Vacation, Part 2: MORE Sea Creatures!

Well, today was filled with more sun, fun, and sea creatures!!! Today, we saw at least another half dozen star fish and about a zillion sand dollars...seriously! We have an entire sand bucket full of sand dollars, it's crazy!! We also played with a crab, and saw an eel!!! Really...the lifeguard just pulled this eel out of the ocean and was holding it for everyone to see! Uuuhhh...to be quite honest, this place is not helping my fear of the ocean! I'm amazed at the wildlife...we're in Hilton Head, not some exotic island! It's crazy!

We sat on the very edge of the water today because we saw about 10 people running out of the ocean saying they had gotten stung by a jelly fish. No thanks, I'll pass on that. We also spent some time in the pool and in the cool fountains they have on the resort. I'll post pictures later...the kids had a blast.

Tomorrow, I think we're going to try to go to the Salty Dog Cafe and the Lighthouse. Well, that's all for now...the kid's are finally in bed (and quiet), so I'm going to go and be an adult for a little while! :)

Vacation, Part 1: Our first 3 days!

We are enjoying our first WEEK long vacation since before either of our children were born!! I know that's sad...but we seriously have not been on a week long vacation since we went to Texas in 2004.

So this week we are spending a week in Hilton Head, SC. A first for both of us, and probably is only possible since it's FREE...thanks to Susan and my dad!! :) We've had a lot of fun so far...and some interesting stories already, and it's only Tuesday. I can't post any pictures right now, because I forgot the cable thing to be able to download them. But I figure that I'll at least share some stories...

First thing I have to talk about is the shower in our room! I know that sounds weird, but it has 4 shower heads in it!! What the heck!! Oh boy does it get you clean in more places than one!! I'll post a picture later...it's insane!!

Second thing...so much for adult time! The kids are totally disoriented when it comes to sleeping. For the past 2 nights Mason has especially freaked out. After a good 20 minutes of screaming, he cries himself to sleep, but it's usually not for long. The past 2 nights, he's ended up in the bed with us. Which doesn't make for comfortable sleeping. He wants to sleep right on top of me or with his head in my arm pit! Yeah, it's great. And to make matters worse, MacKenzie woke up at 4:00 this morning and just got in our bed like she owned it! About one hour later, Mason was up and wanted in there, too. Yeah, so one would think that two little kids wouldn't take up that much room, especially when you're sleeping in a king size bed...yeah right! I was on the far edge of the bed haning on for dear life hoping I wouldn't fall off or get kicked off!! It's great...let me just tell you. Then, they woke each other up because one of them was "touching" the other one. Jarrod decided he and MacKenzie would go in the other room to go back to sleep. Yeah right, she was wide awake from about 6:30-7:00 on. Mason and I on the other hand, slept until 8:30...that's late for him!

Third thing...we have seen more SEA CREATURES down here than I've ever seen. Seriously...sea creatures! We've seen at least a dozen starfish!! I've never seen a REAL, LIVE starfish before, and I'm just amazed by them! We've also seen a good many sand dollars and sea snails. We've also seen a couple of dead jelly fish...and we've heard a lot of people who have gotten stung. (Apparently, it's jelly fish season down here). We've also found 3 conks (sp?). They were alive, too, but we've taken them so we can keep the shells. I think that's illegal, but oh well. I have pictures of all of those sea creature that I'll post once we get back. However, the one sea creature that we saw that totally freaked me out was a STING RAY!! Yeah, the same kind of creature that killed Steve Erwin, the Crocodile Hunter! We were only in about a foot of water, too! We were just hanging out and all of the sudden Jarrod starts yelling at me and told me to pick Mason up quick! Then, he says "You almost stepped on a Sting Ray!!" And sure 'nough, I look down and there's a sting ray, just swimming along. I still can't believe it! My heart just about stopped when I saw it. I'm not a huge fan of the ocean anyways...I love the beach, but not the ocean, and now I'm totally not going back in it!!

So, that's about it so far. We're on day 3 of our trip and it's been exciting so far to say the least!! We really are having a great time, and the kids are loving it!! I'll keep you posted on what else we discover!

