What to do....

What do you do with an old window frame? Why you get creative (ok, I stole the idea from a store) and put pictures where the glass went. This is something we are going to hang in Emma's room. I think I'll go back and paint yellow & green dots or something around the outside of the frames edge. Emma got her own digital camera for Christmas so she will be able to take pics and change them out herself.



This is one i did years ago and have up on the wall in our bedroom. The kids were still very little (3 and 5 I think) so I thought it would be great to have black and whites of the kids with prints to remember them by. I went out and found hand made linen paper and used a green that is in the bedspread.



I've also "used" their ideas about getting ceiling tiles and creating cork boards for Nolan's room and using a metal sheet, painting on it, drilling holes (my neighbor had to do this) in it, and hanging it in Emma's room (I also did one for my neice).

I think the store is onto me, I get people watching me as I take pics with my camera phone!! Oh well...

Christmas - the third time

Well, Saturday we went to my mom's house to do the Christmas thing. I was working a wedding that night i was about 1/2 hour later than I wanted to be to get Christmas started. Here is a pic of mom's tablescape. This is the same one - minus tree branches, that she used for her Sunday School dinner. OK, your not supposed to have competitions with your fellow SS attenders over tables, but believe me...it happens.

In this picture you can't really capture the ambiance, there were lights that ran along the table.



We had a lot of good food and conversation, then the kids excitement got too much and we headed in to open presents.

Mom got the three girls a pair of gloves, Amy and I got black and Ash got ruby red. So of course what else do you do with that?

Hear no evil, speak no evil, see no evil (have no fun)

We then opened our next gift which was pepper spray. Morgan ranked as one of the women this year and was given pepper spray also and of course the "Charlie's Angels" pose came to mind.

The new Charlie's Angels

Random acts of gifts.

you can't beat Under Armor!

What boys face doesn't light up at an Xbox 360... you would have thought it was a red rider BB gun!

There is just never enough dress up clothes!

Just plain havin' a good time.

CHRISTMAS MORN 2008

Well, since the kids are bigger and we've adapted the 3 present rule...let me go ahead and explain this so I don't get hate email. I heard a few years ago from a friend that they had gone to the three present rule. "Baby Jesus got three gifts for his birth...why should we get more?" Now, with extended family...your still bringing in a haul, so it's NOT as bad as it sounds; and yes technically Baby Jesus' gifts were in the realm of uber expensive. Anyhoo, the kids get to ask for three gifts. Now mind you they are 12 and 9 so the gifts can be fairly expensive. So far they pulled in a PSP, a new digital camera, PSP games, a desk, and games for the Wii (that Todd's side of the family bought the kids), and airsoft gun, Itunes gift card, gift card for more PSP games, Auburn shirts, Magnetix and a webkinz. This is all before we do the Christmas thing at my moms house on Saturday. When the kids were small and we thought we had to spend a lot of money, we became so disenchanted with Christmas morning because we realized the kids got stuff just to get stuff. They didn't really play with it all, it had been more because we felt that they needed more under the tree. Once the 'ol Santa thing was no longer believed in, we went to the 3 gift rule.

The first Christmas I spent with Todd's family it was like a wildlife experience. His brother and sister were still very young (Matt was three when we met and Megan was born that first year) the paper came flying off the presents at a horrific speed. A paper cut from one of the wrappings could cause you to have stitches. At my house, we had always taken turns so that everyone could see what you got and then you passed the wrapping paper to my dad who threw it into a trash bag. (This was our tradition for as long as I can remember, don't know if it actually worked when we were toddlers). Anyway, Todd has made fun of us for years, even though his brother and sister had to admit, most of the time they couldn't recall what they got once they had tossed the box to get to the next.

So here is Todd who has now conformed to our ways and Yemma is oblivious that Todd has charged her digital camera and has been taking pictures with it.

Of course the morning starts out with Christmas cheer and love. Here are Emma and Nolan expressing this... Todd and I have bets on how long it will last.

