Painting Pumpkins with our Punkins

What was supposed to be a fun filled day on the farm, turned out to be a playdate at Nana's playing in the sandbox and painting pumpkins.

Mother Nature struck yet again, and for the 2nd time we had to cancel our trip to Tanglewood Farms to see the miniature animals. Oh well...

My mom, aunt, 2 cousins, Trace and I were going to meet my cousin and her daughter from Atlanta down at a farm we have all heard about (but never actually gotten to see) to spend the morning amongst the "little" animals.

However, after the weather forecast called for an 80% chance of rain and severe wind gusts, not to mention my continuous nightmares involving pushing strollers and chasing 4 children under 5 through a rain soaked mud hole that smelled of manure... we opted out.

Some may say we choked, I like to think it's mother's intuition. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know how that would have turned out.

I have been on enough field trips in my adult life to know that small children, torrential downpours, wind gusts, and mud are NEVER, NEVER a good combination!

So... as I said earlier, my mom offered to have us up to her house to play in the new sandbox Papaw built for Trace in their basement.

(I mean really, doesn't every kid have an indoor sandbox in their basement?)

Trace and Abam (as he calls him) loved playing in the sand and running around the wide open basement. Of all the toys down there, they spent most of their time playing on the exercise equipment... go figure.
While the big boys played, Lucas looked on and cackled from his walker. He is absolutely adorable!! Big brother Abram calls him punkin... so sweet!
I thought I would reach way back into my crafty Kindergarten days and get the boys pumpkins to paint.

FYI moms... washable, finger paint does not adhere to the surface of a pumpkin. And because I had not tested this theory at home prior to our project, Nana had to come to the rescue with markers.


I'm sure their dads will love the boys in their floral smocks, but the moms will appreciate the importance of a good cover up :)

For all the time I spend picking the perfect pumpkins, gathering the paint, brushes, smocks, and newspaper to cover the counter, the boys literally spent less than 2 minutes coloring their pumpkins and then looked up as if to say... "OK, what next?"

Oh... the attention span of little boys!

They played and wrestled (if you can call it wrestling when it's totally one sided and one child is pleading with the other to get off of him)... sorry Abram. We are still working on the "gentle" play concept. He was so patient with Trace and such a great sport.

Trace totally loses all control when he's playing with other kids and it's full out energy to the point of exhaustion (for he and I).

On a positive note, he did come home and take a 3 hour nap afterwards!!

Sometimes I watch him and think... is this normal?? But from the stories I've heard about his daddy at this age, and the stories I remember of my brother at 2, it's in his genes. Looks like I've got a lot of work ahead of me, not to mention high blood pressure and gray hair!

Thank you Lucas and Abram for coming to play! I love those little guys and I hope and pray they all grow up to be the best of buddies!

Putting Papaw to bed

Anyone looking for a babysitter??? ha!
After a wild night of wrestling, wrangling, and running with Papaw, he took Trace into our bedroom to "settle" him down to go to sleep. Turning on, what else but, the Backyardigans, it was Papaw who was out like a light in no time.

Trace, however, was still ready to party. He announced when I walked into the room, "Mommy, Papaw's seeeeping, he tired, he needs to west!"

Just goes to show, that boy will wear anybody out! :)

How the other half live

Ever just happened to be at the right place at the right time? It doesn't happen to me often, but on Tuesday, it did!

We were out close to the airport waiting to meet someone and decided to kill some time watching the planes take off and land. That has become one of our favorite "free" pass times.

This man happens to walk by as Trace was smashing his little face between the fence trying to see the planes. The man sees him, smiles (as if he's seen this sight many times before) and asks if we would like to see the inside of an airplane! It took all of 2.2 nannoseconds for Jimmy and I to scream "YES" and off we went through the remote controlled gate, into the private hangar... fancy!

Of course we had no camera so we just took a few shots on Jimmy's phone.

First, we climbed aboard the lear jet.
And Trace got to be the pilot.
I was a nervous wreck, afraid he would start pushing buttons and later on that evening I would hear on the news that a lear jet had gone down during takeoff at Lovell Field... but he was very good and kept his hands to himself.

