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.

Our Trip to the Atlanta Zoo

Last week I put my brave face on and me and the little d's drove to the Atlanta zoo. We've been wanting to make a trip down there but we had an extra special reason this time....our good friends, T & S (from MO) were in Atlanta for the week while S's daddy was in training. T and I worked together in the past and had MANY playdates. S and d1 are the same age and have always played so well together. We often talk of their arranged marriage.....S comes from such good parents. Her momma's an accountant and her daddy is an Air Force captain. Can it get any better than that for in-laws????

The day was absolutely perfect and the layout of the zoo was great! Everything is so close in proximity, which is good because d2 would NOT ride in the stroller. I was either carrying him or running him down. He was a little on the naughty side, which is a bit unusual for him. I hope he's not getting SICK.....We did have a little injury timeout, although I think it scared me more than him. I placed him next to a Yogi Bear sign and thought he would stand still.....not so much. Just as soon as I got the camera up to take the picture, he went head first off the ledge. Not to fear, his fall was stopped by the park bench. He didn't seem to mind, barely made a whimper but I was FREAKING out! The lady sitting there told me to relax about 5 times and that it looked much worse than it actually was. Yeah, whateva!

So, back to the love story.....d1 was SOOOOOO well-behaved. I know most of my posts are rants about his horrid behavior and how he doesn't listen and play well with his brother and all the hitting and spitting that occurs. Well, boy did he surprise me!! He held S's hand the entire day and I didn't have to tell him once to stay with us; it was unbelievable.....I know that boys act well when they are trying to impress a girl but I didn't realize it started at age 3!! I need her to come stay with us awhile to keep this boy in check! How precious is this picture?????

When we were leaving to head home, we said our good-byes and promised we would see each other again soon. It didn't seem like a big deal but it was very clear that d1 doesn't understand the distance between us because he asked me if we could come back to see S at the zoo soon! :( It's so strange that kids at this age can care for someone so much (other than Mom & Dad) because you could see just how much they love each other as friends. I'm thinking a fall wedding would be beautiful................

Easter 2008

This Easter was our very first spent in the South....and it was a great one! We visited Uncle Bob's on Saturday and spent the entire day with Grandpa and lots of other relatives in Woodruff. d1 had lots of fun riding on all of Uncle Bob's toys....I think his favorite is the orange tractor by far. Both boys did get to catch a slow, safe ride on the 4-Wheeler (although it just makes me numb with fear, even in the safest conditions). Of course, in the midst of all the chaos, I forgot to grab our camera.....UGH!! How irritating!




On Easter Sunday, the boys woke up to find that the Easter Bunny had visited our house while they were sleeping and left them a few fun toys to fight over. We attended church and then after our nice, relaxing Sunday naps, we got up and played at the park for a bit and then came back and colored eggs. Yeah, I know....a little behind but we didn't get home early enough Saturday night to do it.....and the boys are too young to know the difference so we went with it. Here are some pictures I did sneak while they were dying the eggs with D1.....it was quite a mess at times but nothing too disastrous....

How Did They Do It?

Honestly! How in the WORLD did women raise families of 4,6 & 8 children? If I could travel back in time, I would be very interested to see how they managed to stay sane. Seriously, there weren't "happy pills" like there are now so how did they manage to keep themselves together all the while dealing with a crazy flock of children? I really used to consider myself a strong woman but these days, I feel like the weakest link by the end of the day. All (mostly) due to the screaming and fighting that occurs in my house....no, no. Not between me and the hubs but between the two little DD's that have sprouted horns on their little heads. Below you will see a "Before" shot that was taken at the beginning of one particular day....and this really fits ANY given day in our household....

Awww, aren't they sweet??? HA! Fast forward, oh....maybe an hour and you will find a different picture....

I used to be able to say it was all the older one's actions but these days, it seems pretty split. Little d2 has figured out how to get under d1's skin. The only difference is that a good, stern "NO!" brings d2 to tears. With d1, we are still trying to figure out what makes him tick (and what will deter his behavior). We cannot figure out how to curb his aggressiveness ~ he's not like this with any other child, just his lil' bro. We have tried everything from time-outs (does NOT work with this one), spankin's (we love and believe in THE Dr. Dobson but he needs to meet this "Strong-Willed" child), reward systems, taking things away, etc. Everyone tells me it's the age and at this point, I'm ready to agree because if it's not, then OH MY GOODNESS!!!! At least with that theory, I have a light at the end of the tunnel. To all of you that have successfully raised boys (without having the neighbors calling CPS), GOD BLESS YOU!!! And I'm open to suggestions.....