Our eventful Santa visit...minus the Santa visit.

We woke up early Saturday morning. I was excited to take the boys to the Marietta Square for the second year in a row to visit with Santa and have their picture made. Before we got in line, the boys wanted to play on the train in the middle of the square. Drew has played on it what seems like hundreds of times, and I'm sure Jett will be the same. All the kids flock to it and love to pretend to steer it or slide down the caboose. It's been around forever.
They were having such a fun time! Jett loves steering wheels and slides so he was in Heaven!

Until...he was standing at the top of the 3 metal steps here...
and the next thing I knew he was tumbling head first down them. It was horrible. He was screaming; I scooped him up as quickly as I could, but I knew it was bad. I ripped my favorite scarf from around my neck and pressed it tightly onto his bleeding forhead. Running past the now long line of Santa waiters, yelling for Drew to follow me, I went straight to the familiar faces I knew. I'm sure I freaked them out as I ran up behind them crying and carrying my bleeding, screaming child. We have some family friends that work this event every year, and she was there to grab my keys and take charge. Leaving her daughters to take pictures, she drove us to the ER.

A cookie from the bottom of the diaper bag helped calm Jett down and I called Matt at work and his mom to meet us there. He was no longer crying when we pulled up to the front doors. Me? Well, I was a little better. They took us back quickly and evaluated him. By the look on the nurse's face, the notorious train sends the Kennestone Pediatric ER lots of victims. This is what his head looked like after they cleaned it up a bit (sorry, I know it's graphic)...
Calmed and given some apple juice, so clueless as to what he was about to go through.
After 45 minutes of a few numbing gel doses, the nurse brought in the papoose. This is when it got even harder. They strapped him down. I am so glad Matt's mom was in the room with me.
The doctor started working and Jett ended up crying himself to sleep about 5 stitches in. Which actually made me feel a *little* better knowing he obviously wasn't feeling it. He ended up with 11 stitches total. The cut was deep, all the way to his skull, the doctor said. So he has stitches under the skin and on top.
But afterwards, he was smiling his happy Jett smile. Today, one day later, you can't tell anything is wrong. He is spinning around in circles in the living room and attempting somersaults on the rug (which I am not allowing him to do and is ticking him off).

So this was our eventful Santa vist...minus the Santa visit. We'll try again next weekend, although pass on playing on the train, this time.

Thanksgiving pie, anyone?

Here is the setting...Thanksgiving evening at Matt's dad and stepmom's house, all the guys are watching football in the living room, all the ladies are sitting around the dining room table looking at Black Friday ads, kids are running around the house playing and laughing. I had not seen Jett in a little while so I yelled at Matt in the other room. Nope, he hadn't seen him either. I got up, checked the playroom and found all the other kids, but not Jett. I do not think I have ever laughed at one of my boys as hard as I did when I walked into the kitchen and discovered this:
Cousin Rachel was the first to grab a camera, and I am so glad that she did. I want to have this picture forever! By the time the picture was taken though, two pies had been removed from the table. He was sitting in the middle of all the desserts, fork in hand, digging in. The look on his face was so innocent and all around hilarious!! I think there is no denying this little one's sweet tooth!

My sister in-laws and I LOVE Black Friday. This year was my first all nighter. I'm usually up and in line with them somewhere around 3AM, but this year was serious. They were in line at Target at 12:30. I got there about an hour later, but hadn't slept really at all. We shopped and ate, shopped and ate. I got into bed about 10:30PM Friday night. I really could not believe I lasted that long!! Strangely, here we are Sunday night, and surprisingly, it hasn't caught up to me yet.

Saturday we went to the zoo with some friends. Drew ran around like a nut, enjoying every second with his buddies. Jett could probably have cared less. He did love the train ride and the playground, but hated to carousel and being made to ride in his stroller. It was a gorgeous day, although a little cold, and turned out to be quite a fun afternoon!

Just so it's on record...My boys rock my world!

Is this not the cutest little lion you have ever seen??!!
And, while I do not understand the Star Wars craze that my sweet Drew has been sucked into, he does make one handsome Obi-Wan Kenobi!
Halloween was so much fun this year!!

A few days before Halloween, I got to hang out with a few awesome mom friends. April, Florica and I took the "little" boys to Carlton Farms. Jett's favorites of the day were feeding the cows from the hayride and playing on the tunnel slide.

I love how content they all were, just running around in this old, wooden wagon. Such sweeties!
Our attempt at a group picture...it was as good as it was going to be...Caiden snuck out in the last second!
Oh, and, I almost forgot...I'm not sure Jett truly enjoyed this, but, this picture just makes me smile!!

