Praying for poop...

I decided last Friday on a complete whim to start potty training with Kahn.  I mean, he'll be 3 at the end of January so he definitely needs to be potty trained soon but I hadn't really thought through my approach and literally just woke up and said, 'no more diapers!'.

And Kahn did great!  I am actually shocked at how easy it has been.  We have definitely had some accidents, but overall, he's done amazing!  He was definitely ready.  He loves his underwear, he loves peeing on the 'big boy potty like Finley, Sammy and Will and Kate' (which he has to say every time he goes) and he has even done great at night.  He either wakes us up at night to tell us he has to go potty or if he doesn't wake up at night, then he wakes up in the morning with a dry dipe!  We are thrilled to have him out of diapers and thrilled to only have one kid in diapers!!!  And he looks super cute in his underwear!!

We have however, not been so successful with pooping on the potty.  I've heard from lots of people that getting them to actually poop on the potty can take a little longer.  When he has gone poop over the past 5 days, he has snuck into a corner and went in his pants.  I've talked to him about it, but he just won't go.  So today, I sat with him in the bathroom for about 20 minutes and we read books and sang songs and talked about poop and he told me he had to go, but just wouldn't go.  About 5 minutes after we gave up, he went in the corner again.  Ugh...

Tonight we read 'Everyone Poops' at bedtime like we do most nights and he told me he had to go.  So I got him undressed, headed into the bathroom and we camped out in the bathroom.  I decided to give him a little privacy and about a minute later he yelled for me and told me he had gone.  He did!!!  I was so excited!  It is actually embarrassing how excited I was for that poop in the potty! He was just as excited and looked at me and said, 'Mommy, does that make you happy?'  Seriously?!?  How sweet is he! I told him 'he always makes me happy' and then he wanted a big hug!

Here he is just before the big poop!

And as I said above, we've had accidents over the last few days.  So, this morning, he couldn't find his Toby the train and I told him to go check in his bed.  He went upstairs and he yells downstairs..."Mom, I couldn't find Toby, but I found a giant turd!"  Yes, he found a turd...under his covers...in his bed.  I am not exactly sure when and how the little present actually got there, but it was in his bed nonetheless.  But here's a funny video of Kahn explaining the situation to me.  Absolutely hysterical!!!

Poop and all, kids make life so entertaining!

The dreaded Christmas card picture

Why does it have to be so hard to get ONE decent picture?!?  I swear, the stress of getting a picture that is worthy of showcasing on our family Christmas card is sometimes not worth it.  Having a one-year old and an almost three year-old makes the task virtually impossible!

Last year we all got in our Christmas card picture...and it actually turned out halfway cute.  I mean, neither kid was actually looking at the camera or smiling, but it was as close to perfect as we were going to get.  It definitely wasn't the plan for all of us to be on the card, but at the time Olivia was too young to sit up on her own and Kahn was too young and definitely too stubborn to actually hold her so to avoid me having a nervous breakdown and beating my kids during the photoshoot, Kahn and I had to jump in the picture so we could hold both kids in place and quickly snap a picture.  Although the picture's not perfect, I liked it!  And I really liked the idea of having an annual picture of our family.

So, this year while we were in Orlando the day before Thanksgiving, we had a family friend (and also a very skilled photographer) take some pictures of us as a family.  Basically, it was a disaster!  Olivia was honestly horrible for the pictures...she basically cried in every picture and wanted nothing to do with any of us.  She pretty much has a mind of her own these days and if Olivia doesn't want to do something, Olivia doesn't do it!  Surprisingly, little Kahn was super cooperative (very unlike him) and actually looked into the camera and smiled.  Him cooperating had nothing to do with the continuous bribes we offered him!  I really wish bribes worked for 15 month olds!  Probably all together Jacquie took 100 pictures and about 5 were decent!  Although, I have to say...the picture that has ultimately made it onto our Christmas card is pretty darn good!  I have absolutely no idea how we managed to get a decent picture of all of us with Olivia being so difficult.  I obviously can't share the actual picture that has made it onto the coveted Peterson family Christmas card, but I did see it appropriate to share one of my favorites from the photo shoot...this about captures what a family photo session is like when you have small children!

Big Kahn picking little Kahn's nose and Olivia screaming her head off and me acting like we're one big happy family!

Priceless!

