Potty Training

Can you believe it? Brady is using the potty!!! He is only 2 and is going on the potty. Hopefully he won't get bored. He doesn't really get the whole wet diaper thing yet. I have to ask him if he wants to go to keep his diaper dry. It's a start. It doesn't hurt that he gets skittles every time he goes...oh and he has to have two because everything he gets he needs one in each hand. So what if his teeth rot out, as long as he is potty trained. NO MORE DIAPERS!!!

Maybe not shingles

I am so tired of itching. When is it going to end? Now the doctor doesn't even know what it is. I could have had shingles on my face but now the rest of my body where it is spreading to is unknown. Will the itching ever stop? It consumes me. I go to the dermatologist tomorrow with hope of some answers. Until then...

Poison Ivy?

Okay, so last week on Wednesday my face started to itch. I thought that a bug just got me a few times on the face. Well, I scratched and scratched. It started to get worse and spread all over the right side of my cheek and my neck. I tried everything . Now keep in mind that my husband gets poison ivy all of the time, he can just walk by it and get it. So how did I get it and not him? We were in the same places on Sunday at the park? I also am so careful not to touch anything. Meanwhile he fishes through a pack of leaves and vines to get someone's basketball and I say, hope you don't get poison ivy...you should have used your foot instead of your hands.

I should have gone to the doctor on Friday when I called to see if they could give me anything for the itch. They said they had to see me first. So I tried to make it through the weekend. Well by Monday, my face was swollen and throbbing. I went to the doctor...I have shingles!!! ON MY FACE!!! How gross is that!? So I have to call all of my students to make sure they have had chicken pox or have been vaccinated. What a pain in the neck, literally...and in the face too. I hate leaving the house and I feel like I have to explain my disgusting oozing crusty face to everyone I see, even complete strangers. I won't even go to the gym. Probably better off, the people wouldn't be able to work out because they would be too busy looking at my face. Ashlyn even looks at it. She'll be talking to me and I will catch her eyes moving to look at it. I will say, "are you looking at my shingles?" she'll say, "yes, I like to Mommy." I hope this medicine kicks in soon, we have a block party on Saturday.

"Melmo"

Last week I took Brady to see Elmo Live with a couple of my neighbors. Brady loved it. We had third row seats. The characters came right up to us. Cookie Monster rubbed on Brady's head, and now that's all he talks about. I'm surprised how attentive he was being that he decided to get up at 5 am that morning. Although when the show was over we opted to go home instead of eating lunch with everyone. He, of course, fell asleep on the way home...

"I used to be 4" "Now I am 5"

Today, Ashlyn came home from school wanting to write. She asked for some paper and went upstairs on her own to write. She asked me how to spell the words that she wanted to use. I am so proud of her! She even made designer I's...getting a little creative. What next? Reading? I would think math, but who knows.

Disney World

We're back. I can't even begin to tell you how great our trip was. We had a rocky start when Tommy woke up sick in the middle of our second night there. I had to venture off myself with the kids to Animal Kingdom. It went okay, except for some fighting in the double stroller. Oh...we left our stroller in Charlotte and had to buy one at Super Walmart in Orlando (that was an interesting trip...Tommy said it was his worst shopping experience ever...no wonder he bought a huge bottle of vodka there, yes in Walmart). Anyway, I rented a double stroller in Animal Kingdom..$31 for the day, but well worth it. Thankfully Tommy started to feel better and we all went to Hollywood Studios the next day with my parents and my brother and his wife.

September is a great time to go...very little lines to wait on. Some rides had no wait at all. Some of Ashlyn and Brady's favorites were: It's a Small World, Winnie the Pooh, Cars, Thunder Mountain (Ashlyn's favorite, even though Brady kept saying "me too, me too"...he wanted so bad to be tall enough), Splash Mountain, and the Mickey Mouse Philharmagic Show (Brady was a little scared of this one, it was 3-D). I loved Space Mountain myself...I went on it all by myself. I wanted to try the Rock-n-Roll and Mt Everest rollercoasters but Ashlyn was an inch too short. Next year she'll be tall enough but I don't think she really knows how crazy those coasters are. She may have my 'love for rollercoasters' genes though.

Ashlyn got her wish to become Princess Jasmine at the Bibbitti Bobbitti Boutique. She was so lucky that she even got picked to get made up in a special area (in the front window of the store). People were walking by waving and pointing at her. She felt like she was famous. When she was done, people asked to have their picture taken with her and some even asked for her autograph. She ate it up.

Ashlyn also got to eat lunch with 5 of her favorite princesses (Belle, Jasmine, Cinderella, Alice, and Aurora). She got many autographs and pictures taken with them. Brady got to eat breakfast with Mickey, Pluto, Lilo, and Stitch on his birthday. Too bad he didn't eat a thing (not even his birthday cupcake) and wanted to leave pretty much as soon as we got there. Ashlyn had fun though.

Daddy and Brady going down the water slide at our hotel for the 100th time. Brady has his own song, "Slide, um, um. Slide, um, um."

Ashlyn's favorite princess, Jasmine.

Mine. Mine. Mine. Mine. Mine. Mine. Mine.

Donald Duck and the family in Mexico (Epcot).

Streesed out but excited

We're off to Disney tomorrow. Hope the car ride is okay for the kids.....

Chef Ashlyn

September 10th, Ashlyn's 5th Birthday. We made cupcakes together. Anytime we cook together, she wears her apron and hat...so cute. I am thankful that she kept her clothes on under the apron this time.

Make a wish..."I wish I could be a real princess in Disney World."

