Carr Chronicle

A Glance Towards Summer

2011-01-30T18:20:00.011-05:00

With Kevin sick with strep since Thursday, and the cold outside temperatures driving us inside for long stretches at a time, I decided it would be well worth our time to spend a couple of hours at the gym. I first dropped the boys off in their respective kids' play areas, then headed to the cardio floor for my own workout. After 45 minutes on the elliptical and treadmill, I collected my boys and headed to the indoor pool. Even if it's for only a short time, they enjoy the chance to splash around, jump off the diving board, and show off their skills in the pool.

This time around, as Nick was doing his usual routine of climbing out of the pool then climbing back down the steps to jump into my arms, he discovered the foam pool noodles. After grabbing one and jumping back in, his bravery kicked in and he put the noodle under his arms and started kicking around the pool. This was a great rememberance of the fun from last summer and a glance toward what is sure to be a summer filled with fun and exciting firsts.

Goodbye to the Old, Hello to the New

2011-01-09T13:55:00.015-05:00

It's been more than a year since I last posted on the Carr Chronicle family blog. As I created a web site for my classroom on Shutterfly, I also made one for the family there and stopped updating this one. Well, with the start of 2011, I decided to undertake a specific blogging project. I created a blog for my 365 Picture-a-day project here on Blogger (you can see the link for it on the side bar.) Since I was already going to that site daily, I decided to resurrect this blog, as well as my weight loss blog (as I started back to Weight Watchers this week) to document my thoughts, struggles, and successes on my weight loss journey.

I was going to post some pictures from each month since last I posted, but that was going to be way too many pictures. So, I decided to just post Christmas and New Year's pictures. Enjoy a glimpse of the holidays with the Carrs.

Christmas Eve Traditions

Christmas Eve dinner is Shepherd's Pie at Liam's request.

Kevin's Gingerbread House Project

Nick didn't contribute much effort in decorating the gingerbread house, but he'll make up for it when it comes time to eat it!

The best Gingerbread House yet.

This year's new tradition, a Christmas Eve gift. We got a new game to play during game time.

The boys are excited to get Jenga Max and can't wait to see what it's all about a little later in the night.

Making reindeer food: oats and colored sugar. This way, Santa's reindeer can find our house.

Liam strings cranberries and popcorn for one of the trees in the front of the house.

Ben has a go at stringing cranberries and popcorn.

Nick is more interested in eating the popcorn.

The boys didn't last long enough to make a lot of strands of popcorn and cranberries, but it was a fun craft and a nice entrance to our walkway.

Carolyn and the boys are making salt dough ornaments that will be part of our gifts to the families.

Ben makes his apple santa.

Liam makes his apple santa.

A finished Apple Santa.

Liam is sprinkling reindeer food in the front yard.

Nick dumps his reindeer food.

Ben sprinkles his reindeer food. He makes sure to put some in the yard next door so Santa doesn't forget to go there, too.

The boys hang the Santa Key on the front door so that Santa can get into our house, since we don't have a fireplace.

Our three handsome boys ready for bed so Santa can visit.

Cookies and milk for Santa and carrots for the reindeer.

Our last craft was snowflakes on the gift bags, made from each of the boys' hand prints and blue glitter.

Christmas Day

Our tree with gifts and stockings from Santa, as well as presents from Mom and Dad.

Kevin helps Sadie open the treats from her stocking.

Ben was excited to get the Tron light cycle from Santa.

Liam received the newest Guinness World Records book.

Carolyn helps Nick open his Max and Ruby dolls from Santa.

Liam plays Santa and hands out the gifts when more family arrives for breakfast and presents.

Christmas with the Englishes

On Sunday, we traveled to Mansfield to have Christmas with the Englishes. That's a lot of presents when there are 3 families with 6 adults and 8 grandchildren.

Nick and Ben hang out with their new cousin, Avery.

The whole gang in the chaos that is opening presents.

New Year's Eve

We enjoy having family to our house on New Year's Eve. Carolyn makes snacks and everyone else brings something, too. Then we play games until just before midnight. At midnight, we watch the ball drop and then pretty much everyone is ready to head home to bed.

New Year's Eve snacks.

Carolyn's favorites: Lil' smokies, dumplings, buffalo chicken dip, and spinach dip.

Kevin's parents (Nee Nee and Papa) with Nick.

Kevin and Carolyn ring in 2011.

Liam and Ben toast the start of a new year.

Fall Camping

2009-10-31T14:15:00.005-04:00

One of the best things about living in the Midwest is the colors of the Fall foliage where we live. Being the adventurous family that we are, we decided that one last camping trip was in order before Winter sets in. We headed to Geneva Hills, the church camp that Kevin attended growing up. I pitched the tent, in the rain I might add, and Kevin built a fire. The boys played in the woods and we enjoyed the beautiful Fall day.

Unfortunately, because of how young Nick is (that he wouldn't be able to settle down to sleep in the tent) I took him back home after dinner and Kevin, Liam and Ben stayed at the campsite in the tent. The next morning, Nick and I headed back to Geneva Hills to take a hike with the whole family.

The Family at Needle Rock (thanks to my tripod)

Nick did a great job on the hike

Kevin, Ben and Liam lead the way to Needle Rock

Liam and Ben enjoying the campfire

Daddy and Nick settling in

The big boys help Daddy get the campfire going

The view from our campsite

More colorful foliage

Our tent, with the extra tarp just in case the rain returns

Happy Halloween!

2009-10-31T13:29:00.012-04:00

Pumpkin Hunting

Kuhlwein's Farm

Liam, Kevin, Nick, Grammy and Ben on the wagon ready to head out to the pumpkin patch.

Liam and Ben leading us through the corn maze.

Daddy gives Nick a lift through the corn maze.

Searching for the perfect pumpkins.

Liam with his pumpkins.

Carving the Pumpkins

Nick is more than happy to just play with his pumpkin.

Liam scooping the "guts" out of his pumpkin.

Ben gets his pumpkin ready for carving.

Kevin's finished pumpkin.

Trick-or-Treat Time

The Carr family ready for Trick-or-Treating.

My Three Happy Boys

Mommy is dressed as a gym teacher

Daddy is dressed as Jason Voorhees from the "Friday the 13th" movies.

Nick is our little pumpkin

Liam is dressed as a Zombie Ninja

Ben is Cartoon Network's "Johnny Test"

Back to School

2009-09-27T23:08:00.007-04:00

So we've officially been back to school for about a month now. Liam is now in Third Grade, Ben is in First Grade, and I have started my first year as a First Grade teacher. And, as always, Kevin is working from home as a film critic and spending the day taking care of Nick.

A week before the end of school last year, I found out that I would be changing assignments and changing schools. It was quite a shock to me and everyone else I taught with. There were some shake-ups in other areas of the district that caused a domino effect, and my movement was one of those unexpected moves.

At first, I was really upset. Then, I became incredibly nervous about what this move would mean. I pretty much spent all summer obsessing about it, driving my poor husband crazy. Then about three weeks before school started, I was able to get into my new classroom and start getting settled.

Fast-forward a month and I'm finally feeling comfortable in my new place. I think it'll take all year until I'm confident about what I'm doing. Everything I do and teach is new to me (except Reading-but even that has its newness because I'm teaching such varying levels of readers.) As much as I'm enjoying this new challenge and learning right along with my 22 little kiddos, I'll be glad when this first year is over so that I'll feel a little more confident about what it's all about and what I'm doing.

In the meantime, here's a glimpse into Back to School 2009-2010.

First Day of School

Liam and Ben heading to the bus stop.

Liam and Ben wait for the bus on the first day of school, 2009-2010.

Liam-Third Grade

Ben-First Grade

Carolyn-First day as a First Grade Teacher

My Classroom

Welcome to First Grade!

My room feels so bare compared to the rooms of the other first grade teachers. Since I'm really just starting out, I have a lot of empty shelves. I don't have a lot of books for my classroom library, so I'm doing a lot of checking out of books from the public libraries. These are pictures from the first week of school, and I've re-arranged my room three times since these pictures were taken.

Hilton Head Vacation 2009

2009-07-12T20:54:00.011-04:00

One of the great benefits of being a teacher and having a husband who can work from anywhere that he can find an internet connection, is that we are able to take family vacations in the summer. This year, we took a return trip to Hilton Head Island, South Carolina.

Nicholas and "Bear" settle in for the drive to SC.

Liam and Ben, veteran travelers, fall asleep somewhat comfortably in the back seat.

Nick, Liam and Ben hanging out after breakfast at a Cracker Barrel on the way to Hilton Head.

Liam and Ben on the balcony of our condo after having breakfast with Daddy on our first morning in Hilton Head.

Ben, very happy to be at the beach.

Liam makes his way into the ocean, with Daddy a little farther out.

Nick wasn't terribly happy about being left to his own devices in the sand. He got over it eventually and joined the rest of the boys in playing in the sand.

Mommy with Ben, Liam and Nick enjoying the beach.

One of the benefits of staying at a timeshare is that there is not only access to the beach, but also the easy availability of a pool. Not surprisingly, time was spent every day at one of the two resort pools.

Nick LOVED his panda bear floatie. He was quite happy to just ride around the pool as long as someone would pull him around.

Liam and Ben enjoyed spending as much time as possible in the pool. Mom and Dad took turns supervising pool time while the other one took Nick back to the room for a nap.

Liam, in mid-jump.

Ben, ready to make a splash.

We even made use of one of the grills that surround the pool to cook hot dogs and have lunch poolside. The boys preferred the smaller pool that was much less crowded and had some shaded areas.

Kevin and I rented a bicycle to use for the week. We took turns taking daily rides, including a ride to the beach (which took about 20 minutes each way.) I even rode to the grocery store a couple of times. Plans are in the making to purchase our own bikes here at home! (After all, I lost 5 pounds while on vacation!)

We decided to take advantage of some of the extra activities that are available on the island. There were activities that were organized for just the kids within the resort, but the boys weren't as interested in those as they were in the activities that we could do as a family. The first family activity we did was the 2-hr Dolphin Eco Tour. We were the only family on the boat and got to see some dolphins swimming nearby. They are too quick to get very good photos of, though.

Captain Wayne gave Liam and Ben a shot at driving the boat. Here's Liam during his turn at driving. He took it very seriously.

Nick was preoccupied with the rope that the captain would later tie to the dock.

Ben had a great time hanging out on the bow of the boat and watching for dolphins.

Nick got his sea legs pretty easily.

One of many beautiful sunsets we witnessed from our balcony this week.

Another of the activities we took part in was a sunset kayaking tour. We had planned to have Kevin take Liam on one night, and I would take Ben on the next night. However, when Kevin and Liam went for their turn, the parking in Harbour Town (where the tour was to leave from) was ridiculous and they couldn't find a place to park, and therefore missed their tour. After Kevin spoke with the manager at the resort about this problem, they removed Kevin and Liam's charge and paid for me to take both boys on the next night. It was disappointing that Kevin didn't get to go, but at least the boys did.

The view of the Harbour Town light house (which isn't a real light house, but a museum and gift shop) from our kayak.

