Birthday Girl! Me!!

My 27th birthday was amazing thanks to family and friends! I received sooo many well wishes from everyone and I am thankful! Eric sent me beautiful flowers and took me to an awesome dinner (thanks to a friend, Susan and her daughter, Alicia for keeping the girls). Holly will appreciate this- I had the most amazing steak ever. I mean EVER. I also had grilled shrimp with the steak- only making it better... mmm... I can not wait to go back! If you are ever in Belmont, or come to visit, we will go! I came home to a sweet card from the girls (Thanks bella and Tot) and one from the hubby too. Also, there was a gorgeous bedding set I had my eye on that was waiting for me at home! Woohoo! The next day, I went and had cake and ice cream with the family back home. We also took the girls and went with mom to the Christmas Show in Greensboro- craziness. We bought nothing. Ok, a drink. Other than that, nothing. Those women are insane- pushing and shoving for stuff at booths. I am not that tough haha... we had 2 VERY whiny kids, so I was in no mood to fight for anything.

The girls are growing crazily. I can't believe it!

I will write more later. Whining continues....

Fantastic!

Things are going good. Well, better than good. Fantastic. Though I have become better and better aquainted with "Phil, the air guy", who comes to our rescue repeatedly over our NEW AC unit, I am keeping positive! I am sick of something on the new unit not working, and though it is sweet of Phil not to charge to come fix the something-or-other, I am really tired of hearing how his dog is scared of the new lizard on his fence and about his sore shoulder.
The good, no great, part of life is that I made A's on my classes this past session. (Yes, go ahead and yell "YAY" for me!) I am too excited. I do, however, have a passionate, Catholic, VERY Catholic professor for my New Testament class this session. It is a HARD class. I knew it would be as I did decide to attend a private, Catholic school... but man. I just started the new class Wednesday, and walked out with 110 pages to read not counting the book of Romans! I also have to become familiar with a Catholic Study Bible...I had a zillion questions for Eric when I got home and he of course, as many of you probably know, is hardly able to sit in his seat with wanting to refute things and fill my mind with answers, questions, etc. to throw at my poor professor. LOL... at least we do not have a test in there- just 3 papers. (Which Eric will help me on!) My other class is wonderful- Children's Literature. LOVE it. Love the reading, the assignments sound fun...just like my Education in Society class. LOVED it. Miss it. The small school is awesome- we are becoming friends, all of us on this journey, and the teachers email and call you (and invite you to all their cell at anytime) to make sure you are doing great- how awesome is that???
Another great thing: Lauren is CRAWLING! She is zooming. I can't believe my bundle of cuddly cuteness is on the move! The differences in the girls are crazy- Little "Tot" is so different than Bella- she loves being cuddled, just coos all the time and is so laid-back. Bella always wanted her alone time, hated being cuddled and is so headstrong. LOL... she is a genious though. The other day I noticed something black on B's face-
I said "Bella, what is all over your face?"
Her reply: "Issa BUG"
It was not a bug in fact, but dirt...she had just learned what a BUG was the day before! (not much but come on, she's 18 months!!)
Bella also has a British accent. I love it! She says "momay" stressing the "ay" part, as well as "ello"... so cute.
Pray I get Bella into the MMO program I am trying for... she's on a waiting list and it's a good program for her. 2 days a week with other kids, playing outside and learning about Jesus at a great church here!
Eric and I are awesome. Marriage is awesome. We had date night last night which was... yep, awesome. Steak and holding hands and staring at each other.. does it get better? (Umm, no.)
Took the girls to Tweetsie last week. Sooo much fun. They had a blast from the past. Hardy har har. Thought they would freak at the train, but they LOVED it. Even Tot- she threw her little chubby hands in the air at the wind blowing her face! :) I will post pics soon!!! Very soon!!
(Promises, Promises).
Congrats to the marrying couple this weekend. We will be there with bells on!

Has it been that long?

I can't believe it's been so long since I wrote. Time flies when your life is insane!! School is so fun- really really fun. My professors are awesome and one has become a friend, my classmates are amazing women and so great to talk with. It's like a mini vacation to go to class! My first 8 week session is almost over and the next one starts the next week! No breaks here!

