Pictures I've meant to post for awhile but just never downloaded from the camera until yesterday

This one is just very very cute. I have a video of him climbing over this red chair to get onto the piano bench, but I can't figure out how to get it uploaded onto here. All this newfangled technology....

These two are all about Valentine's Day. School parties, family fun....just love love love. They both got lots of cards in the mail and treats from grandparents and aunts and that just delights them like nothing else! We did end up taking them to the Y to swim that night, then out for dinner and they had a ball.

The Winter Storm of 2009. Don't worry--I was fully stocked up on bread & milk, so we didn't go hungry during the days of being shut in... ;o)

Here are those dang graham crackers that I left out on the patio for DAYS (weeks?). I blogged about them a time or two. The open package on the table were quite soggy (they're covered in snow here), but there was an unopened package still inside the box that were unscathed and quite tasty.

A good little Presbyterian

We've been really into the movie "Annie" around here lately. It's a free "on demand" movie right now and I've been having all kinds of childhood flashbacks as I clean and dance around the house singing "It's a hard knocked life" and "I think I'm going to like it HERE!!!!!!" OH THE MEMORIES. Loved that movie as a child. I think it might've been the first movie I ever saw at the theater. I had the sound track (on tape, of course). I had the Annie dolls (yes, plural dolls). I pretended that I was Annie in the bathroom mirror with my brush as a microphone. Come to think of it....Annie was kind of like my own "High School Musical" back in the day.

So, the kids are digging Annie. I'm digging Annie (again). We even got the new up-to-date Annie movie from the library (Disney worked on it for this one...even includes my favorite Kristin Chenoweth). We are up to our ears in ANNIE.

If you can recall, the orphanage lady's name (played by Carol Burnett or Kathy Bates, depending on which version you've seen) is Miss Hannigan.

Maddy is notorious for mixing words up and saying very funny things, unintentionally.

LIKE, tonight when she kept meaning to say"Miss Hannigan"....she kept saying "Miss Catechism" instead. HILARIOUS.

Other funnies? Playing Uno, instead of saying she laid down a "reverse", she said she laid down a "bibleverse." And she still says "redult" instead of "adult."

She has a whole mess of words like that....I should make a list!

Make new friends, but keep the old

This past Sunday, I had lunch with a good friend I hadn't seen in well over 5 years. Lisa has known me for probably 15 years or so--I first met her when my older brother brought her home from college when I was still in high school. Well, it didn't work out for them, but it worked out well for me! Lisa was my Bible Study leader and mentor in college and we've done our best to keep up over the last 10 years.

The first question she & her husband Mark asked me was, "So have you started eating salads yet?" (read Item #2 on this link and you'll know where this comes from). I was thrilled to announce to them that I had indeed been a faithful salad eater for about 6 years now.

There's just a comfort that comes from seeing old friends! It was very fun to catch up and laugh and relive the old times (salad, anyone?) but also celebrate the present and all the ways God has grown us up.

The night before, I had a "girl's night out" with my "new" friends (although most of them are now becoming my "old" friends since we've been hanging together for about 8 years now). I decided the time had come to let them in on my secret, hidden, mysterious talent. Lisa & Mark knew about this and I figured it was time to really solidify my relationships with my "new/old" girlfriends as well.

Shall I share it with the blogosphere as well? I'm feeling right confident that this is an appropriate forum, so here goes:

I can do the worm. Yes, as in the break-dance variety.

It only took me one margarita to get the courage to showcase this talent, but I'm fairly sure it was worth it because "the worm" was greeted with open arms and hearts.

The last time I did the worm (in public, anyways) was 10 years ago at my brother Craig's 30th birthday party...In front of his friends, coworkers and colleagues. But I wasn't alone--Keith, my other older brother, and I did a synchronized worm. (Keith's the one I probably owe a sincere debt of gratitude to for learning the worm in the first place-he's the one who taught me the lyrics to Christmas in Hollis, as you may recall. He seems to have a little R&B/hiphop in his soul.)

And of course, there are pictures. But none of them were too "flattering" if you know what I mean, so you'll have to live without.

I feel like we know each other a little better now.

The Excuse

In case you're wondering why I don't blog NEARLY as much as I used to, I have decided to do a little photojournalism piece to demonstrate.

Will is, as I like to say, busier than both of my other children ever thought about being....combined. For instance, today at the Y nursery (in the completely babyproofed room with carpet on the walls and nothing but toys to play with), the nursery workers informed me that he's been getting in a bit of mischief. He tries to climb on top of the "kitchen" center and likes to take the taped name tags off the other children (to eat).

Anyways.

