Let's Catch Up!

     The biggest question we have been asked since baby girl arrived is: How are the boys adjusting?
    Well, let's see....

     Taylor, sweet, helpful 3 and a half year old Taylor....loves his little sister to death! Really! He asks at least 10 times a day to hold her. He followed suit and did just like everyone said and grew up a whole bunch! However, he's really concerned about her "eating me" I am having a very difficult job explaining this to him without using the word-cow, suck and well, you know the rest. He seems to be adjusting very well. If she is crying he is quick to find something, no telling what, to pacify her. Be it his stuffed animals, his basketball, a blanket. It's realllly sweet to watch him want to care for her. Every girly pink thing he sees, he wants to get for his "baby sister." Here are a few pictures Taylor took of us....He was insistent that he take our picture!   

     Andrew...well............sweet, quiet, introverted Andrew. You know he turned 20 months this weekend. I forgot...Let's just say he has transitioned from second child syndrome to middle child very well! He'll be the quiet kid over in the corner at school eating glue, though he favors lotion right now! He marches to his own beat and if he wasn't so darn cute, he'd be in a world of trouble! He makes the worst days adorable with one little smile and a cock of his head.  He adores Carrie Ann, really he does. If she is on the floor, he's the first one there. Even if it is to pounce on her. If she is in her swing, he's going to be right there to make sure it swings high! And if she's crying, he's going to try to comfort her with whatever he can find..btw...a straw to the nose won't make her stop crying. Just this weekend he asked to hold her. For a child who doesn't talk very much, he communicates very well. {he would have been a good child to do baby sign language with, but then, he really wouldn't have talked} If he sees me giving her a bottle, now he wants to help.

     You just have to know Andrew...he and Taylor are night and day. One quiet, one not so quiet. One thing they both have in common is the word NO .  It only works one way with them...coming from them! But since Andrew chooses not to talk, he just shakes his head no. If he knocks his entire bowl of green peas on the floor because he doesn't want to eat them, he'll gladly say, uh oh, gets down from his seat and picks everyone of them up! See.... his cuteness is irresistable. He's at that age when he is into everything, curious as ever and pining for our attention. It's hard to cater to this like we did with Taylor and we'll one day face it with Carrie Ann. We try to make sure that we pay special attention to him, since he doesn't verbally demand our attention like others in our house do!

     Together, Taylor and Andrew, are hilarious and trouble! Taylor is the typical big brother always beating up on his little brother. Andrew is the typical little brother, always wanting to do whatever big brother is doing.  It's fun and exhausting to watch...whew. One minute they are all about the other one-I don't even have to tell you what happens in the next minute, and the next!

Oh Happy Day!

     My 19-month old, Andrew, just wimpered, he's waking up from his nap, early no less, and my milk let down! Oh, I do love my babies! Ca..razy!
     My mind is fadunkled {I made that word up} today.  God has blessed me immeasurably over my life and especially more so over the last 2 weeks. I gave birth to our third child 10 days ago. That's 3 in 3 1/2 years. Jim and I have decided that now, with three, we are certified nutcases parents...not that one doesn't make you a parent, but now we feel like pros! {Who are we kidding...we're a circus act about to make it to the big top!} We'd like to be done having babies, but we all know Who's really in control of that.
     My friends here in Tupelo, and those from afar-via email/facebook, have gone above and beyond blessing our socks off with their love, generosity and cooking! It looks like Reynolds wrap threw up in our fridge! No lie! I haven't had to crack a pan since I came home from the hospital...except Jim did make me breakfast in bed for my birthday on Sunday. They've come to visit, sit with me, play with my kids {they just want to hold the baby, I know how they are!} remind me that the world still exists even though I am too chicken to leave my house! It's been so great and so wonderful. I can't thank them enough! You girls know who you are! {Cris, Deanna, Tammy, Sandy, Anna, Jennifer, Bebbie, Rebecca, Martha...and the list continues!}
     With new chapters, new changes get to occur. This spring Jim and I will be in the middle of some 180 degree changes in our life, we'll celebrate our 5 year anniversary, new professions, new roles...and me...I've got a new plan! I'm going to slow down.
     I thought Jim was going to spit his chocolate pie out of his mouth last night when I told him that I have loved not getting out, not having any plans, no demands of things to do {this coming from a very task-oriented person}  If bedrest and pregnancy didn't keep me down...being strung out on pain meds {not really, but I was last night}, no sleep and nursing around the clock will! Because I've sat still, my house has been cleaner, Jim says I'm nicer {??}, I've gotten to play on the floor with my boys, concentrate on nursing more.      
     I've made new goals...daily goals...
Like...today I will shower; tomorrow I will empty the trash; I'll do only one load of laundry a day; vaccuum the floors today. So far, it's felt great to mark off on my to-do list...even if there was only ONE thing on it!

