Manic Monday

Here's my random list for a Monday. Read at your own risk. : )

• They start on the kitchen floor this morning, meaning they have to demo the old first. This is the worst part. Dust everywhere and the boys and I have to vacate the house. We will be hangin' at my MIL's if your lookin' for us.
• Has anyone noticed that my text is a little wider on the blog? I have only Split Decisionz to thank for this. I emailed her a question on how to do it and she was very quick with a response and put the answer on her blog. If you need help with your blog, I highly recommend asking her.
• Little G is on Ebay (as is the back of my head). My friend Karrie started an Ebay store for her darling blankets and burp cloths and used Little G and another little girl as models. Go check it out if you get a chance and if you need some of these items, she has cute stuff and great prices!
• I am sickly again. Terrible congestion, a never-gonna-go-away headache and slight body aches. Can someone have the flu twice in 2 months? Please say no.
• I am SO tired of plastic Easter eggs. They are constantly on the floor in my den. Someone please make them go away.
• If you need another blog to read (like a hole in your head, right?) I think some of you might enjoy my husband's cousin Susan's blog. It's about her endeavor to try a new vegetable every week as she used to not eat them AT ALL. She's a great writer and it's fun to follow her veggie journey.
• Tim and I had a nice dinner out Saturday night for my birthday, sans kiddos. We went to a restaurant in Fort Worth that we had never been to before. It was really good. Not to mention there was adult conversation with my favorite man. Evenings like this help me to remember why I married him. He's so wonderful.

That's all for now. Oh except, my little pay it forward giveaway ends tonight. You can leave a new or additional comment here. I have loved reading everyone's feelings about motherhood. I wish everyone could win, but of course I ain't made of money. I will post the winner tomorrow morning.

Do You Know Your Baby Alphabet?

There was a baby shower at my house yesterday. My friend Claudia is about to have her second boy and all of ladies in the playgroup honored her here.

Now at any properly planned shower there must be a few games, right? Well, we played one in which you had to come up with a baby related word for every letter in the alphabet. This is harder than you think. I had a terrible time with it and I think I got maybe half of the alphabet filled out. And there were alot of other ladies in the same boat as me.

My friend Heather was a completely different story. When asked if anyone had gotten all of the letters she raised her hand. Mind you Heather has no children. So, we decided that because of that she still has all her witts about her and thus a pretty good vocabulary. And she did have a word for every letter, including many of the medical terms. I mean the woman even had "zygote" for Z. Come on!

There was one letter however, in which she was a little "off" on her answer.
For "L" she had "La Leaky." HUH? Yes people, instead of La Leche she had La Leaky. Now I don't know about you but I thought that was pretty funny. Because in my experience they do like to "la leaky" on occasion (while breastfeeding of course!) and I wondered why they hadn't named it that instead.

Heather still "won" the game and she is perfectly fine with me "outing" her here on the blog about the fact that she has NEVER had to consult The La Leche League (or La Leaky, as I will be calling it from now on...) for any questions or concerns...

Here are all of us hostesses with the guest of honor in the middle.

Happy Baby to our dear, sweet friend!

God Given Gift

I wrote this a while ago - probably early 2006 -(obviously because it says that I was still a "working girl") about my singing. I thought I would post it as it is still valid and I did not have a blog when I wrote it. I hope it touches some hearts.

I love to sing. I recall singing “Calendar Girls” in my third grade play and some little boy that I was standing behind turned around and said “you sing too loud!!” I remember trying out for the 5th grade choir at my elementary school and singing some patriotic song ("My Country Tis of Thee", I think) as my audition. Our Christmas performance at the nearby mall was one I will always remember. And since then I have been singing. I’ve sung at school, at church, in the car, in the shower, over my friend’s voices, at my grandmother’s funerals, as well as my dear aunt Alice’s, who just passed away a little over a year ago. I have sung at many weddings, mostly for friends, but some for pay as well, through my church. I have sung great works such as Handel’s “Messiah” and I have sung little ditties that I can barely remember. I have sung with a choir that received straight “one’s” from the judges and made the walls vibrate in the concert hall with the last note. I have sung next to elderly woman whose voices aren’t what they used to be, but their hearts still carry the tune perfectly. I’ve never had perfect pitch but I can sight read pretty well. I played the piano for a few years, but my fingers are really too short to do the job well and frankly, I would rather use my voice as my instrument.

