There are certain 'things' that I can't live without. My dryer, a microwave, TV, the Internet, air-conditioning!!! Well there is one thing that I love.... automatic doors on my minivan! The ease if opening and closing the doors with the press of a button has made my life so comfortable. It is great to be able to open the doors and the tailgate from my little key ring when I have a cart full of groceries and two boys hanging from it. Ahhh...life is good.
Until today. I took the van into the shop because it was having trouble with opening and closing its doors. I just assumed it needed a little WD-40 and some TLC. Well, I was wrong. The door tracks are cracked and both motors are blown. Ouch. AND it will cost over two grand to fix. Double ouch! Now I will have to manually open and close both doors. Triple ouch!
It has been nice having this automated life. Good-bye doors opening at the touch of a button. Good-bye my beloved closing of doors without having to take off my seat belt. Good-bye. (tear, sniff, sniff)
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Sunday, May 2, 2010
It's My Lucky Day
I was in out back yard weeding and was looking around at all the weeds I had left to pull when my eyes just locked in on one spot. I couldn't believe it. Three four-leafed clovers were just sitting there!! I have never found even one before. Three! I still can't believe it. I guess today is my lucky day!
Monday, April 19, 2010
Intimidated!!!!
Living one mile from Carowinds Amusement Park has it's benefits! We can hear the thrilling screams from our front porch. We drive past it every day. Last year was our first year to get season passes. The boys and I went on a weekly basis. We would head on over about when the park opened and stay until lunchtime. Go home, nap, then head back to the water park for the afternoon.
This year is no different. With our season passes burning a hole in our pockets, we headed over to Carowinds on Sunday. Well, it is a little different. Ok...a lot different. Carowinds has introduced a new ride. A new roller coaster. The Intimidator. Trust me. It is intimidating!!! It has a 211 foot drop at 74 degrees and reaches 75 miles per hour. Terrifying. You could hear the screams from all over the park.
We went with our neighbors. We would watch each others kids while taking turns riding the rides. I passed on riding The Intimidator. I am a big chicken. Always have been. Never been a thrill seeker. Tod rode it and said it was the best roller coaster ride he has ever been on. I said, "Ok. I'll do it!" As we slowly walked over to the ride I was devising a plan to weasel out of riding this crazy ride. I opened my mouth to tell Tod that I just couldn't do it......then wham...we literally ran into another neighbor, Jake and his 8 year old daughter, Maddie. They just got off of the Intimidator. What?!?! She said that it was really cool! Tod had this smirk on his face that had, "See, even an 8 year old loved the ride!" written all over it. I have never cursed a child before...until now. Great. There was no way out of it.
Approaching the ride my heart was beating out of my chest. My knees were shaking. I could barely walk up the steps to the rides platform. Tod kept reassuring me. It is fun! You will be fine! There is nothing to be afraid of! Oh, geesh! I cannot remember ever being that scared. As I watched little boys and girls get strapped in for their ride, I saw a woman that had to be 20 years older than me getting strapped in. Well, crap! There is no backing out now.
I was in a complete panic. This in not like any other ride. You creep slowly up to the top of the first hill that towers over the park. Then plummet straight down at rocketing speeds. Then right back up again to plummet back down into uncertain doom. I had tears coming out of the corners of my eyes. From fear? From anxiety? From knowing I will never see my children again!!!! When the ride was over I couldn't let go of my safety bar. My hands were gripped so tight Tod had to pry them open. I was very giggly when it was all over. My knees shook for a while after the ride. Tod said, "I am so proud of you for riding this!!! I have never heard you make any of those sounds before too!!! " So not only did I ride the scariest roller coaster ever...I completely embarrassed myself! Curse you Maddie!!!!!
This year is no different. With our season passes burning a hole in our pockets, we headed over to Carowinds on Sunday. Well, it is a little different. Ok...a lot different. Carowinds has introduced a new ride. A new roller coaster. The Intimidator. Trust me. It is intimidating!!! It has a 211 foot drop at 74 degrees and reaches 75 miles per hour. Terrifying. You could hear the screams from all over the park.
