Things I've learned this week.

I was reading http://www.becausewendisaidso.blogspot.com the other day and she had a post of random thoughts that she had discovered during the week. So, I thought about it and decided to borrow her idea (thanks, Wendi) and do my own post of random things that I have learned this week, so here we go:

• I don't know how to link with a word instead of the http address.
• You shouldn't assume a glass of clear liquid left on the table in the living room is water.
• You shouldn't water a plant with Sprite left on the table in the living room.
• My son is old enough to be dropped off a the movies with friends and their older brothers.
• I'm not old enough to have a son who can be dropped off at the movies with friends.
• Dust bunnies can hide anywhere.
• My daughter is a very determined and hard-working little girl.
• My hard-working, determined little girl has made the competition team at gymnastics.
• The Bodie Island lighthouse was believed to have gotten it's name from all of the bodies that washed ashore from ship wrecks.
• I'm going through blogging withdrawals.
• That I can be ill-tempered and have no patience. (No....I already knew this.)
• That I was ready for summer weather until I was working outside (sitting by the pool) on a 90 degree day.
• That I don't know how to mark through words on a post.
• That my children have much more active social lives than I do.
• That I need a vacation (soon)!
  
  

Busy Week

Hey Everybody. Sorry I haven't been posting much lately, but as you probably already know, we've got a lot going on. Here's a breakdown of what we're doing this week.

Monday - we were traveling back from our weekend trip & started building school project
Tuesday - worked around the house (too much to list), ran errands in town, worked on school project & took kids to the pool for a little while after school
Wednesday - proctored at school for EOG testing til 12:00, worked around house, found out about rained out baseball game, had gymnastics meeting, did some on-line house hunting
Thursday - proctor EOG's til 12:00 again, lunch with a friend, shampoo carpets & hopefully finish up school project
Friday - EOG's once again, sit with another class while teachers do something with tests, baseball playoffs begin
Saturday - Fun Meet at gymnastics, maybe go to SC to see my honey for the first time in 2 wks. I'll let you know if we actually make it down. We might have baseball games instead.

Gotta run - time to put the kiddies to bed. Hope y'all are having a great week!

How much are you payin'?

The kids and I are back from our travels and I must say that we did have a nice trip.

We got to see the newest family member, Ava, who was born in March. (She's a cutie.)

We saw her Papa, Uncle Bookie, who just came home from the hospital and we got to help my niece, Alex, celebrate her 13th birthday.

Overall, it was a very relaxing trip back to my hometown.

Now for the downer......I had to pay $3.88 for a gallon of gas to do it!

I just hate this. I guess I could consider that a bargain since I did see some prices up to $3.94, but come on. It's crazy!!!

So, tell me.......how much are you payin'?

Time Travel

The official kick-off to summer has arrived - Memorial Day. Yea! As we're celebrating having the day off from work & school, grilling those hot dogs & hamburgers, relaxing on the beaches or swimming in the pools let's not forget what this holiday weekend is all about and say a big "Thank You" to our soldiers and say a prayer of thanks for those who gave their all for our freedom.

Unfortunately, we won't be lying on any beach this weekend but we will be traveling back in time to the day when there was no internet to surf, no DVR to record favorite shows, and no game systems in sight. "Where in the world is this magical place?" you ask?

It's my parents house!

I know. I still can't believe that in this day & time, they won't break down and get a computer that's capable of going online and that the TV in the "kids" bedroom has to use an....an...antennea. Oh, the horrors! The children might actually have to talk to each other to play. Ummmm....maybe this magical place might not be so bad after all.

I'll update you when we return on Monday. Until then, ladies I will be incommunicado for a while but I wish you the best this holiday weekend.

16 years ago.......

May 23, 1992

Two young kids decided to tie the knot.

Little did they know what would be down the road but with a lot of LOVE

and a lot of FAITH, sixteen years and two children later they are still together and happier today than they were on that lovely spring evening.

Let's take a trip down memory lane........

Happy Anniversary, Honey!!

It's been great so far and we're just getting started.

Love you!

It's Crazy Out There

All of this happened early this evening within about 30 minutes.

From one extreme to another.

We've got hail!

The promise after the storm.

BooHoo

Well, today is a day that has sort of sprung up on us and that I've dreaded for a while all at the same time. It's the day the Daddy leaves to start his new position in another state and leave us here to our own devices. It's not really all that bad, just that we'll miss him like crazy. With his job, he's not always guaranteed to do a lot of routine activities as a family anyway, so I'm really independent when it comes to running our home but........when it comes to:
getting your house ready to go on the market,
organize a move,
prepare for EOG's,
take out all the trash,
fix anything that breaks,
shampoo all the carpets,
cut the grass,
change a tire (jodie, you remember!),
check the oil,
get the cars inspected,
handle all the pets (all 5 of them),
settle any sibling disputes (and they are frequent),
issue discipline,
and make school projects

I really wish Daddy was going to be here to help.

Oh well, enough of my pitty party. Times a wastin' and there's plenty to do.
By the way, does anyone know how to build a lighthouse?? Any helpful tips would greatly be appreciated.

