Ty and Tommy's Mommy

'Round Here

2011-12-13T22:37:00.001-05:00

Well it's been six weeks since my last post. And I suppose it's been a little busy. Here's what it's been like 'round here in a nutshell:

- My pumpkin carving was a success. I bought and carved it the night before Halloween and it had begun to rot two days later. Just when you're supposed to throw it away anyway.

- A mild version of the stomach bug passed through our house... twice. It wasn't until the second time around that I realized it was actually some sort of a bug. I then proceeded to bleach every non-porous surface and we've been bug free since then.

- Dean and I each had birthdays. We celebrated Dean's birthday at Shula's for the free birthday entree deal. We were planning on doing the same for mine but due to the aforementioned stomach bug, I threw up moments before we were supposed to leave for the restaurant. Good times.

- We had family pictures taken by the amazing Jennifer Powell. It was my dream come true. Dean, Tommy, and Ty would have rather been, well, anywhere else, but they did it because they love me. And when we got that CD back, we were all really thankful!

- We made the trek to Fort Lauderdale for Thanksgiving with my family. The 7 hour drive there took 11 hours because of multiple potty breaks and crazy traffic. But the boys slept the last 4 hours, so that was good. We had a great time with my family and Tommy got to go to his first UM football game. It took two pretzels and a souvenir drink or two, but he stayed for the whole game.

- The fourth annual Inserra family Christmas decorating party happened the Sunday after Thanksgiving. I made a few pots of chili and about 15 people came by to eat and put an ornament or two on our tree. Very fun tradition. The boys even got to stay up past bedtime to help and hang out.

- I agreed to play piano for four events in an eight day span. Not my wisest move, but so far my "Christmukkah" party went great and Christmas on the Moon was beyond incredible. Tomorrow I'll be the accompanist for Tommy's school Christmas program and then my recital is on Sunday. Whew!

- After attempting to spank Ty for his deliberate hitting and biting and simply being laughed at in return, I decided to give the whole time-out thing another go. It was a miserable failure with Tommy and I swore it would never work on an Inserra child. But not so for Ty. In an act of sheer desperation, I put him in the corner near his bedroom one night after a hitting and biting incident and he sat there. He just cried and looked at me and sat there until I got him up. Then when he attempted to bite Tommy later, I threatened another time out and he stopped and walked away. We have success!

Weekend Musings

2011-10-29T22:07:00.000-04:00

- The streak lives. I cannot get through a wedding without crying during the mother/son dance. That started when we attended Todd and Judi Doss's wedding the weekend after we found out Tommy was going to be a boy. That was 5 1/2 years ago. And I don't even have to know the couple getting married! Today Dean performed a wedding and I just met the couple yesterday and yes, I cried during the mother/son dance. I know it's ridiculous.

- I love getting the paper delivered to our house on the weekends. It makes me feel like a grown-up. And I get to play a fun little game with myself where I hurry outside and pick up the paper as fast as I can and hope no other neighbors come outside at the same time so they won't see me in my jammies.

- Thanks to my wonderful in-laws letting the boys have a slumber party at their house last night, I woke up this morning and the sun was up. That's the first time this has happened in many months. And it was everything I dreamed it would be.

- Halloween is on Monday and we haven't had our annual pumpkin carving night, where I spend 2-3 hours painstakingly carving an intricate design on a pumpkin that will most likely rot in the next 48-72 hours. Heck, we didn't even buy a pumpkin! I feel awful about that! But I have to admit it's nice to not have a rotten stinky pumpkin sitting on my doorstep.

- Dean and I have been out on the town quite a bit in the last few weeks. And I still have yet to have my ID checked. I know I'm less than a month away from 30, but seriously??? Please just humor me next time and pretend you're not going to let me in unless I can produce a valid driver's license.

- I love Sundays. I look forward to them all week. I think everyone in my house does, except for Ty who hasn't yet learned to read a calendar. Either way, we all love Sundays because we love our church. And that makes me really happy!

Has Anyone Ever Done This?

2011-10-21T07:29:00.001-04:00

Yesterday I did something completely irrational and not very me-like. I'd like to blame it on age (I'm less than six weeks from being 30!) or just getting too little sleep. But in reality, I can only blame it on one thing: a complete lack of trust in the God that I follow.

I had just finished teaching a piano lesson. Dean had the boys and they were making their weekly visit to Leon football practice. My next lesson had just cancelled so I had a 30 minute break. At 4:30 I heard my phone buzzing and answered it just a half second too late so I missed the call. I looked at it and realized I'd missed two calls in a row from this person. She is a friend of mine, but we never talk on the phone so missing two calls back to back is certainly odd. That's usually what people do when there's something wrong: keep calling until someone finally answers. I thought about what she might want and then it dawned on me that she lives next door to Leon High School, where Dean and the boys were. And my mind went to the next logical conclusion: something terrible had happened to them.

I called Dean and there was no answer. I hung up and called again. Still no answer (disclaimer: Dean is really good at answering his phone, way better than me, and so if he doesn't answer on the second or third ring, you can assume he's in a ditch somewhere... or that he's left his phone in the car).

At this point I'm feeling physically ill. I'm panicked and praying, asking God to protect my family and tell me what to do while I wait to hear from somebody. I knew the best thing to do was wait and pray. So I did. For about 45 seconds. Keep in mind it was only 4:33 at this point. Only 3 minutes had passed and already I was assuming the worst. Then I decided that it was better for me to just drive to Leon and see for myself what awful thing had happened. So I got in the car, called my next piano lesson and explained that I may be late.

When I explained that I was going to Leon because I felt like something horrible had happened, I realized that this may be a bit irrational. But I kept driving because I guess you could say the mama bear instinct had fully kicked in (and I refused to wait and be patient). And kept calling Dean and Beth (the one who had originally called me). Then I began calling anyone who might have heard from Dean or who would be somewhere around the school and could just look out a window and let me know things were alright. I was planning to tweet "In a total panic because I don't know where my husband and children are! Reply if you know anything about their situation!" at the next stoplight (because I don't text while driving and neither should you!).

Instead, when I got to the next stoplight, my phone rang. It was Dean. I figured he was calling me from the ambulance. Nope, he was calling from the football field. I could hear Tommy and Ty running around near him. He apologized for missing my call and said he kept trying to call me but my phone kept going to voice mail. Perhaps this was because I was in the process of calling everyone I knew. I turned around and headed back home, grateful I had left the house in a panic for nothing. And realizing how much easier the last 20 minutes would have been if I had any faith at all in God. But thankful that He would continue to teach me how to do so.

Fall Things I'm Looking Forward To

2011-10-10T15:17:00.000-04:00

1. The smell of cinnamon everywhere I go

2. Sprinkling cinnamon in my coffee. I know I can do it year round and it's very healthy, but it's so much more fun in fall!

3. Great oatmeal concoctions. A bowl of oatmeal is incredibly boring without lots of fun things in it! Seasonal fruits, nuts, and dried yummy things make it delicious... add a splash of almond milk and it's heaven in a bowl.

4. Leaving the AC off.

5. Football. Contrary to what Dean may say, I actually do enjoy football. Even more so when it's not 95 degrees outside. I just don't feel the need to watch it for 12 hours straight. But believe it or not, I do have ESPN radio on my presets in my car. Just sayin'.

6. Pumpkin Spice Lattes. I actually don't care for them that much but knowing that they're only around for a couple months makes me crave them. Call it peer pressure, I guess.

7. An hour less of daylight makes an early bedtime so much easier.

8. Getting to bust out some fall clothes. I happen to love camel and boots make me smile :).

9. Baking cookies. Need I say more?

10. Christmas is right around the corner!

Soccer's Here!

2011-09-25T15:56:00.002-04:00

While Dean may or may not refer to it as a Communist Sport, Tommy has officially begun soccer season. And yes, Dean is coaching. We had a special treat this week as his Aunt Sarah (former soccer superstar... still a superstar in our book) was the guest coach! Here are some of the finer moments.

They all ran in a big pack wherever the ball went. Gotta love the girl in the back running the other way.

No game is complete without a "Go Lions!" cheer (yes, Dean arranged for our team to be the Lions)

Interestingly enough, this is Ty's expression in 98.7% of the pictures we have of him

Inserra Family Fun Night

2011-09-24T13:26:00.003-04:00

Every Friday night we try to do something fun as a family. It usually involves whatever sport happens to be in season. Last night we took in our first Leon football game of the year. It was also alumni night so they brought back as many former football players and cheerleaders as possible. The boys had a blast at the Leon football field and I had a great time talking to the former hall of fame players and cheerleaders. On a fun note, there were two cheerleaders there who were from the class of 1937! Holy moly!

Raising a World Changer

2011-09-23T07:07:00.000-04:00

I've shared with many of my friends (and maybe even on this blog) that I happen to be raising a strong-willed child. This is no easy task and as one who is more on the compliant and easy-going side, it's particularly exhausting. I just can't figure out why he won't simply listen and obey. It's so much easier!! But as Dean has said to me before, he definitely has a "world changing personality". The trick is to harness that and keep him from getting in too much trouble in the meantime.

As Tommy has gotten older, it has become more challenging to shape that spirit, but it's also gotten slightly easier because he is able to communicate so much better. We've had our good days and we've certainly had our bad days, but here are a few things I've learned along the way

1. Prayer: I cannot say enough about the importance of this. I am constantly praying for my family, and when it comes to my children, I'm praying for huge amounts of wisdom on my end and sometimes I'm just praying "Lord, please don't let me just lose it right now!" And I notice the calmness that comes over me as I pray in the midst of a scuffle.

2. Never Waste an Opportunity: Tommy is a pastor's kid, so hopefully he's at least been exposed to the Gospel. That should be said of every child growing up in a Christian home. We've read his children's Bible together. We talk about the truths of forgiveness and repentance and mercy and grace. The key is Deut. 6:7 "Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up." We try to turn everything into an discussion on a biblical truth (without overdoing it and making him hate the Bible because it says he can't have a cookie because his body is God's temple and God doesn't want too many chocolate chips in his temple).

The other day I had a couple conversations with Tommy that completely blew me away. We had just had a very large "battle of the wills", if you will, and Tommy had been sent to his room for "freaking out" (one of our house rules is "no freak-outs"). He came out after I told him he could and he told me through his just-dried tears "Mommy, when I was in my room just now, I prayed for God to let Jesus die on the cross for my sins."

Well that about made me cry and so we talked about the fact that Jesus only needed to die once, even for the sin that he just did, even for the sins he'd do the next day and next year and everything. I was thrilled with that conversation, thinking we'd just turned a big corner. Then he came home from school and basically spent the entire afternoon in his room (as a punishment, not because he was being reclusive). I was a little disappointed, to say the least. But the next morning he came out and asked me, "Mommy, why do I keep freaking out like this?" and I said, "Honey, I have no idea." His response was "Well, I feel like I have God on one side and Satan on the other side and it's going Satan, God, Satan God, Satan, God", as he was doing a tug-of-war motion. I explained that he was exactly right and in the Bible it talks about a spiritual battle (he loves battles) and how Satan's the bad guy and God's the good guy and God always wins in the end, but it's important to not listen to the bad guy and let him win the little battles. He seemed to get that and it's opened the door to more conversations like that.