Liam and Ben are at the front of the kayak while Mom is in the back. Liam helped row at times, but it was mostly my job. Luckily, the guide spent a lot of time talking and drifting, so the paddling wasn't very taxing.

Ben and Liam in front of our orange 3-person kayak. I think they had a good time, though Liam would have preferred the chance to pilot his own kayak. But, since he got tired with the little amount of paddling he did do, I don't think he would have been able to handle one all on his own. Maybe in a couple of years.

After leaving Hilton Head on the 4th of July, we headed to the mainland to stay with Nick and Roxane, who are the ones who rented the timeshare to us. They invited us to join them at a cookout with some friends from church. We had a good time, but it was quite hot and Nick only lasts so long before he hits his wall and needs his bed.

Nick carries around one of the Bocce balls after the first game finished and we were getting ready for dinner.

Liam, Nick and Ben took a turn in the hammock too. (Sorry it's so blurry, but I took this quick shot with my iPhone and if you don't sit perfectly still, nothing is clear.)

On the last leg of our journey home, we stopped in Newton, North Carolina to visit our wonderful friends, the Watsons. We spent a couple of hours catching up and had a nice little cookout. "Little Ben" had a great time playing with Liam and "Big Ben" while Nick caught a nap and Clara wrapped the rest of us aorund her little finger. My favorite Leah quote, "Who would have thought when Kevin and Mark were at Geneva Hills as teenagers, that between the two of them they would have 5 kids!" Just goes to show you that the best things in life are not what we'd ever expect!

Nicholas Turns 1 Year Old!

2009-05-17T18:00:00.010-04:00

Well, it's been quite a while since my last post. Sorry to all 2 of you who follow this blog. I won't bother to catch up on the time that I've missed. I'll just start now and make an attempt to keep up in the future.

Little Mr. Nick is all smiles (almost) all the time.

Taking his first tentative steps.

During our Spring Break trip to Texas, we stopped at Dinosaur World in Cave City, KY.

What a sweet little boy. He always sleeps the same way, against the short end of his crib.

Opening presents at his 1st birthday party.

Yum! Chocolate cake with chocolate frosting, baked just for me by my Daddy!

What could be better than being given the green light to just dig into cake?

That's right, I did it!

Let the cleanup begin!

Nicholas is now 1 Year Old! He has grown so much in this year. He's taking some tentative steps, but still prefers crawling. He's close to making his noises sound like "Mama". He has a bunch of teeth and uses them well with all the big-boy food he can get. He's starting to experience some separation anxiety when Daddy leaves him with Grammy for an hour on Friday mornings. And cutest of all are his grins. His immediate grin when we get him up from his naps, the way he hams it up for the camera, and the way his face lights up with delight when he sees his big brother Liam. Our adventures with our little man, "Nick Nack", "Nickle Pickle", our Nicholas Ronon are just beginning.

Happy Holidays Indeed!

2009-01-02T03:27:00.011-05:00

Christmas Eve in Mansfield with my brothers and their children.

Nana loves having all her grandchildren around her.
There are 6 with another on the way this month.

My sister-in-law Becky helped Nick with opening his presents.

He's a natural. He knew what to do right away.

Ben and Liam opening gifts Christmas morning.
They were quite surprised when they both received two coveted, hard-to-find Bakugan toys.

Nick's first Christmas.

He doesn't know quite what to think of all the activity in the house.

Of course, to a 7-month-old, the packaging is much more exciting than the actual gift.

Nick gets quite a kick out of his new rocking giraffe.

A post-Christmas outing to Chuck E. Cheese.

The Carr Family rings in the New Year.

Ben, Nick and Liam wish you all a wonderful 2009!

We ring in 2009 with some wonderful Christmas memories to cherish for our family. Our original plan was to leave the day after Christmas to visit friends in Texas. However, when Liam came down with strep on Monday before Christmas, we decided to cancel our trip. We were all devastated, but the promise of some quality family activities, including a trip to Chuck E. Cheese, and a promise to merely postpone our trip until Spring or Summer helped to ease the disappointment.

As usual, we spent Christmas Eve in Mansfield with my family, then came home so that the boys could wake up in their own beds Christmas morning. We spent the day opening gifts and spending time with Kevin's family. New Year's Eve brought a small gathering of family to our house. What a great way to welcome a new year.

A Merry Little Christmas

2008-12-24T02:18:00.006-05:00

Liam, Benjamin, and Nicholas are all ready for Christmas.

Daddy tickles Nick to get a grin.

Mommy and Nick are ready to go find our tree.

Liam, Ben and Daddy show off our tree.

This year's tree all decorated.
It's not as tall as previous years, but it makes up for it in width.

Kevin baked the gingerbread house and helps the boys put the candy decorations on it.

The completed gingerbread house. Daddy is quite talented.

Mommy took the day off to chaperone Liam's 2nd grade class when they went to see The Nutcracker.
It's quite different to go on a field trip as a parent rather than a teacher.

Well, it's Christmas Eve here at the Carr house. It's been a crazy couple of months. I've been busy with work, the kids, having a sinus infection, lapsing in my daily gym routine, and taking a Graduate class at Ohio State. This weekend alone brought its own challenges. Monday afternoon Liam was diagnosed with strep. Our much anticipated trip to Texas the day after Christmas has been canceled. A huge disappointment for all. But with such a large incubation window, we just couldn't take the chance that we'd be in the middle of Arkansas when strep struck Nick, Ben, Kevin or myself. Not to mention the risks of bringing the illness into our friends' home. So, the trip has merely been postponed until the next available vacation period.

With the tasks of catching up on laundry and packing taken out of the list of things to do by Christmas, you'd think that everything would seem easier. Nah! I'm still the Queen of Procrastination! I'll be cleaning until the very last moment before I have to jump into the shower to get ready for our annual Christmas Eve trip up to my parents' house. Then it's back home to get the boys to bed so that Santa can come. And finally, it's a very busy Christmas day filled with family, presents, food, and hopefully some fun. The holiday season will pass all too quickly, so I intend to enjoy every minute. And with those adorable faces greeting me each day how could I not?

Merry Christmas and a Joyous 2009!

My Little Pumpkins

2008-10-31T22:50:00.015-04:00

Okay, I'm barely squeaking in under the wire of October (my goal being to post at least one blog per month.) But in my own defense I've been incredibly busy. Not only am I working full-time, raising three kids and trying to get healthy and lose weight--all on a daily basis--but I am also busy with other things. I'm starting to work on my Master's Degree, anxiously awaiting the outcome of next week's election, not only so that all this political junk can be over with, but also because my school district has a levy on the ballot, which if it fails I have to figure out what direction I'll be taking next because my position will be eliminated, plus I'm on a district-level committee that is going to involve a lot of research and monthly meetings. Oh, and of course there's my recent addiction to Facebook. "Are you insane?" you say. Not totally. At least I'm not bored! Although my sciatic nerve isn't too happy about all the stress.

Well, enough updates about me, how about my gorgeous boys? Here are some pics from the recent weeks. Liam and Ben are both loving school and becoming smarter by the minute. Nick is sleeping, eating, and growing. He's on the verge of crawling, I can tell. He rolls all over and will occasionally scrunch his knees up under himself. Bring on the baby gates! And Kevin? He's enjoy the uninterrupted work time that Nick's sleeping schedule allows him to work on his many projects. And in between all that watching movies and writing reviews, writing some book proposals, and cooking some delicious family meals. What more could a girl ask for?

AN AFTERNOON OF HIKING AT GENEVA HILLS

The whole family takes a moment to rest at the base of Needle Rock, which Daddy, Liam and Ben climbed while Mommy and Nick watched from below.

Daddy, Liam and Ben on Needle Rock
(Yes, that's Ben's slightly frightened face. But he got over it.)

Walking through the Woods

What a beautiful fall day!

PUMPKIN HUNTING AT KUHLWEIN'S FARMS

Liam, Ben, Nick and Daddy on the hay wagon ready to head to the pumpkin patch to pick our own pumpkins.

Ben found his pumpkin.

Liam's happy with his choice.

Even Nicholas got a pumpkin of his very own.

CARVING PUMPKINS

Liam and Ben scoop out the pumpkin 'guts.'

Daddy does the actually carving (from the boys' own drawings.)

Daddy's, Mommy's, and Nick's jack-o-lanterns

Liam and Ben's jack-o-lanterns

TRICK-OR-TREAT AT GRAMMY'S HOUSE

Nicholas with Great-Grammy before trick-or-treating

The boys all dressed up and ready to go.
Liam is "Indiana Jones", Ben is "Ben 10", and Nick is "Superman"

Liam's bold and brave "Indiana Jones"

Ben's alien fighting "Ben 10"

Nick as the 'classic' hero "Superman" (or "Superbaby" in this case)

Time For Fall

2008-09-15T09:50:00.009-04:00

Ben and Liam love their baby brother!

Nick enjoys bath time a lot more than Liam and Ben did at that age.

What a sweet little smile.

Fall has gotten off to a busy start. Both Liam and Ben are in school all day, Carolyn is back to work full-time, and Kevin is keeping busy with Nicholas at home as well as his various writing projects. It seems like we have something going on every day and the weekends too.

Liam and Ben (and Sadie) heading to the bus on the first day of school.

Ben recently lost his first tooth and Liam lost his 7th. Nicholas is now 4 months old and has started rolling over. He goes back to front pretty smoothly, but kind of gets stuck there and doesn't know how to get back. Ah well, all in good time.

Liam started playing soccer this fall for Upward. We're really glad we found this league. It is sponsored by a local church, while the players don't have to be members of the church, all the coaches are. In addition to soccer practice, there is also a devotional time every week with a scripture verse to learn. The kids attended an evaluation and then were placed on a team where all players had the same skill levels. Since this is his first time playing and didn't really know much about playing soccer, Liam is the oldest on the team, but that doesn't seem to bother him. The thing we like about this league is that its goal is to teach the children the skills of the game without the pressures of scoring or league standings. Of course, the children know the score of every game, but it really is about learning the game and having fun.

Liam kicks the ball away from the opposing team and his teammates go after it.

Here in Columbus we are already experiencing the effects of Hurricane Ike. We had 50-60mph winds yesterday afternoon. Power was out for several hours here (and still is in many parts of the city and outlying suburbs) and school was cancelled for today. We had a close call when our neighbor's tree fell across our shared fence into our yard. It was a near-miss with our back window and roof. We got pretty lucky.

See the branch that is brushing our window? That was close.

The tree completely crushed our shared fence.

So, that's the excitement in the life of the Carrs. Welcome to Fall!

The Boys Meet a Real-Life Movie Star!!!

