The Locomotion!

I just thought I'd do a public service announcement, or PSA, to promote the continent with the nicest people on the planet--Australia! I should probably start by thanking the late Matthew Flinders who not only was the first to navigate that beautiful continent, but he also named it "Australia"--what a name! Without him--we may never have come to know and love some of the most famous Australians--like--Ned Kelly, Mic Dundee!, Mel Gibson, Slim Dusty, and of course--Kylie Minogue-whose 1988 remake of "The Locomotion" changed dance styles forever! I know you're singing that great tune in your head right now. I like to think of that song as a happy place, although it'll stay in your head for about 4 days! That's how long it's been in mine--since Misty and I met our nice Australian auto man Tuesday. As soon as he spoke I started singing (in my head)..."dooo the locomotion with me--you gotta sway your hips now---come on baby"... you get the idea. So you're probably wondering what brought this mysterious Camry driving Australian into our lives--well, it was Misty's inability to close her back door/hatch! :-) We met to shop and hang out for a couple of hours Tuesday, and when the kids informed us it was time to leave--by behaving like they were REALLY having a great time--we decided to pack it in and go home. The Sequoia had other plans! Once Misty maneuvered her way into the back of her SUV by crawling over seats because we couldn't open the back door!--only to discover there were no jumper cables, but she did have a very nice roadside blanket--we decided we could handle this. After all, we were in front of Target who happens to sell the item we needed. I pulled my car in beside hers and we decided to pop the hoods and take a look. ENTER our Australian auto man. We're assuming that he, like everyone else who saw us gazing under the hoods, felt sorry for the prego lady with a 3year old hanging out of her car window and for the mom with twins hanging out in their stroller in the one shady spot we could find!
He asked Misty to try and start it (like we hadn't tried that, we just wanted to see if Toyota was making HEMI's!), and he also decided YEP it must be the battery. We didn't really need him for that, but when Misty got back with the cables we realized we had never done this and weren't exactly sure where things went. I think this made him feel great--he stepped right in and hooked the cables to our cars and watched as the 4Runner brought the Sequoia back to life! (Just so you know, the cables are color-coded black & red and hook to the matching black & red thingies on the battery--always good to know!) He was super nice and was indeed the only of the "concerned" bystanders that offered us help. So--THANK YOU--Australian auto man. You are now ranked with Mel and Kylie in my top 3 Australians!

Goodbye to Summer!

So~according to the news I got from the great Ben Tanner (whom I place complete faith in on whether or not I need an umbrella), today is the first day of fall. Well, you could have fooled me--with the 97 degree temp I saw in my car around 3pm today! But, hey, we still tried to send summer off with a bang this weekend. One of Chloe's favorite people, her aunt Christy, came home from college this weekend. I told Chloe Friday morning she would be coming to visit and Chloe's first words were,"So she's done with college?". I tried to explain that no she'd be going back on Sunday, but I could tell she wasn't listening--her mind was already reeling with all of the things she was going to do with aunt Christy that afternoon! Christy did indeed stop by for ~30 minutes Friday and of course Chloe tried to cram 3 weeks worth of play into that time! She greeted Christy with a heroes welcome--you know, the long run to her with arms open wide yelling, "Tristy, Tristy!"(we still have difficulty with the Ch sound!) They drew with chalk, played chase, played hide & seek, and Chloe pitched a fit for them to read books together! Chloe didn't care that she was going to spend all afternoon Saturday at Christy's house--she was determined to get it all in right then.
Saturday was a bit crazy. We had all the normal "Saturday chores" to do, plus Micky & I were getting ready to go to 2 parties. First we hit a couples shower for Micky's college buddy Brad and his future bride. It was a really nice shower and all I can say is, anywhere that has a chocolate fountain is a great place to be! I guarded that fountain like a great Palace Guard and was able to use my pregnancy as an excuse for "needing" so much chocolate. Truth is, I'd have done the same thing non-prego! I love chocolate! From there we dropped in at a bday party for a friend of ours that we went to Vegas with last year. It was another great party with terrific food and an open bar--let me tell you what--that ginger ale rocked!!!
Today Chloe worked in a bike ride, which means she pushes with her feet on the ground-not pedals, and got some good rocking time in on the porch with Nana at lunch! Another of Chloe's fav people, aunt Beka, came back from LA yesterday and we got to see her today and Chloe got some great prizes! The Sleeping Beauty apron is currently laying beside her in bed!

Too bad we have to get up early for school tomorrow--I think she'd sleep until 9 after such a busy weekend! Hey, we're ready for fall now. I'm sure the 89 degree high tomorrow will feel like an arctic blast!

Pregnant lady+3year old+wet dog=BAD IDEA!

