He Said, She Said

Tyler: Olivia, why don't you like mashed potatoes?
Olivia: I just don't.  Why don't you like macaroni?
Tyler: That's just how God made me.

Aunt Lindsey and Mr. Matt

My amazing sister and her boyfriend took care of Tyler over the weekend while we were at the hospital with Olivia.  And they SPOILED him rotten!!! They went on walks, went to the park, went to hurricane shoals, went to the library, visited Mr. Kent and Mrs. Janice, played, read a bunch of books, went to McDonalds, and who knows where all else.  And in the meantime, Tyler overcame his fear of Mr. Matt's dog, Harry.  Tyler told us today, "I love Harry now." I think his new love for Harry has helped his sister to losen up too. We walked down to their house after dinner tonight to visit for a few minutes.  Here's Tyler and his new pal, Harry :).

Aunt Lindsey also has another cool pet that Tyler has always loved...
This is Siggy, Lindsey's Bunny

And, Tyler is walking him on a leash...lol

I'll spare you the details of my MISERABLE weekend, and skip straight to the good parts...

#1 Olivia is out of the hospital, and the new meds seem to be working
#2 When I left my keys at the hospital, my spare that usually only opens the door worked in the ignition!!
#3 The kids weren't with Junior when someone hit his truck on the way home from the hospital.
#4 Junior is okay
#5 The person that hit him had insurance.
#6 The lady at Suntrust didn't ask for my ID when I went to cash a check after I left my wallet in Junior's truck, and needed money to pay for the dinner I'd already ordered over the phone.
#7 I had friends calling to check on me, cooking me dinner, offering me a place to sleep close to the hospital, giving me a place to shower and nap, visiting us in the hospital, giving a shoulder to cry on, and PRAYING for all of us.
#8 God is taking care of us, and has everything under control.

We're going to be okay!!

No tears :)

My sweet girl had blood drawn for some tests the other day.  Three tubes full!!! and guess what... No Tears!!! (I was so proud :))

And the reward???? A chocolate milkshake, our favorite :)

I figured she needed some calcium and carbs after losing all that blood :) She must have REALLY NEEDED it, because she drank it up like it was her job!!

I LOVE TECHNOLOGY

I was just looking at my online albums that I posted on facebook, and took a little trip down memory lane :).  I just love my sweet (crazy) babies :).

I was checking out some of some pics I took at Christmas time when my cousin Stacy and I took our kids to "the lighting of the chateau" at Chateau Elan.  It was a lot of fun, and I even had the foresight to pack a snack in my purse...lol. (I caught on to the whole "mom" thing really fast). Well, I caught a few more things that night too. They had some of those bouncy things outside for the kids to play on until it was dark enough for them to light up the Christmas decorations, and my kids were bouncing away.  Then, all of a sudden, Tyler comes out for no apparent reason, and runs at me at full speed.  I was SO happy to see that he wanted to come give me a big hug :)..... or so I thought....

If you'll notice in the picture below, that night, I decided to accessorize wtih a scarf...

Well, Tyler noticed that as well.... so he RUNS up to me, grabs the end of my scarf, WIPES HIS NOSE, and RUNS back to the bouncy palace. Seriously, baby???

This was one of those moments where you just sort of realize that THIS IS YOUR LIFE... AND YOU LOVE IT MORE THAN ANYTHING!!!!!

WHAT A DAY!!

One of my oldest (not because of age) and dearest friends has recently had the misfortune of losing a great deal of her home to a fire.  Everyone is safe, and the insurance seems to be taking good care of them, but they are still left with a LOT of work.  I volunteered to help them work, or to babysit while they worked, and I was LUCKY enough to get to spend the day with her SWEET SWEET precious babies :).  They are such good babies, I just want to eat them up :).  My mom lives pretty close to her house, so I asked my mom if I could borrow her house to take care of the kiddos.  I figured Miss Olivia would want to come with me, but I didn't think Tyler would.  I was wrong, though, both of my babies went with me to babysit.  And they are really good babysitters :).

Here's my wild man feeding Miss Emerson.  I think she loves him, she's almost as wild as he is.  (no babies were harmed in the capturing of this picture)

And of course you can't babysit without reading the kids a book :) (this one makes my heart melt a little)

And then there's the rocking to sleep.... Tyler didn't quite have the right touch for Mr. Chandler, but he sure did want him to go to sleep.  Maybe he should have rocked Emerson.

