december resolutions

i thought tonight after eating my third (yup third) thanksgiving dinner... that some resolutions need to be made.

- the running must continue with a little more discipline.

- i am going to try and make dinner for the entire week- not one day of fast food/eating out.

- chris and i are going to start some home repair/improvement projects that we have been a little too scared to take on ourselves

we had a great time in mt. juliet with beau and kendra... it was such a spread of food--- i honestly didn't know that i could eat that much!oven roasted turkey, dressing, mac and cheese, sweet potatoes, rolls, cranberry stuff, mashed potatoes, pumpkin pie, pecan pie, it was soooo good! the kids always have such a great time with them- as do chris and i- and it was a great vacation for us away from our overflowing toilet! just kidding-- it really was great- we love getting to spend anytime with them!

we also did one more thanksgiving with our neighbors and their visitors (from canada) tonight- it was great... great food, company, and oh the food. i love thanksgiving! chips and salsa, deep fried turkey, ham, mac and cheese, potato casserole, corn, carrots, salad, dressing, and red velvet cupcakes.

i was thankful for not finding the twenty pounds or so that i lost this year... in one weekend alone... i have found them ALL!

i came home to what????

we arrived home last night, i got home first (before chris) with the kids and jenn, amy, and emmie- it was a bit of a crazy ride home... thanks emmie (she screamed most of the way home) and then we picked up dinner. we (amy, jenn, and i) were planning on feeding kids and doing baths, then it was going to be a couple of well WELL deserved martini's-- key lime to be exact.

then i hear jenn say "uh kara... your bath mat is soaking wet-- is that normal???" what? what did you say? the what is wet? as this is happening amy is attempting to work my can opener for the martini's and it isn't working correctly and giving us quite a difficult time...

so i go to the bathroom and low and behold the toilet is full of water and the mat in front is soaked-- (chris is two hours away enjoying- in the rain/cold- tennessee's last football game of the season) so i flush the toilet thinking that is the right thing to do- and i scream- oh my, oh my, oh whoa, oh- what? are you kidding me? is this really happening? as my toes, floor, bath mats, are full of the water cascading over my toilet-- but... it's all traveling through my floor (via a crack in the tubs grout) to the garage and it's filling up the jet ski that is in the garage... WHAT?

yup... after about twelve towels, several angry phone calls to my husband, and three screaming children (b/c i don't deal with this kind of stuff) i call my dear neighbors husband who comes to my rescue! he finds the plunger, turns off the valve and fixes my nightmare. apparently is wasn't so bad- i mean it didn't go down my halls, into my bedrooms, and through walls and into closets... it just went through the floor onto a pipe and into a jet ski (and it's made for water!) this morning during the clean up chris was a little upset- the cleanup was tedious, but thankfully nothing was damaged (beyond a little repair) and we are all okay.

ella is scared to use that toliet now.

but, kids in beds, and martini's made- it turned out okay- we talked and hung out in the downstairs... a couple more neighbors came over and we had a great relaxing evening.

what i'm thankful for...

we are going to be out of town for thanksgiving- so i thought that i would post a few things that i am thankful for this year...

in no particular order

- my kids nap time- i couldn't live without my daily "me" time from 1-3:30 or 4 and sometimes 5

- my AMAZING husband- i still LIKE him- yup LIKE him as well as love him- he is hilarious!

- my house, messy as it may be, i love every square inch of it- even the one that collects all the dog hair

- i am thankful for the nights that gracie and bubba DON'T sleep with us- oh how they hog the bed!

- i am thankful for my family- all of my family, from my side to chris' i love them all

- my DVR- i couldn't tell you when the last time i watched a commercial

- that it is almost a new year- i love new-

- i am thankful that i have managed to keep off the 25 pounds that i lost sometime back in may/june/july-- i will NEVER see them again!

- my sweet baby girl who tells me all the time that i am the best mommy ever- really??? thanks baby!

- my never slow moving fisher- oh what a spark he has added to my life!

