Bellingrath Gardens

We visited Bellingrath Gardens tonight with my parents and my brother Mike and his wife Linda. It was great company and a beautiful walk on a not so freezing night. The pictures without Ansley actually in them were taken by Ansley! I think she did well. The night setting on our camera STINKS. Maybe a new camera will be on the top of my list for Christmas next year - as well as a teeth whitening session which I totally want! Anyway - enjoy the pictures.
Stephen will ring the new year in with my mom and dad (which means asleep and oblivious) but we are going to take Ansley to a party at my good good friend Jill's house. We will see if she makes it for midnight. Who knows?

Happy New Year Everyone!

Christmas 2008

Christmas was (and still is I guess) are great success. Stephen has been sick all week though - but seems to be on the mend now. We attempted to go to the dr. today, but there was a 2 hour wait once we got there, so we opted for heading home - out of the swarm of germs - and hope that the Robitussin will do its job. Unfortunatly, he has his daddy's gag reflex so the medicine is not the easiest to get down.

Everyone had a great time - gave and received great presents - and besides the 80 degree weather, high humidity and rain, it has been a great week. We loved having Luke and Sara stay with us. Christmas Eve was fun at Jamey's parent's house. Jamey's mom has 2 sisters and 2 brothers. They were all there with their assorted kids and grand kids. The kids all played well together - and some cousins even met for the first time. And Melia announced that a new baby BOY cousin was on the way - due in May. Pretty exciting.
Christmas Day was breakfast at our house while opening presents, then lunch at JAmey's grandma's house and then dinner with Jamey's aunt and uncle and cousin on his dad's side.

Here are a few pictures:

The BEFORE shot:The AFTER shot:
Here are a few others from the day:






We did attempt the mall today, but by noon the crowds were too much for me. I am not an inside mall person anyway, so I was happy to leave to go have lunch with my mom - who did work today!

Hope everyone had a great CHristmas! I know we did. Luke was home from Iraq - my kids are beautiful and healthy (well, Stephen is still sick, but thankfully he is getting better), Jamey's family is all healthy and rapidly growing in number. Christmas 08 was definitly a great time.

3 more days!

Three more days until school is out and it can NOT get here fast enough. I stopped wishing my life away when the kids were born, but I still hope the next three days of school are uneventful and go quickly!

Today was Stephen's Christmas program. He wore his little corduroy pants and sweater vest - he little man outfit! He sat with his class on the stage for their 2 songs - jingle bells and we wish you a merry christmas. He didn't sing exactly, but he rang his little Christmas bell and yelled "Hey" at the right time! In all, the performance last about 45 seconds (Jamey's kind of Christmas program for sure) but it was perfect and he was the cutest one there - in my opinion anyway. Watching him do that sort of things just makes me fall in love with him over and over! He has my heart for sure.
Tonight I told him it was time for bed and he said, "No night night." I said, "Yes, night, night - HoHo is watching to make sure we are obeying." ----He went right to bed. When Jamey went to kiss him goodnight, he told Jamey, "Hoho watching Daddy."

And as for Ms. Ansley - this is the conversation we had tonight on the way home from dance class (her dance class - not mine for those of you wondering)

Ansley: Why do people put Christmas lights on their houses?
Me: Well, they look really pretty and it is fun to decorate for Christmas, don't you think?
Ansley: I guess - but I was sort of thinking that maybe the lights on the houses should remind us of the bright starlight that led the sheperds and wise men to baby Jesus.
Me: Yes, you are right.

I cannot, CANNOT, compete with the spiritual and Biblical lessons from Jackson Creek Academy! Wonderful wonderful school - Stephen will be there as soon as I can potty train him.

Ansley's program in Friday and I am so looking forward to it. I will post some picture soon!.
Merry Christmas!

Happy 5th birthday to my favorite girl!

My big girl is 5 today! I know people say it all the time, but I can't believe how quickly time passes. She can read 3 letter words - she has her own little circle of friends - she bathes and dresses herself - and she has her own opinions which she is more than willing to share!

Everynight she asks me to carry her to bed - and every night I do. One day she wont want me to - so I will carry her until she decides on a change! Sweet baby girl...