A very busy Thanksgiving...

I’ve been absent, I know!  I’ve been busy as hell.  And not really a fun busy…just work, and doctor’s appointments, and kids, and normal everyday life.  But I apologize for the long absence.  I’ll try not to let it happen again. 

So, what’s happened since my last post?  Oh yeah, Thanksgiving!  I am seriously still recovering from all the driving we did at Thanksgiving…maybe that’s why I haven’t written…it brings up the memories of nearly 24 hours spent in the car with a 1 year old and almost 3 year old.  Not.fun.at.all. 

But yes, we drove down to Florida for the Thanksgiving holiday.  We basically did the tour of Florida!  We drove to Orlando (7 hours), then to Fort Lauderdale (3.5 hours), then to Sarasota (3 hours) and then back to Atlanta (10 hours).  Luckily, for it being the Thanksgiving holiday, the traffic wasn’t too bad, but I can honestly say I will never drive that much in that short of a time with two small kids ever again.  Overall, the kids actually did OK, but it’s just miserable for them to be stuck in their car seats for that long of a time.  I honestly feel guilty about it along with the endless DVDs we exposed them to and the disgusting fast food they had to eat along the way. 

Our Thanksgiving was nice!  It was great to spend a few days with Kahn’s family and stuff our faces and catch up with family.  Some of his family had not met Olivia yet so it was great to be able to introduce her to everyone.  And everyone was so happy to see how much the kids have grown and to spend a few days with the little ones.   And the weather could not have been better!  It was a great tribute to Dick, the late host, who died earlier this year.  We had one last ‘hooray’ before his kids sold his house and it was a really great time.  He was smiling and enjoying a glass of wine in heaven as he was watching us!

We have a ‘big’ Thanksgiving every other year at Dick’s house in Fort Lauderdale and it’s always a blast!  I guess I should rephrase that… it WAS a blast until we had kids.  Now, for me, it’s been downgraded to just fun and good to see everyone.  Prior to kids, it was basically 2 days of eating, drinking, staying up late, drinking, playing card games, drinking and just lots of laughs.  Honestly, some of my favorite activities of all time and it was nice because it was with some of my favorite people.  But since our sweet angel babies have been born, there are no more late nights and definitely not any heavy drinking (boo!  And I mean, BOO!!!).  This year Thanksgiving consisted of me chasing the kids around to make sure that they didn’t knock over the Chinese dragon sculpture on the pedestal in the dining room probably flown in from some small village in China; that Olivia didn’t wipe her yellow snot on the white, white, white, white, white couches in the living room; that neither kid escaped onto the porch and fell into the pool; that Kahn didn’t leave some of his original artwork on the walls; or that Olivia didn’t crack her head open on the tile steps that she had to play on the entire time!  To be honest, it was exhausting!  But Dick, please know…we left the house intact!  Thankfully, nothing was broken on behalf of my two kids. 

It is honestly no fault of Dicks or anyone who invites us over that doesn’t have kids, but as a parent it is really nerve-wracking to bring two very young, very active kids anywhere that is not child proof!   There is just no way to relax!  We recently brought our two kids to DC to stay with our good friends up there and I was equally as nervous having the kids there---although they didn’t have any super expensive art showcased on pedestals throughout their house, but nonetheless, I would have been devastated if they would have ruined anything in their brand new house.  I mean, it would have been totally OK if I would break their banister from dancing on it at 3am after 15 cocktails, but God forbid one of my kids break something in their house.  I would feel terrible!  I was a nervous wreck in DC and I was in a nervous wreck down in Fort Lauderdale for Thanksgiving!

But overall, it was a great Thanksgiving and I am thankful for the time we got to spend with everyone, the wonderful food and the wonderful conversation (even if I was half listening since I had one eye on the kids at all times).   

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I am thankful for our families, our friends, our house, our jobs…my life!  And I am thankful for my kids.  Even if I can’t enjoy the conversations and cocktails like I used to on holidays like Thanksgiving, I wouldn’t want life any other way.  They change everything…for the better!  And I am forever Thankful. 

And my apologies…sadly, we didn’t take any pictures while down in Florida for Thanksgiving.  We had our hands full with the kiddos. 

The Start of a Magical Season

My dad went out of the way to make all holidays really special for us girls.  But he went over the top, completely crazy and totally extravagant for Christmas.  I now know why.

