Hi, My Name's Jacob and I'll Be Here All Night, Folks!

I don't know what was in Jacob's milk at Sweetwater Tavern that night, but something got him going. He was hilarious. Actually, he had been cracking us up all day. I was convinced he was using us as a test audience for his stand-up act because every word that came out of his mouth was so incredibly funny. I wish we had some type of recording device attached to him that day. That kid is some comedian.

Jacob was sitting beside his beloved Aunt JoBeth when suddenly, he turned to her and said, "Aunt JoBeth, you are the prettiest one.....you are a good Aunt JoBeth....I yuv you." Then he proceeded to pat her on the back and rub her arm. This was all after he downed a full glass of milk in approximately 49.8 seconds.

As we were about to leave, Jacob jumped down from his seat and danced his way around the table. He then stopped to dance in the middle of the restaurant -- right beside a table where two older gentlemen were in the middle of their dinner. The more Jacob danced, the more the men clapped. It was, quite possibly, one of the funniest moments I have ever witnessed; mainly because it was so unexpected. I could not stop laughing. Tears were rolling down my face and Heath was just about in the same boat.

Jacob continued to dance his way out of the restaurant all the way to the car. Here is a little taste of what happened that night. If only I'd had the camera out when we were inside the restaurant.......

When we were back in the car, the dancing subsided, but Jacob was still on a roll...and was still feeling the love. Out of nowhere he announced, "I love Daddy and David and Aunt JoBeth and Annabelle and Mommy.....and I love myself."

Whatever was in Jacob's milk must have also been in Annabelle's. I had brought along some little Transformers toys for Jacob to play with at the restaurant. When he was through with them, I handed them over to Annabelle, not knowing if she would play with them or not. Oh, she played with them alright. She loved them. It looked like she was making them fight. I guess she was just copying her brother. Anything he does, she wants to do also. I was just happy she was content and not throwing a fit at the table. :)

Transformers...more than meets the eye...

Later that night, we drove into DC to see the White House. David asked Jacob if he wanted to live in the White House. Jacob replied, "No. I can't yiv in the White House because I'm not a pwesident." Well, maybe one day, Jacob...maybe one day......

And yes, the dancing continued at the White House. Jacob wanted to dance up beside the iron gate, but we convinced him to come down. This one's for you, Mr. President.

18 Months

Annabelle is 18 months old. Wow. Time flies. We went to see the doctor this morning for her well-visit. I must have temporarily lost my mind when I scheduled this appointment...for 7:00 AM. Seriously, what was I thinking?!?!?!?! Especially since Annabelle is a late sleeper. We're talking 10:30, 11:00 AM late. Anyway, I woke her up (after prying myself out of bed) and she was in a surprisingly good mood.

She now weighs 21 pounds, 11 ounces which puts her in the 10th percentile for weight. She's moved up in height, to the 25th percentile. She's 31 inches. And since they always measure head circumference, I'll give you that too: 17 3/4 inches, which falls into the 10th percentile. She's definitely gotten taller, but still petite...and adorable. :)

Annabelle is much more vocal lately and I giggled when the nurse asked me if she could speak at least seven words. Annabelle knows a lot of words now:

shoes: shhhhs

trees: tees

juice: dooce (which is her word for any drink)

pig: dih

Jacob: Dahtcha

go: guh

ball: bah

cracker: gack-uh (usually yelled loudly, in a demand)

Mommy: mama (she has said mama for a really long time, but she's only recently began calling me mama. I love it. :) )

Daddy: Daa-tah or Dah-tee

bubble: buh-puh

Bottle: bopple

Paper: pah-puh

Book: buh

good girl: guh-goal (she claps when she says this)

uh-oh: uh-oh

There are more, but these are some of the "regulars."

Each time we go to the doctor for a well-visit, I am given a handout on what to expect from my child at his/her particular age. I laughed when I read this one: "Toddlers sometimes seem out of control, or overly stubborn or demanding." Ummmmm. Yes. This is right on target. Annabelle is quite the stubborn little girl. And she has a fiery temper too; but, we've known that for a while now. :)

She's also extremely smart and catches on to things very quickly. The other day, I said the word "excited" in conversation with someone else. Annabelle overheard me and began clapping...because that's what you do when you are excited. If you mention shoes, she will immediately run to her closet and bring back a shoe. She loves shoes. If you say the word, "go," she is ready. She heads to the door...or to the closet to get her shoes if she's not yet wearing any.

