Busiest.past.2.months.EVER. Seriously, September and October were jammed packed and flew by. I can't believe it is November~ Ashley's birthday is later this week and Thanksgiving is just around the corner. I'm dizzy just trying to keep up! I won't bore you with all the details of what we've been up to, but I will tell you that we are all fine, healthy (now we are-- kids and Jonathan both had the swine flu. Oink, Oink!), and ready for the holidays so we can just CHILL OUT! Here are some pictures from our time away from blog world. The pictures speak for themselves, but I will say that when you see the very last one, please excuse the OCD that has apparently been passed on to my children. A love for sorting and organizing isn't so bad, right?

We survived the first week of school! Trevor is a lot better, thank goodness (that was very scary) and we are having a relaxing weekend to catch up on laundry and sleep. Ashley is loving 1st grade and my new class is super cute! They all know their names and are potty trained! Woo Hoo!

Anyway, here are some pictures of Ashley on the first day of school, and Trevor when he got into my make-up. Please notice the table, his clothes, face, and hair. Lovely.

Sunday Funday and Back to School

What better way to spend a Sunday afternoon, specifically the day before school starts? In the emergency room at Children's Hospital. That's right folks. Nothing like a little drama to start this school year off on the right foot. Poor Trevor had 2 absesses that needed to be taken care. I thought they were bug bites that he had a bad reaction to, but he woke up this morning and they were swollen, hot, and painful. So, we went to urgent care first, then made our way to the Children's ER. I think he'll be OK, but he may be traumatized for a very long time. So sad.

Now for the super exciting part of this post~ School Starts Tomorrow! Can you believe that the Diva Darling will be in 1st grade? I can't. 1st grade sounds really old to me, but she is ready and so excited! We had Meet The Teacher Night on Friday at our BRAND NEW SCHOOL and it was awesome. Jonathan took Ashley to meet her teacher and organize her supplies in her desk (the desk is what she's most excited about!) while I hung out in my classroom to meet and greet the 21 kindergarteners that will march my way tomorrow morning. They are super cute and so little! For the first time in many years I am actually really excited to start this year. Like I said, our school is awesome and the staff is amazing. Woo Hoo!

Here are some pictures of Ashley on our way to Meet The Teacher Night and then some pics of my new classroom!

Houdini Strikes Again

You might remember this post from last year when Trevor magically escaped from the buckles of his high chair. Well, last night as I am driving 70 miles an hour down the tollway, our little Houdini performed his latest trick. He can unbuckle his car seat straps. Lovely. This is how I found him when I pulled in to the garage. And yes, he wears his sunglasses at night.

Pacifiers Anonymous

Hello. My name is Trevor, and I am a pacifieraholic.


We are desperately trying to kick this habit. Actually, for the past year Trevor has only had his beloved paci when he sleeps. We don't take it anywhere. It stays in his bed and he knows to leave it there when he wakes up. Buuuuut, then we went on a road trip. And Trevor got a little bit more attached. Soooooo, we have enrolled in the twelve step program and the process has begun. The night before last he went through a screaming/creaming/flailing withdrawal that lasted until about 11:30pm. Last night we ended up driving around in the car for a bit just to divert his attention. We came back home and he was able to fall asleep, but not before pitifully begging for his paci a few times. Oh.my.goodness. We keep telling him that pacies are for babies~ last night he told me that "Baby Kate please bring back my paci!"

Anywhoo. Hopefully tonight will be better. Next up, potty training...

Raod Trip!

Well, we survived our first family road trip! I have taken many road trips in my life, but the furthest my husband and kids have ever gone is about 5 hours away, so I was nervous. Maybe more so about how my husband would do than the kids! But, we ALL did fabulously and had a super-great time. Here's how it all went down (I'll spare you ALL the details and the 300+ pictures):

Days 1-3~ Peachtree City, GA! (outside Atlanta) We drove 12 hours the first day to spend a few days with my cousin and his family. Ashley and Trevor had a blast with Will and Jeff! We've missed them since they moved from Plano last year. We picked blueberries, went swimming, made "kick the can" homemade ice cream, and rode all over town in the golf cart!





Days 3-8~ North Myrtle Beach, SC! My dad and step-mother live there and it's such a fun place. We spent LOTS of time at the beach, but managed to fit in a few other things too. My dad is an avid fisherman so he took Ashley fishing for the first time and she caught 5 fish!









Day 8~ Durham/Chapel Hill, NC for tours of Duke and University of NC. In case you haven't figured it out yet, Jonathan is a bit obsessed with basketball (thank goodness it's his profession) so he has waited a long time for this day! Both campuses are beautiful and worth the trip.






Days 8-10~ Mountains of North Carolina. My aunt and uncle have a mountain home in the town of Sparta, NC which is close to the Virginia border and it is beautiful. The house and the area. Gorgeous views and cool, non-humid mountain air. Ashley and Trevor had never been to the mountians, so this was a special trip.






The kids were amazing travelers~ they each had their own portable DVD player to watch and their own bucket of travel activites to keep them busy. Neither one fussed or complained. Ever. I packed lots of snacks and we made minimal stops, with Jonathan driving the entire route. Susan, our GPS was amazing and never lead us astray, although she did test our trust on the journey out of the mountains. We had such a great trip and are already making plans for next year!

We Have Pictures!

Here are some pictures of us from the 4th that were taken and sent to me by a friend. The first one is actually from my camera on July 3rd~ the memory card actually survived the underwater tragedy! I still haven't picked up the pics from the Fun Flash, so they will have to wait until we return from our ROAD TRIP! We are headed out to Myrtle Beach to see my dad and Kathy, with stops in Atlanta on the way there and the mountains of NC on the return to see family. Wish us luck!