Blessed Lane

Mover and Shaker

2012-02-10T05:53:00.000-06:00

Finn is mobile. Life as we know it is forever changed. No crumb on the floor is safe. And he has a special affinity for power cords, which makes his momma a nervous wreck. He also obviously has no fear of tight places or the dark. I looked up the other day to find this.

That’s an ottoman. And my baby’s hand.

My baby’s legs and those cords he likes so much… Fortunately, the cords are around his legs and not in his mouth.

Gotcha!

And if that’s not enough cuteness, here he is getting his crawl on…

Just In Case...

2012-02-06T10:42:00.000-06:00

Just in case you were wondering what's going on around here... Or in case you wondered what texts look like after you been married for almost thirteen years, here you go...

You're welcome.

Favorite Things

2012-01-31T12:24:00.003-06:00

A few months ago, Nester did a link up for everyone to post their favorite things under $30. I loved reading through everyone’s favorite things! Of course, I couldn’t get it together to post my favorite things then. But here are mine now. A day late and a dollar short, story of my life… And a note to the moms in my MOPS group, you might see some of these coming up in May at our MOPS Favorite Things meeting! Or I might have new favorite things by then!

1. Burt’s Bees Lip Shimmer in Caramel

This is the perfect cross between lip balm and lipstick. I wear it as lip balm when I am going sans make-up, so I don’t look dead, and I wear it as lipstick when I am wearing make-up. It has a slight minty tingle to it, which I love. And for under $5? Sold!

2. and 3. A duo of Garnier hair products… One for when I wear my hair curly and one for when I wear it straight…

I hate crunchy hair. But, if I don’t put product (and lots of it!) in my hair when I wear it curly, it is majorly frizzy. Which I hate about as much as crunchy hair. I found Wonder Waves at CVS and thought I would try it out. It’s perfect for what I need: curl control and no crispy hair.

And then there’s the straight side. I have high-maintenance hair if you can’t tell. I use this Sleek & Shine Flat Iron Perfector after I’ve dried my hair with a round brush and before I use the flat iron. It really helps my hair stay straight until I wash it again, which is something that does not happen if I don’t use it. Plus, it smells nice, which is always a bonus. And it’s cheap. Another bonus!

4. Sharpie Pens

I love a good writing utensil. This is evidenced by the fact that I have had the same mechanical pencil for almost 10 years. It has been with me through three jobs and 4 years as a stay at home mom. I panic when I can’t find my pencil. So, that’s my obvious choice for pencil, but the Sharpie is my choice for pen. They write super smooth and don’t bleed through. I heart these pens.

5. Gloria Jean’s Butter Toffee K-Cups

I am a fan of coffee, in general. I am also a fan of the Keurig, but that’s not under $30. :) My favorite k-cup is Gloria Jean’s Butter Toffee, hands down. I have gone through boxes of these, and I have yet to grow tired of them. Good stuff.

6. Birchbox

I love samples! I love to try new products, but not be tied down to a full-size in case I really hate them. Birchbox is a subscription service that for $10 a month will send you a box full of sample goodies. This month I got that really cute Zoya nail polish that you see up there and that Algenist face cream is the bomb! And they are not stingy at all with the sizes. I’ve been using that face cream twice a day for well over a week now. You can also order full-size versions of any of the samples you get on the Birchbox website (although I will not be getting any of the Algenist face cream since it is $94! Yikes! I’ll be using my sample a little more sparingly now) and earn points to be put toward free products. You can also earn points just by telling them what you think of the samples. For every 100 points, you get $10. It adds up fast!

7. Sonic Happy Hour

I have a soft spot for Sonic. Their fountain drinks are second to none. I’m especially fond of the Cherry Vanilla Diet Coke. And at Happy Hour, you can get a Route 44 for like $1. ‘Nough said.

8. Nutella

I, for years, thought I did not like Nutella. Don’t ask me why. I think I might have somehow in my mind linked Nutella with Vegamite. Two things could not be further apart on the taste scale. If you’ve never tried Vegamite, please don’t. Trust me. But if you’ve never tried Nutella, please do. I can eat this by the spoonful. And if you mix it with a little peanut butter, then you are speaking my love language.

9. Friday Night Lights

Technically, this is not under $30. But, if you buy each season individually, it counts. So, that’s what I’m going with.
Again, like with Nutella, I was late to the Friday Night Lights party. Burge and I watched all 5 seasons last summer, and there has never been a television show that has affected me more. I felt like I lived it with them. I was torn up when we finished the finale. And I would watch it all over again right now. It’s that good. There is not a week that goes by that I don’t find some way to work it into conversation. Clear eyes, full hearts, can’t lose. True ‘dat.

10. Hunger Games Trilogy

I just read these over Christmas. As in, I read all three the week before Christmas. And then Burge read them the week after I finished them. These are so good. But not in a feel-good, all-is-right-with-the-world kinda way. More like disturbing, can’t-look-away-from-a-train-wreck kinda way. I will say, if I had written them (yeah, right!), I would have ended Mockingjay differently. But that doesn’t diminish how good the rest of them are.
So, there you go. Those are ten of my favorite things. Sound off with your favorites so I can check them out!

Girls’ Day Out and Mood Swings

2012-01-24T08:42:00.000-06:00

Saturday, Abby and I got to spend the morning out, just the two of us. We went to Merle Norman, and both of us got make-overs. Then we headed to Rome to Toys ‘R Us for Abby to spend a gift card she had gotten for her birthday. It was there that I realized that I am raising possibly the most indecisive person on the planet. I am not exaggerating when I say she looked at every girl toy at least twice. And picked them all up and looked them over and played with them. And then started all over again. This might not bode well for future shopping trips for us. I might need to start some kind of shopping training program because I need my shopping buddy. But I also need the shred of sanity I've been able to hold onto.

After the 42 hours we spent at the toy store, I was in desperate need of a caffeine fix, so we headed to Starbucks. Abby thought she was hot stuff because I let her have a hot chocolate with extra whipped cream.

And then we headed to Sam’s, where we ate lunch off of all the free samples. Because that’s how we roll. How redneck is that? Hitting up the local Sam’s club for the free food samples… But I’m here to tell you, there is nothing that thrills an 8 year old little girl’s heart more than a day filled with make-up, toys, Starbuck’s and free food. Come to think of it, that’s pretty thrilling for a 34 year old, too.

On the way home, Abby told me thank you for the hot chocolate and that she loved spending time alone with me. It was pretty much a perfect mommy day.

Fast forward to yesterday morning. That same sweet little girl was copping an attitude like nobody’s business. Everything I asked her to do, she argued about. I finally had to send her to her room to adjust her attitude after I realized that I had been arguing for 10 minutes with an 8 year old over why she couldn’t use the iPad.

Last night, she was back to her sweet little self. Mood swings. At 8. Those teen years are going to be a doozy, I think.

Déjà Vu

2012-01-20T08:56:00.000-06:00

It’s like déjà vu all over again here. This week has been eerily similar to last week, only without the National Championship.
The week started out with me, Grayson, and Finn sick. The week is ending with me, Grayson, and Finn almost recovered, but still sniffly, Burge sick, and Abby fighting it with all she’s got. Really, Abby should be immune to just about everything since she spends the majority of her day in the cesspool of germs known as the public school system.
We have bought stock in some Kleenex this week, and let me add, Kleenex Cool Touch are a blessing from the Lord for the sore nose. I don’t understand the science behind them, but really, they are a joy.
So once again, I have spent a lot of time in this house. Days on end. Only leaving to take Abby to school and pick her up. And quite honestly, I think it may be working against us at this point. I think we are all just breathing in the same germ-infested air. We’re just recycling the germs. I see a major air-out in our near future.
The plus side to staying home is that we are finally tackling the nap situation with Finn. The situation being that he wouldn’t take one unless someone was holding him. There have been a lot of tears (both Finn’s and mine), but he has napped in his crib every day this week. And because of that, my laundry is caught up and I am caught up with my Bible study (both Sunday School and Beth Moore!) I thought as I was putting away laundry yesterday that I had forgotten how much you could get done when your kids will actually sleep in their beds!
In addition to my Bible study, I also got some much needed cleaning out done. Just small jobs, but it’s a step in the right direction. Rome wasn’t built in a day and all.
This pretty much sums up the boys’ week…

Grayson… what a ham!
Have a great weekend!

7 Months

2012-01-18T08:46:00.000-06:00

Finn, you turned 7 months old on Sunday! And what a joy these seven months have been!
You weigh about 21 pounds. You wear some 9 months clothes and some 12 month clothes and a size 3 diaper. You love baby food, especially fruit, but you will eat anything if it has a little applesauce mixed in with it. You love your bottle, and I think we might have a hard time getting you off of it. You are not a big fan of juice. You would rather have milk or nothing at all.
You babble all the time! “Dada” is your favorite phrase, although you say it pretty indiscriminately right now. You love your brother and sister. You are happy as a clam just sitting and watching them play. And you are over the moon if they stop and talk to you!

You will sit and play with your toys for a good while. You so desperately want to crawl, but you just can’t figure out how to go forward. So, you roll and scoot backwards to get where you want to go.

You are a drool machine! Everything you can get your hands on goes in your mouth. Although you still don’t have any teeth to show for all that yet!
You sleep through the night like a champ, but naps are a different story. We are working on that though! And I’m sure we will find the schedule that works for you (and me!) very soon.
You are so very loved by all of us! It is such a blessing to get to watch you grow each day!

Highs and Lows

2012-01-16T08:35:00.000-06:00

This week was full of highs and lows.
High: Alabama won their 14th National Championship! And I watched the whole thing! One of my many quirks is not being able to sit and watch a really close ballgame. But I had pretty much convinced myself that the Tide wasn’t going to win (I know, I know, oh me of little faith), so I had kind of detached myself from the situation. And imagine my glee when they not only won, but completely shut out LSU!
Low: Grayson came down with strep throat on Wednesday. Finn’s nose started running on Friday. My sinuses went cuckoo on Saturday. Burge and Abby better watch out. Their health is a ticking time-bomb at this point.
High: Finn turned 7 months old on Sunday. Snotty nose and all…
Low: I did not leave the house except to take Abby to school and pick her up from school from Tuesday until Friday. And let me assure you, that was quite evident by my appearance.
High: We got some long-awaited projects completed and jump-started my plans to redo our master bedroom. Because I am nothing if not trendy, we are going with a gray and yellow color palette.
This is the bedding I’ve picked out from Overstock.com…

And I like these fabrics for drapes, accent pillows, etc…

So, there’s our week in a nutshell. At least it started on a high and ended on a somewhat sickly high.

Bath Baby

2012-01-13T13:08:00.000-06:00

Last week we moved Finn’s bath from the baby bathtub to the big tub in the kids' bathroom. It was time. When I put him in the baby tub, he took up so much room, there was very little left for the bathwater. :)

At first, he couldn’t figure out why he was sitting in water, rather than laying in his little tub.

But it only took him a moment to figure out how to splash!

And how to voraciously go after the wet washcloth. Heaven help us if the child ever actually gets a tooth!

He loves baths! He would happily stay in the tub as long as I would let him.

Out of the Mouth of Grayson

2012-01-11T06:15:00.000-06:00

Grayson reads destructions, not instructions.
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Grayson was supposed to be napping in our bed one day, and I let him watch cartoons until he fell asleep. I went in to check on him, and he was still awake. I asked him if he wasn’t going to go to sleep, and he replied, “I tried, Momma, but if I close my eyes, I can’t see the TV!” Certainly can’t argue with that logic.

The other day, Abby mentioned something about losing her voice. Grayson misunderstood her and said, “No, Abby, you can’t lose your boys. You’re a girl, you lose your girls. I’m a boy, I lose my boys.” Allllllll-righty, then.
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Grayson asked for a piece of candy, and then immediately said “Never mind, I don’t want to by hoppy.” Ummm, excuse me? “I don’t want to be hoppy, that scares me.” Gray, do you mean hyper? “Yeah, I don’t want to be hopper.”

One of Grayson’s favorite words right now is “actulutely”… a mash-up of actually and absolutely. He uses it in place of either word. “You are actulutely right, Momma.” “Actulutely, I already picked up my room, Momma.”
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He asked me if I had a “Haddukah”. After much discussion, I realized he meant Hannukah, which led to an impromptu lesson on Jewish customs. He went around the rest of the day saying, “I’m not Jewish, but I can still say Hannukah.” Thank you, Special Agent Oso.

Perusing Pinterest

2012-01-09T05:45:00.003-06:00

I big, fat, puffy heart Pinterest! There are so many awesome ideas in one place! I think some time I will do a whole week of cooking nothing but recipes I find on Pinterest. I think that’s totally doable. One night this past week, I made two recipes I found on there in one day.

First off, for supper I made this fried rice.

Pinned here.

Of course, I didn’t follow the recipe exactly. I did not have any sesame oil, so I just used canola. I also didn’t add onions because the kids don’t like them, and I added chicken because this was our main dish.

The verdict? It was a HUGE hit! Everyone liked it and cleaned their plates! We even had it as leftovers the next night and plates were all cleaned then as well. In other words, this is so good and so easy! It will definitely join in our menu rotation. Next time, I think I’ll add a little broccoli and water chestnuts to up the veggies a bit. I know those aren’t traditional fried rice ingredients, but that’s okay. I’m a rebel.

Next up, I made a Weight Watchers lemon cake. I pinned this recipe a while back, and knew immediately that I wanted to try it. It has only three ingredients: lemon cake mix, diet 7-up and whipped topping.

Here’s the pin…

And here’s how it turned out…

I am not exaggerating when I say that Abby and Grayson licked their plates clean. Yeah, they have awesome table manners. Who wants to go out to eat with us? Anybody? But, really, this is pretty tasty to be diet food and have only 3 ingredients. And to only have 100 calories per piece. And to not be chocolate. Because chocolate is the ultimate in tasty, but unfortunately, it’s not a part of our diet plan right now.

Anyway, enough about chocolate. We ate the whole cake within the week. Grayson cried when I would not let him have a second piece. That is a pretty glowing recommendation. It’s good.

Two recipes, two enthusiastic thumbs up! You are on Pinterest, right?

The Many Faces of Finn

2012-01-05T06:01:00.002-06:00

The look of bewilderment…

The “Charlie Brown” look…

The “whistle while you work” look…

The look of surprise…

The “who are these yahoos? I share the spotlight with no one” look…

The “Why are you still taking my picture?” look…

The look of wonder…

The “why can I only go backward?” look…

And finally, the “lookie what I can get in mouth!” look…

2012

2012-01-03T06:58:00.003-06:00

I like to set goals for myself each year. I looked back and discovered I had not posted any goals for 2011, but I’m pretty sure the only one I had was to carry and deliver a healthy baby. And yeah, by the grace of God, that was a success.

I do have some goals for 2012. In list form…

1. Get back to my pre-Finn size. I think 6 months is probably as long as I can milk the “I just had a baby” excuse. Also included in this is to drink more water, cut out soda (or at least cut way back) and stay on track with the elliptical.

2. Get rid of a lot of junk. This may sound vague, because it is, well, vague. But, I have a lot of stuff. And I need to get rid of a lot of stuff. We have lived in this house for ten years. You can accumulate a lot of stuff in ten years. Especially when you also accumulate three kids during that time. I don’t know that I will ever get to the point where I have de-cluttered all I want to. But I intend to make some serious head-way this year.

3. Take a picture a day. And, yes, I would love to print them and put them into some kind of album, but that seems like a lofty goal for me since I’ve well over a year behind on our scrapbooks. So the goal is just to take at least one picture every day.

4. Read at least 12 books. A book a month. I have a stack of books waiting to be read and an iPad full of them. I think I can surpass this, but I like to set expectations low. See #3 for further proof of this.

5. Affirm my children more. I like to think my kids know that I love them, that I’m thankful for them, that I’m proud of them. And I’m sure they do, but they need to hear it too. Often. I want Abby to know that she is a beautiful girl, inside and out, because I know at some point, some bozo is going to tell her otherwise and I don’t want her to doubt herself. I want Grayson to know that he is an awesome kid because someday some bully is going to tease him and I want him to be confident enough in himself to stand up to him. And I want sweet Finn to know that he is exactly the child God wanted him to be and be proud of it.

6. Be intentional. In everything. What I say. What I commit to. How I spend my time.

7. Get deeper in the Word. Because that’s the key to the success of #5 and #6. It’s the key to success. Period.

So there you go…my goals for 2012. I hope I can look back on this list at the beginning of 2013 and have done all seven of these things. Or at least most of them. Or at least attempted all of them. Or most of them. Low expectations…

I'm sharing my goals for the new year over at Hollywood Housewife.

Christmas 2011

2012-01-01T17:02:00.002-06:00

We always have a very low-key Christmas around here. We don’t have family that we visit out of town, so usually we just hang out at home and then have lunch on Christmas day at my parents’ house. This year was no different.

And because I’ve come to realize that every family does Christmas just a little different, let me explain how we do it. The kids ask Santa for two or three things they would most like, and then Burge and I give them surprises. Santa does not wrap his gifts, but Mom and Dad do. That way, they get the best of both worlds… they get the joy of waking up to new toys already out of the packages, ready to play with and the joy of unwrapping things that they didn’t know they were getting.

Grayson asked Santa for a Nintendo DS, some games and an Optimus Prime Fire Station. And, for the record, I have no idea why his shirt is pulled up. Maybe he got hot while he was sleeping? I don’t know.

Abby asked for a “Nook in color”, some books and games on the Nook, and a Lalaloopsy Silly Hair doll. She is currently trying to build a Lalaloopsy family. She got a Toys ‘R Us gift card for her birthday, and is constantly hounding me to take her, so she can add another member to the family.

And Finn was just glad to be there. Santa brought him an activity walker and a racetrack. Santa failed to test the racetrack when he set it up the night before because he was afraid the noise would wake the kids. This was unfortunate because the racetrack, while it had sound, did not actually move. Christmas fail. This sent Santa into a Christmas day frenzy because he could not remember where exactly he purchased the racetrack, and was really afraid that he might have ordered it from Amazon. And the thought of having to return something to Amazon made him break out in a sweat in his jolly red suit. Fortunately he ordered it from K-Mart, and the day after Christmas, a replacement racetrack was secured.

In what will come as a shock to no one who knows Grayson, Santa brought him a Superhero Squad game for his new blue DS.

And he loaded Abby’s new Nook with Angry Birds and Nancy Drew. And we didn’t see or hear from Abby for the rest of the day.

Santa gave Finn some little animals in his stocking that are perfect for putting into a teething baby’s mouth. Apparently, the rhino is saying something shocking to him.

The fire station that we have all heard about non-stop since October. He carried around a toy catalog for months, telling anyone who would listen that Santa was going to bring him this for Christmas.

Thank goodness, Finn’s walker was completely operational.

Clearly, this was not Abby’s favorite gift.

Iron Man!

And now, a Christmas story in pictures. I like to call it “All I Want for Christmas is to Eat a Bow”, starring Finn Lane.

“Oh, what is that?”

“Shiny! I wonder how it tastes…”

“Nom, nom, nom.”

“Pmpth! I’ve had better.”

Craftiness, Part 1

2011-09-19T10:59:00.002-05:00

Last week, I had an itch to make something. Something I could start and complete in one sitting. That’s huge for me right now. With a three month old (and a three year old and a seven year old), I can start a lot of things, but completing ~~something~~ anything is a whole ‘nother story.

Anyway, we have a little table and mirror in our foyer that I’ve always thought needed a little something extra on it. So, I figured a wreath would do the trick. But could I easily make a wreath in one sitting?

Enter Pinterest, also known as “The Biggest Time Suck in My Life Right Now”. I searched for wreaths, and sure enough, in a matter of seconds, I came across this little ditty.

Image from Pinterest

Surely, I could handle that.

A trip to Hobby Lobby and roughly thirty minutes later, this is what I came up with…

The most noticeable differences (other than it really looks nothing like the original) are: It’s red, it’s not as full as the inspiration one, and it’s not nearly as neat.

There’s a good reason for that. Try as I might, I could not get my strips of ribbon close enough together for the white foam to not show through. So, I made the executive decision to wrap the foam in the ribbon first. I did not take that extra yardage into consideration when buying the ribbon, therefore it’s not as full as it could be. I’ll take less fullness over white showing through any day. Lesser of two evils in my opinion. And as far as the neatness goes… Well, that’s a pretty good representation of my life, so I just left it like that.

Anyway, for thirty minutes of my time and $12, I’m pretty happy with it. I think it’s a nice compliment to our Alabama helmet that resides on that table. Here’s a picture of the whole set-up. Incidentally, it’s very difficult to take a picture of a mirror without showing up in the mirror, but it can be done.

The Lazy Days of Summer

2011-08-02T22:54:00.002-05:00

Wow, is it August already? And does school really start back next week? Craziness! Where did the summer go?

Well, I have some idea where it went.

We’ve watched some reality TV. While I am slightly embarrassed to admit to watching CMT, I am loving Sweet Home Alabama and Texas Women. Neither are exactly rocket science, but they make for some great 4 A.M. viewings while feeding a baby. And then of course, there have been the old favorites, Food Network Star (Go Vic!), Celebrity Rehab, The Bachelorette (Woo-hoo, JP!) and Teen Mom. And why exactly I would be embarrassed to admit that I’ve been watching CMT, but not embarrassed to publish this laundry list of bad reality shows that I happily watch, even DVR to be certain I don’t miss anything, I’m not sure. But that’s just how I roll. The reality shows? They just suck me in.

We’ve gotten hooked on Friday Night Lights on Netflix. We are currently deep into season two, and let me just say… BEST. SHOW. EVER. MADE. Seriously. I want to be friends with Eric and Tammy Taylor. I think they would be awesome to hang out with and play Catchphrase. And I want to pull Tim Riggins aside and tell him that he really needs to learn to like himself a little more. He has so much potential. Same thing with Tyra Collette. Wasted potential. And is it just me or does Landry look a lot like Maci’s boyfriend, Kyle on Teen Mom? Or maybe I just watch too much TV. In my defense, I have spent a lot of time on the couch this summer. But for good reason.

Because I birthed this awesomely sweet baby boy in June.

