Finally....a Lake House!

Well, we've been working on it one way or another for the past 2 1/2 years, so we finally found "the lake house". We closed on a place on Lake Martin, close to Auburn, AL on Friday. I cannot express how excited we are! We've wanted a lake place for us to relax and enjoy the water (especially Dave, the boat lover that he is), but we also wanted to have a place for the kids - to create memories. I hope this lake house serves us well..... Good times, here we come. We have memories to make.

Dave also searched and searched for a boat and found the perfect one. It's a 2003 Cobalt, 24' and it's a nice one. I have a feeling Zach may be driving more than Daddy. Zach loves to be the captain, so I cannot wait to see how this summer turns out! Olivia just wants to catch lizards and frogs, hmmm, imagine that! She's very excited to see the wildlife this place has to offer. We have plans to take our bug catcher and all the essential tools for the insects. They have their fishing poles ready as well.

Dave and I, on the other hand, are furiously working in the free time that we have (don't have) to figure out furniture, moving a dock, and all the other goodies wrapped up in home ownership. Luckily, Dave is home for most of May, so at least he will not be jetsetting off to Europe until June. Unfortunately, he will be traveling most of June, so we'll have to take plenty of pictures for him.

We are very, very happy and grateful for our new place. We cannot wait to enjoy it!

Doughnup Thursdays....

Like any parent that bribes, threatens, and does whatever it takes to make their kids behave, I started (or maybe it was Olivia) the tradition of getting a Dunkin Donut on Thursday on the way home from preschool. Yes, great nutrition, so how can I say no :-) It wasn't really about the bribing, it was more on rewarding and letting me be the 'good guy' for a change. Hopefully the kids will remember "Doughnut Thursdays" or as both of my children pronounce it "dough-NUPs" just like "peanuPs". So, every Thursday, after they earn their allowance for the week, they buy a strawberry frosted with sprinkles on it! Don't forget the sprinkles! Today, the first day Zach broke out of Olivia's mold, he got a powdered doughnut. Maybe becuase I was finally forced to take them inside and he saw the vast array of choices ahead of him. He changed his mind 3 times before he got the powdered goodness. Of course, we stayed inside for the eating of that one! I love doughnut Thursdays... not because I get to eat one (which I do not since they do not make them sans gluten..) but it's the joy on the kids faces and it signals the end of the regular school week for us. Ahh, freedom to have a fun Friday! The simple pleasures in childhood.

Speedy the Turtle

Olivia's classmate found a turtle in the lake close to her house. Taylor and her mom were going to release "Speedy" but decided to wait on Olivia, knowing she was an animal lover. We went over today, but Olivia had it in her mind that she was taking Speedy home, not releasing him. She talked us into a keeping him a few days and "then we'll release him". Right, I'm sure it will be as easy as that! She's been begging me for a turtle for about 3 weeks now. It was a parrot the month before that, a dog the 3 months prededing that.....you get the picture. I'm so glad Taylor found a turtle, so it gives us a chance to see how well she does with creatures. The worms have not faired so well - lasting about 2 days before they dry up. The catepillar she found the week of Spring Break lasted almost the entire week. I believe she finally released him - he was doing well and liked Olivia's attention. I wasn't there for the release, so maybe we'll have a cocoon and a butterfly in the house soon?! Speedy is a very appropriate name for this turtle. He is a little fiesty, baby turtle. I actually like having him around as well. She had him outside in a container today. She moved him to a bowl and surprise, surprise, he made a break for it. He was missing about 30 minutes and we found him (after he scaled the bowl, dropped down from the kids table, got off the deck and into the yard) in the middle of our back yard. Speedy and CRAFTY little fellow. You can only imagine his thougths when we snagged him. Poor guy almost made it to the oasis of the McCurry's pond!

Today was a big day for Zach! It was his first trip to the dentist (for himself). He was great and it was such a non-event. I have to give it to my kids; they are so easy when it comes to the dentist. I actually like going to the dentist, so maybe they take after me in that respect. Dr. Aspes (of the famed Julia Roberts' smile) is so good and quick with the kids. He also has a hobby of building huge marble games. He has probably 8 big plywood boards with different PVC, metal pieces to make the marble track. Zach LOVES it. He cried the last time we had to leave (from Olivia's appointment). So, yes, they love the dentist and they had great check-ups. Keep them coming!

Gone Fishing.....

