Jam Packed Fun. . . .

Our past days have included the following fun 

(in random order!) 

Jumpin' & Jack went to school with Zach for Show & Tell

Krispy Kreme Donuts for breakfast

Fun walks with Grammy & Papa

Uncle David went to Pre-K

Zach got to sleep with Mommy & Daddy as a Friday night treat

Bike Races at Tom Brown Park

Emily's 5th Birthday Party

Chase Parker walks  (or a more accurate description would be "wobbles like an ape!")

Eating pizza at the park

Chase has two new teeth

Zach got to go to work with Daddy Friday morning before school

Dad and Mom enjoyed a hot date night

Daddy and the boys cleaned and organized the garage

Corduroy (Zach's class bear) came to visit the Birdwells

Family dinners on the screened porch. . . loving this cooler weather

now. . . here are the random pictures and videos that go with our fun!!

and lastly. . . one of my favorite pictures of the past week. . . . my sweet parents with my sweet boys. . .

It's beautiful when golden opportunities just fall in your lap. . .

Sometimes you find yourself in the midst of a situation and you secretly wish that you had some sort of recording device so you could treasure the memory forever, or even better,  use it as blackmail material.

On Friday evening I was on the phone talking with my older brother David.  Many of you know him to be the macho, always under control, calm, cool and collected man.  The beautiful conversation that unfolded between us was just too good of an opportunity to pass up.  I absolutely MUST blog.

I actually had called David to tell him that my husband was going to Home Depot after we had dinner and that Paul wanted him to go too.  Being the nice sister I am, and knowing that my sister-in-law and nephew were out of town, leaving my brother alone, I invited him over for dinner.  That is what made the beautiful moment unfold. . .

My brother replied that, while he thanked me for the invite, he had just finished some lasagna that he himself had made.  I was astonished because, even though I knew my brother could dabble in the kitchen if needed, I was under the impression that it was only slow cooker recipes.  In the past we have shared semi-beautiful moments when he has asked me for such recipes.  But, these requests have almost been under duress since he would complain when the recipe called for more than dumping the ingredients in the crock pot, turning it on, and leaving the kitchen.  After swallowing my shock I asked when he decided to cook meals other than crock pot recipes.  It was like I turned the faucet on high.  He began almost gushing.  He proudly told me of some other dishes he could cook and even proceeded to give me the recipes to some off the top of his head!  Among his speciality dishes are Lemon Chicken, Beef Stroganoff, Boston Butt Boneless Pot Roast, Sausage and Egg Casserole, etc.  This beautifulness went on and on for several minutes.  I was listening but not really.  I kept having flashes go through my mind of 1) why can't I get this on a voice recorder?, 2) what has happened to my REAL brother, where is he?  3)  I've got to remember every moment of this conversation so I can BLOG BLOG BLOG!

The truly beautiful moment came when he was talking about the lemon chicken recipe and actually asked me if I thought it would be okay if he stacked the chicken in the crock pot on top of each other.  That way he could cook more chicken at a time and invite us over for dinner.  Just Beautiful.

To end the conversation he told me he had been enjoying learning some recipes from his favorite cookbook. . . The Busy Woman's Slow Cooker Cookbook.

Now, while I realize that I am SO asking for payback big time from my brother (and he is unfortunately extremely good at it) by writing about these moments we shared, I just can't help myself.  Don't you agree?  This was just too good of an opportunity to pass up.

Love you brother.  When am I invited for dinner?

This is my real brother.  Outside in his wood working shop, late at night, apparently texting after taking a break on the tailgate of his truck.

This, apparently is his new favorite book.  I wonder what he has learned by reading the over 250 short stories and facts about famous and influential women too.

He's been using it so much that my sister-in-law made the book look like this now.

A Mom's Gotta Do What A Mom's Gotta Do.