Finn’s young life, as captured by my iPhone…

Day 1

Week 1

Week 2…sporting the “Old Man forehead”

Week 3

Week 4

Week 5

And all 3 kids in week 6…

Take 1…

Take 2…

Third times a charm…

So, yeah. I guess I do know where the summer’s gone. And I’ve been kinda busy…

36 Weeks

2011-06-03T07:14:00.002-05:00

Pregnancy Highlights

How Far Along: 36 Weeks…Let the countdown commence! 12 days and counting until eviction day!

Size of baby: 6 lbs and 18 1/2 inches long. Okay, let’s face it… If history repeats itself, my baby surpassed the six pound mark a few weeks ago. But we’ll go with what the books say.

Maternity Clothes: Yep, except for stretchy pants and t-shirts, and t-shirts are getting a big snug.

Gender: Boy! John Finley Lane, AKA Finn

Movement: He’s still pretty active, in an almost uncomfortable way that I never experienced with the other two. I found out yesterday that he is still breech, so I’m guessing that explains the difference.

Sleep: Not so much. It’s pretty difficult to get comfortable these days. But when I do sleep, I sleep hard.

What I miss: I kinda miss seeing my feet, and having energy to do anything. I also miss being able to walk from one end of the house to the other without getting winded.

Cravings: Coke Icees are pretty tasty, especially in this heat!

Symptoms: So. Tired. All. The. Time. And the usual aches and pains that accompany the last few weeks of pregnancy

Best moment of the week: Getting all the baby stuff ready for Finn… I can’t wait to see him in all the cute little outfits! Including these onesies that I whipped up for him…

American Idol, Top 3

2011-05-19T08:15:00.002-05:00

I’ve really lost a lot of interest in American Idol this season. Partly because everyone I really liked is gone, and mostly because I have discovered The Voice and thus far, it is far superior to AI. I think AI and I might be headed for a break-up.

That, however, was not the reason that I didn’t recap last week’s episode. That was the unfortunate side effect of Grayson having an ear infection so bad that it prevented him from sleeping for more than 15 minutes at a time. I’m pretty sure he and I didn’t get much more than an hour’s sleep total last Wednesday night. That doesn’t bode well for stringing any coherent thoughts together in a post.

Anyway, all is well now and here goes a quick recap of last night’s show.

Scotty McCreery - “Amazed”, “Are You Gonna Kiss Me or Not”, “She Believes in Me” – Is there anyone still under the illusion that Scotty doesn’t have this in the bag? I’m fairly certain if he doesn’t win, he’ll demand a recount, ‘cause he’s looking pretty darn sure himself. That being said, I still have not bought into the Scotty hoopla. He sounds exactly the same every single week. He has not stepped out of his comfort zone or pushed himself to try ~~something~~ anything new. And he’s no Kenny Rogers. Did I really just say that? And, of course, I’m talking about the Kenny Rogers of The Gambler days, not the Kenny Rogers of today that has had so much plastic surgery that he can’t blink properly. Although, clearly Scotty is not that Kenny either.

Lauren Alaina - “Wild One”, “If I Die Young”, “I Hope You Dance” – I like Lauren, as opposed to disliking her. I don’t think we’ve seen a whole lot of growth from her throughout the season. She is pretty much exactly where she was when the competition started. She still doesn’t have the confidence to command the stage, she’s still timid when ~~not~~ hitting the high notes that I’m pretty sure she can hit. She sang well last night, but still was just shy of that moment that has alluded her all season.

Haley Reinhart – “What Is and What Should Never Be”, “Rhiannon”, “You Oughta Know”- Who would’ve thought that I would be saying this after all the grief I’ve given Haley this season, but she was by far my favorite last night. She certainly wins the award for most varied performances in one night. From Led Zeppelin to Stevie Nicks to Alanis Morrisette. Hands down, she is the most improved contestant this season. That might have something to do with the fact that she is the only contestant the judges have given any sort of criticism to. But what do I know? The only thing that still gets me about Haley is the flailing arm. But, I can handle the flailing arm far better than Scotty’s one-sided smirk and attempt at smoldering eyes.

Who’s going home? Does it even matter? I’m gonna go out on a limb and say it won’t be Scotty. This is really setting up to be the most anti-climactic finale ever on American Idol.

33 Weeks

2011-05-11T18:20:00.000-05:00

Pregnancy Highlights

How Far Along: 33 Weeks…in the home stretch now!

Size of baby: He weighs a little over 4 pounds and is over 17 inches long, about the size of a large pineapple. And I am feeling every ounce and inch now!

Maternity Clothes: Yep, except for stretchy pants and t-shirts

Gender: Boy! John Finley Lane, AKA Finn

Movement: Good gravy, this child is always on the move, especially at night after supper. I feel like he’s trying to bust out! I don’t remember the movements being quite so intense with Abby and Grayson, but I didn’t carry either of them this high, so maybe that’s it.

Sleep: I’m not sleeping so well at this point. Breathing has become a little difficult. Plus, I am so thirsty all that time. And of course, the more I drink, the more times I have to get up in the night to go to the bathroom. Vicious cycle.

What I miss: Good sleep, but this is good preparation for all the sleepless nights to come!

Cravings: I just drink all the time! Sonic has been getting a lot of business from me lately.

Symptoms: Just the usual third trimester stuff…

Best moment of the week: It wasn’t this week, but since the last time I updated, we’ve set the date! Finn will be here June 15! Five weeks and counting…

And here are some outtakes while trying to get that picture…

And finally, Grayson showing off the baby in his belly….

American Idol, Top 5

2011-05-05T18:54:00.002-05:00

So, I’m bitter. Bitter with a capital B. First, Paul gets sent home way before his time, and then Casey goes last week. Quite honestly, at this point, let’s just hand the title to Scotty, since that appears to be who the ‘tweens have already crowned the winner, call it a day and go watch The Voice. In case you can’t tell, this will not be a glowing review of last night’s show full of bubbles and giggles. ‘Cause I’m bitter. Make that Bitter.

I’m not really sure what it says about me that I was far more familiar with the “then” portion of the show, rather than the “now”. Other than I’m getting old.

James Durbin – “Closer to the Edge” – Yeah, I’ve never heard this song. While I am a huge rock fan, 30 Seconds to Mars is not on my iPod, although I do know who Jared Leto is. My So-Called Life… does that date me? Anyway, even if I have never heard the song, I could tell that most of this performance was not on-key. At all. Painful even, at times. Yet the judges loved it. This would seem to be a recurring theme last night: High praise from the judges for off-key performances.

‘Without You” – This is another one of those songs that should be banned from AI. Again, horribly off-key. Yes, he got emotional, but I’m not sure it would have mattered if he wasn’t. James was badly off his game last night and he might pay for it tonight. But, hey, the judges loved him.

Jacob Lusk – “No Air” – I have officially jumped off the Jacob bandwagon. It is past time for him to go. This whole performance proved it. Let’s break it down a bit. This is a duet, and he tried to sing both parts. But here’s the thing, even if you can technically sing both parts, that doesn’t necessarily mean you should. This came across sounding a bit like Jacob had a split personality. And then when you add in the “dancing” that he attempted on stage (some of those moves were NOT family appropriate), well, it was just a big ol’ mess.

"Love Hurts” – This didn’t get any better. Yes, he hit some ridiculously high notes, but it was all tainted by that horrendous first performance. This should seal the deal, and Jacob should take his rightful place in the voted- out section.

Scotty McCreery – “Gone” - I know I sound like a broken record when it comes to Scotty, but I just don’t get it. I’m quite sure it has something to do with the fact that I am 33 and not 13, but I don’t really think I would have been that into him at 13. Mainly because he is not a member of the New Kids on the Block, and that was all I cared about at 13. Anyway, here goes the broken record, I’ve never heard this song, and quite frankly, if I had not heard it last night, I’d have been just fine. I’m not sure why the judges thought this was breaking out of his comfort zone, because it was, after all, still country.

“Always on My Mind” – I couldn’t bear to watch this. I did listen, but I just couldn’t watch him squint, hold the mic to the side and sing out of the side of his mouth. Again, nothing really new here. But hey, it’s worked for him so far, so why change?

Lauren Alaina - “Flat on the Floor” – It should come as no shock to anyone that I have never heard of this song. I thought she sang it well, seeing as I had nothing to compare it to. But again, there was no wow factor. I’m pretty sure it’s got something to do with her age. If she had waited a few years, I think she would have a little better command of the stage.

“Unchained Melody” – Another one for the banned list. This could’ve been her wow moment, but alas, it was not. It was a wee bit boring. Not her best performance.

Lest you think I have nothing good to say about anybody…

Haley Reinhart - “You and I” – An unreleased Lady Gaga song…you would think that would have scored her some points on the “chance taking” scale with the judges. Unfortunately, it did not. I thought they were unnecessarily harsh on her. She sang on key, people, which is WAY MORE than the majority did last night. That in itself should have won her high praise.

“House of the Rising Sun” – This was her wow moment. This was, BY FAR, the best performance of the night, and Haley’s best performance to date. I am officially on the Haley bandwagon. Which, judging by my track record this season, will probably mean that she will be voted out this week. Apparently, my like of someone is the kiss of death.

So, obviously, my choice to be going home this week would be Jacob. And I’ll try to get over my bitterness by next week.

The Boys’ Room

2011-04-26T09:51:00.002-05:00

Our house only has three bedrooms, so when we decided to expand our brood, we knew somebody would be sharing a bedroom. It actually works out great that the new baby is a boy, since Grayson, at 3, could really care less whether or not he shares a room. Abby on the other hand, at 7, values her privacy. Or at least values being able to lock herself and her toys in her room so that grubby little brother hands can’t get to them. Either way, sharing a room with an infant would probably have led to lots of drama on her part.

Part of the way we sold the whole room sharing thing was to tell the kids that whoever had to share a room would get new bunk beds. Grayson was really excited to trade in his full bed for bunk beds. And he was all for sleeping in the top bunk until the bunk beds were actually in the room, and then he decided he liked the bottom bunk just fine. And that is quite all right with me. I prefer not to deal with a busted head or any broken bones from falling off the top bunk for a few more years.

Other than the bed switcheroo, not a whole lot else has changed in the room.

Here's what it looked like before, at least the bed…

And here’s what it looks like now…

The bunks…Is there some trick to making bunk beds that I’m not privy to? Right now no one is allowed on the top bunk because there is no way this pregnant belly will allow me to get up there to change those sheets. Changing the bottom ones are hard enough. I welcome any and all tips.

And the crib

And a close-up of my boys’ art… I hope they love sharing a room! Or at least tolerate it well.

He Is

2011-04-24T06:34:00.002-05:00

I’ve posted this before, but you know what? It’s no less true today than it was last year, or the year before, or the very first Easter. Do you know Him?

American Idol, Top 7

2011-04-21T09:48:00.002-05:00

Well, I’m bummed. Paul is gone. But wait, he’s not! He’s on stage singing Pink’s “So What” with the eliminated girls. WHAT? That was horrible. Bad. HORRIBLY BAD. If anyone questioned why these people were voted out, well, I think you have your answer. Except Paul. In what alternate universe would he ever be doing a cover of a Pink song? That is a prime example of why American Idol was not for him. He shouldn’t be singing covers, he should be in a band. I never expected him to win, but I thought he should have outlasted some of the others. Cough, Stefano, cough.

The theme of the night is 21st century songs. I run the risk of not knowing some of these songs, because, let’s face it, I’m not really up on current music. If they haven’t done it on Glee, chances are good that I haven’t heard of it.

Scotty McCreery - “Swingin’” – Swingin’? Really? That is soooo not a 21st century song! I’m calling foul! You have 11 whole years worth of songs to pick from and you pick a 80’s John Anderson tune? I don’t care if LeAnn Rimes did cover it…it was a cover and that is an 80’s song, not a 21st century song. And not even a good 80’s song. That’s all I’ve got to say about that.

James Durbin - “Uprising” – I’ll admit that I don’t know a great deal about Muse, but I have heard this song before, and James sounded a lot like the lead singer until he started screeching at the end. And he kept the 80’s throwback alive by dressing a little like Mad Max! The drummers were a nice touch, and I have a feeling this performance was WAY better live than it translated on TV. And it was pretty good on TV.

Haley Reinhart - “Rolling in the Deep” – Okay, so, I liked it. I wouldn’t necessarily classify myself as a Haley fan just yet… I think the other contestants calling her out on the growling and flailing arms was great… but this was a solid performance. Any Adele song would’ve been a great choice for her, and she looked really cute in the red dress. AND she doesn’t like Stefano much either, so I might transform into a Haley fan yet!

Jacob Lusk - “Dance with My Father” - Okay, so, I didn’t like it. I am apparently in that alternate universe where Paul McDonald would cover a Pink song. I liked Haley, and I didn’t like Jacob. I think some people were under the mistaken impression that he was choked up at the beginning of the song. He was not, somebody flubbed up. Be it him losing the melody or the band screwing up…something went wrong. I don’t really think he did himself any favors by blaming the sound people at the end of the performance. It might have been their fault, but it made it seem like he was trying to save face by throwing somebody else under the bus. Never attractive.

Casey Abrams - “Harder to Breathe” – I heart Maroon 5. I heart this song. I loved the skat in the middle of it. I loved that the background singers were in total sync. I loved Ryan in the Amish beard. Hands down, my favorite performance of the night. I just love Casey. Like Paul, I don’t really expect him to win. But I sure hope he takes advantage of the opportunities that this will open up for him.

Stefano Lagone - “Closer” – Well, that stunk. Randy hit the nail on the head when he said it was jerky and karaoke, but then he took it back. Clearly, all the judges were still on a high after Casey’s performance, and their ears just weren’t processing well. Surely, Stefano’s time to go is drawing near. Surely.

Lauren Alaina - “Born to Fly” - This was just okay for me. I thought she sang it really well, but to be honest, she’s kind of turning into another Pia for me. We all know she can sing, but she doesn’t really seem to be progressing much as a performer. With Haley clearly trying to improve her game, I think Lauren needs to step it up a bit. She seems to get more timid every week, instead of the other way around.

For me, the bottom three would be Scotty, Jacob and Stefano. Although, I am under no illusion that Scotty will be in the bottom three anytime soon. Apparently young girls find the whole off-balance thing he has going on an attractive trait. Who knows? Haley will probably round out the bottom three, even though she truly doesn’t deserve it this time.

Stefano would be my clear choice to send packing this week. Without a doubt.

American Idol, Top 8

2011-04-14T12:42:00.003-05:00

Movie night! Another great, wide-open theme! And I am pleased to report that no one sang any song from The Bodyguard soundtrack. So, that in itself is a huge success!

Paul McDonald - “Old Time Rock & Roll” – I’m going to be hard on Paul. I love Bob Seger, but I did not love Paul singing Bob Seger. I did, however, love the suit. I’m afraid this song choice coupled with the death blow of going first might land him in the bottom three. I hope he survives because he is better than that.

Lauren Alaina - “The Climb” – I cannot express how much I hate this song. There are just no words. I am sooooo not a Miley Cyrus fan. I thought Lauren’s performance was better than the original. That is not saying much. I did think it was great that Ryan called her mom out on the big hair. ‘Cause Momma had some big hair going on.

Stefano Lagone - “End of the Road” – No, no, no, no, no, no, no. I love Boyz II Men. So, excuse me while I stereotype just a bit. That song requires a soulful flare, not a salsa flare. Please, please let this be the end of the road for Stefano. And please tell me wearing high-tops with no laces is not coming back in style.

Sidenote: Do the judges’ pay get docked if they give any actual criticism this season?

Scotty McCreery – “I Cross My Heart” – Believe it or not, I have actually seen George Strait in concert. There were some dark years in college when I listened to some country music. I hope this doesn’t diminish my street cred any. Anyway, I cannot watch Scotty perform, with the leaning to the side and singing out of the side of his mouth and holding his mic to the side. It’s all just too much. And that steel guitar was just too much as well.

Sidenote: What was up with the background singers?? They are supposed to be IN THE BACKGROUND. Not drowning out the lead singers.

Casey Abrams - “Nature Boy” – I have to say I would’ve LOVED to hear him do Phil Collins’ “In the Air Tonight”, but I admire him for sticking to his guns. And I really liked the bluesy, jazzy feel of this, with the bass and the piano and the bongos. I think it was very true to who Casey is, and that’s what I love about Casey. He is who he is, and he’s not about to change for American Idol.

Haley Reinhart - “Call Me” – I know the words of this song by heart, and I still couldn’t tell what words were coming out of her mouth. This song was way too big for her. And, need I mention the growling again? Because it was still there, and I still did not like it.

Jacob Lusk - “Bridge Over Troubled Water” – Thank you, Jimmy Iovine, for convincing Jacob to do this song. The gospel vibe of this song was perfect for him. I am no longer going to apologize for liking Jacob. I just do. And that note at the end? I got chills. Beautiful.

James Durbin - “Heavy Metal” – I think James got knocked down a few notches in his session with Jimmy Iovine. That arrogance was what made me dislike him in the early stages of this competition. Why was he the only one to get a special guest guitarist? Not that many people watching AI will probably know who Zakk Wylde is, but still. And let me just clarify something… while J.Lo. may disagree, Sammy Hagar is so NOT heavy metal. So. Not. Heavy. Metal. With that cleared up, he sang this rock song well, but I have a feeling if Simon were still a judge, he would call it indulgent. And he would be right.

So, my bottom three would be Stefano, Haley and as much as it pains me, Paul. I only put Paul in that group because he went first and he should have chosen a better song. Let this be a lesson to you, Paul.

Haley or Stefano should go home, and I really don’t care which one it is.

I Was THAT Woman

2011-04-12T16:04:00.002-05:00

It’s been quite a wild past few days in our house. Not that it’s ever really calm around here, but it’s been crazy even for us. Saturday afternoon, Burge discovered water running out from under our outside cellar door, only to open it and find our cellar floor covered in about 2 inches of water. Hello, busted water heater!

Sunday is a bit of a blur, partly because it was so jam-packed with activities and partly because of the ice cold morning shower that I had to take that completely shut down my brain. I drew the line at washing my hair in cold water. Fortunately, I had my hair cut and colored on Saturday, and since I am very much okay with second day hair, I went with it.

Thankfully, we were able to have a new water heater installed on Monday afternoon. Monday nights are usually my weekly grocery store runs because for some reason, after the weekend we are normally out of milk and bread. Well, last night there were some bad storms predicted for our area, and I didn’t really relish the thought of loading my groceries in the car during a thunderstorm. So, after I picked Abby up from school and the new water heater was installed, I decided I would take both kids with me on the grocery run. I also decided to stop in K-Mart to peruse the clearance toys that are 50% off this week. With both kids. By myself.

On the plus side, the kids picked out several birthday and Christmas gifts for themselves that I really hope they forget about by the time their birthdays and Christmas roll around. On the downside, by the time we actually made it to the grocery store, the adrenaline of picking out new toys that they couldn’t immediately play with had worn off and they were cranky and hungry, and their pregnant mama was cranky and hungry. And, let’s keep in mind that I had not had a shower yet, because silly me, I like some at least warm water, and was now on three day hair, which I am not nearly as okay with as second day hair, and no make-up.

And to just get a complete picture of what we really looked like, Abby was still in her school clothes that were not exactly clean, and Grayson had on play shorts, a t-shirt and knee-high Spiderman slipper socks, pulled all the way to his knees, with his ratty play shoes on. There are just some battles not worth fighting, am I right? The Spiderman slipper socks fell into this category. Anyway, we were a motley crew to say the least.

So, we hurried our way through the grocery store and our list, only to be held up at the checkout with a wrong price. Now, I don’t care how hungry and cranky we are, nobody’s going to overcharge me five dollars without an argument. That is a battle worth fighting.

By the time we got back in the car to finally head home, we were well overdue for supper, and all three of us were exhausted. It was only then that I happened to glance down and notice that I had a big old stain on my shirt too. I just sighed as I realized… you know that white trash pregnant woman with umpteen kids who hasn’t brushed her hair and has on ratty, stained clothes that you see in your grocery store? The ones that wind up on that People of Wal-Mart website? Yeah, I was her. Sigh. Oh, well. There’s always tomorrow.

28 Weeks

2011-04-08T20:43:00.002-05:00

This is what it was like trying to get a picture for this post…

And finally…

But, he’s the best distraction ever.

Pregnancy Highlights

How Far Along: 28 Weeks

Size of baby: 2 and a quarter pounds and 14.8 inches long. Finn is the size of a Chinese cabbage, although I really have no idea what a Chinese cabbage looks like, much less how big it is.

Maternity Clothes: Have you seen me lately?? I am sooooo pregnant. So, yes, except for stretchy pants and t-shirts.

Gender: Boy! John Finley Lane, AKA Finn

Movement: Plenty. The doctor had a hard time getting a good read on his heartbeat at my appointment this week because he keep moving away from him!

Sleep: My only issue with sleep right now is that when I have to get up to go to the bathroom, I have a super hard time going back to sleep, which makes for some long nights and even longer days.

What I miss: Being able to adequately tie my shoes. Thank goodness for warmer weather and flip-flops!

Cravings: I don’t have cravings so much anymore. But Pop Ices are a big hit with me right now, and there’s been nothing that’s tasted better than a tall glass of cold sweet tea this week. Thankfully, I passed my glucose test at the last doctor’s appointment, so I can still enjoy my sweet tea!

Symptoms: I’ve felt pretty good these last few weeks. I hope that will hang on for a few more weeks!

Best moment of the week: Finishing the boys’ room (more on that later), and getting a little better idea of when we will get to meet our little Finn (more on that later too!).

American Idol, Top 9

2011-04-07T09:13:00.002-05:00

Or “The One Where I Have No One to Pick On Because Naima is Gone”. The theme was “Famous Rock and Roll Songs” or “Famous Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll” or something to do with the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. I was never really clear to be quite honest. But, whatever it was, it seemed like a wide open category, and I like those. Will. I. Am was the guest mentor, and surprisingly, dude is pretty funny. As opposed to Jimmy Iovine, who is not funny at all. It was an interesting juxtaposition, those two.

Jacob Lusk - “Man in the Mirror” – I know I’m in the minority here, but I like Jacob more and more every week. He seems to have better control every time he performs. I thought this was an awesome song choice, and I loved the way he didn’t over-sing it. I didn’t really care for his “dancing” though, and I use that term very loosely. About as loose as Jacob’s hips. Oh my.