Annual July Birthday/Reunion

Each July we celebrate all the July birthdays (there's a lot) with the McIlwains, Hyatts, and Councills. This year we hosted it at our house, and had about 19 people over. It was great! We also got to go on the boat! Check out the slide show...

Potty Training Update

Ok, well, we've made a few steps forward...we've successfully pooped in the potty two days in a row!! That only makes the 3rd time ever...but maybe we're getting somewhere. However, it's a HUGE ordeal when she has to go. She starts with this cry that is very distinct, and I know what it means. I have to coax her to sit on the potty, while she kicks and screams and says "I don't want to go"...it's very dramatic!! (I have no idea where she gets that from!) But, she finally has done it. I feel so bad for her though...I think she waits until her stomach hurts so bad, she just can't stand it. I have to bribe her with everything in the book...seriously!

However, with all those accomplishments, she had an accident while on the playground at Chic-fil-A tonight. We had "attempted" to go to the potty while at the mall. (Which by the way, is completely disgusting! She manages to touch every gross thing in the public bathroom! I just hate having to go in them!) I also asked her at least 3 times while playing on the playground if she had to go, and of course, she says "no, not yet". Then, all the sudden, I hear "the cry"...the cry that means, "uh, oh, I've messed up". Sure 'nough, she's peed in her pants. Luckily, we still had her bag from school which had extra clothes in it, so we were able to change. But, not until we had a COMPLETE and TOTAL melt down in Chic-fil-A!! AND, to make matters worse, one of the vice-presidents of the hospital was in there with his family!! He gave me one of those looks like "been there, done that, and I'm so glad I'm over that"!

Oh well, once again, it makes for a great story!

One of these days I'll share all of these stories with one of her boyfriends and just embarrass the heck out of her!! HEHE!! :)

So Much for Surprises!

Well,I just learned that with a 3 year old in the house, you can't keep many secrets...

Jarrod's birthday is this Saturday. He had called earlier today to say he would be coming home a little later than usual, so I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to do some "errands" (a.k.a birthday shopping). When I picked the kids up from school, I told them we were going to the store to find Daddy a birthday present...and we headed to the mall. (BTW, I don't recommend going to the mall by yourself with 2 kids!) Anyway, I found a pretty good deal on some Hilfiger golf shirts and thought, "hey, Jarrod can always use a nice golf shirt." So we bought the shirt, and MacKenzie was so excited about it she had to hold it in her lap after we bought it. But, I told her that it was a secret and a surprise for Daddy so she couldn't tell him. She said "OK", but I figured she would forget about it after a little while anyway...boy, was I WRONG!

Jarrod then called me and said he wasn't going to be late afterall and that he was on his way home and wanted to know what we were doing. I told him that I had promised the kids we would go to Chic-fil-A and play on the playground. He said he would meet us there in about 30 minutes. So we play on the playground until Daddy gets there. We order our food, sit down to eat...and had been eating for some time. Out of no where, MacKenzie says "We got Daddy a blue shirt for his Birthday!!" I just about fell out of my seat...while almost spitting out the tea I was drinking! I looked at her and said "that was supposed to be a surprise". She just grinned and Jarrod and both died laughing! Oh well, I guess I've just learned you don't take a 3 year old shopping with you if you don't want anyone to know what you bought!!

That also means I'll be doing all my Christmas shopping ALONE!!

Little Red Wagon

We got the kids a wagon so that when we go the beach we can haul them and all the stuff! We went ahead and gave it to them early...and they LOVE it! We've taken them on quite a few walks already!

Nathan's Tractor Party

Some of our best friend's had a birthday party for their little boy, Nathan (a.k.a. Natter-bug), who turned 2 today. He had a John Deere Party, and boy, did we have a blast! They even went all out and had REAL John Deere tractors there! Even MacKenzie hopped on one and went for a ride!! It was fun, but we're exhausted now...there were 6 kids that were 3 and younger!

