"Ma Ma Ma Ma Ma"

I got it!!
I got it on video tonight!!!
We all went out to Chic Fil A for dinner before going grocery shopping. While we were there Abbi decided to start saying Ma Ma over and over. Then she was not only saying it but she started screaming it!! I could not have cared less about any one in the restaurant eating dinner, I was so darn excited about Abbi saying MA MA MA!!!

Moving on up!!!

Abbi is Moving on UP!!!
Literally!!!
Abbi can now stand up on her own without holding on to anything!!
She gets in a squat position, then just lifts her body with her leg muscles!
It is so fun to watch!! I remember Katrina doing it the same exact way!!
I don't think I could stand up like this if my life depended on it.
Check her out!!



I also got her to say "Ma-Ma" yesterday!! It was very exciting for me!!
But I do not understand why she is in such a hurry to grow up.

Clay Vacay!!!

Clay decided to take a week off this month!! He had built up vacation days and his boss said this month was their slowest month so if he was going to take a vacay now would be a good time. Kids tracked out Friday and Clay took the whole first week of track out off!!
It has been so much fun!!
Half day of school on Friday, and Carly came home sick.
Saturday I went to U.S. National White Water in Charlotte. Came home to Clay and Abbi sick!!

Monday we went to the Museum of Life and Science in Durham.
(I have to share the "Paityn-ism" from this trip! We were in the Butterfly house checking out all the insects and butterflies. When we walked out of the actual room where the butterflies were Paityn found a door that was all fogged so people couldnt see in. Paityn started messing with the lock and trying to get in. Clay said "Paityn you can not go in there." Paityn of course answered with "Why?" Clay says "Well, thats where they keep dead people." Paityn then shrugged her shoulders and in total Paityn brilliance said "Oh" and kept walking, like every building has dead people in it. Oh it still makes me laugh out loud!)
Tuesday we went to Ritter Park in Cary. (funny "Paityn-ism" from this trip; a group of kids were playing Hide & Seek, when it was Paityn's turn to hide the seeker walked right by her and Paityn chimes in with "I'm right here ya'know!") After a fun trip to the park we decided to hit the new yogurt bar in Holly Springs called Yogurt Fushion. It was alright.
Wednesday we hung out here and cleaned out the whole garage then took a trip to the dump. I have many hopes and dreams regarding what I want to do with this garage. It is a one car garage. You can totally fit a car in there but good luck trying to open your door!! So we never park in here. We just store all our junk in here. My dream is to build it in. Turn it into Jacob's room and then separate the girls into the 2 bedrooms upstairs. Its just a matter of getting our money tree to sprout!!
Thursday morning we went into Cary and hit Michaels to get crafts for Saturday. We also went by my favorite frozen yogurt dive in Cary called "Skinny Dip". You serve yourself from a variety of different flavors of frozen yogurt, then you head over to the toppings bar and load up on all sorts of toppings to choose from, place it on the scale and its .39 cents per ounce! YUM!! After yogurt we headed over to "The Meat House" to get some steaks for dinner. After all that we hung out and played outside in the sprinkler and swimming pool.
Friday we went to the NC Zoo in Asheboro. It was so much fun! We got to see so many different animals. This zoo is so different then the zoo in DC that I grew up going to. The animals at the zoo in Ashboro have ACRES to roam around in. The National Zoo in DC all the animals are in little pens and it is so depressing seeing the Tigers just walk back and forth out of boredom! The food was SUPER expensive (sorta figured that when the sign out front said "no outside coolers allowed", but the tram was FREE so that was a bonus) We did exactly what the zoo web site said to do and parked at the N. America side, took the tram to Africa and do that whole side first. Had some lunch then jumped back on the free tram and headed to N. America. When you get to N America side there is a small but really fun play ground that the kids really enjoyed! We visited as many animals as we could before Katrina (ready for nap) and Mom (woke up sick) had had enough.
Saturday was Dillard craft day due to Hurricane Irene. Jacob picked out some wood model kits to put together and paint, Carly picked out 2 clay horses to paint, Paityn got a variety box of crafts and Katrina got paint. The fun was never ending!!
We have had so much fun with Clay home this week! He really is a hands on Daddy! He loves getting into whatever the kids are getting into! He loves being a Daddy more than anything else in life! He has really put work on the back burner this week which has been absolutely AMAZING!! and a little SHOCKING to be honest!!
Having him go back to work on Monday is going to be tough on all of us. I don't know what I am going to do for the rest of track out with all these kids all to myself!?!?
Maybe we will go visit him every day and take him for walks around Regency Lake and bring him lunch etc.......
I feel so blessed to have Clay as my husband and Father of our gifts from God!!

