Monday, July 31, 2006

It's already half way through Monday and I am still in a fog. Sunday was as busy as usual with church, a lesson from Mike, setting up my classroom for Arts camp this week, and then a cookout at our house with some friends. You are probably asking "what is Mike givin lessons on?". Well a cointuation from my story on Saturday, the adventure we set off on was getting a Honda minivan. Yes - we actually got one on Saurday in the rush of everything and at 11:30 that night Mike was still sitting in it trying to learn all of the gadgets and gizmo's it had to offer. I think he probably stayed out there until 1 or 2 in the morning and was quite intrigued with a new toy. I didn't get to drive it home on Saturday as I rushed home to meet some guests that were arriving and to relieve Ella Sue who stayed with the kids. When Mike finally arrived and I was going to give it a little test drive he realized that they had not put any tags on it and so it has been parked until today. Yesterday, after the kids layed down for their naps, my lesson began on how to use an automobile. Mike had me practice pushing all of the buttons and even talking to the car. Can you picture this........ Mike pushes the voice button and sternly says "audio up" and the van replies "FAN OFF" and then the AC cuts off. I can't believe our van talks to us. I know everyone out there can believe that Mike bought a gadget mobile but I am far from comfortable talking to a van - actually I am just uncomfortable with the van talking back to me - I have said way too many things to previous autos we have owned. I am sure there will be many more lessons to come and I will probably never use all of the gadgets that it has to offer but at least Mike knows how to use them (or we hope so)!

My new adventure is Arts camp this week at our church. I just want to say BLESS YOU to all of those out there who work in daycares, preschools, schools, any type of childcare or just around children. God knows I love little ones and I love to play but I was a bit frazzled this morning when I found myself leading eight 2 & 3 year olds for 3 hours. Luckily, Deanne, was there to help and as a mother of 5 children she has the patience of Job. We read books, colored, made an angel, read books, played on the playground, had a snack, toured the church, went potty, read books, listened to music, played blocks, changed diapers, rode the elevator, and yes read books again. As you can tell reading books is one of my favorites as it is a "calm" activity for the kids. There was also a bucket of magnetized letters and a whiteboard in the room and I believe that they kids dumped the bucket of 10,000 magnets on the floor at least 1,203 times before I decided that we need to put these away. Thankfully I had put away the box of 5,000 teeny tiny legos yesterday or I may still be there cleaning them up. I will be doing this all week so if you don't see a post it is because I have gotten so worn out that I am asleep whenever the kids are quiet.

Lastly, the pictures are from our visit to the children's museum in Portland and downtown at one of the fountains. My favorite picture is the one of the kids sitting on Pappy Lee's white leather couch, yes you heard right it is white. I panicked everytime the children got close but I think we left without them staining it or marking on it with anything. Luckily leather is a bit easier to clean than upholstery.

Saturday, July 29, 2006

Another packed weekend here! Friday I had some work to do and Caroline, Kelli and Sam visited to help watch the kids while I counseled. We had a few errands to run but most of the day was spent at home. Kelli and Sam have this new game called Apples to Apples and we played it several times as it was a hoot. It can actually be educational for all ages in learning who some famous people were and some vocabulary. Mike won the first game and was feeling oh so cocky when the second game he was blown to pieces. We also played with Sam's new "20 Questions" game which simply amazed all of us. We couldn't believe it guessed lava lamp and then subwoofer to get them both right. Does anyone know how those things work? There has to be some trick. After subwoofer we adults thought that we should try something as unique as "booger" and what did it come up with?????? SNOT! Can you believe it? We were floored and still left wondering how it works. After that we decided that we would turn it off before and not use the real word out loud to see if there was some type of voice recognition device and I think it still got a couple right. This was all very entertaining and we even got Barry and Cathy Lee involved as soon as they walked in the door. It was great to have everyone visit and we were also glad that Caroline, Kelli and Sam stayed to ride out the horrible storm that came through town.

