Texas State Fair, 2012

We just got back from the fair and had so much fun! Wayne took the day off so we were able to go early in the day. The weather was perfect, and it wasn't crowded at all! Going during the week is the way to go. We walked in by the animals so that was our first stop. Nathan fed just about every animal there was. Charlotte, on the other hand, just wanted to look at them from a distance...well, actually from Mommy's arms. 

After looking at all of the animals, we went to a pretend farm where Nathan and Charlotte got to walk through different sections of a working farm and do little activities along the way. Charlotte liked this. Nathan even tried milking a cow!

After the farm, we found the kiddie rides. Nathan rode the first one all by himself and then Charlotte decided she wanted to ride. At first, she was happy and excited...

And then she started to get a little bit nervous...

And once the ride started, so did the screaming and crying!

I figured she was just going to have to wait until the ride was over, but the lady running the ride stopped it so she could get off. Nathan finished riding by himself and had a blast. 

And Charlotte was happy once she was back in the safety of her own stroller!

That was the last ride Charlotte went on, but Nathan went on tons more plus several of the fun houses. The one that he really loved had moving floors that you had to walk over, tunnels to crawl through, and a huge room of bubble suds at the end that Nathan just "happened" to fall into!

A trip to the fair wouldn't be complete without wasting $20 on games! Nathan won a stuffed animal for both him and Charlotte. 

 Plus we stuffed ourselves with corn dogs, ice cream, chips, and funnel cakes! 

Loving School

Nathan and Charlotte have both been in school for about a month. I was so worried about Charlotte liking school and not wanting to be away from me, but she has completely surprised me! She hasn't cried once about having to go to school. In fact, the only time she cries about school is when I tell her it isn't her day to GO to school. She loves her teacher, Mrs. Shelley!!!! Nathan had a rough start. He loved his class from last year and was having a harder time adjusting to this year. Plus he goes an extra day this year so that as been a bit of an adjustment. But I'm happy to report that Nathan is really loving it now. He has made friends with everyone, and it is obvious that they all really like Nathan. Now when I pick him up, instead of seeing him play alone, he is always with the rest of the kids. And when his teachers call him over to go home, all of the kids come over to give him a hug. He makes me wait while he hugs each of them. It is so sweet! Here are a few pictures of them I've taken before school:

Slumber Party

Going to bed at night is always an issue. Nathan is always asking us to sleep in our bed or even on the floor. When he does go to bed in his room, he usually sneaks into Charlotte's room and sleeps on her floor. Or he'll fall asleep downstairs with us and then we take him to bed. Charlotte will usually go to bed in her room but then wakes up around 3:00 in the morning and wants to get in bed with me. I know it's my fault for getting this started, but I'm always so tired that I just get her and put her in my bed so that I can sleep. And then I also have the problem of trying to put them in their own rooms and not waking the other one up. Just last week, Nathan was crying because he didn't want to go to bed which then woke up Charlotte. She started crying and got so upset that she threw up in her bed. So last week, I decided I had enough of this. I wanted them to go to bed at a reasonable hour and to stay in their rooms! No more of this 2 hour bedtime routine. Wayne and I wanted our nights and our bed back! So I prepared both of them that they were going to be sleeping in their own rooms no matter what. They both agreed. I told them I'd leave the door open to the bathroom (the bathroom separates their rooms) so that they would know that the other one was right there. It started out fine, but was soon turning into a whining/crying disaster. They both knew that they couldn't leave their room or they wouldn't get to use the IPad the next day (which is something they both LOVE). But they just couldn't get comfortable with the fact that they were upstairs, ALONE. Eventually, I got Charlotte asleep. Now it was Nathan's turn. He said he wasn't tired and just wanted to play...downstairs with us. We told Nathan that he could play in his room for a while and then get in bed. Basically, we didn't care what he did or when he went to sleep as long as he stayed in his room. Finally, Wayne came up to take over and I went to take a shower and get ready for bed. With Charlotte asleep, I was hoping Daddy could talk some sense into Nathan. A little while later, Wayne comes down and says they are in bed. Really?! That was fast! I was thinking bedtime would now be Wayne's job! I went to check on them a while later and this is what I found:

