Last weekend of June

The weekend was fairly uneventful. The husband took the older two boys to a work party on Saturday. I opted to stay home with Baby T as I was not in the mood to try to keep up with him for several hours. The party was at this person's home on the ocean (now do you see why I didn't want to go). The boys were able to go out on a boat a couple of times. The first time the husband took them. The second time other adults took them out. They went out a little further than the husband thought they would go and they were going fast on the way back. E got scared. I was not excited to hear about the second boat trip! The boys did have a great time at the party and met some new friends and were able to fish a little. J caught a fish.

We also had a sitter for a few hours so that we could drive out to the country to pick up landscaping plans we had done for our backyard. We hope to be able to get the landscaping done early in the fall.

I am not sure if you have ever heard of flag lots, but it is very common in our area. Basically, the builder tries to use every piece of property he can to squeeze houses in a community. Our community is one main street with two fairly large streets off of the main street. You will see houses on the main street but behind a house could be a cluster of three homes. The homes have one long driveway down to each of their own driveways. Hard to imagine! We live on the main road but have a house (on a flag lot behind us) that basically sits at our fence in the back. Our goal is to block our view of that house and one of the houses next to us to get a little privacy.

It is hard to believe that we are at the end of June already. We have lots going on in July so should be a fun month.

It's Friday

It is a hot day here today. I took the boys to the pool at the gym today. It has two really big slides, one is covered and the other one is open. They would not go down the one that was covered because they have heard you can flip in there. Not sure where they got that from. I am now hoping that no one gets hand, foot and mouth or pink eye as there have been cases reported at the child watch within the last few days. I had the boys all wash their hands before and after their stay this morning.


A few pictures and stories to share. E's hair is growing out a bit. Truth is that we just haven't gotten it cut in a long time. I do like his hair to be a little longer. He has gotten into the habit in the morning and after his bath to comb his hair. He takes the brush and combs it all over to the side. Then he runs his hands through it so that all the hairs follow suit. He does not like anyone to mess up the hair. It is very cute to watch him look at himself in the mirror. This is what the finished product looks like.

J actually need a hair cut badly but I wanted to see what it would look like if we grew it out. He wants a number 2! Today I have another story about him. Although part of no formal group, J is living the boy scout motto, "Be Prepared". One night as I was tucking him in he tells me he has packed his backpack just in case there is a fire. He didn't want to lose things that were important to him. The bag was stuffed. We have since talked with him and he has unloaded the bag. He is also very scared of a few things. I believe he may have inherited this trait from someone (A huge apology to my sister whom my Mom made hold my hand at night because I was scared. She slept right next to me in a trundle bed...couldn't be much closer than that). One of the things he doesn't like is thunderstorms. The first rumble of thunder and J has the flashlight in hand ready to go.

Baby T is trying so hard to figure out how to go down the stairs. He practices on the steps leading into the sunroom. Imagine the clip below being played over and over. That is my boys..he will get it soon. Problem is he thinks he can walk down the step from the upstairs. The boys is fearless.

Hope you have a great weekend.

The good life

The boys and I had a pool party/lunch for some friends today. My pool boy (that would be my husband...who is the best husband ever) got the pool cleaned out for us yesterday. Partly because I don't think he wants me near the equipment anymore. I moved one of the values because I thought it was in the wrong position and it ended up cracking the seal on our pipes. The real pool people came to my rescue and made me feel better as they do repairs like this all the time. What they didn't tell me was that is would be $250 to fix. OUCH! That is behind us and I now know that it is better to just leave the equipment alone.

Back to the party. We had about 13 kids here and 6 adults. It was a fun time. The moms are very nice! One of the moms stayed after to help me get everything cleaned up. She also has a pool and finds it offensive when people come over and then leave without ever helping.

On a different note. At the end of the year, the boys received push up books. The books contain worksheets that review skills from Kindergarten so that they don't lose them over the summer. E & J completed their books within a span of 2 days. The books consisted of 52 pages of work. Yesterday, I took them to Barnes and Nobles so that they could use their gift cards they received for the birthday (thanks Aunt Jennifer). Of course, I couldn't leave with out each of them picking out 2 Scooby Doo books but they managed to get 2 other books also. I purchased them each a math and reading workbook for 1st grade. They have been working on those. E went straight to the reading book and J went for the math book. Very typical.

I will have pictures of the boys out soon.

Lucky....at least for today

I sat outside the boys' bathroom this evening folding laundry and listening to them talk while they bathed. They are both fascinated (read scared) of tornadoes. They were trying to figure out if a tornado could chop your leg off. J thinks that tornadoes hit Texas and E wishes we were back in NC (I guess maybe tornadoes can't form there). The conversation went on and on and I don't remember all of what they said but it reinforces how lucky we are to have two very well behaved little boys. They are not angels all of the time and they certainly like to test their limits, but overall we can't complain.

