Merry Christmas!

It's been quite a Christmas morning here - toys, games, trucks, dolls and lots of love.  Merry Christmas everyone.

Christmas Eve

Heading to bed to rest up for Santa!  Thanks for the pjs Aunt Carmela & Uncle Chuckie!

Christmas Recital

Last week Grace and Adam took part in a Christmas recital at Kids R Kids - their daycare center.  It was quite the event and nice to see a holiday program similar to what we did when I was a kid.

Each class performed a song and the children who participate in the dance program did a couple of dances.  Grace's group sang Winter Wonderland and during a short musical interlude, she dropped to the floor and did the worm - that's my girl!

Adam's class sang O Christmas Tree and he was a cute little tree

Grace's Hip Hop Birthday Party

Today we celebrated Grace's 8th birthday with a hip hop party at Next Step Dance Studio.  She's been dancing there for the past four years and recently they started hosting birthday parties.  She had a good group of friends and was fortunate to receive some wonderful gifts.

Besides the normal cake and gifts, this was a hip hop party so of course there was dancing.  The kids did the cupid shuffle and learned some other moves.  They also made a couple of crafts and did the limbo.  Before everyone left the party, they performed their dance.  They chose the song "Backyard Beach" from Phineas and Ferb because this was not just a hip hop party; it was a Phineas and Ferb Hip Hop Party!

I have to say this was a pretty cool party.  Grace had  great time and really loves her Perry the Platypus slippers she got from her friend Rori.

Karate Girl!

Last night Grace tested for her next belt in karate.  She did her segments, kicks, punches and board breaking.  When it was all said and done, she achieved the highest score you can for most categories.  She'll receive her new belt on the 17th.  She was nervous going in to her test but performed great.

Here's a picture of her breaking a board with her knee:

Happy Thanksgiving!

Wishing everyone a wonderful Thanksgiving from our home to yours.

Report Card Day and Other News

Grace brought home her first report card of the year yesterday.  Things have changed since I was a kid and report cards are a bit more complex.  She recevied all S and 3s - which is very good.  Then on the concepts mastery page she has mastered the items taught for the quarter.  Her teacher wrote that she is a sweet girl who gets along with everyone.

In other news, Adam will soon be moving to a big boy bed.  A couple weeks ago I changed consignment stores and mentioned that I had a changing table I was looking to sell. The lady asked if I had a whole set.  I told her I did but that my son was still using it.  Long story short - I sent pictures, someone liked them and this morning the furniture that both of my babies started their life in was picked up and taken to the store - a little more than eight years to the day that we brought it home.

So currently Adam is sleeping in his pack n play.  He's so easy going and didn't seem to mind.  He's just excited that he's going to get a bed and a new blanket in his room.  I can't help but wonder how this would have played out if Grace was the younger of the two.

Happy Halloween!

Ghosts and goblins hit the streets tonight so here's a little glimpse of our Halloween festivities this year!

Grace had a party at Kids R Kids and a school dance on Friday night while Adam's school party was today.  After school, we hurried home to have some dinner before hitting the streets.  Adam took a few houses before he got the gist of the night but according to David he looked out for his sister and retrieved the candy from all the scary houses since she isn't in to that.

Here's some of the neighborhood kids before the neighborhood got busy!

After a couple laps, Adam stayed behind to help pass out the candy and got a lot of "aren't you cute" comments from all the girls.

Then Grace decided she was done with the walking too and called it a night.

We had a good night and the best part was that all the hoopla died down by 8:30.  Now that's a Halloween I can get behind! 

Oh and in case you were wondering or heard through the grapevine, David and I did get to enjoy a little adult time on Saturday evening as our friends hosted a gathering.  I picked my costume first and Grace said we had to match so..........................

Happy Halloween only 55 more days until Christmas :(

Grace's 1st Panthers Game

This past Sunday we were the fortunate recipients of four, front-row, endzone tickets to the Carolina Panthers vs Washington Redskins game.  We decided to take Grace and her friend Ethan - since she has asked about going to a game.

We got there about an hour before the game and of course got her face painted - cat scratches

Checked out some of the kid friendly activities

Then went down to our seats

We were really close - so close you could almost touch the players (but who'd want to - they were the Redskins)

Grace and Ethan got a little antsy and had to go souvenir shopping before halftime

But at least she got to see them score a touchdown!

All in all, she had a great time at the game

A special thank you to the Wood Brothers and Donnie Wingo for the tickets!!