Stephen insisted all day today that is was his birthday too - and Ansley was good enough not to be upset by it.

I asked her this morning on the way to school if she felt wiser now that she was 5. She replied, "They don't teach wiseness is kindergarten, mommy!" And promptly rolled her eyes. :-)

I have never been this far behind..

Christmas is totally sneaking up on me this year. With a trip to Disney and then another trip to the mountains four days later, my house is a wreck. Piles of folded laundry are waiting to be put away. Random bags from both trips still sit in my living room. Some presents are stashed in the closet but not a single one is wrapped. I guess Christmas will come no matter what is or is not accomplished and that is a good thing. (Isn't that a lesson from The Grinch who stole Christmas?)

But despite my being so behind in some areas, our tree it up and beautiful. The kids decorated the tree last night and that was really fun. Well, actually, they decorated the lower 30% of it or so. And they would not allow Jamey or I to change a few of the ornaments to the top part of the tree, so our uneven, yet beautiful tree, is ready for the season. It was really fun watching the 2 kids decorate the tree. They had a good time unwrapping each ornament - they would get so excited holding each one up. And the ones they liked the best were the ones they had made. Those are actually my favorite too! Our tree is not coordinated by color or by theme. There are no expensive matching ornaments.Our tree is truly a reflection of our family. From the ornament Jamey and I bought at Disneyland in California on our honeymoon 8 years ago to the thumbprint snowmen the kids made last year, I do love our Christmas tree!

I am counting down the days until school is out. Next week is CRTs, angel tree pickup, 2 Christmas programs, 2 Christmas parties and no, I repeat NO, half days of school. Sure State Education People - kids are really eager and willing to focus on their studies the last 2 days before Christmas holidays! Those will be productive days of school, I'm sure.

17 days until Christmas!

A few Disney pictures...

Here are just a few of the pictures we took while in Disney. It was a great trip - hotel was not the greatest, but other than that it was very nice!

Home again, Home again

Well, we made it back from the Smoky Mountains about 7 last night. And it is currently 7am and Ansley and I are not rushing this morning. Actually, she is still asleep. I am going into work a little late, not because I am tired really - I just can't seem to make myself rush this morning. And Ansley could use the sleep.
We had a great trip to the mountains even if it was a short trip. Jamey's uncle took us up in to the Smokys and we got to play in the snow. The views were fantastic.



Both the kids seemed to enjoy playing in the snow. It was cold, but got even colder the next day when we went into Gatlinburg. We just about froze walking around! We ate at this fabulous place called the Pancake something - it is supposed to be the first pancake house in Tennessee - whether it is or not, it was still a fabulous meal!

5 moments at Disney -

More details to come but right now I am so tired I can't even blink...

#5 - Spa day at the Grand Floridian - massages, facials, soaking in a Japanese bath - words cannot describe...

#4 - Eating breakfast with Belle, Sleeping Beauty, Jasmine, Mulan and SnowWhite. I am pretty sure Jamey has the hots for every single one of them - and thats ok I think :)

#3 - Watching Stephen with Mickey Mouse and Goofy! We thought they would be his favorites, but on our last day, he shared a bond with Princess Belle, and I am pretty sure he was smitten. He took her hand and waved bye-bye to the rest of us!

#2 - Watching Ansley FINALLY meet Cinderella. Or maybe it was when she met Minnie Mouse. She whispered to us after the Minnie Mouse encounter that she thought Minnie wanted her to stay longer. She was absolutely happy at that moment. And truly convinced that Minnie Mouse was already missing her.

#1 - Being with my family. My brother is not in Iraq. He is the best uncle the kids could hope for. Being with Jamey's family who love my kids so much. And Aunt Deej (elizabeth) who called around specifically to find out the location of one very sought after princess in a blue dress.


Disney World was great. But there is no place like home.
More details and pictures to come.

Orlando here we come!

We are leaving for Orlando as soon as Jamey gets home from work today. I am so excited to take the kids. I love Disney World (Jamey and I went to Disneyland for a day on our honeymoon) but the thought of showing it all to them is just so exciting. I know Stephen wont remember much, but Ansley is at the age where I am hoping some of it will stick.