2008-07-11T02:20:00.006-04:00

Liam and Ben with Josh Hutcherson, currently starring in "Journey to the Center of the Earth"

Since Kevin is a film critic, he gets to see most movies before they are released in theaters. When a kids' movie is screened, Liam and Ben will often get to go along and see the movies with Daddy. This week, they trekked over to Indianapolis for the screening of "Journey to the Center of the Earth" starring Brendan Fraser and teenager Josh Hutcherson. Such a long trip (Indianapolis is a little over 3 hours away) is not typical, most films are screened in Columbus, but they screening here conflicted with another movie. But, traveling to Indy had a bonus, Kevin was granted an in-person interview with Josh Hutcherson (the 15-year-old was also in "Firehouse Dog" and "Zathura", two of the boys' favorites.) So, Liam and Ben were thrilled when they also got to meet Josh in person. Oh, and Liam gives "Journey to the Center of the Earth" 5 stars. Click on the title above to read Kevin's interview.

Josh signs a poster for Liam and Ben

Liam and Ben let Josh know that they also saw him in "Firehouse Dog" and "Zathura"

Vacation 2008

2008-07-09T02:03:00.011-04:00

The Carr Family on the beach on Hilton Head Island, SC.

As those of you who know us (or at least those who have read my previous blogs) know, we have been taking family trips since Ben was 6 weeks old. Previous trips have included a week in Las Vegas, multiple weeks spent traveling out west to the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, visiting friends in California, family in Washington, driving to and camping in Alaska, even last summer's trip of a cruise. All told, Liam and Ben have visited 41 states and 4 countries in the five years we've been on the go. Well, this year we decided to make it a little less involved because of the addition of little Nicholas to our family.

Our shiny new minivan, ready to take on the challenges of a road trip.

I was able to rent a week's stay in a timeshare on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. Much like our summer trips to Las Vegas, it was a lot like being at home, only someplace different, for a week. We bought groceries, packed up our newly purchased minivan and headed for a week of relaxation at the beach. On the way, we stopped and visited our good friends the Watsons (including their new addition, Miss Clara who is only 1 month and 6 days older than our Nicholas, as well as "little Ben") in North Carolina.

This is probably as close as I'll get to knowing what it's like to have twins.
Here I am holding Clara and Nicholas, who are only a month apart.

Liam takes some time to read to "Little Ben."

Once we got to Hilton Head, the big boys spent a lot of time every day at the pool, mostly with Daddy as Mommy was enjoying some time catching up on pleasure reading and keeping busy with Nicholas. The resort we stayed at even had planned activities for the kids, including "Pirate Camp" which the boys enjoyed. We only went to the beach once to play and once to collect shells, but that's okay. The time we spent together as a family was priceless, and that was our whole purpose in going.

Ben and Liam bury Daddy in the sand.

Nicholas relaxes in his car seat as the boys play with Daddy in the sand.

A beautiful sunset as viewed from our balcony.
Every night had sunsets just like this one.

We had a great family vacation. This may have been our first trip to Hilton Head, but it definitely won't be our last. The sacrifices we make on expenses the rest of the year are totally worth it to be able to spend the time and money that we do on our summer vacations.

Summer Birthdays

2008-06-18T15:27:00.009-04:00

Summer 2008

My 3 Handsome Boys

Liam Michael - Age 7

Benjamin Geza - Age 5

Nicholas Ronon - 6 weeks

It's pretty convenient to have the boys' birthdays in the summer. It's nice to have so much time to spend with them on their birthdays and it's the perfect distance from Christmas (6 months) so that we have a big gap between huge gift-giving occasions. It is also a great time to have their pictures taken. I got the older boys' hair cut last week so they would look a little less shaggy for their pictures. It wasn't until I was loading the pictures and compared them to last year's that I realized just how much they had both grown. It just reminds me to enjoy every stage that Nicholas is going to go through as well as those that Liam and Ben have yet to begin.

Settling Into Summer

2008-06-15T02:29:00.007-04:00

We've officially settled into summer here at the Carr house. Liam and Ben have both finished with school for the year, Kevin is getting a chance to catch up on some long-neglected personal projects, and I'm enjoying spending time with all of my boys. Nicholas is now 5 weeks old and we're enjoying every minute of having a baby in the house again.

Nicholas is all set for Memorial Day.

Liam and Ben decided to wear their Hawaiian shirts this day, and I happened to have one for Nicholas too. It was a little big for him, but he didn't seem to mind.

Liam turned 7 on Friday and we celebrated by going to Chuck E. Cheese. I realized that it's kind of become a tradition to go there on, or almost on, his birthday to celebrate both his and Ben's birthday since we have a combined family birthday party somewhere between both birthdays. Ben will turn 5 on Tuesday and since their birthdays are only 4 days apart, it's just easier to schedule one party for them to share.

Liam and Ben caught up with Chuck E. Cheese after he finished the rounds at a birthday party.

I am also feeling pretty pleased with how things are going with Nicholas. He is truly a wonderful baby. He hasn't quite reached the point where he is responsive or expressive, but he is such a sweetie. We've finally gotten him to the point where he spends more time awake during the day instead of at night, which is where we were the first 2-3 weeks of his life. He is a total snuggle bug and everybody loves to spend time just holding him. This is especially true of Liam, who just about pouts if he goes for more than a few hours without having time to hold his baby brother. I am additionally privileged because for the last five nights, Nicholas has slept through the night. The first four nights was between 6-9 hours, but last night he slept for 13 hours!! Go little man!! I can't tell you how surprised I was to get up and discover that he was still sleeping.

Liam enjoys snuggling with his little brother.

So, now that I'm not totally exhausted anymore, I can begin to appreciate the joys of summer. With our newly purchased minivan, we have some mini-trips as well as our "big trip" planned, heading to the Bunny Park (a neighborhood park with some waterworks) with friends, signing up for the summer reading program at the library, spending some time at the pool, and Friday Family Movie Nights. Let the fun begin!!

Ben (in the blue trunks in front) splashes in the spray at the Bunny Park.

Nicholas snoozes in his stroller at the Bunny Park.

Liam runs through the fountains. It was a perfect day to just play in the water. It was 90+ degrees out and it was so refreshing. Unfortunately the sunscreen didn't hold up as well as the boys did and we all ended up with sunburned shoulders.

Welcome Nicholas Ronon Carr

2008-05-15T20:38:00.005-04:00

A lot has happened since my last post. We welcomed Nicholas Ronon Carr with much joy and celebration on May 7, 2008 at 8:30 am. Our new little guy weighed in at a whopping 10 pounds and was 21 inches in length.

At about 2 1/2 weeks before he was due, my doctor performed an ultrasound (just keeping an eye on things because of my history of pre-gestational diabetes with the last two pregnancies) to make sure there was enough fluid for the baby and got a little surprise. Even though I had been measuring only 3 days or so ahead of my due date all along, the doctor discovered that my little guy's head was too big to be measured by the ultrasound wand! He estimated that he was between 10 and 11 pounds at that point. So, in order to have the safest delivery possible, we scheduled a cesarean section for the following Wednesday. I was supposed to continue working until Thursday, but those plans had to be re-arranged fast.

Luckily, I had had a c-section with Liam, so it was really no big deal to have another one. I wasn't the least bit nervous about that. I just wanted to make sure that both the baby and I were as safe and healthy as possible. So, we made the calls to family and friends and everything was set to go. My mom would come down on Tuesday night and spend the next few days with Liam and Ben so that Kevin and I could concentrate on bringing our third son into our family. What a blessing to know that we could focus all of our energies on the baby and not have to worry about our big boys at home.

So, Wednesday morning we arrived at the hospital at 6:00 am and I was wheeled into surgery at 8:15. By 8:30 am, Nicholas Ronon Carr was testing out his lungs and what a beautiful sound it was! I'd forgotten what a weird sensation it is to have your entire lower body numb and not be able to feel anything. Luckily the anesthetic didn't keep me from holding my beautiful boy for too long.

When Liam got home from school, Nana brought him and Ben to the hospital to meet their new baby brother. They were so excited to meet Nicholas and hold him and love all over him. Liam was especially anxious to hold Nicholas at every opportunity.

But now we are home and trying to figure out our sleeping and feeding schedules while trying to maintain some normalcy for Liam and Ben. Like Mommy, Ben has finished school for this year and Liam is the only one on a "regular" schedule. Nicholas isn't awake much yet. He pretty much eats, then falls asleep, then wakes up, then eats again, then sleeps again. But needing attention every few hours is tiring, as all new parents know. I guess the thing that makes it different this time around is Liam's regular school schedule and, for once, Kevin has an almost regular working schedule. Ah well, we'll figure it out. In the meantime we'll enjoy every minute we have of this new adventure in parenting!

Bowling, Blizzard, Baby and Webkinz World

2008-04-01T00:11:00.014-04:00

The only problem with having an entire week off from work is that I tend to stay up late and sleep in while I'm off. I just finished Spring Break and went back to work today. But after a week of sleeping in every day, I'm finding it hard to get to sleep, even though I'm quite tired. So, I hop on the computer and do some surfing. As I'm looking at some of my favorite links, including my friends' blogs, I realize that it's been a while since I've posted on my own. I'm averaging once every couple of months. So, being the last day of March, drifting into the first day of April as I write, I figured I'd post a little recap of our month here at the Carr house.

BOWLING

For some unknown reason, the boys got it in their heads that they wanted to go bowling. I think it was the talk of a friend's dad about how he was going to spend a Saturday with his three kids while the moms were scrapbooking that got it all started. Bowling was mentioned as a possible activity, Liam latched onto it and it snowballed from there. So, one Sunday afternoon at the beginning of March, we found a bowling alley not too far from home that had family specials and headed out for a couple of hours of family fun.

Liam had a blast, and was actually not too bad (with a little help from the bumpers.) Ben did pretty good at first (with a little help from Daddy) but tired after the first game. Mommy hit her stride in the second game and was rolling some strikes. Daddy also made a few strikes, but he'll admit to having a little help from the bumpers on these. Liam even managed a strike or two during this outing. It's a little expensive to be a weekly event, but it's some good fun for a cold Sunday afternoon.

Liam is really concentrating on his technique....

...and gets a STRIKE for his efforts. Way to go Liam!!

Ben's pretty excited about the outcome of his roll too.

BLIZZARD

About a week after our bowling outing, the "Blizzard of 2008" hit. We got dumped on big time. We were pretty well snowed in and didn't go anywhere for a couple of days. It's a good thing we've been doing a lot of cooking at home because we were well-stocked for the duration. The boys bundled up and went out to play a few times too. School was canceled, much to the delight of Mommy and the boys.

The front door was pretty well inaccessible thanks to the drifting snow and the sheer volume of snow that got dumped on us.

Ben and Liam all bundled up for some backyard play.

Even Sadie got in on the action. Poor thing didn't know what to think when she stepped off the back step into a snow drift. She recovered quickly and went bounding across the back yard like a jack rabbit!

BABY

As I write this, I'm a mere 6 weeks from my due date. It's strange to be in the home stretch. When you already have kids at home, your time is occupied by so many other things that you just don't realize how quickly time passes. I remember being pregnant with Liam and all the anticipation that made me constantly aware of my impending "change in life." It's like the baby was all that occupied my thoughts. But with two kids, full-time work and so many other things that go along with both of those, time has just flown by in this pregnancy. So, with a month and a half to go, I find that I still haven't got the baby's bedroom set up, I haven't gone through any clothes for him, the house is a mess, and I still have to work for 5 more weeks (which is a first for me.) With Liam and Ben both, school was out before they were due. But with this one, I'm due before the end of the school year, so it's a race to see if I can get everything done before he arrives. I have so much to do before I can go on maternity leave. However, I can't worry about it too much.