My Bad

Has it really been a month since I've updated this blog????  My bad - guess life got in the way...so here's a snapshot of what's been up

* I went to NJ for Tiffany's wedding and while there got to catch up with some friends.
* I went to Coker for Homecoming and spent time with some people that I hadn't seen in ages.
* I turned 39 and blew it out in style (ask David, my dad or Linda for their version)
* Grace received her orange belt in karate and is doing great in 2nd grade!!
* Adam is driving us crazy during the potty training process

Will share photos as soon as my iTunes updates and I can download them.

Adam the Singer!

Adam first sang this song to a waitress at Applebees but now it's his daily dinner order!

Activity Update

So I've fallen back into the old habit of not updating the blog as often as I should.  That's what happens when school starts up and there is a slight change to our routine.

Let's start with Adam.  He's a strong willed, two year old boy!  He's not interested in potty training and he will not sit still.  Yes he is ALL BOY!  But seriously, he loves school; he's a good helper for his teacher; and he's started music class at Kids R Kids and has a great time.

Grace has officially stopped horseback riding.  She just can't overcome the fall and let's face it, she will fall a lot in horseback riding so we might as well "invest" our money elsewhere.  Instead of dancing this year, she's taking the tumble class; she's still swimming and tonight she took her first karate class.  She's been asking for a while and after a little research we found a place.  At the end of the lesson, her instructor awarded her with a yellow stripe for displaying a good attitude.  She is so excited about it.

This weekend, I will be participating in the Be The Match 5K.  This is my third year doing the event and I'm looking forward to it.  Thank you to those who have supported me!  While I most likely won't beat last year's time (which was my initial goal) thanks to the ankle/toe injury, I'll definitely finish and contribute to a good cause.  For more information on the marrow registry visit http://www.bethematch.org/.

 

First Day of School

Hard to believe but Grace started 2nd grade today.  Our day began in the usual fashion - drop Adam at daycare, stop by Chick Fil A for breakfast, take a picture by the front door and then walk to school.  Usually I take the first day of school off but since Adam was sick yesterday, I ended up switching my days and came to work.  Of course when I got here I remembered why I take the day off - because I get all weepy about them growing up too fast!  Here's hoping she has a great day; I can't wait to hear about it tonight.

The End of Summer

The school shopping is done and the backpack is loaded now we just have to wait.  There are two field trips left in her summer camp.  And then Open House is Tuesday night and Grace can't wait to find out who her second grade teacher is and who is in her class (I think that's what she's really worried about).  I still can't believe she's going in to second grade, where has the time gone?  While she still enjoys a little time with mom and dad, I'm starting to dread the day when she wants no parts of us.  We get the occasional brush off now, but I don't know what I'll do when I get the full on blow-off.  Hopefully that's still a few years down the road.  But of course we still have the boy.  Adam is very sweet and enjoys hanging with us (and driving us crazy).  Guess it wasn't such a bad idea for them to be five years apart.

The Countdown is On!

13 days until school starts!  Grace is getting excited about being a second grader.  Her first day is Thursday, August 25th.  Of course we'll do our annual ritual of breakfast at Chick Fil A followed by walking to school.  The only change this year is that as part of the PTA, I'll have to help out with a special welcome back we have planned for the teachers.  It's ok, she'll have mom there for a little while - that's still ok as a second grader but once she moves to the big kid side of the school, that won't be cool!

Our Beach Vacation

We just got back from our annual trek to Myrtle Beach and had an enjoyable time!  We arrived on Thursday and our first order of business was to play mini-golf at the Dinosaur golf course.  We also got to see Uncle Sammy and Aunt Nancy for a little while.

Friday morning we took a walk on the beach before spending the day at the water park and pool.  That evening while Grace enjoyed the kids night out activities, David, Adam and I took a walk around the resort.

Saturday was also spent lounging by the pool and playing in the water park, although Grace and I snuck over to the beach for some fun in the waves before coming back to the hotel to take a nap before dinner.

Finally this morning after loading the car, we took a ride over to Broadway at the Beach to walk around before heading home. 

Only three and a half weeks left until school starts and Grace can't wait.  All we have left to do is pick up some new school clothes and shop for school supplies and we'll be ready!  Enjoy these last few days of summer vacation everyone.

Trying to Catch Up

It's not that I don't want to post pictures and talk about our trip to NJ - it's just that I haven't had time. 

When we got back, Adam was still a little cruddy and I had to take him to the doctor.  They tested him for strep, checked him for other viruses and found nothing.  The only thing the doctor suggested is that we take him off of milk, in case he is developing a milk allergy, and see if that helps - it has!  So for now Adam is drinking almond milk but still enjoying other dairy products derived from cows.

