Shopping with Grama B

So today I agreed to meet my mom and my almost 95yr old Grama B at the mall with all 3 kids. I RARELY go to the mall. I think we have been twice since moving to SC. Yeah. And only once did I bring the kids.

But they did great today.

Belk was having a good sale. (Oh yeah, Amanda Lee...good sale to stock up on next years' projected sizes...40% off clearance). My mom decided we could help Grama B pick out a few things to take back to Virginia with her. It was pretty funny.

Grama B was in a wheelchair. My kids were in the stroller...well in and out of it. They actually LOVED hiding in the clothes displays.

Grama B was throughly entertained watching the kids while my mom and I brought choices for her to see. She got some good stuff.

I also got a few school clothes for Silas and a couple things for Hattie. Jody asked me if I got anything for him and I told him I didn't even go in the men's Dpt. So I've got to try and get back there for him...maybe Saturday.

On a side note, Silas said something very funny to me. He said, "Mom, sometimes when you do something I remember that I dreamed about that thing you are doing right away." I thought that was a pretty good description of de ja vous. Don't you??

Oh, one more side note...how 'bout those falling gas prices? I'm pretty excited about it. I saw gas for $3.59! What's the lowest you've seen it for?

Long Day

Don't you hate days that seem to NEVER END?? Thankfully, I think mine is about over!!

Cutting Fingernails

Isn't cutting your kids fingernails so hard? It always has been for our family. Jody flat out REFUSES to cut any nails but his own. He just doesn't want to hurt those little fingers.

I have only drawn blood once and that was when Silas was a tiny baby. But now, I'm told, I cut too short and that "feels funny". But I don't HURT them!

The other problem is that my kids are so reluctant to have their nails cut. WHY? I've already established that I have a good track record. I think Luke has just caught the vibe from Silas and Hattie and he just wants to make it a big deal because that's what you do. As soon as I get those clippers out the kids run and hide and make excuses as to why they don't need their nails cut.

Hattie wants her nails long now, so she HATES when I cut them. She is completely convinced that Pa (my dad) is the only one who can paint her nails and if they are too short they won't look good.

Now this week I had a break through with Luke. He LOVES the little song "Where is Thumpkin?". We've been singing it constantly. He always wants to name his fingers. So when I needed to cut his nails the other day, I told him things like, Ooh, Tall-man needs a hair cut. What about Thumpkin...etc. Let me just say, Luke sat stiller (is that a word) than he EVER has while I trimmed each nail. He didn't even run off when we were done. It was great!

Ha! Oh the little things in life.

A Cool Freebie!

I found something else!

A free short dvd of Planet Heroes. Click HERE.

Great Deal!!

Allright...this is an AMAZING deal! My college roommate Jill tipped me off.

Slickdeals.net has a code for restaurant.com which is CRAVE. Basically at restaurant.com you buy coupons for restaurants in your area. But with this coupon code you get 70% off your purchase.

So, I found on of my favorite restaurants, The Olive Tree, on there. I bought 4 - $25 gift certificates ($100 worth) for $12. The only thing is you have a minimum purchase or other stipulations. So read under the description. For the ones I bought it is a minimum of $50 to use a $25 gift certificate. But if we have, say, my parents with us (since they LOVE the Olive Tree too) we get about 50% off our meal. Even if we go with our little family, we could order extra for leftovers...either way that's pretty cool!

I think its a great deal. Check it out. And tell me what you think.

A Whirlwind...literally

Well, Monday night a terrible storm blew thru. NGU had some significant damage. Our house was fine, but I was very afraid at one point and ALMOST woke up the kids to move them to the basement. But we were fine. No internet though. The school's server had to be moved and reset...or something like that.

Anyway. Wednesday (yesterday) we went with our church's youth group to Six Flags. Jody's mom met us there with "the cousins". We had a great day. Utterly exhausting, but super fun.

Now we are in Hawkinsville for a couple of days. I'll have some good pics and more to say later.

Living Room Makeover

So this is what we have been working on this weekend! ! (Not the pic of Silas and his slinky ears. I just thought that was pretty funny).

We decided to give the living room a makeover. Jody is SO good at this kind of thing. We painted the walls a moss green. Then we bought curtain panels and a couple of pillows at World Market, really fun store!! We still have some things to hang on the walls. And I'd like to get good curtain rods. But for now, I am SO proud of the results.

I'm hoping with the students come back to NGU it will be a comfy, homey place. And now I know Jody is inspired, so I'm sure we'll have some more pics soon!

Fun Times in Charlotte

Bethany, JJ, Silas, Luke, Hattie, and Caleb

JJ and Silas -- Buddies

Baby Graham

"The Cousins" at the park


Silas snorkling at the pool

Hattie being a water fountain

Lukey chillin in the pool


We just got back from a great couple of days in Charlotte! We spent one night with my college roommate Jill and her family. She has 3 kids the same ages as mine. The kids had a great time! And amazingly Jill and I got in some quality visiting time. Then we spent the night with my sister Holly. All the cousins had fun and got along very nicely. We went to the pool too! Always a plus!

Then when we got home, the kids spent the night with my parents. Jody and I were able to sleep in and then go to my OB visit. Everything with baby #4 is great. We also went on a few errands, kid-less! I got a new phone and I LOVE IT!!

What a great few days. Stay tuned for news on what we are working on at the house!!

Look who's riding a two-wheeler!!

I can't believe it! Silas asked Jody tonight, while I was fixing supper, if he could learn to ride a two-wheeler. Jody said yes! And in minutes Silas was doing great. We will work on it more tomorrow, but I am just so proud of him!

The Tube

I am a mean mama. I don't let my kids watch very much TV.

