Escape from Alcatraz

Guess who left the house today? ME. hoorah! Margaret and I did go to church Sunday so technically I left the house then, but I was so tired I was kind of in a haze the entire time. I had tons of people coming up to me hugging me, excited to see me, telling me how great I look. One girl even said, "Wow, you're one of those women that just bounce right back after having a baby!" Talk about putting lipstick on a pig! I had them all fooled.
But today I am feeling rested and I dropped both kiddos off at my folks' house and went to a shopping center about 5 minutes from their house. I had some items to return at a baby store so I got to use my store credit for a fun shopping spree there. Then I went to Bed, Bath & Beyond and got some placemats for my new breakfast table. Then I went to Costco and bought some diapers for Eli. Oh, what a day! Margaret did fine being away from me for a couple of hours and of course Eli loves to be at his grandparents house. Then I took Margaret and we went to see some friends who were anxious to snuggle with the sweet baby girl. So, it was a much needed 'mental health' day for me and I sure needed it. I'm a little tired and sore now, but mostly I feel I'm getting back right - as Jason would say.
This motherhood thing is tough, as all of you mothers know. I wish women would feel more comfortable admitting to each other how difficult it is and how we just have days that we struggle and feel completely inadequate and insane. Sometimes I think women feel we must always put on the brave face and be strong and in control - or act like we're strong and in control whether we are or not. I believe this misguided behavior stems from years of women being so tough on each other. Let's face it, women are quick to judge other women for the choices they make and the way they do things. Some stay at home, some work. Some breastfeed, some use formula. Some homeschool their kids, some can't wait to get them out of the house. Some puree their own baby food, some buy food in jars.
You know what? Who cares. Let's continue to do what we feel is best for us and our children and love and respect the women in our lives who make different choices than we do.
And, please note this is coming from a woman who is the former winner of the Most Judgmental Woman in the World Award. Being a wife and mother is transforming me and I am so glad.
Okay, Margaret is napping and Eli is still at my folks' so I am going to fix myself a big glass of ice water and sit on the couch and enjoy doing NOTHING for a few minutes.

A Day on the Links

Jason took Hugh & Grant to their first golf tournament yesterday. The Navistar LPGA Classic was held at the beautiful Robert Trent Jones course in Prattville. It was a warm, sunny Sunday afternoon just perfect for enjoying some great golf. The shot above is a nice view of the 18th hole and the crowd.
The boys spent part of their day searching for golf balls in the rough. I think they scored 3 balls each, quite a highlight of their day.

And the winner was: Lorena Ochoa. Here she is in her cool pink shorts heading confidently to her next shot.
Jason actually got quite a few pictures of Lorena and some of the other more notable ladies, in spite of the fact that there is a strict no photographs rule at these tourneys.

Handsome Boys

I think this is such a great picture of our oldest two boys, you can see they are handsome just like their Daddy. Hugh & Grant camped out on our back porch last night and had a great time. Hugh is in 4th grade and doing well in school. Fourth grade is the year they emphasize Alabama History. His class is going on a host of fabulous field trips. Since we live in the state capital, there are lots of opportunities for them to have hands on experiences with Alabama History. Being a history person myself, I am making Hugh do a special project (isn't he lucky!). It's one I made all my students do when I taught at Hawaii. He will interview someone regarding an event in Alabama history they experienced first hand. It will give him some insight into the importance of oral histories, plus I believe these personal accounts can impact the memory in ways the written word cannot. Grant is in 2nd grade and is excelling in school as well. He penmanship is neater than mine and his enthusiasm for learning makes us proud.
This fall they are both playing soccer. Grant talks about playing football one of these days. They enjoy watching college football with their Daddy and me, Jason has also gotten them into golf and NASCAR. On Sunday Jason is going to take them to the Robert Trent Jones course in Prattville to watch the Navistar LPGA tournament.
As for their younger siblings, they are crazy about them and are so loving and helpful with them. Last week Eli was staying with my folks while I recovered from having Margaret. At dinner one night I commented that Margaret wanted to join us for the family mealtime. Hugh said, "Well, it's not really a family meal since Eli isn't here". My heart swelled at how much they love their baby brother and sister!
I'm going to get some pictures of all four of them this weekend...don't worry, I'll share!

My Little Boy

"Juice"
"Peek A Boo"

"Bed Head"
He looks like such a big boy now!
About to put something in his mouth
Love that face

The hospital where Margaret was born puts pictures of their newborns on digital billboards all over town, so her picture scrolls through the rotation on each billboard about every 10 minutes. Jason and I went tonight and took a picture of Margaret's billboard. The picture didn't turn out very well, perhaps because it's a digital billboard, or perhaps I zoomed in too much. Regardless, you get the idea of how cute it is! Okay, Eli just put the telephone into the washing machine...I better go.

You Got to have Friends

So many family and friends visited Margaret in the hospital and many have been by the house since we've been home. It was my intention to take a picture of everyone that visited us, but since I experienced quite a bit of lost time in the hospital, I didn't get it done! Here are the pictures of the folks we did get:

This is our friend Cindy from church. Cindy brought us a wonderful supper and her famous & fabulous chocolate pie!


Libby McGill and her daughter Margaret - friends from church
Jewell Wray & April, Jackson & MaryEsther Duncan - April is a childhood friend
Brittany Burcham, a friend from church, works in the PR Dept. at Jackson Hospital. She came by several times to check on us! She is also the one that put Margaret's picture on the billboard.
My dear friend Melissa McDaniel from church got stuck changing one of Margaret's poopy diapers!
This is Jason's boss, Rick Pate
Michael, Kim, Cade & Carson Horn. Kim & I have been friends since High School...wow, we can say we've been friends for 20 years!
This is Joan Kirk. Mrs. Kirk was my first grade teacher, now she is my next door neighbor!
Dondi Costin, a friend from church. Dondi is a chaplain in the USAF.

