Gina's Surgery

Gina had her surgery this morning and all went really well. She will stay at the vet until Friday so she can be monitored. The vet said it was a smooth operation and it really couldn't have goen better. She wished all of the surgeries she did were like this.

Oh and apparently she didn't tear her ACL she torn the meniscus in her knee. I must have misunderstood somewhere along the way. Recovery is going to be tough as she isn't supposed to put any weight on it at all and she is going to want to use it right off the bat.

Poor Lola has been sad all day. She hasn't done much but sleep. She didn't even eat which is very unusual for her. It will be good to have Gina back. I miss her too actually.

For Sale?

I was cuddling on the floor with Ava this morning and she started talking about Brie...

Ava: Are you going to sell Amanda when Brie comes out?

Me: No

Daddy: I don't know how much can we get for her on e-bay

Poor Amanda...

More Zoo Pictures

The friend I went to the zoo with just sent me some really cute pictures. She is a way better photographer than me.


Here is a very cute picture of Ava and Lex at the ostriches.

Here is a good picture to show how excited Amanda was.


Check out my huge belly!! Yikes!

Here are Justice and Tayedon enjoying the elephants.

The ZOO!

We made a last minute trip to the NC Zoo with our good friends the Mansour's. I was planning on buying Ava some new dresses today because all of her old dresses are way too short. So that didn't happen but this was way more fun. We'll get some new dresses tomorrow.

As we parked in the parking lot we were greeted by a very friendly squirrel. Amanda was SO excited. I am pretty sure if thats all we saw today she would have been overjoyed. She was in for a real treat when we got to the first exhibit.

The first animals we saw were zebras, ostriches and giraffes. Amanda again was just so excited. I wish I would have gotten her on video. Its tough to explain how cute she was. Ava thought they were all pretty cool too.


Next came the chimps. This guy was sitting right next to the glass. They all stared pretty intently at this chimp. He was just laying there relaxing/sleeping. Amanda proceeded to tell everyone who would look at her that the monkey was sleepy.

Here is the chimps friends come to check him for bugs :)

This exhibit was my personal favorite. The elephants were so close it was great. When the kids started making elephant noises the closest one started walking away. Oh well.


I really think the helicopter was Ava's favorite part. She didn't want to give the controls up to her friend Lex. Whats really funny is that there was a video playing in this little hanger and there was an elephant who was shot by a dart. She kept asking if the elephant with the hole in his back was ok. We had to reassure her that the doctors were trying to help the elephant because he was sick. Of all the things to remember...we could have just stayed home and watched a movie :)

We finished the day by seeing the zebras, ostriches and giraffes again. We got an eyeful this time. There was a giraffe so close. He was standing as tall as he could to get the leaves from the tree.

We only ended up doing half the zoo (the African half). We opted to leave because we could see the meltdowns just a short time away. Next time we will see the North American animals. All in all it was a pretty fun trip. I just can't get over how much Amanda just flipped out when she saw all of the animals.

Reasons why daddy is more fun #1958

As I was getting a washcloth to wash Amanda off after dinner I saw this...

Yes, my husband bit a hole in his bread and stuck it in his glasses. And he wonders why his kids don't take him seriously. Hmmmm...

Update: I was just informed that he didn't bite the bread he cut it, because thats makes it so much more acceptable.

It's a Smoothie Day!

I made Smoothies for the family while Christine was helping a neighbor move today.
















Needless to say, they were a hit.

Plop Plop Fizz Fizz

Justin had Amanda put some Alka Seltzer into a cup for him just now. Ava wanted to see too and, I am not kidding, they were totally fascinated for about 5 minutes until Justin had to drink it. They kept putting their faces in the cup, smelling it and listening to it. Who knew that stuff could be so much fun.

Tall Bike Part 2

I went to the bike shop this evening to get Uncle Steve on video riding the tall bike. Its quite a sight. Chris, his manager, was not there so I could not get the manly way to get on the bike on tape. Steve was too big of a wuss to try it :) So here he goes!




Yes ladies, Steve and Chris are single :)

What do to on a rainy day

Yesterday was kind of weird, it would rain for about 5 seconds then get really warm and then rain again. The girls really wanted to play outside but I didn't want to be in the rain with them. While we were would for a walk I would be looking at the clouds to gauge when the rain would get here. We would get home and shortly after we walked in the door the rain would start. So I decided to make it a princess day to keep them entertained. We made princess crowns and ate princess pasta (who knew they even made that stuff). Toward the end of the afternoon they really wanted to be outside so I gave up and said go play in the rain. The loved it and so did I.