End of the Moo-Moo Cow

So ends another chapter in my life.
I called this chapter "Moo-Moo Cow"
All 5 of my babies have been breast fed babies. I must say it is my absolute favorite part of the whole experience. There is something about it I just cant explain. It is a closeness that no words could really describe. My therapist called it my "high". Gotta say he is/was right. It is a "high" for me.
Each child cut me off on their own. My plan was always for at least 1 year, but none of them have made it that long. Jacob cut me off at 7 months but I had so much frozen and stored that I think he actually did get breast milk for his whole first year. Carly cut me off at 7 months. Paityn 9 months, Katrina 10 months and well looks like Abbi has cut me off and she will be 9 months in a week.
The "Moo-Moo Cow" Chapter of my life has come to an end.
Since Abbi is my last baby there will be no more.
I have enjoyed this chapter the most so far! I loved pregnancy but I hated pregnancy as well. There is not a single thing about breast feeding that I hated. I even got mastitis with Abbi and let me tell you that HURTS!! Worse then any pain I have ever felt before!! But even suffering through that. there is nothing about this chapter that I hated. Mastitis was no fun, getting bit hurts A LOT, especially once teeth are present, but nothing I hated.
In fact I love it so much I begged Clay to find the breast feeding channel in the delivery room during Abbi's birth. He never found it, but it did keep him busy and out of my face ;) !! I love my husband I really do. The only time I have ever wanted him on another planet was during delivery!

Good-Bye Moo-Moo Cow!! Thank you God for giving me the ability to do this for each of my children. It has been a true gift!

