T-Ball!

T-ball started today. Cooper is a member of the Pirates with Coach Sweat. They have practice twice a week until March and then games once or twice a week. The coaches PITCH the ball (holy cow!) three times and if the batter misses, they set up a tee. The Pirates have a team of 9, including two girls. Cooper was in HEAVEN and kept turning us to tell us how well he was doing. ;) Samantha stood at the fence, hands gripped on the chainlink, telling "GO Coops!!!" and "YEAH Cooper!!!!". Overall, today Phil felt like a competitive dad in heaven teaching his boy to play ball, Samantha was a proud sister watching her big brother manuver around the bases and I was an emotional mom wondering where the last four years have gone!!!! It was GREAT and we look forward to many more fun days at the ball-field.

Along with new sports comes expense and challenges. I went on a tee-ball equiptment hunt last week and this is what I found:

shoes- the smalles tee-ball shoes they make are size 10, Cooper is an 8 1/2.

glove- we now have 3 b/c I have NO clue how to put them on Cooper and kept thinking the ones we had were too big and that we needed more.

pants- finally I found xtra xtra small baseball pants at Sport's Authority....still too big but they will do.

socks- holy cow baseball socks are hard to get on a 4 year old and they are thigh high!!!!

bat- apparently there are about 10 sizes of bats to choose from....then you pick color, material and brand. Phew, we settled on a green one.

sweat bands- yes, by special request of my son, I found kid sweat bands! How does he even know about sweat bands and why does he love them?????

bag- I had NO clue you have to have a special bat bag.....so that was purchased 30 minutes prior to practice today. Then at practice all the kids had their bags hanging on the fence....ours has no hanger. Back to the store.......

There are balls, a tee, bases, etc. in our collection! All I have to say is "Thank-you mom and dad for allowing us to try so many different sports! I had NO clue the money and time involved!!!!".

How many dollars?

Cooper: "How many dollars does a baby boy or a baby girl cost?"

Mom: "Babies do not cost money. When a mom and dad get married they ask God for a special baby. God puts the baby in the mommy's belly to grow with their love and then the baby comes out and is part of their family."

Cooper: "But I do not want a baby in a belly! I want a baby on the floor that I can teach to walk."

Mom: "Do you want another baby in our family? It would have to be in mommy's belly first."

Cooper: "Well......I guess I could have it in my belly."

Mom: "Cooper, the baby would have to be in my belly. You have to go to school and stuff and your belly is too small right now. But thank you sweetie."

Oh geez.....what is he getting us into. Just kidding folks....there is NO talk of #3. Just a cute conversation with Cooper that had to be shared. :)

Disney Memories

I am not sure what it is but I am OBSESSED with getting pictures with as many characters as possible when we go to Disney World. Sometimes I think it drives Phil crazy and then other times I see his competitive drive kick in and get into it as well (like when we were running into a back room to find the hidden Mickey). I would say we were very successful this past weekend.....

"The car tried to crush us!"

Yesterday I loaded the kids up for our weekly trek to Orlando. We were headed here to spend Friday at Disney World with Jennifer, Mason and kids. I was planning on leaving after naptime but ended up heading out about 11....what a mistake!

The trip was uneventful and the kids were even asleep (Cooper says he was just falling asleep) when all hell broke loose. I was traveling in the middle lane on I-4, only one exit away from our apartment! While on the phone with my mom (I know, BIG mistake...no more talking and driving), I felt a small bump on my back bumper and then heard a VERY loud noise. After the noise, I threw the phone down, looked back at the kids and tried to manage the CRAZY car over to the middle of the highway. The car was shaking (trying to slow from 70mph to 0), I was shaking and the kids looked like they had seen a ghost! After getting to the side of the road, I got out and started FREAKING out!!!! I checked the kids, left them bucked in and made a few calls. I could see a badly damaged car on the other side of the road a few yards back.

About 3 minutes later a wonderful lady, Lisa, pulled up behind me in her van. She had been traveling behind me (after getting a new puppy at a breeder) and saw the whole thing. She pulled off to check on the girl that hit me first (she thought the girl passed out) and then came to me. She called the police and calmed me down. Lisa even had her daughter bring the sweet puppies to see the kids. ;)

Apparently a young girl, Meagan, was trying to get behind me and there was not enough room. She knicked my bumper, headed back into the middle lane and completely lost control of her vehicle. At this point her car spun around and she headed front first into my passenger side. Unfortunately she was taken by ambulance to the hospital. I hope she is ok!!!

The firetrucks, ambulance and police all came to the scene....providing entertainment for the kids. My car had $7000 worth of damage and will need the entire right side replaced. It is truely a miracle that none of us were hurt. We are counting our blessings and thanking our guardian angels for this! The EMT's were so impressed by how my van took a 70mph impact and how we were able to get to the side without rolling. Not sure how we did that or if I could ever again but maybe I will never need to!!!!!

We truely learned a lesson today! There was no way for me to have avoided this situation but it is just a reminder to always be buckled in, aware of your surroundings and prepared for anything! Once again, we feel so blessed!!!!!!

The past

I was looking through old pictures yesterday and decided to scan a few. Wow, what a great 31 years I have had!!!!

