A Crazy Christmas

Well, it is 12:45 in the morning. I guess it is the day after Christmas now. We moved on Saturday into our house. Woo hoo. Carl's family of 25 is coming here for a little Christmas vacation. Carl's parents came into town yesterday to help us prepare for their arrival. We have been going non-stop since about 8 this morning cleaning and working on projects. 12 more people come tomorrow, and 5 more come on Saturday. I think we are prepared now...as much as one can be for 25 people. This has been the quickest move-in in the history of man. I can promise you that.

SANTA CLAUSE!

Santa Clause showed up at my work today.... CJ was thrilled, especially with the beard. Emma Jane was not. She did manage to give him several high fives though. Moving day is tomorrow!!!

Australia

Well, my mom and I went and saw this movie last weekend, and we really liked it. It reminded me a lot of the movie "The Man from Snowy River"--which I also really liked. Does anyone remember that movie? That was one of the classics in our family. That and 7 Brides for 7 Brothers. Anyway, it has beautiful horses in this movie and is just a great love story. You should check it out.

Also, we are one week away from moving into our house! Isn't that awesome and crazy at the same time? I have been sick and haven't started packing. Fun Fun. It is going to be one of those crazy weeks.

Pics from Nana and Papa's

CJ in Bath

Emma Jane going down slide.

Emma Jane, CJ, and Nana

CJ sitting up. Doesn't he look like a big boy! He has two teeth now!

Well, just when you thought the worse was over...

Well, to say the least, I have been on my wits' end with all of this house stuff. Carl has been working on the house so much, that we haven't seen each other very much. And, with taking care of the kids 24/7 making a pointless, disappointing trip to Tennessee, 3 8-hour trips to Ikea with kids and them not having what they said they had, the never-ending big bills from remodeling the house, on Wednesday, I finally broke. What did it take? One 1 hour and forty-five minute phone call with Ikea customer service about a missing cabinet that we ordered on October 24th that they promised they would ship for free as soon as it got back in stock and had not. During this conversation, it would take me 25-minutes to get to someone who could actually connect me, and I would get "disconnected" every time I reached someone who knew what they were talking to. After the last time, I kicked the wall. Not very hard...or so I thought...

Oops! That is when I decided to go down to Dothan to see my mom. Luckily I have a Mr. Fix-It for a husband, right? :)

So, I hung out with my mom and dad this weekend to get away from the house and actually see somebody during the day. It was so nice. Here are a few pics from the trip.

Miss Messy #1

Miss Messy #2. Do you ever feel like your kids need a bath after every meal?

These are before we left to go get Christmas pictures taken. They didn't want to smile then, but they smiled a ton when we got to the place. So, that's all that matters right?

Oh, and the last night I was there I backed into someone's car pulling out of the driveway. Here I had come to get away from all of the problems! Good times. Good times. Isn't life funny?

And, check the house blog b/c I just posted pictures of our somewhat finished bathrooms.

The Worse So Far

Okay, so I have had many bad experiences in working on this house. That is to say the least. It has been pretty much a constant state of bad experiences. Well, today was the icing on the cake. I went to buy doors at a local discount home improvement store, and they were out. They were not going to get more for a very long time. Since they were the cheapest by far, I wanted to try another store. Their other store is in Chattanooga, TN--2 and a half hours away. Well, I was feeling ambitious after the kids woke up from their naps, so I went to go get 11 doors by myself with a 20 month old and an 8 month old. Before I left I made sure I had enough time to get there. I asked the person on the phone what time they closed--7 pm. What time zone-- Central? Not Eastern? No, Central. Well, I got there at 6:15, and they were closed. Apparently, It was Eastern time zone. I am going to have some words with their manager tomorrow. It is now 9:45 pm. I just got home, and I still have to give the kids baths and put them to bed. After screaming when I got there, I had a good chuckle on the way home. Good times. :)

Look at the House

We just finished most of the kitchen at our house. Click on the house picture on the right to see pictures!

Been Working on the House

Well, we are about 3 weeks away from moving into our house. The last month has been a whirlwind. It really has been crazy. All we do is work on the house, so we are excited to be done with it...to be together again. I have had awful migraines for the past month, so I have been just surviving lately. That is why my blog has been so lacking lately. I apologize. Here are a few pictures what has been happening lately.