She has also developed a hearty appetite, eating her brother under the table. I'd venture to say she usually eats more than Jacob at just about every meal. I asked the doctor about this. Since she's still in the 10th percentile for weight, we don't have anything to worry about. The doctor's advice: "Feed her 'til she's full." Will do.

I tried pigtails. From the side, very cute. From the front, not so much. I was just excited that she can now actually have pigtails!!

While The Cat's Away...

...the toilet gets clogged, apparently.

The night before I left on my trip, we experienced total chaos. Wednesday nights are always a little rough because we get home so late from church. The kids' schedules get thrown out the window, so that alone creates chaos in itself. On that particular night, I wasn't going to give them a bath before bed because it was so late. But, they had been to the playground and both of them were filthy. To the bathtub they went...kicking and screaming.

Heath took Annabelle after her bath while I finished Jacob. Amidst all the crying, I suddenly heard Heath exclaim, "OH NO!!" He had Annabelle in one arm, while his other was in the toilet. Somehow or another, Annabelle's baby brush got flushed. Jacob continued crying. Annabelle cried harder because she bumped her head on the doorframe. I sat in silence trying to figure out what happened. Heath still had his arm down the toilet, fishing for the flushed brush. I tried not to laugh...unsuccessfully.

That night, the toilet seemed fine, even though we could not retrieve the brush; however, after I left the next day, things didn't go so well.

I'm not exactly sure what was done, but by the time I got home, the toilet was back inside...and unclogged. Hmmmmm....I wonder what the neighbors were thinking. :)

Mommy Has Left the Building...For One Night, Anyway

I feel like a new person. Really. One overnight trip with friends and no children can do wonders. :) It was so great to go somewhere as "Paula" and not "Mommy." Don't get me wrong. I love being a mommy, but I have to say, it was very nice to leave the house for a little while without that responsibility -- no strollers, no sippy cups, no breaking up fights, no "If I see you do that one more time....." Aaaaaahhhhhh. When we were planning this trip, I was a little nervous. After all, I had never been on an overnight trip away from my kids. Yes, Jacob is almost four years old. You can gasp if you want to. I guess it was about time.

We went to Jacksonville, mainly to see our good friend Tim McGraw. Tim was wonderful and he brought along his new friends, Lady Antebellum. Ok, so we're not really "friends" but I've been listening to Tim McGraw's music for so many years, we might as well be best buds. :) The concert was great and we had tons of fun.

My concert pictures aren't so great.

I must confess, when we began talking about this little trip to Jacksonville, I was secretly hoping a stop at The Cheescake Factory would be involved. Fortunately, everyone else on the trip enjoys food just as much as I do. We went to The Cheesecake Factory. Twice. Good times. We also ate at P.F. Changs -- a restaurant I'd been wanting to try for quite some time. I had heard great things about their food and it didn't disappoint. Looking back on it, this one night getaway may have been more about the food than the concert....and there's nothing wrong with that!



Of course, our restaurants of choice were both conveniently located within a fabulous shopping center. So, I don't have to tell you how we spent the rest of our time. Besides eating and shopping, we did manage to do a little sightseeing in St. Augustine. The weather cooperated with our plans, which made the day even better -- sunny, breezy. It was perfect. I actually got a little sunburned, but that's nothing unusual.



Erika and I raced to the top of the lighthouse. No. Not really. It was more like a casual climb. Still, my calves were not happy with me. But after 219 steps, I do believe they are more toned.

The view from the top.

Shopping, cheesecake...is there anything better? And no, I did not eat the entire piece of cake; but, I came pretty close.

We all had sooo much fun. I can't wait for the next trip...whenever that is.

A Museum, a Tornado, a Tiger, & a Little Visit to the ER

Confused? I'll begin by saying, none of those things are related...except for the fact that the following events occurred in the same week...a couple weeks ago.

