C and D

C and D

Tuesday, December 25, 2012

Feeling so blessed.....

And tired :) but mainly blessed and just really really happy to have our little family. I look at my husband and I think he is the hunkiest most phenomenal man, husband, father, friend whatever u want, out there. He makes my world go and these little boys he worked up for me oh my word..............love them all to pieces.

Merry Christmas y'all. Hope you all had a wonderful one.



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Sunday, December 23, 2012

Cinnamon rolls!!!

This elf is hanging up her measuring cups and mixing bowl tonight but its been a heckuva **sweet** week. I can't help myself. That was horrible....I'm aware.

We baked every single day this week (and some last week) and tonight I made the pioneer woman's cinnamon rolls (google them they are insane) to give away to some friends and neighbors tomorrow. And then we will be done. Until we go to my mom and dads house :)




That's only half a batch....







They were good....



I love Christmas season!!!! :)

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The kid is fat:










Loved spaghetti and meatballs tonight but really - who is surprised?

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Thursday, December 20, 2012

December afternoon

It's not exactly been Christmas weather around here....but awesome playing outside weather. A couple pics from yesterday afternoon:










Pretty sweet. We will take it.

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Just hangin' and craftin'

We have been laying low and staying home ever since Friday night and decky then carrigs croup situation - I feel bad we had some fun things planned with his buddies but I didn't want to expose them to this crap so we have just stayed home which means we have had to get real creative around here ...it's been a lot of fun though because Declan is so into doing projects right now and it's hilarious. He has always loved painting etc but now it's on another level. Every night or nap time he says," when decky wake up, mommy decky do something fun, do special project" ha! I love that he gets so into it....

Painting with trucks! He looooved this oh my.






Then he did handprints for an hour :)



Pipe cleaners and a colander. His little engineer mind was all about this. He brought it all out again by himself this am:






Markers!!!! He thinks he is too cool for crayons these days so we have moved up.



Decorating and making cookies for his speech pathologist.



And clearly we need to eat some icing.......


He might have stuck his whole hand in the box to sneak a piece before he gave them to mrs berna. Not sure.....

He is not 3. Daddy dressed him....





This one he loves - the baking soda and vinegar. Super over using a dropper to put vinegar in the "white stuff" and full on into making "volcanoes"! If he dumps a big thing of bs into the cup it boils over and he calls it a volcano. Lovely.


See?


Declan and I are having a blast but I'm not sure Paul is a fan. My clean freak husband is slowly losing his mind with the markers, the paint, the paper, the flour, the vinegar...........everywhere.

Kids! Our house won't be our house for another 18 yrs.......hope he gets used to it ;)

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Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Merry Christmas Carrig

I hope you enjoyed your trip to the ER. I was kind of joking but now I am very serious....we will be putting new batteries is deckys old toys and wrapping them up and calling them good for your presents. Merrrrrrry Christmas!

Poor little bug :(
He got Declan's croup and while it was cold enough outside when decky got sick, it was really warm for little dude and we just couldn't kick it.....this was us early Monday morning stuffing his head into a freezer :



Ha! It didn't work....Monday he was ok but Monday night it got bad again and he couldn't breathe in at ALL he was scaring me so much....so off we went to the ER.
He was unreal there u would never have known he couldn't breathe and was really sick. Just the happiest dude I can't even deal with him sometimes. If it had been Declan I can only imagine how horrible three hours at a hospital way past his bedtime would have been but Carrig I mean........such a gem.

This is how I felt about it:


I was seconds away from hopping in the shower (it may or may not have been two days since my last one....) when Carrig started screaming so excuse my sweet look.





He got a breathing treatment and steroids and is on the road to recovery.........
First ER trip. Can only imagine how many more we have to go....


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Christmas Program!

Declan's school put on the cutest Christmas program last Friday morning. The pics are on Paul's good camera so I need to get those and post but for now here were Declan's biggest fans :)



Fia came too!!! She flew home to Sweden on Friday afternoon but everyone from coastal had already gone home so she spent Thursday night and Friday am with us. Declan was so in heaven :)


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Be kind....

I just can't stop thinking about what happened in CT on Friday. I have a child that I send off to school two mornings a week. We are currently on Christmas break or else to be honest I probably would have pulled him out for these next few weeks and just had family time. He doesn't get grades, he isn't trying to pass an end of the year test so I wouldn't feel bad. I would feel, however, absolutely horrible to miss those moments with him. And if something were to happen I mean forget about it. Tragic.