Hailey Reinhart - “Little Piece of My Heart” – Of all the Janis Joplin songs out there, she had to pick the one that has been remade the most. It wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be. It was actually pretty good. But I have to say it, the growling! It is getting to me. The difference between Hailey and Janis, other than a lot of years, a lot of drugs and a grave, is that Janis Joplin’s voice just sounded like that, while Hailey has to force it. It can get annoying when it’s natural, but it’s really annoying when it’s forced. She did manage to keep her red lipstick on her lips this time, so yay for her.

Casey Abrams - “Have You Ever Seen the Rain?” – I love CCR. I love Casey on the upright bass. I loved this performance. It might have been my favorite song of his. There’s just never much I can say about him because really, how do you expound upon awesome? ‘Cause that’s what he is… AWESOME.

Lauren Alaina – “(You Make Me Feel Like a) Natural Woman” – Incidentally, a song from The Big Chill. I didn’t care for her Gwen Stefani make-over. Those of us with larger derrieres should not wear bubble shorts. For an Aretha Franklin song that she could have really blown out of the water, she didn’t take it where it could have gone, and that left me a little disappointed.

Sidenote: What was up with Randy’s pleather jacket? Could that even be classified as pleather or was it just straight-up plastic?

James Durbin - “While My Guitar Weeps” – I think I liked this, but to be quite honest, I was so distracted by the light shining through his big ol’ ears that I can’t be sure. Burge said they looked like big red demon eyes on either side of his head. I don't think that was the look he was going for. It was a nice touch that he wore his tail as a scarf and used it to wipe away his tears at the end. In all seriousness, he did a good job, and I think it was a wise move to show a different side where he’s not setting red pianos on fire.

Scott McCreery – “That’s All Right, Mama “ – How much did they pay those girls to swarm him at the end? If only he had had James’s scarf to flick out into the crowd… They really are trying to sell us hard on Scotty. I’m still not buying. He seems to be getting a little cocky, which is never an attractive trait, but then that could’ve just been him channeling Elvis. And please tell me Gwen Stefani did not endorse the denim-on-denim outfit he was sporting.

Pia Toscano - “River Deep, Mountain High” – Not the most flattering outfit. What else can I say about Pia? She sings great, and she finally did a song that wasn’t a ballad. But, there still seems to be something missing with her. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but it might have something to do with her totally rehearsed, pageantry performance style.

Stefano Lagone - “When a Man Loves a Woman” – Another Big Chill song… Again, there is something that is not clicking with me and Stefano. I think part of it is the way he speeds up some lyrics and drags out others. That seems to be the way he “makes a song his own”. That is not so creative, just annoying.

Paul McDonald - “Folsom Prison Blues” – Yay! Paul had a great performance AND he got to close out the show. Where Paul has a leg up on the rest of the competition is that he knows how to work a crowd. It’s obvious that he’s been in a band that has had some stage experience before. This was an excellent song choice, and he rocked it. Big surprise here, but he and Casey tied for my favorite performance of the night.

So, my bottom three would be Hailey (I gave her a week off last week), Stefano and Jacob (only because he opened the show and that appears to be the kiss of death). I really thought they were all on a level playing field this week, so it could really be anyone going. But my pick to leave this week would be Stefano.

American Idol, Top 11, Take 2

2011-03-31T12:19:00.002-05:00

It’s Elton John night. Yay. I have a hard time getting excited about this theme. Not because Elton John doesn’t have great music, or that I don’t like it. On the contrary, I love most of his music. But they do this theme every single season, and there are just so many different ways you can sing “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me”.

Scott McCreery - “Country Comfort” – Oh, the dreaded first slot! Is it surprising to anyone that Scott is singing country? The novelty has worn off for me about as fast as that steel guitar got on my nerves. If there’s one thing I hate, it’s steel guitar. Makes my skin crawl. Needless to say, that was not my favorite performance of the evening.

Naima Adedapo – “I’m Still Standing “ – And Naima did reggae. It was weird. She went from the strange African dance last week to Rastafarian this week. If she’s around next week (which I’m hoping is a no), what region will she represent then? In other news, I spelled her name right without having to look it up this week! Yay me!

Paul McDonald - “Rocket Man” – Possibly one of my most favorite Elton John songs. And he brought back the Dwight Yoakum suit. Which I love. I also loved the stripped down version of this. In further justification of my love for Paul, check out his band The Grand Magnolias. Awesomeness.

Pia Toscano - “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down On Me” – Well, there we go. Pia’s picked up the pageant trail that Karen Rodriquez laid down when she left. Pia’s had some dental work done, I noticed. If I could offer her any advice, it would be to practice in front of a mirror so she could hold her head in such a way that would not be showing all of America all of her fillings. But that might be nit-picking.

Sidenote: I love the red piano.

Stefano Lagone - “Tiny Dancer” – Another of my favorite Elton songs. I didn’t love it. But I didn’t hate it either. Not shocking that Jennifer loved it… How I would have loved it if Tony Danza had been in the audience! Hold me closer, Tony Danza, count the headlights on the highway…

Lauren Alaina - “Candle in the Wind”– In her intro, she said she normally takes 10 minutes to get ready. I’m not really buying that with the amount of make-up she wears. I didn’t think I would like this, but I was wrong! This might have been my favorite performance of Lauren’s thus far. She sounded great, and she looked great, it was just great. Great, I tell you.

Sidenote: I love the red piano.

James Durbin - “Saturday Night’s All Right (for Fighting)” - Why was the red piano on fire? Did Elton John play a burning piano at some point that I missed? Not the greatest vocal. Also, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention his ears. God bless him, he should not wear his hair like that, because it just draws attention to the massiveness of his ears. Seriously, he could take flight with those puppies. Now, that would be a stand-out performance! No need to set the red piano a-fire!

Thia Megia – “Daniel” –Of course, Thia would pick the most boring Elton John song ever. What more can I say about that? I’m glad they didn’t burn the only red piano.

Casey Abrams - “Your Song” – I was really hoping he would sing “Levon”. But, I loved the simplicity of this. It was captivating and beautiful. And I do not think the judges wasted their save at all.

Jacob Lusk - “Sorry Seems to be the Hardest Word” – Jacob? Over-dramatizing? Why, Jimmy Iovine, whatever are you talking about? Surely, you jest. I shouldn’t like Jacob. He really is over the top. I would never buy his album or pay to see him perform. But yet, I do like him. That last note that he held on to forever? Remarkable.

Hailey Reinhart - “Benny and the Jets” – Oh, the growling. The growling is about to get to me like the steel guitar gets to me. Not a positive. This kinda reminded of Michelle Pfifer in The Fabulous Baker Boys until she started trying to get the audience to throw their hands in the air and wave them like you just don’t care. I did not think it was the best performance of the night, unlike Randy. But, I think it was enough, coupled with the fact that she closed out the show, to keep her in the competition.

My bottom three this week would be Naima, Thia and Stefano. I’m giving Hailey a reprieve this week just because she looked so darn proud of herself at the end of her song. I would send Naima (please, oh please) and Thia home.

Extraordinary

2011-03-29T10:59:00.002-05:00

Before my current career as a stay at home mom, I worked in several fields all surrounding math. I graduated magna cum laude with a degree in mathematics. I love math. I am a numbers nerd.

The love of math came early for me, partly because I really am just a nerd, and partly because I had an amazing math teacher in high school. Michael Bearden was one of those few people who truly loved what he did. He wasn’t a teacher because of the pay (yeah, I know all you teachers out there are chuckling at that thought!) or the summers off, he did it because he wanted to make a difference in others’ lives. And what a difference he made! He had a passion for what he taught that was contagious. He made you want to learn, and that’s a rare trait. Certainly, for me personally, he introduced me to what would become a life-long passion, and encouraged me to pursue it further after high school. He cared beyond the four walls of a classroom. I can only pray that my kids get to experience a teacher like that at some point in their school years.

Mr. Bearden left this world yesterday, succumbing to cancer. Within a few hours of his passing, word spread through our small community and Facebook lit up with tributes, not only filled with sorrow but also with appreciation of what a great man he was. It was remarkable to see just how many people were affected by the way this man lived his life. To touch one life like that is truly a blessing. To influence hundreds? That’s nothing short of extraordinary.

American Idol, Top 11

2011-03-24T12:05:00.003-05:00

Or “The One Where I Almost Liked Everybody”. I adore Motown week. I adore Motown music, probably because it is prominently featured in my all-time favorite movie: The Big Chill. I would be a happy camper if all the contestants would pick songs from The Big Chill soundtrack. Or maybe AI should just do a “songs from The Big Chill” night! Never mind that most likely, most of these contestants are too young to have even heard of The Big Chill. How many more times can I mention The Big Chill in this post?

Casey Abrams - “I Heard it Through the Grapevine” - I just love him. This was a great rendition, especially the end. He is so stinkin’ talented. I just can’t wait to hear what he’s going to do next. And, by the way, this song was in The Big Chill.

Thia Megia - “Heat Wave” – She just seems way older than 15. I don’t think that’s necessarily a good thing. She sang it beautifully until she forgot the words at the end…maybe if she had sang it while wearing a brightly colored sweater with numbers all over it, she would have seemed a bit more like a teen. Again, and unfortunately for her, it was just not a very memorable performance.

Jacob Lusk - “You’re All I Need to Get By” – By far, my favorite performance of his to date. It was controlled. And not over-sung. And awesome. Of course, this should have been his night to shine. And shine he did. LOVED it.

Lauren Alaina - “You Keep Me Hanging On” - First of all, she looked awesome. I loved the zebra print dress, and the stylist got a hold of her eye make-up. She looks SO MUCH BETTER with the toned down make-up. She sang it well, although it was not my favorite performance of hers. Overall, I thought her look was better than her song this week.

Stefano Langone - “Hello” – Oh, how I love this song. I didn’t really care for his rendition. Perhaps, it was because he doesn’t have the Lionel Richie hair. Or perhaps, it was like Jennifer said that he wasn’t feeling the song. Or perhaps, it was because he wasn’t singing it to a blind girl who sculpted a bust of him while he was singing. I just don’t know.

Come to think of it, if he had sung it to a blind girl who sculpted a bust of him on-stage while he was singing, I would become a Stefano fan for life. Oh, the missed opportunities.

Haley Reinhart - “You’ve Really Got A Hold on Me” – Kudos to her for navigating the stairs in those stilettos. I didn’t understand the 80’s Designing Women suit jacket with the big shoulder pads. Nor do I understand why she must growl through every song. I’m not really sure that performance was enough to keep her out of the bottom three.

Scott McCreery – “For Once in My Life” - This frightened me just a bit. And for good reason. Not every song should be “country-fied”. In my opinion, few songs should be country-fied, even those that are actually country. But that’s just me. I don’t think this version will be racing up the charts. And did Steven Tyler really compare him to Glen Campbell and think that was a compliment?

Pia Toscano - “All in Love is Fair” – I think, hands down, she is the best female in the competition. I just wish she would do something a little different. She looked awesome and she sounded awesome, just like she does every week. But at some point, she’s going to have to throw a curve ball to keep everyone on their toes.

Paul McDonald - “Tracks of My Tears” – I love this song! Also on The Big Chill soundtrack, I might add. I love that he did his own thing with it. I love that he played the guitar. I loved that he was rocking the bolo tie again. I just love him. I realize he is my controversial pick of the season, but I don’t care. I would buy his album. I would pay money to see him perform. It’s the whole singer-songwriter vibe he’s got going on, I think.

Naima Adedapo - “Dancing in the Street” – I just don’t know what to say about that. I don’t get her. Although, I’m sure many don’t get Paul, so I’ll try not to harp on it. I’ll leave it with she needs to stop with the dancing. Or flailing wildly, as the case may be.

James Durbin - “Living for the City” – Another great song... This guy’s range is just ridiculous, almost as ridiculous as Jacob’s. I did catch a glimpse of something tonight in his performance that reminded me of Dee Snider’s son in the little known (and watched by even fewer) VH1 reality show Rock the Cradle.

I think it might be his whole on-stage persona. Anyway, I’m going to try to ignore that. It wasn’t quite the big show-stopping performance that it could’ve been, but good nonetheless.

It’s a little hard to pick my bottom three because I really did think everyone did so much better this week than the downer that was last week. And keep in mind, this is my bottom three, not necessarily a prediction of who America will pick. Although America and I have been on the same page as of late, that can’t last for long.

My bottom three would be Thia Megia, Haley Rienhart, and Naima Adedapo. Incidentally, these three will perpetually be in my bottom until they go home because I think they are the weakest three. And I think Haley should be heading to the house this week.

Out of the Mouths of Babes

2011-03-22T12:34:00.002-05:00

The other day, Abby was commenting on something and she said, “I was hoping it was today.” Then she followed it up with, “But I know hope doesn’t get you anything.” Well, thank you for that ray of sunshine, Little Miss Pessimist.

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Grayson and I were coming in the house from church the other Wednesday night, when he exclaimed, “There’s a bird!” while pointing to the ceiling of the garage. Those who know me well know of my immense dislike of birds and can understand my immediate panic. I turned to look where he was pointing and saw nothing. He was adamant about the bird though and said, “See! It’s right there with the wings! It’s just a baby bird though.” I finally saw what he was referring to: a moth. It wasn’t even a large one. Clearly we need to start some science lessons in the Lane house.

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I saw this hanging on Abby’s wall when I went in to clean the other day.

I didn’t know she even knew where Chicago was. I wonder when she was planning on filling me in on the big move…

American Idol, Top 12

2011-03-17T11:32:00.002-05:00

Or “The One Where I Really Didn’t Like Anybody.” I’m not sure why, but last night I just wasn’t feeling many of the performances. Maybe it was because several of the contestants were sick, as we were reminded after just about every song. Got to get the sympathy votes going… The judges seemed not to like them either, but then at the end they kept commenting on how this was a real competition now. I dunno… I didn’t quite get that out those performances.

Naima Adedapo - “What’s Love Got to Do With It?” – The curse of going first strikes again! I was majorly distracted by her get-up. What was up that? The leggings, the coin, belly-dancer-ish fringe, the Steven Tyler vest. I’m all about showing off your own style, but that was just bizarre. Thank you to Jennifer and Randy for calling her out on her awfulness. I feel strangely validated.

Paul McDonald - “I Guess That’s Why They Call It the Blues” – I was not aware that Paul is from the great state of Alabama when I first proclaimed my love for him. But, hey, one more reason to love him. I thought he killed this. Especially with the bolo tie. It was still identifiable as an Elton John song, but had a new flare to it. And he rocked the bolo tie.

Thia Megia – “Colors of the Wind “ – Yes, she was born the year I graduated from high school. Wow, I’m old. I am so not surprised that she sang a Disney song. As Rachel pointed out, she is clearly auditioning for the next Disney channel star. And that was a very unflattering crocheted, skin-colored dress.

James Durbin – “I’ll Be There For You “ – The tail made it’s return. Not a fan of the tail. And here it is one week after I became a fan, and now I have to diss him. It was totally off key. It started off rough and never got better. Even the scream was off key. He is better than that performance, and he was supposed to be one of the non-sick ones.

Haley Reinhart - “I’m Your Baby Tonight” – To her benefit, she didn’t try to sound like Whitney Houston. That’s about the best thing I can say about it. I was going to say I liked the red lipstick, but then it wound up all over her face. Bless her heart.

Stefano Langone – “If You Don’t Know Me By Now” – It’s hard to improve upon the perfection that is this song. And I assure he did not. I spent the better part of his performance trying to decide if his pants were too short or he had on high-tops. For the record, I think they were high-tops. The judges thought it was the best performance of the night thus far. All I got to say is that ain’t saying much.

Pia Toscano - “Where Do Broken Hearts Go” – Another Whitney song. This one jazzed up with a dance beat. I’m not sure why the producers keep trying to update these songs by making them dance songs, but they need to stop. And she needed to stop with the white 70’s pantsuit. Despite all that, the vocals were amazing.

Scott McCreedy – “Can I Trust You With My Heart “ – Finding out he has a thing for Elvis totally explained why he sings out of the side of his mouth. He sang it well, but it was a bit on the boring side. That’s about all I can say about that.

Karen Rodriguez – “Love Will Lead You Back “ – Well, at least she lost the pageant attire. Unfortunately, she replaced it with some alien garb and a massive PHD (Pentecostal Hair-Do), which I’m fairly certain was never in style, not even in 1989. Once again, she chose a song that was way too big for her voice. I think she should be in trouble.

Casey Abrams - “Smells Like Teen Spirit” – Shut the door. First Nirvana song on Idol ever. Nirvana, electric bass, Casey Abrams. That, my friends, is the trifecta. I have to disagree with Jennifer when she said it needed to be more pleasant. There is nothing pleasant about that song or any Nirvana song for that matter. It was not, by far, the best vocal of the night or Casey’s best vocal, but a stunning vocal is not really the point of that song. Hats off to him for doing something new.

Lauren Alaina – “I’m the Only One “ – What was up with her mother’s outfit during her opening video? That hat and those earrings were too much. Please somebody stop me if I try to dress like I’m trying to be a ~~totally out of style~~ teenager when Abby is a teenager. Stage an intervention. Please. Lauren, however, sounded awesome. Period. I almost typed that she sounded awesome for having the flu. But she sounded better sick than most of the others sounded well.

Jacob Lusk – “Alone“ – I didn’t want to like this. I didn’t like the idea of this. But, shockingly, I didn’t think it was half bad. Who knew you could bring some gospel to Heart? I think he really tried to reign it in a little last night, which might have been why he lost the key in the middle. But, bless his heart, the over-singing is just part of who he is.

So, my bottom three would be Karen Rodriquez, Naima Adedapo, and Haley Reinhart (although Thia Megia would be a close fourth), with Karen singing her swan song. Let’s see what America thinks…

24 Weeks

2011-03-11T15:07:00.003-06:00

Instead of a picture of me this week, I have new pictures of Finn! Who really cares what I look like anyway?

Here’s our little guy’s profile…

Here’s his foot… Apparently I’m growing Bigfoot in my belly. Or maybe a future basketball player. Or Julie, maybe I have the future Bama kicker. Either way, that’s a large foot. Especially when it’s kicking me in the bladder.

And here’s Finn’s sweet face….

I can’t wait to meet and hold this little one! Of course, I want him to stay in and bake a while longer, but seeing him on the ultrasound today made me anxious for June to get here!

Pregnancy Highlights

How Far Along: 24 Weeks

Size of baby: Just over a pound and a foot long…he’s about the length of an ear of corn (really? I don’t think I’ve seen too many foot long ears of corn).

Maternity Clothes: Yes, except for stretchy pants and t-shirts.

Gender: Boy! John Finley Lane, AKA Finn

Movement: All the time…he’s an active little guy. I found out from the ultrasound why I’m already having problems bending over. His head is all up in my ribs, and he’s dancing on my bladder.

Sleep: Glorious sleep! I think the sheer exhaustion of all the sickness we’ve been through the past few weeks has helped me to sleep better.

What I miss: Let’s just be honest, I miss my brain. It appears to have taken a leave of absence for the remainder of this pregnancy (and maybe beyond!).

Cravings: I am still loving strawberries, and fruit in general. I branched out to blueberries this week, and grapes and bananas are always staples around our house.

Symptoms: Tired! And pregnancy brain…I have a hard time remembering what I’m doing just going from one end of the house to the other.

Best moment of the week: Seeing Finn on the ultrasound and hearing that he is right on track!

American Idol, Top 13

2011-03-10T15:13:00.002-06:00

It’s time for the real fun to begin! Theme weeks! I personally would like to thank the producers for picking a theme for this first week that allows the contestants to pick a song that they actually know and might actually record something like one day. The theme was “songs from your idol”. Let’s break it down, shall we?

Lauren Alaina - “Any Man of Mine” – Being first out of the gate is rarely a good thing and almost never does you any favors, and that was certainly the case with Lauren. She did a good job on the song, but she did nothing to make it memorable and that’s a problem when you’ve got twelve other people performing after you. Good lesson for her. And I still wish she would tone down the make-up just a tad.

Casey Abrams -“With A Little Help From My Friends” - Going second is a lot like going first when there’s thirteen performances going on, but Casey apparently got the memo about making it memorable. I love me some Joe Cocker, and this song takes me right back to The Wonder Years with Kevin and Winnie. It makes me smile, and Casey makes me smile. He’s just so GOOD. Although I do wish he would trim up the hair so he looks a little less like the unibomber.

Ashthon Jones - “When You Tell Me That You Love Me” – I’m still a little bitter that Ashthon made it into the top thirteen over Kendra, and this performance did nothing to win me over. I could say it was pitchy, her lower register was basically non-existent, and so on. But I’ll leave it at, it was NOT GOOD. I think she’s in trouble.

Paul McDonald - “Come Pick Me Up” – Paul looks like Bradley Cooper and sounds like Rod Stewart, and that is a winning combination. I, like Randy and Steven, hope America “gets” him. Cause I can’t wait to hear what he does next. Plus, he’s quirky, and he’s got some rad dance moves that might be a little reminiscent of Elaine Benes. You be the judge.

Pia Toscano - “All By Myself” – I hope Pia is not peaking too early. She had another really good night with what could have been a disaster of a song choice. Celine is always iffy, but Pia definitely has the voice to pull it off. She proved that last night.

James Durbin - “Maybe I’m Amazed” – I’m a fan now. Clearly, he listened to my advice last week and lost both the tail and the scream. I’m sure the scream (and possibly the tail) will make a comeback, but at least he didn’t try to force it into a song that in no way needed it. That move broke him out of the Adam Lambert mold for me.

Haley Reinhart - “Blue” – She didn’t have any issues hitting the notes on this song, yet still she tried to tramp it up a bit. Which was a little creepy and totally unnecessary since LeAnn Rimes was like 14 when she released that song. Please note that growling is not mandatory in every song.

Jacob Lusk - “I Believe I Can Fly” – He completely oversang this song, which is difficult because this song is over the top to begin with. But you know what? It doesn’t matter, because this boy can sing like nobody’s business. His range is unbelievable. ‘Nuff said.

Thia Megia - “Smile” - I didn’t think this was the best song choice for her. I still think she has an amazing voice, but I think she’s going to have to find a little more fun if she’s going to stay very long in this competition.

