Where Does The Time Go I Still Wonder...?

It's been so long since I've wrote, I'm not sure where to start! Here's a stream of conscience list of things that come to mind -

• Kate wakes me up most mornings saying "It's a beautiful day Mommy, wake up." She then locks me out of my own room to keep me from trying to crawl back in bed at 6am.
• Ashton blows me kisses when he leaves to go somewhere when I have to stay home.
• Ashton is VERY excited learning about plants/seeds this week at preschool. He rushes outside every morning in his PJs to check on our strawberries to see how they are coming along. He rushes to school to see how their seeds are sprouting.
• Now that we are finally out of the drought our yard and gardens are turning out beautifully! We are growing carrots, lettuce, strawberries, broccoli, peppers and watermelon in a beautiful raised box planter Paul built me one afternoon.
• Every day Ashton asks if it is December yet, eagerly awaiting his 5th birthday.
• Every day Kate asks if it is Angelique's birthday yet, eagerly awaiting the time when we will give her the inflatable pool we bought for her.
• Ashton is trying out small talk on the phone. He says things like "Hows it doing?" and "So.....what are you going?"
• Ashton got a medal today from his 1st extracurricular activity, soccer. He is VERY proud of it and tells me he will wear it every day for everyone to see.
• Kate is a wonderful helper, empyting the dishwasher and doing the laundry with Daddy's help.
• Kate is a tremendous artist and can draw a nearly perfect face and includes eyes, nose, ears, mouth and hair. It's her signature and appears everywhere - on the walls, on papers on my desk, on her toys.
• Kate enjoys painting and I'm currently searching for a gently used kid's easel to put out in the garage for her. Ashton's BIG time into tools and loves to fix things. I'm looking for a gently used workbench for him.
• Blue's Clue's is out, Dora the Explorer and SpongeBob Square Pants are in on tv.
• Hide and Go Seek is the new favorite game to play inside or out and they are actually counting now and taking turns seeking and hiding.
• Ashton is very much into board games and tried to play "Life" the other day with us, pretending to get money and pay money. Kate just likes driving the pink car around the board across the hills making "vroom-vroom" sounds for now.

There is so much more, but that's all I can think of right now! I wish I could freeze this summer in time for eternity...but knowing I can't...will try to enjoy it as much as possible.

Bad Economy = Time To Rethink "Wealth"

As the economy stumbles and slides, I've observed the stress levels of people all around me inch upward. As the overall financial health of this country is beyond my power (other than making sure I cast my ballot in Nov), I've decided to turn my eyes toward the things in my life I can control and the happiness I get from them. Here goes!

• Picking up Kate from preschool every day and the always getting a big hug and even bigger smile followed by "Mommy's here!" (as if we've been away from each other 4 months as opposed to 4 hours)


• Hearing Ashton always ask for seconds, not for himself, but to ensure Kate gets whatever it is he is getting


• Watching the leaves change on the trees and realizing how wonderful fall is in NC. I'm thankful that nature takes no notice of the NYSE!


• Buddy, the coolest cat of all time, is mine and always has time for me to pet him and cuddle with him.


• Having a good man for a husband. One that is patient, even keeled and a good father to our children.


• Meeting new and always interesting people in my job and seeing them insist on having fun, no matter what type of day they had


• Loving my neighbors and the fact that we all know each other by first name


• Listening to my niece's voice over the phone. (It's so adorable and tiny)


• Having both my mother and father alive and around for me, but also for my children to know their grandparents (Both of my grandfathers had passed away before I was born)


• Talking to my grandmothers, both of them, and realizing what huge impacts they've both had on my life and how lucky I am to have to help me parent my little ones


• Having a great mother-in-law that truly loves her grand kids and who's grand kids love her


• Thinking ahead to how this will be the first halloween both of the kids will really be into it and how much fun it's going to be to take my little red dragon and fair maiden princess out to trick-or-treat!


• While we have little left over, I am happy that both Paul and I have jobs and are able to pay all our bills each month and on time!


• Realizing that myself, my husband and my children are all healthy

I mean, really, happiness come not from what happens to you in life but how you react to it right? So, while my retirement savings circle the drain (remember, my background is in the financial industry) all I can do is look forward to working the rest of my life and raising kids that will do well enough to support me in my twilight years! ;)

Hurricanes Haunt Me (Partial Party Cancelation)

Hurricanes are famous for ruining my special days. This year is no different. For those of you who don't know, Hurricane Wilma wrecked my honeymoon and left Paul and I stranded for many days in Mexico. (See photo to the left of downtown Cancun).

