Overheard at Our House: Last Week of September Edition

Part of the joy of living with the four amazing people that inhabit my home with me is the crazy things I hear each week. I've taken to writing them down on little scraps of paper. I'm not going to identify the speaker in each of the quote below, but I think your imagination will do the trick.

"She's in the chicken house."

"They found uranium on the ranch."

"Stop hitting the cat with my skillet."

"Don't eat the sand."

"Mom, Allie just bit a bouncy ball in half."

"They bring their own Porta-Potty and everything."

"I had none dreams. It was a pretty boring night."

"I was just trying to have some laughs."

Leaving On A Jet Plane

Later today I am flying to visit a good friend who moved from Knoxville to Florida a few months ago. And I know you're thinking it...and a co-worker of mine actually said it, "You're going on vacation? Again?" Yes, I am.

I've been wracking my brain trying to think of the last time I traveled solo and couldn't actual come up with a time I had ever done so. At least not in the last 10 years. And while half of me is terrified (I'm not an easy-going airline traveler) the other half of me is exhilarated. My flight is less than 2 hours but counting the waiting time in the airport, I will have almost 4 hours of book-reading time this weekend.

I'm looking forward to hanging out with my friend and exploring a new place. It's a quick trip, but one I have been looking forward to for months.

So this weekend I will put my wife and mommy hats on the coat rack for a bit and become Caroline, International Woman of Mystery. Okay, technically just a 30-something traveling to an international airport but that just doesn't have the same ring.

More Fall Break Fun

Because my children expect to do something totally awesome each day during fall break and because apparently running errands is not totally awesome we decided to go for a hike today. Granddaddy had a few days off this week as well so he joined us for our jaunt in the woods.

We opted for a trip to the Walker Sisters' cabin. It's not too far of a drive and the walk is PERFECT for young children.

It's only a mile out to the cabin, but of course we had to stop and have a snack.

Once we got to the cabin the girls set out to explore the old homestead and then we paused for a group shot.

Granddaddy even brought along some super-cool old pictures of when the Walker Sisters actually lived in the cabin. We did our best to re-create this photos, but it's on Dad's camera so I haven't seen it yet.

All three of them had to climb up into the second story of the cabin for a look out the window.

On the hike back to the car, Allie fell asleep in my arms. And lacking any upper body strength at all, my arms are worn out. Fortunately Granddaddy helped me carry her back. It was a fun day and a good reminder that I really need to get them up into the park more. They need to see less traffic and more trees. They need to hear fewer airplanes and more woodpeckers. They need to come home with more rocks in their pockets (which...I doubt is possible!).

Wordless Wednesday

Fall Break Fun

Tuesday was one of those beautiful fall days that you long for all summer long. We opted to take advantage of such a spectacular day and go to the zoo. If you follow the 'ol blog at all, you know that we've been going to the zoo quite a lot in the last 12 months. We bought a membership last September and have gotten our money's worth out of it and then some.

It was a fun day with my girls and the animals were out and active.

We ate a nice picnic lunch under a perfectly blue sky.

We also rode the carousel!

Our membership expires this week, but I'm pretty sure we'll buy another one soon.

There's just too much fun at the zoo not to!

In Search of Less Graffiti

Allie enjoys all forms of artistic expression...especially the unsanctioned ones such as coloring all over the bunk beds with a marker or the kitchen walls with a colored pencil.

I'm trying to channel her inner artist into less graffiti and more paper so we spent some time recently painting construction paper.

It kept her occupied for the better part of an hour. After she was done, I held up each one and asked her what they were. This one was a snake.

This one is a spider.

She also painted an elephant, a dolphin and a bird. I love seeing the world through her eyes and her paintbrush.

"Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us." -Hebrews 12:1

The first time I heard M's name I was sitting on my couch. I was on maternity leave after Anastasia's birth and two co-workers had come by with gifts and gossip. They told me M was a new hire and a great addition to our team. I found out just how great, when I returned to work and had an opportunity to get to know her well.

A short time after I returned from leave we had a big breaking story and through a set of circumstances beyond my control, I was forced to bring Anastasia to the station for a while. I was back in the booth taking care of some on-air operations and M stayed in the newsroom to answer phones and keep an eye on a sleeping Anastasia. I walked down the hall to find M bouncing Anastasia on one hip while holding the phone and getting information from local police. Even now, the absurdity of that day makes M and I laugh.

M and I practically share a birth date in the last sticky days of August and, despite me being the older friend by a few days, she has long been my mentor. Without M I would never have run a single marathon, let alone be training for a fifth. I had always been a casual runner. Content with a 30-minute 5K time and a few runs squeezed into my increasingly hectic schedule. M not only planted the seed of running further, she nurtured it and encouraged me every step of the way. She offer training tips, advice on what to eat before and after runs, and shared books with workouts and inspiring stories of other runners. What she failed to realize is the most inspiring runner I have ever met is her.