Grace was excited to get back to her friends and activities.  In fact she started tumble class last night in preparation for taking it during the year instead of dance.  We'll see how it goes.

I promise to upload pictures this weekend.  The whole problem with digital photos is that you see them when you take them and only when you decide to put them in albums do you actually need them.  And let's just say I am a tad behind on that - both Grace and Adam's 2010 photo albums have yet to be filled and while I have almost finished Grace's first year of life scrapbook with photos and pictures prepped for years 2 - 7 Adam's is no where near ready.

No, No, No

There is no need to read between the lines of my previous post - I was just commenting that we like to come to NJ for 4th of July weekend and that it just happened to be the time I shared news with the family.

Right now we are getting ready for the trip and of course Adam is "sick" - well not really, he just needs frequent changing.  But other than that we will be on the plane tomorrow night and will see everyone sometime on Friday.

The real meaning behind 4th of July in NJ

The kids and I are counting the days until we head north for our annual summer trip to NJ.  For some reason the 4th of July weekend just works out well.  But really it's got so much meaning behind it.  In 2003 I came up and told everyone there was a little one on the way.  In 2004 I brought that little one up and introduced her to pretty much all of Burlington.  In 2008 we came up with the news of a second bundle of joy.  So why not spend this weekend in NJ?  It really does have a special meaning :)

End of the Year Stuff!

The first two weeks of June (also known as the last two weeks of the year) are a crazy time.  For David & Adam, it's business as usual but for us gals it's very hectic.

For me, it's time to wrap up things with some of my organizations and prepare for the next year.  I'm getting ready to undertake a couple of big things in 2011-2012.  I'm going to be doing the PTA newsletter for Grace's school and will be on the Board for the NC Division of IAAP.  Yikes - guess I get it honest (thanks mom and grandmom).

Grace completed the first grade with flying colors and will be a second grader come August 25th.  I can hardly believe it.  She's back on the horse (both figuratively and literally) as she continues her riding lessons and she's moved up to the next level in swim lessons and will be a "seahorse" starting next week.

Of course it wouldn't be year end without her dance recital, which was today.  I'm working on uploading videos to our YouTube channel and will try to add some to this blog.  In the meantime, here are a few pictures from today's recital.

We look forward to sharing our summer fun with you; it's sure to be an adventure!!

Fun in the Sun

We decided to pull out the sprinkler yesterday for the kids to cool off and they sure did have a good time

This is Grace and Adam with their friends Dasia and Davian.

Sibling Wars

It appears that Adam has assumed the role of little brother with great joy!  He has figured out how to torment the hell out of his sister.  One minute we will hear them playing nicely in the other room and then all of a sudden there's a high pitched scream followed by the name "Adam".  But Grace isn't quite the victim that she pretends to be.  She has gotten quite good at messing with him when she just can't take his antics anymore.  Of course then he comes running to one of us crying and when we ask what's the matter he says "Gwace".  His vocabulary isn't advanced enough to tell us what she did but once she hears him say her name she yells from the other room "He started it".  The joys of parenting!

What is it About Boys?

So I arrive at school this evening to pick up my sweet, little man and there he is - running at full steam around the playground.  When I tell him it's time to go, he says "No!".  When I tell him he can go home and play with his trucks in the dirt, he drops what he's doing and runs to me.

As he is running in my direction, his teacher walks over and lets me know that this morning he thought it would be fun to cut his hair.  Of course he would do that  - picture day is next week. 

BOYS!!!!!!

Happy Mother's Day!

Mother's Day is my day to relax.  The day started with a french toast breakfast in bed and then I got to drink my coffee and read the paper in peace.  I did take Grace to riding lessons and then did a little Target shopping before coming home for a nap.  But the best part of my day was the hugs from my babies!!  I love being a mom! 

Nothing New

I realized that I hadn't posted anything new and exciting since the horseback riding incident - well that's because things are just rolling along.  Grace has 26 days of school left and then she will be into her summer program at Kids R Kids.  Adam is getting more and more verbal each day - although he still likes to yell the work truck or bus when one passes us!

This just happens to be the time of year where we just wait for things to quiet down so we can tackle the summer months :)

Urgent Care and the ER

Well last week started with a trip to the Urgent Care and ended with one to the ER!

Let's start with Monday - Adam was standing by the door at school, like all the kids do, watching all the parents come to pick up their kids.  As the door closed, his little hand was on the back of it and his index finger got shut in it.  This happened right before I got there and when I did he was crying.  His teacher all but demanded I take him to get it looked at.  So off we went to the Urgent Care.  The hardest part was all the vitals they have to get, once he got in the room with the doctor he was good.  And it turned out his finger was fine.

