I'm not cut out to be a children's photographer!

I could NOT and would NOT be a children's photographer!!! This is the best picture I could come up with of my two little monsters and I must have took 10 pictures! If Olivia was looking and smiling, Cooper wasn't. If Cooper was smiling, Olivia was picking her nose. ARRRRGGGHHH!!!! They can drive me bonkers in 2 seconds *easy*. Anyways, I think this one may end up being the one I use for the Christmas card this year. I know Al will appreciate that since he wasn't keen on the idea of him being in the picture. So, what do you think? Is this picture so super cute that everyone will go "aaahhh" when they get it? =)

Oh, and I have to say HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY to Louis! He turned one year old yesterday. He's growing so fast and is just a doll. Takes after his Aunt Mandy no doubt! =)

The Elf Griggs family

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=9626590310

Click on this link to see us as elves....except Al. I didn't have a picture saved as a JPEG so I had to use a random elf man. Ha ha! I'm sure he's glad he's not in it though. It's too funny.

Go Tigers!!!!

On Saturday we had Amy, Jay and Louis over for the Clemson/USC game. Go Tigers!!! It was a good game and we really enjoyed having Jay and Amy over - even if they are Carolina fans! Ha ha! I did take the opportunity to get some pics....especially of the whole family. I am bummed that I didn't make it to a game this year like I had hoped, but maybe next year!

Here's a Tiger Family pic....pretty enough to put on a Christmas card I think! Ha ha!
Mommy, Olivia and Cooper....this was pre-game. =) One day I will get a picture made where BOTH of my kids are looking at the camera.
Jay, Amy and Louis - The USC fans....notice how Olivia is in the corner cheesing it up! LOL
Little Louis.....I can't believe he'll be one in TWO days!!!!
The kids messing around at the Christmas tree. I have the hardest time keeping little hands off of it.

Many Thanks Day and Date Night!

Here are a few more pictures I took on Thanksgiving. We had a great time and got STUFFED. The food was so good though, it was hard to pass it up. I am so thankful I have such a wonderful family, wonderful parents, and wonderful in-laws. I really enjoyed spending the day with everyone.

Olivia couldn't get enough popsicles at Nana and Poppy's house. I swear this kid is going to turn into a big popsicle one day! Ha ha!

The kids playing with Poppy. They really give my poor dad a run for his money! But he loves it....he always gets down on the floor at their level and plays with them. =)

Cooper and Louis on the John Deere at Gamma's house. They are too cute together! Cooper insisted that Louis ride in the back - he didn't want him sitting up front. Ha! Louis didn't mind though, he had a ton of fun holding on and riding around. I can't believe that little Stinker will be one in a few days.

Loren and Cooper on the John Deere - They had a lot of fun riding around.

Olivia, Cooper, and Louis by Santa - I thought this turned out to be a cute picture! I'm not sure what Louis was doing though - ha ha! Cooper wasn't in the mood to get his picture made so I had to snap fast!

Anyways, Thursday was a very busy day! Friday though Al and I managed to get a baby sitter for the night and decided to meet some of our friends for dinner. It was nice and we had a great time. I think we were still home by 11pm though and went straight to bed. I woke up this morning and felt weird.....I don't mind the kids spending the night off, but I miss them in the mornings. I'm so used to them waking us up at the crack of dawn that my body just naturally wakes up early now - ha! But I am glad we had an opportunity to spend some time together. =)

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I know I've been pretty slack on my blogging, but it's been a busy month. The kids are doing great - it's nice to have a few days off to spend with the kids. I'm not sure if we'll do any shopping on Black Friday though. I'm not a fan of crazy mobs of shoppers!

Anyways, I took a few pictures this morning of the kids......I should have more later today once we go to my parents and in-laws houses. I know we are all going to be stuffed by the end of the day. No diet for me for the next two days! Ha ha!

Here's Cooper this morning......he's into this phase now where he likes to have NO clothes on at all. Luckily for us, that doesn't include the pull up - ha ha!

Olivia taking "my picture" - I must have posed for 100 pictures. She wanted "Happy Mommy", "Sad Mommy" and her favorite "ANGRY Mommy". =)
I love the smile on her face in this picture....and Cooper looks like he could run off!
My second and final attempt at a "together" picture.
What a smile baby doll!

