Merry Christmas!

From my family to yours, have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!



But most importantly, I hope you remember the most important reason for this Holy season. We love the gifts, the family, the food, the stories, and the travel, but I pray that we remember most of all that it's all about a baby. A baby, who changed the course of the world, and certainly changed my life. Praise God for His Son!

In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to his own town to register. So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests." Luke 2:1-14

Hold the Phone - A Miracle Has Occurred.

Tait and Camille are terrified of Santa. TERRIFIED. Especially Tait. She wants nothing to do with him. But yesterday, we were in Learning Express and Santa was there. Camille SAT IN HIS LAP. Tait stood beside him and even gave him a hug.



My babies are growing up.

Sniff.

Hey, Look! A Christmas Meme!

It's SEC Championship Day. Hubs is Atlanta at "The Game," I'm home with 3 kids, and it's 30 degrees outside. Brrr. So I'm gonna be the follower and jump on the Christmas Meme bandwagon.

Here goes.

1. Eggnog or Hot Chocolate? Hands down, without debate, undoubtedly, hot chocolate. I think Eggnog is one of the grossest drinks ever. But then again, I don't like eggs. Or vanilla. So that makes sense.

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? Santa brings 3 presents to each child and they are unwrapped. But presents from Mommy & Daddy are wrapped. Now if only Santa would take the toys out of the packaging that has 1000 twist ties, unbreakable plastic, and that requires an engineering degree to get in to....

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? White. But my mom uses colored lights and they definitely hold a special place in my heart. I hold no ill will toward any peeps who use colored lights, but I prefer white.

4. Do you hang mistletoe? I did for a couple of years - I had a mistletoe ball that hung. I loved it. But Mary Emma whacked it with a ball one day (that kid has great aim) and demolished it. O well.

5. When do you put your decorations up? Usually the Saturday after Thanksgiving.

6. What is your favorite holiday dish? I don't really have a favorite - we don't have traditions when it comes to food at Christmas. Except my mother-in-law's cheese ball. It isn't the holidays without it. And, even though it's technically not a dish, my dad's Wassail is amazing.

7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child? I have 2. 1) My parents used to hide our "big presents" and make us think we didn't get them. We would open all of our presents and have that moment where we were disappointed that we didn't get that ONE THING that we had wished for all year long. Then dad would send is to his closet to get his slippers or something like that and that gift would be there. And he would laugh and laugh. 2) My dad is a crappie fisherman. He fishes using cane poles. One year, my brother gave my dad some cane poles for Christmas. He was so excited that he went outside to "practice" by "fishing" out of our swimming pool. In his pajamas and slippers. In the winter. We loved it.

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? I don't really remember. I do remember being "too cool" to sit in his lap that year and had to pretend because my brother was still a believer. I have a feeling this might be our last year with Mary Emma being a believer. She's getting really skeptical.

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? I always want to (I'm not the most patient person in the world) but Spencer doesn't like to let me. He enjoys watching me squirm. :)

10. How do you decorate your Christmas tree? We have two trees — both are decorated very traditionally. We don't have a color theme or anything like that. The downstairs tree has the traditional ornaments on it - a bunch of wedding gifts (we got married on Dec 20, so we got a LOT of "Just Married" ornaments). We also get an ornament whenever we go on vacation anywhere. Spencer has his ornaments from when he was a kid, and I have mine. The upstairs tree is the girls' tree. It has any ornament that was given to them or that they have made (which are my personal favorite).

11. Snow! Love it or Dread it? Love, love, LOVE the snow. LOVE. Unfortunately, I live in Alabama where there is rarely snow. We did get some snow last night, but the ground was too warm for anything to stick. But it was SO PRETTY!

12. Can you ice skate? I actually can. And by "skate" I mean I can skate around the rink in a nice big circle. I can't spin and stuff. (I KNOW - shocker.) But again, I live in Alabama. Ice rinks are not exactly on every corner.

13. Do you remember your favorite gift? I don't really have a FAVORITE. Things were favorites according to what was going on in my life at the time. Things that stick out in my mind are 1) a model of the Space Shuttle when I was about 10 ( I wanted to be an astronaut my entire life), 2) my very own TV for my room when I was 13, 3) a diaper bag with Mary Emma's initials on it that Spencer gave me right after we found out that we were having a girl, 4) an ornament that looks exactly like my bridal bouquet, which was given to me by Spencer's grandmother

14. What’s the most important thing about the Holidays for you? Christmas is all about the "Who" and not about the "what." I love teaching my girls about the true meaning of Christmas. Camille's little mother's day out class is having a "Happy Birthday Party for Jesus" this year instead of having a Christmas Party. I CAN'T WAIT. It's gonna be precious.

15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert? Anything chocolate. My mom makes fruit cake cookies, which she loves and I think are gross, but the story behind them makes me glad that they're around during the holidays.

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? I LOVE a Christmas Eve service. I love dressing my girls and nephews alike and taking pictures of them. I love riding around and looking at Christmas lights. I love making cookies and decorating them for Santa. I love staying up really late with Spencer and setting out all the Santa stuff. But I mostly love watching all the girls climb in Spencer's lap and him reading the Christmas story to them.

17. What tops your tree? An angel.

18. Which do you prefer giving or receiving? Both. I love giving gifts, but I'm not gonna lie and say I don't like receiving them, too.

19. Candy Canes: Yuck or Yum? I'm Switzerland when it comes to candy canes. Totally neutral.

20. Favorite Christmas Show? Miracle on 34th Street. Preferably the old one, but I like the new one, too.

21. Saddest Christmas Song? Is there a sad Christmas song? Um, Little Drummer Boy. Because it makes me want to beat my head against a wall. The injury sustained from that would make me sad.

22. What is your favorite Christmas Song? Silent Night, O Holy Night (especially the Point of Grace version), Travis Cottrell's "In The First Light," and Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer (complete with the little interjections between each line "...had a very shiny nose (like a light bulb!)"

I'd love to read yours, too. If you participate in this HIGHLY INTELLECTUAL meme, please let me know in the comments and I'll jump on over to your land of blogginess.

Have a great Saturday!

Bet You Won't Find THAT Little Detail In Your Bible.

When Spencer and I got married, 12 years ago on Dec 20, We were given a Fontanini Nativity Scene. It's one of my favorite Christmas decorations that we have and I always look forward to setting it up in a special place.

This year, Tait and Camille have discovered it. They LOVE it. They play with the wisemen (all of the characters are made of resin/plastic and are virtually unbreakable), the donkey, the camel, and OF COURSE fight over Baby Jesus (who they call a "she" - welcome to living in a house with all girls. Everything is a she.) I have it set up on a table in the den and let them play and play and play with it.

Yesterday, they had been playing with the Nativity Scene for about 45 minutes when they moved on to something else. I walked by it and noticed a new character had been included in the sacred manger scene.



Behold, Cinderella made it to the blessed birth of our Lord and Savior.

I haven't found proof of that little fact in my Bible, yet, but I'm checking all the translations to see if she's mentioned.

In the meantime, Merry Christmas. Hope your holiday season has gotten off to an amazing start!

Wanna Join? It's Gonna Be AWESOME.

Click the button to find out what this is all about.

I Would Now Like To Show You The Finished Cake

First, if you have no idea what I'm talking about, go here.

Now that we're all caught up, here's a picture of the finished product.



Um, yeah. That's a cupcake. From a box. With canned icing. And "princess pearl" sprinkles.

Apparently I'm not a cake decorator. Especially since the "cake" cost me about $40, a dozen eggs, an entire day, some not-so-nice looks from my husband, and some hilarious laughter with my neighbor, Michelle, who is completely correct in her "Robyn is crazy" assessment.

But you know what?



This little nugget had a great birthday. And that's what counts, right?

I Might Be Overestimating My Abilities Just a Little...

I'm a fan of the Food Network. I love watching how stuff is prepared and practicing my knife skills (yes, cutting things correctly is a skill and one that needs to be practiced - definitely speeds up the whole preparation time). My dad and I want to go to Culinary School - preferably together. But one of my favorite things about cooking is cake decorating. I could watch Ace of Cakes all day long. I LOVE IT. And I have this perception of myself as someone who could totally knock out an awesome cake just by having a little craftiness and some stubbornness to go along with it.

