Happy Halloween!

Hope everyone has a spooky day. Here's a picture from last night's pumpkin carving. Campbell loves his little pumpkin.

whew!

This weekend was an absolute blur--some good and some bad. Friday was fun because Jamie and Russ came and played with us and ate dinner with us. I was so excited because I had used my crock pot for the first time (if you know my husband you aren't surprised by this) and had cooked a pot roast with onions, carrots, and potatoes. Jamie and I had been saying how good it smelled all day, and then my husband came home. Upon walking through the door he lovingly announced, "It smells like doodie in here!" I was crushed. "That's dinner," I said. He tried to cover it up by saying he'd always thought pot roast smelled bad, but the damage was done. We wouldn't let him forget it all night long.
Then Saturday I got a mommy break and scrapbooked all day. I am done with Campbell's first album, and I'm so proud of it. And it's nice to just be able to get away for a day and have fun.
Sunday was absolutely crazy. First, Campbell woke up with a stomach virus. Yikes, we were so scared from last time, but this one was nothing compared to that. So I stayed home from church, as per my previous post about nursery workers! The I went to church around 2 for a baby shower. Trunk or Treat was last night, too, so I just stayed at church to supervise our 9th graders assemble their "trunk." Imagine my...uh...delight...when I saw a boat (our theme was under the sea), 15 teenagers, and no other adults. Whoa. So I had to switch into teacher mode and make sure no one killed themselves or anyone else. I was so thankful when David finally got there at 5:30. Big thanks to David's mom for watching Campbell so I could have some help. So basically I stayed at church from 2 until 8 yesterday. I mean, I love church and all, but this is a little much. Anyway, I was sad that Campbell missed his first trunk or treat, but let's face it, he doesn't know what is going on, it is just for us this year. But since he's feeling better, it looks like we're going to be able to slip on our Curious George costume tomorrow. Don't worry, I'll take several hundred pictures and share them! Happy Halloween to all.

going back in time

Wow. I'm exhausted after a fun weekend of time travel. No, don't worry, Michael J. Fox and I did not go back to the future or anything, but my girlfriends from college came in to town. We had tons of fun, eating, talking, eating, and talking some more--our two favorite things, by the way. And since I actually spent the night with all them, I truly felt like I was going back in time. But there were a few things that have changed. A few of us have babies now, and we loved playing with the Johns twins who really hardly made a peep. I am so impressed with them! Another change is not so tangible. We've just grown so much. Not to say that we didn't have our share of silliness, but it's clear that we are so much more comfortable with ourselves, and there's no clickiness (yes, I think I just made up a word) between anyone. It's just friendship. Friendship that I am truy thankful for and really didn't know how thankful for it I was until this weekend. So thanks girls for a wonderful weekend. We missed those of you who couldn't come and we mandate that you must come next year. Thank you to Stevens for being such a gracious hostess and to Jillina for blogging this already so that I could swipe a picture. (yes, I forgot my camera again!) And a big thank you to my sweet husband who took care of a sick and crabby baby so mama could have a break. Man, I am so blessed.

man's, and baby's, best friend

Most of you know, but we have a little Maltese dog named Bogie. He is a tiny little thing who weighs only about 5 or 6 pounds at the most. Basically he's a white puff ball, but he's definitely part of the family. Now we've had Bogie since before David and I got married, and he was accustomed to being the "top dog," pardon the pun--I just couldn't resist! We were a little worried about how he would deal with Campbell, but we've been so surprised at how great he is with Campbell. And Campbell just loves Bogie to death. His girlfriend Taylor does, too. Actually I guess all kids love Bogie. And he tolerates them all quite well. Anyway, Campbell has just recently learned how to play with Bogie, and I have to say it is too cute. At first he didn't understand how to hold the toy tight enough for tug or war, but he's all about it now. Today I snapped some pictures of them playing because they were just too cute. And I'm also including one of my favorite pictures of Bogie giving Taylor a kiss, too. He's such a great dog.

