Olivia the Grim Reaper.....

Olivia is fascinated with death these days. I'm not really sure why, but every time I turn around I hear stuff like this:

O: "Mommy, what are cemeteries for?"
Me: *sigh* "That's where people are buried after they die."
O: "Are you going to die?"
Me: "Yes Olivia....probably from answering all your questions."
O: "Do you want me and Cooper to visit you at the cemetery?"
Me: "Yes Olivia."
O: "Do you want me to bring you flowers? And do you want Daddy to come?"
This conversation just goes on and on and on.......I WISH I could beat the person that explained to Olivia what a cemetery was in the first place!

Or I get this:
O: "Mommy, who's going to live in our house after we die?"
Me: *startled look* "What in the world...."
O: "Who's going to live in our house when we are all killed and die?"
OOOOOKKKKKK.....now, it's that just A LITTLE freaky? I really wish Olivia would hurry up and get out of this phase. And of course, if we hear anything on tv (and you would not believe how many cartoons and movies and tv shows talk about death), then all this starts over. Oh, and I really hate that cartoon "The Grim Adventurers of Billy and Mandy" on Cartoon Network! I can't turn the channel fast enough when I see that show on. UGH!!!!

So usually when she starts talking about death, the conversation EVENTUALLY leads to the fact that my grandma's and Al's grandma's are in heaven and then I have to answer 500 questions about what Heaven is like, etc. So, I found a book online called "What is Heaven Like" and it's written for kids Olivia's age. I bought it and can't wait for it to get here. Maybe, just maybe this will settle all her questions about death and Heaven. If not, I'm calling Preacher Dave and letting him have a go at it! The kid is totally freaking me out! :)

Hair cutting

Al and I had the dreaded task of taking Cooper to get his hair cut on Tuesday night. I will admit that Coop did MUCH better this time than he did last time. I have no idea how Sue was able to cut his hair last time because he was constantly trying to jump out of my arms. So, Al took over this go round and kept him still.....well, stiller than last time anyways! Olivia, of course, had to supervise the hair cut and kept telling Cooper "you better be still Coop or Sue will cut all your hair off." Gee thanks Olivia, like that doesn't make him any more nervous. Ha ha!

A before shot...his hair was ssssoooo long and really needed to be cut. His hair grows so fast these days!


I love this pic - it's like he was screaming "HELP ME MOMMY, HELP ME!"


Almost done! He looks so grown and so much like a little boy with his hair all neat and trim now. I can't believe my baby boy is going to be 2 years old soon. Hurts my heart!


Olivia at the beauty shop......those big brown eyes keep her out of sssooo much trouble! :)


All in all, I have to say it was a rather pleasant experience. I think Cooper is getting use to the fact that he has to get his hair cut every now and then. Plus, the sucker I stuffed in his mouth helped A LOT! :)

Just some pics.....

Here's a pic of my nephew Louis. Isn't he just a doll? He is such a happy baby and so fun to be around. I can't wait for him to start walking and running around behind Olivia, Cooper and Loren. :)



Cooper playing putt putt. He had more fun watching the ducks than he did playing.


On another note, my friends Rachel and Todd welcomed their newest addition on July 22nd. Landon Thomas P. was 6lbs 5 ozs (I think). I went by and visited with them yesterday and he's the cutest little thing. Mom and Baby are doing great. I'm so happy for them and I know they're going to have so much fun with their new little one!

Better Watch Those Words!

So apparently between the 18th of July and the 21st of July, we entered the "watch what you say around the Firstborn" stage. Olivia is into repeating everything....no wait, I take that back....she only repeats the things YOU DO NOT want her too!

Here's what she did to me yesterday. Tina and Adam came over to my MIL's house with Loren. As soon as Tina walked in Olivia asks "Do you spank Loren? Because my Mommy says you don't!" Gee, thanks Olivia....no "Hey Aunt Tina", no "Where's Loren, I can't wait to play with her", but "My Mommy says...." UGH!!!! And of course my husband is never around to back me up when Olivia does stuff like this. I think he knows she's about to embarrass me and runs. Or puts her up to it, I haven't figured it out yet. *mean look in Al's direction*

No, she won't repeat anything nice I say and honestly I'm almost positive I DIDN'T say what she said I said (does that make sense?). But can I really say anything that will get my foot out of my mouth on that one? :)

Hurricane Cooper

Doesn't Olivia look so grown riding the airplane ride by herself? She had so much fun!



Cooper and Al at the beach - I love how they are both looking in the opposite direction. :)


So anyways, why do my children (Cooper in particular) like to run wild in the mornings and make my house a complete disaster area??? You would have thought a hurricane or tornado came through my house this morning. By the time I walked out of the house, there were shoes (Al's, Coop's, and Olivia's) all thrown in the hallway and kitchen. There were movies and DVD's all on the floor in the living room and his blanket was thrown on my bedroom floor. I literally had to clean up real quick this morning before I even left the house. It's like he gets bored or something. I think from now on I'm going to cut on some Playhouse Disney and let him watch TV. Maybe that will work....we'll see! And looks like shaggy puppy! Man, Cooper really needs a haircut bad but after my last experience with him at the beauty shop (yes, my little man goes to a beauty shop), I'm not so sure I want to go through with that again. UGH! Maybe I'll let Al or my mom take him for me. :)

Non Stop Weekend Partying!