Stefano Langone - “Lately” – I hated this. More specifically, I hated the interjected dance beat. I think I would have liked this so much more if he had stuck a little closer to the original. I don’t care what some big time producer thought about it, I thought it stunk.

Karen Rodriguez - “I Could Fall In Love” – And it’s round 2 of the Miss American Idol pageant! And this one has the added bonus of being a “design-your-own-costume” round as well. I realize the outfit was inspired by Selena, but no where in the rules did it say that you had to dress like your idol while you were singing their music. Although, I really don’t think an outfit from this decade would have helped this performance any.

Scott McCreery - “The River” – Perfect song choice for this guy. Really cheesy pictures running as the backdrop while he sang, but that wasn’t his fault. Honestly, he could really be bad for a couple of weeks, and it still wouldn’t affect his chances of going far in this competition. The ‘tweens have spoken.

Naima Adedapo - “Umbrella” - I didn’t get this AT ALL. We all know that I am not up on current music. If you didn’t, jump back up to my comments on Casey Abrams' performance and my declaration of love for Joe Cocker. Joe Cocker does not equal current music. However, in my defense, I, unlike J.Lo, do know who Ryan Adams is. So maybe I’m not as out of it as I thought. Anyway, Burge said that “Umbrella” was one of those songs that never sounds good performed live because there was so much mixing done on the original track, it can never be replicated live. I agree. And that rap in the middle and the awkward “choreography”? NOT GOOD. There are reasons artists like J.Lo hire choreographers.

So, I’m not going to give any prediction of who will be in the bottom three and who will be voted off. Because, America? We are a fickle bunch. Who knows what criteria people will use when voting. Instead, I will say who I think should be in the bottom three. And they are… Ashthon Jones, Hailey Reinhart and Karen Rodriguez, with Ashthon Jones going home. Now, let’s see how wrong I am. :)

23 Weeks

2011-03-04T12:59:00.002-06:00

So much for keeping a good photographic record of this pregnancy. However, the three pictures that I have of myself this go-round are more than I have of my other two pregnancies combined. So that’s progress, I guess.

Pregnancy Highlights

How Far Along: 23 Weeks

Size of baby: 11 inches long and about 1 pound…he is the size of a large mango.

Maternity Clothes: Yes, except for stretchy pants and t-shirts.

Gender: Boy! John Finley Lane, AKA Finn

Movement: All the time…he’s an active little guy.

Sleep: Still can’t get enough of it! I’m to the point where it’s difficult to find a comfortable position to sleep in, so I’m not sleeping quite as good at night. That makes me cherish Grayson’s naptime all the more!

What I miss: Sleeping good. And maybe clothes that fit. That’s about it.

Cravings: Strawberries…I’m almost embarrassed by how many I’ve eaten in the past few weeks. Almost. In my defense, at least it’s not ice cream.

Symptoms: A little heartburn, a little acid reflux. I can’t bend over to do anything anymore without some nasty acid reflux side effects. Other than that, I’m feeling good. I’m trying to take advantage of that while it lasts and get as many baby related things marked off my to-do list as I can.

Best moment of the week: I almost said not catching the flu that has been spreading through this county like the plague, but I don’t want to jinx myself. So, I’ll go with feeling Finn move and ordering the bunk beds for the boys’ room!

I have my glucose test coming up this week, as well as another ultrasound that will thoroughly check out Finn’s development. Our first ultrasound was just for fun and to find out that he was a he. I failed the glucose test with Grayson and had to take the three hour one. Not a fun way to spend half a day! We are praying that I pass it this time and that Finn is healthy and developmentally on track!

American Idol, Top 12 Girls

2011-03-03T19:52:00.003-06:00

When the ladies filed out on stage last night in their colorful attire, I though for a moment that it was the parade of states from the Miss America pageant. Alas, there was no Miss Arkansas with her awesome ventriloquism, but there were a few pageant worthy, as well as cringe worthy, moments.

Ta-Tynisa Wilson – I have never heard the song she performed - “Only Girl (In the World)”, so I can’t compare it to the original. I can, however, compare her outfit and hair to Whitney Houston’s in the video for “I Wanna Dance with Somebody”. So, yes, I have little concept of current music, but I have great memories of 80’s music videos. I am, indeed, that old. I didn’t like the performance, and I think she’s probably in trouble.

Naima Adedapo – Seriously, the names this season! I thought her outfit was a little, ahem, bright. Then she said she designed it herself, and I was torn between applauding her for her ingenuity and blessing her heart because they do pay stylists on that show that could help her out with that. Anyway, she sang “Summertime”, and it was jazzy and happy and I don’t really think of that song like that. So, A+ for her craftiness and C- for her performance.

Kendra Chantelle – She was the other half of the “Blackbird” duet with Paul McDonald in Vegas, so I already like her. And I thought her performance of “Impossible” was strong and not overdone. Plus, she was rocking the leather pants, so I applaud her for being able to belt out that song when I feel sure her air supply was rather limited. I hope she sticks around.

Rachel Zevita – Oh, lordy. I love Fiona Apple’s “Criminal”. Love it. I did not love the Broadway version of it that Rachel sang. I didn’t even like it a little bit. I even had to Google it to see if there was an actual show tunes version or if she came up with it all on her own. For the record, it appears she came up with it all on her own. Oh, bless her, it was bad. And a big mistake on her part, unfortunately.

Karen Rodriguez – And now it’s time for the talent portion of our pageant! “Hero” is another one of the songs that should be banned from the idol stage. And Karen had the pageant dress to go with her pageant performance! In her favor, she did mix it up a little with some Spanish thrown in. It was probably good enough to move her on through, but I think she’s gonna have to step it up if she wants to go very far this season.

Lauren Turner – I really like her. And I really liked her performance of “Seven Day Fool”. There is something about her look that makes me think of Cruella DeVille, but I’m trying hard to push that out of my mind. As long as she doesn’t show up with a white streak in her hair and start kidnapping Dalmatian puppies, I think I'll be okay.

Ashthon Jones – She sang “Love Over Me”. Quite honestly, that is all I can remember about her performance. Well, that and she had some big Whitney Houston in the 80’s hair. So, I’m thinking that’s not a good thing for her...

Julie Zorilla – I really liked her throughout the auditions, but somehow she fell apart last night. “Breakaway” was way too big for her. It was awkward and almost painful to watch. She looked super cute though, and I wish she had picked a different night to be so off. I think she’s better than that performance.

Haley Reinhart – Side note – I wish there was ONE name this season that I didn’t have to look up the spelling before I type it. Anyhoo, she did a great job on “Fallin’”, even if she did over-sing it and looked incredibly uncomfortable on stage. I’m kind of one the fence with this one. If she stays, I hope she tries to be a little less seductive and a little more comfortable.

Thia Megia – Haley could take some lessons from Thia. What a wee little girl with such a huge voice! And hello, understated performance! How refreshing to see a fifteen year old who knows that it’s okay not to fill up your performance with a lot of runs. It does take a lot of talent to be able to hit a note and hold it without all the extra junk. I am grateful to Thia for realizing that. And yes, if you couldn’t tell, I really liked her version of “Out Here on My Own”.

Lauren Alaina – Okay, so she is the female counterpart of Scott McCreery. She’s incredibly talented and will be an awesome country singer. And she’s totally going to be in the top ten. Although, I would like to see her tone down the make-up a little. She is only sixteen, after all. And I just sounded like my mother. Oy!

Pia Toscano – Where did she come from?? I love the song, “I’ll Stand By You”, and she tore it up. Outstanding. There is a major flaw in the system if she doesn’t go through.

In all, I don’t think the girls are quite as strong as the guys this year. It will be interesting to see who makes it through and how the judges' wild cards play into it.

American Idol, Top 12 Guys

2011-03-02T18:02:00.004-06:00

I can’t not blog about American Idol this season. Thus far, I have enjoyed it immensely. I’m loving the new judges, especially Steven Tyler (who’d a thought?), and there are some seriously promising contestants. So, let’s get started, shall we?

Clint Jun Gamboa – Okay, straight out of the gate, I don’t like him. It has nothing to do with his level of talent and everything to do with his diss of the young Jacee during Hollywood week. He sang “Superstition”, which sounded a bit karaoke to me, which is fitting since he is a karaoke DJ!

Jovany Barreto – “I’ll Be” is on the list of songs that should be banned from AI. Can you say over-played? Add to it the fact that he didn’t add anything unique to it, and I think it might be his last performance on the American Idol stage. Unless the shipyard mafia calls in some favors. Is it just me, or does he look like he might be a member of The Family?

Jordan Dorsey – What was that? I believe the word you’re searching for is awkward. And that’s what it was. “OMG” was probably not the best choice of song, and I’d say it sealed his fate when both the judges who liked everybody last night (that would be Steven and Jennifer) didn’t like him.

Tim Halperin – I had no idea who he was before he performed last night. Sadly, I doubt I will have the chance to find out much more about him. I say sadly, because I think I could like him. I didn’t think “Street Corner Symphony” was necessarily a bad choice for him, but it certainly didn’t do much to make him stand out.

Brett Lowenstern – I want to like this kid. I really do. He took up for Jacee during the Clint Jun diss, so I want to be loyal to him. But, I just can’t. His rendition of “Come on Baby Light My Fire” was wrong on so many levels. So. Many. Levels. And the constant hair shaking kind of gave me the heeby-jeebys. Plus, it was almost like the stage swallowed him up. Not a good combination

James Durbin – As opposed to Brett, I didn’t want to like James. He seems a little arrogant to me. And the screaming reminds me of Adam Lambert. And that is not a good thing in my book. However, “You’ve Got Another Thing Coming” was perfectly suited to the well-placed scream. And if he would lose the tail, I believe I could get behind him.

Robbie Rosen – Oh, dear. Let’s add any Sarah McLachlan song to the list of songs banned from AI, okay? Plus, Robbie looks like he walked straight off the set of Welcome Back, Kotter. Don’t believe me? Check this out.

From now on, Robbie Rosen will be also known as Horshack.

Scott McCreery – Okay, I am in no way diminishing this guy’s talent. Clearly, he is a great country singer, if that’s your cup of tea. And, as we all know, it is not mine. Plus, he has the preteen vote locked up, so I don’t think there is any way that he will not sail right on in to the top 10. BUT, what is up with him leaning so far over on that stool and then singing out of the side of his mouth? And, it wasn’t even the opposite side of his mouth from the way he was leaning. It was so off-balance, I had to turn away. Yes, I have issues, and apparently symmetry is one of them.

Stefano Langone – I’m on the fence with this one. I really like the song “Just the Way You Are”, and I thought he did pretty good with the end. The beginning, though, was rough. I think he could garner some of the teen vote, perhaps those who are not familiar with “Baby, lock the door and turn the lights down low…”, and that might save him.

Paul McDonald – I’m a fan of Paul. He won me over with “Blackbird” during Vegas, and then sealed the deal when he wore the awesome Dwight Yoakam suit during his final performance during Hollywood week. Not just anyone can pull off a rose-covered white suit. Also, he clearly has good dental hygiene (did you see how white his teeth are?), which is always a positive. It doesn’t hurt that he owned “Maggie May”. Move over, Rod.

Jacob Lusk – This dude has got pipes. I’m not really sure I can hear him doing anything current though. But, I bet the boy can throw down on some Jesus music.

Casey Abrams – Hands down, my favorite. Now, I know he needs some serious stylist help. Or just some scissors and a razor. But he’s got massive talent. He tore up “I Put a Spell on You” and pretty much stole the show. You never would’ve known he was in the hospital less than 24 hours prior to that performance. That, my friends, is determination. I can’t wait to see what else he’s got up his sleeve.

So, there you go… my take on the top 12 guys. Let’s see how the girls stack up tonight!

Reality TV Round-up

2011-02-02T08:25:00.002-06:00

I feel like I need to get some random reality television stuff off my chest today, so here we go in list format. Because I do love a list.

I’m having a hard time getting into The Biggest Loser this season. I’m not sure if it’s the new trainers or that we’ve only been really exposed to the half of the contestants who are training with Bob and Jillian. I find it hard to pull for a contestant, knowing that there are ten other contestants that I don’t know a whole lot about training at some mystery location with some secret trainers. And was I supposed to know who the mystery trainers were? ‘Cause I totally had never heard of them. It was a bit of a letdown when their identities were revealed. So, The Biggest Loser this season? So far, I could take it or leave it.
I’ve got 6 words for you: The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. Y’all. Y’all. This is my new favorite reality show. There is something so awesome about a show that makes you simultaneously think, “There cannot be people who actually live like this” and “Oh my goodness, there are people who actually who live like this.” But there is nothing that warms my reality-TV-loving heart more than seeing someone in the gourmet kitchen of their 17,000 square foot mansion breaking out the Wonder bread and Skippy. Because there are some things, like PB&J, that transcend all economic boundaries. LOVE. IT.
No reality television discussion would be complete without a mention of The Bachelor. As much as I want to believe that these ladies are just your average girls next door looking for love, I do realize that there must be a certain level of crazy present to think that you’re going to find love while dating a man who is also dating 24 other women in 6 weeks time with television cameras inches from your face at all times. How’s that for a run-on sentence? That said, I really like Emily. But I cannot be convinced that she had to resort to the Bachelor to find love. Seriously? Even if you take away her above average looks, she’s only 25! That’s hardly old maid age. It just seems to me that there has to be a better way to achieve your fifteen minutes of fame than being on the Bachelor. I guess that means I don’t possess that certain level of crazy. At least, I hope that’s what it means.
I was very skeptical of the new judges on American Idol. Not that I was a huge fan of Ellen or Kara. But I did question whether it could hold up without Simon. So far, I have to say I think it can. I love Steven Tyler as a judge. It does weird me out a little when he hits on contestants that are young enough to be his granddaughters, but he’s a pretty good judge. And Jennifer Lopez has, thus far, refrained from making any ignorant comments, a la Kara. I also love that the judges are not wasting a lot of time arguing with the contestants that stink over whether or not they really stink. They stink, they know they stink, let’s move on.

So as a recap, here’s how I would grade the current shows…

The Biggest Loser - D+

The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills - A++++++++

The Bachelor – C (as in Crazies)

American Idol – A-

What’s in a name…

2011-01-30T18:58:00.003-06:00

As much as I can remember, we had an easy time naming our first two kids. We knew we wanted Abby’s initials to be AKL (Burge’s fraternity at Alabama), so it was just a matter of what fit. Abigail Katherine Lane fit well, and it suits her. We knew before I was even pregnant with Grayson that if our next child was a boy he would be named Grayson. Davis was an easy choice for his middle name since it’s a family name on Burge’s side.

This third child hasn’t been so easy. We just couldn’t come up with a boy name that clicked. We knew if it was a girl, she would be Harper. And after a little discussion, we decided Tait fit as a middle name. I still love that name, but alas there will most likely never be a Harper Tait Lane (at least not from my womb). But that great boy name was just alluding us. I had several options picked out, but none of them were really speaking to Burge. He threw out a couple of suggestions, but I had reasons (and not just because I hadn’t picked them out) that they couldn’t be used.

Finally, after much deliberation, we decided on a name that we love. Well, it’s a name I love and a name that Burge can live with. I kid, he really likes it too (or at least that’s what he’s telling me). So, let me present the latest pictures of Lane 3.0, otherwise known as…

John Finley Lane, AKA Finn

John is for my maternal grandfather, and Finley, as well as Finn, are just names we really like.

I believe he’s waving at us in this picture. I think that means he likes his new moniker.

18 weeks

2011-01-26T21:31:00.003-06:00

After two weeks of taking this picture in our bedroom, I can see that I really need to make finding curtains a priority. We did have some in here until we got a new comforter for our bed and the red curtains we had didn’t match. The bare windows really haven’t bothered me until I had to look at them in these photos. So, add that to my ever-growing to-do list.

Pregnancy Highlights

How Far Along: 18 Weeks

Size of baby: 5 1/2 inches long and 7 ounces, Baby Lane 3.0 is about the length of a bell pepper.

Maternity Clothes: Mostly. Allow me a tangent here. Why do so many maternity tops have horizontal stripes on them? Horizontal stripes are not flattering on most people anyway, but then you add in a rapidly expanding belly (among other body parts) and there is just nothing attractive about it. Maybe I’m in the minority, but I don’t really want to draw attention to the hugeness that is my mid-section. And don’t get me started on maternity jeans. Is it just impossible to make a pair that aren’t mom jeans?

Gender: We found out yesterday that it’s a boy! I’ve never been so excited about being outnumbered before.

Movement: The kicks and movements are getting stronger and more evident every day. I love it!

Sleep: Oh, precious, glorious sleep! I think I must be storing up for the newborn months, because I could sleep all the time. I am so thankful Grayson still takes a good afternoon nap every day, because that means I get one too!

What I miss: Caffeine! And maybe having clothes that fit right.

Cravings: I’m still craving salty and sour. I couldn’t find Hot Fries at my grocery store the other day, so I had to settle for Funyuns. I have to say they hit the spot!

Symptoms: I’m feeling pretty good these days. Heartburn has kicked in, so Tums are my best friend! I’m sure it has nothing to do with the Hot Fries and Funyuns.

Best moment of the week: Finding out we are having another boy!

It’s a…

2011-01-25T16:53:00.002-06:00

We are thrilled! Well, okay, 3 out of 4 of us are thrilled. Abby was not quite as happy, but after much talk of how she gets to keep her room and her privacy, she agreed it might be a good thing. That and we promised her that she could still sleep in the bunk bed that Grayson and the new baby will eventually get.

17 Weeks

2011-01-18T13:22:00.003-06:00

Let me just say that I feel very weird taking my own picture and posting it here. But I am going to try to do better documenting this pregnancy since it will be my last one.

Pregnancy Highlights

How Far Along: 17 Weeks

Size of baby: 5 ounces, Baby Lane 3.0 is about the size of a turnip.

Maternity Clothes: I can still technically fit into most of my regular clothes (and some of them I can even still button!). But maternity is just so much more comfortable, especially when trying to sit down, so I’m mostly in maternity clothes now.

Gender: Hopefully, we will find out next week. Prayers for a cooperative baby during the ultrasound would be greatly appreciated.

Movement: I’ve been feeling flutters and little kicks for the past few weeks. I can’t wait until they get stronger!

Sleep: I love it! As a matter of fact, I can’t get enough of it. I’m sleeping really well so far, but I’m having crazy dreams!

What I miss: Caffeine! I splurged the other day at lunch and had a real Coke, and it tasted so good!

Cravings: I’m craving salty stuff now, mainly chili cheese Fritos and Hot Fries. And lemonade… I could drink a gallon a day!

Symptoms: I’m feeling pretty good these days. The yuckiness of first trimester has passed, and I’m just waiting on nesting to kick in.
Best moment of the week: I loved getting to hear the baby’s heartbeat at my 16 week appointment last week. I love feeling the little movements too!

The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia

2011-01-17T07:29:00.002-06:00

Let me start by saying that I did not watch the Miss America pageant Saturday night. That is not high on Burge’s list of top things to do on a Saturday night. I’d say it ranks right above having a 1 inch in diameter kidney stone rolling around in his kidney. And, well, since he’s already got that going for him, I figured I wouldn’t put him through any more pain.

However, I feel like I watched it by the wonderful comments on Twitter. Those ladies did a wonderful job dissecting the show, especially the talent competition (Hello, Miss Arkansas with your yodeling ventriloquist act!). But I can’t discuss any kind of pageant without it bringing to mind my most favorite scene from one of the best shows of all time: Designing Women.

I LOVE Designing Women! I am old enough to remember it being on during it’s first run, and even watched some of it then. But I watched every episode numerous times in reruns on Lifetime. I loved Julia Sugarbaker. I wanted to be Julia Sugarbaker. I still kinda do, minus the shoulder pads. She was just such a classy lady, except for that one episode when her son, Payne, got married, and she got a little tipsy and almost performed a striptease for the wedding guests. But I can forgive her for that slip-up based on this scene alone.

If you need me for anything today, you will find me glued to YouTube watching scenes from Designing Women. And maybe brushing up on my baton twirling skills.

We might have a problem…

2011-01-13T16:18:00.002-06:00

Our grocery list from this morning…

Ya think we’ve done some drinking during Snowmageddon 2011?

Zone Defense

2010-12-16T12:51:00.002-06:00

I love how men can turn absolutely anything into a sports analogy. I almost said men from the south, but I think this phenomenon reaches all of the male species. My favorite comes from the doctor who delivered Abby…

He asked me at one appointment late in my pregnancy with her how many children we planned on having. I answered that we thought we would probably have two or three. He said, “Let me give you a little advice. My wife and I have 3 kids. When you have 2 kids, you can go with man-to-man coverage. But when you have that third child, you have to go to zone defense.”

Well, friends, Burge and I are about to have to implement some zone defense.

Lane 3.0 has an estimated arrival date of June 28, 2011! Note that this ultrasound picture was taken at my 8 week appointment and I am 12 weeks now. So, the little guy (or girl) should look less blob-like and more baby-like by now.

We are thrilled! Especially Abby, who of course, wants a girl. Grayson is slightly less enthusiastic, but has nevertheless declared his desire for a boy. At least somebody will be happy. We could really care less as long as he (or she) is healthy!

I’ve felt pretty good so far, except for a little queasiness and a lot of exhaustion. I’ve had no real food aversions or cravings yet, except for red meat. I could eat a hamburger or steak at every meal!

We are praying that the next 28 weeks chug along as well as the last 12, and we can’t wait to find out if it’s a boy or girl!

5 Things I Learned from the AMAs

2010-11-22T08:18:00.002-06:00

If you didn’t watch the American Music Awards last night, this post will likely mean nothing to you. If you did watch them and you are somewhere around my age, I think you will be able to relate.