We went with our neighbors. We would watch each others kids while taking turns riding the rides. I passed on riding The Intimidator. I am a big chicken. Always have been. Never been a thrill seeker. Tod rode it and said it was the best roller coaster ride he has ever been on. I said, "Ok. I'll do it!" As we slowly walked over to the ride I was devising a plan to weasel out of riding this crazy ride. I opened my mouth to tell Tod that I just couldn't do it......then wham...we literally ran into another neighbor, Jake and his 8 year old daughter, Maddie. They just got off of the Intimidator. What?!?! She said that it was really cool! Tod had this smirk on his face that had, "See, even an 8 year old loved the ride!" written all over it. I have never cursed a child before...until now. Great. There was no way out of it.
Approaching the ride my heart was beating out of my chest. My knees were shaking. I could barely walk up the steps to the rides platform. Tod kept reassuring me. It is fun! You will be fine! There is nothing to be afraid of! Oh, geesh! I cannot remember ever being that scared. As I watched little boys and girls get strapped in for their ride, I saw a woman that had to be 20 years older than me getting strapped in. Well, crap! There is no backing out now.
I was in a complete panic. This in not like any other ride. You creep slowly up to the top of the first hill that towers over the park. Then plummet straight down at rocketing speeds. Then right back up again to plummet back down into uncertain doom. I had tears coming out of the corners of my eyes. From fear? From anxiety? From knowing I will never see my children again!!!! When the ride was over I couldn't let go of my safety bar. My hands were gripped so tight Tod had to pry them open. I was very giggly when it was all over. My knees shook for a while after the ride. Tod said, "I am so proud of you for riding this!!! I have never heard you make any of those sounds before too!!! " So not only did I ride the scariest roller coaster ever...I completely embarrassed myself! Curse you Maddie!!!!!
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
"B"
It seems like letter names are a big deal in our house. I never really noticed it until Brady came along. Let me explain...
When I met Tod everyone called him OD for O'Donnell. Honestly I thought his name was "Odie" at first and thought that was just strange! Anyway, the OD letter name stuck all through college.
Tod is actually his initials. My sister calls him T-O-D. Yep, spells it out. Yet another Letter name for him.
About 18 months after Jacob was born we realized that every other male child has the name Jacob. He needed a nickname! He didn't really look like a Jake. We even thought of him going by his initials.... J.T., but that didn't stick. So he is known by J. Not Jay. Just the letter J.
I thought having an OD and a J would be enough. Nope. Brady just kind of evolved into B. We have always called him B. He loves it. He loves having a letter name. He even lovingly named his blanket B also. Our B has a B.
The other day I was sitting in the Kitchen with B and his B. I asked him if he loved his B. He said, "Yes! Mommy, you are a "B" too!" At first I was shocked. We all know what being a B really is. TOD, wiping away tears, said, "I think he means it as a compliment!!" I sure hope so. It would be nice to have a letter name. Just not sure if I want to be called a "B"!!!
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Bedtime
Bedtime is always a source of stress for me. Getting the boys bathed, dressed, read to, and calmed down is quite a chore. Now with the sun staying out longer it is even harder to drag them inside for bedtime.
We made a decision to have the boys share a bedroom. We bought bunk beds that are two double beds so they have plenty of room to grow into their beds. Do they use all of this room? Well, yes and no. Both boys either sleep in the bottom bunk or the top bunk...together. After tucking them in I turn off the light and walk down the hallway. I can hear little giggles and lots of shuffling. They are changing beds. This happens several times each night. The boys will start off in the bottom bunk then shift to the top bunk. One of them will have to go potty so then they will move on down to the bottom bunk. It goes on like this for a while. We also hear lots of "Stop it's! and Get off me's!, but mostly it is giggling.
Some nights it is frustrating to get them to settle down with several trips to their room to quiet them down. I keep reminding myself that these noises are good. They like each other. They are sharing with each other. They want to spend time together. I just need to remind myself of this at 10pm when they are still awake giggling!!!
We made a decision to have the boys share a bedroom. We bought bunk beds that are two double beds so they have plenty of room to grow into their beds. Do they use all of this room? Well, yes and no. Both boys either sleep in the bottom bunk or the top bunk...together. After tucking them in I turn off the light and walk down the hallway. I can hear little giggles and lots of shuffling. They are changing beds. This happens several times each night. The boys will start off in the bottom bunk then shift to the top bunk. One of them will have to go potty so then they will move on down to the bottom bunk. It goes on like this for a while. We also hear lots of "Stop it's! and Get off me's!, but mostly it is giggling.
