The Mommy Talks

The full album:



Ava's 1st photography work:

Sometime on Thursday, Ava decided to give herself a haircut. Personally, I think she could have come up with a better way to tell me that she wanted bangs. On the bright side, with a little repair work, it might actually look good:

Nathaniel also got butchered, but his was done by a professional:

Ava had her Christmas dance recital this afternoon. Sadly, I bumped the setting on my camera for the on-stage portion and messed the pictures up. Oh, the joys of a new camera! All in all, she did pretty well...though she did spend a good bit of time nervously licking her lips.

The full album:


This evening, we took the kids to see the lights at Life University. They enjoyed the show. I looked back and found them holding hands...how cute is that??

This past wednesday, Ava had a Christmas sing-a-long at her school:

Here is the full album:

Isn't it time that we did something to end circumcision? It's an antiquated practice that has no place in our modern society. It serves no medical purpose and I can't believe that it hasn't already been outlawed. Honestly, it's not a parent's "personal choice", it's a man's. Please help:

Vote for Intactivism as an Idea for Change in the new era of president Obama. Stopping routine infant circumcision: We need votes.

Click on the blue box on the left to vote.

Try not to laugh too hard...but...I took back yet another TV. I know, I'm a freak. But the good news is that we are finally really, really pleased with it. I had to buy a new piece of furniture to put it on b/c it is too big for the cabinet. But I got a great deal on a clearance floor item. We plan to get new living room furniture a few years down the road--you know, after the kids stop tearing stuff up. So I figured there was no point in getting a nice TV stand now. But, back to the TV. We scrapped the LCD altogether and after seeing (and being jealous of) my dad's 50 inch Plasma, that's what we settled on. Football looks AMAZING. I actually with that I'd been home to watch Georgia vs Georgia Tech...and I don't generally watch football. Saturday evening, we went to Home Depot to pick out a Christmas Tree. Oh, did I forget to mention that I got a new camera?!! I'm so excited about it. Check out these pics of Nathaniel. I don't even know what I'm doing yet and they are already leaps and bounds better than my point and shoot...

Today, we spent all day preparing for Christmas:

Anyone going shopping tomorrow? Perhaps I should. I won a whopping $27 in the lottery on a scratch off ticket (which I never buy) when I went out to get the newspaper this morning. Go me! Can't complain about that--I never win anything! So between that and the $18 that I got back at Children's Place yesterday when I noticed that some items that I got a couple of weeks ago were less expensive. I've ALMOST made money this holiday. But you'd have to ignore the new tv and Christmas gifts that I bought. Speaking of the new TV. We (or rather I) decided to take it back and get a less expensive model. We now have the Samsung LN40A500--in case you're curious. Then my dad went and bought a 50 inch plasma. Mind you, he paid less AND the picture is better. Hmph. I'd take back my TV yet again, but I can't fit a 50" in my entertainment cabinet and the smallest they make is a 42" which would be about an inch or so too big for my cabinet. Then we'd be getting into the cost of a new piece of furniture to sit the thing on and frankly, ug. I'm not going to think about the TV any more.

Moving on, Thanksgiving was good. We all got together at my parents house. Ava only ate turkey and Nathaniel boycotted dinner altogether. He finally settled on a cup of mandarin oranges and some graham crackers. There is certainly no accounting for taste, but there is little point in arguing with a 19 month old.

I'm considering braving the crowds for a bit of shopping tomorrow. I may limit it to K Mart since they have a few things on Ava's list. I also have my eye on a Blu Ray player from WalMart, but I think that's going to be pretty in demand and WalMart seems like a nightmare unless I happen to get up really early. We shall see.

Ava is awaiting the arrival of her Elf from Santa. Have you heard of Elf on a Shelf? I haven't read the book, but the gist is that Santa sends out an elf (or two) to keep an eye on the kids in the weeks preceeding Christmas. They look out for things like beating on your brother or sassing your mom. I suppose they keep track of the nice things too ;) Each night, they wisk their report up to the north pole while you are sleeping--then in the morning (if mom and dad aren't too lazy) you'll find them in wacky places throughout the house. I heard about this from some of the mom's at Ava's dance class and it sounded like fun...so I guess we have a new tradition. I thought the elf that came with the elf on a shelf kit was a little spooky looking, so I got these from Amazon.com instead. Link to the Elf

Here are the Elves that I got:




And here is the kit elf taking a trip to Wal-Mart:


Ok, when you take him to WalMart, he does look pretty cute. ;)

Last night, we went out with my sister and brother in law. Along with a couple of friends. We went to go see Bodies, The Exhibition. It was pretty cool, but I'm not sure if I'd have been pleased to have spent $50 to go. We got complimentary tickets courtesy of another friend. Thanks! Afterwards, we went out for dinner and drinks at No Mas Cantina. We had a really great time.

