Abby's Eight Alter Egos

1. My rock star name: *Mickey Civic*
{First pet and current car}

2. My gangsta name: *Hershey Bar Snickerdoodle*
{Favorite candy bar and favorite cookie}

3. My detective name: *Dark Purple Stallion*
{Favorite color and favorite animal}

4. My Star Wars name: *Hanab of Prevacid*
{First three letters of last name and first two letters of first name then the word "of" then a medication you are on}

5. My superhero name: *The Light Pink Rootbeer*
{2nd favorite color and favorite drink with "The" in front}

6. My Nascar name: *Cathy Donabel*
{First names of your grandmothers}

7. My "lover" name: *Happy Smarties*
{Name of your favorite perfume/cologne and your favorite candy}

8. Witness-protection name: *Karlina E*
{Mother's and father's middle names}

Karlie's Eight Alter Egos

1. My rock star name: *Mickey Odyssey*
{First pet and current car}

2. My gangsta name: *Twix Chocolate Chip*
{Favorite candy bar and favorite cookie}

3. My detective name: *Blue Horse*
{Favorite color and favorite animal}

4. My Star Wars name: *Hanka of Focalin*
{First three letters of last name and first two letters of first name then the word "of" then a medication you are on}

5. My superhero name: *The Purple Sprite*
{2nd favorite color and favorite drink with "The" in front}

6. My Nascar name: *Donabel Cathy*
{First names of your grandmothers}

7. My "lover" name: *Gossip M&M's*
{Name of your favorite perfume/cologne and your favorite candy}

8. Witness-protection name: *E Karlina*
{Mother's and father's middle names}

It's a. . . . .

BOY!!!!!!

Challenging times to say the least, but still so much to be thankful for. . .

Forgive me if I get a little personal in my post this time, but this fall has been a very difficult one for my family. So many things happening all at the same time that we wonder what will happen next: an uncle diagnosed with cancer, a cousin involved in a serious motorcycle accident, another cousin going through a sad divorce, and just this week a cousin losing her first baby at only 3 weeks old to a rare disease that affects only 1 in 1,000,000. Then there is my own family: my sister who is just 15 months older than me had emergency surgery this week to remove a flesh-eating bacteria from her abdomen that the surgeon explained could have taken her life if left untreated, and my younger brother who was involved in an accident on-site at work that severed a tendon in his right hand leaving him on disability for a full month.

All of these things could be overwhelming and all-consuming if I didn't understand the gospel of Jesus Christ. I am so thankful that I know about our Savior and the love he has for us. I know that through his help and the help of our Heavenly Father, we can get through anything.

Now, to post my blessings: my family, my husband, my three sweet children (and a fourth on the way), the gospel of Jesus Christ, the scriptures, the power of prayer, my home, my country (a land of plenty), the freedoms we enjoy. The list could go on and on.

Sure, life is challenging, but the blessings definitely far outweigh the difficulties. And, it is so wonderful to know that there is One in charge who knows the whole picture, and He will give us peace and assurance in difficult times.

The Past Month

This month has been so hectic--life has just taken over! There is so much to catch up on.

First, Aunt Angela stopped by for a quick visit, and the girls tried a lovely technique that their dear mother taught them on trying to get people to stay when you don't want them to leave. . .

The girls loved their first trip to the American Girl Boutique and Bistro. They ate in the Bistro with the dolls, had their dolls' hair done, and loved looking around the store and spending their allowance. It was a dream come true for them!

Next, changing weather means lots and lots of fall leaves to rake and jump in! So much fun for the little ones!

And, Halloween: Karlie dressed up as a Colonial Girl, Abby was Padme from the Clone Wars, and Nathan was our little bat. Brandon and I went out on a limb and dressed up as a "Bun in the Oven" and "the Bunmaker". Of course, we had Abby take the pictures, and she did a great job for a 6-year-old, but you don't get the full effect of our costumes. We attended several parties and went trick-or-treating at least 3 times before the holiday was over! Nathan didn't want to wear his costume at first until he discovered it meant people gave him lots and lots of candy!

