long lost locks

So I did locks of love--as you can see--and she cut a LOT off the back. i donated 10 1/2 inches but probably she could have done 12 inches because she KEPT CUTTING! At any rate it's short. Another nice part of the story--aside from some child getting a wig is that a lady who was getting her hair done at the same time who had two sisters who had lost their hair to cancer offered to pay for my haircut. Thanks Ms. Jacks!!

halloween fun

Today we tried to have some fun with Cameron (poor helpless baby) and keep him warm with some costumes. He didn't like it too much. We also carved a few pumpkins which Heather liked scooping--charlie not so much and Cameron will not be modeling the latest pumpkin styles. In his defense it may have been a little chilly inside the pumpkin which had been outside. My sister came today for a few days and Heather apparently charged off the bus into her arms with a big hug. Much better reactino than I usually get off the bus...

Charlie is so smart...

Today he said, "mom, you're the best mom in the whole wide world!" I simply had to agree.

Saturday as we shopped for some Azores stuff Jeff commented that we would be in OH in 4 weeks. I was so overwhelemed I told him he was wrong and tried to count the weekends to show him but he was NOT wrong. I started thinking about how hard it is for me to make good friends and how much I count on my friends to help out in a pinch with the kids or if I need something--as well as how much I like having friends that I know count on me as well. Although I'l already far from so many friends and all of our family already it's still sad to be leaving the friends we have here. I think I haven't really had time to think about leaving friends because there is so much stuff to cull through and do before we leave. So I think I'll blog some more...


Cameron has been extra fussy the last two days. Well yesterday he slept almost all day and today he fussed a lot and barely nursed. He spit up buckets the first two feedings and then barely ate the rest of the day. I'm hoping he'll wake up better tomorrow. It's been chilly here so we've bundled up for soccer practice and games the last two days and made good use of small halloween costumes that Cameron will not be wearing this year...tis the season.

louisiana guest and mississippi accent

Jeff and our friend Josh (who co-officiated our wedding) drove back from New Orleans yesterday and Josh visited for about 20 hours before heading back. We got some time while the kids were sleeping/in school to play a few games and just talk. It made me miss our close friends who we are far away from sooo much!! Then this evening we got a calendar from one of my college friends that was BEAUTIFUL with pictures of the 5 of us who were best buddies and our families. It was a total Wooster day today!!

An example of Heather's accent which many will not get to experience...riding home in the car today she told me that Mr. "Heel" had come to the pick up line because kids were being loud. I laughed because a friend of mine had told me the day before that her son talked about Mr. "Heel" the principal--who is actually Mr. Hill. I did get Heather to say it correctly...she then went on to tell me that she saaay-ed (said) something about her fray-end (friend)...I think mostly she makes one syllable words into two which gives her words the drawl effect. We really have to get it on video...

soccer and smiles

Heather had her first soccer game of the season and it seemed to go really well. Heather had a good time running after the ball and kicked it a few times. Most of the kids got the idea and aside from a few kicking the ball the wrong way it was a pretty good "game". Charlie enjoyed running around the baseball field with his friend during the game and Cameron is not much of a soccer fan as he slept through it!

I thought Cameron gave me a smile yesterday amidst his crying. Unfortunately I'm not the kind of mom that knows exactly what is going on with the kids so I don't automatically assign their first word to a random sound at 9 months or proclaim them potty trained too early! I will say when he gets his smile in gear (if it isn't already) it is very cute and his dimples just make me laugh.

Tonight is my "single mom" night. Jeff took the car to get shipped off to the Azores and will be gone overnight. After soccer cameron continued to sleep which allowed me to get the other two showers, a snack, and a movie--treat to all of us!!--while I put away dishes and one load of laundry. Cameron slept right up until storytime where he nursed and fell back asleep. For the moment it's almost 9 pm and 3 kids are sleeping--what am I doing?!

five weeks and crying

Cameron discovered his lungs in the last week or so. He's been a lot crankier in the evenings and when he's not falling asleep easily. We started a pacifier and he's not sure about it--especially for me. He seems to have some stomach issues as he is puking a LOT once every other day but not anything at other times...i guess we'll figure it out. On a brighter note Jeff's mom was here for 5 days and the kids had a lot of fun with her. We didn't do anything really special but she got to go to soccer practices, the pumkin patch, and school among other things.

Charlie liked his first soccer on Thursday. He initially freaked out but once I helped him with the stations he was into it and did really well. He practiced dribbling, throw ins, kicking and stopping the ball. he was willing to share and take turns well. Heather and Jeff had practice as well but I missed out on most of it due to Charlie's practice.

We had a conference with Heather's teacher on Friday and of course she said wonderful things about Heather and showed us paper after paper of 100% except for the "spelling" which was a 66% (she takes after her mom) OK it's not that bad there were only 3 words and the one she missed she probably mis-heard the end of the word because the first two letters were right and the third was wrong but did make a word. She also said that Heather was often one of the first to get the treasure box every week (meaning she was one of the best behaved...) which I commented to Jeff--how many parents are one of the two she calls first every week? Jeff asked Heather later who was first to pick treasure box last week and she said that it was her...They are doing more than I realized in school and I'm not as unhappy as I was previously about what she was getting out of school.

I enjoyed a baby shower on Saturday--haven't seen a "diaper cake" in a long time so I decided to go that route--of course the hostess had made one that looked like a diaper castle (really a cake but a REALLY good one) and made mine look like a diaper shack. Oh well--they still take care of the same XXXX. Sunday we met up with some friends to carve pumpkins and make scarecrows which was really fun on a beautiful afternoon.

One good reason to get out of MS is the accent my daughter has picked up. It is just getting more and more southern every day and it's really driving me crazy! I try to show her how she sounds but she doesn't get it. Not ony is she "fixin" to do things she's fixin to do them in a southern slangy way. You have to hear it to understand...

one month old

i still have a few hours to make the one month blog. Since I gave a thorough update yesterday I'll post my "one month" pictures to tell the story. Of course Cameron didn't cooperate with pictures most of the day--he was alert and happy toward the evening to pose for some photo ops--the last doing the "sprinkler dance" similar to that of some college friends...