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

30th

Go Mandy, it's your birthday.....we're going to party like it's your birthday......ok, so I don't know the exact words to that song but you get the drift! Yeap, today is my 30th birthday!!!! Woo Hoo....I feel like a grown up. Especially with two mean little monsters I do. Ha! It's been a great birthday...although I am sick from some bug but I feel much better today. Not much going on with the kids. Friday was Grandparents day at THA - Nana and Poppy went to surprise Olivia. Nana said Olivia was so happy to see them and they had a great time. Her class sang a few songs, they had lunch, and then went to the Book Fair in the library. I think Olivia conned Nana and Poppy into buying her 5 books! Can you believe that? Anyways, that's all I have for now......

Older Siblings

Olivia hates the fact that she is the oldest child. So, to solve this problem, she has created an imaginary Big Sister and an imaginary Big Brother. They sleep with her, they eat her food, they play with her AND Cooper (can't leave him out you know) and they just have a good time. Well, mostly.

Olivia has been talking about her "big sister" and "big brother" ever since they started talking about families at school. I finally broke down and asked her what their names were. Ready for this? Her big sister's name is Onya and her big brother's name is Coconut Head. Yeap, Coconut Head! LOL You have to remember that this is coming from a kid who's favorite doll in the whole wide world is named Sally Alley WaterPark! So last night Olivia told me that is mad with Coconut Head and that he had to sleep in Cooper's room since he's a boy and that her and Onya slept in her bed. Oh, Coconut Head hit her and stole her food so that's why she's mad with him....does Olivia look like *anyone* has stole food from her? LOL

Somehow the imaginary siblings took over BOTH of their beds because at some point last night, both the kids had crawled up in the bed with me and Al. *sigh* I really hate how I am losing ground on the bed situation.....I guess I'm going to have to put my foot down with Onya and Coconut Head!

My two cents

I don't like giving out advice when it comes to kids. For one - I think it makes me sound snotty and two - there are some things that I think all parents need to learn on their own. But I will give my two cents on kids and movies. Not all two year olds are ready to go see a movie in the theater.

And just because your precious little two year old will sit quietly in his/her car seat in your van and watch Brother Bear every single day, doesn't mean you'll get the same reaction in the theater. Trust me.

Al and I took Olivia and Cooper to see the Bee Movie over the weekend - it was Al's idea to take Cooper - and it was very interesting! I thought that once we got some popcorn that Cooper would munch on that and watch the movie. WRONG!!!! He yelled at the screen (I want dat! Beep Beep! My mommy!) for most of the movie. Finally towards the middle of it, he started getting sleepy and calmed down some. Olivia did great - although she did bug me by asking for a sip of drink every two seconds.

Oh, and don't try buying one big thing of popcorn for two kids - that starts fights in the middle of the movie. We learned that the hard way too.

Never, Ever, Ever.....

leave your 2 year old son alone in the kitchen for 30 seconds!!!! I walked down in the garage to put some clothes in the dryer and was MAYBE gone for less than a minute and this is how I found Cooper when I walked back in......

Do you know how *FAST* he must have been to actually get the laundry basket turned over, pushed over to the fridge and then climbed on top? I should nickname Cooper the "Flash" or something! Ha!

The whole side of his shirt was soaked with water and there was a puddle of water on the floor and on the basket.

There is no hope when they become mobile....beware!

New Hair Do

Olivia decided the other day that she wanted her hair "short" like mine so I called Sue and asked her to cut her hair. Olivia LOVES it - and let me tell you, I love it too! It's ssssooo much easier to comb in the mornings and now she can actually wear it down without it being all in her face. Honestly, the first time I saw her with it cut, she looked so much OLDER than 4 1/2 years old!

Cooper playing on the bed. He is such a rough and tumble little guy. Definitely all boy!!!
Cute self portrait of Olivia Grace....love the fake smile!
Rachel, a friend at our church, did this pumpkin at Trunk or Treat. Isn't it neat? I *wish* I could be this creative. The kids loved her pumpkin.
Proof for the grandparents that we did take the kids trick or treating. I took this at our church's Trunk or Treat. The kids really enjoy doing that every year.

