MY LIFE.......

So many things so little time

2010-09-03T12:57:00.001-04:00

I have so many hilarious, memorable and emotional things to post but I just don't have time to sit down and post them.......!!!!

Wednesday nights

2010-03-25T21:19:00.002-04:00

I guess I just assumed that since I live a typical life as a working adult that everyone else did. Well, I found out a week ago that that is not true for everyone. My girlfriend Keesh from H-Town was here visiting with us last week and we partied like rock stars on a Wednesday night! I can't say where we went but believe me it was more than interesting...... But I did realize that I am definitely getting older because 1) who would have thought there would be so many clubs open during the middle of the week, 2) we didn't leave the house until 10pm which is my bedtime 3) I was barely awake at midnight and people were still walking in as if it was a Saturday night and finally 4) coming home at 3am and having to be up at 8am is not cool! I was so messed up on Thursday that I slept half the day after I got the kids to school and didn't pick them up until closing time.

We had a blast but I am still hungover from the lack of sleep............

Why

2010-03-22T16:46:00.002-04:00

Why....did Trey see an obese young lady at church and walk up to her and say "mommy that's a BIG one!"

Why....did Trey walk up to a little boy who had a birth mark on his face and neck; point to it while asking "mommy what's wrong with him?"

Why....did Preston come stand in front of me with no diaper on and say "mommy I pee pee" as he pissed on my foot.

Why....do the teenagers in the drive thru look at you crazy when you ask for condiments....duh I got french fries heifer!

Why....did this black lady have finger nails that were so long that they were curled like curley fries. They were probably 1 feet long. She could barely get money out of her wallet and had the nerve to have them painted with designs....WTHeck!

Why does so much foolishness happen around us all the time? I don't know but my life is truly hillarious! I can't even think of half the funny/hilarious/silly/unneccesary stuff my kids and other folks do that truly makes me wonder if they have all there screws.

BDay Blast!

2010-02-21T15:10:00.003-05:00

My birthday weekend turned out to be a blast because I spent it with the people I love the most!

Let the celebration begin!

2010-02-18T16:57:00.002-05:00

I started out my birthday weekend celebration with a bang at work! My work friends surprised me with balloons, gifts and a chocolate cake when I walked into the office. Shout out to the folks at work! Loved it!!!!!

More Snow!

2010-02-12T17:48:00.004-05:00

Although, I hate cold weather and do not get excited about snow; today was just a pretty day! The snow was falling and the trees were covered perfectly. I picked the kids up for school early and believe it or not we went out to throw snowballs. We didn't last too long but I was proud of myself for even taking on the challenge of facing the cold and getting my hair wet...LOL!

Trey loved every minute of it and Preston even tried to throw some snowballs. Once we got inside and out of our wet clothes Trey started crying and said his hands hurt really bad. They were freezing from the snow. Since his hands were "hurt" he thought it would be best to put a band aid on it to make it feel better....hilarious!

My first dentist appointment!

2010-02-11T16:32:00.002-05:00

Yesterday, Preston went to his first dental appointment. He started out very shy but opened up when he saw ALL the fish in the office. The dentist is so amazing with children that Preston held his hand and walked to the exam room. Unfortunately as soon as we laid him down and the guy went to open his mouth he went bonkers! He was so afraid of what was going to happen and just started crying "mommy mommy please please help" which sounded like mommieee mommieee pease pease help! But after letting him take a little brake and relax he got better. The dentist is very good at letting the little ones get involved so Preston held the mirror while he examined him and that made him feel a little better.

So it wasn't terrible but it definitely wasn't a walk in the park!

Strept throat sucks!

2010-02-03T14:48:00.004-05:00

My poor baby Preston has strept throat! We had been doing so good with staying healthy this past year that I knew it had to happen sooner or later. This is one of our first sick visits to the pediatrician in almost a year. But unfortunately like the title says "strept throat sucks!" Preston got a dose of antibiotics along with Tylenol and Motrin and is now resting comfortably. He has had a fever of 102 since yesterday afternoon. He was thoughtful however and didn't spike a fever until mommy got off of work yesterday at 5pm. So today (on my off day...sucks) we spent the day together at the doctors office and out to lunch with my brother. We had to cancel his first dental visit this morning due to the sudden illness but I rescheduled for next week. The dental appointment will be interesting I am sure because Preston barely likes to get his teeth brushed. Well you know what I take that back, he does not like for us to brush his teeth. He thinks he can do it himself which he can't. Sucking the toothpaste off the toothbrush does not constitute good brushing technique...LOL!

But anywhoo, say a little pray for my angel tonight!

Capri turns 8!

2010-02-01T21:35:00.002-05:00

Today is my sweet baby doggy girl Capri's 8th birthday. Capri has been a wonderful addition to our family and truly groomed us to be wonderful patient parents. She has been with us since she was about 6 weeks old and we love her just like she was a real daughter. She absolutely loves the boys and keeps a close eye on them. She has withstood hundreds of bites, slaps, tail pulling and hitting from both of the boys and still has never mumbled a word. As she is getting older though she seems to disappear when she see's that things are getting a little too rowdy, where as before she would just sit there and take it. The kids love her to death and look forward to seeing her when they walk in from school each day. They give her hugs and kisses (I know gross) and of course feed her all the food that they do not wish to eat, that part she loves.

So for her bday yesterday; Trey and I took her to the groomers for a spa day. She got a haircut, bath, and mani-pedi. She also got two pink bows to match the new pink collar I bought her. Then when we got home she got grilled chicken and a cookie for dinner. She was very happy about being spoiled for the day which is probably why she has yet to eat the dry dog food that has been in her bowl for hours.........back to reality honey!

Happy Birthday Capri!

AMA Inaugural Ball

2010-01-31T20:38:00.004-05:00

Saturday night was a very special evening for us. We attended The Atlanta Medical Association Inaugural Ball. This is a high society medical ball that we attend every year and Paul has also been on the executive board of directors for the last 2 years. It is always overwhelming to see hundreds of successful African American doctors, lawyers, business men, senators etc all in one building. I guess we get so caught up with media outlets giving so much attention to celebrities and athletes that we forget about those successful folks who have worked most of their life to make a real difference in our society. There were several politicians in the building as well as other dignitaries who are well known locally and nationally.

I never get tired of this event. It is often refreshing to get really dressed up and rub shoulders with the other side...LOL. But next year I gotta buy me a fur coat like the old school wives because I almost froze to death!

Oh and when I saw these pictures I truly realized that I have got to lose 10 pounds! Those are not fake boobs its a true DD in a size 6 frame!

Karaoke...hilarious!

2010-01-26T16:42:00.006-05:00

We are still going strong on the date nights. A couple of Saturdays ago we had an awesome date night with a couple of other couples and then out to Barley's Lounge for the live band. The singer was absolutely amazing! He really seemed to sing the celebs songs better than them. It was definitely enjoyable and felt great being out with the hubby.

Last Saturday night was family night out with the Johnson's (my brothers fam) which turned into a very funny night. We went out to dinner at a Mexican restaurant where we've been a couple of times before but now they have added live karaoke. Well we were all sitting at the table ready to order with the waiter and whose voice do we hear coming thru the speakers....Paul! It was too funny. On top of being up there by himself he was doing a country song "Elvira" from maybe 20 something years ago. Boy he was giving it his all too. After we finished laughing at him, my sister in law and I got pumped to go up there and of course we turned the party out. We even had Trey up there with a microphone singing "Come on ride that train" by the Quad City DJs. I am sure you all remember that throw back! Definitely a fun night!

I'm 18 months old!

2010-01-22T09:55:00.002-05:00

My little baby Preston is 18 months old now! He has been the best addition to the family we could ever ask for. He is such a sweet baby but with a very spicy attitude. He truly is not concerned about being the second child when it comes to his brother because he just knocks him out whenever he is in the way....not good! But nonetheless, watching them grow up and bond with each other is amazing. Often when Preston cries in his crib you will hear him cry out for his brother Paul. When Trey hears him he jumps up running to his room and says "Preston its okay I'm right here, what do you want Preston." Preston will tell Trey what he wants which is usually "milk" and Trey runs right downstairs to the fridge and gets his cup then he lets me know that Preston is up and has his milk already. They do however fight from time to time but the good times definitely outway the bad. And I must say life is getting a little easier as they get older.

Preston did really well at his 18 month check up this week. He got one shot and it happened so quickly that he wasn't able to cry. He just frowned and looked at that bandaid like WTHeck! But he now weighs in at 28 pounds and is 35 inches tall.

The picture below is hillarious though. Daddy and I were running the kids bath water and we turned our backs to smooch in the corner. Paul stopped to tell the kids to wrap it up and get ready for their bath. Trey started putting his toys away but Preston kept sitting their reading his books. So Daddy told said "Preston lets get ready for a bath." Well when we turned back around Preston had done just what we asked him.... He got in the bathtub with his clothes on! Luckily, his pants were at least off because we had just changed his diaper a little while ago.

Well at least he is a good listener!

MLK Celebration (more pics)

2010-01-20T10:51:00.002-05:00

MLK Celebration!

2010-01-20T10:31:00.002-05:00

Monday was a beautiful day to be out with the family. The Johnson's and the Alphonse's celebrated Martin Luther King Day with a trip to the MLK Center. We had a great time and the weather was awesome.

God is good!

2010-01-15T15:55:00.002-05:00

After 3 days of waiting we finally spoke to Paul's father! He is safe and unharmed by the earthquake. It is amazing when God intervenes because he was in Port-Au-Prince on Monday one day prior to the earthquake but left to go back home to Cap Haitien that evening. He and his siblings are fine and only felt the after shock with some mild cracks in their home. However continue to pray for his mother's side of the family because they live in Port Au Prince where the earthquake occurred and have not heard from any family members. I have stopped watching the news because it breaks my heart to see such devastation and suffering. We have friends here who have already been notified that many of their relatives were killed. So please dont stop praying.

Prayers for Haiti

2010-01-14T16:40:00.002-05:00

Hi All!

Please everyone say a pray for Paul's family and everyone devastated by this catastrophe in Haiti. Paul's dad as well as many other family members from both his parents side are in Haiti and we have not been able to reach anyone because the phone lines are down. It is so difficult sitting at home and feeling helpless but I know that God will bring calm in the midst of the storm.

God bless!

Monster Truck Jam!

2010-01-10T20:52:00.002-05:00

Boy did we have a great time at the Monster Truck Jam on Saturday night. My white friends are now starting to call us "black rednecks" since we seem to like events that have less than 1% black folks in attendance and most of the white folks are in cowboy boots and camouflage! But we seem to think we are just well rounded folks. But anywhoo, we took Trey to the Georgia Dome this weekend to watch the monster trucks. We had been telling him all week that we were going but I don't think he really understood that we would be seeing them live. Well when we walked in he recognized that it was the football stadium and was shocked as ever when he heard those loud engines roar. He started running to get to the floor to see them and yelling its monster trucks! The only thing terrible about the event was that our ticketed seats were right next to an entrance/exit so every time the door opened which was every 2 minutes there was a burst of cold air coming through. This was especially terrible since it was barely 20 degrees outside! So we kept our gloves and hats on the entire time which kept us comfortable, at least. But I am so glad we left Preston at home with the babysitter because it was too cold for him to be out and it was very loud inside dome. However it wasn't nearly as loud as a Nascar race, which by the way is now one of my favorite events to attend. It is constant excitement watching those cars go round and round at speeds close to 200mph. Now that is probably the loudest sound/event I have ever attended and it is constant because there is no intermission at Nascar. I am more than sure we will be back out at Atlanta Motor Speedway for another race this summer. And Trey will probably join us for a race this time since he is a little older and we know what to expect.

Oh and on another note, our pipes froze this weekend due to the extreme cold temps. We had one bathroom sink working, one shower working (but in separate bathrooms), and the kitchen faucet working. Nonetheless, all of them are back and functioning properly tonight. I just hope some of the black ice on the roads has dissipated by morning because duty calls!

It's snowing!

