Stitches

Somehow, we made it five years before we needed to see a doctor to get some stitches. That streak ended last week when Tommy, through no fault of his own, learned an important lesson about gravity. While at the after school program he attends, another child was randomly throwing rocks up in the air. Much like chicken little, Tommy had the unfortunate luck to be directly under this projectile falling back to earth. This lead to a trip to the local Pri-Med and six stitches later Tommy was as good as new! We were able to distract him during the sewing up process using videos on my iPod and he didn't shed the first tear. All the doctors and nurses were highly impressed by his composure. Honestly, I think I was more distraught about it than he was! Tommy was rewarded for his bravery with a visit to his favorite fine dining establishment, McDonald's. Now we have six stitches down, hopefully we won't be repeating this trip anytime soon!

He's all smiles even after being stitched up!

T's First Day of School!

Wow, has it really been over a year since I posted to this blog?? Needless to say, we've all been pretty busy! Tommy even started Kindergarten this month. Where does the time go???

Ready for the big first day!

All smiles before he walks into class!

We have so far survived the first two weeks! We are all looking forward to a great year of Kindergarten!

The Beach and the Oil Spill

We thought long and hard before deciding to go to the beach this weekend. All the press coverage about the oil spill and what that would mean for the beaches left me wondering what it would be like, and if we even wanted to spend the money to go. But, we hadn't been to the beach in a couple of years, and we figured that there should be plenty to do down there besides the beach, if it came down to it. In the end, we got in plenty of beach time, and just a little bit of oil. For those who are curious, here are some examples of what we saw:

Ships installing boons

The Coast Guard looking for oil spots

Regular, oil-free seagulls

Lots of people swimming and playing on the beach

A few tiny coin sized tar balls

We were on the beach for four days and some days had more tar than others. On the morning that we left, I had a hard time finding any tar at all. The tar that was present was small and easily washed off the feet with dishwashing soap. It was no more of a hassle than watching for jellyfish when you walked. The photo to the right shows a piece of trash covered with tar. TJ named these spots tards because they look like.... well, you get the idea.

We also saw volunteers riding and walking up and down the beaches looking for something to clean up. It turns out that most of the rumors that I had heard, oil covered beaches, terrible smells, and so on, were mostly not true. More than anything, what we saw the most of when we were at the beach was this:

SMILING FACES!!

4 Years Old....

It's hard for me to believe that Tommy is 4 years old already. We took a weekend trip to the beach for his birthday. For his big day we made a stop at Chuck E Cheese in Pensacola...

Tommy in his Birthday Crown

T.J. "helping" Tommy play video games

visited the Naval Air Museum...

The Blue Angels

Tommy even got to play in the plane

and topped it all of with some time at the beach and a swim in the pool.

I think he had a great time!

Happy Mother's Day!!

You know that you're a mom when...

Finding rocks and pennies in the washing machine makes you smile...

Yes, one of those is a Canadian penny. I have no clue where he gets this stuff from!

This amount of "mess" is not only a tolerable level of cleanliness (or should I say "straightened-up-ness"), but something which should be strived for...

At our house we call this "clean-enough".

Bound pieces of construction paper with a simple hand print is a precious keepsake...

Daycare teachers rock!

You appreciate the Moms in your life more than ever before...

Tommy and Grammie

Tommy and Nanna

Happy Mother's Day to all the Mom's, Grandmom's, Aunt's, and special ladies out there who make a difference in our lives. Your impact is always felt, and always appreciated.

Rome If You Want To....

Or was it Roam that the B-52's meant?? Either way, I suppose that TJ and I were Rome-ing this weekend as we were in Rome, Georgia for an International Bowhunters Organization tournament. TJ's new hobby is shooting in these competitions, and since I am always up for a road trip, I usually tag along with him. I get to meet really interesting people from all over the US and spend a day or so outside enjoying the springtime weather, so it's something nice to do together. Tommy did not make the trip with us because chasing a 3 year old around an area with flying lethal projectiles is not my idea of a good time. But, little man got a trip to both sets of grandparents, so I doubt that he even noticed that we were gone.

Since pet boarding is expensive, and because our hotel happened to be pet friendly, Cracker did get to go with us. I swear, I am always amazed at the attention that this dog gets whenever we take him out in public. People are constantly coming up to see him. On this trip, people were actually asking to make pictures with him! It's almost like walking around with a celebrity. A hairy, slobbering, goofy celebrity...

Superstar!!

In all, it was a great weekend. A big thanks to Sissy for transporting Tommy to Troy for us, and both sets of grandparents for keeping him. I know that he had a great time!

Sunrise in Rome, Georgia

Chick Magnet

Apparently, 3 year olds do not automatically know how to hold baby chicks. While this statement may seem like common sense for most of the world, it was a lesson learned for me over Easter weekend. Tommy's Nanna and Peapaw were taking care of some chicks which were living in a box with a heat lamp.

The first two attempts at chick holding resulted in Tommy picking them up by their neck and/or leg, then dropping them sending the yellow fuzz balls plummeting down into the box. Luckily, after a few short lessons on the proper way to catch and release baby chickens, Tommy was a pro.

Please note that no baby chicks were harmed in the making of this blog post (Maybe a little traumatized, but not harmed).

The Correct Way to Hold Baby Chicks