M has been through a lot over the years, battling a cancer that has proven to be a mighty foe. She has faced treatments with a toughness I've never seen before in another human being. She recently ran a 50-mile race. In. One. Day. If that's not tough, then I'm not really sure what is. Last week M announced to my co-workers and I that she's taking a step away from her career to focus on her treatments. Cancer is a cruel disease that cares not how many loved ones and friends you have or how many more miles you have left to run. My prayer today (and always) is that M will be out there running for many miles to come. In her e-mail to us all last week she said, "Take care of each other & enjoy your time here while you can." Good advice, no matter where you are in life.

Sleeping Beauty

Fall Break is Here!

It's officially fall break. My girls have completed the first nine weeks of their respective grades for this school year. Last night I was able to attend parent-teacher conferences for each one of them. I began with Anastasia's teacher. She has actually had a substitute teacher since July as Mrs. Y has been out on maternity leave. Mrs. Y and Mrs. J were both present for yesterday's meeting. We went over Anastasia's report card as well as her biography portfolio. We discussed her academics and the skills they would be covering in the next nine weeks.

Next I went over to Ainsley's pod and met with Mrs. W. She was busy with another family so I was able to peruse the room and check out all the cool things the kids have been doing. When Mrs. W and I finally sat down we went over Ainsley's report card and her sight words. To put it mildly....she is nailing the whole kindergarten thing.

And while it was nice to hear that our girls are excelling academically, it was also nice to hear that they are kind, considerate, compassionate, good listeners....and most importantly...good friends to those around them. The school year is off to a great start and I'm glad they are both thriving.

As a reward for such great work and to celebrate the beginning of two weeks off, we went to the theater to see The Lion King this afternoon. Aunt Anna met us there because...well...because she and I know that movie by heart and have had a soft spot for it since we saw it on the big screen at a podunk little movie theater in Jackson, Wyoming in the summer of 1994. The girls enjoyed it and politely pretended not to notice when I recited all the dialogue and sang along with the songs. Allie seemed to enjoy it too. She laughed at all the funny parts and fretted when "The lion is sad." It was a fun afternoon and only the beginning of more fun coming our way!

Duck, Duck Goose!

Cooler day have finally begun to drift into our area. It's wonderful! Recently Granddaddy gave Allie some old bread (I'm pretty sure it was leftover Communion bread...) for use as duck food. It cracks me up to think of God's fine feathered fowl eating the sacrament by the pond.

Allie enjoyed feeding the ducks except she kept throwing the WHOLE LOAF at them. I had to teach her how to break it up into more manageable pieces.

There were ducks EVERYWHERE that day. I mean...all over the place. And our pond and parks in that area have been taken over by Canada geese and their poop. But Allie didn't seem to mind.

And when she got home, she asked her Granddaddy for more bread.

Oh What Elefun!

Allie has been enjoying all her birthday gifts. But there is one that is getting some serious use. As in...we're gonna need more batteries REAL soon.

It's called Elefun. There's a big blue plastic elephant. He has little colored butterflies inside his trunk and when you switch it on...the butterflies float out into the room.


My Aunt M gave it to her. It's funny because as soon as Allie opened it I remembered a Christmas with my cousins (M's kids) where they got Elefun and we played at my grandparent's house for hours and hours. And now...we play at our house.

Allie is terrible at the game. She can't catch a butterfly to save her life, but that doesn't seem to deter her zest for playing. "Catch buttafies! Catch buttafies!" I hear this about 60 times a day. So as I mentioned....we're going to need some more batteries.

Welcome to the Club

We are now members of that less-than-desirable club - "The Blue Tarp Club." After the strong storms of April 27th, you could drive into any neighborhood in our area and find at least one (but most likely more) roof covered in a blue tarp. With the amount of widespread damage from the storms, insurance companies and roofers have been backlogged for months.

We didn't find out we had roof damage until Tropical Storm Lee blew through our area. Lee left us with soaking rains and a wet spot on the ceiling in the hall. We finally had someone out to look at it this week. His diagnosis was "major hail damage." So now....we are covered in a tarp.

It's a lovely inconspicuous thing. Scratch that....I'm pretty sure you can see that blue tarp from space. So now we're just waiting for insurance to process our claim so we can get a new roof up there and get rid of the tarp.

Wordless Wednesday

New Kicks

There is nothing like a new pair of shoes. Especially when you're a kid. My girls are loving their new footwear. And I'm loving the fact that they were on clearance and I had a coupon for an additional 10% off.

