"It's a Crying Shame"

Addison the Bubble Crazed Girl

Mommy and Daughter Mermaids

Addison and Ellie at the Beach

Monkey at Kiawah.... buying a beach pass was the best idea ever!

Addison and Ladybug Boots in the Maze at the Pumpkin Patch

So, I'm sitting at the breakfast table with Addison the other morning, eating a well balanced breakfast that I slaved over all morning long (read I made her instant oatmeal), while we are admiring her recently painted fingernails, Addison notices one nail is severely scratched and needs to be painted again, she looks at me and as plain as day says "Its a crying shame." I stop eating my afore mentioned homemade breakfast, and looked at her and burst out laughing. I laughed so hard that I was literally in tears. This is not a phrase that I use, or anyone I know uses, so you can imagine how funny it was to hear coming from the monkey's mouth. It is now my favorite phrase. If you hear me use it, I'm only sort of making fun at whatever is supposedly a "crying shame", but really I'm just smiling inside at how funny I think Fred really is. The things that come from her mouth totally crack me up.

On a completely seperate occassion, we allowed the monkey to sleep with us, (or attack us while we tried to sleep) while we were painting her room. On the first night, snuggled in between Doug and I, she looks up and declares that she is "so happy to be here". We both looked at her with this serious look on her face... and had to laugh. The monkey probably does not understand why we are always laughing at her... these are comments that I am going to have to record.... Perhaps in a greeting card or something... so that I can play them many moons later and smile and laugh. Its pretty funny to have a 2 year old tell you how excited she is to be somewhere... especially when you're lying in bed with her thinking the same thing (or perhaps not quite the same thing) about her. ;)

So... massive updating. I think most of you already know this, but, yes, we are cooking up another little biscuit as we speak. I am 11 weeks or so, finally feeling like a normal human being again (read, thankful to not be puking my brains out from morning till night only to do itall over again the next day)... and am getting some energy back... which is fantastic... being that there is a very very busy (read sneaky) lil one running amuck in this house. Being pregnant when there is already a lil one is very different. I don't get to lay down whenever I want.... if I do puke, monkey tags along half the time, telling me not to spit it out.... I still have to cook and clean and perform all duties that I would normally perform...whether I feel great or not.... and last but not least....... I have no place to channel my pregnant impatience.... cant yell at other drivers like I did when I was pregnant with Addison... there are 4 letter words that she just doesnt need to learn yet... and I'm not talking about "cake" or "bake"... I am struggling with the impatience part the most right now. I'm trying to still be a nice mom.. but as Addison is learning to follow (or not follow) directions.. sometimes I want to scream. Thats normally when we go outside.... she slides and I sit for a minute or two in the sun... trying to not go insane.

Yes. In response to approximately 589 requests... we are going to find out what the sex of the baby will be... I think it will help Addison prepare for the arrival of her baby brother or sister (she has requested sister by the way)... Also... I am nesting already... and I just don't think I can wait this time... Having Addison be a surprise till the end was great, but I feel the need to be more prepared myself this time... and with the due date and Addison's birthday so close... May 10th for Addison, and May 26th for the new Biscuit.... I just gotta know. And.. we may (or may not) tell you. We'll let you know. ;) Addison is very excited.. and so are we.... Its hard to think that this time next year... we'll be a family of 4 with 2 crazy dogs. Wow. Just need the picket fence.

Speaking of picket fences... so.... according to the lovely HOA of our hood... we can not put a fence up around our property that would really make any kind of sense... so when we had dear sweet Ranger boy, and Bayla we decided to put up the invisible fence. Then... Ranger fell ill.... passed away... and we got Samson- the bull. 105 or so pounds of 2 year old yellow lab. Invisible fences do not deter him any longer. If he wants... hes gone. So we are back to walking him with a leash. So unfun. I now have a new and very serious desire to fix this..... its been almost a year of this now. I'm thinking raised hedges along the sides of the yard (with very sneakily concealed fencing inside the hedge), and in the back... in the woods... putting up some sort of perimeter... whether its posts with some rope... somewhat aesthetically pleasing.. or chicken wire (I do think this can be done and not look bad)... we also need to work on some walkways.... with pavers.. brick... gravel... not sure yet.... I have big plans folks. And I'm a horrible gardner and outdoor maintenace kind of person... so wish me luck. Any suggestions?! I'm open to them all. By the way.. don't tell the HOA!

