daily conversations with the kids

There are certain conversations that the kids and I have almost on a daily basis, especially when it's a WEE school day for Anthony. So here goes:

About 7:30am

Anthony: Mom, where are we going today?

Me: School

Anthony: I don't want to go to school today! (carried on in his whiny voice most of the time)

Me: You have to go to school

Anthony: Why?

Me: Because you have to learn so you can go to Kindergarten this year

About 8:30

Anthony: I have to poop!!!!!!

Me: Well go but you have to hurry, we have to leave for school in 5 minutes

Anthony: Mom, you can't hurry pooping, it just happens!

8:35

Me: Anthony, are you done yet we have to leave for school

Anthony: Not yet

Then we finally get out the door for school

8:55 as we are getting ready to pull in the parking lot at WEE school

Anthony: I have to poop!

Me: Anthony, you just went before we left the house, can you hold it until after school?

Anthony: No, I'll poop all over myself and then Ms. Babb will be mad at you.

Me: Well let's go but next time make sure you go completely before school because we are not doing this every day at school. You will be late for class.

Anthony: Ok Mom. Let's hurry and get to my class, I can't wait to go to school, it's going to be so much fun.

Me thinking: Wait, didn't we just have a conversation at home about him not wanting to go to school?!

(and it happens again and again. He ALWAYS has to go before we leave home then when we get to WEE school or church or anywhere else we happen to be going for the day)

After dropping off Anthony

Caroline: Let's go see ChaCha and Pam and get some Cheetos

Me: No, I think we are going to go home today, we need to clean up a little bit

Caroline: NNNNOOOOO, I want ChaCha and Cheetos

So 3 days a week after dropping off Anthony we go see ChaCha and get Cheetos. It kills me to give her those that often but there is no putting it off. I have tried and she cried for an entire hour about needing to see her ChaCha and Cheetos. LOL. So we go and she has fun and ChaCha loves to see her. If we miss a day then Charlie is calling wanting to know where I am at. While at Hair Mechanix we also have to go over to Pam's shop for her to see all the dresses and look at the jewelry.

After school:

Anthony and Caroline: Can we go see Nanny?

Most days we do, but if not they are never happy about that either. They want to go see Nanny on her lunch break because she always has snacks for them.

On the way home after seeing Nanny

Anthony and Caroline: I'm hungry

Me: We are on our way home and I'll fix you some lunch

Anthony: I can't wait any longer, I'm starving!

Me: We are only 2 minutes away from home, I think you will live

Anthony: No I won't, I'm gonna starve to death!

These conversations happen on almost a daily basis at our house. There are more that I will post later, jut thought you might find this humerous!!

Here are some pictures from the eyes of a 4 year old. Anthony got my camera last week and asked if he could take some pictures, I thought sure, why not and this is what I got.

Yes, I know Caroline has no pants on. You try getting either of my children to leave clothes on for 5 minutes while we are at home. I'm lucky she is even wearing a shirt.

We had just finished dinner and were getting ready for baths so Caroline's mouth is still dirty and she had pulled her hairbows out already.

Getting water in her cup and drinking it out of the bathtub faucet. I don't know how many times I have told her not to do this but she does it anyway

Guess he thought a picture of my bed was a good idea! Least I had made it up half way that morning! That doesn't happen on a daily basis.

Random picture in the bathroom. Caroline had opened my drawers and gotten out a few things she wanted to play with, like makeup and fingernail polish.

1st lake trip of 2011!

Today was a gorgeous day! We decided since the weather was so wonderful that we would go down to the lake for the day. We don't have our boat ready for the water yet but decided we could still go down and have a great day. We took the kids fishing, knowing that it was probably still a bit cold to catch anything from the dock but knew the kids would still have fun. We only fished for about 30 minutes before Anthony decided that the fish were still "wrapped in their mud blankets" and weren't coming out now. Caroline fished for all of 2 minutes before she was done but all she could talk about all day was "catch a fish, let's catch some fish". She was more interested in walking around the dock and I had to stay right there on top of her because I was afraid she would decide she wanted go swimming. She kept saying "It's not cold, I'll just swim for a minute".

Anthony, the serious fisherman!
Caroline thought the best way to fish was to put the end of the fishing pole in the water.

She was quite mad that her daddy was trying to help her cast it. I think I heard "I got it, I do it myself" about 100 times in the 2 minutes she fished.

