Happy Birthday sweet sister...

As some of you know, and if you don't, read here, we lost my youngest sister 9 years ago to a devastating car accident. She was 15 years old at the time. Today would have been her 25th birthday. It's so hard to believe that...Would she have been married? Would she be in graduate school? What would she be doing now? I find myself thinking these things sometimes. Not a day goes by that I don't think about her. Happy Birthday sweet sister....we love you and will never forget you. As I've said before, through your death I've learned some important life lessons...

Victoria Katherine Brewer

March 31, 1983-August 15, 1998

Life is living in the moment; life is enjoying the simple things; life is being kind; life is the innocent smile on a child's face; life is good.

He's DEFINITELY all boy...

As I was folding laundry the other day, I noticed that all of Harrison's pants looked like this...
Notice anything similar about these pants? They all have holes in the right knee...every single one of them. There must have been 6 or 7 pairs in that load. I don't think I ever got holes in my knees, at least not with all of my pants. Good thing shorts season is right around the corner. The bad thing is that these won't get passed down to his brothers. So much for hand-me-downs. He LOVES LOVES to push cars all over the place and usually ends up sliding on his knees. Boys are so hard on clothes...I never knew!

Is it really worth the extra $$$?

My birthday is in a month and Dan asked me a couple of days ago what I wanted. I really want a bike trailer for our bikes so the twins can ride in the back when we go on family rides. Dan and I got hybrid bikes several years ago and used to ride all the time on the W & OD Trails when we lived in VA. Now that Harrison is in to his bike, I'd like to go for family rides again. I don't need a major expensive one. In fact, the one that will suit me fine is the Instep one on amazon.com for $86 including shipping! I saw this Burley one on REI.com for $550! YIKES! I don't need one like that, do I? Is there really a difference? Does anyone out there have the Instep one (or cheaper one) or the more expensive one?? Let me know your thoughts (if you have any...)

Monkey see, monkey do

The other day I was lacing up my running shoes because I was taking the boys to the park. Harrison leans down where I am sitting on the floor and says "You going for a run, mommy?" I said, "No, we are going to the park". He then says, "When I get big I will run just like you". It made my day! That has to be the greatest gift-the gift of health and exericise!!

Clothing Optional...

Lately, when I go to get Brady from his nap-this is what he looks like...The boy doesn't seem to like to wear clothing. One night we went to check on him before going to bed and the neck of his PJ shirt was all the way down to his waist...we have given him the nickname "Sexy Brady"!

Here comes Peter Cottontail....

We had a great Easter, of course we ate way too much food...but that's what makes it so special. Harrison had a great time looking for eggs and dancing at the neighborhood egg hunt. He had a great time looking for his basket, as well as his brothers'. The weather was gorgeous-a balmy 78 degrees, I even got a little sun on my face. Jack did NOT like the Easter Bunny at all and Brady kept looking at Jack wondering why he was so sad. Here are a few pics from the egg hunt and Easter. I tried to do a "photo shoot" with the boys in their finest Easter-wear, but with 3 little monkeys, it's hard to get a good shot in. You'll see what I mean...

Happy Easter!

We are looking forward to a great weekend. My parents are on their way as I type! Since it's Good Friday, I'm making roasted salmon with herbs de provence, butternut squash risotto and sauteed green beans for dinner tonight. Tomorrow after my 6 mile run, we are coloring and decorating Easter eggs, then it's off to our neighborhood egg hunt which will consist of 2000 EGGS and the Easter Bunny! Saturday night, we are doing a pork shoulder in the crockpot and will turn it into Carolina-style b-b-q with a homemade vinegar-based sauce complete with potato salad, cole slaw and banana pudding-a wonderful Southern meal. Easter morning I'm making Paula Deen's Gorilla Bread, which is similar to King's Crown. If you haven't made her Gorilla Bread before, I HIGLY recommend it. Dan's family always ate this on Easter morning. After church we will get started on lunch. We are having a Beef Roast with potatoes, onions and carrots, asparagus and rolls. My mom is making a homemade carrot cake for dessert. I CAN'T WAIT! I also can't wait for Harrison to look for his Easter basket Sunday morning...a weekend of GOOD FOOD and FAMILY...nothing better. I'll leave you with a few pictures from our Egg Hunt earlier this week...Happy Easter!