Wayne said that as he was telling Nathan to be a big boy and sleep in his bed. Charlotte woke up and came in and said "Sleep with Nay Nay." Nathan loved that idea...he just likes to have someone with him...a living, breathing thing, whether it's mommy or daddy or a 2 year old, he doesn't care. So Charlotte climbed in bed with Nathan, and they slept all night! It's been a week and a half, and Wayne and I are in Heaven! Nathan and Charlotte LOVE sleeping in Nathan's room. When it's time for bed, they go up there together. I read them each a book, and they get in bed! It's amazing to me that they walk up to their room AWAKE...that I'm not having to hope they fall asleep on the couch and then sneak them up. Sometimes I hear them on the monitor talking and singing, but they always go to bed soon after. And they sleep ALL night!!! Yes, I know they are still not sleeping in their OWN beds, but who cares? I just wanted my nights back! And when they wake up in the morning, they play in Nathan's room for a while before they come down to get me. I actually think it's making them closer because they are having so much fun being together. So I figure that right now, I'll just get them used to sleeping upstairs by themselves (not with Mommy and Daddy) and then they can work on sleeping in their own beds. I know they can't sleep together forever, but as of now, it is something we can all be happy with. And look how cute they are! Notice, they each of a blankie with them. 

Getting Ready For Halloween

Halloween is only a few weeks away and we are ready! Nathan told me that he wanted to be Spider-Man for Halloween. I had been on the lookout for the perfect Spider-Man costume but was having a hard time finding one I liked. I heard that they had cute ones at Costco and went there to look, but they didn't have any left in Nathan's size. I went to two of them! The next day I went to Target and I found one I really liked but they only had a small and I really wanted a medium. I went ahead and bought it just to have and then went to another Target...same thing, only smalls left. Next I went to Toys R Us, and they had one medium left! Yay!!! Nathan had gone with me when we went to Costco and was so sad to leave without a costume. On the day I went to Target and Toys R Us, he was at Grandmother's house. So when I picked him up, I told him I found his costume, and he couldn't wait to get home and try it on! We put it on, and he was so excited! It made me so happy to see him so happy! He did not want to take it off that night and even slept with it next to his bed! The next day, he wanted to put it on as soon as he woke up. I think he wore it for two days straight. Then we told him he had to put it up until Halloween. It made it worth it going to one store after another to see him so happy!

Charlotte kept telling us that she wanted to be a pink princess, not just a princess but a PINK princess. Well, as I was looking for Nathan's costume, I also kept an eye out for Charlotte's costume. But every place I went, they only had the Disney princess costumes. Most of the time they were only for older girls, size 4-6. Even if they did have them in Charlotte's size, none of them were pink. I did find one pink princess costume at a Halloween store that was ok, but I wasn't just thrilled over it. Plus this costume was $40! There's no way I'm spending $40 on a one-time costume. Just a few weeks ago, I was at the mall and decided to look at the costumes at Gymboree. They didn't have a princess costume, but they did have a cute fairy one. I thought it would just have to do. But before I bought it, I went to one other children's store next door. And guess what I found, a pink princess costume in a size 2-3! I felt like angels were about to start singing when I saw it! It was so perfect, and there was only 1 left!

When I brought it home to Charlotte, she was smiling so big. She said "Me a pretty pink princess!" She could not wait to put it on, and I couldn't wait to see her in it. As I got it on her, I could tell that it was going to fit perfectly and then, all of a sudden, she started crying and screaming and trying to get it off! What's wrong Charlotte??? She said, "Don't want it!" I was crushed! Why doesn't she like it? As soon as I got her to calm down, she told me it hurt. I realized that she thought it was itchy underneath. So I ran upstairs and got her a shirt to wear under it. We put that on and then the dress. And she loved it! Thank goodness!!! Now both Nathan and Charlotte are ready to Trick or Treat!

I also got creative last week and made these rice crispy treat pumpkins and acorns. Aren't they cute?! I was going to a Pinterest Party (which is an online site with lots of creative ideas) At the party, we were going to make a wreath together, and we were all supposed to bring a snack we found on Pinterest. I have to admit, I was pretty impressed with myself since I'm not the most creative person. These snacks did take me almost 3 hours to make, but oh well :)

Playgroup

I'm a little behind on my posts! Two weeks ago, my playgroup met at a duck pond. We played outside for a while and then went to Chick-Fil-A for dinner and then off to Nathan's soccer practice across the street. Thursdays are definitely a busy day! This duck pond was fun because there was a lot of space for the kids to run around. Not only did we feed the MASSIVE CROWD of ducks, but there was also a bridge for the kids to run around, and lots of trees perfect for climbing. Nathan and his friends pretended like they were on a camp out and were exploring their camp ground. They chased the ducks and squirrels with sticks, they found dinosaur tracks, and even bear caves!