1st day of Christmas Break

I slept in until 10:00. I didn't know I could do that anymore. I figured I was starting to be like my dad who couldn't sleep in after 6:00 each morning because he had been getting up at that time for many years. (In retirement he can now sleep in for an extra 1/2 hour)

Anyway, The first thing that I find out is that Todd's G-ma Betty died in her sleep last night. She had been failing in her health but because we are so far from them I don't think that we realized how far she had gone. (She lived in Watertown, S.D.). He is still trying to figure out if he will be able to go to the funeral on Tuesday.

The glass guys are coming out to give us a quote on replacing the kitchen window that I shattered. (I'll tell the tale of how at a later time)

a look at the window

Emma and I went to see the Tale of Despereaux. She had read the book in school so we were waiting for the movie to come out. We met up with the Atherton's (beaus family) and some our other school friends to see the movie. Once it was over, we headed straight to Basketball practice.

The Atherton's are out of town for a few days so we are keeping beau again!

Got Talent??

My girl does!!!

Today started out with a basketball game at 10:00 as well as our art exhibit. Luckily they were both at Briarwood so we were able to sneak upstairs to see all the art after we took our team pictures and before the game started.

Emma picked out her dog picture and her sunset picture to be displayed.

We then hit the courts. Todd is one of the assistant coach's this year.



We were off to the 2nd performance of Holiday Show offs. I didn't get a picture of her in the first outfit they wore, but she was basically dressed like a candy cane. The second number was in the "overalls". They sang about sleeping on the hardwood floors, christmas cookies, and gettin' nothin' for Christmas.

(we couldn't take pics during the thing so i had to do it backstage)


Next, she was the top Ring of the 5 Golden Rings for the 12 days of Christmas song.



here are 3 of the 5 golden rings.


My red eye isn't working on the camera so this one isn't great, but you see how high up she was. The tree behind her was 10 feet.



We had friends come and see the show as well as her teacher.



It was a lot of hard work but we had a great time!

December

My December is crazy. I know, I know, you are all saying DUH, it's December. Well this one is the craziest one I've had in a long time. Emma is in a show called Holiday Show Offs, it is a derivative of her Summer Show Offs. The 3rd and 4th grade have most of the songs in this musical number so they are practicing Monday - Wednesday for the first two weeks of December. We are talking 2 hour practices. My night time supervisor is on vacation at the moment so i am having to supervise the night events at the Church. We had nursery on Wednesday night for the choir and then on Thursday night for a Visitor's Dinner. Today is Saturday and I am finally getting a little more of the Christmas decorations up. Emma, Cat (girl that works with me), and myself are headed to the BjCC tonight to catch a Christmas montage of songs from various recording artists such as Casting Crowns. Up early tomorrow as i have to be at work at 7:00 in the morning and then I have to work tomorrow night also. This Wed - Friday we have the walk through nativity at the church. It used to be a drive through but about the 4th year so many cars were coming through that there wasn't enough time in between scenes for everything so they changed it to a walk through. Now, you can stroll at your own pace and if you miss some of the story being told you can wait to hear it again. There are live animals in the scenes as well as a petting zoo for the younger ones. Coffee, Hot chocolate, and cookies are served in the fellowship hall. After this week my night supervisor should be back so the double shifts will be over with - PRAISE GOD.

Emma went home with a friend for a birthday part this friday, she has only done this once or twice before but those times were with people that knew more about her diabetes. I was a little freaked this time, and of course she forgot to call me before she ate dinner...but she did prick. I'm trying to get her to be more independent but i still need her to call me with a carb count and for me to make sure she has pricked. Maybe I will get the opportunity to go to Auburn after all!! We then went from that party to the Pelham Civic Center to watch her friend Caroline in an Ice Skating program.

Two days after Christmas we have a wedding that needs Nursery...yup, that's mine to do also.

CALGON ..... take me away. (if you remember this, your old like me)

Some more family

On Friday, we had my cousin Greg along with his family...Michelle (wife), Ben, Sarah Grace, and Maddie came into town on their way back to Texas. We love their visits but they are always too short.

