Four Squared Went Bonkers

We celebrated Lily's fourth birthday with sixteen kiddos at Going Bonkers over the weekend.

Here are a few pictures from the day: The Party Place
The Party Room

The Party Cake

The Party Serenade

The Party Loot

The Party Princesses

The Youngest Party Attendee

The Party Parents with the Party Girl

The Party People (minus 3 boys and 3 girls)

Afterwards, the immediate family took Lily to Babe's. We wanted to see Ariel do the chicken dance. We love Babe's. It's a family style chicken dinner house. Their website says: "You can always tell a Texan...but not much."

And if you aren't partied out already, here is a slideshow of other party moments:

Reclaiming Our Bedroom Part Two

Before our second was born, I thought I was so organized.

Actually I got organized quickly after a doctor's appointment at 35 weeks revealed that I was "ready to go" at any time. So we went through 3 years worth of clothes from our older daughter, rewashed them all, and put them in neatly marked rubbermaids.

0-3 mo
3-6 mo
6-9 mo
9-12 mo
12-18 mo Spring/Summer
12-18 mo Fall/Winter
etc.

You get the idea.

We have a decent sized master closet, so the neatly marked rubbermaids, were neatly stacked, in our neat closet.

Until one day I was downstairs and heard the largest thud above me. It scared enough that I actually gathered the girls and my cell phone and ran outside to call my hubby. I had to ask him who in the world he thought might have been in our attic and fallen through to our bedroom.

He immediately knew that our neat rubbermaids were no longer quite so neat. I made him stay on the phone with me while I crept upstairs to check out the situation. Sure enough, the stack had fallen and I had a good bit of resorting to do.

Pair that with the fact that just when I would get out whatever new size of clothes for Jade to wear, she'd only be in it for a few weeks and then already be ready for the next bigger size.

When I put Lily's clothes from last summer away (mainly 2T), I really didn't think that I'd already be digging into them this summer for Jade who is only 11 months.

Then we are also on a couple of people's hand-me-down lists, which I love...until I have yet another bag of various sized clothes to work into the mix.

There are also those fun moments when I find a random outfit in the back of the car, in an old diaper bag, left at the grandparent's house, or even Lily's MDO backpack when the season changes and she needs a new set of extra clothes. It never fails, never ever fails, that whatever little outfit I come across not only needs a good washing, but also needs to be put away in the rubbermaid on the very bottom of the stack.

So, the rubbermaids that once occupied our closet have somehow taken over our bedroom. I think I decided that as often as I was getting in and out of them, it was just easier to have them out in the open. The problem is that my two little helpers don't really read tags. The sizes/seasons are all mixed up.

Basically you have just read through my long list of excuses for why our master bedroom has been taken over clothes ranging from NB to 3T in various shades of pink.

Looks like there are 11 rubbermaids to sort through item by item by item.

I tell you...we really want a boy if we end up trying for a third, but with all of the effort that has gone into organizing girl clothes around here...I guess he'll just be wearing a lot of pink.

I have been putting off tackling this task for months. Then I read on BooMama today about her Before and After Bloggy Extravaganza. It was just the push I needed.


I'm embarrassed to post these pictures, but it is just the kick in the butt I need. Plus I needed another reason for my hubby to consider turning off my blog. The look on his face as he saw me taking these pics. Priceless.

So, here are my goals for reclaiming our bedroom:

1. Sort and reorganize 11 rubbermaids full of girl's clothing.

2. Find a place to stack them that won't endanger any of our lives.


Even if that just means a heart attack because of a loud inexplicable noise in the house.


3. Get this bassinet, and baby changing area out of our room. Seeing that we haven't used it in 9 months...I think it might be time.

There is even a basket of strange breast pump pieces that really need to go. Somewhere. Anywhere. Just not in my room for one moment longer.

4. Rearrange furniture to reclaim this space that our treadmill occupied until a few days ago. The only exercise it gave me was when I crawled onto it to give it a dusting every month or so.

