Back to somewhat normal...

Now that everyone is back to almost normal (Lily did finally throw up just once...), I figured I would post our pix from Disney. We went with my mom and dad and brought our lovely Sonia along to keep the babies entertained all day Saturday. We stayed at the Bonnet Creek Resort--which is all condos, right on the Disney property. It was really nice there and we had a fantastic time--THANKS a million Mom and Dad!!!! Lily and Ty were just ripe for the Magic Kingdom this time and were especially excited to wear their new outfits to the park (thanks also Mimi and Poppy!!). Lily kept her gloves on ALL day! Here are some photos from our day... waiting for the tram--I think this was Ty's favorite ride of the day :)

Ty Ty and Mimi... check out his cool dinosaur hat!

waiting the board the monorail--wait, I think that was Ty's favorite ride...

Lily with Mommy and Daddy waiting to board the Peter Pan ride--Lily's favorite ride (tied with Small World)

outside Minnie Mouse's house...

My wild and wonderful kids at the Pooh playground...

on the boat for It's a Small World...

Lily in Minnie Mouse's kitchen after she got mad at me for taking her picture...

And then below you will find pictures of what Ty did to himself today whilst jumping on his bed--he's lucky he didn't split it wide open or bite his tongue!! He did do a good job at creating a very colorful boo boo though! Don't think he'll be jumping on his bed anytime soon I hope!

And below are the babies in their new booster seats--the high chairs were threatening to trip me in the middle of the night as I would rush through the kitchen--the booster seats are much more compact and I think the twins like being able to grab one another--perhaps they'll be stealing each other's food soon...

and here's a photo (out of place) of Mimi and Poppy pushing the stroller at Disney...

i guess it has been a while since i've posted and for good reason--illness has descended upon our house and has not fully left yet. the throw-up bug invaded again and struck everyone but lily, again. even our beloved sonia got it while she was with us at disney--both babies were puking on her all day saturday...along with the g.i. business came upper respiratory illness that seemed to accompany the bug and both babies were stricken with that as well. it took james a full week to recover and he's actually still not well--he threw up his dinner tonight after gagging on some mucus. ty had a fever tonight over 100--couldn't get him to keep the thermometer in his mouth long enough to know exactly how high it was but it was over 100.3--just when i thought things might be getting better...james had his follow-up x-rays today and they never called to say what they saw--they also copied the wrong radiographs onto the cd for me (they put the initial ones on there) so i can't even look for myself to see what's going on with his clavicle. todd and i are worn out to say the least. i cannot keep pace with the laundry because it is multiplying with all of the vomit. the babies have been nursing around the clock so my body thinks i have newborns again...i'll be able to feed all of the neighbors' babies once this is all over. we have not had a solid night of sleep in a long long time--not even close. zuzu--apparently miffed at her place in the family--shredded several paper grocery bags for me to find in the laundry room today and i still haven't cleaned it up yet. blogging over chores is my credo...the house is so untidy and unpeaceful right now that i get stressed sitting here looking around. it does look different than it did this morning because the kids have rearranged just about every toy and blanket--relocation is the norm if you're an object at our house. constant relocation. i gathered up some superfluous stuffed animals today and put them in a bin to go to the consignment store--felt good to purge just a bit, especially before christmas...sometimes i feel like we've been invaded by a plush army and i know i'm not the only one out there who feels that way...can i get an amen?? i don't mind stuffed animals if they are played with or loved-on, but the ones who inhabit the bottom of the bin 11 1/2 months out of the year perturb me. i think one of the values i want to imprint on the hearts of my children is to cherish and appreciate what you have--more is not always better. the excess has been tweaking me lately...my dear friend jen b (who has three girls) has had their house packed while it's on the market--she commented how none of the girls seem to miss or ask for their stuff and it makes me think i would like to find a way to copy that attitude without having to pack up for a move...anyway, those of you looking on here for pictures were mighty kind to read through this far...i cherish your loyalty and commitment :) i do not take my role lightly--i know you have limited time during the day so to devote your precious time to reading my blog is very humbling...thank you for tolerating my occasional pix-free post. i will post pix soon when everyone is well...cheers

Fall Fun...and craziness...and busyness...

Life just doesn't slow down, does it? We have had a jam-packed few weeks--just as Christmas occupies a whole season, Halloween now seems to as well. You can't just trick-or-treat anymore--now you trick-or-trunk or you trunk-or-treat and you have a parade and parties out the wazoo...lots of fun, but my kids now think that wearing a costume is a natural daily occurance. We did have a great time trick-or-treating in our neighborhood with Lisa and Wy and the boys and with our friend Monica and her girls. Miss Sonia went with us to help corral and shepherd and we rewarded her with candy afterwards--ha. Here are pix from the last few days of revelrie... Miss Isabella, age seven and a half months...

Lisa and Hope, two of the beautiful mommies in my moms' group who were in attendance at our Moms' Group Halloween Party (actually at Lisa's house--my, my, she was brave to host!!)

Master James, age seven and a half months...

the twins hamming it up!

Lily and Jillian at the Halloween party... (Jillian is Lisa's youngest)

Jamesy and Bella at the Halloween party...

Heather, another one of the beautiful mommies at the party...