A few weekends ago I was approached by my church choir director and asked to sing at a funeral for someone I did not know. Normally, I would not even get asked because many funerals are during the week and I work. However this one was on a Saturday and they really wanted someone to sing the Ave Maria, which I love to do. I agreed and then my head began to spin as I drove home after rehearsal that night. There I would be in a room full of strangers whose mother or grandmother, sister or friend had just left them behind. The only reason I even knew it was a woman was because I was singing the Ave Maria but no one had even told me her name. When I arrived home and told my husband he asked if I would get paid, which I hadn’t even thought about yet. I didn’t know – would I? When I arrived that morning to rehearse with my accompanist, who is a friend of mine, I saw her name, Sarah, on the song sheet, so at least now she had an identity. I asked Ann how old she was or how she died but she did not know. She was just there doing her job. As I practiced an envelope was placed on the music stand before me and the question of payment was answered. I felt a little weird about it. How did someone’s passing become a financial gain for me? But then of course there were many people whose business was just that – giving a respectful ceremony and burial to the ones who go before us. Needless to say, it was a little surreal, watching her family during the mass and wondering who was who. I have sung the Ave Maria at both of my grandmother’s funerals, but I knew most of the players in those cases. This was different, like I was in a play or something.

It was a small affair and I did my job too as I sang to the best of my ability for this woman and her loved ones that I did not know. Towards the end of the service a friend of the family for many years spoke kindly about Sally (this was her nickhame) and about the years he knew her, her late husband and their children and the times they spent together. After the family had left the church so did Ann and I, and that was it. As I drove back home to my family, I thought about how my son would one day probably have to do what hers just did. I was also thinking about how I would be back at church very early in the morning to cantor for the 8 a.m. mass and although I love to sing, that was a little early! But little did I know what that mass would entail.

I arrived by 7:30 to practice with Ann again and things went as usual. After we got into the church just minutes before the priest would begin the mass, Ann let me know that there would be a baptism that day and I would need to sing an additional, short song. It didn’t hit me until after the parents had left the baptismal font and my singing was finished that my weekend had come full circle. There he was, this new life, not replacing Sarah by any means, but still bringing renewal to the loss that even I felt the previous day. He was pure and small and didn’t even cry as the water washed over his delicate little forehead. And there was his family, beaming at his new life in Christ. Sarah had a new life in Christ as well, one that would fulfill the promise God also made to little Preston that day. It would hopefully be decades before he would follow in Sarah’s path, but as believers, we all know he will, as will we.

I see signs of God everyday in my life, but mostly in my singing. It brings extra joy in times of sheer happiness; and I hope it brings some light in times of darkness and sorrow. It comforts the people around me and always gives me a sense of the gift that God has bestowed upon me. I will never stop singing, even when someday, hopefully, he calls me to be with him. As a matter of fact, he may even turn around and tell me I sing too loud….. although, I really doubt it.

Growin' up is Hard to do... Well, for Mommy Anyway

I had a startling realization today. My first baby is no longer a toddler or even a little boy, he’s a kid. A full – fledged kid.

In the last couple of weeks he’s been doing so many things by himself. He goes to the bathroom without even telling me. He washes his hands on his own. He even changed into his “play clothes” the other day with absolutely no help from me. Is he leaving for college yet?

Thankfully, no. Although it might be good if he left now because it’s probably a lot cheaper than it will be in 14 years. Yeesh!

When we went out to dinner the other night The B Man and the waiter had an entire conversation about his order without any input from Tim or me. He let the server know that he wanted pizza with only cheese because (and I quote), “I don’t like pepperoni because it’s too spicy and I don’t really like spicy things. And I would like a water please.” This was only half of their exchange. Tim and I looked at each other across the table like, “Did that just happen?” I am so used to ordering for him. But I guess I don’t have to anymore and that sort of makes my heart ache. It seems he needs me less and less these days. And although that can be a good thing (especially since Little G is ALL ABOUT mommy lately), it’s also hard to let go.

Today he and I played our first “board game” together. I use the term lightly because it was an extremely abridged version of a board game in a kid’s magazine. Think like “Cliff Notes” for a board game. You get the drift. But he really got the hang of it and he won. All four times.

Beginners luck.

When did he get old enough to play games? Ones that involve counting and the moving of pieces? His behavior is getting a little out of hand don’t you think? That is if growing up is bad behavior and darn it – I guess it isn’t. Oh well, I tried.

Here’s a conversation he and I had while driving home from aforementioned dinner.

B Man – “Mommy, why do we have a baby brother?”
Me – “Because God gave him to us.”
B Man – “Did God put him in your belly?”
Me - “Yes, he did. You were in my belly when you were a little baby too.”
B Man – “Oh yeah. Did I play in your belly?”
Me – (Laughing to myself) “Yeah, I think you played around in there a little bit.”
B Man – “So were there toys in your belly then?”
Me – “I don’t think so…”
B Man - “Wellll… If I was playin’ in there, then there were probably toys…”

In less than a week my first baby will celebrate his 4th birthday. It just doesn’t seem possible that it has been that long since I first met him, and he changed our lives forever. He's such a smart and beautiful boy, I could go on and on. But I will save some love for next week when he leaves toddler-hood behind. Tissue anyone?