While I'm busy making goals, let me wander downstairs too. Again, my husband is really suspicious about the fact that I'm taking pictures of weird things at 11PM.

5. I'd like to get my pantry drawers in better order.

I think the gestation period of plastic sacks is even less than that of rabbits.

6. Jerry recently reorganized these laundry room shelves. They sort of serve as an overflow pantry when I get too excited at Costco. He made a few comments that led me to believe he wants me to keep them organized. Labels. Labels are the only way that will happen. I bet I can find a good deal on labels at Costco.

I have until July 25th to accomplish all of this according to BooMama. However my goal is to have it all done by July 6th when we have Jade's 1st birthday party.

Because I know that all of our guests will march right past my precious baby to first check out my closet, pantry and laundry room shelves.

I just know it.

Well, BooMama went ahead and extended our little deadline by nearly two months. With all that extra time, you'd think that I would have put a few extra things on my list.

You'd also be thinking wrong.

But I am happy to report that I did accomplish all of my tasks.

The clothes. Oh, the clothes.

I designated the girls' playroom as the sorting area. First I went through each bin and pulled out what didn't belong in there.

That made quite a pile. Then I got everything folded and back into the right place.

These are the newly organized bins.

This is their new home. May they swelter in the Texas heat. I don't care.

Since the attic isn't easily accessible. I am keeping the bin for their current size/season downstairs and also the next size/season accessible (which really only applies to Jade) so when a cold front blows in, I know where I can find an appropriate outfit.

I was annoyed after all of this reorganizing to find a pile of different sized socks...some even without mates. Gasp. Socks annoy me in general. Seeing that it was summer, they got tossed in a bag in the garage, to be dealt with later.

I think an invention of disposable socks is in order.

After putting my Sharpie to work on all those bins, I sat down at the computer to make labels for all of the pantry drawers and shelves. While I was at it, I labeled all the bins and shelves in the playroom too. And then just to prove my OCD a little further, I labeled all the shelves in our master closet as well. Would you believe my hubby as 3 separate shelves for logo tees...he likes them separated by sizes...M, L, and XL. As if getting the laundry folded isn't hard enough...he can figure out what shelf it needs to go on. Jerry is great though, he loves all of this new order. And he is the resident laundry-putter-awayer.

Next on the agenda was to tackle the side of our master bedroom which in one corner previously housed our treadmill and in the other corner a bassinet/changing area for Jade when she was an itty-bitty.

Getting this project completed felt even better than tackling the mountains of clothes. It is now just a sitting area (ahem, dirty clothes gathering area). We moved a pair of bookshelves out of the playroom, where they should have never been anyway, into the other corner.

Do you dig all of our Cliff's Notes? How about my hubby's elementary Indiana Jones lunchbox?

Looking at all these bare walls makes me think I should have put "hang artwork/decor" on my task list.

We've lived here two years and our bedroom is the one room we really haven't decorated yet. Oh well, at least it is a little less cluttered now.

Thanks, BooMama. Be sure to head over to her site for more Before & After fun.

Happy Birthday to the girl who will always be MY BABY.

Four years. FOUR YEARS.

Dear Lily Grace,

Four years ago today, our lives were changed forever.

You were due October 7th, and my induction was scheduled for September 28th. However, the evening of September 23rd, as I was laying on the couch (I've forgotten what those days are like), something just didn't feel right. It was 9:45 PM. I showered, dried my hair and put on full make-up. Why? I'm not sure either. I called the doc and we got to the hospital a little after midnight on Friday, September 24th, 2004. I was already 4cm and after an amazingly easy labor, epidural, and 3 little pushes, you took your first breath at 6:40 AM. You were 6lbs, 3 oz and 19 inches long.



Just like you surprised us and came early then, you've been doing things at your own pace ever since. Sometimes doing things quickly and ahead of the game, and others (potty training) a little behind the curve. Either way, you march to the beat of your own drum and I love that about you.

I'd love to chock this post full of photos, but when you were born honey, mommy and daddy didn't have a digital camera. And mommy's patience for the scanner ended with the two photos you see above.

