Every day has moments filled with pure love, joy and contentment and at the same time has moments filled with frustration, disaster and craziness. I think that is one of the greatest things about motherhood. You never know what moment you will get and most times when you feel at your wits end and that you have completely failed to accomplish anything, God blesses you with a moment of pure love, joy and contentment. Sometimes in these moments I watch Shelby and JP and wonder if there is anything more perfect in the world and then just as quickly that thought fades to wonder how in the world I am going to survive this day.

Thankfully most of today has been great. JP, of course, woke up with the sun and I tried to cuddle with him in his bed for a little bit, but he would have none it....kind of reminds me of a line from a song in The Sound of Music, "When you wake up, wake up. It's healthy."....so after much insistence from him that it was time to get up and get started, I rolled myself out of his bed and hit the floor running. Most of the morning the children were right behind me saying "mommy....." in that whinny voice that usually means we are going to have a llllllllloooooooonnnnnnngggggggggggg day and at that moment I decided that I would spend most of the morning driving around in the car making up things to do because a lot of times with this kind of morning the children respond quite nicely, and thankfully they did. The car ride is just what was needed because they have been great since then. Pratt came home for lunch and then while he was packing for his trip Shelby and JP played like they were best of friends. She was teaching him gymnastics and exercises. It was so cute to listen to her give instruction and see how JP did exactly what she said. JP has a pretty good attention span, but let's face it, you can only take instruction from your sister for so long. Once the novelty of that wore off I sat down with them and did some worksheets. For about 20 minutes Shelby worked in her workbook and JP worked in his, with my help...this was hugely gratifying for me because, well, you all know, I am a giant nerd at heart.....About the time JP started to wander from that it was nap time and he obediently went to his room and got in bed, with his cars, nemo and blankie of course. Once he was down Shelby followed and that was that. All in all it was a wonderful day and I can't wait to see what this afternoon holds.....(hopefully much of the same from this morning).

One quick note on JP (for me to remember)....any word that starts with the letter "r" he puts an f in front of....fraisins, froom, etc. It is just sooo cute...I wonder why he does that? Although it really doesn't matter why because one day he will stop and I probably won't even notice that it is gone:(

Sing

Today JP and I were going to visit Grandpa and Uncle Matt at work. JP was particularly excited to see them because it was his request..."eat gee pa" that led to this visit. We picked up Moe's (our most favorite quick place to eat) and headed down to the marina. On the way I turned on the iPod and decided to listen to some music. We were listening and singing along when all the sudden JP says, "No sing mom, no sing!" Let me tell you, this was not a nice quiet request, but a loud demanding request, and every time I started to sing again he would shout out, "No sing mom, no sing." I am not so foolish to believe that I can get up in front of a group of people and sing, but I have always thought that I could carry a tune well enough that it would be okay in the confines of home and car....apparently JP doesn't agree with me. Well, thankfully he slept in the car all the way to pick Shelby up from camp; so guess what I did....I turned up the music and sang my little heart out.

Shelby Starts Camp

Today something struck me hard, something that is inevitable, but you just kind of ignore until it comes. This morning Shelby started camp at her school. Big whoop, you might say, but it triggered an avalanche of thoughts. As I was packing her lunch (this is a first as she has only ever gone away from me for a half day) I was thinking about how this is something new that I would do everyday next year for her. While I had all intention of packing her lunch last night before bed so I could be little miss organized mom this morning, I went to bed and didn't pack a lunch which left me to do it this morning. So, back to my original train of thought, this packing of her lunch and realizing that it is something I would be doing everyday coming up this fall reminded me that JP would also be attending school this fall. He is going to go two days a week. All the sudden it hit me like a ton of bricks........FOR TWO MORNINGS A WEEK I WILL HAVE NO CHILDREN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Holy Cow!!!! What in the world am I going to do with myself? I am so not ready to be alone!!!!!!! Even though there are times where one might believe that I live my life with the prospect of having some alone time, when it gets down to it, I don't want that. What am I going to do?!?!?!?! Well, I do what any self-respecting mom would do...I drop Shelby off at camp and head straight the to gym to my spin class because trying to stay focused on not falling off the bike got my mind off things long enough to avoid mental breakdown.

Anyway, Shelby had a great time at camp this morning and she is really excited about the Gymbus tomorrow. How do I know? Because for the first time in the history of her going to school she actually talked to me about it when I picked her up....I know, amazing isn't it!!!! JP and I had a nice morning. After the gym we went to the grocery to get milk and stuff; then came home for lunch, etc. He did very well considering I kept him up from nap so that he and Shelby could have some quiet time at the same time once we got home from picking her up.


When I asked Shelby if I could take her picture at first she was reluctant, which is a first, but I was able to get this picture of her in the car before she got out. I think she was more excited about her lunch box than anything else.

