One Busy Month

Wow! So I have been so bad about blogging here lately. The month of September was supposed to be a laid back month with Caleigh's fall break week happening and everything but instead it turned into a really busy time for us. I had gotten so used to Caleigh being at school during the morning, when fall break got here, by that Tuesday Caleigh had fully reminded me what it was like before she started school. A whole week of round the clock Caleigh and I had to get ready for the following week which was an entire week of vacation off the Georgia coast with Chad and his mom. Packing is something that I really don't like to do for myself much less for my entire family. But I understand that it is a necessary evil in order to travel. Since Chad was working the entire week before we left, I had his packing to do too (unless I wanted him to "pack like a man" and he would toss a few pair of shorts and shirts in a bag along with some underwear and a swimsuit and be done). I couldn't let that happen, so I packed for him too. Caleigh seems to always be the easiest for me to pack for some reason. And her clothes take up the least space. However after all this preparation for packing, Chad informs me that our suitcases have had it. He doesn't think they will last another trip. So, now to shop for some affordable luggage to pack all of the stuff in. After hitting Target, Wal-Mart, JC Penney, and Khols, we finally got the best deal at the second Khols we went to. So, luggage in hand, it was time to pack it all up. The following Sunday morning, Nonnie arrived, we loaded down the back of our little SUV, and strapped the fishing poles and beach chairs to the roofrack, then hit the road. We made it all the way to the Bass Pro Shop before a stop happened. Chad wanted to fish off the pier and surf fish while we were in St Simon's so he needed some different hooks and weights.


This was Caleigh's first trip to a place like that and she sure had some questions about whether the animals in there were real or not. Try explaining to a 3 year old that they used to be real but are not anymore. Awkward! So, we headed to the fish tank where everything was still living. LOL.

Once back on the road, we drove until hunger forced a stop for an early lunch. After refueling, we were bound for the beach! We arrived in St. Simon's Island, Georgia and it was so much more beautiful that I had imagined, so serene and calming. Ocean meeting dunes and splashing against rock beckoned us to return the following morning to bask in all of it's glory.


Unfortunately, the forecast called for thunderstorms and rain showers pretty much the entire week we were going to be there. Fortunatly for us, the weather forecasters were not God and He had other plans for the weather on the days we were there. The skies would light up early in the morning and we would hit the beach. Sandcastles were made, "pools" were dug, and small waves splashed over a tiny body and big ones alike.









There was no real schedule. No deadlines. No tasks that had to be handled if we didn't want to handle them. There were just books to be read, magazines to be purused, and games to be played. We would take in all the sun we could until lunch time and then head back to the beach house for a shower, lunch, and then a nap. After nap each day it was time to head out to shop or browse and decide where to eat at for dinner. After one round of "cranky Chad" we all decided that it would be a good idea to decide where to eat dinner BEFORE we left the house so that we had no more episodes out of him. Seems he gets a bit cranky and impatient when he is hungry. LOL Pizza the first night, Authentic Mexican at Bubba Garcia's the next, pub food at Brogan's after that, seafood at Iguana's, and then some of the best BBQ ever at a little hole in the wall near the beach that was listed as one of Alton Brown's (from Food Network) places to must eat! And we all agreed, he was right! Funny story from that place: We placed our order at a window and when we were all done ordering, the guy asked "What's the name?" Nonnie was the last one to order and so he was still talking to her when he asked. She stumbled over the question and looked at me and asked me what he had said. I said he asked for a name. Somehow, the man heard "Meg" and wrote that name on our ticket. Just FYI, her name is not Meg, nor did she say "Meg". So we walked over to a table and sat down and a few minutes later, "Meg, your order is ready, Meg" was called over the loudspeaker. We all couldn't stop laughing. As I write this, I find it much less funnier than when it happened but every time I think about it, I still laugh.

