Cinderella and Her Cowboy

I must admit, each year that passes does only get better!  Ben and I both agreed that 3 & 6 are the perfect ages to have fun trick-or-treating.  We enjoyed hitting up all of the festivities.  We started off at Publix (actually because we needed cash, and I thought the lighting would be good for pictures).  We were amazed at how entertaining trick-or-treating at our local Publix could be - they had booths and games set up all around the store and they had the BEST candy and treats!  After we left Publix, we headed next door to our church to participate in Trunk or Treat.  We ate Chick-fil-a, enjoyed a hay ride, jumped on inflatables, roasted marshmellows and of course got lots of candy!  Then we whisked the kids off to Gigi and Papa Joe's house, where the kids surprised them by knocking at their door.  We ended the night at the Barber's house where we trick-or treated in their neighborhood, enjoyed yummy treats and the kids had even more fun handing out the candy (We all witnessed first hand, that it is better to give than receive). 

Fun Quotes of the Night:

Andrew to the Trick-or-Treaters:  "Would you like 2, 3 or 5 candies?"

Kids (mostly teenagers by this time of night):  Umm...can I have 1 - thank you (looking up at all of the adults).

Caroline: Walking down the neighborhood streets, reciting Isaiah 40:31 in her most boisterous voice, "but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary..." This is her verse from kindergarten that she was reciting for us.  And once she saw people were listening, she only belted it out louder (Ben and I just chuckled and beamed with pride).

Caroline: "You know what they say, Halloween is just a fun time of make believe, or a bigger way of saying it, is that it is "fiction...it is not real."

By the end of the night, Andrew was so tired (missed nap getting ready for all the festivities) that
on the ride home after 9:00 p.m. he started crying and said, "Trick-or Treating was no fun.  I don't like Halloween anymore.  I had nooo fun." 

We all chuckled at his sleepy talk, considering he had such a good night.  He chatted to all of the adults and kids alike.  He enjoyed running door to door (and for the first time, Ben and I were able to let the kids run up to the doors alone).  He really had the BEST time and enjoyed every minute of it!

We really had a great time as a family last night.  As we strolled through the neighborhood and watched our two running up to doors, giggling and waving bye and thank-you as they accepted candy, Ben and I looked at each other and both felt very BLESSED.

Elephant In The Room

That akward moment when you take your child to a classmate's birthday party and realize your child is the only child NOT wearing a costume (heartbeat begins racing...now!). As I held Caroline's hand and the other kids came into sight, I quickly realized my cute, little 6 year old was about to be in tears...and there was absolutely NOTHING I could do to prevent the tears from flowing (stomach sinks, I shrink in composure).

Yep, this was our Saturaday evening fun.  Caroline was invited to a birthday party at a park that is about 25 minutes from our house.  We arrive to discover, it is a costume party.  The invitation was sent home in her school bag.  It was a "Brave" store bought invitation.  The kind where you simply fill-in the blanks.

With Caroline hanging on my leg and on the brink of tears, I walk us down to the pavilion to speak to the other moms.  Immediately, I say, "Well, I guess I missed something.  Is this a costume party?"  I am feeling like the worst mom in the world at this moment.  The other moms get out their invitations and say, "Yes, it said it on the invitation, but it was written on the other side.  You probably just missed it."  I start out saying, "I'm pretty positive ours didn't have that on it"...when I realize the mother of the birthday girl is overhearing the conversation and Caroline who is now sobbing from embarrasement.  She says to me, "Oh, I didn't think to remind folks since I put it on all of the invitations."  Thankfully, I tamed my tongue and just turned to Caroline where I proceeded to apogize and tell her Mommy had messed up and I was sooo sorry. 

I wanted to run to Wal-mart and buy her a costume.  Fix the situation.  Make it all better.  But, I knew that wasn't the best option.  I told Caroline that she had a choice to make: We could stay at the party and she could have fun with her friends, OR we could just go home.  About this time the other kids ran up and were begging Caroline to come and play (thankfully, no one said, "where's your costume?" Or "what are you suppose to be?").

The mother of the birthday girl, then remembered her daughter's costume had a cape that she was not wearing.  She asked Caroline if she would like to borrow it, and Caroline said through tears, "yes."  Next thing I know she is off running and playing and having a great time with her friends - whew, Ben and I are relieved!

Of course, the first thing I did when we arrived home - check the invitation...

And I'll have you know, "Wear a costume" was no where to be found!! 