We have been fairly busy these last few days, but what else is new. I couldn't resist posting this picture of JP sitting at the window looking at Callie and Croix at Rob and Erik's house. As terrified as he can be of dogs sometimes I think in his heart he really loves them. He sat at the window for at least 10 minutes just looking at them. It was so cute!!!!

Monday-Thursday in Review

At first I thought I would title this blog "Week in Review" and then realized that it is only Thursday and while I don't plan on doing much for the rest of the week, I didn't want to be miss leading....anyway...here goes.

We have had a week of jam packed fun. On Monday I went to the gym and then we did some other things, I am just sure of it, but I really can't remember anything else. Isn't that crazy!!! Wow!!! That is just so bizarre to me. I have absolutely no recollection of the rest of the day. Oh well, on to Tuesday.

Tuesday was so much fun. My friends Heather and Dana joined me for a morning at the beach with their sweet babies. Being able to accomplish a trip to the beach with the Shelby and JP without any extra help was monumental for me and now that I know for sure I can do it we will definitely be making that a weekly event this summer. Shelby and JP had a pretty good time. JP was a little clingy, well no, actually he was a lot clingy which wasn't that great since it was pretty warm out, but all in all it was a great time. Shelby was like a little mom with Callie (Heather's daughter). She held her hand everywhere. It was so cute. There were even times where Shelby would point to something and then, from a distance, it looked as if she was explaining to Callie what it was.

Here is Shelby showing Callie something in the water...

Wednesday was definitely a very busy day for us, and as a result I am paying for it a little bit today with the whiny factor from Shelby and JP. I had a wonderful class at the gym that totally kicked my tail and wiped me out. Then we went to the pool. We were their for about 2 1/2 hours and probably spent 2 hours and 15 minutes of that time in the pool. Shelby is getting so good at swimming. The hardest part is that she loves to be under the water. At one point she was jumping in the pool to swim to me and when she jumped in she wouldn't come back up because she was too busy looking around at the lights and people's legs (I guess). It was very stressful for me because I wasn't sure if I should grab her up or let her swim. Of course, she knew what she was doing and what she wanted to do. JP is also getting braver in the water. He is getting to where he will float without holding on to me when he is in his swim vest. He even jumped in the water prematurely at one point and went right under. He was definitely shocked when his little head popped back up. After nap time Shelby had her first day of gymnastics. I wish that I had some pictures of it, but it was quite a hectic afternoon to get her there and then I had to come home real quick to drop JP off with Pratt, at which point I got right back in the car to go back to her. At the end I could tell she was getting tired because she started to not listen and really just kind of wandered around while all the other little girls did their thing. Unfortunately when one doesn't listen one can get hurt and that is exactly what happened to her. So we left the gym crying and bleeding....but no worries, she is fine and can't wait to go back next week. We got home just after 6:45pm and joined our neighbors for our newly formed Cul de Sac family night. It was so much fun. Everyone cooked their own food and then we all ate outside together and let the kids play. The kids had a great time running around and doing all sorts of things. It was 8:15pm by the time we packed up and headed in. After a quick bath and speedy bedtime routine Shelby and JP were fast asleep.

Whew....just typing all that made me tired; and Shelby and JP are wiped out as well. This morning we hung around the house for a bit before running out for our day. Once again, I went to the gym and then we went to Moe's for lunch with Erin and the boys. It was great fun until the bottom fell out and clearly Shelby couldn't function anymore so we had to leave in a bit of a hurry and have some discipline moments. Hopefully they will both get good naps this afternoon and be back to my little angels this evening since Pratt won't be here.

Since I haven't been that great with pictures of fun happenings this week I thought I would include this picture from the bath on Monday. Happy Thursday everyone!

Lakehouse!!!!!

Ahhhh, it is that time of year again and we are so excited!!! Last weekend we spent a few days at the lakehouse and we couldn't have asked for more perfect weather. It was great and Shelby and JP had so much fun! We left on Saturday morning and got their right around lunch time. After nap our swimsuits were on and we spent the rest of the time there in them. Shelby and JP were like little waterbugs.

One of the best things about the lakehouse is how close it is. The ride up there is a breeze especially when coupled with the excitement of being in your bathing suit all day in the sun. JP is our little incognito superstar in training. He loves wearing sunglasses no matter what time of day or what kind of weather. This picture was taken after he finally got the sunglasses turned around and on properly. For about 20 minutes he had them on upside down and he was just chillin' with his glasses and raisins.

And of course, you can't take a picture of one and not the other so here is Shelby enjoying the ride. She was very excited to get to stay in her pajamas for the trip. I am not exactly sure why, but she really wanted to wear them up there.

Besides spending endless amount of time floating in the water, Shelby and JP really enjoyed playing with their fishing poles. Instead of hooks on the end they have these little plastic toys to help the line fly when you cast it and sink a little as you reel them in. Shelby got really good at casting by the end of the first day we were up there and I just got the biggest kick out of watching her "fish". Everytime she would stand one leg out to the side and her hip cocked like she was some sort of professional beauty queen fisherwoman.

