do something

This week officially kicked off my 2009 3 day. Yes...I am walking again. Why?.....well, why wouldn't I. I have been thinking about this a lot lately and have come to these conclusions.

It is important to do something.

It is important to try to make the world a better place.

It is important to stand up for people that can not stand up for themselves.

and it is important to show your kids how to do these things.

Anne Frank once said "how wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world". Last year the 3 day raised $110 million dollars. Every cent of that money was raised by people just like me that decided to do something. People that did what Anne Frank was talking about and stopped waiting. How amazing is that!

My kids and I always have the radio on in the car. Just recently they started playing the 3 day commercials. You probably know the ones. They always play the song "I wanna do something that matters...". Well, this year, every time Bryce hears them he says "that's what you do mommy. That's your race. You help people that are sick" (this is how we have tried to explain the walk and my absence for the 3 days). So...I know that he is getting it. He is understanding that it is important to help others. And I hope one day he finds his own "do something".

On a much lighter note....I got my fist 2 donations this week! Thanks Cheryl and Nancy. You both rock! I am a little less nervous about the fundraising because of yall!

We also had our first big team fundraiser....A Texas holdem tournament!! It went really well and we raised around $1,300. Everyone had fun. My friend Jennifer was the last women standing and came in 3rd out of 47 players!! Thanks to all of you that came out to support us. We decided to have shirts made this year to wear and to sell. I love them! We are selling them for $10 so if you are interested please let me know.

I'm sure that I will have many more posts about the 3 day and my fundraising and training journey. If you would like to help out and make a donation please click on the 3 day widget on the right and it will take you to my personal page. Each walker has to raise a minimum of 2,300 this year, so I need all the help I can get!!

Four of the five members of this years 3 day team

Love our shirt design!! If you want to buy one please let me know.

All of the money goes to the 3 day and it is a great way to advertise this amazing cause.

How did I miss that!?!

Bryce had a baseball game today. It was 44 degrees outside and Callie was exhausted (as was I) so I decided to keep her home and let her take a really long nap. We both slept for 3 hours and woke up to Bryce babbling excitedly about his baseball game. Turns out, he hit his first double off of a pitch and he fielded extremely well. The coach decided that his great playing deserved the game ball. Yes...my child received the game ball the one game that I decided to miss. And to make it worse he kept saying "Mom, I wish you could have seen me". I felt awful. worse then awful. I know that I will not always be there for every event of his life. He will have tons of accomplishments that I will get to hear about, but not witness first hand. I guess that's one of the hard parts of being a parent. And tonight when I tucked him in he must have sensed that it really bothered me. He said "I love you mom. it's okay that you weren't there today". I love you too Bryce...more then you can fathom.

what a wonderful world...

Callie's world is full of princesses, dress-up, and make believe. She loves everything about them. She wears tutu's to school and when we get home she serves me tea and donuts on little plastic plates. Walking around the kitchen in tiny snow white heels, carrying the purse of the day and wearing a crown is a very normal occurrence in her world. She loves wearing her "princess" pajama's (thanks Crystal for the great pj's!) to bed and will tell me every night which one is her favorite. I never thought that I would love all of the "girly" stuff, but i adore it. I know that soon her love of tutu's will fade and tea parties will be a thing of the past. Her view of the world will change from fairy tales and princesses to something not as wonderful. My view on the world, however, has gotten a little brighter lately....Tea parties on tiny chairs with plastic food and teddy bears puts life in a whole new perspective.

Honesty

Bryce is the most honest child I know. He will just come right out and say whatever he is thinking. If he feels like he might get into trouble (i.e. Bryce...did you just draw on Maxi with markers?), he will just stand there and look at you. Here are two of my favorite examples of his brutal honesty..

Bryce: Mommy...can I have more twizzlers?
Me: No Bryce, you had enough.
5 min later...
Me: Bryce what are you doing?
Bryce: Me and Callie are trying to sneak twizzlers but you caught us.. Actually, we already snuck a couple before you caught us.

Two days ago, on a trip to stride-rite, Bryce decided to jump from a shoe display to a bench that was at least 5 ft away. It did not go as he planned. After a stern talking to, he had to apologize to the store clerk. Later that day we had the below conversation...
Me: Bryce! Please stop jumping off of the couch onto the ottoman. You know you are not allowed to do that. Didn't you learn your lesson at the shoe store today?
Bryce: Nope

from smiling to scary...

Callie has a brand new talent. She can transform from an angel to a little monster in about 2 seconds flat! Most people that know her say "no way! To prove it to all of you non believers, I caught the transformation on film.....

