The Cross-ing

Five Question Friday - Oct 7

2011-10-07T14:53:00.000-05:00

1) What is your go-to comfort food or sweet? The problem is, I don't just have one. Fresh doughnuts, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, potato chips, Mellow Mushroom pizza, my mom's mashed potatoes with ham gravy...these are a few of my favorite things (sung like Julie Andrews).

2) What is the most romantic place you've ever been to? Gosh, nothing immediately comes to mind. I went to Bonne Terre a long time ago (before they changed hands and then closed) and it was lovely. I've been to some nice restaurants. But I can't really think of anywhere I've been where the surroundings themselves made me think "ooh, this is so romantic!". Something to add to my bucket list!

3) What is your favorite thing about Fall/Halloween? The weather. Memphis has beautiful, temperate weather in the fall...cool days mixed in with warmer days, lots of sunshine. I love when it finally gets cool enough to wear jeans and sweaters.

4) How would you spend 24 hours alone? OK friends, don't hate me, but I'm actually about to spend THE ENTIRE WEEKEND alone, starting in about 2 1/2 hours, and I cannot wait...I've been anticipating this for a while now! Tonight, I will totally veg on the couch and catch up on all the DVR'd shows that have been building up all week. Tomorrow, I have absolutely NOWHERE to be (which is unusual), so I'll hopefully get some exercise, paint my toenails, do some housecleaning, and meet up with a girlfriend or two for some shopping (maybe Mistletoe Merchants?). And spend time reading (I'm in the middle of a couple of great books, but never get to read more than a couple pages at a time!) and playing on Facebook, I'm sure. By Sunday I'll be getting a little lonely and will be wishing for Mallory and the kids to be around, but I will quickly remember that not many weekends like this come around and to treasure every moment! :-)

5) Does your husband bring you flowers? Are you the "bring-me-flowers" type of girl? He has sent me flowers at least a couple of times, which is very sweet. I know they can be ridiculously expensive and they die after a few days, but there's just something about fresh flowers...I'd be totally happy for him to bring me home some Costco flowers, which are beautiful AND economical (hint, hint!!) :-)

I'm back...and it's Friday!

2011-09-16T10:56:00.000-05:00

I'm not making any promises...maybe I'll start weekly updates again, or maybe I'll ignore my blog for another couple of months. :-) But I have a tiny bit of a breather today and am clearly looking to avoid the work I DO need to get done today, so here's a 5 minute diversion for both of us. I'll do a family update at the bottom.

1. If you had a weekly newspaper column, what would you name it? I don't like this question, because as the years have passed, all my creativity seems to have leaked out of my brain. I'm ignoring it...I've got nothing.
2. Who is your mentor/inspiration? Oh my, this is a tough one. I suppose the first name that comes to mind is Jesus...I really do feel like I've reached a point in my Christian life where I try to ask the age-old WWJD question in challenging situations.
3. What is your wake up beverage of choice? Pretty much every week day, my breakfast consists of a package of peanut butter crackers and an icy cold can of Diet Dr. Pepper (consumed in the car on the way to work). I don't necessarily HAVE to have DDP in the morning, but there is something about that routine that is so comforting. I wish I liked coffee, but I just don't...I've tried it a few times, doctoring it up with entirely too much cream and sugar, even cocoa...I just don't care for it. I don't do tea, either...I don't like the inconsistency of beverages that you have to add a bunch of stuff to to make it drinkable.
4. Would you wear your mom's clothes? Sorry Mom if you read this, but no. We've not had the same taste in clothes in roughly 25 years...and we were never the type of mother/daughter pair who borrowed clothes out of each other's closets. Now my mother-in-law is a different story...I love her fashion sense...but I'd have to lose about 60 lbs and shrink a few inches to make that work!
5. When you were a kid, did you put posters on your wall? If so, what were they of? As I recall, I was expressly forbidden to put holes in my walls, so no posters :-( But I'm not really sure what posters I would've put up anyway, besides cute kittens or puppies. Maybe funny posters, like The Far Side or Calvin and Hobbes, both of which I loved back then.

Family update...school is going really well for the kiddos! Fifth grade is SO MUCH BETTER than fourth grade (due to the teachers, I suspect) and so much more manageable in terms of the homework expectations. And Tyler is loving Kindergarten and going to "big school" with Sissy. It's so nice to drop them off and pick them up together, and we are enjoying the raise that came with Tyler entering public school. Mallory has been working out of town for what seems like an eternity now...since the beginning of August (he was in training in Arkansas)...but this is his last week and he should be back home and settled at the Wolfchase location of On The Border next week. Nothing new with me...work's been pretty busy lately, which is good because it makes the time pass more quickly. My non-work hours are filled with transporting children to soccer games, cheer practice, football games, and Girl Scouts...our life is good!

Five Question Friday -- July 15

2011-07-15T10:11:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone! Been a long, stressful week, so I'm probably going to make this quick. So much to say, but no energy to say it today!

1) If you knew your best friend's spouse was cheating on her or him, would you tell her (him)?
Yes. But only if I KNEW for sure (not just hearsay or suspicion). Because as Jessica put it, if you don't tell your BFF, you're helping her spouse cheat on her, and that's not the kind of thing I'd do to my BFF!

2) Soda in a can or a bottle?
Preferably a cup with ice in it (even better if it's that nice crunchy ice like Sonic has). But if I have to choose, I'd go with can...bottles are just too fizzy for me.

3) What do you wash first, hair or body?
Body (face, if you want to be specific)

4) What advice would you give to any new mama?
Sleep whenever possible. And don't be afraid to mess up...tomorrow's a new day and very few things are irreversible!

5) What is your best hangover remedy?
I've got no magic bullets here...just ibuprofen and lots of water. Perhaps if I'd actually been hungover more often, I'd have come up with something more creative by now, but luckily it's not a condition I've found myself in too many times (at least not since college!).

5QF - July 1

2011-07-01T11:35:00.000-05:00

Can you believe the year is HALF OVER???? And that summer is HALF OVER (at least, for those for those of us whose kids go back to school in early August)??? Sometimes it feels like life is on fast forward. Mallory starts his new job with On The Border today, so more details on how that's going next week. And Happy July 4th to everyone...oh, how I LOVE Monday holidays! :-)

1) If you had the opportunity to bungee jump, would you?
There are few things that I think would be more terrifying than stepping into nothingness. I consider myself a pretty open-minded person, but my brain just can't comprehend how anyone would enjoy doing that. Though I will say that I think skydiving is even MORE crazy than bungee jumping...if someone held a gun to my head and forced me to choose between them, I think I'd prefer bungee jumping...at least you're attached to something!

2) Would you rather got to the movie theater or the drive-in?
Honestly, I had kind of forgotten that Memphis still HAS a drive-in. I have so many fond memories of hanging out there on Friday nights in high school, and I've always MEANT to take the kids, but I've just never thought about it at a time when we could actually do it. And now it's so dad-blamed hot outside...it may have to wait a little longer. Of course, if I wait much longer, I'll probably find out that the drive-in has closed and I will have missed my chance. So I guess my answer is "movie theater"!

3) Do you have your groceries delivered?
I'm not sure what part of the country these questions come from, but I don't know ANYONE who has their groceries delivered. Do YOU know anyone? I don't even know how you'd accomplish this, except maybe through amazon.com. I can't imagine doing this, because I'm not very good at making shopping lists (unless I'm working from a specific recipe, which most of you know doesn't happen very often!). My grocery shopping style is walking up and down every aisle, which triggers my memory of using up the last of the brown rice, or throwing away the Lucky Charms box yesterday.

4) Eyebrows -- do you wax, thread, pluck, or stay au naturale?
Pluck. I am addicted to my tweezers and seriously cannot be away from them for more than about 24 hrs. Given my addiction, there is no way I could actually let my eyebrows "grow out" enough to get them waxed or threaded.

5) Would the people you went to High School with be surprised by your life today?
Nope. The only thing they might be vaguely surprised by is that I'm divorced (what? Perfect Stephanie made a mistake?), but other than that, I'd say my life has pretty much played out the way I expected it to.

It's Friday Peeps!

2011-06-24T14:34:00.000-05:00

Yay Friday! I had a great time last night going out with Lesley and Carrie...went to Side Street Grill in Overton Square, and I really had forgotten how much more interesting Midtown is. While I love Germantown and doubt we'll ever leave, everything is just so...sanitized. It was nice to be surrounded by a totally different crowd of people...made for good people watching! It's really hard to believe I've known those two wonderful gals for over 25 years!!

Five questions:

1) What is your current favorite TV show?
That's a tough one, because I really don't feel like I can narrow it down to just one. Based on my DVR habits, it looks like my faves are The Office, Community, Glee, SNL, and Days of our Lives (I know, ridiculous, but it's just been a part of my life for so long, I can't abandon them!). We also love to watch Biggest Loser and America's Got Talent.

2) What's the worst haircut you ever got?
Well, as I cycle through my annual school yearbook pictures in my mind, there are two that are standouts...7th grade, when I spent the summer getting my haircut shorter and shorter and shorter until I looked like a boy....and 8th grade, where I apparently decided to grow it back out somewhat, but asked my mom for a horrible home perm.

3) What was something you did as a child that you thought you were so cool for doing?
Hmm, do my parents read this? :-) I recall walking to Raleigh Springs Mall with my friend Deirdre when we were probably around 12, even though my parents had NOT approved it (I don't think I was even allowed to be dropped off at the mall without an adult at that point). Since we got away with it and had so much fun the first day, we decided to go again the next day, and got busted by my mom driving home from work. Ashley, that was NOT cool!!! :-)

4) Do you have any GREAT frugal family fun tips?
No. With a 5 year old boy and a 10 year girl, we're having more trouble finding any kind of family fun that appeals to both of them, regardless of price!!

5) Would you drive across the country if you had the money to fly?
Um, well, I guess it would depend on how much time I had! If I needed to go to California for a wedding or something, I'd just fly. But I WOULD like to drive out West some day, just because I've never really been and would like to see the sights.

Five Question Friday -- a couple days late!

2011-06-20T16:43:00.000-05:00

Ashley and I had a FAB.U.LOUS time at the beach together. Since I've misplaced my camera cord, I'm going to have to figure out how to download pics directly off the memory card. But if you're on FB, you've probably already seen pics. Tough to come back to reality, but I missed my boys and gladly traded the carefree beach life to come back home to them. It also helped that my new car was waiting for me at the dealership...I have a beautiful new Ford Explorer! My very first car that is EXACTLY what I want...no compromises involved. Many thanks to my hubby for making it possible and for giving me my "princess" moment! :-)

1) What is your favorite summertime activity?
Given that I HATE to sweat, I'd have to say anything indoors! But if it has to be outside, I guess it would be swimming. I so wish that the beach was closer...even though it was just as hot there as it was here, the constant breeze made it so much more enjoyable!

2) Do you have one laundry soap you stick to, or do you buy whatever's on sale?
Well, most of the time we use Kirkland Signature (from Costco) because it's such a good deal, but occasionally they'll run a coupon for a name brand and I'll get that, just to have a little variety.

3) What is your favorite dinner to make in the summer?
Ha! I don't have any "favorite" dinners that involve ME MAKING THEM! But I will say that I have fond memories of my mom grilling shish-ka-bobs in the summer and making fresh raspberry pie (still one of my very favorites). I don't think I got many of my mom's genes, given how pitiful I am at all things domestic.

4) Do you have any talents?
Hmm. None that I can think of immediately. I mean, I do have some musical aptitude, but it's been years since I played the clarinet. I sure wish I could sing, but I'd say I'm pretty average in that area. I'm a super speller...does that count? :-) And I'm really good at the easy level of Guitar Hero!

5) If you could instantly be an expert in something, what would it be? Why?
Well, my first thought is "making money", but that seems like cheating...a bit like using one of your three wishes to ask for a million more wishes. So my second answer is "parenting". Because it's the most important job I will ever do, and I don't want to screw it up!

No 5QF for a couple weeks...

2011-06-03T08:37:00.000-05:00

Ashley and I are headed to the beach today! See Facebook for pics during the week...5QF will return on 6/17!

Five Question Friday - May 27

2011-05-27T11:31:00.000-05:00

Ugh! I'm STILL suffering from sinus mess! It hasn't really gotten any worse, so I really don't think it's a sinus infection (yet), but I'm so over blowing my nose and coughing. But hey, it's a holiday weekend...I feel better already! :-)

Tyler graduated from Pre-K last night *sniff sniff*. We are now the proud parents of a fifth grader and a kindergartener! So hard to believe.

On to the questions:

1) Do you apologize to your kids?
Absolutely. No one is perfect, and I think it's important for kids to know that even parents don't have all the answers and don't always handle things perfectly.

2) What color are your nails right now?
Fingernails, natural. Toenails, kind of a dark burgundy. I honestly can't remember the last time I had painted fingernails...it's just too much trouble. Before kids (and marriage!), I went and got a manicure every week...ahh, those were the days.