Drew and Matt finished the baseball season with a bang. Best game the team had played all season...and they always played pretty well! Drew rocked short stop and made some great plays.
They beat the only team that had beaten them twice. It was a great feat for the whole team and everyone was very excited!!
Our dear friend, Justin Ramer, helped coach this season. He was awesome and Drew loves him very much!

We are a week away from Thankgiving and I don't really know where this year went. I feel like I blink my eyes and my precious boys are completely different than the one blink before. God has SOOOOO blessed us with some super special little men though, that is for sure! Last night while I was getting the boys ready for bedtime, Drew was laying in his room playing his DS when Jett climbed up into his bed and layed down right next to him. Drew said "he can stay, if he wants..." and as I picked Jett up to take him to his bed, he said "Drewwwww" to which Drew replied "Love you, Jetty, good night". My heart was so full of love that it actually made me tear up. Matt and I talked for a minute about it and I went to bed so thankful that my boys love each other so much, at least for now.

Fall has arrived.

I'm sure I am like most and enjoy certain things about the changing of the seasons. Early Fall is probably my favorite of all for many reasons...cool, crisp air, pumpkin candles in the kitchen, football games, hoodie sweatshirts, and simply awesome playing outside weather.

A lot has happened over the last month. Matt has been coaching Drew's baseball team for the first time. They have their last game next week. It has been quite a learning experience for him and he has left some games excited and happy and others saying he will never coach again. (I think that will pass quickly.) In my opinion, he has done an amazing job and I'd be honored to be his team mom next season and the many seasons to follow. Drew has improved incredibly since last season and even has been hitting balls to the fence resulting in many doubles and even a handful of triples! Maybe next season fielding the ball will click a little better. :)

Jett is at such a fun age! Some of the things he has been saying lately: ball, sit, no, yeah, Drew, Tutu (Turner), and he does the tomahawk chop like a pro! Although he is growing like a wild flower, he still likes to cuddle when he wakes up and I hope he doesn't grow out of that like he does his shoes. I can't imagine how it is possible, but he truly gets cuter everyday!

This time of year I also start doing more sewing than usual. I am trying to talk myself into creating a website and selling stuff I make, but I just end up thinking about the time I don't have to sew in bulk and questioning whether I am even good enough. I enjoy sewing and making things for people that I know they will enjoy, but I'm not sure I'm cut out to make a business of it. I suppose time will tell. I am going to be a part of my first real craft show in December, which I am excited about. I made two special little girls birthday outfits last week. Here is one of the outfits I made.

We visited the World of Coke with Matt's mom and Aunt Terri a few weeks ago. Drew loves the 4-D theatre there and tasting the hundreds of different kinds of Coke products from around the world. "The Beverly" is known to be one of the most bitter and not pleasant tasting of them all. Of course, it ends up being Drew's favorite. Because I thought no one would believe me, I made him pose next to it giving a thumbs up.
And, I even snuck a photo of the boys together. It isn't perfect, but, hey, nothing is, right?!


I took the boys to a small pumpkin patch this week. Drew is at an age where it is pretty impossible to get a picture of him doing anything, certainly posing with his brother. Here are a few pictures, and I promise Drew WAS there even though I have no evidence.




Lastly, Matt and I went to our first Parent/Teacher conference today where we received Drew's first report card. He is doing so well! Out of 25 different things he was graded on, he received the highest grade possible on 22 of them!! His behavior grades were not as impressive (to say the least) but once we figure out his medication and continue to learn new ways to help him cope with his ADHD, I'm sure these grades will improve.

Happy Fall, ya'll!! We're off to play outide!

Who doesn't like to play in the dirt?

Certainly not my boys!! At the first sound of the front door opening, Jett is running (as fast as his little, stubby legs will allow) full steam towards the chance that he *might* get to go outside. Turner is usually right behind him. I snapped some cute pics today as Jett was exploring. A little dirt in the mouth won't REALLY hurt, will it?

What is it with boys and sticks??!!



Best buds!
I love this one!

Speaking of dirt...Matt got a new (old) Bronco to go muddin' (redneck term for driving through deep mud holes and trying not to get stuck) with the boys in. Drew LOVES, LOVES, LOVES it! It even has a radio thing in it that he likes to talk into. "Step away from the monster truck."

I hope the 3 of them have many years of fun in this old, dirty truck.

A moment that stops you in your tracks...

I'm sure you've had these moments, you know, the ones that happen unexpectedly...maybe one you've dreamed about or maybe one so far out there that you are totally shocked to see. I saw one yesterday. A GOOD one!! Or, more appropriately, a GOD one!

