Tuesday, March 17, 2009

A "Grand" Weekend

My kids had the opportunity this past weekend to spend quality time with both sets of grandparents. Terry's parents came down from Columbus, Georgia to see the kids. It had been awhile since the kids had seen them so initially they were a little shy, but they came around fairly quickly and ended up having a great time hanging out all weekend! They stayed from Thursday through Sunday. When they left on Sunday, we packed up and rode to DeBary to celebrate my mom's birthday. We had a nice time as always! Here are some pictures...Enjoy!

Monday, March 9, 2009

Baseball, Babysitters and Brinner

The Parks had a wonderful weekend!!!! On Saturday, we hung out as a family before Terry and I went on a 'date'...yes, I said it. A DATE! I'll get to that later. We spent the day doing some cleaning up around the house and just enjoying each other's company. Terry decided that it was time to broaden TJ and Olivia's athletic horizons and formally teach them how to use the tee ball set that he bought a loooong time ago. Here are some pics of their first tee ball lesson in their indoor gym, formerly known as Olivia's room.



Saturday also marked a first in that we got a babysitter for TJ and Olivia. Other than relatives (my parents, my sister, and Terry's parents) we had never left the kids with anyone before Saturday night. One of the BCC athletic boosters invited us over to their Mardi Gras themed seafood boil and I was content with the idea of staying at home with the kids while Terry attended. Apparently Terry really wanted me to go because he asked if I was comfortable with getting a babysitter. I was a little hesitant at first until he told me who he had in mind...their (and our) beloved BCC Montessori teacher, Ms. Kim! Now you all know how I feel about BCC Montessori. The kids (and we) absolutely adore that school and the teachers so this was a PERFECT first babysitter for them (and for us)! We got the kids bathed and fed before we left for the function and they couldn't have been happier to see Ms. Kim. This particular teacher puts everything to music with her beautiful singing voice...so naturally they immediately got out their 'band in a box" complete with maracas and symbols and started playing.



After playing music they ran and got their favorites books for her to read. When Terry and I left, they happily bid us farewell! It was great!



Terry and I had a wonderful time at the seafood boil. The host couple, the Laham's had a beautiful house and put on quite an event in their backyard. Complete with a DJ, wonderful appetizers and seafood for days (lobster, shrimp, gumbo...I get full just thinking about it.) Terry and I truly enjoyed ourselves on our 'date'! It was our first date since...since we left the kids with my family so we could steam clean the carpet;) Ha ha! Yep, I think that was our last date! Anyway, we returned to the kids asleep in their beds and Ms. Kim relaxing in our living room. She gave us a play by play of their fun filled evening, similar to the reports that we get at school. It was exactly what I needed. Hopefully she will be available again soon:)

Sunday afternoon, we went to DeBary to visit the Johnson family for the day. As always when we visit, it is a mini Johnson family reunion as my parents driveway turns into a Toyota car lot. My mom, dad and sister were just so happy to see their grands/niece/nephew and TJ and Olivia were equally as excited to see them. Mom, of course, had a meal ready in minutes that tasted SOOO good (Rachel Ray has nothing on my mom's 30 minute meals!) and Gpa and Ti-Ti (as they call my sister) were ready to play!!! Of course it was a trip for business and pleasure. Gma got Olivia's hair braided for the week. Olivia has transitioned into consistently allowing her hair to be done while awake, as long as good cartoons are on. This time we chose to watch "Leap Frog's - The Letter Factory". (EXCELLENT video, by the way. I have been playing this video since TJ and Olivia turned 1-ish...before they were even saying any words. It really helps them learn the letters as well as the sounds.) Olivia's hair turned out so pretty! We all had such a great time as you can see.




And finally, "brinner". This is the word that my friend, Stephanie, from high school uses to describe having breakfast for dinner. TJ and Olivia are now in a phase where all they choose to eat is oatmeal. To be quite honest, I don't mind this stage at all! It's MUCH better than their phase of not wanting to eat ANYthing and it literally takes 2 minutes to make oatmeal so there is much less stress involved on my part. It could be much worse! Here are some pics from tonight's brinner of oatmeal with raisins, a banana and a whole wheat Eggo waffle. Terry is out of town recruiting so he did not partake of our gourmet brinner;) We enjoyed the extra hour of daylight playing at the dinner table and during bathtime.



After TJ's breathing treatment and a bedtime story, the kids went to bed and fell right asleep. After I finish this blog and catch up on my shows, I will hopefully do the same! Good night!