Adventures With the Bug and the Butterbean

Winter

2012-02-13T11:11:00.001-05:00

It’s Winter here. We had chili last night. I’m making soup now.

Look at that low. It starts with a 5!

Apparently the Weather Service doesn’t feel it is necessary to compute wind chills at this level, but I’ll tell you that when you have 15-22 mph winds and it is 61 degrees outside, that’s cold!

The boys were made to wear long pants and long sleeves. There was a lot of disagreement about that.

Since our house does not have any heat, I have to be tough and insist that they not wear shorts every day.

Poor us.

The boys are on Winter Break this week and I hope that the weather actually warms up a bit so we can enjoy the outside some more.

Tell me about your Winter Weather.

He did it again, and other ramblings about Miller

2012-01-31T05:24:00.000-05:00

Last Thursday Miller did it again. He has split open his chin. The one that had 16 stitches about 6 weeks ago. He wasn’t doing anything wrong. I have to make that clear from the beginning, because really it is easier to conclude that he was being naughty. He slid down off a chair to look for something and as he spun around, he slipped and hit his chin on the edge of the chair and split it open.

For some reason I am very calm in an emergency. This time I was just totally dumbfounded as to what to do. ER, doctor’s office or plastic surgeon? Only the ER was open because it was about 7 a.m. but I just didn’t want to go there again!

I called Allen and asked him to come home and as soon as he saw it, he was able to make the decision that we really needed to go back to the hospital.

On the way there, the plastic surgeon’s office opened and we were able to speak with him and have him meet us at the ER. Clever trick if you can pull it off.

Miller saw “his” bed in the ER and said, “I been to that one before.”, so back he went to “his” bed in the ER. That is so wrong, but it is what it is.

The plastic surgeon determined that it was just too messy down there to stitch it up. He did his best to use Derma-Bond and butterfly strips to close it up, but he has an opening( about the size of 2 pieces of rice side by side) that it open and is going to have to heal up.

UGH!

He has done really well with not messing with it and we just have to watch him like a hawk!

That brings me to something that has been rolling around in my brain for a while.

Miller is hard to parent. Part of it is that he is 3. It’s not just that. He is exceptionally busy. He’s also really smart and athletic. This gets him into situations he just shouldn’t be in.

Not too long ago he told me that he wanted a million dollars. I told him that I was sure would have a million dollars one day {or a rap sheet}. I feel like he will be a phenomenal success or not. There won’t be much in between!

Over and over I find myself in tears because I just don’t feel like I am doing it “right” with him. What does he need to make him into a good boy? I have prayed many times a day for as long as I can remember, asking God to help me be the kind of mother that he needs. I just don’t know what that is. What would I need to be a better mother for him? Patience, energy, more patience…

Then today while we were at the plastic surgeon’s office he tells me that Miller really needs to stay home for the rest of the week. It’s not that having him home is a hardship. It’s just that when he can’t get dirty or wet and can’t ride a bike, scooter or even run, I am completely at a loss as to how to handle this.

We have done hour after hour of playing Legos, watching TV and movies and watching videos on You Tube. We did this about 6 weeks ago, remember? When he doesn’t get enough exercise he starts having behavior problems.

Which brings me to the next thing the plastic surgeon said. “is he unusually hyper?” Um no. Um yes. Um yes and no. He is very active and at the same time he can play independently with Legos for 30 minutes or more. However if you leave him alone during those 30 minutes you may come back to find something like this or this.

He said, “Maybe it is a good time to ask an expert.” Um ok, but he is 3. I know he means well, but I just don’t know. I am the one with a degree in Early Childhood Education. That degree has taught me that the age of 3 is too young to judge these things. But still…

Then I came across this. More for me to roll around in my brain.

Here’s to the moms whose children jump in fountains! If you see one of us, be sure to give her a big smile and a pat on the back ( or bottle of wine). She’s doing the best she can.

So Long 2011

2012-01-29T11:24:00.001-05:00

To cap off a great year, we had a great boat ride and watched the sun go down on 2011.

Good thing they are slow!!

Yep! She did it. Nope, she didn’t stay in long.

I’ve been meaning to take a picture of this for ages. Here is what my GPS shows while we are in the car.

Whew! 2011 was a fast year. I bet 2012 will go even faster!

Christmas

2012-01-24T06:00:00.000-05:00

This year I may have been more excited about Christmas than the boys. They were really, really excited! During my childhood, I remember being super excited about Christmas and know that over the years the magic diminishes a bit. I wanted to squeeze every bit of that magic out while the boys still have it.

I could tell you a lot more, but let’s just say this year the boys got Legos and Monster trucks. repeat, repeat, repeat. And they would not have wanted it any other way!!

Santa brought Rip-riders!

Miller decided he was done…and left it in the street.

Looks like a tough biker, that one!

Pitstop! It was hot out there.

We had a wonderful time and I’m so glad that we were able to share it all with my sister Michele!

Christmas Program

2012-01-20T06:11:00.000-05:00

Yes, I’m still just halfway through December, when it is halfway through January, but I’m going to keep on going! Lucky you!

After Miller’s drama I spent lots of time trying to entertain him and keep him clean and dry. I lost some of my mental health that week, but we survived.

The boys’ school does a great job with twice yearly performances. This year the theme was Island Christmas. It did not disappoint.

However, my photography does disappoint. These pictures will give you a general idea of the show. I wish I had videoed it, because it was precious. However on that day, I just didn’t have it in me to get it together. Before you judge, just remember that it was at the end of day 6 of being alone with Miller with no breaks. I’m just glad I didn’t pick up and really bad habits that week!

Miller’s class sang Mele Kalikimaka. If it the title doesn’t ring a bell, listen to the video and you might remember. Let me tell you, that may have been the cutest thing I’ve ever seen!

Miller had a blast performing for everyone. As far as he knows they were all clapping for him.

See what I mean about the pictures?

Miller still sings that song every. single. day.

Yes, my pictures don’t do it justice, but they were adorable!

Jackson’s class sang Island Christmas, and I’ve never heard it before, but they sure did a great job. Jackson cracked us up. He was trying to put on his sunglasses as he was getting on stage and ended up dropping them down his shirt. He spent the whole song trying to get his hands to do a hula thing and keep his sunglasses from falling out of his shirt. His shirt sleeves were unbottoned, his Santa hat brim was tuned inside out and his shirt was half untucked by then. Let’s just say he wasn’t quite in time with the other kids, but he was very entertaining!!!

Dropping his sunglasses down his shirt.

Hula moves are not best done while holding sunglasses in your shirt with you arm!

See the other children singing. Not our boy!

At least he had fun

Look at that, he found sunglasses!

Somehow, he just couldn’t catch the rhythm for the rest of the song.

Love that boy!

At the end the entire school comes on stage and sings a song. It is adorable and I loved every second of it!

I am so thankful for the sweet school the boys attend. It is small and very much like a family. We are so fortunate that the boys attend such a fantastic school!

December Drama (Long boring post where I document something for my memory)

2012-01-18T02:13:00.000-05:00

December began with me returning from Florida with a bum, but mending knee, Jackson with a black eye and Miller with a cut in his chin. We were all healing and trying to keep up with all the December activities. The first week I was back we had parties or activities on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, two on Saturday and one on Sunday. Phew!

We made it all the way to Saturday evening. As Allen and I were getting ready, I put both boys in our tub so I could keep an eye on them and give them a bath before the babysitter got there. Somehow, Miller managed to hit his chin in the tub and there was no avoiding it… this time he and split it even more, and it was obvious that he really needed stitches. You know it’s bad when Jackson can only say,”That’s a lot of blood!” We were able to leave Jackson with a neighbor until our babysitter arrived.

On the way there I was thinking about the different trips to the ER or Urgent Care we have made. I asked Allen, “I wonder how many more of these trips we have in our future” Hopefully any future ones will be for minor things as they all have been in the past.

Here in Nassau, there are two hospitals. We have been told by those “in the know” to go to the private one, so we have. It is kind of like walking back in time. A time where gauze is just left out in the open and then used without much thought to the germs floating around. I shudder to think what the public hospital is like. An interesting thing is that here you pay BEFORE you get treatment. And you better have a big limit on your credit card. Otherwise you’ll be heading down the street to the public hospital.

Miller did great when we got there. When the doctor evaluated him, he thought calling a plastic was a good idea. Then we were then told that the plastic surgeon was busy and couldn’t make it until 10:00…three long hours away. We asked if they could please, pretty please call him again, and this time they thought to mention it was a child and he came straight away.

It was all good until they had to give him an IV. He put up a good fight and continued to fight for a LONG time. While I love his spirit and determination, it is ~~not always easy~~ hard as heck when he has decided he wants out of a situation! Eventually they were ready to sedate him. I was holding him as he fell into a very deep sleep. The doctor was saying that they only had 15 minutes until he would wake up, so he worked very quickly.

Unfortunately, the way that they placed the bed for the best lighting, I was stuck in the corner while they opened up his cut, cleaned it and stitched it up. I looked a few times, but it is not something I’m glad I saw. Kim Troyer, I’m glad you weren’t there! He got inner and outer stitches because that cut was DEEP!. Sixteen stitches later he was done. See how his sleeping with his eyes a little open? Creepy!

Then we just had to wait until he woke up and we could go home. The plastic surgeon checked on him again before he left the hospital, and said, I think he is going straight from sedation into sleep. Made sense to me. It was night time, when he was usually asleep, he had pitched a royal fit for about 20 minutes when they gave him the IV and he was tired. Apparently the Plastic Surgeon failed to mention that the the other staff there. We had to wait about 3 hours, all the while trying to wake him up so he could talk and walk before they would release him. On the plus side we were entertained by all the patients that show up in the ER on a Saturday night!

Eventually they realized Miller was night night and no longer sedated, and they released him. We got him home, tried to tuck him into bed and THEN he woke up. He was mad as a hornet and wanted that bandage off. He made it clear that he wasn’t going to take any Advil and he wanted to be left alone to take his bandage off. He and I spent the night with him trying to take it off and me pleading with him to keep it on. I prevailed!

Monday we had a follow up appointment with the plastic surgeon. He changed Miller’s dressing and checked his stitches. When I went to check out they told me that I owed $1500. Huh? The doctor just changed his bandage! Turns out that the Plastic Surgeon bills for his services separate from the hospital. Oh, and they don’t accept credit cards. Would have been nice to know that before going to the appointment. Surprisingly, I didn’t have $1500 cash in my wallet and the clerk seemed astonished by this. I offered the $6 cash that I had, but they acted like that wasn’t acceptable. Whatever. Transferring money from savings was the only way they were going to get anything from us! Eventually they let us leave, but not before they made me feel awful for not paying anything.

That began a very long week of Miller being home with me all day and not being able to go outside, or get wet. Let that soak in a bit. No bath= no dirt + no sand. No way!

It was really hard, but we made it!

November

2012-01-16T13:02:00.001-05:00

Since Thanksgiving isn’t celebrated here in the Bahamas, we had a regular school day for the boys and then had a special dinner. Instead of Turkey we had a chicken and the traditional sides. It was perfect for Allen and I, the boys not so much! We are still working on their eating meat. One day!!