You'll always be my baby no matter how old you are...and saying that you are just 48 months old today keeps you a little smaller in my mind.

Here are 48 things that I love about you or just want to remember about you in general.

1. I never knew I could love someone so much. More than myself. More than your daddy. Even more than God.

2. It took me a while to realize that last part. That I had made you an idol and mommy had to repent of that.

3. You are much better in God's hands than in mommy's anyway.

4. You had the biggest smile as a baby. You were known for it. It was amazing.

5. You were an early talker. And with all that warming up, you still haven't figured out how to stop.

6. You walked right on time. 5 days after you turned 1 year old.

7. You pretty much hit all your milestones right on time actually.

8. You rolled at 10 weeks.

9. Sat up at 6 months.

10. Crawled at 7 1/2 months.

11. I even have written in your baby book that you sat on the potty at 22 months.

12. Wow, and to think that 26 months later, you are finally getting the hang of it.

13. You have always been a lover of music.

14. You can sing Amazing Grace in better tune and mommy and daddy can.

15. Your first and most favorite song was Twinkle Twinkle Little Star which you sang at 22 months.

16. Then two months later you sang your ABC's.

17. Your first word was "baby".

18. Mommy and daddy still remember exactly how it sounded as you said it.

19. It is on video...somewhere.

20. The first color word you knew was "yellow".

21. In fact, everything was "yellow" for a long time.

22. You are such a good eater.

23. You continue to amaze us with your healthy appetite.

24. Broccoli and edamame are among your all time favorites.

25. You are well traveled.

26. Your first road trip was to Georgia to meet Aunt Sandi and Uncle Scott.

27. You were 8 weeks old and your parents were crazy.

28. With stops for nursing, the 13 hour trip turned into a 20 hour trip.

29. Then 4 weeks later you flew to Wisconsin for your first Christmas.

30. Since then, you've made multiple flights to Florida, Georgia and Wisconsin.

31. I've lost track...I think around 8 roundtrips.

32. You've had 3 fun birthday parties so far.

33. Your first party was at home and the theme was baby barnyard animals.

34. Our neighbor worked at a fancy Dallas bakery and made you an unforgettable cake.

35. I'm sure it would have cost more than mommy and daddy's wedding cake.

36. Your second birthday was also at home. It was an Elmo theme.

37. The letter of the day was "L" and the number of the day was "2".

38. Your third birthday was also celebrated at home with a big Cinderella party.

39. You were quite the princess.

40. This year will be the first year we are giving you a party away from home. You are so excited!

41. And mommy is so relaxed. No house to clean or guests to prepare for.

42. When I think of you today, so many things come to mind.

43. You are such an optimist.

44. You truly believe that daddy can fix ANYTHING, big or small.

45. You have and incredible vocabulary.

46. You've never known a stranger.

47. Your inner beauty matches your outer beauty...brown curly hair, freckles and all.

48. And you'll always be my baby, even though you no longer need a nap. OR A DIAPER CHANGE. But that is a whole other post.

Happy Birthday, Lily Grace!

Thanks to the rest of you for letting me get a few details down. Oh to have been a mommy blogger from day one.

The aroma is a mixed bouquet...including sour milk vomit, grape flavored zyrtec, fresh coffee and a hint of burnt scrambled eggs

Jade has not been feeling well. In the middle of the night, Jerry went to her aide with Tylenol for a sudden fever. When it was all said and done he ended up letting her cry herself back to sleep, which thankfully didn't take very long.

This morning when I opened her door, with bottle in hand, I was taken over with the smell of baby vomit. And then I caught sight of her. It was obviously not fresh. It was not only caked on her bedding, but on her face and hair as well. Remnants of a barely distinguishable black bean and a carrot were matted into her blond curls. I guess she had thrown up as she cried herself to sleep. Poor thing...I'm trying no the let the mommy guilt set in.

My first instinct was to put her straight in the bath. But she had already seen the bottle, so she one the argument. 7 ounces later, I thought she felt warm, so we took a quick detour down to the kitchen for some Tylenol.

