Day 1 of our vacation -- my learnings

We've been driving for 11 hours and here's what I've learned so far:
1. Charlie does not appreciate bright lights at night.
2. I apparently don't care for Louisiana because I slept most of the way across it.
3. Monroe, LA smells digusting. I don't think I could even stop to pee in that stinky town.
4. Hitchhikers think Charlie is cute at 5 a.m. I didn't think the hitchhiker was so darling at that hour.
5. Sunrise over the Mississippi River is beautiful.
6. Cracker Barrel breakfast is awesome regardless of what state you are in (Hattiesburg, MS)
7. Mississippi has a booming log business. Who knew?!?
8. Roadside veggie stands make for fun pitstops. I bought peaches, tomatoes, cantalopes and boiled peanuts. Yummy!
9. Don't feed Charlie a cheerio while he's in his carseat. No really, don't. Jason did it while I was buying the goobers, and poor Charlie decided to inhale said piece of cereal instead of chewing it. Needless to say I came back to the truck to find a baby covered in barf. Thank goodness Jason has a cast iron stomach. Ten wipes and a change of clothes...presto, a clean Charlie:)
10. A full belly coupled with driving all night don't mix. That state trooper got Jason's attention when he made a u-turn and came roaring up behind us. As I'm panicking over where the insurance card is, that sweet law man whipped around us and busted the poor sap in front of us with Texas plates. Whew!! I did NOT want an out of state ticket as a souvenier. Jason has been coherent ever since:)

That's all for now. My finger hurts from typing.

My dream Saturday morning just before I woke up

Don't you hate those dreams you have right before you wake up for the day?  The ones you remember in incredible detail?  Well, this was one of those dreams.  In my dream, I was working out with our friends Summer and Mimi. 

First of all, for as much as I HATE exercise, this was indeed a dream...no, maybe a nightmare.  And second, if you know Summer and Mimi, you'd know they are two of the fittest, trimmest, healthiest women you'll ever EVER meet.  Summer is a trainer with a master's degree in something fancy to do with nutrition and exercise, and Mimi has done a couple of marathons AND teaches boot camp with her sweet hubby three days a week.  So needless to say, it would only be in a dream that I could hang with these two lovely ladies in a workout.

After we finished with the sweat-fest (in my dream), they looked at my flabby tummy, turned to me and said in their sweetest voices, "Honey, there's really no hope for that.  You really need to get liposuction or a tummy tuck!!"  In real life, Mimi and Summer would NEVER say anything like that to me...even if it were the honest truth.  They were mortified when I told them that story last night after church. 

Can you guess what I did yesterday when I got up?  Nope, not eat a box of donuts.  I did my Pilates DVD...and boy am I sore today.  I guess the ladies were "speaking" some truth after all. 

The countdown has officially begun for vacation

Florida get ready!!  The Lains are coming your way on Tuesday for a week of fun, relaxation and playing in the water (pool or ocean...we don't care.)  The piles of laundry are almost clean.  Not folded and put away yet, but clean. 

It's 103 degrees today, and poor Jason has been out putting up an electrical fence so our Houdini of a dog will stop digging out of our yard to go trolling around the neighborhood.  She is in for a serious surprise later today.

This is random, but considering my fabulous job as a NASCAR PR queen, you can see why I love this commercial!!  Especially since the No. 20 hauler parks next to the No. 12 at the races (I'm going to Michigan as a matter of fact in two weeks for the race). Even if you're not a NASCAR fan, you will get a kick out of this commercial I promise.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWLt34JGbEc

Ta ta for now.

Some random photos I love of my boys:-)

Fun day at the museum

I got the pleasure of taking five kids (my three plus cousins Conner and Sydney) to the Museum of Science and History today.  Carter actually started the day off in perfect fashion when he woke up with "Wow Mommy, that was a short night!!" Then Becky brought donuts for the kids. Great, I thought. Just what I needed were kids on a sugar high, but it didn't phase one of them thank goodness.

Yes, I said pleasure because other than the occasional bickering about who was going to push Charlie's stroller and reminding the boys not to run, they were very well behaved.  One grandmotherly-type even complimented me on how well-behaved the kids were.  This was after she watched me scold the boys for running...he he he.

