A Little Random and Alot of Thankful

(Daddy, that's a parcel of land of thankful for you. :) tee-hee)

Tucker, like, I assume, most 2 year olds, loves sunglasses. We kept a pair and wore them, usually upside down, whenever we could. We had two pairs. One got lost at Six Flags and the other has been broken for quite some time. Last week, I finally broke down and bought her a new pair (with DORA!!!!! as she exuberantly squealed when she saw them at the store) last week. She has rarely been parted with them since. :) On Sunday, she was playing with them and said, "Mommy, I wear them on my head." When I looked up, this is what I saw.

A flash of teenager already. Yikes!

Yesterday, we went to the pediatrician to get flu shots (for both of us). I knew it wasn't going to be the greatest visit in the world when, upon turning into the parking lot, she started crying, "No, I don't want go to doctor! I don't want go to doctor, Mommy!" Awesome. She cried on and off through the waiting and waiting and waiting, but for the most part I could distract her. One of the best distractions is the huge fish tank in the middle of the waiting room. We always count the fish, name their colors, etc. As we were looking today, she pointed at this one and said, "Mommy, that one's white like a zebra." I'm sure by "white", she meant "striped" as she hasn't mastered that word yet. Either way, I can say without hesitation that my child is BRILLIANT!!! (Ok, maybe there's a teensie-bit of Mommy pride clouding that statement, but not much. ;-) tee hee)

Now onto Thankful Thursdays. I think we could all stand to be more thankful for the small things in our lives that are great, since the world (and our nature) tends to focus on what's wrong. It's a little Pollyanna, but I think that's ok. I mean, look how great that turned out for Aunt Polly.

(Note: If you're not a complete dork like I am, this is an old movie reference. It's worth seeing. Rent it. Watch it. Make your kids watch it. You won't regret it.)

*I am thankful that my sweet 2 year old is starting to really develop her imagination. Bear frequently is "sirsty" and needs a clean diaper and the other day our vegetables became airplanes. She's going to be the kind of kid who finds things in the clouds. I'm just sure of it. :)

*I am thankful for bouncy houses and how much fun they can be no matter how old you get. (There are pictures on someone else's camera that I hope to share with you eventually.)

*I am thankful that we will be getting TWO new neices or nephews (or some mix of the two) before next summer. :) One, sadly, will be born in Japan and we won't get to see her (we think) until quite some time after she's born in person, but we are so excited about her arrival no matter where it happens!

*I am thankful for honeycrisp apples. They're ridiculously expensive and worth.every.cent!!!

*I am thankful that we found a pick your own apples place that has honeycrisp apples (and thus we can get them MUCH cheaper than at the store) and we're getting to go next weekend!

*I am thankful for my sweet neice, Carly Elise and all two years of her life. She is a precious little girl and I love her VERY much (and get to see her Saturday at her birthday party)!

*I am thankful for the sweet people at our church who love my two year old (and us) endlessly. She delights in going to church and talks about her church friends daily. I'm so grateful that they make her feel so loved that she gets excited about going to church. To me, that's how church should be. :)

*I am thankful for our dear friends, Will and Ashley and the fact that they live so close. I have missed having "drop by" friends and "cup of sugar" neighbors. (How Southern does that make me sound?!?) They are hysterical, delightful, and dependable. It's nice to have that two streets over. :)

*I am thankful that my husband has a job that he LOVES with people that he LOVES ('cause if he worked this many hours with this much energy somewhere he didn't love, it would NOT be good). :)

*I am thankful that my husband, Mr. Professional, has enough silly in him to really enjoy (at least most of the time) my ridiculousness and silly nature. I am so lucky to have a man who can roll his eyes and laugh when I'm being a complete goober. :)

Isn't it amazing how pointing out some of the small blessings can add up to one VERY blessed life? How about you? What makes you feel blessed? For what can you give thanks today?

Love & Shipoopies,

Leslie

Wordless Wednesdays - Paperdoll Pictures

Love & Shipoopies,

Leslie

MY Monday!!!