My friends Sarah (left) and Karin (right), feeding Sarah's twin girls, Piper and Phoebe...

some more beautiful mommies at the party...

Mom, he's touching me!!!

trying to line up the little ones for a photo...

the big kids being a little more cooperative...

the girls hiding behind Jillian's bed--Ty would come in and roar and they would all duck and scream...

the daddies trick-or-treating...

patiently waiting...

I found Nemo!!

daddy with the cutest elephant and chicken ever!

Nicole and Adrian...

and the cutest fish and dalmatian ballerina ever!

Some of the Halloween crew...

Miss Sonia with baby Trevor...

once again, the babies looking adorable!

Lily the dalmatian ballerina at her school...

Lily's class...

Mrs. H, Lily's teacher this year donning her orange and black hat!

my baby parading around her school for the Halloween parade...

so cute...

An Early Thanksgiving...

As I have been reading some of my friends' blogs and thinking about my life lately, I found myself reflecting mostly on how grateful I am to have such wonderful friends. Never in my life have I been surrounded with such a fine group of friends--women I trust, laugh with, cry with, and share this crazy journey called motherhood with...Of course my husband is my ultimate best friend, and my mother is a VERY close second. But I now have a posse--I've waited my whole life to have a posse!! As a child, I longed for a best friend. I found myself amongst a gaggle of fair-weather girls, some were close to me, but no one who was the "it" friend. Then, in 10th grade, this girl named Jamie happened to be in my history class and my English class and we struck up a friendship...and the rest, they say, is history... Jamie wore birkenstocks, listened to the Indigo Girls and was just the coolest person I knew (still is). We would eat at La Petit Jardin after school, go to coffee bars in Sarasota at night, and sat together for every class. We became attached at the hip and began dressing alike unintentionally..then later, intentionally :). We went to FSU together and still remained friends...ha. I cannot adequately express my feelings about her, but she is through and through my best friend and I love her. Now, lest you think I forgot about all my other friends, I shall prove other wise. Little Sarah, as I love to call her, is my very oldest friend--I've known her since she was in diapers (I was already potty trained...just kidding, I'm 2 years older). Sarah and I have remained close and I LOVE the fact that we have kids around the same age and we live in the same town. Where I am the free spirit type B, Sarah is the type A--but we've met in the middle our whole lives. Sarah was the one I fell apart in front of after my ultrasound with Ty--she had a good cry with me and said the things only a friend of so long could say...I am so blessed to call her my friend. Then there's Melissa--or MK as she has been known around my peeps for about 10 years. I met her at camp when we were counselors in college and our relationship with Christ cemented our friendship. The we were roommates and survived...not always easy...but I don't think anyone understands me quite the way she does--and she has put up with a lot of interesting stuff from me, including the million questions regarding my health. Half of my wardrobe now resides in Houston with Melissa so even though I'm not there, my clothes can be with her...she is that friend who you call at 3 a.m. with a question and she tells you she was awake already :) When we moved back to Gainesville, we plugged back into our church from college and enrolled in Financial Peace University and this girl was in there--very intimidating...just kidding :) I was pregnant and having some issues and asked her about them and she told me that those same issues led to a miscarriage for her--so naturally we became best friends on the spot! I love to tease Amy because she always feels bad about that but that initial conversation revealed Amy's honesty that I would come to love in our friendship. We are definitely two peas in a pod--headstrong, intimidating (to others :)), visonaries (although Amy is the closer...) and we have leaned on each other for support for all sorts of events in our lives. Amy is loyal and has become one of my closest friends ever. And then there's Lisa, who could very well be the older sister I never had. We were destined to be friends...our husbands work together, we live in the same neighborhood, our kids have gone to the same school and had music class together--we also have the same furniture and dishes and share many of the same philosophies about life. Our families gravitate towards one another and we share many mid-week dinners with them--they are the closest thing we have to family in town. Lisa is a wise woman who speaks like 15 languages and has read more books than I could think of reading--she is my go to girl for movie suggestions, events around town, how to coupon or save money on ANYTHING, how to cook various common things that have somehow escaped me...
I look at all these girls and the influence they have had on my life and I am truly blessed and thankful. I also think of the MANY other friends in my life who are so dear to me and we are mutually invested in each other's lives--my moms' group (Karen, Karin, Stacy, Julie, Sira, Lisa M, Kara, Sarah S, Michelle P, Francesca, Kelly C, Wendy, Kristal, Stephanie, Deanne, Hope...), for example...I could write plenty about all of those girls as well...see what I mean when I say I have a posse? Never in my life did I imagine I would have so many wonderful friends--gets me kind of teary thinking about it because I am so grateful...and it seems like each day I grow closer to some of my new friends--we have coffee, e-mail, chat on the phone, have playdates, pray for one another...My friends are all so beautiful--with beautiful hearts and minds and outward beauty too. I just thank God everyday for my friends, my incredible husband and family. Lisa and Kelly, preggers during last halloween...

Kelly, Kendall, and Amy (i borrowed this pic from her blog...)

Kelly and Sarah a few years ago...

Todd, Kelly, and Melissa on her 21st birthday...several years ago...

Kelly and Jamie in high school...

here we are as grown-ups...

and here we were gearing up for FSU...