GUEST POST: Birthday Wishes for my Better Half

Hello happy blog readers! Today’s post is coming from me, Tim (aka “The hubby”, “the lesser half”, or “He that doth pay for the internet connection”). Elaine has graciously granted me posting privileges and I'll try to not to let her blog down!

Today I would like to tell you a story about one of the luckiest days of my life. No, it was not when I won the lottery (I’m still waiting on that one). I refer of course to:

March 26, 1975

At the time, I did not know it was such a lucky day for me. In fact, seeing as I was only 8 ½ months old, it probably seemed like the average day to a baby:

Cry – Check.
Eat – Check.
Sleep – Check.
Poop – Check.
Coo – Check.
Rearrange order and repeat.

Here I am, lounging in the swing and looking oblivious to the importance of the day:

(*Red leaves and Halloween decorations may indicate this wasn't the spring)

Little did I know, across the country a little baby girl was being born and named Elaine by her loving and doting parents. (Who, after having 3 boys were probably thrilled to finally get a girl). Here she is with her very cool parents:

(*Clothing may be better proof as burns still present today)

The point of this silliness is this: I don't necessarily believe in destined true love. I think there are literally millions of tiny little twists of fate, decisions, cosmic zigs and earthly zags that lead two people to find each other. So I could say it was lucky that I met Elaine, or lucky that I chose to go on the church retreat where we met, but I could go on and on like this and it would ultimately lead to: March 26, 1975.

I was lucky on that day and blessed because my wife was born and she is the most sincere and honest and funny and beautiful person I know.

I'm leaving you with one of my all-time favorite pictures of her, it was taken by me, on our honeymoon, at sunset....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Elaine! I LOVE YOU!!

Wordless Wednesday #9 - Birthday Cakes

Not so "wordless" today since it is my 33rd Birthday (WOO HOO!)and I thought I would take a little walk down memory lane. I happened upon these 3 photos of me as a child with my mother's homemade "themed" birthday cakes. I love how blond my hair was back then. However, not so crazy about the knee socks. Damn 70's. Oh and you gotta love the sofa behind me in that one too. Oh My! I may be older but at least I don't have furniture like that! Happy WW!

Check out my husband's guest birthday post if you have a minute - he's a pretty good new blogger!

And for more WW go to 5 Minutes for Mom.

A Meme & A Giveaway (UPDATED)

I was tagged a week or so ago by my new friend (from the Ultimate Blog Party!) Scrapping Servant to do this book meme.

I also won a Pay It Forward giveaway from Boys Rule My Life and the new hurricane I received is now on display in my living room. YEAH! ***UPDATE - Don't forget if you win this giveaway you are supposed to PAY IT FORWARD and give something away also - on your blog if you have one or to someone else in your life if you don't - Please pass on the love!***

So, I am tying the two things together. I am giving you a passage from a book that I will also giveaway! And, I'm gonna throw in a $10 Starbucks gift card because that's just the kind of girl I am. Plus reading and drinking a mocha go hand in hand, right? Literally! Oh, I do amuse myself...

Here's the meme first.

Here are the rules:

• Pick up the nearest book of at least 123 pages.
• Open the book to page 123.
• Find the 5th sentence.
• Post the next 3 sentences.
• Tag 5 people.

I chose this book because it's awesome for moms and it was right on my nightstand and it's from the Chicken Soup series. How could you go wrong?

My friend Jennifer gave me this book when I was pregnant with Little G. I guess she thought my life was about to get a little busier! And I LOVE this book. It has a ton of practical advice about how to run your household with kids and thus how to keep some of your sanity! One of the reviews on the back says, "A must-read for every busy mom wanting down-to-earth advice on the highest acclaimed profession in the world: Motherhood."

So here's by excerpt:

"Everything we did was a learning experience for my daughter - I think she learned her letters from trips to the supermarket where I pointed out everything that was at eye level. However our trips to the "Hippo Playground" at Riverside Park were my sanity savers - except when I was so frazzled getting out of the house that I forgot something important like diapers, juice, or wipes, or took so long getting myself toether, we didn't get out of the house until late afternoon. It was after one of those days that I sat on my sofa and reflected on how much simpler my life used to be."

Perfect, don't cha think?

Okay, so if you wanna win this book and a $10 Starbucks card just leave me a comment about what you love about motherhood (I assume it will only be moms commenting, but if you are a dad or a pet owner only, leave a comment about that!) on this post and I will enter you. This is open to bloggers and non-bloggers who live in the US or Canada only. You can leave a comment every day if you want. The more you comment the more chances you have! Please, please make sure I have a way to contact you, whether through your email or blog profile. I will pick a winner via Random.org at the end of the day on Monday, March 31st.

