MN Visitors

I feel like it's been forever since I blogged.  I guess we've been busy around here!

Every time I've wanted to start, I've been overwhelmed with the number of pictures I have.  In addition, I'm at a loss as to what to do with Google Reader going away in July.  I guess I'll be moving to BlogLovin' like everyone else?  I don't know enough about these things to make an intelligent decision and I don't exactly have time to read up on all of it with 2 little ones who need my attention.

I have to start somewhere, so we'll start with our visitors last week.

Last weekend, my sister & nephew Jacob came to town for a few days.  It's always fun to have them and we were on the go constantly.  Which was AWESOME.  It was so nice having extra hands to take the kids out & about!  My sister was a trooper, she's 18 weeks pregnant and you'd never know.  Well, other than her cravings for Taco Bell & fruit pizza, lol!

Eating their cereal at the kid's table

She also rocks because she brought along my long-lost love:

You can't buy Diet Sunkist Lemonade anywhere around here.  I've been checking ever since we moved here.  I even contacted Sunkist directly!  Apparently there's not a big demand for it in this area.  I bet that's because they don't know what they're missing!  So now i have 3.5 cases all to myself!!

We spent one afternoon at the Aquarium.  Morgan is really getting into it now.

We spent another afternoon at my Sister-in-Law's horse farm.  She has a big equestrian training barn.  I was a little nervous that Morgan would be terrified.  She surprised me, she fell in LOVE with the ho-sees!

 Like, kissing them...petting them...wanting to sit on each and every one and NOT get down!

 After she'd get off one, she'd find the next one and say "How 'Bout....that one!"

 Another day we went up to the Kenwood Mall for a little shopping.  The Easter Bunny was there and entertained the kids for a few minutes.   I didn't get their pictures taken because they were a little dirty and not dressed for the occasion.  Now, of course, I'm kicking myself.  There were no lines that afternoon and we were RIGHT THERE.

 We caved in to a certain Preggo's craving for fruit pizza - it actually turned out pretty good!

We had fun, but their visit went by way too fast.  My sister found out the day after she returned home that her baby is a BOY!  I've already begun shopping ; )

Friday Confessions

Time for Friday Confessions!

I confess, I am really annoyed lately that when I make important adult phone calls, I end up having to leave a message.  I wait for a return call and *nothing*.  This has happened twice now.  Did I mention I hate using the phone to call people?  So when I put on my big girl pants and finally do it, I'd like to get something accomplished.  2 weeks and still waiting, grrr.

I confess:  I'm way past ready for spring & summer.  So I'm dressing in neon.  All the time.  From here on out.  I'll be sporting lots of green too up til St. Patty's day because apparently I'm in elementary school.

No, this isn't an "I'm ENGAGED!" pic, lol.  It's "Look how much green I can wear at once!" pic.

 I confess I"m a little disappointed in my dot skimmers from GAP.  I should know by now that "Skimmers" means short-ankle length.  Which translates to "Make Tammy look short, fat & stumpy".  So I paired them with boots and they were fine.  But I'm afraid to wear them with flats.

I confess, I spent WAY too much money at Target in January.  Like, I was ashamed when I tallied it all up.  Husband asked me to slow my roll.  So I did - and in February I spent 75% less!  So I celebrated yesterday by taking the kids to Target to prove that I can control myself.

 I confess, I bribed Morgan with a Monster Cookie from Target.  Works every time.  I've NEVER bought a cookie from there until about 2 months ago.  Now it's a bad habit, errr, I mean, tradition.  She's actually really good in the store - they both are.  They just love to look at everything and I think they enjoy the change of scenery.

Joey rode in the cart for the first time!  He wouldn't look at me for a pic though.  I have 5 of these where his head is turned.

I confess:  I don't put shoes on Joey.  He just kicks them off and I'm SO TIRED of picking them up in public.  They always end up in my purse anyway.

I confess, I bought JoJo his own pair of sunnies yesterday because he keeps grabbing Morgan's and I felt so guilty that he didn't have his OWN pair.  And he doesn't need pink glittery sunnies anyways.  So now he has his own.

 I confess, I kiss my son way too much (because he can't get away from me yet like the 2 year old can!).

