Happy Birthday Erin and Matthew

During our time in Wisconsin of which we call home when we are in Florida but now we have changed that to call our home in Florida we celebrated Matthew’s 2nd birthday with lots of family. Having family all together reminds me of growing up and having all my uncles/aunts, grandparents, and cousins celebrating the many life events. I now know how lucky I was to have my family near by and I see the excitement in Sam and Matthew’s faces. I also see how overwhelming it can be since they are not around all of the family frequently. Regardless they are learning how important family is and that makes me happy since that was important to my Papa Jack. Erin’s b-day also occurred while we were in WI and she enjoyed the dinner out for Hibachi, her new favorite cuisine. I think if Erin could she would design a kitchen to include a hibachi grill.

Happy Birthday Erin and Matthew!!!!

THANK YOU Mary!!!

We knew Ms. Mary could conquer the hair! Her saying: Once in, never out.

Matthew had his FIRST REAL haircut. He looks so cute!

BEFORE:

DURING

ALMOST DONE

We made it!

We made it back home to Wisconsin! Our trip started out a little bit 'off' schedule...however, within a delay of a day, we made it! Our 4-wheeled silver minivan headed north one day later than we expected. Sam decided to regurgitate his dinner on Thursday night. Brad and I were uncertain if he honestly just ate too much, or if he really was sick and had the stomach flu. So we decided to hold off our travels a day to wait it out and see. Sam definitely acted 'sick' as he was scared to eat anything, laid on the floor next to a bucket, but he never actually threw up again, just went through all the motions...GO FIGURE!

Friday afternoon, Sam was totally fine, just refusing to eat. He said his throat hurt and he was scared to eat. So, we packed up the van with great enthusiasm. The boys helped up tie the stroller to the roof, dragged the luggage out of the house and picked out important items to take with us.

At 4:50 p.m. Friday evening, we were on the road. We drove through the night and arrived in one piece, with the kids in tow around 11:30 a.m. Saturday morning! The boys, honestly, shocked us. They had their moments, however, they did FANTASTIC. Sam refused to eat anything the entire ride. Matthew insisted on eating everything Sam didn't want. We stopped a total of 5 times, 3 of which we let the kids out of the car. They slept great and mommy and daddy plowed into the wee hours of the morning. Needless to say, WE MADE IT!!!!

Some memories worth noting of the trip:
1. 5 minutes into the drive Matthew speaks, "I want home"
2. Matthew refusing to take off his flip flops while in the car
3. Sam asking every other minute: "Are we there yet?"
4. Driving through the rest area in Kentucky at 3:00 a.m. seeing all the cars and vans in the parking lot with feet hanging out the windows or on the dash, but not seeing any heads
5. Loosing our big magnet "W" while driving. Brad swore it was a huge bird that flew up from the hood!
6. Sam refusing to eat anything the ENTIRE ride
7. Matthew insisting to eat EVERYTHING Sam didn't want.

Stay tuned for pictures of the weeks!
Kisses to all our little Oakleaf buddies! We miss you guys already.

I smell trouble

sure enough, I was right. The step ladder was unravled from the laundry room. The tools were in hands. The two boys needed to fix the window because it was broken. Yes, I love them...well until brother pushes brother off the ladder and brother falls down and screams and throws the hammer at brother. Guess which one was which brother???

Swim lessons cont'd

Well, we're now in week 2 of lessons and Sam is continuing to do fantastic! His fear of the 'deep end' is slowing coming to a halt. He is going under water, floating on his own, and learning to jump in the deep end w/o assistance! BIG improvements! We are so proud of him. His last day of lessons is on Thursday. Today on our walk home from the pool he said, "mommy, I'm going to miss Ms. Lindsay when we leave for WI!" I was so proud because last week, well, Ms. Lindsay was viewed as a demanding mean lady. His class is perfect for him.

I have to share a story that just makes me laugh. Last week Wednesday Sam and I had a HUGE discussion about the pool and being safe etc. He went to class on Tuesday and basically wined and cried the entire class. When Ms. Lindsay would ask him to do something, he would do it, but with great force and a HUGE amount of fear. So, all night Tuesday we pretended to be lifeguards, jump into the pool etc. I told him that if he did not wine and cry on Wednesday, I would take him to McDonald's for lunch. However, he HAD to listen to Ms. Lindsay and no wining crying, etc. We made this agreement on our walk to the pool, it was fresh in his head. McDonald's in this pool is SUCH a GREAT bribe in this house.

