HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Hope you're all having a wonderful New Year's Eve! We're at the cabin, thanks to dear friends! We've shopped, and groceried, and cooked, and eaten, and played, and played some more! Now to find some dessert and ring in the new year together! Poor Camden is already sleepin', but the Bigs are rarin' to go!
Happy New Year Everyone!

Happy Birthday, Jeff!

Today, Jeff turns 35! We are so blessed to have him as the husband and daddy in our house! He's by far, the BEST man we know! We love you and hope you have a VERY Happy Birthday, Jeff!

Molly and I made this very special cake for him. . .

Mississippi Mud Cake! Don't you wish you were part of the family that gets to enjoy this? It's still warm and i'm VERY tempted to cut it right now to make sure it's edible. . . this is a first-time recipe.

Merry Christmas!

What a wonderful week it has been leading up to Christmas! A night at the cabin with great friends, a LOT of shopping, a movie with more great friends, a playdate, a sleepover, LOTS of cooking and baking, some burning, lots of wrapping, more shopping, more wrapping. Dinner with family, church (except for the little bit that refused to nap today), and a little bit of UNwrapping. Off to bed they go, and i will get busy preparing for tomorrow's excitement. Merry Christmas to all of YOU!

Almost Christmas Outing

After ENDLESS hours of last minute shopping (because yes, i was nowhere near done getting the things i need) these past two days, i took a break and had a fun time at the movies. The girls that attended our cookie swap (post to come soon) all met at the theater (with a couple brothers) and saw The Princess and the Frog!Other than a little "darkness," thanks to some voodoo magic, the movie was wonderful! The soundtrack is bound to be awesome! The kids sat in the row in front of the moms, and it was fun to see them bopping in the seats as the music was playing!

Now, off to baking land and cleaning up and wrapping for tomorrow's influx of family! Let the festivities begin!

Speech Therapy

So, Camden is 22 months old and we're still working on building his vocabulary. He definitely has a delay, but he's #3, so we're sure with our prior experience of speech therapy times 2, we can help him along for a few more months.

So tonight at dinner, Griffin (who is completely exhausted) is fussing and just plain whiny at the dinner table. So i say, "Camden, when Griffin is fussing, say waaa, waaaa, waaaa!" Camden looks him square in the eye after the next word out of Griffin's mouth and says, clear as day, "Waaaaaaa, waaaaaaa, waaaaaaa!"

Griffin couldn't help but cheer up!

Camden's sweetheart!

Camden's bestie is sweet little Gracie down the street! They spend every Monday and Wednesday afternoon together and Tuesday all day! Here they are! Is she not the cutest best friend a guy could have? Maybe there will be prom dates in their future together! Looks to me like they're thinking about holding hands, but decided they might be too young for that!

Story of the Night!

Camden is obsessed with gagging noises. He thinks it's so funny to pretend to burp. But, in his 2 years (almost) of living, he has never thrown up - except for his reflux issues as a baby. He has no idea what a stomach virus feels like. Tonight after dinner, we gave him a small bowl of ice cream and when he was finished, he was sitting so nicely entertaining himself with the bowl and spoon. Then, it progressed to gagging himself with the end of the spoon (he does this game regularly - in the car, in the stroller, etc - sticks his finger down his throat until he gags). He thought it was terribly funny, until . . . .
You guessed it, he threw up! All over his lap. And obviously, it didn't taste so good. Then he cried for himself, because no one else, namely Jeff and I, felt sorry for him. And then it moved to being grossed out. And repeating over and over, in his precious way, "eeeewwww, eeeeewwww, eeeeewwwww!" All the while scrunching his nose and pursing his lips!
He's in the tub now, getting cleaned up! Hoping he learned his lesson on the gag reflex thing! Perhaps he'll find a new way to be funny from now on!

A Minute of the Mouse

I don't have much time to blog, but didn't want to leave you hanging all week! I WILL get caught up on blogging soon, i HAVE to! But, here is a little minute of the mouse . . . and his friends.

