Christmas!!

Well, I guess compared to the illness and early morning fire of Christmas 2010, this one wasn't nearly as crazy!! We got to sleep in until the late hour of 3:45 am....woohoo!! The girls were so excited they just couldn't stand it, so we had all the presents opened by 4:30. It ended up being a blessing we got up so early, because around 6 am, we got a call from E's mom because Uncle Mac was really sick in the hospital, and Eric left to go be with his mom. I stayed behind with the girls, and explained to them about Uncle Mac. Melanie got all excited, got on my lap and said, "I am so glad that Uncle Mac gets to go see Jesus on his birthday!" Mom Mom and Papa came over that morning to help set up the girls' new tvs, and brought them dvd players to go with them.

We headed over to Grandma and Grandpa's, and even though everyone was sad about Uncle Mac, Melanie's sweet words made everyone feel a little better and we celebrated Christmas just like we always do. We went over to Mom Mom and Papa's for dinner, and it was so nice and relaxing!!

Phineas and Ferb Live!

As part of the girls' Christmas gift, we got them tickets to see Phineas and Ferb Live at Philips Arena. It was a surprise and they were so excited!! I love the Phineas hats they got!!

Pink Pig 2012!

We made our annual Pink Pig pilgrimage with the girlies this year....E and I rode with them once, and then our big girls rode all by themselves!! So cute!!

Melanie's Christmas Play

Our baby was the star of the show.....literally. Melanie was the Star of Bethlehem in the St. Michael's Preschool program! All the kids did a great job.....Melanie and her class sang "Jingle Bell Rock", "Do You Hear What I Hear?", "Behold that Star", and "Silent Night." They were SO CUTE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

I had to get on here and write before I forgot about our Santa experiences this year!! Saturday I took the girls to our neighborhood Christmas thing, where we got to see the big guy himself, Mr. Santa Claus! Melanie did great, asked Santa for a new bike, but Meredith was a lot more apprehensive. She wouldn't talk to him, but she did sit on Santa's lap with no issues. We got a very funny picture of her on Santa's lap!

Daddy had to go out of town this past weekend, so he didn't get to go see Santa with us, but he found a house right near our house that Santa goes to during the week. THAT was interesting! We actually just got back and the whole thing was so funny I had to write about it before I lost track of time. We get there and Meredith was adament she did not want to see Santa again. There were porch swings and Santa's golf cart that the kids could sit and play on, so we let them do all that. Unfortuantely, for the Santa house, they didn't realize what they were doing when they told the Rein girls they could do all that. So Melanie proceeded to somehow kick a portion of the bench clean off (luckily it was still usable), and Meredith was "driving" Santa's golf cart, she set off this LOUD alarm, making everyone jump and scared all the people there (it was reallllllly loud!!) Thankfully, the people there were awesome and they just laughed it off, even though I was mortified and Eric tried to get away from us so people wouldn't know he was with us! (He said since it was my look alike who did it, he didn't have to take the blame for it. :)

So we got in to see Santa, and Melanie hopped in his lap and told him what she wanted. Meredith wouldn't sit on his lap, so Santa said, "I bet Mommy will sit in my lap!" So I very carefully sat on Santa's knee, holding her carefully and making sure I was hardly putting any weight on Santa, and Eric snapped the most hilarious Santa picture I have ever seen....he looks like he is giving me a nasty look!! Maybe I have been bad this year?? :)
Seriously, though, he was super nice, and it was just really good timing on Eric's part and Santa making a face!

Thanksgiving

Usually around this time of year, I start thinking about all that I am thankful for and all of the blessings that God has given me, but this year it has really hit me a lot more often, and I am glad for that. I am glad about that because it is making me appreciate everything and everyone that we have in our lives, and it also makes me think, why? Why us? I see all the problems of the world, and it makes me realize that all of my problems are so miniscule compared to others. I'm afraid that I take for granted a lot of things, like living in this country, my husband having a good job, our family being healthy and safe, and our two precious, sweet babies. I have been trying this year to think everything through before I take it for granted. When I get sad about Melanie having Celiac disease and not being able to eat what her friends eat, and she can't have her Happy Meals anymore, I stop and I just thank God that all she has is Celiacs, because that is totally manageable, and I think about how I am glad that we caught it early. If I get nervous about thinking we don't have enough money, I think about everything that we do have, and if we have to cut back somewhere for a little bit, we aren't having to choose between paying utilities or eating one month. If I get upset at something that Congress or the President is doing, as annoying as it is, living in this country is still better than anywhere else in the world.