Tree Climbing 101

It was a beautiful weekend here in our neck of the woods. The stifling heat of summer has finally eased off. The nights are cooler which is affording us ample "open window" time and more moments in the back yard. Anastasia and Ainsley spent much of the weekend climbing the dogwood outside the kitchen window. They've been up in it before, but usually only if Jamie sits them up in the branches. They now have gained the height and self-confidence to do it on their own.

Ainsley (of course) climbed it while wearing a skirt, a feat that I personally believe adds a few degrees of difficulty to the whole tree-climbing process.

Her older sister (Bless her heart...) is so much like her mother that you can see the fear flash through her eyes when she gets turned the wrong way or feels like she can't get down. She's learning to swallow that fear though, a fact that is helped along when Ainsley gets in and out of the tree with ease.

Fortunately Allie stayed on the ground all weekend, but I can see those little gears turning. She'll be up there soon enough.

This is The Day that the Lord Has Made

Let us rejoice and be glad in it!

This was the beautiful sunrise that greeted the girls and I as we opened the front door. What a great way to start the week!

On Believing in Yourself and Your Dreams

“Alice laughed. 'There's no use trying,' she said. 'One can't believe impossible things.'

'I daresay you haven't had much practice,' said the Queen. 'When I was your age, I always did it for half-an-hour a day. Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.”

-Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking Glass

Yes, As Matter of Fact, I Am

I love it when people ask me if I am still "into running." It's said with genuine interest but with a tone that implies my running is akin to a fashion fad or the latest trashy reality show. Running is not something I am "in to." I've been running since I was in high school, and have been what I consider a "serious runner" since 2007.

I have a tattoo of a winged foot on my ankle for crying out loud! I guess people think that 4 marathons and four half-marathons would sate my appetite for running. But actually the opposite is true. It only makes me want to run more.

From the looks of things on the home renovation front, I'm going to have to drop out of the Disney Marathon in January. I haven't pulled the plug just yet because I am hopeful we can still work it out. Regardless of my participation in that race though, I have already signed up for (and paid for!) the 1/2 marathon at Chickamuaga in November. It was to be a part of my marathon training, but could become more than that if I work for it. I ran 5 miles in the rain yesterday and it was wonderful. Cooler weather has arrived and that means falling leaves and easier miles. My times are improving. I'm running more quickly and more efficiently.

So yes, to answer your question, I am still "into running." And I hope to be for many decades to come.

Home Renovation: Day ?????

I've lost track of how long this project has been going on. Which, in and of itself, should indicate that this has gone on far too long. Today...we had another contractor come as the last one is refusing to give us a line item estimate. Well, he isn't refusing to...he just hasn't done it despite our repeated asking.

So we like this guy today and he's coming back with a camera to check out our pipes and see *exactly* where the problem is. It means more waiting, but at this point, whatever. The contractor is looking at the pipes downstairs and says to Jamie, "Wow, you won the lottery. I've NEVER seen anything like this."

Little does he know, it's him. He's won the lottery! Heck, I figure our renovations are going to afford him a new Harley or a boat.

Wordless Wednesday

Overheard at Our House This Week

"You have too much junk in that trunk."

-Ainsley on the amount of stuff in the trunk of Allie's new toy car

What's Cookin'?

Allie's big gift from Jamie and I was a kitchen set. I say "big gift" because of its physical size, not because of the cost. I am known for trolling the end caps at Target, especially on Thursdays (markdown days!). A few months back I ran across this kitchen set. Originally...$120...I got it for $14.98. Seriously.

That's Allie kicking back on her new Mickey sofa while playing with her kitchen.

It really is so much fun. I've been letting her use my wooden spoons and mixing bowls to play as well.

At the rate our home renovations are going, I may have to use Allie's kitchen for our real kitchen!

Stuck on The Mouse

Allie loves Mickey Mouse, that much is certainly true. So it's a foregone conclusion that many of her birthday gifts were centered around him. Including some really awesome wall decals from Gran and Pop.

I placed them on the walls next to her bed this morning.

She told me, "They're cute!" Now we just have to make sure she doesn't take them off.

Allie's 2nd Birthday

As I mentioned yesterday, Allie had a wonderful birthday party on Saturday. We are so fortunate to have family who are willing to drive hours and hours just for a toddler's birthday party. I truly appreciate the time they all spent to be with us for the event.

I chose a Hungry Caterpillar theme for her party this year. I had seen a cool caterpillar mobile online and was determined to create it myself. With Jamie's help, it turned out pretty neat. We (and by we, I mean Jamie) suspended it above the spot where Allie opened her gifts.

