building a fort... ain't what it used to be

My sweet hubby came from the era of "imagination" play, you know, before technology took over! I'm just kidding, he's not even 40 yet, but he was one of those little boys that was outside playing on Saturday morning long before most people were coherent and vertical. From the moment his little footed pajama's hit the ground, he was already thinking of what he was going to build, shoot, or play that day.

It was not uncommon for him to spend every minute of daylight outside shooting bb guns, fishing, riding his bike, starting a pick up baseball game with his neighborhood buddies, or building what else... a fort. There was none of this sitting in front of the computer for hours on end, or playing Wii all day (even if it is Wii Fit), certainly not watching Barney over and over again. If he was up, he was out!

His mom and I have often laughed about the fact that he lived in a life jacket his entire childhood because he grew up on the lake and he was always outside playing. Therefore, to ease her mind, that was the trade off. I realized this (and got a lot of laughs out of it) when we got married and were looking through old pictures to put in our wedding video and in nearly every picture, he had a life jacket on!

Now, you see kids riding bikes everyday decked out in the latest helmet, elbow and knee pads... no, Jimmy was on his little BMX sporting a life preserver! I think they still have the nasty old thing... memories you just can't throw away. Now that I'm the "mom" and we live on the creek, I can already envision T running around the yard with his on (sorry son)... funny how that happens isn't it?

So while I was doing my Christmas shopping at Learning Express Toys (LOVE that store) I found a Build-A-Fort kit that comes with 2 camouflage pieces of fabric, rope for setting up the fort, 6 giant clips, 6 suction cups, and 2 glow wands (no fort would be complete without a glow wand you know). I put it under the tree with Trace and Jimmy's name on it. I just knew it would bring smiles to my 2 kiddos faces on Christmas morning.

Ohhh, pictures can be so deceiving!
Ours looked NOTHING like the one on the box...but do they ever?

Now, this was bought partially for selfish reasons, because back in the "good ole days" before things like Build-A-Fort kits, kids used what else... mom's sheets and blankets to create their great hideaways. Let's be honest, once the fort had lost it's luster and appeal, who would be responsible for cleaning, folding, and putting away all of these linens... me, myself, and I.

Jimmy informed me in the process of building our fort the other night that you really need bed linens, broomsticks, boxes, and books (the 4 b's) to make the ideal fort. But we drudged ahead using the $25 "cheater kit" I purchased for Christmas... ho ho ho!

We started out in the bonus room, but quickly realized there wasn't enough furniture in there to tie everything to. So we moved it to Trace's room. We used his bed, dresser, and bookcase to anchor the sides since the "large" fabric pieces they claimed on the box were really about the size of his crib mattress sheet and the "giant" suction cups wouldn't stick to the walls, wood, or window. The ropes they included were not long enough to actually use for much, but hey... at least the glow sticks worked! As it turns out, our "fort" was more like a tarp strung pitifully between Trace's bed and bookcase with no sides, back or flap for a door.

While I'm sure it was quite a let down for my dear husband, luckily it was quite sufficient for a 2-year-old who now likes to read his bedtime stories under his tarp and went to bed that night with his little yellow glow stick clutched in his hand.

This just proves once again that some things are better left alone, and that $25 might buy you a nice "kit" but to really build a fort, you must stick to the oldies but goodies... the 4 b's.



A congratulatory hug for Daddy for all of his hard work!

**Just a side note** Being the paranoid, obsessive compulsive mother that I am, I had to go untie the string that attached to T's crib while he slept (of course, making the fort/tarp cave in on one side) for fear that in the middle of the night, he might, by chance, wake up, reach for the string, flip head first out of his bed and hang himself on the rope. I know... I have problems.

Are we old enough to be snowbirds yet?

Last week we went with Jimmy's parents to their condo in Destin. I always love it there, so laid back and beautiful. The weather was great, still cool, but warmer than here. Trace had been sick with tonsilitis (yes, again) before we left but we knew the warmer, salty air would be better for him than the cold temps here, so off we went. Needless to say, when he woke up the first morning there with a 103.2 temp, home is the only place I wanted to be, cold or not. But after a visit to the Emerald Coast Urgent Care, an antibiotic for an upper respritory infection with tonsilitis and a steriod for wheezing, our trip began to improve.

