The Sunflower?

Sharon occasionally talks in her sleep. Here is what transpired last night as I was watching t.v. and she was sleeping.

Sharon: (she stretches her fist out, right in front of my face) and says: "Look at my sunflower?"

Brian: "Huh???"

Sharon (again, fist in front of my face), "Look at my sunflower?"

Brian: "I don't see any sunflower. where is it?"

Sharon: (with fist in Brian's face) "In the hole!"

Brian: (I then stick my finger in the hole and Sharon starts waving her arms and tucks them underneath her body.

Sharon: (mumbles incoherently....)

Brian: "where's your sunflower?"

Sharon: "WHAT?!!"

Brian: CONFUSED!

Ice Cream and CRYING?

Who would of thought that a Blue Bell Moo bar (vanilla ice cream covered with a chocolate shell) could evoke a hysterical crying tantrum.

But it did!

As Camden was eating his ice cream S-L-O-W-L-Y, it broke apart and fell off the stick. He told me it was "broke" and "fix it plea (please)". I calmly tried to explain that I couldn't fix it and he should just eat it. That clearly wasn't an acceptable answer to him and it got ugly real quick. He was screaming hysterically while holding both halves of his ice cream in his hands. I repeated over and over to hurry up and eat the ice cream. You know what happened next. Yes, the ice cream melted and the tantrum reached epic proportions.

It was not a pretty sight! Next time we will just stick to ice cream in a bowl!

Camden's BIG, BIG 2nd birthday!!!

Wow, has it been two years already?

It just seems like yesterday that I went outside to dry our dogs muddy feet off and my water broke. Calmed panic started as I tried to contact Brian at church and was having no luck. In between making phone calls to the doctor, my parents and the church, I picked up the house and started a load of laundry. Brian was finally contacted and rushed home in a panic to find me sitting on the couch not ready to go. After unsuccessfully trying to convince Brian that the baby was not coming RIGHT NOW, we got in the car and drove to the hospital anyway.

Memories of that night: Arrival at hospital - 7:30 p.m., Labored for 14 hours, 9 of those without drugs. Brian slept 13 1/2 hours of the labor. I never slept!!! Pushed for 1 hour and was told I had at least another hour to go. I got MAD (because I was not going to push for 4 hours as with Noah) and Camden Ryan was born 15 minutes later at 9:54 a.m. on April 24, 2004.

Camden personality is a lot like his mother's two years later. He is a VERY determined little boy. He does not take "no" for an answer. You can not change his mind once it is made up. He has an infectious joy-filled laugh that makes you smile and laugh along with him. He also has a sly grin that lets you know he is about to test limits. He is adventurous and always willing to try tasks beyond his physical ability and succeeds with little or no trouble. He is loving and tender hearted. He loves his dog "Gray-Gray" (Gracie) and is afraid of remote controlled trucks. He is attached to "blue" his favorite blanket and he put his "ba" (pacifier) in the trash two weeks ago. He lays down in his bed and falls right to sleep without crying or getting out of bed. He wakes up happy and ready to go full throttle. He loves his "yo-yo" (yogurt), milk, cup with "ice", all fruits and most vegetables. His favorite words are "BIG, BIG, BIG, BLUE KRUCK!" (truck)

We celebrated Camden with a party at the park, ala "big, big truck" theme. The afternoon was filled with friends and family playing on the playground, eating cake and ice cream and watching Camden open his presents.

"Thank you Jesus for the blessings you have bestowed upon Brian and I. We are humbled that you find us worthy of parenting Camden. As we celebrate his life, we give thanks to a god who gave his son's life for us. You are an awesome god." Amen

Hot Dogs, Donuts.... What's next?

He's not divulging exact numbers but he will say it was no less than 12 donuts consumed in an 8 hour period. Breakfast, pre-lunch, lunch, post-lunch, and just because!

Say a little prayer for Brian's stomach today.

What is your limit?

Easter Egg Hunt Pictures

Here are some great pictures courtesy of Tiffany. Thank you!!!!

Easter Weekend

Here are a few highlights from the weekend:

Good Friday- We enjoyed having Brian off work for the day. Brian typically plays catch-up with the "honey-do" list on his days off, and this day was no exception. After completed, the rest of the day was spent coloring easter eggs, playing outside on the swing-set, in the sandbox, riding bikes, hitting baseballs, etc. Sharon found time to go get a new shorter, sassy, different colored hairdo. As evening rolled around, Sharon and the kids visited her parents church to hear her parents sing with their choir. It was a very moving dramatic performance that ended with all the lights out while you exited the sanctuary. Brian played with our church band at another service across town.