I don't know if I am expressing myself the way I want to, but I just wanted to say that this year I am thankful that I am more aware of everything in my life and everything that we have been blessed with. We have an amazing family and friends, a home, running cars, and our pantry is never empty. I also know that we did nothing to deserve this life that we have, and I thank God everyday for everything He has given us.

.....On a lighter note....I asked the girls what they are thankful for this year. Melanie said, "My family." Meredith thought about it for a second and said, "Bubble gum." :)

There's no way it's already Thanksgiving...

Well, it really didn't hit me until this morning when I didn't have to take Melanie to school this morning that it is the week of Thanksgiving! Where did this year go?

We decked the halls earlier today, and all that's missing is our Christmas tree, which will be here next weekend! It was so warm out today (I am sitting her with the fan on) I decided to get it all done. The girls are so excited for Christmas this year.

Meredith has been my little scaredy cat lately. Everything is scaring her...our Santa that climbs the ladder, Gary the Elf (who returned from the North Pole yesterday) and being away from me at all. I know one day I am going to miss her being all over me, and it doesn't bother me at all that she wants me, but I just worry about her being so scared and sad all the time all of a sudden.

She also has been super funny lately. Grandma Wesley moved down to my mom and dad's about a month ago, and so I try and get the girls over there to visit with her during the week. Her favorite show is Judge Judy, so now Mere is saying that is her favorite show, and she wants Judge Judy toys for Christmas....I hope she's not too disappointed when there aren't any Judge Judy toys under the tree!

Melanie had her Thanksgiving lunch at school. I had asked her if they were doing anything special, like wearing a costume or singing a song. She said no, so I didn't bring my video camera or anything. Luckily, I had my regular camera and got my little turkey marching in and singing her songs! She told me later that she "forgot they were doing something." Oh well, good to know for next year! Always make sure to bring the video camera!!

We also made our way up to Athens with the girls for a game earlier this month. We had such a blast and it was cold, so we moved over to the sunny section of the stadium, where the girls did our hair. So funny!!

I also haven't posted anything about Halloween....we had the cutest Rapunzel and ballerina EVER! They had fun and were so cute...the only issue we had was when someone was passing out million dollar bills with their candy as a joke and Melanie was VERY upset when she discovered they weren't real! They have already been discussing what they will be for next Halloween....Melanie is still undecided, and Meredith said she is either going to be Miss Piggy or Jason Segel. Really Mere?? I honestly don't know where she gets her material. She knows Jason Segel from the Muppets movie, which she has been ready to see ever since she saw the first preview months ago...we are taking her on Wednesday. :)

WELL, while I have been writing this, the girls have been outside jumping on the trampoline in their bathing suits. My neighbors already think I am crazy, but when they see my girls in bathing suits outside in November, they will think I am completely nuts!

Appletizers

The girls love to play in their kitchen, and they constantly make things for Eric and me. Lately, it's been tea and "appletizers."

I love having girls! I wish I could keep them this age for a long time!

Let's go, ladies!

This is what I say to the girls every morning when I am trying to get them out the door to get Melanie to school. So now, when Meredith wants to go somewhere, that's what she says to Melanie and me...."Le's go, ladies!"

Well, now, whenever Eric is out with us, it's a little different. Meredith looks at us and says, "Le's go, ladies.......and boy lady!"

SO CUTE!!!!

Lip Smackers

So I unintentionally started something bad with the girls....I introduced them to Lip Smackers. Now, I loved Lip Smackers when I was growing up and used to get them all the time, so on Saturday we went into what the girls call "the nail polish store" (Ulta) and came across Lip Smackers. Meredith had just accidentally ran into a closed door, so she was upset, and I thought that she needed a little treat. So the girls each picked out a flavor, and we were on our way. Well, Melanie decided it would be funny to start calling the Lip Smackers "Butt Smackers." Cute, right?