We finished November playing lots of Monster Trucks, making cookies and getting ready for the holidays.

The Monday after Thanksgiving I went to Florida for an MRI. I’d been dealing with some knee pain and when I finally went to the doctor, she said I’d need an MRI. The complicated part of living here is that my insurance would pay for one MRI, so if I got an MRI here and it showed something, then I would need to go to Florida for treatment, (and then I’d need another MRI there --not covered by insurance). Confused yet? Well I was, but the bottom line was I had to go to Florida. As it turned out, I had some torn cartilage and it needed arthroscopic surgery. I went to Ft. Lauderdale on a Monday, had an MRI on Monday evening, and had surgery on Wednesday. Sounds easy peasy, right. It WAS and it wasn’t. My surgeon was good, the surgery went well, but I got really sick from the anesthesia. Being alone in a hotel room in a city where you know No One is no fun. Eventually I got better and was released to come home on Friday evening. Thank goodness I had a friend here who would help me with Miller and my sweet hubby was able to take off from work at 3! Being sick when you have young children makes you so aware of all the roles we mothers play.

Here is a picture of my knee about 5 days after surgery.

Three little holes is all the evidence I have that there was surgery. Thank God for modern medicine and a great doctor.

While I was away, the boys had their own medical adventures! Jackson and another guy knocked heads at soccer and he ended up with a nice black eye!

Miller hit his chin on the tile steps one evening. When Allen called to tell me he was trying to put a butterfly bandage on there, I was not really concerned. That boy can take a licking and keep on ticking. He did not want a bandage! Meanwhile Allen and my 2 friends who were there were trying to minimize how bad it was. Allen called me back and said he was going to take him to the hospital for a stitch. I wasn’t in favor of it because I knew they would have to sedate him for a stitch and I really didn’t want him to have to deal with that. They said it wasn’t that bad, right? I encouraged Allen to give him some Advil and Benadryl and when Miller conked out, THEN put the butterfly bandage on. So he did that. About an hour after all this hoopla I get this picture sent to my email…

Oh crap! That needs stitches, but it was too late because a couple of hours ha passed, and they boys were in bed. So we just went with trying to keep it covered up and telling him to be careful. Sometimes Mamas are wrong when they make decisions about things when they don’t have anything to base their decision on. Oh well, everyone has a scar there, right?

November

2012-01-16T10:55:00.001-05:00

We finished November playing lots of Monster Trucks, making cookies and getting ready for the holidays.

Here is a picture of my knee about 5 days after surgery.

Three little holes is all the evidence I have that there was surgery. Thank God for modern medicine and a great doctor.

While I was away, the boys had their own medical adventures! Jackson and another guy knocked heads at soccer and he ended up with a nice black eye!

At Last

2012-01-13T19:17:00.002-05:00

You thought I dropped off the face of the earth, right? Yes, and no. Our computer died. We have a back up computer, but it has no memory and so I couldn’t download pictures. What are blog post without pictures? Bor-ing!

A mere 6 weeks later we are back in the 21st century! By the way if you had asked me if I could wait 6 weeks for a new computer, I would have told you that I couldn’t make it 6 days, but when you’re out living life, time does fly!!

In November Allen and I went to the Marine Ball. It’s nice to get dressed up and go on a date with my sweetie!

We also started our weekly Saturday soccer games. Jackson is a pretty good goalie. Which is a good thing since his team has yet to score a goal….all season. Last week they only lost 1-0, so at least there’s that! These are from one of the first games before he was goalie all the time.

He is good at concentrating, but not so good at getting in there when there are 20 other kids trying to get the same ball. I don’t like people in my space either, so I get it. Goalie is great for him.

Really he wants to be on the playground. Can you tell?

Last week he had five saves! After all his team is the The Optimists! They can still win this!

I’ll attempt to get caught up on my blogging this week, so hold on, it is going to be fast and furious!

Soccer Season

2011-11-11T20:38:00.000-05:00

This year Jackson is playing Soccer for the first time. Soccer is a big deal at his school. At least I think it must be based on the length of the season. It last the entire school year.

So far he has enjoyed the practices. His coach is one of the preschool teachers and I’ve got to hand it to her. That is a lot of energy to try and corral.

I’ve been pretty slow about getting pictures so far because while they have practice I’m trying to keep Miller off the field. It’s a full time job, I tell ya! This one is fantastic, right?

Just because you can’t see Jackson and they aren’t playing soccer, doesn’t mean it isn’t great!

Ok! Just picture a swarm of 10 to 15 kids running up and down a field chasing a ball. There is actually about 20 kids on the team, but at any time there are quite a few who are picking flowers or have stopped for what seems like no reason at all.

Jackson seems to like playing goalie. {I used to like playing goalie too, when I was in P.E. because the goalies doesn’t have to run. That’s the thing about soccer, you have to run!} He seems to be able to concentrate on the ball better when there aren’t 15 other children trying to kick the ball too.

They have their first game on Saturday. It should be great!

Go Optimists!

Hidden Gem

2011-11-09T11:51:00.002-05:00

We were recently introduced to a hidden gem here in the Bahamas. Everyone knows about the beaches, but something a little different is nice every once in a while.

Some moms from the school said they were going to the Cloisters during Fall Break. I really didn’t want to go because I’d been having a hard time with Miller. I just didn’t need another time where he behaved badly in front of the world. I’m so glad that I just went. It was just what we all needed.

Plenty of space for the boys to run, beautiful vista for me and fresh air for all of us!

When you come in you are in this lovely courtyard with amazing statues and clipped hedges. There are several terraced levels with stairs down to the gazebo, which is right on the water.

Of course my boys immediately jumped over the hedges down to the next level. Why use stairs, when you can jump?

It was about 5 feet down. After they jumped over a Bouganvelia bush with spikes.

I’ll tell you why you ought to use stairs….the Bahamas is lovely, but you don’t want a broken leg here. Med-Evac would be necessary. While a trip to Florida sounds fun, a trip to a Florida hospital sounds a little tedious.

It looks like an ideal place for a wedding, if you took away all the kids and their paraphernalia.

I learned that the Cloisters were built in the 14th century in France. It was imported, stone by stone, by William Randolph Hearst in the 1920s. Unfortunately, they forgot to number the pieces before they disassembled it, so it sat in pieces. Later the Cloisters were bought by Huntington Hartford and installed at the top of a hill on Paradise Island overlooking Nassau Harbor.

That is the end of your history lesson for today.

We had a BALL!

2011-11-02T17:26:00.001-04:00

Recently, the weather on the weekends has been awful. Windy, rainy and cloudy. We decided it provided the perfect opportunity to take the boys bowling for the first time.
They were thrilled.
Look how stinking cute the kids bowling shoes are.

When taking pictures of little bowlers BEFORE they can start bowling you tend to get faces like this. Too bad!

AND we’re bowling! Remarkably, this bowling alley has technology. When the kids turns came up, the bumpers came up. Adults didn’t get to use the bumpers. I could have used the bumpers!

They still use price tags in the grocery store here, but the bowling alley has bumpers that go up and down depending on your age? Things that make you go hmmm…
There’s the smile!

Look at the form and concentration. Just kidding they had these stands that the kids could roll the balls from. Kids get all the props. Know what we get? Sore fingers.

Proof that I need the bumpers!
Love this one!

Jackson took this one…

and this one…

You could call it a montage of legs!

Love all the colorful balls.

Then it was over, and we don’t know who won! I can guarantee it wasn’t me.

BOO!

2011-10-31T07:41:00.001-04:00

Is this scary enough for you?

No, how about this?

Still not scared?

I promise they are positively ~~ferocious~~ adorable sharks!

I’m trying to hold off on the scary for as long as I can…Jackson just asked for Frankenstein Legos. What?

Those guys are itching to get their hands on some candy! I’ve got to find their buckets. I hid them on Thursday night after the first party, and now I can’t seem to locate them! ACK!

Happy Halloween

Argh!

2011-10-27T14:43:00.001-04:00

Since I was a bad blogger this summer, I didn’t share about our trip to the Pirate Museum. The boys loved it. Remember their Pirate Party last year? They love Pirates! One of their favorite books is David Shannon’s How I Became a Pirate.
We are part of a playgroup here, and they planned an outing the the Pirate Museum. I didn’t even know there was one. There is one and it was FUN!
To set the mood, they boys donned their pirate hats on their way there. Here is Jackson's attempt at a ferocious face. Keep working on that!

Miller’s Fearsome face! Even scarier!

When we got there, this was our tour guide. He had, the clothes, the speech and even the teeth. Totally authentic!

We got to see some of the scenes of pirate life. Some were very realistic…

Did you see the rat? It’s right there on the table.

Nassau was (and maybe still is) home to lots of pirates. They say in the museum that the pirates here just wear suits now.

The boys were brave, but it was scary in parts. Dark and scary.
At the end they weren’t sure if they wanted to pose with this guy or not….

They did great and they loved it in the end!
Maybe they will be pirates for Halloween!

Guess What?

2011-10-25T09:21:00.000-04:00

We had to wash all our Legos.

TWICE.

Can you guess why?

Butterbean tinkled on the whole tub of them.

Twice!

Seriously, he has finally turned a corner with the potty training. It has been a long road with this one. There were times when I thought I couldn’t do it any more. If there was one more dirty pair of underwear, I thought I might just light a match and walk away—it was that bad.

It has taken me a while to write this post because I didn’t want to jinx it. don’t you hate when you talk about how good your child has been doing and then wham, they go and embarrass you immediately?

He so excited every time he goes #2 in the potty. I can guarantee I’m more excited than him!!

Fishin’ on the Dock

2011-10-22T09:09:00.000-04:00

Have you ever heard the song Fishin’ In The Dark by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band? It is a family favorite! Love it.

We have our own version here at our house. It’s Fishin’ On The Dock. Get it? Clever, right? I know, I’m lame, but that’s nothing new.

We’ve made a bit of an aquarium right off our dock by sinking some things. We feed them leftover food and fruit and vegetables. Fishing in the aquarium is kind of a joke around here. Sometimes you can pull up fish after fish, but sometimes you get nothing.

This wasn’t one of those days. Jackson managed to hook 2 fish that don’t live in the aquarium. You’ll never guess what they used for bait?

The first one was a croaker. Hank was there to inspect it.

Miller had to inspect as well. He blocked my shot!

Seconds after this picture was taken, that fish flipped right out of his hand and into the water.

Back at work…

This was a big ‘un! Some kind of Jack is what we found out.

Look how proud he is!

And back he goes!

Until another day…

p.s. They love leftover Wendy’s french fries!

School Days

2011-10-19T08:22:00.001-04:00

Because we were fresh back from our evacu-vacation, starting school was less traumatic than I anticipated. Since my sister was here, it was also a lot a lot easier!

For me.

Jackson was pretty nervous, but by that afternoon he was so happy!

Jackson has a bit of a crush on his Kindergarten teacher. She is just the kind of Kindergarten teacher every child should get, young, pretty and sweet!