Radio show download

The radio show from Saturday is up for you all to listen. Click here to listen!

Teachable Moments

Last Sunday we woke up to some fresh bunny roadkill right in front of your driveway. We did our best to keep the girls from seeing it because it was a cute little bunny and who knows what they would have done. I wasn't sure I was ready to explain what happened either. We did a great job and they never saw the bunny, until Monday..

We were headed out to run some errands and I had the front door open. Ava kept asking if what she saw was throw up in the road. I kept saying no don't worry about it. It was not enough to satisfy her so as we were going outside she asked again and I said, "That bunny got hit by a car because it went into the street with out its mommy. When we don't listen to our mommy's we get hurt like that bunny." I think the lesson may have worked because Justin got a scratch on his head and Ava asked him what happened and after Justin explained she said, "daddy got hurt because he didn't listen to mommy." Smart gal don't you think? Who knew bunny roadkill could turn out to be a good lesson.

Rainbow Six: Lockdown

OK so about a year ago I did a voice for the demo version of the game Rainbow Six: Lockdown. I did the voice of one of the female characters whose name escapes me at the moment, but I sounded more like terrorist Barbie than a special ops person. It was pretty freakin' cool! Thanks Chris G.!!

Anyway, now I figured out that my name is in the credits!!!!! I had no idea! Justin knew but neglected to tell me. So a year later I find out that I am semi (not really) famous. Click here to see my name. Scroll down to almost the bottom where it says Special Thanks and I am listed as one of the Local Brand Managers. It sounds so important doesn't it?

Radio Show #2

Once again my husband rocked the house on the radio today!! He was talking with our good friend Michael on there today. Michael is the owner of the real estate company Selling Directly. It went so smooth and was pretty funny at times! He even mentioned me!

I am seriously so proud its unbelievable. I might turn into one of those "radio show" moms if I am not careful :)

Last week they didn't record the show so hopefully they recorded it this week so it can be downloaded and you all can hear it. My husband is awesome!!!!!!

Tall Bike

When I say tall I really mean it! My brother, Steve, works at a bike shop and his manager, Chris, built this tall bike. I don't think they have enough work to do during the day :)

To give you some perspective here is my brother in front of the bike. He is 6' 3".


Ok, I took two videos and I can't get them to upload now. I rotated them the right way and now they won't work on this site. I will have to go back and get Steve and Chris riding the bike. So sorry about that.

A record night!

Both girls woke up dry this morning which has never happened in the history of my kids! Of course we decided to reward them. Especially Ava because wetting the bed is the last step until she is fully potty trained. It was also nice to include Amanda in on the excitement.

The first thing we did was let them wear special necklaces. Grandpa Ed you may recognize the necklace Ava has on. You gave it to me when I was 5! She likes Strawberry Shortcake a lot right now. you can ask Justin, he has read every Strawberry Shortcake book in the library about 15 times each. Funny, he asked me not to get those any more...I wonder why?


Then we let her paint her fingers and toes all by herself...


Here is what it looks like when a three year old does her own toenails :)

We then went to Target to buy special treats for both of the girls. Amanda picked out a little watering can and I got one for Ava too. Ava also picked out a Dora dancing mat and video set. She LOVES it! She has gone through the dance video twice since we've been home. Here is a video of her dancing along with the DVD.

Ava's "babies"

I went to check on the girls as they has been playing in their room for quite a while this morning and they had been getting along so that usually means trouble. I was very happy to find there was no trouble at all. Maybe for the dogs though :) Ava was calling the dogs her babies and had them covered in blankets. She even gave them her pillow to lay on. What a good mommy! I think Gina will be in good hands after her surgery.

Alms for the poor.

I just picked Gina up from the vet today and found out that she has torn her Cruciate Ligament. Basically she torn her ACL. This means surgery and it is not going to be pretty, they have to bring in a team of people n order to do the surgery. She will even need physical therapy after the surgery to ensure proper healing. I feel so bad for her because she is not going to understand why she can't run or do pretty much anything for a while. Poor Lola is going to be bored out of her mind. I think she will be having the surgery at the end of the month.

So if you would like to donate to the Gina needs surgery fund you can do so by clicking here:

We're actually only half serious about this, but we're not going to turn anything away.

