August 2007 Archives
Friends and family clicking on the link to our site this week may think we've redesigned. Well, we've done a bit more than that. We've actually purchased a new domain name and moved the family site.
Rather than the family.pushthepulldoor.com URL we used previously, our family news and updates can now be found at the appropriately named "crazywithkids.com." I've set up an automatic redirect to take people to this new address, but I won't keep that up forever, so please update your bookmarks.
Why the move? Well, we changed web hosting companies, and the new company offered one free domain name. We're not the types to say no to free stuff, and this gave us an opportunity to separate our family blog from our personal and hobby sites. Now, we have a unique name that's easy to remember and a bit more fun.
We'll be updating the design eventually--Alecia doesn't like the boring templates they give you and wants to personalize it some. We'll also be making a few changes in how we do the content. First off, we're going to be striking any identifying info from the blog, such as last names, exact locations, etc.
The domain host we're using will keep secret who actually owns "crazywithkids.com", so once we purge any identifiers from the site, it will be hard for strangers to track us down. They'll only be able to find our first names and rough geographic location. And if they want to look for a "Bill" in the Atlanta area, I can attest to the fact that there are MANY. :)
The reasons behind this change should be obvious: while we're glad to share our pictures and stories with our families, we don't want to provide enough info to allow the many psychos out there to track us down. We like blogging, but it isn't worth putting our girls at risk.
Keep that in mind while you're commenting on future posts. No last names, no exact locations. Without that info, we're all just that much safer.
Thanks, and let me know if you have any questions about the new arrangement!
This picture would be perfect, except for the pink frosting all over Josie's mouth.
- Finding Josie's glasses after they'd been lost for over a week. It was bittersweet, though. We found them (okay, Maddie found them) the day after we bought her some new ones. Insurance only covers lenses every year and frames every two years so we had to pay the entire cost out of pocket. In a sense, we just spent a couple hundred dollars on something we didn't need afterall. At least she has a backup pair now. Ouch.
- The birthday party for the daughters of some really close friends of ours. Their girls and our girls play together wonderfully, and like always, we were the last ones to leave the party. On the way there, Bill instructed me that we wouldn't be staying long like we always do. And then who was the one who had to be dragged out of there? You guessed it.
- 12 straight hours of sleep. I didn't realize how tired I was until Monday night when I fell asleep on our bed around 9:30pm (Bill was watching the girls while I had time to myself to read) and didn't wake up again until 9:30am. That is so NOT like me. It was nice, though.
- Heading to a baby shower this weekend for a friend of mine from high school. The last time I saw her was at my wedding, and we've both since had a lot of changes in our lives. She and I lived together on the same floor of our dorm for two years in high school, and she ended up going to college 30 minutes away from the one I attended as a freshman. About six years ago, we took a road trip to Key West -- something I'll probably devote a whole chapter to in my future autobiography. I'm looking forward to seeing her and hanging out at the beach right by her house. Oh, and I'll be leaving the girls home with Bill. It will just be me, my mom, and my sister on a little girls' road trip. Mommy's weekend away!
- The Smyrna birthday celebration last weekend. Live music, cake, fireworks. It was incredibly hot so we didn't get there until about 8:30, which means we missed the cake but had plenty of time before the fireworks. We found a nice spot away from the crowds, laid out our blanket, and watched the sky. Unfortunately, we ended up sitting right in the path of the wind from the fireworks so we got covered with ash and various cardboard bits. Still, it was fun.
- There's so much silliness around our house these days. Both girls insist on being little comediennes. And watch out if you give them even a little bit of sugar -- both will literally run around in circles giggling and making silly noises and faces. It's funny, until it's time to get dressed or get their shoes on or get them to do anything in general.
- Pools, or large bodies of water in general. For the Northerners reading this, you might not know that we've had temps in the 100s all week, with the heat index even higher (yesterday was 109). On the few times we've gone outside at all, it's been to the pool, though even that water was lukewarm. When it's still the high 80s at night, you know you've got a hot day coming.
Our two Cinderellas
- Bill's summer work hours. He gets home early (for him) on Fridays and we get the chance to start our weekend off early. I love weekends with him home. We try not to schedule anything with anyone else if we can help it, just so we can have that time all to ourselves.
- Activities! This new mom's group has been great because there are activities for kids almost every day of the week. We haven't gone to every one, but it's nice to be able to pick and choose so freely, and to be able to know people whenever you do go. This week the girls went to a "Pick a Princess Ballet Class" at a local dance studio. Basically, it's a little ballet class, but they center it around one of the Disney princesses. The class Maddie and Josie attended was for Cinderella. It was the first time I'd seen them in a class together, without me, interacting with each other and the other kids. The moms were able to watch from outside the door. It was so cute, and I took lots of pictures.
