Denoo Family Blog

Kitchen Remodel-backsplash

2009-12-21T14:23:00.002-05:00

Ok so I know it has been a year since we started remodeling the kitchen and finally, over the weekens, we put up back splash. We have been talking about it for about a year now on what we wanted to do and we finally decided and did it on Saturday. Please forgive the mess in the kitchen that we left when we started the backsplash, we were just ready to get started and get done!

Happy Birthday Brian

2009-11-11T13:52:00.002-05:00

So yesterday was Brian's Birthday, HAPPY BIRTHDAY DOUGH DOUGH! For Brian's Birthday I did something very special, for a Tar Heel fan anyway! I bought Brian Coach Williams book Hard Work and had it autographed by Roy Williams himself! Landon enjoyed helping me while we were at the book store waiting for our turn to get in line for the autograph. He was even a trooper and stood beside Coach Williams and let me take his picture, although in the picture he looks like he doesn't want to be there! Landon had a great time and I think he enjoyed the experience, I know I did. I just hate that Brian had to work and couldn't make it to the autograph session but I am making it up to him and taking him to another autograph session on Friday!

Price of Coach Williams Book: $25
Price of Autograph: $0
Price of the look on Brian's Face when he got his present: PRICELE$$

Week with Daddy

2009-11-09T20:04:00.002-05:00

Brian took a week off from work to possibly work at the NC State Fair like he did last year but it didn't work out so instead he did stuff around the house, ran errands and spent some quality time with Landon! Here are some pictures from some of the places they "hung out". As you can see the train station was just as big of a hit as the park was! The park in the pictures is a new park in Cary off of Walnut Street. It has 2 different play areas, the one where Landon is playing which is what I would consider for older kids and there is an area for younger kids that has a slide, balance beams/steps and a sand box. There are also swings and there is even a walking trail around the area with a huge open field to play on.

Green Acres

2009-10-12T15:16:00.003-04:00

OK, I know it has been a while since I have blogged. Please forgive me!

On Saturday we (Brian, Landon and I and Maw Maw) went to a place in Cary called Green Acres. It is known for its corn maze. When you first went in to the gate, there was a huge pile of sand with sand toys and Landon was immediately drawn to it. That is all he wanted to do. We finally talked him into venturing away from there and seeing what else they had to do.

They had a fake cow that you could milk, well actually you were supposed to have a contest to see who could milk the cow the fastest but we didn't do it as a race, just let Landon "milk" the cow. He thought it was pretty neat.

There was also big rolls of hay that they had stacked up for the kids to climb on and a long tunnel running through it for the kids to crawl through. Landon though that was great being able to be up so high climbing!

They also had a rope maze for the little kids to wonder through as well as a maze made of hay blocks. Landon just like jumping on and off of the hay blocks instead of going through the maze.

For the corn maze, you give the guy at the white house your tickets and he gives you a flag to carry through the maze. He said if you get lost, raise your flag and the guy on the tower will help you. He also handed us a piece of paper with 10 blocks on it and said tere are 10 stations in the maze, when you get to each station, punch your sheet. We went in the maze, Landon carrying the flag, and we let Landon guide us through. Well somehow we went from station 1 to station 5 and then found 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10. Abviously we miss a turn somewhere to get to stations 2-4! We had fun doing it anyway!

We also did the hay ride around the farm and let Landon play in the sand some more. On the way out we got a pumpkin, which is what Landon really wanted!

I almost forgot to mention there was even a fire truck on display and the firemen were giving out fireman hats!

Harris Teeter Triple Coupons Again

2009-08-14T07:26:00.002-04:00

OK, so I did go to a different Harris Teeter last night to see if I could get some things I couldn't the night before and found a few other things to grab.

My total before VIC and Coupon Savings: $ 18.69

My VIC savings: $ 1.35

My Coupon savings: $ 14.53

_______

My total out of pocket: $ 2.81

I got:

~Kraft BBQ Sauce: $1.69: had a .75 coupon so it was FREE

~Wishbone Salad Spritzer: on sale 2/$4: had a .75 coupon so it was FREE

~French's Mustard 20oz: $2.65: had a .50 coupon so it was $1.15

~2 Uncle Ben's Ready Rice: 1.99 each: had a .75/2 coupon making it $1.73 for 2 but I also

had a buy one get one free coupon so I got them for FREE

~Suave Kids 2 in 1 shampoo: $2.47: had a .50 coupon so it was .97

~2 Suave invisible solid deodorants: $1.47 each: had a .75/2 coupon so the were about .35 each.

Harris Teeter Triple Coupons

2009-08-13T15:19:00.003-04:00

Harris Teeter is running their triple coupons again this week, YAY! I was able to go last night to get a few things and I think I did pretty well.

My total before VIC savings and coupons was $52.11

My total VIC savings was $ 6.64

My total coupon savings was $39.46

_____

My total out of pocket was $ 6.01

.
Hard to tell what some of the items are:

Uncle Ben's Long Grain and Wild Rice: 2.25- had a .75 coupon so It was FREE

Mahatma Long Grain Rice: was on sale 2/$4- had a .75 coupon so it was FREE

2 Rhodes Rolls: 2.19 each had 2 .75 coupons so they were FREE

Wishbone Salad Dressing: was on sale 2/$4- had a .75 coupon so it was FREE

2 French's Yellow Mustard: 2.65 each-had a .75 coupon so I got it for .40

had a .50 coupon so I got it 1.15

French's Worcestershire Sauce: 2.39- had a .50 coupon so I got it for .14

Solo Squared Red Plastic Cups: on sale 2/$4- had a .75 coupon so I got it for FREE

2 Welch's Grape Jelly: 2.59- had 2 .75 coupons so I got them for .34

Martha White Corn Meal mix: 1.49- had a .55 coupon so I got it for FREE

Lean Pocket: 1.99- had a .50 coupon so I got it for .49

Grande Tortilla Chips- 2.50- had a .75 coupon so I got it for .25

Cheez-Its: 3.49- had a .75 coupon so I got it for 1.24

Kix Cereal: 2.99- had a .75 coupon so I got it for .74

Betty Crocker Cookie Mix: on sale 1.67- had a .40 coupon so I got it for .47

Maybe I can hit a different HT tonight and try to get a few things I wasn't able to get at the HT closer to the house!

Happy Triple Couponing!

Visiting Family

2009-07-28T15:25:00.003-04:00

Chris, Mindy, Hannah and Justus came to NC for a week to visit with Mindy's family as well as our family. Unfortunately Brian, Landon and I were not able to see them as much as we normally would because they were able to go to Emerald Isle and stay for about 5 days and enjoy the water and warm sun. Since we weren't able to spend time with them while they were at the beach, we met them for Dinner on their way through to head back west to go home. We met them at Cracker Barrel and has a wonderful dinner! Wish it could have been more time together but at least we got to have some time with them!

Topsail Island 7/24-26/09

2009-07-28T14:43:00.002-04:00

We were invited to Topsail Island for the weekend by the parents of 2 of the Children I keep during the week, Ella and Carly. They are staying there for the week and asked if we would like to come spend some time with them. We got down there late Friday night, one because we left late and then two we didn't know where we were going!

Landon had a wonderful time playing with Ella as he normally does but there was also another young boy there named Jason. He was about 7 or 8. Landon and Ella really enjoyed playing with him as well.

We had good food, good times and good company!

Thanks Erin and Tony Bastidas for inviting us to come stay with you guys at the beach!

Independance?

2009-07-24T14:18:00.003-04:00

In the mornings I come downstairs for daycare around 7 AM and Landon stays upstairs with Brian and Brian brings him down around 7:25 when he gets ready to leave for work so they can spend some time together before Brian goes to work. Well yesterday morning Landon came downstairs dressed like this:

Yes, this is his Bob The Builder Costume that he wore last Halloween. He got it out of his closet and put it on by himself. Luckily Brian remembered to bring down his actual outfit for the day so I could get him dressed because I think that would have been a little hot to play outside in 90 degree weather!

How Long Can You Last?

2009-07-24T09:01:00.006-04:00

I found this challenging "game" on WRAL's Brian Strader's Blog and thought it was interesting and I wanted to see if you can last. I tried it a few times and have lasted 13 seconds. Brian Strader states he has lasted 13.5 seconds, the goal is 18 seconds, how long can you last?

The object of the game is to click and hold on to the red square and move it around to keep from hitting the blue squares as well as the walls. If you dare to try click HERE. And don't forget to let me know how you do!

2009-07-20T14:46:00.003-04:00

On Saturday Thomas the Train came to Cary's South Hill's Mall and offered free rides for for everyone. Landon, as you all know, loves Thomas the Train so Brian and I took him there to ride with Thomas. Landon was a big boy and rode by himself! The train was a man made train from a tractor type vehicle. The man that invented this train did a great job transforming this vehicle into a true Thomas looking train. He attached a trailer, like a trailer you haul wood or something with behind your vehicle, and attached 3 wooden garden benches to the trailer for the seats on the train. I will download a video of the train once I can get if off my camera so you can see how realistic this train really is.

Landon's 3rd Birthday Party

2009-06-22T13:55:00.003-04:00

We celebrated Landon's 3rd Birthday on Saturday June 20th this year. We decided to have it out at Pullen Park again this year since the kids seem to have so much fun there. They got to ride a train, some kiddie boats, and a carousel. They also have paddle boats but we didn't do that this year. It seems we chose the hottest day so far this year to have the party and boy did it feel that way. The high was supposed to be around 99 and that doesn't include the humidity that was there! The party was fun and unfortunately my "official" picture taker couldn't be there so you will have to bare with the photos I tried to take while keeping the kids occupied. I had some wonderful help from my mother in law getting Landon's cake made. If it wasn't for her there wouldn't have been a wonderful Thomas the Train Cake for Landon's Party. I also have to thank my mom for helping get things together, without those 2 wonderful ladies the party would have had chaos! Landon had such a wonderful time, he was talking about it all day on Sunday.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LANDON!

2009-06-16T13:42:00.011-04:00

The day Landon was born 6-16-06

Landon's 1st Birthday 6-16-07

Landon's 2nd B-day 6-21-08

Landon 3rd Birthday 6-16-09

For Landon's birthday at daycare we made birthday hats to wear and ate colored cupcakes that Landon helped Mommy make last night by taking food coloring to the cake batter to make the colors he wanted which were purple, orange, blue, pink, green and we made a few of the normal white cake color. We invited over Mrs. Suzette's Daycare to join us in our fun, she only had 2 little girls today, Amanda and Natalie.

It is hard to believe another year has gone by since our little guy was born. He came into this world on Friday June 16th 2006 at 7PM weighing in at 7 lbs 10 oz and measured 19 1/2 in long.