Camden LOVED Donald Duck. Funny to me, because Griffin always loved Mickey and Pluto, Molly has always been partial to Minnie and the Princesses, and now Camden loves someone entirely different. He LOVED him. Wanted to touch and just look at him. Was amazed! Truly the "magic" in the most magical place on earth. Camden was the perfect age for this! He loved every minute and was a delight the WHOLE week! I mean a delight. Slept when we would enter a dark theater for a show and snacked when he was too small to ride a ride, and happy as a lark the rest of the time. What a blessing he is to our family!

These are the "magic" lights at Epcot. They are fiber optics in the sidewalk. They appear then disappear and reappear. Camden was intrigued. I think he would have spent half his time there, and been just as happy. Every time they would disappear, he would raise his arms in question and say, "where go where go??" in his own little language that he has! Not sure what strange child those legs next to him belong to. Not a McCreary!

Yes, 18 days before Christmas and here we are, at the Magic Kingdom. The funny story about this day was the kids watching a child eat popcorn off the sidewalk! Yes, from the sidewalk! We were waiting in line to see Santa. The child in front of us stood in front of this marker and proceeded to spill half a bucket of popcorn (might i add approximately $3 worth of popcorn)! About 5 minutes later and two families behind us, the mom wasn't paying a lick of attention to the girl with her, and my kids were freaking out as Molly reported watching the little girl EAT FROM THE SIDEWALK!! I had been showering them in antibacterial handgel from morning to night, so to watch a child eat FROM THE SIDEWALK must have been a freak show to them. When the mother finally saw the child, she barely cared! Molly and Griffin were amazed how relaxed the mother was, guess they could only imagine what my reaction might have been if it were one of mine. . . both suggested i might have induced vomiting or worse, but we won't go there!

Sorry for the sideways picture . . . haven't cropped and resaved and flipped and such yet. Didn't realize it until this was already loaded, but turn your head sideways and note how Camden is looking up at Donald. I believe his eyes were blinking, but he was so interested in looking at him, he would get frustrated if we would put him NEXT to any of the characters for a picture and move back immediately. Not scared, just wanted to be able to look at them and inspect every inch!

Goofy was the master of friendliness and managed to coerce Camden into closeness for a picture. This isn't the best, but it was the first one i clicked on.

It snowed on Main Street at Magic Kingdom and it snowed at Hollywood studios. . . all part of the magic. Again, sorry we're not flipped, but this shows Camden's amazement with this too! He had no idea what it was! It was very real too. Amazing!
And in tradition with saving the best for last . . . this is Camden after his first ride on Dumbo. He was MAD AS A HORNET that he had to get off. Cried and cried. . . well, not really cried, although there were tears, he was just mad! He wanted so badly to stay on the ride. Yes, Jeff is really flinching as there were punches being thrown. Then, he was even more mad that the camera was in his face! It was hilarious at the same time. However, please know that as soon as we told him we were going to ride the carousel, he managed to get it together. The people all around us thought this fit was as precious as we did!

And, to lessen the pain, i think we rode Dumbo 3 more times over the duration of the trip. Its a Small World at least 3 times, and the Carousel (which turned out to be even better than Dumbo) he rode one night about 5 times in a row. . . the cast member didn't even make him get off in between rides!

We had a wonderful time together, are so thankful that Khaki and Papa were with us to share all the fun and memories, and are now freaking out over how much we have to do before Christmas arrives in not even two weeks!

We are having FUN!

So sorry for no posts about Disney, but we left the card reader for the digital camera at home, so we can't dump the SD card every night! But, Papa took this picture yesterday. . .

If this doesn't say it all, i'm not sure what would! We went to Animal Kingdom yesterday. As our last ride, we told the kids, we could ride Kali River Rapids before we left (since we knew we'd be soaked). Camden is too little to ride, so he received the consolation prize of Mickey ice cream while the grandparents took turns riding/staying with him. As you can see, he was not disappointed in the prize!

We are having a wonderful time! All my guilt of missing school and work is now gone as this is worth every bit of it! The kids have been so good, have been very agreeable, and truly are enjoying themselves. Camden has yet to fuss, except for the 5 minute fit he pitched when Dumbo ended and he had to get off of the ride! It was hilarious and if i can figure out how to load videos from my camcorder when we get home, i will post it here!

