Cookies for Santa

Yes, it's two days before Thanksgiving and we made "cookies for Santa". We had gotten one of those chocolate chip cookies gifts in a jar, so we decided to break them out. We're a little ahead of ourselves this year already. The tree has been up for almost a week and the boys have written their letters to Santa. Needless to say the boys are a little anxious for Christmas to get here. I think they're excited to do all the fun Christmas stuff, but they also know that the sooner Christmas gets here, the sooner Daddy gets to come home.

So, the night we made cookies for Santa, Brek had a nightmare. Probably not his first nightmare, but the first that he actually shared with me. He came staggering into my room at like 2:00 in the morning and said, "Mama, I had a nightmare." I pulled back the covers so he could crawl into bed with me. He wasn't crying, just kinda whimpering and I asked him if he wanted to tell me about it. He stuck out his lower lip as he talked and said. . . . "I dreamed we made cookies for Santa, and left him three on a plate. He ate all of those, and then went into the kitchen and ate them all." At this point, he broke down into tears as I was overcome with laughter. He looked a little shocked at first (I'm assuming at my apparent disregard for his feelings) and he said, "Mama, I'm serious." The look on his face was just too much and I couldn't help but laugh some more. I assured him that we would hide the rest of the cookies from Santa. He seemed content with that and fell fast asleep.

Later when I was telling the story to Joey and we were both laughing. Brek has always been our "eater". He will eat breakfast around 7:00, then again when Bae gets up around 8:00. So, it wasn't a great surprise to me to hear that his "nightmare" involved food.

Sugar

So, this morning, the boys and I got up bright and early (Ok, so bright and early for me and Bae, normal time for Brek) got a shower, got dressed and headed to Brunswick for my monthly baby checkup.

Today was the day of my glucose test and I was not looking forward to it at all. So, I didn't eat anything after midnight (although I really wanted to), and on the way to the doctor's office had to down the sugary disgusting liquid known as glucola. For those of you that have never had the pleasure of this drink, I can only describe it as a Sunkist with three times the amount of sugar and no fizz. Yuck! I've been told several times that there are several other flavors out there including cola (disgusting) and grape (that I would try!). I've only had the pleasure of orange myself.

So, we get to the doctor and I promptly get my finger stuck, while the boys watch on. I was so surprised when the nurse announced that I'd failed. (NOT) I've failed both one hour tests with the boys, so I was not the least bit surprised this time around. So, long story short I've got to have the three hour test in three weeks. I am so looking forward to it. (Can you detect the hint of sarcasm?)

So, on the way home, I texted Joey to let him know of my results. We chatted a few minutes, but I could tell he was preoccupied and only assumed that he was really tired (he had worked the night before). So, I told him I'd let him go and call him when he woke up. During the drive home, he sent me these.





Obviously, he was not so much tired as infatuated with a new app on his iphone. He had both me and the boys rolling in our seats. Little things like this make me miss him even more than I do on a regular day (which is constantly).

So, while my blood sugar was high this morning, tonight I'm missing stealing some sugar from my sweet hubby. I'll try to partially make up for it by stealing some kisses from the boys. Brek won't be a problem, but Bae is not nor has he ever been very affectionate. Oh, well, I've put on some weight and will sit on them if need be! If that doesn't work, I've got a 1/2 gallon of old reliable! (My doctor would be so proud!)

Until next time!

October catchup and Halloween fun

Well, October turned out to be quite a whirlwind month for us. So, I'm going to try and condense a whole month of happenings into one post.