Some of Gods greatest gifts

"Some of God's greatest gifts are unanswered prayers."
This is a line in a country song. So very true!
I would also have to say that some of God's greatest gifts beside my husband and children of course would be my SIBLINGS!! I love my siblings! There was a time when I wouldnt have dared say that. If you knew my siblings you would know why!! HA HA HA HA HA
No but seriously I just spent yesterday with 2 of my siblings, Karen & Garet at a White Water Rafting place in Charlotte, NC and let me tell you it was the most fun I have had in quite some time!! Garet went to this place for his birthday and posted some pictures of it! I commented on his pictures about how I wanted to go, he commented back that he was going again next month and I invited myself in a heartbeat!! He said OK!! BONUS!! Then I asked if I could ask our other siblings if maybe they wanted to go. Karen said YES!! BONUS!! Two of my favorite people!! We had SO MUCH FUN!! We got there at 10am, our raft time was 12 so we went and got in line to do the Mega Zip Line. The line was LONG to say the least and not really moving at all. Garet did not want to wait in line, so he took me on a tour while Karen waited in line for us. Garet walked me down to the lazy river where they do Kayaking and Paddle boarding, then we went back to Karen. She said a guy had just walked by and said it would be 2 hours so we got out of line and grabbed some cheese burgers in the cafe and chatted about life. It was NICE!! I guess that is what growing up does to sibling relationships! After we ate we walked around a bit more then waited for our 12 o'clock rafting call. Once we got in the raft Garet put Karen and I up front! He really wanted us to get popped/bounced out. The instructor got on and started giving us a quick lesson and I was nick named "Squirt"!! Anyways we got to going on the first easiest course and guess who fell out!!! NOT ME!!! BONUS!! It was KAREN!! My older sister!! BONUS!! What younger sister doesnt want to see her older sister get thrown from the raft! I mean honestly!!
We went down the rapids 5 times and had an absolute ball!! It was so much fun. Then we went and waited to get kayaks down at the river. Kayak was no where near as exciting as the rafting but at least now I can say that I have done it. After that we went back and waited in line to do the Mega Zip Line. While waiting in line Garet says he is going to go check something out and he disappears. Next thing you know he is back and stating that the Mega Jump had "No line"! Only a little brother can make an older sister eat her words so well! Earlier in the day I had made fun of a lady that had the whole line cheering for her so she would go ahead and jump. She never did and turned around and went back like a sucker! So I stupidly made the comment "That doesnt seem so high. I would jump it. I mean come on, you are securely attached." As a matter of fact after kayaking we saw this woman walk by and Karen even made a comment and we all chuckled. So when Garet came back with "There's no line" I couldn't NOT jump! No way am I letting my LITTLE brother 1 up me like that. So I go back there and get the harness on and head up the steps. The whole time uttering profanity towards my little brother under my breath!! I get up there and if Garet had not been standing down there I so would have said FUDGE THIS and walked back down, but there was Garet with a smile from ear to ear laughing his butt off and yelling something at me!! When that guy told me to step up to the red dots I really wished I could do an Adriane Famous Spit surprise right on Garets face!! Here is a picture of me jumping!! Notice the mouth wide open the WHOLE way down!! I honestly can not believe I did it!! The dude told me to bend my knees for my landing but my legs were jello by the time I got to the bottom I feel right down! Laid on my back! And just laughed while letting out a huge sigh of relief that was over! Now looking back I wish I had gone back up and done it one more time just to totally conquer that fear but there will be a next time. After I jumped Karen jumped! Watching her jump was so much fun! The cry she let out as she was free falling was priceless!! God I love my siblings! Finally it was our turn to zipline!! I must say it was fun but honestly not worth the 2 hour wait in line. The zip only lasted maybe 45 seconds at that! It was neat and a little scary and I am totally glad I did it while there but we could have spent that 2 hours doing the ropes course. So next time it will be a week day so we can do EVERYTHING there to do!!

The day was awesome!! Absolutely AWESOME!! We all had a lot of fun! I am so blessed to have the siblings I have! God has truly blessed me!!

2 Worst Things Ever!!!

As a mom of 5 I must say there are only 2 absolutely HORRIFIC parts of being a mom!!

1. TEETHING!!!

Not just for the obvious reason of the pain and discomfort your child is in, or the all the crying from the pain, or even the sleepless nights for weeks at a time. The worst part of teething is the EVERYTHING IN THE MOUTH FACTOR!!! Everything and I mean everything has to be tested by the tongue and newly coming teeth!! I am a paranoid freak during this time in my babies life!! I feel like the vacuum is used more then my tooth brush!!
Just the other night with Abbi she had a Lego in her mouth and was gumming it with her new teeth. I grabbed it out of her mouth and as I was handing it to Paityn and telling her to take it back upstairs and not play with them anymore I found change on the floor. Jacob had ridden his bike up the ice cream shop and had change in his pockets that was falling out. Next thing I know Abbi is in the dining room gagging on something. I ran to her tipped her on her belly and started patting her back. NOTHING. and she is still gagging. I shave my finger down her throat (I have to do this on a constant basis it seems with goldfish) but I found nothing. Mind you she is still gagging and not taking full breaths of air. So I grab the phone to call 911 and see all my kids sitting there, innocently, without a clue as too what is going on watching cartoons. So I grab my cell phone and head out front to save them from seeing me FLIP OUT on the phone with 911 as my baby is in my arms gagging and not breathing or making a noise. As I walk out the front door and down the porch steps Abbi sees Cleo sitting there and kicks her feet and lets out this little squeal of excitement. So I turn her around and hold her in the air and look at her and she just smiles at me as if to say "What's up mom? Why you trippin?" I dont think I have ever embraced her so tightly!! Then Clay pulls up with dinner. We eat and keep an eye on her and we both think she is breathing a little heavy as if not getting full breaths. So I put her in the van and head to the ER. They do 4 x-rays and find nothing! So now its poop duty for 2 days just to be sure.

