Isabel, Joe and some cheesecake

One of the things that I love about Joe is how much he loves our babies.

One of the many ways he shows this love is by spending special time with each of them.

Last week, he invited Isabel to go on a date with him.

She accepted, happily.

She wore her new pink maxi-dress and had me fix her hair and do her makeup.

Then she posed for a mini-photo shoot in our backyard.



Oh, this girl is just so beautiful, inside and out. Her sweet spirit shines through that smile, don't you think? And keeps on shining, even when she's not smiling...

Their date took them to the mall, then to The Cheesecake Factory (I was a bit jealous).

One other thing I love about Joe? His ability to capture the perfect photograph.

She is such a character! (And that cheeseburger is as big as her!)

The two of them had a wonderful evening together. I hope Isabel wants to keep up this tradition as long as the two of them are alive. I loved going on "dates" with my dad (usually to the movies). The memories of these times will be so special to her when she's older, I am sure.

"Of all Nature's gifts to the human race, what is sweeter to a man than his children?"

-Marcus Tullius Cicero

Great Minds think alike...

Last week, Gabe and I were snuggling up in my bed, looking for a good scary show to watch.

There were previews for a new show on BBC America called "Being Human".

We started to watch it together, but I had to pause in the middle of a not-very-appropriate-for-little-eyes scene and put Gabe in his own bed.

The jist of the show is three 20-somethings who end up sharing an apartment together (I've heard it described as "Friends" of the underworld). Annie is a ghost, George is a werewolf, and the heartthrob on the right...that is my new boyfriend, Mitchell, played by Aidan Turner, the only actor's name I could remember.

Be still my beating heart.

If you have BBC on Demand, go check out this show for yourself. If you don't, go to Youtube for a few scenes.

Where does the "great minds think alike" come in?

While in Lulaville this weekend, I started to tell Lula about this great new show. She knew immediately what I was talking about, and we got to watch the premiere together on Saturday night.

Good times, y'all. Why don't you come and get hooked with us?

Lulaville Overload...(Don't say I didn't warn you)

Lula and I have been planning this trip for months, so excited to get our kiddos and our husbands together for a long weekend.

This post, chockful of many pictures, is the story of our bloggy meet and greet.

After driving in the van for five hours, making our way through traffic jams, random police checks and little old ladies putzing down the country roads, we finally made it to Lulaville aka Pennington Gap, Virginia.

Gabe and Caroline hit it off pretty well, with Caroline only being slightly intimidated by Gabe's overzealous behavior...

Within five minutes of meeting each other, Libbey and Isabel were already well on their way to becoming friends (I had no doubt about this...they are both the sweetest things ever).

I loved the way Caroline called me "Head-er" in her adorable southern accent.

Poor Elijah was the odd man out, with no boys his age to play with. He kept himself entertained with his new cell phone and playing video games with Scott and Joe in the man-room.

"Dinnertime!" Look at those well-behaved children...

Joe sitting at the kids' table, enjoying our delicious dinner.

We stayed up late, we talked and laughed and carried on, the kids did some night-swimming, then we woke up to Lula's homemade pancakes and headed out for a girls' day to get pedicures.

Libbey and Lula, simply stunning.

Me and Isabel, excited for her first pedicure ever!

The girl at the salon gave them the full treatment and made them feel like a million bucks.

Lovin' the blue polish...

After a yummy Panera lunch, we headed back for an afternoon swim. The weather was gorgeous, 80 degrees and sunny, and my skin was aching for a tan. The view in these mountains is to die for!

Even Isabel got up the nerve to jump off of the diving board, after seeing Gabe do it :)

Hmmm, not exactly bikini material, but it'll do.

Elijah learned to wakeboard, after many attempts.

Thank goodness we took advantage of the nice weather, because by the evening, storms rolled in and stuck around all day on Sunday. We went to the Mount Carmel Baptist Church with the Litton family, and enjoyed a great service (it was not too long, Lula). Look at these sweet faces:

For our last dinner, we decided to go into town to eat. Caroline just had to ride in our van with Gabe, which melted my heart.

I love this picture of Scotty with his baby...what a great dad!

Monday morning came entirely too soon, and we had to pack up and head back home to Cincinnati. And even though we all had an incredible time, this sight always makes me happy:

Coming into town from Kentucky, knowing we are almost home.

