6 Years of Wedded Bliss

In about 8 hours,  Vince and I will have been married for 6 years :)  To celebrate, we are doing yard work this morning while it is still cool out, and then Bella is spending the night with her grandparents <3  We are going to have dinner at either Dish or Zada Jane's... It's still a toss up right now.

It's a beautiful day today, time to get back out there and enjoy it!

Recital 2011

Just a quick one before I call it a night... Tonight was Bella's 2nd Ballet/Tap Recital and it was AWESOME!  She really has learned a lot, and it showed in both her numbers.  She was part of the rainbow in her ballet piece, and a rain drop in her tap piece.  It was so cute I almost wanted to rip my eyeballs out, yep it was that adorable.  Post recital, we went to Hawthorne's pizza for some celebratory dessert.  Kudos to Bella for a job well done, and a little celebration in honor of Jamma's birthday today.  She is the ripe young age of 67, and I can only hope to be in as good of shape as she is.  The lady still plays tennis 3 to 4 times a week on a country club team. wow.  By the end of dessert, Bella had fallen asleep in Jamma's lap... Priceless.  Now Vince and I are going to watch Hot Tub Time Machine.

xoxo

Prepared but not ready.

I had a talk with my Mom last night that I have been dreading for a couple of months or so.  Papa is really not doing well.  He has walking pneumonia and a hernia right now, but my Mom and Great Aunt Doris think something else is going on, possibly lung cancer...

So let's just look at a few facts.  Papa is hands down my absolute favorite family member and I have been blessed so far to have him for over 34 years of my life.  He is going to be 90 in October, and if cancer is found, let's face it, we are not putting him through chemotherapy or any kind of nonsense.  He has been progressively getting weaker, and he does not recover quickly from anything.  The inevitable it seems, is upon us.

I hope he is able to attend Andrew and Sarah's wedding June 25th.  He is supposed to walk Sarah down the aisle...

My heart is sad.

I am happy that he has met and knows little B-bo so well.  She loves her Great Papa <3

So Pretty

Just one more before I call it a day... It was Noodle Night tonight, and as a nice surprise Diane made homemade lasagna.  It was delicious!  Before dinner though, she drug me out into the front yard to cut some of the most beautiful deep purple irises I have ever seen.  With 5 daisies added in for a little pop, I had myself a gorgeous little arrangement.  On the way home, Bella began to fall asleep right as we were turning into the neighborhood.  So we took a few extra loops in order to seal the deal :)  I carried her right to bed without so much as a peep <3  Good.Day.

Just Plain Nice.

Vince is off from today through the weekend.  He decided last week that he was going to take these days off, and I'm so glad he did because he really needed a break.  After he took Bella to school this morning, we did some major work on our side yard next to the garage.  We're no where near done, but we made some progress :)  After taking a shower, I went to Hobby Lobby and then hit up Salvation Army since it was half price day.  I scored a designer Helen Wang silk dress for $3.50!  I also found an original piece of pottery for our garden, and a green glass for Keri because she collects them <3  Enjoy the pictures of my scores, and I'm going to enjoy a glass of wine while I wait for V & B to get home.  Happy Wednesday <3

10 years!

10 years ago today, I met a boy on my friend Keri's sofa.  We ate lunch, watched a Tom & Jerry cartoon, and mostly just laughed.  It was an easy conversation, and it didn't hurt that he had piercing blue eyes.  I found out later that he tried to call me at work the same day, but my co-worker, Dave, answered the phone and wouldn't let him talk to me.  Dave knew that Vince was getting ready to go through a yucky divorce and that he was on a destructive path, and really he was just trying to protect me.  Well, Vince found my number anyway, called me, and we went on our first date on April 28th, 2001.  It lasted for a full 24 hours, and was the best first date ever!

Here's a simplified version of it... I had to assist my Aunt shooting a wedding that night so we didn't meet up until almost midnight.  He was beginning to think I stood him up... silly boy.  Anyway, we went to a party, but had to leave quickly because it turns out that his soon to be ex-wife was there too.  I only knew her as an ex, not ex-wife.  So we went to Huey's and had beignets and coffee.  It was about 3 a.m. at this point.  From there we went to a local park to swing.  We talked throughout the whole night about anything and everything.  After the park, we swung by my aunt and uncle's house to grab some pillows/blankets/change of clothes, and then we headed up to Cloudland Canyon to watch the sunrise.  On the way there, Vince told me he loved my taste in music.... Read this as telling me he loved me on our 1st date :) Quick note, I was on my period, so there was no home run so to speak, but there was A LOT of making out.  We stayed awake all night, and the sunrise was really beautiful.   We took a short walk to the canyon edge, and laid on a blanket under a tree for most of the day.  Somehow, that day, I knew.  But I certainly never guessed I would be where I am today.

I couldn't be happier <3  Does life get pretty stressful at times?  Hell yes it does, but I wouldn't change a thing.  I have a wonderful husband that makes me laugh, and a beautiful little girl that certainly keeps me on my toes.  Who knew that 10 years ago was the start of something this special.

I will end this with a picture of our Rhododendron that bloomed for the very first time since we moved in 5.5 years ago.  Vince and I both have worked really hard to nurture this plant so seeing a bloom this year felt fantastic <3

Relief.

