Tega Cay 5k

We entered another race - we had to - it was in our community! Andy placed 5th overall and 1st in his age group and I was first female overall! The boys came to watch too and Landon was telling people "That is my daddy!" as he crossed over the line!

Broken?

After running in to use the bathroom right after Landon... he asks me, "What happened to your penis mommy? Is it broken?"

Holy Cow!

My day has become a string of "things to do" but I am actually liking my tight schedule - it really makes me look forward to the weekends! And I don't stress over where I should take the kids so that they are intellectually challenged each day.
Instead, I now wake up at 5:45 - I roll out of bed (literally) and talk myself into how much going back to work is worth it and blurry eyed, I make it to the shower. I usually have make up/hair dried before kids get up. I throw laundry in... get the coffee ready... one child is usually up by now. I get them up and try to get them excited about the day. As I am getting the first milk, then I hear the second one. Andy is getting ready for his run. He gets number 2 up and brings him downstairs. Breakfast is getting made - usually frozen waffles with choice of fruit. I am making my lunch. And in between trying to down my coffee, unloading/loading the dishwasher, double checking the diaper bag, making sure clothes are laid out so they go to daycare without having the "my dad dressed me" look, and most of all trying to squeeze in some quality time with my little cherubs before I leave at 7 a.m.

Panthers Game!

Andy scored great seats at the pre-season Panthers vs. Colts game - it was amazing to be that close to the field!

Back to Work...

I am officially back to work as of today. I have to say... so far it feels great to have a bit of separation between home and school. I love the boys - god I love them! But it makes our time that much more special when I pick them up at 3:15 and we have all afternoon/evening to play and catch up. And it also helps that they just love where they are. Yesterday they brought home an All About Me poster (even Chase too!) and under the "My favorite thing to do" category Landon told her to write "Drink some juice". I guess that at age 3 it's all about the simple things in life!

Anonymity? Not so much.

I was running the other morning without having to push an extra hundred pounds in kids and a stroller and as I was turning the corner, a woman says very nicely, "No kids today?"

Letchworth State Park

While in NY, we also visited Letchworth State Park and actually camped out in a cabin nestled in the woods (thanks to grandma Sandy!) The park is great for viewing what they call the "Grand Canyon of the East". It was so beautiful - there are many great hiking trails and incredible views!

Perspective

Chase was playing with a little house that has two doors that swing open and he can put his little people and animals in. He put his monkey inside and closed the door. Then opened the door, took monkey out, and began putting his foot inside of the little house. He quickly realized that wasn't going to work but then tried different angles to try to get his body inside that teeny, tiny house. After several attempts, he finally gave up.

New pj's = happy boys?

The boys received new pajamas from their Aunt, Uncle, and cousin who live in Texas and they were very happy and dancing up a storm in them! Thank you Texas Roemers!

Homesick or just missing vacation?

So Andy is officially back to work today and I am getting caught up on laundry and just general cleaning. Landon is talking nonstop about going back to (both) grandma's house - he doesn't quite grasp the concept of distance and time - the dreadful car ride seems forgotten. And today I find myself missing home (or what I called home for 18 years) and am wondering how we ended up in South Carolina. But then I realize we are here because I hate the snow, I love being only 3 hours from amazing beaches, and of course our jobs, which happen to be most important right now. So for now, we will act as birds do - going north in the summer and then coming back here for the rest of the year - not such a bad plan after all. Stay tuned for more NY pics - they are coming when I have a free moment again.
I write this as Chase is taking out every single placemat from the bottom drawer, placing them all over the kitchen floor, sitting on each, and trying to find a way to cover himself up with them. Ah well... at least he is occupied and safe.

Our day trip to Buffalo, NY

Niagara-on-the-Lake (Canada)

Andy and I had an afternoon getaway in this cute little town just across the border going into Canada. We had a great time touring the little shops, checking out the views of Lake Ontario, and enjoying time without kids in tow!

Grandma and Grandpa Schmidbauer

We began our trip in Middleport staying with my parents. The boys had so much fun running around the property and Landon especially loved driving the lawn mower with my dad - he was even really driving it... not sure if my dad knew that the blade was down... there was quite a path through the grass when they were done!

Girls night

I was able to catch up with my high school girlfriends for an amazing dinner at the Melting Pot. It's amazing that no matter how much time has gone by... you can always pick up where you left off.