After the babies went to sleep, my babies got to spend some quality time with Mrs. Janice and Mr. Kent.  Emerson and Chandler weren't quite as fun when they were asleep.

Tyler offered Mr. Kent some assistance fixing his lawnmower tire. Then volunteered to sit on it to make sure the tire wouldn't go flat again.

After he took the lawnmower for a test sit, he found the front end loader that needed a test sit too :)... there are lots of good toys in Mr. Kent's barn.

My big girl helped Mrs. Janice change some batteries, but they both needed their reading glasses to make sure they put them in the right way :).



What a wonderful day of love and laughs with the biggest blessings God gives...  Sweet, healthy, growing, loving, happy children!!!

Learning SO much SO fast!!

Tyler has gotten the cooking bug lately.  He's been wanting to help with everything.  And he's a terrific helper :).

Here he is making homemade pizza:

He mixed in all the ingredients for the dough, and kneaded it all by himself!! (while I cooked the meat)

He rolled it out on the pizza stone, pulling and stretching it perfectly :).  He spread the sauce evenly, then put the meat on in the shape of a smiley face (I missed that photo op, but it was SO sweet).  Then we sprinkled the whole thing with meat.

When it came time for the cheese, he was a little reluctant, because he doesn't like cheese, but I convinced him to save himself a slice with no cheese and put cheese on the rest for the rest of the family. He is really getting good with directions.  I'm so proud of my big 4 year old helper :).

Happy St. Patrick's Day

My friend Katie said it best on her facebook post, "St. Patrick's Day used to be an excuse to party, now its an excuse to make cookies." She's got it! When it was just me, I'd make plans to go to the local Irish Pub dressed all in green, or I'd hang out with friends, have a party, whatever seemed like a good idea at the time. Well, like my dear Katie, it's not just me anymore.  Last year, I made a midnight trip to walmart the night before to get the kids something green to wear the next day.  This year, they had stuff (Olivia's wearing the same shirt she wore last year :)) to wear, but we still needed to celebrate, so I made green rice crispies treats for Olivia's class :). (and added green sprinkles left over from Christmas:))

I took her to school this morning. She's wearing a green shirt, you just can't see it in this picture. She's coloring a shamrock :). She makes me so proud, every day!!! (I know you probably can't tell, or anything)

Tyler L.

When I was in school, there were 3 or 4 Jessica's in all of my classes.  Now, my sweet Tyler is in my same boat :).  He is one of 2 Tylers in his Pre-K class (and there's another one in the other class at his school), and whenever he writes his name, he writes Tyler L.  Its very cute, really, but I realized last night, that he thinks his name is spelled T-Y-L-E-R-L :)  Poor baby.  I had to explain to him that the L was for Lance.

He also differentiates between the lower case l and the capital L. I cut out some letters for him at school, so he could practice recognition and spell a few words. Last night, he was spelling out his name, where he insisted on using the i for the L in his name and the L for his last initial.  He sweetly explained to me, that you have to use this l in the middle, and this L at the end. Too cute :)

After I explained the last initial, he informed me that L was also for Lee, so he spelled out Lee and Lance.  Too bad we didn't have enough E's.  So what does my sweet, smart, creative little baby do??? Finds an L and starts to put the I's across for the other part of the E.  Too Sweet.  Then I helped him put the L and an F together to make an E.

And.... Taa Daaah

And, if you noticed, yes, we're spelling by candle light :)... that's the glow behind him.  I took the centerpiece off the table so we could work, and he wanted to light the candles. :) I love this baby!!!

I love my big helper, and my really big helper.

I love spending time in the kitchen with the kids.  I tell them they're my big helpers.  They can do so much, and after they've done something a few times with help, I'll let them do it on their own, and they feel so proud.  And I'm super proud of them too :).  Well, tonight I had 2 helpers, but not my usual pair. Tonight, Daddy was my biggest helper.  And man is he good in the kitchen :).  He and Tyler were in charge of the "tater chips" while I got the pork chops started on the griddle. Tyler brushed the pan with oil while junior sliced the potatoes wtih the grater.  They were such a good team :). Then Junior ended up pretty much cooking our whole meal while I found things for Tyler to "help daddy with." Daddy's not quite as industrious as me when it comes to finding jobs (and patience) for my helpers. I sure did enjoy cooking, and eating with my family tonight :) I always do, though.  I try not to take even a moment for granted.

I said I wouldn't do this but...