#2 POTTY TRAINING!!!!

Potty training in itself is really not so bad. You sit them on the toilet turn on the water and read them a book. You buy Charmin wipes that you can flush down the toilet and get a little potty seat. Voilla. Easy!!
The hard part is when you dare to take them in public while potty training or until they are big enough to NOT HOLD ON!! I swear it grosses me out just to type about it. I am honestly not a germ-a-phobe!! But when I take a potty training child to any public restroom it honestly makes me want to EARL!!! They always want to grab the toilet when they sit down to balance themselves. It doesnt matter if I sit them on the potty and then hold them they still some how always manage to grab the dag gum freaking toilet!!! AHHHHHH It is so freaking nasty!! So nasty!! No antibacterial soap or lotion or anything after they do this can put my mind at ease!! Makes me not want to potty train Katrina or Abbi till they are 8 and their feet touch the floor when sitting on a toilet!!!

My Jen-Jen

My Jen-Jen!!

Where do I begin?

Jen-Jen is my bestest friend in the whole world! She honestly is my everything! Without her........lets just not go there!
Jen-Jen is my BFF, has been for 20+ years! I met Jenny in 8th grade. It was my first year back to public school. PHEW what a year! What a change in pace!
We were friend right away. We had mutual friends and hung out often. I would say we really became 'best friends' in high school. We had good times and bad but through it all we remained best friends. Jen-jen even had Kirsten on my birthday!! I mean how much more special can you get. Still to this day (I kid you not we were just talking about it today) I swear and I tell her "Kirsten is my child she just birthed her"!! Kirsten is one kick butt girl, well teenager now.

Jen-Jen was my maid of honor for my wedding!! What a crazy fast whirlwind that was! Clay asked me to marry him and within 30 days (I didnt want him to change his mind! He was all doped up when he asked HA HA HA) we were married! Jen drove here with my mom and was taught all about the birds and the bees the whole drive here!! Sorry Jen I know I still owe you for that one to this day! Jen helped me get everything put together on our wedding day! She was my witness on the marriage certificate!!

I turn to Jen-Jen for just about everything! And I mean everything! She had to come pick me up from Seven Locks when she was 9 months pregnant with Kirsten! HA HA HA You want to talk about a crazy afternoon!! Dad had opened my mail and saw there was a warrant for my arrest! When I walked in the door he was about to wet his pants he was laughing so hard! Good thing he found it funny or I may have gotten the belt at 17 years old!! Anyways he told me to go there and see what it was about. As it turned out (which I am sure Dad knew) when I showed up I was really turning myself in! Long story! Anyways I did not call my father to come pick me up. I called Jen-Jen! She came 9 months pregnant!! God I love Jen-Jen! I had her on the phone when I peed on a stick and found out I was pregnant with Jacob! She was in the room when Katrina was born! She would have been in the room for Paityn but missed it by like 45 seconds. She was there for Katrina and was scared to death!! ;) haha ha you had to be there! No one had enough warning to be there for Abbi but damn if she wasnt the first person I texted. And may I add when I texted her to tell her Abbi was born at 1am she had just gotten dressed and grabbed her keys to come because Rachel (my birthing coach) was out of town, Abbi came a few days early, even mom was in NY. Jen-Jen knew I needed someone other then Clay in the room. While giving birth Clay should really be in another state cause I want to kill him haha
Jen-Jen has been through thick and thin for/with me! She has saved me from LIFE on many occasions!! I hope and pray for each of my kids that they too find their "Jen-Jen"!
I love you Jen-Jen!! More then you will ever know!! In so many ways you complete me when it comes to who I am today!! Thank you for being my friend through all life has thrown at us!
I love you!!
God Bless you!!