Anthony is great at casting all by himself.

We also took the kids to play miniature golf. Anthony loves to play and would play all day, once again, Caroline was interested for about 5 minutes then was done with it. I think they had a great time though, Anthony playing and Caroline just walking around.

The first 3 holes Caroline would hit her ball one time then pick it up and carry it to the hole and then hit it in. After that she wouldn't hit it at all, she would just carry her ball to the hole and throw it in then play with the flags that were in the hole. It made Anthony so mad that she wouldn't get out of his way. Caroline's response to Anthony when he would get frustrated with her "It's ok bro, calm down". Both my kids just crack me up!

One of the few times Caroline tried to hit the ball.

Anthony looking quite serious.

Just a side note: I no longer have any kids in diapers!!!! OH HAPPY DAY! Caroline has been in panties except nap time and bedtime for the last week and is doing great. She was in panties all day today while we were out and no accidents!! This makes me so happy.

A lot of updates!

Wow, I am getting really bad about posting often. Guess I am going to have to do better about that. Things here have been a little crazy busy and there isn't a lot of extra time to post. I will definately try to do better though. A few weeks ago we had another big snowstorm. I, of course, had to work and daddy was sweet enough to take me and pick me up from work. The whole way that morning you could see no lines on the road and we didn't pass not one state truck but we made it fine. Charlie had to be at my house at 5:15am and anyone who knows Charlie knows that she doesn't do mornings well at all! Anyway, she took Anthony out to play while Caroline was napping because it was just a little too cold for her outside. Anthony said he had the best time ever except that he couldn't sled a lot because the snow covered up his sled. So here he is riding his track hoe and digging in the snow.

He said this was a snow beard.

Charlie made the kids snow cream after coming in from playing. Anthony thinks it's the best thing he has ever eaten and asks for it daily. He wants it to snow more just so we can make more, but he did tell me that only Cha Cha knows how to make it so she is just going to have to come play with him in the snow then make some.

Anthony at the bounce house.

We went with some friends to lunch then to the bounce house. It's amazing how many people stopped us and said how brave we are for taking out 6 kids to lunch. There were 4 adults and 6 kids ranging in age from 4-1. They were actually really good, no major meltdowns, everyone ate good, and they weren't too hyper at the table. It was a great lunch. It just amazes me how many people think we are crazy for taking so many kids out. It really is fun and the kids have a great time, it's not too hard at all. Plus, we can't handle being in the house all the time so this is a great time to get out and let the kids have fun but also get to have some adult conversation while they are playing.

Caroline waiting her turn on the slide.

She was watching a baby. She is totally obsessed with babies and wants to hold them and play and talk to them all the time. It's hard to keep her away from other peoples kids.

The kids helping me cook with their aprons

Anthony and I went to the movies with some friends a few weeks ago. This is up right before we went in. He looks excited doesn't he?!

For my birthday weekend Chad and I decided to go to The Grove Park Inn for a night. I won a free night at a race that I ran last year so we thought this was the perfect time for it. We dropped the kids off with their Nana Kim and Grandad on Saturday morning and we went to Asheville. We decided to go to the movies first since we haven't done that in a few years together. We saw The Fighter. Very good movie. After that we went and checked in at The Grove Park. We felt a little out of place there. There were tons of older people and middle aged people that were dressed very nicely that were carrying around their glasses of wine. Chad and I had on nice jeans and shirts but we were totally the only ones. We went to the room and got settled, Chad of course watched a little TV while I was getting ready for us to go to dinner. He also looked at the menus, and couldn't believe that how expensive everything was! I wanted to order room service and of course he said, "Kendra, there is no way that I am paying that much for room service and then having to tip the guy. We could go to Texas Roadhouse for that!" Oh jeeze, all that man ever talks about when we go to Asheville is eating at Texas Roadhouse. I would prefer to eat somewhere different at least part of the time but I have realized if we do he spends the whole dinner comparing it to Texas Roadhouse so it's not worth it.

So off to dinner, to guess where???? Texas Roadhouse! I was hoping we could eat at Grove Park but there was nothing there that Chad would actually eat. We had a great time at dinner, it was nice to have some alone time. Then we came back to the hotel and relaxed.