Here are five things I learned while watching the AMAs…

Apparently, it is no longer a necessity to be able to sing your music live. With all the fancy voo-doo technology of today’s recording studios, they can make people sound really good on an album ( I realize the term album is so terribly outdated, but oh well). But then, when it comes time to perform the song live, it sounds ~~not so good~~ absolutely terrible. Several times last night, I asked Burge, “Can they not hear the music?” Randy Jackson would say they were pitchy. I would say they were NOT GOOD.
As someone (Thanks, Amber!) said on Facebook last night, clearly the economy is so bad that the back-up dancers could not afford clothes. All I can say is AMEN to that! There was a lot of skin. A LOT. We didn’t start watching until the second hour because we waited until the kids went to bed. Wise move on our part.
Pat Monahan’s sparkly pants weirded me out. That does not detract from my love of Train, or that I thought their performance was the best of the night. His pants just weirded me out. I tend to believe if you are a grown man and not a disco singer, you should not wear sparkly pants. But that’s just me.
Everything that was old is now new again. I am fairly certain the pants Pink had on during her performance could be classified as MC Hammer pants. And the dancers during Kesha’s performance (by the way, who the heck is Kesha? Honestly, do they just give out record deals to anybody these days??)? They were sporting mullets. Full on business in the front, party in the back. What is the world coming to?
I am TOTALLY out of touch with the current music scene. And you know what? I am okay with that. Absolutely fine with it.

Queen Bees, Game 1

2010-09-09T21:34:00.002-05:00

Tonight was the inaugural game for the Queen Bees, Abby’s soccer team. It was the first real soccer game a third of our team has ever played. Ever. Let’s all keep that in mind, okay?

Some people like to judge a win based on who had the most goals. Personally, I think that’s overrated. I think wins should be awarded for teams who play their little 6 year old hearts out. Who leave it all on the field. The teams who never stop smiling, no matter how far behind they are. The ones who get knocked down and pop right back up, and the smile never leaves their faces. The ones who don’t complain, they just keep right on trucking.

The Queen Bees would be winners in that world. They would ALL be winners in that world. Heck, they ARE all winners!

Unfortunately, that’s not the way they judge a win, and the Queen Bees left tonight 0 and 1. I believe the final score was 5-0, but honestly, I quit counting after a while. But those girls never gave up. I am so proud of the way they handled themselves.

And they had a good time. That really is the most important thing. They had fun. Granted, they would have had more fun had they actually scored a goal, but that will come in time. Maybe lots of time. But it’ll come.

Computers and Kids

2010-09-07T22:00:00.002-05:00

Last week, I became the proud owner of this beauty…

And I’ve been trying ever since to get everything moved over from the keyless laptop to this one and figuring out how everything works. I have this odd relationship with technology. I’m not all that technologically savvy, even though I do hold a computer science minor that I earned back in 1999. I’m quite sure when I graduated that I thought because I was fluent in the computer languages C+ and assembly, I would be able to handle any computer related issue that came my way. Alas, the computer industry advanced and my knowledge did not. Which leads me to where I am today: not very technologically savvy.

I know just enough about computers that I can usually mess around with things until I get it the way I want it (plus Google is my friend). However, when I get it the way I want it, I usually can’t remember how I got there. Actually, come to think of it, that’s usually my approach to life in general. I just mess around with stuff until I get it like I like it, and then later I can’t remember what I did to get it there. Yes, frustration is my middle name most of the time. That’s just how I roll.

In other news…

That child there on the right? He is full-on in a size 3T now. Like so full-on in a 3T that if he grows any this winter, he’ll be in a 4T. That makes me kind of sad. He will be three next month. That makes me kind of sad too. Motherhood is such a bittersweet thing…

And finally, a bit of housekeeping… you can now find this little gem of nonsense at www.blessedlane.com. So, if you have this page bookmarked, you might want to update the address. Please. If you subscribe in a reader, I don’t think you need to do anything. But what do I know? You might want to re-read those first couple of paragraphs…

1st Grade Spelling Wonder

2010-09-01T21:02:00.003-05:00

One of the good things about my kids getting older is watching them learn new things. I have been astonished at how much Abby has learned in just the first 3 weeks of first grade. I also love to see her trying to do things on her own. For instance, she brought home this paper the second week of school. Clearly, her teacher let her do it own her own…

Rest assured, when I find that elusive “golbfish”, it will indeed be hers.

The Post with No Title

2010-08-26T20:43:00.002-05:00

It has been a wild week in our house. After Grayson’s bout with the croup, he spent 4 days on Prednisone . If you’ve never experienced a 2 year old under the influence of a steroid, then you’ve just not lived. Sleep was hard to come by, and hyperness was at an all time high. We’ve just now started to calm down. Because of this, I can’t manage much coherence right now (let’s just pretend that I can normally put together coherent thoughts, okay?), so here’s a bunch of randomness that has no title.

Lately, everything Grayson eats is “deeee-yish-us”, said while rubbing his tummy and doing his Stevie Wonder head swing. He doesn’t realize yet that he wraps me around his little finger every time he tells me something I cook for him is “deeee-yish-us”.

He has also been obsessed with smells lately. He crinkles his little nose, and says “I smell.” Now, let’s be honest, in a house of four people, two of which are male, there’s not usually a lack of smells. When we ask him, though, what he smells, he always answers “carrots”. Hmmmm, what? Where did that come from? I very rarely cook carrots unless I’m cooking a roast, so who knows what is going through his mind…

Today, I heard him on the monitor waking up from his nap, and since it was almost time to pick Abby up from school, I opened his door to tell him he could get up. When he heard the door open, he sat up in bed and said, “I trying to sweep!” I snickered and asked him to repeat himself, and he said, “I trying to nap, you know, sweep!” Never mess with a boy and his beauty “sweep”.

Monday, Monday

2010-08-23T21:29:00.002-05:00

I felt like I was gone all weekend long, so I had a ton of stuff that I needed to get done today. And, how much of that did I actually do? Not much. I was lacking in the motivation department today. At least on the housekeeping side of things. I got up itching to get out the sewing machine. I had been wanting to try to make Grayson a train t-shirt to wear for his Thomas birthday party. In October. I thought I had better get a head start since I had no idea many tries it would take to get it like I wanted it. And of course, I couldn’t make Grayson something without making Abby something too.

Here’s how they turned out… Grayson’s…

And, Abby’s, quite obviously…

This little project set me back a whopping $2.00. I found the shirts at the Dollar Tree (what are the chances?!), I cut the appliqués out of some scrap material, and I had the web fusion stuff left over from another little project. And it only took me a couple of hours! That is huge for me, because I am not a very proficient seamstress. At all.

The best thing about it, though, was this reaction…

Priceless! I may just have to go ahead and let him wear this one now and make him another one for his birthday party. Who could say no to that face?

Late Night Musings…

2010-08-20T21:06:00.002-05:00

Grayson woke up last night about 10:00 with croup. Poor little guy was barking like a seal, struggling to get a good breath and couldn’t talk. Fortunately, we have an awesome family doctor who found us a 24 hour pharmacy and called him in a prescription. While Burge headed out to get his medicine, Grayson and I sat out on the porch in the 700% humidity. I am ever so thankful for the “so thick you could cut it with a knife” humid air because it gave him almost instant relief.

While sitting out there, we watched the random cars go by. I asked Grayson where he thought the cars were going. After a few moments of deliberation, he decided Wal-Mart was their destination. After a few more moments of deep thought, he said, “And they’ll have to ride in the buggy.” At least he knows the rules…

A few minutes later, I told him I was sorry that he felt bad. He told me, “I not feel bad, Mommy. I happy!” Bless his heart…you just can’t keep a good kid down.

Smart Cars…Are They Really So Smart?

2010-08-17T18:29:00.003-05:00

Last Friday, after Grayson and I got groceries (Hallelujah for being back to grocery shopping with just one child!) we were in need of some nourishment and the only thing that would fit the bill was some Christian chicken. So we headed over to Chick-Fil-A and on our way through town saw one of these…

I pointed it out to Grayson…”Oh look at the cute little car!”… because I had never seen one on the road anywhere around our area. And then on the way home, guess what we saw.

Yes! Another one! And yes, I am quite sure it was not the same one. They were different colors.

Y’all. I cannot get over how tiny these things are. You would have to really like someone to want to ride in the passenger seat when they were driving one of these. You know how you make fun of couples when you see them riding in a truck with a bench seat and the girl is all slid over up against the guy? Wait. Is that just my family? Is my dad the only one that would always ask how many people it took to drive that thing? If so, this example might not mean much to you. But for the rest of you, this car is so small, you don’t even have to slide on over. Once you get in and shut the door, you are already all slid over. I’m talking zero personal space (and we all know how much I cherish my personal space).

There’s pretty much no space period. How could you get groceries in one of these things? Where would you put your dry cleaning after you pick it up? Hang it from the antenna?

Now, I know that they are better for the environment and very fuel efficient, which I can totally get behind. Especially the fuel efficient part, because I am all for anything that will save money on gas (Hello?! Do we not own a Focus?). After all, saving money is my love language. But even I will not trade saving a buck for safety (most of the time). And how safe can a car really be when it’s so small a VW Beetle could back over it and mistake it for a small dog?

And, on top of that, they are not even all that cheap! You could totally buy… oh I don’t know…a Focus for cheaper than one of these. And you could fit your groceries in a Focus. And your dry cleaning. At the same time. And savor some personal space (not a lot, mind you, but some). But then, I guess a Focus wouldn’t get you noticed quite as much as one of these little guys. I’ve certainly never said, “Hey, Grayson, check out that Focus!” So I guess it’s all about your priorities. Some people like to be noticed, and some people just like to have a place to hang their dry cleaning inside their car.

Weekend in Review

2010-08-15T19:42:00.002-05:00

Saturday morning, Burge ran in his first 5K race. Right here would be a good place to insert some pictures of this monumental occasion, but that would mean that I actually had pictures. And to take pictures, I would have actually had to have been there. But, alas, I was not there. Because I am just that good of a wife. Instead, I was snoozing the morning away in my bed, trying to sleep off the effects of having to get up at 5:30 every morning last week.

Anyway I woke up to this.

Yep, my “9” key bit the dust. I never realized how much I use that #9, or more importantly, the “(“. That left parenthesis is key (no pun intended)... without it, the right parenthesis is just left hanging. And in case you haven’t noticed, I like my parentheses. A lot. They are second only to my beloved comma.

I’m thinking the good ol’ Dell Inspiron is approaching the twilight of his life. He is, after all, over 5 years old. That is practically ancient in computer years. He’s slowed down a lot lately, not all his ports work anymore, and his frame is cracked. I thought a new battery and power cord might revive him a few months ago, but I think it’s just prolonging the inevitable. He’s headed for the laptop graveyard. It brings a tear to my eye because we’ve been through so much together. I’m going to hate to see him go.

Moving on to happier topics… I decided after securing the “Wife of the Year” award Saturday morning by sleeping through Burge’s race, I would keep that ball rolling by not accomplishing anything all day Saturday. I almost achieved that goal too, but this was calling my name…

The call was just too strong, so I got dressed and made a Sonic happy hour run. Seriously, who can turn down a Route 44 Vanilla Diet Coke for $1? Not I!

We finished off Saturday night with some grilled steaks (by Burge, I was pretty much worthless all day), twice-baked potatoes and a movie. We watched Extraordinary Measures, which was a heart-wrencher, but very good.

All in all, it was an awesome, relaxing Saturday, which will hopefully be good preparation for the packed-to-the-gills week we have ahead of us. Guess what starts this week… SOCCER!

It’s All Right ‘Cause I’m Saved by the Bell

2010-08-12T19:49:00.004-05:00

Thus far in my parenting career, I have remained unscathed when it comes to kids and pop culture. Abby doesn’t have the foggiest idea who Justin Bieber is. She has no desire to “Party in the USA”. She’s still perfectly content watching Nick Jr. and Playhouse Disney, with a side of Phineas and Ferb thrown in. Spongebob is not even allowed in our house.

And frankly, I like it that way. She’s only six, for heaven’s sake. I feel like I should have a few more years before she’s obsessed with that other side of Disney, you know The Suite Life of Waverly Place, iCarly Montana, etc. To be honest, I’m not sure how fond I am of those shows. Why do Zach and Cody live in a suite? Do they have parents? Are the Waverly Place wizards good wizards or bad wizards? Is there such a thing as good wizards? And don’t get me started on Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus… All these shows may very well be harmless, but in order for me to be absolutely sure of this, I would have to watch them and I am not ready to take that step yet. Or maybe ever. Not that I would have to look far for an opportunity. These shows are on. All. The. Time.

I may just have to invest in DVDs of all the seasons of Saved by the Bell. Now there’s some quality tween programming.

Who didn’t love the antics of Zach, Slater, Kelly, Lisa, Jesse and Screech? And who could forget the coolness that was Zach Morris’s humongous cell phone?

There was no questionable content in Saved by the Bell, unless you count that episode where Jesse got hyped up on the speed the night before her big test. Alas, she saw the error in her ways before the thirty minutes were up, so that negates any questionable content. At least in my mind.

Then there was the young, innocent love between Zach and Kelly Kapowski, that culminated in…

A Vegas wedding! It just doesn’t get any more home-spun than that, right? I think it would be awesome to be able to share that nugget of my adolescence with Abby one day. As long as she doesn’t ask me what the gang from Bayside High has been up to since they graduated. I certainly have no plans to explain how Screech has been earning a living these days…

Grayson Lane, Age 2

2010-08-10T19:28:00.002-05:00

Since Abby got a post named after her yesterday, I thought it was only fair Grayson get one today. Grayson is night to Abby’s day, black to her white. They are very different in most areas. Is it because he’s a boy and she’s a girl? Or because she’s first born and he came second? I’m sure those factors play some role in it, but I think it’s mainly because they just have totally different personalities. Not that one is any better. They are both really sweet, good kids (most of the time. I say that after they’ve both been sent to their rooms this afternoon for 2 separate incidents). Just different.

It would never occur to Abby to take a crayon and color the wall, because we have not specifically told her she could. It would never occur to Grayson not to take a crayon and color the wall, because we have never specifically told him not to. Pardon me while I go tell Grayson that it is not okay to color on the walls with crayons. Just in case… Okay, that’s taken care of. Carry on. They are just different.

Grayson has changed tremendously over the past six months. His speech has dramatically improved, and I can’t wait for each day to begin, just to hear what will come out of his mouth next. It’s also fascinating to watch him begin to use his imagination more when playing. And of course, it’s great just to watch him be a goofball, which is quite often. That boy is a ham.

I thought you might get a kick out of some of his recent performances as well. First up, his version of “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star”.

Please note the Stevie Wonder head sway. Nice. Next up, Abby and Grayson asking the blessing on our supper.

Yes, there’s the head sway again. And apparently God hears you better if you squinch your eyes really tight and clasp your hands so tight your knuckles turn white. That’s good to know. And finally, Grayson showing off his mad hula hoop skills and how to do a crunch without your shoulders ever leaving the floor. That’s talent, folks.

Do those simple exercises and you, too can have the awesome physique of a two year old.

Oh my, how I love that boy! He never fails to bring a smile to my face.

Abby K. Lane, First Grader

2010-08-09T21:19:00.002-05:00

Abby is officially a first grader. Today was the first day of school around here, and given how perky Abby was when she bounded out of bed at 6:10 this morning, I’d guess she was pretty excited about it. She couldn’t wait to put on her new school clothes and carry her new backpack. She was not so excited to have me walk her into school. But I told her to suck it up because I was going in with her. I don’t ask for a lot from her, but that was something I was not going to budge on. A momma has her boundaries, you know. Maybe I should’ve thought that through a little more…

She asked me to take her picture in her snazzy new duds. And I happily obliged.

Ready to go!

We made the 2 minute drive to the school, navigated through all poorly parked cars, and Grayson and I walked her in to her class. Here’s where things got a little dicey.

Abby’s teacher had coloring sheets for them to work on while all the first day hoopla was going on. Abby sat down at her desk and got out her crayons. Grayson sat down at the desk next to her and reached for her crayons. In his defense, he has spent the last two months basically doing everything Abby did because that’s what she’s told him to do. When I told him that we weren’t staying and he would have to color when we got home, the tears started flowing. And then the wailing and gnashing of teeth followed. Honestly, you would have thought someone had cut off his arm. Or taken away his best friend, which I guess is probably how he looked at it.

The other parents started looking at us, and not in that sympathetic, “bless his heart” kind of way, but more in that “you’re a bad parent, can’t you control your child” kind of way, I broke out in a sweat and Abby gave me a look that clearly conveyed her embarrassment of the situation. So we high-tailed it out of there and to the car as quickly as possible. On the plus side, with all that commotion, I didn’t have a chance to get teary-eyed that my baby was starting the first grade. On the downside, when we got in the car, I got teary-eyed because I felt sure we had ruined her first day of first grade and someday she would be discussing this embarrassment with her therapist.

Fortunately, when we picked her up this afternoon, she declared this the greatest day of her life and proceeded to relive the entire day, detail by detail as we went to get our celebratory treat…

A Sonic happy hour slush. Sonic can cure many hurts. Amen.

Grayson and I both apologized for embarrassing her, and she graciously accepted our apologies. However, she did request that we just drop her off at the door tomorrow.

I think that can be arranged.

She’s Crafty…

2010-08-05T21:03:00.002-05:00

First off, let me say that I am not a creative person. And I’m not saying that so that you all will leave me comments (and by the way, did you know that you could leave comments at the end of this post on the actual blog? Just thought I would point that out, because comments to a blogger? They are like crack to an addict) telling me that I am so creative. I’m really not. I have grown in craftiness in the past few years, but not so much in creativity. The difference is the ideas. I’m great at doing the craft, not great at coming up with the idea for the craft.

Enter the internet. Hallelujah for the world wide web! It is chock full of really creative people who like to share their knowledge. It is a virtual smorgasbord of creativity. There is a plethora of ideas out there waiting to be discovered. And while I may not be very good at coming up with my own creative ideas, I am awesome at copying someone else’s. I almost said stealing right there, but I’m not really stealing because these people gladly share their talent, even going so far as to give step-by-step instructions. Gotta love that generosity.

One of my favorite crafty people is Jill at Controlling My Chaos. She is incredibly creative and pretty funny too! I’ve gotten lots of ideas from her blog, especially for teachers’ gifts and school stuff. Which leads me to my latest project: ID tags for Abby’s backpack and lunch box. These are super cute, if I did make them myself.

And here’s a close-up…

All this took was about fifteen minutes, a couple of badge holders and key rings (found at good ol’ Wal-Mart), scrapbook paper, ribbon and a picture.

This was a really quick and cheap project, and Abby loves them!

Girls’ Day Out

2010-08-02T22:17:00.002-05:00

Saturday, Abby and I had our 2nd Annual Girls’ Day Out Before School Starts. That’s the official name. We’re going to have t-shirts made.

Abby loves to go to the movies. But, let’s be honest, there’s not a lot of movies out there that I’m really comfortable taking my very sheltered 6 year old to. Even a lot of the animated, “for kids” movies have a lot of innuendo and questionable scenes in them.

However, I had heard rave reviews about Ramona and Beezus. I adored all the Beverly Cleary books growing up, and I had introduced Abby to them this past year. So we decided to go see the movie Saturday afternoon. To say I was as excited about seeing it as Abby was would be an understatement. I was probably more excited about the movie. Abby was definitely more excited about the popcorn. That girl can put away some popcorn.

After shelling out $97 for 2 matinee tickets, a popcorn and a drink, we grabbed Abby a booster seat and headed into the theater. Abby is plenty tall enough to see without a booster seat, but she can’t keep the seat from folding up with her in it. And you have not seen panic until you’ve seen a little girl, who loves her some popcorn, get folded up in a theater seat and almost drop her $60 bag of popcorn. Nor have you seen the panic when a momma has to decide what to save first: the $60 popcorn or her daughter. I’ll let you guess what I decided.

Here’s Abby enjoying the golden popcorn. Seriously, how big does she look in this picture? When did she grow up? I swear she was Grayson’s age just yesterday. And why does she look mildly frightened here?

The Lane girls… Am I a wee bit of a photo hog? Possibly.

The movie? It did not disappoint. Honestly, it is a great family movie. There was not one inappropriate thing in it. Not one time did I hold my breath, hoping Abby wouldn’t ask me what something meant.

One thing that did bother me… Bridget Moynahan played the Quimby momma. You know who she is, Tom Brady’s ex-girlfriend, mother of his first-born son. You know, she's like my age. And she’s playing the mother of Beezus, a fifteen year old. Like I could play the mother of a 15 year old. Yeah, that made me feel old. Until I came home and googled her. And I found out from Wikipedia that she’s actually Burge’s age. And since we all know that Burge robbed the cradle when he married me, I felt much better about that whole situation.

We continued the 2nd Annual Girls’ Day Out Before School Starts with a little shopping, during which Abby declared that the only thing she has ever really wanted in life is a pair of high heels. That wish, unfortunately for her, remains un-fulfilled. And we ended the day with a Coke Icee.

It was an awesome day, and I’m so glad we got to spend it together!

Oh, the Things Kids Say…

2010-07-31T20:03:00.002-05:00

The other day, Grayson and I went out to the school to see what first grade class Abby was going to be in. There was another woman there checking out the class lists too. She had somewhat of an odor surrounding her, like perhaps it had been a while since her last shower. Grayson said, quite loudly, “Momma, what’s that smell?” I tried to shush him, but since he did not get the answer he was looking for the first time he kept asking over and over and got louder and louder. Thank goodness, I’m still the only one that can understand half of what Grayson says…

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After her first night of soccer camp ever…

Abby declared: “I know everything there is to know about soccer!”

My response: “Really?”

Abby: “Well, everything they taught us tonight”

Obviously, she needs no lessons in confidence.

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While riding in the car, Grayson attempted a knock-knock joke…

Grayson: “Knock-knock, Momma”

Me: “Who’s there?”

Grayson: “Orange”

Me: “Orange who?”

Grayson: “Knock-knock” -- Okay, this is not going well...

Me: “Who’s there?”

Grayson: “Banana”

Me: “Banana who?”

Grayson: “I thirsty, Momma”

All-righty then.

A Boy and His Action Figures (don’t call them dolls)

2010-07-29T20:55:00.002-05:00

I love that Grayson asks me to tuck in Buzz and Woody every night.

I love that he has to situate them “just so” every night.

I love that he explains to me that Woody doesn’t sleep with his hat on.

I love that he tries to take off their shoes because they shouldn’t be in the bed with their shoes on.

I love that he asks to pray for Nana, Pop, Grandmother and the playroom every night.

I love that he asks me to “cover you up” at least 5 times every night before it’s just right and I can turn out the light.

