Accessory Girl

the cookie cutter as bracelet...she may just be on to something!

Georgia, Sweet Georgia

Although I've been away from Columbus almost as long as I actually lived there, it is still "home". The kids and I headed down there this week for a little family time. We stopped in Atlanta and visited M & T at their wonderful new home and then off to Pops and Nana's. We filled our week with lots of playing, a trip the the children's area at the museum, an afternoon walk around down town complete with a stop in at the church where we were married, and a morning swim in Robin Lake at Callaway Gardens. The sweetest part, by far, was the kids having down time with Granny, Pops and Nana. Needless to say there were tears all around when we headed out yesterday. There is something about being there that is good for my soul and it's extra special to share that place and its memories with Carver and Springer.

Carver & Springer loved the 'chalk board room' at the museum. As you can see Springer is by no means a follower. She found just about the only spot in the room that wasn't make of chalkboard-and drew there! When Carver climbed into the boat he closed his eyes and said, "look, Mama, I'm Jesus!" He cracks me up!

Carver lead Pops in the nightly calisthenics. We cracked up as they went through Carver's regime of push ups, jumping jacks and crunches. Pops would purposefully mess them up and Carver would just roll laughing-although when he had enough of Pops lack of cooperation he would come to me and very seriously say, "Mama, would you PLEASE tell your dad to do them the RIGHT way."

Granny (the children's great grandmother) was brave enough to accompany us to Callaway Gardens. The kids loved having her there and it was especially sweet to know that their first memory of this wonderful spot was made with her. She was quite a sport and we rewarded her with nachos and ice cream! Probably not such a fair trade! Springer never made it to the ice cream part-we wore her out a bit earlier!

One Hour

Yep. That's how long it took Carver to eat his dinner last night. One hour. Not a minute less. The obvious question is what in the world must I feed the child that would require an hour's worth of chewing-or not chewing in his case. Well, here's the menu...homemade chicken salad with lots of chopped apples and grapes, 1/2 of a whole wheat tortilla, roasted asparagus with fresh Parmesan and apple slices. For those of you turning your nose up at asparagus, believe it or not that wasn't the initial problem. He and Springer both eat asparagus without a fuss although last night even the asparagus didn't escape his displeasure! He gobbled down the tortilla and half of his apples and was quite happy until we said 'no more apples until you eat your asparagus and chicken salad.' Well he quickly deemed the asparagus "stems" "very yucky" (I added a little more Parmesan) and would not touch the chicken salad (which he tasted as I was making it and declared it "good".) We pleaded, talked about everything in the world in an attempt to divert his attention and finally just left the table completely (it didn't take the rest of us that long to eat our dinner). Eventually, G divided his plate into a 'must eat' section. Minutes passed. One bite of asparagus down and nothing more. We took away his night time reading. He cried. G and Springer left the room completely...he would not budge. We went upstairs to get Springer ready for bed (taking Lucy with us-he's too smart!) As we were upstairs (for all of 3 minutes) he, in a moment of pure "Carver drama" (Micah, this is completely you), went to the family room and retrieved a framed photograph of G and me "because my little heart was feeling so lonely". Oh my word, all of this over chicken salad! I was at my wits end so I said (in my nicest voice-truly!) "No problem. You don't have to eat dinner. There are a lot of children who won't have dinner tonight and one missed dinner won't hurt you. I'll bet you'll be ready for breakfast in the morning!" He looked a bit unsure and clarified that he really didn't have to eat. Then, in a moment of "what the ***** are you thinking he said "May I have dessert now?" I truly bit my cheeks to keep from laughing! Was he serious? He was. Now the tears really came. Then suddenly as if the rains parted and all became clear he said, "If I eat my dinner may I have dessert?" That did it. The child ate everything he had been asked to eat and enjoyed his fig newton for dessert. After all of that a fig newton did the trick! Who knew?! He thanked us sweetly for "giving me just a little more time to finish my dinner." He still went to bed without his bed time reading, but he was so tired that he fell asleep before I left his room. Ahhh....to be four and a half!

Splish Splashing through the Spray Grounds

Yesterday we took our first trip of the season to our neighborhood spray ground. Carver's long enjoyed playing here, but this was Springer's first time in the sprinklers. Needless to say our little water bug had a blast! They both squealed, laughed and danced through the water until they were all but worn out. G and I kept laughing at Springer-she kept her tongue out almost the whole time. It was a wonderfully refreshing way to spend a warm summer morning.