- my neighbors- who would have thought that we would have some of the best friends that we have ever known move in from a different country- and click with us--

- that my sister is happy- the changes that she has made and the leaps of faith she has taken- i hope that she has everything that she has ever needed-

- that jarron is doing well- i miss him like crazy, but i am so proud of him!

okay- the list could go on and on- but you get the point-

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

i got back out and ran!

who would have thought that just waking up in the morning would be the hardest part of the whole "running" thing? kels sent me my text and about 10 minutes later i FINALLY got out of bed. i ran/walked almost 2 miles, but it was COLD this morning... we've had such COLD weather lately, i know it's because kels and i decided to start running, anyway- it was really cold and i still got outside. i was actually sweating in my layers and hat and coat this morning... but it is done. whew-

i felt guilty for my pre-thanksgiving, pizza and those cute christmas trees that little debbie starts putting out- they are going to be the end of me! so i got on the elliptical machine last night and worked out for about 40 minutes- so... we are going to get this running in one way or another!

it's almost thanksgiving!

yeah! after our pre-thanksgiving with ma and pa- i am ready to make it to mt. juliet for beau and kendra's real thanksgiving day with us.







beau and kendra are really important people to us... especially to our kids- ella is so excited that she is going to go to their REAL house and that she doesn't have to eat with pilgrims and indians... (mean ol mom and dad- we've been freaking her out with that idea for about two weeks) ella hasn't been there since she was about 9 months old- fisher has never been there and it will be interesting to see if we get to ever go back.





(these are from the first visit there with ella 9mos.)

we haven't seen them for a while and i always love getting to spend a little time with them... beau seems to make everything just seem alright... while kendra provides some great conversation for me- just to talk about anything with an adult is nice :)

so we are looking forward to a mini-vaca from our house, our mess, and our world- we are going to get to enjoy our kids and friends and for that i am thankful!

ma and pa's house

we took today to visit chris' parents (aka- ma and pa- or when ella is in the mood- reba and john)

it was cold- very cold so we camped out inside most of the day- chris and i helped john chainsaw a dead tree down ( i was the flagger for traffic- one car )and the kids stayed in with ma-

they live on about 20+ acres and it's all wooded and very "smokey mountain-esque" so when chris and john were pulling more logs to cut for wood ella and fisher went out to "help" and had a great time being all outdoorsy.

we had an early thanksgiving dinner and it was great- just enough for the kids to be happy and loved having free run of the house. (fisher was caught standing on the coffeetable several times- but reba was in charge of that :)

we watched the UT game (they finally won a game) and the kids didn't nap great- but made it through with mostly smiles-
Happy Thanksgiving John and Reba- thanks!

our first SNOW!

we got our first "real" snow of the season! it's really early for it... but you know, we'll take it!

having been to the christmas lights at the speedway last night... ella was SO excited that "santa" made snow last night on his way home from the track- fisher was really excited to be in the moment and i even let him walk on the deck without his shoes-- so that he wouldn't want to do it again (haha- mean 'ol momma)

fisher loved the snow... until he got on his winter coat that inhibits his crazy behavior- so he only stayed outside for about 5 minutes.

ella loved it and stayed out for about 30 minutes with our neighbors- and great buddies hannah and sierra!

it was really nice to wake up to and we loved having the snow for the dogs... a real spark comes out in bubba and gracie when there is a little white stuff on the ground.

check up time

today has been a whirlwind of a day.

let me start by saying first that chris and i are NOT co-sleepers. we would not be GOOD co-sleepers (meaning with our children) chris is a snore-er and i LOVE my sleep more than almost anything... so we don't sleep with out kids. now, that being said, lately we have allowed more sleep-overs with ella than i like.
when chris goes out of town, ella and i will have a "slumber party"
we tried to co-sleep with fisher ONCE when he was sick- it didn't go well. nuf said.

well, last night ella woke up crying ( i didn't hear her... i love my sleep) chris brought her to our bed- with a cup of water... then chris goes downstairs to SLEEP ALONE- all the while leaving me with ella ( i am still asleep) then i hear ella burp- then puke- on me, my pillows, my sleep (granted it was just the water that she had been drinking- but still, really)

chris was in trouble... nuf said

so, my run was cancelled... nuf said

then it was doctor time- 10:30 appointment i arrive early- hear that early- see that EARLY!

