Christmas at Memaw and Pawpaw's (oh, and Uncle Patty's)

We took Jabari back to Arkansas this weekend and back to his mom. I hate this. I hate to have to leave him. When we get back home, it's like the house is just SO quiet without him there. But, you do what you have to do.

Anyway, because we aren't going to have Jabari for Christmas, we decided that on this trip we would also visit both sides of the family and have an early celebration with them. Also, due to both of our jobs, it will be difficult to travel on Christmas weekend, because we don't get a day off for the holiday since it's on Saturday this year.

So, Friday we ate a big Christmas dinner with ham, dressing, and all the fixin's. Then, Akeem and I went out for a date night and let Memaw and Pawpaw babysit. They had a blast. We got up early Saturday morning and opened presents. The boys had such a good time. But, AJ got a little preoccupied with one toy and was totally uninterested in opeing his other presents. Weird little boy. But, anyway, here are some of the pics:

 

We also visited Akeem's family on Saturday and opened presents there. But, I didn't get any pictures because I forgot my camera. We actually used my mom's camera to take the pics at her house.

By the time we got back home Saturday night, we were exhausted from all the traveling. But, I wouldn't trade the love in our families for all the rest in the world. I'm so glad my children are surrounded with so much love.

Early Christmas Present for the Boys...

...including the hubs. Yes, that's right ladies and gentlemen, we got a go cart this weekend. My husband wanted a motorcycle. I finally had him talked out of it, because, let's be honest, that's a pretty selfish thing for a dad to get. Instead, we decided that if he really wanted it, we would spring for a 4-wheeler.

On Saturday mornings, we've started a tradition of looking in the paper and picking a few good yard sales to go to before we head to Lufkin to hang out at the zoo, park, or, now that it's getting a little colder, the mall. Well, wouldn't you know it, there was a yard sale that had a 4-wheeler for sale. So, off we go about seven miles out of town (and the opposite way of Lufkin) to this very nice lady's house. It was 8:15 am. The sale started at 8:00 am. The 4-wheeler was already sold. BUT, there it was, looking all shiny and blue and pretty, and most importantly, a lot less expensive than a flippin' 4-wheeler: the go cart. Akeem drove it around the yard for a little while, just checking it out. Then, we left to talk it over. We drove back into town and ended up hitting up the ATM to get the cash and back we went. He called one of his friends to help us get it home and we were riding around OUR yard within the hour.

The boys absolutely love it. AJ just throws a fit when he has to get off the thing. And, he can't stand to see anyone riding it if he's not riding too. The boy knows what he wants, and he will whine and cry and throw tantrums to get it. Lots of tantrums.

Here are some pics of all three of my boys on their new toy.

Okay, so Jabari doesn't look too excited in that last one. But, I think it was just because I was taking ANOTHER picture and he didn't want me to take ANOTHER picture. He's definitely into that "I want what I want" stage. KWIM?

Memaw's Visit

My mom, better knowed now as Memaw, visited us this weekend. She got here Friday afternoon and is leaving in the morning when I leave for work. She has gotten to make Pawpaw super jealous because she's been able to hang out and play with AJ all weekend long and Pawpaw didn't get to come this time, so he's missing out on all of it.

On Saturday, we went shopping for my and Akeem's Christmas/birthday present: new living room furniture. I was getting a little frustrated because we couldn't find what we wanted. Then, when we did, the store we found it at said they would have to order it and it wouldn't be in until the middle of the week. So, we went out to Lufkin and looked at a couple of stores there. Finally, we found exactly what we wanted. And, they had it in stock. So, Mom paid for it and we headed back to Nac to get a trailer from one of Akeem's coworkers. We got back to Lufkin and took Mom to Cheddars to eat. It was really good. Our waiter was training, so that was fun. He kept getting the information fed to him by his trainer. It was kind of like an actor in a play who can't remember his lines, but is getting them fed to him from just off stage.

Here it is now, Monday night, and it seems like the weekend has flown by. It's almost time for Memaw to leave and it seems like she just got here. She brought a lot of books for AJ and he's fallen in love with this one picture book that has animals in it (pictured below). He has drug it around everywhere with him the entire weekend. We kept him out of daycare today so that she could spend as much time as possible with him.

Here are some pics I took tonight of the two of them (on our NEW loveseat!).

My Mom is so silly, she wouldn't look up for the pictures because she didn't have any makeup on. ;)

Halloween

Akeem had to work on Halloween this year, so we didn't go trick-or-treating on Sunday. Instead, we went to this event called Scare on the Square. The conversation on the ride downtown went something like this:

Chris: "Can you believe it? We are actually doing something in the community. That's a little different for us isn't it?"

Akeem: "Yeah, it is. It's cool though."

We get to the event and it's okay at first. There are a lot of people, though, and my anxiety starts to slowly build. But, there's a little petting zoo off to the side, so I take AJ over there so he can see the animals. There's rabbits, goats, and even a miniature horse for him to pet. Oh, and a huge great dane that was almost as big as the horse.

