Sleepless flights

The last couple times we flew with Morgan to Denver to see the grandparents, we planned the flight to coinside with nap/bed time. What better way to spend 2.5-3 hours on a flight than with a sleeping 2 year old? That time provides a time for Jen and I to re-energize our souls by reading, talking, writing, watching television or a movie (Frontier Airlines), or napping.

Things did not quite work out that way this time!

This was the first time that we have flown since Matthew was born - I am thankful that airlines still are not charging for infants (2 years or younger) that sit in an adults lap. We headed to the airport on Friday night bound for Denver. We followed our usual MO - late flight so that Morgan (and now Matthew) would sleep.

Not so much

Morgan talked, laughed, screamed, hit, swung, and kicked (I want to say I'm sorry to the people that sat in front of us on both flights) the entire flight! As soon as the wheels went up, the little 2 year old devil horns sprouted from her head. It was totally weird.

There were many 'conversations' between Morgan and myself in the bathroom about how to behave and to listen to what Mommy and Daddy say. Nothing worked. We just grinned and beared it until we began our decent to 15,000 feet - at which time Morgan took a power nap for maybe 20 minutes to be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed for the grandparents!

The flight home was pretty much a carbon copy of the flight out. I have come to the conclusion that we will not be flying out with Morgan anytime soon - so if you live out of driving range (5 hours) then you will need to fly to us!

Homes: Dwarf, Victorian, and Otherwise

This past weekend we took a family trip to Savannah (Jen's parents, sister, and our clan of Lemmings, plus the dog). We were looking forward to a great weekend and were not disappointed. Here is a 'brief' recap of the trip:

• New food places: original Chick-fil-a Dwarf House near the Atlanta airport (did you know this is the only Chick-fil-a that is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week?); Firefly Cafe' (food was fantastic);
  Churchill's Pub and Restaurant (food not so good); Spanky's (the original chicken finger place on Tybee Island - food was good; you really can't mess up chicken fingers); Paula Deen's place, Lady and Sons for Mother's Day (food was a disappointment).
• Savannah-time: horse-cart tour of Savannah - great history of the squares, the city, the homes, some ghost stories, etc (overall it was awesome); Tybee Island was great (imagine a non-commercialized Panama City minus the rednecks) - we'll be back for sure!; our accommodations were pretty cool - pretty much in walking distance of historic downtown Savannah - it was a 100+ year old Victorian house that pretty much looked like IKEA vomited within it;
• Entertainment: Lulu's Chocolate Bar was freakin' tasty and the art work was 'out-there' (very cool); Jen and I had a date afternoon and saw 'What happens in Vegas' (deserves 2 1/2 star - but what do you expect with Ashton Kutcher and Cameron Diaz? it was cute, but should have just rented it in a couple weeks); the alone time with Jen was awesome- Thanks Mimi, Papa, and Mama for putting up with screaming kids (oops!); we also watched 'Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil', I had seen it a couple times before coming to Savannah - Brian (FIL) said that if they would have seen the movie before the reservations in Savannah, we would have been somewhere else for the weekend!

We had a great time in Savannah and can't wait to get back (maybe next time Jen and I will get to go without the kids and will be able to experience it without being 'mommy and daddy')!

It only took 3-4 weeks

We have finally decided on which child we are going to sponsor through Compassion! Everyone meet the newest addition to our family!

We can't wait to get to know Olupot Najin from Uganda! We will introduce Morgan to Olupot (well at least to his picture - maybe one day we'll actually all get to meet each other face to face!) and get her to color some pictures for him.

We are so excited to be able to share our blessings with Olupot, and expect to be blessed by his letters, pictures, stories, and prayers.

Please add him to your prayers. If you are looking for a way to add to your life, while helping a child receive the assistance to reach their full potential please consider sponsoring a child through Compassion!

Weekend Recap

1. No technology = happy family (I am enjoying not having my cell or crackberry turned on during the weekend - gives all of us peace)

2. Woke up on Saturday to Mickey Mouse pancakes (made by Jen and Morgan). Morgan sang 'Happy Birthday' to me which I loved! Although, I think we confused her; because we sang on Saturday then it MUST have been my birthday then (her thinking). This morning when Jen told her to tell me 'Happy Birthday' and give me my birthday card, she said 'No' it is Mimi's birthday today.

3. Took care of the Norris Clan's kiddos on Saturday to allow Christy and Brandon to have a 'date lunch' - it is our turn next!

4. Went to church on Sunday - Jen volunteered for the 2-3 year old class and it sounds like it is time to move on to the older kids; the sermon was on being a good 'steward'/tithing - the sermon was good and challenging.

