News from the Hughes

Visiting Middleton Place

2012-02-10T22:16:00.000-05:00

We took advantage of a “locals” deal that Middleton Place offered during the month of January (as well as the spring-like weather we were having) and took the kids to explore one of the area’s oldest plantations. After seeing a post on their Facebook page about a new lamb that was born, I couldn’t resist! Baby animals to gawk at? Sign me up!

We first crossed this huge grassy meadow to get to the stableyards. When this was a functioning plantation, this was the entrance to the home, of which only a portion is still standing.

Arriving at the stableyards, we were greeted by this little guy (Winter) and his mama. How precious is he?!

There were lots of other farm animals for the kids to see up close, like these horses…

…and cows

We also got to see these little piglets. The little babies were roaming around when we first walked up, and the two adults looked like they were passed out from exhaustion, just too tired to chase after those sweet babies anymore. Reminded me of how our little babes used to tire us out!

These quail were kind of fun to watch too. They wandered together as a group through the stableyard. I love the pattern on their feathers.

This little flock of sheep were so funny, following each other everywhere too. They must have thought it was lunchtime because they headed into the stables, but apparently they were shooed away because they headed right back out and crossed part of the yard. It was so cute how they were indifferent to the visitors, but they wouldn’t let anyone get close.

Ethan, our little stable-boy…

We were intrigued by the selection of carriages owned by the Middletons. Hannah of course asked if these belonged to the prince and princess.

See how the red one even has lanterns on the outside? So fascinating to think about how people lived back in the day.

After seeing all the beautiful animals, we crossed over to the home site, which leads right to the beautiful lawns and gardens. Truly breathtaking views.

Hannah loved all the flowers. My girly-girl notices flowers everywhere she goes. She loves to pick the weeds in the yard and give them to us. She even thinks she has a “flower-tree” growing in the backyard. When we come home from school most days, she heads straight to the backyard to check on her “flower-tree” and water it. She always comes back inside, holding a weed she pulled from the ground, saying, “Mommy, my flower growed!”

We found a great tree for a photo-op, but first we had to put shoes on the right feet.

…and of course everyone didn’t want to cooperate.
My silly hubs…

My last picture before my camera died.

This was such a fun way to spend a few hours as a family. I love being surrounded by so much culture and history in our area, and seeing the effort that goes into preserving aging landmarks like plantations.

Of course, we also earned a couple of hours of peace and quiet because our little ones were tuckered out!

Letter Learning

2012-01-20T09:33:00.001-05:00

Hannah’s teachers gave her a letter box to bring home on Tuesday because her class is studying the letter “N” and she is really working hard on writing it correctly (it helps that this letter is in her name twice).

Our “homework” was to fill the box with as many things as we could think of that begin with the letter “N” for her to take back to school and show her class.

These are the things we found around our house:

> Necklace

> Nail clippers

> Napkin

> Noodles

> Nuts

> Nutmeg

> Nose (thanks Mr. Potato head!)

> Newspaper

> NANA! (a picture of my mom holding Ethan)

Ethan was slightly jealous that this was Hannah’s turn to bring home the letter box and he kept trying to put his toys in it – things that did not start with the letter N. He absolutely didn’t care about the purpose of the box.

On Tuesday morning as we were leaving for school, he really had a fit about it, so I gave him his own box to put his toys in and take to his class. He was actually appeased by this and I gave myself a little pat on the back.

So next week it will be Ethan’s turn to bring the letter box home and I am already thinking of “O” things to fill it with.

More Christmas!

2012-01-16T16:07:00.001-05:00

I actually didn’t capture a ton of pictures on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. It was so good to enjoy the company of my family and the kids’ excitement that I just didn’t snap very many. But here are a few to help me remember all of the other special moments.

On Christmas Eve, the kids (mainly Hannah) begged to open gifts. She just couldn’t resist seeing all of them wrapped under the tree and wanted to see everything that was being concealed. She couldn’t stand it! So I tried to think of one gift they could open that might keep them occupied for awhile.

I had been wanting to get Ethan a Hot Wheels type of rug to play with all of his little cars on, and while the kids were shopping with me one day, we found these cute rugs for a great deal.

They were excited to open them and play with them, even though they knew they were getting them.

And these did do the trick for a little while, but eventually they started asking to open more. And we told them no more until the next morning after Santa Claus came.

*CHRISTMAS MORNING*

Christmas morning was purely magical this year. Hannah woke up at 6:00 on the nose, and immediately asked if Santa came. Her reaction when we walked into my aunt’s living room and she saw everything set out for her and Ethan was “Wow! This is AWESOME!”.

Ethan and Daddy emerged from their room and Ethan was equally shocked. Hannah began showing him all of his stuff and telling him what Santa brought him.

And those are all of the pictures I have from the special day. I was just so caught up in watching the kids and not missing a moment, and things got really crazy when the whole family opened presents together. Hannah was a little maniac-ish with the gift-opening, but I can’t blame her excitement.

Here’s Hannah with one of our gracious hosts, my dear Aunt Phyllis.

While traveling for the holiday is not how I prefer to celebrate Christmas with Jason and the kids, it was nice being able to celebrate with all of our family this year and made it totally worth it!

I can’t wait to see what this year holds for our little family. We are so hopeful and prayerful for what is ahead!

Christmas in Beaufort–Part Two

2012-01-13T14:46:00.000-05:00

I’m a little behind getting the rest of my Christmas posts up! After spending the night with Happy and Grandma Kim, we went to Mimi’s house to celebrate with her, and Uncle Josh and Aunt Leslie again.

Hannah received even more dress-up clothes!

As a bonus, Mimi gave Hannah Aunt Leslie’s old toy trunk to keep her dress-up clothes in.

Uncle Josh helped Ethan open some gifts.

These puzzles are so cool! Four puzzles in one box that closes with a lid so the pieces don’t get lost everywhere. This momma likes that!

Hannah was excited about these new hairbands and headbands.

Ethan showed Uncle Josh how his combat soldier drives fast in the desert.

Hannah gave us a fashion show with her new outfits and accessories.

The beauty queen in all her glamour!

It was so special to spend some time in Beaufort with Jason’s family before heading to the Aiken area to celebrate with my family.

It was a little challenging to pack up all of these amazing gifts with everything else that was already loaded in our car, but that smart hubby of mine made it happen. And off to Aiken we went!

Beaufort Christmas - Part One

2011-12-30T17:51:00.001-05:00

This year it worked out perfectly for us to head to Beaufort the night before Christmas Eve to celebrate with “Happy”, Grandma Kim, and Aunt Leslie and Uncle Josh. This was the beginning of the Hughes Twins Spoil-A-Thon 2011! These little kids are so blessed to be surrounded by so much loving family who love to spoil them!

Ethan loves his new truck and horse trailer from Happy & Grandma Kim.

Hannah in one of her many new dress-up princess dresses.

Accessorizing with the boa and posing for Uncle Josh.

Ethan wanted to see if he could fit in Hannah’s dress-up box.

Showing off her princess tiara.

And one of the highlights of the night, Uncle Josh and Jason trying out the new Wii game we gave Larry and Kim. They could certainly give Dierks Bentley a run for his money!

My blue-eyed boy in his tractor PJs.

Coloring with Grandma Kim with our new markers!

Kim also prepared a delicious turkey dinner for us which topped off our evening! We had a great time and were reminded again of how glad we are to be back in the Lowcountry and close to our family.

Christmas with Grandaddy Joe & Grandma Marie

2011-12-30T11:43:00.001-05:00

Our first Christmas celebration this year was with Jason’s Grandaddy Joe and his wife Marie. We arrived to a Winter Wonderland - not weather-wise, but because of their amazing decorations! Their house was decorated inside and out and the kids were so excited!

Ethan tried to ride the reindeer stool like a horse.

Then both kids tried to ride it together.

Then Ethan discovered this Santa hat and he got right into character. Kind of a scary Santa character, that is. All of his characters have kind of a loud, boisterous, mean voice. I tried to tell him that Santa doesn’t have a scary voice because he’s always happy.

Outside the kids checked out Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus.

And they took a minute to say hello to Santa Claus. Hannah struck one of her diva poses for him and Ethan gave him a hearty “Ho, ho, ho!”.

It was a beautiful evening, so we did a little front-porch-sittin’.

My jolly fellow.

Santa Ethan let Grandaddy sit on his lap and tell him what he wanted for Christmas.

Inside, Grandma Marie had lots of trees and Hannah couldn’t stay away from this one with all the presents.

After pleading and pleading to open presents, the kids finally got to open their gifts. A Disney princess CD player for the princess…

And new Hot Wheels cars for our car and truck maniac.

Getting some tech help from Marie’s grandson Austin.

It was a fun evening with special loved ones and a great way to kickoff our week-long Christmas celebration!

Christmas Program Memories

2011-12-29T10:25:00.001-05:00

In December, we enrolled the kids in a new preschool program. I love the half-day, faith-based program they are in now. They are so happy and I LOVE hearing them ask if they get to go to school when they get up in the morning.

I was even more excited for them when I found out they would get to participate in a Christmas program with their class. They’ve never been able to do anything like that, and I think they’re at the perfect age.

The kids’ school Christmas program was held mid-December and it was so cute. Ethan and Hannah sort of gave their own little performance, *ahem*. I have some classic video of their little on-stage scat, but with so many other kids in it, I probably shouldn’t post it here. So here’s a picture of each of them wearing the angel t-shirt they made with their own footprints and handprints.

They also participated in the Christmas pageant at our church. There were several rehearsals leading up to the actual pageant, and Ethan pretty much refused to participate in any of them. Hannah attempted to learn the songs and was mostly cooperative during the rehearsals. Both of them would both sing the songs in the car and around the house and I tried to encourage them and get them excited about singing with the other kids. On the night of the pageant, I thought there might be a chance that Ethan would make it through the whole thing. He put on his shepherd costume and I was able to leave him at the final rehearsal with the other kids, but as soon as they walked into the sanctuary, he desperately started looking for Jason and me, so I rescued him and avoided ruining the whole production.

Hannah ~~copped an attitude~~ was a little resistant when they were getting organized to come in the sanctuary, but the children’s choir leaders told her that they were all waiting for her! Of course this made her feel super-important and she marched right back to the line where she was supposed to be.

Our new schedule and activities made for a busy December, but it was all worth it and I’m so thankful to be back in Charleston at the church we love so much. That was definitely a major missing link for us in North Carolina, never being able to find a church home that felt right.

It was really special to talk to the kids about the birth of Jesus this year as they were learning about it in school and at church, and know that they could comprehend certain aspects of it. I know each year, a few more details will sink in and it will just become more and more meaningful to them. Even as an adult, I feel like each year I can appreciate the wonder and miracle of it just a little more, especially since becoming a mother.

Beads and Noses

2011-12-12T11:39:00.001-05:00

Hmmm…wonder what the connection could be with these two things?

If you’re thinking that one of my delightful children likes to put beads in her nose, then you are correct!

This morning after Jason left for work, and I was in the shower, Hannah came in the bathroom screaming and crying and pointing to her nose. I thought maybe it was just a little “clogged” so I told her to calm down, get some tissue and blow her nose. (Thank God this child knows how to blow her nose. Ethan has not mastered this skill.)

She was still crying and having a fit when I got out of the shower so I told her to take a deep breath and blow hard into the tissue I was holding for her. When I looked at the tissue to see if anything came out, I saw this (not the quarter, but I put that in the picture to give an idea of the size of the bead that was STUCK IN HANNAH’S NOSTRIL!):

In horror, I said “You put a BEAD in your NOSE?!” When I asked her why, she said that it wouldn’t fit on the piece of pipe cleaner with some beads on it that she had made at church (she called it her pretty snake).

This is the second time she has done this! A few months ago she put a bead in her nose at school (she found it on the playground). Ugh. Hopefully this time was terrifying enough for her not to do this anymore. And really, at her age, she knows better.

Lesson learned, Miss Priss? I guess we’ll see…

Masterpieces in the Making

2011-12-10T19:23:00.001-05:00

The kids’ drawing and writing ability is progressing so fast right now. Hannah is definitely more into drawing, coloring and writing than Ethan, but he amuses us once in awhile.

It just seems like Hannah’s ability went from pure scribble to recognizable figures overnight. One morning before school, she brought this picture to me and said “Look mommy, it’s my silly face! I have purple hair!” I couldn’t believe that I actually recognized a face in her drawing.

