Entertainer of the Year

Not that I ever questioned for a minute why Kenny Chesney has been named Entertainer of the Year for so many years now but WOW! Now I know why! He is an amazing performer with lots and lots of spunk and excitement in his shows. And despite a bone-crushing injury to his foot during his grand entrance onto the stage, he put on THE best concert I have ever seen!

D1 and I traveled to Columbia on Saturday afternoon for the Big Show and managed to arrive just a tad late, thanks to some heavy traffic. We missed some no-name band and Luke Bryan ("All My Friends Say") but made it just in time to hear Gary Allan (eh, I could take it or leave it), LeAnn Rimes (cute & spirited) and Brooks & Dunn (OUTSTANDING!). But all I really cared about was that we made it for the Big Show! This concert at Williams-Brice Stadium was Kenny's kickoff performance to his summer stadium "Poets & Pirates" tour. And even though he was limping and hopping from point A to point B (and drinking frequently from his Solo cup; I'm sure it was just apple juice!), he did not let his boo-boo stop him from giving his best to the fans. That was such an awesome experience to see him live and I would definitely love to see him the next time he comes this way!! We had a great time!

Get Your Autographs Now, Folks.....This Boy is MLB-Bound

It's official....my baby is all grown up! After 3 rainy Saturdays, d1 FINALLY got to play in his very first t-ball game this weekend and it was so much fun to watch! He takes it very seriously but still has so much fun. When they were in the field first, we had to continue to remind him that the ball was coming and to stop picking weeds out of the dirt. Eventually he found the game more interesting... On his way to the plate for his debut at-bat, he got so excited that he tripped, fell and rolled to the plate. No worries, though....he got right up and kept running. I have to say that some of the little guys (and girls) on our team might have layed there and cried but not my little man. When he was up to bat, Coach (D1) stood behind him at homeplate and reminded him to take his time and d1 told him, "Yeah, yeah, just let me hit it!" And he did....and on his speedy run to first base, he tripped and fell again! Sweet child didn't inherit much from me but he did get the clumsy genes! Again no tears, just intense concentration to get to that base. At one point, a train came rolling by the field and we basically took a "Time-Out" as we had lost both teams' attention. Trains are way more cool than baseball! The rest of the game went well and all the kids were ready for their snack after about 15 minutes of playing.

On a sentimental note, this is one of many events that D1 and I have been looking forward to since the day we found out we were going to be parents. We are both big sports fans and have dreamed of the day that we get to cheer for our children as they enjoyed such great American pasttimes. And no matter who comes along...Mommy will always be his biggest fan! Check out pics of my little homerun hitter!!

Bless His Heart

d1 never ceases to amaze me with the funny things that he says. One in particular I wanted to write about as I NEVER want to forget this.....

Sunday night we sat down to eat dinner. As usual, both boys are starving, screaming and ready to scarf down some grub. I couldn't get it there fast enough which usually means that one is either scratching the WOOD table with their fork or creating a stream with their milk cup...one of these days I'll remember not to give them ANYTHING until it is time to place the food in their mouth. Anyway, D1 gets onto d1 a tad bit and that, naturally, ticks d1 off to no end. It is customary that when we sit down to eat, d1 insists on saying the blessing. It usually goes something like this, "(Thank you) Jesus, for this food, and for all, things, Amen." On occasion, he'll even throw in some blessings for his friends and teachers at school and church as well as his grandparents. Not this time....this time the extra special prayers went for his daddy. After his typical prayer mentioned above, he added, "And for daddy being ugly to me." I think he meant to say, "Please forgive daddy for being ugly" but we got the point. Very hard to hold back the laughter afterwards because he was VERY serious! Daddy may have been "ugly" to d1 but it was mommy that was red with fury with d2 earlier in the afternoon. I went upstairs to get a load of laundry and expect to come back and find d2 where he was when I left him - catching some Wiggles action. Nope! Instead I find him with his diaper off, playing with his poo like it was play-doh....ON MY WHITE CARPET!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Awesome! Love it! Sweet little boys....

What a Great Weekend!

Last weekend was fantastic! My BFF, Kristina flew into CLT Thursday morning for a long weekend in the South. Kristina and I have been friends for about 13 years now ~ we went to high school together, were college roommates and were each other's Maid/Matron of Honor in our weddings that were 3 months apart. It's awesome that we've stayed so close all this time, and our children are each 9 months apart so they will always have playmates during our annual (or semi-annual) visits to each other. I miss her everyday but I know that distance will never separate true friendship!

When she arrived, she was immediately fascinated with the beautiful scenery and thought the accents were super cute, especially the one that d1 has so quickly inherited. We had lots of girl time, which we were both desperately in need of. We did some shopping, eating, relaxing, eating....did I mention we ate a lot? Holy canoly, I was trying hard to drop a few pounds before her arrival and I quickly put it all back on within 24 hours of her arrival. We did Salsarita's, Fuddruckers, Cold Stone Creamery, Blue Bay Oyster House, Ryan's.....and it was all so delish!