Every Mom ALWAYS needs a break.  No matter if you are an "outside of the home" working mom, stay at home mom, whatever mom.  If you have "mom" in your title you definitely need a break.  It is a 24/7 job.

I am very blessed to be a stay at home mom.  I've had other friends tell me that they long for that same opportunity.  I, on the other hand, sometimes secretly long for the opportunity to go out of the house and "work".  That wish is most of the time short lived and I've discovered that I wish that more and more on the days that I just need a break, even if it's just a little break.

I've never spent a night away from both of my children.  I can't remember the last time I went out of town without a hubby or kids to just have a "me" weekend.  So, I decided it was time.  I needed more than just a little break. . . I needed a REAL break.

So, my girlfriend Jill and I headed to Destin last weekend.  It was wonderful.  Beach.  Shopping.  Pool.  Gym.  Eating healthy.  Eating sinfully rotten.  Staying up late.  Sleeping in a little.  Spa day.  Did I mention SPA DAY!  It was the break I needed.  While I missed my family terribly I really enjoyed myself.

The spa day was my favorite.  I don't remember the last time I've had a facial (and it was 80 glorious minutes that went by way too fast!) and I loved having the hand and foot massage.  It was divine.  I even gave myself a break from the "big daddy" camera that I usually haul around.  I ONLY used my phone the entire weekend.

On Sunday night I returned to my real life at about 9PM.  It felt SO good.  My little Zach had stayed up to see me get home and came running to the door when I walked in.  Then hubby gave me a big hug and kiss.  Little Chase was sleeping soundly but the next morning had nothing but big grins for me.  It was wonderful being away but awesome to be able to come home relaxed to my three wonderful men.

Thank you to my hubby and grandparents for making this weekend stress free for me to relax and enjoy.  Now when I need a break I can just close my eyes and picture the beach, enjoy the pool, and remember  spa day.  Memories should keep me going for awhile!

Here are my snapshots from the weekend. . . .

I mentioned eating healthy. . . my rice cake with bananas and peanut butter!

REALLY?  People!  Do you not think this is common sense?  Diarrhea?

I've always found this pool sign at our condo hilarious.

What I woke up to every morning.

another waking up picture. . .just so relaxing!

my new favorite cereal.  thanks Jill for introducing me!

love this SPA!

my view from the spa deck.

my nice shady umbrella.

a mom enjoying her break.

cool car visiting the spa.

my sinfully rotten eating. . . yummy.

one man that I missed very much!!

one tiny man that I missed very much!!

And the other man that I missed THE MOST is not pictured.  He gets a tick when he sees a camera pointed at him so it was a no go!  He knows who he is and he knows he's very loved.

24 weeks and 2 days Along. . . .

If you read the title of this blog post and immediately gasped and thought, "OMG, she is PREGNANT!" then pick yourself up off the floor and let's talk.  First of all, if you actually had that thought run through your mind then you must not have seen me in a good long while.  I've been trying to lose weight, not gain it.  And, secondly, you should KNOW that I am DONE DONE DONE this time.  Pregnancy no longer exists in my vocabulary.  I'm done.  Very done.  Forever done.

Lately I've been blogging and talking non-stop about hubby and kids, kids, kids.  ENOUGH!  

Let's talk about what's really important:  MY HAIR.  

Many of you know that I have been growing my super short, super easy, super chic haircut out for awhile now.  I decided to grow it out to chin length to give me (and hubby) something different to look at.  Why I would choose summertime and choose AFTER I'm pregnant and not taking the prenatal vitamins that makes your hair grow superfly fast, I do not know.  But, I did.  It's been 24 weeks, 2 days.  Below is what it looks like at this point. . . 

Now, with all that being said let's talk about cats.  I'm a firm believer in NOT declawing cats.  I think it is demeaning to their cool cat character.  Cats are unique animals.  They are extremely confident, clever, and independent creatures.  When you declaw a cat you take away his or her confidence in my opinion.  When I started growing my hair out I was essentially declawing myself.  Over the weeks I became less confident and always seemed to be doing SOMETHING with my hair!  