Friday night we decided to put up our Christmas tree.  Yes, it's early but we are traveling for Thanksgiving and have a jam packed schedule the following weekend so it just made sense to get it up prior to us going out of town.  I wasn't sure what little Kahn's reaction to decorating the tree was going to be or how much he really understood of Christmas, but his reaction and his excitement is something I will NEVER forget!  He seriously was so excited to put up the tree...he cheered as big Kahn took it out of the box, screamed when he lit the lights and couldn't get the ornaments out of the boxes fast enough.  He loved placing each of the ornaments on a limb and then checked in with me and Kahn to make sure he did it right and for our approval.  He was bummed when we were finally out of ornaments for him to put up.   I seriously don't think his smile left his face all night long.

That night he said good night to the tree before heading up to bath and bedtime and we said a special thank you for our Christmas tree in our prayers.  The next morning when he woke up, he was so excited to see the tree again.  He rushed downstairs, stood in front of the tree and said, "Mommy, isn't it the most beautiful Christmas tree in the world?  I helped you and daddy put it up."  I just hugged him and cried. I didn't want to let go..I just wanted to enjoy the moment and the magic of Christmas.  Kids really do make Christmas that much more special and magical!

So, I am especially thankful for everything my dad did for us at Christmas.  I now understand why he went out of the way to make it so special and to literally make our house look like the north pole at the holiday season.  I'm sure the reaction of us 4 girls year after year was as priceless as little Kahn's reactions this year.  My dad is loving having grandkids around now and being able to return to his over the top Christmas decorating.  I can't wait to spend the holidays at my parent's house this year and for Kahn to experience all of the Christmas magic that I did growing up there.

I am really looking forward to the Christmas season, teaching my kids about the true meaning of Christmas and all the wonder and amusement it will bring...

(And just to mention sweet Olivia (she was there too), but she's still a little young.  She loved taking the ornaments off of the tree, pulling on the lights and trampling on the train track.   She looked extra cute doing it though.  The bottom of our tree may have all the ornaments removed by the time Christmas actually comes around!)

Here's some pics from the night and the next morning.  Excuse the quality of the pictures.  Kahn was not home to edit them and if I wait for him to get around to doing it, I'd never be able to post on this blog!

 

 

Newborns...Exciting and Exhausting!

I had a work trip to Charlotte, North Carolina this week and got to spend the night with one of my best friends, Danielle, and her newest addition, Cole!  He was the sweetest, most adorable little boy in the world!  I fell in love with him!  Danielle has fallen into the mommy role quite well...I'm so happy for her and Ken!  She looked great, was so happy and so, so, so tired!  It totally reminded me of that newborn stage.  It's exciting...it's new...and it's f'ing exhausting!!!

There is really no other way to explain those first two months or so of having a newborn.  It's this really bizarre time because you are so excited about a new baby and so in love it is unreal, but at the same time, it is just miserable and exhausting!  Sleep deprivation is brutal!!!

It was definitely worse with Kahn.  He wasn't gaining weight when he was first born so I had to feed him every 2 hours around the clock!  That meant setting an alarm in the middle of the night so I could wake up and feed him.  And breastfeeding takes a long time...so by the time I was done feeding him and changing his diaper, I had about an hour to sleep and then I had to do it all over again.  It was awful!  Olivia was a little better, but I didn't have the luxury of sleeping during the day since I was chasing a 19 month old around too, so I was still always tired.  Bottom line...the lack of sleep is just a killer!

Don't get me wrong, I'd do it over and over and over again because kids are so worth it so I am definitely not complaining.  I just don't want any first time moms to be caught off guard!  Prepare for one of the most amazing times in your life, but also prepare for utter exhaustion!

But it definitely gets better.  If it didn't, I would have stopped at one.  I mean, who in their right mind would do that again...right?  In my case, my kids were sleeping through the night relatively early.  And when I mean 'through the night', I don't mean 10pm to 6am...I mean 7pm to 7am!  And to this day I have great sleepers and I am so thankful!!

But even when I was up in the middle of the night and so tired and miserable and sometimes in tears...these little faces kept me going!  They were the sweetest, most cuddly, adorable babies in the entire world!  There is nothing that adequately describes the love you have for your kids and the sacrifices you will make on their behalf.  Honestly, I'd forego sleep altogether for them!