Hope everyone reading is having a great week. Ours is quite "Magical!"

At the Mouse's House!

We are about to hit the hay to rest up for a busy day at Epcot tomorrow! My feet ache already thinking about how tired we're going to be on this "vacation." But, so excited that we're going to have a super fun week! Hope you all have a great week! I'll post when i'm not too terribly tired. And will upload pics to facebook on the spot.

More Creativity!!

Once again, it's 1am and i've just finished the creative project du jour! Special thanks to Andrea for the fabric. . . i truly did not have time to go to Hobby Lobby today and stand in line for approximately 10 inches of fabric. So Andrea let me raid her stash of fabric scraps instead! You're a lifesaver, and quite honestly, have almost as much fabric as Hobby Lobby!

Here is what i created - a whole set of mickey and minnie shirts. From the littlest peep, all the way to the big dude!

For CLM:

For MGM:

For GMM:

And a closeup of Minnie. . .

Sorry for the blurry pictures. . .it's late and i wanted to post these before we leave. The boys' shirts are red with black mickey. MGM's shirt is black with checked minnie and red bow! I'll take good ones the day they wear them!

From the Mouths of Babes

Today, Jeff is attending a memorial service for a dear lady he knew grewing up and has also worked with in recent years. When Griffin and Molly woke up, he was already in suit pants (side note: if you don't see us daily, Jeff is business casual at the office, never more than khakis and a button down). So as Griffin watched Jeff put on a dress shirt and tie, this is the conversation that ensued. . .
Grif: "Dad, WHY are you wearing THAT?"
Jeff: "Grif, Do you remember me talking about Ann Allen? She passed away and I'm going to her funeral. I worked with her at Bellsouth and she is the nice lady that made the curtains in the keeping room for us."
Grif: "Why would she invite you to her funeral?"
Jeff: "ummmmmm. . . ."

Needless to say, our children have not yet experienced death and the process of funerals and events that follow the death of a person near and dear to them. Guess we'll have THAT conversation tonight or in the near future. Invitations to funerals. . . that could be something new.

Late Night Creativity!

This is my latest late night creativity party creation . . .

I've fallen in love with appliques, and found they are so easy to do. I'm going to surprise Molly in the morning with this one! I'm sure she will love it. We'll be doing a couple days at Disney and i'm sure she'll beg to wear this one as soon as the sun goes down each afternoon! Should i embroider on the back. . . "Ask my mom how you can own this sweatshirt too?" Or maybe i should just take a bag full of them with me and sell them for cash only. Could be a quick way to make some spending money. You know the cheapest sweatshirt down there would cost at least $25 in the gift stores. . . i could sell mine for $19.95 and make a killin'! Too bad i don't have time to make a bunch before we leave. Tomorrow night's late-night party will be to make Camden a Mickey one!
Here's the close-up. And again . . .My kids will only be able to wear them for so long, i'll be passing them on in a year!

Tomboy or Tomgirl?

Our dinner conversation was about whether or not Molly (and a few friends) were tomboys. They like the great outdoors and playing and getting dirty, yet they also love dressup and makeup and girly things.
SO, as Camden carries a pink purse around the family room Molly asks, "Mom, do you think Camden is a tomgirl?"

Gobble, Gobble!

Once again, a little bit of time off from work and school, and i'm feeling creative again! I have been busting trying to find the time to learn/teach myself how to applique. So, tonight was the night. And, just in time for tomorrow morning! I logged on, purchased a design, and off i went to the workroom to try it out. This is my first shot. . . a little rough around the edges, but good enough for a one-day t-shirt!
Dear little Gracie, will get all of Camden's holiday hand-me-downs now! I'll take it to Florida on Dec 4th for Gracie to wear the next 2 years maybe!

So Thankful!

Griffin has been trying his best to grow his hair out to a long "shag" type of cut that is so popular. If you know Griffin, you know he has one of the largest heads imaginable for a child (was born in the 90th percentile and has always stayed there). When he was 3 years old and begged for a cowboy hat, none of the "toy" hats fit and we had to spend 30bucks at the horse and tack store for a hat that would fit. And, to add fury to the fire, he has VERY thick, GOOD hair. However, thick/good hair isn't always the best for every style.

