The Rays

My Birthday and The Girls' First Day of School

2011-11-27T18:03:00.000-08:00

I had a big surprise for my birthday. 3 of my favorite boys came to visit!! Dad and I went to the airport to pick up Debbie and I saw her walking towards the baggage claim with a boy who looked to be about 4. That looks kind of like Ford, I thought. They get closer. Behind them is a man walking with another boy, about 3. My jaw drops, crying, hugging. You can picture the scene.

This rascal is such a joy! Emma says she will marry him one day :) Her Lukie!!

And these two have the most fun together. This trip was Lego heaven for them!

The only thing that would've made it better would have been if this sweet boy and his mom could have been there!

The girls on their first day at Salisbury Pres Preschool. While we were very sad not to be at Sonshine this year, the girls have loved their new school. I have been especially happy to see how excited Emma has been to go to school. If you recall any from last year- bike day where she cried the entire time or any other party when she spent the whole time in my lap- she was less than overjoyed about school. This year she has grown up so much! She loves school- gets out of the car with barely a "Bye, mom!" which means she is going to a place where she feels safe and loved.

Sweet sisters!

Parker's First Day of School

2011-11-13T18:32:00.000-08:00

My baby was going to kindergarten. He was really excited. I was not. The night before I was so sad putting him to bed. I had an extra year with him since we had chosen to send him to TK instead of kindergarten but it wasn't enough. I'm sure the move had something to do with my feelings. Public school had not been my plan. Moving to Richmond had not been my plan. But it was God's plan and Parker has done really well. He loves school, loves riding the bus, has made friends, and loves his teacher.

Parker requested pumpkin muffins for his first day of school breakfast. I had no idea finding pumpkin in September would be so difficult. After trips to several grocery stores I finally found some at Whole Foods.

Parker, I'm so proud of you!!

Update

2011-05-30T19:15:00.000-07:00

As usual its been a while... here are a few pictures of what we've been up to.

This is how Emma spent a lot of her time in her two year old class. Her teachers were always so excited when she had a good day. Hopefully this won't happen next year!

Easter Parade

School Easter Egg Hunt

For spring break we took a trip to Auburn and Dothan. The kids and I had a blast!

Maybe Parker has a future in long jumping??

Emma and Baby Duncan, not so much a baby anymore!

For Parker's birthday we took Cam and Carter, Parker's two best friends, to play putt putt. They had a great time. I think their favorite part was that the last hole was a toilet that you hit your ball into and it flushes. Boys!

Our soccer player

Diet Coke and Mentos experiment at Parker's birthday

TK Graduation

War Eagle!

2011-03-01T17:34:00.001-08:00

So I've had a little pressure from the family (Dad!) to update my blog. :)
If anyone still reads, thanks for hanging in there!

We were able to go to Arizona for the National Championship game. It was awesome!! An amazing experience.

Mark's friend Brian's license plate happened to be this year's slogan.

Our friends the Uttley's who went to the game with us.

Brian and Mark

And while we were in Arizona the kids were with Grandma and Grandpops-

making cookies

doing puzzles and making silly faces

and more silliness

painting fingernails

and toenails

making bouncy balls

cheering for Auburn

and playing Twister.

Thank you for keeping the kids for us so we could go to the game!!! We love you!

First Day of School

2010-09-25T18:25:00.001-07:00

Not very good lighting but this is Parker, Maryn and Emma's first day of school. This year they are all going to Sonshine so I will have two days a week when I don't have any of my children. So far it has been great! The past two weeks were an "ease-in" period for Emma and I had to pick her up at 11:30 instead of 1. Needless to say I have been at that preschool A LOT. It's a little sad to not have a day where we can just be lazy in our pjs. They are all doing well, loving their teachers and making lots of friends.

Seattle with the Big Kids

2010-09-09T13:36:00.001-07:00

Joseph and I took these cuties to Seattle at the beginning of August. (Warning- lots of pictures) We had a very rough start in the Atlanta airport- a 3 1/2 hour delay that got us into Seattle at 2 am. The kids were really good considering we spent about 7 hours in the airport since we wanted to get there early to wear them out walking around, riding the moving sidewalks and the train. And then they slept the entire plane ride. We didn't intend to take the red-eye but did and it worked out pretty well.

We did a lot of fun things- the Space Needle, went to see the Blue Angels take off, Space Museum, the zoo... but one of the kids most fun activities was to work in Dede's garden. The boys spent hours digging in the yard and Parker loved working in the garden. He pulled weeds and helped her plant flowers. One of my favorite parts of our trip was hanging out with Joseph, my dad and Debbie after the kids went to bed. There's just something about eating dinner without having to coax bites, be the referee, fill cups and plates that is so nice. We had a wonderful trip. Thanks Dad and Debbie!!

This is so Maryn. Ford worships Parker but he and Maryn play well together too. They spent a lot of time coloring.

You can't see her face very well but check out those feet. Try not to tell her how cute she is. It's going to her head!

Future gardeners

The Space Needle on a typical rainy Seattle day. But the temperature didn't get above 63 or so. I couldn't have cared less about rain coming from 95 degree weather with 100% humidity. It was glorious!

Starbucks for everyone! They even have it at the top of the Space Needle!

After checking out the Blue Angels- don't know why I don't have pictures of that- we went to the Boeing Air and Space Museum (not sure what its called exactly but you get the idea). Ford in a plane

Playing in a helicopter

So typical

Our last day we went to the zoo.

oops... from the museum and out of order

While I had Parker and Maryn in Seattle Emma spent the week with Grandma. They had a blast. Uncle Greg was there and he and Grandpops read Miss Emma lots of books. They went to visit friends and family; she was a social butterfly but didn't go far from Grandma!

Thanks Mary Sue for keeping her!!

another new post below...

Greensboro Children's Museum

2010-09-09T11:56:00.001-07:00

Last week Grandma came!! With two weeks of summer left (yes, our school STILL hasn't started. So excited for Monday!) we were in need of some help and another adult face besides Mommy. When Grandma comes we like to do little day trips that I wouldn't be able to do with the kids by myself. Last time we went to Riverbanks Zoo in Columbia, SC and this time we decide to go to the Greensboro Children's Museum. It's only about an hour and a half from Huntersville and the kids had a great time. You can pretend to be a doctor, vet, mailman, go to the grocery, camping, pizza parlor, and put on a show. There is a real firetruck, police car, and a race car. You can climb a rock wall, pretend to drive a train and build with cardboard blocks.

We had a blast!! Thanks for coming Grandma! We had such a great time.

Looking at Old Pictures

2010-07-25T18:36:00.000-07:00

Feels like an eternity ago but really just two years...

Graduation!

2010-06-13T19:10:00.001-07:00

Parker's teachers, Ms. Sherri and Ms. Lisa

The program- they sang a few songs for us and there was a video with pictures from this year. Obviously I need a lens for my camera so I can get closer! Birthday present?? Parker is on the first row, second from the end.

My graduate :)

My Little Boy is 5!!

2010-05-04T13:40:00.000-07:00

I can't believe Parker is 5! Maybe having the girls practically right after him has made it go by fast... or maybe that's just how things go. I will never forget being in the hospital lying on my right side for about 5 hours because his heart rate would go down and have trouble coming back up every time I had a contraction- and that's the only way he did well with. I should've known how sensitive he was going to be from that moment on!

We had a very small party at a park this past weekend. What do you think about his rocket cake? I have to give Mark a lot of the credit. He cut out all of the pieces and talked me through the icing. Thanks honey!

Notice her pink cheeks. It was HOT!

Presents! He loves his night vision goggles.

Today on his actual birthday we also had his school's Mother's Day Tea.

They sang the moms a couple of songs- and Parker actually participated this time! I just wish I had gotten it on video. They also the kids questions about their moms and post them in the hallway. According to Parker, and Maryn actually, I am 22!! My favorite food (Parker) is chicken pot pie (which is actually his favorite thing that I make?? not so sure its MY favorite) and eggs (Maryn- one of HER favorites!). And my two favorites- Maryn said my favorite thing to drink is wine! Just what every mom wants posted about her in preschool for all to see!! And she also said that while she is at school I "go out and buy things." She knows her mom well!!

After school today Cam came over and the boys played palentologist with a stegosoraus fossile my mom sent. They loved it! Thank goodness they spent awhile doing this and had a lot of fun because it made a BIG mess!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PARKER!!!!

New Nephew!

2010-04-09T19:35:00.000-07:00

This is a picture of Joseph and Sarah when they came to visit Martin Luther King weekend with the boys. Isn't she cute pregnant?! My newest nephew was born March 18th- a Thursday just like Ford and Luke. He was early and ended up in the NICU in Montgomery. Needless to say this was very difficult on Joseph, Sarah, Ford and Luke. He was there for two and a half weeks and Sarah and Joseph spent a lot of time in the car driving back and forth.

Parker, Maryn and I went to spend a couple of days with them at the beginning of spring break- Emma was in Dothan- and I was lucky enough to get to go with Joseph to visit Duncan. He is precious!! Thankfully he is home now and they are enjoying him a ton. Check out Sarah's blog for more pictures.

Duncan obviously enjoys his fingers!

Discovery Place

2010-04-05T20:11:00.000-07:00

Joseph and I grew up going to the Discovery Place in uptown Charlotte with Dad and Debbie. We always had fun and they still have a lot of the same activities. It didn't matter because we were too old to have enjoyed it, but they now have a room for preschool age kids and toddlers. Our kids had so much fun! One day when the kids were out of school we met Mark there- its right next to his office- and enjoyed a couple of hours of fun with Daddy! There is a huge water table- seen above- where kids can stand and play in the water. It's even short enough for Emma to enjoy plus it has a seat- kind of like a high chair with water around it- for babies! So fun!!

Parker is playing on the giant Lite Brite. And they have tons of other stuff for them to do and explore.

Parker Riding His Bike

2010-03-15T18:19:00.000-07:00

Parker learned to ride his bike without training wheels this past weekend. Mark worked with him a lot on it. He was starting to get the hang of it on Saturday and by Sunday he was pretty much doing it on his own. Today Mark and Parker rode about 1/2 mile around the block.

Short video:

Longer version:

An Old Picture

2010-02-23T17:31:00.000-08:00

aren't they cute?!

SNOW!

2010-01-31T11:36:00.001-08:00

We finally got a really good snow! It started Friday afternoon around 4 and didn't really stop until some in the night. We woke up Saturday morning to sleet but it wasn't enough to keep us indoors. The paper said Huntersville got 6 inches. I don't think it got out of the 20's yesterday (Saturday) so there wasn't any melting. Church was canceled and I haven't been out of the house since Thursday! Yikes! It's warming up today so the snow is beginning to melt. I am hoping we have school tomorrow or at least that the roads are clear enough to get out of the house!

Today was so sunny that we needed sunglasses!

Parker eating snow.

Emma really enjoyed playing in the snow and stayed out longer than Parker and Maryn.

We don't have a sled so a piece of cardboard worked. Today we upgraded to a Rubbermaid lid to a storage bin. I think we may need to purchase a real sled.

Christmas with Papa and Dede

2010-01-30T08:35:00.000-08:00

Papa and Dede came for a few days the weekend before Christmas. We had a great time reading books, eating good food, a little Christmas shopping, and wrapping presents.

This was so long ago I don't even remember what Maryn and Dede were cooking...

All of my children have been side sippers. They don't want to miss anything that's going on so they have to drink from the side.

Parker and Maryn dressed up as fire people when we had an unexpected visit from the fire department. Our carbon monoxide detector was going off which is attached to our alarm system. That automatically sends the fire department out. The kids were excited to see fire fighters and even got to go sit in their truck.

A Christmas morning mess. It's just not Christmas without a picture like this!

Parker got the castle he had asked for.

Christmas with Grandma and Grandpops

2009-12-30T17:58:00.000-08:00

Let's pretend that its December 30th rather than January 30th! Grandma and Grandpops had Christmas with us a few weeks early. The kids were really spoiled with presents from them, Mark's brother, sister, and brother-in-law, and Mark's aunts and uncles. Whew! I think Christmas would've been really overwhelming if we had not spread it out like we did. It gave me time to find room for new toys before the next overload came!

Emma really loved snuggling with Grandpops.

Maryn's new favorite outfit from Grandma. I practically had to bribe her to get her to let me wash it.

Look at that expression! So cheesy.

Parker got a really cool dinosaur toy. He's been very into dinosaurs lately. More Christmas later...

Grandma!

2009-12-30T17:50:00.000-08:00

I was going through pictures from Christmas- more to come later- and found this really cute one of the kids with Mary Sue. They always have so much fun when she's here. We love you, Grandma!!

Gingerbread House

2009-12-07T17:26:00.000-08:00

I have never done a gingerbread house with the kids before. This is the first Christmas I felt like it was something I could try since the kids were older- and I have help! Mary Sue is here for the week!!

