williamson's family tree

BIG girl school..............

2011-08-15T06:23:00.000-07:00

Emery started Kindergarten today at Brown Elementary.........Heartwarming and Heartbreaking all at the same time!! I cried more yesterday, than I did today......She's such a sweet little girl and I am so excited to see this new chapter in her life but I am still clinging to my little baby girl. The little baby girl that has brought me so much joy and filled my heart till it is completely overflowing............

At Brown's open house last Thursday, she was given a homework assignment (that we almost forgot to do until 9pm sunday evening). In a ziploc bag, she was given some yellow and green paper, a red marker, glue stick, scissors and some instructions. Make a flower out of the items provided and write words to describe yourself. As she was cutting and pasting, the hubby and I asked her to describe herself. First word? HAPPY........Then KIND, LOVING, LOVES EVERYBODY, FLOWER, CARING, NICE.........wow, her words, I 'bout died!

Drop off went really well.........It was the day before that had a little high drama......The adorable outfit that mama was so excited about her wearing has been shifted to Tuesday. Why? She just really wanted to wear a pink outfit that twirled.........WTH!! So, plan B.........I gave her some choices, so hopefully Mama and Baby Girl could be happy. And then this morning? She changed her mind again.........This morning, she decided she wanted to match her backpack...........I know, it's gonna be a long year. And do you know what else I know? Am gonna start campaigning for school uniforms TOMORROW!!

For those of you who know me well, you have to know that it really took alot for me to just let her wear what she wanted. I am a mama with a plan. So, as I was tossing and turning in my sleep last night, I decided I would just take a bunch of pictures, everyday, in every outfit and then decide which photo album I will label as "First Day of School".....I mean, cuz in like 20 years, who's gonna really remember, right? Ok, this probably won't work but I did finally fall asleep............just sayin...........

Emery's teachers are Ms. Cheryl, Mrs. Waits and Ms. Messenger. She got very lucky to have one of her best friends, Kate, in her class as well as Rosie and Lucy. And with the support of my hubby, I was able to sign up to be a Room MOM! I. Can. NOT. Wait! I am very much looking forward to being apart of her first year of school. Brown is a fantastic and very small little school. With only about 250 students, there's only two kindergarten classrooms. It doesn't fall on all the fancy TOP SCHOOLS of the WORLD charts but it is so wonderful to see a very happy and involved Principal and Staff.......I can even have Ms. Cindy, our lunchroom lady, help Emery make great choices at lunch............There's talk of it eventually closing for a bigger and better school so who knows what's ahead. But for her first year? I am thrilled!!

Emery, Mommy loves you more than words can ever say. And the fact that the word HAPPY is how you described yourself makes me thank God for all of my many blessings and for maybe not messing up so bad these first 5 1/2 years!

BEACH-a-licious................

2011-08-10T11:02:00.000-07:00

These four lucky kids just spent 14 days together at the beach!! And the parents actually survived it!!!!! Although tough at times, challenging other times, crazy many times and LOUD all the time, it really was great...........Memories that will forever be cherished. It was tough trying to pick just some of the pictures to post............with over 500 to choose from and already way late on summer postings, I figured something was better than nothing!

Of course my fearless son goes right for the crab..........

We had barely pulled into the driveway when they were begging to see some surf and sand......So suitcases aside, off we marched to the beach..........

And then bright and early (12pm.......breakfast, cartoons, sunscreen, lunches prepared, cooler packed, dog walked, on and on and on) we got our first full day of beach!!

There was a beautiful and completely empty community right up the street. It's a part of the Watercolor community but unfortunately was built during the NOT SO booming realestate market............so, great for pics, not so great for their busines!

Hmmmmm.......dare devils and sass...........Lord, help me!

Our first week, the weather wasn't too sunny, which actually worked out great for the kids (and the hubby's) skin............

I love this action shot! The kids thoroughly enjoyed playing in the waves................

On Friday, we rented a pontoon boat that we took out for the day...........I am not sure I have ever done that on the ocean but I promise you I will do it AGAIN! It was fantastic.......We anchored at Shell Island and spent all day in knee deep water, finding tons of shells, small sting rays, sandollars and we might have actually spotted a small shark.......and by we I mean Laura, since I was too busy trying to scale up the side of the boat as soon as she thought she saw it!

We really had so much fun!! As was most of the week, we dealt with a few storms........Thanks to our boat Captain, Mr. Jason, We stayed ahead of most of the rain............As we were trying to out run one of the rain showers, we found ourselves in the middle of a pod of spinner dolphins! It was truly breathtaking and I still can't believe the pictures I got! This was no zoom lense......they were this close!

After a full day on the boat, we headed to Dockside for fantastic shrimp and ice cold beer......And shirly temples for the little ones!

Dockside is right at the Marina in Port St. Joe..........so much fun watching all the boats come in with the fresh catch of the day!

It really was great being at the beach.........And I do love me some beach time as well as friend and family time!

While we were walking around, we ran into this little guy. I, of course, thought it was a shark. It was a cat fish......who knew they were in the ocean!!

So on Sunday, we said goodbye to the daddy's and hello to single motherhood..........with four kids............and decided to treat ourselves to a nice lunch at Schooners in Panama City Beach!!

It was just like the old days.........No, it really wasn't. In the old days, I was single, younger, much skinnier and didn't have to even look at the kids menus!!

Since we loved Dockside so much, we decided to go back and it was soooo yummy!

no clue why this is turned sideways, figures, right? it's the one of two pictures I think I am actually in!! ha!

We had a fantastic time, and I really have so many more pics to go through and many more stories to tell..........

Sunflowers.........

2011-07-18T05:53:00.000-07:00

Aren't they beautiful???? We are less than a month away from kindergarten......I can't believe it......I am broken hearted and thrilled all at the same time............How blessed I am to have this summer to spend with my sweet babies !! We have seen puppet shows, been to splash parks, movies, pools, beaches and lakes!! It's been such a blessing...............I have so many pictures, I think I am desperately trying to freeze time!! Am on a mission to start posting some of our summer fun!!!

damn near perfect........

2011-06-29T14:08:00.000-07:00

We may have had just about the most PERFECT. VACATION. EVER. Time to sort through all the fantastic pics and post some for ya!!

Summer smiles.........

2011-06-29T13:50:00.000-07:00

The kids and I are having a blast so far this summer............I promise to get up to date on our happenins..........promise!

Schools--Out--For--SUMMER!!

2011-06-02T04:28:00.000-07:00

Is everyone singing along?? I sure am!! Last Friday was Emme's last day at school..........sniff sniff............I'll get to that sappy post later..............Right now, I am too excited about how our first week has gone for this new little threesome! All of my whole MOM life, I have wanted to stay at home with my kiddos............and thanks to an INCREDIBLE hubby and BAD economic times, IT HAS HAPPENED!!

Day One.......Memorial Day.............We blessed those that have fought for our country......had a great but busy family day and grilled out with our neighbors..............Yummy Margarita chicken.....Am sooooo gonna share that recipe, it was sooo good!! and easy!

Day Two.......Playdate!! Our friends Alex and Brandon came over and we enjoyed our new "pool"........ie-blow up knee deep bug swimmin pool..............

Day Three......Swimdate!! Same friends as above invited us to their REAL pool............And let me just tell you...........I have no clue how, but my sweet girl swam.........not just doggie paddled, but actually swam...........Jumped from the side, touched bottom of pool and swam herself right back to the wall! We even have the old timey pool blisters on the toes to prove it!! She did fantastic! So great, that after naps, I took her out to get a new bathing suit! Gymboree had their entire store onsale for $12.99 and under........Jackpot!! Now, the problem with Gymboree is that they really run a little large..............Sweet girl is now the owner of a size 3 bathing suit! Lucky girl, built just like her daddy...............

having blogger issues with my pics.........will post shortly!

Jumper cables................

2011-05-18T11:26:00.000-07:00

This beach trip with the girls were the "jumper cables" I needed to restart my battery! It was perfect..................Perfect weather, perfect friends, perfect place!

Andee and her husband have a condo in Destin, Florida............It's right on a canal and a short walk to the beach...........lots of pools, tennis, puttin green and boats & fishin.......Perfect for kids......If we had brought them..........but we did not! We just brought ourselves.........And as always, our first night there starts with dinner at Dewey Destins.........A shack that has great food and very cold beer...........YUMMY!

Tara, Robin, Andee, Christi, Liz and myself have been friends since college. Although we are spread all around (And I was NOT referring to our butts!) we reconnect every year just like college was yesterday!!

Weather was just beautiful!! And only a few times did we laugh at the other parents sitting in sand making sandcastles and smearing sunscreen all over very quick toddlers.........Because those trips are great, too. Actually, those trips are made really great by having these "kid free" trips as well!! I firmly believe you need the balance.............especially to really appreciate life!

The Donut hole is a must.........not really just for breakfast.........They have the best keylime pie! YUMMY!!

I figured I should include myself in a bathing suit shot.......I mean really, who knows what next year will look like, right??? I kid, I kid...............

So here we are, all lined in our sorority pose!!

Saturday night we went to The Boathouse! Unfortunately, these pics just don't show the charm! You know, if you call bras and panties stapled to the ceilings CHARMING.........Which we did!! No, we didn't staple OURS to the ceiling, we just thought it was CHARMING...........many beers, shots and no dinner later!!

Oh to be young again...........We certainly tried............As will the hubby's text messages attest to! It really was a wonderful weekend with really great people! And a special thanks to all those at home that held down the fort, toted kids to birthday parties, soccer parties, dance recitals, baseball games and all those other things crazy people with kids do on weekends!

My brain is at the BEACH!

2011-05-11T11:41:00.000-07:00

so...............tomorrow I am going to the beach with my sorority sisters...........AND I CAN NOT WAIT! Apparently, my mind is already there.......because so far this week, I have turned the hose on to water my flowers......forgot.........never watered them.......however I did water the lawn..........till I remembered at 4AM to go and turn off the hose! I also put chicken fingers in the toaster over............and forgot.................and burnt the hell out of them......................

so..............as much as the hubby isn't too excited about flying solo till Monday, I feel confident he is ready for my spacey brain to LEAVE!!

I am also hoping to get packed sometime very soon..............right now, my list is still long...........laundry, ironing, clean out car, clean kids rooms, clean house, cook dinner, lay out clothes for birthday parties this weekend, gather soccer stuff for games this weekend..............and then pack...................

shew...............better get goin!!

