Splash!

Where did our 93* heat go? It has been washed away by rain. Lots of rain. More rain to come tomorrow, they say up to 8 inches! What to do when it rains that much? Splash in it!

These cute kids like to sport their cute rain gear. Both jackets have come from Grandma, and we love them- as does everyone else we see.

This puddle proved to be a little too deep for the shortest member of the family. I didn't realize until we were inside taking them off, the boots were full of water! That is how you know you had fun puddle jumping!
It was difficult to keep the kids off the toys, but they were so slippery! No climbing and I had to stop someone from drinking the water off the slide (any guesses which one?). After that it was home for a middle of the day bath.
E's new obsession is driving. He makes the driving motion every.single.time. you get in the car. I told him when we left for library that he could drive Dad's car after we got home, he remembered! Clayton is working evenings this week so when they both woke up from naps I sent them out to drive like I promised. E honked the horn LOTS, just as the high schoolers were getting off the bus. He laughed. Can you see the mustache? Clay feels silly with it, and thinks it is all people notice. maybe!
So have you seen those commercials for "pillow pets", they are stuffed animals that have a velcro strap on the bottom that when you undo it the animal lays flat like a pillow. lame. Gabby totally wants one, and it is not fleeting. She spots them everywhere, in stores, Sunday ads, tv, etc! My bright idea, lets use your old ladybug Halloween costume and put a pillow in it!

This was her reaction, it just wasn't the same! Well Elliot may have been doing something to her too. But still she wants a REAL PILLOW PET!

Elliot, he was more interested in wearing it!

Friends!

As mentioned before, we have been so lucky to find really good friends! I love that we all get along so well ( well kids fight but still love each other!) husbands too (Clay talked Anna's hubby's ear off at the labor day BBQ, it started with a love of the NY Mets!). We can plan things, or get together spur of the ...hour! Gabby and Stella, only 3 months apart. They could almost be mistaken for sisters and are so sweet and cute.
This guy chased the turkeys again, this time at the zoo. he also went after the peacock and geese. We go to the zoo and let our children explore and learn about the animals. Almost closing time is the best time, zoo is mostly empty and the giraffes and elephants are eating their dinner right on the other side of the glass!
We have play dates, and help with each other's kids when needed. Seth is teaching us about all things trains... we are teaching him the art of DRESSup!
Last saturday we spent 7 hrs (roundtrip) in the car to celebrate Geo's 5th birthday at Chuck E Cheese. Gabby has been friends with him longer than she has had a brother, they have both grown so much since we met all those years ago in Japan! Friendship travels well!
The kids miss out on family not living close and moving around. Having good friends absolutely makes it better. This is our "geographical Gramps" Dennis, he lives across the street and if he is outside, we talk to him!
This is one of my favorite pictures of the summer. A rubbermaid, a sprinkler, 4 kids. They filled it up and decided all of them could fit!

eeeek!

*I found a spider in the house today. I moved a bag by the front door looking for one of Elliot's shoes. No shoe, instead a spider that I promptly squished wish a receipt and my shoe. Scary spider. Looked it up, it had a big red marking on its belly. Yep it was a black widow! now it is in two ziplock bags, and has been squished again b/c I didn't get it all the way the first time and noticed it moving in the bag!

*Elliot shakes his head No all the time, and means it.

*Two days in a row E has has had under 30minute naps. Two more days in a row he has fallen asleep on the way to the grocery store! Yesterday it resulted in a 15min nap, no shopping, waking up as soon as we got home and then a 45min fight with no more nap! Today we went to Costco early, to be home in time for nap... he was asleep at 11am in the car. I put him in the stroller, he stayed asleep and we put our groceries in the bottom seat of the stroller. Good way to cut down the number of items you buy at Costco! He woke up by the flowers, but in a good mood.

* Gabby tells everyone "we are into the first Harry Potter"

*Pecan pie muffins are delicious, more sugar than flour in them and dangerous to make b/c they are so good.

*Elliot mopped, Gabby dusted. I re-did it all after they were done.