CJ is getting so big. He is so cute. He just got his first tooth this past week. He is just so dang sweet. I love this little man. He is in that stage where he grabs everything in his reach. It really is so cute. He loves to touch everything! And, he will roll all the way across the room to get what he wants.
This little missy is my helper. She loves to be helpful in anyway that she can. It is really cute. She also just learned how to say thank you and loves to say it anytime you give her something or help her. It is really cute. This is the day she went over to the house with Carl. He was trying to put this cabinet together, and she saw it as her jungle gym.

Me and my buddy

Mabel loves it when Aubrie comes to play with her. She takes her for walks, feeds her boxfuls of treats and never leaves her side until she has to go to bed. So, when Aubs went to sleep during last weekend's visit, we were talking at the table and Mabel snuck off. This is where we found them both.

By the way, huge thanks to Am-n-Ry (and Dave) for coming down to help with the house. May our backs rest in peace. I still need to take/post more pictures of their work, but some of them are up (click on the house pic to the side).

She makes me smile.

I light up every time I see this face (happy or sad). This is at the botanical gardens. It's free, beautiful, peaceful and smells really good. It's got a rose garden, japanese garden, bamboo forest, alabama forest and on and on. Such a great place for a walk.

My favorite place at the zoo...

I don't even love birds very much, but I could stay here all day (Court never lets me). CJ would reach out and try to grab them, get nipped at, cry for a second and then try to grab them again. A vicious cycle for sure, but it was so funny to watch.

Our little bulldog...

Of course the one on the left belongs to nana and grandpa, but we like kissing the one on the right more.

Mr. Loveable

This is CJ. I have been enjoying him so much lately. He really is the essence of innocence. He makes me want to be a better person. He is always happy and smiley. He is just so sweet.

Lately, I have been trying to be better at enjoying the little moments. Partially because life has been so crazy lately. Anyway, it has really made a difference in my parenting. It makes me appreciate my kids more and be more loving and patient with them because I stop to see how wonderful they really are. Emma Jane has been doing the funnest thing lately. Whenever she is across the room, I will bend down and open my arms out wide and she will run across the room as fast she can and leap into my arms.

If you have a moment, I would love to hear of any moments you have enjoyed lately.

CJ Uncut

Man, I love this little boy. So happy! He and Emma Jane play so well together. Court was just poking his belly during the video. Emma Jane wanted in on the poking, so she decided to poke his eye. I guess that's one way to get in on the action. It didn't even phase CJ--what a saint!

Dumbo and doughnuts...

This is CJ's costume for next year, but Emma Jane really likes elephants, so we let her try it on. Now she wants to wear it everyday.

We'll do anything to make the time at the store easier.

Always in Need of a Bit More Patience

Has anyone perfected being patient yet? Because if someone has, please help me. Patience is something I struggle with daily. Especially with the kids. Emma Jane threw me in front of the bus at the grocery store yesterday. I was so frustrated with her. She was not her normal pleasant little self. This other little girl took over her . A girl that stood on things in the cart. A girl that took things from off the shelves and threw them. A girl that would not eat her cheerios that her lovely mom gave her but would take hand fulls and throw them all over the store. This girl also took the things out of the cart and threw them. I was flabbergasted. Unfortunately, the little girl from the store returned today. That is when I decided Emma Jane needed a nap. Now, Carl and I get to figure out how to discipline a one and a half year old. Fun . Fun. CJ the smiler.

Sweet Emma Jane, where have you gone?

Good Ole Alabama

So, when we went to go work on our house the other day, this was in our neighbor's front lawn. Yes, those are the skins of Raccoons drying out!!! I guess I am glad we don't live in our house yet because I wouldn't have wanted to see them clean those raccoons. And yes, I am sure they found them in their backyard. And, yes, I am sure they ate them for dinner. Don't you just love the South!

Little Miss Muffin

Emma Jane is too funny these days. She is constantly making me laugh. Lately, she has become such a little mommy. It is so cute. She got this stroller from my parents. She pushes it all of the house. She'll rock her baby by wrapping it in a blanket, bouncing it, and saying "shh, shh, shh, shh." It is so cute to watch. It just goes to show how attentive kids are. They watch everything you do. It really makes me want to be careful of what kind of example I am setting.
Also, Emma Jane is getting so talkative. She says like 10 new words a day. She just loves to repeat anything you say. This is the latest one- "pan-cake". That is the first thing she says in the morning. She will sign "food" and then, say "pan-cake". Also, she loves saying "May-bull" (our dog). It is like her favorite word right now. So fun.

