baby steps

zach got his stitches out and moved up to an aircast that allows him to bear a little weight with the crutches! i'm sure it's a lot easier than holding his foot up and having to hop along. though, allison has enjoyed hopping around on one foot declaring her foot hurts when she wants some attention, too.

so, while allison & i are patiently waiting ona prescription for zach at the local drug store, we whiz around the aisles to see if there is anything at all that i can snag for the next couple days of teacher appreciation week?

new displays of cute, summer items are partially out in one aisle. do i see a sale? yes! grab a 2 for $10 deal. nuts on sale 3 cans for $10? that will work too. great! teacher appreciation days 2 & 3, pain killers for zach..... all in one swoop. maybe we'll get through this week after all.

teacher appreciation day #2

teacher appreciation day #3

where o' where has my little blog gone?

oh where, oh where have I been? well. let me tell you. we saw london, we saw france, we saw francois' underpants.

for spring break we went to visit aunt amy in london. bobo went too. and we saw more of london than we planned for. on saturday we slept for hours upon hours until sunday came. bobo arrived raring to go declaring the best most relaxed plane flight ever. so on a train we hopped to theydon bois for sunday dinner and afternoon at the bull. after a very relaxing day feeding the overfed stuffed duck, playing on a playground, and loving on daisy dog. we, too, stuffed ourselves at the local pub, the bull, on roasts, potatoes, scampi, chips, sausages, yorkshire pudding/circle things, bombs, tarts and ice cream. bobo managed to make it through the day though we all caught her dozing off on the train out to the village merely minutes after her arrival.

monday a.m. came around at a very early 4 o'clock wake-up call. off to the station to board a train to paris. cest la vie! two days of marathon walking, pigeon chasing, carb overloading, and tour de eiffel spotting brought zach back to old memories of living in paris back in 2000-2001.

back to london on tuesday night.

up and out again on wednesday to catch a bus to bristol, england. we haven't seen francois, severine and the girls since davis was 8 weeks old. we had mistaken emilie for her older sister joanne. they had mistaken davis and allison for two years older than they are due to the difference in height between families. the oldest (joanne) and youngest (allison) became fast friends and davis loved the attention of being the only brother and boy among 5 kids. girl crazy that boy is!

francois and sev arranged a babysitter and the parents ran out the door quite quickly for the evening. hooray for charlene! that brave babysitter taking on the three etchanchu sisters and davis and allison. it was a great time for all.

then came thursday. our first day back to london for three days to close out a great week of traveling.

and then came the great screech.

and then the call for an ambulance.

zach wrastled with a taxi and the taxi won. off we go for a trip in the ambulance to the royal london hospital for the next 24 hours. after waiting upon waiting from one queue to another we sprung zach from the nhs and rushed him to a private hospital for immediate care and reattachment of the toes. since then it has been one thing after another. but we are home and in one piece. and we have added "walking sticks" (crutches) to our way of living for the next few months.

well, we've learned where we stand on public healthcare. anyone who wants to support obamacare come sit next to me. i'll be more than glad to fill you in.

oh! and that thing about francois' underpants? well, he likes to eat breakfast in his underwear and he doesn't care who sees. i experienced it for the first time in corsica. and davis quickly pointed it out on thursday morning. "mom! he's in his underwear!"

"well, yes, davis. that's just francois!"

p.s. - i'll try to upload pictures to this post tomorrow.

ouch

last friday we got the call.

that went like this:

"come get your son. there was an accident on the playground. he needs stitches."

my next question went like this:

"zach, do you want to stay here with allison or go get davis?"

zach comes back with davis.

"he doesn't need stitches."

"mmm....i think he does."

an hour later.....

zach says (with a lotta-bit of pride),

"well, NOW davis and i look a lot alike....right down to our matching scar above the eye."

summer work begins

community yard sale today!! we've known about if for two weeks. prepared nothing. i'm using the excuse of "we had vacation bible school all week...." blah. blah. blah. "it's too much work." yeah, yeah, yeah. but zach. now, there's an optimistic thinker for ya.

zach comes home from work on friday asking the kids if they want to put out a lemonade stand in the morning. eager replies from both the littlest optimists. "yeah!", "yay!", "what's a lemonade stand?" they cheer. a little explanation and the preparation begins. davis buys the lemons. allison buys the cups. daddy helps put together the beverage dispenser and mixes the lemonade. mommy helps with the sign.

its friday night. i'm thinking, "do they really know how early shoppers start arriving for a 7 am yard sale?" i think, "not."

its saturday a.m. 6:30 to be exact. and i lie in bed listening to the traffic accumulating on the street. "davis, you ready to get up and start your lemonade stand? it's morning time."

davis replies " its time to sleep, mom."

a few minutes later, davis goes in to wake up zach. the family is up and working on our last minute yard sale venture. one product only. fresh lemonade. chick-fil-a style.

not even out of their pajamas, davis and allison reel in their first sales and customers. not even an hour later, the stand is vacated. workers leave due to exhausted job motivation. cartoons are on. tummies are rumbling. after counting our profits ($20 in just over an hour), and getting dressed, we go out to put some of our money back into the system by shopping the street.

