It's a hard knock life for us...

It has become an almost tradition that we go to Atlantic Beach with Aunt B (Tanya) and Me-Me (Uncle Brian) and stay at the Bennett's beach house. We have been doing this for three years now and we love it!! Caroline loves going to the beach with her family and the beach house is within walking distance of the ocean. I live such a hard life! :) We spent a weekend this year and had a blast. Tanya, Caroline and I left Thursday night. We spent Friday morning going to the grocery store, exploring new stores in Morehead City, etc. After Caroline's kind-of nap we headed to the beach. It was overcast and windy. We heard that there were storms approaching and when we saw a lightning bolt we quickly packed up and left. This picture is from when we first got there. Caroline may look happy but she refused to touch the sand.
Saturday was much better, weather-wise. We headed to the beach so Caroline could build sandcastles with her new bucket (Thank you Dollar Store). The waves were pretty rough and scared her too much. She wouldn't even look at the ocean let alone go in. Oh well.


After we get back from the beach we put Caroline in a little kiddie pool and let her splash and get all the sand and salt off. She thinks she is just playing. Silly girl. I love this face.

I love this picture. We had just got her out of the pool. I actually gave her a bath and washed her hair in the pool. Got her out, went to get her clothes and found her in the chair like this. Yes, she is naked. Yes, she is eating Pringles. Yes, she strategically placed the can to hid her assets. We found lots of cool sea shells at the beach. When we got home she used her new magnifing glass to really look at them. She cracks me up.

We had so much fun. Can't wait for next year.

What I did on my summer vacation v2.0

I know it has been forever since I posted but I have a great excuse...IT'S SUMMER! Plan and simple. We have been enjoying the warm weather, the pool right out our back door and any free time that Kevin has. I have lots to tell you but here is our adventures in the great outdoors.

We have been talking with Kevin's family about meeting somewhere in NC and camp. We finally did it. I was worried about Caroline since she has never camped before. We got her a princess sleeping bag awhile back since she was doing so well with potty training. We borrowed a tent from Mom and Dad. We left on Friday afternoon and drove to Morrow Mountain. Mom and Dad got there on Wednesday and Laura and Donny got there on Thursday. As soon as we arrived we went to the pool located in the park. Caroline was all about that. She and Katy jumped into the pool, played in the kiddie area and showed everyone how they could float. After the pool we headed back for dinner and smores. As it got darker Caroline and Katy remembered their flashlights and had flashlight wars until we finally had to turn on the lantern Mom and Dad brought. We got Caroline ready for bedand she realized that she would be sleeping in a tent...in her sleeping bag. This is what I was worried about. I had visions of her running toward the car screaming she wanted to go home. That was not the case. She was so excited about the whole idea she didn't even want to tell people goodnight. She barely napped all day and played hard with her family so she was out in no time.

On Saturday we had a great breakfast (Kevin made pancakes and bacon and eggs). Laura and Donny decided they needed to get Katy home because she wasn't feeling well. We decided to take Dad's new canoe to the lake. Again, I thought Caroline would be terrified of getting in the canoe, but she loved it. She had to sit in my lap so Brian and Kevin rowed for us. We saw birds and turtles and trees. It was awesome. We came back to the dock, dropped Caroline off with mom and dad and I got my chance to row. When we got back to the dock, Brian, kevin and Dad had a turn. Caroline had a blast sitting in Papa's truck in the AC eating snacks. When everyone was done, we loaded up the canoe and went back to break camp. Caroline fell asleep on the way back to the camp site so we let her sleep while we took everything down. She was not happy when she had to say goodbye to Grandma and Grandpa. We had such a good time and have already made plans to go again in Sept/Oct.

Setting up the tent. Caroline is "helping"

There was a little stump in the campsite so Caroline used it as a stage. She is singing to Katy.

There were deer that would come right into the camp. Grandpa and Caroline were feeding this one cereal.

She talked about the canoe for days after.

The top of Morrow Mountain

What's gonna work...TEAMWORK!!!

Kevin and I love our little girl. She makes us laugh, loves us back and is just all around awesome. She is getting so big these days. She is potty trained and insists that she does things "by myself." We love watching her gain confidence and love to help her develop her own strengths. All in all, we love everything about her, except...her choice in cartoons. Let me explain...
We don't let Caroline watch a lot of TV, but after she has her nap (or quite time these days) she can watch a movie, Finding Nemo ("Fishies"), Little Mermaid ("Ariel"), etc. After she gets her jammies on we let her watch one more cartoon before bed. This isn't everyday, but she has her favorites. One night while Kevin and I were suffering through "The Wonder Pets Save the Panda" he looks over at me and says quietly enough that she can't hear, "I hate this show." We began discussing which ones we hated and which ones were ok. We came to the following conclusion: Kevin detests Dora. Her voice is annoying and the story is ridiculous. He doesn't mind SpongeBob because some parts are funny to us. He hates The Wonder Pets because they sing everything. I decided that I can't bear Wow Wow Wubbzy for reasons I can't explain. You just have to watch it to understand. I actually love Cars. It has Paul Newman (who could just read the phone book and I would watch. Miss him already), Good music, cute story line and amazing graphics. Caroline is hooked on it. We have decided to purchase it on DVD for our plane ride to Utah this summer. I actually don't mind watching that one. The interesting thing is how different cartoons are from when we were kids. I remember watching Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck on Saturday morning. I never really liked Scooby Doo but I loved Thundercats. In fact, my brother, sister, uncle (he was our age) and I used to play Thundercats after school. I was Cheetara. I was really fast.
So now I throw the questions to you, Dear Internet, which cartoons that your kids watch do you suffer through? Which ones do you actually like? Which cartoons did you used to watch when you were younger? Leave a comment and share the fun!