And now to Sunday (yesterday).  Grace had her riding lesson.  We've been riding a lot to make up for several missed lessons last month for various reasons.  Shortly in to her lesson, I could tell I was a distraction, so I went to the car.  No more than 10 minutes after I left, one of the older girls came over and said she fell off the horse.  I started walking over to where she was riding, but they weren't there.  I turned my head and saw a figure lying by the side of the driveway and ran over.  Grace was crying uncontrollably and her arm was - well let's just say bloody - and her back was all scratched up.  Turns out she got frustrated with something she had to do during her lesson and screamed.  This scared the horse and it took of in a full gallop.  Grace did what she's supposed to - she held on.  But as the horse headed toward the road, she let go and fell off.  Thank God because the horse ran across the road and almost got hit.  I don't even want to think about what could've happened.  Anyway - we went home and she seemed ok.  But I got to thinking, sometimes you can move your fingers even with a broken arm and I talked to my dad and he started talking about concussions.  So I called her pediatrician and after speaking with the on call nurse, she said to go to the ER. 

That was a whole new experience.  We got there around 8:00 and things seems to move along pretty quick.  They took her vitals, we met with one of the attendants, got her registered and then we waited for a room.  We got into a room around 9:30 and saw the doctor within 20 minutes.  Then we had to wait for X-ray to respond and after that we waited for the doctor to come back with the great news - nothing is broken.  The nurse cleaned up her arm and back and then we had to wait for the discharge instructions.  It was midnight by the time we left.  Needless to say, we are pretty tired today.  Grace is resting and we are do our best to nurse her even when she fights us over doing the things we need to for her to feel better.

Adam's Fun

Adam Made the Paper

A couple weeks ago the Charlotte Observer asked readers to submit photos that reminded them of Spring.  So I sent in a shot of Adam on the slide.  His photo wasn't selected as a contest winner so I thought nothing more of it.  Until today when one of the guys at work dropped off a copy of the Cabarrus Neighbors section and there he was.....

Grace's Horse Show

Today Grace competed in her second Jump for Joy Equestrian horse show.  She participated in four classes this time and did very well.  Her first was the walk only equestrian open tack and she earned a white ribbon (4th).  Next she did her walk only equestrian two-point and got a red ribbon (2nd).  After that she did her walk only equestrian pattern and earned another red ribbon (2nd) which is an improvement over the fall show.  And finally she competed in leadline and got a blue ribbon (1st).  This competition group was a little more advanced than last years group and her coach (and mom & dad & little bro) were very proud of her!!  Below is a picture of Grace on her horse Breeze with "their" ribbons.

Yeah I Know

Go ahead, I deserve it.  Yell at me, call me names, tell me I'm full of empty promises - it's only fair after I told you that I would update the blog more regularly this year.  And now it's been almost a month and I haven't given anyone the slightest glimpse into the world of Team Buckelew.

Let's start with mom's visit last month.  For me, it was a great time.  We got to spend time talking about stuff.  I have to say it's the one thing I miss living so far away, not being able to just be in the room with family and talk about every day things.  Beyond that, mom got to see what we do on a weekend - swimming, riding, trying to catch a few minutes of peace!  Regardless, I think she had a great time - and to think this is the only picture I got of her and the kids during the whirlwind tour.

After that March rolled in.  And as often as I point out that no rodent can predict a change in the weather, because the first day of spring is actually 6 weeks from February 2, spring has begun a little early.  The first weekend of March was laid back since Grace's riding instructor was out of the country.  The only excitement of that week came in the form of me meeting my favorite American Idol contestant - Bo Bice - you know the guy who finished second to Carrie Underwood.

Last week saw nothing out of the ordinary except for two birthday parties on the same day - a kid's party and a grown up one.  The whole family went to both and had a good time, especially at the second one since it was at the park and it was a gorgeous day!

So now it's the middle of March and hopefully I won't wait as long to update you again!

Falling Behind

Yes, I vowed to keep the blog updated more frequently in 2011 and I have already slipped in my duties.  The past two weeks have been a little hectic so please forgive me!

Grace's horse show was cancelled due to lack of participation so we will wait until March 20th for her first show of the season.  David celebrated his birthday with a family dinner at Grace's favorite Mexican restaurant - but no sombrero for him!  I spent a couple days attending a seminar for my administrative professionals organization.  And Adam is learning to use the potty at school!!

