Houston we have a tooth...

Thursday while riding down the road with MeeMaw and PeePaw I had a tooth sighting on her lower left side. All I could see was a white speck and it could barely be felt. Adam finally saw it yesterday, but there is no way to get a picture of it. Tonight she insisted on using the computer to email Dr. C and let him know that's why she was a grouch last week and had to come see him.

When she couldn't get the screen to light up she decided just to stand on it. If it ever works again I'll be surprised.

Our pastor's wife, Amy, let us borrow some of their little girl, Ellie Kate's, clothes and they are so precious! (Sidenote: Ellie Kate calls me Ms. Adam and I think it is hilarious!) Reese really appreciated all the clothes, but the hat she could have done without;)

Since she was having no part of the hat we settled for a flower. It might have stayed on 30 seconds and she had it pulled over her eyes.

Friday night we went to Ollie's house for a little girl time. I can't tell ya'll how loud it is now that we have 4 babies in tow. (And one on the way)(LaRae, of course. NOT ME. Just wanted to clarify.) I would be breaking our code of silence if I told ya'll anything that we talk about at these function, but just rest assured it involves husbands and babies. Matter of fact we tried to think about what our get togethers were like before the kids.

When Krystal brought McKenna in Reese went right to her and borrowed her paci. I couldn't get a picture because as soon as I told the others to look Reese spit it out, but this was when it happened.

But do you know what I like the most about all of us? We still love each other as much as we did in elementary school. Possibly more. And I adore the fact that we are raising girls so close in age. It gives me hope for the terrible teen years that are ahead. At least I'll have people to complain with. And with any luck they will be all be just as good of friends as their mommas are.

Saturday Reese did a lot of this.

Adam decided that we should stain the back porch, but first it had to be pressure washed. Reese didn't miss a moment of it. And although I'd really like for the porch to be stained I don't want to dedicate my last week of vacation to such a daunting task. In case you don't remember let me remind you that I spent my Spring Break staining the front porch and landscaping. I can't guarantee that it's going to happen this week, but it will be completed before Reese's birthday party. (Which I can't talk about or I'll get emotional)

Did any of you watch the Nick and Vanessa special I mentioned? Probably not since you all have lives, but I am here to shamelessly tell you that I watched the entire 2 hour special. For 2 hours all I heard from Adam was, "This is making me nauseous", "That is so corny".....blah, blah, blah. Although I loved it it left a lot to be desired compared to The Newlywed show, but only because Vanessa seemed a little (or a lot) more rational than Jessica.

P.S. This is my last week at home with a certain 10 month old and I plan to sit and stare at her and kiss her face all week. Because she isn't going to be 10 months old forever.

P.S.S. Adam wants me to tell ya'll that he hit not 1, not 2, but 3 homeruns Friday night. (They were in the park homeruns and he came home with a strained hamstring in his leg from running so fast.)(But it's all better now therefore I must ask the question....was it really strained??)

Bowlin'

A couple of weeks ago my nephew Clay (formerly known as Clay Bug but don't tell him I told y'all that because he is a grown and mature 11 year old now and Clay Bug is no longer acceptable to call him in public) invited us to go bowling with him for his birthday. Most of my peeps were born in July (my Papa, PeePaw, cousin Griff, uncles Mitch and Mark, Canyon, Clay) and since we live in the south and it's hot enough to make you wish you lived on the sun there is a law that says July birthdays must have a pool party. But this year, for reasons unknown to me, we didn't plan a huge family party. So anyway Clay wanted to go bowling. And, you know, we were all for it. It's inside. It's cool. What could go wrong?

First, there's nothing as entertaining as going to a sketchy bowling ally on the washed up side of town. We pull in and we were the ONLY people there. (Happy birthday Clay. We got you the entire bowling ally all to yourself.)

Upon arrival to this fine establishment I realized I had worn flip flops and (horror of horrors) I had forgotten my socks. And I hated more than anything to tell my husband because I didn't want to see the look on his face that confirmed my brilliance. I confessed in the parking lot my lack of appropriate foot apparel...And the look? It did not disappoint. So I had to wear the shoes with no socks. But Adam made me feel better about it with, "If your big toe falls off we'll know why."




My sister pointed out that they spray them down after each and every use. And with the looks of things they aren't used often which was a comforting thought as I slipped them on.


