Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday: I am not going to share with Gammie!

A few weeks ago we went to my sister's house to make Christmas ornaments and cookies. After putting icing on Grayson's cookie, Gammie asked for a bite. Grayson would stretch his arm out as far away from Gammie as he could get it. He was not about to share his cookie. It was, in his words, MINE! For more details on our fun afternoon click here.

Sydney's Dance Recital

About a week ago, Sydney had her winter dance recital. She has been dancing now for 3 years and she LOVES ballet. She is so graceful and beautiful when she moves.

She loves getting all dressed up in her costume and putting on makeup. She thinks she is such hot stuff and of course, she is.

She danced to "Where are you Christmas" and did an incredible job. I am such a proud mommy.

She will be taking more ballet and a tap class starting in January. They are offering an Adult Hip Hop and Jazz class. I am going to attempt to dance again. It will be very scary for me and the people in the class I am sure, but it will be lots of fun. I will update you when I start and promise to share all the juicy details...oh, it will be o so juicy.

A New Bed for Baby Jesus

The other evening I was straightening up the living room after the children had gone to bed. As most of you know, there is no use doing it while they are awake. I was picking up a few things beside the wooden manger scene that my J-Mom painted for me one Christmas. My father cut it out of wood and she painted it up knowing that one day I would have children and that this would be the manger scene they could play with. I notice something a little different...

Do you see it? Let's take a closer look...

Yes, someone in my house has put baby Jesus in a little pink cradle. Oh, how sweet!

Grayson's 2nd Birthday!

Today is my baby boy's 2nd birthday. Some days I am so surprised he has lived this long, he is such a dare devil. But he is and we love him more today than we did the day he was born.

In honor of his birthday I will share with you the event that happened last night.

First, I always put my hair up in what my mother calls a "topknot".

Sydney then decided that she needed to have her hair put up in a ponytail.

As you can probably imagine, Grayson had to have his up, too.

He is such a goofy little boy.

Below is him on his Big Wheel that he got for his birthday. He has to ride it in the house for now due to rain outside. Say a prayer for my Christmas tree!

Happy Birthday, Grayson, and many more!!!

Wordless Wednesday: Look what I did!!!!

I am so talented sometimes it just plain scares me. Creative Memories has the wonderful program, Storybook Creator Plus, to design books, page prints and pictures. I created a beautiful picture for my mother-in-law, Peggy, for Christmas. (No, she does not read my blog, she has no computer.) Peggy is a major puzzle freak, she has more puzzles her in guest bedroom closet than the puzzle store. So, being the inventive daughter-in-law that I am, I created the following print from pictures I had taken (since my son would not be still and smile for me) and uploaded it to make a puzzle. She is going to love it. I can't wait!

Candy Cane Tag

I received this little Christmas meme from my sweet baby sister, Reynie. Please check out her blog it is way too much fun. She just cracks me up. Since I have been too busy the last few days to get a post together I will post this. Enjoy!


Okay and for the rules...We have to copy the question into our post and answer them, then add a question to the list. We're supposed to tag 3 people. Then you have to leave a comment to those you've tagged to let them know. So here we go!


1. What is your favorite Christmas Movie? The Nativity Story



2. Favorite Christmas Song? Carol of the Bells



3. Favorite Holiday Memory? Christmas Eve dinner at my Grandmother’s house.



4. What kind of cookie/treat do you like to make? Peanut Butter Balls


5. Have you ever made an igloo? No…we can barely make a snowman here in Georgia.


6. Do you love Starbucks? Yes, even though I am not a coffee drinker. I love their hot chocolate.


7. What makes the perfect Snowman? Well, duh…snow.



8. Best gift you have ever received? My cricut…a scrapbookers dream.


9. What is the snowman's name on Rudolph? Ok, I am so going to copy Reynie’s answer…Sam.


10.Silver or Gold? Silver


11. What is your favorite Christmas decoration? My singing snowmen from Hallmark.


12. What's your Christmas decorating style? No style, just anything and everything that looks like Christmas all crammed into my house.


13. Do you hang stockings? Yes, four of them.


14. How many days do you celebrate Christmas? The day after Thanksgiving to the day after Christmas.


15. What was your favorite ornament on the tree as a child? The green round ball thing that tweeted like a bird…it drove the cats crazy.


16. Where will you be spending this Christmas? In Florida with family.


17. What was your favorite holiday tradition as a child? The Christmas Eve feast and lighting the Advent candles.


18. What's your favorite Christmas food? Turkey and all the fixings.


And my question…


19. Do you like colored light or white lights on your Christmas tree? For me, only white.



And I'll pass it on to these unsuspecting fellow bloggers…I know the rules say 3, but I am only doing 2.