the festival of goats

Ok, so it's really the Goats, Music, and More Festival, but I just like the sound of Festival of Goats. Yes, that's right--my hometown is the home of the fainting goats, and Campbell and I went down to enjoy the festival. It was lots of fun. Campbell got to dance to the music, pet a goat for the first time, and his GiGi bought him a very strange looking elephant that he happens to love. But the bad thing is that we all--me, mom, and Jamie--forgot our cameras. So many photo opportunities and nothing to capture it with. We tried to get my brother to take a few with his phone, but they came out blurry. Anyway, we all had a great time in Lewisburg at the Festival of Goats--sorry, I just can't help myself.

Speaking of my brother, he is playing in the state golf tournament this week, so good luck, Trey! Of course, it's raining cats and dogs, so today's practice round might be a wash--get it, a wash. Man, I crack myself up sometimes. Hope Trey enjoys his last golf tournament of high school. I can't believe he's a senior.

And speaking of golf, I have to say congrats to my husband for making a hole in one this weekend and winning a golf tournament. He could pick between several prizes, and he settled on a digital camera. That's all for now. Happy Monday to everyone--try to stay dry if you're in Middle Tennessee!

so many girls, so little time

Well, we've had a good week, especially Campbell. He's gotten to spend some time with all his girlfriends. First his girlfriend Taylor from down the street is finally feeling better, so we got to hang out this week. We're so glad she is better! Then we went to visit the Johns twins last night who are just growing and getting so big and cute. He tried out all their toys and decided they were pretty fun. Not sure what they thought about him. He like them until Mommy held Abigail a little too long. Can you say, jealousy?!? Then today the three girls from across the street came over to play for a few hours. We had so much fun with Kiah, Brielle, and Siara. So I guess most men would be envious of my son's life with all these pretty girls. But we did hang out with cousin Russ a lot this week, too. One of Russ's favorite games is to give Campbell his pacifier. They even fed each other Wednesday at lunch. Where was the camera when we needed it? But we dohave some other good pictures to share with you.


Here's Russ trying to give Campbell his pacifier. Too funny.



And here's Campbell and David showing off our new trick--standing. We love to stand on everything, but our favorite thing to stand on is the railing upstairs.

And thanks to the Johns for the picture at the top--I sort of swiped it from their blog since I forgot my camera that night. :)

rant

I need to vent for a minute. Today Jamie (my sister) and I took our boys to the play area at the mall. It's one of those squishy areas with stuff to climb on. Campbell is by far the small kid, but he's holding his own, mainly just crawling on this one lady bug and watching the big kids run around. Then this cute little girl comes up who looks to be about 4 years old. She pats Campbell on the head, as most big kids do--why, I'll never understand, so I'm thinking, ahh how sweet. But then she became obsessed with us. She would NOT leave Campbell alone. She kept hugging on him and trying to pick him up. At first I was trying to be funny and said, "He's too big for you to pick up, silly." To which she replied, "I've got muscles!" Well, excuse me! As she continued to get all up in Campbell's face, I confess I got extremely annoyed. I mean, I'm not one of those moms who doesn't want any other kids to touch my child, but come on, this was a little much. After about her 4th attempt to pick Campbell up, I said, "I really don't want you to pick him up." But she was unwaivering. She basically chased us around the play area for the next 15 minutes or so. Finally her mom came over to talk to her and tell her to leave Campbell alone. She said to me, "I'm sorry, she's just obsessed with babies right now..." Well get her a baby doll I thought to myself but didn't say for fear of making a public spectacle of myself. But the thing was, she didn't listen to her mom. She continued to pester us off and on until Jamie and I finally decided to leave. So, my question to you other moms and anyone else who can shed some insight on this situation is, was I right to be totally annoyed by this little girl? I don't want my child to become one of those children who won't play with the other kids, but I also don't want him attacked by crazy kids. Any ideas on the best way to handle that sort of thing? Anyway, thanks for reading my rant. Let me know your thoughts.