5. Dinner and playtime at the Norris' house - Morgan woke up this morning asking if she could go back to their house to jump on the trampoline and ride the roller-coaster.

6. I decided that for my 33rd birthday that we would 'adopt' (this doesn't feel like the right word) a child through Compassion. I can't decide on either a child from Uganda or Haiti - still praying about it!

Awesome weekend!

Great Weekend

After this last week of little sleep due to work related (not newborn or 2 year old related) mishaps. I decided that I was going to have a "technology free" weekend - no cell phone, no crackberry, and no work-computer. I could focus 100% of my time on family. Let me tell you. It. Was. Awesome!

The down side? I had almost 400 emails in my Inbox at work when I got in today. That was it. The world did not end; I didn't lose any sleep (at least no more than usual); and I didn't freak out and check my pocket or waist band when ever I heard a chirp or beep.

We had a great time in Auburn this weekend. We got to hang out with the whole gang, we played Wii (my first time), ate some awesome grub, and listened to some amazing vocals of the 5 kids and 5 dogs.

Fantastic!

On our own...

We have been blessed these last 2 weeks to have live-in grandparents and an aunt for the weekend to help out with Morgan and Matthew (as well as the kitchen, grocery store, Chuck E. Cheese, McDonalds, etc.). We knew those days would come to an end and Jen and I would have the house and all its demands to handle on our own at some point.

Well, as of 4 PM (EST) yesterday the house was officially empty - meaning that Jen and I were on our own!

The result?

We had McDonald's for dinner last night, put Morgan to bed at 7:45 (started at 6:30), and Jen and I were able to sit and watch television on the couch with Matthew in the swing. We thought things were going to go smoothly.

Matthew gets fed at 10:00 and has the hiccups/spit ups until almost midnight. Morgan was up and in our bed by 3:45 and whispering ('Daddy pat me') until about 4:45ish. Then Matthew gets fed again some where shortly thereafter...which means he is grunting and making spit up noises until about 6:30ish. I wake up Jen and Morgan (who is still in our bed - and is actually drooling on my pillow), so that I can take Morgan to school and get on the road by 8:00.

Oh happy day! We survived the night and there were no major meltdowns this morning.

Go Eagles!!!

My youngest sister found out this morning that she was accepted into the Clinical Psych PhD program at Southern Miss. This has been a long term prayer request for her to do well on the graduate tests, interviews, and acceptance - and the prayers have been answered with a resounding "GO FOR IT!"

Congrats!!!!!!!!!!

Introducing Matthew Brian Lemmings

Date: Friday March 7, 2008
Time: 3:27 PM (EST)
Weight: 8 pounds 12 ounces
Length: 20.75 inches

Jen and Matthew are doing awesome. Matthew is adjusting to his new world; while Jen and I are adjusting to having a newborn stay in our room. When Morgan was born, she had to stay the first 4 nights in the NICU.

I'm going to have to get used to the grunts, snorts, and other baby sounds. Man this is awesome and yet terrifying (I'm not real sure I'll sleep that much these next few nights).

All thoughts and prayers were (and are still) appreciated. We love each of you and are thankful for the support you have given us!

[edit - I removed the slide show from the post, because it was slowing down the loading of the page. So here is a link to the Picasa web albulm that contained the same pictures.]

We have pictures of almost everyone with Matthew; however, we are missing Christy, Brandon, Jackson, Kim, and the Olson clan! We expect to take care of those pictures soon.

On the road...

We got to the hospital this morning around 6:15 and got "checked in". Got to the Labor and Delivery Room and began the process of sitting and waiting until Matthew pushes hard enough to get things going.

So far all things are going extremely well! Jen is kicking right along with her contractions (drugs I hear are great things). As of 2:30 PM (EST) we are about half way there, based on Jen's development and Matthew's positioning. We hope to meet Matthew in the next couple hours. It would be really cool if we could deliver Matthew before Morgan got picked up from school, so she could come in and meet the newest addition to our family.

Keep posted on the status of Matthew's arrival by checking back here and looking at the Twitter on the top right corner of the page! Thanks for the continued prayers and thoughts...

Countdown...

"It has begun"

If all goes as planned, we will be holding Matthew in our arms on Friday afternoon/evening! Keep us (mostly Jen and Matthew) in your prayers! I'll keep everyone updated as we get closer...

New Word of the Week (WOTW)

Morgan's new Word of the Week is.......(drumroll)....

"Dum-dum"

We don't use such childish words at home (we'll go big or go home on occasion), so I would have to say that the government school is the culprit! I know she is only 2 and she is just repeating words she hears (and that it will/could get worse), but come on. I was hoping that we could do without this new vocabulary until she was at least 11.

