Nothing in particular

Not much going on. I am wrapped up in tests and papers. Definitely counting the weeks and days left to this semester. I have all of next week, 2 days the week of Thanksgiving, first week of December, and then the next week is finals. I can't believe the semester is practically over. Only 3 more to go. I won't be at work the last 2 weeks of the year. I found out I still have 10.5 days that I need to use. I will be transferring 2.5 days to 2009. I never end up using them all even though I know I should.

Zachary's ringworm is back, but slowing leaving. It's on the corner of his left eye this time. Fortunately for us we have the special ringworm, athletes foot, jock itch cream handy. He's learning his letters. His teacher says everyone in the class thinks their name begins with "B".

Ryan is wearing big boy underpants!!! He is all about using the potty. We are saving a huge amount of money not buying diapers. YEAH!!! I decided to skip the diapers to pull-ups to underwear with him. It just seemed like when you have a puppy. Train it to paper and then to go outside. Why not just skip that step and go straight outside? Seems to be working great so far for him. He does go outside half the time just like a puppy too. We have told him this is not okay at school.

We are off to NYC for Thanksgiving to see Julia and the Marching Royal Dukes play in the parade. I am looking forward to that.

Allison

Check this out

Nevermind...the link was removed :(

Happy 40th!

Reece celebrated his 40th birthday this weekend. the boys and I made him a giant sign. Some of the "things" that the boys drew were rainbows, cars, balloons, lots of lines, and Reece. Everything is upside down b/c that was the side the boys were on while I drew lines so Zacahry could trace them. Do you see what is wrong with the sign??? I didn't even see the mistake until we had finished coloring, sent boys to bed, and after I hung the sign. Oops!

Zachary is so small that he fits in a Bojangles box.
Hehehe--I see you

Professionals

My classmates for the next 2 years. Don't we look good?

Just Call Me....

"White Chocolate"

Says guy next to me on the bus. I love riding the bus. Compliments all around. Then he tried to use my shoulder as a pillow. Ahhh how Sweet--Ick!

Karate Kid

Zachary has been taking karate for about 4 weeks. He is really enjoying it. He got his first belt, white, today after he "broke" a board with his foot. I think he shocked his teacher because he broke it on the first try.

He's also been using the camera which is why Reece is actually in a picture.

Good Food @ Yiasou Greek Festival

We went to the Greek Festival the beginning of the month. The food was great and the boys ate it up. They will eat pretty much anything you put in front of them.

Hello Blue Eyes!

No, we are not MIA

Here are some pictures of what we have been doing this summer.



I have returned to school. I am enrolled in the Cardiovascular Technology program at Central Piedmont Community College. Back to studying. Zachary is supposed to be starting Pre-K next month. The school system has made some mistakes. Hopefully they can get it right soon. Ryan has forced us to purchase a lock for the REFRIGERATOR!!! He gets into everything.
We had a great Saturday morning. We were able to sell a lot of our junk/stuff and made $675 at a yard sale. Unbelievable!

Not much going on

Not much has been going on with us. We have been spending most weekends at the lake doing nothing but swimming. Both the boys are getting so much better at swimming. They are now jumping off the end of the dock with their life jackets on. I have been completed 3 of 5 weeks of summer camp at work. The days/weeks are very long but I love having the same kids for one week. Reece, his dad, Zachary, and I took the boat to watch fireworks since everything was rained out last weekend. We have never seen so many boats on the lake at one time. They were nice, but not nearly as good as D.C.'s.
That's about it for now. BYE!!

Our Road Trip

We had a great time on our road trip to Atlanta for Memorial Day weekend. We had so much fun!! We went to The Varsity http://www.thevarsity.com/the first night for hot dogs and onion rings. It was really good and the boys got really cool hats.The hotel we stayed in was nice. We had a great view of downtown Atlanta from the 22nd floor. It overlooked Emory Hospital, GA Tech, Centennial Park, GA Aquarium, and World of Coke.
Zachary kept calling the escalator the escagator. At least he's close.

We went to the Zoo on the first day. I had told the boys that we were going on a bear hunt. Zachary decided that since I told them we were going on a bear hunt on our trip that he would bring his book, Going on a Bear Hunt.

And we found bears!!They had a "kids" section with a train, carousel, rock climbing wall, and playground.
For dinner we went to this great local place that gave us soooo much food that we had leftovers for the next night. We highly recommend Mary Mac's Tea Room, http://www.marymacs.com/, anytime you are in Atlanta. And thanks to Grandma and Grandpa Virgle for the giftcard from Christmas. It was worth waiting to use it.

