Beach Baby Bedlam

Fam Pics

2012-01-18T22:16:00.000-05:00

A couple of months ago we had the opportunity to get some family photos made with Brooke Davis Photography {as seen in the updated blog header and kid shots on the sidebar}. She had quite the lively bunch trying to reign in 2 2 year olds {one of which was NOT having it the majority of the time}, a 4 year old, a 6 year old, and 2 stressed parents! She pulled out all the stops, shaking her fanny, dancing a jig and singing her heart out, all in the name of getting smiles. It worked!

This is my all time favorite picture EVER of my crazy brood...

The "brothers" pictures melt this mama's heart to pieces...

I am mush...

Killin me...

The whole fam...

I like to call them "The Planned Children"...

A little Pinterest idea made possible with enough people to spell the right word...

Despite tears and meltdowns, many a candy cane bribe, and multiple location changes, I really didn't think a single picture would turn out. That's why I leave it to the PROFESSIONAL and she rocked it!

All de fishies of de sea...

2012-01-08T15:01:00.000-05:00

For Christmas this year, my parents bought Georgia Aquarium tickets for all the kids and grandkids. We had not been in six years which was 5 grandchildren ago, so it was a treat to watch the big eyes as they saw whales, sharks, penguins, dolphins, sting rays, and fish of every color swim just inches from their touch.

Tiny Miss had some whiplash after a day filled with staring straight up! She couldn't risk posing for a pic with her handsome cousins for fear that a beluga whale might drop on her head.

Even the youngest of the bunch couldn't take his eyes off the fishies.

I asked him if he could come to my house. He said no.

Quiet boys. Amazing.

Why not drop a 4 year old into a tank full of sting rays?

We decided in our dream home plans, we're going to add an aquarium wall like this one. Hours of entertainment and a great threat to misbehaving. "Listen little dude, do you need to spend some time in that wall with Jaws? I didn't think so. Now go stare at him and think about what you've done."

A day with cousins is a day well spent.

Thanks Meme & D-Daddy!

The Birthday Boy.

2011-12-23T22:55:00.000-05:00

Buster Boy is FINALLY 5 years old. We have been waiting on this milestone since the womb. 5 years old means he can officially play baseball on a real team. 5 years old means he gets to go to kindergarten. 2 things he's been not-so-patiently waiting for.

So, we asked him what he wanted to do on his big day...play baseball! The g-parents and Aunt Laura arrived for the day to make the teams a little more even and the Hansons took the field as well.

If he's got nothing else, he's got the look...

The players in the field seem a bit distracted and without proper equipment like gloves...

Grape juice breaks are a necessity in this south Georgia December heat...

After the Braves won, we hit Chick-Fil-A for lunch and then went home for tractor cake and ice cream.

It seems as though we may have gotten a little more than ice cream with our tractor cake since the candles were blown out with a marshmallow shooter full of spit. Yummy.

The rest of the day was spent flying up and down the street on his brand new bicycle. With the occassional grape juice break of course.

Happy Birthday Buster Boy! This 5th year is going to be HUGE for you and I can't wait to be with you every step of the way. I love you, handsome. :)

*Thanks to Big Sis for providing all of the pictures for today's blog from her own camera.

Bokeh.

2011-12-11T23:11:00.000-05:00

Bokeh is the blur, or the aesthetic quality of the blur, in out-of-focus areas of an image, or "the way the lens renders out-of-focus points of light." {wikipedia}

I'm obsessed with it.

I got my fancy shmancy camera a year ago and still don't know the half of what it's capable of. I do know it's better than a point-and-shoot but beyond that, I haven't captured all the goodness. Mainly because I don't know or understand ANY of the terminology despite reading countless "helps" and "how to's".

But bokeh?

Ah, you are my love and I WILL own you soon - just give me some more time and practice.

Here's my first subject. Sit. Don't move. Let me take 750 pictures in a row until I see some light pops behind your head. Who cares if your face is dark. I got my light pops.

Subject number two is falling asleep after only 400 shots. No fun blurry lights but I got more light on the face!

Tried to focus on my lens cap held out in front. Something wacky happened and I'd like to say I know exactly what, but I dont. I'll take it though. Got my blurry light pops!!

Oh look, she woke up. But I still haven't figured out how to get a person AND a tree to look the way I want at the same time.

And Subject #2 is officially bored and giving me the peace out sign. Thanks yo, cuz it got me some popping lights.

Triumphant at last!!

Innermost thoughts.

2011-12-05T22:04:00.000-05:00

Just a boy and his cows.

"I see purple! Do you see purple? Why is your shirt pink? It doesn't match your jeans. Do you love purple? I love purple. I love pink too. I have pink jeans. They match my toenails."

Just a boy and his daddy. His favorite ~~worship~~ song is "Oh no you never let go..."

These boots were made for walking, and that's just what they'll do...

Holler Ween

2011-11-02T23:28:00.000-04:00

We outdid ourselves this year with costumes. Probably because I'm super mom. Take Wild Man for example.

Not just any mom will send her child out trick or treating like this. We call him "Backwards Man who uses his shirt as a napkin". Points for creativity. He's also called "Man who pitched a fit and threw his Buzz Lightyear costume down and stomped on it repeatedly"...hey, whatever works. When Dude is happy, WE'RE ALL HAPPY!

"Woody" here had a last minute change of attire too and became "Farmer Rancher Man" because Farmer Rancher Men wear baseball hats, not cowboy hats (like, per se, the one that was bought for him FOR THIS SPECIAL OCCASION...but whatevs).

He has waited 365 days to ride this car again. And his backside is about all we saw as he screamed down the road whipping into driveways like he owned the joint.

Secret Agent {Wo}Man and Ballerina were also last minute additions to the costume ~~wars~~ discussions that ensued for weeks prior to Halloween. Ballerina was originally going to be Minnie Mouse, then a Princess, then Tinkerbell until finally landing with this minutes before take-off. Secret Agent {Wo}Man was originally going to be the Pixar Lamp but unfortunately I showed WAY TOO MUCH excitement over the possibilities of the COOLEST COSTUME IDEA EVER and she then opted for all black. Avoiding attention. She is not my daughter.

And this last gem of a pic was sent to me by Brooke who's gorgy boy is front and center. I thought nothing of it until I looked at the back right side and noticed why she sent it to me asking for a caption.

Perfect summary of the night.

Fancy Feet

2011-10-23T21:15:00.000-04:00

It has been so fun {and gut wrenching!} to watch Big Sis on the soccer field this season. Her confidence has grown as the season has progressed and we've finally started to see her get a little aggressive on the field which is a HUGE change from past seasons.

We haven't been able to count many wins but she's got a great group of girls who have shown some fantastic attitudes despite some harrowing defeats! :)

One change we've done this season has been attending a weekly foot skills clinic. Who knew there was such a thing as foot "skills"?? I just thought you kicked a ball!

Fearless Joe going head to head with a player that's a solid foot taller than she is! Fearless Joe also got a ball to the face right after this. A few tears later...

She's off and dribbling despite the pack of wolves coming her way...

Go Cheetahs!

Hakuna Matata, part 2.

2011-09-22T08:00:00.004-04:00

{Part 1}

Fast forward a decade and a half later and I'm once again singing "Oh I just can't wait to be king..." with my 3 year old little girl. It was her favorite movie and since I was preggers with her little bro and slap outta energy and parenting prowess, she probably watched it a solid 4 times a day. All the way through.

Mom of the year right here.

The VHS started waning and other DVD's took it's place so Lion King got shelved for a few years.

Then I heard it was coming back out into the theaters for only a few weeks. I bought 6 tickets faster than you could say Hakuna Matata.

This family date proved to be far better than my first ill-attempt 17 years ago with a boy I robbed from the cradle. This time I didn't have a silly Simba singing me love songs during the credits.

No. No.

I had a real man. Whom you say?

MUFASA.

{ooooooooh, do it again...}

And all the little hyenas we brought lived up to their name and cackled and screamed and whooped and hollered the whole time.

Who would have ever known that I would see the same movie in the theater 17 years apart under very, very different circumstances.

Although I did throw a punch both times to the boys who tried to lay a smooch on me during the flick...maybe times haven't changed so much...

Hakuna Matata, part 1.

2011-09-21T07:00:00.000-04:00

I looked out of the window of my house and saw a shirtless boy doing yard work in the neighbor's yard. I was 16. He was gorgeous. I needed a plan.

So as all girls do, I got on the phone and asked 75 of my closest girlfriends what I should do.

"There is this guy, and he is, like, so hot, and he is, like, basically in my yard, but not really, and I totally need to go out there, but I'm, like, totally nervous. Like, what should I do?"

Please hear 1994 in that phone call.

So as all girls do, they formed me up a plan. I was to clothe myself in my cutest outfit (which was probably some umbros and an XL tshirt), grab a broom and start sweeping the driveway. Surely conversation would naturally ensue.

I did as told and headed out to sweep the driveway of its 4 pieces of pinestraw. Mission failed. No convo.

I go back in, get my girls on 3-way and get a new plan. I head back out to get the mail, as told, and walk ever so slowly back up the driveway, then planting myself in the swing to open up all the mail that wasn't mine. Mission failed.

One more attempt as I decide to take out each bag of trash, separately of course, while inspecting the trash cans by the garage, when....

"Oh hey, I didn't see you there." Lies.

We have introductions. I find out he's the nephew of my neighbor coming over to help him out with yard work since he'd thrown out his back. Major points. His parents call to him as they are leaving so he has to go. Dang.

I let the girls know it was just SO CLOSE. SO VERY VERY CLOSE. But it wasn't meant to be. I'm sure I made a mixed tape about the situation.

Later that evening, I ran down to get something out of my car, when LO AND BEHOLD there's a note on the door.

"I'd love to take you out, call me..."

Um, yes please.

I didn't tell him it was to be my first real date. I didn't want to be the amateur dater. We made plans to see The Lion King on opening night followed by dessert at Chile's. I was giddy.

But there was a hitch.

"Um, I actually don't have a car so do you think you might could drive?"

Stunned. Losing joy of first date expectations quickly. "Can you borrow your parents' car maybe?"

"Well, I'm sorta not old enough to drive yet."

Slam on brakes. DO WHAT?!?!

I couldn't back out. He was a hottie. So what if he had just turned 15. He was taller than me and I was comfortable keeping that info to myself.

Date ensued. I drove up, met his parents at the door, felt like a man, and drove the two of us to the movies.

We sat in the theater with the credits rolling while he sang "Can you feel the love tonight". I know the other girls in there were jealous.

They wanted a Simba to their Nala like I had.

It's gonna be a LONG night...

2011-09-19T21:32:00.001-04:00

...but the baby squirrels will finally have some comfort thanks in part to the donation from this paci millionaire.

The bowl was loaded and ready. We found 5 as we combed every crevice of this house. Praying we didn't miss one.

We made the climb into the fort. We sat a bit. We contemplated.

We sprinkled acorns around and then we waved goodbye.

Upon returning home from errands, the bowl had been knocked over and the "pappies" were M.I.A. Papa Squirrel had been waiting for us to leave so he could snatch them up and take them "way way up high" to his nest of 5 newborn babies.

And then came the night.

So far the screaming has only lasted 2 hours and the sheets have only been changed once due to vomitting.

If only I was a drinker...

Couch Concert.

2011-09-14T13:25:00.001-04:00

One of the few ways we've learned how to calm this ~~tyrant~~ sweet buttercup down is to get him involved in a song. Diaper changes are accompanied by a song. Changing clothes is accompanied by a song. Putting on shoes is accompanied by a song. Placing food on the table in front of him is accompanied by a song.

Pretty much anything that can AND DOES cause a meltdown is accompanied by a song.

At some point he's going to figure us out and his little land of concert heaven is going to stop and the screaming and wailing and gnashing of teeth will yet prevail again.

Until then, enjoy this medley by the drooling buttercup. I am so glad he doesn't need any help with the words because they are spot-on.

Untitled from Suzanne Akins on Vimeo.

The dudes.

2011-08-26T07:25:00.000-04:00

Dude #1 slid on up into first grade and is loving every second of it. She also grew 2 feet and 3 shoe sizes in the two weeks she's been there.

Dude #2 officially began Pre-K. And since Pre-K happens at Akins Academy {aka our kitchen table when the other dudes take a nap}, Dude didn't want to be left out of the front door pics. So he's representin' the indoors.

And these other dudes on the ends? Who knows what the heck they do. Walking around pantless with things hanging out of their mouths all the time.

Somebody should talk to their parents about that.

We {still} won't be quiet.

2011-08-17T14:07:00.000-04:00

Buster's on tour.

He does not simply do his songs and leave the stage anymore. Now, he wants a hype man (or woman - in most cases, me) to precede him. And he is specific on what his hype man does. He wants an intro, a PRAYER {love it} and an asking of the crowd to stand and join.

The crowd of babies never stands and joins, but I don't think he really wants them to anyway. It might take away from his performance. I do foresee a request for stage lights in the near future. Demanding little thing he is.

Today's song comes compliments of EcoCamp - as does EVERY OTHER SONG on the tour.

I'm so waiting for a new album release.

We {still} won't be quiet. from Suzanne Akins on Vimeo.

Two Babies.

2011-08-09T08:00:00.001-04:00

Before I brought home our very first baby, I had never thought twice about lullabies. My mom had always sung "Thank heaven for little girls" as my lullaby of choice, and before I realized it, we were rocking, bouncing, holding, swaying, doing everything we could to shush the little screamer we'd brought home from the hospital. I needed a lullaby STAT!

So I combed through our music collection and found an old Carpenters tape. I pulled the sleeve out, quickly memorized the words to "Close to You" and voila, we have a lullaby that actually worked small miracles on our tiny screamer monkey.

When Buster rolled into town, I thought he needed a different song so the only boyish one I could think of was "Take me out to the ballgame". It never really did the trick. So I pulled out old faithful and the Carpenters made it to the #1 slot again, working miracles every time it was sung. Either that or it was my incredibly angelic voice. {Shut yer mouth ye scoffers - I can hear you.}

Round 3 with two babies and much chaos, the Carpenters win again. They've gotten bigger and it's definitely a little squished but each night before bed, they run to the rocking chair saying, "Two babies? Why birds?" So I scoop them up, crowded in my lap and sing, "Why do birds suddenly appear, every time you are near...just like me, they long to be....close to you."

Tiny Miss just sits all cozy with her thumb in her mouth while Wild Man watches me sing, lip synching the entire time. It is my favorite time of the day.