HAPPY 3rd BIRTHDAY BIG BOY! We hope you have a wonderful day!

We Love You!

Check Out This Girl

2009-06-11T13:21:00.002-04:00

Make sure your sound is on for this one! My mom sent me to our local news channels website to check out Brian Strader's blogs that he has on there. It can vary from a strange website to a video to a challenge for the readers to win WRAL stuff. Well this particular blog she wanted me to see was called baby talk.

See for yourself!

Our little swimmer

2009-06-08T14:56:00.004-04:00

Landon is loving swimming this year, much more than last year! We decided we would just try him in floaties and for his first time he did great! These pictures are of him at a birthday party we went to on 5-31-09, we decided that this was a good time time to try because he could touch the bottom a little bit and the pool wasn't that big to where we would have to worry about him getting to far away from us. He jumped right in and started swimming. We took him to the neighborhood pool yesterday and he decided he was going to put his face in the water while swimming, of course I don't have a camera on me to get it on video or a picture of it. He is truly a fish!

NC Ag Fest 2009

2009-06-03T15:34:00.002-04:00

We took Landon to the 2nd annual NC Agricultural Festival at the NC State Fair Grounds last weekend. It is free to get in and a lot of the exhibits are free as well. You mainly have to pay for food/drinks, and the rides they have set up and anything at the grandstand like tractor races/pulls. They have a petting zoo, pony rides, it is almost like going to a smaller version of the NC State fair. Landon wanted to ride rides this year so we bought a few tickets for him to ride a few things. They also had a building that had food vendors set up and most were giving away free samples and you could also buy their products.

Shaving

2009-06-03T14:51:00.003-04:00

Well it is official, Landon has started shaving! Well not with a real razor. Brian took an old razor of his and took the blades out and left just the razor itself and showed Landon how to lather up his face with shave cream and how to shave his face. Landon will not be done shaving until all the shaving cream is taken off by the razor. When he is all done he says feel my face, it is all smooth and then you have to feel the other side as well! It was funny watching him try to figure out how to use the mirror since things are backwards in there!

Music and Mariposas

2009-06-03T14:45:00.001-04:00

The kids I have in daycare and I walk over to another in home daycare in the neighborhood on Mondays for a Music and Spanish class called Music and Mariposas, Butterflies in Spanish. In this class a lady named Mrs Sandra comes and teaches them music, songs, and Spanish for about 45 min to 1 hour. The kids love it. We have been doing it since about mid Oct. On May 14th we had a little program for the parents so the kids could show off what they have learned so far. Landon was very excited about the program until we got there. We decided to do it in one of the kids from the other daycare's back yard because they had a nice open deck for the kids to use as a stage for the performance. The draw back was there was also a big huge climbing structure with swings and slides as well and so Landon wanted to do that instead of the performance. As you can see from the pictures/video, I tried to get Landon to do the program but he refused.

Healthy Kids Day Winston Salem 2009

2009-06-03T14:37:00.003-04:00

Brian, Landon, and I usually go to the YMCA sponsored Healthy Kids Day for Landon to get to do some fun activities. This year My brother Chris and his family were in town in Winston Salem during the Healthy Kids Day so we met Chris, Hannah, and Justus at the YMCA there while Mindy was getting her hair cut to get ready for a wedding they were going to that evening.

We met at the park across the street from the Y for the kids to play while we were waiting for the activities to begin and then walked across the street to the Y. While there, I was the only brave, maybe I should say dumb one, that put a snake around her neck. I think Landon may have been the only other one that touched it. They had inflatables slides/climbing structures that Landon and Hannah just loved and did the whole time we were there. They also had a table set up with a TV that had a dance mat attached to it and people could follow the directions to the dance steps. Well Maw Maw got behind some kids doing it and she had a little fun of her own dancing to the steps! Make sure you check out the video at the bottom!

After playing at the Y, we met Mindy and her parents at Bojangles for lunch. Hannah and Landon continued to play in the restaurant as we at and talked.

We had a wonderful day! Unfortunately Landon didn't nap on the way home like we had originally thought he would so him and Maw Maw played like they were seals, yes that is what they are doing in those pictures with the ball on their noses!

Strawberry Picking

2009-05-09T13:35:00.002-04:00

Today we took Landon to Porter Farms to pick strawberries. It is located on HWY 42 between Fuquay Varina and Willow Spring. You know you are at the right place by the famous tin strawberry they have at the entrance. We had a good time. After picking 2 buckets of strawberries we ate homemade ice cream and had fresh squeezed lemonade that they had out there.

our little monkey

2009-05-08T21:57:00.001-04:00

GOT JUNK???

2009-05-08T21:28:00.001-04:00

OK, so I was going to the high school to work the other night and this is the truck I saw coming out of the parking lot...

Maybe worth a call if you got a lot of junk that needs to be hauled!

Is That A Monkey On Your Back?

2009-05-08T21:06:00.002-04:00

No it's a KANGAROO! Landon usually sleeps with a few stuffed animals, not to where if he doesn't have then he won't sleep, but just to have them there. He usually sleeps with E-E; a red monkey, Dogie and Bear. Well last night he wanted to sleep with Reader Roo, from PBS/UNC TV. This Reader Roo that Landon has is a back pack with a small pocket to put a few small things in. Well this is what Brian and I found when we went to get Landon up this AM...

Yes, he slept with him on his back the whole night!

Harris Teeter Triple Coupons

2009-05-01T09:36:00.004-04:00

Last night I went to Harris Teeter in hopes of being able to get in on all the great deals during their triple coupons up to .99 cents. Last time I didn't know about it until the end of the time frame and most of the bargains were gone. Being the second day that I went I was real surprised at how much stuff was already gone. I still got some good deals, just not as much as I had hoped!

My total before VIC and coupons was: $66.20

My VIC savings was: $13.35

My coupon savings was: $44.24

My total OOP was: $8.61

If you went to Harris Teeter, how well did you do with your coupons?

Easter Eggstraviganza 09

2009-04-12T15:18:00.003-04:00

HAPPY EASTER!

This year we had a lot of Easter activities and festivities! All week the kids in daycare colored Easter Pictures, made an Easter Bunny mask, and on Friday we did Easter Egg hunts. I took some plastic Easter Eggs and hid them around the daycare room and Landon and Tanner would go find them. After about 3 times Landon wanted to hid the eggs and for Tanner and myself to go find them. After he hid them he said he was ready for us to search and as soon as we started searching he would pipe in "oh, here's an egg, I found one" and continue to help us in our egg search of the eggs he hid!

Friday afternoon, Maw Maw and Poppa came over to bring back the steam cleaner they borrowed and to play with Landon. Landon wanted to do a Easter Egg hunt again so Maw Maw hid them and Landon went and found them. Landon again wanted to hide them so he hid them and I went to find them, once again he helped me find them, and then he hid them for Poppa to come find them and of course had to help Poppa. He also enjoyed opening Easter Eggs that Maw Maw and Poppa brought him to see what was in them, candy and money, some of his favorite things!

On Saturday morning, Brian and I took Landon to an Easter Egg hunt in Downtown Fuquay Varina at the Fuquay Mineral Springs Inn. They have an annual Easter Egg hunt. They have it broken down by age group. 2 and under are in one part of the yard, 3-5 year olds are on another part of the lawn and 6-10 year old are across the street at the Mineral Springs Park. We went a little early because we didn't know what kind of crowd there would be, parking issues etc. Landon couldn't wait to get eggs. While we were waiting for the official start Landon could see the eggs just laying in the yard and there just happened to be one right where we were standing waiting and he picked it up and put it in his bucket.

After we did the egg hunt, we went home and played outside for a little while since it was a pretty day to be outside. Landon actually fell and scraped his knee and wanted to go inside for a little while. When we went in we decided to go ahead and dye eggs for Easter. We let Landon color on them and then we let him put them in the different colors. We only had 10 eggs and one cracked getting them out of the container we had them in in the fridge. When we were done with the 9 eggs Landon wanted to do more so I told him once he woke up from his nap he could dye some more, that would give me time to boil them and for them to cool. When he woke up he dyed 6 more eggs and he was very proud of himself!

When we finished dying the eggs we went outside to play while they dried. He decided he wanted to eat his snack out there. When he finished snack he was playing with sand in the backyard so I hid the plastic eggs in the front yard for him to come find. When he came around front and saw that there were some eggs in the yard he got all excited and was asking for his egg bucket. Once he found all of them he wanted more snack so Brian hid the eggs in the backyard while he ate snack in the garage. He enjoyed finding the eggs and asked to hide them for us to find. You have to see the pictures of when he hid the eggs, it is to funny, you can definitely tell he hid them!

We finished the day by going to get hushpuppies for dinner because that is what Landon wanted.

This Easter Morning Landon came into mine and Brian's room asking if the Easter Bunny was there. I asked if he wanted to see if the Easter Bunny came and he said yes so we got up and went out to the kitchen to see if the Easter Bunny left Landon anything in his Easter Basket and of course he did.

Hope everyone's Easter was as good as ours!

Easter 2009

Frog Fest 09

2009-04-08T19:07:00.002-04:00

This year we decided to take Landon to Frog Fest. It was held at a park in Apex that Brian and I never knew was there called Crowder Park. It ended up being a beautiful Spring day for a day at the park. We decided to pack a picnic lunch to eat while we were out there. We got there a little early so we decided to let Landon play on the playground that was there near where we parked. It was a great playground, it had different levels for different age groups and it had a lot of different things to do. I wish I had taken a picture of the playground while we were there. When 10am came around we decided to walk the trail from the playground to get to where Frog Fest was being held, which was in a big open field. They actually had stuff for you to look at as you walked one of the trails. They gave Landon a card that was on a string for him to wear around his neck that had a lily pad on it divided into 8 different segments. They had 8 different stations for the kids to do things to learn how a frog lives. After he did each activity they put a stamp on the card and when he got all 8 stamps he was able to get a little prize at the prize tent. They had a few things to choose from like a pencil and pad of paper, a small squirt frog, and small snake, small turtle, and a small stuffed frog. Landon chose the small squirt frog. He was also able to get a tattoo and they had a shoe box full of different things to choose from having to do with frogs, insect, and fish. They had lots of different booths to learn about frogs and turtles and there was a scavenger hunt where you filled out questions at each booth and turned it in for a bigger prize like t-shirt, water bottle, etc. Landon was also able to touch different animals that people brought like a bunny, bearded dragon, snake, and turtles. Over all I think we all had a good time.

Frog Fest 4-4-09

Updated Post

2009-04-07T18:23:00.002-04:00

Just wanted to let you know that I updated the post on the Father Son Weekend. I finally gained access to the pictures and I have now posted them on the blog. Enjoy!

