"Nap" Quest...

You must have guessed what time it is. I hope that she will get one today. We have dress rehearsal tonight, and there are 54 routines that have to be preformed. She will be wired if we don't get a nap. So, my plan of action was the golden arches. That's right good old Ronald McDonald. Jamie is down but not for long. I have some cleaning left to do and then we are off.
I have to meet Steven to get Jamie. I will take Aubrey back to the High School. Steven has to get Robin from the airport and take her to the house. Then he will turn around and get Nikki and David at 9:00. Then, we should all be home!

Not much else on our list today. Just keep you fingers crossed that I get Steven's clothes ironed for his trip!

Cheers-

It started with the garbage truck.

This is Steve posting this time. I'll start with the Polliwogs. Aubrey is really excited about Nikki and Grandma Robin coming, and to celebrate she skipped her nap for the 4th straight day... Mommy and Daddy just looove that. Jamie is 6 weeks old, and he went to the doctor for his 1 month checkup. He was just under 12 pounds and 22.25 inches. This puts him at 55th percentile for height and 70th percentile for weight. Doctor Bailey says he's doing great. Unfortunately, he also had to get some shots. Poor fella, he has a pitiful quivering cry that melts your heart. The only silver lining is that it might make him sleep through the night. Is it wrong that I'm a just a little glad he go the shots?

And now for our day, off-topic from the Polliwogs. It started with me jumping out of the shower to chase down the garbage truck, because I forgot to put the trash out last night. Terminix came this morning (just an annual check-up), then off I went to work and Aubrey to school. Works fine, but I had to come home early to meet the A/C repair guy. They came out last August when our house was under warranty because we had a coolant leak. Of course they didn't fix it right and we're out of coolant again and the downstairs A/C doesn't work. Now I've got to fight with DR Horton to make sure honor the warranty. In the meantime we'll just have to deal with a warm downstairs... at least upstairs is nice and cool. While this was going on, Nikki calls and they missed their flight because David got hung up at work. They were supposed to fly in tonight, but now they'll come in tomorrow. Needless to say, there was high drama at the Gray house which was made even better since Aubrey was hyper from not having a nap. FYI for those without kids: even though it would make sense for a child to be tired from lack of sleep, they in fact become hyper. I'll call this the Inverse Law of Toddler Sleep.

Leinenkugels made the evening a little better, but I may have to try Cuervo before the night is done. Jamie is mad as a hornet from his shots. Company is coming tomorrow, then I'll go to Spain and Aubrey goes to Alabama. The month of Daddy and Polliwog traveling begins... may make for some fun posts.

There's more than one way to shave a cat...

So Sage is one of our cats, and if you don't know about him... he's got issues. One of his OCD's is that he eats the hair on his tail, and he doesn't groom himself very well. It is summertime and we decided to shave Sage, so he won't be uncomfortable in the heat when he goes outside. Last year TJ knocked him out and did it at the Vet's office. We decided to take this on ourselves and buy a $25 pet clipper at Target.

FYI: if you're going to buy pet clippers, don't waste money on cheap ones (a.k.a., $25 Target clippers). Sage was remarkably cool about getting shaved while conscious. However, the clippers kept getting jammed, so Christy cut him first with scissors. Later we came back and tried to even him out with the clippers. Here's the photographic evidence of the hack job we did on the poor cat. He'll have to live with it though... we're not spending more on good clippers or taking him to the vet. Sage doesn't seem to care the way that he looks, and he has been much happier since his cut.

Wet Wednesday...ick!

Good afternoon,

I thought that I may have few free minutes to say hello. So, last night was a little rough with Jamie. It wasn't bad, (Aubrey bad), just not as easy as it has been. I have been up since 4:30 this morning. We all had to leave at 7:30. Now, I know how Mom always felt, the first up and the last to be ready. Hummm, and I am just getting started. Anyway, it was great to see everyone at work when I went for my 6wk follow up. I can't believe I start back on Monday!

I picked Aubrey up early from daycare and spent sometime in the infant room where Jamie will be. Mrs. Jean is waiting for him. June 23rd will be his start date. Aubrey, Jamie and I then went to Target, Sam's Club and by the bank. Will Monday ever come!!!!

Aubrey had to take her pink umbrella with her today. She thought she was something! Today she told me that she didn't want to be a "BIG STISTER", she said that it was to much work and she just wanted to be "Aubrey" from now on. If only it were that easy.

So we are half way through our day. We are headed to dance practice for the recital on Saturday. Again, NO NAP today. We are now on a 3 day stretch. I hope we make it through dance tonight. We will see.

Back in the dirt and who are you?

Steven came home about 2:30 yesterday afternoon. Aubrey still had not fallen asleep. She was coming our of her room for every little thing. She knows the rule, "When you don't take a nap, you go to bed early!" We both knew at this point there would be no nap. So we packed the tribute and headed to Lowe's.