JP on the other hand had a bit of a time trying to figure out how to push the button down and cast the line out. One thing I have to give him is that he never gave up the entire weekend. He would get frustrated and moody about the whole thing and anytime anyone tried to help him he would get really upset, but he never put that pole down.

One time Shelby threw out her line and Pratt put it in his mouth and let her reel him in like he was a fish. Shelby and JP laughed and laughed. They just loved it and then they started wanting to be caught. After a few times, JP put the line in his mouth and then got down in the water and started "swimming" as I reeled him in. It was one of the cutest things by far!!!

The whole weekend was wonderful! We had a great time swimming, having tea parties, fishing, washing the dog, tubing, and of course eating. All the way home Shelby asked if we could go back.

Boy in the Hood

One of JP's new favorite things to do is say, "Watch this!" which is followed by some amazing feet such as throwing a stuffed animal in the air or jumping or spinning around, etc. If you don't look immediately and then oooo and awwww over what he has done he will continue to get louder and louder in his requests to "watch this". A couple of days ago he came out of Shelby's room with his request and when I looked to see what he wanted to show me he was putting on a Clemson baseball cap backwards. Now this is cute for two main reasons....1-because he is my son and pretty much everything he does can be considered cute and 2-because it was Clemson related and anything that Shelby or JP do that is Clemson related is cute. Anyway, here are a few pictures of the hat. Isn't he so adorable!?!?!?!?!? I especially love all those little curls sticking out!!!

JP counting to 10 and a little beyond.

Happy Birthday Daddy...a couple of days late!

I hope that everyone had a wonderful Memorial day! We sure did. The sun finally came out and it made for a much more joyous time as we remembered all the men and women who have served our country and protected our freedom. Shelby was particularly interest in it and everytime we saw an American flag or something with red, white, and blue on it she would ask about it. Her curiosity at this stage is almost unquenchable. It is amazing to watch her little face as she processes new information and hear her questions. Fourth of July will be another time to share with her all that people have done so that we can live in a country where we are free to worship God, go to school, get good health care, live where we want, etc.

Here is a picture of Pratt and JP with the fish he helped Pratt reel in. After we had a nice family dinner on Memorial Day we rode our bikes down the road to a great fishing spot on the lake across the street from our house. As soon as the hook hit the water Pratt caught a fish. We just laughed because that is the same thing that happened last time we took the kids fishing. What can I say....Pratt is an excellent fisherman!

We tried to get a picture of Shelby with the fish that she helped reel in, but she really wasn't interested in standing that close to the fish.

About a week and a half ago we celebrated Pratt's birthday!! Happy Birthday Daddy!!! We love you so much! It was a great night of family fun and Shelby loved asking her daddy how old he was. Now she just says, "I know how old daddy is. He is 31. I know how old mommy is. She is 30. I know how old JP is. He is 2." My mom gave me an awesome cake pan for Christmas and we have had so much fun making and eating yummy Clemson sweet treats! We got crazy with this one and dyed the cake batter orange for extra affect.



These last two pictures are of JP being a boy. Everyday I am more and more amazed at how he just attracts dirt. This boy loves to be messy!! Everything he does ends up messy and if it is something that I think I can keep a close eye on to keep him from getting messy he proves me wrong. This first picture is of him eating the Clemson cake with some chocolate ice cream. Surprisingly I think he ate more than he got on himself...I wonder if that means we gave him too much?!?!?!?! Chocolate is one of his favorite things. Shelby steers clear of most chocolate, in fact if given the option of chocolate or something else, she always chooses the other. JP on the other hand always has room for chocolate. They are pretty opposite in a lot of things now that I think about it. Shelby loves meat and JP pretty much sticks with fruits and veggies. Shelby hates having covers on her and JP won't let you hear the end of it if you put him in bed without covering him up, and then there is the chocolate thing....hummmm, interesting.....

Another great mess picture. Shelby is really into crafting right now and I just love it. Most of the time she is sitting at the table coloring, drawing, cutting, painting, beading, etc. This day I let them get the finger paints out and while Shelby made pretty little hand prints and finger print pictures, JP proceeded to paint himself and pretty much had one little smudge on his paper when we were all done. Look at how proud he is....now, tell me, who can resist those big brown eyes??????

One more thing...today I took Shelby to Island Gymnastics to sign up for her very first ever organized activity. We have been to several birthday parties there and her end of the year school party was there. She talks about that place a lot so we thought she might enjoy taking a gymnastics class, and boy was she excited. In the past when I have asked her if she wanted to do this or do that it was met with resistance and even panic, but when I told her that we were going to Island Gymnastics to sign up for a class she could hardly sit still she was so excited and then I got 20 questions from her in about 30 seconds. It was so nice to see her excited about something for a change. Now I hope that we can keep that excitement as we wait the week we have before the class starts.