So, per our conversation the day before and all morning before class, he was a perfect swim student. Didn't even think about crying, smiled the entire class and did EVERYTHING Ms. Lindsay asked him to do, still with fear, but not as much. When class was about 1/3 of the way done, Sam turned around to find me with a HUGE smile on his face. Gave me the 'thumbs' up and continued on listening. All of a sudden, I overheard this conversation;

Sam: Ms. Lindsay, do you know what?
Ms. L: What Sam?
Sam: My mommy is taking me to McDonald's, because, see, no tears!
Ms. L: Good Job Sam...
Another boy: McDonald's, MOM...DID YOU HEAR THAT? Sam is going to McDonald's...
Another boy's mom: Turn around and pay attention....
Sam: YES!!! I Get a Happy Meal
Another different boy: I love the race cars.....vrrrrrrrroooooooommmmmmmmmmmm
A girl: I like the pink slipper. See, this is what I get when I go to McDonald's
Sam: A pink slipper???
Another different boy: I LOVE french fries
Sam: Me too
Ms. L: Okay guys, let's think about swimming!
Sam: Okay, but I get to go there after swimming because no tears!
Ms. L: I'm so proud Sam, great!
Another girl: MOMMY...CAN I GO TO MCDONALD'S too?
Ms. L: Okay class, all look at me.
Another girl: MOMMY...YOU CAN'T Hear me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I want to go to McDonald's too.
Sam: It's okay, you can come with my mommy. She'll get you a fry.
Ms. L: ALL RIGHT Kids, ENOUGH McDonald's TALK . Now, look at me.
Sam: okay.. but di.........
Ms. L: Enough Sam.

It was the cutest little people conversation I have ever heard and my son, the talker (imagine that) got the entire class wound up, upset and excited about McDonald's! Oh little people!

Enjoy the photos below of our afternoon swim lesson show-off to daddy!!!! This first picture Sam was showing off to the Lifeguard!


Here is precious Matthew. He will NOT take his flip flops off and insists on wearing them to the pool. It is a huge fight to get him to take them off. We go through this EVERY morning when we go. Oh precious one! You warm my heart.

Sam's first Swimming Lesson

And he did GREAT! He was a little timid at first, but did wonderful! She even as able to dunk him. He is still a little frightened with the 'deep' water, but I'm confident his fears will diminish by the end of next week. He did so well, we're so proud of him. He has so many cute friends in his class, I'm sooooooo glad we're in the class. It has been hot and sticky here in Florida. With that said, it is a perfect week for swim lessons! We'll keep you posted on swimming progress throughout the week! Ms. Lexi has her hands full of tricks these next few lessons.

Matthew was a little unsure of leaving his brother in the pool by himself, and this was about the best stare I got from him until Sam returned after his lessons.....poor guy is going to be completely out of whack once Sam starts school! I love that they are in love with each other.

Beach Bums

Another weekend goes by, and another beach we visited! Our family is in love with the beach. It is so simple to make a great day turn greater by visiting the ocean. The boys are in love with all the variety the beach brings. We used to take bags of sand toys, towels, shovels etc. Now our load consists of: Sunscreen, a towel, and a favorite toy. The toy of the weekend was a new beach rake the daddy found at the good ole' dollar store. Not only was it a dollar, it also was a piece of junk (sorry daddy). Within about 10 minutes of being there, Matthew had smashed his and bent the bottom. However, it didn't stop our fun morning out in St. Augustine and Anastasia Beach!

Friends

That's just what the three of these little people are. Friends! What more could we ask for on a hot summer day here in Florida. Friends, pool, water and Popsicles! Hooray for fun.

Bed Bath & Beyond

It was last weekend that we went! I love this store. I love this store because they send sooo many coupons it saves me so much money. I not only love this store, but so does Brad and SO DO THE CHILDREN! And sometimes, when you hit it right, they have fantastic deals in the clearance sections....and that is exactly what happened.

