FOUND

As an update to last nights' post...BOO KEY HAS BEEN FOUND!

David found it last night in a room in the basement which has been in shambles for awhile. Baby and toddler clothes strewn about, sheets, quilts, etc. I had peeked in there yesterday but overlooked it.

I am still not convinced that Boo Key didn't slither down the stairs into the depths of the basement of its' own accord simply for some R & R.

We're not asking questions, however, we are just welcoming it home with open arms. Tiny little 3 year old arms.

Violet Beauregarde

This is going to be Reese's new nickname.

She chewed the same piece of gum for 12 hours today!

And it was a Super Bubble to boot. Which lose their flavor in about 4 minutes.

I knew she popped a piece in her mouth a little after 9am after she got dressed this morning. And I saw a piece of gum on her plate at lunch and again at supper. But I didn't think too much about it.

My kids all love to chew gum. Tate's piece usually falls out of his mouth fairly soon after he starts chewing it. Or I make him throw it away because he keeps pulling it out of his mouth with his grubby little hands.

Drue will chew a piece for awhile, but I think she gets bored with it easily and spits it out.

So I was quite surprised when I noticed Reese chewing gum during our movie tonight at almost 9pm. I jokingly asked her if that was the same piece she had put in this morning and she nodded.

I made David discard it as he carried her sleepy self up to bed. If she had been more awake, she may have lobbied to put it on her bedpost.

More Hair Drama

I have been doing countless ponytails, braids, "pony braids" (which are ponytails made into braids) on the girls all summer long! Which, I realize, only technically began a week ago...but when you have kids in school "summer" begins on their last day of the year.

When I'm getting the girls ready to go somewhere nice, I like to have their hair in curls, rather than haphazardly thrown together in one of the aforementioned styles.

Reese knows this.

But she is forever trying to get out of it and sneakily talk me into doing any hairstyle except curls on her.

Yesterday morning as we were running around like mad fools trying to get ready for church, she came and found me with her comb in hand and inquired about her hair in a hopeful tone, "Ponies?".

"Nope".

"Braids?".

"Nope".

"Pony braids?".

"Nope".

"Straight hair?".

"Nope...Curls!"

Which she responded to in mock desperation, "Not this curse upon me!".

MISSING

Name: "Boo Key"
Age: 3 years
Last seen: Saturday, June 27th 9:30am
Description: 3 feet by 2 feet, soft, blue, silky edge

 

If found please return to Tate L. Hollaway, distraught owner.

 

It is feared Boo Key may have wandered off in protest. You would too if you were dragged hither and yon, through dirt and grime, sat on, stepped on, and clutched tightly throughout the night. Oh, and were also used to slap 2 little curly headed girls whenever it struck your owners' fancy.

 

We miss you Boo Key. Please come home to us and be reunited with your best friend.

Sister Against Sister

Last night was the BIG night in the girls' T Ball season. Their teams played against each other. There was no competitive streak to worry about, however. There were a lot of hugs and high fives during the game though. Which was sweet to watch and elicited many Awwwwwwwww's from the bleachers.

 

We cheered wildly for both sides of course. And ran the girls' bat back and forth between dugouts. We also ran hydration to both dugouts thanks to the sweltering 100 degree temperature.

 

This was the end of the game where both teams line up to tell each other "good job" or "good game". I snapped the camera just as Reese and Drue got to each other but you can't see much of Drue...just her socks.

 

When Sisters Play Against Each Other

Happy Father's Day

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Another Surprise Gone Sour

Well, I'm finished.

No more agonizing over gift ideas for David and trying to surprise him. Remember the phone incident from Christmas?

This time he ruined part of his Father's Day gift surprise.

All of his summer t-shirts look like tents on him because he has lost so much weight since last summer. I casually remarked a few weeks ago how he needed to throw out all his shirts and buy new ones in a smaller size. And by "casually remarked" I mean demanded.

We looked at a few shirts while we were out together one night but didn't end up buying any.

So, as part of his Father's Day gift I picked out 3 t-shirts for him from Kohl's. With the youngest two children in tow, mind you. Which involved a lot of questions like, "How 'bout this one Mommy? Where did Daddy go? Is it time for lunch? How far away is the moon?" etc.

After assuring Tate that Daddy would not want a polo shirt with a big purple patterned design on one shoulder, I finished with my selections and snuck them into the back of our bedroom closet along with his other gifts.

As we were getting ready to go to the girls' ballgames tonight, David was sifting through his dresser drawers for something to wear.

He teasingly asked, "Where are those t-shirts you were going to get me?".

With my completely transparent body language, I abruptly shot him a guilty glance.