She's two. She's VERY into...umm...let's call it ownership. My mom is NOT my mom. She's T's "MY Nana!" He's not my dad. He's T's "MY Poppa!" "MY Daddy. MY Uli. MY Bear. MY milk. MY blankie." You get the picture. The minute she's acquainted herself with someone/something, it becomes HERS. Make no mistake.

I figure some of it just comes with two year old territory and I'm sure some of it comes from having to hold her own in a room full of two-year-olds daily at daycare. But I think some of it is truly just trying to figure out who she is, who we are, how those are different, and sometimes just what's the difference between the words "yours" and "mine".

Last night, however, we crossed my favorite all time declaration of ownership from my dear two year old.

We were reading a set of books given to her by "MY Uli" about Rip Squeak and his friends. (They are magical and almost inspire me to try my hand at writing a children's book.) Rip Squeak is a boy mouse. His sister is Jesse and they befriend the house kitten named Abby. Then comes this delightful frog who is an actor in the theater and teaches them many magical life lessons. His name is Euripedes.

We're reading along, and every once in a while, I'd say, 'What's his name?" and point to a character (just working on memory). Sometimes she'd get it right and sometimes I'd get, "I don't know dis one's name."

"Who is this one, Tucker?"

"I don't know dis one's name."

"That's Euripides."

"MY Ripides!!!!! That's MY Ripides, mommy."

Well, I DID say, "Your Ripides". ;-)

Love, Shipoopies, and wishes for a good week to you all,

Leslie

I guess what I've written this week takes "Wordless Wednesdays" to a whole other level, no?

I've had a million bloggy-thoughts this week, but no time to sit and let them percolate into full-fledged blogs, so... Here's what you get instead - my thoughts list. :)

*We were invited to watch the Glee season premiere with some of Drew's students. Such fun! When we got there, M, the student whose house we were at, said, "Mrs. B, I got some Diet Coke for you." Thoughtful and BLECH! Sweet that he thought of me and so sad that so many women are part of the dieting culture that people assume if you're a female, you only drink diet drinks. Now, don't get me wrong. I'm dieting (or making a "lifestyle change" as my particular program likes to say), but my thoughts on sodas (and I really only drink Coke) are I'll either drink the good stuff or get something else. Just sayin'.

*When something is happening on the interstate (or I suppose any road, for that matter) that causes everyone to have to merge into one lane, why do some people feel so utterly important that they deem it necessary to fly past all the other people who have already merged and are slowly trudging along and squeeze him/herself in where they don't fit at the front of the line, causing everyone who merged properly and efficiently to slam on their brakes? What is it about YOU that makes you assume automatically that you are more important than the 50 other cars in that line? Do you think that causing the merge to go slower and take longer from all the slamming of brakes makes you smarter because you "outwitted" the rest of us? I'll be honest, there's a tiny, evil person in me that wants to whip my wheel to the lane you're about to fly by in and hit you just to slow you down and show you how "smart" you really are. Don't worry, Drew and Mother. I won't ever act on that. I WILL, however, straddle the lines from time to time to keep you from getting by. Ugh!

*We had a white elephant gift bingo during our family dinner at church last night. I've never seen so many people have so much fun over stuff people wanted to get rid of. The kids were on what can only be described as a prize high. :) It was a blast (and exhausting)!

*Tucker got a Mother Goose book from the leftover white elephant gifts at bingo. She insisted on "reading" it (in the dark car past her bedtime) on the way home from church. The picture above is how I found her when we pulled in the driveway. *melt*

*Season Premiere week on TV -

House was strange and I'm hoping they bring it a little more the rest of the season. I think they thought the news of House and Cuddy being together was enough to carry an entire episode. It wasn't.

Two and a Half Men - I almost spewed my Crystal Light all over the living room more than once during this one. You'd think the storyline would get old, but those writers are friggin hysterical!

NCIS - CRAZY!!! Love this show and SO glad they didn't leave that lady alive to possibly pop up later. Geez.

Glee - hysterical as always. The new football coach is fabulous! Sad we never even laid EYES on Emma.

Criminal Minds - Blew my mind! Tim Curry played the creepiest character ever and he did it well!

Ok, I think that's all the randomness my schedule will allow me today. :) Hopefully I'll get my act together for next week!