We also got to board the prop plane and nose around, not too shabby!
Turns out both of these planes are privately owned by Henry Luken, and Kevin (the very nice man that let us climb aboard) is his personal pilot. If you don't know who Luken is, you may remember his yacht, Liquidity, parked down at Ross's Landing a few years ago, that's worth millions.

We thanked Kevin profusely and told him how impressed we were that he would take time out of his busy day to treat a little guy to such a treat, one he'll never forget.

He said that as a kid himself, he stood at a fence for hours watching planes take off and land, just like Trace was doing, praying that someone would come along and offer him that same opportunity. Now that he's a pilot, he wants to do that for other children. Wish there were more people in the world like him!

Thanks Kevin!!

Nelson's 1st Birthday

A few weeks ago, we made a day trip down to Alabama for a very special birthday party. Baby Nelson turned 1!!!

Most of Jimmy's family lives in North Alabama, about 3 hours away, and we don't get down there nearly as much as we like to, but 1st birthdays are so special and we couldn't miss it. He is precious and is growing up so fast.

Here he is blowing out his birthday candle with a little help from his big sis, Sara Kathryn. Aren't they a beautiful family? And look at those gorgeous curls... like mother, like daughter.
I've said this before, I love family names. Millie's (his mom) maiden name is Nelson and he was the first grandson on that side of the family. I think that is so special!

We tried to gather all of the cousins for a picture, but as you can tell, that wasn't easy. These kids are so used to flashing cameras they don't even notice them anymore. The paparazzi have nothing on Jimmy's aunts, Sandi and Sheila!!! They seriously could work for People magazine, they don't miss a thing!
I nearly died when I looked up and saw Trace with his fingers in Nelson's smash cake... manners, please!!! He sees cake, he looses control! We're working on it :)
Love this one of Grace Anne and Sara Kathryn... beautiful little girls!
Four generations...
We love you guys and are so glad we got to be there to celebrate Nelson's big day!! Can't wait to see you again soon. Happy Birthday sweet boy!

Fire Ants, Benadryl, and Bedtime... oh my!

Ever seen a foot after it's been submerged in a bed of fire ants?
It looks something like this.

Jimmy has been on a one-man mission to rid our yard of fire ants. Seeing that little foot made it personal. He went all Tony Soprano on those ant hills, stomping, spraying, burning... until there were none, for now anyway.

That night we gave Trace his first dose of Benadryl, and then we waited...

I know what Benadryl does to me. I better be within 3 feet of a bed because I will be horizontal in about 10 minutes. However, I have heard this is not everyone's reaction. Some climb the walls... for hours. Luckily, it didn't seem to do either extreme to him, but it took a few extra attempts to get him to stay in bed that night. (For those that don't know, this is week 1 of the big boy bed, a.k.a... road to freedom.)

Attempt #1
Reapply more ointment to his itchy feet, re-read, re-rock, re-tuck...

5 minutes later... the sound of little pitter-patters across his floor...

Attempt #2
"Look buddy, Daddy and Ginger are going night-night in your big boy bed."
Pitter-patters continue... but then it got quiet.

As I was going to bed for the night, I went up to check on him one more time and noticed his lamp light shining from under the door. He had fallen asleep in his chair with his bobbie, blanket, and books.
Looks like he fought the good Benadryl fight until the end, but finally gave up.

Kreativ Blogger

Wow... thank you Andi for nominating me for the Kreativ Blogger award. I have known Andi since her and Josh began dating... in what, the 5th grade??? It feels like she has been apart of the Lewis clan forever. And I must preface this with saying, I have known and loved the Lewis' literally since the womb.

Andi's sister-in-law, Anne, and I were born a little less than a year apart to two very best friends... so it was fate! I LOVE hearing about Miss Addison Grace and all her adventures and am secretly arranging a wedding for her and Trace in about 25 years!!

I am supposed to write 7 things that you may not know about me... you have no idea how hard this is (you may remember this post, and how I had to think for days just to come up with those!) Anyway... I'll try.