Man, I feel like we have been going non stop this weekend. Thursday started VBS (vacation Bible school for you heathens out there - ha ha) at church so of course Al and I took the kids to that. Somehow I got suckered into helping out in the nursery. I guess it wasn't too bad since there was three woman working and only 6 small ones. Friday, however, was a completely different story. It was only me and the other lady and both the "small" babies cried constantly and three of the kids had nasty, runny diapers. YUCK!!!! Saturday we finished off VBS and then Al and I went out with my friend Michele and her husband. We had a blast. We definitely have to start hanging out w/people again. I get so wrapped up in the kids lives that I forget to have one of my own sometimes. Crazy!

Today we rode down to the beach to see Al's parents and Mary and Neil. We weren't going to go at first because I wasn't feeling great, but I sucked it up and went. We had a pretty good time. The kids enjoy the beach no matter what so I can't really complain. I just wish I hadn't ate a bunch of sand thanks to my niece. GGGGRRRRR.....

Anyways, it's now 9pm on Sunday night and I'm finally at a resting point. Yay! I don't look forward to work tomorrow though! :(

Getting close

Can you believe that Olivia will be starting Thomas Hart in a MONTH?? I can't! I can already tell you that this month will fly by and before I know it, I'll be driving my baby....my firstborn, to her first day of 4K. *sniffle* I WANT OLIVIA AND COOPER TO STAY BABIES FOREVER!!!!!!

Oh, at church on Sunday, we burned our mortgage! Yeap, someone donated some money and we (South Hartsville Baptist) were able to pay off the "new" sanctuary. How cool is that? And, Preacher Dave celebrates his 20th anniversary as pastor of our church. I'm so thankful that Al and I decided to become members and raise our kids there. Gives me that "feel good" feeling inside. :)

Fun in the Sun!

Vacation was FAB-U-LOUS!!!! I wish we were still at the beach. Although, it is really nice to be home and in my own bed. Our week at the beach was jammed packed with fun. Let's see...how did our week go....

Saturday - we checked in around 2pm and had to head to the store for some groceries. Olivia made us forget half of the food we needed because she was about to DIE to get to the ocean. So, back to the beach house we went and she put on her suit and we headed down to the sand. That's when I took this pic of her - too cute right? After she got to play on the beach for awhile, she was A-OK.

Sunday - everyone packed up and we all went out on the beach. WELL....Nana got sun burnt, Al got sun burnt and Poppy got sun burnt. Me and the kids were the only ones that didn't. LOL - I tell you....I am a *firm* believer in some sun screen. Just ask Cooper, you can't even tell he's been at the beach for a week.

Monday - Al and I took the kids to the aquarium. RIP OFF!!!!! Not only was it packed, but it wasn't worth the $50 odd dollars it costs to get in. Maybe if I had seen something instead of hundreds of kids running around unsupervised, I'd feel differently.

Tuesday - we went to the pool and the back to the beach. Fun! Tuesday night we went to the SeaFare restaurant which has a real LIVE mermaid. Olivia was in awe of her. It was really cute and the food was pretty good too! Later we went and play putt putt. Cooper was more interested in the ducks in the pond. Olivia got 18 holes in one - she's going to be the next Tiger Woods. Our whole game of 18 holes took about 30 minutes....fastest I've ever played putt putt! LOL

Wednesday - went to the pool and then to the beach to watch the fireworks. Both Cooper and Olivia were scared of them so we ended up riding around in the golf cart watching them that way. What weenies!

Thursday - spent another day out on the beach. Later in the afternoon we went back to Broadway at the beach and let the kids ride some rides. Cooper loved the Ferris wheel type ride and Olivia rode the carousal a few times. Then, Olivia made a doll at "Friends 2 B Made" and named her Holly. Holly is naked now by the way....strange kid. Cooper made a T-Rex at "Build a Dino" and named him CJ. Cooper Junior - funny! Oh, and Nana and Poppy got Olivia an Ariel shirt made and Cooper a Spongebob shirt made with their names on it. Cute!

Friday - we spent the whole frigging day out on the beach. Seriously, I didn't think we would ever LEAVE. At one point I thought Poppy had forgotten all about us. LOL It was fun though and the kids enjoyed their last full day at the ocean.

Saturday - packed up and headed home! Woo hoo! I really enjoyed my vacation but it's ssssooo nice to be back in Hartsville and in my own bed. :)


Cooper taking Al's shoe to throw it in the ocean. :)


Family pic!!!!! This was taken the night of the 4th - the fireworks hadn't started yet so the kids were playing on the playground.