Words, Words, and more Words

Some of Brady's new favorite words: mine (top of the list), my turn (actually 'my' in front of any word), Lenna (Lennox), slide, side (outside), teeze (macaroni and cheese...his favorite food), nak (snack), kiki (his little blankie), taci (pacifier), throw, and ball (he is already a little athlete). Soon we won't be able to keep him quiet.

Potty Time

Okay, so last night we were out to dinner and Brady kept saying 'potty'. The words are flowing out now. So he and I walked to the bathroom and sure enough he wanted to use the potty. He actually did it and he is not even two yet. I'm not going to get too excited, but it would be nice if he trained himself since he wants to do everything else by himself.

School Bells

Ashlyn had a great first week back at school. She loves her teachers and classmates. Now if I could just get her to eat a full lunch there. Every day she comes home with something in her lunch box that she didn't eat. Just like me, she won't eat peanut butter and jelly. She doesn't eat sandwiches either. I feel like I have tried everything. Any ideas?

First Day of School

Ashlyn had a great first day back to preschool. I'm really glad I put her in TK. I think that this year will really be good for her. She loves her new teachers and can't wait to go each day. She is definitely MY daughter.

Zip line

Ashlyn got a zip line Saturday. Tommy put it up in the backyard. Ashlyn said, "we have the coolest backyard now!"

Matthews Festival

Saturday morning we went to the Matthews Festival that they have every year Labor Day weekend. We got there when it openned so the kids could get on all the rides before the parade at 10. It was great, no lines. Brady loved the slide and asked to do 'mo'. Ashlyn got a butterfly painted on her face while we waited for the parade to come. We met up with our friends, the Shaws. Ashlyn and Kylie have been good friends since before they both turned one. We stayed for about 2 1/2 hours then it looked like Brady had had enough.

When we got home, Brady didn't even want lunch. He wanted his crib. Wierd, it was only 11:30 am. He felt super hot, so I took his temperature. He had 102.6. Where did that come from? I gave him some motrin. He napped for less than an hour. When he got up he was acting fine so we went out to some stores to buy a birthday gift. Big mistake. Well I guess we did too much because when we got home he had 104 temperature. Straight to bed at 5:30 pm. Did I mention I didn't put any pants on him, just left him in his diaper and a pj top? He was burning up, so I thought it was a good idea at the time...until Tommy called me while I was out with Ashlyn. Um... Brady took off his diaper and...I'm sure you can figure out the rest. Tommy did a good job cleaning up, but Brady was up again. He went back to bed in clean sheets at 8 pm. He slept through the night.

Gymnastics

Last night was Ashlyn's first gymnastics class; she's the one in the light pink leotard. Wow, it brought back memories. She loved it! She asked if she could live at the gym. She's definitely my daughter. When we got to the gym I told her to sit with her class and listen to Coach Gina (she's Russian with not much personality). As soon as I walked away, Ashlyn was jumping on a spring board and climbing all over the mats. I had to explain to her that it is not free play, that she is going to learn from her coach. She just seemed to be so interested in the older gymnasts flipping around that she had a hard time focusing on her group. I noticed a few times the coach used one hand to turn Ashlyn's head around in the right direction. She said at the end of class, "I just want to be where all the other girls are." I said, "keep practicing and you will be there someday."

I can't wait to see her do a real cartwheel. She tried last night but it didn't remotely look like one. If I know her, she won't stop until she can do it right.

Brady-Man

So we received two full boxes of goodies from my grandma the other day. For those of you that don't know, my grandma lives in Las Vegas and loves to send boxes of things she gets from the casinos with the points she's racked up. Along with blankets, scarves, hats, and sweaters that she made. The kids had a blast going through all of the great and interesting things. One of our favorites is this beautiful blanket that she knitted (or thought she knitted), until my mother told me she bought it. Oops. Ashlyn set up a bed in the dining room with a bunch of books. She then pretended to read to Brady. Brady kept coming back for 'mo' (that's how he says more). Most of his words are cut in half. His favorite...whaszat (what's that?). He must say that at least 50 times a day. Can't complain, at least he is finally starting to talk.

Another is...dy (try?). He wants to try everything. Mostly everything his sister does. As you can see he had to try on her shin guards, soccer socks, and sneakers after asking whaszat. I'm surprised he didn't make me dy. He cracks me up!

Yes, Ashlyn is playing soccer. What else would her mom sign her up for? She loves it! Although today my neighbor, Ali took Ashlyn with her son Jack to soccer clinic while I was tutoring and then told me that Ashlyn was hugging on Jack during practice. When Ali asked her to let him go so they could continue to practice, she said "but Ms. Ali I just love him so much". Yup, she already has her husband picked out. Tommy and I wouldn't mind, he is such a great kid and did I mention adorable too. She has great taste.

Ashlyn also starts gymnastics tomorrow. Can't wait to see how that goes. Until then...

At the Car Wash

Tommy washed his car this weekend and as you can see the kids helped. They love helping Daddy, although most of the time they are fighting over the hose and jumping in puddles. Ashlyn squirted Brady right in the face one time and Brady squirted himself in the face another time. I had to strip Brady down to his diaper because he was getting so wet. They were both trying to get as dirty as possible, so I had to through them in the tub after it all. Thankfully then it was rest time. Horray!!

Starting our first Blog

Ashlyn and I decided to start a blog. We are both beginners at this, so cut us some slack. I will try to write when I can. But remember, I was and never will be a good writer.

Ashlyn will be 5 soon and Brady 2. Both in September. We are having a double birthday party for them at Monkey Joes. It should be fun. We are then taking them to Disney World for the first time. We will have a princess lunch and character breakfast for the kids. Ashlyn will become a princess at the Bibbiti Bobbiti Boutique. I don't think that she knows what she is in for and how much fun she will have. I will try my best to keep you all updated.