This is an awesome part of parenting, but I admit to know I'll do this all over again with Ty is a bit of an exhausting thought. But at the same time, I can't wait. There's nothing like it.

What Happens When You Leave Your Baby Unattended with a Cup of Yogurt

2011-09-18T21:47:00.000-04:00

A House Divided

2011-09-17T21:09:00.000-04:00

My poor confused child. I'm trying to get him to do the chop. Tommy's trying to get him to "do the U". Which one will he pick? Watch and find out.

Good Eats

2011-09-17T20:33:00.000-04:00

This makes my heart happy. Ty is enjoying his third bowl of black bean and corn salsa.

Early Risers

2011-09-16T14:42:00.001-04:00

I'm not a morning person. Not at all. Well, I've been waking up every morning for the last 5 years around 7 or 7:30 so I guess I'm more of one than I was before. But either way I still despise waking up in the morning. And it seems even worse when I wake up to the sound of (from across the house) "MOM!!! I'M READY TO GET UP NOW!!!! COME WAKE ME UP NOW PLEASE!!" followed shortly by the sound of Ty crying after being abruptly woken up by his brother. For some reason that wake up call doesn't put me in the best of moods.

So I decided that in my never-ending quest to be a better mom, I should start waking up before the boys. Tommy's usually up around 6:45 or 7, so I figured I should set my alarm for 6:30. That should be plenty of time to get up, get my coffee going, maybe pray and read my Bible for a minute or two and then greet my children with a smile. Sounds like a great plan.

Except for the last few days (actually the first day that I set my alarm), I've had that same wake-up call... at 5:50 am!! I'm not ready to set an alarm for 5:30. I just don't think I can do it.

Ty's First Smoothie

2011-09-14T22:40:00.001-04:00

Yesterday I was driving down the road and saw a man dressed as a giant banana and immediately pulled over. He had a sign saying smoothies at Tropical Smoothie were 99 cents. So I decided that was as good a time as any for Ty to try his first smoothie. We ordered some pineapple banana concoction and I was pleased to see that he liked it. Actually he loved it. He didn't want to share and I promise he drank more than half of that cup.

While we were sitting outside enjoying our smoothie and the salsa music (not sure exactly what it was, but it felt tropical... or at least Hispanic) a woman and her little girl walked by. We started talking to them and they joined us at our table. Ty had been playing with my keys and dropped them through the holes in his chair and was really mad about it. He was trying to reach his chubby little hand through the hole, looking at me and going "Mamamamama!", all the while refusing to give up his smoothie. Just as I started to get frustrated, the woman said "Wow, what great communication he has!" I had to laugh and agreed that he certainly lets me know when he's upset.

What she said next made me so thankful for every frustrating encounter I've had.

"My older son is autistic and I've been working really hard with him to get him to communicate at all. You need to be thankful for how great he is at showing his emotion."

And I was.

And it just wound up being a neat conversation about experiences we've had with our boys and things like early intervention programs, therapies, and the like. And I think we both left grateful for the incredible experiences we've been able to have so far with our boys.

All because of a guy in a banana suit.

Happy Football Season

2011-09-03T20:35:00.001-04:00

It's here. The first college football weekend. Tommy loved the first FSU game (so did Ty) and he even did the chop. I think we're making a Seminole fan out of him, much to Dean's dismay.

Aahhh... the Weekend

2011-09-03T08:51:00.000-04:00

It's Saturday morning at 8;30 and I've already clocked a very busy 12 hours. As of 8:30 last night here has been my activities:

1. Come home from Downtown Getdown to see and smell the fact that I may have left a diaper or two in Ty's trash can in his room and I may or may not have closed the door. Dorsi took advantage of that fun and ate the diapers. Poopy ones are her favorite.

2. Clean diaper messes out of the dining room, living room, and Ty's room. Which resulted in having to swiff and mop all the floors in our house.

3. Hear Dorsi in our room vomiting all over the place. Apparently poopy diapers don't actually sit well with her.

4. Run as fast as I can to grab her and let her outside to finish getting sick. She doesn't make it. There's now piles on our living room rug.

5. Clean all throwup piles. Oxyclean is my best friend and works wonders.

6. Proclaim that now I'm going to bed before anyone else can cry, vomit, wet the bed, or just wake up in general.

7. Look down to see that now the refrigerator is leaking. By now this is almost comical. Clean up refrigerator. Go to bed.

8. Wake up to realize that Tommy had an accident in bed. Wash bedding.

9. Perform surgery on Big White Bear, whose head was falling off and was leaving trails of stuffing. Tommy praised my amazing sewing skills. Little does he know, his head will probably fall off again in the next few weeks because of those amazing skills (or lack thereof).

Now I want to relax a little. I'm looking forward to the first Gameday show, the general atmosphere of football season, and most of all, naptime.

A New Year

2011-09-03T08:38:00.000-04:00

No, it's not January already (although it seems about that long since I've last posted). But living in a college town, being part of a church that reaches lots of college students, and now having a little school go-er of my own, I firmly believe that New Year's Day needs to be changed to September 1. But that's another post for another time.

Since I've last written, lots has happened. Tommy turned 5.

Sarah and Todd got married, creating the union of Todd Inserra and Sarah Inserra (say it out loud and it's really fun... thanks Dane!) Sadly the only pictures I have are professional ones that are on Facebook and I can't put them on here. But just know it was beautiful and lots of fun!

And Tommy started Kindergarten. He's going to a half day program and will repeat it at our public school next year because of his incredibly late birthday. But judging by how much he loves Kindergarten now, I don't think he'll mind doing it again next year!

Bieber Fever

2011-08-05T13:39:00.000-04:00

Lately in our house Tommy's been going around singing most of the chorus from "Baby" by Justin Bieber. It just kind of came out of nowhere a few months ago and after he had been doing it for about a week or so, I asked him, "Tommy where did you hear that?"

His reply (as though I just crawled out from under a rock), complete with an eye roll, was "Come on, Mom... It's Justin Beaver!"

Aunt Sally Rockin' with Tommy

2011-07-18T20:47:00.000-04:00

On our beach vacation, Sally and Tommy made up a dance. I don't remember what song they used, but it was absolutely adorable. TDA served her well! No wonder Tommy loves his aunt so much! (PS, sorry I can't get the pictures any bigger, but you get the idea)

A Calling

2011-07-15T22:05:00.000-04:00

I just read this great post and it made me think. And realize how often I lose sight of what I've been called to do. I'm not saying I'm a bad mother (though I felt that way when I was eating my breakfast and looked up to see Ty climbing out of his high chair and crawling over the back of it). But I'm quick to lose my temper. Or just get annoyed.

I've been reminded to show my boys that I'm totally present with them. That's really hard in an age of cell phones, tweets, and online everything. The other day when we were at a museum downtown, I went to pull out my cell phone to see if I had missed any calls while we were in the elevator and Tommy grabbed my hand and said, "Mommy, no! Please stop being on your phone!" I hadn't used my phone the whole time we were there, but it reminded me of how often I do make phone calls in the car or other "downtimes", when those are really the perfect opportunities to engage with my almost-five-year-old (that's how old he is if you ask him. He's completely stopped saying he's four).

I try to cultivate relationships with friends who don't know Christ, and I need to continue to do so, but I also need to be constantly reminded that the two people I have the most influence on, possibly ever, live in the rooms down the hall from me. And tomorrow morning they'll wake me up before I'm ready. And I need to show them the gospel.

I'm preparing the coffee pot now.

Tommy and Mommy Time

2011-07-15T21:48:00.000-04:00

The last four weeks have been wonderful. It's been a whirlwind first half of summer and I can't believe that it's already winding down. I'm not going to try to catch you up on what we've been up to, or even throw a bunch of pictures up. Just know that it's been great.

But today was extra special for me. I've been wanting to so something with just Tommy for quite some time, because I realized that we haven't had "Tommy and Mommy time" outside of the house without Ty since, well, since Ty was born. So earlier this week I worked it out for Ty to spend the afternoon with MeMe while Tommy and I went to see the movie "Winnie the Pooh". It was great. I may or may not have cried a little before the opening credits when they showed the Disney castle with the fireworks shooting out of it. And I also may have shed a tear or two in the preview of the movie "Chimpanzee" that will be out next year. But that's all besides the point.

Tommy and I had an awesome afternoon together watching "Winnie the Pooh". I was able to reminisce about watching it as a child and Tommy was able to experience it for the first time. And on the whole way home, Tommy talked about the movie, asked questions, and decided to use his own stuffed animals to create adventures (which he already does) and make a movie of it. That was so worth paying $5 for a small drink.

Hula Hoop Night

2011-06-22T22:07:00.001-04:00

We're back from our vacation (part one, anyway) and there are lots of highlights to report on. We did have a bit of a camera fiasco so I had to use my camera on my phone to capture a lot of great moments. But then there was a phone fiasco and those great moments were lost. Sadly, this was one of them. But just try to picture, if you will.

One night on our vacation inn the Asheville area we left the boys with Alex and Melissa, who had come to visit Alex's sister. We went into downtown Asheville and had dinner at one of our favorite places, Tupelo Honey Cafe. It's right downtown, across the street from Pritchard Park. I was slightly disappointed because I knew it wasn't Friday night, which is drumming night. But I was soon thrilled to see something even better. Apparently Tuesday night is hula hoop night. Picture about 30 people, trying way to hard to be weird, stoned out of their minds, freestyle hula hooping. Yes, I just said freestyle hula hooping. There was a booth set up with a guy playing techno music that people were hula hooping to. Every so often, someone would walk up and down the sidewalk, hula hoop in motion. Techno music blaring.

The pictures were priceless. And now they're gone. I'm slightly devastated.

What Exactly Do You Do?

2011-06-05T09:16:00.000-04:00

I get that question a lot. Usually I respond with the simple short answer of "I'm a stay-at-home mom. Oh yeah and I also teach piano lessons to 17 piano students." (for some reason I always forget that I teach piano).

But lately when people ask that question, they really want to know what my role is in the church. Dean is the pastor of the church we planted about 4 years ago and so surely I must have all sorts of odds and ends that I do at church. No, I don't lead the ladies' quilting club or run the children's ministry. I always enjoyed leading small groups, so that's what I initially did. For some reason that I still can't figure out, about 20 college girls would come all the way out to our house (which from FSU may as well be Guam) every Saturday morning for about a year. I think it was because I served an entire breakfast spread each week, but I'll never know for sure. They will surely remember Tommy as a baby crawling in the midst of them while we discussed Romans.

I've led a few other groups since then, but after Ty was born, I really had to cut back. I felt really bad about it at first and I still miss doing it, but my role has changed. Now whenever people ask what my role is in the church, I can confidently answer "pastoral support staff". I make sure our children and home are taken care of so Dean can do what he does. Sometimes that means picking up DVD's off the floor for the fifth time in a day (it usually does). It means having some sort of order in our house so that everyone gets to eat dinner and the kids aren't going nutty when Dean gets home every day. Sometimes they are going nutty but I try to not make that the norm. It means budgeting for extra groceries so we can have friends over for dinner, both from church and outside of church. It means being there for Dean as his wife, supporting him and loving him unconditionally.