Some of the best times had by Caleigh were not even at the beach itself. She absolutely loved driving in the golf cart

and feeding bread to her "buddies"- the seven ducks that lived in the pond at our condo. The ducks fought with the 50 or so turtles and tons of fish to eat the bread that she threw out. I think I should have just bought a loaf of bread just for the ducks, turtles, and fish!




She also loved playing the round of putt putt at the lighthouse. 97 over par (for each hole) was her norm. LOL! She did accidently get one hole in one!




We all also enjoyed watching the giant cargo ships head out to sea! The size of these ships were simply astonishing.


After five glorious days of beach, it was time to head back home. But, not before we spent a day in beautiful Savannah. I had never been there and as soon as we arrived, Caleigh was immediately intrigued by the "charlies" aka trollies. We inquired about the trolly tours and I was pleased to find out that there was a 90 minute round trip guided tour of Savannah offered. I couldn't think of a better way to see and hear about some of the city's history than on an open air trolly.




("Meg on the Charlie")



We opted for the ON/OFF pass so we could get off and explore whereever we liked and then catch the next available trolly when we were done. This turned our 90 minute trip into more like a 4 hour trip but it was well worth it. The city is pretty amazing. Lunch/dinner at the "fun family dining" Pirate House turned out to be "oh please don't break the stemware and it is ok to use the cloth to wipe your mouth (this time)" dining. Probably the fanciest place I have ever dined with my darling 3year old. But she was awesome. She was excited to "act like a lady".







After a full day in Savannah we were truly homeward bound. The next day was bithday day for both of my parents and for Nonnie. We doled out presents and then went to a housewarming party for Chad's aunt and uncle who just finished rebuilding their home after it was destroyed by fire last December. Their new place is absolutely gorgeous. The next week is was back to our daily routines of school and work. Caleigh was super glad to be back at school. We did get all of her work from the week that she was going to be absent and did it over fall break so she didn't miss anything, but she did miss getting to see all of her friends. This past weekend has been the start of all of the fall activies. Fall festivals, bbq's, pumpkin patches, cornmazes, fairs, and various other weekend adventures are sure to await us in the month of October. And I thought September was one busy month!

Happy "Lazy" Day

Happy "Lazy" Day everyone. At least this is what Caleigh seems to think the day is called. Nevermind the fact that everyone around her has said "Labor" day. She is insisting that today is "Lazy" day. And that actually sounds pretty good to me. We have been pretty busy around here for the last few days. I wouldn't mind having a lazy day. I mean it is finally raining, ending our heat spell, been in the 90's at least every day since May 16th!



Caleigh went back to school on Tuesday of last week. Her antibiotic gave her nosebleeds (again) so I stopped giving it to her (again). Her teachers were very happy to see her come back and she was more than ready!



We decided to spend one afternoon at the library reading and playing with the castle blocks. She made herself a huge castle and picked out a few new books for bedtime stories. One of the books she picked was Shel Silverstein's "The Giving Tree", one of my all time favorites! I was happy to read this one to her the past few nights.

Another book she picked out was called "Hank and Oogie". My sister read her this book for the first time and I found it quite comical. She has such a country twang that it made the story even funnier. I was able to use my cell phone to record a bit of her reading without her noticing. Oogie needed a "good warshing"! LOL! Wish I could share it with you but Blogger doesn't seem to want to let me share it! Sorry!

This past Thursday, a friend of ours had some tickets to the Atlanta Braves game that he was giving away, so at the last minute we took him up on his offer. We invited one of my sisters and her husband to come along and we took off for the field. It was incredibly hot, but the Braves pulled out a win. Caleigh enjoyed herself but did get restless from being so hot.



Friday brought camping day at school for Caleigh and then an afternoon of shopping and visiting Caleigh's Granny and Granddaddy for a roast dinner.



