MIL

Does anyone know why we decide to spring clean when our Mother-in law is coming to visit?? I've been trying to figure this one out for years, but ultimately give in of course. My MIL is really nice and I doubt she cares if the windows are clean or the hamper is empty. I don't love her son any less if the kitchen floor isn't shiny or the bathtub isn't spotless. Men just really don't understand this one. They don't care if they come to the front door in their boxers to greet their MIL- trust me! So anyways, I've cooked alot today and filled the fridge and cabinets with groceries I think she will like, or at least to keep from starving. I've cleaned the house real good and even gave the puppies a bath. Did I mention I have a sinus infection too? But, all is well and it's almost time for bed.

Company is coming tomorrow and I'm all set, I think. Actually I need to still help my hubby to shampoo the carpet tonight. Sadly, I'm not kidding :)

booba.....what??

I now introduce you to the boobaloo! You can't tell in the picture but this little joy ride is at least 2 feet wide and 4 feet long- it's a monster! It's the cadillac of mall strollers. It is worth a million dollars in my book. Every time we visit this big mall we have to rent this little baby. On this particular day there was a line to rent one of these and fortunately we got the last one! It really is a life saver if you are Christmas shopping with a toddler, packages, bananas, new toys, old toys, drinks, etc. But as we made our way to the Outback we quickly realized we would have to take the stroller outside the mall to go to dinner. Hmmmmmmmmm......boobaloo or Outback? We chose both. As we left the mall we were waiting for the alarms to sound and the renta cops to arrive. Nothing happened so we headed down the sidewalk for our yummy dinner. Of course the wait was like 30 minutes and there were people everywhere on this sunny Saturday in December. Adam carefully drove our little car around the people and across a few toes. We giggled, said excuse me and kept on strolling. The next problem was finding a parking space in the crowded, busy restaurant. We endured several mean stares and glances. By this time, Lacey was hungry and becoming whiney. All the while, a young college kid stared as we read his stupid t-shirt that said "Make Love, NOT Babies" We (sorta) carefully, placed the buggy by our table so no one would steal our little jewel. Yeah, we looked stupid but who cared? Actually, I did, and that's why Adam was forced to push it and handle it. Plus it was his idea. So Lacey decides to fall asleep on Adam's shoulder after dinner and that only leaves one option- I would need to take this stupid stroller back out of the restaurant among all the people. I think we must have looked like the Beverly Hillbillies as they were packed to go. I really can't tell you how many ankles I scraped and how many toes were crushed that day. And for some reason, we just kept laughing, it was uncontrollable. Embarrassing and uncontrollable. We giggled all the way back to the mall. In all seriousness, I almost peed my pants. But we were safe and sound and our shopping buggy was ours for the rest of the night. Of course, we are probably banned from that Outback now, but maybe it was worth it!?

The Boobaloo Rocks!

little moments

A beautiful, little perfume bottle of Intimately Beckham is a wonderful, sweet gift from my hubby. But, the most special gifts of the season are not material things. Here's a few of my favorite little moments;

Laughing as Adam braves the coldness to grill our traditional ribeyes on Christmas Eve.

Adam saying the blessing as we sit down to have Christmas Eve dinner together.

Just the three of us making a funny, messy Gingerbread house on my bed.

The excitement in Lacey's eyes as we put up the Christmas tree together.

Helping the little kids get dressed for the church Christmas play and watching with joy and pride.

Standing together with our church family as we sing Christmas carols.

Watching all the twinkling house lights as I drive home from a long day at work.

A good friend sitting on the couch with Lacey on Christmas night, reading her new toddler Bible to her so sweetly.

The small soft voice of my baby girl saying "Merry Christmas Mommy" as we head to bed on Christmas night.

I could go on and on.

It really is the little things in life that matter the most.

'tis the season

And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling clothes, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

Luke 2:7

its a small world

Just like the song says...... it's a small world after all. This song plays in my car now quite alot for my little girl. It's funny when you talk to someone and realize you have things in common or know the same people. Usually its unexpected and brings a smile or a laugh. We also live in a small town and you can be assured that you will see someone you know at Lowes, Walmart, or Sheetz or even the restroom somewhere in town! Unfortunately, sometimes you see people together that are wishing not to be seen probably.

Or you go shopping 3 hours from home and look pretty tired and rough and see people from your workplace. And, I was 2 hrs from home awhile back and ran into more people from my work. And sometimes when we go to this same mall about 2 hrs away, we will run into some guys (customers) that will say Hi to my husband and talk about his job and parts for their cars. Of course, we just laugh and he tells me they are "regulars" at his store.

It really is a small world and even a smaller town.

p.s Only 3 more days until Christmas :)

the answers......