Goofy Girl

Rocking the Baby

Putting the Baby to Bed

Walking the Baby

Zoo Mania this Week

Okay, so I went a little crazy at the zoo this week. First off, I got a zoo pass. Woo Hoo! Love the passes. The zoo is like 15 minutes away, and it will be less than 10 minutes away when we move into our house. Double Woo Hoo!! And, Second, I went to the zoo twice this week. The first time was with an awesome ward playgroup and I repeat an awesome playgroup. (Sadly, I did not take the camera with us). The second visit was with Carl and Nana. My mom came up for a few days. So, so fun. If I died, Emma Jane probably wouldn't care too much if she could have her Nana. That is how much she loves her Nana. She is attached at my mom's hip the whole time she is here. Thanks mom for coming up.
Also, crazy story...at the zoo, we were looking at a monkey enclosure. Anyway, Emma Jane had her face up against the glass. Well, all of the sudden, this monkey swings off from a branch about 6 ft away, and lands right in Emma Jane's face and starts showing its teeth, growling at Emma Jane. It was crazy! Its face and Emma Jane face were both touching the glass. That monkey would have eaten Emma Jane alive! It was crazy. Seriously, I think the monkey had rage problems because it did it twice. I was so grateful for the glass...because mama hen would have had to take care of that monkey and I think the monkey might have won that fight.

Emma Jane looking at the Sea Lions. She loved watching them perform.

Carl trying to get Emma Jane to like the birds in the aviary. They would land on her, and she would get so scared. She would try to push them off of her.

Carl loving on the birds in the aviary.

Carl and Emma Jane mining at the Jem mine at the zoo.

Emma Jane and I petting a goat at the petting zoo.

The Culprit

Well, I am happy to say we have all recovered from the episode the other evening. Thanks for everyone's support and stories. I am happy to hear that I am not the only one experiencing those wonderful events.
Anyway, I just thought I would post a picture. Emma Jane has gotten really good at opening any container. It really is pretty amazing to watch her. If she can't get something open, she will bite it and turn it. (I wonder where she picked up on such an awful habit. I am sure it wasn't from her mother.:) Well, she was awful quiet the other day. I just thought she was reading some books in her room. When I went in to check on her, this is the sight I had found--a brand new bottle of baby wash, completely empty, Emma Jane covered in the baby wash from trying to wash her body and hair, and the glider stool needing to be hosed down.

Poop is not my friend (viewer discretion advised)

What a night! Did I mention that the stomach bug is going through my family? Well, it is, and it will not go away. I had it last Tuesday-Saturday and Emma Jane has had it from Saturday-today. So, I went to her doctor yesterday. She gave me a list of stuff that Emma Jane could eat. She said once she starts feeling a little better, she can have a little chicken. BIG MISTAKE! That is how this story begins.
Well, Emma Jane had been feeling better for more than 24 hours, so I thought I would try out the chicken. I felt bad that the girl had only had bananas, rice, and bread for the past 4 days, so I gave in. Well, thirty minutes later, I am feeding CJ...Emma Jane is wandering around our apartment just happily playing. She comes back into the room, and BAM!! WHAT IS RUNNING DOWN HER LEG ONTO HER BLANKIE THAT I JUST CLEANED?!?!? OH, YES, DIARRHEA...AND LOTS OF IT COMING DOWN FAST! YUCK, YUCK, YUCK, YUCK, YUCK!!!
I instantly put CJ down, grab Emma Jane , and run her into our bathroom to put her in the tub. (As I am running her to the bathroom, I notice a trail of Diarrhea on the carpet everywhere Emma Jane had been in the past 5 minutes! DOUBLE DISGUSTING!) I try to pull her diaper off gracefully, but that was to no avail. Diarrhea everywhere! So Disgusting. How could so much come out of such a small girl. This really baffles my mind. I go to turn on the water to wash Emma Jane off. I pull the nozzle. NOTHING! NO WATER! Of all the times my apartment needs to turn off the water, it had to be now! Awesome!
So, I instantly leave Emma Jane, run to the kitchen and grab two bottles of water. Meanwhile, Emma Jane is crying b/c I left her, and CJ is screaming, crying b/c I left him on the floor, and he is wondering why no one is picking him up. I run back to the bathroom to find Emma Jane meeting me halfway there...covered in more Diarrhea b/c she apparently slipped while trying to get out of the diarrhea filled tub...and now there are new diarrhea stains on the carpet and all over the bathroom from her getting out of the tub. I grab her stick her back in the tub. I started pouring the water on her. She is crying wondering why her mother doesn't just fill up the bath like she normally does? She also is crying b/c the water I am pouring on her is very cold. Sorry sweat heart.
When she is washed off, I dry her off, and put a diaper on her. I try to wash my hands, but oh yes, there is no water left for me to wash them off. Emma Jane then runs off happy as a clam. At this point, I access the situation. I have diarrhea on my hands and on my feet from walking through the house. There is lots of diarrhea in the bottom of my tub. There is diarrhea on the mats in the bathroom, on the sides of the tub where Emma Jane tried to get out. There is diarrhea spilling from the soiled diaper in the sink. There is diarrhea on the carpet in my closet, my bedroom, the hallway, Emma Jane's room, and the front room. The smell of diarrhea is pretty overwhelming. CJ is crying, wondering why his meal was rudely interrupted, and I HAVE NO WATER. I instantly grab the Sam's Club bag of wipes, and get to work.
It has now been a couple of hours. The kids are finally in bed. I have two candles going, and my house still smells like poop! I have two loads of laundry. The carpet is clean, and the bathrooms are almost clean. What a night! I don't think Emma Jane has anything left to poop for a couple of days. Thank goodness b/c right now, poop is not my friend.
For those of you who do not have kids that read this, do not let this deter you from having kids. They are great. They just poop, and you have to touch it. So, get over it now, at one point, probably several, you will have a moment where you are covered in poop! Sorry to gross anyone out.