We iced the house. I think more icing was consumed than used on the house. Maryn is the queen of sugar!! (I guess she comes by that honestly...)

Parker hard at work.

Emma was really enjoying herself!

Sorry for the color but Mark was messing around with the camera.

Finished product. Not too bad!! I can't wait until the kids are old enough to do their own- mainly so I can do one by myself!!

Happy Friday

2009-12-01T19:22:00.000-08:00

Kids in their Christmas pjs getting ready to decorate the tree.

Parker's Thanksgiving Feast. Our pilgrim is the one in the middle.

Maryn dressed up with her class too but she has a terrible scowl on her face so I didn't post her picture (also I had not rotated it and am too lazy to do so right now!) Happy Friday!!

Baa Moo Farms

2009-11-14T17:59:00.000-08:00

A couple of weeks ago I went to Baa Moo Farms with some friends when the kids had a day off school. I was able to leave Emma with Nana (Emily's mom- Thanks, Nana!!) and take Cam. Baa Moo Farms would not have been the best place for a 16 month old along with a 4.5 and 3 year old. My friend Verna planned the trip for us, her girls, Lanigan and Adrianna, and my friend Ann and her two boys, Carter and Will. We had so much fun!!

The kids- Will, Parker, Maryn, Carter, Cam, Lanigan, and Adri

They had lots of calves that the kids could pet.

They were even able to feed one.

Group shot on a wagon

Climbing in an old tractor

They fed sheep.

Will with his egg. They were able to go in the hen coop and pick an egg from the nest and then put them all in a basket. Then they fed the chickens. Surprisingly no one freaked out with 15 or so chickens running around them.

My kids with their eggs.

They had a chance to milk a cow. This is Carter milking the cow. Maryn did it but Parker didn't want anything to do with it!

Cam

Then they found a kitten to pet. Kittens are so cute. I think if they didn't grow up to be cats I might get one!

Maryn and Lanigan

The boys

At the end we took a hayride around the farm. Cam's favorite part was the bulls. They did come really close to the wagon we were on. Fortunately the farmer was right there and our group was on the far side of the wagon.

We had so much fun and I would highly recommend it for a nice morning trip. You do have to make reservations in advance, but it was great for the kids to have such a hands on experience.

Please disregard...

2009-11-11T16:37:00.000-08:00

this baby's bib!! She now wants to feed herself with a fork and its the only one we have that snaps. All you moms know how pointless a velcro bib is at this age! Someone please get Emma a new bib for Christmas!!

I saw this on another blog that I read... can't remember which one its been so long... its a geoboard. We used them some when I taught and Parker used one last year in school. Its a great thing for their fine motor skills. I bought some wood from Michaels,- I think its for making a plaque or something- (is that how you spell plaque in that case?) painted it black, and then I/Parker hammered push pins in a grid. I am fully prepared for the math dork jokes from my brother after posting this! And all you people from Auburn, no I didn't name Parker after Parker Hall, the math building!!

In other news our princess turned 3 at the end of October. More pictures coming soon. Dede sent this tiara to arrive on her birthday along with other pink, girly things. Since I was making cupcakes for her school party and her actual party I went with this lovely Harris Teeter cake with a princess stuck on top for the day of her birthday. She was thrilled!

Great Idea

2009-10-27T18:58:00.000-07:00

I have been reading a lot of craft blogs lately and as I am not a huge Halloween fan I haven't done a lot with the kids but I thought these were really cute. She bought fake pumpkins from a craft store and painted them with chalkboard paint! How creative!!

How Cute!!!!

2009-09-30T17:52:00.000-07:00

Is this not the cutest thing you have ever seen?? I hope to have the time to make this for my girls. Yeah, right. Maybe she'll make them and then sell them and I could buy one!!

Random

2009-09-17T07:16:00.000-07:00

So its been a while! We've been very busy with the start of school and consignment sales. Here are a couple of random things. Pictures from school to come.

Are your kids side sippers? Parker and Maryn both were and it looks like Emma will be too. They don't want to miss anything!

Emma the fairy

Do you remember making these?

You put the beads on a little peg board that makes a shape and then iron them together. I bought these for the kids while I was in Seattle this summer. They were bigger than the ones I did when I was little which was better for my kids since their fine motor skills aren't quite ready for the tiny ones! Maryn needed a good bit of help but Parker did pretty well on his own. It took a couple of days to finish because they weren't quite patient enough to finish it in one sitting.

Family Pictures

2009-08-11T17:16:00.000-07:00

We had our family pictures made a week ago by one of my really good friends, Sharon, at Smitten Photography. She does amazing work and the kids had a great time. These were for Emma's first birthday and we decided to do some of everyone while we were there. Sharon took these pictures of Emma at the hospital the day after she was born. You can see all of the pictures from our recent photo shoot here on her blog.

Kids Books

2009-08-04T12:22:00.001-07:00

I was just reading this to Maryn before her nap and decided to share it with you. My mom gave it to Parker and it is so cute! She is a preschool teacher so she knows kids books! It is a great story about a duck who decides to ride a bike and all of the other farm animals he passes and what they think. The illustrations are really good too. What kid books do you enjoy?

Bermuda!!

2009-07-31T15:27:00.001-07:00

Let me say that Bermuda was FABULOUS!

This is where we stayed, the Fairmont Southhampton.

We dropped the kids in Auburn on a Wednesday, put them to bed and then left. It felt really weird driving away- but I didn't mind too much! We got to Bermuda and it was raining really hard but since it was 4 o'clock in the afternoon and we weren't going to get any sun anyway. The weather the rest of the trip was great although it did rain again Saturday afternoon but we were shopping in Hamilton so it didn't matter too much. The food was absolutely fabulous. Our favorite was Waterlot Inn. It was probably our favorite restaurant ever. I had scallops all four nights either for an entree or appetizer. YUM!! We did lots of reading, sitting by the pool, whatever we wanted! I could take as long as I wanted in the shower, shave my legs every time, fix my hair and put on my make-up without any interruption. Maryn wasn't trying to play in my make-up and Emma wasn't crying to be picked up. I love my kids A TON but it sure is good to get away every once in a while. Especially with Mark!!

It was a great trip and the kids had so much fun while we were away. When we got home they were so excited to see us. Maryn just screamed and then said "I saw the door open. I didn't know who it was and it was you!" in her shrill little excited voice. So cute.

You can't rent cars there, only scooters. We weren't there long enough and didn't care about doing anything but sitting by the pool to rent one.

This was at the Fairmont Princess in Hamilton. There was a free ferry that would take you between the two resorts which was nice because taking a taxi was pretty expensive.

These dancers were at the dock when the ferry arrived in Hamilton.

View from the ferry

My handsome husband

View from Waterlot Inn

Our room

Can't wait to start planning our 15th anniversary trip!

June Celebrations

2009-07-23T17:08:00.001-07:00

June was a busy month full of celebrations. Mark and I had our 10th wedding anniversary on June 12th. These beautiful flowers were waiting on my front porch when I got home from the pool that morning. What a crazy 10 years its been! Especially the last 5... we went to San Francisco for our 5th anniversary and weren't even pregnant with Parker yet and now we have 3! I sure do love you, babe, and have loved the past 10 years with you. You are my best friend, the love of my life. I am so thankful God brought us together at that keg party in Auburn!! :)

Mark also celebrated his 35th birthday June 18th. Happy Birthday, Mark!! He got a kindle for his birthday and loves it. I haven't seen him this excited in a long time, about a gift anyway.

Father's Day. Mark really did get a lot of celebrating this month! We made tie cards for all of the dads. Buying cards is just way too expensive!

This is the only picture from Bermuda that I am posting right now. It definitely deserves a post of its own. Lets just say we had a BLAST!! Missed the kids but knew they were in good hands.

Parker and Maryn stayed in Auburn with Joseph and Sarah. My mom also came down to help. Emma went to Dothan with Mary Sue. I don't have pictures from their stays but they had a great time and were kept very busy. The big kids didn't have any crying fits where they missed us too much which I was very excited to hear. The went swimming, fishing and to a birthday party. Parker even went off the diving board for the first time and caught 11 fish! Much thanks to Joseph, Sarah, Ford, Luke, mom and all of the others who helped keep my oldest two busy and having fun!!!! Grandma and Grandpops had a great time with Emma and got pretty attached to her. I think they were a little lonely when she had to come back. THANK YOU for having her!

After we got back from Bermuda we all met up in Auburn with a plan of driving home the next day. Mark ended up going back by himself so I could stay and help (ha! with my 3 kids??) get ready for my sweet nephew's first birthday. It was a fun week but there is such a thing as overstaying our welcome... but who better to overstay with than Joseph and Sarah!!

Parker helping Joseph in the yard.

Joseph took the big kids to an early 4th of July fireworks showing and we decided (don't try it) to give the kids a bath outside. It was pretty funny, especially when they all peed in the yard, Maryn too.

Happy 1st Birthday to Luke! He was born a month and a half early and had to spend two weeks in the NICU.

No one would know looking at him on his birthday!!

Big boys at the party. They are such sweet friends. Parker and Maryn have really been missing Ford and Ford refers to the playroom where they slept while in Auburn as Parker and Maryn's room!

Two posts in two days! What has come over me?? Well, no VBS to plan, no birthdays, or trips so I have time to blog! Don't count on one tomorrow though.

Parker's Bike

2009-07-21T19:06:00.001-07:00

For Parker's 4th birthday we got him a bike. His poor little legs were just so big on his tricycle. Mark took him to the bike store to pick it out. I nearly cried when he came home...

Doesn't he look big on his bike?? He's getting so old :(

This is one thing we've been doing a lot of this summer... riding bikes. Well, Parker rides his bike, Maryn her tricycle and Emma gets to ride in the stroller. We try to take the kids to the park every week or so to ride there. North Meck Park has a track around their soccer fields that is great for riding bikes. Emily and I like to stroll the little ones while the big boys ride. Its great because we can see them even when they are a half a lap ahead of us and Parker and Cam have a big time.

My mom got this car for Emma for her birthday so she can ride in it now and feel big like the other two. She absolutely loves it!

I will try to post pictures from her birthday soon- oh and our trip to Bermuda and Auburn...

Isle of Palms

2009-06-20T19:07:00.001-07:00

I promised Sarah that I would post the beach pictures since she did such a great job with our rainy day pictures from our trip. I realized after I had uploaded about half of the pictures that I should have done a slide show but was too lazy to start halfway through. Enjoy.

Papa and Dede, we had a fabulous time. Wish we were there again after looking through all the pictures. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Celebrating Emma and Luke's first birthdays a little early. I have always said you can never have too much birthday. Luke was supposed to be born five (six?) weeks AFTER Emma. He was born the week before.

Although it rained a lot we did get to enjoy the beach some too. When the tide was out it created a nice little baby ocean that the kids loved playing in.

Emma and Luke made it out to the beach on the last day and they were happiest under the tent. They weren't crazy about the water or the sand.

Joseph, Maryn and Ford flying the kite which is actually three trick kites tied together. Joseph is really good at it.

How many people does it take to untangle a kite?

Ford having a snack of pretzels and sand.

My dad, a frequent pose on the beach. "This is the life!"

Joseph being a ham, as usual.

The three "big kids"

Have you seen these wagons at Target? A great purchase! The kids (mostly Ford) loved pulling it down to the beach. It was just their size. Maryn did enjoy pulling Emma around the house in it before we left- pretty cute.

Redneck family. If its too windy on the beach why not hang out on the driveway??

Luke is a huge fan of the johnny-jump-up. (That's what they called it when I was little anyway.) The ceilings were so high we had to put a stool under him. He could jump for 30 minutes without a fuss.

Papa burying the kids legs.

Dede and Maryn

Dede, the official water girl

A lot of people would complain about a week long beach vacation with their family. Not us. This is by far one of the highlights of our year. We love you Daddy/Papa and Debbie/Dede!!!

Beach Bag

2009-06-13T12:18:00.000-07:00

So I know I promised beach pictures... and they will come but in the mean time I just saw this on a blog I look at from time to time.

Does anyone have this bag or another great beach bag? Ours is on its last leg and I was thinking about getting one because we have been making many trips to the pool this summer. This one looks great but I am not a fan of the $160 price tag. Listen to all of the great things it has!! Removable backpack straps to better wrangle kids with free hands, elastic straps on the outside to hold a towel, insulated pouch for snacks and juice, zippered bottom so you can shake out the sand without removing EVERYTHING from the bag (who thought of that?? what a great idea!), a special padded pocket for cell phone or camera...

So who has another fantastic beach bag that costs AT LEAST half, preferably much less??

A Quick Post

2009-06-08T04:17:00.000-07:00

Parker's class at Bike Day. He is on the far right. If you click on the picture it should make it bigger.

Parker and Dylan on their tricycles. They have both since moved to "big boy bikes" and now look so much older.