Thankfully, Caroline fell asleep on the way home from the party.  And I opted to just let the whole fiasco rest with her, hoping she doesn't remember the time Mommy "messed up"...(BUT, not really).

Hooray for Fall!

I must admit FALL is my favorite time of the year.  I love the crisp cool nights, watching the leaves turn their beautiful hues, going for picnics at the park, long walks, s'mores, hayrides, pumpkins, hot tea and everything else that comes with this time of the year!

Dare I Enter?

This weekend I took the time to actually "read" the free Parents magazine that arrives each month.  As I got to the end of the magazine, I commented to Caroline that I love reading the last section of the magazine where kids are quoted saying all kinds of silly things.  Caroline asked me to read the comments out loud, and so I did.  We both chuckled at the funny things 2-6 year olds have to say.

Then Caroline asked if she had ever said anything funny enough to send in.  And so I thought for a moment and two comments quickly came to mind -

Caroline, age 2

Checking in on Caroline while she was down for her afternoon nap, I noticed that she was not asleep yet.  I asked her, "Why aren't you asleep?"  She quickly replied, "Because my eyes are open, Mommy!" Duh!


Caroline, age 4

Driving through downtown Atlanta, I pointed out the state capitol to my 5 year old daughter.  Her response back, "If that's the "capital" then where's the lower case?"  We both laughed.

Who knows, you may see one of these in print one day.  Perhaps I'll actually submit them.

And Now She Knows!

Last Wednesday on the way to church,  Caroline was talking about babies.  She has never been into baby dolls, but lately she has developed a new love for them.  With her new interest comes many questions.

Caroline:  Mommy, what was it like when they cut your tummy to get me out?

Me:  (thinking uh, how do I put this and where is this conversation going)
Well, I didn't actually have my tummy cut.

Caroline:  If they didn't cut you, then how did I get out?

Me: (gulp, here goes)  You actually came out down "there"

Caroline:  You mean out of your "bottom?"  (yes, she still refers to her girl part as her lil' bottom)

Me:  Yep, out of your bottom.

Caroline:  And Andrew too?  (giggles)

Me:  Yep, and Andrew too.  (I begin to wonder what the next question or thought from Caroline will be).

Caroline:  Well, I hope you didn't pee on me!  And I'm glad I wasn't in the room when you had Andrew - You might have pooped on him (explosion of giggles).

I conclude the conversation and use it as a teachable moment (hoping she won't go sharing her new knowledge with all of her friends).  She went on to ask the obvious question, "How in the world does a baby fit out of here (pointing to herself)?"  and, "Will I be able to fit a baby out of me one day?"

I tell her that yes, God specially designed our bodies so that when it is time for us to have a baby, our bodies naturally stretch in all the right places.  This is yet another amazing blessing from God!

She seems happy with my answers and we move on to the next subject and then park and run into Mission Friends.  I on the other hand, walk away from the car thinking, thank you God for providing me with all the right words and for the moment I just got to share with Caroline.  I pray we can always be so open with our communication and that she never hesitates to come to me with her questions.  I just love that lil' girl - even if she does make me giggle (and wiggle just a little on the inside)!

Don't Blink!

Teach me to number my days
And count every moment before it slips away
Taking all the colors before they fade to gray
I don't want to miss even just a second more of this . . .
It happens in a blink;
It happens in a flash;
It happens in the time it takes to look back.
I try to hold on tight,
but there's no stopping time.
What is it I've done with my life?
It happens in a blink . . .

~BLINK by Revive~

I can't even begin to count the numerous times I have heard this song on the radio.  Each time I hear it different images flood my mind -

 

I pray for a child for a year. BLINK. I am pregnant. BLINK. We find out we will have a daughter.  Her name is chosen.  She will be called "Caroline." BLINK. Caroline is born. BLINK. We are celebrating Caroline's 1st Christmas. BLINK. Caroline says her first word, rolls over, crawls and then walks.  BLINK.  Caroline is one! BLINK. I am pregnant again! BLINK. Andrew is born. BLINK. Andrew is one! BLINK.  We still don't have to worry about kindergarten until "next year." BLINK. "Next year" is here, and Caroline is in KINDERGARTEN! Double Blink. :)

~Idea totally stolen from my bestie, Julie - who did a post like this when her son, Mason went to kindergarten~

By Monday morning, Caroline was very anxious to start kindergarten.  Public schools in Gwinnett County started two weeks back so she was ready for it to be her turn!  Last Thursday, the school held it's kindergarten open-house.  I was very impressed with her new teachers Mrs. Zellner & Mrs. Holcombe.  Mrs. Zellner was the transition kindergarten teacher last year and recently completed her Master's in Education.  Mrs. Holcombe is new to the school but not new to teaching.  She has previously served for years as a kindergarten para-pro in the public school system.