Anyhow, he's been very patient (as have I) in letting his hair get longer and longer. It was so bushy, Jeff scheduled an appointment to let our dear friend Tina, the magic hair stylist, work some of her magic to make it look, at the least, a little better. On the way out the door Griffin announced he was cutting it short! You say, "Big Deal!" Well, this is a HUGE deal as every time we have mentioned a hair cut, he has pleaded not to go, pleaded to let him grow it out, no way was he even going to trim it.

And here we are, the day before Thanksgiving, the week before our big Disney trip (where i'm sure no fewer than a thousand pictures will be taken) and just before the holidays, and low and behold, he is cutting it SHORT!!! SHORT I SAY!! Can you hear me??? SO THANKFUL! I love my Gip with short hair! I did not encourage this. In fact, i think i DIScouraged it just a little because he was halfway to long, and it's never fun to start over. I fear he will just want to start over! He did this all on his own. Now, Jeff drove him to the hair appointment, so perhaps there are secret money exchanges i will never know about; for example, "Hey Grif, if you cut your hair short, i will give you a 20 dollar bill, but you can't tell mom!" But, i'm hoping that's not the case. I do in fact, strongly support bribery of children, when necessary, but this wasn't necessary. It wasn't my favorite, but it wasn't too bad. Anyhow, he did it, here's the proof. . .

A few "in process" pictures!

I think i even see a little bit of a grin on his face as those clippers work. It looks like shearing a sheep there is so much coming off!

Almost done . . .

And here's the final product. . . That's my boy! I think it looks drastically short, simply because it started out so long! (And side note. . . i think that is my least favorite shirt ever). But, i love my Grif! He's cute long haired or short! And has a great personality and sense of sarcasm (that i really appreciate)!

Tater Tots!

A true delicacy in the McCreary household. . . i put some tater tots on a plate for two of my children to "share." And, because i know my children so well, i drew a line down the middle so each would know which tater tots were his/hers and avoid all fighting and bickering about "she ate more than i ate." "NO, he did!" Can you guess which side of the plate belongs to which child?

Daddy Daycare

I had to work today (not a typical workday for me) and Khaki was busy with Garden Club and Ms. Gina had to work her "real" job. SO, Jeff said he was perfectly able to juggle working from home and Camden. I reassured him there were friends i could call and trade favors, but he assured me he would manage it.

This is the picture he sent me mid-day. . .

Ummm, not sure i'll be available to work any more Fridays this year!

Enjoy the glorious weekend! Camden has already started enjoying his!

Funny Feet!

Well, for those of you that love freaky pictures, i've finally taken some of my lovely injured foot/ankle! It is almost 11pm, and i worked today, and was at the ballpark all night tonight for Molly's game. So, i was probably on my leg a bit too much today and not icing it like i have been every other day. Here's what it looks like:

This picture really doesn't do the swelling justice, but if you look closely, you can see part of it. My right foot is truly "marshmallow man" quality swollen.
I admit, i've always had "wide" not pretty feet, but THIS is extreme! When one foot is twice as big as the other foot, you know something is wrong! I go back to the doctor on Friday! I can walk on my toes and the ball of my foot as of today. Still "tingling" when i put pressure on my heel. And quite frankly, there is a weird "itching" sensation right on that bone that pokes out on my ankle. You know that feeling when a "booboo" is scabbing over and the new skin is forming. . . THAT is what this feels like. But there is no broken skin, no booboo (on the outside). So, i'm not sure WHY it itches?? Could it be from the air cast and socks that rub against it all day? If so, why is it just that one single spot? Never anywhere else? Weird.
Anyhow, Jeff is hanging in there playing dad AND mr. mom! I can tell he's stressed and as if home isn't enough, work is hell this week. So he's trying his best to be patient and pick up as much slack as possible. I do admit, i have a lady that cleans my house, usually every 2 weeks, and today was her day to come over. THANK GOD, for Ms. Patty today! I NEEDED a little sparkle around the house!
Off to bed i go. Going to leave the ice on the ankle until i fall asleep and/or can't take it any longer. Still medicating with the anti-inflammatory rx too!