Best. Easter. Ever!

2011-05-09T11:29:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, April 23rd, All the kids from Emery's class at Oxford, plus some sibling classes gathered at the Backus' household for an unbelievable Easter Egg hunt!! It couldn't have been any more of a gorgeous day filled with wonderful friends.............These kids have been going to school together for almost 5 1/2 years.........It has been so wonderful watching them grow and is so bittersweet.......Graduation is around the corner and for the most part, they will all go their separate ways................Thankfully, we have memories like this to remind us how special these times have been and how blessed we all are..........sniff sniff.............Both kids and parents alike have formed friendships that will last forever!!

Cancer is so limited............

2011-05-05T11:42:00.000-07:00

It cannot cripple love..........

It cannot shatter hope........

It cannot corrode faith.......

It cannot eat away peace...

It cannot destroy confidence.....

It cannot kill friendship.........

It cannot shut out memories.....

It cannot silence courage.....

It cannot reduce eternal life.....

It cannot quench the spirit......

***author unknown

This was us May 2009 for a breast cancer walk at Atlantic Station. Trinia's in the back with the visor.........

Thank you all, my sweet friends, for your continued support and prayers..........For anyone interested, there is going to be a Coed Softball tournament in Trinia's honor on June 11th........All proceeds will go to the Trinia Anderson Fund.

I also think you can buy Trinia's Prayer Pals T-shirts too which are pretty cute!!

I am anxiously awaiting to hear how her appointment with her Oncologist went today......will post more information as I recieve it...........

Keep the prayers comin!

The power of prayer.................

2011-04-28T16:27:00.000-07:00

God is good. I know He is. And I also know He has a plan...........A plan I want to understand. I am trying. This sweet friend is Trinia. And she has Cancer. She also has a sweet baby boy, Braley.
In May 2007, Trinia was diagnosed with Breast Cancer.......And she beat it! Unfortunately, in March 2011, she learned it was back. It is in her lungs, liver, bones and now it is discovered that she has it in her brain as well.

As of today, she is being treated at MD Anderson in Houston, Texas.

Her family has set up a Caringbridge site as well as a Praying for Trinia facebook site.

please pray........

EGGstravaganza TEAZER................

2011-04-27T08:50:00.001-07:00

Here's a quick pic to peak your interest..........................This was an egg hunt we did last Saturday..........I can't wait for Emily to post some more pics............Then I'll do a GIANT post!

Happy Easter!!

2011-04-25T07:02:00.000-07:00

What a wonderful weekend............So, before the complete update, we'll start with Easter!! So many blessings............Starting with the sweetest little boy telling me all about how the Easter Bunny had come and that I'd better hurry up so I could see the blue basket he brought..............

The hubby cooked a great breakfast for us..................

That Easter Bunny even knew to bring the hubby a chocolate bunny!!!

I was thrilled that old Mr. Easter Bunny remembered our visits to the dentist and filled the kids baskets with lots of things that DO NOT cause cavities!!

So after the kids went through all their goodies, it was time to get dressed and head to church..........To really celebrate the true meaning of Easter...........I love my church and they always have a cross out front that the congregation covers in flowers...........here are some pics of the kids picking their flowers...............

This just brings a tear to my eye........

Here's a rare family picture!!

After church we headed to my Aunt's house for a fabulous southern lunch and of course, another Easter egg hunt!!

And looky here...........ANOTHER family shot!!!

Happy Happy Birthday to ME!!

2011-04-15T08:44:00.000-07:00

It's MY Birthday!! And once again, I am turning 29!!! It's the damndest thing..........HA! So, althought I didn't get really cute monkey cupcakes, I did get a delicious cake from the hubby and the kiddos, My compliments to Mr. Chef (publix!)............... And I wish I had a cute trampoline in the backyard to work off the extra slices I have eaten throughout the day.....................

Now, so far, the Madagascar jumpy house hasn't shown up yet for my party like it did for Charlie's 3rd Birthday party.........I am still hopeful..........As are the kids...........Since, I mean seriously, who can have a Birthday party without one? right???!

And fortunately, the kiddos have joined forces with me on consuming this delicious cake just as they did the cupcakes at Charlie's.........................

My birthday did begin with a fantastic serenade by a kitten and a monkey (via some crazy website the hubby found on his phone), MY monkey's jumping all over me in the bed BEFORE it was light outside..............and then Emme's class busted out the "Happy Birthday Emery's mommy" song which brought tears to my eyes!!

And you can't forget the wonderful friends who have wished me happy birthday all day long!! Can you believe all these people remember my special day EVERY SINGLE YEAR?? (thank you facebook)

LOVE YOU ALL!

And Happy Birthday to ME! And my friend Tripper and Brad and Ms. Sarah...........

Sweet smiles!!

2011-04-11T12:28:00.000-07:00

here's one of my new favorite pics from a birthday party we went to.............I can't believe how big they are getting, sniff sniff!

Happy Friday!!

2011-04-01T06:40:00.000-07:00

Things are getting a little less weepy around here! Not sure I'll ever be "used" to not seeing her but I am very happy not to see her so sick. It was a tough decision at the vet. I mean, I know it was the right decision but it was tough just saying the words. My vet was great. She certainly took the choice away from me and made sure I realized there really wasn't a choice. However, I did have choices on what to do next. You know, with her. As I am standing there in an emotional pile of tears, I had to decide what to DO with her. They politely laid out my choices and then left me alone to ponder. Choice ONE: cremation. And that choice had two options......keep her ashes or not keep her ashes. Choice TWO: The vet takes care of her. Choice THREE: bring her home to bury her. I struggled and really couldn't come up with an answer. Choice ONE....Now, I personally want to be cremated, so I thought logically that should be the direction I SHOULD go.......but I just couldn't come up with what in the HELL would I do with her ashes...........you know? She was an inside cat, so it's not like I could sprinkle her around her favorite spot!! THAT was under the desk in the playroom............not technically appropriate, right? And so then she's in a jar and on my shelf? or in a drawer? I mean, I just couldn't. Not that there is anything wrong with that, I just couldn't get it to make sense to me. And besides, how do you really know that its HER ashes, right? ugh, anyway........... Choice TWO......My vet let me leave and told me I could just call her back with my decision. Which was great, I needed a little more time. And this was probably the most logical option. I had wonderful memories, and pictures I will cherish forever. As well as a clay paw print they made for me............So, pawprint, framed picture, lots of memories............Great choice. Choice THREE......The choice I went with. Well, the choice the hubby felt we should go with. And although we aren't in our "forever" home, which was my argument, it just felt right. So, the hubby picked her up from the vet, found a nice spot in our backyard and we had a private memorial.........it was very rainy and muddy..............but nice. And I feel more peace knowing that we did. I debated on whether the kids should see us do what we were doing but that sort of worked itself out. Brayden took a late nap and Emme watched a movie and didn't really ask what we were doing. I just didn't know if they should SEE it, you know? So, the hubby said his goodbyes, I said mine and added a few pictures of the kids with her and all was done. What did I tell the kids??? Well, after they realized that Nadia wasn't coming home from the vet, we talked alot about heaven. And just how wonderful heaven is and how happy and healthy she was now that she was in heaven. And what's in the back yard? her paw prints. We buried her "paw prints" cause she's in heaven. sniff sniff............

Goodbye, my sweet girl.............

2011-03-30T12:02:00.000-07:00

I had to say goodbye to my 17 year old first born, Nadia, today. What a hard day. It was time, I know. But so very hard. She'd taken a bad turn about 3 weeks ago and just wasn't able to fight anymore. 17 years is a long time. We've been through boyfriends, bad roommates, happy times and sad times..........She always listened and always purred............Even when her world was turned upside down by the arrival of two very active and loving children. She got her start when my mom found her and her brothers and sisters in a box behind a restaurant in Lawrenceville. She got her name because she had gymnastic traits that included climbing up draperies and scaling furniture..........She was my first indoor kitty, big step since the old parents never let us have indoor pets!! So, she and her sister Chloe and myself moved into our first apartment. And although Chloe had a heart condition that sent her to kitty heaven very early on in life, Nadia and myself (and a new addition, Sasha) lived together very happily! I will miss her tremendously.........I will miss her very distinct meow and will miss her easy going spirit...........So easy, she spent many days dressed up and driven around in strollers throughout the house!! I love you baby girl............ please ignore the awful picture........this was taken after many tears and I just wanted one last picture.

She'd gotten so frail.........Once a very active and very overweight 16 pound kitty!!

And don't think that seeing all the pictures of my little ones didn't bring even more tears!!!

So, as my friend Holly said, she's up in heaven, snacking on tunafish, smiling down and patiently waiting to see us again.........sniff sniff

Playdate fun and a little INSPIRATION!

2011-03-11T12:57:00.000-08:00

So Tuesday has been designated as "Playdate Day" and I couldn't be happier!! These two little smiling friends will get to see each other every Tuesday and play till their hearts content.......................And the mommies get to chat and chat and chat!! This week we played at Carly's and her beautiful home gave me lots of inspiration!! Take a look at inspiration number 1.........................

I can't believe how easy this was to make!! Now, Carly might say that I did drive her nuts with my questions but I am so thrilled with how it turned out!! I bought 1 1/2 yards of burlap and cut them into 4" strips............I unwrapped a wire hanger and basically just threaded on the burlap, accordian style.......Tied the bow and VOILA!! It probably needs a more spring colored ribbon but the ones that I had just didn't look quite right so chocolate it is for now!!

Thank you sweet friend!! Next up? Paint markers for my chalkboard wall........................stay tuned!

CONGRATULATIONS!! IT'S A ......................

2011-03-10T10:40:00.000-08:00

kidney stone..........

yep................

all that labor and it was nothing more than a 3mm kidney stone...........

Ever had one? I hadn't. until yesterday.

here's how it went down....................

I woke up about 5am feeling a little crampy.....My first thought was another damn bladder infection.........however, by 6am, as I am on all fours in my bathroom, I realized this was no damn bladder infection...........

I called the hubby, moaned and groaned, and tried to convince him that I did NOT need to go to the emergency room. I mean, come on, I am OVER the ER!! (that post comes later)

He, the smart man he is, called my dad for reinforcement. by 7:30 I am checking into the ER and explaining to everyone that would listen that I was in LABOR!! Yes, I know I am not pregnant but that is exactly what it felt like..........which for a brief second, reminded me of my first borns delivery and my hero plans of natural childbirth..........I ended up having natural childbirth, but I just changed what the definition was of NATURAL............Lots of drugs, Lots of drugs and the use of my vagina...........VOILA!! Aaalll Naturaaaal!!