I think the boys enjoyed it more than Sydney, but then she loves to be with Charlie, so everyone was happy. Conner and Griffin especially loved the "motion" room where they tried to build a roller coaster out of card stock, paper cups and painter's tape.  They could have done that for hours. Sydney and I tried to build a marble maze, but the um, directions, weren't very good.  Soooo, our marbles just hit the floor:(

All in all, it was a great day, and I hope I get to take them all back again this summer.  Although, next time, we will leave sweet Charlie at home because honestly, it was kinda dull for him.

The joy of summer and snowcones!!

My new cleaning crew

I borrowed a great idea from Clover Lane for cleaning our floors. Griffin and Carter thought it was a swell idea to "ice skate" across the floor with towels on their feet and a squirt bottle. Griffin even took to a step further and cleaned the kitchen lights for me.

Now if I could just get them to flush the toilets and pick up their dirty clothes:) I know, who am I kidding!?!?!?!

He turned 1 last week

I'm finally coming to grips with having a 1-year-old. Charlie had his check up with the lovely Dr. Vert yesterday, and he was off the charts literally. He weighed 21.5 pounds and is an AMAZING 33.5 inches tall (or should I say long???) Whoa mama!! He grew three inches and gained three+ pounds in three months. I hope this isn't a trend...I'll never keep the boy in clothes or shoes.

He had a great party Friday night...well, he actually had two parties since Becky and Greg were going to be out of town for the real party. So we had a mini party on Wednesday (his actual day of birth). He enjoyed being the center of attention, but the funniest part was that the Brothers Lain practically knocked their baby brother down to get at his toys. I mean really, a 4- and 8-year-old who are excited by baby toys!!! God love them, I can dump all the electronics, Legos, trains, etc and just buy them baby toys. Hallelujah.


Here are some pics from the parties (thank you Mama Sue for helping with the photography!!! -- we love you!!)

Hmm, what's in this package? Notice the ever vigilant Carter and Mama Sue's precious daughter assisting with the presents.

Nope, it's wasn't better then my nubby ball.

Conner, Sydney and the Brothers Lain during the first party.

Cupcake!! Not a big fan of icing, so we scraped some of it off for him.

Now, that's a happy 1-year-old!!! Love you bunches Charlie O.

Two random things

I LOVE LOVE LOVE using the word "hinky". I can use it in a sentence -- My computer is acting hinky tonight -- but I'm not sure I can actually spell.

So there's your word of the day.

You're welcome:)


We have nicknames for the boys:
Griffin -- either Eddie as in Eddie Haskell or the Professor. Self explanatory

Carter -- Gabby because he will talk your ear off about any subject he can think of

Charlie -- Beaver. The boy will chew on ANYTHING, and I do mean an y THING. Books, shoes, boxes, Legos (yikes!!!), dog bowls, body parts, especially shoulders and fingers. It's a challenge to have him loose in the house right now.

Hard to believe it's been a year

Since I looked like this. Charlie was born shortly after this photo was taken (at 1:31 a.m. on July 14).

I love these two photos. The first one is when my OB came in to deliver Charlie, and the second is the actual time he was born. I like 15 minutes from start to finish for a baby!!!

I can't believe it's been almost 365 days since that sweet baby boy blessed our family. What a year we've had. He's been our most challenging baby as eating, sleeping and a schedule were NOT part of his overall plan. But we've all learned to coexist peacefully in the last 12 months, and I dare say, we've all thrived for the most part.

Now we have a baby who sleeps through the night (most of the time), is learning to feed himself, can drink from a sippy cup, is considering taking some steps, can say Mama and Dada...and he waved bye-bye for the first time tonight. Such milestones for a boy who was a little blob last July (but such a cute blob!!!)

Thank you God for Charlie Owen!!!

I am back, and I am sad

Sad because my baby will be 1 on July 14. Sad because my oldest baby will be 9 in October. Sad because my second baby will be 5 in October. I'm just sad. I keep threatening not to have a party for Charlie because if I do, he really will have to turn 1 on July 14. Can't we just skip over that day and go directly to the 15th?