I actually have a pretty easy job, relatively speaking. It's much easier to do all that when I have an incredible husband who supports what I do at home and makes it clear that I'm not expected to do things like lead the quilting club or children's ministry, or any other typical pastor's wife role (although, true to stereotype, I do occasionally play the keyboard at church). I would encourage any other ministry wife to look at her role in the same way, if that's possible. Don't allow outside pressures to define who you are or what you do. That may look different for you depending on what season of life you're in. And if you're a stay-at-home mom, it certainly doesn't have to look like "1958 called and they want their housewife back". If you remember why you're doing what you're doing, it will be easier "Whatever you do, whether in word or in deed, do it as working for the Lord, not for men"

If You're Going to San Francisco...

2011-05-31T10:24:00.000-04:00

We're not, but in honor of our upcoming trip to the Asheville area, I thought I'd share a few of my favorite memories of the "San Francisco of the East".

Shortly after we were married, Dean and I visited Asheville for the first time. We were immediately taken aback by the beauty of the area and thought it would be a great place to retire to one day (we know we won't really do that... pastors never actually retire). We had dinner at what is now our favorite restaurant there, Tupelo Honey Cafe. After dinner, we walked around the downtown square area. We found ourselves at the park in the center of town and couldn't help but notice about 30 people in the park with various drums, bongos, djembes, and I'm sure loads of other things that I can't identify. They were all playing them together. And there were hippie ribbon dancers (they were dressed like hippies, I'm not saying all ribbon dancers are hippies - but, hey, if the shoe fits...), a few kids and old men doing tai chi, and more than a few people smoking joints. All in this little park area. There were a number of people gathered around to watch and we asked a couple standing next to us what was going on. The response was classic:

"They do this every Friday night. It's just random people who come out to express the rhythm that's in their soul and with that rhythm we all become one."

You can almost see them becoming one! Right before your very eyes!

A second Asheville anecdote:

When Dean was a youth pastor, we took a few of our older high schoolers on a trip to look at colleges. Along the way, we stayed the night in Ridgecrest and went to Asheville for dinner. After dinner, we were walking through the downtown, and of course someone had to use the bathroom. It was freezing so we all went into a bookstore and took a potty break. We noticed a sign advertising for a local author that would be reading her book, and it happened to be going on right then. We walked in just as she was getting to the part that read,

"And then I floated up out of my body and began to observe all that was going on around me..."

Ah, Asheville. I'm excited to gather more stories.

Do you have any great Asheville stories? Or just weird stories like that?

One

2011-05-29T22:19:00.000-04:00

My baby isn't a baby anymore. I don't know that I would say that Ty's a toddler since he's not actually "toddling" (just crawling very fast), but he's officially a year old. Friday was his birthday and I took pictures and reminisced about a year ago. And I must say, May 27, 2011 was a lot easier than May 27, 2010! There wasn't nearly the drama that we experienced the day of Tommy's birth, but I don't think giving birth is ever a cakewalk. Anyway, here are some snippets about my little guy:

- He's incredibly happy. When he wakes up, he likes to sit and play in his crib and when I walk in, he flashes the biggest smile I've ever seen.

- He has a deep voice for a baby.

- He's not really into reading, but we're getting there. One of his favorite books is "Moo, Baa, La La La", and he actually laughs out loud while we're reading it.

- He'll eat just about anything I put in front of him. Except grilled eggplant. And plain cottage cheese.

- Although he's not walking yet, Ty is one of the fastest crawlers I've ever seen.

- Like most babies, he doesn't like to be changed and will kick and scream when you lay him down on his changing table, but if I hand him a book, he immediately calms down and usually starts laughing.

- Whenever Dean and Tommy wrestle, Ty is Hornswoggle

- He doesn't (and really never did) take a paci. He sucks on his index and middle fingers of his left hand.

- He's left handed... so far.

- His favorite toy is a whiffle ball.

- He loves to cuddle and play with my hair.

- I love him more than I ever imagined I could!!

Graduation

2011-05-26T16:12:00.001-04:00

My baby is now a preschool graduate! Granted, school's not actually out until next Friday, so he'll be in school tomorrow and all next week, but today was Tommy's graduation ceremony. Complete with caps and gowns, these little guys had a whole program planned. Of course as they were filing in, my camera battery died and I had to quick change the batteries. Then as they were leaving, he paused for a quick picture but my camera apparently ran out of memory at that very moment. So I have no entrance and exit shots. But here are some adorable ones anyway.

How Does Your Garden Grow?

2011-05-24T22:06:00.000-04:00

Tommy and I have been talking about planting a garden for some time now. While we were planting it, Tommy informed me that he has wanted to plant a garden since he was two. So my friend Lauren came over with some green onions from her garden for us to plant in ours. I also added basil, tomatoes, and rosemary. Yes it's tiny and probably not spaced right, but we're both pumped. And Tommy insisted on making a scarecrow, so that's what that funny looking thing is behind us.

Tonight at dinner, Tommy asked when we were going to eat our garden. Maybe he'll start eating more vegetables now!

Advice for Moms of Little Boys

2011-05-14T11:22:00.000-04:00

1. Let them get dirty. The amount of fun they're having is directly proportional to the amount of dirt that is left on their bodies. But explain that they won't get clean again without soap.

2. Let them play good guys and bad guys. Buy them armor and swords (plastic, of course!). Explain that the good guys always win in the end. It may seem like the bad guys win but make sure they understand that good ultimately triumphs over evil.

3. Let them watch "The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe" after they understand good vs. evil. And let them dress up in said armor while they work to defeat the bad guys. Explain the biblical parallels. Especially substitutionary atonement. They can understand it as portrayed in the movie.

Ms. Jean

2011-05-10T08:15:00.000-04:00

We have a sweet little neighbor in our adjacent townhouse, affectionately known as Ms. Jean. She's an 80-something feisty little lady who can't see much and can hear even less. She gets her hair done every week and always wears jewelry when she sits in her open garage at the little table and chairs set that her daughter got her. Every day, she and Ms. Barbara, the lady across the street, sit at that little table for what Dean and I call "happy hour". Ms. Barbara brings her glass of rose wine and Ms. Jean drinks what I have always thought was a Tervis Tumbler of beer. But I just found out what it really is. The doctor said she can have two drinks a day so every day she pours herself two shots of Rebel Yell bourbon. For some reason, knowing that makes me chuckle.

Best Dessert Ever

2011-05-07T11:12:00.000-04:00

Not only am I excited about their wedding. Last night after the rehearsal, Teri and I got to take some contraband home. This cake is my absolute favorite dessert, hands down. I think it's the combination of different textures of chocolate and a hint of almond. This seriously makes my day. Matthew made a few too many for his rehearsal dinner and before we left (I took a little plate with two pieces on it to save for later), Dean handed me an entire cake plate and said "Here. Take it to the car! Run! Now!" After Teri and I paused for pictures, we both ran out the door before anyone could stop us.

And I had the most delicious breakfast of chocolate cake today.

Ode to Matthew and Rachel

2011-05-07T11:04:00.000-04:00

This is a very special day for us Inserras. Our good friends Matthew and Rachel are getting married. Matthew and Dean have gotten incredibly close over the last four and a half years as he has been Dean's right hand man at City Church (formerly The Well) since the very beginning. As he likes to describe his role, Dean draws the picture by casting the vision and Matthew colors in the lines by making it happen. And in this role, they not only share ministry, but we share our lives together. I absolutely adore Matthew. I love his devotion to Christ and his unwavering loyalty to Dean. I love how he loves my children, even when they're not in the best of moods. And I feel so blessed that I can call him friend. We've named our child after him (Ty's middle name is Matthew) and Dean has received the incredible honor of being his best man.

Before he met Rachel, I remember trying to think of a girl that I thought would be good enough for him. It was a very frustrating task, as I could never find anyone. Thankfully, it wasn't up to me. When I first met Rachel I knew right away she would be perfect. Matthew is one of the most loving people I know and I could tell that Rachel would love him just as much. And I've loved getting to know her! I can't wait to keep living our lives with such a special couple.

So here's to the new Mr. and Mrs. Robinson! As Pink says, raise your glass!

T-Ball Wrap-up

2011-04-27T21:39:00.000-04:00

Well folks, it was a short season, but Tommy had a great time. He talked trash to every team in the league (the non-competitive league, mind you) and made lots of great plays. Every week, he would count down the days to his next "big game". On the day of his last game, he had the largest cheering section ever. We had Donnie, Alex, Melissa, James, Kirsten, and my parents along with Jason, Todd, Sarah, and Dean's parents. And Tommy felt like a king that day. Thankfully, Alex took lots of great pictures (my camera battery died right when the morning started. Dumb Dollar Store batteries!)

Here's What's New

2011-04-25T21:12:00.000-04:00

I'm not going to say I'm back because I think I have a pretty bad track record of actually being back once I announce that I'll be blogging regularly again. So I'll just say hi.

Anyway, here's what I've been up to in the past six weeks or so...

- We went to Fort Lauderdale for a quick visit to my parents and the boys got to go to the beach, MetroZoo, and Miami Seaquarium (all firsts for Ty)

- Field trip to the Tallahassee Museum (not quite MetroZoo, but still very fun)

- The boys got to meet the Easter Bunny. Tommy is finally not afraid and Ty didn't seem to think anything of sitting on the lap of a large rabbit.

- Easter on the Moon. An unbelievable success this year, it left us all speechless. Between two services, 3000 people heard the gospel presented loud and clear. I'm still amazed and in such gratitude to the 64 people who showed up at 6 am to clean up the Moon after Urban Night. And special fist pumps to Alex Scott, who started setting up sound and lighting there at 3 am. Unbelievable! (Unfortunately, I have no pictures of this, so you'll just have to go to facebook and look at City Church's page to see it)

T-Ball Season is Here!

2011-03-01T20:36:00.000-05:00

I was reminiscing with Dean Saturday night and I reminded him of a comment he made while we were in the hospital with Tommy the day after he was born. We had just been told that he would need brain surgery, which included the possibility of a shunt. With a shunt, contact sports are completely out of the question forever. Once we wrapped our mind around what would most likely be happening to our baby, Dean sadly commented, "Well, I guess I'll never coach him in baseball."

Fast forward four and a half years. This Saturday was the start of Tommy's first ever baseball-ish season. T-Ball, to be exact. And guess who's his head coach? Yep, Dean. For reasons that I know I'll never understand, God chose to answer our prayers and not only did Tommy turn out ok, but he never even needed surgery. But we also had to come to the realization during those first few months of uncertainty that even if the outcome was the worst it could possibly be, God was still sovereign. And still good.

So here are some highlights from Saturday. While his team was in the field, they would all dive for the ball every time it was hit. Whoever says T-Ball is laid back has clearly never seen kids play it! Tommy would watch the ball hit the ground and no matter where it went, he would watch it land and then take a few steps forward, dive, and roll on the ground. Usually nowhere near the ball. But he had a blast doing it. However, when I turned on the camera to capture one of those moments, this is what happened:

He's On the Move!

2011-02-27T15:39:00.000-05:00

It's official... Ty is mobile. He started crawling last weekend and there's no stopping him. Here he is exploring Tommy's room.

And one of the things Ty likes to do in his spare time is laugh at Dorsi. Here's one of their favorite daily activities.