Anywhoooooo................

Back to the ER story...........and my poor dad..............See, he had the pleasure of staying with me while the hubby took emme to daycare and figured out a plan for brayden...........

Did I mention the pain??? It truly was awful............so awful that I almost didn't even notice the HOT McDreamy Doctor, bow tie and all, that quickly agreed to my need for medication! HOT, I tell you HOT! And after an IV full of Demerol, I actually forgot my lack of shower, dirty clothes and unshaven legs.....I think I was hot! or not...........didn't care..........He was beautiful and I was in NOOOOOO pain......................

And thankfully after an ultrasound to check my ovaries, a CAT scan to check out my little baby kidney stone, I was pain free and congratulated on my delivery..........or partial delivery..........of this sweet bundle of joy.....apparently, my little stone is in my bladder waiting for round two.........Thank heavens for the prescription drugs with my little name written all over them!!

A little vitamin D

2011-03-07T16:22:00.000-08:00

See the smiles??? Everybody's happier when the sun is out...............Bring on SPRING!!

What's cooler than a dinosaur???

2011-02-25T11:36:00.000-08:00

Not much, except that one little boy actually POOPED in the potty ............... while visiting a really cool museum!! (sidenote---he has since done it 3 more times in two days!!)

Thursday we went with our friends Clayton and Grant and mom Emily to The Fernbank Science Center.........It was really cool and the kids had a blast...........The museam had tons of dinosaurs to see as well as lots of other neat exhibits..............And coming the end of March, they are adding a new nature center with a lot more hands on things for the kids to do. Can't wait, may need to invest in a family pass!!

You are hard to talk to...........

2011-02-24T16:26:00.000-08:00

Ever been told this????

hmmmmm................

interesting

Unsettled...........

2011-02-03T14:09:00.001-08:00

Am feeling a little unsettled.........can't quite shake the other nights events (aka horrors)..........However, my sweet boy is so much back to normal that he is scaring the hell out of me!! And like a good Mother Hen, I am keeping a very close watch!!

We're having dinner with friends tonight so I am looking forward to a much needed night out (aka WINE)....................

Our appointment with the pediatric neurologist is in March............don't even get me started on waiting that long for an appointment.............but I am counting my blessings that this isn't such an emergency that we had to pull rank.......Not a situation I'd like to have any rank for!!

See you all tomorrow!!

Well.....I may not be getting any younger...........

2011-02-02T08:31:00.000-08:00

But my son is definitely taking off years of my life.........................

And yes, this is another ER visit post............I promise we actually have very boring and very normal things occur here almost all the time........however, last night was not one of them!

The hubby was working late and it was past bedtime.......Jammies were on and books were being gathered to read............

And I heard the fall.

I ran the four steps to my room and my son is on the floor and my daughter is just saying sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry...........I scooped him up, I think he was crying, I can't remember........but he immediately convulsed, eyes rolled back in his head and turned from pink to blue to purple.......

I started yelling his name, checked his mouth, tried to blow in his face to get him to catch a breath and then began administiring CPR...........Well, I say I.........It must have been Someone much more powerful than me. I could have never blown breaths into my own son.........

I grabbed my cell phone and called 911, spewing out nothing but my address while I held him and prayed and consoled emme who was sitting next to us, princess nightgown and all, calmly crying.

Together with the operator I did a few more breaths and finally saw his color start to change back to pink............although he still wasn't conscious............I was able to shift from crazy mama to get it together, handle situation and take care of business mama.

And then my sweet son came to and began crying.............As did I.............As did emme............And I finally took a breath.

The 911 operator gave me a second by second location of the emergency vehicles and I sent baby girl to the door to unlock it and I want you to know, that baby girl marched herself down the hall, turned on all the lights, including the front porch and unlocked that door!

The firetruck was here in less than four minutes...............Four very long minutes.............

The 911 operator hung up with me once the fireman got there........They checked him out, calmed me down and gave big sis very high props (And don't worry, brayden wasn't quite well enough to announce to them all that his big sister had pushed him off the bed!!) Ambulance arrived and it was time to get dressed and get to Scottish Rite.

Oh yeh, and it was time to call the hubby and grandaddy since I completely forgot about the home phone and I was on my cell phone with the operator.................Got grandaddy on his way to watch emme and the hubby on his way to meet us at the ER.

Now, back to the ambulance..............The one I sent away..............Because I was very confident I could get us their faster in the old mini van........Remember my other ambulance ride?? Well, I remembered. And it was hell...............So, damn it, I was doing it myself. I strapped my finally pink but very quiet and tired little boy into his car seat and waved goodbye to grandaddy and emme, in the pouring rain, and off we went.

I turned on the lights inside the van and just sang and chatted to him trying to keep him awake while I maneuvered onto 285. Did I mention it was pouring??? oh yeh, POURING! But onward we went............And then he vomitted..........And I screamed...........tripled my speed...........was completely incoherent on the phone with the hubby and pulled into the ER on two wheels............

NEVER AGAIN, NEVER AGAIN, WILL I TURN DOWN AN AMBULANCE RIDE!!

I scooped him and his FROW UP up and ran inside..........

Again, I will say, there are Angels that work at that hospital.....We got sweet boy cleaned up and checked in and back to a room very quick. And finally heard the hubby's voice coming down the hall...............We moved to yet another room and met the doctor.............As I went over the events, I think the hubby got a clearer picture of just how scary it all really was.........he grew a bit paler..........I know, shocking, cause he's already pretty pale!

They quickly did a CAT scan.........while we waited for the results, Brayden snacked on gatorade and crackers and played cars with his very relieved daddy..........I sat in the chair trying not to vomit myself from the smell that was all over me and pray that all the results came back good. And they did. We were home by midnight............where he slept peacefully..........unlike his daddy and myself.........

After a nice conversation with my pediatrician this morning, we have an appointment with a pediatric neurologist and even a very probable answer to what the hell this is!

Breath Holding spells..............A completely involuntary response to being frightened or scared and he will grow out of it..............Thank heavens.................I have suggested a helmet wearing option until he grows out of it because I am absolutely positive I do not want to do that again. EVER. We'll know more after our appointment but atleast I have something I can spend lots of time googling and researching, haha!!

And don't worry, not only is he back to normal..........I have caught him no less than 10 times attempting to jump on or off of something!! The only things not back to normal? The carseat and myself................God is good...........(But God? I am pretty sure that I believe you are good without all of these ER visits, I'm just sayin......)

Here's a picture from thanksgiving.........

And a special thank you to CiCi for the CPR class she offered at our daycare..........Please learn it.

Have corner.........Will turn???????

2011-01-25T13:23:00.000-08:00

It may be wishful thinking, but I do believe we may have turned a corner on this whole potty training thing..........Well, it's the first time my sweet, precious ---ALREADY 3 YEARS OLD---son actually TOLD me he had to potty .......... and then went IN the potty. Now, he tells me he has to go all the time.......And then proceeds to slightly bend his little legs so he has some freedom for going right there in his PULLUPS or DIAPERS or BIG BOY UNDIES.............whatever he may be wearing..........

Oh well....................It's a start, right?

And let me please say a big THANK YOU for my fabulous FOUR followers who left sweet comments about missing me..................Let the posts begin!!

Remember Me???

2011-01-24T09:31:00.000-08:00

Time to knock the dust off the computer, iron out the kinks, and get back to what I love doing best...............Talking about my kids :) and I'll throw in some random current events and finally add pictures from one of the cutest birthday parties ever!! Stay tuned.............

The MOST amazing place you NEVER want to go....

2010-11-17T03:58:00.000-08:00

Childrens Healthcare of Atlanta---Scottish Rite......................That's right, we have spent a surreal week in a place I prayed I'd never have to be .......... And blessed that we were there surrounded by no less than 10,000 angels !!

Since I have been a very behind blogger, I'll start from the beginning..........After I tell you my sweet baby boy is wonderful and home safe and sound............

Friday, October 29th landed us at our favorite pizza place with some of our favorite people in the whole world............We had quite the time which I am not swearing by it but may have included 6 lemon drop shots, lots of beer and a few frowns from fellow diners..............HA! I noticed baby boy was doing a little bit of limping but he said he hurt his foot on the playground, oh well no worries..............

Saturday, He still wouldn't put any weight on his heel but got around just find and we certainly went about our day with lots of pre halloween fun, including a trip trick or treating with grandmother and grandaddy while mommy and daddy celebrated a pretty good football game that should have had a better ending........damn dawgs................

Sunday, Halloween, my sweet boy woke up pretty miserable, still favoring his left foot. So, since it was halloween, I decided to head to our urgent care place up the street for some Xrays........NOTHING.........Nothing but a referall to an orthopedic surgeon for the next day............

Monday, The 1st of November, my sweet boy got a cast.........even though a second set of Xrays showed NOTHING, again. Now, I have a little bit of cast experience since baby girl had one at age 2.........So, I thought, no worries, off in 10 days, just in time for the birthday party............

WRONG!

By Wednesday, his sweet 3rd birthday, he was screaming pretty much all day and all night..........So, Thursday, I marched myself into a DIFFERENT pediatric orthopedic surgeons office and demanded the damn cast come off!! They did a third set of Xrays, again, NOTHING.........and out we went with a walking boot...........which lasted one day..........

Now, as I politely called the Dr's office, AGAIN, on Monday, November 8th...........and politely explained to them that I did NOT have a medical degree, however, I was a MOM and therefore felt pretty comfortable in the knowledge that NOBODY seems to know what the HELL is wrong with my baby!! His heel is now swollen and very hot to the touch...........SOMETHING WAS WRONG!! And then I politely explained to them that I would be back into their office the following morning...................which, actually, the hubby did............

And how we got to Children's Healthcare.....................

And how my sweet boy had lots of blood taken, two sedations, bone marrow taken, more Xrays, many bags of antibiotics pumped through his tiny little body and last but not least, an MRI...........which would tell us that he has OsteoMylitis.........An infection in his bone............cause---unknown.

We saw orthopedic surgeons, nurses, pediatric doctors, and lots of infectious disease doctors with Harvard degrees..............all telling us how common this was........Yeh? Really? HMMM, didn't seem very common to me!!