Sunflower Hill

From Tiaras to Timeouts

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday: All I want for Christmas is my 2 front teeth.

Sydney lost her 2nd front tooth last night. Bless her heart, she has lost so many teeth in the past few months that she will soon have to gum her food.

Christmas Card

Click here to see my Christmas card that is posted on The McMommy Chronicles. I am so honored to be on her blog. She is great!

Mission: Shopping

Thursday, November 27th 11:30 p.m. - Mission: Let the Shopping Begin.

We leave to be one of the first ones at the Disney Store at the mall. We must find the best deals at midnight, it won't wait till morning.

Friday, November 28th 12:00 a.m. - Mission: Disney Store

We arrive at our destination only to find a million other crazy shoppers. We shopping for 20 minutes in the overheated store, then hit the line. Waited in line for 1 hour and actually did more shopping in line than when we were not in line. Amazing!

Friday, November 28th 1:30 a.m. - Mission: Plan of attack

We find ourselves a cozy spot in the food court at the mall. Chick-fil-A was nice enough to be open at such a lovely hour. We spread out our sale papers and made our plan of attack. We decided that to get the laptop that Dannielle wanted we needed to be at Best Buy by 3 a.m. to get a ticket.

Friday, November 28th 3:00 a.m. - Mission: Best Buy

Due to the extremely long line the mission was aborted. We decided to go sit in the Kohl's parking lot until it opened at 4 a.m.

Friday, November 28th 4 a.m. - Mission: Kohl's

Kohl's was just as crazy. I can't believe people actually shop this early in the morning. Are we insane? Yes, and we love it. I quick run through the store and a long 1 hour wait in line to check out and we were off to Toys R Us.

Friday, November 28th 5:30 a.m. - Mission: Toys R Us

More wild people at Toys R Us, we shop, we stand in line for over an hour. I purchase a Leapster Game for $24.99, just to find it again at Target for $15.00. Lowest prices of the year, my hinney.

Friday, November 28th 7:00 a.m. - Mission: Target

I am very tired now. Let's get in and get out. Fading fast...GREAT SHORT CHECK OUT LINES.

Friday, November 28th sometimes in the morning - Mission: One more store and food.

Make a quick stop at Family Christian Bookstore, then to some Bagel place. I am the walking dead.

Friday, November 28th 9:30ish - Mission: Sleep

I love my bed. Zzzzzz....

Friday, November 28th 12:00 p.m. - Mission: In-Laws house

Two hours sleep in clearly not enough, but it will have to do. Off we go to the In-Laws house to spend some quality time. Mom In-Law, Peggy, and Sister In-Law, Leigh, and I head off the Wal-Mart and Target for more shopping. Then back to house for eating and socializing.

Friday, November 28th 10:00 p.m. - Mission: More Sleep

Zzzzzzz....

Happy Thanksgiving!

We have had a wonderful day of eating and being with family. This morning we went over to my mom's house to have Thanksgiving lunch with mom, Bill (step-dad), Reynie (sister), Bella (sorta niece), and Chris (husband) and kids, Sydney and Grayson. The food was wonderful and there was plenty of it.

The girl's, Sydney and Bella, got to break the wishbone. Sydney won with the longest end, but did not understand the whole concept of making a wish. I'm sure they were so confused on why they were playing with a bone, but oh well.

We also attempted to have pictures made for our Christmas cards, but it was a little challenging. A another blog post all on it's own.

We are very thankful to be in such a wonderful family and to have great friends. God has truly blessed us.

I will leave you now with this incredibly lovely picture of my sister, Reynie, trying to eat the red berries off my mother's bushes. Enjoy!

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday: Making candy with the kids

Both kids helping me mix the peanut butter ball mixture. It really takes all three of us to handle the mixer.

They love licking the beaters. Yum-O!

Grayson smiling after he helps make oreo truffles.

The imprint of Grayson's shirt on the oreo truffle.

Sydney posing with her oreo truffles.

Gooey little hands.

Please don't touch me with those hands.

Everything turned out great. 116 peanut butter balls and 40ish oreo truffles. We saved some in the freezer for Christmas. My neighbor, Dannielle, says they won't last till then. She better stay out of my freezer. Time for me to move the key.

My daughter has holes in her ears.

Yesterday Sydney and I had a "mommy and me" day. She has been begging me for weeks now to get her ears pierced. We took Grayson over to Gammie's house. There was no way I was battling him and eye piercing at the same time without drugs, so he stayed and we went.