2010-01-08T10:52:00.002-05:00

It is such a pretty picture to see the snow covered on all the houses and trees but it is cold as HECK out there! Their school is closed and my office is closed due to the snow and black ice so we get to spend the day inside with the heat pumping and out sweatpants on....hip hip hooray! I did let the kids go outside for like 3 minutes but they were smart enough to know that it is too cold to stay for long. Trey threw about 5 snowballs and started crying about his hands freezing. I never even walked out of the house I just stood in the door and watched the two of them. So we are back inside hanging out which is A Okay with me! I truly dislike cold weather but it is nice to not have to go out in it.

Day out with the boys!

2010-01-05T13:32:00.002-05:00

On Sunday the boys and I spent the day out and about. We were dressed in a ton of layers because it is freezing here and whipped out the stroller to shop. We didn't get quite as many things accomplished as I set out to but we managed to spend some quality time together while daddy worked. Capri joined us for half of the festivities then she got dropped off for a haircut and a bath at the pet store. She always comes back so cute in her bows. We were also able to catch a movie on Sunday afternoon. I intended to take them to see Alvin and the Chipmunks but because I am a poor planner and did not check the movie times we ended up seeing Avatar in 3D. Trey did awesome during the entire movie! He and Preston started out sharing a chair and their popcorn and sat their extra quiet. Trey would whisper every now and again saying "mommy there are the dinosaur horsies!" Luckily, he has no clue what curse words are and hopefully won't pick up any anytime soon. Preston however, started to flake out on me after about 20 minutes into the movie. It was almost 3pm which is way past his naptime and he started to get really whiny. I told Trey to stay in his seat and watch the movie while I stood up with Preston. After about 10 minutes of bouncing him around in the exit row Preston was sound asleep for the next 2 hours. But 2 hours wasn't quite long enough for this movie. By the time he woke up the movie was at the end and he did not care at all. He started talking loud, yelling my name and asking for juice. I ended up watching the last ten minutes on the floor with both of them by the exit door, but I am not complaining because this was more than good for my more than active boys. After we left the movies we picked Capri up and headed home. Daddy had already made it home and we all had dinner together and off to a warm bath and bed!

Race Cars!

2010-01-04T11:11:00.003-05:00

I don't know if there is anyone who loves race cars more than Trey! He can not eat, sleep or leave the house without a car in his pocket. Every morning we fight about him taking forever to choose a car to take to school and "show the guys." So on New Year's Day when Auntie Dee came over in her Maserati he was more than happy. She always lets him sit in the front seat and pretend to drive. He gets more than excited when he hears that big engine start up. I must admit the engine does sound pretty sweet! I am glad to have friends with exotic cars if not he would never be able to ride in a Maserati on my dime! Check him out waving below screaming "mommy look at me drive the race car!"

He is really going to be happy next Saturday because Paul and I are taking him to a Monster Truck Jam at the Georgia Dome. His second love of course is big trucks! He is definitely all boy.

New Year's!

2010-01-03T21:05:00.002-05:00

Happy New Years! Not one day goes by that I don't give thanks to God for all of his rich blessings. It is truly a testimony of how has been the rock in our lives. The peace he has given me is a peace that can not be described and I am thankful for that. I have all that I need because of him and I have a few of the things that I want because of faith and diligence.

So we kept up with our tradition of Watch Night Service this year for new year's eve. I don't think I have ever missed church service on new year's even if it was followed by a club in my younger life...LOL. And Paul and I have been going to watchnight service since we started dating 11 years ago. This year we fellowshiped with my brother and his wife at their church and had an amazing time. Trey had a great time in the children's center bringing in New Year's with his peers and Paul and I kept Preston busy in the sanctuary while receiving a word from heaven. Of course by the time we got in the car and headed home at 1am the kids were pooped and fell right to sleep. New Year's day was uneventful and the kids and I hung out all day at home while daddy saved men's penis' around the world...LOL, well penis' in Atlanta. To all the male followers, yes you can fracture your penis so stop trying to beat it up all the time! You guys are making my husband work too hard but the money is good!

Christmas at the Alphonse's

2010-01-03T20:50:00.003-05:00

So finally, I get a chance to sit down and capture a few moments online of our xmas holiday. Well, not really because even though its 9pm the kids are still up and Preston is tapping my legs yelling "mama mama come here." Uncle Lamar came over tonight to get some leftovers and he is probably the kids most favorite person other than Nanna and Grandpa so they refuse to go to sleep right now. But anywhoo, Xmas was an absolute blast this year. My parents joined us, as well as my brother and his family. This Xmas was probably one of the most relaxed we've had since the kids came along. Even though there was stuff everywhere everyone was relaxed in their sweatpants and laughed all day long. We had a wonderful family breakfast thanks to my mom and then a wonderful family dinner compliments of me. The kids ran wide with all of their toys and the rest of us hung out and relaxed.

And a big special shot out to my parents for ALL the gifts under the xmas tree. There was literally not one gift under the tree until they showed up with all 60 plus. Paul and I have yet to buy xmas gifts for the kids because their grandparents love to play Santa! Better them than us.............LOL!

Kids Books

2009-12-08T15:08:00.003-05:00

Last week while under the dryer at the salon, I picked up some kids book that was left behind. The book was absolutely hilarious and truly from the mind of a kid. This is probably the best book I have read in a long time. Who has time for heavy reading that makes you think too much...not me! Life is short so start laughing more!

Losing loved ones

2009-12-06T22:05:00.002-05:00

My cousin who is also one of my best friends in the whole world lost her mother on Friday unexpectedly. I was at work when I heard the news and I am still numb about the whole ordeal. Its probably good that I heard the news at work because I wasn't able to fall apart and have a nervous breakdown. I was tearful and calm but my main focus was getting the heck out of there and being with my cousin. I left work picked up the kids and got packed as fast as I could. My brother and sister in law, who are truly a Godsend, kept the kids so that I could leave for home. Paul was on call Saturday morning and had tickets for the SEC championship game that afternoon so he was too busy to go with me or keep the kids. The drive there was very emotional as I listened to gospel and thought about the times I spent with my aunt growing up. My cousin and I are 3 weeks apart in age and we did everything together. We started preschool together, went to the same college and graduate school (nursing for me and dentistry for her) together. We also got married together, had our children together and moved to Atlanta together. The only time we were ever separated was when I moved to Houston. It was so painful seeing her hurting and feeling empty. It was mentally overwhelming watching her and her sister plan their mothers funeral. I still sometimes feel like I am the same little girl from Jesup and that no one I love is suppose to die, but that's just not the way life is.

I just got back tonight and I am doing better but nervous about seeing her in that casket at the funeral this weekend. Luckily, Paul's dad arrived here with us today and I won't have to worry about taking the kids and being overwhelmed with them. He will also take them to school and pick them up which will make my load this week much lighter. When I get back home to south GA I should be able to focus on helping my cousin and keeping her four kids busy and smiling despite the grave circumstances.

Please keep her family in your prayers!

Ronnie Devoe

2009-12-01T13:02:00.004-05:00

Yes, that's a picture of my childhood crush Ronnie DeVoe from New Edition. We met him Thanksgiving Eve at Walmart. I guess everyone loves Walmart even seasoned celebrities. So when we walked into Walmart late Wednedsday night around 11pm the first face we saw in the checkout line was Ronnie. Shirl and I were completely star-strucked! We started arguing about if it was really him. I kept saying I think that guy is too short to be Ronnie and she kept saying that "IS" him. So we got my mom to go over and ask him his name. He started giggling and said "yes mam I am Ronnie DeVoe" as Shirl and I watched behind the produce stand like young teenagers. We were so embarrassed and excited that we hid behind the fruit...stupid! My mom walked away and told us he said "tell your girls I said hi." When he was walking out of the store he turned back to smile and we ran him down for a picture. Unfortunately, I was too star-struck to take a picture with him but Shirl was smart enough not to miss her opportunity. He still looks really cute but the ring on his finger and mine reminded me that it is still only a dream.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-11-29T14:11:00.003-05:00

This year had to be one of the best Thanksgiving ever! I hosted Thanksgiving dinner for my mom's family this year and we had such an amazing time. Six of her siblings joined us here in Atlanta for Thanksgiving and we had tons of food and folks here to fellowship. I was a little worried about how much work it would be for me to host over 30 people but it really turned out great. The biggest reason it was a success is because I had each family bring one dish which left me with much less work in the kitchen. So we had my aunts signature cakes, my uncles signature collard greens, my moms signature pies and so on an so forth. Most of my cousins were here with their kids who are the same age as Trey which made entertaining the kids very easy. Paul pulled out the big truck, soccer nets, basketball goals and the kids ran around in the backyard for hours! The did not want to eat because they wanted to go back outside to play. One of them was so exhausted by the end of the night that he fell asleep on the sofa, fell down on the floor, looked up in disarray and went right back to sleep. They were completely worn out!

Anywho, I hope all of you had a fabulous Thanksgiving! Now its time to get back to the real world and punch the clock in the morning.

Trey

2009-11-12T16:15:00.004-05:00

This post was suppose to start with me commending Trey on how well he did at the dentist office on yesterday but due to some unwanted behavior the post is going to take a sour turn. Well yesterday, as I said earlier Trey went to his every 6 month dentist appointment of which he did wonderful like always. He loves his dentist and always acts like such a big boy when he is there. We spent the first part of the morning together since he had an appoinment and had breakfast at Chick fil A and did a little shopping. I dropped him off at school close to noon time (Thank God) so I could get some stuff done and he could enjoy the school day with his friends. He also has soccer camp on Wednesdays but that has nothing to do with anything.

Well after school I picked up both of the boys and we sat down for an awesome dinner. I baked Salmon, rice pilaf, steamed vegetables and they had apples for dessert. They both ate all of their food, well Trey left a little on his plate but Preston took out 110% of his food. After dinner I was cleaning up the kitchen and the kids were playing with toys and reading books. Trey all of a sudden wanted to get a juice (Capri Sun) to drink. I told him no because they can only have one glass of juice per day and he had already had his cup of milk for dinner. And when he has too much to drink at bedtime he pisses up his bed. Well he did not like my answer and thru a fit. I turned away from him and continued to work in the kitchen. When I turned back around he had gone back in the fridge and got the Capri Sun again. I took it out of his hand and put it back in the fridge. I confirmed to him that he could NOT have a juice and to have a seat somewhere out of the kitchen. This little so and so fell down on the floor in front of the fridge and started kicking and screaming on his belly. He had NEVER thru a tantrum like this before! But I remained calm and tried to ignore him or at least pretend to ignore him. Well after a couple of minutes of unrelentless screaming I went over to pick him up and talk to him about his behavior and he had pissed in his clothes and was screaming to the top of his lungs that he wanted "juice and his daddy." I rushed him in the bathroom and told him to finish pottying like he should have the first time and he pulled down his clothes screaming and just stood in front of the toilet. I left him in there wet and screaming and went back into the kitchen. When I went back into the bathroom, not only was he screaming but he was coughing and gagging himself and eventually vomitted! There was fish filled vomit all over his crotch (because his pants were down), his underwear, pants, the rugs and the toilet. At this point I was more than furious! He has done this before but not in many many months. When he gets really upset and can't have his way he cries uncontrollably until he starts coughing and gagging.

Let me tell you, words can not describe the smell of this crap. Now I got this mess of a 3 year old soaked in vomit and Preston is standing in the door with a book telling me to "read book, read book." I had to pick up my vomit soaked kid and run up the stairs with him because his shoes were on and I couldn't get the vomit off of him because it was too much. As we are quickly and carefully going up the stairs I can see small pieces of fish drop off his clothes...just disgusting people. I ended up throwing half of the clothes in the trash because they were too disgusting to put in my washing machine. I had to vacuum the floor, mop the bathroom and wash all the rugs. Trey was in bed with his butt tore up by 730pm. I hope he remembers this for the next time he tries to show out on me!

Thomas The Train!

2009-11-04T19:03:00.003-05:00

Two weekends ago we joined my cousin and his family for their son Jalen's third birthday at A Day Out With Thomas the Train in south Georgia. The boys had an amazing time and unfortunately left kicking and screaming. It was interesting how Preston absolutely loves trains (in books and as toys) but was a little concerned when he saw the train in person. We kept saying look at the train Preston and Thomas blew his whistle and he just stared with concern. I guess he really didn't think trains were so large and could move in real life. But none the less the 3 year olds loved taking a ride on a real train especially one driven by Thomas. They also enjoyed all the kid activities and crafts. The best part for me was when they fell asleep in the car for the entire 2.5 hour drive back to Atlanta!