Good news is that my sweet baby was mostly clueless about why we were there..........he had lots of jello, lots of pudding, lots of popcicles, lots of attention and non stop movies..........ALL HOURS OF THE NIGHT!!

It was pretty tough on us parents, but he did great............And every minute, we were reminded as to just how blessed we were..........And how prayers really do get answered..........Especially when you have the kind of prayer chain we had!! Thank you, my friends.......

Did I mention Birthday party? That's right, the one scheduled for both of my babies on Sunday!! The one that I hadn't quite gotten all the details done for...........The one that was at our house..........with about 35 kids coming..............The one still decorated for Halloween :) And the one that I wasn't quite ready to cancel just yet.................

So, we finally get to Friday, the day some doctors agreed we could leave and the day some doctors disagreed we could leave...............hmmmmm, bottom line, Brayden needed to change from IV antibiotics to oral antibiotics........No big deal, right? well.............no big deal until he threw up the first two tries...................

the hubby and I were exhausted............my sweet boy was exhausted............but how do you reason with a barely turned 3 year old that he only had one more chance?? Chocolate.

Chocolate syrup to be exact.

Our horribly dry harvard grad, Dr. Long, subscribed chocolate syrup as the combo to get the medicine down. and to stay down.

Now, that would have been great to know the first time, because he wasn't really sure he was gonna try for a third time to get down something that truly smelled awful..........

but he did..........

and we left..........

But not after thanking all of the nurses, all of our friends and families, sleepovers for my sweet girl, the great doctors, the great staff, and mostly God. mostly God.

10,000 angels, koi pond, media room, craft center, basketball court, it was pretty cool!! but, I don't want to go back...........

So four happy people slept well Friday night.................but saturday came VERY early!! We had a party to pull off...............

And pull off we did.....stay tuned!

RRROOOOAAAARRRR......

2010-11-03T04:59:00.000-07:00

I CAN'T BELIEVE I'M TURNING THREE..........Oh wait, that's my mom! Where has time gone? Stay tuned for many posts all about ME!!

Bye Bye Paci.................

2010-10-21T13:13:00.001-07:00

I will miss you..............

Not because I really liked you. Actually, I strongly disliked you..........However, I will miss the silence you caused as soon as you were found..........I will miss the 15 extra minutes I was given at a restaurant to eat my luke warm food.............And I will truly miss the amazing talent you had of keeping my sweet boy asleep till around 7:15am..............

So, in your place, I now have high pitched tantrums, cold food and 6:30 am wake up calls...........

And a sweet baby boy who probably is one step closer to not being a baby...........sigh.........sniff sniff.................

But that sweet baby boy gave you up to another baby in need.........He's cool like that!

WARNING!!

2010-10-20T17:16:00.001-07:00

I suck at blogging...........hell, I suck at a lot these days! But, anyway, our computer got a virus, AGAIN, I got the big ax at work, although I have to keep working through November, and I am desperately trying to count my blessings............So, I promise to get better at blogging, get a job, and count my blessings, again!

The Sprouts!!

2010-10-03T05:25:00.000-07:00

Our first organized soccer team....................The Sprouts!! The girls are playing out of Peachtree Road United Methodist Church (PRUMC) since we totally missed the sign up for our local league...........of course, right!! And they are totally ORGANIZED..........."they" being PRUMC........Some might call it a soccer game, I'd like to call it Comic Relief!! For us, it all began with the uniform.................

"That is for boys, MOM!"

"I don't like black!!"

"I am ONLY wearing a dress!!"

"But why is not PINK????"

And it went on and on and on........................But she finally agreed and off we went!!

See........Here's proof that she actually put ON the uniform! Morgan's dad, Greg, and Jeff are the coaches...........

Here's Greg giving the girls some coachin!!................not sure they listened.........

Team Sprouts!!

And of course, what sporting event is complete without a little sibling making a beeline across the field, right????

And check out our fantastic fans!!

This sweet girl had the stance down..........only problem was that she stayed in that EXACT stance every time a ball came by...............Oh well, not sure our experience level was too high!!

My sweet girl not only stayed on the field, she actually made contact with the ball and there were NO TEARS!! And she was NOT one of the four that refused to leave their moms laps on the side!!

And oh yeh, that's right, we played a team in PINK...........How do you think that went over in our house???? Not too well..............And let me tell you, those Peaches were damn good! Not sure what kind of bootcamp had been going on but they had some major game plans..........Seriously? Seriously!! Those 4yr olds kicked our little sprout hineys!!

But after a great team meeting, starting with which end of the field was ours, we are looking forward to today!!

And of course the pizza and ice cream helped too!!

I am so proud of my little sprout!! Will keep you posted on today's game!!

See ya Summer!!

2010-09-14T17:48:00.000-07:00

So we sent summer out in style...........right on Lake Sinclair with family friends!!
The Phifer family have been friends of our family for almost 18 years!! They have four lovely daughters and now many grandchildren and spouses later............Great times, starting with golfcarts and dogs!!

We certainly didn't want for food..............Friday night started with homemade spaghetti, Saturday night was barbecue and Sunday ended with filets and crab legs!!
Adorable little tushies.............
The best thing about this weekend? was Isabelle.........Emery's "for the moment" new best friend! 10 years old and I am sure we owe her some major money for all the babysitting she did!

well.........My mom will kill me, but this was so sweet........he was so snug and happy!

And once again, Isabelle!
Here are the boys cleaning their allotment of Dove that was hunted........two out of the three were not actually involved in the "delivering" of the doves, however it was most humorous when Brayden asked his grandaddy if they could still fly!!

We mostly relaxed in a beautiful cove but some of the youngins took the Jet ski out for a little ride!

Now, here are the patriarchs of the family! Brothers? well, maybe brothers by another mother! cause at equal weights, they even make me pause! SCARY!

All the lovely Phifer ladies!!

We really had the best weekend...................Great friends, way too much great food and so much fun! It was so easy to look around and count all the many blessings!! We look forward to many more gatherings.................

Music on Mondays................

2010-09-13T08:48:00.000-07:00

So, it's football season............And I love sports talk radio during football season..........Except when my team loses..........And then it's music on Mondays..........Cause I just can't take it! Damn Dawgs!!

Not too bad for TWENTY....................

2010-09-01T13:48:00.000-07:00

My Reunion was GREAT!! It was held at the Stone Mountain Park Marriott in a very small ballroom with a mediocre DJ and I NEVER touched the food............But the night was really FUN!! It started with dinner at Watershed in Decatur with Chris and Tinsley Hayes....I went to highschool and college with Chris and we had a wonderful dinner and easy conversation. No pictures of that, unfortunately!

My parents watched the kids for us and apparently were having their own dance party...........

Here are some great friends from school..........Cheerleaders with me........yeh, yeh, our hair has changed!!
Carol Anne Tucker, Laura Pate and Sharon Haney............

Here I am with Candi..........I used to spend the night at her house when I was little.........

Here's Mike Green, Diana Brown & Robert Fulgham.........After a few cocktails, I apparently invited myself and my family to Robert's house in Colorado..........HA! He was polite enough to not say "hell n0" so that's a plus, right?

Oh my sweet Diana Brown...........Loved seeing her!!

Here's the attempt at a group photo..................Didn't go so well, probably should have tried earlier in the evening!!

Laura Gallagher and I grew up together in the same neighborhood and here we are with Christi Elmore and Kristie Hennecy!

Felicia Scales, (Chad Johnson) Mary Hill, & Kristie and I had such a great time catching up!

After we were kicked out of the ballroom, we all moved over to the hotel bar........this is where it gets a little fuzzy...........

But it really was so nice to see everybody and EVERYBODY really looked great! I would even kind of like a "Do Over" so you could really talk and catch up.........I think every body was just so excited to be out, it was mostly drinkin and dancin!

Overall, I am so glad I went!!

And it's my blog............so I can "leave out" various details, right?!?! hahahaha Let's just say SUNDAY was when I really needed a babysitter............

A chuckle for my friends..................

2010-08-27T07:40:00.000-07:00

In honor of the big ole' reunion this Saturday, I figured I'd share some of my hair, I mean pictures, with you!

Here goes.............Bring on the chuckles!!

What? Your surprised I was a big haired cheerleader??............HA!!! I am guessing not......
I'm the one on the lower left, I know, it's tough with all the other big haired cheerleaders!!

And as an update to my previous post, I haven't quite reached my 20 goals before my reunion........Oh Well! I did get a dress, some shoes that I can't walk in and I did pay for the tickets!!

Wish me luck!!

Quote of the day.........

2010-08-24T12:55:00.000-07:00

"I just love you, Mommy"..........

aaahhhhhhh, exactly what I needed to hear today!

Becky WHO??

2010-08-23T08:04:00.000-07:00

Becky Jones, That's who!! And who is Becky Jones? Becky Jones School of Dance!! Apparently, she's been teaching dance a VERY LONG TIME!! Anyway, the girls started Aug 10th in a 30min. ballet and a 30min. tap class...............They didn't say much after the first lesson, but it's been non stop chatter since then! I think they love it...............

This is about as close as the parents are allowed to get..............Oh well, guess we'll wait for their recital!!

Chillaxin' pool side.......................

2010-08-22T07:19:00.000-07:00

A few weekends ago (I am sooo behind), we were invited to visit our friends The Welden's at Blalock Lakes..............It might have taken an hour to get there and an hour to get home, but it was nothing short of heaven! They are the kind of friends where things are just easy............Conversations are easy................Laughter comes easy................The kids play easy.........and nice............We ordered some pizza, drank a few cold ones, and just relaxed.........

The pool couldn't have been any more kid friendly............I wish I had taken more pics of the club house and pool area........It was so beautiful........

Great times.........Great friends.....................And hopefully, we'll get ANOTHER invite!!

Happy Anniversary..................

2010-08-16T13:49:00.000-07:00

Seven years ago today..........................

You know how sometimes it feels like it's been forever and then sometimes it feels just like yesterday? I am having that kind of a "moment"................Kind of hard to put the last seven years into words.....rollercoaster? up and down? good times & bad? ........I do know for sure that on THIS DAY, seven years ago, I married a very kind, caring, sentimental, hilarious man!! I had the BEST WEDDING EVER (minus the photographer) and I was surrounded by amazing friends and family..........I would SOOOOOO do it again, and again, and again...(with a different photographer)..........That's how much I loved my wedding!!