R.I.P. Pampers

This post is pretty lengthy but worth it. ( I think anyway.)

I don't want to jinx anything but I can almost safely say that Caroline is potty trained. I know that most books and experts say kids are not "officially" potty trained until they can stay dry through the night. Those experts can stick it. After a grueling week that doesn't look like it will let up anytime soon I am calling it: Caroline is potty trained. Here is a run down of what my week was like: (I am going to do it Aagard style. Here's to you Shelly!)

Monday: Only have a few Target diapers left. I used to love these diapers but they went and changed everything: box, design, print on diapers, shape of diapers, etc. I am not happy. So I compare and the Luv's are more but only by a few cents per diaper and they have Blue's Clues on them. Fine, grab them and let's go. Use the last one that night which only leaves the new ones for tomorrow.

Tuesday: After using her last diaper I go to open the new pack of diapers and Caroline flips out. She has gotten used to the polka-dot Target ones and refuses to use Blue's Clues.
"Don't like Cues Cues"
I explain that all I have are her big girl panties. (Sniff, Sniff) "Ok, Mommy" (We have had these for awhile to get her used to them. She picked them out herself.)
"You want to wear your princess panties?"
"YEAH!!!!" At this point she runs to her dresser and is dancing around while I find her a pair of Cinderella. I am shocked. She is actually excited. We'll see how long this lasts...
***BTW, We have been working on Caroline for awhile with going to the potty. We set up a system where if she just sat on the potty she got a sticker (princess or Cars). She loved it. I tried to get her to go Pee Pee in the potty but she always wanted to get down before it happened. As soon as I got on her diaper she would go. That is when I knew she was ready but I didn't want to push her. I have known moms who made their kids go just because they didn't want to buy diapers again. I would rather pay the $13.00 for the new pack of diapers instead of $100/ hour for the therapy they will need later. We did not push her. We looked for the signs and encouraged her. ***
After we put on the underwear she ran around the house jumping, playing, just loving the free feeling of big girl underwear. She got so excited that she wet a little before she could tell me that she had to go. She sat down on the potty and nothing. I made her sit for just one more second. Still nothing. A few minuets later she told me she needed to go, sat her down, and then it happened. She pee peed. Her eyes got so big and her grin was even bigger. "Mommy, I go PEE PEE!" I showed her how to wipe, we flushed the potty, washed our hands, and danced the happy dance. I knew Caroline would be the type that would need some over the top excitement when she went so we called aunts, uncles, and grandparents. She was so proud of her accomplishment and it showed. We made sure to praise her and make her feel special and it worked. She almost stayed dry all day. (One little accident that I made her clean up.) That night we put her in a pull-up and just told her again how proud we are of her.

Wednesday (early hours of the morning, around 3am): I awaken to Caroline by my bed telling me that she is poopy. She isn't, her pull-up is full. Put on a new pull-up put her back in bed.
6am - I awaken to Caroline again. "Mommy I need to go Pee Pee." This is great. Her little bladder is waking her up and telling her to go. I take her to the potty and she pees a lot, we do our routine and then she runs to our bedroom to tell her daddy. She is so proud of herself. We snuggle in bed and watch cartoons.
Later on that day: Caroline has been dry all day and now the big test: she doesn't want to put on a pull-up for her nap. YIKESSSS! I tell her ok. Lay her down for quite time. When she falls asleep I go in and put a towel under her. I knew if I put a pull-up on her it would hurt her feelings. She wakes up from her nap 2 hours later and comes out holding the towel and says, "here Mommy. Here is your towel." It is completly DRY!! We go to the potty and she uses it instead. We do the happy dance. Stays dry all day. Work it girl!!!

Thursday: Caroline has been doing great for the past few days but here was the test. We go to the library on Thursdays for storytime/art time. That would be a challenge alone but we are planning on meeting family who are driving through Greensboro for lunch after that. I insist she wear her underwear instead of a pull-up. I am either Brave or suicidal. I know that she would be scared to death of any public bathroom so we pack up her potty and put it in the back of the 4-runner. Our car seems designed for this thank goodness. She goes to the library and has a great time and even picks out a few books to take home. We go to meet our family at the restaurant and a few minutes later she tells me "Mommy, I have to go pee pee." Ok, folks. This is not a drill. This is what we have been preparing for. All systems go. I take her outside, open the back, get her settled, and she goes! In the potty! In the back of my car! She actually thinks it is fun, hence the getting up a million times at lunch to go. The rest of the day goes well and we let her know how proud we are.