First: The Museum
Jacob, Annabelle and I went on an outing to the local children's museum. We had never been there before, but I had heard great things about it. I found out the museum was having a special storytime and craft hour that day, so I called to register Jacob (Annabelle was too young) and off we went. When we arrived, I realized this little outing was not going to be easy. Of course, Jacob took off running to explore all the exhibits. And, of course, Annabelle took off after her brother. She may be only 17 months old (almost 18 now), but in her mind, she is three and a half years old. This is cute in many ways, but on this particular occasion, it was tough to deal with. The museum was SO CROWDED that day and I was afraid Annabelle would be trampled by the older kids. We visited the toddler area for a long time, which Annabelle loved, but Jacob was itching to get back to the "big boy things." After a series of temper tantrums and meltdowns and one time out, both big brother and little sister calmed down and we had a great time. It was difficult to take pictures because I had to watch them both so closely...and be ready to chase a runner at anytime. :)

Annabelle thought it was great fun to smash her face and mouth against the glass. Mommy, on the other hand, did not think it was so fun. Eeewww.....germs. The steps she's sitting on led to a slide, which Annabelle LOVED. She slid down over and over and over and over and over again, never tiring of it. She had a little routine going: climb up the stairs, dance on the platform, slide down. Repeat.
Arrrgh, matey! Captain Jacob spent quite a bit of time on the pirate ship. He originally wanted to wear two eye patches. I explained to him that if he had a patch over each eye, he wouldn't be able to see. He still had to try it out for himself. It didn't take him very long to realize that second eye patch wasn't so much fun after all.

Annabelle enjoyed playing at the sand table and I don't think she even put any in her mouth! (Unless, of course, I just didn't see it.)
Come fly with me!
They both loved playing in the cockpit. That's Jacob in the pilot's seat. Annabelle mainly liked to climb up into the passenger seats, which you can't see in this picture.

We had our rough moments, but all in all, it was a very fun morning. I'm sure we'll be visiting the museum again sometime soon!

Second: The Tornado
A couple nights later, we had a weather scare. It had been really windy all day, but we weren't aware of any bad weather headed our way. We had gotten a little rain, but nothing terrible. Apparently, neither Heath nor I had paid much attention to the weather reports. Just after 11:00 PM, our weather radio came on to alert us of a tornado watch. Heath went to bed early that night and was already asleep, until the radio woke him up. The radio repeats the message twice before turning itself off. The second time we heard the message, the "watch" had been changed to a "warning." I got a little nervous, but wasn't too scared. Then, just a few short minutes later, we heard the noise -- the freight train noise everyone says you should listen out for. I have never been so scared. It seemed to get closer and closer and my heart began to race. Heath grabbed Annabelle out of her crib and I jerked Jacob out of bed. We all huddled up in the middle bathroom. Inwardly, I was freaking out. Outwardly, I was trying to hold it together so Jacob and Annabelle wouldn't be afraid. Thankfully, we were safe and our house was unharmed. We did have the inconvenience of our power being out for a while, but that was no big deal.
While huddled in the bathroom, Heath kept checking his Blackberry to see if the tornado warning had expired. When it had, we put the kids back into bed and went to bed ourselves, although, it took me a while to get to sleep. Neither one of us had ever heard a sound like that before. We were almost sure it was a tornado. We were right.

A weak tornado touched down on the street just behind our house. No one was hurt, and no homes were destroyed, but it did cause some structural damage -- siding, roof, fences, etc. There were also a few downed trees. I am so thankful everyone in our neighborhood is ok. A few days later, I was talking to my neighbors about it and they never heard anything. They slept right through it! All I know is, if the noise we heard was only a weak tornado, I NEVER want to be anywhere near a strong one. Those storm chasers are CRAZY!

Third: The Tiger
That weekend, Heath took Jacob to his first Clemson football game. Can you even imagine how excited he was? He, meaning Heath. Jacob was excited about going on the trip, but Heath had been planning this moment from the time we found out we were having a boy. We both figured taking Jacob to the spring game would be better than a real game during the regular season since the atmosphere is much more relaxed, no one would be shouting profanities at the other team, etc... Jacob had a great time at Clemson and one of the highlights was getting to meet the tiger.Notice the backwards hat. Jacob's favorite show is The Imagination Movers. Mover Dave wears his hat backwards. Jacob is always pretending to be a different Mover. Obviously, this was a Mover Dave day.

Fourth: The ER
While Heath and Jacob were at Clemson, Annabelle and I stayed home and had a girls weekend -- a girls weekend that didn't start out quite how I had planned. We had a great Friday afternoon. Erika met us for lunch at Moe's, then we all went for a walk in the park. It was a gorgeous day. The alligators thought so too. We always see alligators at this park. Always. And they are always waaaaaaaay too close to me. One of them was hanging out on the bank, so we had to walk right by it to follow the trail. I freaked out just a tad, but Erika managed to calm me down. Anyway, back to the ER story....no, the alligator had nothing to do with the ER visit.