Everything they do together becomes, "Two babies?" When we're at the beach, their favorite thing is to "go way out dere" into the deep, one on each hip. "Two babies swim!" and the squirmy joes flap and paddle like the true Olympians they are, though they go nowhere. "Two babies jump!" and Mommy becomes the springboard. "Two babies go unda!" which is always a great idea until it actually happens. Then two babies come up for air spitting out salt water through their nose, blinking rapidly and searching for oxygen. Two babies are done with the ocean.

Even outside they plop down on the driveway together. "Two babies teekle!" and the tickle train is set in motion.

It's a give and take world in two-baby land.

40 days without food.

2011-08-07T16:26:00.000-04:00

And I've never felt better.

My weight is good. My energy's up. My senses are piqued.

Did I mention I didn't actually go 40 days without food? Yeah, I actually eat. Everyday. But I did read a book of the same title. Counts, right?

One of my favorite friends from college, Russ Masterson, has written a book about his journey through a 40 day fast. He didn't ask me to write a review, but I just finished the book and sat down to email my thoughts to him. Instead of emailing him, I thought I'd review it on here for more people to read {you know, the tens of millions of you} and hopefully convince you to read it yourself.

The husb got a Kindle for Father's Day and as all good gifts I give go, I've maintained a secure hold on it, reading books as fast as I can before he notices it's gone. I'm sneaky like that.

The first one I read was one he had downloaded, Donald Miller's A Million Miles in a Thousand Years. I couldn't put it down. It's one of those life-changer books for me. Still resonating. Moving me to action. I love those kind of books.

Then t~~he husb stole his Kindle back~~ I took a break from technology and read a paperback book about heaven. Sometimes I just need to smell a real book.

Back to the Kindle and see that the husb has since downloaded Russ' book. I dig in. I stay up until 2:30am reading 60% of the book {no page numbers, just percentages} and waller through the next day waiting and yearning for the coveted naptime. I lay down, grab the Kindle to make my eyes sleepy and finish the final 40%. My naptime got thwarted by good writing.

I felt like I was back in Donald Miller land again. The writing was familiar, comfortable. Maybe it's because I know Russ so I can hear his voice behind the written words. But maybe not. Having read books by other authors I know {dad, here's your plug. brother, here's your plug. you're welcome. send a check.}, there are times when the "voice" is recognizable, but for the most part, the author usually becomes my voice and/or the voice of the characters therein.

Each of the 40 days is a chapter of its own with other chapters interspersed that are time-stamped from a day in the past or in the future, as pertaining to the "present" fast. At first it seems tangled. What is that day from your childhood revealing about your present struggle? How is this day, 4 years after the fast, an answer to your fervent prayer?

I was intrigued by each day of his fast. Having never done a full 40 day fast myself, the thoughts of Do you really hear God clearer when you're hungry? or What does starvation feel like? or How do you play it off to everyone around you - surely they know? or Is fasting a guarantee to spiritual significance, to truly hearing your life's solid purpose? and even How could this skinny dude afford to lose so much weight?

With as many questions as I posed throughout the book, Russ asked more. His search for purpose, for meaning, for his life's true path was questioned daily. He gains insights, not only through his personal study and quiet time, but through everyday conversations with everyday people. It is in those everyday moments that Russ' call becomes more clear. As hunger overwhelms him, his senses are heightened so that there is no "everyday". Each day is new. Each day holds gifts, blessings, wisdom to be gained, love to share, love to accept, wounds, forgiveness, hunger.

I learned a lot through his journey. I'm thankful he recorded it. I'm more thankful he listened to the voice of God before, during, and to this day.

It's still resonating. Moving me to action. I love those kind of books.

____

40 Days Without Food: Divine Goodness to a Starving Soul by Russ Masterson

He's a Mister, now.

2011-08-06T22:40:00.001-04:00

Twice this week he's been called a girl.

Both times he had a hat on. One of the times his shirt read "All American Boy".

I, for one, thought his long locks brought out his manliness and accentuated his muscles.

And maybe there was a smidglin of scissor-withholding because HE'S MY BABY and when we cut his curls I'LL NEVER HAVE A BABY BOY WITH CURLY HAIR AGAIN and then that means he's growing up and NOW I'M GONNA HAVE TO ADOPT MORE BABY BOYS WITH CURLY HAIR since MY BABY BOY DONE GROWED UP in a matter of minutes.

After a final fluffing and a few tears (on my part, not his), oh my sweet preciousness, his curls are gone.

I could eat him with a spoon.

After I blow my nose and wipe my tears.

We won't be quiet.

2011-08-01T13:53:00.000-04:00

Buster and Big Sis just finished a week of EcoCamp at our church and they came home each night more excited than the last. Buster LOVED the music, yet was a little gun shy about doing all the moves as his rep was on the line. So he stuck with the Elvis leg and his teacher got a big kick out of watching that leg shake the whole time. By the last night, the boy couldn't be tamed and he danced to his heart's content.

Now that we've got the cd from the week, we hear the same songs on repeat ALL DAY LONG. And in his pure concert form, he performs each song with sincerity.

If only my memory card hadn't gotten too full at just the moment he let loose.

Ladies and gentlemen, on lead vocals and electric guitar, it's BUSTER!!!!!
{and the crowd of 2 pint sized people and his mom go crazy...}

We won't be quiet from Suzanne Akins on Vimeo.

The 21st Century Woman.

2011-07-30T14:33:00.000-04:00

Somehow I have managed to live 34 years without EVER mowing the lawn. I have never cranked a lawn mower nor pushed or driven one on any yard I've ever owned or lived on.

My life has since changed.

Remember The Big Injury of Vacay '11?

Well that Big Injury has not healed itself in time for the monthly trim and therefore it fell into my hands.

I'm not gonna lie. I was a wee bit excited about this new opportunity. Moreso than the husb.

"Hey, I'm gonna go mow the grass!!!" I say in all my giddiness.
"Please no, I'll do it. I'll figure out how. Seriously. You can't. I'll be the loser man who makes his wife mow the lawn. You CAN'T do this."
"Whatever. I'm a 21st century kinda gal. I'll take care of it while you stay inside and do what I always do. Go bake a pie."
"When have you ever baked a pie?"
"Nonsense Man. Go do your job and I'll do mine."

And so, with my two little boys in tow, I got out all my supplies as well as their Fisher Price mowers and edgers. And then I just stared at the lawn mower.

"Um, buddy, how do I do this?"

The 4 year old manned up, got his gloves on, showed me what button to press, what bar to hold and what string to pull. VOILA!! We have lift off.

The only issue was this:

97°F
Feels Like: 105°

I picked a swell time for my first mowing experience. I began hallucinating about midway through the front yard and imagining myself passing out, dropping to the ground and wondering which neighbor would come to my rescue, if any.

Thankfully I made it through unhindered, save the 42 pounds I lost in sweat.

And I'd say it's a right nice job.

For a girl.

Now where's my pie?????

I'm all for labeling.

2011-07-26T22:13:00.000-04:00

I may or may not have this book on my nightstand.

I don't know how it got there. And based on the title, I'm not really sure what it's about.

And I surely wouldn't know who it could pertain to.

I mean, I'm not naming names or anything.

The G-4 Summit.

2011-07-21T21:33:00.000-04:00

I just finished reading George Bush's Decision Points, his post-presidential 47 million page memoir. In his book, he designates each chapter to explain the reasoning behind some of the major decisions he made in office. It was very intriguing to read the behind the scenes details. And as if I didn't already know this, I am confident that you should NOT elect me to be the president. I know I was probably set to be a good option, but I just don't think I'm willing. Thank you for not voting.

As funny as it sounds, I may have learned a thing or two about decision making from his memoir. I do try to glean SOMETHING from the books I read, even if I'm fighting through it tooth and nail. [sidenote: The hubs doesn't understand why I continue reading books I hate just to say I finished it. I do it. All the time. It's annoying, but I can't NOT finish a book I've started.]

So, in honor of my recent learnings, we held a G-4 Summit at the house today.

I cancelled our beach plans due to temper tantrum, lack of gratitude, squabbling, et al. I sent all kids back to bedrooms to put their street clothes back on.

Bewilderment.

I called the Big Kids in and said, "Listen. Here's why we're not going to the beach. {insert blah blah blah reasonings}. If you can have a meeting with the Babies and decide to change your ways, I'll reconsider."

Tears turned to smiles and off they went.

"BABIES, BABIES, COME HERE!!. We need to have a meeting," Buster says. Babies come a-runnin'.

"Um, I don't really know what a meeting is," he says looking at Big Sis.

From there, Big Sis steps up to the podium with confidence and control.

"Guys," she begins, "We need to change our attitudes. Mommy said we can go to the beach if we start acting thankful and quit screaming. So can we guys? GUYS! STOP SCREAMING AND LISTEN TO ME! CAN WE BE THANKFUL OR NOT? Ugh. Fine."

Big Kids enter my room to give me the report, while Babies continue with their screaming, wailing and gnashing of teeth.

"Hey Mommy? We decided to be thankful. Sooooooo, can we go to the beach now?"

Decision Point: Summits are effective in bringing about peace.

In Switzerland.

Vacay, it does a body good. Or not.

2011-07-09T22:25:00.000-04:00

Living in a coastal area where we go to the beach weekly, it may seem odd that when we vacation, we ALWAYS go to the beach. We have no desire to vacay in the mountains or Orlando (not yet at least), just straight sand and salt water.

It does us well.

Even at naptime. No sound machine needed.

Beach and pool all morning. Lunch inside followed by a nap and then back out to the beach and pool. It is a rough rough life. And very predictable.

UNTIL....(drum roll please....)

The Big Injury of Vacay '11

Pulling a boogie board at warp speed in the shallow ocean can wreak havoc on a wrist and elbow. Especially when you bust it and land your entire weight on the palm of your hand. Oops.

I can honestly say I never knew how much I loved his right arm until it was rendered useless. So many things require 2 arms: LIFTING BABIES, CHANGING DIAPERS, BATHING BABIES, GETTING DRESSED, BATHING ONESELF, TYING SHOES, DRIVING A 5 SPEED, PACKING A VAN WITH COPIOUS AMOUNTS OF ENORMOUSLY HEAVY LUGGAGE, UNLOADING SAID COPIOUS AMOUNTS OF ENORMOUSLY HEAVY LUGGAGE...

But those are just silly little things. Other than that, his one-armed self has been really helpful.

We had front row seats to the Shuttle launch (as front row as St.Augustine can be from Cape Canaveral) but the cloud coverage was too thick. All we got was the sonic boom, but these guys didn't care. They just wanted to hang out with cousin Keenen (and his lil bro JP).

We had to document the yearly family photo with the Big Injury of Vacay '11 front and center.

Glad Wild Man took it upon himself to call in our reservations for next year.

Peace out, yo.

End of the Month Review: June

2011-06-30T20:17:00.000-04:00

The update on my Areas of Balance - my 2011 theme. In no particular order.

Tis the 6 month marker on goals set for the year. Many are slowly beginning to bomb, but there is no quitting entirely because the goals are still laid out. And there's always next month I can gain a win where there's a loss this month.

Spiritual: Reading the Bible in a year
Nixed it. Now planning ahead for the fall, deciding what I'll teach at church. Leaning towards Old Testament goodness so that's where I'm hanging out.

Physical: at least 3 days exercise
Eeeeeeek. I may have reached this one on some weeks with walking but there was definitely at least a week if not 2 that I bombed this one. But dadgum, I'm tired people!!!

Work: Grace Graffiti schedule
Had one of our most fun and productive staff meetings to date and our "little company that could" is achieving success.

Family: date day
Beach days. Ahhhhhh, summertime I love you and the tan skin you bring.

Marriage: date
One set of grandparents babysat so we could hang out with my bro and sis-in-law as adults {so rare!}, while the other set of grandparents gave us an afternoon off so we could hit the big city for some much needed shopping sans kids.

Money: budget
I think all our money went to gas this month with as much as we've been tearing up the Georgia roads. We managed to have enough left over to feed the kids every now and again.

Home: order
Did a complete overhaul of our ~~chaotic~~ sweet little playroom, with labels and paint jobs and drilling holes in the wall and it's my fave room now. Of course, I don't really want anyone to play in it now, just stare at it's orderliness. That lasted about 3 seconds. But it sure was purty while it lasted!

Off off and away to July...

Worker bee.

2011-06-27T14:49:00.000-04:00

{Prepping for a photo shoot for grace graffiti}

"Sister, stand over there so I can check the lighting and background."

Thrilled to be my intern. ish.

All American Boy.

2011-06-20T15:24:00.001-04:00

We hit big this year with Father's Day weekend. Our little Brian McCann (aka Buster Boy) has been dying to go to a real life Atlanta Braves baseball game since he could speak the words.

The boys planned a trip while we were in the ATL so Buster loaded up with Daddy, D-Daddy and Uncle Stevie for his first trip to Braves country.

Oh, this picture kills me. It screams of the greatest American pastime.

A 4:10 start, a 2 1/2 hour rain delay midway through and a tie ballgame that went into extra innings didn't tire out this boy. And the fact that he drank his first Coke probably helped do the trick!

He ended the night with a shout out from the ball boy asking if he wanted his very own Major League baseball. Um, yes please! Who knew ball boys were such rock stars.

She maketh me proud.

2011-06-08T13:32:00.000-04:00

Our nightly prayers are fairly similar and include thanks for each family member, prayers for things to come, for healing for sick ones we may know, with the occasional childlike request thrown in.

One night both Big Sis and Buster asked specifically for God to bring back two lost items: a Bible for Sis that had been lost for months and Buster's dentist book. We had looked high and low that day for both items and came up empty. We thought these were sweet requests and smiled nicely the 3 nights they were presented.

On the 4th day, I found a basket of toys in the nursery dumped out all over the floor. In frustration I began flinging items back into the basket when LO AND BEHOLD look what 2 things are sitting in the bottom of that basket: the Bible and the dentist book. I gave Tiny Miss the 2 items, the directions on who to give them to, and sent her off. Seconds later I hear screaming and happy dances taking place upon delivery.

"God answered our prayers, Mommy!!!!"

Yes He did.

The next morning Big Sis is the first one ready for the day and comes in my room, Bible in hand.

"Mommy, I think I'm going to start reading the Bible everyday. Can you show me where Ruth is?"

I show her where Ruth is and ask her if she knows anything about it.

"No, but I'll let you know in a little while."

She takes her Bible, heads outside and reads the entire book of Ruth in one sitting.

She summed it up in one sentence and I don't think I could have summed it up better myself.

"She was a good daughter-in-law."

Ruth would be proud, too.

I am old. So very very old.

2011-06-05T23:56:00.000-04:00

The party preparations began on Friday with a trip to the grocery store, list in hand, and 4 young helpers giddy at the foody possibilities. We came home and my sous chefs uniformed up and we began the cookapalooza.

Saturday morning we awoke to all of the little people asking, "Pawty? Pawty time?" Not yet, little people. The big people won't be here until tonight.