I confess, when Joey makes his fussing face (like above), I think it's cute.  And sometimes funny.  I'm mean.

I confess, I jacked my neck doing some Pilates move on Wednesday.  It's actually more of a strengthening move that did me in, but I hate it all the same.  And now I can't turn my head.  It's a bad time to be out of Flexeril friends.  We missed Kindermusik today because I can barely stand to lift the kiddos.  My husband won't give me any drugs either.  Thanks Doctor.  Ethics Schmethics.

I confess, due to said injury, no housework is getting done and it's pretty ugly around here.

Joey 8 Months

Woo-eeey!  Time is flying.  My lil Lovebug is 8 months old.  And I have to say, this is such a super fun stage (but then I love most everything about every age so far!)

This month's photo shoot was SO challenging.  He was constantly flipping & rolling and army crawling all over the place.  Made it hard to get even one decent shot.  I took the pics right after his nap because I knew he'd be in a great mood then.  This kid almost always wakes up happy!

The only big thing to report this month is he is ALMOST crawling.  He can army crawl and spin himself around and around.  He's even trying to pull up on things/hold on to the furniture when standing.  He seems to have incredibly strong legs!  He also likes to "walk" with us holding his hands up.  It's crazy to me because he just seems to little and too young!

The other thing happening this month is his case of Baby Eczema.  It's mostly on his hands, chin and bottom.  We've been putting Aveeno Eczema cream and steroid cream on it and it seems to be healing.  We found out at the Dr. that he is a BIG eater, lol!  The doc didn't think I was overfeeding him though, so that's a relief.

Sleepyhead

 Bedtime is right around 7:30 or 8:00pm.  He had a 2 week period where he was waking throughout the night and not going back down easily (aka, without a bottle), but that seems to have gone away now.  Maybe it was a growth spurt.  At any rate, he's sleeping now til about 7:00am and I can handle that!  He takes 3 naps per day.

This is the position he was in most of the time, rocking, trying to crawl and then face-diving.

On the move!

"Oh Peek-A-Boo Mama!"

 He loves scooting around in his walker now that he's figured out how to be mobile.  He loves grabbing anything he get his hands on.  He also loves playing Peek-A-Boo and listening to Music.  

This one is my favorite.  Sweet Little Jo-Jo.

 This week, for the first time, when our babysitter showed up, he looked at me and started crying.  I think he realized her being here meant I was leaving.  Broke my heart!!  But I'm told he did awesome when we went out of town last weekend.  Grandma described him as a "Dream Baby", lol! 

Tried to get a sibling picture.  It went well for about 20 seconds until she pushed him off the chair.  Luckily I was right there to catch him.

 Every night, I put him to bed and we have our special quiet time.  Usually, it's just the 2 of us.  Unless Daddy isn't home from work yet, then Morgan's in his room running around like maniac.  Joey gets really distracted by her and it's hard for him to settle down if she's getting all crazy.  So when it's just the 2 of us, I will sing to him and I swear he's humming along with me.  We've also heard him say "Dada, Nana, Ni-Ni, and No".

What would a post be without a Morgan picture?

 He is a pretty easy baby, I have to admit!  And so darn kissable.  And smiley.  We just love him SO SO MUCH!!

Our Trip to Tennessee

Well, we survived our trip to Gatlinburg.  I had been SO anxious all week that I wouldn't do anything but worry about -- and miss -- MoJo.  I was very preoccupied all week with getting everything in order for my MIL to come stay with the kids; that meant making sure we were all stocked up on food, all clothing & linens were washed & put away, plenty of clean bottles, diaper genies empty, etc.  And of course, my 3-page dissertation on how to care for my children ; )  I wish I was kidding, but it really was 3 pages!!

Kissin on my girl before we left.

Everything went off without a hitch.  My MIL sent me updates, lots of videos & pics and that put my Mama mind at ease.  We debated calling to Face Time with Morgan because we didn't know if it would upset her.  We finally just did it on Saturday and she was SO funny!  Of course she kept wanting to swipe the screen all over so we got disconnected about 7 times ; )  I was told they BOTH slept through the night and never woke earlier than 7am.  

I was worried the first night when my MIL told me Morgan picked "Llama Llama Misses Mama" for her first book.  But then again, she is obsessed with those books and we read them every day and every night, ha!