(my dad, brother and I Christmas 1977)

(Ken and I at Aunt Beverly's wedding)

(Ken and I celebrating Chinese New Year)

(Ballet on Signal Mountain, a chickdee)

(Camping with the Kensingers)

(Cheerleading and Soccer for MVS, senior year)

(Phil and I at Sigma Pi Banquet, senior year of college...6 weeks after we met)

(My teaching interview for Isle of Hope Elementary, 2000)

(Murphie graduates obedience school, LOL)

(June 28, 2003)

Most of all, thanks Mom, Dad, Ken and Phil for these wonderful memories.

The end....

I have had www.ohsewcreative.com since Samantha was a few months old. I have always enjoyed sewing and crafting for kids. Many of my friends operate businesses from home as well, making some extra money allowing us to maintain our lifestyle as stay-at-home mothers. I participate in holiday craft shows, sell to friends and by word of mouth. While it takes loads of time, I enjoy it. Yes, I have said recently that I want to cut back but NO, I did not want to stop!

On another level, I enjoy buying things at children's boutiques. Yes, the clothes at Gap Kids are cute but there is nothing like the cute t-shirts and stuff you find online or in private children's shops. I do not want that to go away.

What am I talking about? http://www.newsday.com/business/ny-bzkids0102la,0,7628483.story A new law will go into effect on Feb. 10th. It will now be ILLEGAL to sell ANYTHING to children, for children, etc. that has not been tested for lead and other dangerous chemicals. YES, I think this is smart. But does anyone see what will happen here? My local boutiques (Popin and Hobby Horse) are closing their doors. I am closing www.ohsewcreative.com. My friends are limiting their crafting. I understand that items need to be tested and safe for our children. However the only stores who will be able to afford to do such a thing are ones like Walmart and Target. Do I want to buy all my children's items from Walmart? NO!!!!!!

Can I still craft and "give" it away....I sure hope so. But for now, I have to sit tight and see what happens. I know many.....MANY......moms and friends who will have to look for other sources of income now. In this horrible economy when people are just trying to make ends meet....is this really what we need? What about crafting with items that HAVE been tested and labeled? I think the answer to that is even NO...unless I personally test and lable the final product. UGH!

I will keep you posted.

Little Comedian

Last night the kids were tucked in bed (they share a room when we are in Orlando). They were talking themselves to sleep and making sure to NOT get out of bed (dad's rule). Phil was listening at the door when he heard Samantha's joke:

Why does the princess dinosaur not bite me?

Because she has a paci in her mouth!!!!!!

Great, even her JOKES have paci's in them. We are in such trouble.

Annual Passes

Well....we did it! I broke down today and bought annual passes (times 3, Samantha is free) to Walt Disney World; the happiest place on Earth! This time in Orlando will bring many challenges for our family. However, with those challenges will come LOTS and lots of fun times full of memories, including trips to Disney World.

Starting on Friday, we will meet the Couvillon's at Epcot for fun and a princess dinner. I am looking forward to watching the kids with their cousins at Disney. Then in February we will hit the parks with my parents, Dede and Papa. In March, Phil's parents, Grandma and Grandpa, with Sarah will come for a week! We cannot wait for all of the fun.

From the mouths of babes

Cooper's good friend Logan fell off his bike and broke his arm. So, Logan has a cast. I was just listening to the kids in the tub and Cooper had a washcloth on his belly. He was telling Samantha "This is my cast shirt." Samantha said "I do not have one!". Then Cooper, in a very big brother tone, replied "well, if you fall and break your belly, the doctor will give you one." I love to listen to their sweet conversations.

Today in the grocery store we went down the baby aisle to get shampoo. Samantha saw the pacifiers and said "I think I need new pacis because mine are broken." Do you think she is too old for pacis since she can verbally tell me in a complete sentence that she needs more????? I think we have a problem....

Winter in Florida

Winter in Florida is one of my favorite things about living here. The sun usually shines, the weather is in the 60-70's and a breeze usually blows. We can play outside, enjoy the beach and go for walks without dying in the heat! While everyone else is scraping snow and throwing another log on the fire, we are saying "Ahhhhhh, another nice day!". Maybe you should come visit!

2009

Every year people set New Year's resolutions but how many really stick to them? I know year after year I have resolved to not gossip and to lose weight....both good ones. This year I decided to make some New Year's resolutions that were very meaningful to me, could be measured and something I have wanted to do for a while now.

While Ken, Dawn, Phil and I enjoyed an AMAZING dinner on New Year's Eve we decided to set goals, write them down, break them into manageable parts and meet quarterly (through skype) to check on our progress. SO, this year if I do not hold up my end of the bargain, I will be the one on the quarterly calls feeling silly.

On December 31st, 2009....if I do what I want to do......Cooper will be reading (right after his 5th birthday), Phil and I will have booked a return trip to our honeymoon location (Peter Island) and my family will be healthy.

1. We will save $2000 or more EACH quarter and book a trip to Peter Island for summer 2010. This will be the celebration for 16 month of living apart (Orlando and Jacksonville) and for 6 wonderful years of marriage.

2. I will teach Cooper to read. Hey, this is what my master's is in so it should not be too hard, right? HA!

3. We will limit and then completely eliminate processed foods from our diets. I will start cooking more whole food and stop buying boxed dishes. It is really the hydrogenated oil I want to avoid while also making our family healthier while setting groundwork for good eaters in the future. And when I can, I will buy organic.

Seems like I can do this, right? I vow to check in quarterly and update you on our progress. So, what are YOUR New Year's resolutions?????