The Clingy Stage...

Addison has been really clingly with me lately.  I'm sure it is just a stage that she is going through because I remember Katie going through the same thing when she was younger.  When I am at home with Addi, she just wants ME to do everything for her--no one else can do anything for her except Momma--that includes bathing her, holding her, working puzzles, changing her diapers, laying down with her for naptime or bedtime--EVERYTHING!  While I am loving all of the attention, it can be exhausting when no one else can do anything for her!!  Again, I know it is a stage but I also know it probably hurts Craig's feelings a little bit too that she wants me for everything.  It is a good thing though that she is clingy to me and not Craig though because it would totally break my heart if my baby girl wanted her daddy to do everything for her and not me!  He knows she loves her daddy though, so I don't think it bothers him too much.  Thank goodness dads aren't as sensitive as mommies are!

Here she is last Sunday morning before church.  It was rainy outside so daddy let her play outside in the puddles with her rain boots and umbrella (while I was getting ready)!

Happy 4th!

We had a great 4th of July!  It was kind of different that it fell in the middle of the week this year but we made the most of being off that day and went out on the boat at Herrington.  We were afraid that the lake would be terribly crowded but that wasn't the case at all!  Shame on me--I forgot my camera and so only have a few pictures from the day that were taken from Austin's iphone.  The kids had a blast on the tube and we made a few stops to jump in and swim to cool off.  Of course, we also made the trip to the candy dock too which is always a must for the kids!

My little dare-devil!

This is the bathing suit that Addi picked out to wear to the lake today!  HA!

That night, we all headed over to the Bartram's for a cook-out and swim!  Great food with great family.  It was a very busy but fun day!

I bought a few sparklers and some snap and pops and that was the extent of our fireworks this year!  The kids liked them though (don't you love their hand shields)!

I am also attaching some cute pics of out littly missy's patriotic digs!

I think the sun must have been too bright!

Happy 4th!

Random Pics...

These are just some random pictures from the past week!

Swimming at Aunt Lisa's pool!

Austin and Addi being silly!

Needing a lift...

I think we all sometimes have times in our lives when we feel like we just don't have it all together--like we are totally failing at the balancing act of life.  As a working mother, I definitely feel like that a lot.  I feel like the precious time that I have at nights with my family are consumed with things that aren't that important--like dishes and laundry.  We seldom watch TV and do try to spend as much time outside playing as we can. 


But take last night for example, I felt like I had to discipline Addison for a good part of the night.  She is a great child and normally doesn't get into too much trouble but I really think she hadn't had enough sleep Wednesday night which made for a bad night Thursday night at home.  I hate it when nights go like that but I know as her parents, it is our responsibility to teach her what behaviors are not acceptable.


I found this poem and wanted to share because it makes me feel a little bit better about the anxiety I sometimes feel when thinking about all of the things that need to be done at home.

Today I left some dishes dirty,

The bed got made around 3:30.

The diapers soaked a little longer,

The odor grew a little stronger.

The crumbs I spilled the day before,

Are staring at me from the floor.

The fingerprints there on the wall,

Will likely be there till next fall.

The dirty streaks on those windowpanes

Will still be there next time it rains.

Shame on you, you sit and say,

Just what did you do today?

I held a baby till she slept,

I held a toddler while he wept.

I played a game of hide and seek,

I squeezed a toy so it would squeak.

I pulled a wagon, sang a song,

Taught a child right from wrong.

What did I do this whole day through?

Not much that shows, I guess that's true.

Unless you think that what I've done,

Might be important to someone

With deep green eyes and soft brown hair,

If that is true... I've done my share.

· 

Holiday World!

It had been a rough week with my dad in the hospital from Tuesday to Saturday...  It started with a simple nose bleed but the nose bleed wouldn't stop so dad took himself to the ER (yay Dad) and ended up being ambulanced to Central Baptist Hospital.  His platelet count was in the 30K range and was supposed to be between 150K and 400K.  To make a long story short, after numerous tests it seems that maybe it was just an infection attacking his blood.  They were concerned that he could have leukemia but after checking his bone marrow, that was ruled out thankfully.  Several other cancers were also ruled out and it seems to be a bit of a mystery still.  We are just very thankful that he seems to be on the mend.

After feeling relieved that Dad was out of the hospital, we took our trip to Holiday World on Sunday (we had originally planned to go on Wednesday).  That place is F-A-B-U-L-O-U-S!  I can't wait to go back!  We spent 9 hours at the park--3 hours riding rides and then 6 hours at the water park and the time flew by!

My sister's family went with us and the kids had a BLAST.  The guys (Craig, Randy, and Austin) did a lot of the bigger water slides while Lyndi and I stayed in kiddie land with the kids.  That was fine with me though.  I still had so much fun!  Lyndi and I did get to ride some of the bigger water slides later in the day while the guys took care of the kiddos.  It was just a blast!  I definitely want to go back before summer ends!

Addi slept the whole car ride home--it was the best kind of exhaustion! 

Honking the Indian's nose, lol!

Asleep before we could get to the car--on our way out!