Wordlight Wednesday

Best buddies!!!

 

 

Can't you just tell they are going to get into some serious trouble together?

Who can complain about getting up at 6AM when this is what you get to wake up to?

Almost crawling!

Sweet baby!

Pumping mothers, it's safe to go to Phoenix again

If you remember a couple months back, I was having nightmares about being kept in the security area by the TSA for traveling with breastmilk. I made it to and back from DC with no problems at all. Well, when I found out my next trip was going to be to the very same airport where this original nightmare occured for one woman, I was a little anxious to say the least.

Well, I'm sitting in the Phoenix airport now, Medela cooler bag in hand, completely unscathed. No emotional rollercoaster, no dirty looks and no drama. As I approached the security area, there was even a line dedicated to travelers with children and/or medical liquids. I did notice the screener glance to see if I had a baby with me, but I think he was just curious more than anything. All in all, an effortless experience.

Now, I'm just counting down the minutes until I get to see my babies! A big thank you to my wonderful mother-in-law for taking time off and coming up to help keep the boys while I was away. It makes traveling away from your babies a bit easier when you know they are being sufficiently spoiled!

Let's get this party started...

Made it to Phoenix after a LONG 5 hour direct flight, and now I'm ready to get to work!!! Just got our booth set up for the Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center. This is one of the sub-centers within HSRC, where I work. I can't wait to start meeting and talking with other highway safety geeks. It's such a small field of work. Lots of people work in transportation, but not many work specifically on safety. I LOVE this part of my job - talking to people around the country and hearing the cool things they are doing to save lives.

ABCs of me

Let's see...I am about 2 hours early for a flight that is already delayed, so I was catching up on my blog reading. Saw a post like this, so I decided to get it a whirl! 

1. Age:30
2. Bed size: King. Once you go there, you can never go back.
3. Chore you hate: Cleaning toilets.
4. Dogs: Never owned one, but as I've said, we'll definitely get on the future once we have time for one more animal in the zoo!
5. Essential start to your day: Coffee, anything dark roast
6. Favorite color: Carolina blue!
7. Gold or silver: Silver
8. Height: 5’4"
9. Instruments that you can play:Used to play the coronet, which is like a small trumpet
10. Job title: Mom and wife (24 hours a day), Manager, Research Information and Education Programs (9-5)
11. Kids: Tyler - 3, Jake - 7 months
12. Live: Mebane, NC
13. Mom’s name:Linda
14. Nicknames: KDD, Kate 
15. Overnight hospital stays: 2, the births of my babies! 
16. Pet peeve: Rude customer service people.  
17. Quote from a movie: "Nobody puts baby in a corner"
18. Righty or lefty:Proud lefty!!
19. Sibling: 2, older brother and younger sister.
20. Time you wake up: Between 6:00 and 6:30
21. Underwear: Always bikini briefs, Toss up between Victoria's Secret and Hanes
22. Vegetables you dislike: Not many, maybe kale
23. What makes you run late: Not many things, but traffic occasionally. 
24. X-rays: Ankle/foot, right hand (twice)
25. Yummy food you make: pecan tassies, stuffed shells, chili 
26. Zoo favorite animal: The otters!

Friday Night Leftovers

• Headed to Phoenix tomorrow for the Lifesavers Conference. Basically several hundred people from across the country who are also extremely interested in all things highway safety. This will be my first overnight trip since I had Jake. In fact, it will be the first time I've been away from him overnight since he was born. I'm a little nervous about it, but it has to happen sometime. My amazing MIL is here to help out and sufficiently spoil the kids! 
• Speaking of highway safety, I am super excited the AAP released new guidelines for rear-facing car seats this week. I turned Tyler around at about 15 months, but I'm going to try and keep Jake rear-facing a lot longer.  
• Really excited to watch the Tar Heels play tonight!!! (and also excited to see Duke go DOWN last night) 
• My Blackberry died this week. I didn't realize how addicted I was/am to my Blackberry until I didn't have it for a few days. I almost got irritated when I would reach more my phone and couldn't use it. I think I might need Blackberry detox. 
• Going on over a month of only cooking one meal for dinner! 
• Jake is sitting up on his own. How did this happen so quickly?!?!? In about a month, I feel like he'll be crawling. He follows Tyler around with his eyes constantly, and with Tyler bouncing around the room, Jake is constantly rolling and turning to keep up.

Thankful on Thursday

This week I am especially thankful for the savings ecstasy that is also known as Harris Teeter Super Doubles! I scored $105 worth of groceries for $27!!! And everything I got was something we needed or will use. Personally, I don't buy 50 boxes of pasta or random things just because they're free. I'm not judging or anything - just don't have the space to keep it. 

I am now officially a loyal Harris Teeter shopper for the following reasons...

1. Double coupons - hello?!?! What's not awesome about getting twice the amount off of a coupon.

2. Balloons - They are never out of balloons. This is Tyler's favorite part. It's also a nice distraction from the Lucky Charms or whatever else Tyler wants at the moment.