When the coughing started, I knew it wasn't a good sign. The vomiting began. How does milk curdle so quickly? I was just thankful it was on the tile floor since it had a tinge of red Tylenol to it.

In case you are wondering what sort of volume her projectile produced, Lily put it into words quite nicely. "Wow, Mom, Jade threw up all over. There is no space to walk in the kitchen now."

Not only that, but Jade and I were both covered too. I decided to head up to the bath and in very few words made sure that Lily knew to stay out of the kitchen.

We stripped down and I quickly got myself washed and redressed. Then I went to work on getting the dried food out of her hair. Two shampoos and several combings later, she was clean and smelled like a Gerber baby.

Now the bed. I scraped up as much as I could and rolled up the sheets and blankets and tossed them on the bathroom floor in the pile with our vomit laden clothes.

After a quick call to my mom, I was reminded not to feed her anything else. She doesn't quite realize the force that Jade is to be reckoned with when it comes to eating. After all, the high chair is her happy place. And that is just where she went so I could start to work on the kitchen floor.

I did a hands and knees job on the floor because I can't stand the thought of vomit being on my mop head.

Clean baby, clean momma, clean floor and isolated vomit laundry. The day was looking brighter.

I started the coffee and threw some eggs in the skillet. I decided to attempt the Tylenol again and lay Jade down for her morning nap.

Somehow, while making some toast for Lily, my elbow brushed the Zyrtec bottle and it went crashing to the floor. Ugh. The aroma of vomit was still hinted in the air...and now the smell of sweet grape Zyrtec? Yuck. Along with the eggs and coffee...it was just too much.

Thankfully at least I was able to use my mop after wiping up the sticky syrup and glass pieces.

But, what's that I hear? Jade. Crying. The smash of the glass on the floor must have woken her up. And I dare not let her cry it out and start this whole process of vomit removal over again.

So I go up to try to get her back to sleep. Mission accomplished.

I head back down the stairs and a new fragrance greets my nose. The eggs. THE EGGS! I forgot about the eggs. Burnt eggs now.

And what do I find on my kitchen floor this time?

In the few minutes I was up calming Jade, Lily decided to take a "craft" upon herself. It involved rolling out an entire roll of aluminum foil and emptying a new box of gallon size ziplocs. And of course...glue.

I glanced up at the clock hoping for it to reveal 7PM bedtime, but it stared back at me with a rude 9:49 AM.

So I cleaned up Lily's "craft", cancelled our morning playdate, opened up the windows, and thanked the Lord for seasonal allergies.

I can't imagine smelling all of this at 100% nasal capacity.

Let me tell you how NOT to spend your sitter time.

I am a religious teeth brusher. Maybe not as religious as some I know...I don't carry the toothbrush with me wherever I go or anything like that, but my teeth are usually clean. They always get a least one brushing in the morning, sometimes two (if I squeeze one in before and after coffee...if my daughter is lucky), and definitely before bed.

I also am religious about going to the dentist. I just love going. I love the way my teeth feel after a good cleaning. Maybe its because I never get bad news there. I've been going to the same guy since I was three...every 6 months for the past 29 years. Well, actually just 27 of the past 29 years.

For various reasons, for the past two years, I didn't go. Pregnancy, new baby, insurance changes...whatever the reason, it got put off. I missed 4 appointments.

In August, I decided it was time. Way past time. I was sad to find out that my long time dentist, the one whose treasure chest I raided as a kid...only after having a dorky Polaroid taken and hung on the wall...was no longer covered by my insurance.

I got over it, after all his office is an hour away, and booked an appointment with someone on my plan locally.

I expected the same cheery..."everything looks beautiful, Kerry, keep up the good work"...type of response. Not so.

So not so.

I nearly fell off the chair when I was informed of how many cavities I had. Decay. Discoloration. Bad ones. I think she even mentioned a hole in one of my teeth.

How many cavities you ask? More than you can count on one hand.

SIX.

Seeing that I had only had one little cavity when I was eleven and then immediately got sealants, I was mortified.