Eric and I are taking the girls to the mountains next weekend and to Tweetsie for their first time. I expect Bella to be mostly terrified at everything and Tot to not care as long as she can reach her feet to play with, but Eric and I are excited! :)

Again- kudos to Eric for the awesome job he does with the girls. He kept them again last night while I was at school and put Bella to bed. When she woke this morning to mommy instead of her daddy being there, she honestly looked disappointed! (as i tear up again)... all day she has been saying "Dadeee!" and looking out the window. Thanks a lot. haha. I will get over this.

I have tons of things I could say and I will later, for now, my ramen noodles are boiling and you know those suckers are done in no time.. lol... i never had these things while in college and now i am obsessed!! Oh and guess what... Eric has officially lost 40 lbs!! He looks amazing- not kidding. What a blessed woman I am. Now if I could just lose 15 more... agh! (Back to my carb lunch...)

Props to my husband and his stellar fathering skills...

So this week has been insane- no really- INSANE. I could type 100 pages on the epic saga called "our air conditioning", but I will keep it short- we had a whole new system put in- we got sick of the junk. Phil put it in (thanks Phil)... except he was 2 hours late, scared of our dog and was a talker. I usually will talk. But not when I have a hungry baby on my hip and I am sweating in 80 degree hotness and holding back a large boned shepherd. Oh, and watching Bella. Ok, trying to see if I can guess what Bella is pounding against the wall in her room by the sound of the object. Phil took 5 hours. That night- Tuesday night- Eric was telling me it wasn't working. I couldn't accept that as fact. I had to stop myself from crawling upstairs and taking the thing apart. Phil was called Wednesday morning. He says it should have come with freon in it- apparently it didn't. Phil orders a new system and is supposed to be here today. Have I seen Phil, you ask? Of course not. I dare say Phil is probably sitting in the AC at the nearest Smoker Friendly having what he calls his "gatorade fix".

On to more insanity. Monday night I had my first class. LOVE the school. LOVE my classmates. LOVE my teachers. Went awesome. Was assigned more work than humanly possible. I spend that night, Tuesday (in between dealing with Phil and Bella literally hanging on my leg from fear of Phil) and Wednesday till class reading 80 pages of text and doing a written assignment. By the grace of God, I went into class prepared. Last night, got out at 10:15, walked through scary lightening to my car, home at 10:30. Woohoo, kids bathed, 1 in bed, both fed and happy- and my dear husband is still standing (and smiling)!!! On to my husband being AMAZING...

So Eric has been my biggest cheerleader (sorry E for the cheer analogy) through this whole school thing. He soothed and calmed my fears, copied things, faxed things, tells me to go read or take a break while he watches the girls, and volunteered to keep the kids as much as needed- with joy and excitement even. He greets me at the door with a smile and no complaints- even when I know things have been tough, he says "it went good". I am humbled by his selflessness. When I say he's an amazing father- I wish you could see him with them. He's the only one besides Bella who can make Lauren laugh hysterically and the only one who can get Bella to laugh when tickled. He gets worried and becomes a total softy when they need something and then toughens when Bella has gotten into something. The sweetest thing is when he melts at her "i'm so sorry" look and has to hug her close. I'm so glad I have him. :)

Now that I have vented and given my props, I must patiently wait for Phil and his gatorade to show.

Updates to come (and pics- promise)...

school!!!

School starts Monday- shocking! Eric and I went to get my books and handle some last minute things at BAC (Belmont Abbey College) yesterday. It was so hot I thought we would die, but we took time to see some of the buildings and the Basilica and it is truly beautiful and peaceful. Since it is a Catholic school, there are many northerners there ;) which I am happy to meet and befriend... I am also excited to learn more about the Catholic faith. Not that I will convert lol.. I do however think we could learn much from them. Eric and I were talking about how reverent they are- every building has a statue, a cross, is silent and gothic looking. There is an air of formality and holiness. I can't wait to spend time praying and thinking in their gardens and chapel. I however was not used to spending so much on books! Agh! It costs so much to learn something, doesn't it?