Love & Shipoopies,
Leslie

The Winner!!!

Ok folks, the winner of Free 4 All Fridays is...

Comment #7

Kendra said...
Those are really cute! I love them

Kendra, email me and let me know what sizes, colors, and an address. :) Congratulations!

Love & Shipoopies,

Leslie

A Happy, A Worry, A Sad, and a Freebie

It's Friday. (Let's be honest, that's happy enough to count all by its lonesome, right?) It gets even better. I am leaving work at noon. AND my Mama is coming to see me first thing in the morning. :) Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy!!

Are any of you conflict-avoiders? Don't get me wrong, sometimes you do something and I will let you know how I feel right then and there, but S O M E T I M E S... I'll just suck it up, get over it, and do the healthy thing... you know, let it fester until it blows! Conflicts with the hubs rarely get that far. Even on a completely oblivious day (you know, work to do AND sports on the TV), he can only pretend not to notice so many "fine"s and sarcastic "thank you SOOOO much" comments (as in "Thank you SOOO much for all your help" when none was offered), so we pretty much get it out in the open even when my ridiculous "avoid conflict at all costs" instincts try to kick in. With others, though, sometimes they're not around enough to notice that my passive-aggressive mood has kicked into overdrive! Case in point, I had a really close friend - like the best of the best of friends. Something happened (like almost 3 years ago) that REALLY hurt my feelings. I was quite cast aside and blatantly ignored for just WAY too long. And then when it finally ended, it was as if she never even noticed that it happened. Ages went by with contact only coming from my side (voicemail, messages, etc) and then suddenly, it all started back up like we never missed a beat. At that time, I was preggers and busy and emotional and couldn't ever really find the way to say, "Man, that SUCKED and you should NOT have done that to me." So I didn't. Then a million other things happened that solidified my inability to say anything about it. The problem is, it's 3 years later and my feelings are still hurt. Many other incidents have happened to compound the hurt. I'm not just the world's best grudge-holder. But this original hurt festered so much that the other things hurt maybe more than they should and it snowballed and now I have a hard time playing friends with this person. And the thing is, I WANT to get over it, but I am apparently not able to just LET.IT.GO and at this point, bringing it up in conversation, I fear, will make me look like a petty second grader. Poo. Have any of you ever let something snowball so far in your own mind, because you were too SOMETHING (I'm really not sure what) to lay it out on the table?

Now onto the SAD. This is my LAST Free 4 All Friday!!! It's coming to an end at the end of September. The whole thing just became too much for the organizer (understandably so), so we all discussed it and decided that maybe it had run its course. I will, however, still have some random giveaways here and there at Peachy Keen, so check in!!!

********************************************************************************

NOW, it's time for

And today you get a treat! Not only is there a giveaway, but you also get the answer to my Crafty Critter Tuesday hint. I've been making headbands with fabric flowers, and I'm pretty much in love. :)

*Please note that when I fixed my hair in 5 min flat this afternoon while running out the door, it was NOT with taking pictures of it later in the day on my mind.*

I'll be giving away TWO of these to the lucky winner. You can pick 1 or 2 flowers, any colors you like (especially if you pick some combo from the flowers shown in the Crafty Critters blog), and any size you like (well, adult, child, or baby). You could get two for your daughter (or child friend), one for your daughter and yourself (Laura Ashley matchy-matchy style) OR just be selfish and get them both for yourself. :)

I love them as a headband with my hair down, and I also love the way they spruce-up a tired old ponytail and give it a little happy. :)

To enter:

*Leave me any old comment.

*Follow my blog and leave me a comment saying you do.

*Comment on the Peachy Keen facebook page and leave me a comment here saying you did as your entry.

*Visit Mimi and leave me a comment letting me know you did.

*In honor of Alabama football starting with a bang (my particular rooting preference), leave me a comment telling me what/who YOU root for. (What's your sport, hobby, team, pass-time?)

Each entry must be in a separate comment. That's five (5) total chances to enter! Good luck!

Love & Shipoopies,

Leslie

Wordless Wednesdays - Mommy's Socks

Love & Shipoopies,

Leslie

Crafty Critter Tuesdays

No tutorials today (as I don't want to give away my new-found secret just yet), but I wanted to give you a teensie hint as to my next project.

