Le Tour de iphone

The recent birthday girl in our downtown rose garden after a picnic in the park

The girls in front of the Christmas tree in our little downtown park

Sisters in the rose garden on HJ's birthday; we MAY have smelled every flower in the garden!

The older sister trying on the recent birthday girl's birthday present

We had a couple of brown patches in the front yard, so I set up the sprinkler to let the girls play and water the grass at the same time.

What does little brother do while the girls play in the sprinkler?

He jumps in the jumparoo and hangs out on a blanket with me.

Oui. Oui.

One night I heard a lot of noise in the girls' room. I heard the opening and closing of the closet doors. Later we went in to check and see what was going on. I turned on the lights to take the picture of this scene:

Each girl had moved her "little sister" and bed right next to her bed.

And baby had been tucked in, too.

SJ just had his first grocery shopping cart experience out of the baby carrier.

Easter slip and slide fun:

Our final Easter egg masterpieces:

Yesterday, the girls reenacted several scenes from a current favorite movie of theirs:

Can you name it?

Brain Dump

Blah. I've been an adult lately, not doing the things I WANT to do, but doing the things I HAVE to do.

So, two weeks ago I got my high blood pressure taken care of. Check it off the list. All it took was some water pills that helped me quickly lose 4 pounds!

Next on the docket this week was taking care of my teeth. Remember THIS POST from almost a year ago when I cracked my front tooth?

Well. It's not good. It's really not good. I'm more than likely going to have the tooth extracted and replaced with an implant rather than getting a crown. It sounds painful. And expensive.

That's not all.

I have another tooth that needs a root canal, probably at the expense of that freakish softball accident 20 years ago. It died a slow death. After the root canal, they'll need to put a crown on it. It sounds painful. And expensive.

That's not all.

I need to have a gum treatment done because of my pockets and a little recession. It sounds painful. And expensive. I know because I've had it done before.

That's not all.

I need to have ELEVEN fillings. ELEVEN, people!

If you need me, I'll be at the dentist for the next three-four months.

Oh, look! A pretty picture!

(flowers in our cute, cute downtown)

What else is going on? After spending two days this week at two different dentists' offices, I also spent two different days sitting at Firestone having work done on my car. At least I had cute company! SJ was so well-behaved while we waited for two hours one day and three hours the next.

Maybe I should have let him cry in the waiting room to speed things up? I'll bring earplugs and try that next time!

In other bad/weird news, there were some terrible storms through Central Florida last week, and lots of rain. We lost a few limbs and a LOT of Spanish moss, but the worst thing was seeing this guy in the backyard:

It's a six-foot long yellow rat snake. My first real sighting besides a small black baby snake and a few flattened dead in the road.

He was likely making his way down to the small orange grove in our neighborhood (I know, weird? for there to be an orange grove in our neighborhood) to find some dinner. BECAUSE IN FLORIDA, orange groves attract RATS.

There's another thing I'm learning about here in the Sunshine State!

Despite all the JUNK going on in my life right now (and in my mouth), I'm feeling really good about where we are (on many levels) and how well our little family is doing. I'm looking for the joy. I'm seeking wisdom. AND I'll have some very exciting news soon about what's been going on in our spiritual life lately.

As soon as I get out of the dentist's chair...

Rub-a-dub-dub...

Rub-a-dub-dub... finish that line!

Back From Wherever

I'm exhausted and overwhelmed.

In short, I'm having some health issues and some mental issues. Not sure which is causing which! I kid, I kid.

Really, my blood pressure is STILL high, and if you'll remember the reason sweet, SJ joined our family a few weeks early, you'll know that I've been battling this problem for a time now.

Exercise and diet have not helped so far. I think it is a matter of stress and genetics.

So I went to the hospital today, and I've got a doctor's appointment early on Thursday morning. Please pray for me to calm down, relax and let some of the unimportant things GO.

In other news, the kids are great. I'm slowly making the shift from saying "the girls" to "the kids." We survived our 9-hour drive to Atlanta and back, with the help of Nana on our return trip. She's keeping me sane and ironing everything that will stay still enough to be pressed. God, love her!

I've got SO many posts stored up in my head, but I think many of them are falling under the "unimportant things" category that I'm battling right now.

In the meantime, we've got some cuties:

The girls at Nana and Papa's house on St. Patrick's Day.

The boy on our picnic today.

Gotta Get the Real Camera Out Again

The camera phone just isn't cutting it, but it has captured a few fun moments recently.

This Monday was President's Day, so the girls did not have school. We went to the Science Center with some friends from church.

The Curious George exhibit just opened, so we got to explore!

Our new friends, Ezra and Mia

HJ's portrait of The Daddy:

AE's portrait of The Daddy:

Back on Valentine's Day:

Tuesday just after a bath:

Wednesday, our friends Brodie and Dylan came to visit from Georgia. So glad they got to stop by and see our new home and play before they headed over to the coast to catch a cruise. Lucky dogs are on the NEW Disney ship!

Our four technologically gifted children!

Five is becoming very interesting!

Yesterday SJ and I spent some quality time together after accompanying AE to a field trip at Krispy Kreme. I resisted the leftover doughnuts.

We came home and played.

His outfit is a hand-me-down from a sweet friend. It is a size 12 months.