Last summer I had found these hanging baskets at the Dollar General, that look really nice. I wanted to hang them all along the fence. I called Nikki, I called Mom, and I called my friend Heather down the road. I was like, you all have to help me get these baskets. Nikki was a negative, she had something going on. It was a Sunday afternoon. Mom sent Harry out to their "D.G." and that was a bust. So, I was on the phone with my friend Heather, she was getting me to the "D.G.'s" that she knew. Needless to say I ended up with 20 baskets in garage for about 10 months. So, Steven has been itching for me to take them out of his garage.

We took our trip to Lowe's to pick out flowers. As we load plants in the buggy, Aubrey was loading her hands full of flowers. We tried to explain, she couldn't pick the flowers. Again, this age 4 is really tough. She also wanted to know if I had any extra, could she use them.

So, when we came home we put Jamie on a small mattress near the house, while Aubrey helped me place all the dirt in the baskets. Steven was grilling. This was a trying afternoon. Jamie would not stay settled, and Aubrey kept knocking the baskets over. Steven was in the front of the house. I just kept thinking why did I think we could do this. One, NO NAP for Aubrey. Two, all Jamie wants is to eat. Three, Steven is grilling...does he seriously think we are going to sit down all together and have a meal? Have we in the last 6 weeks?

Some how it all worked out. Jamie slept, Aubrey and I got the flowers in the pots. Steven had steaks off the grill ready to eat. Aubrey did get her bath and went to bed early. This left just Steven and I (with Jamie asleep) alone. We worked like dogs! He placed his manure around the plants while I watered all the plants. It has been forever since we have worked TOGETHER on a project like this. This was always our favorite thing to do. I finally looked over at him and said, Now, who are you, I don't remember your name? We just laughed. We, really like working in the yard together. As it grew dark we put our toys away and headed inside.

Before heading to bed we shared a tub of "Ben & Jerry's, Willie Nelson's Country Peach Cobble Ice Cream". Yummm.... This is something that we do very seldom. Maybe 5 times a year. This is what we call our "Sin", Ben & Jerry's is our sin. We started this when we were in Nashville. It is such a treat. I could go on about all the flavors, however, I am staying away from Chocolate for now while I am breast feeding. That is why we had the peach cobbler. Chocolate and Diet Cokes. My true love diet coke! Ask anyone. It may not be reason to give it up, but why not. For now I am drinking diet sprite. My favorite is from Sonic with the crunchy ice.

Well, today Jamie and I are home alone. Steven took Aubrey to daycare today. She will go for awhile tomorrow, she has dance practice tomorrow, and Steve usually has lab meeting on Wednesday's. So, he won't be able to get off at 4:00 to get her to me to take to dance.
Thursday she will go to daycare and maybe not on Friday. She has dress rehearsal on that afternoon and Steven will pick Robin up from the airport. The next day that she will return to daycare will be June 30th.

Watch our Alabama and Nashville, here comes Aubrey!

"Thank you so much for sharing that with me..."

Yesterday afternoon we went to Jen & Chris' for play date and dinner. It is so great to let the girls run and play while we relax and visit. Yesterday we had four different families just chillin' and the Darragh's listening to country music on the boom box. It was nice. There were 2 highlights of the evening.

First, while the girls where playing they would stop every eight minutes or so to stop tattle on one another. Finally, Greg had enough and decide to handle it. Remember, Greg has 3 grown polliwogs! So, here comes Aubrey ready to tattle! She has the full drama armor on with tears. She began to tell Steven whatever it was bothering her, or what someone had done. Greg stops her and tells her to explain to him what happened. She agreed and she told him whatever. Then Greg looks at her and says, "Aubrey, thank you so much for sharing that with me." Aubrey just looked him, like "are you kidding" and she had no idea how to respond. Then we continue our conversation. She ran off to play! BAM!!! Believe me, it worked great for all the girls. Greg said it over and over!

The other funny for the night was that we are sitting on the patio around the table and we look down two houses. There is a man (another neighbor) watering his lawn. Yes, he had it just right in his hand where it looked like he was using the bathroom. Of coarse we had to yell down there to tell him! He just laughed once he noticed what he was doing.

We had another great evening with our neighborhood. Who knows what today will bring. Steven got up and went in to work. I kept Aubrey, since daycare is closed today. She has been in 2 bathing suits already. She has been in and out of the house playing in the blow up pool. Steven also pulled her red mustang out of the garage so that she could ride it around the back of the house while he was gone. She says it didn't work so well on the grass, so she wanted to wash her car. Which was great for me. Jamie was sleeping, so I could get some picking up done.

We had our first watermelon yesterday! As a mater of fact 3 out of the 4 families thought they had a great idea and brought a watermelon to Jen and Chris'. So, yeah we brought ours back. We will probably cut it today. I had a few people look at me funny when I asked for the salt. I forget that not everyone puts salt on there watermelon. Aubrey is actually growing some watermelon in her garden! We will see how that works.

I have been talking to Dad about twice a day. He seems to be doing well. I think Nikki is headed home today.