She was all smiley letting me take her picture in her school picture outfit

She wanted to swing and laughed as she went higher and higher

Still smiling after five minutes

Immediately after the above picture was taken I tell her that I need to start dinner and I can not push her anymore...

From smiling to scary in 5 seconds flat...

Luckily the tantrums are short-lived....5 min later she was "over it" and decided playing with daddy would be just as much fun.

Not Me Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

I have done this once before but have gotten a little slack on the Monday blogging, so this week's "Not Me's" are from the past several weeks. Hope you enjoy reading all of the things that I certainly did not do, all of the things that I would never think of doing, and all of the slips and mis-steps from the past couple weeks of life in the Thornton house.

• I most certainly did not squeal for joy when Bryce's first weekend of baseball activities got cancelled due to weather. What mother would wish that disappointment on her child? I can't imagine why I would rather spend a weekend at home getting caught up on housework and watching tv over sitting in the freezing cold at the ball field for hours on end.
• I did not feed my children peanut butter sandwiches and McDonald's 3 days last week because I wanted to make it to the gym in time for my classes. My children eat well rounded, home cooked meals every night!
• While meeting a friend and her kids at Chick-fil-a for a playdate, I did not get chatty and forget to ask Callie if she had to go potty. Since I didn't forget to ask her there is no way she had an accident in her pants and started running around the playground like John Wayne (picture a wide-stance cowboy walk). Seeing that my daughter is completely and utterly potty trained, there is no reason why I would need to bring a change of clothes to Chick-fil-A. Upon realizing the situation, there is no way I decided to strip her down and let her ride the 2 miles back to our house in whatever random clothes happened to be in the car. And then, when clothing is being removed I did not figure out that she had actually pooped and peed. What would any sane mom do in this situation? Well, she certainly would not line said child's carseat with plastic bags, insert dirty stinky child, and drive home all while said child was screaming "but I'm stinky!!".
• Again, my child is completely and utterly potty trained. That being said... There is no way that she decided to pee and entire lake on the floor of World Market. And I did not park a buggy over the lake of pee while dragging/running/herding my children to the bathroom to get paper towels to clean up the accident. Do you realize how gross that is? A responsible person would notify the store so that they could correctly sanitize the mess. (I did wipe the floor with wet one's after the puddle was soaked up...that counts as sanitizing doesn't it?).
• After a really hectic, crazy day there is no way that I told my husband my gym class started an hour earlier then it actually did. And with a whole entire hour to myself, I did not get a Starbucks and wander around Target before actually going to the gym.

Obama's in charge...

One of my all time favorite (and maybe the funniest) things that Bryce has said...

Me: Bryce your are having Mac and Cheese for lunch

Bryce: But Mom... I don't like Mac and Cheese! I only like Sponge Bob Mac and Cheese

Me: Too Bad! and you do like Mac and Cheese...you eat it all the time. It might not be your favorite but that does not mean you do not like it. There are already enough foods that you will not eat and we are not adding Mac and Cheese to that list!

Bryce: You know Mommy, you are not the boss.

Me: Bryce, I am the boss and I will be until you grow up!

Bryce: Your wrong mommy, you are not the boss. Obama is the boss. He's in charge of the country so he is in charge of me. I am going to call him and tell him I don't want Mac and Cheese.

Take me out to the ball game...

Baseball season officially kicked off this weekend. Saturday morning we had the opening day parade. Bryce and his team rode in the back of one the coaches trucks and they waved and threw candy. He had a great time and I actually enjoyed hanging out with the other moms, drinking coffee and eating munchkins while waiting on my own munchkin to ride by. Seeing that we had to get there at 6:50am I left a sleeping Callie at home with Bryan. She was a little disappointed that she didn't get to join in the fun but was satisfied with the leftover donuts (food is the way to that girls heart I tell ya).

Last night Bryce played his first two games of the season. He played really well and his team did a great job. He did not hit one off a pitch this game but hit really well from the tee. He also ran a lot better then he has in the past (sounds weird but he usually just kinda skips along. Fine in Rookie but not such a good thing in T-Ball). It is nice not having a "baby" at the games. I actually got to watch and cheer the team on. Five of the kids on the team have younger sisters so Callie has lots of little girls to play with. She also enjoyed cheering Bryce on. At one point, While walking from the circle to bat, he walked over to the fence where Callie was watching. She looked up at him and said "Gooooo Tyce (what she calls him)". He smiled at her and said "thanks Callie, I'm gonna hit it hard". My all time favorite moment of the game.

Bryce riding in the parade...notice the Skull and Cross Bone doo rags they wore...so cute!