Okay, I know Tyler will kill me for this one day, but blogging will probably be a thing of the past by then.

I guess he's looking for dune buggy parts.  Either that, or he was just wasting time trying not to go to bed. I just left him alone (after I snuck the picture, of course)

Everybody's Toy!

Junior has been working on building a dune buggy for the past few weeks, and once he got some of the major parts put together, he went and got the body to go on it.  He already had it, but had left it at his dad's because he has more room for "junk" than we do.  Well,  he found another body that he liked better, so now we have a body on the dune buggy, and one in the driveway.  i'm not a huge fan, but the kids like to stop and play with it on our way in from school. :)

I'm ready for it to be put together and drivable (and of course, painted and looking good) so I can cruise around in it :).

It won't be this color when its done (I hope, at least).

I've never been so in love!!!!!!!!!!

Olivia Grace Lance has GOT to be my child!!!

After Olivia was tucked in for the night, I came in her room to check on her and to put some Cortisone 10 on her hand, and when I turned the light on, she looked like she was about to cry :(. I scooped her up and hugged her and asked he what was wrong, at which point, she started a full on cry and told me repeatedly that nothing was wrong.  Junior heard us and came in and scooped her up too, and she wouldn't even tell him what was wrong.

I noticed her glancing back at the TV screen and realized that it may have been a sad part in the movie.  So I asked her if that was what it was, and she started crying again and told us that she was upset because the girl in the movie was leaving.

IT WAS SO SWEET!!! And the crazy thing is, although I rarely cry in real life (unless I'm fighting mad), I cry over EVERY MOVIE! I cried like a baby in Toy Story 3 when Andy went off to college.  Junior gives me the hardest time!! But I'm totally in love with the fact that our baby girl is a movie cry baby like me :).

I LOVE HER!!!!!!!!!!!!

Happy Anniversary!!!!!

Today is mine and Junior's one year anniversary!! He's showering and we're going to dinner and a movie tonight.  Our One Year Anniversary trip will be April 4th, on my spring break.  I used my personal days for the cruise in October, so I couldn't take anymore days off.... but.... it will be totally worth the wait because we will be celebrating in VEGAS!! :).  I'm very excited!

But even more than that, I've been looking forward to something for the whole year... something I thought about even before our wedding, because I ordered a special box for it. And TODAY, my friends, today was the day, that we got to open and eat the top tier of our wedding cake.... and..... drumroll please...

I open the box to find the cake looking just like it did a year ago :) (so far so good :))

We cut into it....

and it was DELICIOUS!!!!!!!!!!!!! Junior even felt the need to smush it into my mouth since I gave him the evil eye at the wedding warning him against it.

I'll eat some more when we get home, but for now, off to date night with my LOVE!!

Jesus, Jesus Bo-Besus

This morning on the way to my Mom's for lunch after church, I tried to teach the kids the name song.  I started with Tyler Tyler Bo-Byler, banana fanna fo Fyler, me my mo Myler, Tyler!! Then I moved on to Olivia, Daddy, Jessica, Lindsey, Matt (my sister and her boyfriend), Mrs. Janice, Mr. Kent (my parents), and then I started back with the kids.  Well, I was about half way through Olivia for the second time, when she stops singing, and shouts out "LETS DO JESUS!!!"

I LOVE it when the kids bring up Jesus or God in random conversations.  It makes me feel like we're teaching them something right.

I also taught them the baby turtle song that my dear friend Rebecca learned from her nephew.

I had a baby turtle.
His name was Tiny Tim.
I put him in the bath tub,
to see if he could swim.
He drank up all the water,
and ate up all the soap.
And now my baby turtle
has bubbles in his throat.
*hiccup*

LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!

Weekend Rituals

On the weekends, the kids and I are up WAY before their dad, so we get to play, paint, bond, watch tv, snuggle, clean, draw, jump on the trampoline, read books (play in the rain or snow), and whatever else we feel like doing, but regardless of the morning's activities, breakfast is ALWAYS Pancakes, or as Tyler would say, Panny Cakes.