These pictures were all taken in one morning, I believe. Here is Will's workmanship:

Cleaning out the file cabinet for us.

Cleaning out the pantry for me. Took all the potatoes out and launched them up onto the counter.

Pulling all the books off John's bookshelf.

This is just a small sampling of what my day looks like, thanks to Will. I left out the "dangerous" things he has done/gotten into--I think I've rescued him from the claws of death more times than I care to count (like opening the dishwasher to get a peanut butter-coated knife to run around the house with....and he is allergic to nuts.)

Therefore.....I have loads of blog posts swimming around in my brain, but lest I leave him unattended, they will go unwritten for now. And of course, if he's napping, I'm crashed too. :o)

Which is where I'm headed right now...

Various Asundry for February 18, 2009

*SO relieved about Danny Gokey making the Top 12 on American Idol. I am really digging his style these days. Also relieved about not having to worry with ol' Tatiana anymore. She was very bothersome.

*Finally ordered that Land's End swimsuit I've been talking/blogging about forever. However, if I don't lay off the Girl Scout Thin Mints, I'm going to need to send it back and get another size/style completely.

*Michael took John to the Vandy/UK basketball game last night. Michael has completely submerged John into the world o' Commodores and as a result, the wildcats have no spot in his heart. I remember YEARS ago (when we were sans-kids) we went to a VU/UK basketball match up--Michael wore his Vandy shirt, I wore my Kentucky shirt & we sat side-by-side cheering on our own teams like it mattered. That was back when I actually seemed to care what happened on the court. Last night, I was thrilled to send the two men off to the game and I got to stay up and watch American Idol and a special on Kelly Ripa on E! all by myself. That's my idea of a fun evening these days!

*Listening to John laughing hysterically in his bed--he is reading "Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Roddick Rules" and giggling like crazy. Those books are quite funny. I love that he loves to read.

*Have you tried the banana pudding recipe from the cover of February's Southern Living? I highly recommend. Skip the nilla wafers for this version--it calls for none other than NUTTER BUTTERS! So good. I made it for a baby shower on Sunday afternoon. Delish!

*Training for the Country Music 1/2 Marathon is going well. I'm up to 7 miles this weekend for my long run. No injuries and great weather have made it a very nice training season so far.

I think I'll go to bed now. I stayed up too late last night catching up on my shows...and Will was up a time or two with teething woes last night, so I am ti-red. Goodnight...

My how things have changed...

Is it just me, or has Valentine's Day evolved into a family holiday? I somehow missed that bit of news along the way, but it is what it is, so we've decided to embrace it. The kids have been asking all week what our plans were to celebrate Valentine's Day with them, so we scrambled and come up with something.

Our big idea? We decided we'd take them to the Y and swim at the indoor pool.

When we announced it last night, I got assaulted with love the likes of which you've probably never seen before. I was sitting on the floor and told them the plan for today and was completely bowled over (literally!) with hugs and kisses. It was borderline violence. You'd have thought we told them we were going to Disney World instead of the family YMCA.

So, while you're out at a fancy schmancy restaurant tonight wearing your Sunday best while gazing at your special one over top of the dozen red roses he brought to you.....think of me and my winter white pale legs a'splishing and a'splashing with 3 kids hanging onto my neck.

But honestly, I wouldn't have it any other way. I'll have 3 extra Valentines to spend the evening with and this has made them happier than I could ever be sitting in a restaurant tonight!

Now, about those flowers, however...

How Well Do You Know your Valentine? A Quiz

Just in time for Valentine's Day, here's a little quiz you & your sweetie can do to commemorate the special holiday. (Quiz taken from Real Simple magazine.)



Answer the questions for you and your valentine. Then, ask them to do the same on their own paper. Winner gets off laundry duty for a month:



1. What reality television show would you consider auditioning for?

You:

Special One:



2. What website do you spend the most time on?



3. What's the most embarrassing song on your iPod?



4. On a limitless menu, what would you order?



5. What was the last book you read?



6. Which way do you hang the toilet paper, over or under?



7. What was your high school mascot?



8. What is the one place on the planet you're dying to visit?

Upcoming Auditions

In case you're interested....

"The Biggest Loser" is hosting an open casting call for next season on February 28 here in downtown Nashville at the Wildhorse Saloon. I've always wanted to workout with Bob & Jillian, but I'm thinking I wouldn't qualify...

SO, if weight loss isn't your thing, consider joining me as I **consider** joining the open casting call for "Can You Duet?". It's coming up on March 7, also at the Wildhorse Saloon. I'm considering bribery or blackmail on a few of my friends who have been known to pick up a karaoke mic with me. My good friend Anna and I have a few options....she & I have been known to do a rousing rendition of "Material Girl", complete with 80's dance moves.