Mmm Mmm Good

So my 10 month old now refuses to eat baby food. Apparently he's way too old for that. This is good and bad--baby food is kind of expensive, but now I have to work harder to keep his meals nutritious. I confess that I am not a very healthy eater, and David is even worse, so this makes it difficult to find good stuff for Campbell to eat. Poor David is having to make his sandwiches on whole wheat bread now since that's what Campbell need to eat. But last night we broke down. David wanted bacon and eggs for dinner, and of course, Campbell couldn't eat that. So I searched through the pantry and pulled out a can of spaghetti oh's, yes, I'm sorry Mom, I fed him spaghetti oh's. He actually had a great time with them--so great in fact that we had to take a few pictures of the mess. You see, Campbell is fiercely independent (gee, wonder where he got that?!?) and so he will not allow us to help him, so he was totally covered in tomato sauce from head to toe. Needless to say, he went straight to the bath afterwards--did not pass Go, did not collect $200. All I have to say is, thank goodness for a high chair tray that goes in the dishwasher!

Also, for those of you wondering about David's grandmother--she is doing a little better. She has a long road ahead of her, but she is a fighter, and we're optimistic that we will have MANY more years with her. Here's a picture we took of Campbell and brought it to the hospital to cheer her up. Thanks for the prayers, and keep them coming.

update

Thank you so much for the prayers on behalf of David's grandmother. She came through the surgery OK, but she still has a lot of infection in her body. She has a long way to go, so keep those prayers coming. Also remember David's mom, her sister, and their 3 brothers. Everyone is exhausted and very worried. But it is a comfort to know that our friends are praying for us. We are truly blessed to have such wonderful people in our lives, and I can't say it enough. I definitely felt your prayers when Campbell was sick, and I am confident it will be the same this time. Thank you.

david's grandmother

thank you to all of you who've been praying for david's grandmother. there is some news, but i'm afraid it isn't good. she is going back into surgery today. so please pray for her to come through this surgery well and to recover quickly. thank you so much for your prayers.

A salute to nursery workers the world over

In the beginning, your child is so little and innocent, you can't imagine anyone else taking care of him or her. You love the carseat/carrier that allows you to bring your sleeping angel into church without waking him. Then he gets older, learns that playing is much more fun than sleeping, and entertaining the pretty girls behind you gets lots of laughs. Enter the church nursery.

We actually had to start taking Campbell to the nursery around 3 months because he was just so darn active. And he loved to talk, too. So, we've been enjoying the free child care for some time now, never knowing just how much it meant to us. Until today.

The old saying is very true, "You never know what you have until it's gone." And anyone who has attempted to bring their 9 month old into the church service can agree with me. It's a disaster. Campbell had a fever Thursday, Friday and Saturday, so we decided it was best not to infect the other children and carted him into church this morning.

The fiasco began with David letting Campbell and me out at the door (we were really late) and then parking the car. He then came in after we'd been seated over on the side, and he couldn't find us anywhere. I'm quietly trying to get his attention, and I look down and my son has a visitor registration card and a contribution envelope in his hand. Not a good start. By the time the sermon started, he had already torn up those things, climbed on me, David, and the poor lady next to us. We had exhausted all the toys we'd brought, so David took him out. I'm pretty sure I heard applause from those around us.

Then we did an even dumber thing, we tried to take him to class with us. Sure, he couldn't make it through in a room full of hundreds of people without being a huge distraction, of course he can make it in a room of only 40. Yeah, right. we lasted in there only about 10 minutes. We quickly decided in the car on the way home that next time he was sick, one of us would stay home.

And so, I salute all you nursery workers out there. We don't appreciatie you until you're gone. But rest assured, I shall never take you for granted again. Bless you all for agreeing to be locked in a room with 10 kids while their parents enjoy some much needed relief--oh yeah, and a sermon too, forgot about that part. Didn't hear much of it today!