Georgia Football

For my husband... it's not just a game, it's a way of life.

A few weeks ago I posted about Stephens adventures of tailgating and the massive amount of work that went into going to the Georgia game. This weekend I was able to experience it with him and I have to say... it was really fun.

I have been to Georgia games before... last season we went to almost all of the home games but we didnt do the whole "tailgating" experience. This week Georgia played Arizona State at 7pm. We left the house at 10:00am to get set up. It was raining but apparently Georgia fans are very serious about this stuff and nobody seemed to care... we set up anyway. I was able to meet some of the wives of the guys Stephen works with and it was nice to relax without the kids for the day. It actually stopped raining for most of the day until it was time to walk to the stadium for the game and it was a monsoon!!!! I was soaking wet by the time we got the stadium. It was cold, I was wet, but the game was great, the atmosphere was awesome, we had a blast and the Dawgs won!!!

Before this season started I wasnt really sure I wanted to go to very many games but after this weekend I am really looking forward to more. GO DAWGS!!!!


This picture doesnt do our "setup" justice. We had to put the TV in the back of my Expedition to protect it from the rain but we had a grill and TONS of food. I of course forgot my camera so this was taken with Stephens cell phone.

Fun Fact Friday

I thought it would be fun to document some of the funny/weird things my kids love to eat. I know every kid has their weird things they like but its always funny to compare.

Reagan love Ramen Noodles. I think it started when I was pregnant with Brody and I was craving them (of all the things to crave) and so she calls the "Mommy Noodles". She also loves garbazo beans which I have always thought was a little strange.

Brody LOVES avacados with lime juice and garlic salt on them. He goes crazy over them. He also loves black beans and chips and salsa. He is in heaven at the mexican restraunt because he gets to eat his chips and salsa and bleck beans. He wont eat the white cheese dip (which is what most kids love I think) but I have to get him his own little bowl of salsa so he can dip his chips.

I am sure there is a laundry list of weird things my kids have liked but these are the current ones... at least they are somewhat healthy right (except the Ramen Noodles).

Fancy Nancy

If you have a little girl you must get these books. Reagan is IN LOVE with them. They are the cutest most fun books to read. They are all about a little girl that loves being fancy... she loves all things french and uses fancy words like exquisit and ellegant. She loves tutus, boas, and lots of accessories. I actually heard Reagan telling her stuffed animal the other day that "This tea is exquisit" while she was wearing ballet slippers, a crown and a "Fancy Nancy" tutu. We have read them so much that Reagan now reads them to me (and she gets pretty spot on with the story). They are so cute!!!

Rain rain go away....

Today it rained....again, for the 8th day in a row. I am so tired of rain I could scream. But today I decided to make the best of it. Stephen told me this morning not to go anywhere because the roads were so bad that our main interstate was SHUT DOWN this morning and roads were flooding all over the place so I decided to have a Rainy Day Party with my kids. What does that entail you ask... whatever you want it to. For us it involved painting (rainbows and sunshines of course), making a big tent in the living room with all our pillows and stuffed animals, making raindrops (blue cupcakes) and decorating them, watching a movie (or two or three) and playing in the rain and looking for frogs. We ended up having a neighbor friend come over and join in the festivities. It was a fun day but for the love of all things could it please stop raining!!!!

Our party banner
Making cupcakes or raindrops as we were calling them. I realized after I told Reagan we could make them that I didnt have any eggs so I had to walk over to the neighbors house, in the rain, to borrow 3 eggs (Thanks Candy).

A little blue food coloring to make our "raindrops"... they actually were a little teal colored but you get the idea.

Our raincloud hanging from the light in our family room. After I hung it up Reagan informed me that rain comes from black clouds not white ones.

Brody eating his blue/green raindrop (or cupcake)

This is Reagan masterpiece. Needless to say she did not eat these but it occupied her and her friend Averi for about 45 minutes.

Reagan ate more sprinles than cupcake I think. At one point Susan and I looked at the girls and they looked like they were doing shots of sprinkles... they both had their heads thrown back with sprinkle bottles in their hands trying to shake out as many as they could into their mouth.

Reagan and her friend Averi decorating their raindrops (cupcakes)

Unfortunately the forecast for the rest of the week is not looking so promising. It's kind of crazy around here. Schools are closed, major highways are shutdown, basements flooding all over the place (not ours thankfully). Stephens phone has been ringing off the hook. His company is out of equipment they have had so many calls today and last I talked to him, it wasnt letting up any. In fact he just called me and told me that he didnt think he would be coming home at all... 3 major interstates are shut down and he doesnt know that he can make it home. This might make for a LONG week.

Look what Brody learned how to do....

