Firsts

Taken from The Glamorous Life.

First memory: Being dropped off at the babysitter's and I had to poop, but I didn't know the lady well enough to get my hiney wiped. I remember the bathroom, but not sure what happened after that.

First celebrity obsession crush: Corey Feldman - Such a shame he turned into such a weirdo.

First dog: Strider - A doberman mix

First cat: Poppy

First memory of being jealous: I'm not sure. I'm sure it had something to do with a boy liking someone besides me.

First ‘boy friend’: Jordan Norman in 6th grade. I remember holding hands in chapel and covering it up so no one would see.

First kiss: Jason Elliot a week or so before my 15th birthday. It was nasty.

First date: Movies at Tamara's house with the above nasty kisser. (Fifel Goes West. ha ha)

First sleepover: I was always having friends over and it started in 1st grade. Kerry Sewell would have been my first friend to stay over.

First time attending Sunday School: um, as a baby

First roller coaster ride: American Scream Machine at 6 Flags over Georgia

First favorite brand name: I think Guess, but I didn't have any of their jeans.

First pair of legwarmers: Never!

First huge misunderstanding: 6th grade at our class lock-in. My BFFs got mad at me for hanging out with other people (?!?!) and we were mad at each other through 6th grade graduation.

First cell phone: I honestly don't remember. I remember my mom getting one, but not mine.

First computer: An HP in 1997.

First huge disappointment: I'm sure it happened 6th grade year. That was an emotional turmoil of a year.

First Regret: Not going away for college

First big family vacation: We went to the beach a lot growing up. Probably the first really big trip though with my parents was to Disney a couple of years ago.

First trip to Europe: Hasn't happened yet.

First heartbreak: ohhhh, Robert, Robert, Robert.

First stay in the hospital: 2002 when Peyton was born

First car: Baby Blue Toyota Corolla hatchback. But it had a sunroof!

First license: On my 16th Birthday. The emergency brake didn't work, so we had to take it to the shop first.

First Convertible: Larry's Volvo C70 in midnight blue.

First ‘mom’ car: Ford Explorer

First time on an ATC/Quad: Probably when I was 15 or so?

First job: A gift wrapper for the holidays

First paycheck: see above, or the numerous baby-sitting jobs beforehand

First apartment: in Montgomery. Taylor Crossing apartments, I think.

First house: in Coral Springs, the one we are in now.

First husband: Larry and only

Halloween

The boys both went as Ninjas for Halloween because they could get swords, but of course by the time Halloween rolled around, Pyton's sword was broken so they had to share Shey's. Oh well. We still had a lot of fun as always. Shey was so in to trick or treating this year and ran right up to every house, even the scary houses. Peyton started off as the moody want-to-be teenager he is, but eventually got into the spirit as well.

Halloween Fun

First you take a pumpkin and you cut it, you cut it, you cut it, cut it, cut it.



The you scoop it, you scoop it, you scoop it, scoop it, scoop it.



The you carve it, you carve it, you carve it, carve it, carve it.



Jack o, Jack o Lantern, Jack o!



Jack o, Jack o Lantern, Jack o!

A Brief Synopsis of the Weekend

Saly Dogs. that that that.(in green).

Leaving on a Jet Plane

In a few hours, Shey and I will be boarding a plane heading to the old homestead. My parents will get the pleasure of watching the little guy, while I get some quality time in with my best girl, Tamara.

After the past three weeks that I have had, which contained some of the worst days of my life, I am definitely looking forward to a break and a getaway.

We'll be attending our high school football game which should be a pretty surreal experience. I look at myself in the mirror and don't think I look any different, but I know once I step on that campus and see the youngin's running around, I will feel every bit of my 32 years.

I can't really say that my high school years were terrible, but then again, I've blocked a good deal of that time out, so who knows for sure. ha I do remember a lot of good times though, chorus trips, football games, playing volleyball and just hanging out. It will be strange to not recognize the players on the field and the kids filling up the bleachers. Thankfully, with a school as small as ours, most of the teachers should still be there and we'll have someone to sit with. ha ha

Now, what do I wear . . .

Relaxing Weekend

Tuesday is Larry's birthday, so Saturday was dubbed his day. His parents had the boys, so we slept in Saturday morning, then went and played a round of golf. Before you get the wrong idea, this was only the second complete round of golf that I have ever played, but it was his day, so that's what we did. We had a really great time though and it was a much needed relaxing day. We even both parred on the same hole!

Sunday, we went to a friend's house who lives on a lake and they have their own little section of "beach" with a big dock. The boys love it there and ran around all afternoon long. There were a few other couples there and two of them had new babies. It was a bit bittersweet. I did hold this darling three month old little girl until she snuggled in and went to sleep and I think that pretty much sealed the deal that I do want to try for another one.

I got some good pictures too from my new camera . . .

