Vacation 2008: The Beginning

Its our vacation week at last! We arrived Sunday to our original reservation and after viewing the room, had another reservation at a excellent hotel within 10 minutes. We're staying at the BayView and it is perfect! We spent yesterday morning on the beach and Little Brian couldn't get enough! After much needed nap, we went to Broadway at the Beach. We got my hubby a much needed UGA flag to show our support for the great GA DAWGS! We had dinner at the Key West Grill and introduced Little Brian to the world of Harley Davidson. Plus no outing will be complete without a ride on the carousel!

Little Brian as a Myrtle Beach pretzel

Carousel time!

First Day of Preschool!

My baby started preschool today. He is growing up so fast! I'm excited for these new experiences for him but sad that it means that he is embracing independence. He doesn't rely on me as much and that is bittersweet. He did great though. Walked right in and started playing with the other classmates. His cousin Carter is in the class too. They depend on each other when they're a little scared.

Here we are with the backpacks.

Walking to class....

Playing

My 'big' boy!

Big Shoes to Fill!

Already trying to be like Daddy!

Lazy Summer Afternoons

I love summer time. When you get home, get out of those work clothes and just have nothing in the world to do. My hubby was cutting grass when we got home last night and Little Brian decided that he wanted to go for a spin in his car. He recently learned how to ride around in it himself, instead of Mommy and Daddy pushing him.

Beep Beep. Outa the way!

Where am I going?

I'm tired of smiling for these pictures!

On a side note, when I picked Little Brian up at Nanny Sylvia's and Papa Herbert's yesterday, their house smelled so good of home cooking. Sylvia said she had cooked fried squash and potatoes for lunch for Little Brian and Carter. Little Brian loved it! I was surprised and she said he was eating them like there was no tomorrow, much to the point to where she thought he would be sick. Well, I asked her for the recipe and it seemed simple. Little Brian and I went to Walmart for some groceries and to see the "lobbers" and "ish". (I think we might be investing in a goldfish soon.) I picked up some squash and had a go at it. I had never done it before so I was hoping it would turn out good. It was great! My hubby said it tasted just like Sylvia's, which is a great compliment as she is an EXCELLENT cook. All I have to say is" Watch out Paula Deen, Caitlin Senter is on her way." :)

Boys :)

Adventures in Church: Week 2

My good friend Catherine and I have started taking the boys to church on Sunday mornings at Blackshear Place Baptist. We need to start getting involved again in church; I loved it when I was little with the children's program and developing friendships. I want that for Little Brian as well as for him to accept Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. As a bonus, the church is also where he and Carter will go to preschool so Catherine and I thought it would help acclimate them to their new environment before the school year starts (August 13 is D-day!). (We're trying to avoid breakdowns later by being proactive.) Well we started this adventure last Sunday. With Little Brian being in Puggles last year, I didn't think he would have a hard time in a new place as long as Carter was with him. Having a friend along is important. Catherine was concerned only as Carter had never stayed with anyone other than family. Needless to say Carter had to be pried from Catherine as he was very upset. Little Brian was ok as when we dropped them off, it was puppet time in the children's theater and Little Brian started singing with the class never giving me a backward glance. We waited a few minutes to see if Carter would calm down. I went to check on him and he had calmed down a little as he ate his snack. Catherine and I headed into the service and really enjoyed it. But when we went to pick up the boys, they were both crying for their "Mommies." Naturally we were concerned that Week 2 would be worse. We talked to the boys all week about how much fun church is and that they could play with their new friends. Plus Catherine packed support materials for Carter (his blanket, passy). I told Little Brian that if Carter was sad, it was ok and for Little Brian to hold Carter's hand and tell him "Mommy will be back."
Well Week 2, ladies and gentlemen, was a success! Carter went with his friend "Bear" and held Little Brian's hand. I also think that since Chad, Carter's dad, came he was a little more ok with going.

They went into the theater to watch VeggieTales and sat side by side. So we went to service and when we came back, they were fine! (It was a little confusing to find them as they had changed rooms and the room worker told us she didn't know where they were.) Now as I was in church, my first response had to be edited for content. I didn't think (Hey @#$%^, what do you mean you don't freakin know where my son is?) was appropriate church talk, but after a few minutes, we learned of the room change and picked up the kiddos.

Here's to Week 3 being an even greater success!

Happy 4th of July!

Lil' UGA Fans!