All I know is that I have waited 6 long years to see A-master at this level of sexiness.


But the best part? They didn't even have the air conditioner on. Adam pointed out that since we were the only ones there they had made roughly $25 and he didn't blame them for not having the air on. So unless they get their minds right and turn the air on I am voting that we bring back the pool party next year.



Somehow Heather got the snazzy blue pair on the far left which made us all a little jealous. But the ones I really wanted Jolie got. Is there anything better than velcro bowling shoes? I think not.

If you look close you can see the perspiration on the bridge of her nose.

After a many a ball in the gutter (isn't that what it's called? Adam isn't here to correct my terminology. Where is Adam on Friday night at 10:00? Playing softball. Final game of the season.) they came and lifted these little guards which was much appreciated.

I know this surprises y'all, but Jolie and myself were the only ones that didn't bowl a strike. (See, here again, I am not sure that is the correct terminology, but we'll go with it.)

It's been 4 days and I am proud to report that all my toes are still in tact. Knock on wood.

And she wasn't even sick

We did one of my favorite things today. We browsed the aisles of Books-A-Million. And I had a lovely time until I looked down and saw my girl trying to bail on me. I underestimated that she is going to be JUST like her daddy who would rather go to the dentist than read a book.

As I mentioned the other day Reese has had a little runny nose, congestion etc. The last thing I want to be is that momma that runs her baby to the doctor if she sneezes more than 2 times a day, but it sounded like the congestion had moved to her chest which is grounds for a doctors visit in this rookie mommas opinion.

Our appointment was at 4:30. We got there at 3:45 because we all know the early bird gets the worm. Or in this case, the early momma gets called back first. Probably. Hopefully. Maybe. But not in this case.

When we walked in the door I could hear a victim of school shots screaming from one of the rooms, "Help! Help!" It made me want to run to his poor little rescue. As fate would have it his daddy was sitting out in the waiting room and later came to my rescue. Yes, I had to be rescued at the pediatricians office. Sometime between our 3:45 arrival and our 5:45 meeting with Dr. C. Reese got her leg stuck between the cracks in these seats.

And, y'all. I am pretty sure everyone in Anniston heard about it. She was FRANTICALLY crying. Although you might not believe this- I was calm because I knew she wasn't hurting. Within a few seconds the victim of the school shots daddy came running over trying to push the seat apart enough to get her leg out. By then her face was turning blue from crying so hard. A couple of nurses ran out into the lobby and in a Spanish accent I heard, "Wait just a minute." I don't know where she thought I was going. And I don't want to exaggerate because I want to be creditable, but that nurse was gone for 5 minutes looking for something. Later I found out she was looking for lotion. By the time she came back Reese had pried her foot loose. Spanish accent lady proceeded to give me a speech about not pulling a baby free in such situations because it can make the situation worse. I came THIS close to telling her that Reese pulled it free on her own because we all thought she had gotten lost somewhere.

After all of that Reese wasn't even sick. Well, not sick enough to get any medicine. It's just a "tiny little cold." Which I am thankful that she isn't sick, but not being sick came at a price today. A high price considering the condition my nerves were in after almost having to amputate her leg.

And what was to follow made me realize what a sad day it is in America. Because I aim to please I made a special trip to Taco Bell for Adam. Particularly a #4- mexican pizza with 2 soft shell tacos- $7.89. I then proceeded to Chick-Fil-A (because I don't know if y'all remember or not, but Taco Bell and I broke up a while back. And if I weren't so tired I'd go back, find that post, and link it here.) where I got a #1- chicken sandwich, extra pickles, and fries- $6.79. Taco Bell is clearly getting to big for their fake hamburger meat britches. But God Bless America because there are people like myself that are willing to pay more for fake hamburger meat than a quality sandwich at Chick-Fil-A.

And on a completely unrealted note I am so excited about the little TLC special this weekend known as Nick and Vanessa's wedding. What? Who are they? Nick...as in Nick and Jessica Simpson. And I am not ashamed to admit that I was a loyal viewer of their reality show The Newlyweds back in my early college days. Guess what I'm a fan of now? Yep, Nick and Vanessa and their wedding special. That's where you'll find me Saturday at 8 central.