Nursing Home Wedding

2011-02-24T20:03:00.000-05:00

We went to Washington DC in December for the wedding of Dean's cousin Emily to Nick Kriz. It was awesome and we had a great time, but Dean and Emily's grandmother was not able to make it. So this weekend they had a little re-enactment and brought the wedding to Granny at Westminster Oaks. Emily wore Sally's dress (which was absolutely beautiful), I played the piano, Tommy was the ring bearer, and Dean performed the 90 second ceremony. I think Granny really enjoyed it. And so did the other 20 or so residents who raced to get a seat in the sunroom. I guess it's not every day that a woman walks through an assisted living facility in a wedding dress! One man apologized for showing up uninvited, but Emily and Nick were so gracious. They even made personal visits to the rooms of residents who were bed-ridden!

After the ceremony, we all headed to the Bistro down the hall for an ice cream cup reception. Tommy was in his glory.

Girls Win!

2011-02-23T21:00:00.000-05:00

With Aunt Sue, Uncle Rich, cousin Emily, and husband Nick in town, Tommy finally got to stage his much-anticipated Boys vs. The Girls event. I think the girls won. We ambushed him while he was getting ready and then everything broke loose. Here's a clip of part of it. I'm still not sure what happened or what the goal was. But Tommy had a blast and is still talking about it.

Batter Up!

2011-02-22T20:42:00.000-05:00

Two weekends ago marked the beginning of "the most wonderful time of the year" in the Inserra household. At least in Dean's eyes. Don't get me wrong, I love going to FSU baseball games, but Dean's like a kid at Christmas time. So we packed up the family for a day of Inserra Family Fun and headed to FSU for fan day. It was advertised that the kids got to run around the bases but they actually had to stay in the outfield. Ty was content to hang out while Tommy ran around.

Then we got the locker room tour. Last year, Tommy's highlight of seeing the locker room was getting to drink blue Powerade. This year he was a little more into the whole thing. That may or may not be James Ramsey's dirty sock that Tommy is holding.

Here he is in front of the Buster Posey shrine... I mean display.

Boys vs. Girls

2011-02-17T11:09:00.000-05:00

Preschool has taught Tommy a number of things. But most of all it's brought out his competitiveness. And that carries over into our family. Lately he's been all about "Boys vs. Girls" things. And a couple weeks ago, when he found out that Dean's cousin Emily and her new husband Nick would be coming for a visit along with his Uncle Rich and Aunt Sue, Tommy figured this would be the ultimate "Boys vs. Girls" event.

He started setting up two weeks ago. He's lined up his wrestlers and animals in his room over and over. When I tell him he needs to clean his room, he explains that it's set up for when everyone comes for Boys vs. Girls. I know he's excited, but personally I think that's his way of getting out of cleaning. At least that's what I would have done when I was his age.

We're not exactly sure what Boys vs. Girls means. So far we know that the boys are the bad guys and they can choose to be dragons, zombies, or knights (I guess knights are bad guys). The girls are princesses. And we have locker rooms. The boys' locker room is Tommy's room and the girls' locker room is Dean's and my room. And we've been told that we'll go in there to put on our princess jewelry.

A wrench was thrown in the plan today when I told him that Dean or I would pick up Nick and Emily from the airport tomorrow and take them to MeMe and BeBe's house. But he didn't miss a beat and just informed me that the boys' locker room would be moved to his playroom over there and the girls' locker room will be MeMe and BeBe's bedroom. And he also mentioned that he'd need to bring all his toys over there so they could be ready.

So Rich, Sue, Emily, and Nick, get ready. Tommy's expecting full participation. Just a heads up.

December 9, 2010

2011-02-15T10:44:00.000-05:00

Besides being my adorable nephew Mac's first birthday, this date also holds some significance for me. It's the last day that Ty slept through the night (which means asleep around 6:30 or 7 and awake around 4:30 or 5 am, back to sleep until 7-ish. So for those of you who don't have kids, sleeping through the night still means ridiculously early mornings). After that date, we went out of town (which is the kiss of death for kids learning to sleep through the night), he got a flu shot, followed by two teeth, croup, and cycle after cycle of sinus crud and then two more teeth. I was wondering if he would ever sleep again.

But two nights ago, he proved me wrong. He's been on an antibiotic that's finally working and on Valentine's Day Eve, he slept from 8:00 pm all the way until 5:00 am. Then last night he slept from 7:00 til 5:30. Folks, we may be on our way back to a somewhat normal sleep schedule!

Mmmmmmmmm.....

2011-02-10T09:47:00.000-05:00

Nothing excites me more on a cold, rainy morning than a sleeping baby and a beautiful bowl of oatmeal.

People don't give oatmeal enough credit. They think it's boring and dull. Well, if you don't do anything to it, it is! But cook some up, add a little chopped apple, a handful of Craisins, some toasted chopped pecans, and a dash of cinnamon, and you have a happy morning.

Sickie

2011-02-05T21:03:00.001-05:00

This was Ty yesterday at Urgent Care with a 102 degree fever:

This was Ty today at home with a 102 degree fever:

Guess it just caught up to him.

Celebrations

2011-02-03T10:35:00.003-05:00

We've had a good week here at the Inserra house. Mima and Papa were in town for a few days to celebrate Mima's birthday.

And Tommy had his hundredth day of school. Which apparently calls for a party.

Ty joined in the fun too.

More Than 4

2011-02-01T22:43:00.003-05:00

Ty has decided being a newborn was more fun than being an infant who sleeps for extended periods of time. Which means that I am now a mom who wakes up lots. Again. What I'd like is more than 4 hours of consecutive sleep. Even just 5 would be wonderful. 7 or 8 would be heavenly. But more than 4.

Ty, remember these days.

Ty's Favorite Toy

2011-01-27T22:03:00.003-05:00

Ty loves himself a good visit to the doctor. Actually, he mainly just loves sitting on the examining table paper.

Raising Boys

2011-01-21T21:38:00.003-05:00

And oh, they are boys! Since I found out Ty was going to be a boy, I've been very interested in the art of raising boys. I've read books and blogs, talked to friends, and watched shows. But what's stuck with me the most so far actually came from Dean's sermon this past week. In my opinion, it was one of his best, and one of the most needed sermons that I've ever heard. Besides challenging the men to actually be men and quit being "ben"s, it continued to instill the importance of my role in helping our boys become men. Men of God. It's a little daunting, I must add. And let's face it, when it comes down to it, I really feel like I don't know what I'm doing because I'm not a man (yes, that was Captain Obvious there)! But there are a few things I've picked up along the way.

Right now, I have to start with the basics. I understand how important it is for Dean and I to value our marriage because that's the model that Tommy and Ty will use in the way they treat women. So we have a date night tomorrow night! We try to always let the boys see how much we love and respect one another.

I engage Tommy in lots of theological discussions. This morning on the way to school we talked about what happened to the people who died in the flood during Noah's time (didn't fully discuss Hell, just talked about separation from God), which transitioned into what an incredible gift it was that God would give Jesus to die for our sins so that we wouldn't have to take that punishment that we so rightly deserve. I think he is able to understand snippets from all of these conversations.

I let them be boys. Tommy's really into wrestling (if you couldn't tell from the picture), and as much as I hate it, I let them watch it with Dean and make an effort to know what's going on in the wrestling world. John Cena's my favorite.

Lots of times I put my own "mommy" spin on things. For example, Tommy loves to play out back and he pretends he's hunting for animals in our backyard. He wants me to do the same and we each have sticks for guns. I can't bring myself to shoot an animal, even a pretend one with a stick, so I always say that my gun shoots something other than bullets. Today it was jelly beans. And he was fine with that.

Christmas

2011-01-04T22:34:00.006-05:00

It's been a busy few weeks and I've taken a bit of a hiatus, but don't worry, I'm back at it!

Here are some of our Christmas highlights:

Disney World, Take 2

2010-12-18T21:39:00.006-05:00

Last year we took Tommy to Disney and had a great time, but he was a little young still, and slightly terrified of... everything. This year, we decided to try again. It was an incredible trip. My parents and brother met us there and really enjoyed Disney with the boys. After having pumped Tommy up for the fun that was to come, we had success. Mostly. He only cried before getting on Peter Pan. But he got on and had a great time.

Tommy was really excited about characters this year.

Ty also had lots of fun. He's a huge Disney fan.

After much coaxing, Tommy almost went on the Pirates of the Caribbean. But at the last minute, he turned back in tears with Dean. So Jason and I went instead. And I was so glad he decided not to go. He would be having nightmares into next year!

Christmas on the Moon

2010-12-07T21:18:00.002-05:00

If you missed Christmas on the Moon, you missed something incredible. You can watch it here. Dean never ceases to make me incredibly proud of him. Not just because he has done exactly what he's wanted to do for years. Not even because of the enormous number of people that he preached to Sunday night. I'm proud of him for lots of reasons, but the number one reason, by far, is how he has been faithfully preaching the Gospel. On Sunday night, he did something I've never heard before and presented the Christmas message (i.e., the Gospel) out of the story of Sodom and Gomorrah. And it was so clear and understandable! Yes, Christmas on the Moon was an incredible night. And if you missed Todd's twinkle light sweater or James' leather britches, you must watch!

I Wish You a Merry Christmas

2010-12-02T20:11:00.004-05:00

Christmas has officially exploded at our house. The tree went up last night and it got decorated faster than any other tree in history. We didn't even have to do a re-do when we put it in the stand! Tommy's been really impatient (but incredibly patient for a four-year-old) to get the decorations up around the house and so now we're mostly done.

Tommy sat on Santa's lap for the first time this year. He's been absolutely terrified until now and this time he came armed... with a Pottery Barn Kids catalog. Yes, we have the kid who brings a catalog to show Santa exactly what he wants. A Pottery Barn catalog, nonetheless. Here is what he asked for:

And the grand total for the two sets? A measley $850. That's what we get for letting him look at a Pottery Barn catalog. Lesson learned.

30

2010-11-28T20:34:00.004-05:00

To borrow a custom from Beth, I've decided to list 30 things I would like to (or not like to) do before I turn 30 one year from today. Crap... I'm turning 30 one year from today! In no particular order, here we go:

1. Decorate for every holiday. Big ones and little ones. Even if it's just to bake cookies shaped like a flag for Memorial Day.

2. Make s'mores with Tommy.

3. Plan a trip for Dean and I. He always plans and does an incredible job. I'd like to return the favor.

4. Run a Tallahassee race (i.e., Jingle Bell Run).

5. Exercise, on purpose, at least once a week.

6. Make all of Ty's baby food instead of buying jars (except for travel).

7. Learn to make a different kind of bread. Maybe sourdough or french.

8. Check out more books from the library.

9. Return those books on time.

10. Begin reading Harry Potter (better late than never, right?)

11. Schedule a date for my Spring Recital before the spring semester starts.

12. Learn a new piece on the piano, just for fun.

13. Eat dinner at KoolBeanz.

14. Read through the Bible.

15. Send more snail mail.

16. Make tomato sauce from actual tomatoes. Not canned ones.

17. Make homemade popsicles.

18. Cold brew coffee.

19. Pick blueberries.

20. Buy and cook an artichoke.

21. Read at night instead of turning on the TV.

22. Learn how to use my new grill.

23. Cook an entire meal from a show on the Food Network. Preferably "Giada at Home"

24. Install the garbage disposal that has been sitting in a box in our hallway.

25. Get a houseplant.

26. Finish watching the other 4 discs of Ken Burns' Baseball documentary with Dean.

27. See a movie in the movie theater (last one I've seen in the theater is "Chronicles of Narnia").

28. Go to an FSU football game.

29. Eat a leek.

30. Read a good biography.

Happy 6 Month Birthday Ty!