So.

Today I'm attempting this.



Ok. Who's laughing?

I won't be using the same colors but the basic idea will be the same. Camille's 3rd birthday was Sunday and her party with all of her little school friends is tomorrow. So I'm gonna try it.

And know that I'm not above getting one from the Publix bakery if this one turns out as something worthy to appear here.

Stay tuned.....

This Might Not Make Much Sense To Most Of You...

I just got back from LPL Memphis last night and I need to write down (actually, type - who writes anymore) some funnies that happened over the course of the weekend. For many of you, this will look like a jumbled mess of words, but to me, they are hilarious moments that bonded my heart even more with some of the most amazing people I've ever been blessed to know. And I don't want to EVER forget them, to I'm putting them down here.

It's my blog and I can type if I want to.

And I promise to be bringing you a clear, concise, re-cap of the weekend, complete with some deep stuff that Beth threw at us, but it takes a little time to process that kind of stuff. And let me tell you, I read back over my notes this morning, and I was blown away with some NEW STUFF that I learned. Amazing.

So, here goes.

1. Mama Kim and her snacks/cooler in the car. LOVE HER.
2. YouTube videos
3. Eating 3 crackers, 1 piece of pizza, and a third of a bowl of pasta in 3 days.
4. Spending the majority of my food budget on Starbucks.
5. Being able to sleep only 10 hours over the course of the weekend thanks to Starbucks.
6. Dad
7. Noisy pasta
8. Flowers in hair
9. Gumbo for the homeless
10. Really?
11. Being worried that Fran was picking up a total stranger at the airport and then realizing that this total stranger turned out to be the biggest blessing of the weekend.
12. Bi-polar A/C in the hotel. Freezing...sweating...freezing....sweating...
13. Boots
14. Name that tune at 3:00 AM
15. Watching sweet Rachel's baby move in her tummy. Aunt Robyn LOVES YOU!
16. Pam Case's elevator adventure
17. Freezing in line Saturday morning BEFORE the sun came up
18. Excellent seats in the FedEx
19. KLOVE
20. 6 hours, 1 bed, hilarious laughter, sweet friends
21. Peepskin
22. Noisy pasta making Mary/Melinda's room smell like fish guts
23. More Starbucks
24. "DANGIT, who has a key to push the button on the elevator?"
25. The glass shower
26. FREEZING in Kim's car
27. Being very appreciative of an Aflac blanket
28. The sleepy man in the lobby when we checked in.
29. The guy with dreads at Blues Cafe.

I love all of you LPL Memphis people. LOVE. YOU.

You make my heart happy and my abs a little stronger. What a laughter work-out they got this weekend!

The Great Skinny Leg Jean / Legging Debate of 2009

I was watching the Today show this morning and the fashion show of the day was all about Leggings. The "fashion expert" claimed that leggings are for everyone, regardless of how old you are or what size you are. Then several models paraded out in their leggings, which included leather leggings, denim leggings (complete with faux pockets on the front AND back - shudder), and sequined leggings.

I tend to disagree with the "leggings are for everyone" trend that is so popular right now.

And here are my reasons why.

1. The models on the Today show were probably 6'5" and weighed on average 47 pounds. How many people do you know who are that size? Me? Zero. But the leggings looked great on them. I did notice, however, that they didn't bring out a size 12 mom, who is carrying a diaper bag, a kid, and 14 pieces of Polly Pockets to show how cute leggings would be on her. I smell a conspiracy.

2. In the immortal words of my friend, Erin, "Don't wear skinny leg jeans if you aren't." Words to live by, people. Words to live by.

3. Tait, my FOUR YEAR OLD, wore leggings to school today. She looked precious. If your 4 year old looks precious in something, chances are you won't if you wear the same thing.

4. In order to wear skinny leg jeans, you must meet 2 requirements. A) Be skinny. B) Have legs. I have only met B. Therefore, I haven't met the requirements of wearing skinny leg leans. Refer back to #1. They met both requirements. Carry on, telephone pole models.

5. I watch "What Not to Wear" religiously (secretly hoping that someone will nominate me and I'll be TRANSFORMED by the powers of Stacy and Clinton - hint hint, wink wink) and they have a major issue with tapered pants. They say that when your ankles are the skinniest part of you, your BACKSIDE looks huge by comparison. Skinny leg jeans/leggings = the most tapered pant possible. And I can ASSURE YOU that I need no help making my backside look large. And that's all I gotta say about that.

6. Sequined leggings? That reflect light and draw lots of attention to your legs and butt? There's just something scarily wrong with that idea.

7. The last time I wore leggings was in the 80's. Do you remember the 80's? They were bad, people. BAD. It was ALL OF OUR ugly stages. The people who apparently are the "trend setters" today were either too young to remember the 80's or not yet born in the 80's. So I think it's our duty to mankind to show them the errors of our ways. Let's learn from our past. Not REPEAT IT!

So, in closing, I plan on strongly declining the skinny leg pant / legging trend.

What about you?

Talk amongst yourselves in the comment section.

Alright, Bloggy Peeps, We've Got a LOT To Cover.

Well now. Hello there! I have been absent for oh, so long. My July bloggy break sort of turned into July, August, and part of September break. Sorry. There's been a little craziness going on.

But before I get into that, I'd like to publicly shout out to my dad, brother, and friend Marcie, who have been checking Ye Olde Blog religiously for a new post, only to see the previous post on their screen for 40 days straight. Y'all rock.

Now, unless I want to make this post the longest post ever, it's gonna be in list format. Because, HELLO, have we met? I love me a list.

A few things have happened in the world and the Davidson household since I last blogged. Here's a re-cap.

1. Farrah Faucet died then TOTALLY GOT TRUMPED when MJ died. I was sad that both of them died, but extra sad that Farrah's limelight was directed to MJ. Just plain ole sad.

2. Mary Emma had a BALL at camp. The first words out of her mouth when we picked her up were "Can I go again next summer?" So Spencer and I are currently drawing straws to decided which one of us is selling a kidney to not only get her there but to pay for our trip out there because we're too chicken to send our kid 10 hours away all by herself. Right now, she's enrolled in camp and our hotel is booked. Not promising anything after that. But I WILL say, that Kanakuk was life changing for her. She grew up a little. She accepted Christ. She was baptized in the lake by the camp director, Spencer, and my dad. It was amazing. Check into Kanakuk for your kids. If it's something you can do, you will NOT be disappointed.

3. School has started and for the first time in 8 1/2 years, I have a little bit of time to myself. Mary Emma is in 3rd Grade, Tait is in PK4 (she goes M,W,F), and Camille is in Mother's Day Out on W & F. Did you catch that? I have NO KIDS on Wednesdays and Fridays. Please pause now for a moment of silent prayer, thanking Him for a blessing that I didn't even realize I was so desperate for.

4. Some good friends have recently become GREAT friends. Safe friends. Hilarious, laughing friends. The best friends I've ever had. My Wild Women. And I Praise Him for your friendship and can't wait to hang with you again soon.

5. My hard drive on my computer crashed. CRASHED. I lost everything. The Apple peeps gave me my old hard drive to take to a Data Recovery place to see if anything (PICTURES) can be recovered off of it. So, this post will be lacking in pics, because they're gone. Hopefully not forever. I can't even talk about it without tearing up and breaking out in a cold sweat.

6. Spencer and I gave Mary Emma tickets to the Taylor Swift concert for her birthday back in May. The concert was Friday night. She took a friend and had a BLAST. Taylor Swift is absolutely amazing.