Saturday night around midnight, my Grandmother went to be with Jesus... as they say down in south Georgia.  The most prevalent emotion right now is relief.  She is no longer a burden on my Mom, and she is no longer suffering.  Win/win if you ask me.  The funeral will be on Saturday, but I will not be going.  Bella's ballet recital is Friday night, and it's my 6th Anniversary on Saturday.  My Mom told me that I needed to be home with my family.  Since I was there helping her with everything leading up to my Grandmother's death, she gave me a hall pass and told me that she and Andrew could finish it up.

One silver lining out of all this is that Andrew and I will be splitting the money my Grandmother had left right down the middle.  These were her last wishes in her will.  It couldn't be coming at a better time because not only will I be able to settle all of my credit card mess, but we will be able to pay Vince's parents back, pay off Vince's 2 credit cards, pay off the rest of my student loan, and have a significant savings after it is all said and done.  What my Grandmother didn't do in life, she is certainly making up for in death.

Now a little about Sunday before I go.  Church went well in the morning and we had lunch at home.  Bella got 3 new nail polishes from the Easter bunny and after she gave me a glittery pedicure, I let her paint her own fingers and toes.  While I watched of course :)  When she was done, she had glittery toes like me, one pink hand and one purple hand.  She needed to try out all the colors <3  While Vince and Bella had a dance party/room cleaning session, I put away laundry and did some light picking up.  We had dinner with Vince's parents outside on their deck, and it was very lovely.  Once home, I put Bella to bed, and then Vince and I watched "Easy A" before calling it a night ourselves.  Very cute movie by the way :)

It's Monday, traffic was horrible on my way to take Bella to school this morning, and now I'm contemplating a nap.  Last week was a long week, and I'm still catching up it feels like.

xoxox

Family Picture

Here we are in our Easter best <3  xoxo

And I made my dress by the way :)

Easter Morning

Bella woke up at 5 a.m. this morning to find out what the Easter bunny may have left her.  I got up to tell her it was fine for her to enjoy her Easter basket, but that she could not go outside to find Easter eggs until 7 a.m.  At 7 on the dot, she had her shoes on and a sweater and was ready to head outside.  I asked her to wait 15 more minutes for me to get up, and long story short, she did not... She found all but 2 of the eggs before I could make it out there.  Needless to say my feelings were hurt because I wanted to watch her look for them and take pictures.  Now I'm mad, and my 5 year old is crying because she is the reason I'm mad.  What a great way to start off Easter morning... I helped her find the last 2 eggs, and then she told me she was sorry and that next year she promises she will wait for me.  All is forgiven, and everyone is smiling again.  While she cracked open her eggs for more surprises, I made breakfast for her and coffee for me.  While all of this is going down, where is Vince you might ask?  Asleep.

She loved everything the Easter Bunny brought, and was very surprised.  My favorite 2 things, a mini pink and purple basketball so she can play with Vince and I, and a book all about Panda Bears which she is already spouting facts about :)  Plus, she got 3 new nail polishes, so I think I see a pedicure in my near future.

Now it's time for me to shower.  I'm wearing a dress that I made this morning for Easter service.  It fits me perfectly, I love it, and I will post a picture later.  I'm going to attempt to take a family picture before we meet up with Vince's parents for church this morning.

Happy Easter <3

Dramatic.

While Vince and I were getting dressed, Bella showed up at our bedroom doorway with a piece of paper that had a heart drawn on it and it had been cut in half.  When I asked her what that was all about, her reply, "I'm heartbroken because Daddy only made a sign for you and not me."  She and Vince had been making Easter decorations earlier this morning, note the picture down below.  Well, while she was in her room pouting, Vince made a little sign for her that said Happy Easter Bella! and all is well with the world again.  She requested some tape so she could patch her broken heart since it had been healed.  Her words not mine...  My kid is so dramatic <3

The Journey.

The past 5 days have been a roller coaster of emotions, to say the least.  Let's start with Sunday, and bear with me, this is going to be a lengthy post...

Sunday.  I slept until about 8 a.m. before making myself get up.  After a cup of coffee, I launched into action by packing Bella's things, packing my things (not very well I might add), and making a pb&j for B-bo with a lot of snacks as well so we wouldn't have to stop for lunch, just gas.  We were loaded and ready to go by 10:30, and off we headed on our 6 hour road trip to Cordele, GA.  Why, well, my Grandmother, my Dad's Mom, had a heart attack on Thursday.  My Dad was an only child, so guess who happens to be left to take care of my Grandmother... My poor Mom.  Anyway, per my Grandmother's wishes, no feeding tube/IV's, she has been going down hill since my Dad died, and she is ready to die.  I will finish talking about Sunday, and then I will get to the conversation my Mom had with her on Saturday evening.  Bella watched The Fox & the Hound and Tangled, before reading/drawing for an hour and then napping the last 2 hours of the trip.  We got to the hotel around 4:30 and my Mom met us there shortly after we arrived.  We had dinner at the Cracker Barrel, and then visited my Grandmother in the hospital.  Children under 12 were not allowed to visit patients in the hospital, so I went to see my Grandmother alone while my Mom waited with Bella.  I was terrified to enter her room, and once I did, I saw a shell of what used to be my Grandmother.  She was out cold, due to pain meds, so I just told her I loved her and left the room.  I waited with Bella while my Mom went to check on her, and then we went back to the hotel.  After I gave Bella a bath and put her to bed, my Mom busted out a bottle of wine from the mini fridge :)  Hell Yes!  We chit chatted and watched The Amazing Race, before calling it a night.  No sleep was had by me though, because BB snores.  She had woken Bella up by 11, and she and I laid awake until about 3 a.m. counting the stars from her star turtle hoping to drift asleep.  The remainder of the time there, BB slept on the sofa in the front room.  We had a suite, so to speak, with 2 rooms.  This way, Bella and I each had our own bed, and BB had a room to herself.  She doesn't sleep well and often wakes up and reads/watches TV until she can fall back asleep.  This way everyone won.