we waited forever- like always- but they both needed there respective checkups

ella did WONDERFULLY! NOT ONE TEAR- NOT ONE (till the shots came)
fisher didn't like the nurses, but loved the doctor, tears come often and frequent for him... but he pulled through

ella is in the 30% for weight (30lbs) 40% height
fisher is 75% weight(27.5 lbs) 75% height 95% for head circumfrance

both got the flu shot and ella a polio vaccine
and fisher a MMR vaccine

we did lunch, naps, and drove to bristol to meet chris, jenn, emmie, shawn for dinner at La Carretta- then we went to Fantasy in Lights (post more on that later)

the day ended much better than it began- for that i am truely grateful

playgroup wednesday

we had a great day today! we had playgroup here at the house and it was lots of fun-

we had...
melanie- mallory and ethan
margaret- insley
jennifer- emmie
angie- drew

it was nice to have people here and everyone stayed for leftover lunch--

kelsey sent a text this morning passing on the morning run, i was a little disoriented and so i agreed

but at naptime today i got on the elliptical machine for 45 minutes- i watched the biggest loser (hard to sit on the couch during that show!) lifted some light weights and felt better about skipping the run this morning-

so, hopefully tomorrow will be a winner- the kids go to the doctor for ella's 3 year checkup and for fisher's 15 month checkup (one month late) i get to take the kids alone (chris has a meeting) and they are going to a new office, so i will surely post on that tomorrow-

a quick note about the running/walking i am aiming for a good 3-4 times a week run/walk- and just after doing it for a week and a half- it's amazing how much better i feel. the days that i am not doing something oh the guilt and lack of patience with the kids/chris is incredible!

and one more thing- gracie's test came back all good- there is only one more test that we are waiting on- but the vet seems to think that gracie's biggest problem is that she is seven and 60 lbs. not just 60 lbs and not just seven but the combo!

up and running again!

okay... i am not a TRUE runner... but i am on my way. i got up this morning after thinking of several reasons that i shouldn't-
1- it is cold
2- kelsey is a work early and not doing it
3- it was blowing snow
4- we had a windchill of like 13degrees
5- my bed was really warm

then... guilt got me thinking of reasons that i should-
1- kelsey went yesterday and i didn't
2- chris is working late and i won't do it later
3- if i want to run a 5K- at some point i need to run
4- no time like the present
5- my new jams from kelsey

so... i layered myself in lots of clothes, brushed my teeth, chugged some water and hit the road

i couldn't believe how COLD it was! the snowflakes actually stung my face!
but i did get out and run/walk/freeze but just for a 1 mile loop- it's all i could handle

then... fisher slept until 9:30 the morning due to a fever (caused by teeth) and waking up at 2:30 this morning (chris said "oh, i thought that i dreamed that")

then off to "open gym" and they again had a fabulous time!
ella started jumping off of a mat that was about 6 inches from a trampoline- then she started doing forward rolls from the mat! way to go chicken! i was so proud of her!

fisher was going down the slide like a champ- getting into cd's and jumping in the foam pit! very exciting morning!

slow down saturday

i meant to put these pictures up on sat/sunday... but you know how plans go!






anyway- chris thought that it would be a great idea to let the kids play in the cold... leaves... cold... leaves... cold- i don't do well with cold. so... i let daddy take this one- i did make it out to snap a few and chris was very proud of the leaf pile he made. they had a great time and chris always lets them get away with things that i normally wouldn't- according to ella they played tackle and fought over TWO different kid rakes- (doesn't make sense to me either)






i don't know who had more fun- chris or the kids!
-- the running starts again tomorrow in the freezing cold- wish me luck-
kelsey sent ella and i a new mix cd- ahhhh new running material! thanks baby!

miss gracie and friday night

it was a late friday night- we had the second edition of "family game night" with the hollinger family- chris and i learned how to play texas hold 'em and loved it-

but... the evening started out with a trip to the vet with gracie- i found a lump on her belly about 3 weeks ago- i was worried about her but didn't think that it was much to stress about.

then i started putting some other things together about gracie's recent behavior- she is sleeping SO much more and has been very lathargic whenever she was around us. she won't chase a ball, the steps on the deck are starting to become a slow climb, she wouldn't come downstairs at night to be with chris and i, she would just stay under the bed. honestly, she was sleeping more than she was awake- the more that i got to thinking about it the more i started to worry, stress, and get quite ill about the fact my first little girl wasn't feeling great.

so we tried a new vet (boone's creek animal hospital) and he was wonderful. he did a complete blood work-up for her, asked tons of questions, and gave me some really helpful advice. mainly that the lump is just a fatty benign tumor that isn't much to worry about. he wants us to watch it and if it gets bigger or bothers her then we can have it removed.