3) When you were growing up, how difficult was it for you to stay home from school sick? (As in, did you have to vomit or just say "I don't feel good"?)
My mom usually took pity on me if I said I didn't feel good. BUT, I was able to do that because I didn't take advantage of the situation very often. Important Life Lesson -- if you do what you're supposed to do 99% of the time, you can get away with a lot more than the people who always push the limits. :-)

4) When was the last time you bought a new comforter for your bed?
Well, it wasn't TOO long ago...back when we painted our bedroom, which was maybe about a year and a half ago? But I'm not the type to swap out comforters on a whim...as long as it stays clean-looking (it's white), it will be around for a while!

5) Favorite website(s)?
Well, Facebook. You probably knew that already. I also love to read other people's blogs. And for a chuckle, I like http://catalogliving.net/ and http://www.theonion.com/. And I've always loved amazon.com, especially now that I have a Kindle. They have EVERYTHING!

Five Question Friday -- May 20

2011-05-20T10:38:00.000-05:00

I have been suffering with sinus mess all week...ugh! Not sick enough to require an antibiotic, but I have a feeling that I'll take a turn for the worse this evening, as soon as the doctor's office is closed and we cross the state line into Alabama for the weekend. I feel like a ticking time bomb!

1) Do you and your spouse go to bed at the same time?
Occasionally. It's not really something we plan...if he happens to be home and is done playing on the computer, he'll come to bed when he knows I'm heading to bed. When he worked at Russo's, he was usually at work until after I was already asleep, but now that that chapter in his work life has closed, perhaps the next job will have more reasonable hours.

2) A question for the ladies...what kind of facial hair do you like on your man?
Seriously? Is there really a woman out there who says "ooh, I love kissing a man with a nice prickly mustache! Especially if there's a little leftover lunch in it"? Ick.

3) What's the worst vacation you've ever taken?
Hmm, not sure. Lots of vacations as a kid rank up there, because they usually involved hours upon hours of driving and historical destinations like museums that involved lots of reading and slow walking. My parents are not "beach people" and we didn't ever fly anywhere when I was a kid. We did, however, drive to Colonial Williamsburg, Washington DC, Niagara Falls, Canada, Wisconsin, Boca Raton...I'm not kidding when I say "hours upon hours of driving".

4) What's the first-ever blog you follow?
I have no idea. The whole blogging thing all started at once...when I started my own blog, I started following my friends' blogs as well.

5) Do you enjoy amusement parks?
I suppose that depends on how you define "enjoy". I enjoyed Disneyworld, because they have lots of "easy" rides and I loved seeing my children experience it. But those of you who know me know that I am prone to motion sickness, so anything that spins or drops is out. I wasn't sad that the Teacup ride at the Magic Kingdom was out of service! You won't find me ever planning a family vacation around Six Flags.

If you want to join in the fun, click here!

Five Question Friday - May 13

2011-05-13T13:53:00.000-05:00

Once again, I am finding work to be more relaxing than home...tomorrow, I am co-leading a Cars event for preschoolers at church from 8:30-2:00, Tyler has his first t-ball game at 10:00am (which I have to miss, and provide snacks for), and Ashley has a birthday swim party to attend from noon to 4p. I'm exhausted just thinking about it! Just three more weeks till the beach...

1) Tube socks, calf socks, crew, ankle, none?
I despise true tube socks, the kind with no defined heel. I HATE socks that don't fit correctly and stay where they are supposed to stay. The other options all depend on what else I'm wearing with them!

2) Was your child's (children's) name a mutual decision or was it a debate? If you don't have children, do you plan on giving your spouse a say, or do you have a name you MUST have, regardless if your other half likes it or not?!
Well, since I'm not a selfish demanding b!tch, it was a mutual decision (what a strange question...I can't imagine demanding that I get to name a child that clearly has two parents!). I will share a funny story...Ashley's name was originally going to be Brooke (because I liked it) Elizabeth (because I liked it and it was a family name on my ex-husband's side). I can't recall if this conversation took place before or during my pregnancy (I'm pretty sure it was during, and perhaps we even knew it was a girl by then), but I was chatting with my then-sister-in-law about baby names and said I like Brooke Elizabeth for a girl, and a look of horror came across her face...that was HER name, that she'd been planning on naming her first daughter for years and years. At first I was frustrated...I mean, what if she never even had a girl and the name went to waste? But in the interest of family harmony (story of my life), we found a new name for Ashley Susannah.

Tyler didn't get his name until fairly far along in that pregnancy. I wanted Cooper and his father wanted Drew, and we had a Mexican standoff for a while (I think we were both hoping that the other would "come around"). Then when we realized we weren't getting anywhere, we agreed to ditch both names and start over.

3) What is your favorite type of weather?
Sunny and 75. Unless we're at the beach, in which case I'll bump it up to sunny and 82.

4) If left to your own devices, what time would you wake up every day?
Well, after a few days of sleeping late to catch up on my constant state of sleep deprivation, I'd probably settle in around 8-8:30...seems like that's when I tended to get up in college (on the days that I didn't have an 8:00 class).

5) Have you bought your cemetary plots yet?
Gosh, no. There are just too many other things to spend money on at this point in our lives. I guess the hope would be that life insurance would pay for it when that time comes.

Happy weekend everyone!

Five Question Friday - May 6

2011-05-06T20:48:00.000-05:00

Happy Friday! I actually took the day off today (I knew I needed a day off when I found myself thinking "wow, it's been a while since the kids have been sick...maybe one of them will get sick soon so I can stay home.") and had a wonderful relaxing day with my hubby...got to meet up with all the Brownsville cousins to welcome new baby James at Baptist Women's Hospital, did some shopping, had a super yummy early Mother's Day dinner at Bonefish Grill...great day!

1) Have you ever had roommates?
Yes, but never more than one at a time! Amy and I were paired up as roommates our freshman year of college, and somehow she managed to put up with me for three more years after that (voluntarily!). We are still good friends, though I wish we saw each other more (she lives in Little Rock). And after college, I moved in with Lesley, one of my good friends from high school, for about a year and a half until I was on the road to being engaged and moved home to save money.

2) How many names do you/your children have?
This must've been written by someone whose children have an unusual number of names. I guess I just always assume that everyone has three names (maybe four, if you're a married woman). I have an Ashley Susannah and a Tyler Ford.

3) Did you watch the Royal Wedding?
Not yet. It's on my DVR, and Ashley and I intended to skim through it together, but we just haven't had time. I did look at lots of pictures and thought Kate was stunning, in both of her dresses. I hope it works out for them...what a high-pressure situation! Especially for Kate, to suddenly call Buckingham Palace home (that IS where they'll live, right? With Queen Grandma and Prince Dad?).

4) What is the messiest room in your house?
Thanks to Mallory, there really are no messy rooms in our house. I suppose Ashley's room is generally the messiest in the house, unless she has recently cleaned it, in which case I'd have to say that my side of the closet and my side of the bedroom are the messiest!

5) What is your ideal Mother's Day?
Well, hopefully a day as beautiful as today was (weather-wise), spending time relaxing with the two sweetest, most loving children in the world and my equally sweet and loving husband! That's it, really. Well, maybe throw in some good chocolate and a nap.

Happy Mother's Day to all my mommy friends!

Five Question Friday - April 29

2011-04-29T12:27:00.001-05:00

My sweet baby boy is turning FIVE this weekend! *sniff* Tyler bring such joy and silliness to our family...I just don't know what we'd do without him. I'll try to do a regular blog post with pics from his bowling party last weekend, if I can figure out how to download pics without the USB cord (which has disappeared). Also, random side note...I'm teaching Sunday School this week on the book "Heaven is For Real". If you haven't read this book, it's amazing...a very quick read, and it will change the way you think about God and Jesus and heaven.

OK, onto the Five Questions!

1) If you could buy any car, money not an object, what would it be?
That's a really hard question to answer...I mean, when clearly money IS an object in real life, you don't even LOOK at or KNOW about those cars that the ultra-wealthy (and wannabe ultra-wealthy) people drive. It would definitely be an SUV...I don't see myself going back to a sedan any time before the kids are grown. Maybe a Lexus? You know me...I'd have to do some MAJOR research before I could answer a question like this! :-)

2) What was your worst first date ever?
Okay, this is a funny story, and now it's been so long ago, I'm not even sure I can remember all the ridiculous details. I do remember thinking at several points "this has GOT to be a bad dream." I was 17, and the guy was 20, I think? It was a blind date, and he was a friend of some waitress I worked with at Ruby Tuesday's. Normally I wouldn't have even considered a date with someone so random, but this was the summer after we graduated high school, and my friend Carrie was dating people left and right that she met while working at Blockbuster, so I decided to give it a try.

As soon as I opened the front door, my stomach sank. He was wearing a gold chain (yes, I know, a lot of guys did in the early 90s) and a gold NUGGET earring. My dad gave him the third degree, and then we went to the Bartlett Malco to see a movie. We got there kind of early, so we were walking along the (closed) shops in the shopping center, and he said "you know, I could push you off the curb in front of an oncoming car, and no one would even know!" He thought this was funny. I did not. When we got in the movie, I made him buy me a drink, and then proceeded to hold it in the hand closest to him for the ENTIRE movie, so that he couldn't try to hold my hand. Then, after the movie, his big suggestion for what to do afterwards was go "roll" one of my friends' houses. I'm thinking "dude, you're twenty years old...seriously?" He pushed and pushed, but I refused to tell him where any of my friends lived, so then he gets the brilliant idea that we're going to go down to Mud Island because his boss has a boat docked down there. Now, at this point I'm really getting nervous and uncomfortable about what this total stranger might do to me alone on a boat, but he wasn't taking no for an answer. Thank GOD there was a security guard blocking the way to the marina...I'm not kidding, I seriously debated about trying to mouth "help me" to him as this loser is trying to talk his way into the marina. So then we're driving through a deserted area of downtown, and again, "you know, I could just stop the car and push you out in the middle of nowhere...what would you do?" How did we ever live without cell phones???? At this point, I really wasn't interested in trying to be polite or not hurt his feelings any more...he tried to drag me around The Peabody and did manage to hold my hand (ick) but I made it pretty clear that I wasn't having a good time and didn't really want to continue this. He took me home, complaining the whole way about how early it was and how much more he wanted to do, and when we pulled in that driveway, I BOLTED from the car and ran in the house so he wouldn't get any ideas about kissing me goodnight. I seriously think I got down on the floor and "hugged" it, I was so relieved to be home and alive!!! I plan to share this story with Ashley some day as part of my explanation of why she's not allowed to date until she's 40.

3) How old were you when you fell in love for the first time?
Another weird question. Falling in "love" can mean such different things at different points in your life. I certainly THOUGHT I was in love with boys when I was in junior high and high school, but I'd say those were really more like crushes since they were rarely reciprocated (and never with the intensity of feeling that I had!). I suppose I'd have to say 17, since that marked my first real relationship (beginning of my freshman year of college). And though my heart was truly broken by him, thank you God, for NOT letting that work out! Just thinking about him now makes me feel nauseated.

4) When was the last time you reconciled your checkbook?
Well, I ALWAYS keep a running tally in my checkbook so I know how much I have to work with, but I've never really gotten into the whole "online banking" thing. I reconcile it once a month when the paper statement comes in the mail (old fashioned, I know!). But that's just my personal checking account...Mallory handles the family account, and he IS the type to check the transactions online every night, so I don't worry a bit about that account!

5) If you were going to fashion a "Wanted" ad for a best friend, how would you word it?
I don't even know where to begin! Maybe I'm just thinking too deeply today about these questions, but I don't think any one person can meet all the needs of another person. I have several close friends, all of whom meet the qualifications for that role in completely different ways! I guess if I had to list some characteristics...honest, kind, empathetic, able to overlook my "know-it-all" tendencies, persistent in maintaining the relationship (because sometimes that's not my strong suit), talkative (because I am NOT good at being the more talkative one in a relationship!), and a rejector of drama (I am too old to still be acting like I'm in junior high, and so is everyone else!).

Hope everyone has a beautiful, dry weekend!

Five Question Friday -- April 22

2011-04-21T21:13:00.000-05:00

No time for chit-chat...let's get right to it! :-)

1. What is your favorite Easter tradition? Hmm, I'm not really sure I have one. I mean, I try to make sure the kids get to go to at least one Easter egg hunt (though Ashley is missing out this year...Tyler had one at school, but we haven't been able to make any church ones due to birthday parties every Saturday this month!). I know you'll think I'm a horrible mom, but I've never dyed eggs with my kids. Just like I've never made cutout cookies with them. I suck as a mom when it comes to stuff like that...I just hate cleaning up after messy projects! I guess my new favorite tradition is the "Journey to the Cross" that Emmanuel does on Good Friday...a very powerful experience. Last year was the first time we went, but it was so good I'm going by myself tomorrow night (Mallory has to work and kids will be with their dad).

2. Are you a "shower" or a "long, hot bath" kind of person? Shower!!! My tub is never clean enough for me to want to fill it with water and actually lay in it, and the water always gets cold too quick...plus, I don't know if you've noticed, but bathtubs are HARD and UNCOMFORTABLE! I've never really understood the long hot bath people.

3. Can you parallel park and if so when is the last time you did it? Yes, but it needs to be a fairly decent sized space. Honestly, I can't remember the last time I had to do it.