I wasn't sad about Griffin and Carter's first birthdays. I guess it's because deep down I knew they weren't my last babies. But Charlie is our last baby (thanks to a little nip and tuck Jason had in March), and it makes me sad. I never knew I'd love being a mom as much as I do. I love 98 percent of the minutes I have with my boys. (I have to be realistic as some times they do drive me crazy.) Why do the days go by slowly, but the weeks and months fly by? Do all moms feel this way as their kids grow up? My heart aches with pain and overflows with joy all at the same time when I am with them. Am I just crazy? I promise I'm not depressed, just having a hard time with everyone hounding me about Charlie's birthday party.

I've said this a hundred times...if I were younger, we'd have another one. And it has NOTHING to do with wanting a girl. It has everything to do with loving kids...MY kids. I hope I'm doing a good job as their mom. I see so much of myself in Griffin, and yes, I do some parts of me in Carter. Charlie is a mystery, but a delicious one at that. I just love these boys so much.

Okay, enough pity on this beautiful July 4. The house was quiet, and I felt the need to write. I leave you some recent photos of my beloveds.

How embarassing

I got our monthly phone bill today (home phone and wireless phones). It was about $40 more then usual. Naturally, I assumed it Jason's fault as he recently added the ability to get emails on his crackberry. I opened up the e-bill so I could tease him when he got home about how much he was costing us.

Open mouth and insert foot...it wasn't Jason...it was ME who added so much to our wireless bill!!! And it wasn't because I was talking on the phone too much. It was me TEXTING!!! Am I 14 again?? I sent almost 550 text messages in a 30-day period. That's an average of 18 messages a day. Of course, the bulk of my texts go to Jason and my mom (Coco, you better check your text message allotment too!!). Needless to say, we upped my text limit from 200 to 1,500 a month. I feel like a teenager who got caught by her parents texting too much.

But really, this IS all Jason's fault -- he's the one who got me a crackberry in the first place:-) I wouldn't be sending so many texts if it wasn't so easy to do.

It's snowing!!!!

It's so beautiful to see those little white flakes falling this cold Wednesday morning. Too bad they are melting when they hit the ground. Snow is so peaceful and relaxing. That's easy for me to say as I sit in my warm cozy house with Charlie and Carter still snoozing (Jason is taking Grif to school). Of course, Griffin wanted to know if he still had to go to school since it was snowing:-)

24 days and counting....

and I don't have one stinking Christmas present bought yet!!! Oh, I have lots of ideas, but no time to act on them. Plus, for some reason I have no desire to drag out the tree this year. Okay, let's be honest, I have no desire to watch Jason drag out the tree and meticulously put all the lights on it. My job is putting on the ornaments, which I let the boys do last year. Perhaps this weekend I'll get in the mood.

Jason, the overachiever, put up the outside lights this weekend. We got new ones this year, and they look awesome!! And we've only burned up one timer so far with them -- he he he. Once it quits raining, I'll post a photo of the lights.

Ta ta for tonight:-)

Charlie has found his feet!!!

Charlie has discovered his lower extremities, and does he ever love his feet!! I harassed the boys with my camera this morning to get these photos. We had to bribe Carter with a new Lego magazine to get him to smile...he kept telling us how dumb photos were:-)

Thanksgiving Week recap

Thanksgiving week was a busy one around here. I got to be home with boys starting on Wednesday. My kids can smell a holiday for miles, so where were we on Wednesday morning you ask? The doctor's office of course, nipping Carter's sinus infection in the rear before it got out of hand.

On Thursday, we spent the entire morning cleaning up the house and yard (I've said before I live with piggies!!) I even begged my dad to be late getting over here so I could get a shower, and he politely obliged. My brother and sweet sister-in-law were here for the week, so they came with my parents, grandmother and great aunt for the day. The big boys played outside all afternoon. Once it got dark, Carter, Papa and Josh practiced kicking the football in the gameroom. Carter is natural athlete.

Charlie was getting plenty of attention too. It was so nice having Aunt Lala here...she jumped every time Charlie made a noise. I got a mini vacation:-) My kids love their aunts and uncles (my bro and wife and Jason's sis and hubby) so much. We blessed to have such a close knit family.