Then, Saturday was "Game Day". The Georgia Dawgs were playing in the Georgia Dome and she was super excited, mostly because her daddy was so hyped up about it. She ended up spending that night with her Nonnie that night and her dad and I watched the dawgs, to our dismay, lose their season opener. We also watched the Braves game that night and they lost too. Maybe we should have turned off the television and did something else!

Sunday brought us all to a steak dinner at Nonnie's house and made for another late evening. Caleigh woke up at 4:50am this morning declaring that she could no longer sleep. In order to get her to go back to sleep, I pulled her in bed with me. Bad move! She only stayed awake for the next two hours and then wanted to get up for the day! Ugg!



So, when I say that I wouldn't mind celebrating "Lazy Day", I really do mean it! Happy Lazy Day everyone!

The Plague

Well, I knew it was bound to happen, but I didn't expect it to be quite so soon or quite so intense. Caleigh entered preschool and she also entered a world of germs that she would not have necessarily otherwise encountered just yet.

It started with a small flare up of her asthma. She would cough and cough and cough and then sometimes cough until she sounded like she was about to spew out a lung (or two). So out came her trusty nebulizer and albuterol and pulmicort. Making her sit still long enough to take a whole treatment has gotten harder as she has gotten older. I used to be able to turn on a favorite show and put her on the couch or in a high chair and she was good to finish the whole treatment. Now, I do good to get her to make it half way through before I have to practically start bribing her to finish it!

Then, on this past Thursday, I picked Caleigh up from school and from her car seat she asks me "What are these dots on my hands?" I look at the tiny palms she is flashing me and see tons of tiny red dots on them. That morning she had made a comment that she had a "headache" when she woke up. Chad and I found this very funny since we didn't think she even knew what a headache was. She promptly told us that a headache is when your head hurts and her head hurt! A little later that afternoon, she tells me her throat now hurts. Ok, time to call the doctor.

By Friday morning when we enter the doctor's office, she has a headache, a sore throat, lesions on the inside of her cheeks and on her tongue, blisters on her palms and soles of her feet, and a smaller rash all over her shoulders and chest. Oh, and she is still coughing. Her lungs were clear but she has strep, a strep rash, and hand foot and mouth disease at the same time.

My normally good little medicine taker does not want to put anything in her mouth, at all. I have convinced her that ice cold water makes her throat feel better so she downs sippy cups full of it throughout the day. Her fever does not want to get itself under control so I am trying to not only force her antibiotic down her but fever reducer as well. Food is something she won't go near and sleeping is her favorite thing to do right now. She is just as pitiful, if not more pitiful, as she was post-tonsillectomy. Her breath is dragon-like and her whine seems to never cease. I can't seem to find the right combination of meds and comfort measures to keep her happy (unless she is sleeping).

She seems to be in a bit of a better mood this morning, although she is bummed we had to skip church. Tomorrow is Monday and she is wanting to go back to school but if that fever returns, she will still be right here with me then as well. She got all these illnesses from someone there and I sure don't want her to be responsible for making some other child catch this plague.

Three days of two

For the past three days I have got to live my life as if I were a mom of two. I have had my 4 month old niece with me while my sister is at work. Each day, Caleigh still attended preschool until noon. The logisitics of transportation and feedings and napping all had to be worked out with precision in order to avoid epic meltdowns from either child. I was only successful about 60% of the time. The other 40% of the time required me to soothe one or the other or sometimes try to soothe both at the same time!

Fits and tantrums aside, they were both pretty good kids. Caleigh wanted to "help" all the time. If only 3 year olds could make bottles and change diapers! LOL!

The green eyed monster of jealousy reared its ugly head through Caleigh at times and it was very heartbreaking to watch her want my full attention and not be able to give it to her. But it was good for her to realize that she must share me at times. IF I every had another child I can tell that I would be in for a long adjustment period with her.

I did have fun getting to play with them both and I did crash pretty hard on Friday night. And Caleigh was pretty wore out too!



