4th of July Weekend

We just returned from a great trip to the mountains. Every time we go, we have an amazing time. If you've never been to Western North Carolina, you really must plan a trip. My parents are on a road trip and decided to make a stop in Western North Carolina. They rented this great house. Ollie hadn't seen my parents since Christmas. It didn't seem to matter. He took right to them and had a great time. As a matter of fact, the first words out of his mouth on the second morning were, "Get Bop-pa. Where Bop-pa?" He ran out of our room and found him. We spent some time walking and sitting on the porch enjoying the scenery. Unfortunately for my dear, sweet boy, he got a little to close to the scenery of a bee stinger and got stung right above his left eye. This was quite traumatic for his mama who thought it got him in the eye and cried. Luckily, he didn't seem to have an allergic reaction. Medical care was quite a drive away. I also had Benadryl in the car. A bit of that and a nap- viola! Good as new!

We also took a trip to visit Dry Falls. After the Falls, we enjoyed a picnic lunch at a nice little park and then checked out the shopping in Highlands.

Although we were only there for 2 days, it seemed like time stood still. It always does in the mountains. It was tranquil and thoroughly enjoyable. I will miss being close enough to go for a visit!

You might be a redneck if...

I'm officially married to the most frugal man alive. My dear, sweet husband bob went out to mow the lawn. A short while into it, he came in and informed me that the transmission had finally gone kaput on the lawnmower. This lawnmower we inherited from our neighbor about 6 years ago. Bob has fixed it and fixed it but it's held up. Well he said he was going to go out and fix it. Not a few minuted later, I hear it crank back up. I just assumed he'd fixed it. Here is what actually happened.

.

Yes. He is riding it backwards while sitting on the hood. Clever? yes. Embarrassing? Heck yes! Oh well, at the least the lawn got mowed! Also, you must note that we are moving in less than two weeks and did not plan to take the lawnmower with, therefore it is not worth the time, effort or cash to fix it. Although, I really wouldn't put it past him to ride it like this for an extended period of time!!

update

Sorry I've been so absent! We have taken the plunge into listing our house. For years, we have talked about moving home (The Midwest) and finally decided we would just put our house up. This is risky because now our employers are already seeking to replace us (Bob works for a real estate company- kind of hard to hide that one!). We are not looking forward to leaving our church family here but are really looking forward to being closer to our family at home. If you are a prayer, please pray that we receive a decent offer by or during our open house which in June 27. I'll try to post a few pics of our house soon so you can see!

Also, I'll update about all the fun Ollie and I are having learning our letters as soon as I can.

Activities about I

So we spent the last couple weeks talking about I. We started with the homemade ice cream which was by far this pregnant lady's favorite activity. The next activity was also fun though. I took two identical plastic cups and a paper I. I placed the paper inside one of the cups and then slid them around on the floor. Ollie then tried to guess which cup the I was under. He had a good time lifting the cups and peering inside and I had fun watching his little mind work!

I got a little creative with a potato. I made a stamp of the letter I. Ollie spent time stamping the letter I. It doesn't often look like an I but oh well that what happens when you rub the stamp all over the paper!

We also spent one of our hot days creating an igloo. Ollie seems to especially love the glue stick. He really loves to put it in his hair. I'm not sure why but the kid is obsessed with the glue stick and all its sticky wonder.

Mr. I didn't quite turn out as I envisioned. I pictured this cute "I" with a hat on his head, straight eyes and a smile. Here's what I got instead...

but Ollie used the glue stick so he was thrilled.


Another game we played was in and out. Ollie sat inside his toy box (which he had dumped the toys out of) and I placed all 8 million of his balls inside of it. He spent time throwing them out and I put them back in again. He really loved it.

First Swim of the Year

Yesterday, Ollie & I had a perfect day! We spent the morning at the park then went home, ate lunch & napped. When Ollie (& I) woke up, we headed to a friend's house to swim.



I was super excited to put him in his little swim get up. Bob was annoyed when I bought it bur it was so cute I couldn't resist! Even his little hat & flip-flops match! We always order a rash guard to prevent whitey from burning.



At first, he was quite unhappy. The pool was a bit cold to him but after a few minutes he was giggling & kicking his legs. We plan to swim a lot this summer!

This picture includes my friend's daughter whom Ollie love, love, loves!


using BlogPress from my iPhone

The perfect day for puddle jumping and rain dancing!

Yesterday, we had a great day! It was sprinkling lightly in the morning so Ollie and I ran outside to do a little puddle jumping. There is nothing cuter than a little white-headed boy splashing in puddles in his jammies. We played in the mud, danced in the rain and splashed and laughed. Sometimes it's the little things that make big memories.

Sesame Street Live

Yesterday, I had a crying baby. I was in his room. I was holding him. I was in the living room. I was rocking him. The culprit: paci breaking. Urgh. I am not a fan of getting rid of the paci. Meanwhile, I was receiving phone calls and text messages from my dear friend Lindsey. Ollie and I had been drawn to receive free tickets and meet and greet passes! I had entered a drawing from the Cumberland County Partnership for Children. I only knew of the drawing because Lindsey works there. Well, Friday, I had received an email saying we had not won. Well someone else who had won could not attend! Yay for us!

This morning, I thought it wise to talk to Ollie about the event for fear of him being terrified of the giant, walking stuffed animals. If you don't already know this, it is not wise to tell your child he gets to high five Elmo when the actual high five is 10 hours away. Double urgh! Lucky for me, he forgot about it until around 4 when he kept yelling Elmo at random times. It's quite funny that he even knows Elmo considering I don't let him watch tv. He's seen him in books, and his tooth brush but he knows him!

We arrived with plenty of time and waited outside for ages to wait inside for ages to meet Elmo and Abby. Ollie had iron grips as the pair entered the room and he was none to happy when his mama plopped down on Elmo's lap with him in tow for a picture. Here's the first picture...

Not the best picture. First of all, Elmo looks like I'm smashing him. Thanks Elmo. All a pregnant lady needs to feel beautiful. Secondly, what in the world am I looking at? At last, Ollie wants to run like the wind. Lucky for us, they allowed us to have a do over at the end. I will say, Ollie did high five Elmo and Abby but was not cool with the sitting on the lap.

It's almost better. After the meet and greet, we wandered for a while. I bought Ollie a t-shirt and then we headed to our seats. It was more fun to watch Ollie dance, clap, yell and jump from pure excitement than to watch the show. It was so much fun. He loved every single minute. As we were leaving, he was waving yelling, "Bye Elmo!" He yelled Elmo's name the entire way to the car and until he fell asleep on the way home. Looks like we have a new favorite!