About Me

My photo
Welcome to my blog. I'm a Mississippi country girl transplanted to Grapevine, TX. I have been blessed with a great husband, and my kiddos, Aleck and Ella. When I'm not eating bon bons on the couch, I am my kid's room mom, PTA member, Sunday School teacher, taxi driver, amateur photographer and personal chef. When I'm not doing those things, I'm running a small jewelry business, 2nd Amendment Jewelry (www.2ndamendmentjewelry.com), that I started with my twin sister, Glenda. It's a crazy and busy life, but I wouldn't trade it for anything in this world. I am so thankful for all the blessings in my life!

Friday, February 25, 2011

First Trip to the Library

We made our first trip to the library for Aleck to check out books today.  Bedford just opened their new library, which is on the way home from school, so we met Brooke, Presley and Dede for a little library time.

Aleck spotted a pirate book when we first arrived, and he was fixated on finding a pirate book just for him.  Dede was kind enough to help Aleck find his pirate book.  I spent a good bit of the time keeping up with Ella, who thought running up and down the aisles was a fun pastime. Luckily, the children’s section was separate from the rest of the library and hopefully we didn’t disturb too many people.  Next time, I’ll make the library trip a mommy and me outing just for Aleck so we can sit down and really enjoy all the wonderful books.

DSC_8830

DSC_8789

DSC_8836

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Almost Four

Aleck,

It is so hard to believe that you will be four next month.  Oh, how I wish I could slow the passing of time.  You are growing up way too fast.

  • You love to play dress up and are even taking Kids Stage, a theater class, at school.  You have the following costumes:  Woody and Buzz from Toy Story, Luke Skywalker and Boba Fett, the bounty hunter from Star Wars,  Spiderman, Superman, a pirate, and a knight.  Occasionally, you wear Ella’s Dora the Explorer costume, but you usually stick to the masculine costumes, which are sometimes paired with plastic high heel shoes.
  • I love it when you start sentences with, “When I was a boy…..” as if you are all grown up.
  • You wake us most mornings requesting “a nana and duice on da towch”.
  • You prefer routines but can be flexible if the need arises.
  • You have such a tender and sensitive heart.
  • You are developing quite the sense of humor and I find myself laughing at the funny things you say and do frequently.
  • You told me the other day, “Ella’s my favorite dirl”.
  • You know the names of many colors in Spanish.
  • You can spell your name and we are working on learning to write it.
  • You amaze me at how fast you are learning and you have a thirst for knowledge.
  • You love people and never meet a stranger.  When we go to the playground, you walk up to strangers and have conversations like they are old friends.  I love your outgoingness.
  • Your favorite show is Imagination Movers.  I’m so thankful you are over Calliou.
  • You weigh 39 lbs.  You have had some digestive problems lately that have affected your appetite and I think you are a bit on the skinny side.  We will find out when we go to your four year-old checkup next month.  You wear size 4 jeans but can but can still wear size 3 shorts.  You just moved up to a size 5 shirt.
  • Your favorite toys continue to be trains, trains, trains.  You spend many days dressed up in one of your costumes while you play with trains and car.
  • You like to draw do craft projects, but you have a hard time sitting still for too long.
  • You love school and are going three days a week, but sometimes ask to go on your days off.
  • You love your teacher and I frequently here, “Mrs. Jordan….…”.
  • You may be trying to give up your nap, but will fall asleep if I put you in my bed and lay down with you.  This is a great excuse for Mommy to get a nap!  Bedtime is at 8:00 p.m., but sometimes you are still awake until 8:30 p.m. and on rare occasions later.  You wake around 6:30 a.m. and you are a morning person.  You must have gotten that from Daddy.

Aleck, Mommy and Daddy love you so very much.

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Superman!

 

DSC_8661

We are loving this weather.  Aleck insisted on wearing his Superman costume to the park.  He took an extra costume, just in case he ran into a new friend that might want to play dress up with him.  I love that little man.

DSC_8772

I found Hanna Anderson leggings at Costco.  The smallest size they had was 2T and they are a little big,  but Ella will grow into them.  I just LOVE little girls in skirts and leggings!

Tall Tales

Me:  “Aleck, why is Ella crying?”

Aleck:  “Mommy, there’s a monster in my closet.  It came in my room, but it went back in my closet.”