And the race was on. Clean house. Feed kids. Sweep up all their crumbs. Clean house again. Feed kids. Sweep up all their crumbs. Discuss utilization of an off-site babysitter for the next party. Clean the house again.

And then they came. About 15 of them. Big kids. BIG BIG kids to my little people.

They filled up my whole house. We ate a huge dinner with plates in hand, seats on the floor, piled up on couches, all within earshot.

I had an experience 6 years ago that gave me the feeling of being a parent. It's called BIRTHING A BABY. However, 6 years before that, my pre-parental instincts kicked in on a much different scale.

I became a camp director for a gaggle of college students that for a short 2 1/2 months each year, became my "kids". Ultimately, I was the one responsible for them and that weighed heavily. I prayed for them fiercely. I trained them as best I knew how. I laughed hysterically at their antics. I disciplined poorly. I cried weekly. And I loved them all.

I had been one of those "kids" for a couple of summers myself. I knew the life-changing impact one summer could have and I wanted to bear witness to that change in the lives of college kids.

As my official role as PARENT WHO HAS BIRTHED AN ACTUAL BABY came about, I knew it was time to swap roles and take on parenting the bloodline full-time. And so I did.

But I could not leave the gaggle behind. Whenever I hear of their arrival to the camp each year, the same feelings creep up as they used to 6, 7, 8 years ago. The anticipation. The nervousness. The knowledge of what's to come. The excitement of knowing these kids would drive back over the causeway at the end of July changed forever.

I know I did.

And so, as the mom who can never leave the "kids" alone, I had them over for dinner just 2 days after they arrived. They needed some basic food groups outside of the cafeteria, and I felt it my job to provide.

What I didn't expect was that in the short time they were here, I learned some important lessons from them.

1. These are the quality, integrity-filled people I want my kids to be around. All the time.
2. I want my BIRTHED kids to have the deep spiritual experiences these college kids have had and will have as they serve this summer.
3. Camp Counselor feet are still just as nasty as they were back in '98.
4. Their average age was 20. Some younger. I could officially be their legitimate parent.
5. In conclusion, I am old. So very very old.

But I am proud. Proud of a lineage, per say, that I was a part of and that continues today. New leadership. New kids. Same location. Same God.

End of the Month Review: May

2011-05-31T13:34:00.000-04:00

The update on my Areas of Balance - my 2011 theme. In no particular order.

Spiritual: Reading the Bible in a year
Guess I should officially tweak this area since I left the official plan last month and became a rogue reader. I'm going through Genesis now and enjoying a deeper dive into circumcision. I think I just threw up in my mouth.

Physical: at least 3 days exercise
So I brought P90x back into the picture for not even 2 weeks. I'm convinced Tony Horton is out to get me. To turn me into a big fat failure. So I said, "Listen Tony. We're not friends. You're too hyper and too strong and I like a Coke now and again. We're gonna have to agree to disagree and I'll pull out your Kenpo as needed. You can take the rest and shove.....". And so we parted ways. My new motto is: DO SOMETHING! So I've made sure to DO SOMETHING everyday. Either walking, jogging, P90x, softball or whatever active thing floats my boat. And I feel much less like a failure and much more like I'm DOING SOMETHING! Can I get an amen?

Work: Grace Graffiti schedule
A girls weekend with the GG girls plus our other besties in Savannah was just what the doctor ordered. I believe I loved my kiddos a little more when I returned because I actually had the chance to MISS THEM! Now that I've figured that out, we may need to work in a girls weekend more than once every 5 years!

Family: date day
'Tis the season for beach days. They are a-plenty and we are living my dream of raising kids in a beach community. It is all in my master plan of sending them off to a landlocked college so they spend all of their summers back at home making their city friends jealous, eventually to return for good to raise their own families. That's purposeful parenting right there.

Marriage: date
This one was accidental, but after a long day at the beach where neither Husb nor I could stomach another sandy PB&J, we came home, tucked the little tikes in their soft wooly beds, let the Husb run out for some Five Guys takeout and had us a little quiet dinner at home - which hasn't happened since '05 - followed by a Red Box flick. Oh, it's the little things.

Money: budget
Let's just say we did the happy dance when Mr.Paycheck finally arrived after what seemed the longest month EVER!

Home: order
Controlled chaos. And a few home improvementy projects in the hopper for summer which are always good for the soul. Now, if those would actually happen...

Welcome, June.

Of pomp and circumstance.

2011-05-26T22:29:00.000-04:00

I feel like we just started this whole school thing, and at the same time, it feels like we've been doing this school thing forever. I am sure this is the case for all grades, but WOWZA I've seen some big changes in my girl within the last 9 months. I had so much fear and anxiety sending my oldest to school and now I am so excited for the other 3 to go. Can we start that sweet deal asap????

Here she is walking in to the official graduation ceremonies.

Bottom left, next to Mr.Bright Yellow Shirt.

BEST. TEACHER. EVER.

BEST. PARAPROFESSIONAL. EVER.

BEST. ~~BACKGROUND~~ PARENTS. EVER. (or, at least the ONLY parents she gets. ever. ya better enjoy us sista cuz you can't graduate from us!)

Guess we'll do this again in 2023 with a real cap, a real gown and some tearful parents holding on for dear life.

Childhood.

2011-05-18T12:32:00.000-04:00

Everyday we will swing.

And everyday we will see smiles...at least once.

Thankfully they did not get their mama's swinging loathness as I tend to turn green, get sea legs and wobble to my knees ready to barf-o-rama after 15 seconds. I much preferred climbing to the top of our metal swing set back in the day, scraping my legs on rusty screws and broken metal scraps, only to swing off backwards from the knees. Somehow I managed to make it through childhood without a tetanus shot or broken arm.

Just a head full of scars and stitches and that had nothing to do with a rusty metal swing set and everything to do with having big brothers who slammed doors in my face.

Meanies.

Glad my sweet as punkin pie kiddos would never do that.

Baby Days are dwindling.

2011-05-13T13:06:00.001-04:00

Tiny Miss can no longer claim baby status. She's a woman now. She has experienced her first mani/pedi and is just plain smitten with the results. We left her thumb in its original state since it would be in her mouth within 0.8 seconds.

Her toes are green but if you ask her what color they are, she'll tell you "PINK!!!" with complete confidence as she does for everything else. Another notch in her girlyness belt.

Summer The Stylist works for pretty cheap. She only requires a mani for herself in exchange so Big Sis colored most of her hand a beautiful shade of blue.

Or if you ask Tiny Miss, a beautiful shade of "PINK!!!"

The Circle of Life, Part 2.

2011-05-11T12:42:00.001-04:00

While I claim that Mr. Bigglesworth T. Cat would never damage in any way a young baby goose, the fact of the matter is that only 3 remain. They are toddlers now. They've grown bigger, turned grayer and can hop in their getaway car a little faster.

We notice the looks of the neighbors on our walks. The pointing fingers, the hushed voices: "That's the baby goose killer. Can you believe she lets her small children near him? Horrid mother."

So we're trying to stick a little closer to home, keeping Biggs off the streets. We've enrolled him in an after-school program to keep him busy.

Thankfully, our need of caring for little ones didn't end with the baby geese as a new discovery was made last week in one of our hanging ferns.

Just look at those precious incubated babies. Day one we found just the nest. Day two we found one egg. Day three two eggs, and day four yielded three eggs.

We began prepping for the big arrival. We set up a NICU and began working through adoption papers were they to be left orphans.

And then came day five.

You're dang right you better be hiding under that car, you baby killer!

And so it goes. The Circle of Life. And death. And this cat who's on his 9th life who better start acting more cat-like and eat his Publix brand catfood and quit bothering sweet innocent baby animals before I kick him in face, thus creating a dilemma as he has already wasted his previous 8 lives attacking the neighbor's new kitten and causing damage to multiple birds swimming in a bird bath right in front of the bay windows of another neighbor who likes to sit and bird watch.

Your clock is ticking, Mister.

The Circle of Life, Part 1.

2011-05-11T12:42:00.000-04:00

My 3 youngest and I went on a walk the other day to check on "our" baby geese living in our neighborhood lake. We had previously kept an eye on their nest and were there the day 6 little fluffy yellow geese were born so we had become a bit attached. We saw it as our duty to keep the neighborhood thugs at bay and protect these little guys until they could protect themselves.

Mr.Biggles (full name: Mr. Bigglesworth T. Cat) joined us on this walk, as he does most days. The neighbors dub him "the dog dressed up like a cat". We don't call him or put him on a leash; he just comes and goes as he pleases on our walks, always catching up at the end.

After checking on the geese and giving them their daily bread, we head home. Biggs stays a while longer. Neighbor who speaks very broken English comes flying out of her house with a broom screaming and hollering and shooing him away. "DIS CAT! DIS CAT! HE GONNA KILL ALL DE BEBES!"

I glance back, notice the hoopla, turn back around and say, "C'mon kids." "But what about Biggy?" they say watching the robed lady swat at him. "Ah, he'll be alright," I say. "WHO'S CAT IS DIS? I NO LIKE YOU CAT!! WHO'S CAT IS DIS??"

And so we walk away.

When the story gets told to Daddy with much drama and arm waving and worried exclamations, he looks at me with disgust and says, "You just denied our cat?"

"Why yes, yes I did."

"Well, how does that feel PETER?"

"I'm sorry, did you just compare me to Peter? That would mean you just compared Biggles to Jesus."

"Yeah, so."

And so I am Peter. I denied my cat, not once, but thrice. I only hope I have not hindered the salvation of other kitties.

To be continued...

Happy Mommy.

2011-05-05T13:43:00.000-04:00

We've had a lot of birthdays around our house over the last month. 3 out of 4 kiddos, me, a niece, a nephew, and an aunt to name a few. So we have sung a lot of birthday songs over the phone and in person and on skype. Tiny Miss still doesn't quite have the words down, but she knows the tune and she just adds "Happy Mommy" into the song over and over. We're a week past my birthday and I'm still getting sung to. This may just go on all year and that will be perfectly fine as long as it accompanies myriads of presents.

Cuz I'm selfless.

On my actual bday weekend, the 'rents came to town to ~~see their grandkids~~ shower me with presents. So we showed them a good time around town and took advantage of our ocean living to ~~rub it in their face~~ allow them the chance to smell that salty air. Which is somewhat better than the smog smell they get in the ATL.

We spent the day at the park, had a picnic and then walked the 4 steps it takes from there to the ocean.

And since it was my birthday (we'll claim that was the excuse, at least!), we had to round out the picnic with a little sweetness from Moo Cow Ice Cream. Oh. My. Word. They have ice cream with real bacon in it. Don't judge. It will make you kiss the floor and do a happy dance.

Then we jumped aboard a sunset cruise on Jekyll to go see us some dolphins.

They did not disappoint and they joined alongside us for the majority of the ride. This particular one is Flipper. He swam here from Hollywood.

My padre was tempted to go swim with them, but we needed all hands on deck to keep the babies from jumping in.

Wild Man considered it.

Tiny Miss weighed her options. Swim with the dolphins or fly with the bald eagle?

Happy campers = Happy mommy.

Not a bad way to end the evening.

End of the Month Review: April

2011-05-02T14:00:00.000-04:00

Whoops, I missed the March update so we'll just sail through the April lowdown.

The update on my Areas of Balance - my 2011 theme. In no particular order.

Spiritual: Reading the Bible in a year
So I threw this one out the window. Not THE BIBLE, silly! Just the reading it straight through in a year plan. I got so caught up in Acts, then had to move along to Romans where I got bored so I went back to Acts to read it again. And again. This is NOT in the read-through-in-a-year plan. No time is allotted for going back and digging deep. So I leave you, dear plan, but you helped me find a spot I needed to sit in for a while.

Physical: at least 3 days exercise
I have 2 softball games a week. End of story. Much needs to be done here. Month of May? I'm counting on you. Thinking about bringing back P90x. I'll decide right after I finish this "sharing size" bag of peanut M&M's (which I'm not sharing, by the way).

Work: Grace Graffiti schedule
We have had one of our bigger months of "production" and that has been a blast. We get together 1-2 times during each month, and work via email and google docs the rest of the time. I've got a good system of naptime and nighttime "creativity" and can't believe I get to call this a JOB!

Family: date day
A week in Sanibel, FL. Ready to go back. Like yesterday.

Also had a date with extended family taking a sunset boat ride with dolphins swimming all around us. My parents were in town for my birthday so it was the 8 of us. Didn't want that ride to end.

Marriage: date
A good friend of ours came to town and we were able to secure some last minute babysitting and go have a cuppa joe at Starbucks to catch up with him. It only lasted an hour or so but we were in the car by ourselves which NEVER happens and we got to have adult conversation. Splendid. Cost: $4.

Money: budget
Thanks to our 4 little dependents (and boy are they ever dependent little boogers!), Uncle Sam returns some moolah back to us. Now to get it to last longer than 3 days.

Home: order
Oh heck, this home will never be considered "orderly" though it works for us. If only the laundry fairy would do her job.

To May we go...

Change.

2011-04-21T21:40:00.001-04:00

I looked at this kid today and he grew right before my eyes. I watched him from the dinner table balloon fighting with his Daddy and I almost didn't recognize him.

He's taller. He's leaner. His face is changing.

His toddler years are fleeting and boyhood has arrived.

*sniff sniff*

Twopalooza.

2011-04-20T22:15:00.000-04:00

The Birthday Breakfast of Champions:
Orange Pancakes (made with OJ rather than milk - try it - you'll never turn back)
Sausage
Blueberries

A beautiful morning spent at Neptune Park feeling like big kids and owning the playground.

Followed by a picnic lunch with Mrs.Debbie (she makes Tuesdays our favorite day of the week!).

When Daddy got home, it was time to par-tay and open presents (with some help from the big kids).

While the original plan was to personally decorate (with icing and piping and tips and what not) these 2 objects straight onto the cake, a last minute assessment of my talents revealed that I was thoroughly incapable of such. However, I was fully capable of cutting and pasting. Thus...Hello Kitty meets Helicopter - card stock style.

Wild Man blew out all 4 candles. Every time. I lit them at least 10 times. Get 'em next year, Tiny Miss!

Welcome Terrible Two's!

Two for Two.

2011-04-19T23:43:00.000-04:00

My wild, wild man...

Do you know how gorgeous you are? My head turns everyday when I see your fluffy blonde curls and beautiful blue eyes passing by. You have grown so much in the last year. Your health has improved by leaps and bounds (excluding your last hospital stay!) and your personality is so much less strained because of it. We get to see your funny side and your silly side now which makes us all want to smoosh your cheeks with kisses. Which then leads to more giggles so it's a win-win!