3. Starbucks - There is a full service Starbucks in the Burlington HT. With the money I save, I splurge on a tall skinny vanilla latte. Yum!!!

4. Amazing customer service! - I have never once had an issue at any of the HTs I've been in and they don't give me the stink eye when I come down their aisle with a big stack of coupons, unlike some other places...ahem...Food Lion.

I Totally Meant to Do That

Tonight I enjoyed a lovely girls night out with a few of my favorite co-workers. We started the evening out at one of my new favorite restaurants, Vimala's. It's a little Indian place in Chapel Hill. In addition to the fact that their food is absolutely amazing, all of their ingredients come from local, family-owned farms. 

Next we headed over to Flyleaf Books for a book reading of I Totally Meant to Do That by Jane Borden. She's a UNC grad who has a book out about transitioning from North Carolina to New York City. 

Here's what comedian Ed Helms (Andy from The Office) has to say about her... 

"If you took Mark Twain, shaved the mustache, added lady parts, and dropped him in present-day Manhattan, he’d wind up writing this fabulous book. Instead, the universe provided Jane Borden, who nailed it." 

The reading was refreshing and hilarious! She was just as funny in her commentary as she was reading excerpts from the book. I have definitely added this one to my list! SZ - I definitely think you would like this one!  

Overall, a great (and much needed) night out! 

A wonderful weekend of nothing

This weekend was one of those "have absolutely nothing to do but play" weekend. We had no plans and just hung around the house. It was awesome! Saturday, Scott washed my car - something it desperately needed! I honestly think that I could have fed a small village with the goldfish and cheerios in my back seat. Tyler loved helping Scott clean the cars.

Tyler, Jake and I took a quick walk up to the neighborhood clubhouse and playground. Jake had a great time riding in his new umbrella stroller.

Then we headed out on Saturday night to take a look at the "Super Moon." Tyler was so excited, but I don't think he really understood why. I think he was just excited to be outside, past his bedtime, in his pajamas. I tried desperately to take pictures of the moon, but my skills with our camera are limited to point-and-shoot. I tried to use the night setting, but ended up with this picture. Still a pretty cool photo, but you can't really see the moon. 

Then Sunday morning, I cooked a big breakfast - french toast, bacon and home fries. While I was cooking, Tyler watched an episode of Scooby-Doo. (He's been really into this show lately). After we ate, Tyler and Scott decided to entertain Jake by acting like the monsters in Scooby-Doo. As you can see, it was quite a hit!!

I'm heading to Phoenix for work next weekend, so I soaked up every second of this one!

Our little Squirt

Our little Jake turned 7 months old this week! The weather also turned a little warmer which meant we had to get out the cooler clothing - including a onesie I have been so excited about Jake wearing. Here it is...

Squirt is my Grandpa Hawkin's nickname - the name most people know him by. His real name is Forrest, which is Jake's middle name. So, Jake is our little Squirt. 

 

My Grandpa Hawkins is one of the hardest working people I know. I credit him for my work ethic. Growing up, I remember him always on the go, sawing wood and building things. Even in his 80s now, he's still like that. 

Love you Grandpa!

Thankful on Thursday

This week I am thankful for funny videos on the Internet. I'm a sucker for these!!! Here are a few of the highlights from this week.

Wordless Wednesday

Our next "something"

When you first have a child and you get through those first several months that I affectionately refer to as "the fog" and you finally feel like you actually have a handle on things, "something" happens. Whether it's teething, sleeping (or lack of it) or eating issues, this "something" consumes you as a parent and becomes your mission to solve for your child. In the beginning, for us, it was eczema. Tyler's pediatrician at the time rated his eczema as an "8 or 9" out of 10. I became obsessed with figuring out what caused it to flare up and how I could help him. I have a lotion graveyard under the sink in our guest bathroom with every single lotion that I tried.

Over the months and going into Tyler's first birthday, his eczema started to clear up. It was like a weight lifted off of my heart. It was so hard to see him deal with the itching and pain while not really being able to do much for him. Right about that time is when Tyler's eating issues really started kicking in. I remember thinking, "Seriously?!?! We just got through this last issue, now this?" But what I quickly realized is that this is what it's all about. There is always going to be something. Our job as parents is to help our kids through it the best we know how.

These "somethings" - despite the angst, anxiety and sleepless nights they cause us - make us better parents. For me, when you inevitably move on to that next "something," you can always look back and see what you got through together as a family.

Tyler's progress in trying new foods has been remarkable the last several weeks. I have successfully cooked one meal for everyone for the last 3 weeks, with Tyler trying new things every week. As I feel like we're drifting away from the eating issues as our current "something," I'm wondering, what's the next issue going to be?

Saturday at the Zoo

We took advantage of the beautiful weather today and headed out for the day to the North Carolina Zoo. I also think half of the state had the same idea. It was packed! Tyler had a blast looking at the animals and Jake had a blast looking at the other people looking at all of the animals. He just loves to people watch (just like his mother). We started the day off with a family photo.