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles!

After living in this house for about 15 months now, we have finally completed child #1's (aka Harrison's) room...my weekend warrior husband gets most of the credit. I thought it turned out really cute, so thought I would share. The boy loves him some transportation....

Look at that determination....

Harrison has this thing he does when he goes down slides....he sticks his tongue out. It cracks me up. Yesterday, some friends had an Egg-hunt at their house...it's not just any egg hunt, they go all out with food and fun. We had a great time! All the kids don their Easter attire. Harrison had a blast playing. Here is a picture a friend of mine took of him with his look of fierce determination...

Oh Thin Mint...

why do you tempt me so? I'll be glad when you are gone...because everytime I open the freezer I want you...stop the madness, please!?!
Don't you know I would really like to wear that J.Crew bathing suit this summer?

It has finally happened...

and every runner said it would. After a long 10 or so years of running off and on-I am finally addicted. I LOVE it now and actually look forward to it. I never did before. When we were trying to get pregnant and going through fertility treatments I was advised not to and I had NO problem with that. But now I have a newfound love for it. Yesterday I did 4 miles and I honestly could have done 4 more but Dan needed to go to work... I guess I need to start going earlier, it's just that it's so dark. On the days that I don't run, I do strength training and although it's important, I don't get out of it what I do with running. I find myself a little "crabby" when I don't run also. I'm finding myself reading blog after blog of people training for a marathon and it motivates me even more. I'm trying to improve my time and yesterday I did 8:30 minute miles and I was so happy! I also keep stalking the Kiawah Marathon website to make sure I haven't missed registration...I will be so bummed if I miss it!! I never thought I would be a "runner" but now I am proud to be one. I love the fact that my boys can look up to their mommy as an "athlete", I hope they will catch the running bug too! I feel better than I ever have in my entire life and I owe it all to my new outlook on running....

From my leprechauns to yours...

Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone!! I tried my hardest to get all 3 kids together for a picture...not too easy! I think I've earned a Guinness from the fridge tonight after the kids go to bed. Here are a few pics of my little leprechauns...Oh...and just in case you forgot...
and the best thing is...it's low-calorie! So have another if you want to...

Calling all Redheads...

I saw a segment on the Today Show this morning saying that redheads may become extinct in the next 100 years and that redheads should reproduce in mad numbers to "save" the redheads. Well, my "reproducing" days are over, but how sad would it be if this really happens? I've had red hair since birth. I "hated" it when I was little because of the names, carrot top, etc, but now I LOVE it. Unfortunately the older I get, the darker it gets, but it is still red and my biggest savior is that it doesn't have a drop of color on it!! I found this story on the web...

Redhead Story

Now, I've tried my hardest to create redheaded children, but it looks as though they will be brown or blond. Sometimes if you look really hard, especially in the sun, Jack's hair looks a little red. Here's hoping....SAVE THE REDHEADS!!!

Birthdays are great...

Happy Birthday Mom! I hope it's a great one. The boys wish their grandma a Happy Birthday as well. We will see you next week....we love you!

My new spring look...

Thanks to my friend, Slacker Mama for my new header. I LOVE it! I figured out how to change the background myself and found this lovely Lilly Pulitzer fabric on the internet and fancied the blog up a bit!

Not too much going on today. We had my sister-in-law and niece in town for a few days and I watched my niece, their dog and my crew of boys and a dog yesterday while my sister-in-law was at a conference downtown...needless to say I needed that glass of wine at our inaugural happy hour/playgroup yesterday afternoon. Thanks M! It was so much fun!!! My niece was a big help though, she is 5. It was also fun to hang out with a little girl. Although it was chaotic, Harrison had so much fun playing with her.

Saturday I had another 6 mile run-it was so incredibly windy I really didn't know if I'd finish ....but I did in 50 minutes and promised myself Cold Stone later that afternoon. We didn't make it there on Saturday, but yesterday while Harrison was at school I took my niece and the twins...it was great. She got cotton candy ice cream with marshmallows mixed-in and I was pretty good and got the Sinless Sweet Cream (non-fat and with splenda) with strawberries. I'll admit it wasn't nearly as good as the real stuff, but I tried to be good.

We have no plans today. We skipped playgroup this morning since Debbie and Onnika were leaving, but it's already 70 degrees now, so I imagine we'll be outside this afternoon. Spring are you really here now?