Continuing with the teasing, he rummaged through his drawers some more asking, "Are they in here? Did you slip some in my drawers?".

B-L-A-S-T!

I could have just kept quiet I guess and nonchalantly said, "Ummmmm.....no", and gone ahead with the surprise.

But I figured as long as they were sitting in the bottom of our closet, giving them to him a few days early wouldn't hurt. Then I could milk the fact that he ruined yet another surprise.

I disappeared into the closet and came out with the bag of shirts, not even wrapped or anything. I pulled them out one by one and laid them on the bed for him to admire.

Of course he got a kick out of the whole thing...again. But graciously picked one out to wear to the 95 degree game, not even complaining that all the ones I picked out were dark colored.

For all future gift giving occasions I am just going to flat out tell him what he's getting beforehand to do away with the pressure of trying to surprise him and my disappointment when he spoils it.

That sounds like cheery fun.

My Drama Queen & the King of Kings

The girls are inching ever so slightly toward the end of their hair bow stage. I thought I would be completely sad, but have discovered there are other darling hair accessories in the world of headbands! And little elastic thingies...and fun little clips and/or colorful bobby pins.

Tate has it easy. I do try and style his hair a bit. But the other day before church I asked David if he had done Tate's hair. He informed me that doing a boys' hair just involves running your hand down the front of it when they wake up.

After I wet Reese's hair down this morning and combed it in preparation for VBS, I grabbed one of my headbands on a whim and had her place it on her head. She seemed pleased and bounced off to find her shoes.

Picked her up when VBS was done...headband still intact.

We met a little playgroup of her kindergarten friends for lunch and she kept her headband in most of the time. They were running around quite a bit though, so she did take it off at one point and bring it over to me.

Drue bounded over next with her hairbow in hand to give to me. Apparently, she too, didn't want anything to inhibit her boisterousness and a tiny bow on a clip would have done just that.

As we were heading back to the van later, Drue was eyeing the headband curiously.

"Why does it have spikes on it?" she wanted to know.

Before I could launch into my explanation about how those keep it fitting snuggly to ones' head, Reese piped up and dramatically said, "I know...I felt like I was wearing a crown of thorns on my head like Jesus."

Oblivious

That's my middle name today.

Or maybe I'm not so much oblivious, as I've just been a mom long enough to be able to selectively block out certain behaviors of my offspring.

We picked up Reese from VBS at noon today. There were a few things I HAD to get at Target. What are some examples of these necessary items you ask? (Oh, you didn't ask and you really don't care?) Well, I'm going to share anyway just so everyone can realize the magnitude of importance this errand held for me.

First off, I had to get jelly. I wanted a good old fashioned PB&J sandwich. Not a PB&PB sandwich I was forced to scarf down last night after practice.

Secondly, I needed kid friendly shampoo. Which I will be keeping under lock and key. No, nobody is trying to drink it (that I know of). But these kids can go through an entire bottle of shampoo/conditioner in a few days time! I can't understand it. They are little people...with little heads. And Tate has very little hair on his little head.

So where is all the shampoo going?! I suspect they are pouring it into the bath or shower to make bubbles or are using it to scrub the walls of the tub/shower with. I may never know.

I do know, however, that the past two nights when I've had to use *gasp* Daddy's Pert Plus on their hair, you would have thought I was washing their heads in battery acid. Which I sort of used to my advantage..."Keep your eyes closed while I rinse your hair out or they will fall out of your heads".

Where was I? Oh yeah, a simple trip to Target. Although, outings are anything but simple with my crew.

The noon hour is not conducive to errand running with my 3. Actually, there is only about 1 hour in each day that is conducive to errand running with my 3. That is 9:30am-10:30am. During the noon hour they are all hungry and Tate is getting grouchy. After Tate's nap, however, the girls are getting tired and I'm getting grouchy so I knew this was our only option today.

I still stuff Tate's little skinny patootie into the front of the cart and buckle him in when I have everyone with me. To keep my sanity. And to keep my fellow shoppers safe.

He usually protests to this idea about 15 feet into the store. But he has learned that pitching a fit about it will get him nowhere. So he sweetly and quietly says, "I want to walk" as he gazes forlornly out the side of his cart to the beautiful linoleum floor below.

Which I very sweetly respond back, "Not this time Tate...ooohhhhh look at the picture of that doggie." And his plea is forgotten for the time being.

His other sneaky tactic is sucking his thumb and asking me to hold him and putting on his "snuggle me" face. This one gets to me sometimes and I pluck him out and hold him for 3.2 seconds before he is squirming to get down.

