Well, there are two things I have dreaded for,a loooooong time. One is potty training two kids boys at once. The other is putting them in a toddler bed. You see, there was never enough time or hands to rock these two. Therefor, bed and nap time was so easy. We would lay them down and they would go to sleep. Bam, that easy!
Well, due to one baby (Dillan) with chunky legs getting stuck in the crib, we were forced to put up the toddler bed. One day the kids and I were here. We were going to leave for the beach that afternoon. They went down for a nap. About 30 minutes later I heard a scream which is unusual. I ran into the room and Dillan's legs were stuck between the slats. I tried to pull them out. Then push. No luck. David had come in by this time and Daniel's sleepy eyes were peeking over watching. I tried to push the mattress away. Still didn't work. Then I tried to pull the slats apart enough to get him out. Finally, I just started jerking the slats. I broke one and one leg was out. Then I broke another. Soooooo the crib was no longer useable. We actually burned it int he burn pile tonight.
Anyway, we left for the beach and Walter went to get David's toddler bed. Since he couldn't find the screws (he looked real hard) I attempted to put it together. Walter helped me finish later when he got home. Dillan was scared to sleep I. It the first night. He cried, but I assured him it was okay and he was a big boy. Daniel just looked at it for a while and then went to sleep. As time has gone on, Dillan is more used to the bed. He now gets up and plays with Daniel, walks around, gets shoes out. So now I stand post at the bird and rush in when I hear him get up. The look on his face its priceless every time. Like he is surprised. Now I dread getting Daniel a bed. Two against one.
Notice the bite marks on the bed from David.
Pawpaw has such a cool work place! He is the Assistant Fire Chief at Dannelly Field in Montgomery. When we go visit we get to see all the fire trucks, airplanes, and play pool. Well, David plays pool, not me. I wanted to take all the kids for a visit since my Dad will retire in less than a year. It was a lot different taking 3 mobile children instead of 1.
We started out by the runway waiting on the F-16s to take flight. While we waited we saw some commercial airplanes and an old military plane take off. One of the fire trucks was out setting the cable for the F-16s. When they rode by they turned on the sirens and lights for the boys. The pilots waved at the boys as they taxied by. That's always pretty cool. The F-16s finally zoomed by for take off! The noise is sooooo loud!
We walked up to play on the fire trucks. Daniel and Dillan wanted to flip every switch so Dad and I were busy trying to keep them away from the switches! David wanted to get on top of the trucks. Of course, we let him go with one of us. He got on all of them except for one. Of course, my Dad felt guilty for him not getting on the #6 truck. I pick on him about being a softy with the grands! :)
Things got a little trickier when we went inside for David to play on the pool table. That didn't last long. After chasing them around to keep them out of everything and making a mess with their snack, it was time to go back outside... or better yet HOME!
David earned a free Six Flags ticket again this year through the Reading Counts program at EES. Since he earned it, we should definitely use it. A friend of mine and her little boy went with us which made it more fun. Elisha and I could enjoy each other while David and Clayton played. We made it just in time for the park to open. The boys saw all the roller coaster tracks as we were turning in and got all excited! They promised they were NOT going to ride any of them! Haha!
Their favorite rides were all the water rides and bumper cars. They loved the water park, Skull Island. We spent a couple hours letting Clayton and David play on the slides and the water spouts.
We left about 30 minutes before the park opened and made it home safely. We only saw 2 deer on the ride home! I guess that's what happens when you ride on country roads at night in Alabama.
I love taking the kids on adventures. My Dad is always willing to go along with us. This time we went down to Corn Creek Park. My Dad grew up playing in this creek and so did I. We had taken David one or two times when he was small. David remembered the waterfall a few weeks ago and started saying he wanted to go. I don't know how he remembers that far back, but he does
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The water was up so we had to carry Dillan and Daniel along the edge of the bank to get to the waterfall. My Dad was holding Dillan and went to step in the water and bloop, fell in. Luckily they only sank to Dad's waist. Dillan and Daniel could stand and the water was not too high. They picked up rocks off the bottom and threw them in the water. David played on the bigger rocks and in the running water.
After snack time, we moved up the creek a little. Dad carried Dillan again. He went to step in the edge of the water where there was some rocks and bloop, down they went. This time he landed more on rocks than water. Dillan cried because he was scared. Dad felt bad and I just didn't say much. When someone falls its always better to keep your mouth shut. Just think thoughts inside your head. :) Anyway, we played for a while and even saw lots of baby bass swimming around us. It was a good day, but I'm not sure if Dillan will let Pawpaw carry him around anymore.
Father's Day seemed to slip up on me this year. School was out, the next weekend we went to the beach, and the next was Father's Day. I bought Walter's gifts while we were at the beach and then I shopped for our Dad's. We invited our parents and my grandparents over for supper on Sunday. I went to Wal-Mart and bought everything to make lasagna, salad, dessert, green beans, and bread. Then it hit me... Father's Day was the next week! Oh no!