Curious? Maybe I'll give you more next Tuesday.

Love & Shipoopies,

Leslie

Miscellany Monday

I'm trying a little something new today. There's no real reason for Miscellany other than I had one particularly random thought that was not enough for an entire blog, but was too choice to not share. Here goes (and let me just warn you that when the world's most random person in normal conversation warns you that she's about to be random, it's gonna get CRAZY up in heeeyah!!!):

*I was sitting at a red light this morning on the way home from the dentist, and I looked at the car beside me only to see a teenie wee-one sitting in the back seat, eyes just barely peeking over the bottom of the window. I, being the mommy of a wee-one, waved and smiled, then looked back to the road. A few seconds later, I glanced back in that direction only to see the wee-one gesturing wildly and the mom looking totally confused and in my direction. I motioned to signal that I had waved hello to her wee-one. She kind of laughed, shrugged her shoulders, and then rolled the windows down on my side of her car (obviously in response to the wild gesturing from the back seat).

The little kid screamed, "What's YOOOOOUR name?!?"

"Leslie. What's yours?"

"Carson. (pause) Ok. BYYYYYYYYEEEEEEEEEE!!!"

And the light turned green and we drove away, both myself and and Carson's mom shaking our heads and laughing.

*Speaking of the dentist (I swear if you dig deep enough in there, you'll see that I did mention the dentist): Did you ever tell a doctor/dentist/hygenist/nurse that they were hurting you in the process of trying to do something only to have them tell you, "Well, it SHOULDN'T be hurting," and keep plowing through causing you severe pain in some way? (Not in the "It shouldn't be hurting you" and then trying to continue WITHOUT the pain sort of way.) I love when someone tells you you SHOULDN'T be feeling what you JUST told them you're feeling. Do they think you're lying? Wildly seeking attention? A four year old who will do anything to NOT get his teeth cleaned? Seriously? If I said that you're hurting me, then no matter what you THOUGHT I should be feeling, you need to readdress the situation, not continue slicing through my lip with that stupid "polisher" because I'm NOT a dentist, and thus, must be mistaking pain for something else!!! Seriously!

*Yesterday at church, we had a church-wide Sunday school with a guest speaker. (We go to a smaller church and this was a special occassion to kick-off Fall Sunday School.) I spoke a few times in the conversation (being the totally introverted, shy person I am and never having opinions, as I'm sure you all would describe me if asked). After church, a friend a little older than my mom and I were discussing something and she was telling me I was wise about something (yee-haw) and then said, "I have to tell you that X came up to me after Sunday School and said, 'You know, I've heard her in a couple of different classes, and I have to say she's not JUST a pretty face and a sweet person. She's got some real substance to her.'"

My. Jaw. Dropped.

That may be the BEST compliment I've EVER gotten. And I can't decide what I like best - that he thinks I have substance, that he thinks I'm a sweet person, OR that he thinks I'm a PRETTY FACE!!! WOO HOO! (Needless to say, I left church feeling pretty good.) haha!

Ok, I'm sure I could come up with enough random to fill your day, but work is calling (or IMing me, to be more precise).

Love & Shipoopies,
Leslie

Do you want to know what I love the most about my husband?

Some people probably think that it's because he's organized and clean enough to keep me from drowning in my own lazy insanity, and I DO love that about him.

Some might think it's because he's the kind of guy who can pull off being a Coach and Choir Director at the same time. (Also a plus)

Others might think it's because he's the kind of guy who owns multiple bowties and loves to wear them. (I'm a bit fond of them myself when he wears them.)

You might think it's because he is full of what seems to be an infinite amount of random trivia (sports, history, current events - chances are, if you're talking about it, he knows some obscure fact that's relevant). (I'll be honest, I'm banking on him using THIS skill to win us some money on Jeopardy.)

I do love ALL of those things about my husband. He's a bit OCD, very professional and can lean toward the "too serious" side from time to time.

But what I love the MOST about him is that he can be ALL of those things and still be the guy with whom this happened:

The morning alarm goes off, I crawl out of bed and barely have my eyes open when I see the look of ridicule on his face and realize it's aimed at my hair.