7. Speaking of Taylor Swift, I know you all have heard of the debacle that occurred with Kanye West at the VMA's a couple of days ago. Y'all. I felt like a Mama Lion protecting her cub. I cannot imagine how her mom and dad felt. I've met Taylor. She hugged my daughter and talked about boots and hair and bracelets and guitars. She made her feel like a rock star. She was poised, polite, gracious, and extremely humble. She puts on a great concert. I can let my girls listen to her music with NO CONCERN about questionable lyrics or content. Her mama and daddy have raised her RIGHT and should be (and are) very proud of her. I think that of all the people Kanye could target, he chose the one person that EVERYONE would defend. Even people like Pink, Joel Madden, Beyonce, & Katy Perry, who are as musically opposite as Taylor as humanly possible, came to her defense immediately. No one condoned Kanye's actions. As Katy Perry tweeted, it was like he stepped on a kitten. I hope he apologizes to HER. Not to her via Leno. She will be fine. She has been slapped hard, but will make a rebound like the class act that she is.

8. Mary Emma broke her arm. She fell off her scooter. She has a hot pink cast. I feel like I've now been initiated into the "official parent" club. She has to cheer for a football game tonight and it's supposed to rain, so we'll see if she can cheer with her arm wrapped in a trash bag.

9. I take Mary Emma today to the Orthodontist to begin the braces process. Guess whoever doesn't sell their kidney to pay for camp will get to sell their to pay for braces. And I totally thought that once kids got out of formula and diapers they got cheaper. HA.

10. Camille hasn't passed out at MDO yet. I've warned the teacher, though. I don't think it's too far out. She's getting more comfortable at school (read: fearless), so it's only a matter of time.....

11. Tait has come out of her shell. She's the "shy one." But she found her voice. And she is LOVING school and making new friends. Last year she pretty much kept to herself and wouldn't talk to or play with many kids. Now she's becoming the social butterfly at school that she is at home. And DANG if she isn't she sweetest thing on the earth.

I think we're all caught up now. Hope to blog more often that once every 3 months. Seriously.

So check back. Mkay?

Have a great day!

Vacay Update Real Quick Like.

So, we left Alabama on Sunday and drove to Memphis.

Then on Monday, we drove to Missouri and took Mary Emma to camp.

We had to FORCE HER to say goodbye to us. She was THAT excited about camp. I guess that's a good problem to have!

Monday night, we ate dinner at Fudruckers. It was my maiden voyage to Fudruckers.

Tuesday morning, I was in the hospital with food poisoning due to said dinner at Fudruckers. My maiden voyage was also my final voyage.

Spent Tuesday and Wednesday in the hospital. On my vacation.

I KNOW.

Got out Wednesday and filled $100 worth of prescriptions. For real. Well, actually, $92, but who's counting, right?

Slept in today and feel much better.

Went to a water park and Dixie Stampede tonight.

Doing the whole Branson thing.

Considering growing a mullet and smoking Marlboros. Nah, too manly. Marlboro Lights.

Thanks for reading about my week.

You may now resume your lives.

So, I'm Officially A Camp Mom

We are leaving tomorrow to take Mary Emma to camp. She is going to Kanakuk in Missouri all week next week. I'm nervous, I'm praying, I'm excited, I'm jealous (I would've LOVED this camp as a kid), and I can't wait to pick her up next Sunday and hear all about her week.

Here's her stuff.


The trunk and all of her stuff.


The inside lid of her trunk - with so many faces who love her. Hope this will help with homesickness.


The lid of the trunk. I'm a little OCD. Can you tell?


The lid and front of the trunk.

We'll be staying about 20 miles from her in Branson, MO for the week. I'll be blogging about our trip while we're there - assuming we have an internet connection - and will DEFINITELY be blogging about HER trip once we get home.

Here's a little hint about what you'll get after she gets home - her grandfather (THANKS POP!!) had a little old digital camera that he gave her to take to camp. I am sending 2 sets of replacement batteries. She has a 1G memory card. She's 8 years old. I CANNOT WAIT to see her camp experience through HER eyes! I'll be sure to share it with you here!

Talk to ya later!

We Interrupt This Bloggy Break For A Bit Of Real Estate News

I think I want to sell my house. Like for a dollar.

Let me tell you why.

Last night, I was up WAY too late (thank you, prescription decongestant, for keeping me awake until 2:14 even though the doctor said you wouldn't) and decided to iron Spencer's shirt for work today. I walked into my dining room where the ironing board is set up (hush, don't judge me - yes, I keep the ironing board set up most of the time) and turned on the light.

There was a massive, people-eating, disgusting, HUGE, roach on my wall.

Sidenote: roaches in Alabama are common. We have a lot of trees in my back yard and pay a pest control company religiously to spray for them so they stay out of the house. Occasionally one gets in but usually meets a quick demise thanks to said pest control company. This one, however, was alive and kicking. Y'all, he was so big that I could hear him run. **Shudder.**

Anyhoo.

I did what any self-respecting girl would do, which was call my husband in to get it. He came in wielding a flip flop and started banging and swatting the quick little fella, who promptly ran under the china cabinet.

Dang.

So we (and by "we" I mean "Spencer" - I was on a chair) pulled out the big guns - which was the ant & roach spray - and started spraying everything in sight. We were both coughing and hacking from breathing roach spray fumes when we saw a little wiggle down near the bottom of the china cabinet. So Spencer starts wailing on the wiggle with the flip flop, flash light, and roach spray can. He sprays so much roach spray on the wiggling thing that it's now swimming. Please remember, it's 2 AM and "we're" beating the floor so hard that I'm surprised the girls didn't wake up.

When "we're" sure the stupid bug has met it's maker, Spencer leans in for a closer look. The little "wiggle" wasn't the roach.

It was a scorpion.

And guess what? Roach spray doesn't kill a scorpion. It just ticks it off.

So here's the scenario. 2 AM, floor covered in roach spray, big brave husband in his underwear battling a roach and NOW a scorpion, chicken wife standing on a chair, roach's whereabouts unknown, TICKED OFF scorpion's whereabouts known, and the battle begins again.

Spencer decided that the flip flop wasn't the appropriate tool for scorpion killing, so he resorted to the bedroom slipper tool and soon made mush of the scorpion. One down, one to go.

Roach with unknown whereabouts soon reared his ugly head and ran into the laundry room. I had a broom and the can of roach spray and was spraying and beating the roach. Meanwhile, Spencer is laughing and making fun of me for, and I quote, "hitting the roach like a sissy." Stupid roach ran under the washing machine, but was COVERED in roach spray, so we just knew he would take his final breath there.

BUT NO.

Just like a horror movie, the roach ran out from under the washing machine where Spencer hit it with the flashlight. And the little thing KEPT GOING. So Spencer reached for the bedroom slipper and ended the whole thing.

And you can understand why I didn't get much sleep last night. It's either me, or the roaches and scorpions.

And I don't go down without a fight.

Albeit, a fight while standing on a chair.

Dear Blog, I Miss You

I am such a bad blog parent. I have neglected my wee little blog and am so ashamed.

However, in the spirit of summer, I am completely and totally swamped, busy, exhausted, tan-lined, and bug-sprayed.

It's All-Star season, people. And we are in it THICK.

So I'm gonna take a little break for the month of June. I'll be on here periodically and will definitely be checking your blogs, but just don't have enough hours in the day to keep up with mine right now.

But before I leave, I'll give you a few stories to make you chuckle.

And they will be in list format because that's how I roll. Booyah.

1. Camille passed out in the nursery at VBS yesterday. Apparently I "forgot" to tell them that she did that from time to time. Freaked those people slam out. They almost called 911. Oops. Sorry.

2. Note to self: remember to tell new nursery workers that Camille has a tendency to pass out when she gets upset or hurt.

3. Camille carried Tait's baby doll (one of about 3 zillion that she has - Tait is baby doll obsessed) around today constantly. This particular baby doll is African-American. Camille called the baby "Baby Uncle Stuart" today which is hilarious. Uncle Stuart is Spencer's brother. He is neither a baby, a girl, or an African-American.

4. I made banana bread from scratch the other day. It was amazing. Here's the recipe. I left out the nuts because ew.

5. I'm teaching VBS. I'm pretty sure I was either crazy or drunk (for anyone who knows me for real, this is quite humorous) when asked to volunteer. Because I don't have enough to do during the month of June as it is....