As Kevin said this morning, I have to concentrate on my "have-to's" not on my "want-to's." Yes, I want to have the nursery set up, but the baby will sleep in a bassinet for the first few weeks so I don't have to have the nursery set up. I want to have the house cleaned and the carpets professionally cleaned before his arrival, but I don't have to have those things done. I want to have my classroom packed up and ready for the summer when I go on maternity leave, but I can come back in the first few weeks of the summer after he's born and do it, so I don't have to have it done. I just have this idea of the way I want things to be and I won't be satisfied unless those things happen. I know I don't have to have his room painted and get new bedding and "decor" for him, but that's something that I want really badly and is important to me.

Here I am in my eighth month. Only six more weeks to go!

The boys already love their baby brother and can't wait to meet him. They give him hugs and kisses every day!

WEBKINZ WORLD

I just have to say a few words about the boys' new obsession--Webkinz. If you've never heard of them, I'll give you a brief overview. They are stuffed animals with a secret "code" on the tag. The child goes online, signs up an account in Webkinz world and adopts their pet. Then, a whole world of activity is opened to them. They take care of their pet, feed it, give it love, and play with it all in this virtual universe. They play games, earn "money", and buy things for their pets and their rooms. They can have multiple pets that interact with each other as well as being able to interact with other children and their pets. I had heard about them from my students a few months ago, but Liam started hearing about them at school just before Valentine's Day. So, while visiting their Nana in Mansfield, she bought each boy a Webkinz...and so it began.

Now, it's like an obsession. They each got a new pet from the Easter Bunny and another one from Nana and Papa in their Easter baskets. Liam wants to be on the computer all the time playing in Webkinz World. He has lots of "friends" from school, the neighborhood, the gym, his brother and now his cousins (because Nana got a Webkinz for all 5 grandchildren--much to the frustration of my sisters-in-law.) For the most part, it's been a good thing. It keeps him occupied, some of the games are actually educational, it gets him motivated to get ready for school quickly in the morning because he gets to play on the computer once he is dressed and ready to go. He's even learning some economic lessons. Recently, he would get "real" money and it would burn a hole in his pocket; he was just dying to spend it. For a while, the Webkinz situation made it worse. Then we had a discussion about the difference between "Kinz Cash" and "real" money and he has a much better understanding of the value of a dollar.

Liam with: Mac, Liam (sometimes known as Sparkles), and Sandy

Ben with: Broof, Sport (sometimes known as Spot), and Lion

But the funniest part is that Daddy and I are addicted to Webkinz World too! When the boys go to bed, or are otherwise occupied, it's not uncommon to find us in Webkinz World playing games! We have our favorites...especially those that can rack up a lot of Kinz Cash for the boys. It's some mindless, end-of-the-day, unwind-before-bed fun. We take turns logging in as each of the boys and earning them Kinz Cash. Just as in the real world, they can spend it faster than we can make it, but at least they aren't spending our "real" hard-earned money!

It's A Boy -- Again!

2008-02-07T08:00:00.001-05:00

As you read a few months ago, we are expecting Baby #3 in May. I convinced Kevin to find out the gender with this one (which we didn't with the first two because we both liked the surprise of finding out in the delivery room.) After having two boys already, I was anxious for the possibility of having a girl. All the pink and ruffles and lace and frills are so cute. But, I didn't have any of that stuff. So, if this was a girl, I wanted to know so that I could get some of that in time for her arrival.

Well, the day of the ultrasound came and I was excited. I would know if I was finally getting my daughter or if I was going to be blessed with another boy. The doctor waved his magic (ultrasound) wand and showed us the head and the face and the stomach.

If you look carefully, the baby is on its side with its forehead on the left side of the picture. The eyes are on either side of the white mass (the nose) in the middle of the oval that is the head. At the bottom of the picture is an arm with the abdomen at the very right edge of the ultrasound.

Then the doctor waves his magic wand and shows us the baby's bottom and legs.

And right in the middle of the opening between the legs is proof that I am carrying yet another son. It might be hard for you ultrasound novices to see, but after two separate angles, there is no doubt in the doctor's, or Daddy's, mind that these are the first photos of our baby BOY.

So, as we are in the car in the pouring rain leaving the doctor's office, Kevin's asking if I'm fine. Knowing I'm disappointed, he does everything he can to make jokes and lighten the mood. Sure, I'm disappointed, but I'm really okay with it. I think I knew it was a boy all along, but I was still hoping. I don't know if it's so much being the only female in the house or knowing that I only have one more chance at a girl (because we are planning on a total of four children) or knowing that we have no boy names that we like. We have lots of girl names to choose from, but no boy names. So, on the way to pick up Liam at the bus stop, I make him take me to Half Price Books to pick up a baby name book. We've got to start somewhere.

I think the best reaction of all (at least the funniest) came from veteran Big Brother Liam. I had bought a bib that was blue and said "I'm the Little Brother" (I had also bought a "little sister" one just in case it went the other way) to give to Liam and Ben to share the news. Liam takes the bib out of the gift bag, sees the blue, reads the writing and says, "Another brother? Darn it!" with a definite tone of disappointment. I think having a little brother was old news; he'd already done that once. He wanted a little sister. He's okay about it now, but I just had to laugh. We picked Ben up at Kevin's parents, who were babysitting while we were at the doctor, and he caught onto the significance of the blue right away and was totally excited. Both of them can't wait to meet their little brother. We just know that they won't be naming him. Liam's first suggestion? Mew--a character from Pokemon. I don't think so.

Later that night, Kevin came home from seeing a movie and going to the gym and he brought me flowers and a mushy card to make me feel better. It did. He knew just the right thing to do and say. What a guy!

Happy New Year!

2008-02-07T07:49:00.001-05:00

Happy New Year 2008! Yes, I realize we are 2 months into the new year, but as I said in my previous post, I'm way behind and trying to catch up.

Every year for the last 5 years or so, we have hosted New Year's Eve at our house. It's not a big bash or anything. Just a small gathering of family with no pressures for those without spouses, no need to find a fancy dress or pressure to get as "toasted" as you can before the big toast. I make a bunch of appetizers, we play some games with the adults, have games in a separate room for the kids, and ring in the new year. Here are some pics from this year's get-together.

Ben, Ander and Liam have a toast with their Sparkling Apple Juice.

RP, Kelly and Liam wish each other Happy New Year!

In the living room are Sean, Becky, Carrie, Dan and Libby playing a fun game that Becky introduced to us called "LOSER."

Over in the dining room Kevin, Kelly, Nikki and Josh play euchre. Nikki and Josh are new additions to our celebration this year. It's nice to have another couple who is willing to join in on the fun.

As usual, Kevin's dad is asleep with a book on his lap way before midnight.

It was a bit disappointing this year that my Mom and Dad couldn't make it down. Dad has to work on New Year's Eve and then open the store on New Year's Day. Although Columbus is only an hour away from Mansfield, it's become difficult for them to make the trip twice in one night, especially when the return trip is in the early morning hours. Maybe one of these years his bosses will come to their senses and not be open on New Year's Day.

Holiday Traditions

2008-02-06T22:19:00.000-05:00

Okay, I realize that the date of this post and the title are kind of opposites. As I was downloading pictures tonight, it hit me that I hadn't posted anything in months. So, as I'm looking at pictures from the last couple of months, I decided to make a couple of quick little entries. The first one is about Holiday Traditions. Well, actually Christmas traditions to be exact.

For the last couple of years, we've been getting our Christmas tree on the day after Thanksgiving. But this year Kevin didn't want to leave the house on the crazy shopping frenzy day that is the day after Thanksgiving. So, seeing as how we get our fresh tree from his Uncle's Christmas Tree Farm, and Thanksgiving dinner was at their house this year, we decided to head to their house early to cut down our tree. We like the variety known as Canaan firs. The branches are really compact and the needles are pretty soft, even as we're un-decorating and taking it down.

Here are some pics of the tree as it's being cut down and after it's decorated.

We also have some family Christmas pictures.

This one of the 4 of us in front of our tree is taken using my tripod.

This one of Santa (Daddy in costume) with Liam, Ben, and Sadie is at PetSmart where Kevin volunteers for a shift to help out the rescue organization that Kelly works with, through which we adopted Sadie.

The next few pictures are just some shots of our various Christmas traditions:

Liam, Ben, and Daddy decorating Christmas cookies that Daddy baked and made the icing for (from scratch I might add.)

Christmas Eve is spent in Mansfield with the English side of the family. First, the Christmas Eve pageant at church, then opening presents at Nana and Papa's with all the kids.

All the grandkids look so sweet, don't they? These are the last few moments of calm before they all tear into the many packages waiting for them. In the back are Libby, Brianna, and Liam and in the front are Ander and Ben.

Then, we drive home to Columbus where we put out Reindeer Food, Milk & Cookies for Santa (don't forget carrots for the reindeer!), put the Santa Key on the door, and off to bed!

Christmas morning brings presents from Santa and Mommy & Daddy.

Then Grammy, Papa, Kelly, RP, Great Grammy, and Bev join us for more presents and breakfast.

After a little time spent relaxing, playing with toys, and preparing our contribution to Christmas dinner, we head to Kelly's house for more presents with Jesse, June, Tracy, Ike, Nikki and Josh and Christmas dinner. By the end of the day, we are exhausted.

A Very Busy Fall - Leading to an Even Busier Spring

2007-11-15T17:34:00.000-05:00

As is typical in Ohio, we once again went pretty much straight from Summer into Winter. We had a week or so of fall-like weather, marked mostly by the beautiful colors of the changing leaves. As I began to write this, we were on our first day of spitting snow turning into rain. I was nearing the end of the ever-joyful Parent-Teacher Conference week. I work much longer hours during this week, not only in preparation for conference, but actually holding them; and in the week following Thanksgiving, in which I have to get Progress Reports written. In the past, we've gotten the Friday following conferences as a comp day for all the extra hours we spend at school in the evenings actually holding our conferences. However, this year we voted to work on Friday and get the Wednesday before Thanksgiving off. Now that I have finally gotten to finishing this entry, I can tell you that it was nice to have that 5-day weekend to get me through Progress Report week.

So, speaking of Thanksgiving, this year we have one more thing to be Thankful for. We are expecting Baby #3, with a due date of May 16th. (That's right Mark and Leah, we're due shortly after you!!!) We had planned to start trying at the beginning of the fall and, sure enough, in spite of my advancing years (ha ha!) we got pregnant right away. Of course the grandparents were totally thrilled (they found out on Halloween.) But, the most excited were the big brothers.

Ben was with us at the initial ultrasound and was fascinated to see his little brother or sister kicking around on the monitor. Our wonderful doctor printed out an ultrasound picture for each boy to have of his very own. Liam was still at school during the appointment, so I got a card that said, "Congratulations on your new baby!" and gave it to him when he got home. He opened the card, read it, his eyes got wide and he exclaimed, "We're going to have a new baby?!" He then proceeded to clutch the card and ultrasound picture to his chest and yell, "Yes, yes, yes, yes!" Think he was excited?