Now for a quick side note before we move on to Monday.  When my Mom visited my Grandmother Saturday night, they actually had a conversation.  My Grandmother said she had been talking to her Mom/brother T.W./Hugh Sr./Hugh Jr. (my Dad).  My Mom told her that if she was ready to go that she should, and not to worry about us that we were ok, and that everything was taken care of and ready.  My Grandmother then opened her eyes, looked at my Mom, and asked if she had to come back.  My Mom smiled and said, "No, you don't."  My Grandmother said, "Good, because I don't want to."  And those were the last clear words she has spoken.

Monday.  Every morning, while we were there, Bella and BB would head down for breakfast in the hotel and let me sleep in.  Gotta say, that was my favorite part of the day.  Anyway, Monday was spent taking care of banking accounts/life insurance policies/funeral arrangements/flowers.  Fun stuff so to speak.  Bella was terrific throughout all of this, and having the ipod touch helped tremendously.  Once all the errands were done, we went back to the hotel and went swimming.  The pool was quite cold, but once you got used to it, it wasn't so bad.  Plus they had a hot tub, so you could warm up every now and then.  B-bo swam for a good 2 hours, and she needed to in order to burn off some energy! We then went and checked on my Grandmother, located the nursing home she was being moved to on Tuesday, had dinner at Zaxby's, and then went to see the movie Hop.  It wasn't bad, not outstanding or anything, but definitely entertaining.  After I put Bella to bed, my Mom and I watched a Top Model Marathon.  The season where Whitney the "full figured" model wins.

Tuesday.  Post breakfast, we headed over to my Grandmother's apartment to clean it out.  Basically we bagged up all her clothes and knick knacks to take to a Habitat for Humanity Restore for donation.  My Mom already had some people interested in the furniture and she went ahead and gave it all to them. It was a pretty easy process, and a son-in-law of a friend had a truck so he came out to The Manor, loaded up all the stuff for donation and took it there for us so we only had to make one trip.  Awesome.  We made a stop by Wal-Mart for some groceries so we could have a "picnic" in the hotel room, instead of more disgusting fast food.  Fresh fruit and sandwiches sounded awesome!  Of course BB got Bella some books, and a few more toys, but what are Grandmothers for?!  After lunch, both BB and Bella napped, and I watched a marathon of Tabitha's Salon Make Overs... Don't ask...  We had dinner at a little local Italian restaurant, and then we went by the nursing home to check on Grandmother.  Bella could visit her here, but in hind sight, maybe that wasn't such a good idea.  The nursing home was absolutely depressing and Bella being the observant child that she is was soaking it all in and not afraid to voice her observations either.  For example... That lady looks pregnant... Wow lots of people have chairs with wheels... It smells kind of terrible in here.... Why does that guy have a squeaky toy... What's wrong with her face....  I think that's enough...  Once Bella was bathed and in bed, my Mom made me watch Hawaii Five-O the new series, which she mostly slept through, while I downed half a bottle of wine.  Seeing my Grandmother in the nursing home struck a nerve.  She didn't even look human.  She is basically starving herself, and wow does that reek havoc on your body.  My Mom and I agreed that she needed a closed casket ceremony with her photo on top.  No one needs to see her this way, and I don't want it to turn into a gawk fest.

Wednesday.  After my Mom went and checked on my Grandmother in the morning, we decided we all needed a break, and we went to the Flint River Aquarium in Albany, GA.  It was about 45 minutes away, and totally worth it.  I was super impressed.  Bella got to touch a live baby gator.  They had an albino alligator named Moonshine that was so cool to see.  The assortment of fish they had was unbelievable, and they had a bird sanctuary as well as many interactive exhibits including a tunnel system that when you crawled through it had little aquariums throughout for close up view.  We also watched an IMAX movie called River Monsters all about what lived in the oceans and seas during prehistoric times.  We hit up a Ruby Tuesday for lunch, where a random stranger ended up paying for our lunch.  When my Mom asked the waitress for our ticket, she told us that the gentleman sitting near us had paid for our meals because we looked like nice people and he liked to do nice things every now and then.  How cool was that?!  I told my Mom that he was obviously flirting with her because I had a kid in tow, and I could tell that made her day :)  We stopped by the mall so I could grab some hose and while we were there my Mom got me some hot high heel red patent leather shoes for the 2 dresses I have made recently <3  Once back at the hotel, we went for  an hour swim, and then got cleaned up for dinner at the Cracker Barrel with my Dad's cousin Marvin and his lady friend Carol.  Marvin is an attorney, and he is handling all the will stuff.  Dining options are very limited.  Post dinner, Bella and I waited in the car while my Mom went in to check on my Grandmother.  I didn't feel it was necessary to expose Bella to that again, and my Mom agreed.  After watching a little Master Chef, my Mom and I called it a night.

