We Are Now a TWO Minivan Family

Well, we bought our second minivan last night. It's a 2003 Honda Odessey with leather and DVD. This will definitely be the one that we take on trips. It's in really good shape and we got an awesome deal (both on our tradein and on the "new" van). I would definitely do business with this certain carlot again.

Here's a picture of the Odessey:

We Are Now a Minivan Family

Yesterday, after several hours of negotiation, Jason traded his recently "new to us" Jeep Grand Cherokee in for a "new to us" Mazda MPV. This is not our exact one, but it is the same year and color.


It is one of the smaller minivans out on the market and we really did get a great deal. Jason got them to put on a new set of tires and to perform a complete service. There are a couple of dings and scratches, but what can you expect from an almost 4 year old vehicle. A couple of the most noticible scratches will be fixed somehow by their "body guy" tomorrow.

With the twins coming, we originally thought that we could keep one of our "smallish" SUVs and get one minivan. We were wrong. While we can fit 3 car seats in each of the SUVs we have, the front seats have to be so far forward that it is not comfortable to drive. We were going to make do, but found a really great deal on this minivan.

In the next couple of months, we will be purchasing another minivan. Probably a "new to us" Honda Odyssey. This will be the newer (and nicer) of the two minvans and the one we will take on trips. Wish us luck.

Wow, It's Been 3 Months . . .

where did the time go?

Honestly, not too much has been going on all summer. Time just kept getting away from me and I couldn't find the time (or inspiration to blog).

Well, summer is over and I figured it was time to come back to blogland.

Quick summer recap:

• Dylan is completely daytime potty trained.
• Nighttime, not so much, but that will come with time.
• The house is coming together, slowly, but surely.
• Visited FIL and his girlfriend and had a pretty nice visit in the mountains of PA.
• My mom is dating for the first time since she and Dad got divorced. She seems really happy and I am happy for her. The guy seems really nice.
• My dad is married again for the second time since he and Mom got divorced. They only knew each other about 4 weeks before setting a date and only 8 weeks by the time they married. I don't really care for her, but WHATEVER.
• We bought a timeshare in partnership with Jason's dad and his girlfriend. Hope this turns out to be a good thing.
• We went to the beaches in North Carolina over Labor Day weekend. It was a nice, relaxing time with SIL and her family.
• And last, but certainly not least . . .I am pregnant . . .with twins.

I will try to be better about writing.

We're Baaaack!!

Well, we made it home safely from Vegas. We had a really good time, but we were gone a few days too long. We saw several shows (KA, Love, and Lance Burton) and only gambled a little. We did a little shopping and just had a relaxing week. Unfortunately, no little elves visited our new home and unpacked all of our boxes, so we are still living with chaos right now.

Dylan did great with my SIL, but he was ready for us to come home. He got a little homesick, but she was able to keep him distracted. He went to the lake, to the zoo, to the pool, and made a new friend. But as soon as we walked in the door to pick him up, he was ready to go home. He didn't want us to sit around and chat with SIL and BIL, he wanted to go. He gave them each 4 or 5 hugs just trying to prompt us to go home.

On Monday, when I took Dylan back to school, he refused to go to his old class. I had told him that he was going to start going to the "big boy" class (i.e. preschool) this week sometime and he decided that Monday was the right day. After pitching a fit that he didn't want to go to the "baby" class, he walked into that new class like he had always been there.

For those of you who don't my son well, you don't understand how big this is for him. Transition to new things (especially new classes at school) has been really, really hard for him in the past. The last transition took almost a month, but part of that was because there was a teacher change about that time too. So, we were foreseeing weeks of slowing moving him to the new class (which is actually how they move most kids - a couple of hours each day the first week and more and more time the next week until they are there all day). Nope, he walked in yesterday and he was done with the old class.

When I dropped him off today, he walked to the new class, hung his bookbag on his hook (no more cubby for him), and told me "Bye, Mom". HUH?? What happened here?? Don't get me wrong, I think it is awesome that he wants to go to this class (especially since he has to anyway). But he has never, in the almost 3 years he has been in daycare, just walked into class and told me see ya later. It's two days now. I hope this continues. My baby is growing up. I am so happy/sad.

We're Off to Vegas.

See you in about a week.

Busy, Busy, Busy

It's been a very busy couple of weeks.

We had Dylan's 3rd birthday party on May 27. He had a blast. There were water gun fights (by children and adults), four-wheeler riding, and just an all around good time. Dylan patiently waited as "Happy Birthday" was sung to him and then promptly blew out his candles - taking out a corner of the cake in the process. He got way too many toys (mostly from Jason and I). Everyone else was blessedly contained this year with the gift giving. It was the last party in our old house.