I am shooting for a great family picture in front of the castle to use for our Christmas cards.

Ansley is ready to load her suitcase - I guess I will post again from Disney!

Thoughts on Texas, birthdays, football and pajamas

Well, tonight I am a happy girl. Jamey has been gone since last Thursday on a trip to Austin, Texas. He went to a geek convention. Actually, the real name was the supermicrocomputing somethingorother, but he said it was pretty much a dork convention. They invited certain high school teachers from around the nation to attend the conference to see how to better integrate micro computing into education. He had a good time but I am pretty sure he is glad to be home. And i know the kids and I are certainly glad to have him back. He also brought back a suitcase full of SWAG - or stuff we all get. The kids loved it. It was pretty much a bunch of little light up gadgets and stuff but the kids had a lot of fun with it.

I did have a great birthday weekend though, even with him being gone. Saturday night my mom arranged a little surprise get together for me and some friends a this local place where you go and they walk you through painting a picture. Here we are hard at work painting and drinking wine, and then painting some moreIt was a lot of fun and I totally recommend it! It was only about $30 a person I think and you bring your own food and drinks.

Let's see, what have I done to get ready to leave for Disney in less than 48 hours? Um, NOTHING. Well, I did find Stephen's mickey ears, but I have no clue where Ansley's are. About 6 months ago, Jamey said something like, "We should really put these up so we will know where they are for Disney." Yeah - well, that was a great plan and all....

We do have a great concern though about the return from Disney. There is a game (you may have heard of it) called the Iron Bowl that will be played at 2:30 on the day we are to return from Disney. So we have 3 options really:
1. Leave Disney at midnight Friday night and drive straight back here (I am voting for this one but Jamey says I am being unrealistic)
2. Add another day to our trip and just stay in Orlanda - that is fine and all, but I would really like to have my Sunday to recover from the trip and prepare for the week.
3. Leave orlando Sat morning and drive until 2:30 and stop somewhere - not so appealing b/c what would the rest of us do while Jamey and his dad are watching the game?

I am not sure what we are going to do...

On a side note - I just want to send a shout out to my dear friend Morgan. One of the best Mommies I know and an inspiration to me. Ansley says for me to add, "and she lets me do projects and doesn't tell me to clean up all day."

Here are Ansley and Stephen modeling their new Christmas pajamas courtesy of Nanny - who was my life saver the past 5 days while Jamey was gone. Think - Live in Nanny and Housekeeper.

A sad, sad world

Ansley: When you were little, did you have popcorn?

Me: Yes - we had popcorn when I was little.

Ansley: Did you buy popcorn at Target?

Me: No, there was no Target when I was little.

Ansley: (said with wide eyes and a gasp) What a sad, sad world with no Target.

----This post is lovingly dedicated to my sister-in-law Sara, who is the most dedicated Target fan I have ever met! :-)

Pictures from the weekend

BIrthdays

This past Saturday we celebrated Ansley's 5th birtday and Stephen's 2nd birthday. It was actually a little early for Ansley as she is not 5 until next month. But December tends to be so crazy it seemed to work out better to have the party for both kids in November. I think they both had a good time. Stephen did really well considering the number of people there. And I was not going to make him open presents - I thought it might stress him out - but Jamey sat with him and together they made it through the presents! Melia took pictures for me in the party room so I will post those as soon as I get the disc from her.
Luke and Sara were there for the party and we are so glad they came. After the morning party, our plan was to eat at the new Bass Pro Shop restaurant - we got there about 1 on Sat. afternoon and there was over and hour wait AND they wanted our group to split up! Not happening. So we drove to Wintzells only to get there and discover the power was out. So becuase everyone was starving and the kickoff of the Alabama/LSU game was quickly approaching, we ate Mexican - not my favorite AT ALL. But the fellowship and company was good and everyone had a good time. Until, as we were leaving, my mom saw the health raiting of 85 and was not pleased to say the least. My mom is an AVID health ratings watcher - probably moreso than most people. But at that point, what could we do?