Little Lovie

I dont know what it is about Katrina Rose Dillard but she is my precious little lovie!!
My mom says its cause she is a mini me!! I think this is the best complement ever! I love being told one of my kids is just like me even if its a bad moment!! I love my kids so much!!
I snapped this picture today of Katrina and had to post it on my blog after my mommy said again 'Mini you"!




Here is a video clip I got on my phone of Katrina singing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star". Katrina has really gotten into singing recently just like both her older sisters. I remember Carly singing one time on the way to preschool about the rain drops on the window!! My kids are AWESOME!!

Annoyed

OK I am totally annoyed!!
So I figure I would vent through my blog!!
Get it all out of my system then continue on with my day carrying a smile instead of anger!!
Life is just too short ...........
So I have an internet boutique on Etsy named Carlykins Boutique. I sell baby girl hair pretties and baby accessories.
I have been doing Carlykins since Carly was a NEWBORN. (I will make this a short version since Abbi is awake and my time is torn right now, but the main reason I need to vent to get it out so I can give her all of me in HAPPY mommy form).
I use facebook to do pretty much all my advertising. I dont really have the time or money to do much else. I was advertising today during nap time and all of a sudden got cut off by facebook. Told me I was spamming!! Here is the message I get now when I try to post:

This Feature is Blocked For You

As we notified you earlier, this feature is temporarily unavailable because you've been making spammy and irrelevant posts on Facebook Pages.


I am trying very hard to keep my cool! I really just want to cry! But I can not change what it out of my control so I am counting to 10 and venting through my fingers!
No sooner did I start advertising today on facebook did I get an order WASHINGTON STATE!!!
Clear over on the other side of the United States!!
My advertising on fb WORKS and now I am cut off!!
BUT
the most disgusting part of it all for me is fb wants me to buy their advertising!! I clicked on their link, filled out all the information, added a Carlykins picture, only to find out it was going to cost me $2.32 a click!! I do not have that kind of cash as a home based business!! This is just wrong and is really going to hurt my sales!!

Hipstamatic

For my birthday this past April, Clay bought me an iphone. I am really enjoying the new phone, it has so many cool apps on it!!
One of my favorites has got to be all the different photo taking apps. You can give your photos all sorts of cool effects. I have a few different apps so far but my favorite has got to be Hipstamatic. I paid for this app, when most of the others are FREE apps. This app is well worth the $1.99 charge!
You can switch the lenses you use, the film and the flash setting. I am sure there are way more setting you can mess with but I am still new at it.

For as long as I can remember I have enjoyed taking pictures.
During High School I took a photography class (it was the only class I made sure I was there for daily ;) hahaha). My Dad went out and bought me a nice Pentax camera for the class. It was awesome! I remember taking all sorts of pictures then going in and actually getting to develop them myself in a dark room! That was so cool. I loved it! Maybe I will go back to school to play with photography?? Hmmmm
Ok back to topic.
I just downloaded a bunch of pictures I got of Katrina & Abbi out front playing this morning so I thought I would blog and share some of my favorite "Hipstamatic" photos.
Hope you dont mind a precious booty pic!! It was too picture perfect to me not to share!!
This one of Katrina in her Cinderella dress up costume is one of my absolute favorite photos ever!

"Words I Would Say"

If there was any song in the world that I could get my kids to memorize it would be this song! It is by The Sidewalk Prophets and the title of the song is "Words I would say". This song is absolutely AMAZING!
Let me give you a quick story to my introduction to this song.
Last year my generous, loving husband sent me on a weeks vacation to the US Virgin Islands. My mother owns a condo there and took the week off to go with me and be my tour guide. I was 3 months pregnant with Abbi (which is a whole other story I must blog about some day). Katrina was 11 months old and very attached to Mommy, as I her, so she joined me. Let me tell you it was an amazing trip!! Anyways while there my mother kept talking about a singer Mark Schultz and how she had this dvd she wanted to share with me. She thought she had brought it but the case was empty. Anyways, (phew and this is the short version hahaha) when we get back to DC and to the car Mom turned on the stereo right away and a song came on immediately, she gasped and said "Oh you have to hear this one first!! This is my favorite song!" :

