Lunch and Dinner Dates

Hello all!! What have you been up to lately? Well today, I'm trying to stay warm and awake! It has turned cold and rainy where we live and when it's like this I could just sleep all day. But let's face it, I haven't been able to do that in over four years.

With the weather forecast being so glum, we decided to get out and about on Thursday. My goal was to get our car tags renewed and then go to Walmart. But when I left the house, I changed my mind. I called Maggie to see if she wanted to meet us for lunch. Several people have been telling me about this restaurant in our area called The Cupboard. I can't believe I have been missing out on this place. The chicken salad was wonderful! But I must say, lunch was not very relaxing. The girls were kind of all over the place! The next time Maggie and I go out to eat together, I think we may leave the girls with their Daddies.

How people manage with twins, I will never know!!! We walked across the street so Maggie could take a few pictures and it was just as wild as it was in the restaurant!!! We were so close to the road and the babies were in every direction. Maggie got a few pictures but getting them together and all looking at the camera......YEAH RIGHT!!!!

For supper Emily, Gracie and I met my cousin Jenny and her little girl Ava Caroline at Chick-fil-a. We go there so the girls can play on the inside playground. So now it's time for a sidebar. To all the parents with children who are too big to be in the playground, you need to stand up and take notice!!!!! The big kids are always the ones that are in there and OUT OF CONTROL!!!! It amazes me that parents will just drop there kids off at the playground and then never look up until time to go!! Everyone wants to have a good time, so parents, you need to teach your "big kids" that if they're going to play in the playground they need to look out for the "little kids" since it's really for the little kids anyway! I'm just sayin'!

Em and Ava love to play together! Ava keep called Em "Your Highness" and when we left she bowed to her. It was so funny!

I would like to introduce to you Miss Anna Kate (her friends and family will call her Kate)! In four more weeks we will be able to see her sweet face and we can't wait! I know Jenny is ready to see her because this pregnancy has not been near as easy as her first! I just can't wait to hold a newborn again! See you soon, Kate!

I hope you all have a good weekend! Later all!

A Bunch of Randomness

I am always taking pictures of the kids with the purpose of using them in a blog post. Then I usually forget about them or wait to long to even blog about them. So this is just a bunch of randomness that I wanted to catch up on.

During the "Big Snow" of 2010 (only a dusting), Emily enjoyed playing in it while it was here.

My mother bought these dresses for Emily and Gracie when Gracie was just a little baby. I think they look like little dolls, don't you?

Sisters loving on each other early in the morning. I can assure you by lunch, you couldn't make them get this close.

This is the truck Chris and I use to go on dates in. He had it repainted and it looks so good. I can't believe I have known him for 10 years! It has flown by! I have to admit that I choked up a little seeing Emily sitting in the truck. The day he got it back form the body shop, we all rode around the neighborhood piled up in the front seat. We looked like a bunch of rednecks loving life! All we needed was for Gracie to have a bottle of Coke and the picture would have been complete!

My niece, Sophie Clare, turned one way back in November. She had a beautiful party, but the little darling just didn't feel too good. Sophie Clare, I'm sorry that I'm so late posting something about your birthday. You were so cute the day you turned one! But hey, you're cute everyday!!!

Later all!!! Hope you are having a great day!

Monday

I know that "Monday" is a lame title for a post, but I have a hard time coming up with titles. Anyway, onto Monday.

I had a follow up doctor's appointment in Birmingham and I when I made it months ago, the receptionist at the doctor's office informed me that since it was flu season (by the way when does flu season begin and end?) they encouraged us to leave our children at home. It may sound harsh but I do see where they are coming from, so mother and I decided to make a day of it. My mother-in-law, Cheryl, was nice enough to come to the house bright and early and watch the girls. I want to thank her so much for doing so. I don't think my mother and I have had a day to ourselves since before I was pregnant with Gracie. I'm a self proclaimed "Momma's baby" so I was really looking forward to it.

After we left the dr's office, we headed to some of our favorite places in Birmingham. I've been on the hunt for Emily an Easter dress and shops are starting to get their Easter stuff in. I really didn't find what I was looking for, although I found one dress that I decided that I would get if I didn't find anything else. Mother and I went to eat at my favorite restaurant(well, ONE of my favorite restaurants) J. Alexanders. They have a Grilled Chicken Salad that is out of this world! I keep telling Chris he would love this place, so I think we may have a date there soon.

When we finished eating, Mother wanted to go to a few fabric stores. She is always sewing for the girls.

I wanted to go to a consignment store that is close to the fabric store, so when Mother finished up we headed over. I was so glad I did! I found Emily an Easter dress at a FABULOUS price!!! It similar to one I bought Gracie a couple of days before! Because Emily is such a "long tall Sally", Mother will have to let the hem out, but still, it was a great deal! I also found Gracie a bubble to match a dress that I got Emily at a yard sale!! I rarely ever find a deal so when I do I'm WAY excited!

Although I missed my girls, Mother and I had so much fun and it was so nice not to have to fool with car seats all day!