- A very special moment during the above mentioned ballet class: At one point, the instructor asked everyone to find a partner. Even though one of Maddie's good friends was in the class with her, she and Josie immediately walked over to one another and held hands. I literally got teary-eyed. All the moms around me went, "Awwwww!" in unison. I love seeing them express the love they have for each other.
- And speaking of ballet... Josie will be in Maddie's ballet class starting again in September. She had started her own class for the summer, but it was canceled due to low enrollment. Josie was upset, and I felt awful because she talked about her teacher and the class all the time. Now she and Maddie will be in Miss Mary's class together. I'm not sure I'll know what to do with myself. During the princess class, I realized it was the first time I'd actually sat by myself while the girls were both involved in something without me. Until now, I've had Josie stay with me or we've done Mommy and Me class stuff.
- Watching The Wizard of Oz with Bill and the girls at the park last weekend. Smyrna hosts "movies under the stars" once a month. This was the first one we'd been to all summer. We arrived early, staked out a spot, and let the girls play at the playground while we waited for it to get dark. Once the movie started it rained just a little, but not enough for anyone to get too uncomfortable (we were under the umbrella and some plastic anyway.) The girls loved the movie. The rain cooled everything off and it was nice just sitting there with my little family on a summer evening.
- Discovering an indoor playground. Not one of the jumpy, inflatable places. Just a local church with an area devoted entirely to any equipment manufactured by Little Tikes or Fisher Price. It's carpeted AND fenced off so the kids can't run off. Did I mention it's indoors? No worries about sunburn or overheating. There are a couple of playhouses, some climbing gyms for preschoolers, some toddler climbers, etc. Basically, Maddie and Josie just ran around like banshees and wore themselves out while I sat back with some moms and watched them. I didn't have to worry about them falling and hurting themselves much, thanks to the carpeting and padding under the gyms. The absolute best part? It's free! The church runs a preschool in the mornings, but in the afternoons you can just go and let the kids play. Isn't that awesome? I'd have loved a place like that as a kid.
- Seeing Amy Grant and Vince Gill in concert at Chastain. It rained. A lot. But we didn't mind so much and no one else did either. Instead of candelabras, it was a sea of umbrellas. The girls loved it -- Maddie danced in the rain and Josie loved cuddling up under the umbrella. We packed a nice dinner and some wine, and just enjoyed ourselves before walking back to the car completely drenched. We stripped the girls down, dried them off, put them in their pj's, into their carseats, and they were out of it before we even got close to home. Bill had gotten 4 free tickets and we couldn't get a babysitter at such a late notice, so we took the girls. It was actually pretty nice seeing a concert together, all 4 of us.
- I'm grateful for the fact that a birthday party we attended this week, during the day, on the hottest day of the summer in Atlanta so far, was a POOL party. The girls had fun in the water and I was more than obliged to go in with them.
- The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. Here's my routine: I go to bed, turn on the episode of The Daily Show that I've recorded on the DVR, watch and repeatedly laugh out loud to the point that Bill comes in to see what's so funny, catch up on current events, fall asleep. I almost always fall asleep right after the guest interview. Sometimes I'll be awake for the "moment of zen," but most likely I've fallen asleep with a smile on my face. I have to have the TV on to fall asleep. Unfortunately, Bill likes to sleep with it completely dark and silent. We've worked out a system over the last 9 years or so wherein I always go to bed first, fall asleep to the TV, and then he turns it off when he comes to bed. He's such a night owl anyway that the timing of it is perfect.
- Our community center. I just started taking a yoga class there. I'd forgotten how supportive it can be to practice with a class and have a real, live human guide you through the poses, as opposed to watching a DVD at home. I'm trying to get a friend of mine to go with me next week.
- Tickets to see Bjork. Bill surprised me with tickets to her concert on September 17th here in Atlanta. I'd heard about her tour months back, but the closest she would have been to us would have been Chicago. I briefly considered going, but it was right before we left for Iceland and the timing was all wrong. Recently, she added Atlanta to her tour. I'm a big fan and have always wanted to see her in concert. Do I have the best husband in the world or what? Seriously, I better start thinking about his Christmas present now. I've gotta get him something big!
- Chocolate pudding. 'Nuff said. :)
- And you?