We moved to our new house on Friday, June 2. There were many twists and turns getting into the new house starting with the horrible experience of selling our house to the horrible experience with the moving company we used (btw - don't ever use "All My Sons" to move). But, the final result is that we are in our new house and we are getting settled.

This Friday, June 9, Jason and I leave for Vegas. We planned this trip even before we thought about selling out old house. I am hopeful that the house will be a little more put together before we leave. We both need the relaxation that comes from a vacation. This has been a very trying experience and I am truly glad that it is over.

To all who sent us P&PT, I truly appreciate it.

Good News / Bad News

Good News: Dylan pooped on the potty last night. This is ground breaking news in our house. He has been peeing consistently since March, but the pooping just eluded him. Well, we have been encouraging him to "toot-toot" (i.e. fart) when he is sitting on the potty and he loves to do it. Thinks it is the funniest thing ever. Well, last night Jason convinced him to "toot-toot" and POOP came out. He was so excited. He got two presents (I have been promising him for weeks that if he would poop on the potty, he could get two presents). Bribery really is a good thing.

Bad News: It looks like the loan for the people buying our house may be falling apart. The lender is trying to figure something out that will work for both parties. I am just going to hate it if we have to put off buying our new house and if we have to put our current house back on the market. P&PT if you have any to spare.

Band for a Lifetime:
Choose a band/artist and answer ONLY in titles of their songs.

1. Are you male or female? Something In The Way She Moves

2. Describe yourself. Night Owl

3. How do some people feel about you? Steamroller

4. How do you feel about yourself? Long Ago And Far Away

5. Describe your ex: Bitter Sweet

6. Describe your current significant other: Your Smiling Face

7. Describe where you want to be: Anywhere Like Heaven

8. Describe how you live: Traffic Jam

9. Describe how you love: Fire And Rain

10. What would you ask for if you had just one wish? Enough To Be On Your Way

11. Share a few words of wisdom: Shower the People

12. Now say goodbye: You Can Close Your Eyes

Deep Breaths

Okay, so it is really just hitting me that we have approximately 3 weeks to pack up our house. I know it can be done, but we still have to live here while we are packing up - you know.

So, the game plan so far is to pack up the garage first (because this is where everything will be stored in the meantime and we won't be able to get to anything if we don't do it first), then the nursery and the office. Then we can start packing up non-essential stuff from our and Dylan's rooms. We are hiring movers to help with the heavy stuff, so the majority of the furniture will stay in place until they move it down.

In the midst of all of this, we are having Dylan's b-day party. Luckily, we only planned for it to be a family party this year, so it won't be too stressful.

Oh, yeah, and we are leaving for a week vacation in Vegas 1 week after we move. Hopefully, things will be under control enough so that we can enjoy our vacation.

And, hooray for my SIL who offerred to keep Dylan this weekend so we can get a head start on the packing. She is also keeping Dylan the week we go to Vegas. I am thinking we will be getting her a pretty nice gift.

Crazy, crazy times . . .

So, we have a contract on our existing house. We were only on the market 8 days. CRAZY, I tell ya. We are set to close on June 2.

We have changed our minds about which house we want to purchase and will be signing a new contract tomorrow. The new house is right next door to the old one. LOL!! Here is the new house and the floorplan:

We Signed a Contract Today . . .

If all goes according to plan, this will be our new home in the next couple of months or so . . .

House Hunting

So, it looks like we are buying a new house.

We went on a Sunday drive last weekend and visited a nice, new neighborhood. We had been there before and thought we would love to live there. Well, it turns out that we can afford it.

So, since Sunday we have decided to sell our house and buy a new one. I don't know how long this process will take or anything, but I am scared and excited at the same time.

Please send us "easy home selling" vibes.

Splish Splash

Dylan has his first swimming lesson tomorrow. I actually convinced Jason that he should be the one in the pool with Dylan (I am one smart momma - LOL).

I will let you know how it goes. Dylan seems to be really excited about it, so I hope he doesn't freak out when we get to the pool.

This is where we are going for the lessons:

http://www.swimatlanta.com/

They actually have swim teams and compete at meets. Some of the swimmers they have trained have gone on to be part of the Olympic swim teams. That, however, is not my goal for Dylan. I just want him to be more comfortable in the water and get a little exposure to the pool.

More to follow (and pictures too). . .

I Have An Announcement To Make . . .

I am so freakin' tired.

That is all.

The Potty Dance

I just have to share that Dylan has been in underwear since last Tuesday. He has been wearing it to daycare and has had minimal accidents. I still put a pullup on him at night, but he has only woken up wet 2 nights since we started this process. It's like putting the underwear on him made it just click for him (and offering 2 jellybeans for a pee in the potty and 4 for a poop in the potty probably didn't hurt either). YEAH, DYLAN!!!

