Time Goes by So Fast!

I always think I'm keeping up with this thing, then I log on to write another post and realize it's been two months since my last entry. Wow, I didn't realize how long it had been.

Since my last entry, we have returned Bianca to the shelter. She is a great little kitty, but AJ is just not ready for a pet. He was way too rough, going so far as picking her up and throwing her, and even jumping on her from the couch. I spent hours trying to teach him to 'play nice', but finally decided he's just too young right now. So, we will wait until later (much later, if it's up to me) to invest in another pet again. Now, if I can just keep Akeem from surprising me with one. :)

As most of you know, we've moved from Texas to Springdale, Arkansas. We are definitely in an adjustment period, but it's getting better and we are getting used to our new town. (I don't know if I'm ready for the winter up here, though. I've heard it can get pretty bad.) When you're new to a city, it helps if you get out and find things to do. Since moving, we've gone to a safari park in Gentry and to see the air show in Ft. Smith. And, of course, we've made a stop by the local Chucky Cheese, always a hit with the boys.

 

Here are some pics from our outings for your viewing pleasure. (I promise, Aunt Netta, you will get to see them in person BEFORE they graduate high school. But, I hope these will do for now.)

 Things are really starting to look good for us. We are getting settled in and more comfortable with our surroundings. My job is going great. Akeem is getting accustomed to his job and looking into getting his foot back in the door with Tyson. We live in a good neighborhood with lots of kids for AJ and Jabari to play with. And, every day I think, wow, we've been here almost four months and it feels like we just moved yesterday. Time goes by so fast!

Until next time...C

Please Welcome Bianca

We decided to adopt a pet from the local animal shelter. I had some reservations about it because I know the responsibility that comes with having a pet, but Akeem thought it was time to get the boys an animal. Then, we had to decide between a dog and a cat. We decided on a cat, since we don't have to house train a cat. And, so, we adopted Bianca. She's a tortoiseshell who just turned 4 months old and AJ LOVES her. See, in the pictures, how much he likes to give her hugs. It's so cute, but I'm just waiting on her to get impatient with him and swat at him with those teeny tiny super-sharp claws. As you can see from these pictures, AJ is really happy when he gets to play with Bianca, and not so happy when others get to play with her. Let's just say he's still getting used to the idea of sharing. :)

AJ turns 2!!!

AJ is officially a 2 year old. It excites me and it frightens me. Some days, it feels like I just brought him home from the hospital. I don't know how it's going by so fast. Then, there are the days when it seems like he's been here forever (the ones where I can't wait until nap time, teehee).

 Meemaw and Pawpaw came to visit for his birthday weekend. And, they brought a big present. Here are some pics of his little party and his presents.

 Yep, that's a little Ford F150. My dad just had to get one for AJ. There was no stopping him. AJ definitely needs to grow into it a little bit. But, he loves it. He has to sit on the edge of the seat to push the gas pedal, but he does it. And, he loves playing with the radio (yes, it's real!).

AJ's favorite cartoon right now is Backyardigans (choo choo, heh heh heh, all aboard!), so that's the cake we got. For some reason, he didn't want to eat it. Mom thought he might think he was eating one of the characters and it would hurt them. Hmm, I don't know, there could be something to that. Now, although he wouldn't eat the cake, he had absolutely no problem eating the ice cream.

Akeem and I got AJ is first big boy table. It's a picnic table, and he really loves it. He eats at it every day and is being such a little man.

 Well, that's all for now. Until next time...

Happy Mother's Day to Me

I had a pretty good Mother's Day last weekend. We went to Lufkin and went shopping. I got a couple of new shirts, which I really needed since I haven't bought any clothes for myself in a long time, besides lounge wear. That was supposed to be my Mother's Day present, a day out just for me. Of course, that's never the way it goes. Akeem ended up getting more stuff for himself than for me. And, AJ got a new pair of shoes. But, it's all good. I'm a mom now, which means very rarely is anything all about me :).

Here, I've put a pick of me and AJ with me wearing one of my new shirts and holding the rose Akeem got me.

This weekend, we went to the Ellen Trout Zoo. We had a great time. AJ seemed to like the birds and the lizards the most. Here are some pics of our outing.

He had a really hard time posing for the pictures, though, because he was so enthralled with the peacocks walking around the zoo. But, we did get a couple of good ones.

That's all for now. Until next time...

Just Hanging Around the House

Well, my days of luxury are almost over. My doctor has released me to go back to work, starting next week. It seems like I've been away forever, and am excited to get back. But, it will definitely be an adjustment, after being at home for 9 weeks.

Not like it's really been just laying around all the time. I've really kept up my end of the deal when it comes to the walking, doing it for about 30 minutes, 3 times a day. Plus, I have been doing some work, like month-end and quarter-end entries. So, it's not been all naps and episodes of House.

I've had some requests for more recent pics of the boys, so here are a few of the latest ones of them just doing stuff around the house. Here's one of AJ playing with our hamsters, Petey, Pablo, and, our newest addition, Tasha (she's a Russian Dwarf). And, here are a couple of AJ pushing Jabari around on their little train. They really had a blast with that. I also got one of AJ right before he woke up this morning. Talk about a hard sleeper, just like his mom.

This last one was from yesterday morning. I was trying to get a good picture for Meemaw and Pawpaw to show them how cute the boys were in the St Louis Cardinals outfits they got them. But, neither of the boys were having any of that. They were both acting like sourpusses. Oh, well, I still think they are adorable.

Well, AJ insists on helping me now, so I guess this is the end of the post. Until next time...C

Weekend With The Family

We had a great time this weekend. We didn't do a whole lot, just hung around the house, played outside, cooked steaks and pork chops on the grill, and rode the go cart. Of course, I was left out of the go cart fun, but everyone else had a blast. Here are some of the pics I got.