Fungus Amongus

There is some nasty stuff going around! Here is the toll as of today:

• Jackson - vomit
• Brandon - nausea
• Brian (me) - nausea
• Dad - aching all over (no tummy issues)
• Adam - nausea (maybe vomit)
• Cole - vomit (hospital with IV)
• Josh - snot, fever, vomit
  
• Alyssa - snot, fever, vomit
  
• Morgan - snot, cough, double ear infection (antibiotics)

Anyone else want to join in on the fun?

Last doctor appointment this afternoon? (updated)

Jen has what could be the last doctor appointment this afternoon before Matthew arrives. We have continued to have great news with how well Matthew is doing (e.g., the approximate weight and size, based on Jen's belly is right on track; his heart rate is strong)!

We are hoping that after speaking with the doctor that we can get a specific date to be induced - and when I say we, I of course mean my beautiful, strong, patient wife. I think it would be awesome for Matthew to born on Friday (February 29th - a "Leap Day"). I think that would be an awesome birthday! No one in the immediate family thinks that having his birthday on the 29th is cool - they are all worried that he would never get to celebrate his birthday!

Hello?

We would celebrate it on March 1st and every 4 years would have a HUGE birthday on Feb. 29th! Plus it appears he could get a free pizza from Papa Johns. He could also join the Honor Society of Leap Year Babies! Check out Leapzine to meet all those lucky kids born on Leap Day!

Jen is hoping for Monday (March 3) as the day for delivery...I asked her to at least let me have this ONE thing - after all, she has gotten all the fun stuff throughout the pregnancy!

Edit (as of 3:15 PM, EST) - Well, it looks like there will be at least one more appointment for Jen and Matthew. My desire to have a Leap Year Baby was dashed this afternoon - because it is ALL about ME!

We'll keep everyone posted on any changes over the weekend! But as of now the next appointment time is set for Wednesday (3/5).

The cuteness of a 2 year old

Every Wednesday night our church cooks dinner (Dinner at the Diner) for $5 per adult. Jen and I look forward to Dinner at the Diner every week for many reasons, one being that is one less night we have to figure out what to have for dinner.

Morgan:
Cole not at dinner?

Me:
No sweetie, Cole's daddy is sick. So Cole stayed home with Mr. Adam and Mrs. Jenny.

Morgan:
Cole's daddy is sick.

Me:
Yes, Mr. Adam is sick.

Morgan:
We pray for Mr. Adam.

Me:
(looking at Jen and smiling) Okay, let's pray that Mr. Adam feels better.

Usually we pray at night and do a sing-songy prayer, and if prompted by Morgan we'll pray for everybody she knows (plus all the pets). But last night was different, this was the first time that she wanted to say a prayer that someone would feel better.

Morgan already is blowing my mind at 2 years old. What are we in store for as she gets older?

Coming home early?

The pains of pregnant-motherhood began to take hold of Jen this weekend. Today we are 36 weeks pregnant, but Matthew has decided now was the time to start knocking on the door and ringing the doorbell alerting us that he is about ready.

We are excited and a bit freaked out that Matthew is getting closer to arrival! Please keep us in your prayers (okay, mostly Jen, as she has to think back to the lamaze breathing class we took when pregnant with Morgan); and as we are finish getting our home ready for Matthew's arrival in the next couple weeks.

It would be okay if he comes early, but Jen really needs another week to get her work stuff in order before being out. And I need at least another week to mentally prepare myself for changing diapers, projectile pooping, spit up, and sleepless nights.

We will keep everyone posted if the situation changes and we head to the hospital!

Hair, Nail, and a Close Shave

This weekend was eventful in the Lemmings' Casa.

Hair
After months of screaming and crying while brushing Morgan's hair (or having to use a slimy gallon of No More Tangles), Morgan had her first haircut! The last couple times I cut my hair, Morgan told me that she needed a haircut too. So on Saturday morning we decided to go for it - I mean how hard could it be to cut a 2 year old's hair?

We told Morgan that we were going to cut her hair and she was very enthusiastic, until she had to stay still for more than 2 seconds. She actually did a great job listening to me (my job was to entertain her), while Jen had the hard job of not making her hair zig-zaggy! You can check out the new hair cut here.

Nail
After 6 weeks of having a purple nail, the drama has ended. Friday night while eating at Five Guys (which is awesome - until you look at the calories of the food), I jammed my finger on the portable wooden highchair, preventing Morgan from slamming to the floor. I knew immediately that my nail was soon to come off, and by the time we were heading to the car (5-10 minutes later), I had 10 fingers and 9 nails.