Please Leave Comments . . .

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE go to
www.sosassyandcute.blogspot.com
and leave some comment LOVE!! Molly is trying so hard to be a good "blogger" and she needs to feel the love! You will MAKE HER DAY if you leave her a "compliment" as she calls the comment section. No matter how many times i show her the word "comment" she continues to say "compliment!"

Pumpkin #2

So, pumpkin #1 was a custom designed, painted pumpkin by mom (see below for post). Tonight, we CARVED pumpkin #2! Molly designed this one all by herself. Scooped the "guts" as she likes to call it, and helped Jeff with the drawing and carving. She is very pleased with the end result!

Tomorrow night we'll do Griffin's design. Be sure to check back to see it!

Ouch!

This is what happens when you have your arms full, trying to hurry out of the house, wearing high heeled boots, and think you're at the bottom of the flight of steps and you're really not . . . A grade 2 sprain, air cast, crutches, icing 20 on, 20 off, anti-inflammatory meds, and doing N-O-T-H-I-N-G!! For those of you that know me, i'm NOT good at doing nothing! Notice that nothing starts with NOT!!! UGH! One day down. Instructions were to use the crutches for at least 2 days while the swelling goes down. By the end of the week, i should be able to start easing into putting pressure back on it.

Notice the large lump on the right side!! OUCH! As the nurse showed me how to put the air cast on we were chatting and i said, "I'm just glad it's not broken." Nurse replied, "Sometimes it's much easier if it is!" Ummmm, was that supposed to make me feel better? Because it didn't! At least it's not black and blue. . . wondering if that is yet to be seen, or if it will feel worse than it looks!? Need a pedicure . . . please don't comment about how ugly my toes are right now. I was so embarassed at the doctor this morning when i had to take off my sock!

Oh well, will trudge along with my crutches and sitting a LOT. We're so thankful it's JUST an ankle. I hit the garage floor pretty hard, have a cut on my knee and elbow, but nothing else even hurts. Could have been much worse. I think the Lord was just telling me to slow down for a little bit!

A Day of Fun!

I have 101 things to do. . . no about 475,649,837 things to do, BUT, i decided today to do something i WANTED to do, instead of something i NEEDED to do! SO, for months and months i've been talking about making a dress for Molly. I've also wanted to do something fun for Halloween, so I got crafty with a pumpkin! And, boy oh boy, it feels good to have done something for myself. I left work, laundry, house, volunteer stuff, etc., all undone, just so i could accomplish a couple fun things. See below for what i did today (of course, after i spent 1.75 hours at the kids' school doing PTA work)! Can you imagine what i'll be capable of this time next year when i'm NOT the PTA President any longer?

Project #1:

Project #2:

Yes! I MADE the dress! From the bolt of fabric at the store, all the way to this final product! It's been months and months since i've sewn anything fun! I still want to add a monogram or something at the top, but at least you can see the dress!

Project #3:

No, i didn't make this, but my friend Gina did borrow it from her friend for me, which means I have ALL THREE KIDS costumes for Halloween and halloween is still a week away! This is BIG for queen procrastinator!!!

Have a great weekend!

To - Do - List

So, we all know that i am the PTA president at my kids' school. I know, C-R-A-Z-Y. And what's double crazy, is that this is my 2nd, yes, SECOND year doing it! WHY, you ask? I don't know. I really, really, really, really enjoy my local PTA friends and moms. The benefits are great when you know just about everything going on at the school, you are friends with the principal, you know most of the staff, the staff members know your kids (which can also be a negative), and well, the list goes on. There are drawbacks. . . i won't go into many of those in this post. What i will focus on is the many emails i get from State PTA wanting me to find someone to go to RANDOM meetings/workshops/etc that they are hosting. I will pose a question here: Do these people have nothing better to do on a Saturday????????

The Latest that i am just pondering. . .
Saturday, from 9:30 to noon, the State PTA office is hosting a "Parliamentarian Workshop." If you are interested, you can also take the "Parliamentarian Exam" while you are there!!!!! Seriously, WHO DOES THIS???? What does it mean to pass the parliamentarian exam??? Can you think of nothing better to put on your resume????? SO, my TO-DO LIST for today, is 20 things i could do in my house or with my family INSTEAD of attending the State PTA Parliamentarian Workshop on Saturday.

