to whom it may concern,

Yesterday we spent the day at the beach, and it made us realize that we love the beach. We love having the beach always within reach. I can't image living anywhere else, but close to the ocean.

So we are not moving back home... ever.

Sincerely,

The Dake Family

my best friends.

a post with a photos.

Photo: Guess where I found the boys yesterday? In Jason's room, at the train table. The best thing about having 2 more boys, is those hundreds and hundreds of dollars of trains are really going to get our moneys worth of play. They are the good wooden ones and will hold up well through the torture of two more little boys. After I took the first picture, they heard the click and turned around for the second photo.

Yesterday: Starbucks. Airport. Bell. Wendy's. Chinese. Three Boys. 250+ Miles. Sunshine and Rain. Long Baby Naps In The Van. Picked A Dandelion. Made 3 Wishes In A Fountain, One For Each Boy. North Carolina. South Carolina.

Today: Coffee. The Shining. Hubby On Leave. Bell. Kindergarten. Two Babies. The Zoo. Photos to post on flicker. Emails to check. Reminiscing To-Do. Grocery Shopping. Hoping for a Beautiful Day.

just another day in paradise..

An amazing thing happened last night, I was only up once. The second time Zachary woke up I gave his bottle to him in the crib, he drank it and went back to sleep on his own. Awesome.

We went to Target last night, they had a great baby gate that I will get, I forgot my coupons. But still no luck in the high chairs hunt. I think this weekend we will travel over to Harbison BLVD. and hit Babies R Us. I need to stop at Bed Bath and Beyond too.

Today still needs some housework accomplished. I have to take Jason to and from school then speech. Then we are headed to Charlotte, NC to pick up one Bell. I am so excited to have her here.. She is an amazing help and will be a terrific mother one day. Hopefully to at least one girl so I can spoil her with pinks.

Tomorrow we are hitting the Zoo. And we are thinking possibly Folley Beach over the weekend.

And I was thinking Sushi and Brew..

pour myself a cup of ambition..

Well, technically it is Maxwell House Rich blend, but whatever Dolly. Today's to do involves a ton of housework and trying to restrain babies without busting out duct tape. (Tonight we are going to Target for baby gates.) I have to pick up Jason and I may stop at the post office, but that is it. I am a huge fan off staying off the roads. Alright time to tackle those t0-do's..

wrecked.

My day.. Honestly. Is it over yet? Today I was headed to pick up Jason and was about 15 minutes before he got out and someone hit me in the van. I had the babies with me and we were all fine. Some older lady had rear ended me and she did NOT want to call the MP's to file a report.. I thought this was a huge No-No. BUT my vehicle was fine, she had hit my ball hitch and that is like a good 12" out behind the van. So when she went back to her car to write down all the info, I still quickly called Jacques, told him we were fine but to call the MP's...

After swapping numbers and such, we get back in our cars and finally a MP pulls up to my window and asks if things are okay. I reply that we had a fender bender and swapped information and he says:

"Okay you are good to go."

And leaves!!

I am like okay, If he says everything is fine... I guess.

So 5 minutes go by and I am way gone by now and the hubby calls and asked if a MP made it there. I was like yeah, but we left.. And he freaks telling me go back, you can't leave and what not's.. But I am like the MP didn't do anything.

Basically the old lady wanted to not file a claim and take care of her repairs herself. She had very slight damage. She said to call her if I did find any damage and we both have the same insurance company. And it was her fault, so anyway..

I am still way frazzled and worried that the FBI will be knocking down my door in the next 5 minutes, dousing me with tear gas and throwing me in Shawshank for fleeing the scene of a crime.. Maybe my story can be a Lifetime Network flick..

I think Dolly Parton should play my character.

random.

Another rough night. Zachary was up 3 or 4 times before 12:30 and then once again at 3:30. One time I was up with him, he fell asleep I put him back in the crib. We were up again 9 minutes later. Six this morning came very quickly.

Jason could not get to school fast enough today. He had a great first day and knew lots of his class mates from last year. He said his table got in trouble because of their noise level once.

I realized today that my camera is 1 year old and in that year, I took 7,140 photos.

I posted some photos on flickr already. I am also going to start a new set with Jason's school work and drawings.

