Pics from Disney

When I first decided to make the trip to Orlando, FL for my great-aunt's 80th birthday party...I didn't think I would be alive to post this message. Brad had to stay behind to work, so me and the kids drove with my parents. Since we were making the drive, I decided that I might as well attempt a day at the Magic Kingdom (thanks to dad's help!!! Love you Dad!!!)...WE MADE IT!

Dad drove...which if you didn't know Lead Foot himself...the travel time was reduced drastically and the kids did really well in the car.

I must admit that I will never attempt Disney World again in one day. I felt overwhelmed by the thought of not being able to fit anything in. But the looks on the kids faces when they saw the parades and all their favorite characters, it was all worth it. I would like to go back and stay in the park and for at least a week. Maybe next summer when Turner is a little bit older.

Here are some pics from our day...

Again...why did I take a "cat nap" today?

I'm writing this at midnight...I'm just wondering...why in the hell did I take a 45 minute nap today while all the kids were down? I'M NUTS!! NOW I CAN'T GO TO SLEEP!

It's Spring Break here in good ole' Alabama, which means I'm home alone with 3 kids and trying to keep them all occupied...very hard to do. Luckily, Brad's cousin Molly will be coming home with me tomorrow and she'll be staying through Friday, so I can at least have someone here to enjoy the insanity with me!

I went to the grocery store with all 3 of them today...two and half hours and $400 dollars later...I'm surprised I made it through the whole ordeal with only needing a nap and not a padded cell. Tomorrow I'm going to the Y to work out and then going to pick up Molly...YEAH!!!

All is Well

Everyone is "back to normal" today. We had some sick ones around the house Sunday and Brad was sick Monday...but everyone is feeling better now. Hope your family doesn't get struck by the stomach bug!

We've joined the local YMCA...which has "Childwatch". YEAH!! Which means I can go and work out and they'll watch the kiddos for me. It's been great for me and I've really enjoyed their "BodyPump" class which is a group exercise class that last an hour and you use weights for everything! Love it!! I've been doing that class and then doing cardio 2 days a week. I can't wait for this summer, they have a huge outdoor pool and a kiddie pool for the kids to swim in. They have an indoor pool too...but we went as a family two Sundays ago and it was too cold. We'll try again soon though.

"Blog Fix"

I know it's been awhile since I've "blogged"...but it's been hard for me to get motivated to do anything these days...SORRY! Thanks to my dad, here's his "blog fix".

Taylor has really taken to school now. Monday when I dropped her off, she actually gave me a kiss and said "Bye Mommy!" YEAH!!! Now I don't feel guilty for pawning her off onto her wonderful MDO teacher!

Tucker has been wearing the seams out of his "Incredibles Supersuit" that Santa gave him for Christmas. He loves dressing up as different characters...some real and some imaginary. Here's a picture of him in his supersuit on Christmas morning at Brad's parents house. The horse was made for him by his "paw paw"...the kids love it and the thing is sturdy enough to hold all the kids and an adult at the same time. Here's Josh, Taylor and "Dash"...




Taylor has now started to catch on...here is her "supersuit".


Yes, it's a "fairy" costume, but she has added the tiara and the pink cowgirl boots. It's hilarious. For those of you who don't know...Taylor doesn't like to wear clothes. She is naked ALL the time. Most of the time, she likes to look like this...

I have a better picture showing the full effect (if you know what I mean) but I'm afraid to post it due to DHR coming and hauling my children away!! ;0

I cannot keep clothes on this child!! As soon as she gets home, she wants everything off...if the shirt she is wearing has Minnie Mouse, a Disney Princess character or Tinker Bell, then she'll leave her shirt on. OH HEAVEN HELP US!!! I think we're in for some REAL fun with this one!

Here's another example...she has taken Tucker's power ranger and cowboy gun and shoved it down into her diaper (to copy Tucker's holster)...SHE'S SO FUNNY!







Turner has been doing really well. He hasn't had any more seizures (KNOCK ON WOOD)...and I'll leave you with a pic of him...WANT A KISS?

He's normal!!!

First, I'd like to start off with...I'm sorry it's been so long since I've blogged. Not only to those who keep up with this thing...but mainly to myself...it's my way of "letting off steam".

Turner's EEG test results came back "normal". YEAH, HE'S NORMAL!! Which means he does not have epilepsy or a seizure disorder...so if he has any more seizures, we'll go from there.

The kids started back at MDO...and Taylor is going now on Monday's and Friday's, which means I only have Turner on those two days. The first day she went was my birthday...HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!!! I pampered myself by going and getting my hair chopped off. I was able to donate an eleven inch (yes, 11 in) ponytail to Wigs 4 Kids. I love my new short hair...the long hair was starting to drive me crazy!

Hope everyone had a great Christmas/New Year!

The kids are now getting back into the swing of things after the long Christmas break. We were able to go to the zoo after Christmas...it's just now starting to get cold here. Anyhoo, here are some pics for ya'll.

Taylor riding the carousel at the Birmingham Zoo.

Tucker feeding the goats at the Birmingham Zoo.

Turner's first trip to the Zoo!

My new do!

"Santa should just bring presents, we don't need to see him!"

Sunday, Brad and I got the kids dressed to go see Santa at the Bass Pro Shop in Leeds, AL. If you live near one, I highly recommend going...the kids would love it. They had all kinds of things for the kids to do and the "boys" liked walking around the huge store.

