Adley-girl

Angela here!  So I think this may be my first post that is almost all about "Adley-girl."  That is Hudson's current name for his little sis.  The world seems to be revolving around her lately and it's not necessarily by her own demand; both my boys are obsessed with the princess.  Hudson is always showing her how to play with different toys and making sure she is content and happy.  He has accepted the fact that he must share every toy or every piece of food or even mommy's lap with her.  As for Chris, Adley has her daddy wrapped around her little finger.  She can (almost) do no wrong when he is around.  As for myself, I continue to hold my title as the most headstrong family member, but my reign may soon be challenged as a new little queen starts to find her voice.  I must admit however, that when Adley tells you "no" and struts away, it is the cutest thing to watch.  I can't help but laugh as I walk her over to time-out.

The Ohio crew still gets together almost every Friday evening for dinner and play time.  Cousin Claire has graciously taught Adley how to perfect the art of being a diva and a princess.  Lolly got out her Mardi Gras beads and the girls knew exactly what to do.  They wore all the necklaces all evening long.  And no, I did not ask how Lolly how she obtained so many beads :)

Adley is also obsessed with sunglasses.  She thinks it is hilarious to take them off and put them back on...over and over again.  Then she will want you to put them on and make a funny face.  She has four pairs of adult-sized glasses and rotates them all.  I bought her a kid-size pair but have yet to give them to her.  She will probably want to wear them to sleep and to school at the rate her obsession is going.

Evenings after school continue to calm down as Adley gets older.  The kiddos can play and entertain themselves and don't require anyone looking over their shoulder.  Since Chris gets home late from work most evenings, this has been a game-changer for me and any mom-chore that needs to be accomplished.

Hudson has a new fascination with mixing up his socks.  Totally random but he loves to come up with different matches and then tell you a story of "who he is wearing" and why.  My Paw Patrol knowledge has grown exponentially due to sock purchases from Lolly.

Adley is obsessed with Elmo and the "clicker."  She has a keen eye for always being able to find the remote and her only demand is that you turn on Sesame Street.  But once it's on, she quickly loses interest and goes for a book or a toy instead, so I'm not complaining.  Hudson, on the other hand, would watch tv all day if you let him.  If he does happen to get air time while Adley is awake, he requires that she sit on his lap.  And she does.  And it is adorable.  And yes, they are still wearing their Christmas pjs.  Hudson has made a special request that once a week, they both "become elves" while they sleep.  I fought against it at first, but now it melts my heart when I see him run into Adley's room and dig out her holiday pjs. 

Notice Hudson again in mix-matched socks.  Not exaggerating at all when I say he does this everyday! 

Chris is off to New Orleans later this week for a guys trip and the Ohio forecast is calling for rain all weekend.  So no big plans for myself and the kids.  Sometimes those end up being the best weekends - minus the part where Chris will be gone - even though the house will be cleaner due to that fact.  Hope everyone has a great week :)

Florida and Swim Lessons!

Hope everyone has had a great month since our last post!  After a week-long travel stent for Chris, we packed up the kids and headed to St. Petersburg, FL for a few days.  Chris received another Neilsen award and was "Membership Rep of the Year" for his region.  There was an award ceremony and dinner for the adults and a babysitter for the kids.  Both kids rallied until 10:30 pm that night and even walked away with goodie bags from the company.  The rest of our time was spent at the beach and the pool!

This was Hudson and Adley's first ocean experience and it was cute to watch.  Adley was fearful of the sand and waves at first, but soon warmed up after seeing her big bro run like crazy.  Hudson was fearless. We stayed at Tradewinds Island Resort, which even gives you your own beach cabana!  The ocean was too chilly to swim, but it was 80 degrees and gorgeous.  There were five outdoor pools, all of which were heated, so it was great to still be able to swim.  Hudson and Chris loved hanging out in the jacuzzi, aka the"hot pool" as Hudson calls it. 

Miss Adley is starting to discover her inner diva.  Her favorite word is "no" and she will give you the stink-eye if you tell her something she doesn't like.  If you upset her, she does this amazing lower lip curl that will make anyone laugh.  She likes to flaunt her knowledge by happily pointing to any body part you ask.  My new personal fav is when she does "elbows"...she will throw her arms back and point her elbows up to the sky.

The resort also had a putt-putt course, which Hudson loved.  Every time he made a putt, he would scream, "Mama!  I just won the champion game!"  He meant to say "championship" and I'm fairly certain he was correlating his win to his football knowledge/obsession.  Adley just liked to steal all the balls.

 

           One night, the hotel had a bonfire where we could roast marshmallows and make s'mores.  Hudson liked to roast the marshmallows, but didn't like to eat them.  Neither kid wanted to eat the chocolate.  But they did devour a ton of graham crackers.

Hudson's most favorite part was going down the 3-story water slide.  It was actually part of the resort and you could go down endless times.  I took a trip down twice before I got nauseated and called it quits.  Hudson couldn't get enough of this thing.  And then Chris wanted Adley to experience the fun, so he took her down as well.  After 3 plummeting trips, she finally pointed her finger at her father and said "No no daddy."  It was a proud moment for this mama!

That is poor little Adley in the pic below...

Once we got back from Florida, swim lessons started for both kids.  This was perfect timing after being exposed to the pool all week during vacation.  Hudson was timid at first and worried he would "go under and stay too long."  But within minutes, he turned into a little guppy and we couldn't get him out of the water.  He is no longer afraid to dunk his head and hold his breath.  Adley, on the other hand, screamed bloody-murder whenever anyone else came too close to her or when the instructor would hold her.  Have I mentioned she is starting to become a diva?!  Hoping and praying swim class goes better this week.

Hope everyone has a great week!

