Twenties No More

My husband turned 30 yesterday, December 28th. I can't believe I just said that! 30! I've known "of" him since I was little and would visit my grandparents. He lived a few houses down the street from them and I would see him riding his bike past on occasion. Then when I went to live with them in the 8th grade I learned his name was Wes Kelley and he was very cute. In 9th grade we had several classes together. He was a typical 9th grade boy- class clown, goof off, immature...you know. By 11th grade he had grown up slightly and we began dating December 1st of 1995 our junior year. So, basically we grew into adulthood together. We got married at the ripe age of 20 (almost 21) and started our life together. I just can't believe how the past decade has flown and everything we have experienced together. Obvisouly, our proudest accomplishments are our 3 daughters. We have had a busy "twentysomething" but we could not be happier- well, he would like me to cook more and I would like him to pick up his dirty laundry more, but with those exceptions.... Wes has been going slowly going gray since his very early twenties so he is good and ready to face the thirties! I, on the other hand, am not! And its just around the corner. I am so thankful that Wes was put in my life- I can't wait to spend our 30's together and see what this decade holds. I love you, my "old" man!

The Hottest Baby Names

According to Yahoo!, the #1 Hottest Baby Boy Name for 2008 was "Aidan" once again. This is two years in a row for "Aidan". "Isabella" was it for girls followed by "Ava". Now, let me remind you that I picked out Aidan for our child before I was even pregnant with Anniston and I NEVER have seen an episode of Sex and the City so I have no connection with the character named Aidan on that show. I saw it in a Parents magazine back in 2002 and knew I had to have an Aidan! We named Anniston and held out on our Aidan name for the son we would surely (mathematically speaking) have later on down the road. When we found out baby #3 was a girl, I didn't have a girl name- it figures, right? I like Addison but we have a Madison in the family already. I liked Adelynn but Kendra swears shes naming her daughter Madelyn. And of course, we had to have an "A" name- I'm very type A at times! So we said, "Lets name her Ayden and call her Ayden Claire" and that's what we did. By the way, Aidan/Ayden/Aiden/Aden/Aydan/Aden means "little fire". As she grows each month, I am begining to think her name suits her just perfectly! She is wonderful but she is "the baby"... Now you know how our "little fire" became Ayden Claire. And I'm thinking its very likely she will grow up and marry an Aidan/Aiden/Ayden/Aden...

Christmas Party- 2nd Grade Style

Yesterday was Alyssa's class Christmas party. It started at 1:00 with Mrs. Hurst opening her gifts. She too, like Ms. Brandi, racked up with all kinds of goodies! She deserves it, she is an excellent teacher and works hard. I would have a hard enough time keeping up with 18 second graders let alone actually teaching them! We had doughnuts, cookies, chips, dip, crackers and Cheez Whiz. Anniston and Ayden Claire enjoyed hanging out with the big kids, too. Now schools out for 2 weeks. I am so looking forward to not having to get up and get everyone ready and not having to study for a couple of weeks. I'm sure we'll all be ready for school to start back though come January!

Alyssa in her classroom waiting on the party to start.




Getting a hug from Mrs. Hurst after she opened her gift from Alyssa

Alyssa and Jordan sitting in the dugout, Mrs. Hurst has a "Baseball stadium" themed room- its very cute!

Can we say SUGAR?

Sarah, Alyssa, Carley and Sara Grace

Friends...

Anniston and her friend Jerrica both have siblings in Mrs. Hurst's class

Class of 2019!

Feeling Froggy? Be Crafty!

Tonight we decided to get messy! Wes is working on the helicopter so its just me and the girls. So why not get crafty and make handprints of all the girls? My neighbor Lisa, brought over some extra "Grandparent" crafts she had bought for her kids to make. So, SPOILER ALERT******Picture of our crafts below***** Grandparents (that would be you, Nanny) may not want to look at the following picture! :)


Ayden Claire's handprints are the ones in the last row. They aren't that much smaller than Annistons!