Over the summer, I have doubted our decision to send Caroline to kindergarten at our church many times - doubts that were mainly triggered by other inquisitive parents. They would often ask, where is Caroline going to school?  But, I knew what they were really asking...why are you paying for private kindergarten when you can go to public school for free? (especially when most people know me to be very frugal).   And I must also mention that we live in a great school district and have awesome public schools in Gwinnett County.

Well, here is why...

> I know that my child will only be little for so long.  I desire to spend as much time with her as possible.  A half-day kindergarten program will allow me to ensure she is provided the education she needs while providing me with time I so desire.

> Did I mention the program is a 1/2 day program (9-1) whereas, public schools go a full day?

> I feel like kindergarten is the spring-board to learning.  I want Caroline to be enthusiastic about learning, and I think a smaller environment can help to ensure this.  Plus reading and math foundations are vital to her educational success.  With a student/teacher ratio of 16:2, I am assured she will receive the attention and support she needs.  My decision was further confirmed when I heard that many of the Gwinnett Co schools no longer have para-pros in kindergarten and have 19-23 students and only 1 teacher.  Hence, the reason the church's program only needs to be a 1/2 day - they don't have to start and stop a multitude of times a day, deal with bus/carpool lines, lengthy potty breaks, cafeteria time, etc.

> Speaking of foundations, I love the fact that Caroline will continue to have chapel time each week, learn of God's love for her and be taught in an environment that will help to shape her character to be more like that of Christ.  Not that these things cannot be achieved in public school (given the right teacher and guidance from us), but it is a real plus and might I add comfort to me knowing she is in this environment while she is at school.

> Okay, I admit it... the schedule  just works!  Andrew will also attend the preschool at our church so their drop-off and pick-up times are aligned.  It makes it easy and convenient for myself and all the grandparents.

Well, there you have it - my list of reasons for sending Caroline to North Metro's Kindergarten program.  Please know my heart, and know that none of what is stated above is to condemn public schools or anyone else's education decisions for their child.  I love public school.  I am a product of the public school system and a child of very grateful, retired teacher who survives off a teachers pension :)  My sis-in-law is also one of those GREAT public school kindergarten teachers I mentioned above - which any child would be blessed to have as a teacher & influencer in his/her life.

Okay - well, I know you must be wondering how the 1st day went.

It went exceptionally well!  Caroline slept through the night (Ben and I both predicted she would wake up early over-excited about the first day of school).  We actually had to wake the lil' sleepy head up.  She loved that the night before I painted her finger and toe nails pink.  And upon waking up, immediately looked at her freshly painted nails.

We had not planned to go out for breakfast; however, when Ben asked her what she wanted for breakfast, she exclaimed, "Dunkin Donuts!"  How could I resist - Ben and I are a sucker for their coffee (and what cute pictures it would be)!

After breakfast, the whole family drove to the school.  The first day, we walked her in (carpool starts on Tues).  Caroline walked right in without hesitation, found her hook for her bookbag and then immediately found her seat.  The kids had name strips sitting at their seats and were instructed to decorate them.  Mrs. Z (as she calls herself) told the kids that they would be making the strips into hats to help her and Mrs. Holcombe learn their names.

After that, Ben and I (and Andrew) scooted out of the classroom and were escorted to a special parents breakfast. Such a nice touch! We enjoyed a brief welcome by Mrs. Scates (the Director of the school) and a yummy (homemade, might I add) breakfast.

Ben left for work after breakfast and Andrew and I hung out together until time to pick Caroline up at 1:00.  At pick-up, Caroline still had a smile on her face - and I knew it must have been a GREAT first day!  She chattered all the way home about this new friend and that new friend, centers, playtime, their tour of the facilities...and of course, her special class treat - which she and all the other kids enjoyed!

A Berry Sweet Birthday Party!

The theme for Caroline's 5th Birthday party started many years ago - back when I was a little girl and had my own collection of Strawberry Shortcake figurines. Funny to think that these are now considered vintage toys! Thankfully, my mom saved my figurines and Caroline has enjoyed playing with them at my parents house. Of course, she prefers the new "Sassy" Strawberry Shortcake, but I couldn't plan a Strawberry Shortcake party without including "my girls!" I think for many of the moms at the party, they brought back fond memories.