Flag Football

2009-11-03T10:25:00.002-05:00

This past Sunday Trey played in his first flag football game. He absolutely loves to play football and watch it because daddy and I live and breath college football. He knows most of the team because he has memorized their helmets and mascots so it is really funny to turn on the tv and hear him screen out "Tennesse is playing mommy or there's the Miami Dolphins playing." Yes we have truly brainwashed him and we love it! There is never any screaming at our house during game time because the kids love sports. We get comfortable, pop some popcorn and have a blast in our sweats.

But anywhoo, Paul took him to the church league football game on Sunday and he did an amazing job. He scored 3 touchdowns (yes three)in his first ever football game and was named MVP! Yes my baby is the bomb....I'm bragging a little bit. Unfortunately, I did not witness it because my bootleg husband didn't invite me. He wanted it to be a "father son" thing but when he got there and saw tons of mommies he tried to call me to tell me to come down but my phone was on vibrate and I was playing around with Preston for our alone time. But I will definitely be at the next game!

Parade of Costumes!

2009-10-30T21:10:00.004-04:00

Today was Parade of Costumes at Primrose School. The kids all looked cute as pie. Trey dressed as Wow Wow Wubbzy and Preston was Thomas the Train. There were tons of parents there to watch their child in the parade and take lots of pictures. Trey was proud to be in the line up with all of his friends and bounced around like it was Xmas morning. There was only one child in the entire school who did not wear a costume and I felt just terrible for him. I thought about Trey last year because he didn't wear a costume and I know he must have been just as embarrased and sad to see all of his friends dressed up. But anywhoo it was so much fun and the kids loved it of course. It is definitely a wonderful way to semi celebrate a holiday that you don't really celebrate. The parents bought in non-sweet treats such as fruit, crackers, cheese's etc and the kids still had a wonderful time. Tomorrow evening we will probably join my cousin at their church to enjoy their Fall Festival and activities.

Oh and I have to get a new camera because the pictures keep getting darker and darker.....maybe for Xmas!

Old School Player

2009-10-27T12:49:00.002-04:00

So I was sitting in the back of the church with the kids last weekend somewhat enjoying the service. The back pews are allocated for parents with small children, basically a way to keep all the noise in the back of the church and cut down on folks getting up and down running to the potty or mother's room with their screaming kids. Well this older gentlemen well dressed in a double breasted suit with a vest and matching gators walked in late and was forced to sit on the back pew next to me and my kids. Of course you could tell he wasn't too happy about it because of all the kids and muffled talking but he had no choice. Well as we got further into the service Preston started to get really fussy because he was sleepy and didn't want to willingly fall asleep. Of course I was doing my best to keep him quiet and contained but he was still a little resistant. So the "old school player" next to me asked could he hold Preston for a minute and take him out to calm him (remember how the old ushers use to do it). I don't think he really gave me a chance to respond to his request because he had already grabbed for him and Preston was half way out of my arms so I just said okay very quietly. My girlfriend next to me just looked like where in the heck is he going with your baby? I had no clue and just watched the back door until they returned.

Well 3 minutes later they came back. Preston was quiet with no tears and Mr. Old School had a switch (small branch from a tree)in his hand. He handed Preston to me and then he put the switch in the compartment where the little wine glasses go for communion. My eyes were so big! He whispered to me that he took him out by the tree, got a switch and had a little talk with him about being quiet in church or his mommy would "tear his little legs up." Preston laid on my chest and went to sleep in 1 minute. I still don't know what to make of this story..............

15 Months Old

2009-10-25T21:40:00.004-04:00

It is really amazing to see how much Preston has grown! He is such a big boy and a delight. We went to his 15 month check up last week and he is weighing in at 26 pounds and standing at 33 inches tall (100%) for height. He is charming but has definitely started to develope a little attitude well I guess some personality traits that I would prefer stay hidden for a little longer. He is still best friends with his big brother although they wrestle and fight all the time. Preston still can't win the fights so as a way to counteract he bites Trey...not good! He has 12 teeth and they do not feel good when he gets a hold of you. He loves to eat and read books or at least pretend to read books.

Life passes by so fast when the little ones are growing up!

And he looks more and more like my daddy everyday! Genetics is amazing.....

Happy Anniversary

2009-10-08T18:38:00.004-04:00

And here we are eight years later still going strong. Paul and I celebrated our 8 year wedding anniversary last night with a wonderful private dinner at a great restaurant. I must say we are living our dreams as soulmates, partners, lovers, parents and best friends.

My Little Genious!

2009-10-07T11:53:00.003-04:00

Did I ever tell you that Trey can work his dad's I-Phone? Well he seems to be a brainiac when it comes to devices. What's amazing but strange is that Paul never tried to teach him how to work the phone. We tend to actually hide our phones from both of the boys in order to keep them from getting damaged but every time we turn our head Trey picks up his phone. When we were driving to Alabama last weekend Trey was screaming about wanting to watch a video on his dad's phone. This is something that he and his daddy does almost every night at bedtime. They read his Bible, work on flash cards and then for fun watch a FL Gators football video on YouTube. Well Paul locked the phone and gave it to him to quiet him, of course we were both thinking this would keep his mind occupied for a while because he has no idea how to unlock it (or rather what's the code to unlock it). But 5 minutes later we hear the phone playing a song...WTHeck? How did he get the phone unlocked, how did he find his favorite video, how did he get the video to play? All good questions right? Well it appears that he has been watching his daddy very closely and he memorized the number code to unlock the phone and he has also learned to maneuver through the icons. Simply amazing at 3 years old! He clicks on those icons really quick, then flips the phone around to watch something or adjust his view. When he gets tired of a video he exits and finds more to watch. He also does other little querky smart things around the house that we never knew he could do and is pretty good with the computer.

I think he takes after his mother!

Birmingham

2009-10-05T21:06:00.003-04:00

We tagged along with Paul for an overnight surgical conference in Birmingham, AL this weekend. I think this was my first time in Birmingham besides driving through on the way to Houston but the city was really nice. I guess I just feel like Alabama is such a southern country state that there would be horses strolling down the highways, well not really but you know what I am saying. It took a little more than it should have to actually travel there though. Mainly because Preston was sick with a virus (typical daycare funk) and Trey had to pee pee every thirty minutes. But its all to be expected when traveling with little ones. Well on the first stop I knew I was in Alabama. When entering the "Stateline" gas station and food mart the cashier whom I assume was on her lunch break at 8:30pm was standing at the end of the counter near the register smoking a cigarette. Yes smoking a cigarette at the front counter of the store. Who in the hell let's their employees smoke while in the building. She was wrinkled and leathery and did not say a word when we walked in. We politely pottied and paid for our drinks then got the heck out of there! It is definitely something I needed to take a picture of but I did not want to whip out the camera on these back wood bamas!

Anyway, we enjoyed a day at the Birmingham Zoo while we were there. Trey had an absolute blast walking through the park and Preston was barely well enough to hold up his head. After a dose of Motrin and Tylenol he perked up a little but not enough to enjoy himself. When we got back to Atlanta he started to feel a little better so late Sunday afternoon we got dressed and headed to the North GA State Fair. Unfortunately, when we got there it started drizzling and Preston was screaming like someone had choked him so we made a u-turn, went out to dinner and watched a movie with the kids.

Ants!

2009-09-29T16:27:00.002-04:00

Did I tell you guys that Preston got in a fight with some ants? Well unfotunately he lost the fight. Preston has about 30 ant bites on his body. 10 on his head, 10 on his abdomen and 10 on his leg/foot. I found a couple of ants by Capri's dog bowl which is where I think Preston encountered them. However he never cried or whimpered when he was bitten. I actually noticed them when he woke up one day this past week. Poor Trey was just devastated about his brothers ant bites and now he wants to step on all the ants in existence. Trey was also adamant that we should put bandaids on his ant bites....no dude!

Weekend

2009-09-27T22:08:00.003-04:00

Oh but despite my issues with paying the county we had a great weekend. Paul was away in San Francisco for the weekend but caught a red eye back to Atlanta and was home by 9am on Sunday morning. I was so relieved to see him that I walked out two hours later and spent the day alone shopping and getting a new weave....LOL! Afterwards he took them to the park and a movie. I met them for dinner at Outback that evening. Now they are all nestled away in bed with full bellies. But the kids and I really did enjoy ourselves this weekend. Trey had his 20th bday party at The Little Gym with his classmates and Preston enjoyed watching them run around as usual. I think we have two more parties at The Little Gym and then we are done with that place for a while! The facility is really fun and the kids love it but it seems to be our fixed weekend activity for our family. All of his classmates are the same age so they all have birthdays in August and September which means a lot of parties.

The picture is random just thought I would post one.

Alarm Systems

2009-09-27T21:53:00.004-04:00

Did anyone know that most counties/states fine homeowners who have a fire/security alarm that goes off accidently? Well, I left home for work about two weeks ago and mistakenly set the alarm. Mistakenly because my housekeeper was coming to clean that day. Of course as soon as she opened the door the security alarm went off. She does not have the code (and probably still won't give it out) so she had no clue how to turn it off. To make it even worse she forgot her cellphone in the car which has my number in it. So she had to go back outside to retrieve the phone then run back in the house and call me in front of the keypad. I gave her the code while we were on the phone and the alarm went off as it should. Unfortunately, she did not answer the house phone to alert the security company that it was a false alarm but why would she it's not her house right? So 5 minutes later at 8:05am while I am sitting in a research meeting with all the big wigs my phone starts ringing for the second time. This time its Paul so I hit ignore because I am assuming that the company called him and he is just making sure that I know what's going on. Well he called back again, I cant answer the phone because we are in a meeting so I hit ignore again. Then he text me with all sorts of !!!! points to tell me the alarm is going off and someone has broken in our house and the police are on the way. Of course after this text I start texting him back (under the boardroom table) to tell him its a false alarm its just the housekeeper and everything is okay. Well TOO late. There was a couple of cop cars already there and questioning poor Maria. Paul then called the alarm company back with the housekeeper's name and information so they left without anything further happening.

So afterwards I just assumed all is well and that Cobb County is doing a great job responding to alarm systems which is true but NO ONE told me I would get a bill for it. I just sat down to pay bills and I never open the mail until bill time and low and behold there is a bill from the Cobb County False Alarm Unit...WTHeck! It cost a whopping $100 for an officer to respond to a false alarm UNLESS your registered with the county and pay a yearly fee.

Is this okay? Can you charge people for inconveniences? I just feel like its their job to be proactive about our safety. I can't charge a patient extra for not having cancer when all the test come back negative now can I?

Day off

2009-09-22T22:42:00.005-04:00

Today wasn't a typical day off for me because I had the kids with me. A day off in my mind means "my time and my time only". I love my kids to death but when they are at home it's all about them and keeping them busy. But because of the flood all of the schools in our county including theirs is closed for the next couple of days. Which means that I can't go to work....this is not a plus for me. And on top of that all the interstates by my house are closed due to flooding so I really don't know how I am going to get to work anyway....stay tuned I guess.

But overall today wasn't too bad. We had school time with coloring activities, writing assignments and circle time. After our school work we had a snack and took a 3 hour nap (best part of the day). Once our long nap was over we had another snack and headed outside to play. Trey enjoyed riding his tricycle and Preston unfortunately enjoyed eating rocks in the road. Capri barked at dogs walking through the neighborhood just basically disturbing the peace. Tomorrow I look forward to seeing the babysitter in the morning and going to work. There is nothing like adult conversation and stimulation. Love the kids but I have to have a life of my own too! Being a full time mommy is much harder work than being a research nurse!

Atlanta is flooding!