Saturday - Brian and my parents brought the kids to the Easter egg hunt that Sharon, Uncle Mark and Tiffany helped to put on through our church. It was a huge success!!! There were probably about 150+ people who came out to do crafts, play games, eat a snack, listen to the Easter story and then hunt for eggs. It was a great outreach project for many from the community who came and participated.

After the hunt, we came back to the house for more fun playing outside. Sharon started tackling the project of painting Camden's dresser and night-stand and was excited to see what it will look like finished. After a steak & potato dinner, we all hit the sack in anticipation of the Easter Bunny's arrival.

Easter Sunday - 6:00 a.m., the Easter Bunny had been heard on the roof hopping and woke Noah up. Noah & Camden found lots of treats left for them as well as lots of eggs hidden. The Easter Bunny actually hid real eggs and Camden had a joy throwing them on the ground, cracking them. (Mommy will be making egg salad real quick!) We all got dressed and off to church we went.

After church, we headed to my parents house, where we enjoyed ribs, brisket, potatos, salad, deviled eggs and strawberry shortcake with ice cream for dessert. We had good fellowship with my parents, Aunt Wendy, Uncle Mark and "Aunt" Tiffany.

After Lunch, the "little" boys drove their RC truck around outside and tried to fly a kite. Camden's mission was to run wild outside, which would have been fine if he had kept his hat on (it was only a balmy 95 degrees!) But noooo, he would run off and someone would have to chase after him to put the hat on. On my turn to chase, I did a not so graceful tackle of Camden that scored a nice BIG scrape on my knee and lots of dirt all over me. Afterwards, Noah watched "Chicken Little" while Camden went exploring inside Nana's house.

The "big" boys, watched as dad drove out his new tractor complete with wagon carrying shotguns and a clay pigeon thrower. They had a good time shooting clay pigeons out in the yard. Tiffany is quite a shot and much tougher than I. After watching for awhile, I thought I would give it a try. The shotgun was much heavier than it looked and took quite a bit of strength for me to hold up. After a quick lesson, I yelled "ok" to release the clay, aimed and fired. I did not hit the clay, but was close. I did however, scream, get knocked backwards and think my arm was going to be ripped off! That is the most insane sport I have ever been apart of. There is no fun in pain! One time was enough for me!

Camden sacked out in the car at 6:00 p.m. and slept until 7:00 a.m. Monday morning. Noah came home to eat everything in sight because he wouldn't eat at Nana/Papa's house because he might miss something. It was a great weekend and we wish your family a Happy Easter!

A couple of "Moments" from today

Why is it that when you don't feel well, talk on the phone or HAVE to get something done that the kids decide to forget all their manners and turn into uncontrollable strangers. I had a few of those such "moments" today, that I am trying to forget.

First, I awoke not feeling so well. Being a mom, that is not really an option and makes trying to get through the day even more trying than usual. I should have known it was going to be one of those days when Noah was already sitting in time-out at 7:15 a.m.

We drove up to the church so that I could have a short conversation with the pastor and collect a craft project that I was going to cut out for the church Easter egg hunt this Saturday. Well, I showed up in the office with two children that I know I did not give birth to. Plain and simple, they were out of control! Standing on chairs, turning the lights on & off, touching everything in sight, being dis-respectful while her and I were trying to talk, etc. I was simply not fast enough or smart enough to keep a step ahead of them today. It was a very humbling experience.

Next, we headed off to the grocery store. I just think the carts that resemble fire trucks are the greatest thing since sliced bread. They totally entertain my kids and make shopping so much easier. Today, that was not the case. As I was walking done the wine/spirits aisle, ( I was just passing through the aisle, not buying anthing) there was a woman standing checking out the different wines. Noah yells out "Move out of the way, Lady!" To say I was mortified would be an understatement. I quickly said, "Noah, we say excuse me". His reply was "whatever". I know he didn't learn that from me! At this point, I should have just bought a bottle of wine and maybe things would have been better. Just kidding.

It has been a very long day. I am looking forward to 8:30 p.m. BEDTIME!!!

I WANT OUT!

Brian and I awoke at 6:25 a.m. to that phrase being uttered by Camden, who was laying on the floor of his room peaking underneath the closed door. We both layed in bed pondering if that is what he really said or were we dreaming it. (clearly, he has never said this before)

Camden must have been reading our minds because he said even louder, "I WANT OUT". It couldn't have been any clearer, what were we thinking?

