Museum Fun

Matt works for a great company. I'm so thankful that he has such a great job with great benefits and occassionally we get a perk or two. On Saturday, August 18, 2012, we got to go to the SC State Museum for SCANA day. We got in free and that was my favorite part. I haven't been to the museum in a few years so we had fun and I took a few rides down memory lane b/c we would come here quite often for school field trips. I always hated having to stand at the exhibits longer than I wanted and NEVER read the signs for them. This time around, I secretly was annoyed that the kids would not go through slowly b/c now I wanted to read everything. Boo. But Matt said he and I would go back and really go through all of the exhibits. It really is a neat Museum. It's in a somewhat restored cotton mill.  So much history in that building.
I love it. Anyways, I've got pictures and I know they are a lot more entertaining than my ramblings. :) I only thought to take pictures with my phone when we were at the Dinosaur/Fossil exhibit. They have a little dig area with paint brushes and the kids had a fun time there... well, except Corbin. After 3 seconds, he proclaimed that it was boring and wanted to do something less babyish. So, for the sake of the picture,  he is completely posing. hahaha. Hunter and Dane stopped just long enough to smile and then they went back to slinging the rubber "dirt" at one another.  Talon would have stayed there all day.  He loved it... but he loves anywhere that isn't his stroller.  Maybe that will give "Big Baby" incentive to walk already.  He's getting there though.  Me, well we all took pictures with the Rex.  Mine didn't need cropping that much, but I did discover that those extra L-B's that I'm carrying really show nicely on camera.  Awesome.  So when I get back my ever depleted energy, I will slowly and surely lose that 15 extra pounds I'm carrying.  But that is not what this post is about.  Museum.  Fun.  Family. :)

Funny Pages

Kids are hilarious most days.  The kids I'm directing this post to is Hunter and Dane.  They're not really recent, but I've saved these pictures to bring me a smile when I feel the hulk coming out.  To the right, Hunter penned this apology note to me.  He did something (as per usual) and upset me a little more than normal.  I later returned to my desk to find this note.  Gah, he can be so darn kissably sweet sometimes and other times... I don't know... sometimes I just worry about that kid. :) This was from January 20, 2012

I was cleaning up some drawing papers and doodles one day at the boys' desk area and found this in Dane's pile.  At the time, these were the only letters that Dane knew how to write without help.  Yeesh.  I hope he wasn't mad at me when he wrote this.  Heehee.  This lovely typography artwork was made around March 10, 2012

I found this while doing another clean up at the kids' desk area.  Writing and drawing are very popular in our home.  I came across this in one of Hunter's notebooks.  I loved it so much!  Everything about it (even the fact he used permanent marker-!!) was awesome.  This might make itself to a t-shirt one day.  No lie.  And I really hope that he will continue to whut to fite evil and make good choices througout his life.  **I asked Hunter where he got this from and I would like to shout out to Phineus and Ferb for using this particular phrase in one of their random shows that stood out to my boy**  June 4, 2012

It's been forever and a day!

If I remember correctly- Talon was about 8
weeks.  He's got the Megamind head!  But
he is so cute- I miss this.

I have decided to get back to blogging.  It's been over a year and boy, has life changed.  We've added another boy to the mix.  His name is Talon Barrett.  He turned 1 on July 6.  He's a great baby.  The nickname he has taken on is "Big Baby"... like from Toy Story 3.  He is the size of a two year old. :)  According to Matt the beginnings with this little guy was hard.  He cried a lot.  I honestly have no recollection of him crying a lot.  But at his 2 week appointment, it was discovered that he had a broken collarbone-which happened during the birth- that led to being stuck on his back a little more... this worked wonders for his already flat head **sarcasm**  It also turned out he was stuck in the same spot in utero long enough for his skull to become friends with my pelvic bone. And because of their closeness, Ms. Pelvic bone left a lasting impression on baby's skull.  Enter the hero of the day around month 6 of Talon's life.  Dah, dah, dah, dahhhhh.  DOC Band...

We got through that.  Talon was great.  The first week was horrible, but he got used to it and adjusted quickly.  The second helmet was the hardest on all of us, not to mention Talon.  He had it during record breaking heat this past summer.  He was a trooper though.  And overall, I think it taught the other boys sacrifice.  They knew that we had to wait for certain times a day to venture out and they learned that it wasn't always about them.  Instead of going to the pool, the boys spent a lot of time on the trampoline with the sprinkler.... And they got really good at playing Wii and their DS's.  They got creative in their playtime and we made it work.  Talon is finally finished with that part of his life.  He graduated with amazing results. Here are couple of his photostudy pictures or his before and afters.


Before picture 12-29-11

3-29-12 after his first 12 week course

8-3-12 the day he was freed!

 12-29-11-sideview

3-29-12 after first 12 week course

8-3-12 graduation day- can you see the
difference in his profile and forehead- this corrected
numerous problems that he would have had to face-
like sinus and jaw issues.  We are so pleased with the
results.  It was hard, but worth it for Talon.