6. Tomorrow is Spencer's 35th bday. I adore him. He's my favorite person in the whole wide world and I hope he has a fantastic birthday. Thank you, God, for Spencer.

7. I'm currently obsessed with The Bachelorette, So You Think You Can Dance, What Not to Wear, and Law and Order SVU. Oh, and Reba. But that one could've gone without mentioning because duh.

8. I attended Living Proof Live for Minister's Wives back in February? March? Can't remember. Anyhoo, Lifeway video taped the entire event and is offering it as a digital download. Let me tell you something. Go get it. Even if you aren't a Minister's Wife (I'm not). It's relevant to the average church-going woman, funny, soul-searching, and in-your-face-just-what-you'd-expect-from-Beth-BRINGING-IT-good. And it's only $19.99. Click here to find out more or order.

I think that's all. Now I'm going to bed. It's June 2 and June is already well on its way to Kicking. My. Tail.

Nite peeps. See you in July.

Yes, It's A List. Get Over It.

I've noticed lately that a lot of people are blogging in list format. Those people are also apologizing for blogging in list format.

Howev, I'm a LIST MAKER. This post will be in list format. And I'm not sorry about it.

Just keeping it real, peeps.

Here goes.

1. I vowed (VOWED!) not to watch The Bachelorette this season because I was so annoyed with the whole Jason/Melissa TV break up saga soap opera. And since I've been rooting for her on DWTS and have seen how stinkin adorable she is, the situation has made me even more angry. Except for the fact that apparently she is now dating a guy named Ty (how ironically happy is that!) and is very happy, I still hate how the whole thing went down.

But last night, as I was completely unaware that The Bachelorette was even on, I flipped on Twitter and saw the stream of conversations revolving around the show. And since I am the epitome of strength when it comes to peer pressure, I immediately flipped the channel and was sucked in like a kid drinking a milkshake.

I've already set my TiVo to record the entire season.

Hi, my name is Robyn, and I am a weak, weak person.

I sure do hope there's more breakdancing, more Member's Only jackets, more country singing and guitar playing, and less Tanner, who is freakishly obsessed with Jillian's feet.

I also think I'm gonna start saying "aboot." Shout out to all those Canadian peeps and their awesome accents.

2. Does Sarah Palin say "aboot?" Because that would rock if she did. I wore my McCain/Palin shirt yesterday and got lots of compliments on it. I'm still hoping November was a bad dream and we have a different president.....

3. I'm pretty sure the counting, organization, sorting, and distribution of Mary Emma's All-Star team uniforms are gonna be the death of me. Or the cause of lots of chocolate indulgences.

And that totally makes me mad because I have got some serious organizing skillz. I will not be defeated.

4. There are 2 more days of school. Hallelujah. That's all I've got to say about that. I'm sure the moms in Bloggyville are agreeing with me.

5. Fran is coming in town this weekend. I haven't seen her since January. And I MISS HER. Fran, Mary, & I are having dinner Friday night and I am so excited about it that I have been jumping and clapping all week long.

I also find it so strange, but SO GOD, that I have found such amazing friends on the internet. Some of them (Rachel, Becky Jo), I have never met in real life. But I adore them. ADORE THEM.

6. I had dinner with some friends last weekend, and since Spencer and Mary Emma were at the lake and I had a babysitter for Tait and Camille, I decided to do a little shopping ALL BY MYSELF. Wanna know where I went? Office Max, Hobby Lobby, and Lifeway. I consider that an awesome evening.

7. Spencer and I temporarily lost our minds last night and decided to take the kids to eat dinner at Kobe. You know, the Japanese steak house where they cook on your table and big fire shoots up to the ceiling and dinner takes a long time and you are sharing a table with strangers who don't necessarily want to eat next to kids who are screaming because the fire scares the bejeezus out of them. But it was actually pleasant. Mary Emma and Tait - aka the picky eaters - actually liked it. Mary Emma loved the soup, chicken, edamame, and noodles. Tait liked the noodles, edamame, and a little rice. Camille - aka the garbage disposal - loved the entire thing. She ate the salad, soup, chicken, rice, noodles, veggies, and edamame. They were quiet and well-behaved. The waiter (God bless his bones) toned down his "show" and didn't make any big flames. The other people at the table were traveling businessmen who weren't bothered that the show was toned down and were very sweet to the kids. We all left in good moods, which was such a blessing, since I would've never EVER thought that dinner at Kobe with 3 small kids would've been pleasant. Thank you, Lord, for being in EVERYTHING. Even the small things.

Hope y'all have a wonderful Tuesday.

Now back to the All-Star Uniform task.

Grrrrr.

The Post In Which I Will Discuss Sparkle Fingers, Jazz Hands, & Reba McEntire.

If you will recall my giddiness a few posts ago, I told you that I was cast as an audience member in the Reba: Invitation Only show that was filmed for CMT. Well, that glorious day has come and gone and I would be remiss in my bloggy duties if I didn't share every single detail with you. You're SO welcome.

The happy occasion took place this past Saturday (aka 3 days ago). As fate and hilarity would have it, it also fell on the day after I hosted 9 8-year-old girls at my house for a sleepover, and was seriously sleep deprived. But if you think exhaustion would keep me from meeting my bff, Reba, then you have come to the wrong blog, little missy.

I decided that a) since I was going to be on CMT and b) I was gonna be mere inches from my Reba, I would fix my hair all fancy like (Fancy is my name...). But after spending way too many minutes trying to fancify my hair, I remembered that my hair is a one man pony show and only has one style and doesn't DO FANCY, so I jumped in the shower, washed it, and started over. I took some pictures of the "fancy hair," but I was even embarrassing myself, so I deleted them off of my camera, thus not posting them on this blog. Sorrrrrrrryyyyyy.

Anyhoo, a couple or 45 minutes late, I jumped in my car and headed to Nashville. I had specific instructions about where to meet and when, and was wearing some HAWT red shoes (which has nothing to do with anything except I felt morally obligated to tell you about my fab shoes) and met our production assistant who took us to the studio. We were told that the studio was hard to find which was the reason for meeting at a gazebo and being escorted there, but I noticed that there were signs everywhere directing us to Studio A, so I'm still a little confused about how one could get lost. But whatev. I think they are just the nicest people ever for escorting us to our location.

We were then escorted behind the scenes - back where the production people, trailers, crew parking was - (side note: I LOVE all things behind the scenes. LOVE IT. I even saw Narvel (Reba's husband) walking out of a trailer carrying a plate of nachos. That. Rocked.) -- and into the studio. The studio was set up like a living room. There were couches, chairs, table/chair combos and we were told individually where to sit. There were about 100 people in the audience (SHUT UP) so everyone had a great seat. I was directed to a sofa where 2 guys were already sitting. They were awesomely friendly, especially the guy sitting next to me. He was bouncy. Literally. He bounced all night long. He screamed and hollered and raised his sparkle fingers to Reba every time she glanced our direction. He was THAT GUY who yelled "I Love You, Reba!" during a camera break. He danced (complete with jazz hands) to every song she sang. He was hilarious and I had a BALL sitting next to him. I don't know how much face time I'll get on camera, because his over-the-top fan antics might've caused the camera operators to avoid our sofa, but it was totally worth it. If you do see me on camera, I'll probably be laughing hysterically at how um, animated he was.

Reba was, of course, awesome. AWESOME. She sang some oldies (The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia, Why Haven't I Heard From You, And Still...) as well as a bunch of songs off of her yet to be released album. And let me tell you something. It's gonna be GOOD. There's a song on the album called I Want a Cowboy that I predict will be HUGE for her. It should be The Pioneer Woman's theme song.

After the show, Reba was whisked off stage and was GONE before we could blink. It was her perfect chance to get to hang out with ME for a little while, but she had to complete a little task called "Performing at the Grand Ole Opry" so I let her slide this time. Oh, Nashville and your demands. You are seriously cramping my bff time. But I still love you.

