Good Weekend

We went to Greenville, NC this weekend. It's a college town, home of Eastern Carolina University and is a pretty good sized town - bigger than New Bern. (Side note: this is where I was having to go to the doctor during my pregnancy..it takes an hour or hour and half to get there from our place).

Anyway, we went to Greenville yesterday so that Kyle could get measured for his tux for my brother's wedding (in Detroit August 1) at Men's Warehouse (thankfully there is a Men's Warehouse in Greenville...the next closest is in Raleigh). It was really nice to get out of New Bern for the day. When we first got there, we went to Chili's. I know, I know - not too exciting..but it's kid friendly and we like the food. We got some chips and salsa as a appetizer (Vivi was very careful not to get salsa on her shirt...she and Bryton were wearing their matching outfits), Vivi had a cheese quesadilla and mandarin oranges, Kyle had a grilled chicken sandwich, and I had a side salad and some chicken enchilada soup. Bryton snoozed in his car seat while we ate. After that, Kyle took Vivi into Men's Warehouse to get measured, and B-man and I stayed in the car ( so I could feed him). All of a sudden, a huge storm came though - big gushes of wind and big rain drops. And hail. Bryton was just eating away and I'm sitting there wondering if he and I should make a run for it and head inside the store...or stay put. Putting those thoughts aside, I pulled out my diaper-bag camera and took some pictures of the hail. We didn't see any as big as golf balls, but some good size ones none the less. The storm passed about 20 minutes later. Bryton and I enjoyed watching people run through the parking lot holding their jackets and umbrellas over their heads, trying to avoid getting any moisture during this huge storm. Haha.

After the storm passed, Kyle and Vivi came out of Men's Warehouse and Vivi told me all about the storm with its scary thunder and lightening. Then, she and I went to a nail salon to get a mani-pedi. Kyle took Bryton to Best Buy during this. When we walked into the salon, we got a look...I don't think they had ever seen a 2 year old in their establishment before. Anyway, nobody there spoke great English, so I couldn't convey to them that I wanted them to soak Vivi's feet, file her toenails, and paint them. A mini-pedi if you will. Well, she sat in my lap while I got my toes done. It was nice. There was a lady in the chair next to us, and Vivi looked at her feet and said, "Mama..that lady has dirt on her feet." The lady had to have heard, but didn't chuckle or look annoyed...but I laughed. I thought it was cute. After the pedi, we went to the manicure chair...where we were able to successfully communicate that Vivi would get a mini-manicure. She chose pink nail polish (of course) and you could just tell that she felt like such a big girl.

After our nails were done, we met Kyle and Bryton at Best Buy. When Vivi saw Kyle, she ran up to him proudly showing off her nails. He told her how pretty they were. We walked around Best Buy, not looking for anything in particular, just enjoying being in a town with a Best Buy. I pushed Bryton around for a while and then saw Vivi and Kyle playing one of the video gaming systems they have set up for patrons to try. They were playing Rock Band - a Wii or Playstation game... So there is my husband, playing bass guitar, and my little princess with her freshly painted pink fingernails holding two drumsticks playing the drum set for a Metallica (a very hard hard rock 'musical' group..i.e. Kyle used to listen to their 'songs' while he was working out) song. I wish I had a picture (my diaper bag camera was in the car).

Leaving Best Buy, we went to the mall (yes - an actual indoor mall!) where we looked at all the shops! I found shoes for Vivi and me for Uncle Evan's wedding. Check in the box! After leaving the mall, we stopped at McAlister's Deli for some dinner and then hit the road, headed home.

After we got home, we put Vivi and Bryton to bed. Then, we watched the movie, Fireproof. I highly recommend it. It was a great 'feel good' movie. http://fireproofmymarriage.com/. The movie deals with a couple who are navigating their hum-drum marriage and the difference that's made after they try to apply Jesus' love in their marriage. Anyway, watch it if you get the chance. It will make you want to be a better spouse.

Well, other little bits of comedy this week...hm...we have a Wii (a video gaming system that uses motion interactive controls...). One of the games we have is the Wii Fit game. You can play balance games, semi-aerobic games, strength training games, etc. Well, of the games included is a Yoga game. You stand on the supplied balance board and do the yoga poses while the balance board measures your balance/stationary ability. Well, the other day, I was doing some yoga poses and Vivi says, "Mama..I do yoga too." there she is stading beside me with her right foot up on her left thigh and her hands together above her head. Too funny. She said that she likes yoga. We'll do some again tonight.

Have a great week!. Be sure to check out corresponding pictures on our picture site - link is above on the right.

Every Cloud Has a Silver Lining

Well, I heard some sad news today...Three Little Fishes, a speciality children's clothing store located about 2 miles from my house, and the only one around, is going out of business. The silver lining? Everything was half off! So, I did some shopping. I think after today I will need to remove my debit card from my wallet. Until next pay-day, that is. I hope nobody but Bryton gets hungry this week.

Anyway, I got the kids some clothes - some really cute stuff! Their inventory was pretty low, so we didn't have a whole lot to choose from, but I had some good finds for Vivi and Bryton as well as some baby gifts, too.

So, here's some of what I got Vivi and Bryton.

A pacifier clip for Bryton, and a ponytail holder for Vivi.

Two adorable dresses for Vivi (in size 4t - to last!) and a white sweater with little pearl buttons for winter.

Two little Feltman Bros. bubble suits (he has another one or two in his closet).

I think I got great deals on these! Maybe I should buy more at these great prices and sell them on ebay...hm...

Anyway, it was a lot of fun. Plus, I got B-man some more footed pjs...I love the zip ones, but they are hard to find. So, I just got some with snaps. He is getting SO long, and growing out of his clothes way way too fast.