How big is Emma? Almost 11 months old. Still not walking but crawls like a mad woman. She has her two bottom teeth and is working hard for the top two.

Yes, that is my 34- almost 35- year old husband on the slip-n-slide. Parker was a little timid so Daddy was showing him how to do it. (or just secretly wanted an excuse)

Easter babies

I promise (Sarah and Daddy) to get beach pictures up later this week.

Stealing from Sarah

2009-05-29T19:57:00.000-07:00

Many of you know we just went to IOP with my dad and Debbie. Instead of attempting to write a creative post anywhere near as cute as Sarah's, I'm going to steal it!! Thanks, Say!! If you want to read about our wonderful trip click here!

April

2009-05-26T13:59:00.000-07:00

So we're a little behind on posts. Don't think I've ever gone two months before. It could be worse. I still haven't finished my scrabook from being pregnant with Parker, let alone the other two! These pics are from our week in Dothan in April in no particular order because let's face it it's a pain to rearrange pictures in a post!! I guess I could be all organized and upload them in order but... at this point we're just lucky to even have pictures!

Mary Sue flew here to Charlotte just to turn around and drive back with me and the kids to Dothan. Oh, she did fly here on a Friday so that I could spend the weekend in the mountains on our church's women's retreat and then we drove on Sunday. And she drove home with me the next weekend and flew BACK to Dothan the next day. Did I mention she's a saint??

An early birthday party for Parker

Emma playing in the tupperware.

Our very own Easter egg hunt. Grandma even put money in some!!

It was warm enough one day to break out the sprinkler and bathing suits.

at the park at Westgate

Landmark Park. Emma spends a lot of time in the sling. One of my favorite baby items.

Checking out the pigs at Landmark.

The rope swing. Parker loved this!

Sweet Sarah drove down with the boys to see us. Isn't this the greatest picture of Ford??
Also check out this picture. (you have to scroll through until you get to their family- but its worth it!) Their builder took it for his website. Isn't it fantastic?!!

Grandma and the kids... don't remember where Emma was... taking a nap??

Come back soon. I promise it won't be two months before I post again!

Maryn's Words

2009-03-22T13:25:00.000-07:00

This is more of a way for me to remember the things she says- and maybe they'll make you smile.

Today we worked in my garden to get it ready for spring. You may remember how it looked after Dede planted it...

And now it looks nothing like that. Maybe we'll get there. I already called Debbie twice today to ask questions and I sent her a picture on my phone to ask if something was a weed or a plant. Anyway we discovered a rolly polly which Maryn called a holy holy. Then we had to but on our gloves to dig in the dirt- or our globs as she referred to them.

One other random thing she says incorrectly is binoculars. Not surprising that a not even two and a half year old calls them noculators. She is very verbal but still says things in her own cute little way although she has grown out of saying nummy (known to you as tummy) and nomas (Thomas- the train that is).

Happy 5th!!

2009-03-20T13:22:00.000-07:00

Today is two of my favorite people's anniversary. Happy 5th Anniversary to Joseph and Sarah!

The Things They Say 2

2009-03-16T19:25:00.000-07:00

This may have to be a weekly post...

Parker: Mom, can I take my garbage trucks with me to heaven?

Grandma is here with us for the week (Thank you Grandma!!) and she, Maryn and Parker were upstairs tonight telling stories. That's Parker's newest thing. He loves to hear stories about volcanoes, firemen, and policemen. His favorite are when you involve him- Mark told him one last night where he got to drive the firetruck. "That was a great story, Dad." Anyway, Grandma was telling a camping story that involved wolves. Maryn started crying and climbed into Grandma's lap. "I don't like wolves, Grandma." Grandma: "It's only a story, Maryn. Why don't you like wolves?"
Maryn: "They blow people's houses down."

Stay tuned for more...

The Things They Say

2009-03-11T11:17:00.000-07:00

I have really been enjoying my friend, Lauren's, blog posts (or is it my friend's, Lauren,??) "Overheard at my house." Just now at the Ray house...

Me: Maryn, why is there water all over the bathroom floor?

Maryn: three or four unintelligible words

Me: What, Mer?

Maryn: I'm planting seeds (as she fills her cups with water and pours them all over the counter).

Almost...

2009-03-05T17:34:00.000-08:00

I almost got out of Target with only the things on my list. Does that EVER happen? Not to me. I was pretty proud of myself walking to the checkout lane until I saw these...
No, they're not Godiva and yes, they'd be better if they were made with dark chocolate but YUM! I couldn't get the bag open myself so I asked the check-out girl for some scissors. Is that too obsessive about chocolate?

Winter Wonderland

2009-03-01T20:05:00.000-08:00

It's 11 pm Sunday night and it has been snowing big, beautiful snowflakes since about 6 pm. We have at least 4 inches. Will try to get some pictures of the kids playing tomorrow. Mark informed me tonight that he's never made a snowman before so we will be sure to fix that!!

Not fourth but second

2009-02-18T09:23:00.000-08:00

My friend Nicole tagged me to post the fourth picture from my fourth album on facebook. Since I only have two albums I decided to do the second picture from the second album. Since its a tag... Sarah is my only friend who has a blog and is also on facebook. So its up to you Sarah!!

This is from Parker's first day of school last year at Sonshine when he was in the 2 year old class. Funny that today we found out he is going to do four days next year and Maryn two days, Tuesday and Thursday and our friend Cam is going to be in the T-K program at Sonshine next year too!!

On another note Emma has almost officially started crawling! We were at Meg's this morning waiting for Ms. Joanna and she crawled across the den to get Miles' bottle on the floor. She would crawl a little, fall on her tummy and then crawl a little more. All I could say was "OH NO!!" My world is getting ready to change...

And I meant to post her favorite toys in her own little post last week but I forgot. If you need a gift for a 6 month old I would highly recommend these. They are both Leapfrog toys. I couldn't find the drum on the Leapfrog website but it was on ebay for really cheap.

Emma Claire

2009-02-07T11:12:00.001-08:00

Seeing as yesterday was Emma's 7 month birthday I am quite late on a 6 month update I had planned to do. She was 15 pounds 6 ounces which is the 45th percentile and 26 3/4 inches which is the 75th percentile in height. This was only a week ago because her check-up was a little late. I guess that's what happens when you're the third!

She is a very happy baby despite a couple of recent ear infections. She sucks her two fingers (like her mommy did), is doing a fair job with baby food- doesn't love it, laughs, sits up and is getting up on all fours like she wants to start crawling. I am not so excited about the crawling part! She is a great baby and Parker and Maryn love her so much. Maryn is always loving on her and wanting to hold her. Parker loves to make her laugh.

Emma and Adelaide

Emma and Luke

Emma's first bath with the big kids. Its a little crowded but much nicer to do them all at once.

Emma at her baptism. She wore the same dress that Joseph and I and all of my cousins wore. It was made by my Grandmother and has everyone's names and baptism dates embroidered on the slip.

Emma ready to crawl as Mommy is saying "NOT YET!!"

Last of Christmas

2009-01-29T07:17:00.001-08:00

This should be the last of the Christmas posts, only a month late! I do realize there really aren't any pictures of Emma so she will get her own post very soon. We're doing pretty well these days. All of the kids have runny noses right now but have been actually quite healthy considering. I am happy to be back in a routine of school and our usual craziness. Parker is becoming a little bored with the typical things we do at home so if anyone has any suggestions to help keep a very busy 3 1/2 year old engaged please pass them along. He has been doing a lot of puzzles and my mom and I talked today about some preschool type things to do at home. (She teaches 5 yr old preschool in Nashville.)

Enjoy these random Christmas pictures.

We spent Christmas in Dothan and Maryn slept in the room with Grandma and Grandpops. One morning she was resting on her bed while Grandma was in the shower and when she came out this is what she saw...

my girl loves some make-up!

Parker had a very fire fighter Christmas!

The fire truck from my dad that actually squirts water. Exciting or very messy??? Fortunately it only holds 2 oz of water.

How is it that gum was one of their favorite things Christmas morning.

Playing in the house Papa and Dede gave her.

Oddly enough this has nothing to do with making sure Santa would fit. He's checking to see what a real chimney looks like since we just have a gas fireplace- in relation to his obsession with fire and fire fighting.

Parker's classroom at Sonshine complete with Ms. Anja. She is FANTASTIC. She doesn't let Parker get away with anything but loves him so much. Just what he needs!

Parker's Christmas program- he found me! That's his other teacher Ms. Lucretia in the green. She's great too.

Maryn playing bells at Ms. Joanna's. Ms. Joanna invited Meg and I to come and listen to Maryn and Cole's "Christmas program." It was adorable!!

Cole

The kids with Ms. Joanna. She is WONDERFUL- loves the kids so much and does really great things with them that I do not have the time or energy to do.

The big kids loving on Emma.

More fire fighting. It was warm enough in Dothan for Parker to try out his fire nozzle on Grandma's hose.

The kids with Grandma and Grandpops

Parker got Lincoln Logs for Christmas. Like we had as kids but a little updated with a cowboy and horse.

We're thinking of getting rid of her passy at three. Any fantastic foolproof ideas please let me know. I am dreading it.

My sweet Maryn. So many have said they've never heard one of her meltdowns. Maybe next post will be a video of that. But she is so sweet!!

Merry Christmas to all!!!

Christmas Cookies and Princesses

2009-01-04T13:47:00.000-08:00

The kids and I spent one Thursday morning baking Christmas cookies. Baking with kids especially when there is a lot of flour involved takes a lot of patience. I did pretty well for a while and then after they ate the 100th piece of dough I told them I was going to finish by myself. They were fine with watching Cinderella after I promised them they could decorate the cookies later. Does anyone know where I can get cute aprons for them? I want something with their names on them for a reasonable price.

Baby Emma loves to suck on her fingers. She's not attached to a certain one as you can see. She is so much fun these days. She rolls all over the floor and is getting really close to sitting up on her own.

Mark may kill me for posting this but remember he's only 3. Parker that is not Mark. :) His favorite princess is Cinderella and he may be enjoying the movie more than Maryn. Joseph and Sarah gave it to Maryn for Christmas and I let them open it on a rainy day before Christmas. Side note- they gave Parker Hullabaloo which is a great game for kids. It gets them moving which will be wonderful this winter when its too cold to go outside.

Maryn usually dresses up as Aurora. I think she likes her best because she wears a pink dress and right now M loves anything pink. I am looking for a new kitchen table and when I told her yesterday that we were going to look for a new one at some furniture stores she asked what kind. I told her one for the kitchen and asked what kind she thought we should get... pink, of course!

More Christmas pictures to come...

Christmas PJs

2008-12-31T20:02:00.000-08:00

So all of my Christmas posts are going to be in January instead of December. Things have been a little crazy around here but what else should I expect? I have three kids three and under!! Merry Christmas a little late!

Thanksgiving

2008-12-05T12:56:00.001-08:00

Finally getting around to my Thanksgiving post...

Parker's Thanksgiving Feast. His class was pilgrims.

Maryn trying on Parker's pilgrim hat.

Carter and Parker

We went to my Aunt Katie's in Atlanta for Thanksgiving along with all of my dad's side of the family. That would be 21 people under one roof. She and my Uncle John are real troopers and are such wonderful hosts. My dad and Debbie flew in from Seattle and my cousin Jonathan from LA and his brother, Martin, from Boulder. Their parents Louise and John (aka Uncle Fester) were there from Nashville along with my grandparents, Bea and Grandaddy. Katie and John have two kids who were there, Louise (Lou Shu) and Johnny. Whew! And Joseph and Sarah and the boys too! Maryn loved Lou Shu and Parker had a great time building fires in the fireplace (uh oh) with Johnny. Everyone had a great time and my grandparents really enjoyed seeing all of their great-grandchildren. My cousins had not spent much time with my kids and a couple had never met all of them so that was fun getting them see what my life is now like.

Maryn and Grandaddy (Grandaddy or Granddaddy... which one is it?) fixing something.

That Ford loves some trains.

Isn't he the cutest?!!

Parker is a very good helper and did a great job decorating our Thanksgiving table.

more helping with Bea...

Emma and Aunt Sqeeze (aka Louise). That's a great picture of you, Squeeze.

Aren't the kids pjs the cutest! Sarah's mom got all the kid matching pjs so we could take a picture of them together. Pretty good picture I'd say considering the ages... Thanks, Granny!!

This kind of picture is what you get when you leave your camera downstairs at Katie's and go to bed early. Obviously I missed out on all kinds of fun. They (Katie, John, and Debbie) may not be too excited about my posting this picture but guys, just think of the ones I DIDN'T post! (Katie, Uncle Fester and Dede. Uncle Fester gets a random name because both of my aunts married a John and that can be very confusing to little kids.)

My cousins Jonathan and Louise. Jonathan lives in LA and flew in for the weekend and Louise lives in Atlanta.

