In spite of the rain...

Yesterday was a good day. I woke up and heard the forecast for the day and I immediately thought "good beach day." It's the end of July and we hadn't been to the beach at all this Summer. I just thought to myself- I'm just gonna go and do it. I'll figure it out when I get there. Well- I took the baby's bouncy seat, towels, blanket, sunscreen and snacks. We got there around 11:15- I nursed the baby in the car before we got out on the beach and there was hardly anybody there. Woohoo! EZ got a little fussy after a little while so I went and stood out in the water with him. The noise from the waves just lulled him to sleep and I put him in his bouncy seat with a blanket over the handle. It was perfect- he got a nap- out of the sun and we got a fun day at the beach. And then it started to rain and rain and rain. I couldn't run for the car because there is no running in the sand and the baby would get soaked. So we sat there in the rain and I prayed his little knit blanket would hold up and keep him dry. Amazingly enough- I could wring water out of the corners of his blanket but the part right over him didn't get wet through to the second layer of knit. So- he ended up being the only dry thing we had when we got in the car. The kids had fun and I love sitting on the beach- it is so relaxing- if the freakin' seagulls would leave me alone!! I was proud of myself for doing it all alone- I guess I can do more things than I think. Like today- I mowed the lawn while the baby slept in his bouncy seat on the back porch. Hooray for that dang bouncy seat and hooray for a covered porch.

Just to make your day a little better...

I made myself laugh so hard when I was taking these. He was swinging and I started talking and smiling at him and this was his response. I took so many I could make a flip book and he would be swinging back and forth and back and forth. I just love this chubby squinty smile.

EZ's blessing day

EZ was finally blessed. He is 2 months old and looks like he's 4 months. He is my biggie smalls. I loved his little outfit and matching blanket. He is a talkative smiley boy- i love it.
His hair is hilarious- he looks a little like a member of the lollipop guild from Oz :)

Happy Happy Birthday Cagey Dear

My little Cagey is 4- I can't believe it. He is such a sweet tender little guy :) (what movie?) Anyway, we did a trip to Chuck E Cheese for just him and Tates. He wanted a party there, but that was just a little too much money. He still thinks since he didn't get to eat cake there that he didn't get to go for his birthday- argh- oh well. We had some of his little friends over for a bouncy pool party- complete with balls, swimming and a chocolate chocolate cake. Oh yeah- and Jeebs making balloon animals- well dogs and swords ;)Cagey, sliding into the pool. I love all the action shots.

Jeebs making balloon animals- it's hilarious to me. He can juggle too :) I think if we have a carnival party one year for somebody he'll be the entertainment.
At one point there were 7 kids in this 10$ wading pool. Goofies.My cute decorations for tose of you into this type of stuff. The green and yellow canned drinks were my favorite part.This was at Chuck E Cheese- I love Cagey's tongue sticking out :)There was this Plinko game there that I was itchin' to try. It was finally free and I was just about to sneak a token from Tates and play it when some skank in a skank dress slipped right in front of me. She slips in her token and a SHload of tickets start pouring out. I mean she was folding them back and forth over and over. I was so mad- those should've been my tickets.

It felt like vacation

Because I'm such a pansy when it comes to spending the night in the house without Jeebs and because PF Changs has been calling out to me for a while- we decided to drive up to Raleigh and meet Jeebs after work. We went out to dinner at Crabtree and then strolled a tiny bit in the mall. Just enough for me to find the cutest sandals- on sale- perfect for everyday wear- just what I've been looking for. AND- they're CROCS- weird eh? My friend Wendy got a cute pair of Crocs when she went to Durham and I thought they were so cool. I found my own pair- different from hers but still really cute.

We spent the night at La Quinta just down the road from the airport and the kids were DYING to swim so we hurried back to the hotel and got their swimsuits on- Jeebs took them down while I nursed the baby- shocker. Wouldn't you know it- after all the drama with their pool and all the wishing and hoping to swim- it was closed. *#*^$^* (that was for Shelly) so instead they got to stay up and enjoy their desserts. We found a DQ/Orange Julius in Durham. I was so excited to have an orange julius- I haven't had one since we left Utah.

When we were leaving the hotel this morning it was clear and cool and low humidity- it actually felt like we were on vacation. Then I had to drive home and the closer we got to New Bern the cloudier and more humid it got. It's actually nice right now though- so the pup was grateful. what movie? 100 pts. unless you're mamma wagley :)
And a cut pic of EZ- he was surprisingly happy the whole time. We even got to eat out dinner without one of us having to go outside- it was so nice! he's such a sweetie

I have a new diet plan...

After church I wanted to snap some pics of the kids because Taylor and EZ were matching and I thought he looked dang cute. So- as I was finding the camera Tates was sitting with Ezra trying to get him calm and pose for the camera. Jeebs found the camera and I let him do the honors. I was trying to wipe up all the ants while he was taking pictures and all I could hear was screaming baby. So I decided to jump in and try to calm down the baby. I knew I would get in the pictures, but oh well I had on a new top that I thought was cute and so it couldn't be too bad. Anyway, dowloaded the pics and if my gobbler gets any bigger I"ll be able to cockadoodle- doo. Gross. So--here's my plan- I'm going to take pictures of myself every week and that should be enough motivation to eat less and squeeze in my workouts even though I'm Tee-totally exhausted. Nothing like a little self loathing to make me close the chocolate chip bag right? :)

I love that Ezra looks like- "I hate my life" in this picture. He's starting young.