Answer to the tivia Question

2009-04-06T13:53:00.002-04:00

OK, I had a few guesses at the answer to my trivia question about: What movie was filmed at the Powerscourt House and Gardens in Ireland? Great guesses but unfortunately no one was right.

The answer is:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Powerscourt_Estate scroll down under popular culture.

Harris Teeter Triple Coupons

2009-04-03T14:48:00.006-04:00

When I returned from Ireland I noticed that Harris Teeter was having their Triple Coupons again and that was going to end on March 31st. Well I actually didn't know there was triple coupons until Monday the 30th and I wasn't able to make my trip until Tuesday the 31st, the last day. I figured I would still take my chances to see what what left on the shelves. Well, pretty much everything that was a deal was gone. I did however manage to find a few things.

I got:

1 bag Nestle Toll house morsels

2 packages of Lipton noodles

1 tube of Colgate toothpaste

1 travel size tide

1 bag of Birds Eye Steam Fresh mixed veggetables

1 blistex lip balm

My Total was $13.83

VIC savings $ 1.19

Coupons $10.98

Total OOP $ 1.89

Not bad considering there wasn't anything left on the shelves when I went in the evening on the last day!

Ireland

2009-04-02T19:15:00.007-04:00

So the week of March 21st through march 28th we decided to go visit Brian's Brother and his family in Ireland. They moved over there about a year and a half ago for a job. We thought this would be the perfect opportunity to go visit another country since Brian nor I have been outside of the US.

We left Sat evening around 5:30 from RDU airport and arrived in Dublin Ireland around 8 AM Sunday Morning. Ireland is about 5 hours ahead of us in time. We then left Dublin at 8AM on Sat the 28th and arrived back at RDU at 7pm, we were supposed to arrive at 5pm but we had a delay at the Newark airport.

While we were there the weather was about 6 -10 degrees Celsius, which is about 42-50 degrees Fahrenheit. It rained some days, and it was sunny some days, but it was also windy a few days. If the wind that we had while we were there were here in the US I would have thought we were having a hurricane but without the rain.

We had a great time. We wish we could have stayed longer but unfortunately with work schedules we could only do a week this time. Maybe if they stay out there another year we can go back again next year.

They live about 18 miles south of Dublin in a town called Greystones which is in the County of Wicklow. They are the last stop on the Dart going south. The Dart is like the metro in DC. It is a train that you can take from little towns to get to Dublin or other areas instead of driving.

Their town is on the east coast which is the Irish Sea. You can walk there from their house. One thing I noticed about Ireland was there was a lot of green everywhere. Green grass, bushes, trees, etc. Guess because it rains there a lot.

One thing that was hard to get used to was being on the other side of the road and the driver on the other side of the car. Also was hard to understand some of their dialect especially when we traveled to northern Ireland. You know it is going to be bad when Dave, who has been there a while says that he is having a hard time understanding someone. That means we are going to have a hard time understanding them!

Where they live the currency is Euros but as we traveled up north the currency changed to Pound Sterling. I think the Euro is a little more than the Pond Sterling 35 Euros=31.86 Pounds Sterling.

I took quite a few pictures and I tried to put captions on them to help you with what you are seeing. I hope the picture do the real thing justice!

I am going to do a trivia of Ireland and see who may know the answer to this:

In the first house we visited, the Powerscourt House, what movie was filmed there?

Other places we visited:

Dublin Spire

We drove the Causeway Coastal Route to Northern Ireland

Giant's Causeway, Northern Ireland

Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge, Northern Ireland

Dunluce Castle, Northern Ireland

Lion's Gate and Downhill Estate, Northern Ireland

Guinness Storehouse/Brewery

Molly Malone, Dublin

Christ Church, Dublin

St. Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin

Howth Harbor (rhymes with both) to see the sea lions and lighthouse.

Malahide Castle and Playground (see pictures for playground)

Glenluce Bed and Breakfast in Ballycastle

The WhiteRocks, Northern Ireland

Marble Arch Caves Geopark, Northern Ireland

Leprechaun

We did see one Rainbow but it was while we were riding in the car and I wasn't able to get a picture of it.

Ireland 3/21/09-3/28/09

Father Son Weekend

2009-03-19T14:34:00.006-04:00

A few weekends ago I had to go out of town for a Sports Medicine Symposium. I left on Friday morning and returned on Sunday afternoon leaving my two boys to fend for themselves for the weekend! On Thursday night, Landon spent the night with Gamma and she took him to her work for about an hour or so, her choice! Then Brian picked him up from her house after nap time when was done going to the MD and doing a few errands. On Saturday Brian and Landon met one of Brian's friends from home at Lake Wheeler and they went played on the playground, fed the ducks and even went out on a boat ride. The weather that weekend was perfect for a day like that, the highs were in the 80's! I wish I could have gone! Saturday evening Maw Maw and Poppa invited them over for dinner. Sunday morning Brian and Landon went bike riding and played outside until I got home around lunchtime. I have pictures to share but unfortunately the computer where they were downloaded is experiencing technical difficulties at this time so as soon as I can get to the pictures I will share them with you!

FatherSonWeekendMarch6-8,2009

Let's Go Canes!

2009-03-01T08:37:00.002-05:00

The other night Brian had been given some tickets to the Carolina Hurricanes game so we decided to take Landon. Landon had a blast. I think he had a hard time at first trying to keep up with the hockey puck but shortly into the first period he was cheering with the crowd and having a good time. Last night we went over to see Maw Maw and Poppa and there was Canes game on TV and Landon proceeded to tell them about the canes and when to cheer and what to say when they cheered. He did however get a little confused on who to cheer for because when we went to the game the Canes were wearing their red jerseys and last night they played out of town against the Atlanta Thrashers and they were wearing a red jersey and the Canes a white Jersey. After getting him all squared away on which team is which, he wouldn't let us cheer for the Canes until the horn went off, which sometimes on TV we only heard it if there was a goal. Needless to say, he had a great time not only at the Canes game but watching it on TV.

CanesGame

Happy Valentine's Day

2009-02-14T14:00:00.001-05:00

Just wanted to wish everyone a Happy Valentine's day from my little cupid!

Doughtie Leads Field at Lady Puerto Rico Classic

2009-02-10T09:10:00.004-05:00

I have a cousin that plays golf for NC State University. I wanted to let you know how well she is doing in a golf tournanment this week. They are playing in a tournament in Puerto Rico and she is tied for 1st going into the last day, Tuesday, Today! Good Luck and Best wishes today Lauren! We are all pulling for you and we love you!

Here is a copy of the article from http://www.gopack.com/ under women's sports and then golf.

RIO GRANDE, Puerto Rico - NC State women's golfer Lauren Doughtie is tied for the lead through two rounds of the Lady Puerto Rico Classic.

The senior from Suffolk, Va., heads into Tuesday’s final round tied among a group of four players at +2 (146). Doughtie shot the second-best round of the day on Monday with a one-under 71.

The Wolfpack is in fourth in the team standings after 36 holes of play at +34 (310-300=610).

Junior Emily Street fired a one-over 73 today and is tied for 13th at +5 (76-73=149).Meghan Chapman shot a 77 during today’s second round and is tied for 27th at +11 (78-77=155).

Sophomore Julie Saleeby is tied for 55th at +16 (83-77=160), while freshman Hunter Ross is tied for 70th at +19 (83-80=163).

Playing as an individual, NC State junior Joanna Saleeby is tied for 22nd at +9 (76-77=153).

Tied with Doughtie at the top of the leaderboard is Laura Nochta (Indiana), Maria Hernandez (Purdue) and Prisela Campbell (TCU).

Host Purdue leads the field by 10 strokes at +16 (592), followed by Georgia +26 (602) and TCU +27 (603).

The 54-hole tournament is being played on the par-72, 6,219-yard Coco Beach Golf Course in Rio Grande, Puerto Rico.

The third and final round of the Lady Puerto Rico Classic will begin tomorrow at 7:30 a.m. Eastern.

Live scoring will not be available.

NC State Results
T 1 Lauren Doughtie 73-73=146
T 13 Emily Street 76-73=149
T 27 Meghan Chapman 78-77=155
T 55 Julie Saleeby 83-77=160
T 70 Hunter Ross 83-80=163

Team Results
1 Purdue 304-288=592 +16
2 Georgia 302-300=602 +26
3 TCU 302-301=603 +27
4 NC State 310-300=610 +34
5 Kent State 308-304=612 +3
6Tennessee 312-300=612 +36
7 New Mexico 313-300=613 +37
8 Florida State 305-313=618 +42
9 Minnesota 314-305=619 +43
10 Michigan 314-310=624 +48
11 Iowa State 314-312=626 +50
Oklahoma 317-309=626 +50
13 Texas Tech 315-312=627 +51
14 Northwestern 317-312=629 +53
Indiana 318-311=629 +53
16 Wisconsin 329-309=638 +62

Harris Teeter Triple Coupons

2009-02-07T11:16:00.003-05:00

This weekend February 5-8, Harris Teeter has triple coupons up to .99

I went to Harris Teeter this morning to get a few items with the triple coupon deal that they are having. I did good but my sister in law did wonderful! I only got things I new I will need and could get either real cheap or FREE!

My total was 55.02

Savings with VIC card 8.22

Coupon savings 31.87

Total Spent OOP 14.93

Here is a Small breakdown on how I did:

Colgate toothpaste was buy one get one free priced at 2.69, I had a coupon for .75 off so I got 2 tubes of colgate for .44

Mueller Spaghetti was buy one get one free priced at 1.50, I had a .55 off 2 off so I got 2 spaghettis for FREE

Mueller Muti grain pasta was priced 1.69, I had a .55 coupon so I got it for .04

Frenches mustard (yellow) was priced 1.50, I had a .50 coupon so I got it for FREE

Frenches Spicy Brown Mustard was priced 2.19, had a .75 coupon so I got it for FREE

Hungary Jack Pancake mix was priced 1.97, I had a .50 coupon so I got it for .47

McCormick Taco/Chili seasonings were buy one get one free, I had a coupon for .25 off 2 so I got 2 for .40

Sweet Sue canned Chicken was priced 2.99, I had a coupon for .75 so I got it for .74

Lipton recipe secrets was priced 1.69, I had a coupon for .75 off 2 so I got 2 for 1.13

Duncan Hines Brownie Mix was priced 2.05, I had a .35 coupon so I got it for 1.00

V8 juice was on sale for $3, I had a .50 coupon so I got it for 1.50

Wishbone salad spritzer were priced 2.79, I had a .75 coupon so I got it for .54

Ortega Taco shell were on sale 2/3, I had a coupon .75 off 2 so I got 2 packages of taco shells for .75

Cotonelle wipes for the toilet were priced at 2.69 each, I had a coupon for .50 off 2 so I got 2 for 3.88

knorr soup mix was priced 2.69, I had a .50 coupon so I got it for 1.19

Bubble Shooters

2009-02-06T15:14:00.005-05:00

I found this new game called bubble shooter. It's kinda like tetris but backward. You have to try to pop the bubbles that are the same color and you have to have at least 3 in a row for them to pop. See if you can beat my high score of 16550 which I don't think is probably very high so it should be easy to do. Have fun and good luck...don't get too addicted! Yes you can actually play it in the blog entry.

