Merry Christmas!

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!

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!

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

Mmm, brownies!

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

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!

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

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...

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

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

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

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...

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

A Quick Update

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...

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

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

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...

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...

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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...

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!

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!

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

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!