She’s been able to write the letter H for awhile, but now she’s getting the hang of writing her whole name.

Both kids have lots of coloring books and crayons from their birthday, and lately we have used these on a daily basis. Hannah colors/draws about 5-10 pictures a day it seems like. She is constantly asking for blank printer paper from us and I have to limit how many sheets she can have so we don’t run out. Needless to say, our refrigerator stays decorated these days.

Here’s the proud artist with her work. Her favorite objects to draw are rainbows, herself, cupcakes, and flowers – she always asks me to draw a cupcake and a flower for her to color. And of course she loves to color princesses.

I just love watching their imaginations and curiosity at this age. One of their favorite things to do is act out characters from their favorite movies. This activity started with Beauty and the Beast. Hannah really, truly wants to be Belle when she grows up and this is always the princess she pretends to be when she’s playing. Ethan loves to pretend to be the Beast but he’ll get a little too caught up in his character sometimes and scream and act angry. They can actually recite certain scenes from the movie and they love to act these out. It’s so hilarious.

They are so inquisitive and I’m constantly trying to keep my explanations simple enough for them to understand as their questions get more and more complex. Always keeping us on our toes around here!

It’s the most wonderful time of the year!

2011-12-07T22:07:00.001-05:00

Last weekend we had fun participating in some of the holiday festivities around town.

On Saturday we hit the Holiday Festival on Daniel Island and saw lots of neat-o art and crafts made by local artists. We watched a couple of local school groups perform on the stage and we especially enjoyed the funnel cakes and shaved ice being served!

Saturday night we took the kids to a really special event called Walk Through Bethlehem that is put on by a local Baptist church. Someone from Jason’s office told us about it and it turned out to be a great experience with the kids.

This was a great visual way to teach the kids about the story of Jesus’ birth. At their age - not having the ability to differentiate between what’s real and what’s fiction - I think the kids thought they were actually in Bethlehem to see baby Jesus, when in fact they were about ten minutes from home. But it’s okay because I do think it helped them understand a little better and it’s important to us that they understand the real meaning of this holiday and not be so fixated on Santa Claus and presents.

They are also participating in two Christmas programs this year where they are learning about Jesus’ birth so they are really getting immersed in the story!

On Sunday after church, we headed downtown for a Christmas parade. As we watched some of the floats go by, I wondered if it was exciting to the kids as I remember parades as a child.

There were several dog groups, including these greyhounds who were dressed up in festive attire.

What’s a Christmas parade without some segway riders?

This float was one of my favorites. It featured Snoopy on his doghouse with the red baron behind him and they were playing “Snoopy Vs. the Red Baron” on repeat.

This was a cool Boy Scout float with the tent set-up and all of the American flags.

This float for a local pediatric dentist’s office was so creative! They used an outer space theme and had “Flossed in Space” and other cute phrases.

The kids covered their ears every time the fire trucks passed with their sirens blaring.

After the parade we did a little Christmas shopping downtown. It was a memorable, fun weekend doing things to help the kids get excited about the upcoming holiday. Although with each week that passes they are getting impatient. They’ll say “Mommy, it’s Christmas!” and I always respond “Almost! It’s coming.” Then Hannah says, “But Mommy, it’s taking a LONG time!”

I’m so thankful to have so many festivities around us to take advantage of. Last weekend there were too many to choose from with local Christmas tree lightings and other things going on, but we limited ourselves and tried to be mindful of the kids’ stamina.

Our Fifth Anniversary Weekend

2011-12-01T22:25:00.001-05:00

On Friday, November 18th we celebrated our FIFTH wedding anniversary! My parents happened to be in town that weekend (and celebrated their anniversary on the 17th) so my mom babysat for us so we could go out to dinner to celebrate.

That’s us five years ago, entering our reception on Shem Creek. It was the perfect day!

We had a great weekend with my parents. On Saturday we took my mom to the Holiday Festival of Lights and explored some of the fun stuff they have for families while my dad was at the regional orchestra event.

Riding the train was a must.

On Sunday, we had brunch at our favorite little Irish pub spot. It was the first time we’d been there since moving back and I was delighted to see a new eggs benedict menu. My fave! We sat outside and the light was great, so I snapped some cute pictures.

Being silly with Marc-Marc.

“I hear the bloody marys are good here. What are you having for breakfast, Nana?” ~ Ethan

Ethan sporting his just-rolled-out-of-bed-and-mom-didn’t-fix-my-hair look.

Then we went over to the local waterfowl watering hole (duckpond) and checked out all the geese and ducks.

The kids had so much fun walking around and watching the birds swim and splash and waddle.

At one point we were walking under a big tree and an acorn fell and hit Hannah on her head. She thought Jason had thrown something at her and broke out in tears at him for throwing something at her! We finally got her to calm down and explained that acorns fall out of the tree and can hit our heads if we aren’t looking. What a trip!

This tree was the perfect height for the kids to sit on the branches.

And Ethan got a ride on Marc-Marc’s shoulders before we said good-bye.

It was such a great way to spend our fifth anniversary weekend. What a five years it has been! Thanks for your help, Mom and Dad!

Disney Style Halloween

2011-11-06T20:29:00.000-05:00

I just love the little amazing surprises that happen to us when we least expect it in life. On Halloween we took the kids trick-or-treating in our neighborhood. I wasn’t expecting much, but I was enthusiastic for the kids. I thought we’d hit the houses around our block and be done.

But as we turned the corner from our house and ran into our neighbor, he shared with us that just a couple of blocks away from our house was the treasure trove of trick-or-treating for our neighborhood.

A whole street gets blocked off so kids can freely walk from house to house without worrying about cars (a little more relaxing for the parents too). A nearby church that sits adjacent to this block had festivities for families too. We had no idea about this little neighborhood scene and we almost missed out on all of it!

So we headed towards the street our neighbor told us about, and it was like one of those magical, movie-like trick-or-treating scenes. Not a horror movie scene, but a warm and fuzzy family movie scene.

This is the actual street, but not on the day of Halloween, so just imagine tons of families milling around.

Our kids got right into the spirit and eagerly went from house to house, saying “trick-or-treat” as politely as we could force them to (and we also reminded them repeatedly to say “thank you”). Ethan grew more eager (and less shy) with each house and Hannah of course was totally in her element. We had to explain to her that she couldn’t ask for more when people only gave her one piece of candy. Not shy at all, that girl! Ethan had to warm up to all of the excitement, but eventually he was running to each house ahead of Hannah.

I can’t even describe everything that was going on there. Basically, if you lived on this street and didn’t participate in these festivities - stand at your door or camp out in your driveway with a stash of candy, ready to greet tons of kids, at a bare minimum - then you were the Ebenezer Scrooge of Halloween. The people on this street go all out with decorations, and most of them just made a night of sitting out in their driveway in tailgate chairs. One house had a haunted house set-up in their front yard. It was like a big street party and we could tell that many parents were enjoying adult beverages as they followed their kids around.

Families were pulling wagons that were decorated to coordinate with the theme of their kids’ costumes – it was really incredible. One family had a pirate ship that they were pushing down the street with their two small kids sitting in the middle dressed as pirates. I wish I had taken pictures of more than just my kiddos! I was afraid someone would freak out that I was some kind of creep taking pictures of them.

By the time it got dark, we couldn’t believe all of the people that were out there. The haunted-house house had a crowd of people waiting in the street. The nearby church parking lot was full of people but we didn’t even make it there because we were tired and it had turned pretty chilly.

This was one of the houses where people sat out on their porch to greet all the trick-or-treaters. This lady commented on each child’s costume and made each one feel special.

We carried the kids most of the way back to our car, then drove the block back to our house. As we got inside and started getting dinner ready while the kids took off their costumes, Hannah hugged Jason around his legs and so genuinely said, “Thank you for taking us trick-or-treating, Daddy.” It was such sincere gratitude truly spoken from her heart, and it made my heart melt.

Although Halloween is not my favorite holiday, I have to admit that it becomes more and more memorable with my kids each year. I had a blast with our little Belle and Woody (and Jason too!) and I’m still amazed at how much more meaningful these moments as wee experience each one with them.

Pumpkin Patch 2011

2011-11-01T21:15:00.001-04:00

Well, it's my FAVORITE time of year (other than Christmas)! And we've even been treated to some cooler autumn weather ‘round our parts.

I've really missed being in North Carolina lately, with its more distinctive changes in the seasons, but I also keep getting treated to little surprises that make me glad we're back in the lowcountry.

Last night we went trick-or-treating, but in true form on this blog, I will not be posting my pictures in a timely fashion. ;-)

First, I have some pictures from our trip to a local pumpkin patch to share. This year we ventured over to a nearby farm to get our pumpkin patch fix.

One, two, three, four… Eighty-four, eighty-five…

Hannah was interested in pumpkins at first, but she was soon distracted by the “flowers”.

I just love how girly she can be, but how much rough and tumble she has in her too.

There was a little petting area but Hannah and Daddy were the only ones that would feed the animals.

Then we took a hayride. It was the last one of the day and hardly anyone was on it, so we had lots of room to spread out.

They raise cows on this working farm, and part of the hayride experience is riding out to their pasture and feeding the cows “treats”. What a “treat” it was to have my whole hand licked by a cow! There were a couple of calves in the herd and we had so much fun watching them wander around.

And then my camera battery died, so that was my last picture. As always, we made some great memories and I just love this little tradition with my family each fall.

Happy fall, y’all!

Bicycles, Pacifiers and Sleep

2011-09-17T17:18:00.001-04:00

For a few months now, sleep habits in our household have gradually become miserable. Just a few short months ago, everything in the sleep arena was going smoothly for us...then BAM! Even after our moving transition and getting adjusted to a new place, the kids were getting their daily two-hour nap and regularly sleeping 10-12 hours at night.

But we forced some changes on the kids (post-move) that we think has contributed to everybody in this house getting less sleep for a few months.

The first thing we did was convert the kids' beds to toddler beds by taking off the removable side railing. We were fortunate that neither of our kids tried to climb out of their cribs during toddler-hood, but after turning three, we thought it might be time to give them this "freedom".

However - once we did this, Ethan began waking up at all hours panicking because he couldn't find his pacifier. They were still using these for bedtime and naps - but ~~only~~ mostly at home. One day in June we decided that was IT and we talked up the idea of getting big kid bikes with the kids if they gave up their pacifiers. They were super-excited.

We took them to Wal-mart, tested out a couple of different sizes of bicycles to be sure we got the right fit for each of them, and they "exchanged" their pacis for their big-kid bikes.

We expected a few rough nights. Nap-time became a major challenge without pacis and a few times we just planned our weekend so they would fall asleep in the car. But obviously we needed to get a handle on the situation.

So a few nights of bad sleep turned into a few weeks, and we started to feel like we were at our wit's end. Hannah was doing okay - Ethan wasn't. He was randomly waking at different hours in the night (and he was scared), he fought nap-time and bedtime, and he talked about monsters and an "old man" that made me almost start to wonder if we had some paranormal activity happening in our apartment.

Jason did some research online and came across this helpful web site and this topic specifically about 3-year-old sleep habits. We found it interesting and kind of helpful. I also consulted the kids' pediatrician and he reassured me that his own children went through this around this age and his family played "musical beds" many nights in his house. His advice was to just try and do whatever is easy to help everyone sleep (or go back to sleep) until the phase passes. For us this means we are breaking the cardinal rule of no children in our bed...almost nightly.

So now we make a big effort to help him feel secure at bedtime and if he wakes up at night (or 4:30 am) we don't fight him to go back to his bed, we just let him get in ours. He's had a few good nights (i.e. sleeping 8:30 pm to 6:00 am). We also realize that he might be ready to drop his mid-day nap sooner than later, and they're getting older and maybe just don't need the 14 hours of sleep that they needed six months ago.

Now if I can just use our early wake-up time productively and get back into running, I'd be happy! I'm working on it...

Here is some fun video of the kids enjoying their bikes:

Our Dog Dexter

2011-08-28T20:30:00.001-04:00

In July, we said goodbye to our sweet dog of five years. It was an unexpected goodbye because we thought he was in good health.

As a tribute, I want to share the story of how he came to be our dog, and how much he meant to us.

Jason and I were living in Charleston in a tiny apartment, not yet married, when Dexter entered our lives. We had a cat (and still have Phoebe) but we were not planning on getting a dog anytime soon.

