Brave...crazy...or a good balance of the two?

This past weekend we decided to take the kids camping...yes, camping - in a tent, for an entire weekend, 5 hours from home, with a (almost completely potty trained) 2 year old and a 4 1/2 month old. Like the title asks, "brave...crazy...or a good balance of the two?"

After packing the car to the point that absolutely nothing else would go in it,

 we set out early (4:30 a.m.) on Saturday for DeGray Lake State Park in Arkansas. After a quick breakfast we set up camp - Camden loved helping to pitch the tent and get out all the supplies.

We spent the weekend at the lake, at the playground, taking walks and playing football/baseball/soccer or whatever was Camden's sport of choice at that moment.

Alison was her usually compliant self - just hung out in her Bumbo at the picnic table with us or lounged in her swing while we sat in our camping chairs.

We had a wonderful time - Camden thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it. From sleeping in a tent...

to making and eating s'mores...

to playing in the lake with Daddy...

there were only a few times when we heard any whines of protest from him...and that was usually because it was time to stop whatever super-fun thing he was currently doing to move on to something else.

The weather couldn't have been better - low 90s during the day (and our site was completely shaded) and just cool enough at night to need a blanket over you.The bugs were actually at a minimum too...which definitely makes for a more enjoyable evening outside.

I have two "memorable moments" from our trip - the first was having Camden wake up next to me both mornings around 6 a.m. and quietly ask if he could snuggle between me and Ryan until it was "wake up time". I've decided that my firm stand on "absolutely no co-sleeping" doesn't apply when you're all in a tent together in the first place. :o) My second...and probably my favorite...came Sunday night when I took Camden out into a clearing in the trees so that he could look up and see the thousands of stars above us and hearing him gasp and say, "ooooo, somebody put sprinkles on it!" - I'm certain I will never forget that reaction.

I think we've decided we could make this an annual Labor Day activity for our family - although we may have to take next year off...I'm not too sure how I feel about taking a "crawler" camping for the weekend. But I'm certain to make a point of getting my two "city kids" into the great outdoors as often as I possibly can.

I do want to share a quick word of thanks to my mom and dad - although I have been known to give you grief about all the camping trips you "made us endure" and how I was jealous of all the cool things we could have been doing if we'd stayed at The Sea Mist, I am actually glad that you took the time to instill in us an appreciation for the great outdoors. I love that I know how to setup and light a lantern, how to roll a tent back up so that it fits back in the bag...on the first try, and exactly how to roast a marshmallow to make a perfect s'more. I know that staying in a hotel would have probably been more of a "vacation" for you (b/c if I learned anything with this weekend trip, it's that camping with kids is not really a vacation for the parents)...but would we still be talking about just sitting in the mall so that we could be in the air conditioning or packing up everything we owned in the middle of the night in the pouring down rain and heading home because we finally decided that a tent was not really the best place to be when Hurricane Hugo made landfall if we'd stayed at The Sea Mist? :o)

Two days in a row...

Don't get used to it! :o)

Just thought I'd share a cute video of Camden performing his ABCs...

Enjoy!


ABCs by CMF from Mandy Jo on Vimeo.

An Attainable Goal

Perhaps the best thing for me to do right now is not commit to posting on a routine basis. Seriously, I thought I was busy in college...then I graduated and got a job...I thought I was busy working full time...then I got married...and thought I was busy being a wife while working said full time job...then I had one kid and found I was busier than I'd ever been before...even though I'd stopped "working" to stay home...

Then we had our second child and there are some days when I feel like I deserve recognition for taking a shower before dinner time! I'm not kidding...busy has taken on a whole new meaning. Between keeping both of them fed, diapered, educated, entertained, and socialized...I have barely a second to myself. It doesn't help that they have "opposite" nap routines - i.e. she's asleep when he's awake and vice versa. And I have to admit...when I do get that coveted moment alone, the blog just isn't high up on the priority list...getting that shower in and possibly going to the bathroom with complete privacy, now that's a priority!

The ease and availability of Facebook has also allowed me to feel like I can "slack off" in the blogging area. I can snap a picture on my phone and upload it directly to my FB page - one little statement and hitting upload vs. finding the cable, connecting the phone/loading the SD card, logging in, writing a blog post, etc. and you can see how with my limited "free time" FB is just so much more attractive. Because so many of you that read the blog are also my (or Ryan's) Facebook friends and you see the pictures, read the funny things Camden says, and generally know how things are going with us, I just let the blog slip by the wayside. However, I do understand that not all of you are on Facebook and to you, I apologize for the lack of update...