Today we woke to Mike making breakfast - yes you read that right - Mike made breakfast. He cooked pancakes for us (Barry, Cathy Lee, Landon, Ella and myself) and also a small tribe of college students that were lost somewhere nearby (or that's my thinking since he made about 50 pancakes). His pancakes were very yummy and he even made a Mickey Mouse pancake for Landon. When Uncle Barry sat beside Landon he commented "I like your Mickey Mouse pancake Landon" and Landon replied "no, it's not Mickey Mouse, it's just shaped like one". I don't know about you all, but I was so relieved to know he wasn't eating a real mouse that was disguised with a cup of maple syrup on top. Later on Gammy and her Aunt Bernice arrived and we talked them into trying some pancakes as well. By the time Caroline, Kelli and Sam made it we had cleaned up from pancakes and decided to feast on pizza. Thanks to everyone for visiting and sorry we rushed off but it seemed we were set for a task and we ended up accomplishing it. I will give you all the details tomorrow.

With that said, the pictures I am posting are a continuation of our trip to Portland. Last Saturday morning we headed to the Oregon Zoo. It was a lot of fun and the weather ended up being better than anticipated. It was hot but overcast so not as hot as it could have been. Landon and Ella enjoyed seeing sea lions from the glass window below the water, sea otters floating around in their pool, giraffes, zebras, elephants, falcons, owls and moutain goats. Most of all I think they enjoyed the large sandbox located in the shade with lots of toys and least enjoyed the water mister that Mike took them through to cool off. After heading back to Pappy Lee's for a short nap we headed out to go to Oaks Amusement Park for some evening fun. I was shocked at how much Landon loved the go carts, large slide, and circling kids cars and didn't enjoy riding on the train. Ella took a ride on the merry go round but didn't meet the height requirements on most rides. I think Mike would have stayed for 2 more hours if he could have continued to ride the go carts time after time. Thanks to Pappy Lee for holding Ella and watching us ride all of the rides that are meant for kids.

Thursday, July 27, 2006

Mainly a day at home for us besides an outing to sign the kids up for swimming lessons and dinner out with Mike's mom and brother (and family). They are parent/child lessons so Mike and I both will be attending/learning. Hoping to be able to teach Landon to float instead of sinking like a cement block after he loses his footing.

Ella slept again until 10:00 AM this morning which I could get used to. Now that I have said something she will probably wake up at the crack of dawn. I think our bodies are still trying to adjust and she seems to be very happy with more sleep and I wish Mike and I could make ourselves go to bed early and then have the oppportunity to sleep in.

Some more pictures from our trip. Friday night we headed across Portland to a brew pub for dinner and it seems that everyone in Oregon is crazy about brewing their own beer as they were also having a "Brewer's festival" in town which we didn't choose over the free music. There was some good old bluegrass at the park with lots of people just chilling out or maybe not chilling since it was still in the 90's at this time. Ella had a fun time picking all of the clover flowers and bringing them to us, and she found a way to climb up into the stroller standing in it dancing seeming to try to tip it over. Mike and I have noticed that as she walks up to any object her leg automatically lifts to try to climb onto it. It is some type of reflex that makes us always watch every move she makes. Landon on the other hand always asks us if he can jump onto or off of something and if he can go up and down the stairs. Polar opposites. Back to the concert - Landon preferred playing ball with Mike, swinging and then dancing on occassion. So much fun can make a kid thirsty!

Wednesday, July 26, 2006

We are safely back in NC now and trying to get back on schedule. It was a long day of travel yesterday with an early start of 4:00 AM PT. We got home a little after 7:00 PM and got the kids to bed at a pretty normal time. I couldn't believe it this morning when Mike woke up late for work at 8:30 and Landon and I slept until 9:30 AM and at 10:30 Ella finally woke up. I think that is a record for her (about 14.5 hours of sleep). Hopefully today we will get back on track and I can get some things done around the house.

I will post pictures from our trip all week. We had a great time and of course it was 100 degrees several days in Portland when their high this time of the year is normally low 80's and it has already cooled down since yesterday with highs only in the 70's for the rest of the week. Luckily the humidity isn't nearly as bad here and one thing that Mike and I are quite jealous of is there are hardly any bugs. We didn't get one mosquito bite while there and I had one within 2 minutes of being in our backyard. Over our time there we went to the zoo, the Children's museum, the library, a bookstore, downtown around the parks, Pappy Lee's office, a blueeegrass concert in the park, an amusement park, lots of yummy restaurants, and even toured the industrial section of town (a story for later). The picture above is riding back to Pappy Lee's house after playing downtown but it also sums up our morning back here in NC.