WELL.....Meredith thought this was just hilarious, so she decided to start calling it Butt Smackers, too....but in that little 3 year old voice of hers, where the words come out a little different than they really should...and she started calling it "Butt F***ers". I'm not making this up. I am also not making up the fact that when she got home, she smacked her daddy on the butt and said, "I'm f***ing your butt! F*** you in the butt!"

OH MY WORD! When I tried to correct her, she just started saying it more, and so I am trying to ignore it now, hoping she will stop saying it! Thank goodness she is not in school yet....but I do have to say, it is pretty darn funny hearing that come out of that sweet little mouth, especially since she has NO IDEA what she is saying!!

I just....want.....my hippo!!!!

Meredith woke up crying at 3 in the morning the other night, and she got her daddy to come comfort her. She was wandering down the hall looking for her hippo. Her hippo.....we found this little pink stuffed cow when I was cleaning out the playroom and she fell in love, so it goes everywhere with us now, and she thinks it's a hippo. So when she couldn't find it when she woke up, she went to Daddy and said, "I just....want....my hippo, Daddy!" So being the great Daddy that he is, at 3 a.m., he went downstairs on a hippo search. He was looking for about a half hour, and couldn't find the hippo anywhere. So we got her calmed down with a drink and back to sleep, and the next morning, still no sign of the hippo. Well, then Melanie comes downstairs, asks us what we are looking for, and then goes, "Oh. I put it in my purse last night!"

Crazy month!

I don't know where this month (or year for that matter!) has gone, but we are about 5 days away from Halloween! We have been busy with softball finishing up for the fall, ballet, swim lessons, and school, and now, of course, Halloween! Every day the girls wake up and ask me if it's Halloween yet, so they are ready. Meredith was going to be Rapunzel and then wear her Lightning McQueen costume over it, but now I think she just wants to be "Reepunzel" (as she calls it!) Melanie is making life easy on me and she is going to be a ballerina, wearing her recital costume from last year.

I have been busy this month trying to help my mom and dad get ready for my Grandma Wesley moving down here! I know it is going to be a lot of work, but I am excited that she is coming down here with us and she can see the girls more! I always feel bad that my grandparents don't get to see their great grandkids enough, and I am excited that the girls will get to know her a little better!

In true Peggy fashion, I am almost completely done Christmas shopping. I only have to finish up the girls' Christmas gifts and then I am done. I just hate going out shopping when it is so crowded and crazy!

And the last thing....it has been 4 YEARS since we found out that I was pregnant again! I said to Eric this morning that it had been 4 years already since we found out about Meredith, and he said, "No, it's been 4 years since we found out we were having a baby. There's no way in the world we could have known what we were getting with Meredith!" and then we looked at her, sitting at the kitchen table eating breakfast with her cute little dress and hairbows with curls, singing a song about pooping in her pants.

The waiter probably thinks we are crazy.....

So last night, we went out to dinner with the Wesley clan, and Melanie was very talkative to our waiter. When he came to the table, he said, "My name is so and so, and I'm going to be taking care of you tonight." Melanie looks at the guy and goes, "Uhh, we have parents to take care of us!" The guy didn't know what to say, so he asked us what we would like to drink. Melanie goes, "I would love a margarita!" At this point Mommy wanted to crawl under the table!!

Gluten Three

Melanie is so stinkin' cute....she has been doing so awesome on her gluten free diet since she got diagnosed with Celiacs, but she is still super paranoid about getting food with gluten. So everytime Melanie gets anything to eat, she looks at Eric and me and says, "Are you sure this is gluten three?" She has finally gotten the "th" sound down when she is talking, but she has gotten so good at it that the "th" is now taking over the words with the "f" sound! It's really cute when she is standing there and tells people that, "I am gluten three just like my mommy!"

Hot like Mexico...

This is one thing I have been meaning to write about all summer, but kept forgetting! As I have said before, my kids' taste in music is different from most other kids. Meredith picks up on specific lines in songs, and then uses them in everyday conversation. All summer, everytime someone said that it was hot outside, Meredith would look at us and say, "Is hot? Hot like Mexico?" from Lady Gaga's "Alejandro." Everytime the word "hot" was mentioned, that was Mere's response. So funny!!