You are so cute when you hear sirens: "Pawice Car!" No matter if it's police, ambulance, or fire truck, you light up and look for the "Pawice Car!" You hear airplanes and helicopters from inside our house and run to the window looking for them. One day, I do think you'll be flying one of those, Maverick.

Keep giving your big bear hugs. One day your twin sister will appreciate it. I know I do.

I love you something fierce little man. Happy 2nd birthday.

Hey Tiny Miss.

Do you know you are a mess? You sat back for a year while we tried to get your brother to stop screaming and now, little bit, you are making up for lost time! You are loud and you are in charge but you're the cutest little thing around. You know when you're being goofy and you make scrunchy silly faces that keep us rolling. You are a social butterfly (when you want to be) and people are drawn to you - always have been.

This year you fell in love with kitties and your favorite is "Meow" (aka Hello Kitty) and you get so giddy when you see Meow in stores or on t-shirts or even on your birthday cake. Lately you've added "ia" to the ends of words so we've become "Mommia" and "Daddia" and you'll tell us your "tummia" hurts or you can't find your "bunnia". Maybe you'll grow up to be an Italian veterinarian?

I love your extreme independence and your necessity to have snuggle time. Such a perfect balance.

I love you doodle bug. Stay little forever please. Happy 2nd birthday.

Savannah on my mind.

2011-04-17T22:02:00.000-04:00

We took a short little trip to Savannah this weekend to attend a banquet for the President of ~~the United States~~ School Nutrition, aka my mother in law. See how big-time she is? Only really important people make it to the big screen. I offered my skills at singing and interpretive dance but apparently she already had the banquet details worked out.

We had to take a ferry to get to the conference center so thankfully Aunt Laura came with us to make sure none of the kiddos fell off.

We made it through dinner and a few introductions and then they stuck a fork in it and were d.o.n.e. with sitting still. So we bowed out a bit early to catch the ferry back.

My sweet lil punkin muffins.

Sisters. Now this pic will mess a mama up. I hope they don't ever plan on leaving for college because I've already made arrangements to have them home for the next 30 years.

The curls. The long dress and john john. The mary janes and saddle oxfords. The cutest near-2 year old twins I ever did know. Ironically, the only near-2 year old twins I ever did know.

Sanibel, O Sanibel, wherefore art thou Sanibel...

2011-04-13T15:14:00.008-04:00

We are now real parents according to the Husb. We planned, payed for, and executed a family vacation all by ourselves. Husb said that made him feel like he's officially a father because that's what fathers do - they take their family on vacation. I, on the other hand, felt like a legitimate mother 6 years ago when an 8 pound critter was pulled from my body and given to me to keep alive. And the critter didn't even come with instructions, just a command of "Here. Take her."

But that's just silliness. The real mark of a parent is in taking a vacay so I'm proud to say I am officially a mother now.

Whew.

As beautiful as the beaches of Sanibel Island were, some of my most favorite moments were made around this big circular table eating dinner together. We ate the same type of foods we eat at home, we all ate together as we typically do at home, but everything about it was so not mundane. The kids were giddy and everyone loved telling stories of sharks and crabs and pool noodles and puppies who ate seashells. We even made yogurt parfaits in wine glasses and they thought that was the coolest perk to being on vacation.

Our walkway from the condo to the beach was almost too easy. No boardwalk, no stairs. Just a lovely brick pathway that landed right in the sand.

We dug a big hole the first day out and each day we would add to it making it bigger and bigger, even adding a staircase so Tiny Miss could walk down into it without face planting in the sand. Since the sand near the ocean is fairly shelly, we smoothed out a "road" from the ocean to our hole and just made ourselves a little home away from home. Can't even calculate how many hours were spent here.

And on to more important news, my husband of 8 years is a stud muffin.

And I don't have to wonder where my stud muffin son got his stud muffiness from.

The Dynamic Duo went on a lot of "walks" together. They felt so big stuff prancing around, chasing birds, riding waves and washing sea shells. They had so much freedom they almost didn't know what to do with themselves.

Big Sis and I took an afternoon when everyone else was napping and it was a bit drizzly to go take pictures together. She got a new camera for her birthday and wanted me to teach her how to be a photographer (shhhhhh, don't let her know I'm not really one because I won't be as cool as she thinks I am!). She took some great shots and loved having this one on one time together (and so did I).

These were some of the beautiful flowers we encountered on our photography walk. Everything was in full bloom and made for gorgeous surroundings to our complex.

I was a little weepy packing up to come home because I really enjoyed the exclusiveness of the week. Being far away from home and work and when the internet shut down for a couple of days, it was even better.

We've begun a tradition on a beautiful island 8 hours from home. Cannot wait to experience 20 more years of this.

8 years and counting.

2011-04-05T06:00:00.067-04:00

The 7 year itch is finally over. And man did I ever itch. Skritching and a scratching for 365 long days. Benadryl just didn't do the trick.

But today. Today is a new day. Today, I have been married for 8 years and I can finally get some relief from all that itching last year. Whew.

So my dear Husb...my gift to you this year is quite special. It's a little something I whittled in my spare time and I think it would look great on your desk at work. That way, when all those ladies you work with walk by your office, they'll know you are a taken man. By whom, who ask?

By your acrobat lover, of course.

(please tell me you just laughed your head off at that last line because I have tears streaming down my face typing that word combo!)

So here's to you, sweet Husb of mine!

For 8 years, you have...

   given more than you have received

   loved more than I knew you were capable of loving

   become a better and more amazing father with each day

   grown more and more in strength, character and confidence

   balanced a growing career, family and education with ease

   cheered me on in any and all new endeavors I want to pursue

   fought to keep our marriage the absolute number one priority

And I do believe I love you more today than I did 8 years ago. I am so ready for 8 more. Then college tuition. Another 8 more. ~~Paying for~~ Celebrating marriages. Then another 8. Welcoming grandbabies. Then 8 + 8 + 8 more. Our nursing home days together. Can't wait for a lifetime of Bingo with my number one partner.

Happy Anniversary.

Country come to town.

2011-03-28T13:49:00.000-04:00

We got a much-needed getaway this weekend to the g'parents farm. All the boys are healthy and we all needed some fresh country air to get us back on track.

We climbed up into the barn and got a great viewpoint of the land around the Carter House (named after my wonderfully famous and affluent husband of course......shhhhh.....we let him believe that at least).

The Dynamic Duo found their weekend spot in Papa's lap.

My smiley guys.

The favorite viewing spot to see all the people and more importantly, all the moo cows.

Looks like a magazine ad for John Deere. There is much excitement when the kiddos look out the kitchen window and see this mammoth tractor pulling up the drive.

The great-grandchildren got a hayride after church, chauffeured by my boys, before the big hailstorm arrived that sent us packing.

Big Sis walking the hay stacks.

We came back to our boring home with no tractors, Kubotas, 4-wheelers, hay stacks, cows, horses or front end loaders.

But we do have a cat.

And he plays football. That should amount to something, right?

It was a good day.

2011-03-25T00:02:00.000-04:00

We have had a rough week. We Akins folk know how to get sick. We know how to sufficiently rid ourselves of all immune systems. We are full-throttle, petal to the metal, take it to the next level with germ infestation kind of people.

And then there was this little redhead who watched it all from afar. She watched her brothers battle some tough stuff and go down hard. She rallied her troop of 1 tiny sister who was still healthy and made the best of it.

Which was good because she had to become Parent #3 as the other 2 parents were joining in man-to-man combat with the boys.

Then her birthday sneaks up at the tail end. She has created herself a tradition of going out to eat Mexican on her birthday. Knowing our boys were on very restricted diets for at least another week, we didn't know how to break it to her that she would have to suffer a saltine cracker/ginger ale meal with the rest of the fam.

Then the husb has a brilliant idea. Since all the girls are well, why don't we make it a Girls Night Out to celebrate the big 0-6.

Perfect!

She loved the plan and we got all dolled up for the Girls Club to have a night out.

Of course this was after she opened what seemed to be 400,000 gifts. She even let the Little Angels help her open a few. They were so thankful for the opportunity.

I am proud to say that the quality of music this girl enjoys ranks high. And I may or may not have begged my children to go see the movie with this little dude in it so I wouldn't be the creepy old lady sitting in the theater by myself sapping over a 15 year old boy. And this cd may or may not get confiscated by aforementioned creepy old lady.

She asked for only one thing for her birthday (besides a laptop, digital camera, Ipod, cell phone and Wii), and that was a heart-shaped birthday cake. She was very specific in wanting strawberry cake, white icing and red piping. It was the ugliest thing you ever did see, but the little encourager told me over and over how "awesome" it was. Made me feel like I could take on Duff. Right now. Call him.

I can't believe this girl has been in my life for 6 years.

She makes me so darn proud it hurts.

Wild at heart.

2011-03-15T21:26:00.000-04:00

This boy drives me to the crazies more than anyone on the planet.

He has christened the entire house and car with copious amounts of intestinal stuff either out of his mouth or....that other direction...

He unloads the pantry and has a cooking class at least once a day. My grocery bill continues to increase.

Fortunately for him, all he has to do is look at me with his icy blue eyes and cut his famous grin.

All is forgotten and I am forever smitten.

This does not bode well for the future teenage years.

The Proposal

2011-03-09T22:38:00.000-05:00

He definitely asked me to marry him tonight.

I definitely said yes.

And I will be sure to remind him of this day in about 20 years when he shows me the ring he plans to give another girl.

Play ball!

2011-03-06T23:27:00.000-05:00

There are few things I love more than the start of sports season. I'm not too picky about which sports they are. Ok, yes I am. There are only 4 I will take part in willingly.

1. Any sport my own child plays - for now, just soccer.
2. Softball - playing, not watching
3. UGA Football
4. A live Braves baseball game

The rest of the sports/teams around are tolerable, but the true love is found in my top 4.

I still get nervous like I did when I was a kid and just starting out. Now, that nervousness translates to my own children. I'm nervous on behalf of them. Crazy I know, but I am a die hard athlete who finds pure joy in all things sports.

Like the first kick-off of the season...

Or going head to head with an opponent...

Or becoming red faced, sweating, hauling tail down the field to protect what's rightfully yours...

Or finding yourself in enemy territory and finally breaking free...

It's a beautiful game.

Winning matters because everybody needs a victory in their lives. Losing matters because we all need to learn how to handle it gracefully and push ourselves to work harder. How you play the game matters because you can either be a show stopper or a show continuer - your choice. The life lessons are endless and I do not dread the days that we will have 4 kids in 3 different sports on 4 different teams at 4 different locations 6 days a week.

That is adrenaline to my veins.

Proof

2011-03-03T16:12:00.000-05:00

Somedays I just need a tangible reminder that they still love each other.

Or, at least, tolerate each other.

There we go, Lover Boy's gonna keep hope alive.

Removal of the paci: check.

Kiss planted: check check!

End of the Month Review: February.

2011-02-28T12:56:00.000-05:00

Still cranking and haven't thrown my goals in the toilet YET! 2 months down, 10 to go.

The update on my Areas of Balance - my 2011 theme. In no particular order.

Spiritual: Reading the Bible in a year
So I'm WAY behind on the track I was following...as in, 163 chapters behind. But LO, there is good reason. See I happened upon the Book of Acts. And then I stayed. And then I stayed some more. Track was telling me to leave, go on to greener pastures of Romans and I'm all, listen yo, there is some sweet goodness going on in Acts and I'm gonna stay here. Dwell if you will. And I'm getting more out of reading the Bible than I have in YEARS so I'm sticking around Acts as long as I want. Track, I'll come back to you, don't worry. Your train was just moving a little too fast for me.

Physical: at least 3 days exercise
BOMB! P90x got the best of me and I gave Tony What's His Name the bird and walked away. One saving grace....softball started yesterday so if I can pop in one or two more exercises per week, I'll be good to go. And my tight pants will appreciate some extra room up in there.

Work: Grace Graffiti schedule
We're getting this thing down. We have our monthly staff meeting, at least 1 work day or night when we're all together, and I have my set time each day to getting my responsibilities done. So far, so good. Now, go buy all our stuff so we can feed our starving kids.

Family: date day
Presidents Day spent at the beach IN FEBRUARY! We all loaded up a picnic, played in the sand, screamed at the freezing ocean temps, held napping babies, and fried my legs in a beautiful striped pattern. Perfection.

Marriage: date
A real date this month! A real "Get out of the house and take the minivan with empty carseats" kinda date. The in-laws came to town and babysat so the Husb and I could go out. Shopping and dinner all by ourselves with nary a worry about things on the home front. My Valentine.

Money: budget
Somehow, SOMEHOW, we had money leftover this month. Can I tell you the last time that happened? I think it was back in '03. We still can't figure that one out. But it's perfect timing because Big Sis ain't got a spring wardrobe because she grew about 7 inches last week and apparently public schools require clothing EVERY DAY. They're so high maintenance. So, now we've got some funds to get her un-nekkified.

Home: order
Order? Yeah, there's none of that going on here. Let's check this one off as a FAIL! Maybe I'll come back to this one when all 4 are in college and not at home making messes. Though, I kinda like them at home, even with their messiness.

It's off to March we go...

Enter the Twindom

2011-02-24T14:02:00.000-05:00

My house is hilarious. And there's 2 little people that make me crack up from the moment I walk in their room each morning.

Maybe it's because I see this. "Well, hello there twin. I sure did miss you while I was sleeping 8 inches away."

And a typically ornary little man always starts off the day with a huge smile and much laughter.

Uh oh, the 4.2 minutes of smiling and laughter are done and furrowed brow has emerged. Whatchu talkin' bout Willis?

Tiny Miss always likes to tell me who poo'd each morning. It's a contest she plans on winning.

"Hehehehe, I pew-pewed Mommy!"

Anything they can fit in together, they do. Maybe it's a reminder of the shared womb. This was a quaint little reading spot filled with 4 squished little legs and a whole bunch of books.

"Mommy, you're cramping our style."

Who is this man-child taking up this crib? Last I checked he was a 5 pound preemie.

In the words of J.Lo, my love don't cost a thing.

2011-02-14T13:49:00.001-05:00

All of my loves are asleep or at school right now. I'm like a giddy kid on Christmas morning waiting for us all to be together so we can have our final celebration of this "love" weekend, complete with our traditional heart shaped pancakes for dinner.

The in-laws came to visit this weekend and with that, brought their babysitting expertise so we had no choice but to take full advantage. The Husb took me to our favorite hole in the wall, Georgia Sea Grill, where he almost had to remove me from said location because I thought licking the bowl of their AMAZING crab soup was proper etiquette at fancy restaurants. Husb didn't agree. Oh wells. Like putting lipstick on a pig.