Ready to Roll...

at bat...

baseball ready...

catching up in pictures

We have all been really sick at our house and I have been awful at blogging. I just got around to uploading my pictures from valentines day! So here is a review of the last month or so of our life in pictures...Callie dressed in her heart dress for her valentine's party at school

Bryce with the heart bag he made for his party at school

We made Pink heart pancakes for breakfast on Valentine's day.

Callie and her friend Laney at Ellie's (Callie's favorite friend from school) birthday party

Bryce hiting the piniata at Matt and Krista's housewarming party

Callie and JJ at the housewarming party

Both kids are currently getting 3 treatments a day...Love the dino mask!

Finally feeling better and getting some fresh air

Happy to be outside!

sick

Everyone (except for me!!) is sick at our house. Bryce has Strep and a sinus infection, Callie has strep and an ear infection, and Bryan is headed to the doctor later with a sore throat (what are the odds that it's strep!?!). Not a great way to go into a weekend that has 3 parties, 2 hrs of baseball practice, and 2 baseball games. It is currently raining and I am praying that it continues all weekend. Rain = no baseball! I am also praying that I stay well!

Both kids are also currently doing breathing treatments at least 3x a day. I sit them on the bed, turn on the tv, and they take turns who goes first. Seeing that it takes approx 15 min. per treatment that is an hour and a half out of our day!! Thank goodness neither of them fuss too much about it.

All of the illness has led me to figure out another huge difference in my two kids. Bryce HATES to take medicine. Last night it took me 30 min to get him to take 2 tspn of it!! I wanted to pull my hair out. Callie, on the other hand, loves medicine. She gulps it down as fast as she can and begs you for more. When you tell her no, she will throw herself on the floor, start coughing really hard, and say "but mommy, I need it...I'm coughing and I'm sick". I have to try my hardest to not to laugh at her.

the things they say...

I love the cute and funny things that come out of kids mouths. Here are two from today that just cracked me up.

On the way to school Bryce asked me why we can't go to Dunkin Donuts for breakfast everyday. I explained that one, donuts are not the best breakfast, and two, we need to save our money so eating out is a special treat. I then told him that we might be able be get breakfast there on Friday's as a special treat for having a good week at school. His response, "Mom, don't you just wish that everyday was Friday?" If he only knew...

Callie had an accident at school today...and by accident I mean not just wet. So her teacher changed her and spoke with her about wearing big kid underwear and only using the toilet. She told me that Callie listened, put her hand on her (the teachers) shoulder, and said "okay...but let's not tell Mommy about this". I think I might be in trouble!!

motherhood

Lately our lives have gotten even more hectic. Bryce is now in speech therapy 1x per week, baseball practice 4 hrs a week, and 3 mornings a week we have to go do sessions at the local elementary school (long story but we are doing "interventions" so that we can get him tested for language / learning disorders). So, all of this running around has got me thinking about how much more complicated and crazy motherhood really is.

Before I had kids I had this really rosy, warm picture of what it would be like.....toddlers with rosy cheeks and big eyes gazing up at you adoringly. Laughing children holding hands at the beach or at the park with pretty dresses and rolled up pants. Children sitting quietly while reading or playing board games. You know the pictures I'm talking about. The same one's that are hung in doctors offices and museums. The paintings that you look at and think "I want some of my own". Well, I have quickly learned that real children are nothing like the ones in the paintings. Rosy cheeks are usually accompanied by high fevers, tears, and sleepless nights. Kids rarely stay as clean and pretty as the ones in the pictures.....sand and dirt are in their hair the first 5 minutes you get to the beach or the park. And quiet moments reading are a rarity....at least at our house. Rambunctious children screaming and laughing is more the norm around here. Even with all of the screaming, the hectic schedules, the stained laundry, the scraped knees and bumped heads, the lack of sleep....I wouldn't change it for the world. Yes, being a mother is not what I expected. It is so much more, so much better then I expected and I wouldn't trade it for the world.

Not Me Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

My friend Erin does this on her blog and I thought it looked like a fun thing to do. A way to share the slips-ups and mis-steps of motherhood. And a great way to get a chuckle. So here are my first "not me's". A list of things that I most certainly wouldn't and didn't do last week.