One of the kids favorite things to do at Aunt Katie's house is to go look at the bear. Yes, that was at one time a real live bear.

Saturday morning we took a big family picture and also individual family pics. The suckers were to bribe the kids to be good. It worked pretty well. I am excited to see if the photographer got any good shots considering we had five kids three and under.

Bea and Emma in her picture outfit. Don't you love Emma's socks? They are made to look like Mary Jane shoes and come in a box with lots of colors. When/if I ever get to a favorite things post these will be on there. They also make them in ballerina shoes and cowboy and cowgirl boots. Adorable!!

I'll try not to take so long to post again. Mark keeps telling me I need to just do shorter posts and I think I found a way to save time uploading pictures- that was what always took me so long. We'll see...

Our Trip to Auburn

2008-11-20T12:24:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago we made our first road trip as a family of five. I have been wanting to go to Auburn for a game for quite awhile so we decided to go for Homecoming. It went surprisingly well. Mark took Friday off so we could take the day to make the drive and it did take FOREVER. Lunch took an hour and we only went to Chick-fil-A. Then we hit traffic outside of Clemson. Mark decided it would be a good time to use the GPS and see if we could find an easy way around it. Without going into too much detail... we didn't. Then there was traffic in Atlanta (surprise!) and when we finally got through it and on our way again Maryn threw up! It just wouldn't be a trip for the Rays without someone throwing up. I'm just surprised it wasn't Parker (those of you who knew Parker as a baby he threw up ALL THE TIME!) I think it took us close to 8 hours to make a 5 hour drive. Whew!

But the weekend was great!! Joseph and Sarah are always great hosts. Since a lot of what I miss about Auburn is the food I always get to choose where I want to eat - Momma Goldbergs and Niffers (Amsterdam was not accepting take out BOO!!) and Sarah made her wonderful breakfast casserole for Saturday morning.

The game was at 1:30 Saturday. Our plan was to walk around campus some and then Mark and Parker were going to the game. Miss Emma is not taking a bottle so I didn't think it would be a good idea for me to go even though Sarah offered to keep her so I could go too. It wouldn't have mattered much anyway because Parker didn't even make it through halftime. We heard the front door handle jiggle and in walked my boys! Parker had been up since about 5:30 or so... I think they had fun but it was just a little too much for a very tired little boy. Mark had to carry him the entire way back to the car which was parked, for those of you who know Auburn, at Auburn Jr. High on Samford. Not a short trek.

One of my favorite parts of the weekend was listening to all of the people ask if Ford and Maryn and Emma and Luke were twins. We made quite a sight. Ford and Maryn were in one of the double strollers (remember they are exactly a week apart in age and kind of look alike- very different in height but you can't tell that in a stroller) and Emma and Luke in the other (also a week apart). It was great I was walking in the back of the group and I would hear people say, "Did you see all of those babies?!" And many stopped to ask if they were twins. Quite amusing!!

Thanks to Joseph and Sarah for having us for the weekend. We love you guys so much!!

Just chillin'

Could we be any cuter??

Parker and Daddy

We did get a cute family picture but I may use it for our Christmas card so you don't get to see it!

Side note: one of Parker and Maryn's new favorite things to do is after their bath they take off their towels and race through the house together, naked. The other night when getting out of the tub Parker says to Mark, "I want to wait for Maryn. She's my best friend." Yes, I cried. For all of their fighting they really do love each other.

Halloween and a 4 month old

2008-11-06T12:35:00.000-08:00

One morning we played hide and seek and the kids wanted Emma to play. I put her safely in her crib to "hide."

Emma "hiding."

Isn't she a doll? showing a little leg!!

Emma often cranes her neck like this to look up at you or will do it when she's lying on my bed to look back at Parker and Maryn.

This is Maryn and Emma at about the same age. What do you think? Emma is 4 months old- as of yesterday. She doesn't have her appointment until later this month but I think she weighs about 13 pounds. She is definitely lighter than Maryn was at this age! Emma is a very good baby. She has been sleeping through the night lately which could be due to my earplugs :) I do think I could hear her if she really needed me but the earplugs keep me from hearing the little squirmies that I used to get up for. She is very smiley and loves watching her big brother and sister. For several weeks she has been rolling from tummy to back and just last week went from back to tummy.

a banana, a ladybug and a fireman

Birthday Girl

2008-11-04T18:21:00.001-08:00

A birthday post for a very special little girl. Maryn turned 2 on Oct. 26 so we're a little late. We had a lot of fun although I didn't really like having her party on her birthday. You know me I like to spread out the celebration!!

This is the awesome present that my supper club friends gave Maryn. It's great that they all go in together and get one great thing. I'm not sure why I don't have a picture of them riding it but they have a blast. The night she got it I think she and Parker rode it at least 50 times.

This is what Mark and I got her. It makes her doorway into this little doorway or you can play with it stand alone. It even has a doorbell, peephole and mailbox. She loves it!!

My little princess. She got lots of cute dress up stuff from a couple of people and this totally cool coat from Andrea.

Maryn and baby Sofia- who really isn't too much of a baby anymore. Maryn LOVES Sofia. Isn't she beautiful? And that's her dad, our good friend Juan, holding her.

Decorating cupcakes. A fun activity and saves me some work!!

Lilly showing Maryn how to be a princess (the trunk is full of dress-up clothes).

more princess

Mark and Parker working on our backyard project. This was a major headache for mommy. Of course, I didn't have to do much work but the red clay got ALL over the kids every time we went outside, not to mention on Max. But Mark did a wonderful job digging out the yard to make a bigger space for the swing set. He also put all of the dirt around the patio so that we could take out the rotting boards that was holding it up. It looks sooo much better. Now for that wall...

Part of the finished project. Pretty impressive, huh? He dug it out all by himself- well, except for Parker's "help."

Marn helping me bake her cake.

I can't believe she's two!!

How to move a post??

2008-10-22T13:56:00.000-07:00

I uploaded the pictures for the Oct. 14th post forever ago and then just haven't had a chance to write about them. Since then I had already posted about Cookies for Cancer and when I finally finished the post about the kids it put it before the Cookie post. Does anyone know how to move it up? If not, don't forget to check out that new post- before the Cookie post.

C is for Cookie

2008-10-15T12:28:00.000-07:00

I thank the Lord every day for my children's health. Some moms go through an incredible battle watching their children struggle with illness that sometimes take their precious little lives. I wanted to let everyone know of this wonderful opportunity you have to help support those moms and the children. My friend Emily has taken on an amazing task and has inspired so many others to help raise money for a wonderful cause, Cookies for Kids Cancer. On Election Day all across the country bake sales are being held to raise money for research for childrens cancers. Please check out this blog to read about the little boy who inspired this nonprofit organization and this website for more information about Cookies for Kids Cancer. This blog that I have mentioned before has a very inspiring post about why we should all come together and make people aware of this organization and help raise money. Consider holding a bake sale at an election site near you or help with the one Emily is heading up in Davidson. If you would like more information please email me. We need people to help man the table and to BAKE!! What could be more fun than cookies, brownies, anything chocolate!!

The Last Few Weeks

2008-10-14T13:57:00.000-07:00

So as usual a belated post... Mark's brother, Greg, came to stay with us for several days before heading off to Hawaii. He is moving there! What a fun place for a young single guy to live- hopefully only for a few years before moving back to the south. We can't have him gone for too long!

A recent picture of Emma

I love to swaddle my babies! No, the older two are no longer swaddled :) just having fun with baby Emma.

Maryn reading Emma a story.

A couple of weeks ago we went with friends to see Thomas... again. This time he was at the Transportation Museum in Spencer, NC. It was a very different setting from Tweetsie Railroad, much calmer and much more open than being at an amusement park- and a shorter drive. It was our first big outing with all three kids and it went pretty well. One of my favorite things was the nursing/changing station. They had a room set up inside for moms to nurse somewhat privately- at least it was cool since the day was rather warm- and to change babies. The changing stations were stocked with hand sanitizer, wipes and even diapers in different sizes!

one morning before church

Uncle Greg with Parker and Maryn

Maryn especially loved Uncle Greg. She would snuggle with him on the couch and always asked where he was.

Riding the train.

Parker's firt attempt at miniature golf at the Day out with Thomas.

Really Cool or Totally Disgusting

2008-10-11T19:24:00.000-07:00

We all do it. Blog stalk. So I go to this particular blog when I am feeling overwhelmed in a smallish house with three kids and toys everywhere. When I need some peace and serenity. Its often good for a laugh too. So tonight I saw this post. Has anyone ever heard of this stuff? Or even used it? It seems gross but also very convenient. Would you try it- and if you have please let me know if you liked it. Let me know your vote: really cool or totally disgusting.

School Days

2008-10-03T07:51:00.001-07:00

Yes, this post is entitled school days and this is not a picture relating to school in any way- except that Parker has on his Auburn jersey and Auburn is where Mark and I went to school. Scroll down to the bottom for school pictures. I am too lazy to move those to the top and since my posts are few and far between this also has other pictures.

Moving right along... this is Parker's camera that Grandma bought him when Emma was born. They went to Target to each pick out a toy and Parker comes back with a $60 kids digital camera!! (sorry if I have posted about this before) I think Grandma did actually steer him towards this because she thought it would be fun for him and it has been. He has taken some cute pictures. You can even download them onto the computer. Maybe a good Christmas preset for your budding photographer. I will never forget him coming into my hospital room to meet his baby sister with this camera around his neck. Priceless!

Daddy and the big kids watching the big game (Auburn vs. someone- I can't remember which game!)

Maryn's new big girl bed. Not sure why the best picture of this has Parker on it... I think he may like it more than she does. My favorite part is the storage drawer under the bed. Maryn has done really well transitioning, no problems at all. We did put it in the exact spot in her room where the crib was and it has a crib matress so its the same size... don't know if those things helped but she's doing great!

Maryn loving her new big girl bed.

My birthday... a great day! One thing you may not know about me is birthdays, especially mine, are a very big deal! I have always loved my birthday, making sure Mark knows its coming up sometime in early August. Since the kids have been around its definitely been taken down a notch or two in my eyes. Just not as important anymore. But this years was special because Mark was home from work that whole week. And what's better than a special day-a special week! I would highly recommend your husband taking off at least for your birthday if not a week. I went to get coffee with my friend Andrea and came home to these wonderful decorations, a delicious chocolate cake, and a CLEAN kitchen! We went to the airport overlook- a free day activity I would also recommend. We took a picnic lunch and watched the airplanes take off and land. And that night Mark and I went to dinner just the two of us! First time that has happened since Emma was born. We waited until 8 to have the babysitter come so at least the older two would be in bed. Turns out that all three were asleep and stayed that way the entire time. And the celebrating continued until the next day when I got to go to lunch with Emily, mmmm Toast in Davidson on a cool fall day. Great times!!

Parker's first day as a Sonshine three year old. Last year was a little rough being away from Mommy but this year is GREAT. He cried one of the first days because we weren't getting ready fast enough for him! We LOVE Sonshine!!

Maryn's first day at Ms. Joanna's. Joanna is a friend of Emily's from Wilkesboro. She has been keeping Cam for two years now at her home which she has turned into a little preschool. Maryn goes one morning a week for some fun and so that Mommy can have a little break. She LOVES it! They do art, learn colors and songs, and have lots of fun.

Our Auburn attire. Joseph and Sarah brought these for the kids when they came Labor Day. Ever since I went with my friend Abby to buy her daughter Amabel's first Auburn cheerleader's outfit I have waited for the day when I had a daughter who could be an Auburn cheerleader! War Eagle!! Thanks Joseph and Sarah!

*to add to the last post: Mark told me tonight that Parker told him one of his toys needed some new "Chick fil A batteries" (triple A batteries). Ha!!

Funny things they say

2008-09-29T13:39:00.000-07:00

Somehow on the way to school this morning we ended up talking about Jesus dying on the cross. I know, how did that come up?? We discussed how tall the cross was and so Parker was wondering how Jesus could have gotten up there. And my little fire fighter decided "Maybe he got up there with a fire engine." Those ladders do reach pretty high!

Craftiness

2008-09-24T12:51:00.000-07:00

When Sarah was in town she and I went shopping and I saw these at Gymboree for $30

so I took an old pair of Maryn's jeans and made these.

I saw jeans similar to these at Poppies (an adorable boutique in Huntersville that does mostly monogramming) for $60 and made them. I tried to get away with using stitch witchery to attach the ribbon and pompoms and that didn't work so well. Now they are sitting in my sewing basket waiting to be attached with real thread. Yuck! I hate having to do a project twice. Actually this will be three times because I sewed the cuff of fabric on wrong side out the first time. So I'm not the best sewer...

I have been reading this blog lately and been inspired by Darby's craftiness. Any other ideas on some fun and easy projects?

Visit from Papa and Dede

2008-09-16T06:24:00.000-07:00

Papa and Dede with the three Ray grandkids. They came at the end of August before Joseph and Sarah's visit. We had a great time hanging out and eating well- as we are known to do. Enjoy the rest of the pictures and stories...