This is for Andrea at Royal Family, who is the proud new mother of baby Wesley, who was born last week, and big brother David, who is 9 months older than Little Brian.

"You are not inducted into Bulldog Nation, you are BORN into it!"

Little Brian

Future UGA placekicker, Class of 2028

On a sad note, UGA VI, beloved UGA mascot passed away on June 27, 2008. He was the mascot who was with the DAWGS for more victories, including 2 SEC Championships and 2 Sugar Bowls, than any other Ugga before him. UGA VII will have some big shoes to fill.

Go DAWGS!

ER Visit #2

Yesterday afternoon, Little Brian was in mine and my hubby's bedroom watching his favorite, Curious George. He had been in there for a bit, not making any noise so I thought I take a peek at him, wondering what he was up to. Well he had managed to get my ancient bottle of Afrin nose spray from a place, might I add, that I thought he couldn't reach. He has become quite the little adventurer and is very inventive on the tools he uses to reach his goal. Well there were wet spots on the bed, looking as if he squirted it out to see what it was and he was just lying there, relaxing on the bed with the bottle in his mouth. I immediately called Poison Control and we were told to take him to the nearest hospital for observation as it can caused depressed breathing rates. So I tell my hubby and we all get dressed and in the car. My hubby makes it to Northeast GA Medical Center within 10 minutes! I will not divulge my hubby's speed but lets just say it felt as if we were qualifying for a NASCAR race. Poison Control had called them and told them we were coming in so we were seen within 15 mins. (It must have been a full moon as all of the patients waiting to be seen were just at or a little older than Little Brian's age.) The ER checks back with Poison Control to see what Little Brian needs to be monitored for and they tell us we're in observation for the next four hours; it is now 6:30 p.m. Yea! We get settled into the room and proceed to keep Little Brian occupied. We had gone to church yesterday morning so I was glad I thought to grab his diaper bag before we left. We ate a snack of Goldfish crackers, had some juice, "reorganized" Mommy's purse and watched some TV.

Here's a quick pic of Little Brian watching 'nosars', i.e. Jurassic Park 2, while trying to be patient.

By 9:00 p.m. he was tired, cranky and Mommy and Daddy were out of tricks! Since his breathing rate hadn't dropped since 6:30 p.m., we thought it would be ok if he went to sleep. They monitored him for another hour and then we were released. Thank God nothing adverse happened to Little Brian! We got home at 10:45 after stopping at Krystal for some home cooking.

I'd like to go another 6 months before visiting the ER again! We were just there in late April after Little Brian had an allergic reaction to the antibiotic Omnicef. He had been taking it for 3 days before it developed and he broke out in hives! We gave him some Benadryl at home and they seemed to go away. However, the next morning, he had broken out again and this time it was in the webs of his fingers and toes. Another weird thing was that they moved around. I called our pediatrician and by the time she answered her page, the hives were still present but had moved on his body. I didn't want to wait so I got him in the car to go to Quick Care when he started violently throwing up. His lips started swelling and I tried not to freak out. I pulled over and called 911. An ambulance came to pick us up and we were off to the ER. (We were suppose to go to 'Touch a Truck Day' that day, sponsored by my mom's church, where fire rucks, ambulances, police cars and dump trucks are available for the kiddos to get in and try out. Needless to say, the ambulance ride was not how I pictured us 'touching a truck.') We got to the ER where Little Brian got a shot and some grape popsicles to take off the sting.

Pre-popscicle

I'll be very glad for a accident free 6 months!

Mall Fun!

Yesterday, Little Brian and I headed down to the Mall of Georgia to get a haircut and meet his cousin Carter and Carter's mom Catherine to shop. We had quite a wait at Pigtails & Crewcuts but eventually got the hair cut we wanted.



Mommy, I'm trying to watch Peter Pan!

After the hair cut, we met My friend Catherine, Carter and Catherine's mom at the mall. Catherine was looking for a new suit for an interview she has in two weeks. Hopefully, she will be an underwriter for State Farm soon! We also met to exchange some clothes we bought Carter for his birthday that were too big. We got Little Brian some Croc sandals and then of course we let the boys take a whirl on the carousel. Catherine braved the ride. It usually makes her ill but she did fine the go around.




What a ride. :)


Then we headed down towards Nordstrom to play but there were too many kids. Catherine's mom wanted to get some things at Sephora so we headed upstairs to check out the new Vera Bradley patterns at Hallmark. They boys were more than ready to go. I wanted a UGA sticker for my new Altima so Catherine kept an eye on the boys so I could go into the College Station store. Here they are planning their escape strategy. They had enough shopping for the day.