After meeting my girl, Abby (hey Abby!) for dinner at a cool little place called Genghis Grill, I headed home. By this time it was 9:30 PM. I stopped by Starbucks and got a Venti Mocha (I've NEVER ordered a venti anything) because, if you'll recall, I had spent the previous night with 9 squealy girls. I was tired, but happy, and had talked to Spencer for a while on the phone, but was getting really sleepy around Huntsville. I thought about stopping to get a hotel room, but really wanted to be home in my bed more, so kept going. My sleepiness was tossed out the window when I was pulled over by the Athens Police for speeding in a construction zone. It was 11:00, raining, and dark. There was no construction taking place. I never saw a cone, an orange barrel, or a change in speed limit sign. I plead my case and even used the "It's Mother's Day" card, but was given a ticket anyway. NICE JOB, HEARTLESS ATHENS COP. Meanie. So now, my almost free, happy, blissful trip turned into a happy, blissful, trip that will cost me a bunch of American Dollars. Boo. On. That.

Even still, I got to see my Reba. And it was awesome. And you can witness the awesomeness on August 21 on CMT. If I could set my TiVo this far out, I completely would. I'm currently taking bets on how many times I'll consecutively watch the show when it airs.

My bet is 114. But I'm thinking I low-balled that a little....

The Last Day

Today, Tait will have her last blood work drawn for her Beckwith-Wiedemann Syndrome. The blood work is done until the child turns 4 (she will turn 4 in July). Although we have to continue with the abdominal ultrasounds until she's 8, we're thrilled to get the blood work past us. One step closer to not having to worry about any cancer issues that are associated with BWS. Plus, ultrasounds don't hurt and Tait doesn't mind them.

Pray for good results. As usual, I'm nervous. Didn't sleep much last night. It's just seems messed up to have to screen your child for cancer.

Praise Him for the good results so far. My God is faithful and I trust that she will be fine again today. I'll letcha know something when we know something.....

Beach, Torture, And My Chance To Meet Reba. Yesssss.

I told you last week that I would be spending a lot of this week at the beach. Remember? Without kids? Well, we got back yesterday. And it. was. heavenly.

We drove down on Tuesday, and were able to spend a little time on the beach. The crowds were minimal, the weather was a little cloudy, but warm, and the beach was empty. Nice.

Then, Wednesday, Spencer went to work while I slept in (Amen), and then went to the beach alone. I was actually a little concerned that I would get bored. I thought I'd get restless.

You know what? I did not get bored. I did not get restless. I didn't even get up out of the chair. I took a cooler with 3 bottles of water, a bag of pretzels, and a Snickers. I rented a chair from the beach guys. I had a book, my scripture memory cards, and my iPod. I called and texted some friends. And. I. Sat. There. All. Day. Long.

I think I'll make it an annual event.

Believe it or not, I have been doing other things besides practicing my skillz as a beach bum. Namely, Shredding. For those of you who don't know what I'm talking about, I gave into the craze and began Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred. And let me tell you something. I am not one who usually gives into exercise crazes. An "eat chocolate" craze? I'm there. A "watch endless re-runs of REBA" craze? Sign me up. But not an exercise craze. You know what? It has totally and completely kicked my butt. I have laughed. I have cried. I have avoided stairs at all cost because I didn't think my jelly legs would support me. I have sore muscles in places that I didn't have muscles. But if I can have a body like Jillian, then it's worth it.

Oh. My. Goodness. I cannot wait to tell you the next one. About 2 weeks ago, I received an email from a Casting Agency about an invitation only Reba concert. They were casting audience members for a very small, intimate concert that was being filmed by CMT. We were supposed to email back if we wanted to be considered (duh). I found out later that this email was sent to over 20,000 people. I received an email yesterday saying that I had been chosen as an audience member! SHUT UP! I have been told the time and place to meet the Production Director, and what to wear (dark, solid, "club attire"). Y'all. I am, of course, thrilled. Here's my dilemma. Club attire. Have you met me? If you consider Publix, Target, or the softball field a "club," then I'm all set. If not, then I'm seriously in a bind for something to wear. Where is BigMama when I need her? The exact words used in the email are: "Dress like you are going to a nice club or event. Wear black to dark colors. No white. We would like everybody to look sharp for the show. We want Nashville to look good. No formal wear or worn out blue jeans. NO LOGOS ON YOUR CLOTHING! NO OVERALLS! NO SUMMER WEAR THAT REFLECTS CASUAL! An upscale look has been requested by Production. Solid colors look better on camera." Got that? Suggestions, please. I don't do sleeveless and could be standing the entire time or sitting the entire time depending on where I'm placed in the audience. I'm so excited and I can't wait to tell you how it goes.

M'kay. That's me right now. What are you up to? And please feel free to give wardrobe suggestions in the comments. BigMama? Are you there?

Here's The Latest Episode Of The Random.

I've said it once or 27 times that I'm a lot random. I wish I had a dollar for every time I've said something random to Spencer and he's said back to me, "now how did your brain get to that thought?" It's a gift, I tell ya.

But since you're sitting on the edge of your seats waiting to read my latest random thoughts, I won't keep you hanging any longer.

You're welcome.

1. The noise level of the neighbor's weed eater is directly proportional to how much Tait and Camille need a nap.

2. I have decided that I will spend much of my kids' college funds on toenail polish. My girls want their toenails painted a new color every day.

3. My neighbor found some high end toddler clothes for ridiculously cheap prices this week at Costco. Rock that.

4. I need to write that neighbor a check for the clothes she bought for Camille. TO DO LIST.

5. I need to make a To Do list.

6. My prissy 7 (almost 8) year old, who has been praying for 2 weeks for a warm enough day to wear her cute new black dress to school, finally got her warm, sunny day today. But she decided to wear shorts instead so she could compete better at kickball in PE.

7. I am completely amazed and blessed by my blog friends. They have become some of the closest friends I have ever had in my life. And the funniest thing is that only 2 of them live within an hour of where I live. The others live in TN, GA, TX, KS (soon to be CA), FL, AR, & other parts of AL. I miss them a lot right now and would love to be in the same room as them ALL AT ONCE and hug their necks.

8. I need to paint my toenails.

9. I also need to clean my bathtub. Totally not related to the toenail painting need.

10. I have a full out flip flop tan already. And my ballpark life is just beginning to get really busy. By July, I'll take a picture so you all can marvel at it.

11. I miss my Tallahassee peeps and would like to hang out with all of them soon.

12. I'm entering into the phase of my life where the kids are starting to argue with each other and push each other's buttons and drive each other crazy. AND I DON'T LIKE IT. Advice welcomed.

And I'm gonna end on that one, since I'm now headed to put Tait and Camille in separate corners.

I Can Hear The Waves Crashing Now

Spencer works in the Pharmaceutical Industry, which means he travels a lot. One wonderful thing about Spencer's job is his territory. Part of it is the panhandle of FL - ie: BEACH. So, especially during the summer, if he has to go work down there for several days, the kids and I will pack up and go with him.

I know. It's rough.

But as much as I love the beach, these kinds of vacations aren't exactly relaxing. Spencer works all day, which means I tackle pool and beach, sunscreen, bathing suits, potty breaks, lunch breaks, snack breaks, building sandcastles, dusting off sand, burying people in the sand, nap breaks, carrying sand toys, snacks, towels, blanket, and camera all by myself. It's tiring. I definitely don't get to sit and read a book.

Next week is his "panhandle week." Because Mary Emma and Tait are in school, we can't go with him.

Or so I thought.

Spencer called yesterday and said that he had talked with his mom about coming to the house and staying with the kids while HE AND I GO TO THE BEACH ALONE.

Did you hear what I just said (typed)?

I will be at the beach next week for 3 days sans children. I will be able to sit on the beach and read a book or sleep or listen to my iPod or DO NOTHING. I won't have to build a sandcastle - except for the fact that I like to build them, so I might just do it anyway. Spencer will be working during the day, and then we get to go to dinner together (alone) at night. The break will be exactly what I need because our "busy time" -aka All-Star softball season (yes, Mary Emma made the team! WOO HOO!) is about to hit us square in the face.

But I'm not worried about that. I get to go to the beach.

I cannot wait.