So, those of you who've been to our house will know some of what I'm about to write, but for the rest of you-- welcome to a small piece of what I like to call, "Living with Clyde". I must preface this with saying that we love Clyde immensely and could not imagine our lives without him (although I do dream of what it would be like to not see dog hair on my rugs). Overall, Clyde is a great dog who listens well, plays great with Chloe, and doesn't chew on anything he shouldn't. Having said that... Let me say this...being an English Bulldog can have its disadvantages. 1. He always sounds like he's just run a marathon--and this is just when he's been sitting still for an hour! Imagine how loud he gets when he actually runs around! Snoring doesn't begin to describe the sounds he makes while sleeping--and this is after he's had surgery to widen his palate and nostrils to help this problem--so he now has his own room to sleep in. 2. The cute folds around his face-while great for looking sad--tend to hold on to any water he's drank in the last 7 days. Therefore, he may be the only dog I know that has been trained to wipe his face on a towel in his room when he's done drinking. He doesn't always remember this, so then we get some great slobber shots thrown up on the walls whenever he decides to shake. (Seriously--I've had to use the step stool to wipe some of them off--he's got great reach with that shaking stuff!) 3. If he is not brushed daily or at least every couple of days, he can shed like nobodies business! Chloe now knows this and uses every opportunity she can find to go outside and brush him--a few times she's tried to do it inside with mommy's brush. What's really great is to brush your hair and then realize your brush was used on the dog right before you placed it in your freshly washed hair! Oh the joy! These are just a few glimpses of what life with Clyde is like!
But what brought this post about was my brilliant idea to give him a bath yesterday! I know, I know, I'm a genius--what can I say?!? Yeah, about the time I had the sprayer in one hand and the back of Clyde's neck in the other--I realized this was probably not a good idea. Too late, I was committed and I was going to finish--even if it meant Chloe and I getting soaked (which she loved) and having to come in and have our own baths when we were done. But guess what?--he's beautiful and shiny today, and under complete house arrest! I'm not taking any chances--you know he'll find the one ounce of orange clay/dirt in the yard and use it to paint himself orange like a Cleveland Browns fan! Hey, what can I say, we love our Clyde!

Happy Birthday Jenn and Uncle Scott!!!

Chloe loves her Uncle Scott and cousin Jennifer and she had a great time sharing their birthday celebration with them!





Interesting--wherever there's cake--Chloe always seems to find herself front and center waiting for a piece! Who can blame her when it's chocolate pound cake :-) yummy!! That's my girl!

I can smell red!

Just thought I'd share Chloe's amazing sensory abilities with everyone! After I picked Chloe up from school today we went and had lunch with Grammy. All through lunch she was singing a song about firetrucks. We couldn't quite make out the words--since she was actually keeping it to a low roar in her restaurant voice! So~ when we got back to the car we asked her to sing her song. It went a little something like this, "R-E-D red, R-E-D red, I can smell red, I can smell red. Firetrucks are red...(we couldn't make out this verse--we think it had something to do with a stop sign)...red, red, red. Red, red, red." (red has been their color at school for the past 2 weeks) Well, of course, we oohed and aahed about what a great song and mom and I jokingly laughed to each other that she just couldn't get the p sound out for spell. Well... we were wrong. She sang the song again and we tried to correct her sounding of the word by saying, "spell--sp,sp,spell". To which she replied, "No, smell--like this," and proceeded to sniff the air to show us how to smell! So, I just thought I'd let you know that we'll be notifying the people at Ripley's Believe it or Not that we have a new breed of genius on our hands that can SMELL colors!

USC pics from Wendy!

Chloe and D!
Chloe, Jenn, Kristin, Jess, and D
She's got the "rhythm and the moves"--that's what she says when she dances now!
Just chillin'!
I still love to get my kisses whenever I can!

Lovin' some Elmo and Gamecocks!

What a busy weekend we had! It was a lot of fun, but I sure am glad to be able to take it a little easier today! It started Thursday night--mom and I took Chloe to see "Elmo the Musical" with my good friends Carla, Misty and their kids. We were fortunate enough to get box seats--which meant the kids could run around and we had our own bathroom--which is imperative for two 3year old girls who feel the need to check out every bathroom we pass now that they're potty trained! Anyway, it was a good show and Chloe was into it, even though the only character she knew was Elmo (we don't get to watch Sesame Street very often). She quickly figured out the rest--when we walked in they had a huge poster with the main characters on it, and Chloe's first words were, "Wow! That's a really big bird!" I informed her that was actually his name and she was good to go! Let me say however, that all of these shows have got a huge racket going on with the price of the toys they sell there!!!! I had informed Chloe we didn't need any of that stuff, but of course Grammy came to the rescue and bought her some Zoe spinning light toy (the same as the Cinderella one she got her at Disney on Ice) and a small ball--because we apparently needed one more thing to throw down the stairs! But, hey, that's what Grammys are for and we had a great time!

Friday night, we headed to the Burton Casa for Misty's 30th birthday party! They always throw great parties, and this was no exception. They had this awesome margarita making machine that I informed Micky would be a great Christmas present for me! I'm not sure if the margaritas were really that good, or if it was just that I couldn't have one that made them look so great! But, we had a wonderful time there just hanging out with friends and celebrating Misty! Saturday was just a busy day--helping clean at the church and getting ready to have a few friends over to watch the Carolina/Georgia game. It was a great game and Chloe really got into cheering for the Gamecocks!




This week has started off slow (thank goodness!), and hopefully it will continue smoothly. You never know with a 3year old--who happens to be catapulting herself from the couch to the chair at the moment--so I think I'll wrap this up!