A new song!

Last week, Melanie came home from school ALL EXCITED because she learned a brand new song! "Mommy, it's this really cute song about a spider." And she proceeds to begin singing "The itsy Bitsy Spider." My child is 5 years old, and didn't know the Itsy Bitsy Spider!! Thinking back on it, even before she was born, she didn't like traditional kid music. When I was pregnant, she rocked and rolled to "Ridin' Dirty", when she was first born, the only thing that would calm her down was Kenny Chesney, and as she got older, she could never tolerate kid music! She went from country music to all of the tween music that was played on Disney Channel, like Hannah Montana and the Jonas Brothers, and Taylor Swift! She listened to Taylor Swift so much when I was pregnant with Meredith that once she was born, the only thing that calmed her down was a little T. Swift! So because Melanie didn't like kid music, Meredith started off the same way!! In all honesty, the fact that they don't listen to normal kid music has probably saved my sanity over the last 5 years, but their teachers are going to think I am crazy when they find out what songs my kids don't know!!

The chicken plant

So, we live not too far away from a chicken plant. We don't smell it at our house (thank goodness) but sometimes we have to drive by it on our way home. Today, when Melanie and I were on her way home from her 5 year check up at the doctor, we drove home past the chicken plant. She is sitting in the back, and all of a sudden I hear, "EW! It stinks!" I responded and told her, "Yeah, honey, we are right by the chicken plant." The chicken plant has been a discussion in our car many times before, usually when somebody toots, so I just assumed that Melanie knew what a chicken plant was. She thought for about half a second, looked at me, and said, "I don't know why they plant those chicken bushes anyway. They really stink!"

I love this kid!!!

Football Brain

I often tell people that I have Mommy Brain, which is where I am so frazzled or out of it, that I either say something really off the wall or do something pretty crazy. I don't think dads get Daddy Brain, I prefer to call it Football Brain. This happens at the time of the year when summer is ending, and daddies haven't been to or seen a their team play in almost 9 months, and they just aren't thinking clearly and say and do stuff out of the ordinary.

Case in point, our kitchen, earlier this evening:

Eric had a bottle of Maker's Mark, and Melanie walks up and says, "Daddy, what is that?"

He replies, "It's bourbon, honey."

She asks, "Can I have some?"

He answers, "I don't think you can, because it's not gluten free."

At this point, Mommy steps in, saying, "No, you can NOT have any because you are ONLY 5 YEARS OLD!"

Eric just started laughing at himself because he didn't even think about that when she asked him! I love you honey, but you are as crazy as our girlies!!

Teacup Piggies

This is the new thing in our house! Melanie got a teacup piggy for her birthday, and Meredith fell in love! She would get the teacup piggy out of Melanie's bed while she was still sleeping and come downstairs and have a tea party with the piggy before Melanie would get up, so I took her to the store and let her pick out one of her own. This is what I found in my kitchen while she was napping....

F is for Family

Melanie's school work.....I love how she drew us, 2 with blue eyes and 2 with green eyes!

Oh Mere....

I can't believe I forgot to add this in! The other day we were running late for school, and Meredith was REFUSING to get dressed, so I wrestled her into a pair of girl pants and took her to the car! She screamed and thrashed, but I got Melanie to school on time. I had to go through carpool at church with a mostly naked baby in the back of the car, but by gosh, we made it on time! It has been nice though, because ever since that day, I haven't had any problems getting Meredith to get dressed in the mornings! Mom of the year right here, baby!

The Bus

My mom mobile has a new nickname....the BUS. It is now called the BUS because those are the 3 letters on my license plate. I went to go get the plate Monday, and that's what they pulled out. Eric has been teasing me about how big my car is, so the fact that I now have the word "BUS" written across my tail end is pretty funny!

Meredith-isms

Oh Meredith. Most everyone that knows our family knows that when I am getting into a story about what Meredith had done, they know they are in for a treat!

Here are a couple things from this summer that I have jotted down to write in here:

Her favorite song is still "Dynamite" but she changed the words depending on her mood:
"I put my fingers in my ears sometimes, saying aaaaaooooo, baby let's go" and "I fro my legs up in the air sometimes, saying aaaaaaoooo, baby let's go." She switches out different body parts and action words whenever she feels like it!