2009-09-21T20:21:00.005-04:00

Can you believe the city and its surrounding counties are flooding? I can't really believe it either but it has rained and stormed for almost 72 hours straight which of course has resulted in flooding. There have also been several deaths unfortunately. Many of the roads are flooded causing traffic to be even slower and small streams have turned into raging rivers. The kids and I were stranded in the house all weekend because of the storms. Paul was on call and I didn't have the strength to fight the rain with the kids. Saturday wasn't too bad because we just sat around the house in our pj's and bonded. We also took a 3 hour nap which was much needed. But Friday wasn't a complete bust because we attended/participated in a Father Son Basketball Tournament on behalf of Paul's office to kick off their annual men's health fair which serves thousands of black men. My brother and his son also participated in the tournament as well. Trey didn't have the best experience because his daddy was working and didn't get there until 20 minutes before it ended. Basically enough time to pick him up to shoot the ball a couple of times and dribble around then he made a speech and announced the activities surrounding the health fair on the next day.

Nonetheless, Trey still had a great time playing with the Clark Atlanta Univeristy basketball players who were volunteering. They helped him learn to dribble and chased him around a little, he thought it was cool of course.

Preston walked around for a little while, then he fell asleep in his Auntie Shirl's arms.

Hair confusion

2009-09-17T20:51:00.003-04:00

My poor kids are just confused about my hair. I have issues with looking the same for too long so I tend to change my hairstyle at least every 3 to 4 months. Well I think my kids are now starting to get a little concerned. So I just recently took my extensions out which were passed my shoulders. I wore them for about 6 weeks and decided I was frustrated with all the extra hair. Well I took them out yesterday on my day off and when I picked up the kids they both just stared at me. Trey eventually walked over to me and asked "mommy where's your hair?" I told him I took the weave out and he responded "oh you don't have your weave anymore." It was truly hillarious that my 3 year old knows what a weave is but since he is such a sweet little boy he later told me "mommy I like your new hair its pretty"...such a sweetheart well at least most of the time. But when I went to Preston's classroom he just looked up at me frowned and turned his head. He did get up after quite a few seconds and ran over to me. As soon as I picked him up he pulled my real hair and just started laughing.

They are really going to be confused because I think I am going to go with some 14 inch wavy hair next!

My 3rd Birthday!

2009-09-15T20:15:00.002-04:00

Hello friends!

It has definitely been a minute since I have blogged. Actually it is has been a month and a half to be exact. I can not begin to tell you how extremely busy life has been managing two toddlers and working full time so I won't waste my time trying to write it down. But nonetheless, as always life is wonderful! We have done quite a bit of travelling and adventure searching since the last post. But the most exciting current milestone is celebrating Trey's 3 birthday!

Trey spent his birthday on Saturday with our friends, his godmom, aunts, uncles, cousins and about 22 of his friends at Chuck E Cheese. Let me tell you, the experience was wonderful and exhausting all in one. I actually had about 7 of his friends cancel at the last minute due to a flu pandemic at their school, which would have meant almost 30 screaming 3 year olds in attendance. I still have a slight hangover from the party though. As expected all the kids had a blast and most of the parents were exhausted from chasing their kid around. I always promised myself I would never have my child a birthday party at Chuck E Cheese due to the massive amount of noise and chaos and of course I broke that promise this weekend. Trey wanted to have a party at Chuck E Cheese and I really didn't care because I knew it meant no work for me, as far as clean up and activity planning. Big Paul had a blast running around the showroom playing games with Trey and I just sat back and greeted people.

Once we got home around 10pm (yes we almost shut the joint down) we let Trey open his gifts since he was wide awake and full of energy. All of our family and friends came back over afterwards and wanted to see him open their gifts anyway. His most exciting gift was from his daddy who purchased him an Official Florida Gators helmet. My husband has made it impossible for him to even think about attending any other school as you can probably imagine. Trey of course went CRAZY when he opened the box. You would have thought Jesus was inside the box from the excitement in his face. The only problem is he put the helmet on, tackled Preston and head butted him. The helmet now lives on the top of his dresser!

Fourth of July

2009-07-15T11:22:00.003-04:00

So I haven't blogged in a while because life has been so busy. Paul has been working late every day for the last two weeks, which leaves me working hard at home alone with the kids. He also lost his aunt last week to a massive stroke and travelled to Orlando with Trey for the funeral. So I thought I would at least post some old pics from July 4th of the kids. The weekend was awesome and my parents came up to join us. Paul, Trey and my dad started the holiday weekend on Thursday with a trip to the Atlanta Braves game for fireworks. Trey had a blast from what they said and came home with a lot of conversation about the pretty girls sitting next to him. Apparently there were a bunch of college sorority girls sitting next to them at the game and they fell in love with Mr. Conversation "Trey". He absolutely loves to talk to strangers.....LOL! Then on Friday we had a picnic at the pool for about six hours and invited my cousin and his kids over to swim with us. The kids and the adults had a blast in the water. Saturday night we went to watch fireworks and finally on Sunday we slept!

I hope you all had a fabulous 4th of July as well!

Day 3

2009-06-24T11:45:00.001-04:00

Well work is going great. It really feels like I have been here forever. I seem to be catching on pretty well, probably too well because I am all by myself today seeing patients. Yes today is only my third day!

Life is still good though!

Father's Day!

2009-06-21T22:03:00.003-04:00

Father's Day turned out to be a wonderful day for Paul despite the fact that he was on call this weekend and extremely busy. He finished up early on Sunday around noon and came home to pick Trey up. We gave him his father's day gifts and the two of them headed out for a boys day full of fun. They played 9 holes of golf, then went out for lunch. After that they went to the movies and then to Border's to read books and have tea. Trey had a blast and came home FULL of conversation. Daddy bought him four new books and he was thrilled to read them to me (no he can't read yet but he is trying hard). Trey is such a daddy's boy and it is just precious to see them together.

Meanwhile, Preston spent the day at home with me. We had fun playing together just one on one with no distractions from his big brother. An old girlfriend of mine from back home also came to visit us today. She is a Captain in the Airforce and is here in Atlanta training before being re-deployed. We have known each other since preschool and have kept in touch over the years.

I hope all the Father's out there had a fabulous day! Today was definitely a good day....

New Beginnings

2009-06-21T18:01:00.002-04:00

Well, tomorrow I start my new job. Some of you may not know this but I was laid off from my old position a month ago due to closure of our research program. They basically mismanaged their money for years and as a result half of the staff got cut due to a >$1 million loss. It was really disappointing and emotional for me because I had never been laid off before or even written up on a job but God always knows best. I will now be working for the private practice that ran my old company out of business...oops and oh well. I will be basically doing the same job that I was before but making more money and able to keep my 4 day work week. As I said before God always knows best! I can't really say that I am excited yet but I am definitely thankful for all the blessings the Lord continues to bestow upon my family.

This past week I took the opportunity to get my house in order, get a massage and a whole lot of other things to clear my mind. I even increased my housekeepers visit to my house because cleaning is way way overrated! I did however realize that I HATE to shop inside the stores. It is too physically and mentally exhausting. I would much rather shop online and wait for it to come to my doorstep. I am truly addicted to online shopping! That's probably why I need to keep a job.....LOL!

My joy!

2009-06-18T18:39:00.002-04:00

My washing machine

2009-06-16T11:49:00.002-04:00

The item in my house that gets the most attention is my washing machine. This however is not a compliment. I seriously wash clothes EVERYDAY! I am so tired of washing clothes. I wish I could pay someone to come wash, fold and iron clothes daily. The biggest reason for having to wash so much is because of the kids of course. Trey who is about 98% potty trained still has way too many pee pee accidents. He mainly has these accidents when he is upset and throwing a tantrum. He will wait until the last minute to say he has to potty and when we start running to the bathroom the urine starts running down his leg. I am stressed out just thinking about it! What's interesting is that he doesn't have any accidents at school around his teachers and peers, only at home when he is having a nervous breakdown. When will the accidents end?????????????????????

Clean House....or NOT!

2009-06-11T22:15:00.003-04:00

This is what my house looks like Monday-Friday 8-6pm. Not too bad huh?

This is what my house looks like Monday-Friday after 6pm and all day Sunday....not good at all! Why must they take every toy out of the toy box to play with? And this picture is kind of old because Preston wasn't too mobile yet. Now he is on the rampage too and reaching in the toy box grabbing things as well. I think I need my housekeeper to come more often............

Back to work

2009-06-11T09:30:00.003-04:00

Well Preston is starting to feel better. He went back to school on yesterday but unfortunately slept for 5 hours at school. He was so exhausted from the vacation, illness and up all night teething that he couldn't manage to keep his open. But last night he slept 11 hours so I think he will have a better day at school. He was pretty happy when he left the house and of course fever free.

However, his big brother Trey is going to drive me to drinking. One minute he is happy the next minute he is whining or crying about something. And it is always the simplest thing in the world that he is crying about i.e. he doesn't want to drink anymore of his milk. Well put it on the freakin table if you don't want anymore and stop crying! He really knows how to push my buttons. I think if I had not gotten pregnant with Preston so soon I would have waited until Trey was at least 4 years old to have another child. It is awesome having them close together but it is hell on wheels taking care of them and working full time. I could not imagine staying home with the two of them everyday. Maybe if I knew Paul was coming home everyday at 5pm to save me I would be able to do it but he never comes.....................
But I am sure in a couple of years life will be even more perfect!

Back to reality!

2009-06-08T15:22:00.003-04:00

Well, Paul and I were up all last night. Honestly, Paul was up all night I had taken some Ambien and was hallucinating for most of the night. Preston has had a fever since late Saturday evening and unfortunately it really got high last night. We went to the doctor this morning and his strept test was negative along with everything else. She believes its a virus but isn't sure. I have to take him back in a couple of days if the fever does not subside. I actually think it is strept and that Trey may have it too because he has been telling me for 2 days that his tongue hurts. He seems to tell me that everytimes he eats or drinks something but he has no fever or anything else. I am sure he can't distinguish between his throat and just typically mouth pain. So I guess we will just wait it out a couple more days.

Say a little pray for Preston tonight. I always hate to see babies sick because they look so wimpy and helpless.

Vacation Getaway

2009-06-07T21:43:00.003-04:00

This week was a wonderful week because I spent it with my family. My parents, siblings, and of course the kids went to Hilton Head Island, SC for 5 days. We had so much fun. We rented a fabulous 3 bedroom condo on the golf course and it was well equipped and beautiful. The days were too busy and full to describe every event but believe me we stayed busy. The kids absolutely loved being with Nanna and Grandpa, and of course screamed when we left them this afternoon. My childhood friend and classmate Sean came over with his family a couple of days and hung out with us as well. He has a 14 month old son who definitely did not want to leave Trey and Preston. They all had a ball and stayed up till 11pm with the adults. We watched the playoffs, had a huge family meal and played games. The next day we went to Sean's parents house and they had a huge cookout for us. Our parents use to be best friends when we were growing up so they really enjoyed sitting around telling Sean and I how bad we were....but anyway.

Paul was able to play golf a couple of days which of course made his stay just peachy. Trey tagged along with him on both days to play golf for the first time and he looked cute as pie dressed like daddy in all their golf attire. He really thought he was a big boy on the golf course. My dad, brother and Paul also took Trey fishing for the first time. Unfortunately, none of them caught anything but Trey did hook Paul on the shirt trying to toss his rod and hook into the lake. From what I hear they had a great time even though they did not bring dinner home.

We also enjoyed a morning bike ride with my parents. This however was hillarious!

Paul had a bike with a buggy for both the boys to ride. I of course had my own, and both my parents had their own. My wonderful dramatic mother had not ridden a bike for maybe 25 years so you already know where this is going. She hopped on and started pedaling and in only 1 minute almost fell. She started back over again and ran through a stop sign and almost got hit. She struggled to get up the hills (needs to excerise more yoga once a week is not enough!) and I thought we were going to have to push her. About half way into the 2 hour bike ride her sunglasses were tilted sideways and she was leaning on the handle bars. I wish I could have taken pictures but I would have busted my butt taking pictures while riding a bike. My bootleg father however did well riding the bike. My only issue with him is that as soon as he got on the bike he lit a cigarette. Who in the hell smokes a cigarette while riding a bike....my daddy! It was so embarrassing but I am so use to it that Paul and I just laughed and kept on cycling. Ya'll continue to pray for him. Also while riding the bikes Paul ran over a green tree snake. He didn't know he ran it over until I screamed and ran it over next, then my mom screamed and ran it over again. We were all cycling in a single line so you aren't really looking down on the ground to watch out for snakes. I almost pissed my pants and my mom almost fell off the bike because she was waddling and kicking her feet...truly a mess!