"Three in the morning, and I’m still awake
So I picked up a pen and a page
And I started writing just what I’d say
If we were face to face

I’d tell you just what you mean to me
Tell you these simple truths

Be strong in the Lord
And never give up hope
You’re gonna do great things
I already know
God’s got His hand on You
So don’t live life in fear
Forgive and forget
But don’t forget why you’re here
Take your time and pray
These are the words I would say

Last time we spoke you said you were hurting
And I felt your pain in my heart
I want to tell you that I keep on praying
That love will find you where you are

I know cause I’ve already been there
So please hear these simple truths

Be strong in the Lord
And never give up hope
You’re going to do great things
I already know
God’s got His hand on You
So don’t live life in fear
Forgive and forget
But don’t forget why you’re here
Take your time and pray
These are the words I would

Say… from one simple life to another
I will say… come find peace in the Father

Be strong in the Lord
And never give up hope
You’re gonna do great things
I already know
God’s got His hand on You
So don’t live life in fear
Forgive and forget
But don’t forget why you’re here

Take your time and pray
And thank God for each day
His love will find a way
These are the words I would say"

Sidewalk Prophets, The Words I would Say

When the song was over I asked her to play it again. Then again, and again (sure you get the point). Before I left her house to head back to NC she made me a copy of the cd! Let me just say this cd no longer works! The kids and I have worn it out! The kids have memorized it and have even called Momma K and sung it to her! I have the lyrics printed out and put on the front, inside cover of the journal I have previously mentioned.

Educational Violet

Dad & Barb gave Katrina & Abbi one of the best, funnest & educational toys ever!!
It is a purple toy doggie that sings, plays songs, spells and even plays lullaby's for 2 minutes at bedtime.
All you have to do is hook it up to a USB port on your computer and it takes you right to the homepage. You program it with the child's name, favorite color, food and songs. It even sings a song that teaches your child how to spell their name.
First I had it programed for Abigail and all of her favorites, purple, carrots, ABC's, etc..........

This morning during Abbi's nap I decided to change it to Katrina's name and favorites!!
She was so excited!
Violet started asking what Katrina's favorite food was.
Then Violet would ask Katrina for some Watermelon.
Katrina would push Violet's paws and all different stuff would go on.
She found the paw that sang music and started dancing around.
It was so precious!
Here are some pictures of my precious Katrina playing with Violet.
THANK YOU POP & BARB for such an AWESOME TOY!!

Temper Tantrum

Do I blog about today's temper tantrum or do I try and forget about it?
That is the question.
A couple years back I bought myself a journal and started "journal-ing" about my day to day life with the kids. The day I bought the journal Paityn was about 2 years old and she hit me in the back of the head with her shoe. At the time she sat right behind me in the van and I had done or said something to her that she obviously didn't like. Paityn decided to take her shoe off, mind you it was not just any shoe, it was a Easter Sunday church shoe with about a 1 inch HARD HEEL!! and it was aimed right at the back of my head!! Just reliving this experience in my mind to write it here in this blog is giving me the anxiety!!
So onto today.
Katrina Rose is now two.
I love my baby girl I really do but she can throw a fit like nothing you have EVER seen before. If you think the exorcist was scary you have not met Katrina. She has not yet mastered the 360 degree turn of the head but everything else shes got down to a Mastered Skill!! I ain't joking!!
This morning I took one look at her special lovie we all call "Me-me" (its a lamb blanket that she has had since birth), and asked her if I could give me-me a bath, at first she hesitated and said "No" but then she said ok. So I grabbed it immediately and ran upstairs and started the laundry. Come downstairs, pop in a cartoon, sit down on the couch and we start watching the cartoon. Abbi wakes up, I go upstairs to grab her. When I get in Abbi's room I hear Katrina hop off the couch and start walking around.
Then you hear in a cute little voice
"Me-me?"
step step step
"Me-me where are you?"
I head downstairs with Abbi and I remind Katrina "Me-me was really dirty and mommy put it in the bath (washer)."
You would think the devil himself had just pinched her.
She fell to the ground on her belly face first and just started banging her head.
I mean BAM BAM BAM scream scream scream BAM BAM BAM feet kicking face pounding all out TEMPER TANTRUM!!
I had my iphone in my hand so I grabbed a quick (longest 1minute of my life) video of it to show her daddy later.
She bloodied her lip, her cheeks have little red dots or rug burn all over them, her nostrils are black and blue and her upper lip is all puffy!!!
I showed her the video clip I got of her fit about an hour later when we were sitting at the table eating lunch and she got a very confused look and said "Whats that?" I said "That's you throwing a fit!" she looked back at the video and tilts her head and makes a sad face and says "Sad choice" as she shakes her head back and forth!
Here is a picture of the damage she did to herself.