Great news for me is that our basement is now fully carpeted and ready for me to move toys down there! Yipppppeeeeeeee! I am very excited and need to try to control my excitement or I may just end up opening the basement door and throwing them all down without a care.

Thursday, July 20, 2006

I was kind of hoping that I wouldn't be posting right now but I am. We are heading out today for a long trip (distance) and I was hoping to catch an earlier flight so that the kids may have an easier time. We didn't get it as they are all sold out and everyone in the world seems to be going to the same destination. It will be fine - I just need to get over it and deal with a period of 20 minutes to change flights carrying two kids, two carseats, a diaper bag, a bookbag, and a husband. I am ok with it. (at least I keep trying to talk myself into being ok with it). The kids are still sleeping and Mike and I are up pondering ideas for staining the "condo" in the backyard and how we are going to carry everything to make our connection. All seems logical right?

Yesterday we went to the bookstore and Landon was able to play train with a bunch of other kids who enjoy Thomas as much as he does. For the first time he didn't have a major meltdown when we left, I must be getting better at bribes. Ella only knocked down one bookcase and stole 3 trains so all in all it was a great trip. Other than that we spent the day packing and playing indoors. We will look forward to posting from our trip.

Tuesday, July 18, 2006

It's hot, so hot! Things have been heating up around here. We have tried to stay cool this week so far. We stayed at home all day on Monday and just played around the house - it was great! I think Landon and I played in the sandbox for about 3 hours yesterday. Today we had playgroup at the playground which Landon and Ella always enjoy. Landon told everyone possible about his fall out of the pool last week and even demonstrated the fall by laying in the sand. Ella followed right behind him laying in the sand but she wasn't demonstrating, instead just trying to pick up some sand and leaves to give to me. She is just so generous. It was great to see our friends and we were able to get a shot of Sally with her two beautiful kids, Reid and Virginia.

Mike's condo is almost completed. Take a look - it even has lights and no, that's not an outhouse for those from PC but instead a matching playhouse for the kids. I am just anxious to let everyone know that I am in control - of the lights that is. His lights are tied into the backyard lights and the lightswitch at my hands. If it's time for him to come and change a diaper all I have to do is switch it 2 times, if it is time for him to cut the grass - that's 3 switches, and when he has to come and fix dinner - it's just lights out. I don't think any of that will work but we will try it and see. If he fixes dinner I will be sure to keep using it. For all those men who want their own condo, Mike will be renting it out for weekends.

Sunday, July 16 2006

I never want the weekend to end! I am sure that is a pretty common feeling for others as well but I guess if everyday was a weekend we would not appreciate them so. At the Joyce house it was a good weekend with a Friday night spent at home just hanging out. Saturday we ran a few errands before heading to our friend Ada's first birthday party!! It was a lot of fun, and as you can see from the pictures, Landon and Ella both enjoyed their cupcakes immensely. Ada celebrated her birthday with a Dr. Seuss theme including a green eggs and ham cake - so much fun! We returned home for some time with Nannie and Pops who came down to pick up some needed items and somehow found their way back at the hospital to visit new grandbaby Aiden. I think they were just trying to make excuses for the hour + drive to come see the baby! Damion and Kara - just so you know- that is how the spoiling begins.

Sunday started with heading to church. We always get the kids dressed and they look soooooo cute. As soon as the enter the church they both fall out crying with separation anxiety and those cute children look a little more like a new colorful set of leg warmers. They quickly get over it but the initial reaction is one that we have struggled with since Landon was 9 months old. I did manage to get a picture of Ella still in her dress and clean. I kept asking her to "smile pretty" and each time this is the face she gave me. I told you they were cute all dressed up :-)

Tonight we had a great time with so many of our friends at dinner club. We hosted this time and we couldn't have had a better evening. The original thought was to have it at a park because we have plenty of kids to wear the paint off of a playground but due to the heat we stayed near the AC and the kids even got to play in the pool. Thanks to everyone for coming and for bringing such delicious food - Mike had so much fun that he is already asleep on the couch.

Friday, July 14 2006

A lot going on ! Let's see... You have seen the pics of my new nephew.... and heard a little about Landon's boo boo (as Mike says "he skint up his face").