1 - Have breakfast with my kids.
2 - SERVE breakfast to someone else.
3 - Clean out the basement that was supposed to get cleaned out before this school year got underway.
4 - Go to the park with my family.
5 - Watch a little league game.
6 - COACH a little league game.
7 - Read to a kid.
8 - Bake with a kid.
9 - Take time to wax my eyebrows, instead of plucking them over and over, day after day, awaiting the time when i can actually get to the salon for an overhaul. Do something for yourself for once.
10 - Watch Saturday morning cartoons - seriously can't remember the last time i actually did this one.
11 - Clean the floors that haven't cleaned themselves while I've been sending about 300 emails all related to PTA.
12 - Clean the toilets, sinks, carpets, etc. . . .see #11.
13 - Vacuum out my car. OKAY - it will take a little more than vaccuming to get it presentable, but we can at least start with vaccuming if we're avoiding a parliamentarian workshop.
14 - Buy a celebrity gossip magazine and enjoy reading it and wishing your life could be so "trivial."
15 - Work the dugout at a little league game - seriously i do have to do this on Saturday . . .maybe the workshop would be a better option than this one.
16 - Grocery shop.
17 - Dig up weeds, that used to be flowers, that used to look nice around my mailbox.
18 - Finish unpacking the halloween decoration boxes that were brought upstairs 1.5 weeks ago now.
19 - Plan meals for a week so we can avoid eating out on the days that i spend all afternoon doing PTA volunteer work instead of fixing something for dinner.
20 - Be a parliamentarian in my own home . . . don't siblings fight enough that we should all have to pass the parliamentarian exam just to be parents?? Oh, who am i kidding, it's much better to be a dictator in your own home than a parliamentarian!

Hope you enjoy your Saturday! I know how i WON'T be spending mine! What do you plan on doing?

Molly's Teeth (or lack there of):

Molly has been wiggling teeth for about a year now! Two trips to the dentist, and each time we've heard, "Oh my goodness, almost all of these front teeth are loose!" The last time, the hygenist was suprised when she started "counting" teeth and found that EVERY tooth along Molly's front line was wiggly!


Well, the moment i've been dreading, has finally happened. Griffin never lost teeth this fast! He would lose one, wait for it to get halfway in, then lose another. Molly, not so much! She loses one it seems like every two weeks! Could be her determination to wiggle them all and lose them so fast, maybe?


But now there are basically only two left. . . say what you will. . .

Made My Day!!!

I have had a really crappy day! A good day at work, but for whatever reason, maybe even multiple reasons and stress, i am foul-mood-Fred today! I am grumpy and not a happy camper. Well. . . wash my worries away! I just picked the bigs up from school and Griffin was eager for me to read his "reflections entry." FYI - Reflections is a national literary competition sponsored by PTA. Every school is encouraged to have students participate with literature entries, composition, art, music, etc, etc. Well, Griffin's class had a substitute teacher yesterday and one of their assignments was to write something for the Reflections 2009 theme. This year's theme is: BEAUTY IS . . .
Here is what Griffin wrote (and because i love him despite his lack of spelling ability, i am going to include HIS spelling of words, not mine):

"BUDDEY (Beauty) IS. . . .

If you are looking for something buddiful, look at my mom. She is buddey at any time. She is buddey when she talks and when she sleeps. She is so cute. If you see her you will fall in love with her. That's how my dad fell in love with her. If you wanted to get her, two bad so sad. She has one. She prble (probably) is to hot for you. Get your oney (own)!"

HOW LOVELY IS THIS??? I can't quit smiling now! I know you all wish you were as BEAUTIFUL as ME!!!

Rain, Rain, Go Away!

Thankfully, the rain is gone for now. If you haven't been watching the news, you wouldn't know, but Atlanta has been under water for several days now! Gwinnett County (and several surrounding counties) schools were cancelled Monday and Tuesday. The bus yards were flooded and buses were overturned. Roads were impassable due to flooding. The southern part of our county was much harder hit. Here, in "Hog Mountain" we were just really soaked for several days!

