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!

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!

Monday Night Manners

When we got home today, with little preparation we were able to sit down at the dinner table thanks to Terry:)  He came home for his pre-game nap and prepared dinner so I didn't have to do it when I got home with the kids.  I love that boy.  Anyway, while they were still buckled in their booster seats after we finished eating, I utilized the time that they were interacting with each other to clean up the kitchen and get the dishwasher ready to run before we headed for bathtime.  Well tonight while I was cleaning up this is what happened:

TJ:   <<'burrrrrrrrrrp'>> Excuse me.

Me:    <<'mouth wide open'>> Good job with saying excuse me, TJ!!!!

TJ:  You're welcome.

A few minutes later, after Olivia reminded me to give her her Flintstone vitamin (by pointing to the cabinet where I keep them and saying "vitamin!  vitamin!") she accidently dropped it on the floor.  So, naturally, I picked it up for her since she was still buckled in (3 second rule was in full effect) and she proceeded to say: "Thank you, Mom!"

I think I have the most polite 2 year olds on the planet.

Bathtime!!!!

Lazy Weekend

The Parks family didn't do anything dramatic this weekend. We just hung around the house and relaxed. Here are a few pics from the weekend:

I had to capture this moment. I had asked TJ to stay in their room until he calmed down (not sure what he was 'excited' about). As always, Olivia took care of TJ by, first, bringing him something to play with (a VeggieTales movie case) and then going to get herself a book before plopping on the floor beside him...I guess in support...or protest. I love that they take care of each other like this:)

Gma and Gpa came last night as opposed to tonight and did Olivia's hair. She was extra resistant so it took a looooong time to finish her hair. My mom and dad insisted that I take a nap while they were here. Terry had been in and out due to practice and a function at the school so I certainly did not turn down that opportunity. They had a great time with their 'grands' as you can see.  Here is a picture of Gma and TJ reading their favorite Backyardigans book.

This is TJ and Olivia climbing on their Gpa.  You can also see a picture of Olivia and her afro before her Gma got her hands on it.


Here are TJ and Olivia spending some time in their playroom reading in their wagon, one of their favorite activities:)


Olivia, I'm sure with TJ's help, got into their armoir of clothes and decided to put on as many items of clothing as she could.  It's hard to see, but underneath her tights are her Christmas socks that light up.  It was a hilarious sight to see!




Our favorite Backyardigans episode and book has a character "Pirate Captain Moody" and they LOVE to make the pirate sound "Arrrrrr" along with the hand motions just like Pirate Captain Moody does.   I guess at this point Olivia and TJ thought Olivia looked like a pirate because they started making their pirate sounds and hand motions.  

TJ also got a haircut today. He did pretty good. Towards the end, as is usually the case, I had to occupy him so Terry could finish. With Olivia sitting on my lap and TJ sitting in the chair getting a haircut, we read a few Berenstein Bears books.




What I thought was pretty funny was that at this point in the haircut, TJ yelled out "TJ allllllllll done!". And all we could say was...not quite, TJ...not quite. Can you imagine if we let him go out in public with his hair looking like this?!



Of course after TJ got a haircut, the entire house had to listen to Daddy for the rest of the evening say to TJ:  "Nice haircut, TJ! Who is your barber?!" As long as it's free, I guess it's worth it!

Lastly, here is a picture of TJ and Olivia eating daddy's pasta like it was the best meal they've had in days. This happens EVERY time Daddy gives them their dinner (even if I cooked it...which, in this case, I didn't). They did eat my spaghetti/mixed veggie concoction today at lunch, so I guess I shouldn't be too mad...



That's about all. Off to bed...Good night!!

It's been awhile, I know.   Here is an outline of the events of the last few weeks.

• Went to DeBary to visit the family...Gma, Gpa and Ti-ti.  We were also able to see our friend James before he is deployed to Afghanistan again for 6 months. This was also an eventful weekend for me as I decided to cut my hair.  The ponytail is history!  But that has nothing to do with the kids and this blog so...moving on.
• They have a new favorite toy - their "notebook", fashioned after the Blues Clues notebook.  If TJ had a choice he would eat, sleep and bathe with this notebook.  
• TJ and Terry got sick, thankfully not at the same time.  TJ's fever got up to 105.5!  Thankfully he is okay.  But in order to help with his ongoing sinus infection and related illnesses, we are having to give him his breathing treatment more often.  One good thing that has come out of this is that he now sleeps through the night...probably because he can breathe.  Interesting concept.  Oh, and potty training got put on hold while TJ got over his sickness (which included diarrhea...enough said). 
• On Valentine's Day, we visited Tara at a volleyball tournament that her team was in (she coaches)...Terry's team had an away game in Miami. The kids had a blast.  They ran and ran and ran. TJ got to sit on the bench withe team during their match; and Olivia sat at the scorer's table during the match that Tara's team had to referee.   
• Gma and Gpa came to visit us this past weekend so they could see their "grands".  Mom, of course, braided Olivia's hair so I don't have to worry about it during the week (unless she gets too excited in the sandbox). 

That's about it...time for bed!  Enjoy the pics...Good night!

January Randomness

Here are some random pictures from the last few weeks...  

We are embarking on the wonderful world of potty training in the Parks household.  I took the first step and bought the potty, however, I'm not exactly sure what to do next.  I set the potty up in the living room so they could first get used to the process.

Despite these pictures, I think we are ready to go live.  I'll keep you posted.

I love this picture of my mom and TJ.  G-ma and G-pa came last Sunday just so my mom could braid Olivia's hair for the week...and of course because they missed their grandchildren! 

Olivia is very animated when she likes her food.  As you can tell she really likes grilled cheese sandwiches!

Here are my kids just being cute:) They love to say "cheeeese" when I take their pictures now! I love it!

Parks family at a Super Bowl party thrown by our friend Gabe. We had a great time with our group of friends here in Palm Bay. The kids were very sociable...everyone had a great time!


That's all for now!

Happy Birthday, Grandma Parks

Since TJ and Olivia were unable to spend today with their Grandma on her birthday, I figured we'd do the next best thing.  Happy Birthday, Grandma!  We hope you enjoy the video!  We love you!