Hidey-Holes

Parker and Meadow have a cute brother/sister tradition going on. They create little hidey-holes, peaceful reading meccas, behind chairs (Parker always supplies the lamp) and they quietly lounge around and read or sometimes we hear Parker pretend to be camping and involving Meadow the best he can. They do this independently also. When Parker is at preschool sometimes I will be starting a load of laundry and Meadow will wander into another room and if I ever can't find her, she is in her little mecca behind the chair, minus the lamp. Maybe this started because we have a basket of books sitting next to many chairs in the house. We love it and think they are pretty sweet!

There's no place like Home

Meadow really loves her shoes :)

Mr. Incredible Jr.

How nice are the people at Chick-fil-a?!

Not only did they hand out a red carnation to every woman who walked in the door on Valentines Day but they are compassionate and trusting in the drive through window! :) Today after rushing to get the children dressed and fed and Parker off to preschool, I discovered I was starving so Meadow and I went through the drive through only to realize that my debit and credit cards were sitting on the counter at home. So I got to the window and said, I don't have my cards with me, I'm sorry," hoping the order could be used for someone else. Maybe it was because I still resemble a battered woman, The man smiled and handed me the order and said "happens all the time, life is crazy, just come back whenever you can." I thanked him and said I didn't live far and as I pulled away had to resist a teensy urge to cry because he was just so kind! :)

"Be kind for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle-Plato."

Meadow is a little girl

Today at lunch I saw Parker really studying Meadow. When he saw me watching he said "Mom, is Meadow a baby?" I said "She is growing up isn't she?" Then he said "But I want her to stay a baby." I didn't say it, but I agree! :)

Husband Tag

I've been tagged by Cara. I agree Cara, I think tags are fun to do and it's fun to learn things about people that you didn't know! This one is all about the hubby.

Name?
Gregory

How Long have we been married?
8 Years! Holy smokes.

How long did we date?
A year and 1/2. I will skip to the stubborn question next because it is so fitting.

Who is the most stubborn?
That would be me.

How old is he?
33, 34 in July

Who eats more?
That would be me also. And this is not only when I'm pregnant.



Who said I love you first?
Greg. I remember right before we got engaged sitting in his room and talking about marriage and he said "Do you love me?" and I sat and thought and a smile involuntarily spread across my face and I said "Well, I can't say that I don't." (It was sort of a revelation to myself! I had refused to aknowledge it until then - too scary.) And to answer your question, yes, I know I am weird. :) After we were engaged I became much more open and said it lots so don't feel too sorry for him!! ;)

Who is smarter?
I think that is a crazy question.

Who does the laundry?
Mostly me, but Greg helps.

Who does the dishes?
I load and Greg unloads. It's a pretty good system.

Who pays bills?
I used to at the very beginning, but most of it is set up online now and Greg takes care of the rest.

Who has the most friends?
Greg I think, because he is better at keeping in touch with his. I am workin' on it!

Who sleeps on the right side of the bed. Me because it is furthest away from the door where the boogie man could come in. ;)

Who cooks dinner?
Most of the time I do, but Greg does sometimes, more on the weekends I think.

Who proposed?
Well this is an interesting story as well! Greg. This happened about a month after the previously stated marriage talk. The proposal started out as an ultimatum. hehehe. It is funny now and I don't blame him one bit. But I remember bieng SO mad and thinking it was so unfair. He had just picked me up to hang out at his house and then when we got inside he said we either had to move forward or stop dating. I said I am not ready to get married so I guess we'll have to stop dating. So he drove me back home then and there and when we got to my house he started to say "I am sorry it has to be like this" but before he could finish I got out and slammed the door. So we stopped dating for about 2 days and then I came to my senses. I called him and said yes. Then he dressed up and officially proposed at the office where I worked at the time. I had my own office and he came in and I thought he had to dress up for work that day or something until he kneeled down. It was very sweet. Then, later, when my actual wedding ring was finished getting made he picked me up for lunch and had it in his mouth and I was like, what are you eating? He had the craziest grin on his face so I had to pry his mouth open and get my wet slobbery ring :)



Who has more siblings?
Me. 3 Sisters, 3 Brothers. Greg is an only child so he thought my house was total chaos whenever he came over. I am sure it was. I remember once, he was playing with my brothers and wrestling them and he was astounded to find french fries in their bed. hahaha

Who drives when we're together?
Greg

Who wears the pants in the family? I will say Greg, but he will say me, especially when it comes to the kids. We try to make joint decisions...but if we disagree, most of the time I win ;)



Though the above events truly did happen...
Seriously, to quote Ben Fold Five...