The boys' had a friend over today. The friend came over because his Mom called and wanted E to go over to play with her son (I will name him evil one). For reasons that I don't want to get into, E is not allowed to play down there. Evil one was fairly well behaved while he was here. His Mom came down to get him and stayed to chat a while. By the way, I like her a lot, she is very nice. She said something to make Evil one mad and he went up to her and started punching her in the arm and told her he hated her. Let me remind you he is only 6 years old. She did not have the reaction I would have had if it were one of my boys doing that to me. Basically, there was not a consequence for his action. Wow......I hope none of my boys will ever had to find out what will happen to them if they were to act in such a manner.

Tonight I will be sure to say an extra prayer and hope that we continue to be blessed. Baby T is still young, but hopefully will follow his brothers' footsteps in terms of behavior.

Green Day

Today I have decided we are going to make a few steps to become a little "greener". I have read article after article about people making a few changes that can make a huge difference. I will do my research and let you know what we will be doing to help out mother earth. There are certain things we won't do and I am sure there are things we will work up to. Don't worry I will not preach to you and tell you that you have to make any changes, but I will challenge you to at least think about it. My husband doesn't know about this yet I guess he will when he reads my post.

A trip back.....

Now that we have been in Maryland for 7 months we thought it was time to take a trip back to North Carolina. We stayed with our friends that lived across the street from us. They have 3 girls, triplets, 9 months younger than my twins. We have known them since 2004, I think. Our kids have been really good friends. It was nice getting to spend time with them before they move to South Carolina.

We also saw our friend down the street. She has a son that is a little older than E&J and a baby who is 2 months younger than baby T. I met her through triplet mom. We were pregnant at the same time, so we were able to share what we were going through. The babies were so cute together.

It was a little weird staying across the street from where we lived. The house looked much the same but definitely a little quieter over there now. Everything else looked the same as when we left. We were able to see a few other neighbors but missed others as they were out of town. To everyone else who didn't even know we were in town, sorry we were not able to see you. It was a quick trip with a long drive, we couldn't pile the kids in the car the entire time we were there.

I am glad we went back. We probably won't visit again anytime soon. I feel like the trip validates that our life up in Maryland is ok. I do get asked about how we are doing up here. My response is always "it's fine". The truth is that it is fine. We are starting to meet more people and are getting more involved. We do miss certain aspects of NC, but this area has so much to offer this family as a whole. So we will cherish all of our memories from NC and look forward to making so many more in Maryland.

Rant

There are some things that I really just don't understand. The husband left a job with a big company for another job in Maryland with a big company. The ex-company was given 30 days notice. This was very nice on the husband's part. He stayed and helped finish all open projects and then with the transition. The other day I get notice in the mail from the ex-company that he was overpaid by over $800 and he would need to reimburse the company back. The husband calls the 800# on the form and they could not tell him why he owed the money. Um, if you send out a note and have a number to call don't you think you should have details regarding the matter? They refer him to payroll. He finds out that he worked through 10/26, however, his end date was not entered on the system until 10/29. Hm.....sounds like you have a problem. Did I tell you he gave 30 days notice? Is it our problem that Mr. boss didn't put in the end date until after it passed? In my opinion this is a bunch of malarkey. Will we pay the bill? Yes, probably, but I am not rushing any checks out to them. I may have to wait until I get another letter with a more urgent message on it.

Got it!

What exactly did I get you ask? That would be the stomach bug the boys have had. I think stomach bugs are the worst sickness ever. Needless to say I was up most of the night/morning Tuesday. Luckily, we have a great babysitter who agreed to come watch the little ones. I only got out of bed 2 times yesterday. My time was spent watching TV and dozing off every once in a while. I feel human again today!

The husband went to see a hand specialist yesterday for his mallet finger. The specialist said this was the 7th case he had seen that day. He now has a finger splint, but it is plastic and can slide on and off. He will wear it for 6 weeks and then have to wear it only at night for another 2 weeks. We hope by the end that his finger will be straight.

The Weekend

Ta Da.....

And it was done before the party on Saturday. I surely don't give the husband enough credit. I am proud to say I was his assistant for most of the process.

The party ended up being very nice on Saturday. We had an end time on the invitation just in case anyone got the thought they could spend the entire day with us. The party extended beyond the set time but all was well.

We have enjoyed the pool in back yard. It is nice to be able to swim whenever we desire without having to pack up and leave the house. Guess what this is?

Yes, that would be the husband throwing baby T in the water. I thought it may have been a bit much for the little guy, but he always came up with a smile on his face.

E & J are having fun with the pool!

Father's day was a nice day for the husband. He got to play golf in the morning and was showered with gifts from the boys when he got home. A little work around the house and a bit of play in the pool. The day ended on a sour note. The husband went to catch baby T so he wouldn't fall in the pool and ended up hurting his index finger. In fact, he couldn't straighten his finger. For those of you who don't know I play a doctor in real life. I did a little research and determined he had mallet finger. This is what mallet finger looks like:

Note: This is not the husband's hand.