As the song "One way or another, I'm gonna find ya, I'm gonna get you, get you get you" springs to mind, Hurricane Ike is (brace yourself for a bad pun) going to rain on my parade tomorrow. No, we are NO WHERE NEAR the path of this monster storm, heck, it's supposed to be 90*F and sunny! But as the Texas gulf gets pounded and oil refineries have shut down, the price of gas in our area has shot up so high (over $1 per gallon in the past 24 hours) we must cancel the driving part of Kate's party tomorrow. Of course, only because I wanted to visit the drive through ranch does this happen. Oh well, the new change of plans involves having Angelique and rest of the NC mountains branch of the family (Mom, Freddy, Auntie Karen and Dominique) come down earlier than the 4pm party to hang out in our neighborhood pool. It's predicted to be stiflingly hot tomorrow and the pool is open weekends so the party will go on, but man oh man. What did I ever do to anger the hurricane gods?

SIDE NOTE: For those of you who have never lived through a hurricane, pray for those unfortunate souls who are in TX and SW LA. Their property will be water and wind damaged, followed by the mold and mildew that erupts from the heat and moisture. They will be without power or food for who knows how long, but the one thing that really stands out in my mind about the aftermath of Wilma is waiting for the water to recede. You may not realize it, but not only is the saltwater/flood water everywhere and destroying most things it touches, it's full of sewage, oil, gas, trash, dead bodies of animals and whatever disgusting things there are about. And to get anywhere - you have to wade through it, sometimes through waist high levels. The stench is something I will never forget and chances are it may be a while before there is clean water for them to wash it off. Those poor, poor people. I hope FEMA has it together this time around and they can get back to normal as quickly as possible.

A Proud Auntie

It was reported to me today that Angelique is potty-trained! The first of the grandchildren to do so! I am VERY proud of her accomplishment and can't wait to share the news with Ashton & Kate when they awake. Kate is beginning to become VERY interested in this magical seat called "the potty" and Ashton, well, he can some days but most he can't.

Dominique told me the motivation was Princess Panties from Wal-Mart...no potty, no panties. Angelique, being the genius child she is, quickly caught on and hasn't turned back since.

Great job Angelique!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I Touched a Zebra Today...

Today, in honor of America's birthday, we left the country! Well...not REALLY! But it did feel as if we stepped off a puddle jumper onto a safari through the Serengeti. We then had to "return" as the monsoon season began.

You see, up in Mooresville, NC there is a privately owned ranch that is home to an amazing variety of exotic animals. As you slowly drive your own car through 3.5 miles of trail, you pass Ostriches as tall as your car, deer that come right up to your window looking for kibbles and come eye to eye with Emus that stare you into submission! The whole experience was amazing, just under an hour from our home.

Kate thoroughly enjoyed the giant "ducks" as she called them, sending out a wild laugh each time they would come to the window. Ashton was fascinated by the dark black and white pigs that seemed to roam everywhere, asking again and again if they were coming to his room (see earlier post ~Pigs & Poultry). Paul enjoyed the camels and rhinoceros the most and I, well, I was simply amazed by the sheer size of the Zebras. For some reason I thought they were more pony-sized than Clydesdale-sized!

I was suprised that Paul allowed me to unbuckle the children from their car seats, but almost fell on the floor when he agreed to let them take turns sitting on his lap and "driving". At one point Ashton even had full control of the steering wheel when Paul lifted his hands up to give him a chance. I really enjoyed witnessing these father/son and father/daughter moments.

As it was hot and VERY sticky outside, we ended up not staying as long as we would have liked at the petting area/pirate ship playground/porch swings. The rumble of distant thunder quickly approaching drove us into our car and back towards Charlotte. Just as we got on 85S, the heavens opened up and down came the rain. Normally I'm not scared of some water on my windshield, but the more cars we passed that had pulled over due to the downpour, the more nervous I became. We soon passed a car in a ditch facing the wrong way then witnessed another car fly off the road going about 80 MPH and into the middle median. The children also didn't like the loud roaring of the rain on our van and soon became scared.

To comfort Kate after seeing a very frightened look not leaving her face, I reached back to hold hold her hand, even though I was expecting her to jerk it away as she always does. But this time, she held my hand the whole way home, even asking to hold Daddy's hand as well. I will admit that, however selfish it may seem, I am glad she was scared and really enjoyed comforting her and the feeling of her still tiny hand curled around my first two fingers.

I really had a wonderful time and can't wait to take the kids and hope to take Angelique again soon.

Check out all the photos from my cell phone (camera battery had died) here - http://www.the704reids.shutterfly.com/

Katie Beth Reid

Kate is turning into quite the interesting character these days! Her favorite things to do always seem to involve turning various items into hats, singing songs of original composition, dancing like noone is watching, being very attentive to babies and saying the word "Mama" in 10 different ways to mean 10 different things.