Last week was spring break here. Traditionally, a lot of kids don't go to daycare during spring break. On Monday, I asked Dylan's teacher if we could send him to school in underwear because he was doing well for us on the weekends. She said yes and we haven't looked back. The first couple of days he had one or two accidents a day. Toward the end of the week, he was really getting the hang of it. I even set up a "treasure box" with some cheap toys so he can pick one prize out for each accident free day at daycare (the first day he wore underwear to daycare he got a prize just for trying so hard). However, anytime we put him back in a pullup, he has no desire to potty. He knows the difference without a doubt.

He still won't poop on the potty, but when I put his nighttime pullup on him he goes almost immediately. I know that it will happen in time. And, since he's not pooping in his underwear, I really don't mind that much that he waits for a pullup. At least he's going and not getting constipated.

I know we will still probably have some accidents along the way (who doesn't??), but I am so proud of my little guy.

We Just Bought a New (to us) Car

We got a good deal on the Jeep (photo is not of our actual Jeep, but the year, model, and color are the same) and we got what we wanted on our trade in.

And, best of all, we pay it off in 2 years.



Last week, the "service engine soon" light in the Maxima came on. We had diagnostics run and it was going to cost over $1000 to fix. Add that to the new tires we needed and the service that would need to be performed in the next couple of months (approaching 90,000 miles), it just seemed like the perfect time to trade it in.

I haven't actually seen the Jeep yet. Jason and I discussed our options last night and he bought it today. I have to sign some papers tomorrow, but the deal is essentially final.

We Went to the Zoo

With all of the turmoil surrounding my nephew last week, I forgot to write about our trip to the zoo. We went on Saturday, March 18. Jason, Dylan, myself, FIL and FIL's girlfriend went. SIL, BIL, and nephew were supposed to go too, but that was the day nephew was admitted to the hospital. (BTW, SIL told us to go on to the zoo because it would be hours before we could see her or nephew - for those of you who might think we were heartless to continue on to the zoo with nephew in the hospital).

Dylan had a blast and I think we saw every animal that lives at the zoo. Here are a couple of pics from our trip.
















Dylan @ the petting zoo
















Dylan studying about the pandas















Dylan and a big lizard















Dylan and Poppy (Jason's dad)















Dylan and Gigi (Poppy's girlfriend)


Dylan loved the otters and pandas the best. The lions weren't very exciting because they were asleep. The gorillas weren't very active either; though they did have a couple of babies that were entertaining. He had a blast at the petting zoo. It amazes me sometimes how much my shy little guy is coming out of his shell. He wasn't thrilled with the snakes (or anything else in the reptile house). He rode the train (all 3 minutes of it) and he rode on the endangered species carousel. All in all, Dylan had a blast and we will definitely be going back. I am sure he will love showing his cousin around.

Update on Nephew

He is going home today. He was diagnosed with RSV (apparently it was something different last time he was in the hospital and MIL got mixed up when she passed the information on to me), in addition to several other respiratory conditions (SIL said that there are about 6 or 7 official diagnosises on the discharge papers). But he has been off of oxygen for 24 hours and doing great. The doctor still fully expects to see them back in the hospital in the next couple of months simply due to the compromised state of his lungs at this time.

My nephew (10 mo) is sick

Saturday he was taken in a helicopter to the hospital because he wasn't stable enough for an ambulance ride. His breathing was labored and he was becoming lethargic. He spent Saturday and most of Sunday in the ICU and has been in a regular room since Sunday night (but every time they take him off of oxygen, his oxygen levels drop). He has (in the past month or so) been diagnosed with RSV and was diagnosed with croup upon admission to the hospital. Now, the doctors are 98% sure he has Achalasia of the Esophagus and Bronchial Tubes and this is why he is so susceptible to all of the respiratory problems. He should outgrow this by 14-18 months, but the doctor said he fully expects at least one more hospital stay in that time.

So, any P&PT would be appreciated and if you know anything about this diagnosis, I would love to hear about it.

What I Need/Want To Do Tomorrow (On My Day Off)

• grocery shopping
• sign Dylan up for swimming lessons (and then I may have to take on the agonizing task of finding a new suit - I'm thinking boycut this year - LOL!!)
• laundry
• put away the 6 or 7 baskets of already clean, folded laundry
• put clean sheets on the futon (guest bed)
• declutter as much as possible
• get my hair thinned (and maybe trimmed)

Jason's dad and girlfriend are coming to visit this weekend. And, you know, nothing gets your house cleaned and straightened like guests.

I really am looking forward to my day tomorrow, even though it is going to be quite busy. This is the first time in I-don't-know-how-long that I am taking a day off without having to take care of a sick kid/hubby/self.

Saturday, we (Me, Jason, Dylan, FIL, FIL's GF, SIL, BIL, DN) are going to the zoo. Dylan is so excited. I am taking my camera, so I hope to have pictures to share next week. Have a good weekend.