Redefining Drama

First Thanksgiving at the Beach!

2011-11-24T08:47:00.000-08:00

So we have talked about it for years and finally, here we are at the beach for Thanksgiving! There is something about being at the beach when its chilly and windy, not very many people are around and you are left to your own musings. Love it!

The only downer is my fam didnt make it down here for various reasons, but I couldnt be happier looking to my left and seeing the ocean and then to my right and viewing the waterways. The house we rented has more room than a gymnasium so there is plenty of room to spread out and do whatever you want to do. The children have been fishing and playing games. Bryan is doing his "beach" puzzle. Katie and Leah are taking the kids to see the Muppet Movie. Nita is putting together her famous sweet potato cassarole. Everyone is doing their own thing.

Gwyn is in cousin heaven, playing with her 'baby' cousin, Ruby Grace, she drove me nuts asking when she was getting here yesterday. She has been attached to her side ever since. Last night she came to me and said, "Ruby is asleep and I am tired too. Can I go to bed?" That request rarely comes out of my children's mouths!

So while we havent actually eaten Thanksgiving dinner, I will count this as a success. It doesnt really matter if its good or not. We are together. We are at the beach. Its all good.

And here we go!

2011-02-08T10:10:00.000-08:00

Here it comes...its the calm before the storm. Its getting ready to turn our lives upside down, eating times and content will change and hang time at the fields will include laptops and cell phone conversations. What am I talking about? Baseball and soccer is getting ready to infiltrate our lives.

See my three kids like to play sports. Basketball we have 1 hour games on Saturday morning at 9am and practice on Sunday afternoon. Gymnastics is 1 hour from 5-6pm on Tuesdays. Piano is at 3:30 on Tuesdays. So Tuesdays are the only "crazy" day during the week. Well that is all about to change my friends! With the baseball season comes practice 3 nights a week and games on Saturdays in addition to Gwyn's soccer schedule of one practice and one game per week.

Cooper is so excited to be able to play what his brother plays all year around this year...they are finishing up basketball season where they are on the same team. They wont be in the same age bracket for baseball but he gets to play coaches pitch this year and he will get the crowning effect of getting to play football this summer and fall for the first time. Coop was chomping at the bit to play last year but didn't make the 6 year old age cut until this March. That child lives to catch up to his big brother, unfortunately.

So when you see the big white suburban land yaht with a BW sticker and american flag on the back, know that its the Tankersley's trying to get to a baseball practice, a baseball game, a soccer practice, a soccer game, a piano practice or a gymnastics lesson and just wave us along!

What?!?!? WHO is 40?

2010-06-09T04:52:00.000-07:00

Yep, it happened. Not sure how it happened, or where the progression went. But its official. I am in my 40's! Yikes, what does that mean? Am I going to need knee surgery? plastic surgery to look presentable? Stop exercising and running because I will fall apart? My husband will find a young beauty to move on to?

Well I hope all of this stuff doesn't happen for heavens sake. The Forty's are the new Twenty's, right? I feel good, my career is doing pretty well, my family is moving along and while not perfect (what is THAT anyway?) we are working on our discipline and empathy this summer along with reading skills. Wish us luck.

Life seems so filled with things I want to know about and do that there doesnt seem like enough time to do it all. Things like getting my Masters to growing the perfect tomato...the gamut is unreal. At forty I think we come to a crossroads and do one of two things go into survival mode or realize how much there is out there to learn and do. Statistically 40 is about the halfway point for most American females. While there is a lot under my belt for the first 40, here's to making the last forty (if God grants that to me) even better!

2010-04-05T20:20:00.001-07:00

I have a dress that I pull out for Easter and very special occasions that I particularly love. Bryan and I laughed at each other on Sunday as we donned our Easter finery. The kids however had matching blue and brown checked madras clothes. Gwyn had a dress with a monogram and the boys had matching shorts and brown golf shirts. Not patent shoes, mind you, but we thought they looked pretty cute and I mentioned to Bryan that we probably wont be able to do the matching outfits for much longer. That's sad.

We always got a Christmas dress to wear to the Nutcracker and church on Sunday, and an Easter dress when I was growing up. Loved it save the tomboy years 3rd grade to 9th grade when I thought dresses and tights were invented by men to make women uncomfortable. Still a pants girl to this day, although I am a lot more comfortable in a skirt or dress than I used to be.

But to your point everyone was excited to get their new duds and parade around to our clapping and admiration. The best was when Heath drew a picture in church of a cross with Jesus on it and an arrow to a cave then another arrow to Jesus with wavy lines around him (meaning he is alive) and a last arrow to a drawing of a city complete with sky scrapers. Well at least he was listening about the basics of the story, right?

2009 New Years Resolution!

2009-01-01T07:07:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year! Well, I have done a really poor job of documenting this last year with the kids. While they are becoming more physically independent (potty, dressing, feeding themselves, etc) their dependence is growing in the mental and comfort arena. We traded one dependency for another.

So in keeping with the New Years theme, I have been thinking about what my New Years resolution is this year. Last year was to exercise regularly and with the help of my super cute new running partner, Dani, I kept up with that pretty well. Not running as much during the winter but have picked up swimming laps once a week and doing a pump class once a week for some resistance training. While I feel great, I think a flat stomach is not for me in this life. :-( This year I am going to focus on a mental attribute.

Here is where the kids come into play. I have a theory that your children amplify what you need to work on personally. Self control is an issue in my household. Unfortunately my children have inherited my emotional impetuousness.

So here it comes the New Years resolution #1: rather than saying what immediately comes to mind or what I feel at the moment, I am going to work on thinking before acting and get my children to do the same. Any advice in this arena is greatly appreciated. I'm not sure how to go about this process of learning self control. Yoga? Mind exercises? Signs all over the place reminding me to think before I act? Mmmmm, maybe a self help book is in order....or maybe it just has to become a focus. We will see as we explore this new years resolution and try different things to see what works.

We will keep you posted.

Bizarro World

2008-03-02T18:38:00.000-08:00

Today we were outside playing with a neighbor kid who is an only child. So, I realize we can be overwhelming to the most patient of souls, but he was in constant freak out mode because one of my children was either playing with his toys "incorrectly" or not putting them back exactly right. I know, I know...obsessive compulsive, you say. I would say this kid is definitely heading down that road. LOL.

