Crusing rules!!!

Who would have thought I finaly made it on a cruise. Tony went on a business trip to Arizona in April and stayed with his family for a few extra days. After coming home he told me to go on a cruise. After a short guilt trip I called a few friends (Lisa and Shayleen) and we booked a 4 nights cruise to Cozumel Mexico. The next day after we booked our cruise the news started reporting swine flu cases in Mexico. Luckily Carnival was one of the cruiselines which rerouted their cruises to other destinations. So our Cozumel cruise turned into a 4 night Key West cruise. We departed on Apr. 30-th on the Carnival Holiday Cruiseliner from Mobil AL. The first day on the ship was a quiet one everybody was tired from traveling. We were ones of the few people to attend the late show. They introduced the entertainment crew for our ship and a comedian performed for us. I felt bad for the poor guy. Everybody was too tired to laugh. The next day was a day at see and it was great. We spend the day eating, sun taning, watching the hairy chest competition and a ice carving competition. I loved being fed and waited on every day all the time. That's a dream vacation for every mom. That evening was our formal dinner. I just have one thing to say PROM NIGHT!!!!!!! The show for that night was inspired by the 50's. It was fun. The singers were really good. We spend the next day in Key West. I decided I want to live there. Lisa and I went parasailing. Shayleen was not allowed (she's pregnant). After parasailing we decided to go for some lunch and ended up in the ER. Now let me rewind a little bit here. Have I mentioned Shayleen got sunburned really bad. She was trying so hard to be a good sport and have a fun day at Key West but the pain got so bad that her legs swelled up so bad she couldn't walk. At the ER they prescribed her some Lortab after she made our with the doctor (we have pics). We got Shayleen back to the cruiseliner so she could rest and Lisa and I went to find some beach to hang out for the last hour. Which we disovered is not so easy in Key West. The nearest public beach was about 10 miles away and we did not have the time to go there. We asked around and were told that we could just crash a hotel beach and that there was one just down the street. So we did. We went to the hotel and got some virgin pina coladas and preteding we were hotel guests we got access to their small private beach. The water was soooo blue and the sand soooo white. Speaking of the sand. I didn't know that Key West didn't have any sand beaches. So they have to haul their sand from Miami. How interesting is that? We spend our last cruise day on the ship laying out, dining and resting. I have not rested this much since I had kids. I sure cannot wait to take another cruise.
Fortunately I'll not have to wait too long to return to the Keys. Tony is going on a business trip to one of the Key island and he's taking me with him.

Till the cows come home.

I have been meaning to post this story for a long time.
A few months ago Parker got into trouble ( which is such a unusual thing for him HAHAHHA) Anyway Tony got upset and told him to go to time out. On his way to time out Parker asked Tony how long he would have to stay in time out and Tony told him "until the cows come home". Parker went to time out visibly upset but it was not his ususal telling us that he doesn't care and that we should go to time out ourselves because we were mean to him. No, this time he was crying and when I asked him why he was crying he said," I don't want the cows to come home. They will bite me." So I explained to him that this was just a idiom, something that you say but in truth you mean something different. He calmed down a little bit and everything was well untill Tony and Zack decided to tease Parker about the cows coming home. I guess the cows coming home have traumatized Parker more than we thought.
Last saturday when I was taking out the trash I went through the garage (it's shorter that way) After closing the garage door Parker ran up to me and asked me where dad was , I answered home and then he asked me where Zack was and I answered home. That is something that he started doing since the cow incident everytime he heard the garage open or close. He would always ask who was leaving or coming but this time nobody was leaving and everybody was accounted for and at home. I did not see his next question coming . He asked " Did the cows come home?"
Poor little guy. I am wondering how long he will be waiting for the cows to come home?

