The Latta Family

So- I am still in training for the old half marathon.  In order to keep my training up, help make me accountable, and have a set appointment to run during the week when it's hardest to fit it in, I asked the cross country coach at school if I could run with the team on Monday's.  He was thrilled to have me.  I assured him I am slow as no body's business and I didn't expect any kids to keep up with me- I just wanted to make myself accountable. He said he didn't care and to come on! Today is the first day I did it.  I knew it was going to be a hard run because: I don't usually run in the afternoon. I either run at 6:30am or after 7:30pm.  Those times are quite a bit cooler than 3:15 in the afternoon.  So I knew the heat would be a problem for me.   But the point of this post is not about my attempt at running.  The point is teenagers get a bad rap- and sometimes it's totally undeserved.  The team is all boys.  There were no girls.  I was immediately intim

I went to dinner tonight with several good friends.  As it tends to come up with a bunch of mothers we started talking about our children.  Something about the transition to Big Boy/Girl beds came up.  And I shared this story- promising there was a picture.  They said, "Oh- this must be a post- with the picture!"  So . . . here's the story and the picture. We moved Andrew into a big boy bed at 20 months (thank God I organized and named all of Andrew's photo folders by age, so I found this picture quickly- and knew exactly what age this happened.  Sorry Alexa.  You don't get all that).  Looking back, and comparing to other kids that seems a bit early.  However- Andrew was catapulting himself out of his crib in a very unsafe way.  I would stand outside the door- secretly watching until he made the move and then I'd run into his room and yell, "No!"  I was hoping for a shock factor.  However, my shock factor didn't work.  He refused to nap (Andrew

I am pretty sure I am not going to get creditted with being the most sensitive mother anytime in the near future and so I am posting these videos I got of Alexa petting the goats at Tweetsie.  Watch the first one, hear her little voice?  She's so in awe of them.  "oooh!" she says.  Sorry they're sideways.  ;-( Ok, this second video happened within a second of the first one.  Brace yourself.  I laugh EVERY time!

So tomorrow I am going back to work.  Technically I don't actually have to go back until Wednesday, but since I did abolutely NOTHING over the summer to prepare for the school year- I better take 7 hours tomorrow to get myself prepared.  I am pretty doggone certain that I am going to be HATING myself tomorrow at this time, when I am entering into freak out mode as I realize I have sooooo much to do, and wishing I hadn't been such a slacker over the summer.  But anyway- since tomorrow marks the official end of my summer and the official beginning of my school year, here's a re-cap of our summer: -           About 30 trips to the waterpark -           ice cream/frozen yogurt trips -           hikes on Greenways -           trips to park -           trips to the library -           uncountable Super Friend comic, Junie B, and Magic Tree House reads -           lunch at Chick Fil A- a lot -           Riverbank Zoo -           3 Children museums -           Folly Beach/Charles

This weekend we went up to Boone for a last minute, end of summer trip.  It was AWESOME!  The kids were super enjoyable, there was good sight seeing, and the weather was fabulous!  On Sunday while my friends in the Charlotte area were melting in the humidity, we were cool as cucumbers.  I hardly even sweat (and believe me- for me that is a minor miracle). In case you didn't know, Appalacian State University is in Boone, NC.  I love a college campus- even if it's not "mine."  I loved college.  Loved it.  I would love to go back for just a week.  Live on campus, eat in the cafeteria with everyone, go to class (because this time I would appreciate it more), do homework, and hang out with friends.  I wouldn't want to do it forever.  I wouldn't give up my current life, but I'd like to go visit my old life for a week.  While we were driving by campus, I said to Doug, "Can you belive that in 17 years . . . we could be dropping Alexa off at college?!"

Oh what a glorious afternoon at the Latta house today!  Doug finally got the tractor moving!  Let me tell you a little story about Doug and the tractor.  So- he's always wanted a tractor.  However- there's not an incredible need for a tractor on 3/4 of an acre- as it turns out.  But as they say, "You can take the boy out of the country, but you can't take the country out of the boy."  (in case you didn't know- Doug grew up in the country.)  And despite our not having a dire need for a tractor, he still wanted one.  Well- he comes dashing home one morning last summer all excited about maybe finding a tractor for hardly any money.  Then he gets all, "maybe I shouldn't get it. . . "  Well I am crazed with pregnancy horomones and so I say, "Doug- just go buy it.  You've been wanting one forever.  Just get it."  And he comes home with it.  Aren't they so excited about it?!  Well unfortuately the tractor needed some work, but tha

My mother used to say the craziest things when I was younger, but now that I am older and a mother myself, they don’t seem quite as crazy.   One thing that sticks out in my mind is, whenever we’d ask for a Nintendo 64 (yep, that’s how old I am) she’d respond, “NO!   That’s the Japanese way of taking over the world.   They’re trying to make it so people can’t think!”    While I used to think that was totally absurd, I am starting to think she may have had a point.    Tonight, Doug said, “These Triple Double Oreos are the root of all evil!”   while he reached into the package.    This made me think back on my mother and the world domination of the Japanese and I started to think, “huh, Oreo’s just might be the root of all evil.”   I mean, I have absolutely NO willpower when it comes to Oreos.   None.     My mother- the jerk that she is- gave Doug some Double Stuffed Oreos for his birthday.   Doesn’t that sound nice of her?   A gift.   Except that Doug- the jerk that he is- went and left

