Rafting down the Nile vs. Tweetsie Railroad

Last Saturday we finally got brave enough to take the kids to an amusement park of sorts. While we were braving cowboys and Indians fighting to save balloon man, my sister was rafting down the Nile fighting off crocodiles and snakes. I think both my sister and I had moments of terror during our trips, but we both survived and lived to blog about it. See( http://home.olemiss.edu/~mshannon/Megan_Shannon/Peace_and_Carrots/Entries/2009/7/11_Sit_back%2C_relax%2C_and_enjoy_da_Nile....html) for my sister's blog about her rafting trip down the Nile.

The amusement park we went to was called Tweetsie Railroad and as the name implies, the main attraction is a real, live train. We took the train around the mountain and saw a staged scenario of cowboys fighting Indians to rescue balloon man, who was captured for ransom by the Indians. While the acting was worse than what is seen on The Hills, I was really proud of the kids for not getting scared of the fake gun shots. They must be immune to the sound of gun shots, growing up in Clemmons and all :). The kids also went on the carousel, some airplane ride, and on a small train into the mouse mine. But of all the attractions, their favorite thing was the slide on the playground. Not even a fancy slide or playground, pretty much your run-of-the-mill park playground that is about 1/2 mile away from our house. But isn't that how it always goes!

Conner, Chris, carouselNotice the train in the background, that's TweetsieLizzie training to be a fighter pilot

Straight from Wisteria Lane

Pretty sure that this will be a storyline for the next season of Desperate Housewives. Tonight, after the sun had set, Chris and I began a mission. The details are as follows: fill a trash can with water, tape the top of the trash can down with painter's tape (yes, duct tape would have worked much better but we couldn't find any), wait for the neighbors to start wondering what we are keeping captive in the trash can. What, you ask, is in the can- I'll never tell.

Snack bowl

I don't know why but when the kids get home from daycare they are starving! Perhaps its because daycare doesn't serve them adult-sized meals (which is what they would consume if given the opportunity). As soon as we get home they head straight to the cabinet holding snacks and proceed to point and whine at the cabinet until the cabinet relinquishes some treats. So, hence, the snack bowl was born. My sister laughed when I told her that Conner and Lizzie have a snack bowl everyday after school, mainly because she wished someone would prepare a snack bowl for her. Its nothing fancy, just a regular bowl filled with things such as graham crackers in the shape of bunnies (much preferred over the ones in the shape of bears), pretzels, and if I am ready for a mess, blueberries and strawberries. The other day I heard a crash and came in to find the snack bowl in multiple pieces. Conner must have tried to throw the snack bowl (probably at his sister) and broke the bowl. To make it worse, Conner was chomping down on one big piece of the snack bowl! Don't worry, no harm was done. But a lesson was learned, only the contents of the snack bowl are edible and not the bowl itself!

Pomp and Circumstance

As hard as it is for me to believe, my baby sister Lauren graduated from high school!  In my mind she is still the blonde little girl sitting on her rocking chair, selling duplicate beanie babies on the corner of our street.  Its amazing how fast time goes by and it seems to go by way too fast when you don't get to see your loved ones everyday. I'm so proud of Lauren- she has a great spirit about her and has the ability to bring joy to so many peoples' lives. And I must say, she has a way with Conner- that boy is just crazy about his auntie Lauren. I think he already is showing a preference for tall, leggy leggy blondes. 

We had a great time in Nebraska but it just went by way too fast. Made me realize how unfortunate it is that the twins live so far away from both sets of their grandparents. While I too often discount living in Nebraska, there were moments that really had me taken aback when I was home. One was watching Conner, in nothing but his diaper, being pushed around in a wheelbarrow on the farm. It was the epitome of being a kid. Another moment came when I was picking asparagus and came upon a stalk of asparagus, standing perfectly straight out of the ground. Its always amazing when you get to see the food that you just pick up from the grocery store growing in its natural habitat. Now, if I do make it back to Nebraska in the winter I might not have as many fond memories to report from that trip. Its freakin' cold there!

Barrel of Monkeys

Spring has sprung and along with the arrival of flowers, I do believe two monkeys have inhabited my house.  These monkeys come with an intense love of bananas, great climbing abilities, and the use of hands as eating utensils. Fortunately, slinging of feces has not occurred yet.  Here are a few pictures of my cute monkeys:

Ode to Mom

I was sitting in a lecture a few weeks ago about troubled teens and a program designed to prevent problem behaviors through behavioral therapy. One woman asked if this was the right approach and if a better approach may be therapy with the parents. Well, I think this woman was on to something. Perhaps the kids are troubled because they aren't receiving the parental support at home needed to keep them on the straight and narrow. As today is the day we celebrate the mothers in our lives, and this being only my second year of celebrating motherhood, I want to give a big thanks to my Mom! So far, I think I've been a pretty good mom. Though the twins can't give you affirmation through words on that, they do say ma ma a lot and are always really happy to see me when I pick them up at daycare.  All in all, I would say that they are pretty fond of me. And for this success in becoming a mom of my own, I owe a big thanks to my Mom. You did what I imagine to be an impossible task and raised two girls as a single mother. And, you raised two girls who were only 15 months apart!  The twins are now 15 months old and I can't even imagine what it would be like to have another baby to take care of at this point.  Any success I have in being a mother is owed to you, for giving me the foundation needed to build a family upon. I love you!  

Granola with Greek yogurt and strawberries