I must say that my husband is handsome, strong, brilliant, trustworthy, brave, and I could go on and on.... but if I did you would soon figure out that Brooke left the internet up while logged in AND it is me (Mike) saying all those great things about myself, so I'll stop. Anyway, the people that read this blog know me too well to believe any of that mess anyway!

Backyard shed project: UPDATE code named "Condo"

The condo basically needs the tin roof and to be stained and it'll be ready to solve our storage woes. Here's the lastest picture of the progress...
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>>> Safe to say that we've gone a little over budget.


Here are a couple of funnies and then I'll stop boring you.

Funny #1 Frank's Singing
Pops Frank stayed with us last night and we heard from Ro that he was singing in his sleep. Get this, he was singing the Barney song "I love you... you love me...." hardy har har ! I wonder if he was wearing a purple nighty. Sorry Frank... I just had to tell it. Next time you see him just hum a few bars - I'm sure that he'll appreciate it.

Funny #2 Landon's Kind Gesture
Landon had finished a successful potty run and I had gotten his hands washed when he asked if I would play the "catch me if you can" game. That's the game where an adult runs all around the house exactly the way their Mom and Dad used to tell him not to. The only difference is that about 3 feet behind the adult is a 2 1/2 year old running right behind him giggling, laughing and saying "whoaaaaaaaaaa" Sorry for the tangent... back to the story...

Landon - " Do you want to play 'catch me if you can' game wif me?

Daddy - "I need to put tinkles in the potty and then I will play."

Landon - "I'll help you Daddy - I'll wipe your hiney"

Daddy - "Is that Mommy snorting and laughing in the other room? Oh never mind ... That is very nice of you to offer Landon, but I have to put tinkles... not the other, but thank you anyway."

After thinking it over I went back to Landon and said "I might take you up on that in about 35 to 50 years!"

I hope that you all have (or are having) a great weekend.

- Brooke ....(uh Mike logged in as Brooke)

Thursday, July 13 2006

CONGRATULATIONS DAMION AND KARA! Proud new parents of Aiden Dyer Richardson born yesterday at 3:42 PM weighing 6 lb 10 oz and 19 " long. Kara ended up having a c-section as Aiden was breech after they thought he was heads down for weeks. He is a beautiful baby and very relaxed thus far.

We held onto our phones all day waiting in anticipation of Aiden's arrival. Landon and Ella don't exactly understand but seemed excited by the news. Nannie and Pops came down and Gammy was here as well which allowed me to go by the hospital in the evening to get some pictures and of course hold him. Damion and Kara are worn out as they were awake since Wednesday morning, soon enough they will get used to sleep depravation but hopefully they can get a little rest in between nurses running in and out. Hopefully soon they will have some posts on their blog as well.... www.richardsonsfirehouse.blogspot.com

Wednesday, July 12 2006

The pest control companies tactics were successful. When I went downstairs this morning I didn't find anything (not that I looked very hard) but when Greg (our pest guy) stopped by I walked him downstairs and sure enough there was Mickey's older brother trapped and still alive. As Greg said - I was upstairs in two leaps. I ended up calling Mike to distract me from thinking about what Greg was doing. I went outside so I wouldn't hear anything and soon Greg was out. Since Mike was still on the phone we were relaying lots of questions and Greg confirmed that the critter had gone on to critter heaven. Mike then asked if he thought there were any more down there to which Greg said it wasn't a mama and no signs of babies so he thought it was a bachelor. So Mike kindly said if he went downstairs to move things again that nothing should crawl out and bite him - Greg responded "well if it does just give me a call". That wasn't exactly the answer Mike was looking for or myself for that matter. I have just decided that until the carpet is laid and everything is cleaned up that I will stay upstairs.

I finally took a picture of the condo today for everyone to see. I am excited to think about what Mike may do with his workbench and have come up with a mental list of things he can fix and make. Maybe some woodworking lessons for his birthday!!

As for the kids, they survived the day. Landon fell and got a boo boo on his head so I probably won't be posting any pictures of him anytime soon. The picture posted is from yesterday when we went to Mike's office, or tall tower as Landon calls it, and Ella struck a pose for the picture - or struck gold! The other picture is one Mike took of Ella on Sunday after I had given him a hard time about not taking any pictures while I was gone. I just love the "look" she is giving him.

UPDATE: THURSDAY MORNING - DAMION AND KARA ARE AT THE HOSPITAL HOPING THAT BABY AIDEN ARRIVES SOON.