Thanks Chris, Kimberly, and Nathan for a great party! By the way..."you might be a redneck if..."! :)

One Step Forward, Three Steps Back

Ok, so that's how I feel about potty training. One day we make progress, the next day seems like we're going backwards. MacKenzie has only pooped one time in the potty. (I blogged about that last week). Last night we put a pull-up on her for bed, and I saw it, that look in her eyes that says "I'm going to poop". So I ran over, picked her up, and said "let's go poopy in the potty". She kicked, fought, screamed, and cried. She just didn't want to do it. I know she had to go, but she just wouldn't go.

So we got up from the potty, and we "talked about it". I asked her why she wouldn't go in the potty. She said "because I don't want to". I said "why"? She said "because I don't". Then, the funniest conversation I've ever had with my child happened. We were just sitting there, just the two of us, and out of no where she asked, "Why did God make us poop?" Just as she asked Jarrod walked by and took a double take. He looked at me, then her, and said "what did you just say?" Without missing a beat, she said "why did God make us poopy in the potty?" WOW!! I thought we were both going to bust out laughing. But we kept our cool, and Jarrod (being the great and wise Daddy that he is) looked at her and said "God made everyone to poop in the potty, even Jesus pooped in the potty". MacKenzie looked at him like he was crazy! She said "Jesus didn't poop in the potty, Jesus is a baby!!" Well, at that point, we couldn't keep our composure any longer...we died laughing!!! So much for the intellectual, heart-to-heart talk we tried to have!

Oh well, no major accomplishments with the potty training this week, but it sure makes for a GREAT story!!! I'll keep you posted!

Oh yeah, and one more thought, I never thought in a million years, I would type the word "poop" so many times...especially on the World Wide Web!! :)

Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star

Water Day & Cook Out

We had our 1st cook-out and get together with friends at our new house this past Saturday. We had 3 of the couples that helped us move over for steaks and fun! Before the cook-out, my friend, Kimberly brought her little boy, Nathan, over and they had 'water day'! As you can see they had a blast!

Fun at the Lake!

We went to the lake a couple of times this weekend and rode on Poppi's boat. The kid's also rode on the tube and LOVED it! Mason especially love it...he would get MAD when we made him get off of it. MacKenzie also got to drive the boat! We even got to visit with Cousin Zach for a little while. It was a lot of fun!

Happy 4th of July!

We went from having no plans for the 4th of July weekend to being pretty busy!

Yesterday we went to my Aunt Rue and Uncle Don's lake house. They have no water at their house since we're in a major drought, so we just hung out, ate some lunch, and enjoyed spending time together. My cousin, Alicia, and her husband, Brad, also came with "Baby Brock" (as MacKenzie likes to call him). He's 4 months old and cute as a button...he looks just like his Daddy! He was 6 weeks early and weighed only 3 lbs. 11 oz when he was born....but you could never tell that by looking at his chubby cheeks!!

Today, we're going on Mimi and Poppi's boat and then we're having a cook-out at our house. We're having 3 of the couples who helped us move over for some steaks and GAME NIGHT!! I love game night! I'm soooo excited.

Tomorrow, I think we're going to chill...I'll be exhausted after all this!

FINALLY!

MacKenzie finally pooped in the potty!! She did it yesterday, July 4th!!! We went to my Aunt Rue and Uncle Don's lake house, and she went there. I don't know what inspired her, but she did. I had promised her I would buy her ANYTHING she wanted if she would go in the potty. So last night we went to Walmart and bought a 'My Little Pony' and new princess panties. She's very excited! Now the true test will be if she does it at home...I'll keep you posted!

Potty Training is Impossible!!

Ok, so MacKenzie went all day yesterday without a single accident....even at home. We even went out to eat last night and she pottied while we were there!! But still no poop in the potty.

I told her that I would buy her a special pink poopy potty, is she would just poppy in the potty. I thought I had her convinced. So, we put a pull up on her to go to bed (I'm not even attempting night time without a pull-up or diaper, yet), and 5 minutes later...she's pooped in her pull-up. I'm telling you, she does it for spite!! She waited all day until she knew that I would put a pull-up on her before she decided to go.

I've bribed her with any present in the world if she would just go in the potty...

AAGGHH!! For those of you who have been successful with the potty training...you are my HERO! For those of you who have not or haven't even begun...GOOD LUCK!