This is the makings of a full-on temper tantrum. Up until now he has never had one but boy did he surprise me when he did. I was pretty impressed =) This was in the middle of the mall when he didnt get to ride the train right away... and yes, I was one of "those moms" that just let her child pitch a fit in the floor of the mall.

Rainy Weekend

My mom and sister came into town this weekend with hopes of going to the Gwinnett County fair. My mom and I had taken Reagan last year and she really enjoyed it but unfortunately it was raining so much we werent able to go. We decided to make the best of the weekend anyway and still managed to do some fun things.

Reagan did one of those bungy jumping things at the mall. I was a little surprised that she had no reservations at all and talked about it for the rest of the day.

Reagan and Damian riding on the train in the mall. Damian wasn't very happy so he didn't want to look at the camera. He fell out of the bed that morning and cracked his head open so that kind of established what kind of day he was having (poor guy).

Me Reagan and Brody on the train.

After we went home and got naps we headed over to my brothers house for a yummy dinner. Then we hung around and let the kids play with eachother. Thanks Ryan and Brindi for having us over. (This is like our 5th attempt at getting a picture of all the grandkids together... its the best we have gotten so far and they arent wearing any clothes.)

Reagan talked about the bungy thing so much that we decided to take her back on Sunday and let her do it again. She had just as much fun the second time around.

Despite the rain it was a fun weekend. It's always fun to see my family and its really neat to see Reagan and Damian becoming better friends. It seems like every time we see eachother they play together better than the time before. Me and Megan are waiting for the day we can just send them out in the yard on their own and play so we can actually talk. =)

Life Lessons

Today Reagan learned a hard life-lesson. We had gone to the mall so that Reagan could go to Build-A-Bear and make a bear. I started this new reward program when she started school where she get these little glass beads when she gets a green light at school or helps out around the house. She finally filled up her jar and builing a bear at Build-A-Bear is what she wanted to do. So off I trecked to the mall with both kids in tow (that was probably my first mistake of the day) and decided that while I was there I would make a few stops, nothing major just run in, grab something and get out. Well that is exactly what Reagan did.... except that we didnt pay for her something.
We were in the Disney store picking up one little thing for Brody and the line was going really slow. Reagan was touching everything and I was telling her to put it down. She kept picking up this water bottle thing and I kept telling her we werent buying it. We finally paid and got out of there. Our next stop was to run in and grab a pair of jeans for Brody at Gymboree. I had a coupon that was about to expire and wanted to make sure to use it. While I was looking for the right size I saw Reagan putting stuff from my purse into her bag including my wallet, so I quickly went over there and told her she couldnt play with my wallet, and thats when I saw it. The water bottle thing that she had been eyeing at the Disney store. I immediately asked her if she took it and she said she did. Then I had to sit down in the middle of a busy Gymboree and explain to her we dont take thing we havent paid for. She was upset and wouldn't look at me... she knew she had dome something wrong.
Then we went back to the Disney store and waited in another long line (they really need to get more help at that store) and when it was our turn I walked up, set Reagan on the counter and told her she needed to tell the lady what she did. For some reason I felt like I was fighting back tears as I watched my daughter... for one of the first times ever, do something that was really hard and embarrassing for her. She handed the lady the water bottle and said "I took this" the whole time she wouldnt even look at the lady behind the register (who was a sweet older lady that was obviously very sympathetic to this situation.) Then she said she was sorry and she wouldnt take things without paying for them ever again. The lady thanked her and told her to have a good day and then looked at me as I mouthed "Thank you" to her and she winked at me.
She was a little quiet for a few minutes after that and when we got to the car I told her I loved her and reiterated the idea that we dont take things that we havent paid for. I asked her if she understood and without missing a beat she said "Yes Ma'am" (which she usually only says without being prompted when she is in trouble). I know this is the first of many life lessons she will experience but unfortunately I know it will not be the hardest...

Fun Fact Friday

Reagan: Reagan has become a master at knowing her letters. We worked really hard this summer at recognizing her letters and she knows them all. Now she has become very interested in what everything starts with, especially everyones names. She hasnt quite gotten the sounds for all the letters yet but that is what we are working on now. She is also really wanting to learn to write the letters and is actually starting to get a few. It's really cute because whenever people would ask her name, because she would talk softly and mumble a little bit people always thought she was saying "Megan" so now when people ask her name she says "It's Reagan with an "R."

Brody: Brody's vocabulary has really started to come into its own. Granted they are still words that I can only understand but his most recent one is "Thank You." Whenever he wants something and then I give it to him he says "Thank You"... again, its probably not something anyone else would know was thank you if they heard it but its the same everytime so I know thats what it is. Some of his other favorites are Bye-Bye, Night-Night, Juice, Shoes, Outside, Horse, Dog, Book, Tub, Mommy, and Daddy. He has yet to come up with a word for Reagan. It's so fun when they start talking and can express themselves a little better.