Lula, thanks for an awesome time and for being such a wonderful hostess. We had fun, so much that when Gabe woke up this morning, he stated that he wanted to go back to Lula's "right now!".

Next time, it's our turn to host, 'kay?

Goin' on a Road Trip...

Leavin' in my mini-van this afternoon.

Goin' on a road trip, gonna have some fun.

Drive south, turn right at the Rite-Aid.


Stop at Food City for snacks and beverages to be enjoyed poolside.


Pull into the quaint town of Pennington Gap, unload the kids and have a weekend full of fun!


Watch out, Lula, here we come!

Little Things

Feeling grateful for so many things today...

Fresh tomatoes from my garden, along with basil that just happened to sprout up right next to them (perfect combination, huh?).


Reading a good book, relaxing on my patio, listening to the sound of my kids and their friends jumping on the trampoline and playing hide-n-seek in the backyard.

Enjoying this unseasonably cool weather we've been having (70's in July?!).

The good health of myself and my family.

Things we so often overlook and take for granted. Things we would most certainly grieve for and miss if they were gone. These things I am grateful for, among many others.

Truly, God is so good. Sometimes I just need to open my eyes and see that it is so.

(And then blog about it afterwards...)

Whirlwind week

Anyone else getting the feeling of needing a vacation from your summer vacation?

This past week has been especially busy, with the overlap of two sports for Elijah, lots of work at the hospital for me, and preparations for a trip to visit a certain blogger and her sweet family next weekend...

Baseball season finished Saturday with Elijah being asked to play on our town's All-star team, along with his very best friend, Aaron. Gabe made a friend along the way; he and Tanner were a hysterical pair at the practices and the games, pretending to be baseball players themselves or finding the inevitable mud puddle to explore.

Boys...

(They were so excited to be "twins" in their matching library t-shirts!)



Elijah on the far left, Aaron second from the right. These boys have been best buddies for the past eight years, but were on opposing teams this season. Elijah's team was in second place, Aaron's in first this year, and both boys were chosen to be All-stars. I love that Elijah has such a great friend!


Although we didn't win the tournament, it was an exciting way to end the season. Here's a pic of Elijah making it to third base, with Aaron just behind him at second.

There were tears and frustration at losing such a big game, but they dried up quickly as we began the transition to...

Football season!

Elijah picked up his equipment and ran home to try it all on. He and Joe tossed the ball around for awhile, and the tears were forgotten.

Gabe went along for the ride for most of Elijah's sports; Isabel kept her nose in a book or stayed with friends and/or Mamaw Kay; and I lost my voice temporarily from all the cheering.

After being gone for most of the week, my house looks like this:

Guess what I'll be doing today?

What about you? Did you have a good weekend? Are your kids involved in sports? Are you in dire need of a housekeeper?

Delay

Sorry about the delay between posts.

Gonna be spending a lot of time with these guys, making up for all those hours spent at the hospital...


I'm sure I'll have some great Gabe stories when I return :)

Six weeks

Looking at the calendar today, I realized that we still have six weeks of summer vacation left.

Working so much this summer has been a bit of a bummer. I like the extra money, but I will be glad when I can cut back in September.

With my busy schedule, I have to be intentional, and plan things for us to do. I told the kids to list three things that they really want to do this summer.

Gabe: Go to a beach; go to Cocoa Key (an indoor waterpark); go to Entertrainment Junction (an awesome train playplace).

Elijah: Play baseball; play football; go to King's Island.

Isabel: Visit Lula; get pedicures on a mommy-and-me date; go shopping.

So far, so good. I think they'll all get their wishes fulfilled this summer. Stay tuned for pictures of our adventures.

What about you? What do you still want to do this summer? What about your kiddos?

Autumn Allergies

Remember this sweet little kitten?

Yep, that's Isabel's Autumn.

Guess who's allergic?

The mini-me of my dad, the spittin' image of his "big" papaw...

Gabe.

A couple of weeks ago, Autumn decided (along with the rest of us) that she wanted to be an outside cat. She's doing great in the great outdoors (and my kitchen counters are cat-pee-free...don't ask).

This morning, Gabe woke up at the godforsaken hour of 6:30am. I convinced him to lay back down on the couch and cover up with Sissy's soft blankie.