Well.. I have talked enough. Perhaps the post should have been titled... hang on tight... pregnant babbling ahead.... so...... here are some very late pics............

Beginning to Update

No explanation for the lack of blogging people.. a friend of mine recently told me that I had to quit apologizing everytime I sign in to update a new post here, and I think she's right. Suffice it to say that, as usual, I have been uberbusy.... I know some of you think that I sit at home, snuggle with my daughter all day, go on long lovely walks with my oh so well trained dogs, enjoy quiet time while my child naps, read books, watch movies, have ample "Creative time" in which I can sew if I choose, or simply paint my toe nails.... or maybe you think that I have a maid who comes in, cleans up, cooks, walks my dogs for me, or that I have plenty of alone time due to a nanny or grandparent watching Addison on a regular basis..... but please, allow me to set the facts straight for you... I would hate for you to not fully understand our days.

This is my usual Monday. Lil man gets dropped off here at 6:45. Some mornings, he will take a bottle and go immediately back to sleep, some mornings not. In the event that the morning nap does not occur immediately after bottle, I am hit with the official notion that I will have no time to myself, and aside from washing my face, brushing my teeth, and hopefully either brushing my hair, or putting on a hat, I am ready to start the day. Addison will wake up around 7:00- 7:30..... She finds lil Man awake and is the happiest lil girl ever.

Breakfast. Let Bayla out. Let Bayla in. Walk Samson out on leash because the wild beast has decided that the invisible fence is just not enough to keep him locked in our yard. Freedom is much more exciting. Have arm almost pulled out of socket as he lunges to play with Bayla. All done with one child navigating the field mine of poop in our yard (of course she will not wear shoes around our house unless they are her lady bug boots no matter how many times she has stepped in poop or come close to stepping in poop) and lil man velcroed to my hip. Picture, Momma Monkey, with lil monkey clutching on for dear life to Momma's hair while she navigates the trees in the jungle.... this is much what lil man and I look like... he holds onto my shirt with tight fists, luckily he is not jonesing to be set down because this whole walking scenario would become infinitely worse. Addison plays in dogs' water bucket...... looks for hogs (also known to most people as frogs), tries to cause chaos in general, demands to hold Samson's leash on her own (only occassionaly does this happen) and then we finally make it back inside.

Once inside snacks are promptly demanded by Addison. We have a child proof knob on the outside of our pantry now. All food must be kept far and away from my child or she will just pick and choose her own snacks and nosh away until she looks like a lil pot bellied pig. At this point, I realize that I am wet, have not set lil man down yet, and there has been a pooplosion resulting in a mudslide down his leg onto my shirt. Joy. Addison is now trying to pull open refridgerator door.... Lil man is plopped in sink bath, while I strip my top shirt layer off and remove poop from the two of us. Bayla wants out.... of course in the middle of all this. It is now, oh, lets see..... 8:00am. Multiply this in vicious cycles about 10 times, throw in some occasional dog vomit, full fledged meals, potty training, random knocks at the door that throw dogs into vicious fits of barking (their barks are definitely bigger than their bites) and add to all of this, a very mild attempt to keep some chaos amongst the toys, puzzles, and other child parafernalia, phones ringing off the hook, and the attempt to have dinner on table within 30 minutes of husbands arrival from work..... and its a crazy day. Lil man leaves around 5:30.