Brad and I were walking towards the bedding section. Sam screamed at the top of his lungs, "Beds, beds, beds, come on Matthew let's go." I honestly never knew they loved beds so much. As Brad and I were walking frantically behind them, we passed the CLEARANCE table. Under the table laid 5 beautiful oriental rugs. We've been searching for the 'perfect' rug for some time to go under our new kitchen table. And there it was, under the CLEARANCE table for $25 dollars. It was beautiful. Brad and I rolled the rug out, stepped on it, looked it over and just drooled over the price. It was beautiful, and we rolled it back up, and noticed there were smaller rugs underneath and did the roll out etc. CRAP....my kids were NO where in sight.

Brad and I were so involved in the clearance table, now we lost our children. We swoop the rugs in our hands, mind you they are heavy and roughly 7 feet in length. We come to find out children snugly wrapped up underneath all the covers in one of the display beds playing 'sleep'. Within the course of about 4 unattended minutes they had managed to hop for every single display bed completely destroy it and continue on. It was a mess. They were as QUIET and as HAPPY as could be all snug as bugs in the display bed.

Matthew's first Haircut....

BEFORE SHOT:

Matthew needs a haircut soooo bad. SO, it was time. We made him an appointment with Ms. Kris! Sam went first, Matthew sat on the side lines. Sam, of course, LOVES getting his hair cut. Sam did great. Matthew looked at Sam in this big black cape and kept saying, "me do it, me do it. UP. UP UP." Brad and I were anxiously getting sooo super excited because maybe, just maybe Matthew was going to do this for us. See pictures below to find out ending:


AFTER SHOT:

Sam was done, and now it was big talker Matthew! Matthew slowly climbed up the chair...looked at Ms. Kris and said, "um, no. All done. No. No. No." Ms. Kris tried soooo hard to get him back up in the chair....but no luck whatsoever. We'll try again....maybe we'll have Mary strap him down while we're back home for summer!

Fashionable?

Now this is what we call fashion at it's best! Going through clothes bins....on a hot, humid day brings lots and lots of fashion fun in this house! The boys were so funny because they wanted to try on everything they saw. At one point, Sam had 5 different layers of stuff on, and not to mention the 6-12 month Packer attire. This is about the closest I'm going to get to having a little girl!

SHOES SHOES and more SHOES!!!! Matthew LOVES shoes and socks. This ensemble didn't come from a bin, it came straight out of daddy's closet.

And then there was Mimi!

Mimi came down to spend the week with us!!!! We did so much this visit, it was soooo much fun! We greeted her at the Jacksonville International Airport with lots of hugs and kisses. Mimi listened well to her instructions to "ignore Matthew" and within seconds, Matthew was BEGGING for hugs and kisses from her. (See mom, I TOLD you it would work). From the airport we bribed the children to keep their eyes open until we could hit the next local McDonald's! We hit the drive Thru and headed back home to eat. The boys had a great time showing off their new home and had a better time eating their chicken and fries at the table. We painted pottery at a new little pottery place close by...went to the pool...we went to the zoo....we bought out Target...we ate out a bunch and we shopped and shopped and shopped!

Daddy was able to take a few days off from work to join us in the week.

Matthew just wanted to be kissed!!

Painting Pottery was fun. It was a great place to be, however, the boys lost interest after about an hour of painting...which as very very long to begin with. They got messy, but not too bad. Sam painted a firetruck with Mimi and I painted a school bus for Matthew. We finally got to pick up the pottery and it looks great! I happen to love all the little imperfections that the pieces have. Matthew had fun with the brown paint on the school bus roof and Sam had fun on the back of his firetruck. THANK YOU MIMI for taking us there.






And then we hit the Jacksonville Zoo

Matthew LOVED the 'ISH'!!!

Found himself wanting to jump in the fountain!
Love this picture! This is sooo Florida.
Sam on the 'staged' horse

pretending to be a monkey, full with sounds as well.
the shy shy gorilla

The boys LOVED the zoo! They were so happy to be there.

Mimi supplied us with a new pool as the boys had destroyed their previous one with a garden tool.
Needless to say, her stay went too fast and we were back at the airport again. The boys went through Mimi denial the following day as they held their heads low. However, it didn't take long for the brotherly fighting to begin again. We can't wait to visit home in only a few short more weeks!!!!