Ok you're up to date on the happenings....of course now we are preparing for a BIG weekend.  Nona is coming to visit.  This is a belated birthday gift - she will be here for the weekend and while in town will get to see Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons.  Although I don't know who's more excited about the concert - me or her.  Beyond that, I hope she comes well rested because she is going to get a crash couse in a weekend with Team Buckelew.  I'll bet you can't wait to see the pictures.

Dancing, Swimming and Horses - oh my!

Dealing with a two-year old and his temper tantrums and his sudden interest in the things that come out of his body has been an adventure the past few weeks.  People aren't kidding when they say things like "That's what boys do". 

But on top of that we have the active life of our seven-year old that we also must be attentive to.  Mondays are dance.  While Grace has informed us that this is probably going to be her last year working on her moves, she knows that she made a committment and has to complete the year before hanging up her tap shoes forever.

Then there's swimming.  Just a few short months ago, you couldn't get Grace into the pool.  There were tears and attitude and a little bribery.  But now it takes all the energy in the world to get her out of the pool.  Apparently 30 minutes on a Saturday morning just isn't long enough.

And finally we have horseback riding.  This seems to be her activity of choice, well at least for the first 15 minutes of it.  Of course riding follows swimming on Saturdays so we have to sprint from activity A to activity B.  Once we get to the stable we have to groom and tack the horse and THEN we get to ride it.  Unfortunately that is too much for our little Princess and after a few minutes on the horse, she starts to complain about being tired.  We are hoping to combat that probelm in the next few weeks by not riding as much so she will appreciate it more.

Tomorow Grace is scheduled to compete in her first Horse Show of the year.  I just got word that it may be postponed again but please send positive thoughts Grace's way.  And to give you a taste of her riding lessons - check out this sample from a lesson back in December.

Adam's Temper Tantrums

Now that Adam has turned two, we are experiencing the phenomenon known as The Terrible Twos.  We were fortunate to skip that with Grace, she was a happy go-lucky toddler who never kicked and screamed.  Fast forward five years to Adam at two.  He'll drop to the floor stomping his feet against the freshly painted walls, he'll scream at the top of his lungs if you touch him before he's had a sip of milk in the morning and God forbid you take any food off of his plate. 

I was spoiled the first go 'round.  I secretly laughed at people who complained about their toddler.  I thought to myself "What on earth are they talking about, two year olds are pleasant".  See what I get for that!  And not only is he doing it at home, but he's making his teachers at school earn their money.  He wants no parts of the big boy classroom.  He's even started crying before I turn onto the street that leads to school. 

It gets easier - right?  It has to, I don't know if I can take a whole year of this.

Adam's Party

This afternoon was Adam's birthday party.  You can't do much for a two year old but have some people over and sing happy birthday and we did just that!  Here's a little glimpse

Happy Birthday Adam!

Can you believe Adam is two today?  It seems like just yesterday I was running out of the office to go to the hospital.  We don't have much planned for today, just some cake tonight.  But Sunday we are having a little party for him with a couple kids from the neighborhood and one of his friends from school.

Here he tells us how old he is...

Grace & the Gator

This past weekend, Grace went to a birthday party for one of her friends from her after school program.  The entertainment for the party was an exotic animal show complete with an owl, a lemur, a lizard and an alligator!

It took some coaxing but Grace joined the line and got her picture with Auggie the Gator.  We learned during the party that alligators are in a hibernative state from October to March, hence the reason she was able to get this close with only the guy holding the gator's mouth!

Snow/Ice Days

On Sunday, January 9 we were graced with the presence of snow.  It came in the form of white, fluffy flakes and piled up while we slept.  When we woke up on Monday, we learned that school and daycare were closed.  I was able to find a friend, that was staying home, to watch the kids and I ventured off to work.

While I still have my NJ skills when it comes to driving in the snow, I did have a momentary lapse of judgement and I hit the brakes when I came upon a driver stuck in a ditch.  What did that do to me - it got me stuck on a hill.  But I was able to back down the hill so I could gain traction and drive right on past the stuck vehicle.  I had to do it, now that we know what happened when I stopped.

I made it to work and was promptly sent home where I stayed for the next day as well because Monday evening brought in freezing rain which became ice.  Then Wednesday it took 30 minutes to clean the ice off the car before being able to go anywhere.

Needless to say, we have made it to Friday.  There are still patches of ice in places where the sun doesn't hit AND school has been closed all week so Grace will have a bunch of make-up days.  Don't ya just love winter!!

Happy New Year!

We are looking forward to lots of excitement in 2011!  Horse shows, swimming and dance for Grace and maybe some activities for Adam.  David & I will just continue to work to support the needs of the children :)