Tuesdays and Thursdays are the same, but add 2 other children to the mix, with different drop off and pick up times, and remember that the dogs, although very sweet and gentle with the babies, do not like people at the door, so, everytime someone is picked up or dropped off I have to let them out somewhere... garage.. back porch... courtyard... what have you...... Wednesday is supposed to be my day with just Addison and I.... and Friday is the same.... but sometimes we have another child with us, and of course, one of these days is dedicated to the errand running that can not occur when I have 4 small children under the age of 3 at my house. Like I said. I am crazy during the week.

The plus side to all of this? you may ask... is that I get to stay home with my sweet lil monkey... who has remained very healthy over the past 2 years, with only a few trips to the doctor that have not been a routine check up. The down side? Honestly... I dont see one..... I am happy. Even with all the chaos, and some days are worse than others, I'm happy. I could use help getting more organized. I wish someone would just come in here, take over my house and put things where they should be put, and then allow me to try and maintain that... as it is... our house is always a wreck... but we have changed our study into a full fledged playroom and I think it will help, onces its officially baby proofed and up and running. We need a tv in there, and when a few more items sell on craigs list.... a tv will be purchased..... allowing us to free up the rest of the house from baby toy tornados.

Now, before I put my foot in my mouth, Addison does spend time with her grandparents....... Gigi and Poppy (Doug's parents) are now home more than they used to, so, they try to split up their free time by having some fun with Addison and her cousin Sophie at seperate times.... and Gram (my Mom) gets her from time to time as well. Honestly folks, I plain like having monkey around.... so I don't ship her off too often. Especially since most of the week is occupied by me having to split up my time with her and up to 3 other children. So.... I usually keep her around. I will update a few pics............. and will try and get back on the blogging lifestyle again soon! We miss you guys... and miss updating you guys on things that are going on...... but...... family life is busy...... and when you sit down at night, sometimes you just want to sit.... no thinking involved. We are back, and up and running again..... changing some of our layout and design.... so expect many more changes here in the upcoming future! XOXO!

The Bells

Strawberry Thief and Strawberry Jam

As some of you already know, Addison is a serious book lover. She has been from the very very beginning..... listening to books, chewing on books, flipping through books, ripping through books, and now, she's into "reading" books on her own..... but one of her very favorite books is Jamberry by Bruce Degen. We read this book almost every single day.....

This book is wonderful and she first learned the word "Strawberry" from it... I did not know however, until recently, how much she loves Strawberries... let me unravel the strawberry stories...... First, we went to Costco recently... walked by the strawberries, and the girl threw a tantrum as I started to walk past them... STRAWBERRY STRAWBERRY STRAWBERRY.... so of course, like a good Mom encouraging her child to partake of the delicousness (is that word) of fruits over junk food.... I grab the box, and set it into the cart. Little did I know that the next fit would occur two seconds later.. not only did she want the strawberries, she wanted them right then. As I calmly tried to rationalize with my almost 2 year old daughter that the strawberries were not clean and we couldn't eat them yet, I silently prayed that the next aisle would have someone with some sort of decadent treat.... chocolate eclairs.. thank goodness- prayer answered. Yes. I shoved her sweet little pouty mouth with a chocolate eclair just for some peace and quiet.. and quickly hid the strawberries in the cart.

So............ knowing that lil one likes strawberries...... I decided that a special treat would be strawberry jam........ I decided to surprise her with a peanut butter and jelly sandwhich with it... and while watching the Blue Angels air show out on the harbor, I pulled it out. She was literally licking the sandwhich box clean... like a little puppy. Stawberry toddler heaven. The Blue Angels put on quite a show, very impressive, and as much as Addison loves airplanes... she managed to fall asleep smack dab in the middle of the show......... as we literally had them flying right over us!

After hearing my child yell "STRAWBERRY JAM AND TOAST" every morning this week, I have one last strawberry story. The scene- Farmers Market, Summerville, SC. The subject and her parents and cousin Peter are shopping for vegetables and other produce. Subject's Mom is searching for strawberries, while holding subject's hand, an older woman leans over, and says that my daughter must really like strawberries, I look down to see my daughter has STOLEN a strawberry from another basket and is tasting it. Nice huh? I have a theif on my hands folks... that's right!