4. What is your favorite Easter candy? Reese's peanut butter eggs (the PERFECT ratio of peanut butter to chocolate) and Cadbury Cream Eggs. I wil probably splurge on my "healthy eating" plan and eat one of each this weekend, because it will be another year before I'll be able to get them!
5. Easter: do you go all out with the Easter Bunny or focus on the religious part of the holiday? A little bit of both! Kind of like Christmas and Santa, I guess.

Have a happy and blessed Easter weekend!

Happy anniversary to us!

2011-04-20T16:33:00.000-05:00

So here's a few pics for you to enjoy, taken three years ago today! As you may know, our wedding was originally scheduled for the 19th, but the entire week leading up to the wedding was one crazy misfortune after another...ending with me having an awful stomach virus starting around 6am on the 19th that lasted 24 hours. So I managed to drag myself out of bed and get us married real quick the morning of the 20th before Justin's plane was due to head back home. Thank goodness the whole thing was very casual from the get-go, and postponing for 24 hours was totally do-able!

Five Question Friday -- April 15

2011-04-15T13:14:00.000-05:00

Would you believe I've been so busy this morning I forgot it was Friday? And more specifically, Five Question Friday? I love Fridays for that reason (and many others), so here you go!

1) What is your favorite sign of Spring?
Well, lots of things, but if I had to pick a favorite, I'd have to say seeing the dogwood trees bloom. Our next door neighbor has a beautiful one, and it made me sad yesterday to see that most of the blooms have disappeared this week. I still remember going to VBS with a friend when I was very young (probably pre-school) and having a lesson about the spiritual significance of the dogwood blossoms (they look something like a cross and have a little dab of red at the tip of each leaf, as representation of the crucifixion).

2) What was your best birthday ever?
Ooh, tough one. Fifteen was awesome because my BFF Heather threw me a surprise party, and I was TOTALLY surprised. Turning 15 was a bummer, because I skipped a grade and was a year younger than all my friends. They were all turning 16 and getting their driver's licenses and I still had a whole year to go. But Heather knew how bummed I was, so she worked it all out with my parents...my dad took me out to dinner, and when we got home, all my friends were hiding quietly in our living room. I think I almost started to skip the living room and go back to my room, and maybe my mom told me there was a present waiting for me in there or something.

Twenty-one was also an awesome birthday...again, I was a year younger than everyone, so it was like waiting on pins and needles to FINALLY turn 21. And on my official 21st birthday, Three (local band made up of friends that I spent every weekend listening to) just happened to be opening for Letters to Cleo (national one hit wonder...what WAS that song called?) at Newby's, so it was like a big awesome birthday party for me.

3) What is your favorite dessert?
I just don't think I can narrow it down to one. I LOVE desserts of all kinds...love fresh-baked cookies and brownies, love cake, love cobbler, love cheesecake...there aren't many desserts I don't like, unless they involve coconut or meringue.

4) What is the best excuse you've ever used to get out of a ticket?
I know this will shock you all...but being the goody-two-shoes, law-abiding citizen that I am, I've only gotten one speeding ticket in my life. Now I will say, I encouraged Ashley (who was in the back seat and probably about 4) to pipe up and tell the officer that her grandpa was a police officer in hopes that he might take pity on me, but she was too shy to say a word, so I didn't bother to make excuses. I'm a terrible liar anyway.

5) Do you wake up before your alarm, with your alarm, or after hitting snooze several times?
SNOOZE! I cannot imagine the pain of having to get up the first time it goes off...I despise getting out of bed, and I purposely set my alarm clock 30 mins before I have to be up so that I can hit the snooze 3 times. And yes, I fall back into a deep sleep in between the first couple, but usually by the last time I'm approaching a groggy wakefulness. I know, all the sleep experts say that it's much better to get up on the first alarm and that going back to sleep actually makes you more tired, but I don't buy it.

Happy April 15th to all my CPA friends!! Have a wonderful work-free weekend!!

Five stinking pounds

2011-04-08T21:59:00.000-05:00

So I've been on my "healthy eating" routine for about 4 weeks now, and I've lost five pounds. I suppose I'm a little jaded due to being a Biggest Loser fan, but those people drop that much (and more) in a week. Yes, I know they are exercising 6-8 hours a day, and I can barely drag myself around the block most days, and yes, I know they have nutritionists and healthy food at their disposal...blah blah blah...but still...five pounds is all I've managed to lose? After four weeks of recording the nutritional value of every thing that has gone in my mouth? After giving up milk chocolate for dark? After completely ignoring the candy basket at work for an entire month?

This is where it gets hard. It's always at this point that I want to give up, that it doesn't feel worth it, that I'm tired of feeling "deprived" and want to go buy a couple of Reese's Peanut Butter Eggs and devour them. But I haven't given up hope yet. I have to admit, I really haven't had to go HUNGRY on my eating plan. I've been satisfied, I still eat things I enjoy (no baked fish and steamed broccoli for me). I eat 3 dark chocolate with almond Hershey Nuggets after lunch each day, which I look forward to and feel satisfied with. I don't go to bed with a growling, empty stomach. And I still lost weight. So maybe if I can stick with it, and throw in a little exercise, maybe I can keep this up until this is my new "normal". And then it won't feel like a diet, per se, but just a sensible way of eating. Here's hoping...

Five Question Friday - April 8

2011-04-08T09:42:00.000-05:00

Hola friends! It's supposed to be a gorgeous weekend...I can't wait! I'm sorry for all my fellow CPAs out there who will be working ALL DAY LONG both days this weekend...hopefully next weekend it will all be behind you and you can enjoy the weather then. :-(

And now, the questions:

1) If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
How am I supposed to limit it to just one thing?? Seriously, we all have a self-improvement to-do list, but I'm not sure I can prioritize it to the point that one thing stands out as the most important. I guess I would say that I'd wish I wasn't such a people-pleaser sometimes and stop being so worried about what everyone else thinks of me. I think that it has waned as I've gotten older, but I'm still way too concerned about being perceived as bitchy, or annoying, or lazy, or whatever, and I let that drive a lot of my behavior.

2) Write about a time you got lost.
Honestly, nothing comes to mind. Back in the day before Mapquest, I always had an atlas and a city map in my car. And now, I almost always print out directions if I'm going somewhere new. I'm sure I've been lost before...I can think of a few times when I took a wrong turn...but I realized it pretty quickly and turned around. I'm sure I'll think of the perfect story as soon as I post this and get back to work!

3) Camping or five-star hotel?
If you know me at all, this question will strike you as comical. I cannot even fathom why someone would want to go camping.

4) Have you donated blood?
No. I've thought about it...does that count? All my life, I've been terrified of needles. It's actually gotten a little better after growing up and birthing a couple of babies, but I still can't quite bring myself to do it. Now, if a friend or family member needed it, I think I could definitely handle it. But who puts themselves through such a yucky experience voluntarily? Alas, people more concerned about community welfare than I. Sorry Memphis!

5) Do you have a budget, or do you "fly by" most months?
Budget, definitely. Mallory and I get "allowances" each month, to spend as we wish, but everything else is pretty well budgeted for. I'm really not sure how you could run a household with two adults any other way!

Five Question Friday -- April 1

2011-03-31T21:07:00.000-05:00

OK, so it's not yet Friday...but I won't have time tomorrow or any time this weekend, so it's either now or never! As I was typing the title, I gasped...I HATE April Fool's Day. Maybe it's because a) I have a HORRIBLE memory and will completely forget that it's April Fool's Day repeatedly throughout the day) and b) I can be a little gullible on occasion. Here's hoping I make it through the day without looking like a fool (at least, no more than usual!).

1) Have you ever had surgery?
Nope. The only times I have ever been a patient in a hospital was to birth a baby (thank goodness!). Yes, I'm knocking on wood as I type this...

2) Ever ride in an ambulance?
No to this one as well. I have driven people to the ER, though, on several occasions, and while I like to think I remain calm under pressure, that's really not one of my favorite experiences!!

3) How are you in a medical emergency? Panicked? Calm?
Well, this is a mixed bag. Thankfully I've never been in a REAL medical emergency, where CPR, or the Heimlich, or a tourniquet, or any of that "emergency first aid" are needed. I think under those circumstances, I would totally panic. Please God, don't ever test me on that one! :-) But under lesser circumstances (such as the ones above, where I had to drive loved ones to the ER), I think I'm usually one of the more level-headed, clear-thinking people in the group.

4) Do you have a garden? Flowers or veggies?
I hate gardening. I hate everything about it...I hate digging in the dirt, I hate bugs, I hate getting sweaty, I hate weeds, I hate watering and fertilizing. I think you get the picture. I don't know the first thing about it...don't know what grows in what season, when to plant things, what kind of food to give them, how to take care of them once they're planted...it's just a big mystery to me. And I prefer that it stay that way, or I might have to get off my lazy butt and do some yardwork!

5) When did you move out of your parents house?
Well, I went back and forth a few times. I went to Rhodes College (here in Memphis) and lived on campus, so I basically moved out during the school year, but came home in the summer. Then when I graduated, I went to grad school in clinical psychology...I moved in with Lesley and we shared an apartment for about a year and a half or so? I quit school after a year, and then was on the way to becoming engaged, so I moved back home to save up money. I moved out for good when I got married (the first time!), at age 24.

Have a good weekend everyone!

Friday, but no five questions

2011-03-25T11:38:00.000-05:00

Well, the originator of the weekly "five questions" has had a family emergency this week, so perhaps I will have to come up with my own random questions. But for now, I want to blog on something that's been on my mind.

I heard a fantastic speaker yesterday at the ASWA (American Society of Women Accountants) meeting...Susan Stephenson, who is the president and co-founder of Independent Bank here in Memphis. So down to earth, and such a successful "working mother" who has raised three children while pursuing her career with a passion that is enviable. I was totally with her until the end of her talk, when she finally explained the "secret" of being a successful working mother...you have to sacrifice your sleep. There just aren't enough hours in the day to do everything you need to do to be a good mom, a good wife, AND a successful businesswoman, so you just have to give up sleeping.

This is not the first successful woman I've heard this from. I've heard variations on this story, from Martha Stewart who reportedly only sleeps 3 hrs a night, to Biggest Loser participants who get up at 4AM to work out for two hours every day before going to work, for years. Do you know how thin I could be and how uber-organized my house could be and how successful I could be in my career and how much volunteer work I could do, if only I could get by with 4-5 hours of sleep each night? Maybe it's a "mind over matter" issue, but it's just not in me. When I don't get enough sleep (and I'm talking AT LEAST 7.5 hours, preferably 9!), I'm grouchy, I'm angry about whatever it is that caused me to have too little sleep, my eyes literally will not stay open, and I just feel worthless. And people, it's a major health issue! There are all kinds of studies out there (studies linking obesity to too little sleep, equating driving while sleep-deprived to driving while intoxicated, etc) that show how important it is to get enough sleep. So if I'm not going to sacrifice my sleep, what AM I going to sacrifice? What do YOU sacrifice? And why is our society structured in such a way that we have to sacrifice ANYTHING? Deep thoughts...

Five question Friday -- March 18

2011-03-18T09:24:00.000-05:00

In case you're wondering where the five questions come from each week, I steal them from Edi...but she gets them from the blog above. What a great idea!

1) Have you ever testified in court? For what?
Once, when I got divorced. There are a couple standard questions they ask anyone who files for divorce (honestly, I don't even remember what they are...something like "do you see any hope of reconciling in the future?"), and you just answer with either "yes" or "no", but I'll tell you...being in a courtroom is nerve-wracking! I cannot IMAGINE how scary it would be to actually testify in a real trial, even if I was nothing more than a witness. Many thanks to my dear friend Jennifer for accompanying me to court that day, because I would not have wanted to go it alone!

2) Do you still have your wedding dress?
Yup, both of them! At least, I think I do...I think the original wedding dress lives in a closet at my parents house...maybe Ashley will want it some day. And the more recent dress is hanging in my own closet.

3) Is there a special place you like to go when you're happy, sad, stressed, etc?
Not really, though if the beach was closer, that would be my answer! Why does the beach have to be so freaking far away??? Of course, if I lived too close, it probably wouldn't be special any more, so I guess it's a trade-off.

4) If you have kids, do they sleep with you? If you don't have kids, will you let your kids sleep with you when/if you have them?
Nope, nope, nope. I never wanted to open that can of worms. Plus, I am a really light sleeper...the (very) few times I was so desperately tired that I brought one of the babies into the bed with me, neither one of us could sleep! Now it's much more fun though...I love cuddling with both my kiddos before bed when I tuck them in and we occasionally have "slumber party" night in the guest room (only one kid at a time, though...I can't get comfortable if they're both in the bed, even though it's king size, and neither of them want to "share" me when we're in situations like that).

5) Do you watch late night TV?
Not really, because I'm rarely able to stay up that late! I've just never been a night owl. You can ask Amy, my college roomie...I was probably the only person on campus who was in bed by 10:30 most "school nights"! And that was late for me...the only reason I could do it then was because I usually didn't have to get up very early. Now I'm usually in bed between 9:30 and 10p. But I do love SNL, so I always record it and watch it another time.

Okay, now that we've dispensed with that...family updates. Ashley is taking karate now, which she really likes so far. She goes two or three times a week and is really working hard. I'll try to post a pic soon. Tyler only has a few more months until Kindergarten, which is really hard for me to believe. Mallory's birthday (39) was last week and mine (37) is Sunday. Other than that, no real news to report! Hope you are all well.