It was probably the best date we've ever had. Wow. That's a big statement. It must have been the 5 hours of uninterrupted conversation. And the food. And the ambience. Oh yeah and definitely the company - that hottie who kept bringing me flowers and trying to pay for my dinner. :)

I know many people hate Valentine's day for various reasons, but I love having a whole day/weekend dedicated to showing my loves just how much I love them.

Much like those heart shaped candies that taste like sweet chalk.

I dedicate those Sweethearts to you bunch of crazies I call my heart...
Husb - Me + U = ♥
Big Sis - XOXOXO
Buster - Be Mine
Tiny Miss - Too Sweet
Wild Man - Marry Me
Mr.Biggles - U R Purr-fect!

Happy Valentine's Day.

Table for 2, please.

2011-02-10T09:24:00.000-05:00

I'm hoping these guys are each other's Valentine's date for at least the next 25 years. They've got a good system of supply and demand.

Wild Man supplies.

Tiny Miss demands.

And we all live happily ever after.

FREE STUFF!

2011-02-09T10:51:00.000-05:00

Hey kids....we're offering FREE JEWELRY over on our grace graffiti blog. All you have to do is comment and your chances at winning are HIGH! Good luck!

Go Pack Go!

2011-02-07T00:07:00.000-05:00

Yay! My favorite team won the Super Bowl!!!!

Not that I give one iota of energy to the NFL. I actually didn't know who was playing the Steelers (only know that because my neighbors have balloons and paraphernalia all over the outside of their house). Google informed me who was playing and what colors were appropriate for each team. And that was the only necessary information I needed.

So based on our limited closet options, the Akins 6 had to become a House Divided. 3 Steelers and 3 Packers. Big Winners on the right.

This cheering section was definitely the loudest. And apparently Mr.Bright Red in the middle did not get the memo to wear team colors. He instead opted to single out Hines Ward and show some individual love while the rest of us followed directions and dressed appropriately. Team players, people. Team players.

Packers, be honored that your fair weathered fan here brought home a VICTORY just for you. Even though I watched nary a play the entire night.

Good game, cheese heads.

Miracles, part 2.

2011-02-02T13:36:00.000-05:00

(My dad wrote a great blog about Miracles so I'm giving part 1 to him. Here's the addition...)

I, too, am a believer in miracles.

I am also a realist.

Which means a lot of "miracles" go by my eyes without ever receiving that tag from me. I'll tag it instead with "good meds", "ironic", "coincidence" or even just a "huh?".

But this one's got me stumped. The Believer and The Realist are at odds.

My little Wild Man has had a lot of trouble keeping food down for nearly 2 years. We've learned to deal with it as a normal part of our routine. Case in point: the barf bowl that accompanies every meal.

We got a new doc on his case. Got some great headway into what could be causing this. Set up an appointment for a fairly invasive test that would have required him to be put to sleep. Left the office with a sense of hope and dread all at the same time.

So we did the only thing we knew how to do as parents.

We prayed.

For calm. For confirmation. For good results. For his safety.

The boy hasn't been sick ONE TIME since we scheduled the testing. Not ONE TIME. The Realist was scared to say it, thinking it may just be a phase. And it may. But all I know is he hasn't been sick ONE TIME! (have I said that already??)

The Believer cancelled the appointment.

There's a new girl in town.

2011-01-31T23:43:00.000-05:00

And my boys are smitten.

Nora-Boo has come over to play a couple of times this week and she goes home with no shortage of smooches from my menfolk.

And when she's nice, we even feed her. It's one of the perks for outstanding behavior in our babysitting policies.

Now this little wild tike....he just won't be turned down by any ladies.

Persistence is key.

The competition is brewing already. Lil bro- 1, Big Bro- 0.

Oh but wait, it looks like the girl's got her eye on Big Bro anyway.

End of the month review: January.

2011-01-30T22:45:00.000-05:00

So I haven't completely forsaken all of my New Years resolutions yet, and for me, at the end of January, that's BIG NEWS! I don't think I've ever made it quite this far.

The update on my Areas of Balance - the 2011 theme. In no particular order.

Spiritual: Reading the Bible in a year
Not gonna lie. A bit behind on this one BUT I'M NOT QUITTING! And by behind, I mean by 81 chapters. But those are just numbers. And it's only January. Plenty of time to catch up. I like to cruise through at my own pace obviously.

Physical: at least 3 days exercise
BOOYAH!! This one's a winner. Started P90x and while I feel no pressure to accomplish this crazy man's torturous dvd's in 90 days, I do plan on sticking with it for as long as I can handle his face. Been averaging about 4-5 days/week. Oh, and my muscles are HUGE.

Work: Grace Graffiti work schedule
The GG girls are having regular staff meetings which is F.U.N. We're such big girls. We have agendas and everything. Sometimes we even use big words like "finances" and "merchandise".

Family: date day
Best day of the month by far. Spent the gorgeous afternoon at the beach playing in the sand and flying kites. Ended the evening in the Village having dinner at our old fave Barbra Jeans. Just the 6 of us.

Marriage: date
Ummmm....somebody (I won't name names) gets a little sleepy on our Saturday night Red Box movie dates and has yet to finish one of these rented flicks. We may have to opt for actual babysitting and an out-o-house date in the future if I'm to keep my eyes on the prize. Dang narcolepsy.

Money: budget
Done. February's chump change is already allotted so don't go trying to sell me any girl scout cookies.

Home: order
Getting there. The Husb has taken on some things I was beginning to loathe (i.e. menu planning and grocery shopping). I feel like I had a good hold on laundry (at times) and the chaos of the house will always be with my crew so I just have to manage it. Some days better than others.

It's off to February we go...

Feelings. Nothing more than feelings.

2011-01-25T21:49:00.000-05:00

So it's finally happened. I knew it would one day. And I did think sooner than later for the sole fact that Sister is a girl. It's rooted in the DNA I guess.

But I still hate it.

And I still want to protect her from everything imaginable.

But I can't. And I won't. Because Sister's got to learn some lessons...even the hard ones.

All it took was one comment. One comment from a good friend. One comment that opened her eyes to the fact that friends aren't perfect. And neither is she.

She cried a bucketful of tears in someone else's arms. Someone other than me was her first responder. And that was ok.

There was no opportunity to talk about the day casually or get more details of anything important because the noise level in our house is uncanny. Completing a sentence that can be heard by another rarely happens before 8pm. It's life as we know it.

After dinner, I took Sister to my bedroom for some quieter "girl time" (despite the knocking and screaming on the other side of the door). It was then that I could finally ask the probing questions. Get the details. See the raw emotion. Find the "lessons" to be learned.

I learned something myself. I learned that I've got a smart little girl. A girl, though imperfect, who sees the good in people and whose greatest desire is to show kindness to others. When either of those doesn't happen, her world cracks. She gets disappointed in herself as much as she does others. Unfortunately I think this is the first crack in her world of many. And I hate that.

When I asked her what she learned from this whole situation, she said, "That I need to be the best friend I can. That I can tell things to big people I trust like my teachers. And that I need to tell you everything."

Yes ma'am. I'll take #3 with a hearty helping of grace (and plaster) in the future please.

The chokehold.

2011-01-24T14:15:00.000-05:00

It has been a doozy of a couple of months. Someone, and typically more than just one, has been sick at all times since mid-November. And of course this is coming off a strong 6 months or so that no one had even had a cold. I should never have called that no-hitter...

Wild Man started us off with the first hospital stay. He's a barfy little tike anyway, but when you can't keep down a 1/2 tsp liquid at a time over the course of a couple of days, doctors seem to get a little nervous. We just thought he wanted to drop percentiles from the 5th to the negatives because he's crazy like that.

Then the rest of the kiddos went down as is typical when you run a daycare like we do. And we like to take others down with us.

Grandparents, you're welcome.

Then Tiny Miss ~~increases our medical debt even more~~ earns herself a hospital stay with a beautiful case of pneumonia. And it was even more fun visiting lots of doctors offices across Georgia as we traveled for Christmas. Funny how each one just told us she "probably has the flu" (despite the 3 failed flu tests) and would be good to go in 24-48 hours. About 384 hours later when we're finally back home to a REAL doctor, she gets sent across the street faster than I could say "What's the prognosis, Doc?"

Then the rest of the kiddos went down. And the grandparents too.

You're welcome.

So health is now on our side and we've built a large plastic bubble around the house because it becomes Wild Man's turn again.

My dude has puked more in his little lifetime than our whole entire family times 1000. He's growing and he's happy (occasionally), he's gorgeous and he's bull-headed. But the dude can't keep his lunch.

Or breakfast. Or dinner.

So, after nearly 2 years of guessing and trying a few meds here and there, we've now gotten a top-notch doc on his case in Savannah. Now, dude's going to have to get an endoscopy in order to biopsy his esophagus and small intestine.

Not fun.

But we're hoping to gain some answers through this test and get this boy on track to a much healthier life.

Because every little boy deserves to keep his lunch and not let that BULLY steal it from him anymore.

Do your best and forget the rest.

2011-01-18T22:21:00.000-05:00

Who said P90x was just for ~~lazy couch potatoes~~ ripped machines like myself? I'm thinking the offspring here is gonna be pretty ripped and then I'll likely get the Parent of the Year award for subjecting them to such quality workouts.

Obviously I'm getting pretty intense workouts myself with all the camera holding and water fetching I'm doing. It's part of my selfless mom duties. I've got the guns to prove it.

My little Tarzan and Jane.

Everyday.

2011-01-16T21:59:00.002-05:00

It has been a week of peep separation. The Akins 6 does not work well when separated. Everything gets thrown amuck. The days are decided hour by hour. The house is in full disarray. There are no meals, only food.

But there are many bigger peeps that help us out during those times and bring a tweed bit of control back into our lives, and for that, we are thankful.

A sweet release from the hospital for Tiny Peep + Parent and we were once again singing, "Reunited and it feels so gooooooood."

Now, Mama Duck can relax. All peeps are accounted for and under the same roof.

And life?

It is good.

Because I get to spend everyday with these 'lil peeps.

Wrong I tell ya. Just wrong.

2011-01-10T13:23:00.002-05:00

Tiny Miss can rock a pair of jeggings better than her mama.

And she is P.R.O.U.D. of it!

The Proverbs 32 Husband

2011-01-06T17:02:00.003-05:00

I found this hidden Proverbs chapter in the New Theological Suzy's Book of Disputed Additions. I found it to be spot on.

Proverbs 32
A husband of noble character who can find?
He is worth far more than a big flat screen tv.

His wife has full confidence in him
and lacks nothing of value 'cept some cooler, less mommish clothing.

He brings her peanut M&M's, not fancy Godiva chocolates
all the days of his life.

He selects Polos and Dockers
and works with snot and spit up on his shoulders.

He is like a Chrysler Town & Country minivan
bringing his food from Publix.

He hits the snooze button countless times while it is still night;
he frets over breakfast until deciding on a spoonful of peanut butter
and portions cereal bars for his four hungry hoodlums who pull at his pant leg.

He considers a deal at Home Depot and buys it;
out of his earnings he plants a bush or two around the house.

He sets about his work vigorously;
his arms are strong from holding twins all night.

He sees that his investments have all lost money
and his lamp gets turned off the second his head hits the pillow.

In his hand he holds the remote
and grasps the coffee cup with his fingers.

He opens his arms to the mini-me's running all around his feet
and extends his hands to Mr.Biggles only to get his eyes clawed out.

When it snows, which it hasn't, he has no fear for his household
for all of them are mostly unclothed anyway save the occasional diaper.

He has never once made the bed;
He is clothed in Jos.A.Bank garments for work that his mama buys.

His wife is respected at the local Target
where she takes her seat in the Starbucks fretting over the latest Mossimo jeans.

He makes a mean burger on the Weber grill
and supplies a side dish of fried taters to go along.

He is clothed with a hoodie and track pants;
he can laugh when the noise level of the house reaches uncanny decibels.

He speaks with patience,
and calms the wifey down off the roof after a long day with screamers.

He watches random detective shows
yet refuses to eat the bread of MTV idleness with his wife.

His children arise and yell out "Daaaaadddddyyyyyy" from their cribs;
his wife also, nudges him to get the babies so she can sleep.

"Many men do noble things, like cleaning and grocery shopping and cooking,
but you surpass them all with your Jeep wranglin' self."

P90x and the South Beach Diet are deceptive, and hotness is fleeting (though not yet!);
but a man who fears the LORD is to be praised.

Honor him for all the times he's been injured wrestling 20 and 40 pound toddlers
and let his works bring him less furlough days in the future.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE MOST HANDSOME, NOBLE, FULL-O-CHARACTER, GOD-FEARING MAN I KNOW!!!

The Year of Balance

2011-01-04T20:00:00.002-05:00

It's a new dawn.
It's a new day.
It's a new life.
For me
And I'm feeling goooooooooood.

Thank you Mr. Buble for crooning me a songspiration for this 2011 year.

Change, it is a comin'. I've got plans. And unlike every other year, I'm going to try and not set myself up for failure. Because me, once overwhelmed, equals paralyzed, equals quitter. Let's just not for this year. Suz needs a win.

I've never themed my years before, but since I spent all of December saying, "I feel so out of balance!", it became my mantra before this year even began. Thought I should claim the good and get some balance going whilst currently unparalyzed.

Accountability is what's going to win this. And while I think I can hold myself accountable in my own mind, we all know that doesn't work for long. So I'm putting pen to paper (or fingers to keypad really) and putting it out there for my eyes to witness and anybody else's who happens to come across this little blog (you 4 faithful readers rock!).

At the end of each month I'll do a synopsis of each of my Areas of Balance (my creativity has obviously been tapped) and see what's working, what needs a little help, and what I may be bombing on. Feel free to join me with your own AOB's and/or lend some advice this way.

Here's the foci for 2011 in no particular order. I'm keeping it simple. And while I have personal smaller goals under the big headings, I'm just limiting the lofty goals to ONE per AOB.

SPIRITUAL
Read the Bible in a year. Found a great tool (via Annie) that allows 5 slacker/catch-up days a month. You are speaking my language, dear Bible tool.

PHYSICAL
Definitive weekly exercise plan. This will change up a lot which is what my BORED WITH ALL THINGS EXERCISE self needs. 3 day minimum. 5 day preferred.

WORK
Allocate specific time/days weekly to work just on Grace Graffiti - the little side business dream that sprang to life in 2010.

FAMILY
Once a month, Akins 6 only, pure fun at tbd location.

MARRIAGE
Creativity on the dating front. Once a month.

MONEY
Beginning the year debt-free. Detailed monthly budget and sticking to it.

HOME
Cleaning plan. Daily. Weekly. An out-of-sorts house = An out-of-sorts me. This includes the business of the house also: menu planning, grocery shopping, laundry, etc.