By the way, my birthday is tomorrow and it's rumored that my husband is going to do a "guest post" so come back and check that out - should be interesting!

Oh and then there's the tagging (for the book meme that is)... I shall tag some of my newest bloggy friends!

Adventures of a Reluctant Housewife

Loving Every Minute

3 Little Monkeys...

Quirky is a Compliment

Mindless Chatter of a Busy Mom

Good luck to everyone (you know, whether you are meme-ing or commenting or both!)

Easter At Its Best

We went to Easter mass at the church I grew up attending. The mass happened to be geared more towards children and Father James called them up to the altar to show them his Easter basket. Inside one egg he had candy which sent them all into a tizzy. Once he calmed them down he showed them another egg which was empty. Needless to say they weren't nearly as impressed with that one. He explained that the spirit and love of Jesus was inside and that he was always with them, and all of us for that matter. After a few more words he sent them back to their seats.

The B Man took the long way back to our pew and when he finally returned sat down on Tim's lap and asked, "Dada, was that the Easter Bunny?"

Ok, so he missed the point just a little, but that's okay. He's only 4 after all, well, in a week and half anyway...

We had a wonderful weekend with family surrounding us. Saturday was absolutely gorgeous and The B Man was able to attend a neighborhood egg hunt, color eggs and play really hard at his cousin's house. It cooled off for Easter Sunday but thankfully it didn't rain. And of course there was no stopping the egg hunt at Grandma & Grandpas's (The B Man's 4th)!

Here are some highlights in pictures.

Just waiting...

Coloring eggs!

Swingin' with Cousin Grace

Beautiful BOY! (my nephew Daniel)

Oooh, Ice Cream!

Easter Family

Easter Basket cake

Easter Cousins! (Catherine, Daniel, Grace)

Easter Egg Hunt (I promise there are some in B Man's basket!)

Cousin Megan and Little G

And now you will witness the demise of the Chocolate Bunny.

All GONE!

We had a fun filled weekend and a blessed Easter. The Lord is so good to us! He has given us so many gifts including life everlasting!

"Jesus Christ has risen today. Alleluia!"

Spring Fling!

We spent the morning with our playgroup at the Fort Worth botanical gardens. While there we visited the butterlfy exhibit, had a picnic lunch and did a little Easter egg hunt for the kiddos. Thankfully it was a beautiful day for such activities! Gavin was not really into taking pictures, but he did okay. Ben was all about making silly faces. So, I didn't get "that shot" of the 2 boys together but I did get some cute ones!

I probably won't be a bloggin' for a few days because I am headed back in time to 1999 (also known as the year before DSL...) where my parents live and will have limited access to ye old internet. Happy Easter to everyone! Hope you have a blessed and happy one!!

I leave you with one last picture...

Wordless Wednesday - #8 - Bunnies!

Brown Bunny

Baby Bunny

Boy Bunny

For more Wordless Wednesday go to 5 Minutes For Mom!

You Gotta Have Friends

"Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art... It has no survival value; rather is one of those things that give value to survival." - C. S. Lewis

I was able to go out to dinner with some of my girlfriends this past Saturday night. We went to one of my favorite restaurants, P.F. Chang's. YUM-MY! I had this excellent citrus soy salmon dish that was absolutely delectible. Let's face it, I just love food. And then there were the 2 glasses of Pinot that were also quite tasty. Okay, so I have a little affinity for wine as well. So sue me.

I also love these girls and it was too long since I'd seen most of them (Claudia doesn't count cause I see her every week since we are in our playgroup together!). Life has gotten busier with more children and we all live in a different part of the metroplex so an outing such as this is harder to come by these days. But, I feel you are nothing without your friends, and luckily we were able to find time (minus our pal Wendy who was still out of town on business - we missed you girl!) to share a meal and some girl time.

Not to mention I was sitting at a table with 4 other people whose food I did not have to cut up. Shear Heaven.

And there was adult conversation, good food, wine, good friends and dessert (oh yeah baby!) to top it all off. Who could ask for more?

The Girls - Claud, Me, Jennifer, Heather and Heather

Thanks girls! Let's not make it so long before we get together again!

Monday Movie Madness

Oh My! Two Posts in one day (scroll down for some linky love...). And I know y'all just can't get enough of my 3-word alliteration these days. What can I say, I am going through a phase. If toddlers can do it so can I, right?

For this one I just had to play along with this movie quote game that I found at oh amanda. Tim and I are pretty big movie buffs so I thought this would be a lot of fun.

Here are the rules:
1. Pick 10 of your favorite movies.
2. Go to IMDb and find a quote from each movie.
3. Post them here for everyone to guess.
4. Strike it out when someone guesses correctly, and put who guessed it and the movie.
5. No Googling or IMDb-ing. That’s cheating and that’s no fun.