SJ is working on some teeth.

He hates the Bumbo, still.

Random post, but I just got to get back in the saddle again! Have a great weekend!

Freedom Rock

Growing up we always drove to Florida for vacation. We once even drove from Tennessee to the state of Washington for a family reunion in Quilcene, Washington at my great aunt and uncle's lake house on Dabob Bay. That iconic trip through National Parks to the serene beauty of that area was our most memorable family experience. And we swung through Graceland on our way back. I'm going to Graceland, Graceland, Memphis, Tennessee! We listened to my mom's favorite, Paul Simon often too.

On long road trips, we listened to radio stations that played that kind of music along with The Who, Iron Butterfly, and Pink Floyd.

As a preteen/teenage girl, you can imagine my dismay. All I wanted to hear was New Kids on the Block and Janet Jackson. Poison. Any hair band or pop sensation. Tiffany. Yes, Tiffany.

In case you were born 10 years after me, there is an iconic commercial for a compilation of rock songs from the 60s and 70s. It always reminds me of my dad and brother.

Here's what I'm talking about:

We also used to buy answering machine messages. Yes, we used to use an answering machine, record clever outgoing messages on it and retrieve those messages only when we got home. To our land line.

Crickets.

My favorite, "Nobody's HOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMME! Nobody's HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMME!"

So, this post is what happens when my mind wanders. Have a happy weekend!

Real Quick, Again

My blood pressure was up a bit at my doctor's appointment, but not of too much concern today. I felt a little better today, but I need to take it easy tomorrow.

The girls LOVED ballet with Miss Gina. They learned first and second positions. They learned how to plie. They learned how to flutter like a butterfly and hop over a bunny. Can you guess which one is more graceful? The answer might surprise you.

HJ.

AE has passion, but not as much...balance.

Papa has been hard at work again today. He and The Daddy finished assembling the play set yesterday. Today the rubber much and border is down, thanks to Papa. The girls got a small taste of the final product just before bedtime.

At the "lemonade stand" (Note to self: buy lemons at HJ's request)

The mulch is recycled tires. SOFT!

Thank you, Daddy and Papa!

Another note: they put their leotards back on after nap time. Totally addicted!

Just Real Quick

• I still don't feel well. As a matter of fact, I'm getting worse. I'm more uncomfortable than I've ever been. It's hot. I've got heartburn. There are only 3 pounds between my husband and me now. He's still losing, and I'm still gaining. I've got a very active boy living with his heels in constant motion up in my ribcage. He definitely hasn't dropped.

• I've got a doctor's appointment tomorrow. Pray my blood pressure is still in check.

• Our construction project has passed all inspections and we're in the process of moving everything in. I'll post pictures when I start to feel better.

• My father-in-law has been here since Saturday to help with the move, the play set construction and landscaping. He also served as our babysitter last Saturday so The Daddy and I could go to an event for his work.

• The girls start an after-school ballet program tomorrow. They couldn't be more excited!

I took this picture last week. I love the concentration HJ is showing while trying to get Noah placed atop the ark.

AE is going wild in the background with Jessie, who was found wedged between her bed and the wall.

There she goes!

AE asked to get Noah and his ark out of the closet. Her sole purpose: to see if there was a horse in the set for Jessie to ride. Nope. Not in this set!

I love how much HJ is learning right now. I'm seeing the spark we saw when AE started preschool and as a former teacher, THIS MAKES ME HAPPY!

Thanks for listening. I promise, as soon as I feel better and get my underwear up off the floor, I'll take pictures and post them!

After Apple Picking...

This mama has had enough of apple picking.

I am overtired.

I have had too much!

*500 nerd points if you can name the American poet who inspired this post!

What Day Is It?

Summertime brings the most asked question, "What day is it?" to moms all over.

I am no different.

This time next week, I will mutter those words for sure. This week, however, we'll be getting up every morning with a purpose because we've still got swim lessons through Thursday.

HJ in the locker at the Y, post-swim lesson

Last week, we got our new stroller. The girls love sitting side-by-side (strange, I know) because our previous double stroller was tandem, meaning front-to-back. I've already taken more walks in four days with them than I think I have since we moved here in the old stroller.

See happy faces?

While AE was out on her date with The Daddy, HJ and I went to a favorite haunt Chick-fil-A after creating masterpieces with Play-Doh. She had mama's sole attention at her favorite restaurant and only took 45 minutes to eat her ONE chicken strip.

After taking her to the potty, we headed into the stinky, germ garden we call "the playground." HJ took a private moment up in the play structure and slid down the slide to announce, "I have poopie in my panties."

I left them in the bathroom after flushing the evidence, and I thankfully had an extra pull-up in my purse. You can understand, we are still struggling with that portion of potty training. Yuck.

After clean-up and more playtime, we enjoyed ice cream and milkshakes. By the time we finished those, we had been there about two hours. They love us there. It was a fabulous date if you asked HJ, but for me, sigh. Next year, hopefully HJ will get to go to the ball as well.

Don't you love this picture of my feet?

Yesterday I ran out for a couple of hours taking pictures of possible furniture pieces for our new master bedroom. I found this one once I got home!

Well, the kids are napping. I'm about to do the same. More renovation updates to come this week!