I really ran WILD with Caroline's 5th Birthday Party this year! The theme started with her mentioning she'd like a Strawberry Shortcake themed birthday party (the day after her 4th Birthday)!

I really enjoy designing my own birthday party invitations (plus it saves $). This invitation was super easy. I just googled Strawberry Shortcake images, grabbed the image I liked best, and added a border and text boxes - Quick & Easy! I then printed onto heavy card stock and bought envelopes at Michael's. Invitations: CHECK!

I started looking for decorations at Party City, Michael's, Wal-mart, etc, but only found slim pickings... so I turned to my "go to" for cute stuff - www.etsy.com. I was so excited to find a downloadable Berry Birthday party template from Dimple Prints that was "just what I was looking for" & the price was perfect (a steal at $10). From the printables, I was able to make a banner, lollipop sticks for the muffins, food labels, signage for the house, and even come up with a fun craft idea! Not bad for $10, eh?

So here are the details you have been waiting for -

1. The Welcome Sign: I used a printable from my awesome etsy find and then visited the Dollar Store for a 50 cent piece of posterboard, pink boa & ribbon. Total cost: around $2, and oh so cute!

2. I borrowed a friends cricut to create these super, cute berry friends (my daughter thought they looked like the Berrykins from the Strawberry Shortcake cartoon). I used this to embellish the banner I made & personalize the decorations.

3. I borrowed this idea from my sis-in-law (thanks!)...I picked up a bag of red & pink polka dot balloons from Hobby Lobby, and decided to just blow up the balloons and forgo the cost of a helium tank. HUGE HIT w/ the kids - they could toss the balloons around, not to mention they were great ground cover for the house and really added to the party decor!

4. I used our outdoor flag stand to hang extra berry pennant sign.

Want more details...I thought you'd never ask!

5. When the guests arrived, we used our playroom as the "holding room" - where the girls colored Strawberry Shortcake pictures while they waited to have their nails painted.

6. All of the guests received rose colored, strawberry glasses - another BIG HIT (Party City find)! We also had a Strawberry Shortcake movie playing in the living room.

7. In the dining room, we had 2 youth painting the girls finger &/or toenails. They really turned out cute! They used red paint as the base, added white polka dots and topped the nails w/ a green stem (Voila! strawberry finger nails for all).

My daughter is crazy, crafty (not sure who she gets it from (Ha!)), so I knew I had to come up with a craft for the party. Who says you can't have a Berry party when Strawberries are out of season? One idea I saw was to have the kids take home a strawberry plant, but since this party was held at the end of August, that was not an option, so we made our "own"strawberry plants - Much More Fun!! First the girls painted their own clay pot, then they took colored craft sticks & glued strawberry pictures to them and last, they got to embellish their pots with pink crinkle grass (Dollar Store find) and fun, berry stickers (clearance at Hobby Lobby).

In addition to making the strawberry pots, we also had a sack race using burlap sacks (borrowed) and had fun with parachutes. The kids also played on the outdoor play equipment. I even pulled out my sewing machine and made, adorable strawberry bean bags; however, we forgot to play the toss game (oh well! they were at least fun to make).

How yummy does this cake look? This is the recipe that my friend's grandmother made for me when I was a child. It turned out GREAT! I did use a strawberry, cream cheese icing recipe to help cut the sweetness.

Creating the menu for the party was very simple. I started off with trying to center the foods around the names of Strawberry Shortcake's friends, but quickly realized they were all "sweet, dessert" names and that wouldn't do! Instead, I just took off w/ the Berry theme! Here is the menu I selected:

Menu for Strawberry Shortcake Party:

Peanut Butter & Strawberry Jam Sandwiches (cut using Pampered Chef press)

Blueberry Muffins (decided to use the cupcake tower to display & add height to the table).

Strawberry Marshmallow Pops (super easy and so Yummy!)

Regular Potato Chips

Tray of Washed Strawberries and Whipped Fruit Dip

Strawberry Applesauce

Pink Lemonade, served in red cups with red fun, straws

Guests left with a good bag (courtesy of Party City) filled with all kinds of Strawberry Shortcake trinkets and candy.

Our Pirate Gets Her Patch!

