The Good, The Bad, The Ugly.

THE GOOD:
My kitchen floor is finally getting repaired! For those of you who don't know, the grout in my kitchen has been cracked for a good year and a half. I've been hounding our builder and tile guy for the same amount of time to get it fixed. So after much persistance, I should have a brand-new floor by Friday. FINALLY!

THE BAD:
My kitchen floor is getting repaired. This means that my kitchen will be inaccessible until Friday. The tile guy thought it would be a few minor repairs, but he ended up having to tear up the whole floor. Needless to say, my house is covered in tile dust and this has caused a cleaning nightmare. Also, the dust was so heavy in the morning that I decided to bail out and head to my folks house until Friday, which is when my kitchen will be accessible again. And then, the cleaning begins (for those of you who are wondering, I did shut all the doors to the bedrooms, covered the furniture with sheets, and turned off the ac unit)...

THE UGLY:
On my way to my folks house, the kids and I stopped for lunch. In my haste on the way out the door, trying to corral my kids, carry my bags and my drink, I lost my footing and tripped. I toppled over my kids and braced my fall with my knees (which are not the strongest in the first place). I landed partially on Ethan and propelled Mallory forward into a chair face forward, which unfortunately caused her to bust her lip. Highly embarrased and concerned for my kids, I burst into tears (furthering the embarassment). Ethan was just frightened, but Mallory's lip was ugly. While consoling my bleeding daughter, who was appalled at all the attention therefore burrying her face in my white shirt, I tried to tell everyone who came to my aid that we were OK. I was quite a sight. The nice people offered Mallory a balloon, which she was afraid of, and ice, which she would not allow me to apply to her face therefore causing her to scream louder, all the while Ethan is running around the restaurant happy as a clam that he wasn't being hovered over by mommy. The kind hostess finally brought me a bowl of ice cream, which calmed Mallory and also helped with the pain in her lip. Someone also kindly put Ethan in a highchair for me so he wouldn't be running all over the place. I had several people offer to help me to the car, and I swallowed my pride and took the help...an entourage carrying Ethan and the dreaded balloon (the lady carrying the balloon thought she was helping...). And in my continued distress, I headed in the wrong direction on the interstate, heading West instead of East, which I didn't realize until 5 miles up the road, causing me to cry all over again. Being displaced from my kitchen, a dusty house from floor to ceiling, deciding to travel (packing for two small kids and for myself for a 3 day trip in 30 minutes), and a busted lip...all, very, very ugly.

But, my kitchen floor will be brand new when I get home.

From the mouths of babes...(my very first edition!)

Mommy: What song would you like mommy to sing?

Mallory (without hesitation): "Old McDonald had a fart"

Hands On!....AGAIN!

We went to Hands On! again this past weekend to break up the monotony of playing at home. We've been home for 4 of the last 6 days without leaving the house, so it was nice for us to get out, stretch our legs, and enjoy the endless fun at the museum.

They have a dress up area with a stage where the kids can become something else for a change and flaunt there stuff before the crowd. E was a lion. There's also a music room that has a piano and 2 keyboards for the kids to play. There is a playset, a grocery store, a full-sized car, dinosaurs, legos, toys, boats and so many other things that the kids just love to look at an play with. Oh, it's parent's dream for the winter days!

Inauguration Day

I felt very American today as I watched history take place as Pres. Obama was swarn in. I have to tell you, though, that during his 20-second oath, the timer for my bread in the oven went off...just about the same time Mallory came to inform me that she pooped in her diaper. Ahhhh...history in the making.

Snowy Day...

Today has been one of those days where I could just sit down on my snuggly couch with a cup of coffee and read ALL DAY. If I didn't have kids, that's what I'd do. But, with the beautiful snow falling, it was simply calling us outdoors to play and enjoy its coldness. I bundled up the kids and we played outside this morning for a good 30 minutes before we were just too cold and wet. Mallory didn't care too much for the snow, and after talking to Patrick afterward our snow-jaunt, we agreed that her perception of the snow was very "Mallory-esque": something you'll think she'll love, she's non-chalant about and something you think she'll hate she'll love. She rarely goes bonkers over something.

Ethan loved running around in it, though his heavy jacket and boots made him very unsteady on his feet and he had lots of spills. I don't have any snow-garb, but it will be something I have to get in the near future. Anyway, it's beautiful outside and there are still a few flurries falling at the noon hour. I think that I'll brew myself a pot of coffee (or maybe some hot cocoa will suffice), get my book, and read.