Me: "I can't help it if my hair doesn't sleep well."

Hubs: "Sleep WELL?!? It doesn't look like it sleeps AT ALL. It looks like it parties all night!"

THAT, my friends, is what I love about him.

It's all about the contrasts. :)

Love & Shipoopies,
Leslie

Wordless Wednesday - A Saturday Morning Progression

Love & Shipoopies,

Leslie

Tuesday's Tips

For those of you who DON'T think the months of August through January should revolve around college football, I'd like to let you in on the fact that SEC football (that which is dear to my own heart) began with a bang this Saturday. I wasn't able to go see my team play, but I did go to a fabulous season kick-off game at the Georgia Dome to see LSU (DH's team) play. We got to hang with quite a few of our friends from our LSU days, which was a blast. BUT, as I'm a HUGE Bama fan (born, raised, alumed, and obsessed), I did NOT wear LSU garb to this day. Here's what my whole day looked like.

Not just with my group either. We went to the "Fan Zone" for the LSU/UNC game. The room was FILLED with purple, gold, navy, and Carolina blue and then ME. (I actually ran into two other people in Crimson. We immediately ran to each other and had a conversation even though we'd never met. When you stand out that much, it's pretty easy to bond with another oddball.)

At one point, I got the "Tiger Bait" chant from a group of about 30 LSU fans (which is fun when you're standing all by your lonesome - and for those of you unfamiliar with this tradition, it's when any LSU fan runs across a fan/group of fans from another team and yells "Tiger Bait" loudly and endlessly while pointing at said fan/group of fans). They continued to taunt me until finally my LSU hubs said, "Hey, guys, that's my wife. Let up." Haha!

Directly following this, a UNC fan standing near this incident said, "Why you wearing a BAMA jersey?" his voice dripping with disgust. To which I replied, "Ummm, because I'm a Bama FAN. What else would I be wearing?!?" (I might have added a "moron" under my breath in there.)

All in all though, it was a great day. Even when it's not my team, I LOVE going to an SEC football game. It's full of energy, laughter, cheering, and fun. However, even though I am a die-hard fan, I regularly see things/experience things at college football games that blow my mind. I thought I'd offer some TIPS - some of a general sense, and some just for common decency and humanity - when it comes to being a football fan.

1.) Just because someone is a fan of a different team does not automatically make them GARBAGE. (Yes, I got called "complete garbage" for admitting I was a Bama fan, even though I was wearing purple and cheering for LSU - this guy's team.) Even more importantly, if you are currently on a date with someone wearing a Georgia shirt, your ridicule of me for not being an LSU fan at an LSU game carries even less weight. Just sayin'.

2.) Do not wish physical injury (or death) upon 18 year olds simply because they are letting a team other than yours pay for their college education. Wish that they miss the catch, but NOT taht they break their leg. Just sayin'.

3.) Do not vandalize a complete stranger's personal property just because they are a fan of another team. (Yes, I got my car screwed with TWICE while living in LSU land because I had a Bama sticker beside my LSU sticker on my car.)

4.) I'm not a fan of "Booo"-ing anyone. I find it tacky and unnecessary, but that said, I find it especially ridiculous to "Booo" the other team's BAND! Really? Do you think a band kid - you know, the one schlepping around his giant Tuba or a clarinet - deserves to be booed just because he's using his talent to get his school paid for? Really? He has nothing to do with the game. Leave the poor kid alone.

And my MOST important tip of the day:

5.) If you are old enough to wear a wedding band, you are TOO OLD to wear Silly Bands! (Unless, of course, they are a gift from your kids/students, in which case I understand.)

Take those tips to heart, football fans!

Roll Tide!

Love & Shipoopies,

Leslie

Confession time. I am part of a mixed-marriage. It's not something that always gives us problems, but come Fall each year, the tensions start to rise. You see, my husband and I are both HUGE fans of rivals when it comes to college sports. I was born, raised, and alumed at the University of Alabama and he was raised an Auburn fan (Bama's biggest rival) and then went to LSU and has become devoted to those tigers. (Yes, this is the team whose fans vandalized my car TWICE when Alabama hired their ex-coach. Seriously. They hate Alabama.)

