Football & Fairy Tales The McSwains: 2012

Monday, December 31, 2012

Say Cheese

Annie took the kids out to a little park by us and happened to capture these sweet pictures!

I got to go experience Madison Claire's Harvest Party at school. It was fun to see her in that environment and see how she interacted with the other kids and her teachers. I'm thankful that she loves school!

Future Mr. Football

I snapped this picture of Mac on our way home from church one morning. I looked back there and he was asleep just like this - I promise I did not arrange this pose!

And...not to be outdown when we were taking pictures of Mac asleep, here is MC in her "asleep" pose.

Home Sweet Home

Our current living situation in Memphis has continued to be drama filled throughout the last 6 months. We came home from one of our beach trips over the summer to find that the house had been flooded. We had a flash flood in Germantown and apparently the water came in from all of our exterior doors on the left side of the house. We had a few inches of water in the kitchen, dining room, back hallway and laundry room. Fortunately, all of our furniture in those areas sits up slightly on legs so we didn't have anything ruined other than some really wet oriental rugs that were able to be cleaned but man, was it a hassle! We discovered it on a Friday evening and Ryan immediately got in touch with Showhomes. Before we knew it, the realtor, homeowners wife, homeowners friend, and franchise owner of Showhomes were at our house scoping out the damage and coming up with a plan. They were there until around 11pm, but got someone in who could take care of getting the water up.

We had a company come and check for mold and fortunately, we didn't have any issues there although the floors in all of those rooms were essentially ruined. The homeowner was out of the country at the time but as soon as he got back, he got to work on the house. We now have new tile floors throughout the kitchen and a new drainage system in the backyard to prevent it from happening again. He also had some serious trees cut down - I tried to capture the backyard via the pictures below, but they really don't do it justice. The limbs were piled so high in front of our house that from one view from the street, you couldn't see the front door. It was crazy!

They are planning to replace the hardwood floors on the rest of the main floor in January. While it will be nice once it is done, I will say the hassle of living through a home remodel, when it isn't really your home, is a bit challenging. Hopefully it will go smoothly!

MC's pics

I think we may have discovered a new interest for Madison Claire. She started showing an interest in taking pictures with my phone and camera a few months ago and then one day, I found my camera with this series of pictures that she had taken without anyone knowing. Pretty cute how she moved her subject around to different backgrounds and angles. The McSwain's got her a digital camera for Christmas this year, so now she has her own camera to take pictures with :).

Go Dores!

Vanderbilt kicked off the college football sesaon this year with a Thursday night game against South Carolina. We were prepared to cheer! GO DORES!

Visit with the Stiernagles

The Stiernagles came through Memphis on their way to my parents condo for a vacation in late August. It was so much fun to have the kids spend some time together. Madison Claire was excited to have her first official sleepover with Ellie in her room. It was hilarious - I went up there several times and Ellie was asleep and Madison Claire was still just talking away. She ended up in our bed both nights, but it was worth a try! Maybe next time :). We did succeed in introducing the Stiernagles to Central BBQ and Gus's Friend Chicken, spending some time by the pool, and introducing Ellie to the dreamlight :). Maybe one day we will live in the same city - wouldn't that be awesome!!

Sunday, November 25, 2012

Preschool

Madison Claire is going to Preschool 2 days a week from 9-2:30pm. She LOVES school and has already learned so much. They are working on writing her name and learning different letters, shapes & colors. She has learned the pledge of allegiance, and takes pride in telling us every day that her bird did not come out of the tree (that means she behaved at school) :). I dread the day when her bird does come out of the tree because she is going to be devastated!! She is also very serious about her ribbon that says "I made my mat all by myself". It's precious! She loves show-n-tell every week and has taken everything from my Pure Barre Ball (she thinks I work there :)) to her Dora light, flashlight, & her real goldfish.

I'm thankful for having a place like Germantown Baptist where she can learn how to follow instructions, learn basic truths about the Bible, engage in fun activities that I would never be creative enough to think of at home, and have fun with other kids. I just can't believe how fast she is growing up! Sweet Angel!

First Day - 2012

Disney on Ice

We took Madison Claire to Disney on Ice as a surprise. We couldn't wait for her to get to see the princesses in person. I think Ryan and I were more excited then she was! It was a blast and she loved the show - especially the Rapunzel section. She kept waving at the princesses - adorable. It made us really excited to take her to Disney next summer!

Beach - Take 2

I've made it a tradition over the past few years to head down to the beach in late July/early August while Ryan is in two-a-days. This way, he gets to work 24 hours a day without any pressure from me, and I get to enjoy a trip to the beach! Annie and I took the kids and spent a few days in Panama City & a few days in Destin. It was a more difficult trip than usual because Annie was working through some things that were happening in her life but we somehow managed to enjoy the sun, shopping, Kilwins, and time with the kids. One of the highlights of the trip for me was when we took Madison Claire to the rides at Pier Park. She had a ball - she loved everything - even the adult rides like the scrambler! She was a little dare-devil! She even did the trampoline jump and laughed, with an ear-to-ear smile the ENTIRE time. It made my week.

We also had fun getting to see Kim & Josh for a few days and Madison Claire made progress in her sleeping thanks to the purchase of an air matress & Dreamlight. Praise the Lord!!

I'm very thankful for the McSwains and my parents for opening up thier condos to us so often. We feel very blessed!!

Drama, Drama

Madison Claire got off her routine thanks to our beach trip in late June/early July. She spent a week at the beach, a week with my parents, and then a week with Ryan's parents. 3 weeks off her normal routine = DISASTER! Note to self - do NOT do this again!

When she finally got back home, she was so used to sleeping with someone that she literally would not go to sleep at night. She would throw a full out, 100% tantrum every single night at bed time. She thought of every excuse in the book - she was scared of the dark, scared of the airplanes that fly over our house, scared of the possibility of a storm, her legs hurt, her stomach hurt, she needed water, she needed more toys in her bed, basically she just wanted us.

When we would leave and shut her door, she would turn into a possessed person - screaming in a voice unlike anything we've ever heard, kicking, trying to trick us by yelling out "Oh no" so we would think something had happened in there. It was exhausting and one of the biggest parenting challenges we have faced with her.

We tried everything - positive reinforcement (think sticker charts, bribing with something fun if she goes to sleep with no yelling), negative reinforcement (think spankings, no bed time story, etc.) and NOTHING worked. We prayed a lot and sought advice from friends.

Praise the Lord, it only lasted around 2 weeks. We ended up finding success through consistently not giving in, letting her have a popsicle for breakfast every morning she woke up and had stayed in her room with no yelling, and getting her a Dreamlight, which lights up her ceiling while she is falling asleep.

*Note - it's now 4 months later, and sometimes, when I go get her in the morning, she still looks at me and says "I stayed in my room with no yelling! Can I have a popsicle?" Hee Hee :)

Happy Anniversary to Annie

July 13th was Annie's 3 year anniversary with us. Madison Claire was in Nashville, so she sent Annie a message while she was away. We are very thankful for Annie and how she has loved our kids for the last 3.5 years. She has decided to pursue a dream of fashion school so is leaving us in June - it's hard to imagine replacing her so for now, we just don't think about it :). Denial always works, right?!