Dave was out of town for the weekend, so I thought it would be nice for the kids to see their grandparents (he he). We talked Papa (aka, my dad) into taking us fishing on Friday afternoon. What a gorgeous day!! Zach was so excited, he fell asleep on the way. He perked up after getting a doughnut, hey, who wouldn't? Olivia saw ducks right away... My dad dug worms for us to fish with and low and behold, when we arrived to fish, Olivia would not give us the worms. They were her "pets", the animal lover that she is... worms and all. So, we had to pry one or two from her to fish! She asked my mom if she would take the worm off the hook, it was "choking the worm". Ha! Choking, that's one way of putting it :-) No fish were caught, but it was a beautiful day and we had fun.

Tumble buds

Zach and Adam take Tumbling together at the Smyrna Community Center on Wednesdays. They are best buddies. Adam has a new baby sister, Sylvia (5 weeks), so I invited Adam to hang out with us Wednesday. I made them hold hands to be safe in the parking lot on our way to tumbling class, so I had to take a photo. They'll hate me for this later, but it's still priceless. Zach turned a great cartwheel in class - Ms. Rita was impressed with him. Of course, he asked me to do a cartwheel too. Note to self - if you are over the age of 30, it's not a good idea. It was pretty, but my body wasn't too impressed with it.

Check out Zach's new shoes - his summer Teva's. He LOVES them! Usually it's really hard shopping for shoes with the kids, but they had been cooped up in the house all day Monday, so they were running, laughing and skipping in Nordstrom. Luckily, almost no one was in there, so it was funny. Free birds.... of course, we had to get a 'sweet treat' at the Cafe. It's nice not to have to be the bad guy all the time. Mommies can be fun too!

Porsches a-plenty

One of the best perks of Dave's job is THE CAR! We didn't have the white SUV (Cayenne) long enough. Usually he keeps a car for six months, but this new one came early, so now we have a beautiful red Cayenne GTS. Of course, the kids tell me that they want the white one back (becuase it had a DVD player in it) and they also quote how much horsepower is in each car. Hmm, do you think their daddy works for a sports car company or what?!

For those of you that knew I had the kids' blood tested for Celiac Disease, we got results back. Olivia was negative. Zach had one out of 5 items tested for Celiac that was high, all others negative, so it looks like he doesn't have it. I will keep an eye on him through the years though and I can have him retested. Very good news though.... we have enough allergies in my family with gluten, peanuts/nuts, fish and seasonal allergies. Enough already. People will stop inviting us to eat with them if we develop any more allergies :-)

Smell the Flowers

Our Spring Break week with Nonnie was fun AND relaxing. We went to Fernbank, the Botanical Gardens and the Aquarium, but one of the memorable times was just going out to lunch at the Smyrna Market Village, walking at the duck pond, meeting up with Grandpa Bob and eating gelato... Olivia is into picking flowers, so she helped the jonquils finish their last breath a few days early. Poor flowers. She made a lovely arrangement, and she and Zach took time to stop and smell the flowers - something we should all do, so I really couldn't be mad at her. It was nice to stay close to home during Spring Break because it helped us recharge our batteries. Or, as Olivia would say "gas". She tells me these days that she needs some "sugar gas". Meaning, she would like something sweet so she can have more energy. I guess I talk about sugar too much and also about them having 'lots of energy'. I told her today that she should probably use the term 'energy' instead of gas, because I (being her mother) laugh every time she says it.

The week was also bittersweet as well. One of my good friends that I grew up with since 1st grade had her father pass away this week; he was only 68. I went out for a quick visit and it was nice seeing her and her family. Funny, I grew up at their farm. If you ever hear me tell stories of unloading chickens from the truck, castrating pigs and playing hide & seek in the haystacks, this is where it all happened. On the Holland Farm...good memories and that's the way I like to keep it.

Lunch date at Costco

We ran to Costco today, well before the crowds arrived (thank goodness). The kids rarely go to Costco with me, the same goes for Dave. He always seems to cost me more when he tags along.. he he. Of course, they had the free samples out, so the kids were getting a little of this, a little of that. The samples got better and better for them as we went along (more sugar content). After a few stops, Olivia said "Mommy, why are we eating lunch at Costco?" Say it a little louder Oli and you may, just may, embarrass mommy a bit more! Yes, Dave and I were feeding our kids at Costco, little did we know! Hey, if it works for her, we'll have to remember this trick!

Nonnie's here.....