Ben and Liam show off the first picture of their new baby brother or sister.

Liam has been through this whole "new baby" thing before when we were pregnant with Ben, but since he was less than two at the time, he doesn't really remember much about it. Ben is being an absolute doll. I'll come home from work and he'll say, "How is your baby Mommy?" and pat me on the belly. And he's very careful not to do anything that might hurt the baby. When he gives me hugs, he barely puts his arms around me for fear of crushing the baby. It's quite cute.

Not much is different about being pregnant with #3 than with #1 and #2, except that I'm not chasing after a toddler this time and I'm about 30 pounds lighter to begin with on this one. What I'd forgotten is how quickly you start to show once you've already been pregnant. Wow, do those stomach muscles and skin remember what to do. I started showing by 10 weeks or so. We were going to try to wait for Thanksgiving to tell the family (just to make sure we were out of the woods and everything) but Kevin looked at me one day before Halloween and said, "You're not going to be able to wait till Thanksgiving." I totally looked pregnant. So, by Thanksgiving everyone had been told and I could openly release my breath and let my belly all hang out.

GREAT Summer - Part 2 - The Cruise

2007-11-03T20:30:00.000-04:00

Time has just flown by since the last time I posted to my blog. I've had a couple of requests for more on the rest of our summer vacation, so here it is. Just a warning: it's quite long because I've put in a lot of detail and has a lot of pictures.

THE CRUISE

On August 5, we boarded the Carnival Conquest for seven days of rest, relaxation and fun. We left from Galveston, Texas headed for Jamaica, Grand Cayman, and Mexico. Kevin and I had been on a cruise before the boys were born, but Liam and Ben had never been on a cruise. When we booked the cruise, we learned that Carnival had a kids' program called Camp Carnival. We weren't sure how into it the boys would be, but we were soon pleasantly surprised. From the moment the boys found out about all the programs offered as well as the gigantic water slide, they couldn't wait to get to the ship.

The Carnival Conquest

One of the benefits of traveling as a family of four is the Family Stateroom. Not only did we have floor to ceiling windows, but we had a bed large enough for Kevin and me...

...and bunk beds for Liam and Ben. This thrilled them beyond belief.

Our first day on board was spent exploring the ship and learning about all that was being offered to us on our brief stay. There are a lot of people out there who need to have tons of activities to occupy their day, to feel like they've gotten their money's worth. Nope, I feel like I've gotten my money's worth when I can do exactly what I want to do, when I want to do it. Don't get me wrong, there were more activities on board the ship than I could even dream of doing. But, the only things that really interested me were sleeping in, laying by the pool reading a good book, and heading to the beach when we got into a port.

The morning of our first full day, Camp Carnival was open for the kids. We took Liam and Ben up (it was directly above our stateroom, only one floor up) and signed them into their respective playrooms. There was a room for kids ages 2-5 and one for kids ages 6-8. They didn't get to be together, but that didn't bother them. Once you dropped the kids off, you had to come back and get them at noon, then you could drop them off again from 2-5. If they wanted, they could join the youth staff for dinner at 5:45 and then stay until 10:00. Anything beyond 10:00 was babysitting and charged extra. We had to practically drag them out every day.

The boys joined us for dinner on our very first night on board (before Camp Carnival was open) and then not again for the rest of the cruise. They wanted to be with the rest of the kids. Kevin makes fun of me because this upset me at first. But, he made a good point. He said, "This is their vacation too. They should be able to do what they want to do and have fun." That finally got through to me and we enjoyed our dinners for two every night after that.

One of the other things the boys were looking forward to was the water slide. It was so cool. They went down it a few times the first couple of days, but the fact that the water on the slide and in the pools was sea water kind of turned them off from it. Whenever they got water up their nose or in their mouth, it really bothered them. So, they were happy to just spend most of their time playing in Camp Carnival.

The huge water slide that the boys couldn't wait to experience.

Liam makes it to the bottom of the slide.

Ben heads down the water slide.

Even Kevin got in on the action, and made a big splash!

In Camp Carnival, they had regularly scheduled activities published in a newsletter for the kids. They had video games, crafts, scavenger hunts, decorating a backpack, decorating a t-shirt. They were always busy and had lots of fun. They absolutely loved the Youth Staff, and based on one autograph on Liam's t-shirt, the feeling was mutual. (One of his counselors signed, "To the best boy in the world!") I think the time that they had in Camp Carnival made it all worth it.

Ben with his favorite counselor, Zulfiyah ("Sophie")

Liam with two of his favorite counselors, Olga and Regina.

Liam in the kids' disco dancing with "Funship Freddy". He's in the white t-shirt in the middle of the picture, right in front of the boy all in black.

Liam with a bunch of the other kids in Camp Carnival.

Ben and Liam on Pirate Day.

Our first port was Montego Bay, Jamaica. The boys did not want to get off the ship; they just wanted to stay in Camp Carnival all day. But, they reluctantly got off the ship and went into Jamaica far enough to take a picture and get their passports stamped (after all we went through to get them in time for the cruise, I was going to make sure we got at least one stamp.) They complained about how hot is was and that they didn't want to walk around. So, after a very brief stay, we took them back to Camp Carnival.

Montego Bay, Jamaica

Montego Bay, Jamaica

Kevin, Carolyn, Ben and Liam on our brief visit in Jamaica.

After lunch and depositing the boys back in Camp Carnival, Kevin and I headed back to see more of Jamaica. Boy, was that scary. The minute we stepped out of the main building of the port, women started coming up to us wanting to show us their crafts and their shops. It was incredibly intimidating. I got a few braids, typical of Jamaica, then we walked into a few shops looking for a charm for my charm bracelet and some t-shirts for the boys. We found a t-shirt of Spiderman with dredlocks for Liam that said "Spidermon" and one for Ben of Spongebob Squarepants with dredlocks on a beach.

Each night, while we were at dinner, our room steward turned down our beds, left the Carnival Caper news for the next day, and made animals out of towels for the boys. They loved coming back to the room each night to see what animal had been left for then. Then, they took great pleasure in tearing it apart. It was hysterical to watch.

Ben and Liam found cookies with their dog towel animal.

A swan

A frog

Our second port was Grand Cayman. We had booked a shore excursion for the whole family this day. It was a bus ride to Seven Mile Beach where we could play in the sand and the water for a few hours. We had a beautiful day for it. The water was clear and warm and we had a great time. We even hunted for seashells and found lots of coral.

Ben and Liam ready for a fun day at the beach in Grand Cayman.

Kevin allowed himself to be buried in the sand by Liam and Ben.

The beautiful clear water of Grand Cayman. What a view to enjoy for the day.

Ben, Carolyn, Kevin and Liam enjoy the crystal clear water of Grand Cayman.

Each night at dinner, we were entertained by our waitstaff. Just before serving dessert, they put on music and funny hats and danced around the dining room. On a couple of occasions, they even got us up to dance too. Our waiter Sherwin and our assistant waiter, Ardana took very good care of us.

Carolyn gets pulled into the nightly entertainment with Ardana.

Kevin gets his own special "hat" from Sherwin.

Kevin and Carolyn with our wait staff, Ardana and Sherwin.

Our last port was Cozumel, Mexico. We decided to just leave the boys where they wanted to be, Camp Carnival, while Kevin and I took an excursion into Mexico. We booked the "Twister" activity. It is a speedboat that does 360 degree turns and then takes us to a private beach, Isla Pasion - Passion Island. I was a bit nervous about it at first. The idea of doing complete turns in a speedboat made me a little nervous. But, like anything adventurous, once Kevin drags me into it, I have a total blast. This was so much fun!

The excursion we booked included the boat ride to and from the island, 3 hours on the island, and unlimited soda. They had beach chairs and hammocks for us to enjoy as well. While we were waiting to board the tour, we met a nice couple, Ashley and Mike from Colorado. They were passengers on another ship, but had the same tour opportunities as we did. However, on this tour, they paid for a buffet and open bar.

When we got to the island, Kevin chose to hang out in a hammock in the shade and I went down by the beach and laid in a beach chair in the sun. After a little while, I went up to the hammocks too. Kevin took a quick trip down to the water to cool off. On his way back to me he met another couple and struck up a conversation. Turns out that the island we were on was where they film the Corona beer commercials. The couple Kevin met was from the ship that got the open bar and gave us a couple of Coronas. So, we were incredibly cheesy and re-created a couple of the Corona ads.

As we headed back to the boat to go back to our ship, we met up with Mike and Ashley again. She told us that we should have hung out with them and they would have kept us in Coronas all day! Next thing we knew, she sent Mike back to the bar for four more Coronas. He raced down the beach and back again to get us all a beer before we had to get back on the boat again. We had a great time.

The beach of Isla Pasion with the water in the distance.

Kevin and Carolyn on the shoreline of Isla Pasion.

Kevin in his hammock re-creating the Corona ad.

Carolyn in her beach chair re-enacting a Corona ad.

After returning from our excursion, it was almost time to head back to reality. We had a great time on our cruise and can't wait until we can go again. The boys were happy that they got to spend seven uninterrupted days with us as well as all of the activities they did and friends they made in Camp Carnival.

The debarkation process was tiring to say the least. By the end of the cruise, we didn't have any cash left for a porter, so we had to carry all of our bags ourselves. The lines were long and winding as well as hot. I learned that our next trip needs to involve a lot less luggage.

We had originally thought we would make some stops on the way home, but by the time we had gone to San Diego, Texas, and the cruise, we were ready to go straight home. Besides, I had to be back at work just a few short days later and wanted some time to unwind at home before getting back to it.

For the most part, summer is pretty boring and uneventful. But our road trips are well worth the wait we have to get to them.

What a GREAT Summer!

2007-08-27T13:04:00.000-04:00

It has been so long since I've been able to sit down and write down my thoughts and the events in my life. Mostly it's been because I've been away from my computer and the only one at home is the one that Kevin uses for work; which means he's always using it. Now that I'm back at school I can use the one in my office during my lunch to catch up on all the Carr Family info. Hope you've got some time to spare, this may take a while.

Looking back on it, it seems like the summer just flew by. I had a few things I wanted to get done...and only got to a small portion of them. But I got to spend time with the boys. We played, went to the Library, went to the gym and the pool and just hung out together. Then came vacation!

What a fantastic 3 weeks we spent together. Now, before I go on I have to explain that our summer vacations are Road Trips in the truest sense of the word. I pack the car with a week's worth of clothes, a bag of snacks (because it's cheaper to get them from the grocery store than at every gas station we come across) and a cooler of drinks and we hit the road. I have a whole system for this. I make lists. Yep, I'm a list maker. I write down what each family member will need for the trip and then check it off when it is packed. One of the keys to packing for an extended trip is to pack one bag with the clothes for 3 days for each one of us. That way when we stop for the night, we only have to bring one bag into the hotel every three days. At the end of 7 days, I find a laundry facility and do laundry. It works out really well.