An hour later, a sneezing-coughing-eyes-swelled-nearly-shut Gabe comes into my room.

"My eye is itchy, Mommmmmy" is what I woke up to, the incredible sight of his poor little face is what caused me to jump out of bed and run for the medicine cabinet.

I simultaneously gave him a dose of Benadryl, stripped off his clothes, washed his hands and face, and threw the blanket into the wash.

That soft blanket of Sissy's, which used to be Autumn's blanket, which Gabe was cuddled up in for a whole hour.

Guess that confirms the fact that Gabe is like his grandpa in yet one more aspect: cat allergies.

(I tried to get a photo of Gabe's eyes, but he said the flash would hurt; I think he was just embarassed, and knew it would end up on my blog...)

All is well, now. Two doses of Benadryl and a thorough house cleaning later, and Gabe is doing fine. Sorry, Autumn, your days of being an indoor kitty are officially over.

Did you know?

So busy this week with work, and kids, and ballgames, and laundry, and husbands...

Well, you get the idea.

I was having a hard time coming up with something to blog about, until I read Angie's post today and decided to join her in the "List of ten things you might not know about me" meme.

Here goes.

1. I am the youngest of four girls. Two of my older sisters I love dearly and talk to often; the other one, I haven't seen in years. And I'm okay with that, even though that sounds awful.

2. I still miss my dad a lot, even though he's been gone for four years now. Sometimes when I'm missing him, I get really pissed at him for smoking all those years, even though I begged him to quit.

3. I always thought I would have four babies. For awhile, I held out hope that I might convince Joe to have a fourth. Now that Gabe is almost five, I'm really content with just having three healthy and amazing kiddos. (Gabe counts for two kids, I often tell myself!)

4. I hate my nose. And my varicose veins on my legs. If I could afford cosmetic surgery, these are the two things I would fix.

5. I really love having short hair. And even though I used to be a towhead blond as a kid, my natural color now is an ugly dark dishwater brownish-blond with gray. Thank God for good hairstylists and dye.

6. I love my job. If I had the choice of staying at home versus working part time like I do, I really think I would still choose to work. I have the best of both worlds, and it's good for my kids to be with their dad when I'm gone, and it's good for their dad to know that I'm still a woman of independent means.

7. I had a lot of cats in my childhood, and they all met their deaths in very unusual ways, through no fault of ours. We called it the "Klenk curse", and I still can't believe I've had our cat, Sugar, for eight years now.

8. I used to be very shy. Until I was once accused of being "stuck-up". Then I swore I would talk to everyone, so that people would know that I am truly not a snob. Now, there's not a shy bone in my body.

9. If I could afford it, I would buy a Homearama house (like the photo), making sure to have a garden room full of scrapbooking supplies and photography stuff. My dream is to be a famous scrapbooker someday, along the lines of Becky Higgins.

10. I have been blogging for almost two years now, and I enjoy it more now than I did when I started. Meeting other women online (and sometimes in real life) is something I never would have imagined doing!




There you have it, ten things you never knew about little old me.

Wanna play along? Go ahead, we're all dying to know more about each other!

Taking the Plunge

I've finally decided to do it.

Much to the delight of Lula and Michelle. Much to the chagrin of Joe.

I am taking the plunge, getting ready to enter the world of texting, and mobile email, and Blackberries.

Lula promises to give me a poolside tutorial when we visit Lulaville later this month. (I'm gonna need it!)

I'm curious. How many of you already text? Do you have a Blackberry, or an i-Phone, or something different? Can you imagine living without it, once you have it?

I'm excited. I get an employee discount with Verizon, so I think that's who I'm gonna use. Now I need a book about txt lingo...

Party on!

I'm so glad we celebrated Independence Day on the third of July 'round here, 'cause the fourth has been cold and rainy.

We had a small crowd, but it was all good. Lots of yummy food, goody pails for the kids (lovin' Target's dollar spot, I tell ya!), sparklers, and fireworks to finish it off.

Gabe was in rare form (see previous post), but he was lookin' awful sweet at the beginning, posing with Elijah before everyone arrived...


Isabel, sweet as ever. She even used her own babysitting money to buy matching shirts for her little cousins. Oh, this girl...

