Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Hudson Pees on the Potty!

So, lately, when Hudson and Alden take a bath at my parents' house, he has been peeing in the tub. And I mean, really, can you blame him? That warm water will trigger it in you.

We usually let him sit on the potty for a little bit before he gets in the tub, and a few nights ago, he actually peed in the potty! But, then, he pooped in the tub, which neither of the kids have EVER done. Yuck. I am thankful that I wasn't there for that...sorry, Auntie Amber.

Tonight, I am working and Matt said that at the end of the bath, when the water was almost drained out, Hudson was standing up in the tub and starting to pee. Matt says, "Wait! Stop! Go in the potty!" and picks Hudson up, wraps him in a towel and sits him on the little potty. Alden grabbed a book, and what do you know...He peed in the potty! Hooray!

Now, I guess we need to get serious about the potty training. I am a little nervous about potty training a boy, but he seems to be interested at least, which is better than Alden when she started.

It is 12:50...I should really be in bed. I am thankful that this is my only night shift for the 6 weeks.

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Labor Day Weekend

This past weekend, we really tried to fit a lot in. Saturday, Matt had a study day, so the kids and I went to the Y, and then to the dressage show at the fairgrounds. We made it just in time to see Dawn, my trainer, and her horse do their second level test. As usual, we only lasted about 25 minutes at the show, but the kids were very well behaved, speaking quietly and not running around the horses, so I call that success.While the kids were napping, I was able to ride Phoenix, and give him a bath. Then, we went to my parents for dinner. It was supposed to be a date night for Matt and I, but our plans to watch a DVD kind of fell through and we went to bed at 9:45.

Sunday, I taught kindergarten Sunday School and Matt did his usual combo of youth and college classes. The kids and I went with my parents to Uncle John's house to celebrate Nana's 90th birthday, which was on the 1st. Nana is just so amazing. She is a lovely, servant-hearted woman and I can't believe all that she does and all the people she cares for. She is definitely one of my heroes!
I mean, how many ninety year olds are doing high-kicks on a pool float???
We also called Nana's sister, Auntie Cornelia, because she turned 94 that day. She would have been right in the middle of the kick line if she wasn't in California!John - taking a break from his MC/DJ responsibilities to do some grilling.

The kids had a great time in John and Linda's pool, and looking at the tractors and dump trucks. It was so good to see everyone and have a chance to spend time as a family before Nana's big extravaganza party at the History Museum next weekend.Hudson asking,"Where is George?" The cat...that Uncle John bowled into the pool...and who spent most of the afternoon hiding under the sweet potatoes.
Hudson closed himself up in the wine cellar and was pretending to be in jail.

The kids finally fell asleep in the car after we were more than halfway home. We stopped to let my parents off at their house, and both of them woke up screaming, and continued to scream all the way home, through their bath time, and into their beds. Phew.

The next day, Matt spent with us after having two days in a row to catch up on school work. We went to the pool and had a picnic since it was the last day of the season. We read some during naps and had dinner again at Bebe and Pop pop's. It is cute that Hudson is starting to call my mom "Gaga" sometimes. Now we can refer to her as "Bebe Gaga".

First Day of School!

Alden and Hudson had their first days of school today. Alden's new class is called the Superstars, and her teacher's are Mrs. Neri and Mrs. Turner. They had a short day today, but from what she told me, they "went to music, ate snack...ring cookies and I don't like ring cookies, only chocolate chip, had circle time and calendar time, read The Kissing Hand, and did a craft." Whew. She ran out of class and asked when she could come back, so I guess things went ok. However, as we were leaving, she got kind of sad, and I asked her what was wrong. "I didn't want to share," she said. (SHOCKER) I asked her what her teacher said or if she had a time-out, but all she said was that her teacher told her to share. MAYBE by the time the child goes to kindergarten she will have caught on to the sharing thing. But, in a way, I can't blame her too much. I don't like to share either.Here is Alden on her last day of 3's in May.And from her first day of 3's a year ago. She has grown so much!
Hudson is in the Rainbow Kid class with Mrs. Leonard and Mrs. Gregory. Alden was also in their class, so they seem like old friends. Hudson and I had to kill about 30 minutes before and after his class since Alden started at at different time. We walked around and looked at books, and he was actually jumping down the hallway when it was his turn to go to class. Mrs. Leonard took him in and she said he just got right into playing with the toys and acted like he had been doing this all his life. When I went to get him, he was so excited to show me the bristle blocks and alphabet blocks. He had such a great time.

"BLOCKS!!!" "BIG BLOCKS!"
New Friend


And since I did it with Alden, here is a shot from Hudson last year...even though he wasn't in school.I used my first hour of free time to get a hair cut. I am hoping that once they are on the full schedule, that I will have a couple hours to get to the barn or to the Y. Yay! I feel like I have been waiting for this year for a long time!