 

Then we headed to Chick-fil-A for a little breakfast. Tyler loves the hashbrowns.

 

And playing in the play area!

There was more playing once we got to the zoo.

 

And rock climbing!

We had such a good day!

Dates at the Grocery Store

No, Scott and I have not resorted to counting a trip to the grocery store as a date. We actually went on a bona fide date last Friday, where I completely ate and drank too much - and it was wonderful!

No, my dates to the grocery store have been with the "middle" man in my life - Tyler. He's been a little clingier to me than usual, so I felt like I needed to focus a little extra attention on him. He LOVES to go grocery shopping and we usually go as a family, but I decided to start one-on-one dates with Tyler doing something he loves.

This weekend we ventured out to Harris Teeter, with a detailed list and big stack of coupons. He loves to look at the coupon and try and find the item on the shelf. When he finds it, he yells out, "Look Mommy, it matches!" We got everything we needed, PLUS I saved over $75 with coupons and VIC specials. Talk about a great date with my little man!

It was pouring rain when we left, so here we are waiting it out.

I told Tyler to hold on tight to his balloon before we went to the car.

Second Round

There are so many wonderful things about having two boys, but one of them is experiencing lots of "second rounds" with Jake. I feel like on a weekly basis, when Jake does something, I find myself saying, "I remember when Tyler did that." And since we saved almost everything from when Tyler was a baby, there are so many things we have been able to reuse - and once again, I fondly remember the toy, onesie, whatever, from when Tyler was a baby. Our activity center is one of those. Here's Tyler and Jake both enjoying this toy.

(Not too) Sick Day

Tyler spiked a touch of a fever last night that didn't go away over the evening, so we stayed home today. Other than the slightly high temp (102 was the highest), he was perfectly fine - his typical sweet self. :) So, guess what that meant?!? I had a wonderful excuse to take a day and spend it with my boys! I love these kinds of sick days. Don't get me wrong, I never WANT my child to be sick. But, these days - when they don't involve vomit or other less than savory topics for this blog - can be a wonderful break for all of us. Jake took a wonderful nap in the morning, then Tyler took a nice, long nap in the afternoon. Sprinkle in a couple rounds of Tyler's Thomas Match Card game and some time outside, and it was a wonderful day! Tyler's completely fever free this evening, so it looks like we're back to the grind tomorrow!

Go Heels!

Tyler and Scott were really excited about the Heels playing Duke this weekend  - and even more excited about the outcome!!!

A couple other random photos from the weekend!

Jake "chasing" Tyler around the house

Finally - a more recent family photo!

Coupons & Cocktails!

Saturday night I had a couple of my fellow couponers over to the house for Coupons & Cocktails.

Everyone brought the coupons they didn't want to exchange with other people at the party. It was really interesting to see how everyone has their own unique system for couponing. After a little socializing - and a cocktail of course! - we got down to business.

It was pretty informal, which I think worked really well. I had the coupons I needed (like Tyler's rice and PopTarts :) ) and others had theirs. We just went around the circle and called out the coupons we had to see if anyone wanted them.

At the end of the evening, I think everyone walked away with lots of coupons they needed and off-loaded lots of coupons they didn't want. In the end, I had a big pile of coupons - along with people's expired coupons - that I'll be sending overseas to a military base. (Military personnel are able to use expired coupons).

Thanks you ladies for helping me make this idea a reality! It will definitely not be the last time!

Here Comes the Sun!!!

We have all been excited about the beautiful weather we've been having lately! It means that both of the boys get a lot of outside time at school and we get to head outside as soon as we get home to swing, hit the ball, or blow bubbles! We headed outside this afternoon for a little swing time - Jake is finally able to sit in the bucket seat and he had a blast! Tyler can also "push and pull" himself on the glider, which he is very proud of!

 

 

We've got to get this boy a dog - just not now

Tyler has never really gotten very attached to anything for a long period of time. His preference for things come in waves, particularly around toys and books. One week, he's all about monster trucks, but then he's all about puzzles the next. It keeps us on our toes for sure, since we never know what imaginative game we'll be playing next!

Well, that has changed recently. He has really taken to a little stuffed animal that his Nana Jones got him a few months ago. His name is Puppy. Here's Tyler with Puppy.

 

Every morning, Tyler "feeds" Puppy at the table - usually  crumbs leftover from his PopTart. Then Puppy hops in the car with us on the way to school, where Tyler says "have a good day" to Puppy as he leaves him in the car. Then, every night, Tyler puts Puppy in his "bed" - a stool at our kitchen table.

One Saturday Tyler and I were out running errands when he exclaimed, "Mommy, Puppy is lost!" I explained to him that Puppy wasn't lost, but safe at home with Scott and Jake. He persisted, "Mommy, Puppy is crying. He needs me!"  Tyler was relieved to find Puppy safe and sound at home.

Scott and I have talked about getting a dog down the road - like when Jake is 3 or 4 - but recently we've been so impressed with how Tyler really takes care of Puppy. We're still not getting a dog anytime soon. Until then, Tyler can get some practice with Puppy.