And so did my A/C unit! Uggg! Well not crash totally but it is freezing up! So, now to work on getting that fixed so when I watch them both again next week (my dad is having his chemo treatments so I watch my niece for my mom) we won't sweat to death!

My Little Sponge

Caleigh has turned into a sponge, sopping up everything around her and questioning just as much. She is learning and is excited everyday when I pick her up from preschool. She even has what I call her "instruction voice". It is a voice that clearly is mimicking her teachers. She tries to give me directions about how to do something or a way to play a game with her using this voice. It is probably one of the first signs I got from her that she is totally immersing herself in her learning.

Additionally, she has picked up on some not so nice qualities. Unfortunately a little boy in her class stutters. Caleigh has picked up on this as well and has started to purposefully stutter at home. I have tried to tell her that she should not talk like anyone else but herself, however I don't know if she is remembering to talk like herself when she is at school. I have had to remind her quite a few times to talk like herself when she is at home.

And, speaking of home, Chad and I have decided that it is time that we become saints. Ok, maybe not saints but we do need to watch what we say and do at home because we now have a professional little copycat living with us. There are those moments when she says or does something and it is so cute to see her acting like her mommy or daddy and we comment as such. And then there are those times when she acts like one of us and we are so embarrassed that we try to blame the actions on the other! Therefore, it is time to shape up. No more saying what we want because we think she doesn't understand. Quite frankly, even if she doesn't understand, that doesn't mean she won't use the words (and sometimes even use them in public!). I am not saying that we go around using foul language but sometimes even the most harmless of words are like daggers in the wrong situation.

So, I must now pray that I keep my words and actions in check so that I set a good example for my kid. Since she is soaking in so much right now, I would rather the good stuff seep in deeper than anything else.

First Day of 3-K Preschool

It was a big day for this excited little girl. She spent the whole night before so wound up that she did not fall asleep until 10:30pm! Her excitement carried over to the morning when she awoke rearing to go. I kept waiting for the apprehension to set in, but thankfully, it never really did.

She was all about having her picture taken and even wanted to take a picture of us as we were taking her to school!



I have really been impressed with the level of professionalism and organization of the staff at this school. I hope this continues throughout the school year. I feel truly blessed that Caleigh is able to attend a place where she will get to learn about God as well as be taught basic skills.

There were no tears shed by anyone in our family on this day. Although I will be the first to admit that I was expecting a flood (from me, not her). I could not have been more proud of her.

When I picked her up, she told told me that she had leaned to "Turn her lips off and turn her ears on." So, that is exactly what I did. I turned my lips off and turned on my ears to listen to all the wonderful things she had to tell me about her first day of "school". She even said when she saw a little girl crying in her class she tried to tell her that it was "ok" and that "school is fun" and that her mommy would be back to get her in just a little while. This melted my heart. Here I was worried about her, and she is the one comforting others. She never stops amazing me!


So here's to a year of "turning my ears on" and listening to all of the adventures of my precious girl.

Too much vs. too little

In three more days, Caleigh will start 3 year old preschool. This will be the first time she has been in any kind of institution since she was born. She doesn't even know what a daycare is. Due to this fact, lately, I have been questioning the way I raise my child.

Have I been too hands on? Coddling her too much? Have I not taught her enough about life so far? Manners? How to act decently around other people her age? Will she respect the teachers and administrators in the way she should?

I somehow feel that all of her behavior will be a direct reflection of myself. I know that this is not entirely the case since I do not often find myself lying on a floor screaming because I didn't get my way (although I am sure there are times when I wish I could do just that). And just because one tantrum gets handled, that doesn't mean that another one isn't going to happen again. They seem to be just part of growing up.

I guess I say all this to say that I seem to be more nervous about her going to preschool than she does. All she seems to really care about is still her "own scissors" (see previous post). I want her to go to preschool and to experience all the exciting social interaction that comes with being a part of a group of similar aged children. I look forward to hearing about her daily adventures from her (and hopefully not from her behavior chart).