Brody at Gymboree

Here are a few pictures I took while we were at Gymboree today. Brody loves it but he definitely does what he wants... there is no convincing him to do the "group activity" if he doesnt like it. Wonder where he gets that from?

Here he is doing his "Yeehaww" that he always does when he gets on a horse.


We are having lots of fun and today our Gymboree moved to a bigger building so there is even more room for him to run around and be crazy. He loves bubble time but doesnt really like the parachute... funny because Reagan didnt really like that either.

Why I Love Reagan

I was drawing (and I use the term drawing very loosely) with Reagan this afternoon and she asked me to draw a wolf. Now where she came up with a wolf to begin with is beyond me... I can do cats, dogs, ladybugs, monkeys... not a whole lot more. My sister got all the drawing talent... her little boy's doodle pad is filed with all kinds of creatures. But trying to be a good sport, I make what would be considered a 1st graders attempt at a wolf. It was horrible... it was embarrassing... and without missing a beat Reagan looks at me and says, "Mommy that's the best wolf I ever seen!" Thank you Reagan for loving me despite my handicap in the drawing department. Now if only I can keep her from looking at Damians doodle pad....

Yes- this is my wolf... in all its glory... doesnt get much better than this folks.

ETA: I think I need to add here that pretty much everyone in my family can draw pretty good... except for me... I guess I got the short end of the stick on that one.

Picture Wall

Ever since we finished the playroom I have had a huge wall just screaming for something to put there. It drove me nuts... I knew I wanted to do a picture wall but had been trying to sort through all of my kids pictures and pick certain ones. I have some fabulous pictures of my kids... that we have paid good money for that are all in a box in the basement. So I finally finished it. It's subtle (not to over the top) with pictures everywhere... I really tried to narrow it down to some of my favorites (which was REALLY hard)

Before: Big naked wall screaming for something to cover them.

After

The left side

The right side (the big picture will be our family beach picture and it hasnt come in yet) also- the bottom one of Reagan keeps going crooked so I think I am going to have to put some picture putty in the corner to make it stay.

I am still thinking about doing some of the wall words above... some kind of quote I think but have't had time to come up with a good one and order it. I am pretty happy with how it came out.

Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear

Reagan got this bear for a "Teddy Bear Picnic" at school. (and yes I went and bought a bear especially for the picnic because while we have stuffed animals at our house we didnt have any bears.) It's right up her alley- its a baby bear that when you put a bottle in its mouth it makes a sucking-eating noise. Brody has been dying to get his hands on it so when Reagan went to school the next day he was all over it. It was really cute!

School Update

I am happy to report that Reagan is doing awesome in school. She is thriving and making friends, learning new things everyday, and most importantly, she is behaving (for the most part at least). Her teachers do a stop light system: Green is excellent, yellow is a warning, and red is a timeout. I am not saying we haven't had any yellows but for the most part she comes home with a green light and she has never had a red. I am so happy I made the decision to switch to this new school. I can tell a world of difference and I am so happy that she actually LIKES going to school.

Family Pictures

I love pictures on the beach... I love little girls in white dresses and little chubby feet with sand on them. Thats why I didnt hesitate to have some made this summer when we were at the beach. I finally got them back and scanned into my computer. I was really surprised at how many turned out good seeing as how during the process my children were total grumps! Because we were trying to get the sunset we didnt even start taking pictures until almost 7pm which is when my kids go to bed so I was really pleased with the outcome.

Train em' early

Before they can even talk.... they know the call... Go Dawgs Sic em' Woof Woof !!!

We are in the thick of it... UGA football season. Stephen left at 9:30 this morning (for a game that stated at 7:00pm mind you) with his truck loaded with all the necessary tailgaiting supplies:

1 50 inch plasma TV

1 Direct TV portable dish receiver

3 coolers loaded drinks

10 bags of chips

36 hot dogs and buns

6 bags of ice

1 UGA canopy tent

10 UGA fold out chairs

1 very large customized UGA cornhole game (its kind of like beanbag game for grown men)

2 folding tables for set-up

1 portable grill complete with 2 propane tanks

and a generator to run it all.... sound like a lot of work? It does to me to but its something Stephen has always dreamed of being able to do. He has been planning it, shopping for it, TALKING about it (nonstop) and finally it was here. The first UGA home game of the season (he has season tickets this year) and last time I talked to him, which was long before the game started.... He was having a blast.... and that makes me happy because Stephen works hard, for us and everything we have, and while he doesn't buy or do much for himself when he does, I know it's stuff he really wants. I love you babe... I am so glad you enjoyed yourself today, just dont wake me up when you get home really late or complain that your "so tired" tomorrow. =)

Fun Fact Friday

I have decided that I am going to start posting random facts about my kids on Fridays. I realized that while I was documenting a lot of the big things we did some of the small things I forget about and since this blog is mostly for my children I dont want to forget those things.