Five Question Friday - March 11

2011-03-11T11:21:00.000-06:00

Hola friends! It's Friday (whew!), and for many of you, it's the Friday before Spring Break, which is even better...that means Ashley and I get a break from homework next week, so even though I have to work, it will still feel like a special week to me!! And I am most definitely ready for the "spring" part of Spring Break.

So here's this week's Five Question Friday:

1) Do you know what your real hair color is?

Yes, it's a slightly less attractive version of the hair you currently see on my head. Dishwater blonde, I believe is the formal name. :-) I do get "highlights" every three months or so, and sometimes in the winter I go a tad darker...all just enhancements to my natural color. For those of you who don't know, I DID go through a "dark" phase (both in life and in hair color) a few years ago...here's a pic:

I doubt I'll ever go that dark again, though it was fun for a while!

2) Do you plan ahead for summer, or fly by the seat of your pants?

This question would seem to imply that the person answering is "off" during the summer and has the freedom to "fly by the seat of their pants". Alas, I am one of those people who work full-time, so summer is really no different than any other time of year, except that I have the added joy of finding summer camps for Ashley and Tyler. Ashley did Y Camp for four straight summers, but bless her heart, she's sick of it (and I don't blame her), so I'm investigating other options for this coming summer. Tyler will go to CTK for summer camp, so to him it will just be a continuation of the school year.

3) What is your favorite meal to cook?

I really, REALLY wish I found joy in cooking. To me, it is a huge pain and an enormous effort to go through on a daily basis...I desperately wish we could just eat one meal a day (or a week!). Perhaps then I would feel like it's worth the effort. Sadly, I can't even come up with an answer for this question...any meal I have to cook myself is at the bottom of my "favorite meals" list.

4) Do you get offended by not receiving thank yous?

No, not at all...as long as I know the person received the gift (in the case of one which was mailed), it doesn't bother me at all. To me, gift-giving is as much about the joy of giving as it is the joy of receiving (and I really mean that!), so it just doesn't really bother me if I'm not thanked for a gift. Maybe that's because I really only give gifts to people I am close to, and so I know that they appreciate it without them having to say it. Of course, it's NICE to know that someone appreciated something, but I don't want my gift to become a burden ("oh great, now I've got to dig out my notecards and write a thank you note")...that kind of ruins the "yay, I got a gift!" feeling that I'm trying to impart!!

5) How did you meet your best friend?

This assumes that you only have ONE! I hate to narrow it down, because I have several friends that I consider "best", but we'll go with the top two. We'll start with Carrie, since she's already pictured above...we've been friends since seventh grade (1985!). I know we met in Band (we both played clarinet), but I can't remember if she came to summer band that year (before school started), or if I didn't meet her until school actually started. I think it was the latter. Anyway, I wouldn't say we became BEST friends until later on in high school, but we always "ran with the same crowd", so to speak, so we've been friends for over 25 years.

And of course, my sweet husband Mallory is also my best friend :-) I haven't known him nearly as long (just 3 1/2 years, and we've been married for almost three of those!), but we both just kind of knew as soon as we met that we were kindred souls, I guess you could say. We met on match.com, and I just knew as soon as I looked at his profile that it wasn't just coincidence that we found one another...both Methodists, both went to small liberal arts colleges and majored in psychology, a lot of the same likes and dislikes. No, obviously that's not enough to build a marriage on, but it was enough to open the door so that we could discover the REST of the stuff that IS enough!

Happy Friday friends!!!

Five Question Friday

2011-03-04T11:33:00.000-06:00

1. Have you ever forgotten your child in a store or at school? I think I can honestly answer "never" to this question. And please understand what a big deal that is, when you consider that their father and I have one of the most complicated custody schedules I've ever heard of (but it works for us!)...in four and a half years of rotating who drops off and picks up from school, I have a perfect record so far of remembering when it's my turn!

2. Where did you go on your very first date? (Like...first first, not first with your spouse or current significant other!) It was when I was a sophomore in high school (just turned 15)...my date and I double-dated with my BFF Heather and her boyfriend at the time. It's a little foggy, but I do remember going to Oak Court Mall for some reason (did we eat dinner there? No clue) and then stopping by the local "mom and pop" video rental store and renting a movie for all of us to watch at my house. I was sooooooooooooo nervous the entire night because I had never kissed a boy before...the good night kiss was fairly unremarkable, but boy was I glad to have "the first kiss" out of the way so I could stop obsessing over it!
3. What's your "silly" fear? (We're not talking water and heights. Hmm, I'm not really sure. I am NOT a fan of bugs, but I don't consider myself to be abnormal in that respect...I'll kill the small things, but if they are large enough to make a crunching sounds and/or a mess when you squash them, I generally find a way to trap them under a cup and leave them for my sweet husband to dispose of. I probably have an irrational fear of being a victim of random violence, but again, I don't think I'm bordering on pathological (and I DO live in Memphis...not that crazy of a fear!). If I come up with anything better, I'll post it.
4. Confrontation: do you cause it, deal with is as it comes, or run far far away? I avoid it whenever possible. Hate it, hate it, hate it. If everyone would just do what they're supposed to do, there would be no need for confrontation, now would there? Maybe that should be my "silly" fear...my fear of confrontation!
5. Wood floors or carpet? Good question. I think I'm going to have to say a mix. Growing up in homes that had an abundance of wall to wall carpet, I sometimes find wood floors to be a little too cold, echo-ey, difficult to keep clean (yes, I know my carpet isn't REALLY clean and I'd be disgusted if I saw all the crud beneath the surface, but there's just something so satisfying about the way carpet looks when it's freshly vacuumed!). But they are really growing on me, and I think we'll be taking out the carpet downstairs and replacing with hardwood in the not-too-distant future. But I still like carpet in the bedrooms.

Five Question Friday, as borrowed from Edi

2011-02-25T11:22:00.000-06:00

I looooooooove sharing random facts about myself...since this type of post doesn't require me to download my camera, I MIGHT actually post a little more often.

1. Can you drive a stick shift?

Hmm, conceptually, yes. In practice, not so much. My dad REALLY tried to teach me when I was 15-16, but the whole concept of being a control of a vehicle was so overwhelming to me, and driving a car with a manual transmission was just too much. Yes, I've done it in my high school parking lot a number of times, and maybe on the street once or twice, but that was more than two decades ago (egads!), so I'm going to have to go with "no".

2. What are two foods you just can't eat?
I'm sure I have way more than two, but the first two that come to mind are raw bell peppers (and even cooked, they better be small!) and lima beans.

3. Do you buy Girl Scout Cookies? What is your favorite kind?
Yes, even before we had a girl scout under our roof, I have always been a faithful purchaser of Girl Scout Cookies. I remember going door to door selling them myself (they were $2.00 a box back then), and we had a lot of fun helping Ashley sell them this year (and we're still selling them! Come see Troop 624 at the Germantown Hobby Lobby tomorrow morning or the Kroger on Exeter Sunday afternoon!). Yes, Keebler has Grasshoppers and other knockoffs that are available year round for much cheaper, but that's not really the point...what makes G.S. Cookies special is you can only get them once a year!!! My favorite are Thin Mints, closely followed by Trefoils. But I'm a fan of Tagalongs and Do-Si-Dos as well. Yes, I'm a traditionalist.

4. How do you pamper yourself?
Well, I'm not really a massage/mani/pedi kind of girl, and who has the time or money for that anyway? I suppose my idea of pampering is on evenings when I am home alone (and tonight will be one of them...yippee!!)...other than maybe putting in a load of laundry or two, I ignore all other housework and just camp out on the couch, with the laptop and the remote. I catch up on all my shows for the week (no time for TV watching on school nights) and goof off on Facebook to my heart's content. Lazy, yes. But it truly recharges my batteries, and there are few things that can entice me to give up my every-other-Friday night ritual!

5. What is your nickname and how did you get it?
Hmm, well lots of my friends call me Steph, but that's only because Stephanie is just too long for a lot of people. The only other nickname I can think of is Fannie Sue, which is what my dad used to call me when I was little. I never understood why until I was older...I finally asked, and he pointed out that it's the end of my first name and the beginning of my middle name (which is Suzanne, for those of you who don't know).

OK, that was fun! Maybe I can make a habit of this...thanks, Edi, for the inspiration!

Double Digits

2011-02-21T21:11:00.002-06:00

So our sweet baby girl turned 10 years old last week...where has the last decade gone?? She wanted to have a "spa day" with her three BFFs, Kaiya, Lauren and Audrey (all school friends), so I took the girls out to lunch, then to Sweet & Sassy (a salon for girls/tweens). I was underwhelmed by the service there...I don't recommend it...but the girls liked getting their hair and makeup done. I need to scan the "after" picture...didn't think about that when I sat down. Afterwards, we went to Gracie Bleu yogurt (one of a zillion "self-serve" yogurt places that has popped up around town) and then home to do girl stuff. They all seemed to have a good time, and it was fun to observe them and remember vividly what life was like when I was 10 years old!

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-25T11:59:00.001-06:00

I'm sure what few followers I had have given up on me after such a long hiatus, but in case you're still with me, Merry Christmas!! Here are a few highlights from the past few months.

Professional pics!

2010-10-08T13:39:00.002-05:00

I am so excited!!!! My childhood friend Paige took some amazing pics of Ashley and Tyler last weekend...here's the link to her website: www.paigemillerphotography.com and go to "Proofs".

Soccer!

2010-09-25T18:06:00.002-05:00

Well, Tyler's playing soccer for the first time this fall. He seems to be enjoying it, though he's not very aggressive or competitive. He is content to run along with the "huddle", but isn't too interested in trying to get in the middle of it to get the ball. He gets so excited, though, when one of his friends scores a goal...perhaps cheerleading will be his thing... ;-)

Labor Day with the Moss cousins

2010-09-25T18:04:00.002-05:00

Mmm, brownies!

2010-08-28T14:02:00.003-05:00

Since Ashley's BFFs are all in different classes this year, we're making more of an effort to plan sleepovers and playdates on the weekends when the kiddos are at our house. Audrey came and spent the night last weekend, and we made brownies...I'm not sure which the kids liked better, the raw brownies or the cooked ones! (P.S. this was pre-salmonella scare!)

Ashley's first day of school

2010-08-28T13:59:00.003-05:00

Sorry, people -- I know it's been a while. Here's Ashley on her first day of school, looking every bit like the big fourth grader she is. Fourth grade is a LOT different (and harder) than third grade, but she's been a real trooper and is getting used to the nightly homework routine. She's out in a "portable" this year (all the fourth grade classes are in portables), which is kind of cool, except on rainy days!

Prayers answered!

2010-07-12T10:01:00.002-05:00

Our sweet Buddy has turned the corner! He gave us quite a scare, but over the weekend he got progressively better, and is now in full puppy mode, chewing on everything and looking for mischief wherever he can find it! :-) We'll take it -- we are so grateful!!

Praying for Buddy

2010-07-09T13:28:00.003-05:00

After many months of discussions, we finally decided to surprise Ashley and Tyler last Monday with Buddy, the newest addition to our family. We are all in love with him, especially Ashley who has been wanting a dog for years now. He is a "Double Doodle", a cross between a Labradoodle dad and a Goldendoodle mom, and is just as sweet and lovable as can be. Already doing super with the potty training, too! Unfortunately, it looks as though he was probably sick when we got him, and has gotten much sicker in the past two days...he is at the vet today for all kinds of tests. Please pray for him, and for us! I'll keep you all posted...

A few pics...

2010-07-04T12:11:00.002-05:00

I have to be honest, I'm losing interest in posting pics here, because it takes sooooooo long to download them here compared with Facebook! So if you really want to see pics, get on Facebook! Here are a few, though, in case some of you just aren't going to go to the trouble...

So much to discuss, so little time

2010-06-18T15:55:00.002-05:00

As usual, I keep putting off my blog posting because I don't have time to fool with downloading the camera. So in the interest of keeping my loyal readers up to date, this will be a "words only" post -- sorry! Lots to talk about...first, the kitchen was finally done at the end of May. We love it, and I still do a double-take sometimes when I walk in...I really can't believe that's what our kitchen looks like now! And I've dusted off the cookbooks and have made some real meals (not just frozen lasagna with a can of corn), which feels good :-) SOOOOOOOO glad that project is now behind us!!!!!

We went to the annual Moss Reunion at Perdido Key the first week of June. Sadly, several of the families opted not to go due to the impending oil arrival on the beaches, but I'm so glad we didn't cancel...the beach was just fine, no odor at all, and just a few tarballs to speak of, which were quickly cleaned up by crews roaming the beach. We all had a terrific time, especially compared with last year, when Tyler refused to set foot on the sand, didn't want to spend much time at the pool, and was in the middle of poop potty training. All he wanted to do last year was watch the portable DVD player and whine about how much he missed his toys at home. Needless to say, I was a little apprehensive this year, especially since Mallory could only stay a couple of days, leaving me to be the only grown-up in our condo the rest of the week. But my fears were unfounded...the kids were wonderful, and we had a really great time with all our cousins and extended family! So sad that it only comes once a year :-(

Today is Mallory's last day at Perkins...he accepted a job with Longhorn Steakhouse (the one in Collierville, which is even closer to our house than Perkins was!). We are really excited for him, and are especially looking forward to the employee discount on all the restaurants owned by Darden (Olive Garden, Red Lobster, Bahama Breeze, etc)! :-) He doesn't start until July 5, so he'll have a couple of weeks to relax (and go stir-crazy being home alone all day!).