*Clay has to work this weekend again! here goes another 11days in a row for him.

safety first

Elliot has a new favorite accessory, a bike helmet! He wears it just hanging around the house, off the bike playing at the park, and doing his early morning clean up! The little vacuum is another of his favorite toys, he can be helpful with it- or turn it on at 6:45am when others are trying to sleep!
Here he is just before 8am today, with Old Maid cards spread all over the floor, the Snow White doll that talks- but her batteries are almost out so at this point she stutters "wha wha wha" and then will surprise you with " Hello there, I'm Snow White." Can you spy Gabby snuggled on the couch just having woke up and right away being terrorized by Elliot getting her with the vacuum. These two are so different, she likes to run and hide on her bed when the big vacuum comes out, Elliot tries to turn it on and wants to do it all the time!

Curls

Gabby got her 2nd ever haircut yesterday. The first one was done by Aunt Randi, last summer. Since then her hair has grown long and during the night tangle bugs come and swing from hair to hair making tangles and knots. Both of us were only ready for her to have a trim, less than an inch cut off but already with just the dry ends gone there seem to have been fewer tangle bugs at the party swinging around last night! We went to a kids salon called Pigtails and Crewcuts. Gabby picked the black police car for her turn, and then talked the entire time!
Gabby was a little nervous about the whole thing, so she wanted Elliot to go first. he picked out the yellow taxi cab. He had been trying to climb into it the whole time we waited for it to be our turn. I gave him a lollipop in hopes he would sit still. He sat still and didn't touch the candy!

The hairdresser was only going to do a teeny tiny amount off, but I said do a little bit more. I guess I shouldn't have spoken up- way more than I expected came off and all those precious baby curls were falling to the floor! I am not upset about it at all, it just surprised me and now my little guy looks like one BIG KID!


E still looks like E, just a bit tougher and older to me. When he woke up today I had forgotten all about and there was my boy with his first ever big kid haircut! In other big boy news: E is really interested in the potty. Yesterday he went pee 3 times on it, and again today was 3 pee and a little extra! Gabby is his biggest cheerleader in this, she sings and cheers for him!

Testing

Today was a day of testing. G & E both tested and pushed my patience and sanity to its limits. Clayton had the day off (thanks to working 12 straight days) and he too felt the pushing of limits. Elliot has had a rough week of sleep, crying even with medicine to help dull what is the almost constant pain of teething. Today he threw a big fit each and every time we put him in his carseat. Frustrating. Add on to that him being extra clingy to me, but me wanting to get more things done with Clay home, ya know like shower with the curtain closed. With help from his sister, the little boy got past two doors to find me and whine to me.Energetic Gabby has been having issues with listening and then following the directions (or commands) she has been given. It is irritating especially when you ask her numerous times and she still ignores you. Add on the sass and then the fit tonight at bed (b/c she wanted ME to plug in her night light not Clay, but I was busy putting E to sleep). Oh and I didn't want to play Harry Potter like we have been doing for weeks non stop.
I got over all the frustration and made sure the kids went to bed on a good note. I sat in my Auntie Carm's chair (Gabby insists it is hers b/c it is in HER room) snuggling my sweet little boy, holding my darling girls hand and sang lullabies to them. I feel like I did too much complaining today, but I wouldn't change this life of mine for anything.

On a side note, I attempted to read some of my camera manual last night (at say 11:15p while Clay was finishing his book and before E woke up AGAIN). Today at the park I tested it out, I worked on having my subject in focus while the background is a bit blurred. More work and reading to come!

Growing

Things change so quickly. My babies are growing and turning into kids! I am so thankful and blessed to watch them grow and learn each day.

I am growing older too, recently I have been finding numerous silver hairs- in the front and in my part where others could see them too! YIKES. Age doesn't bother me, but I am not yet ready to have salt and pepper hair. I took an hour of "ME" time the other day, it included a trip to Target where my purchases were: dark chocolate peanut M&Ms, mascara, hair dye, beef jerky (for a care package we are putting together for our friend Ryan in Iraq) and Thermos water bottles with Shrek on them for the kids. My hair is now "dark chocolate" but it has some reddish tint to it. Not much of a difference but it did do the trick, no sightings of those pesky silvers since.