(a hair past 7 a.m.....okay, we're here. where is everybody?)

two hours later, davis wants to put out the lemonade stand again. his parents aren't really up for it. but he shows enough entrepreneurial spirit to convince his mom. obviously, i need to trust his natural business instincts. he grew his business by two more employees and turned a 102% return on investment.

all the kids learned a little work, friendly smile, cheerful waves, strong negotiation, please and thank yous......a successful business makes. not bad for a couple hours on saturday morning.

and it all started with a simple seed from the dad. happy father's day to our own optimistic, supportive, no. 1 venture capitalist!

rise & shine! waiting on our 1st customers:

dad serenades for bigger tips. darby's tail knocks down business sign greeting customers. allison jumps up & down from excitement and not knowing what to do. davis would give it all away for free. customers are on the honor system - drop your money in, take your change, pay however much you want. i can't even describe it to you appropriately:

workers hunger strike:

davis & kayla give it another go:

the company grows:

if allison doesn't drink all the product first:

happiness

5 years

=

3 year old

+

2 year old

=

1 grateful, happy momma

4 a weekend off

thank you! thank you! thank you!

thank you! thank you! thank you!

love you!

love you!

love you!

no likey-likey

zach doesn't like this song (chicken fried, zac brown). he tells me everytime he opens the internet. and then he tells me how much one of his friends loves this song (also everytime he opens the internet.)

how can you not like this song? it is appropriate in so many ways:

1. i just realized the first lyrics of the song and the chick-fil-a reference in the last blog is so fitting. that was SO not planned i promise!

2. it's the perfect summer song. how much fun it would be to still have the jeep and ride around with this song playing.

3. i'm from georgia along with those peaches, pecan pies, sweet tea and southern pines.

4. who doesn't like a cold beer on a friday night?

5. and a good pair of levi's?

6. i love, love, love to sing with the radio up.

7. you better like the love in my eyes.

8. i cherish my precious children's touch.

9. i now (really) know a mother's love.

10. hello? the artist shares your name!

11. i could go on and on.....but i'll end with this. it is the smallest things in life that mean the most.

so if you agree, raise your glass and let's have a toast. you know i'm always up for a drink.

renewal

spring is always a time of renewal for me. new landscaping, newly cleaned house, new crisp sheets on bed, new sunny weather, new longer hours in the day. new outlook.

so far this spring has brought two new crouching tigers, hidden dragons to our house. two crouching, pinching, hitting, whining, biting, pushing, running, wrestling, crying, stomping, spitting, hidden little dragons. who just happen to still be on a sugar-overload from Granmom-the-Great's birthday festivities this weekend.

the kids really aren't this bad. but i am constantly amazed at how quickly a good mood can go sour. then the trickle down effect takes place and immediately spreads to happy kid no. 2.

just today i really noticed how allison is no longer our little baby. gone are the chubby little legs. hello, skinny, bony-legged knees. gone is the little baby belly. hello, skinny long torso. gone is the little quiet and content baby. hello, non-stop running toddler. as an infant, she was so happy to sit in someone's (anyone's!) lap for hours. just to watch what was going on. now? she cannot sit. even when everyone else is winding down, she will be twirling and spinning in the middle of the room to her own rhythm.

she is now only a couple inches shorter than davis. i used to worry when davis would walk by and hit her as a baby. now its davis who crys out, "awison hit me." i used to worry when davis would try to lay on top of her and smush her. now she laughs and smushes back. when i see him pinning her down, i just keep walking by. the girl can hold her own, if she didn't start the fight already. it always ends the same. davis annoys her to the point of her hitting back. or if its really bad, she will reel him in to bite an arm, back, head (yes, head)....whatever she can sink her teeth into. surprisingly, davis does not retaliate. no hitting, pushing, or biting back. just a cry out to mommy to tell on his little sister.

davis. snuggler and cuddler. last week as he was snuggling in my lap, holding hands, he started playing with my wedding rings. he said, "you have rings like daddy's?" "yes, davis. i have wedding rings like daddy." i loved how he made the small connection to his mommy and daddy. and renewed my vows, love for his daddy and our family in one simple sentence.

lost and found

we thought they were lost forever. photos from davis and allison's first trip to the beach. but alas! after a couple of searches we found them. then it just took another couple hours to find a way to unlock the files' properties so we could transfer to discs.

a boy and his dog:

sleeping beauty:

relaxing with daddy:

halloween is just around the corner. davis and allison's costumes are hanging in the closet awaiting a night of fun! all we need now is to buy the candy, ask for candy and eat the candy. :)

merci

4 years of dating

2 dogs

6 foster dogs

5 cars

9 residences

12 trips across the atlantic

who knows how many trips to/from charleston and back

4 years of marriage

2 great kids in 2 dazed years

joyeux anniversaire de mariage