The Week in Review

This week has been nice. Not too rushed or hurried.

Our first stop will be the 3 tomato buckets on our car pad. The girls discovered 2 visitors that had decided to invite themselves for dinner.

These little creatures need a lesson in what kind of tip not to leave for such good service.

Now onto a Birthday.

Our Jamie (babysitter and friend) had her big 21st Birthday last week and we just had to make a cake. The girls did most of the decorating and had so much fun in the process.

I had told them "don't you dare lick the spatula" so their solution was to wipe the frosting on each others arms and lick it off.

Ava got herself a DS. Well, mom got it for her. She is forever bugging Emma by messing with her DS so when I came across an older version for "cheap", I could not pass it up. I paid twenty bucks for a small amount of peace. It was worth every penny.

Our little visitors did not dine on all of my 'maters. Here are a few in my kitchen window sill. I love my little men carrying the basket. This piece was my husbands grandmothers.

It's a boy!

I am proud to announce the arrival of Bailey Anderson.

He is 15 months old. Big brown eyes. Black hair. Full of energy and lots of smoochies.

He is what they call a SPANADOR, which means he is half Cocker Spaniel & half Labrador. We rescued him from the Brookhaven Animal Rescue League. www.barl.net Check out the other sweet little faces on their website. I would have adopted many more if I could have.

Ava

My children are amazing.

They could not be more different from each other.

My pots are the blackest. (As they should be.)

Today, I will spend a paragraph or two on Ava. My second born. My, as someone else said, strong-willed child. My baby.

When Emma was in utereo I stayed away from the really bad stuff, drank lots of whole milk with ice, and snacked on oreos. Under no circumstances did I consume caffeine.

Ava was another story.

I craved hamburgers, french fries w/ ketchup & mayo, and MOUNTAIN DEW. I did not deny myself. It could not possible have an affect on my unborn child.

Did I mention Ava was due the day Hurricane Katrina arrived on our shores?

I am now the proud owner of a busy, destructive, smart, funny, adorable, barely understandable and very very strong-willed almost 4 year old.

Did I mention funny?

She came in the bathroom (naked as a jay bird) and stuck her tail end out and said "Mama, is my boo e toot?". Which in Ava speak she was asking "Mama, is my booty cute?".

She immediately puts any blame for anything on her big sissy. With that said she adores her Sissy (refuses to call her Emma) and more than anything likes to annoy her. She has Emma pegged and can push her buttons at will.

She insists on being called "Choo-Choo" unless she insists on being called "Baby".

She came within a literal inch of picking up a live mouse the cat was toying with. When we stopped her she was upset and decided to lightly step on the mouse. It squeeked. She loved it and thought it was the funniest thing ever. So, as the cat moved it's toy further and further away she would follow and lightly step to hear the squeek and crack herself up the entire time.

She cannot go through one full day without breaking, tearing, spilling, throwing, writing on, dropping, or just destroying something. (This is the Katrina Effect)

The only time she stops moving is when she is so exhausted she must close her eyes. Just because we put her in bed and turn off the lights and say goodnight does not mean she'll sleep. You can still hear her moving around, singing, talking, and playing.

She does not understand NO! To her it means YES and then when I get in trouble I'll go in for the kill, which is usually with that cheeky grin and soft eyes looking at you while she says "You 2 Mommy" (In Ava speak she is saying "I love you mommy"). Then you forget that she has manipulated you once again.

So, I take responsibility for all her crazy ways. Between the Mountain Dew and Katrina the poor kid never had a chance.

U 2 Ava!

This was Ava helping rake grass. Check out the heels.

Being Me

Some people are just good at "putting it out there". Me, well, not so much I'm afraid.


Okay, that's a lie. Most of the time I let it all hang out. But sometimes you just can't. Somebody, somewhere will hold it against you. Then before you know it you'll be running for public office and the headline will be that crazy ass blog you used to have back in the day when you actually were telling the truth about your life. So where will you be then? Either heralded for being brave and speaking your mind and letting it all hang out or you'd put a big target on your forehead for those who suggest they are tolerant but really are NOT.