Thursday.  When I woke up, Bella crawled in my lap, told me she was homesick and that she really wanted to visit Pap Pap and Jamma.  My Mom looked at me and said, "I think today is a good day for all of us to go home.  Because even if Grandmother passes today, we can't do anything until next week due to the fact that it's Easter weekend."  So we all packed up, and Bella and I were on the road by 9:07 a.m.  My Mom caught a flight out of Atlanta around 7 p.m. and we were home at 3!  After unloading the car, having a snack, and me, I took a shower, well Bella and I chilled out on the sofa and watched Despicable Me.  Great.Movie.  When Vince got home, we met his parents at Pine Lake for dinner.  Bella was asleep by 9, Vince and I were out by 10:20.

Good Friday.  Bella is currently on a play date with her grandparents having lunch, dying Easter eggs, and watching Despicable Me.  Vince is off work today so we are enjoying each other <3

My Grandmother is still breathing, but it truly is just a matter of time.  So the funeral will be next week, and when that happens my brother and I will fly to Atlanta to meet up and then rent a car to drive down to Cordele.

It has been a long 5 days, but now I am home and it's going to be a great weekend.

xoxox

Family Portrait.

I took this photo 2 years ago, and today it has finally been framed and hung above our bed.  On the dogwood tree that frames the zinnias in Pop's garden, it's three blossoms just before the petals open representing our family... Vince, Bella and then Me <3  I am so blessed.

Mixed Emotions.

My Mom called yesterday to let me know that she was flying to Cordele, GA because my Grandmother was in the hospital again and at this point decisions have to be made.  Well, my Grandmother ended up having a heart attack yesterday, but my Mom didn't find out until today when she got into town.  Long story short, my Grandmother does not want to be resuscitated, or a feeding tube so basically it is just a matter of days before she passes.  I told my Mom to let me know if she needed me to come down and help her because it couldn't be more perfect timing... Bella is on Spring Break.  She needs me, so Bella and I will be headed down Sunday morning.  It's only a 6 hour drive, Bella has been dying to see her BB, and I can tell my Mom really needs some help with this one.  It feels good to be needed, and to actually be able to help out.

Once there, I will need to help my Mom pack up all my Grandmother's stuff from the assisted living place, and then decide what to do with it.  The hospital is taking care of Hospice arrangements, and my Mom was  going to a funeral home to make sure all was in order in that arena.

Here is where my mixed emotions come in... My Mom, and her Mother-in-law (my Grandmother) did not have the best of relationships.  My Grandmother was not nice to my Mom, so it's ironic that it's Mom who is left to take care of her.  My Grandmother did try to change her ways late in the game, for example, she paid my rent in college for my final year at Texas Tech, but it was all too little too late so to speak.  Now she is getting ready to die and I don't really feel anything.  I feel relief, but I feel it for all parties involved.  My Mom because she won't have to deal with it anymore, and my Grandmother because she will no longer be living a lonely/suffering filled/depressed life.  And I feel a little guilty because I don't feel much of anything else.

Hmmmm.

Missing BB

Bella knew that when she got home from school yesterday that she had to clean her room before she could play outside.  I walked by at one point to check her progress, and she had emptied out her piggy bank with her money all lined up and organized on her floor.  About 10 minutes later she said she needed to ask me something and could I please come to her room.  She then proceeded to give me all of her money, about $12.87, so that we could now go to the airport, get on a plane and fly to BB's house for a sleepover.  She went on and on about how much she misses BB and that I said we needed money to fly to California.  How do you explain to a 5 year old that plane tickets are very expensive when she has just handed over all the money she has?  Sweet, sweet girl <3  It's Spring Break next week, and a lot of her friends are going places, so of course she wants to go somewhere too :)

This morning,  I walked her to class so I could take a picture of the eggs all shiny and dry.  Plus, B-bo had her hands full with a blanket for their trash free picnic for lunch at school today, an Australian boomerang for show and share, and a backpack full of 3 library books and her lunch.  It looks like it will be a perfect day for picnic, and I'm feeling pretty creative myself.  Happy Friday!

Egg Project

This morning, I did a fun little egg project with Bella's class.  We took paper mache eggs and glued little fabric squares all over them using glossy Mod Podge so that when they dry they will be nice and shiny.  2 kiddos at a time created some really cool eggs, and told me all kinds of stuff while they worked.  I love working with B-bo's class, they are all so cute and amazing :)  When everyone was finished, Bella helped me set the 2 trays of eggs in the window so they could dry overnight.  Everyone will be able to take it home on Friday just in time for Spring Break to begin.  I will add another picture of the class's finished eggs when I take it of the shiny dry eggs Friday morning.  I just love arts and crafts... if that wasn't obvious <3

Wednesday.

Vince has been home from work for the past two days due to lack of internet access.  When you are a web company with no web access, things don't go so smoothly.  It's been nice having him home, and he has really needed the break, but it has thrown off my normal routine.  In a good way, but those 6 loads of laundry aren't going to do themselves :)  So now, I'm going to have one more cup of coffee before I get back to work on my second dress.  It's the same pattern as the silk one I just made, only I'm using a really nice linen.  It's a whole different experience this time around  because linen is a bit easier to work with and it lays and flows differently so the dress is going to have the same shape, but an alternate vibe.  I'm anxious to finish... Now I'll leave you with an out-take from this morning's photo shoot.  Apparently I'm a comedian these days.  Better enjoy the laughter now before it turns to eye rolls...