Our Tom Brady Man-Crush!

I doubt everyone had as fabulous of a Super Bowl experience as the Kemps did.  The world was against us last weekend, but the New England Patriots prevailed.  It was most intense roller-coaster-of-emotions I have been on in quite some time.  We had the entire family over to witness Chris and his antics.  Luckily, there was some good pizza, snacks and beer to keep the rest of us sane.  Chris still may have had a mini stroke at the end, but at least it was out of jubilation.

We started our day with attending the Super Bowl party at church.  Next to Christmas, this service may be more attended and popular than Easter.  I often consider football season very similar to Christmas...it seems to bring everyone together...before they tear each other apart.  The kids were gussied up in their New England Patriot gear and ready to strut their stuff.  Mind you, these were the same outfits they had worn to school the previous Friday, sported at some point on Saturday and then rocked out all day Sunday.  I had no dog in the fight; I was outnumbered by a man who brainwashed his children.  But they were undoubtedly the most adorable Pats fans one could ever see!  Not being bias, that is clearly a fact :)

And yes, they wore their outfits AGAIN the following Monday.  I'm certain the teachers and faculty have deemed me the crazy-lady.

Once we got to church, we had the entire clan decked out in Brady/Patriots gear.  Hudson was kind enough to share his other jerseys (yes, there are multiple) with cousin Claire and Anderson.  I even got Lolly, Pop and Aunt Shannon to sport some attire.  We were an obnoxiously large group of red/white/blue fans with #12 jerseys.  Good thing people can't judge you in church, right?!

South Brook had a DJ, hot dogs, chips, games and stations for the kids to play.  Three children happily posed while my littlest once again refused.  But her screaming in public never deters me from striving to capture a photo.  It was poor Lolly who really had to suffer, as she attempted to hold two little girls as the two little boys danced around her.

Then came Sunday evening.  Chris was talking smack to everyone and anyone.  I feared for his life (and mine) that if his Tom Brady didn't pull through and win his FIFTH Super Bowl, hell would freeze over.  

Sidebar: Chris always makes me include Brady stats when talking to others.  #brainwashedWIFE

I finally got a cute picture of Lolly with her grands!

Adley does not like to share the spotlight with the other kids.  And that includes both photos and laps.  It must be the princess only...or you get a screaming flailing child.  Either way, it's a win for me!

And I had to include these funny family videos.  Before the Superbowl began, we had a dance party.  For the past couple weeks, Hud has been obsessed with dancing, which we must do every evening before bath time.  It all started after I went mental listening to kid songs all the time.  So I religiously blared either Justin Timberlake, Bruno Mars or Pharrell until the kids learned to love it.  When he dances, Hudson has what appears to be a few break-dancing moves that have developed out of no where.  It. Is. Hilarious.

https://youtu.be/UwT4qapvX1A

And the below video is a demonstration of  Lolly and Pop's finest dancing skills.  Again, just amazing!

https://youtu.be/ljMgF7PI_2Q

Chris is working in Detroit all next week so I will be in single-parent mode.  But once he returns, the four of us head to Tampa!  We will be celebrating Chris as he receives another Top Recruiter award from his work.  Adley has never flown before and neither kiddo has been to a legit beach (Chicago beaches don't really count).  So once again, I am both anxious and excited.  Hudson is cautiously enthusiastic about the family vacation.  He stated the other night that he was worried the crabs on the beach would bite his toes.  Praying that doesn't happen, but if it does, I promise you I will capture it and post it on YouTube!

    

Cake, Spiderman and gearing up for the Super Bowl

Angela here!  We finally celebrated our final January birthday this weekend and no one was more excited than Hudson.  For the past couple weeks, he had been pleading to make his daddy a "rainbow cake with sprinkles and skittles."  He picked out all the supplies and demanded no help in mixing, stirring or pouring.  He wanted everything to be a surprise so he would run up to Chris and say: "Daddy I'm making you a rainbow cake, and it's a surprise!"    

He was sweet enough to let Adley watch him create his decadent masterpiece.  They not-so-patiently waited 30 minutes staring at the oven.  Hudson would loudly announce, "It's not growing!  It's taking too long, this is hard work!"  And I kept telling Adley to step back because it was hot.  Now whenever she walks past the oven, she will "blow on it" to "cool it down."  Hilarious! 

In case you missed the fashion trend in this post, Hudson is OBSESSED with his Spiderman pjs.  They are worn at least three times a week.  It's going to be a sad sad day when that jumpsuit breaks or becomes too small...

It's been a little over a month since Penny Lane left us and I think our other furry friend is missing his buddy.  Mr. Jack has been more clingy and needy lately; it's almost like he knows PL is gone forever and not just staying at LollyPop's house.  He is forever sleeping on Hudson's "Penny Lane blanket" that K'Ma and Bo'Pa got us.  Let me remind you that this cat would do anything and everything possible to avoid our 3 year old walking tornado.  But now he is sleeping in Hudson's room and hangs pretty close to the little guy.  Kind of creepy and cute at the same time.

Next on the agenda...SUPER BOWL SUNDAY!!!  I thank the Lord that the Patriots won last week, as both of my boys would have gone mental if their Tom Brady man-crush didn't beat the "bad guys."  During last weeks game, insanity swept through my house!  I had to put everyone in time-out.  Even Chris had some electronics taken away so he could calm down.  I designated a corner for each child to serve their time.  They were the cutest little bad kids I had ever seen...

I am fearful/nervous/anxious about the big game next week.  Of course I don't want the Falcons to win, but I am more concerned about the health of my family.  Even if the Patriots do win, I see blood pressure rising, furniture breaking and teardrops flowing.  Keep me in your prayers!

#GoPatriots