Kahn Gregory II born January 21, 2009

Olivia Kathryn born August 30, 2010

So, to my friend, Danielle...it gets easier and you'll be getting a full night of sleep before you know it!  Thanks for letting me spend some time with you and Cole.  He's amazing and I love seeing you so happy!  He's the luckiest little boy in the world to have you as his mom.  I love you!

What Surgery?!?

Kahn had surgery last Thursday afternoon.  And last Thursday evening at 5pm you would have never of known he had anything done to him!  

The whole day actually went well.  I was really nervous about him not being able to eat all day so I kept him out of the house all morning, but had to be careful not to exhaust him so that he would ask for water and had to avoid any sort of store that sold food.  So we hung out at Toys R Us that morning playing with all of their toys and riding their bikes.  It actually worked as a great diversion and he never even asked for water until 12:15 and his surgery was scheduled for 12:30.  Success!

We headed to the surgery center at Children's Hospital at 11am to prep for surgery.  The surgery center was awesome!  Kahn loved the attention he got, the toys in the waiting room and the TV in the pre op room.  When it was time for him to go back to the operating room, I kissed him goodbye and big Kahn took him back.  I knew I would cry so Kahn gowned up and walked him back and held onto him until he was 'asleep'.  Here's a picture of them right before they headed back to surgery!  (Excuse the quality...camera phone at it's best!)

Before we knew it, the doctor came out and told us everything was great!  Once they got in there they realized that he actually didn't have a hernia, but instead, an isolated hydrocele.  They removed as much of it as they could but they had to leave some there since it was connected to his testicle.  They didn't want to mess with the blood supply to his testicles or interfere at all with his 'goods' so they were conservative when removing the lump.  We may have a reoccurrence at some point, but there's really no way around that.

And before we knew it, Kahn was wheeled into our room.  He did great in the recovery room and mainly just slept.  Of course, I had to crawl into bed with him...

And once he was awake, he enjoyed his lollipop and juice box and we were able to go home!

And as I said above, you seriously would not even believe he had surgery last week.  That night he was up and playing and running and dancing and being his same, silly self!  We tried to get him to lay low, but that's not entirely possible with a very active 2 year old.  I was able to catch this video of him dancing that night.  Don't be jealous of his moves...his mommy taught him all he knows!  He cracks us up!

As nerve-wracking as it was waiting for the doctors to say he was out of surgery and doing fine, the whole experience wasn't too bad.  We are so thankful everything went well!

We've very proud of you, Kahn!  You are such a big boy!

Kahn's First Falcon's Game

The Falcons may have lost, but little Kahn loved his first Falcons game!

The girls stayed home while the boys headed to the dome and from what he told me when he got home, he loved his first Falcon's experience!  I wish I could have been there to experience it with him...

But here's a picture Kelli took on her phone at the game.  It's not the best quality ever, but I think it about sums up what an awesome day it was for my boys!

Go Falcons!!!

Camping 2011

Last weekend a bunch of friends got together and went camping!  I think most people thought we were nuts because the weather was freezing, but we brought enough booze and fire wood to solve that problem. And it was a total blast!!!  And honestly, we were so bundled up (and liquored up too) that the weather didn't even bother us!

This was our first camping trip in a while. We went camping with the same group about 4 years ago and had an equally awesome time!  So, we got the crew together again, loaded up our cars and headed to the mountains!

We went to Desoto Falls in Dahlonega, Georgia.  It was a very nice campground with...a waterfall!  We even put down our cocktails for a bit to hike to the falls.  Oh wait, I brought my cocktail!  But nonetheless, the falls were beautiful and the hike was refreshing.  Upon return to the campsite, we made dinner, we ate birthday cupcakes, we played flip cup, we had dance party USA, and just sat around the fire telling stories and laughing!  And the fact that I fell asleep at 8pm had nothing to do with the number of cocktails I had, but had everything to do with the exhausting 1.5 mile walk roundtrip to the waterfall. Right?  At least that's what I tell myself...

Despite my early bedtime, it was one of the best weekends in awhile with the very best company in the world!  I can't wait to plan our next camping adventure!  We are definitely not waiting another 4 years before we hit the woods again!

Five Years!

Happy Anniversary to us!