Anyway, the point...I blow these "freak outs" off because I secretly think its good for this child to be introduced into a little chaos, ie, the Tankersley Family, and no kid typically likes to share. It doesnt matter if they are an only child or not. My other neighbor happened to come over with her little girl and it really got on her nerves, the way this little boy wigged out all the time. She said he was making her nervous.

After thinking about this, it led me to think about how uptight everyone seems to be and the things that we do get uptight about. While the neighbor kid doesnt phase me a bit, I thought about how particular people get about certain things. My Dad is a great example. Likes complete cleanliness, order and labels everything. "A place for everything and everything in its place."

I have always thought he wasted HUGE amounts of time and resources cleaning things to the perfect degree. My philosophy growing up was to straighten my room when told, and when things stick to your feet sweep or run the vacuum. Dont get me wrong, I dont think slob is the right word for my cleaning habits, please, I do have some pride for heavens sake!

But, like a lot of other things in my life, I do what I have to do to pass basic inspection and move on to bigger and better things. Detail oriented personality will never be on my Meyers Briggs personality profile. Big picture...does it look OK in here if someone stops by? Then lets go outside and play!

So back to Bizarro World...my kids are in luck if my theory is true. My theory is that we tend to endeavor to be the opposite of our parents. Our parents never are good enough. I will tell you I appreciate my parents a whole hell of a lot more now that I am a parent than ever! Why do we search for Bizarro World? Were our childhoods so awful? Maybe the answer to that is yes for some, but I am thankful to say I had a really normal fairly healthy childhood. While I would say my parents were a bit uptight, they were loving, caring, well meaning people doing the best job they could with what the good Lord gave them. Thats all I try to do from day to day. So if we bring this full circle does this mean my kids will be clean freaks? I could only hope!

So what DOES make me uptight? My children getting out of control, screaming, being mean to each other, and teaching a class for the first time. Getting over scheduled makes me slightly uptight but it also gives me focus. People being mean/cruel to other people, backbiting, and not saying what they really mean rank up there as well. Oh, yeah, when I know someone is mad at me for a justified reason.

The list could go on but it would require more thought. The point of this installment is that if I do everything wrong as a parent, if our children are looking for bizarro world that means they will be great parents...right? :-)

Its Been Awhile!

2008-01-23T11:04:00.000-08:00

Wow, its been almost a year since my last post! In the past year so much has happened its all a blur! My consulting/contracting business has taken off and is doing gang busters. Its about to go to another level if I secure this deal with a national project management company...will keep you posted.

Heath is in K4 and while we had a rocky start, he has settled in and had finally charmed his stalwart teacher. He will be making the move to public school next year so I am currently researching schools in the area and just met with the leading candidate today, Summit Drive Elementary. Love them! At the risk of sounding like a total redneck racist, I really didn't realize the extent of Hispanic migration to SC until I started visiting local public schools. Wow.

Heath continues to be extremely rough and tumble. We just signed him up for T-ball starting in March. Can anyone say "Bank Loan, Please" when it comes to children's sports?!?!? $110 bucks for a 4 year old to play T ball! Ouch! Doable now but what happens when we multiply that by 3 kids who want to do 3 sports...please remember me in your wills!

While he is a high energy kid, at bed time he still wants his yellow crocheted blanket and teddy bear and Mommy to lie down with him to talk about "things" I really have to remember that this is special time that I will long for later, rather than see it as an obstacle between me, my pj's and a good book.

Gwyn is officially passive aggressive which is really interesting to compare with the boys who are just plain aggressive. While she does have some mood swings (you got that from your Mama, Gwynnie-sorry!) she is in general a somewhat shy and sweet little girl (you did not get that from your mama, Gwynnie!) Unfortunately the boys are so demanding that G and I don't have long conversations. I do know that Joshie and Hannah are her "best friends" in school. She loves the color pink. Catherine, Emily and Amy are her babies that she carts around everywhere! She is a great and varied eater when she is hungry and when she is not hungry she just wont eat. She is a starch girl. G likes a pretty outfit to wear, loves dresses, shoes, and accessories, but she doesn't like for you to mess with her hair much.

Gwynnie gets along great with Heath, and can get along with Cooper if Heath isn't around. So that makes for an interesting household! Gwyn is definitely the 'Switzerland' of the Tankersley family. She doesn't want anyone left anywhere, and cries when Daddy acts like he is leaving Mommy at home when everyone else is in the car....while the boys are laughing hysterically and screaming "LEAVE HER!" (losers!)

Cooper is the bull in the china shop, pot stirrer, trouble maker, and general jack leg that likes to make absolutely sure there is no peace and quiet in the household. There is never a dull moment with Cooper in the house. He doesn't like a game unless you are moving, no tv except he can stand about 15 minutes of scooby doo and einsteins then he has to get up and go do something, and while he loves books, he wont look through a book unless you are leading him through it. Bryan often asks me how me and my shadow are doing as he follows me around the house and kitchen asking "What IS this?" about everything from wall paneling to potato peelers. He LOVEs to make a batch of Kool Aid and he also likes to unload the silverware from the dishwasher.

One thing about Coop is that he is the wiggliest lap dog you have ever met. The only way I can get his eye patch on him every morning ( has to wear it for an hour every morning b/c his eye's are crossing -ambliopia) is to hold him down and stick it on then kiss his face all over until he stops trying to pull it off. He is a lover and a fighter-its all about the attention in his book if he cant get it with loving then he will turn into the fighter to get the negative attention! Say a prayer for me when he goes through puberty he will be all over the map!

Lastly, Bryan is doing really well with Dark Corner Films. Visit darkcornerfilms.com to check out some of their work. He is really in his element with this business and their documentary is coming along nicely.

So now you have been caught up! I am planning on updating this MUCH more frequently with our hijinx and craziness so stay tuned!

Welcome 2007

2007-01-29T12:19:00.000-08:00

Well, here we are in 2007 already! Go figure that I am now working for myself teaching at Greenville Tech and a few other places and training for a half marathon. Its amazing what you can get done when you have the TIME!

Christmas was fun, but glad its over. We were a bit over booked but it was nice getting together with friends, family and neighbors. The kids were a bit stunned by the whole Christmas thing.

January has sort of sucked because we have all been sick. Hopefully we are pulling out of it FINALLY!