• I did not bring a box of pop tarts and juice boxes to bed with me Saturday night. And I most certainly did not give them to my kids Sunday morning and put on our tv so that I could get an extra hour of sleep.
• I did not cut a pair of brand new Gymboree underwear off of my daughter because she pooped in them. Do you know how much they cost?! Who in their right mind would do that?
• It wasn't me that had to re-wash a load of towels four time because someone kept forgetting about them. Nope, that was not me!
• There is no way that I got lazy last week and went to the Dunkin Donuts drive thru for breakfast 2 days. And it really was not me that let the kids order donuts with chocolate icing and sprinkles. I mean, really....who lets their kids eat chocolate covered donuts for breakfast?!
• Sunday, when I needed to get some house stuff done, I most certainly did not let Bryce play Wii for 2 hours. That wasn't me!!
  

warmer weather

We had some much needed warmer weather this past weekend. It has been unseasonably cold for Atlanta the past month and the kids were going stir crazy. Thank goodness we had a break and it warmed up this weekend..high 60's! Bryan decided to take advantage of the weather and took Bryce camping. Callie and I had a girls day with my mom. When we asked her what she wanted to do she replied "go to the mall". I swear she is 2 going on 15! We got her haircut and went to build a bear. She loved it!!

Today it was so warm that the ice cream truck came down our street. Bryan got them each a treat and they sat in the backyard and ate them. It was so nice getting out in the fresh air and soaking up the sun. Days like today make me love living in Georgia.

Potty Training

I hate potty training. Really, really hate it. Callie hates it too. Really, really hates it. But the thing is she is so ready to be done with diapers. She stays dry at school all day. They love to tell me that. Everyday. I think they are rubbing it in and secretly thinking 'what in the world is wrong with you that you can't get her to stay dry at home?'. So I smile and praise her and think that maybe today will be the day. We get home and I fix her lunch and before she eats I tell her she needs to go potty. She will go sit on the toilet for a really long time and then tells me she doesn't have to go. Well, okay I think, because we don't always have to go. She then goes to the table sits down and within 10 minutes will stand up, look at me and smile, and then pee all over herself. This situation usually gets repeated several times in the afternoon and by bed time I just want to strangle her. But I am too busy because I am washing all of the pee soaked clothes from the day. I have tried rewards (stickers, chocolate, dolls), I have tried taking her every 30 min., and I even tried doing the potty dance. If you don't know what that is then you don't have kids. Nothing is working. Ahhhhhh! But I will keep on keeping on. And I will keep my fingers crossed that tomorrow will be the day. If it is, I will definitely let you know!!

But....if you happen to have any advice or tricks please send them our way. I will pretty much try anything at this point!!

Gotta go....the washing machine is calling my name.

Isn't it pretty?!

Ok...I will admit it. I am obsessed with my blog layout. I want it to look original, fun, and still be simple. So I stumbled across a great site that had some really great backgrounds and found one I loved. After spending way too much time tweaking it, adding headers, changing fonts, etc, I am finally really, really happy with it. Let me know what you think.

Callie's 25 random things

Here are 25 things you may or may not know about my little angel. If you are confused see the previous 2 posts and then this will make sense.

1. She is scared to death of fires. Whenever we have a fire in the fireplace she stays at least 10 feet away from it.
2. She is a girly girl but hang tough with the boys when she wants
3. her current favorite colors are pink and purple. pretty much switches from day to day.
4. Is obsessed with Barney. I think that she only likes him because she knows I hate him.
5. Is laid back, but when she gets an idea in her head, look out! She can hold her ground with the best of them.
6. She really, really wants to like frogs, worms, bugs. etc but when she gets about ready to hold them she freaks out, lets out a squeal, and runs away. She then cries because she wants to hold the animal that freaked her out. The cycle then repeats.
7. Has the most amazing brown eyes I have ever seen. Like melted chocolate.
8. Is really funny and is a complete ham.
9. She has sweetest laugh I have ever heard. I could listen to it all day.
10. Is an accessories girl...loves shoes, purses, hats, and coats.
11. Already likes to pick out her outfits. If I try to put something on her she does not "approve" of she will cross her arms and legs and stay that way until I pretty much give in...thus leading to #12.
12. Wears tutu's everywhere...store, school, doctors office. I have learned to pick my battles.
13. Is really small for her age (still wearing 18 month clothes!)
14. Adores her daddy, big brother, Uncle Jay Jay, and Pop. She has them all completely wrapped around her finger.
15. Looks just like her mommy when she was her age.
16. Is the most restless sleeper in the world.
17. She loves to eat. And she will eat pretty much anything....shrimp, broccoli, pistachios. You name it and she probably loves it.
18. Wants to be just like her big brother.
19. Is a happy girl...wakes up smiling and goes to bed laughing. Even when she is sick.
20. Is almost potty trained.
21. She loves to talk. I mean she really, really, loves to talk. incessantly. She doesn't ever stop.
22. Throws really good fits. Stomps her foot and everything.
23. Is a sweetie. She will share her toys and her food without giving it a second thought. A hard thing for a 2 year old to do.
24. Sings the blessing every night at dinner.
25. Lights up every room she walks into. She is such a ray of sunshine!!