Miller wasn’t nervous a bit, he was excited that he was finally getting his turn.

Their uniforms make me happy. Shorts are their uniform. Not just a fall/summer thing. The yellow shirts looked good on the first week. Now, they are a little dingy. By the end of the year, they’ll be gray!

Now we are in the thick of it, soccer practice, fall break, and remembering all the forms, money and sports clothes.

The boys both love it.

I love having a few hours to get things accomplished in the mornings, but I do miss my guys some too.

and my sister!

ATL

2011-09-26T11:16:00.001-04:00

After Miller got his medicine in him we thought he was going to bounce back so quickly. We took him shopping and out for lunch on Saturday and he did great. We got their Halloween costumes at Old Navy and Oh! MY! Gosh! they are cute, but they are going to roast wearing them in the Bahamas.

Sunday we thought he was all better until we were in a TJ Maxx and he threw up all over the picture frames. He still hasn’t figured out how to warn anyone what is coming. Bless his heart! And the poor workers at TJ Maxx who had to clean up his puke. Again, it was not bad, just a little OJ. Am I justifying? Just a little!

Monday my friend, Annette, and her children decided we were going to rent a car and head to downtown ATL. We hit the Georgia Aquarium and it was every bit as good as everyone said it would be! My camera didn’t act right, but here are my photos….

Aaron and Rebecca were lifesavers on our trip!

These fish swim by in a HUGE school right as you walk in. It almost looks fake.

The moving sidewalk was perfect! Walking and looking can be dangerous! For me, that is.

This saw shark was swimming right overhead!

This guy ( I think it’s a grouper) was right beside us. Huge doesn’t describe him.

Here he is beside Annette.

Jackson was so excited to see a whale shark!

There were 4 whale shark in this part of the aquarium.

This grouper was a different one from before.

I know it is blurry, but look at the size of that thing!

The dolphins before the show.

Beluga whales!

A seahorse swimming.

The penguin exhibit was terrific. They got to climb through a tunnel and see the penguins from a neat perspective.

Then they got to pop up through the holes and see penguins eye to eye.

This penguin was friendly.

A wall of tropical fish

Then my camera battery died!

So I pulled out my iphone! That’s right there’s more! Next up Coke world.

Oh and I need to maybe do a post about the boyS starting school!

While Hurricanes Blow…

2011-09-19T18:16:00.002-04:00

Since before we moved here I knew if there was going to be a hurricane that Allen would be staying and that the boys and I would be evacuated. That knowledge in no way prepared me for actually leaving me as a Category 3 and possibly 4 storm approached our island home. Packing our clothes and such for the trip was the easy part. After that was done I had to bring in or secure everything from outside. Then I had to move all our things from our living room upstairs and cover it with plastic. Sounds easy, right? Notsomuch.
I was fortunate that my friend sent her teenagers over to help me.
Wednesday, the morning of our evacuation Miller woke up at 5 a.m. and told me his ear had a boo-boo. Not ideal for flying, but we gave him drops and ibuprofen and hoped for the best. Literally about 20 minutes before the airport closed, we flew out of Nassau and headed for Atlanta. I’m not going to lie, it was tough, knowing that my husband was going to be here in the midst of such a terrible storm. I could go on and on about my anxieties but since you probably have other things to do today, I’ll just say that the list was LONG! Of course the boys did fantastic.

We arrived safely and were put up in a Marriott Residence Inn. It was really nice and fortunately my friend and her teenagers (her husband chose to stay behind and help) were right upstairs from us.
The first night and next day we were pretty anxious, we were waiting to hear how our husbands were doing. They did a decent job of keeping us appraised of the goings on there in Nassau. Fortunately the storm moved further east and our island didn’t suffer a direct hit. Our house had some water damage and a few things banged around from flying debris, but all in all not too bad.
Once our husbands were out of the woods, so to speak, we could get ready to enjoy our vacation in Georgia. My wonderful sister, Michele, drove down to ATL on Thursday after work to help me with the boys. She was supposed to begin her 10 day vacation in Nassau on Friday, but that wasn’t happening!
Friday morning we woke up and were ready to start having fun, but Miller had other ideas. That morning he vomited at breakfast. I was pretty sure his ears were to blame since brown goo was coming out of his ears. Despite being on the ear drops for 3 days he was still not any better. I know you are amazed at my powers of observation, but that boy has such a high threshold for pain, I don’t always know when he isn’t well.
Off we went to an urgent care clinic. One glance by the Doctor there and he said we needed to see an Ear, Nose and Throat Doctor quickly. Amazingly he personally made some calls and got us an appointment for that afternoon.
The Ear, Nose and Throat doctor had some of the worst bedside manner I’ve ever seen, but he did explain that the drops we were using weren’t even getting to his ears since there was so much goo in there. Good point. So he told me how to clean them out and gave me some different drops to use. Poor baby was so sick that day! I was so fortunate that my sister was there to drive me and that my friend and he teenagers could take care of Jackson.
As soon as we got the medicine in him he was so much better, so we decided to go out for a Mexican dinner. He ate chips like he hadn’t eaten in days! Because he hadn’t! Then we left and all the chips came right back up. In terms of vomit, it was a pretty nice one. Just like masa flour! I realize saying that it was a nice throw up is like saying we had a nice time at Chuck E Cheese, but it wasn’t too bad!
Then we got in the car and went back to the hotel, and my sister points at me and busts out laughing. I went out like this.

To Dinner. The End.

Part 2 coming soon!

Shark Attack Party

2011-09-12T10:17:00.001-04:00

This year we held a joint party for the boys again. There are times when it is a little inconvenient having their birthdays only 3 days apart, but it sure does come in handy when it comes to having a birthday party!

The theme this year was sharks. It was held at our neighborhood pool, which has a nice covered area. In the beginning we sure did need that shade. It was H-O-T!

Here are some photos of the decorations.

Tables with beach towels as tablecloths and gummy shark kabobs for centerpieces.

Jackson asked that the menu consist of “Doritos and Capri Suns”. We rounded his very specific menu out with hot dogs.

No, my children don’t eat hot dogs, why do you ask?

The sweets table

This was the year I tried my hand at making shaped sugar cookies. Since lots of these were consumed, I guess they were good!

Gummy sharks.

Cupcakes with “tall icing”…also requested by the birthday boy.

Speaking of the birthday boys, here they come!

Jackson made a beeline for the Doritos.

Miller headed straight to the gummy shark kabobs. That boy had about 20 of them—kabobs, not sharks. I’m not exaggerating! 20 at a minimum!

As our cute guests arrived, there was a lot of sugar consumed!

Boys of this age are hard to photograph! Wait, all boys are hard to photograph!

See, girls are much easier!

We had 2 big buckets of sand where they dug for real shark’s teeth. Jackson says that was his favorite part!

Each child got a shark fin to wear, some children may still be wearing theirs right now, but I’m not naming any names!

We had a shark piñata that was so much easier to crack than last year’s!

Loot!

We sang Happy Birthday to both boys!

Then it was back in the pool to wash off all that sticky sugar!

Jackson trying to talk his dad to swim with him.

Miller is noticeably absent from most of the pictures. He was in the pool most of the time. I had hired one of his favorite teens to help me that day and he only wanted to swim with her!

All our adorable guests went home with a water bottle.

Now we have another 11 months to plan for next year’s bash! Jackson has already decided on the theme.

How Can This Be?!?

2011-09-03T08:12:00.001-04:00

How can five years have passed since I gave birth to this boy?

Wasn’t it just last summer that I was in labor with him for 34 hours? He was born at 10:02 in the morning after a day and a half of labor. The epidural didn’t work. Allen was right there with me the whole time (except for that time he tried to sleep, but kept being interrupted, ahem). He cried for the first 3 months. Really.

Now he’s so much more fun than he was then.

Aside from patience, he has taught me so many things. Like how to stop and look. Really look at the things that he has absorbed by watching. Because he’s always watching!

Watching vehicles, people, us and commenting about things. Sometimes he is a running commentary, other times he’s a quiet observer.

He loves his Legos and is getting so much more independent with them.

Jackson is starting to “get” jokes and loves to tell them. even if they don’t always make sense.

He’s a big fan of America’s funniest Home Videos type humor. Unless it is him. Then not so much a fan.

Jackson is interested in sharks, space, money, soccer, getting a trophy, making things, cooking and so much more.

He has started answering the phone. He says, “I’ll get it.” then he picks it up, but never says “hello.”

He wants to know how to spell words so he can write them, so fun to watch that all come together.

We couldn’t love this boy any more than we do and we are so excited to see what he develops into during the next year.

*I started writing this before we were evacuated for Hurricane Irene* more on that later!

Happy Birthday Miller

2011-08-20T15:40:00.000-04:00

On Saturday Miller officially turned 3. Although I knew it was coming, it was still a little hard to believe. It seems like he was born so recently, but then I think about it and realize that in fact time does fly and he is actually 3 years old.

He had pancakes with whipped cream and sprinkles for breakfast. Allen is the best pancake maker!

He opened his presents!

Jackson helped Miller open his present from him.

Because Jackson knows his brother really well, he got Miller a bag of Cheetos for his birthday. It may have been Miller’s favorite gift!

A Playmobil Boat…

that can go in the pool.

After the pool, he wanted to go to “the pizza place”, so we went and got some really good pizza.

Then home for some cake!

He had to lick the frosting off the candles…

Then he wanted us to sing to him again, so we did!

So excited!

Then he had to lick the frosting off the candles, again!

Allen says “Denial is not just a river in Egypt!” Just because I bought a #2 candle to go on top of his cake. The when I realized that I should have bought a #3 and went to go get single birthday candles from upstairs, I only brought down 2 candles. Yes, he is three, but it might take my mind a while to get there.

Now I have to tell you what this guy is up to as he turns three years old.

He can Swim! This was a big deal because he’s been able to swim for a while, but he wouldn’t do it. He’s realized he can and he IS! Also gives me more peace of mind since we live on a canal.
He loves playing with cars, but is crazy about Monster Trucks, especially Grave Digger.
Miller is still incredibly strong and tough as nails.
He is fiercely protective of his brother.
When he wants to be, he is a total rhinoceros. If he gets peeved about something he will put his head down and charge you. Better watch out too because he will knock you down if he can.
He still occasionally bites. I know!
When he plays with his cars or toys he makes them talk in a really high voice and has them all ask each other if they want to go to Chic-Fil-A. If you have seen him recently, you know he is serious about Chic-Fil-A. There is no Chic-Fil-A in the Bahamas!
He stopped drinking milk in July. He now says it is nasty.
He also stopped taking naps in July. Miller has so much energy that even now he needs about an hour and a half less sleep than Jackson does.
Miller knows all of his letters and never forgets anything. Unless you want him to remember something. Oh, but he still doesn’t know his colors. Might have to get that checked out.
He’s still not pooping in the potty. He HAS to be potty trained for school in 2 weeks. He’s totally messing with me, because he goes and hides when he needs to go.
Speaking of school, Miller is starting half days this year. I’m a ~~bit~~ lot sad, but I know it is what’s best for him.
Miller has an awesome raspy voice and still has the most engaging smile and personality. Everyone loves him.
It doesn’t hurt that he a lady charmer, too! When he sees ladies he always greets them with a “Hello ladies.” or “Goodbye ladies”.