Thank Him in the Small Things

I was taking Tait (3 1/2) to school today when she saw this in the sky...



She got so excited because "God drew a T in the sky just for me!" So I pulled the car over (you know - gotta make the most of that moment) and took a picture and we clapped and cheered and said, "Thank you God for writing a T in the sky!! YAY GOD!"

Then she said, "Mommy, where is God?" I told her "He's in Heaven and He sees you and loves you all the time." (remember, she's 3 - can't get too deep). Tait said, "No he doesn't. He lives in the TV in the big room at church with Jesus."

Well, she kinda gets it. It's a start, right?

Good Friday

Spencer and I were in San Diego in January, and we had a chance to visit Mount Soledad. Mount Soledad is a Veteran's Memorial that sits on the highest point near San Diego. It has an AMAZING panoramic view of the city, the mountains, and the Pacific Ocean. It's absolutely breathtaking.

While we were there, we took a zillion pictures, including one of a helicopter flying below us (awesomeness). But one picture stood out as my favorite.



This Good Friday is different for me than any other one for several reasons.
1st, my oldest daughter really UNDERSTANDS Easter this year. It is a fun, humbling experience to see Easter through a child's eyes. And for it not to be centered around the Easter Bunny.
2nd, we are joining our new church Easter morning. My oldest will be joining with us. She made her profession of faith and will soon be baptized. PRAISE HIM!! We are so very excited to be where God wants us and are excited about the future at this church!
3rd, there seems to be a new level of tragedy going on in the world right now. Maybe I'm plugged in (Twitter, Facebook, Blogging, etc.) more than I have been in the past so I'm hearing about it more, but the news seems to be jammed with senseless tragedies. Daddy's killing their entire families and then themselves. Plane crashes and car accidents. A President who has absolutely no regard for human life and is creating laws and regulations that make it easier to kill an unborn child. I am also brought to my knees over stories like Sweet April and her Mommy, Stellan, and Audrey's family.

Sweet Jesus, come soon.

And I am reminded of a song that I used t listen to as a child. Here are some of the lyrics that ring SO true today.

When problems try to bury you, make it hard to pray,
It may seem like Friday night, but Sunday's on the way!

Happy Easter, my dear friends. Tragedy happens. The world finds a way to get rid of God. But He sent us His Son. His Son gave up everything for us so that we might be free! THE Sunday is on the way, friends. And I cannot wait!

My "Review Blog"

I was talking with Mary yesterday about the opportunities (or lack thereof, in my case) that people have to review products on their blogs. I've had a couple of requests to review things (one in this post) and would welcome the opportunity to do more. Hint hint. I think they're fun and Mary Emma LOVES the opportunity to tell anyone exactly what she thinks about something. Ahem.

Anyhoo, not too long ago, Corrine, from Turner Publishing Co. in Nashville contacted me about reviewing a new book that was coming out. It is a coffee table book entitled Historic Photos of Birmingham. It immediately caught my attention because 1. I love coffee table books of any kind, 2. I love old pictures, and 3. I live in Birmingham. Score. Score. Score. Of course I said yes and she immediately shipped the book to me.



Y'all. It's a beautiful book. The pictures are mostly from the Turn of the Century - Great Depression era, but some are also from the Civil Rights era through the late 70's. My dad, who was born in Birmingham and spent a lot of his childhood here, absolutely LOVES the book. Many of the pictures are of the coal and steel mills, which is the foundation on which Birmingham is built. There are some awesome aerial pictures, including a picture of The Spirit of St. Louis flying over Birmingham during a visit by Charles Lindbergh, himself. There are pictures of celebrities, including Bob Hope and Doris Day, during a visit to Birmingham. It's fascinating. If you live on Birmingham or are from Birmingham, you will really enjoy this book. It's sitting proudly on my coffee table even as we speak.

The second item I'd like to talk about really hits a sensitive part of my heart. It deals with our children and their knowledge of stranger safety. My biggest fear (and probably yours, too) is for someone to take one of my children. It's a scenario that I don't even want to think about, but one that I feel compelled to teach my children about. But there's the fine line where I want to make them smart and aware, but don't want to scare them. So I researched and found this DVD.



It's called The Safe Side: Stranger Safety. It was developed by John Walsh, host of America's Most Wanted and the parent of an abducted child, and Julie Clark, creator of Baby Einstein. It takes a scary subject and makes it completely kid-friendly. They don't use the word "stranger" because that word generally makes kids think of a mean, scary-looking person. They categorize adults into 3 categories: 1. Safe-Side Adults, 2. Kinda Knows, and 2. Don't Knows. They teach your child what to do in a "Kinda Know" situation as well as a "Don't Know" situation. The mood is kept light-hearted and funny so the kids aren't scared. Safe Side Superchick, the main character, is ultra corny, but the kids LOVE her. My girls giggle and laugh and love watching the DVD. And when I pop-quiz them on "stranger safety," they understand what they've been taught. I cannot recommend this DVD enough. It is absolutely fantastic. If you have kids, this should be a part of your movie collection. If you don't have kids, buy it for someone who does. Consider it your acceptance of the challenge.

That's all for now. Hope to have more stuff to review in the future.

Until then, have a good one.

I'm Usually Better At My Job

See these kids?



They are my world. I'm their mommy. It's my full-time job.

And yesterday, I was pretty terrible at my job.

I didn't feel well (stupid garden, stupid apple, stupid snake, stupid Eve, therefore stupid cramps) and it rained all the live long day. Mary Emma slept with me the night before and I'm pretty sure she was training for a kick boxing event all night long. Camille was in a MOOD yesterday and Tait found a way to target that mood and drive Camille out of her mind. I didn't clean up the kitchen. The kids ate McDonalds for lunch and breakfast for dinner. The day was filled with fussing and time outs. I did manage to squeeze in a Bible Study, but I'm not sure it counted since I was yelling, "Girls, please leave Mommy alone and go play and BE QUIET so I can listen to Beth Moore!" at them. There's just something wrong about yelling during Bible Study.

The Bible Study was being a Wise Mom. Otherwise entitled I've Been a Terrible Mom Today And Need Some JESUS To Make Me a Better One Tomorrow. One thing that hit me square in the face was Beth talking about how fast they grow up.

Y'all, this will be over before I know it. I only get one shot at being a good mom. ONE. And. I. Will. Be. A. Better. One. Today. Than. I. Was. Yesterday.

Will I be perfect? No way. Far from it. But my girls will know that I love them more than anyone on this planet.

Because no one loves them like I do. And I will show them that today. They deserve it.

Well, This Was Definitely A Shock.

I haven't been feeling exactly "up to par" lately. I've been battling a stupid cold (not a bad one, just bad enough to be annoying) and have had very little energy.

But hello, everything, including the sidewalks and bricks, are blooming right now. Spencer sat outside on the back deck the other day and played on the computer for a while and was constantly wiping the pollen off the screen.

I sat on my front porch 2 days ago and watched bees flying around the big holly tree and could actually see the harvested pollen on their legs. Jeff Corwin's got nothing on my front yard.

Anyhoo, no amount of medicine was making me feel better. I tried allergy meds, cold meds, knock-you-out sleep/cold meds...nothing worked.

Then I started wondering....

And yes, it happened.

I'm pregnant with #4.








Oh, and April Fools.

Well, It Was Chinese, But I'm Not Sure It Was Food.

Last night, Spencer, the girls, & I went out to get Spencer's mom (Nam) a birthday present and grab some dinner.

None of this had been planned ahead of time, mainly because that's the way we roll. It was also about 6:45 when we left the house, because I was "detained" at the local salon having my toes beautified. While Spencer wasn't exactly thrilled that my pedicure experience took as long as it did, I'm pretty sure I heard a collective "Amen" from every woman who is reading this blog post. Because, as I've recently learned, a girl's gotta have cute feet even if it pushes dinner back by a few minutes. Or 2 hours in our case.

Both of us were pretty much craving Chinese food, but since we would rather poke needles in our eyes than sit through the Friday night line at PF Changs with 3 hungry, cranky kids and without reservations, we opted to drive around and find a lesser known Chinese establishment.