So here are my 10. Have fun guessing!

1. "Well, color me happy! There's a sofa in here for two!" Pretty Woman - Ann

2."Sammy's so confused he don't know whether to scratch his watch or wind his butt. " Steel Magnolias - Staci

3. "Can I borrow your towel for a sec? My car just hit a water buffalo." Fletch - Anonymous

4. "This is a battle, a war, and the casualties could be your hearts and souls." Dead Poets Society - Bren

5. “Can I get you anything? Coffee, Tea, Me?” Working Girl - NO ONE COULD GET THIS ONE

6. "I'm not kidding, that boy's head is like Sputnik; spherical but quite pointy at parts! Now that was offsides, wasn't it? He'll be crying himself to sleep tonight, on his huge pillow." So I Married an Axe Murderer -Elizabeth

7. "That's the one good thing about Paris: there's a lot of girls willing to take their clothes off." Titanic - Jenn

8. "And last week I saw Cameron Diaz at Fred Segal, and I talked her out of buying this truly heinous angora sweater. Whoever said orange was the new pink was seriously disturbed." Legally Blond - Staci

9. "Destiny is something we've invented because we can't stand the fact that everything that happens is accidental." Sleepless in Seattle - Elizabeth

10. "Can I borrow your underpants for 10 minutes?" Sixteen Candles - Elizabeth

**Update - Okay, they are all filled in. No one could get "Working Girl", but that's okay. Thanks for playing everyone!!

Okay, leave your guesses/answers in the comments and we'll see how long this takes (sorry Tim honey, you don't get to guess... love you!)

Lucky Linky Love

There isn't a lick of Irish in me, but aren't we all a little Irish on Saint Paddy's Day? If you are not wearing your green consider yourself web-pinched. I haven't put mine on either so you can give me a little one too.

Ouch!

There's another party going on in bloggy land for the next 2 weeks (!) (I know... I am still tired from the UBP party too!). Mommies United is launching their new site and wants you to join the fun. Click on the button below to head over there.

This site has been created by Christine, Kristin, Amanda & Shanda, who all have great blogs themselves. They want to bring mommies from all over the blogosphere together in one place, and I am most excited to join the party (of course!). There are prizes and other bloggers to meet so let's get this party started!!

I also wanted to mention a few of the blogs that I found during The Ultimate Blog Party that I really like, so here are a few.

I am following this family as they prepare to and eventually will, journey around the world with their large family - head over to Pilgrim's Progress to check it out!

I love the name of this blog - Quirky is a Compliment and I really like reading her posts too!

I also think Flat Betty is a fun place to visit - go there, you'll see what I mean.

And Pink Paper Peppermints, well this one just makes me smile because it's so cheery and it has stuff about crafts, and lots of pink!! If you need some happiness (and who doesn't??) just go here!

After visiting there head over to The Vintage Pearl to see some great photography and have some fun reading about the life and times of Erin.

So there's five of the new people I found at the party and am going to visit regularly. Who did you find at the party that you took a shine to? I'd love to know!

10 Months Today

Little G is now in the double digits of months. "Where oh where has my baby gone?" I guess technically he's still an infant but he sure doesn't act like it much anymore... Here's the run down of what he's up to these days

Walking around furniture.

Still doing the "army" crawl.

Saying "Mama!"


Still nursing.


Eating A LOT of food.


Waking up around 4 to 5 a.m. (I would like for him to not be "up to" this anymore...)


Into brothers toys and any toy that make noise.


Playing the "you give it to me I will drop it/throw it" game, over and over.

Still has the fuzz hair, it's just longer now.


Has four teeth.


Loves music (see video here if you have not already...)


Loves being outside.

So, in a couple of months we'll be singing "Happy Birthday" to my Little G and I almost don't want that time to pass. I know it must and it will, but if I could freeze him as he is now, I would. They are only babies for such a short time... so I remind myself here and now to cherish the time of his "babydom" that is left. Kiss, kiss my sweet boy.

TGIF!

Ok, so even though I love staying home with my kiddos, sometimes I really look forward to the weekend. I mean lets face it, us SAHMs are working too and it's nice to have a helping hand on the weekend or even to be able to go out for a little while by yourself while hubby holds down the fort. Can I get and "Amen" to that? I really don't know how single parents do it. I mean REALLY.

Here's some stuff that has gone on in the past week:

We've made some plans for our kitchen to be re-done. We've picked out everything but the backsplash and a new faucet (I can't believe how excited you can get over just picking out a new faucet - what's up with that?). We will choose the rest this weekend and hopefully be able to actually get it done in early April. WOO HOO!

