Grace's New Face

Over the past few months Grace has sat closer and closer to the tv and pulled her books closer to her face.  When she went in for her checkup in January, I had the doctor do a quick vision test.  Of course she came back to say that we should probably take her to an eye doctor for a full exam.

We finally did over spring break and learned that she, like most of my side of the family, would need glasses to help her see things far away.  First of all I have to say that Vision Loft is an amazing place for your eye care needs; second VSP vision insurance is awesome!!

Yesterday I received a text that her glasses were ready, so we went to pick them up after school.  She was so excited that she could see.  She is also being very careful with them taking to heart what the lady at the store told her "If my glasses are not on my face, they are in the case; if they are not in the case, they are on my face!"

Oh My

Go ahead - yell at me - I haven't been posting.  Sometimes time gets away from me.  So let's try and recap March and early April.

Grace has been doing well in school.  She is still taking karate and will test for her high brown belt this week - that's four belts away from a black belt.  Pom (cheer dance) is winding down; her dance recital is in June and she may be finished with performing.  Then again she could change her mind again.  She has also expressed an interest in golf - so we are getting her set up to take a couple private lessons to see where that goes.  I learned my lesson with horseback riding - ease into things with Grace, don't dive in head first.  She also paid a visit to the eye doctor and needs glasses.  Surprisingly she is very excited about it.

What can I say about Adam - he's Adam.  He is still doing great at school; loves every minute of it.  Of course we are still dealing with our other issue (the potty) but he has been making an effort to try every day.  I just know he'll get there and we'll be able to look back on this and laugh (right?!?)

David is still plugging away at work.  He's also been able to devote some time to building his airplane models. 

And me, I'm still burning the candle at every possible angle but here's a quick summary: I traveled to NJ in early March, I took over Grace's faith formation class for the rest of the year, I attended the Mary Kay conference in Charlotte and the meeting that I am planning for my IAAP division is coming along nicely.

Easter was very relaxing for us; we hung out at home.  The kids made a cake Saturday night and then Sunday morning they were surprised with their baskets and a note from the Easter Bunny about some eggs to find.

Now if I can just keep up with these updates - all will be right with the world.

Bring Your Mommy to Lunch

Now that Adam is back into a solid daycare setting, we get to go back to doing fun things.  For instance, today was Bring Your Mommy to Lunch day.

He was so excited this morning when I reminded him that today was our special lunch date.  When I dropped him at school he said "You're going to work but you're coming back for lunch right".  And I told him "Of course I am, I wouldn't miss it".

So at 11:00 I hurried out of work and went to school.  There were lots of mommies there.  He had the biggest smile on his face when I walked in the door.  His usual routine at that time was to make up his cot for nap before lunch so I watched him do that and then he put together a few puzzles while we waited to eat.

When the food was ready each child and mommy washed their hands and took a seat.  We had spaghetti, salad, peaches and bread.  Adam ate almost everything then cleaned up our plates and headed to his cot.  His teacher told him he didn't have to rush since it's a special day but he's got a routine and he was sticking to it.

I read a couple of books with him and then had to come back to work.  It was so nice to spend a little time with him in the middle of the day.

Snow!!!

The past couple of years we've been lucky to miss out on the snow that has burdened our family in the north.  But that's no fun for the kids.  Sure we had some ice in January and school was closed for the day - but you can't play in ice.

Well the kids finally got what they've been wishing for, a little snow.  I was in Hartsville this past weekend for an event at Coker.  While in a meeting I learned that it was snowing so I called home during a break.  David said there were a couple of flakes but nothing exciting.  That was short lived.  As I drove home and turned onto the side street that led to our neighborhood, it happened.  Snow started falling faster than you could believe.

I pulled into the driveway and went inside to tell the kids.  Mind you, when I parked the grass was green.  In the five minutes it took to go inside and say the word snow, the grass was covered.  Grace & Adam grabbed their coats, hats and gloves and ran outside.  If they've learned one thing about snow in the south, they've learned that it doesn't last.

Both of them had a blast.  They were throwing snowballs, catching flakes on their tongues and simply enjoying the best part of winter.  After their cheeks were nice and rosy, they came inside for some hot cocoa and to warm up before going back out to play some more.

Of course by Sunday afternoon the snow was gone but it lasted long enough for them to have a good time!

Celebrating Mardi Gras

As you know, yesterday was Mardi Gras; the big celebration day prior to the start of Lent.  This year we were invited to join some of our friends for a Mardi Gras dinner.  Of course it was a chance for all of us to prepare genuine New Orleans cuisine since that is the hometown of the American Mardi Gras celebration.

Our hostess Jennifer made jambalaya and gumbo; Melanie, who is from NOLA, brought sauce picante; I tried my hand at building the perfect muffaletta; and Kate prepared pralines.  Of course the evening was not complete without King Cake.

The kids donned their beads, masks and other Mardi Gras party favors and tried their hardest to get the piece of cake with the baby hidden inside.  Thankfully they didn't get it because that would mean that we have to host the dinner next year.

We are blessed to have great friends who never miss an opportunity to have a good time.  Even though it was a "school night" we had a blast and the kids were bright-eyed and bushy-tailed this morning!

Adam's 4th Birthday

Just yesterday I was running out of the office to bring him into this world and now he's four - time sure does fly.  So of course we had to celebrate in our family way.

Friday we took cupcakes to school for Adam to share with his friends.  It was an odd day because we had a "winter storm" the night before - which translates into it rained all day, the temperature fell a little below freezing and there were a couple of flakes.  Grace's school was delayed two hours before being closed so both kids spent the day at Tutor Time.  After we picked the kids up, we went out to dinner.  The choice was On The Border, a Mexican restaurant.  As we finished our meal, Grace told the waiter it was Adam's birthday so they brought him a dessert and sang to him.  He loved it.  When we got home we gave him one of his presents so he could have it for his party.

Saturday was party day - the first time we have been able to have one of the kids' parties on their actual birthday.  He wanted an Avengers party so we put out all his superhero toys and got ready for his friends.  Seven kids joined us to celebrate.  Since the attention span of a group of four-year olds is limited, we blew up balloons for them to play with, played a quick pin the shield on Captain American, had cake and ice cream and then opened his presents.  Everyone had a good time.

Still can't believe my baby is four!

Weekend with Nona

Not being one to miss an opportunity, I check the weekly e-Savers on the US Airways website every Tuesday to see if there's a deal for a quick getaway.  Well last week what did I discover but a low fare from Philly to Charlotte.  Since we didn't get to head north over the holidays I thought it would be a perfect way for the kids to see at least one relative.

So I invited mom down for the weekend.  She jumped at the chance to have a couple days with the kids.  Saturday morning bright and early she boarded a plane headed our way.  The kids were very excited to have her here.  They colored, watched movies, played games and hung out.  It was a chance for us to see what it would be like to be around family more often.

They were sad to see her go Sunday evening but they really enjoyed their time with her!