I love quotes, that's no secret and there are many that speak to me and my heart. They inspire me, they make me think a little bit differently, they open my eyes, etc etc etc. I love talking to smart people and quotes are like little gems from really smart people...one of my favorites and something I truly TRY (I fail often) to live my life by is this:


"Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle".

I just love this so much. Its been on my facebook profile page since I created a facebook profile page  - that's when you know you're serious! ;) Ha! But kidding aside, it really is on my fb.....

No matter what, you have no idea what other people in this world are going thru. Your parents, your friends, your brothers or sisters, strangers, people you don't get along with......anyone. You might think you know, but you don't know the whole story. Even my own husband. I know him pretty freaking well but he's also a fairly internal guy so there are things that go on in his head that I have no clue about. I don't know if he's processing something at work that I'm not privy too and that's why he he is in a pissy mood and doesn't want to talk to me tonight.......not that he is pissy often but you get the point :)

I am not into talking about politics on here so I'm not going to broach the gun control argument or even the mental illness issue but I think if we all were kinder to each other, no matter who the person is, our world might be a little bit of a better place. No one has any clue what the other is going thru. You are not in their head or in every aspect of their life so is it really your/our place to judge and treat people poorly based on that judgement? No. Absolutely not.

If there is anything that I can teach my boys, it will be this. There are many things I dream that they will be, but compassionate is no doubt on the top. We were at Wal Mart earlier today and we were checking out and Declan, being only an almost three year old, doesn't discriminate. If he is pissy, he's pissy, if he's happy, he's happy. This morning, he was happy and willingly chatted it up with the cashier. When we left, you could tell she was much happier than when we had gotten there. We talked abotu Decky's glasses and Christmas and having two boys etc etc etc and all the while Decky was super cute and smiley and yelled out "Merry Christmas" when we left. She told him that was the best Merry Christmas she had gotten in a long time. And I believe her. She genuinely seemed touched by him. I don't know if many people just rush thru and don't talk to her or don't ask her questions or don't smile....who knows, I really don't, but I just know that that day, Decky made her smile and I think made her day.

Last night I was at the ER with Carrig. Like I said before, this has been so much on my heart recently so here we are at 10pm in an ER waiting room. And there are some interesting people. Ya know what I mean? My first instinct was to judge them (I'm embarrased to admit) and then I very quickly got so pissed at myself because who am I??? I don't know their story, I have no idea what their life has been like and this quote popped into my head. Be kind.....for everyone is fighting a hard battle.

Luckily my sweet little baby boy doesn't judge a soul - he just loves - and he smiled and waved and babbled and danced for anyone who would look his way. We spent a long time with a nurse in the back and she ended up chasing us down in the parking lot because I had forgotten his sock. I mean...its a sock - really not that big of a deal. But when she got to our car she said "can I say bye one more time to him"?? Again, I think my little buddy made her night. I think he made a couple of people's nights honestly.

I've learned a lot from my children in the past few days....I don't think it takes much, but a smile to a stranger and a genuine "how are you" while you actually LISTEN to their answer goes a really, really long way. You certainly can't control what other people are going to do or how they are going to act or what they are going to say. I've been thru that personally and I've seen it happen time after time to people I love........BUT you can control how you act. You can control what you say. You can control how you treat other people.

Be kind. See what happens.


Christmas parade and buddies!

Last Saturday we had an awesome day, all around. In the morning we went to the Conway Christmas Parade which was equally hilarious and heartwarming. Paul and I just kept saying "small town America........small town America". It is.......small town America there :) Every float was verrrrrrry homemade (but awesome) and promoted a local business or church or school. It was so cute and we just had the best time. We were there for almost two hours just sitting and hanging, watching all the floats and people and jamming to music. And Declan played his trombone.



Decky was pumped and ready to go! Waiting for that first float to come by :)

Mommy was ready too! Kind of a loser............

Carrig was just Carrig. Happy go lucky dude :)






Got super pumped when the above tractor came by. Shocking, I know.


The guy in the right of this picture might have been my favorite  part of the parade. These are the folks from the Conway Medical Center, Fitness Program and they were doing some sort of "dance". "Dance" is in quotes for a reason. He was AMAAAAAAZING. Totally made my day!

Telling ya...ever since Halloween - anyone in costume - he loves.


I love Conway. It was such an awesome place to live. Such a simple life.