New Toy

2009-01-24T12:08:00.009-05:00

Landon got a camera for Christmas from my Aunt Susan and Uncle Mike and cousin Lauren. He just got it Today because the planned Christmas get together was postponed due to family members being sick. My Aunt and Uncle left the present at my Mom and Dad's house when they visited last weekend and Landon was able to get it today. He has had a ball taking pictures around the house. The camera allows for pictures or videos. I have posted the pictures and videos he took for you to see. Now don't be upset when you don't know what you are looking at because he was just pushing the button as he was looking through the lens. I guess now I know I need to help him point, shoot, and hold the camera still to make sure we have a clearer shot. Now don't get me wrong, he did a great job for his first time, he actually got a few great pictures, but he definitely needs help making sure he aims correctly and hold still while taking the picture. I actually put all the pictures he took and only 2 of the videos because most of the videos he took he didn't realize he was actually taking a video, he just thought he was taking pictures. He was very excited to be able to see his pictures on the computer after I downloaded them for him. Please enjoy them for yourselves as not only he has but we have too!

pictures landon took 1-24-09

Save Money on Your Heating Bills

2009-01-24T09:46:00.003-05:00

I am one that tries to save money where I can and I came across this post on another blog. It's about saving money on your heating bill by as much as $30-35 a month, which over a year that can save you as much as $360. That amount of money adds up! See the video for yourself to see if you are willing to try this at home to save the money!

Easy FREE Home Heat! - video powered by Metacafe

Snow Days

2009-01-20T14:07:00.003-05:00

It started snowing here during the middle of the night and when we woke up this morning the ground was covered! It has been a long time since our ground was covered like this with snow. Also it has been snowing non stop since it started so the inches are piling on! I am not much of a cold, snow person but I like to see it every once in a while. Landon loves to see and play in the snow. Brian and I didn't want to tell Landon there was snow on the ground this morning when he woke up because we knew would have to take him out in it and we weren't ready to do that at 7 am. When he came downstairs for "daycare" he saw it out the window and that was all she wrote, he had to go outside. Daddy took him for a few minutes before he left for work but he pitched a fit when daddy tried to bring him back in. I told Landon after all the kids came and we ate breakfast we would go outside again. he finally settled down and I pushed snack up a little bit so we could go on outside. Landon had a blast making snow balls and throwing them at Tanner, the other little boy that came today to daycare. He also had fun making snow angels and we even made a small snowman, or as Landon calls it, snow friend, because one of the books we read in daycare baby Donald makes a snow friend.

I think we ended up getting about 6 inches after all the snow had stopped falling.

Snow 1-20-09

Christmas 2008 part 2

2009-01-09T09:56:00.008-05:00

Here are some videos of Landon on Christmas morning. We captured him as he was seeing what Santa ate from his plate, we also captured him coming downstairs to see what Santa left him by the tree and then of him playing with his train.

Christmas 2008

2009-01-08T14:53:00.002-05:00

I know this is a little late but I wanted to share. Landon was a little scared to go to bed Christmas Eve, he seemed as though he thought Santa was going to come get him in the middle of the night. On Christmas morning, he didn't want to go down stairs, again, I think he thought Santa was going to be waiting for him down there. We tried to explain to him that if he is good all year long then Santa will bring him presents and put them by the tree and that he would only do it to sleeping boys and girls so he must have thought he hung out or something. Landon wanted to leave cookies and milk for Santa and he also wanted to leave carrots for the reindeer. He was a little nervous going to look at his plate he left but we showed him how he ate most of the cookies and fed the reindeer the carrots. He seemed pretty excited. He was real excited about the stockings, he wanted to help daddy and me open ours after he opened his. We talked him into going downstairs to see if Santa left him anything and when he walked into the room he was looking at the tree saying "I don't see it". I think he thought he should see something under the tree but when he realized he was standing right beside what Santa brought him he was very excited. He even yelled out "Oh wow, a chugga chugga woowoo!" He has had a lot of fun playing with the train and all the other toys that came with it. Maw Maw, Poppa and Gamma came over Christmas morning to have breakfast and to see Landon with his new toy. Maw Maw and Poppa found him a neat conductors outfit and Landon looked so cute in it, it was actually hard to get it off of him! We also want to thank Santa's elves Jack and Allison for helping Santa with the train table and trains!

Christmas 2008

Holiday Craft Ideas for Kids

2008-12-23T08:52:00.007-05:00

In case any of you are looking for some last minute craft ideas or need ideas for other occasions I use this wonderful website called http://www.dltk-kids.com/. It has religious crafts, it has seasonal crafts, it has recipes, songs, poems, you name it I am sure they have it. One thing that is great about it is that you can go to the site and they have a list of all the "holiday's" or events that happen just about every day of the year. It lets you know when ice cream was invented and gives you a list of crafts you can make for that event. It is organized by the month but you can also search for things if you are looking for a particular type of craft, recipe, song, etc. Here are a few crafts my daycare kids did this year for Christmas. Now there are a lot of crafts on here and it tells you the age the craft is appropriate for. There are even coloring pages if you feel your child isn't ready to start an actual craft yet. Also when your child is ready to start writing letters and numbers there are pages that let them trace the letters and then write them by themselves. It even gives them a picture to color of an animal or object that starts with the letter to help with their recognition of what thing begin with.

This one is a hand print wreath. The instructions are here. It is real simple for a small child to do. You trace their hand on green and or red paper and cut it out for them. The instructions suggest 4 hands in each color but if you want to do just one color then do 8. You then glue the hands together to form a wreath. The instructions has templates you can use for things that the kids can glue to the wreath for decorations like you see in the picture, we glued a bow to ours. Other choices are stars, candy canes, and horns. Of course if you are creative enough on your own you could do other things as well!

This one is called a Handprint and footprint Reindeer. The instructions for this one is here. This one is also a good one for young kids. You trace one foot and their hands and after you cut them out you glue it together to make the reindeer. There are lots of possibilities for this one as well. We chose to put a red pom-pom ball as the nose and used wiggly eyes. I believe the instructions have you do it another way as well that has a bow on it's neck.

This one is a fun one for the messy kids. It is a handprint santa ornament made out of paint. The instructions are here. This one is for any age but I found it difficult with some of my kids that are quite ready to pay attention and listen a follow directions because you have to use different color paint on the hand before you make the print and for some of the kids it might be hard for them to sit still long enough for you to get the paint on their hand before they decide to close their hand and mix all the paint together. It turns out real cute but it is was hard for me to keep their hand still once on the paper so as you can see in this picture it looks a little smudged. After you do the hand print, which it is recommended that you do it on stiff paper like card stock or construction paper, you cut a circle, or any shape you would like, around the handprint and then punch a hole in the paper and tie some string/ribbon/yarn through the hole and it s ready to hang on the tree, after it is dry of course!.

This one is a fun one for the kids to "play" with when they are done. It is called movable santa. It is in their coloring book section. I copied the link where you can see both pages that you will need. All you have to do is click on page one and then hit print, then do the same for page two. As you can see it is black and white. You can either print it on colored paper or you could print it and have the child color it or you can do what I did which is time consuming if are looking for something quick and easy. I printed it on regular printer paper and cut out the pieces and then glued it to card stock so it would be firm. I then cut it out of the card stock. I then cut out pieces for the kids to glue on the santa for his hat, suit, boots, and belt. We also glued cotton balls on to give it texture. We used glitter glue to give his belt a gold buckle and green glitter glue to highlight his hat. We glued all the pieces on and then used brad paper fasteners to put him all together. We then glued the cotton balls on to "hide" the brads. They really enjoyed being able to play with it when it was finished drying.

The kids enjoyed these crafts as well as coloring reindeer, candy canes, and Christmas Trees. There are so many possibilities of things for the kids to learn.

Santa Claus is Coming to Town

2008-12-18T14:41:00.005-05:00

Well, we actually got Landon to see Santa 3 times so far this season without crying! Landon went the weekend after Thanksgiving with his cousins Hannah and Justus, but he wouldn't sit in his lap, he would talk to him as long as I was right there and he didn't have to sit in his lap. He would give him a high five though.

Brian and I took Landon to the Holly Springs Christmas Festival they had last weekend. We stood in line for Landon to see Santa, and he actually sat on his lap and told him what he wanted for Christmas, which is an orange train.

On Saturday, Maw Maw Landon and I were doing a little Christmas shopping and we saw a flier in a store that said Santa was in the parking lot of Dick's Sporting Goods with a free ride on a horse drawn carriage so we decided to go. Well Landon was a little shy at first, didn't want to have anything to with Santa but the guy "driving" the horse asked Landon if he wanted to drive and gave Landon the reigns to the horse and let him drive. Another couple and their son came up at this time and we went around the parking lot and we asked Landon to share the reigns with the other little boy and he did. Landon finally warmed up a little to Santa and told him what he wanted for Christmas. After the ride they let Landon sit up front for pictures. He said he had fun when we talked about it in the car when we left. Please forgive a few pictures being blurry, trying to hurry and get the picture of Landon before he got down out of Santa's lap!

Kitchen Remodel 3 - Counter Tops

2008-11-17T13:33:00.004-05:00

Today the counter top company, Absolute Stone , came and installed the new counter tops. They look great. I took some quick pictures with my camera phone so the color isn't shown as well as it looks. The color of the stone is called Ornamental Gold. I chose a light colored stone because I thought a dark colored stone would make my already small kitchen look smaller, plus I just like the look of the lighter granite better. The color I chose has hints of light browns, yellows, and some specks of black. I also changed the sink to an under mounted sink and I chose a sink that has one big deep bowl and a smaller bowl. We still need to get the plumbing done on the sinks and finish putting the knobs on the cabinets, we have the knobs on the cabinet doors, we just need to put them on the drawers and then we will be done!

This is a picture of the sample online at Stonemark, the type of granite i chose from Home Depot. Hopefully this will help you to see the color of the granite since the cell phone camera didn't do a good job.

Kitchen Remodel 2

2008-11-12T13:50:00.008-05:00

I wanted to add pictures of the kitchen during the "demolition" phase. I use the word demolition but we didn't actually tear down the old cabinets, we took them down by unscrewing them from the wall so we could donate them to the Habitat for Humanity Restore. We figured since the cabinets were still in great condition that someone else could use them.