We brought bread for the ducks, and could tell that they were used to being fed. As soon as they saw us take out a piece of bread, they swarmed! Charlotte was a little scared of them, but they other kids had so much fun feeding them. 

This next picture is from the following week. My playgroup met at a playground near the duck pond. In the past, we have rotated meeting up at each other's houses. But we decided that as long as it wasn't raining or freezing cold, we should meet outside. We take turns bringing picnic food for the group and have dinner while we play. We used to meet in the mornings but now that everyone is in school, we meet in the afternoon around 3:30. Nathan is able to play with his friends and then go to soccer practice at 6:00 pm. So on Thursdays, I leave to pick Nathan up at school at 1:30 and usually don't get home until 7:30! 

At this park, the kids played on the playground and then we went to the pavilion for dinner. While we were eating, they saw a rabbit in the grass. They all jumped up from the picnic table at the same time and started chasing it! As they were chasing it, they each got sticks along the way and decided they were on a hunt for rabbits. It was so funny to see every single one of them doing the same thing, hunting for a rabbit. Then they started singing a song that Nathan made up! They were all following their leader, Mr. Nathan, and chanting, "We work together as a team, and we don't give up" How funny is that? Nathan led them all over the park, looking for rabbits. They were so cute!

Poor Raccoon

This is another Wayne story. After Wayne's expensive business trip, he spent the next week presenting budgets to clients. It was a very big week for him. On Wednesday night, they were all having dinner at the Ritz Carlton. Since Wayne was going to go out to dinner that night, I decided to take Nathan and Charlotte to the park and the library late that afternoon. As we were getting in the car, Wayne called me and told me that he had forgotten his suit coat, which he had to have to go to the Ritz. So instead of going to the library, we had to drive to Wayne's office and deliver his coat. Thankfully we got there before Wayne's group was ready to leave for dinner! He was very thankful and told us to go someplace fun for dinner ourselves...what did Nathan and Charlotte choose? McDonalds! We actually had a really good time because we found a McDonalds that had an outside play area, and we were the only ones there. It was fun to be there just the three of us and let them play as long as they wanted. While Daddy was enjoying a nice juicy steak, we were enjoying some juicy nuggets, ha!

Wayne got home pretty late that night, and we were already in bed. The next morning, I took Nathan to school and, as we were driving out of the neighborhood, Nathan saw a dead raccoon. I thought it was a cat at first and was a bit relieved it was just a raccoon. Nathan was sad for the raccoon, and brought it up again that night with Daddy. While Nathan was taking a bath, Wayne let me in on a secret...he was the one who hit the raccoon! He said that when he was coming home from the Ritz the night before, he pulled into our neighborhood, and it ran right in front of him. It hit the front of the car, but he knew he didn't run OVER it. As he was driving to our house, he started wondering if it was ok or not and decided to turn around and go check on it. When he went back to the scene of the crime, he said he felt awful because not only was the raccoon laying on the road, a second raccoon (it's spouse) was there sniffing and nudging it! How sad is that?! Wayne thought, "You've got to be kidding me!" I told him, their nest of babies were probably in the grass...poor Wayne :)