So. . . I fixed the problem.  Here is the return of me! (in my best cool, catlike look)

My claws are back.  I'm confident, cool, and as independent as a wife and mom can be.  I am happy to say that I failed miserably at growing my hair out to chin length.  But, I can say that it made me appreciate my short locks again.  Ah, SO nice to spend 2 minutes on my hair once in the morning and not even have to think about it all day.  I'm enjoying free time again and cool breezes.  (Sorry Mom.  I know you wanted your little girl with pony tails back.  Just can't happen.  I would suggest you pull out the picture albums and that may console you??  LOVE YOU!!!)

I now have a new goal:  to get in really great shape before I turn 40.  I hope to be happy with where I am on my birthday next March.  I have 213 days to accomplish my goal.  Actually, it sounds better to me if I say I have 18,403,200 seconds left to accomplish this goal.  

I've definitely talked enough about me today.  Tomorrow it's back to my REALLY important world. . . my family and friends.  It was fun to talk about me for a little while though.  ;)

  

Jesus Must Have Smiled Bigtime!

I believe that Jesus is happy when any one of us prays.  I, for one, am especially guilty of not praying enough.  So He's definitely happy when I decide to take time out of my day to talk to Him, as He is happy when any of you do too.  I have to believe though that, He especially smiles when little children are learning to pray.  The pure innocence of their prayers are amazing.

Zachary has been saying prayers for a long long time.  From the time he could talk he has said prayers at the dinner table and at night before he goes to bed.  Lately though, his Daddy and I have been talking to him about the fact that he can pray about anything and everything.  He doesn't necessarily have to say the same exact prayer all the time.  We've told him that Jesus is happy to hear about anything that we want to talk to Him about.

A couple of weeks ago we had to really talk to Zachary about the "way" he prays.  He had gotten into a habit of just rattling off his prayer as quickly as he could and by the end of the prayer it came out as mumbo jumbo (I am guilty of that myself so I definitely understood!).  It took a few days to get the point across that when we talk to God we are to show respect.  He finally understood and now takes his sweet time when praying.  It has been the sweetest thing to hear.

The last few days he's been thanking Jesus for the people in his life, and our food, friends, etc. but he's also thanked Him for "the houses for sale, the houses not for sale (he must really realize the real estate market crisis our country is enduring!), and the houses that burned." The first time I heard this I busted out laughing but covered quickly with a "coughing" attack.  For some reason this is what he wanted to pray about.  (I have a feeling I know where it's coming from.  Some days he goes with Papa to investigate new neighborhoods and, along the way, has seen a couple of homes that have burned.  For whatever reason they find that fun!)

I told Paul that these days and these "types" of prayers won't last forever so I wanted to try to sneak one in on video.  We did at dinner tonight.  (he left out the part about the houses this time though!  I gotta get that one!)

Whenever I'm stressed I really need to remember that God placed so much importance on listening to children and giving them the time and attention they deserve.  It's so easy for me to forget that.

Turn up the volume on your computer. . . here is my sweet boy praying at dinnertime tonight. . .

In other news. . . 

Today was Zach's first Show & Tell at school.  He decided to take Ted the turtle.  Ted is also a puppet.  Zachary did so well and all the kids seemed to like Ted.  I tried to get a little on video but Chase started getting squirmy so I had to cut it short.  Here is what I got though. . . 

Ted in his shell. . . .

and out!!

Also a few pictures from his classroom. . . .

Zach's buddy Logan

Zach has to sign in every morning!!