    Well, now both of my boys are standing in front of me squalling, with eyes full of tears...I have no idea what they are crying about...don't think they do either...so guess I gotta go save the world!

Thanksgiving Blessings!

    We are truly grateful for a God who loves us enough to forgive us for our sins and sent His Son to take our punishment of death upon Himself so that we could Live. Father, Thank You!
      Thanksgiving weekend 2009 brought with it a broad range of temperatures. 30s-upper 60s! We actually had on shorts and had our windows open today! After lunch on Thursday (See Thanksgiving Feast post here), we got into Christmas mode. During my afternoon relief therapy, I searched through every single black Friday sale paper ad, trying to get gift ideas for the boys and family. At 10 that night, Jim decided I should go to Toys R Us to get a few things HE picked out for Taylor and Drew! They opened at midnight, I got there at 11:50, parked at TJ Maxx, got in line between there and Hobby Lobby, but was in the door by 12:20....not bad, I thought. I had told Jim that I wanted to wear a hat so no one would recognize me because I felt like a freak. He comforted me with this thought: If they see you there Candise, they are there themselves! Ah...Thank goodness I only very briefly saw one soul I knew! Can I say rednecks? And lots of them! I got in the wrong line and ended up waiting for 2 hours to checkout. I was home a few minutes after 3! Whew...will never, ever, ever do that again...probably.

     We always wait til the day after Thanksgiving to do our Christmas decorations. This year, because I move a lot slower these days, it took me 2 days to completely finish, but Jim and the boys were huge helps! Taylor picked out our tree, his criteria: green, big, triangle!

     Andrew has learned the word BALL and was very intrigued by all the balls on the tree!

Then, while I stepped away from cleaning up the mess, the vaccuum entertained Andrew! Giddy Up!

Before you think I am some kind of supermom...here is what I let my boys do to entertain themselves while I worked on my wreaths and garland. They made mudpies!

GROSS.....Taylor kept coming to me saying, mommy, I smell like a horse! And they don't smell good. LOL They went straight to the bathtub!!

Here are a few more pics from our weekend. Enjoy!

Me: Finishing off Thanksgiving leftovers!

I SAID TIME OUT! Taylor's explanation: I wanted to make it snow in the living room!

My two little Indians! Andrew was trying to pose!

Andrew is just wishing I'd put this camera down and change that droopy diaper!

Tackling, of course.

Andrew is stuck between a rock and a hard place!

We still have one day left of this great holiday weekend and no idea what fun that it will bring!

An old glass of lemonade...for a day when you think you've had a bad day!