Seven years.............WOW!!

Can you imagine getting to go back seven years and look ahead? Do you ever wonder what you would do differently? I am pretty sure I'd have taken some "How to be a wife" lessons and maybe signed up for some "How to be Married" lessons, that is FOR SURE! Oh, and don't forget those "How to tame wild animals " and other necessary parenting classes..........

The one thing I would NOT have changed, is that really great guy I married SEVEN years ago! Just maybe a few circumstances...........

Happy Anniversary, honey!

I LOVE YOU.................

20 things to do BEFORE my TWENTIETH high school Reunion............

2010-08-12T07:45:00.000-07:00

#1..........Lose 20 pounds
#2..........Botox
#3..........actually RSVP for it
#4..........actually mail in my check
#5..........Get a dress
#6..........Get shoes
#7..........Get a tan (preferably by going to Tahiti)
#8..........Hair cut & color
#9..........Mani/Pedi
#10........Lose 20 pounds
#11........Botox
#12........Win Lottery
#13........Pimp out my Swagger Wagon......
#14........Practice my "Wow, you haven't changed a bit" look
#15........Check David Beckham's calendar (ha, good thing hubby is a close second)
#16........Premier on "Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous" (is that even on anymore??)
#17........Lose 20 pounds
#18........Botox
#19........print adorable photo montage of my beautiful children to show off
#20........Watch and memorize all of Samantha Brown's TLC travel shows and recite to various fellow graduates as if I had actually traveled to them!!!

Guess I better get started..........................Since it's on the 28th of this month.................

You are about to be overloaded with posts......

2010-08-09T12:14:00.000-07:00

I swear............
As soon as I muster up the energy....................
I have so many fun things to post about.............As soon as I muster up the energy.............

Doctor???

2010-08-02T18:10:00.000-07:00

Or construction workers????
Girls said they were playing Doctor.......however, they were using the Black & Decker tool kit........Oh well!!

Jasmine and Thomas............

2010-07-23T08:42:00.000-07:00

Actually, that's Mr. Thomas........................So, we had Audrey last night while her parents were gone and I decided to take them to Alladdin Jr. being performed at our church..........So, we started at Moe's (WELCOME TO MOE'S) and then headed over for the play..........The kids kept saying "movie" so it took us a while to explain what a "play" was...................
Anyway, they were definitely thrilled to see Princess Jasmine............All they could talk about was Princess Jasmine..................until they saw Mr. Thomas...........Who is Mr. Thomas? Had you asked me yesterday, I would have said he was just some young kid that I see occasionally at their school as a floating teacher in the afternoons............Not real personable, but fine, nonetheless.........

Until Last night...........When I watched two little girls squeal with delight and wave (from the back row) DURING THE WHOLE PLAY................... And of course chat CONSTANTLY about Mr. Thomas.............And the delight when, after the play, we actually got to SEE Mr. Thomas, albeit briefly. Now, we were fortunate to have seen Ms. Becca and Ms. Sara and Ms. Jillian, too.........but no one got the grins that old Mr. Thomas got............

Guess I'm gonna need to introduce myself.............

And this is just plain cute............taken a few days ago!

Yin..........and ..............Yang

2010-07-21T09:54:00.000-07:00

Audrey and Emme have been friends since they were little.......ok, they are still little, but I mean REALLY little....................and they really play so nice together.............And the parents get along too!!

These girls are hilarious.............One loves all things princess and the other loves all things....well, all things NON princess............ok, maybe not ALL things non princess, but ALOT of things NON princess...........like pirates and swords and baseball and such!! It's great, the yin to emme's yang!

So, of course, Audrey's 4th birthday party was at a very cool place............with a ZIP line, of all things!! And man, did my princess have fun............................

Now, just as a sidenote, these little yins and yangs went to the spa earlier for mani pedi's!! so, again, it's all about balance!!

Here's the birthday girl!!

HA, who knew she even knew how to ride a scooter!

Ying and Yang getting ready for the zip line....................

And the ball pit cushions the fall.......................

Here's Charlie and Brady laughing hysterically............whish I had gotten the giggles on video!!

Kate's mom, Kristin, is so much fun...............and one of the first ones to join in the craziness!

Great picture of Mimi (amelia)!!

They had stuff to do for all ages............Here's baby WHO having a blast!!

Here's miss sara........who has now decided to call Big Papa, B-Ray...........hilarious!

Audrey B. having some fun!!

Mmmmmmmmmmmm, cupcakes!

Birthday Girl and Mom!

Sensations Therafun did this neat board of painted handprints.............Very cool!

I love these girls..............Every............Last.................One................Of.............Them!

Old Macdonald had a farm...........................

2010-07-15T05:46:00.000-07:00

E.I.E.I.O..................And on that farm Ashton turned 5!! And what a party he had........Thanks to his mom, of course!! We spent our Saturday evening at a Barnyard party with tractors, pigs, cows, rabbits, goats, lambs, chickens and a whole bunch of KIDS!!

And here is the welcoming committee.....Anxiously awaiting the barnyard animals to arrive!

Miss Rebecca could barely contain herself.....................

Each kid did a really neat craft using their thumb print. Here is Emme with Miss Jennifer making her "cowgirl"..........

My little farmer had no fear of the animals.........not afraid to love them, and brush them and check out ALL of their parts!!
And quickly learned that batting those baby blues could get him LOTS of rides on the pony!!

And here's the birthday boy.......How cute is he?? His cool shirt came from Petey Pie's, of course!!

It took my city girl a little while to warm up to the animals.........but she's one to LOOK before she LEAPS...................

But eventually, she decided to "touch" just a few of the animals..............

Mama? Just so you know, she must be a baby, cause her utters haven't grown yet.....

Snap it quick, while she's not looking.......................

Now this little cutie, Alf, is an alpaca..............He could be my new best friend.........You would not believe how soft his coat is............Think this one would fly with the homeowners association???

I kept this fuzzy picture in just cause it's so rare to get these two together!!

Aunt Wendi's daddy brought a really cool tractor.........perfect for pictures!!

Look, ANOTHER pony ride!!

Wait a minute............She really did TOUCH an animal!! How 'bout that!

come on!! is that not the cutest face you have EVER seen??????

Anyway, the party was a complete success, she even had a jumpy thing!! Food was fantastic and I think the party lasted into the wee hours..............I have many more pictures but have struggled getting them to download and post........ugh, will add more because her house was STUNNING and every detail done perfectly..................

Is today the day?????

2010-07-13T10:00:00.000-07:00

Might be........waiting on news from my friend Carly on baby boys arrival.........Seems she's been sent home to pack and head to the hospital.............

Can't wait!!

Just a thought...............

2010-07-09T13:43:00.000-07:00

This is a post from a blog that I enjoy reading sometimes.....It struck me...........

I often struggle with the type of mom I am and just how important that role plays in the rest of my childrens lives...........who they become..............how their lives will play out............

I know who you are

If I could condense how I'll measure my success as a parent down to a simple phrase it would be this:

I know who you are.

Well, that and "You may think you know, but you have no idea." But I refuse to have an MTV show tagline as my parenting mantra.

This whole cliche' business about raising them right or wanting them to be successful and happy -- well that's all amorphous.

Heck if I know how she'll define "right" or "successful" or "happy."

Heck if I know how I even define those things.

But what I can give her, what I can most definitely promise to her, is that I will know her well.

I will watch and listen. I'll observe and hear.

I will know her like the back of my own hand.

I will advocate and fight and stand up for her.

We spend so much time trying to figure out who are kids are like and how they're like whom and we sometimes forget that they're completely and utterly their own person.

Maybe she's cautious, or afraid of failure, or a people pleaser - like me. But those qualities don't have to manifest and stifle her life experiences or her relationships.

Because she's not me.

And I'm not my own mother.

I firmly believe that if we take the time to know our kids then everything will fall into place.

Don't get me wrong. It's not an easy mathematical problem. We're complex humans after all - and we're more than the sum of a bunch of actions and reactions, causes and effects, feelings and emotions.

But everything she does tells her story.

I'm not so much her guide or her mentor. I don't yet know enough about her to be that for her.

Rather, I'm a student - a researcher placed here to observe, document, and learn so that I can become her guide and mentor.

So when we take the time to put all those pieces together, those cryptic notes in our minds that contain all the seemingly insignificant but yet incredibly revealing information about our children, then the paths we should choose for them, the road to which we should guide them - well, it should be clear.

Parenting is not knowing who you think they should be.

It's intimately and sometimes uncomfortably knowing who they really are.

I'm sorry, Starbucks............

2010-07-08T13:33:00.000-07:00

It's not you, it's me..............

I have loved our time together, I truly have........

Sometimes, you were the only one that could put a smile on my face.............

You filled a void........................

But now we are done...............

Yes, there is someone new..............

Don't worry, you will be fine...........There are so many people addicted to your love.........people with larger purses than me.........people with finer tastes than me.................

I hope we can still be friends...............you know, an occasional hook up here or there will be fine........

But I have to move on..............

I'm sorry, Star*buc*ks........I'd like for you to meet my new love................

And thanks to our matchmaker (aka Bed, Bath & Beyond "gift card")

So, Santa, If you are reading this..........You can take that one off the list.........You know, the list that includes a grill, a flip, a MAC laptop, and an Iphone............

Spending the 4th with Friends............

2010-07-06T08:45:00.000-07:00

What a great weekend we had! Saturday was spent with friends in Marietta..........Steve and Tiff have a home that isn't too far from the square.......The perfect place to watch the fireworks right from their back deck! Then after a great day and evening, we had a SLEEPOVER and spent Sunday at the pool......................

Great times...........And Monday we got lots of errands done, plenty of ice cream to eat & dinner with our neighbors..............I loved having an extra day to spend with my family...........And a special thank you to all of our service men and women for protecting our freedom!!

Fourth of July FLASHBACK!

2010-07-03T12:39:00.000-07:00

Happy Fourth of July! Hope everyone has a safe and happy weekend!

Here's my sweet boy on July 4th 2008

Here's Emme and Mimi (Amelia) on July 4th 2008

And here's Emme on July 4th 2007................

ugh.......where does the time go!!

And the vacation continued.........well, for one of us!

