Dreaming

I want to learn how to sew. And I want to make cute things to sell at our local Farmer's Market. Every time I go to the Hob Lob I peruse the fabric aisles. I see so many beautiful fabrics and my brain goes in to overdrive, but I don't know a thing about needles and thread. I need to learn. And then I could make fun pretties!

Haha, who am I kidding?! I can't even sew a button on a pair of pants!! But I can dream, right?! ;)

Recap!

I know, I know.... I say this all of the time, but I really do miss blogging about my every day life. I don't know why I don't take the 15 minutes or so it would take to blog about every day happenings. I'm going to try and get caught up and (hopefully) do better.

1.) I went on my first mission trip. I teach the 11th grade girls Sunday school class and this was a youth mission trip so I jumped on board. It was actually only 20 minutes from where I grew up and it was WONDERFUL!! I love getting more and more involved in our church here in Arkansas and making new memories. We happened to stay at the campground I grew up going to and it was the perfect balance of old memories and creating new ones.

2.) While watching The Amazing Race a few weeks ago Baylee notice two ladies with the description "dating" under their names. It opened up all kinds of conversation. This was the first talk we have ever had about homosexuality.

3.) We had the period talk. My, oh my, what a moment that was! Without going into too much detail, we managed to have a wonderful conversation. We were outside and it's time for our dog, Abby, to get fixed. Since my girls are animal lovers it was a very easy way to talk about dogs and then transition it to humans. Baylee was all ears and wanted to know anything and everything. Caylee had a very nervous chatter (that she gets from me) and wasn't quite sure how to process things so she just made jokes (which she also gets from me). I asked them if they knew what a period was and Baylee said a friend had mentioned it to her just the day before! Caylee, however, said "Yeah, a period goes at the end of the sentence!". Well, bless her innocent little heart. Toward the end of "the talk" I could see Caylee's brain just a swirling. I was laughing and said "Caylee, I don't think you were quite ready for this talk, were you?". To which she replied, "Uhh, no, Mom, I wasn't". So honest, that girl. :)

4.) My dearest friend here in Arkansas is moving in less that two weeks. Her husband is in the Air Force and they are being transfered back home - Texas. It's horrible and sad and that's all I want to say right now. I will blog about our friendship another time because if I talked about it now I'd be a blubbering idiot!

5.) Easter! Our church held three services at our towns Fine Arts building. Wow! It was awesome! I sing in the choir and had the wonderful opportunity to worship in each service. I can't get over how amazing God is. And oh, how He loves US!! Incredible! Easter is one of the only holidays we stay here at home as a family of four. Originally it drove me crazy, but we've made some wonderful memories and created new traditions that I just LOVE!

6.) I've started a weight loss journey and, to be honest, it's driving me crazy. I know it's something I have to do, but it's so hard. Go here to follow my journey.

I leave you, for now, with one more Caylee-ism. Brandon and the girls were heading home from church last week and Caylee was still processing all of the period talk.

Caylee: Dad, Abby's growing up.

Bran: Oh, she is?

Caylee: Yeah, you know. She's growing up.

Bran: Oh, ok. (He knew exactly where she was going with this.)

Caylee: You know, Dad, that period thing.

;)

Honest Scrap

The "Honest Scrap Award" comes with a caveat or two. First, you have to tell your readers ten things about you they may not know, but that are true. Second, you have to tag 10 people with the award. Third, let all the people you've given the award to know they've gotten in (comment on their blogs or something). And, finally, make sure you link back to the person who awarded you. (Thanks, Erin!)


1. In high school I collected business cards. I wanted to be in the Guinness Book of World Records. I had them from all over the world, even. But when mom and dad kicked me out of their storage building (oh you know, YEARS after I was married) I threw them away. And threw the dream right out with them.

2. Steve Buscemi scares the living daylights out of me. It all goes back to a vivid dream that involved the Holiday Inn in LG, the Maebee Center, The Village People, and Steve. Oh, it was FRIGHTENING!!!

3. I could do a round off back-handspring back in the day. Hard to believe, but true.

4. I always dreamed of being a ball girl @ Wimbledon. And if I could've worked a match w/ Pete Samprass I would've died a happy girl right then & there.

5. I am slowly becoming obsessed with gardening. I have all the dreams and ambitions of having this glorious flower bed in front of my house and one of these days I will have it. I'm learning new things each year. Dahlias and peonies are in my near future!

6. I've never seen Star Wars. And I never want to.

7. I can't wear earphones. You know that pointy part of ones ear? Right below the temple? Yeah, I CRINGE if it's touched. It doesn't matter if it's me or someone else, I can't handle it being touched. Oh, that and my Achilles' tendon. Keep your hands off!

8. I didn't like bbq until we moved here. And I'm still very picky about it and have to have the sauce on the side so I have control. I need it to be vinegary and spicy. The sweet stuff makes me gag.

9. I can't fall asleep until I see the time on my clock. It's the last thing I do every single night. I kind of panic if I can't see the time. And if I wake up in the middle of he night I need to know what time it is. Even if that means I have to roll over from my comfortable position to see it.

