Business Time

This video is too funny.......had to post it in honor of it being Wednesday.......

Warning: content not for kids:-)

Snow Day!

WooHoo! We had an actual snow fall here the other night in Georgia (Wed night). It was right around bed time, but I saw it snowing and said "we've got to get the kids bundled up and out in the snow". Ryan was hesitant since it was bedtime, but I insisted knowing it would probably be gone in the morning. We had a blast. It started with us out in the snow, and slowly other kids in the neighborhood followed. Before long we had a group of people sledding down the large hill on the side of our yard(believe it or not someone had a sled). Yes, the infamous slip-and-slide hill we use during the hot, hot summer months here in the south, was used as a sled hill.

The snow started coming down around 5:30, and by 8 the schools had been canceled for the following day. I can't believe how freaked out people get about the snow. The following morning the snow had basically melted away, yet there was no school!
As a fellow mid-western girl, I was in heaven playing around in the snow with my kids. Ethan of course had to take his first bite of snow and see how it tasted.

Here is our house in all of it's snowy splendor:-)

Enjoyed it while it was here, and anxiously await the next snowfall....maybe within the next 6 years!

Happy Birthday Drew Drew

I can't believe my baby boy has turned 3. This past year has flown by, yet so much has happened between last December and this one. Here's a few things that stand out in my mind from this past year. ***warning....long post, this is for my personal records:-)****

The year started out very rough. Drew kept getting sick with colds, and the colds always turned into pneumonia. After the third case of this, we were referred to an allergy and asthma clinic.

Thankfully he did not end up having asthma, but it was discovered that he had severe allergies. He was prescribed several medicines (which he still takes today), and this DRAMATICALLY helped him, not only physically but emotionally.

Drew become a big brother in April when "sissy" was born. He adjusted very well, although he didn't quite understand why she couldn't wrestle with him like his older brother did.

Another highlight for Drew right around this time was when Daddy and Gta built his special fort in the backyard. What a treat...a new sister and a new fort all in one week!

Drew decided to potty-train himself shortly after Ethan became potty-trained. I actually resisted because I was not ready for it yet! But he was determined and was wearing big boy underwear (even during the night) within a week of starting. If only they could all be that easy!

Drew is our fish.....he LOVES to swim. This summer was no different, we spent countless hours at the pool.

We took a trip to Chicago in August. Drew loves and adores his Gta and YaYa (contrary to how he looks below).

Drew was such a BIG boy when he went to school for the first time. I'll never forget how special he felt with his new backpack strapped on his back, heading into class.

He was a T-Rex for Halloween. In fact, he was a T-Rex for several weeks after Halloween as well (he would still be wearing the outfit now if I had not put it away during one of those rare moments he had forgotten about it).

Christmas was filled with lots of fun memories. Ethan and Drew loved going to a carnival at the end of a huge lights show....they would have gone on ride after ride if mommy and daddy had let them (our pockets were empty after 2 rides!).

Drew Drew stunned us all with his performance at his school Christmas program.

We took a trip to North Carolina to go on the "Polar Express"train with Grammy and PaPa. Drew loved it, and carried his bell that Santa gave him for days afterwards.

Drew's actual birthday was December 30th. We celebrated as a family on that day, but didn't have his birthday party until this past weekend (due to holiday craziness). He invited his friends from class and his cousins to a jumpy place. They had a blast, and I could tell Drew thoroughly enjoyed all the attention.


Look at that million dollar smile....the dimples! Love.them.

Sissy even enjoyed his new toys!

I can't wait to see what this next year holds for Drew. He has grown so much this past year! He is extremely strong-willed, and although this makes things difficult now as we butt heads often, I know he is going to be an amazing young man. He has started to show a lot more heart this past year....a softer side to him. He will often ask me "mommy, do I make you happy?". How could you ask for more than that?
We love you Drew Drew....our big 3 year old!

New Year, New Me

I made a major mistake the other day. I stepped on this:

Actually, it was probably the best thing I could have done. I knew the weight has not dropped off after having Elise like it did for the other two kids, but boy was I surprised at the number that popped up. Now I'm not one of those girls obsessed with weight and numbers, but there comes a time when none of your clothes are fitting and you feel horrible about yourself that you need to make a change. And that time is NOW for me!

I know I'm probably following all the other Americans out there trying to lose weight once the new year begins, but this is not a diet. I LOVE food too much to stick to a diet longer than a day or two. So instead of completely cutting out carbs or sugars like most people, these two items are going to be my new best friends:


I did the treadmill almost every day after Drew was about six months old, and I will admit I was pretty in shape. Okay so there was a little motivation because I was going on a girls trip to Miami with a group of girlfriends that were all thin, plus none of them had had any children (takes a toll on the body!). So maybe I need to plan another trip, huh?!?

Unfortunately there is no trip planned right now, so I'm hoping that keeping an online "diary" so to speak will give me that extra push. I am going to watch what I eat in moderation, but I still want to be able to enjoy what I eat. Besides, spaghetti is a staple at our house.....easy to cook and the kids love it! I have a major coke (the pop) addiction, so I'm dropping that habit to one coke a day. Water will be my new drink of choice, which is so hard for me to drink for some reason...

So we'll see. Ryan's joining me in the quest to be more active and eat a little better, so I guess I could say "New Year, New Us".