I hope to post some new pics soon, so check back in a few days!

Tyler's birthday parties

2010-05-15T09:45:00.002-05:00

Hard to believe my sweet baby is four years old. He is so articulate, and polite (most of the time), and funny! And of course, is the most handsome boy on the planet. He loves listening to music and can name most popular songs within a few seconds of hearing them. He also has a newfound love of rock music...loves Def Leppard, Guns N Roses, etc...he loves that rock guitar sound and when he hears it, he says "This song rocks!" Happy birthday, sweet TyTy!

Moss Farm for Mother's Day

2010-05-15T09:32:00.003-05:00

We were lucky enough to be invited to the Brownsville Moss clan's Mother's Day cookout at their farm outside Brownsville. The 45 minute drive turned into an hour and a half due to an 18-wheeler accident (quote from Tyler: "This traffic is giving me a headache!"), but we finally made it. Tyler's favorite part was the giant John Deere tractor, and Ashley loved playing with their dog Dixie, climbing trees, and playing tag with all the cousins (from smallest to tallest...William, Amy, Thomas, Tyler, Martha, Samuel, Elizabeth, George, Ashley, Anna, Delie, Joy). We feel so blessed to be part of a BIG family now and are so glad that a few of them live close enough for us to visit :-)

Now that's what I'm talking about...

2010-05-13T20:11:00.002-05:00

Progress, sweet progress! Maybe, just maybe, we'll be able to eat a meal in our kitchen this weekend :-)

A Quick Update

2010-05-11T11:15:00.002-05:00

I've had several questions, so in case you're wondering, we're NOT keeping that granite. Luckily, they had not yet glued it down to the island, so they were able to easily remove it and take it away. The contractor has been more than apologetic and has promised to have workers at our house every day now until the kitchen is done (there's still lots of little things here and there yet to be completed...cabinet knobs, baseboard, one more coat of paint, etc). The correct granite is supposed to be ready Thursday, but I'm not holding my breath yet...just keep your fingers crossed for us! :-)

I need a drink...

2010-05-06T16:46:00.003-05:00

Do you want the good news first or the bad news? Here, it's more fun this way...the good news is, the granite guy did come when he said he was going to come (okay, 1 day late, but still in time for me to have a working sink and dishwasher for Mother's Day weekend) and here's what he's done so far today.

The bad news is, THIS IS NOT THE GRANITE WE PICKED OUT!!!!!!!!! I am so angry right now... I'll leave it at that, because I don't want to start spewing words that aren't appropriate for a G-rated blog!

Rain, rain, and more rain

2010-05-03T16:20:00.002-05:00

Well, I would post new pics of the kitchen, but that would be rather pointless since absolutely nothing has happened since my last post a week ago. I've given up being frustrated and angry and have just resigned myself to it, I guess. Sigh. So on to other things...

Tyler's birthday was Saturday...I haven't downloaded my camera yet, so I'll get some party pics up here eventually. We were scheduled to go on a church family retreat Saturday afternoon thru Sunday morning, but due to the horrendous thunderstorms and tornado warnings, they allowed us to cancel it without penalty (the road to the retreat center was flooded). So we spent pretty much all day Saturday inside. Tyler was surprisingly scared of the storms...the tornado sirens went off several times between bedtime Friday night and Sunday morning, and while he didn't really have any experience with storms, he would immediately climb into my lap and would stay there as long as needed, allowing us to turn off his "shows" to watch the weather. He even started requesting to watch the weather whenever it got dark outside, to make sure we were safe! Saturday night at 1:30am, we had to get up and get in the downstairs closet (under the stairs) due to a suspected tornado literally right down the street...luckily it never touched down, I guess, and me and the kids all got in the bed in the guest room so they wouldn't be scared the rest of the night. We all slept in Sunday morning (well, Ashley and Mallory slept in...Tyler woke me up at 7 as usual, but allowed me to nap on the couch while he ate his breakfast and watched his shows for a couple of hours!). Of course, it's absolutely beautiful today (Monday), just in time for everyone to go back to work and school...:-(

Baby Steps

2010-04-25T17:02:00.003-05:00

Appliances are in, but not really yet usable, which I think makes it that much more frustrating that we still can't use the kitchen! Another week until we can get countertops and the sink :-(

The light went out...

2010-04-22T09:50:00.002-05:00

Well, of course things aren't going as smoothly on the kitchen as I'd hoped. Tuesday was finally appliance day (after 2, or was it 3 previous reschedules?). The Sears truck finally shows up at 10 till 6p, and lo and behold, all they have is the refrigerator. We had kind of figured this was going to happen, because for all the previous installation appointments, we had received two confirmations phone calls...one from Sears about the refrigerator (which doesn't really require "installation") and one from a Sears contractor who would come to install the stove, micro-hood, dishwasher, and garbage disposal. We never got a confirmation call from an installer, so we weren't terribly surprised that only the refrigerator showed up. The other things are now scheduled to be installed today, but my hopes of having a dishwasher were dashed by our contractor, who said he wanted the plumber to install it and the garbage disposal (which makes sense, since we have no sink at the moment), and that won't happen until we get the granite countertops, and that won't be until sometime next week...so yes, I'm guessing it will be another two weeks before we have a functional kitchen, which will be SIX WEEKS LONGER than originally predicted. My patience is really wearing thin...

In other news, Mallory and I celebrated our second wedding anniversary on Tuesday -- yay us! And Tyler is having his fourth birthday party at McDonald's on Saturday, so I'll be sure to post some pictures.

You'll love this...Mallory literally just called me as I was typing this. The installer did show up today, but gave Mallory a fake name (so as not to incur Mallory's wrath, because this is the same idiot who just didn't bother to call us on Tuesday when he was originally SUPPOSED to come out). Mallory overheard him on the phone giving his real name, so they just had a nice little spat. And guess what else? He doesn't have the stove...the refrigerator guys were supposed to bring that with them on Tuesday. Now Sears claims a delivery was never set up on that item, even though our receipt clearly shows that it was. I guarantee this is the fault of the incompentent (insert b-word here...I am REALLY frustrated!!) who called us a few weeks ago and told us we needed to come pick up our items from the dock or she would return them to stock...Mallory told her that we were never supposed to come pick anything up, it was all scheduled for delivery and installation. Bet she just cancelled it instead...arrrrgggghhhh! I'm taking a personal day tomorrow...I really need a drink! :-(

The light at the end of the tunnel...

2010-04-17T14:39:00.002-05:00

The cabinets were installed yesterday! Yippee! The tile is also down, though it is covered in paper at the moment to protect it. Appliances come Tuesday, which also happens to be our second wedding anniversary. Can't wait for next weekend to wash everything and start re-organizing our life!

Me and my girl

2010-04-07T10:43:00.001-05:00

This is from last November's big "Cheer Off" competition, but I just got it from a friend and thought it was a good pic of us. I'm so proud of my Ashley!

Spring Odds and Ends

2010-04-03T16:56:00.003-05:00

The first pic is from my birthday -- Ashley and Grandma baked me a cake and Ashley decorated it herself, so I had to get a picture of the artist next to her creation. The second one is from last night...the kids were just being silly and playing together...this is their "house". Number three is from lunch today...we ate at McAlister's and thought it would be a perfect day to eat outside. Unfortunately, all the tables were in the shade and it was a bit chilly with the breeze, so I sent the kids over to sit in the sun by my car to eat their sandwiches. Number four is from this morning's Easter egg hunt at Emmanuel. Tyler was really not interested in participating...I think it was far too easy for him, as he just passed right by this big pile...he needed more of a challenge! Happy Easter everyone!

Making Progress

2010-04-03T16:50:00.003-05:00

Well, things are starting to look up. These pics are from Tuesday (I think)...it looks a little better now, as they've cleaned everything out of the kitchen (except the fridge) and they've done a few more coats on everything. We think the tile will be laid early next week, and then hopefully cabinets and APPLIANCES! We are all so tired of eating out (not to mention what it's doing to our pocketbook) and so tired of the dust everywhere and just being "out of sorts"...keep your fingers crossed that we are nearing the end of this journey!

Two More Weeks

2010-03-29T13:32:00.002-05:00

As you may recall, we started this kitchen adventure on or around 2/22. Actually, I packed up the entire kitchen and put it in the dining room on Valentine's Day, but no work started until the week of 2/22. When I asked repeatedly how long we could expect to be totally non-functional, the answer was 4 weeks. Of course, I knew that probably really meant 6. So today marks the end of week 5, and the kitchen is still completely empty except for the refrigerator which luckily we've been able to keep plugged in all this time. We've had to reschedule the appliance delivery twice, but our contractor now says "end of next week". So lots should be happening in the next 10 days or so...will try to post some pics! Paint and crown molding expected when I get home from work...keep your fingers crossed! :-)

Kitchen Remodel, #1

2010-03-14T15:45:00.003-05:00

We have been under construction (or should I say, demolition, as no real construction has taken place yet) for three weeks now. I forgot to take any pics before demolition started, but in the first couple you can still get an idea of how unattractive it was (the first two were after the top cabinets were taken out, and the last two were once everything was pretty much gone). We cannot WAIT until the beautiful kitchen of our dreams is here...the kitchen was the biggest eyesore and biggest detractor when I decided to purchase this house, and it's going to be so wonderful when it's all nice and new and just the way we want it. We should be halfway through the hard part...our contractor says we'll have appliances and be mostly functional by the end of the month. I'm not holding my breath, but that sure would be nice! I am actually looking forward to cooking again, which is something few people would expect to come out of my mouth. :-)

Cute Tyler Story

2010-03-12T09:24:00.002-06:00

For quite some time now, Tyler has wanted to be a race car driver when he grows up (fed by his obsession with the movie "Cars", not because we watch NASCAR!). However, he has recently gotten quite good at doing the ski jump on the Wii Fit, and he was excited to see real people doing it at the Olympics. I told him maybe he could be a ski jumper when he grows up, and he said "No Mom, I'm going to be a race car driver!" So I said, "Well, maybe you could be a race car driver during the day and a ski jumper at night." He seemed satisfied with this answer and decided he could do both.

Fast forward a couple of weeks...Tyler had a cold with a cough this week (thank you Ashley, for sharing your cold with both me and Tyler on top of the stomach flu!). As I was tucking him in the other night, I saw the rocking chair in the corner of his room...we haven't rocked before bed in over a year and I was about to give it away, but it just hasn't made it out of his room yet. I thought sitting up and rocking might help with the coughing, so we went over and rocked. I was telling him that I rocked Ashley when she was a baby in this chair, and I rocked him when he was a baby in this chair. Tyler says "And some day when I have a kid, I'll rock my baby in this chair!" I didn't want to tell him I was about to give the chair away, so I said "Oh, you'll probably want to get a new rocking chair for your baby." So he thought for a minute, and said "Well, when I go to the store to get my racing outfit, and my racing helmet, and my Olympics outfit, and my Olympics helmet, I'll get a rocking chair for my baby!" Apparently, he thinks he'll just wake up one day and he'll be a grown-up, at which time he can go to the "grown-up" store and buy everything he needs to get started with his adult life! I love that kid...

Little Rock Weekend

2010-03-08T14:28:00.002-06:00

My college roommate, Amy, lives in Little Rock, which is just a two hour drive from Memphis. I used to drive over at least once or twice a year, but after Tyler's birth, the thought of a long drive and an overnight stay with a baby just didn't sound like much fun (for anyone!). But now that Tyler is so much more pleasant to travel with (potty trained AND easily entertained by the DVD player), we miraculously found a weekend when we were both free and the kids and I journeyed over to LR. We got to see her daughter Emily play soccer and went downtown to the Museum of Discovery...Tyler even missed his nap and was still pretty agreeable!

It was a great afternoon, until Tyler started complaining that his stomach hurt. He NEVER says this, so I knew something was up. My mommy intuition told me to have a trash can nearby, but did I listen? You all know what's coming next...he threw up what seemed like a two-liter's worth, all over himself, me, Amy's rug, etc. The poor little guy spent the rest of the night asleep in the middle of the living room floor, waking up every half hour or so to barf some more (surrounded by towels and a bucket!). Thankfully he felt better in the morning, but we sure did put some miles on Amy's washer and dryer! Let's all keep our fingers crossed that he didn't pass it along to anyone in their family, or we may never be invited back again! :-)

Don't hate me...