Christmas Party- 4 Year Old Style

Today was the highly anticipated, long awaited preschool Christmas party! There was excitment in the air at Coosada Baptist Preschool, especially in Ms. Brandi's class! The kids ate- several varieties of cookies and cupcakes, just to make sure they had enough sugar to get them through the party- and then exchanged books with one another. I say "exchanged" but actually, Anniston picked the book she had brought when it was her turn. She wanted that Disney Princess ABC 123 book with read along CD so bad she couldn't stand it! Next it was Ms. Brandi's turn to open all of her goodies- I may look into teaching for the sheer fact of the awesome "Christmas Bonus"! Just kidding, but Ms. Brandi racked up! Finally, we collected all of the kids lovely artwork and headed home for a nap!

Hard at work...

Welcome to my class, Ayden Claire!

Ayden Claire making herself at home...

Anniston is so excited about her book!

"Don't even think about taking my sippy cup, Mister!"

Anniston and Ms. Brandi

Too much sugar, there Ayden Claire?

Group Hug!

Breakfast With Santa

We went to Applebee's this morning to have breakfast with Santa. We got there at 8 and were served pancakes while Santa walked around and visited with the tables. After we ate Alyssa and Anniston sat with him- Ayden Claire said "No, thanks!" We then went to Bass Pro Shops where low and behold, we saw Santa AGAIN! He is a super busy guy this time of the year!

A Poem For Mothers....

I saw this on a friends refrigerator the other day while at her house. It was quite a humbling experience...she is really living this way! I wish I'd read it 8 years ago, but better late than never, right?


If I Had My Child to Raise Over Again

If I had my child to raise all over again,
I'd finger-paint more, and point the fingers less.
I would do less correcting and more connecting.
I'd take my eyes off my watch, and watch with my eyes.
I would care to know less and know to care more.
I'd take more hikes and fly more kites.
I'd stop playing serious, and seriously play.
I would run through more fields and gaze at more stars.

I'd do more hugging and less tugging.
I'd build self-esteem first, and the house later.
I would be firm less often, and affirm much more.
I'd teach less about the love of power, And more about the power of love.

by Diane Loomans

My favorite line is "I'd build self-esteem first, and the house later." I often think how nice it would be to have a "bigger" or "nicer" house when in reality our house is plenty big for us and only as "nice" as we make it. As a mother of daughters, I desperately want them to value themselves and know their worth- so my new years resolution is to let go of the "perfect house" ideals I struggle with and concentrate on my daughters!

What a Difference A Year Makes!

Last years Christmas card photo....
2007


And this year...
2008

Catching Up!

Well, its been a while! I must admit, I've been caught up in the hustle and bustle that comes along with Christmas time. Trying to make sure 3 girls are all "fairly" visited by Santa is a job in itself. I am officially finished with everyone on our list, the cards are mailed, and the house is decorated so I plan to enjoy the next couple of weeks without the stress of last minute shopping! We've been busy going to the parade, Christmas tree lighting, Christmas choir concert, Polar Express PJ party and we have a couple of Haynes Christmas Parties to attend next week. I also want to squeeze in a trip to the Zoo to see the lights there (although I don't know if I can handle the cold out at night!), a tour of Christmas lights around town with the girls, and we really want to have a Christmas party next Saturday for the girls and their friends- I'll let you know how that turns out if we do! Enjoy your family this Christmas and make it super special for the little ones! Til next time....