My sister, Rhonda, came with her own crafty idea of making watermelon pops. They were a big hit, and well on their way to becoming a July 4th tradition.

All you need is a cookie sheet, slices of watermelon, a star-shaped cookie cutter and popsicle sticks. Put 'em in the freezer for one hour, then make some kiddos smile:

I LOVE this picture of my niece, Kylee!

Paul's wondering if they go with beer?

Our own little stars...Isabel, age 9; Katlyn, age 6; and Kylee, age 3.

Elijah convinced the crowd to join in on a fierce game of four-square. Brings back memories of recess, doesn't it?

Rhonda's not competitive at all. Nope, not my sister.

No fireworks pics; the June bugs were ferocious, and my time was spent beating them off of the kids and keeping them out of my hair (yuck!).

So, what was your 4th like? Do you have any great traditions for the holiday? Do you hate June bugs, too?

Guilt

The other day, Jen from Buried with Children did a post about Mommy Guilt.

We all suffer from it, some days more than others.

Judging from the nightmare I had last night, my mommy guilt meter was at an all time high.

I woke up this morning with an awful headache, probably from sobbing my heart out into my pillow. Every time I went back to sleep, the dream just picked up from where it left off.

(Good dreams NEVER do this.)

I dreamt that Gabe was sick. Then he died in my arms. The rest of the dream was spent in the aftermath of this tragedy. I was nauseous when I finally woke up for good, to the sight of that sweet boy next to my bed, very alive and wanting his breakfast.

I grabbed him and hugged him tight. He tolerated this for a moment, then squirmed away.

Try as I might, I cannot get this dream out of my head.

You see, yesterday was a trying day with Gabe. We had company and fireworks and a cookout. He was in rare form, alternating between excited screams and tearful fits. I had to send him to his room, give him several timeouts, and threaten to put him to bed before the fireworks even began.

*sigh*

By the end of the evening, Gabe collapsed in exhaustion on the couch before our company even left, and I was ready to drown myself in Mike's Hard Lemonade.

Some days it is so darn hard to be that boy's mom.

Today, I am determined to be more patient. More loving. Less tired. Nicer. A better mom.

I pray that I succeed.

State of Mind

Welcome to Heather's guide on "How to arrive at a new state of mind".

1. Arrange for dependable childcare, so that you have no worries about your offspring while you're gone (thanks again, Kay!).

2. Find a great book on CD to listen to on the 3 1/2 hour drive north ("Duma Key" by Stephen King was our pick).

3. Get so excited about actually getting a three day break from everyday life that you hop on the first expressway, only to realize thirty minutes later you were supposed to be on 75 North, not 71 North (oops!).

4. Arrive without further mishap at the gorgeous bed and breakfast your husband picked out all by himself (Bashful Mermaid, here we are!).


5. Walk across the street to the beaches of Lake Erie, feeling like you're in an entirely new state, much less a new state of mind.

6. Enjoy a delicious dinner at a dockside restaurant, along with a "Summer Sipper" drink of white peach sangria (and a beer for Joe).

7. Pay a visit to the local winery. Buy lots of your favorite one (pink catawba is mine).

8. Warm up and relax in the hot tub, then robe up and model for your wife's (hundredth) photo.

9. Umm, I'm not telling.

10. Wake up to breakfast delivered right to your room, fresh from the oven.

11. Spend the day running through Cedar Point, riding roller coasters, eating your weight in thick-cut french fries and corn dogs, and laughing like kids the whole time. (Miss your kids a tiny bit, thinking how much fun they'd be having here.)

12. Collapse, exhausted, into bed after such a full day.

13. Enjoy a delicious breakfast of quiche, muffins, juice and coffee before checking out. Pack up the van, then board the local Jet Express ride to Put in Bay.

14. Walk several miles around the island, burning off those calories from the past couple of days. Find the local winery and enjoy (another) bottle of wine.

15. Take lots of photos once the sun decides to make an appearance.

16. Pose for the random stranger who kindly offers to take your picture together.

17. Hop on the return boat then make the drive back home, grateful for the chance to spend time together in a new and relaxed state of mind, even though you never even left your own state. Hug your babies and cherish the fact that they missed you as much as you missed them.

18. Start planning your next escape :)