When the nail fell off, I put it in my pocket to take a picture of it (I know...I'm gross), but forgot about it until this morning. I am wearing the same jeans today as I did on Friday (they are jeans...get over it, they don't need to be washed until they can stand up in the corner on their own), on the way back from the break room I put my hand in my pocket and it felt like something bit me. Yep, it was my own discarded finger nail! (Gross!)

Shave
The only interest I had with the Super Bowl this weekend was to watch the commercials; hoping that this year's commercials were not as uncreative and boring as last year;s (there are always a couple that are really good, but I'm beginning to think that they are good relative to how poor the others are as a whole).

So I taped (DVR/TiVO) the game last night when we sat down for dinner and when the night was quiet (Morgan was finally asleep) I went through the game at break neck speed, only stopping for the commercials. I caught up with "live" television the beginning of the 4th quarter, which as it turned out was when the game actually got interesting. I typically don't care too much for professional football, but will watch the Championship Series (same M.O. for most pro sports).

If I end up pulling for a team it is usually the underdog, and tonight the game did not disappoint. It was good to see "the other" Manning earn some respect and beat the "best team in football"! So I am jumping on the Giants bandwagon for the next day and a half.

At least the game was entertaining and not a complete blow out! Plaxico Burress really put his team on the line predicting that the Patriots would only get 17 points...

"We're only going to score 17 points?" Brady said before chuckling about it. "OK. Is Plax playing defense? I wish he had said 45-42 and gave us a little credit for scoring more points."

It appears that Plaxico may have actually known what he was talking about. For those that were living under a rock, the final score was 17-14.

Unrelated
I have almost finished painting the upstairs hall (just needs some touch up paint), and will move on to finishing the door trim sometime this week or upcoming weekend. I am so ready to get the painting done in the house (other than the 20 foot walls in the great room - all is done)!

Why does my wallet echo when I open it?

With the due date of Matthew lurking around the corner and the fact that I will now have a beautiful wife, 2 adorable kids (making an assumption for Matthew based on Morgan), 2 weird cats, a needy dog, and more personalities that I care to identify to take care of - does anybody know of someone that is looking for a freelance writer?

It is either being a freelance writer or stocking shelves at Costco at midnight.

Spirit of the Marathon

"Spirit of the Marathon is the first ever non-ficition feature film to capture the drama and essence of the famed 26.2 mile running event. Filmed on four continents, the movie brings together a diverse cast of amateur athletes and marathon luminaries.    

As six unique stories unfold, each runner prepares for and ultimately faces the challenge of the Chicago Marathon. More than a sports move, Spirit of the Marathon is an inspirational journey of perseverance and personal triumpf; a spectacle that will be embraced by runners and non-runners alike."

The movie is having a special encore around the United States on February 21. I got my ticket tonight to go watch it at the Mall of Georgia. I am really looking forward to the movie - they were having special showings at this year's Chicago Marathon, but I didn't have time to watch it (between resting my feet and hanging out with my kick arse support team - a.k.a., the fam!).

The 2007 Chicago Marathon may have had a number of huge mistakes, but my road getting there had some huge accomplishments (physical, mental, and a whole lot of spiritual). Who knows? Maybe watching this will actually motivate me to get off my duff and get out there and start running.

Get your tickets here!

Kiss you on the brain in the shadow of the train

Saturday night Jen and I were able to get away for what will probably be the last date night we have before Matthew is born. The choice of movie before me was either 27 dresses or Juno. 

Juno was the movie choice and let me tell you it did not disappoint.  Jen and I both thought it was great.  If you have not seen the movie be sure to watch it somehow - movie theater, Internet download, rental, whatever.

Jen and I then went to three different restaurants to find dinner.  We first tried Bahama Breeze, but were told it would be somewhere between a 60-75 minute wait (no thanks!).  We then tried Bugaboo Creek, the wait was shorter (20 minutes), but after having our tastebuds set for some "bahamian" food, a steak house was not exactly what either of us really wanted.  Finally we agreed up Provino's (an Italian chain - 5 minute wait time).  The food was decent, but at 8:00 and after a phone call from Jen's mom that Morgan was being a terror (I mean 2 year old - screaming in the bath tub that she wanted Mommy to get her out and dry her off), as long as the wait was short it would do.

After dinner we went next door to The Melting Pot for dessert and continued the relaxing night.  We had the Pure Chocolate Fondue.  Strangely enough I was told by Jen that it tasted like hot chocolate - who knew!

It was great to spend some quiet time with Jen.  We are both really excited (and scared) about introducing Matthew to our family.  In 4-6 very short weeks we will have our newest blessing screaming, pooping, peeing, and eating his way into our hearts and yours.  We can't wait!

Snow Angel, Part 2