I mean jeez, I will own up to eating a few Oreos in the middle of the night during the first few sleepless months of Jade's life, but S-I-X cavities?

I was embarrassed. And it made me just not like this new dentist. At all.

So I did the only reasonable thing. I called up the old guy and nearly cried on the phone hoping they'd give me some sort of discount considering this mountain of work I was bringing them. They obliged.

I had to call in my most faithful pair of sitters. My in-laws. Which meant I had to tell them all about my six new enemies. They already knew though.

Dern it, Jerry. It's amazing the things guys will talk to their mothers about.

So, since I had already called in the forces, and my annual exam was also due, I decided to schedule my OB/Gyn appointment for the same day.

I mean if you are going to have to open wide and get poked and prodded at...might as well get it all over with on the same day. Right?

That was beyond awful. Yet I couldn't resist.

What a waste of child free time on a beautiful day.

So I left early and got the first of the evils out of the way. Annual exam? Check. Blood work drawn? Check.

Quick lunch with hubby at Eatzi's? Check.

I had to throw some fun into the day. Plus I wasn't sure when the next time that I would actually be able to feel my mouth, much less taste something, would be.

I then headed to the dentist. The hall that the hygienist walked me down seemed eternally long. Then I remembered it from 21 years ago...the last time I had anything other than a simple cleaning done. To the "procedure room" we went.

The doctor came in and we laughed and chatted, and then I told him that I actually remembered this room. The room with all the extra equipment that screamed out things like..."I make a high pitch screeching noise, I cause much pain, I will grind your teeth away until there is nothing left...". Yeah, that room.

But the next thing I knew, I was hearing, "Kerry, I have to disagree with the other dentist. You have one cavity, and it is tiny. We can take care of it whenever."

What? I was in complete disbelief. The duck of a dentist had made it sound like they were all urgent. Quack-Quack.

I have been anxious over this day for six weeks. One week for each little enemy that was supposedly taking residence in my once esteemed mouth.

As he was examining me, I had heard his stomach growling. So I felt a little guilty asking him if he would mind "taking care of it" today.

But mainly I was just excited. Not even angry at the quack of a dentist whose chair I had nearly fallen out of just last month. Not even caring that his fee would be more than double hers, because even at that it was a third of her cost, because I was only having a sixth of the work done.

Did you follow that math? I wouldn't reread it too closely. I'm a math major and it still isn't sitting well with me.

After the near painless filling was completed, I pretty much skipped down that long hall and was on my way.

And you know who had to be one of the first to know my delight? My in-laws. I couldn't wait around to see if Jerry shared this news.

We interrupt the Hurricane Ike coverage for...

a little blog award fun.

Not that I don't take hurricanes seriously, but if I see one more second of footage that involves a drenched weatherman nearly being blown away while giving a report...well, I might just have to change the channel. So I can see a different weatherman do the same thing.

These are the days I wish we had cable. You know, so we could get more in depth coverage of the storm.

I could understand all the news if we were really going to be affected by the storm. But when I wanted to make a quick trip with the girls in and out of the local Walgreens yesterday, but instead got stuck in line for fifteen minutes...it just seemed like a lot of hype. As I saw case after case of bottled water being purchased...along with WEATHER RADIOS...I got a little annoyed. We are, after all, a good 300 miles from where it made landfall. A weather radio? Please. Please put that money towards the needs of the thousands of people who are taking refuge here during the storm. They may not even have homes to return to when it's all done.

Don't even get me started on the gas lines in town.

You can see that I'm not in a good posting frame of mind. Let me lighten things up a bit.

I've recently had a couple of blog awards passed my way. The fun part is that I get to pass the love on to a few of my favorite reads.

Thank you Brandy, for the Brillante Blog Award.

I'm supposed to pick seven other bloggers to spread the love to. Wow. Seven. Here goes:

*Rachelle @ With One Step...because I figure the more I butter her Texas Toast, the more likely she'll be to move back home. Then I can introduce her to Jaret Reddick (see post below).