2010-03-05T08:59:00.003-06:00

OK, I think I failed to actually take any photos during Ashley's slumber party! I did take a couple of videos, but they're a little long to post on the blog and not super-exciting. The party itself was a big success with Ashley and her two BFFs, but that will be the last time we try a slumber party at the Embassy Suites...I guess I should've known that when they actually offer a "slumber party" package on their website, it's a popular place for that! We did it on a Saturday night, and the place was packed with a wide variety of people from all walks of life...I will be politically correct and leave my comment for you to interpret as you will. Let's just say the crowd there on a Saturday night is not the crowd you would expect to find at an Embassy Suites in East Memphis. Ashley's friends were asleep by midnight, which was perfect, but unfortunately Ashley and I could not sleep due to the 10-12 kids in the next room (including at least one toddler!) who were partying down in the room next to us. That, and the teenagers in town for some sort of sporting event who were making a ton of noise in the 5-story atrium area that all the rooms adjoin with. Gosh, I'm getting old, aren't I? Anyway, the girls had a great time, which is all that matters!

The kids and I are going to Little Rock for the weekend to see my college roommate and her family, which should be lots of fun...I'll TRY to take some pictures :-)

Ashley is 9 today!

2010-02-17T16:56:00.002-06:00

Unfortunately, I have no pictures to include with this post. I thought about it while we were eating breakfast, then forgot as we were rushing out the door. Than Mallory and I had lunch with her at school...both my camera and my Flip were right there in my purse, but did I think to pull either of them out? Of course not. Suffice it to say, she looked adorable today, and was so thrilled to be celebrating her birthday...of course, she actually gets a week of celebrating, between her dad, us, all her various grandparents, and her friends. I will definitely take some pics at her slumber party Saturday night so you can all marvel at how much older she looks :-)

Snow Day!

2010-01-29T14:38:00.004-06:00

Yippee for a real snow day! The kids got out of school for a day a couple weeks ago, but it was due to the "threat" of bad weather that never really materialized. This is an honest-to-goodness winter weather event, with freezing rain, sleet, snow, and temps expected to do nothing but drop the rest of the day. They even closed my office, which I think is the first time that's happened in the 6 years I've been there (I was working from home anyway, but nice to be able to just relax and have fun with the kids instead of feeling like I should be working!).

Ridiculously late Christmas photos

2010-01-24T15:47:00.004-06:00

Well, it's not QUITE been a month since Christmas, right?

We had a really wonderful Christmas. On Christmas Eve, my parents and my grandmother (who just turned 90) came over. When Mallory got home from work, we let the kids each open their "big" gifts from Mamaw, Papaw, and Aunt Helen, so that we could call them and share the excitement (we knew that Christmas morning would be too hectic and overwhelming, especially since the kids were leaving at 11am to go to their dad's). Tyler got his Handy Manny Workbench (see picture of him "reading" the instructions to Grandpa, who was assembling it!), which he loves. And Ashley got a school desk for her American Girl doll, Molly.

They all spent the night with us on Christmas Eve...Ashley slept in Tyler's bed with him since Great-Grandma was in her bed, and they looked so angelic sleeping there together...I would've taken a picture, but was afraid of waking them up. I remember how long it takes to get to sleep on Christmas Eve when you're so excited about Santa coming -- to be honest, I'm surprised they got to sleep as quickly as they did, with both Xmas Eve and the novelty of sleeping in the same bed!

The pic of the kids at the top of the stairs was the next morning...I told them they had to wait until everyone was ready to come down (I was already downstairs getting breakfast in the oven, turning music on, etc). You can see the excitement on their faces!

Santa brought Tyler a Geotrax Lightning McQueen track (combining his two favorite toys), and he brought Ashley a real guitar, and brought both of them new sleeping bags. And of course, they got TONS of stuff from everyone else. Mallory got his long-awaited-for chainsaw, and I got a beautiful ruby ring. We are blessed way beyond what we deserve!

Silly Tyler

2009-12-26T15:45:00.003-06:00

I have one of those tall Rubbermaid wrapping papers boxes that holds all our Christmas wrapping stuff from year to year. Tyler found the top to it while I was wrapping presents one night and immediately put it on his head. I said "what are you doing?", and he said "This is my helmet!" I said, "Helmet for what?" "For when I'm a race car driver!" If you don't know, this is his biggest dream right now, probably fueled by his obsession with the movie "Cars" for the past year. He then proceeded to get out his goggles and got in it "so he could go swimming" (his hair is wet because he just got out og the tub). Life with a three year old is so much fun (99% of the time!).

Tyler's Christmas Program

2009-12-26T15:40:00.002-06:00

As you can see, Tyler and all his friends were dressed up like angels for this year's Christ the King preschool Christmas program. I don't think he sang a single word...he wasn't feeling too well, and looked like he was doped up on cold meds (he wasn't!)...he just stood there with his mouth hanging open, staring at the large audience while his friends sang, did hand motions, etc. But that's Tyler, and he was still cute standing there! They had been practicing every day for several weeks, and the next morning when I went to drop him off at school, he said "Mommy, why aren't you staying to watch us practice again?" They had been "practicing" for so long, he didn't realize that the previous day was the real deal and now they were done!

November and December Happenings

2009-12-09T21:17:00.004-06:00

Arrgh! This is so frustrating...the pics came in backwards chronological order, and I'm having the worst time trying to move them around! So I give up...we'll go backwards! This one was last weekend during my attempt to get a decent picture of the kids for a Christmas card. I actually liked this one, but wanted them actually looking at the camera for the card, so I thought I'd post this one here on the blog. It's going to be such a fun Christmas! The kids so look forward to getting up in the mornings and finding "Bob", our Elf on the Shelf (for those of you who don't know about the Elf on the Shelf, you can visit www.elfontheshelf.com). This is also the first year that Ashley has has to share the daily ornament-hanging duties on the Christmas Countdown calendar, but luckily Tyler is pretty good about allowing her to hang them for him, as long as he gets some input on where it goes.

Here's Tyler hatching out of an egg at the Zoo! This one and the next one are from our visit to Zoo Lights...we went with MaMaw and Grandma and Grandpa Schulz over the Thanksgiving weekend.

Here's Ashley the morning of the big Cheer-Off Competition! What a crazy few weeks leading up to it...practice 6-7 days a week! But the girls did a fantastic job and I couldn't have been more proud of her. I know the hair and makeup is a little scary, but it looked REALLY good from the audience! :-)

This is just a cute pic...when we were at the cheer coach's house for brunch before Cheer-Off, they noticed that Tyler was carrying the fire hat he had just gotten at Firehouse Subs, and remembered that they had a firefighter costumer that was about his size. He was thrilled!

Other news to report...people keep expressing surprise when they find out that Mallory now works for Perkins Restaurant, so I guess maybe we never formally announced it...he started with them in September and just "graduated" from training last week. He is a manager at the location in Collierville, which is such a blessing...a nice short drive and great employees and customers! And the kids and I love to go eat there (Tuesdays and Saturdays, kids eat free! And there's a balloon man on Tuesdays, who Tyler professed his love for last week as the man was making him his requested penguin). Ashley moved straight from cheer into basketball...she's back on Coach Jen's team (one of my good friends)...she was with this group of girls two years ago and is glad to be back on their team again. She's probably the smallest girl on the team, but she's trying hard! Tyler is as silly and lovable as ever...he's three and a half now, which seems crazy. And I trained for and ran my first 5K on Halloween, which I've always wanted to do...I've despised running all my life, and I was so proud of myself when I ran every last step of that race!

New pics coming!

2009-12-07T10:36:00.002-06:00

I'm sure you've all given up on my blog by now, as I can never find time to download the camera. But I finally did it yesterday...many new pics from 11/1 thru yesterday! I will sort thru and get a post going in the next few days (hopefully! Busy weekend ahead!). Also, I am very proud of myself...for the first time in about three years, I am sending out Christmas cards! The past few years, I've been so disappointed in myself for forgetting to do this until it's just too late. The kids were dressed Christmas-y yesterday morning before church, so I decided it was then or never. For those of you who will receive our card, you will see that Tyler, who is usually my camera hog, was in too silly of a mood to cooperate, but I went with it anyway...it captures Tyler's personality perfectly. I don't want to post the pic here and ruin the surprise! :-)

Fall Fun

2009-11-01T16:22:00.004-06:00

I know, I know...been slacking on the blog again. Uploading pics to Facebook is just so much easier!

I think October is my favorite month, both because of the weather and the fun fall activities. When it hasn't been raining, it's been gorgeous here. The pic with my dad is on his 61st birthday. The pic of the kids on the train is at the "Picnic in the (Pumpkin) Patch" that we have at our church each year (the youth sell pumpkins to raise money for their choir tour). And of course, the pic of Woody and the snow princess is for Halloween. Tyler has had a costume phobia all his life until this year, and even then he had to be talked into it, but once he put on the Woody costume, he realized how much fun it can be. And I couldn't believe our very anti-princess Ashley would choose this costume (in fact, I wouldn't buy it for her when she first picked it out...I told her she had to sleep on it because I couldn't believe it), but she was beautiful and had a wonderful time with her friends (we went to a neighborhood Halloween party with some of her friends from school). This was Tyler's first time to trick or treat...he went to two houses and then declared that he'd had enough (realized how much walking was involved!), so he and I went back to the party while Ashley continued on with her friends and their parents. Good times!

Catching Up

2009-09-26T07:59:00.003-05:00

Wow, I didn't realize how long it had been since I downloaded my camera! Lots of random cute pics to share...

Ashley and Tyler were being SOOOOO sweet and lovey dovey to each other at McDonald's one night. Ashley's willing to be lovey-dovey to him any time, but he has to be in the right mood to accept it, and he was on this particular night! It just warms my heart to see them being so sweet to each other, and when Tyler says "I wuv you Ashwee", it makes me tear up every time! I remember when he was a baby, and I just couldn't wait for him to be able to respond when I told him I loved him...now he says it all the time, and often initiates it. He was upset yesterday morning when he realized Mallory had already left for work before he got up. He said "But I want to tell him I wuv him!"

Here's the obligatory Pee Wee Bears picture. Ashley is a little disappointed this year that she's one of the bigger girls (squad is second and third graders), so that means she has to be a "base" this year instead of being on top like she was last year. But she's still enjoying it and is also doing well in her tumbling class...made significant progress last week on her journey to do a back handspring (you'd be suprised how much training that takes!).

My boys...

And finally, we took the kids to the Delta Fair a few weeks ago and had a GREAT time! Tyler was such a trooper, riding around in the stroller without complaining, and Ashley was a great big sis, always willing to ride with Tyler on the littler kids' rides. But Mallory and I both could see how much more fun it will be for her in about two years, when she won't have to ride the bigger kids rides by herself any more. Visions of Disneyworld are starting to dance in my head... :-)

Quick pics - more to come

2009-09-22T21:11:00.004-05:00

OK, I really don't have time to do a proper blog post right now, but I just downloaded these pics and HAD to share these two of our sweet Ashley. The first is from Sunday, which was her first day ever to acolyte at church...she's been looking forward to this day for years and she looks so beautiful here! And the second pic was just taken a couple hours ago...she got her braces today! I think she's aged 5 years in the past few days...where did my sweet little baby girl go? But so exciting to watch her growing into a young lady...

Ashley and Nate

2009-09-13T19:58:00.003-05:00

Ashley and Nate first met in two-year old preschool at Christ The King. They spent three years there, and both then ended up going to Germantown Elementary and were in the same class together last year (along with another friend from two-year old class, Audrey). So they've basically known each other their entire lives. We were so excited to find out that Nate is playing for our Pee Wee Bears football team this year -- it's so much more fun to have someone on the field to root for! I found an old pic of Ashley and Nate from Halloween of 2003, and thought it would be fun to compare to this picture that was just taken a few weeks ago. They are growing up too fast!!

For Aunt Helen

2009-08-26T21:47:00.003-05:00

Aunt Helen was so sweet to send Ashley a "Happy Back to School" giftcard to Children's Place so that Ashley could pick out some new school clothes (and have the autonomy to choose things I'd never let her get when Mallory and I are paying!). I haven't mastered the art of emailing pictures...it seems to take forever, when it works at all...so here you go Aunt Helen! In the first couple pics, the entire outfit (from the headband all the way to the shoes!) came from your giftcard. She was also able to get the hoodie jacket and shirt that are in pics 3 and 4. She had so much fun shopping and it was a great lesson in "getting the most for your money"...lots of things got nixed because they weren't worth what they would have cost her. She is wearing the whole green and orange outfit tomorrow, even though I told her she'd probably be burning up with all those layers (I sound just like my mom!).

First week of school

2009-08-14T11:55:00.002-05:00

Ashley's first day of third grade was Monday, and I completely forgot to take a picture of her...she looked so cute and was so excited! So on Tyler's first day of three-year old class, which was Wednesday, I tried to take a pic of them...Tyler was so wound up he couldn't stand still, and Ashley was coming down with a cold and feeling bad, so she has her fake smile on. Not the best picture, but I saved it for posterity! Ashley again looked adorable this morning in another of her new school outfits, so I took her pic...another weird smile, but we were in a hurry, so that's all I had time for. And of course Tyler also wanted his picture taken, even though he didn't have a new outfit on (LOVE having a little boy who isn't worried about that stuff yet!). They are both doing so well and loving their new classes!

Ashley is amazing!