I think I would make a great contestant on that game show where shoppers have to rush through the aisles as fast as they can and load their cart up with the appropriate items. I had to actually stop and read some labels this time though, which I was afraid wasn't going to go over well.

The girls got handsy today with the merchandise. The colorful packages called out to them to touch each one and push it backwards on the shelf. David's time at Target opened all of our eyes up to this type of behavior. Employees spend a lot of time straightening up those shelves and pulling everything neatly to the front. I passed along this information to my two store wreckers.

All the while Tate was sitting quietly and contentedly in his seat. You knew the "oblivious" part was bound to come into play at some point.

I got a few more items and tossed them in the back of the cart. Still oblivious.

Let me wrap this up lest you think my "obliviousness" was something really terrible like me pushing around a cart with someone else's child in it. Which now, having put that in writing, has probably jinxed me to do so at some point.

As we were making our way to the front I happened to glance in the back of the cart. There were my few little items waiting to be purchased. In addition, there were 7 bottles of Pantene shampoo and conditioner and 1 bottle of honey mustard dressing. None of which were on my list to get!

I am not even exaggerating. E-I-G-H-T extra bottles of items that Tate snuck into my cart. I can understand one lone bottle of dressing getting knocked into the cart without me knowing. But why didn't I notice E-I-G-H-T such things being grabbed off the shelves and dropped into my cart?

Again, my former Target employee husbands' face appeared in my head telling me that someone has to go around and place all deserted items back in their proper spot. I almost hollered back that they get paid to do so, but I sheepishly went and returned every bottle back to its' proper location.

On the bright side I had a delicious PB & J sandwich for lunch.

Fill 'er up

I was fixing myself a bite to eat after Reese's T Ball practice tonight when all the hungry wolves descended upon the kitchen. Unlike their poor, sacrificial mother who didn't eat supper before rushing out the door, they had all had their fill of an evening meal with snacks to boot.

However, they feel that if anyone is in the kitchen eating something at any given time, they are all entitled to eat something.

Let the ransacking of the pantry commence!

As Drue perused our available food supplies she remarked, "I need something to eat...I'm gettin' empty!".

ABCs

Open & Shut Case

I love it when the evidence is so incriminating...

 

...that I know EXACTLY whom to punish.

A Boy & His Mud Puddle

 

 

 

 

The Next Best Thing

I don't even remember how it started.

But a few weeks ago we discovered something else that soothes Tate while he is sucking his thumb...our hair!

The kids like to touch my hair right after I've showered, while it's still wet. It might have started like that. I don't know.

I just don't see how this little guy can get any cuter. Look at his right hand...grasping on to Drue's ponytail.

 

And a back view. Now he has the other ponytail.

 

He used to just reach up and play with my hair if he happened to be sitting next to me. But now he will search me out. Today he came walking in the room with his thumb in his mouth...opening and closing his right hand in the air to let me know he wanted to snuggle and hold my hair.

He can't quite reach my head when he's in the cart during our errands. So I have to bend down sideways sometimes to appease him and try not to crash into anything.

Sunday at church he took turns playing with my hair, then each of the girls'. They were so sweet to bend closer to him as well so he could reach their curls.

I will end with this sweet picture.

 

Tee For Two

 

T Ball season is in full swing. For both girls. Other than swimming lessons, this is Drue's first introduction to a sport. Contrary to what it looks like from these pictures, the girls are on different teams. For some reason, the softball association chose to get EVERY team pink shirts. Sure, why not confuse these first timers even more?

 

There are 2 nights on the schedule that the girls play their games at the same time...on different fields. My plan was to have David and I split up and watch half a game of each. That was, until he decided to jet off to Orlando on business during one such night. Which just so happened to be BOTH of their first games! Thankfully the fields are right next to each other.

Not only did I want to watch their entire first game, I wanted to snap a dozen pictures of their first at bat, their first time in the field, etc. So I had to keep running back and forth between the 2 fields for an hour. Thankfully Drue's team batted first while Reese's was in the outfield. But during one inning, both their teams were up to bat...and there my two girls were...standing at home plate at the exact same time! Some parents figured out that I had two girls on two different fields. But some just thought I was a crazy lady who would magically appear out of nowhere to scream their childs' name while wildly snapping pictures.

Oh, and need I remind you that I had to successfully accomplish the evening while entertaining Tate, who is not a big fan of the ball fields if he can't play? He tried to keep up with me for the first inning or so. He finally gave up and curled up in his little lawn chair with his blanket and watched me dash off to the next field. Bless his heart. I didn't want him to feel deprived of any attention just because it was his sisters' big night. So in between dashes, he and I played catch together with the little ball he brought along.