We took a somewhat random trip to stay with my brother and his wife on our way to visit nearby Aiken and Augusta. We were traveling down a main highway in South Carolina when Jason spotted a little puppy walking down the side of the road.

I'll never forget that moment when Jason asked me if I saw him. He pulled over and turned around to the spot where the puppy was. "Here we go..." was what went through my mind.

We both got out of the car to check on the little guy. He came over to us acting a little skittish, but wagging his scrawny tail - a good indicator of his temper.

He was so skinny. We knew he couldn't possibly belong to anyone and be in the condition he was in (and if he did belong to someone, they didn't deserve him). My limited experience with puppies told me he was maybe three months old. We put him in the car and drove back to my brother's house, where no one was home. The puppy insisted on laying his filthy head in my lap while I sat on the backseat with him.

We put him in the fenced backyard with some food and water, and continued our journey to where we were originally headed for the day. When we returned a couple of hours later, my sister-in-law said the puppy howled for a long while before finally conking out. He was a little scraped up and covered with fleas, and we knew he had worms. We gave him a bath to clean him up, and immediately afterwards he curled up on a towel and slept.

We drove back to Charleston that afternoon (I remember having two cars but I'm not sure why) and the puppy rode on the front seat of my Honda Accord in the Rubbermaid container that my sis-in-law let us bathe him in. I'll never forget the moment during our drive home that he climbed out of the plastic box and forced himself into my lap. He was so desperate for some contact and affection.

We officially had a dog at that moment. His name had kind of just come to me earlier that day while we were eating lunch. We found him near Dairy Road, and when I thought about the word dairy, for whatever reason I came up with Dexter. And it fit him perfectly.

After taking him to the vet, we learned that my age-estimation for him was right (12-15 weeks) so we decided his birthday was February 1st. We got the medicine to de-worm him and he was good to go. He was so exhausted, he slept almost nonstop the first few days after we brought him home.

Around the third day he started playing with a little chew toy we bought him.

After a few solid meals (and more rest) he began to look and act like a normal puppy.

He chewed up our shoes, destroyed books that I had borrowed from people (and replaced thanks to Amazon.com!) and added to our lives in so many ways as we prepared for our wedding day that November.

We introduced him to the beach...

And we taught him to swim at the landing near our apartment. (Okay, instinctively he knew how, but we had to encourage him by throwing some sticks just far enough where his legs didn't touch the bottom.)

He was our dog.

Life with our Dex-mex was good. He was so good-natured, full of energy, loved to fetch for hours (if you had the stamina) and he loved to snuggle.

When we learned we were pregnant in 2007, I never worried for a second about our dog around our babies. I just knew that our sweet dog wouldn't have any of the crazy reactions that you hear about with animals and babies.

October 2007 - three months pregnant with our twins.

I was right. He was curious about the babies of course - like any dog would be - but he was never aggressive or rough with them.

I remember Dexter being just as exhausted as Jason and I were during those (sleepless) first few months with the twins. But he hung in there with us day in and day out, our constant companion. There were times when he seemed like just one more mouth to feed, and one more thing demanding our attention, but we were always thankful for him. Anytime Jason traveled and I was home by myself (especially with my babies) I felt safe with my dog close by.

When we moved to North Carolina in 2009, Dexter had many encounters with snow. Watching him run and jump in the snow was like watching a kid at play and made us laugh.

We loved our dog, and even though we took him for granted during times when life was busy and hectic, we always appreciated having him around at the end of a long day.

There were times when we considered adding another dog to our family, but the timing was never right. When I would think about it, I would consider how long Dexter would be with us (knowing dogs don't live forever), and how old the kids might be when they would one day have to say goodbye to their first dog. I always thought Dexter would live until he was at least ten years old or so.

But unfortunately that is not what came to pass. In mid-June we noticed that Dexter was acting a little sluggish, and we thought it was just the awful summer heat. Then he didn't eat for a couple of days, so we took him to the vet. Upon the initial examination, the vet thought he had Lymphoma cancer - the most common form of cancer for canines. After some bloodwork and whatnot, it turned out the initial diagnosis was real. There is no cure for Lymphoma cancer in canines and there wasn't much hope for remission for him.

It's been hard letting go of our dog and I've been clinging to memories of him. The kids ask about him from time to time and we just tell them that he got sick and he's not coming back home. They don't totally understand, but we talk about how we miss him and we wish he could come back to live with us again.

We were blessed to find Dexter that spring day five years ago, and blessed to have him as our dog for five years. Now I just hope that what memories the kids' do have at this early stage in their lives, and with the help of the pictures we have, they will remember their first dog and how special he was to all of us.

Life's a Beach

2011-08-21T21:48:00.001-04:00

Up until this summer, the kids had only been to the beach a couple of times. This year, we've been a lot, and the kids have fun and Ethan gets more and more brave with each trip. But man, oh man, it's exhausting. There's so much stuff to haul from the car. It's not so bad taking it out there, but by the time we head back to the car, the kids are tired and whiney, and it seems like our load doubles in size.

But nevertheless, we make memories and explore new things with each trip. Here are some pictures from one of our ventures to a local county park:

Here's Hannah's "Baywatch" impersonation:

Hannah is so fearless when it comes to water (as long as it doesn't get in her eyes) but Ethan is terrified. This summer he's really improved with getting out in the waves a little bit, and we finally got him to go down the water slides at the water park after watching Hannah ride them repeatedly for about 10 weeks in a row.

Here's some video from one of our first beach days back in May when it first started getting warm:

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I think living at the beach is something I took for granted as a child, so I want my kids to appreciate how special it is. Growing up, I was always fascinated by kids who didn't see the ocean until they were old enough to talk about it. My parents weren't big beach-goers, so I don't have memories of endless weekends and summers by the ocean. But by living right there it was kind of an ever-present thing, and it was nice to just be able to take advantage of it anytime we wanted.

Family Style 4th of July

2011-08-21T10:43:00.001-04:00

For the Fourth of July holiday, we headed to my brother and sis-in-law's house so we could also celebrate with my parents and aunt and uncle who live in close by Aiken.

In the three years since I've had my kids, my brother and his wife have always come to visit us, so we had never been to their house. So this was a treat, because they live in a really old house and have all kinds of cool stuff there.

Like drums!

The kids fought over who would get to play.

I didn't get a good picture of both kids with their aunt and uncle, but here's a cute one with Hannah.

Nana was so happy to see her babies, as always.

And the kids turned flips with Marc-Marc.

We had the kids' bikes with us so they could show everyone their awesome new skills. Aunt Phyllis gave Hannah this beautiful dress, which Hannah insisted on wearing right away (and still insists on wearing about once a week).

I didn't get that many pictures, but we had a great time with everybody. Aunt Phyllis and Uncle Ron hosted an excellent party with delicious food and great friends.

Thanks everyone for celebrating with us!

May-June 2011

2011-08-17T05:57:00.001-04:00

As it turns out, I took zero pictures in May and less than ten in June. My lack of pictures for these two months is not the result of a lack of activity. As soon as the weather turned warm, we started taking advantage of all the outdoor fun around us and also being close to family again.

In the picture below, we are either headed to the beach or the water park. We pretty much go to one of these two places (or both) every weekend.

One afternoon when the kids were fighting their nap, Hannah and I took a girls' trip to the water park. After Hannah finally gave in and slept, I took her to the water park as her reward.

My little swimsuit model. She cracks me up.

I could talk forever about nap-time right now, but I'll save that topic for another post.

Our July news will have to be broken out in several posts. I have a lot of pictures, which are pretty much a reflection of what we've been up to all summer. Stay tuned!

We are still alive!

2011-08-15T21:20:00.001-04:00

I can't believe it's been FOUR months since I have posted to this blog. My four-month-blog-break didn't happen intentionally...life just kind of got in the way. At one point I thought I might as well give up, but then I decided I'm not ready to throw in the towel just yet.

And my sweet sis-in-law Leslie recently told me on Facebook that she misses my blog and I feel so guilty for letting it go by the wayside.

As I look back at pictures over the past few months, I'm amazed at everything we've been up to. It's not that I haven't had anything to write about - I always have that - I just haven't taken time to write.

So now I am.

Let's see, where did I leave off? Oh yes, right at Easter.

My parents came down and went to church with us. The kids looked adorable so I'll share a couple of pictures...

We drove out to the country that afternoon to see Great-Grand-daddy Joe and Great-Grandma Marie. It was an awesome afternoon complete with an Easter egg hunt and delicious food.

Ethan helped Grand-daddy Joe check out the vegetable garden.

The kids had to use whatever was on hand for Easter baskets...I was not a prepared mama for the egg hunt.

Mimi drove up to spend the afternoon with us too!

We had fun celebrating with so much family. I just love the huge family I inherited when I married Jason. So very different from my side.

I have to post of picture of Piggy.

So that pretty much wraps up April. Let me peruse my pictures from May and I'll be back with another post. I promise it won't be four months this time!

A crazy, busy weekend!

2011-04-17T21:32:00.001-04:00

Phew! I'm exhausted. Our weekend was so jam-packed. Saturday morning we divided and conquered - Hannah and I had a girls' morning of shopping, and Jason and Ethan....well they didn't quite accomplish what Jason hoped they would but they did spend some quality time together. ;-)

Saturday afternoon the kids went to the 2nd birthday of our friends' Dean and Kira's daughter Kenley. The party was at The Little Gym and Ethan and Hannah had so much fun running around and playing on all the gym equipment.

Note to self...don't let your daughter wear a dress to a birthday party at a gym.

I think she got dizzy from twirling everywhere.

My kids go crazy for some bubbles. Like most kids, right?

Happy Birthday, Kenley! We love your gym and are going to look into classes at the location closer to us. ;-)

That evening, my work was doing a small sponsorship at the local baseball farm team stadium, so we checked that out.

This was the kids' first game since they were tiny babies when Jason and I brought them in those Infantino carriers. At that game there was a major thunderstorm and everyone was huddled under the covered area trying to stay dry. Yesterday the weather experts were calling for bad thunderstorms, but we only got a little rain. The kids had fun and loved the "puppets". I think we lasted close to five innings.

Today was Palm Sunday at church of course, and we also had an Easter Festival with an Easter egg hunt right after church. This was the kids first ever Easter egg hunt. I'm not sure why, we just haven't made it to one before.

I was sure to capture this one on camera as much as I could but it was hard to chase both kids. I don't have too many pictures of their faces because they were glued to the ground looking for those coveted plastic eggs.

Hannah also had her face painted for the first time ever right before the Easter egg hunt started. It's a pink flower on her cheek. I really hope the paint washes out of this beautiful dress that Aunt JoAnne gave her.

How sweet is this dress? Hannah has been really into dresses lately, now that she's a big fan of Cinderella. These kids are so fortunate to have family who give them such beautiful clothes like this. I love dressing them up for special occasions.

We're saving Ethan's fancy outfit for next Sunday. I can't wait!

The kids had so much fun going through all of their goodies. It was all we could do to keep them from eating candy all day. I had to hide all the bubble gum when they weren't looking because the last thing I want to do right now is chop all their hair off!

Finally, we concluded the weekend with dinner with our friends Melissa and Will and their sweet baby girl who just turned one year old!

And that was our crazy, busy weekend. Now that spring is here, I know we are going to stay super-busy every weekend. Come summer we will see a lot of the beach. I'm slowly getting used to being back in this beautiful corner of the world, but some things we are still adjusting to.

Oh, "Is it true what they say about the terrible threes?" you ask. Most days I think "YES! Run for your life!" but some days are really good. I also think that having two three-year-olds makes it extra-challenging. Both of our kids are very independent, but in different ways and with different personalities. That's what's challenging. And we're working on figuring out the best way to work through it. :-)

I'm not a good housewife

2011-04-17T20:50:00.001-04:00

And I easily admit it. Since getting married, and quickly adding two children to the mix, I've never gotten the hang of meal-planning, budgeting, and cooking.

Jason and I re-subscribed to e-mealz. Ever heard of it? It's a meal-planning service that "will simplify your life, save time, & money"! They have lots of meal plan options depending on the needs/diet/grocery store of choice for your family.

We were subscribers of this service back when we first moved to NC, and it was working really well until I hit a brick wall with what I thought were the food allergies of all food allergies. Okay, that's just my excuse because in reality we were only subscribed to a meal plan for Jason and me. But for whatever reason, we got off-track, but now we are ready to get back on.