We found it.

Our 1st clue that dinner was to be...um...questionable was the fact that we quadrupled the number of people in the restaurant just by walking in the door. And for all you peeps who aren't from Birmingham, eating out on Friday/Saturday nights requires skill, plan ahead reservations, waiting an hour in line, and the patience of Job. So you can imagine our surprise (and at this point, pure delight) that we walked straight in and sat down.

I'm pretty sure the word SCORE! was uttered once or eleven times. They sat us directly next to the only other people in the entire place, which was a lady and another lady that I'm pretty sure used to be a dude.

So our darling waitress took our drink orders, brought our drinks (3 sprites for the girls, Diet Coke for Spencer, and Coke for me, because I think Fountain Diet Coke is gross, thus my willingness to suffer through the calories of real Coke) and then left. Apparently, this was a Chinese buffet. We were supposed to know what to do and just do it.

Now, while we were sitting there waiting on the menus-that-didn't-exist, Mary Emma and Spencer got the most puzzled looks on their faces. We were sitting next to a huge fish tank that resembled the fish tank in Finding Nemo AFTER Nemo bravely climbed into the filter and stopped the flow of water. I felt a strong need to go apologize to the fish that inhabited it. But Spencer and Mary Emma were more puzzled at the 8 pieces of broccoli that were floating in the fish tank than the condition of the water in the fish tank. Broccoli. Yummy.

I sucked it up and headed to the buffet anyway. The only thing that Mary Emma wanted was Egg Drop soup, filled with about 3000 of those crunchy noodles, but I made her get some Sweet-n-Sour chicken minus the Sweet-n-Sour sauce (aka, chicken nuggets) to go along with her soup. I fixed myself a plate of various Chinese dishes, mostly chicken, but I also decided to BRANCH OUT and get some Mongolian Beef. I was also fixing Tait's plate. I gave her some chicken nuggets & french fries, and then attempted to give her some white rice. (Please don't lecture me on the lack of nutrition of her dinner, I was totally working with what I had.) The rice was one huge, hard as a brick, lump. So Tait got chicken nuggets and french fries. Spencer now headed to the buffet to fix his and Camille's plate. He also came back with various types of food on his plate, and had chicken nuggets, french fries, and Honey Chicken for her. Her Asian palate is so much more advanced than Tait's.

Spencer and I both concluded that all of the buffet food was leftover from lunch, a mere 8 hours earlier, and was a little, um, overcooked by now. But we remained strong.

While we were eating, a few more people dwindled in and helped themselves to the buffet. We were most amused by the dude who walked up to the buffet, grabbed a plate, stuck an eggroll in his mouth, and proceeded to walk around the buffet fixing his plate while the eggroll stuck out of his mouth like a ginormous cigar. That guy had skillz. I ate a little of my dinner, but decided to call it a night when my Mongolian Beef tasted like fish. Mary Emma really wanted a Chinese Donut, but we told her she had to eat all of her chicken before she could have one. She responded with, "But Mommy, it's chewy." So we promptly sent her to the buffet to get a Chinese donut, without having to finish her chicken. I'm pretty sure they disguised a hockey puck with some batter and sugar, though, because the poor kid COULD NOT BITE THROUGH IT.

Oh, and while we were at the buffet, we noticed that part of it had sushi. Raw fish that was sitting under heat lamps. We both decided to pass on that one. But I was curious, because I hadn't seen a sushi bar. I found it on the way out. Instead of being full of properly refrigerated fish, it was full of boxes of cups, straws, to-go boxes, and fortune cookies. Wonder where they made the sushi?

So, if you live in Birmingham or are just passing through, I can definitely recommend some fantastic Chinese restaurants.

This one, however, isn't one of them.

Grab The Button - Let Others Take The Challenge!

First, I totally created a button.

I KNOW.

I'm so impressed with myself that I might go buy myself a present.

Now, grab the code to the right and put the button on your blog. Let's keep up the challenge! Imagine what this world will be like if more people do something nice for others and give HIM the credit, rather than taking the credit themselves.

Awesome to think about, huh?

It's A Challenge. Are You Willing To Accept?

I went to Beth Moore's Living Proof Live in Nashville this past weekend (don't worry, blog post about that coming soon - you know how it is when you come back from a conference like that...it takes a couple of days to process it all so that you can write about it in complete, coherent sentences....). The conference was actually for Ministers' Wives, which I am not.

Let me explain.

My dad is a pastor, therefore making my mom a minister's wife. I told my dad about this conference back in December, so he bought my mom 2 tickets to it for Christmas. He wanted her to go, and he wanted me to go with her.

Twist my arm.

Anyway, I was actually feeling a little (A LOT) guilty about going, since I'm not a minister's wife, but told myself that either I would go and participate and have a whole new respect for what a minister's wife goes through (I'm pretty plugged in to that subject already, being a PK), or I would go and participate and God would use Beth to bring a fresh Word to me. A Word that would be relevant and challenging and life changing - even though I'm not a Minister's Wife.

Wanna know something? Both happened.

Y'all, it was good. GOOD. But more on the details of it later.

Beth camped out in Galatians for the weekend. She gave 6 examples of how it can be AGGRAVATING to be a Minister's Wife, and how they should have an ALTERNATIVE to combat the aggravation. One example that resonated particularly with me came from Galatians 5:15.

"If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other."

This doesn't JUST apply to Ministers' Wives. It applies to WOMEN as a whole. We want others to recognize us for our intellect and character, not for our possessions and looks, but are the first people to chew someone up over their possessions and looks. How hypocritical are we? We claim to be above the superficial. We talk the good talk. But I guarantee that as quickly as we can say to someone's face that intellect and character are important, we can also go behind their back and criticize their hair and clothing. We are our own worst enemies. And when we bite and bite and bite at each other, soon we will destroy each other.

It has to stop.

So here's your challenge. And it has a little twist in it to help keep the credit belonging to HIM.

Every day this week, you are to go out of your way and do something nice for someone else. It could be as simple as holding a door open or walking someone's grocery cart to the cart corral. It could be as elaborate as putting some cash in an envelope for someone who is particularly financially strapped or sending your pastor and his wife a gift card to a restaurant that would be normally out of their price range.. After you do the nice thing, come back here and let us know what it was.

Here's the twist. You can't tell anyone about it verbally. Not a SOUL. The comments about the good deed must be posted as anonymous. This will keep us from getting the credit. It's not about us. It's about Him. It's about doing what He has commanded us to do and love our neighbors. Posting an anonymous comment will also give someone a good idea about what they can do. Go ahead and copy something that someone else has done.

Feel free to link back to this post on your blog. Let's see how many people we can get to participate in this. Can you imagine the blessings that will come from this?

Now go and let's see what you can do in His name.

Seriously?

I took this picture at an Exxon gas station in Athens, AL yesterday.



The most shocking part to me is that they spelled "receipt" correctly, but not "available."

And is it wrong that as SOON as I saw the sign, I quickly grabbed my camera and thought, "I have GOT to blog about this!"?

All for you, bloggy peeps. I'm here to serve.

Confession Time.

I have a love/hate relationship with my feet.

The "love" part is that they look like my dad's feet and I adore my dad.

The "hate" part is that they look like my dad's feet. Man feet on a girl = not cute.

I don't like to draw attention to my feet. I never EVER polish my toenails. I hate HATE someone touching my feet. I have never gotten a pedicure (much to the astonishment of ...um... every girl I know). My toenails are teeny and don't grow and look ridiculous with polish on them.

Fussing over my feet is just something I wasn't created to do. But it is sad to be a girl in the south and not be able to wear cute YellowBox flip flops proudly.

And I have been sad.

Until last week.

And I can't even believe I'm blogging about this for all humanity to see.

Mary, you will be proud of me.

Here goes.

I got acrylic nails put on my toes and then had a full out pedicure. Yes, it can be done.

Y'all.