Silk

My Mom got me some beautiful silk, when she went to China 2 years ago, that is black with red cherry blossoms scattered about.  Well I finally found the perfect pattern this week, and I decided to go for it.  It was challenging for sure, and I made a lot of mistakes, but I am very pleased with the outcome for my first attempt using a very difficult fabric.  It fits me perfectly :)

First Bouquet of the Season

Just thought I would share our very first bouquet of the season.  It is simply irises and azaleas in a clear vase.  Gorgeous <3  Bella is finger painting on the patio and I'm working on my Chinese silk dress some more before bath/dinner/bedtime...  Not too bad for a Monday.

Lovely End...

It turned out to be a very nice Sunday.  After a couple of cups of coffee, I put on my overalls, that I've had since I was a Freshman in high school, and went out to our vegetable/fruit garden in the backyard to get it weeded and prepped for seeds.  Thanks to the monster storm the night before, it didn't take very long at all.  While I walked around and shot pictures of all the flowers in our yard, Vince and Bella planted some Snowbells, or Sugar Snap Peas.  Bella has been put in charge of these and couldn't be more excited about it.  (She checked on them before school this morning.).

After a little clean up and some list making, I headed out to Home Depot for mulch, and Hancock's for stabilizer, while Vince and Bella went to the grocery store.  A little backwards, but that's how we roll in our family :)  We all returned home around the same time, and while I did some more weeding and mulching, Vince played basketball with Mark Jenkins in the driveway.  Bella went from the front to the back doing her own thing as well, I was just happy she was outside soaking up the sunshine.  When the guys were done playing basketball, we all pitched in and gave the dogs a much needed bath.  Always a good time!

Next, it was time for the humans to clean up and meet V's parents for a yummy salmon/grilled corn/pasta salad dinner with homemade chocolate pie for dessert.  I also did a mini photo shoot with Bella in Jamma's beautiful flower gardens while there too.  It really is a beautiful time a year!

Now it's Monday... I'm going to finish a t-skirt I started on Friday first, and then I'm going to prep pattern pieces for a dress I'm going to make for myself out of the beautiful silk my Mom brought me from China.  It's black with red cherry blossoms scattered about.  It will be my first time to sew silk, but I'm up for the challenge!  One more cup of coffee I think before I get started <3

Insert clever title here...

I believe I left off early Thursday so let's start there... I completed a t-skirt (FOR SALE!) before heading to get Bella from school.  Once Vince got home from work, we headed to Pine Lake CC to meet his parents for dinner.  Works for me, free dinner and I don't have to cook, the perfect combination :)  B-bo fell asleep on the way home, so I carried her to bed and she slept in her underwear - her favorite thing to do - and I got a hall pass from reading stories.  So tonight we both won <3

Friday.  After fighting with a slight case of creativity block, I put together another t-skirt, but I ran out of my iron on stuff I use for the embellishments.  Hopefully, I will finish it up this weekend.  Anyway,  I stopped by the bank and Hobby Lobby before heading to school for the kiddo.  She not only has dance class today, but she also has recital pictures.  Tap and then ballet class are first with pictures following.  I finally got to see her tap costume, which is a blue sequin flapper style dress with long gloves and a blue feather in her hair.  I believe she is a blue rain drop, and the cutest damn thing you have ever seen <3  Her other costume is a blue/purple plaid leotard with a white tutu and a blue bow for her hair.  I.can't.wait.  We didn't get home from all the fun until almost 7, and Friday is always a long day for her, so while she took a bath, we ordered pizza and decided to watch Tangled.  I love Friday nights.

Saturday.  We were all up by 7:30, slowly waking up and making a plan for the day.  After  a couple of cups of coffee, and a little light yard work, we headed out for a Home Depot/Target run.  By the time we were done, our Volkswagon Rabbit was packed to capacity.  While I unloaded and put away the Target purchases, Vince distributed the mulch/lava rocks and got our next round of seedling trays set up.  I worked on the Gladiola/Iris bed weeding and cleaning it up.  We have had our first Irises of the season bloom, and they are a beautiful deep purple.  Plus all the azaleas, the flox, dogwoods, Star of Bethlehem, and bluebonnets are in bloom right now too.  Our yard looks really pretty this time of year.  After lunch, I decided to take a nap, and Bella fell asleep on the couch watching the Masters... I'm sure my Dad was smiling in Heaven at that one :)  While the girls slept, Vince's Dad came over to look at and discuss some dead trees in our yard, and to switch out chain saws.  They ended up cutting down a few branches of one of the 3 Bradford Pear trees that needs to come down.  It's a start... After my 3 hour nap, I was feeling much better.  I played Princess Memory, Candy Land, and Chutes and Ladders with Bella while we listened to a Disney station on Pandora.  She is amazed at how many princess songs I know, tee hee hee.  A huge storm rolled in around 6:30 and we turned off all the lights, opened a few windows and enjoyed the flashes of lightning and claps of thunder all through the house.  Bella got out her window markers and began to draw a rain scene on the front storm door.  I love how she is not bothered by storms at all, in fact she is pretty fascinated by them and liked how the lightning was lighting up her drawing while she created it.  B-bo went to bed a little after 9, and so did Vince and I.  Lack of sleep had finally caught up, and there was no need to fight it.