So, nothing else really going on right now - I'll keep you posted with more Griggs Family Adventures!

Couldn't resist

I couldn't resist sharing some really cute pictures that my sister in law sent over (thanks Amy!!!). The kids had a great Halloween - Olivia really enjoyed going door to door and getting candy. Cooper wasn't really feeling the whole "trick or treat" deal but really got into it by the end of the night. He even cried when we went back to the house! LOL

We did have some trick or treaters before we left the house. I told the kids to be quiet and act like we weren't home but Olivia opened the door and said "sorry, we have no candy! My mommy tried to make ghosts cookies but the chocolate wouldn't melt!" So then I had to walk to the door and apologize for not having candy and explain the cookies. I had planned on making some ghosts cookies for Olivia's class but the chocolate I bought wouldn't melt so I gave up. I was really disappointed too! Anyways, it was just really funny how she said it - guess you had to be there. =)

Gamma, Louis and Cooper on the tricycle. I don't think Cooper pedaled at all!
Louis as a pumpkin for Halloween! Isn't he the cutest pumpkin? I like how Amy and Jay had to bribe him with a Kit Kat to take the picture - ha!
Cooper trying to be scary wearing a mask. He was so funny. He would run up to me and say "ggrrr" like he was trying to be scary. He's such a little clown.
Olivia sporting her "tattoos" - she was so proud of them and cried when I had to wash them off. Maybe she'll take after Mommy and get some permanent ink one day. LOL

I do have some cute pictures from Halloween that I will have to download tonight and post on here. Oh, and Olivia got her hair cut yesterday too. She looks so grown! She had it cut to her shoulders and she is so happy with it. She even told me this morning that she DID not want long hair again. I really think it's going to be much easier on her in the mornings. Woo Hoo!!! You have no idea what kind of battles we had every morning! =)

Cooper's 2 year pictures

Cooper had his 2 year pictures made at daycare the other week and Al and can't get over how GOOD they were! He even *smiled*! How stinking cute is this kid? His hair is longer in these pictures because we hadn't taken him for his hair cut yet. Dang! He's super cute with his short little hair now. Sorry for the lines in the pictures, the scanner here at work is messed up or something and Teresa couldn't get them to go away.

This is his "typical" look! LOL
Look at that smile - he is ssssoooo stinking cute!

Halloween Parties Galore!!!!

Wow, this weekend was a busy weekend for parties and the Griggs family! On Friday night, Al and I loaded up the kiddos and went to Thomas Hart's Halloween Carnival. Olivia and Cooper had sssssooo much fun! Olivia must have played every game 500 times. And let me tell you, she actually made several basket ball baskets and got the baseball in the pumpkin a few times. She's got a little arm on her for sure! Cooper was just happy to be there eating popcorn! =)

Olivia and Savannah at THA. They are in the same class and were comparing costumes. Too cute!

Olivia and Mrs. Chure - she is the best teacher EVER! We are so happy that Olivia has her because she's learning so much. Olivia kept wanting to go over to Mrs. Chure and talk to her. I tried to talk O into getting a butterfly on her face and she wouldn't do it but as soon as I told her that Mrs. Chure was doing it, she was all for it and got the cutest little butterfly on her cheek. Little Stinker!

Wonder Woman and Sully (from Monsters, Inc). He wouldn't wear the little head piece on his head so it's hard to tell who he is - ha ha. We were getting ready to go to the Griggs' family Halloween party on Saturday. The kids had fun riding the hayride provided by Uncle Adam and playing all the games too. We were beat when we got home. Although a couple of people thought Cooper was the Cookie Monster and I was like "Has anyone other than me seen Monsters, Inc??" LOL

Sully =)

The kids =)

Red Ribbon Week

It's Red Ribbon Week at Thomas Hart so you know what that means. Yeap, the school is teaching kids to say NO to drugs. Which is a good thing by all means. Of course, leave it to Olivia to find humor in any situation. My mom calls me today and tells me that on the way home yesterday she had this conversation with Olivia:

O: Nana, do you do drugs?
Nana: No, Olivia I don't do drugs.
O: Drugs are bad Nana.
Nana: Yes, I know Olivia.
O: Does my Mommy do drugs Nana?
Nana: No, Olivia.
O: Does my Daddy do drugs Nana?
Nana: NO Olivia.
O: Does Poppy do drugs Nana?
Nana: NO Olivia, no one does drugs!!!!!