After the parade we came home, took naps, and got ready to head to our friends house for game night. They have an almost three year old boy who is Decky's bestie and they had invited friends over who have a 2 yr old girl and 2 month old boy. We had our two so we ended up asking a couple of the Coastal girls to come over and hang with the kids while the parents could enjoy some beverages that did not include Capri Sun. We played down stairs while the kids played upstairs. It was the best night that Paul and I have had out probably since we moved here. Its very very very hard to find couples that you both mesh with. Sometimes I'll like the wife/girlfriend but the husband/bf will not be Paul's type (that sounds weird but you know) or vice versa but these couples are awesome and super easy going and we all just have a ton of fun together. I actually think Paul and Jen's husband might have been separated at birth - they are both hilarious. And annoying to their wives ;)

I have no pictures of this night unfortunately but as we were leaving (at 10:45pm which btw never ever EVER happens i am a sleep nazi and usually have my children in bed by 730 but i figured heck one night.....) Decky said "mommy, decky really good time mommy. mommy fun too?" So sweet and so cute. He definitely didn't want to leave. He and Blake were chasing each other playing with swords up until the second we left. Literally.


Saturday, December 15, 2012

Croup crap

Well we had our first bout of croup last night and it wasn't really all that pleasant.

Paul (dad of the year - apparently mommy was sleeping verrrrry hard) brought a barking Declan into our room around 4am this morning trying to catch his breath. He sounded HORRIBLE. Most of our friends have had croup so I've been adequately warned about what it sounds like but dang. Pretty miserable. Luckily my awesome mom raised 4 kids so she has seen her fair share of nighttime illness and about a year ago printed out this packet of info for me. Kind of like a "go to" in the middle of the night...."if your kid sounds like this, do THIS". I knew it was croup the minute I heard him so we kind of sprung into action and were able to avoid an ER visit, thank heavens.......I want nothing to do with that place.

Poor buddy was so sad and very very scared. When your cough sounds like that and you are that young, I can't imagine the fear that kind of seizes you. He was so worked up and that certainly doesn't help anything. I think half the battle with Declan is that he get so freaking fired up and everything escalates so quickly. Trying to keep that kid calm is a battle of epic proportions. But luckily we had that info from my mom and she actually even answered a text i sent her at 4:30am saying hellpppppppppppp!!! We took a steam shower and then we bundled up and hung out on the back porch for awhile in the cold which worked like a charm. We also have a nebulizer so we gave him a breathing treatment just to make sure his airways were open. Perks of having an asthmatic kid.......I talked to my friend today who's been to the ER twice with her boy for croup and I guess they do that there anyways so money well spent on a neb! Way cheaper than an ER visit :)

We brought him into bed with us and he finally fell asleep around 630am. That.............was not fun. He isn't a nice co-sleeper. I love him, but I do not want to sleep next to him. Ever. He basically crawled on my back and stayed there and snored straight into my ear for an hour and a half. Essentially I've been up since 4am :)

Hopefully tonight goes better. I hate having sick babies :( I know every single person out there can sympathize. Ugh! The WORST. We have been lucky and gotten thru this winter so far with no one getting sick so it was about time huh.....dangit! Hopefully we can stay well thru Christmas and our travels. Fingers crossed. No one wants a sick Decky, I can tell ya that!

Friday, December 14, 2012

"snug a bug....a rug"

Every time before Declan goes to sleep he likes for us to pull his blankey up really really tight around him and say "snug as a bug in a rug". But in his language, he forgets prepositions so he says "snug a bug a rug". But he always whispers the last part after taking a breath. Its the sweetest thing and at 11pm tonight, we heard it again.

I'm not sure what woke him up but he was just in his room yelling "mommmyyyyy" and after today's just absolutely horrific situation in Connecticut, both Paul and I went in. We snuggled him for a second and he closed his eyes and sunk down into his bed....clearly exhausted. With his eyes closed and his blankey up around him he whispered "snug a bug.................a rug". And it was so innocent that it made my heart skip a beat.

I can't help but think about the parents that aren't going to get to say that to their children tonight. Its something that quite frankly I rush and just "get thru" sometimes because master stall tactic extraordinaire tries to prolong his sleepy time...quite often. I'm not going to sit here and say "oh i will never ever ever take that time for granted again" because that's not true and even the dreamiest and most idealistic people are brought back down to earth every once in awhile by a 2 yr old so there will surely be times that I rush and just want to get him to bed.

But there will never be a day that doesn't end with Paul and I sitting back and talking about the funny things he did and said that day. There will never be a day that I don't sit on my iPhone and go thru the pictures I took just a few hours ago and smile.....almost wishing he was still awake so that I could squeeze him. There will never be a day that I don't Pinterest and google good crafty etc ideas for him for the next day so he doesn't go nuts. There will never be a day that I don't dream about what his future looks like. Who his friends will be, what he will be good at, what will be challenges for him, how big his thighs are going to be......anything. There will never be a day that I don't pray for him, and pray for the man that he will become one day.

