Asleep on the floor

On Saturday morning, Al and I packed up the kids and went to get our family portrait done. I can only say what everyone who reads this blog already knows - my kids acted NUTS. :) I'm so glad I don't have expectations anymore. Ha ha! Cooper wasn't feeling the whole "family picture" thing and whined and cried; Olivia REFUSED to smile for the poor photographer (and he tried sssooooo hard to get a crack out of her) and they just were bad, bad, bad. The guy *claims* he got a few really pics but we'll see. We go back on the 28th to look at the proofs. Cross your fingers! Oh, and to top it off, Al and I decided to go for the "casual" look in our pic....I wore jeans and nice shirt, Al wore khakis and a shirt and Cooper wore a cute little outfit that he would wear to church. WEELLLLLL....Olivia was not wearing anything casual. She INSISTED on wearing a nice fancy red and white polka dot dress. Leave it to Olivia to upstage everyone else........

This is how I found Cooper Saturday afternoon....he had fallen asleep on the floor watching Spongebob Squarepants......guess that hour long photo session took a lot out of the little guy!


How sweet is this? This is my favorite time of day!


Olivia after church this afternoon. She loves dresses!

Pics from this afternoon....

Al being silly tonight.....I love this guy!
Priceless pic.....guess this is why they invented Little Swimmers, huh? :)
Cooper liked shooting himself with the water hose.

Here are a few of the kids in the pool. Olivia really should have been a fish as much as she loves the water.

Awesome Mommy Moment

I did something yesterday that I don't normally do........

I stopped caring! Yeap, you read that right, I said I stopped caring! Ok, so it's not what you think so let me explain.....yesterday I took Olivia and Cooper outside after they got home so that Al could put the carrier on the back of the bicycle. We were having a ball playing in the backyard - Olivia on the swing and Cooper shooting Layla with the water hose. Of course, after a few minutes of hearing Cooper giggle (and it's sssooo contagious), Olivia decided SHE wanted to spray our poor dog with water. And then the war started! Don't worry, I'm getting to the "not caring anymore part!" So, I intervene and tell them both to give ME the water hose. After a threat of getting Big Daddy, Olivia caved and handed it over. SUDDENLY IT HIT ME!!! WHY DID I CARE THAT THEY WERE PLAYING WITH THE WATER HOSE AND TORMENTING THE DOG?

So, I did what any good mother would have done.....I soaked both my babies down with the water hose - ha ha! And they LOVED it....Cooper kept saying "Do it, Do it" and Olivia would laugh so hard that it made me smile. Granted in the back of head I was thinking "man, they are going to be a pain to clean up" but I just pushed that thought to the side and enjoyed my kids being KIDS. It was wonderful. We probably stayed outside for a good 10 minutes of me squirting them down with the water hose. I even made poor little Cooper trip over his own feet - ha ha! It was a good time and definitely a wonderful MOMMY MOMENT.

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.

Leaving for the beach

Olivia is so lucky she's cute....this kid can drive me bonkers!!!!


Seriously, he doesn't have a green nose...Cooper made me mess up and hit something on my photo software and I couldn't get it to go away. But it's still a cute pic of him right?

My vacation is just hours away! It's not even 10am and I'm packed and ready to go! Man, I never knew packing for myself and two kids could be so hard. And when did my kids get so many clothes? And talk about stressful - it's hard as heck to pack a suitcase when your almost 2 year old keeps climbing and hiding in the suitcase. Olivia didn't help any either because I told her to go pick out some toys and I found every toy she owned on her bed. UGH. I really feel like I'll be drinking a few cold ones this week. My kids are KRAZY with a capital K. As I type this Cooper is on the table laying on his belly looking at the screen as I putter away. Great, he just got drool on my screen. *sigh* I've given up on having anything nice for the next 18 years. Oh well.

To make matters worst, Olivia has now joined in and keeps asking
"Can I play a game?"
"No."
"Can I play a game?"
"No."
"Can I play a game?"
"UUUUGGGHHH!!!!NO NO NO NO!"

They are after me.....please know that if I go insane.

Hey Paula

I love the Bravo channel - and I can't wait for tomorrow's premiere of "Hey Paula!" It should be HILARIOUS!!! That woman is nuts to begin with so I can't wait to see how crazy she acts on her own reality show.

Hey - isn't this the FIRST blog that didn't involve the kids? Wow!

OOOHHHH Daddy!

I think I've gone too far with the whole "Olivia, if you don't be good, the police will get you and put you in jail" trick I've been playing on my daughter for some time now. You have to admit though, it does work in crucial times to get Olivia Grace to behave herself. But now, like all my other brilliant plans, it's beginning to back fire on me. Now, every time *I* do something wrong, or Al does something wrong - you can hear Olivia say "OOOOHHHHH.....the police is going to get you!" It was funny at first. Not so much now.

Case in point....on the way home from daycare the other day, Al apparently forgot (that's his EXCUSE anyways) to put on his seat belt. Olivia let us drive all the way from Darlington to Hartsville without uttering a word about it. And looking back, I know *she* knew. Right as passed her Gramma's house Olivia howled "OOOOHHH Daddy! The police is going to put you in jail!" Al laughed and then she said (with her hand covering her ear) "Hello Police? Yes, can you come get my Daddy? He doesn't have his seat belt on." I almost died laughing! I asked Olivia what she was doing and she looked at me and said "Calling the Police - duh!"