New tricks? The twins are talking up a storm, and their newest trick is jumping...Up until now it has been the act of jumping but the feet never left the ground...Now when we start jumping up and down they do it too, but usually end up landing on their bottoms as some point. Cant believe they will be 2 in a month and a half!

Heath turns 4 in a couple of weeks. He is into monster trucks, (Bigfoot presents Meteor and his monster truck friends-show) and we went to see the real thing on Saturday. That sort of freaked him out at first...do you know how LOUD those things are? Good Lord! Thank my SIL, Leah who brought ear plugs or we wouldn't have been able to stay! Heath has really started pretending a lot lately. And his new saying is "I am not going to be your best friend" when we are making him do something he doesn't want to do. Its sad I cant stay his best friend, but I wouldn't be a good Mom if I did. He told me a week ago when we were lying on the couch that he wanted to marry me...how sweet is that? I wanted to stop time and keep him 3 years old forever.

Well the work on the house marches on...we are currently getting bids for a new front porch roof. The architect gave us the plans back and they look pretty good. Cant wait to get them done! Will let you know how that project is coming along!

Trick or Treat, Smell My Feet, Give Me a Job so We Can Eat!

2006-10-10T12:04:00.000-07:00

So here we are in October for heaven's sake and the last time I posted was in June. Tsk Tsk where has the time gone, you ask? I mean what in the world could a working mother of 3 have to do all day long so as not post to her blog? Whatever...

Its hard to believe that the twins are 19 months and Heath is 3 and a HALF! Don't forget that half part or you will sorely be reminded that he is not just three but "Phree and a HALF" with unbelievable disgust in his voice that you would mistake him for a mere three year old!

Heath is working really hard on learning all the letters. This week he is on "G". So each Tuesday he is supposed to bring something that starts with the letter of the week, right, which he absolutely loves doing so much it almost makes up for my pure hatred of the teacher for making me remember yet one more thing to pack on Tuesday mornings. Along with lunch for three kids, my lunch, sweaters and jackets b/c its cool in the mornings now, and whatever crap I need to lug to work, I need to imprint in my brain that is more than full at this point that Heath needs to take something that starts with whatever letter we are on....and "be creative" she says. Wear me out. I am all about Heath learning his letters, but keep me out of it will ya? I am trying to keep up with the 20 loads of laundry each week and remembering to have sex with my husband at least once a week so he doesn't leave me with these three demons all by my self! LOL

I am just kidding of course, but correct me if I am wrong but you are required to check part of your memory in at the door when you go to the hospital to have a child! ITS NON EXISTENT after 3 kids. I digress...

Its hard to have a conversation about things that could possibly start with the letter of the week. I ask Heath, OK so what starts with G that you can take to school...."Well, Mom I could take my fire truck to school" Mmmmm, honey that starts with a "F" lets try to think of something else...."Mom, I could take my new fish game" Sweetpea that starts with an F too, where where these fabulous ideas last week? "Mom goat starts with g" You are so right, Heath! But we are fresh out of Goats this week, lets think of something else....and so it goes on. So we settled on a toy soldier gun that he loves and is going to carry for Halloween. We wake up the next morning and Bryan asks me why there is a toy gun on top of his keys and wallet and I tell him b/c Heath needs to take it to school for his G item. You would have thought that I was asking Bryan to carry a condom to school by the look on his face. "Christina", he says, "he can NOT take a gun to Bob Jones for show and tell!" "I can not believe you would even agree to that!" I was so thrilled that we finally found something with a G that we actually had to take in...it worked for me! Doesnt anyone play cowboys and indians any more!?!? I can't win.

On a totally different subject, I have to say that I am FINALLY making some friends in my newish (been there almost a year!) neighborhood. I will tread lightly here because I dont want to hurt anyones feelings but there are some rather duddish people that live around us. I mean are we 30 something with small kids or are we 80 years old staying at home 7 days a week? Or rushing out of community meeting so they can make it home in time for Gray's Anatomy....Get TIVO or Digital recording through your local cable company for heavens sake and lets go get a drink! Lets be practical, I am dressed-and not is sweat pants and a t shirt- I have lipstick on, my husband is at home with my sleeping children and we have an opportunity to go have a drink and get to know eachother and you want to go home to watch a TV show about a girl that is Ali McBeal in a Doctors setting rather than a Law office? Ugh, get a life.

Dont get me wrong, I love me some good television shows. I am hooked on Hero's, The 9, Brothers and Sisters-jury is still out on this one, Rome (HBO-starts back in jan), and Entourage (HBO-starts back in Jan), and the occasional old school star trek, Big Valley or Nanny 911 re runs, but the shows I care about are programed into my digital recording cable box and will be waiting for me when I am not figuring out what starts with a G that my kid can take to school or out having a Mojito with some friends!

Last on my list of things to vent about is my job. My last day is December 1st and it cant come soon enough in one respect and its scary in another. Most of you know that I went part time in late August and to do this I agreed to be a contract worker. The reasoning was that they couldnt offer part time to everyone so in order to be fair if I wasnt really an employe per se then it would be OK if I worked abbreviated hours. I went into this full well knowing that come October 31 when the contract trial time was up, I could be canned. So the good news is they extended the contract to Dec 1st but the bad news is they won't need me after then. Well let me rephrase that, they are opting out for the cheaper full time person than the experienced part time person.

Now I am in job hunting hell, where you send your resume to anyone and everyone who will have it and hope beyond hope that someone will email or call for an interview where you have to "sell" yourself. That is such bullshit and I am so over that. This time I am going to interview them just as much as they interview me and find the right opportunity that fits both of us. So neither one of us is disappointed! Wish me luck! Both with not killing anyone here in the remaining time I have left and in hunting for the perfect part time (hopefully!) job where I work for a nice person who is laid back yet driven enough to give me some motivation when I need it, at a company that needs me and is generous, stable and fun and the higher ups dont have their head so far up their ass they think its below them to say hello to anyone that is below officer level. Think its possible? Do those jobs exist?

Say MAMA!

2006-06-13T08:13:00.000-07:00

Its official, the twins have started to talk. Before I go down that road, let me tell you that I had some beginning concerns that they might have some long lasting affects from being premature b/c they hadn't started saying ANYTHING yet. I know, I know, have I lost my mind? Encouraging two small children to talk and scream "Mama" every 5 minutes just doesn't seem like the smart thing to do. But like every other mother out there I am looking at the baby books saying "Children may start saying one or two syllable words as early as 8 months and as late as 18 months" and I am freaking out because mine are 15 months and they should be composing sentences by now if I was a good mother!