Or, maybe I can talk our friend Kevin into auditioning with me. We've just about perfected our "Copacabana" routine.

Serious things to think about here...

Have you ever been relieved to have a stomach virus?

No? I'm the only one? Oh, ok. Allow me to explain:

You see, yesterday morning I had this crazy dream that I was pregnant. It was one of those super REAL dreams when you wake up and you have to take a sec to realize that it was just a dream.

Another baby is not exactly in our plans these days, so I woke up feeling a little nervous about the whole thing. Is God trying to tell me something? Is he changing the roadmap of my life to include another baby? I didn't know.

But because we haven't been planning on adding to our family anytime soon (or anytime ever), I went into a state of panic when I started to feel nauseous yesterday morning. Really nauseous. And really panic-y (is that a word?).

A few hours later, when the "symptoms of a stomach virus" became obvious (I'll spare you the details), I called Michael with an SOS to come home to help with the kids. He expressed his sympathy for my illness, but I could only think of one thing:

"At least I'm not pregnant...this will be over in 24 hours."

Always looking at the bright side, folks, always looking at the bright side.

Warning: Wii Fit might cause trauma to your otherwise healthy marriage

The other night we were at some friends' house and they have a fancy, new, cutting edge and wonderful Wii Fit. I'd never tried one out and was anxious to do so.

However, I was wearing my new Calvin Klein's that fit "just so" and we'd just eaten lots of cheap Mexican food.

Not usually a good time to try it out, but anyways, it was my chance. I eagerly volunteered to go first, not knowing what was involved.

Did I mention that I was wearing jeans? And we'd just eaten fajitas galore.

So I hopped onto the board and immediately it starts asking very personal questions. Little did I know they were about to broadcast my BMI to the whole crowd. Yes, my BMI. Dang myself for volunteering to go first! That "go-getter" attitude gets me in trouble more often than not, and this was such an opportunity.

So, once my BMI was shouted from the highest hill in middle Tennessee, the Wii Fit asks me to pick a trainer and he works with me through some balance exercises. He's about to tell me my Wii Fit age.

Jeans + Mexican food = bad Wii Fit experimentation combination

My Wii Fit Age? Why, do you REALLY want to know? Really?

OK, but only because I trust you and know you won't laugh at me like my husband did.

55

Yes, that's in years. 55 years old. I want a do over.

That night as we got into bed, my husband looked at me and said, "I've never shared a bed with a 55 year old woman before."

"Good night, dear."

Feeling blue? Down in the dumps? Here's help:

There's a whole new brand of play out there now for the young ones. Toys have changed quite a bit even in the last 8 years since John was a baby, but this new variety that Will is playing with has an unexpected side effect and I quite like it.

The toy/game manufacturers seem to have decided that some kids may not be getting the ol' self-esteem boost from mom & dad like they used to. So, they built some words of love into the toys.

The first place I noticed it was when I was playing Webkinz. By myself. There, I admitted it. Yes, I do play Webkinz.com and have my own account and everything. I have to take turns, just like John & Maddy when it comes to computer time to play Webkinz.

Anyway, there's this great game on there called "Smoothie Moves." It's a lot of fun. [If you don't have a Webkinz account, you can play a similar game here: Zuma.] The Webkinz version has this cat driving around in a car shooting pieces of fruit at a conveyor belt in order to make smoothies. But the best part is, she just loves on you the whole time. In a southern accent. Here's a little sampling:

"You're all kinds of wonderful."

"That's nice."

"Nice work, Sugarplum."

"This is fun."

By the time you've finished playing the game, you're just absolutely beaming from the inside out!

The other spot I've noticed this self-esteem boosting phenomenon is in this little puppy dog toy that Will got for Christmas. It helps the child learn different colors, body parts, music stuff....just the usual educational toy for tots. EXCEPT it just loves on your soul. Here's a little sampling of what the puppy says:

"You're WONDERFUL!"

"I LOVE YOU!"

"Can you give me a hug?"

"I love you, I love you, morning noon and night....you make the world so bright..."

So, next time you're feeling down...do what I do: Log onto Webkinz and you'll be feeling better in no time.

[EDITED TO ADD: Retta posted a comment with another good one. We have this same camera! It's Disney Princess and when you "take a picture", the princess says, "Smile! You look wonderful! You're pretty as a princess!" Thanks for the reminder, Retta! It's funny, though--I don't think they make boy's sports toys or cars that say "good shot!" "great driving, dude," "you play like a pro!"]