10. I have a slight obsession with looking out my bedroom window. Our window is on the front of the house. The blinds are never open in there because I don't want random passerby-ers peering in. Multiple times a day I peek out my blinds and check on the neighborhood. I always think it will come in handy one day if there's ever a crime. And if I get up in the night to tinkle, I peer out then too. And then I check the time. I'm gonna crack a case one day, I just know it.

So there you have it. Ten very random things about me.

I don't have 10 people to tag, but I shall tag...

1. Audra
2. Lori
3. Heather
4. Becca

V-day Getaway

Brandon sure outdid himself this year.

The girls were out of school last Monday-Thursday because of a major deep south snow storm. And I'm serious here. It was an 8 inch or better snow storm. See?

So fun!

So Thursday morning, when the main roads were clear enough, I headed on the 2.5 hour drive to meet mom and dad. Baylee had requested a Valentine's Day date with my dad to Cheesecake Factory and he was not about to disappoint! They were going to be in Oklahoma from Thursday-Monday and boy was Brandon glad!

You see, my sweet man had been a sneaky snake for awhile. He had been secretly planning a getaway with our friends. I thought we were going to have a quiet Valentine's Day weekend home alone, but he had other plans in mind.

Saturday morning I woke up and was instructed not to go into the living room until he gave the all clear. I fell asleep for a bit and when I woke up I heard some rustling around. I tried to imagine what was going on, but I wasn't expecting what I saw.

A suitcase, toiletries, and snacks only means one thing in our house....ROADTRIP!!!

We were headed out of town, out of state for that matter. I asked a million questions, but he gave no answers. It was all his little secret. Before we left town we managed to swing by our friend's house and pick them up. They were going with us! Woo-hoo!! There was so much behind the scenes planning going on I don't know how my "I can't keep secrets" husband pulled it off. But he did and we had a weekend to remember.

Gus's Fried Chicken.... Two movies at the theater.... Paulette's Restaurant.... shopping.... shopping... shopping... introducing our friends to Carrabba's... laughter... and sweet memories made.

I hate to admit it, but my man did a lot better than the bag of peanut M&Ms I had for him! ;)

Candy Land

I just spent the last hour and a half jumping from website to website looking for candy birthday party ideas. Yes, my dear friends, WE HAVE A THEME!!!

Actually, Baylee thought of this wonderful theme months ago. We were headed to Wednesday night church one October evening when out of the blue the girls started talking about their next party. I told them they could talk about it all they wanted, but no decisions would be made until January. Because don't most people start planning months in advance?! ;)

Anyway, they were bouncing from idea to idea and I was trying to hold in my laughter. They wanted a "trick rider" cake. You know the people who do tricks on the back of horses? Yeah, that's what they wanted. And then it happened. Baylee simply said, "How about a candy party?".

And I was hooked. It was as if she threw the line out with the most delicious looking bait she could find and I bit right on it. There was no turning me back. Everything started turning into bright colors and visions of gumdrops danced in my head.

Surprisingly, Caylee loved the idea too. And when both girls were on board I was free to give my approval. Oh, it's going to be FUN!! But from what I've seen online, I probably should have started planning in October.

I can't wait! :)

3 hour blackout

There's nothing like the silence of a house to be your alarm clock. Just as my alarm was about to go off, my fan stopped blowing. And then I knew we were in for trouble. Our power was OUT!

Now, I've been known to say a time or two how much fun I think it would be to be powerless for a day or so. Be creative with food, play games by candlelight, bundle up all in one room, etc... But not when it's 11 degrees outside! That's just plain dangerous!

So this morning the girls and I got ready with only the glow of the candles as our light. It was kind of fun. They were in an exceptionally good mood (seeing as this was all new) and we found ourselves ready in record time. I mean, how much can you really do in the dark?! Since cooking breakfast wasn't an option and I refused to ope the refrigerator for milk, it was off to McDonald's before school. Wow! What a treat!! And a fantastic way to start our Friday!

It wasn't until we loaded up in the van and I looked in the rearview mirror did I notice how kind of pitiful we all looked. At first I was sad I forgot my camera - you know, got to document all of life's adventures! But when I saw what we looked like in daylight I realized we were better off not having this in the history books of our lives. ;)

Ear loaf

See this simple hair cut? Yes, it's cute and Baylee looks crazy old, but it sparked one hilarious conversation the other day.

You see, Bran took the girls for a much needed hair cut last week. And this cut requires a little bit of work for it to look it's best. Nothing major, just blown dry and a little help from the flat iron. So the other night I grabbed the straightener to smooth some hair around Bay's face. I'm sure she could feel the heat of it when I heard her say, "Mom, be careful. You're going to burn my ear loaf". Huh?! Her what?! Bless Baylee's heart she's apparently been calling her earlobe an ear loaf all of these years. And I'm just now catching on! Needless to say we had ourselves a good laugh that evening! :)