I didn't take as many photos as I'd planned to, but here are a few from Thanksgiving Day:

Papa and Griffin playing on the couch

Charlie, Griffin and Gigi (my grandmother who is 89 years old). Charlie is named after her husband (my mom's father) -- my grandfather who we all called Bebo.

Charlie and sweet Aunt Lala

Uncle Josh holding Charlie

Note to Coco and Jason -- we got the short end of the photos since we were doing all the cooking!!!

On Friday, Josh and Lala came back out to spend the afternoon with us. It was so nice to have Lala to myself...we had such a relaxing visit. That evening, we went to Razoo's for dinner with my parents, Josh and Lala. Griffin loved the gator tail, but to our surprise, Carter thought everything was too spicy. Charlie enjoyed looking at all the colorful decor (and people).

One year ago...

We found out Charlie was on his way to join our family. Of course, we didn't tell anyone until after the first of the year (I know, I'm a weirdo) about him. It was our special secret for several weeks. Life has been turned upside down from what it was with two kids in November 2008, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

4-month checkup for Charlie/Hello Oh Canada!!

Charlie had his 4-month checkup this week. He is doing great...well, except for being lactose-intolerant, fruit/raw veggie intolerant and "allergic" to naps. No, really he is doing well. He rolls ALL THE TIME now both ways, and can hold his head up for long stretches. His doc was very impressed with how active he is now. He smiles a lot, and other then his occasional bouts with gas and his dislike for naps, he is a great baby.

Here are his stats:
Weight -- 15.9 pounds which is 50% percentile
Length -- 26.75 inches which is 95% percentile
Head -- still a pinhead:-) at 25% percentile

To compare, here are Griffin and Carter's stats at 4 months old:
Griffin -- 13.9 pounds and 25.75 inches
Carter -- 17.4 pounds and 26.25 inches

So, Charlie is the longest baby so far, but Carter Magee is the chubbiest baby.

Hello St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada

Charlie got to meet my dear friend, Irene, via Skype today. She lives outside Toronto with her family in a suburb that she says feels just like living in the U.S. Irene and I have been friends for 15 years. We met in December 1994 when I took the job as assistant editor of the Paint Horse Journal. We hit it off immediately and became fast friends.

I've had the pleasure of visiting her in Provence, France (her hubby is French) where they lived for several years, and in her hometown of Milwaukee where her mom still lives. She is a gem, and I just love her to death. It's always good to catch up with her. I've known her oldest daughter, Athena, since was 9 months old, and I was the hospital the day after Manon was born. Hard to believe those precious girls are so grown up now.

I found this picture of Athena and Griffin from one of Irene's visit to our house on Cliffside Dr. Athena is 8 years old in this photo, and Griffin is 5 months. My, how times flies!!




In the summer of 2006, Irene and her friend Christine came across the pond from France for the Paint Horse World Show. They joined us for dinner one evening, and we had such a good time. Irene translated for Christine and I since she didn't speak English and I don't speak French. Carter is 9 months old here. Irene is on the left in the white shirt. I love you Irene!!!

Charlie slept from 10 p.m. to 6:45 a.m. without waking us up!!!! Can you believe it? I haven't had more than four hours of straight sleep in months. What a great morning.

And then there's Carter Magee. He got up about 8 a.m. and brought a new Lego set to his daddy to put together. As they got started, Jason told him he had to clean up his room and closet because they were both atrocious. I asked him if he knew what atrocious meant. He looked at me like I was stupid and said, "Well, it means MESSY, Mommy!!" That boy never ceases to make me laugh.

Charlie is 4 months old today!!!

Where have 4 months gone already? Where have 8 years gone?!?!?!? I can't believe it's been 4 months since we were blessed with Charlie. He is rolling over, holding his head up all the time, and trying to sit up some!! He is sleeping better at night, but the days are still iffy...if you hold him he sleeps, if not, he probably won't:-(

Here are some pictures I took yesterday and today of Charlie Owen:








These next two pictures are Griffin at 4 months. Charlie favors Grif more than Carter Magee, I think.



Don't you love his big pretty eyes in that one!!



These last pictures are Carter Magee when he was 4 months old. They have the exact same chin...although Charlie doesn't have the chubby cheeks and jaw like his brother.






I just love my boys!!!!