I also wanted to add some pictures of the new cabinets. Now keep in mind we haven't gotten our new counter tops yet but you can get the idea of how much more storage space there is. I also need to thank Leroy, the guy that help, or I should say, the guy that installed the cabinets and built the peninsula for us, he helped save us probably close to $1000.

Kitchen Remodel

2008-11-11T14:48:00.003-05:00

In case some for you didn't know, Brian and I decided to "remodel" the kitchen to help with more cabinet space for storage. We originally had 32 in tall wall cabinets and have increased that to 42 in tall cabinets. We also decided to build a eat on peninsula in out eat in kitchen area that we will use as our table but it is also much needed added storage and counter space.

I didn't do well with the kitchen before pictures so I hope those of you that have seen my kitchen will remember what it looked like. In this post I have pictures of the before and during the removal of the old cabinets and then I will show you some of the new cabinets and then once my counter tops come in I will show you the final product.

Needless to say I am enjoying the new cabinets, I have a lot more storage and I really cannot wait until the new counter tops come in to finish it all off. We actually have our old counter tops just sitting on top of the new cabinets until we get the new ones and also our sink is just hooked up for water, no garbage disposal or dishwasher so it would be nice to finally get everything "back to normal"!

Happy Belated Halloween

2008-11-11T14:17:00.002-05:00

I know this is a little late but Happy Halloween! This year for Halloween Landon dressed up as Bob The Builder. Gamma decided to go over and she came dressed as well. She had a little black nose painted on as well as whiskers. She had on a black Halloween T-Shirt and black pants. She had on a headband that had bats that lit up and 2 necklaces that also lit up, one was ghosts and the other was pumpkins. She even had a bracelet that lit up. It tried to get a picture of her in the dark all lit up but she came out blurry so I got one in the light, and I forgot she had on her flashing jack-o-lantern glasses.

The Fair, The Fair, the Unforgetable Fair

2008-11-11T13:34:00.006-05:00

I know it has been a while for me posting but I have been under the weather and I have been busy trying to get back into my kitchen, that post coming next!

A few weeks ago the NC State Fair was in town and Brian decided to help a co-worker out by working a booth out there this year. I had not planned on taking Landon to the fair this year with everything that has been going on but at last minute Brian was asked to work a Saturday afternoon at the fair and I decided to take Landon for the few hours Brian would be working. Since Maw Maw and Poppa were out of town to invite them to join us it was just Landon, Gamma, and myself.

While Brian was working we walked around the fairgrounds for Landon to see and feed the animals and meet some Characters from UNC-TV Shows like Curious George. He even got to see the cows getting milked which he loved! Landon seemed to have a good time but I didn't do a good Job taking pictures. I only got a few with the Characters. Landon wanted to meet Curious George but when we got there he was very shy, so I jumped in the picture holding Landon to get him with George. We also saw this robot, probably 7 1/2 to 8 feet tall and Landon was very scared of him, he was screaming!

I think Landon liked the "elephant ear" the best of all. I got one with 1/2 powdered sugar and 1/2 cinnamon sugar and I think Landon probably ate 1/2 of the fried dough.

What is everyone elses favorite thing to eat when they go to the fair?

Guess What Landon is Asking For!

2008-10-22T14:20:00.007-04:00

Brian has this on going thing with Landon where he asks Landon "Do you want a baby brother, a baby sister, or a baby doggie?" Landon usually responds with " baby doggie"! Well the other day Landon was finishing in the potty and he said unprompted, "Mommy, I want a baby sister". I said "a what Landon" and he said "A baby sister". So I told he he had to talk to his Daddy about that. So I told Brian about it and so of course he asked Landon, "Do you want a baby brother, baby sister, or a baby dogie?" and Landon tries to say "baby sister, but Brian wouldn't let him. He kept trying to get him to say baby doggie or he would cover his mouth so he couldn't talk. Luckily I got it on video to show you guys!

Certified and Licensed Athletic Trainers

2008-10-20T13:44:00.004-04:00

I don't know how many of you have seen the news lately about North Carolina High Schools and their issue with kids getting head injuries and a few days to a week later they are dying. The argument is that not all schools in the rural areas have Certified and Licensed Athletic Trainers on staff to help "diagnose" serious injuries such as concussions or other brain/head injuries instead they have First Responders which only have the basic CPR/First Aid certifications. Yesterday on ESPN's show, "Outside the Lines", They talked about the Athletic Trainer issue in NC and I thought I would share the clip with you on the story. Hopefully the remaining NC High Schools that don't have Certified and Licensed Athletic Trainers on staff will soon hire them to help with this problem we are facing.

A Day at the Park

2008-10-14T14:32:00.002-04:00

On Saturday Landon, Gamma (Shelley), and I met Aunt Becky, Rebecca, and Aaron at Pullen Park in Raleigh. Landon and Aaron had a good time riding the boats, well Aaron decided last minute not to ride the boats, the merry go round, and the train and not to mention the slides, swings and monkey bars! They also fed the ducks and geese. After a filling morning at the park we went and got lunch were the boys continued to play soccer and football in the grassy area by the picnic tables were we sat to eat. It was great that Aunt Becky decided to call to see if Landon could play with Aaron while he was in town since they don't get to see each other that often. I wish that we could have had more cousins to get together!

Doughtie Named Golfer of the Week!

2008-10-14T13:37:00.004-04:00

I JUST WANT TO SAY CONGRATULATIONS TO LAUREN FOR A JOB WELL DONE! KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK!

Doughtie Named Golf World Player of the Week
Courtesy: NC State

Release: 10/13/2008

Lauren Doughtie was named Golf World Magazine’s Women’s Player of the Week for Oct. 6-12 on Monday after garnering medalist honors at the Mercedes-Benz Collegiate Championships on Sunday in Knoxville, Tenn.Birdies on the 16th and 18th holes at Fox Run Golf Club, gave the 21-year-old senior a final-round 68 and a two-shot win, her first individual title as a collegian. En route to victory, Doughtie shot a seven-under 209 overall, breaking the Wolfpack’s school record for best 54-hole performance.Doughtie trailed Louisville's Cindy LaCrosse by one stroke heading to the final hole, a 488-yard par 5, with the two players competing in the same threesome. LaCrosse proceeded to make a double bogey after hitting her second shot into the water. Doughtie reached the green in two, and two-putted for the birdie and a two-stroke victory."This is a surreal feeling," Doughtie said. "I told myself I was going to go for it on 18, and I did. It was fun playing out here with my friends. Cindy is a great player, and we really pushed each other today."
RYAN HERRINGTON of Golf World contributed to this story.

Prayer Request

2008-10-10T14:57:00.002-04:00

I have a friend down the street that took care of Landon back when Landon was 3 months old. She has some friends that are in need of prayer for their week old baby boy, Reily. He is at Duke Hospital with "Necrotizing Enterocolitis (not real sure if I have the spelling right and right now, I am NOT googling it out of fear). I do know it's a intestinal infection though." (quote from the mom's blog on his condition) He was transported by helicopter to Duke after complications in the NICU after being born and having transient tachypnea of the newborn (TTN). He had surgery yesterday where they took out some of his intestine that wasn't healthy and put in an ostomy bag so his intestines could heal. If his intestines don't heal he won't get the required nutrients he needs to survive. I know this sounds confusing so I will just let you go to the mother's blog to read up on it... http://lindseysouza.blogspot.com/2008/10/please-pray-for-riley.html

BIG BOY

2008-10-10T14:27:00.004-04:00

Well I hate to jinks it but I think Landon has finally gotten the potty training down. He now wears "big boys", as he calls it, underwear throughout the day and wears the pull up just during nap and bedtime. He has been wearing the "big boys" off and on throughout the day for a few weeks now but finally this week he has gone all day without wetting and if he starts to go he can stop it and make it to the potty and he doesn't get his pants all wet! I am very proud of my BIG BOY! KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK LANDON!

Why

2008-09-29T14:39:00.002-04:00

Landon is now into the "why" phase! He woke up one morning last week and started asking me why and with every answer I gave him he would answer right back..."WHY?"

He also is into asking "what dat momma?" Or "What dis daddy?" He also wants to make sure we are OK if he hears us say ouch or Uh oh..."whats wrong mommy?"

He also is in tune to his friends feelings a little more than he was. If a friend gets hurt, "I kiss it and make it better", "Ella needs a band aid for her boo boo to make it better", or "you OK?"

Luckily the Whys aren't constant yet, although I know it is a way that he is learning! Unfortunately it can just get so crazy with the constant WHY, so we will see how long it lasts!

New Nephew

2008-09-26T14:18:00.003-04:00

Yesterday, September 25, 2008, my brother and his wife Mindy had their second child at 7:42 in the morning. They had a healthy baby boy weighing in at 8 lbs 15 oz and 20 inches long. His name is JUSTUS ROBERT DOUGHTIE. They already have a beautiful 2 year old daughter, Hannah. Now they have a beautiful daughter and a handsome son! CONGRATULATIONS Chris and Mindy on your new addition!

"O" to see you

2008-09-19T14:01:00.001-04:00

Last night I was cleaning up the kitchen while Brian was giving Landon a bath. As I was finishing up, I hear "momma, come here....momma here now..." so I go in there to find this...

Needless to say, Landon and especially Brian were having a great time in the tub playing! In case you are wondering what is on Brian's eyes, one is the letter O and the other in the number 0 from Landon's Sea foam letters, number and animals.

They were also piling up the letters and number in their hand and "sneezing" them on to each other. Let me tell you, there was a lot of laughing going on in the tub last night!

Jedi in Training

2008-09-10T13:51:00.007-04:00

The other night Landon and Brian were playing in Landon's room when Landon started playing with his light saber that Poppa got him and Hannah when we went to see the fireworks this year for the 4th. Landon kept wanting all the lights out and so Brian suggested they go to the closet to see it all lit up. Well they went to our closet and turned out the lights and before you know it this is how Landon looked when I came in...

Labor Day Weekend

2008-09-04T07:01:00.004-04:00

For Labor Day Weekend this year we decided to go to the beach. We went to Emerald Isle where my Mom and her sisters have a beach condo. My Mom and Dad went as well because my Mom had a board meeting since she is on the board for the HOA. Landon talked all week about going to the "big" water and feeding the sea gulls. Landon went down Friday afternoon with my Mom and Dad and Brian and I came later that evening.

Landon had a wonderful time playing in the sand and swimming in the big water Saturday, Sunday, and Monday before we left to come home. Landon buried him and his dad in the sand, he watched Poppa catch fish and Poppa even put one in Landon's sand bucket with water and Landon just loved that. From then on out Landon wanted Poppa to keep catching fish and put them in his bucket. There was even times where Landon would sit in his new Diego chair by his bucket of water waiting for Poppa to catch fish.