On April 13th, I took Caroline to a pediatric opthomologist (aka fancy eye doctor). We went to have her eyes re-evaluated after wearing prescription eye glasses for six months. Our optometrist suggested we go see Dr. Salit due to the fact that Caroline is so young and in glasses. Well, the good news is the opthomologist agreed with the optometrist's prescription (20/40 left eye and 20/60 right eye) along with a lazy eye (the right eye) concern. The bad news, the appointement lasted over 2-1/2 hours!! I wish I had a picture of Caroline's eyes when they were dialated - they were quite scary!! The prognosis from this visit was for Caroline to continue wearing her glasses and to patch left eye (aka the better eye) for two months to see if it helps to strengthen her right eye (aka lazy eye).

I wasn't sure how Caroline would take wearing a patch, but we were excited to learn that a company called Krafty Eye Patches specializes in getting children to "want" to wear their patch. I got online and with Caroline's help we ordered purple and pink patches along with glitter jewels (butterflies, hearts & flowers) and laser stickers. Caroline was so excited when her special package arrived!

This is not the best picture of Caroline but it does help to show her excitement. I'll have to add a picture of her with her patch on. She typically wears her patch at home, but we are open to having her wear her patch out in public whenever she suggests it (just in case at the 2 month check-up we find out prolonged use of the patch is in order).

Preschool Easter Party

I was put in charge of Caroline's preschool Easter Party this year. Last year, I was the host for her class Christmas party so I was unable to reuse any ideas. I quickly enlisted the help of a fellow-mother, and together, we planned what I felt was a great Easter event!

I made a menu which included - carved ham, cross hotbuns (if you haven't had these google for the recipe, they are yummy), grapes, cheese blocks, apple slices, mini carrots, and for dessert...

I made Easter Egg Cake Pops. These turned out super cute and yummy too! To display them, I poked them into styrofoam and placed them in an Easter basket. The kids (and parents) loved them. Basically, cake pops are just crushed up cake with icing mixed in and rolled into a ball (an egg in this case) and then they are dipped in chocolate and decorated...Yumm-o-licious!


I was also in charge of finding a craft. I hunted the internet, but found that most crafts centered around the Easter Bunny, and the teacher requested that we focus on a craft that helped to spread the Good News of Easter! I found a jelly bean prayer cross on Oriental Trading that was perfect and a good price...until you add shipping which was more than the craft itself! So with my fellow-mom's help, we made our own. The kids loved dipping their fingers in the paint and hearing what each color represented. We also decided to turn the cross into a fridge magnet (we have ours on our fridge now). We are hopeful that the children shared the cross poem with their parents. Just google Easter jelly bean prayer if you are interested in reading the poem.

Of course, there was an Easter Egg Hunt. Unfortunately, most of the pictures did not turn out so great. It was spitting rain when it was time for Caroline's class to go outside, so her egg hunt had to be done down the hall in the nursery wing. It was nice that they had 2 hallways and probably 5-6 classrooms to use. There were kids and eggs everywhere! My favorite moment was when Caroline turned into the first classroom (until then all of the kids had kept to the hallways), and she yelled to everyone, "Come quick!, I just hit the jackpot!!!"


We ended the party with one of the parents reading the Easter story (in an animated Children's book). The dad chosen to read was so good with the kids and so expressive. Even Andrew sat still for the reading. Caroline was so proud to introduce Andrew to all of her friends, and Andrew loved being included!

Because we had a few minutes left before carpool, we decided to do a quick jelly bean relay race. It was fun watching the kids run as jelly beans spilled all over the floor - until one boy got smart and put his hand over the spoon (hey, we didn't say there were any rules)! Andrew enjoyed being the clean up crew for the dropped jelly beans :)

Prayers from the Mouth of a 4 yr old

Last night at bedtime, after reading Caroline's bible story, singing every song on on our nightly list (and then some), Caroline began to say her prayers. They went something like this...

Thank you God for Mommy, Daddy and Andrew. And thank you for Nana, Papa & Gigi too. Thank you for my friends and please bless every one of them. Thank you also for the aliens in outer space.

Yes, you did read that correct...thank you for the "aliens in outer space." Ben and I couldn't help but chuckle! When I opened my eyes, Caroline was peaking at me through one eye which was partially opened. Yep, that one was added for total SHOCK value!!

A House Divided

I am so far behind on catching our blog up to date that I have just decided to blog events, thoughts, etc that I feel will be a topic of curiousity or conversation when we look back on raising our kids. With this idea in mind, it hit me...one day, Andrew is going to ask WHEN we knew he was a "lefty?"