1- Santa Claus
2- Medicine
3- NY

4- Tim Allen
5- Deck the Halls
6- Zero

7- Angel
8- A Hula Hoop :)
9- 5 cents

last 3 trivia questions........

7. What is the most popular tree topper?

8. My favorite- What does Alvin want for Christmas?

9. In a Charlie Brown Christmas, how many cents does Lucy charge for her psychiatric services?

too sweet

A Bedtime Prayer from a 2-yr Old:

(quietly and slowly) "Now I lay me down to sleep,

(loud) I pway the Lord soul to keep,

(giggle, giggle)

if I die before wake, (giggle, giggle)

I pway the Lord soul to keep.

(shouting) AMEN!"


and then she smiles and quietly says "I make Jesus happy"

I quickly agree.

4- In the movie Santa Clause, who starred as a substitute Santa Claus?

5- What carol contains the word "FA-LA-LA-LA-LA-LA-LA-LA-LA"?

6- How many times is the name Santa Claus used in "The night before Christmas"?

Christmas Trivia

How many can you guess?

1- In Frosty the Snowman, who brought Frosty back to life?

2- In the song "Grandma got ran over by a reindeer",
What did Grandma go to get?

3- In what city did Miracle on 34th street take place?

The mountain??

Who knew that Gander Mountain could be a fun place to shop? We recently stopped at the one in Charleston for the first time. I was surprised to find so many christmas gifts as well as stuff for ourselves. I got a great new grill skillet/pan to cook chicken and steaks on the stove. We found lots of cool things and stayed for probably an hour or two. Thank goodness this was our last stop on the way home because we were broke as we walked out the door.

A good friend said he was surprised to hear of my new shopping adventure at this store. He laughed as I talked about all the things we found. And maybe now, I won't secretly laugh at his gander mountain camo hat since he is going to get a matching gander mountain wallet for christmas :)

Next stop? Maybe Cabellas.

oops.......

DISCLAIMER: The slideshow contains cute and nice photos. There also appears to be a few inappropriate images that are not my selections. It appears they sorta sneak those ones in there amongst the other nice ones.

WARNING: Half naked Hasselhoff appears. I sincerely apologize if you are eating breakfast, lunch or dinner at this time.

Merry Christmas!

11 days to go.........

hmmmmm.......

I don't normally like to use quotes, especially quotes I receive in work emails. But I thought this one was worth printing and sharing.


I cannot give you the formula for success, but I can give you the formula for failure- try to please everybody.

Herbert Bayard Swope

Welcome Darlene to the wacky world of bloggin'.

Have fun on your new site.

SUCKER!!!

PAMPERED CHEF, MARY KAY, LONGABERGER

I love them all :)
I think my debit card has seen them all within the past few weeks.
A neighbor friend was taking orders for pampered chef so I found a few things to order. And then, a friend called the next week and invited me to her party and so I placed another order. Yep, 2 in 2 weeks, gotta love it! There's always something new and fun in the catalogs. Then there is the wonderful, cute little Longaberger items. I'm pretty far from being cheap or "frugal" but really can't bring myself to pay $100 for a basket that I can buy at AC Moore for 5 bucks! But I will gladly order a new little tote bag like the Christmas one sitting here on my desk beside me.

And of course, there is Mary Kay. Satin hands, moisturizer, face cloths, new lip gloss..... I love it all! The last order I gave a friend at work was to benefit breast cancer research so it was for a good cause. That was just icing on the cake!

So now you know, I am a sucker for these home parties/ catalogs. And when we move to a bigger house, I'll be planning party after party to make up for lost time!

home sweet home

Well, its been a fun day at home again. I'm thankful the medicine is working fast and my little one is feeling better today. As I'm typing this, she just ran over and hugged me and said "I love you Mommy". The name of "mommy" is only one name that she has used lately. Sometimes I need to respond to "sheetheart" or maybe "honey" or even cuter is "punkin".

There's no place I'd rather be than home. A great hubby, ornery puppies and a little toddler. What could be better?

60 min or less

In one hour or less; Where can you go to fill prescriptions? shop for new bras? pick up christmas gifts? talk to your brother for awhile? see good friends as you walk in the door? see other friends in the meat aisle? talk to church family, in the bathroom? buy a mickey mouse magazine? give money to the needy? find cool socks and pick up milk?


Only at Walmart, of course!

Dec 9th

Well, it's been a great weekend and I could write a blog that is 50 pages but I'll just share one little story tonight.