Drew didn't have a great day at school.He got in trouble quite a bit throughout the day for not being able to follow directions. When he got home, we were talking about his day, what he should have done differently, etc. He looked at me and said "Mom, when we have problems, we are suppose to look in our Bible for the answers." He was SO right! He flipped open his Bible and pretended to read it to himself. (He can't read just yet.) What a blessing this was for me to know that he really IS listening and watching. A moment like this is one I'll remember for a long, long time. Praisin' God and lovin' my kids!

Bathtime fun with Jett

It is so much fun watching my boys learn new things...small and big. Jett has learned how to make the "vroom vroom" sound while he pushes a car around. It's adorable and also proof that he IS his father's son...not that I had any doubt. If you are a boy in this family, it is imperative that you have a passion for fast cars and it seems he is on his way.
I suppose it is only appropriate that someone with a huge passion for fast cars also have a rat-tail. He's got that covered too!
Would someone that loves fast cars and has a rat-tail like fishin' too? Absolutely!He's showing me two that he caught bare handed!
I guess we need to start saving now for the jacked up pick up truck to tow the trailer for his fast car on the way to the dragstrip.

Hyper drive...

Hyper Drive. This is how the psychologist we met with today describes the brain of a person with ADHD (attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder). It's like having a ping pong ball bouncing around inside your head all the time, not allowing you to focus or remember simple instructions. This is also the disorder that Drew is going to be tested for (among other learning/attention disorders) next week. We understand some people are against us testing him so young, as the primary way to help people with the disorder is medication, however, we also love him more than words can describe and hate watching him struggle to complete simple tasks. This is not a sudden decision either. We have watched him have a hard time since he started his first preschool class at 3 years old. He has always been very bright, but also VERY busy. Unfortunately, his brightness has always been in the shadow behind his busyness (or restlessness as the doctors call it). In order for him to reach his full learning potential and have a successful grade school experience, it is imperative that we find the cause of his restlessness and inability to stay on task. I have no doubt that God is in the center of this and already knows the path we are soon to travel down. I am so incredibly anxious to see how He will use this beautiful child that is so "fearfully and wonderfully made" by Him! Please pray for our family, as this is the hardest thing we have had to endure yet.

Here is a good site if you are curious about ADHD. www.chadd.org

We are gate less.

Oh, how I'd come to love my cheap Walmart baby gate. It was $10. Perhaps, had I purchased the more expensive, better quality one, I would not have had to subsequently purchase three more, but who's counting?! Drew never grasped the concept of stepping over the gate, he would step ON the top of the gate and jump over. Now it is clear to you why I had to purchase more, they'd snap right in half, usually cutting him somehow during the crash. Said crash was followed by a bandaid and a "I'm sorry, Mom, I forgot...again."

Sooo, my day yesterday was gate less. I used it to keep Jett out of the kitchen. Simply, because, well...have you ever had a 15 month old in your kitchen? Enough said, right? If so, it probably would resemble this:
Which leads to this:
I spent most of the day picking up random pots and pans that I found in the bathroom, under the couch or being used as seats for the boys in the middle of the living room.

I also caught Jett doing this...pushing the stool:
Climbing on top of the stool:
JACKPOT!!

I guess the decision to make is to either cave in on the annoying cabinet locks or head on back for my 4th baby gate purchase.

WE HAVE A ROUTINE!!!!

The title is typed in caps because I'm screaming with excitement! WE HAVE A ROUTINE!!!I'm so excited because 1) we've never really had one before 2) it's working like a charm 3) I'm realizing how much I was missing my nights with Matt! All those years of Drew going to bed about the same time we did apparently took it's toll on us.

Here it is:
6:15AM Wake up Drew for school/breakfast/get ready
6:55AM Out the door to the bus stop (which is just two driveways up)
then...
6:00PM Dinner
7:00PM Bath
7:30PM Jett's bedtime
8:00PM Drew's bedtime

Drew started Kindergarten last week. My days that were once filled with constant noise are much different now. My house is cleaner and my patience is in excellent shape! But, all the clean quietness aside...I miss my big boy terribly when he is gone. It has certainly been an adjustment for us all. Even Matt, who used to wake up way before us and head out the door for work, now has a house full of hustle and bustle in the wee hours of the morning!

I could go on for days about how sad, glad, excited and scared to death I am to have a new kindergartner, but I think it's pretty obvious, so I won't bore you. (Personally, I don't want to sit here and sob as I type...so I'll just leave it at that.)

Here is Drew on the first day of Kindergarten:
It's a little blurry, because he was so excited to run to the car, that he gave me one shot to get it right and this is how it turned out. I'm sad to not have a better picture.

And, just for kicks, this is Drew this time last year on the first day of Pre-K:
And (my favorite of all so far), this is the year before that on the first day of his 3 yr old preschool class:
As he grows before our eyes, I pray that God has his hand on his life, that he will grow into a warrior for Christ and live everyday loving all people. Oh, how I LOVE this kid!!