So, first we headed West with San Diego as our goal. Our first big stop was Amarillo, Texas. A couple of years ago we discovered the Big Texan Steak Ranch, home of the FREE 72 oz. steak dinner. You might think, "Woo hoo, I'm heading there for my next vacation!" But of course, there's a catch. You have to eat that 72 oz. steak--with a salad, baked potato, shrimp cocktail and roll--in an hour or less to get it for FREE. Our first trip there, Kevin attempted it but was just a couple of bites shy of finishing the whole thing. But this time, he had a plan. He started fast and made sure he ate the side items as he went along, rather than saving them for last. This time he was successful! He had just under 10 minutes to spare, too! You may ask, "What happens if he doesn't eat it all in under an hour?" Well, he would have had to pay for the dinner. A whopping $72. As Kevin ate, Liam, Ben and I enjoyed our own, much smaller, steak dinner.

Here is the massive dinner that Kevin was destined to devour in an hour.

Liam makes quick work of his steak dinner.

The smaller brother has a smaller appetite.

A very stuffed Kevin is victorious.
He finished the entire thing with 9 minutes and 44 seconds to spare.

From Amarillo, we headed to San Diego, California for Kevin and his "Fat Guys at the Movies" partner Neil to attend the San Diego ComicCon. The boys and I spent the day at the beach or the hotel while Kevin enjoyed all things entertainment at the convention center. I sure learned my way around San Diego in a few days. We also visited a Maritime Museum that had 5 different types of ships from throughout history for us to explore. After one last trip to the beach, we headed East.

Liam at the edge of the ocean.

Ben isn't quite ready to get too close to the water.

Ben and Liam meet a "real" ship's captain.

One of the classic ships that we got to tour.

One last trip to Ocean Beach. Daddy got to join us on this trip.

Our next stop was the sand dunes in Yuma, California. They were so vast you would think that was all there was in the world. There's quite a funny story there too. We were all wearing sandals and tried to climb to the top of the dunes, but the sand was so hot pouring in through our sandals that we didn't make it very far before we had to turn back. But as we're turning around, we see Ben just truckin' along up the dunes. We realized it was because he didn't weigh as much, the sand wasn't getting to his feet. So, by the time we headed back to the car and got tennis shoes on so that the rest of us could travel to the top, Ben was tired of being in the heat.

Ben climbs to the top of the dunes.

Liam and Ben pose with Mommy before heading to Texas.

Our next stop was Texas. We were there for a few days and made the most of it. We drove to Texarkana, Arkansas and stood in both Arkansas and Texas at the same time. We also saw the only Federal Building that operates in two states.

"Arkansas...Texas...Arkansas...Texas"
This was Liam and Ben's mantra as we stood in two states at once.

The Post Office/Federal Building that serves two states.

After visiting Texarkana, we drove down to Shreveport, Louisiana and had dinner at a CiCi's pizza there. In one day, we added two more states to the total number of states we've been to. Our total is now 39. We then headed back to Keller, Texas just north of Fort Worth to visit our friends the Sanfords who just moved to Texas a few weeks prior to our visit. We spent a couple of nights with them before heading to our next destination.

The Three Amigos, Liam, JJ, and Ben goof around at Sandy's Steak and Shake.

The Carrs and the Sanfords have one last big dinner together before we leave Keller.

Our next stop is The Alamo in San Antonio, Texas. That was a bit of a shock to us, in that it is in the middle of downtown San Antonio. I was expecting it to be in the middle of a desert-like area, but nope, skyscrapers and modern buildings all around. After dinner at a Mexican restaurant on the riverwalk, we headed toward Galveston and the Carnival Conquest.

The family perches on a canon at the Alamo.

One of the few buildings of the Alamo that are the still-standing originals.

Yep, The Alamo sits in downton San Antonio.

A delicious Mexican dinner at a local favorite.

Well, this is getting a little long. Needless to say, our trip is only half over. I think I'll make a second post just about the cruise. Keep an eye out for part two of the Carr Family Vacation 2007.

One Busy Family

2007-07-07T20:57:00.000-04:00

I can't believe that it's already July! The last couple of weeks have been so hectic here at the Carr house. It's not that big things are happening, but our days are definitely filled. We've made it through the boys' birthday parties, had numerous play dates, taken a couple of trips to the library, and just filled our days with running errands and hanging out. Liam has discovered chapter books and silent reading. I rarely see him without a book in his hand. He takes after his mom. The boys got the game Cootie as a joint gift for their birthday and are really enjoying it. In fact, as I'm writing this, I can hear them in their room playing a game right now. Liam has always been very competitive when it comes to games, starting with Candyland and his quest to stick the other players with the card that makes the player go back to the beginning. But it was funny the first time they played Cootie, Ben said, "I'm really good at this game!" It was so cute.

One event that has been coming up for a while now has finally arrived. My best friend, Michelle is moving out of state. It seemed like such a long time away when she first told me that it was happening, but this weekend their house was packed and off they went. Her husband's job transferred him to Texas and she was able to transfer with her job as well. We have been so close since before our kids were born and even our boys have become friends and love spending time together. I know that we'll still talk on the phone practically every day, email constantly, send pictures back and forth and we're even planning a visit during our summer vacation this year. But I'll still miss her and the times we spend together scrapbooking, going to movies, having dinner and being able to run over to her house in under 20 minutes.

So, we are one busy family, but we're definitely not bored!

Summer is Here!

2007-06-14T00:18:00.000-04:00

Our first "mini-vacation" has been taken. The boys' birthdays are close at hand. I've gotten my first sunburn of the season. Summer is officially here. As we were driving to North Carolina this past weekend, Kevin commented on how much more relaxed and energetic I was. Of course... I'm on vacation.

We planned our first little trip to have two purposes. Kevin had his first Nathan's Hot Dog qualifier (for those of you who don't know, my dear husband is a competitive eater) last weekend in Charlotte, North Carolina. Since good friends of ours, Mark and Leah, have moved from California to North Carolina, we decided to pay them a visit while we were in their neck of the woods. Leah always enjoys when we visit with each other and Kevin can share tales of Mark from way back when. She always thanks Kevin for being friends with Mark all those years ago when he was a nerd. We get a real kick out of that.

Late Friday night, we left home to drive straight through to Charlotte. We arrived about 2 hours before the contest was to start. It was being held at a local mall, so we headed into the mall for a break. We walked around for a while, then Kevin left to get registered for the contest while the boys and I walked around, played in the play area, and ate lunch. When the contest ended, Kevin had had his "personal best" performance. Last year, he ate 11 hot dogs and buns in 12 minutes. This year, he ate 12 1/2 hot dogs and buns. A definite improvement, but a ways to go to catch up to winner Hall Hunt's 28 3/4 hot dogs and buns.

Ater the contest was over, we headed for Newton, NC to our hotel. Over the next two days, we spent a lot of time catching up with our good friends and getting acquainted with their 8-month-old, Ben. It's nice to know how much closer they really are. Only a 7-hour drive. For a family that's driven to Alaska, that's nothing at all.

Yesterday was Liam's 6th birthday. It has gone so fast. It seems like only yesterday we were bringing him home from the hospital. Ben will turn 4 on Sunday. He's following in his big brother's footsteps with how smart and sweet he is. I've got a busy week ahead of me with getting ready for their parties. Liam, being a big boy who has finished Kindergarten, gets to have a "friend" party and we will have a party for both boys with the family on Sunday. On Monday, it will be all over and I'll only have to worry about day-to-day activities and then our big trip, a cruise. We are really looking forward to that.

Ready For Summer!

2007-05-24T12:07:00.000-04:00

I am so ready for summer! The boys are going to be so much fun to hang around with this summer. After taking swimming lessons this spring, they are both ready to spend a lot of time in the pool. I'm ready to spend a lot of time reading books and relaxing by the pool. This is the first time that we will actually have a pool "membership" and I am so excited about that. What's great about our pool, which is at our fitness club, is that there are 4 pools outside. None of them go deeper than 4 feet so the boys will be able to swim and play in the pools all on their own. Kevin noticed the other day just how pale I've gotten. I really haven't spent much time out in the sun over the last couple of summers, so my tan has faded a lot. It won't take much time at all until I get some more color, even with a high SPF sunscreen.

I need to find some really good books to read over the summer. Of course, the new Harry Potter book doesn't come out until almost the end of July, so I need books for the first half of the summer. I have a Nora Roberts trilogy to catch up on, but other than that I am wide open. Any suggestions?

Next month are the boys' birthdays. Liam is turning 6 and Ben is turning 4. Every year we have a combined party for them with the families. I also make their invitations with my scrapbooking supplies. Included in the invitation is usually a picture of the two of them. This year, I found a fabulous studio and took them there to get their pictures done. I usually wait until the last minute and so professional pictures aren't an option. But at this studio, they print the pictures in the studio the day the pictures are taken. They turned out fabulous!!! I can't get over how grown up they are both looking. Ben no longer looks like a toddler and Liam looks so mature!

I love summer and in only 8 days (only 5 school days) it will begin!

Thank a Teacher

2007-04-30T14:01:00.000-04:00

I was reminded the other day of why I do what I do. I was sitting in my office at the end of the day when there was a knock on my door. A woman popped her head in and asked if I had a minute. She looked vaguely familiar and I invited her in. So, the woman said to me, "I don't know if you remember me, but I'm Mary's mother." It turns out that she was the parent of a student I had last year. Mary was a very quiet child, always wanted to please and do well, she was just having a little trouble making sense of what she was reading. I had only met the mother once, at Parent-Teacher conferences. With as much as most parents have to work and have other commitments these days, that's about all the time I get to spend with them.

Well, Mary's mom went on to tell me how wonderfully Mary is doing this year in fourth grade. She loves to read and she always gets top marks. In fact, she has just been identified as Gifted in Reading!!! What a wonderful success story!! But it doesn't end there. Mom went on to say, "We are so grateful for everything you did for Mary last year. She wouldn't be where she is if it weren't for you. Thank you so much! We owe it all to you." WOW!! Those are words that teachers live for. Those are words that revitalize and renew your spirit and dedication for the job you love.

I love kids. I love teaching kids. I wanted to be a teacher ever since the second grade when I got to help some Kindergartners with their Reading and Math. I never considered another career. Even my part-time job in the summers was teaching in some capacity. I was one of the few people I knew who never changed their major in college. Unfortunately, the teaching profession has gotten a lot more complicated since the day I decided to become a teacher.

There are a lot more hoops to jump through these days. State standards, standardized tests, district and building initiatives, acronyms of all kinds. A lot of the fun has been taken out of teaching and out of learning. Every activity that we do with our students has to fit one of the state standards. I want my children to succeed as much as the next parent, but kids aren't allowed to just be kids any more. They have high-stakes testing at earlier and earlier grades every year. Children who have recently entered the United States and children who have learning or mental disabilities are held to the same performance standards as the "average" child of the same chronological age. Teachers are no longer able to come to work, write their lesson plans, teach the students, grade papers. We also have to continue our own professional development by attending workshops and taking college classes, getting our Master's Degrees. We have to develop a plan that tells how we are going to complete our professional development, attend staff meetings, parent-teacher conferences, and after-school activities that our students take part in. Every time we turn around there is some new teaching or learning initiative that we are expected to embrace and jump into with both feet.