I hope you all have a great Memorial Day!
Cheers

Our Sunday

I decided to share even more photos. These are from Aubrey's daycare. They seem to take lots of pictures throughout the year. On the 2nd photo she is sitting with her Kelsey puppet (PUFFET) as she calls it. This is sorta of the daycare's mascot. She takes Phonics and Spanish and they use Kelsey in the classes. She is really attached to this puppet.

This morning Aubrey, Jamie and I went and met Heather (a close work friend) for brunch. We had a great time, Aubrey even let us visit. Aubrey brought her on "baby" to brunch. Heather's husband Steve met up with us after to see Jamie. It was good getting to visit. I am looking forward to seeing everyone on Wednesday, when I come for my follow up visit.
*For those who don't know, I work now in at the Obgyn Clinic at UNC, where my OB Physician is at. How convenient! I am no longer with Dillard's. Steven and I ride in together since we work across the street from one another. This has been great to visit on our commute to
Chapel Hill.

So, we had a great time last night at the cookout. Greg and Cindy worked really hard. The neighborhood kids had a blast. They had made water balloons for the kids.
This was Aubrey's favorite part. While all the kids where throwing theirs on the fence, Aubrey snuck off to the bucket and got her 3. Now think about her trying to hold 2 while throwing the other. The balloons were tough, and needless to say she lost hers to the older kids.
However, "Little Kylie" who will be 3 in July/August, simply held on to hers, until the older kids notice and then they ransacked her. This was fun, however Steven had Aubrey one left over, and at the end of the night she was able to pop one without someone stealing it. She was happy, along with rest of the cake that Mrs. Cindy sent her home with.

Well, the polliwogs are sleeping, and Steven is taking a shower. He got out and cut the grass this morning. The lawn look really good. This afternoon we are headed to another neighbors to rehash last night.

Polliwog Pictures!

This was our Saturday morning. We all got up and had pictures made. Yes, Aubrey decided to take pictures this Saturday. She even wanted to take Ballet Pictures again. Last Saturday she was having Dance pictures at her dance studio, however she decided not to take pictures after getting all dolled up. It was a rough morning. However, I will go through that any day to get what we got today. Let us know what you think.

Steven is out grocery shopping while the Polliwogs are sleeping. I was so excited to share
these, so I am missing a nap. Oh well!

I spoke again with Daddy last night and he is doing really well. Hopefully he is on his way home. I will be calling shortly to check on them.

One last note. One of our neighbors got a kitten. So, think about it (Aubrey and a Kitten). She is nuts over this kitten, especially since Dill has grown. We are going to a cookout tonight at this neighbors house
(Happy Birthday & Congratulations on Graduating Aimee). Anyway, this kitten CHARLIE won't have a chance tonight. There will 3 girls Aubrey's about Aubrey's age. Poor kitten.

Polliwog Pictures!

It's Friday

This is Aubrey's big deal right now. She truly enjoys her garden.
Steven has work really hard with the her and the plants. Every afternoon she is checking her plants and looking for "Lady" her lady bug that stays in her garden. They also pick fresh strawberries every afternoon from their little patch. Jamie and I are usually feeding during their time. Usually after that we are off into the neighborhood to see who is out playing or walking. We have a really fun neighborhood with a lot fun families.

So on another note, my father is having a surgery as I write. I am ready for Nikki (my sister) to call and let me know how things went. He has some degenerative disk in his neck that were causing some nerve damage. Hopefully, this will correct some of the damage. Dad came last weekend to see the baby.
It was a great visit, however we slept a good bit of the time.

So, this afternoon we are getting to see a great friend. ERIC-part of team "B". What that means- After Sarah and Joel moved, Joel began to call Eric and Sabrina "Team B". As if.... Eric and Sabrina are great. We are really looking forward to seeing him. However we are going to miss Sabina. Eric is here for a conference at UNC. Steven will see him again next month when Steven goes through Nashville.

In the morning I am planning to take the "Polliwogs" for pictures. I hope that Aubrey will take pictures. I have a feeling that we are going to have issues with what I want her to wear. She always grumbles. However, I have figured out how to get her dressed in the morning. She has to get dressed before the TV comes on. She gets dressed fast too.

Well, I hear Sage on the baby monitor, that means that there is cat in the baby's room. Jamie is sleeping right now. I am not diggin' that! Gotta Go!

Cheers

Ps---It is about 1:00pm and Daddy called me! I was really surprised that he was able to call.
He is in great spirits, he sounds a little hoarse. He said he had been a sleep for a couple of hours and was ready to talk. He will have a few long weeks of recovery, but nothing will hold him down for to long.

My first post....

Today is my first day. So what has happened today? We all got up and headed off to take Steven's
car to the shop. Nothing exciting. Other than creating a family blog! So, Jamie and I will be at home today doing the typical Mommy-Jamie routine. I am looking forward to June 2nd, here I come work.
I am ready for that structure back in my life. We are so looking forward to the family that will be visiting. However, Steven will be in Spain. Exciting for him. Aubrey will also be "on tour" as we call it.
She is headed to Alabama for 2 weeks and then to Nashville for another 2 weeks. Thank the Lord for family! She is going to have a blast. We are going to miss her so much. Anyway, nothing big today.