After 2 Easter parties in the last week The B Man is ALL ABOUT re-hiding and hunting all of the eggs that he has acquired - in our living room. He has full inventory of what specific candy is inside EVERY. SINGLE. ONE. Needless to say, we predict that this Halloween we will NOT get away with making his candy look like less that it actually is (a.k.a eating a lot of it ourselves ! ; ))

Speaking of Easter, I am getting quite excited to go to Austin for the holiday weekend. My whole family is there and we haven't been there since Thanksgiving. My mother and I have sort of started a tradition of making an Easter cake but I don't have any great ideas this year - do you?

Last year I made this.

I have made the invitations for The B Man's birthday party and got some other supplies. Now I just need to mail them. I can't believe my first baby is going to be 4 in about 3 weeks.

In bloggy world, I won a giveaway earlier this week. I won a Southern Living at Home candle hurricane from Becky at Boys Rule My Life. Now this isn't just ANY giveaway - it's a Pay it Forward giveaway. So... I have to find something to give away myself. Honestly, I wasn't expecting to win, so I will have to come up with something. This means you have to come back next week and see what I will be giving away.

I've had a great time at the Ultimate Blog Party 2008 this week. I made it to #300 chronologically and then just had to jump around to some after that. I DID NOT comment on every one I visited (geez how could you?) but I did find some really cool new blogs.

This weekend I am having dinner with some girlfriends and am very excited to share a drink and some gabbin' time with some of my gals that I have not seen in a while.

That's about it for now. Have a great Friday and I will see ya on the flip side!

Tag, You're It!

I was tagged by my bloggin' buddy Brittany (oh I do love the alliteration!) to do the middle name meme. So, although my middle name is quite short and sweet, here goes.

So here are the rules for this MEME:

1) You must post these rules on your blog before you answer the questions.

2) You need to list one fact about yourself using each letter of your MIDDLE name. If you don’t have a middle name use your maiden name instead.

3) When you are finished with your answers, you need to tag one person for each letter of your middle name.

My Middle Name: ANN

A – Anticipating my kitchen re-do! When we moved in we painted the cabinets and the walls and got new appliances but now we are finishing the rest (3 ½ years later!) and getting new flooring, counter tops, backsplash and sink.

N – Never got a tattoo, although I sat with 2 of my college girlfriends while they got theirs and spoke obscenities and squeezed my hand REALLY hard. I don’t do pain really well.

N – No idea I would get this much into blogging, but I am pretty much addicted now and am having such a great time reading other blogs and making blog friends!

So there it is, first things I thought of and short and sweet (well maybe not "sweet" but certainly short!)

One good thing about the short middle name is that I only have to tag 3 people! I tag Natalie, Tracy (come on girl, you need to do one of these!), and Kathryn. It occured to me that I do not know any of your middle names and 2 of you I know in person!

I am going to venture a guess at your middle names. I am probably dead wrong, but thought it would be fun! Natalie, yours is Marie, Tracy, yours is Renee and Kathryn, I have no idea but lets go with... Anne.

Now let me know what they really are! ; )

Wordless Wednesday #7

Easter basket as fashion accessory, don't cha just love it?

This is my niece a few years ago...

For more WW go to 5 Minutes For Mom!

So Very Grateful

I thanked my husband last night for working so hard and making it so that I can now be home with my boys.

See, it wasn't always this way. I worked when The B Man was a baby, and at that time, I stood up for what I did. And I CONSTANTLY (every day when I picked him up) thanked and prayed for the ladies watching over my son. I certainly couldn't do what they do all day... but that's a whole other post. At that time in our lives, I still HAD to work so that we could buy our first home and a much needed new vehicle, etc. It was hard at times. Just as staying home is. But it was different. There was a lot of guilt and there were times that due to traffic or other circumstances I couldn't get to him right at the time I thought I should and on those days I would almost lose it completely.

I would think, "Oh, he HAS to eat by 6 or he has to get picked up before the other kids!" My mind would picture my little boy sitting on the floor all alone with tears in his eyes, distraught that his Mommy was not there yet. (Mind you, this never happened in a little over 3 years, but on occasion I can be a little dramatic). When I would get there he would run into my arms and hug me (most days) and it was like a whole new beginning but it always nagged at me that I missed out on all the things he did that day.

But as Tim's career has continued to evolve, we are now in a place where I can be here - watching, laughing, crying and playing with my boys. This place has it's challenges too (can anyone say "potty training?"), don't get me wrong, but it's SO much better and I have loved every minute of watching Little G grow and thrive from the very beginning of his life.

I still have a little guilt that I wasn't with The B Man every day when he was a baby but the past is the past and I feel like I must be making up for some of that now, right? I wouldn't give up this new job (although I could use some paid holidays ; )) for anything.

I may go back to working outside the home again someday but it certainly will not be until my boys are older and in school. Right now I am having the time of my life and the memories we are making together will last all of my life, God willing.