I'm excited about having planned, healthy meals for my family each night. Especially meals that we can all sit down and eat together. This was next to impossible when the kids were still little because they weren't eating what we eat (in hindsight I should have made more effort to let them) and most nights we would cook two meals - one for them and one for us. Ours usually ended up being after they went to bed. And when things began to get crazy, we got lazy about cooking and developed a bad habit of eating too much takeout. But to cook, you first must grocery shop, and once we lost our groove with that, it was so hard to get back in it.

But now we are, and this past week was good. The first few nights were challenging because Jason was traveling out of town and it was hard to keep the kids (happily) occupied while I cooked. We get home later in the evenings than when we lived in NC, so I'm trying hard not to let dinner time drag-out which can result in a late bedtime. I like an early bedtime. A lot.

My favorite meal this past week was a kielbasa/onion/red potato combo sauteed in a sauce made of white wine, honey mustard, and brown sugar. This sauce was TO DIE FOR! The worst part was that compared to the other meals, this one didn't leave enough leftovers for us to eat like the others did. Usually for me, after I have leftovers once, I'm done with that meal for awhile, but I liked this one so much I think I could have eaten it all week.

The kids aren't quite on board. They aren't into casserole-type dishes right now, and many of the meals we fixed last week were casserole-ish or stew-ish. But we are encouraging them to at least try the food, and I know it will get better.

You can put lipstick on a pig...

2011-04-09T09:05:00.004-04:00

but it's still a pig! This old saying reminds me of the lady who owned the house my family lived in when I was in high school. She loved pigs and had the funniest knick-knacks and pig stuff on display in her house.

Jason's grandfather and his wife have a pet pig. We drove out to their house one Sunday afternoon so the kids could see him (the pig that is, because the people weren't home).

"Here, piggy piggy."

"No potato chips for you, piggy. "

Piggy has his very own knick-knacks in and around his pen, like this painted pig.

I think Ethan kind of looks like a fashion model in this picture. He's practicing his sultry scowl expression here.

And the little diva. We bought Hannah some belts recently, to help keep her size 24 month (that's right, 24 months on my THREE-YEAR-OLD!) from falling down. Most pants are too big on her waist but she needs that size for length.

Which leads me to their 3-year well visit check-up. I use the term "well" loosely because three out of four ears were infected so they started another oral antibiotic. Otherwise they are in great health and are both developing beautifully (which we knew!)

Here are some fun stats:

Ethan - 39 inches tall; 39 lbs.

Hannah - 35 inches tall; 28 lbs.

It is so great to be back with their old pediatrician, the same one who examined them for their six-month visit that I recorded in this post. I think we've finally learned that we need to keep their appointments separate from now on. I've always automatically scheduled these together, and I do think there's value in letting their doctor see them side-by-side and how they interact, but man oh man it makes the appointment a little chaotic.

I'm a little behind...

2011-03-30T22:20:00.004-04:00

But that's to be expected, right?

The kids turned three a couple of weeks ago, and we had a small party to celebrate. It was hard to resist getting friends and family together for some celebrating, even if we are still adjusting to a new "normal".

I did manage to put together a montage of photos from Ethan and Hannah's third year of life. This is becoming a fun tradition for me, and I love reflecting on how much the kids change and grow each year.

Unfortunately, this year all of my sources for uploading my montages have wised up and will not let me upload my copy-righted content. So I'm posting my montage here with no sound. But, if you scroll down to the bottom of my blog, and play the first song on my playlist, you'll be able to get the full effect, as I originally created it. :-)

I've always loved this song by Rod Stewart, especially when it was used in the Pampers commercial with all of the adorable baby animals. It truly expresses how I feel about being a mommy to these precocious, lovable three-year-olds.

Well, we moved.

2011-02-24T21:59:00.001-05:00

We are still getting settled in the apartment that we are living in temporarily, but we're here. Surprisingly, this move wasn't quite the nightmare that the last move was. But it's been exhausting...and stressful.

Both kids have been sick this week (right ear infections and chest congestion) and I've had to travel out-of-town for work. Thankfully Jason has been free to take care of anything that needed taking care of - unpacking boxes...meeting the plumber...calling the electrician...doing laundry. He's my hero.

This weekend we are looking forward to an oyster roast with the Sunday School class from our church. I can't wait to get reacquainted with people we've missed. I especially can't wait for the kids to get involved in church and make new friends. Since we never found a church home in Greensboro, coming back to our old church just makes moving back even more meaningful.

The weather has been amazing since we got here. I can honestly say I don't miss the freezing temperatures at night.

The kids have been troopers through this huge transition. Overall, they seem impressed with our "new" town. They love driving over the bridges and seeing all the water and boats. They're slowly adjusting to their new school.

Although it's still surreal that we're actually here, I know that in time it will feel like home again.

One week from now...

2011-02-13T09:38:00.001-05:00

We will be back in South Carolina! That's right, we are moving! I'm sure it seems crazy that this is the first I've mentioned of this, but things have just been crazy for us and happening very fast.

To make a long story short, right before Thanksgiving, we made the decision that Jason would change jobs. And since a big change like that meant we did not have to live in North Carolina, why not go back where we can be closer to family and so many other things that we love and miss in South Carolina? So that is what we are doing.

Next weekend we'll load up a truck with all of our stuff and make our way back down to the beautiful lowcountry. It doesn't even seem like it's already happening, but it definitely is.

The next couple of weeks will be crazy for us as we get settled and get the kids acclimated. This is going to be a big transition for them, the first one that they will be so aware of. And hopefully, we won't make the decision to ever leave again!

It's not Mom, it's Mommy!

2011-01-25T07:00:00.001-05:00

Our kids are calling us "Mom" and "Dad". I'm not really sure how this happened. Hannah started it, and now Ethan has caught on. At first I tried correcting her, but after a few days I realized there was no point. I guess they are not my little babies anymore!

I also have some other really random things to mention, because they've been doing some funny stuff these last couple of months and I've just failed to write about it...

Santy (Santa) Claus phone calls - Right before Christmas my Dad pretended like he was talking to Santa on the phone one day. Ethan started imitating the conversation - "Well, ho, ho, ho to you!" - and he's made a regular thing of calling Santa. Last night he was talking to Santa and he said "Hey Santa, are you coming to town?!".
"Just a li'l bit" - Hannah attaches this phrase to everything she asks for. "Let's go in the playroom for just a li'l bit." or "Can I have a li'l bit of your tea, Mom? Just a li'l bit...."
"It's morning-time!!!" - Hannah recently woke up early one morning and Jason went to her room to tell her it wasn't time to get up. He told her it wasn't "morning-time" yet. For the past week, she's yelled "It's morning-time!" when she's ready for us to come get her.
Their southern accents are also out of control right now. All of their one-syllable words sound like they have two syllables. Beh-yed (bed). Heh-yed (head). Say-ed (said).
They finally learned how to open doors sometime in the last couple of months too. This is not something we encouraged them to learn because sometimes closing a door and knowing they can't open it is very useful. So far, the only door we've put a child-proof knob cover on is the pantry door (otherwise Hannah would snack on Saltines all day long). But this skill has come in handy in letting them help do certain things, like let Dexter outside.

Just a short list because that's all I can think of! It's so hard to believe that these two will be turning THREE in a few short weeks.

Snow Days

2011-01-13T22:32:00.001-05:00

The most recent winter storm came at a convenient time because we have been sick! Ethan had a sinus infection and now I have Strep throat.

We didn't get as much snow as we did on Christmas Day, and the ice has been more dangerous this time around so schools have been closed all week!

Hannah really wanted to walk in the snow the other day, so we bundled up both kids and let them walk around the deck a little bit. It's the only place around the house that's flat where I didn't have to worry about them slipping and falling. Plus, we don't really have snow-appropriate shoes for Hannah, so I wanted to make sure she didn't fill her shoes up with snow.

They did so much better walking in it this year compared to last year!

Hannah insisted on eating some snow.

Mmmm...yummy!

How cute is this guy in his winter gear?

He wanted to throw a snowball for Dexter, but it made his hands cold.

He just melts my heart...when he's not having a meltdown.

After freezing our hands from touching the snow we grabbed our mittens and came back out (we also grabbed Hannah's hat). I tried to get them in a picture together and they both put their hands behind their backs as if they were trying to pose. They crack me up.

So, maybe you're wondering, what's a really productive way to spend your time when you're stuck in the house during snow days? For me, there was a task that I have been putting off for a long while. Potty. Training. Granted, this task only involved Ethan since Hannah's been potty-trained since last March, but it's one I've been putting off. I just haven't had the patience to work with Ethan, who I was convinced was not interested.

But I told myself back in the fall that one weekend in the winter, when we were stuck in the house because of cold weather, we would do it. I guess my goal is for him to be potty-trained before he turns three. So this past weekend we did it! He has some new Thomas the Train underwear that Grandma Kim bought him last time she visited, and that really helped do the trick. I honestly think the most effective way for kids to learn is to go cold turkey - straight to underwear - and let them figure it out. He did so well and I think he finally gets it! Of course he'll have some accidents here and there, and the true test will come when we're out and about (Hannah refused to use "big" potties - especially in public - for a long time), but I think we've reached another milestone! And I have to admit, potty-training does have its share of laughs. I won't repeat all of the conversations we've had to help them understand these bodily functions, but it's definitely been hilarious and a nice dose of much-needed comedy around here.

I also have some pictures of the kids entertaining themselves on another cold morning when we didn't have anywhere to go.

Ethan randomly decided he wanted to pull all the cushions off the couch.

Hannah joined in on the fun too.

We are definitely tired of the cold weather around here and ready for Spring! We have a lot going on that I will share here soon. There's never a dull moment!

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-28T21:06:00.000-05:00

The Hughes Family Christmas was low-key and simple. We had a great time with Nana and Marc-Marc. And the 4-6 inches of SNOW that came on Christmas day was an extra bonus!

The kids were spoiled rotten, of course.

We had so much fun trying to explain the concept of Santa Claus to them this year. By the time Christmas got here, they had a pretty good grasp and they could spot a Santa from 10 miles away. Anything red with a beard pretty much qualify for making the identification.

We also made an effort to help them understand the true meaning of Christmas, so they also know that it's baby Jesus's birthday.

Maybe next year I'll get a nativity to help explain that whole story a little better.

The kids got some cute books. They made my dad read Pinkalicious about a hundred times.

Santa didn't think it was a good idea for the kids to give up their pacifiers just yet. Fortunately, they don't really care about having it all the time. Just when they're tired. Or in the car.
Moose seemed to be all around us this year. Ethan and my mom both sported Moose apparel, and Hannah got a stuffed moose with lights on his antlers from a sweet nurse she met.
On the morning after Christmas, we woke up to a winter wonderland...and no POWER! But it was only a couple of hours before it was back on.

Dexter was really excited to see snow for Christmas.

This dog is crazy about some snow.

Jason's not so crazy about shoveling it off of our driveway. :-)

I hope your Christmas was magical, memorable, and fun too!

Need some cuteness?

2010-12-18T11:32:00.001-05:00

The kids took pictures at school a couple of weeks ago and they turned out so great. Especially since my Aunt Phyllis and Uncle Ron sent them these adorable outfits just in time for Picture Day!

You’re welcome! I’ve had so much fun sharing these with family and friends on Facebook and over email.

Ethan loved his outfit so much, he didn’t want to change afterwards. He insisted on wearing his “Christmas Tree” all day.

Merry Christmas everyone! Sorry that it’s been so long since I’ve posted. Life got a little crazy and we are looking forward to some normalcy after the holidays. One of these days I'll get around to blogging about what's going on but for now we are trying to relax and enjoy Christmas.

The Man I Married

2010-11-18T22:59:00.001-05:00

Once upon a time...no, nevermind. This is a real story about love and marriage.

So 9.5 years ago I met a really great guy. We were both juniors in college.

We partied together a lot, and often found ourselves as "third wheels" when our friends started dating each other.

To be blunt, the romantic attraction didn't kick in right away. Well not for me anyway (don't worry, I'm not admitting anything he doesn't already know). We got to know each other pretty well as friends, and after a little more than a year of friendship, I knew there was something really special about him. I knew I could trust him.

By then, he took a little convincing that I was genuinely interested...but eventually he came around. So we officially dated.

In July 2005, Jason proposed (on his birthday) during the grand opening celebration of the new Cooper River Bridge in Charleston, SC. (Yes, the picture is blurry but it's the only one I have.)