We went to the mall and our first stop was Claire's. She was very nervous. They only had one girl there, so she had to get one ear done at a time. I was a little nervous then, wondering if she actually do both after the first was done. Below is before the piercing began...smiling and happy.

And during the torture...I mean, piercing.

Finally, we were done. She officially had holes in her ears. I was so proud of her, she was a brave little girl. Here she is below sporting her new earrings.

They were beautiful flower earrings. They were far better than the round silver balls that I had when I got mine pierced for the first time.

So much for her staying a baby forever. My little girl is growing up. Sniff...Sniff.

Sydney's Hairdo

Yesterday, Sydney decided she would do her own hair for school. She did and it was...um...very lovely.

She was so proud of her work. Notice in the pictures that she is also wearing a red long sleeve shirt with a turquoise short sleeve shirt over it. I am not sure she matched, but it was better than the tank top that she wanted to wear.

Notice how she pulled her hair back into a pony tail, she didn't do half bad. She even accented it with a lime green bow. Mind you, she was not wearing any lime green.

She is such a beautiful little girl and I love her very much. Yes, I did let the teacher know when I let her out of the car that Sydney did her own hair...all by herself.

General Updates and Stuff

I know it has been a few days, but things have been crazy and I have just been plain lazy. Deal with it!

We had a wonderful weekend without children. It was way too quiet in my house. Even when they are sleeping there still seems to be the hum of children in the air, but this past weekend there was no hum. I almost didn't know what to do with myself. The house actually stayed clean, there was no audience while I peed, and no "Ma-Ma" echoing through my ears. Just peace and quiet...I sure did miss my kids.

We never did make it to see the movie, Fire Proof. It was not showing anymore in Douglasville. But we did get lots of Christmas shopping done, not all but we are well on our way. I do find it harder and harder to buy for Sydney. She is getting so big. I did, however, buy her a 3-Story Barbie Dream House for Christmas. I am so excited. I always wanted a Barbie Dream House when I was a little girl. We will have so much fun playing together. I can't wait.

Well that is all for now. Tomorrow should be interesting, I will posting Sydney's new hairdo...Stay tuned.

TGIF

What a crazy weekend we have planned! One nice thing is that the kids are going to Maw-Maw & Paw-Paw's to spend the whole weekend. I will get to sleep all night and get to sleep in. I won't know what to do with all the extra sleep. I will miss them, but it is so nice to have break every once in a while.

Tonight is the Holiday Arts & Crafts Festival at Sydney's school. I have just been named the the PTSO (Parent, Teacher, Student Organization) President and this is the first function. I am a little nervous on how it will all turn out. I already see things I will do differently next year, but you have to learn the hard way. We will have all kinds of arts and crafts vendors, food, hot chocolate, and cookies. I will be working my Creative Memories table. Hopefully it will be a great night.

Tomorrow, Chris and I are planning to spend the day Christmas shopping for the kids. We are meeting Chris' parent's in Douglasville to shop the day away. We might even try to fit in a movie. We have been wanting to see the movie, Fireproof. The only movies we usually make it to are kid movies, so this could be nice.

Sunday after church we will head to Anniston to pick up the kids. I will be ready to grab 'em up and love on 'em by then.

Hope you have some great weekend plans, I would love to hear about them.
See you on Monday!

FYI

Thought I would give you all a little tip...just because you tell your 23 month old son not to touch the hot stove doesn't mean he will listen. Yes, Grayson burnt his little finger...bet he will listen to Mommy next time.

Wordless Wednesday:Me...on the floor.

Ok, I know it is Wordless Wednesday,but who can just post a picture without talking about it? Not me, that's who. I will show you my picture first, then tell you all about it.

Let me start by saying the picture is sideways. Don't know why...just posted that way. Deal with it.

This picture was taken while at my Creative Memories Showcase this past August. There was a group of 4 consultants rooming together and we thought I would be nice to take a picture of us all together. Elizabeth had this new, cool tripod that was small, lightweight, and you could attach it to anything. She also had a new lense on her camera. This lense was HUGE. She could be standing a foot in front of you and zoom in on your nose hairs or point it over your shoulder and zoom in on Texas. So, as you can imagine the combination of lightweight tripod and a massive camera lense do not mix. She set it up and ran back to sit with us for the picture and over the camera went onto the floor. I didn't want to waste the shot so I leaned over and smiled. And there you have it...me...on the floor.

Beans

Beans, Beans, Good for your heart

The more you eat 'em the more you...well, you know.