So its no surprise that Cooper's first word had to do with food..."Hot"...but he pronounces it like he is from the south side of London..."aught!" Gwyn being the feminine petite little flower that she is came out with "Uh Oh!" when she dropped her cup on the floor and thought it was hilarious that Heath and I ran around dropping/throwing things on the floor saying "Uh Oh!" to reinforce it! I am sure we looked like complete idiots! She has since picked up "Da Da" and every chance I get I over enunciate "MaaaaaMaaaaa" to her and she looks at me with a twinkle in her eye and says "DAAAAA DAAAAA!" I am just waiting for the word "dumbass" to come out of that little heart shaped mouth after we go through this routine! This morning she picked up word number 4 (she says "hot" too) which was "Buzz" -our dog. Nice, she learns the dogs name before mine...I would like to know where the hell Buzz was when she was in the NICU for 4 weeks, when she had those ear infections and was up all hours and when she is hungry and I slave over a stove to feed that little demon!

Bryan let the dogs in this morning because they have been sorely neglected this week while we have been going to Vacation Bible School right after work/school until 8pm. They need their social time too! Gwyn immediately lights up and wants to get out of her highchair and follows Buzz around saying "Ba Ba Ba Ba" then she points at Buzz and says "Bus!" Yeah, that's right, you little ungrateful turkey butt, that is Buzz, congratulations that is word number 4 for you of which your sainted mother's name is not a part...dramatic, I know, but work with my frustration here. Of course Bryan thinks its funny that she will say Da Da and not Mama, but who is going to get the last laugh when she comes to his tight wad self and wants a new car at 16, wants a fairytale (expensive) wedding at 27 and wants to attend Duke for 8 years so she can be a doctor?!??!?! Its scary how patient I can be isn't it? :-)

Summer's Here!

2006-05-25T07:43:00.000-07:00

Well, I have been crazy busy since I last posted. Lets see since February we have completed our inside renovation, started on our outside renovations, completed a circular driveway, picked out external paint colors and windows for the house, went to Costa Rica at the end of April, had my 36th birthday on Mothers Day, and have lost 8 of the 10 lbs I committed to losing in Weight Watchers at work! Whew!

We are really looking forward to this summer, its going to be pivotal. The pool opens on Saturday and we are READY! Heath has been preparing himself by blowing bubbles underneath the water in the tub. I have a "pool bag" packed and ready to go, all we lack is the golfcart that Bryan refuses to buy. :-)

The kids are so fun now. Cooper and Gwyn are walking/running like pro's Heath is learning past and future tenses as a whole concept. He throws in words like "lasterday" and tries to talk us into things he wants to do by asking "...is that a good idea?" He is also learning to make choices about his behavior rather than immediately being reactive...a lesson we all need to work on! :-)

I just love talking to Heath and hearing about what's important in his world. Going to the "big" playground versus the baby playground at school is major, counting everything from how many bites of food are on his plate to how many ants he can step on (we will work on respecting nature later), being able to buckle his own seatbelt, getting pudding in his lunchbox at school and finding "H's" in books, newspapers, or signs are all top on the list. He has also found that he enjoys urinating outside much more than in the potty.

Speaking of that, Bryan is doing pretty well too. (ha ha ha) He has been out of town for several days for the last two weeks and I find that I get to work on time when Bryan isn't around...mmmm, and here I was blaming my tardiness on the children! He seems to be happy and has a new enthusiasm for his job(s) which is a good thing. He is very excited about his new driveway and now likes to mess around in the yard so he can admire it. :-) We can pay $6000 for a driveway, but we fight for months if we pay that for countertops that we use 3 times a day! Where is the justice?

I bought a new digital camera, as the old one "disappeared" so I can post some pictures now. The one above, most of you have probably already seen, its from Easter. Its the best we could do, everyone was squirmy and was over Nana taking pictures of them in their Easter outfits.

Take care!

So much to do so little time!

2006-02-28T07:57:00.000-08:00

I have several updates...First of all we should be D-O-N-E with the house by the end of next week. I don't mind telling you that makes me want to shout out loud! Bryan and I neither have the time nor the patience (nor the money!) this is requiring to complete. OVER IT! It looks Fabuloso, but I am tired of explaining why there are exposed walls and half finished projects...not to mention we are having a shower for Matt and Katie (Bryan's little brother and his fiance) on March 18th that close to 50 ppl will attend. That is less than 3 weeks my friend and 3 weeks in the construction world is a blink of an eye!

OK, so the twins got tubes in their ears on Friday...Didn't go quite as smoothly as it did with Heath. Cooper had whopper infections in each ear, and was sort of sick...Gwyn got a fever for most of the weekend from "trauma". Great...I have got one of those kids that gets traumatized...she might as well start saving for therapy from all the trauma her mother is going to cause her! LOL!

They are back at school and still a bit 'off', but on the road to recovery, we hope.

In keeping with my 'to do' list for 2006 I am running a 5K race with my buddy Stephanie Gauthier...God Love Her! I have run a little bit, but this is going to be painful...purchasing the vat of Ibuprophen sometime this week that will be needed to get me through the weekend. Wish us luck.

Heath had his 3rd birthday party...it was a success...Spaghetti for all including the twins and a fabulous cake made by my mom. A good time was had by all and Heath has declared that he would like to have a birthday every week.

On another note about Heath, he has gotten real bad about saying no to Bryan and I. I told him this weekend if he said no to me again, he would get to know a bar of soap like he never has before...well out came "NO!" and I yanked him down the hallway to find that we only had Dial Antibacterial Foam Pump Soap. Its just not the same! I pumped a couple of blobs in his mouth while he screamed bloody murder and explained to him that when I told him to do something it was not an option, it was a command. "No Sass or I'll kick your Ass" came to mind as a catchy phrase to help him remember, but didnt want to introduce a word that he would certainly use at the ultra conservative Baptist preschool he attends. We will save cuss words for 1st grade material.

Caught him saying "nnna" a couple of times after that when I told him to do something but with a look that would make my Mom proud, he shut his mouth and did it while muttering something under his breath. I wonder if I have it in me to get my children through childhood as mentally stable, responsible adults who mind. God help us all.