Well, it didn't seem like a big deal until I got home and was putting the clothes away in Bryton's armoire. I only keep in his armoire what he can currently fit in. Things that are too big or too small go in the closet. So, here are some pictures of what all is in his armoire. Looking at it all, he might not need anything else in the 3 month size (what I got today was 6 or 9 month). Note - if you have gotten Bryton something to wear and you don't see it in the following pictures, it means that it's either too big or too small right now or is in his laundry basket or diaper bag, or he's wearing it. It doesn't mean that I don't like it. Note - these are in addition to pjs, onesies, and lounge pants. I don't know about you, but it sure seems like an awful lot for a little boy who grows out of things every couple of months.

I don't mind having that many things for Vivi - (she's got a lot more than he does) because she can wear things for a year or two. She had on an outfit yesterday that was over a year old.

Anyway, I guess I will stop buying things for Bryton for a while. Now that we live somewhere with more definite seasons, it's tough to determine what size he will be in during which temperature range.

Other news? Well, Bryton is getting a tooth! I can't believe it! Vivi was about 8 or 9 months when she got her first tooth...and Bryton was 3 months and one week when I (a friend, actually) noticed it. Plus, remember that he was born a month early. Had he been full term, he'd be 2 months and one week with a tooth peeking in. Sheesh! I'm a little bit in disbelief that time is just flying by with him. Nobody teach him how to bite...please.

Well, we had a great Father's Day, even though Kyle and I were not with either of our dads. We had some friends come over for lunch and had a great day. Vivi was so excited to have all of her friends over! There were 8 adults and 8 and half kids (ages 5, 4, 2, 2, 18 mo, 9 mo, 9 mo, and 3 mo...and -5 weeks)....and a dog. We really had a great time and thoroughly enjoyed all of our company! We'll do it again soon!

Want some comedy before I wrap up this post? (Don't read this part, Mom). The other day, Vivi was sitting on the potty, crying. I went running in to see what was wrong. She looked at me with sad, sad eyes and said "There's a crack in my hiney."

Have a great week!

A Couple of Interesting Things....

Ok, well, just a quick post to let you know that we've had a couple of interesting things happen this week.

First, I washed ANOTHER pull up yesterday. Ahhhh!!! I have since attached a pull up to the handle of Vivi's laundry basket as a reminder to check before putting the contents of the basket in the washing machine.

Second, Bryton has pink eye! He's had some eye drainage over the past week or so, and I took him to the doctor (via the urgent car clinic on base) today. The doctor said that he has pink eye and prescribed an erythromycin eye ointment. So, it should clear up in the next couple of days.

That's all for now!

Three Months!

Well, today Bryton is 3 months old! Phew! I don't have a lot of time to blog right now, but wanted to at least mention this milestone! He gets more and more handsome every day; looking at his picture, don't you want to just gobble him up? He's such a social little thing - loves being talked to and being part of the action. He loves for Vivi to talk to him...although most of what she says is, "Hi little boy...Hi Mr. B (what I call him sometimes)...it's okay - don't be scared of the thunder (she says that to Lexie, Cheer Bear, and Wooly too)." It's getting more difficult to get a picture of him smiling..he doesn't like for me to 'hide' behind the camera, especially after I've been talking to him eye to eye. He fusses at me for that.

Anyway, he really is a sweet boy...or maybe I'm just treasuring his sweetness more because Vivi is not at her sweetest right now...she has had a pretty good week since Kyle came back (he got in Saturday night) but still has her challenging 2 (almost 3) year old moments. I can't think of anything funny she's said lately...I'll be sure to post it when I do.

I'm sure you also want to know about my scrap booking progress....well, I'm halfway through December 2007. Thanks to my wonderful husband who has bathed the kids and watched them after dinner and done pretty much everything for them until they go to sleep (except nurse Bryton...I guess that'd be asking a lot..haha) I've been able to scrapbook a couple of nights this week. So, I'm making progress....I'm definitely in the quick pages mode - just pasting the pictures on with some pretty paper. Don't worry - I'm journaling, too, just abbreviated versions.

Well, that's all for now...gonna clean up a little while Mr. B is snoozing!

You'd Think I'd Learn a Lesson

Well, today marks the second time that I've washed a pull-up. In the past week. Several days ago, I washed Vivi's clothes, and when I went to put them in the dryer, I noticed a gummy-gel like substance on the clothes. It didn't take me long to figure out what it was. Part of what makes today's diapers so wonderful are these little gel-like beads that absorb liquid. Florists are now using these beads in the vases of their flowers to help them retain moisture/absorb extra liquid. Anyway, just now, I opened the washer to find this gel material all over her newly washed clothes...again. Last time, I ran a couple of rinse and spin cycles and that seemed to get rid of the gel coating that was all over her stuff. So, as I type, the washer is rinsing and spinning.

How could this happen? Well, Vivi's getting up earlier and earlier. So, in the morning, she likes to play dress up with whatever clothes she can find. No, she doesn't have actual dress up clothes, and I'm not sure why - I just don't see a bin of princess gowns in the toy section of Target, I guess. Anyone have any used ones you want to send our way? :-) So, she gets clothes from her laundry basket (located in her closet) and wrangles them on, usually improperly, and comes to show me her latest princess look. Well, she takes her pajamas off and dutifully puts them in the laundry basket - along with her pull ups. Don't worry - they are not used - she's doing really well at staying dry all night. (When she first wakes up, she comes to my room - with her pjs and pull-up on - and then goes to use our bathroom. After that is when she wanders off and starts her day of dress up). So, putting her clothes in the washer today, I didn't notice the incognito pull-up located in the mix. Hence, the rinse and spin cycle.

Here's the real question: how many pull ups will I wash before I learn to check the clothes basket?