The kids had a mostly uneventful weekend. They both got flu shots on thursday and Nathaniel got his 18 month vax. Ava was sick most of the weekend and Nathaniel started running a fever today. I'm not sure that I'll bet going with the flu shot next year. Ava has had it once before and this is Nathaniel's first time. I'm generally not a huge believer in this shot, but we had a flu scare last year and with Ava in school, I felt like it might be a good idea. Who knows.

We did it! We finally got an HDTV. We splurged a bit more than we intended, but then again, what else is new.



So far, we really love it. Mark got to watch the Falcons game in HD on our Samsung LN40A650. Tonight, I get to see how yummy Gale Harold looks in HD. Yippee!

I'm officially more tan in November than I was in July. Now, mind you, to the layman's eye, it doesn't look like much...but, to the fellow pasty white person, it is quite noticeable. Ok, who am I fooling...I now look like Mark looks in the winter. Mark, who, by the way is so tan that he has a white mark under his wedding ring. I'm not at all certain how long I'd have to spend in the sun to make that happen, but I'm guessing years.

It's Thursday...two more days of vacation. We are thinking of driving back Friday after dinner rather than Saturday morning. This way, we waste the night rather than the day and the kids should, in theory, sleep most of the way. What do you think?

Enough of my chatter, I'm guessing that you want to hear about vacation. Perhaps you don't, but you'll humor me anyway. Tuesday, we went to Fort De Soto to see Dolphins. There are some pictures in the album from the previous entry. We weren't certain that we'd see dolphins, but we did. All of us except for Ava. I guess they moved to fast for her and she wasn't looking in the right spot. I did get a couple of pictures though. The Dolphin viewing spot was basically a very large fishing pier. There were some serious fisherman there. These people had coolers to store their loot and all sorts of fishing gear. We saw a Heron get snagged in some fishing line. That was a bit sad, but it did manage to break free. After naps, we went to play putt-putt or mini-golf, if you prefer:



Wednesday, we spent the whole day at the beach--the kids playing in the sand and surf. This is where I got my tan...errr burn. Whatever, it will fade to tan! ;) Stephanie may be even more burned than I am though, she actually has some pretty sweet marks on her face from her sunglasses. After the beach, Stephanie, Steven & Jack headed back home to Orlando. We went up to the boardwalk for pizza and called it a night.

So, for now, that's about it from sunny Florida. Oh, by the way, it's no longer cold, the weather is just perfect!

I've added an album that will be updated as more and more pictures become available, so keep checking...



The ride down took 9 hours, though without 2 kids in tow, it easily could have taken only 7 and a half. The kids were really pretty good, but we did stop pretty frequently. As soon as we arrived, we took a look around the room and headed down for the kid's first look at the ocean. They absolutely loved it...



...Sunday, I made a quick trip to the grocery store and then we headed down to the beach for the morning. The kids had fun playing in the sand and surf. We picked up a few things for dinner and grilled out with Stephanie, Steven, & Jack. Ava and Nathaniel both played pretty shy with them, but are starting to come around a bit. Ava is definitely homesick and though she loves the beach, keeps talking about wanting to go home.

Monday, we went down to the pool, first thing...which, thankfully was heated b/c it's c-c-c-cold! After the pool, we headed down to the beach again and the weather started to warm up. We saw a cool Heron and a one-legged sea gull that the kids enjoyed. We headed up for lunch, napped, and went to the boardwalk for ice cream. Lastly, we went out to dinner with Stephanie, Steven & Jack. Tomorrow, we are planning to go to a pier where we may be able to see some dolphins up close. Ava should get a kick out of that.

Our family is headed for the beach in the morning. We are going to meet our friends, Stephanie, Steven & Jack in Indian Shores, FL--just outside of Tampa. Ava is totally psyched. I'm sure that I'll have a ton of pictures and may even be able to post some while we are there if the condo has wireless internet access. We'll see.

Today we took the kids up to Yahoo Farm since we didn't get to go to the pumpkin patch prior to Halloween due to the fact that they were sick EVERY weekend in October. We were the only people there! It was awesome! The kids had a fantastic time, especially Nathaniel. I couldn't believe how much he enjoyed it. Here are some choice pictures. There is a link to the full album of photos below these.

There's more!

The kids had a blast trick or treating last night. Ava went as a "Princess Pirate" and Nathaniel was Batman. I think one of the coolest things is that Ava designed the face for the pumpkin. She drew it out on paper and Daddy transferred it onto the pumpkin. Ava was still a little timid this year when it came to trick or treating, but all in all a little braver--it sure would help if people kept their dogs up (some kids, like Ava, are so afraid). Nathaniel mostly wanted to ride in the wagon, but did make it up to a few houses. I'm sure he'll enjoy Halloween more next year.

Lots of friends arrived for the event: Rachel, Trevor, Kyle, Lilly, Emma, & Payton are featured on Halloween night.