Parker

Parker said a couple funny things over the last couple of months and I wanted to put them down somewhere before I forget.
My parents do not speak english and my kids do not speak german that made my parent's visit last Christmas pretty funny. Parker would regullarly get upset with my mom for not understanding his commands. He thinks he's in charge. So anyway we were on our way to the store and parker had taken some collecter Mario Galaxy Trading Cards with him into the car. He kept asking me to read the descriptions on the cards to hom. I kept telling him that I could not because I was drivin. So my mom offered to try and read them to him. He gave her the cards and told her,"Omi just don't read it in german. Read it in "mario"". Now I finally know what language this child speaks, because half the time I cannot understand what he is saying. I guess I should check if a community college around here offers a crash course in "mario".


Yesterday Parker and Zack were constantly getting into fights. It seemed that they were bothe egging each other on. It was just one of those days. Parker is almost 4 and he thinks he is soooo old. The best way for Zack to get Parker upset is to call him a baby or tell him he is younger than 4. Anyway Parker comes running into the family room yesterday and tells me'" Mommy Zack said I'm one". I did not answer. I decided to ignore him and then sometimes they go away and take care of their differences on their own. But this time that wasn't the case. Parker sat down next to me on the couch and said:" Mom, yestermorning Zack called me one." I just started laughing. I had completely forgotten about Parker calling yesterday Yestermorning.

After grocery shopping today I turned on the radio in the car and as I was putting on my seatbelt Parker said pretty loudly:" Let's get this party started. Turn up the volume mom." Wow, not even 4 and already a party animal.

Last week we took a trip to Charlotte NC. We went there to see the Suns play. The game was pretty bad and the Suns lost by like 30 points. I think the most esciting thing that happened was Parker falling down on the seat in the row below us. We were at almost the top row of the upper deck and those do not have alot of room. During the national anthem Parker started dancing and and with almost no leg room he tripped and fell. He still has a big bruise and a scab.
On the next day we went exploring downtown Charlotte. We took some nice pictures and went home right after that. It was one of those short trips but the kids got to sleep in a hotel room and they thought that was pretty cool.

Christmas 2008

This Christmas was very special to us since we got to spend it with Omi and Opi who came to visit from Germany. The boys had a great time with my Mom and Dad. They were spoiled rotten and they loved it. This was my parents first trip to Georgia. This was also their first time seeing Parker and Tucker in person. In the beginning the language barrier was a problem but after few days Omi and Opi picked up some English and the boys picked up some Germand and the fun began. We played lots of games and went to Stone Mountain for the Christmas Program. It was wonderful. The boys loved the train ride. Unfortunatelly we were to late for the sky ride up the mountain and Zack war crushed because of that. After New Year which we spend shooting fire works with Palmers we took a trip to Atlanta. First we went to see the King Tut Exhibit. It was very interesting and everybody loved it. After that we went to the Georgia Aquarium. I believe we might get the annual tickets for that attraction. It is such fun and beautiful place. The kids loved looking at the fish and Tucker did not want to leave. My parents loved it too. So you could say it is fun for all ages. We are already planning another trip there soon. As great as museums and aquariums are nothing beats a great shopping deal for my mom. She loves shopping and getting a good deal. On January 4th we had to say good bye to Omi and Opi as they travelled back to Germany. That was a horrible day and it took the kids a few days to realize that they won't be coming back for a little while. Parker was really sad. I am just gettin over my parents departure. As our regular schedule sets in it seems to be getting better. Also 24 just started againg and that's a small consolation for my and Tony. Tony's sister Lindsay might also be coming visit this or next month. I'm not trying to get to excited in case that doesn't work out. But it sure would be great. Of course I am not trying to influence anybody here with my posting.
I am sitting here at my kids' dentist and writing all this as Parker's cavities are being fixed. He had 5 cavities and one of them went really deep and damaged the nerve. For this tooth he needed a crown. Yes you heard right my 3 year old is getting a crown and not we do not have too much money. I was not aware that you keep some of your baby teeth untill you were 12. So beware of chocolate. Parker does have a sweet tooth as we can see and it's costing us an arm and a leg.
Today I only have one thing planned and that is to get rid of all the candy, chocolate and sweet snacks in my house.