Its been a record day

First of all she is either getting a cold or cutting teeth. I am not sure which, but we've got the runny nose and it isn't a pleasant sight. But lets move on to more important things.

This morning she slept till 10:00. Sweet, sweet Lord thank you for that blessed moment in time. Y'all it was a beautiful thing. And guess what? So did her momma and daddy. Technically she was up playing in our bed from 6 till about 7:30ish, but then we all went back to sleep and the next thing I knew it was almost lunch time. Made me feel like I was 16 again. But then I looked beside me and saw my husband and baby which quickly snapped me back to reality. Anyway, isn't it typical that I'm 2 weeks from going back to work and I just got her trained to indulge in leisurely mornings only to see it destroyed by the education system. Sad.

Then we all went to the pool for a couple of hours. When we came home we experienced another record breaking moment. She took a 2 hour nap. 2 hours. And she might have slept longer but we had a date with the new Japanese restaurant, Yume, that her daddy wasn't about to miss. And yummy it was.

I have to apologize for talking smack about the satellite internet the other day because I uploaded this short video in a reasonable amount of time. She loves to put her face down in the water and most times it gets up her nose. MeeMaw's pool has a salt water system and it seemed to have dried up her nose. Maybe it was the amount of salt that got in it.

Her hair has been growing at an alarming rate in the past few weeks. Look how sweet. And stylish.

When she gets up in the mornings it is particularly snazzy.

I feel compelled to share a few things with the group.

I can't confirm this, but I think P90X is what the CIA uses to get terrorist to talk. I (almost) completed a couple of the DVDs this week and I thought I was going to have to call in assistance. Brutal, but a lot of fun. (Is that an oxymoron?) Anyway if your interested in making your quads explode lets get together. I need a workout buddy to hold me accountable. The eye rolls I get from A-master anytime I mention him joining me tells me that he isn't up to it. BFF Steph swears we would be workout buddies if she lived here. But you know what I think? I think it's easy to talk it up when you live a state away.

Did I mention that I have to go back to work in only 2 weeks? You may be wondering what that has to do with anything and I'll tell you.

I really need to get my hair done before that. I was thinking about cutting a significant amount off, but I almost always regret doing that. I have a complicated past with hair cuts and coloring, and I am feeling the rebellious need to doing something new. I'm not getting purple put in my hair or anything, but I need a new do. Any suggestions?

10 Months Old

At 10 month old:

(I made all of the below pictures and never got a smile. I begged for one and acted a fool trying to get one. The minute her daddy walked up I got the above picture. I carried her through the heat of the summer last year, and she smiles at him. Typical.)
Weighs: 16lbs 4ounces at her last doctors visit (50th percentile)
Height: 27 inches (50th percentile)

Sleeps all night in her bed. She usually goes to sleep between 8 and 9, but sometimes as early as 7:30- depending on what we've done that day. She usually gets up between 6 and 8 in the mornings. I love to go in and get her when she wakes up because she can hear us coming and is stretching her neck to look over the crib. When she sees us she smiles and claps her hands. So sweet. She then comes back to bed with us and plays until she is ready to eat breakfast.

She is a such a little bird when it comes to eating. She loves her bottle, but foods don't seem that important to her. Sometimes she will only eat a bit or two of her food. She tried green peas this week and really liked them. I can't remember if that's what we tried a while back or if it was green beans, but this times things went a lot better. Her favorites are still bananas, sweet potatoes, and carrots.

She doesn't have any teeth, but I fully expect she will start cutting them the week school starts back. Dr. C claims that the later they come in the healthier they will be.

She loves to sit outside. Particularly she likes to watch her daddy cut grass which is what we are doing right now.

She is a busy, busy little bee. She is constantly into something. She loves to empty out buckets, drawers etc.

She pulls up on everything including the side of the tub, the couch, and the toy basket.

She gives the sweetest kisses. Her techique: mouth wide open pressed against our cheeks. So sweet. She can also give high 5's.

Everything goes in her mouth: Exhibit A

Crawls everywhere she needs to go. Since she is crawling we (meaning I) have enacted a no shoes in the house law. (The vote was not unanimous.) But her onezies were so dirty after crawling around that I was embarrased. (I am not expecting the law to be obeyed because Adam likes to walk around with his shoes on from the time he wakes up till the time he goes to bed in case he needs to go somewhere in a hurry. I blame the fire department for making him this way.)