Pumpkin Patch

Living in South Florida, we don't have real pumpkin patches, but we do have nice churches who set up pumpkins in their yards with hay and scarecrows for the kids to visit. Tuesday was Shey's first field trip to the pumpkin patch and I was able to go along. The kids had a great time.







On another note, for those of you who have been following my cryptic messages on Facebook, here's the short story.

My cycles have been getting increasingly wacky and last week I took a pregnancy test in order to call my doctor and tell him I needed some medication to bring on Aunt Flo. Well, low and behold, the test came back positive, faint, but there. I was in shock because while we weren't really protecting against, we weren't trying either and it took us a while to get pregnant with both the boys. I tested again a couple of days later and the line was still light, really light. I went in for a blood test and it came back positive, but just barely and my estrogen was high. I went back yesterday to test again, but last night I finally got my period. It seems I had a chemical pregnancy, and I am guessing that the egg never implanted.

What a roller coaster, from shock to excitement to extreme dissapointment. Like all heartaches, this is one you can't really understand till it happens to you. I'm kinda numb now and also thankful that I wasn't any farther along. I wouldn't wish that on anybody.

So now we are left with the decision to go forward full blown, or to back off. Or I guess we could just go with the flow like we were, but that was a bit nerve wracking. If I am going to go forward, I would like it to happen before my birthday in April, which would put the baby 6 years behind Shey! Crazy! I don't think I'd want them to be any farther apart.

So there's that. Thank you all for your prayers, from the friends who knew and from the friends who didn't. I am so blessed to have such a wonderful support staff and I love you all.

A Local Family Needs Help

This just breaks my heart. I know times are tough, but if you have any extra money around, this family could use it. For the Love of Joshua.

Joshua was born 9 weeks premature and because of it, he has severe brain damage, epilepsy, cerebral palsy, and blindness. The school where Joshua's older brother attends is having a craft fair for the family with all the proceeds going towards a new treatment that has a 60% chance of helping reverse his brain damage. The treatment is $8,000.00 and they need $3,000.00 more. A lady I work with knows the family, so it is a true story.

I can't even imagine.

Fridays

Fridays just feel different. There is an air of excitement for the upcoming weekend. An air of anticipation of not waking up and having to be somewhere. A sense of accomplishment of finishing another week. A relief as things kinda wind down and slow down. A little extra time for lunch. A phone call with a friend. A little more office chat than normal.

Glorious, Glorious Friday.

At a Loss

This morning, I asked Shey to get dressed and rather than politely asking, "Mom, please pause my show so that I may do your wishes," he decided to scream no and bury himself under the covers. My response to that was to grab the remote, turn the TV off and go into my bathroom to finish getting ready. This led to 15 minutes of whining and crying and carrying on and no TV watching while Shey tried to negotiate his getting dressed. By the time he realized I was not giving in and his clothes were on his person, his show was off. So sad, too bad.

This though, of course, led to more blubbering until I corralled him out the door, into the car and off to school.

I would like to think that Shey learned something this morning, but I have a feeling that this is not the case and his 4 almost 5 year old brain will forget the lesson rather quickly and we will be repeating this again.

Mix Tape - Cont.

Add

Born Again - Third Day

Mix Tape

I was listening to Lifesong by Casting Crowns on the way home and started thinking about songs I would put on a mix tape to take to that deserted island that I could never leave and had to listen to over and over again. These are all Christian contemporary/rock/pop, I guess, I'm not good at classifications. Also, I like music I can sing along with and in the car with Way FM blasting is probably the best time of worship for me. So, here they are.

Praise You in this Storm - Casting Crowns
Stained Glass Masquerade - Casting Crowns
(Actually, the whole Lifesong CD is amazing, but I will stop with these two)
Yahweh - Need to Breathe
Amazing Grace - Chris Tomlin
This is Your Life - Switchfoot
Diverse City - Tobymac
By Your Side - Tenth Avenue North
Mighty to Save - Hillsong
Indescribable - Chris Tomlin
Looks Like Love - Need to Breathe
Revelation - Third Day
Stand in the Rain - Superchicks

That's a good start for now. Leave me your faves in the comment section.

A New Read and Our Rocking Church

I've really enjoyed reading Pastor Ryan's blog the past few months. He doesn't look like your conventional pastor, but his love of the Lord shines through and his messages are always heartfelt. This recent entry on discontent really struck me. Who hasn't been here or is living there now?

And here is our rocking church and one of the reasons I love it so much. "Dead and Gone" What better way to reach people than give them something they know and turn it into a lesson about dying to sin?

Forces to Be Reckoned With

This is how Larry and I knew we were meant to be together:

2009 Hurricane Names
Ana
Bill
Claudette
Danny
Erika
Fred
Grace
Henri
Ida
Joaquin
Kate
Larry
Mindy
Nicholas
Odette
Peter
Rose
Sam
Teresa
Victor
Wanda


Edited to add: I'm Unpredictible! Tropical Storm Erika getting harder to track

September Shred

Sometimes I really don't know what I am thinking. I followed some links to a new blog and now all the sudden I am participating in the Jillian Michaels 30-day Shred for 30 days with a bunch of women. We can be found here.