My last "excuse" is that MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) is getting ready to start in the fall - and while I was busy last year serving as Hospitality Coordinator for a group at a church here in Irving, I've reached a new level of busy this year as I hesitantly obeyed God's calling to start and coordinate a group at my home church. God has blessed that (initially reluctant) obedience and I am so excited to have 56 moms and 81 kids registered for our group this year. We are now down to the wire in our preparations - lining up speakers, placing moms at tables, training table leaders and mentor moms, etc. etc. etc. So when the kids are finally in bed for the night, I use what little time I have before passing out from exhaustion to work on MOPS stuff and catch up with Ryan.

My hope is that as Camden starts his two day a week preschool on September 7th and MOPS launches on September 20th, things will slow down for me a little and I can have a little more time to myself. Blogging may not get moved up on the priority list, but hopefully the increase in the amount of free time I have will allow me to get to things I don't normally have time for.

In the meantime, since I know for a fact there are a few of you who are eagerly awaiting current pics of the kids, here are few from our recent beach trip to tie you over...

Once a month...whether I want to or not...

Evidently that phrase refers to my frequency of blogging. Cut me some slack...between diaper changes, making bottles/giving bottles/washing bottles, entertaining Camden and then giving him his (much needed) baths, conquering Mt. Laundry, keeping up with the dog hair, and taking the occasional shower, I don't have time for much else. I know with a new baby you all want to see pictures, hear all about how things are going with the kids, etc...and I will try my best to keep you updated. Unfortunately blogging gets moved to that category of things that "I wish I had done today"...much like a shower often does.

So this morning marks my first formal attempt at getting back to my pre-baby body. Just before getting pregnant with Camden I lost around 50 pounds. It took me about six months of Weight Watchers and Jazzercise (once a day during the school year and two-a-days during the summer when I wasn't working). I also walked 4 miles just about every day (in addition to the Jazzercise) and even did a sprint triathlon during my first trimester of pregnancy with Cam-man. I was probably in just as good, if not better, shape as when I was playing tennis at good 'ol East Wilkes High 14 years ago.

However...fast forward three years and two babies later...I get winded just climbing the stairs to my Sunday School class at church - and now you know the real reason I insisted we buy a ranch-style house this time. I'll be honest...it's just a little discouraging. I just feel like I have sooooo far to go to get back to where I was - not just with the baby weight, but with the muscle tone, resting heart rate, etc. But Confucius say, "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step" so I figured I'd jump in with both feet. I just don't think those "single steps" he was referring to were on an aerobic step in a 5:30 a.m. circuit training class!

Holy cow! Let me say that again, HOLY COW! I thought I had achieved my goal just getting up and being there on time...but that wasn't all the instructor was going to expect from me this morning. She obviously needs to get to know me better so she can have more realistic expectations about what she's going to get from me - especially that early in the morning. I'm not going to go into great detail on the torture...er, I mean, exercises she had us doing. Let's just say if our government wants to get terrorists to talk, forget waterboarding, just let this instructor have an hour with them. I would have told her all of my deepest secrets if she'd offered to let me skip the "squat thrust using a stability ball" station.  At one point during the weight lifting portion of the class she's walking around and offering constructive criticism on our performance and starts to instruct me on how to hold in my abs tighter so that I can "really feel the burn". Are you kidding me? I'm not even close to the point of wanting to work my abs better - I'd just like to find my abs. I haven't seen them in months. Seriously, can I just be waterboarded next time?

Alas, it's really what I need so I guess I'll stick to it. Being at the gym is helping me watch what I eat too - not b/c I'm thinking that I shouldn't just eat back all the calories I've just burned...but b/c my arms are too sore for me to lift them high enough to get something out of the fridge or pantry. This will certainly help when I weigh in at Weight Watchers on Saturday morning.

So here are my official goals - by the time Alison turns one I'd like to:

• be back at my pre-baby weight
• celebrate her first birthday by doing a 5K and
• do at least one of those squat thrust thingies without passing out

Wish me luck!!!

Nine years...and counting...