So in rereading this it looks like I have an energetic, stubborn, tough kid who sometimes still bites, but is cute and smart as a whip. Sounds like there are many more fun years to come!!

Party in the USA

2011-08-16T18:15:00.000-04:00

You know that Miley Cyrus song Party in the USA ? It’s a catchy little song and I don’t pretend not to like that kind of thing. I embrace my diverse musical tastes.

Anyway, we had a total blast in “America”, as Jackson calls it. I could do a bunch of posts on all the things we did while we were there, but I will try to put it all in to one really long post. This blog is for my memory, so you get to read what we did every day.

Due to my photographic woes, I have few pictures to show for it.

My sister picked us up from Atlanta and we drove to Greenville and went straight to Target. The boys and I soaked in all the retail goodness that is Target that we could. We began a ridiculously large collection of Cars 2 cars.

The next day we went to my mom’s house for some family time and swimming. She has recently had her pool and deck re-done and we loved breaking it in. I wish I had pictures, but they are on my mom’s camera.

Afterwards we visited Kelly and AnnaKate. AnnaKate is always so easygoing and puts up with all the energy we bring into the house. Their poor dog, Beau, however may never be the same!

The next day we met up at a park with Kelly, AnnaKate our friend Cathy and her daughter Emerson. There is nothing better than seeing my boys with my friend’s children.

Nice pictures, right. Kelly took them, then I shamelessly stole them off of Facebook. Our visit was too short, but we can never get enough time these days!

We got a little mall shopping done that afternoon before we went back to mom’s for another swim.

Saturday, I had my sister and I embarked on a massive shopping trip. We managed to do Costco, Old Navy, Party City, Homegoods (how I love thee), Marshall’s, Ulta and Bed, Bath & Beyond. There is no way I could have done it on my own, but we powered through the melt down and let them play Angry Birds and Talking Tomcat a few times. As a reward, Michele took us to see Cars 2!

By that night Jackson started running fever. Sunday I couldn’t get it down, even with Ibuprofen, so off we went to Target. He really didn’t want to take the Tylenol I gave him as we pulled out of the parking lot. I realized I had made an error in making him take the Tylenol about 50 yards away when he threw it all up. Cleaning up puke from a carseat is one of those things that you pray, every time it happens, that this will be the last time.

Monday afternoon he told me that his throat was hurting so I took him to an urgent care center, and he was diagnosed with Strep. His fever went away as soon as he started the antibiotics! I had to keep him in the house for another day to make sure he wasn’t contagious anymore.

By the way, I’ve still got another week to go, so be warned you’re only half way done!

Wednesday, my sister took the day off and we went to a water park. The boys loved it. Jackson even worked up the nerve to to go on the FlowRider. He did FANTASTIC! He was really proud of himself too! Unfortunately, it was really crowded (and the hottest day on record for SC) my nerves could only take a few hours of that. We went to the calm of my mom’s pool. Around that time Miller seemed to be really mellow, and by that night he was burning up with fever.

Thursday I was back at the urgent care center. Surprisingly, Miller didn’t have strep, but another kind of virus. He kept a fever, even with Ibuprofen, and I had to keep bathing him to keep his fever down. Thankfully I didn’t have to clean any of his vomit out of the carseat! He did manage a nice projectile vomit that went all over me. Motherhood is not for sissies!

His fever broke that night, and even though i should have kept him at the house for a full 24 hours to make sure he wasn’t contagious, I lived on the wild side and took us out to lunch with Kelly.

Friday night my sister Sharon came down to see the boys and have dinner with Michele and I. It was great to catch up with her.

Saturday we ran more errands in Greenville, had lunch at Corona’s with my mom and Mimi, Then we somehow squeezed in three different toy stores, where the boys looked for things that they wanted for their upcoming birthdays. Needless to say their ideas keep changing on a daily basis!

Sunday we ate (for the 3rd time during the trip) at Waffle House with my brother K.C. Miller loves it! (Wapple House is how he says it), went to Wal-Mart and then headed back to Michele’s house. That evening, she was kind enough to babysit for me, so I could go out for a grown up dinner with Kelly and Susanne. P.F. Chang’s didn’t disappoint.

Monday morning, I decided that the boys needed some Krispy Kreme Donuts to round out their trip to SC. It didn’t disappoint. I do have to say that the Cheerwine flavored donut was not my favorite. I love donuts and I love Cheerwine, but UNLIKE Reece’s Cups, two great tastes don’t always taste great together.

Afterwards we went to play at another one of my old friend’s houses. Susanne and I were friends in college, lived together after college and have somehow managed to stay close friends. Her older son was at a day camp, but her younger son is aged right in between J and M, so they had a big time playing with him! We even managed to take 3 boys 4 and under out to lunch. Yeah!

As if that wasn’t enough, Allen came to Greenville that day and we took the boys to get a haircut, then picked up Mom, Michele, K.C., and my niece Braedyn and went to a Greenville Drive game. Jackson loved it and was thrilled when he said, “I want this guy to hit it all the way over the fence” and sure enough the next batter hit it right over. Even more than the game, I think he liked the ball game food he consumed. Peanuts, popcorn, pretzel, and cotton candy. It was a hot one, and all the adults thought we were going to melt, but it was a really good time!

Miller made us work really hard for him. Fortunately, we had enough people who were willing to walk around with him.

Tuesday was our last day and boy was it a full one. We were lucky enough to have Michele with us again, and Braedyn too (Jackson loves his cousin Braedyn). We went to Costco, Wal-Mart, Allen’s dentist appointment, Macy’s, out to lunch and then to a grocery store. We then headed to mom’s for a last dip in the pool before all heading back to Michele’s house for a cookout. Braedyn entertained the boys while Allen and I packed our suitcases with all the things we had bought on the trip.

We finished up the night with a really fun cookout with K.C., Braedyn, Sharon, Michele and my mom.

The next morning we were somewhat stumped as to how to put everything into our rental car. Michele and Allen managed to get it figured out. We have embraced our inner Beverly Hillbillies previously, so this was just another example of our packing prowess! Too bad I don’t have a picture of the HUGE suitcase wedged in between the 2 carseats!

The boys had dentists appointments that morning. So sorry I didn’t take pictures, but they did GREAT! We were really happy to get some good news with Jackson’s x rays. We finished up our time in Greenville with a trip through the Chic-Fil-A drive thru, and headed to the Mountains to visit Allen’s family!

Dream Come True

2011-08-15T11:40:00.000-04:00

My sister lives out in the middle of the country. The boys love it there because they can run free and do all kinds of stuff they can’t do at home.

They catch frogs, minnow and some other assorted creatures that the ~~torture~~ admire for a few minutes before letting them go.

This time, Michele was having some grading done on her property. She made sure to have this parked on the hill just for the boys.

It was dream come true for them.

Next time we may get to see them in action.

Again

2011-08-11T11:33:00.001-04:00

I’m back, sort of…

No less than 3 times, I’ve sat down to write blog posts, only to be interrupted. I leave the computer, intending to come back soon. Then the power goes off and nothing is saved and I lose the blog posts.

There are a million things I want to write down about the summer, but it is slipping away way too quickly.

Since it has been over a month since you’ve seen a picture of the boys, here you go!

They L.O.V.E. playing with boxes and watching TV. Sometimes a mom has to do what a mom has to do.

Now for the bad news.

Earlier this summer my camera broke. Conveniently, I had already ordered a camera for Father’s Day that could go underwater. Then my sweet sister got me a nice new camera for my birthday. Shortly after we got home from our trip I had my big DSLR camera on the counter and Miller accidentally knocked it off, shattering my favorite lens. A few days later, the great underwater camera, got water inside it. 2 days after the 30 day return policy expired. We still have the nice new one that my sister gave me for my birthday, but I can’t help but think that it days may be living on borrowed time!

So with all my camera woes I’ve still got some pictures, but the wind has been taken out of my photography sails.

Bear with me, this too shall pass!

Underwater

2011-07-10T18:07:00.000-04:00

Allen’s new camera takes some pretty nice pictures underwater. The day that we went to test it out was a bit windy~better for flipping than snorkeling~ so the water was kind of churned up, but there was still some things worth seeing.

A big boy snorkeling

One giant sea turtle. Yep, I know it is impossible to see, but he is there right in the middle of the picture.

A huge starfish!

A close up of the starfish.

The biggest dork ever!

So right after Allen took this picture, Jackson said, “Go that way.” and as soon as I did this amazing sea turtle swam right past me. I didn’t have on any flippers and the camera was off. BUT the turtle was mighty impressive.

I’ve been keeping a secret from y’all though. There are awesome sea turtles at the beach across the street from our neighborhood. It’s pretty amazing.

Tune in soon for more fuzzy underwater photos.

Flipping Out

2011-07-05T11:44:00.000-04:00

Doing flips at the pool is a fun, but doing flips at the beach is a blast.

I can’t decide which of these is my favorite.

What do you think?

Hope your summer is wet, wherever you are!

When fishing at our house

2011-06-28T10:24:00.001-04:00

Make sure you have dad to help you.

Clothing is optional

Dad shows you the importance of casting into the water


Maybe one day they’ll catch a fish, or maybe not.

I needed this

2011-06-24T09:43:00.001-04:00

Warning!!! GRAPHIC POST!!!

Being Miller’s mother is a challenge. He can make me tear my hair out one minute and have me loving on him the next.

As you know he has been in underwear for a couple of months. Each and every time he has pooped for those months I have been cleaning it out of the underwear. Yep, every single time!!

Yes, I am bitter about it.

Ok he has been in the potty twice. But still!

However, today he told me he needed to potty and look what he did.

Thank you Jesus!

I know I still have a lot more dirty underwear to clean up, but a little sign of progress!

Here is a funny poop story. My friend, who shall remain nameless, was here with her child who is also being potty trained. Her child had a #2 accident and I told her I’d go throw it in the washer on a quick wash. So I do it, but on the way to the washer, I stop by the toilet and flip the undies inside out so the poop plops in.Then I just pop them in the washer. I do this every day. Sometimes 3 times. So when the undies are clean I give them to her. She goes home thinking I am awesome. She has 3 kids and had been washing them out some other way. A few days later, her child has another accident and she puts the undies in the washer. Yeah she didn’t stop by the toilet to do the poop plop. She opens her washer after the cycle is finished and there is poop all over her washer. OOps! She now knows! Plop the poop.

P.S. My camera got sand in it and broke. I don’t like carrying my nice camera around here because of the sand, so my pictures may be few and far between! Or maybe not…

At long last

2011-06-14T16:22:00.001-04:00

Eight and a half months ago, we moved to the island and since then the boys have been surrounded by water. We get in the water a good bit, but they had not yet been ON the water. Our wonderful friends Beth and Meg invited us out on their boat and we couldn’t have had any more fun!