Giving Thanks

Thursday was Thanksgiving. Its a bittersweet holiday for me. I am so thankful for many things, which I'll get to momentarily, but it reminds me of the Thanksgivings I used to enjoy with my Granny and how much I miss that. She loved to cook for the people she loved and she fed us well! This was our 3rd Thanksgiving without her and I still miss her just as much as I did that first year. I was so blessed to have had such a wonderful, inspiring Granny, and for that I will always be extremely thankful! Also topping my list for things to give thanks for is, obvisouly my 3 healthy daughters. We could never thank God enough for placing these girls in our arms to raise and love. I know I have never done anything worthy of such wonderful gifts and I will always be so thankful for our girls. My wonderful husband deserves a million thanks! He puts up with so much- he lives with 4 females, can you imagine? He wipes tears (all of ours), rubs necks and legs and arms(all of ours), cooks a good bit of the time, bathes, prays and works a job and a half outside of all that! He is such a Godsend and he does all that he does with a positive attitude. I am so blessed to have sisters I can call on anytime to share stories with, gripe to, and count on. I also have a little brother that I am so thankful is in our lives- he is an amazing young man and I can't wait to see what he is going to do in life- I have a feeling its going to be great. I'm thankful for my mom- who I've learned so much from. I'm grateful for the "Nanny" that she is to our girls. I'm thankful for friends- the true few who know probably more than they really want to know about me! So those are the biggies, but I'm also thankful for some of lifes simple pleasures. Like, big red gum, summertime, cuddling, neckrubs, flipflops, Target, hairbows and ribbon, my favorite blue jeans, being from Alabama, pepper, mashed potatoes and macaroni, the E! channel, hot baths, good books....the list goes on!

Letter

To the THIEF who took OUR stuff,

Well, you got me! I learned a very expensive lesson yesterday. One I was so naive and thought I would be spared from learning I suppose. What in your head (obviously you have no heart) told you it was OKAY for you to come into someone else's home and take things that do NOT belong to you? I guess you didn't think that my CHILDREN would be the ones to notice things were missing before me. That they would be coming in the house before I did. My poor 8 year olds face was so startled and confused- I'll never forget it. It gives me chills to think what would have happened had you still been here when they ran into their safe haven- their HOME! You have completely rocked their innocent little world. You not only took something physical from us- you took something psychological too and from my BABIES. I think I am more disgusted by you for this. I can replace a TV and computer- but I can not give my children their feeling of confidence and trust that they are okay in their own HOME. Maybe you didn't think that someone worked very hard to purchase those two items. I'm sure you have no regard for the fact that my husband's laptop was in the living room because after WORKING one of his TWO jobs, he sat down to relax in HIS HOME and watch HIS television and check the weather on HIS computer to see if he would be able to fly at his SECOND job on Wednesday. You see, he risks HIS life every week to help other people, even people like you. Ironic, don't you think? If you or someone you love were to need medical attention quickly, it would be the very person you stole from -or his friends- that would be there to help your sorry ass. Did it make you feel big to take something that you didn't earn? I give my kids allowance every week- they have to do chores to EARN it and they would never take something that didn't belong to them. Did I mention they are 8 and 4. Maybe your mother never taught you that....sadly. My 8 year old suggested we find you and "go steal our stuff back" but I told her we couldn't "steal" anything. If the police found it then we could have it back, otherwise, it isn't ours anymore. Then my 4 year old said "The bad man (she just assumes you are a man) should have asked nicely. He should have asked to BORROW our TV. And he should have said PLEASE." Wow! If only you had some of my 4 year olds knowledge and honesty and integrity and kindness. I hope that you needed that TV and laptop so desperately it was a live or die situation for you. In that case, I'm so glad we could help. I'm sure that wasn't the case though. I don't know what you did with it. I don't care. We are looking forward to picking out our new TV. We have decided it is going to be bigger- so big it won't fit so easily out the front door for you next time. I always thought that wall was too big not to have a bigger TV on it, what did you think? I also am further convinced amidst this that we have the absolute best neighbors ever. You see, before the police cars had turned off our street, two of my neighbors were already bringing over an extra TV for us to use. That's what people do. They do unto others... Maybe today you will be back in school (I can't help but think you were a kid out of school on Veterans Day- did you know my husband is a VETERAN? Yep, that's right, he is a man of service- even for people like you- and that is how you say "Thanks"....) or maybe, here's an idea, you will go get a JOB and make your own money so you can buy your own things. At the end of the day, my family is safe and those "things" you took can be replaced. We will be okay, my girls are shaken up and will probably be in our bed for a few nights. I sure did treasure cuddling with them last night and watching them as they slept. I can't help but think if you knew them at least, you would never have wanted them to feel afraid in their HOME. But then again, I would think you would have never taken something that wasn't yours....