(photo from our friends Jason and Gina's wedding in September 2005)

And four years ago we were married in Charleston (where we lived at the time). It was our ideal wedding, and I wouldn't change anything about it as the beginning of our married life together.

Of course, only eight months later, I never would have thought we'd be pregnant with twins, but that's life I guess! When you decide to share your life with Jason Hughes, you should just be prepared for anything.

One of the most vivid memories I have from those first few emotional days after delivering Ethan and Hannah was being so thankful for having Jason by my side on this journey. I could not imagine living this life with anyone else, or experiencing the joys and triumphs we share, with anyone else.

I'm so thankful for him, even though I don't tell him or show him enough.

It's been a wild and crazy four years of marriage - sometimes it feels like it's been 40 - but I look forward to many, many more years of this wild and crazy life! I love you, Jason!

Leaves make fall fun!

2010-11-14T13:31:00.001-05:00

Raking leaves is just one of those seasonal yard work chores that comes with the fall. Our backyard is small enough that we (Jason) can rake it in about 20 minutes. It takes about the same amount of time to mow it in the summer.

The kids had a blast running through the pile and rolling around in the leaves last weekend. We had some runny noses and coughing after playing in the cold air, but that's all better now. :-)

It just doesn't get much better than watching kids' pure joy as they experience the simple pleasures in life like a pile of fallen leaves. And I'm so thankful this year to be armed with the knowledge of their asthmatic-tendencies (I'm refraining from giving them the label of having asthma until their doctor officially does) and how to remedy their flare-ups. I'm confident that they will have a much better winter this year than the past two, and I won't feel like I'm beating my head against a brick wall trying to figure out what's wrong with them.

Hughes' Halloween 2010

2010-11-01T21:34:00.001-04:00

We had a great Halloween weekend. The weather was beautiful - especially our trick-or-treating weather - and my parents came up to visit! I'm so amazed at how much the kids love their grandparents - all of them, even though they don't see them regularly. When we made the decision to move to NC, our biggest sacrifice was moving further away from family and not getting to see them as often, but that hasn't really affected the kids' mindfulness of them. Any time Jason or I are on the phone, they always assume it's one of their grandparents and ask to speak to them. It's great and reassures us that we can still help them feel close to them.

So on Saturday morning, the kids were ecstatic to see their Nana and Marc-Marc arrive to visit us. My mom and I shopped and ran errands (including buying last minute costumes...more on that later) while my Dad and Jason watched football and the kids napped (sort of).

On Saturday afternoon we carved pumpkins. This is progress over last year, when we bought pumpkins but never got around to carving them. The kids had fun looking at the "nasty" pumpkin insides.

Check out my pretty pink hair bow Grandma Kim!

Due to strict bedtime time constraints, Jason had to finish the pumpkin-carving after the kids went to bed. He entertained my parents and me with his skills. Here is one of his masterpieces:

Here's Jason being a pumpkin-head:

And here are all three jack-o-lanterns together, ready to greet our trick-or-treaters:

So are you wondering what the kids dressed up as? My original idea didn't come together like I'd hoped, and with Jason and I both being crazy with work and traveling recently, I just resorted to some last minute clearance deals. The kids still looked adorable and had a blast. I didn't let it stress me out.

If you ask me, Ethan and Hannah were the two cutest kids in our neighborhood! Here are several pictures, all of which I love for different reasons - mainly their facial expressions.

Thomas the Train and World's Cutest Pumpkin debut their candy-grabbing garb.

Ethan wore this cowboy hat because good ole mom didn't look for all the costume pieces when I bought it. This hat just made it all the cuter.

The kids really grasped the concept of how to trick-or-treat this year after ringing the first couple of doorbells and watching the older kids in the neighborhood. I think we made it to about 15 houses and that was enough to fill our buckets!

Next year I'm sure they'll have ideas of how they want to dress up, so who knows what 2011 holds.

October Wrap-Up

2010-10-29T21:24:00.000-04:00

I've been too busy to post about our last couple of October adventures so I'm putting them both into one post!

Everyday on the way to and from school, I pass a local church's pumpkin patch. The kids always yell "PUMPKINS" when we pass. So we decided to visit it one day and purchase a couple of pumpkins.

We made the mistake of telling the kids to pick out their pumpkin and Ethan just had to have this one...

...so we forked over $20 bucks for it. Boy, we are really suckers sometimes.

Our other big adventure was taking a long weekend to see our friend Dean get hitched! The kids got to spend two nights with their Pappy and Grandma Kim while Mommy and Daddy relaxed in a beachfront hotel. I don't have any pictures except for a few I took of the kids riding the tractor with Larry when we picked them up.

It's hard to tell from these expressions, but the kids really did love riding the tractor! And they had a blast with their Pappy and Grandma.

As always, we are so grateful for family to watch the kids so Jason and I can get a break. We only wish we were close so we could see them more often! We love you!

More October Fun

2010-10-16T22:09:00.001-04:00

Have I mentioned that I LOVE fall? I think October is just about the most perfect month of the year. I don't really get into Halloween much, but I absolutely love this prelude to the best time of year - Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Before I talk about the fun we had today, I just have to share some news! On Thursday evening, our friends Matt and Afton (and their daughter Brooklynn) welcomed a new baby boy to their family. Nolan entered the world weighing 10 POUNDS 3 ounces! Afton is who took these pictures as well as a few of these pictures from our pumpkin patch fun last year. While I don't know what it's like to carry one baby this big, I do know what it's like to carry 14 pounds worth of two babies and it ain't fun. Afton, you are amazing for carrying Nolan one day past your due date! We are all so happy for all of you and can't wait to meet the little guy!

Here's a picture I took from her Facebook page. I don't think she'll mind that I'm posting it here:
I can't wait to hold this precious baby. I must have really had Afton on my mind last night because I actually dreamed I had another baby! Don't worry mom and dad, (and everyone for that matter) it's not happening!

Since Afton and Matt were otherwise obligated and couldn't share in our pumpkin patch fun this year, we ventured out today, just the four of us, and tried out a different place from the one we went to last year.

The kids had a blast at Alpha Acres in Yadkinville. The setup wasn't quite as impressive as where we went last year, but I was drawn to the fact that their proceeds support a local rescue mission.

First we explored the pumpkin patch:

Then we took a ride on the cow train:

Then we went on a hayride:

Then the kids jumped around in this little jump castle before we hit the road:

Then it was time to mosey our tired pumpkins on back to the car.

Notice the super-cute Gamecock gear the kids are sporting? Jason picked this up for them last weekend when he was in Columbia. What a sweet Daddy!

Columbus Day Off

2010-10-11T20:16:00.000-04:00

Last year, my company (and the kids' preschool) began closing on Columbus Day as a day of professional development for the teachers. Last year, I attempted to work from home but it was too hard with my little toddlers running around, and I'm sure at least one of them wasn't in the best health considering how much they were sick last year.

This year, we thought we were going to be out of town for a wedding, but those plans changed. And I decided to take the day off anyway and just hang out with the kids.

We started the day off by going to our local children's museum. We've already made so many memories there, taking the kids last summer after we had just moved, and of course they celebrated their second birthday there. I just love how differently they engage with the exhibits as they get older.

Here they are in the construction zone.

They love to say "cheese!" but they never look up at the same time! I also just realized they are both wearing shirts with sailboats. I guess I was subconsciously thinking about water this morning when I dressed them?

After our building project, we went next door to the doctor's office/dentist/hospital nursery to check on all the newborn babies.

Ethan was saying "Look Mommy, I touch that!" I had never noticed these cute animal structures on this wall before.

Next we backtracked to the trucks that were waiting outside of the construction zone which we overlooked before. Ethan immediately started doing what he loves to do most.

Lining up the trucks....

...getting them just right...

...to make a huge "choo choo train". Have I mentioned that he's slightly obsessed with trains? He will take anything - food, cars, blocks, dishes, etc. - and make a "choo choo train" out of them.

While he was busy with his train, Hannah prepared her babies for an airplane ride.

The nursery didn't seem to mind that this little mama was escaping with the babies.

Then we headed to the market to stock up on groceries...

The past few times we visited the museum and stopped by this exhibit, the kids wanted to take the carts and push them all over the museum. They didn't understand the concept of putting the food in the cart. But this time, it was fun to help them identify the different foods, and then put all of it away after filling their carts to the brim.

Next we headed to the theater room. Ethan and Hannah aren't much into playing dress-up so they didn't care about the costumes, but they thought this drum was cool. While we were in here, another family wandered in, and the mom got behind the puppet area and when Ethan saw puppets pop out of nowhere he absolutely freaked out. It was funny, but kind of pitiful. He calmed down, but he was really nervous passing by the puppet curtain on our way out.

Last but not least, we made a second trip to the train exhibit. Part of the exhibit is this big train table and tons of track pieces and Thomas the Train stuff for kids to play with. Ethan wanted to stay here the entire time, but I finally convinced him to look at other stuff. We made this our final stop before leaving, and I had to promise him that we would go back to play with it soon. Can you guess what Ethan will most likely be getting for Christmas?

It was a good day of quality time with my kids who are growing up so fast. Happy Columbus Day!

A Fun Fall Festival

2010-10-09T22:10:00.002-04:00

I am envious that Jason got to experience our alma mater against the University of Alabama today.

Did you watch? The kids and I watched most of the first half and I saw the final few minutes while I fixed their dinner. Jason left the house early this morning to meet up with friends and see the game. I hate I missed it.

Even if I don't get to celebrate with the rest of the fans in Cola-town, the kids and I had a great day! We took advantage of the amazing weather we're having and went to a local fall festival. This was pretty big for me. I'm getting so much better about taking them places we've never been where I know they will be totally unconfined. The older they get, the better they are at listening. It's a world of difference from last year when we just chased them everywhere and it didn't matter how hard we tried to stop them verbally.

Hannah was loving the beautiful morning...

We caught up with Mrs. JoAnne, the kids' preschool director.

They got to swing a little. Always a favorite thing, at any park.

Ethan's going for the Justin Bieber look. :-) Is it working for him? I guess we need to let his hair grow a little to get the full affect.

This is Hannah's first time on a see-saw.

This slide was so high, I had to hold the camera up over my head with my arm stretched the whole way. Fortunately it didn't go very fast as the kids went down. Ethan rode it about ten times.

This is Hannah faking it. She climbed all the way up the slide (with my help) and sat down like she was going to slide down, but changed her mind. I think she has just a little bit of her Mama's fear of heights.

I just love when this boy is all smiles. The phrase "I could just eat you up" says it all. And he hears it a lot.

We also went on a hayride, which was operated by a John Deere tractor. Ethan thought he was "riding the tractor". He loved it.

There are so many fall festivals and pumpkin patches in our area to take advantage of. I'm hoping that we can visit another one next weekend when Daddy can go with us.

Happy fall everyone!

My First 5K...the RESULTS

2010-10-09T21:38:00.001-04:00

I never posted about the race from last weekend because I've been waiting for my friend/neighbor to send me the pictures her husband took because Jason and I were ill-prepared for photographs at the event.

Jason was a sport and brought the kids to watch Mommy cross the finish line, but our point-and-click camera had a dead battery and the only other camera he had was our video camera. Since it will snap still shots, he got a few. So here I am, minutes after I crossed the finish line at a time of exactly 40:30.

I'm disappointed that I did not run the entire race, but I only let myself walk a total of about three minutes. I didn't run the entire week before the race. This is not what was on my running plan. I just happened to be fighting sickness that whole week, so I figured rest was better than keeping up my momentum.

Overall, it was a great experience and I can't wait to do another one and improve on my time. My friend came in a little under 31 minutes (she left me in her dust as soon as the race started) so I definitely have to catch up to her. Most of all, I'm thrilled that almost 3,000 women registered for this race and the proceeds go to helping local women afford mammography tests. Since my mother-in-law is a survivor of breast cancer, and many other women in my family have had cancer or pre-cancerous issues, it made my effort more worthwhile. It was so encouraging for people to stand sporadically along the course of the race saying "thank you" and cheering us on. Amazing!

If I ever get the other pictures, I'll try to come back and post those. Otherwise, this is the best I can do. :-)

10 Days Until the 5K!

2010-09-22T23:11:00.001-04:00

My first 5K is officially 10 days away! And even after all the obstacles over the past several weeks, I've been able to get on track with my running. Yes - I missed several runs due to getting sick, hurting my back, and kids getting sick, but after my run yesterday morning, I feel good about my progress.