Five years ago tonight, Kahn and I got married!  It was such an awesome night!  Sometimes I can't believe it was five years ago.

A lot has happened in five years...we've bought a house; we've started new job; Kahn went back to school for his MBA; we've traveled and traveled and traveled--Colorado, Utah, New York, Washington, Missouri, Alabama, California, Washington DC, Wisconsin, Illinois, Tennessee, South Carolina, Pennsylvania, and all over the state of Florida; we've made new friends; we've lost loved ones; we've bought new cars; and most importantly, had two amazing children!  We definitely lived our lives to the fullest these past five years!!!

And through it all, it has been really nice to have my best friend and the most amazing husband and father in the world by my side!  Kahn, I love you more than you know!  Thanks for making me the happiest, most loved woman in the entire world!  I look forward to the rest of my life with you!

Cheers to our first five years and many, many more to come!!!

(And sadly, I couldn't find a picture from our wedding on my computer so I am posting another pic.  I have no clue what this pictures is from, but it has been posted because both Kahn and I look skinny...which sadly, after 5 years, we are no longer!)

Surgery Tomorrow...

...and I'm just sick about it!

I worry...a lot...and I am just sick about Kahn having surgery tomorrow.  I know it is a super simple procedure and I have been reassured by many that have gone through the same thing with their kids that it is a lot easier than they thought, but for some reason, I'm still worried as hell!  Big Kahn made me promise that I wouldn't cry when they took him away, but I honestly am not sure if I can hold up my end of the deal.  I mean, I'm crying now just thinking about it.

We have been talking with Kahn about tomorrow and his trip to the 'doctor' and trying to prepare him, but I'm not sure how much he actually understands.  He has talked with me quite a bit about it tonight...and how he can't eat tomorrow and the doctor is going to fix his penis and then the doctor will bring him back to mommy and daddy and he will get a lollipop.  I am praying it goes that smoothly.  I definitely can't forget the lollipop!

So tomorrow is the big day!  I know I have myself worked up over nothing and will be so relieved when it is over, but until he is in my arms tomorrow, I am going to be a ball of nerves.  Maybe I should call my best friend Liz and have her prepare me.  God knows her little miracle has been put under anesthesia way too many times for a 2 year old.  And he's had a million times riskier surgeries than this little procedure Kahn is having, but I guess as a mother, you worry no matter how big or small the procedures are or how big or small the kids are.

So please think of us tomorrow.  I'll be saying a million prayers until I get to kiss his sweet face in the recovery room.

We love you, Kahn!  You were the best thing that ever happened to mommy and daddy and we know tomorrow is going to go as smoothly as can be and you will be up running around like nothing happened before we know it.  We hope you like all the presents we got you for being such a big boy!  XOXO

Halloween!

Yes, this post is late, but I just can't seem to upload pictures in any sort of timely manner these days.

But we definitely had a blast this Halloween!  The kids were so excited and Kahn loved it!!!!

The Halloween festivities began on the Thursday before at their school.  They had a Halloween parade at school followed by a class party.  Unfortunately, I missed their very first Halloween parade due to Atlanta traffic!  Yes....totally sucks!  Believe me when I tell you that I cried the entire time I sat in stand still traffic, but I was able to at least say hi to Kahn in the gym before he went back to his class.  Thankfully, Tina and Star got lots of pictures of my kids though.  Olivia and Jane led the bye-bye buggy and opened the parade and Kahn followed up with the rest of the 2-year olds!  Their class parties were fun too and it was nice to meet all of the parents and talk with their teachers.

And Halloween night was a blast!  All of the neighbor kids were out and it was great to see the neighborhood crawling with lots of little kids dressed up in their costumes!  Kahn loved everything about trick or treating! I mean, who wouldn't? Olivia definitely didn't get the concept yet, but that will change next year when she is 2.  She was definitely the cutest pumpkin ever though!!!  She basically sat in her wagon all night while her big brother ran (and when I say ran, I definitely mean ran) from house to house!  Actually now that I think about it, she was the smart one...he did all the work and she got to reap the benefits!  But we are all super proud of Kahn...he scored us a ton of candy and for those of you who do not know, me and big Kahn LOVE candy!  We could barely wait for them to go to bed that night so we could break into their stash!  And as an update to a previous post, our neighbors really made us proud. I mean, we got a few pieces of cheap, crappy Halloween candy, but for the most part, there was a lot of quality candy handed out in the 'hood!  The Peterson's thank you, Enclave!