Reason #26 why I run...

it makes ice cream taste so much better!!!

A day in the life...

Some people may wonder what a stay-at-home-mom does all day with her time...I'll give you an example of one of our days.

6:30 a.m.-go running-my alone time for the day. I love it! It's my drug...
7:15 a.m.-make coffee-very important and breakfast for the boys-I can't get the food on the table fast enough for them, they are so hungry.
7:30 a.m.-try to eat breakfast really fast, drink coffee, read paper really fast (everything is really fast, to keep food on the table for them)
7:45 a.m.-clean up the aftermath of breakfast
8:00 a.m.-usually change 2 squirmy, squiggly 1 year old's diapers-they are soooo regular
8:00-8:30 a.m.-morning playtime
8:45 a.m.-clean up and naptime, make beds, help Harrison get dressed, brush teeth, comb hair, etc
9:00 a.m.-showertime for mommy-finally!! Harrison watches his "shows"-either Diego or Little Einstieins
9:45 a.m.-off to playgroups or a playdate (usually on Tues/Thurs) or laundry, household stuff on Mon,wed, fri (when Harrison has school)
10:15-get Harrison's lunch ready
10:30-twins get up from nap, Harrison eats lunch-it's early but his carpool ride comes at 11:15 for school
11:15-Harrison is off
11:45 -get lunch for twins ready (and me!)
12:00-eat lunch
12:30-clean up 2 little sweet boys that are really messy at mealtimes!
12:45-depending on the day either naptime or errands (boys get a later afternoon nap on Harrison's school days-they have to roll with it and they do really well)
2:15-leave to pick up Harrison
2:45-school's out, come home, drop off carpool
3:20 arrive home, decompress, snacktime for Harrison, sometimes naptime for the boys
3:45-5:30-playtime, either playdate, outside, walks, park, playroom, etc
5:30-start preparing dinner (hardest part of the day without a doubt, extremely chaotic!!) this is when I really need a glass of wine
6:00-Daddy's home-yea!, dinner time
6:30-clean up and dishes
6:45 pm-twins bath time
7:00 pm-twins books and bedtime
7:00-7:45-Harrison's "wind-down" time, usually puzzles, games, cars
7:45-bath, books and bedtime for Harrison
8:00 pm-officially "off-duty"-ha!ha!-mommy and daddy time-finally
10:00 pm-start getting ready for bed
10:30 read books, magazines, wind down
11:00 pm-lights out-wow, what a day! ready to start again tomorrow!!!!

Seriously, where would I find the time to work?

Please hug your children now...

If this doesn't make you want to go and hug and kiss your little ones...nothing will. I stumbled across this blog somehow, but it has literally rocked my world. Trivial things in this world DO.NOT.MATTER. Nate has an incredible way with words. His daughter, Gywneth Rose was born 15 weeks early...and his wife is on a lung transplant list because she has Cystic Fibrosis. They were trying for years to get pregnant and as her health started deteriorating...they found out they were pregnant. She continued to decline physically while she was pregnant...so they had to deliver their daughter via emergency c-section at 25 weeks...and she is now 8 weeks old. It is truly an amazing thing! So inspiring...I could barely read the blog through the tears. The videos are amazing too...just thought I'd share. Please go read now...Confessions of a CF Husband

I'm taking the plunge...

Well, I've decided to sell my baby stuff at our MOMS Club this consignment sale next month. I can't believe my *baby* years are officially over. I know my boys are technically still babies, but no more bottles, infant car seats, swings, bouncy seats, exersaucers, etc. I really can't believe it's over. A couple of months ago I had urges for having a 4th, but honestly, with 3 my cup overflows with blessings. I feel like I have won the lottery 3 times, why jinx it? I am also enjoying my new "old" body again. For 5 years of my life, my body was not my own and it feels good to be mine again. I know I may shed a tear when I see someone buy one of my baby items, but at the same time when I look at my boys I have tears of happiness that my 3 miracle babies are here with me now!

Opposites

Harrison said something that made me want to post the other day. I love reading him and the boys the book "Guess How Much I Love You". Well, when I tell him I love him I usually say "I love you to the moon and back". When I said this the other day, he responded, "I love you to the sun and front". Now that my friends is a smart cookie! It made me laugh so hard...I had to share!