Let's see, I guess we'll start with the Callahan fair. I was there all week selling raffle tickets for our Yamaha Big Bear 250. I must say that on Day 1, I was reeling with all the smells of food at the fair. Everything smelled so appetizing, which was quite a feat considering how sick I've been. However, by day three I was sick of smelling fair food. However, I did discover my "go-to" treat of choice. A wedding cake snowcone. What is this? Well, a snocone that's flavored like buttercream frosting. Can you say heavenly??? It was delicious!! And, as I was assured that it was both calorie and sugar-free, I don't mind telling you that I indulged in one every night!! The boys came with their cousins and grandparents to the fair on Wednesday night. They were excited to see all the animals and ride the rides. Bae is actually tall enough now to ride some of the bigger rides like the Sea Dragon, so he was over the moon about that! All of the kids got their faces painted before they left and the boys were sufficiently hopped up on sugar by the time I wrapped up my night and picked them up. Ahh, nothing like the fair being in town!




My little sister's birthday is on October 31st, so we celebrated her birthday the day before going trick or treating. She turned 16, which even as I'm typing blows my mind. I still remember her being two and holding out her bottle and saying, "I want pink mikkaonit." In translation, means "Hey, if you could get me some strawberry nesquick that would be great!"



So, on Saturday, we had our annual Fall Festival at church which was western themed this year. Last year, my mom had bought the boys a western ensemble for Christmas, and this is the first time they've actually worn it. Luckily before they grew out of the shirts, though Bae's wranglers were already too short, so we substituted some "regular" jeans. They happily sported their cowboy boots until Bae's started rubbing a blister on his foot, then he was ready to go! Their cousin Wesley joined them at the festival and here they all are striking a pose for the camera. (I think Brek thinks he's at a GQ photo shoot!)


Finally, the time had arrived that they had been waiting for: Trick-Or-Treating!! Their cousins came up from Florida and Wesley joined us too. Caitlyn and Ashlyn (16 & 14) came along for the ride and though they were too cool to actually trick or treat themselves, they did swipe some candy from several bags!

Bae was Spiderman.


Brek was a lion.


I'd also like to add, that while the festivities at the Fall Festival and trick or treating were going on, Tebow and his Gators were wiping the ground with those Georgia Bulldogs! I happen to be a Florida Gator, originally just by marriage, now undoubtedly by choice. Joey was sending me text updates while we were going door to door. When I got the final score update, I walked over to the truck where my mother-in-law and aunt were riding and relayed the score to them. The kids were loading up onto the trailer and Bae said, "We won! Yay!" Wesley looked at Bae and said, "You like the Florida Gators????" Bae said, "Yeah!!!" Wesley didn't say anything else, but gave him a look that said, we're no longer friends. :)

Oh well, we still love our Georgia Bulldog friends, anyway! We've grown accustomed to the fact that there is one certain day a year that we're not allowed to speak to one another (as we're mortal enemies for that day), and we're ok with that arrangement. Hey, it makes it alot more fun when everyone can laugh and be good sports! We try not to rub it in too much when the Gators win (OK,OK, I said TRY!) and we can totally handle it when the Georgia Bulldogs beat us! (I guess we do still have a bit of an advantage since we have, what, once every ten years to prepare for that!) Just Kidding!

Oh, also, Bae started guitar lessons this month. He's only had two lessons, but he's so excited. He really wants an electric guitar, but he can learn on this one first! :)


Ok, I think that's sufficient catchup for October. We're already halfway through November now. Tomorrow I go for my gestational diabetes test, which I am really not looking forward to, but anywhoo. I've still been sick off and on, but all in all, the pregnancy has been moving right along pretty uneventfully. God has truly blessed my little family and I pray that he continues to do so. Now if Joey could just come home for good, we'd be set. Praying for that daily!



Shelby has grown quite a bit too! Here's her most recent photo after a dip in the pond!

It's a . . . .

Joey was home a couple of weeks ago for a whole week. We declared a holiday week from school and though the boys are complaining now that they've had to make up those missed days, we all thoroughly enjoyed having him home. We didn't do a whole lot of anything but hang out with one another and it was awesome!