Last night for dinner I made a big ole pot of beans. I bought a package of dried 15 bean mixture and soaked them over night and put them in the crock pot yesterday morning with some big ole chunks of ham. It simmered all day, then I made some rice and cornbread. I have issues with cornbread, I can never seem to get it quite right. I tried a new recipe last night and it was a little too cake like. So, I could use any help you would like to give on how to make some good cornbread.

Below is my yummy plate from last night.

As in the words of my preacher, "It was so good it made your tongue want to slap your eyeballs out." (or something like that)

Leaves

This past weekend I took some pictures of the kids playing in the leaves at Maw-Maw and Paw-Paw's house. They were so cute, raking, sweeping, and jumping in all the leaves. I also found this little poem online about leaves that I will not doubt add to a scrapbook page, but I will share it with you now along with some pictures.

How silently they tumble down

And come to rest upon the ground

To lay a carpet, rich and rare,

Beneath the trees without a care,

Content to sleep, their work well done,

Colors gleaming in the sun.

At other times, they wildly fly

Until they nearly reach the sky.

Twisting, turning through the air

Till all the trees stand stark and bare.

Exhausted, drop to earth below

To wait, like children, for the snow.

TGIF

Before I tell you about all my exciting weekend plans, let me explain the noise in the background. For some odd reason, my son, Grayson, has decided that his sister, "Ne-Ne", must carry around a crown pillow this morning. She must not put it down, or he screams at the top of his lungs..."Ne-Ne, Ne-Ne, Ne-Ne". As you can imagine, she is putting it down...a lot. Now where are my ear plugs?

Today, I am taking my sweet mother-in-law, Peggy, Christmas shopping. She does not drive and the only person she usually gets to shop with is her husband, Tommy. Now you ladies know how tough it can be to shop with a man in tow, so it seems only fair that I save the poor woman and give her a day to shop in peace. Oh, and a day of peace for me, too. Grayson is staying with Gramps. I am so excited.

Ne-Ne, Ne-Ne, Ne-Ne...he is at it again.

Tonight we are going over to my Dad's and J-Mom's house to spend the night. Chris will be up all night helping the men of the church cook pigs for the Youth BBQ tomorrow. So, we are going off to play in Anniston. J-Mom is cooking us dinner and if the rain clears we will have a fire in the fire pit. I can feel the warmth of the fire now...ahhhh.

Ne-Ne, Ne-Ne, Ne-Ne...oh, will the fun ever end.

Tomorrow is my Daddy's birthday. We are planning on going to the movies to see Madagascar:2. Hopefully Grayson will watch the movie or go to sleep and not throw popcorn at the other movies goers or run up and down the isles. I will let you know how that goes. After that we are planning to just hang out and spend some quality time with my Daddy aka Paw-Paw.

Ne-Ne, Ne-Ne, Ne-Ne...someone please save me.

Sunday will be church, nap, church again. I love Sundays, they are so relaxing.

That is all the plans for now, but with my family you never know what will happen next. Let me know what you are doing.

Ne-Ne, Ne-Ne, Ne-Ne...Ma-Ma, Ma-Ma, Ma-Ma...oh no, it's my turn.

The Cricut

Ok, some of you are wondering, "What is a Cricut?", well it is a wonderful machince that scrapbookers use. It can cut out letters, shapes, pictures, and all kinds of stuff. It is a die cut machine and I LOVE it.


Now, for the fun part. Yesterday, I went to Hobby Lobby with my boss to find a tree and decoration to enter a Christmas tree into a Festival of Trees at a local school. We decided on a "Diva" tree. It is silver with hot pink, black and silver decorations. Can't wait to get it all jazzed up. But, while we were shopping for "Diva" stuff, we walked by the Cricut display. Of course I had to stop and browse a minute. Then there it was...Vinyl paper with a sticky back to use in my Cricut. After I danced a goofy little dance in the middle of the store, I grabbed up the "ebony" color and off I went to pay. What fun is vinyl paper with a sticky back you ask? With this I can cut out lettering and pictures to stick on the walls. Yippee!


As soon as I got home and was cuttin' away. The first thing I did was cut out Sydney's name and a flower and applied it to her door.




Then, of course, I couldn't leave Grayson out, so I cut out his name and a star and applied it to his door.

The kids were so pleased, as was I. I took a picture with my cell phone to show it off at church. I showed it to Alex, age 7, and he said he wanted me to cut out "Keep out of my room" for his door. Bless him!

Pictured below are pictures of the kids below there names. Such cuties.