Here's a Hint

Everyone's been wondering where exactly we're headed, so here's a little hint.

(Sorry McMommy but it's not that far south.)

Thanks for all the well-wishes and support. We definitely have a busy time ahead of us and I'm sure you'll be sick of hearing about it by the time we're done.

I'm just glad that now I'll be able to get some of those

cute purses and accessories with the SC logo on them.

Take care,

Guess What??

Well, it's official......we're MOVING!!

Hubby was notified yesterday and is expected in his new location on Monday 5/19.

I know. That's quick but that's the way his company is.

Wait. Wait. Wait. Ok now.

We're excited about it even though we will miss our friends here, but it's a less stressful position for him so, I'm all for that.

The kids will finish up school here and it will take a while to work out all of the house stuff but we expect to join him sometime mid-summer.

I can't say exactly where it is (safety and all that) but I will tell you that it's a little further south than where we are now.

That's about all the news I have for now. I'll keep you posted as we go along.

For now I have to go & house hunt online....what did we do before the internet??

Wordless Wednesday - Bird Watching

End of school?

Well, here we are another weekend down and ready to face all that's headed our way this week. I'm looking at my calendar and I realize that the kids only have 21 days of school left - oh yeah, the fun part of the year is here. Days of goofing off in class, watching movies, field days, class parties. You get the picture. So, please, will someone tell me: Why is school such a nightmare right now? The kids are getting drilled in preparation for the EOG's (end of grade tests), we have 2 projects due (one research paper and one he has to build a lighthouse. That works!) Not only is all of that going on but all of a sudden the PTA has decided to do all of these projects at the end of the year, Student Talent Show, Fun Friday, and Fifth Grade Graduation and the all important End of the Year Meeting with voting for next year's officers. I'm pooped & I've not even begun to work on any of these things. I think I'm just procrastinating. I'm really good at that.

Outside of school this week we have baseball games and Saturday is a very important day for our little princess. It is tryout day for the gymnastic's competition team & she is so excited that she can hardly sit still. Hopefully that will go well & hopefully we can win some baseball games. That has not been going so well (even though Bray's been doing a good job).

Well, procrastination time is over. I have a load (or 5) of clothes to wash, floors to clean and a dishwasher to load. Hope your day is off to a good start and if you happen to know anything at all about the illusive platypus please let me know (apparently that's what the research paper is about).

Take care & let me know what you're up to - misery loves company.

Happy Mother's Day!

Here are just a few reasons why we do what we do......

First day of preschool 2004

First day of 2nd grade 2005

July 4th 2006

July 2005

Summer 2007

July 2007

November 2007

April 2008

Thank you guys for helping me to be a much better person than I could ever be without you in my life.

I love you with all my heart & love watching you grow into the wonderful adults that I know you will be one day. I'm so thankful that God allowed me to be your "Mommy".

To all the great moms out there, I hope you have a wonderful and restful day.
You deserve it.

Awww...how sweet.

One reason I just love spring is the renewal of life. Everything is sort of reborn, the trees, the flowers and all of the new little bird families. Well, every year we have these house finches (ok maybe they're not the exact same birds) that make their home in our ferns. This year was no different - I got the plants up about a month ago and have been watching this little family come to life. I've tried to document it for you step by step. I'll go ahead & apologize for the quality of the pictures but it's very hard to catch them at home so I had to take a lot of the shots thru my office window. Hope you enjoy seeing our little adopted family.

When they first built their nest.

Mommy & Daddy to be.

Sorry the picture's blurry - it's hard to get a clear shot they've got it so deep in the fern.

It looks like we're expecting 4 little ones.

Happy Birthday McMommy!

( McParty Shoes)

Well, today's the day. We're celebrating McMommy's big "30" with a blogging party.

Thanks for letting everyone join in the fun (it's always fun to remember the good ole days).

I'm looking forward to seeing what everybody's bringing to party - here's my recipe.

Grape Salad

2 lbs. green seedless grapes

2 lbs. red seedless grapes

8 oz. sour cream

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla, to taste

Topping:

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup crushed pecans

Wash grapes, set aside.

Mix sour cream, cream cheese, white sugar, and vanilla by hand til blended.

Stir grapes into mix and pour into large serving bowl.

For topping:

Combine brown sugar and pecans.

Sprinkle over top to cover completely & chill overnight.

Enjoy!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY McMOMMY!!

McMommy's Birthday Bash

Hope to see you there & don't forget your party shoes.

Election Day

If you're in North Carolina or Indiana don't forget to VOTE TODAY!

Through the eyes of a 7 year old......

Guess who found my camera & set up her own photo shoot.

She is truely a handful.

Enjoy her artistic creations.

She calls this show: Piglet & Gracie

Just a little focus issue.

(Please ignore the piece of fuzz - maybe it's a seagull.

You have to read http://www.iambossy.com/ to get that.)

Maybe I shouldn't leave my camera just lying around, then again I could have a future Annie Liebovitz on my hands.