This is Carolyn Gibson, she was the Alpha Gamma Delta advisor when I was at Troy and she has remained a dear friend every since:

War Eagle

Uncle Darryl & Aunt Jesi

My brother and sister-in-law came over last night to spend some time with Margaret.

Margaret Jane at One Week Old

Happy Zero Birthday Margaret!

When Eli was born last year a good family friend brought a "Zero" Birthday Cake to the hospital and we had a party for him. We thought it was such a fun idea, we had to have one for Margaret Jane too! It was a fun time and Margaret seemed to enjoy herself as she slept through the entire event. Guests included both sets of Margaret's grandparents, all three of her brothers, one uncle, and of course Josey.

Margaret Jane Walker

September 9, 2008
8:15 AM
8 lbs 15 ozs

No wonder I've been walking funny the past month, this is a big girl!

We did not fix her hair like this, she had a natural curly mohawk!
Just seconds after she was born
Eli seeing his baby sister for the first time
Jason introducing Margaret to her big brothers Hugh & Grant

My new hardwood floors!!!

All of our home-improvement projects are finally coming to an end. This weekend I'm going to take some pics of our beautiful back porch that Jason has worked on tirelessly the past several months. Then Monday my new breakfast table arrives -- about 12 hours before we are due at the hospital! And below are some pics of the hardwood floors we just got put in our den and foyer. I've been waiting over a year for these floors...so I'm just a little excited:)

Sad but True

So, I've got a pinched nerve in my right hip. I'm hobbling around, sometimes even dragging my foot along behind me in order to move. It's not a pretty sight. Of course there are the occasional moans and groans I mumble as I endure the pain that is my life at nearly 9 months pregnant. At the lake this weekend my brother kept laughing at me - laughing with me? No, laughing at me. He told me I am walking like Fred Sanford. The thought of my likeness to Fred has given me a good laugh the past couple days. I guess If I'm Fred Sanford that makes Eli Lamont.

Quote

"I'm not a Republican because I grew up rich. I'm a Republican because I didn't want to spend the rest of my life poor, waiting for the government to rescue me".

Mike Huckabee
Republican National Convention
September 2008

Eli Update

I've had a few folks ask me what Eli is doing new these days so I thought I'd give a quick update. He is 15 months old now and is full steam ahead! He started walking exclusively about 3 weeks ago, at 14 months. Jason says he walks like a drunk man, it is funny to watch. He's been climbing up on everything for a couple months now. He even goes so far as to drag things over in front of what he wants to get up on so give him an extra boost. All of his climbing has led to a couple of spills, but for the most part he is strong and cautious. He is still a big talker, which I just love. His latest thing is to point to his music box in his room or a light or fan and say "turn on". We've been working with him on counting to three, but he seems to skip 'one' and 'two' and go straight to 'three'. At the lake this weekend mother was having to hold him down to get some lotion on him and he wanted to be up and about. She said, "Eli, this won't take long...just count to three and I'll be done". He just looked at her and said, "three". It was funny. Of course he says MaMa and DaDa, he has also said 'Hugh', but hasn't said 'Grant' yet, but does say 'brabra' for brother. He calls Josey 'Daddy', guess the 'J' sound is too tough for him. He still points to my belly and says 'Baby', but he has decided everyone has a baby in their belly. Jason was being silly over the weekend and poking his stomach out and Eli looked at him and pointed to his belly and said, 'baby'. Funny. Jason said it's not going to be very funny to me come December when Eli is still pointing to my belly and saying 'baby'. He's still sleeping great like always. Goes to bed around 7:00PM and gets up between 7 - 8 the next morning. He is gradually going to one big midday nap versus a morning and an afternoon. He has decided to be a bit of a Momma's Boy these days. Calls for me a lot. Sometimes does some fakey crying when he's not getting attention, but gets over it pretty quickly. So, overall, he is still just a sweet, fun, funny baby boy. We're all excited to see how he does with his new baby sister.

Eli the Climber:
Eli the Walker:

Lots of Labor Day Pics

We spent Labor Day weekend at my folks' place on Lake Martin. It was our last big lake trip before Margaret arrives...in ONE week! We had a great time. The weather was beautiful, although the water was a little choppy thanks to the extreme outer bands of Gustav. Jason & Darryl took the boys out tubing and when they weren't swimming, Hugh & Grant spent their time exploring on the beach like a couple of Huck Fins. Margaret, Eli, & I swam some and really enjoyed ourselves in the water. Jason kept Eli in the water for almost two hours Saturday morning and he still didn't want to get out.

Jason & Eli on the boat

Jesi holding EliMother & Daddy enjoying the view from the deck (and blocking Eli from the stairs)
Eli learned how to drive the boat, he's an excellent driver
Okay, everyone keeps telling me I'm not putting enough pics of me on the blog, so here you go. This is me at 9 months pregnant - belly and all!

Eli is his Auburn swimsuit that his Mama Jane (an Auburn grad) got as a gift from the University when her first baby was born (I think that's how the story goes!)
Our three boys in the front yard
Eli and his Daddy Ron
Daddy Ron took Eli to the store and came home with Tootsie Pops. He said Eli really wanted some:)
Eli was proud of himself for something here
Jason took the boys to shoot their bb guns
Pretty shot of the woods at the lake
The boys found a pet turtle that they really had fun playing with (yes, he stayed at the lake)