School Blues

Am I the only mommy to get Monday morning school blues?
I now have 3 kids in Elementary school each day and it is no fun for this mom!! On Sundays I think to myself it will be quieter tomorrow with 3 gone, but then they actually leave and I just want them home again!
Jacob is now in 4th grade, Carly 2nd grade and Paityn has started Kindergarten. WOW!! Time is just flying by with these angels God has given us!! Time never seemed to go this fast when I was a kid. I swore days were longer then 24 hours. Now that I am 35 all I do is blink and 3 years have gone by. I wish my iphone had a "LIFE PAUSE BUTTON" app for it!! Dag gum there is an app for everything else!!

Here is a picture of Jacob & Carly on their first day of school, July 11th, 2011. Aren't they GORGEOUS!!

Here is Paityn on her first day of Kindergarten with the Worlds Best Kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Milford (also known as Ms. Patrick)

Omer Lee Rodgers (8/5/72 - 4/3/11)

In my 35 years there have only been a single handful of "Heart Stopping" moments for me. I would have to say my most recent was the moment Clay called me and told me
"Lee passed away"

I screamed at him!!
I hung up on him!!

Today would be Lee-lee's 39th birthday.
Lee was a Best Friend to me from the moment I met him 14 years ago! He always knew the right thing to say and when to say it! He did not know a stranger and was ALWAYS around when you needed help or a hug or PEANUT BUTTER PANCAKES!!

Lee married the woman of his dreams, Sonia Behnke. She gave him many years of happiness while dating and right into marriage!! The two of them were completely meant for each other in every which way. Sonia and Lee have 2 children Ty and Mia.

We miss you Leroy!! You will always hold a special place in our hearts!

Great Granny Christine

Great Granny Christine is here!!!
What a special woman she is in our lives!!
Granny Christine lives and Georgia, and only gets to come visit once a year. But when she does come visit she usually stays about a month!!
Tuesday evening Papa & Lala brought Great Granny to gymnastics to watch the girls. Yesterday Lala dropped Christine off here for the day.
WOW what a treat!!
The girls and I had so much fun playing with Christine. She is such a blessing to our lives.

SHARK WEEK

Since it is "Shark Week" on Discovery Channel I feel drawn to blog about the time Jacob and Clay caught a baby shark off the Big Pier at Atlantic Beach in NC!!
Personally I have not gone in the ocean water past my knees since the first time I saw the movie "Jaws". I know Clays father does not go in the water past his knees for the same reason! After watching the shows on Discovery Channel this week during "Shark Week" Clay says he is never going in the water deep again!!
This week is ridiculous with their Shark shows!! When we reflected on what we had just watched I said "I dont think we have had any shark attacks on our shores like that." Clay said "Remember the time we were in Morehead and Jacob caught a baby shark?" I answered "Yes" to which Clay responded (In a country voice) "Well Merideth, where there's baby sharks there are Momma sharks"

Addiction!!!