Luckily, he has not broken the bone, just torn a tendon (the tendon on the fingernail side of the finger). Six weeks in a little finger splint should do the trick, that is, of course, if he doesn't have to get a pin put in (ouch)!

Friday

Summer officially begins for us today at about 12:30. Today is the last day of school which lets out early. E did not go to school today because he picked up a stomach bug. He seems so prone to getting exposed to these bugs and they usually involve the stomach and puking. J woke up this morning and heard the obscene noise coming from the bathroom and ran down to see if E was sick. He quickly ran to the pantry where his candy is stashed and picked out something to give his brother. It is moments like this that just make my heart melt. J can be very stubborn but he can also be the sweetest little boy.

Baby T is another story. He so sweet and loving but into everything. We all have a hard time understanding why he has to put everything in his mouth. No joking, if it is within reach he will chew on it. In the bathroom he gets to the soap boxes. He uses his teeth to open the box and then takes the soap out. He then proceeds to bite the soap bar. I am going to have to think of another punishment for talking back when he gets older because I actually think he likes the taste of soap. He loves his big brothers and so wants to be like them. He gets the bat and tennis racket out with a ball. He doesn't really know what to do with them, but it is funny to watch him walk around with them in his hand.

I know you want to ask about the swingset progress. It is coming along. The husband was cruising along when he realized he lost a t-nut. Don't ask me what that is but it is vital to attach the rooftop to the play house. He really has most of it completed but not sure if it will totally be done by tomorrow. What is tomorrow you ask? The end of season baseball party at our house. We will swim and have lunch with about 12 kids and 6 or so adults.

Pictures will be posted soon.

Progress

A lot of progress was made on the playset this past weekend. It seems hard to believe especially since we had fairly full days. We are having a party for the boys' baseball team here this weekend. Are you wondering if the playset will be up in time? So am I. The husband will have to work on it every night when he gets home from work.

It has been really nice to have the pool in the backyard, especially since it has been blazing hot here for the past week. We have a few more days of the very hot humid air and then we will drop back down to the high 80s. I did find out that Baby T has no fear of the pool. Friday he fell in head first (don't worry people he had on a swim vest one that will float him on his back and I was standing next to him) in the water. As I pulled him out he did not cough up water (so he held his breath) and he did not cry. I think the swim vest will be a permanent part of his everyday wear.

The countdown has started, the last day of school is Friday.

Boys

I have two boys that have graduated from Kindergarten! I am thinking about graduations and they graduated from Preschool last year, do we have graduations after each grade??? I hope not. Anyway, E&J will be heading to first grade in the fall. It is amazing how much they learned this year. Speaking of what they learned in Kindergarten, each child in the class was given the opportunity to write what they have learned in Kindergarten. Here is what my children wrote:

E - In Kindergarten I learned to not run in lunch and don't go under the table and don't throw food. (quoted but corrected for spelling)

J - In Kindergarten I learned how to tell the time. I learned how the big hand has to be on the twelve. (again corrected for spelling)

As you know they both love to play baseball. Here is a picture of them in their uniforms.

Backyard

Despite all of the rain we received in May and boy did we get a ton, the work in our backyard is finally complete. Pavers were put down to enlarge the deck space. We decided to add a seat wall and put in a fire pit. We also had to have a french drain put in due to a drainage problem in the back. I am not a huge fan of the rocks but it is starting to grow on me. The company did a great job and they were the neatest workers I have ever seen. When we look out back it feels very inviting. Hmm...I am thinking party. Here are a few pictures of the finished product.








The corner on the right hand side of the pictures will be home to the new swingset. The two trees will be moved elsewhere or they may just not make it. Stayed tune as the weekend project is to finish the swingset.

Full Moon

Our neighborhood is very nice with lots of great neighbors. I experienced my first encounter with the "rotten" kids yesterday afternoon. As most of you know we love to spend time outside, especially now that the weather is nice. As I look down the street I see 2 boys (think 7th graders) with their bathing suits down exposing their backside. Such inappropriate behavior needed to be discussed. As I walk up to them (they are 3 houses down) I am telling them to pull their pants up. The two boys ran and I waited for them to come back and explained their inappropriate behavior, the terrible example they are to my kids and that it was against the law. My last piece of advice was to keep their pants up. As I was walking back down I see my kids just looking at what was going on. I was still fuming at the lack of respect these boys had. I got my neighbor, who warned me about these kids, and explained what happened. The two of us waited for Dad to get home and bombarded him with the days events. Not sure that anything will really happen to these two boys but I feel we did our part.
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On another note, our backyard is complete minus the swingset that Jason is in the process of erecting. Pictures will be posted soon.