*Alana @ A Kiss, A Hug, and A Squeeze...because she is a mom of boys and on a diet...one I can relate to and the other I'd love to have the chance to; both of which I love reading about. And because her hubby secretly wanted to attend Jade's 1st Birthday party.

*Jennifer @ Three Men and a Jenn...a friend of a friend and another mom of boys...who I am so glad has recently started a blog. Welcome to blog world, Jenn.

*Tricia @ Trends With Tricia...she's a realtor friend and I think I enjoy her blog because I'm a closet realtor wanna be. Go check her out. I owe her a favor for helping us lower our tax appraisal this year.

*Jackie @ Our Moments, Our Memories...I just love her writing style and I'm sure you will too. (PS...Jackie meet Rachelle...Rachelle meet Jackie...y'all both have CFNI connections)

*Traci @ The Sullivan Sitcom...Cute blog Name, Cute Blog header, and Cute blog kids. Plus, we both know what it is like to have a preschooler in an arm cast.

*Marci @ Joy in the Journey...I love the way she writes out her praises, she also has a daughter named Lily, and she has quite the knack for photography.

Thank you also to Sarah @ Life in the Parsonage, for the I Heart Your Blog award. I'm pretty sure the whole world reads her, but in case you don't...go there...in a minute that is. This is the first blog award I've seen that is actually cute.

I'd like to pass it on to 2 old teacher friends of mine and 3 old church acquaintances that I would have never guessed I would have reconnected with via blogging. I heart their blogs for many different reasons...their honesty, humor, struggles, faith...they are all worth a visit.

*Debbie @ The Savage Family

*Carol @ Monaghan Mayhem

*Andrea @ Morning by Morning

*Melissa @ A Long Way from the Theta House

*Jana @ Eyes Toward Ethiopia

Wow. Can I get the award for most links in a single post? Some of these gals may have already been awarded these before. I'm terrible at keeping track. And no pressure to pass them on either. If that's your thing, great. If not, I understand.

Well, thanks to Ike, I think today is shaping up to be a great day to fly a kite (Lily's latest poopoo prize).

I better consult my weather radio though just to be sure.

Date Night Distractions

Thanks to this place, we were able to head out for a last minute date tonight.

We went here and sat on the patio. Hurricane Ike hasn't affected our area yet, so it was just warm with a nice breeze.

I noticed a guy walking in with is family, and it struck me that he looked familiar. Jerry said, wow, we now have a former Dallas Cowboy sitting next to us. Then just as he was getting settled in, Jerry pointed out another well known guy who was sitting at the other table next to us. He happens to be neighbors with one of my friends. Crazy.

Anyway, our date night was suddenly very distracted. If not by them, by the fact that although only a few people approached them, tons, I tell you TONS, near and far, stopped and STARED at them. Nudged their wives or whoever was with them, whispered, and then STARED some more.

I would never want to be famous. It's bad enough shoveling Mexican food in your face as it is. Being stared at while doing it? Well, like I said...I'm very glad to be a nobody.

I now know how to get comments.

Lots of comments. 30+ comments.

And it is so easy. No real effort at all.

This is what you do. Write a post. Post the post. And then don't come back for ten days or so.

And when you return...you will feel lots of love. The comment kind of love.

Sorry folks. I seem to have disappeared again. Not really intentional.

It was more like...preschool started, extra hours at work were demanded, small group started up again, and I finally am attempting a Bible study at church.

I haven't done one of those since Lily was itty bitty. Now Jade is more than itty bitty and it is time. Anyone done Beth Moore's Believing God?

Anyway, something didn't feel right about postponing Bible study in order to keep up the blog.

And believe me, there are so many posts swimming around in my head. They are perfecting all sorts of strokes. It's exhausting.

It's easier to push quiet time with the Lord when you don't have an accountability group staring you in the face every Wednesday morning. I need that accountability and am so glad to have it again.

How do the rest of you guys balance it all?

Other news. I added Blogger's new "Followers" tool. It's over there on the left under my subscriber box...just above my blogroll. Do you want to follow me?

I'm easy to follow...just one post every ten days or so.

