Manure... inside and out

Every spring, since we moved into this house 5 years ago, we have said we were going to do a garden. It just never seemed to happen, until now. Our neighbors decided we should share the cost of a tiller, compost, and such and make a double sided garden on each side of the fence.

We tried to pump Trace up for this big adventure in growing our own veggies... but so far, he's not too impressed.

First, we told him "Uncle" Fred was bringing his BIG tractor over to plow it all up... then it rained a monsoon on Saturday and canceled that.

So Monday, the plan was to rent a small tiller and he could help daddy shovel the dirt. It ended up that daddy's assistant was Granddaddy, while the poor boy sat and watched through the kitchen window with a 102 fever and sore throat.

We're 0 for 2.

By the looks of their apparel, Jimmy and his dad were a little conflicted about the weather.
Manure anyone?

Speaking of manure...day 2 of gardening got interrupted by a very exciting event. Trace pooped on the potty for the first time!!

Now, this may be TMI for some people, but every mother can relate and appreciate the magnitude of this day. Don't worry, while of course we took pictures (doesn't everybody) I will not be posting them on here... I'd like for my child to still speak to me in a few years when he reads this.

(However, our parents weren't so lucky... they probably wish they didn't own camera phones after we sent them a picture of the evidence. ha!)

Trace has been wearing underwear for months, but has stayed steadfast in his refusal to poop in the toilet. He sweetly asks for a pull-up or waits until I put one on him at night... greatly delaying the whole "bedtime routine" process.

I've said this before, but what did parents do before DVRs? Nothing like patiently waiting on a poop to happen while you're missing Lee and Crystal sing on American Idol.

We are not usually ones to bribe our child, but it came to drastic measures and I promised Trace Diesel 10 if he would go. Diesel 10 is somewhat of a villian in one of Trace's favorite Thomas books, and I wouldn't let him buy it with his birthday money, but totally caved to get a successful poop in the potty. Don't judge.

Then Jimmy apparently became desperate and upped the ante the other night when I was gone and added Stepney (whom he lost in the lake... at least we have the keepsake picture with the Easter bunny) and a milkshake.

I guess it's a good thing we're growing our own vegetables, cause this poop is gonna break us.

So, the other night, we used my cousin Casey's strategy (thank you) and put a DVD on in the bathroom so he could just sit, watch, and wait... and it worked!!

Jimmy immediately went to Toys R' Us to get his bribe, I mean reward.

He called me panicked that neither one were there but had the good sense to walk next door to Books a Million (see why I married him) where he found the treasured Diesel 10 and an acceptable "runner up" for Stepney, engine Dennis.

He has had a fear of "it" forever and has even begun to refuse to pee-pee in public bathrooms because of those automatic (and obnoxiously loud) flushers. Last night, I had to put my pocket calendar over the sensor and support it with a bottle of hand sanitizer (I know, real sanitary huh) just to get him in the stall. ha!

Those things were obviously designed by some stupid man (who apparently was never responsible for taking his own children to the restroom).

Day 3, we had resumed gardening when we look over and see Trace with his arm up the tailpipe of Jimmy's truck. Then we hear... "Help, Diesel 10 and Dennis are stuck." (not to mention his arm)

Jimmy had to practically whittle a stick to fish those little suckers out of his tailpipe, to which he received a heartfelt "Frrrank you Daddy!" from a little guy who looked like he'd been working at Maxi Muffler all day.

Never a dull moment :)

He finally got to shovel once he was well...
He was stomping through the garden saying, "We are gonna grow tomatoes... and... fruit... and... hamburgers."

So much for the little lesson about cows we had at the farm.

Gardeners crack...
He kept jumping on his plasma car for a quick spin between shovels, so we just left his helmet on.
Old faithful... love her!
After all the rain, fever, sore throats, frost warnings, poops, and trains stuck in tailpipes... alas... the garden is complete!
My goal is to never have to walk through the produce department of Bi-Lo again

...I won't hold my breath.

Our Date with Thomas

If ever there was a train lovin' boy, it's mine. Trace can name nearly every Thomas and Friend ever made... and owns a small arsenal of them. So last Friday night, we went to meet Thomas face-to-face.
When I heard they were coming, I immediately went online to buy tickets and then balked at the price. They are quite proud of their little Thomas production. I got a quick scolding from my dad when I was complaining of the pricetag... "Heidi Brown (he calls me by my maiden name when I'm in trouble ha!) I don't care if those tickets are $100 each, you are taking my boy to see Thomas".

Yes Sir.

Come to find out, the ticket was only for the actual train ride and it is free to get into the rest... I'll stash that little bit of knowledge away for next year! I mean, once you've ridden a train, the thrill is kinda lost.

Turns out, we spent more in the gift shop (which was conveniently located at the exit) than we did on the price of admission! 4 books, a singing toothbrush, a rolling backpack, and keepsake bag was the loot we left with.

But it was worth every penny to see this face...
Waiting patiently on the train ride...




His temporary Thomas tattoo...

I have never seen so many Thomas T-shirts in my entire life. Every little boy you passed donned James, Percy, or Thomas. It was like being at a rock concert in the mid 80's.

We had so much fun and can't wait for next year!

Spring Break

Spring Break was last week and we tried to do some fun stuff.

One day we met my family at the Pumpkin Patch. They had a really nice "enclosed" area for the little kiddos that actually allowed adults to sit on benches and converse with one another, but nooooo, ours wanted to wander and run up and down the entire length of the "mountainous" playground. ha! With 5 kids under 5, needless to say we ALL needed naps after that adventure.

Trace, Abram, and Drew
I finally coaxed Trace into attempting this big slide, only for him to twist and turn all the way down and land face first in the dirt! Afterwards, I read that it was for ages 5 and older... oops!