Me:  “If it is back in your closet, why is Ella still crying?”

Aleck: “It bit Ella on her hand.”

Me:  “Really?”  ;]

Saturday, February 19, 2011

Nothing Like It

I hear you stirring.  It’s six a.m.  You briefly drift back to sleep, but it doesn’t last.  As I lift you from your crib, you whimper and cradle your head into the crook of my neck.  There’s nothing like that first whiff of your hair in the morning.

Your room’s still dark.  The house sleeps around us.  We sit and rock as you drift in and out of sleep.  You can’t decide how you want to sleep.  Is it on my chest with your head draped over my shoulder?  Is it curled up across my lap with your head cradled in the crook of my elbow?  You finally settle down on your back with your head resting on my arm.  There’s nothing like your body melting into my arms.

You fall into a deeper sleep and occasionally let out the faintest snore.  There’s nothing like listening to you breath as you sleep.

The sun is rising and it lights your room.  Now I can see the details in your face.  Your facial expressions change as you dream.  Occasionally, those rosebud lips pucker and suckle like you are feeding.  It reminds me of when you were a baby.  I study your tiny face and try to etch this very moment in my mind forever.

The house stirs.  Your brother is awake.  You open your eyes and as they focus, you look up and smile.  These feelings of love, joy, happiness and contentment you bring me, there’s nothing like it.

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Thankful Thursday

  • I feel so much better today.  My cough is better and I might get some sleep tonight.
  • The weather was beautiful and I could open the windows.
  • Ella, AJ and I had a great time at the park.  Ella and AJ thought is was so cool that Mommy was playing on the slide with them.
  • Aleck has been doing an awesome job listening and following directions.
  • Aleck is a sponge and wants to learn everything about everything.  I love watching his brain grow.
  • Aleck thinks smoothies with “that green stuff”, aka spinach, are “yummy”.
  • I finished and ordered my first blog book, wohooOOOOO!
  • I can’t wait to start my next blog book.
  • Divine Consign is this weekend and I have so many toys leaving this house which means less clutter, easier time cleaning, and a big fat check from Divine Consign.  I typically make enough money to cover what I spend on clothes for the kids for the next six months.
  • My front load washing machine rocks!
  • I’m feeling creative.
  • I have a weekend scrapbook retreat coming up in two weeks.

What are you thankful for?

Sinus and Ear Infection

It has been one heck of a long week.  I started feeling a bit under the weather last Wednesday, but just thought it was allergies.  I progressively got worse and I saw my doctor on Monday.  You know I must really be sick, because I don’t normally go to the doctor with a minor illness.  I don’t think I have been to my primary care physician since before I was pregnant with Ella, which is 2 1/2 years ago.  Where I’m going with all this is that I really feel like crud.  I have a sinus and ear infection.  I cough so bad at night that my abdominal muscles ache and I haven’t slept more than 3 or 4 hours a night since Sunday due to the constant cough.  Cough medicine with codeine hasn’t even soothed the cough.  Thankfully, Aleck and Ella have been on their very best behavior.  Aleck will ask me, “Mommy, you coughing?  You sick?”  Today he said, “I hope you peel betta soon.”  Sweetheart, Mommy hopes she feels better soon too.

Monday, February 14, 2011

Where is Warehouse Mouse?

Tom, Aleck, Ella and I saw the Imagination Movers at the Verizon Theatre yesterday.  Imagination Movers is a show that Aleck watches from time to time.  In each episode, some random person comes along with a problem and The Movers, Dave, Rich, Scott and Smitty, have to brainstorm to find the solution to the problem.  Aleck loves the music and dances around the living room sometimes when he is watching the show.

The show was awesome!  I was dancing and digging the music as much as the the kids did.  Aleck loved the show, but he was shy and Tom held him a good bit of the show.  When Tom would stand up and dance with Aleck, Aleck would laugh and smile ear to ear.

Ella surprised me with how much she loved the show.  She didn’t get bored once during the 1 1/2 hour performance.  She wanted me to hold her at times, and at other times she wanted down to dance and jump around.  She really got into the dancing throwing her head side to side and jumping up and down.  It brought tears to my eyes watching my kids have so much fun.