Brandon and I also had the fun opportunity to go see "Wicked" at the Fox Theatre. We really enjoyed it, and we appreciate Laura for organizing this event. We especially appreciate Angela for taking the kids to the Fernbank museum while we enjoyed the show!

My Girls

On the way home from my parents' house on Sunday, Abby kept asking me how to spell words. I thought nothing of it--she was happy and was busily writing. Later that evening, I found her composed song in the kitchen. She has given me permission to share it:

Get It, Come On

Get it, get it, it's time.
Get it. Come on.
Come on on on on on.
Let's go down stairs.
Oh, oh, oh, oh.
Ya, ya, ya, ya.
It's time to get it.
Get it ya.
Get that dog.

(she loves the suspense that you can't figure out that she is talking about a dog until the end):)

Not to be outdone, Karlie composed her own song Wednesday night. Here it is:

BARRACUDA
(Karlie Version)

It's a deadly creature ure ure ure.
Eating fish and fishbones, bones, bones, gross!!!
We know who that creature is.
It's a not so good creature.
You don't see it every day.
Oh yes, you don't see it every day.
Oooo, barracuda.

(Karlie says she was inspired by the Guitar Hero 3 song, Barracuda).


Another funny thing the girls did happened last night when daddy let them have a slumber party on our floor. I told them they could talk and giggle for five minutes before they went to sleep. They were really enjoying themselves, and I could hear mentions of "witches" and "potions" in between giggles. They finally spilled the beans to me that they planned on putting potions in my underwear in my drawer after school today. I think I should be very frightened!

Karlie had a birthday, shout hooray!

Due to some pretty nasty morning sickness these past few weeks, I am seriously behind on my blog. Yes, we are expecting #4 on April 19th to all who don't already know (we're excited)! But this post is really supposed to be about Karlie's birthday, which was on September 7th.

Because her birthday was on a Sunday this year, Karlie ended up getting a whole birthday weekend. It started on Friday evening with a special birthday swimming activity where she was allowed to invite 2 friends. We went out to Kedron Pool and swam and had a picnic dinner. She requested that her friends bring their pajamas with them to change into after swimming for a "pretend sleepover". She enjoyed her horse-themed cake, and she loved the time she spent with Natalie and Ellie.

Her weekend continued on Saturday with a "sneakout" date with her mom to Barnes and Noble. She was able to spend her birthday money on the American Girl dog, Coconut, and she even used her own money to buy books for her brother and sister. Then, she enjoyed hot chocolate in the Cafe at the bookstore.

On Sunday morning, Karlie opened her gifts from her family, had special breakfast of pancakes (with candles, of course) and watermelon, and spent lots of time reading her new book. She loved being sung to at church, and she really enjoyed all of the birthday calls she got from grandparents and aunts and uncles. All and all, she had a wonderful 9th birthday! Happy Birthday, Karlie! We sure love you.

Nathanisms

This past weekend we went to Auburn to celebrate both of my parents' birthdays (Mom turned 69 and Dad is now 72), and my girls also went to their first Auburn Football game (more on that later). Well, Nathan loves to be the life of the party, and he had much attention from all of his aunts and uncles. Grandpa received a classy birthday card of a chimpanzee with his finger in his nose, and Nathan was very impressed by this card. He called it a "gorilla", and any time his uncles/sisters/aunts/cousins asked him what a gorilla did, he would stick his fingers up his nose to much approval. Got to love the influence of the relatives. I figured he had forgotten this little trick until we were at his laptime class at the library today (laptime is a class for 2 year olds and their parents). The teacher was singing the "name game song" with the class, and when she got to Nathan, everyone started laughing. I figured he just had a funny expression on his face, but when I looked down, there he was, sitting with two fingers up his nose. I was so proud!