And, in a last little bit of Zach news. . . he's started a new eye exercise program on the computer.  Dr. Sherman, the pediatric eye specialist prescribed it.  Zach's left eye sometimes tends to drift a little especially when he's tired or not feeling well.  The doctor feels good about this correcting more and more on it's own but wanted him to do exercises five days a week for seven minutes each session.  Thankfully Zach thinks they are fun.  He gets to wear cool sunglasses and play on the computer. . . how could that NOT be fun.  Technology is amazing.  Tonight was his first exercise.  He did awesome!!  I gave him the boring game tonight and he still found it fun.  Tomorrow night he will get to play with the spaceships.  ;)

sweet little hand on my mouse!

And now a little Chase news. . . 

Chase Parker LOVES LOVES LOVES his brother.  It's more and more apparent each and every day.  He gets so excited when we go pick up Zachary from school.  Then he gets so excited when Zach gets up from his nap later.  Anything brother does Chase wants to be right there.  

But. . . it's also the other way around too!  Today when we pulled in the garage from picking up Zach from school I opened my door to get out and get the kids out and Zach said, "Momma, unbuckle me and let me love on brother before we go inside please."  Of course I obliged!  I mean, this was my chance to get raw video footage to use as blackmail later on in life!  

This is what I came up with inside the Rover inside the dark garage. . . so sweet from what you can see!

I think that about ends my day. . . I'm gonna go do what Chase Parker does best. . .

Baby Steps!

Chase Parker took his first two wobbly steps all by himself today!  So cute and so proud of my youngest.  Life is about to change again around here. . . .

He has been so lively lately.  Very loud and boisterous!  He is definitely knowing the word "no" now and, in fact, it has already taken me about 15 minutes to do this short blog so far.  He loves coming over to my keyboard when I'm typing and completely messing everything up.  He expresses his dislike when I tell him no for sure.

He's also enjoying giving an object to you and having you tell him "thank you".  For some reason he finds this so fun!  He will quickly take it back from you and wait for you to hold out your hand and ask for it again.  With a big grin he places it in your hand and awaits his "thank you."  Soooo cute!

He's learned a few more words too!  He says "choo choo" now and I think a word that must mean "brother".  Whenever I talk about brother he always says this word that sounds quite abit like it.  He's growing so fast.

He loves "talking" to the cars as they drive by.  I was at a stoplight and took this short video, trying to get him while he's talking to the cars.  He didn't do much of that but at least he waved bye bye.  (I promise the vehicle was not moving while I was videoing!)

One Of The TWO Coolest Kids Ever. . .

2011 First Day at Trinity United Methodist Preschool!

This week was back to school week!  Zachary was excited and nervous all at the same time.  When Monday rolled around he acted like he was happy to go.  He even let me take a couple of pictures without much mouthiness.

We arrived at school and he had big smiles for Mrs. Stacey and Mrs. Duclos.  He put his lunch in his cubby and off he went.  No time to hug Mom bye.  I was happy to see him happy.

When I picked him up at 1 PM he was a chatterbox.  He told me all about his day and was excited to tell me that he got a sticker AND a checkmark on the blackboard for "best behavior".  He told me about playing outside with Logan and Drew and eating lunch.  He had so much fun!  He wanted to call Daddy and Grammy and Papa and tell them all about his day too.  After his phone calls I was still asking him questions and he suddenly stopped and said, "Mom, could I get a break now?  I'm pooped!"

And, today, Wednesday he has still been excited when I pick him up.  He loves giving me details which I enjoy.  (I know that won't last long!)  Mrs. Duclos is going to make this year awesome for sure.  His classroom is so nice (will try to take pictures soon) and I love the fact that Mrs. Duclos has each child sign in themselves (as do the parents) each morning when they arrive.  It's such a neat idea! (will try to post a picture of the sign in board soon.)

Tomorrow he is taking Ted the Turtle for his first Show & Tell.  He's so excited!

When I look at my little boy now I see no trace of baby or toddlerhood.  He is all boy.  He's so grown up in the way he acts and talks now.  Kind of sad but kind of exciting.  He is such a great kid.  His Daddy and I couldn't be more proud of him.