Friday: Ok, so I am going to push my luck a little further. Kevin has to work all day and I need to run some errands. Caroline has been doing so well so I decide to take her run errands in her big girl underwear. She is pro at this. I teach her that we always go to the potty before we leave the house and we will use it as soon as we get home. She does a great job and I even get her a kids drink at the snack center. We pick up some of those toddler wipes to use with the potty. They were a big hit. The only problem we encountered was after she woke up from her nap she insisted on going to the potty every 2 miutes. She would pee sometimes but most times not. It was like timing a contraction. I could barely get dinner done or eat it for that fact. I am not sure what is going on but I know we will get through this.

Saturday: Great day except for the going every 2 minutes. This is getting old fast.

Sunday: OK. the big test. going to church for 3 hours. And nursery!!!!! So I pack up the potty again but this time I put it in the mother's lounge. We make it to sacrament meeting but 3 mintues in she tells me she has to go pee pee. It has begun. We actually made it through the sacrament but after that she just asks to go all the time. I finally pack her up and take her in the mother's lounge and stay. I set her on the potty one more time before she went to nursery and she seemed excited to go, but 10 minutes into Sunday School they brought her to me because she needed to go. She doesn't do anything on the potty so I take her back. When we change classes I go in and get her, try to potty, she does pee and then I take her back. She actually stayed the rest of the hour. It was great. It was progress and I am still proud of her.

It is amazing to watch Caroline come into her own. She has gained so much confidence with this whole potty training and it is spreading into other parts of our lives. She insists on doing things herself now. As a mother I want to give her so much. I thought that I would be the one who would give her confidence but I am finding that I can't give her anything, but I can help her find it within herself. I guess we both had a lot to learn this week...

My Inner Ina...

Kevin and I have been married for 9 years (10 years in Sept.) and over the past 9 years we have figured out this whole gift giving mess. When we were first married we couldn't afford anything so we usually got some really great cards and notes. (I still have all mine.) Gradually we moved into the "Double Income, No Kids" phase of gift giving where we would give each other nice gifts without worrying too much about how much it cost. Then Kevin went back to school and it was back to the "make it affordable and make it count" phase. During this time we really dug deep and not only got thoughtful gifts but got creative in making them and giving them. Even though he is done with school we have really taken this kind of gift-giving philosophy to heart. We realized that we don't have to give random, meaningless things because it defeats the purpose, but we still think that gifts should be a want and not a need item. (Thanks hon, for this wonderful laundry basket. I've had my eye on it at Wal-mart for awhile. How did you know?) Having said all that let me explain what Kevin got me for my birthday in March...

There is an amazing restaurant in Atlanta called "The Flying Biscuit". We went a few months after we moved there after a suggestion from a classmate and loved it. Only problem was Caroline was not happy and we had to shovel our wonderful, delicious, Southern food fast. When Kevin and I went back to Atlanta to pack up sans Munchkin, guess where we went for breakfast? The Flying Biscuits they bake daily are to die for and I really could have eaten those for the meal. We left the restaurant stuffed; not a good idea when you have lots of projects to work on. What does that have to do with my birthday? Well, my dear, sweet, thoughtful husband did some research and ordered the "Flying Biscuit Cookbook" for me!!!!!! I have really been getting more into cooking and now watch Food Network religiously so he knew how perfect this gift was for me. I was blown away. The interesting part is this is the only cookbook that has the famous Flying Biscuit recipe. If you buy the cookbook at the restaurant it is from the new owner and doesn't have a lot of their older traditional recipes. The amazing thing is that Kevin had to hunt this book down on E-bay and had it shipped for my birthday. He is so good to me. How did I thank him?

Biscuits!!!! They are "slap-your mama" good!!

I don't even remember how many I ate as soon as they came out of the oven. These biscuits in turn gave me the idea to make freezer jam. It was so much fun trying these recipes. I often think of my great-grandma Ruby while I am cooking. She passed away when I was 6 years old but people still talk about what a great cook she was. I hope I have her genes and that they are the dominant ones. PS: Thanks babe for the wonderful, thoughtful gift. I love you.

To Do List...

Guess what we've been working on...

Oh Come On...

I am sure there is a law in NC that if you are within a 5 mile radius of the beach you must go. You may sit, read, people watch, whatever but you have to enjoy it. So that is what Caroline and I did. I picked her up and tried to take her right out toward the waves but she was not happy. We turned around and sat on the steps leading down into the sand. We sat there for a few minutes and just watched this couple who were surf fishing. We watched a dad and daughter walking down the beach with a kite flying overhead. We also watched a group of pelicans skim the surface of the ocean. After awhile she ventured a few feet from the steps. I let her do it by herself. After that she went a few more feet and finally she went all the way to the edge of the water. I love watching her try new things and figure it out on her own. I can see how proud she is of herself when she does it without my help. She isn't my little baby anymore.