Another funny thing Nathan did today happened at breakfast. Abby's kindergarten class put on a play last year titled "BUGZ". Abby dressed up like a butterfly, and all of the kids were dressed up as some insect or another. One little boy was a maggot, and he would periodically come on stage and say "I'm a maggot". Ever since Nathan saw the play, he likes to repeat that one phrase "I'm a maggot". Well, he was saying that while eating his waffles this morning, and his daddy thought that he would teach him to say "I'm a chic magnet" instead. He wouldn't say that for daddy, until we were on the way to bringing the girls to school. All of the sudden, he looked over at Karlie and said, "I'm a chicken maggot." So, there you have it, my son, Nathan, the chicken maggot. Got to love him.

School is back in session--not yippee

Am I the only mom out there that gets grumpier when school is in session? I mean really, I'm already missing the summer and how easy-going I was. Now, as soon as the kids get off the bus, it is nothing but stress until they are sound asleep. And, as soon as that alarm goes off in the morning, it's nothing but grumbling and crying until I get them safely to school. I don't like being this kind of mom, but the persistence of the bad moods is getting to be a little bit much.

This morning started out fairly decently. For the first time in a week, Abby didn't cry that she didn't want to go to school, and they both got ready and we were out the door 5 minutes early. Then, as soon as we exited our subdivision, we realized that traffic was backed up all the way to our subdivision. To make a long story short, it took us 40 minutes to get to school due to the interstate being shut down and everyone taking the highway as a detour. I was able to shake that off and take a leisurely walk with my pal, Amy, and have a fairly decent day. Then the girls got home. And the crying began. Did you know I'm the meanest mom in the world because I make my kids do homework? The homework they are supposed to do would only take 30 minutes if they would just buckle down and do it. But, instead, they have to spend an hour crying about not wanting to do it. By the time I get them to finish homework (and, I admit, there was a bit of yelling today on my part before they finally did their work--at least they were in agreement with each other at how mean I was), do their nightly reading, pick out clothes for the next day, pack their lunches, make and eat dinner, go to the church for activity days, and get them bathed and in their pjs, there is no time left for just having fun with them.

Sigh! I really do miss summer. I'm already counting down the days until Thanksgiving break.

Now That I am Officially 35, I Need Your Help

It's official--I'm old! What a fun birthday! I got to eat lunch at Olive Garden with fabulous friends (thank you for arranging it Amy), and then Brandon, the kids and I had our first experience at a Hibachi for dinner. The kids thought it was so much fun watching the fire, having food tossed into their mouths, and seeing the great show that our cook, Raymond, put on. Surprisingly, they loved all of the food and did a great job with their chopsticks. Of course, I took no pictures, so you'll have to take my word for it. So, many of you have mentioned that now that I am 35 I need to come up with a new name for my blog, so I am asking you for ideas. Let me know in the comments section what "Almost 35" should be renamed! Thanks for your help in advance!

Back to School, Back to Reality

The girls started back to school last week. Karlie is in 3rd grade this year, and Abby is in 1st grade. So far there have been only a few glitches: Nathan misses his "Sissies", and Abby misses her nurturing Kindergarten teachers. The girls begged me to let them ride the bus home this year, and I finally agreed. Now I'm wondering why I didn't let them do it sooner. I no longer have to deal with fighting and crying all the way home from school, and they greet a happy Mom and little brother when the bus driver drops them off right in front of our house each afternoon. Life is Good!!!