The kid can also toot on command. The one day we were visiting at Mom Mom's house, and she would toot, and every time we laughed, she would stop and toot, and we'd laugh again. She did this about 7 times, and then she was trying to toot again, and she couldn't, so she looked at us and said, "Sorry, I all out of gas!!!"

Oh, and this is great. If she ever wants to say a bad word, she will come up to me and say things like, "Mommy, my boyfriend say dammit. Ya hear me Mommy? He say dammit all the time. Dammit dammit dammit!"

She is one crazy kid!!

The proximity to the piggy

So, I have mentioned before that Eric started a new job at the beginning of the month, which is awesome and I am so incredibly happy for him and proud of him!

Here's what the girls were discussing in the backseat about Daddy's new job:

Melanie: "Well, when we go to see the piggy at Christmastime, is Daddy's new office closer or further away from the piggy?"

Me: "His new office is a little bit closer to the piggy."

Melanie: "Oh that's good. If he worked further away he would have to move jobs again because we need to be close to the pig."

Meredith: "No he don't. If he was far away, we just go without him."

All they were worried about with Eric's new office was the proximity to the pink pig at Christmastime! My wish for them is that they never have any bigger problems in life than how far they are from the piggy!

Ghosts

Meredith: "Daddy, you can't go to work yet because it's still nighttime."

Eric: "It's not nighttime, it's daytime now."

Meredith: "Ok, you can leave for work now because it is day, and the ghosts are only out at night."

Where did we get this kid from? And where did she get that idea from??? I love her.....

My baby girl is 5!!!

We had a few big things happen in August....Eric started a new job, Melanie started school, and now she is 5 years old! Where did the last 5 years of our lives go?

I will tell you where they went....they went to taking care of a precious little newborn who refused to sleep unless she was laying on top of her mommy or her daddy every night for the first 6 weeks. They went to the baby who made us stand up and bounce her for hours every day, and bounce her in the bouncy seat many, many nights while we were half asleep in bed. They went to the baby who started screaming bloody murder while she was on her play mat in the family room while I was cooking dinner, scaring me, and me running into the room to find out the only reason she was screaming was because she was pulling her own hair, and to the baby who, when I told her she was a princess, stretched and put up both of her middle fingers at me. This was also the same baby who lived in the Snugli on my chest for the first 3 months of her life! Every day when I had to clean or do laundry, she wouldn't let me put her down so I strapped her in the Snugli and went to work! The years went to the 3 month old who went on a hunger strike when Mommy went back to work, refusing to eat anything all day long unless Mommy nursed her...to the point where Mom Mom would have to drive from Holly Springs to Alpharetta every day at planning so I could feed her, and to the baby who refused to eat any kind of baby food. That baby turned into a toddler who got in to everything, full of personality and delight, and she was the center of our world, even upsetting Mommy at the playground when the big kids weren't being nice. She, of course, was oblivious to it all, standing there with her Elmo sippy cup and animal crackers, but I wasn't (and you don't mess with my babies! Mommy took care of that situation!!) The years went with millions of hugs and kisses, and when that toddler became a big sister, she really came into her own, and her baby sister is the luckiest girl I know to have a big sister like her. These 5 years went to play groups and tumble tots, tea parties, dress up, baby dolls (many, many, MANY baby dolls!!) softball, swimming, playing games and lots and lots of snuggles at night. Now she is 5 years old, in school, and she is our pride and joy. Melanie makes us laugh, and cry, and get furiously mad, and I wouldn't trade any second of the last 5 years for anything in the world. Melanie is an amazing little girl, and even though I will miss her being little, I can't wait to see the incredible person she is already becoming! We are the most blessed parents ever with our two precious little girls, and Melanie has set the bar super high!

Now that I have written my peace, I wanted to do a run down of her special day! She woke up all excited and got dressed in her Eiffel Tower shirt and vest, and sparkle pants. I dropped her off at school, and Meredith and I went up later and brought her class some Fruity Pebble treats, and we got to sing Happy Birthday with her class. We picked her up early and met Daddy for lunch at Papasito's, where Melanie got her strawberry margarita, and the waiters and waitresses came out and sang to her while she had to wear a sombrero (she was NOT happy with Daddy for letting the waitress know it was her birthday!)