The pool saga

So about 2 and a half weeks ago I convinced Jeebs to let us go to walmart for FHE and get a pool for the kids (and us). I wanted something bigger than a kiddie pool, but something with a filter so I wouldn't have to change the water all the dang time, but small enough that it wouldn't be over the kids' heads so they could get in by themselves. Well, I foundd the perfect one at walmart.com for 79.99. We went to walmart and found the exact pool except it was marked 99.99. I figured they would for sure price match to their own dang website since they match to everybody else. So, we get it to the register and she rings it up at 99.99$ Jeebs tells her it was 79.99 on the website and would they price match- she goes and asks her manager and no, they won't. So a little perturbed he tells the lady we don't want it and she says you can order it online and get it shipped to the store for free- even though they had 3 of the exact pool already in the store. So we go to Target to see if they have a smaller one for cheaper- nope nothing, nada, no pools. We head home, disappointed and irritated. Jeebs goes ahead and orders the pool online to save the 20 bucks. We get an email that says it will arrive between July 2 and July 8th. We figured the store would call us and say oh we have 3 of these come get one- ha!! We waited and waited. Finally on the 3rd we decided to just go buy one and send the ordered one back. We go to walmart in Jacksonville which is 45 min away and they have NO pools. We head back to New Bern and go to our walmart- they have NO pools. So jeebs comes out with a 10$ kiddie pool for the kids to enjoy on the 4th. They had a big time with the pool and we thought for sure this week the stinkin' big pool would get here. Well on the 7th- we still hadn't gotten anything. So I emailed them and asked. Nothing came all day from them until about 10;30. An email saying "sorry your item was lost in transit and we'll be refunding your money." DAG YO! I was so MAD. SO- yesterday I looked up online at riteaid.com and it had a mailer with a smaller pool on sale for 25% off. So- Jeebs calls to make sure they had one. They had 2. I run down there and get the pool in my cart. Get it up to the register and it rings up 119.99$. I asked the girl if it was on sale. She goes and gets the mailer and looks through the whole #*(^*@ thing and tells me "there's nothing in here about it being on sale this week". @$$*#)$*@)#()@#)*@$)%#)$*#)$)( SO- I stuff Cagey back in the car- race over to Target and get the last #*#$& pool they have on the shelf- the same size as the walmart one except 3 inches shallower for the same price - 99.99 - Get it home- Jeebs sets it up- we filled it up last night, but it would only fill half way because of how unlevel our yard is. So- we decided just to leave it up so the kids could enjoy that amount of water a couple of days before we drain it, move it and try again. This morning Tates gets up before 7 and is ready to swim. It was 74 degrees this morning, cloudy and breezy. I let them go out around 10. Cagey's lips were blue- so I made them come in at noon to dry off and eat lunch. It is so stinkin' cool today though- so I'm making them stay in for a while- on the first flippin' day we have our stinkin' pool. I'm so annoyed. So we're watching a movie- that I think may be too scary for Tates and thankfully Cagey is asleep.

Ez's first 4th

Ezra had an exciting 4th of July on my hip :) He looks really excited about the fireworks everybody is doing.

Taylor the fire twirler. Jeebs in his element with the kids. Yes, Cagey is in his underwear.
These are just because I think my baby has a cute little smile. That smirk is a Jeebus smirk.

My little boys in true form- sweet Cagey and screaming Ez.

This is why I hate to cook...

Tonight I made a delicious homemade marinara with zucchini on whole grain pasta. I made a salad I saw Ina Garten make on Barefoot Contessa. It was spinach, peas, pesto, parmesan cheese and pine nuts. I didn't have pine nuts so I used these super tasty garlic ceasar sliced almonds. Then I cut up some fresh pineapple, cantaloupe and strawberries for a fruit salad. Not a smack of meat in the meal- so Jeebs was not impressed. He was unable to come to the table- and I didn't get so much as a "thanks for the delicious meal". Tates did okay- but just ate around her pasta sauce. Cagey ate noodles and then vomited them up in the car an hour later. YUcK. Anyway- it looked so pretty on the plate, I took a pic. The picture doesn't do it justice because it was jeebs' plate and I was piling it on. I love veggies and I'm determined to make my kids eat them!!

update on cookie recipe

After a comment from Shelly- I realize that I put a lot less than 2 cups of choco chips in my cookies. I usually eyeball 2/3 of a bag. I too don't like a lot of choco chips in my cookies- the cookie part is way too tasty. Ok- not that anybody cares, just felt like making that update.

ps I rollerbladed around my neighborhood tonight- couldn't believe that I could go as far as we did. woohoo- olympic rollerblade team here I come

oh my aching legs

Yesterday I thought I would do one of my firm videos- which I haven't done since I was about 8 weeks pregnant. OH my holy hannah- it was difficult to get through. It makes me even more depressed about how out of shape I am. They told me in the hospital I have a low functioning thyroid. yay me. So, I could take drugs for it and my mom says everyone she's ever known has lost weight taking thyroid meds. Well, I don't like taking drugs- never been one to go to the doctor for drugs- sooooo I'm taking some herbs and some iodine- hopefully that will help. In a few months I may go to the doctor and have them check it again and if it is still low maybe I'll take the meds. Very tempting to take drugs to make one thin, eh? Anyway- for now I'll stick to working out and eating right. I took some "herbal" weight loss stuff in college- I lost 4 pounds in one day and I had so much energy I felt like I was on crack. I remember doing chaines across the floor in ballet at lightning speed- and thinking- this must be what Gelsey Kirkland felt like when she was actually doing crack and dancing.

big boy