4am on Sunday morning I woke up with gastro. So there went the rest of our weekend. We missed breakfast at Grove Park and our couples massage, which secretly I think Chad was thankful for. He wasn't real sure about a massage. I think he would have loved it but oh well. We headed home about 9:30am and on the way home Chad called his mom to tell her that he could bring me home then get the kids. Kim told him that Anthony had woken up at 4am with gastro also. Oh dear is all I could think because neither one of my kids has ever had gastro before and I wasn't sure how well Chad would handle it because I totally couldn't get out of bed to help. Kim decided to keep the kids for a few more hours so I could get home and then about lunch time Chad called and said he was coming to get the kids. As Kim was putting Caroline in the car she started throwing up. So now Chad was the only one that could take care of us all. To be honest, I was a little nervous, he doesn't do well with sickness. But he did a great job.

A couple days later Kim and her husband got it, Chad got it, and now Betty has it. Guess we are passing it along in the family. So sorry everyone!! Hope everyone feels better soon.

Happy New Year and late Merry Christmas.

We had the most wonderful Christmas this year. The kids got tons of toys and it even snowed on Christmas! We got a total of about 6-7 inches of snow on Christmas which meant that by 11am Chad was out working. At least we got to open up gifts before he had to go out. I woke up Christmas morning about 6am and started making baked french toast, which I make only one time year and it is AMAZING! I then woke Chad up about 7am and then we got the kids up about 7:15am since we knew that my family would be there by 7:30am. Chad made the rule that we can't leave the house on Christmas but he never said my family couldn't come to me! I don't think I could stand having Christmas without my family so it works out great. Caroline was thrilled with her new Bitty Baby Twins and Anthony loved his Leapster Explorer but I think what he liked best of all was his Paper Jams. He rocked out all morning and had all of my family playing with him. I totally could see him in a rock band because he gets all in to, singing, dancing and jumping around.
We then let them open the gifts from us and my family. Anthony loved opening but Caroline really couldn't have cared less because she was too busy with her babies and stroller that Nanny and Papa got her. It took her until about lunch time to open everything and the only reason it was done by then was because Anthony opened most of hers also!
Overall, it was an amazing Christmas, I love Christmas even more now that I am a parent than when I was a kid and that's saying a lot. (My sister and I used to get up between 1am and 4am every year). It is just so fun seeing the kids open their gifts and play with everything and just be so excited and getting to spend time with family is awesome too.
We had Christmas with Chad's family on Dec. 22nd and had a wonderful dinner then the kids opened their gifts. I don't think that my house will ever be the same though! I have their playroom full and we still have toys in the living room. I definately have to go through all their stuff and make a trip to Goodwill.
I have to tell about the gifts that the kids got for Chad and I. Mom took them shopping and just let them loose in the store and let them pick out anything in the store that they wanted to get. Mom said she had so much fun and would definately be doing it again next year. It is just amazing how much thought they put in to the gifts as young as they are. The ones that the kids got for Chad are just priceless. Anthony was so excited about what he got Chad that he told his Nanny that his daddy would be so excited that he was going to just jump up and down! So here is what we got. Caroline to Chad-Elvis Pressley coffee cups and hot chocolate. She totally knows that Chad is always looking for coffee cups because he always leaves his outside. Anthony for Chad- Fix a Flat!!!! Isn't that priceless??? Chad did a really good job being super excited about this one. Anthony kept saying you can fix flat tires on anything now, and you have a lot of stuff that could get flat tires. Caroline for Anthony- nerf football. Anthony for Caroline- pom poms and a megaphone. (Oh dear, lets hope this doesn't mean she will be a cheerleader). Caroline for me- hairbows, fingernail polish. Anthony for me-earrings, key chain, bracelet. These gifts from the kids are definately my favorite of all for Christmas.

the best camel ever!!!!

Anthony's Christmas program at WEE school was last week and he was the cutest camel I have ever seen. I was a little worried earlier in the month because everytime I asked him what he was going to be in his program he always said "I'm not doing it because I don't want to." I could totally see him refusing to go on the stage because he does get pretty shy with a lot of people around. Well, about 3 days before his program he decided that he was excited and finally told me he was going to be a camel.

