You know you love your husband when . . .

i'm a little ashamed to admit this, but while folding laundry today, i watched the dr. phil show. Today was a great day to watch, considering that the topic was how much free time moms REALLY have these days. Stay-at-home moms, especially are enjoying approximately 30 hours of free time per week. Free time was defined with examples such as getting a root canal and checking e-mail. Hmmm . . . No one made mention of the fact that although we may enjoy a few minutes to read facebook or chat with the neighbor, we are often called upon at 3 0'clock in the morning to change diapers, give medicine, or just PLAY! We very often unload the dishwasher at midnight and pay bills while the rest of the house sleeps.

The best part of the show, though, came when a husband came on to complain that his wife doesn't keep the house clean enough, despite the fact that she is home all day with two young children. He seemed to enjoy pointing out the dust that was gathering and the toys that cluttered the floor. Of course he made no mention of the fact that his children were happy, healthy, well fed, clean, and generally on track each day to grow up into wonderful little people. Not even a mention! Well, all i could think was, "thank God for my husband!" Never once has he swiped a finger across a picture frame and turned his nose up. Never once stumbled over a Tonka truck just to make a point. So, as a thank you to him, tonight's blog is a tribute to him and how much i love him and how thankful i am to be married to him and not some whiner on the Dr. Phil Show.

You know you love your husband when:
1. you make EVERY pasta dish with angel hair pasta, b/c that's the only kind he likes.

2. YOu open prayer each night with, "Lord, please help my Panthers!"

3. You decorate the bedroom around the African blanket he has to sleep with
each night.

4. date night is watching Pawn Stars on mondays before bed.

5. his wardrobe consists of Panther clothes, long-sleeve, short-sleeve, windsuits,etc. And you don't mind that he wears it EVERYWHERE!

6. you buy cat food for the cat he has "adopted," and you don't like cats.

7. you move 5 times in the first 8 years of marriage.

8. you let your husband buy all 3 houses, without seeing them until the moving van pulls into the driveway.

9. YOu move the graduation stage, the heavy, wooden graduation stage, and all the metal folding chairs, off the football field the morning after graduation so they won't ruin his grass.

10. YOu know more about Sean Hannity than most people should and conservative is an understatement for the both of us.

But most importantly, You know your husband loves YOU when:
Despite 2 college degrees and the potential for a boat in the backyard, he lets you be a stay-at-home mom for 9 years because, deep down, he knows it's what makes me happy.

quiet down cobwebs!

I'm stealing this quote from my cousin, but it's says everything:

So quiet down cobwebs,
dust go to sleep.
i'm rocking my baby
and babies don't keep.

Today was a perfect day to keep the vacuum in the closet and the dirty clothes in the hamper. Not only was it a beautiful 72 degree day, but it was Tate's 9 month check up at the doctor. After spending an hour and a half waiting to see the doctor and hear him tell me how wonderful my son is, we came home and hit the streets, mom on foot and baby in stroller. Seriously, who can stay inside and dust bookshelves or fold underwear when there isn't a cloud in the sky? Certainly not me and Tate.

Pushing Tate in the stroller takes me back 8 years ago to a different baby, but one who looked alot like this one. Tucker and I moved to Cobb county when he was a newborn and I knew no one. I can't tell you how many hours we logged together under an early morning sun, round and round the track at daddy's school. Most of the time Tucker was so cooperative, taking it all in. Occasionally, though, he wanted some attention and I would carry him in my arms for a couple of laps and we would talk until he was ready to go back in the stroller, usually for a nap. Fast forward to today, and that "baby" is a third grader who climbs trees, listens to his i-pod, and has a girlfriend!!

What happened to my newborn who graced us with his presence this summer? The one who looked soooo tiny in the same jogging stroller that he now sits up in? The one who got carted around from Tucker's football practice to Tanner's football practice, back and forth to the Y, and passed back and forth from brother to brother during Scooby-Doo marathons on the couch? That baby who spent many hours in the bouncy seat watching us eat and do homework is now pulling out my pots and pans, turning over garbage cans, and trying to play on my computer. He's the fastest crawler i've seen in a while and now he's standing up and practicing for those first steps that will take him to a new category that i know i'm not ready for. He's babbling, DaDa and MaMa and everything in between. My babies are all growing so fast. Cliche, yes, but "where did the time go?" Tucker will be 9 in just a few weeks; Tanner is 7; and Tate is a nine month old. Somehow, 9 years seems to have gone by just as quickly as 9months have.

So it's true, and we all know it. Babies don't keep. They grow into dirty little tree climbers, tired little athletes, snuggly movie watchers, and someday big boys who will rather hang out with their friends than watch American Idol with me. So laugh if you will-- i'm rocking my baby to sleep, selfishly stealing sunshine afternoons just the two of us, and waiting just a few more minutes before putting him into his crib. Because babies DON'T keep. And there are two sleeping in bunk beds down the hall that remind me of that every day.

happy valentines day, Tanner!

Two years ago when tucker was a first grader, his teacher had a great idea for celebrating Valentines Day. The parents were to compose a letter to their children, send it in, and they would open it and read it on valentines day. What a special idea-- an opportunity to sit down and put all those random thoughts, special moments, little quirks on paper. That letter may have been the easiest thing I've ever written, and it was so fun and was so appreciated by Tucker that I thought I would definitely do it for Tanner when he was in first grade. Well . . . Valentine's Day of Tanner's first grade year has come and gone and no letter. So it's a litte late, but here goes . . .