If you haven't caught us on the news, here are a few pictures to put it in perspective. . .

A house around Atlanta somewhere. . .

This is one of the Six Flags roller coasters. . . Six Flags made a statement today saying they hope to re-open on this weekend. Anybody interested in riding this? No thanks!

If you're interested in more photos of the area, go to www.11alive.com or www.wsbtv.com. They both have unbelievable photos of the areas surrounding us! It is so sad to watch on the news. Families have lost everything. These homes were no where near sources of water, most of them, so few people had a need for flood insurance. Total loss.

Thanks to Kroger for offering the "rounding up" for victims campaing. They are allowing shoppers to "round up" their grocery bill and donating the proceeds to the families that have been affected.

Exciting Things are Happening!

8:30am update - School is CANCELLED, not delayed.
So many exciting things in the McCreary house. . .
*Griffin has the flu!
*Camden climbed out of bed last night and then was scared to death so he started screaming!
*School is delayed for 90 minutes today due to all the RAIN that has fallen in the last 24 hours! Streets are flooded, I-85 is shut down, schools are closed. How does this drought-ridden state now have flood watches? Funny, i guess. Just heard that one county south of us received 10 inches of rain overnight. That makes the 4 inches that Gwinnett received seem so pitiful!
Have a great day! I think it's going to be a wet one if you're nearby!

Cookies!!!!

Yum yum. Even though my house is messy and i have dirty dishes galore and a to-do list for work very long, i decided that making some homemade cookies to greet my kids when they got off the bus, was more important! Wish you could smell the kitchen right now! Better yet, wish you were here to share one!

Camden with the Days!

Camden is loved by my friend Gina and her girls on the days that i work at the preschool! Gina graciously agreed to pick him up on his school days and take him home for a couple hours, and also watches him on Tuesdays when i'm at work. The one thing i fear when he is there, is that he might become a big UGA fan!! Yikes!

Clara and Gracie (Gina's girls) are the sweetest little girls around and Camden LOVES to spend his days with them. (Any mention of their 3 names and Camden starts blowing kisses any which-a-way!) Here is a picture of all of them, sitting on a bench, sharing a drink together! If they could talk, i wonder what the two littlest would say?

PS - Don't tell Jeff, but notice the BRACELET on Camden's arm!!! HA - do you think he'll be any worse for the wear by spending his days with two girls? I love it! This would make Molly proud!

Whatcha Think?

Okay - Messed around for an hour now, just to "customize" my blog. Let me know what you think with some comment love!

All for Baby Gracie!

First Day of School. . . for Camden!

Today was the first day of Mother's Morning Out for Camden. Of course he cried when i left him, but it didn't last long! I peeked in his room twice and once he had a mouth stuffed with a paci and the 2nd time he was happy as a lark just flitting around being an 19 month old! Here are a few of the mandatory "first day of school" pictures. . . I think he might have known it was a big deal . . . check out the grin on his face!

I will add a sidenote: He was HAULING down the hallway one time, ahead of the rest of his class, and i heard one of my preschool teachers holler to Ms. Dana (his teacher) - "Hey, you better grab him, he knows exactly where he's going!" He was headed straight to my office to find me!

Khaki was kind enough to pick him up and when i finally arrived to pick him up from her house, he was thrilled to see me. Nothing quite like that baby face running to you at the end of a day! True love!

. . . Really??? Again!

Check this out . . .GATOR GAB . . .and our government is PAYING this woman!
Gator fans everywhere should be ashamed!

. . . .Really???