Joey was supposed to fly home on Sunday morning, but he never goes along with "the plan." I talked to him several times on Thursday about the flight, what time it was, arrival time, etc. I was sitting back thinking how much time I had to clean and fully organize the house before he got home on Sunday. Friday morning, six o'clock, the phone rings. . .it's HIM. He says, "hey, I'm just gonna drive home." I say (very sleepily and without full control of my brain) "Okayyyyy. When are you leaving?" To which he replies, "I'm already in the car, see you around six o'clock tonight." Though this little episode shouldn't surprise me, it did catch me off guard. So, I immediately went into turbo cleaning mode. I cleaned for two solid hours before the boys got up for breakfast and school. After we finished up around 12:30 or so, I went back into cleaning mode. All that day as I was washing sheets and sweeping floors, I kept thinking how I shouldn't have waited around to do all of this. This was just classic Joey. We have never. . . .I repeat NEVER left to go someplace when we were supposed to. Trips to the mountains, Sea World, home from WV. . .never fails, his excitement always gets the best of him and we end up leaving at least 24 hours before we originally planned. Usually with my to-do list halfway done and I'm rushing and throwing clothes into suitcases like a madwoman. Right then I made a vow to always be ready 48 hours before we've "planned" to do anything!!!

So, he arrived home and the boys were so excited and surprised because they still thought he wasn't coming home until Sunday. Saturday morning, we had a flag football game and it was Joey's first time seeing the boys in action. Both the boys scored touchdowns and it was funny to see the boys look over at Joey everytime they pulled a flag or scored to make sure he was watching.



Tuesday morning, I had a doctor's appointment and I had called ahead of time to see if we could sneak in and get a sonogram just in case we could see if we were going to be painting pink or blue. I'm not actually due for a sonogram until 20 weeks, but I was right at 16 weeks and Joey wouldn't be home for the October sonogram. So, we loaded up the boys and headed to the Ob-gyn's office. They snuck us in (if you can imagine two rambunctious little boys "quietly sneaking" anywhere). The technician asked the boys what they thought it was. Bae said, without hesitation, "We already know it's a girl." Brek said, "yeah, it's a sister." She had the wand on my belly for like 2 seconds and she said, "well, I think everyone is getting what they were hoping for. It's a girl." The boys were like, duh, and Joey said, "yay!" I was a little in shock. Actually, as I'm typing this, I'm STILL a little in shock. So, pink it is.

Wednesday and Thursday passed way too quickly and before we knew it, Friday morning had come and it was time for Joey to head back to WV. I had already kinda mentally prepared myself for his leaving, so I felt confident I wasn't going to cry and act like a crazy weepy woman. I succeeded. . . . until he was about a mile down the road, anyway. Oh well, I'll blame it on the pregnancy hormones.

It's For REAL, this time!

I wasn't going to even mention that I haven't updated our poor little blog in over a month, but here I am dwelling on it! I really do feel bad. Things have just kinda been a whirlwind for us.

So, I'm going to try to quickly update you guys on our happenings over the last month. As I stated in my last post, the boys and I got moved back to Georgia. While we're excited, it's harder than I anticipated to be without my sweet, sweet hubby. After only two weeks of him being gone, we headed up for two weeks to visit. We also got him moved to another apartment, and we brought the love of his life, Shelby home with us.

Shelby has adjusted quite well to life on the farm. She visits the pond at least twice a day and swims after Miles, our goose. He is none too pleased and he honks his disapproval, but that doesn't seem to phase her. Though it just cracks me up that when our catfish swim around her feet, she freaks out and heads back to shore! She also sticks her head under the water constantly. (Think Old Yeller in the water hole with Arlice when he catches the fish). She comes up sputtering and gasping for air and then goes back under again. It's become a great source of entertainment for us.

Let's see, oh, also, as I mentioned before, we're having a baby. "The baby" is it's name for now as we don't yet know if it's a boy or girl. When people hear that we have two boys, they say "Oh, are you hoping for a girl this time?" And honestly, I really wouldn't mind either. As I've said before, a girl would be nice, but I know how to do boys now! I know what to expect with my guys, a girl would totally throw me for a loop. Oh, and for the record, Joey and I have made a bet, he's betting on a girl, and I'm leaning towards a boy. So, we'll see who is right. Boy or girl, we're excited!