Everything goes in her mouth: Exhibit B

Everything goes in her mouth: Exhibit C

And for memory sake I am going to tell something that I ought not tell. And I am ashamed, trust me. Everything goes in her mouth: Exhibit D- I don't have a picture because pandamonium broke out when I realized what was happening, but she ate a worm. (I have my head down in shame right now.) Sunday we had just got home from church (and it's a good thing because if I had not just heard THE WORD I might have used words that aren't Sunday school friendly.) and I heard her coughing. When we checked she had a worm in her mouth. It was dead, but I don't think that is all that relevant once it's in her mouth. I don't know what was worse: that she had it in her mouth, or that it was in our house. We called Superior Pest Control first thing on Monday.

If you have a daughter and haven't heard the Trace Adkins song We're Just Fishin' prepare yourself. It is at the top of the list for songs to be used with a slideshow at the birthday party.

It's a bird, It's a plane....

It's the INTERNET! I hope all the capital letters and exclamation points let you know just how excited I am about this. Now it's probably not the internet you city folks are used to, but it's the internet just the same. Sort of. (We'll get to that in a minute.) I had a brilliant idea a couple of weeks ago that we would get the MicroCell tower that AT&T gave out to boost cell service in your house (which required high speed internet to function) and then we would get HughesNet internet services (because they were running a free installation/no contract special) and after all of that we would disconnect our land line. (Side note: we are doing Dave Ramsey's financial program in our Sunday school class. If you've ever been through it then you know my pain. Dave would be really proud of the whole land line disconnecting thing since it would save us some money every month.) Anyway, I was assured on 2 separate occasions that the MicroCell was compatible with HugesNet Satellite internet. Well, guess what? Exactly. It's not compatible. So in the end it was a complete waste, but now that I've got a taste of the internet again I can't let it go. We've broken up before and I don't plan on it ever happening again. We're in this for the long haul. Oh and you know the HugesNet commercial? It says 10 times faster than dial up. That's a lie. On its best day it might be 5 times faster. But who am I to complain? (I'll tell you whose complaining. Dave Ramsey. He is not happy that I just added another monthly expense to our budget.)
Back to my story. The day they were coming to install the internet I was planning to work in my classroom so MeeMaw graciously volunteered to come sit with Reese and wait for my knight in shinning armors to come with the goods. Adam said that if there were any problems to call him and he would handle it (which is my preferred method of handling things.) For a number of reasons the satellite had to go on the roof. They called Adam to confirm that it was okay. When I came home I thought a space ship of sorts had landed on our roof.

Don't you agree? It's huge, but oh so worth it.

This is random but look at her feet. When she sits in a high chair she likes for her feet to be able to see. We are raising her to be such a lady.


We were at the pool a few weeks ago and my sister let her drink from the hose. She.Loved.It. And because I am the mother of the year I let her. I know some of you are screaming at the screen right now because of all that on the news a few years ago about drinking from a hose causing cancer. But really? I've got my doubts.

If you remember from my last post A-master is "coaching" church league and it has caused more than a little distress at our house this summer. This is what Reese looks like after a night at the ball park. Her daddy looks similar.

Here's the coach himself. And guess what? Coach hit a home run tonight. It was an in the park homeroom, but a home run just the same.

Last week we went to Hobby Lobby and upon entrance my heart skipped a beat when we walked in and there on the shelves sat fall decorations. I could swear I heard angels singing. I almost went home and got my stuff out, but I knew A-master would be on my case about it. So in an effort to hurry the fall season Reese wore her collegiate wear on Saturday and we dreamed of the upcoming football season.

Chances are good we won't win a game, but by then we'll be used to it. Church league has really brought down the expectations at this house.

My Big Announcement

Please allow me to start this (lengthy) post by saying that I am happy to be coming to you live from my very own living room. Yep, you heard me. We got the internet at our hizzy. Rest assured you'll be hearing a lot more from me. (I saw you roll your eyes. But really was 1 post a week enough? I choose to think not.)

I am going to try to keep this as short as possible, but there are a lot of details that I feel you bloggers deserve to hear. After all y'all know all there is to know about our lives. (See, there I go rambling already.)