So, I'm off to see what other fun creations I can cut out and put on a wall...

Julia

My friend, Julia, said she was not reading my blog unless she was in it. How mean is that? To make her happy, she is now in my blog. Hey Julia!

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday: Mo-Mo aka Elmo Shoes

These are the shoes my son, Grayson, wore all day yesterday. He wore them to vote with me, to Wal-Mart, and to the school for a PTSO meeting. They are back on this morning. Yippee!!!

New Workout

Today I discovered a new workout program. It is great because it is not something I would do everyday, just maybe just 2 to 4 times a month. But girlfriend, you can burn more calories than you could consume in a week. Put on your New Balance Shoes and let's get started.

1. Make a groceries list. I mean a GROCERY LIST. A list of groceries that will last at least a week, but more like two weeks.
2. Gather your coupons, and mark all the sales.
3. Have limited money to spend.
4. This is the most important part to make the workout work...bring a 22 month old boy with you to the store.

Now, you must try to find the best deal and save the most money while trying to keep the boy in the buggy, keep the boy from attacking other shoppers, keep the boy from pulling things off the shelf, keep the boy from running up and down the isles, and keep the boy from throwing every round object throughout the store screaming, "Ball...Ball".

By the time you are finished you will be sweating, breathing heavy, and ready to beat a child. It is so much fun, trust me.

If this sounds like a workout for you, but you don't have the 22 month old boy that you need,I will be more than happy to GIVE you mine.

Wal-Mart will never be the same again.

Today

I hate being in computer training. I am learning some new software for work. Most of the class has been very informative, but I am fading fast and my brain is in overload.
We are going camping on Friday till next Wednesday. I can't wait, I am so ready for a little vacation. I am going to relax, read, make a digital scrapbook, go hiking, chase the kids, ride bikes, and sit by a fire and roast marshmallows. Don't you wish you were going with me?

What a weekend!

Ever have one of those weekends where you never seem to stop? I just had one of those myself. Here's my story...
Friday, Grayson and I went to Wal-Mart grocery shopping, which is always loads of fun. We came home unloaded a million bags out of the van and up the stairs to the kitchen. Mind you, Grayson, was no help in that department, but he did help me put stuff up...sorta. After a short name for Grayson and myself (yippee), I got ready for my Crop Out Cancer Crop at the school. Then off I went to unload and set up for my crop. We didn't have a lot of people there, but we had fun anyway. Sitting around scrapbooking and talking is never a bad time. Finally, home again and off the bed.
Saturday morning, my sweet husband let me sleep in till 8:30 while he kept Grayson happy. Sydney spent the night with Rebecca, so it wasn't as loud as usual. I got up and fixed us french toast. Yum-O! Then off the Rebecca's house to fetch my other child and plant a garden. Rebecca has a perfect spot for a garden and has the talent, too. There is nothing that woman can't do. I will help her this year in exchange for fresh veggies and next year I will try it on my own. I will, however, be starting a herb garden at my house. I don't really have a green thumb, so we will see how this goes. After a morning in the hot sun and playing in the dirt. We go home for showers and lunch and to put those ill children down for a nap. Too bad I couldn't take one. I went to a wedding. It was beautiful and lots of fun. Saturday night, we had pizza and cake at Gammie and Gampie's house. It was my step-dad's, Bill aka Gampie, birthday. We ate, we sang, we went home.
Sunday morning was church as usual. We left early to attend our niece's, Ginger, birthday party at Pump It Up. The kids had a blast jumping and climbing. I do have to say...so did the adults. I was worn out. I have bruises all over me. I am getting way to old, but it was way too fun. On the way home we stopped so I could pick up cream cheese so I could make a chicken ball for the after church social. I came home put it together, then while putting the final touch of seasoning, dumped the whole bottle of seasoning in it. So, back to the store for more stuff, then back home to start over. Back to church and home again. I am still about to fall over.
Hope you all had a great weekend. Let me know what you did.

Bood Squishin'

Today I went and had my first mamogram. It was so easy, not at all what I thought it would be. I just went in, laid the ole boob on a metal table thing, got it squished like a pancake, and we were all done. It was strange standing there with your boob in a vise grip, but worth the discomfort to ward off cancer. The worse part was taking the stickers off my nipples. Ouch! So, for those of you putting off getting your boob squished, go and do it.