She knows what she wants, how things should be, how to manage people, when to be shy so that it's cute and the basics of a clean house. Kate is such a good girl, very patient with everyone around her and so loving of all people, cats and stuffed men named Albert. She is a great eater, snuggler and conversationalist. She comforts the weaker personalities and leads the way for them. All she wants in life is to kiss and hug everything along with thinking Buddy the Cat is the greatest thing in the world. (She actually was reading to him and asking our cat to "point to the circle" in her book today.)

Katherine thinks bubbles are the most amazing invention ever, loves to talk with Angelique on the phone and wishes she could jump higher off the ground. (I know she does from the frustrated look she seems to have as her hands reach up and her feet don't move.) She can throw a greatly aimed ball just as well as a naughty tantrum complete with kicking and screaming.

Can you believe Kate can pull Ashton uphill in a radio flyer wagon? She can't seem to get enough of different types of food and will try absolutely anything we put on her plate. She always makes me smile after a tough night with her first laugh in the morning and I love her more than words can say.

I love you Katie Beth for being everything I never knew I wanted in a daughter!

Fly Me To the Moon

Fly Me To the Moon and Let Me Play Among the Stars...

Let me see what spring is like on Jupiter and Mars In other words hold my hand. In other words darling kiss me!

Fill my life with song And let me sing forevermore. You are all I hope for, all I worship and adore! In other words please be true. In other words I love you!

Join us on the moon! (Ashton, Kate, Angelique and I are already on board!)

Click here for NASA's http://lro.jhuapl.edu/NameToMoon/index.php

Send Your Name to the Moon Aboard LRO! NASA invites people of all ages to join the lunar exploration journey with an opportunity to send their names to the moon aboard the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, or LRO, spacecraft. The Send Your Name to the Moon Web site enables everyone to participate in the lunar adventure and place their names in orbit around the moon for years to come. Participants can submit their information at http://lro.jhuapl.edu/NameToMoon/ print a certificate and have their name entered into a database. The database will be placed on a microchip that will be integrated onto the spacecraft. The deadline for submitting names is June 27, 2008."Everyone who sends their name to the moon, like I'm doing, becomes part of the next wave of lunar explorers," said Cathy Peddie, deputy project manager for LRO at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. "The LRO mission is the first step in NASA's plans to return humans to the moon by 2020, and your name can reach there first. How cool is that?"The orbiter, comprised of six instruments and one technology demonstration, will provide the most comprehensive data set ever returned from the moon. The mission will focus on the selection of safe landing sites and identification of lunar resources. It also will study how the lunar radiation environment could affect humans. NASA/GSFC LRO will also create a comprehensive atlas of the moon's features and resources that will be needed as NASA designs and builds a planned lunar outpost. The mission will support future human exploration while providing a foundation for upcoming science missions. LRO is scheduled for launch in late 2008. The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter is being built at Goddard. The mission also will be managed at the center for NASA's Explorations Systems Mission Directorate in Washington.Send Your Name to the Moon is a collaborative effort among NASA, the Planetary Society in Pasadena, Calif., and the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md.

Gone Too Long, Back Too Soon

Last night I drove the kids up to my mom's house where they very happily are spending the weekend. I've been told that due to their busy schedules of hide and go seek games with Angelique, Ashton going pee-pee on the potty all by himself, and the help they are giving to Papa Freddy with building the swing set he and Grandma bought for the grand kids, they have no time to talk with me on the phone!
While Paul and I are grateful for the much needed break from Ashton & Kate, I find myself not enjoying the time alone like I thought I would. It's peaceful, but a little boring to say the least. Well, at least it's been productive!

In between the umpteenth phone calls to check on them, tell them I missed them, say their prayers, monitoring Ashton's potty-training progress and Kate's growing vocabulary, Paul and I managed to clean out the garage and do some major spring cleaning in the house. My plan, though not necessarily Paul's plan for the garage, was to clear as much room out for the kids to play in there as possible.
Now that Ashton has a best friend - Richard - who lives across the street he loves to play with and Kate has a boy near her age, Juan Sebastian, up the way, the garage is more accessible for the neighborhood kids to come and play in. Also, the deck is a great place for playtime, but during the hot summer months, the poor little ones can bake like a cake out there in the afternoons, due to the horrible lack of shade trees.

I am ready for the kids to come home, yet want just ONE MORE DAY without them. Motherhood, the conundrums that occur are seemingly endless!

See in the below photos the hard work Paul and I are VERY PROUD OF! :) Everything has a place and a home. I am so excited for the little ones to see a new space to play.

*Notice the peg board with hooks and etc., the tool holders on the wall we installed on both sides of the garage, and the workout equipment stowed away.