she weighed in at 59.2 pounds... uh what???? i have been walking her and feeding her soooo much less and she weighs a whopper and a half! she is half of bubba! so... she is going to start the run with me as well- and the vet seemed to think that she might have the early signs of arthritis- so getting weight off is cruicial!

but... there is hope for her and we get her test results back on monday.

then... family game night- texas hold 'em and spades were the games of the night. i made meatball subs for the crew and emmie got to have a true "tennessee bath" with ella and fisher again and spent the night here- the kids all went down well and stayed asleep so that we could party like rockstars!
(you know, adult rockstars that don't get too loud or crazy because we have three sleeping children within 15 feet of us, plus the rockstars that know that we have to get up in the morning and make some wonderful amazing breakfast with babies climbing up our legs and fussing b/c we can't do it fast enough- those rockstars)

we actually played these games till 3 AM it's amazing how time flies when you are playing cards. it was tons of fun and emmie got taken home and slept the rest of the night without too much interruption. thanks guys for a great night with great food and great company!

then, tonight jenn made an amazing dinner of ribs, broccoli salad and potato skins... amazing! thanks again!

it's friday!!!!!!

yeah! it's friday and we have started it off with a bang! i did my run... and i went a little further and ran more than i walked (run a song... walk a song) but this morning i walked a song and ran for two songs! so three runs this week and a couple of walks :)

we went to the 'open gym' this morning (we haven't been there since earlier this year) it was a BLAST! fisher was on full tilt running, jumping, and climbing-- ella seemed more confident in herself than earlier this year swinging on bars, running around, jumping on trampolines and having a great time.

jenn and emmie went as well and emmie's favorite thing... learning from miss ella!

it was a great morning and we even treated ourselves to huge cinnamon rolls (thanks mr. pillsbury man) and they were wonderful!

ella is looking foward to chris being home all weekend at our house... and fisher needs chris home so badly- he's surrounded by women all day, all week, and cries with excitement when chris comes home in the evening!

** mrs. lacey- your whole family is in our thoughts and prayers... i hope that jb is feeling wonderful soon and gets to hearing better- and stops getting those ear infections! good luck and keep us posted! i even thought of you guys as i was running this morning- esp baby!

no running this morning!

well... it was pouring this morning! so... i curled up back in my warm bed and slept for an extra hour and a half! oh... it was so nice. but i knew that i needed to do something to stay in the "running" mindset, so i made a -treasure hunt- card for ella and fisher (to find things around the neighborhood) and i took them on a walk- in the drizzle-- that is how badly we needed to get out of the house!

then after dinner we went on a longer walk- the evening walks are so nice and it wasn't raining here tonight. it was still wet- but it was in the mid 40's tonight! anyway- it is so nice to get out of the house... walk the dogs... and get some fresh air!

hopefully up and running in the morning!

this weekend we are hoping to go and see fantasy in lights at the race track- chris is already playing christmas music!??! really- he sings all evening "joy to the world"! it's fun in our house!

day 2

so it wasn't raining... and i did run! it was a little harder waking up this morning... but i started to feel bad for wanting to stay in bed- however... the text that said "time to get our fat butts out of bed" seemed to work well- (kels and i are using fat as inspiration- not a criticism)

i ran/walked better today than yesterday- it wasn't as cold, but it was much darker this morning- i ran/walked about 2.2 miles and then the "crew" walked again the kids and dogs this evening... so i am sure that today i got in about 3 miles or so. it works for me!

but it was the longest day ever! being up at 6:15am and staying up all day is hard for me... i got so much done today- it was crazy!

well... moving on to day 3- really looking forward to it-

ps- to my man john in "calibama" as ella calls it... thanks for the half as much comment- never thought of that!

and melanie- it's much easier to get up by choice than forced by a screaming/awake/not sleeping child- sorry for you!

i did it!

kels texted "run fat girl run" (it's my motto for this journey) this morning as she promised around 6:15 AM! and i got up brushed my teeth, dressed in my running finest (yoga pants, tennessee t-shirt, scarf, goofy hat, gloves, and jacket) hooked up the mp3 player and rocked out to nelly furtado tell me i was a "maneater"-

it was a gorgeous morning- the sky was all pink and pretty- i haven't been up that early -by choice- in FOREVER! i think i ran somewhere around two miles (run/walk) and i loved it- it was so quite and peaceful-

when i came home chris was helping ella with a diaper issue and he said "did you go?" uh... seriously- i wasn't in bed! "i thought you were mad at me for something and slept downstairs- huh- well... good for you"

thanks for the support sweetie!