On the way out of the canal we spotted some eagle rays (pun intended). This time I had my camera out.

A grin from ear to ear.

Holding on for dear life.

Our capable captain Beth.

Do you think we liked it much?

Still holding on for dear life!

Getting so close to the huge ships was all it took for Miller to get excited! Although he was excited, but he was absolutely speechless. Now he can’t stop talking about it all!

Having a ball!

Miller couldn’t take the rocking and noise of the engines. He had to take a siesta.

Jackson didn’t miss a second of it!

Our unflappable first mate, Meg.

Miller woke up and was back to his normal self.

Look at that water, the same color as his turquoise vest.

Look who went snorkeling for the first time! Jackson loved it.

The fish were AMAZING and so close!

Miller just HAD to try it out (while we were stopped).

Thanks so much Beth and Meg. We loved every minute of it!

It’s Hurricane Season

2011-06-10T18:07:00.001-04:00

This year is forecasted to be a very active hurrican season. If you’re interested in finding out the names of those hurricanes (or tropical storms), then look over here. The folks at NOAA are a wealth of hurricane information. Did you know that they re-use the same list of names every 6 years? So in 2017 they will have the same list. Now you know!

We have been edumacated about preparations and what to expect if a storm heads this way. It seems that the US government likes to be proactive in protecting it’s ~~human assets~~ families. Hopefully these preparations are just an exercise.

In other news Miller is still being potty trained. Did you think I was never going to blog again? Me too. He has had me working extra hard these days and though I have sat down to blog many times, I never get anywhere because I am brain dead. Some of his newest ricks include getting out the stepstool, opening the deadbolt and going outside, sleeping in a toddler bed and swimming a tiny bit independently and waking up at 5 a.m... Gee Michele, I don’t know why I don’t blog more often?

Jackson is getting close to finishing Pre-K. He seems to enjoy it, although he claims to not remember a single thing he has done, all year. He’s so grown up and even learned to do a flip off the side of the pool. I loose my stomach every time his head rotates around near the concrete edge. So far, so good. He isn’t particularly excited to start Kindergarten in the fall. As a former Kindergarten teacher, I think I’m going to have to really pump up the excitement of this ~~heartbreaking~~ tremendous milestone.

We are looking forward to the summer and getting back to the beautiful beaches!

What we’ve been up to

2011-06-02T13:07:00.001-04:00

Have you missed us? I haven’t been blogging much recently because I feel like we haven’t been doing that much.

Actually we stay really busy. Doing this. About 4 or 5 times a week. It is jellyfish egg season so we have been doing a little less beach and a lot more pool.

Miller can now swim (to the side). He isn’t happy about going in the water now. It makes me a little sad, but he HAD to learn to swim and now he can. He’s the type of child that everything has to be his idea. Learning to swim was not his idea, so he’s protesting the only way he can. He gets in and out over and over and scales the side of the pool.

God help me we are still working on the potty training with this one.

A Weekend Adventure

2011-05-24T11:01:00.000-04:00

By the title of the post, you may think that we did this last weekend. It’s a little misleading but showing pictures immediately after they happen would require me to download pictures more frequently. I think my awesome sister would love to get me this for my upcoming birthday, so I can download pictures (and blog) easier! What do you think?

Ok I digress.

We were able to go to Atlantis over Mother’s Day weekend.

We didn’t stay there.

We slept in our own beds.

We can do that since we live about 15 minutes away.

Until the AC broke.

Another story for another day.

Sounds thrilling.

The boys loved the aquarium part of Atlantis.

The kids pool was amazing as well.

Slides, sprayers, buckets, squirt things!

This is how Miller swims. He uses his arms and legs on the bottom of a shallow pool. He says, “I SWIMMIN” really loud!

I don’t have any pictures of the lazy river. The river isn’t very lazy. When my awesome sister took me to Atlantis when I was pregnant with Miller, the lazy river was my favorite part of the whole trip.

Jackson loves it as much as his mama.

Miller loves it as much as a round of shots.

Maybe I went a time or twelve times too many before he was born.

Sorry ‘bout that!

The boys are still talking about it! We will go back when our friends visit at the end of the month to make more memories.

What we’ve been doing

2011-05-20T08:36:00.001-04:00

He has done really well with going in the potty for the #1.

Not so much with the #2.

His older brother was not exactly a breeze to potty train.

He likes to strip off his clothes whenever the mood strikes him.

The mood strikes him a lot, a lot, a lot.

He is also in love with this book. It is one of those look and find books. He has every page memorized.

Miller has memorized most of his favorite books.

He also knows all his letters and most of his numbers.

He doesn’t know his colors.

He is going to school in the fall.

That is already making me sad.

He really needs to go to school.

Someone needs to teach him to sit and listen.

Before he goes to school he has to be potty trained.

I’m working on it!

Maybe he will learn to read soon.

Fortunate

2011-05-10T09:41:00.001-04:00

At times it is hard to remember how fortunate we are to have such a wonderful life.

it’s easy to get dragged down in the minutiae of life.

Potty training, grocery stores with children, broken AC make each day a bit different, but also pretty trying on the patience.

Then something like this brings it all back into focus.

The Last Man Standing

2011-05-04T15:40:00.002-04:00

It was bound to happen.
Miller got the Bahamas crud.
I guess I am an eternal optimist because I thought he was beginning to play appropriately. Nope, he was just sick.
When I took him to the doctor (because I didn’t want him to suffer the way I had with the coughing all night long) he has acute bronchitis.
He has been prescribed four medicines.
I am lucky if I can get a half a dose of any one into him.
He’s not a fan of medicines.
I’m not a fan of being hit, spit on, head butted, and bitten.
I’ll blame it on the steroids. It seems that he has gotten at least some of them!
Here is my sweet ~~hornet~~ Butterbean in time out.

My sweet boy is a bit ~~mean~~ erratic these days.
He should pull out of it soon.
Until then we will be in the house.
Beach days are coming again soon!

Visitors

2011-04-30T14:07:00.000-04:00

We love having visitors here. It’s not just that they bring us things from the U.S. (I’d be lying if I said that it certainly wasn’t a a nice perk), but having people who have known us longer than a few months is nice. Being here has been compared to being at the company picnic every day. It’s true. People who know you and love you despite your quirks are so refreshing!

Last week our friends Kelly and Billy came to our island while on a cruise. Kelly and I have been friends since elementary school, lived together in college and talk as often as possible. I could (and should) do an entire post on our friendship. Billy was a great addition in the early 90’s. The fact that he and Allen get along so well is a bonus. They’re stuck with each other, so enjoying each other’s company does have it’s benefits.

Allen was able to get a day off (mostly), so we picked them up downtown early in the morning, but maybe not early enough! They were able to experience a little ~~discomfort~~ local culture as they waited for us in front of the hard Rock Cafe! Character building moment #1.

Then we took them to our house where showed them our house and tried to show them the fish. You know, the fish that live right off of our dock, the ones that we feed every day, and have names for them…The fish totally punked us and were nowhere to be found.

We left the boys at home with a sitter and swung by our neighborhood beach to see the sea turtles. They didn’t disappoint a bit, as they were right off shore munching on the seaweed that the wind was carrying in. Then we took them to one of our favorite beaches. We just walked and collected shells and sea glass and had such a nice time. So what if we took off without our cameras or sunscreen! Oops!

**Public service announcement** We usually wear sunscreen every day. This day the boys weren’t with us and we slipped up. We learned our lesson!

Forgive me for some of the pictures being so small. I stole them right off of her Picassa album. Yes they are protected. Hope she understands that this was done in the name of blogging!

Afterwards we ate at a restaurant that has authentic Bahamian food. It was absolutely delicious. The view and the company were fabulous too! They came all the was from SC and we took them to a place called Traveler’s Rest. In Greenville we called it TR. If you are from Greenville you’ll understand. If not just keep on reading…

From there we went to another favorite beach for some sitting on the beach action. It was pretty windy, so we weren’t getting the full beach experience, but it was perfect nonetheless.

Next stop was the world famous Daq Shack. Fruit, ice, rum and simple syrup. Perfection.

Our next destination was for a quick stop at our nice grocery store. I had to use the restroom there, and thought Kelly might want to go to, so I invited her along with me. I don’t ever think she will be the same. I think her quote was, “That’s what they make hand sanitizer for!!” Or maybe it was, “Do you buy your meat here?” Um, yes. When I showed her the normal looking ground beef there, she was just a little put off by the fresh beef hearts beside the ground beef. Sorry friend. Character building moment #2!

Our last stop was another beach. Yes, we were at 4 beaches that day. This one has phenomenal sea glass and Kelly really racked up.

After that we were sad to see them go, but hopefully their short visit just whetted their appetite and they will come back again for more ~~character building~~ fun in the sun.

If you are still reading, then you my friend, are my friend.

Easter and the Bahamas Crud

2011-04-28T13:00:00.000-04:00

A few days before Jackson’s Spring Break he came down with a bad cough, stuffy head, goopy eyes and plugged ears. We made a trip to the doctor and were told us that he seemed to have allergies and given drops for the eyes and told to take allergy medicine. After a couple of days he seemed worse, so I called back and they prescribed him an anti-biotic. It took a full 7 days but he did get better. Spring Break was very ~~boring~~ mellow here.

We had started a little group of moms with 2 year olds trying to give our own swim lessons. Like everything else here, swimming lessons are crazy expensive. However, learning to swim early is vital here. Not to whine, but there is nothing to do here besides going to the beach or the pool. All of us have older children who learned to swim fine with a little help from assorted swim classes elsewhere. We feel ~~confident~~ sure that we can teach our children to swim. If not we can still do swim lessons later in the season.

Miller and all the other little ones made good progress. They aren’t swimming, but they aren’t freaking out anymore. Then Miller was getting goo coming from his ears. Ugh! Since he has tubes in his ears we were able to give him drops and a decongestant and he was fine in a couple of days.

We had to put the swimming on hold because one by one all of our friends (moms and kids) have been taken down by the Bahamas crud. Everyone has had a different diagnosis. Ear infections, Pink Eye, Bronchitis, Influenza and allergies the list goes on.

About mid week I was taken down by the Bahamas crud. Allen was a few days behind me. Our Easter was not that great. Basically Allen and I took turns resting all day. We did go out for dinner with some friends. At a real restaurant! We had Thai. Holidays in the Bahamas are odd!

The boys loved their Easter baskets and didn’t know that they were missing anything. That makes me sad because Easter is NOT about jellybeans and the Easter Bunny. Hopefully some of the Easter stories we read them leading up to Easter soaked in a little bit.

Aunt Chele hooked them all kinds of Easter goodies. They were able to experience the goodness that is known as Cadbury Creme Eggs and Reece’s Peanut Butter Eggs.

I thought he would know to eat the Peeps, not lick them. Apparently these boys have led deprived existences so far!

A peeps and chalk bunny diorama. Is that strange to you?

Look who tried to eat his chocolate bunny with the wrapper on?!?

Thanks Aunt Chele!