Both the boys started school the last week of August. Bae is in first grade and Brek started Pre-K. Though, Brek says he should be in first grade too since he's "smart too!" Ahh, the constant competition that is all things brothers! Both of them are doing really well and though it's always a challenge getting Bae up and going in the morning, he's pleasant by the time we've made our way out to our schoolhouse. He got his daddy's sleep habits and let's just say he's NOT a morning person. Brek on the other hand is up no later than 7:00 am usually and he's "starving" for breakfast.

We've signed both the boys up for flag football this year. They'll be playing for the Hilliard YMCA. I was wondering if it would be as hilarious as soccer was to watch, and now that we're in our second week of practice I can tell you. . . IT IS!! Yesterday at practice, they were playing three on three. The coach was letting each kid have a turn running the ball. So, Bae went first and scored a touchdown, (he later told me there was no way they could've caught him since he's "the fastest guy on the team". No self-confidence problems there.) Then, each of the other boys took a turn, and finally it was time for Brek to run the ball. The other boys would get the ball and run down the sidelines to the endzone, but not Brek. Nope. He took it right up the middle. He's about a head shorter than the next smallest kid on the team, so it's pretty hilarious to watch him running as fast as he can down the field with everyone else making a mad dash for his flags. But, surprisingly, Brek won out and made it to the endzone, scoring his first touchdown. All I could think was how Joey would be so proud. Brek jumped up and down and wooped a few times, then he threw the ball to the ground and screamed, "I scored a touchdown. . . . and now I'm doing the hula!" That's right. The star football player is shaking his hips just like a cute hawaiian hula girl, moving his arms and everything. At that moment, I thought, I'm glad Joey's not here to see this!

Back in the Groove

So, I've been out of the blogging world for a month now! I KNOW! What happened to that heartfelt vow to catch up in June?? Anyway, fresh start, clean slate.

Actually alot has happened in the past thirty days or so. Joey had his surgery and everything went great. The first two weeks of recovery were MISERABLE (for him and me), but we both pulled through and he's much better now. I'll have to fill ya'll in on the details of his humorous antics while coming out of the anesthesia at another time. But, trust me, it's worth waiting for.

The boys and I got moved back to Georgia! Yay! The boys are very excited to be home and to see all their friends, but it is a little bittersweet since Joey had to return to WV for work. So, for the next few months, we'll still be hitting WV to visit and hopefully, he can swing down this way a few times. I guess I'm about to learn how it feels to be a military wife. I have to say that I already have a new respect for you ladies. Joey (and of course, Shelby) have only been gone for like 5 days and it feels like an eternity.

We also had a little surprise come our way. . . .we're having a baby! Talk about getting smacked in the face with a 2 x 4.. . .. It was quite a shock to our system. We've talked about it for awhile, but I had planned on "planning" the next one. What's that saying? If you wanna hear God laugh tell him your plans. Well, he's chuckling right now! Luckily, by now the shock has worn off (and the "all day sickness" has set in) and we're excited to welcome this new little person into the chaos that is "life on the farm."

Well, that's all for now.

Louisville Zoo

We've visited countless zoos and museums since we moved to Huntington, and while most seem to have close to the same exhibits, Louisville proves we CAN still be surprised.

We set out bright and early and headed to Kentucky on a Friday. The last zoo we had visited was Columbus and it was VERY cool, so we were anxious to see if Louisville could compete. Let's just say we didn't leave disappointed.



Both the boys eagerly posed on a statue of a kimodo dragon. At the Columbus Zoo, they had this machine set up by the Kimodo dragon display. You put your nose near a screen and pushed a button and it blew air in your face that simulated what a kimodo dragon's breath smelled like. All three of my boys have weak stomachs, but I was willing to give it a try. I gagged. It was terrible!!!