Now it's Sunday morning.  We were all awake at 6:30 feeling well rested :)  Vince is finishing cleaning up the kitchen this morning from his baking session gone wrong yesterday, before making some breakfast for us.  I think we are going to get some more mulch today and clean the inside of the house today as well.  Sunday is always bittersweet... Still the weekend, but a reminder that the beginning of the week is right around the corner...

Also, all the flowers in this post are from our yard! Happy Springtime!

The Rundown...

So here is what's been going on this week :)

Monday... I picked up Katie and Trip around 11:30 to go have lunch with Bella.  We all got to eat outside because it was beautiful out so the table was full of us and about 4 of B-bo's friends.  It was a lovely lunch, and after it was over, I took Katie and Trip to see Bella's classroom so they could see what kinds of things she does everyday.  Trip loved it and didn't want to leave.  He didn't understand why he couldn't go on the playground with all the kids and play too.  After I dropped them back off at V's parent's house, I headed home for an hour or so and did some cleaning.  When I picked Bella up at school, we went to Pap Pap and Jamma's so she could play with her cousins and we stayed for dinner as well.  By the time we got home, it was bedtime for B and chill out time for me.  Long day with a lot of driving...

Tuesday... I got quite a few VF orders this day and spent most of my time returning emails and designing custom pieces.  After school, we hung at Liz's for about an hour instead of driving all the way home because it was Primary Parent Night at Bella's school.  She was so excited that we were going so she could teach us some of her lessons that she works on daily.  Vince ended up not being able to come due to horrible traffic caused by the tremendous storm we had the night before.  While there, Bella gave me 6 lessons.  3 were math related, 1 art lesson, 1 flower lesson, and then 1 lesson on the water cycle.  They were all really cool, and especially the math ones.  I wish I could have gone to her school when I was a little kid.  She was so upset when we had to leave because she said she had so much more to teach me :)  I love that she LOVES to learn!  Again, when we got home, we launched into our normal dinner/bath/bedtime routine, and while I got stories read and a mooga tucked in for the night, Vince did our taxes.  Yea for a giant refund!  Did I mention that most of it will go to fixing our bay window... who knew that one window could cost a few grand to fix... BOO!

Wednesday... I busted out a fun t-skirt for a client and brainstormed about some new inventory before it was 3 and time to pick up the kiddo.  When we got home, she played in the backyard with the dogs, looked for silk worms, and checked to see if any fairies had taken residence in any of the fairy houses <3  Vince had a long class and didn't get home until after 10 exhausted from his super long day.  Only 2 more weeks of class before summer break for him so to speak.  Poor guy is working his ass off and needs a break.  We went to bed around 11ish thinking we would be getting a great night sleep... silly us! Bella has all of a sudden decided she is afraid of the dark.  Now she has a night light, a star turtle, plus there is a night light in the hall bath that shines in her room because we leave her door cracked.  Well, the batteries in her star turtle are low and need to be recharged so it doesn't stay on very long right now.  Between the hours of 1 and 3 she was up 4 times turning on lights, getting water from the bathroom or just running around through the house.  Normally when she wakes up in the middle of the night, she turns on her lamp and plays quietly in her room until she feels sleepy again.  I don't know what has changed to where she feels she needs to get the whole family involved during her late night playtime.  Needless to say, I am not the most pleasant person when I am awoken from a deep sleep for nothing.  By the fourth warning, it sunk in and she finally went back to bed, but not before stealing 2 hours of sleep from the rest of us.

Thursday... So due to the late night events of my kiddo, I am not feeling at the top of my game today.  I forgot to make sure Bella had shorts on under her dress this morning, and so the whole car ride to school was spent reminding her to sit like a lady and not show everyone her panties.  Yeah, I don't think it sunk in, but at least she is throwing her Capri Sun pouch away after lunch instead of putting it back in her lunch box so it can leak all over it and her backpack.  It's the small victories I choose to focus on today :) So now I'm home, and I'm getting ready to be creative.  Is the weekend here yet?

They are always listening.

Yesterday morning, Bella was sitting at the kitchen table finishing her breakfast while Vince and I were in our room getting dressed and ready for the day.  While Vince was getting some pants out of the closet, he farted.  I hear this little voice all the way from the kitchen say, "What do you say Daddy?"  Vince's reply was, "How did you know it was me?"  Her response, "because you do that all the time."  Classic.

Moral of the story, kiddos are always listening, so be careful.

xoxo

Yuck

I just finished conducting my phone interview for health insurance... Sure was fun talking about my bout with depression/Father's death/OCD and all the fun things about me.  It has left a bad taste in my mouth, mainly because I didn't know the person on the phone, yet they are asking me all kinds of personal questions.  Fun.

Anyway, yesterday was another successful day.  The holly bushes have been sufficiently butchered, all grass has been mown, and the gutters have been cleaned out. Whew, that was a lot, and we still have quite a bit to go.  We headed to the grandparent's house around 6 for dinner with V's parents and his sister and the nephews.  We had delicious steak with fried potatoes and carrots.  Diane made her special creamy apple pie for dessert and lemon love notes.  That woman can bake!  Once I put Bella to bed, Vince and I settled in on the sofa and watched old James Bond movies.  My Dad and I used to watch them together, and I've seen them all a hundred times, but I was feeling like I needed something familiar.  Springtime makes me miss my Dad pretty hard core because it is now getting nice enough to head to the driving range, a favorite pastime between me, my brother and Dad....