When I go home, I fixed spaghetti for supper. When we have spaghetti I take the girl's shirts off because spaghetti can get pretty messy with a 4 and 18 month old. When we sat down, Chris asked if he needed to take his shirt off too! It cracked me up! As you can see G still has a little bit of sauce on her face! It had been a long day so we all looked like a motley crew!

A fun time was had by all! Thanks for stopping by and reading about an ordinary day in the life of one VERY blessed girl!

Monday

I know that "Monday" is a lame title for a post, but I have a hard time coming up with titles. Anyway, onto Monday.

I had a follow up doctor's appointment in Birmingham and I when I made it months ago, the receptionist at the doctor's office informed me that since it was flu season (by the way when does flu season begin and end?) they encouraged us to leave our children at home. It may sound harsh but I do see where they are coming from, so mother and I decided to make a day of it. My mother-in-law, Cheryl, was nice enough to come to the house bright and early and watch the girls. I want to thank her so much for doing so. I don't think my mother and I have had a day to ourselves since before I was pregnant with Gracie. I'm a self proclaimed "Momma's baby" so I was really looking forward to it.

After we left the dr's office, we headed to some of our favorite places in Birmingham. I've been on the hunt for Emily an Easter dress and shops are starting to get their Easter stuff in. I really didn't find what I was looking for, although I found one dress that I decided that I would get if I didn't find anything else. Mother and I went to eat at my favorite restaurant(well, ONE of my favorite restaurants) J. Alexanders. They have a Grilled Chicken Salad that is out of this world! I keep telling Chris he would love this place, so I think we may have a date there soon.

When we finished eating, Mother wanted to go to a few fabric stores. She is always sewing for the girlsI wanted to go to a consignment store that is close to the fabric store, so when Mother finished up we headed over. I was so glad I did! I found Emily an Easter dress at a FABULOUS price!!! It similar to one I bought Gracie a couple of days before! Because Emily is such a "long tall Sally", Mother will have to let the hem out, but still, it was a great deal! I also found Gracie a bubble to match a dress that I got Emily at a yard sale!! I rarely ever find a deal so when I do I'm WAY excited!

Although I missed my girls, Mother and I had so much fun and it was so nice not to have to fool with car seats all day.

When I go home, I fixed spaghetti for supper. When we have spaghetti I take the girl's shirts off because spaghetti can get pretty messy with a 4 and 18 month old. When we sat down, Chris asked if he needed to take his shirt off too! It cracked me up! As you can see G still has a little bit of sauce on her face! It has been a long day so we all looked like a motley crew!


Before bed we played a vicious game of Candy Land! Emily sure talks a lot of smack about beating everyone! It's pretty funny!

A fun time was had by all! Thanks for stopping by and reading about an ordinary day in the life of one VERY blessed girl!

Have A Heart

Last week Emily and I did a craft together. I would love to say I came up with it all on my own, but I can't. I follow several blogs and one of my favorites is The Boyd Girls. The mom(Keri) posted this craft a couple of weeks ago, so Em and I thought we would try it out.

One of Emily's favorite things to do is to tear off the paper from her crayons, so she loved making these crayon hearts.

The pictures are pretty self explanatory, but I'll talk you through it anyway. You take a heart mold.

Peel of the paper and break the crayons into the mold.

Bake until melted.

Then let cool. Once they are cool you can break them out of the molds and share them with a friend or keep them for yourself.



And this, my friends, is the reason I've not been able to blog more.

When I walk to the computer, Gracie goes wild. I try to have her sit in my lap, but as you can imagine, that just doesn't work! Although she won't let me get on the computer, she is so sweet I could just die!!! I love both of my girls with my whole heart! When I was growing up my Mother would always say, "You'll understand one day when you have kids". And boy she was right! You just can't imagine it! I thank God everyday for blessing me with these two little ones and for a husband who lets me stay home with them. I could go on and on, but I won't.

Have a good weekend y'all!

What a Game!!!!

Last night our plans were to stay home with the girls and watch the BIG Game. But about 5 minutes before kickoff, our neighbor Eddie called and invited us down to our other neighbor Bart's house. I was a little hesitant about going because the game started so late and the kids usually go to be around 8 or 8:30.....and I'm also a little superstitious when it comes to games. The girls and I have watched most of the games at home and we have really put a whoopin' on some folks, so for Bama's sake I thought I might need to stay home. But we decided to go! I'm so glad we did!!!!!

We got there just in time for the kickoff and boy, it didn't start out to well for Bama. I told Chris if it didn't improve, I was going back home. I really hated to see Colt McCoy (what a cool name) leave the game. He is a fantastic player but more importantly he is a wonderful roll model and a follower of Christ. I truly hope he heals to perfection and has a long career in football.

The game wasn't the beat down I had hoped for, but a win is a win!!!! And hey, we're National Champions!!!! Again!!!!! All I can say is "IT'S GREAT...TO BE...FROM ALABAMA"!!!!!!