I have so much to blog about, but no time to blog. My one comment for today is this - as ESPN in on the television that is in front of me. Jeff was watching the little league world series, left the room and left the tv on when it was over. . . Now who is on??? Michael Vick!
What a crock of crap! I called it how many years ago??? Two?? Barely? I said, the day he was found guilty and sentenced, that he WOULD play ball again. I was disgusted at the THOUGHT then, but today, i am more disgusted. He is being interviewed right now. Not sure why it even caught my attention, but i happened to look up and saw his name across the bottom of the screen. I will say, i like sports, i love college football, i love major league baseball, but really, this is a crock of crap!!! That the NFL would allow this man to be paid to play this sport after what he did . . . a crock! DISGUSTING!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOLLY!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to our Molly girl!! I can't believe that she is 6 today!! This picture was taken 3 years ago when she was enjoying birthday cake and ice cream for khaki's birthday!! Boy how time flies! But what a treat it is to have a daughter, and especially one as sweet at Molly. In her bookbag on Friday, there was a note from her teacher . . . "Molly is a model student!" What a nice compliment to hear!
Molly - you are a true gift from God. A little bit of sprinkles on the cake that we've been given in life! You are beautiful, talented, and most of all, filled with kindness and love for others! You are a true delight and we love you very, very much! I hope today is a very special day for you and that each year gets better and better the older you get!

UGH, Meetings!

Have you ever been to one of those meetings that it is so off base, you just can't help but to laugh through the whole thing. Tonight was the night. I won't go into too much detail as i don't want to get called-out for complaining, but i HATE, and yes, that is a strong word, HATE meetings that stray so far off the course they were supposed to be on, that it becomes totally irrelevant to the others in attendance.
Am i rambling enough for you? I attended a TWO HOUR meeting tonight, that when it was all said and done, should have been a maximum of 30 minutes! UGH!
I had to have a beer when it was all over because i was just so frustrated of having spent TWO HOURS accomplishing nothing!! TWO HOURS!! Does no one know how important two hours is this time of the year?
I attended with Amy, Andrea, and Tamara, and i'm so glad i did, because they were great company to be in. Thanks for a fun night, girls! NOT! I enjoyed my time with y'all, but next time, let's just go have dinner!!

Are You a "Pray-er?

I have so many wonderful things happening in my own life, but yet i am silenced and hushed by things going on around me!

I have found out that 3 people that are dear to my heart and so special to me, have all been diagnosed with cancer . . . all within two weeks of each other! My heart is filled with pain for them and what they are going through.

Two of the three are fellow "moms" that i know and admire, both diagnosed with breast cancer, both in their 30's. They are both showing strength and fierce bravery to fight the fight! But to know that they are only in their 30's. It truly makes you realize that this can happen to any of us!

The third is a dear friend of our family! He might as well be family as we spent many times together around the holidays! He has cancer of the stomach.

So i ask you to pray. . . For each of these people. Pray for them, for their families, for their doctors and for healing. I know that we can offer meals to those nearby, and to help with their kids, and to clean houses, and whatever else needs to be "done", but really prayer is the force that will carry these 3 through these next few months. And go get a mammogram!! Or at least let your doctor check your boobies for you!

Thanks for praying with me!

First Day of School '09!!

Today was the Bigs' first day of school . . . Molly is in 1st grade, Griffin is in 3rd! HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?? When did they get so big?? Check out these pictures and you'll see what i mean. . .

Molly up close, looking SO pretty in her first-day-of-school outfit. (It has practically killed her not to wear this outfit until now. . . we've had it since early July):
Griffin . . . note the collared shirt, because he probably won't wear it again this year, unless it's a Sunday church day! Also, please note the new tennis shoes. . . he INSISTED on getting Under Armour tennis shoes (i know, that's what's COOL, but have you seen the price??) Boy is quite the business man. . . talked Dad and i into giving him the money we would have spent on your "average" pair of tennis shoes and he paid for the rest himself! That's how bad he wanted them! Aren't they dapper??
Molly again . . . probably one of the prettiest pictures i have of her -


Griffin, up close . . .again, a pretty good picture. . . it's a REAL smile -
Feeling the sibling love??
And then there's sweet Camden that seemingly, looks excited that the other two are finally going back to school . . . (notice the mismatched pj's . . .half Christmas pj's, half old preschool t-shirt . . .it really stinks to be a 3rd child)!!!

But really? Apparently no one wanted to have their picture taken with Mom. . . look at the painful looks on their faces!! Maybe we'll skip this shot next year!
They should be home in about an hour and a half! I'm hoping they both had great days, because i've already informed you that they both have AWESOME teachers!