Family Pictures from the Chrismas Tree Farm

The second picture was taken on the hay ride and the first was taken on the "spider log" by the duck pond. We called it the "spider log" because there were so many spiders on it. Parker would not sit on it. He was so scared of the spiders.

Chrismas Tree

And here is our Chrismas Tree. It took us one whole day to put on the lights. It took Tony 4 trips to the store. We ended up putting 3400 lights on our tree.

Christmas Tree Farm

Yesterday our family went to the Chrismas Tree Farm. It was a fun place. The kids made christmas ornaments and saw Santa. We went on a hay ride and watched some geese and ducks on a pond. We found a 11 ft. white sprauce which will be out Chrismas Tree this year. Today we put the lights on our tree. It took 3400 lights to ilumenate it. Check out the pictures.

Fall Pictures

My friend Marchet took these Pictures of the boys last week. Aren't these cute? She will be taking our family pictures when my parents are here.

2 Falls in 2 Weeks

I fell down the stairs carrying Parker. My body hurt for about one week after. The bruises are not even gone yet and guess what? Last night Parker woke up crying and while carrying him downstairs to give him his pain medication I fell down the stairs again. I thought I was being extra careful and there it happened again. I could not get up for 15 minutes and after that Tony had to help me walk. It was horrible. I fel on my tailbone and I hurt myself pretty bad. Today I have been controlling the pain with some prescribed medication and resting. Last night before falling asleep Parker told me that I should slide down the stairs like him and his brothers from now on. I might have to follow his advice if I don't stop having these accidents. Tomorrow Tony has to go back to work and I have to take care of my kids. The meds are working great and I am sure I will be able to manage the kids and some light house work.

November update

I guess we spoke too soon. Parker had a really bad day today. He was in so much pain he could not eat or drink. His pain medication was taking the edge off but not all the pain. It was really hard to see him that way. Yesterday he was runnig around having fun and eating and drinking all he wanted but today was different. Hopefully tomorrow will be better.

Saturday Tony and the boys were working in the yard. Zack and Parker's favourite task was to rake the leaves into a pile and jump into it. They had so much fun. Tony took some great pictures of their playing. The landscape in our area looks really cool. The trees are changing colors and there are so many leaves everywhere. The other day I was standing at a red light and there was a big tree right across the street from me. The leaves were falling and flying away in the wind and it looked enchanted. It has not been raining too much and the temperatures are still bearable. I think I will need a winter coat this year though.

Tucker started walking on November 1-st 2008. That makes him our latest walker. He's almost 14 months. He still goes back to crawling when he wants to move fast or when he feels it is to slippery to walk. He is a smart cookie this one.

Parker's Hospital Visit

Today Parker, Tony and I went to the Scottish Rite Childrens Hospital where Parker had his tonsils removed. Parkers surgery was scheduled for 11:20 am but it took place at noon. He did very well considering that he was not allowed to have anything to drink or eat since 7 am this morning. He was actually really excited to go to the hospital this morning. When we got to the hospital we found that they had a great area for kids who were waiting to be admitted to their rooms. Parker quickly made a new friend. We played for about an hour before we were admitted. After getting settled in our room we saw a lot of nurses and doctors who explained the surgery to us. Everybody was very nice and sweet. At about 11:30 am Parker was given the "happy medicine". He became sleepy within 10 minutes. At 12:00 he was taken by his nurse to his surgery and at 12:30 he was back with us in his room. The nurse who was wheeling him back to his room said that he told her to bring him to his mom and he also told her to go faster. When he got to the back to his room he was crying because his hand was hurting. I do not like I. V.'s . I think those hurt more than the surgery itself. We had to wait to be released for 2 hours. We had to make sure Parker would be able to drink and he needed to keep his I.V. in for at least 1 hour. He did great. He drank 2 cups of apple juice and slept the whole time untill we were discharged after he calmed down. We are at home right now and he is acting fine. I just gave him another dose of his pain medication. He must be doing really well because he just got a candy bar from somewhere and ate it. He's such a little toad.