Written September 4, 2009, re-posted

     It was just one of those mornings. You know, one of those that you wish you could just crawl up in God's lap and let Him put the hair back in that you have pulled out!
     I have nothing in life to complain about, so I am sharing this with you comically, because I know I am not alone!
     I awoke to Jim asking me to come HELP! Andrew had gagged on his snot and he needed me. I whisked Andrew away to the bathroom for a bath while Jim cleaned up the kitchen. All is great. Jim is out the door, but uh oh...I forgot his lunch. Then it began....I sat at the table to write a quick grocery list, obviously we needed some cough medicine, lysol, and germ-X. We were out of everything...I had to go.     
     I got sick while making this list and while I was in my lavatory, Taylor brought me the kitchen scissors, said he couldn't find his. I sent him back to the kitchen to put all the tops on his markers. He quickly returns naked...he has to go potty. Are you serious? Okay...I'm still sick, you just have to wait. I emerge from my room, finding him in his bathroom and Andrew, the 1 year old, clutching a soaked piece of construciton paper....Where in the world did this come from....Taylor--I don't know. I chunk it. Okay....As I am gathering my coupons from the kitchen table, getting my bag ready, Taylor comes smiling impishly saying, Mommy, I fixed all your coupons....What he should have said was, Mommy, I strew all 100 of your coupons all over your bed, doesn't it look nice? He got sent to time out...but this 3 year old didn't go to the right time out...he went to the living room chair, climbed up the tv cabinet and got Mr. Potato Head and his 42 pieces down and poured them out on the entire floor (This is a not only a no-no because if has 42 stinkin' pieces, but the small parts are too small for Andrew...). As I am cleaning up the coupons, I come to find Taylor's new mess, then I hear Andrew...he's playing in a potty somewhere...ahh...there he is in the front bathroom and what in the world are you sitting in...the bathroom and mudroom floor are covered, with what I am hoping, but I am not naive, is just potty water! Not only that, some inovative kid in my house has taken all the white caps off the bolts that cover your bolts that hold your toilet to the ground and put them in an empty wipe box and Andrew has decided that's the best toy to play with at the time. Taylor couldn't tell me what kind of water it was....Andrew...back to the bath!
     I sop up the floor with paper towels, then get the Swiffer mop with the antibacterial spray. As I am mopping, I smell throw up....OH MY GOODNESS....this is the same mop pad Jim used this morning to clean up throw up!!!! LOVELY!!!!!!!!! Sick Again.....So I just sprayed bleach on everything and mopped it up with a clean pad!
     So then, I'm ready to go...Taylor now in the proper time out chair...in my room...except he has gotten onto the top of my dresser and destroyed a picture frame and crumpled 2 family portraits nearby that were awaiting frames....To the car and not a word.....I even packed my paddle with me today...I was ready for whatever.
     I got in the car and just laughed...This all happened within a span of 20 minutes! I called Jim...I needed him....It was a legitimate reason for him to leave work...unlike the time there was a giant millipede in the garage...Andrew and I are sick and Taylor is well....a 3 year old!....He didn't answer, I think he knew not to!
     As I drive to the grocery store...I realize...Candise...this isn't the way to the grocery store, this is the complete opposite direction....Turning around, I am praying that I just don't lose it in the grocery store and burst into tears in the produce aisle.
     I didn't know whether to cry or to just laugh...at a red light, I just sat in silence and prayed and asked God to help me hold it together.
     God has given me a great sense of humor, I think just so I can laugh at mornings like these and not get so uptight! I hope your day started off a little less eventful as mine!!!

Monsters & Doctors, Oh My!

One day we were at the mall and Taylor decided he wanted to be a scary monster for Halloween. We are all for dressing up for candy, but we're really not into the scary stuff. Taylor is very scared of monsters right now, so I asked if he'd like to be Max, from Where the Wild Things Are. Of course he did! Can you see the disappointment on Jim's face when Taylor told him later that evening. He has been a football player for the last 2 years and Jim was definitely expecting that again. I could see it all over his face. He slumped, and said, really T, you want to be Max? Yah, daddy, I want to be a scary monster. We thought by obliging that he would finally realize that monsters aren't real and they are just people, just like him dressed up in costumes. Well, you know me-ever the ambitious one. I set out to make his costume. Cost me all of $4.46 plus tax!

We tried it on for size after I had sewn it together. Uhoh...I didn't account for his belly, okay, gotta sew some panels into the sides...

And wahla!!! Max: King of the Wild Things. As we were leaving the house he reminded me of his furry tail he needed...so I pinned the fur collar from one of my coats to his  back side! He was soooo cute!

Andrew didn't have much choice. Jim of course wanted him to be a football player, to follow suit. But my friend Deanna had the cutest little scrub outfit and he made the most adorable little Doctor in Training.

Seriously, Lord?