Abby's Birthday Requests

Our own little Dear Abby turned 6 on Friday. Here is a list of her birthday requests:

1. Have presents wrapped and waiting by her bed for her when she woke up.
2. Make waffles with whipped cream and strawberries and a birthday candle on top for breakfast ('cuz she saw a picture of them fixed that way once).
3. Cheese pizza for lunch.
4. Have the family plus best buddy Ellie go to Burger King for dinner and then to Kedron pool for swimming.
5. Make a chocolate cake with chocolate icing and chocolate-covered strawberries on top with a rainbow-striped birthday candle. Serve vanilla icecream on the side.
Have best classmate Patrick over for cake.
6. After family has gone to bed, do a sneak-out with Mom to Barnes and Noble (at 10 p.m., yes the same night that "Breaking Dawn" was released)where she could pick out a gift using birthday money from Grandma. Then, do a late night Burger King Milkshake drive-thru run (next day Abby said to Karlie in an excited voice: "Karlie, did you know that Burger King stays open until 1 o'clock in the morning?! I don't ever want to work there 'cuz I'd be so tired!").


Were all of these requests granted you may ask? Yes they were, I'd answer. It felt great to make her feel so extra special for one whole day. We love our Abby.

Hallelujah for Poison Control Center

I guess parenting wouldn't be parenting without the occasional frantic call to poison control. Abby gave me quite the scare tonight when I found a half-closed bottle of infant's liquid tylenol (with child-proof lid, of course) in my bathroom sink. She admitted to drinking more than half the bottle, and when questioned, she also confessed to drinking some of the "purple stuff" (Children's Sudafed, also with child-proof lid), about 1/3 of that bottle. She polished the medicine off with several of her daddy's glucose tablets that we keep on hand for diabetic lows. Luckily, Poison Control said she would have had to take about 3 times what she took for it to be toxic, but I still have to watch her all night for vomiting or not being able to wake her. It's going to be a long night. I think I may soon find my first gray hair. And, guess what, that medicine with the child-proof lids that was up on the highest shelf possible is going under lock-and-key TOMORROW!!! Anyone know where I can get a lockbox?

Our Sweet Boy is Really Two!

It's official! For the first time in 3 years, we have a two-year-old again! I held up two cake mixes for him to choose from today, a chocolate one and a yellow cake mix. He immediately pointed to the chocolate one and said without hesitation "I want dat one--chocolate". What can I say? This family loves all things chocolate! His sisters thought it would be fun to decorate his cake with his cars that they gave him for his birthday, and he thought the idea was an excellent one. He even added a few himself.

Nathan loved being sung to for his birthday. His face lit up when his Grandma and Aunt Angela told him "Happy Birthday" over the phone. He really is such a sweet boy, and a tremendous blessing in our lives. Karlie and Abby have always doted on their little brother, and he sure looks up to his two sisters. He follows them around and tries to do everything that they do. What a happy little family we have--what a fun day for Nathan!

Hi, I'm Julie, and I'm a Closet Blogger.

They say the best way to overcome an addiction is to admit you have a problem. Well, I'm a closet bloggger, and I mean that quite literally.
We all went to a fabulous 4th of July party at our friends, the Eastman's, house, and we had so much fun--yummy food, lots of water play, and fireworks, of course. We got home quite late, and the kids were exhausted and fell right asleep. I told Brandon that I was really tired and was going to bed, too. However, my blog was calling me. The next thing I knew, I found myself sitting in my walk-in closet with my laptop, door closed, and I started blogging and playing scrabulous on facebook. I was enjoying my sneakiness until I was busted! Yes, Brandon discovered me. While he understands my need for a creative outlet, I think he's disturbed by the hiding in the closet. So, to overcome my problem, I'm standing up and saying "Hi, I'm Julie, and I'm a Closet Blogger". And, if you happen to come over to my house one night and wonder where I am, you might need to knock on my closet door, 'cuz I'll probably be in there again.

You know your child is almost 2 when. . .

You catch him sitting on your cutting board at the top of the stairs preparing to sled down. It's moments like these that set your heart pounding, hoping he survives himself. Like today when we had to make the decision to put the bar stools in the attic for a season. We love these cute red barstools--they add a splash of color to the chocolate-brown kitchen, the girls love to sit on them for breakfast, and it's a great place to sit while using our laptops. However, out of the sheer fear of an impending emergency room visit, they have been put out of order. Nathan had decided that it was too much fun to jump from chair to chair, climb on the counter, and get on top of the ceramic stovetop and play with the dials. The more I discouraged it, the more he wanted to be on those barstools. So, for now, we say farewell to our barstools, until another day. We will miss you!