Let me be the first to say I have Mommy brain. I like things to be planned and organized. I like to be on time and prepared, but two little boys put a kink in all of that. They made my brain quit working! That's okay, I'll just blame it on them.
Walter and I decided we would go ahead with plans and celebrate a week early. Everyone came over and we celebrated. We both have great Dad's and I have an awesome Pop. They are all so good to our kids too and they adore them.
Just add it to the list of mistakes I make. I'll laugh at myself with you.
I love going to the beach. I like playing in the ocean, finding shells, people watching, swimming in the pool, walking around, eating seafood, and shopping. The beach seems to make me feel free. We are fortunate to be able to take several trips down to Karla and Jim's condo several times a year. All five of us left Friday around Daniel and Dillan's nap time. The idea was for them to sleep during most of the ride. Daniel doesn't like riding. The plan seemed to be working at first. They both went to sleep. We made it to Greenville and had to get gas. Before we got back on the interstate, Daniel woke up... then Dillan too. Dillan was happy and content. Daniel was for a little while. Then he got fussy. We went into ignore mode.
We made it to the condo and found out my best friend Natasha was staying at one of the houses behind the condos. David was happy because Camden was with them. Saturday morning we woke up at 6 as usual. Daniel is an early bird. We ate and got ready for the beach. On the way over we ran into Natasha running. She's dedicated. We walked across the road and set up camp on the beach. I was surprised the babies seemed to like the sand. They played in the sand and David looked for shells. After a while, Natasha and her family joined us. We lasted about 3 hours at the beach. The water was rough so we couldn't go out far. We only had one incident where Daniel went head first into the edge of the water. Chris rescued him. :)
We left the beach and had a quick lunch upstairs and went on to the pool. It was getting close to nap time. Later that afternoon we went to the new Tacky Jack's and ate, bought scratch tickets in Florida, ate Dippin Dots, and went to the state pier. We like to go there and see what everyone is catching. The first catch was a stingray. We watched the man cut the barb off. David was intrigued and so was I. As we walked further, we heard someone say that's the 4th or 5th shark hooked in the last hour. We had to see what the fuss was about. A man had a 5 foot bull shark on the line! We watched him reel it in. the stroller was up against the edge. Dillan decided the shark was hungry and threw his nice leather sandal right over the edge! He had to go barefooted the rest of the time because I didn't pack any other shoes. Typical!
Sunday we ate at The Oyster House on the way out and then stopped at the Tanger outlets. I got a little bit of shopping in before heading home. We had a good trip! I can't wait for the next one.
Mothers Day is tomorrow and it has me thinking... Thinking about me being a mother, my Mom, Walters Mom, my Mawmaw and Granny, and the women wanting to become a Mom. It makes me feel a sense of thankfulness for being blessed with 3 sons, having a great mother, a helpful MIL, a loving Mawmaw, and a funny Granny. I have learned things from all of the above.
Some of my favorite moments of my Mama are of her teaching me how to do a backhand spring. I still remember her having me between the living and dining room spotting me over and over. I also remember landing on my head once. I remember her being the class Mom and helping my teachers and Josh's. I loved going on day trips with her when I made honor roll. I remember her surprising josh and I with a trip to Six Flags and we fussed the whole ride there. Sorry about that! She planned and gave helped make our wedding fabulous! She gives good advice when I want it and when I don't. Our 3 boys have an amazing Granny who loves on them, plays with them, and spoils them. I am thankful god chose me to be my Moms daughter.
Karla has become a good grandma. While I was on bed rest for 13 weeks, she and Jim helped take care of David. Now they watch Dillan and Daniel once a week. If they didn't do this, the awesomeness of having the boys stay home wouldn't be possible. When David has a 7:30 baseball game, she comes over and stays while the babies sleep so I can watch David play. For this, I am thankful.
My Mawmaw... The sweetest lady I know. She loves everyone and wants everyone to be happy. I remember going to her work and cooking goodies. She always scratched my back. She let me wear her makeup. She would sneak milkshakes to me and josh at 11 at night. She broke all the switches. She cooks for all of us. She is amazing.
My Granny had 10 kids and too many grand kids to count. We saw her each Sunday growing up. She always made me bread pudding. She kept lemons in her fridge that I loved to eat. She was funny and didn't t even know it. She would tell all the cousins to "play pretty." She offered me a cigarette one time when I was about 16! I thought my mom was going to croak! Bahahaha! She was a trip...
I always knew I had amazing women in my life. After having my own children, I realized this even more. God first blessed us with David James. He was such an easy baby. He was so cute and chubby. Then we prayed for another child and were blessed with 2. They have brought even more joy. They keep us entertained and busy. They are into everything! They love their Bubba. I always wanted to be a good Mama. I want them to remember me as a fun Mama who taught them about the Bible, disciplined them, played with them, showed them love, and made them feel special. I love being the Mama of all 3. They make me happy. I enjoy taking them places and giving them new experiences! I m thankful for the chance to be their Mama.
Happy Mother's Day!