You know exactly what kind of day you are in for when the last thing daddy says to mommy as he escapes out the door is, "Honey, I pity you!" EXACTLY, I was doomed from the start!  Wednesdays are our busy days, Bible Study and then playgroup. We love both and it's my decision to do them both on the same day, but Wednesday works best for most of the mommies in our group, so there ya go! The chaos ensued, and oh, just because it's naptime now, doesn't mean it's over. Oh no, it usually gets worse around suppertime.

     First, I chose my battle very carefully, Taylor, you can not wear shorts, it is too cold. No it's not too cold, I want to be a football player. You can be a football player in that shirt, but we have to find pants that will match. Twenty minutes and 3 pair of pants later...we're both pleased.
     On to the quiet one now, gotta dress a moving target-the chase is on. Gotcha, now to comb out of your hair all that applesauce that your daddy thought you could feed yourself. Maybe we'll just skip socks for today! Takes 10 minutes to corale them both into the car and shoe them. And we're off! I turn up the music to drown out the questions...oh the questions, they never stop!
     As much talking that goes on in our Bible Study group, you'd be surprised to know it's quieter than my car and house! All's good at church til we get back to the car, a shove from one starts the dominoes. The little one wanted one of the 3 trains the older one had in a bucket. The older one was having none of it, shoved the little one. Just can't have that-I took the bucket away---then came the meltdown/tantrum that some of you ladies witnessed--thanks for the help by the way-LOL! So glad our circus could entertain you today!  After a spanking, short timeout on the step rails of the car and a reciting of Ephesians 6:1, we were on the road again-to the mall-GERONIMO!
     Lunch itself was a battle, I am completely worn out by now and it's only 11:45. I couldn't wait to get to the playground, I can sit and the boys will play with their friends! WooHoo...Errr..Not So Much! Taylor's friends Cael and Colby were there...perfect tackling buddies-yep tackling. We have 3 rules at the playground- No Hitting, No Tackling and Be Nice. But he was having fun and honestly, I was just too tired to chase him around.  Andrew, now he was plumb wore out and kept running away from the playground so I never actually got to sit much at all.
     Then to B &BW for soap, don't even get me started on that one. We make it to the car, but not before a certain someone stood up in the back of the stroller toppling the whole thing over sending a sippy cup across the parking lot! Forget the cup-GET IN THE CAR. Seriously, Lord? Really?
     Don't pity me, I do this to myself. I could choose to stay home and avoid the madness, but I'd go absolutely nuts! I'm not a home-body like Jim. I am very task oriented, gotta always be doing something.
     We are out of toilet paper at home. Completely out, can't wait for daddy, gotta get it ourselves, I'm thinking-great, can't get much worse! If I strap them both into the cart it'll be smooth sailing. Right! As Taylor is tearing off bananas and trying to eat them on the cake aisle a sweet and well-intentioned elderly couple stop by our cart and say, "You are right in the middle of the very best part!" Like I said, well-intentioned! They didn't see any other aisles! By the time we make it to the car all the frozen bags of vegetables have holes in them, a banana is missing and I can just feel the veins running down my shins, Lord help me!
     Last stop, the bank, harmless right! Yah, that's what I thought too! As I'm taking care of business with the lady behind the window,  Taylor is dangling the wires from the DVD player out of his window trying to lasso the vaccuum tube next to us!!!!!!!!!  And the teller actually thinks he needs a dum-dum sucker! Here it comes-OH MY WORD and it's only 2:30 in the afternoon.
     I know, he's only 3, and a boy, but can I be selfish for a minute? I'm only 28-, a girl, and I feel like I'm 60, need some support hose and a pack of Depends! Seriously, Lord? Again, don't pity me-I choose to stay home with my precious boys. I am exactly where He wants me at this very moment. Some days are more chaotic than others, but  I'd rather have this life and all its madness any day than only getting a few hours a day with these little guys. It's a blessing I get to do what I do and I take great joy in it.

Mud from the Pumpkin Patch

Okay, so maybe Jim & I are spoiled, but there is something to be said when your 3 year old asks you if you went to the wrong place when you drive away from the pumpkin patch! We did all the right stuff, asked around, googled, looked at pictures. What went wrong. There are 3 pumpkin patches that accomodate little kids in this area- Circle Y Equestrian (Corinth), Pumpkin Patch Farms (Blue Mtn.), and one in Fulton, but is only open for families on the weekend. The friends we polled couldn't decide which they liked better, Circle Y or Blue Mtn......

