Aldie

I have a new grocery love. . .it's Aldie. My only struggle is that I really want the $50 gas card from Harris Teeter, so I will have to split between the two for the next few months. I could not believe how cheap, yet tasty, Aldie's produce was. And their oatmeal was only $1.87 for a large cylinder. I have a feeling I will be going to Aldie weekly for produce and oatmeal, as that is what I spend the most money on in the grocery store.

If you go, don't forget your quarter for a cart, your own grocery bags, and your debit card.

A Visit with GG and Grandpa Steve

I love when Mom comes to visit!!! The only problem is that it is never long enough. And I am so grateful for her husband, who treats me like a daughter, and more importantly, loves my babies as his own grandbabies. Both Madeline and Ryan adore their GG and Grandpa Steve. On Friday we visited the Raleigh Science Museum for storytime and meet the animals. We got to pet a dove, a snake, and a bunny. The kids loved it and so did we. And, of course, we went to Costco for lunch (anyone who knows me, knows my love for Costco). That night, Matt and Steve stayed up until 1:30 debating politics. . .thankfully, my mom and I made it to bed much earlier. On Saturday, GG and Grandpa Steve took Madeline out to her favorite breakfast place. . .Bojangles, for a blueberry biscuit. Madeline loved this special time with GG and Grandpa Steve, and Matt and I loved having special time with Ry. Our sweet boy is a little chatterbox when his sister is not around. It's so cute. One of his favorite things is to take us to his room and have conversations about superheroes, while he points out the different ones on his Marvel poster.

On Monday, Madeline and I were driving somewhere and she asked me how I was going to get home. I was perplexed by this question and asked her why she wanted to know. She said that I did not have a GPS, so she did not know how I was going to get home. I burst out laughing as soon as she said this, and then I asked her what she knew about GPS's. She reminded me that GG and Grandpa Steve have one and it tells them where to go. I love her inquisitive mind. As we are homeschooling and reading, she has so many questions about the meaning of words. It is so special to watch her mind grow and expand.

We celebrated a special Christmas with GG and Grandpa Steve.

Ry's favorite present was his Transformer set; it came with a tent, sleeping bag and flashlight. He actually slept in his bedroom in the tent, on the floor in the sleeping bag. . .with the flashlight on, that night.

Madeline loved her vet doll. All of her stuffed animals went to the vet last weekend. My mom and Steve are so generous!

Grandpa Steve, GG, Maddie and Ry.

Maddie and her BoBo

My baby girl had her first sleep over last night. She had a great time. I, on the other hand, had a rough evening. Though I knew Laurie would take great care of her, it was incredibly difficult for me to let her go. My mind raced with thoughts of her waking up in the middle of the night, scared but not wanting to wake anyone up. The thought of her being scared, and alone, and maybe crying, overwhelmed my heart. And of course I also had really irrational fears. . .I wondered if the Shortlidges had fresh batteries in their smoke detectors, and if they had carbon monoxide detectors. It's hard to "grow-up" as a parent, but I know it is necessary. I desire for Madeline and Ryan to be independent and confident, and to learn to work through their fears. I'm so grateful for the balance between Matt and me. There was no way I thought she was old enough to sleep away for the night, but Matt did not think twice about letting her go (the only time I have spent a night away from her was when I gave birth to Ryan).

It is so special to see Madeline's nurturing side with the dog. These pictures say it all. I wonder how the Lord will use this trait in her.

Sick Day

Sweet Ry is a bit under the weather. As a result he not only took a nap yesterday, he slept for more than 2.5 hours. Around 5pm, I decided to wake him so that he would also get a good night's sleep. My sweet boy is always grumpy when he wakes up, so I decided to let Bo-Bo wake him up (really, this is the LAST time I'm letting the dog on my bed!!!). See below.

Snow, Snow, Snow

I am listening to the most wonderful sound right now--Madeline and Ryan playing together. Madeline is the Mommy, Ryan is the Daddy and they are visiting Grandma (I guess that's me). My bed is the car. They are driving to breakfast to have pancakes and then to Bojangles for blueberry biscuits and are taking their kids to a birthday party with a pinata. So precious.

Can you believe that we got 7 inches of snow??? As usual, Matt was out of the house early shoveling our driveway and then moving on to all of our neighbor's driveways (he does this every time it snows, which is once every 4 years here in NC, and I love it). And on Monday afternoon, Matt went out determined to find a sled and he came back with an awesome one. It is inflatable and flies down any hill.

Unfortunately, I'm realizing that the Wells' are truly Southerners. We did not do well in the snow. Though we did have fun sledding, after 20 minutes outside (we went out twice), Maddie and Ry were in tears and ready to come inside. Their layers of clothes were not impermeable to the cold snow climbing up their legs, arms, and into their shoes.