We have officially introduced Lacey to our family tradition of exchanging presents whenever we want in the month of December! As adults, we can make the child- like decision to open presents when the urge strikes :) And tonight, it happened! Adam decided to give me some pretty new pink pajamas that he had ordered and now I'm nice and cozy enjoying this special gift! Of course, he expected a gift in return and I quickly obliged. He is the proud new owner of a gecko grip level, that I'm guessing you'll only understand if you are a man.

Lacey loved my new pj's and daddy's new toy but we felt bad as she sat empty handed. So I watched with excitement as she opened a pretty new little Disney Princess keyboard that had just came off the store shelf a few hours earlier. Our house has been filled with beautiful music ever since.

We forced ourselves to stop before we got carried away. See, we can be adults, sometimes. Besides, there's always tomorrow night :)

Play with Me

There's a magic moment sent down from the sky.
Descending so stealthily; it almost passes me by.
It may be in the morning or the late afternoon,
Or sometime after midnight, when the cow jumps over the moon.

Come, play with me.
Your presence is requested at a banquet for a bear.
The giraffe and the tiger insist you be there.
Please, hurry daddy, the tea is getting cold.
And you are getting old.
Come stay with me, play with me, daddy, please . . .

She brightens me with sunshine twinkling from her eyes.
She captures me with silence and playful long good-byes.
Its see you later alligator, after while crocodile.
Watch my special cartwheel; let’s be buddies for a while.

And come, play with me.
Your presence is requested at a banquet for a bear.
The giraffe and the tiger insist you be there.
Please, hurry daddy, the tea is getting cold.
And you are getting old.
Come stay with me, play with me, daddy, please . . .

off my chest

Recently someone attacked my husband's ethics, knowledge and abilities. Fortunately, he is mature enough to let this ignorance roll off his back and let it go. It hurt me that a "friend" would say untrue things about him. When someone spreads gossip and tells lies, it almost always comes back to the person you are intending to hurt. It's rarely kept quiet.

Adam was a store manager for several years. He had complete responsibility for all daily operations and financial matters at his store. His list of qualifications is a mile long on his resume.

Boy, the ole devil just never gives up. But, he will never win. The Lord provides us with grace and mercy each day to overcome these things.

God is good :)

from Charles Swindoll

There is a practical reason Thanksgiving always precedes Christmas. It sets in motion the ideal mental attitude to carry us through the weeks in between. In other words, a sustained spirit of gratitude makes the weeks before Christmas a celebration rather than a marathon.

Thank you Lord: for your sovereign control over our circumstances, for your Word that gives us direction, for your love that holds us close, for your understanding when we are confused, and for your Spirit that enlightens our eyes.

And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful. Colossians 3:15

who invited HIM??

Old man winter has decided to visit today. I don't really remember inviting him. As I drudged out the door this morning into the snow, I really wished I could stay in my nice warm bed for a few more hours. The roads were yucky and I only had about 30 more miles to get to the nice interstate. I usually stay pretty calm on bad roads until I start seeing accidents and then my grip gets a little bit tighter on the steering wheel. That was the case today. I came upon 2 wrecks and numerous cars driving like 30 mph. By the time I made it to work, I was late for overtime. But is that really possible though- to be late for overtime??

So tonight I dashed home on the nice clean safe roads and enjoyed the ride. It's the calm before the storm- literally. Old man winter is headed back again in the morning. I wish I was in Florida with the Extreme Home Makeover family :)

Stay tuned.........

dirty dishes

So, my 2 yr old has discovered this past week how much fun it is to do dishes with mommy or daddy! She carefully drags her little step stool up to the sink and reaches for the glass brush. She is so happy to play in the bubbles and "help" :) Who cares that it takes an hour now to do dishes? So this morning as we made spaghetti and salad and baked cookies, she became so excited to see all the dirty dishes pile up. She can hardly wait until we tackle this task again this evening. She gets to help mamaw today make pepperoni rolls and maybe some iced tea so she's just lovin' life!

It's the simple things in life.........

MUSICAL BEDS

Sounds like a soap opera, doesn't it? Actually its a typical night at our house. The picture is a little blurry but I think you can get the "picture!"

Who knows where we will end up sleeping?? Maybe with our head resting on Lacey's bed as we fall asleep reading to her? Maybe waking in the middle of the night with a sore back from sleeping on her hard bedroom floor, which is better than half on her bed? Maybe the love seat? Maybe the other couch? Maybe by some big chance, nice and cozy in our own bed- together :) But at least the night terrors and nightmares have stopped. Too bad we didn't miss that stage. A couple months is a long, long time. But she still sneaks into our bed sometimes, as you can see above.

Somehow the puppies always make out best. Snuggled nice and warm in our bed, with no cares in the world- at least while Lacey is sleeping.

The soap opera continues. These are the Days of our Lives. Or should I say nights?