2010-11-27T11:50:00.002-05:00

A Week in Pictures

2010-11-26T21:42:00.004-05:00

It started with Dean's Birthday. And ended with me being completely stuffed after Thanksgiving dinner part 2 (aka leftovers). Along the way I've had lots of hanging out time with my boys. Here's the best from this week.

Happy Belated Birthday!

2010-11-21T20:38:00.002-05:00

Yesterday was Dean's 30th birthday and I'm so sad that I didn't get a chance to blog about him on his actual birthday. So here I sit, as the boys are sound asleep, listening online to him preach live at The Well. And I am more proud of him than you can imagine. And I love him more today than I did almost 7 years ago when we got married!

Some things you may not know about Dean (I wanted to list 30, but that's a lot!)

- He makes fun of people who like Harry Potter but he loves professional wrestling.

- Every day, many times a day, he and Tommy have a wrestling match in our bedroom. Complete with entrance music played from YouTube.

- He has incredibly clean feet, since he hasn't worn open-toed shoes or even gone barefoot outside since 2002.

- He has amazing luck. We stopped by the hotel that the Clemson football team was staying at last week because he wanted a particular player's autograph on a mini helmet. There were three buses and about half the team was already on the bus. The players were coming out of the hotel a few at a time but we didn't see the one he wanted. We gave up and started driving away. Crossing the parking lot, by himself on the other side of the hotel was this player. Dean jumped out and got his autograph. Only Dean would be able to pull that off.

- If he were not a pastor, he would be coaching football in some capacity.

There are many more things about Dean that I could share. The fact that he is an incredible husband who loves me and our boys more than anything, or that he is an amazing friend. Or I could share that his greatest passion in life is to preach the Gospel to as many people as possible.

But you already know that.

Just When You Think...

2010-11-17T20:34:00.002-05:00

I was cleaning this afternoon while Ty was sleeping and Tommy was playing quietly with his blocks, just thinking about how I'm really getting this mom thing down. The kids were fed and happy, the kitchen was getting tidy, and I even cleaned out my pantry a bit. I didn't notice what was missing.

A few minutes later, as I whistled to myself and was feeling all on top of things, I began to switch Tommy's bedding from the washer to the dryer. I noticed that there were pieces of something in the washer with the sheets. And it had an odd, almost sickening smell. Then I found a plastic lid. I tried to figure out what could have fallen in the washer (which is in the pantry, so I have to work extra hard to make sure I don't wash food on a regular basis). There were teeny tiny pieces of cardboard everywhere and everything felt sticky. Finally I realized what had fallen in: an entire large canister of Italian bread crumbs. The only thing left in tact was the plastic lid and a metal ring that was somehow attached.

I started to freak out, but realized that would solve nothing and so I took everything outside and shook as many breadcrumbs and cardboard pieces out as possible. They all landed on me. I smelled like chicken parmesan. Then I proceeded to re-wash everything and clean out the washing machine. It got most of the mess out, but I haven't gotten the guts to see how they came out in the dryer yet.

I'm officially withdrawing my name from the "Mom Who's Got it All Under Control" contest.

Inserra Family Happenings

2010-11-10T20:34:00.002-05:00

The Well now has three services to choose from: 9:30 and 11:15 am and 8:00 pm. I will probably never attend the 8:00 due to two little sleepy boys. But I'm loving the great new opportunities in our Well Community!

Sally and Bennett came to town this weekend with Mac and she and Mac have been here all week. We've had lots of fun, and Tommy and Ty are loving spending time with their aunt and cousin.

We had our first parent-teacher conference for Tommy. I could not be more proud of my little boy!

I currently can identify more professional wrestlers than you can. And it's embarrassing.

I was getting incredibly frustrated with Tommy's 5:45 am wake-ups every day for the past month or so. But now with the time change, it's 4:30ish. I can't believe it, but I'm asking for 5:45 back!

I had to have a cyst removed from my elbow yesterday. There is now a hole in my arm and it's gross. But Tommy kissed my bandages and that was adorable.

Halloween

2010-11-03T21:43:00.004-04:00

The day started out with jack-o-lantern pancakes made from real pumpkin. They were adorable... and gross. Tommy and I both spit them out.

Trick-or-Treating was a huge hit this year. Tommy literally sprinted from house to house and knocked incessantly until someone opened the door. This kid wanted his candy and had a hard time waiting for someone to get up from the couch, walk across the house, find the candy bowl, and open the door. Ty just chilled in his banana costume. It was a bit small so his legs were cramped, but it was one of the cutest things I've ever seen! We're still eating candy and Dean and I have been sneaking pieces every day. That way Tommy won't rot all his teeth. It's one of the sacrifices of parenting.

Cowboy Day

2010-10-30T16:33:00.005-04:00

Yesterday was a very exciting day in the Inserra household. The much-anticipated Cowboy Day had finally arrived. Tommy was decked out in his cowboy attire (but was disappointed right before we had to leave for school when he realized he didn't have cowboy gloves... I guess you can't have it all) and he looked absolutely adorable, if I do say so myself. And the day was a hit. Of course, the best part was getting to ride a pony (second time in less than a week) and time he did it all by himself. No mommy or daddy walking alongside, and he actually enjoyed it!

In other news, Dean and I took an overnight trip to Panama City Beach to celebrate his best friend, Jaxon's 30th birthday. Ty got to come along for the ride. This was a much different car ride than the North Carolina trip back in August. We didn't have to stop once for him, and this was his facial expression the majority of the time.

Nightlife

2010-10-27T11:04:00.005-04:00

(Disclaimer: I didn't have a pajama picture, so this was the best I could do of the two of them. Please disregard the outfits)

For the past few months, the Inserra household has had a "strict" schedule. I've discovered that both boys (especially Ty) completely fall apart if they're not in bed by 7:30 at the latest. Tommy's the sneaky fall-apart-er. He seems fine until the next day. Then it's meltdown central.

Needless to say, I can probably count on one hand how many times I've been out of the house during the bedtime hour this fall. Yes, it's caused me to drop off the face of the earth a bit and not be involved in the things I've always done, such as lead and attend small groups for the Well, and meet up with friends for dinner. But I've traded that for something so special. Every night, I manage to bathe Tommy and Ty at the same time. I get Ty out of his sink bathtub and put on his jammies and then get Tommy out of his bath. He always asks to sit on my lap while wrapped in his yellow lion towel. So there I am with Ty on my right knee and Tommy on my left, and we're all cuddled up together. And the boys smell wonderful. Ty smells like sleepy time lotion and his hair is still slightly wet and Tommy smells like fruit punch (it's Toy Story bubble bath... not quite as gross as it sounds). And for that moment, I get to hold both my boys and realize how quickly this time passes by.

Soon enough I'll be back in the swing of things, as far as nighttime events. But for now I get to sit on the toilet seat (closed, of course) and snuggle with my clean little boys.

Facing Our Fears

2010-10-23T22:13:00.003-04:00

Tommy's school had their annual Oktoberfest today and Tommy was given the opportunity to ride a pony. Somehow I was able to convince him to get on and he decided to go for his first ever pony ride. I had agreed to walk beside him and never let go for even a second. He was excited while I put him on but when he realized the horse was actually going to move, this was his reaction:

He asked me to let him get off at least 4 times during the ride and I kept saying that he had to wait until it was done. In the last 30 seconds it almost seemed as if he was enjoying himself. As soon as I got him off, he happily posed with his new friend.

Halloween Preview

2010-10-21T22:51:00.003-04:00

That's Tommy as a monkey and Ty as a banana in case it's hard to tell.

All In A Day

2010-10-16T21:56:00.002-04:00

I had a somewhat busy day today. Dean brought Tommy to the FSU football game and so I was set to have a relaxing morning with Ty. He's teething, though, so that didn't happen. I had to run to Publix to get food for dinner tonight. While at Publix, I ran into no less than 4 people or families that I know. When I got home, I got a message from Dean saying Tommy had had enough of the game and they were ready for me to come pick them up at Mellow Mushroom. I left to go get them and had to be creative in my route since the place is right next to the stadium and all the roads nearby are closed for the game.

Because I was having one of those days where I couldn't just do things the easy way, Iwound up getting in a pretty bizarre fender bender. I won't share the details because it's a long story, but let's just say there was a very ill-placed stop sign that I never saw. In fact, while we were talking to the police officer, at least 4 other cars ran the same stop sign. Thankfully the officer realized that and immediately called the city and had the stop sign moved. So while we were standing there, a guy showed up in a big truck and yanked the stop sign out of the ground and moved it about 6 feet closer to the street. That's power, my friends. When was the last time you got the city to move a stop sign right there on the spot?

Then I came home and cooked 2 pans of lasagna to bring to Dean's parents for some friends that were in town.

What a day to forego a shower and makeup.

Repeat After Me

2010-10-15T15:08:00.002-04:00

Tommy was working on a puzzle with lots of shapes. He came to two different kinds of triangles. He knew about one of the triangles, but the other one looked different so he asked me what shape it was. I told him it was an isosceles triangle and said "Tommy can you say 'isosceles triangle'?"

His response: "Isosceles triangle. Mommy, can you say hippopotamus?"

The Power of Good Marketing

2010-10-08T22:00:00.002-04:00

I've been watching TV for the past 45 minutes and have seen this commercial twice now. I have to say it's kinda making me want one. Ok, not really, but it's highly amusing

Time for an Update

2010-10-04T14:27:00.003-04:00

Dean and I got married almost 7 years ago. It was then that I last received/purchased cookware. So now my skillets are beginning to peel (I know, I'm pretty sure that's toxic or at least not a good thing). And now I have my sights set on this:

I confess that I already have a very good stockpot, so I probably wouldn't need that, but I would love the rest of it. Isn't it pretty??

The Streak Has Ended!

2010-10-01T22:39:00.002-04:00

While maybe not quite as dramatic as the end of the Red Sox 86-year losing streak in the World Series, I had my moment last night. Ty slept beautifully again and this time I didn't even wake up wondering why he hadn't woken up yet. I got nearly 7 hours of sleep! I'm beginning to feel human again... without the aid of entirely too much caffeine!

Again, this may only last a few days (Tommy did it at 6 weeks old for about a week and then didn't regularly sleep through the night til after he was 2), but these few days have provided me with some much needed rest. Now I feel like perhaps I may be able to somewhat handle this whole new mommy thing again.

126

2010-09-30T22:30:00.002-04:00

This is the number of days since I've slept for at least 6 consecutive hours. And I've only had a handful of 5 hour stretches of sleep. But now I think we've turned a corner. For the last month, Ty's been waking up roughly every hour and a half at night. Not to eat, but just kind of to say what's up. Two nights ago we let Ty "cry it out" (which took a whopping 12 minutes for him to fall asleep). He woke up a few times that night but went longer before he had to eat. Last night he slept straight until nearly 6:00 this morning. I would have slept straight until then too, but I woke up around 4:00 in a slight panic that he hadn't woken up to eat yet. So I guess that shorter sleep was my fault.