I don't get many things right the first time
In fact, I am told that a lot
Now I know all the wrong turns, the stumbles and falls
Brought me here

And where was I before the day
That I first saw your lovely face?
Now I see it everyday
And I know

That I am
I am
I am
The luckiest

Who I am tagging: Ali and Mim

Special, Exciting, Star Wars Saturday

Greg has been telling Parker for the last month or so that when he turns 4, he gets to watch Star Wars "The New Hope." So today is the day and the boys are bunkered down on the coach in their pajamas. Maybe I'll go make them some popcorn ;)

Job Hazards

In 10 years of coaching gymnastics I have been whacked a few times, but yesterday took the cake! When it happened I was coaching the older team girls on floor. One gymnast had been learning a new tumbling pass on the tumble track (trampoline strip) and was good enough to do it on the floor onto a mat but she was scared to go and asked me to spot her. She was doing a front-handspring, front tuck. Gymnasts are now required to do one front tumbling pass on floor. Anyway, she went for it and instead of setting with her arms up she threw them out to the side and I got a good punch. Just one of those freak accidents. I definitely saw stars and had to sit down for a little while with a bag of frozen peas on my eye. (We keep those in a freezer at the gym for these occasions.) I have re-played it in my mind and wondered if there was anything I could have done differently besides just having her go by herself onto the mat. My boss jokingly said "next time, duck." 11 stitches later from a plastic surgeon on call, (hopefully the scar wont be too terrible.) I felt kind of like I had been in a boxing match and wondered why anyone would honestly want to be a boxer. Here are the before and afters.

I won't waste my time with that...

Meadow, 16 mos., walked into the pantry today and asked for a cookie. I got her one of those little Oreo style cookies that has a creme filling. She very adeptly opened the cookie, looked at both pieces, and then waddled over to the trash and threw away the half with no creme on it! It was hilarious.

"Levi"

While I was making lunch, Park found a rubber band, put it on his head and said "Look Mom, I look like Levi."

Me: Do you mean Lehi? Or Nephi?
Park: "Who's that guy that watches the King's sheep?"
Me: "Oh, Ammon."
Park: "Yeah, I look like Ammon, AND Levi."

Parker is 4!

Doesn't 4 sound so much more grown up than 3? We can't believe it and feel like Parker is turning into a "real live boy!" ;) We had a great day today. Parker woke up and we all sang to him first thing. Then we let him open family gifts. He had been asking for a "knight castle" ever since he saw one right after Christmas so he was so thrilled when he opened that. Then we went to Perkins with Grandma and Grandpa Winters and he got his favorite - Sausage patties with maple syrup to dip them in and french fries. Then while I made his wheat free cake he got to relax and watch his new movie Madagascar. After that we went to his birthday party at Apex Gymnastics with lots of friends and had tons of fun. (I think I want to be 4 on my next birthday.) Mom and Dad forgot to take pictures at the party, oops! (but we did get alot of video) and thankfully Uncle Neal took some pictures (Thanks Uncle Neal!) so I will post some once he e-mails them over.

Beautiful Brenna

Karissa and Neal had their second girl this morning! Brenna Jay Trussell was born at Wake Med around 9 am weighing 7 1/2 lbs. Mom and baby are doing great.

Cupid Update

Driving through down town Apex this afternoon to go to the grocery store, I was curious to see if the cupid was still there. He was not. As I suspected, he did not last long. A day and a half to be precise. We can remember with pictures.

Basket Tree Florist Cupid

I was on my way home from the gym bright and early this morning (Thanks Erika!) and I looked to my left and was amazed at the hilarious and strange mannequin outside the basket tree florist in Apex. (Imagine it even stranger than the picture though because it was still dark outside and the light on the ground was shining up on the mannequin.) So I brought my camera to drop Parker off at Preschool and on the way home snapped a picture so you could all see it as well. I am actually surprised that no one has made them take it down yet...

A Reprieve in the Weather

What a beautiful weekend! We took a drive up to Harris Lake to enjoy some sunshine and a little nature hike. Parker and Meadow are always excited to be outdoors and go on a hike. Parker reminded me as we pulled into the park that when we are in the woods we have to be careful and watch out for "Poison Ivan" (Ivy). Mental images of a poisonous, perhaps green tinted man named Ivan lurking in the woods gave Greg and I quite a few chuckles.

Parker also liked looking at the baby pine trees that were growing just off the trail. "Where is the mother?" he asked. I pointed up to a patch of towering pines and said probably one of these dropped a seed. After that he pointed to another tall pine tree and said "There is his Uncle."

Since it was Sunday, We stopped at a bench for a snack and talked about how we came to have the Book of Mormon, how the Book of Mormon and the Bible help us and teach us important things, and about the commandment written in the scriptures to Love one Another. Then we discussed how we can love each other and what it means to be a good friend. He seemed to be listening and answered all of our hypothetical questions correctly. After that we went to the playground and he remembered what we had talked about for about 8 minutes and then proceeded to be the boss of the tunnel and the tunnel was closed. Sigh...well at least he remembered for 8 minutes! And hopefully some seeds were planted that will grow into towering pine trees someday. Did I just write poetry? ;)

Snowy Day Fun

We enjoyed the brief snow a couple of weeks ago. Parker enjoyed trying to catch snow flakes on his tongue, building the world's smallest snow man, and having a snow ball fight. Also, sliding around on snowy cardboard in the back of a pickup is great fun for an almost 4 yr. old boy!