So there I/you have it. Layed out for the world to see.

Ok, 2011, big bear hug just for you. Here we go...

If I knew then what I know now...

2011-01-03T20:54:00.000-05:00

I would have never believed it.

11 years ago I acted on what would become the craziest and most life-changing decision I would ever make (to date). I had just graduated from the University of Georgia and was offered a job working full-time at the camp I had worked at the previous 2 summers. It sounds like a no-brainer decision to make since it was the only paying job I had been offered post-grad.

However, there was one catch.

The ole ex-boyfriend.

Gah. They always get in the way.

He just so happened to have graduated a wee bit before me (something about studying when he was supposed to and passing required classes. Dang overachiever) and he too got a full time job offer on the same little island that beckoned me.

So he was established there. A good 6 months before me. And thus begets my quandary.

Paying job/free place to live/5 minutes from beach/office overlooking marsh & river/won't have to mooch off parents VERSUS ex-boyfriend lives one street over and it's a very very very small island.

So I packed up and headed south of course.

I arrived on January 3rd, my boss' 36th birthday. His family (who was also housing me) had a little dinner party that night to celebrate. I remember his mom getting a little sentimental towards her boy and I removed myself to the dining room (aka, my bedroom) to have a good cry. Having just moved away from home for what classified as "forever" to get my big girl job made me quite a bit weepy. Clearly I've made a terrible decision. Surely I can tuck my tail between my legs and drive back home. Certainly I was out of my mind to move one street away from a seriously bad breakup.

Yet I stayed.

And the job was the best job I've ever had.

The ex won me over and dropped to his knee 2 years later with a fatty diamond. (Well, really, he didn't drop to his knee because he was all cozified on a blanket on the beach but since boys are supposed to take a knee and I'm a rule follower, I've changed the details in my mind to fit accordingly).

We enjoyed marriage for about a minute and a half before we added....and added....and doubly added some sweet little blessings we like to call "our hoodlums".

Now, had you told me all of this 11 years ago, I would have laughed in your face. Much as I did my college roomies when they proclaimed to me, "You do know that when you go work down there you are SO going to date Carter." Hahahahaha, they were so funny! I told them I was 100% confident of one thing only: I would NEVER date that boy.

Nope. Never. No how.

And I didn't.

I just married him.

Booyah, roomies.

Some mail for your mailbox.

2010-12-24T00:47:00.004-05:00

Since the greater majority of you probably did not receive a Christmas card from us this year, you are in luck. And the fact that I only ordered 24 cards has been duly noted in my "Notes for Christmas 2011" notebook. Along with the fact that they weren't even cards. They were magnets. That's what I get for ordering online after midnight. But really, it was all in the plan. I wanted 24 people (including us) to be able to display our bootiful faces all year long. For the rest of you, you'll just have to settle for our bootiful faces on your computer.

Merry Christmas blog readers.

All both of you.

Buster's 4!

2010-12-22T22:53:00.005-05:00

Buster Boy,

My how you've grown.

I told you the story of your actual day of birth tonight at bedtime and that day seems like yesterday. I told you about how you came out of my tummy a very sick little baby and how Mommy and Daddy spent most of your "birth day" crying more than you did! But you showed us what a tough little booger you were and we can CLEARLY see that strength to this day. Just tonight, you whipped your Daddy in wrestling (but to your advantage, you're the only one allowed to kick, which ultimately won the match for you).

At dinner we went around that table and each shared our favorite characteristic about you. Big Sis said she loves that you are NICE (even gave an example of you sharing toys in the van without her having to ask). Tiny Miss said (through interpretation) she loves that you also have a Bunny lovey like her. Wild Man (also through interpretation) said he loves to wrestle you with shirts off every night. Daddy said you are the perfect mix of wild and sweet. I told you that I love how complimentary you are of people. You always tell me you like my shoes or my hair or my earrings and you freely give those compliments to others. (hint hint - the ladies LOVE this!)

You are at such a fun stage right now. You're not a toddler but not quite a big kid yet. You love baseball and monster trucks and are 100% boy, yet you crawl in my bed every morning when Daddy gets out and snuggle up til the sun comes up. For this, I'm planning to keep you 4 years old for a couple of years so as to avoid you leaving me for kindergarten. I think that plan will work nicely. You can already write your name well so there's no rush for school, right? :)

We had a blast with you today. Your birthday falls on a great day when Big Sis and Daddy don't have to be in school and the whole family can be together to celebrate. A morning baseball game with all your new baseball equipment, lunch at your choice of Applebees, Toy Story 3 movie time, and a monster truck cake to top it all off made for such a fun day.

Can't wait to see the Year of 4. I love you Buster Boy. More than words.

Mommy

Here's the highlights from your day...

Favorite present from Big Sis - a REAL baseball helmet!

Yes, we have our own baseball team.

Water Break! It's been a tough game for the Cardinals (Daddy + babies) because the Braves (Mommy + big kids) kept getting home runs.

Look at those cute fans on the bleachers!

Mommy's attempt at monster truck building.

Happy Birthday buddy!

Airing out my dirty laundry.

2010-12-19T22:18:00.003-05:00

So I missed a day or three of laundry duty. I was waiting for the maid to show up and she bailed. Something about us not paying her enough. Whatever. So I had to hunker down and do it myself.

The laundry train showed up to help. Or actually, notsomuch help as to dump out 4 baskets worth of dirty clothes onto the kitchen floor. Pure awesomeness.

So I kicked them out. If I had done any laundry the previous days, they may have had clothes to wear. Thankfully, it didn't seem to hinder Tiny Miss trickin' out her board.

Clearly they were having the time of their lives.

And here's the end result. A couch of smelly freshness. Now I'm just hoping the maid gets her bohonkus over here to fold these clothes.

O Happy Day

2010-12-17T22:59:00.003-05:00

I'm just glad Santa got an earful of what I get to listen to all day. I think he's going to bring me some earplugs in my stocking this year.

The Big Launch

2010-11-30T13:12:00.002-05:00

So I've started a business.

That sounds a bit huge for my liking.

Maybe I should say...I'm getting together with a couple of like-minded chicks, creating whatever we want and posting them for the world to see (laugh at? mock? love? be confused by? yes, probably, hopefully, who knows) and then purchase if they so desire.

It started as a dream between Kelly and I a few years ago. Her husband owned a business, and we always thought we could just open up a storefront of a bunch of stuff we wanted to sell and he'd take care of the nitty gritty details. We even had a name: SuKe Boutique. So we dreamed up millions of scenarios, looked at storefronts, narrowed our ideas down....and then came the Great Depression or the Great Recession or whatever it was that landed here like a thud and shut down production of all things coolness.

So we quit.

Before we even started.

Then, because we're dreamy people, we started throwing ideas around again, but this time with a changed up scenario of doing things from home. No more storefronts. We've got 6 more kids than we did in the beginning dreamy days so we had to accommodate their time-consuming tails.

We are crafty people.....in our heads. Grandiosely crafty....in our brains. Creativity out the wahoo....stuck within our fingertips.

So we had to go bigger than SuKe Boutique and find the hands to create all of these ideas.

Her name is Whitney. Her craftiness levels nearing ridiculous.

And so it is.

The birth of Grace Graffiti.

Who needs counseling when you have the Christmas tree farm?

2010-11-27T20:41:00.003-05:00

Christmas has arrived because we've made our annual trek to Webster's Christmas Tree Farm in Darien. The weather FINALLY cooled off and made it feel more wintry which is a good thing because Black Friday shopping in a tank top yesterday just didn't feel so wintry.

This little tree farm was marriage counseling in action for us the first year we went. I REFUSED, I mean ADAMANTLY REFUSED, to back down on getting a Frasier Fir. That's all I had known for 20 some odd years. The smell, the touch, the beauty. Frasier Firs = Christmas. (Yes, I know Jesus is Christmas but work with me here...)

The Husb so quietly, so meekly suggests we get something a little "softer" since we did have a crawling baby in the house. A nice cyprus perhaps? Yeah yeah pulling the baby card.

So we get a Frasier Fir because the Husb is a giver (thankfully ONE of us is!). We take it home. It turns all prickly, scratches up our sweet little precious 9 month old baby girl, gets stuck into every crevice of our burber carpet and thus ends its reign as THE TREE WE MUST HAVE. THE TREE THAT IF I DON'T GET IT I WILL CRY LIKE A BABY AND NOT BUY YOU ANY PRESENTS. (I'm sure those "exact" words were never said...)

So the Christmas Tree Farm is more than just an outing. It's a notch in our marriage belt.

And so are these little hoodlums we brought with us...

C'mon Sista, I'll show you the way...

The handsome boys that led the way. Wild Man was expecting ski slopes apparently.

This one here, with her plate of croup and a side dish of miserable, didn't want anything to do with this lame-o activity of hunting down the perfect Christmas tree. She informed us loudly and was removed from said activity and placed in the car so as not to disturb the neighbors who lived approximately 64 miles away.

But lo, the perfect tree HAD BEEN FOUND and MOMMY YOU MUST COME SEE IT NOW!!!

As usual, my flopping attempt at getting all 4 in a picture. They're just a walking Kodak moment.

A germy thanksgiving.

2010-11-25T13:19:00.004-05:00

Give thanks in all circumstances, right? Well then. THANK YOU germs. You're awesome. We appreciate you hanging out this past month, and we especially thank you for hitting us hard right before the holidays. So sweet you are.

Though our plans of traveling to see family this week were cancelled per doctor's orders, we managed to squeeze tiny bits of specialness in an otherwise mundane day working at the Akins Clinic.

Like Big Sis here for example. See the joy in her face? She's loving spending multiple days bedridden with a throat full of knives and a stomach that apparently finds that to be unruly.

And Buster Boy. His fish mask not only keeps his croup germs from escaping his petri dish of a mouth, but apparently it doubles as a safety precaution when he's in the shop fixing tractors.
And oh sweet Tiny Miss. Her man voice and dog bark impersonations are spot-on. She's the puniest of the bunch in health, but the loudest in her demands. I really should speak with her agent about her insubordination issues. "Hold me now WOMAN!" "Give me some more water WOMAN!" "Get that darn oxygen tank outta my face PRINCESS!" She's a testy little thing.
And Wild Man. Prepping for his scuba test next week.

Though there's nary a turkey to be found in this house on this Day of Thanks 2010, I can be thankful that we thought ahead, celebrated early when my parents were in town and I actually cooked a turkey.

Or maybe I observed my mom cooking a turkey. Whatevs.

I tried. Really. I just felt like I was touching a naked old person's body and got a little grossed out. Mr.Turkey cooked himself up well and we enjoyed him for about 5 days too long afterwards.

So maybe it's a good thing we got all turkey'd out before today because nothing says Thanksgiving to me like a BLT and Doritos for lunch.

Amen and amen.

1 little, 2 little, 3 little Indians...

2010-11-17T12:43:00.003-05:00

4 little, 5 little, 6 little Indians...

The whole Akins Indian nation arrived on the campus of Big Sis University to surprise her for their Thanksgiving lunch. Her class was the first to come down the hall at 10:54 am - really, who eats lunch at 10:54 am? - and she saw all of us taking up the hallway in front of the cafeteria. She had a mix of excitement, embarrassment and panic at how she was going to finagle her family into her schedule because if that Big Sis is one thing, she is a rule follower.

So she gave us a big wave and then walked right by, hightailing herself right on into the lunchroom.

Hello??? YOUR ENTIRE FAMILY JUST GOT LEFT IN THE HALLWAY!

Thankfully, Mr. Important Daddy got us in the door and yelled up ahead for Big Sis to step out of line and wait for us.

Step out of line????

She kept walking, she looked back, she kept walking, she looked back.

Finally Mr. Important physically pulled her out, letting her know she would not get into trouble. Really? Doesn't she know that if she gets into trouble she'll just get sent to her Daddy's office? She's got him wrapped around her finger so that really shouldn't be of concern, right? Her concern for rule following obviously was not a trait she got from her mother.

I am a sucker for cafeteria-style turkey and dressing and ate 3 trays worth. I was definitely not the mom telling her children to make sure and finish their food. I was definitely telling them to NOT eat the dressing and send it down the line to Mommy because they probably wouldn't like it anyway.

If I'm one thing, it's selfless.

The 14 minute lunch flew by with nary a fuss from the baby Indians. My mission was to keep their mouths full at all times with goldfish, granola bars and grapes (NOT the dressing - they probably wouldn't have liked it anyway) and I'd rate myself successful.

It was fun to be in Big Sis' world if only for a few minutes. Putting names with faces of all her little new friends and walking the same hallways she walks everyday.

I miss that little Indian.

It's been a hard day's night, and I've been working like a dog.

2010-11-14T21:24:00.002-05:00

Oh Beatles, you speak to me.

5 separate stomach viruses, 2 days in the hospital with an 18 month old, 720 loads of laundry on "Hot Water" setting, 5 depleted containers of Lysol wipes, 3 barf buckets simultaneously in use, and a most glorious husband who DOMINATED this house-o-horror.

Until 2 days after all was well. The last man standing went down.

It wasn't purty.

I looked around to see who was going to step up to the plate, grabbing this virus by the horns and banishing our house-o-horror of all germs.

Dang it if I wasn't the only person over 3 feet tall that can successfully maneuver buckets of vinegar and water.

And so it was. Stomach Flu '10 hit us again. As if the first round back in January wasn't enough.

I really need to find a new weight loss program.

Spider Boys and Bat Girls

2010-10-31T21:09:00.004-04:00

Too much fun at the annual Halloween Bash. We ransacked the neighborhood and took all the candy. Then ended the evening with much expected meltdowns so we knew it was a good night.

We managed to get most kiddos in this shot, though I know there were at least 3 more who were a little nervous about getting near some of those costumes and opted to sit out. I don't blame them. Brides. Scuba boys. Super E's. Penguins. Sharks. Spiders. Pumpkins. It was a rough crowd. So scary I could hardly stand it.

Not to mention those Spider Boys and Bat Girls. Eeeeeek!

.....and we're done. Let's get to trick-or-treating!

Tiny Miss enjoyed a yummy supper and then pranced her prissy self around the neighborhood. She didn't care a lick about going to the houses. She just felt all big girlish walking on the street as far as she wanted.
Wild Man had his fair share of cupcakes, plus an additional share, and then another. Hey, keep him happy. Our mantra.

Halloween turned luxury this year with a 3 year old behind the wheel driving himself to each house in the 'hood. Times have changed since I came along. Walking uphill, in the snow, both ways, to 72 houses, 47 miles apart. Buster's got it easy.

And who are these 3 teenagers? Weren't they just born? It's my Bat Girl and her buds Kendall and Eli.