Jackson was ready to go back to school on Tuesday and I was ready for the doctor. I have Bronchitis. Boo. Thank goodness for good medicine. I was feeling a big difference within 24 hours.

Hopefully all of our friends will kick our sicknesses at once. Until then we will be laying low!

The Very Hungry Toddler

2011-04-22T12:24:00.000-04:00

I love Eric Carle’s Very Hungry Caterpillar. If you’ve been living under a rock…the caterpillar eats through all these foods and then goes into a cocoon and turns into a beautiful caterpillar.

Miller decided to recreate the story in his own Miller way.

When am I ever going to learn, if he’s quiet…

He’s making a mess!

Yep, that container was full when I started my laundry.

For fun

2011-04-20T12:16:00.000-04:00

We went to the beach.

We played a lot.

Miller fell asleep in the 3 minutes that we drove to our house.

I was happy.

He sleeps on his face.

Can you tell?

For your viewing pleasure:

Miller after a nap

after the beach

Now that is what I call a good nap!

And because I’m still in love with the feet!

An Update

2011-04-18T16:02:00.001-04:00

Since I’m sure that everyone has been on the edge of their seats wondering…

The boys are doing really well with their eating. By that I mean, I can make them eat normal kid food. Pizza, chicken tenders, hotdogs, french fries and the like. Usually they don’t even cry anymore! Something interesting that they have tried and liked was Spaghetti carbonara.

Since the broccoli debacle, I haven’t had the heart to try it again, but I will try it again. At this point I am just trying to get them to eat like normal kids. I’ll tackle a little more as we go along.

Part of my plan is to keep them swimming all the time and use their hunger to get them to eat things they wouldn’t normally eat. Sorry I forgot to bring the goldfish to the pool today, but I did bring some cucumbers! Insert evil laugh! It should result in some massive meltdowns!

A RAY! A RAY!

2011-04-11T17:50:00.002-04:00

We have seen some really cool things here in the Bahamas. We’ve seen the Junior Junkanoo, Santa arriving in a horse drawn buggy, angelfish right off our dock, and I saw an octopus while snorkeling. And let’s not forget seeing Sean Connery at the Christmas party. This one topped all of those cool things. Saturday morning Allen and Jackson had gone to the store because Jackson was going to have some, and this is his description, “fishing lessons”. Miller and I were on the dock feeding the fish. We put in mostly fruits, veggies, bread and the like. We regularly see angelfish, some gray fish and a pretty black and yellow striped fish. Every once in a while we will see some large fish that are about the size of my calf. Until Saturday.
While we were out there I saw a couple of rays swimming towards our dock. I picked up Miller so he would have a better vantage point and about that time I realized it was three and then four spotted eagle rays. They came up and sniffed at our strawberry stems and Pepperidge Farm white bread heel and deemed them unworthy of consumption and then kept right on going by.
Of course I didn’t have my camera. So here is what an eagle ray looked like with my underwater disposable camera last spring while we were snorkeling.

Not a great picture, but this one off of Google is much better

A few minutes later, as Miller and I were sitting on the dock with our feet dangling off the side, one of them came back and swam right under our feet. Not long after that the other three came up our dock, but decided it was unsafe to swim in front of our dock because a jumping, screaming 34 pound two year old doesn’t convey safety to them, apparently.
Shortly after that Allen and Jackson came back from procuring bait and were able to see the single Eagle Ray come back by our dock to meet up with his friends. As they got down to the end of the canal one of them jumped out of the water. It looked something like this…

But different because we weren’t out in the ocean.
Now that was cool! Miller won’t remember it for long, but I will.

update and randomness

2011-04-06T18:51:00.001-04:00

because i’m tired i’m not capitalizing. i may never capitalize again-ever.

almost 2 weeks ago my mom got sick and was admitted to the hospital. she’s still there. she’s getting better, finally, but still in the hospital.

i flew to see her. i loved on her. she liked that!

thankfully i came to two happy boys. thanks allen for being such a great husband and father. we had a great helper named norma. so nice to know my babies were well cared for and i could focus on mom.

then when i came back, jackson is swimming. really swimming. like jumping off the side of the pool trying to do a flip. now if i can just get him to pick his head up and breathe. so excited to see what happens this summer!

not one to be left out, miller is sticking his face under and kicking too. it all has to be done on his terms, but he is making big progress. he is climbing into the pool on his own and cruising along the side. scaring the daylights out of me, but i know he’s going to be a fish in the blink of an eye.

nope those pictures have nothing to do with the pool, but the boys are jumping in them. did i promise you randomness?

pretty sunsets are always something that make me happy. they also remind me of my mom. she loves a good sunset!

and because i know inquiring minds want to know…

the boys have been eating great. some meats, some veggies. finally progress! two and a half years later i am seeing some progress.

Happy Birthday Allen

2011-03-28T16:39:00.001-04:00

You are the nicest man I’ve ever met

and one of the hardest workers,

you never give less than your all,

we love the family man you are,

and the way you’ll do anything the boys want to do,

even if it hurts…

we worship and adore you.

we’re also so grateful for everything you do that make our wonderful life possible.

so get over the embarrassment and embrace it!

Happy Birthday!

On eating better

2011-03-25T11:52:00.000-04:00

Everywhere you turn there are studies with data and such that extol the benefits of eating healthy.

Over the past few weeks I have been making sure that the boys have a protein, vegetable and fruit with their dinner. Sounds simple enough. The thing is that if your kids don’t eat, say chicken it makes it really easy to be lazy and give them cheese and peanut butter instead. Easier for me, easier for them.

The problem is that easy isn’t really cutting it in terms of nutrition.

Being willing to fight the fight is half the battle. As I have said before, when I was a teacher it would have been unthinkable to let someone else’s kids do the things my kids do with food. I am willing to fight the fight.

Planning has also been a hang up, I wasn’t putting enough thought into what they boys ate. It was time for dinner and I just pulled out whatever fruits and dairy they hadn’t already had so far that day—that they were willing to eat. If I was ambitious I made pasta and topped it with cheese.

Really it only takes 15 minutes to prepare kids food. The key is having a good variety around. That being said, I don’t anticipate changing their palettes over night, but getting a good variety of “kid food” would be a major improvement. We can work on brussels sprouts next month!

It was going pretty well. Eggs are easy, carrots have been pretty well received, cucumbers as well. Jackson choked down a chicken finger, Miller ate it them somewhat willingly. Fish sticks were eaten well with both boys. Things are going pretty well. I had some broccoli in the fridge that needed eating so I thought I’d give it a go. I’ll let the pictures do the talking.

Warning, don’t go any further if you have a weak stomach or are put off by my children being tortured.

First bite

Do you think he likes it?

Note the amount of butter that is left on his fork.

Showing his new muscles he got from eating the single bite of broccoli!

Then it was Miller’s turn…

Also note the amount of butter left on the fork.

Out it comes.

Why did she make me put it back in my mouth???

I think he’ll have to try it a few more times!

Then I tried to get J to eat a bite and just swallow it with some milk.

That was unsuccessful.

I am willing to fight the fight. But I also know when I am beat!

Broccoli may have beat me on this one, but I am still fighting the fight, though. We might wait a little while on broccoli again. I’m thinking zucchini next!

Finally!

2011-03-23T10:34:00.001-04:00

My talented mom took these while she was here.

These are the first pictures where all four of us are even looking in the same direction in, well, ever.

Thanks Mom!

stretching

2011-03-20T17:25:00.001-04:00

Every six months or so, I measure and weigh the boys just out of curiosity. I’m always surprised that Jackson seems to hold steady during the fall and winter and then shoot up during the summer.

Miller grows whenever it suits him.

Last week I got out our measuring stick and scale. Jackson is holding steady at 42 pounds. He gained half a pound since August. Miller topped the scale at 35 pounds, gaining 7 pounds since August! My back had been telling me he was bulking up, but the scale doesn’t lie.

When I measured them, Jackson has grown a little less than an inch. Typical Jackson to only grow in the Summer. I find it strange that his size 4 clothes, especially his shirts are looking a bit short. Luckily his uniform has shorts and those don’t show as much as when they get a bit short.

Miller on the other hand grew 2 and a half inches in the same 6 months. He’s now mostly in size 3 clothes.

Jackson has always worn a size larger on top than on bottom, so I find some things coming out of Jackson's drawer and going right into Miller’s. I love adjustable waists!

For the umpteen millionth time, I have decided to crack down on the eating. They aren’t particularly happy about it, but they are doing alright. More veggies and some meat, less pasta and peanut butter sandwiches. Wish me luck!

The bottom line is that I’m glad summer clothes are in the stores now (online is all I can shop from) and get these boys some new clothes.

p.s. The crew cuts on the boys were an accident. I keep telling myself that they will grow. I’m still ticked about the situation. I can do a crew cut, I took them in for a haircut. UGH!

p.p.s. Their father likes it.

Every Day is a Zoo

2011-03-14T08:24:00.000-04:00

While J was on his Winter break we visited the Zoo. We have been to several zoos in our time and I have to say that this trip to the zoo was different than any other.

They had a black swan.

Don’t be jealous of my mad photography skillz.

He’s not at all scared. I am, though. Those things are mean!

Then we saw some lizards and turtles. I have no pictures because I was chasing M all over the place. He’s a little too big for the stroller and a little to crazy to be free. What’s a mom to do?

I think the obvious answer is to get a leash. I kid. Not really.

Then there was the flamingo show.

The flamingos were just milling about before the show. I love his expression when he sees that they are right there!

Even Miller was momentarily stunned into stopping briefly!

I never knew flamingos would march. They totally did!

There are flamingos AND tourists. Love seeing tourists because it reminds me how special it is to LIVE here!

I have only pictures of the back of his head. He liked the flamingos a lot. He wanted to touch them so badly!

Unfortunately for him, they picked J to go into the show. He was too shy, so our friends went in for some bumping from the flamingos. She wasn’t at all intimidated by the flamingos bumping her!

Then it was time to feed the Lorikeets(small parrots). That was really awesome. They will land right on your arm and you feed them apple slices.

Here are two of them where you can see their gorgeous colors. And that even beautiful creatures argue. My guys sure are fun to look at, but being their mom at the zoo that day was a “challenge” to say the least. Next time we will have to have take two parents!

It is a pretty small zoo, which is a good thing! By this time I was D-U-N done. And that was the end of the zoo!

Every once in a while

2011-03-09T13:42:00.001-05:00

Since moving here we have had the opportunity to dress up for a few events.
Last week was a Gala for the opening of the new airport. We were there with a about 1500 of our closest friends here in the Bahamas.
We had lots of fun because most of the friends that we have made here were invited. I was just happy to be the guest of an invitee (Allen).
The invitations really set the tone for a memorable evening, and we were not let down one bit.

Lenny Kravitz was the surprise entertainer and even though we are old and left before it was over, we still loved being there!
Here is a video of the concert.

New Ride

2011-03-07T13:16:00.000-05:00

Remember this?

It seems like yesterday! Then a year and a half later he was doing this!