The garden Dede and Papa planted for me (was all mint and weeds before). Isn't it beautiful? Thank you Dede and Papa!!

Parker helping plant the garden.

sleeping Emma

Here's the story behind this... Debbie insisted that I go get my haircut and colored and to let her and my dad watch the kids. Maryn has been potty training and is doing fairly well. I have to ask/remind her a lot of the time but she is going which is what counts. So Maryn is sitting on Daddy's lap and all of a sudden he feels something warm and realizes Maryn has peed on him. I don't think he found it very amusing! As my dad often tells me I reminded him... those things happen.

Dede snuggling with Emma.

And the story to this picture... Parker and Maryn had been to the barnyard party that morning and ridden Penny the pony. The favors were cowboy hats and he also got a jumprope. So Parker, aka Farmer Parker, decided he needed to "rope somebody" and my dad was the one- but only for a time. Dede was the honored Penny for most of the trip. I'm not sure why I didn't get a picture of that. Parker would walk her around the den and kitchen waving like a beauty queen, take Penny to his room and have her eat pretend hay, then they would lay down on his bed to take a nap. And then it would start all over again. Patient and kind Dede, thank you for making my little boy so happy. He actually asked me to play horsey this morning and I cleverly distracted him with something else!

We had a great visit and can't wait to see you in November!

Cam's Farm Birthday Party

2008-09-12T05:34:00.000-07:00

** for more pictures visit Rebecca's blog

Parker and his best friend. I started keeping Cam four mornings a week when Parker was two months old so they are really more like brothers than friends just like Emily, his mom, is more like a sister than a friend. We love the Fowlers!!

A belated post (I have several lined up and hope to post them soon) from our best bud Cam's birthday party. He turned 4 and had a barnyard bash complete with petting zoo and pony rides! Fortunately my dad is a cowboy at heart and has provided Parker and Maryn with cowboy boots so they had the perfect outfits. They had a blast!!

Parker loving on Emma preparty.

My girls.

Parker petting the goat.

Maryn with the bunny.

Riding Penny

Not too much chaos

2008-09-06T07:04:00.000-07:00

Joseph, Sarah, Ford and Luke were all here for Labor Day weekend and we had so much fun!! It really wasn't as chaotic as we had planned but I'm sure part of it was because the babies aren't mobile yet. I forget how nice it is to put them somewhere and they don't crawl or walk away. Joseph and Mark even kept all 5 kids (although during nap time) so Sarah and I could go shopping. Instead of writing a post about it I am going to hijack Sarah's so check out her blog here.

Mae Mae's visit

2008-09-02T13:48:00.000-07:00

A very belated post but here are pictures from my mom's visit in August. She was able to come and help for a whole week! I haven't spent that much time with my mom in a long time. I was so thankful to have her here!! And the kids had a great time with her too! We love you Mae Mae!!

Mom loves to buy things for my kids when she comes to visit. Usually its books but this time Parker got "Candy Island" which most of us know as Candy Land. He had fun playing it with her when Maryn wasn't stealing his gingerbread man.

What we've been up to

2008-08-21T08:48:00.001-07:00

Last weekend Mark's dad, Terry aka Grandpops, drove Mary Sue up to stay for the week. While he was here he and Mark went to purchase the swing set we have been planning to buy since May. When Parker found it is was in the garage (to wait until Uncle Joseph got here to help put it together) he decided it needed to be put together that day. So Mark and Terry got most of it done and then Mark worked on it Sunday until he realized that there were a couple of pieces missing.

so the kids have been sliding all week and are excited to have the swing part to play on too. Parker and Maryn hold hands and slide down next to each other when they are playing sweetly!

Emma at 5 weeks. At her 1 month appointment which was yesterday she weighed 10 pounds, 3 ounces (90th percentile) and is 22 1/2 inches long (95th percentile).

Parker and Cam, his best buddy. Emily and I are not above dressing them alike but this day Cam came over already dressed just like Parker.

Two cooks in the kitchen

Bath time

My little hoot. She likes wearing Mommy's owl shirt.

Any given Sunday... I don't know if you can see it but Parker's lawn mower has a grocery bag attached to the back of it because he wanted "a bag like Daddy's" to put the grass clippings in.

Lots and Lots of Firetrucks

2008-08-18T18:07:00.000-07:00

My little fire fighter with his fire hydrant and hose.

Parker's newest obsession is firetrucks. "Mommy, lets talk about firetrucks." I hear this in the car, at nap time, dinner... How much can you really talk about firetrucks?? When Mary Sue was here when Emma was born she and Parker discovered the firetruck videos on youtube. One in particular was promoting a DVD with a very catchy tune, Lots and Lots of Firetrucks. For a solid two weeks I had that song on my mind- even while nursing Emma in the middle of the night. Friday Grandma and Grandpops came for another visit and brought Parke a surprise. Lots and Lots of Firetrucks! Parker watches it every chance he gets. So while we're home all day with the kids Mary Sue and I are singing this song, out loud and in our heads. It really is a cute video and very informative for kids and has a very addictive theme song. Check it out if you dare... Lots and Lots of Firetrucks

One Month

2008-08-11T18:54:00.000-07:00

I can't believe Emma is one month old today. On one hand it seems like forever since she's been here and on the other hand it seems like just yesterday we were at the hospital. Parker and Maryn continue to love on her, sometimes a little too much! I told Parker that today was her birthday so we sang to her many times and even had brownies with candles for dessert tonight.

Emma had been very fussy last weekend and I was concerned she had reflux just like Parker and Maryn. I took her to the doctor last week (9 pounds and 5 oz) and she is now on Prevacid. It is really helping her eating and sleeping. She is much more comfortable and even slept last night from 10 pm to 5 am before waking up to eat! What a blessing for a mom who has to wake up at 7 to tend to two other very needy young children! Emma is a wonderful, sweet addition to our family and I am so excited to see who she becomes.

Been so long...

2008-08-08T06:34:00.001-07:00

Who's Who?? You can tell by the hat and the blankets which baby is which but can you pick out each baby? Do Emma and Maryn look alike? There is one pose Emma has when she is sound asleep and stretches her neck and head back... she looks just like Parker to me.

Bath Time...

Emma's first bath at home

I know this is not a very interesting post but I figured I had better get something up soon before family revolted! Things are going well here- of course I have had a LOT of help. Mary Sue, Grandma, was here for a week after Emma came home, Mark was home for a week, I had three days by myself and then my mom, Mae-Mae, came for a week. Thanks to everyone- and to all those who have fed my family too! And Mary Sue is coming back! Yeah for help and extra hands! I have a horrible cough that will not seem to go away and comes with a vengence when I try to sleep so I am behind on the rest. I took Emma to the doctor earlier this week because she has reflux. What's a mom to do when each time she nurses her baby cries? Prevacid to the rescue! So far three is not so bad... but you shouldn't call and ask me how its going at 5 pm!!

How blessed

2008-07-22T14:27:00.000-07:00

Emily's sister, Rebecca, came over on Saturday to meet Emma Claire and take pictures of my kids. How amazing is it to have two friends who love photography??!! She took some really, really good pictures of the three kids and I am having a hard time deciding which are my favorite! If you aren't too sick of seeing my children's pictures check out her site. Thank you, Rebecca. You did a fantastic job.

Emily has also scheduled meals to be brought over for the next few weeks. Thanks to all who are providing food for our family!! It is SUCH A BLESSING to us and especially to me not to have to worry about what I am going to feed my hungry bunch while nursing a baby, refereeing the two older kids, making sure my husband is taken care of, figuring out why the baby is crying, answering the phone, etc. THANK YOU!! We are very blessed.

Side note: Funny story about Parker-- When Grandma was still here we sat down to dinner one night at the kitchen table: Mark, Parker, Grandma, Maryn and I (before Emma arrived). Parker- "Where is Baby Pizza going to sit (as we had a full table with no more room)? We're toast!" Finally we figured out where he got that saying. Backyardigans episode with the Volcano Sisters which we had watched about every day for a week during his volcano obsession which is now morphing into a fireman obsession.

(p.s. The only way I am able to actually sit down and write this is because Emily just came to get Parker and Maryn to go play at her house with Cam and Tate. What a blessing!! Love you lots!)

Emma Slideshow

2008-07-18T11:33:00.000-07:00

This is my first attempt at a slideshow. Hopefully it will work alright. So far things are going really well. Mark's mom, Mary Sue aka Grandma or Oo' Ma, was here for two weeks from our false alarm on the Thursday Luke was born until yesterday. She was able to be here for a week after Emma was born and was a huge help with the kids and stuff around the house. Mark is home with us this week which will be so nice. When he takes off work we are usually traveling so it will be good just to hang around here. I plan to do as much sleeping as possible!! Last night was the best night we've had. Emma went to bed around 10:30 and got up at 2:45 to eat, went back to bed at 3:30 and didn't get up again until 7:15!! Enjoy the pictures (and make lots of comments!!).

Before Baby Emma

2008-07-16T09:38:00.000-07:00

These pictures were taken before Emma arrived. Parker took a sibling class to learn how to hold a baby, change a diaper (yeah, right!), and see a room at the hospital where he would come visit Mommy. Maryn and I have also been experimenting with her hair. She won't leave the bow in and her hair is so fine that the pigtails often fall out. If anyone has a suggestion on how to get them to stay in please let me know! I've never done a little girl's hair before!!

p.s. Baby Luke gets to come home today!!! He is back up to his birth weight and doing really well. Thank you for your prayers. I will steal some pictures from Sarah's blog as soon as she puts up some new ones.

more pictures

2008-07-13T05:20:00.000-07:00

One of my great friends, Sharon, is an AMAZING photographer and she came to visit Emma Claire and me yesterday at the hospital along with some of my other really good friends. She posted some pictures of Emma on her website if you want to check them out.

Baby Pizza is Here!! It's a...

2008-07-12T06:45:00.000-07:00

GIRL!!!

Welcome Emma Claire Ray!

Emma was born at 6:56pm on July 11, 2008. She weighed 8lbs. 10oz. and was 20.5 inches long. Baby and mommy are doing great!

Jennie will post later when she can.

Mark

Baby Luke

2008-07-05T04:09:00.000-07:00

Still no baby here but there is a new one in Auburn, AL!! My sister-in-law Sarah was due almost exactly one month after me, August 10. Well, Luke Armistead Martin arrived 5 weeks early on Thursday, July 3rd. He weighed in at 4 pounds, 3 ounces and is 18 1/2 inches long. He is in the NICU still and will probably have to be in the hospital for 10 days to 2 weeks. Please pray that he will continue to do well, start breathing on his own soon, and be able to suck so they can take him off the feeding tube. Also pray that he has no more apneas (where they stop breathing briefly- only had one so far) so they don't have to send him to the hospital in Montgomery. Sarah is doing great!! She had him without an epidural (not by choice) and is my hero! Needless to say that has NOT made me decide to try it! I think she gets to go home today.

As far as we are concerned, Mary Sue arrived on Thursday when I thought I was going into labor which turned out to not be the real thing. You'd think I would know by now but Parker was having decels in his heart rate so they sent me to the hospital to be monitored which resulted in them breaking my water and Maryn was a thrilling ride in an ambulance at 3 am! So none of my labors have been normal- but what is a "normal" labor anyway? So here we are playing the waiting game. Each night I have really hard contractions that subside when I go to bed. I am getting more and more anxious for this baby to get here. I went to get my hair highlighted and cut yesterday so we're all set!! Thanks for all of your prayers for all of my family. Will let you know if anything exciting happens...

Atlanta Trip

2008-06-24T11:29:00.000-07:00

So I haven't posted about our last and final hurrah to Hotlanta. For an overview of my weekend check out my friend Megan's blog. She took all the pictures and wrote a great summary of our time so rather than do my own I am stealing hers!!

http://shropshireonthemove.blogspot.com/2008/06/last-weekend-was-8th-annual-math-girls.html

While I was shopping Mark took the kids to the Kirby's. Dan, Jane, Matt and Liz used to live next to Mark's family when they were growing up in Dothan and then moved to Atlanta. They are pretty much like family. Jane came and stayed with Mary Sue here in Charlotte after Maryn was born to help out. They are very kind, gracious friends. Mark's parents also came to stay at the Kirby's to see the kids and help Mark. I had a great time shopping with my friends but was just a tiny bit envious to be missing out on the fun they all had. Matt and his wife Laura live in Atlanta now with their son Jack (Matt actually works for Goldman Sachs with my uncle John. What a small world!!) and I know Mark enjoyed getting to visit with them.

Maryn, Jack and Parker

Maryn's first kiss. Boy, are we going to have our hands full!

Jane Kirby, Maryn, Terry aka Grandpops (obviously Mark's dad!!), Mark, Parker and Mary Sue aka Grandma at a art festival in Virginia Highlands.