So here's to working moms, stay at home moms, part-time working moms, whatever. Your situation is uniquely yours. I just feel so blessed that my path has led me here. Even if it is a little messy, loud and silly.

P.S. If you haven't seen the video in yesterday's post scroll down for some fun!

I Can't Stop Watching This!

Little G seems to like to "get jiggy with it!" Truly, I cannot stop watching this, it cracks me up everytime!

Smarty Smartkins

I know everyone thinks their children are bright, but mine really are. Especially The B Man. Well... and Little G too. Today I found Little G in our play room, very proud of himself for pulling up next to his big brother's train table. And there, within his cute, dimpled hand was one of The B Man's most coveted trains. As I looked at him and asked in a silly way "what are you doin'?" He smiled this huge smile, as if to say,

"Look at me, I got one of that boy's FAVORITE trains and he's not here to grab it from me or yell at me about it!" He was most pleased with himself.

But, today's post is really about The B Man and how he blew us away the other day while we were on a walk around the local park...

A little background. Along with trains, The B Man is also obssesed with construction vehicles and large transportaion. There is quite a bit of construction in our hood lately (both buildings and roads) due to a very large and EXPENSIVE sports stadium being built just a few miles form here. Yes, the Cowboys are moving in next year. Woe is me... but I digress.

So he loves the various construction vehilcles such as bulldozers, steamrollers, and especially backhoes. When we see a backhoe he usually calls it a "digger." Also, we have checked out a couple of books from the library and one of them also referred to it as an Excavator. (Let me tell you I have learned A LOT lately about construction! More than needed, really...)

ANYWAY (gosh it's taken me a long time to tell this story... sorry!) So, if you are still reading, we were in the park and Ben asked if he could go off into an area where there is a creek and I teased him and said, "You don't want to go in there, there are crocodiles in there!" Then Tim said, "There aren't crocodiles in there - there are alligators!! AHHHH!"

So The B Man says, "Those are the same thing!"

And I say, "No, they have to be different somehow because they have different names. We'll look it up (Google it!) when we get home."

So The B Man says "So crocodiles and alligators are like backhoes and diggers and excavators!"

There we were in the middle of our favorite park and our son busted out with an analogy likely to be on the SAT (ok, well maybe not, BUT STILL!) I know, this is the first 3-year old that I have lived with, but do most of them make such comparisons at such a young age? I mean really - do they? Someone tell me, because I am no teacher and I just want to know.

Anyway, sorry for the rambling, but I just wanted you all to know how smart I think the The B Man is. Now you can tell me what your child did that blew you away. I really want to know, leave a comment if you have a story like this to share.

There's a Party & You're Invited!

I heard there was a party going on and I consider myself a social butterfly so I thought I would attend. I even dressed up. Oh wait, you can't actually SEE me right now, right? Cause that might be a little fib... but I did put something on that isn't flannel, does that count?

Anywho, 5 Minutes for Mom is hosting The Ultimate Blog Party of '08 and I am quite excited to be their guest!!

We spent the day getting ready for the party. I blew up a few balloons, cause what's a party without balloons??

And these cute boys found delight in these babies for a good hour. Guess we'll have to "party" more often! And I am all for cheap entertainment. Wait that didn't quite sound right...

I also baked a delicious cake, go ahead - cut yourself a slice.

It's low-cal. Ooops, there I go fibbin' again. Actually this one has all the real stuff in it and it's made from scratch so you can just taste the butter. Is your mouth watering yet?

Now that I feel somewhat ready to entertain, come on in and get to know me! Obviously, you have already met 3 of my loves - my 2 boys, The B Man and Little G, and baking!

I also love my wonderful and sweet husband, God, scrapbooking, good movies, chocolate, a good glass of wine and traveling when I can. Oh and singing, either at church or in the shower or in the car, - I'm not picky!

My family and friends are extremely important to me and they are what make the sweet memories of my life and make up much of the content of this blog. I am now a SAHM but used to work in the home decor industry, even after my first son was born, so I've seen both sides of the story and neither is a walk in the park. I do however, feel that I am in the right place now, with the incredible opportunity to watch my beautiful boys grow and flourish every day.

Let's get back to the party - oh and the prizes!! I can't believe what some of these people are giving away! Such great stuff!

My top picks are:

Any of the custom blog designs, maybe one by Sweet N Simple Designs or one by Summer!

I also like this shirt from Uncommonly Cute - My son would totally "Dig It!"

And I love that Pink Paper Peppermints is doing a giveaway - she's got such a great site.

Oh and I also commented to win some yummy chocolate at The Chocolistas, 'cause I mean really, who wouldn't want that??

I also would not scoff at prizes 7, 11, 15, 33, 60 or 137, cause who am I to look a gift horse in the mouth?