Tuesday, July 11 2006

We have had a fun two days. Ella and Landon have been very high energy and full of smiles. I have had a little more patience since my return from the weekend. I really do need it for the potty training. So for all of you mother's of boys, when do you train them to stand up and tinkle? I am not familiar with standing to tinkle in the least and have heard of the whole cheerio target thing but am so out of my element that I just thought I would send it out there for advise. It seems to be a lot cleaner if you just let them sit so I could opt to stick with that for a LONG time! Enough about the potty!

We found out that we have a friend living with us that we were unaware of. We had piled up our belongings in the center of the basement while the floor was being jackhammered into oblivion. Now that we finally signed somone for carpet we were going to move the furniture out of the way when Mike made a discovery that he wishe he wouldn't have. A rodent of some size moved into one of our couches and ate his way into a cushion and made a lovely nest with lots of foam. It has left a large trail and I am no fan. Mike had me call the pest control yesterday who came and set up some traps. Let me just tell you that these aren't small traps. I think I could lose a hand in one of them and he set several out. Luckily he is going to stop back by and check them today so I don't have to. Now I just need to go and let the dogs out and hope I don't see anything running around or smell anything that may have been caught last night. Wish me luck!

Mike's condo is coming along nicely. The siding is now on and it is looking more and more like a log cabin each day. They say they will be done this week which means our weekend may be spent hanging tools and moving stuff out of the garage - Yeah me!

Sunday, July 9, 2006

Wow - what a weekend! I don't want to rub it in to anyone but I did have a wonderful weekend. I headed to South Boston with my best friend since high school and we hung out at www.berryhillplantationresort.com all weekend. It was so relaxing and peaceful that I thought about calling in sick tomorrow to stay an extra day. We ate some good food, had a message at the spa, sat in the sauna, went swimming, walked around the grounds, and talked while sipping a glass of wine on the balcony. I probably talked her ear off and seemed a little too excited about not doing anything but boy was it great. I won't go on and on like I could as I know there are others that deserve a break like that and may not want to think about all the details without getting to take one immediately. Thanks Beave - it was a blast!

Mike stayed back with the kids but did have some reinforcements come to help - his mom! Ella Sue is just the greatest and I sure hope she gets a chance to rest. Each time I talked to Mike he was doing well but was increasingly worn out. Upon arrival the kids seemed to be in great shape; happy, healthy, rested, and did I mention hungry. I am sure they ate well but it was quite funny when Landon woke up from his nap. He got to have a cookie and afterwards he asked for an "orange cracker" (what most people call a nab), after his nab he said "I don't like orange crackers" so he wanted some veggie tales snacks. I opened some snacks for him and after he ate those he continued on to eat 4 more orange crackers and drink tons of milk. I gave Mike a hard time to see if he fed them lunch earlier in the day.

I think Landon had just worked up an appetite in the "water bag" pool that somehow showed up on my back patio over the weekend. Landon had enjoyed the pool at E Frank's last weekend so Landon got one this weekend - he must have a way of talking his dad into things or maybe his dad likes to spoil him as much as he can. I have heard that with the pool comes a cabana boy (Mike) who will clean it and take care of it while in the hot sun with his shirt off - guess I win in this deal too. Jake seems to think it was a gift for him and I am not sure what Ella thinks of it yet but I'm sure I will find out tomorrow.

No pictures to post for the weekend. I left the digital camera behind and asked Mike to take some pictures but his response after we talked was "it was too hectic to take any pictures". I took two pictures of the plantation with a disposable camera but still have 25 to take before you will have a chance to see them.

Glad to be home!

Thursday, July 6 2006

We stayed at home all day and it was great. Landon had an awesome day with no accidents and even a dry diaper in the morning and after nap. His special treat for the whole day was getting the engine Gordon. He is doing so well I almost don't want to say anything in fear that I may cause something to happen.

I was able to get several things done today around the house and marked off of my list. It's always such a good feeling to even mark one off but then I tend to add about 10 more. These days I have to write everything down or I will forget it almost instantly. I like to believe that is because as soon as I think of something that I hear someone say "mommy!!" and I am off to something else.