Many times we have to pick up the slack from parents who feel that once a child comes to school, they aren't responsible for their education. We also have to fill the gaps for parents who just don't know how to parent. I've had way too many children come to school without having had breakfast, with holes and rips in his pants, uncombed and unwashed hair, smelling of cigarette smoke or body odor. A child (or parent) whose idea of a "healthy snack" is a bag of potato chips that she takes a little from each day for her snack time. Or the child who has been diagnosed with neurological difficulties, but because the parents refuse to give her medicine for it, she gets no treatment at all. We are also in the business of Character Education these days. Teaching "please" and "thank you", responsibility, perseverance, courage, self-control, cheerfulness, wisdom, caring, fairness, trustworthiness and respect.

Do we get to experience the thankfulness and praise that Mary's mom showed me? Sometimes. But unfortunately, those experiences are few and far between. I get a handful of "Thank Yous" at Christmas and at the end of the year through little gifts the children bring me. But more often than not I get to hear, "How nice it is that you only have to work 9 months out of the year but you get paid for 12." For those of you who actually believe that we get a 3-month paid vacation, here's how it really works. We are paid for 182 days of work. But since 182 days of work would leave us without paychecks in the summer, the wonderful people at the District Treasurer's Office take our salary and divide it over 24 paychecks (that's two per month) so that we all don't have to get jobs during the summer to pay our rent. Instead we can use that time, time that is our own and that we aren't paid for, to take classes of our own and to expand our professional knowledge. Or, spend some quality time with our families that we don't get to do during the school year because we are working late after school or coming in on weekends to write lesson plans, communicate with parents, grade papers or attend various school functions.

Well, this week is Teacher Appreciation Week at my school. Our wonderful Parent-Teacher Organization has planned a different activity every day to show us that they appreciate the work that we do every day. If you have school-age children, take a moment to send their teachers a card to let them know you appreciate them. If you live down the street from a teacher, take a moment while you are both at your mailboxes to say thanks. If you have ever had your life influenced by a teacher, let them know that they made a difference for you. We don't need candles, gift certificates, body lotion, or little apple knickknacks. Just a "Thank You" will do.

They're Growing Up So Fast!

2007-04-25T14:41:00.000-04:00

I can't believe how quickly my "babies" are growing up! It seems like just yesterday I found out I was pregnant with Liam and now he's getting ready to finish Kindergarten. He'll be 6 in June. And didn't we just bring Ben home from the hospital? Nope, he'll be 4 in June. (Don't we have the best timing? Both boys were born in June, after school let out for the summer. So I didn't have to worry about the hassle of maternity leave and planning for a substitute.)

I got these pictures taken two weekends ago, but just got around to scanning them into the computer today. They turned out so good. I had such a hard time picking which ones I wanted to purchase. With such a great experience, I'm going to want to take them more often. But now that they are older, they aren't changing as frequently as they did when they were babies.

So, take a look at my "big boys" and see how they've grown!

Can you tell how much these brothers love each other?

Losing Weight

2007-04-19T14:11:00.000-04:00

Well, I've officially gone and done it. Tuesday afternoon, we got an email through our district email system telling us about the formation of a "Weight Watchers At Work" group. You pay a fee up front to attend meetings at your work place for 6 weeks. During that time you attend one meeting a week, weigh in, get the membership materials and benefit from the knowledge shared at a meeting by not only the leader, but also by other WW participants. One of my co-workers, who knew that I was struggling with my weight loss, suggested that we join together.

Now, when I started getting serious about losing weight, my husband and I had an agreement that I could either join the gym or go to WW meetings, but we couldn't afford the monthly fee of both. So, I chose the gym and figured that I could watch my eating on my own. It went really well for quite a while. I'd been officially down 30 pounds since I joined the gym and started working out on a daily basis. Then I gained some of that weight back. In October, with yet another round of the NBC show "The Biggest Loser" (which I totally LOVE) starting up, one of my co-workers initiated a "Biggest Loser" contest at my school. You know, it's one of those things where everyone who wants to participates pays $10 to join in, then at the end of the designated time, the person with the largest percentage of weight loss gets the big pot of money. Well, the contest came and went (mind you, this was over Thanksgiving AND Christmas holidays) and I'd lost 9 pounds. So now, I'm back down to a net loss of 30 pounds since I started losing weight almost two years ago. But now my weight loss has come to a standstill.

Enter my friend with the idea to join WW at Work together. So, I called Kevin and asked him if it would be alright for me to join this 6 week long program (not that I'm asking permission mind you, just that he's the one that knows if we can afford it at this time.) Being the wonderful, loving, supportive husband that he is, he said that I could do whatever I felt would help me out with this. (Isn't he the best?!) So, yesterday at 3:45, we headed to the school that will be our weigh-in and meeting site for the next six weeks. We got all of our materials and had our first weigh in. Now, I'm not going to list all of my statistics, because I'm just a little too self-conscious to have it all out there like that, but I will post updates. Maybe knowing that I will be keeping an update going here will hold me a little bit more accountable.

I think I've started out really well. Last night before bed, I packed my gym bag as usual, packed my breakfast, snacks and lunch and wrote it all down in my food journal. I read through all of my literature from WW before going to bed. I've "done" WW before, but the first time I didn't really have the drive or the willpower to carry it through. The second time I got "serious" about losing weight, I did really well, but didn't join WW, I just followed the program materials from the first time I had joined. So I'm thinking that if I combine the accountability of a "weight loss partner" and going to weekly meetings with the drive that I had to follow it and be successful on my own, I may finally do it this time.

I was supposed to meet with a Personal Trainer at the gym this morning, but we got confused and missed our meeting. I was thinking 5:45 a.m. (which is when I'm at the gym each morning) and he was thinking 5:45 p.m. So after missing our connection, we rescheduled for 4:30 tonight. I'm really looking forward to connecting all the pieces of weight loss together to achieve the success that I so desperately want and need. I still did my cardio -- 30 minutes on the elliptical machine and my floor work -- abs and squats, so I felt pretty good. Tomorrow is Friday and water aerobics.

Wish me luck!

100 Things About Me

2007-04-18T11:16:00.000-04:00

I was talking with my workout (and work) buddy Kathleen the other day as we were walking around the track, and she was telling me about the blog of her friend Shannan. She told me that Shannan had made a list of 100 Things about her life. She sent me the web address and I checked out her list. You can check out Shannan's list for yourself by going to the Links I Like heading on the side of the page and clicking on Mommy Tales. I thought it was pretty interesting, so I set out to make a list of my own. I thought it would be tough to come up with 100 things, but it really wasn't. I found as I wrote, that I could have kept going. So here is my list of 100 Things About Me. I encourage everyone who reads this to make their own list. Be brutally honest about yourself and you'll be surprised at what pops into your head.( If you do make a list, post back a comment here for me. I'd love to read your list.)

100 Things About Me

1. I’m named after my 2 grandmothers
2. I never met another Carolyn until I was in college
3. I love being a mom
4. I think I’m really good at it
5. I’d rather be a mom than anything else
6. I’m the only one in my family with blue eyes
7. I’d like for one of my future children to have blue eyes
8. I hate my hair because I have cowlicks
9. But I love it when it grows long
10. My oldest son has hair that’s thick like mine
11. My youngest son has hair that’s fine like his dad’s
12. I met my husband my second week of college, when I was 18
13. We’ve been together ever since
14. I’ll be 34 in August
15. That doesn’t bother me a bit
16. I hate my body
17. My husband hates it when I put myself down
18. He thinks I’m beautiful
19. I’m addicted to my DVR
20. My favorite show is LOST
21. I would spend all my free time scrapbooking if I could
22. I LOVE my kids!!!!
23. I think they are brilliant
24. I love my husband
25. I love to read
26. And don’t get to do it enough
27. I hate being fat
28. I’ve been overweight all my life
29. I want to get healthy for myself and for my kids
30. I want to have two more kids
31. Most people I tell that to think I’m crazy
32. I don’t care what other people think
33. I’d like to be a stay-at-home mom more than anything
34. But I love my job as a teacher
35. And I’m grateful that my husband is a stay-at-home dad
36. I’d like my next two kids to be girls
37. Because I don’t want to be outnumbered
38. But I’ll be fine if we have more boys
39. Even though we’ve run out of boys’ names
40. I only dated one other person before my husband
41. I’ve never smoked anything
42. I think it’s disgusting
43. I’ve done things that NOBODY will ever know about…EVER!!!!
44. I hate to argue
45. But I love it when I’m right
46. I like being in on the gossip
47. But I don’t like being the subject of it
48. I don’t think I look as fat as the scale says I am
49. I don’t like being told I can’t do something
50. I love to travel
51. I love reading with my kids
52. My husband and I drove to Alaska (from Ohio) with our two children
53. We camped in a tent for all but two of the nights we were there
54. I was in labor for 14 hours with both boys
55. My first son, Liam was born by C-Section
56. My second son, Ben was a VBAC birth
57. I would never change careers because I love getting my summers off
58. I don’t mind creative criticism
59. But I’m sensitive to mean or harsh words
60. My husband is a better cook than I am
61. I go to the gym every morning before work
62. I wish my house was cleaner
63. I loved being pregnant
64. I am the oldest of three children
65. And I am the most stable
66. I am an impatient driver
67. I love show tunes
68. I sing along with the radio in the car, but only if I’m in a good mood
69. Really attractive people intimidate me
70. My husband does a better job of picking out clothes that look good on me than I do
71. I love getting presents
72. I rarely spend money on myself—unless it’s scrapbooking supplies
73. I love taking pictures
74. And I think the digital camera is the best piece of technology I’ve ever owned
75. I want to live some place warm
76. I was born without hip sockets
77. And I had 7 surgeries before I was two years old to correct it
78. I don’t like talking on the phone
79. My mom drives me crazy with her horrible mood swings
80. One of my biggest pet peeves is people who misuse than/then in their writing
81. It bothers me when parents don’t teach their children to take responsibility for themselves and their actions
82. I love it when I see kids saying please and thank you without prompting
83. I really enjoy doing Sudoku puzzles
84. I would rather read a trashy romance novel than the current best seller
85. I believe in God, but don’t think I have to go to church to prove it
86. I played 5 instruments in high school
87. I think my husband is a terrific writer
88. My favorite kind of movies are romantic comedies
89. And I actually kind of like going to the movies alone
90. My best friend is moving out of state, and that makes me sad
91. I cheat on diets
92. I can’t stand OSU – I think they are way too focused on football rather than academics
93. I like being complimented
94. But I don’t always believe it
95. I’m really good at packing for long trips
96. I’m a pack rat at home
97. I like it when someone asks for my advice on parenting or education
98. I like it even more when they take my advice
99. I snore
100. I really enjoyed making this list

Mythical Figures Explained

2007-04-12T13:24:00.000-04:00

As a parent, we often have to tap into our creative talents. When you have children, you don't get an instructional manual or a how-to guide. Luckily for the Carr Family, Daddy is a writer and Mommy is an elementary school teacher. When it comes to explaining various mythical figures, we've had to pool our resources and, at times, think on our feet to get around some sticky questions. Everyone has their own "beliefs" about what to tell their children about Santa Claus, The Tooth Fairy, The Easter Bunny and so forth. Some people feel it isn't right to "lie" to their children about these figures. For the most part, they tend to respect the desire of other parents to keep that "mystique" alive and keep their mouths shut when they are around other people's kids. I can't say as much about their kids though. As a teacher of 2nd and 3rd graders, the age when they begin to question the real existence of these figures, I see children almost taking delight in debunking and spoiling these childhood myths. And then there's the poor kids who want so badly to believe but are made to feel like babies by their peers because they still believe in Santa or the Tooth Fairy.