Sincerely,
the woman of the house who may have left the front door unlocked and wasn't home because I was taking my 3 precious girls to lunch at McDonald's and shopping for my sisters new baby something special on their day out of school

P.S. I REALLY wish you would have grabbed the digital camera. It quit working this past weekend and we have been shopping for a new one. Of course you wouldn't have known that til you were long gone. Then I could have filed that too on my claim- we're just too honest to do that, though.

A Poem For Ayden Claire

Thumbs

Oh the thumb-sucker's thumb
May look wrinkled and wet
And withered, and white as the snow,
But the taste of a thumb
Is the sweetest taste yet
(As only we thumb-suckers know).

By Shel Silverstein

The Pumpkin Patch 2008

Our annual trip to the Pumpkin Patch in Clanton. We love going there to get our pumpkins. The weather was perfect and we had a blast.

Ear Piercing...Take Two

We got Anniston's ears pierced last summer (as in '07) when she asked to do it. She climbed up in the Libby Lu chair and got them both done at the same time, inserting two little pink flower earrings into her sweet little lobes. Fast forward to Christmas time when we go to change the earrings, for the first time, to a Santa pair she has picked out. She flips out about putting the new ones in. I mean she is terrified. We try for weeks to talk her into letting us put earrings, any earrings at this point, back in. No luck. We try at night after she is asleep. No luck. Bribery, threats...nothing works. She isn't letting us near her with an earring. Finally, by spring I accept that her ears are no longer pierced and she'll probably be the only girl in Junior High without earrings because no way is she ever going to want to do it all over.... Until yesterday. We went to Wal-Mart for milk and as we were walking by the jewelry department she starts asking me all kinds of questions about earrings and getting ears pierced, not necessarily her ears, just ears in general. The day goes on and she is still going on about earrings. Finally I say, "Anniston, do you want to get your ears pierced again???" fully expecting a firm "No, thank you." She thought for a moment and said "Yeah". So we hightailed it to Wal-Mart as soon as Alyssa's friend Sarah's dad picked her up after school from our house. The lady, Nell, who was quite old, tried to talk me out of getting it done since she was the only one there and would only be able to do one ear at a time. I looked at her and said, "Look, we've done this before. I know. We aren't going to make a big deal about it but if she wants it done, she will do it." This, after all, is Anniston. And she may not be completely without fear, but she is a girl who knows what she does and does not want and she wanted her ears adorned with little pink heart earrings like all the other Coosada Baptist Preschool 4 year old girls! So she did it. She was the proudest little pierced girl for the rest of the day. She sported her new earrings today at school like a champ. All is good so far, but I think we will wait a few years before changing them out!

15 Things...

15 Things You May Not (or Maybe You Do) Know About Me...

15. I have a severe Diet Coke addiction...seriously, I love the stuff and I drink way too much. If they ever find out definitely that it causes something, I will totally, beyond a shadow of a doubt, have it!

14. I hate the TV or radio to be even the slightest bit loud. I want to be able to hear and that's it- nothing over just audible. I tried as a teenager to be "cool" and blare the music while it honestly just racked my nerves! Just one example of what a nerd I really am, I guess.

13. I am NOT anywhere near as organized as I should be with 3 kids. Its a constant battle with myself to get organized. I like a neat appearance, but please steer clear of my tupperware cabinet and junk drawer- drawers!