Back to Work

Today was a big day for me. I started a part-time job at the college I worked for before leaving to be a full time stay at home mom. It is in a new department, new boss, new everything. So scary! I am excited about using my brain again, but nervous because I don't know if my brain still works. This should be very interesting. I am only working 5 hours a day, 3 days a week. I still will be able to take and pick up Sydney from school. Grayson will be with Nana, the sitter who kept Sydney when I worked full time, 2 days a week and with Gammie 1 day a week. He went straight to playing this morning when I dropped him off, he didn't even know I left. This will be very good for him to have time away from Mommy. I still missed him today, but it will get better I am sure.
Say a little prayer for me that I can remember how to juggle being a mommy, wife, and worker.

T.G.I.F.

Yippee, It's the weekend and a long weekend at that for Sydney. She has her winter break on Monday and Tuesday. We get to sleep in or at least try to sleep in; Grayson may have different plans.

Tonight is the annual Father/Daughter Dance at Sydney's school. It is the first time she has been and she is so excited to be going with her Daddy. She is such a daddy's girl. This is a big dance they hold around Valentine's Day to raise money for the Relay for Life. Chris is not too sure about the whole "dance" thing, due to the fact that he does not "dance". He will slow dance, but that is about it. I'm sure there will be other fathers there not wanting to dance, so they can bond together while the little girls dance and giggle. I have my spies (Renae & Jennifer) who will be taking pictures for me. As a scrapbooker, I must have my photos.

Tomorrow we are going to enjoy a relaxing day at home. Chris is planning on working on his "honey do" list, while I will spend my time cleaning house and playing with the kids. I am hoping to squeeze in a little scrapbooking during nap time. That evening I am making a big ole lasagne to share with our friends Spencer, Rebecca, Alex, and Jordan. After that a fun filled evening of cards is in order. Do we know how to party or what?

Sunday will be church and family time. Hopefully, we will grab a nap before choir practice and church again Sunday evening.

Hope everyone has a great weekend. Leave me a comment on what your plans are, I always love hearing about all your fun.

Yes, I am still alive.

For those of you that thought I had fallen off the face of the earth...so sorry, I am still alive.

Things have been just about crazy around here. We have all been sick with colds. I have been running around like mad trying to get caught up on everything, but still I am behind. It seems I will never be caught up. Oh well!

I did have an awesome time at my Creative Memories Conference. It was so fun being around a bunch of people who love doing the same thing you do. Everyone you meet is your instant long lost best friend. It was a big time chicks weekend and I loved every minute of it.

On the down side, we had to put my dog, Montana, to sleep the Saturday I came home. She was our 6 year old Alaskan Malamute. She was beautiful and I loved her more than she will ever know. I wasn't able to be with her when she went, but my J-Mom was with her so she didn't have to die alone. I made Chris bring her home so I could say goodbye. We buried her in the backyard and I will plant flowers on her this spring for her to enjoy. She would have just laid all over them, so now she can lay under them. I will miss her so much.

I had a crop last Saturday and got lots of pages done. I am working very hard to get caught up with my scrapbooking. I am hoping by the end of the summer to be working in the current. We shall see how that goes.

Grayson seems to find more to get into everyday. He loves to take all the crayons out of Sydney's room and spread them all over the house. He also loves to take the broom out of the kitchen and play with it everywhere. If only he could actually sweep, I would be oh too happy. Now he has discovered how to remove the floor vents. I sure I will find all kinds of things in our heating ducts...cars, balls, crayons, paper, etc. It is never a dull moment with this kid.

Sydney is doing just fine. She is my sweet little angel girl. She is growing up so fast, I just can't stand it.

I must go now to get ready for church tonight and to keep Grayson from coloring on the walls. My fun never ends.

OH, LOST is so juicy. I love it. Can't wait till tomorrow night.

Busier By The Minute

Things have been just plain crazy around here in the last week. Who knew a stay-at-home mom could stay so blasted busy. I have had 2 Signature Homestyles shows, I sick little girl, and a baby boy that has decided that he doesn't want to sleep. How much more fun can I stand?

There is hope on the horizon. Tomorrow afternoon I leave to go to Atlanta to participate in a Creative Memories Focus Group. They call me and said we want your opinion on scrapbooking stuff, we will provide dinner, pay you $100 cash and pay for your room at a very nice hotel. I just couldn't say no. I get to sleep in a room all by myself, all night long, no kids crying, just me sleeping peacefully. Then I get to sleep late. Well, try to sleep in, I will probably wake up at 7am wide awake, just because. Isn't that the way it works.?

Friday starts our Creative Memories Regional Convention. We have dinner at 5:30pm, then a Mega Crop. I plan to scrapbook all day in my hotel room. I am just a gitty with excitement. There will be one other girl with me at the focus group, then two more show up to join us, then another on Friday. Five scrapbookers in a scrapbooking frenzy. Saturday morning we are in conference all day, then home on Saturday night.