They are such good helpers in the kitchen, and are getting really good at cracking eggs, and "stirring gently." Our pancakes, though always delicious, are a little out of the ordinary.  Even the most boring of pancakes, at our house, are served with sprinkles (this is in a time pinch).  Sometimes, they're shaped like Stars, Hearts, Swirls, and Zigzags (And Snowmen and Christmas Trees, in December). Sometimes, the kids add a few drops of food color after the batter is in the pan, and swirl it around with forks, or toothpics.  Today, we tried a little something different.  I put the batter into 4 cups, stirred in 4 separate colors of food coloring, and the kids each had their own small pan to drizzle the batter into.  We've done this before, but I put the batter into bowls.  Cups were much easier. The kids liked having their own pans, and they even flipped their pancakes with their own spatulas, and turned them out into their own plates.  I know you can't tell that I'm super proud of them, but I am.  I LOVE our time together!!!!!!!!

Rainbow Pancake AND Rainbow Sprinkles :-)

And, my girl is definitely rockin' her jean jacket with ner Dora night gown :) LOVE HER!!

COME ON SUMMER!!!!!!!

We just couldn't wait for full on summer to make our first trip to the lake.  The water may not have been swimmable... but the sand sure was playable, and the sun sure was shinable, and my kiddos sure were lovable!!!! It was an amazing and sunny afternoon, and the kids have been dying to play with the sand toys I got at the end of last summer (for 75% off).

First thing's first, set up play site and have a snack.

Next, scope out the beach, and make friends with the geese.

Then... on to the sand playing!!!

Tyler takes a few minutes to build a pond for a boat race :)

Miss Olivia built a great castle and picks out just the perfect sticks for the top :)



After all that, time for another snack :) (they are difinitely MY CHILDREN) 

 Thumbs up for Moon Pies :)

Looks like some serious thought went into eating those goldfish...

We stayed until almost 6 o'clock.  It was an AMAZING afternoon!!! We stopped for a photo op on the way out... there were a few takes, then I gave up...lol

What a great great place to have so close to home.  We just LOVE coming here.  I can't wait until its warm enough to have family picnics out here every week again!!!

Good Parent or Big Kid???

I had a super wonderful night with my babies tonight :).  When I got home with Pizza, they were outside playing, riding bikes, and helping Daddy build our dune buggy. They must have been really hungry, though, because they dropped everything when the pizza arrived!

We went in to eat, and I decided that since it was so nice outside, and since Junior didn't seem to be coming in anytime soon, we should eat outside. So I gave the kids an old comforter and had them sneak out the front door  and "surprise daddy." (okay I really just didn't want them dragging it through all the grease in the garage.)

So I took the pizzas and paper towels outside to get them settled and started on dinner, then headed back in for Ranch dressing and Drinks.  I asked them if they wanted capri sun, orange juice, water, or milk.  Tyler chose OJ, and Olivia chose Chocolate Milk.  So when I get to the fridge, I see that there are only about 2 servings of each left.  Now, this is where the options reveal themselves. I could use small cups in order to save enough for breakfast in the morning; I could use big cups so that they would drink it all and not leave a few drops in the bottom of the jug; OR I could just let them drink out of the jugs!!! Why would I do that? Because I'm a grown up, and I can, I guess.  I know I would have loved it as a child, and I thought they would too.  I was RIGHT! Believe it or not, I let those babies sit in the driveway, eating carry out pizza, and drinking out of half gallon and gallon plastic JUGS!!!! Oh yeah, That Happened!!! I don't know why I thought it was a good idea, but they loved it, and Junior and I got a good giggle over it :)

After we were cleaned up for dinner, it was shower time.  Well, usually they take showers, but tonight, Tyler wanted a bath. I put him in the tub and turned on the water, threw in some bubbles, and went to help Olivia with a little homework while the water ran.  A few minutes later, I hear Tyler shouting for me in a pretty serious tone.  It took me a minute to get there, but when I did, I found him up to his neck in bath water.  LOL.  Now, more options.... drain some water, warn him not to splash too much, or put on a red bathing suit and be the life guard just in case he drowns.... what do you think I chose? Option C of course!! The kids have gone "swimming in the bath tub" many times, complete with arm floaties, boogie board, swim suits, and even sand toys, but I haven't ever "swam in the tub" with them.  But tonight, Tyler had a near drowning experience ( he was faking... lol), and I had to jump in and "save" him :).  When Olivia finished her homework and found me, she was nice enough to let me practice saving her from drowning too :).

HAHAHA!!! These kids are GREAT!!

Baby Carson!

Who doesn't love a 1 day old baby???

Especially when he's this cute and sweet and cuddely!!

I'm so proud for my friend Cari, and I didn't even try to steal the baby.  Maybe I'll have a little one for him to play with next year :).