The boys loved the penguins. They are one of Brek's favorites. He just squealed in delight every time they swam by in their tank.



Next, we checked out King Louie, a rare albino alligator. It was funny to see the other zoo-goers oohing and aahing over him. Bae was like, "We see those all the time." Brek said "Yeah, at the Hokeepenokee Swamp!"



These flamingos were very entertaining, the one in the middle wouldn't let anyone within 5 feet of him. I told Joey, "Watch. ..he must be the alpha male." Joey laughed and said, "apparently he doesn't know he's a PINK flamingo!"



Finally, we arrived at the Bird sanctuary. The boys got the chance to feed the birds. It was "totally awesome" as Brek would say. They held these little cups of nectar and the birds flew right up and perched on their hands, wrists, shoulders, wherever and hungrily gulped up every last drop of nectar. It was by far the coolest thing we've done at a zoo. The boys talked about it for weeks afterwards!























Next, the boys got pictures on elephant statues.





We checked out the lions.



Brek wanted his picture taken with this monkey statue. I think they look kinda like twins! What do you think??



Then, the boys had to see how they measured up against a grown gorilla. Even though they're not as big, they do favor a bunch of monkeys!





We ventured on into the gorilla house. One gorilla was obviously sick. I need to state here also, that all three of my boys have the weakest stomachs of anyone I know. . . .except maybe my brother, Brandon. ..and Joey's brother, Chad. OK, so I know several with very weak stomachs, the point being that I'm not one of them. Unless there's blood involved, otherwise, I'm fine. I can't even begin to count the times Joey has gagged (or worse) over diapers, dog poop, trash, magnets (He'll get that one!) So, I couldn't help but watch in wonderment at the events that transpired in that gorilla house. As I mentioned before, the gorilla was sick. Just as we walked in (and right after I snapped this picture), he leaned over with his face to the floor and emptied the contents of his stomach. After a few seconds, and to my horror, he then leaned back over and proceeded . . . .to eat it! YES!! Disgusting!!! I looked over at the boys to see this weird gleam in their eyes as they watched. I was floored. These same boys that can THINK about something gross and gag were WATCHING an animal eat his own vomit. Not once, not twice, but at least five times, this gorilla got sick, waited a few moments, then ate it again. I had to make them leave! It was unbelievable!



Finally, I tore them away (and made sure that someone notified one of the zookeepers that the poor gorilla was ill) and we headed over to the giraffe display. I think this is the closest I've ever been to a giraffe and they're ENORMOUS!



Finally, we closed out our trip with a stop by the rhinos. Bae was so excited. That had been the one animal he had talked about seeing the whole way to Louisville and lo and behold it was the last animal we saw.



We headed out to the car and loaded up for our trip home. The boys were talking excitedly in the back about feeding the birds and seeing the rhinos. There was a moment of silence, then Bae said, "Hey Brek, wasn't it funny that the gorilla ate his puke." Brek laughed and said, "Yeah, it was disgusting." They both dissolved into giggles. Joey chuckled a little too, and I thought I'll remember this the next time they try to get out of doing something gross "or they'll puke." Ahh, life with boys. . .I better get used to it!

Bridges of Vinton County

On our way home from Hocking Hills, the boys rested and Joey and I just enjoyed the scenery. Right off the main road, we saw an old covered bridge. I had to pull over for a shot.


I also knew my mother-in-law would be particularly pleased with the name of the bridge.


Her maiden name is Cox (from the swamp folks in Waycross), so you never know. . .there could be some distant relation there!

We drove on down and I saw one of these.


I love pictures of old barns and this one is definitely going in the scrapbook!
Just a couple of miles down the road, we passed a small pond. I barely noticed it, but Joey said, "Turn around and go back." I did and got a great shot of this!


Ahh, family car trips. Nothing like 'em!