I remember a story that Kevin has told about his childhood and believing in Santa. He has a sister, Kelly, who is older by two years. He was getting toward the middle/end of elementary school and had yet to mention to his parents that he no longer believed in Santa Claus. (They were a little bit worried about his relationship with reality at this point.) So, they sent Kelly to find out what the deal was. He admitted that he no longer believed that Santa was real but he wasn't going to mention it because he was afraid he'd stop getting presents.

Luckily, we haven't gotten to the age of questioning with our boys, but we have had to deal with the issue of, "How does Santa get into our house when we don't have a fireplace?" Got that one covered. A few years ago, I was a Longaberger Basket Consultant. They also make pottery, wrought iron and pewter items. One of the items they make is called the Pewter Santa Key. It comes with a story of how Santa can use
the key to get into houses on Christmas Eve that don't have chimneys for him to climb down. Well, not having a fireplace, that was an issue we were sure to face, so I purchased a Santa Key. It looks like an old-fashioned skeleton key, but has a head of Santa carved into the top of the key. We hang it on the tree with the rest of the ornaments, then on Christmas Eve, we hang the key on the outside of the front door knob. Santa will arrive, use his magic and open our door with the key. After he has left all of the presents, eaten the cookies and drank the milk, he leaves the key on the empty plate (which is also a Longaberger plate/cup set) and we put it back on the tree for the rest of the season.

Another mythical figure that needs explaining at some point in every child's life is The Tooth Fairy. There are a few different aspects to this tale that need addressing. Here's why we've come up with.

• What does The Tooth Fairy do with all those teeth she collects?

The Tooth Fairy collects teeth from children all over the world and puts them in the new babies about to be born. That's why you have to take such good care of your teeth, by brushing twice a day and going to the dentist. They need to be in good condition for the babies. (Thanks to Bethany for this one!)

• What happens if you swallow or lose a tooth that has come out?

The Tooth Fairy knows that things like this happen, so she has a solution. Find a pebble about the size of the lost tooth. Write a note to The Tooth Fairy explaining what happened. Put the pebble and the note under your pillow. The Tooth Fairy will use her magic to turn the pebble into a tooth.
(I came up with this one on my own after Liam cried hysterically that he wasn't going to get any money from the Tooth Fairy because he had thought he'd swallowed his tooth.)

• I saw Mom/Dad getting my tooth. Are they really The Tooth Fairy?

I once came across a children's book that was a fantastic explanation for this. There was once a child who woke up and saw the Tooth Fairy. He got scared and started crying because the Tooth Fairy was a stranger to him. The Tooth Fairy was very sad that she had made the child cry. So, from then on, whenever
she goes into a child's room, she uses her magic to make her appearance look like that of someone the child knows and loves. If they wake up while the Tooth Fairy is there, they won't be scared. That's why the Tooth Fairy may look like your Mom or Dad or Grandparents or baby sitter or big brother or sister.
Every parent needs to have this book!
(Thank you to "The Real Tooth Fairy" by Marilyn Kaye.)

The Toothless Wonder

2007-04-12T11:22:00.000-04:00

I'm going to start calling Liam "The Toothless Wonder" after yesterday.

Those who know my oldest son know that he has always been big for his age. (I see many high school and college football games in my future.) Most people who meet him think that he is older than he is. As I soon found out, there are many areas where he is "ahead" of his age.

The winter that Liam was 4, I noticed that his top two front teeth were loose after he was playing with his Aunt Kelly one day and he fell. I thought he had knocked them loose, so we took a trip to the dentist. After x-rays and an exam, Dr. Toothman (yes, that's his real name) declared that they were ready to come out. There was no damage, the roots had dissolved as they should and it would be fine if they came out. Of course, he said, they probably would not come in until he was 6, but that was okay. He lost his first tooth in December. (The typical age to start losing teeth is 6.) Nothing typical about my kid; he has to be ahead of the pack. Lost tooth #2 followed less than a week later.

Of course, there was a little drama in the act of losing said teeth. The first one came out while playing in the backyard with his cousin Libby. The tooth was lost in the grass. So, Mommy told him the story of how the Tooth Fairy understands that sometimes these things happen and she has a plan for this. The child needs to find a pebble roughly the size the lost tooth. He puts the pebble with a note explaining what happened under his pillow. The Tooth Fairy comes and uses her magic to turn the pebble into a tooth. (Which is quite necessary because she uses all the lost teeth that she collects to give to the new babies being born.) The second lost tooth also happened while playing with a cousin, although this time it was Brianna. He thought he had swallowed this one. Later, I found it on the dining room floor.

Well, we go all through the summer and fall with a big gap where his two front teeth should be. We heard countless verses of "All I Want For Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth" that winter. Then, our now 5-year-old announces that his bottom front two teeth are loose. They come out in January/February with no incident. So we now have a HUGE hole that you could stick your thumb through. He looks like a casualty of Pee Wee Hockey!! Next, he tries telling me that another one of his bottom front teeth is loose!! I tried to wiggle it, and there seemed to be some movement, but I was sure that it was a long way from being loose enough to come out. I should learn to NEVER underestimate this child.

I got home from work yesterday and he was waiting at the door to proudly display his latest lost tooth in its little plastic baggie. It's been less than two months since he first told me about that loose tooth!!! I said, "You have got to be kidding me!" and he said, "Nope Mommy, it just came out and now I'll get more quarters from the Tooth Fairy tonight." Keep in mind that one of the joys of having a child who loses his teeth before going to school, is not having your Tooth Fairy have a "standard" to live up to. He was more than happy with the quarter he received for his first and second teeth and even the two he received for the third and fourth. But now that he's a Kindergartner and the other kids in his class are starting to get visits from the Tooth Fairy, it's a little harder for that to fly. So this morning, Liam woke up to 4 quarters under his pillow. I guess if gas prices can rise, so can the reward from the Tooth Fairy. But you'll never see a $5 bill coming from the Carr Family Tooth Fairy! But through it all, what is one of his favorite foods? Corn on the cob!! You should see how well his kid with no front teeth can clean that thing!!! I told him that he isn't allowed to lose any more teeth until the 5 that are already gone have been completely replaced.

To learn more about traditions and explanations used by the Carr Family--including the Tooth Fairy and Santa Claus, see the post titled "Mythical Figures Explained."

Done With Diapers!!

2007-04-10T15:11:00.000-04:00

The road to a diaper-free life has not been a smooth one. I had always heard that it is more difficult to potty train boys. They sure weren't kidding! Liam was 3 1/2 when he finally said goodbye to diapers and pullups. We tried sticker charts, rewards and even M&Ms as a bribe to do his business in the toilet. Finally, the motivation that did it was the promise of Preschool. He couldn't wait to go to school and make a whole mess of friends. Getting him out of pullups and into "big boy underwear" was the act of promising him that he could pick out a pair of underwear himself when he goes a week with a dry pullup every day.

With Ben, we thought it was going to be even easier. We had the experience of potty training one boy. He even began demanding to go to the potty every time his diaper was changed when he was 2 1/2. Yeah. That's lasted for over a year now. We tried everything that we had tried with Liam. He could care less about stickers and rewards. He sure wasn't "deciding" he was "ready" all on his own. We even tried punishment. That didn't have any effect either. One day about two weeks ago I'd about had it with yet another dirty pullup. I told Kevin, "I'm about ready to just let him run around in a t-shirt and underwear and see what happens." And he
said, "Well, why don't you?" So that's what I did. I found the first set of underpants that we bought for Liam (that had been too small at the time) andexplained what it would feel like if he had an accident. I told him that if he was dry for a whole week we would go to the store and he could pick out whatever brand new underwear he wanted. A week and a half later, he's got brand new "Superman" underwear is only wearing pullups to bed "just in case."
So, we are now done with diapers! Well, at least until the next baby comes along and then we get to start all over again!

Spring Break!!!! Not this year!

2007-03-25T00:50:00.000-04:00

One of the great perks of being a teacher is that you get to have weekends, Winter Break, Spring Break and Summer Break off. Well, this past week was supposed to have been my Spring Break. I didn't have anything planned for this week because Liam is still in school. He goes to school in a different district than the one I teach in, and our Spring Breaks aren't at the same time. Sure, I had the typical "to-do" list that I'd been adding to for weeks before break started. Clean out closets, clean out the garage, see a few movies, do some scrapbooking. You know, the usual. Unfortunately, it's the last day of my Spring Break and none of that has gotten done (aside from a few scrapbook pages yesterday--and hopefully tomorrow.) Why? I had to go and get sick.

Sunday morning of my first weekend off, I woke up with a horrible sore throat, earache, headache, body aches. I could barely get out of bed. I spent the next 4 days in bed. I drove the kids up to Mansfield on Wednesday for Sesame Street Live and it wiped me out.
So, it was mid-afternoon on Friday before I could say that I was feeling back to my old self. Two trips to the doctor, a penicillin shot and a round of antibiotics later, I had beaten back a nasty bacterial infection that just wouldn't let go Now it's time to head back to school. I feel so cheated out of a fun and relaxing week that I had been looking forward to for so long. So, not including a day off for Good Friday and a day off for Memorial Day, my next break is Summer Vacation, which starts on June 1st. Now that Spring Break is over, the time until that day is going to FLY!!!

A Blog---Me?

2007-03-15T10:21:00.000-04:00

Okay, I'm not the type of person who would normally create a blog. I don't like being the center of attention. If you'd ever seen me at any of my wedding showers or baby showers or when I've had to give a presentation, you'd be nodding your head right now. But, I do like to brag about my kids. So, on this blog you won't see me posting a big diatribe about how someone has "screwed" me or writing something that's politically charged. (Unless of course I just feel the need to vent about something annoying--and I'll warn you from the beginning that's what the post is about.) And you DEFINITELY won't see me "talking" to the readers as if they were my best buds and audience just sitting on the edge of their seats waiting for whatever pearls of wisdom I have to share. In fact, the only people I'll actually TELL about this blog are friends and family who love looking at my pictures or getting updates about the kids and our travels, but I can't seem to find the time to call or write in a timely manner. So, unless you know me and my family, you'll probably get pretty bored if you just swerved into this space. But, if you do know me and my family, and you like being able to get these little updates, send me a note and let me know that you've peeked in! (And don't forget to leave your name!)