Ben has grown up a lefty in a right handed world and I have an Aunt who is also a lefty, so we always wondered if our kids were more prone to being left-handed. With Caroline, Ben would always tease that he was going to ensure she was a lefty. He would give her crayons, forks, etc. in her left hand. Of course, most the time she would just switch the item back to her right hand, and I would *smirk at Ben! I can recall asking the Pediatrician many times, at what age or when can you tell what hand is the dominant hand. I was told by age 2, it is pretty much determined. At age 2, Caroline was declared RIGHT handed and joined my team!

Now the home advanatage was secure with 2 girls vs 1 boy and 2 right-handed vs 1 lefty. A few months after this declaration, Andrew came along. He was probably 8-9 months old when we started noticing that he used both hands more than Caroline ever did. But we also noticed that he sucked the fingers on his right hand, leaving his left hand open to grab his blanket, hold a toy, etc. By age 1, we started seeing more of a tendency for him to choose his right hand over his left. At first I thought it was just part of learning and exploring, but later it became more intentional. Right around his first birthday is when we started having him color at the table. If you gave him a crayon in his right hand, he would move it to his left. I also noted that when I was trying to teach him to feed himself, he would always switch the spoon to his left hand. Strange, I thought. Of course, I remembered what the Pediatrician had said when Caroline was young.

Well, now that Andrew is two is it without a doubt obvious that the girls no longer hold a home field advantage. Our house is officially divided 2 girls/2 boys, 2 right/2 LEFT! Ben has told me all about being left handed growing up in a right handed world. To be honest, I never really put much thought into the issue. I have since learned that statistically, it is beleived that only 11% of the world's population is left handed. Wow, I guess it would be hard to adapt... given that we, right handed folks, dominate the world and the ergonomics of life. I guess I am blessed and feeling much more confident, knowing that Andrew has Ben to guide him through the challenges he has ahead of him.

Ben's tips for Andrew so far include:
- Make sure we find him a left handed teacher for preschool (check)
Caroline's 3 yr old teacher, Ms Ginger is left handed - we'll definitely request her
-Make sure Andrew learns to play the guitar right handed or else he will have to always re-string a guitar in order to play it (check)
Ben can be his personal instructor
-Build up a strong left arm and practice pitching everyday.
Left handed pitchers are in demand in MLB :)

Doing the Potty Dance!

Exhausted and tired after an awesome weekend spent with 6th grade girls at our church's Revolution Weekend, I literally drug myself to church last night. As it turned out, I was down for nursery duty in Andrew's class (yeah, me!) so we dropped Caroline off at Cubbie's and Andrew and I went to his class to wait for another Leader and his playmates to arrive.

Walking in the room, Andrew grabbed at his diaper and said, "tee-tee!" Purely amusing myself, I said, "Let's run to the potty." So we did. Once in the bathroom, Andrew pulled at his pants and tried to stradle the potty. To be honest, I thought I don't even know which method to use (I have never trained a boy). I also thought one of two scenarios were about to play out: 1) Andrew's diaper would be wet, and he was just letting me know he went tee-tee or 2) He would go before I could get him on the potty.

After I got his pants down and noticed his diaper was still dry, I set him on the potty and helped ensure there was not a soaker hose sticking out (if you know what I mean)! To my shock and amazement, Andrew tee teed in the potty! Yes, read that again, my baby boy, peed in the potty!! As the tee-tee was coming out, I looked at Andrew and he had the biggest, chester cat grin spread across his face. When he finished he clapped and then grabbed for the toilet paper. I had to explain to him that he didn't need that, but he could stand up and flush the potty.

As we both waved good-bye to the tee-tee, Andrew flushed the potty. And that's when I broke out in my potty dance! I could not have been prouder of him. For those of you that know my experience with Caroline - this was a MAJOR event!! We then left the classroom and spread the word about Andrew's experience. He was high fiving everyone - wish I had a picture of this!

Clearly, I am not saying that he is potty trained but considering we have not even started Day 1 of potty training, this was a HUGE step in the right direction. What Andrew showed me last night is that he is ready to start training. He was able to acknowledge he needed to go tee-tee, tell me, hold it and then deliver upon command -- would I have ever guess I would have experienced this last night, NO! I honestly woke up this morning wondering if I dreamed the whole thing. Thankfully, I did not.

While we will start working with him on this. I will commit to taking the laid back approach - Caroline's potty training days left me stressed, confused, agitated...you name it. I definitely don't want a repeat of those days!

Excuses, Excuses..

We are all still alive and kicking. We have just been extra busy. I hope to get the blog caught back up soon. I will probably go back and do a monthly update to catch everyone back up. This week I am busy, busy with Andrew's birthday party! I still can't believe my baby boy is TWO. I will be sure and update the site with his birthday pictures as soon as we make it through his party this weekend.