Catching up

All my shopping excursions have paid off with the kids. A big boy bed was purchased for Camden this weekend as well as his new bedding. The above picture shows the bed, however his is a wood color without the side rails. I have decided to do a wild west theme, with the above print as the inspiration. He is going to have a denim comforter with red/ecru check sheets and accented with the cowpoke pillow and a chocolate brown pillow. I have lots of painting to do in the next three weeks. His dresser, night-stand and walls of his room will all be a different color. I can't wait to see the finished product.

Noah had two soccer games this weekend, with one of them resembling an actual game. The kids were really doing great stopping the ball and turning the ball around and kicking it in the correct direction. It is fun to watch your child's personality come out in sports. Noah is a very cautious child who also happens to be a "follower". He wants to do whatever his buddy is doing and if he could, he would even try to stand in the same space that his buddy is occupying.

We have had a host of doctor's appt's last week and this week. Brian, hopefully is on the mend. He says he feels like Superman on steroids. After this second round of antibiotics, we are hoping that his throat feels better.

I have been to the doctor as well and will go back for tests this week. Hopefully I will have some answers fairly soon as to what is causing me pain.

The dogs have not been exempt from the doctor's office either. Gracie has been three times in the last week fighting allergies. After a shot in the hiney she is feeling better temporarily. She seems to be allergic to grass and pollen. Poor thing was so miserable.

Hope everyone's weekend was great. We are looking forward to Easter and spending time with family.

Shopping

Shopping with kids adds a whole different dimension to motherhood. I use to love to shop. I still enjoy it, however it is a bit more of a challenge with two in tow. I have never let having kids stop me from doing what I want or need to do to. I just wait a little longer before I have to shop and make ALL of my stops at one time. Some of you know what I am talking about.

After I dropped Noah off at pre-school today, Camden and I went shopping. I have started shopping for a bed and bedding for Camden's big boy room. I thought I had found the right bed today, however, after talking to Brian tonight I am more confused than ever. Children's bedding... you've got to be kidding! There are a thousand different options to choose from. I had wanted to get something that he could use until he was 10 or 11, but then I look at all the cute toddler bedding! My head is spinning!!!

On a postivie note... I ordered Camden's 2nd birthday cake today. It is so cute. I had no problem picking out which cake would be perfect for Camden. It is a 3-D truck cake. He LOVES TRUCKS!!! I can't wait to post pictures after the party.


I am going to venture out shopping tomorrow with both kids. I know am temporarily insane! Wish me luck.

Family Fun = Total BLAST!!!

After recovering from the stomach virus on Friday, Sharon felt well enough to venture out and try camping with the family and the church sunday school class. We all loaded in the car and drove the 70 miles to Lake Texoma. We pitched our tent and then went to have some fun. We had a TOTAL BLAST watching the kids have fun. They played on the playground, went for a hike and pitched rocks in the lake, Camden emptied the eggs out of the cooler (thankfully they were hard-boiled) and Noah tried to avoid coming into contact with any of the living creatures that the other kids were collecting. We always knew where Camden was... with the food! That child ate more than all of us combined. At one point, Brian had filled his plate with food, set it down in his chair and walked off to get a drink. Camden took the five Oreo cookies and shoved them into his mouth and Brian didn't realize they were gone for about 5 minutes. All that was left was a black mustache on Camden's face.

We settled in for the night and everyone fell asleep in the tent relatively easily for being our first time camping together. I never realized how loud it is to sleep outside. The wind blowing is louder than you think. We could hear a train in the distance, boats on the lake and coyotes howling. The second TOTAL BLAST came when at about 3:00 a.m. Noah woke Brian up to tell him he needed to go the bathroom. After much discussion about how far it is and we would have to take the car to get there, Noah just threw-up all over the tent!

Soooo... we all got in the car and went to the bathroom. At the bathroom, Brian said he wasn't feeling so well either. We made the decision to pack everything up and go home so that they could be sick at home. At 3:30 a.m. we disassembled a 30 foot tent, air mattress, pack & play, sleeping bags, chairs, bags, toys, games, etc. and loaded everything in the car. During the loading process, Sharon had an encounter with a living creature in the woods that she will not soon forget. We also managed to pack and leave without waking any other campers up.

I wish I could say the trip home was uneventful, but I can't. Noah was sick about every 15 minutes, Brian left his stomach some where along the highway in Van Alstyne, Texas and we shared the car ride with lots of living creatures we picked up in the State park.

Some good news to report... Noah is feeling better as of 5:00 p.m. Sunday. Brian, on the other hand is not doing so well. He is having trouble getting out of bed and is very weak. He also is not thrilled with nurse Sharon telling him he "must drink more fluids". This will not deter us from future camping trips. We will be sure to pack lots of extra clothes and towels on our next trip.

We had a TOTAL BLAST!