We picked Dave's mom, Joan, otherwise known as Nonnie, up from the airport Friday afternoon. The weather was not so nice, but she made it none the less. The kids were so excited to see her! It's been 2 years since she was here last, so Zach doesn't remember her, but he will now! Spring Break has officially started, so we have fun plans for the week. Nonnie will be ready to go home after we are through with her (ha!). Olivia asked Nonnie to read to her out of a new animal book. It's information about real animals in the wild, so of course, this is Olivia's favorite book right now. Wouldn't you know it.... Olivia came to the snake page and Nonnie is deathly afraid of snakes, pictures of snakes, rubber replicas of snakes (which we have in the playroom). So, when she came to this page, I had to hide the photo and Nonnie tried to read on about one of her worst fears...snakes. Poor thing.

Double fister and fights....

Thursday was a rough day. Last day of preschool before Spring Break and the kids were in a mood. As you can tell by the photo, Zach was in need of a stiff drink to get him through the afternoon. For those of you that haven't been introduced to Baby Crack, this is it!! Dannon yogurt drinks.... young kids drink this faster than you can blink, then slam it down as if they just had a shot of Tequila! Zach must have felt the urge, because he was double fisting it today. Drink, slam, ahhh, all better :-)

Zach had a new toy, the helicopter in the photo. Of course, when Olivia saw it, she wanted it as well, so it was a struggle. Funny, how they fight over the same toys, hmmm, such a mystery. One more day until Nonnie arrives, come on Nonnie....

Miley Cyrus book

Today started out with the usual wake up call. Our door slamming against the wall as the first one wakes up to go to our bathroom to pee-pee. Why they have to use our bathroom, I have no idea. But, they do.... So, we are sitting at breakfast and I start watching Zach. He's checking out his 'thing'. He finally looks up and says, "my wee-wee is LONG". Are they really obsessed with it this early on? It turns out, as he showed me, it was. He needed to go pee. It's just so funny how blunt kids are. If they think it, it comes out.

We had an awesome day with Olivia in school and Zach at tumbling - he had a 'mommy day'. After tumbling, one of his friends, who was sick for the airport party on Saturday, invited him to drop by for a cupcake to celebrate. Zach really likes Christian and they don't get to see each other much now that Christian moved preschools, so they had a great time playing with the new toy.

Olivia passed out from exhaustion tonight (played at Brady's all afternoon), so Zach and I were getting ready to read books. He said, "mom, I don't have a Miley Cyrus book"! I had to do a double take on this one, thinking that I did not hear him correctly. Miley Cryus, mom! For those of you that don't know, Miley Cyrus plays Hannah Montana - the new craze these days. In the Pryor household, we do not know who that is....or at least it has not come up yet. Now my 3-year old boy is bringing this up! Maybe, just maybe, I need to cut back on t.v. time and the commercials that advertise. I can't believe he was wondering why he didn't have a Miley book over a Hannah Montana book.... what is this world coming to? That kid...makes me smile all the time.

Pee-pee or poop?

You forget or don't realize the horrendous things you ask your little ones on a daily basis. Luckily, we all grow out of asking certain questions. If I notice that one of the kids is in the bathroom a long time or if they go and re-dress themselves, I always ask, "did you go pee-pee or poop?" Basically, I need to know if I need to wipe them! It's a big deal at this age. So, this morning, I ran to the bathroom (to pee) as the kids were eating their breakfast. Zach yells for me and I tell him I am in the bathroom. Seconds later he yells back "Mommy, are you going pee-pee or poop?" Like mother like son.....

The kids had a busy day with preschool, Spanish and Brady coming over for our normal Tuesday afternoon fun time. Olivia ended up, last minute, going with a friend to a pottery painting place and Brady stayed with me and Zach. Adam (Zach's buddy) came over while his mom took his 3-week old baby sister for a checkup. So, we had a boy's afternoon. Then, Olivia & Taylor came back, they played, Taylor left, Amy brought Parker over, so we still had a party going on. We went outside to play and noticed another neighbor, whom, the kids wanted to play with, so we met up with them. It turned out to be yet ANOTHER neighbor's birthday (Kyra - 3), and they had the jumpy house out for her and her sister to play. Turns out, she had 8 more kids (mine) show up last minute to play and help with her pinata (and accidently lock the house - we had to break in!!). The kids helped with the pinata alright.... so did the adults. Candy anyone? Then, they all stayed for dinner. So is the life in the Pryor household. Not a dull moment - heck, there is not a moment to take a breather around here, but we love it! Do you ever wonder what I do all day?! :-)