Thanks for your patience!
~Barbara

Additional Christmas Card Photos

Anyone who has ever sent a photo Christmas card knows that although one picture makes it onto the card, there are always several shots that are left behind. Here are a few of our out takes:

Location for our photos: We actually took our picture in October this year. Just down from the Appling cabin in Blairsville stands a lone fireplace (the only remains of where a house once stood). I have always thought the fireplace would make a cool photo spot. As we drove away from the cabin this Fall, I looked at Ben and told him I actually had the kids Christmas pjs, and that I had planned to take their Christmas photo at the fireplace down the road...much to my surprise, Ben said, "then let's do it!" So we pulled over and changed the kids into their pjs and did a quick photo shoot before heading home. It was very spontaneous and lots of fun!!

Pictures with Santa

I guess it is obvious what Andrew thought of Santa!!

Best of Fall

Fall came and went quickly this year, and I did not get around to posting any pictures so here is my attempt at catching you up with a few pictures.


We took our annual trip to the cabin in mid-October to enjoy the fall foliage. We visited Brasstown Bald, enjoyed GoldRush in Dahlonega, spent lots of time outside and just enjoyed "playing" together.

This year for Halloween Caroline dressed up as Sleeping Beauty, and we dressed Andrew as "Little Man" complete with a tie, mustache and sport coat. Caroline and one of her bestfriends, Harper, were quite the glamour girls in the Costume Parade at preschool. Caroline waved like she was a beauty queen to all of the parents...it was quite a hoot!

Double Check!

While Caroline was riding with Mrs. Cheri (who keeps our kids on Tuesdays), they were discussing the word "Wolf." Caroline is really into phonics lately so she sounds out and what letter each word begins with. While Mrs. Cheri was driving, Caroline says, "Wwww...olf" wolf starts with a "Y." Mrs. Cheri kindly corrects her and says, "Wwww...olf" actually starts with a "W."

Caroline comments from the back..."ummm...I think you better double check that!"

Picking out Glasses

So after I made myself realize this was not such a BIG deal (and as Caroline would say this was just a "little" deal), I was reminded how thankful we are to have Doctors, Scientists and Engineers who have perfected a way to help the vision impaired. I mean I could be a Mom hearing that my child has some sort of incurable disease, but thankfully this problem has an easy remedy....GLASSES!

Following the vision screening, we met with a girl to pick out Caroline's glasses. Like any other 4 yr old, Caroline immediately ran to the board and found the pair of "PINK" glasses she had chosen before the appointment. I then proceeded to pick out a sleek pair of metal rimmed glasses. Thankfully, the staff member had good sense to pull me aside and remind me that unless Caroline buys into the glasses and likes them, she is NOT going to wear them. I then search the board for a pair that was pink but not so "PINK!" We settled on a pair of plastic frames that are an almost opaque rose color. Caroline seemed happy throughout the fitting of her glasses and was in good spirits the entire process. Of course, I don't know that she realized the impact this appointment would have on the rest of her life!


They said the glasses would take two weeks to arrive, but they actually arrived early. We got a phone call that they were in on Friday, October 22nd. Ben and I decided to make it a family outing so we all went to pick up Caroline's first pair of glasses. We arrived just 30 minutes before closing time, but we were able to pick them up that night. Caroline was just starting to show signs of a cold coming on so she really was not feeling well. She was a great sport and tried on her new glasses for the lady to fit them to her face. She was most excited about buying the Princess glasses case to put her glasses in. As we were leaving, instead of wearing her glasses out of the store, she carried them in her case. I really think she thought getting glasses was a lot of fun, because it provided her lots of special attention! We did not push her to wear her glasses much the first weekend since we knew she was not feeling well. We have been slowly easing into having her wear them more. Currenlty we have her put them on when she sits on the couch to watch television and she carries them to school each day (but I am not so sure how much she is wearing them at school). Of course, the first day all of her friends tried them on and everyone made a big fuss about them.
We are currently starting to experience a little bit of push back on her wearing the glasses. I think she has started to recognize that they make her "different" and she does not like that. We will soon have to start being firmer with requiring her to wear the glasses. I know that she "sees" a difference when she wears them, but she is still trying to get used to the idea of wearing them. I don't think she understands that they are a "permanent accessory."