I have pretty feet for the first time in my whole entire life! My toenails are pretty and shapely (weird to call toenails shapely?) and painted RED (I haven't had painted toenails for my entire adult life) and look pretty in flip flops! I find myself bumping into things when I walk around because I am looking down to marvel at the prettiness of my feet!

I can't even get believe it.

Now my feet don't look so much like my dad's, but I'll take pretty feet over man feet any day of the week.

Last Saturday was my first "wear flip flops out of the house for people to see" experience when I went to my daughter's softball game. The weather was warm, the sun was shining, and I got a LOVELY flip flop tan.

But I don't even care.

Because I have cute girl feet.

Peace Out, February

I'm not sad that February 09 is over. Between the extreme temperature fluctuations (we still had a trace of SNOW in my bushes Wednesday and my oldest daughter is wearing shorts and a t-shirt to school today, a mere 2 days later), the colds, a death in the family, the stomach viruses, and a back injury, I'm glad it's gone. SEE YA.

No offense to all the February fans out there, but this one has been ANNOYING.

So today I'm declaring that March is my favorite month. Except for this coming Sunday when our clocks will get set forward an hour meaning that my kids will go to bed when it's still daylight outside. And I will lose an hour of sleep. And I tend to frown upon sleep loss. Call me crazy.

My neighbor and I were discussing "daylight savings time" yesterday. It just seems weird that people can manipulate time like that. And it's even more bizarre that some cities & states like Hawaii, parts of Indiana, & Arizona (excluding the Navajo Nation) choose NOT to participate in it. How can you choose NOT to participate in time? Tait and Camille have their "bewitching hour" at about 5:30 every night. Can I just declare that 5:30 doesn't exist anymore?

So here's my question. Since Daylight Savings Time's beginning in the early 1900's, and considering all the observances of it since then, and counting all the people who choose NOT to observe it, WHAT TIME IS IT REALLY? For all you know, it really might be tomorrow.

Whoa.

Think about it.

:)

Well, I Had Good Intentions

I had every intention of writing a post about tonight's Bachelor finale-ish (because tomorrow is the ACTUAL end in what they're calling the After the Final Rose PART 2 - OH THE DRAMA NEVER STOPS!), but I'm too busy laughing at Sophie's post. So go read it. Here.

Some things just can't be improved upon.

Hat's off, Sophie. Well done.

SNOW!

I went out of town this weekend on a beach trip with some friends. We had SUCH a good time.

Wanna know what we did?

Nothing. Nada. We rebuked all schedules and didn't look at the clocks. It was 3 days of unscheduled relaxation. Wonderful. We all had massages on Saturday, which was great, except for Miss Chatty Masseuse that didn't close her mouth for the entire 80 minute massage. It felt great, but wasn't the "so relaxing I could fall asleep" experience I was going for.

Then we decided to come home early because a gigantic winter storm was supposed to hit Alabama and blanket us with 4-8 inches of snow. You know how I feel about a snow forecast in Alabama.

But this time, Mr. Meteorologist was RIGHT!






What a beautiful blessing! Thank you, Lord! We had a ball playing in the snow.

And note to self: buy waterproof gloves for myself and the kids. Our cute, cloth gloves didn't do the trick today.

Have a great Monday!

This Post Is Intended To Make You Jealous.

I the spirit of "It's February and we're tired of the cold and today it's raining which makes it even more gloomy" I thought I'd share with you my weekend plans.

I'm going to the beach, y'all.

Cue: groaning and gnashing of teeth from all my bloggy peeps.

My neighbor, Michelle, has one of those "Husbands Who Hunt." He spends every single weekend from October - February at a quaint little hunting lodge with several other guys who love killing Bambi's mother. They leave on Friday and come home late Saturday night or Sunday. Every. Week.

So due to the blessed event called "Hunting Season is Over" she has invited a few friends down to their beach house for some much needed (and deserved) girl time.

So our men are holding down the fort at home while we head to the beach for 3 glorious days.

And let me add. There will be a Spa day involved. There will also be plenty of chocolate and girly movie watching and I'm sure some partaking of some fine Chardonnay. We are also very close to a FAB outlet mall. Can I get an Amen?

The hunting? I don't get it.

Girls weekend at the beach? I SO get it.

Can You Help A Sista Out?

Ok, peeps. I need your help.

Since the good ole economy is camping out in the toilet lately therefore forcing Spencer and I to be more frugal with the dollar, I am looking for some good, cheap, crock pot dinner recipes.

And I mean ANY recipe. Because my entire crock pot repertoire consists of 2 things. Queso and my mother-in-law's pot roast.

I'm not saying anything is wrong with that, but it definitely leaves me hanging for the other 5 days in the week....

Not to mention that I have a serious case of "oh my goodness it's 5:30 and I haven't even thought about dinner" itis. I think the occasional crock pot dinner will help with my planning ahead skillz.

I do subscribe to a website called E-Mealz. I have a button in my side bar that will take you there. It's really cool. They plan weekly menus for you and give you an itemized grocery list to the grocery store of your choosing. They also include ingredients that are on sale that week at your grocery store. And it's only 5 bucks a month. I don't like everything they plan on my weekly menus, but I have found some really good recipes that are easy to make. Anything that makes mealtime easier definitely gets my stamp of approval. You can go to their site and see an example menu. Click on that button and mosey on over there.

So be a sweetheart and please comment back with any crock pot recipes that your family likes.

Much obliged.

We Have A Date

I've been blogging now for over a year. The world of Bloggyville is an interesting community - full of joys, sorrows, amazing new friendships, and a glimpse into total strangers' lives. Before I was a blogger, I lived my happy little life in my happy little house with my happy little family. Recently, as my blog is growing a little bit and as I'm meeting new people online (especially through Twitter), I am hearing more and more stories about parents who have sick kids. These stories are heart wrenching, inspiring, and leave me in awe of the people who are living them. Some kids have been sick and have gotten well, like Harper. Some kids have been sick and are now with The Father in heaven, like Audrey Caroline and Cora. Some kids are still fighting. A lot of kids are still fighting.

One thing that I've noticed that seems to be a common denominator amongst these families is their faith. They have a trust in Jesus that exceeds comprehension in a lot of ways. Their babies are fighting for, and sometimes losing, their lives.

And I can't help but think of my 3 year old daughter, Tait. Tait has Beckwith-Wiedemann Syndrome, which I blogged about here. Because BWS puts her at an increased risk for certain abdominal cancers, she is tested for these cancers every 3 months. I take my little girl to a hospital where they draw her blood and do an abdominal ultrasound on her. They check levels and look for masses.

And it scares me to death every single time we go. Because having your baby tested for cancer is hard. HARD.

And the more we go through this, the more I am reminded of something Beth Moore talks about a lot. Fear. She says that when the enemy finds out what your fear is, he will threaten you with it. My fear is that something will happen to Spencer or one of the girls. That fear has been heightened lately and I'm not sure why. Seriously, is there a mom who doesn't fear that something bad will happen to their family? I have to make a choice to trust HIM for her safety. I know that my God is good and that He is faithful. He has carried people through having a sick child and has carried people through the loss of a child. He will carry us through her tests.

Even though I say that and honestly believe it in my heart, the fear of the possibility that one of those tests could come back bad is sometimes overwhelming. Trusting Him even with the very life of your child isn't easy. As a mom, I want to know with all certainty that she will live till she's 100. I pray every single morning for a faith and a trust that I see in Cora's parents. And Audrey's parents. And Harper's parents.

Then I received an email this week from the nurse that schedules Tait's testing. Because she will be 4 in July, she only has to have her blood work done one more time. May 4, 2009. This date marks a milestone in a BWS kid's life.

I saw this date as a sign from above. I felt like God was reassuring me that He is in control. He knows her name. He loves her. He has her in the palm of His hand. He wants me to trust Him that either she will be okay, or that I will be okay with whatever we are given. It's a sobering thought but it really puts Faith to the test.

Harpers parents, Cora's parents, and Audrey's parents were tested. And their God proved faithful. He is faithful. He is just. He is worthy of all glory and honor. Read their blogs and know their stories. They have made my faith stronger. Their children have shown the face of God to the world. They did their jobs well.