Carson's Birthday Visit

My mom told me that on Saturday she and my grandmother would be driving to see us for a fast visit- really fast. They left Oak Ridge at 7:30am and were back on the road heading home by 2:00pm. The reason? To give Carson his birthday presents! Carson turns 3 this week on March 2nd, but we have opted to take him to Dollywood at the end of the month to celebrate and just stay at home this year for a mini-party (just the 5 of us). We were all really excited to see them but became a little distracted when Ella woke up that morning with a temp of 102. Tommy took her to the doctor while I got to visit and keep Carson and Tyler. Poor Tommy was gone for about 4 hours with the news upon his return of an ear infection and virus.

The party had to go on without them, and they were missed- but we still enjoyed going out to eat and getting cupcakes at Annies Bakery. Carson was so excited to open his presents (mom had brought ones from his Aunt Becky, Uncle Hal and cousins Dawson and Sophia too), so he hit the jackpot.
Toy phone, puzzles, lego builders, new clothes, toy mat that converts to toy box were some of the gifts. Tyler and Ella were not left out either (my family has a sweet way of including even the little one's that are not celebrating their actual day). Tyler got a paper airplane kit and Just Dance 2 wii game- which we have worn out, and Ella got little finger animal puppets and figurines.
We all had a wonderful day and Ella is now 100% better. Carson opened more presents tonight and will get a tractor cake on his birthday and a party at school. The week of celebrating has just started!

Couch Monster

Want to see two kids go nuts? Hide behind a couch and crawl around making noise leaving them to guess where you will pop up. Carson and Ella could have played for hours, but the Couch Monster said his knees were hurting.

Oh Tooth Fairy...You Have A Nice Night To Travel...

Tyler lost his first tooth tonight! Well, I maybe tugged on it just a hair- but it popped right out. It is in his Tooth Fairy pillow as I type waiting for him to fall asleep. He will awake tomorrow to a shiny new dollar coin.

Compromising Positions

I wish I would have done a better job documenting all of the places and positions that we have found Carson in...after we left him properly tucked into bed hours earlier. He has been inside the rocket ship tent, on the step, in Tyler's bed..but tonight was crazy even for him.

Happy Valentine's Day!

My sweethearts want to wish everyone a Happy Valentine's Day...well, 2 out of 3 want to.

Getting Caught Up.

Every time I have sat down to even think about blogging I have felt overwhelmed. Too much to cover and some of it too hard to even want to put into words. I have to remind myself that having a blog is a commitment to journal during all times, good and bad. It is not just about putting funny pictures of opossums eating your cat food. So I will rewind and try to update what I can. The end of January was a pretty tough time. And while our family saw it's share of sadness, there were also a few exciting moments that we embraced.

Tommy left for California for a work conference the last week of January and my mom came for a few days to visit and help with the kids. For some reason the week seemed even longer- maybe it is because I had a few days on my own before she arrived. It was challenging trying to juggle school pick up and drop off with Tyler and Carson- especially being at different schools and having separate pick up times. Trying to make sure everyone was where they needed to be at the right time while also trying to keep Ella on a nap schedule seemed impossible. I truly do not know how single parents manage it. Tommy was appointed to a committee at the university that required him to work the Sunday prior to leaving as well as all day the Sunday upon his return. The kids and I were missing him terribly and did not see and end in sight for him getting quality time with us when he got back from his trip. In addition to being slotted to work the weekend when he touched down, he was also scheduled to work long hours the next week. Every time I had skyped with Tommy he sounded really down and just exhausted. The time difference was messing him up and with the stress of getting an extraordinary amount of work completed, he was sleeping about 3-4 hours a night at best. During my mom's visit though, we had a great time. The kids fought for lap space and and Ella trailed her every second of the day.

Saturday finally rolled around and Tommy called me from the airport in California to let me know that his grandfather had passed away. Grandpa Haman had lived in Cape Girardeau

Missouri the majority of his life and had just moved about a year ago to an assisted living home in Nashville to be closer to Tommy's parents. While we knew that his health was deteriorating, I guess it still kind of came as a shock. Grandpa Haman was such an incredible person, he was so gentle and kind. Tommy spent time with him and his grandmother every summer in Cape growing up and has told me stories countess times over the years about everything they did together. One memory that I have heard Tommy talk about repeatedly was how Grandpa Haman taught Tommy to ride a bike. When I was pregnant with Tyler, Tommy's mom and I took a trip to see him. One of my favorite memories is us all going square dancing. Months after Carson was born, we all took another trip to Cape. I remember thinking how gorgeous the weather was and we spent the majority of the day playing baseball outside. Grandpa's home had a walking trail in the back and Tyler rode his big wheel all around while we walked. On our night stand is the below picture. Tommy and I think it is one of the best photos we have.