2010-07-03T09:36:00.000-07:00

After a week away from friends and very tired of mommy and daddy and brother being her only playmates.........Sweet girl decided to head to the lake...........for a little tubing, jumping, swimming and downright FUN!!
And after I lectured EVERYONE about water safety, sun safety and the "precious" cargo they were taking away from her mother, fun was had by all!! or so I am told! Big papa and I were at the pool....................

I'd say they were FLAT WORN OUT !!!!!!!!!!

Down on Williamson's farm........

2010-07-02T15:50:00.000-07:00

Looky here..............Our first crop!! We planted one plant of grape tomatoes, a regular tomato plant, some cucumbers, squash, watermelon, strawberries and blackberries................ And about 50 sunflowers..................So far, we've had two little measly strawberries, two luscious blackberries AND now, the tomatoes!!

This has really been fun for the kids to watch them grow, and boy how they have grown.........These tomato plants are very happy !! And seem to be bearing quite a bit of fruit!! Unlike the strawberries and blackberries AND the sunflowers..........

This little boy was super excited to pick his little tomato..........not so excited about eating it.......that's right.......it's a veggie..........and not top on his list of likes!!

Here they are with grandaddy getting our first round of cucumbers!!

Looks like the watermelon has about 3 little ones starting to grow, so that should be fun!! And I am still optimistic about the sunflowers..............

Supper club..........

2010-07-02T09:48:00.001-07:00

Well........we pulled in from the beach last Saturday on two wheels, threw all the luggage out of the car, and hopped on over to our neighbors home for Supper Club, of course!! Why? you ask........Well, cause that's just how we roll.......why would we miss a free dinner????

And besides a fantastic bruschetta, baked ziti and homemade tiramisu, we had a LOT of wine! well, we being ME, but I think some others helped................It really was fun and very relaxing and we are truly enjoying socializing with our neighbors.................And check our the beautiful princes and princessess below!!

And I especially love that Charlie is so secure with his masculinity !! Hilarious...........It was great..........And Emme even got a sleepover.........Although we definitely got the better end of that deal........the girls were up at dawn and my sweet boy slept till 9:15am.....good thing since ....Did I mention the wine??? UGH!

Great times, great food and really great friends!!

Great question...............

2010-07-02T07:37:00.000-07:00

Mom? Why did God make mosquitoes?

Hmmmm, That is a great question, Emme, I am not sure why God made mosquitoes..........

Well, I love God but I do NOT love mosquitoes!!

WARNING: This MIGHT be a post with a few beach pictures.....

2010-06-30T08:59:00.000-07:00

From the minute we stepped in the door...........our vacation began............And WHAT a vacation it was!! 7 days of quality family time, lots of relaxing, beautiful weather and a GIGANTIC amount of calories .............HA!

Sunday's beach day was truly stunning............The water was crystal clear (no tar balls here) and the day was perfect.................
Check out how I strategically place my children to hide the bathing suit shot!! Of course, after seeing some of the other fellow ladies on the beach, I might as well bust out the two piece!! Oh to have that sort of self confidence...................

myself, the hubby and the kids played all day long........lots of holes dug, sand ice cream served, and buckets filled and toppled over..................

This sweet little boy of mine loves his naps..........LOVES them...........no matter where we are, he just knows when to give in!! Of course, had I had the opportunity, a nap would have been great, beachside, breeze and all!!

And when the day was done, the sand washed off by the swimming pool, it was time for snacks and a little lizard lookin!!

Since we don't get very many family shots and it WAS father's day, I had to post this not so flattering family picture............ Oh well!!
We loved seeing CiCi................Always the highlight !!

Here we are at George's at Alys Beach and thanks to that little nap earlier, this little boy was a dream!! The above picture was his "performance" then he'd jump up and want to "see" the picture..........Oh the age of the digital camera!!

Popsicles are always a must! Especially at the beach..........
Did I mention my entertainer??? Yep, he is quite the funny man!
We spent Monday afternoon at Baytowne Wharf..........It was so much fun!!
We ate at Poppy's and saw tons of boats and even a little wildlife!! I look over and standing VERY close to me is a RACOON...........After a minor heart attack, I got our server so they could remove the UNWELCOMED guest.............The kids asked lots of questions and it stayed very much on their minds..........I told them about how my mom chased one off our backporch a long time ago and broke her arm....well, this story was repeated by the kids SO MANY TIMES and rearranged and completely turned upside down! Hilarious..........Oh, and come to find out, it was actually a Possum my mom chased..............HA!

Big Papa helped me crack open the hubby and I's giant bowl of seafood (that unfortunately I had to see about 5 hours later..........ugh!)

After a carousel ride and some cute photo ops, Big Papa INSISTED he do the jumpy thing..........We tried to reason with him and felt pretty confident that we were totally wasting our money, that no way was he actually going to go through with it! And sweet girl new better, didn't even make us buy tickets for her!!

Well.....................
We were proven wrong...........................
Very wrong...............And then guess who had to go!

That's right.............off we went, across the Wharf, to buy more tickets.............
I could not believe it!!

More pool shots............Oh and speaking of pools............You know those Swimmie Diapers that someone made a LOT of money on inventing???? They SUCK! Ha, actually they don't SUCK..........They DON'T hold in the pee............and they certainly DON'T hold in POOP!! Ugh! fortunately, we were quick enough to at least not get busted and force the pool to get closed..........
I can't believe how great this little girl is swimming! No floaties for her!! She did so great.........and had so much fun.............She loves to jump to mommy and kept telling me to go back farther so she could jump and swim to me..............I can't believe what a difference a year makes...........Last year, she screamed for an hour straight at ALL 8 lessons...............But, that's my girl..........it's always got to be on HER terms............So I guess I am glad she decided to SWIM!!

Did I mention my sweet boy likes his naps? Yep, doesn't matter where!

Popsicles, suckers, you name it, they ate it! Well, as long as it was JUNK! Oh well, the hubby's philosophy is it's OK on vacation............hmmmmmmmm

Here they are checking out more lizards.............with some of their new friends they met!
Ice cream............Chocolate, to be exact. You know, in case you couldn't figure that out......

I tell you , we were certainly blessed with gorgeous weather..........And although I will admit to seeing a few tar balls (contrary to ALL news reports), the beaches were GORGEOUS..........Well, at least at the NON public beach access areas...........Thank you, home owners, for those high priced dues you pay to cover things like, well, like TAR BALL CLEAN UP!!

Here we are attempting a very random photo session...........Not very professional but it helps to have beautiful subjects, if I DO say so myself!!

AND look who actually took a nap..........once............all week!!

And look who DIDN'T take a nap...............once.............all week!

Our last day included a surprise visit from Jesse...........such a great surprise!!

And our sweet baby William.................
I was thinking I should send this picture into the UGA alumnae magazine!! How stinkin cute is she?????? Thanks to our friends in Alabama for that hand me down bathing suit! We love the hand me downs!!

Do you think she's used to having her picture made?? ha ha!

This was the view from the beachside condo we stayed at, it was gorgeous!!
And this was our last day, we literally pulled out of the drive straight from this picture........

I think this was our first vacation that was just us............We couldn't get our schedules together to go with our normal group .......... And although it's wonderful for the kids to have playmates, and the adults too, we really had a great week............Thank you to everyone that helped make this week happen.........We count each and everyone of you as blessings.....And boy are we blessed!!

We're back................

2010-06-27T14:52:00.000-07:00

many more pics to come.........after I sort through over 500 pictures........A bit much? nay!!

Two Guesses..................

2010-06-18T19:45:00.000-07:00

On where we're headed..........................

And the first one doesn't count.........................................

We're Beach Bound............heading straight down 30A....................Praying the oil stays away!!

If you were me.................

2010-06-14T17:04:00.000-07:00

And you closed your eyes................And imagined what the perfect lake house tucked in the mountains looked like................

This is what you would see..................

If Southern Living had a mountain house edition (it probably does, but who has time to look at magazines anymore) this home would be in it!! I'd like to call it Heaven..........And WE got to spend a weekend there........with great NEW friends!! Our neighbors invited us to Kandice's parents home in Wolf Mountain.............somewhere in the hills of North Carolina, a hell of a long way past Lake Hartwell...........
I think I loved the wrap around front porch the best. Hard to say, since everything was just so nice. The handmade mirrors, the tree carved rocking chairs, the coziest living room that balanced comfort and "welcome" perfectly. You just knew that many family memories had been made there and many more were yet to come.......................Heaven..................

Check out the view..........
And the toys.............
What's that? Shocked my baby is on that raft? Me too........Would have bet my life on her NOT getting on that.........Good news is that it was being pulled behind the pontoon boat, not the ski boat..........Better news is that Emme's new friends, Emily and Brook, took great care of her. Now, what you don't see is when the girls leaned a little too far forward, all three went in, I panicked, they all popped back up safely, however, not until Mr. Greg dove in, clothes and all...................

What? No pictures? No. I was too busy pretending to be calm, cool and collected. well. not really, I panicked and stood frozen..........hence, Greg's dive in............Great friend!!

Did I mention toys? There were LOTS of them! Polaris ATV things, kayaks, beer coolers that kept bottles icy cold, fire pits, & fresh coffee every morning!

We had so much fun swimming and relaxing........

Making smores...............
Looking for fish..............
Making new friends.............

Getting mud baths...................

And eating A LOT of watermelon.............Thanks to Ms. Roni!
We never worried about where we were going or how we were getting there...........Check out all of our drivers............

We really had a great time! Thank you to our hostesses, The Porter Family, and their friends Roni, Ed, Brook & Emily.................We were fed well, we slept well (some of us put ourselves to bed) and counted all of our many blessings..............I can't remember the last time I slept with the windows open and woke up happy to hear birds chirping...........Heaven..............

Choo-Choo Alex & Max turned 2............

2010-06-08T11:58:00.000-07:00

We went to the cutest birthday party on Saturday!! My friend, Holly , is a fellow detail obsessed party planner............We could totally be long lost sisters, I am sure!! Her little boys, Alex & Max were dressed perfectly for their Choo Choo party!! Holly thought of everything!! And although SHE will tell you that the cake was a nightmare, I will tell you that the cake was easily out shined by all of her adorable decorations...........

Each child was given a conductor hat with their name on it, bubbles, & train whistles.

And the boys got a really cool train table for their birthday..........My kids loved it!! Now, before we run out and replace our sofa for a train table (our living room wouldn't hold both) my kids also have a tendency to love OTHER kids toys at OTHER kids homes!!

adorable little train conductors.........