Allie received far more presents than one little girl deserves! She has been spending the last few days rifling through all of them.

We've been working puzzles, reading new books and wearing new outfits. One of her favorite gifts was her Mickey sofa from her cousin Isabelle.

Allowing a two-year-old to open each gift can take a while so after a bit, I jumped in to help her get the pile going.

After presents it was time for food!

Allie loved her cupcakes.

After we ate, all the kids went outside to play and everyone else spent time on the deck or indoors visiting and catching up. It was a beautiful day and perfect for roaming around the back yard.

And before everyone left...they all got some "caterpillar food" for the road!

Again, I am incredibly grateful that so much of our family was able to be there for the party. It was a very special afternoon. And although Allie won't remember it, I certainly will be able to share with her all the great memories of the day.

Celebrating is Hard Work!

This weekend we celebrated Allie's second birthday. It was a lot of fun, but also downright exhausting. Nana and Grandad graciously agreed to host the party since our house is *ahem* indisposed at the moment. That was good on one hand, but also meant a lot of trips back and forth making sure everything was just as it should be.

All in all we had a wonderful celebration (with 30 people!!) on Saturday. I have to work a little early today, so I don't have time to blog all about the party, but trust me that the full wrap-up will come tomorrow. Until then, Allie's 4:41 p.m. picture* will have to hold you over.

*Each year on the girls' birthdays, we take a picture of them with that brown clock at the time of their birth.

There's A Rabbit Hanging From the Bathroom Door

If I ever write a book about parenting, I think it will be called "There's a Rabbit Hanging From the Bathroom Door."

It sort of sums up all the crazy ways having children in your home changes life as you know it. Nothing can really prepare you for it. I vividly remember coming across one of tiny Anastasia's outfits hanging in the tiny bathroom of our first home. She was just a few months old at the time, but it really hit me in that moment. Wow, another person lives here now.

By now I am used to seeing my offspring's laundry in various states of cleanliness all over my home. But it's the strange things, thing like rabbits hanging off of doorknobs and pieces of cardboard cheese on my bedside bookcase that give me pause.

Having young children around is thrilling and exhausting. And if I let my OCD tendencies drop to the wayside, the clutter that comes with children can be downright hysterical. Like this little line-up on my mantle.

And then, there on my beautiful candlesticks (given to me by a former Vols coach and his wife at our wedding) is a plastic bracelet that one of the girls won at an Easter egg hunt about three years ago. How that thing has escaped my gathering for Goodwill is beyond me.

But when the dust settles and my girls move out (wait...they are going to move out, right? RIGHT?) I know that I will miss these little reminders of childhood. These tiny artifacts that carry so much weight with my children will be gone and in their place I will no doubt be sporting lace doilies and boring coffee table books with water rings on the cover. So while most of the time all this "crap," as I have come to call it, makes me want to pull my hair out and reach for a trash bag, I'm trying to remember that one day I will miss the hares hanging from the handles of our doors.

This Cat Means Business

Helen has always been very good with the girls. In fact, as you can tell from the photo above she is downright protective. Unless....the child in question is a red-headed toddler with a pixie cut. Then all bets are off.

2 Year Check Up...and Portraits

Allie had her two year check up this morning. She didn't bat an eye when her finger had to be pricked. We spent our time waiting for the doctor looking out the window at the parking lot. "Look, mommy! Cars! So pretty." Dr. R came in and showed me her growth is fine, even if she weighs just 25 pounds. He didn't have to ask how her language skills were because she talked his ear off during the appointment. I asked her to show off and count for Dr. R. She obliged and it blew his mind that she was counting so well. She went all the way to 14 (without skipping any!). We had the first of two flu shots and then we were on our way. She took the shot like a champ (waaaaaay better than her sisters) and got a Rapunzel sticker for being so brave. I'm SO thankful for a healthy toddler!

And last week, as I mentioned, she had her two year portraits taken. They are breathtaking.

I knew I wanted her in the Hungry Caterpillar dress for most of the pictures but at the last minute I grabbed a sparkly tutu from the dress-up box. I'm glad I did because it resulted in some pretty fun shots.

This next one is one of my favorites.

Still cannot believe she will be two this weekend. We are ready to celebrate!

Like Mother, Like Daughter

When we stayed at mom and dad's last weekend I did some digging through old photos. I found this gem of me in August 1982. I thought it would be appropriate to post this week since Allie's getting ready to celebrate her second birthday.

It's kind of frightening how much she looks like me in this picture. Right down to the little half-pout. I'm assuming that I was exasperated with my mother taking pictures. Much like Allie gets with me....