Sunday afternoon before we left Atlanta we went to the Georgia Aquarium thanks to my friend Christen. I have been wanting to go for a long time now but its expensive for two adult tickets and one child's and... it's in Atlanta which is not too far from Charlotte but not close enough for a day trip with two kids. Christen had two free adult tickets that she let me have!! Thanks,
Christen!!!

Parker checking out the penguins. I could not get a picture without this annoying kid who kept banging on the glass at the poor penguin.

Mark and Parker in this special viewing place so you can see the penguins up close.

A shark! Parker's favorite part

The first place we went had a tank that made a tunnel with all kinds of fish, sharks, sting rays. It also had a moving sidewalk that went through really slowly but you weren't supposed to take strollers on it.

Beluga whale

Maryn checking out the sea lions.

This was the very first tank we saw that was ultimately part of the tunnel tank (I'm sure they have a better name for it!) and this window was probably two stories high.

What a great last trip before the baby comes! Only about two and a half weeks until my due date!! I went to the doctor yesterday and have made a tiny bit of progress. I'm starting to feel a little more uncomfortable which seemed to happen a lot sooner with Maryn. So hopefully in two weeks I will be ready- and getting over what denial I still have. Does that happen with every birth regardless of how close together they are or how many you have? My friend Arin and I were talking about her denial earlier today. I'm not sure if we have more because our kids are close together and we each will soon have three... or if it happens to everyone? Comments??

Happy Birthday Mark!!

2008-06-18T17:01:00.001-07:00

It would've been great if I could've done this earlier this morning but let's say I've been a bit of a procrastinator. The kids and I went just this morning to get Mark's presents.... then we went to eat lunch with him. After their naps we ran to the store to get a cake mix. Not so prepared, huh? But I think he still had a good birthday anyway. Happy 34th, Mark!!!

Thomas!!!

2008-06-17T17:25:00.000-07:00

Riding the airplanes. Maryn looks a little scared but she really enjoyed it.

Riding the little train

Parker and Sir Topham Hatt

The boys

The girls... Maryn was a little scared of the whistle.

A couple of weeks ago we ventured to Boone, NC to go to Tweetsie Railroad to A Day Out with Thomas. Last year we went on a Saturday along with everyone else with young children in the state of North Carolina and probably a few hundred from South Carolina thrown in too. And it was HOT. So this year we decided that with me being 8 months pregnant it might be better for Mark to take a day off work and go on a Wednesday. Since Thomas is only there for one week our days were limited but we managed to work it out.

The trip started off a little rough. We left the house around 8 and had a couple of stops to make on the way out of town, the last being Brueggers bagels. Maryn was in the back eating her bagel and started choking a little. After having Parker who has a very sensitive gag reflex I wasn't too worried but she ended up throwing up. Yuck. So then we had to make a stop at Target to buy her something to wear... we did make it to our scheduled time to ride Thomas, thankfully. We had a great time riding the rides and doing all of the Thomas related activities and the kids had a blast which is what it's all about!

Our Anniversary

2008-06-12T12:37:00.000-07:00

Nine years ago today. NINE. That's a lot!! But they have been really great. I am sure everyone was a little nervous when I got married so young (21!!! barely even legal), but Mark and I are and were so happy. God has blessed me with a wonderful husband and father to my children. Mark has had to put up with a lot from me which all started when I forgot to look up front at him while I was walking down the aisle! Oops!! I was too busy looking to see who all had come. But there he was waiting for me at the end. Just like Mark, always there for me. I couldn't ask for anything more (ok, maybe a little more cleaning around the house... ) I love you, babe.

He sent me these beautiful flowers yesterday (yesterday because he knew I would get suspicious today and wonder if I would get something not because he forgot which day).

Isle of Palms (take 2)

2008-05-30T06:10:00.001-07:00

Well, it's been awhile (obviously I started this post awhile ago since the date at the top says May and today is June 10!). Since my last post (yes, forever ago I know) my mom, Robert and Josh visited, I have been to Auburn, Tweetsie Railroad to see Thomas and to Atlanta all while very pregnant. It has been a crazy month but we have some wonderful memories.

To see pictures about the Auburn trip check out Sarah's blog. Her sister, mom and I gave her a surprise shower for Luke. I cannot tell you how nervous I was that she would be mad at me because she hates surprises but she wasn't! We had so much fun at the shower and spending the weekend with her and Ford (Joseph was out of town). My two favorite parts of the weekend were 1. When Maryn and I got to Sarah's parents house we went to the backyard where Ford was swinging with Crawdaddy (Sarah's dad). He got sooo excited to see us. He was practically jumping out of the swing. What every aunt wants to see!! and 2. when Sarah got to the shower she looked at Maryn and I and just started crying. She was so happy to see us. It was perfect.

Back to the beach... here are some pictures of the kids playing in the sand. Seems like forever ago.

You couldn't get too attached to your sand castle with these two around.

This picture may be too dark but Parker's expression is priceless. He was having so much fun!

These next few could stand to be cropped but hey, you're just lucky to have them posted! :)

Just the girls

Hopefully I can get a post done soon with pictures from our visit to Thomas and the Georgia Aquarium. Things are starting to slow down to get ready for baby Pizza. My due date is one month from tomorrow which is hard to believe. More soon...

Isle of Palms (take 1)

2008-05-28T18:30:00.001-07:00

Mark and Parker snuggling on the beach. I think Parker's going through a growth spurt as he frequently complained about his legs hurting. We need to add bulk not length but my dad said he was the same way as a boy as was Joseph- all height without much muscle or fat.

Dede and Maryn

What a gorgeous family! And it fits the pregnant women's requirements of no legs in pictures.

My Hollywood baby reading her People magazine with her shades on (babysitter Susan holding her).

Ford and Joseph. Ford LOVED the beach. He has an amazing attention span- lots better than Parker- and would sit just shoveling sand into a bucket. What a cutie!

Waking up early with the babies. Ford was always the first one up with Maryn not too far behind. Maryn loves to snuggle with her Aunt Sarah.

All of the kids loved playing in Papa and Dede's shower.

Maryn loved the beach and didn't mind getting sand ALL over her. I found it in her ears one afternoon.

I have about ten more pictures to post but its getting late. Hope this holds you (Andrea!!) until I can get more :)

The Party

2008-05-11T20:40:00.001-07:00

The three cousins

Parker blowing out his candles

Parker and Ford enjoying their Curious George cupcakes

Cole and Maryn

Didn't Sarah do a great job on the cupcakes? I told her she needs to quit doing calligraphy and decorate cupcakes as a side job. She said she'd just be fat.

Mark, Parker and Maryn in the bounce house

The bounce house- almost as big as our house! Parker jumped in it from the moment Mark and Joseph inflated it until they took it down around 8 that night. He did come out for meals and a nap. And occasionally to play with his new toys. My friend Andrea was very concerned about how much energy he was using since the child cannot spare any calories!

Ford coloring

That's all for now since I know at least most of the family really just wants pictures...

Parker's 3rd Birthday

2008-05-04T18:24:00.001-07:00

The birthday boy

After naps Parker and I decorated cupcakes and then we all ate them and opened presents. In addition to the cleaning trolley he got a shed and construction trains for his Thomas set and a coffee maker from Maryn.

Maryn enjoying her cupcake

The infamous cleaning trolley. Parker was up at 6:30 and after we sang Happy Birthday to him the first thing he asked about was where his cleaning trolley was. Can you imagine what a disappointment it would've been to him had we not gotten it? After we put together he wanted the kitchen light turned on so he could see to clean. This was all by about 7am.

More later...

A New Post Already!!

2008-04-27T15:02:00.000-07:00

A couple of Sunday pictures. Why will they never look at the camera at the same time with a smile? How hard can it be??

Can you believe I am already writing another post? This pregnancy has been fine but I have been really tired up until about a week ago. My OB was not faxing my thyroid results to my regular doctor's office (I have hypothyroidism.) so I had to take it over there myself. My doctor upped my medication so I think that has really helped. And I went ahead and started taking iron pills for anemia- which I usually get when I am pregnant- so I think those two things have really helped with my energy level.

The countdown begins for Parker's birthday. He turns 3 next Sunday and then his party is the following Saturday, the day after Mark's next big exam. All Parker is asking for is the "cleaning trolley."

If you know Parker at all you know he loves to clean. His favorite toy for a long time has been his vacuum cleaner. The vacuum has been with us to the beach, to Auburn... it provides hours of entertainment. Well, the cleaning trolley might rival the vacuum. He saw it in a catalog in January and has still not forgotten about it. It came on Friday and is in the garage. I think I would officially be the worst mom in the world if I had not gotten it for him. And we also ordered him a play coffee maker from the same company. Another of Parker's favorite past times is to use an old coffee maker we have to put grounds in and some water and make me some coffee. I'll let you know how these gifts go over!

What, you might ask, is this contraption? The conversation went something like this...
me: Parker, what is that?
Parker: a car transport
me: oh, of course. a car transport. (you know the big trucks that carry cars to the dealerships...)

Since this initial invention we have made improvements such as putting the baby doll stroller on top. Parker has been pushing it around the house all weekend. Very creative.

I've Been Tagged

2008-04-22T17:54:00.000-07:00

Guess I had better get started on this new post since Sarah tagged me days ago. But I've been busy!! Mostly shopping for Thomas the train additions to our collection. AC Moore was having a sale, buy one get one free and on Monday my friend Meg and I went to stock up for upcoming birthdays, Christmas, etc. They also had a 55% off coupon in the Sunday paper. Now usually you can't use those with other sales but they missed that somehow in their computer system. So I went to the register with a $27 Useful Engine Shed and $27 set of construction trains expecting to pay $27 (buy one get one) and the cashier asked if I had any coupons. Being the honest person that I am I said I didn't think I could use them with the sale and she said let's check. So we did. $13!!! And Meg got $130 worth of merchandise for $35!!! We were ecstatic! Alas, today they wised up (is that correct?? Abby??) and discovered people were basically ripping them off so we were only able to do buy one get one free. But who is to argue with that? So Ford is now getting started on his train set as I got some things for Sarah.

On to the tagging...
What was I doing 10 years ago? I was a sophomore at Auburn in secondary math education, studying hard (ha!! late night trips to Tiger Time with Abby for cheese grits and chocolate shakes kept much studying from happening) and getting ready to be engaged. Mark had already bought the ring and would torture me by getting it out and looking at it in front of me without showing me. We've obviously never been good at keeping secrets from each other so I knew it was coming soon. Joseph graduated from high school at the end of May so Mark waited until June 1st to ask me.

5 things on my to do list today (which we will call tomorrow since tonight all I have to do is watch American Idol. Go David Cook!!)...
1. Petting zoo at Parker's preschool at 10
2. Lunch with Nicole after that
3. Visit with Andrea
4. Call and order Curious George stuff for Parker's birthday party
5. Cook dinner for my family- chicken crescent squares

5 snacks I enjoy...
1. CHOCOLATE!! dark not milk
2. Cheese-Its
3. Auntie Ann's pretzels at the mall
4. cookies
5. ice cream- preferably chocolate!
As you can see I am not a healthy eater, especially at 28 weeks pregnant.

5 things I would do if I were a billionaire...
1. Gift money to friends I have that are in need
2. Take the kids to Disney World (sure, we'll do this one day but sooner if we had lots of money!) with some friends and family
3. Fly family to visit me (and help out :) ) whenever possible
4. Give more to our wonderful but small and somewhat poor church- and to Djard's mission in Brazil that Mark helped with (does that need to be two separate things?)
5. Save for college and retirement (boring but necessary)

5 bad habits...
1. love, love to pick- my kid's ear wax, pimples, finger nails, etc. When Parker was a newborn he had a lot of dead skin on him from being born late so I would sit and nurse him and pick it all off. Poor kid!
2. complaining (just asked Mark to give suggestions... he said "I'm not touching that" After I said #2 he did say that crossed his mind... grrrr)
3. being too busy to sit and play with the kids
4. horrible eating habits
5. road rage- this is getting better since I've had kids and quit driving on the interstate as much since I'm not teaching downtown

5 places I have lived...
1. Brentwood TN
2. Hollifield Hall- 1st floor my freshman year and 2nd floor my sophomore year
3. Northpoint- subdivision in Auburn with duplexes with Susan Anderson and Anne Spencer, my freshman roommate who I got potluck and ended up being good friends with
4. Glen Haven apt. with Mark in Auburn when we were first married
5. 13631 Shiella Caruth Dr in Huntersville, our current home

5 jobs I have had...
1. Children's Shop in Nashville (creative name, huh) It was a kids boutique that I would never be able to afford now that I have kids. They paid me horribly but were only open until 5:30 and not on Sunday.
2. Hollifield Hall front desk answering phones and checking in visitors
3. Party Depot in Auburn- I had a lot of fun here especially when I got to do invitations
4. Piedmont Open Middle School- ah, the days of being a middle school math teacher. Sometimes I miss it, other times not so much.
5. tutoring math when Parker was a baby

I want to know more about...
1. Abby
2. my dad- since he never posts and this would be fun
3. Andrea (although your blog isn't really about this kind of stuff...)
4. Emily but I know she's got WAY too much going on right now so don't really do it :)
Those are all my friends that actually have a blog. Note to friends: Get a blog!!!