Let's get out of here; go this way!

Needless to say, once I got Little Brian into the car as we were leaving, he fell fast asleep. This weekend was great for us and I was excited to spend a lot of time with my son. Hope every one's weekend was just as great!

Happy Birthday to My Hubby!

Today is my hubby's 32nd birthday! We celebrated together with a quiet dinner and a cake I bought from Publix called Ducle de Leche Torte and it was excellent. I'm not a big fan of caramel but my hubby is, so I took a chance.It was a big hit with my boys.

Little Brian and my hubby blowing our his candle

My hubby and I have had our ups and downs as any couple but I'm still excited and happy that he's mine. He's a good father and husband. He deserves all of life's happy surprises. So here's to my hubby and his 'next 30 years.'

Happy Father's Day to My Hubby!

Father's Day 2008 was a great day for my hubby! Little Brian is very verbal now and went around saying 'ppy faers day'! It was so cute. I spent much of Friday afternoon and evening looking for the perfect gift for my hubby. I know, waited til the last minute, but I was hoping to take advantage of the sales and it was a major purchase.

My hubby desperately needed a new recliner. The one he has now was my wedding gift to him almost 4 years ago and now it is in horrid condition. I had purchased it at a local furniture store in our home town and I should have went with a major retail chain. Suffice it to say that the padding fell out after a few months and the staples used to retain the leather were coming through to prick you. I felt that he had patiently put up with that for long enough. I found him the perfect replacement at the LazyBoy gallery at the Mall of Georgia. It was the last store I went to and it should have been the first. He wanted a brown leather that wasn't grandpa looking. I found the perfect one and it was on sale. Its called the 'Calvin.'

The 2nd greatest Father's Day gift!

We pick it up at the end of the month. I figured that wasn't fair; he needed something to open so I went a picked him up a new wallet at Belk.

Here are a couple of shots of Little Brian and my hubby opening up his Father's Day gift and sharing the day.

Brian and Little Brian, the first greatest Father's Day gift!

Opening his gift and reading the cards. Little Brian loves to help!

Checking out the new wallet. Little Brian said 'no money Daddy.'

Already knows where to find money at 2 years!

Hope everyones Father's Day was just as great!

My Altima!

With gas prices going up, I needed a car that didn't drink gas as if it had just finished a 5k race! It was $100 every 5 days for me to keep gas in my Expedition. So my hubby and I shopped around for something more fuel efficient. I've always wanted an Altima ever since Nissan came out with that sleek body style in 2002. So we found a great deal on a pre-owned 2002 Altima through Autotrader.com. I wanted it to be white, have a sunroof and a spoiler. No old lady cars for me, hehehe. I was able to test drive it last Friday and we purchased it the following Sunday. The couple that owned it had taken excellent care of it and it only had 70,000 miles. That's great for a 2002! My hubby was able to buy the tag for it yesterday and its mine from now on.

I have just three words to describe it: I LOVE IT!!!!

It's so pretty!

We're back!

There is a lot that has happened in my family's life since my last post! Time got away from me ladies. Sorry about that. I hope you have a cup of joe (hi Katie) cause this one is going to be long!!!!

Well to sum up, I've been shopping for a new job since last August. I got a lead in January from my girlfriend Elise about a great new opportunity with a medical device company in Norcross. Now Norcross is a longer commute for me but I knew it was a necessary evil as I was grossly underpaid. I had a great initial phone interview and was then asked to come in for a more formal interview. After a few weeks, I was asked to participate in yet another phone interview with the VP of Regulatory Affairs at the corporate office in Sweden. I was a little nervous but things went fine and 30 mins after it was over, I was offered the job! I was excited, scared and overwhelmed all at once! I had never worked anywhere other than Kiel Laboratories as I started there right after my high school graduation and was able to stay on after I graduated with my BA in Finance from UGA. Plus, I had just enrolled Little Brian in Blackshear Place Baptist Church's preschool program 3 days before the offer and it was right down the street from Kiel. I was a little distraught that I would be farther from my son and would not get to take him or pick him up from the program. I don't want to miss out of these early years. Plus all of my friends were at Kiel and I didn't want to lose touch with them.