Some nights it is frustrating to get them to settle down with several trips to their room to quiet them down. I keep reminding myself that these noises are good. They like each other. They are sharing with each other. They want to spend time together. I just need to remind myself of this at 10pm when they are still awake giggling!!!
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Wilson Creek
Over the weekend we went to my parents house to celebrate my Mother's birthday. We had a wonderful weekend. Tod actually broke the son-in-law rule and beat my Dad at golf. Big no-no! After all was forgiven we continued to celebrate with a juicy steak and great wine.
On Sunday we headed up into the mountains to a place called Wilson Creek. On the way up we actually saw a beat up pickup truck with a bumper sticker that said, "I'd Rather Be At Wilson Creek!" Hmmm..must be an interesting place! Well, it was an amazing place. As we headed off the paved road and creeped along the creekside dirt road the scenery changed. A wild area of rapids, waterfalls, and big boulders jutting out over the creek. A perfect place for little boys to climb and mothers to worry!
Jacob and Brady loved climbing on the rocks and throwing sticks into the creek. My Dad took lots of pictures.
The kayakers went down the first little waterfall and chatted with the boys. Made them feel like a part of their adventure.
And...drumroll please... here is a very rare family photo!! Brady wasn't too happy because he wasn't quite finished with his sandwich and it was starting to rain.
On Sunday we headed up into the mountains to a place called Wilson Creek. On the way up we actually saw a beat up pickup truck with a bumper sticker that said, "I'd Rather Be At Wilson Creek!" Hmmm..must be an interesting place! Well, it was an amazing place. As we headed off the paved road and creeped along the creekside dirt road the scenery changed. A wild area of rapids, waterfalls, and big boulders jutting out over the creek. A perfect place for little boys to climb and mothers to worry!
Jacob and Brady loved climbing on the rocks and throwing sticks into the creek. My Dad took lots of pictures.
A group of four kayakers unloaded their gear and launched into the creek from where we were sitting. My Mom chatted with them and found out they were from Canada and just came down to kayak down Wilson Creek! The boys were fascinated. One man allowed Jacob and Brady to sit in his boat. As you can tell by the look on their faces...they loved it.
The kayakers went down the first little waterfall and chatted with the boys. Made them feel like a part of their adventure.
And...drumroll please... here is a very rare family photo!! Brady wasn't too happy because he wasn't quite finished with his sandwich and it was starting to rain.
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Snow Bunnies!
Well, it's been about eight years since I have been skiing. It's about time! My very dear friend, Tracy and I decided to take a trip into the North Carolina mountains and see if we could conquer the slopes. Neither of us had skied in a very long time so there were no expectations of "swooshing" down the mountain.
Tracy failed to inform me that she is a MUCH better skier than me! The first run was pretty easy. We stayed on the easiest slope for a while. Then we ventured to the midway point. I tumbled down the mountain until we reached the easy slope. Then it was smooth sailing.
Here we are on the ski lift.
You can't tell, but it was really crowded. What a beautiful day!
After about two hours of skiing we were so hot! We went back to our locker and took off most of our layers. On the way out we passed the bar and had to have a little liquid courage to go to the top of the mountain!!
We skied for the rest of the afternoon and had such a good time. Tracy gracefully skiing down the mountain and me creating the snowball effect behind her! It has been three days since our trip and I am still sore with a huge bruise on my knee. Whenever I feel the soreness I just remember how much fun it was to spend the day with my friend!
Tracy failed to inform me that she is a MUCH better skier than me! The first run was pretty easy. We stayed on the easiest slope for a while. Then we ventured to the midway point. I tumbled down the mountain until we reached the easy slope. Then it was smooth sailing.
Here we are on the ski lift.
You can't tell, but it was really crowded. What a beautiful day!
After about two hours of skiing we were so hot! We went back to our locker and took off most of our layers. On the way out we passed the bar and had to have a little liquid courage to go to the top of the mountain!!
We skied for the rest of the afternoon and had such a good time. Tracy gracefully skiing down the mountain and me creating the snowball effect behind her! It has been three days since our trip and I am still sore with a huge bruise on my knee. Whenever I feel the soreness I just remember how much fun it was to spend the day with my friend!
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