This pic has nothing to do with the rest of this post. I just love it!


Today Julia came up with the idea to get together and take the kids for a bike ride. Alison has just become interested in her bike, and TJ loves to ride his. I was game. It seemed like it would be fun.

I guess, in a way, it kinda was. Mostly, though, I think of the word "work" when I think of today's bike ride. First, I didn't realize just how much trouble it is to take out and put bikes into your car. Trey told me it couldn't be done, to which end I completely proved him wrong. As a matter of fact, when I first put them in at home, it was a breeze. Naturally, getting them out was not so much the case, but still not too hard. Unfortunately, Trey's bike, the one with all the kid stuff connected to it, doesn't have a kickstand, which kinda sucks...and it does have a really high bar in the middle that makes getting on with my super-short legs rather challenging.

So we were finally on our way (this after Cole decided as soon as we hit the parking lot at the park that he was hungry and MUST be fed that very second!), and everything was going smoothly. Alison's a good four to six inches taller than TJ, at least, yet TJ's bike was a size or two bigger than hers (I only find this ironic b/c Trey swore TJ had outgrown his last bike that just happened to be the same size as the one Alison was on!). I soon found out that the tires on my bike were flat, but we were already on our way, and no way was I going to turn back just b/c of some flat tires! Cole didn't like the pull along cart we have, so I finally gave up and put him in the toddler seat behind my seat. Soon he was snoozing away happily, with his head snugly nestled into my butt!

We rode much farther than we should have with two very small riders and one on a scooter, and found out the hard way when it was time to go back. TJ stayed far behind, and Julia, the great woman she is, stayed back with him. They bonded, where Julia told me that TJ told her of the wonders of his life, and how "There won't be a next time!" that we go bike riding on that trail! We took many breaks, and made many stops along the way, where I was always reminded of just how much it sucks to not have a kickstand...especially when there's a tiny baby right behind your seat. They tend to dislike being laid down on the ground while strapped into a bike seat!

However, after what seemed like days, (Julia said we maybe went a couple miles, I say at least ten), we finally made it back to the car. Here is when I really found out just how challenging it was to get the bikes in. I don't understand. Nothing had changed, yet they were not wanting to go in the car! We won't even talk about how the big bike got stuck when I tried to get it out of the car when we got home!

So, we made it. I did enjoy getting out and going for a nice bike ride. The weather was nice enough, and I found out that you still get a bit of a workout even when you are going slow and stopping every five minutes! The best part is that the kids were beyond pooped when we got home, and they have not bothered me one bit since being put to bed, b/c I'm sure they're asleep already!

I hope you had a great day, and I'll see you later!

She turns 2 on June 15th. I'm going to have her birthday party on the 16th. I'm excited. It's going to be a Hello Kitty party, since she's insanely addicted to kitty cats. I found some pics online today, and turned them into an invitation. Tell me what you think:


I'm going to print them on photo paper, front and back. All I need to do now is get the refill ink to do it, and I'm set. If you have any cool ideas for party decor or games, etc., please hook me up. I've been looking online, but so far I haven't found anything that feels inspiring.

PS-This is an official invite. Sooooo, if you're free that day, please do come by. I mean, sure, some of you will have to travel hours and hours, but surely you know it'll be totally worth the trip!

Yesterday my babies came home! YIPPEE! My heart almost exploded when I first saw them! What was even better was that they were super happy to see me, too. TJ gave me the BIGGEST smile, and a HUGE hug, and said, "I missed you SO MUCH, Mommy!" Taryn ran to me. Cole smiled and started wiggling. Trey gave me a big hug and kiss. It was the best! I was so worried they'd be sad to come home and not want to see me, b/c, you know, I'm not the spoiler Nana is. It kinda sucks, though. Undoubtedly, Mikey is perpetually sick, and thus, every time we go over there, my kids get sick again. So, now Cole and Taryn have nasty runny noses, and Cole has a nasty cough to go with it. Great.

Anyway, they're back, and I couldn't be happier. Today we met up with Julia and family and went downtown to the Battery for a picnic. Then we played at the new playground they have down there, which has lots of spinny things. Some I like, some I definitely don't. The one I hated the most, Trey wouldn't help me get off of, so I just kept going around and around. I was not a happy camper. What was cool, though, was that while at the Battery, there was a little boy that hooked up with the kids to play. When we left, I told his parents if they wanted, they were welcome to join us at the playground a few blocks down the street. I didn't think they would, but they actually showed up later! Julia talked to them and found out they were from NYC, which I never would have suspected. I hope that we were friendly enough, and maybe they'll mention to family how they experienced Southern Hospitality.

After the playground, we walked down to Waterfront Park, where the big boats from the Maritime festival and some big boat race were passing by. It was pretty cool to see all the cool big boats that were made like classic pirate boats and such. They were even shooting cannons (in one of the pics you can see the smoke from one)! See those little things that look kinda like birds all over the tops of a couple of them, they're people!






We left there to go to the fountain at Waterfront to play in the water. It was kinda too chilly to be doing so, but the kids were not going to let a little freezing get in the way of playing in water! Taryn didn't last long, but she did manage to make a nice, seductive picture for me before I got her dressed again!









We totally wore them kids out! Sleeping like babies now, I tell ya! I hope your day was as nice as ours, and I'll see you soon!

Read below for something actually from me.

