Dasha's Birthday

Somehow, we have managed to pack in two birthdays and an anniversary in January. Dasha will be 11 on 1/26 and her birthday request was to go to Build A Bear with Daddy and cousin Kailee. Believe me, I really did try to warn Eric what a Build A Bear trip entailed but he assured me that he was up to it. My last question for him as he climbed into his truck with two giggly girls was, "Do you have a bottle of Tylenol?" Of course, once again, he laughed and promised that he'd be just fine. I called him about an hour later and his confidence had begun to wane! His enthusiastic retorts had turned to simple caveman-like grunting. Nonetheless, he made it home in one piece and both girls had their little created creatures boxed up for everyone to see. (It must have been a Kodak moment when the girls wanted to buy their little creatures panties! Poor Eric)!

After dinner, my parents came by to have cake and open gifts. Dasha got loads of new coloring books and crayons of all sort. This, by far, is one of her favorite things to play with.

On another not so gleeful note, Eric's elderly grandma passed away yesterday morning. They had a family viewing this afternoon. Dasha begged to go. It was one of those moments that paralizes parents. We didn't know how to respond. We just never quite know how much she will understand or what her perception will be. With Dr. James Dobson's number on speed dial and Dr. Phil's written in the front of the address book, we figured that this might be a teachable moment that wouldn't cost us an arm and a leg in counseling fees to undo.

Dasha and Eric went to the viewing and Eric spent a great deal of time answering her questions. She truely did not understand what death meant and Eric said she stood by the casket and spoke to Mawmaw in a normal voice. She asked many questions about heaven and God, which did turn into an incredible teachable moment. However, we're still not quite sure how much she truely understood so we're just going to have to make ourselves available to answer her questions and give her whatever guidance we can.

What a day!

Boosterthon Fun Run

Our school just hosted an awesome fundraiser which also emphasized healthy living! The big finale was a Fun Run for the whole school. The kids all had t-shirts with an area on the back to mark how many laps they ran in a particular time period. Dahsa told her parapro that she wanted to do 15 laps and Mrs. Newman indulged her and noted her goal knowing that this was probably not going to be possible! Ha! The girl is determined! She went 16 laps! Grant ended up with a total of 25 laps. The kids had an awesome time as did the staff! Though we all froze our fannies off, we had a great time and will look forward to doing this again next year - hopefully not in January!

Go Thrashers!

Yes, it's a school night. Yes, the game started at 7:00 and won't end until 10:00 (at least). Yes, Eric has both kids at the game. Yes, they're probably freezing cold. Yes, it will be 11:00 by the time they get into bed. And, yes, they have to be out of the house no later than 6:30 a.m. tomorrow. Yes, I'm home alone! Anyone see my justification?

You can only be a kid once and once the baby comes, we'll have to curtail these types of ridiculous activities for a while (maybe). As a teacher, I detest parents who pull these types of stunts and let their kids stay up until outrageous hours. But, hey, I don't have to teach my own kids tomorrow! I get to be the hated parent! :) These days are fleeting that we have with our kids and get to enjoy their excitement so why not take full advantage! (I just really didn't want to break Eric's little heart and tell him that he couldn't go - and I sure knew I couldn't send him unattended)!

Meanwhile, it's 8:30 and I'm headed to bed with a good book! Thrashers tickets for one adult and two kids = too much to worry about. A quiet night alone with a good book = priceless! Goodnight!

Grant's 9th Birthday

Our baby is 9 years old today! Where has the time gone? It seems like just yesterday that he was watching Bob the Builder and Dragon Tales. Those days have been replaced with episodes of Dirty Jobs and Survivorman. I don't care how old he gets, he'll always be my baby!

This is the first year that we haven't had a big birthday blow out! We've done everything from swim parties, to tumbling parties, and even bowling parties. This year, he asked for a trip to the Lego store and an ice cream cake. He's reserving the right to ask for a game of laser tag when the weather warms up a bit, though. I'm sure Eric will have no problem indulging his request as long as he gets to play, too! But for today, we had a simple day of cake at Grandma's house and a leisurely trip to the Lego store. (If you've never been to a Lego store, it's anything but leisurely)!

I told him to stop it...

Sometimes, you have to make an example of someone to show that you're serious. If I remember correctly, my statement was, "Stop it or I'm going to knock your heads off!" Guess who didn't stop! I'd like to think he'd listen next time but... hey... his ears are gone!

Our family Christmas gift was transferring our old PCs to Macs and we're still having fun with the media options! Eric's business is built around Macs so now the kids can video chat with him while he's traveling and they're having a bit too much fun with some of the packages!

Boys will be boys no matter their age

You know, after dealing with thirty ten year olds from 7:00 - 3:00 each day, I have delusions of coming home to peace and quiet. NOT! With Eric working from the house, Grant always has a playmate near (who isn't interested in playing Barbies or Polly Pockets). I'm terrified that their rough housing is going to spur a neighbor to call the police but until that happens, my warnings are heeded the same as thoughts of, "You're going to shoot your eye out!" I used to say, "It's all fun and games until someone starts crying." Well, the crier used to be Grant. These days, there's about a 50/50 chance of Eric ending up as the victim! Man! Moments like this make me glad that this next little Randolph resident is going to be a girl! (Although, if she's anything like Dasha, she'll be just as ready to fight)!