I still can't believe that Dad actually got Mom to ride on the thing. She swore she absolutely would not do it.

Akeem and Patrick, doing donuts in the front yard.

Of course, we did more than just play on the go cart. The boys played outside practically the whole day. Whether it was on their bikes, which in AJ's case is a little train, or in the back of Akeem's truck, it was definitely a beautiful day to be outside. And, we made the most of it.

Daddy was totally worn out.

Patrick and Faith had a good time.

Of course, we couldn't just play outside all day. After a hard day's play, everyone needs a good rest.

I think this is Dad's favorite. AJ was so happy to see him and didn't leave Pawpaw's side the whole weekend.

The weekend was perfect. It makes me really homesick, though. I hope to get back home someday soon. I definitely want to be back home when the boys start playing ball. My dad want's to be able to coach AJ, like he coached me and Patrick when we played ball. I hope he will be able to. I guess it will depend on if AJ is into sports. Although, with his lineage, I don't know how he couldn't. I think it's in our blood. Sometimes, I still miss being on the basketball court and I know that Patty misses baseball a lot.

Hopefully, soon we will able to do this more often. Until then, I will hold these times together close to my heart. You know, I spent years in Memphis, hours away from my parents, and I really never got homesick. I was young, in my twenties, and I didn't have any children. I think the kids make the biggest difference. It seems more important now, to be close to family, to have those ties. It's really important to me that AJ and Jabari have a close relationship with their grandparents.

Been A Little While...

(Don't have a clue why he's laughing.)

(He's riding on his Thomas the Train.)

But, I've been a little busy. I had back surgery a little over a month ago. I've also had a problem with my wireless internet, and since I can't sit up for more than 20 minutes at a time, blogging from my desktop was a little out of the question. But, I was able to get my wireless working yesterday, and so here I am today.  We've still been taking pictures of the boys, even though I've been a little incapacitated lately. So, here are some of the cutest ones.

These next pictures are so amazing because it took FOREVER for AJ to get into this tent, then even longer to get him to go through the tunnel. I had to get the camera when he finally went through it and then WOULDN'T STOP. 

 Aren't they so cute? I have no idea how I got so lucky to have such a good looking son and stepson.

Also, we went to Nacogdoches Trade Days this past weekend. It was the first time I've been out of the house since I got home from the hospital, with the exception of the appointment for the checkup with the neurosurgeon. I found a beautiful hanging plant that looks great on my front porch. 

 

And, we got two pets. Please, allow me to introduce Petey and Pablo, our new hamsters.

My parents are coming to visit this weekend. Patrick and his girlfriend, Faith, are coming with them. I'm really excited because I haven't seen Mom since the week after my surgery. It's been even longer since I've seen Dad, and even longer than that since I've seen my little brother (excuse me, younger brother, he hasn't been my little brother since he turned 11).

I was so glad Mom was able to be here to help after my surgery. I couldn't do anything and she was a life-saver, being there to help me take a shower and get up and down out of bed. She also did everything around the house and helped out so much with AJ. Now, I'm able to get around okay by myself, and I can even wash my own hair. Akeem just has to be around in case I get tired or need a hand to get out of the bathtub. Boy, what I wouldn't give for a walk-in shower right now.

The weekend that Mom left, Akeem's sister came down to stay with us and help us out. She's been here the past four weeks. She's really great with AJ and helped me out with washing clothes and keeping the house clean. She's had to go back to Arkansas, but I think she's going to come back in a week or two. Since the surgery, Akeem's been working on the day shift. I think, when she comes back, he'll go back to nights. I know he's ready. There are just too many drivers on day shift and he doesn't seem to get the miles that he did when he worked nights. Plus, he's sleeping habits have been jacked up since the change. It seems like he sleeps the entire time he's at home. He will even fall asleep sitting straight up. It really worries me, even though it is kind of funny.

Speaking of work, I can't wait to get back to it. Even though I'm working from home some, helping out when I can, it's been really hard to just sit and not be productive. I have completed four word search books and two afghans. I've watched every episode of Law and Order: SVU, Law and Order: Criminal Intent, and House.  I've learned how to cook chicken spaghetti and walked around our go cart track so much I can do it with my eyes closed. I've done all that, but I still don't feel like I'm accomplishing anything because I can't be at work. My doctor won't release me to return until after my next checkup, which isn't until almost the end of April. It's frustrating because I have defined myself by my job for so long and it's almost like I don't know what I am now.

Anyway, I'll be back to work as soon as I can and hopefully everything can get back to normal. I will have to take breaks more often. I won't be able to sit behind my desk all day on Wednesday to get cost closed as early as possible. Hopefully, everyone at work will be understanding of my situation. But, all one can do is hope.

I will post again after my fun weekend with my family. Until then...

Yes, I just posted, but...

  

I got some really cute pics of the boys tonight, when they were playing. I just had to post them so that you guys could see them. I was on here blogging about last weekend, so I thought, what the hay? I'll go ahead and get these on here, too. Two birds, one stone.

I had just finished washing Jabari's bedding and getting it back on his bed. Jabari got under the covers and told AJ to get in, too. Then, Jabari told me, very matter-of-factly to "take a cheese of us". Teehee.

Jabari is in love with everything Toy Story. So, of course, when we transitioned AJ to a toddler bed, we bought a new Toy Story bed for Jabari and gave AJ the Elmo bed.

So, later on in the evening, we were all watching Dora the Explorer, another one of Jabari's favorites, and the boys were acting REALLY silly. Here are pictures of them with pillows on their heads, along with some other silly poses.

      

They are sooooo silly!!