Pizza Bear

2008-04-19T07:24:00.000-07:00

Wednesday night we went to the mall to look for some dress shirts for Mark and decided to go to Build A Bear. Our friend Lilli made a bear for her baby brother Liam before he was born and I thought that was such a great idea. So we decided to let Parker pick something out and make it for the baby. He chose a dog that he named Bear. Only a 2 year old (almost 3!). At Build A Bear you can also buy a device that makes a sound to put in his paw that roars or makes whatever noise your animal makes. You can also record your own. We made a recording of Parker saying, "I love you, Baby Pizza." It is the sweetest thing you've ever heard!

We've been reading You're All My Favorites lately. Not sure the author. It's the cutest story about three little bears who each worry that their parents love the other bears better. The oldest is a boy who we have named Parker Bear. The next happens to be a girl, named Maryn Bear, of course. And the baby is a boy- we will have to get the author to rewrite us one for a third girl if this baby is a girl!- who we call Pizza Bear. So we have taken to calling the dog Pizza Bear. Hopefully this will suffice when the baby arrives and has to have a name other than Baby Pizza. And hopefully Parker will give up the dog.

Of course I forgot to bring my camera but he and Maryn had a great time. They had a bear in a stroller that Maryn just pushed around the store the whole time. She is going to get the baby a little lovie like her "babies" to give to Baby Pizza. So a fun night at the mall for the Ray family. Coming soon... my answer to Sarah's tag but I had to get this done first. And it really does fulfill Sarah's purpose anyway, to move the Easter post down from the top!

Easter (a little late)

2008-03-29T16:20:00.000-07:00

Mark wanted to dye Easter eggs Sunday after church so we put Maryn down for a nap and let Parker do the eggs. I put them in a basket on the dinning room table with what was left of the kids Easter candy. Tuesday the kids and I went to the grocery store and came home to find Max, our beagle, had eaten about 8 of the eggs, shell and all. Needless to say I put him outside for the rest of the night. YUCK!!

Notice our Auburn egg, front left

My own little preschool. We had Cam over to play last Monday and they had such a great time. Parker and Cam love playing together and Maryn does her best to keep up with them. She LOVES Cam. I see a huge crush in her future, big brother's best friend. They were so cute all sitting around the table eating their snack and watching Baby Noah.

The church Easter egg hunt.

Easter Sunday- neither of my children wanted to be still for a picture.

Parker's Easter parade at school. His class were lambs. Fortunately their costumes were not too elaborate.

Parker got to ride in the wagon because he was having a rough morning. After almost an entire year at preschool he is going through a phase where he wants to stay home with me. I broke down and let him take his teddy bear to school who appears to have participated in the parade. Maybe this week will be better...

Look Out :) Auburn... Here We Come

2008-03-17T12:14:00.000-07:00

Sarah's mom made this adorable outfit for Ford to have his picture made in. He went with Granny for a photo shoot with a baby bunny and a lamb. Isn't he handsome?!

Sarah made a delicious dinner Friday night- cheese grits, asparagus wrapped in prosciutto, and a pork tenderloin on the grill (by my dad).

My future Auburn cheerleader

The goal was to get the three kids in a picture in their sunglasses. You can see how well it went!

Ford rearranging the fridge

Aunt Sarah swinging the babies around. Isn't she 19 weeks pregnant? I am hoping her belly looks a little bigger when we're at the beach so I'm not the only enormous one.

Parker driving the excavator.

Digging and dumping out the dirt.

We went to Auburn last week, Wednesday through Saturday. It was such a great time! We left around lunch time on Wednesday so we could pick up Dede (aka Debbie) at the airport. The kids did pretty well in the car. By the time we got to La Grange, GA Maryn had had about enough so the rest of the trip was a little tough- but oh so much sweeter in Olivia!! We had lots of room! I even attempted a nap on the back seat with Parker but Maryn would have none of it. One of my favorite little silly things about the minivan is that the seat belt receptors (surely there is a better word for that?) have a little home in the seat so you can put them in there and they don't stick into your back while you are lying down- with a seat belt on of course. What a great idea!

Dede and Papa had not seen the kids, Parker, Maryn and Ford, since we had been in Seattle in September. The babies have changed a lot since then- walking and some talking too. It was chaotic but so much fun. They are building new houses in Sarah and Joseph's neighborhood and there was an excavator next door digging out a basement. Parker and I went to check it out Wednesday morning and the man driving offered to let Parker take a ride! It was the coolest thing ever. Parker got to actually dig the dirt, swing the bucket around, and dump the dirt out by himself. What a nice man to let him have such a great experience! Papa came out just in time to get some pictures.

It was a typical Martin get together filled with LOTS of good food (breakfast casserole, chocolate cake, cookies, cheese grits, Warehouse Bistro... all a pregnant woman's dream), shopping, and great conversation- especially planning our upcoming beach trip! Thanks Sarah, Joseph and Ford for letting us invade your house. And Papa and Dede thanks for making the trip. We love getting to see you all. Oh, and to Shealy and Granny for babysitting the kids so we could have a dinner out. You're the best!!

Random Pictures

2008-02-20T07:32:00.000-08:00

Parker and Maryn in their new raincoats. I usually never splurge on clothing items for them but I bought them on a little bit of a sale and a size too big so they could wear them this spring, next fall and next spring. Maryn loves hers so much its the only coat she wants to wear right now.

Parker helping me bake Valentine's Day cookies.

Maryn playing in my makeup. Notice the blush on her overalls! (She sticks out her tongue when she's concentrating like her Uncle Joseph used to when he was little.)

Catching Up

2008-02-19T12:38:00.000-08:00

A few random pictures...

Parker and Maryn having a picnic lunch. Maryn didn't quite get the concept as she kept crawling over her plate and getting food all over her.

Maryn's curls... best seen after a bath

My beautiful family before church

It's been awhile since my last post and we have been very busy- the circus, swimming lessons, MaeMae (my mom) came to visit, and Grandma came so Mark and I could take a much needed weekend trip. Whew!

The elephants and the tigers were Parker's favorite part of the circus although he was a little afraid that the tigers would "roar."

The weekend with my mom was great but too short. She and I took the kids to the mall on Friday and Discovery Place on Saturday. (This was two weekends ago.) MaeMae teaches preschool so she is very up on all kids books and loves to buy books for Parker and Maryn. Needless to say she and Parker read a big stack of books several times each day. We had such a nice visit.

Swim lessons for Parker are going really well. He and his best buddy Cam go twice a week for 30 minutes. They are so cute! And I am so proud of Emily for getting Cam there. She has a new baby, Tate- who is precious!!- and she is still able to get Cam to his swim lessons although they are occasionally a little late! When you have a second kid it takes about two hours planning ahead to get anywhere so I think they're doing great! And the boys have so much fun blowing bubbles, kicking and going under water. Well, maybe the last part is debatable! I have a little bit of a hard time keeping Maryn occupied. She really just wants to get in the water so I let her sit on the side and put her legs in. We both end up soaked!

Baby Tate- this is his usual position during swim lessons. He is a great baby!! Sleeps A LOT and when he is awake he is just the sweetest thing.

Maryn's usual position- sitting on the edge getting Mommy wet.

Cam and Parker

Parker swimming with Ms. Tamara. Today he went under water all the way which is big for him.

Grandma arrived Valentine's night to stay with the kids while Mark and I went to the Grove Park Inn. Our trip was to celebrate my 30th birthday. Yes, this was in September but it worked out better for our schedule (mainly Mark's studying) to go now and I am glad we waited since they were full in October anyway and we would've had to find another location.
The inn from the rear entrance. We stayed in the Main Inn. There are two newer wings that come out on either side.

An outside view of the spa

Flowers my dad and Debbie sent to our room to help us celebrate. Aren't they beautiful?

It was amazing!! We ate way too much and relaxed A LOT! We left around 3 on Friday afternoon and arrived at 5:30. Our dinner reservations weren't until 8:30 so we had plenty of time to look around and get ready for dinner. One of my favorite parts was taking a bubble bath Friday night while drinking a coke, eating chocolate and reading US magazine. All without kids in the background calling for Mommy. Saturday we went to the spa for most of the day. In one word it was heaven. You can check out pictures on the Grove Park website since they don't allow you to bring a camera. We got facials in the morning and massages in the evening. The time in between was spent in the pools, reading and napping. Fabulous. Then we were able to use their facilities to get ready for dinner that night. Wonderful shampoos, lotions, everything you needed. Sunday morning Mark was anxious to get home. Grandma said the kids were doing great so I wasn't in too much of a hurry although I really missed my babies. I think it was hard for Mark to see how much they missed us and he was ready to go. We got home around 1 and they were definitely glad to see us. Grandma said she couldn't have asked for them to be any better. Music to a mom's ears. (Although Monday while we were home and she was still here I think we got punished for being gone as they weren't great!) THANK YOU GRANDMA for allowing us to get away!!! You're one in a million!

It's Official!!

2008-02-01T11:41:00.000-08:00

Today the SOA (Society of Actuaries, of course) posted the list of new candidates who earned their Associateship in the Society of Actuaries and my hardworking, brilliant husband is on the list!! He has worked incredibly hard for the past five years studying for these exams. Those of you who know us well know the amount of work that Mark has put into studying. Many comment that he is a professional test taker! It has been our prayer request in life group ever since we've been at NorthCross Church. I know to me and all of our friends it seems like every time we turn around he's studying again! I have complained about the hours upon hours Mark spends in front of books with his calculators and pencils. And now we, mostly he but I have some occassional moments of support, have made it to this big milestone. God has been so faithful in Mark's journey to find the right career and He has really blessed Mark in this field. It is such a blessing to have your husband happy and confident in his work. We are very thankful.

And now only two more tests to go until he is DONE. At that point he will have his FSA (Fellowship...) which will be amazing. Maybe we will throw an enormous party.

Anyway, if you want to check out the actual list here's the link (notice the high quantity of Asian candidates!)

http://www.soa.org/files/pdf/edu-2008-01-asa-names.pdf

Hooray, Mark!!!!

Two Purchases

2008-01-29T19:03:00.000-08:00

Tuesday when Parker was at school and Maryn was taking her morning nap I sat down at the computer. I caught up on some emails, checked out tickets to the circus (we're going Saturday night! I am very excited), and made two purchases. I have been wanting these art clips from Land of Nod for quite awhile and now that Parker has been going to preschool and actually doing art projects we need somewhere to put them. Why not the refrigerator you ask? Because Maryn pulls them off every time and usually ends up ripping them. So I thought these would be cute in his room. We got the stars.

That purchase led to this art portfolio that I found on a friend of Abby's blogs. I am so excited about this! I have let Parker's art pile up on top of the fridge long enough. And since the kids had some Christmas money I thought these two things would be helpful to have. So that's how I wasted my time Tuesday while Parker was at school. Much more fun than cleaning or laundry!

Fun in Auburn

2008-01-22T08:31:00.000-08:00

Our trip to Auburn MLK weekend... pictures in no certain order.

Doesn't he have the cutest expressions??

3 babies in a basket. What will we do when there are 5?

Joseph built a great fire. Obviously Ford is enjoying it.

Nothing to do with the trip- just a cute picture of them sharing the chair together. Parker wanted Maryn to sit with him.

Parker packing to go to Auburn. Notice there are no tracks on his train table. They are ALL in his suitcase. I asked him to pack some toys. Won't be doing that again until he's a little older!

We went to Auburn this weekend to spend some time with Joseph, Sarah and Ford. They moved into their new house a few weeks before Christmas and we had not yet seen it. Wow!! It is beautiful. What I refer to as a grown-up house! We are so excited for them!! There is lots of room for Ford to play, tons of cabinet space in the kitchen that isn't even being used yet, gorgeous hardwood floors that Sarah has to swiffer all the time, a gigantic pantry that the kids loved playing in, a fantastic master bath that rivals the best hotels... I could go on and on.

We didn't arrive until 11:30 Charlotte time Friday night. Parker did not sleep the entire way- although he was really good. I blame it on the car seat. Maryn has the Britax Roundabout that we bought when Parker was little and she slept like a baby. When she moved to that car seat we bought Parker an Eddie Bauer car seat. Not a fan. It's not very padded and sits really straight. So do I cough up $270 for the Britax Marathon for Parker? Any suggestions? One other plus about the Britax is that they have removable covers that wash well. Hmmm... we'll have to see. It's a lot of money.