We stood in line to see Santa, which luckily for us was not very long. Tucker took his picture first...he looked like he was mad at Santa and was about to attack. Taylor held on so tightly to Brad and would not take a picture. Then I hand Turner to Santa. Turner stared at him for a good 20 seconds. The lady taking the picture said "Once he looks at me, then I 'll take the picture"...this is what we got! This is right before the enormous scream he let out. It was so funny!!!

Tucker later said..."Mommy, maybe Santa should just bring us presents, we don't need to see him".

Classic!

SHHHH...Be Vewy, Vewy Quiet!!!

Above are some pics from Thanksgiving Day. Turner was asleep when we took these...poor thing, he always gets left out!

I should be vacuuming the house right now instead of sitting at this computer "blogging". I'm trying to be quiet in the hopes that Taylor will take a well deserved (and by that I mean, I deserve it!!) nap. Here lately, the child does not want to sleep during the day. I guess I should have known this day was coming...Tucker did the same thing.

Once I put Turner down for his nap (usually around 11 or 11:30), I will attempt to put Taylor down so that I can get some work done around the house. But if she hears me, that's it, she wants to be with me. I needed some alone time today...so as soon as I put her in her room and turned on (her favorite) Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, I shut the door and carefully went down the stairs to attempt to straighten up the house. It's been over an hour and so far, so good...and I believe she's asleep. Even if she's not, she's being quiet...and that's good enough for me! I've done everything but unload the dishwasher and vacuum. I'm scared that the noise will "wake" her and she'll want to come downstairs. How horrible of a mother am I?

Tucker is about to be home from Mother's Day Out and within 30 minutes of his arrival, everyone will be awake, yelling, screaming, laughing, running and riding through the house. My mom was commenting on how well behaved Turner was when there was tons of commotion going on. He's so good because chaos is his life. Turner almost doesn't know what to do when it's quiet...he thinks when it's quiet...it's nap time. It's amazing what you learn to "block out" as a stay-at-home mom. The happy (and loud) squeals, laughter, and talking don't seem to bother me as long as everyone is getting along and the sounds are coming from happy children...it's when they start to get tired (either physically or of each other) and they start to cry or scream at me is when it bothers me.

I guess in the end a clean house, laundry folded and put away and a well manicured lawn doesn't mean as much to me as happy, healthy and well adjusted kids. I just hope that I'm not screwing them up too bad!

VITO

First I'd like to start by saying Taylor has acted MUCH better since I last blogged. She's been doing extremely well with potty training...only 1 accident during the day and that's usually at dinner time. Hey, a girl's gotta eat...no time for bathroom breaks!


I know most of you are going to say I'm crazy for this next part...but we've adopted a dog. He's name is Vito. I've been wanting a dog for awhile now, and I knew that I wanted a German Shepherd, but I was afraid of getting a puppy and going through the whole chewing and training bit with little ones in the house...but then I was also afraid of getting an older one with issues. After some deliberation and many questions to reputable German Shepherd breeders, I decided to put an application into the German Shepherd Rescue of Central Alabama. They came and did a home inspection and recommended Vito. His owner died and his family couldn't take care of him, so he was surrendered to the local shelter. GSRCA came and got him and have been fostering him for 2 months. I have to say that I'm glad I listened to them and met Vito. He's the most well behaved, good natured, laid back dog I think I've ever been around. We were in PetSmart with tons of kids (not just Tucker but at least 6 other kids were climbing all over him) and he just loved it...laid there and licked faces if they would let him. He doesn't pull on his leash (yes...even in PetSmart) and so far seems to be enjoying his new home. As I'm typing this, he's laid out in his crate (which is at the foot of my bed) and is asleep. I'm sure I'll post more pics of him and the kids...but here's the one from the GSRCA website. We are all very excited about our new addition. Here's Vito!!

White Flag

The last 2 weeks have been a test. A test to determine if I can resist the overwhelming urge to tie my daughter up and hang her from the fan that hangs from my 20ft ceiling in my living room and leave her there while I go down a keg of beer at the local bar.

Yesterday morning, I almost gave up...but this morning she awoke with a white flag in her hand.

This morning when I went upstairs to get her from her room, she was holding a pair of white Minnie Mouse panties and said "Mommy, I wear big girl panties." I said okay, put them on her and she went the whole day with only one accident!!!

She started Friday wanting to wear the panties, but not wanting to go to the bathroom. But today, she made up for it. I'm so proud of her!...and myself for letting her live this long :)

Her attitude and behavior was a complete 180 from the way she acted yesterday. Hopefully we can keep this up!

Pics from Halloween

Halloween here was so much fun. Tucker got to "dress up" twice because of MDO (Mother's Day Out). So, for MDO, he was "Officer Hutson". My mom got him this outfit for his birthday. He's been asking for a police man outfit so "Grammie" delivered. The outfit is so cute and he's already gotten alot of use out of it. Hopefully the billy club won't see the back of Turner or Taylor's heads!





Both sets of grandparents came to the house for Mexican...special thanks to dad for picking it up--and paying ;)....and after dinner, the kids got dressed up as cowboys/cowgirl.

Turner wore a costume that was Tucker's first Halloween costume...he didn't go trick-or-treating with everyone else, he got to stay behind with me and (Nana) Linda and handed out candy to other trick-or-treaters. Thanks to (Gammie) my mom Katie for making Taylor's outfit and for Tucker's outfit. Everyone looked adorable and fun was had by all!!!

I hope everyone had a safe and fun Halloween!