But tonight I'm ready to break the streak.

Now that I've posted this for all of the blogosphere to see (or at least my 4 readers), I'm sure he'll start waking up again. But here's hoping that tonight I can get at least 6 hours. I'll let you know how it goes.

Cousins

2010-09-26T21:39:00.005-04:00

This weekend was lots of fun for us. Sally and Bennett came in town with Mac, and Peter (Dean's cousin) and Kim (his wife) and Emily (Peter's sister) came in from Charlottesville with Peter and Kim's kids Jonathan and Susie. Jonathan will be 2 in November and this is the second time we've seen him. Susie is just a few weeks older than Ty and so this was our first time getting to meet her. They all stayed with Dean's parents and I think his mom was in her glory with 8 visitors (including three kids under the age of two) spending two nights. The primary purpose of the trip was to celebrate Mama's birthday. This was the first time she's been able to meet Susie and have all five of her great grandkids together. It was quite the event. Our friend Ellen took pictures, here are some highlights.

By this point, Tommy had enough and he only got in the picture because we threatened to take Sarah the Puppy. Cruel? Probably. But at least he was in the picture.

Dorsi

2010-09-23T16:19:00.003-04:00

I figure I blog about my kids enough but there's one member of our family who doesn't get much love. Dorsi. My 85 pound yellow lab. Today she had a visit to the vet to have a very quick, but unpleasant procedure performed. I'll spare you the details. This poor dog gets so excited about a car trip, it's the highlight of her month (if it's even that often). I had to take Ty with me, so I figured it would be interesting. Getting in the car was no problem. I opened Ty's door to get him in and she jumped in first and immediately sat in Tommy's booster seat, all ready to go. I put Ty in next to her and hoped she wouldn't crush him when she got all excited upon realizing that we were going to the vet. She was a good girl and didn't crush him, but put both front paws on the middle console and was immediately thrust into the front seat when I saw that the person in front of me had stopped suddenly so I had to slam on my breaks. All 85 pounds of her catapulted into the dash. So she rode the rest of the way in the passenger seat.

Getting out of the car was another story altogether. It took me three attempts before I could get out without her dashing out around me. I had to slam the door in her face and quickly take Ty out so I could bring Dorsi out as well. This took careful planning and an iron will on my part. But after about 4 or 5 minutes we were out of the car. Thankfully we were the only ones in the waiting room so there was no drama. After they did the procedure, our exit was as dramatic as our entrance, if not more so. She was angry that I had subjected her to such humiliation and was just ready to get back in the car. A vet tech had to help. I got both of them in and we headed home. I got Ty out first and put him on the ground in front of the car (he was in his car seat). She immediately ran out and jumped over him, barely clearing the carrier. Our adventure was over and now she's exhausted, and probably will be for the next few days.

Ty slept through the whole thing.

Little Football Fan

2010-09-18T20:46:00.003-04:00

Tommy's really getting into football this season. But while he will watch football for a short time on television, he's not just satisfied with the x's and o's. He wants the whole experience. In the mornings when Dean gets up, Tommy brings him into his room and has him play football with his animals and wrestlers. This morning they were the Leon Lions. Tommy immediately set up the players (he knows the quarterback is on offense and is in charge of the ball), and then went on to set up the band, the mascots, and the cheerleaders. And yes, he even had the cheerleaders do a stunt.

Yesterday afternoon, he and Dean ventured to Doak Campbell Stadium for the FSU game. A family from our church had graciously given us their season tickets for this week because they couldn't come to the game. The seats were on the second row on the goal line, so Tommy got to see all the action up close. He loved Chief Osceola and the band, and was so excited to see the team run out on the field. He sang the Florida State fight song with the rest of the fans and didn't miss a beat when they finished with "F-L-O-R-I-D-A S-T-A-T-E, Florida State, Florida State, Florida State! Whoo!" But at 3:50 I got a call from Dean saying they were already on their way out of the stadium. The game had started at 3:30. Tommy decided it was too loud. Oh well, maybe next time they'll make it through the first quarter.

Leadership

2010-09-18T20:32:00.004-04:00

I want to take a moment to brag about Dean. He mentioned this in his blog, but I wanted to give him a little love as well. A few months ago, he came home and said, "Guess what? I've apparently been nominated and chosen as a finalist for a leadership award through Leadership Tallahassee." My first thought was "How nice. That sounds so sweet." I had no clue what exactly that meant. Even when we received the invitation in the mail to the banquet honoring the finalists, I still didn't get it.

On Thursday night, we went to the nicest event that I've been to at the University Club. There were hundreds of people and a total of 17 honorees in 5 categories. Dean was nominated for the Pacesetter award, which is given to a young leader in town who is doing something no one else is doing and "taking Tallahassee by storm".

While he didn't win the award, I was just bursting with pride for him. It was a huge honor to be included in this list. He was the only nominee in any category who didn't have a huge long list of accolades and accomplishments. But there's no question in my mind that his qualifications for this award are by far the most meaningful. They extend into eternity.

Oh, and I got a really nice night out because of it. There was an absolutely delicious salad of tomato slices, fried green tomato slices, a smearing of goat cheese, and a bacon slice layered on top of each other (I ate mine and Dean's). Dinner was a very good filet with mashed potatoes, prosciutto wrapped shrimp, and asparagus. And dessert was oh so tasty: a really yummy chocolate mousse cake with a ganache topping. Yum!

Moving

2010-09-13T20:29:00.002-04:00

I love my church. We started it from scratch just over three years ago and since then we've been in no less than 7 locations. We're completely portable, but a portable church is not as simple as, say, a portable phone. But every week we have had incredible, dedicated individuals who love Jesus and believe in the way that we are sharing the gospel help to set up and tear down. For over three years.

This Sunday marked the first time that we are officially no longer portable. We finally have a place we can call our home! And it's taken hundreds of volunteers giving thousands of hours and dollars (still need about $40,000 more if you care to share!) but it came together this week. As I drove up with the boys in tow, I got choked up and a bit misty when I saw the welcoming/parking lot crew in their bright garnet and gold t-shirts directing traffic and creating a great first impression. Actually I started getting choked up when I had to slow down about a block before I got to the warehouse because the cars in my lane were all turning in (no, it's not a turning lane). The Well Kids building looked incredible and walking in, I knew Tommy would love it. I dropped Ty off in his adorable butterfly-decorated baby room and hung his diaper bag on the hook with a cute little polka dot bib attached. I got into the auditorium about 5 minutes before the service started and realized that if I were late as I usually am, I may not get a seat.

The band was great, there was an awesome vibe in the room. And Dean's sermon was excellent. The point was very clear: If we are not 100% about Jesus, then we are not about anything at all. I'm so proud to call him my pastor and even more proud to call him my husband. I absolutely love him.

And I love my church.

The Pledge

2010-09-07T21:23:00.003-04:00

Tommy has been learning the Pledge of Allegiance at school and today he proudly recited it for us:

"I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America.
And to the republic for which it stands,
On earth as it is in heaven.
With liberty and justice for all."

Apparently he's learning The Lord's Prayer as well.

Somebody's sick of these pictures

2010-08-27T14:21:00.004-04:00

It's hard to believe it, but my littlest guy is three months old today. And I have to say I'm feeling much better today than I did three months ago! It's been quite an adjustment going from one to two children. I sleep way less but my caffeine consumption is getting me through. And my life has basically turned into one big juggling act but I absolutely love it.

Since you get to hear all about Tommy, I figured I'd give you some things you should know about Ty.

- He's a decent sleeper. On a good night he'll do an 8 hour stretch, and he has been doing that since he was about 8 weeks old. Of course I don't go to bed immediately when he does so I don't actually get an 8 hour stretch of sleep. He also takes a few 1 to 2 hour naps in his crib. It's heavenly.

- He's a more mellow baby. Ty is pretty content to lay and kick and is generally happy. Unless he's hungry or tired. Then watch out.

- He's incredibly social. His favorite thing is for me to lean him up against my legs and sing silly songs to him. He laughs and coos. It's absolutely adorable. He's also very talkative for a baby (haven't quite figured out what he's saying yet)

- Ty loves to lay in Tommmy's tent at night and listen to the bedtime stories with Tommy. And Tommy loves him to be in there with him. Last night he was sitting in the living room with Dean while I was reading to Tommy and Tommy said "I just really wish Ty could be in here with us right now!"

- He loves to be naked. If he's not already in a bad mood because he's hungry or tired, he adores being changed. And bath time is his favorite time of day.

- Rumor has it he looks just like me. Actually he looks just like his Uncle Jason, who apparently looks just like me. Either way he totally got my genes.

First Day of School!

2010-08-23T21:59:00.003-04:00

Today marked the beginning of the next stage in raising our children. We are now at the mercy of the school calendar. Actually, I'm so excited about Tommy starting preschool. He got up this morning and couldn't wait to go to school. We had packed his backpack (which he kept calling his "suitcase" up until a few days ago) and lunchbox together last night and so he was very excited to use them. When we went to meet his teacher last week he was excited until about 10 minutes before we left the house and then came the meltdown. He totally lost it. Afterward he told us he "had been a little scared but then I was ok" so I was kind of expecting a bit of the same today. Not so.

I pulled into the school parking lot and he had his seatbelt off before I could even stop the car. I took his hand and we walked in the building and down the hall until we got to his classroom. I had envisioned a sweet moment where I got a bit misty and Tommy would tell me that he didn't want me to go and would miss me. Complete with the "Full House" music in the background. Instead he went right in the room, put his lunchbox in his cubby hole and went to play. The only one who cried was Ty, who needed a nap, and just as I was telling Tommy goodbye (from across the room), he spit up all over my shoulder. But I'm so glad that Tommy had no separation issues. I wouldn't have it any other way.

As far as I can tell, he had a great day at school and there were no problems. He's excited to go back tomorrow but he has now officially been assigned a very early bedtime (for him, anyway). School certainly takes it out of him!

All in all, this is a great experience for all of us. I get to spend the mornings having one-on-one time with Ty and Tommy gets to be with lots of kids and listen to someone other than me. It's a win-win situation!

Sunday Thoughts

2010-08-22T21:09:00.003-04:00

I love my church. Even if my husband weren't the pastor, I would absolutely still love my church. And my pastor! I love the dedication of our people. They think nothing of showing up at The Moon at 6 am to help set up. And there are lots that stay after to clean. People invite their friends because they are excited about their church and they are excited about the message. Lives are being changed because people are meeting Jesus. And that will never get old to me.

The Well resumed our morning service today and since we are now out of Godby and waiting for our new building, we had our services today (and for the next two weeks) at The Moon. It's a unique place. Teri (our kids director) couldn't get the CD player to work before all the kids came, so she asked for help. When someone showed up a few minutes later, she said "Oh good, are you here to fix the CD player?" And his response was "No, I'm here to count my liquor bottles." I love that we have church there!