1. I am TERRIBLE with computers. I am embarrassed to say I have been sitting here for 45 minutes just trying to figure out how to get the Kreativ Blogger logo onto my blog. My capabilities don't go much farther than "right click", "copy", and "paste". Andi, I really need a lesson :)

2. I mentioned above that I have known the Lewis family my entire life and must admit to something... Josh, you know what's coming. When I was five years old, I was CONVINCED I was preggers with Josh's baby because Anne (his sister) made me look at his "boyhood"!!! She will deny this, but it's true, I would have never looked on my own!

I hysterically confessed (I was an overly dramatic child) to my mom one morning before the bus came to take me to school that I thought I was pregnant. After she picked my infant brother up off the floor and stopped laughing, we had the birds and the bees talk! So after a exhausting morning of pregnancy scares and sex talk, it was off to Kindergarten to learn my ABC's. ha!

3. I was an ADPi in college and loved it. Although I am not as involved now as I want to be, it truly was a wonderful part of my life. Some of my very dearest friends are ones I met through the sorority and I am so thankful for them.

4. I LOVE my in-laws. I got a wonderful package deal when I married Jimmy. Rarely a day goes by that I don't (happily) talk to my mother-in-law at least once. I consider her one of my best friends! I am so blessed to have them in my life and don't know what I would do without them.

5. I live in fear of confrontation. It goes beyond just being uncomfortable... it really is something I work to overcome everyday. You can typically find me hiding in the bathroom or car during any kind of altercation (or even the mere threat of one). I'm the poster child for "put your big girl panties on!" Though I have a feeling (I pray), that will change when it comes to Trace... don't mess with Mamma Bear!

6. Jimmy and I are going to the CMA Awards in November!!!! Those who know me well, or have ever riden in my car know I'm a huge country music fan... always have been. Most teens went through the country phase at one point during their adolescence somewhere between the Tiffany and N.K.O.T.B. era, but mine stuck. I have ALWAYS wanted to go to an awards show and ask every year, "How do 'regular' people get tickets for that?" Now I know! My friend Trinity and her hubby Eddie asked if we wanted to go with them and another couple. I can't wait!! More on that in November.

7. I live in fear everyday that I'm doing this whole "mommy" thing all wrong. I ask God every night to give me his wisdom, guidance, and grace to raise a Christ loving child in this crazy world. I worry that what I do won't be good enough to counteract all of the evil and sadness we must live amongst. You only get one chance to raise a child. I have been given the most precious gift there is, and I want SO badly to do this right!

Next you are supposed to nominate other bloggers for the Kreativ Blogger Award. My nominees are...

Trinity, her blog is about her beautiful girls Brooklynn and Bentley. Reading her blog makes me long to dress Trace in pink and curl his hair! ha!

Cresta, Trinity's cousin, whose blog My Three Sons will soon have to be changed, since she just gave birth to son #4!!! As if she has time to actually do this anymore... you go girl!

Leslie, whose Turner Times blog about their adorable son Jack never fails to make me cackle out loud.

OK girls, here's what you do...

1. Thank the person who nominated you for the Kreativ Blogger Award.
2. Copy and paste the Kreativ Blogger Award onto your blog. (Don't call me for help with that!)
3. Link the person that nominated you for the award.
4. Tell 7 things about yourself that others may not know.
5. Nominate other blogs (up to 7) for the Kreativ Blogger Award.
6. Post links to the blogs you nominated.
7. Leave a comment letting them know they have been nominated.

Thanks again Andi, this has been fun! I am so glad that the whole baby mama thing didn't work out with Josh and I 30 years ago, and he found you! ha! ha! You are a wonderful wife, mother, and friend and I love ya!

big boy = big bowl + big boy bed

Trace switched cereal bowls with Jimmy at breakfast the other day, apparently all of this "big boy" talk has gone to his head! ha!

Tonight we converted his crib to a toddler bed. I know, I know, I'm about 7 months behind according to the directions, just trying to hold on to my baby as long as I can.

Now he's upstairs alone and totally FREE for the first time!!! Probably won't get much sleep tonight... or for the next 16 years :) Sleep tight everyone!