Happy valentine's Day, Tanner! I don't even know where to start. The second baby is supposed to be the easy one, but you let us know EARLY on that that would not be the case. You skipped the whole 9 months thing and were delivered at 25 weeks, spent 17 weeks in the hospital, and didn't come home until we knew infant CPR, how to read a chest X-ray, what a pick line is, and how to attach a pulse Oxygen monitor and an apnea monitor to a fragile body that weighs less than 2 pounds. But then. . . they let you come home and I was more scared than i was the first time I brought home a baby. From there, though, you grew and grew into a Tough little army crawler who could hold his own with anyone. And much to my surprise, you were easy.

You were easy and sweet, but you were/are also tough, and gosh you love to snuggle and according to some people "give the best hugs!" You aren't afraid to stand up for yourself, but you could also rock for hours and never wanted to be put down. I watched more 80's reruns during your naptime those first two years, but looking back, I'm glad I didn't put you in that baby bed each afternoon. We had 17 weeks to make up for:-)!

Then came the toddler version of tanner. Your wardrobe for about 4 years consisted of costumes or pajamas. Bodybuilders at Gold's Gym eyed us as we walked in each morning, curious as to what the day's choice would be. I marveled at your individuality and your complete lack of care for what people thought. You're still that way today!

I love that you care for others so much. Your preschool teacher told me often of how you kept their special needs student "on task," never wanting him to get in trouble. You cried when Simon was mean to a contestant on American Idol, and you asked if you could get some of your money out of the bank to buy your neighbor friend a bike. You love doing chain prayers at night, giving and receiving Two-armed hugs (one arm hugs just aren't the same), and you love, love, love your brothers!!

YOu are a Lego-building, trampoline jumping, bike riding 7 year old now, who takes my breath away every day. You love to joke, ride your scooter, watch Scooby-Doo, and hang out with ME, even when Daddy and Tucker are at the school with the big boys. You always say it's because you don't want me to be lonely--and I love that. YOu are what every Mom dreams of and I know that whatever you choose to do in life, you will be the best at it. I Love You and am so proud to be your Mom. Happy Valentine's Day!

Coach comes home!

"Daddy's home, Daddy's home!" And Daddy always brings prizes when he's been out of town. A week at the Chick-fil-A bowl reaps prizes of all things "cow," and this trip is no exception. Only this time he comes home bearing candy, the last thing 2 boys need on a rainy, cold cooped up day. Oh well!!Anyway, Daddy and two of his coaches went to Murray State in Kentucky to work with the coaches there in preparation for spring football coming up. So all day friday and Saturday and half a day on Sunday with no Daddy makes for a long 3 day (furloughed) weekend. Well, no one is more excited to see him walk through the door than me, but it is quickly evident that I am LAST on the totem pole for daddy time. Tanner has just got to show Daddy how well he shoots the BB gun, Tucker has a ton of questions to ask, and even Tate, who just months ago during football season wasn't sure about the tall bald headed man in the house, can't seem to get enough of Billy. Da-Da-da-da- just keeps pouring out of his mouth and he's never crawled faster than he is now as he follows him from room to room. The joke in the house lately (atleast since Tate's birth) has been that Billy is fourth team around here. Yes, we refer to most everything in our world with sports references. Billy tells everyone that he "outpunted his coverage" when he married me, he asks me in certain crisis moments if I'm going to "Punt or go for it," and I quite frequently challenge my aerobics classes with "Go hard or go home!"
So it's no surprise that when feeling left out as I'm feeding, bathing, doing homework, or chauffering the kids, Billy feels like a fourth-teamer. I usually just laugh, but for once I think I may just understand a little of how he feels. I too have tons of questions to ask him about his trip, things to show him (like the fact that I started a blog all by myself), and like a silly little school girl just want to follow him from room to room. I'm optimistic though. Eventually today, all 3 boys will be asleep, the dishes will be done, and the house will be quiet enough to allow for some grown-up conversation and Billy will be my starting quarterback and I'll be his head cheerleader and we'll both feel like First Team All-County.

Wow! The house is so quiet. Billy, Tucker, and Tanner are having dinner with Grandmommy and Tate is sound asleep. I know I should be sleeping as well considering that with the double ear infection that Tate has been fighting, sleep has been a rarity for both of us these last five (yes, I'm counting) days. But, WOW again. The house is so quiet and how often does that happen? With xbox 360, 3 (yes, 3) Nintendo DS's, 3 cellphones, 3 tv's, and 3 kids, this house rarely shuts down. I could watch whatever I want on tv, totally uninterrupted, but I dare not turn on anything with sound. I rather enjoy the sound of my fingers slapping at the keys of the computer and am reveling somewhat at the idea of starting a blog, something I've said I was going to do for sometime. And being the technologically SLOW one in the house, I'm a little surprised I"ve gotten this far by myself. All the fancy stuff will have to come later though, if it comes at all; for now, just typing away feels soooo good, so if my page is not asethetically pleasing, well maybe I'll find something important to say and everyone will forget about the color design (or lack thereof).

So let's see, my first real post: Thursday, March 11. I taught two Step classes and a Sculpt class and I'm exhausted from the aforementioned lack of sleep. HOwever, it is AMAZING what God does to new moms, and old ones for that matter. No matter how little sleep I may get at night, I have yet to forget to do anything, wreck my van, burn supper. or fall asleep during homework time. I can still mange a good 6 mile run most days, teach my aerobics classes, and even catch the 10:00 news. I ask inquisitive questions when Billy gets home, follow tanner's tales from lunch, and keep up with Tucker's mood swings. Tate's diapers get changed and I've yet to forget to put him in the car on any of our trips alone. I'm not saying that I like the lack of sleep thing, in fact, I'm craving a good night's rest. What I am saying, I guess, is that this is another thing to be thankful for in my life. And there are so, so many things to be thankful for!