I must say how WONDERFUL Highland Pediatric is and how spoiled they have made me. I was in contact with them several times and they were so kind and helpful, asking ME to call them back and let them know how T was doing... seriously! They gave me great advice and were a great source of relief to a nervous momma with a sick baby a long way from home!

Once Trace was up and about, we went out on the golf course behind the condo and flew his kite that Sisty got him for Christmas. He/we loved it!! Ginger even got a chance to hold the handle!




I LOVE this picture!

Trace and Ginger are big buddies, she would just like to keep it a one-sided relationship. You know, the kind where she initiates the contact, she inititates the touching, otherwise... leave me alone (she really should have been a male). Sounds like some dating relationships I've heard of!

Here they are relaxing on the couch watching who else... Barney. Boy, my DVR has me spoiled too, actually had to break out the DVD's everytime T needed a Barney fix.


Don't ask me why he has no diaper on... I have no idea, I guess we were on vacation from everything! If Ginger only knew what could have hit her!

Trace loved wearing Granddaddy's shoes around the condo.
We were so thankful to Sisty and Granddaddy for letting us invade their wonderful haven with a sick child and a half deaf dog. It was really nice spending the week with them and they were so incredibly helpful while Trace was sick. They truly are the best in-laws a girl could ever ask for!

Trace turns two!

This weekend, we celebrated Trace's 2nd birthday. The whole time, I would just look at him and wonder when did this little thing...turn into this?

Where have these past 2 years gone? How did my baby grow up so fast? Will someone please press rewind... or at least pause?

We had a family birthday party at our house. Now, when I say family, some people may think small... not this family. We had over 35 people there and that still wasn't everyone! Jimmy and I are so blessed with the most amazing family and we just keep going, and going, and going... and we LOVE it!

God truly was smiling down on us and gave us the most beautiful day. We actually took tables and chairs outside and ate! When you have a February baby, you just resign yourself to the fact that every birthday will be spent inside at bowling alleys, skating rinks, and Pump-It-Up places, so you can imagine my excitement when the forecast called for sunny and 67 degrees on Saturday. The kids got to ride and play outside and didn't have to have 5 layers on. In fact, the hardest part of the party was keeping my outdoor lovin' boy inside. I honestly believe, he is the only child in the history of the world that actually ran away while opening his presents. The french doors were open and although there were dozens of gifts right in front of him, he kept making breaks for the door. Luckily, he had to get through Granddaddy and Papaw, a.k.a. the bouncers, before he was free. They kept hauling him back.

Here he is taking a break from the gift opening to visit with Nanny... he probably thought he could sweet talk her into taking him outside. Nanny has always been known as a push over when it came to the kiddos.
As you can tell, Trace doesn't get much "straight" juice. I'm the water down queen! So, when he gets ahold of a juice box, you better watch out... he's not even coming up for air. He loved his fruit punch Capri Sun and wasn't about to let it go until every drop was gone.

Punch drunk! This before and after should be on a billboard somewhere supporting us watering down mothers!

Here are the cousins eating their cake. Look at Sara Kathryn and her gorgeous curls... she is going to be a heartbreaker! At one point I asked T, while he was still devouring Barney, if he was ready to open presents and he said his favorite new word... "no". Abram, his cousin across the table who is 3 1/2, leans over the table and says "No, no Trace you do want to go open your presents... that's the best part!" It was so cute, you can tell Abram's done this birthday thing a few more times! Good advice cuz!


My brother and Kadi needed a picture of all of us for their wedding website. Bless Aunt Kadi, she spent the whole night behind the camera and took every picture I have... thank you so much you did a great job!

It was a wonderful day, spent with my favorite people on earth! Trace is a very lucky little boy to be loved by so many! Happy Birthday T, mommy and daddy love you so much!!!