Time to pull out all the Snickers and set aside for Mommy's "Stressful Day" stash!

Sneaky. Sneaky. Sneaky.

Airplanes.

2010-10-28T12:34:00.003-04:00

He's honed in before I ever realize there's something up there.

He can see them when they are just a speck in the sky.

Nothing else matters when he hears the hum of the engine.

Dreams of piloting soon take over.

Glad we live near the airport.

Drug free. The way to be.

2010-10-26T22:03:00.004-04:00

On the car ride home from school...

"So tell me something funny and something special that happened at school today."

"Ok, the funny was soooooo funny! My teacher said we were skipping PE today!" (insert obnoxious cackling for 5 year old and confused look on her madre)

"Hmmmm. Yes, that is absolutely hilarious.[?] How about something special?"

"YES! Very special. We learned about something."

"Oh really? What did you learn about that was so special?"

"Drugs!"

[insert obnoxious cackling for madre and confused look on the 5 year old]

"Drugs? Really? What exactly did you learn about drugs?"

"A LOT! First of all, drugs are like germs. You can't see them but they're really bad for you. Also [now looking at her brother in her teacherly kind of way], some bad people will try to sneak drugs into your Halloween candy."

"Wow. You sure learned about some important things in kindergarten today."

"I know. And Mommy? Just make sure you check my candy when we're done trick-or-treating to make sure nobody took a bite out of any candy they gave me. Cuz some people do that. They take a bite out and wrap it back up and put it in your pumpkin. That means there's drugs in it."

"Will do, Sister. Will do."

A farmin' we did go.

2010-10-12T20:25:00.002-04:00

My favorite field trip of the year finally came around this weekend. I don't know why I love it so much, but it's just so fun and full of kid-ness and so fallish which we don't really have much of down here. It was blazing hot, as usual, but that didn't stop our sweaty selves from enjoying Poppell Farms, complete with a petting zoo, cow train, inflatables, hay ride, "picking" pumpkins, picnic and games.

My babies are getting so big!

Hayride to the pumpkin patch singing about 17 verses of "Old MacDonald had a Farm".

His sister started this organization of pumpkins and Wild Man was immediately drawn to the straight lines. He loves order. He is officially my offspring.

Tiny Miss picked up every single pumpkin in the patch. They were all mini like her and I believe it made her feel like a big girl for once.

The cow train. And heck yes, that's me and the Husb riding in there too. We ain't skeered to push children out of line to get our cow of choice.

We planned on taking everyone through the corn maze at the end but by the time the heat index settled in at about 95 degrees, we figured we could find other, more air conditioned, ways of torturing our children. So we headed home and 4 kiddos slept soundly the entire hour+ drive home. A much better alternative.

I need a spoon.

2010-10-10T21:50:00.002-04:00

...cuz I'm about to eat up Thing 1 and Thing 2.

MVP of The Invisibles

2010-10-05T12:54:00.004-04:00

I have never known anyone so desperate to be on a "team" as little Buster Boy. Poor thing is counting the days until his 5th birthday when (he thinks) he'll be able to play REAL football on a REAL team and REAL baseball (he specifically says no t-ball....that's for babies) on a REAL team. He can't count much past 30 so I haven't told him he's got roughly 450 days until he's 5.

I'm sure that detail is not too important in this quest of Team-dom.

In the meantime, he's got his make-believe teams working for now. And surprisingly, he scores multitudes of touchdowns and hits multitudes of home runs in each of his games. I believe he's stacked his teams.

It really is sweet to see this little booger dress up every day in one of his uniforms, acting as serious as if he's in the Superbowl or the World Series, running laps around the backyard, making amazing tackles on invisible players and hitting faux balls into the outfield crowd of the giant stadium.

He is an athlete to be reckoned with.

We received sports cards in the mail yesterday of his two cousins dressed in their football uniforms looking like the future Bulldogs that they are. All 82 and 96 pounds of them. Of pure muscle of course.

Buster could not be outdone. He showed up in the kitchen this morning with his football uniform on and said it was picture day for the team. He proceeded to pose in the backyard (I didn't even have my camera yet) and I laughed just watching him decide which knee he should put up and the proper positioning of his helmet.

Here he is in all his football glory. All 40 pounds of him. Of pure muscle of course.

I love my Bubba.

2010-10-03T23:08:00.002-04:00

Handsome little devil, isn't he?

Oh whoops. I should probably say handsome little angel.

Nah. I think I got it right the first time.

LucKy 7

2010-10-02T14:16:00.004-04:00

It's a dog-eat-dog kinda world at the ocean side soccer fields. Running in packs is common but one little wolf (ok, so she's more of an Angelfish) broke free from the pack of boisterous 4 and 5 year olds to score not 1, not 2, but SEVEN GOALS.

Sister came to win.

And win they did. Today we experienced much more a football-esque score than a soccer score somewhere in the upwards of 20 goals punched in by our little Angelfishies.

At 3 goals we were shouting "Hat Trick! Hat Trick!" At 4 goals we shouted "Texas Hat Trick! Texas Hat Trick!" (cuz everything's bigger in Texas) and by 5 we just looked at each other and didn't know what to shout. "Uhhhh, Texas Hat Trick plus 1??"

Oh well. Didn't matter. By goal 7, we were quite experienced with the "WOOOOOHOOOOOOO's!!!!!" and all was well.

Bright yellow jersey. LucKy 7 on back. A glimpse at one assist and two goals.

LucKy 7 from Suzanne Akins on Vimeo.

I need a system.

2010-09-30T12:34:00.003-04:00

I thought my pulling 42 tubs out of the attic to wash, sort, sell, give away or hang up for this season was going to be a fairly quick task.

Fairly quick task it was not and the tubs are still in the middle of my family room. All kids closets and dressers are in upheaval as we try on EVERYTHING, trade out sizes, and do more sorting and giving away.

Organization is not my forte although I LOVE being organized. I frequent the few places of organization in my house to relax. Unfortunately those areas include my "office" (loose term for the area designated for my laptop and bills and other accoutrements) and though our finances are painstakingly organized, not much else in there can be coined "relaxing". The other organized area is the babies' room (sans the closet) but for some reason it just kinda smells like poo in there all the time which doesn't fit in to my relaxation quota either.

So I need a system. Specifically, a system that isn't too daunting. Not like those "Deep Clean Your House With These Daily Tasks All Year." That's not fun to me. Simple. One big swoop. That's what I need. Or 2 big swoops a year even. I can take 2 out of 365 days to have a house in upheaval. But we're inching past 10 days and I'm losing my marbles.

Maybe if I quit feeding the kiddos they'll stop growing so fast. Then they could remain in the same size clothes for longer than 3 months. But then they'd probably cry a lot. And then I'd lose my marbles anyway so I should probably continue to feed them.

Thanks for allowing me to think out loud on that one.

Send me links. Send me systems. Send me a professional.

I'm sending myself to a nap so I don't have to look at these tubs anymore.

Lessons

2010-09-26T22:36:00.002-04:00

Sometimes being a parent is the easiest job on the planet. Like, per se, when they're all tucked so nicely in all of their beds, fresh from the bath, sleeping soundly with nary a fuss or an attitude.

And then they wake up.

With a fuss.

And an attitude.

And being a parent is no longer the easiest job on the planet.

Today has been on the calendar for a month. It has been talked about for a month (or longer). It has been the source of much anticipation and excitement. It was to be a Summer Waves day. For free (thanks to our church renting it out). And since we were able to go only once at the beginning of the summer, we have looked forward to this day for a long, long time.

Especially Buster Boy.

But ye ole Buster Boy has been having a hard time as of late. He's coming into his own and having to figure out who he is separate from Big Sis since those two have been together his whole life. All 3 1/2 years of it. Until she ran off and left him for kindergarten.

Darn school.

We're trying to teach him to man-up (we start 'em early around here) and do things on his own. And he is getting better. He even went on a fishing venture this week all by himself with his buddy - no parents - no siblings. And he LOVED it.

But there are some big things he's still crawling up our legs about and we're just done with it. So he got an ultimatum. His first. Man up or no Summer Waves.

He manned down.

And let me tell you when we set this ultimatum, we never thought he'd choose AGAINST a day at the water park. But he did. And we had to follow through. Even though we had FAMILY plans FOR A MONTH to spend the day frolicking in the water.

So our family plans became 1/2 family plans. Daddy and the girls frolicked at the water park, while Mommy and the boys napped, mourned, and stared at each other in boredom all afternoon.

Jury's still out on if the lesson was learned. We'll find out next week when we run the same scenario. And if he quiver lip/puppy dog eyes me one more time, I'm through. Melt me like chocolate.

It would be so much easier to discipline him if he wasn't so darn cute.

Can you blame me?

Welcome Fall. Or Autumn. Or whatever your name is.

2010-09-22T20:18:00.004-04:00

Who am I kidding?

We don't have seasons in these here parts of south ga. We have summer. And then a little more summer. Then a few days of beautiful weather ruined by the sand gnats and then we're back to pre-summer again.

But darn it. I'm going to celebrate it nonetheless.

College football is in the air and this means it's time to change out the clothes from summer to post-summer (known to some as "Fall"). I don't know why I do this. It's pointless really. We won't be looking at long sleeved shirts for a good 2 months, and hoodies, OH MY DEAR PRECIOUS COZY HOODIES, not til Christmas....or after.

For some reason I feel the need to torture myself.

And I don't do this with my own clothes because the sad reality is that my little closet holds all seasons of my clothes. [insert violin music here]

Someday I will purchase clothes to update my 2004 wardrobe, but for now, it's the babies that come first. [insert "Hero" by Mariah Carey here]

So in my torturous assignment today, I got down 42 tubs of clothes out of the attic. And since the Twinzies are growing like weeds, I figured I should get out their current size clothes and their next size up. Of all seasons. And then wash them. All 42 loads worth. And then fold them. All 42 tons of them.

And really, I know I shouldn't be jealous of the wardrobe of a certain 17-month old.

But 30 PAIRS OF PANTS?????

Is it really necessary to house 30 pairs of 18mo size pants? Does Wild Man really need to wear a different outfit EVERY SINGLE DAY FOR AN ENTIRE MONTH?

I mean, I know he's a fashion-forward kind of guy...

I guess the hand-me-down stars were aligned when this pretty stack of 30 PAIRS OF PANTS (have I mentioned that yet?) came together and landed in one's wardrobe.

Since he owns about 27 more pants than I do, I think I may sell them on eBay as "Celebrity Child Sells Pants for Charity" because we know all those Jolie-Pitts offspring gotta do something with their pants, right? And why wouldn't they want me to make a pretty penny off their name, right?

And maybe, just maybe, I'll take that money and go buy myself a hoodie.

Circa 2010.

And then wait til it cools off in 2011 to wear it.

Clear eyes, full hearts, can't lose.

2010-09-12T20:52:00.009-04:00

"Look, Saracen. Run the post, run the slant, and they will respect you... run this pattern, and they will fear you!" - Jason Street

"Right here, right now, God has placed you to do what you do best. Go all the way." - Coach Taylor

"Too late, play's over. You waited too long to make a decision. Now we lost the game because of you, now we're not going to state, and now the whole town of Dillon hates you. FACT." - Tim Riggins

"Every man at some point in his life is going to lose a battle. He is going to fight and he is going to lose. But what makes him a man is at the midst of that battle he does not lose himself. This game is not over, this battle is not over." - Coach Taylor

"I know I'm far from the most talented player on this team, but it seems to me that we can either win together, or we can lose alone. And I just want to say it's an honor and a privilege to be here with y'all." - Landry Clark

A United Front

2010-09-10T07:22:00.002-04:00

There are many unique perks (and, uh, other not so much perks) that come with being a parent to twins. The most obvious is that we have TWO babies, as opposed to one. And anyone who's had ONE baby knows how much stinkin love you have for that child. It's simply A.M.A.Z.I.N.G. to have two. ALL difficulties of "twindom" dwindle in comparison to the coolness of birthing a set of best friends.

I questioned God on MORE than one occasion at His plan for us to have twins when we already had two in the first place. I don't believe there was a thankful bone in my body when I heard the news (and my early blog posts from those days show it). But the minute they came out I was overwhelmed (to say the LEAST) with gratitude that we were chosen to have TWO babies.

(Can you tell I'm still a bit shocked? Even 16 months later. I hope that feeling never goes away.)

I read no books about parenting twins (HELLLLOOO!! I had enough anxiety as it was!!) so I was banking on instinct and the fact that I had successfully (up to that point) parented two before. How difficult could it be to do it again - double time?

Piece of cake.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

The minute The Dynamic Duo entered the world, instinct DID take over and without any words needed, Carter and I officially became Team Powerhouse.

Or at least that's what we like to call ourselves.

I should totally get jerseys.

Everything that happened from that point on was dealt with from an "us" standpoint. There was no, "I'll take this shift and let you sleep."

EVER.

Every shift was ours. Every feeding was Team Powerhouse taking the field. Every day was Team Powerhouse trying to parent and care for and meet every need of four kiddos. Every day was one player from Team Powerhouse losing his/her ever loving mind while the other player jumped in, though painfully sleep deprived him/herself, and rallied for the big win.

The Big Win? Making it through a day.

Seemingly simple.

SEEMINGLY.

When the babies learned to sleep through the night, our whole world changed. The benefits of sleep for Team Powerhouse (and our little mascots) were glorious! And though the Team worked hard during the day, we no longer had to show up for the game in the middle of the night.

Until last night.

I heard a cough. A weird one. A couple more. My internal radar went off and I went to stand in front of the babies' door to listen closer. It took 3 seconds and then I barrelled through the door calling for my Teammate in a panic. Wild Man was choking on his vomit that looked like it exploded all over the room.

And then it happened.

Team Powerhouse showed up for the game.

We stood, The Husb holding a screaming Tiny Miss who had been awakened in a panic, me holding a screaming Wild Man covered in vomit.

No words were issued. Just a moment. A look. And we shot into gear.

Each of us one-handed working with baby on the hip. Me bathing, dressing, calming Wild Man. Husb stripping bed linens, washing out gunk and starting the washing machine. Me holding two babies on the couch, watching Baby Einstein. Husb cleaning and disinfecting nursery. Me standing over washing machine desperately waiting for "Lamby", the required lovey, to finish washing. Husb getting Tiny Miss back to sleep and Wild Man's bed ready.

The chaos subsided. I gave myself a firm chastising for giving Wild Man a new food for dinner knowing his acid reflux CANNOT HANDLE UNFAMILIAR FOODS. And then we climbed into bed, high-fived each other for a good game, and went back to sleep.

It's good to see that Team Powerhouse still has it.

Though I do hope to keep all game times during daylight hours from here on out.