If anyone wants to join the madness with me, please jump in! I'm going to need all the support I can get.

Ode to the Foundation Brush

Oh, Foundation Brush!
How I have under appreciated your awesomeness all these years.
Thinking you were simply a paint brush for schlacking foundation
Upon One's face.
Never realizing that you are really a great tool of smoothness,
a master of creaminess and a cannot live without arsenal of Perfection.

Thank you, kind, kind, Estee' Lauder artist.
Thank you for your patience with my children
And the introduction of the Holy Grail of
Make-up.
I am forever in your debt.

Second Grade

Oh, Second Grade! You are so big all of the sudden. So independent. No mothers needed in the classroom. You are responsible for writing your homework down and making sure it is completed. You think you need me until you see your friends and then off you go.

Your teacher seems nice, Second Grade, but I don't think she will take any nonsense. She keeps talking about procedures and I'm beginning to wonder if you will actually be obtaining your medical degree this year, which would be cool cause mamma needs new shoes.

And speaking of shoes, we've discussed the size of yours previously. Stop growing, Second Grade!

When I took your photo this morning in front of the door like all other years, the change in you from last year was amazing.



Second Grade, you are turning into a little man and I am so proud of you.

Edited to add: For comparison, here he is first day of kindergarten.

The Wedding

So, Saturday I was able to check a life experience off of my list that I didn't even know had been there before: Officiate a Wedding.

That really sounds weird. In the great State of Florida, all one needs to legally join a man and woman in marriage is to be a notary public and I just happen to be one. My boss, Jim, and his fiance' asked me about a month or so to do the honors and I happily accepted.

If you remember, Jim went in for routine hip surgery last April and almost died, so it is a miracle that he is around, much less getting married. I've worked for the same company for almost 10 years and Jim and I have gotten close over the years. I always joke that he is my Florida dad and his fiance', Linda, is just great. She is so much fun and loves life.

To say I was honored that they asked me to marry them would be an understatement. I just didn't want to cry through the whole thing. I was really happy with how the ceremony turned out. I nearly lost it in the beginning, but pulled it together and made it through without any more almost hysterics. haha

Everyone was so complimentary afterwards. It was cool that they actually seemed to pay attention. I kept the actual ceremony to about 10 minutes, so it was long enough to have some meaning, but not too long and everyone, including the bride and groom thought it was perfect timing.

We had a great party/reception afterwards and my feet still hurt from dancing so much.

Cheers to the happy couple!

My Child, The Giant

I know I have commented before on how tall Peyton is growing, but it is starting to get out of hand. I took him Sunday afternoon to buy some new flip flops as the rubber sole had separated from his continuous foot dragging. We went into the store and I asked the salesman for kids' sizes and he advised that the store didn't really carry that many. So, I took a shot and said what's the smallest men's size do you have?

He thought for a moment and said, I think we have some 5's.

I had just bought Peyton some 4.5 tennis shoes the week before for school, so I thought the 5 would probably work. We started getting out the 5's, but the band was a little tight across his foot, so I pulled down a 6.

A 6!

It fit. He did have some room to grow, but they really didn't look that big on him.

My foot can fit in his flip flop now and I do not have small feet for a woman. I normally wear a 8.5 or 9. Granted, my feet just fit, but the do fit.

I can wear my 7 year old's flip flops.

The kid is going to be towering over me before I know it.

The Things Kids Say

A few weeks ago, some friends of ours kept the boys while Larry and I attended the Rascall Flatts concert. When we picked them up the next morning, our friend Jeff regaled us with the following story.

He said the boys had been upstairs playing, and he was sitting on the couch minding his own business when Peyton wandered down the stairs. Out of nowhere, Peyton looked at Jeff and said, "Jeff, do you ever feel alone." Jeff, quite taken aback by the seriousness of the question and thinking he and Peyton were about to engage in a deep philosophical discussion, thought carefully and replied, "Well, Peyton, yes. Sometimes I do feel alone. Do you?"

Peyton shrugged and said, "No, not really." and then the conversation was over and he went back to playing.

Along a similar vein of discussions out of nowhere, Shey's teacher stopped me the other morning to fill me in on Shey's random thoughts. She said they were in the middle of a lesson when Shey raised his hand and asked very politely, "May I say something?" His teacher replied, "Of course." and Shey responded with, "Our cat ate our fish."

Had the class been talking about cats or fish? nooooooo
Did our cat eat our fish? nooooooooo

Shey's teacher looked at him and asked, "well, how did that make you feel?"
Shey answered, "I don't like the cats anymore."

Well, ok then.