My Dear Husband

Well, Carl and I celebrated our 3rd Anniversary about a month ago. We always get a kick out of how long we have been married b/c it seems like we have been married a lot longer than what we actually have. It only feels that way b/c we have done so much in 3 years: Both Graduated College, Toured Europe for 3 weeks (while 4 months pregnant), Moved 5 times (one of those was across the country to Alabama 7 months pregnant),Had 2 children within 14 months, Got a dog, Bought a home in Montgomery, Renovated it, and Sold it, Bought a home in Birmingham and currently renovating it!

It has been quite the journey over the past few years. Hopefully, the next year won't be so intense as the last. Either way, I am glad I get to do it all with my best friend. Carl is my rock. He keeps me sane through all the mania....and there is a lot of mania going on around here. I am just so grateful to have him in my life. Carl never ceases to amaze me with his patience and selflessness, not to mention his amazing handy-man and automotive skills. Thanks Carl for being such a great husband! I can't wait to see what happens next!

Gerda Pratt Haynie

This past weekend we traveled to Utah to go to Carl's grandmother's funeral. (I would have posted earlier but I got some sort of stomach flu on our way home on Tuesday and have been sick up until yesterday.) Any who, we were able to attend her funeral this Monday. I feel so blessed to have attended it. I did not personally know Gerda Haynie. When I married into the Haynie family, she was already in the late stages of Alzheimer's Disease. To give you a better idea about the tone of the funeral, Gerda had been bed-ridden since last October, and was fed through a syringe for almost a year. So, her passing was quite a blessing. It was something the family had been praying for for quite some time. Hence, her funeral was not so much a mourning but a celebration of her life...and what a life she lived!

She lived a life of service to everyone that she met. She was the mother of 7 children (At one point she had 4 children two and under. Carl was 2, Becky was 1, and the then, she had twin boys. Talk about crazy). She was the grandmother to 42 grandchildren (40 of which were at the funeral. They flew from all over the country to pay tribute to such a wonderful lady. All 40 of them sang "Abide with Me tis Even Tide" at her funeral, and it was so beautiful.) Gerda also was the great-grandmother to 20 grandchildren. It was so inspiring to hear people talk about her life! What a Christ-like lady! She touched so many people. Thank you Gerda Haynie for raising such a righteous family. You inspire me!

Anyway, here are some pictures from our trip. I wish I had a picture of her when she was younger to post, but I don't. Sorry.

Gerda's Kids from R to L Eva, Lucy, Carl, Becky, Joe, Glen and Harold. What an amazing group! She was obviously a wonderful mother because she raised some amazing children.

This is Carl Stephen Haynie I with Carl Stephen Haynie IV. What a tender moment. Grandpa was being so cute with him.

The four Carl Stephen Haynie's. What a group of men! Those one for the picture frame.

Our little family.

Carl's ever-so wise and beautiful older sisters.

Carl's younger sister Cara with Emma Jane. Cara is officially taller than me, and she is twelve. :(

Emma Jane had her first breakdown. It was at the lunch after the funeral. She had had no naps all day, so that was the cause of the exhaustion. She fell, and after she fell, she just laid down, and just started crying. It was so sad. So, Carl's uncle laid down beside her to cheer her up, and she just cried harder because he wasn't her mom.