While Tommy's parents were making arrangement for Tommy's grandfather in Missouri, we were glued to the weather channel watching predictions of one of history's worst snow storms developing throughout the Midwest. Tommy soon realized as he watching the flight boards cancel every plane out of Saint Louis that getting there was going to be problematic. The morning of the funeral, we woke up at 4am to the dismay of seeing that his flight out of Asheville had been canceled (due to mechanical) and there was no way to catch his second leg in time for the services. He crawled back into bed very upset and told me that he just hoped that this was not something that haunted him for the rest of his life. He caught up with his parents and we were told everything went very smoothly . The surprising part of Grandpa Haman's passing was what we learning afterwards. For years he rented a house to a single mother and her daughters. On the online obituary they both left lengthy comments about their memories of him. They went on about how he never raised their rent in all the years they lived in his house, the mother talked about how when she worked late one night and a tornado hit- Grandpa went and got the teenage daughter and their dog and took them back to the safety of his home. He and Grandma Haman took them to numerous dinners, picnics on the river, celebrated birthdays with them, attended most of the daughter's softball games and even let the daughter come and live with them when she was having a hard time in her life and just needed a place to call home. I cried when I read the comments. Not only did it hit home personally with my sister and I being raised by a single mother, but knowing the impact that it made on them and the course of their lives just having two people that cared so much. The fact that no one even knew the extent that he and Tommy's grandmother helped them was even more humbling. He never told anyone, Tommy mom did not even know the extent in which he impacted their lives. Other accomplishments were also discovered. He won two metals during World War II. Really, none of this was a surprise to learn, he was a very giving person throughout his entire life. Tommy's grandfather was a very private and modest person and was not the type that felt the need to let everyone know the admiral things he was doing and had accomplished. A lesson to us all. He had the kindest smile and eyes and was the sweetest and most affectionate person. We will all miss him.

While several weeks were consumed with thoughts of Grandpa Haman, a few other events have made our day to day pretty interesting. First, I got a part time job at the university. I am primarily working from home about 10 hours a week. My official title is Grant Proposal Coordinator. I told my mom that it sounded pretty fancy, especially compared to my current title of "Full time underpaid ass wiper". I am excited to start next week and hope that I will fall into a balanced schedule soon. I also celebrated my 34th birthday on the 31st of last month. Tommy now claims I am in my mid thirties, I still say early thirties. Also this early thirty year old is still training for the 1/2 marathon at the end of April. I am up to running 6.5 miles and have lost about 10 pounds. My goal is to lose another 10 at least by race time and hopefully be able to run 10 miles. I figure if I have to walk a few I am okay with that.

On Tyler news, he has two loose teeth. The bottom middle two. He is obsessed with wiggling them and keeps talking about getting a coin from the tooth fairy. Tommy went by the bank last week to get a silver dollar just in case he lost one over the weekend and the bank was closed. In the meantime he is busy making up snow days at school. We have lost a few weeks to weather and he even had to go today- on a Saturday!

Carson is going through a stage (please let it be a stage). He is getting up really early and wanting to join us in bed- sometimes he sneaks in so quietly that I don't know he is snoring between us until it is time to start getting ready. He personality is starting to really come out as well. Tyler is so, well loud and extroverted, that he sometimes tents dominate conversations. It seemed like easy going Carson was just so quiet and content to be an observer...until lately. He does not put up with much from anyone and while still every sweet, Carson is not going to be overlooked. He is also super destructive- think wild bull in a bed of tulips and eggs. Maybe it is just the age- he will be 3 in a few weeks! He has already planned his birthday party. For his school party, he wants vanilla cupcakes with purple icing and sprinkles. For his home party with family he has requested a tractor ice cream cake with mint chocolate chip icing... homemade. This should be good.

And Ella. Princess is also coming into her own. She loves playing with Carson and while it seemed like until recently she tended to favor Tyler- now she and C-Horse are pretty thick. It is obvious the age gap is quickly closing. Ella was a very late walker and is really now just starting to walk as much as crawl. Her preferred mode of transportation is still getting carried.

There. Caught up. Now I can start fresh and start posting hopefully spring photos outside. It has been a long winter and I for one am ready for spring hikes, picnics, soccer games (I am signing up Tyler in a few weeks) and fun filled evenings with friends and family.

Through The Eyes Of A Five Year Old...

"I have a dream...to let everybody know the world is sweet and beautiful." I cannot express the joy that filled my heart when I saw this.