I just don't want them to depend on TV for entertainment and happiness. I KNOW my life would be easier if I let them watch more. I wouldn't hear Silas constantly ask me, what are we going to do now? Or after this, what are we going to do? It annoys me, but I don't want to just stick them in front of the TV. Somedays we don't watch any. At the end of the day, Silas will say, We didn't watch TV!! Like we just forgot or something. But other days we will watch anywhere from 30 to 2 hours. If its 2 hours, that's like a special event! Ha!! And Silas is the only one who will watch that much.

Silas would sit in front of the TV for as long as I would allow too! Hattie's attention span isn't that long...she just isn't as interested. Luke is becoming more and more interested.

Now the other problem is that now they like different things. Silas is very serious. He likes exciting, complicated things. Trivial pre-school TV shows aren't his forte anymore. Hattie likes girly, fairy-tale type things. Luke loves pre-school things like Elmo.

So here are a few of our recent favs:
-Silas: Spiderwick Chronicles, Water Horse, Inspector Gadget, Looney Toones
-Hattie : Gigi (God's little princess), Cinderella, Strawberry Shortcake
-Luke: Elmo, Wonder Pets, Mickey Mouse
-Everyone: Veggie Tales, Magic School Bus, America's Funniest Home Videos

What are your kids watching?

He's Home!!

After an ALL NIGHT drive, Silas was delivered safely to us at about 11:00am this morning.

We were SO happy. Hattie, Luke and I made a "Welcome Home Silas" sign. This is important because Silas thinks that whenever someone has been gone, a welcome home sign is a must. I think he was impressed with it. (See above pic)

I can't believe my parents drove all night. 12 hours. WHAT?? I don't think I could be a part of that. I mean I don't think I'd be a fair partner in that if Jody and I decided to do that. I can't stay up past 10pm. I'm hopeless. I was worried my parents were getting too old for driving all night. I woke up at like 3am and was worried...I was praying for safety and alertness. I know God answered my prayers because they pulled in the driveway and only looked slightly weary. (They left our place to go home and nap. I think I may check on them here in a little while...by phone)

Silas had a GREAT time. He has lost his voice. Just like Hattie. Its very strange. And he actually took a nap!! (that's a huge feat for his active little mind, to stop thinking and NAP) He made lots of friends. He became proficient with a snorkel thanks to Pa (my dad). He got a prize one day in his class at the "Happy Heart City" for Best Behavior. He made the "perfect" s'more.

I think we are all going to go next year. I am SO hoping the Stephens will join us. And the Mays. And the Jones. And anyone else who is interested for that matter! Click here for details. We are going to decide what week we are going to go soon. They are booking up FAST. So if you are interested, let me know!!

"Much Better"

This morning when Hattie woke up I asked her how she felt and she said (in a croaking but semi-audible voice), "Much better."

Music to my ears!!! I am really really thankful.

Silas called this morning too. And he sounds REALLY croaky. He's had a great great time at family camp. And he said, "Don't worry mom, I'll be on my way home tomorrow." Boy have we missed him!

Hattie

So Hattie has been REALLY REALLY sick.

I took her to the Dr on Monday morning. They tested her blood and urine and the doctor concluded that it was just a virus. She weighs 26 lbs. No big shocker there, but at 3 1/2 yrs old, she's so tiny. When she's sick it is absolutely pitiful. Limp, lethargic...

The Dr said that with a virus she could continue to run this high fever to 2 more days. Ok. So I was going to give her through today.

Yesterday I was about to call the Dr and say we are going to the emergency room. She is NOT better. She has completely quit talking, due to her soar throat. And I don't know what else to do! Then the weirdest thing happened. I gave her a dose of ibuprofen and Silas called. Silas did this sweet little baby talk about how "pitiful" she was and how he missed her. We hung up the phone, she slid off the couch and hasn't been the same since.

She still isn't talking. Being the incessant talker that she is, it is very strange. She WILL NOT talk above an almost inaudible whisper. But she was energetic today.

Then the dr's office called. She has bacteria in her urine and they called an antibiotic in.

I don't know about her throat. If she's not talking better and her throat is still hurting I'm going to take her in again. But, it seems like she may be doing better now.

Thanks for all the prayers!!

July 4th Week Pics

Best buddies! I wish she felt that good now...she is still really really sick!

The sting ray touch tank at the aquarium

Silas and Jesse watching fireworks.

A family picture!

Jesse and the Jennings kids.

Pretty girl shell hunting.

Lukey playing on the beach. Don't you love that one??

Less One

We had THE BEST time visiting the Mays in NC!! The weather was great. Hanging out with the Mays was SO fun.

Silas and Jesse picked up right where they left off. It has been 2 years, but you would have never known it. Silas LOVED the ocean. He hated getting out whenever we said it was time.

Luke didn't like the ocean. It really surprised me since he's such a daredevil normally. He did ok if Jody or I took him out into the ocean. But he just wouldn't get close byhimself.

Hattie enjoyed finding shells. We have 2 huge ziplocks full. I'm going to buy a big clear jar to display her treasures. She also came down with a fever yesterday. She is a pitiful sick kid. I may take her to the Dr tomorrow if she doesn't wake up all better in the morning.

We left early this morning so that we could meet my parents. After a quick lunch, Silas happily jumped into their truck to head to Michigan for Family Camp. I am going to miss him SO much this week. But I think he's going to have a great time. I'm praying that first, he won't get sick with whatever Hattie has!! Then I'm praying that he would have great behavior and get along with my parents completely. (He is pretty stubborn!)

Pictures to come...but the camera is downstairs and I'm being lazy. Maybe tomorrow I'll post them.