But here are some pictures from our fun night!

Kahn was Frankenstein...and he loved having his face painted!

Olivia was our little pumpkin!

And here's a picture of them with their friends before we headed out to trick or treat.  

Everyone looked so cute!!!

I hope everyone had as fun of a Halloween as we did!!!  

Wednesdays!

I am off work on Wednesdays!  It might be my favorite day of the week.

After I had Kahn, I realized that work wasn't all it was cracked up to be and decided to drop down to part-time.  I mean, I'm not 20 hours/week part-time, but it is a really, really nice to only work 32 hours/week and to enjoy a day with my kids.  When I originally decided to go part-time, I told my boss I only wanted to do it while Kahn was a baby and that I would come back to work full-time once he was a year.  Well...I'm still part-time and I really have no plan to ever go back to working full-time again.  Don't get me wrong, the full-time salary would be nice--really nice, but my kids are only going to be little once and I didn't want to work my way through their childhood and miss them growing up.

So, I love Wednesdays...a lot!  And every Wednesday, the kids and I do some sort of adventure in the morning (park, museum, playdate, shopping, etc) and then we always eat lunch at Chick-fil-A.  It's just our ritual...we order the same thing every time and sit in the same spot every week.  Pam, the hostess (who is wonderful btw), greets the kids with balloons, stickers and cow stuffed animals, and after our lunch, we all share an ice cream.  I love my Wednesday lunch dates!

So in the spirit of Thanksgiving...I am very THANKFUL for being able to spend every Wednesday with the absolute loves of my life!  

A Really Big Family!

As I sit here watching the 7th game of the World Series, it definitely makes me think of my family.  And for totally obvious reasons, they all live in St. Louis!  It's also where I was born!  Lots and lots of good times have been had in St. Louis.  (And yes, my immediate family, mom+dad+3 sisters+nephew live in Orlando...but the rest of the Stretch family is in St. Louis.)

Being from a big family is really neat!  There is really no other way to explain my family other than, we're a really big, ass family!!!  (And this post is actually talking about my mom's side of the family.  My dad has a pretty big family too...he's one of eight and I have lots of cousins on his side too.)  And like my dad, my mom is one of eight.  So I have 5 aunts and 2 uncles on my mom's side...all of which are married.  The grand total of us grandkids is 16!  And so far, there are 6 great grandchildren...although that number will grow exponentially with time.  So there is no such thing as a small family function....just our family alone is 44 people!

It was never more apparent that I had the most amazing family as when my grandfather died.  Although it was a very sad time, it was also an amazing experience of all of us coming together to keep watch over him until he passed away.  We totally took over the family room at the hospital, had food delivered, brought in blow-up mattresses or snuck into empty hospital rooms to sneak some sleep while we were camped out for the weekend, even brought in some wine!  When my grandpa finally passed, the priest who led us in prayer after he died said he had never seen a family come together as we did.  That's just what we do!

And we are fun...really, really fun!  As I have gotten older I come to appreciate my family even more.  I guess that's normal.  Right now I have cousins who are in their teenage years who probably don't appreciate our family just yet.  It took until I was older to really appreciate what it means to be from a big loving, accepting, caring, fun, happy family!  I can literally count on them for anything!

I guess there are some downsides to having such a close family.  My mom has 5 sisters...so they talk...A LOT!!!  So that means there are virtually no secrets.  I am pretty sure when I told my mom I was pregnant for the first time and asked her not to tell anyone yet since I was really only like one minute pregnant, I think it took about an hour before my first aunt called to congratulate me!  I sometimes feel sorry for the girls who are marrying into this family.  I don't think they know what this really means for them...but they'll find out soon enough.  And they'll get used to it just like the rest of us!  I think when I call to tell my mom I am pregnant again, I might just set up a conference call so they can all hear at once!

I know my grandparents are extremely proud of the legacy they have left behind.  I mean, they would definitely be happier if we all went to church and probably prayed a little more, but overall, I think they'd be pretty damn proud of us!  They taught us the meaning and the importance of family.  We are continuing what they started and I know they are both looking down from heaven with big smiles when we all get together.