Happy Anniversary to us!!!

It's so hard to believe that Ryan and I have been married for nine years today...and since we started dating in 1996, we've been together in some form of a relationship for nearly 14 years! Over the years we've taken vacations, dined a fancy restaurants, and spent quality time engaging in our favorite hobbies/pastimes to celebrate these anniversary milestones. So, how does a couple in our current stage of life celebrate year #9 you might ask? Why, by getting the kids to bed early so that we can enjoy some takeout on the sofa and hopefully get in a little meaningful conversation before the baby needs a new diaper or to be fed again, of course! :o) And we wouldn't have it any other way...

Before I grab the takeout menu and start thinking about dinner...please indulge me for a posting's worth of a mushy anniversary message to him...

Nine years into this sacred institution of marriage, I can safely say there's no one with whom I would rather be institutionalized! :o) Seriously, I just want you to know how thankful I am that you are a part of my life and there's not a day that goes by that I take your presence for granted. I've known for a long time what a wonderful man you are...and I've known for several years what a wonderful husband you are...but now to see over the past couple of years what a great father you are, I know that I am truly blessed to have you in my life.As each year passes and we move in and out of various life stages, I am thankful to have you to walk through them with me...I can't wait to see where the journey will take us next. Knowing that you'll be in all of my tomorrows makes my today so wonderful!

James Taylor said it best...how sweet it is to be loved by you...

I needed the shelter of someone's arms,
     and there you were
I needed someone to understand my ups and downs,
     and there you were
With sweet love and devotion
Deeply touching my emotion
I want to stop and thank you baby
I just want to stop and thank you baby

I close my eyes at night
Wondering where would I be without you in my life
Everything I did was just a bore
Everywhere I went it seems I'd been there before
But you brighten up for me all of my days
With a love so sweet, in so many ways
I want to stop and thank you baby
I just want to stop and thank you baby

You were better for me than I was for myself
For me there's you and there ain't nobody else
I want to stop and thank you baby
I just want to stop and thank you baby

How sweet it is to be loved by you!

Love...multiplied

I have a confession to make...about a month ago I really started to worry about my ability to love two kids "equally". I just wasn't sure I could juggle having two and making sure that one or the other didn't get the shaft when it comes to my time, my attention, and especially my patience. To make matters worse...Camden is such a good kid. Don't get me wrong, he has his "two year old issues" like any other kid...but he's always been a good sleeper, a good eater, and an all around pretty "textbook" baby. (If you're familiar with "The Baby Whisperer" and my personality, you'll know that's a good thing.) I honestly thought that if Alison wasn't quite so textbook and took too much of the the time, patience, etc. that I have for him away, then I was essentially "cheating" on him.

Then she arrived...and I quickly realized that just when you think you've been giving all of your love to someone, you find that you have the capacity to love even more.

I knew this was true when Ryan and I went from being "a couple" to being "a family" but I really thought that it was because the love was different. I had all of this new love for Camden b/c I love him in a totally different way than I love Ryan. But I love my kids with the same kind of love...so I was worried that there wouldn't be enough love to go around. It's amazing how love is just multiplied without any effort on the part of the parent or the child - that there's connection that exists that bears no explanation b/c there really is no way to explain it.

Don't get me wrong, I know there will be many moments when even though I love my children, I really don't like them very much (it happens most often during her 2 a.m. scream fests or when he's having one of his "two year old issues" I mentioned earlier) and I know that because my children are different, I will love them differently. But it's great to know that while I love Ryan with all my heart, there's more than enough love remaining in that heart to go around for the kiddos too.

I am totally in love - with my husband, my kids, and my Jesus (who gives me the strength to get through the scream fests and the "issues") and it just keeps multiplying everyday!

Just a few cute pictures...

Ryan's mom was in town this past weekend for a "pre-Alison" visit with Camden. Since she's soooo much better about taking pictures than I am, I swiped these from her camera to share with you...

 

Camden in his new Nemo suit - a handmedown from a friend - he would leave it on 24/7 if I would let him.

 

A booty shot of Nemo...

 

Camden in his kitchen - 

a future Food Network star in the making

Granna and Camden in what will hopefully be our last snow of the season!

The next posting may be to announce Alison...we're two weeks from the due date. Keep us in your prayers and we'll keep you posted!!!