One area where I was a complete failure?  Packing for ME.  In all the preparation for the kiddos, I managed to forget my BATHING SUIT, my phone charger, and some other little things.  When we left, I forgot a fair amount of items at the cabin, despite walking back through the rooms several times (the Hubs' swim trunks hanging on the back of the bathroom door, my favorite down pillow, our beverages in the refrigerator.)  But that's the worst of it.

I wish I could report we did SUPER FUN & EXCITING things, but mostly?  We rested and just chilled out.  Sat in the hot tub every night and talked over a few beers.  Got a massage & a pedicure.  Went out to eat a few times and made a few meals at the cabin.  Slept in.  Took naps.  Caught up on my blogs.  Read magazines.  It. Was. GLORIOUS!

I only took a few pictures, but I have to say Joe really knocked it out of the park with his selection of the cabin.  He wouldn't tell me where we were staying - just kept saying it was a surprise.  And boy, was it amazing!

This is looking out the Master Bedroom, which is also a game room/family area on the top level.  The hot tub was outside on this top deck.

Master bedroom

Master Bath, complete with heart-shaped jacuzzi.   Oh, how my inner-80's child was taken back to when I wished I could sit in one!  We skipped this and opted to sit in the hot tub outside instead.

The game area, there was an air hockey table and an old school video arcade game, complete with free Donkey Kong, Pac-Man, etc.  All the games from our childhood, lol!  We played a lot of air hockey one night until I got fed up with the scoring system.  

The view I woke up to every morning.

It was snowy & cloudy there most of our stay, but still a stunning view out of our windows.

We tried fried green tomatoes for the first time.  This version had balsamic vinegar & goat cheese on it.  YUMMO!

One night we went out to eat at one of those Hibachi Grills - you know, where they seat you next to people in a square and then the chef cooks up all the food at once.  Anyway, the only people sitting at our table were an older couple (probably in their 50's) who were there with their 4-year old daughter and she had just competed in a Toddler Pageant.

Imagine my questions for this couple!  I didn't hold back either.  I always try to never be disrespectful, but sometimes I have no filter.  

I asked how long she had been competing and the dad told me since she was 9 months old.  (?!)  I asked "What in the world do they judge a 9-month old on????"  He said, very excitedly, "Oooh - hair - best eyes - smile - personality!"

REALLY?  Personality?

I'm pretty certain the words "You're kidding me!" flew out of my mouth before I could stop them.

I tried not to judge.

OK.  No I didn't.

I asked what her talent was.  He told me "Runway Modeling."  I could hardly contain myself.  Now I'm not intending a big debate on whether or not pageants are good or bad.  But Runway Modeling?  A "Talent"?

All judging aside, the beautiful little girl was passed out cold from her busy day and you could tell her parents were just so proud of her.  I know pageants are a big deal in the south - along with Fried Green Tomatoes - so I tried to take in all the culture ; )

The day we left it cleared up and the sun came out.  

We stayed in Pigeon Forge.  We did a little shopping (the Outlet Mall found me!).  On Saturday we drove to Gatlinburg, just a few miles down the road and visited a few touristy places.  It was suprisingly crowded for being off-season.  But I guess there's the big ski resort, so maybe that's why.  We went up in the Tram, which took us 2800 feet up into the mountains.  The older I get, the more afraid of heights I become.  I didn't get any pictures because they cram 120 people onto this thing and it was beyond crowded!

Ready to go home and see my babies!

The drive home took an eternity.  Doesn't it always seem to take forever to get home?

Today has been back to business as usual.  After running an errand, we decided to meet Daddy for lunch at the hospital since he had a light morning.  Morgan was practically running down the hall to meet him, screaming and laughing "Daddy!  Daddy Hospital!"  It was SO cute!  And I'm sure it made Daddy feel some love since she's been a little stingy with the lovin' towards him these days!

They were so cute, he held her close talking to her for a few minutes and she didn't want to let go.

Ready for a nap.

It's great to be home - I really needed & enjoyed that little R&R.  I missed the littles like crazy though - we've been spending lots of time rolling around, playing on the floor.  Nothing like kissing those sweet little faces!