I went to Publix with the boys this afternoon to pick up three things. An hour later I was finally leaving the parking lot after having been caught in a sudden torrential downpour. We tried to wait it out, but when I realized it was dinner time and there was no end in sight, we just made a run for it. Good thing one of those three things was a newspaper because I used it to shield Ty.

It's back to teaching piano lessons full time for me this week. When all is said and done, I'll have 18 students and there's one more that I'm still waiting to hear from. Here we go! I'm determined to get dinner on the table and Tommy to bed at a decent hour so my crock pot will be my new best friend.

My little buddy starts preschool tomorrow. Tommy has his first day of school and couldn't be more excited. I can't wait to hear how it goes and rest assured I will post first-day-of-school pictures.

Hulkamaniac

2010-08-20T14:30:00.002-04:00

Here is a typical scene in the Inserra household these days. Dean has sparked Tommy's interest in wrestling and has introduced him to old-school Hulk Hogan matches. Tommy is now a Hulkamaniac. And for his birthday, his Uncle Jason got him a wrestling ring. What more could a little boy want?

Time Flies...

2010-08-19T22:55:00.004-04:00

We've been having fun in the last week or so. Tommy turned 4, Mima came for a visit, and we're gearing up for preschool. Since it's already way past my bedtime, I'll spare you the details and just put up some pictures. Enjoy!

Nap Time

2010-08-09T14:27:00.002-04:00

Nap time has always been a bit of a challenge in this house. But with two, it's gotten immensely more difficult. Take today, for example. Ty was clearly needing a nap, and in the past few days, I've gotten him to take good naps in his crib. So I swaddled him and began the process of putting him down for a nap (which is a much easier process than it was with Tommy at his age). When I am putting Ty down, Tommy always thinks that's a good time to come in the room with me and ask me lots of questions and get really excited about things. Which makes it really hard for Ty to fall asleep. Here was today's attempt:

Me: "Tommy, I'm going to put Ty down for a nap and then I'll come play with you."

Tommy: "Okay. Is he asleep yet?"

Me: "No, not yet. Almost. Go in your room and wait for me there."

Tommy: "I have to go potty! I have to go right now! Come help me! Is Ty asleep yet?"

Me: "No, not yet. Go potty, I'll help you if you need help washing your hands."

Tommy (from the bathroom): "Is Ty asleep yet?"

Me: "No."

Tommy: "Are his eyes closed yet?"

Me: "No!"

Ty never went to sleep.

Then about 30 minutes later, we were attempting quiet time with Tommy (since he gave up his nap completely about a month ago). My quiet time rules are that he can read books or play quietly in his room with the door shut and I will come get him when I think he's ready (actually when I'm ready). During this time, I decided to try to get Ty back to sleep, since he was screaming and obviously over-tired. And I figured I should blog too. No sooner did I lay Ty down and turn on the computer than I hear Tommy hitting his door with a plastic golf club saying "Mommy!! Is quiet time over yet? I'm all done being quiet!!"

I guess I have a few more years before I get a quiet time again.

Zoo and a Boo Boo

2010-08-08T08:52:00.003-04:00

Yesterday was a busy day so I'm continuing my posts this morning instead. I hope the suspense wasn't too much for you!

On our last day of vacation, we braved the North Carolina heat (it was about 85 degrees at this time... actually a balmy day) and went to the zoo. It's the only zoo in the state and apparently it's a pretty big deal. We had looked it up online lots of times in the past few weeks, but somehow we missed the fact that it's 5 miles of walking and it's not a loop (i.e., if you go all the way to the end to see all the animals and then are ready to walk back, you'll actually have to walk 10 miles total). So we convinced Tommy the zoo had only half the animals that it actually did have. Dean and I enjoyed the polar bear the most, as he was incredibly active and we had a great view.

Tommy was pumped about the grizzly bears. It's all he talked about for the week leading up to our trip. And wouldn't you know, the only animals that weren't out were the grizzly bears because their habitat was closed due to maintenance! So we tried to convince him that black bears were actually grizzly bears. I don't think it worked.

When we got to our new hotel, about 2 hours from where we had been staying the last few days, we went to change into some clean clothes. When we attempted to find the dirty clothes bag that we'd been filling for the past few days, we realized we'd left it in the last hotel. It had almost all Dean's clothes, lots of Tommy's clothes, a few of mine, and a few of Ty's. And it was just a trash bag that was completely full. I called the hotel immediately and of course no one could find it. They still can't. Lesson learned: when you pack a dirty clothes bag, always use a mesh one. At least I'm not bogged down with laundry! But I am slightly devastated over the loss of so many clothes. At least we didn't leave one of our kids there. It could always be worse.

Vacation: Day 2

2010-08-06T22:28:00.003-04:00

As promised, here's a summary of the next day or two of our vacation. We stayed at Ridgecrest retreat center in the Blue Ridge Mountains, just outside of Black Mountain (about 20 minutes away from Asheville). It was actually pretty chilly, as evidenced by the way I had to bundle Ty.

We have a family tradition of going to see waterfalls in Pisgah National Forest. This year Dean and Tommy made the climb down the rocks and into the frigid water while I gladly stayed warm and dry because I had to hold Ty. Tommy was really excited at first but when he put his feet in, he was done and ready to climb back up to me.

There was also a great little park about 15 minutes away from where we were staying. It had a really cute wooden playground and a few streams with rocks just perfect for Tommy to explore. He could have stayed for hours. Dean even jumped in to join the fun.

And I learned a few things about my family while on this vacation:

1.) Ty's not a huge fan of his carseat. He's always tolerated it and done well, but this trip set him over the edge. If he never goes in it again, I think he'd be fine.

2.) When I'm tired, I become a mute. Not so for Tommy. His mouth is the last thing to shut down. There were many times that we were having a full conversation and he would stop to take a breath. Next thing I knew, he was snoring. Unbelievable. Then when he wakes up, he remembers exactly where we were in the conversation and continues it. If that's not talent, I don't know what is.

3.) Dean's a little more adventurous than I thought. And when he's on vacation, he's quicker to get his feet dirty than when he's at home. There's no question he absolutely loves being dad to little boys.

4.) It's not so bad going to bed at 8:30 right alongside the kiddos. Will I do it now that I'm home? Probably not. But maybe I should.

Come back tomorrow to hear about the zoo and the big traveling mistake that we made.

Vacation: Day 1

2010-08-05T21:38:00.003-04:00

You haven't heard from me in a while because we've been on vacation. We started off near Moultrie, Georgia, for the wedding of our friends, Dane and Anna. This was especially fun for us because Dean got to perform the ceremony and Tommy was the ring bearer. He was absolutely adorable and made it all the way down the aisle without incident. He even stood quietly near his Uncle Todd (the best man) during the ceremony.

The next morning we left from Gin Creek (which was absolutely incredible, by the way) and headed up to the mountains of North Carolina. Normally, this is roughly a 6 hour drive. But I knew we were headed for trouble when we were on our fourth stop in less than two hours. With two young kids, I guess you have to expect these sort of things. It's been the only time so far that I wished Tommy wasn't potty trained! So after 10 hours of travel, we finally made it to Asheville. We had dinner at McDonalds in Biltmore Village, which was featured on Travel Channel as being one of the nicest McDonalds' in America. There are chandeliers and a grand player piano. Not too shabby!

After that, we headed to the historic McCormick Field to watch the Asheville Tourists play the Rome Braves. The game was lots of fun, but most importantly, the Zooperstars were there. Tommy will be talking about Pee Wee Geese and Cow Ripkin Jr. for years to come.

Come back tomorrow to hear about waterfalls and playing at the park in the mountains. Complete with pictures.

Back At It!

2010-07-28T22:26:00.002-04:00

Two nights ago, Ty slept through the night. So I figured that he was turning a corner and decided to go to the gym for the first time last night since he would sleep longer and I could be up a little later. Lesson #1: Never assume your baby's going to sleep through the night. The moment you do, they can read that and will wake up every hour (not even a hypothetical situation... he actually did wake up every hour last night). Anyway, I was anxious to get back into working out, but knew I didn't want to overdo it. A sweet older lady told me about the fitness test she had just done on the treadmill. Something about it measuring your heart rate while you increase the incline and stay at the same speed. She said that the machine actually turned off after 6 minutes of her being on it because her heart rate went too high, but I figured I'd give it a try.

This fitness test asks lots of personal health questions and then adjusts the speed accordingly. You keep the same pace while the incline increases until it's at the highest percentage and you're scaling a small mountain. I was pretty proud of myself. I was able to complete the entire test without the machine turning off (which I figured was no small feat), and I really didn't even break much of a sweat. Maybe I glistened a little. And my heart rate never went above 130. I was feeling good. But then I got my results:

"Fitness level - 10%
Evaluation - Very Low"

Seriously?!? I mean, I know I'm two months out from having a baby, but I know octogenarians who are more physically fit than that. I guess that means I can only improve from here. I'll see you at the gym.

Ty's First Trip

2010-07-24T07:51:00.005-04:00

It's been a busy week here. I feel like I say that a lot, but this week really was on the crazy side. I got to take my first airplane trip solo with the boys (so not really solo, more of a trio). We went to Ft. Lauderdale to see my family for just a quick visit and Ty got to meet his great grandma Pat. We left Tuesday night and since the plane was a bit late, we didn't get there until about 9. Then we spent all day Wednesday at Zoo Miami. Tommy had a blast. He even got to feed giraffes! We caught an early flight Thursday morning so I could be home in time to teach a 12:30 piano lesson and see Dean for a bit before he went out of town this weekend. Whew!! Here are some highlights of the trip.

Here we are at the Tallahassee airport

Meeting Mima Pat

Zoo!

And in that time Ty turned 8 weeks old!

Precious

2010-07-15T21:56:00.003-04:00

Tommy and I have been having lots of theological talks lately. He's asked a lot about dying and heaven and Jesus and God. I try to tone it down so a 3-year old can understand and I think he has some concept of the fact that heaven is a good thing. Tonight he asked me if there is a children's museum in heaven. And he wanted to know if God has more toys than he does. I answered yes to both questions.

On a completely different note, I got some great pictures today. As promised, here's Ty's 7 week picture, and I was even able to get both boys smiling afterward!

And happy birthday to Uncle Todd! Here he is with his three nephews. I'm really proud of the fact that I actually got a picture with all of them looking!

So I'm A Little Behind...

2010-07-15T14:54:00.005-04:00

Ty turned 7 weeks old today. My good friend Beth reminded me that I didn't post a 6 week picture of him, so here's that one. The 7 week one will be posted soon (hopefully).

Curious George!

2010-07-11T08:46:00.003-04:00

For the past month PBS Kids has been advertising that Curious George (yes, the real actual monkey, not an impostor) would be coming to Tallahassee and visiting Zoinks for a free kids day. Tommy has been really excited and counting down the days. So Saturday, we braved the absolute insanity that was free admission at Zoinks and waited in line to catch a glimpse of the monkey. At first Tommy was only slightly nervous, but then he was excited to wait for about 15 minutes in the line to get his picture taken with George. And as you can see, he successfully met another larger-than-life creature. Next stop, Disney World (no plans for that, but I know if we did, he'd do awesome!)