Lastly, Bryan and I have scheduled a trip to Costa Rica. Halleleiua! No children of course and we are going with another couple that lives in Texas that we adore. Too excited. My mom, Bryan's mom and my buddy Natalie are going to batten down the hatches and take care of the munchkins while we are gone...I will stock the bar heavily and make sure there is plenty of beer and wine in the cooler to get everybody through. Trying to make it as easy as possible, we are leaving on a Monday and coming back on a Friday so that whoever has the children that day can take advantage of Bob Jones Child Development Center during the day to prepare themselves for the chaos in the evening. Hope everybody survives.

Watch I will probably not know what to do with myself and jump every time a kid says "Mommy!" All I have to say is if I get up before 8:30am it better be to urinate then return to bed for another hour or so! And to eat hot food (I always eat last) without having to hold someone? Oh the thought makes me want to sing! Bryan has a completely different agenda that we wont go into in this blog as I am sure it has some standards of propriety, but lets just suffice to say that he will look forward to not having to listen for little footsteps at inopportune moments!

Well that's all we have going on right now! Until Later!

XOXO

Babies, Babies, Everywhere!

2006-02-02T07:22:00.000-08:00

First before I get into the explosion of babies coming into the world, I have to say I HAVE RUNNING WATER IN THE KITCHEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ya HOOOOOO! I don't even care that the dishwasher cant be hooked up until the countertops are installed! I will wash dishes all night long as long as I can do them in a kitchen sink rather than a bathroom sink...ewww yuck!

OK, back to the baby thing...so my buddy, Janet just had her little boy, Mason. She has another little boy that is a few months younger than Heath. Janet is the epitome of the saying "hit the ground running" That girl doesn't slow down for anything including pregnancy or new births. My kinda girl!

One of my oldest and dearest friends, Donna is getting ready to give birth to her first child (Donna don't get offended!) at the age of 39 or 40?! We saw her a couple of weeks ago and she looked fabulous! She is my friend that is a chef and can cook a bowl of pasta that will knock your socks off with ingredients scraped out of the bottom of your refrigerator...She is magic in the kitchen. Now there is a good story, because Eric and Donna are somewhat set in their ways having been married for probably around 15 years, dated 10 years, I think, before that. While Donna has loosened Eric up a bit, (Donna is an adventurer at heart-could tell you some great stories about us driving around NYC-Harlem in lime green tin can while visiting her grandmother in Yonkers) I think they are in for the ride of their life! See their lifestyle has settled into one that is less than conducive to small children....Eric works 6-7 days a week and comes home at 8:30 or 9pm when they sit down to dinner. Eric is somewhat of a clean freak and has already stated he is not changing 'poopy' diapers-whatever. Although some of that will take care of itself when their little girl looks him in the eyes and smiles, I have a feeling Eric will be rushing home to see her at 6 or 7pm and calling Donna at all hours of the day to ask "What is she doing, now?" He is that kinda guy that he will fall in love. Donna is such a smart girl and she just smiles when Eric makes his comments, knowing full well that he is full of shit. That right there is a lesson in patience my friend!

OK, so the last person that I know that is getting ready to pop is my Aunt Jennifer who is actually 3 months older than I am. Everyone thought we were twins when we were infants, except she got this fabulous black hair and blue eyes and I got average brown hair with average green eyes-snif snif pity party :-). She is pregnant with a little boy and she has a daughter, Bailey, that is 5- I think. Jennifer is one of those girls that is so disciplined and totally has her act together...I obviously missed that gene in the family gene pool! She does things like balances her checkbook to the penny, and runs an in home daycare with structured constructive time for all the children all day long. Wear me out. I have to remind my self of the dinner/play/bath/bedtime routine when I get home each night.

Not to mention my friend Stephanie that just had a little girl, Millie, (still owe them a present!) two girls at work, Janinna and Jana-the latter is adopting a little boy that is due on Valentines Day, and my cousin, April, had a little boy a few months ago. POPULATION EXPLOSION! Can I tell you how glad I am that I will never be pregnant again or have to take care of a newborn? (God willing-here's hoping my children don't have a child out of wedlock in their teens or I might come back to eat these words!)

I am digging being a parent of "older" children, relative to a newborn, mind you. Love, Love, Love it when they can tell you what's wrong when they don't feel good, give you a hug, give you a dandelion out of the yard as a flower for Mommy, tell you crazy things like "shooting guns are only for monsters and bad men", "Do you think my new haircut is bootiful?", and "I don't like hippos and lions because they might bite", and give you open mouth, slobbery kisses on your cheek because they are so happy to see you (Gwyn). Cant beat it. I have gone into Motherhood kicking and screaming but its starting to grow on me. Although I am not going to lie and tell you I am not looking forward to bunko/ladies night out tonight one bit!

Trouble on the Frontlines!

2006-01-26T11:16:00.000-08:00

I gotta tell you I am getting pretty stinkin excited about having a kitchen again! We are so close, so close, I tell you I can almost smell the garlic cooking now! :-) The past couple of days have been both stressful and exciting as we finally see things coming together. I am going to take some pictures tonight and will attach later. The floors are beautiful, the cabinets are beautiful, and hopefully I will go home tonight to my new bright and shiny stainless steel appliances will be beautiful!

All of this has come at a cost. Bryan and I are snapping at each other like badgers. He threatened me to quit talking to the guy installing the cabinets last night because I was holding up the process then he proceeds to jabber in there for 30 minutes while all the kids are screaming bloody murder at bedtime last night....isnt that convenient? Wear me out! I wont digress into the other "conversations" we have had, but lets just suffice to say, we need to hurry up and get this done for the sake of restoring peace and harmony in our relationship.

On the family front, Cooper has started crawling! That little booger will do anything for a cheerio! He squirmed and wiggled his way across the family room floor when he saw me put one down for Gwyn! Finally he got up on all fours and did this funny little crawl until he was just about there then he collapsed and stretched out to retrieve his prize. Thank the Lord we have another week or so before he will be zooming around like Gwyn...by then we will have most of the construction dust and debris cleaned up.

Gwyn has turned into one of those children who puts EVERYTHING in her mouth, I have fished out pieces of sheet rock, paper, a penny, and a cheerio that was less than fresh out of her mouth here lately...good thing I had a new years "to do" to be cleaner! Ha!