After our walk, Annabelle and I drove back home. She was asleep the entire ride. Then, I put her in bed so her nap could continue. She slept for a long time. When she finally woke up, somewhere between 6:30 PM and 7:00 PM, she was screaming like I'd never heard her scream before. I ran to get her and she didn't want me to hold her. She pushed me away. She turned my face away from hers. She never does this. She has always been a mommy's girl. She tossed and turned on the floor, screaming and making sounds I had never heard her make. I tried to give her a little gripe water. She wouldn't take it. This went on for quite some time and I didn't know what to do. Our pediatrician has an after-hours emergency line, but after a couple previous experiences, I knew making that call wouldn't do me any good. So, off we went to the ER. I was worried and figured that was my only option.

Erika, being the wonderful friend that she is, met me down there. My parents just happened to be on their way to Florida and decided to stop over for the night to make their trip shorter the next day. So, they actually met me down there, too. Annabelle screamed about half of the trip, then settled down. Of course, when we arrived at the hospital, she seemed fine -- smiling at the nurses, talking to them, etc... The doctor came in, checked her out, and said it was probably just severe gas pains.

I took my daughter to the ER.... for gas pains. The nurse asked me if she was my first child. "Ummm....no.....but I swear, I have never seen her act like that before. She was making sounds I have never heard her make!!!" Seriously, I know that anyone else in my position would have made the same decision. And you know, TV doesn't help these situations. A few days earlier, I watched this show called, "Your Kid Swallowed What?!" It documented true accounts of children and toddlers swallowing all kinds of crazy things. Annabelle puts everything in her mouth. I thought, perhaps, she may have put something weird in her mouth at the park. I didn't know and I didn't want to risk not getting her checked out if she did. At least, now, I knew and didn't have to worry about it anymore.

The rest of the weekend was great. No more screaming episodes. No more ER visits. Annabelle actually had a glorious time. The doctor said I should give her apple juice to help "move things along." I don't give her juice on a regular basis, so this was a treat. And, boy, did she ever drink it up.
I took this video a while back. See the bruise underneath her eye? Jacob had a matching one, except his was a little worse. They were playing on the couch and bumped heads...or more specifically, faces.

Coupons -- They'll Save You Money and Make You Laugh

I've been clipping coupons since last August and, let me tell you, it has changed my life. With the help of a fabulous website, Southern Savers, I have learned how to stretch my budget farther than I ever could have imagined. I cut my weekly grocery bills by at least half (sometimes more) and my shopping goal is always to save at least as much as I spend. On several shopping trips, my total savings have actually exceeded my expenditures. If you ever see me gleefully dancing my way out of Publix, you can bet I just had one of those really good shopping trips. Anyway......

Before last August, I never looked through the coupon inserts. I didn't think it was worth it. In fact, I hardly ever read a hard copy of the newspaper. You can read all the articles online, so why buy the paper? I had no idea I was missing out on so much. Not only have coupons saved me money, but skimming through those inserts never fails to make me laugh.

Looking through the inserts, you'll find all kinds of money-saving coupons for all kinds of useful products; but, sprinkled throughout, you'll also find advertisements. Ads for clothes, shoes, baby dolls, jewelry, and strange-looking undergarments...for women and men.

Take for instance, the man girdle. No, the ad doesn't refer to it as a "man girdle," but there's no denying, that's what it is. The "Men's Slimming Shaper flattens your stomach and your whole upper body with no effort." It also makes your back fat disappear. "Smoothes your back for a leaner appearance -- without bulges!" And the best part? It "looks like a normal undershirt!" Each of these statements, combined with the before and after cartoon drawings (not to mention, the product itself) make me laugh out loud. I asked Heath if he wanted one. He declined. But, if I've peaked your interest, you can head over to their website (fourcorners.com) to place your order.

And here's one for the ladies: The "'LIPO' Tummy Shaper" Not only will this shaper smooth out your bulges and enhance your bustline, but "your friends will swear you've had liposuction." Yes. That's just what I want my friends to think -- that I've had liposuction. This shaper does even more than make you look skinny. It actually makes you skinny with "hundreds of bio ceramic dots woven into the fabric for 'far infrared weight loss!" This is truly amazing. Like the man girdle, this ad also has the unbelievable, but "true," before and after cartoon drawings. One look at these images and you'll be sold. Go ahead. Banish the bulge and fake a liposuction surgery with this "Tummy Shaper." You know you want to! This website also has several other products worth taking a laugh at look at.