Thanksgiving 2008

I'm so thankful to have my whole family here for Thanksgiving. Ashley and her gang +1 a friend of Morgan's named Shayla came from Tennessee for the feast. First things first, I had to get a pic of Emma and Matthew with their pumps. Some families have twins, some have physical anomalies, we have two diabetics :-(

We have Morgan, Paul, (Shayla - family friend).

Nolan, Emma, and Matthew.

My mom LOVES to make tablescapes. She does this every Christmas, for a dinner that her Sunday School does, and actually almost anytime she can justify doing it. As i was about to take the picture my sister Amy asked if I wanted her to take the beer and wine cooler off the table. I told her I was going to "keep it real" and put it all out there. So here is mom's Thanksgiving table.

Now, Nolan was grounded from ALL Electronics this nine weeks in an attempt (however futile) to help Nolan learn the art of remembering his books, assignments, and to study for tests. OK, Nolan's report card was very good, I just saw a lot of slipping in his responsibilities. Anyhoo, since his cousins were going to be in town, Nolan and I entered into a contract where he would do 3 math sheets each day. So...all that to explain why Nolan is actually doing "homework" and how I got him to do it on Thanksgiving.



I know the "BIG GAME" isn't until Saturday, but since Ash and the kids were going to be gone by then...we thought we would have our stand off now. WAR EAGLE!!!

A day with Emma

I don't usually get a "girls" day with Emma unless I am taking her to the Dr. Today however, we met up with the Lee and Emily Atherton at Painted by U. Nolan went with Ashley's crowd to see their other set of grandparents so Emma and I had a day together. We had a great time painting a turtle plate for her teacher. I had my camera with me but didn't think to get pictures of the event :-( Anyway, after that we grabbed lunch while I went into work for a little while. We then proceeded to Hancock Fabrics and to Hobby Lobby to get some things I needed to make Christmas things. By the time we got home Ashley was back with her crowd. We ate pizza, played on fb for a while, watched juno, and I started making the deviled eggs and sweet potato cass. for tomorrow.

Historic Birmingham

I did the historic tour of Birmingham today with Emma's 4th grade class. 

This is the class getting ready for the bus ride!

The bus ride...

Our fist stop was at Morris Avenue. This street is still cobblestone and has many of the original buildings that were used for grocery stores, banks, etc.

The train tracks ran behind the buildings that were used to carry in products. The horse and carriage would then distribute it around the city.

the peanut depot

We then went to visit the four skyscrapers on a street corner. This corner is known as the "Heaviest Corner on Earth". The structures heralded Birmingham's coming of age at the turn of the century when the smokestacks of heavy industry belched the soot and grime of prosperity.

The residents of Birmingham were sure the dominance of the soaring structures made the intersection the "heaviest corner on earth." - Birmingham News

The John A. Hand Building is one of the four original skyscrapers.

We then preceded to drive by Sloss furnace and learned the history of the steel making in relation to the growth of Birmingham. We continued on to the Alabama Sports hall of Fame. The kids got to meet Jennifer Chandler. She won the gold in diving at the 1976 olympics and is pictured below with the girls in front of her display in the hall of fame.

She gave each of them an autographed card with a picture of her diving on it. Our next stop was lunch at Brookwood Mall and then on to Vulcan.

Now, they have really changed Vulcan since I last went. It has always been a joke that he was "mooning" Homewood and instead of the spear he now olds, he used to have a torch. This torch would glow red if there had been a fatal car accident in Jefferson county within the past 24 hours and green if there had not.




We got to see the opening to the mine which Vulcan is build on and also the trestle that still stands where the train ran.

It rained off and on during the day but we had a great time learning our history and being together.

Cinderellie...Cinderellie

Techincally.... I'm not a stepmother. Those of you with young children will not understand the following pictures. When you have little children you clean up after them in all ways. But, as they get older..you realize you are not their maid and start expecting them to clean up after themselves. I gave the kids (ages 12 and 9) instructions last night to "mama clean" the t.v. room and the computer room while I was out being disappointed at the movies with my sister. Please be warned that the following contains crude and violent images that are only to be carried out in extreme and dire circumstances. They were taken to prove my side of the issue when my kids are on the couch one day at $150 an hour talking to some shrink about how horrible their mother was when it came to cleaning.