GAS

No not that kind of gas. This post is actually about gasoline. There is a shortage of gas in Georgia. So you can only get gas at some gas stations mostly in the mornings. Nobody knows when the this problem will be taken care of. Last Friday Tony and I went on a date. We had a nice dinner and on the way to get some ice cream we spotted a gasoline truck. We went ahead and parked our car by a pump and waited for the gas to be refilled. After 5 minutes the gas station was packed full . People were pushing their cars to the pums because they were out of gas. A gas station associate came out and told us that it would take 45 min until they can open the pumps. 10 minutes later the line of cars waiting for the gas went around the block. That's just crazy.
So after 45 minutes we left the station with a full gas tank. Today Tony took my car to work to fill it up with gas on the way to work, but he could not find a gas station which had gas. So tonight we will be cruising around looking for gasoline. Wohoooo.

September update

I know I promised to post on a weekly basis but it's been hard adjusting to life in Georgia for me. I just could not get myself to sit down and type for various reasons. Anyway I finally mentally kicked myself and it worked. I am slowly getting on track with schedules, school and chores. We still have tons of boxes to unpack. So to make us feel better we just hid them in the basement and now we all feel less guilty about not being completely unpacked after being here for almost 2 months. Out of sight - out of mind - really works.

September started pretty mellow for us. Nothing really happened. Tony's Birthday was on September 3-rd and I decided that he needed a surprise party. So I called a few friends and we got the ball rolling. A lot of Tony's friends showed up and celebrated with us. Tony did not expect anything like that. He was very surprised. He loved his party. We even got a baseball cake for him.

September we also celebrated Tucker's 1-st Birthday. We had cake and lots of presents. He loved the wraping paper. Parker loved the presents.

Today Parker and I taught Tucker how to climb down the stairs. He was climbing up and down the stairs all day long. He was giggling the whole time.

Yesterday was my "Arizona Girls Night In" and we wanted to watch "Maid of Honor". That did not happen because we had so much to visit about. I think we'll have to start another "Night In" so that we can actually watch a movie and we can visit on our other night out. It is so great to have friends from home here in Georgia with us.

Finally

I've been on Monika's case to write a new blog now that we're in Georgia, but she's had a lot to do. So I figured I'd log on and write something and play on her pride a bit. :-)

We've had quite the adventure in our move to Georgia. Nothing has gone quite the way we have planned. This includes issues with our renter in Arizona, issues with the movers in coming here, and just stress from the move.

It took forever to get our internet hooked up. It took just as long for DirecTV to get our satellite dish installed. Now it is all working, and things are starting to settle in a bit.

Zack absolutely loves his school. He's making friends fast, and growing up even faster. He's been a big helper to his mom and is a great example for his younger brothers.

Parker is still quite the character, and has quickly made friends with the neighborhood children.

Tucker is getting another tooth, and is very close to walking. He is standing on his own, and walks along the couches and anything else he can pull himself up on. His favorite game is climbing the stairs.

Yesterday was Labor Day, and we took the boys to downtown Atlanta to the Children's Museum. They had an absolute blast. We went with Palmers, and the kids played together. Zack's favorite part of the museum was where he was able to operate a crane that picked up balls from another aparatus, and then he could turn the crane and dump the balls into a box where they would return through an elaborate process to the box where he originally picked them up. He had more fun dumping the balls on people's heads who happened to be standing in the zone that the crane could reach.

We also have 2 deer that live in the woods behind our house (there are probably more). We see them regularly. Parker comes running up the stairs from the basement to tell us that there is a baby "Darr" outside. The kids love it.

We hope that everyone is doing well. We miss our friends in Arizona, and hope that many of you take the opportunity to visit us someday.

The Boys's Packing Day

Zack and Parker were hanging out with Codi, Sabrina and AJ while our household goods were being packed. We are so greatful for good friends. Thanks Codi and Amber. We love you guys.