How funny is that! But isn't it *wonderful* that Olivia is paying that much attention in school? I mean, at 4 years old she knows drugs are bad. I can't tell you how proud I am of her. She just cracks me up with her list of "who does drugs" she went through with my mom. And my poor mom is sick and can barely talk and she said all Olivia wanted to do was talk about how mean people do drugs, etc and all she wanted was for her to be quiet. Poor Nana! LOL

And I can not believe how Cooper's speech is just exploding! He came home yesterday and immediately said "I eat Mama, I eat" - OVER and OVER again. It was cute the first few times but by 100, it was driving me nuts. I am glad he's talking more though!

Anyways, not much going on at the Griggs household.....stay tuned for THA Halloween pics!

More fair pics

Ok, so here are some more pictures from the fair the other weekend - of course I had to include one of the cutest little nephew in the whole wide world.

Jay and Louis - Louis is the sweetest baby EVER. He was sssssooo good at the fair and enjoyed taking in all the sights. I wish there had been more the little guy could have rode on though! Maybe next year Louis!

Cooper, Aunt Amy (her first ever blog appearance), and Olivia on the "Bee" Ride. Notice how they put the smallest kid on the outside of the ride? Poor Cooper might have fallen out if that thing went fast! LOL

Loren on the pony - we ran into Adam, Tina and Loren on the way out. Too bad we didn't know they were going or they could have tagged along with us too!

We went by and looked at all the exhibits too and saw where some of the schools had done pumpkin decorating contests. This Sponge Bob pumpkin was by far Cooper's favorite!

Olivia on the Swings - she LOVED this ride. She rode it several times which really surprised everyone. We thought she would be really scared but she wasn't at all. I was so proud....the swings are one of MY favorite rides too!

I'm still battling my sinus infection but I am starting to feel a little better. My head still hurts but not quite as bad as before....which is a great improvement. I'll more pics later. =)

Sinus headaches suck

Yeap, they suck majorly! I have had a headache for over a week now and finally broke down and saw Dr. Bonnie. I really hope the meds she gave me will bring me some major relief soon. I seriously don't feel like I can move my head without being in pain. This sucks!!!!

Anyways, Thomas Hart has their annual Halloween party on Friday and I really hope I feel up to going to it by then. I'm hoping and praying my head will be better by the weekend. Olivia and Cooper are looking forward to the Halloween party - especially the pony rides they are supposed to have there. It should be a lot of fun.

Oh well, I'll blog more later - right now I need to go put my head down somewhere before it explodes. =(

Fun at the Fair

Wow, can you believe it's been over a week since my last post? Sorry guys! I was sick a few days last week and just didn't have the strength to get online and blog. =( Anyways, yesterday, Al and I took the kids to the Florence Fair. We rode out there with Jay, Amy and Louis. The kids had a really good time. There wasn't much that Cooper and Louis could really get on, but Olivia had a ball. Next year, Cooper, next year! He was so mad that Sissy could ride on rides and he was too small. Here's some pics:

Cooper and Olivia looking out the window of the helicopter ride. They LOVED it!

Cooper in the petting zoo - he kept saying that the goats were "bite biting" him. He would just laugh and laugh - it was too cute. And doesn't he look so different with his hair cut so short? Al got his hair cut on Wednesday and actually used the razor on him. He took it like a little champ! =)

Daddy and Olivia playing the fishing game. Olivia was so BAD at this game....she couldn't catch a darn thing. I think she finally snagged something thanks to Al's help and won a silly little stuffed flower. Yippie.

Now you see why we call her "Freckles" sometimes? She had just got off the Carousal and was informing me that she *would be* riding it again and this time by herself. Excuse me.

Olivia riding on the pony. We put Cooper on one and he totally freaked out. Olivia really enjoyed it though. I think Cooper probably would have liked it too if Al had been walking beside him. Maybe next year Coop!

