grounded.

bleh.

He's been crying for 30 minutes straight.
Sobbing hysterically.
Calming down until he remembers his horrible fate.
And he falls apart all over again.

My moms says it's as if I have a 14 year old girl in the background.
But it's just a five year old boy.
And he's broken-hearted.
He feels "mean and angry" inside.

Between the moans, he reminds me that the punishment is "just too much".
"I just can't take it!" he wails.
But I hold my ground.
And he remains...

Grounded.

From television.
For a day.

He was warned.
More than once.
But self-control eluded him.
Apparently, his rear end was just too funny.
After all, he referred to it at least seven times today as the punch line for his jokes.

He tried to negotiate.
He sacrificed gum and the gameboy for a week or more
If I would just reconsider the whole TV ban.
Unfortunately for my little briar rabbit,
I held my ground.

"But Mommy!" he started.
I stopped him short.
"No more Buts.
Or Butts.
Or TV."

He cried himself to sleep on our long ride home.
And I tucked him into bed without TV.
For one measly day.

bleh.

Hello to the grandparents in colder climates...

I've heard so many people lament the fact that it's hard to get into the holiday spirit when it's 80+ degrees outside in Florida. I can understand that... but it's all I've ever known, so I can do "Merry" while wearing flip flops and sunscreen.

I did, however, find it a bit humorous as I chased my toddler around the splash area at the local amusement park today. Maybe "It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas" being pumped through the speakers had something to do with the absurdity of it all.

How we do winter in Florida from mom2drew on Vimeo.

Untitled from mom2drew on Vimeo.

All the grandparents are in colder climates this Thanksgiving, and I'm guessing that it's already beginning to look a lot like Christmas in Alabama and Minnesota. So, this post is for Baba, Diado, Grandma & Grandpa - we're sending our warmest wishes your way. And we're so thankful to God for who you all are in our lives. We love you and we'll miss you all this week!

Six Weeks Later...

It's been approximately 6 weeks since Drew had his brain surgery. Time flies when you're trying to keep an active boy inactive.

Which is why Drew and I were SO excited as we drove to school Friday morning. Since he returned to class, his only limitation has been that he had to sit out of P.E. and recess until he returned from Thanksgiving break. But in a moment of generosity, I decided that the day before Thanksgiving break was close enough. I jotted out my permission on a scrap piece of paper. He clutched the note tightly in his hand and jumped out of the car.

"See ya, Mom!"

And ever since I signed my name to that little piece of paper, my son has gone from this:


To this:


I'm remembering the words of warning our surgeon gave us several months ago. About how he may become even MORE active once the Chiari Malformation was corrected.

Those telling words rang in my head when my son took a flying leap off the swingset at the playground this morning. They echoed as I watched him run sprints back and forth across our backyard for no reason at all.

As I sit here and type this post, he's running back and forth between my room (where his shows are on T.V.) and the living room (where I'm watching the Amazing Race), all while donning a pair of underpants on his head.

I'm exhausted just watching him for the past few days, and I shutter to think of what the next week of "vacation" from school holds.

Ah... If I only had superpowers of my own...

Did You Know?

Did you know that we actually own spoons? My daughter apparently thinks that the only way to sneak oatmeal from her cousin's bowl is by the fistful.

I caught her before she polished off the meal. But not before she left a 3 foot high trail of lumpy whole grains from the kitchen to the bathroom.


Did you know that I work very hard to set a good example of tidyness for my kids. "Everything has a place, everything in it's place", as my mom always says...




Did you know that there is not one single teenager living in this house?

Did you know that a dog could be as messy as a five-year old boy?

Did you know that a boy's defintion of cleaning up his S'mores ingredients is a whole lot different that his mom's instructions to clean up his S'mores ingredients before going outside to play?

Did you know that a dog can polish off an entire bag of marshmallows if they're not cleaned up properly?


Did you know that it only takes 3 pairs of undies, a copy of "Are You My Mother?" and a rubberband to make a mighty fine makeshift banjo...

Did you know that Miss M has recently grown slightly taller than my most recent baby-proofing preparations?

Did you know that Drew had a hard time finding his reading book tonight?

Did you know that, instead of reading, my son decided to throw his bouncy ball up against the wall?



Did you know that I've been putting my kids to bed a little early this week?

All He Wants For Christmas...

With the next one set to fall out by the end of this week, do you think I can convince him that 2 front teeth would be WAY more fun than a Wii???

Playing Dress Up

We knew it would be a weekend of playing dress-up. Obviously with Halloween on Sunday night, the majority of the population was in the mood for a little bit of costume fun. But our entire weekend was spent playing dress-up of some kind or another.

On Friday night, my family got together (brother's family, sister's family, parents, and all the grandkids) for a photo shoot at a nearby park. Although we haven't seen the pictures yet, we are really excited about capturing these "moments" on film. It was fun to dress up and coordinate the color scheme (I LOVE stuff like that), to see the baby girls all decked out in Christmas dresses and the boys with their hair combed - ha!

I'm so proud to call my family "mine". Each one of them sacrificed so much to attend a one-hour photo shoot. My dad, who can barely stand up any more for fear of passing out, made it through the whole thing... smiling (and sitting)! There were a few moments we were glad that we had to all squish in together tightly; it worked to help prop him up as well as make the picture look good! My brother's and sister's families made tremendous sacrifices to attend as well. I'm so grateful for the commitment everyone has to be there for eachother. They mean the world to me, and despite the short time I got to spend with them this weekend, it was precious time that I'll cherish.

On Saturday, as my husband was bringing the mail up from the mailbox, I noticed a white package in his hand. I was THRILLED to see the return address, knowing that THIS was inside the box (the outfit, not the baby...):

I was beyond excited to find this little number on etsy the other day!! My husband and I both attended Auburn University and are HUGE Tiger fans. It doesn't hurt that they're having such a great season, although based on Miss M's facial expressions as I took her picture, you'd think they had just lost their 7th game or something (Ahem... they are UNDEFEATED if you must know). Maybe she's just sad that we've never taken her to a game. Which is a crying shame, Miss M, I know!

On Sundays, we always play a little dress up for church, but this week, our sights were set on the dress-up that would follow a few hours later! Our church hosts a trunk or treat each year, and when I can, I like to volunteer to dress up our car and hand out treats. I'm a sucker for a "theme", so I was thrilled when the idea struck to dress my family as characters from the movie "UP".

With Drew's approval and enthusiasm, he and I spent the better part of last week creating our props. I was happy with how it turned out.

(The Car - with a colorful house and balloons tied to the roof rack, the car was transformed into the movie's main character)

(Drew as "Dug the talking dog" poses with a friend, whose mom is my great friend from Two Shades of Pink)


(I took on "Carl Fredricksen" and pose alongside "Dug" and "Kevin")


(And the best costume of our family was hands-down "Russell", played by Miss M)

(I still giggle every time I see these pictures!)

We had a ton of fun and got a ton of candy. And all that white hairspray came out of my hair in just 2 shampoo-ings!

It was a busy weekend, but I cherish the memories that were made during our dress-up days!