She had been wanting to come for a visit for awhile but it was a no-brainer as to when she would come when I told her that the local MOPS group was bringing Jon & Kate to town. We are both HUGE fans of the show, and thought it would be a lot of fun to center her visit around this event. A big thanks to my new friend, Kelly for upgrading us to the front row with her - it was awesome! After the show, we did stand in line for awhile to get some autographs and to personally meet the newfound reality stars. They are sweet people and after hearing them speak, we now see that they are very much strong Christians who realize that God has given them an amazing "litter" of children. Even though their lives are crazy and chaotic, they are aware of how blessed they truly are! Such an inspiration to someone like myself who thinks her life is crazy when 2 are crying at the same time. I cannot even IMAGINE 8! Ahhh!

Could This Be An Answer To My Prayers?

In my spare time (okay, at work in my office), I frequent a great website for Mommy's and came across a post a couple of weeks ago that caught my attention. Another mom was voicing her concern for her preschool son's behavior and I thought, "Hmmm, I bet I can relate." So, after some venting about how her son has episodes of aggression and anger and asking for advice, she got many responses from other mothers across the country. Many agreed that they had found a solution to a lot of these behavioral tendencies and it all linked to one thing....Red 40 food dye. According to an article I found, this dye has been linked to temper tantrums, hyperactivity, kicking, nervousness, aggression, etc. Basically, research shows that some kids have a sensitivity to this dye and their bodies cannot process or handle it like others and most adults. This food dye is in many foods such as Cheetos, Doritos, Skittles, chewing gum, Gatorade, suckers.....basically, anything that God did not make red (or pink or whatever), it has Red 40 in it. Now, don't think for a minute that my children's diet consisted of Red Velvet cake and Kool-Aid because they are certainly not given junk food on a regular basis. And it's not to say that he'll never have this stuff in his system again because I can't stand next to him 24/7 (and he can be a sneaky little guy). But apparently, a little goes a long way with this stuff. Even foods you might consider "healthy" often have been altered to make the appearance more appealing (i.e. strawberry applesauce. What I found most interesting about this article is that although the FDA has approved this additive, it has also been proven this dye can kill weeds and be effective as a pesticide. That does NOT sit well with me, as a parent AND as a human being!

In many of my previous posts, I have mentioned d1's behavior and how "mean" he can be at times. It always bothers me because I know he can be such a sweet, compassionate little guy, too. I'm not talking about a couple minutes of fits and ugliness; I'm talking spitting IN MY FACE and calling me names. Names we don't use in our house (thanks, friends at daycare!) and actions that are highly unacceptable! After reading many of the moms talk about the changes that have taken place when they eliminated this dye from their children's diet, D1 and I made the decision to "experiment" on d1 (and d2, although he does not seem to have as aggressive tendencies as d1 just yet) and cut out all Red 40. We went through our pantry and fridge and tossed all that contained this in the ingredients. According to sources, the dye can take up to a week to completely rid itself from the body but after just a few days, we could see a drastic change in d1 and his behavior. He seemed to be able to concentrate longer (his teacher even noticed a change in his level of concentration), he does not have a meltdown over the color of his bowl at breakfast and he does not throw things and call us "Stupid" when he can't wear shorts to bed instead of pants. Many people (usually the older folks) will just say, "Oh, it's just a phase" or "He's just at that age" but I'm not sure I'm buying that anymore. Seriously, the changes are quite obvious and I challenge any and all parents that experience similar situations to give it a try. Even if your child doesn't have these issues, can this stuff REALLY be healthy for their development if it can also be used as Weed-B-Gone? I am not an expert on this and I certainly don't know much about going green, eating organically and voodoo medicine but if I can make a difference in my child's behavior and help him to enjoy life with less timeouts, less Sassy Spray and less wooden spoon paddling, you can bet I will!


ETA on 5/2: Doc put d1 on some antibiotics (Cephalexin) for a possible infection. d1 has been AWFUL AWFUL AWFUL this week and it's quite obvious he cannot control his actions. It finally hit me to search the inactive ingredients for Cephalexin. Yep, first on the list FD&C Red #40. Proof in my eyes that this is no coinky-dink. Bad, bad stuff!

KU WINS! KU WINS! KU WINS! KU WINS!

Ahhhh, it's been a long time coming but on the 20th anniversary of Danny Manning leading the Kansas Jayhawks to a national title, our boys have done it again!!! NCAA National Champions!! And what an AWESOME game it was!!! Both teams played extraordinarily well and the game was evenly matched but in overtime, it was the Hawks who came out ahead. Great job, guys!! Now if we can just keep Rush from going pro for one more season.....and, Oklahoma State, KEEP YOUR HANDS OFF OUR COACH!!!!! ROCK CHALK JAYHAWK ----- GO KUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!

Go Drive!!!!

This Sunday we attended our first Greenville Drive game. The Greenville Drive is a Class A Minor League baseball team for the Boston Red Sox and this is their 3rd year in Greenville. Thanks to my employer, we got 4 FREE tickets behind homeplate for Sunday's game. This was Opening Weekend so the excitement was in the air and the weather was gorgeous (after many days of dreary rain!). d1 wasn't sure of the mascot; he wanted to give him a high-5 but then balked when Reedy came around. He did study very intensely what the players were doing but, as d2 was, they were both MUCH more concerned with what I had in my backpack for snack. Yes, I brought in outside snacks....Cracker Jacks, licorice, all the healthy stuff!!! We did have a good time, although we are realistic in understanding that it's not something we can do YET and expect to actually watch the game. The boys had fun and little by little, we're exposing them to activities that we both believe will be a big part of our family time in years to come.