Happy 5th Birthday Philip

Our little boy is five! As cliche as it sounds, time really does fly. Philip had a great birthday party with friends and family all around. Helen really wanted the party to be all about her. Being two is tough.

And since he turned five, and is within 1/2 a pound 40 pounds, we transitioned to a belt strap high back booster seat. He loves it because he can easily strap himself in and unstrap unassisted. On those rainy days, Mom loves it too. The only problem is that Helen wants EVERYTHING big brother has so the jealousy factor has really kicked in!

Hot Water Heater - One Paycheck later

Battle of the Bulldogs

Today, I started my new job at Samford University in Student Affairs. Samford's mascot is the bulldog. I love college administration. I love college students. I love everything about a college campus. Two years ago when I left my job at Birmingham-Southern College many considered it career suicide, including me. I never expected to be able to re-enter this field in the way that God has allowed me to with Samford. I will have the opportunity to again work with amazing student leaders in campus activities, Greek life, leadership events, and whatever else we can come up with together to ensure that these students' four years (and we know parents want it to only be four years) are incredibly memorable and all for positive reasons.

I am also blessed to have found yet another campus that is so family-friendly. I look forward to bringing our children to Samford athletic and other campus events. If nothing else, I can't wait to see them take off across the beautiful campus quad, and running until they have no choice but to sleep through the night....without waking up and crying for one of us....or ending up in our bed before dawn.

Being at home with my children these past two years is something I will always treasure, but now is the time I feel called to return to work. I pray my children are enriched by my work experience, and grow up with a strong appreciation for opportunities to continue to learn and grow not only in their minds, but also in their hearts and souls. I pray that they will become lifelong learners as a result. I pray that their faith will be the cornerstone to that process.

So today, my children began day school again. For Helen, this is something a bit new staying for a full day rather than the typical parents' day out half day. For Philip, he was in heaven, finding himself surrounded by new puzzles, new books to read, and a classroom full of new friends. He also selected a Scooby Doo nap mat. He practically levitated with glee to have found his favorite character on which to rest his head. I heard from a fellow parent about an hour after dropping Helen off (and she was in tears when I left) that she was happily washing her hands alongside a new little friend, giggling as they made bubbles in the sink for what was probably the umpteenth time in praise of the bubbles they created. When I returned home from work, Daddy had picked them up and headed to the library to get their summer reading stamps and to check out new books. Both Helen and Philip were chatterboxes about their day. And thankfully, they were also all smiles about the experience.

I also had some of the best fried okra I've ever had today in the campus cafeteria. I would have had more if no one was looking. While all of the above experiences certainly put my heart at rest about my decision, the okra was icing on the cake and proof that God intends happiness for us in this new chapter in our lives.

Pre-birthday bribes

(On the way home from Free Friday Flicks in the Park)

Philip, if you will stay in YOUR OWN bed all night tonight, you can go with me to order your Scooby Doo birthday cake tomorrow.

But I can't. I need to cuddle with you in your bed.

Then you can't go with me tomorrow to pick our your birthday cake.

OK, will you just get one with Scooby Doo on it then?

No, I will order one with a big head of broccoli on it.

But I don't like broccoli.

Then I guess you better stay in your own bed all night so you can go tell them what you want on your birthday cake.

(30 minutes later as Daddy puts him into bed)

Daddy, maybe it's not real broccoli, maybe its (making sprinkle finger gestures overhead as he speaks) just icing decoration.

June Travels

We just returned from the 2010 Moss Family Beach Reunion. It was ten years ago that I took the huge risk to accept the invitation to come to a family beach trip with a boy I barely knew. I knew something was special though and the rest was history. Here is a brief trip down memory lane with the first family group picture that started it all.

This free slideshow made with Smilebox

Living in Disarray

This is my house right now. It is not pretty.





If you've knocked on my door in the last few days and heard me hush everyone inside to pretend we are not home, I apologize.





I'm not sure how I let it get this way. It was clean last weekend when I arrived back home from a wonderful weekend away with my college friends. Mamie Moss and Big Philip made sure of it.

I post this on the blog to motivate me and hold me accountable to restore order to our humble abode. Instead of looking at larger homes for sale every day I need to take that time and put it to good use trying to keep the house in order. I think like most moms, I get terribly deflated after cleaning all day on a beautiful Saturday or Sunday afternoon, only to return to work on Monday and find the house looks just like it did before the cleaning spree. It's not anyone's fault. It's just what life looks like when actively living in a small space.

I don't remember it looking this bad when I worked full-time and since I'm returning to full-time work again mid June, maybe it will improve with the kids in day school and both adults working mostly outside of the home.

In the meantime, I've got about four weeks to get a better cleaning routine down in the house before returning to full-time work. And before anyone suggests I visit the flylady.com I ditched her long ago after she nearly gave me a nervous breakdown with all of her email reminders those first few weeks I tried to implement her system.

Potty Training Victory

We are claiming potty training victory with Helen after only about two weeks! Please recall the year long saga with Little Philip to share in our joy that this process was virtually painless. Things we did differently that produced a more positive result:

1. We had a girl.

Pretty much, that's it.

Kidding, of course. We attribute our success to the fact that this is a second child, and yes, that Helen is a girl. Also, we did not use any pull-up diapers. We went straight to big girl panties, and LOTS of them. Disney princesses, Dora, Elmo, stripes, dots, you name it. Whatever it took. And it did take. She favors the princess look. No surprise there.

Helen turned two March 18th. We potty trained in one three day weekend, toward the end of April. While her tiny bout with diarrhea during this ordeal was a challenge, we also think that this lent a helping hand in Helen learning to potty....a lot.

We still wear a diaper for naps and nighttime but already, the family budget is breathing a tiny sigh of relief from the burden of diapers and wet wipes being lifted.