2009-08-14T11:51:00.002-05:00

Ashley takes tumbling lessons once a week to help with her cheerleading skills. The gym where they usually meet got flooded a few weeks ago, so they are practicing in a "borrowed" one, which has this cool rope hanging from the ceiling. On her third try, she made it ALMOST to the top, higher than any other girl had gone. It was so cute...they were all chanting "you can do it! Believe in yourself!" She just couldn't make it any farther, but I was so proud of her for ignoring the rope burns on her legs and feet and trying so hard. And this picture really doesn't do it justice...it seemed much higher in person. I'd just be scared of how to get down once I exhausted myself to get all the way up there!

Our Mii Family

2009-08-06T21:51:00.003-05:00

If you have a Wii, you know what a Mii is...some of our Miis came out looking so much like the real deal, I just had to share! I think Mallory's and Tyler's are the most life-like (Tyler has two because Ashley wanted to make a new one, but then she made it exactly the same but with a different color shirt and a slightly different smile), but I think they all bear some similarity to their real-life counterparts.

Starting on the top row, Grandpa Schulz (my dad), Mallory, Papaw (Mallory's dad), blue Tyler, Grandma Schulz (my mom -- hers isn't very good!). Second row -- Mamaw (Mallory's mom), red Tyler, me, Aunt Helen (Mallory's sister), and Ashley (I hate the hair on this one...it's actually a ponytail...she needs a new one now that she got her hair cut!).

Second annual Raleigh Girls Lake Weekend

2009-08-02T17:55:00.003-05:00

So, one of my oldest friends on the planet, Heather, has a beautiful house right on Sardis Lake in Mississippi, and last year, she invited me and Carrie (well, okay, it was really more like Carrie invited us, but Heather being the good sport she is thought it was a great idea) to go down for a girls weekend to reconnect after having drifted apart over the past several years. We had an absolute blast and are now planning on doing this every summer, so this weekend was our second trip.

These are not very good pictures...I'm hoping Carrie or Heather has some better ones that they will email me! But the pictures aren't that important...what's most important is that we got to spend almost 48 hours totally relaxing, reading, talking, watching movies, sunning on the boat, etc. with no husbands/boyfriends/children/animals/etc to take care of! Everyone, moms especially, need time to recharge their batteries and just be a "girl" again, instead of a mom, or a wife, or an employee, or any of the many other roles we are expected to fill each day. And how wonderful to get to do that with two women who know every secret you have, who know exactly what you look like with no makeup on, who know which 15 pounds you've been losing and regaining for the past decade, who have witnessed your life's highs and lows and everything in between.

Zoo Day!

2009-07-26T16:28:00.003-05:00

For those of you who don't live in Memphis, we have been having themost amazingly mild weather for late July! Of course, we had the most shockingly hot and humid June this year, so I suppose this is helping us average back out. But regardless, we made a trip to the zoo yesterday...I cannot remember ever using one of my many zoo memberships in July or August in this sweat-inducing town, so this was a pretty big event!

The kids are not huge fans of the zoo (nor was I as a child), but the beauty of a membership is that you can go for as short or as long a time as you want to without having to feel like you "didn't see everything" or "didn't get your money's worth". For example, we completely missed one entire side of the zoo this time (missed all the "big money" animals...pandas, giraffes, elephants, polar bears), but a good time was had by all and there were no meltdowns, so I'd say it was a successful trip! And the "Birds and Bees" exhibit really is awesome...last time we went, it was the first weekend the exhibit was open, so it was literally wall-to-wall people...kids were EVERYWHERE with the feeding sticks and the birds were all kind of freaked out by the crowd, so we really didn't get to experience it. As you can see from the pictures, the kids really enjoyed getting up close and personal with the birds and Ashley really wanted to take one home with her!

Poop Prizes

2009-07-21T21:31:00.002-05:00

Yes, friends, I am one of those people who is going to share with you intimate things you may not really want to know...so just skip to the end if you're a little squeamish about bodily functions. As you may recall, I didn't think Tyler was ever going to be potty trained...Ashley was so easy in this area (as many girls are) and at the age of 28 months, we just decided one day to wear big girl panties, and that was basically the end of it. With Tyler, even at 2 1/2, he was nowhere near being ready to even attempt it. But though we struggled for a while, the peeing part of it just suddenly clicked one day when he was about 3 months shy of his third birthday, and he's done great with it...we even gave up nighttime pullups at the same time, because he REALLY gets it and has had very few accidents in the pee department.

Poop, however, is a different story altogether. Everything I've read says that you should not stress over it...kids sense the stress and sense that it's a control issue, and then they get even more set in their ways about pooping when and where THEY want to poop, if only to exert control over one of the few things that you as the parent cannot. But he basically poops in his underwear every single day and doesn't even try to use the potty, and is in danger of being "left behind" in the two-year old class next year for at least a little while until he is fully potty-trained. So we decided to implement a reward system, with Hershey kisses and Hot Wheels cars for successful potty usage. It seems to be working...as a result of having a case of salmonella poisoning for the last week, he's earned WAY more cars than we ever expected, but at $1 a piece, it's a small price to pay for getting this big milestone behind us! We're still working, but we've had a lot of successes in the past week, so let's hope it continues once his digestive tract is back to normal!

Cute story: Tyler got face to face with me earlier and started rubbing his nose on mine. He said "Mommy, I'm giving you escalator kisses!" (instead of eskimo kisses)...how cute is that? :-)

Our life is so dull sometimes...

2009-07-16T13:29:00.002-05:00

OK, now I see why I've been such a blog slacker...there's so little to write about in our everyday life! Most of you probably know that Mallory is looking for a new job at the moment, so when he's not posting resumes and having interviews, he's been cutting down tree limbs, cleaning out the garage, keeping the house clean, doing the grocery shopping, etc. We are going to be painting our bedroom this weekend, so hopefully I'll have some before and after pics to share Sunday. Once that's done, if he hasn't found a job yet, I fully expect to come home and find him rebuilding the house brick by brick, just to keep himself occupied! He is not one who enjoys down time, unlike his lazy wife! :-)

Ashley is in the midst of having orthodontic work done...she has an appliance across the roof of her mouth and a retainer wire along the inside of her bottom teeth. We've had to tighten the appliance at home every night for three weeks (I had one of these as well, but she's handled it a lot better than I did!), and Dr. Parris said yesterday that we're almost there...just 5 more tightenings and we'll be done with that part. She'll keep that in for six months, though, and she'll be getting braces across her upper front teeth next time we go, so soon she'll look very different! Third grade starts in less than a month...where does the time go?

Tyler is...well, Tyler. It's so hard to put into words what a funny little person he is. He says the funniest things sometimes, and he's become even more loving lately than he already was, lavishing hugs and real kisses (not just putting his mouth on us) and telling us "I love you" all the time. He is obsessed with popular music and is constantly asking me who sings various songs and what the name of the songs are. He can identify songs after hearing just a note or two...his favorites right now are "Boom Boom Pow" by the Black Eyed Peas and pretty much anything by Nickelback.

See people, I'm serious about this...

2009-07-09T16:42:00.003-05:00

Isn't our blog so cute now? Perhaps I will be more motivated to keep it up to date! I just know how much I enjoy reading other people's blogs, even people I hardly know...hopefully my blog will be one you look forward to checking out once in a while. :-)

Independence Day in Hot Springs

2009-07-07T21:23:00.003-05:00

We had been planning for some time to spend July 4th in Birmingham, to meet up with Mallory's family there, but they were unfotunately unable to make it. But since I had a three day weekend (and the kids were with their dad), we decided to go ahead and go SOMEWHERE, preferably within about a three-hour drive. I had not been to Hot Springs since right after my high school graduation, and Mallory had never been, so we decided to make the utterly boring drive over to Arkansas (the two hours between Memphis and Little Rock is some of the worst road and most boring farmland you can imagine).

They had some fabulous art galleries filled with works by very talented local artists...had we had more time and money, I'm sure we would have come home with a painting or two. But beyond that, I have to say I wasn't too impressed. Lots of junky, tourist-y shops. The Arlington, which is THE hotel in Hot Springs, was terribly dated looking inside, and I'm so glad we didn't decide to stay there (it was between that or a Hampton Inn, and I have to admit, the free breakfast at the Hampton won us over. That, and the fact that the room at the Arlington would have been a smoking room, which would have made us both ill). The bathhouses, which is what Hot Springs is known for, didn't hold much cachet, as the water temperature was advertised at 104 degrees...since we were walking around in 98 degree weather with high humidity most of the day, I don't think we really missed much by not partaking in the public bathing.

We really did have a nice time, though...we went to Oaklawn (the horse track), which has a small casino inside. Mallory had to drag me away from the video poker machines. And we ate lots of yummy food and just enjoyed each other's company and being away from home. Sunday, we decided we'd had enough of Hot Springs, so we went to Little Rock and toured the Clinton Presidential Museum (which I recommend to all Americans, regardless of political affiliation!) before stopping by to visit my college roommate Amy and her family. Fun weekend!

Ashley gets a haircut!

2009-07-03T16:49:00.002-05:00

Ashley has been growing her hair out long for at least a year now, much to my dismay. I mean, sometimes it does look really pretty, as she is blessed with gorgeous, thick, wavy hair, but being 8 years old, the majority of the time it looks unbrushed and is hanging in her face (it's not too often that I can even convince her to wear it up in ponytails or braids or something).

When the school year ended, we had a deal that she would get her hair cut shorter for the summer, as she swims every day at YMCA summer camp, but at the last minute she changed her mind. However, I think she finally realized that Mom was right about it being easier to deal with in the summer, so she agreed a couple of weeks ago to get it cut to her shoulders, which we were finally able to accomplish this morning. Doesn't she look beautiful! And older, I think (ugh!). Our bedtime conversation last night was all about going to college...will she have to go to class every day, what if her roommate doesn't like her, etc. I told her "Ashley, we have 10 years before you have to worry about this." And then I sadly realized that with 8 already behind us, 10 years is going to fly by in the blink of an eye, isn't it?

Moss Family Reunion!

2009-07-01T08:56:00.002-05:00

I am so happy to be part of such a large extended family now! Every year, for almost the past century(!), the Moss family vacations at Perdido Key, FL. This started when Mallory's great-grandfather Moss was just a baby, and now it consists of 70+ people (seems to be growing exponentially due to all the new babies being born on various branches of the family!). We had a wonderful week meeting all of Mallory's cousins, and are glad to be reconnecting with the group of them who live in Brownsville, TN, which is only about an hour from here. Ashley had a blast making new friends with so many of the cousins. The top pic is on a ferris wheel...I thought Tyler would be scared, but he wasn't scared at all...I love this pic!

Sorry!

2009-07-01T08:52:00.000-05:00

If there is still anyone who bothers to check my blog, I'm sorry for being such a slacker! My biggest problem is that I'm just not much of a photographer, and I feel like blog posts are always more interesting with pictures. So if you'll indulge me and let me do some "word only" posts, I promise I'll try to be a more regular blogger!

With that said, here's a funny Tyler anecdote for you: he came down with some sort of illness yesterday, as he was quite hoarse when I picked him up from school and then fever set in during the night. He must have heard me tell someone on the phone that he had a "croupy" cough, because when we arrived at Grandma Schulz's this morning, he said to her in a very dejected, pitiful voice "I'm sick Grandma. I feel creepy."

Tyler's party

2009-05-03T15:34:00.003-05:00

Well, originally I wasn't going to do much of a party for Tyler, because he didn't really care one way or the other. I figured I'd just invite a couple of my friends and their kids out to a playground for a little play date and bring some cupcakes. Things are never quite that simple, and it evolved into inviting our entire Sunday School class and all their children for a picnic lunch party after church at said playground. Well, wouldn't you know it has rained non-stop this entire weekend, so everyone ended up coming over to our house after church today. It worked out fine...we had a pinata that we beat to death (or should I say, Ashley beat to death) in the garage (note to self: next time, parents would probably appreciate you sweeping out the garage before inviting kids to crawl all over the floor picking up candy!). A good time was had by all, and now we can FINALLY stop eating cake and get back to normal (after today...as you can see by the size of that cake, there is a ton left, that will find itself on the table in the breakroom at work tomorrowm morning!).

The moment you've all been waiting for...

2009-05-02T10:27:00.002-05:00

I know, it's taken me forever to post these pics, but the bathroom is finally complete! It's actually been done for probably 2-3 weeks now (keep in mind we started this at the beginning of February!). The pics make the lighting look kind of weird, but rest assured, the lighting is lovely and we are very happy with it! Compare with those earlier pics...it's an extreme makeover!

TyTy Turns Three!

2009-05-02T09:58:00.002-05:00

Here are a few pics from his birthday last night. Gramma and Grampa Schulz picked Ashley up after school and the three of them decorated our house so Tyler would be surprised when we got home. He got a t-ball set and a t-shirt from Aunt Helen, a big boy bike and helmet from Mommy and Mallory, clothes, a Spiderman umbrella, and new sections for his train track from G & G, and lots of stuff from Mamaw and Papaw...a new floaty-vest for swimming, some jungle animals, and a water balloon ball game. The umbrella is his favorite so far...he and Ashley have been pretending it's raining in the house all last night and all morning so far. Sure wish it wasn't really raining outside, as we are scheduled to have a big party at a park tomorrow after church, and I have a bad feeling we'll be hosting all those people inside our house tomorrow instead!

Big Boy Bed!