The most exciting part of the entire trip was the wedding of my little brother Lamar. I now how a sister for real! Lamar and Shirl had a beautiful, private beach wedding with only the parents, siblings and nephews. It was very intimate and the scenary was amazing! I am so happy for them and I wish them all the best. I feel as though they are blessed to have each other. And hopefully they won't have too many kids and expect me to watch them especially since they just bought a house 10 minutes from mine.

Congrats Lamar and Shirl!

My closet

2009-05-28T15:07:00.002-04:00

So I rushed home from work yesterday to vacuum the floor before picking the kids up from school. I had sprinkled carpet fresh down the night before and didn't want them to come home until I had vacuumed it all up. So I rushed upstairs to get out of my work clothes and into something more comfortable like jeans and a tshirt. As I walked into my bathroom I noticed something funny looking. My closet door was ajar and the inside looked very junky for some reason. My entire top rack of my closet had fallen down! All of my clothes, purses, etc are on the floor. I simply took a deep breath, found a tshirt and some scrub bottoms and walked out. Unfortunately, I wore the same outfit to work today because I did not have the energy to search for clothes to wear.

Life is simply wonderful!

My first pet!

2009-05-26T21:57:00.005-04:00

This weekend was an eventful one for Trey. By default he ended up getting his first pet, a fish. We took Capri to the vet at PetSmart and of course Trey wanted to cruise around the store and look at all the pets. I waited until the end to go to the fish section because I knew he would go crazy about the fish. We were also unfortunately watching Neemo in the car on the way to the pet store. Well we got over to the fish and Trey got really excited. He begged for a fish and being the giving parent that I am I got him one. It is a Betta fish and supposedly really easy to maintain, much easier than a goldfish. I don't have to buy a filter and clean the aquarium as often which sold me immediately. Trey named the fish "Neemo" (how original). Well his excitement didn't last too long because when he handed the fish to the cashier to ring up; he quickly turned to look at some "kitty cats" and yelled out "I don't want a fish anymore I want to see the kitty cats!" He was so loud that everyone started laughing as he threw a tantrum in the buggy with Capri and Preston inside of it too. I snatched the fish from the cashier and just walked out. By the time he got in his carseat he wanted his fish again. I am sure Neemo was concerned about his new owner because Trey shook him up in the bag for 20 minutes trying to make him swim and open his pretty fins....not good!

The picture of Neemo isn't so great because my old 5 Megapixel camera is dying but you get the picture. The other pics are the kids giving Capri a bath tonight. Poor Capri seemed terrified during her bath. Trey was drowning her with water and Preston was pulling her ears laughing hysterically! They really had a blast and wet up the entire bathroom including me but it was fun!

10 Months old!

2009-05-20T22:02:00.003-04:00

There are so many things going on in my life that I have neglected blogging. Since I don't have the energy to talk about them right now I will only focus on positive stuff, like Preston turning 10 months old.

What is he doing right now:

*cruising along the furniture

*eating dog food, mashed potatoes, biscuits, pancakes, yogurt (his favorite), spinach and anything else we are eating. He does still eat baby food but he has mostly been interested in table food for the last 3 or 4 weeks.

*sleeping 12-13 hours (hip hip hooray)

*wrestling with his big brother and his friends at school

*getting bad conduct reports from school because he keeps beating up his friends

*learning sign language (he can only do "more" which is really a clap and "thank you")

*standing in the dishwasher eating the dirty dishes that I am attempting to load (not good)

*going up the stairs (even worse)

*and biting everyone all while laughing (still not good)

But he is such a delight! I do believe he is going to be a bigger challenge than Trey was because he already tries to do whatever his big brother does which unfortunately includes acrobatics or other unacceptable crap. But anywho........

Happy Mother's Day

2009-05-10T21:40:00.004-04:00

Over and over again I thank God for my biggest accomplishment, becoming a mother. I can not imagine my life without my little ones. And I can not imagine my life without the man who assisted me in becoming a mother. As I get older I appreciate my mother more and more. I now understand and realize why she did the things she did. It all makes sense now.

This mother's day weekend was absolutely wonderful. Paul and I had another date night and went to dinner and a movie. Star Trek was awesome by the way. A little futuristic but action packed and easy to follow. On Sunday we spent the day together as a family at the Georgia Aquarium. Trey had an absolute ball! He loved seeing all the sea animals and did not want to leave. He had a complete melt down when we left and exited the building screaming and crying. Some old white guy actually got him to calm down and stop crying since daddy and I just stood there and waited for him to finish him tantrum. He will one day realize that life is going to get even tougher. But, he cheered up when daddy stopped by McDonald's to pick him up some ice cream.

The picture above are the cutest little cards the kids made for me at school last week. Preston's card has his little footprints as the flower and Trey's card has his finger prints as the bud of the flower. Daddy gave me a card, flowers, breakfast in bed and the permission to talk trash all day without any back talk. Today was definitely a good day!

Happy Mother's Day to all the fabulous mothers out there!

Privacy

2009-05-05T19:02:00.004-04:00

This is a question to the moms. When will I be able to poop alone again? My kids will not let me go into the bathroom alone. If dad is home of course that's not an issue but most of the time its just me and them. It's amazing how they appear to not be phased by the funk filling the room. I ask Trey all the time to go and watch tv because it stinks in here but he just tells me no he wants to sit with mommy. Not only do they sit and camp out in the bathroom but they bring their toys to keep them entertained. Trey walks in with 15 cars and Preston crawls in with a toy in one hand and another toy in his mouth. Poor Preston just follows Trey where ever he goes. But he is probably use to foul smells since he poops in his diaper all day. I guess for him its just a walk in the park!

Anyway, the picture has nothing to do with the post. I figured I would take everyone's mind off of my bottom with something more pleasant like Preston eating his favorite snack Cheerios. Generil Mills must be making a killing off of these cereal because I don't know any kids who do not love them. Preston tries to pick up 20 at a time and drops half of them on the way to his mouth because he is so excited to taste it.

Recommitment

2009-05-03T21:35:00.002-04:00

After having 4 days of relaxing and meditating on my cruise I realized that I not only need more "me" time but I need more "us" time. That us only includes Paul and I. We promised 8 years ago that we would always make time for each other and we would always have at least one date night per month. Unfortunately when the kids came along and Paul's career sky rocketed we stopped having our date nights and just got out whenever we could. It seems like our entire life evolves around work, everyday issues and of course the kids.

Well that is all about to change. We have recommitted to being young and free again. Of course there are some stipulations with that. We are grown with two wonderul sons so no crazy stuff. Just getting back to doing what we loved to do many years ago which is embracing each others every word and thought. Last night we started officially "dating" again. We had a wonderful evening with a few friends at The Wine Loft for wine tasting (I hate wine by the way) but the spot was very sophisticated with a great atmosphere. After everyone else tasted wine we left hungry and headed over to a sports bar to do "real" stuff like watch the basketball playoffs, eat chicken wings and drink $5 margaritas.

Thank God for my list of babysitters they make my life so much easier!

Island Getaway!

2009-04-30T18:54:00.005-04:00

So I was lucky this month because I had the opportunity to have another free weekend for just "me" time. My BFF Kia and I went on a 4 day cruise for a little rest and relaxation. There are way tooooo many details to type so let's just say we had a wonderful time. Kia was definitely the right girlfriend to vacation with because she is low key, laid back and has no time for uneccessary stress! We slept, played and partied. Day one is still a blur because all I remember is pina colada's......not good! The kids spent their time with my parents in Jesup and Paul travelled to Chicago for a speaking engagement at a urology conference. All in all everyone came out pleased.

In my eagerness to leave for the cruise I forgot to pack my camera so the pictures are a little blurred (sorry) But thumbs up to the $5 disposal camera from Walmart for capturing some unforgettable moments. Now it's back to reality of running after my busy boys. Trey can be so sweet at times but he is stubborn as an ox at others. He still has no idea that I am always going to win the fight! Preston I have no complaints about. If you feed him he is happy.

My first free weekend!

2009-04-21T20:22:00.003-04:00

This past weekend I did nothing but sleep! Paul took both of the kids with him on a road trip to Florida well with a little detour to Jesup. He had a board meeting in Gainesville at the University of FL and he slept over in Jesup on Friday night with my parents. Saturday Paul, my Dad and Trey drove to UF for the weekend. They went to a football game, shopped and visited with some of his old friends. Preston spent the weekend being spoiled by my mom. They had their own plans and were all over the place too.

For the first time in probably 2 years I slept. Saturday I did not wake up until 4pm. I am not kidding. My sister in law (to be) was visiting with us all last week and she woke me up Saturday morning at 10:30am to let me know she was leaving. I walked her out, locked the door and got back in the bed. When I woke up the clock said 3:59. I couldn't believe I slept that long but I was truly tired. I never left the house the whole weekend, even though I made a million plans with my girlfriends to hang out. Did I miss the boys.......only briefly!

Anyway they all got back Sunday night and reality kicked right back in. Trey has gotten a spanking everyday because he came back confused about who is in charge. He was spoiled all weekend with his favorite people and Preston is back to waking up at least once at night.

Here are a couple of pictures to show you how much money my husband spent in Gainesville. Trey is completely brainwashed when it come to the Gators and his dad is going to be so disappointed if he chooses to not attend that school. The pictures aren't too great because we could not get them to be still.

I feel better!

2009-04-12T21:27:00.004-04:00

After 5 days of fever I feel much better. I greeted my mommy Sunday morning standing in my crib with a big smile and drool! Thanks for your prayers!

Tough days

2009-04-09T12:08:00.003-04:00

Poor Preston has been sick since Tuesday. He has strept throat and the flu. Where did he get it from? Beats the hell out of me, bad hand washing on someones part I guess. No one else in his class is sick except for him. Yesterday was pretty scary because his temperature got up to 104.8 at the doctors office. He was shivering pretty badly because of the quick rise in his temperature and all the nurses were rushing trying to put cool clothes, etc on him before he seized. The visit ended up being a whole 3 hours because they wouldn't let us go until his fever started to trend downwards. Today is a little better though. His fever hasn't gotten above about 102.5 and he is drinking a little bit. I am sure he feels terrible and he is definitely not himself right now. He looks pretty wimpy but he is trying hard to smile when his fever is down. Meanwhile, daddy and I are a wreck with no sleep! But we will get over it pretty quickly. Trey had the flu and strept at the same time too but I think he was at least one year old when it happened not eight months old. And on top of that his third tooth is breaking through. Poor baby!

Conversation

2009-04-07T10:47:00.003-04:00

This is a different kind of post for me but it evolves around a conversation I had with my mom. We were talking about her cousin (male) who I have always known as my uncle. He is a really wonderful guy who is a physician and married a wonderful woman who is also a physician. They have been married for almost 20 years and matriculated through school together, have 3 beautiful teenage kids and live a respectable life. This is one of the couples I have respected all my life and kind of reminded me of the Cosby's. Well, how life throws you curve balls....... My aunt and uncle are now going through a divorce. After almost 20 years all the magic apparently started to fade away. My uncle started having an affair with one of his work colleagues. This relationship apparently started years ago without anyones knowledge. She is also a physician who is not married, no children and 10 years younger. She is caucasian and I know this shouldn't matter but it makes the wound sting a little more. They two of them are in love, are planning to get married and have children together. WOW!

The main reason I really posted this is to get some other perspectives from at home moms. My aunt has been a stay at home mom for 15 years. She stopped working as a request from her husband (of course she had no objection about it either) to raise their children and keep their home/school balance smooth. She has been an excellent stay at home mother and the kids have always gone to great private schools. She has been responsible of taking care of their home, finances, and whatever else comes with being a stay at home mom. Unfortunately, she gave up her career for this life. Meaning she hasn't worked in years and wasn't smart enough to think that she needed to still invest in her longterm future after the kids grow up. She has no retirement account and the only money she has is HIS money.

The divorce is almost final and she did however get the house, two cars and half of the savings (which was only $10K not a lot of money people). But guess what? She can't afford the house. It's less than 5 years old, with 5 bedrooms and 4 baths and a whopping mortage of $3K. How does she afford that? She is selling the house, in a bad economy mind you. Selling one of the vehicles and placing the children in public school. She was not awarded alimony so the only income she will receive is for the kids child support. This amount will only cover their living arrangments, school clothes, kids cost etc.