Big Spender

I'm always writing about Nathan and Charlotte, but this post is devoted to Wayne. This is the funniest story! Last week, Wayne had to go to Nashville for business. He's been really busy at work the past few weeks, and wasn't really looking forward to going out of town. He was so exhausted but at least he was able to schedule his flight so that he would arrive in Nashville a few hours early so that he could rest and relax before going to dinner that night with everyone. From the moment he left, nothing went right. First of all, whenever Wayne travels, he valets his car at the airport so that he can park right away and get in. Well, for some reason, the valet guys weren't there so Wayne had to circle and circle the garage looking for a parking place. He found one and quickly made it to the plane. Luckily, his flight wasn't delayed at all, and he made good time getting to Nashville. He took a cab to his hotel and saw that he had a good 2 hours before having to meet in the lobby. It was just enough time to watch some football and rest in bed. So Wayne goes to turn on the TV, and it just so happens that the channels showing the game were not working. "That's just great, but oh well. I'll just lay in bed and check scores on my phone," he thought. Wayne goes to get his phone and can't find it anywhere. He remembered taking it out of his pocket in the cab to get to his wallet...and setting it on the seat next to him. Wayne panicked for a moment. I mean he HAS to have his phone while there on business, but how was he going to know what cab he was in?! Then he remembered he paid with a credit card and had the receipt. The name of the company and number of the cab was there! Thank goodness! He called the company and the company contacted the cab driver who confirmed that he did have Wayne's phone and could deliver it to him in 30 minutes. Whew! Of course Wayne had to pay him $25 for the extra trip, but at least he had his phone back. After returning to the room, phone in hand, Wayne checked the clock. He's got a little over an hour left. So Wayne got back in bed and closed his eyes to try to get a quick nap in. Then, all of a sudden, the fire alarm starts going off! "You've got to be kidding me!" Wayne lays there a while seeing if it will go off, but no. So he gets up, and goes to the hall to look out. He finds out its a false alarm and there's no need to evacuate. So he goes back to bed, but the alarm keeps blaring and blaring and BLARING! Finally, it turns off. Clock check...30 minutes...time to get up and take a shower...no nap.

Even though Wayne didn't get a nap in, he had fun visiting with everyone in the lobby and going out to dinner. After dinner, a group of people decided to walk to one of the bars, Tooties, to listen to some live music and have a few more drinks. Wayne was having a really good time when one of the band members came around with his tip jar. Everyone really liked the band, but all Wayne had in the way of cash was twenties and a few ones. He gave him two dollars apologized to the guy for only having a few dollars on him, but the guy was really nice and said every little bit helps and thank you. As the night went on, Wayne and his co-workers were really having a good time. Everyone was drinking (their hotel was in walking distance so no one was worried about driving) and they were all really loving the band. So Wayne decided he was going to be a little more generous...and show off a bit. He was going to give him a...drum roll please...Twenty! When one of the band members came back around, Wayne called him over and said, "Hey man, I found a little something extra for you." He gave him the twenty dollar bill and said, "You guys are amazing." The band guy was so appreciative. He thanked Wayne several times and told him if he had any song requests, to be sure to tell him. Wayne was a little surprised by how thankful he was, but like he said earlier, every little bit helps. And Wayne knew a $20 tip was very generous.

At the end of the night, everyone walked back to the hotel. When they got to the hotel, everyone said goodnight, and then Wayne's boss asked Wayne if he could borrow a few dollars for his cab ride home. Wayne told him he only had twenties but he could still have one. As Wayne was looking through his wallet, he was thinking, "Wait a minute, I know I had more money than this." But he didn't want to make a big deal about it while his boss was there so he have him a twenty and then went up to his room. Wayne opened his wallet and started frantically searching through it. "Where the hell is that HUNDRED DOLLAR BILL?!?!" Yes, Wayne had a few dollar bills, some twenties, and a hundred dollar bill in his wallet. He dumped out his wallet...no hundred. And then it hit him. No wonder the band guy was so appreciative! Instead of tipping him a twenty, he accidentally have him a hundred! The shock of throwing away ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS mixed with the fact that he had been drinking, made him feel like he was about to pass out! When Wayne was telling me this, I was laughing so hard I could hardly breathe! Wayne, Mr. Conservative, just tipped a guy in a bar $100! A $5 tip would have been nice...$10 would be generous...and $20 (what he thought he gave) would have been exceptional! But $100?! That's ridiculous! Wayne said that when he started thinking about all he could have spent that hundred dollars on, it just made him sick...I mean he'd rather buy everyone a round, or two rounds of drinks than give it to a stranger! I could just imagine the shock he felt at the realization of tipping a hundred. I don't even think I would do that! Poor Wayne!

After recovering from my uncontrollable laughter, I told Wayne that he learned two lessons: First, don't drink so much that you can't tell the difference between a twenty and a hundred, and secondly, don't try to be a show off. Isn't that the funniest thing?!