I know there are smiles on the faces but I actually think it is just a reflexive thing when they see a camera pointed at them.

We were able to bag up two trash bags of junk and now my baseboards are dust free. Do you think it would be too much to have them wash down the walls.... humm, stay tuned.

How can U tell it's time to clean your house?

What, you say you have some dust bunnies in the corner? There is a pile of clothes ready to be washed? I laugh at your definition...HA. Let ME tell you how you can tell it's time to clean the house. When you find a spider on top of the bookshelf that makes your husband flinch and ask for more paper towels before killing. when you go to clean the sink in the kitchen and find a build up of ??Stuff?? on the drain that makes you want to shower for an hour after touching.

I don't really consider myself OCD, but when I get into the "over the top mood to clean" it can get fairly ridiculous. My kids know to stay out of my way and not to bother me unless the house in on fire. I hate to get distracted when I am in the zone. I've been there a little tonight and hope that tomorrow provides more of the same... my house could use some major OCD time from me.

Today is my sister Amy's B'day...happy one Amy. All she wanted was to go see the Twilight movie, so what is a big sis to do??? Take her there (yes, I was one of those people who read the books).  

I also made Russian tea for my workers this morning who seemed to love it. I had to make copies of how to make it so I thought I would post it here.

Ingredients:

2 sticks cinnamon

2 cups H2O

1 tablespoon whole cloves

3 tea bags (individual size)

2 cups sugar

2 cups o.j.

1/2 cup lemon juice

Boil the cinnamon, cloves, and H20. pour over tea bags and let steep 4-5 min. While warm you need to add the sugar, then the o.j. and the lemon juice. Mix together and remove tea bags, cinnamon and cloves. You will need to dilute this with equal parts water.

WAR EAGLE

We attended the Auburn game yesterday and had a great time. They played UT Martin and on the first kick off Auburn ran in for a touchdown. The rest of the game didn't play out so easy but we did win in the end. We met with Dr. Disney and family for some tailgating before the game.

We went and bought some t-shirts and had our faces painted (what else!)

The kids went with the dads to the Tiger walk while Lee and I set up all the tailgating stuff. It's a little hard to tell from these photos, but the Tiger Walk at Auburn is " An Auburn tradition which began in the early 1060's when Auburn players would walk from Sewell Hall to the football stadium and fans would line Donahue Drive to wish them well. Over the years the Tiger Walk has grown into a major part of fame day at Auburn, so much so that it is listed on the players' game weekend itinerary. The largest Tiger Walk is believed to have taken place prior to the 1989 Alabama game when more than 20,000 well wishers lined the street. Every Tiger Walk prior to home games draws thousands and over the last couple of years the Tiger Walk has become a standard as Auburn football players enter stadiums on the road. " - taken from the Tradition, History, and Legend page at the Auburn website.

Of course, then comes lunch.

Finger lickin' good!

Dr. Disney has a trick he likes to preform ... one cupcake in one bite.

Now comes.... GAME TIME!

Here is another Auburn tradition ... the eagle being released over the crowd to fly around the stadium and finally land on the AU at center field. This game, the eagle "Tiger" was released almost directly behind us.

Toward the end of the game we were able to finagle our way into the student section and see some up close action.

Of course since Auburn won ... it's on to Toomers Corners.

Of course when you have 85,000 + at a game, it takes a while for the roads to clear. So we tailgated some more and had a snack before heading out.

We had not had anything to drink but I'm not so sure about the person who took this fuzzy pic??



Not having gone to Auburn myself, I'm sure looking forward to the day my babies get to have all this fun (while attending classes of course!!)

I'm a die hard Auburn fan, but having landed in Alabama by way of North Carolina through Montana; I can honestly say that the best fans are those that are born and breed.