Saturday night Landon Brian and I were on our own because Maw Maw and Poppa had a little get together with the neighbors. Brian and I took Landon to get pizza and then to play Putt Putt Golf. As soon as we walked into the golf's little store to pay to play Landon went straight to where the balls were kept on the counter and said he wanted a purple ball. He also picked out a blue golf club that they had for little kids. Brian got a light blue golf ball and I got a red one. We played golf and for it being Landon's first time, he did great. He didn't hit any balls out of the playing surface. He actually got 2 hole in ones! Although there were times if the ball wasn't close enough to the hole after he hit it he would pick it up and put it about 6in from the hole and then hit it. We did pre warn him before the 18th hole that once his ball went in that hole he wouldn't be able to get his ball back and the golf would be over so once we got to that whole and again reminded him about the hole he tried to go to a different hole to keep playing. We actually let him play another round since he was free to play and Brian and I just walked through with him. Brian actually got a hole in one on the "secret" hole and won a free game of golf so we went back the next night with Maw Maw and Poppa.

Needless to say Landon had a great time, in fact he had such a great time that when we came in on Monday to eat Lunch and get ready to go home so Landon could nap in the car he was eating hush puppies that were left over from dinner the night before and he said to Poppa "when I finish my hush puppies I am going to take a nap and when I wake up I am going to go to the big water".

The Start of Our Labor Day Weekend

2008-09-03T19:15:00.004-04:00

On Friday Maw Maw and Poppa came to pick up Landon right after nap/snack and took him on down to the beach with them for kinda a little treat for Landon since he doesn't really get to leave daycare early like the other kids do. Once all the daycare kids left I was going to get last minute things packed and once Brian got home from work we were going to load up and head to the beach ourselves. The last kid I had once Landon left usually leaves around 5:20 on Fridays, not this Friday, she didn't leave until almost 6, which is closing time!

Once she left, I quickly cleaned up daycare and went upstairs and finished getting our things together. While doing so I heard a great big bang outside. At first I thought it was just the neighborhood kids that were playing ball in the street but then I remember earlier in the day I heard a little moped or motorcycle going by a couple of times so I thought I should look out to see if I could figure out what the noise was. Well, when I looked out the window, I saw a little motorcycle under Brian's truck that was parked on the street. (we park whichever car Brian doesn't take to work on the street to give the kids more space to play in the garage) I quickly ran down the stairs and out the front door to try to find the driver of the vehicle thinking he was just on the other side of the truck and I couldn't see him. Not the case at all, he was actually under the truck as well. The kids that were playing in the street were standing at the back of the truck and I was asking if he was OK and if I needed to call 911. Shortly after me asking the kids, the driver of the cycle started moving and I asked him if he was OK and told him not to move that an ambulance was on the way to check him out. He kept insisting for me not to call but I called because once he sat up from under the truck he had a gash under his eye. He asked the kids that were there how long he was out, his question was "how long was I out, a second or two?" and one girl responded "three or four" so he was out for a while. He realized the cigarette he was smoking when the accident happened was right there in the yard so he finished smoking it before the police got there. He actually lost everything from his pockets, the watch off his arm and the gas can from the motorcycle was under the truck by the passenger side rear tire. He even knocked the spare key magnetic box off the bottom of Brian's bumper.

2 police cars got there first and we did all of our talking about the situation, and then a big fire truck came as well as a F-150 fire truck and then the ambulance came. The police officers and the fireman said he should get looked at by the rescue squad because they though he had a concussion. In fact one of the police officers kept messing with the pour guy because when they first got there they asked him for his license and he pulled out one of those tri fold luney tunes Velcro wallets from back in the olden days but it was empty, nothing was in it. So throughout the "questioning" they kept asking him for his ID and he kept pulling out his empty wallet just as if it was the first time he was asked to get it out and the police officer would just laugh and tell him he needed to get checked out to make sure.

At this point Brian has come home trying to figure out what in the world was going on so I explained things to him and he stayed outside with the police and other rescue responders while I went and finished packing so we could get on the road at a decent hour! Needless to say my train of thought was gone on packing and I finally got us packed and we were loaded up and ready to go sometime after 7pm.

Here are some after pictures of the truck and motorcycle, now when I say motor cycle it is a real gas powered motorcycle but small enough for Landon to ride if that makes sense.

Over the river and through the woods...

2008-08-28T07:49:00.002-04:00

...To Gamma's house we go-o.

Landon spent the night with Gamma last Saturday night and he had a lot of fun as usual. On the way to Gamma's they were singing a song and decided to make up their own words to to the song. Landon loves to go feed the ducks so Gamma thought on the way back to her house she could stop and let him feed the ducks. The place she normally takes him has a path to the lake that has lots of hills so their song, which Landon always sings now goes something like this...(to the tune of over the river and through the woods to grandmothers house we go) Up the hill and down the hill to feed the ducks I go-o, Up the hill and down the hill I throw some rocks high ho-o. I will have to get Gamma to comment with the correct version! :) It is still cute to hear Landon sing it, especially this week when we go for our evening walk, he rides his bike, and he will sing the song as he goes up and down hills.

Also while Landon was at Gamma's, he like to ride his cousin Kayla's bike that was left behind when they left for Ireland. He likes to go down a small hill and then come back up and go down the driveway and into the garage. I actually have a video on here of him going into the garage.

He also likes to take the dog Tyson for a walk. Usually Tyson just follows along when you go for a walk outside but Landon, if he sees it, like to put his leash on him and take him for a walk.

New Recipe

2008-08-27T15:05:00.003-04:00

I decided I wanted to try a new crock pot recipe yesterday and it turned out real well. I decided I wanted to do a lasagna since we haven't had that in a while. (the recipe is on my recipe blog) I guess one reason we haven't had that in a while is because it can take a while to make a lasagna considering you have to boil the noodles and brown the beef and then layer all the ingredients and then to top it off, most lasagnas take 30 minutes to and hour to bake in the oven so a lot of the time lasagna is served on the weekend or when you have guests and the time to do it. The recipe I found is very simple to make and it cooks while you are away doing other important things! Hope you enjoy as much as we did!

Mommy's Little Helper

2008-08-26T14:21:00.002-04:00

The other day I was helping Brian out with mowing the grass because lately every time he mows the grass he gets a bloody nose from it bothering his allergies. Brian did the edging while I mowed the grass. Well Landon was first helping out dad with the edging with a little toy weed eater I found at the local thrift store for about $3. Then Landon got out his little Fisher Price Bubble Mower and followed me around the yard mowing along with me. Every time time we would pass each other he would yell to me, "momma, I mow the grass with you". He would have the biggest smile on his face. It was priceless!

Letter Writing

2008-08-20T14:12:00.003-04:00

Landon is getting to where he wants to write all the time. He especially wants to write if there is paper and some form of writing utensil around but he lately has been writing outside with the sidewalk chalk. When he sees paper and pen he usually says "write my name". I don't necessarily think he has been formally taught how to write every letter, just a few like the letters in his name, momma, Dada, maw maw, poppa, and gamma. When he has been writing these someone else's hand is helping him write them and explaining them as they write them. Right now he has the letter A down pat by himself, he will go "up down across" as he is writing it. Well last night he really surprised me with is letter writing while we were side. He of course did plenty of A's, but then he did some L's, N's some D's, M's, O's and then he threw out some W's, B's and Q's. I guess his little mind is like what they say and is really a big sponge and he really does absorb what we do with him and just applies them when he is ready. I wish I had the camera with me so that I could have captured it on video because he was so excited that he was making letters and he was grinning from ear to ear.

Crock Pot

2008-08-13T13:59:00.003-04:00

I don't know how many of you out there use a crock pot to cook in but I love using mine. On average I use my crock pot 3-4 times a week. I have a recipe book that I mainly get my recipes from called Fix It and Forget It Cookbook. Now I have not tried every recipe in this 250 something page book but there are quite a few that I keep going back to again and again. On my recipe blog, The Not So Epicureous, I am going to post a few of my favorites to share, that are quick and easy to put together, something you could do before you head off to work because they literally take less than 10 minutes to put together and then the pot does the rest. When you come home from work, your dinner is pretty much waiting for you to sit down at the table. If any of you ladies have a husband that says "Woman, I want dinner on the table when I come home", well here you go, it will be ready and waiting for him!

If there are any of you out there that have not used or do not have a crock pot, I suggest, recommend you getting one or getting it out, waching the dust off of it and trying it out!

ENJOY!

Here we grow again...

2008-08-12T13:43:00.005-04:00

Our small town of Fuquay Varina is growing up! We have come a long way the past few years. We now have a few "upscale" dine in restaurants, we have a Starbucks, chick-fil-A, and a dunkin donuts/baskin robins. Well the opening of our newest store is on Sept 28th with the grand opening being on Oct 1st. Also within the next few years we should be getting a Target and a Lowe's Home Improvement Store. As of right now the closest of these stores is in Cary, NC about 20-25 minutes away so this will be a great boost for this town!

Trying something new

2008-07-30T15:18:00.003-04:00

I was reading my Sister in Law, Mindy's, blog yesterday and she had an idea that I thought I would give it a try myself. I am going to try to put all of my favorite recipes, not all my recipes, but just the ones I mostly use and the ones I have gotten great feed back on from other people on a blog page. I thought it would be a great way to organize my recipes I already have. I have been trying to type up my loose recipes to put into my great notebook my mom made me a few years ago for Christmas but I figured since I am already typing them, why not put them on here and have a great storage place and will have access to them no matter where I go as long as I have access to a computer! I thought it was a great way to also get some variations to recipes that other people might do that haven't thought about. It is worth a try anyway. Once I get a few recipes on the blog, I will post the address for everyone to be able to access to the recipes.

Summer Vaccation

2008-07-18T06:55:00.003-04:00

Washington DC 2008

We went to Washington DC this summer for our vacation. Landon had a ball becauase he got to ride the train, well it was the metro. Every morning we would get up and get dressed ad head down stairs to the breakfast that was served at the hotel. Then we would wait out front for the shuttel to the metro station so we could ride it into DC. Landon would say every morning, "ride the train".

We went to the Arlington National Cemetary, saw JFK's grave as well as the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. We also got to see the changing of the Guard that happens every 30 minutes. Here is a little information about the Guards that Guard the tomb for those of you who don't know about them. The cemetery was the biggest cemetery i have ever seen. I actually don't think I saw the back of the cemetery.