Tucker's first football season, I spent alot of time changing her from one team to the other on game days. Then the day of the LSU/Bama game, she ended up looking like Ronald McDonald with her mix of red stripes and gold jumper. After that, I decided she needed outfits for BOTH teams, but also some mixed outfits.

Now, not that we take our football really seriously (and for me, it's all about the fashion), BUT Tucker had a little football fashion week and I thought I'd share it with you.

Monday:

Tuesday:

Wednesday:

Thursday:

Friday:

The shirt says, "Mommy says Roll Tide. Daddy says Geaux Tigers." Tomorrow, she'll be wearing her "Roll Tigers Roll" shirt. :)

Love & Shipoopies & ROLL TIDE ROLL!!!

Leslie

Potato Chips

Here's a conversation I had last night.

As a pre-cursor, I'll explain that we are discussing hanger-markers for choir robes. I made giant circles to hang on the robe hangers so everyone could easily find THEIR robe and not someone else's. The circles had each person's name and robe number marked on it.

"I have a slight problem."

"Yeah, I saw that you marked two different robe numbers so I just picked one of them. If you'd like the other, it can easily be changed."

"Yes, see, I have robe number 9 (In his hand with the marker that has 17 written on it) but I want number 17."

"Ok. That's really easy. Just go get robe number 17 and put this marker on that hanger. Problem solved."

"But this one's mine."

"Number 9?"

"Yes."

"So number 9 is the one you want?"

"Yes."

"Ok. That's an easy fix, too."

I take the hanger with his name and #17 and mark out the 1, change the 7 to a 9 and hang it back on his #9 robe hanger.

"There ya go. Problem solved."

"Awwwwww, did you just write number 9 on there?"

"Umm....yes."

"I wanted number 17."

Did you ever have one of those conversations?

You know the one where you realize that even though the person is using English-language WORDS, to them they must all have different meanings?

Like to THEM, they're saying "want" but what they really mean is "potato chip" or they say "17 and what they really mean is "high heeled shoe".

I have someone in my daily life who communicates like this. I understand all the words, but not in the same way he/she means them. I'm having a conversation and speaking on the explanation level I would use with my 2 year old to make absolutely sure I'm understood and yet the responses make no sense in context.

"How are you doing today?"

"I rode an airplane a month ago."

"Really? Where was it going?"

"Oh, I'm not really sure, but I think spaghetti."

I'm working on a translation dictionary. It's gonna be very valuable. Maybe I'll make my millions with it.

Love & Shipoopies,
Leslie

Wordless Wednesdays On Hold

My pictures from this week are a series and must wait until Friday to be posted in total, so no Wordless Wednesdays today. :) Instead I thought I'd give a little commentary on something my child introduced me to this week.

T, she loves to sing. We sing songs coming and going. We make up new words to the tunes we already know. We just sing all the ding-dang time! One of her favorites is "The Wheels on the Bus" (partly because she's a teensie-bit obsessed with school buses). She's been singing it for ages, but mostly just singing, "round and round" over and over again. Recently, however, with her growing vocabulary and clarity, more verses (which she learned at daycare) have emerged.

It took me a while to figure out the powers trying to undermine my Mommy-hood, but it finally came to light and I was shocked! SHOCKED, I tell you!!!

Do YOU know the verses they are teaching our children these days? Prepare yourself. This may be hard to hear.

The wheels on the bus go round and round, round and round, round and round. The wheels on the bus go round and round all through the town.

The horn on the bus goes beep, beep, beep; beep, beep, beep; beep, beep, beep. The horn on the bus goes beep, beep, beep all through the town.

The MOMMY on the bus goes Shh, Shh, Shh; Shh, Shh, Shh; Shh, shh, shh. The Mommy on the bus goes shh, shh, shh all through the town.

The DADDY on the bus says, "I love you. I love you. I love you." The Daddy on the bus says, "I love you," all through the town.

That's right, folks! Daddies share their love while Mommies are committed only to silence, apparently.

I'm GREATLY offended.

Stupid bus. ;-)

Love & Shipoopies,
Leslie