2009-04-14T21:10:00.001-05:00

Tyler finally got to sleep in his big boy bed for the first time last night. It's Mallory's old bed from when he was little. Tyler was so thrilled...he's been asking for a big boy bed for quite a while now (it took us a while to get it polished up and to get new mattresses for it). This picture makes it look like the lights are on, but that's actually due to the flash...I took it after he fell asleep tonight. I've also included a cute pic of the kids sharing Mommy's iPod on our bed last week.

Update: I should also mention that Tyler is potty trained now! Even wears underwear to bed. He's had the pee pee part down pat for probably at least a month now, but the pooping part was a little more challenging...it's really just been in the past week or so that we've had good success with that. We are so proud of him! Once he decided he was ready, it was really pretty easy! He is growing up fast these days.

Not Done Yet!

2009-04-08T16:47:00.000-05:00

OMG! I don't think our bathroom is ever going to be finished. Very little has happened since my last post (what was that, a week and a half ago?). It has now been NINE weeks since we signed the contract for what was supposed to have been a 2-4 weeks job. Ha! Thank goodness we have other bathrooms to use in the meantime, but it certainly makes us rethink the future kitchen remodel, as we don't have another one of those that we can use for the six months or so that it might take this contractor!

Nothing else new going on. Mallory's dad had surgery last week to remove another brain tumor and is supposed to be starting radiation treatments soon to hopefully prevent any more from growing. Keep him in your prayers! We had a fun adventure driving home from Birmingham last week...I wrote about it on Facebook, so I'm not going to recap here. Happy Easter to all!

Bathroom Update

2009-03-28T09:14:00.001-05:00

I know, I've been a slacker on project updates. This pic was actually taken about a month ago -- I'd say this is a midway-thru-the-project pic. It's actually ALMOST done, but I've been saying that for three weeks now (no joke) and our contractor just can't seem to get the last few details done. We've pretty much moved into it (yesterday was first shower), but it has no

mirror and no door at the moment, which means all my makeup and hair stuff is still in other places. Hopefully we'll get it finished today and I can post the finished pics!

Two year old comedy

2009-03-18T13:34:00.000-05:00

This cracked us up this morning...

Tyler: Knock knock!
Me: Who's there?
Tyler: Orange!
Me: Orange who? (feeling impressed that he might be reciting his first true joke)
Tyler: Orange Tyler!! Ha ha ha ha!

He also made us laugh yesterday at the dinner table (at G + G Schulz's house)...he was drinking from a sippy cup that was almost empty, so it was making these sort of "slurpy" noises...he did it a couple times, then got a silly grin on his face when he realized what it sounded like and said "Excuse me! I burped!" He did it over and over again. Then he decided it sounded sort of like Grampa's tuba, so he said he was playing tuba and actually moved his fingers on the handle as though they were valves. A future comedian AND musician, just like his grampa!

Trip to Selma

2009-02-28T11:54:00.001-06:00

As you may recall from the pics of our trip in November, getting inside the dog kennel is always a popular activity, and somehow both of them managed to squeeze in it this time (I feel a bit claustrophobic just looking at this pic!). I wish I had thought to take more pics...the kids had a wonderful time at the golf course, with Ashley getting her first driving lesson on a golf cart and Tyler trying to play golf on the practice putting green. We also got our first introduction to Mr. Waffle, which has been a daily tradition at the Cross house for many years now...the kids

thought it was the best restaurant ever (we had to order more food because they scarfed down everything we had ordered for them and started eating ours!). I have to admit, it was pretty yummy!

Ashley's Eighth Birthday

2009-02-28T11:50:00.000-06:00

Oh, how time flies! I cannot believe my sweet baby girl has been with us for eight years now! She is growing up so fast, and every day with her is a little bittersweet because I know the pre-teen and teen years are not far away and that we won't have the fun times together like we do now. She is such a wonderful big sister, and such a huge help to me...I don't know how I would handle Tyler without her sometimes. I love you Ashley Susannah!

The Bathroom - part 1

2009-02-28T11:43:00.001-06:00

So here are the before and early demolition pics from our master bathroom (why do the pics always come in in the opposite order that I selected them???). The before pics really don't do it justice...the bathroom was much uglier than it looks in these pics! The cabinet is the original 1979 cabinet, but the previous owners thought they'd "renew" it by painting it a really ugly green color. The top is ugly brownish cultured marble, and the sink was all cracked and gross (note to those of you with cultured marble sinks...running straight hot water in the sink will ruin it!). The walls were bumpy and were painted a lovely vomit brown. There was also a built in shower (no tub)...the light fixture melted itself not long after I moved here, so showers after that were pretty dark. There has actually been more progress than this, but I haven't downloaded those pics yet.

New pics coming soon!

2009-02-24T10:19:00.000-06:00

I have lots to download from the camera...before and during pics of our bathroom renovation, pics from Ashley's birthday party, pics from our trip to Selma...but I won't be able to get to it until this weekend. So check back next week!!

New Year's Eve

2009-01-28T10:56:00.000-06:00

Here's a pic of me and Mallory that I took of us on New Year's Eve at the Peabody. I had totally forgotten about it until I plugged up the camera. Not the greatest pic, but wanted to share it anyway since I don't post many pics of us on here.

Snow Day 2009

2009-01-28T10:51:00.001-06:00

Well, it's time for our annual snow pictures! We were expecting mostly ice last night, but we actually didn't get much of that. However, it turned to snow right around 5:00a, just in time to make the roads rough and most schools got cancelled. I'm supposed to be "working from home" at the moment, but I just had to share these pics, as I know I have been very lax about blogging lately! It's nice to have some forced relaxation, and it was very nice not to have to rush around this morning and wrestle the kids into their school clothes -- I dread school mornings!

The Elf on the Shelf

2008-12-28T13:39:00.001-06:00

Mamaw and Papaw got Ashley an "Elf on the Shelf" for Christmas. For those of you who don't know, this seems to be all the rage this year -- it's an elf who sits around your house all during the Christmas season and zips to the North Pole each night to report to Santa on whether you've been good or bad that day. Each morning, you will usually find that he has moved to a new vantage point, or is missing altogether, which could mean that he is lying in wait at school, church, Grandma's house, etc. Unfortunately, Ashley informs me that a friend of hers at school had an elf on the shelf this year, and HER elf brought little presents each day that she was good. I have a feeling our elf will not be quite so generous. Anyway, here's a picture of me reading the Elf on the Shelf story to the kids, which explains how he works, and then there's a pic of Tyler that I just thought was too cute not to share.

Christmas Joy

2008-12-24T15:05:00.000-06:00

We had our Christmas celebration on the morning of December 24 this year. As you can see, both kids were thrilled...the two big hits of the morning were Tyler's train set and Ashley's Barbie Girl MP3 player. What a wonderful day!

Basketball season

2008-12-09T11:50:00.000-06:00

Ashley moved right from cheerleading to basketball, and Saturday was her first game. Basketball is really the only sport she has consistently enjoyed...we've tried soccer a number of times and t-ball once, but she really wasn't interested in either of those. I think this is going to be a great season for her...her shooting is so much better already, and she's one of the older and more experienced girls on her team, so she's getting to take the ball down the court, play point guard on occasion, and is one of the "go-to" girls when they are on offense. They unfortunately lost this game, 14-12 I think, but they still played great and I was very proud of her effort.

Fireman Tyler

2008-12-09T11:44:00.001-06:00

Today is the first really rainy day we've had in a while, and I noticed in the closet when I was getting Ashley's rain jacket out that Tyler has one he has never even worn. And better than that, it's a fireman jacket, and it has matching boots! He has worn the boots around the house all morning (we are home because he's getting over some sort of virus that has had him down the past few days), but agreed to put on the coat so I could take pictures of him.

It's a ham for Thanksgiving!

2008-11-26T19:20:00.000-06:00

Ashley has never been fond of having her picture taken. There are times when she is more amenable to the idea than others, but I often get a tongue sticking out or an arms-folded, frowny face pose (I know Aunt Helen can relate!). Tyler, on the other hand, seems to now love having his picture taken. If the camera is within reach, he will give it to me and tell me to take his picture...he'll smile beautifully, then immediately ask to "See TyTy" on the screen so he can see how it turned out. He also pointed to a picture of the Campbell's Soup boy and told his teacher, "That's TyTy!"...I think that first picture lets you see the resemblance. The final picture is with his friend Annalise, who is just one month younger than him...they've known each other since they were born and Annalise's mom used to keep Tyler for me when she was still a stay-at-home mom...I'd love it if they stayed friends so we can capture pictures of them as they grow!

Pee Wee Bears!

2008-11-17T09:12:00.001-06:00

Ashley had her first cheerleading competition yesterday -- it was the year end "Cheer-Off". These girls were absolutely amazing...considering most of them had little or no cheerleading experience, they did a phenomenal routine. I was so proud of them! In case you can't tell, Ashley's in the back, fourth from the left. Their team won the award for "Most Original Routine". Several of the girls and their awesome coach will be back again next season, so I'm excited to see what they will be able to accomplish next year.

Picture download

2008-11-08T09:44:00.000-06:00

Sorry for being a slacker! It may continue, as now I cannot locate the charger to the camera, and the battery is almost dead! And the pictures came in in the reverse order that I selected them, so you'll just have to figure out which description goes with which pic.

The first pic is of Ashley on Halloween...as you can tell, she was an artist, which was her idea. I was so proud of her for coming up with it...it's so much more fun to piece together a costume than spend $30 on some pre-made one. There are no pictures of Tyler, as he refused to wear any sort of costume. I don't think he quite got it this year, but he was adamant (for many weeks in a row) that he did not want to wear anything other than his normal clothes for any occasion, which honestly was fine with me. He and I stayed at home, while Ashley went trick-or-treating with her friend Paige. I thought he's get a kick out of seeing other kids come to the door in costumes, but since we had no trick or treaters this year, it was a pretty low-key holiday.

The other two pics are from our trip to Selma to visit Mallory's family last weekend. Ashley fell in LOVE with Mamaw's dogs, Trotter and Windsor, and spent every spare moment cuddling with them, walking them, etc. It was very cute, especially since she is not too familiar with dogs and we were all a little worried how the dogs and kids would get along. As you can see, Tyler made himself at home -- he would get in the kennel and shut the door and say "No, Puppy!" when one of the dogs would try to get in there with him. We had a great time...it was nice to get away, especially since we had not been to Selma since Christmas (and the kids had never been!).

Yikes!

2008-11-05T11:55:00.001-06:00

It's been a while since I've posted, hasn't it! Never fear -- I have lots of cute pics on my camera from Halloween, our trip to Alabama to visit Mallory's family, and other various occasions, but it will probably be this weekend before I get a chance to download. So check back over the weekend!

A few other odds and ends...

2008-10-13T21:27:00.000-05:00

Can you believe it? Three posts in one day??? You can tell I finally had time to download the camera tonight! These are just some other random pics I wanted to share...the one of me and the kids in the little train was at the Pink Palace Crafts Fair a couple weekends ago. The PPCF is a family tradition in my family, and I was so excited to be able to share it with Mallory and the kids this year. Obviously, Tyler's favorite part was this choo-choo train (they also had a petting zoo that he thought was pretty cool, though he was hesitant to actually touch anything, or even get out of the stroller for that matter.

The tent that Ashley got from Gramma a few years ago has now taken up permanent residence in a corner of the playroom. She usually sleeps in it on one of the weekend nights that she's home, and Tyler also likes getting in there occasionally.

The third one just made me laugh...Tyler was walking around "talking" to Grampa on the phone (most of his pretend phone conversations involve Grampa). He just looked so serious and grown-up pacing back and forth, having this important phone conversation.

The last picture is entitled "Portrait of a Grouchy Cheerleader"...she hates when I take pictures of her in front of her friends and was just in quite a mood this particular morning, but it was the last regular-season game, so I wanted to get a picture.

Mmm...we all scream for ice cream!

2008-10-13T21:23:00.000-05:00

Or in this case, frozen yogurt! Since it's Ashley's fall break, I decided we'd take a quick detour when I picked the kids up after work and get some TCBY. Tyler insisted on "pink ice cream"...not sure where he got that, but luckily they had some cotton candy-flavored yogurt (Ashley's favorite) that was pink and blue, so he was happy with that. He sat there like such a big boy and was so neat with his spoon...he was actually neater than Ashley until his got all melted and drippy!

Home Improvement

2008-10-13T21:19:00.001-05:00

Well, Sunday afternoon Mallory and I went to the Vesta Home Show. For those of you who don't know, it's where you get to tour 7 houses that have just been built/decorated...these homes have state-of-the-art everything...all the latest home gadgets/appliances/decor ideas.

We were so inspired when we came home to our somewhat aged house, we decided to spend the rest of the afternoon/evening painting our dark brick fireplace. I've always wanted to do it...our den is kind of cave-like due to the trees outside, but I think painting the fireplace is a huge improvement. Next up is the walls, as I've never cared for the dingy blah taupe that currently graces them...stay tuned! :-)

Rock on!

2008-10-03T20:51:00.000-05:00

In anticipation of an upcoming party we are having, we bought Guitar Hero III for our Wii. We just unpacked it and are still in "training" mode, but it's already really fun and Ashley is loving every minute of it, as you can see above.