So to all my at home moms. Are you making sure you are being compensated on your JOB as an at home mom? When I was out with Trey for 6 months I transferred money every month into my retirement account. Where did the money come from PAUL'S CHECK translation OUR CHECK. Being a stay at home mom is truly a job and should not be taken lightly.

Don't get me wrong I do believe that love can last a lifetime but sometimes spouses are reading different books. When Paul and I met it was love at first sight. No second guesses and no big obstacles have come our way but I am no fool. Love does not always last.............................

Underwear

2009-03-30T20:59:00.000-04:00

Today Trey went to school in only underwear; no pullups, no diapers only his clothes and Elmo underwear. He did not have one single accident! He went on the potty all day and received treats in return from his teachers. After school I took him to get french fries as a reward. He even woke us up at midnight last night to pee pee on the potty and was dry the next morning. It was too cute, especially since daddy got up do help him instead of me! But we kinda just wanted him to pee in the diaper at night not wake us up. But they say we shouldn't complain.............

Late flights

2009-03-29T21:51:00.000-04:00

Paul's flight was suppose to land on Saturday evening at 7:20pm. The flight was delayed 4 times due to weather. Therefore, I was at the airport picking him up at 11:30pm. We didn't get home until midnight. I hadn't slept in over 24 hours. It was a quiet drive home. I told him I missed him, what happened the night before and that I didn't have energy to hear about his trip (although he was trying to tell me about it anyway). He would have to fill me in on the details later. When we got home I took the baby monitor out of my room and gave it to my parents downstairs. I took two Benadryl, had a shot of Kaluha and shut my bedroom door. Finally, I got 8 hours of sleep!

But I still feel like a truck hit me...maybe a dump truck instead of a Mac truck.

The night from hell!

2009-03-29T21:25:00.000-04:00

So on Friday we sent Preston back to school because he seemed to be feeling just fine. Trey however couldn't go to school because he was suppose to be on bedrest for 72 hours and was not allowed to run and play. Unfortunately he didn't feel well on post op day 2 or 3 due to fevers. But we did take him out for a couple of hours on Thursday to visit my little cousin who was having open heart surgery at the children's hospital in Atlanta. He is one year old and doing wonderful. I thought I was stressed with my little ones having day surgery until I saw him ventilated with three IV's and a huge incision down his little chest. But anyway........

Friday evening mom made dinner, my dad arrived and my girlfriend Dione came over to visit the boys. We put the kids to bed and sat around and chatted. I was so exhausted by the end of the evening but relieved I had so much help with the kids that I decided to make sure I would finally get a good nights rest. After Dione left I took two Benadryl and had a glass of red wine (I hate wine by the way) but I figured it would be good for my heart and help me sleep. Well I did go to sleep around 12mn (sitting up talking to my mom and watching TBN) but I had no idea that the night would take so many wrong turns.

1:45am Preston wakes up screaming. I let him cry for about 10 minutes hoping he would go back to sleep but he just got louder and louder. He is teething and isn't sleeping so well right now. So I go and grab Preston and bring him back in bed with me.
2:00am The ALARM goes off! My bootleg nicotine addicted father opened the back door to go outside to smoke. Who in the hell smokes at 2am? Well if you have an alarm system then you know that it is extremely loud when it is triggered. Preston started screaming. Trey woke up screaming. I turned off the alram ran into his room with Preston in tow, to find him in the middle of his room drenched in sweat and crying "mommy mommy hurry the police cars are here!" His fever of 102.5 was finally breaking and he was engulfed in sweat as well as crying from the fear of the loud alarm.
2:30am Preston and I are still in Trey's room because he will not let me leave. Preston is wide awake because Trey sleeps with a little race car night light in which he thought he should have a conversation with. He talked to the lamp, crawled all over Trey's back and face and then started to bite him. Trey just quietly said "lay down Preston and go night night; no biting it's not nice Preston" as he is patting his little brothers back. Preston just kept on laughing and talking to the lamp. He crawled all round the bed and on our faces. Meanwhile, I am talking to God and asking him why?
2:45am I finally leave Trey's room. I am still upset with my dad and basically delusional because I had taken Benadryl and had wine to help induce some sort of sleep but I couldn't sleep because I was doing damage control.
3:00amSo I took Preston to my dad (as I gave him some choice words) and walked back to my room alone. (Remember Paul is out of town). Before I lie back down I turned the chime off of the alarm so there is no sound when this fool goes back out to smoke again....smart move right?Well as soon as Trey heard to chime he started screaming again "mommy mommy the police cars are back!" He is pounding on his door for me to come open it and let him out.
3:15am Still in Trey's room comforting him. I finally said this isn't going to work and I can't sleep in here with you so let's go to my room. I had to get him a glass of milk and turn on the cartoons for him to finally relax. I think I fell asleep for a minute only to find him still awake watching tv.
4:30am I turned the tv off and we both finally went to sleep.
8:00am Everyone is awake and ready to rock and roll except for me. I felt like a mac truck had run me over. I helped my mom feed the kids, ate, got them cleaned and out of their pajamas and went to church alone. I needed to get out of the house by myself and talk to God!

Surgery day

2009-03-25T21:41:00.000-04:00

I am so thankful that this day is over! Trey and Preston both had surgery this morning and they are at home recovering well. Preston went first and only cried after he started to wake up from anesthesia. Trey went second and because he had multiple proceduries done he took much longer and will have a harder recovery. But he did absolutely wonderful. He is the most mature and relaxed two year old I have ever met (and I am not just saying that because he's my son). He never cried once, nor did he moan, groan or complain. He told all the nurses and doctors thank you and tried hard to say it with a smile. His throat is sore because he was intubated but he ate really well tonight. I am so thankful to God for covering my children with the blood of the lamb. It was overwhelming to feel a complete lose of control when you place your child in the hands of surgeons, anesthesia folks and nurses. Although, I have been working in medicine for a decade it hits you differently when your kids are lying in that cold operating room hooked up to a respirator.

My awesome mother is here with me and I couldn't have done it without her. Paul of course was there for the surgeries but left after they were released to recovery. He also leaves in the morning on a flight to AL for a conference. So mom will be with me until Sunday and my dad will join us on Friday. Moving closer to home was a blessing for us and God always guides your steps in the right direction when you follow his word.

Thanks for all the prayers and calls today. I love you guys! And maybe for the first time in months I will sleep!

Peace...if only for a couple of hours!

2009-03-22T12:59:00.000-04:00

Paul just left with the kids to spend the day at the car show downtown. The house is so quiet. I don't want to hear the television, radio or talk on the phone. I just want to sit here for a moment and breath without any thoughts.

B-Ball Night Out

2009-03-19T22:48:00.000-04:00

Tonight we had a fabulous time at the Hawks game. It was also Preston's first professional basketball game. Both the kids had a wonderful time and were on their best behavior. Trey screamed, clapped, jumped around in his seat and ate tons of popcorn. Preston met a new friend named Sarah (some white lady sitting behind us) and sat with her for most of the game. I think she fell in love with him. He is super friendly and loves to be bashful. Luckily, by the time we made it to the car and got onto the highway they were fast asleep.

Also Preston turned 8 months old today...YAY! He is crawling, pulling up and eating dog food. I know...what the heck? Well I put him down in front of the tv with tons of toys while I went into the kitchen to start dinner and he crawled over to the dog's bowl and started licking Capri's dog food. Trey actually caught him and yelled out "oh my goodness Preston don't eat the dog food, it's for doggies!" It was really hillarious. Paul said its good protein for him.....thank God he's a urologist and not a dietician!

Exhausted!

2009-03-13T16:26:00.000-04:00

I am truly exhausted. My kids are sick and my husband has been sick for a week. My job is "reconstructing" and we have been asked to move within 2 days. Please pray for me to keep it together!

Home

2009-03-09T13:10:00.000-04:00

I really enjoyed myself back home in Jesup this weekend. My daddy turned 56 and we had a family cookout and surprised him with cake and icecream. I think Trey had the best time of all. He played for 7 hours straight with his little cousins. They are all around the same age and they get along really well, but how many toddlers don't like to play together. Anyway, they stayed up until midnight running around in the cold and dark backyard like little roaches (that wasn't nice more like mice). By the time I got him buckled into his carseat to drive back to my parents house he was snoring before we made it to the first stop sign.

It's always wonderful to go back to where you came from and reminisce about the past and growing up. But let me just jot down a little bit of foolishness I observed while I was there. Just to give you a mental picture of where I grew up; imagine a town of only 10,000 people, ten red lights, one Walmart (just built maybe 8 years ago), one fast food restaurant per chain, one high school and a railroad track that at least use to separate the black folks from the white folks.

Now let's rehash this weekend:

1) Driving into town there is a maybe 300 lb billy goat on the side of the highway grazing. No gate, no chains, no nothing)
2) A small filling station translation gas station for you city folks with a sign out front saying "Bait and Tackle, Box of Marlboro ($ can't remember how much) and Tanning Bed." Now what in the hell are they doing with a tanning bed in the gas station?
3) And lastly, why did every male cousin/uncle over 40 years old have no teeth at the top. I am so disappointed but couldn't stop laughing at these fools as they continued to get drunk. No one has dental insurance so when a tooth starts hurting they just snatch it out...WTHeck@@!!
4) Oh and the homemade grill that burns until the party ends to keep all the alcoholics warm outside because the ladies won't let them come inside the house....a mess!

But it was a good weekend and my dad was very happy to see us especially since I drove down with the kids by myself (4 hour trip) because Paul had to work. He didn't think I was going to come alone so he was pleasantly surprised. Preston did wonderul and Trey did pretty good. He just has ants in his pants and doesn't want to sit in that carseat for more than an hour. I was fortunate this time and only stopped once each way. It was so much going on in less than 24 hours that I forgot to take any pictures. But I probably wouldn't have posted any of my uncles because you fools would put them on an email and talk bad about my peoples.....LOL!

TJ Maxx

2009-03-06T14:21:00.000-05:00

This is a really stupid post about TJ Maxx. I must start by saying that I love this store! It is definitely on my top five list because I can get name brand items at a low price. BUT, why do they have the skinniest buggies in the world in that store! The store carries clothes, shoes, comforters, pillows, furniture and so much more. Yet they think it is adequate to provide anorexic buggies. The only reason I am now upset about it is because I almost injured my kids with the stupid buggy. Well Preston was in his car seat asleep and the whole car seat would not fit in the front part of the buggy nor the back (belly) part of the buggy. He was chilling in the buggy asleep with a definite gangsta lean. Any sudden movement would send the carseat and him crashing at an angle...NOT good! Well this means that little Tazmanian Devil Trey got an opportunity to push the buggy because there was no where for him to sit. He had a blast, unfortunately; crashing into people, clothing, and other buggies. I seriously had a headache after about 10 minutes. I only went there with both of them because I had to pick up a gift for my dad's surprise birthday party this weekend. I probably will not do it again but I still love TJ Maxx.

Maybe I will email the CEO..............

Snow fight in March!

2009-03-01T20:51:00.001-05:00

It snowed today and it was enough to make a snowman and have a huge snowball fight. Trey really enjoyed himself and so did his daddy!

B-Day week wrap-up

2009-02-22T21:41:00.000-05:00

This was probably one of my best birthdays. I was able to spend alone time with my honey and quality time with my family. Saturday night Paul and I had dinner then went to a greek stepshow. We were joined by my wonderful cousin and cousin-in-law (Kim your the best). Then on Sunday Paul and I packed the kids up and went to the UniverSoul Circus. We had such an amazing time. The soul circus is so full of energy and excitement. I even got up to do the soul train line center stage when they asked for volunteers in the audience. Paul didn't take any pictures of me up there because he was holding both of the babies and Trey started to cry when I ran up on stage. But anywho we had a blast! After the circus we went to eat mexican and drink margaritas (virgin for me of course someone has to drive). Then we headed to the movie theater to see Madea Goes To Jail. Hillarious if you want my opinion.