We met Matt for lunch at CFA, and the kids had an early nap since Armen and Lucy were coming over. They got into Alden's dress-ups and at one point, they were all running around the house in princess dresses. Where was my camera?!?!?

** As usual there are more pictures of Hudson because he will still smile at the camera and not run away.

Friday, September 3, 2010

Lots of Change

This summer, we lost all the videos on our F: Drive when the computer crashed. Since the beginning of August when we went to Ohio, our computer has been in the shop and we haven't had one at the house. Well, I haven't. Amber graciously has loaned Matt her laptop, but he is on it ALL the time. There has not been much opportunity for blogging around here.

Not to say that there hasn't been anything going on. Actually, things are quite different. On Monday, August 16th, Matt was supposed to go to orientation at Southeastern. We still weren't sure if he was going to be able to go for sure, but that morning, the Youth Director called and wanted to meet. He officially offered Matt a part-time internship that enabled him to quit his other part-time job, and to really pursue school. So, he went that afternoon to orientation and I went up for the spouse meeting that night. The next day, he registered for classes and he started on Thursday. What a whirlwind that week was!

God has taken us on quite a journey these past four years. It is hard to believe that it has been a year and a half since Matt lost his job here. There has been so much uncertainty, and although we have tried to be positive and trust in the Lord, the black cloud of unemployment was always there, hanging over our heads. God has continually provided for us, and has blessed Matt with the grants and scholarships to cover his school and books. Our living expenses were what we were up in the air about, but with his internship, and if I continue to work, we can make it happen. I have to admit that I am not thrilled about the prospect of continuing in my job for three more years, but it is paying our insurance, and who knows, maybe another opportunity will present itself. In the big picture, it really doesn't matter, because it is just so good to be on a path to something, and to know that we are here for 3 more years, and just to feel like things are a little more concrete after years of uncertainty.

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Snow Family Reunion

It seems like June was completely dominated by our trip to the beach. Nana's side of the family, the Snows, had a reunion in Atlantic Beach over the weekend of the 12th. We caravaned down with Bebe and Pop pop, stopping at the outlets in Smithfield for new Crocs, Cars Jibbitz for Hudson and princess Jibbitz for Alden. Of course, when you are in Smithfield, you must eat at Smithfield BBQ.

We got to the hotel and had about an hour for the kids to get in the pool before we went to a cookout at my dad's cousin Glenn's house. He and his wife, Connie, just built this great house a couple years ago, right on the sound. It was a lovely location, and they put on quite a BBQ for everyone. BBQ twice in one day...does it get better? Alden was a little leary about seeing the whole pig on the smoker, though.
Everyone had a great time visiting, playing cornhole, and running around the yard. Glenn pulled up some of his crab traps, and the kids got to see some crabs, shrimp, and fish, and Cousin Ron kindly instructed us on differentiating between male and female crabs.
The next morning, we had breakfast at the hotel and went to the beach. Our animal adventures continued when we found a pretty big hermit crab just hanging out in the shallow water. Both of the kids were so excited about the ocean, and they had a great time out in the "deep waves" with us. Vickie and her boys came out for a while, and my cousin Lori and her son and daughter. Alden and Kate had fun running around together. The last time we had seen them, they were not even one yet!
We had a little bit of time at the pool, and we all tried to take naps. Alden and Hudson sharing a bed didn't quite work out as planned. Alden and I ended up together and Hudson and Matt bunked up.

The kids were enthralled with the golf course outside the hotel...and the geese in the pond. Glenn and Connie had arranged for all of us to have dinner at a restaurant on the sound, which was a perfect place. There was a lawn outside for the kids to run around, and a dock they could walk on and look at the boats. The food was outstanding, and the pastry chef had made us a fantastic cake for the occasion.
Sunday morning, we enjoyed a leisurely breakfast and some good visiting time with Nana, Kitty Scott and Dickie before packing up and going to the aquarium. Alden had been excited about going FOREVER. Basically since she knew what a shark was and that there were some in the aquarium. We spent the morning at the aquarium with Dillon, Vickie and Mario. Hudson decided that Dillon was his new best friend and would not let him out of his sight. Dillon and Matt had a great time goofing around and checking out all the creatures. Hudson was really brave and wanted to touch the rays and skates, and horseshoe crabs in the tanks. Alden was a little more cautious and preferred to climb on the gigantic frogs. Both kids enjoyed seeing the sharks and otters.

Do crabs have passys?
Hudson enjoyed playing a game with Vickie's glasses.From the aquarium, we left the beach and stopped for lunch at McDonalds (or "Old McDonalds" as Alden calls it) and headed south to Ocean Isle Beach where we were going to spend the next week with my parents and sisters. Luckily, both kids slept most of the way.