Prissy McFrissy

2010-09-08T18:10:00.003-04:00

Snapshots

2010-09-06T20:57:00.002-04:00

My oldest.

My baby.

The 2 in between were being goobers.

Oh Daddy Boy, the pipes, the pipes are callin'....

2010-08-29T20:44:00.003-04:00

The Irish melody, though with a small name change, just resonates in my head.

I wonder why.

Short and sweet.

2010-08-26T15:34:00.002-04:00

My bro, sis-in-law, and 2 gorgeous-o nephews were able to do a drive-by visit in between their Florida vacation and Atlanta trip to see our newborn nephew. It only lasted about 7 hours but was a wonderful mid-week surprise. We took Big Sis out of school for half a day (only a week in and we're already taking her out...shame on us parents!) but because we get to see them maybe 3 times a year, it was a no-brainer.

Buster and I hit the backyard nearly everyday (for as long as the heat allows...sometimes 30 seconds) to practice baseball. The boy is passionate about his baseball. He wakes up and puts on his "uniform" every single day. His uniform consists of something with a number on it, Big Sis' soccer cleats, a belt and a hat. I pitch a million balls, giving unsolicited advice the whole time and he can't ever hit the darn thing. Yesterday, he goes out with his cousins (baseball extraordinaires) and they're back within four minutes telling me he had already hit 3 "home runs" (also known as "making contact with the ball").

WHAT??!!??

I quit. Forget the heat. I'm paying those boys to move down here (Buffalo Shmuffalo) and coach my boy. Then he can follow in their footsteps and find himself in Cooperstown one day. World Series here we come! Hopefully the officials there won't mind if Buster runs 4 laps around the bases for each of his home runs.

It's how he rolls. One lap for the point and 3 to gloat.

He's got my humility.

And my awesomeness.

They go hand in hand.

A new normal.

2010-08-19T20:41:00.004-04:00

Dear Kindergartner,

There was a big thing that happened about 6 years ago. Your life (in utero) began and my career as a full-time camp director began a slow decline. So much so that the day you were born, I knew I was done. My first day back at work after maternity leave became the day I gave my notice.

Gotta admit. It's kinda nice to retire at 27.

Since then it's been me and you.

Then that Buster Boy busted in, but he took a lot of naps so it was still kinda me and you.

AND THEN CAME THE TWINS.

Man, did we ever pair up and take those Twinzies to the next level. You bottle fed, changed some tee tee diapers, endlessly entertained, spoon fed, read to, prevented falls, taught songs and were hands down my right hand girl.

Today, all things changed.

I've had a catch in my throat for the past 3 days and have had a hard time even looking your direction knowing what was to come. And don't get me wrong. I'm MORE than excited for this new venture for you. ABSOLUTELY positive it's the perfect time and the perfect move for you.

But.

I'm losing my right hand girl.

She went to kindergarten today.

And it's the first day I've been away from you (and still been at our house) EVER. So the hard part wasn't in sending you to a new place with a roomful of strangers. Or giving you over to a new woman in your life that will be your teacher/mentor/encourager/life-shaper.

Nope.

You aced that.

The hard part was coming home and feeling the void. YOU. Your personality. Your helpfulness. Your take-charge attitude. Your creativity. Your genuine love and desire to be among your brothers and sister.

We all felt it, but Buster and I felt it most. Lots of tears. Lots of idle sitting wondering what we ever did during these long daytime hours.

It was rough, yes. But it became 100% worth every tear when you hopped into the car at 2:54pm beaming, chattering, throwing your arms around me and handing out kisses to 3 car seats full of siblings.

I love hearing about your new friends. I love hearing about the new things you're learning. I love hearing about all the times you spot Daddy in the halls or in the lunchroom. I love hearing your enthusiasm about the homework you don't have yet. I love to hear every bit about this new part of your life.

And though you're not at home as much as you used to be, I believe it will make the times we do spend together even more precious.

You, my daughter, are STILL my right hand girl.

Beyond proud.

Americana at its best

2010-08-15T23:20:00.005-04:00

Big Sis and Buster Boy have been asking all summer to do a lemonade stand. They got a book one time at Chick-Fil-A that talked all about how to make homemade lemonade and from then on their hearts were set on having one for themselves. After finding excuses all summer long, I finally relented since it was the last Saturday before school started.

For a week beforehand we worked on signs to put in the neighborhood and made list after list of everything we needed. We read books about lemonade stands and watched YouTube videos on proper lemonade standing. It was a most excellent source of entertainment for a long week of smoking hotness and rain.

Finally the day came and everyone was up bright and early. Our next door neighbors were having a garage sale and the traffic started flowing at 7:30am. We moved into gear and had everything set up by 8:30am.

And then we waited.

And waited.

And waited some more. Sweating in the 175 degree heat. Helplessly watching garage sale customers get out of their car to peruse the sale and hop back in without a blink toward the lemonade stand.

Then came our first customers - 1 hour after we opened. Out of the front door, holding two adorable little twins comes DADDY TO THE RESCUE! Bearing quarters, nonetheless, and wanting to purchase some lemonade. You would have thought the President himself arrived. Buster took the money, Big Sis grabbed the cup and they went into gear.

"I just love customers!" Sis proclaims.

3 hours and 13 customers later we closed up shop, gave the neighbors free refills of the leftovers, counted their newly earned ice cream money and went inside to take 3 hour naps.

A job well done.

The sweetest part? After separating money into "Give", "Save" and "Spend" categories, the kiddos brought 10% of their earnings to church this morning to "give it to God" - their words.

I think we may have started us a tradition here.

Growing up

2010-08-10T22:37:00.007-04:00

There's a lot of big kidness going on at my house lately. Mostly prepping for the kindergarten-that-we-do-not-speak-of for Big Sis. Backpack, minimal school supplies and first day outfits have been purchased. But lo, that is a week away and we will remain in disbelief that this is surely happening.

For at least a week longer.

Until then, we shan't speak of it anymore lest I weep all over the keyboard.

In other news, the big 3 year old has done a bit of growing up himself today. Playing outside this afternoon I asked him, on a whim, if he wanted me to take his training wheels off. Surprisingly he said yes and after making sure this was going to be a done deal - no putting them back on - I got the wrench and went to town.

Minutes later the boy rode.

The most surprised? The 5 year old who still has training wheels.

Her plan is to now poll her "new friends" when she gets to school and see what the consensus is on 5 year olds and training wheels. For now, she's comfortable with helmet, knee pads, elbow pads, training wheels and soft ground.

Risk taker she is not.

I looked at my big 3 year old a little differently when he went to bed tonight. I think he felt different too. I love the light in the eyes of one who feels successful. He fell more than he was upright today yet can't wait to try again tomorrow.

I do believe there's a lesson in there.

*edited to note that the original song by the Doobie Bros. "Takin it to the Streets" was a much more fitting but wouldn't publish for copyright reasons. Blech.

Best Friends Camp '10

2010-08-02T20:55:00.002-04:00

10 years ago, Best Friends Camp commenced. And then ended. And then BF ended up in the hospital as a result.

We don't play around.

At the inaugural camp, college BF Alicia came down for a few days to stay when my roommates left town. Ok, so they weren't my roommates. More so the family that let me live in their dining room.

Whatevs.

So it comes to bedtime and I grab a pillow off of my 5 year old roommates bed for my dear BF. She sleeps soundly. She goes home a few days later. She comes down with a horrid case of adult chicken pox and lands herself in the hospital in attempts to stay alive.

Whoops.

So despite a rough beginning, the camp has lived on year after year and we now stay away from chicken pox laden pillows.

This year, we continued with our annual Girl's Night Out (with 11 and 5 year old in tow), multiple music videos with state-o-the-art choreography and added a campfire with s'mores in 95 degree heat as well as a movie, complete with script and high quality acting.

Scootchie over Spielberg. Akins has come to town.

And though I would love to tempt my audience here with the Oscar performances, the dern thing hasn't even been fully edited. Or, at least that's my excuse because I don't know how I feel about getting my big acting break from the scouting producers in the world wide webosphere. I still need to do this stay-at-home mom thing for at least a few more months.

And while my acting skillz were off the charts, my photography skillz were nil. The camp director didn't plan a camp photo, thus and such all I got from a rockin' week with my peeps was this fuzzy dud.

And these cutie patooties we like to call "BF's: The Next Generation".

Oh well. There's always next year's camp to get the big photo-op.

And who knows, next year we might get all big and have a slip-n-slide.

Or a square dance.

Or a scavenger hunt.

Oh the possibilities.

For now though, latrine duty beckons. Camp season or not.

I should have received a warning in the packaging.

2010-07-28T21:07:00.005-04:00

I have stumbled upon a dangerous toy.

It's called photo booth and it's on my new computer and it has now become my number one source of entertainment.

Now, when people ask me what I do all day as a stay-at-home mom of 4 babies, I finally have something worthwhile to tell them.

I eat bon bons.

Sip lemonade by the pool.

And now, thanks to my new computer, I take hundreds of pictures of myself.

Humility is my middle name and time is on my hands.

Because he is.

2010-07-26T10:51:00.002-04:00

Middle Child Syndrome

2010-07-14T22:17:00.007-04:00

I realized, as I was placing updated framed pictures throughout my house, that we have very few recent (as in, the last 2 years) pictures of Buster Boy. Poor guy. We got the first year of his life a-plenty and then took a break until the Dynamic Duo was born and then they got all the funding for pics. And, of course, Big Sis had her 5 year portrait made and that cost half her college edumacation.

And his.

So I asked our friend Patrick to take some pics with his ultra cool camera while he was over for dinner tonight.

BLOWN. AWAY.

Now, I know everybody has their own cutest kid in the whole world, but SERIOUSLY y'all...I think I really do have myself a little model. I might just have to call VogueKids or BoysFitness or GQkidz or something shmancy so my boy can earn his college fund back.

This little photo shoot took a total of 4 minutes. For one minute, I ran into his closet, picked out his only clean Polo, grabbed some matching shorts, ran some hair gel through his hair as he used the potty (multi-tasking...I am a pro) and the other 3 minutes consisted of Patrick clicking away before we drowned in sweat out in the backyard.

We get things done around here.

Quickly.

The results:

Now my house will be full of pictures of ALL of my precious kiddos...not just the 3 that flank the middle kid.

The darn cute middle kid, that is.

Singing in the shower

2010-07-12T16:54:00.002-04:00

Taking it to a new level with the face wash guitar.

Big House from Suzanne Akins on Vimeo.

Dear Broken A/C: Your timing is perfect.

2010-07-10T21:52:00.004-04:00

As I sit in the 86 degree heat of my house, I reflect on days gone by sunning on the beach, splashing in the pool, lazing in an air conditioned condo, eating my weight in root beer floats, bathing in sunscreen.

And then I remember the vacation is over.

In other words, the glass is half empty.

But lo, there is cold air coming out of the vents and we may get down to 84 by tomorrow morning before it rises back up to 92. Going outside might be a breath of fresh air.

Enough about our heat strokes. Here's the lowdown on the final vacay of the summer.

Picture it.
St. Augustine.
2010.
The Akins 6 plus about 50 more with similar bloodline.
Good times.

Here we have Wild Man with a smile on his face. The opportunity to catch it on camera = even better!

Our afternoon for 7 days straight.

Little fishes.

Girlfriend couldn't even finish her lunch.

Showing off their beautiful starfish moments before returning him (her?) to sea.

The beach proved to be good fuss-therapy for this one. Thus, our morning. Every day. All week.

"Thank you all for coming to see me. I'll be here all week."

My handsome boys. Love them so.

We may be color coordinated for the 4th but we sure can't all look in one direction with 6 simultaneous smiles no matter how many takes we do! A girl can dream.

My sweet crazy babies.

Camp Marietta

2010-06-28T20:48:00.005-04:00

We just finished a lovely vacay to the ole stomping grounds...or as I like to call it, The Motherland.

Literally.

The Land of my Mother.

Prior to arriving at Camp Motherland, a detailed agenda was set forth. There was much to do in the Big Town and so little time.

Agenda Item #1: Get Buster inside a firetruck.
A little background information for you. Buster Boy is obsessed with 2 things presently: all things fireman related and baseball. Those 2 things have to make it into his bedtime stories. So I began telling him a nightly story about a little boy that played baseball, grew up to play for the big leagues and then retired to become a fireman and save people.

And then it hit me. I knew such a boy!

And this "such a boy" married one of my dearest friends from high school. A phone call later, a date was made and we were getting Buster into the fire station to meet the man of his bedtime stories and a chance to "drive" the firetruck.

He LOVED every second of being near that red fire engine! Fairy tales can come true.

Here's the boys club...
"Such a boy" Brannon with his smushy baby boy Wade, The Husb and my boys

And the girls club...
Melodie and her little Kenna, me and my girls

Agenda Item #2: Visit with some of our favorite people in the world.
Memomma - my grandmother

Uncle Henry and Aunt Betty

Agenda Item #3: Take Buster to his first "Big Picture Show" - Toy Story 3.
Big Sis accompanied and we had a marvelous time of popcorn, drinks, Buzz, Woody and crying. Lots and lots of crying. The Tenderheart (Big Sis) had a hard time watching Buzz and Woody almost get thrown into the fiery furnace. And as if that wasn't enough, Andy went away to college leaving his toys in the hands of a sweet young girl down the street. This, along with sappy sentimental music, put Tenderheart Bear over the edge and there was much weeping. Loud weeping. Loud weeping that caused the neighbors to stare.

Whoops.

Agenda Item #4: Celebrate D-Daddy's birthday.
The grandkiddos giving the old man some extra puffs.

Agenda Item #5: Spend the day on a boat and try to keep our sanity.

My brother rented a boat for the day on Lake Arrowhead - a most glorious pristine lake with beautiful mountain views. We loaded his family, my family and my parents on the boat and set sail. I was very worried about how Wild Man would fare for so long outside of his comfort zone, but he did exceptionally well. The kiddos swam in the lake, fed ducks that got uncomfortably close, fished with a pretend rod, ate snacks and enjoyed the outdoors. I CANNOT WAIT to do it again!!! We've already decided this needs to be an annual event.

Agenda Item #5: Family Reunion in Montezuma, GA.

No pics because I might have passed out from the heat had I burned up energy getting my camera out.

Oh I kid. It was only about 115 degrees.

I was able to see family I had not seen in about 15 years, while the Husb and kiddos met many family members for the first time. I was amazed at how much people change in 15 years but I'm guessing I changed a little too since the last time many of them saw me, I was 18. That was a husband and four kids ago.

Wow.

I done growed up, people.

And finally, Agenda Item #6: Return home EXHAUSTED but so full of fun memories from a week of camp!!

'Tis a Rough Life

2010-06-14T11:17:00.001-04:00