I guess the other wonderful part of the day was that the kids both did great, despite the fact that Trey has diarrhea from a stomach virus and a black eye from running into the paint easel at school trying to greet me when I walked in on Friday afternoon. If you look at the picture real closely you can see it. On top of that they are both still on antibiotics for ear infections. But they really have no choice about being out and social because their parents are 'ride or die kinda folks'!

Happy Birthday!

2009-02-19T09:42:00.001-05:00

"Happy Birthday to me
Happy Birthday to me
Happy Birthday to me
Happy Birthday to me"!

I am feeling so loved right now. My only gift I asked of my husband was to get the kids up, dressed and out to school so that I could sleep in for the first time in almost 3 years. Well, he made sure that happened and it wasn't that easy. He had to ask one of his partners to operate on his patient this morning at 6:30am and had the secretaries push back two office appointments to accommodate my birthday wish. Boy he is really the best! Unfortunately, my poor kids were out the house at 6:25am and the school doesn't even open till 6:30am....ouch!

But anyway, I am so happy to be celebrating my 33rd birthday today. I have some wonderful family and friends who had sent me 27 messages by way of phone calls, text messages and emails all by 8:30 this morning to wish me a blessed day. Fortunately I had already turned my ringers off so I wouldn't be disturbed on my one day to sleep in. My parents are beyond wonderful and surprised me by hiding two separate gifts under my bed so that when I woke up I would be able to open them. I love them so much and I had no idea they left me gifts for my bday last weekend. My dad bought me some super hottie high heels (he has a lot of style) and my mom bought me some pajamas (something I was about to buy myself last week...amazing huh?)

Now I am off to the spa for the day.............................LOVE U GUYS!

More pics

2009-02-15T20:10:00.001-05:00

My College Reunion

2009-02-15T20:01:00.001-05:00

This weekend I had a blast hanging out with tons of my old friends, sorority sisters, fraternity brothers and my husband all in one. Thanks to my folks for being the best grandparents in the world too. Paul and I had a much needed weekend getaway. It probably didn't help that we came in at 5am and really didn't get any rest but you only live once!

The sweetest baby ever!

2009-02-12T11:23:00.000-05:00

I am trying very hard to crawl. I am able to get up on all fours and rock but unfortunately I get tired and fall back down. However, I am scooting backwards and usually end up underneath the sofa.

Funerals

2009-02-06T18:58:00.000-05:00

On Thursday I drove down to visit my friend and family whose brother was murdered on this past Sunday night. His death still just feels unreal to me. They were all doing alright yesterday and were able to talk and laugh a little with all the guest who came over to give their condolences. It was sad to see them in such a pain especially since these people are some of the happiest people you will ever meet. What's now even more upsetting than the way he died is the invidence that is now being revealed about his murder. It appears that the his wife had a brief affair with the man that initiated the fight with him on the night he was killed. Supposedly, the affair occured when the two of them were "on bad terms" and she ended it when they agreed to work things out and continue in their marriage. Well it appears that she had a change of heart and began to secretly see this guy again. The guy apparently found out that my friend would be at this nightspot and he and 10 of his gang friends (yes apparently this upstanding fire fighter in the community) is involved in a gang, sat in the parking lot and waited on my friend to come out. The two of them got into a verbal altercation and then the fight broke out. Eyewitnesses say that my friend was winning the fight so his gang members jumped in and beat him to death. My friend only had one of his friends with him and he was badly beaten as well. My poor friends mother had to identify his body at the scene of the crime.

This situation is beyond ridiculous, senseless and mortifying. This young man may have died due to someone elses wrong doing and it makes me and everyone else ANGRY! I feel bad for both these families because the mother and sisters are grieving and they are angry. It's hard to get over someone's death when there is so much foul play involved. This man was a good person, christian, military personnel who has served in Kuwait for our safety and now he is dead because of heartless individuals. I tore my heart in pieces to see his 7 year old son sitting in front of his casket today.

I also feel sorry for the wife though, because if this is really the reason he was killed she has the blood of my husband and son's father all over her hands.

The funeral today was the saddest funeral I have ever attended. There wasn't a dry eye in the building. The church was packed to capacity and the remarks everyone made definitely showed that he was a wonderful person.

I only pray that as many people who loved me will show such support and gratitude to my family when I leave this earth. The words spoken by all truly showed what type of person he was. Sometimes life just isn't fair. But if you want to go out and make a fool of your life don't take your family with you! Your ill consequences not only affect you but the ones around you!

The Ball

2009-02-04T21:35:00.000-05:00

Saturday night was such a fun night. Paul and I attended The Annual Atlanta Medical Association Inaugural Ball. This is a yearly black tie affair that we attend with enthusiasm. Its all the who's who of affluent medicine in and around the Metro Atlanta area. The Atlanta Medical Association is the oldest and largest organization of black physicians in the world. It was started many many decades ago and it is still thriving. In 2006 Paul received the "Young Physician of the Year Award" from the organization. This is a very high honor and it was even more special because he had only been here practicing in the city for 2 years when he received it. He has really spread his wings and made a name for himself. Well this year he was installed as the Secretary for the Atlanta Medical Association, yet another huge accomplishment especially for someone as young as him. I am really proud of him because he has worked so hard to be a respectable hard working black man, husband and father.

So here are a couple of pictures of us at the ball. The woman in the picture with me is actually the kids pediatrician Dr. Moore. She is such a little fire cracker and an excellent physician. She is well regarded in the black community as the BEST pediatrician in the metro area. Her practice is so busy that she doesn't even take infants anymore and hasn't for about 5 years. She only took our kids because Paul is well known and a physician friend.

Its also cute and kinda funny to see all the elite old school wives with their floor length fur coats and bling bling. Lord, I pray I never buy a fur coat!

Random stuff

2009-02-03T12:42:00.000-05:00

Preston had his first trip to the Emergency Room this past weekend. He had been having a low grade fever for 24 hours and it finally got up to 102.9 by Sunday so I took him in to avoid having to miss work if something serious was going on. As it turns out he only had a cold. He was having some diarrhea too but its hard to tell if its from a stomach virus or teething. He still feels great and talks all day long (well a lot of da da's, gurgling, squealing and laughing). He is such a laid back happy baby.

My parents were here this past weekend spending time with the kids. It is so wonderful to have them somewhat close to us. They love being with us and we love having them visit, Trey especially. On Saturday afternoon they took Trey and Preston to Chuck E Cheese (sp.) and out to dinner. Paul and I went to a Ball that evening (pictures and post about that later). Trey had an amazing time and played for hours with his grandpa at Chuck E Cheese. My mom said Preston just looked around and smiled at all the chaos surrounding him. I am glad they took them to Chuck E Cheese because Paul and I hate that place. It is too crowded and busy! I can not think straight when I am there because there just isn't enough space to accomodate all those kids and parents, but anything for the babies!

Trey fell out in the front yard as grandpa and nanna drove away on Sunday evening. I almost started crying because they were about to cry and Trey was screaming to go with them. It was a mess! He did finally relax but I had to promise him all sorts of things to calm him down.

Oh and this is kinda funny. As I was stepping out of the shower about a week ago Trey walked in. I have been dressing and undressing in front of him since he was born, he's only 2 right? Well he stopped dead in his tracks and just stared at me. He pointed at me and said "Oh no where is Mommy's pee pee?" I tried to act like I didn't hear him for some strange reason but he yelled it out again with so much concern. Then he said "Oh my goodness Mommy's pee is gone bye bye." As I am running to my dresser to retrieve some underwear I explained to him that girls have a different pee pee than boys. He said okay then he said no but where is mommy's pee pee as he is trying to move the underwear to inspect the pee pee.

Is it really time to stop undressing in front of my two year old? He is not ready for the word "vagina" yet but he knows he has a penis. Daddy has had the 'nobody touches you there but mommy and daddy talk' with him but they are so curious at such a young age!

Oh and Preston rolled off the sofa during the superbowl game Sunday. I got up to take something out the microwave and all I heard was "pop." He is okay though and he only cried for a little bit. I felt like the worse mommy ever!

Sadness

2009-02-02T11:14:00.000-05:00

I feel so numb today. I received a phone call from one of my best friends this morning telling me that her brother was murdered last night. He was only 29 years old, a husband, father and nurse. The only details she was able to give me was that he was at a restaurant/bar watching the superbowl and a fight broke out involving him. Unfortunately, several guys beat him to death. I am just not myself today.

The Package Store

2009-01-29T09:07:00.000-05:00

I know this topic has been discussed numerous amounts of time but it still annoys me. If you have ever been to my house you know that I live not too far from the well known "Bankhead". I am in no way afraid of my people, embarrassed of my people or above my people. So frequently I roll through their streets every now and then even if its only to take a shortcut into the city and avoid traffic. But don't get me wrong I aint trying to roll through these parts at extreme hours of the night. But anyway, my question is why is there a liquor store on every corner in the hood. I know the answer but it still burns me up. Why are they always owned by Asians? Whether it be Indians or Chinese/Vietnamese. Hell, why are they not afraid of us like folks from America? Well this one liquor store in Bankhead is so ridiculous. It has a 24 hour security quard and guess what people?....shopping carts! Yes these folks got buggies for you to push around and help kill yourself with alcohol. What's even funnier is that almost everyone in there is pushing one and filling up their buggy especially on the weekend. The parking lot is so full that the security guard often comes out and assists people with getting in and out of parking spaces. You would have to see this mess to believe it!

And no I aint in there with no buggy. I don't even drink...well an occasional spirit every now and then.

Green Army Grenade

2009-01-28T13:48:00.000-05:00

Last night as I am bathing the boys in the bathtub. Preston is sitting in his little bath seat singing da dad and having fun. I turned to reach for the soap and he got quiet all of a sudden. I didn't think about it at all because Trey was talking and playing with his cars, balls, toys etc while in the bathtub too. When I finally looked at Preston (15 seconds later) he had dropped a magic "green army grenade" in the form of poop in the bath. Luckily it all clung to the bath seat so I didn't have to evacuate everyone out of the tub immediately. Trey helped me out and reprimanded Preston by telling him "Preston that's a no no. Poo poo in the potty not the bathtub. I'm going to pop the bottom!"

Thanks Trey!

Losing friends

2009-01-28T13:27:00.000-05:00

Last week I lost two friends, Melville and Cindy. Both of these ladies were very close to my heart although I only saw them maybe once a year when visiting Houston. Melville was my super duper prayer warrior friend. She always had an inspiring word, testimony or pray. We emailed each other often to keep in touch since I moved away. I would send her pics of the kids and everytime she would come back with "when is the little girl coming" and I said NOT. I will miss her dearly.

My good old friend Cindy was an old nursing buddy at MD Anderson. She was a different kind of women with a big heart. She wasn't married nor did she have any children but she gave her all to the friends that she loved so much. She suffered this past year with her second battle with cancer one that would eventually take her life. Cindy was a very remarkable person because of the way she was raised. She grew up in a little town called Vidor in Texas. This town was predominantly white during her childhood and was extremely racist. She would tell me about black people not being allowed to stop at stores and restaurants even after desegregation. She would also tell me stories about her uncle being the Grand Wizard for the KKK in which she went to a couple of meetings. But God shielded her heart from this evil called racism and she loved everyone as Christ did. I will miss hearing my country friends voice.

I pray we all take time daily to tell those around us that we love them and we care. Always try to be positive and shy away from those things that are negative and foolish because time waits for no man.

"My name is Paul!"

2009-01-27T15:13:00.001-05:00

For the last couple of weeks my eldest son has been telling us to call him Paul. He is now pretty adamant about it. He got upset with me for calling him "Trey" a couple of weeks ago and last night he told daddy that his name is not "Pop Pop" (which is Paul's nickname for him). He got in our face and said "my name is Paul no Trey and no Pop Pop, my name is Paul." We both found it a little hillarious for him to be exercising his rights but he is correct his name is "Paul." I tried to explain to this 2 year old that his family and friends call him both names and its okay but he said no "my name is Paul mommy!" Well I guess he's right cause that's what the birth certificate reads "Paul Alphonse III" not Trey, Pop Pop or Pop!