Today I decided I was going to try my hardest be the easy going mom that I always think I am. We danced, colored, ate cookies after lunch, watched Thomas, played train, and played outside. It was indeed a fun day and on our venture outside Ella decided she was hungry enough to eat potting soil. She then tried to eat chalk so we moved on to the backyard where we went to see how much water was in the sandbox after the 10 inches we received last night. Ella usually doesn't get to play in the sandbox as she tries to eat the sand, but today I am the easy going mom. She crawls in and out of the sandbox, puts some in her mouth and then crawls over the bottom rung of Landon's ladder to land face first in dirt. She was so dirty I had to go and get the camera. By the time she made it to the back door she had stopped to play in dirt several times, pulled up my petunias, and dumped a frisbee full of water out on her. I thought about hosing her off outside but was told by Pops that it would be cruel as the water was cold. So we had bathtime before dinner. Mike made it home to two clean children in the pajamas and dinner with homemade mashed potatos and everything. Guess I am buttering him up before I leave for the weekend.

Rest well.

Wednesday, July 5, 2006

I thought it was going to be a quiet day at home but it turned out that we ran errands. I decided I have to get this basement done before I lose my mind. We left to go and look at carpet and couldn't find the store and the kids were getting very cranky so we returned home for naps. After naptime I headed back out and had directions this time. Landon and Ella were wide open. You would have thought I had fed them each a Heshey's bar and a Mountain Dew. My head was spinning by the time we left and I didn't even pick out what Mike had wanted.

Next, I decided to stop by a grocery store on the route home. One that is the same chain as the one I always go to but not the same one. I don't know about other moms but this threw me for a complete loop. I didn't know where anything was and had one child trying to eat the shopping cart and a little shopping cart coming behind me at 75 mph and I just knew he was going to ram my ankles every time. I didn't have my normal menu and list planned out so it was not a very productive trip but I got the essentials: bananas, diet cokes, and sour cream. I didn't have one thing that I could make a full meal off of and am sure I will have to go back before tomorrow. Mike called during the middle of isle 5 and I must have sounded like I was on another planet as he even offered to drive out and help me.

We made it home and then decided to head back to the carpet store because I didn't have anything right about what was needed. Packed up the family and got the carpet stuff done. Hopefully they will work us in in the next 2 weeks and we can have a basement that I can throw all of the toys into (Mike's and the kids). Just glad to have something lined up so I can cross it off of my insanity list.

Pictures are from our trip sailing. Pictures from today would have just been a blur. By the way, Landon has had a very successful day using the potty and kept his diaper dry and clean ALL day!.

Tuesday, July 4, 2006

We made it home safely and exhausted. It was great to have a trip but we did a lot of driving and then last night Rocky Mount had some of the worst thunderstorms I have heard or seen in a long time. I was up from 2:30 to 3:30 or 4:00 and then back up at 4:30. Luckily Landon and Ella slept right through them somehow, for me they sounded like fireworks in the room with you and so much lightning that it was similar to having a strobe light in your room.

I don't think we could have packed more into the time we had. On Saturday we went to Bethel where Eric and Christy live and there we went swimming (in the picture it is Karl, Aiden, Maddie, Maggie, Landon and Mike), played outside, cooked out and caught up. Later we headed back to spend the night with Nannie and Pops. Sunday we went shopping to get Landon some new shoes and ended up with Thomas sandals even though he opposes sandals with a strange passion. We played a lot before heading down to New Bern to catch up with our friends at Eric's mother's house. After dinner there the guys went out for a night sail and Cindy and I stayed back to play with the kids and get them to bed. The next morning we set out for a sail which after a rough start for Ella she finally calmed down and then slept the whole time. After our sail and some lunch we then hit the road to go back to Bethel for some more time in the pool and some pizza. Later we again headed back to Nannie and Pops and went out to see the fireworks which Landon really enjoyed and met a new friend to watch them with. The next morning even though we were all tired from the loud storms we headed out to feed the ducks and then hit the road for our journey home. Landon was worn out and slept almost the whole way home, Ella only slept for 30 minutes or so and poor Mike had to drive the whole way. We were all so worn out that everyone was in bed by 9:30 and heard fireworks as we drifted off to dreamland.

I have tons of pictures from all of our adventures but will have to post them over several days.

Thanks to everyone for all of their hospitality. Thanks from Ella and Landon for all of the spoiling.