Here's a picture from my cousin Meghan's wedding last month.  I think this includes everyone except my uncle Garry and all the great grandkids.  There is no denying that we are one big, ass family!

And here is a picture of me and my cousins...I love them all!  We are all so unique, smart, talented, crazy, loving and fun!  And as my Aunt Michelle says, we're all good looking!  My sister Laurie is the oldest and Sarah is the youngest...and she's not even that young anymore!  We recently all partied together at Meghan's wedding...and it was a blast!  And a large chunk of us even hit the after-party together and it was awesome!!!

So to my family, I love you all...a lot!  I wish we weren't so far away. Thanks for all the happiness, laughter and love you bring to my life!  I look forward to our family continuing to grow in the years to come.

Go Cards!

Sick of being sick!

I want to start this post by saying in the grand scheme of things, I have VERY healthy children and I thank God everyday, a few times a day, for blessing me with two healthy kids!!!  That being said....I am completely over the constant wave of illness that has seemed to follow little Kahn for the past 7 weeks!!  The kid can't catch a break!

At the beginning of September, on his first day of school actually, he got hand, food and mouth disease...yep, gross!!  That night he came down with a fever, and two days later he had sores in his mouth and his face, hands, legs, feet, bottom of feet, and torso were covered with the most disgusting blisters ever!  Apparently, hand, foot and mouth is pretty common in kids, however, my pediatrician said Kahn had the worst case he had ever seen.  Even worse than pictures of bad cases they show in text books.  Nice, huh?  I basically had to keep him out of school for a week because he looked so bad.  He wasn't contagious, but how could I send a kid with disgusting blisters on his face to school?!? So, we quarantined him to the house for a week and waited for him to start looking presentable.

Right as his blisters were beginning to clear and I was so excited about sending him to school, Olivia brought home the stomach flu from school.  She had it VERY mildly, but me, little Kahn and big Kahn were completely wiped out by it.  Just miserable!!!  And of course, we were hit by the flu on the first home Falcons game of the season.  I stayed home as I was vomiting like crazy, but big Kahn, of course, felt he couldn't miss the first game and tried to suck it up.  He wasn't successful...after getting sick numerous times in the porta-potty outside the Georgia Dome (disgusting!!!), he called a friend to come pick him up. Needless to say, we both missed the first home game of the season!  But little Kahn definitely had it the worst out of all of us.  He literally threw up every 30 minutes for about 8 hours straight.  It was very scary.  Why didn't we take him to the Emergency Room?  Good question and the same thing my pediatrician asked, but me and Kahn were also vomiting all night and neither of us was able to actually get in the car and drive!  Little Kahn on and off puked the next day so I eventually took him to the doctor.  They gave him some medicine to stop the vomiting, but it took him another few days to get his energy back.  By this time, he has missed the first 2 weeks of school.  So glad I pay that expensive tuition to have a kid home with me!

I think he may have been healthy for about a week, when he got his most recent cold.  The cold turned into a sinus infection and ear infection and non-stop coughing (of course, all this starts while I was on a girl's weekend at the beach)!  So, again, we were back at the doctor, trying to figure out what was wrong.  Well, after 12 days of straight coughing (which included being sent home from school for coughing so much he threw up all over his classroom), today we found out that he has asthma!  Poor kid!  I mean, I know asthma is totally manageable and there are a lot worse things that he could have, but it just sucks!  So now we are on steroids every day and an inhaler as needed.  I am really looking forward to the relief these meds should give him though.  It's really hard to see your extremely active 2-year old, coughing and gasping for breath anytime he plays with his friends.

And on top of everything else, today we found out that he has a hernia and has to have surgery.  What?!?!  After noticing his scrotum/testicles/something-down-there just not right last night, we took him to the doctor today to have it checked out.  It was kind of a dual visit..."Yes, your son has asthma.  And he has a hernia".  We have been referred to a pediatric surgeon and will most likely have surgery in the next few weeks.  I am fairly certain this is a really simple surgery, but as a parent, you never want to put your child under anesthesia...at least I don't.  I mean, my son had 12 ear infections in his first year and a half of life and the only reason I didn't get him tubes is because of the anesthesia (and they only put them under for like 7 minutes for that procedure).  So needless to say, I am terrified!

So, it has just been one thing after another with him.  I'm seriously thinking about asking for a standing Monday morning appointment at the pediatrician!