Home Sweet Home

I don't know where to begin... our trip to WNY was such a blast! It was activity-packed, yet at the same time relaxing. I am going to do my best to re-capture our amazing vacation with pics. Thank you both grandma's and grandpa for making our trip the best! The boys are already missing you (and we are too!)

Farewell to Paci?

Sorry for my lack of writing... I have been in WNY for the past week and have been busy, busy, busy! But a fun busy - treating Buffalo as I would if I were a first time visitor. Today we ventured down to the Buffalo Waterfront and checked out the new section they just added on as their first step towards the downtown revitilization efforts. With kids in tow, we made sure that we had packed drinks, snacks, strollers, blankies, and of course Chase's paci as we NEVER leave home without it! Both kids were walking and excited to see the water. Chase as always was waddling behind with his paci in his mouth. We stopped for a moment to look at the sailboats in the harbor and also were intrigued with the floating seagull (I never knew seagulls actually swam!). Chase was at the railing, both arms through one opening and his hands are waving excitedly at the seagull and just as he decides he wants to say a few words (or to us - sounds), he opens his mouth and his paci drops, in slow motion, 15 feet to the water and just sits there bobbing away as a little fish swam up quickly to nibble at it. Chase raised his hand in the air, palm facing up, as if saying, "What happened?" And as I took a huge gulp thinking about our ride home with no paci, Landon reassured him by saying that if we got on the submarine we could get it for him. And for a brief moment, paci was forgotten.

Oh My Opposum!

This morning I was cleaning up after my one cup o' coffee and emptying all of the trash cans into my kitchen trash then was on my way to taking it to the garbage in the garage. I opened up the door to the garage and on the top step during a 1 second scan, this is what I saw... little beady eyes looking up at me... some fur... a long, wirey tail... then it ran. I screamed, slammed the door and yelled "Rats! We have rats in the house!" Although since Andy was out running, Landon was the one who fielded my moment of hysteria! I picked up Chase and told Landon that we were going to wait for Daddy on the porch... so we did. And during those minutes Landon felt the need for me to expand on what I saw. "What did you see Mommy? A rat? A cat? It scared you? In our garage?" And this went on until Andy walked up and I was again telling him in a trying-not-to-be-a-crazy-woman voice that we had a big rat. So Andy as mellow as can be, grabs a shovel and begins to slowly peel away things from the garage wall... the recycle bin... the refrigerator... the bin of toys... And that is when he yelled, "I found it! Although it is not a rat... it's an opposum." Even grosser... but at the same time I was thankful that it wasn't a dirty, old rat. I took the boys in the house and Andy took care of it. Landon was telling everyone that "Daddy scared away a cat with the hose." It's better said that way.

Wind Sheer?

So last night, I picked the boys up from their sitters and brought them home. Andy was out of town and was coming home late so I decided that a gourmet frozen pizza and fruit cups for dinner would be a great dinner! As we were coming home, I noticed that the sky was becoming darker... but thought nothing of it as afternoon thunderstorms are pretty normal around here. As the pizza was cooking it began to rain... then thunder... more thunder... then lightening. But then the wind began to pick up - the gusts were causing the tree branches to tap on my windows and then sheets of rain were hitting my windows... I looked out my front windows and could see only white - hmmm.... I had no satellite signal on my t.v. and I couldn't determine if our power was out or if Landon had really turned off all of the lights purposely so his flashlight would glow. I quickly gathered up both kids and we huddled in the closet (in our tornado drill spot). I got a call from a neighbor who said a few trees were down in the back - luckily both fell the other way - away from our house. We waited... or I should say, I waited while the boys played in the closet with their flashlights, oblivious to anything other than their new "cave". The rain finally let up... more calls from neighbors... everyone checking in with everyone. Turns out that we had a wind sheer which is a straight line tornado whipping through our backyard. Good thing we "played" in the closet for a while. As for the pizza... it was a bit crispy, but still edible!

Fourth of July

The fourth of July celebrations are huge in the south. In fact people begin celebrating a week prior and days after. How do I know they are celebrating? Fireworks of course. Since they are legal... not just the sparklers...all kinds - the really loud ones that whistle as they go up and then pop... the ones that shoot one after another in all different directions... and even end up under someone's car - oops. And the really pretty ones that make you really glad that we live in the country that we are in... because the big booming sounds make us smile, reflect, and appreciate... not run for cover. Landon and Chase didn't stay up this year to see the fireworks but they were able to enjoy the daytime festivities - our local parade and a few parties.

My Boys!