We are loosing Heath to the TV monster. If its not Baby Einstein its Little Einsteins or Blues Clues or Miffy. Whatever the show, he feels like he NEEDS to watch it. I cant wait until I can kick him outside to go play. My kid is not going to be the fat kid who watches TV and plays video games all the time!

Gotta run...

2006 To Do's

2006-01-13T06:27:00.000-08:00

So I am calling this a TO DO list because if its a 'resolution' its submarined before it even gets out of the gate. As many of you know in my past life I was a runner. Running takes time, you see, so that was one of the things that went the way of the Dodo when Heath Bar Crunch came along. BUT I have committed to doing the Run Downtown (5K) in a couple of weeks. Now it might be the "Walk" Downtown for me, but if I finish its an accomplishment.

On this TO DO list I have put a mini marathon...this consists of a 5K run, a swim (not sure how long its is but not far) and a bike for 5-10 miles. This is to occur in August. It will be interesting to see how this happens! The motivation? Well without going into too much detail, I have things on my body that are several inches below where they are really supposed to be. That just isnt right and let me tell you, the thought of getting into a bathing suit looking like this makes me want to vomit...so I KNOW it would make other people want to vomit too! So rather than going the MuMu route this summer, I am going to do something about it.

When am I going to train you ask? Mmm, that is to be determined, but Bryan is willing (for self serving reasons mind you-he is a good man, but not a saint) to help me work out a schedule when I can exercise. I will let you know how it goes...I would love to get the children involved when I get a bit stronger...I paid an insane amount of money for a double jogging stroller that really needs to be put to good use. We just need some light when I get home and some warmer weather to facilitate "runs" with Mommy.

Also this year on my TO DO list is get to work on time, try to be cleaner (not actually me but my desk/home...I DO shower regularly! :-), cook more (I damn well will have to after making this 40K kitchen!) and hold my children more. This last one is interesting because when you have 3 children...they all want you to hold them so you dont hold anyone so they dont get jealous...its really not a good thing. There it is in black and white.

Would love to hear what some of your new years resolutions are...please use the comments link below!

xoxox

Making a liar out of us...

2006-01-12T10:26:00.000-08:00

First of all I have to say THE CABINETS ARE HERE! Ya hoo! Whoever the patron saint of cabinets is...he/she has it goin' on my friend! Ask and you shall receive! All that said, we still wont be able to put them in until we get the floors done, but at least we know they are shacked up in our carport waiting on us to go in their special little place in my kitchen. :-)

OK, about the lying thing...This has happened to us a couple of times and its getting quite funny. Bryan was at my SIL house bragging about how Heath has not worn a diaper in several weeks and how he is doing great. Bryan walks up stairs to get Heath and he is standing there with wet pants and says "I had to go potty" Great job, Heath, great job.

In my below blog I bitched and moaned about the "party" at night. Well the party is over, my friend because Gwyn has been sleeping through and Cooper has been waking up one time for a diminishing bottle (6 oz, then 4oz and now we are down to 2 oz) then goes right back to sleep. Projected full nights sleep with no getting up is in a week. Hallaleuiah! I am convinced I will have to lock Heath in his room...I put that booger back in his bed 2 times last night and woke up with a hand flung over my face this morning at 6am. He is sneaky, that one is!

You know, I dont think I am the best parent in the world by a longshot, but one thing that would be nice is for my kids to not make me a liar! If thats the case then I am going to walk around talking about how awful they are so they can prove me wrong! I can play that reverse psychology crap with the best of them! "Heath, DONT take your plate to the sink! Dont you do it!" That is the best way in the world to get them to do what you want, dont I know it.

I have to say Heath has been unusually sweet and talkative. He has voiced concerns over Lions being in his room or coming into house at night. Hopefully our conversations on where Lions tend to live (far away/Africa or the Zoo) cleared that little issue up. Then he has been stating that only Mommys and Daddys can drive, that he cant drive until 'later'. While that is a true observation, I am thinking that 'later' is a lot sooner to him than it really is...not sure his mind can grasp he has (gulp) 13 years to go. Lastly, we have been struggling over the TV lately. He states that its "his turn" when he feels like he needs to see Blues Clues or Little Einsteins. While I am all about the 'turn' thing at school or with his brother and sister, how do I explain that parents trump the whole "turn" concept by virtue of the checkbook and paying for the TV, cable, food on the table, etc. That conversation is coming, soon.

The plan is to move out January 27th for 3 or 4 days. The sad thing is after January 18th we will have nothing but a sink in the kitchen...I think we might try to move the fridge to the hallway. Microwave will go in the bathroom. Nice. BUT come Feb 1st we should be in good shape. I will post pics of course! Until then!

XOXO,

Those Little Gifts from God....WHATEVER!

2006-01-04T11:41:00.000-08:00

This is a cruel joke...When looking at this pic of Gwyn you might say..."Oh, what a little angel," or as one lady here at work said, "What a little gift from God." Well let me tell you what this gift from God did last night and see if you agree.

It really became a joke around 2:30 am...Gwyn went to bed at 8pm and proceeded to wake up at 9:30, 11, 12:20, 1:05, 2:10, 2:30 (am mind you!), 2:45, 3:22, 4:20, and after that I lost count b/c Bryan took over and took her into the den to sleep on the floor. Our house has turned into a regular party at night with various sundry family members joining us in our bed at various times in the night. I will wake up with one or two kids in bed with me...put them back in their own beds and wake up an hour later to attend to a screaming baby and find that Heath is wedged in between Bryan and I. Heath has a tendency to dig his feet into your side or legs while he is sleeping which doesn't bother me at all (because I do/did it too) but makes Bryan crazy. I digress.

Anyway...its really getting out of hand. We have blamed it on teeth, or illness which we have had our fair share of...but now its just getting down right ridiculous. So, what do we do? Resort to drugs of course! A nurse suggested we give them Benedryl and that might help them sleep...whatever, it makes my children crack babies that are climbing the walls. Another nurse suggested Robotussin DM which Gwyn got a dose of last night and from the above discussion, you see what happened.

One of the (many) problems with having 3 children is not being willing to let someone "cry it out" until they fall asleep b/c that wakes everyone else up. We had to do this with Heath a few times and it really worked but was sort of hard to do. Now we are down to two options...duct tape or earplugs. Will let you know which one we go with.

