: Bray. This is such a huge improvement over his absolute lack of regard for writing this time last year. He enjoys his friends...especially Mark-and loves Ms. Jan and Ms. Kim. One of the many things we love about Bradley is that he's a fun four year old! He likes to be silly, have fun, be a little independent and a little needy, act tough, read books, ride his bike and scooter, and be with other kids. He still doesn't share many details about his school days. He still doesn't remember very many of the girl's names in his class (who needs girls?) or what he does each day. When he brings home crafts, he's so proud of the artwork he's done. He loves to snuggle and cuddle and still sleeps with his "bay" at night. He still adores his big sister and told us he wants to marry her one day. Our Bradley is a sweet soul who does not enjoy getting into trouble and if he "feels the heat" he says (in an exasperated voice) "I'm tiiiiiirrredddd." I guess he thinks that excuses whatever he's done. He loves to hang out with his baby brother and gets a kick out of his "baby" ways.


Rachel is doing GREAT in school! She still loves her homeschool co-op, and even enjoys her school at home. Thankfully, she seems to have Nick's math abilities, because she gets math VERY easily; which is very unlike her mommy! She's really good at Language Arts also but doesn't enjoy it as much as she does Math. She's so flexible and tolerant of the HUGE distraction that we lovingly call Trenty. He's sometimes QUITE loud during Rachel's school lessons but Rachel doesn't seem to mind. Her "motherly" instincts kick in most of the time and she ends up wanting to entertain, soothe and help him, even when I'm trying to ignore him. Somehow, she is able to concentrate on her work even with Tornado Trenty around. She is very concerned with doing things the right way. She doesn't like it if she makes a mistake and loves hearing that she made 100% on her work.

She's still in her "loose tooth" stage. She just lost one of her bottom teeth the other night (and has 2 others that are loose). She was so excited! She left her tooth in her new tooth fairy pillow (thanks Aunt Erin) and left a glass of water on her nightstand. She was thrilled to wake up and find $1 in her pillow and green water in the glass since the Tooth Fairy had dipped her wings in the water before she left. (I'm so glad the TF didn't forget this time!!)

This season of life is exhausting and usually without many breaks...but I am so thankful to have the privilege of being a mommy and being part of these precious children's lives. I feel abundantly blessed beyond measure!

Cousin Fun!

Trenty pulling an empty wagon

Alex enjoying a cupcake

the 2 most beautiful and sweet little girls!!

fun times swingin'

Bradley is "driving" Alex in a car

my tough Bradley showing off his biking skills

2 sweet girls scooting around

Alex pulling Trenty in the wagon

The cousins had a great time playing together the other day and these are a few pictures of their fun! It doesn't take much to entertain them...they all just love being together and get along remarkably well! We are so glad to have the Lanes back in our neck of the woods so we can have these impromptu playdates again!

Pajama Time

I wish I could find my picture of Bradley in these same pj's! I love these little "Hugh Hefner" style jammies that button down the front. They are just too cute on Trent and were precious on Brad!

Fall Festival at MHBC

my 3 little punkins
Trent's over the costume

my beautiful, sweet witch

my handsome, sweet hunter

my cute little punkin'

hunter, Daphne, a witch, Snow White (Isabelle)

aww...sweet cousins!

Shaggy, a hunter, a witch and Daphne

(Shaggy needs a scooby snack!)

The other night, our church had it's Fall Festival. All the kids wore their costumes and there were games, hotdogs, sno-cones, popcorn and there was supposed to be a hayride, pony ride and a fire truck. However, this was the worst night of weather and rain imaginable, which completely ruined any outdoor plans. So, it ended up being a little congested inside, but the kids didn't seem to notice. We loved getting to spend the time with Wendy, Juj and Alex also.

Bradley's Harvest Party at MHPA

our handsome hunter
Bradley's class

Bradley's buddy, Mark, dressed as blue Iron Man

(B was sitting in a chair...he's NOT that much shorter than Mark!)

Trent flirting with his friend, Lilia, who is Callie's younger sister.

Callie is in Bradley's pre-k class this year.

Isabelle, Callie's older sister, was in Rachel's pre-k class.

Bradley doing some Harvest crafts

Bradley and Mark working so seriously on their crafts

Last Friday, Bradley's pre-k class had their Harvest Party. The moms who organized it did a great job...really cute, tasty snacks, some adorable little crafts and some yummy-smelling, homemade pumpkin play-doh to play with. When Rachel, Trent and I got there, Bradley was already eating a cupcake next to his buddy, Mark. He was excited about being there and seemed to enjoy himself until he just decided he was ready to go home because he was tired. It's always fun for me to see the kids in the class and watch how they interact with each other. At this age, there's alot of ignoring each other and sticking with mom and dad. All the kids in the class wore their Halloween costumes and looked absolutely adorable. Even some siblings wore their costumes. Trent particularly liked one sibling who was dressed like a tiger...he kept walking up to her and hugging her from behind. She didn't really know what to think.

We love MHPA and are so thankful to have Ms. Jan and Ms. Kim again as pre-k teachers. They are still just as sweet and kind as they were when Rachel was in their pre-k class...and they're so kind and inclusive of her since she's the oldest sibling who attends anything. Bradley's really thriving and learning so much at school. He loves it and really seems to just be opening up more and more each day. We love our Bradley-poo and are so proud of the sweet, kind boy that he is!!

Trick-or-treating!

a hunter, Trent, a witch and Daphne
Shaggy, a hunter, a witch and Daphne

Rach and Brad in front of someone's yard art

trick-or-treating

Nick's on trick or treat duty

my beautiful, sweet little witch girl

my handsome, sweet little hunter

(he would NOT be an army guy)

my sweet baby stinker as himself

Trent- "turn off the darn camera!"

Finished!!

This year was an extra-fun Halloween because the Lanes are baaaaacckk!!!!! Both sets of grandparents came over tonight to see the kiddos in their costumes and even Grammy drove up from Bainbridge to see Juj and Alex and visit with us for a little bit. It was a great time filled with GREAT food (thanks mom and Deb!!) and super cute kids! We went to our usual neighborhood and had so much fun trick or treating! Trent loved trick or treating even though he did NOT want to wear his costume! I'm so glad I got a couple of good pictures of him in it the other night, because he wasn't having ANY of it tonight! Rachel and Bradley enjoyed every minute and really racked up on candy this year. It was such a fun evening! Now I'm just going to have to decide what we're going to do with all this candy...we sure don't need to eat it all!!!!!