After 3 glorious years I’m moving on to closer pastures. Next year I will be molding the minds at Lineville High School. 12 precious miles from my hizzy. Can I digress and tell you a back-story?

I was never one of those kids that grew up declaring their future occupation. At one point my parents thought I was going to be a car salesman because I could tell you the make of any car in sight. In college I changed my major no less than 3 times: social work(after 2 semesters I learned it wasn’t for me), Speech Pathology(had to get your masters to be able to even interview for a job so not for me), psychology(although interesting not for me). It went on and on. I was so torn about what to major in. My parents encouraged me to go into nursing to ensure having a job. Bless their hearts. They meant well. But driving near hospitals makes my throat close up. Needles make me shiver inside. When Adam and I started dating I was tinkering with the idea of real estate and I allowed him to do what no girl should allow a boyfriend to do. He swayed my decision and I changed my major to marketing. (After all, the building was closest to the parking lot.). *Edited to add: it was a good decision beacuse it paved the way for me to teach business.

Anyway, I did end up in real estate and LOVED it. Problem? NO benefits. And since A-master and me like to go to the doctor if we get sick I had to move on and get a big girl job with health insurance. I took a medical device sale job with a company and for reasons that aren’t worth mentioning it just wasn’t for me. Calling on doctors offices with mean, mean nurses was not what I had thought it would be.

After 4 months of being employed with that company I heard a rumor that a business teaching position was going to open up at C’burg. Now let’s go back to being little again….you know what I didn’t want to be? A teacher. In my mind teaching meant elementary school kids and I don’t have the patience for little kids. High school never crossed my mind.

As it would turn out my friend Allison’s husband was going to be the assistant principal at C’burg that year so I called him. Also the former principal at Adam’s high school was the principal there. I was so on the fence. I had only been at my current job for 4 months! I wasn’t even really giving it a chance!

I interviewed for the teaching job two weeks before school was to start.

Upon walking in the front door of the school I had the worst feeling in my stomach. It smelled like a school.  Like construction paper and laminating machines. It looked like a school. It felt like a school. Quiet frankly it gave me a terrible feeling. I left the interview where I had been offered the job. Got 10 miles up the road, called back and declined the offer.

Long story short- Allison's hubby called and told me not to jump to such a quick decision and think on it for a few days. Adam was all for the job. It came with very good health insurance and unless you've ever paid OUT OF POCKET for health insurance you really can't appreciate it.

So…….I quit my job a couple days later and had less than a week to prepare for teaching. I won’t go into how nervous I was about standing before teenagers who were bigger than me and trying to teach when I had never taught anyone to do anything. (except that one time I taught BFF Steph how to change a diaper.) I also won’t go into to how much those kids utterly hated my guts the first year. (*Also edited to add: they hated me in the beginning because I was super-duper strict. But they liked me by the end of the school year.)  However, it didn't take long for me to admit that I really enjoyed the job, and I have continued to enjoy it since then.

Back to current day. Here was the situation:
1. Even though I had taught for 3 years I did not have tenure. (I was not certified the 1st year I taught so that year didn't count.)
2. In case you missed this- I had a baby last year- which caused a burning desire in my heart to be closer to home.
3. My 2 peeps that talked me into going to C'burg ultimately got better opportunities and moved on.
4. A job came open at my old alma mater.
This is where all the stress came in.
5. Since the schools will be combining this position is only a 1 year job. Therefore, I WILL be pink slipped next year and looking for another job. (That sound you just heard was school teachers far and wide gasping in horror that I took a job that I knew wouldn't exist next year.)
6. I had to resign from my C'burg job by July 1st in order to ensure they would release me from my contract.
7. The board didn't meet until last night to approve me for this position. Therefore if my math is correct (which is highly unlikely) I was unemployed for 12 long, long days. (And that sound you just heard was me gasping in horror because I still can't believe I did that.)
8. That's a big deal because I tote the health insurance at this house.

So after much thought and consideration (and a whole lot of getting advice from all my peeps) I decided to take the chance and go for it. I justified all this riskiness because (other than tenured school teachers) no American knows that they will have their job next year. And really this isn't my first rodeo. I left my previous job before I was approved at C'burg. My favorite cuz told me then that, "if you never make a change then you'll always be right where you are." I knew then that I didn't want to be at that job forever and I can promise you I didn't want to be at C'burg forever either.

All of this combined caused me to be pushed to the brink of insanity and peer over the edge. All I know for sure is that I've seen the GOOD LORD take care of us in the past and I have no doubt that he will take care of us again next year when I'm unemployed. (Y'all remind me of that when I am on anxiety medication next summer while hunting down the elusive j-o-b.)

So (if you're still reading this)(and I don't blame you if your not) I will be teaching reading/career tech to 7th and 8th graders next year at LHS.

And just because I can... you can expect to be hearing from me again tomorrow. Because did I mention that we got the internet?

Random list....

You know how summer is supposed to be all relaxation and fun in the sun? Not our summer. I am emotionally and physically drained and here is a summary of why.
1. It was a tragic turn of events on Friday night when we realized that EVERY SINGLE paci was lost. LOST. As in, nowhere to be found. Which translates into zero sleep occurring at our house, and that's not at all the picture I had in mind of how our weekend would start. I opened the closet door the next morning and there on the floor sat one of the much sought after pacis. It was almost like it was taunting me by sitting there in plain sight after we had search the house top to bottom the night before. Saturday morning we went promptly to Target and bought 4 shiny new pacis. Here's one of them.

2. A-master got in over his head by volunteering to "coach" church league softball this year. And I use the term "coach" loosely. There are a total of 24 people wanting to play which makes it hard to rotate everyone into the game since we're usually getting beat by 10 runs in the 4th inning and the game is called. (And yes, everyone has to play beacuse it is the Christian thing to do.) Last week we were at the ball field 3 night, played 6 games, and won 1. One game was so bad he almost called a press conference to announce his resignation because A-master DOES NOT like getting beat.
3. Speaking of resignation....drum roll please....I resigned from C'burg last week. There I said it. Am I crazy? Don't answer that. It was a rhetorical question. Hopefully next week I will be coming to you with exciting news about my new job (don't get too excited or anything. I'll still be teaching the youth of our day, but it won't be in C'burg.). If it's not good news then I'll be coming to you crying and begging for someone to have career mercy on me and hire me to do something. Anything. Because in case I have never mentioned it hubby is a sales rep for a cabinet company.....And the cabinet biz? It has seen better days. I'll be giving you a long and boring posts about all of this next week. I know you'll be on the edge of your seat with anticipation until then.
4. Yesterday at Winn Dixie Reese kept pulling the buggy cover off of the buggy and putting her mouth on the metal part. I have no doubt she will be coming down with some horrific virus that we will all get. And there is nothing worse than for Adam to have a virus. All the whining is more than I can bear.
5. Something terrible has happened to my email account and I can no longer access it which means if you've emailed me I haven't gotten it. And what good is my handy dandy iphone if I can't read all the highly important emails I get on a daily basis?
6. Due to all of the stress related to #3 my house has been terribly neglected. There is a deep cleaning scheduled for tomorrow unless I see something shiny and get distracted.
7. Remember the king size mattress I mentioned last week? Making that purchase was the single smartest marital investment we have ever made. LIFE CHANGING. If your married
and don't have a king size then you aren't meeting your happiness potential. I went back to sleeping with upwards of 3 pillows (since we have so much more space and Adam can't complain about my pillows bothering him) and I am a much more pleasant person to be around. Anyway, our old mattress is still sitting in our living room waiting for its new home. If I have to look at it for much longer its new home is going to be in the yard for Autie and Dixie.
8. I have started looking at some stuff for her 1st birthday party, but I am refusing to accept that it's so close.
9. I would like present you with Reese's favorite past time....It is safe to say my Tupperware will never be the same.

And that concludes my list of random things that have caused me some or a lot of stress over the past few weeks.

We celebrated the 4th on the 3rd this year. I believe it was because everybody had to go back to work on the 5th and needed to rest on the 4th. Or something like that. Anyway if you look close you will see her red eyes in this picture because she a major meltdown when getting ready for church that morning.

But look how sweet! I adore her. Plus she has started giving us sugar (yes, we are raising her to call kisses "sugar" because we like to embrace our southern hertiage. And no true southerner calls it a kiss.)

She does not like for her feet to touch the ground, but what lady does?

I hope you all had a lovely 4th of July! And unlike us, I hope you all are having a relaxing fun in the sun kind of summer. And your church league softball team isn't getting killed every game.