Let's paint and spin

This is for you Aunt Lori and Uncle Marc! We finally opened up the Spin Art that you gave Sam for his birthday and look how good the masterpiece turned out! The boys had a grand grand of a time with daddy as they watched the paint spin round and round. We now wish we would have opened it up sooner. Enjoy the pictures of the Spin Art morning!

Sam thought this was the most serious thing ever....

Matthew thought it was funny....
End Result: MASTERPIECE

on the path to work again

I am so happy to say that I am starting my own photography business. I love my new path. It has been so exciting to meet some amazing families and just hang out with the ones who have already been a part of my life here in Florida. I am in the process of working on my new website and ironing out all the kinks, however, for now, here is a link to my new blog:

http://www.erinteplinphotography.blogspot.com/

Check back often so you can see all my little cuties!

Double Celebration!

On Sunday, May 11, 2008 we not only celebrated Mothers Day, but Brad and I also celebrated our 6 years of marriage! For the past 3 years, I've had the honor in not only celebrating Mothers day, but being a proud mother myself! Seriously, what would I do without my kids and husband?

My husband who I wed on this day, 6 years ago, my rock and my strength. We have been through so many things together, good and bad. But most importantly we've held our relationship strong. Thinking back to this same day, 6 years ago, the skies were dark and the rain was falling. Much like our day today, however, we didn't have a wedding to worry about. The nerves were overfilled with excitement as I was about to marry the man of my dreams. And then, the party began. All of our friends and family were there to celebrate this day with us. What a glorious day it was, even though the skies opened up and rain, hail and lightning filled the evening.

Thinking back three years ago when Sam entered our world, everything changed. Not only life, but love! I never knew I could love someone as much as I loved that little baby growing inside of me. Then a few more months passed and we welcomed Matthew into this world! Then life REALLY changed and our hearts grew bigger and now Brad and I had a family we could call our own.

I sit here today, thinking back and I thank God for my life. Being a mother has made me a better person, and being a wife has made me who I am today!

Happy Anniversary Brad. Happy Mothers day all my dear friends and family celebrating as well today. I hope you all enjoyed your day and I am blessed to have you all in my life!

Daddy

is a monumental piece around this house. I used to be okay with Monday mornings....but now I shriek when that Monday morning wake up call calls for "Daddy". When that door opens and it's me, mommy....the boys both look at me with blank stares of disappointment and say, "mommy, where is daddy?"

When little hand hits the 5, mommy is history. Daddy is home and the boys forget about me. I'm okay with this...especially because I know they love me just as much, they just see me too much! But man, when daddy is home, this world is a better place!

Friends

They are oh so cute together! It's Ashley! Ashley and Sam get along like Brothers and Sisters. Maybe it's because she is that much older than Sam and she tends to kind of baby him, and Sam eats it up! She has this patience about her that I love. And I love it when Sam picks up on the gentle things she does. Even though Sam is a boy, I never shy him away from affection!

Sam asks about her daily and requests that we stop at her house, even though she may be there just to stop by and say hi to the door?! I love little friendships that happen. Thanks Ashley for spending the day with us last weekend! We can't wait for school to be out this summer so we can meet at the pool and eat goldfish and peanut butter sandwiches together.

Matthew..where are you?

Just have to note....this morning, during and after our jaunt through Publix, Matthew shocked the pants off me...

1. He walked up to the baker who had a cookie in her hand and gave her a Hi-5
2. Matthew let the cute bagger push the cart out to my car with him in the cart! He actually didn't even know where I was....
3. Kept his flip flops on the entire time in the store!
4. Ate the ENTIRE 2 cartons of blueberries that we bought
5. Drank his milk COLD.....right out of the fridge
6. Sat and WATCHED TV as I was making lunch!!!!! And laughed!!!!!

YEAH Matthew!!!! See, you CAN look and talk to (some) strangers.
Normally he gives the dirtiest eye contact and screeches at the top of his lungs!!!!!
TV is GOOD to watch Matthew!!!!