Cow Appreciation Day

2010-07-09T12:37:00.004-04:00

We joined the millions of other bovine fans at Chick Fil A for dress-like-a-cow-and-get-free-food day. This was our first year so the costume was a little weak. But next year, we're going all out! PS- Tommy's still wearing his spots

My Little Guy's Growing Up!

2010-07-08T21:22:00.003-04:00

Tommy had his first trip to the dentist this week. He freaked out a little when he was sitting in the chair and the hygenist made the seat lean back. But when Dean reassured him, he did better. He was visibly nervous the whole time, but did everything that he was asked to do. And when he was done, he got to pick a toy out of the toy chest and they let him pick out his own toothbrush. He was so excited when he got home! And the best news of all? There were no cavities!

Weekend Festivities

2010-07-06T13:13:00.004-04:00

It's been a busy week in the Inserra house. On top of being 4th of July weekend, Aunt Sue and Uncle Rich were in town. And when Aunt Sue stays for a week, things get done! This time her project at our house was Dean's and my closet. After about 2 hours, we could see the floor, the clothes were hung up neatly, and there were happy stacks of folded pants on the top shelf. Unbelievable!

On Saturday, we continued our Saturday morning family tradition of beignets at Coosh's and this time Todd, Dean's parents, and Aunt Sue and Uncle Rich joined us. There was lots of fun and lots of sugar!

Sunday was the 4th of July and we stayed with the tradition of playing in the pool, cooking out and participating in some sort of fireworks. We bought a couple to bring over and light (a couple being two... but it was still exciting for Tommy) and there were sparklers of course. Tommy held his first sparkler this year, but just as it went out and we were getting ready to tell him not to touch it because it was still hot, his curiosity got the best of him. He touched it and now has a little blister on his thumb that has bubbled over. But all in all, it was a successful day!

Thankful Thursday

2010-07-01T07:50:00.003-04:00

This morning I "awoke" (I had been up for a while, but had no desire to leave my bed) to Tommy crying for me in his room, so when I went in there and discovered he had wet through his diaper (that reminds me, I still need to change his bedding!), he asked his famous question, "Mommy, where are we going to go in just a minute?" Keep in mind it's almost 6:30 am at this point. I said "In a while, we're going to the bookstore with our friends Luke and Drew," to which he responded in tears with "No! I want to go to the bookstore right now!! I want to go there right now!!" and he kept repeating that. Not a great start to the morning.

So I decided that this should be a "Thankful Thursday" before I complain any more.

Here's some things I'm thankful for this morning:

- Coffee

- A programmable coffee maker that has a wonderful pot of coffee waiting for me and smelling so wonderful when I roll out of bed in the morning

- My amazing husband who can sense when I'm about to lose it and takes the boys so I can go lay down... no matter what's going on in the house

- All of my family who is so helpful and willing to take my children while I have some sort of a break. Even if they're both screaming (Tommy and Ty, not those who are watching them... although by the time they're done, they may be screaming too)

- The way Tommy is so sweet with Ty and says to me "Woot at his wittow face" (translation: "look at his little face")

- Ty's increasing attempts at talking... grunts and coos, and his great little smile that he's been working on

- Shaun the Sheep

- Mylecon gas drops for Ty

- My conversation with Tommy last night: "Mommy, am I your little shurder" (translate as "sugar")? "Yes you are, sweetie." "Mommy why don't you want anyone to take me, your little sunshine away?" (we'd been singing "You Are My Sunshine" that morning) So sweet!

Tonight's the Night

2010-06-27T22:12:00.002-04:00

It's after 10:00 and Tommy's still awake. He's eagerly awaiting the arrival of the Paci Fairy, who is coming to collect his pacis and give him a toy. She's even throwing in a trip to the Tallahassee Zoo. We went around the house tonight and collected all the pacis we could find. Then we put them in a bowl and set them on our doorstep because Tommy decided at the last minute he didn't want the fairy to actually come inside our house. I put Tommy to bed around 8:30 and at 9:30 he was standing up in his bed looking out his window for any signs of the elusive paci fairy. I keep telling him that it's like Santa and the fairy won't come until and everyone else in the house goes to sleep. But Tommy's gonna wait this one out. He may never go to sleep tonight. He's still asking questions about when the fairy will come and does she live on a cloud. And if she does live on a cloud, which one is it?

This whole paci fairy thing seemed like a great idea but it may come back to bite us when he goes to bed after midnight and then wakes up at the crack of dawn to see what the paci fairy left him.

Out With The Old...

2010-06-25T16:22:00.003-04:00

And in with the new!

The Inserras have a new ride- a 2005 Honda Pilot! It's officially my "mom mobile" since when I got in this morning and got the boys buckled in, the first thing I did was put in Tommy's CD and suddenly we were listening to "The Wheels on the Bus". RIP 1999 Mazda Protege. You served us well.

He's Growing So Fast!

2010-06-24T22:01:00.002-04:00

Today Ty is 4 weeks old. Hard to believe it!

And here's a picture from 3 weeks. I'm already forgetting to post pictures (at least I took it at 3 weeks!)

Runs in the Family

2010-06-24T12:32:00.002-04:00

My little guy loves a microphone. Guess he takes after his daddy (as if we didn't already know that!) Check out Matthew's blog here to see his entertaining antics. I promise you'll laugh.

Midweek Ramblings

2010-06-23T08:00:00.005-04:00

I got my first four hour stretch of sleep last night and I feel GREAT (this was my longest stretch of continuous sleep since May 25). When Ty slept until 3 this morning, I couldn't believe it! Next step: sleeping through the night (not expecting that any time soon though).

Tommy got a big brother gift from Aunt Sue yesterday. We got this great big box in the mail and it turned out to be one of those huge tents that covers an entire twin bed. I'll admit, when I saw the measurements on the box I groaned a bit, but as soon as soon as Tommy realized what it was, he screamed "A tent! Now I can live happily ever after!!" and he ran around the house. At that point, I didn't care how big the thing was, it was just really fun to see him that excited. We set it up and he was pumped to sleep in it last night. Ty and I even crawled in to read him stories before bed (we'll have to get a new system for that).

The other night we went to Coosh's Bayou Rouge for dinner (kids eat free on Mondays... take note, all you Tallahasseeans). After we finished eating, a group of paramedics came in for dinner and sat at the table next to us. Being the gregarious child that Tommy is, he immediately went to their table and started talking to them. He told them about the booboo's on his knees, told them that he had a new baby, and finally he asked them what color their ambulance was. With that, they offered to show him. So while they waited for their food to come out, we all went to the parking lot to take a tour of the ambulance. They even turned on the lights for him and let him sit in the driver's seat (notice the look of slight alarm on his face... they had just revved the engine and he said "Mommy, I don't want to drive!")

The Best Part of Waking Up

2010-06-15T22:34:00.003-04:00

For the past three weeks I've been running on a 24-hour schedule. And in the last week, Tommy and Ty have timed their wake-ups perfectly. Or maybe I should say imperfectly. When Ty's just finishing with his last feeding for the night (lately around 6 am), I lay back down in bed and within 30 minutes or so, Tommy's up and ready to start his day. And lately my wonderful percolator coffee maker has been acting up and making incredibly weak coffee, looking something like green tea. Gross. It's been enough to drive me nuts.

So yesterday I decided it was time for a new coffee maker. I've always had expensive ones and now I've downgraded and bought just a basic Mr. Coffee. But I'm really excited because I have it set to make me a delicious pot of coffee at precisely 6:45 tomorrow morning. Will I be happy about being up that early after waking up all through the night? No, but this will certainly make things easier!

Fairies

2010-06-10T07:03:00.002-04:00

I made a mistake last night. While tucking Tommy into bed and expressing my frustration over the fact that he still uses a paci to go to sleep (and sometimes during the day when I'm not paying attention), I mentioned the "Paci Fairy". That peaked his curiosity. Here's a snippet of our conversation that followed:

Tommy: (hesitantly) "What's the Paci Fairy?"
Me: "She comes in the middle of the night and collects all your pacis and gives you a really cool toy instead."
Tommy: (a bit scared now)"When will she come?"
Me: "When you're ready"
Tommy: "What color shirt does she wear?"
Me: "Um, maybe pink?
Tommy: "How does she get all the pacis?"
Me: "We collect them all and put them in a cup and leave them for her and she comes to get them. You look scared, do you not want her to come into your room?"
Tommy: (shakes head no and I can see tears beginning to form in his eyes)
Me: "Well, she doesn't have to come in your room, you can put the cup of pacis in the living room or kitchen or even outside if you want to. Heck, you can put them in the front yard of the house down the street."
Tommy: "Which cloud does she live on?"

By now I could see that we might never get this child to bed, so I ended the paci fairy conversation and prayed that he wouldn't have nightmares.

This morning he woke me up around 6:30 (remember I'm up all night feeding a newborn, so I admit I'm not the most thrilled about getting up before 7 every morning) and fired a ton of questions at me not only about the paci fairy, but about the tooth fairy as well. Then when he was finishing his breakfast, he asked about the drink fairy. I've created a monster.

Tender Moments

2010-06-05T09:26:00.002-04:00

This morning when I got Ty out of his bassinet, there was poop leaking through the blanket that he was swaddled in. Not a good sign. Apparently when I changed his diaper at 4:15 this morning I was too tired to pull it all the way up in the back because he sure had a full moon when I took his jammies off. And he was very hungry. Needless to say, he was wailing. Tommy tried desperately to calm him down by giving him various toys ranging from stuffed animals to Ninja Turtle action figures and sympathetically saying, "I know, Ty, it's ok".

I told Tommy that Ty appreciated his efforts but he really needed to eat. Tommy didn't give up, so while I got ready to feed him, Tommy stood next to his screaming baby brother and sweetly sang his ABC's. He was so proud of himself when Ty stopped crying, I certainly didn't have the heart to tell him that he finally was getting to eat. This boy sure does love his little brother!

I'm enjoying these moments because he's already hit Ty in the head with a baseball bat. I take what I can, my friends.

He's Here!

2010-06-03T12:15:00.004-04:00

Meet the newest addition to the Inserra family, Ty Matthew Inserra, born Thursday May 27 at 4:52 pm. He was a whopping 7 lb, 15 oz, and 19 3/4 inches long!

Big Brother Tommy is really proud and loves his little brother lots! Although we've had to work on being gentle, things are going very well. And I don't want to jinx the whole thing, but I think he's the most content baby I've ever seen! From what I can tell, he really doesn't even have his days and nights mixed up. Granted, I know all that can change in a moment, but for now I'm just enjoying this easy-going baby of mine!

And the time has certainly flown because he's already a week old! So here's my little Ty guy.

Preggo Pictures

2010-05-26T12:43:00.004-04:00

Okay, I've gotten some flack about not taking many pregnant pictures this time around... honestly they're not that flattering. But I figured this is my last chance. How many people have pictures where they can say "That's when I was due yesterday!"? So here they are...

Me looking a little big

Tommy loves to kiss baby Ty

Our last picture as a family of three!

The Day After

2010-05-26T11:24:00.003-04:00

Yesterday was the big day. At least it was supposed to be the big day. I went to the park, jogged in the rain, rearranged the furniture in Tommy's room, ate a good baked ziti, and put together a shelf. And still no baby. Now I'm just tired.

But I think tomorrow will be the day.