FUN at Nana's and G-pa's

Well, my sister, Lindsey, and her family, came down to Dothan, where my parents live, for two weeks. We had so much fun hanging out with her and her family. She has two adorable little girls--Dallas and Brenna...and her third girl is on the way. EmmaJane had so much fun playing with them. It was a blast! Whenever I get together with family, it always make me wish that we lived closer because that is how it should be. It is just so much fun to get together. Here are a couple of pictures from our trip down there:Me and the kids all ready right before church!

A family shot as we're headed off to church.

Emma Jane with her Nana. She loves her Nana so much. She always yells "Nana" and runs around the house looking for her. She is attached to my mom's hip. She is her best friend. The day we come home, she always wonders where she went.

Grandpa just chilling with CJ on the couch...after all, that is what CJ does best--he just loves to chill. He's going to love football season!

Emma Jane had so much fun jumping on Nana and Grandpa's bed with her cousins. It was so cute. They were all laughing, jumping, and diving into pillows. We were just hoping she wasn't going to break the other wrist. Even with a broken wrist, Emma Jane can't be kept from jumping on the bed!

Emma Jane sporting her pink cast. And, yes, it is waterproof. It is awesome. She can take baths and go swimming with it. It is amazing. It just dries out on its own and doesn't stink. We usually keep a sock over it b/c it is rather coarse and very hard. She is supposed to get it off tomorrow. Woo Hoo!!

Our little cutie! CJ is almost 5 months old. I can't believe it. He is such a cute little man. He has such a sweet spirit. He gives you this big grin anytime you get eye contact with him. He makes you feel like a million bucks! What a sweetie!

The Difference Between Guys and Girls

We recently welcomed a new addition to the family (yes, vans have feelings, too) and the experience really highlighted the difference between guys and girls for me. I'm pretty sure it went something like this when we got to the dealership:

Courtney: I can't believe I'm shopping for a mini van! My chic days of riding in a sporty suv are over. I don't want to be a soccer mom yet:(
Carl: Man, think of all the space. Do you realize how many tools and building supplies I could fit in here. Not to mention, I could probably fit a whole basketball team in here for pickup games at church. Just...plain...awesome!
Then we realize the one we're looking at is the XLE Limited, Toyota Sienna's top of the line.
Courtney: Wow! This thing is fully loaded! Leather seats... I like. Okay, so maybe I COULD get used to a minivan.
Carl: Oh, crap. It's the expensive one. Yeah, I saw your eyes sparkle salesman. You try one move and I walk. Don't think I won't.
Of course, before we can even step in the car the features start exploding at us like fireworks on the fourth of July, the salesman, very carefully pointing each one out and the advantage it would give us. This is where the difference really started to set in.
Courtney: Oooh! The side mirror blinks when your turning, and they automatically dim when someone shines their brights.
Carl: Oh, boy here we go. How much do those cost to replace?! I'll bet a hundred bucks a pop, minimum.
Sensors for backing up...
Courtney: Perfect! I'll never hit anything ever again!
Carl: Is that a dent next to it?? Dumb things probably don't even work. There's another hundred bucks. I can already hear the mastercard commercial cueing: 'labor costs: $155... parts:$236...wife's happiness: priceless, no wait, make that $391 plus tax.' And we're not even in the dumb vehicle yet. Oh boy...
Built in window shades that roll up and attach at the top.
Courtney: I wouldn't have even thought of that! That's perfect for the kids in carseats on trips.
Carl: Window shades!?! Are you kidding!?? Completely unnecessary. I give 'em two weeks before the kids rip 'em off. $100...cha ching.
DVD Player and Flipdown screen.
Courtney: The perfect addition for the perfect trip:)
Carl: Yeah, right. I wonder how many quarters Emma Jane can fit in that little slot before I have to replace it. And I hate listening to a movie I can't even watch (signing time songs begin dancing through my head at this point...).
Heated seats.
Courtney: And I thought they couldn't do any better. This is better than coconut cream pie from Jim n' Nicks.
Carl: Please!?! The epitome of pointless! It doesn't even get cold enough here for seat warmers. There goes the kids (see link). I hate this van.
Oh yeah, and upgraded JBL sound system, complete with built in subwoofer in rear and midrange speakers in the dash.
Courtney: But... why?
Carl: Now that's what I'm talking about!!! Where do I sign.


Courtney and I always end up on the same page, but the book always reads way different to get there. We're both really happy we got the van. And we got a killer deal on it (yeah, that's right salesman!), so I listened to signing time the whole way home, in surround sound. So this is bliss!