 

Reese is a go getter and a few of the parents commented to me how well she played. This is the same girl who used to fall down while standing still. Or be sitting in her chair at the table one minute, then facedown on the floor the next. Her coordination skills are definitely on the upswing.

Drue was satisfied just playing in the dirt, chewing on her fingernail, or watching the birds fly by. She literally watched the ball roll slowly by her at one point in the game, making no move whatsoever to retrieve it. After the game, I wanted to give positive encouragement while tenderly suggesting she go after a ball when it was hit in her vicinity. "You know Drue, if a ball is hit near you, go ahead and run after it and get it." She looked at me with a surprised look and said, "Well, you didn't tell me that."

 

T Ball is now my favorite little person sport to watch. Although we had a lot of fun watching Reese's soccer team as well this season. Probably any sport with little people is fun to watch...especially when they're your little people.

Reese at bat.

 

I used to worry that Drue was going to be obese. No longer is that a worry of mine--look at those skinny legs. Now now now...don't judge...you would have worried too if your baby weighed 9lbs 5 oz at birth and used to cry for more baby food when you couldn't get the lid off fast enough for her!

 

Drue hangin' out on the field. Looks like her mind is a million miles away.

 

Reese didn't seem scared of the ball at all.

 

Press the arrow to "play" slideshow

A Day Late...and a Dollar Short

 

This post is a day late...because our anniversary was yesterday.

And a dollar short...because, well, we have 3 kids to feed, clothe, and feed some more.

(Hey, it was a catchy title, so I had to come up with some explanation.)

11 years and 3 kids later, David and I have a great little life together.

I was crazy in love with David on our wedding day and am even more so now. He may be laughing at that statement. Sure, there is the occasional nagging because he doesn't clean the kitchen to my standards...and I slip off to bed without telling him good night at times...and I try to give him the silent treatment when I am irritated by something he's done (which doesn't seem to phase him--in fact, I think he enjoys it).

Before we had kids, I just loved him because he was a great boyfriend/husband.

Seeing him be a great dad makes me love him all the more.

He was the more patient one with our inconsolable newborns.

He runs in the house everyday after work as excited to see the kids as if he'd been gone for months.

He lets them help him with projects, even though that may mean the projects take much longer to get completed.

And he doesn't seem to tire of their neverending questions about anything and everything.

This morning he woke up early to go to the grocery store before church. But before he could leave, Tate woke up and came walking sleepily into our room. David scooped him up, and brought him back to bed just to snuggle with him for a little bit...leaving his errand to run later.

By the way, this TOTALLY counts as a Father's Day post as well!! So, on June 21st I will simply put "Refer to anniversary post".

The beautiful picture was done by Reese. She is quick to draw a picture for someone whatever the occasion. If I mention someone is having a birthday at work, she draws them a picture. If someone loses a loved one, she scrambles to find her crayons to cheer them up.

And, no, those three little heads on the left hand side are not Reese, Drue, and Tate. Which was my initial thought too. And, oh boy, I wasn't ready to have that "talk" yet and explain why they were not at our wedding. Those people are just random wedding guests. Who are sitting in front of the cake. Doesn't it look yummy?

Thoughts from Drue Today

I lack the desire, calling, patience, or organization to home school my children.

Having survived 2 years of sending my eldest off to school, a thought crossed my mind about home schooling mothers. They will never shed a tear on that first day as they watch their baby sling on a backpack that's almost as big as they are and disappear through the front door of the school.

Even though letting go is an inevitable process of parenthood, it does sound nice to delay that process by educating your children at home. So, from time to time, I tease the girls that since I miss them too much while they are away at school...I may just start home schooling them.

Which they both protest to at once.

I have been mentioning that proposal more often now that I will be faced with Reese being gone all day next year, and Drue being gone til 2pm two days a week.

This afternoon we were watching a show where a little boy raised a bird which then flew off into the wild. Tears streamed down his face as he watched his beloved bird fly away. The boy's mother hugged him and he looked up at her and asked, "Did your mom cry when you left home?". To which his teary eyed mother said, "Not until I was gone...".

What?! If I can't even hold my tears in until I leave the kindergarten classroom, I know I will be a mess the day each of my children actually leave home for good. And I told that to the girls while we were sitting there on the couch. "Well, you guys know I'll be crying and won't be trying to hide it from you when you leave".

Drue came up with a brilliant plan, "Mom, you can home college us!".

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Drue has been saying random bible verses today that both she and Reese have learned throughout this past year. It has been neat to listen to her.

Tonight at supper she said out of the blue, "'Love your neighbor as yourself' that was one of Reesie's verses this year". Then a new thought occurred to her as she confessed, "I love myself a lot!".

Might Be Time to Mow the Lawn