You see, the first-ever pumpkin patch I ever went to was the year before last in Chantilly, VA, Cox Farms. Absolutely blew me away! tons and tons of animals all spread out, fresh kettle corn, potato sack slide built into hay stacks all over. Lemonade stands throughout, a huge and fun hayride through the fields which was littered with all our favorite cartoon characters. Fresh, warm apple fritters...need I say more? Jim says the pumpkin patches in the Midwest were even better than that. (pics from Cox Farms, Oct. 07)

So you can easily see why pulling up to someone's side yard, seeing the orange extention cord running from their back porch to the moon bounce could warrant a "OH MY WORD." To make things a little more backwoods, they didn't accept debit cards and not a single apple fritter or kernel of kettle corn to be found....Taylor asked if we could go to the popcorn one next! Poor little guy.

HOWEVER, we had a blast. For the first time, Taylor went right up to the sheep and began feeding them. He has NEVER done that before, EVER! He is a fraidy cat and is scared of a cat, but he thought the sheep were like his little sheep and just held his hand out...We were sooooo proud of him!

Andrew....he loved the water pump, yes, the water pump and the LLAMA, which was located right beside the chickens and ponies. He kept mimmicking one of the animals saying "Hack" over and over and giggling when he did it. He would tease the sheep by running up to the fence, enticing them to come over, then running away when they got close!

We are the Browns

We are the Browns, Jim, Candise, Taylor & Andrew. Our little sister, Carrie Ann Marie, should be here around February 10, 2010. We live in Tupelo, MS, and spend A LOT of our time outside.

Jim and I met at church in 2004 and married the following year. A year after that, Taylor arrived and rocked our world. When he was almost 2 months old, we moved to NoVA for Jim to cover national affairs in the Washington, D.C., office for his job. I especially loved my time there because I made some great friends. Jim's sister lived 15 minutes away from us and we always hung out with her family. Taylor and I also had special time together exploring the city and walking with our BFFs, Kate and Reid. We miss the D.C. area A LOT, but we know that Tupelo, MS, is exactly where God wants us to be raising our children at this time.

Jim is a runner, me, not so much. I don't mind driving the car beside him though, or standing, I mean sitting in the lawn chair in the driveway cheering him on when he runs by! Jim is one of the most knowledgable people I know, not to mention the nicest, most cordial, polite, modest, clean and honest guy you'll ever meet. He enjoys a good challenge and can tell you anything you want to know about sports, theology, government and his new venture-financial planning.

Taylor is our very exuberant 3 year old. He has my personality. Need I say more? We think he is incredibly smart. He also has one of the most forgiving spirits of anyone. He loves to play every sport that exists and is finally enjoying books. It's a tough time for Jim and I as parents right now because we walk the line of allowing him to be 3 and wanting him to be an obedient little boy. It's not easy and we pray everyday for the Lord to give us wisdom and strength to shephard him in the way he should go.

Andrew is our cuddle bug that melts your heart with one glance. His love language is touch and has Jim's personality-he is quiet. He is 15 months old and talks very little. If it needs to be said, he lets us know. He'd rather be playing with a truck or car all by himself than playing baseball--uh oh Jim! He loves to stroll in the stroller and only complains if he is hungry, sleepy or taking an unwanted pounding from his brother!

Me, I am a wife, and a mommy, still working out the kinks, I don't think it'll every be smooth. I love my family more than anything in this world. I really enjoy great Bible studies, and anything that encourages me to spend more time in His precious Word. I absolutely love cookbooks. I would rather sit down with a good cookbook, with pics of course, than a tabloid any day. I am in a cooking club that meets once a month. Besides learning new recipes and new ideas, the ladies in this group are just a few years ahead of me in parenting and marriage and are great role models and a wealth of knowledge for my spongey brain. And finally, I love arts and crafts. I enjoy painting and sewing. I'd rather make something than buy it new.

Well, that's us in a nutshell. Want to know more, just ask-I'm not a very quiet person! I hope you enjoy my blog, I know I will enjoy sharing with you!