Chris is getting to attend a christian men's conference with his friends. They leave Friday to play golf , then off the their fun.

The kids will be having a fun filled weekend with Maw-Maw and Paw-Paw. They will have a blast. They will eat everything in the house, build tents, push each other around in Grayson's dump truck, and stay up late. It will be a three ring circus at my house, I am so glad I will be gone.

I am looking so forward to some time away and most of all...some extra sleep.

TGIF

It is Friday and I couldn't be happier. I have big plans for the weekend. This afternoon I will pick up Sydney from school and drop off Grayson at mom's and head for the big town of Turin, GA. Don't blink, you might just miss it. Sydney and I are going to spend the night with my sister, Reynie, in her log cabin. I love going out there. It is so quiet and so beautiful. I will be doing a Creative Memories show tonight at her friend Jennifer's house. I love to talk about scrapbooking, so this should be lots of fun. Sydney will be my little helper. She loves to have one on one time with Mommy and Aunt Reynie. She will be in hog heaven. Then Saturday morning, I am sleeping in late, while Sydney goes and snuggles with Aunt Reynie in her bed and watches cartoons. We will be having breakfast with Ya-Ya and Pops, then off to a baby shower. Busy day, but full of fun.

Sunday will be church as usual. After church, I will be doing a Signature Homestyles show at my friend Rebecca's house. I also love to talk about decorating and organization, but too bad my house could use some more of it. As soon as I get it organized my son just happily drags it all out and throws it down the stairs or in the bathtub. If you can't find something, it is probably in one of those two places.

Should be lots of fun this weekend. Hope you all have a great one too. Leave a comment and let me know what your plans are for this glorious weekend.

Love/Hate Meme

Love/ Hate Meme

I love to eat: tacos and chocolate
I hate to eat: corn beef (What is up with all the little balls on it? Gross!)
I love to go: camping with my family and friends, out to dinner without kids, and shopping when I have the money.
I hate to go: grocery shopping
I love it when: my house is clean and my kids are sweet.
I hate it when: I can't find anything or finish a thought.
I love to see: my husband and kids playing together.
I hate to see: a animal hungry or hurt.
I love to hear: my husband and kids say "I love you!"
I hate to hear: a crying child.

Ok, Reynie here is your meme. Happy now?

Thursday Thirteen

Thursday Thirteen: 13 Things my son did today.

1. Emptied the bathroom drawer into the garden tub and squealed with delight the whole time.


2. Helped me with the laundry. When I say "helped" I mean…took the already folded clothes out of the basket and put them back into the dryer. He is such a big helper.


3. Pooped. Oh, I mean big time. This boy is a pooping machine and his Gammie fed him lots of grapes yesterday. Not pretty coming out and they sure don’t smell good either. Gross!


4. Threw hangers everywhere. I put them all neatly in the basket to take downstairs to hang up clothes and apparently they made him sick and they had to throw about.
   
5. Ate crackers and crumbled them all over the kitchen floor. Thank you, God, for the DustBuster.


6. Took a nap. Yippee!!!! 1 hour of peace.


7. Put markers in the VCR.
   
8. Aggravated his sister while she was on the toilet. "Mommy, Grayson is trying to flush the toilet while I’m on it" and "Mommy, Grayson is trying to put his hand in the toilet". Will today never end?
   
9. Screamed, cried, and pitched a big ole fit for not apparent reason. Boy, was that fun.


10. Played Barbies with Sydney. That was actually pretty sweet. He played with Ken.


11. Looked at one of my scrapbooks and talked to it the whole time. Too cute.


12. Put strange objects in his mouth, like a plastic mushroom. Where did that come from?


13. Snuggled with Mommy. That’s my little, sweet man no matter what he shoves in the VCR.

More Snow!!!

It has been so much fun today to watch it snow. How beautiful God's creation can be with it all covered in white. So far we have not gotten as much as we would have liked, but we have some snow, so we are not complaining. We have had some great family time. The kids have played hard, I have scrapbooked 18 pages, and Chris has been relaxing on the couch with the TV all to himself. We also ventured out in the snow as you can see below.

Above is Sydney and Grayson on the back deck. Are they not just the cutest kids in the whole wide world?

This is Grayson just as happy as can be to be in the snow. He had no idea what it was, but he just ran around with this huge smile on his face and squealing with delight.

This is Sydney and her first snowman. We did manage to gather enough snow for a small but extremely wonderful snowman. We are so proud of it.