HOORAY for you. Looks like mommy needs to go to Publix every day now!

beach and fears

We had a great day today visiting the beach! The boys just love it there. As a matter of fact, so do we. Brad has finally accepted that the sand is okay and the sun won't hurt him!!!! Today we had another great family day there after running some errands. The weather couldn't have been better. Upper 80's/sunny/windy and just plain great. The tide was very high when we got there, but lowered back into the ocean after an hour of us being there. I know there probably is a better word for "tide lowered back" but I don't know the technical terms.....April, I know you have the answers! I think my family and I need a oceanography lesson from you.

Anyways, the boys just love the water and sand. Matthew seriously didn't stop running the entire time we were there. Sam and him jumped wave after wave, puddle after puddle. It was grand. Poor little Matthew bit the sand in some larger waves a few times....however, it didn't seem to stop him. Sam got a mouthful of sea shell sand a few times, however, that didn't stop him as well.

The boys both were given a plastic bag to collect shells. WOW...the bags are FULL of shells. They did great. Matthew thought it was rather hilarious when he found a broken shell!! Mom, we're saving the shells for when you're hear so you can help me build a shellasic (my word for Mosaic) picture frame!!!! Can't wait!

The beach was full today. There were so many people there. Kids were everywhere. I have to admit, being in the water with the boys does make me a tad bit nervous. One of my huge fears is drowning. I often have dreams that one of my children is trapped in the water and can't get out. I know this fear has come from my many years of watching Fear Factor. I have to say, I totally dislike that show ever since I became a mom and till this day I can't watch it. With that said, today I witnessed one of my mommy fears.

There are no lifeguards at the beach we went to today....a few of us were standing out in the water. There was a lady who ran out into the tide and I saw her run past me in a huff, but didn't think much of it. I head some screaming, but again, that's what people do at the beach. Scream, splash yell etc. It's all part of it because frankly, you can't hear anything. Anyways, she kept running back and forth, back to shore, into the water. There were a few men who went after her asking if everything was okay....I couldn't hear the conversation, however, I had a sense it wasn't a good thing. I finally went up to a man who had a blank stare on his face and I asked him what was going on. Now mind you there were hundreds of people at the beach.....The man informed me that this lady's daughter was missing. My heart literally sank to my feet. I think I got that blank stare on my face as well. The man filled me in on the look of the daughter but I as well had 2 little boys who I couldn't leave.

I swear, I got goosebumps up and down my body. I watched this lady run all over the place, yelling, screaming, crying, yelling, in the waves. People were finally spreading the word and so many people were helping her. I was just imagining her 8 year old daughter trapped in a wave...it was horrible. This mother was frantically sprinting back and forth, jumping in and out of the water, shrieking screams of worry. This was going on for 20+ minutes or so.

Many minutes went by, people were looking all over. Brad was 100% clueless of what was going on as he was having a grand ole' conversation with a friend of ours in the water watching the boys, because I just couldn't get the words out of my mouth to tell him. Many many many more minutes passed and finally I heard a "aaahhhhhhhh" flow over the beach. The girl was found. The mother yanked her up by her arm and grabbed her away from her 'new' friends she had made at the beach. The 8 year old little girl just found some friends and was playing along shore, had wandered off unintentionally and had no clue what was going on. The little 8 year old girl had no idea her mother was in a panic, worried that she would never see her daughter again. When I saw the mother hug her daughter I could only imagine the emotions that were going through the mothers head....RELIEVED, SUPER UPSET, THANKFUL, IRATE, LOVE.

I was standing along shore, tears were filling up my eyes...I seriously NEVER want to be that mother. I will have a leash on my children forever. I love the beach, but I am a nervous wreck thanks to Fear Factor.....but I'll go back, with my leash and electric collar that I will purchase to shock them if they go further than 5 feet away. My thought, a pool is one place, a HUGE Ocean beach....it's got my fear all over it. There is a reason my children have bright ORANGE swim suites...so I can see them at all times. I am crazy!

Sam's reaction to the news

So...we've learned a valuable lesson with Sam! To illimate the looonnngggg hours of anxious anticipation, we've learned not to tell Sam where we're going until absoultly positively necessary. SO, with that said, we did not tell him that he was going to see his beloved family, until he went to bed that night. We captured the reaction below. It was so cute when he let it sink in. We've never seen him go to bed as fast as he did that weekend!!! You're so cute Sam, we uve you!!!