That being said, I will type the truth (unless otherwise denoted). I tend to say the first thing that comes to my mind whether it's appropriate or not. Would you like an example? I knew you would.....


I am Methodist by birth. Now I am Baptist by family & location. Around here the Baptists way out number everyone else. Anyway, Baptist folks tend to be a little more reserved and judgemental...(even though judgemental is a little harsh, i just couldn't come up with a better word for it...I will take suggestions). Plus, I guess it is church, you should be a little reverent. Now to the point. Tim and I had just started going to this particular church. We were at Wednesday night prayer meeting...so it's a little more casual than Sunday service and not nearly as many people show up. That last point benefits me. The preacher was preaching on men and woman. I can't even tell you exactly what he said that made me think,



"Well, if the woman was naked he would".



As I sat there thinking my thought you could see the suppressed laughter coming from the pews immediately around me and if I did not know better I'd have thought they could read my mind. The preacher gave me a look. But he could not have heard me cause I was just thinking, right? And besides, I'm one of those that sits as far back from the pulpit as possible just in case the preacher decides to look in my direction for one reason or another. Then I get the elbow from the husband sitting next to me and realize I must have thought my thought out loud. That's about the time my blood pressure started to rise and the heat was rising from my toes to the top of my head. Did I just say that? Out loud? Yes I did!

That is pretty much the story of my life. I open my mouth and am never quite sure whats going to come out. I hear "Girl, you're crazy" a lot. Hopefully it's crazy-good and not crazy-bad.

Is there a moral to this story....not really. Just be who you are and try to be as truthful as possible in the process.

PS- 3 Followers!!!

Just Some of Me

So, this will be my first attempt at blogging. I will probably be blogging to myself for awhile. Not sure if anyone would be overly interested in what I have to say. Although, I do have 47 followers on Twitter. Ha! I've said at the rate I am gaining followers it will take over 2,000 years to reach the goal on 1 million. And I know I won't live that long. Maybe my cloned self could take over, so technically I still might be around.



Let me tell you a little about me.



I'm way more complicated than I should be. But actually I think that makes me pretty simple. (See what I mean?)



I grew up on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, which is totally different from the rest of the state. There is a joke down there that the panhandle of Florida, Southern Alabama, and South Mississippi could be the 51st state. It's laid back and not too pretentious. Everyone likes a good time. You are more likely to tell someone to their face what you think than talk behind their back. A funny story though.....I had no idea how the rest of the state viewed the coast......when I moved to H'burg someone said "Oh, you're Coast trash" and I looked at him like he'd lost his mind. Everyone else got that joke. But, I can say I am super proud to be Coast Trash!



Now I am living in Wesson, Mississippi. Population: Not very many. We moved here in 2004. It's actually a very nice place. Good school (K thru 12), lots of churches, for the most part people are friendly. They do tend to keep outsiders at bay. My "circle" of friends are all implants to this area. We had a good laugh when we realized that.



Back to the in between stuff. I graduated from Harrison Central High School in 1993. I moved to Ellisville, Mississippi a year later. Followed a boy. Never really the best idea. I eventually moved to Hattiesburg. That's where things were "happening". I did more working & goofing off than going to school. So, some 16 years later I still don't have a degree. I will help my husband celebrate his 20th high school reunion this July. Believe it or not, I am actually looking forward to that. I love a party. Especially since one of my absolute dearest friends (Ginger R.) will be there. Ginger is a subject for another blog =) So, I mentioned a husband, didn't I? I "re-met" Tim in 1997 and we got married in 1999. We had our big girl Emma in 2002 and our little girl Ava in 2005. I went into labor with Ava the day after Katrina.....that's another blog too.


We live in the middle of a 90+ acre field. Lots of spiders. Lots of stray animals that may or may not stay around. You try not to get too attached. We don't live near the roads (one in front & one in back) so the girls can play and play with minimal supervision. I am in the process of planning a party, because remember, I mentioned I love a party. In "my reality" I'm a famous party planning, catering, stay at home mom. In "life's reality" I work in a bank.

Okay, I'm typed out for the day, but do plan on updating fairly often. This could be therapeutic. It seems to be for lots of others around here.