Phrases I am SO TIRED of saying!

1. Please take that out of your mouth.
2. Please don't throw your food.
3. Keep your hands on your plate and not on the chair.
4. Do you need your diaper changed?
5. Please do not turn on the TV.
6. Please do not turn off the TV.
7. Clean your room before you ______ .
8. Do not hit your brother.
9. There's no need to cry.
10. No, I do not know where police car is.

...and most of all...

11. Please stop whining.
12. Mommy does not respond to whining.
13. When you want something, what do you say, without whining please.
14. Please stop whining.

My boy

Falling farther and farther behind

I feel as though I've been putting off my blog because I'm so far behind with it. I keep reminding myself that this isn't a journal, but I like keeping track of our happenings for both my enjoyment and that of my family and friends who care. My photos are in backlog and I realize that I haven't even shown some of the beautiful pictures I took while on vacation back in October. My Christmas pictures have yet to be thoroughly sorted and I haven't picked up my camera in days. It's very very sad. So, I don't know whether or not to just drop and start anew, along with the new year, or continue to catch up when I can...

Mallory and Patrick went to go see Seasame Street Live tonight. It's actually about to start now...Mallory has never seen an episode of Seasame Street and didn't know who Elmo was until tonight when we pointed him out on a placemat she eats on almost daily. Patrick told her that she's going to see Elmo dance, so I guess she's excited about that. I hope to hear that she had a great time rather than she was scared to death of all the huge characters.

Ethan didn't want to go to bed immediately, so we snuggled on the couch for about 20 minutes before I finally put him down. I had planned to do quite a bit of blogging tonight, but his prolonged bedtime routine cut my time in half, but oh it was worth it. He's doing so much these days...I don't know where to begin on his progress, but he's jabbering up a storm, running, kissing, playing, and so much more. He loves his sister so much, too.

Patrick also took the kids to the Hands On! museum on Saturday while I had a few hours of shut-eye while recovering from my surgery. They had a great time and I'm looking forward to going back regularly now that we have season passes.

I could go on and on about lots of things, but I this will be good for now. I have some photos I'd like to sift through, which I need to do during this rare alone time I have. In the meantime, here are a few recent photos:

Patrick and Mallory heading out to see Seasame Street Live:























Mallory setting up her beloved Police Car (yes, I said beloved because it's now #2 behind Doggie) to eat some lunch:


















Mallory and Ethan at Hands On! with Patrick:

Shall I say I'm now less wise?

Well, I don't know if I would've ever deemed myself to be truly wise, but I am short of a wisdom tooth. I know, I know...this is sappy so far, but please forgive me since I'm duped up on painkillers, antibiotics and steriods. I got my lone wisdom tooth removed yesterday morning. For those of you who are curious, the procedure was about 1.5 hours long and I was under general anesthesia, so I don't remember a thing. As soon as I got home, I went to bed. Patrick woke me up at 1:45 to make me eat (I hadn't eaten all day) and take my meds. I went straight back to bed and slept from 2pm until 4. And then I slept from 9pm until 7am. And I've slept lots today. I feels like a train ran over me, meaning I'm totally pooped and lack all energy. The pain meds help alleviate the discomfort and it's not as painful as I thought it would be, but it's still not the berries. Anyway, Patrick has done a GREAT job entertaining the kids, keeping the house straight and letting me sleep when I need.

For those of you with this surgery impending in the next few weeks/months, don't worry. It's not that bad, but be sure to have plenty of time to sleep because you will definitely be out of it. I'm supposed to work the the 2-year-olds tomorrow morning at church, so that will be interesting....

C'mon Gators, Get up and GO!!!!

We're VERY excited about the National Championship game tonight (well, at least I am...). I have great pride in my hometown Gators and hope that they put a whoopin' on those Okies.

And I will be getting my wisdom tooth (yes, I just have one) pulled tomorrow, so keep me and Patrick in your prayers tomorrow and the weekend...

Christmas in Charlotte

Here are some pics from our Christmas in Charlotte. We spent one morning up at Concord Mills where Mallory rode a merry-go-round for the first time. We spent one day downtown looking at the BIG christmas trees (there were many), listening to the bear orchestra and stopping by the spot where Patrick proposed to me almost 6 years ago. I was also able to go by and see my dear friend, Courtney, and somehow successfully captured and image with all three kids looking at the camera! We had a great time! Sorry that the pictures are late, but better late than never, right????