Well, time to shower because today I am going to pick up Aunt Katie and Trip, and we are going to go have lunch with Bella at school today :)  Always fun <3

Shequa

Bella is on a kick today about when she is going to have a baby sister... Well sweet Allie told her that she was the one who named Baby Jacob, so maybe Bella could name her baby sister.  First things first, there are no babies in our near future, secondly, IF there is a second child, and that is a really big if, well he/she already has a name.

On the way to drop Allie off, Bella came up with a name for her baby sister... Shequa.  Wow... She asked if I liked it, and I told her it was an interesting name for sure.  Seriously what was I supposed to say?!  She told me it was a special Chinese name and that it would be perfect for her sister...

Where does she come up with this stuff?

<3

Yard Work-o-rama

Two words for Saturday...  Yard Work!  I made the girls get dressed and we all headed out into the backyard around 10ish, and Vince made a run to Home Depot.  While the girls played on the hammock, drew with chalk, made games up with the yoga ball, and did science experiments, I weeded, weeded and weeded some more.  At one point while they were taking turns swinging on the hammock, I was nearby weeding away and the air was full of spring and the sounds of 5 year old girl conversations full of lots of giggles... magical.  When Vince returned, I had weeded one side of the huge natural area in the back, not a small task.  Vince cranked up the lawn mower and slowly knocked out half an acre in 2 hours.  He bagged while he went and had to empty about 20 or so times.  I think the grass definitely needed a trim :)  While he worked on that, I blew all the leaves off the walkway/side door/front door area.  Then I weeded some more and finished cleaning up the backyard.  Vince also sprayed the back natural area with the super weed kill before then mowing the backyard.  It all looks so good, and we are so not those people on the corner anymore :)  Granted, we still have a lot of work to do, but we made a huge 6 hour dent in what we had to do.

Allie ended up staying over another night.  She and Bella were playing so well together and having so much fun and I didn't have the heart to break that up.  Every time I mentioned that it was about time to take A-cakes home, their faces could have won them both Oscars right then and there.  I also wasn't looking forward to the drive to take Allie home either.  It takes a half hour to get her home, which isn't long by any stretch, but it's just long enough to be annoying.  Plus, A & B don't get to see each other as often now that they are in school, so I am more than willing to let them hang together as much as they can/want to <3  Around 5, I made a Target run for some essentials, and then I stopped at Chick-fil-a on the way home to grab 2 free kid's meals.  I still have about 3 free coupons left.  They have lasted since the end of November, amazing!  They ate dinner at the kitchen table :), before taking a bubble bath and calling it a night.  I had two worn out kiddos on my hands, I mean they spent at least 7-8 hours playing outside today.  Fresh air!

Now it's Sunday, and we have more yard work on the agenda.  First I'm going to take Allie home in about an hour (9:30) and then it's home to help V!  We need to trim the awful holly bushes in front of the house, and honestly I'm ready to rip them out of the ground because I hate them!  Had to be said... We also have more weeding/a little mowing/some raking/planting to do also.  Should be another productive day that ends with a yummy steak dinner at Vince's parent's house!  His sister is coming to town with the boys because they are on Spring Break.

Second cup of coffee here I come <3

Fun Friday.

Friday was a really fun day...

It began with picking/cleaning up which lasted until about lunch time. Then I did a little arranging of little art on a wall in my studio, the start of an idea and fun. Even Bella gave her opinions, I mean after all some of it is her art :)

Around 3, everyone showed up for our afternoon play date, and here is who came... Liz with Marty 5, Frieda 3 and 2 friends Nora 6 and her sister June 3. Also Laura with her 3 kiddos Allie 5, Dominick 3 and Jacob 1. Including myself and Bella that = 3 Adults and 8 kids all under the age of 6... It was a blast, and the kids all played really well together. They rotated indoors and outside and spent a large amount outside, which they all needed. The four 5 year olds hung together and 

the three 3 year olds mixed it up between each other and the big kids. I gotta say, the big kids were really great about letting the little ones join in too. Plus Dominick was the only boy minus his 1 year old brother Jacob so he was feeling like big man on campus when one of the girls would oblige him to a sword fight or let him be a monster and chase them. Jacob was a great reminder of what it's like to have a one year old all over the place, and my house isn't exactly baby proof anymore. I mean my outlets are covered and all the breakable stuff is out of reach, but the kid locks on the kitchen cabinets don't really work so he was breaking out all the pots/pans/bakeware, or getting pissed that the hallway was blocked by a tent full of stuffed animals. Bella's room was completely off limits, choke city! The play date lasted until about 6:30 before folks began to motivate to move on out. Laura had to wait Liz out because Allie was staying to spend the night. The girls did not know this fact because I couldn't invite Marty and we didn't want them talking about it in front of her during the play date. Normally I would invite Marty, but Liz has had a tumultuous week and her husband is not comfortable with Marty doing sleepovers. Marty would have been upset that she couldn't come and John would make Liz's life hell all weekend. I'm not saying he won't do that anyway, I just don't want to be his excuse for it by simply inviting Marty to spend the night with her friends. Anyway, it worked perfectly, the girls had no idea and were ecstatic when we told them. I helped Laura load up the boys and grabbed Allie's stuff on my way back inside the house.