Reagan: She is very interested in what everything eats. I have no idea where this came from but anytime we see an animal the first thing she asks me is "What does him eat?" It has made me realize that there are a lot of animals that I have no idea what they eat. Thankfully las time we went to the zoo there were those fact sheets about the animals so I figured out what lots of things eat. She is also very interested in where I buy things at. If I come home with a new shirt for her the first thing she says is "Where did you buy that at?" and then she proceeds to tell anyone that likes her shirt "My mommy got it a the Gap".

Brody: Brody is really into horses right now. It kind of started I think at Reagans party but he loves anything that has a horse. He will put it down on the ground and make this funny little noise like the horse is galloping. Whenever he is riding something (it doesnt have to be a horse but anything that you ride on the back of he sticks one arm up in the air and says "Yeeee" I think that is his version of Yehaw. It's really cute.

Pillow Talk

With the exception of nights I am not at home, I typically handle bed time. REagan adores Stephen but there is something about wanting mommy to put her to bed that makes it difficult for anyone else. Lately, as part of her stall tactics, she decides that bed time is the time when she wants to talk about EVERYTHING. I love our time together at night because that does seem to be when she is most talkative but sometimes I just have to listen for a while and then get up and walk out because I think she might talk all night. It varies from night to night but tonight this was our conversation:

Reagan: "Mommy I am going to get really really big one day and when I get big I can drive a truck, and go to work, and use a knife (that one made me laugh a little) and chew gum and blow a bubble because right now I am to little to chew gum but I can chew it on the airplane, and I can turn on the light on my fan (she means she will be tall enough to pull the fan string to turn her light on) and reach on the top of that thing (pointing to her dresser), and I will go to school a lot a lot, and I can use a glass because I am little now and glass can break so I cant use a glass now except when mommy helps me.....when I get really really big. "

And then without missing a beat she looks at me, strokes my face, and says "I love you too* mommy" and in that moment I realize, I would listen to ANYTHING to hear that at the end.

*For some strange reason Reagan always says "I love you too" instead of just I love you... not sure how that came about but it is still the best

For my mom...

Does this costume look familiar?

For anyone reading this that isnt my mom... this was her dance costume when she was a little girl... my grandma saved it through all these years. Pretty cool huh?

Video from our Trip

Here are two videos from our trip.

The first one is Brody playing with my grandma... they did this silly little game all week long and it is hilarious how Brody is totally copying her with the laughing.

The second is one of Reagan swimming by the end of the week. She got pretty darn good.

Our Trip

Our trip to florida was so much fun. The kids had a blast and it was so fun for them to have that one-on-one time with my grandma, or "Manny" as Reagan calls her. Besides the kids not sleeping very well the rest of the trip was great. Here are LOTS of pictures to show what we did.

Reagan and Brody looking at the planes... Reagan was very excited but a little dissapointed when we didnt have a pink plane. they both did pretty good on the flight... I am just glad it was like a 3 hour flight because I think an hour was there limit.

Reagan wasted no time jumping in the pool. I brought her 4 bathing suits but for some reason she was really attached to this one and its the only one she wore all week.


Reagan and "Manny"

Reagan became a pro in the pool. By the end of the week she was swimming like a fish. It was so fun to watch her learn.

We cant go to Florida without going to the Lowry Park Zoo. My grandma came with us and helped rangle kids. It was nice because we got to do all the things we missed out on when we went earlier this summer and Damian got sick.

Brody really enjoyed it this time.... he loved looking at all the animals.

Feeding the birds

REagan loved this roller coaster the first time we went so she HAD to ride it again but insisted that "Manny" ride it with her, not mommy.

The petting zoo

Feeding the giraffes... they have freakishly long tongues.

It was really neat to be so high up at there level.

Camel ride with Reagan

Camel ride with Brody

Reagan feeding a rhino

Reagan and "Manny" having a tea party

Feeding the seagulls at the beach

The tide was out so the sand was really mushy... Reagan didnt like it so much.

Brody never managed to get a swim suit on before he got in the pool... it was him and a diaper all week.

The last night my grandma pretended to "fall in" when she was playing with Reagan. This is a big deal since in going there my whole life I have probably seen my grandma in that pool 3 times.


All in all it was a great trip with great memories... who knows, maybe this will start being a football season tradition for me and the kids... why should Stephen get to have all the fun right?