If someone asked me, "Tell me a phrase that you remember your mother saying."  I would have to reply, "I hate kids."  It is now as the mother of a sassy 6 year old that I understand that phrase and why she said it.  I hope I can explain this exactly, so you know that she didn't actually hate us- just hated when we aggravated her.  And that I don't hate my kids- just hate that one in particular, can aggravate me so. So my mother has 3 children.  I am the oldest, my sister is the middle child- younger than me by 5.5 years, and my brother- the youngest by 11 years.  She used to say she didn't have a favorite (I actually believe that) she enjoyed us all for our different qualities.  While we are similar- we are also very different.  However, there is one thing we all did rather well- and that would be, annoy my mother.  Sometimes on purpose.  I know you find it hard to believe that I would do anything to annoy my mother on purpose, but it's true.  Sorr

I tell you, I just love a toddler.  I am not being sarcastic either.  I do.  They're pudgy and squishy in all the right places.  Sometimes they smell lovely.  They think you're hillarious- just by holding them upside down.   Not only do I love them, I am a little envious of them.  They feel no need to be socially appropriate.  They're completely and delightfully uninhibitted.  I know you won't believe this- but I actually hold back.  It's true.  I am actually not telling you everything on my mind- only part of it.  So see- this is why I love toddlers (particularly mine), they feel no need to hold back. Feel gassy?  What's that rhyme?  It's better to bear the shame, than to hold it in and bear the pain.  Alexa lives by that motto.  Don't want someone in your space? Smack at them until they get out. Don't want what's being offered?  Shove it off of your tray with gusto. Love your grapes? Shove in a gigantic mouthful, so that the juice runs do

So Alexa's birthday came and went and we were in a flurry of activity, getting ready for parties, getting ready for the beach, getting Doug off to Greensboro, we were just busy, but since I have internet again I am inundating you with blog posts.  She got a wagon that she loved!  She gets in, and out, in and out, in and out.  Over and over again. The box the wagon came in- is about as fun as the wagon.  Instead of birthday cake, she got a birthday whoopie pie.  She knew exactly what to do with it.  She is my child- and I am proud of it! I think she liked it. Opening presents

I read an article the other day about how the teenage years were by far the hardest to parent.    While the article did bring up some very difficult issues, it filled me with despair.   How could parenting a teenaged Andrew, be any more difficult than this summer?   This has been a terrible summer for Andrew.   I have joked (but am mostly serious) he stored up the Terrible Two’s and Three’s for “The Summer of Six.”   My mother, who has been witness to several of his meltdowns and smart mouth antics, said, “Oh, 6 year olds are notoriously awful!”     As the mother of 3, and an elementary school media specialist I am putting stock in her wisdom on this topic.   In Andrew’s defense- things are different this summer.   Mostly because I realized he did absolutely NOTHING for himself.   Before the summer started he didn’t even bathe himself.   It took him so long and inevitably there was a minor meltdown because he couldn’t get all the soap out of his hair.   I would try to explain that he s

I love my phone.   It’s a smart phone- no really.   That’s the type of phone it is, but the thing is.   It really is a smart phone.   It can do EVERYTHING!   I can make notes to myself- to remember books I want to read, grocery items, printer cartridge sizes, and things I want to do when I get home (I tend to write those lists when I am in the car on car trips).   It can navigate me to the beach- and back home from the beach.   It provides me all varieties of contact with family and friends.   I can keep up with my favorite blogs.   I have a Kindle app, so that when I am sitting in the car waiting to pick kids up- I can pass the time reading!!!!!   I can take pretty decent pictures of my cutie pie kids.   I can look up a recipe- in the grocery store and get all the items I need.   This week, it has provided me my only contact to the internet as we were having some router troubles; however Doug fixed it- thankfully.   That’s why there are so many posts today.   I am catching up. One day

Let me say, this has been a fantastic summer for me and my crew.  (not Doug as much, because he has to work during the summer, but Andrew, Alexa, and I have had a fun summer.  We've played, traveled to Columbia, Charleston, Myrtle, and visited family, and it's coming to an end. waahhhh) This past week we went to the beach with a college friend of mine- and her family.  I was super excited.  It was the beach, and there were friends.  It was perfect!  What could go wrong?!  Well- the week before we left to go to the beach, I had a couple of naysayers plant seeds of doubt in my head.  They talked about their awful experiences vacationing with their friends.  It never occurred to me to worry about that.  My family had always vacationed with friends.  The vacations with friends are far more memorable to me- than the ones without friends.  What if this was a week of torture?  Well, to the naysayers I say, "HAH!  You just didn't vacation with us, because we had a BLAST!!!!!&