The girls started out sharing the easel, by which I mean I drew a line down the middle of the paper and they each drew on their side :) Then they wanted to paint, and I have these huge pieces of cardboard from all my IKEA packaging so I tossed a huge piece on the floor, drew a line down the middle of that, and gave them each a plate of paint with a bunch of brushes and water. Oh, and I made them take their clothes off before hand because I was letting them use acrylic paint which does not wash out and these two have a tendency to use their fingers and hands to paint with as well. They both made beautiful pieces, and then took a nice long bubble bath using goggles and taking turns going under water :) We ordered pizza and watched Tangled, which Allie had never seen <3 It was well loved, even I love it and I see a whole new repertoire of songs to learn, think Little Mermaid caliber, or just plain AWESOME! Anyway, the 2 could barely hold their eyes open to the end of the movie. Vince carried Bella to bed and I shuffled a tired Allie down the hallway to her palette. Bella mumbled something about a make-up story but couldn't even finish her sentence :) Vince and I then watched stupid tv, I fell asleep on the couch and he did in the purple chair. Hot I know, but it was kind of nice <3 We both woke up around 1ish and stumbled to bed. It was a fabulous Friday!

Now it's Saturday morning, the girls had blueberry waffles and fresh fruit for breakfast, and I'm about to have my second cup of coffee along with a bagel with cream cheese and bacon. yum. It is nice and sunny out today which means lots of yard work, woo hoo! I'm actually looking forward to working outside today though, because weed pulling will be a snap thanks to the solid week of rain we just had.  Oh, and our first seedlings have sprung :)  They are zinnias!


Happy Saturday xoxox

Hot Pink Heels with Sparkle...

Bella is walking all around her room right now practicing in her hot pink heels that my Mom got her last year.  I don't even have the words... She has a purse on her arm, a tiara on her head, and she is walking one of her stuffed dogs.  She has made a few trips around the house giving it a try on hardwood floors and tile.  There have been a few falls, which I warned her about, and every time she goes down she quickly says, "I'm ok!"  I guess a little pain is worth it to look that fabulous :)

Happy Friday!

Seedlings, Book Club and Messenger Bags... Oh My!

Holy crap, it's Friday!  So I think I left off at Tuesday.... It was a busy last couple of days, but also very productive so I'm not complaining.

Wednesday began like any other day only I didn't have to pack a lunch for Bella because Pap Pap and Jamma were going to have lunch with her at school this day.  She was so excited, with fingers crossed that Jamma would bring her a Happy Meal.  Of course she did, which is fine because it is not very often and it's a special thing for those two.  Diane texted me a picture of Frank and Bella both with the biggest smiles on their faces... So sweet.  As for me, I came home for an hour or so, worked on some napkins and cut out a messenger bag before heading to Monroe to have lunch with Laura to discuss the Girl with the Dragon Tatto series we read for our book club.  Our book club consists of myself and her... you gotta start somewhere right?!  Anyway, she had put a table cloth on the table, some candles, nice napkins with napkin rings, wine glasses - it all looked so nice.  She made yummy sandwiches and tomato basil soup, and we sat down to eat and converse.  We both giggled about how "Finer Things Club" everything seemed, but whatevs it was nice, and the 3 books were awesome so there was a lot to discuss.  Fun times.  From there I went to get Bella from school, and we were home for a couple of hours before heading to Noodle Night.  When Vince got home from class, I was happily watching Project Runway and ironing napkins.  For the record, I know Gretchen wins Season 8 because I saw the end of the season, but now seeing the beginning of everything, I like her even less if that's even possible.  Ok, I'm done...

Thursday... I got home from dropping B-bo off, worked on a couple projects, and then made a trip to IKEA for some material.  I really love their materials, and needed something to complement a canvas fabric from 1980 with a whimsical/trippy/fairytale scene on it.  I found what I was looking for, plus a little extra, and headed home to create my masterpiece.  I made a messenger bag and it turned out pretty bad ass, needless to say, I was happy with the end result :)  On the way home from school, Bella reminded me that I promised we could stop by the Creamery (local ice cream shop in Mint Hill).  Even though it's raining/gloomy/cold/dreary outside, sure ice cream sounds good.  She got peach and I got brownie fudge, and what do you know, it was a good idea <3  I did a little picking up before Vince got home and made dinner which we enjoyed at the kitchen table together :)  Bedtime was laid back because Bella is out of school today (Friday).  After watching a little tv, and enjoying some cheesecake pudding, we called it a night.

Now it's Friday, Bella is out of school and it's still disgusting outside.  We need some sunshine in a bad way because attitudes are starting to be affected by a lack of outside time for significant energy burn off. The whining is about to kill me.  For example, we were 2/3 of the way to school on Wednesday when Bella decided she did not want to wear the shoes she picked out, and could we please go home so she could change...  We do not live 5 minutes from school, and even if we did we wouldn't be going home so the diva could change shoes.  This caused big crocodile tears and a lot of whining the rest of the way to school.  We were only 7 minutes away at that point, but it felt like 30...  So today, I am hosting a big ole play date from 2:30ish till peeps want to go home.  La, Liz and their 5 kiddos combined will be here, maybe Bella's friend Nora, and when it's all said and done, Allie is going to stay and spend the night :)  I'm looking forward to this afternoon because the kiddos need it as much as the Moms.

I think I see some blue sky peeking through the clouds, we just might get some sunshine after all!  Let's hope so because we need to do some yard work like nobody's business.  We are quickly becoming "those people" if you know what I mean.  We also started our seeds so that the seedlings will be ready by mid April for planting... It's an exciting time of year <3