Aleck got a Movers t-shirt and they both got a stuffed warehouse mouse, The Movers pet mouse.  Aleck wanted to sleep in his shirt and it took some smooth talking to get him to take it off long enough for me to wash it for school.

After Tom dropped Aleck off at school today, he called to tell me that Aleck was so excited and running around showing all his friends warehouse mouse when he walked him to his room.  Mrs. Jordan, his teacher looked and Aleck’s t-shirt and warehouse mouse and guessed that AJ had been to see the movers.  It appears that Aleck’s stuffed dog, Biscuit, has been replaced.  Sorry, Biscuit.

Aleckism

  • “Ella’s my favorite girl.”
  • “Mommy, Happy Valentine’s Day.” Awwwww.  I love my little man.
  • “I have germs in my body.”
  • I overheard him telling Ella, “No blood, no band aid.”  This one made me laugh because he is repeating his mommy.

Friday, February 11, 2011

Valentine’s Party

Aleck and Ella had a Valentine’s Party at school today.  We make special cards for both Aleck and Ella to give to their classmates.  Aleck was not interested at all in coloring his train on the card.  I volunteered to bring cupcakes and treat bags for Aleck’s class.  I made each kid a personalized refrigerator magnet.  Aleck was so excited that I came to help out with the party.  We made a Valentine’s card for the kids to take home to their parents.  Mrs. Morse, the room mom, read several books and they played We’re Going On a Bear Hunt.  The kids loved their valentine shaped sandwiches and could hardly wait for the cupcakes.  I am so blessed that I can share these special times.

DSC_8503DSC_8511DSC_8519

DSC_8521

DSC_8552

DSC_8570

Thursday, February 10, 2011

That’s My Son

DSC_8578

AJ recently started this thing where he hides things from me.  It has gotten so bad that when he darts from a room, sometimes a chase him just to make sure he didn’t take something that belongs to me.  In the past, he has hidden things in his closet, but now that I’m onto him, he is moving his hiding places.  Makes me crazy!

This afternoon, I took a stick of butter from the fridge to soften before making cupcakes.  I later found the stick of butter on the floor under the kitchen cabinet. 

I’m in the computer room working on my blog book and AJ is supposed to be in bed.  Just now, I heard him crawl into the room and then disappear back to his room.  When I looked down, I saw a book that I had been reading that recently turned up missing.  I guess he decided to redeem himself a little by returning some things.  Too bad the bookmark is still missing.

How’s this for irony?  The title of the book is “That’s My Son:  How Moms Can Influence Boys to Become Men of Character”. 

Are you wondering about the purple barrettes?  I thought you were.  A little later, he slithered into the room again and then vanished back to his room.  When I looked down, he had returned Ella’s purple barrettes. 

Gotta run.  I need to look at the contents page in my book and see if there is a chapter on kleptomania. 

Sunday, February 6, 2011

19 Months

My Sweet Ella Bella,

It is so hard to believe you are growing up so fast.  Here are a few special things about you at 19 months.

  • You love books and your favorite book right now is “Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See.”  You know what the cover looks like and can bring me the book when I ask you to get it off the bookshelf.
  • You love to dance.  You either jump up and down, or you bend at your waist and throw your entire upper body side to side.  Sometimes it looks like you may fall over completely.  It is absolutely adorable.
  • You like to flush the toilet and wave bye bye as the water goes down.  There is telling what you have flushed that I don’t know about.
  • You are wanting to be more independent.  You want to buckle your own car seat and you even want to help clean yourself when I change your diaper.
  • You love to play dress up with Aleck.  I hear you clopping around in your plastic heels and it makes me smile.  I can tell by the sound of your walk if you found both shoes or not without even seeing you.
  • You have made opening the refrigerator your new favorite pastime.  You do it even when you aren’t hungry.  Thankfully, Daddy found a clamp in his toolbox that can lock the doors.
  • You like most all foods.  Off the top of my head, I can’t think of anything you won’t eat.  You love chocolate!
  • Like Aleck at your age, your favorite thing at the playground is the swing.  You love it!
  • You gave up your pacifier around 18 months (sorry, no 18 month post). You still love your bottle.  I started weaning the bottle last month, but you got strep throat and didn’t eat much for several days and that totally blew the weaning.  I’ll try again soon.
  • You nap 1 1/2 to 2 hours right after lunch.  You sleep from 7:30 p.m. to 7:00 a.m.  You absolutely have to have a baby doll and blanket to nap but don’t carry them around much during the day unless you are having a bad day.
  • You don’t care much for television, but you will watch a little bit of Sesame Street.  We don’t really watch much television, but it does help me get supper on the table some nights.
  • You can feed yourself independently, even cereal, without making a mess.  That is, unless you want to make a mess.
  • You love jumping on our bed.  You giggle with glee. 
  • When you see the fabric baby sling, you still want me to carry you in it, which I love to do, even if it does kill my back.
  • You wear 18 to 24 month clothes and size 5 shoes.  You weighed 25 lb., 12 oz. when we saw Dr. Sakseena January 19th.
  • You have this game where you race to take your shoes off and throw them out the van door before I close the door and drive away.  Last week, when we got home from church, I realized you were missing a shoe.  Thankfully, Daddy found it in the church parking lot.  Now, I stand beside the door as it closes to make sure you don’t toss anything out.
  • You adore your big brother and imitate his every move.  It is so precious.