We also went to the White House, although we didn't take a tour of the White House, we just visited from outside the fence. We went to the Pentagon but unless you had an appointment that you had to have made at least 2 weeks in advance. We also went to the Jefferson Memorial, Washington Monument, Washington Memorial, Reflecting Pool, Lincoln Memorial, Capitol Building, Bureau of Printing and Engraving (where they make money), we went to the Iwo Jima memorial, National Aquarium, which I don't recommend going to if you plan a trip there in the future. The aquarium in Pine Knoll Shores NC is a much better Aquarium to go visit. I am sure there were some other places we visited that I have not listed, like the Air a space museum that Landon loved but the pictures will show you what I forgot to mention.

We had a great time and we would do it again but next time it won't be in the heat of the summer with us having to do a lot of walking.

Lake Gaston

2008-07-12T14:07:00.002-04:00

Every Year for the 4th of July my Family has gone to Lake Gaston. My Dad and Uncle Mike have always cooked a pig and some other side items. They have been doing this since I was in my moms belly some 31 years ago. I think there was one year my parents missed because my mom was expecting my brother at anytime, he was born on July 9, 1982. Then it was missed two years ago because I had just had my 1st child, Landon on June 16, 2006 and my Brother and his wife had their first child, Hannah on June 23, 2006. This year it was done a little different than we had normally done it in the past. This year we only went for the day and we had hot dogs and hamburgers instead of our usual pig. We had a great time. Especially the little ones playing in a new blow up island that was anchored out just beyond the dock. We also had a little belated birthday celebration for the 2 young kids, my cousin Allison and Cousin in law Matt; as well as celebrated the coming birthdays of my Uncle Mike and my Brother Chris. It is always fun to be able to get together with family!

Lake Gaston July 4th 2008

July 4th Celebration

2008-07-12T13:39:00.002-04:00

This year for July 4th, we took Landon along with "Aunt" Christy, baby Chayse, Maw Maw, Poppa, Uncle Chris, Aunt Mindy and Hannah to the Fuquay Varina South Park "festival" to ride rides and see the fireworks. Landon had a ball even though he only got to go down one big slide and ride one time on the elephant ride. He also had a blast with his cousin Hannah playing with the light saber toys Poppa got them while we were there. Landon loved the fireworks as so did baby chase. Unfortunately Hannah didn't like them as much and hung out in the back of the car to get away from them.

July 4th Celebration 2008

Hard to believe he is 2!

2008-06-22T20:23:00.003-04:00

This year for Landon's 2nd Birthday we decided to have his party at Pullen Park in Raleigh. We used picnic tables that were in the shade and near an open field and the carousel. It was nice to be able to use the field to let the kids run and play with some bats and balls we took out there. We bought each kid some tickets to ride some of the rides there. Unfortunately the train wasn't working, the track is under repair, but the kids had fun riding the carousel and the boats. Since there were a few tickets left over we used them to rent 2 paddle boats to let the kids ride and see ducks and the rest of the park. Landon was so excited that he really didn't eat much while we were out there and we had a hard time getting him to open presents as well. We ended up opening the rest of them back at the house. I have to thank my great friend Christy for helping with pictures again this year, she really got some great shots, especially of Landon and Daddy together!

Landon's 2nd Birthday Party

Father's Day

2008-06-17T14:05:00.002-04:00

This year for Father's Day we got together with Maw Maw, Gamma, and Poppa. We were going to go out to Pullen Park so Landon could play, feed the ducks, and ride the train but Mother Nature decided to bring some much needed rain to us early and we were afraid the park would be to wet. Instead we went to Maw Maw and Poppa's house and since the rain had stopped, we took Landon to the pond near their house so he could still feed the ducks because the whole way over there he kept saying "feed the ducks". Landon has a "hot wheel" that he likes to ride to the pool, park and pond in our neighborhood so we took it to take with us to the pond to ride on the green way while we were walking around looking for ducks to feed. Landon likes to go down hills on his bike and put his feet up on the bike and coast down saying "weeeee". He had fun throughout the trail riding his bike down the hills. While we were the we got to see quite a few ducks, turtles and even a crane and a beaver. Landon even tried to feed the squirrels and dogs as we went past them. Landon must have started to get hungry because he quit feeding the ducks and started feeding himself!

Father's Day 2008

New Blog...

2008-06-13T13:48:00.003-04:00

I was doing some web searching and I found this blog page that is pretty cool by a woman named Kim in CA. It is titled Kitchenoops and she has her "adventures and miss adventures" posted. The author puts recipes and pictures as she is going through the steps on there. She is on vacation right now but will be back in July. She said her mom is supposed to update while she is gone. It is worth checking out, especially for a new recipe! Hope you enjoy it!

Monkeying Around

2008-06-11T13:59:00.004-04:00

Today for Daycare I only had 2 kids coming other than Landon. I decided since it has been so hot that I would take the kids to an indoor play place called Monkey Joe's. It is a place that you can go in for walk in play or you can schedule a party there. It has inflatable things for kids to do, like the bounce houses but some of them are mazes and have things to climb through, over, under and slide down to get through. There is even a computer lab with Internet access that you don't have to pay extra for and if you want to bring your laptop, they have free WiFi for the adults to use while their kids are playing. There is another Daycare Provider in my neighborhood and we get together frequently to let the kids play together outside so today we went there and the kids had a blast. It took the younger kids, Landon and Aubry who just turned 2 last month a little while to get going but once they started it was hard to get them to stop! The big boys that are 3 and 4 were all over the place in and out of each inflatable, up and down and all around! I couldn't get good clear pictures of the kids today so I got pictures from their website to show you what Monkey Joe's is. There is also a place here called Jump Zone that is very similar in case you have one of those near you instead.

SUWEEE!

2008-06-11T08:37:00.003-04:00

There is nothing like a NC Festival with pig races! On Saturday we took Landon to the Got to Be NC Festival in Raleigh at the Fair Grounds. It was like a mini NC State Fair with Free admission, only have to pay for food/drinks, rides, or anything at the Grandstand(tractor pulls, horse pulls, concerts). They had free pig, goat, duck, and pot belly pig races. After the races were over Landon said "again" "more". So we had to convince him to go on the next thing. They also had a free petting zoo which had all kinds of animals from cows, to kangaroos, to porcupines, to camels, goats, llamas. You got to feed them carrots or "feed" and they would eat right out of your hand. They pretty much followed you around as you walked around the area. They were very hungry I guess because their heads went through the fence if they weren't tall enough to go over the top of it. There was also pony rides. There was also a Bar-B-Q competition/cook tour. You could go to the agriculture expo were you could taste different foods but we didn't make it that far, after the pig races, petting zoo and pony rides it was time to get heading home to put the little guy to bed. It was a lot of fun, would have been better if it wasn't 102 degrees outside!

Got To Be NC Festival 2008-06-11

Pool Time!

2008-06-05T13:22:00.004-04:00

Since it was close to 100 degrees yesterday, Brian and I decided to take Landon to the pool after dinner. I think everyone else in the neighborhood had the same idea because it was crowded! Landon had a blast jumping into the pool, kicking, blowing bubbles and walking around the shallow end. He had such a good time that when the sun started going behind the trees and it left a shadow on the pool, Landon's little teeth just started chattering so we said it was time to go and he started crying. It is supposed to be close to if not over 100 degrees these next few days here so I think I know what we will be doing in the evenings and and weekends for a while! The pictures and the video were taken with the phone camera/recorder so they may be a little blurry.

Elmo Makes Music

2008-06-03T07:07:00.003-04:00

Elmo Makes Music production came to Raleigh this past weekend and we took Landon to go see it. Landon had a blast! At first he wasn't too sure he wanted to go, but once we got there he couldn't understand why Elmo wasn't on the stage yet when we went to sit in our seats. Once the show started, Landon couldn't take his eyes off the stage. Then he couldn't understand why Elmo and the other characters kept leaving the stage. He did really well sitting still and watching it. Right there at the end when he finally decided he would sit in his own seat, he started playing with the folding arena seat. If Elmo Makes Music or any other Elmo Production comes to your area, I highly recommend going to see the show!

Some of the pictures are a little blurry I guess since they were constantly moving.

Elmo Makes Music 5-31-2008

Lions, tigers and bears...

2008-05-27T13:19:00.002-04:00

OH MY, did we have a fun day yesterday for Memorial Day! Brian, Landon, and I went to the zoo. Landon had a blast. I wish I had the video running to get Landon's reaction to the first animals he saw... "boo, tickle, tickle, tickle"... With the biggest grin on his face!

Zoo 5-26-2008

2008-05-24T13:17:00.002-04:00

http://www.gopack.com/

Lauren Doughtie finished strong by shooting even par over the final 36 holes of the NCAA Championships

ALBUQUERQUE – Junior Lauren Doughtie recorded seven birdies on Friday to finish tied for 34th at the NCAA Women’s Golf Championships after shooting a final round two-under 70 at the UNM Championship Course.Doughtie finished up the 72-hole tournament at +12 (76-80-74-70=300).Weather was again an issue for a third-straight day that halted play for more than two hours.Doughtie, ranked No. 45 in the nation, had her most up-and-down round of the tournament on Friday. After beginning with a bogey at No. 1 for a third straight round, she birdied Nos. 3 and 4 to move to one under.The roller coaster continued with a bogey at No. 5. After a par at the 6th, she birdied No.7, bogeyed No. 8 and then birdied No. 9 for the first time this week to leave Doughtie out in –1 (35).A second-straight birdie at No. 10 moved Doughtie to two-under for the first time all week, but she gave back two shots with bogeys at 11 and 12 to move back to even par.But she finished with two more birdies to end her first NCAA experience on a high note with a personal-best tournament score of 70.All together her round featured seven birdies, five bogeys and six pars.Doughtie is the first player in NC State women’s golf history to qualify for the NCAA Championships.

It must run in the family...

2008-05-21T13:51:00.006-04:00

Mindy mentioned a while back that Hannah discovered her love for puddles, just as Mindy had a hidden love for them as well...Landon too has discovered he loves puddles. Not only does he want to walk or jump in them but if he is riding his bike and there is water streaming down the road on the "brown" curb part, Landon just has to ride his bike through it, even if there isn't water there he will say "ride in the water".

"Let's Play Dress Up"

2008-05-21T08:51:00.002-04:00

I found some bargain dress up clothes/costumes at our annual community yard sale on Saturday and the kids just loved them...

"Daddy do it"

2008-05-09T13:52:00.007-04:00

I don't know if anyone else's toddler does this or not but Landon will be trying to do something, hand something to one of us or will want one of us to do something for him but will only want one of us to do it, not the other. And when his mind is set on the one he wants to do it, he makes sure that one does it. For example, we can be riding in the car and he will have his cup and when he is done he will say "all done" and start handing the cup forward, if he wants Daddy to take it and I go to get it then he will say "no, Dada do it" or vise versa. The other day at the park Brian and I were taking pictures and videos of Landon and I took the camera to take a video of Landon on the slide and he saw me with the camera and said "no, Dada" and came over to us fussing. So I gave the camera back to Brian and then later I took it again and he again did the same thing when he saw that I had the camera. I cannot get my video to upload so if i can get it working I will put it on here.