What's really incredible is that I've managed to stick with getting up at 5:30 a.m. twice a week, and 6:30 a.m. on Saturdays to meet my group. I'm SO not a morning person, but this is the most convenient time of day for me to fit this into my schedule, plus it's such an awesome feeling to have it out of the way by 7:00 in the morning. Many times I've come home and the kids aren't even up yet! Before you get too impressed, I haven't accomplished this every week, but all of my runs in the past month have been during these early morning hours.

So yesterday I ran/walked three miles, with a total running time of 30 minutes! Woo hoo for me! I only have four more runs before the race next Saturday and I'm feeling good about reaching my goal. If I can just run the entire course without stopping, I'll be happy. I know this is going to require a lot of focus on my pace and not letting myself go too fast, especially in the beginning, so hopefully my mind and body will be in sync that day.

In other news, the kids are both suffering from seasonal allergies, or asthma-type symptoms, or both. I'm hoping we are treating their issues enough to prevent them from ear infections or pneumonia which have been the end result of these issues in the past. Hannah might end up getting daily breathing treatments before this winter is over. I can't wait until the hearty immune system I keep hearing about kicks in!

I'm also suspicious that Hannah is finally getting those two year molars that I've been looking for. She was extremely fussy this afternoon, but I couldn't figure out what her problem was. I gave her a breathing treatment because she's been coughing and really congested, but I gave her Motrin too. Her bottom gums definitely felt puffy, but what do I know? I thought she was getting these things months ago.

And the kids are also officially two and a half! Wow! They are blowing us away lately with the stuff they say. It's absolutely amazing to watch these two little people learn to talk a little more each day. The "terrible twos" have pretty much been everything we expected so far, but I don't think I expected to laugh this much. I'm already thinking about Christmas and how much fun they will be this year. Since they are obsessed with "birf-days" right now, I think we might be able to teach them about Jesus' birthday with some success.

Hello, brick wall.

2010-09-10T15:18:00.000-04:00

Do you ever feel like you're going 90 miles an hour and then suddenly you hit a brick wall? That's what the past two weeks have felt like. Or maybe the past month? I've lost track. Not that any major catastrophe has suddenly occurred, but when sickness hits our household, it adds a level of stress that makes me feel like everything is falling apart.

And yet, the world keeps spinning. My job is always waiting for me when I do finally return to normal. And life goes on.

To sum up the past few weeks, it went like this...Hannah came down with a bug almost a month ago, which eventually made its way to Ethan, conveniently right at the time that Jason and I were supposed to leave for a spectacular whirlwind weekend in Chicago. At the last minute, we rescheduled Jason's flight (which ultimately he missed due to Ethan's sickness). I spent the weekend alone (well, with people from the company who hosted the trip) in Chi-town while Jason and his mom stayed with the kids, one (well two counting Jason) being pretty puny.

That next week, Jason fought the bug all week and I thought for sure I was going to dodge it, but oh no. It hit me fast and furious last week. I mean... took. me. out. I can't remember the last time I felt so sick. But after 24 hours I had kicked the fever to the curb, only to then pull my back on Wednesday afternoon. Ouch! I was literally frozen, in the parking lot of Harris Teeter, and made Jason come get the kids so I could get myself to the doctor. I was prescribed some heavy narcotics, and told not to go back to work until next week (this week).

Such random occurrences shouldn't come so surprising to me anymore, but geez! I was so disappointed because I really felt like I was making some momentum at work the week before I got sick and just as I struggled to get it back this week....Hannah gets sick again! I can't catch a break! I took her to the doctor yesterday only because her fever was so high and the fever reducer I was giving her didn't seem to touch it, so I took her in to rule out a bacterial infection. Of course they determined that it's just a virus but I did put her on Motrin rather than Tylenol since that seems to work a little better for her. She's improved a lot today but she's still running fever every 6-8 hours. At least she let us get some sleep last night. And as I type this, she's working on a three-hour nap. So I'm sure she'll be over this thing by tomorrow.

Today I had an appointment scheduled for Hannah to be tested for allergies with Ethan's allergy/asthma doctor and since her illness is only viral, I kept the appointment. Also because if I tried to reschedule, it could be months before I get another appointment. Low and behold she has allergies! Nothing too crazy - egg whites (just like Ethan) and she also tested positive to cat and feathers. The doctor - who I also consider to be an angel - reassured me that we don't have to get rid of Phoebe (our cat). We already know what to do as far as the food allergy and we haven't been giving her egg anyway because it's not fair to feed her things that Ethan can't have, like cookies and cakes and whatnot. But we've been more lenient about exceptions with her from time to time, unlike with Ethan. Now we know we have to be strict with her too. It's so nice to just know sometimes. I like knowing.

And if you just took the time to read all that, then here are some photos of the kids as your reward. ;-) I don't have a whole lot of recent pictures, but at least these are from August. I hope they make you smile.

Half-Way There

2010-08-26T20:30:00.001-04:00

This week is the half-way mark for my 5K training! Last week I really slacked off. I did a lot of traveling for work and I just was never able to squeeze in my runs. I'm slack, I know.

But hopefully I'm making up for that a little by recruiting my neighbor-friend to my running group! And since she joined, I am trying my best to commit to the early morning session, plus the additional group runs that are offered throughout the week. Maybe she will help keep me on track!

So this week I'm supposed to be running 7 minutes/walking 2 minutes and repeating 3 times, but I quickly realized I needed to stick to 6 minutes running/3 minutes walking on Tuesday when I joined the 6:00 a.m. group. Maybe by the weekend I can get up to 7 minutes and then next week I can move up to 8 minutes so I stay on track.

Other than running, not much is happening. Summer has ended, so to speak, and work is busy and I'm kind of in a blogging funk. Actually, it's kind of a technology funk. It would be so nice if Jason and I could pick up for a weekend and go camping. I would be so happy if I could disconnect myself from email, Facebook, blogging, TV and everything for just a couple of days. But, I don't think Ethan and Hannah are quite ready for that. We love to talk about the days ahead when we'll get to take the kids camping, go white water rafting, and hiking to the beautiful Blue Ridge waterfalls. I know it won't be long.

My favorite time of year is right around the corner and I can't wait to attend the October weddings we're invited to. Please hurry, Fall!

I Wanna Hold You

2010-08-14T09:46:00.001-04:00

It seems like about 95% of Ethan and Hannah's sentences begin with "I want..." Typical for the twos, I know.

"I want a popscicle!"

"I wanna go to the water park!"

"I wanna read this one."

But my most favorite is "I wanna hold you!" when they want to be picked up and held. Hannah originally started saying "Me hold you" and then she progressed, and now they both say it.

And it makes me smile.

Another Week...Making Some Progress

2010-08-11T20:23:00.000-04:00

I didn't blog about my run from last Thursday, or over the weekend so I'll start with that. I ran in my neighborhood last Thursday after the kids went to bed and I continued with my run 3 minutes and walk 2-3 minutes, repeating four times. I don't remember exactly what I clocked (that's what I get for not writing it down right away) but I think I met my 12 minute running goal.

As for the weekend, I skipped my run again. Not good! I had planned to go on Saturday, but after Jason got home from unexpectedly working all morning, we made an impromptu visit to the water park. On Sunday the kids refused to nap for some reason, so we put them in the car and drove around. By the time we got home after dinner it was too late and already dark.

So yesterday I met up with my group at military park in the evening. This week I am increasing my running time to five minutes and walking 2-3 minutes, and repeating three times. I almost got in the whole 15 minutes of running, but I cut my last set short by about a minute and a half (darn hills!). So a total of 13.5 minutes running.

I'm really mad at myself for not getting in the third run for the last two weeks. Even though I'm making progress, I know I need the three workouts to build up my stamina the most effective way. I'm not allowing myself ANY excuses this weekend.

Spontaneous Saturday

2010-08-03T21:43:00.001-04:00

First of all, spontaneity is really not in my vocabulary. Jason knows how much of a planner I am, and since becoming a mom of twins, I think that personality trait has gotten a little worse. We get really comfortable with our weekend routine and often chicken out of taking a day trip anywhere because, in some ways, it's just easier to stay home where we can easily manage.

But that also gets boring.

So on Saturday, there was something in the air (like a cold front apparently) and we decided to head to Tweetsie Railroad in Blowing Rock for the day. The kids are at that cute age where they are fascinated by trucks, trains, and airplanes. So we told them we were going to see a real choo choo train and they were super excited.

Here are the kids practicing being a choo choo train one day before we headed to the water park...

When we got to Tweetsie, we walked around the little western town area and met this life-size horse statue. Ethan was our brave cowboy.

Hannah wanted down as soon as I sat her on the baby horse, so I didn't get a picture of her.

Then we found this tee pee and Jason explained to the kids how native Americans used to live in them a long time ago.

Then I got really crazy and suggested we ride the chair lift. You can't tell in this picture, but it gets really, really steep. And I almost had a panic attack with a two year old in the seat beside me. I'm not a fan of heights, especially in an open, moving compartment that's dangling from a cable wire. I don't know what came over me when I decided to ride it.

We found a little mini choo choo train to get the kids warmed up for the big train (which we never actually rode).

They had a really great area with kiddie rides that the kids were big enough to ride by themselves.

Here they are on the airplane...

Ethan was done with rides after that ride so Hannah road the boat ride by herself.

Then we headed over to the animal area. It wasn't exactly a petting zoo, but you could buy feed for the animals in ice cream cones and feed them.

Here's Ethan saying hello to the huge hog. She had four little baby hogs who pooped out and went in their little house for a nap.

Then he met the llama (or alpaca?).

He was even brave enough to feed the deer.

They had several bunnies there, some with floppy ears and some with pointed ears. This one was wandering around outside of her pen area. She reminded me of the mama rabbit at our house, but this rabbit is much bigger.

Then we found this little baby goat who had escaped his pen too.

Eventually we headed back to the rides area and while we waited in line for a race car ride, the kids practiced being a choo choo train.

And then we headed back down to the main train "station" area hoping to catch the last ride. This is how Ethan looked when the big train first started to appear back at the station.

He quickly went from wonder...

....to hysterics. The poor little guy was totally petrified. So it worked out that we had missed the last ride of the day because I don't think we stood a chance of coaxing this little dude on that train.

We never even got a picture of the kids in front of the big train, but I snapped this blurry one of the engineer as we left. Oh well.

And that was our big weekend adventure! If you're wondering why we have on hoodie jackets in our pictures it's because there really was a cold front and the weather was in the 60's. At first I though it was just because we were in the mountains, but it was pretty chilly when we got home that evening too. It only lasted for the day though, and by Sunday it was back up in the 80's.

As for my running over the weekend, I have to confess that I didn't get my weekend run in. I was planning to go on Sunday, but when I got up Sunday morning, my calves were killing me. I figure I must have strained them while we were at Tweetsie. So I gave my muscles a rest and decided to pick back up today when I met my group.

Today we met at the opposite side of the park from where we met last week and ran in the park. There's a 1.5 mile loop that goes around the park, but we just ran a half-mile stretch back and forth as much as we needed. I got in two miles again, and I increased my running time to 3 minutes, walked 2-3 minutes and repeated that four times. I ran for a total of 11.5 minutes, so a little improvement. I'll take it. Liz talked to us about perceived exertion and keeping check of our breathing and heart rate so we don't overdo. I might have pushed myself slightly, but I felt really guilty for not running over the weekend. Hopefully I won't regret it tomorrow!

It's Thursday

2010-07-29T22:02:00.000-04:00

Lately the kids crack us up with the stuff they say. Usually it's the "I wanna go to the water park" or "I want ice cream" that Hannah requests every five minutes that makes us smile.

But sometimes it's the stuff we say to them that's funny. This morning, while I was in the shower, the kids came pedaling into the bedroom in their Cozy Coupes. They were supposed to be getting dressed for school. So from inside my glass box, I automatically start giving them instructions to go get dressed for Daddy. "Guys, you need to go get dressed for school. You need to go park your cars and go upstairs and get dressed. And it's Thursday."

I'm pretty sure the last part came out because I was just doing a mental check of what day of the week it was, but it kind of just came out. And for the rest of the day, Jason followed up everything he said with "And it's Thursday."