We came home and relaxed for a bit, and then the Wesley clan made their way over for the celebration. We ate meatloaf and green beans (at the birthday girl's request) and then opened presents, then headed to the pool, Melanie's favorite place in the world! We sang and at cake up there, and then went home, where the birthday girl started to get upset because her birthday was almost over, and that meant it was almost baby Jesus' birthday, and that meant winter and the pool would be closing. Poor kid, she is so sweet!!

We did her birthday celebration with the Reins the Saturday before, by going to Stone Mountain for the laser show! And then the Friday after her birthday, we got to celebrate at the pool for a "Pink Poodle in Paris Pool Party" with all of Melanie's neighborhood friends. At the end of the night, Melanie looked at me and said, "Thank you Mommy, for making my birthday so special!" I started to cry....what 5 year old thanks their mommy for their birthday? She is one super special kid, and I am so glad she is ours!

Puerto Rico!!

I know I mentioned our trip to Puerto Rico before, but I figured I would elaborate because it was such an awesome trip!! Eric had won a trip to the Ritz Carlton in San Juan through the Cobb Chamber of Commerce for the 2 of us, so we left the girls with Mom Mom and we were off! The day we got there we just kind of lounged around the hotel waiting for our room to be ready, and then we went out for dinner with some new friends from the group, and the food was awesome. It was so easy for me to eat down there because it was all rice and beans and corn, which means gluten free. Woohoo!!

Anyway, our second day there was our busy day where we did the rainforest tour, another beach, and the bioluminescence (I have no idea how to spell that) kayak tour. The rainforest was great, we had a crazy yet hilarious tour guide named Gina, and Eric went swimming underneath the waterfalls (too cold for me!) Then we hung out at the beach, and found a bar with amazing pina coladas and we played pool until it was time to go to the kayak tour, which I was most excited about, but was sadly the most disappointing, awful part of our trip. I had never been kayaking before, but E had and we were in a two person kayak, so we were fine. For about 5 minutes. Then he started to feel sick, so I had to do a lot more of the kayaking than I was planning on. To get to the bio bay, you have to go single file in a kayak through a canal that was surrounding by tree roots sticking out and for someone who doesn't understand left and right very well, it was difficult. But we made it through with enough light left to get through the bay. So me, being directionally challeneged, Eric being sick and now, since it was dark, night blind, the other people in the group were avoiding us like the plague. So then it was time to see the bio bay light up. Yeah, I could have had Meredith throw teeny tiny silver glitter in the water and it would have been about the same. Eric couldn't even see it. So then, we had to go back, single file through the canal, in the PITCH BLACK. Oh, wait, not the pitch black....the kayaks each had a small glow stick attached to them, so that helped us see....yeah, right. Eric was trying to help me, and ended up slapping someone in the face with his paddle. Then me, with my direction issues, kept steering us into tree roots. (It's really kind of amazing we both still have both of our eyes). Then there is some girl stuck in the trees screaming, "We're all gonna die!" Finally the kayak guide took pity on us and towed us in. Then we were done for the day and we both went back to the hotel and passed out.

The next day was my kind of day. Beach, pool, beach, pool, etc. etc. Then we took a cab into Old San Juan with our new friends, Robin and Eric, to walk around a little bit and have dinner at this place called Barrachina, where we had really good paella and the most incredible pina colada and passion fruit mojitos.

Next day was more beach, pool, beach, pool, and then packing up to go home the next day! On Thursday, we got up early and beat Jeremiah out there(that was what we called all of the people at the Ritz who set up all the chairs and basically did everything for you. He was one guy we always saw, and he looked like a Puerto Rican Jonas.) We went swimming, walked down the beach, got stuck in a rain shower, and then took one last dip in the pool before checking out.

We got home that night, got our girlies, and went home. E didn't have to go to work the next day, but Mom was definitely off vacation because I woke up to Meredith without any shorts on asking me to wipe her butt because she pooped. It's a good thing they are cute!!