Aunt Gail volunteered to take a ride with the kids.
It was nice to see Trace actually skeptical about something. He wasn't quite sure about crossing the "Earthquake Bridge". He actually held on and walked, a combo I rarely see :)

My cousin Casey and her hubby Kevin came up from Atlanta with Drew and baby Cole. We finally got to see him... adorable!!

Abram and Drew... so sweet
Lucas on the swing
As we were leaving, Abram and Trace began comparing battle wounds. It was a rough day on the playground. Trace may be every bit as tall, but he's not quite ready to hang with the big boys yet.

Jimmy asked me if he had been in a bar fight when we got home. He was so banged up from the slide and flipping over the swings. We would have certainly exceeded the number of bandages per child had we tried to cover every bloody bruise and bump!


The next day, we had a playdate with Sherry, Christy, and Anna Claire. These two were so cute together. We finally figured out about 2 hours in, that Trace had been calling her "Clarinet" all morning!

The last day, we got really brave (or crazy) and attempted a road trip. My mom, Aunt Gail, Abram, Trace and I all loaded up in my car and drove to Canton to the mini-farm. We met Casey, Kevin, Drew, and Cole there. The kids loved it!

Notice the "Do Not Open" sign behind Drew's head... we taught them to read that one real quick!


Face to face...
3 days old...

This thing (alpaca, I think) became my best friend.
Nana and her boy...
Aunt Gail called my uncle on the way home and told him to start building a fence, they were going to have another grandchild...she fell in love!



"Is Spring Break over yet... we're exhausted?"

Did you know the Easter Bunny shops at Bi-Lo?

The Easter season has spurred a lot of interesting conversations at our house. Explaining the "true meaning" of Easter to a barely 3-year-old is not easy.

I mean, Christmas they get... every toddler understands "birthday". But the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus is not quite as simple, and to be honest, a little scary. But I want him to understand that Easter means soooo much more than bunnies, eggs, and candy.

All in due time, I guess.

Last night I was putting him to bed and was telling him about Jesus dying on the cross to save us from our sins. I did the roll call of our family and how when we die, because we are believers, we will one day all be in Heaven together.

Trace said, "and Ginger too?" Awww, that boy loves his dog! Maybe I'm crazy, but I told him yes! The Bible says that it is paradise, so I believe our beloved dogs will be waiting on us at the pearly gates (just like they do at our door every night) when we reach the other side.

The night we were going to see the Easter Bunny at the mall, our conversation went like this...

Trace: "Mommy, where does Santa Clause live?"
Me: "Well buddy, where do you think he lives?"
Trace: "Atlanta"

ha!...couldn't hold back the giggles on that one!

He needed a little "warm-up"
That goofy grin... (you may notice his train "Stepney" met the Easter Bunny too!)


We went to Jimmy's parents for Easter lunch with Jim's dad Frank and Sylvia's mom from Alabama. That was such a treat because we never get to see Mimmie for Easter!

Trace loved hunting eggs in the yard. That boy is never gonna win any prizes because he's much more concerned about the "quality" of the candy in each, than the "quantity" of eggs in his basket.

There were 10 eggs in the yard (all within plain view) and it took him 20 minutes to find them all because he stopped, pried off the tape, and ate the candy out of each one as he went. ha! I guess it was a good thing he was hunting alone!

He needed Mimmie's fingernails for that one...

Sharing his loot with Great Frank...
A couple of weeks ago, we were shopping at Bi-Lo and Trace saw two Thomas engines, Charlie and Mighty Mac, that he didn't have. (Seriously... I thought we owned them ALL) I told him we couldn't buy them that day but I later went to Wal-Mart and got Charlie to put in his Easter basket.

This morning when he saw Charlie, he turned to me and said, "Mommy, the Easter Bunny went to the 'gwoocwy' store and got Charlie!" I love this age!!

A few minutes later he was laying in the floor playing with Charlie and I heard him singing to himself... Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, there's just something about that name. Master, Savior, Jesus... Kings and Kingdoms will all pass away, but there's something about that name.

He may not get all the words right, or could explain the meaning of Easter but nothing has ever sounded sweeter to me!

All in due time...

Tune in Tokyo

When friends move away, it's always hard to say goodbye, even when you know you will see them again. However, when you're friends move back to Japan, that "see you again" may never really happen.

About 4 years ago, a wonderful Japanese family rented a house from my in-laws. At first, it was just the dad, Kenny, when he was transferred here with his company. His wife and 2 young children were still in Japan and joined him later that year.

When they got here, we all just instantly clicked. The children, Rudy and Ty (those were their American names) became like Jim and Sylvia's other grandchildren. They even went to Grandparent's Day at Rudy's school.

Christmas (right before they left)

They came here, not knowing anyone or a word of English... I can't imagine. By the time they left 4 years later, Rudy spoke and read English perfectly, and even managed to pick up the Nascar bug while he was here in the South! ha!

Kenny worked a LOT of hours when he was here, so every holiday we as Americans celebrated, they used to see the country. I honestly think they saw more of the USA in 4 years than I've seen in 34. They knew they had limited time here and they wanted to visit as much as they could. They went to Disney World every chance they got... lucky kids!

When it came time for them to go back to Japan, it was really hard to say goodbye. BUT, thanks to Skype...here they are! Jim and Sylvia talk to them a few times a week, but we were there the other night when they were logged on and got to say hello.


Blowing kisses from the other side of the world
It was bedtime here for us, and they were just getting up.
We keep saying that in a few years, we will all make a trip across the big blue and visit the Murishage's to learn about their culture. Until then... we'll have to settle for Skype!