The one that got me rolling today was the ad for the gingham zip-front patio dress (pictured above). "The perfect dress for spring and summer no matter what the occasion." Yes, if you are staying home with all the doors closed and the shades rolled down. I started picturing myself wearing one of these out and about, running errands, going to the grocery store, taking the kids to the park, going to church, maybe even a July 4th cookout. I pictured other people wearing them too. The images in my head just got funnier and funnier. This is definitely the perfect summer dress. By adding a few of these to your wardrobe, you can actually save yourself some money because you'll have no need to purchase the "Tummy Shaper." All joking aside, if you ever see me in one of these dresses, go ahead and stage an intervention. I may not be the most fashionable person around, but if I'm wearing one of these, obviously any fashion sense I did have, was flushed down the toilet. I'm sorry to say this particular item cannot be purchased online (hence, the picture of the ad).

And Then There Were Two, Again...and Again

We all grew accustomed to Jack being here with us in the mornings. Jacob always asked when he was coming and wondered who would be bringing him, his mommy or his daddy. He, quite often, would tell me how much he liked Baby Jack -- even better than he liked his own sister. I am sure this was because Jack wasn't mobile yet, so he couldn't really get into Jacob's toys. The first thing Annabelle said when she woke up in the morning was, "Dah" or "Jah." Those were her words for Jack. And I became attached to the little guy. He's just so cute and has the most adorable laugh. So, when his mom told me they would be moving, we were all very sad. Of course, we are happy for Jack and his family because this is a good move, but we sure do miss them!

Jack, want me to read you a story from the phone book? This is the best book EVER!!

Let me hold that pacifier!

EYES!!

It's been a few weeks, now, since Jack has been at our house, but Jacob still asks, "Is Jack coming today?" and Annabelle still says his name from time to time when she sees a toy that Jack played with while he was here. The good thing is, Jack and his family didn't move too far away. At least, they're still in the same state. Hopefully, we'll be able to see him from time to time.

So, Jack left....and then there were two -- only two children in the house. But not for long! The following week, Katie came over since she was on spring break. Jacob was very excited to have Katie around again. They played, nonstop, from the minute she walked into the house until she left. Each day she was here, the two of them took off running at full speed all....day.....long. They had so much fun. Annabelle had fun playing with Katie, too. And Katie enjoyed playing "little mommy" to Annabelle, helping to feed her breakfast, trying to carry her around the house, etc... :)

Katie loved her new swim goggles. For a day to two, she would not take them off!

We had an Easter egg hunt in the backyard. Before I hid the eggs, I filled several of them with things like fruit snacks, little chocolate eggs, and raisins. Jacob and Katie were extremely happy with their findings. When they had found and opened all their eggs, they asked if they could have another egg hunt. So, I brought all the eggs back inside and refilled them. Only this time, I used stickers instead of candy. After finding all the eggs a second time, they began opening them one by one to see what was inside -- stickers. Jacob said, "I don't have any candy in mine!" Katie responded, "I don't have any either!" The tone of their voices let me know they were disappointed. Where was the candy? They eventually got over it. They liked the stickers, but I guess, to a kid, candy is like the forbidden fruit. When they are actually allowed to have it, they want all they can get!!

Katie doesn't realize it, but her crackers are about to get stolen.

Like I mentioned earlier, Katie and Jacob played hard all day long every day that she was here. Jacob was exhausted at the end of each day. To give you an idea of just how tired he was, check out this video that I took at dinner one night:

Heath went for a run and pushed Jacob in the stroller. Jacob fell asleep soon after they left the house. I let him sleep for a little while when they returned home, thinking he might wake up after a few more minutes. I was wrong. Obviously, he was way too tired to even wake up for dinner.

Now, once again, there are only two children in the house. I can't really say that it's any quieter around here. Jacob and Annabelle are two very busy children. Jacob doesn't know the meaning of the word "quiet" and Annabelle gets more vocal everyday. Not to mention, their favorite pastime is getting into trouble. Those two, alone, definitely keep me on my toes.