Beach Time

The girls sliding down together


Charlotte - loving life - she thoroughly enjoyed that slide and didn't hesitate once.


My mom and Douglass Charles soaking up the rays. He wasn't so thrilled about the water and made sure I was always close by.


The girls attempting to take a nap - yeah right. It never happened. :)

Happy Memorial Day and a big shout out to all of our service men and women who serve and have served our great country. Thanks to you and your family's hard work and sacrifice we can continue to enjoy the freedoms of this wonderful place we call home.

Also, I don't know what screams more to me on Memorial Day weekend than the beach and while this trip transpired a few weeks ago I thought it would be fun to share today.

My brother, Owen, and his wife, Mary Catherine, just purchased a condo down in Orange Beach and we took a day and went down to visit, play, and see their new place. Unfortunately, I didn't get one picture of their place (except the naptime photo) - which was lovely - but I got pictures of the kids playing at the resort where we went to swim. Who needs the actual beach when you can go to a swimming pool where you can wade in and there are slides?

The kids had a wonderful time and my mom was quite the trooper to help me throughout the events of the day.

Two Peas In a Pod

My mother always says that she needs a vacation from her vacation and boy have I felt that way this week. The groceries, laundry, catching up on orders and work, getting the kids back on some kind of schedule, establishing our routine. Ah, I am worn out, but I couldn't let the week get by without at least getting one group of pictures up from our trip.

Charlotte and Adeline were two peas in a pod the whole time we were together and those girls seriously love one another - with an occasional fight or two. Come on, they are two after all. Mary Catherine and I dressed them up in the matching tulip outfits I made them and carted the girls and Douglass Charles off to do a little shopping. The girls definitely got a lot of comments and we had to explain on several occasions that they were not twins or sisters, but cousins.

We had such a blast with them and the rest of our family - so much so that Charlotte keeps requesting various family members and to return to her Nannah's house. If only...

So Happy Friday and Happy long weekend. I will be back next week with more pictures and guess what - an anniversary celebration. Yes, June 1st, The English Pea turns 1 so stay tuned for the festivities.

I'm Back

I am back! Pictures are still in the camera and stories still need to be written out and told, but my trip near the Gulf Coast line got me into a very seaside/nautical state of mind - Oh, how I love summer! So, enjoy these little sea creatures. You can find them here. Happy Monday!

{bedtime play}

We are off to enjoy PGA golf, my inlaws, and my hometown with my mom. I couldn't leave you, though, without something fun so here is our bedtime play - which occurs most evenings right after baths and right before brushing teeth (fyi... happens between 7:30 and 7:50 if you ever want to stop by for some fun. Just kidding). So here is a play by play. Enjoy and I will have lots to post when we get back!


They normally start off with the slide and Douglass Charles insists Charlotte help him down.


Then it is off to the tent to play peek-a-boo.


Charlotte normally hangs in the tent for a while enjoying some toy she finds in there, while Douglass Charles grows bored and starts throwing a ball.






Then it is back to the slide again - static hair and all.


Bedtime play wouldn't be complete without at least one meltdown or fight breaking out - thus Douglass Charles sitting atop the slide obviously upset about who knows what.

And lest you think Doug and I are nowhere to be found, we are usually sitting right there watching the whole thing unfold.


The children normally grow tired of their games so Charlotte normally seeks out something new - this night she opted for funning around with Daddy.


Douglass Charles is always on her heals - and honestly, horsing around is "all she wrote" for a boy!

Wishing you happy play and evenings full of family fun. See you next week!

Atlanta Zoo

Looking at the giraffes


Charlotte is on the train here and other than the monkeys, it was her favorite thing - but you couldn't tell by looking at this face. :)


Douglass Charles looking out at something


Thomas chewing on the straps to the stroller


Charlotte looking out at the lion


Charlotte and Emma Grace enjoying the peanut butter and honey sandwiches Joy made them. They insisted on sitting by one another.

About two weeks ago we headed off to meet our friends, the Derrers', at the Atlanta Zoo. Joy is a friend of mine from way back and is from the area. Our lives somewhat parallell as we both have irish twins and our oldest are girls and youngest are boys. There are two differences between us though, her two are 11 months apart while mine are 15. She also is expecting baby girl #3 in August - giving her irish triplets.