I am excited that we finally decoded what Bella has been saying constantly- she was babbling something the last few weeks that sounded like "bareberrrrr"....

It's "Thank You"!!! We found out by trying to say things she would repeat after us and finally we said could it be thank you?! and sure enough, after we said it, she said "bareberrrr" over and over. At least it's something good =)

Little Tot is rolling over and over now and giggling at sister exclusively. lol... a nice way of saying when Bella is around, mommy and daddy don't matter much. I am happy about that though- we will try to raise them to love each other and be best friends... none of this jealousy fighting stuff!

I am serious about some friends going with us when we renew our vows in Mexico... 2 years from now- summertime, date forthcoming... for our 5th anniversary, we'd like to have friends come with us to the resort we stayed in for our honeymoon. It's also a great friends spot, no kids allowed... all inclusive, $3000 for 7 nights, 8 days... (may change over time tho).... flight included... you must join us friends... email me if interested.

Mucho love!!!

wedding, visit and it's almost fall!!!

So, it was awesome last week to see old college friends and to see Richard and Rachel *finally* tie the knot! I was so excited for them!! There couldn't be 2 better people in this world. Bella enjoyed watching all the kids near the cake and Lauren liked being held and cooed at. =)

In other fantastic news, we had an awesome weekend this past weekend with Angela... she came Friday night and (thank you beyond words) gave me all her old elementary ed school stuff to study by and use! What an awesome thing to have someone who can lend a hand and ear and whatever else you need! We talked endlessly and Eric had to endure old memories and 4 women in the house. Glenn had to go to Mississippi to play with his band, so Eric was guyless. It was also a happy surprise to see Ang's mom, stepdad and brother on Sunday for lunch. They drove down from Raleigh. It was so empty here after they left!!

I am happy to tell you the AC is doing much better... since it's back in the 90's, we are at a cool 77 here in the house. Eric and I are talking about a getaway to the mountains soon...

I start school next Monday! Can you believe it? I have so much to do.. and this week you will find me with the elementary schoolers in the school supply aisle. =)

Keep cool! I saw leaves falling yesterday and got excited- only a month more of this intense heat!

Is this a joke???

I am not joking when I tell you the worst case scenario has happened in our house- get ready....

OUR AIR CONDITIONING IS NOT WORKING. On Friday, I was up in the morning getting everything together to wash, cleaning, taking care of kids' stuff so we could go away for the weekend when I glanced at the thermostat- it seemed warm... yup, 79 degrees and I just KNEW. It was broken- we have had 3 different issues with the thing. I am told by the repairmen that the devil incarnates that built these "cookie cutter homes" put in the cheapest of the cheap plumbing, HVAC, etc.... whatever will barely meet code... and when I say barely- I mean, our house is 4 years old and you aren't allowed to use our HVAC unit any longer because it no longer meets code. Soooo... be careful when buying or building! Get an inspector! Ask what will need to be replaced!!! For a new unit that is efficient and up to standard, we will be spending at least $2000! My parents just changed their unit after- wait for my tears to subside- 30 years. And I never remember it breaking or having problems- ok, it caught on fire once, but it even worked after that. Sorry for my venting....

Now, I know you are wondering if we are melting into Gunter goo... let me assure you- I thought when we got back last night we might. It was 85 in the house and we were scrambling getting the kids ready to pick up some window units till we get it fixed... they were screaming, hot, I was tired, Eric was stressed- and it was 85 at NIGHT! Today the high is 101. Thank you Lord that WalMart is open all night and 10 minutes away... the units work heavenly and a man is coming tonight to see what the issue is now. (We are doing minor repairs on it till we put in a new one)....

Be thankful you are cool. I got a dose of reality when we were that hot and am now more terrified of hell than ever before. - just for those at the wedding that said I always put what I learned at the end of my blogs.... ;) If it's as hot there as it is outside here, I would do whatever necessary to stay outta there. (Not that I need to worry) =)

I am envious of Karen in her gorgeous California weather all the time ;) although I am still waiting for everyone to move back to NC- you know who you are- Carey, Bub, Karen, Angela... so we can raise our kids together and laugh like old times! Oh well- who's first?