I've got blogitis or "Thank Heavens for Diet Coke"

Doctor, I think there is something wrong with me. I mean outside of all the normal complaints and kookiness. You see, my toddler has been sick for 5 days now with a fever that goes up to 103 degrees, extreme congestion, and overall general crankiness. The only way he sleeps (day or night) is if he is propped up on my arm or on my chest, and then he snores like a little old man, so then, of course, I can't sleep. Early this morning, at 2 a.m., when I had had about 15 minutes of sporadic sleep, and Nathan was finally sleeping peacefully after waking his Daddy up to give him a blessing, I should have finally been sleeping, right? I mean, any normal, fatigued mommy of 3 who hadn't slept in 4 nights would have zonked out immediately and gratefully. But, doctor, this is how I know that something is wrong with me, because, instead of sleeping, I lay awake thinking of what to blog next! Do you have previous reports of blogitis and how is it treated? Is there any hope for me? Should I stop sleeping next to the beautiful, shiny purple laptap my husband is probably regretting giving to me for Mother's Day? Should I stop drinking so much Diet Coke to fuel my days after so many sleepless nights (please say no, I don't think I could live without my stocked Diet Coke fridge in the garage)? Is there any help for my condition? I beg for your help.
Signed, Loopy Mother of Sick almost 2 year old

Let Me Explain. . .

Our little hula girls (and boy)

So, Brandon was concerned that my very first post sounded somewhat, shall we say, like a cryout for help (I swear I was not depressed, just thinking), so I decided I'd backtrack and talk about what brought me to knee surgery and a bit about our family trip to Hawaii.

First, Hawaii. . . . Shall we just call it Heaven on Earth and leave it at that? The one benefit to having your husband travel with his job is frequent flyer miles and free hotel stays. We decided when we opted to have him take this job that we were going to reap the benefits and take wonderful family vacations. Last year, we had a fun-filled week in San Diego, and, since the kids did so well on the plane, we decided to go a little further this time. So, we spent an entire week in Oahu, and it was so worth it! Now we're saving to go to Maui next year. Or maybe London.

Next, the knee surgery:

So, the surgery I was anticipating was only going to be exploratory arthroscopy, so the recuperation would have been just one day. Well, we all know that things are never so simple medicallly speaking when it comes to me, and this surgery was no different. When I got to surgery, the doctor found all sorts of things wrong with my knee, and now I'm looking at 4-6 weeks of physical therapy. I keep reminding myself that it is such a huge blessing to finally have it all fixed the right way, and it will all be worth it! It's just that I had knee surgery last summer, too, which put a damper on the kids' summer. I'm determined to still make this summer a fun one.

Why can't every day be like Hawaii?

So, I've decided to use my convalescence to start a blog. Why not, everyone else is doing it? But, in being stuck at home by myself, recuperating from what I hope to be the last surgery I ever have, I'm feeling a little blue. I'd much rather be at the movies with Brandon and the kids, even if I would be chasing Nathan around the theater, dealing with overturned popcorn, and possibly a daughter or two hiding behind me during the scary parts. Anytime I am recuperating from a surgery, I am reminded of how I take my everyday health for granted. I love being a mom and having fun with my family. And, this brings me back to Hawaii--the whole reason families should have vacations. Moms need to get away from the housework and outside responsibilities and be the fun mom that they really want to be. Vacations are all about just having fun with the people you love more than anyone else on earth. And, as I sit here at home, missing my family, doing my mundane leg exercises and spending far too much time online, my heart is where they are--Brandon, Karlie, Abby, and Nathan--lets get back to Hawaii.