12. I throw out/donate my kids toys when they are not home. I've been busted on quite a few items, too. I just can't stand having so much clutter and no where to put it! The latest was a Dora doll I had just gotten rid of that Anniston decided she wanted to play with (after like, 6 months!) and was REALLY upset she couldn't find her. I had to call my mom, who was going to pass it on to my cousins baby, and get her back. Dora is once again resting peacefully safe and sound in the bottom of the closet.

11. I didn't have a big girly wedding. I got married in Jamaica. We didn't elope but it was just the two of us and it was wonderful. Hopefully we will go back in September 2009 to celebrate our 10th anniversary.

10. I love Chelsea Handler (the Chelsea Lately Show on E!). She is crude, probably an alcoholic, but she cracks me up like no one else! My mom recently told me that reading her book "My Horizontal Life, A Book of one Night Stands" wasn't good for my mind/heart. I disagree- the laughs I've gotten from her book are great for my sanity at the end of the day!

9. I don't vote Republican (pick yourself up off the floor....). I'm not saying I would never, I just haven't seen a Republican worth voting for yet. So don't blame Bush's legacy on me....

8. My secret wish is that I could sing. I have zero musical ability- I don't even sing in church for fear the person next to me will hear how tone deaf and off pitch I am!

7. I am lazy. Not all the time, I don't have time to be as lazy as I would like. I usually spend Ayden Claire's nap time either napping myself or wasting time. (If I spent it getting my tupperware organized I wouldn't have a #13)

6. I am great at being a thrifty shopper. I love to find bargains. I found my $110 diaper bag online brand new for $30. See- I wasn't totally wasting time that day...I was saving money!

5. I love to read, would rather read a book than see the movie actually. Once I start a good book, I can't put it down. Further proof of the nerd I am.

4. I haven't worked a day since finishing my college degree. Its a Bachelor of Science in Business and Human Resources, Wes calls it my BS degree... :) One day I may use it but right now I love raising my girls, which requires a lot of Human Resources Management!

3. I LOVE to look at houses. I used to want to be an architect and would beg my mom to buy me a pack of graph paper at the store rather than a pack of stickers. I would draw little house plans, which actually weren't all that bad for a 10 year old. A real treat for me would be a magazine of floor plans! (Yes, not that you needed it, but even more proof of my nerdiness!) I wanted to go to Auburn and be an architect but freaked out when I realized you had to know how to draw the front of the house and the landscaping also for this degree. I can draw lines and squares and put them together but I am no artist, not even by a long shot. So now I amuse myself (waste time) looking at the houses for sale in my area, or any area for that matter. Maybe I should look into Real Estate Agent school when the market improves...

2. I am terrified of death. I think for this reason, I think up crazy illnesses and convince myself I have them. I guess I think if I think of it, it probably won't happen. Seriously, every time I have a little muscle pain I am convinced its the beginning of something serious; heartburn is always an impending heart attack; a headache is really meningitis; dry eyes is retinal cancer; and lets not forget the brain tumor I self diagnosed myself as having when I was about 16 (it must be a very slow growing tumor). I don't mean to make light of any of these conditions, I have felt the fear of having them all!

1. I probably need therapy!

Fellow bloggers....that would be you Jill and Melissa.....go do this on your blog if you would like!