And now for my running report. :-)

I ran in my neighborhood tonight, still continuing with my run two minutes/walk three minutes and repeat five times. I was surprised by how much easier the hills come already. I don't know exactly how far I walked/ran, but it had to be close to two miles (total distance). I was able to complete my ten minutes of total running, so that made me happy.

Our coach has encouraged our group to purchase new running shoes, but I'm actually wearing an old pair of Adidas that I bought back in college. They really haven't had much use, so I figure they still have a lot of miles in them and they are really comfortable. So far, I haven't had any aches or pains and I think that's a good sign. Eventually, I know I'll have to cough up the bucks for a new pair, but I'm planning to hold off for as long as possible.

Running

2010-07-27T22:31:00.002-04:00

Back in March, I decided I was going to start running, to get back in shape and lose the extra weight I've been carrying around since my pregnancy. My plan was to get up early in the morning and run (okay, walk/run until I got my endurance up) before the kids woke up.

I lasted a week.

Earlier this month, I came across this web site while I was looking around on the Internet for some new motivation.

I was so inspired by the group's mission and message, I immediately called the group's coach - Liz Lindsay - and I was sold. She was so inspiring over the phone and I could tell she was someone I could connect with. I couldn't wait to sign up and get started.

I decided to sign up for the 5K training school. I know a lot of people scoff at the idea of training for a 5K, but because I have such little experience with running, I want to learn the right way. And I know I need to be held accountable.

I've sort of always had a love for running and wanted to be one of those people who could just throw on their shoes and take off. As a kid, I used to love "racing" a little boy that lived close to my house. I was a pretty fast sprinter...for a girl. My brother played soccer from the time that I could barely walk, and while I have a huge appreciation for the sport, I was never interested in getting into a sport myself. My only athletic attempt was cheerleading in high school...

After three sprained ankles in two years, I was told that cross-country running was probably not a good alternative sport either. So I gave up and devoted my time after school to my part-time job.

In college, I would sporadically take up fitness interests. My brother was a P.E. major, so I got to be his "student" for whatever he was concentrating on in his classes. We both took an aerobics class one semester, and I remember a few weeks of some dedicated tennis playing. And running would randomly find its way into my schedule here and there. But because my "schedule" changed each semester, I had a hard time sticking with it.

Fast forward six years, (two years post-twin-pregnancy) and I'm ready to get in shape and stick with it! Not to mention how difficult it is to ignore all the opportunities for running that are available where I live. I'm so excited to become familiar with different trails and routes close to me.

In October, I'll run my first 5K and for the next 10 weeks, I'll be in training so that I can hopefully run the whole thing.

Today was the first day of my 10 week training program. As part of the program I signed up for, I'm supposed to keep a journal, and although I could easily keep a written one tucked away in my nightstand for no one to see, I think it would be fun to keep it here on my blog. It will also help with that whole accountability thing. So here goes. Please don't expect perfect runner's jargon or terminology.

Today I met my group at 6:30 at a local recreation center/park. It rained earlier today, so even though it was a little humid, it was way cooler than it's been all week. This week, my running plan consists of running for 2 minutes, walking for three minutes, and repeating five times. So, a total of 10 minutes running. (Each week I gradually increase my running time and decrease my walking time until I can run for 10 minutes.)

I almost did my ten minute (total) goal today. I only shaved 30 seconds off of my last two minutes of running because I came to a hill and I didn't have it in me. So I got in 9.5 minutes of running. I'm pretty proud of myself!

Right now, we don't have a distance goal, but we track it anyway just so we can have an idea and mine today was two miles. Not too shabby!

The trail was really shaded and after the earlier thunderstorms, had that fresh, clean rain feeling. I didn't run with anyone in particular. I started out with a couple of girls who are on the same plan as me, but I think my walking pace was a little too speedy because I ended up by myself. Fine with me - I can't say I'm all that interested in trying to have a conversation while I'm watching my stopwatch and mentally keeping check of my breathing and stride. But I do hope to get to know some of the other ladies in the group. It seems like a good group and I'm really looking forward to the next 10 week journey!

The Mother Bunny

2010-07-24T09:38:00.000-04:00

I finally caught a glimpse of the mother bunny last night! I went out with my friend Kathrin for her birthday, and when I got home around 11:30, I saw the bunny hop into the bushes where her babies are hanging out. When I looked for her from the front door, I saw her sitting on the edge of our sidewalk.

My first observation of her is that she looks like a teen mom.

She also has good hygiene. She washed her little hands over and over.

And she's very, very FAST! In a split second, she took off down our driveway, but she stopped at the corner of our yard to clean her hands a little more.

And this mama just gave her baby a popsicle with her breakfast. ;-)

We have baby bunnies in our yard!

2010-07-20T20:12:00.001-04:00

On Sunday I decided to weed flower beds while the kids napped, and Jason let Dexter out to ~~annoy~~ join me. Dexter started sniffing around under some bushes and I could tell he had found something he wanted to "play" with. I figured it was a frog, but it turns out...it was a baby bunny rabbit nest!

Unfortunately, Dexter hurt one of them so we put all of them in a box for Jason to take to the after hours vet clinic.

As soon as he left, I jumped on the computer to figure out the best thing to do for them. I found a couple of helpful links here and here and was able to become a baby-bunny-rabbit-nest expert in about five minutes. I immediately called Jason and told him to bring the un-injured rabbits back because their mom would come to feed them after dark and she would be distressed if they weren't there.

Now we have three babies resting safely in their nest and after checking on them during the last couple of days, it appears that they are doing okay. Hopefully their brother or sister recovered from his/her Dexter-injury and is doing okay too. They don't give out information at the vet clinic when "good samaritans" bring in injured animals, so we just have to trust that we got help for him as fast as we could.

I'm hoping the remaining bunnies might be ready to hop on out of their nest over the weekend (like the adorable bunnies in the video below). We'll see.

I'll post an update if I'm able to catch them leaving their nest.

It's funny, right?

2010-07-16T23:34:00.001-04:00

Ethan and Hannah got into my Q-tips again when we got home from school the other day. And when Ethan stuck the Q-tips in his ears...I grabbed the camera.

"What's the big deal, Mom? I'm just keeping my ears squeaky clean."

It might not be as funny in pictures, but it made me laugh.

And that hair is getting chopped off this weekend!

Happy Birthday Jason!

2010-07-14T23:21:00.002-04:00

Or as the kids would say "happy bird-day"! Jason turned the big 3-0 today and we celebrated by going to traffic court! Maybe it's not the ideal way to celebrate this special milestone, but at least I had an excuse for taking the afternoon off from work and spending it with my hubs on his birthday. Unfortunately, when your birthday falls in the middle of the week, it's hard to do anything spectacular, so we are going to officially celebrate this weekend with dinner and a movie (and a babysitter!). Doesn't that sound spectacular?!

Something kind of cute today was Ethan's mood this morning. I got up with Hannah at 6:30 a.m. and started making French toast, not because it's Jason's favorite, but because I had all the fixings for it and not any other great options for a 30th birthday breakfast. When I finished cooking I went up to get Ethan out of bed, letting Jason enjoy a few extra minutes in dreamland. But Ethan just wanted to lie there on his pillow and said "Nooo!" and asked for Daddy! He's never done that, but he's had some major meltdowns and temper tantrums lately, and the last thing I wanted was to wake Jason up on his birthday with yet another one. So I went back downstairs, gave Jason a sweet "good morning, happy birthday" kiss and told him to get Ethan out of bed.

Since I mentioned temper tantrums and meltdowns, let me just say that I'm desperately hoping these are related to the kids getting their two-year molars. I've been dreading these things, knowing how bad teething can be for them. And two-year molars are supposed to be the teething of all teething. Both kids' bottom gums seem to be a little puffy and about ready to show some teeth, but I'm really not an expert at watching teeth, so I'm not sure.

So back to Jason's birthday...I don't have any cute pictures to share of him with the kids, but I do have these pictures that he took of the kids the other day. This is special because it's so rare for him to pick up the camera and snap away. Something about kids running around with Q-tips hanging out of their ears inspired him to reach for the camera (but apparently they pulled them out before he got their picture).

Happy Birthday to my husband and best friend! I love you!

Fourth of July 2010

2010-07-07T10:40:00.001-04:00

We spent the majority of our holiday weekend in the backyard, which is only appropriate for this holiday right? Isn't the traditional Independence Day celebrated by firing up the grill, running through sprinklers and watching fireworks? The weather was so beautiful all weekend - clear blue skies and not a cloud in sight. We could use some rain, but until it rains we'll water our grass as we drain our baby pool!

On Saturday we ventured downtown (like last year) to the Fun Fourth Festival and parade. The kids were dressed festively in red, white and blue, but I forgot my camera and generally speaking, the kids aren't really in the mood for pictures when we get home right at nap time. While the kids napped I got their pool ready and we had fun playing outside when they woke up. So I have more pictures of them playing in their pool to share.

Even Daddy needed to cool off in our tropical island pool.

On Sunday, Uncle Josh and Aunt Leslie came to visit and they brought Lola along. Lola has never visited us in NC, but the kids visited her last fall when they stayed with Leslie and Josh for a weekend. Lola was not thrilled with the kids too much at our house, but she loved our pool!

She thought she was at a water park just for mini-dogs. She couldn't get enough of the pink dolphin spraying her with water.

The kids didn't mind sharing their pool with her.

Ethan munching on a popsicle...and melting my heart with his irresistible blue eyes.

It's so hard to stay mad at this face when he's bad!

Hannah got lots of flirting practice in with Uncle Josh.

Hmm...there's just a little resemblance here, maybe?

On Monday we took the kids to one of the nearby parks - the one with all the geese and ducks.

Hannah is so in tune with nature...for about five seconds.

Every time the kids came down these slides the friction made their hair wild.

It was a fun weekend and we were actually able to see some fireworks from our back deck when we sat outside and made s'mores after the kids were in bed.

Thanks for coming to see us Josh and Leslie and we can't wait to visit you guys after you move into the new place!

This little piggy gets impatient...

2010-06-29T22:06:00.001-04:00

Jason has been doing the "This little piggy..." rhyme with the kids and they love it to pieces. Tonight, Hannah was kind of saying it in the bathtub, and after she wiggled each of her own toes, she moved on to Ethan's. They were having a big time. So I asked them to re-enact after they got PJ's on because I thought it would be a cute video. Mama had to intervene because Hannah got frustrated that Ethan wanted to participate rather than just watch her...

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

A small achievement

2010-06-25T19:55:00.000-04:00

Ethan and Hannah rode to school this morning without a pacifier or a blanket - only their cups filled with water! We didn't suddenly decide to deny them of their security stuff....we had to forego blankets because Ethan's pull-up didn't contain his fluids last night and his whole bed was soaked this morning. It also helped that they were distracted by the saltine crackers that Hannah swiped from the pantry before we left, but it still counts.

Ever feel a little sideways?

2010-06-24T20:30:00.001-04:00

Sometimes the kids' car seats tilt while I'm driving. Lately it's been Ethan's.

To straighten him back up, I usually turn right really sharp.

Don't worry, the car was completely stopped while I snapped these pictures. And I did adjust his seat once we got home.

A fresh look...

2010-06-22T23:23:00.001-04:00

I sat down at the computer around 8:00 p.m. after the kids went to bed, and the next thing I knew, my whole blog was redesigned! This thing can be such a great creative outlet when I need one!

The pictures in the header were taken by my friend Afton Rio at a local park in April. Here are a few more that she took of us (so I could have a few pictures of my kids with me in the pictures):

THANK YOU Afton!

Q: How do you survive a day at the water park with two-year-old twins?

2010-06-21T20:09:00.001-04:00

A: Take lots of helpers!

For Father's Day we met up with our friends Matt & Afton and their daughter Brooklynn, and Martin and Kathrin and their twin boys at Wet-n-Wild Emerald Pointe water park. With six adults (one who is five months pregnant) and five two-year-olds, I expected us to be in five different directions, and I was pretty close to being right. This was one of those experiences where I went in expecting the worse, but was pleasantly surprised!

Mostly I was worried that our kids would hate all the splashing and spraying water, but the two HUGE kids' areas were set up to accommodate really young kids, so it was perfect for our little two-year-olds. By the end of our visit, our kids were water slide pros! I was shocked that even Ethan got over his fear enough to ride the slides over and over. I was SO proud of the little guy. On the bigger slides for the little kids, they didn't allow adults to ride with the kids, so one of us (Jason) would get them started at the top and the other one (me) would catch them at the bottom. We put Ethan on a fast, twisty slide and even though he had a petrified look on his face, once he was in the water he was laughing, and he rode it over and over so he must have liked it!