We had a great day on the beach watching the Blue Angels with Addison's Uncle Ricky, Aunt Jennifer, and cousin Fifi (Sophie).... we played and played.....ate and ate....... and of course, there was dancing............

What else............. we're getting ready for monkey to turn 2... can't believe that is about to happen................ but we're so excited....... Hope to see the family all there!! And last but not least, hubby requests pics of Blue Angels to be posted... so enjoy....

A lot of Catching Up

OK.. Ok.... ok...... I see the date of my last post. I do enthusiastically apologize. Please forgive us. The computer crashed. Big time. But thanks to Jack, it works fantastically! Thank you Jack!

Now... lets see.... we haven't done too many things.... just been busy... the usual day to day stuff. Addison is learning words, sentences, and songs at warp speed... constantly scaring us with her knowledge.

For example, the other day Doug and I went to the phone store, and after about five minutes of being in there, and seeing all the pretty phones on display... Addison walked up to one of the displays, and pretty clearly asked, "Can I have the phone please mommy?" We both stood there like idiots... counting the words in this question above... that's right, there are 7. 7 word question... posed to us by a not even 2 year old.

Another cute story.... we're (Addison and I) looking at the "But Not the Hippopotamus" book while I'm changing her diaper.... shes "reading" it to me. Short phrases.... hog.. frog... etc... cat (then makes the cat sound)...... and gets to the page where the book says "and the animal pack comes scurrying back saying hey come join the lot of us" and Addison yells- HEY COME BACK! It was pretty funny.

She's also into asking if you ____ too? "you want ice too?" and she always asks Lucas if he "wants snack too?!" (Lucas is the lil boy I watch...) and "more" "Do you want some more"

Another phrase that we hear a lot is "I break it"... which is usually quickly followed with "You fix it?" These words are sometimes, but not always preceded with an "oops".... as you well understand, hearing those words all together especially if shes in a room where you can't see someone... instills fear in the hearts of all parents... you quickly make sure your phone is in your pocket..... hoping its not the broken object.... and run as fast as you can to where she is...

I won't bore you much more, but our other favorite phrase here is " I stuck".... lots of things can be stuck... Addison was at Gram's house the other day trying to pull the cup out of the top part of the cooler... and it wasn't coming through it.... all you could hear was "STUCK!" or.... at Gigi's house the other day I was told she kept trying to crawl over the edge of the pool and would repeat "I stuck"... Obviously folks, we don't get out a whole lot..... these things entertain us and tickle our souls... what can I say?? Life is very very different after having children... and I wouldn't change a thing! Well, that's not exactly true.. but I love it.

What else have we been doing... hmmm... Addison is still quite the bossy one. She LOVES to play with the pups, and boss them around. I hear her yelling at Samson and Bayla to sit, back, get down, all the time... but later on.. when the bossing subsides.. I can find her snuggling with one of them. Or she will do a "walk by sweetening".... where she just pets them real gently, gives them a kiss, and moves on. Its sweet. She loves sliding, and playing in the pool, or sprinkler, and is very into "coloring on paper", her term, not mine. "Mommy color on paper please?" I hear this at least 10 times a day. It would be great if that was all she colored on though- I did make her clean up her own mess on the foyer wall the other day... Red Crayola and Navaho White on the walls don't mix well... nor does it come off well, oh well. Aside from this, our lil Fred is growing into quite the well rounded beast. She still says please and thank you, and blesses you when you sneeze... so what can I say? Oh... and holidays......

Easter here was wonderful.. very busy day.... but we had a great time. Early church... at our soon to be new church, and then we went to Azalea park for a few pics of the lil monkey.... then naps, Gigi's, Grams...... it was a long day.... full of good food, family, and Easter egg hunting.... Hope everyone had a great Easter... and really, I promise to try and get better with this....