It is snowing again. Hopefully, we will get a few more inches. But until then, I will enjoy sitting by the fire and watching the snow come down.

Thursday Thirteen

Thursday Thirteen: 13 Things I did last night.

1. Watched it snow.
2. Watched my daughter throw up.
3. Watched American Idol.
4. Watched my daughter throw up.
5. Watched a1` previously recorded Barefoot Contessa show.
6. Watched my daughter throw up.
7. Watched a previously recorded National Body Challenge.
8. Watched my daughter throw up.
9. Went to the bathroom to pee.
10. Watched my daughter throw up.
11. Watched another previously recorded Barefoot Contessa show.
12. Watched my daughter throw up.
13. Went to bed sometime after 1 a.m. just to get up 2 more times to watch my daughter throw up.

After a doctor visit this morning, we discovered that Sydney has Strep Throat. Say a prayer for us!

It's Snowing

I am so excited. We are in Anniston, Alabama at my parents house and it is snowing outside. J-Mom is calling everyone she knows to tell them. They moved up here in 2005 from Orlando, Florida, so when it snows she goes crazy. She is videoing and taking pictures, I think she is losing it.
I just want enough to make a snow angel or better yet a snowman. Yippee for the snow!

My Little Helping Boy

I have to start by telling you how I do laundry, so you will understand why this is so funny. My washer and dryer are located down stairs in my basement. Our basement is finished and open to the upstairs. We have a baby gate mounted to the wall to keep Grayson from tumbling down. I usually gather all the dirty clothes and throw them down the stairs, then sort them at the bottom in the laundry room. Well, yesterday morning my son wants to help, so he also tosses clothing over the gate. Of course, mine usually hit the bottom of the stairs, but his land on the top step. Still I praise him for all his help.

Yesterday afternoon all the laundry was done. I took the full laundry basket upstairs and started sorting laundry in my bedroom floor. My son decided to "help" again. He started taking pieces of clothing to the gate and tossing them over. Bless his heart, he tries. See below his handy work.

Clothes are not the only things he likes to throw over. We find toys, old toothbrushes, cord to the electric razor, spoons, cups, and sometimes-even food. I am not quite sure what is so fun about throwing things over, but Sydney did it too. She only threw shoes. My children always keep me laughing. Who knows what they will do next? Stay tuned…

My Crop

First, let me start by making a correction. Rebecca did 18 pages on Thursday night, not 12. Happy now, heifer?

Wow, we had a wonderful time at my crop on Saturday. Seven girls crammed in a basement working on their scrapbooks and listening to 80’s music. It was a blast. I am so proud of the girls they did a great job so I have to brag on their accomplishments.

Jennifer, she is working on her daughters first year album and completed 9 pages. Her daughter is 11, so only 10 more years to go. You go girl!

Renae, she is working on her Jamaica trip from this summer and completed 5 pages. She worked very hard; she had lots of pictures to organize and lots of talking to do. Keep your head high; you will be done in no time.

Rebecca, she is working on her family album and completed 28 pages. Ok, we all secretly hate her; she is working on October 2007 pages and is very organized. She has OCD, but is on medicine and it is not helping. Ha ha! She is my inspiration, so if she can do it so can I.

Rachel, she is also working on her family album and completed 15 pages, then went home and did 13 more for a total of 28 pages. Rebecca, her sister, went over to her house last weekend to help her get her scrapbook stuff organized (a sister with OCD does come in handy). Now Rachel is on a roll. Way to go!

Reynie, she is working on her wedding album and her goal was 5 pages, but she did 10. She works very slowly, she also has OCD and every page has to be just perfect. She was so proud as was I.

Me, I was working on my family and camping album and did 19 pages, then on Sunday did an additional 12 pages making my total 31 pages. I am so far behind, but I am on track now. I worked very hard and will continue to do so. My goal is to be working in the current by the end of the year. Wish me luck!

Last but not least is Sydney. She was working on her first scrapbook album all by herself. She did pictures of her zoo field trip and her birthday party at Justice. She did an awesome job; she was so excited to be scrapbooking with mommy. She walked around and showed everyone her Tinkerbell album. I am such a proud Momma!

I look so forward to crops. It is so nice having a little girl time. So, if you are scrapbooker and want to join us for a Saturday of cropping, eating, laughing, talking and just a general good time, you know where to find me.

Thanks to all the girls that came on Saturday. You guys are the best! A special THANKS to my sweet husband for giving me some time to play. You are the greatest husband in the world, I love you!