Ella Bella, it’s hard to believe it’s possible, but Mommy and Daddy love you more each passing day.

Saturday, February 5, 2011

Sledding Texas Style

Despite the ice and snow, Tom worked all week.  We were so happy to have him home today to play in the snow.  We went to Chisholm Park and sledded down the backside of the levee.  There was a sledding mishap the first time down, as you can tell by the scratches on Ella’s little face.  Ella refused to get in the laundry basket again.  However, she did have a blast sliding down the hill in Daddy’s arms.  The snow was much better today and Aleck made some beautiful snow angels.  Aleck thought it was so cool that the pond was frozen, and he had a ball throwing snowballs and watching them skid across the ice.  Aleck also thought it was awesome that Daddy took a ride down the hill in the laundry basket.  I know I am posting a lot of pictures, but we had a lot of fun!DSC_8105

DSC_8106

DSC_8108

DSC_8109DSC_8118DSC_8203DSC_8227DSC_8230DSC_8231

DSC_8054

DSC_8243

DSC_8095

DSC_8099DSC_8265DSC_8273DSC_8276DSC_8277DSC_8299

DSC_8404

DSC_8413DSC_8480

Friday, February 4, 2011

I Don’t Think We’re in Texas Any More

Today is Friday, our fourth consecutive day at home.  We woke Tuesday morning to the ground covered with a mixture of ice, sleet and snow. 

When we woke this morning, there were another few inches of snow covering everything.  Crazy weather!  Aleck wanted to go sledding.  I have no idea how he even knows what sledding is.  I think he’s seen one too many Calliou episodes ( Calliou apparently lives in the North where is snows all the time).  We bundled in three layers and headed outside.  I tied a belt to a laundry basket and pulled Ella and Aleck up and down the street but considering I haven’t seen the inside of a gym in some time, that didn’t last very long.

We probably had about four inches of snow on the ground and Ella Bella kept tripping and falling.  Once, she did a face plant and wasn’t too happy, but most of the time she jumped straight up and kept on going.

DSC_7763DSC_7764DSC_7962DSC_7918

DSC_7916

DSC_7912

DSC_7988

DSC_7952DSC_7986

DSC_7940

Aleck’s friend, L, came over to visit and play in the snow.  Luckily, it was a bit warmer today and we never really got that cold.  The kids had so much fun and I had to wrestle them inside for lunch and a much needed nap.  Unfortunately, Tom was at work but we hope to get some sledding in down the levee of the lake at Chisholm Park tomorrow morning. 

DSC_7885

DSC_7921_edited-1

DSC_7852

DSC_7953

test

DSC_7593

God Made A.J.’s Family, Monkey and all

Aleck made this picture in Sunday School a few weeks ago and I cherish it.  I’m sure Aleck’s teacher drew the stick figures and wrote the names and bible verse, then let Aleck color the page.  When I looked closer at the picture, I noticed that it looks like Aleck is holding something in his hand.  I asked Aleck to tell me about the picture and what he was holding.  He quickly replied, “I’m holding a monkey.”  Sure enough, it looks a bit like a monkey.  I love watching that amazing imagination at work.

 

God made aj's family

God made aj's family