My family and husband were very supportive and this opportunity would ensure my family's financial security. After a week of worrying, evaluating and praying that I would make the right decision, I accepted the new position with Molnlycke Health Care. Needless to say, Kiel Laboratories was not happy about this as I was there only regulatory employee. I finished up 2 major project for them and said see ya later. They tried to counter but it was a pitiful offer and I felt that the new position was a better opportunity.



I've been at the new position for a little over 2 months now and could not be happier. One of my short term career goals was to work in the medical devices community, mostly due to my Type I Diabetes and my dependence on my insulin pump. I'm very excited to see this goal completed. But another pump is getting to me. It currently takes $100 to fill up my Expedition for 5 days. So my hubby and I are in negotiations to purchase a Nissan Altima for better gas mileage. I hope to get this completed by this weekend. That$100 could buy cute new work outfits!

I completed my first graduate class with an A and have maintained my 4.0 gpa! Whoo hoo! I have only 6 more classes until I graduate with my Master's at UGA. I'm very excited and pleased that I'm on my way to fulfilling another of my personal goals. I hope to graduate in May 2009 or August 2009 at the very latest.

Exciting things have been going on for my son as well. On the 19th, Little Brian turned 2!! I can't believe that he is two already! Where did my baby go? We had his party at the Mall of GA Gymboree Play and Music. It was a great place for a party as the kids had fun activities to keep them occupied and it wasn't at my house for them to destroy! I highly recommend this place. Little Brian and his friends had a blast. My aunt did a fantastic job on his cake. I've included a couple of pics to show the fun!

Little Brian and his partner in crime Carter :)

Hi!

Doing the "Monkey Roll"!

Bubbles!

Maracas.....I need to drink when I hear those.. wait stay focused on the party ;)

Me and my hubby

(I didn't realize that I looked like my mother used to.)

The fantastic cake!

Blowing out his candle. I didn't even have to "help."

Yummy!

Finally, the parents were encouraged to stay with their kids and this was the motivation......

That sums it up right?

Little Brian had a great time and he was blessed with so many gifts that it was great to see how many people care for him. We got him a train table and it as the best money we have ever spent. You have to pry him away from it! We also are going to have to super glue the track to the table as our little engineer tries to create new tracks around the house.

Also last week was the last session of his Puggles class until the next school term starts. He did a great job being quiet during the awards ceremony and he even accepted his certificate all by himself. I'm so proud of him! He was upset though as he didn't understand why he wasn't going to his classroom. He kept crying "Puggles. Nate. Tanner." Those are his friends at church. I hope we can make it through the summer.

He has also discover his love of the pool. My aunt who lives next to my parents has a pool and Little Brian is anxious to get in it. Needless to say, we are going to get a life jacket on Friday.

Finally, my weight loss goal is still a work in progress. I've lot 11.2 pounds so far but I will admit it is because I've not kept at it. I will though as my new goal is to lose another 30 before vacation in August. Wish me luck!

Valentine's Day

We had a great Valentine's Day. Little Brian was showered with gifts. My hubby and I gave Little Brian a Hugs & Kisses Elmo. It is so sweet! He blows kisses and says I love you. Little Brian is really into Elmo. He also got an Elmo's World learning call phone and some candy. My Mom and Dad gave him a teddy bear and a new book. He LOVES books.

Little Brian, Daddy and Elmo

The Elmo phone ;)

My hubby did a great job. He gave me tulips, my favorite flower. He went and bought tulips plus some filler and arranged them himself. I'm impressed. Take a peak.

I love my husband. He did great!

On Saturday, we had Little Brian’s 21 month/Valentine’s pictures made at J C Penny at the Mall of GA Since we were already there getting his hair cut, I decided on the pictures. I momentarily forgot why I had stopped using them. Little Brian was not in the best mood but despite a hour wait after our appointment time, he smiled and clowned around for the camera. Unfortunately, J C Penny does not offer in store printing. So we’re waiting to receive these great pics until the 27th. I did purchase the internet viewing so here are the best ones.

So Handsome!

This pictures is dedicated to Andrea and David over at Royal Family. (Andrea - we're joining the Thomas craze. :))

I love Mommy

Hope everyone's Valentine's Day was as great as ours.

Look-alike Meter

I saw this on Chris's page and thought it was so neat!

I'm not sure its equal! I really think he looks just like my hubby. :)

I Scream, You Scream for Icecream!

Little Brian, Mom and I enjoyed a snack today from Bruster's. I love their kids cones. Just enough for a quick, sweet treat!

I'll leave y'all with these pics.

What IS this, Nanny?

I love it!

Have a great weekend everyone!