Below is the full album from Halloween it also includes pictures from Ava's Halloween party at school:

Nathaniel had his well check today. I'm happy to report that his ears are already looking better. He's being referred out for a hearing check and a speech evaluation because I'm concerned that he really isn't talking much at all. I'll keep you posted. Otherwise, he's doing quite well:

Height: 35 inches (>97%)
Weight: 26 lbs 15 oz (50-75%)

When they first measured him, they got 35 3/4. Which I guess would have made him a freak so they remeasured. I figure he's somewhere between the two figures and really is a VERY tall boy.

Well, the weekend got off to a bad start when I could tell that I was getting sick on Friday. By Saturday morning, I was feeling downright terrible. I skipped taking Ava to her dance class (Daddy took her). We went to a Halloween party at the neighbor's Saturday night. At about 6 pm, we noticed that Nathaniel was running a fever. Sunday afternoon, his fever was over 104--and he was just plain unhappy. I took him up to Children's and his ear infection is back with a vengence--double this time. And the doc said that it looked real bad, worse in the left than the right. So, he's on Augmentin. If that doesn't work, he'll have to get some sort of antibiotic shot (Rocephin). Blah, he has his "well" visit for 18 months on Wednesday. We should know by then if it's clearing up. Poor little guy...you should have seen him, he was so pathetic.

Meanwhile, here's a cute video of Ava "introducing" Hannah Montana and Demi Lovato. Nathaniel thinks it's pretty funny.

Ava got to preview her Halloween costume this weekend at a birthday/Halloween party. She's a girly pirate. Here she is practicing her big line...

Farrah and I met up for lunch with a friend of ours, Stephanie, that we haven't seen in years. It was so much fun. She has a son that's just two months older than Ava! Here are some pictures of the event.

Here are some pictures that my friend Brandi took at my sister's wedding.

Nathaniel:

Ava & Hannah playing in the rose petals:

Ava and my neice Hannah:

...L.A. Lady" sings at least 2 people on a Chartered bus headed back to Charlotte from The Daniel Stowe Botanical Gardens. I mean, really, how cool would it have been to get a bus full of drunken people to have an Almost Famous moment. Alas, only David T. (my sister's boyfriend from high school) and I would sing. So, it goes without saying that we had a great time at the wedding of Stephanie and Bryan. And it also goes without saying that I was more than a little tipsy...I mean, come on, I was singing...and people could actually hear me. Oh my!

We loved Charlotte. What an adorable city. It's small, clean, nicely manicured. I've already started planning our new life there ;) Now, I just have to convice my parents and Elizabeth & Todd. Hmmm.

Side bar...
Anyone watching Desperate Houswives? Teri Hatcher's new man, Gale Harold?!! YUM!

Actually, the first for our family. My dad noticed on wednesday that he had ungodly foul breath. I didn't think much of it at first, but his foul odor persisted and since he'd taken that fall last friday, I was concerned that his scrape under his nose might be infected. Since we are leaving for Charlotte in the morning, I took him to Childen's after dinner. They found that he and an infected right ear and tested him for strep, which thankfully was negative. So he's getting antibiotics for the first time and should be on the mend. This might also explain his sleepless night this week...hmmm.

We had a great time at the show and I'll post some pictures a bit later. I'm slightly hung over, but not too bad. The show itself was a little more jambandesque than I prefer--made it difficult to sing along, which I love to do at concerts. Of what I knew, since I don't know the new album, this is a list of what they played:

Perfect Blue Buildings
A Long December
Goodnight Elisabeth
Mr. Jones
Hanging Around
Rain King
Walkaways

Rain King was really cool, they did a bluegrass intro courtesy of Augustana. Throughout, the song mingled with The Beatles' (and sometimes Joe Cocker's) "A Little Help from My Friends" (which personally reminds me of Kevin and Winnie ;)) and Mr. Jones. I loved the repetition of "beautiful" which has always been a Counting Crows theme. All in all, it was a good show. I only wish it had been longer, and perhaps a bit less of the ultra-popular songs.

It's 5:30 am. I went to bed at about 11:45. Nathaniel woke up at 1:45...and never went back to sleep. I'm reasonably sure the he hates me. I tried holding him, putting him in bed with me and Ava. Putting him in bed with Mark. Giving him a bottle. Letting him hang out in the living room or awhile. Giving him orange juice. Tylenol. The whole nine yards. Finally, I decided to let him cry it out-- He decided that he could crawl out of his crib. Fabulous. Thank GOD that I heard the thud, b/c I'd left his door open and the gate at the top of the stairs was NOT closed. He just finished smashing bananas onto the table. Then tried crawling on top of the table. And I am ready to kill myself. Guess I'm off to get ready for work. Joy!

Nathaniel did a faceplant onto the pavement just before I got home from work on Friday. Apparently, he tripped over the threshold of the backdoor, fell down that step, and caught his foot on the mat. To add insult to injury, he also has a cold so the sore under his nose is getting lots of nasty snot all over it. Ug.