And what's a party without cupcakes, right?? We make a great team........He eats the icing and I eat the cake :) Match made in heaven...............

My little princess............How stinkin cute is that outfit??? Thanks, Aunt Wendi!!

Is that boy's outfit screaming for a monogram??? Well his mama waited too late to have it done at her favorite Petey Pie's store and the "makeshift" train I made didn't stay on him too long! Oh well .............Still cute, huh??!!

Happy Memorial Day!!

2010-05-31T09:15:00.000-07:00

I took the kiddos to our local Memorial Day service today and it was FANTASTIC!! Will post more later but wanted to say Thank You to all of our service men and women and send many prayers to them and their families. Thank you for all that you do to keep us safe.........

sweet girl....................

2010-05-27T08:12:00.001-07:00

My sweet sweet girl................She loves PINK and she loves SHOES...........She calls yellow jackets "little" jackets and lemonade "lemalade" and we may not ever get her off the new tire swing.........

sweet...............

Great times and even better friends................

2010-05-25T08:06:00.000-07:00

Ok, so we might be a little different from the old days............sure, I have parts that are located in a different spot than they used to be..............some various lines that I wish would disappear............And oh how I would kill for that body I used to have (that I complained about!)..........But friends, mixed with the beach, great food and great wine??? You just can't beat that!!

This was a local favorite spot called Dewey Destins...........And only at the beach can you wait in a line, outside, order your food in a shack, eat at a picnic table, potty in a "upscale" port o potty AND LOVE IT!!

And with this motto......Who wouldn't love it!!

Andee and her husband just recently purchased a little one bedroom condo, across from the beach and it was perfect...........Believe it or not, but six women and one bathroom really wasn't so bad! Especially when we were not rushing to feed hungry kids at a crowded restaurant, we just took our time...........
Here we are at Harbour Docks and I think this was my favorite place we ate!!

On saturday, I bet we had 30 or more stingrays swim up and down the beach all day....it was amazing, we even saw a couple sea turtles...........I have never seen that much wildlife (other than jelly fish) around the shore like that............Shall we thank BP for that??? who knows! We packed our Dawn soap but fortunately no oily residue yet on those pretty white beaches!!
Now, here is when it pays to be the photographer....................

Yep, that's me in the hat.........completely out of "bathing suit" shot with the old camera!!

I can't remember the name of the restaurant for our last night but it was great too!! And we DID see the Easter bunny.........Remember Santa? Yep, we saw the Easter bunny! Where's the proof? well.........I forgot to take a picture but our waiter WAS wearing bunny ears!!

We are all sorority sisters from UGA and we've been doing this trip on and off for years.........It's so great to have friends that you literally may not talk to for years......but you can just pick up where you left off........I am so blessed that they keep this tradition going and I get to tag along!! It truly is good for my soul................

Prepare yourself for a good old laugh!!

2010-05-24T08:25:00.000-07:00

Beach Bound...............

2010-05-21T03:45:00.000-07:00

Going to the beach this weekend with girlfriends............Can't wait!!

Last year we saw SANTA CLAUS!! Wonder what OR who is in store for us this year!!

Check in with you all next week! Have a great weekend........................

People actually get paid for this....................

2010-05-19T07:12:00.000-07:00

Huggies Little Movers Jeans Collection

That's right........an entire marketing department at Huggies sat down for "brainstorming" and came up with DENIM DIAPERS..............Diapers that look like Jeans..................Now, I ask myself "Are they marketing this up north?" Oh, I highly doubt it...................

SERIOUSLY...........I am cracking up just thinking about that DENIM DIAPERS started as someone's AHA moment and is now actually sitting on the shelves at Target.............

My friend Alex said ..............."And the redneck rejoicing........it's no longer dirty naked redneck baby......Now they can be OH SO HIP in their baby jean shorts........cruisin!! "

Oh don't worry, I wouldn't even THINK about making a comment about a certain jean short lovin' SEC fan rushing to the closest store, giddy with excitement!!! Never would I even imply that ONE SEC team would love these more than ANOTHER SEC team................That just wouldn't be nice!

The Mama's and The Papa's.................

2010-05-18T12:47:00.000-07:00

So, Friday night The Mama's took the girls to see Mary Poppins at The Fox Theater!! Seated 12 rows back from Ms. Poppins herself was AMAZING.....................The twinkle in their eyes will be a memory I will cherish forever!! The show was FANTASTIC and all the performers were truly captivating....................Especially when Mary Poppins flew right over our heads...........The girls are still talking about it!!

The show didn't start till 8pm so needless to say, our Poppins Party Animals were Pooped!!

While we were at the Theater, The Papa's took in a baseball game!! GO BRAVES! So, the hubby took Big Papa to his first braves game and who better to go with than his very best girl...........I think he and MR had a blast in the kid zone area!!

And not to be outdone by his sister, he too wore himself FLAT OUT!!

A recipe that will put a smile on your face.............

2010-05-17T07:03:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:

1 perfect tree
1 free tire from a tire store
3 chains
1 20ft rope
a bunch of hooky metal things
some bolts and washers
1 VERY SMART GRANDADDY

Mix all the above ingredients well........And VOILA'............

Smiles!!

Little Boy Blue.................

2010-05-16T16:53:00.000-07:00

I love you..............

Do you know what Mustard, Vinegar & Tea bags all have in common??

2010-05-14T08:00:00.000-07:00

ME!

I feel like a sub sandwich!! So, I sat outside for LESS THAN AN HOUR yesterday on my lunch break and I AM FRIED!! That's right, SUNBURNED............Awful!!

So I google "sunburn remedies" and I come up with this ..................

Mustard............let dry..............Vinegar.............let air dry.............Tea bags..................soak in them..........

surprisingly, soothing...........in a Subway sort of way..................We'll see!

Super Super SUPPER Club!!

2010-05-12T18:17:00.000-07:00

Always figured I'd live in a great house, perfect for entertaining, in a great neighborhood with great friends!! And I'd say more or less ...........I've got it!! I DO have a great neighborhood and I DO have great friends and our patio IS perfect for entertaining!!

So, this past Saturday night our SUPPER CLUB finally got together, schedules are tough, and enjoyed a fantastic evening outside on our patio..................

Our neighbors, Kandice & Greg and baby Kenley were the first to arrive. And then neighbors Kristin & Scott with Kate & Charlie followed soon after bring back Emme from Kate's princess birthday party. Unfortunately, my little princess was a little under the weather. Poor thing missed most of the princess party and ALL of our dinner party....

A little while later, our last guest to arrive, Lane & baby Olivia joined us!! Our final Supper Club family, The Harvey's, missed this event but will hopefully be at the next one!!

Boys had a blast........................
both young and old!!

And what better way to end the evening, but by making SMORES..............Great times, Great friends.........................

Weekend full of blessings!!

2010-05-10T10:59:00.000-07:00

Going in reverse order..................Mother's Day.............A special day for remembering........I can't say that I can really remember too many of my Mom's Mother's days........I don't think as a kid, we really see the importance of this day................Come on, they are our moms, it's just what they DO, right?

Well, now that I am a Mom, I hope I never forget each special handmade card, or their little tiny hands, or the first time they say Mommy................the hubby and I knew we wanted kids right away.....And although the road was a little rough getting them, we have two beautiful blessings to count!!

The sun was shining bright and both of my babies and even the hubby wished me happy mother's day ALL DAY LONG! Which reminded me to call MY mother and wish her a very special day as well!

The Turner family gathered at a neat park and had us a good old "low country boil"..........It was great!!

We looked for fish............and alligators............and found NONE, thank heavens!

Played lots of volley ball..........or watched my cousins play volley ball!!

Gave mommy lots of smiles....................

flew our first kites!!

And ended with a little pole dancing at Bellas!!

How about that for a fantastic Mothers day!! Bring on the blessings........................

My right arm............

2010-05-10T10:45:00.000-07:00

IS MISSING!!

Ok, so not really..........but my phone DIED!! Well, it might have taken a tumble down the driveway, but that is certainly NOT what I told the Customer Service Rep in PAKISTAN that I tried to converse with last Tuesday.........

Apparently, during the "said" incident, a very important cord that made the "touch screen" work became dislodged.......which makes it difficult to use the phone when that is the only way to gain information, make calls, check text messages, take pictures, look at pictures, OR PRETTY MUCH ANYTHING!!

And since the phone was purchased at WalMart, I can't actually walk into a store and have someone fix it RIGHT THERE AND THEN!

So, after a week of hunting cell phone repair places, in various locations like Little Five Points, where the replacement parts are surely "store bought", right? the phone has finally been shipped back to the company..........along with all of my contacts and text messages and adorable pictures of my kids............

Where I am hopeful to receive a new phone that I will have to re-enter all of my lovely contacts............

why did I waste a week trying to hunt down a replacement part instead of shipping the phone immediately?

Because I am stubborn.................

I just didn't want to lose all the information on that DAMN phone!

Seattle.............LOVED IT!!

2010-05-04T10:51:00.000-07:00

What a great city! We had a wonderful time and actually quite a bit of sunshine for Seattle...........While Grandmother and Grandaddy held down the fort at home, the hubby and I ate, drank, and slept!! We really had fun, well, I really had fun and the hubby had fun when he wasn't working........................

The city!

When we arrived, we immediately took a "Ride the Duck" tour of the city, since we were pressed for time............It was a great way to see some highlights and it's quite an experience. The vehicle rides on the road and motors through the water, pretty cool!! And a few days later? A disgruntled employee set the office on fire! Good thing we went when we did.............

Above is the house used in "Sleepless in Seattle".......................Hard to see but how cool that these houses just float on the water!!

Here is the "hospital" from Gray's Anatomy..........its NOT a hospital.........how funny is that!

After our tour, we headed to the market for some frosty beverages and a light snack. The time change, 3 hours, was a bit of a challenge and so were the 3 phone calls home. Not a good idea! So, we finally decided to let them call us if we were needed, sit back, relax and enjoy the scenery........

I took a really neat food/walking tour of Pike Place Market.........I highly recommend it! Our hotel concierge set everything up for me and I had so much fun...........despite the 30 year age gap between me and the rest of the group! It's a great way to learn the history, see the sights, AND eat the food!
We saw fish fly, spices made, donuts tasted and lots and lots of tasty fresh fruits to nibble on!