Bryce's 25 random things

I thought it might be fun to do a 25 random things about both kids. So much of my day is focused on just getting though the daily schedule and keeping the kids from driving me and each other crazy. Both of my kids are wonderful, amazing people in their own unique way. I thought it might be fun to focus on the little things that make them their own person. So....I will start with Bryce.
1. He sleeps with 2 animals every night. An elephant that he uses as a pillow and a monkey that he cuddles with.
2. He is the best helper ever. He will pick up, load the dishwasher, etc. and with little grumbling.
3. He tells me I am beautiful at least 2 times a day.
4. He hates pizza. and ketchup. and chocolate cake....he is the pickiest eater ever!
5. He loves to play rough and can dish it out but has a hard time when kids get rough back.
6. His current favorite song is "hot and cold" by Katy Perry. Sings it at the top of his lungs anytime it comes on the radio.
7. The boy makes friends quickly and he loves it. Wherever we go he will come over after about 5 min. and say mommy, this is my new friend. And they will proceed to play like they have known each other forever.
8. He remembers everything. Except for anything that has to do with school.
9. Almost always has really good manners.
10. He hates to get water in is eyes. Will scream like he is being attacked if even a drop gets in them.
11. Loves peanut butter sandwiches cut into circles. For some reason the shape is very important.
12. Calls oatmeal, ohh - pee- meal. The last of his "baby speak" and I love it!
13. Has a scar by his right eye and a freckle on his left ear.
14. Absolutely hates loud noises. Even movie theaters are too loud. He sits with his hands on his ears for at least half of the movie.
15. Has the most beautiful blue eyes and long lashes
16. Loves to be silly and makes really funny faces
17. He is not a morning person. It is a huge chore getting him up in the morning.
18. He is a sweetheart. And I'm not just saying that because I am his mom. Most everyone tells me this after knowing him for just a short amount of time.
19. Wants to learn to ride motorcycles but is held back by the loud noise thing
20. Is a complete mamma's boy. Has a whole routine of hugs and kisses before school everyday. His teachers laugh about it and even gave him the Indian name "boy that loves his mamma"
21. Loves to stay home in his pajamas all day. Will ask...do we have school? Can I stay in my pajama's all day? and will squeal with delight when I tell him okay.
22. Is the best frog catcher I have ever seen. He will spend hours at my parents house catching them.
23. He is a scardy cat when it comes to tv and movies. Won't even watch some Disney movies because he claims they are scary.
24. Can roll his tongue. This amazes me because I can not.
25. Hates to get into trouble but yet is a troublemaker. Weird combination.

25 random things

If you are on facebook then you have probably seen this going around. When you are "tagged" then you have to create your own list and then send it out to 25 people. I thought it might be fun to share it here....so here are 25 completely random things about me.
1. I love the rain but I am terrified of thunderstorms
2. I am jealous of people that can sing and wish that I could
3. I am left handed
4. Laundry is my least favorite thing to do, especially putting it away. half the time we have a basket of clean clothes in our room.
5. I love the beach but hate swimming in the ocean.
6. I have a phobia of snake and spiders
7. I love to cook and bake and try new recipes...cupcakes are my favorite
8. Hearing my children laugh is my favorite sound in the entire world
9. I would love to live in New York
10. I wish I had a tattoo
11. Chocolate is heaven to me
12. I love reading and I read really, really,really fast.
13. Photography is a hobby that I would like to pursue....I can get lost when behind the camera.
14. I love hanging out with my girlfriends.
15. I am really, really close with my family
16. My husband makes me laugh more then anyone else I know
17. I am extremely klutzy and can trip over pretty much anything
18. I wish I had my pre-baby body back but would not trade being a mother for anything
19.I was extremely shy as a child but somewhere along the way I outgrew it
20. I am not a morning person and I love to sleep
21. I love to exercise
22. Dancing is one of my favorite things
23. Clutter drives me crazy
24. I have asthma and absolutely hate it. Also hate that Callie seems to be developing it
25. I love the south but there are things about the north I miss....crisp fall mornings, snow, good pizza, good bagels, and the way my name sounds when said with a northern accent (weird I know, but if you have lived both places you probably understand).

somethings gotta change

It has been quiet on the blog this year. Why, you may ask? Well...that would be due to the fact that I'm on crutches and trying to potty train Callie at the same time (not my smartest idea ever). It's just not working, it's absolutely exhausting, and I'm at the end of my rope. So....I'm going to have to get rid of something and it's not the crutches (at least they will be around until Feb). Bye Bye big girl undies and hello pull ups. and hopefully hello to a tiny bit more sanity.