I love that I have a picture to remind me of these nights since there will come a time when he no longer needs me to tuck him in or wants me to kiss him good night 15 times before I leave the room.

You Can’t Judge a Book by Its Cover…or the Contents by the Box

2010-07-27T21:15:00.002-05:00

Last week, our UPS man brought me these boxes…

And in those two boxes were these…

Waste much?

And for the person who will inevitably ask why anyone would order just 2 pens, let me explain. A few weeks ago, I won this awesome giveaway over at Alabama Bloggers for a $60 gift certificate to CSN Stores. If you’ve never checked them out, you should. Just about anything you can think of that you want to buy online, they have. And lots of free super fast shipping. I decided to use my gift certificate to buy Grayson’s birthday present…this Little Tikes basketball goal.

However, it was only $28, and I had to use the whole $60 at once. So, being that I do heart my label maker, labels were an obvious choice. But I still had a few dollars left, hence the two pens. My frugal self is happy to say I paid $1.16 out of pocket for the basketball goal, labels and pens. Because of that, I am more than willing to overlook the massive boxes and itty-bitty contents.

And by the way, while I did get the gift certificate for free through Alabama Bloggers, CSN has no idea who I am and did not ask me to tell you about their store and really big boxes. I did that all on my own.

Weekend in Review

2010-07-26T21:58:00.002-05:00

Well, I am officially a soccer mom. Abby started her soccer season this past week with a mini-soccer camp. And Burge began his career as a soccer coach. It’s a new era in the Lane house!

Here’s my sassy girl, ready for her first night of soccer.

While Burge and Abby learned the ins and outs of the game of soccer, I was planning our new MOPS year with my fellow MOPS moms. There was a little eating, a little more talking and a lot of planning that went on. I think it’s going to be a good year!

Saturday was mine and Burge’s 11th wedding anniversary. So, we did what any couple that’s been married 11 years and have two kids would do, we took the kids with us and went to eat at Wingstop. Then we followed it up with Dairy Queen. I honestly could not have asked for anything better.

Before we took off Saturday afternoon for the big city of Fort Payne, we made a quick stop by the Peddler’s Market, a local antique store. I knew the time was coming that Abby would need a desk in her room to do homework and whatever else it is that 6 year old girls do. I also knew from looking at prices on the internet that I would not be purchasing a new desk. I cannot believe the prices of furniture today. Furniture that is not even real wood! So anyway, Burge and I had discussed it and decided we would keep an eye on Craiglist and check out yard sales for a real wood desk that we could refurbish, if needed. Then last week, I saw a picture of a desk on Facebook at the Peddler’s Market that fit the bill perfectly. So Saturday, after a bit of inspecting and negotiating, this little beauty came home with us…

A diamond in the rough, she is… While I certainly have nothing against avocado green, this will be stripped and painted white to match the rest of Abby’s furniture. You know, once the temperature dips below 90 degrees. 100+ degree weather is not really conducive to painting. At least, not in my world.

Sunday, we had nursery duty in Grayson’s class. In case you were wondering, spending an hour in a small, confined space with ten 2 & 3 year olds will make you question your sanity. So, we came home, took a few Valium and now we’re ready to start a new week!

Dream a Little Dream

2010-07-23T07:03:00.002-05:00

Earlier this week a Facebook status sparked an on-line discussion about recurring dreams. There’s a couple that I have just about every other week, and they both have to do with school. I’m quite sure that there’s some deep-seated meaning to these, I just don’t know what it is.

In the first one, I’m in high school, and I can’t remember the combination to my locker. So since I can’t get into my locker to get my books out, I’m late for class. Let me set this up properly. Back when I was in high school (way, way back then, before everyone had cell phones and laptops and when acid-washed, tight-rolled jeans were cool), we had two types of lockers: big lockers and little lockers. A big one would be prime real estate, like the penthouse apartment of lockers, while the little one would be like a studio apartment in the ‘hood. A big locker was tall, had hooks to hang your coat, backpack & purse (what exactly did I have to carry around that I needed a purse for at 14 years old? Another of life’s mysteries…) and a shelf for your books. A little locker might have room for your books. Maybe. But certainly not room for a Trapper Keeper. You could just forget that. Anyway, in my dream, I have a little locker that is on the very top. So, on top of not being able to remember the combination to get it open, I can barely even reach the locker. I am not lying when I say that I have broken out into a sweat while I’m typing this. That’s how disturbing this dream is for me.

The second one involves college. It’s finals week and I discover that I have a final for a class that I have never been to and didn’t know I was enrolled in. I don’t have the book for the class, so I can’t study, even if I had any clue what the class was about. A variation on this dream is that I know I’m enrolled in the class, but we’ve still never had class or a test, and the final will count as the entire grade for the class.

Unresolved issues regarding educational institutions, you think?

Now, keep in mind I have been out of high school for 15 years and college for over 10. Should I not have gotten past this stuff by now? Will I be 80 and still dealing with not being able to get my locker open? Oh the horrors!

So, what say you? Any recurring dreams? Discuss among yourselves…

Sign of the Times

2010-07-21T21:14:00.002-05:00

I did not play video games when I was two. I’m fairly certain I did not know what a video game was when I was two. Had video games even been invented when I was two? The times, they are a-changin’… Or more like, they’ve already changed.

Because I Like a List

2010-07-20T20:15:00.002-05:00

A few thoughts on the Bachelorette in list format, because who doesn’t like a list…

This has been the best Bachelorette ever in my humble opinion. So. Much. Drama. Chris Harrison ain’t lying when he says its the most dramatic rose ceremony ever.
Could someone please school contestants on proper pronoun usage? For the past few years, I have heard “her and I” and “him and I” more than I can count. It’s “she and I”, people! For the love of all that’s good, it’s “SHE AND I”! Alabama even wrote a song about it!
Why does a messy break-up make such riveting television? First, Jake and Vienna and now, Frank and Ali. It’s like a train wreck. No, scratch that. It IS a train wreck.
Speaking of Frank (and I’m sure there are plenty of people speaking of Frank today), at what point exactly did he realize he was in love with Nicole? One of the numerous times he was making out with Ali? I realize there was probably a lot of editing done, but still…he had to wait until the final three? Really?
Does anyone think if Chris L. doesn’t walk away with the final rose he’s going to have to enter the witness protection program to get away from the hoards of single women who will be after him?
Ali’s hair has bothered me all season. There has been some abuse with the use of bobby pins. Yep, I’m calling excessive bobby pin use!
I thought it would have been perfect when Ali was crying over Frank if Kasey had made a guest appearance and sang an off-key, two-note song about how he would guard and protect her heart. That would’ve made her feel better, don’t you think? Then they could have gone and gotten tattoos together. Perfection.
I think Roberto has a perspiration issue. He was sweating in every scene last night. And not just a little, it was rolling off his face like Niagara Falls. Yes, I know they were in Tahiti, but I didn’t notice Chris sweating buckets.
I’m thinking “The Men Tell All” and the finale will be somewhat of a letdown after all the drama this season, but the “After the Final Rose” oughta be a doozy.
I should be so ashamed that I analyze a reality TV dating show like I do, but alas, I am not.

Weekend in Review

2010-07-19T21:26:00.002-05:00

We had a pretty laid back weekend compared to what we’ve had the past few weeks. Saturday was errand day. Burge had to go line the soccer field (that’s a whole ‘nother post about how he went from assistant coach to head soccer coach in one fell swoop), so the kids went to Centre with me. It could have been a recipe for disaster. However, it went remarkably well. Only one meltdown in one store. And I do apologize to the gentleman who had to watch me “discipline” my child in the middle of CVS. I honestly would have taken him outside to administer said discipline, but since the bone of contention was his disdain for riding in the buggy, I felt like taking him out of the buggy would have almost been a win for him and well, I just couldn’t let that happen.

Anyway, we went to Wal-Mart after CVS, and apparently the discipline worked because Grayson had no issues with the buggy there. We picked up Abby’s school supply list and filled most of it on the spot. Two small tangents here. First, kudos once again to the marketing people of Wal-Mart. How clever is it to have all the supply lists for all the schools mere feet away from the 50 cent packs of #2 pencils and 25 cent glue sticks? Sheer genius. Also, here’s a shout-out of thanks to the 1st grade teachers at Abby’s school for the short school supply list. I think it’s pretty smart that you load up the kindergarteners with the 2 page lists because they don’t know any better, so then when they hit first grade and the list is about 1/3 of the kindergarten list, they feel immense thanks. And relief. So, we filled most of her list while we were at Wal-Mart. However, there’s always that one elusive item on the list that is unattainable. I thought it was going to be the First Grade Creative Writing Journal. The list was awfully specific and even gave stores where it was carried. That, in my vast 2 years of school supply buying experience is the kiss of death. But no, instead it was the 32 pack of crayons. Does such a thing exist? I found 8 packs, 24 packs and 48 packs, but no 32 packs. We went with the 48 pack and called it a day.

Sunday, we went to church, and then I headed to K-Mart to peruse the clearance toys which are an extra 50% off this week. I hit this sale last year and managed to buy most of the kids’ Christmas and birthday presents in July. This year I not only managed to fill our Christmas and birthday lists for the kids (for the most part…Santa still has to do his thing), but also the lists of most of my family members. It was a well spent afternoon, to say the least. Plus, they gave me a free diet coke. I don’t know what was up with that, but I never look a gift diet coke in the mouth.

And so, another weekend is in the books and another week begins. The summer is winding down…

Friday Fun

2010-07-18T22:09:00.002-05:00

Chalk another one up for the “Lane Family Summer of FUN”! Mark another one off the list! Friday, Burge took off work and we took the kids to Huntsville to the U.S. Space and Rocket Center.

I’m ashamed to say I have been a resident of Alabama all 33 years of my life and I have never been there. No, we never took a field trip there. Apparently, our class was super bad, because I don’t recall getting to take the really cool field trips. Or maybe my definition of cool field trips has changed over the years.

Anyway, it was my first visit. And no, we didn’t see the Star Wars exhibit. We could get in free to the museum with our Gadsden Center for Cultural Arts membership. We’re cheap. ‘Nuff said.

We did get lost inside the center trying to find the museum. There were a bunch of buildings! And the map was difficult to understand! Granted, any map is hard for me to understand. If Burge and I are ever on the Amazing Race, I would have to be the driver and he would have to be the map reader, because I can’t read a map to save my life. But then I would have to learn to drive a stick shift too because there’s always one leg of the race where they have to drive a stick. But that’s neither here nor there…

We did eventually find the museum. Look how tiny Abby looks in the space shuttle seat!

Grayson, of course, associated everything about space with Buzz Lightyear. We heard, “To infinity, and beyond!” more than once. Yes, he is getting out of one of those supermarket rides. And yes, that was one of his favorite things. We could’ve saved ourselves a trip to Huntsville and just carried him to the Piggly Wiggly.

Here is Burge and the kids standing under something really big. I could make up a name of what it is to make it sound like I know what I’m talking about, but we’ll just leave it at “something really big”.

After we left the Space and Rocket Center, we surprised the kids with lunch at Chuck E. Cheese. Two trips to the Cheese in a week! Can you handle the fun?? We have totally made up the points we lost with the absentee ducks and lack of cow milking. We are riding high on the Chuck E. Cheese wave right now!

This is how the ride home went…

(Please note how Abby is clutching her “prizes” that she bought with her tickets at Chuck E. Cheese. A plastic top and lip gloss…that only cost $15. A piece.) We achieved good naps! Success!

My Favorite Thing About Summer

2010-07-16T21:21:00.002-05:00

There are many things I love about summer… sleeping late, longer days with more daylight, swimming, all the fresh fruit, watching the kids play outside. But there is one thing that I love more than any other. It is my absolute favorite thing about summer. Here it is…

FRESH FRIED OKRA! I could eat my weight in it! As a matter of fact, I think I ate about half this plate for supper last night. It was so good! And we grew it ourselves (I use the term “we” very loosely, but I did cook it)!

An Afternoon of Non-Fun

2010-07-15T19:54:00.002-05:00

Have you ever heard the expression, “That was about as much fun as a root canal”? Well, I am going to shatter that myth today. I can almost guarantee that whatever they are comparing to a root canal is most certainly more fun than a root canal. On a scale of 1 to 10 in fun-ness, a root canal falls somewhere around a –347. If you were to make a list of all things in order of fun, it would be right above running over your own dog. In other words, it’s not fun. At all.

Ask me how I know. You remember that toothache that had been bothering me? That led to a trip to the dentist on Monday, which led to a root canal yesterday, which will lead to yet another trip to the dentist in a few weeks for a crown. See? The lack of fun just never stops! And guess what else? I got to PAY for all this non-fun! As a matter of fact, I’m betting I’ll be paying for this un-fun for several months. It’s truly the gift that keeps on giving.

I was pretty anxious about the whole procedure. I don’t really have a fear of the dentist, but I don’t particularly enjoy having other people’s hands in my mouth (there’s some more non-fun!). So, I was a little nervous going in. Then, as I was filling out my paperwork, I noticed they had the radio tuned to a Christian talk radio station. I am in no way, shape or form dogging Christian talk radio. But, talk radio in general is pretty much never my choice of entertainment (more non-fun! You get to listen to someone talk while other people have their hands in your mouth!). This particular talk radio program was featuring a man talking about when things don’t go as planned. I can certainly relate to that, after all, there I sit about to have a root canal. Not part of my plan. But then, he mentions how his wife has had 2 oral procedures done in the last 2 months and neither of them worked. What?? Did I really need to hear that? I’m already anxious, sitting here about to have an oral procedure done, and you’re telling me that it’s possible that it could not work? I could have it twice and it still not work? Oh, the irony.

After 4 shots to deaden my mouth to work on one tooth (which, by the way, I greatly appreciated. By all means, make sure that I can’t feel whatever you are doing with all those instruments you are being sure to keep out of my line of sight.), they started the procedure. A few minutes in, the hygienist tells me that if I need her to suction my mouth to raise my hand. Then the dentist chimes in, “Don’t wait until you’re about to drown.” This was humorous because they had just given me 4 shots in the mouth! You could have been stabbing me with an ice pick and I wouldn’t have known it. How exactly was I supposed to know if I was overflowing with drool?

Anyway, the whole thing took about 45 minutes, and I left the office with a lighter wallet and a completely numb right side of my face. So what did I do next? Well, I was in Gadsden, so of course I went to Aldi. Honestly, I figured that a little facial paralysis wouldn’t make me stand out too much from the normal crowd at Aldi. Heck, I could have drool running down the side of my face and I wouldn’t draw much extra attention there. At least I got to go without any kids.

Basically I could’ve summed up this long, rambling tale with one short equation… Root canal = No fun. So there you go.

Where a Kid Can Be a Kid and Not Break Anything

2010-07-14T20:43:00.002-05:00

Yesterday, the kids and I made the long trip to Birmingham to visit with my aunt. It had been a long time since I had been to her house, and the kids had never been. It has also been a long time since my aunt has had little kids in her house. Or I should say, little kids like mine. She has her granddaughter there all the time. But one 2 year old little girl is no match for a 2 year old rambunctious Grayson and a not-so-graceful 6 year old Abby. She has a lot of breakable things. A lot. And they are all significant in some way, like her great-great-great-great grandmother brought them over on the Mayflower or something.

I am happy to report that, to my knowledge, nothing was broken while we were there. I am quite sure that she will be finding things in odd places for many days to come, but they should all be in one piece.

Abby read to cousin Callie.

Grayson rode Callie’s rocking horse dangerously close to the before mentioned breakables.

And then I tried to get a picture of all three cousins together. You can imagine how well that went.

Attempt #1…Gray is the only one looking at the camera…

Attempt #2…Grayson is still smiling, but no longer looking at the camera. Abby is looking at the camera but has her hand in her mouth, and Callie is looking at her feet. Let’s try this one more time…

Attempt #3… Third time is definitely not a charm. Oh well, sometimes you just have to take what you can get.

After all the fun with the breakables and picture taking, it was time to eat lunch. We took the kids to eat where a kid can be a kid. Yes, we braved the Chuck E. Cheese. With 3 kids and only 2 adults. Zone defense, baby.

Neither of my kids had ever been to the Cheese, so they really had no idea what to expect. To say they were immediately taken in and slightly overwhelmed would be an understatement.

This was Grayson’s expression the entire time we ate our pizza. I’m not sure he blinked at all. There was just too much to take in.

This is Abby sulking because she couldn’t go play before we ate. I’m such a mean momma.

Grayson made a new friend. This is where most of his tokens went. He liked riding the train with Barney. I also discovered that he has a talent for knocking down rubber ducks with a mechanical arm. I’m not really sure how that will translate into real life, but I’m working on it.

Abby spread her tokens around pretty evenly. She really liked this Kentucky Derby game, and girlfriend can rock it on Whack-A-Mole. She’s got mad skills.

We had a really awesome time visiting with family, and Chuck E. Cheese wore the kids out so much that they slept the entire way home. That is really my one goal for the summer: wear them out so they will take a nap every single day. So far, so good.

Weekend in Review

2010-07-12T21:39:00.003-05:00

This weekend was full of fun and memories. It started with my 15 year class reunion Friday night. Two Friday date nights in a row! I don’t know if that has ever happened, at least not since we had kids. It was just an informal get-together at a local restaurant, Top o’ the River. And you know, there are three Top o’ the Rivers in three different counties and I don’t think any of them are actually at the top of the river. Heck, one of them is not even on the water, so it’s highly doubtful it’s at the top of the river. Just a little something to think about.

Anyway, a good time was had by all…

Here we are, about half of the Sand Rock class of ‘95. Not too shabby for a bunch of thirty-somethings. Oh, the memories… If only we had busted out singing Mariah Carey’s Hero, it would have been just like our graduation all over again. Because, there’s a hero, if you look inside your heart. You don’t have to be afraid of what you are. Words to live by…

Burge and I had to leave early because I am the only 33 year old with a curfew. That’s what happens when your babysitters are your parents and they go to bed at 10:00. But they’re cheap, as in FREE, so we try not to complain.

On Saturday, we went to a birthday party. A birthday party that Grayson has been waiting on with bated breath. Seriously, it might have been the highlight of his albeit short life. It was a Cars-themed party at a park. With slides. Lightning McQueen, slides and cake all together in one place. What more could a two year old boy ask for? Throw in the fact that he got to bring home stickers and Cars crayons (or “cray-crons” as Grayson says it) and he was in heaven!

Sunday was an awesome day! Abby was baptized at our church during the morning service. By my dad, no less. Special doesn’t even begin to describe it. Here it is…

Then, Sunday afternoon, I went to a clothes swap. Brilliant idea, I must say. You send clothes that you don’t want or can’t wear anymore, and you take home clothes that fit and you do like. It’s a win-win!

So there you have it. Lots of fun and memories. And don’t forget, when you feel like hope is gone, look inside you and be strong. And you’ll finally see the truth, that a hero lies in you. Yes, you.

The Ducks that Weren’t

2010-07-12T07:04:00.002-05:00

As I type this, I’m dealing with a toothache that I’ve had off and on for over a week. So, I cannot be held liable for anything that may sound off the wall…it’s the Tylenol and Advil PM talking.

I’ve had a running list of “Fun Things to Do in the Summer” that we’ve been working our way through with the kids this summer. I’m glad to say we’ve marked a lot of them off. I’m sad to say some of them have not been as fun as I had hoped. For instance, the trip to the dairy farm was a hit (Hello! There was ice cream involved!), but Abby was extremely disappointed that we weren’t there at the right time to actually see the cows be milked. There were tears shed. She wanted to turn around and go back. Must. See. Cows. Milked.

This past Monday was another of the misses, unfortunately. First of all, it’s a miss because I have zero pictures. I left my camera at home. Quite honestly, you’re not missing much. Anyway, Burge was off work, and we decided to take the kids swimming. It really was a perfect day for it, but for some reason, the kids just weren’t feeling the swimming. There was a lot of sitting on the edge and complaining. So Burge suggested we tackle another thing on my list, taking the kids to Cave Spring to see the ducks.

Here’s where things started to go awry. I should have learned this lesson with the cow milking. Just like we should have said, “Let’s go get some ice cream!” and then if they happened to be milking cows when we got there, score! Bonus points for the parents! We should have said, “Let’s go to the park!” and then if there were ducks there, bonus points for the parents! Alas, that’s not the way if happened. We said, “Let’s go to the park and maybe see some ducks!” They heard, “Park, ducks”. Period. No maybe. So when we got there, and there were no less than 248 people running around in that little creek and there was not one single duck to be seen, it was minus 1 million points on the “Good Parent Scale”. Apparently, ducks aren’t fond of 248 people invading their turf. And apparently, kids aren’t fond of parents promising to show them some ducks and then not being able to produce some ducks. There were more tears. Must. See. Ducks. Never mind that you can see ducks less than a quarter mile up the road from our house. Those are not Cave Spring ducks.

Needless to say, that is most likely not a trip we will be making again anytime soon. It is marked off the “Fun Things to Do in the Summer” list. Permanently. Also, we will most likely not be promising any cow milking or duck seeing again anytime soon. I have learned that lesson and learned it well.

Phone Pic Confessional

2010-07-10T07:51:00.002-05:00

I was going through some of the pictures on my phone the other day. I’m sure there’s a lot you can tell about a person by the pictures that are saved on their phone. Some I found were humorous ones. And some, if someone were to find my phone and look at the pictures, would lead them to think I was insane.

First the sane ones… And please excuse the poor quality. My phone is strictly a phone, not one of the fancy-schmancy ones, so it doesn’t take really great pictures.

Here’s Abby with her new Bible, the one with the songbook in it.

And Grayson with the crazy hair. Not a morning person, that Grayson.

Abby is showing off her sassy new summer ‘do…

And Grayson enjoying a Honeymoon Bakery cupcake…

And now the insane ones…

I was so disturbed by this new fad in diapers that I had to take a picture of it, lest anyone not believe me when I told them about it. Note on the ad that there is a limit of 3 on them. Hope you got yours before they ran out.

Key lime cupcakes, AKA my ode to Shrek. They sure tasted good though. Yum, I wish I had one right now!