All in all, we had a really good time. I got some cute shots of Louis and a few more of the kids I'll have to post later. We ran into Adam, Tina and Loren on our way out and I got a pic of Loren on the pony too. It was sssssooo hot on Saturday though - I actually got a little sun burnt. IN OCTOBER!!! What is up with that? Oh well, we had a great time and the kids crashed at bedtime. Gotta love that. =)

Oh yeah and Clemson won baby!!!!

Children of the Corn

Building memories.

That's what I keep telling myself that Al and I are doing by doing so-called fun things with the kids. We could have went to the Sweet Potato Festival in Darlington today (where I knew we would have tons of fun), but nnnnnoooooo....I just *had* to take them to the corn maze. We loaded up the kids and drove out to Pims Farms. I will admit - that maze was HARD. You basically walk around LOST until you come to a number on a post. Then you look at the nifty little questionnaire they give you and depending on your answer (if it's right or wrong), you either get MORE LOST or find the next number. And the questions are answers *no one* would know the frigging answers too. I mean, do you know if corn has a.) 250 b.) 1,000 or c.) 3,500 uses in the world? I had no frigging clue! Al and I basically got to where we just let Olivia lead the way. Needless to say, we didn't make it out with the Farmer coming and getting us. How pathetic are we?


Olivia in the corn.....she wasn't too thrilled about all the walking she had to do. She takes after Mommy in the "laziness" department. =)


Cooper found number 8!!!! Only two more numbers to find to get out of that heck hole! LOL Why didn't we use the emergency exit we passed 20 minutes ago????


Proof we made it out alive...the kids got to ride the "cow train" afterwards. They LOVED it.


Mommy, Cooper, and Olivia on the wagon ride around the farm. It was such a nice and pretty day and the kids loved the ride. Isn't the field behind us just so pretty and green?


Al at the beginning of the maze. He's just like all men and suck at directions! =)

Honestly, it was a lot of fun. I think they have the corn maze open at night too. I couldn't imagine going through at night......especially since we couldn't even make it out during the day. I don't think I'll be attempting a corn maze again for awhile. Ha ha!

Could be a dream.....

Or a nightmare - I'm not sure which!

Ok, so let me give you some background details.....I love the show that comes on TLC or Discovery (can't remember) called "Jon and Kate Plus 8." Basically this couple has 8 kids....a set of twin girls and then SIX boys and girls. Crazy! But, it's one of my favorite reality shows because one of the little boys (Aaden) is so stinking cute that I wish I could reach through the TV and bring him home with me.

Another important detail to know - I have crazy dreams. Just ask the ladies I work with, they can vouch for this! LOL

So, anyways, I dreamed the other night that I had six kids....3 boys and 3 girls. All the boys looked like Cooper and all the girls looked like Olivia. How funny is that? And all the Olivia were Olivia's at Cooper's age, not the age she's at now. That's weird. And to top it off, we were all at my grandma Alma's house and I was asking her to help me watch them and fix them some lunch. So she calls and orders us all pizza...another weird detail because my Grandma Alma didn't eat pizza.....EVER.

I guess it's a nice dream because it had my Grandma in it but it is still considered a nightmare because I HAD SIX KIDS!!!!! Could you imagine?

I would like to steal Aaden though. =) Three is managable right? Nah, my two are enough!

Parent/Teacher Conference

Al and I went and met Mrs. Chure for our very FIRST ever, ever parent/teacher conference. And let me tell you, Mrs. Chure had nothing but good things to say about our daughter! We are so proud of her. She told us about some of things they were learning in class and even showed us some of the class work that Olivia is doing. Oh, she showed us Olivia's "journal" and let me tell you, that was a *hoot*! Olivia had "wrote" about how she bloodied Cooper's nose and she got in trouble by me and Al was (and I quote) very angry. That's funny because Al WASN'T EVEN THERE. How stinking funny......I just can't get over how funny Olivia is. There was all kinds of stuff in that journal. Thankfully, nothing too imcrimidating. =) (I'm sure I'm spelling that word wrong...sorry, you know what I mean!) Honestly, we learned a lot about what goes on in Olivia's class. We are sssssooo impressed with Mrs. Chure and THA. And can I tell you how grown up I feel after going to a p/t conference? I don't know if I should be giddy or sad....I kind of feel a nice mixture of both. =)