On Sunday we went to the Aquarium first thing in the moring. We even got to ride the train downtown, which was exciting for everyone. The Aquarium is amazing!! Since I had told Zachary that we were going on a bear hunt for the zoo trip, he asked me Saturday night where we were going the next day. So I told him fishing.

Zachary, Ryan, and fish mascot. It got lots of hugs.This is how we travel with 2 little boys and one stroller. They are even agreeable enough to switch occassionally. Zachary tends to complain that Ryan is hurting his legs after awhile. I have to agree that he is heavy.We had time to spare and had heard great things about the World of Coke that we decided to go before we started back home. While there we had the pleasure and displeasure of tasting different sodas that are served all over the world. Don't drink Beverly when in Europe. ICK!!

They had a fun (for some) 4-D movie. Zachary freaked out and climbed in my lap. The rest of us loved it. Ryan wanted to go again. We are beginning to think that Z may not be ours :) Reece, Ryan, Coca-Cola Bear, Allison, Ryan---this bear definitely got more hugs than the aquarium fish.
That was our family trip. The boys and I got up Tuesday morning and drove to VA to visit my mom. We spent a few days there and then drove up to DC to see dad. My grandmother hitched a ride back with me. She ended up staying a few days with us before jetting off to the beach with my aunt.

More posts later. It's been busy around here. Summer camp has started at work.

On the Road

We are off to Atlanta for a loooong weekend. It was originally supposed to be a trip without the boys, but the more I looked at places and things to do I really decided that I wanted them with us. We are definitely going to the zoo and aquarium. I might be able to squeeze in the World of Coke too. I think that depends on how tired we are. After we get home on Monday the little boys & I will continue driving north to VA on Tuesday morning. They don't even get to unpack. We will be off to visit my mom for a few days and then drive up to DC to visit my dad, returning on Sunday. I am already predicting that I will be exhausted on Monday, not to mention POOR b/c of the cost of gas. But it's still cheaper that flying and much less hassle for me at this point with 2 little boys. car seats....diapers....child escaping...
Lots of pictures to come. Maybe I can post while on my voyage up and down the east coast. We'll see.
Happy Memorial Day!!!!

Zachary's Day

I took Tuesday off to run errands and take Z to the movies for the first time ever. This how our day went.

• Drop Ryan off at school


• Take the dog to the vet and leave her there for surgery. She had a dermal tumor on the lower left eyelid.


• Take Z out to breakfast at McD's. Truelly a treat.


• Killed time at WalMart for 45 minutes.


• Took Z to doctor for yearly check up and 1 shot. He was very hyper and actually told the nurse he was ready for the shot. He measures in at 33.5 pounds and 38.5 inches. He's a skinny little thing.


• Drove home. Killed more time.


• Went to the movies and saw.......

It was very good. We even got a free popcorn which was nice b/c to see the matinee it was $13.50 for both of us!! You can tell I haven't been to the movies in a looooong time.

• Pick up dog from vet. Loving the new vet--Yeah Dr. Jack Miller!!
• Went and picked up Ryan at school early. Z showed off his band-aid and told him all about the movie.

On another health note:

I had the pleasure of receiving my first mammogram (and an ultrasound--been there done that in a different area) 2 weeks ago. Not nearly as bad as I had heard. I have fibrous cysts in one of my breast that can be painful (mine are, of course) and are a normal part of life for anyone woman that is between 30 and 50. So ladies, don't freak out if you feel something in their that isn't normal. Doc said if it causes any sort of pain that majority of the time you should worry, but still get it checked out just in case. I am good to go for the next 8 years!!

Happy 4th Birthday Zachary!!

Zachary celebrated his 4th birthday yesterday. He picked out his gift at Wal-Mart and even shared with Ryan. We are going to take him bowling in 2 weeks since this weekend is filled with college graduations and Mother's Day.

Sick Kitty:(

Cosmo (aka BooBoo) is sick. Vet thinks it is his liver. So sad. He is off to a specialist to have an ultrasound of his liver tomorrow morning.

Pic taken with mom's phone from the vet where he had to stay for several nights.

Ick--Ewww--Gross!!!

Zachary has ringworm on his chin. Reece and I thought it was a scrape, but after 2 weeks it has yet to heal and has doubled in size. I thought it was a spot of eczema and put lotion and hydro-cortisone cream on it. Dr. L says the hydro-cortisone cream causes the ringworm to spread. He is right. Guess that's why he's the doctor. We now have cream for it. So....if anyone gets ringworm I have a huge tube that will take care of it for you.