Yep, he kind of looked like a giant on a minibike

It was time. He needed a new bike, so we went and got him one. It’s about an inch too big so he has some trouble getting started since his feet don’t quite touch the ground when he’s on the seat. But an inch is nothing for this guy. He may do that in the next week!

It’s lime green. He likes green. A lot!

The handlebars are padded. I like that!

It’s a Cruiser, cause we live at the beach and all!

It’s also got some kind of special treatment to keep it from rusting. Cause we live…

Oh sorry for rubbing that in!

It also makes him look really big. I don’t know if I like that.

Now can you stop growing up?

Breaking It Down

2011-03-03T17:52:00.000-05:00

The Butterbean has always been known for his dancing skillz. He is really partial to any music with a good beat. His girl, Charlotte was over last week and he had an opportunity to show her his new moves. How could she not love a guy who has these moves. Wish I had been able to video him.

Move 1- Booty wiggle

Move 2- Gettin’ Jiggy Wid it

Move 3- Dancing on the furniture

Move 4- Singing and dancing

Move 5- Headspin! I swear he has never seen a headspin, but he can do it.

Jackson, bless his heart, has 2 dance moves: jumping up and down and marching.

Charlotte has some sweet moves herself!

These two are quite a dynamic duo. If God ever decided to make a female Miller, Charlotte would be it. Adorable, charming and always into something!

Are you thinking what I’m thinking? We need a video! I’m on it

The House

2011-02-28T19:52:00.001-05:00

Moving into a furnished house is tricky. You basically have to grow to like what you have because there is no other choice. In other places I might go to Home Goods or Pier 1 and find things to make the place more our style, but here you have to go with what you get.

I’ve managed to add a few things to personalize our house, but like all things to do with living in the Bahamas; it is what it is and it ain’t what it ain’t.

My pictures leave something to be desired, though!

We took down the curtains that were mounted on the doors to let in more light. It’s still dark, but it is better.

I painted these 2 to go in the living room.

We got another canvas from the Canvas People. I love their work!

It may be hard to see, but I got another one done last year and it hangs on the other side of the Entertainment Center.

We added a runner to contain some of the sand as it enters the house. It is always crooked.

Added curtains in the kitchen.

Did I ever show you these? I am smitten with them.

About a month ago Miller opened the coffee and dumped a scoop of it into the Cheerios. What’s the opposite of smitten? Dumping out food is not high on my list of things I like to do. See last post!

I tried to do another gallery wall. It didn’t work so well. We have concrete walls and we couldn’t nail, so I tried to use the Command hook Picture strips, like I have in lots of other places. For whatever reason they didn’t work here. Then I tried to hot glue them. They still fell off and took part of the wall off. I think we will just live with it for a while.

The boys are sharing this room. Lucky for us it was already painted this way. It is a nice change from all the other cream colored walls.

The boys’ bathroom. See? I added a towel. Fancy, huh?

The hall. I love the floors and ceilings in our house.

In our room we only added bedding and my craft and sewing stuff. That’s why you can only see this view. It is kind of a lot.

We put Allen’s hammock on our porch off our room. Maybe one of these days he will get to use it!

Command hooks did work for this project. I love being able to see all my necklaces on the back of the closet door. Don’t judge.

What were the boys doing while I took all these pictures?

Yeah right!

We have a guest room that usually looks like this. I fold my laundry in there. I do clean it off for guests, promise. Come and check!

Even if our house isn’t exactly how I would decorate it, I still really like it and I think I’m going to adopt my new phrase permanently. It’s the Bahamas. It is what it is, and it ain’t what it ain’t!

On Why I Haven’t Been Blogging

2011-02-23T08:16:00.002-05:00

I have to say I haven’t really felt like blogging much lately. My days are full and I’m tired. Is this any different than other times before? Not really.
There are plenty of things to blog about, but getting the pictures downloaded has been a challenge. Who am I kidding? Getting pictures taken has been a challenge.
J is home this week for Winter Break and I have been trying to plan fun things for him. We’re going to pay the cable bill today. Does that count as fun?
Since I’m usually pretty real on the blog and in real life. You know I can’t just gloss over something. If you don’t believe me, I’ll tell you that I cleaned up a puddle of dried urine from behind a chair in my living room this morning. Seems that someone had to go and didn’t quite make it to the bathroom. He also didn’t feel the need to tell me. Don’t just hate it when your husband does that? I kid! Pretend I didn’t say that um-kay. I’m nothing if not real.
I haven’t really known how to bring this up. I still don’t, but I'll just say it. I could tell you that life here is great. That is absolutely true. The thing that I haven’t said on the blog is that life here is also hard.
Not the kind of hard that people with actual problems have to deal with. But hard as in yesterday I had to take 2 boys to 2 different stores to find fruit snacks. Those suckers are a staple of M’s diet. After the second store didn’t have them, I gave up. I think I’ll go to 2 more stores after the cable bill.
That’s what I mean by hard.
Nothing is more fun than taking 2 kids to 2 stores after we wait in line at the cable company.
That’s what I mean by hard.
Are you wondering why I don’t just send in a check for the cable bill? That’s because we don’t get a bill. You just have to know when your bill is due and then drive 40 minutes to the other side of the island, find a parking space, go stand in line and then give them CASH for your bill. Forget online bill pay!
That’s what I mean by hard.
The gathering of food is a chore here. Every week I go to a minimum of 2 stores. Usually I go to the store many times a week. I recently joined a food group that buys in bulk from a restaurant supply company. We buy in bulk then split it up. It is much less expensive for fruits, vegetables and meat. Too bad they don’t have Fruit Snacks!
That’s what I mean by hard.
What if they don’t have yogurt that day? Or what if yogurt is $5 in that store, but I know last week it was $3.50 at another store. Do I suck it up and pay? It’s hard to say, but it is like that for most things. With a grocery bill of about $200 a week, it is just hard to swallow sometimes.
That’s what I mean by hard.
They say you should go to the store and then decide what you are going to make. That requires a real change of thinking and is totally out of the question when you are buying for kids. Also, it’s not really practical to run up and down the aisles over and over again buying ingredients for a week’s worth of meals while shopping with a 2 year old.
That’s what I mean by hard.
Have you ever been on a trip to an island and gone into a store to buy something simple like juice or sunscreen? When you find a store it looks a little shady, but you go in anyway. Then you find what you need and you see the price and it is like $18 for Coppertone sunscreen. You think, “I must have picked the wrong place”. Then you go ahead and buy the thing you needed and think “Well, I’ll make a better choice in stores the next time I’m in a situation like that.” The thing is that those stores are what I have to choose from every time I shop. They look a bit shady. They are all pretty shabby, and the prices are exorbitant.
That’s what I mean by hard.
It takes a while to realize that there is no Target here and this is what I can choose from. It isn’t terrible, but it is hard. I keep reminding myself that these are problems worth having.
I don’t want you to think that I am ungrateful. We know how good we have it. I also don’t want you to have the impression that we are walking the sunkissed beaches all day. Life here is good and if I am being honest with you, life here is also hard.
Now that I have that off my chest, I feel better.
So yesterday, while it was snowy in Gaithersburg, I went to the beach. It was gorgeous. It wasn’t at all hard!

He did it!

2011-02-15T07:34:00.001-05:00

This weekend was the weekend we were going to try taking off the training wheels. We had tried a couple of other times, but as soon as he fell once he wanted them back on. My expectation that it was going to be a couple of weeks of wailing, crashing and me having to hold firm that he was ready to take off the training wheels.

As it turns out he was so ready.

Like I ran behind him for about 15 steps and then let go and he went about 20 feet.

The hardest part was starting. He was used to getting on and pedaling. He quickly figured out that he has to keep a foot on the ground and push off as he pedals.

Having Aunt Chele here was so helpful. She gets right in there and helps out when we need her.

We have a big flat empty parking lot near our house that is perfect for riding bikes.

The hardest part was keeping him away from the 3 light posts in the parking lot. He was like a magnet.

He looks so big on that bike. We told him we would get him a new bigger bike when he learns to ride a two wheeler. My smart sister realized that learning to ride a bike on a small bike would be easier than riding a bigger bike.

Looks like someone else needs a bigger bike too. Just kidding. That’s impressive.

Miller took this picture. He kept telling us to sat cheese. As in “say cheese clouds” then he’d take a picture of the clouds.

Someone turned two and a half on Sunday.

Now he is working on his skids. Lord help us!

About A Year Ago

2011-02-06T14:55:00.001-05:00

Recently, I’ve been thinking about this a lot.

It seems so long ago, but not in some ways.

Most of all it just seems surreal that a year ago I felt so cooped up.

Oh, and then this happened!

Now I go for bike rides every morning…and I sweat.

I know that there will be other Winters with snow and this Winter without snow is special. It just doesn’t seem like Winter at all.

(that’s my ~~minivan~~ SwaggerWagon)

I’ll be sure to pull out these pictures again in June when I feel like I’ve been in perpetual Summer for about 18 months, and can’t take it anymore!

The End

Trike-A-Thon

2011-01-31T14:05:00.002-05:00

Last Friday, Jackson's school hosted a Trike-A-Thon to benefit St. Jude’s children’s Hospital. He learned a little about bike safety, raised money for a good cause and got to ride bikes with his friends from school in our neighborhood. It was a win-win-win!
There are so many things that are different about life in the Bahamas, and the Trike-A-Thon was no exception! Before I tell you a long story about this event, there are 3 crucial elements to mention: 1)Jackson’s school is connected to our neighborhood. 2) Bahamians are on island time. 3) Safe driving is just what Bahamians like for everyone else to exercise, but they don’t think that traffic laws apply specifically to them.
The morning of the Trike-A-Thon Jackson rode his bike to school (as normal) and then when it was time for the Trike-A-Thon, he and his class headed out the back gate of the school (into our neighborhood). Another area school was participating as well, so it seemed a little chaotic because you had cars from those parents as well as all the children from J’s school.
On the same road.
Together.
Bad drivers + 100 or so preschoolers on bikes = I’m glad I’m not the teacher!
Seems like maybe they would have stopped traffic in the neighborhood for this. Um, no.
Oh well, we’re in the Bahamas, right? How bad can life be? I was happy to be able to come and participate with Miller (strapped in). It was so close to our house too!
So here is Jackson’s class at the starting line. Can you find him?

Oh! There he is!

There was a lot of this going on. 4 year old boys sees another boy with a helmet on and think, “Oh, I should probably hit him on the head.” Strange.

He’s got his game face on. I should have realized at this point what was going to happen.

I didn’t because I was visiting with some other moms, and trying to get pictures of Miller and I on our cool ride.

And they’re off!

Wait!! They were supposed to stop.

Let me break it down for you…

About this time I decided to stop taking pictures and put my bike to work and get them to stop. Luckily, I was able to ride faster than the teachers could run.
What you can’t see is that these guys are heading for the exit.
Of the whole neighborhood.
They thought it was a race.
Except they didn’t really have a finish line.
They (whoever was in charge)didn’t really think about the kids leaving the teachers in the dust, and no one on the other end of the course.
Things that make you go Hmmm.