We start walking around the square and realize that for AJ to get any candy, we have to stand in line for FOREVER at each little booth. Then, when we get to the head of the line, they give us... wait for it... 2 little pieces of candy. What a rip off! So, we did that for a few booths and I took a couple of pictures. But, little kids kept running into me and parents were cutting in line in front of us. Not to mention that AJ dropped his candy bucket half a dozen times and so I kept having to bend down to pick up candy.

Everything meshed together and there it was - panic attack. So, we moved behind the booths and onto the sidewalk in front of the stores. I composed myself and we took a couple more pictures. Then, we left.

The conversation on the ride back to our house went like this:

Chris: "So, I guess this is why we don't do more in the community, huh?"

Akeem: " Yeah, I think so."


And, now, for the good stuff.


Da daa da daaaa!

Here they are, pics of AJ on Halloween. He was a lion this year. We bought the costume from Walmart (I know, bad mom, I didn't go all out with making a costume or buying a fancy one from a Halloween store, so shoot me), and we subsequently bagged it up, along with some other clothes that Akeem and I don't wear anymore, and took it off to Goodwill. It's practically brand-new, so the little boy or girl who gets it next year will be able to enjoy it just as much as AJ did.

Isn't Daddy scary?



He was just too cute, but I think by the time we made it to the sidewalk, he was ready to get the heck out of Dodge too. (So was Daddy, from the look on his face in that middle picture. **snicker**)

Really missing my boys this morning...

I am at work. I have SOOOO much to do, reports due today by noon, fiscal year budget due by EOB today, and my cost clerk is out sick, so I have her stuff to do too. But, am I doing any of it? NO! I am sitting at my desk typing away about how much I miss my little men. I just want to be where they are right now.

Of course, that's impossible, since they are in two different places. AJ, of course, is at daycare, since Mommy is working. Jabari is back home in Arkansas with his mom, as of last Saturday. He is a total terror sometimes, but I sure miss the little hellion when he's not with us. It sure has made beditme and morning rituals a lot easier with him not being here, but I would gladly take running around like a crazy woman if it meant we would have him with us.

When we got home Saturday night, AJ went walking down the hall, looking for his big brother. He looked in Jabari's bedroom, then looked back at me like "Where is he?". He finally stopped his search sometime in the middle of the week. I feel bad for both the boys. We are disrupting Jabari's life every other month so we can be selfish and have some time with him. For three weeks at a time, we take him away from his mom, and his home to come stay with us. He seems to really have a lot of fun here, but by the middle of the third week, he's asking where his 'other' mom is and when he can go back to his 'other' home. It breaks my heart. We had such a good thing going when we lived closer and could get him on the weekends. Now, he has two different homes, two different schools, two sets of friends. The boy's not even 3 yet. I don't know how he's handling it.

Then, there's AJ. I know he's too young to understand why his brother is here sometimes and not here sometimes. He has a playmate at home when Jabari is here. Then, he just has me to play with the rest of the time. And, sometimes Mommy just doesn't have the energy to play too much after working all day, KWIM?

I try not to have mommy guilt about the things I can't change. The fact that I work, the fact that the kids have to go to daycare. (Of course, I am a big proponent of daycare, so I never really had any guilt about sending them to daycare.) But, I do feel like my husband and I are being selfish making Jabari have this kind of double life. Is it fair to him? I know that he wants to spend time with us, too, but at what expense?

Really, I just can't wait until I can transfer back closer to home and be closer to my family, my husband's family, and Jabari again. Of course, that won't be for a couple of years, so we will just have to make it work until then.

Finally!! Pictures of the Boys

We finally got them! Debbie, the girl who did the pictures of AJ and Jabari, delivered them to Mom's house last week. We went home this weekend to pick up Jabari and FINALLY we got to see the pictures. They are really good. I have attached some of my favorites.

Aren't they precious?

The pictures were taken at my grandma's house, in the back yard by the pond and the weeping willows. I think the setting is absolutely gorgeous. I guess Debbie did, too, because she asked my grandma if she could bring other people there to have photographs taken.

It was so hot outside. And, this was at like, 9 am. Debbie said that she has been doing a lot of photo shoots early in the morning, because it's been so hot. The boys were already sweating. But, it didn't take long to get some really good shots, so they weren't out there long.

What do you guys think? Do I have two of the best-looking boys or what?

My first blog ever...

Blog, what's a blog? That was my first question when my friend told me I should start one. It's a great way to tell your friends what's on your mind, and it's an awesome way to post those oh-so-cute pics of the boys so that all your friends can see them. So, here it is: my blog. I will try to keep it up to date with all the goings on of my life, along with the trials and tribulations. And, as soon as I get those portraits I've been waiting on for a month, I will be sure to get them posted.