Hardest Post Ever

Sorry foks... I have had THE hardest time deciding on a few of the 200 or so pics I took of Addison in her first snow.......

Where we are in Summerville, we got close to 5 inches of snow... and it was beautiful! So odd to sit on the couch watching a movie at night looking at the snow coming down right outside the window.... some good friends came over for a warming cocktail, we all watched a movie..... and then woke up to a glorious snow.

After going out and taking pics of the snow in its white, fluffy, un-yellowed glory, (while Addison was still asleep) we let the wild beasts out..... they obviously have NEVER seen snow, and even Bayla and her cold natured self thought it was great... they were running around.... digging... rolling..... Bayla was sniffing everything cause apparently we had some deer come up pretty close to the house last night... wish we could have seen that.. but some things you just miss..... As the dogs continued to run around and play we remembered that our dogs and the invisible fence are NOT working together right now.... and I ended up having to drive out after them.... Samson even went swimming after his big jaunt...

Got Addison up as soon as she finished her oatmeal we layered her up and sent her outside. Now, she did see it the night before... thought it was pretty cool... but going out in her lady bug boots on Saturday was a compeltely different story. She loved it! She played... Was very saddened to find that her favorite acorn dropping tree had no acorns under it.. (the snow covered them all, but no worries, they were found today!).. .she really loved it...

She boogie board sledded... and Doug even pulled out his duck hunting sled and through her in that......... All was fabulous until she realized she no longer liked wearing gloves... and that taking gloves off meant coming back in.... no matter how hard we tried to get them back on her... she was having none of it..... so..... we came in for naptime. Still.. it was a great, beautiful, day..... So wonderful to experience that with her... she kept saying "SNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW" all day... and even got to taste some falling from the sky... she loved it.

Here are a few of my faves....

Ten Things I Learned This past Week

I hope some friends of mine don't mind too much.... but I'm stealing their idea.... and this is something that I enjoy reading from their blogs so much, that I'm going to start it on my own as well. To those of you who already do this- take this as the highest form of flattery.....

1- One night out on the town, whether its to the concert with a good friend, or just down to a neighbors house makes me miss my lil girl immensely.... I enjoy getting out but when I get back, the very first thing I want to do is check on her... and if she just so happens to stand up and immediately ask me "Where My Paci Go?" and wants to be held... the better.....
2- Friends with children and friends without children are on two different wave lengths in life. The worlds are so separated that its almost scary. Getting together with them is almost impossible.....
3- Similary, getting friends together when you both have children is almost just as impossible....
4- Watching Addison chase Bayla around with her baby doll stroller is almost as funny as watching SNL used to be back in the olden days.... when there were actually good people on it!
5- When beginning to potty train..... if you happen to have to use the potty at the same time as the before mentioned "potty trainee" make sure you close the bathroom door tightly.... you will never know where you will find that little puddle.
6- In regards to number 5- do you give her a sticker still? because she pottied??
7- I love my husband. He drives me nuts, but seeing him walk through the front door, grab my lil girl kiss her and chase her and make her laugh makes me melt.
8- I am so glad that my husband and I are joining a church soon... and with good friends to boot. Doesn't get much better than that....
9- Watching Addison boss the dogs around is very entertaining... telling an 85 pound lab to sit, or get down, and him listen is funny. ;) I love it.
10- Everyday I am more and more aware that there is not enough time during the day.... and it sucks... but one day... I will get caught up... maybe... one day.

Quickie Cutie

My oldest younger cousin just turned 18!!! Can't believe my lil Rebecca has turned into a Joes jeans.... Patagonia jacket wearing....... about to be USC freshman....when did this all happen?!! Love her to death! Wish her the best............

Got a few shots of Fred outside with her Daddy.... and with a stolen balloon of Rebecca's..... love EVERYONE in these pics!

XOXO