On another note...Heath gave his Mommy the best Christmas present EVER...no more diapers! We potty trained him over the 4 day weekend and he has done amazingly well...That's not just a Mom talking, either, his teachers are really impressed. I could take credit for it but he really made the decision he wasn't wearing diapers anymore and we just facilitated that decision with asking him if he had to go potty every 5 minutes for 4 days until he got the picture.

Also, Gwyn started crawling a couple of days before Christmas. She is on the move and like a new puppy is hot on our heals if we leave the room. She will not be left alone if she has to learn to crawl to prevent it from happening! So much for buying a nice big house to "have more room in" Gwyn would have been happy in a studio apartment where she can see us at all times!

Cooper is...well Cooper. He hasn't offered to crawl, loves to eat, has had a cold, usually in good spirits and has a new found love for rough housing with Daddy and big brother Heath. Its amazing how happy little boys can be rolling around on the floor with their Dad.

On the house front we have found out we will probably have to move into an extended stay place for a week for them to finish. Its a long story that I don't want to go into here, but they want to go ahead and tear out the old kitchen so they can put up sheet rock and put in and refinish the hard wood floor in there and redo the adjoining hardwoods so they will somewhat match. At this point I just want it over with. Cabinets are to arrive the week of Jan 19th so if there is a patron saint of cabinents here is my little offering of prayer that they come early!

Lastly, Bryan moved up a step with his businesses and got some office space. He has been working out of our home and toying with this idea since we had the twins. He got an offer of space that he couldn't refuse and learned he could expense it (key point in the choice to do this if any of you know how cheap Bryan is!) so there you have it. The projection of part time working for me is June. It was going to be last June but lets not go there either. The goal is to make Bob Jones tuition for the children so they have a place to go during the day if we need it, but they will hang out with me a lot more. Will let you know how that is going.

Well that is enough for now...I am bordering on boring right now. Hope all is well and Happy 2006!

The Nomads

2005-12-20T11:18:00.000-08:00

OK, so today is Tuesday, December 20th and we have not had power/heat since Thursday, December 15th at 8am when a lovely little ice storm it us like a freight train. Our neighborhood (as does the rest of Greenville) looks like Bosnia with all of the snapped trees and damaged cars, houses, and roads. Needless to say we are not all chipper and in the holiday spirit! We have bunked with my family in Columbia till Saturday, Bryan's parents in Simpsonville Sunday and last night we stayed with Bryan's business partner here in Greenville. We all have colds, Heath is afraid we are going to leave him somewhere, and I have a upper back ache like no body's business...Apparently in between getting married and having 3 children I can no longer sleep on a blow up mattress. Lewis and Clark, I am not! :-)

So the good news? MMMMmmmmm.... we are officially in our new house and have officially sold our old house as of yesterday. Bryan is smiling all the way to the bank right now as I write. We made a substantial amount on the sale of our old house, but before you come knocking on our door for a loan, I plan on using a chunk of that to renovate our new house then the rest is going towards the mortgage to get that paid down...

The renovations are at a standstill due to the whole power thing...apparently workers need power to run their power tools...imagine that! We did order the cabinets which is what this whole project is hinging on right now...eta on those are January 23rd...here's hoping the cabinet business is slow and they crank those babies out. Let me tell you if you are looking for a profession to get into, cabinetry might be the ticket as its the biggest racket I have ever had the pleasure of dealing with!

Bryan mentioned that we might want to go ahead and purchase a Christmas tree....ya think? So let me tell you that sucker will have a couple of strands of lights and 50 candy canes on it and that will be the extent of my decorating if we are only going to have it for a few days! The Martha Stewart award will have to pass me by this year! I have also decided that everyone will be getting happy new year cards this year...because the thought of cranking out 80 Christmas cards this year makes me want to curl up in a ball with a bottle of vodka and drink myself silly! Of course this was the year that I was going to be so on the ball and I ordered several sheets of those cool Christmas stamps from usps online. Good one Christina! Oh well that will mail the Happy New Year cards just the same now wont it??!?!?!?

Well, here's hoping the next time I write we have power and some semblance of normalcy in our lives...my friend, Shelley says this builds character, and I think my smart ass remark back to her in an email was something like, "my character is already built, thank you, I am ready for the damn power to come on!" I will tell you this...I will be buying some kick butt gas logs for our new house, some french doors for the den so we can heat just that room, and lastly a little generator to keep our fridge and a couple of lights going. Live and Learn! I can be taught! Merry Christmas!

The Calm Before the Storm

2005-12-01T06:06:00.000-08:00

So we got the house...after MUCH drama and some creative juggling of bank account information we had a "Dry" closing on Tuesday and we got the keys after the wire transfers were received on Wednesday. So what have I learned from all of this?

Well, I have learned that when there is a process that you are not in control of, there is no reason to get bent out of shape about it and just do what you can to expedite the process. I have this little problem of wanting to control situations I am in....anyone who knows me will attest to this. My Mom says I am manipulative, but to me that is just a way of saying I maneuver things to get them to work out like I want them (doesnt that sound nicer? :-) Before you think I have obsessive compulsive disorder, its not to that degree and much more subtle than that. Sometimes I do it without even knowing its happening. Anyway, thank the Lord for Bryan , because he definitely grounds me and makes me calm down when freaking out about things like this closing.

So we have the keys, we are waiting on the architectual plans, and preparing to move ancillary items this weekend. My Mom (probably for the first and last time) is taking all three children so she can get pictures done and spend time with them for the whole weekend. I have a feeling she will be on my doorstep bright and early Sunday morning! :-)

I have beaten down Bryan and hired movers to move the furniture on Saturday the 10th and my fabulous new washer and dryer (thank you Mom and Dad!) will be delivered on Monday the 12th....so watch out folks, we are really moving....

Right now its the calm before the storm when we look around and contemplate moving items...Saturday is when the shit hits the fan and it all becomes real....Two weeks before Christmas we are moving our belongings and family!

About that Christmas thing, can I tell you it has really put things into perspective, shaking up the routine like we have this year. Heath keeps asking things like where our Christmas Tree is? and do we have a chimney at our new house that Santa can come down? My favorite is...Will Santa know we moved? I have tried to focus on Baby Jesus's birthday but Santa always creeps into the conversations about this.