Today we are home becuase schools are closed for Veterans Day. The kids are eating waffles and watching the Disney channel. Jamey is still sleeping. I am trying to decide whether to tackle the disaster that is Ansley's room or, perhaps even more exciting, mop the kitchen. Decisions, Decisions.

Thanks to everyone who made the kids' party so special. To have so many people who love my 2 kids is really an awesome thing.

Voting Day and other thoughts

Well, I did something today I have never done before: I stood in line to vote. No, it was not my first time to vote - I have been voting since I turned 18. But this was the first time I stood in line for a significant amount of time. And to me, an hour is significant! I can't really get into the 24 hour coverage of the election. It is what it is and watching it slowly unfold is just not appealing to me.
I do hope whoever wins, and at this point it looks as if Obama will, that he doesn't screw things up! I will be watching for the change he has promised for so many months. And I am glad that the elections are almost over! And does anyone else get sick over the amount of money on campaigning spent by BOTH parties? Anyway - that is my tangent for today.

Both of the kiddos are asleep. Stephen has been going to bed about 7:30 and this means he is getting almost 11 hours of sleep at night. He needs it - he plays so hard at school. Ansley is usually asleep by 8:30 if not before. My kids have always been good sleepers once I got them off their night nursing addictions. When you work, it is much easier to give in and nurse them (which is what they want) than to try to get them to self soothe back to sleep 4, 5, or 6 times a night. Sometimes I felt like an all night buffet! But I wouldn't change anything. I loved nursing those babies. What a special thing.

Lets see - in this post I have discussed politics and nursing - and neither were planned topics! Those of you who know me well wont mind, I am sure :-)

Halloween Fun

We had a great Halloween. We started out by trick or treating in the neighborhood. Stephen really got into it, but his legs move a lot slower than his almost 5 year old sister so she left with the neighbors and hit about 15 more houses than Stephen and I. But it was so much fun. I am almost sure that watching your own kids trick or treat is more fun that it ever was actually doing it yourself. He would ring the doorbell and say twickertweet and hold his little Elmo bucket out for candy - it was so precious!
We then went back to our house for a party - neighbors, friends and family came over and we all ate mummy dogs and spider cupcakes and jack-o-lantern cake (made by Elizabeth!). It was really a good night. Ansley fell asleep about 10 on the couch while people were still here, but Stephen was apparently running off sugar and was still lapping the house as the last guests were leaving.

Jen and Elizabeth (senorita and um, well, maybe Hannah Montana? I am not sure)
Babu and Stephen hanging out
Jamey and Ansley bobbing for apples -


My parents - AKA Nanny and Poppy - AKA Cruella Deville and Jasper from 101 Dalmations: Ready for trick or treating with our neighbor Shannon ( a sparkly cat)

Our Halloween party table
My cute little pirate: Checking out the available candy:

Field Trips, Festivals and Funny Faces

Ansley's class from school visited a farm in Tanner Williams and they all LOVED it. The main attraction is a giant corn maze, but the teacher opted out of that activity (wisely in my opinion) and everyone had a great time. Hay ride, cow trains (see pic below), petting zoo and corn cannons - and it was wonderful weather.

Ansley's social calender has been keeping us seriously busy lately! Last Saturday was the fall festival at her school and it was a fun day. I love her little school. In fact, she is going to stay there for K5 instead of coming with me. I work at a great school, but that little caring, loving environment at Jackson Creek just can't be beat! One more year there at least; then we will re-evaluate. We were glad that Luke and Sara and Mater (or MAYMAY as Stephen calls him) could come for a visit.

Yes, that is my mom riding a horse at the fall festival. And did she do it when we were all there to watch her? NO - she waited until we went to another activity and Sara was the only one there to see and take pictures.
Ansley and 2 of her friends on the hayride.



Riding the hay ride at the fall festival (above) and Ansley riding a horse (below)

Nanny and Ansley eating lunch at the fall festival. (below)
2 funny faces:

a few recent pictures

Stephen and Babu - being silly.


Striking a pose:


From left to right: my mom, Jamey;s grandma, little man, Jamey's mom, my dad - leaving church a few weeks ago.