We were so thrilled to catch up with them and enjoy a fun day. They have season passes, so we got to go for free (so nice and thanks for sharing, Joy!). They live about an hour away so we don't get to visit as much as we like, but we are sure to schedule our times together so we don't go too long without seeing one another. Her kiddos are just precious - Emma Grace and Thomas - and Joy is such a special friend.

Thanks, Derrers', for the invite, wonderful picnic lunch, and for the great company! We had a blast!

Ownership

A few weeks back, after returning from my grandmothers, I was tired, irritable and it seemed I just couldn't shake it. I would find myself overly frustrated with the kids, angry about just about anything, and generally just unpleasant. I just had a feeling like I wanted to quit and if I didn't I would explode.

Since my 30th birthday and some "growing up" I did during that time in my life I have really become aware that I am in charge of these types of situations. Yes, leaning on God with things like this is important and necessary, but I must begin with acknowledgement and act on it first.

So... I decided to ask myself, "What (Alison) do YOU need to do to change the situation?" It is so easy to cast blame on everyone else and I believe it is the natural way to handle things, but that is exactly what it is - easy. The hard thing to do is take ownership and be proactive.

I began to pray. Had I changed something in my life? Why was I feeling this way? What do I need to change going forward to get back to the "old" me?

I realized two things: The first was that since daylight savings time I had been sleeping longer and forgoing my personal time before the kids got up - meaning prayer, quiet time, a little email and work in the quiet, and getting a shower and dressed by myself. Ahhh, now I know why I need som "me" time. I was giving that up to sleep - obviously the extra rest wasn't making things better. So, I changed this and saw a HUGE improvement in my mood.

Second was exercise. I have put this off and put this off. Partly because of the weather and partly because I didn't know when I would fit it in. So... I took a little Christmas money, headed to Target and purchased some new exercise clothes. Then I started walking the kids in the afternoon in their stroller (this is a tall task). I ultimately wanted to run, but it has been about 10 years since I have run on a regular basis and I was pretty sure that wasn't going to happen.

One afternoon - after pushing my children around for two weeks in a stroller - I attempted to run by myself and was very surprised at how well I did and how much I LOVED the alone time - pushing myself, listening to music, having a few minutes to work out some of my frustrations.

So, I started getting up this last week before Doug goes to work to have my run. I have truly been amazed at how much better I feel. I also sleep better when I exercise - resulting in a happier me.

I am grateful - for my morning time, my run, and ultimately for God directing me that personal changes needed to be made to bring me a little sanity, and utlimately joy back into my life. I don't know about you, but I am guessing the hubs and my kiddos are pretty thankful for it too. :)

Here's to continuing to learn, grow, and figure out what truly makes us better and ultimately full of joy.

Today is one of those days...

I opened the door today, struggling to get the groceries in, the kids waiting for me in the car to come and unbuckle them, to find a mess once again all over the floor. Moe had gotten into the trash again. I flew into a tizzy. Almost loosing it and feeling myself grow too frustrated for words. I yell at the dogs, force them out the back door, quickly attend to the mess and venture back to the garage. When I approach Charlotte's side she is crying, whining about who knows what. I unbuckle her and in a frustrated tone tell her to go inside. Then I approach Douglass Charles' side of the car and quickly remove him. I am not here, I am not present, I am just trying to keep it together.

You see today is one of those days that the outside world doesn't see - the kids not minding, the dog tearing into the trash, the tantrum that ensues from this mother. It is one of those days I don't want you to see. You know I get frustrated you are human after all, but I don't want you to believe that I loose my cool and today I did.

Today is one of those days where I cry out to God during naptime prayers and beg Him to help me and forgive me for being such a poor example. Today is one of those days I collapse into my unmade bed at naptime and seriously wonder if I will have enough energy to finish the day. Today is one of those days...

But in my effort to be a good mother, be a good friend, be a good example I realize, I put too much pressure on myself. What truly matters most... the laundry or reading books joyously before naptime, a clean floor or a few moments of play before lunch, a made bed or a few snuggles and tickles with my two precious little ones.

You see on days like today, I get off course because I fail to see the importance in tickles, bookreading, and the ever important play. I focus too much on ALL the tasks at hand and I loose it. May we all remember, on days like today, to set the tasks aside and refocus our attention on the bigger picture - like tickling, snuggling, and saying "I love you!"