Now life is back to normal, so I'm thinking I'm going to try and set at least one day a week to blog because this takes forever to do.  I've got some catch up to play and then hopefully I'll get back on track.  

Honesty is the Best Policy?

Yesterday I went to get Hunter from his Primary Class.  I was presented with yet another work of art from him.  This one, though, actually cracked me up to no end.  To explain the picture, the commandment that Hunter has chosen to work on for the week is I will honor my father and mother and he drew a picture of Matt and me holding hands with a heart between us...  Do you see Matt?  And that big, egg-shaped lady holding his hand?!  It seriously doesn't bother me a bit though.  Hunter knows that I'm the only person he can ever call fat... but I did remind him that once the baby was out, all bets are off. :)

Obviously, the tall, thin guy on the left is Daddy and my representation is spot on.  Hunter made me nice and round because I'm a fat mommy right now.  LOL!

Hunter the Graduate

This morning, my sweet boy graduated from Pre-school.  What?!  I know, where has the time gone?  Hunter had the same two teachers, Miss Cindy and Lynda, as Corbin did when he went.  I was pregnant with Hunter when Corbin graduated.  Now Corbin will be in 4th grade and Hunter will start Kindergarten.  And Dane will start Pre-school in the fall.  How the time has flown by.  And through the tired and frustrating days, my heart is full and our lives continue to be blessed.  Hunter has grown up so much over this last school year.  According to the growth chart they gave me, since August he has grown 2 inches and gained another 8 lbs.  I forgot the camera in the mayhem of this morning, so all I was left with was the video camera on my iphone.  At least I got it recorded though.  I will "beg" pictures off of some of the other moms.

Whiner McWhiner

I've been doing this a lot lately.  I've caught the whining bug from my kids.  I feel terrible that my husband has had to endure me over these last months, so instead of calling him and ugly crying into the phone, I turn to the interweb.  I'm not a great pregnant person.  I don't glow.  I don't have a perma-smile.  I'm lucky if I dry my hair and actually put street clothes on.  I'm walking sorta pigeon-toed these days because of the pain.  I've become seriously neurotic (more so than when I'm not pregnant).  My hips pop all the time.  My stress levels are off the charts (it all should have been done yesterday).  The third trimester nausea is seriously going to do me in.  My mind has so many grand plans, but my body won't sync with it.  I want to drink Dr. Pepper all the time, but I don't want my baby turning into a caffeine dependent high strung crying thing.  There's only room for one of those in our house and I sit comfortably on that throne right now.  Fighting the exhaustion is exhausting.  I'm swelling.  I can't wear my wedding ring anymore **tear**.  Spider veins. ew.  I just want to feel human again...**Deep breath in... aaannnd exhaling**

So now that I've let off some steam, these words have been on loop in my head all day long, "I think I can, I think I can, I think I can."  Sometimes this phrase ends in question marks, other times exclamation points.  Sometimes it comes in a whisper, sometimes in a shout.  But one thing is certain.  I can and will make it through.  Life is good.  We are blessed.  Soon, we will have Talon and this time will be a distant memory.  I still don't feel any different than I did at the beginning of this post.  I still hurt and stress and worry, but I can deal.  I know I can, I know can, I know I can.   

Girl's Overnighter

My friend Chrissy and I recently went on an overnight trip to Charlotte, NC.  So. Much. Fun!  We raided IKEA, Homegoods, and the South Park Mall where there was an Anthropolgie, Pottery Barn, and some other stores that were way overpriced.  We got lost trying to find the van Friday night (at the mall), so we approached a security guard who actually drove us to our vehicle because of my "condition".  Yay for being pregnant (for once)!  So come to find out Usher and Akon were in the Mall when we were.  It was actually really dead for a Friday night and I seriously wouldn't have been surprised to find out that I walked right by them without noticing.  I was a woman on a mission that weekend and shopping tends to block out everything else. :)  Chrissy and I didn't get to bed until the wee hours of the morning, so I was blown away to find myself waking up after 9 am on Saturday morning.  Whoa!  That seriously hasn't happened since my Rick's Days.  We got ready relatively quickly because we were approaching check out time and I know Matt wouldn't have been very happy with me if I got another night charged on the bill for over sleeping...  So off we went... to....  IKEA!  I love that place!  I love their prices.  I love their cafeteria...  I love their bathrooms.  I went there with a purpose though.  I've been in the process of re-doing the boys' bedroom to accomodate all 3 of them.  So far so good.  I'll post pictures of the finished product soon.  We're on the last leg of completion.  They will actually move in there this weekend.  yay!  Then onto getting the baby's room put back together... and then onto the playroom... okay I've gone off on a couple tangents...   So girl's vacation.  Great shopping, great company, great eating, and great spending!  Couldn't have asked for a better break!!

Our haul.  It was quite impressive if I may say so myself.  There was a significant amount of planning and preparation that went into this trip, by the way. :)