And what to do when your finished with the market tour?? Whale watching, of course!

Again, our concierge set everything up.........I went to Everett, about 30 miles outside of Seattle and had 3 hours of the most beautiful scenery you could ever imagine. We had 3 gray whales stay with our boat for 3 hours................Up and Down.....................Sea lions, Ospreys, Bald Eagles were also some of the wildlife we saw..............It only took us 15mins. to see our first whale and the next 2 hours 45mins didn't disappoint..........

One night, we had dinner at Matt's at The Market and it did NOT disappoint! Not sure if it was the food, the wine or the lack of yelling "sit down" "get back in your seat" "don't hit your sister" "get your hands out of your drink" "please stop whining" "you do not need to go potty again"..................it was nice!

But we were definitely glad to get back home....................back to the family!

Sleepless in Seattle...................

2010-04-24T12:35:00.001-07:00

So the hubby and I are off.............but actually hoping to be SLEEPING in Seattle :) The hubby has a conference and I am tagging along.........See you on the backside with lots of pics!

Thanks Mom and Dad for watching the babes!

Did you know????

2010-04-21T11:06:00.000-07:00

We went to the beach two weekends ago!! Hilton Head, to be exact! The Backus family invited us to a quick little weekend away compliments of MIL Backus.............So, idea was thrown out on Tuesday and by golly we made it happen!!

This is what we woke up to since we didn't arrive till the wee hours of the night or morning!

With the girls in their matching princess nightgowns,

And the boys in their Michigan attire........................

What morning is complete without donuts and cartoons!! Right???
But we quickly ditched the PJ's and pulled out the swimsuits..............Time for the BEACH!!

We had tons of fun.............Even got to see a school of dolphins!! It was beautiful weather and VERY ENTERTAINING!! Check out the moves below.............Taylor Swift, of course!!

William even found a refreshing way to stay cool.............................HA HA

Everybody even squeezed in their naps, well, almost everyone! Emme held strong!!

If you've been to Hilton Head, then you surely know about the guy that sings to the kids! And other than the AWFUL sand fleas, we laughed and danced and ate LOTS of ice cream........

Our last night, we ate at Salty Dogs and AGAIN, other than the sand fleas, the evening was perfect, well, except that my camera accidentally got switched to manual focus and most of these next pics are a little fuzzy..........But when you are 99% of the time BEHIND the camera, you do what you can when you are actually IN a picture!!

Of course, maybe the "fuzzy" helps hide the "aging" HAHAHAH!

Our last night involved a few incidents with some alligators.............I think my kids have a whole new concept of the "gator chomp"............Trust me, Caroline is probably NOT going to be the next Crocodile Hunter!!
Wonderful weekend with wonderful friends...........We look forward to HOPEFULLY more invites!!

Death and Taxes........................OR..........................

2010-04-15T05:47:00.000-07:00

BIRTHDAY and Taxes.................

Happy Birthday to ME! I share this special day with my friend Brad and my friend Tripper.......Hope everyone has a great day, I know I will...........

Wonder how many people will say "It's better than the alternative!" Have you noticed they don't say that when your 20 something??? Oh well.......

Looking forward to spending this weekend with friends and family!!

A little Easter OVERLOAD...........................

2010-04-08T11:57:00.000-07:00

Don't get me wrong, We had a wonderful Easter weekend.......................It was GREAT! Just very busy and smack full of ALOT of candy and junk food............Which is probably why Emme tossed up all that candy and junk food starting about 12:30am early Monday morning............

Here's how it went..................starting with Good Friday----

Impromptu dinner and egg coloring, or spilling, or questions as to why are we giving them dye and yelling at them not to make a mess????

anywho...........Lots of fun and one of the best dinners Laura has made yet.........Beef tenderloin with a cheese and mushroom spread with merlot sauce.......Seriously? And it doesn't hurt that Jason is a wine distributor for Gallo..........Have Mercy!!

Oh don't worry, kids ate chicken and Mac & Cheese...............Do you think we would waste a meal like that on THEM??? ha! I kid, sort of...........

Saturday morning started early with ANOTHER egg hunt (egg hunt #2) at the neighborhood I play tennis out of..........They did a great job separating everything by ages and really had it looking nice, kids had a great time and filled their baskets quickly!!

And of course, no hunt is complete without your shades, right? It is all about the style!! Here are Hanley and Emme posing and trying to patiently wait for the start of the hunt!

And the hunt begins!!

So after every last basket was filled, we went to Emily and Justin's house for an afternoon of grilling and chillin............And I mean CHILLIN............Don't let the purple lips fool you, these kids had a blast!

That's right, this is actually in their backyard!! Hopefully by May, things will be alot warmer and think of all the money we'll save...........who needs White Water!! Thanks again, Emily and Justin, for a wonderful day!!

Now, one would think that after a busy day like this, we would go home and crash. Oh no, not us, we just recharged the batteries and headed back out to Emily & Dave's house............a little final four, a little pizza and a lot of fun............They have the most beautiful back patio area with firepit and outdoor kitchen, just beautiful! what? no pic? sorry, do that next time!

Shew........I am tired all over again, just thinking about this weekend!! Now, it's time for Easter!!

I am not sure about your house, but the Easter bunny leaves quite a mess at our house!
Good news is he leaves lots of goodies, too!!

I still do NOT have a picture of my kids for Easter..........so far, this is it! May have to do a reenactment..............

Now, for church, we were supposed to bring a flower to put on the cross out front.........And let me tell you, I came about as close to "Heart Failure from Swelling" as I ever had in my life!! I do not have the best memory, but I swear this memory will be with me forever.................

My blessings overflow like this cross overflowed with flowers...........And knowing that although my kids may not understand the meaning right now, He does. And I do.

So of course, what is Easter without another Egg hunt (egg hunt #3) !!
We went to my cousin's Kasey's house in Rockmart, Georgia............What a haul but always worth it! Food was great and company even better..............

The end...................

Oh yeh, the vomit.............that came about 12:30 and continued till about 2:30...........The hubby stayed home with her and by lunch, all was well...............Could have been a virus but I am guessing that virus was more like a little easter overload!

Finally, A NEW post!!

2010-03-31T13:10:00.001-07:00

Crazy few weeks! Which include some projects that I will post as soon as I get them finished!! I know, I am so full of suspense, right?!?

This past weekend included two tennis matches, one win one loss, not bad.........In the baseball world, that would be a 500 average.........Guess I'll take it...........

Anyway, while I played on Sunday, The hubby took the monkeys to the neighborhood Easter egg hunt..................
Here's Caroline...........She's the neighborhood greeter, new neighborhood resident and one of Emme's VERY close friends!! You can't get any more opposite on their personalities but they are the best little buddies.................................

Can you guess which one dives in head first and which one checks things out first????

Baby William joined in the hunt, as well!!

Since Mommy forgot to go to the cleaners, where the fancy new Easter outfits were, we had a dress from last year (which still fits my little princess) and a makeshift sweater vest for my big boy! Not the best, but still looked cute! Good thing I remembered to pick up the baskets from the monogrammer............................

Here's a great group shot! We are very blessed to be in a great neighborhood that is VERY social!
Look how sweet, the kids are actually getting close to the Easter Bunny...................

AAAhhhhhhhhhhh, even closer to the Easter Bunny...........................

NICE CAROLINE!! Of course she would be the one to goose his "tail"...................When I sit down one day and talk to my future 14 year old and ask her what was she thinking? When she says Caroline made her do it...............I guess I'll have to believe her!! Too funny!

Wonderful times, special memories!

1 out of 2 aint bad..................

2010-03-21T17:02:00.000-07:00

Gorgeous day on Saturday...............Outside was a must !! Here are a few pics from Grandaddy and Mimi's house (Tiffanys aunt and uncle)............

Grandaddy has a lake with TONS of gigantic catfish......I have a feeling they are a bit over served!!

Plum worn out....................

Weekend Recap (LATE) and a special THANK YOU to Daddy!

2010-03-18T12:37:00.000-07:00

You know those weekends that you have and then you need another weekend just to recover??
THAT was my weekend..........Now, it had its ups and its downs and I missed alot of time with my babies..........ALOT................So, first let me thank the hubby for stepping in and stepping up and loving ALMOST every second!!

Work was very busy last week and kept me late Thursday night, and started me early Friday morning...............

Friday evening ended at a wonderful funeral visitation.........I say wonderful only because I enjoyed seeing old friends. My friend Tina lost her father to cancer last week.........Gene Lynn Thompson left his family on Sunday, February 28th 2010. He fought a hard battle and although he lost the war, he is living so peaceful and healthy now.......and will no question be walking with God and keeping an eye on his family. My friend Tina is an amazing person.......Not only is she about to be a mother of 3, she has a smile on her face at all times. Probably one of the most positive and uplifting and ABSOLUTELY HILARIOUS person I have ever met. Her and her family live in Florida now so visits are few and very far between, but it's a friendship that will never cease.........And for that, I am the blessed one!!

Do you ever wonder what will be said at your funeral? How you will be described by friends and family??? hmmmmm, guess that's a post for another day................

So, I missed tucking my babies in bed again..............

I did manage to sneak in some good snuggle time Saturday morning while the hubby went to play tennis...........brayden got his music on with his "girlfriend" madison and Emme and I did a little shopping at the Dollar Store..........I LOVE that place!!

Once home, we painted and played and napped.............Before I had to speed off to bartend (ok, pour wine into glasses) at my photographer's gallery!!! I love her gallery and she always has the coolest artists displaying their works........Fantastic, if you ever get the chance to go!!

Oh, and if you want to see some adorable pictures of my children??? Just check out her website and her blog!! What? too many plugs?? sorry, I am a sucker for putting my kids pictures up!!

Anyway, Sunday we took the kids to a little train show (instead of church) and then I played some tennis...........6-2 6-0...........That's right, a little butt kickin!

Now for some pics...............

LOOK! A very rare family shot!!

The coolest part of the train show was the display from Legos......SO COOL! The whole entire thing was made from legos, I can't imagine the hours it took to construct this!

GrandDaddy has always had a love of trains, I certainly remember many train boxes stacked around, although I can't actually remember seeing the whole thing put together!!

Too cute...........Thank you, honey, for all of your help this past weekend................

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!

2010-03-17T15:13:00.000-07:00

Hope every lad and lassie have a great day!!

The best part of a rainy day...........

2010-03-10T12:33:00.000-08:00