Six Flags

We have talked about going to Six Flags since May. We take the girls most summers. It isn't Disney, but its close and fairly affordable and hey, Wes and I love the Roller Coasters! So Saturday, after the girls game they cheered at, we headed over to Atlanta to stay the night at our friends Chet and Cristy's house and then go to Six Flags on Sunday. We got there around 10:00 Georgia time and crashed the Frazier's house (not really!). Our girls played with their girls, Savanna and Peyton who are such sweet girls. We don't get to see them often enough but it was great to visit for a couple of hours before bedtime. Then we got up Sunday and (finally) found breakfast at a Cracker Barrell and then went to Six Flags. They guy in front of us in line to buy tickets was buying $4000 worth of tickets (no joke, I'm serious, $4000!) so it took forever to get ours! I always pick the wrong line, Murphys Law, right? We did get in the park eventually though and wasted no time getting to the rides. Logistically, we had to work out who would ride what with which kid and who would wait where with Ayden Claire and the stroller. Sounds fun, huh? It really was. Wes got to ride most of the roller coasters and I rode one of the big ones and the smaller one with Alyssa and a kiddie one with both girls. They had a blast. I even got Anniston on the wheelie with me this year! Alyssa chickened out after riding it the past 4 years with me. Ayden Claire was an angel and loved watching her sisters enjoy themselves. One of the highlights of the day was when Alyssa and Anniston got on a ride in Kiddie land and then got right back off before it started. We asked them why they didn't get to ride and they didn't know. Then I heard the employee say there was a snake in the bushes right by the ride! Yeah, we moved on quickly to the other side of the kiddie rides! We made a day of it and were exhausted by the time we left. The kids of course slept the whole way home so that was nice. It was a great little getaway!

Time For Change (Sadly...)

I went to pick up Anniston at school today and we (the parents) were told Mrs. Alison wanted to talk to us before we got our children. My first thought was maybe she needs help with something, or worse, maybe something had happened to someone from the classroom. When I got to the room I saw Anniston's teacher sitting at a table crying and three other parents with watery eyes. My heart sank because I thought something had happened to one of Mrs. Alison boys- she has three and her middle son has battled cancer for quite some time now. Then she said she had taken a job at PCA and would be leaving in a week. I was SO thankful and relieved that her boys were okay but then I realized she was leaving! We have loved Mrs. Alison and she is great with the kids. Our loss is definitely PCA's gain. I told Anniston in the car on the way home, and I don't think that she really understands that she is getting a new teacher- soon. Mrs. Brandy will be taking her place, who works at the preschool already, so I guess its good that it will be a familiar face. I get attatched pretty easily though, and I am attatched to Alison. I guess that is life. People come and go, things change and we have to change and adjust with them. Its not always easy to do. A very good friend of mine told me a couple of weeks ago that she and her family (husband and 4 children) would be moving at the end of the year to be "parents" at a childrens home in Mississippi. Again, I know this is what is best for them right now, but I will miss them terribly! Sidney and Hutson are dear friends to Alyssa and Anniston. We will adjust, but we will sure miss these people who were put in our lives and touched our family!

Queen For A Day

Today was Homecoming for the city league Alyssa and Anniston cheer for, complete with the cheerleaders serving as Homecoming Court and of course, a Queen had to be chosen. Much of practice this past week was spent trying to get the four squads to vote for a queen and 1st and 2nd runner ups from each squad. Sound confusing? It looked confusing! Anyway, I asked Alyssa who she had voted for on her squad and she said, "Sara Grace, Carly, and Peyton."
"You mean you didn't vote for yourself?" I was a little surprised...don't pretend like you wouldn't have voted for yourself!
"No Mom. Its rude to vote for yourself."
Oh. Okay.
Well, today was the Big Day and Wes escorted both of our little cheer princesses across the football field, which was so sweet in itself. And then they announced the 2nd runner up. "Alayna...." And the 1st runner up. "Ansley..."
"And the 2008 Millbrook Junior Mustangs Homecoming Queen is....Alyssa Kelley"
She was more embarrassed than excited. I was proud of her, after all, her friends thought she was a sweet enough girl to vote for her...hopefully thats what they thought. I want her to take it with the grain of salt she seems to be taking it with...because I know there are much bigger accomplishments to come and I don't want ever want her to think she is somehow "better" than someone else. We all have our gifts and talents and we are all different. She hopefully is learning how to be a gracious loser and an even more gracious winner. I think she is a pretty grounded girl, so I am letting her enjoy being Homecoming Queen for a day...