Farm Animal Day!

Today was Farm Animal Day at NC State. We went with our good friend Lori who used to work for the farm animal department and another friend Adrienne and her kids. It turned out to be just awesome! The girls got to pet all kinds of animals and hold baby chicks. They even got some free ice cream!

First off were the turkeys. Amanda got a huge kick out of those. I think it was because they were kind of far away.

Ava really liked to hold the baby chicks. She actually held one upside down and had to be shown the correct way to hold the chick. She was very gentle.

Here is Ava's friend Caleb. He is Lori's son. Every where they walked they were holding hands. I told her it was ok to marry him :) I am pretty sure Lori approved too!


I think the bunnies may have been the most anticipated of the afternoon. That is what was talked about most. Ava got a real good feel of those bunnies. Amanda wasn't too sure about them. She would pet them through the fence but when I lifted her up to pet them over the fence she wanted nothing to do with them.

Here is Amanda with the bunny she got to pet.


The next animal was the horse. They all loved these guys. There was a mother and a baby in there. Very cute. The kids from left to right are Caden, Trace, Ava and Caleb. Caden and Trace are Adrienne's kids.


This may have been Amanda's favorite animal, the pigs. They were running around like crazy and Amanda could not stop laughing. Ava started making pig noises after she heard the pigs making the sounds. This is the first time they have heard pigs making this noise.


Here are the cows. I think Ava liked climbing on the fence more than looking at the actual cow.

Goats and sheep were the last animals they got to see. Here is Ava petting a sheep. As we were headed to the tractors the sheep got noisy and the girls thought it was cool to hear them.


Ava in the big red tractor.


Amanda LOVED this tractor. She did not want to get off to let someone else have a turn.

Ava on the green tractor.


The free ice cream was pretty good. Amanda got vanilla and Ava got Strawberry. Amanda is obviously enjoying hers.


Ava enjoyed hers too. Here she is looking sweet.


After ice cream we decided to take one more look at the baby chicks. Amanda got brave and actually picked one up this time. She was a little bit rough though. She was actually pulling on the poor chicks head and they squishing him. I took the bird away from her pretty quickly. Ava really liked the chicks if you look in her hands by her neck you'll notice the yellow feather of the chick she is hugging.

I was SO close with this picture. She picked that chick right up and gave him a great big kiss.

The Sun...

...is freakin' amazing. I had some really stinky leftover containers in the fridge and washing them did not take the smell out. So since sunning baby diapers takes that ammonia pee smell out, I figured, hoped, it would be the same with leftover containers. I put them out this morning and checked on them this afternoon. They smelled great! They smelled like nothing which is exactly what I want my clean containers smelling like. I am truly amazed at the sun and what it can do. I guess the lesson is; if you you have anything stinky put it in the sun and it will smell good again :)

Top 10 things I love about dogs.

In random order...

1. Fur, not the stuff you clean up but the stuff you get to pet that is so soft and snuggly.

2. Cuddling, whether they like it or not. There is nothing like laying right beside a pup and snuggling. Especially during winter when I am freezing and Justin isn't around

3.The smell of their paws. I am not kidding I love it.

4. They are ALWAYS happy to see you!

5. The way they sleep. My dogs get in the weirdest most uncomfortable positions imaginable and they can still manage to look peaceful while sleeping.

6. If I need to laugh at them or make fun of them they just don't care. They actually enjoy the fact that they are getting attention. We make fun of Gina's weight all the time. She is the weight watchers dog.

7. The smell of their chewies. We get these chewy things from the vet that are good for their teeth and they just smell so good.

8. The constant entertainment they provide. For example when Lola is sleeping she will just start barking and whining and her whole body starts twitching like she is chasing something. It is really loud sometimes too. I don't think I will ever get tired of watching that. And the way Gina still chases her tail is pretty funny. If I listed all of the crazy things they did I would be here all day.

9. Companionship, they are always there when you need someone.

10. Exercise. All dogs need a walk and that burns calories. Although we have been grounded because of Gina's leg problem. Hopefully walks can resume soon.


The worst thing about dogs are the vet bills...Gina is about to cost us more money this week

Gina is the dog on the left and Lola is on the right.


They cuddle all the time. In the winter you'd think they were attached. Lola is to the left this time.


If you lay on the floor at our house watch out, this is what happens.