A conversation in our car the other day went like this: G "can daddies be teachers?" she has some strange idea about who can do what. Me "Yes! Moms and Dads can do all the same things, they can both be teachers, doctors, firefighters, chefs, fix things, etc." G- "I want to be a cement truck driver when I grow up!"

Gabby as of yesterday is signed up to take ballet at the rec center. It doesn't start till the middle of October, but we are very excited about it. She writes MOM and "Gabelle" all the time. over and over, in a rainbow of colors. She is on to the second Harry Potter book with her dad. Her legs are so long..."they go all the way from her buns down to her toes!"

Elliot is a growing machine. His feet have grown 2 sizes since April... just found another pair of shoes in the closet that I bought before he was born that his feet will only squeeze into for a little bit longer. Sunday was a rainy, cool day. We had big plans for going bowling with our buddies. I searched E's drawer trying to find suitable pants for him to wear... most are highwaters and on their way out of the house. He was playing, came out from behind his curtain, tripped and fell. His sweet chubby cheek met the corner of his pants drawer that I was sorting. Poor boy has a little gash and what is sure to be a gnarly bruise.

Football is his favorite, without any provoking. He is a strong beast, ran and tackled his BIG sister. He patted his head, I said, yes that's your head. he got the alphabet placemat he was studying, used his pointer finger and found letter 'H' and pointed to the HAT and then his head! Brilliant. All 4 molars are in.. and as of yesterday I see what looks like another tooth busting its way in!

Together these two will eat me out of house and home SOON!

Oh and the Mr is currently growing a mustache! It's a bonding thing with the guys at work. Hilarious.

speaking of hilarious, these two do silly faces on command.

We are enjoying the early fall, going to Trashmore after nap to run the mountain and enjoy the gorgeous weather. Today doesn't really classify as fall, it was 92*

Bellingham State of Mind

I don't know these peeps, but saw their video on FB and wanted to share.. So fun to see all the things you know. I want a "we run BHAM" shirt too!

Ojos

A few months back I noticed that one of E's pupils was bigger than the other. It FREAKED me out, especially when you google medical stuff. It is something that just randomly happens, not all the time and it is always the left eye. The Dr. at first didn't believe me, then he could see it too. He said it was just the angle I was looking at E, no- I look at the kid quite a bit and know all parts of him well. We got a referral just to check it out. Finally the day came, we went to the Pediatric Opthamologist. I was wondering how awful it was going to be, trying to get Elliot to sit still and let them look in his eyes. The boy was a dream! He let 3 different people measure his pupils, do all sorts of little vision tests and then do eye drops. He cried for 2 seconds when the second set of drops were in, but it didn't last. We waited for the drops to work in the waiting room, where we chatted with our 5th grade buddy who was there. He asked if Elliot was in Kindergarten! The Dr brought us back, and again Elliot let them do their job without so much as a fuss! His left pupil measures 1mm bigger than the right, but dilates to within a half a mm. No problem, everything looked really good! He may be a little nearsighted in the future, but nothing to worry about! Hurray! The biggest fight I got out of E was trying to put him into the carseat to leave, he was tired and fell right asleep. The drops did make him look even more googley eyed for the entire night...and even a bit the next day. He was pretty good at keeping his "eye googles" (aka sunglasses) on- in fact G, E and I wore googles inside while grocery shopping!Here is the good patient at the eye Dr.
What cheesy grins these two have sometimes! This was at the zoo.

Finish Line

I borrowed these pics from the race photographers, this is AT the finish line!

Go Mom Go

Gabby and I finally made her a bag, after all the little girl cousins got them. Gabby painted it after I cut out the design she helped pick. it is her new library bag.