The eye cover from my stove, after I used it to fan all the smoke out of the kitchen. That is about the 5th set of eye covers I’ve gone through in the 9 years that we’ve lived here. And all 9 years, we’ve had the same stove. For some reason, I just cannot remember which knob goes to which eye. Some days, I just shouldn’t be allowed in the kitchen. But please note how clean my sink is…I think it stayed that way for another 5.2 seconds.

And finally,

This is some of Grayson’s handiwork. He brought the rocks home from church. The ladybugs are Abby’s hairclips. He likes to line things up. Is it wrong that I feel sorry for the lone blue ladybug that has no rock?

So there you go…a glimpse into the inner sanctuary of my phone. What do the pictures on your phone say about you?

Long Overdue Weekend in Review…and Long too!

2010-07-07T07:00:00.002-05:00

Why yes, I am aware that it’s Wednesday. And I’m just now writing about our weekend. But it was a double holiday weekend at our house (4th of July and my birthday) so we had a lot going on.

Friday night, we got the unexpected surprise of a date night! My mom offered to take both kids to her church’s VBS (Abby had gone all week), and as you know, we can’t get enough VBS in our house, so I happily accepted. We went to eat Mexican, where I spent the entire meal watching a wasp on the window across from our table. I had to know where it was at all times, lest it decide the window at our table was more appealing. Nothing can suck the romance out of a date night like a wasp sting.

Speaking of sucking the romance out of date night, after we ate, we went to Fred’s for dog food and CVS for diapers. Doesn’t that just scream romance? And coolness? ‘Cause we’re nothing if not romantic and cool. We finished up the evening at a book signing for a new local author. His name is Christopher St. Clair and this is his book…

You can read more about it (and support a local Alabama author by buying it) here. More on the book later…

Saturday morning, I went shopping for my birthday present (more on that later too), and then we headed out to a birthday party for one of Abby’s best friends. For the past several years, I’ve spent my birthday (or close to it) celebrating Abby’s bestie’s birthday. But that’s all right because there’s always really good cake involved. Really good cake makes almost everything okay…file that away for future reference.

This was Grayson’s first trip down a Slip ‘n Slide.

It might have also been his last. He liked the sliding part, but not so much the slipping part. Or the water in the face part.

There’s Abby and the birthday girl enjoying some liquid refreshment in the “hot tub”.

Cheers!

We left with two water guns as party favors…and really, “water gun” is not an adequate description. It’s more like a water bazooka. And I think they made it less than 12 hours in our house before they were taken away.

On Sunday, my actual birthday, we went to church for our patriotic musical and then home to do some grilling. Burge cooked burgers and hot dogs, while I made a fresh blueberry cobbler and homemade ice cream in lieu of birthday cake. It was a little slice of heaven, if I did make it myself. The kids had brought in a small birthday cake Friday night that they picked out with Nana’s help from the Wally World bakery. They opted for that over the fresh, from scratch cobbler (whose kids are those??), but they were all over the ice cream.

Because homemade vanilla ice cream…

It ain’t nothing but good.

The weekend continued on through Monday (gotta love sharing a birthday with a holiday…the party just keeps on going!), but since this is already one of the longest posts I’ve ever written, I’ll save it for another day. Happy Wednesday, y’all!

Fun in the Overcastness

2010-07-05T07:01:00.002-05:00

I had planned to take the kids swimming on Friday, but when we got up Friday morning, it was overcast and hold onto your hats, pleasant outside. Not the scorching heat we’ve been experiencing at 8:00 in the morning. So, we (and by we, I mean I) decided we would stay home and play outside.

I took the opportunity to check out how our garden was looking. And it is looking pretty good, I must say.

Here’s one of our tomato plants. Look at all those tomatoes! Now if they would just turn red….

And these are peas. I don’t believe we are going to be hurting for peas this year. Nothing really exciting was going on with the okra, green beans or corn yet, so no pictures of them.

The kids ran and played, which of course I was all about because that means they’ll take a good nap!

Just a-swingin’… Please, somebody give that girl some sunglasses so she doesn’t squint in every single picture that’s taken of her.

And a-slidin’… Grayson’s most favorite thing on any playground is the slide.

Sweet boy (most of the time), who desperately needs a haircut…

Sweet girl, who desperately needs her hair brushed. And our sweet cat, who desperately needs to be fixed. Anyone want to come try to get her in the carrier and take her to the vet for us? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?

It stayed overcast and cool(er…it’s all relative in July) most of the day. Nice, considering that the forecast for next week shows the humidity will be back up to 650%. I’m glad that we were able to enjoy it while it lasted…

Grocery Shopping Drama

2010-07-03T07:00:00.000-05:00

I have been a mother of two for over 2 years now. I’d like to think that I’ve grown as a parent in those two years. I’d like to think I’ve gotten more organized out of necessity, because shuffling two kids around definitely requires a certain amount of organization. I can get places on time with both kids by myself, mostly. But there is still one thing that alludes me as a mother of two… the swift and efficient trip to the grocery store.

I’m not talking about the quick run for milk and bread. I mean, the full page list, haven’t been to the store in a while, pantry is empty kind of trip. With both kids. By myself. I got spoiled during the school year, because Grayson and I would go while Abby was in school. I have mastered the art of the grocery store with just one child. Alas, summer hit and I’m back to lugging two kids with me.

Abby and Grayson are both really good kids, but like all other kids, they do have their moments. And their moments seem to always occur when we’re in public and there’s usually someone I know watching. The grocery store is a prime location for this. I try to alleviate the situation with bribery, usually in the form of Pez. A roll of Pez will buy me about 5 minutes of concentration, or one aisle in Aldi. The Pez works great for Grayson because he is confined to the buggy, so all I really need from him is to not scream and yell.

For Abby, though, the Pez can be a bigger distraction. Abby tends to be in her own little world most of the time, which means she wanders. She has a hard time paying attention to where she is in the store in relation to where I am in the store because of the little storyline she has playing out in her head. Add trying to get the Pez out of the dispenser, and it’s almost a lost cause. So, I wind up telling her to stay with me an average of 679 times each trip.

And then there’s the bottom-less pit that is Grayson. Once he has exhausted my Pez supply, he starts rummaging through the buggy to see what he can get open. Incidentally, those little plastic baskets produce comes in are not child-proof.

In case you’re wondering, it’s a wee bit difficult to look at a grocery list, find the items on said list and actually get them in the buggy and to the check-out while trying to make sure I haven’t lost a 6 year old and the two year old hasn’t eaten all the grapes before we pay for them. And let’s not forget, we do the majority of our shopping at Aldi, so I have to bag all the groceries too. And then I have to take that shopping cart all the way back to the store to retrieve my quarter after loading all the bags in the car.

By the time we get back home, a nap is in order. The kids could use one too, I’m sure. Only one month (or 2 Aldi trips) until school starts back…

Out of the Mouths of Babes

2010-07-01T19:30:00.002-05:00

Abby is perhaps the most observant child on the planet. There is rarely a time we go anywhere that she doesn’t find some kind of money on the ground that someone has dropped. Or maybe she just spends a lot of time looking at the ground. Anyway, this observant nature also translates to people watching. The other day, after eating at Cracker Barrel, she said, “Mom, there was a man sitting at a table and he had a gold tooth. A gold tooth, Mom! But, I didn’t point to him because that would’ve been rude.” Thank goodness for small miracles…

She has been all about reading her Bible lately, and she came to me the other day and said, “Mom, did you know there’s a songbook in my Bible?” She had just gotten a new Bible…one of these new-fangled kids’ study Bibles, so I really didn’t doubt that there might be a songbook somewhere in there. Until she said, “It’s called the Song of Songs.” I explained that was actually a book of the Bible and she might want to hold off on reading that one for a while.

Grayson was holding up two fingers and saying, “Two! Grayson is two!” Then he held up his middle finger and said “One!” I laughed before I could stop myself, so now he thinks that’s the funniest thing in the world.

Abby’s is slightly obsessed with the show Wipeout. She ran in the room the other day and said, “Wipeout comes on Tuesday at 8, 7 Central!” So, she’s prepared to watch it in either the Eastern or Central time zone.

Avoiding the Sweat

2010-06-29T21:50:00.002-05:00

Have I mentioned it’s been hot around here lately? Well, it has been. Like in the 90’s just about every day in June with about a million percent humidity. It’s been kind of miserable. For me especially, because y’all, I don’t like to be hot. I hate to sweat. I mean… HATE TO SWEAT. I think it has something to do with the fact that when I sweat, I sweat. I don’t glisten. Or lightly perspire. I sweat. Especially my head, because you know I have like three times the normal amount of hair on my head. And all that hair really holds the heat in. And all that hair gets really big and frizzy when it gets sweaty too.

As a side note, I think that’s the real reason there’s so much big hair in the south. Humidity + Hair = Big. I think a lot of women just got tired of fighting it and embraced the humidity-pumped big hair. I can see it. I’ve almost been there myself.

Anyway, in an attempt to avoid sweat and the ensuing big hair, I’ve employed two main tactics this summer. Stay inside as much as possible, and when we must be outside, make sure there is a pool in close proximity.

Monday morning was one of those times when we really needed to get out of the house, but it was already in the 80’s by 9:00. So, we went swimming. Now Abby, after two years of lessons, is a swimmer. She loves any pool and swims all over it. Grayson is a sitter. Not even a wader, just a sitter. He never leaves the steps. He’ll wear some floaties (maybe) if I make him, but it doesn’t really matter because he’s not going to leave the steps.

There’s Abby swimming…

And Grayson sitting on the steps.

Abby swimming…

And Grayson sitting. At least they’re both happy. And I’m not sweating.

The Cow Goes Moo

2010-06-29T07:09:00.003-05:00

Saturday morning I got up itching to go somewhere. It didn’t really matter where, I just wanted to go. We had planned to take the kids swimming that afternoon, but the skies were overcast and it looked like the bottom might drop out any minute. So, I thought it was a great day to mark one of our “summer of fun destinations” off our list. It was 90+ degrees outside and ice cream sounded wonderful. Off to the dairy farm we go!

We skipped naps and headed off to Wright Dairy in Alexandria. Incidentally, as soon as we got in the car to go, the clouds parted and the sun came out. It was a sign from heaven that it was a great day to eat some ice cream! Abby only asked if we were there yet about 547 times, so I consider that a success.

Abby was all excited to see the cows. Why? I’m not exactly sure, since she can see cows just by looking out our front door. But, who am I to squelch her excitement. She did get to see some calves, and then we headed to the store for our main goal. Ice Cream.

Am I the only mother who finds it nearly impossible to get both kids to look at the camera and smile at the same time? Here, Abby has a case of the squints and God only knows what Grayson is looking at. There was only one take for this shot because we were all anxious for the ice cream. And oh, it was worth the wait! Seriously, it is the best ice cream I have ever eaten and I have put away some ice cream in my life. We also bought a gallon of chocolate milk and some cheese named Wanda. Yes, the name of the cheese was Wanda. And it was good. The chocolate milk, however, was in a league of its own. Abby has taken to calling it the “ice cream” milk because it tastes like melted chocolate ice cream. So good! So good, in fact I would drive to the dairy just to buy chocolate milk. But of course, if we were there, we might as well get some more ice cream too. I think the kids would approve.

Abby and Grayson both got chocolate ice cream, hence the chocolate mustache on the Abster.

This picture does not do justice to the amount of chocolate Grayson had on him by the time we got home. He literally had it from the top of his head to the bottom of his feet.

I highly recommend stopping by Wright Dairy if you’re ever in the area. And if you do, let me know ‘cause I might want you to pick me up a gallon of chocolate milk.

For the record, Wright Dairy did not give me free ice cream, cheese or chocolate milk. They did not ask me to write this. They have no idea who I am. We just really had a good time, and the chocolate milk is just that good.

Weekend in Review

2010-06-28T07:51:00.002-05:00

The Lane family had another pretty full weekend, or at least I did. I’m pretty sure Burge was glad to go back to work this morning after having the kids by himself not once, but twice this weekend. God bless him for being a hands-on dad and being so willing to spend time alone with his kids, because goodness knows I needed a little time away.

Friday night, I got my scrapbook on with my girls. I love to scrapbook! I also like to eat and spend a lot of time talking and looking at other people’s scrapbooks. Which is why I love to go to crops…all that fun and no kids! Anyway, I finished Abby’s kindergarten year in her school scrapbook, which is a good thing since she starts first grade in a little over a month.

Saturday, Burge mowed the grass, while the kids and I watched cartoons in the air-conditioned house. I’m just a good wife like that. We were going to go swimming, but it was very overcast, and we figured about the time we got to the pool the bottom would fall out and it would storm (wow, how’s that for a run-on sentence?). So, we decided to take a road trip to a dairy farm instead (more on that later). Great fun and good eats ensued. Burge grilled us some pork chops for supper, which are Abby’s favorite. That girl can put away some pork chops. Then after the kids went to bed, Burge and I played Phase 10 and learned it is much easier to get through all ten phases when there’s just two people playing. I won, not to rub it in or anything.

Sunday included church, a blessed nap (why are naps soooooo much better on Sunday afternoons?), and a two hour choir practice. I finished off the weekend by watching New Moon again, while Burge kept the kids again. I feel like I must get prepared for the premiere this week of Eclipse (it is this week, right?), even though I hold no illusions that I will see it before it comes out on DVD.

So, in a nutshell, Burge did a lot of work this weekend, and I did a lot of goofing off. I love that man!

To Infinity & Beyond…or Just the Drive-In

2010-06-25T12:43:00.002-05:00

The summer family fun continues! Last night Burge and I took the kids to see Toy Story 3 at the drive-in! What could be more fun than that? We totally buy in to the marketing machine that is Disney, so when the previews started last fall for the newest installment of Buzz and Woody we knew we wanted to take the kids to see it. It was to be Grayson’s first movie on the big screen.

We went back and forth on whether we should see it in the theatre or at the drive-in. Cons for the drive-in included the heat, mosquitoes and other biting/stinging insects, the heat, late night, and did I mention it’s been in the upper 90’s around here lately? Pros for the drive-in were it’s cheaper (and I’m all about the cheap), can legally bring our own snacks (back to the cheap), Grayson would be less likely to disturb those around us which would mean I might actually get to watch some of the movie. Since the pros clearly outweighed the cons (cheap really trumps heat any day), we hit the drive-in.

We really tried to stack the cards in our favor by letting the kids wear their pajamas and bringing Grayson’s couch for optimum comfort in movie watching.

We also stopped by Sonic on the way for some liquid refreshment in the form of vanilla Cokes… a rare treat for the kids, a staple in my diet.

It was not crowded at all, clearly. And thankfully.

Burge made the comment that you would not want to come watch Children of the Corn here, since it is completely surrounded by corn fields. Let me assure you, I would not want to watch Children of the Corn anywhere.

We had a great time! The kids loved the movie, although they did abandon the plush media room we had set up in the back of the car about halfway through the movie, which was great, by the way. When setting that up, we did not take into account that I did not know how to turn off the interior lights in the car. Those little suckers really heated up the inside of the car since it was already 90 degrees outside. Oh well, you live and learn…

Y-Y-Yes to V-V-VBS

2010-06-24T07:42:00.002-05:00

We wrapped up vacation Bible school at our church a few weeks ago. Saddle Ridge Ranch was closed down. Cowboy hats and bandanas were discarded, and we’ve regained the majority of our hearing after listening to hundreds of kids yell and holler for 5 days straight. But there’s one part of VBS we just can’t seem to let go in our house. It’s the music.

Both Abby and Grayson love music. It’s in their genes since Burge and I both love music. And really, the marketing people at Lifeway could work for Disney, they do that good of a job ingraining their message in your head. Granted, Lifeway’s message is more along the lines of “Jesus loves you” while Disney’s is more like “How much money can we make off of you?”. Anyway, the songs, they stick in your head like you would not believe. I’ve even caught myself singing them. Of course, I have listened to them for no less than 8 hours a day for the last 3 weeks. And on a more random basis for weeks prior to that.

Abby sang them leading up to VBS because she was learning them for the VBS musical.

She sang them in the musical…

She sang them in Bible school…

And then she let them go. However, that’s when Grayson picked them up. He has a few favorites. He likes the Saddle Ridge Ranch theme song, only he refers to it as simply “Fiddle”, because it has fiddle music in it and you’re supposed to act like you’re playing a fiddle in the beginning. He also likes “I Am”, whose chorus says “I am who the Great I Am says I am, I am one of His greatest creations.” But when Grayson sings it, he says “I am great, I am.” Takes on a whole different meaning, no?

But his favorite, by far, is “Yes to VBS”. He sings “Y-E-S V-B-S” all the blessed time. He loves it like no other.

A few notes about the video… It’s poor quality because I have no idea what I’m doing using the video camera. It’s a poor edit because I have even less of an idea how to edit a video, which is evidenced by the fact that it took me over an hour to (very poorly) edit and upload this (very poorly shot) 2 minute video. Grayson was in Abby’s room at the time, and while I would like to say that it’s not usually that messy, that would not be completely truthful. And I have no idea why Grayson had his hand in the back of his diaper. So there you go, it’s taken me longer to explain this video than it did to watch it.

Sit down in the thinking chair…

2010-06-22T17:50:00.002-05:00

Let me start this by saying, yes, we let our kids watch television. Not all the time, not in place of playing outside or reading, but they do watch some television. Usually Nick, Playhouse Disney or Nick Jr.

Grayson goes through phases where he likes different cartoons. For a while, he was all about Team Umizoomi. He asked all the time if he could watch “Zoomi-Zoomi” and went around singing “Pattern Power”.

There was a slight obsession with Yo Gabba Gabba. I don’t quite understand that one, but it does have some good lessons. You know, don’t bite your friends, eat your vegetables…”There’s a party in my tummy, so yummy, so yummy!”… and possibly most important, how to do the robot.

Then it was Max and Ruby. He still loves him some Max and Ruby. Frankly, this is the most disturbing one. Why is Ruby in charge of her little brother, Max? Where are their parents? Why is Ruby the one who has to give Max a bath and put him to bed at night? Do they live in that house alone? There’s a grandma, but no mom and dad? Seriously, these are the questions that keep me up at night.

Right now, he is completely enthralled with Blue’s Clues. Completely. If I sing the “Think, think, think” song from it once a day, I sing it 50 times. He loves it! He talks to Steve, or Joe depending on the episode, like he’s in the room with him. He even cuts bath time short because he does not want to risk missing one minute of his beloved Blue’s Clues. He sings the songs and does the sign language with them. That’s awesome. You know what’s not so awesome? Grayson has also learned jazz hands. And goes around doing it all the time. And likes it. It’s cute, because let’s face it, just about anything a 2 year old does is cute. But it’s also just a wee bit disturbing.

“Cause when we use our minds and take a step at a time, we can do anything…”

“…that we wanna do.”

Weekend in Review

2010-06-21T07:55:00.002-05:00

We have had a pretty packed weekend. It started Friday morning with a pool party play date (gotta love alliteration!) with my MOPS group. At 9:30 in the morning, it was only 125 degrees, with 180% humidity, so it was completely bearable.

After a long and much needed nap, we shipped the kids over to my parents for the night, while Burge and I headed to Game Night with our Sunday School class. And oh, the fun that was had. Seriously, there is no end to the fun when you put 15 adults in a room and let them loose with Catchphrase. We played women against men, and the women whipped the men. I mean, handed them their hineys on a platter. The men refused to play anymore after our 3rd win in a row. My personal accomplishment was getting the women to say “scrimshaw” when I didn’t even know what it was. Women do have a distinct advantage in that game because for some reason, we can speak a sort of shorthand language that only other women can understand. The guys were continually amazed at how we could get the right word after only one or two obscure clues. It’s a gift, really.

A gift that apparently also translates into drawing, because next we played Pictionary and the women won again. After that the guys refused to play anymore “women vs. men” games, so we moved on to dominoes. ‘Cause you know, we’re 80 years old. To be honest though, those senior citizens know how to have a good time. I could play dominoes all night long. I’m just cool like that.

Saturday morning, we picked the kids up from my parents’ house and began grandparent detox. Only before the detox could be completed, we met my parents again for a late lunch/early dinner (would that be called linner? Dunch? How about lupper?) at the kids’ favorite restaurant, Cracker Barrel. Yeah, we don’t get out much. Anyway, Grayson was a holy terror when we got seated at our table. I had to take him out, screaming. He was screaming, not me. Although I wanted to. Or maybe cry. Or maybe cry while screaming. We did manage to get through the meal and a trip to Academy to get Abby soccer shoes and shin guards for her upcoming inaugural soccer season. For the record, she did not get her desire to play sports from me.

On Sunday, we had church and a lazy afternoon at home. We closed out Father’s Day weekend with some chips and salsa from the Mexican restaurant and HGTV’s Design Star and The Next Food Network Star. It just doesn’t get much better than Mexican food and reality TV. What a way to start a new week!

Hello, have we met?

2010-06-19T13:37:00.003-05:00

Did y’all know I had a blog? No? Well, apparently, neither did I. So, what’s been going on in my rather small world as of late? Here’s a rundown in the ever-popular list format…

1. Since January, I have lost 35 pounds. I finally buckled down and got rid of the “baby weight” that I’ve been carrying since Abby and Grayson were born. And yes, Abby is 6 years old and Grayson is 2, so I really couldn’t use that “I’ve just had a baby” excuse anymore. How did I do it? It’s not rocket science, peeps. I cut out regular soda, eat smaller portions and work-out 4 or 5 days a week on an elliptical for 30 minutes. Here’s some pictorial proof…

Me and the kids at the Birmingham Zoo last spring when I weighed hmmmmmmmpppphhhh *said with hand over mouth*

And here we are at the Birmingham Zoo this past May when I am 35 pounds lighter. As a side note, why does Abby looked scared in both pictures? And wow, Grayson grew a lot in a year.

2. I did not blog American Idol this year because frankly, the beginning of the season bored me. We really got into it the week Casey James sang Huey Lewis and the News’ “Power of Love” and everyone was hating on it. ‘Cause Burge and I? We love us some Huey Lewis. So, we became Casey James’ fans. But by that time, half the season was over and I just couldn’t start in the middle of the season. Oh, and I had forgotten I had a blog.