now... the real issue- it is supposed to rain the rest of the week- (we are in a drought and the week i choose to start running it's going to rain all week!) do i run in the rain????

starting to run

i will admit it- i am a bit of a trend follower-

i have been trying to be more active and excersice a few times a week- i want ella and fisher to understand the importance of staying healthy throughout their whole little lives.

i am a big advocate of children being involved in sports and outdoor activities (even if it's just a walk around the neighborhood)

so... kelsey and i want to make some changes- and we want to start running- kelsey already did it this morning and i chose to stay in my warm and cozy bed sleeping- but as the day has gone on- i have been jealous that kels got in the first run and i didn't... so i am going to be receiving a "run text" from my sister in the morning, sometime around 6:00am


we agreed that we would both run a 5K - one in johnson city and one in raleigh in the spring! so we are going to start now... run through the winter (when it's the hardest) and then be all cute & pretty in the spring and summer- good luck to us!

our trip to roanoke

i have not been to my parents house since the middle of august for jarron's going away party-

i was very excited to be going- i have a soft spot for my daddy and getting to spend anytime with him and getting to see ella and fisher with him is worth our trip anytime. dad got called to work on saturday morning before the zoo and came home sunday long enough to make chris' favorite biscuits and "jimmy gravy" ella got to show pop-pop some of her dance moves and her love of sparkly dresses... and fisher was himself- climbing on things going up and DOWN the stairs and just wanting to look at dad- (they look lots alike- but i have no pictures :()

this trip had an extra bonus- kelsey and jopo were in town as well... we got in late on friday and fisher woke up a little disoriented to say the least. ella understood but fisher was really confused by rocky, annabelle, kelsey, jopo, nanny and pop-pop wanting to see him-

saturday morning we went to the mill mountain zoo- (nanny has three favorite places of all time- 1-the beach 2-carvins cove 3- mill mountain zoo) check one off the list! fisher loves to go anywhere that he can run freely- ella will go anywhere that taylor is going- so... win win nanny happy, fisher happy, ella happy = chris and kara happy!



it was a beautiful day and denise-jeremy- taylor and jase met up with us at the zoo- ella and taylor were thrilled to see each other and the boys were off and running-





kelsey and jopo were extra added bodyguards for fisher and ella and i am always excited to get to see my sister(fighting tears- i miss her a little too much) i think that this was the longest that we had EVER gone without seeing each other!







the zoo was amazing and the kids loved every square inch of the place- the leaves,the breeze, the animals, the open space,
the constant "look at this" it was amazing-








it's great to watch fisher understanding things more- he really liked watching the animals and roaming all over the place- he is at a great age!









i have mostly butt shots of the kids- they stayed on the go!

the zoo has a playground now- and they all took turns going down the slide- fisher willing to try anything was great- he is almost dangerous-








*a side note- we finally convince ella that she should go down the slide- i am going to take her and taylor both- her croc boot gets stuck on the way down and bends her poor little leg back pretty far and quite disgusting looking- our luck- we get chicken on the slide and this would happen-she will make it though-






ruby the tiger was an attraction to the zoo a while ago (back when i was a kid)- she passed away and this is the memorial for her- the kids loved playing on it.





we rode the train that circles the zoo for our grande finale!





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after the zoo we went to lunch at our favorite macadoo's

then the kids went to take naps and mom kelsey and i got in some much needed girl time and hit the mall for some limited (the store) therapy- it was one of the first times that i have ever been in that store and not bought something! i got a little christmas shopping started for ella and fisher in the disney store-

after dinner ella and nanny had a tea party (with orange juice) and ella loved it- she got to wear a hat that belonged to my great-great grandmother- it was a great trip



*another side note- for the first time ever- i won (two times) playing Phase 10- kels, jopo, and chris- don't call it a comeback and i challenge you to another game anytime!

*also... kelsey and i are going to run 2 5K's in the spring- one in johnson city and one in raliegh- i will keep you posted on our progress!