Left turn Clyde!!

Oops...I can't believe I left Clyde out of our family update yesterday. It's a good thing he can't check the computer--I believe his beautiful face would droop even more than usual if he saw I left him out! So, without further ado--Clyde!--He's doing great (all 75 pounds of him!) He is Chloe's personal bodyguard, best friend, and doll to dress up! He is so great with her. He generally sleeps 18-20 hours a day--unless we have company--then he actually moves around the house to check them out. As most of you know, he had a hip joint replacement 2 summers ago and he is still doing great from that. We do, however, have to remind Chloe that even though Clyde will let her sit on him--she shouldn't, and that asking him for a ride is out of the question! He's still a mama's boy and likes to follow me from room to room--especially if Chloe's not at home, because he knows he'll get some extra attention. I'm sure there are times he misses being the only "baby" in the house, but when Chloe's gone we can tell he misses her and it's so cute how they greet each other every morning (Chloe yells a hearty "Buuudddy! Good morning!" and Clyde gives her 2 snorts and actually sits up to greet her--it takes a lot to get that dog to move!) We're interested to see how he reacts when we bring home another baby girl! Two girls dressing him up all the time might be a little hard to take--but he's smart enough to know when to fake like he's asleep!

What's been happening!

I figured before I could write too much about things coming up, I should probably update everyone on what's been going on. So~Micky--he's been crazy busy at work (both a blessing and a curse), but he truly loves what he does. We recently purchased the building that houses his office space and 2 other spaces and have started construction/remodeling of one of the larger spaces to make it Micky's offices future home. Anyone who's been through a construction project knows of the headaches that can accompany it--so please pray that he/we can survive the next few months without taking each others (or the construction company's) headoff! Luckily, we tend to balance each other out pretty well--I'm usually the crazed, "the sky is falling", I think we'll go bankrupt kind of person, whereas Micky is the "it's all going to be fine, just relax" kind of person. Carolina Football season has finally arrived and we're both excited about that (Micky moreso than I). I don't think I'll make too many games at the end of the season--those seats don't generally accomodate an 8-month pregnant lady--I can't believe there's nowhere to elevate your feet! Speaking of pregnant ladies, I'm doing quite well. This pregnancy has been so different than the first (no nausea, vomiting, or other miserable moments!). I think God knew that I couldn't be sick like that and take care of Chloe! I am however still waiting for that supposed "burst" of energy that should have accompanied the second trimester--but so far has seemed to escape me. I'll stay on the lookout for it! Chloe started back to preschool this week. This year, in the 3year old class, she will go three days a week (9-12)--which will be a huge blessing when our new baby joins us. Chloe's doing great and still continues to amaze us every day. We seem to think she's the only kid who's ever done some of this crazy stuff--but to us she's truly amazing! I'll try to share some of her more interesting stories in later posts. For now, I'll leave you with one of her most recent discoveries--the drain cap in the bathtub. She tried to send one of her toy lizards (yes, she likes lizards and all types of fake bugs) home the other night while she was in the tub. I left her playing with the lizard (for like 5 seconds I promise!) and when I came back in, the lizard was nowhere to be seen and she informed me that she let it go home and pointed to the drain. Well, this led to Micky having to break out the toolbox and me breaking out the camera! It's hard to fuss at someone when you're crying through laughter! The lizard escaped unharmed (and surprisingly clean), but I think she got the message that nothing goes "home" in the drain cap!

Here we go......

Well, seeing as how I've been so slack at updating friends/family with our crazy lives, I've decided to start a blog. My good friend, Misty, has one and reading her posts always brings a smile to my face--so I thought I'd give it a try. I'm sure I won't be able to post everyday but I will try to at least a couple of times a week so add us to your Favorites and come check it out. For those of you with kids (God Bless ya!) you'll know that the old cliche is so true--"you blink and a year's gone bye"! Sad--but true! Since I don't keep a journal this will be my attempt to record some of Chloe's more interesting daily habits, thoughts, or just crazy ideas! Come January, I will try to update as much as possible on life with TWO little girls in the house! That's right, for those of you who haven't heard yet, we're having a girl!! Micky and I are very excited-he now says he'll just always have to have a male dog to try to balance out the estrogen (Good Luck!). Chloe took the news differently than we expected--see, since the day we told her we were going to have a baby--she's stated firmly that it's a girl. To tease her, her aunts and uncles (mainly Wendy & Scott) would tell her it's probably a boy and she would look at them very calmly and say," it's a GIIIIIRLLLL y'all!" (y'all is something she's recently started saying whenever she gets the chance!) Anyway, as soon as we showed the video to our parents and told them and Chloe that it is a girl, she changed her tune and said, "nope, it's a boy" Go figure! And she's stuck with it. She apparently told her teacher at school yesterday that it's a boy--something I had to correct at pickup time. Either way, she still seems to love the idea of a baby coming to our house--"in January God will bring us a baby and I can hold him softly and sing to him"--I'm under the impression she thinks God's just going to ring the doorbell in January and hand us this baby. This should be interesting!