At least I hope not. I beg God that there will not come a day that I don't do those things...because that is what the parents in Connecticut are going thru right this second and I just can't begin to imagine the pain. Right after my prayers for my boys tonight, will be prayers for them. "The Lord is close to the brokenhearted. He saves those who are crushed in spirit". ~Psalm 34:18

I sure hope so.

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

9 months!

Well, Carrig, I better get your 9 monther up before you are 10 months!



Last week we had your appt and you weighed in at a solid 22lbs. SOLID. We will take off some ounces because you had a onesie on so lets say 21.5lbs and call it good. Holy crap.
You were 27 1/2 inches I think. (They always seem to measure short - at least according to my very precise at-home measurements - and i'm hoping that was the case here because. wow. that is short and chubby my friend :) )
Your head was 18 1/2 inches. I don't know accurate that can be either but hey. A ballpark.
In any case, you continue to be just an absolute gem. You aren't the tallest, (you might be the fattest), probably aren't the smartest or most athletic but dang if you are not the cutest and happiest little thing I've ever seen. You have THE best disposition of any baby I have ever been around. With Declan I think I might have thought this same thing but I can say with confidence, I've been around quite a few babies and toddlers at this point and when I say it Carrig, its true. You love mommy and daddy and your brother, but mainly you just love people. You NEVER cry when someone new comes around. Or takes you from mommy. Where your brother had and continues to display some serious stranger danger, you just smile and laugh. I honestly cannot describe how happy you are, and happy you make everyone around you. Family, neighbors, Decky's friends and their parents, his teachers, everyone. If you have come in contact with this little dude, you know what I am talking about.

You are so laidback and go with the flow. That's lucky because we are verrrryyy busy with your older bro..........he doesn't like to sit still.

You eat..............everything. I don't even really know what to say that you like because I haven't found something that you do NOT like. I guess I will say this, you really hate when we are all eating big people food and you are getting spooned some peas and edamame. Mashed up. In a baby bowl. I have realized you need little pieces of our big people food on your tray and that will keep you somewhat sane. Otherwise you scream.




Chowing on some sweet potatoes and a DELICIOUS pork recipes from a slow cooler recipe book my friend sent me (Sarah you are the deal!!!)


You sleep like a champ. Most days we are waking you up at 8 or 8:30 after going down at 7:30 the night before. Crazy town. You take two or three naps a day. The only issue here is that you will ONLY sleep in your crib.



It can be 11:00 at night and you haven't slept for 7 hours and we will be driving home in the pitch black and you will still not fall asleep because you aren't in your crib. I say this because that happened on Saturday night. You just chatted with Declan the whole way home.

You stand and cruise and climb but you aren't walking yet. Yet.

You and Declan have your own language and its quite annoying adorable. It involves a very high pitched scream. For 10 minutes straight.

Speaking of you and Declan. Y'all are besties and it is amazing. There is no question. I cannot wait wait WAIT to see y'all grow together...



You have six teeth - four up top and 2 on the bottom. You've done a killer job cutting them......you boys are tough cookies!

You wave and clap and dance and I think your first word is either "Pop Pop" or "bye bye" :) Or you are just babbling and we are calling it a word :) (i took this video when paul was recruiting in raleigh and stayed with my dad...........how cute is he? be serious)

YouTube Video

You LOOOOOVVVVVEEEEE the water. Daddy always puts you on your back and you just hang out like a big dude. Doesn't bug or scare you for a second.



You tend to favor your left hand. Daddy is pretty excited about that. Apparently lefties are worth way more in the big leagues ;)

You make really funny noises and always try to imitate us. And then you make the BEST faces because you know you exactly what you're doing and think you're hilarious. We do too.

Your butt is ginormous. As are your cheeks. But best of all, your beautiful baby blues......

You are starting to look very much like your daddy.....you have kind of run the gammot on "who does carrig look like" but you are slowly but surely turning into a mini Paul Hogan. There is something so very special about seeing the man you fell in love with's face in that of your child.
You couldn't be a more handsome little dude.

Well buddy, you continue to change and do something new and random every single day. Sometimes every single hour. You have been the best thing on this earth for Declan, and equally so for Daddy and I. We love you more than words. And the best thing is, we will love you more tomorrow. How that is possible, I will just never know.......
Happy 9 months little boogar bear. I can't wait for 999 more.