Yes, Duh.

Countdown has started!

Only FIVE more days until we leave for the beach!!!! I am so excited, I can't wait. I'm probably going to be totally worthless at work this week because all I can think about is sitting out on the beach with the babies. :)

Mama Van!

Cooper is talking up a storm these days - and I couldn't be any happier! :) He has the sweetest, most darling voice you'll ever hear. And when he says "NAW (no)", he sounds just like that Stewie character off Mad TV. LOL Oh, and yes, Al and I still haven't broken his dependacy on the paci. We are still working on it, but it's hard. Al has got to where he's hiding his paci until it's bed time and then giving it to him. Last night was KILLER. Cooper kept climbing up on his changing table (I use it as a book shelf type deal now, I'm very recycle friendly - ha ha) and looking for his paci. When he couldn't find it, he would look at me, point to his changing table and whine. Poor little guy!

OOOOHHHH - and the point of the title is because the other day when Al and I picked the kids up from school, I was carrying Cooper and when I got to the van, he pointed and said "Mama Van - Yay!" It was too stinking cute! God I love my kids!

Cooper might be my sweetheart, but Olivia is my "no-holds barred, no fear" kid! She loves to try ANYTHING! This picture is case in point. When we went to the May Fly Air Show, they had all kinds of things the kids could play on. WEEELLL...this slide was HUGE. If *I* had been 4 years old, I would have been terrified! Not Olivia Grace. She zoned in on it and wanted to slide down it. And she did - about 10 times. They had these big jumpee things the kids could strap in and jump real high in the air, and she was so upset because she wasn't big enough to do it and she really wanted too. You can see a kid doing in the back ground of the picture.

We're going to the water slide when we go to the beach on the 30th (woo-hoo) and I can't wait because I know Olivia and Cooper are going to have a great time. Guess what? Cooper got in the pool on Tuesday! Can you believe that? And LOVED it. I am so happy because I was really worried he wasn't going to enjoy the beach. I guess he's finally come around.....or just can't take this crazy heat. Yay for the first day of summer!

Go Away Mommy!

How cute is Cooper? This pic is a little old, but he still looks the same. He had fallen and had a horrible bruise on his forehead. I tell you, this kid will give me a heart attack before he turns 18, you watch! Anyways, Cooper is talking up a storm these days! Just over the weekend he learned "do it", "mowmower" (lawn mower) and my personal favorite "go away". Ha ha! I was fixing my hair in the bathroom and Cooper came in there and I told him to get out and he looked at me and said "go way Mama!" - it was too funny! He's such a clown......you can definitely tell he's the baby of the family. :)



Here's a pic of Olivia in action at her dance recital! She is the one on the very end. I was surprised that pic came out this good considering I was sitting pretty far away. I love how it focused so well on that lady's big head in front of me....UGH!!!! I really need to take a class on how to use my digital and 35MM camera PROPERLY. Maybe I should read that nifty little thing called the "owners manual"?

We had a pretty relaxing weekend. Saturday we went and had seafood with Al's parents. We went to Shiloh and if you've ever been there, you know it's in the middle of BFE! But it was good and the kids actually did ok. I was really expecting them to throw food, be loud, etc. and neither of them really did all that. I was proud. :) Maybe they realize how much they embarrass me and Al? Yeah right!

Dentist Appointment

Olivia went to the dentist for the VERY FIRST TIME EVER this morning! Can you believe that? I was so nervous, that I made Al take her. :) Of course, I couldn't find my digital camera and I really wanted Al to take some pictures of her in the chair. He did end up taking one on his cell phone and texted it to me. It's so stinking cute and I wish I could post it on here! Oh well!

Anyways, Al said she did great. She let the dental assistant clean her teeth and even FLOSS. UGH, I fight with that kid every morning and night and she gets to floss. NO FAIR!!!! Ha ha! She got to pick out toothpaste and a new toothbrush. Of course she chose a Spongebob one since Cooper has a Spongebob one. Remember, monkey see, monkey do around my house......
Oh, and she had no cavities at all! Yay!!! I am so proud of her. She goes back in six months which will be in December. Wow, can you believe that? This year is flying by.

I can't believe how grown up my little girl is getting.....before I know it, it'll be her wedding day! *sniffle* Of course, she says she's living with me forever and ever.....and that's ok with me!

It's a first!

So, Cooper said his first real "sentence" on Sunday! Me, Al and Cooper went to Wal-Mart to look at some grills for Father's Day. Al walked down an isle, and I continued pushing Cooper in the buggy. (Yes, in the South, it's a BUGGY) He looked past me on the right, then the left and looked at me said "Where Dada?"

It was so cute! And the first time he's really ever put two words together. Since then, I've heard the little Stinker say "Tank you" (how sweet right?) a million times.

Only two weeks until our vacation at the beach!!!!

Air Show and Dance Pics

Ok, so I'm slack when comes to putting up pictures. Here are some pictures I took at the Air Show we went to a few weekends ago. I've also included a picture of Olivia in her dance costume. She was so stinking cute!