Heath did chunk a truck into my shopping cart at Publix and said Baby Jesus would like it for his birthday. This is in the aftermath of purchasing several birthday presents for birthday parties of his friends and cousins. So I guess he gets it a little bit.

There is a lot going on right now, but this too, shall pass, right???!??!?!?!?!??

Put it in Perspective

2005-11-22T05:50:00.000-08:00

OK, so its almost Thanksgiving. I was going through my emails yesterday and got an email from a Greenville Mother of Multiples member asking for help. Her good friend from church came home from a weekend in the mountains to find their home had burnt to the ground.

Her husband and 4 year old son have lost everything they have...well thats a sobering thought isnt it? As I run around purchasing plastic and rubber toys made in China at $40 a pop for children (mine included) that have so much, her 4 year old has lost not only every toy he had but every baby picture, every keepsake, every stitch of clothing.

Sort of puts things in perspective of what is really important this season...Thanksgiving is in a couple of days and my family is scrambling around trying to make plans and figure out who is having what meal, when. I have been extreamly lucky in the past in that my family is small, Bryan's family and my sister in law's family is fairly small as well, so we have been able to all get together and enjoy the entire day together rather than hoof it on the road to the next feast.

But this year my little sister has another family to consider with her boyfriend, Justin's family, and Leah's little brother, Nate, just got married and his new wife's family has their own plans. Bryan's little brother, Matt, is engaged so his fiance's family requires their holiday time as well. So things are a bit disjointed, just like they are for most other Americans. Remembering the Styles family, though, I am thankful we have such a great family and extended family. Who cares if we cant all be in the same place at the same time. I am just happy that they are there and feel lucky that they are a part of our lives.

I dont have a mean mother in law trying to submarine my relationship with her son...or a family member that is catty and unkind...I might not have the same closeness with everyone, but I genuinely love and enjoy each and every person in our families. According to my friends, that is REALLY something to be thankful for! :-)

So as you are rushing around trying to make your dishes and get to your destinations, and feeling grumpy about it...remember the Styles family, who do not have a kitchen to make Thanksgiving sweet potato cassarole in. Remember my neighbor, Rasheda, who's a single parent and all her family is in London. Remember my grandmother who has spent the last 50 some odd years making Thanksgiving dinner for the same man who is no longer with us. Wow, that really puts it all in perspective, doesn't it? There is always something to be thankful for...I am thankful for you, all the goodness and love in the world (its out there, you just dont hear about it as much as the bad stuff!), and for my ancesters who started the tradition of Thanksgiving so we can take pause in our hectic lives to remember that we really do have many things to be thankful for.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours.

Oh, Christina What Have You Done???

2005-11-18T07:22:00.000-08:00

So I need to fill you in on the latest saga of the Family moving drama…

We have purchased a 1960 brick ranch that is approx. 500 sq ft bigger than our current house but when we are finished with it will be about 1000 sq ft bigger. Its in a neighborhood we really like and in general its a great find. Of course it needs some work...the kitchen is circa 1960 and it has 3 bedrooms and we need 4. The Kitchen is first on the TO DO list and as we move in Dec 15th I want to get as much done to it as possible before we move in. So being proactive I am getting Contrators, Architects, and Interior Designers lined up and formulating a plan before we even close on it on Nov 23rd.

After much ado getting a new kitchen configured my interior designer and Home Depot got a plan that we were all happy with…

ENTER: THE ARCHITECT

I am going to trash her for a minute, but she is really good and knows what the hell she is doing…Lucinda Moore comes in-in the eleventh hour mind you- to draw up the plans for the Contractor. Lucinda looks at what we have come up with and she starts shaking her head and walking around the kitchen and looking at everything. After about 15 minutes of this she announces:

“This is all wrong…if you want to maximize the square footage of your house, have access to your back yard and create a positive flow in this house you need to move the kitchen to where the Dining Room is.”

Well halleluiah and break out the checkbook lets just spend 50K on a kitchen we planned on spending 10K on!! Is what I am thinking…but when I stopped hyperventilating and they got down to brass tacks its really only going to be about 5K more b/c we are tearing out everything in the current kitchen so its just a matter of moving electrical and plumbing and finishing out the walls where the cabinets currently are. BUT its going to add about 4-6 weeks construction time to this whole process that I was trying to get done by 2006!

Can anyone say “Shoot me in the head?” not having a kitchen for approx 2 and a half months with 3 kids under the age of 2 years old!!!!!!!!

So after some tears on my husband's shoulder and running around telling anyone who would listen what I have gotten myself into..I was over at my buddy’s house, Janet, who recommended Lucinda to us by the way, and telling her she is Number 1 on my top ten shit list and her husband pipes in…” Christina, this is the best thing that could have happened…why cant you use the current kitchen while they are constructing the new one and when the new one is ready you cut everything over and then demolish the old kitchen and fix that up…that way you will always have a kitchen through out this whole process!” Brilliant! Mike you get a gold star for the day!

So my emotional roller coaster on this project is back up….will keep you posted on this craziness.

Introduction

2005-11-18T06:17:00.000-08:00

So let me bring you up to speed, I am 35 going on 50 when just 3 short years ago I was 32 going on 22. What has caused this dramatic change in attitude, physical appearance and state of mind? They are called Heath (2 years old), Gwyneth and Cooper (8 months old).

Yes, children are the "joy"of your life and yes, I am thankful they are (fairly) healthy. But I will be damned if they haven't brought out the worst traits in my personality. In particular, impatience, temper, and a dictator stance on all things from what color socks they will wear to what they will say to new acquaintances. Wear me out! WHO CARES!?!

See when you are happy go lucky, married to a hot, young buck that is easy going, fun and loved by most...Your good traits are easily cultivated. This was me prior to 32. BUT when you are constantly under the gun, haven't had 8 continuous hours of sleep in 3 years, and trying to be a good mother, good wife, good friend, good employee, good church member, and good person...Well something has to give, lets get real.

I am thoroughly disgusted with myself sometimes...So I ask forgiveness from both the person I have wronged and from God and move on...Because there is little time for much else. But am I learning anything from all of this or am I committing the same 'crimes' and with the subconscious thought that I will ask for forgiveness later? Mmmmm?

So here we go with a blog...It will be interesting to see consistencies as we go along this road.