Toilet Seat

Okay, some of you may not find the humor in this.....but my sister told me about it, and I felt I needed to pass it on

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGixevnJ7Xc&feature=related

Durham Easter bunny is no good

Last year we went to 3 different Easter egg hunts. We went to one in Cary which was terrible, but the other 2 were great. The best one was put on by Durham parks and rec. Only a handful of kids came and there were hundreds of eggs. This year it was at a different park and there were a ton of kids. First problem is they put the 1-5 year olds next to the busy road while the older kids were in the main part of the park away from the road. 95% of the kids there were in the first category. Within about 10 seconds all of the eggs were gone and neither of my kids got any eggs. I had been building this up for a couple of weeks to my kids and they were so excited. A girl that was about 7 years old saw Charlotte had an empty basket and she gave Charlotte one of her eggs even though she only had 4 eggs herself. I told the kids that the Easter bunny would bring them extra eggs since they didn't get any.

Myrtle Beach

so I took the kids down to Myrtle Beach last week with 3 of my friends. There were 4 moms and 11 kids, so we looked like a bunch of polygamists. I was super nervous to go with the 3 kids and especially a new baby but it was so much fun. Charlotte and Simon hardly fought, I think because the hotel was so great. It had 2 indoor water parks and about 500 indoor pools. My kids only sat on the stairs of the hot tubs or ran up and down a little runway into the "lazy river" The other water was "too cold". Simon actually branched out a little on this trip. For those of you who know Simon, know that most things are "scary". He went down one of the water slides, which is a huge feat. He only did it once though because he said "water got in his mouth", which he probably told me 50-60 times. He also played in the ocean the first day which was a huge shocker. The rest of the time he either was throwing sand at someone, smashing someones sand castle or just sitting by me. Charlotte had so much fun collecting shells and playing with her friend Camber. At night we all were in one room and I probably got out of bed 15 times each night with requests for water or because they were coughing. I am going to miss living so close to the beach.

Simon going crazy in the water

This is all of us out to dinner at the Hard Rock one
night.


Charlotte and Camber


These are the fish that hang out around the feeding
posts.


We took the kids on the rides before we went to
see an Imax movie. Simon wouldn't wear his
glasses in the Imax movie and kept asking when it
would end.


This was Simon coming down the slide. All you can
see is his foot sticking up.


Henry was perfect. He just hung out in his carseat
for 5 days.


Charlotte was attempting to put this enormous
raft/float into the hot tub.

First official haircut

Dave puts Henry on the couch when
he falls asleep and the other day he tipped
over. We thought he looked so cute and we
were grateful he didn't land face down.


I have always cut Simon's hair, and it was getting
out of hand. Earlier in the week I attempted to cut his
hair and he was screaming. I had to pin him down
and the picture above is the result. We took him to
"Sheila" to get his hair cut. This is him getting psyched.


Saying his last prayers. He was
pretty nervous.

The cute new haircut. Also, notice the lined

up batteries.

Trying to hide.

Here are the kids hanging out this morning. Charlotte
loves reading to Henry. He actually looks like he is
reading along. And of course, next to Charlotte is Simon
with his box full of batteries.


Henry hanging out last night. Naturally he has
spit up all over his clothes.


Charlotte loving Henry


This is the best shot I got of Charlotte
dressed as a fairy.


Last Monday we were getting out of the car at
Charlotte's school and Simon and Charlotte
were walking in the parking lot when I heard Simon
crying. I ran over and he had fallen down. When I
picked him up he had a deep cut above his eye. Blood
was everywhere. We took him into Dave's work to
get fixed up. He kept asking if he could have a
battery if he was a good boy. One of the residents
went and found him a AA battery so he was very
happy.


Dr. Turvey & Dave after he was all done



Checking out the results



Dave and the kids pretending they are ghosts

All 3 kids at Target

So, a couple days ago I took all 3 kids to Target. I only had 6 or so items on my list and had hoped it would be a quick trip - relatively speaking. I had only taken all 3 kids out one other time so it was still a little bit nerve racking. Ever since Henry was born Charlotte "cannot walk because she is too tired" the minute we get to her school, mall, store, etc. She earned a new toy with a job chart for when she didn't ask to get in the stroller or grocery cart(buggy as it is called out here). Anyway, Charlotte was the first to have a break down. It started out small but soon turned to a blood curdling scream with everyone staring and whispering. She demanded to get into the back of the cart with Simon while I was determined to not let her get into the cart. I had Henry in the Bjorn and Simon was in the back of the cart. I finally gave in and let her sit in the front of the cart. Charlotte's hair was way too tempting to Simon in the back so soon he was pulling her hair and poking her. Then Simon decided he wanted to make the load lighter in the cart so he started to throw out some items. I threatened him saying he would have to get out if he did it again. I was praying he wouldn't because it was so hard to lean over with the baby and more importantly, I didn't want Simon loose in the store. Of course he did it again so I pulled him out of the cart. Side note: a woman passes by as Simon throws item out of the cart points and says "your son just threw that out of the cart" and then walked off, no offer of help. For the next five minutes Simon was crawling around on the ground and barking like a dog. He then started to scream and throw a fit that he wanted to get back into the cart. He was walking slowing and occasionally throwing himself onto the ground. Finally, we get to the checkout counter. Simon starts pulling items from the wall and screaming at me. I tell Charlotte she has to get out of the cart so I can get Simon into the cart. Simon is throwing the biggest fit I have ever seen, and that says a lot. He hits me in the face for the first time and is screaming at me saying he wants to get down. I am trying to load the groceries and hold Simon in the cart and trying to prevent Henry from waking up all at the same time. The man behind me says "Do you ever wonder why you decided to have kids?" and I said "Right now I am wondering that" Of course he wasn't being mean, he was being sympathetic. He had 2 children with him who were being well behaved. I was crying the whole way home. Dave came home while I was unloading the car and he gave the kids a talking to. The sum it up the experience was quite horrific.

Total trip time was 1 hour 15 minutes
Total trip time without kids would have been 10 minutes
Note to self - unless needed never take all 3 kids to the store ever again

Henry's baby blessing

We had Grandma and Grandpa Stoker come out to visit last week so we blessed Henry this past Sunday while they were here. The kids had so much fun and they kept asking when they were going to come and visit again.

Grandma and Grandpa Stoker


Henry at 3 weeks old


Simon at 3 weeks old


Simon was determined not to smile.




This was the best shot of the 3 kids together. You will
see that most photos of Simon he will be wearing his
safety glasses or holding his batteries.


Simon got grandpa to go down the slide with him.





Visiting daddy at work. All 3 wearing safety glasses.




Charlotte and Henry before bathtime.