I guess this is life with kids!  My life now.

So, here are two pics of the kids.  Beware...the one of Kahn is pretty graphic (although he's super happy in the pic)!  It's a picture of him with the blisters on his face from when he had hand, foot and mouth.  I'll do you a favor and spare you the pictures of his enlarged scrotum!  And then there's a really sad picture of Olivia.  I can't be certain she was actually sick in this picture, but she doesn't look happy so it qualified as an eligible picture for this post.  And by the way, she has a cold now too...

Guess who's having a few cocktails this weekend???  I am!

A festive fall weekend!

This weekend was definitely a family, festive, fun fall weekend...a really good weekend all around with just the most perfect weather!  And the kids were good--really good, actually!  As all parents know, your children's behavior can make or break a weekend.  And with us having a 2 year old, in the height of his terrible two's, and a very independent 1 year old, we just never know what we are going to get when we venture out and about.  I think we had a tantrum free weekend...which is rare!

We took the kids to a pumpkin patch in North Georgia on Saturday.  It was really fun!  We went on a hay ride, fed cows and goats and picked out a few pumpkins.  We actually got some really cute pictures of the kids.  Unfortunately, in almost every picture my kids seem to have a phallic shaped gourd in their hands!  (Although now that I am thinking about it, aren't all gourds shaped like a penis?)  We didn't notice it at the time, but when we looked back at the pics, we just had to laugh at about every picture.    But even with their firm grips on the gourds, they still looked as cute as ever!  And yes, we had to buy a few gourds so now we have phallic centerpieces on our tables at home for the holiday season!

On Sunday, we took the kids to Goblins in the Garden at the Atlanta Botanical Gardens.  It was a cute event with lots of crafts, face painting and treats.  My kids loved the train ride and Kahn loved the pony ride.  It was his first time on a pony and it was definitely a hit!  We didn't stay too long as we had to get home for nap time and it was a million degrees and I was sweating bullets, but a fun day, nonetheless!

I definitely think the kids are ready for Halloween and mom and dad are really excited about eating all of their Halloween candy!  (So if any of the Vinery Lane crew are reading this, we like Snickers, plain M&Ms and KitKat...none of that cheap crappy candy, like orange and black jelly beans, candy corn or tootsie rolls, please!)

So here are a few gourd free pictures of the kids!

Enjoy!

Meet Me!

So, this is my first attempt at a blog...about my life!  How boring, huh?  But I've been wanting to do this for a while now and finally got around to making my first post.  I follow a few friend's blogs and thought, 'hell, if they can blog about their lives, then I might also have something interesting to tell the world about mine'.  And so here it is--my blog!

My blog will really just be about my life--my kids, my family, our travels, my everyday experiences.  Probably little to nothing about work, nothing political, nothing really educational for that matter...just my life (with lots of pictures)...lots of pictures, probably mainly of my kids so get ready!!!

And, my life isn't really even that interesting so this might be a big flop!  I'm married (as you will read below), have two children and live in Atlanta. I work part-time at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (and when I say part-time, I really mean 32 hours/week so that's really 80% time, but I'll take the one day off per week!).  I am from Orlando and that is where my family lives.  I am very close to my family and hate that they are so far away.  What else?  What else?  I am a huge Gator fan (graduated from UF in 2000) and have recently become an Atlanta Falcons fan too.  We have season tickets and spend most of our Sundays during football season in a parking lot down by the Georgia Dome drinking lots of cocktails and then cheering the Falcons on.  I think I like the cocktails more than the Falcons, but I go to keep my husband company.  I love to travel as I am sure you will see in my posts.  We travel all the time!!!  I have the most amazing friends many of which live within a 8 house radius.

In sum, I'm pretty normal, but I love my life!

So it is really only fitting to start my first blog post with a picture of me, right?  Well, here's one of Kahn and I.  I don't even think I have any individual pictures of me.  And for those of you who don't know...Kahn is my husband.  This November, 11/11/11, we will be married 5 years.  Although, 5 years is kind of misleading.  We've been dating (or as he likes to say 'sleeping together'....oops, can I say that?) for 12 years.  He's wonderful, although I don't need to tell all of you that.  You already know it.  He is an amazing father, a loving husband, and my best friend!  And he puts up with me!

So 'Cheers' to my first blog post!