The teachers finally rounded up all their kiddos for some fruit and water.

Miller and I headed home. I can’t take any more of that kind of fun!
p.s. However, if it was a race, which is still up for debate, Jackson came in 2nd! And he didn’t even break a sweat.
p.p.s. I blurred the name of the school for you, Safety Dad. I love you.
p.p.p.s. I think Jackson's shoes were on the wrong feet. Look at that picture. Man, we could have taken that other kid if his shoes were on the right feet.

Is this my life? Really??

2011-01-25T12:05:00.002-05:00

A few weeks ago my sister called me and the conversation went something like this:
Michele: Hey, what are you doing?
Me: Um, just trying to get pictures of Miller drinking from Hank’s water bowl with a bendy straw.
Michele: Rolls around laughing hysterically telling anyone who will listen what is going on here at my house.
Me: Is that wrong?
For me, that isn’t all that unusual. Yes, this is my life.
My pictures didn’t turn out of that scene.

This my nemesis.

Miller just lets the water free flow any chance he gets.
Three times. Three times while writing this post he got into the water. Yes, I know what you’re thinking!. That’s annoying!
Yesterday Miller and I went for a bike ride. I came home, turned on Curious George for Miller and went upstairs to change the sheets. I was fully expecting to see 453 Legos on the floor when I came down.
This is a pretty typical sight

To my delight, I saw my child sitting on the sofa watching Curious George intently. Finally, I thought. It was a hard road getting to that one time where he didn’t destroy the house when left alone. I was pretty proud.
That’s why a little while later, I was looking for something upstairs and I came down to see he had gotten into something, I realized it wasn’t really his fault. it was mine. I was too proud.
I was able to grab my camera and document it though! The pictures aren’t fine photography, but they will give you a good laugh!
For your viewing enjoyment:
Miller and the Barbeque Sauce

Yes, this is my life, and I wouldn’t have it any other way!

Warm Days or This Might Make You Jealous!

2011-01-21T09:39:00.001-05:00

Technorati Tags: beach,winter weather

This may be hard for those of you to read who are in the throes of Winter. We have had some really warm days recently. Like high 80's with 80% humidity.

The first day I suffered through the heat and humidity and took the boys to the park after Jackson got home from school. Hot is hot, and getting sweaty at the park made us all a bit cranky.

The second day I took Miller to the park in the morning, but still sweated more than a lady should. By that afternoon, the only alternative was to go to the beach.

We met some friends there and it was won-der-ful! It was so wonderful that my friend, who also has a two year old, and I decided to hit a more remote beach yesterday. A-maz-ing! It was so amazing that we picked up our older children from school and went back to the "neighborhood" beach. Per-fect.

Beach hopping on January 20. Now that's what I'm talking about!

The bad news is that today it is overcast and we are going to have storms this afternoon and tomorrow, so my sweet, hardworking husband won’t get to enjoy what the boys and I are soaking up.

So far, so good on making the most of this experience!

Fast Bath

2011-01-13T09:45:00.001-05:00

When we moved here, Allen and I were pretty excited that we have a tub with jets. Some call it a Jacuzzi, some call it a whirlpool tub. We call it a fast bath.

Way back when Allen was a little boy, he moved to a new house that had a Jacuzzi and he called his grandmother to tell her about the “fast bath” they had in the new house. So a fast bath is what they should always be called.

The night before we got to Nassau we were in a hotel room with a fast bath and the boys were over the moon about the fast bath there. We managed to keep our fast bath a secret for a while. I love my boys more than life itself, but there are some things I just don’t want to share with dirty little boys.

A few days ago we were a little bored and I decided to let them take a bubble bath in our tub.

Oh, the excitement! Oh, the joy! Oh, the splashing!

A few moments into the bath, I threw caution to the wind and ran downstairs to get my camera. The lighting in there is terrific.

Enjoy!

Now I have to keep them out of it!!

Experience

2011-01-07T14:30:00.001-05:00

Since we are nearly one week into 2011, it may be time to reveal my word for the year.

My word for this year is experience.

I want to experience everything I can while we are living in an amazing locale.

I want to experience every minute of being a mom to 2 young boys. They are growing too fast.

I want to rely on my experience as a wife of ten years to make the next ten even better.

I want to experience every bit of this year and leave no regrets.

Melissa was the first one to guess it. Katie got it too, and being an English teacher, she even provided her interpretation of how it should be used. Thanks for all the comments!

However, it looks like Michele will be getting the next free night's stay!

Wednesday, January 4, 2011

2011-01-05T16:24:00.000-05:00

This photo was taken today at 4:10 p.m.

I'm not trying to rub it in. It's kinda warm. See that top number?

No haters please.

One simple word

2011-01-02T08:17:00.002-05:00

It is amazing how one simple word can have such a big impact on your life.

For the last couple of years I have chosen a word for the year. The idea is simple. You choose one simple word and invite it into your world. Then once you are open to that one simple word it can surprise you with all the ways it makes itself into different aspects of your life. Ali Edwards is a big believer in the whole idea!

Last year my word was CHOOSE.

In the beginning of the year I was really amazed how empowering that one word was. It made me aware of my ability to choose. Of course I already knew that I had the right to choose, but it almost gave me permission, if you will, to choose.

Did I choose to spend my birthday waiting in line at the DMV with two young boys? Yes and no. I did choose to stick the auto renewal form into a drawer, even though there was a voice inside my head telling me not to do it. So in a way I chose to be there. What I really chose to do was to try and enjoy it as much as I could. You know what? By choosing to enjoy it, it wasn't THAT bad.

We had quite an exciting year in 2010.
First there was this

It lasted forever. I chose to stay inside til it melted. Well once I went out, and it ended badly.

Then we did this

We celebrated a special anniversary with this

Then my wonderful sister took me here. It took a lot of work, but I chose to enjoy it no matter how hard it was!

I'm totally being sarcastic.

Then I got to do this

At this point, maybe I should have just called it a wrap. I had some fantastic experinces in the first half of 2010.

Then we found out we were moving. To the Bahamas.

So the summer was a bit hairy. However through all the upheaval we still manged to sqeeze in some really wonderful memories.

Chasing fireflies

Selling our house

Going to the beach

Seeing the pig races at the Fair

Seeing a baby chick make its way into the world

Riding a Faris Wheel for the first time

The Pirate Party Blowout

Then it was time to move. I CHOOSE to forget most of that.
Right before we left, the boys got to experience a little Autumn in NC and J learned this cool trick.

As soon as we got here we got busy doing this!

Then he wanted to do this. My heart is still broken

From Nassa and Beaches

Then I decided that Butterbean and I would enjoy some alone time, and I taught him to do this!

From Miller

All of a sudden we were doing this

Oh my goodness, now we are already done with this-

So back to my word...
Did I choose to all of it? No, not really, but I did get to choose whether I got to enjoy it or not. Enjoy it I did! What an incredible experience this year has been.

Which brings me to my word for 2011. What do you think it is going to be? It will be hard to top 2010.

Leave me a comment and tell me what you think my word will be. It is in one of these sentences after the pictures. First one to guess gets ~~a free nights stay in the Bahamas~~ the prize!

Much Merriment was Had

2010-12-31T10:09:00.001-05:00

Having children this age makes Christmas so magical. They love every bit of it. So do we!

This was our first Christmas with stairs. I loved having them come down and see that Santa had come.

Proof that Santa had come. Traditional cookies were left. Jackson also felt that we should, "Offer Santa some pasta."

So we did. He apparently liked it.

First we did stockings. Santa is known for his contradictory nature.

Peanuts

Chocolate

Trains

Toothbrushes

Nana browsing her magazine that Santa brought her.

Uncle Mark was pleased that Santa included some Bahamian currency in his stocking.

Papa giving Jackson MORE chocolate.

Then it was time to eat breakfast.

Pioneer Woman's Cinnamon rolls. They are sinfully delicious!

Anticipation.
Can I open this one? No. Can I open this one? No. How about this one? Nope. Not until after breakfast.

It's almost time!

Butterbean liked stacking the gifts up. Everything can be turned into blocks!

J sporting some new shades.

I totally fell down on the job as photographer. I was too busy enjoying it all. Imagine this about 20 times more. They got some wonderful gifts.

Also there are no pictures of any adults opening gifts. Because that would be boring, right?

Except that I got one not so boring gift. It satrs with i and ends with pad. Thanks Michele. I promise to blog every day with it. Or at least twice a month!

Allen and I gave each other some cruisers. Can't wait to take them for a spin around the hood!

OOps! Some of the boys presents fell off the sleigh and were on the front steps.

Hola amigos, yo soy hablar español Buzz Lightyear!

Cranky the Crane

They boys got dressed and drove their Morphibians on our beach. Didn't end up that great. They were fun while they lasted!

It was about 80 degrees that day. Don't hate me, but it was H-O-T!

We had a wonderful Christmas in our new home.

Better Late than Never!

2010-12-28T15:48:00.000-05:00

Apparently I am on Bahamas Local time and I do everything a little late. Either that or I have been cooking too much to do much blogging. Maybe a little of both.

Merry Christmas!

We are back in business with our trusty laptop and have the ability to post pictures. Now I just need to go through the 673 pictures that I have taken in December.

Before I get to Christmas, I need to recall what we did before the big day.

We did the Junior Junkanoo. It is hard to describe other than that it is like a Bahamian Mardi Gras. There is music, costumes, dancing and revelry of all sorts. Most of my pictures are blurry, but that is fitting since it is a little dizzying to be there! The boys got to stay up until 10:00 p.m. Didn't make them sleep any later, though!

Allen and I were honored to attend a really special Christmas party. We met Sean Connery there. My sweetie is way better looking, though!

Jackson did a great job at his Christmas Concert.

Here in the Bahamas, they really know how to do a school event! They had it in the evening and as a fundraiser they were serving serving adult refreshments before the concert.

The Bug and the Butterbean wore hats at every possible opportunity! Butterbean even added a (yogurt) beard to complete the look.

Somewhere in there we ended up hosting Allen's work Christmas party. We had about 30 minutes notice. It all worked out fine, but next year, I'll leave it to the pros!

Our house was decorated.

The tree sure does look crooked and I can assure you it probably was! This was our first artificial tree and it may be a long time before we go back to having a real tree. So easy!! Somehow our angel didn't make the voyage. She must be enjoying her time in storage.

I was inspired by Anna's hats on her silhouettes and even made one for ours! It was meant to be since I had the collection of Santas on the console table and the silhouette at the other end. I think it is perfection!

A few days before Christmas Allen's family came to celebrate with us. The boys got so much attention, that they'll never be the same! we hit five beaches while they were here and did downtown Nassau. If you've ever done downtown Nassau once, I'm sure that was enough. I think I'm set for the next 821 months.

I am being seized by the need to organize the entire house, so it may take me a few days to get to our Christmas pictures, but they are coming! Oh, and before I organize the entire house, I need to organize my pictures. Or maybe I will go with my other desire to finish off all the chocolate in the house, you never know.