This week I'm celebrating Mother's Day. Trey and the kids are all at his mom's house, and as of today, I'm all by myself. Naturally, I have TEN THOUSAND things that need to get done while they're gone, but it's nice to at least get to get them done w/o having to stop every three seconds to change a diaper or deal with an argument over a toy, etc...Today I slept in till 2 (I didn't get to bed till 8, though), and it just felt weird. I could be getting spoiled.

So, I've completely fallen in love with this wine. It's called Saint M Riesling from Germany. I first had it at Carrabba's when we had our alcohol class (while I was training, then subsequently left). It was great, even if just a small taste. We ate there on Sunday for Mother's Day, (after I had gone to help Trey at his work for 8 hours! Ugh, we were SO tired!) and both had some then. I was still totally in love with it. However, it's expensive to have to go out to eat everytime you want a glass of it. So, I looked all over, and with the helpful suggestion of Julia, found it MUCH cheaper right down the street from my house! I took it over to Julia's house last night and shared some. I don't think she cared much for it, but I love, love, LOVE it! It's so fruity and fresh, and it goes with everything. It's light and delicious. I will say, though, I've had wine a couple of times this week, and I'm done for now. I have thought, though, that maybe I could start trying different wines every now and then and maybe tell you all about them.

Well, I'm sure there's tons more to tell you, but I have to take a shower and go to bed now. Talk to you later. Have a great day!

Taryn got her first official haircut today. We went together. She couldn't have been more well-behaved. I'm so proud of her!

PS-There's lots of stuff I wrote yesterday in the post below...if you care to have a look-see!

Guess what! Next week Trey gets to take a whole week (9 days) off of work! Isn't that great! He hasn't been able to use any of his vacation days in FOREVER. Even when we went to Myrtle Beach the other day, his time off was just his days off, and thus he ended up working ten days straight to make up for it. He's going to take the kids to his parents' house for a few days and spend some quality time with them, and....leave me here ALL ALONE! Oh, it's going to be great, for everyone involved! What a great Mother's Day present!

Speaking of Mother's Day presents, I got mine already. It's fantastic.

Alright, alright, I'll tell you what it is. It's a Zune. It's like an iPod, but better. The first night I had it, I was playing with it, and I hooked it up to the computer. It downloaded every single picture I have on my computer, which is well over 1000! I didn't realize it at the time, and when I went to see what all I had put on it (thinking I had just put songs on it), I found all of my pictures! I thought I'd erase them, but I actually think it's kinda neat. Sometime (maybe next week) when I have some time, I might go through and pick and choose, but for now there's plenty of room, so there they stay. I'm having so much fun downloading music onto it, and once I get the cords in the mail to hook it to the tv and car, I'll be able to listen to it everywhere! What sucks is that I never know who sings the songs I like, or what the names of them are, so I'm having a time trying to find what I like so I can listen to it! It will definitely come in handy during my paper route, b/c there's never anything on the radio then that I care to hear. I also found out that TJ likes heavy metal the other day when I was letting him listen to it with me! Imagine that!

Oh, and have I told you that Cole is now sitting up and crawling? Yep, yep. He started one day while we were in Myrtle Beach. He started off kinda slow, but he's got the whole getting around thing down to an art now, and he's fast! That doesn't worry me so much, though. What worries me is that he's working very, very hard to learn to walk. He's already pulling himself up whenever he can, on couches, chairs, people, toys, etc., and slowly cruising along. He loves when TJ holds him up on his feet and lets him walk around. This is NOT COOL! At the rate he's going, he'll be walking by seven months (and yet, still not holding his bottle!)! Oh, and he's also eating baby food now, too, and doing a bang-up job with it. I found out yesterday that he loves sweet potatoes, as he devoured an entire jar of them in mere minutes, and fussed if I didn't shovel them into his mouth fast enough!

Here are a couple of pics from our beach trip, a little delayed, but...I also found out that Cole likes sand!

Just not sure where.

Julia told me life slows down. I'm still waiting.

Newest news: I got Taryn a new (used) carseat (Britax Marathon) yesterday, and I found the cover (the Ashley Floral in the pic) online for $50 that I wanted. So I basically got her the $270 carseat I wanted for about $100. KEWL! (Yeah, yeah, so that style is basically impossible to find, and she'll have a carseat that matches half the little girls in the world, but so what!) Cole is getting too big for his carrier, so he's moving up to Taryn's old carseat now (it's actually a more navy blue one that's fuzzy). TJ's getting a new one, too (it's also blue and fuzzy). My mom had already gotten one for Taryn off of eBay, but when I saw the one I got her yesterday, I couldn't pass it up. I'm so excited! Yes, it doesn't take much to excite me!

I'm also excited b/c I know what I'm getting for Mother's Day...basically b/c I bought it for myself. I LOVE my gift from Trey and the kids! I can't tell you what it is, yet, b/c I have to act surprised when it comes in the mail in the next couple days and I open it wayyyyy before Mother's Day b/c I can't control myself and I must have it NOW!

We had a great time at Myrtle Beach. We ate, slept (not well in the not-so-comfy beds), and swam, for the most part. It's not the busy season yet, so there's not a whole lot going on. I thought it was neat to watch all of the hotels and whatnot getting ready for summer. Ours was repainting all of the lines in the parking lots and the outside of the bldg. I have pics from the beach and pool, but I honestly haven't had a chance to sit for long enough to download them yet! I will say, though, that Cole LOVED the sand (mostly putting it in his mouth, YUCK!)!

Well, gotta run. I have a busy day today, as usual. I hope you have a great day, and I'll see you soon.