To say I am completely ADDICTED to my children would be putting it MILDLY!!
I honestly do not know how I made it through each day before I had kids!!
My kids have filled my life with so much JOY & LOVE!!
Here is a picture of me and my baby Abbi.
If I could spend every waking moment of every day holding her, kissing her, smelling her head & toes and snuggling with her I would.
It is hard for me to believe she is my last baby. I have always wanted 5 kids and now I have them.
When we got married Clay only wanted 2 kids, but the moment he held our first born and felt the LOVE of Fatherhood he was all about having more! Hard to believe I now have 5!!

From Husband & Wife to Daddy & Mommy

1 month after God blessed my everlasting life with Clay we found out we were expecting. WOW! Talk about a wedding present from your heavenly Father!
A SON!!
July 7th, 2002, Jacob came into our lives!!
Our lives as Husband & Wife will never be the same!
We are now Proudly MOM & DAD!!

Love & Marriage

To say I am completely in LOVE with my husband is an understatement!
My husband is absolutely the man of my dreams!!
I knew on our first date that I was going to marry him. I remember coming home from our first date and telling my roommate at the time
"I am going to marry him!"
3 years later 9-21-2001 (10 days after 9-11) we were married. Only immediate family was invited, I wore Karen's wedding dress, Kathryn was our flower girl, Jenny my maid of honor, walked down the isle to our song, said our wedding vows on Karen's deck. It was absolutely the most romantic event ever! Small and Intimate! PERFECT!!
God has truly blessed me!!
I have an awesome husband who loves me unconditionally!!

Loosing Teeth

As a parent one of my favorite things to do is re-live things I did as a child through my children. Do you remember loosing teeth?
All of us lost teeth!!
Some parents made bigger deals of it then others, and some "tooth fairies" were more generous then others!
When Jacob got his first "wiggly" tooth I immediately got on-line and ordered him a little special tooth pillow with a pocket to put his tooth in. When Carly got her first "wiggly" tooth I got her a pillow (and I ordered one for Paityn too, so I would be a step ahead).
A few weeks ago Carly got off the bus wearing a little necklace from the School Nurses office. It had a tooth pendant hanging from it. I asked "What is that?" Carly said all excited "It's my tooth! I lost a tooth at school!!", as she opened the pendant to show me her tooth inside. I responded with "I didn't even know you had a loose tooth." In which Jacob chimed in with "I know, we don't tell you when we have loose teeth anymore .......(pause for effect)........ cause you always pull them out!"
Needless to say the tooth fairy tradition has been lost. Carly lost a tooth on her trip to GA this past weekend. She did manage to bring it home, and asked where her pillow was so she could put it in there, but then never brought it upstairs to her bed. Oh well. What do you do?
Here is a picture of the adorable pillows I bought the kids.

Sibling LOVE

I have the best siblings ever!! I feel very blessed now that I am in my 30s to have the siblings I have. There were many times when I was younger that I wished I was an only child (I mean really, who doesn't??) But now that we are all older I feel so blessed to have them all. Especially my older sisters who all have kids so we get a ton of hand me downs!! ;) My little brother has always been my most special sibling! He was the youngest so I got to pick on him a bunch and lock him in closets etc.... LOVE YOU G!!
Yesterday 3 of the 5 siblings met for lunch in Dunn, NC at a Cracker Barrel and had a wonderful lunch together. It was so nice seeing everyone and laughing and talking and enjoying each others company. It was unfortunately cut short when Clay and I had to jump from the table with children that needed to use the potty and neither of us had a spare second to inform the rest of the table that we were just running to the bathroom and would be right back. When we got back to the table our food was gone :( lesson learned for next time.
Here is a picture of everyone that was able to make it. Garet, Kelly and Colin Beane. Karen Beane with her 2 Kaz and Sam, then Clay and I with all of ours -Carly, she was traveling back from GA with Papa and Christine.