Eddie and Tammy

I think everyone on our street got new phones for Christmas. Bart was showing Gracie pictures to keep her happy!!! I was very proud of my girls. They had a unusually late night and they held up wonderfully!!!



Landon and Bailey



Angela and Gracie



Chris was so stressed during the game. He keep going outside and watched some of it from the window! I'm not real sure how that helped, but you gotta do what you gotta do!



Emily kind of fizzled at the end. Plus she wasn't a fan of all the yelling and screaming.

Now Gracie on the other hand had a ball! She yelled "Yea" the whole time!

Oh how good it feels to win!!! I do need to brag on the freshman Quarterback from Texas. He did an outstanding job his first time out!

Psalms 75:10

I will cut off the horns of all the wicked, but the horns of the righteous will be lifted up.

Way to go Bama....we Hooked Them Horns!!!!

The Big Day Is Here!!!!

It's a big day around our parts for two reasons actually! One is that they have "predicted" that we are going to have some snow and the other reason is Alabama is playing for a National Championship tonight!!

Let me just tell you, when Bama plays it trumps anything else that's going on in the state!!! I'm so nervous that you would think I have a son playing in the game (but let me stress the fact that I am no where near old enough to have a son playing in a college game.....little league maybe!)

I have a few friends that are out in California that will be cheering the Tide onto a BIG win! I know they are going to have a great time. I'm sure Texas fans are just as excited, but I do hope one fan stays home. Mathew McConahey is a huge Texas fan. He drives me crazy with that "Hook'um Horns" thing he does all the time. I hope he decides to stay home with his girlfriend since she just had a new baby. We'll see......

Anyway y'all, can I get a Big ROLL TIDE!!!!

Show class, have pride, and display character. If you do, winning takes care of itself.

-Coach Paul "Bear" Bryant

Helping Momma

For the record.......it's COLD!!! I know many of my blogger friends have had snow and that it could be worse, but I'm just sayin'....it's COLD!!!

Gracie and I bundled up and took big sister to school this morning. When we got home we had to do a few chores. Gracie loves to help me with the dishwasher. (Please excuse her hair. Static is going drive me crazy with winter) She has always liked to open and close the door and you have to watch her because she will always grab the knives, but today is the first day that she has climbed up and had a seat. She is so cute I could just squeeze her to death.....but I won't.









I wonder if Emily and Gracie will always be eager to help their Momma. I know I wasn't always that excited about it. Everything that I do as a mother and housewife gives me a huge respect for my mother. Man, she did a lot and seemed to manage it with such grace and ease. Not me, but I do the very best I can.
Today, take the time to tell your Mom how special she is and thank her for all she has done for you. It doesn't sound like much but I can tell you it will mean the world to her.

Well.....That About Sums It Up.

Another Christmas has come and gone and I must say I'm very happy to be back on our regular schedule. As I said before, we kind of had a "sick" house all through December, with Emily getting the worst of it. The last thing I wanted to do was blog, but now I'm back at it. This whole post will be Christmas related.

Emily's school put on the cutest Christmas program this year. My little star was a Wise Man and let me just tell you, she sang her heart out!!! Nearly every picture I have is her with her mouth open.

After the program, Emily's class had their Christmas party.

Em and Makenzie

Gran stayed for a little while to see Em in her class.

"The Three Amigos" Claire, Emily, and Henley

Emily dressed like a present for the Christmas program at church.

Em is really checking Santa out!!

On Christmas Eve, we headed to Chris' parents house for lunch. Although it's been a couple of weeks, I can still remember how good the food was. Cheryl and Earl did a great job!!!

This was Sophie Clare's first Christmas meal!!! Last year she was so little!!! I can't believe how much she and Gracie have grown in just one short year!

Em opened everyone's presents for them!

Granmother and Pop with their Girls!

Christmas Eve is my mother's birthday, so on Christmas Eve night, we celebrated. I know everyone says this about their mother, but as you can see it I speak the truth.......my mother looks no were near her age. She turned 66 (she is going to kill me for putting that). My mother is a timeless beauty and I hope I got a couple of those genes in the process!!!! Mother, I love you very much and I hope you had a great birthday!!!

Gran with her girls!!

Momma and Daddy got Emily and Robin a karaoke machine. As soon as Robin saw it, she grabbed that microphone and started singing. Emily was a little shy about it, but she's coming around. Gracie even got in on the action! She was right in the middle the whole time.

Chris and I decided to do the three present thing for the girls this Christmas. As my friend Jennifer says, "Three presents were good enough for Jesus, so it's good enough for my kids". Well, they ended up with four. Chris found this Snoopy Snow Cone machine and it was a big hit!!!! The only thing is you have to have arms of steal to turn the crank and make the snow, so Chris is the only one that can do it!! Fine by me!!

Santa brought Emily the Hungry Hungry Hippo game and I think we played it 100 times. I told Emily to put her game face on and this is what she gave me.

Gracie's game face looks a little more mean! She loves Hungry Hippo too!!!

A fun time was had by all!!!! I'm just glad to be back to normal!!!