Round & Round They Go

Look where we went this weekend!! You know you're jealous!


Saturday and Sunday night!!
The boys had a good time even though both nights were very late. We got to visit with Buddy (Pop), Travis, Melvin (Paw-paw), and Mark.
I can't say that I am a fan, but I would go again if tickets were available. I'm just not passionate about the sport. It was a relative early night Friday (10 pm), but b/c of rain on Saturday the race didn't start until 10:45 pm! I think I am still exhausted. My favorite things about the race---Food that start with "F"-foot long corn dogs, french fries, and funnel cake.

This is all for now b/c I had to take a 3 hour break to bathe boys, visit horses, and finish a load of laundry.

Sweet Dreams

Today's conversation with Ryan

Time: 6:40 am
Place: wrapped up in a very cozy bed

Me: Ryan, we need to get up and get dressed.
Ryan: No, Ssshhhh (finger over lips), Sleep
Me: Okay, maybe just a little longer

I think this proves that he is my son:) and why we are always late.

VM & Hospitals

I received the nicest and sweetest VM today. Thank you KB4!!! You made my day.


Grandma is still in the hospital and will probably come home in a day or 2. More fun tests. I spoke to her on Monday and she sounded good. She had lots of company and Virgle is always by her side.

Swimming

Zachary had his first swim lesson this Saturday. We did swim lessons when he was just over a year. Parent and child thing. This class is the next level up and doesn't include me getting in the pool. Yeah me! He's all ready to go back next week. It should be interesting b/c we have to take Ryan with us. Looks like I will be in the pool sooner than I thought.

Z did a face plant onto the sidewalk at school this week. His right cheek has recovered nicely. Just very pink skin. His teacher said she couldn't punish him b/c he came running up to her after the fall and said, "Ms. Foster I was running on the sidewalk and fell and I know I'm not supposed to run on the sidewalk." Maybe lesson learned? Probably not.



On another note--I am angry. You know who you are and what it is about. Please do something to fix the problem.

Eggstravaganza and Easter

We went to Eggstravaganza! on Saturday to do an egg/candy/toy hunt sponsored by a local radio station. It was a beautiful morning and quickly warmed up to a toasty 70+. Michelle, Kris, and Kyler were even able to join us. We don't get to see much of each other b/c of their crazy 2nd and 3rd shift jobs. Someone's got to do the CSI stuff on the odd hours of the day. Everyone had a great time!


I have to had this note about he egghunt. It was actually soccer field divided into 3 sections for age groups. All the goodies were thrown all over the ground. There was a count down and then it was a free for all. We picked a great location. The Twix area. Reece and I were thankful we had 2 kids to collect all the goodies. It was a pretty funny set-up but very effective.



Kris, Kyler (almost 2), and Michelle


Coloring of the eggs


Don't you wish you could buy eggs at the store like this. Food would be so much more fun.


The late afternoon hunt. We are lazy. We didn't hunt for eggs until about 4:30. We had lunch/dinner at Pam's. The boys got 2 board games and the adults got their favorite candies.

Loot!


"Yeah, I have candy in my mouth. See!"

New, New, New

New Paint! New Beds! New Hair!
We decided to buy bunk beds for the boys about 6 weeks ago. We were finally about to pick them up on Wednesday. It worked out perfectly b/c when we ordered them we still needed to replace the flooring in most of the house and the 2 smaller bedrooms were in desperate need of new paint. The flooring was put down over the long President's Day weekend with the much needed and appreciated help from Buddy. Then we/I moved on to painting the extra bedroom. It went from pale yellow to a mauve. The added bonus to this room was a new ceiling. For some reason when we first moved in, I decided to paint the ceiling blue. Not a good idea. I took the popcorn ceiling off, primed, and painted it white. Much more suitable.
Then it was on to the boys' room. We had to move quick. The boys were relocated to the new mauve room and Ryan got to start practice sleeping in a real bed! I am sooo happy to finally take the crib down and put it in the ATTIC! It has been up for the last 4 years. Ryan did great in the new bed. Babies sleep in the strangest positions.Zachary and Ryan's room has changed from hideous Pert Plus green to a much more appropriate blue. The painting in the boys' room is almost done. I have a 10 foot section of trim and the window sill to finish. I'm taking a break. The beds went up on Thursday and so did the boys. Zachary is doing great and Ryan loves his new bed. Zachary has decided he needs to share Ryan's bed for stories and then eagerly climbs into bed.Finally.......I have new hair. I've been wanting a short haircut, but since it was Fall and then Winter and I am a wimp I HAD to wait until it got warmer.