Just kidding. I'll be back shortly. A couple of blog awards were recently given to me and I plan on passing those on pretty quickly.

Comment Love + Award Love = Happy Blogger.

I'm off to make some other bloggers happy. Peace out. (That was for you, Rachelle)

Preschool has begun...and so has...

the competition. Not between the kids. Of course not. I forgot about the good ol' competition between the mommies. But on day one? I'm a little scared of Lily's new preschool. Or the other mommies at least.

This school has lots of opportunities for mommy involvement. I've already been roped into being Co-Room Mommy, a Box-Top/Campbell's Soup Label Helper, and even some sort of aide to the Prayer Garden. Pulling weeds? Right up my alley.

However my first task of the year was a simple "Decorate Your Child's School Bag" project. Basically it was pitched to me like this:

Here is your child's school bag. One side has the school logo and the other side is blank. Put your child's name on the blank side and maybe a ribbon or a tag so they can identify it easily.

Sounds easy enough to me. I remembered that we had some fabric paint left over from a little project we had made for Lily's Memmy when she turned 60. She uses this bag to carry her crossword puzzles and dictionaries when she travels.

I guess I still had hand prints on the brain, so I traced Lily's hands (my how they've grown since 05/07), wrote her name and added some polka dots. I mentioned to Jerry that I wasn't really sure how it looked, but my mission was accomplished. I wasn't going to spend my entire Labor Day weekend embellishing a simple preschool book bag. Her name was on it and I knew that Lily would be able to identify her bag quickly with the hand prints and polka dots.

Fast forward to this morning. I attempted a few pictures and we were off to school. My attempts didn't go very well.

Here she is being serious. Seriously making mommy work for a smile. Last ditch effort before leaving. Now not just serious, but serious attitude.

Holding back a smile outside her classroom door.

Then she found the Disney princesses in the class. And the smiles flowed freely.

This was mommy's cue to leave.

I went to hang up her bag on my way out. Oh my word. Most of the bags had already been hung. I was embarrassed to hang her lame fabric painted bag along with the others.

Yep. She'll definitely be able to distinguish hers from the others.

Lily's was the only one. Seriously. Even the boy's bags. Hers was the only one that didn't have embellishments, pom-poms, fringe, ribbons, decals, badges, sew on patches, or EMBROIDERY.

I seriously thought about asking if they had an extra bag and making a mad dash to Hobby Lobby. But mommy competition? I'm just not up for it. At least not in this form.

Meet me in the Prayer Garden after class. Lily will have to settle for mommy's mad gardening skillz. Bring it on.

"W" is for Winner

I feel like such a loser about what a blog slacker I have been lately.

So, I figured after way too long of a break, I'd let everyone know that indeed I actually am a winner. In the very literal sense.

A few days ago a package arrived in the mail. I am one of those people that loves to get mail. Even going to get the mail is a daily ritual that I enjoy. Getting anything other than bills is a true joy. A full on package...even more so.

When I noticed that it was addressed to me, I immediately thought it must have been a late birthday present. But then I couldn't think of who in Franklin, Tennessee would be remembering my birthday. (More on my birthday later)

I crossed my fingers and wondered if that was where the Fairy Godmother of Potty Training lived and hoped that she was lending me her wand. I just knew if I could wave it with a few chants of "Bibbity, Bobbity, Poo", my life would be instantly easier. (More on potty training later)

As I opened it up and discovered these items, I finally remembered.

I'm a winner.

Remember this giveaway? Well, you're looking at the goods that this lucky girl won.

I actually felt a little starstruck as I opened it. Kind of like when I touched Jordan Knight's hand at one of the 5 New Kids on the Block concerts that I went to back in the day. Okay, not really. I really did touch Jordan Knight's hand...the feeling...different.

It is fun to be a winner though...especially of autographed items from a band that Jerry and I have followed for such a long time.

Thanks for making this loser a winner for a moment, Boo Mama and Third Day.

Oh, and if you feel like trying your luck at a giveaway...Missy has one going on here.