Here she is in her very FIRST pair of Pink Glasses. We are all having to adjust to "seeing" her differently

Since the time Caroline was about 2 years old, one of her favorite books has been an Arthur book called, "Glasses for D.W." In the book Arthur's little sister, D.W., desperately wants to be big like Arthur and wear glasses.

Although I have read this book many times to Caroline, I did not realize how close we were to experiencing our own, "Glasses for Caroline" adventure!

At Caroline's 4 yr check-up on September 24th, Dr Pitts was going through the drill of all of the different things to watch out for in the coming year. When he mentioned the eyes, he noted that the crossing of an eye or both eyes can be an early symptom for bad vision which can even lead to other eye problems. I didn't say anything at the time since I had both Caroline and Andrew (there for his 18 month appt) in the room, but my mind began racing with doubt about whether I had actually seen this before or not. Upon arriving home and telling Ben about the appointment, I told him the different warning signs to watch out for in the coming year and when I got to the eye crossing symptom, he quickly blurted out, "I've never seen anything like that." I kept quiet for a day or so and then asked Ben to help me watch and see if we notice Caroline's right eye crossing.

I did not think that it was a figment of my imagination, but because it would happen so quickly and only on occassion, I was not sure if what I thought I was seeing was real or not. On occassion when Caroline grew tired -- always late into the evening, I would notice her right eye turning in toward her nose and then with one blink it would be back in place. After a day or two Ben reported that yes, in fact, he had observed her eye crossing.

I took a couple of days to research what this meant and then I did what I think any Mother would do, I found the first Mom I could at church that had a child that wore glasses. I received a recommendation from this friend and immediately called to make an appointment. Low and behold, the recommended Doctor is actually our regular optetrician.

On October the 13th, I picked Caroline up from ballet practice and whisked her and Andrew over to the Eye Doctor. After all of Caroline's shots at her 4 yr appointment, she was a little leary of "Doctors," so I told her we were going to see a "specialist" about "my" eyes....some fibs are okay, right? We got to the Doctor and while we waited we looked at the frames and cases. Caroline picked out a pair of glasses for herself and a pair for Andrew (purely thinking we were just playing). When they called us back, she did well with the video eye measurement screening. I went first and the image was of a barn with a white picket fence. I asked her to take a look at it to see if she could find a pony in the picture? She really liked that. We then were asked to go back to the waiting room.

When the Doctor finally called us back, I referred to him as Mr Ishaque as I quietly pointed to Caroline and told him that I meant no disrespect (He smiled knowingly). The appointment actually went pretty well - aside from Andrew jumping around the room as I tried to help Caroline. Caroline sat on my lap and looked at a bunch of pictures on the screen while holding a paddle to one of her eyes. The pictures were a flashback to 1980's clipart to say the least. I was honestly not sure if Caroline would get some of the images correct since the phone looked like a 1950's telephone (which she has never seen). She did well, but she did a lot better with the left eye than she did with her right.

After the picture recognition portion of the exam, the doctor looked into her eyes with his light and performed a few other tests. Then he looked at me and asked if she has been bumping into things.

This is when my blood pressure surged and my eyes stung with tears. I gasped and said, No, never. He stated that her vision was 20/40 in the left eye and 20/60 in the right. Her right eye was what is defined as a "lazy eye" meaning, that the right eye often does not work efficiently since her brain tells her that the left eye can dominate to allow her to see clearer.

He then told me that Caroline would ALWAYS wear corrective lenses. As hard as it is to admit, this was devestating news to me. I mean we are talking about my 4 year old daughter who has the most beautiful little face and to think she is always going to be hiding it behind GLASSES, huh, excuse me...did I hear you clearly??? Then he went further and said that if the glasses don't help the lazy eye, we will need to patch it.... pause, silence, splitting headache begins to set in.

To Be Continued.....

I've Got My Big Girl Shoes On!

Caroline was having a bad night - acting out, talking back, etc. We were out to eat at Wendy's and Ben finally broke it to her that her attitude and actions had just ruined her chance of getting a frosty. As you can expect this did not go over well, so Ben took her out to the van for a little "chat."

Ben: Caroline, I'm sorry we were unable to get a frosty and had to come out to the car. If I didn't know better, I'd say you are acting like the "baby" in there.

Caroline: But, I'm not a "ba-by" daddy (pause, kicks up her feet)... See daddy, I have my BIG Girl shoes on!! (smile)

Ben: sigh* (smirk)

Caroline: I just act out when I am tired.

We get back to the car and Caroline says: I'm sorry I was acting out Mommy. I'm just kinda tired that's all.

You have to love this age (smile)!