On another note if you want to see a good movie you should check out 'Not Easily Broken' with Morris Chestnut and Taraji Henson. It was an awesome movie dealing with hard lessons in life. It makes you evaluate what unconditional love is and the sacrifices it takes to make it work. It also makes you understand what is most important in your life. Its a great movie for married couples and couples thinking about getting married.

It also doesn't hurt that Morris is looking absolutely delicious in this movie! My God.............

Finally!

2009-01-23T07:28:00.000-05:00

Preston slept 9 hours straight last night. I hope this is the start to something great!

Golden Corral

2009-01-22T21:22:00.000-05:00

This post is really about our nation and our inability to take care of our health. I had lunch at Golden Corral this afternoon (I know what your thinking...what the he##!) I typically enjoy going there only because I want a wide variety of things and its inexpensive. The food is not that bad if you like cafeteria style food. So as I am sitting there eating alone I started to observe everyone around me. I then started to realize that at least 50% of the people in there was obese. What's even more sad is that the obese people were the ones with the biggest plates and the most frequent trips back to the buffet. It was so sad that I felt sick. This one guy was no less than 300 pounds and he had every type of meat, starch and fried treat on all his plate. He never once ate any vegetable, salad or fruit. I know this is the south and we are the largest group of people in the U.S. but what are we doing to change it. We (GA, AL, MS) have the highest number of obese adults and children than any other state in the US. Aren't there 50 states? That is so sad. Don't get me wrong I am not trying to be mean to anyone who is weight challenged, I am just saying I want us all to be healthier. I am always fussing at my mom and aunts to lose weight because I don't want anything to happen to them. Often times it really stems from your upbringing. If you grew up eating fried food and starches everyday then your likely to continue to cook this way when your an adult and have your own family. But somewhere down the line someone has to make the change for the better. I read a study a few years ago that revealed that insurance companies prefer people with comorbidities because they die sooner than healthy people. If everyone was healthy and lived to be 90 years old then insurance companies would go broke paying their premiums for all those years versus someone who is unhealthy and will probably die by 50 years old.

My old friend from church in Houston had a stroke last night and it has me really sad. She is only in her mid 40's but was obese (not saying that caused her stroke) but as a nurse I know it didn't help prevent it.

I actually told myself earlier I was going to comically write about Golden Corral to blast them about aiding folks in getting phat but it turned into a plea to be healthier. But not just for myself but for all my people. Stop putting all that mac and cheese, potato salad, rice, mashed potatoes, bread, fried chicken, crab cakes, bread pudding etc on your plate. As a matter of fact don't even cook that $hi!.......dang I got carried away.

6 Months Old!

2009-01-22T18:39:00.001-05:00

Preston is growing so quickly. He is now 28.5 inches long and 19 pounds. He is such a sweet baby that will not sleep all night...HA! Unfortunately, he couldn't get his shots today because he has another ear infection. Yes, I know it sucks. But anyway he is a joy and a blessing and I thank God for him daily. His favorite thing to do right now is sing the "Da Da Song." They really grow up fast!

Daddy Day

2009-01-20T11:15:00.000-05:00

Unfortunately, I had to work on yesterday (yes on MLK day). Paul however was off and spent the day with the boys. I am so proud of him too. He planned a full day with them and they were up ready to rock and roll by 9am. He took them to Ebeneezer Baptist Church for the annual MLK program and then out to lunch. After lunch they went to the Martin Luther King Center downtown and spent a couple of hours. I can just imagine seeing him with diaper bags, strollers, carriers and a loud 2 year old but when I got home they were all clean and happy. I know that Trey drove him crazy though because when I walked in I heard him whispering to Trey to go upstairs and talk to mommy. Trey told him no that he wanted to talk to daddy...hillarious!

Vomit

2009-01-16T22:06:00.000-05:00

It is just hard being a mommy! We arrived at home today at 6pm as usual. I nursed Preston and put him in his swing to play. I then sat Trey down at the table to color and have a snack while I prepared some homemade chili for dinner. We ate dinner and headed upstairs to get ready for a bath. On Friday nights I typically let Trey stay up a little longer and we play together for a while. We pushed his cars around on the floor in his room while Preston sat there and giggled. Eventually of course we made it to the bathroom for our bath. Both the boys were clean and bathed without any drama. As soon as I took Preston out of the tub Trey stood up and looked at me with a strange look then started vomiting! It was so disgusting people. All of his dinner, snack and milk sitting in the bathtub. The only thing good about the story is that Paul walked in as soon as he barfed the last heap of chicken nuggets(wasn't interested in any "soup" aka chili) and apples so he took Preston and I rebathed, cleaned the bathtub and comforted Trey.

As I always say, life is great!

13 degrees

2009-01-16T15:47:00.001-05:00

It was a very cold 13 degrees this morning. I did not want to bundle the kids up and leave the house....brrrhhhh!

ATL Housewives

2009-01-15T08:39:00.000-05:00

I am not sure if a lot of you guys watched the Bravo series Atlanta Housewives but they were talking about them on the radio this morning. I only watched a few shows because I was so upset about how these women let money change who they really are. I am okay with anyone being rich, not jealous at all. What upsets me is when you look down on the people who are not in your social class. But anyway, they announced that DeShawn Snow did not have her contract renewed to appear on the next season. Why you ask. Because she did not bring enough "drama and dysfunction" to the show. What the heck! This is ridiculous that they would cancel the one sister who actually had a stable life, morals and values. Per the radio disc jockey's report they needed to continue with the "black" dramatic diva, gold-digger like vibe that was presented so fabulously (might I add) in the first season. So they did not want a well grounded sister in the mix taking away viewers.

Are we seriously that eager to see and praise dysfunctionality? That's why I hated that show! I have several wealthy friends and none of them act this way.

Big Brother Paul

2009-01-14T22:01:00.000-05:00

I must say that Trey, in my opinion, is the best big brother ever! He absolutely loves his little brother and tries to help with so much. Althought he was only 13 months old when I got pregnant he seemed to understand fully that mommy had a baby in her baby. He kissed my belly everyday and said his brother's name throughout the pregnancy. When I was in labor my dad took him outside of the hospital room when it was time to push and when they came back in he was amazed to see his little brother. Everyone asked him "who is that Trey" and he quickly said "Preston." I have been so impressed with how well he has adjusted to the new addition, well except for the potty training. He definitely regressed when Preston came along but anyway.

It is so cute to watch him with Preston. He reads to him, sings to him and tries to teach him animal sounds. It is so special to watch. Of course Preston just stares at him and smiles. He reprimands Capri if he gets too close to Preston as well. I should really be video recording these moments because both of them will grow up so fast and I will wonder where my little babies went. I just thought I would jot that down since tonight he was extra special with Preston. He even spanked the dog for trying to cuddle with Preston. Capri just takes it like a big girl because she definitely didn't do anything wrong. He loves to tell her "no Capri be nice and gentle with Preston or I spank the bottom."

Ciga-weed

2009-01-14T13:31:00.001-05:00

As I was driving home listening to the radio a few days ago I came upon a station talking about whether marijuana should be legalized. Now in some states marijuana is prescribed for medicinal purposes such as pain relief and mostly disorders of the eyes. There are also some anti-nausea medications with marijuana derivatives in them to help patients with mostly chemotherapy induced nausea and vomiting....but anywho. Instead of people who would actually benefit in some way for a law to be passed to help those in need calling in to the show to give their two cents about the topic only the crazy folks called in. This one lady Joanne called in to say that she feels marijuana should be legalized because it will make the world a better place. She was very adamant about her position and opinion. She also went on to say that the crime rates would go down because people who are "high" commit less crimes because they are "relaxed and cool." I know I am thinking the same thing you are "WHAT?" This chick went on and on and on about the same foolishness. I wanted to call in and ask her did she see any of the Friday movies with Chris Tucker! After listening to her brief everyone about how important marijuana is for the soul the disc jockey asked her if she smoked. She said yes, of course. He asked how old she was and she told them that she was 43 years old and started smoking when she was only 12 years old. Now I hate to pass judgement on anyone but this is too much. What child is thinking about smoking weed at 12 years old!

Well as a recovered weed head I have to disagree with Joanne. I do not think that being "high" would keep crime rates down by any means. Although many drugs are found naturally in the earth it is us the people who choose to use them unwisely. I did more crazy stuff high than I did sober!

The solution

2009-01-13T13:33:00.001-05:00

My solution to getting some sort of decent sleep is to leave the little munchin in the bed with me. This is my absolute pet peeve (kids sleeping with their parents) but in order to function during the day especially at work, I have to sleep. I always start the night with Preston in his own room and bed, unfortunately he wakes up as soon as he realizes he is alone. I attempt at least 2 or 3 times to rock him back to sleep and put him back in his bed but it never works. Daddy also tries and he still wakes up screaming. So last night I put him in the bed with me and we both fell asleep at 9pm and slept all night. Well Preston woke up searching for nipples a few times but I didn't have to move a muscle or turn on any lights so I feel revived today. I guess my new motto is "by all means neccessary!" Hopefully, I won't regret this down the road.

Sleepless nights

2009-01-12T16:41:00.000-05:00

I am still asking myself if I slept at all last night. Trey and Preston both have a cold. Trey woke up at 11pm and daddy went in to soothe him for a few moments. Then he woke up again at 1am, well it was my turn next. I went in and laid down next to him because he wanted to go get into the bed with his daddy who was comforting Preston who couldn't sleep. Well I laid down for 45 minutes and when I opened my eyes he was directly in my face saying "hi mommy how are you?" Then he ask if he could have milk, mind you its 2am by now. So in order to get him to try to go back to sleep I walk downstairs and get him some milk. This worked for a while because he laid down with his milk and rested until 5am. Back up again smiling with a big "good morning where's daddy." Meanwhile, Preston was still in the bed with Paul and I because he has a runny nose and cough. On top of that we discovered he has a soy allergy and had to have his formula changed which is making him a little gasey. So he woke up to poot every hour.

Boy life is great.............................

Sister

2009-01-09T01:01:00.000-05:00

This year has already proven to be an exciting one. So much has happened in the last 8 days that I am not at liberty to even talk about them but believe me God is good. On top of all that I am getting my first sister, well she will be my sister-in-law but she already feels like a sister. My little brother Lamar (not really little because he is 28) popped the question to his girlfriend at my house last night and of course she said "yes." The ring is absolutely beautiful and I am so thrilled for them. Unfortunately he left tonight to return to Kuwait where he has 5 more months to live. So nonetheless, congrats to them and keep him in your prayers as he returns safely to Kuwait as we sleep at peace in our homes.

Big ups little brother!

Quickie

2008-12-29T22:03:00.000-05:00

Just wanted to say hello to all my peeps. I hope you all had a wonderful Xmas. Mine was wonderful, busy and exhausting. My parents, little brother, nephew, father in law and brother in law were here with us for the holidays and we definitely had a great time. Trey enjoyed more than ever having both his grandpa's here and his nanna. Nonetheless, happy holidays and more pictures to come!

FYI....I had a lot of comments (and also bootleg friends who don't leave a comment but text me their comments about the blog) inquiring about the Starship Enterprise and what color it is etc. Well the picture in the previous post is actually my car. So its white as you can tell by the picture. I haven't figured out how to email comments from the blog post so that's why I added this tid bit. And of course I don't mind the text messages I love talking to my peoples!

Starship Enterprise!

2008-12-22T19:17:00.001-05:00

At the tender age of 32 I purchased my first car this weekend. And how wonderful it is that my first car is a Benz. I know that sounds strange that I never purchased a car before but thank God for my parents (I was a daddy's girl). What's funny is my new car is a station wagon! I know Angela is the only one saying yah but the car is awesome, roomy and safe. I knew I didn't want a SUV (I already hate driving Paul's big red school bus) and I didn't want a standard sedan because its too small for me. I need lots of room for strollers and other crap. This car is considered to be a Mercedes crossover vehicle although I call it a wagon and has 3 rows with 6 seating capability. I absolutely love this car and it drives like a charm. We named the car "Starship Enterprise" because of its spacious and pretty cabin.

Oh and what's really funny is that Paul told me right after we got married that the first car he would buy me would be a station wagon. Of course back then I cursed him out and told him I was too fly to drive a station wagon and 7 years later I chose a station wagon to purchase. Boy how life comes full circle!