So we got there safely although very tired. Saturday the kids didn't even make it out of their pjs. We did bathe them and put them in clean ones for bed. Sarah's parents and sister and husband stopped by Saturday morning. Parker loves them so much! Clayton threw snowballs (yes, it snowed in Auburn!) at the window while Parker watched. He had a blast! And Maryn and Ford were so cute together. Maryn was actually pretty good about not taking Ford's toys. Probably too much to do.

Sarah made a delicious breakfast casserole and garlic cheese grits Saturday morning. YUM! I told her that if I had had the casserole every morning during my first trimester I would have felt MUCH better. I swear protein first thing in the am makes a world of difference. There was lots of other yummy food- Amsterdams turkey wraps, Momma G's, a chocolate chip pound cake... I'll let you know after my dr. apt. Thursday just how much weight I gained!

Sunday afternoon while the boys watched football and the kids (in what order I'm not exactly sure!) Sarah and I went to see 27 Dresses. So cute!

All around a great trip- made even better by the mini van. The room, the dvd player, the style (ok, maybe not stylish), the comfort... one of our best purchases ever!!

WAR EAGLE!!!

Dilemma Answered

2008-01-14T12:08:00.000-08:00

Admittedly not the best picture but its like 30 degrees outside and I wanted to show off my t-shirt so I didn't wear a coat.

Happy Jennie!! I get so excited every time I get in Olivia.

Don't you love this t-shirt??!! My sweet friend Nicole gave this to me for Christmas. What a great find.

I know you are all on pins and needles to know what we ended up doing with the car. Well, we are the proud new owners of a Honda Odyssey, aka Olivia. Let me start a couple of weeks back. As of Jan. 4 post we had still not gotten our Tribute back from being fixed. The parts they were waiting for had come in and it was supposed to be ready to go that day. Until someone at the body shop scratched the roof and it had to be repainted. Of course! So Monday comes and they say that one of the tail lights is not working right and they send it to the Ford dealership to be looked at because they did all the wiring (why, I have no idea!). Tuesday comes and we FINALLY get it back.

Long story short we bought Olivia this past Friday night after we found out Mark had passed his exam. Yeah, Mark! He works so hard studying for these exams and this last one has been a real challenge. Of course timing is not always the best since the last time he took it was about two weeks after Maryn was born. Anyway, he now has his ASA (Associate of the Society of Actuaries). Way to go Mark!! He still has a few more tests until he's done but this is a good place to be- a little more security which is always a good thing. He works really hard, and I am so proud of him.

So back to my van. It is beautiful and has so many nice features. Parker loves that the doors open by themselves and always wants to push the buttons. Mark loves the navigation system that we barely know how to work. I love the conversation that's built into the sunglasses holder so I can see the kids. And the heated seats and all the room and that there are built in sunscreens in the kid's doors. The list goes on and on...

The kids love it too. (Maryn enjoying a book about construction vehicles.)

The Mini Van Dilemma

2008-01-01T11:10:00.000-08:00

I still don't have my car back. It has officially been TWO MONTHS since the fire. TWO MONTHS. Ridiculous you say. Yep. Completely. As of right now we are supposed to be able to pick it up today but I am not holding my breath. We turned in the rental car a week and a half before Christmas when they told us it would be ready. We didn't really need two cars anyway over the break because Mark took the week of Christmas off. So our friend Juan drove Mark for a few days to and from work and the kids and I took him a few days. Its not quite as bad as it sounds because he is studying a little so we don't leave until around 9. But we will all be so glad to have 2 cars again. Having to load and unload two kids out of a Honda Accord is not fun. I know lots of people do it everyday but its a pain. And the car is just so low to the ground that I feel like I am going to get run over on the interstate.

Which brings us to this...

A minivan. With baby number 3 on the way its now a must not just something I have REALLY wanted for a long time. The dilemma is which minivan to get. Most of our friends have the Odyssey and I think that's what I am leaning towards. I know I will be happy with either one. There are little things about each that I like. The Odyssey has a dvd player that you load up front whereas the Sienna's loads at the actual player which will be hard to reach. The Sienna has a power lift gate in the back but you can only get that on the most expensive model which we are not getting. I like the outside of the Sienna and the inside of the Odyssey. So... if you have any input please let me know! It may come down to whichever we can get the best deal on!!

Obviously December was not a month for posting

2008-01-01T11:03:00.001-08:00

So here is the main reason for the lack of posts...

Meet Baby Pizza. This is what Parker has called the baby since we told him that he was going to be a big brother again. Thankfully Pizza is a gender neutral name. This was an ultrasound from last Thursday, Dec. 27. I was 11 weeks and 6 days pregnant at that point and am due July 11. I have been felling really well for the past week now but have been really tired since I found out I was pregnant. Thus the lack of posts. My normal blogging time is when the kids are napping and now their nap time is my nap time. So there you have it. We are having another baby. 3 kids 3 and under. Wow.

Breakfast with Santa

2007-12-11T13:46:00.000-08:00

Our friends the Fowlers and the Yenicheks have been hosting Breakfast with Santa for the past few years. This was the first year we have been able to attend and had a blast! I didn't have my camera for the kids sitting on Santa's lap but you can picture Parker sitting there saying "Cheese" and Maryn just holding onto me for dear life, crying. Parker simply told Santa that he wanted presents. Nothing specific. Which I suppose is a good thing since I have had his Thomas train table under my bed since May.

Yes, Maryn cried for this entire series of pictures. Luckily we weren't trying to get one for our Christmas card. I looked in her mouth after this picture was taken and discovered two large swollen bumps in her little mouth. Nothing a little ibuprofen wouldn't fix!

A better shot.

All the kids decorating Christmas cookies.

Maryn has inherited her mother's sweet tooth!

Parker's Thanksgiving Feast

2007-11-26T11:46:00.000-08:00

Parker's class on their way to the feast. That's him in the blue stripe shirt almost in the center of the picture. The boys had pilgrim hats on and the girls wore pilgrim bonnets (?).

The Tuesday before Thanksgiving the kids had a feast at Parker's school, Sonshine Preschool. We LOVE Sonshine. He was on the wait list until August when we found out he had a spot for which we were and are very thankful. My mom teaches preschool in Nashville at St. B's and Sonshine reminded me so much of that so I really wanted him there. And God answered our prayers. So Parker dressed up in his pilgrim hat and ate his "feast" with his friends.

Parker and his friend Carter

Parker's "girlfriend" Lanigan.

I didn't want to have a post without at least one picture of Maryn. If you read my SIL Sarah's blog you will find out that we cheated a little and opened Christmas presents early. We won't see them in December and its always fun to let the kids get something new. So... I had suggested a baby stroller for Maryn and they also got her first Cabbage Patch kid, baby Allie. I love this picture of her in the high chair with Maryn. She can feed her a bottle too which is so cute! Parker got a "car bath" (which is really a car wash) for Thomas. He LOVES it and played with it nonstop the day he got it. Thomas is the cleanest train you have ever seen. Thanks Aunt Sarah, Uncle Joseph, and Ford!!

Who do my kids look like?

2007-11-13T13:29:00.000-08:00

Kind of surprising. Maybe its just the picture I chose because I have thought she favored Mark. Thanks to Sarah for finding the Look-alike Meter!!

Also not what I expected. I have always thought Parker looked more like me. What do you think?

Who's Who

2007-11-09T13:47:00.001-08:00

I am sure you can tell that the picture on the bottom is Maryn. And the picture on the top is... ME! This was at my 1 year birthday party in the same dress and the same rocking chair that Maryn is in on her 1st birthday. I look a little like a deer in headlights don't you think?

My sweet aunt Margaret kept most of my baby and little girl dresses that my grandmother and mother smocked. Maryn has already been able to wear several. I hope to save them for her daughter to wear.

Finally... Halloween

2007-11-08T06:59:00.000-08:00

Curious George and a flower. I wanted Parker to be the man in the yellow hat and Maryn be George but of course he wanted George. Who can blame him?

Maryn and Cole. Cole is about three weeks younger than Maryn.

Elle, Lilli and Parker go trick or treating.

I barely even remember Halloween after our lovely car fire and trip to Auburn. I do remember that we had a great time at the Guthe's with great friends. Oh, my kids did look pretty cute too!

One Year Ago Today

2007-11-02T12:52:00.001-07:00

Tell me he is not the cutest thing you've ever seen!!! (except for my kids of course!) Happy First Birthday Ford!!! He is exactly one week younger than Maryn, although he was supposed to be about a month younger. Ford is a great baby. His loudest crying sounds like Maryn at her quietest crying! He loves to swing, go on walks with his mom, play with his dogs, and watch his cousins play. He has the sweetest smile that just melts your heart. Can't wait to see you tomorrow, Ford!

Not a Halloween Post

2007-11-02T11:31:00.000-07:00

So I was planning for my next post to be of pictures of the kids in their Halloween costumes... but we have had other eventful things happening. As many of you already know my car caught on fire last night. Thankfully no one was hurt and it didn't occur in our garage or anywhere else dangerous.

I was at Emily's at a Tupperware party (insert smile- so stereotypical for a suburban housewife!) and I had only been there for about 15 minutes when a girl who was leaving came back inside to say that someone's car was on fire. Everyone rushed outside except me. They thought it was my friend Lori's because she has had a car fire before so I sat inside watching her baby. Then they yelled in that it was my car! So I rushed outside (thanks to whomever came back in for Caroline!!) with Emily's husband Shaun who had a fire extinguisher. He was able to put out the fire which was on the back driver's side as you can see from the pictures. The fire department arrived shortly after that with many neighborhood children in pursuit. Cam and Parker had been upstairs playing and were very fascinated by the fire men, lights and sirens. Cam has been very upset about my car which is the sweetest thing. Parker, on the other hand, is his father's child and has been pretty laid back about the whole thing. He mostly thinks the smoke was pretty interesting and he did ask if the fireman was his friend. They must have said that at school when the firemen came to visit. They doused my car with the hose and then asked a lot of questions about the car. Mark arrived shortly after that to check out the damage and take me and Parker home. We just kept looking at each other the rest of the night saying "Our car was on fire." Such a weird thing to have happen, especially so suddenly.

They think from looking at the car that it could have started from the trailer hitch that we had put on the car in May. The car was filled with smoke so I am assuming that there is damage from that and some of the things we had in the car, car seats and strollers, smell pretty badly. But God really took care of us. The fire could have started while we were sleeping and it was in the garage. Or it could have happened on our way to Auburn tomorrow. Or any other time the kids and I were in it. If only it would result in a new minivan...

Deceptively Delicious

2007-10-31T07:53:00.000-07:00

When Mary Sue, aka Grandma, came to visit a couple of weeks ago she brought me a present. Yeah! It was Jessica Seinfeld's new cookbook, Deceptively Delicious. The premise behind the cookbook, if you haven't seen her recently on Regis and Kelly or Oprah, is that she hides vegetables in her cooking- so that her kids will get some vegetables. She purees them and adds the puree to macaroni and cheese, brownies and even pancakes. What a great idea! Parker is getting better at eating vegetables but not as much as I'd like. He will eat carrot sticks, cucumber, and broccoli and sometimes other veggies when they're in dishes like chicken pot pie. But this is a great way to get a vegetable in him more often. Right now Maryn loves vegetables, especially broccoli and peas.

Last night we tried the chicken nuggets. They were really good- and fairly easy! It was a little tough to do the breading part but that's how it is with any recipe with breading. If I had already had the puree done and just thawed from the freezer that would have made it easier too. Mark and I enjoyed them and Parker said he liked them too! Recipe as follows...

Chicken Nuggets
(with broccoli, spinach, sweet potato or beet puree)

1 cup breadcrumbs
1/2 cup flaxseed meal (I omitted this because I didn't have it.)
1 T grated Parm cheese
1/2 t paprika
1/2 t garlic powder
1/2 t onion powder
1 cup puree (I used spinach- to make steam spinach and then puree in food processor- like you're making home made baby food.)
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 lb chicken tenders, rinsed, dried and cut into small chunks
1/2 t salt
Nonstick cooking spray
1 T olive oil

1. Combine breadcrumbs, flaxseed meal, Parm cheese, paprika, garlic, and onion powder in a shallow bowl (can also use a plate or a large sheet of foil) and mix well.

2. In another shallow bowl mix the puree and egg with a fork and set the bowl next to the breadcrumb mixture.

3. Sprinkle the chicken chunks with salt. Dip into egg mixture and then toss in the breadcrumbs until coated.

4. Coat a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray and set over med-high heat. When the skillet is hot, add the oil. Place the chicken nuggets in the skillet inn a single layer, being careful not to crowd the pan and cook until crisp and golden on one side, 3 to 4 minutes. Then turn and cook kuntil the chicken is cooked through, golden brown and crisp all over, 4 to 5 minutes longer.

*This is not typed word for word from the cookbook.

Enjoy!