Pictures of Chayse

2008-05-05T15:32:00.002-04:00

Here are some pictures I received of Chayse. I haven't been able to go visit yet but these are pictures sent from "Grandma Waters" (Christy's Mom).

Who lives here?

2008-05-01T14:05:00.006-04:00

Answers to the trivia question:

Mom and Mindy you were right about house #1,

HOUSE #1 is outside of Nashville , Tennessee ; it is the abode ofthe 'environmentalist ' Al Gore.

HOUSE #2 is on a ranch near Crawford , Texas ;it is the residence of the President of the United States

I received this email today and I thought it was pretty interesting...

Can you guess who lives in these two houses?

House #1 A 20 room mansion ( not including 8 bathrooms ) heated bynatural gas. Add on a pool ( and a pool house) and a separa te guest house, all heated by gas. In one month this residence consumes more energy than the average American household does in a year. The average bill for electricity and natural gas runs over $2400. per month. In natural gas alone, this property consumes more than 20 times the national average for an American home. This house is not situated in a Northern or Midwestern 'snow belt' area. It's in the South.

House #2Designed by an architecture professor at a leading national university. This house incorporates every 'green' feature current home construction can provide. The house is 4,000 square feet ( 4 bedrooms ) and is nestled on a high prairie in the American southwest. A central closet in the house holds geothermal heat-pumps drawing ground water through pipes sunk 300 feet into the ground..
The water (usually 67 degrees F.) heats the house in the winter and cools it in the summer. The system uses no fossil fuels such as oil or natural gas and it consumes one-quarter electricity required for a conventional heating/cooling system. Rainwater from the roof is collected and funneled into a 25,000 gallon underground cistern. Wastewater from showers, sinks and toilets goes into underground purifying tanks and then into the cistern. The collec ted water then irrigates the land surrounding the house Surrounding flowers and shrubs native to the area enable the property to blend into the surrounding rural landscape.

I will put the answer on here on Monday 4/5/08. Good Luck!

Thankful Thursday

2008-05-01T13:22:00.002-04:00

I have to say that today, for thankful Thursday, that I am thankful that my wonderful friend Christy had her baby this morning. Mom and baby are doing great. She had a 7 lb 14 oz girl, Chayse Nicole, at 3:00 this morning. From what I hear she starting having contractions around 3 am Wednesday (4/29/08)morning, called the Dr. around 6:30 am and went to the hospital. At the hospital they broke her water around 9:30 am and she delivered at 3:00 am (5/1/08). This is a very thankful time because Christy and Nathan have had some hard times in the past with having children, so for this miracle to have been born today it is a very special God Blessed Day!

As soon as I get pictures of Chayse I will put them on here!

Big water

2008-04-28T19:07:00.002-04:00

Landon and I decided to go to the beach with Maw Maw and Poppa this past weekend. Brian didn't join us because he had to work on Saturday at the YMCA. Landon had a wonderful time. He called the ocean the "big water". He had a blast playing in the sand and also playing in the water. I was really surprised that he played in the water, I really thought it would be too cold this time of year. You would be surprised how many people, not just kids, were actually swimming in the water. Landon also enjoyed feeding the sea gulls. He tried to hold the food out in his had to see if they would come down and take it from his hand but he couldn't hold still long enough. He got to see a sand crab. He wasn't to sure about it at first but then he talked about the crab and pointed to it. While we were there, Aunt Becky, Adam and Aaron came over and played out on the beach Saturday afternoon. Aaron and Landon found a big hole someone had dug and they had a blast running through it, jumping in it and rolling through it. Needless to say, they were both covered from head to toe in sand when we went back up to the condo.

Beach April 2008

Healthy Kids Day

2008-04-27T19:32:00.002-04:00

The YMCA partners up with Wake Med Health and Hospitals and they put on a Healthy Kids Day. They usually have booths were you can learn healthy eating, playground safety, activities for the kids to do, and fun and games. This year we went and Landon got to sit in a Helicopter and a Fire Truck. He had a great time doing all the fun activities they have but I think his favorite thing was watching the helicopter take off and fly away.

Healthy Kids Day

Bike Riding

2008-04-23T15:29:00.005-04:00

Landon rode his bike for the first time by himself last night. Usually once we cross the street to get on the side walk he is done sitting on the bike and ready to just walk. Last night he actually stayed on the bike most of the time we were walking around the neighborhood. He started off just using his feet on the ground to make him go, then he actually put his feet on the petals and pushed! Once he got the hang of it we had a hard time getting him off the bike to go inside. And he is riding on mostly flat land in the videos, when we got to hills, we had to help him go up the hills but he loved to just ride down real fast! PS. Might need to turn your volume down a little, My voice picked up real loud.

The boy of many hats

2008-04-15T13:43:00.002-04:00

As you all know from previous posts, Landon loves to wear hats. I found some neat animal visors at the dollar store over the weekend and Landon has had so much fun wearing them. Also a few weeks ago Landon stayed at Gamma's house and he found a pink toboggan in the toy bin over there and he just had to wear it while he was over there.

He's Hooked!

2008-04-14T19:10:00.003-04:00

I have to thank my Brother, Sister - In - Law, and niece for introducing us, well Landon, to the Cedarmont Kids Videos. Landon is hooked watching them. He asks daily "video" video". Landon started off with getting 2 of these videos for Christmas, on from Chris, Mindy and Hannah, and one from Maw Maw and Poppa. Landon now has 2 more so 4 total. He usually asks for them either by their color or by the first song that plays on the video. He even has some of the order memorized, as in he can start singing the next song before it comes on. Again Thanks Chris, Mindy, and Hannah for introducing us to the videos from Cedarmont Kids!

Clinton to speak at Barton College

2008-04-11T13:43:00.003-04:00

I received and email today from my Alma Mater, Barton College, stating that Former President Bill Clinton will be coming to Barton College to speak on behalf of his wife who is running for President. Their campaign was debating between a few places in Eastern NC and they chose Barton College. They will be in Wilson NC on Saturday April 12th at 11:30 am to speak in the center lawn of campus, if there is rain they will hold the event in the gym. In case anyone wants to read more about the event you can go BARTON COLLEGE'S website for more information.

Hell's Kitchen

2008-04-09T13:41:00.006-04:00

I have, for some reason, enjoyed watching Hell's Kitchen. In case you don't know about it, it is a show about Chef Gordon Ramsay, who takes some inspiring chefs and puts them through a reality show of having to prepare for a full service meal at a restaurant, as well as try to make it through the full 3 course meal without making not only the customers mad but Chef Ramsay mad as well.

This is the 4th season, it started 2 weeks ago and from the start of the show it seems like Chef Ramsay has a lot on his plate this season to get to a winner that will win an executive Chef position in one of Chef Ramsay's restaurants in LA. Other winners in the past have won their own restaurants in different areas of the USA.

It amazes me what all the chefs have to do before during and after a dinner service in a restaurant.

Anyone else on board with watching this show?

2008-04-08T13:45:00.004-04:00

Last night I had a class I had to attend for Childcare training. While I was in the class Brian was left at home to take care of Landon. During the class I get a text message and it was from Brian...

Easter Bunny 2008

2008-04-01T09:22:00.000-04:00

Landon was a little skeptical about visiting the Easter Bunny. He was so excited while waiting in the line. He kept pointing him out to all the other kids in line around him, and when asked do you want to sit on his lap, he would say "NO", then you would ask "will you sit beside him on the bench?", again, "NO". So when it was his turn he started walking in but then when it was time either sit on the bunny's lap or the bench he kept saying no, no, no. I actually sat him beside the bunny and he leaned away continuing to say no. I handed Landon the blue egg from the set decorations thinking that would help and it looks like it did somewhat. How I got a smile out of him I don't know but he ended up smiling long enough for the picture but he wouldn't sit close to the bunny.

Y.M.C.A.

2008-03-30T17:39:00.005-04:00

Yesterday we went to the new Holly Springs YMCA because Brian will be starting to work there nest weekend. They had a "preview" day I guess you would call it for all it's new employees and their families. We got to take a tour of the facility and then we were able to eat. They had Barbecue from the Barbecue Lodge, YUM! Well they have "daycare" rooms and a game room for the older kids like all the other YMCA's that I know of have. These were not fully furnished yet but they did have a few things. In the older "daycare" room they had a the cutest little stationary bike, tredmill, and a thing that look like a Nordic track/elliptical trainer. Well Landon just had a ball on those machines!

Favorite Friday

2008-03-28T13:53:00.003-04:00

Haven't done a favorite Friday in a while so I thought I would do one today. I am loving DVR. I don't know how many of you have it but Brian and I just got it a few months ago and I am loving the fact that I can set the DVR to record a show and it can actually record it anytime it comes on, like American Idol, or if there is a movie I want to record I can go through the guide menu and press record on the show time and when that show is scheduled to air, it will record it for me. NO MORE HAVING TO SET A VCR TO RECORD A CERTAIN DAY AND TIME EVERY TIME! YEAH!!!!!!!!

Bath Time

2008-03-21T13:54:00.002-04:00

Landon loves to take baths. He sometimes even lets us know when he is ready to go take a bath at night. He usually wants Dada to give him a bath and Dada usually gets in the tub with him. Well last night they had too much fun in the bath together!

2008-03-20T13:45:00.004-04:00

Today the daycare kids got together with another daycare for an Easter egg hunt. Since it was so windy and wet from the rain last night we met here and we hid the eggs around the daycare room. All the kids had a blast looking for the eggs. After we told them that we had found them all they were still looking for eggs. The kids had made rabbit ear hats to wear, some kids managed to keep theirs on but others did not. They still had fun with each other.

DaycareGroupEaster2008

Huked on Foniks

2008-03-18T15:19:00.003-04:00

Landon Loves to look at books and have us read books to him. Well the other day he sat down at the table with a book and began to "read" the book out loud. He was reading the Three Bears. You an make out a word or 2 hear and there during his reading of the story.

Reptile and Amphibian Exibit

2008-03-15T21:57:00.003-04:00

Today Landon went to the Museum of Natural Sciences to see the Reptile and Amphibian Exhibit. It was a free event to the public and Landon had a blast. Landon enjoyed not only being able to see the reptiles and amphibians but to also be able to touch them. He had no fear when it came time to be able to touch them, sometimes I had to remind him to ask if he could touch it and to be gentle. I really think we need to worry that he might just pick up any old snake out in the yard and bring it inside for us to see. Hopefully I an teach him not to but if he does I hope he only brings in the little bitty garden snakes that don't hurt us!

Reptile and Amphibian Exibit 2008