The Invisible Woman

So, you have a bad day!

Yesterday was one of those days that by the time I got in bed, I had to give Chad a huge, "I'm sorry." It seemed like from the moment I woke up, things just went counter to how I would have planned them.
Just one quick (though disgusting) example:
I went into the girls' room to get them up from nap, knowing that we had a 'trip-to-Walmart-unload-groceries-and-cook-dinner" three hour-marathon in front of us. I walked in, gave Aly a kiss, then made my way over to Caroline's crib. She had taken off her diaper and wiped the contents of it all over herself, her crib, her sheets, and bumper pads. I had to laugh because it was really just par for the day.

So we drove out to Wal-mart. Aly cried the first 15 minutes we were in the store because I made her keep her stuffed animal in the car (even though this is ALWAYS a rule). We had about 15 minutes of fun shopping, and then Caroline cried from about the cereal aisle on. My friend Mandy has talked about her love/hate relationship with Wal-mart before, and I told her about the girl at the check-out whom I always get...she's from the North and always tells me about how annoyed she gets with "Dumb Southerners". Well, I got her again (she always has the shortest line, and with a crying baby, I take what I can get.) This is honestly how our conversation went:

Girl: Why is your daughter crying?
Me: Well, we've been here a long time, and she gets worn out by the end of the trip.
Girl: I don't think that parents should bring kids under about 3 or 4 grocery shopping.
Me: Hmm.
Girl: 'Cause I think the best time to shop is while their sleeping.
Me: Hmm.
Girl: I just hope that whenever I get married and have kids, my husband is willing to stay home with my kids so I don't have to take them shopping, until they're an appropriate age like 3 or 4.
Me: I hope that works for you.
I mean, really? And the whole time (as she's talking SO slowly), Caroline is losing it!

The frustrating thing was that there was still quite a bit of 'day' left, and I just couldn't get my bad attitude turned around. Poor Chad. By the time I got home from small group, it was 9:30 and I was about in tears.

But I can laugh about it now. And I guess that if that's my idea of a horrible day, I am indeed a blessed person!

Coach Daddy

Chad is at a coaching clinic this weekend--I know that he will have fun talking basketball and seeing friends. He is so sweet, though, because he's been genuinely upset about leaving us. Obviously as a coach, he is no stranger to being out of town...but we've had one of those "off-seasons" where we were able to spend a lot of time together as a family...and really enjoyed it! As excited as he is about the season starting up again, I appreciate the fact that leaving is a little tough for him...home is where his heart is! While I'm on the subject, I just want to brag on the fact that I truly believe that God created him to be a dad--and not just that, but a dad to GIRLS. Most of you who read this know that he is the sensitive one in this marriage: the cryer, the communicator, the Life-Time-channel watcher. We laugh at this from time to time, but I really think that he was created for this role...and what a job he does in that role! We love you, Daddy!

Aly and Daddy going to "Daddy's Dessert" at school

Tickly Monster

More Tickly Monster...

Sweet Caroline

While the cats are away, the mice will play!

Our weekend away in Chattanooga was wonderful ! We relaxed, ate out, and got to see our best friends from Farmville, Bubba and Cortney (they have just moved to Sewanee, TN). The girls had a great time and were very well-taken care of, thanks to Big D and Poppy. The best part of the weekend was getting to see the girls when we returned. Oddly enough, Aly was in absolute melt-down mode from the time she saw us yesterday until she finally went to bed...really bizarre. I can't help but think that she was probably just on emotion-overload after a weekend without us, and crying off-and-on throughout the afternoon was her way to express that. Bless her little heart! :-)

Aly riding her bike...

...and Caroline on her car

Dinner with Bubba and Cortney

Pray for Constance

I wanted to post a quick note about one of my best friends from high school, Constance. She was diagnosed with a brain tumor several years ago. The doctors were able to remove it, but with the prognosis that it would more than likely return. It has, and they are asking for prayers. Please remember their family- Constance, Brian, and their two little boys.

Date Night at the Warners

It's amazing how much time I've spent staring at 'html' jumble. I've finally decided that instead of risking losing all of the pictures that I've posted on this thing, I would just settle for a big-bird look. It is Chad's favorite color, so maybe it'll be our tribute to him.

Chad and I are reaching a milestone this coming weekend: we are spending our first weekend away since Caroline was born! He has a coaching clinic in Chattanooga, so we are going up Friday night and returning Sunday afternoon. I am really looking forward to our quiet time together, and know that the girls will have a great time with Big D and Poppy! I really can't imagine being away for more than a few hours, so I hope that I'm able to enjoy the time with Chad! I think the strangest feeling about being without kids, even for just an evening date, is getting to a gas station. It's so weird to remember that both people can go inside to pick out some gum...no one has to stay in the car with the kids! As a matter of fact, except for being on a date, I don't remember when the last time was that I was inside of a gas station! (what did moms do before pay-at-the-pump?) Who'da thought that a gas station would ever be a highlight of a date night! (just for the record, Chad takes me on great dates! I wouldn't want him to feel minimized to a comparison to a pack of Extra gum!)

Lizzy P. and Aly playing dress-up

Caroline standing--she took her first 'step' (more like a lunge) just a moment before this picture

Chad and the girls on "Game Day"-- Aly's favorite day of the week

These are just two funny little videos of the girls playing their favorite game: push-each other-around- in-the-baby-stoller. Caroline just beams at the fact that she is able to actually walk when she's pushing Aly...
...and then there's Aly pushing Caroline. (You can see that Caroline is directing Aly down the hall!)

Blog Under Construction

I wanted to change the background of my blog...I've done it before, and it was simple! Wouldn't you know that I've spent ALL of today's 'naptime' trying to fix it, and now it's TOTALLY messed up!! I'm trying to learn and follow all of the blog lingo, but I am now in "widget/ gadget overload". My intention was to post new pictures for Nana and Papa in NY, but now I just have a boring white blog. I guess I will try again next naptime...

By the way, does ANYONE know what this error message means?:

"Your template could not be parsed as it is not well-formed. Please make sure all XML elements are closed properly.
XML error message: The markup in the document following the root element must be well-formed." (Is this even in ENGLISH?!)