He has had a cough for about the last month but I really think that sometimes when he coughs it's totally fake. Well the morning of the program he coughed all morning. I gave him cough drops hoping that would help but I guess it didn't because he proceeded to cough through the entire program! I'm sure there were some upset mothers that thought I brought my sick child to the program but I think half of the time he was coughing up there it was fake. LeAnna told him in the middle of the program to quit coughing. LOL. Anyway, I still think he was the most handsome camel ever and he did great. By the end of the program his camel was having some issues though.

Anthony coughing! It was quite dramatic.
Camel starting to go sideways.

Camel even more sideways!

At the end of the program his camel was completely backwards. He said he knew it was but thought it was ok that way and didn't want to disturb the camel by messing with him.

Caroline at the reception after the program. She loved to watch the program but gave us a running commentary of the whole thing. She would say "Oh look a MOO cow, a baby, a dog". She was too cute though.

snow and lots of ugly sweaters!

The kids had a great time with the snow last week. We played outside forever and built a snowman and had a snow ball fight. Caroline definately likes it more this year than she did last year. I told Anthony to go put his snow clothes on so we could go outside to play and when I got my clothes on and came out of the bedroom this is what I found!

Making a snow angel

My daddy

Anthony, Nanny, Papa, and Caroline had a snowball fight. Here is Anthony getting his Nanny.

Our snowman!

We also had my family's Christmas party on Saturday and we had an ugly Christmas sweater party. I had already made my sweater for the work Christmas party but I added a few more things to the outfit for this party. Charlie found these "fabulous" stirrup pants for me to wear. I looked totally ridiculous but so did everyone else at the party! We had a great time though.

Everyone with their ugly sweaters.

The guys!

Terrified!!!!!!!

Today we went for our annual trip to see Santa. We decided to go to the Blue Ridge Mall, and I highly recommend that Santa. He was the best one we have ever been to. Well, I have been talking to Caroline for a few weeks about Santa and everytime I ask her if she was going to sit in his lap she would say "Don't want it, don't want it!" I figured she would cry a little or maybe even be ok if Anthony sat on his lap. Boy, was I wrong. When we walked in the mall I asked her if she was going to sit on Santa's lap and she said "Yes" then right after that she said "Don't want it Santa Claus." So we went and got in line, when we were about 15 minutes away from Santa he stood up and Caroline started crying. She kept saying "Don't want it Santa Claus." I then figured out that it would not be an easy trip to see him. I kept telling her that she would have to sit in his lap to tell him what she wanted for Christmas. All she would say is "Don't want baby doll, don't want it." She was totally willing to not get any presents from Santa if she could just get the heck out of there. She continued to cry, and when everyone around us in line figured out that she wasn't having a meltdown she was just terrified of Santa they were all laughing. It actually was quite humerous! When we were about 2 people away from seeing Santa she asked to get down. I put her down and she tried to run away!!! I picked her back up and held her as she continued to cry. There were tears and snot everywhere. I started to feel a little guilty but no way was I missing a year of her seeing Santa, plus Anthony was quite excited to see him. He totally thinks he is cool. When we were next in line she really started screaming, the photographer was laughing hysterically at her. Santa was trying to bribe her with a Twizzler and she totally was having no part of it. So, we finally get our turn to see Santa and Anthony is so excited because you know, Santa is magic and that's just cool. I sat on the side of the chair with Caroline thinking that would make her happy, um no. She continued to scream. Santa asked if I wanted him to go behind the chair to see if that made it better and so he did and that didn't work either. She continued to scream like we were killing her. She couldn't even see Santa and she was a total mess. When we got up from seeing him I asked her to just wave at him and she said "Don't want it". I planned on only buying 1 picture but the pictures of Caroline are so priceless that I had to get all of them. So, here they are!!! i just love all the looks that Santa has in these pictures.

After we finished with pictures we let Anthony get back on Santa's lap to tell him what he wanted for Christmas since Santa totally couldn't hear him while Caroline was around. He told him that all he wanted for Christmas was a remote control motorcycle. Sure wish he would have told Santa that a while back, because that totally was not on Santa's list!!

When we were walking out of the mall I asked Caroline if she liked Santa and she said "Oh Yes"! What??? Then I asked if she sat on Santa's lap and told him that she wanted a baby doll for Christmas and she said yes again. Then on the way home she told me that she wanted to sit on Santa's lap again. So I'm going to try to take them again to see him to see if it is any better next time. Totally not holding my breath on that one and if she doesn't like him again then I won't make her sit on his lap.