These are amazing cupcakes, don't ask how many sticks of butter they have in them. Eat them, share them, crave them. We made these for the Labor Day BBQ we went to.
The shirts I made the kids to wear to cheer me on.
Post Race. No finishing pic yet b/c Clay was holding both kids and didn't have a free hand. I didn't even see them along the finish line.

You know it's been a good day when you are playing ball with friends, cheering for your mom, and you are covered in watermelon juice!

2:34:44

13.1 miles done! I am now proud (and a bit sore) to say I am a finisher of a half marathon. That's right, I ran just over 13 miles today- along with 16thousand+ others. It was a great day for it, not too hot at all.

4am- wake up, alarm not set to go off till 4:35am but might as well get up now.

5am- Clay's car won't start (again! maybe it is the fuel pump??) so I can't drive myself 5 minutes away to the shuttle parking. Wake kids up and put them in the van, they are a little unsure of what is going on.

5:28am- ride shuttle bus along with thousands of others to the Convention center, the start of the race.

wait around, wait some more, wait more, have water, a banana, pee, wait some more, find my starting corral- #22.

7am- Rock 'n Roll 1/2 Marathon 2010 officially starts.

7:35am- I reach the starting line and begin my run!

mile 5 , stop to pee

mile 7.5, bad side ache till mile 9. Walked for first time at mile 8, what a great 8 miles!

mile 10, what was I thinking, am I crazy?? as I run over the bridge with a gorgeous view.

mile 10.5, starting to get leg cramps. ouch.

mile 11.5, my great friends Gina and Anna were on the route with glitter signs cheering and screaming for ME! What a boost!

mile 12, alright almost done.

mile 12.5, seriously still a half mile to go!?!? walking, a medical aid asked if I was okay! Darn leg cramp. I kept going.

mile 13.1 DONE!!!!! legs so sore, with a pain I have never before known. 2nd medical aid asks if I am okay- I mumble yes. They may be concerned b/c my face turns almost purple when I run and I am now hobbling.

My official race time clocked in at 2 hrs 34 minutes and 44 seconds! The most I ever ran training for this race was 6 miles. once. Next time- wait am I saying that??? I will train better!

I wandered around with the other runners and huge crowd, taking breaks to take my shoes off and sit and stretch, and come out of my physical and mental blur, sat some more, and then finally spotted Clay and the kids!

A few funny bits on my run. Mile 2 the man in front of me was juggling while running. I got passed TWICE by a one legged man on crutches, no joke the man was fast. I passed a pregnant woman and a little person (is midget not politically correct?). Some lady talked to me "see I told you I'd see you" still no clue who she was but she was sure she knew me. I got asked by a total of 3 medical staff to see if I was alright.

It was a great day, I can say that now that my legs are only sore and not unable to do anything but ache- I mean each part of my leg was in pain, plus I got one small blister on my toe. Finished the day off at a bbq with wonderful friends and great food!

Earl

Mother Nature is amazing. The colors and wonders are incredible. This is one of the Blue crabs our "buddy" Willie was catching at our favorite park. We went for another after dinner stroll at Lock Park, bringing our friend Marella along. Elliot is going through the stranger danger/ anxiety stage and as soon as Marella got in the car he started screaming and crying. It lasted the entire 15 minute drive. It was a beautiful evening, making it hard to believe that Mother Nature has a big storm brewing. We are under a hurricane warning right now, into Friday afternoon. Hurricane Earl has evacuated the OBX, and is threatening us but I'm not sure as to how much. I don't want to freak out, but I want to be prepared.
In an effort to copy my dear Sissy, I am jumping on the band wagon of getting more pictures of me with the kids (and hubby too). I always take the pics, but having a friend with us, she was able to snap a few just before my battery was totally drained. I have no make up on, my hair is in it's fancy do of a pony tail. Who cares, I am happy and with my family! We finished the night off by introducing Marella to our favorite Skinny Dip- self serve frozen yogurt. The kids went to bed 2 hrs late but it was one night so I am not going to stress. I am just so not used to being out after dark, the kids either. Gabby kept commenting that it was DARK out while we were in the car... hmmm maybe we should be out later more often!