Okay, now I am headed to the "after party!!" Anybody wanna come? I heard there might me some of this there...

I know, I know, you have lots of other parties to go to, I understand. Next time, then.

Go on and mingle but I do hope you enjoyed your visit and that you will be back to "see" me again. I love new friends and hope you will leave a comment about how you wish you could eat some of my yummy cake if you've got a moment. See you again soon and Happy Blog Party!!

Gettin' Ready

This is where I am going to be (see button below) for the next week or so... So! I have to go spend some time with my boys today before I leave them to run willy-nilly through the house. I hope they can do laundry and dishes and I know The B Man knows how to bake...
HA! Just kidding (mostly...)

Are you coming to the party too? I hope so! See you there!

Wordless Wednesday #6 - Teeth

Yep, we've got the top ones comin' in!

For more WW go to here!

Like Mother Like Son

I usually sit down at my laptop while The B Man is eating his breakfast (and I am coddling a bowl of cereal)to check a few blogs and my email. Little G is still asleep when The B Man wakes up, so it's a good time for me to do this.

A couple of mornings ago I was in the midst of a email/blog check when The B Man came waltzing in, headed for my laptop and proclaimed,

"I NEED TO WORK ON MY BL-AW-G!"

I guess we'll have to start him one... ; )

So, except for the fact that he doesn't like cheese and only rotates between 2 pairs of shoes, I guess he is more like me than I had originally thought...

2 Meme Monday

I was tagged by my husband's aunt, Sharry over at Embodied Aging. She has a very enlightening blog and I like to read it when I need to feel some calmness in my life.

This meme has just 5 questions and I have answered them below.

If you could do anything you want to, what would it be?

There could be several variations on this question. Like “do anything” for a living or do absolutely anything like solve all the worlds problems? What a broad question. I guess I will narrow it down by saying that if I could do anything I would find a way to make sure that my kids stay safe and healthy. I mean I can make sure of their safety when they are with me, but some day they will venture out and be on their own and I cannot be with them 24 hours a day, even now since The B Man goes to school 2 days a week. And ultimately I have only so much control over their health. Anyway, that’s what first popped into my mind.

If you could paint the (whole) world one color what would it be?

GREEN! I love Spring and since I am so ready for winter to be over and cannot wait for things to be green again, right now that is certainly my choice!

Would you rather be an animal or a person?

Definitely a person – I don’t know how to be an animal and well, I really like to talk and last time I checked animals only do that in animated movies so…

If you said animal, which one?

OK, so I didn’t say animal, but if I did pick one it would be a Horse. I have always been in awe of these beautiful animals and just think it would be pretty cool to be one if I had to be an animal, that is...

Add your own question. What’s your favorite time of the day?

Well, I have to admit that I love the evenings after the kids go to bed. We all need time to decompress, right? Not to mention I am just a night person and that is when I am most productive (well at blogging and watching television anyway! HA!) It's also usually the time that Tim and I have a chance to talk about whatever may be going on in our lives and when I may even get some scrapbooking done if I am in the mood.

That's it for that one. I am not going to tag anyone specific on this one but if you feel like doing it go for it and let me know that you did so I can read it!!

I was also tagged by Kami from Kami's Khlopchyk to dig up some of my old posts. I haven't been at this as long as some, so a few might be a little bit of a stretch, but here goes.

Here are the rules:

Go back through your archives and post the links to your five favorite blog posts that you’ve written about these particular topics.

Link one must be about family
Link two must be about friends
Link three must be about yourself
Link four must be about something you love
Link five can be about anything you choose

Post your five links and then tag five other people. At least two of the people you tag must be newer acquaintances so that you get to know each other better.

Family Link - Here is a link to last year's Easter festivities at my parents' home. It highlights many of my nieces and my nephew that was born quite premature. I love this earlier picture of him and since Easter is coming up soon, I thought this was a good one.

Friends Link - This one has a kind of funny story at the beginning and appears to have nothing to do with friends, but I promise the "friend" content does come towards the end.

Myself Link - This is kind of a tough one. I could just post my list of 100 things, but you can read that any ole time. So, here is one that is somewhat about me (I rarely write about JUST myself) shortly after Little G was born.

Something You Love Link - Well obviously I love my husband and my boys and I would have to choose a post about that. Or you can just read this one about the pancakes that I will miss... forever!

Anything Post - This one is also on my sidebar (as are a few other favorites) and is just a short little story about how life goes sometimes and how my husband can still make my day! ; )

Enjoy reading!

I am only going to tag 3 people for this one. They are all people that I have recently started reading so I would love to get to know them better with a peek into their past posts!

My Life With Boys

Simply Amusing Blog

I, Wright

That's all for today and if you made it through all of this, thanks! And Happy Monday (is there such a thing?) ; )