The Mommy Talks

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: