14 months (and several days)

It's not that I've been so busy the last 10 days that I couldn't post Reese's 14 month post. No, it's not that. It is the fact that I can't do ANYTHING without her on my hip. Just today I tried to get on the elliptical to burn off that dressing I ate last week, but NO Reese E Cup would hear none of the sort. So for about 32 seconds I held her and took my chances on the elliptical. Then and I gave up, but it really isn't worth risking my life over. And if she see the computer she loses control of herself and demands to bang on the keys.

At 14 months:

Weight: 20lbs

Height: I have no idea.

Her hobbies: putting random objects into larger random objects and then taking them out. Over and over and over again. For example- she will find a bowl and put her paci in and out of it. She also enjoys getting a wet wipe and cleaning the floor, table, anything that will stand still. I read on Pinterest to use old wet wipe boxes with scrap pieces of material in them so babies don't waste wipes by pulling them out. Brilliant. She likes to put her head on the floor so I will help her do a front roll. I have high hopes of her being a little gymnast and you can never start too early.

Words she can say: MaMa, DaDa, three, tree, (which sound exactly the same, but when she says 3 she is waiting for something big to happen like her daddy throwing her in the air. When she says tree she points to the Christmas tree.) PawPaw (although she doesn't have a PawPaw), bye, hi, no.

Goes to sleep between 7 and 8 every night and usually gets up between 6 and 7. I rock her to sleep while she plays in my hair. I will have to be institutionalized when she doesn't want me to rock her anymore. If she takes longer than a 30 minute nap I get concerned. Only because that never happens.

She eats pretty much whatever we eat. Plus she eats baby food at night. Usually carrots or sweet potatoes. She loves pickles and grapes. Not together, of course.

She has 4 teeth. 2 on top and 2 on bottom. How mad would it make you for someone to hold up your top lip during your sleep to get a picture of your teeth? I had to document the little gap between them. So sweet.

D.D. got her these pink boots and they are so cute. She was getting ready for her bath and fully prepared to wear them while doing so.

Our little cheerleader. And this is just the length I hope all of her skirts are;)

She is also very fascinated by being able to wipe her own mouth.

I am still finding noodles in the floor after that meal.

We are currently fighting the never ending battle of her fascination with the Christmas trees in the house. The temptation is more than she can bear and almost always pulls something off of a tree within 15 minutes of walking in the door.

Thanksgiving

You know what I love about Thanksgiving? Other than it is one of two times a year my Nanny cooks. I love that I get to see all these faces in one place.


There are 2 missing faces- Brandon and Mason- but isn't that typical of little boys? Refusing get their picture made.

The other thing I love about it is that we all get together, eat at two long tables side by side, and talk as loud as we can over each other. It is a beautiful, chaotic thing. There have been years that most of us have left with headaches and it wasn't because of the kids. Tis the season.

This year I took my camera, but left my memory card at home. Good thing A-master bought that snazzy new iPhone 4S because it has a camera that me and my antique 3GS can only dream of.



Rest assured these horses do not belong to the family. Some people rent Nanny's pasture and I am sure they would be pleased to know that PeePaw roped this horse with Clay's belt and a few of the kids rode it while PeePaw lead. My favorite part was when Clay told PeePaw not to mess up his belt because it was not only his school belt, but also his church belt.



This is pretty much how the afternoon went down. Various forms of tackling and hide and seek. Even PeePaw got involved in one game. The only time I've seen him run faster was when he let 2 hot wires touch in the electrical box one unfortunate day a couple of years ago. Don't let him tell you otherwise. The man can run when sparks are flying. And when grandchildren are chasing him back to base.

Here is one of my favorite. This picture sums up Little Red in one photographic package. He is a little bit rebel mixed with a lot of charm.

Most pictures of Reese look something like this because she is in full walking/running mode.


Friday night we went to the last football game for the Lineville Aggies. We must be bad luck because both games we went to this year ended in a lose. When BFF Steph held Reese she said she felt like she was holding a small smowman.


Saturday we helped MeeMaw put up her tree and Reese proceeded to fall out the back door of her house leaving quiet the little goose egg on her head. Then we headed to Big Daddy and D.D.'s for supper and to watch the game. During half time we took a little break from the beating we were taking and rode around in the Cozy Coupe. This little girl loves the Cozy Coupe. To bad I can't upload the video so you can see her smiling with her hair flying in the wind while loving life in that precious red and yellow yard sale find. Aunt Shelia really knows her yard sales.

Matter of fact the only picture I can get uploaded is this one. Wouldn't it be the one that the dog is sniffing her? And with pink pants on.

Giving back

I was going to blog about this a few weeks ago but I backed out. I don't know why. Then I read Brooke's post this morning and I decided to introduce you to Lodia. Much like what Brooke says in her post I don't want any of you to think I am trying to push sponsoring a child on you, and I certainly don't want you to think I'm patting us on the back for sponsoring a child.

A month or two ago our Sunday school class read the book Radical by David Platt. He is the pastor at Brook Hills in Birmingham. That book slapped all of us in the face and made us ask ourselves what we are doing to take the gospel to the ends of the Earth. I will honestly tell you what we were doing. Not much. We tithe, of course, but couldn't we do more?

Every morning we (meaning Adam and I) get out of our warm bed and look over all the clothes we own yet declare we have nothing to wear. We go to the kitchen where a stocked refrigerator awaits yet we claim there's nothing to eat. We get in our fairly new cars and dream about having something bigger or nicer. We go to work and complain because it's stressful. (Or for me complain that I had to leave my baby.) We come home and complain because there are dishes to be washed and clothes to be folded. We proceed to complain because we have to make the effort of cooking something for supper. All the while there is a momma somewhere watching her baby starve to death.

A few weeks ago Rick and Bubba dedicated a couple of days to having the people from World Vision come and talk about sponsoring children around the world. Rick said something that caused me to think I had been slapped across the face. He said, "we know what we should do. The Bible is clear about that. The question is are we willing to do it"? Adam and I are both lucky enough to have parents who raised us in church. We know the verses and the Bible stories, but often we choose to ignore them. Just as David Platt talks about in Radical we Americanize God and his word. We take the Bible and make it fit into our lives instead of the other way around. We simply ignore the parts that cause us to be uncomfortable.

So when I got home that afternoon Adam and I discussed what we had heard on Rick and Bubba and agreed to sponsor a child. Why we have not done this before I do not know. The next day I began the process of picking a child. It was overwhelming. I felt as though every face spoke to me. Every face told a story of a kid who has gone to bed hungry while I have rarely missed a meal. Their mothers are desperate for their babies to get the vaccines that would save their lives while I have spend countless hours reading about the side effects and debating whether to let our baby get them. I don't know the conditions of all of the children, but I have a good feeling they would cause me to gasp in horror. After looking at child after child on my computer screen I had a little talk with Jesus (tell him all about our troubles...hear our fainted cry...and he will answer by and by)(focus Elena!) and agreed to sponsor the next child that appeared.

Let me introduce you to Lodia. She is from Haiti. She has one brother and one sister. (I asked Adam for help picking one. He had one request, "Let her have a name I can pronounce.") Very helpful, A-master. (After I showed him her picture he said, "Congratulations. She looks just like you."



How about her birthday is 9/9/99. I feel certain there is some irony there, but I can't put my finger on it.

It bothers me on a deep level that their isn't a trace of a smile on her face. Wouldn't it be amazing if we could actually meet her one day? Maybe we will. I think there are so many lessons to be learned from Lodia and others like her.

I really don't know exactly how the process works, but I think we will continue to sponsor her until she is a certain age and then we can pick or be assigned another child?? I realize I am a wealth of knowledge here.

If you are interested in reading more please go here.

Matthew 25:40 "Whatever you did for the least of these, you did for me."

We can offically be seen from space

I know you are all busy people with lives outside of blog reading, but before you read this post it is essential that you go back and read this one if you missed it last year. If you read it last year (and you are still reading about us this year God bless you) then you already know about Adam's love of tacky Christmas decorations.

Friday night the Outside Decorating Committee (meaning Adam) went to Target to get lights because there was no way another year could go by at his house with only a wreath and a spotlight. And, bless his little heart, I watched as his eyes lit up when we passed all the colored tackiness on our way to the more sophisticated clear lights. He calculated up how many strands would be needed to line the house, started piling boxes into the buggy, and I heard him utter to himself, "this is going to be MAGNIFICENT". I really don't know if you can appreciate how excited he was about all of this. The only thing that would have made it better would be if the Outside Decorating Committee had the power to overrule me and get colored blinking lights. (If you ever drive by my house and see colored lights call the police because Adam has me handcuffed and locked in a closet somewhere.)

I am happy to report that no A-master was injured during this process.

How long is it okay to laugh at yourself? Because, let me tell you, I have watched the following video countless times this weekend and have laughed till no sound comes out every time. I know, its really not that funny, but y'all, when Adam says "drum roll" at the beginning it gets me. Oh, how it gets me every time. And don't think for a minute that he doesn't have a remote control to turn the lights on and off at his convenience. Seriously, he's just like Clark. If only we had a cousin Eddy.

Big Daddy and D.D. stopped by for the lighting ceremony. We even had our baby out in the night air in her jammies to watch it all unfold. (Our grandmothers would give me a whole list of negative things that night air causes in babies if they knew that.) (Brace yourself because you are about to see his greatest accomplishment to date.)

(P.S. Adam turned the lights off at the end in an effort to be dramatic. Such a girl.)

There is a small, small part of me that would have given anything if the lights would not have lit up. I realize that is so mean, but nothing gives me greater delight than to see Adam on a tirade about something not working properly.

Of course we had to get in the car and drive to be sure you could see it from the road. As if there was any doubt.

A week in recipes

Well, 4 nights if you want to be exact. First, let me tell you that Pinterest has changed my life. I am up to my chin in recipes I am trying and crafts that I am making. It could turn into a full time job. So I wanted to share with all of you. Adam has been questioning what happened to his wife after all the cooking I have done this week.

(And let me note that even though the recipes don't call for this a baby can be carried on your hip while making all of these.)

Monday:


(Adam is still talking about this recipe)(Let me also say that I edited some (or most) of these.)

Jalapeno Stuff Chicken
8 ounces of cream cheese
1/2 cup shredded cheese
2 jalapeno peppers (I only used 1 because I wanted to be able to feel my mouth next week)
4 strips of bacon, diced
4 skinless/boneless chicken breast
1 cup seasoned breadcrumbs
1/4 cup vegtable oil
Cook bacon, Stir together cream cheese, cheddar cheese, bacon, pepper, in small bowl.
Cut pocket horizontally through thickest part
Fill chicken with mixture secure with toothpicks (This caused me more than a little distress, but the chicken did stay together.)
Roll in breadcrumbs to coat
Heat oil in skillet over medium heat about 8 minutes on each side
If chicken is really thick finish in oven on 350. (I put mine in the oven just for safe measure. Nothing is more disturbing than possibly eating raw poultry.)


Loaded Mashed Potatoes
5lbs potatoes peeled and cubed
3/4 cup sour cream
1/2 cup milk
3 tablespoons butter
salt/pepper
3 cups shredded cheese
1/2 lb bacon cooked and crumbled (I only cooked 2 pieces because I don't need an artery stopped up before I put up my Christmas tree(s) this weekend.)

Put potatoes in dutch oven, cover with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 10-15 minutes
Drain and place in a large bowl. Add sour cream, milk, butter, salt/pepper. Beat on medium speed until light and fluffy
Stir in 2 cups of cheese and bacon
Grease baking dish. Transfer potatoes to the dish. Top with remaining cheese.
Bake uncovered for 30 minutes on 350 until heated throughout and cheese is melted.

Tuesday
Crock Pot Broccli and Cheese Soup
1/2 cup green pepper chopped
1/2 cup onion chopped
2 tablespoons butter
1 (10 ounce) can cream of chicken soup
1 1/2 cup milk
1lb velveeta cheese cubed
1 (10 ounce) pack frozen chopped broccoli (I put mine in the food processor because I don't like big pieces of broccoli)

Saute onion and pepper in butter. Combine all ingredients in crock pot for 3-4 hours.

Wednesday
Tacos
I will not post that recipe because I feel certain that all of you know how to brown ground beef and add the Taco Bell seasoning found at the Wal Mart.

Thursday



Crockpot Italian Chicken (my crockpot hasn't received this much attention since....ever.)
4 chicken breast (I cut mine into small bite size pieces, but the recipe did not call for that.)(I am just real creative like that.)
1 packet Zesty Italian dressing seasoning
1 8 ounce packet of cream cheese (softened)
2 cans cream of chicken soup
Cook on low for 4 hours (or if you have a life outside of the kitchen like me cook it on high for 2 hours and pray that it's ready because you are starving)
Add milk if sauce is too thick.
Serve over pasta.

Friday
Somebody better be taking Momma out to eat for all the work she has put in this week in the cooking department.

And here is the girl in her Ho Ho jammies. For a while now she has had a thing for wash cloths...yeah, more than a little strange if you ask me. When she finds one she will carry it around until she sees something shiney and gets distracted.



Happy Friday!! If you need me this weekend I will be watching The Santa Clause and decorating my house with all sorts of ideas found on Pinterest.

Last weekend and randomness

Blogger is still mad with me which hopefully explains why most of the following pictures are going to be cut off. I am having to upload them from Photobucket and I have never had good luck with that.

Last weekend. Oh, last weekend. I am still exhausted just thinking about it. It caused Reese to make this face


Naturally since we already had 4 scheduled events on Saturday I went ahead and added one more to the list. Christmas card pictures. (Why must I punish myself?) Friday while at school I was mentally looking through my closet and realized to my dismay that I had nothing suitable to wear. After school I loaded up the girl, put in a call to our personal shopper (BFF Steph), and we were on our way with a mission in mind. Adam decided that if he was going to eat then he would have to meet us. (This is where I would like to interject and let you know that my life is complete again because Firehouse Subs is coming back to our area. Joy floods my soul.) And because he can't be out done he decided that he too needed a Christmas card outfit. We shopped around and got into no less than 3 arguments because, y'all, the boy struggles with taste in the apparal department. It is sad. It was after he picked out a sweater vest that I started planning my wardrobe for divorce court. At the very least I started picturing the news headlines: OFFICALS CALLED TO KOHLS OVER HUSBAND WIFE CHRISTMAS CLOTHING DISPUTE. Eventually we compromised, bought a shirt, and saved our marriage.

We went ahead and got the pictures over with first thing Saturday morning and then headed to Hertitage day in Lineville. Yes, I ate a funnel cake. Would you believe that my very own mother had never eaten a funnel cake? I couldn't beleive it either. She didn't say so much, but it changed her life. I know it did.

We then proceeded to rush to Adam's 10 year class reunion while Reese caught a quick cat nap on the way.

We left there and went straight to my niece Andi's birthday party. Followed directly by going to D.D. and Big Daddy's to watch The Game of the Century. And don't you dare think for a minute that Adam was going to miss a play of it. By the 3rd quarter Reese was exhausted. Just typing it all here is making me tired again.



By Sunday she had gotten herself and extra hour of sleep and was ready to go again. (Not really. Whoever is in charge of all this time changing does not have a baby. It messes up a good routine. Lets get decide on one and stick to it people.)


This is so random, but as I mentioned a while back I am still doing the once a month grocery shopping and menu planning. I love it although I have let myself down a few times and had to go to the grocery store mid month. I would like to share with you something I found. You may already know about it and if you do I am going to forgive you for not telling me about it. Let me introduce to you Mr. Velveeta goodness in a box. It is processed cheese at its finest. My mouth just watered thinking about it. (Maybe it was so good to me because I had low expectations??)


Last night as we were watching the CMA Awards Adam told me had I not snagged him he felt sure that Sara Evans would have. Let him dream. Just let him dream. There are some statements that come from his mouth that I simply must overlook.

The most unfortunate thing about this video is that I am in it. IN. MY. FLANNELS. I'll say it again. Adam is one lucky man. Anyway, anytime music comes on Reese will do this little dance. So funny!









There is something I have been meaning to discuss and I guess now is as good of a time as any. My hair. Over the last...I don't know...3 months I have started having hair along my hair line sticking out everywhere. It can best be described as baby bangs. So at first I just pretended not to see it. Then I did what I do anytime a health/beauty issue arises. I googled it. And you know what I found out? (If you have a baby, then yes, you already know) I found out that it is new growth after losing so much after having Reese. Who knew? Y'all, she is 13 months old. When do all these pregnancy induced phyiscal changed stop showing up to ruin my day. Is this how it is with every baby? Because I had almost talked myself into having another one in a couple of years, but not now. It will take a couple of years for these baby bangs to grow out. Is there anything that can be done? Please tell me there is.

P.S. Please excuse any spelling errors. If I try to spell check blogger deletes my pictures. I'm telling you if he doesn't straighten up I am calling it quits on this blogging.

Swanky resturants and Halloween

Let's go back to last Friday. Actually let me back up to last year.

Last year I spent our anniversary just the way I envisioned I would when I was walking down the aisle in a long white dress about to pledge my life to Adam. Nursing a 1 month old baby while intermittently crying. Oh, yeah and mad at the world that I was going to have to go back to work and leave her. Let me tell you, having a baby is quiet the undertaking. Anyway, Adam basically forced me to leave her and go to Oxford for dinner. When we left her at D.D.'s they basically had to pry her from my hands. Then I cried most of the trip to Oxford and couldn't wait to get back.

I've come a long way in a year. MeeMaw brought her to the pep rally last Friday (another perk of working close to home) and wouldn't it be true that on the afternoon we planned our anniversary dinner she had a fever. I went back and forth with myself whether or not to leave her or cancel our dinner reservation. (Because remember we went to a "swanky place without prices on the menu" and had to get a reservation. Also a far cry from Olive Garden last year.) After much deliberation we decided that the fever was coming from cutting teeth (even though every Dr. in America will say that a fever doesn't accompany teething. Well, well, Dr. E. Robertson, a momma whose baby now has almost 4 teeth firmly believes it does.) We left her at MeeMaw's house and on our way to drop her off her diaper sprung a leak and (I'm at a loss for how to word this???) I got tinkled on. Tee teed on? Pee Peed on? There are so many options. I know, I know. You don't have to tell me. My life is all glitz and glamour.


We arrived shortly after 6 at our destination. I knew upon arrival that we were going to stick out like sore thumbs. We dressed nice and everything, but I felt a lot of people staring at us when we forwent a glass of wine and asked, "do y'all have sweet tea?" It was down hill from there. (Right here I so want to cut a joke that includes the name of the road we live on, but I don't know if that is safe to do on the World Wide Web.) The food was really good and the place was beautiful. A-master was a tiny bit wrong about the prices. The prices are listed, but without the dollar sign in front of them. Anyway, we recommend it if you have a special occasion coming up. Here's the link if you're interested. Although we looked at the dessert menu Adam thought it much wiser to stop by Wendy's on the way home and get a frosty. What can I say? I married a man of sophisticated taste.

On Saturday morning we went to Brandi's to meet up with the girls. I have no doubt they will all get together and talk about their momma's one day for doing this to them. There were 2 babies crying and 5 grown girls laughing histerically as this picture was taken.


I can't tell you how much trouble this post has been. I have spent countless minutes of my life that I will never get back trying to upload these pictures.

Sunday afternoon we went to MeeMaw and PeePaw's to carve our pumpkins. Reese was very impressed with them and thought they made great teething toys.





Sidenote: Did ya'll know that dark gray and light gray are fashionable this year? Personally, I think it is my best look.





I put this picture in black and white in an effort to minimize my need for highlights. Momma has let herself go.



In comparison to my peeps I look homeless, but I love this picture. That little poodle melts my heart.











MeeMaw made this Halloween dress for her. I would love to upload a short video of her screaming mad trying to pull the dress off, but blogger is still mad with me. I laughed so hard when she was trying to pull it off because that was exactly the kind of thing I did on Sunday's as a child. I hated nothing more than an "itchy" dress.



Monday night our Sunday School class had a booth at the Trunk or Treat on the square. I honestly did not know there were so many kids in this county.



I just pray that she never needs counseling and claims that all her troubles began when her momma dressed her as a pink poodle. And I am confident that it will never embarrass her that I dressed as a lady bug.


This could be the best Popeye and Olive Oil of all time.





Here's to hoping that next year I can outdo the poodle suit. It will be an uphill battle.

P.S. Because I told her I would I must give props to BFF Steph for finding the poodle suit. She is now Reese's personal shopper.

I have so much to tell y'all....

I know that comes as a shock. And I would so tell you all about our weekend and the cutest pink poodle you have ever laid your eyes on, but blogger appears to be trying to break up with me. Or, Lord forbid, our highly sophisticated satellite Internet is letting me down. Again.

Just know that when I get all my issues resolved with the Internet I have a lot of pictures to show you from the weekend.

Oh, and I have to tell you about the "swanky" restaurant we went to for our anniversary dinner. That A-master really knows his restaurants.

Tell me I'm not alone? Is anybody else having trouble? With blogger I mean. Because if your a teacher friend of mine I know your having trouble. Trouble with that pay cut we took yesterday.