I got some awesome mail yesterday with $135.00 in gift certificates. Here is another BIG THANK YOU to that special someone. It meant a lot to us and I hope you know that. Hugs!

Becca will be here in 2 days. Yay!

I have a ton of stuff piled on my desk that needs my attention: books, magazine, papers, mail and scrap supplies. But first thing on my desk that I am all over, COFFEE..

Today To Do: Housework. Go pick Jason up at 12:30. Go to speech at 1:30. Ball Game at 6 pm.

kindergarten.

My baby headed off to Kindergarten. Can you believe that? Where did all that time go? He was super excited to go and had no issues. He really couldn't wait to see his friends. And I took a ton of photos and none of them are exceptionally great. Grrr. I may need to take more after school. His schedule this year is 8-12:30 and they do not have lunch.

And as for the rest of of my night, (Get it, rest of the night? Hehehe, that would be funny if I ever got any!), I took Zachary back to bed at 3:55 am and he stayed asleep until 6:30. So I did manage to catch a few winks until I got up at 6:00. I think maybe a good hour and a half.

And as for the weekend, I did watch Troy and LOVED it! I did have steak and tatos, and we did buy a six pack, but didn't drink any. I also saw Dan in Real Life and loved it. The hubby mowed and got a lot done outside.

No plans for today. Just Enjoying Life on Little Sleep.

3:07 am

And Zachary has been up at..

9:30 pm
10:36 pm
12:34 am
1:30 am
2:06 am
2:40 am
3:07 3m

And now it is 3:15 am. Today I stripped his bedding with the intent to wash it. It never made it into the wash, so he has different sheets on than usual, I think that is obviously an issue..

But the good thing about being up at 3 in the morning is Urban Cowboy just started on HBO. And it is starting again at 4:45, so just in case I am up again, I have it autotuned.

you're getting an earful today..

Consider that your warning.. This may get long. Maybe you should grab lunch first then come back. Oh good you're ready! Here we go..

Because I haven't done an eight month update on the babies, I thought I should. They are just growing like weeds. Both are pulling up and standing to things. They are eating great, including lots of people food.. Today they had some waffles. They are gigglers and easily entertained by Jason. Walks keep them busy and they love being outside. At restaurants, they now sit in high chairs and that keeps them content, happy with mouths wide open. Zachary is a big Daddy's Boy and Ryan is a Momma's Boy.

Now that I have chatted about my littlest boys, it's only fair to tell you about my biggest boy. Yesterday Jason had speech. He has it 2 days a week and loves going. He is already correcting his Ff's and now we are working with Vv's too. He got a haircut yesterday so he is ready for school. He starts Kindergarten on Monday. I have a child in elementary school.. Wow. And today he delivered his Christmas list to me which included 12 items. It seems a little early for Christmas, maybe he didn't get the memo.

If you are a steady Dake Things reader, you know that I usually have black strong coffee running through my veins. I have been wanting a coffee pot with an automated timer so in the mornings it is always ready for me. Anyway I saw on the Fine Living Network that they were reviewing coffee makers. There were about 5 of them with all different price ranges.. They did a blind taste test with all the same coffees and all brewed the same according to the directions.. And the winner was the Black and Decker Smart Brew for $28 bucks, I will be adding that to my shopping list. I am also going to get a reusable coffee filter for it. I am excited at the thought of an amazing coffee brewed here at my home... Hopefully Starbucks will continue to thrive without some of my business.

As for the weekend, I want to eat some kick ass steak and loaded baked potato's while indulging in an ice cold adult beverage. I am thinking bottled Bud Light, poured into a frosted glass. Yum! It is not often we have beer and we never keep any in the house. So on the rare occasion that I do want beer, it always tastes exceptionally well.

I would like to do something creative, anything really. It has been a while since I done any scrapping. I'd like to clean out the vehicles and the grass needs mowed. I am sure Jason would love to slip and slide and we can plop the babies in their pool. I have yet to start my new book, maybe that will happen.. I doubt it. We bought the movie Troy because I still haven't seen it and who doesn't love a great Greek tragedy with the Pittster half naked in the whole thing? I think we can make time to see that too this weekend.

Okay I need to email the hubby a grocery list for after work. Have a Good One, See ya back here on Monday! Hugs, Momma Dake