Ryan

So Matt and I are ready to battle the thumb. Since Ryan has been mobile (since age 1) we have caught more than our share of nasty flu viruses and a horrible stomach bug. They usually all start with Ryan and we are convinced that it is because of his thumb sucking. This week I hit it hard. . .with no success (the, "Ryan stop sucking your thumb" every two minutes is way too difficult to sustain, especially with a new puppy). So. . .yesterday, we went to Target and bought the toy he has been longing for since Christmas. It's the Imaginext Bat Cave. In the store, I told him that we would buy it and that when he went 14 days without sucking his thumb during the day, he could have it. When we got home, I prominently displayed the Bat Cave on top of the TV. While the boy is motivated to stop sucking his thumb and will promptly take it out of his mouth when reminded of his cherished prize, today has been a horrible struggle. Of course he does not understand 14 days and he has been having mini-tantrums throughout the day because he wants to play with the toy. He even said to me, "Mommy, ewe not being very nice to me", and "Mommy, ewe making me sad". Oh my, oh my, oh my. I can't wait until Matt gets home from his trip tomorrow and we can figure out if we should persevere or scrap this idea. It was so easy with Madeline. . .one day we told her she could no longer suck her thumb during the day, and though she cried and fussed a bit, she stopped that day.

I brought Ry to his first class today. I was shocked at his reaction when I was about to leave. My fiercely independent, strong-willed boy did not want his mommy to go. I loved every moment of it, but of course, I left after reassuring him that I would be back and that I loved him. When I came to pick him up, he was so proud to show me the work he had done. And, as soon as we walked out the door, unsolicited, he told me, "Mommy, I isten to da teacher and be good". Of course, my heart went pitter-patter, pitter-patter. He has been one of my greatest joys and one of my greatest challenges and it is such a joy to realize that all the hard work, all the discipline, all the tears, all the confusion, and all the doubting, have made an impact.

Matt and I have nicknamed Ryan "Fifty Percent" (actually, Matt did the nickname, as I am not that clever) because we understand only about 50% of what he says. Last week I took him to be evaluated. My sweet boy is a bit behind and right on the border for needing profession help. We are going to work with him at home for the next few months and then have him re-evaluated.

Dog Days

As most everyone knows, I'm not a dog lover. Since being married to Matt I have been attacked by a bull dog and a German Shepard, growled menacingly at by a boxer, and bit in the face by a bull mastiff. Really, there's no rational explanation for the dog. Both Matt and I think that it's great to grow up with a pet. Aside from teaching responsibility (of course, that will hopefully come when they are a few years older), we both think that dogs can foster a sense of emotional security. . .when no one else understands, at least Bo-Bo does (or maybe Matt and I are just crazy and are the only kids that experienced this emotion :)). And Ryan really needs a wrestling buddy when Daddy's out of town and Mommy really needs another baby and Madeline really loves to nuture and Daddy just loves dogs (even though he's allergic). . .so, that's our reasoning. However, I promise everyone that my dog will not become a human-like figure in the Wells' home. Since we have never had a child sleep in our bed, you better believe that the dog will not. And there will be no spot for the dog on any piece of furniture. The dog's dwelling place is on the ground. But, of course, I have fallen in love with him. I admit that I kiss he cute face and nuzzle his furry head. I even carry him up the stairs. Anyway, I'm rambling because I have yet to sleep through the night since we got him last Monday, and my brain's a little fuzzy.This WAS Mommy's blanket basket. He's so cute curled up in it. . .do blankets really need a special place???

RyRy LOVES Bo-Bo. Oh, I forgot. We named him Bo-Bo. His daddy was named Bo-Bo and we LOVED his daddy. And it goes with our family. . .Ry-Ry, Bo-Bo. . . His official name is Bobolicious (thanks Grandma for thinking that one up). Anyway, our biggest struggle is not the puppy, but is not leaving the puppy alone with Ry. Ry thinks Bo-Bo is his own playmate who loves to wrestle and play rough. So, Bo-Bo is usually on a leash attached to Mommy or Daddy in the house, to ensure his safety. Ryan's love for the dog is sweet, but just a bit too rough.

Sweet, nurturing Madeline loves to cuddle up with Bo-Bo, kiss him on the head and tell him how much she loves him.

He's cute, isn't he. . .or is it just that he is our ugly baby. The first night we had him, he had terrible fleas. Matt and I literally picked fleas off him with our fingers and drowned them in glasses of water. Thankfully, the vet had a miracle pill that made all the fleas die within almost of hour of ingestion. I'm embarrassed to say that a few days later, Maddie's friend Ali came over with her stuffed cat. About 20 minutes after Ali went home, Ali noticed a bug on her stuffed cat and showed her mommy, Shanda. Guess what the bug was. . .yup, a flea. Thankfully, Shanda was really gracious. . .how embarrassing. Would you send your kids back to someones house if they came back with fleas???