Hannah loved all of it and couldn't get enough. When she came down the fast, twisty slide she kind of did summersaults because she is such a light weight. It scared her, but she still loved it. Afton tried to take a break from chasing Brooklynn (and carrying around the baby boy in her belly) and relax in the water, but she helped me catch Ethan and Hannah when they both came down at once. As soon as they landed in the pool, they wanted to get out and do it again.

Unfortunately, the only picture I took was right before we walked in...

Jason is wearing his father's day gift - a shirt with Ethan's and Hannah's hand prints on it. I think all the other dads were totally jealous of his cool dad shirt. ;-)

This was the only picture I took because when you have two-year-old twins around endless pools of water, there's no time for pictures. Next time we go we'll plan to take more helpers (that means you Josh and Leslie) and maybe I can actually get some pictures!

We left the water park around 2:00 and the kids promptly fell asleep in the car, and slept another hour or so after we got them home and in bed. We all slept well last night and can't wait to go back for more!

Scenes from a rearview mirror...

2010-06-07T22:06:00.001-04:00

I spend about an hour total in the car with the kids everyday. It takes us anywhere from 20-30 minutes to get to their school (where my office is), and another 20-30 minutes to get home everyday.

We typically use this time to have meaningful conversation about current events, politics, the latest entertainment gossip, things of that nature. Okay, not really. But seriously, I really treasure these precious moments I spend with them each day.

A typical drive to work goes like this:

First we load the kids in their car seats and tell Daddy bye-bye. Three things are always required for the car - blankets, pacifiers, and sippy cups. Hannah likes to be covered completely with her blanket by Daddy.
As we pull out of the driveway, the commentary begins: "Bye-bye house!" They also like to tell me the names of the kids who live next door to us, in case I've forgotten since the day before.
Today, before we were even out of the neighborhood, Hannah said her teachers' names to let me know that she knew we were headed to school. So cute!
On the way, we pass a fire station and it's on Ethan's side of the car in the mornings. He always says "fire truck!" when we pass.
If we pass a single truck or school bus (or a hundred) they tell me. "Twuck! Cool bud!" It's critical that I acknowledge these announcements or they get so offended. Hannah can identify most colors, so sometimes I quiz her and ask her what color the trucks are.
Sometimes we play a game where we say each other's names really loud, over and over. "MOMMY!" "HANNAH!" "ETHAN!" And sometimes we say names of people who aren't in the car, like "DADDY!" "NANA!" "MIMI!" "MARC-MARC!".
At some point Hannah will ask for her window to be rolled down. Usually it's too chilly in the mornings, but I'll ride home with their windows down in the afternoon.
Sometimes we listen to kids' music (I have several hours worth on CD) but lately I've needed my "adult" radio talk show fix in the mornings, or NPR.
As we get to the interstate close to the airport, they will tell me if they see an "Air-pane!".
Sometimes we play peek-a-boo. The kids' cover their eyes with their hands, or just hide under their blankets, and say "Where's Hannah? Where'd she go?" or "Where's E-tan?" (I must get them on camera saying their names. It is the sweetest thing in the whole world.)
Finally we arrive and I park in my usual spot. I always get Ethan out of the car first because he's slightly better about standing close by while I get Hannah out. I've trained them to leave blankets in the car, but we always walk inside with pacifiers and cups.
Once we get in their classroom, they put their pacifiers in their cubby basket, and tell me bye-bye. For the past week, they have been so ready to get to school and see their friends and teachers. They give me kisses and hugs and tell me "bye-bye" with no hesitation. I've had my fair share of clingy mornings, so this has been a nice treat for the past several days.

And then I'm on my way down the hall to my office, ready for an exciting day at work!

A Summer Must-Have

2010-06-01T21:22:00.001-04:00

This weekend we made a purchase that will get used a LOT this summer...

We plan to eat outside as much as possible this summer (certainly not because I'm tired of cleaning my kitchen floor) so we found this picnic table that is just the kids' size.

It's perfect for enjoying a refreshing treat on a hot day...

And there's enough room for us to invite friends over and have room for everybody. Yay for summer "al fresco" dining!

The difference a year makes...

2010-05-31T08:32:00.000-04:00

Last year...

This year...

Last year...

This year...

Last year...

This year...

It cracked me up to go back and look at the pictures I took of the kids playing in their pool last year and compare them to now. In a lot of ways they haven't changed all that much, but then I look at how long Hannah's hair is and how much she looks like a little girl now and I see drastic differences...

Here are a few more of them enjoying their fun in the water today...

I love these suits I got for them at Target this year. I don't get to coordinate them very often but sometimes it works out and it kind of helps them look more like twins.

Ethan wanted to play with the spray for-EVER! He would turn it and spray the grass, Dexter, and anything else within aim.

My firecracker, ball-of-energy Hannah-banana. This girl has a good time no matter what she's doing.

Yeah.

2010-05-27T21:35:00.001-04:00

I wonder if all parents get excited when their child first starts to say “YES" instead of “NO”? Jason and I laugh so much right now when Hannah answers us with a “yes” rather than the “no” we’re so accustomed to. It’s one of those milestones I want to remember.

She especially loves to say “YEAH!” and it’s so adorable!

Sometimes it’s a a really excited “YEAH!!” when I ask her something like, “Do you want to go play outside?” or “Do you want pizza?” or “Do you want to watch Elmo?”.

And sometimes it’s just a casual “Yeah” when I ask her if she needs to go potty, or if she wants a snack.

All the same, it’s really cute. Ethan’s getting there…it won’t be long.

Our First Live Show

2010-05-22T15:39:00.001-04:00

A very special celebrity was in town this week and we couldn't resist taking the kids to see him perform. Three guesses who we saw...here are some clues:

1) He's eternally three-and-a-half years old.

2) He refers to himself in the third person.

3) Red is his signature color.

That's right - we got to see ELMO perform LIVE! It was such a fun time!

These pictures are kind of dark and blurry but I'm sharing them anyway.

This was such a special treat for the kids and a totally magical experience for us, even if it was only a 90 minute show. We had no idea how the kids would do as audience members, but they made us very proud. Especially towards the end when about 3/4 of the audience began having meltdowns and Ethan was still totally enraptured with the show and Hannah was doing her best to pay attention, but she started getting antsy because she had to go potty. So she and I escaped about 10 minutes before it ended so I could get her to the car to use her little potty. (She pretty much refuses to use a big public potty - I've only succeeded with this once when we were at a Mexican restaurant, so we always bring a little potty with us in the car when we're out.)

The title of the show was "When Elmo Grows Up" and the storyline was basically that all the characters of Sesame Street were having a pageant where they dress up like who they want to be when they grow up.

Elmo can't decide what he wants to be, so he explores all different career possibilities - a police officer, a cowboy, a fireman, and a weather man.

The cast performed lots of songs and incorporated lots of audience participation. I was really impressed with the production as a whole.

Hannah sat with Daddy for the first half of the show. She squirmed a little, but she was totally entranced.

Ethan sat with me (notice his Elmo attire for the occasion). Here he's asking "Where's Elmo? Where'd he go?" which they asked every time Elmo left the stage, along with the rest of the audience. It was so funny - you could hear all the kids in the audience get excited every time Elmo came on stage and every time he exited, kids all around us asked where he went. Too cute!

Here's a shot of Hannah's Elmo attire. I meant to get one of the kids together but it didn't happen. Maybe another day...

After the show we ate at Chick-fil-a and then the kids went down for their nap. Want to know the biggest difference in the live shows I'm used to seeing and a Sesame Street live show? Elmo hit the stage promptly at 10:30 a.m. ;-)

Water Hose Fun

2010-05-15T22:53:00.001-04:00

This morning was perfect for some good old-fashioned water play. I put the kids' water and sand play table (minus the sand) and Makin' Mud Pies station in the grass, turned on the water hose, and watched them play for over an hour this morning.

Summer Fashion Alert

2010-05-15T22:34:00.001-04:00

We're all about style around here...

Just in case you were wondering what the latest trends are in two-year-old fashion this year...

Thank you, Elmo, for some sanity.

2010-05-10T22:14:00.001-04:00

My kids are obsessed with Elmo right now (typical for their age, I know).

Their interest in Elmo has gradually increased over the past few months. I'm proud to say that up until now, my kids have not had much interest in television. We've turned the channel to Nick Jr. sometimes in the evening or when we're in the playroom, but for the most part, they would totally ignore it unless something musical was on. Lately though, they've been more tuned in as they catch on to what they're seeing and understanding. They love Yo Gabba Gabba and The Wonder Pets.

But nothing compares to Elmo. A few weeks ago I bought this DVD at a consignment store:

After playing it for them a couple of times, they now ask for it morning, noon and night. And it works great as a reward. So when they ask for Elmo first thing in the morning, we say, "finish your breakfast and get dressed and then we can watch Elmo." And it works!

This morning the kids were so motivated to get dressed - withOUT giving Jason a hard time! (He gets the kids dressed every morning while I get ready so he can get us out the door). When I walked through the living room to fix my coffee for my ride to work, this is what I saw...

*Photo credit to Jason

I wonder if Elmo has an episode on "how to get rid of pacifiers"?!

Tonight, the kids asked for Elmo while I was making dinner, and I told them they could watch him after they ate. They ate their dinner quick and almost without any silliness. Then they climbed on the couch and I turned on the DVD, and I almost didn't know what to do with the peace and quiet. Jason even felt slighted when he came through the door and they barely noticed! Usually Daddy is greeted like a celebrity around here!

So thank you, Elmo, for a little sanity. I don't plan on turning my kids into couch potatoes, but a little downtime is good for all of us once in a while. :-)

A Day for Moms

2010-05-09T22:57:00.001-04:00

Today was a beautiful, relaxing Mother's Day. It's hard to believe it's my third one, because the first two were kind of hectic. The first because we were coping with our newborn twins who weren't even two months old. Enough said. The second one was nice - my family came to celebrate with us - but it got a little stressful when we tried to go out to brunch with our toddling 13-month-olds, and we were also a week away from moving to NC.

This year, even though our sweet two-year-olds are still stressful at times, we take it all in stride much better which helps a lot! We couldn't resist going out to brunch again this year (it's my FAVORITE meal), although once we got there and Ethan and Hannah started their squirming and whining, Jason wished my mom and I had gone by ourselves. My parents came up for the weekend which was nice because it will probably be summer before we see them again, or maybe longer for my dad who is taking a long vacation out west during his summer break.

On Saturday, we took the kids to the Natural Science Center where they have animal exhibits and even a petting zoo!

This was the tortoise habitat...they wanted to stay there forever but we finally convinced them that the tortoises weren't the only thing there to see.

This is the crocodile habitat where the kids got to pet the crocodile...okay, just kidding, it's a fake crocodile!

This was a huge bison statue that my dad forced both kids to sit on top of. Ethan watched Hannah get up there and act scared...

...so then he wanted to get up and act scared.

These monkeys (Gibbons?) were so awesome! One of their trainers came up while we were standing there and they started going crazy.

Hannah loved it! She listened intently to what the trainer explained about the monkeys.

The Lemurs were great too. Hannah loves monkeys!

Then we headed over to the petting zoo/barn area. Hannah loved feeding the goats and sheep. This was as close as Ethan got and then he was done.

Hannah found these chickens outside the barn and she chased them under a building.

This was a neat way for kids to see the Meerkat exhibit - they walked through a tunnel to the window at the end.

Inside there was a neat kids' area where Jason showed Ethan how to race these little boats.

Hannah played store cashier.

That evening, Nana and Marc-Marc read stories to the kids while Ethan got his bedtime breathing treatment. The kids were so worn out from their fun afternoon that they both went down without a fight at 7:30.

I actually managed to get a Mother's Day picture this year! Ethan isn't smiling, but this is still a success in my book.

I tried to keep them happy while Nana got in the picture but they were over it.

Happiest of Mother's Days to all the Moms! What we do ISN'T easy! I'm so thankful to be the mother of my little munchkins and blessed to be my mother's daughter. I'm also especially thankful for the man by my side because being a mother wouldn't be this fun without him. Thanks for coming and making the weekend extra-special mom and dad!