3. I would be remiss if I didn’t throw something in here about the Bachelorette. I am a Chris L. fan, which surely means he will not win Ali’s heart. Because anyone I pull for on a reality TV show is destined to lose. See above #2 for example. Anyway, what’s up with all the singing this season? And not good singing, mind you. Cringe-worthy comes to mind. Makes me want to fast-forward comes to mind. But like watching a train wreck, I can’t turn away.

4. My first-born, Abby, graduated from kindergarten and is now officially a first grader. It seems like just yesterday we were bringing her home from the hospital. That I was reading her bedtime stories and singing her to sleep. Now, she’s reading to me…

Here she is, taking her walk down the red carpet…

Sitting with her class…

And showing off her trophy after the graduation…

5. Grayson is finally speaking English, and as I suspected, we cannot shut him up. He talks every minute he’s awake and some of the ones when he’s asleep. And there’s no tuning him out. If he does not receive the response he is expecting promptly, he continues to say the same thing louder and louder and louder until we answer him. In other words, he likes to yell. A lot. And loud.

We are enjoying a summer filled with swimming, fun little day trips, and trying not to melt in the 150 degree heat with 250% humidity that is summer in Alabama. So, that’s what’s been going on around here. What have you been up to?

Do you know Him?

2010-04-03T20:25:00.001-05:00

Do you know Him?

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A Nature Lesson Gone Horribly Wrong

2010-01-24T22:11:00.002-06:00

Yesterday, while Burge was making sandwiches for the kids for lunch, I was in the dining room getting something out of the buffet. I happened to glance out the dining room window and saw a bird on the windowsill. It appeared to be taking a nap. Now, if you know me at all, you know that birds and I don’t mesh well. I think I must have had some kind of traumatic experience with a bird in my childhood that I have blocked out. In short, I don’t like them. At all.

But for the sake of education, I put my dislike aside for a little nature lesson. I quietly called the kids over to observe the sleeping bird. This was the moment that I started to question the bird’s, how do I say this, aliveness. A 6 year old and a 2 year old don’t do anything quietly. And yet still the bird never moved. I raised the blinds. Not a flinch. Yep, I had my kids oohing and ahhing over a dead bird.

Thankfully, Burge called them to eat lunch and spared me from having to explain then about why the bird was so still. Abby did ask later why the bird was still there, and I explained as gently as I could that he had gotten too cold and died. She then asked why the millions of crows in our yard were still alive, and I just had to be honest. I told her that apparently they were smart enough to find a warm place to ride out the cold weather instead of perching on a window ledge out in the middle of the elements.

I kind of feel like we need to have a little funeral for the poor bird. You know, read a little scripture out of Ecclesiastes and give it a proper burial. If only we could figure out how to get it down off the two-story window ledge.

Saturday Randomness

2010-01-23T08:54:00.002-06:00

Here are just some random thoughts to close out the week…

I am oh-so-glad that it’s January, and TV goodness has begun once again. Between the Bachelor, 24, the Biggest Loser, etc. my social calendar is filled, my friends.
Speaking of television, two weeks into a Paula-free American Idol, and I haven’t missed her. At all.
One more TV bit, I am once again sucked into Celebrity Rehab. If you need another reason to say no to drugs or just need a reminder that folks still need Jesus, you should really check that show out.
Three weeks into the new year and I’m still on the exercise bandwagon. And, hold on to your hats, I’m not hating it!
Also, I tried out the Biggest Loser Cardio Max DVD this week, and apparently I have not grown any coordination in the last 20 years.
I started reading Charlie and the Chocolate Factory to Abby this week. Pure torture for someone on a diet. Pure. Torture.
My son, who just began speaking a language that we can understand a few months ago, can count and recognize his numbers from 1 to 6. When did this happen? For all those “experts” who say kids can’t learn from watching television, I have a 2 year old that can recognize his numbers that can prove you wrong. (And just so you don’t think I am against trying to teach my kids stuff at home, I’m not. I just generally think it’s a good idea that they first have a good grasp of the English language, which Grayson has not quite mastered yet.)
Peopleofwalmart.com has forever changed the way I shop at Wal-Mart (which is not very often anymore). It has helped with impulse buying though, because I am constantly looking for strange looking people. And, incidently, YOU DON’T HAVE TO LOOK FAR.

Hope you all have a great Saturday! I plan to spend the majority of mine in my pajamas.

Oldies but Goodies

2010-01-16T20:34:00.002-06:00

Here’s a deep, philosophical question for you to ponder: Does one become an old-fogey overnight or is it a more gradual process? Because I think I’m there, I’m just not sure how I got here.

I came to this stunning, and rather depressing, realization today while riding in my car, when I discovered I now almost exclusively listen to the oldies station. Why, you ask? Because music today? It’s nothing but noise. (Do I sound like anyone’s Paw-Paw yet?) The keyword here in distinguishing me as an old-fogey is “exclusively”. Burge argued that he’s been listening to the oldies station for 20 years now. But not exclusively. I will flip through the other stations, just to see if there’s a song on that I know. But nine times out of ten, I wind up back on the oldies station.

This is a slippery slop I’ve embarked upon. What is the next step? Will I soon (and this thought makes me break out into a cold sweat) start listening to country music? Shudder. How much longer will it be before I think hymns are the only music God appreciates? Oh, the agony of it all. Pardon me while I turn up my hearing aid. Soon, I’ll be driving with my blinker on continuously and stopping at green lights.

Yep, it’s all downhill from here. It stinks getting old.

The Snow that Was

2010-01-12T18:52:00.002-06:00

Normally, in the south we have the snow that wasn’t. You know what I’m talking about, the weather people hype it up, everyone rushes to the store to stock up on milk and bread (Why?!? If I’m facing the possibility of being stuck in my house for several days, milk and bread are not going to be top on my list. Give me Pop-tarts, Doritos and Coke.) and then the snow is a no-show (Say that 3 times fast).

But last week, we had the SNOW THAT WAS! And thank the Lord, because the school system decided on Wednesday to let school out at lunch on Thursday and cancel it on Friday. It would have been a huge bummer to burn a weather day with no snow.

Now, mind you, we did not reach “blizzard’ level accumulation. We were more on the heavy end of “dusting”. But what it lacked in quantity, it made up for in endurance. It is now a full 5 days since the snow fell, and it's still hanging on.

Really, though, it doesn’t matter to kids if there’s a quarter of an inch or two feet. Snow is snow. And all Abby cared about was making a snowball.

Here’s the family, two of which were walking in snow for the first time…

Abby got to make her snowball after I nailed her with one. Momma shows no mercy. And Abby needs to work on her aim.

You can see our quarter of an inch of snow in all its glory.

Meet the boy who refused to wear mittens.

Abby and Grayson really enjoyed it which is good considering that might be the only snow they see for a very long time.

The one where I reveal just how much I need therapy…

2010-01-08T07:46:00.002-06:00

Let me just go ahead and get this out of the way… ROLL TIDE!

If you ~~live under a rock~~ do not follow college football, there was a little thing last night called the BCS National Championship Game between Alabama and Texas. And we won it. I say we, because clearly Bama couldn’t have done it without me.

It was a close game. That might be a wee bit of an understatement. But that brings up one of my many (and I do mean many) neuroses. I cannot watch a close football game. I don’t mean it makes me nervous and I have to cover my eyes in parts. I mean, I physically cannot be in the room where a really close football game is on. It is so bad that we had to take this into account when Burge and I were trying to decide what game to go to this season. I might have had to leave the stadium if we were at the Tennessee game. It killed me that we watched the Auburn game in a small condo in the mountains, because I had NOWHERE TO GO. I couldn’t get away from it.

But back to last night. After the second play of the game, which incidentally included Alabama’s quarterback, Greg McElroy being sacked, I knew I was not going to be able to watch the game. So, while Burge sat in the living room watching the Tide roll to their 13th National Championship, I was in the bedroom catching up on General Hospital. Burge came and gave me periodic updates.

I did try to watch it at some point in the third quarter, while the score was 24-6. But then there was a touchdown and an on-side kick by Texas, and I started to think that perhaps my watching was a bit of a jinx, so I went back and watched Celebrity Rehab (which, as an aside here, is going to be outstanding this season, I think). I saw the last 2 minutes, so I did get to witness first-hand the Gatorade bath of Nick Saban, which quite obviously did not make him a happy camper.

There is an exception to this quirk. If we, for some reason, have to pause the game or are not watching it live, I can watch it as long as I can check the live score on the Internet. In other words, I’m okay if I know everything is going to work out in the end.

Lest you think this neurosis only applies to football, I do the same thing sometimes on reality shows. I’ll watch the end to see who wins or check the World Wide Web, then I’ll watch the show.

Yes, I realize that I clearly have some issues and probably could benefit greatly from therapy. But it’s a whole lot cheaper just to have an extra television for me to watch.

Pictures forthcoming from the “blizzard” of 2010, or the “snow-me, snow-me” as Grayson called it…

Finding Your Passion

2009-10-20T20:16:00.002-05:00

As I was vacuuming my floors this morning, I got to thinking. As you may recall, I do most of my deep thinking while I’m cleaning, because the vacuum drowns out all the screaming. On a side note, if you’ve never seen what happens when a Dyson meets a wiffle ball, I highly recommend you try that experiment. The Dyson folks are not lying about the whole “no loss of suction” business.

Anyway, today I was thinking about the things I’m passionate about. Today I was passionate about clean floors. I wasn’t just vacuuming because I had to, because it’s my job, or because I was obligated to. I was doing it because I truly like clean floors. But not only that, I actually enjoy the process of cleaning my floors. It’s very satisfying for me. I am passionate about cleaning my floors. But you know what? Not everyone is passionate about clean floors. Some people are passionate about neat closets. Or clean toilets. Or shiny sinks. Or mowing grass. God does not give us all the same passions. And you know what else? That’s okay. Because if we all did whatever it is God has given us a passion for the whole house would be clean.

Do you see where I’m going with this?

I used to have a hard time saying no to just about anything. If someone asked me to do it, I would. Whether I was passionate about it or not. Because I felt obligated to. Because I felt guilty that I might let someone down. I don’t do that anymore. Slowly, I’m learning to only do the things God has given me a passion for. Because if I’m doing someone else’s passion, what are they doing? Or it may be that God has not given anyone a passion for that particular thing because that’s not where He wants our focus to be right then.

Now I will be the first to admit that there have been times when I’ve been passion-less. I had no passion for anything. And yet, I still filled positions. I still said yes when people asked me to do something. And I was wrong. I should have gotten where God wanted me to be, prayed for His passion to become my passion and served wherever that was.

So basically what I’m saying is if the passion God gave you is mowing grass, have the snazziest lawn on your street. If your passion is a shiny sink, shine that sink to the best of your ability. Don’t try to mow the grass or clean the floors. You’ll just wind up burning out and your house will be a mess.

“I want you to think about how all this makes you more significant, not less. A body isn't just a single part blown up into something huge. It's all the different-but-similar parts arranged and functioning together. If Foot said, "I'm not elegant like Hand, embellished with rings; I guess I don't belong to this body," would that make it so? If Ear said, "I'm not beautiful like Eye, limpid and expressive; I don't deserve a place on the head," would you want to remove it from the body? If the body was all eye, how could it hear? If all ear, how could it smell? As it is, we see that God has carefully placed each part of the body right where he wanted it.” 1 Corinthians 12:14-18, The Message

The Oh-So Exciting Weekend

2009-10-19T15:44:00.002-05:00

Last week was full of me avoiding housework and laundry by playing with Grayson and getting caught up with DVR’ed television. Well, I almost got caught up with the DVR; I’m still a Survivor episode behind as well as a couple of days of General Hospital. I usually have to let General Hospital go when the fall TV season begins and pick it back up when the reruns start, but they are messing me up this year by bringing the original Lucky Spencer back and I just can’t miss that. Yes, I lead an incredibly full and exciting life.

Not really sure where I was headed before that little TV tangent, but needless to say, not a whole lot got accomplished around here last week. And then the weekend rolled around and we interrupted our regularly scheduled program of eating Chex mix and watching college football for pottery painting and a family reunion.

Now here’s where a good blogger would insert pictures displaying said pottery painting and family reunion, but I don’t think there’s any illusion left that I’m a good blogger. And seriously, there was just no way pictures were going to happen at the pottery party because a 2 year old one man wrecking ball and a room full of breakable pottery? Yeah, I don't think so.

The family reunion was another story. I should have taken pictures there, but I left my camera at home and barbecue and homemade chocolate pies were calling my name, and I wasn’t going to miss that to go back home to get it. I mean, I had already given up eating Chex mix in my pajamas while watching football, I wasn’t giving up chocolate pie too. So, that’s why there are no pictures to liven up this incredibly boring weekend recap. Aren't you sorry you missed it?

Out of the Mouths of Babes

2009-10-12T13:18:00.003-05:00

Kids really do say the darnedest things. I hope I can remember them all so that when Abby has a boyfriend (you know, like when she’s 25) I can whip them out and embarrass her.

Here’s a few…

Abby doesn’t have memories, she has “rememberies”.

It’s not using your noodle, it’s using your “doodle”.

There’s a show on Noggin called “Olivia”, however Abby will argue up and down that it’s called “Olydia”.

And not to leave Grayson out, last week on his birthday I mentioned several times that he was 2 now, and every time I said it, he would say “No more.” I guess 1 was such a good year, he didn’t want to leave it…

Party Like a 2 Year Old

2009-10-06T19:56:00.002-05:00

We celebrated Grayson’s second birthday this past Saturday. His actual birthday is not until the 8th, but I like to have the parties early so that the actual birthday is anticlimactic. Not really, but it does always seem to happen that way.

I have no inclination that before Saturday Grayson had any idea what a party was or a present, for that matter. He certainly knew what cake was beforehand, and anything on top of that was just, well, icing on the cake. Har-har. He did not like being sung to, but was all over blowing out the candles. He didn’t even spit on the cake as he was blowing out the candles. Much.

The cake…Yes, I made it. No, I did not pay someone money to write in a first-grader’s handwriting on Grayson’s cake.

Waiting on the cake…Fortunately, almost two-year-olds don’t really care what the cake looks like as long as they get to eat it.

Here’s Grayson, not liking the singing of “Happy Birthday”. We tried not to take any offense at his obvious disgust of our vocal abilities.

Blowing out the candles…Somehow, that is just instinctual.

Ah, yes, eating the cake. He cannot be slowed down by the use of silly things like utensils.

“Where are these presents everyone keeps talking about?”

Getting to know Thomas. Thomas is frighteningly real. In case you were wondering.

Handy Manny’s Talking Toolbox was a huge hit. Also, possibly the loudest toy ever made. In case you were wondering.

“Is that all? I was just getting the hang of this present-opening thing!”

“Flicker is fun!”

Booster Seat Driver

2009-10-02T13:24:00.003-05:00

Abby is five. Abby has never been behind the wheel of a car (I realize that this should be a given, but these days, you just never know). Yet, Abby has started giving me driving “advice”. Do you know what’s worse than a 63 year old backseat driver that you can’t yell at because she’s your mother? I’ll tell you, it’s a 5 year old backseat driver that you can’t yell at because she’s your daughter.

It started with questions about why you do certain things while driving. “Why are we slowing down?” “Why are we stopping?” “Why did you call that man stupid? We don’t say that word.” Ahem.

And then it progressed to directives. “You should watch what you’re doing instead of talking to Grayson.” “You should slow down because you are going to miss our turn.” “Don’t forget our driveway is right up here.”

Now I’m just saying, if you might be someone who might be prone to bouts of road rage (not that I know anyone like that), that can be just slightly annoying. So, I had to sit down with Abby and nicely explain that until she had a driver’s license or had at least been behind the wheel of a vehicle, she wasn’t allowed to give me driving advice. Or until she has been through driver’s ed, and I’m pretty sure they don’t teach that in kindergarten.

You know, I’m sure her teenage years are just going to be full of hugs and giggles, since she already knows more than me. I’m going to start praying now…

How to Break Up with a Morning Show…Step 1

2009-09-29T12:46:00.002-05:00

This morning I was folding sheets, which incidentally is my most abhorred laundry task. Seriously, I hate folding sheets more than matching socks, and that, my friends, is saying a lot. It should be a relatively simple task. 3 beds X 4 pieces per bed = 12 pieces to be folded. But those fitted sheets! They are a thorn in my side. And don’t send me any links to Martha showing me the “easy” way to do it on YouTube. I’ve seen it, and I still can’t get them to fold neatly.

Anyway, I digress. As I folded the demonic fitted sheets, I had the Today show on. The Today show is my morning show of choice. I really like Meredith and Al and Matt, most of the time. I trust Dr. Nancy Snyderman almost as much as my own doctor. But today, I got a wee bit irritated with my friends at the Today show. They had a lady from Southern Living on showing creative ways to decorate with pumpkins. And they were a bit condescending to her, almost making fun of her at times.

A lady from THE Southern Living. Making fun of her. On TV.

Now, there are two staples in any southern lady’s library: the Bible and Southern Living. Both have stood the test of time, and both show us the proper way to live, albeit only one with the creative use of pumpkins. And you don’t mess with either one of them. Period.

You northerners can take your Martha and her fancy way to fold fitted sheets (THAT DOES NOT WORK!), and we’ll keep our tried and true Southern Living. Because we want to know how to make a dip bowl out of a pumpkin, how to host an elegant dinner party with barbecue as the main dish (Have you ever had barbecue, Martha?) and where the best bakery is in Rome (as in Georgia, folks).

And Today, I’ve got my eye on you. That’s strike one. Two more and I’ll be moving on to Diane and Robin. Consider yourselves warned.

I’m a loser…

2009-09-28T12:54:00.007-05:00

I’m a loser. There, I said it. I’m a big ol’ fat loser. Not to make excuses as to why it is I have not written anything in over a month here (for the 4 of you that noticed and the 2 of you who care), but this “mommy gig” has gotten hard lately. Abby started school, and things fell apart around here. We had a pretty good schedule going on (and we all know how much I like schedules), and then Abby had to go and want to get all educated and our schedule got shot to you-know-where.

And a month later, that’s still pretty much where it is. In theory, having only one child at home during peak performance hours should make things easier. However, not so much when the aforementioned child likes to have me in his line of sight at all times. Not to mention I have to schedule everything around dropping Abby off and picking Abby up. Now that I think of it, if I spent as much time being productive as I have analyzing why I am not productive, I would probably be getting more stuff done. But then I wouldn’t have this fascinating post to write.

So anyway, last week was better. If this week improves as much, I should be back on track in no time. But I make no promises, because after all, I am a loser.

In other news, you might have noticed my fancy new background and header. Yeah, I did that myself. Not that I’m bragging or anything, because let’s face it, it’s not that great. But it was my first attempt, so be prepared to see more changes. And please, don’t shy away from telling me if it’s a big, hot mess. Most of the time I have to work on such is the wee hours of the night (see the above scheduling problems), and I do not think all that clearly or objectively at those times.

And now, because I feel like if you haven’t written a post in a month, there ought to be some pictures thrown in. Here are some random pictures of Grayson with his new “big boy” bed and Abby at my first chaperoning field trip, Farm City Day.

He’s pretty proud of it…and this might be the last time it was made. Just keepin’ it real.

Really, anywhere that “blankie” is, Grayson is pretty comfortable being there too.

Abby got to feed a calf. Yes, the child who is afraid of a weenie dog will give a bottle to a calf. Go figure.

These two pictures show the unfortunate phenomenon of squinting even when the sun is not out.

Indeed, she was not giving me the stink-eye because she didn’t want her picture made. She just had a bad case of the “squints”.

So, there you go. A bunch of random thoughts and pictures. Consider it a brain dump for the blog. Glad you could be a part of it.

PSA

2009-08-26T18:36:00.003-05:00

In the three weeks that school has been in session, there have been a few things that have really grated on my nerves about the carpoolers. So, consider this a public service announcement for anyone who may be picking up kids in kindergarten through 2nd grade at Abby's school.

1. There are spots lined off and numbered in front of the school for a reason. And no, it's not to help your kid (or you, for that matter) learn to count. That is where you are to stop your car to pick up your child. Let me spell it out for you... If you are the first car in line, you are to pull up and stop in the #1 spot. Not in between the #2 and #3 spots, even if that is directly in front of the walkway. And then the second car will pull up into the #2 spot, and the third car in the #3 spot. Do you see a pattern here?

2. If you are going to park your car, get out of your car and go into the school to get your child, do not pull into the carpool lane. There is a parking lot adjacent to the carpool lane with your name written all over it. Use it, so we do not have to wait for 15 minutes, wasting our golden gas, while you block the entire lane.

3. This is not the teachers' first rodeo, folks. They know what they are doing. So if the teacher at the end of the line calls for your child and then the 4 spots in front of you open up, you can go on and move up. Your child will find you. Trust me, those teachers want nothing more than to get your child in the right vehicle so that y'all can get on home. Because that means that they can get on home.

4. If you are sitting in the mile long traffic jam and someone is waiting to pull out, for the love of all that is good and holy, let them out in front of you! If you are going less than a mile an hour, one vehicle length is not going to put you any further behind.

In summary, please do not leave your common sense or your common courtesy at home when you go to pick up your child from school.

Thank you and good night.

School is Hard

2009-08-20T12:42:00.004-05:00

Yep, school is hard. You have to get up early. You have to go to bed early. And I'm sure it's not a piece of cake for Abby either.

Here's Abby on her first day of kindergarten, eating her peanut butter and marshmallow fluff sandwich and drinking her Yoo-Hoo at lunch. Why, yes, I am up for Mother of the Year, how'd you guess?

Abby with her new BFF, only she couldn't remember her name. I guess their bond went deeper than that.

And the whole class...we'll see if they're all smiling by the end of the year.

On my end of things,I had no idea how out of the swing of things we had gotten in the Lane house. A little over a year ago, I was getting myself and 2 kids ready every morning and out the door by 7:00. Now, I'm having a hard time getting one child dressed, fed and ready to go by 7:30. I never really understood those moms who drop their kids off at school in their pajamas. I stand corrected because I totally get it now. I have not done it yet, but there is no stone throwing here. Mainly because I feel sure it will happen one day. Like when it's 10 degrees outside and still dark at 7:00 in the morning. Then I'll probably wear my pajamas to drop Abby off at school. And rest assured, on that day, I will have a flat tire. Or Abby will leave her backpack or lunchbox in the car, and I will have to take it in to her. You can count on it. That's how I roll.