Silly Facebook

Everyone on Facebook has seen these silly quizzes.... "What fairy princess are you?"  "What Grease character are you?"  "What Sister Act character are you?" (ok.... maybe not that last one).  Well, I had to take the "What Steel Magnolias character are you?" quiz.  If you know me at all, you know that is my absolute favorite movie.  I was astonished when I read my results.  I always laughed at those quizzes, but golly gee, it looks like they are onto something.  And although I don't look like her at all, this result was me ya'll.  I couldn't believe it.

Mary completed the quiz "Which Steel Magnolias Character Are You?" with the result Truvy Jones (Dolly Parton's character).
You are Truvy. You're the essence of southern charm! Your door is open to everyone, and people often confide in you their deepest secrets. You have a heart of gold and love getting caught up in other people's lives! Laugher through tears is your favorite emotion, and you have a strict policy that no one cries alone in your presence! Sometimes, though, you spend more time entering into their joys and sorrows than recognizing your own. You may feel that you have let others down if you're not smiling through it all! Friends are your lifeline, and teasing and girl-time are like the air you breathe...you can't imagine living without them! Recognize your beauty and value. Just because you're always there for others, doesn't mean they're not there for you. If you need to share a heartache, let your best friends know! You don't always have to be the encourager...we all could use a little encouragement sometimes

My Literature Loving Little Lovely

Look how much our little Emma Jane is already enjoying books. She is her mother's daughter!

Boy, can you tell I love teaching literature by the alliterative title?

Easter Stamp Camp

Yesterday was an icky, rainy day... the perfect day to do some crafts with some friends.
Lauren had her Easter Stamp Camp. It was so much fun. Colin stayed home with the kids so that I could really enjoy some "girl time."
We made the most adorable Easter treats from her supplies, York Peppermint Patties, and Hershey Nuggets (her craft room at her house is amazing!.....yes, that's right.... I said craft room).  Now I just have to find the perfect person to give them to (someone who wants cutesie, pootsie, crafty Easter candy.... I'm not sure Colin would want them, but I've got the perfect friends to pick from..... probably one of the "village people."

I ended up getting supplies to package our Relay For Life Bake Sale goodies up with.  I will post more on that when the time comes.  They will be adorable and hopefully they will make a lot of money for the cause.

These are the little goodies that I made from Easter Stamp Camp

Our New Favorite Snack

Karen, this one is just for you!
Bugs!!!

Bite!!!!

We Need To Find Some "Bug Spray"

So as you have read earlier, we had a bit of a stomach bug last week.  Well, to finish off the week, I had an infection, and now I am starting to feel a cold coming on.  I haven't been able to breath out of the right side of my nose for a day now.  UGH.  

On top of all of that, I found out that Gator (some of you may have heard of the infamous Gator, one of our students) was home with the chicken pox...GREAT!  Can you just imagine him.  Son of a @(*%, I'm sick of itching these *$&# things!!!!

Earning Monster Trucks

Ok....so our little boy absolutely LOVES monster trucks.  His daddy took him to one rally and it's been all over with since then.

Anyways, Drew had a great day the other day when he told me he had to go "poot" and pointed to the bathroom.  I ran him to the bathroom, we got all ready, and sure enough he used the bathroom like a big boy!!!!  I was ecstatic!!!!  So I gave him a new monster truck (Daddy keeps them on hand for just such occasions).  He was thrilled as you can see in the pictures.  It was so cute.  And the funniest thing is that when he gets a new truck (he now has 8!) he always plays with the newest one.  Ok... well funny enough, as I am typing this, Colin and Drew walked through the door.  They were at Target, so now scratch what I said before, now Drew has 9 monster trucks....hahaha.  How funny!

The Intruder

Emma was happily playing in her little play gym when Drew came and decided he wanted to join her regardless of her plans. But I must say, he is so sweet to her. He really just wants to play with her. He is all the time trying to get her to do things with him. It is adorable. I just know that one day they will be the best of friends.




Thought I would tag this one on here... this is the first picture Drew ever took. If he grows up to be a famous photographer, this will be worth so much $$$!!!

A Little Under The Weather

The stomach bug bit us this week. It started with Drew on Friday. Mrs. Tonia called and said he had been sick, but was acting completely normal, so we thought it was something he ate. But then, I got it. It took me down for about 14 hours. So it was viral for sure. Then, poor little Emma got it. That was the saddest.
My sweet little children are troopers though. They remained in their awesome moods, they were just a bit more cuddly than usual (if that's even possible). Those of you that know Drew, know that the child NEVER STOPS! Well, Drew actually sat down long enough to watch Sesame Street. I was amazed and thankful considering I wasn't in tip top shape myself.
My favorite part of this whole bug was when we were all laying on the couch being pitiful together. I don't have any really good pictures of this moment, because, of course as soon as Drew saw the camera, he would either start "cheesin' or reach for the camera. There was a time where Emma and Drew were laying their heads on my chest and they were nose to nose. It was the sweetest moment of my life. It felt so good to hold my babies while they were so close to each other, it didn't matter how badly I felt physically at that moment.

These are terrible pictures.... but I will put my own vanity aside so ya'll can see how sweet these moments were.

Playing With Drew

Now that the weather is getting pretty and spring is here, we are playing more and more outside. One of Drew's favorites is the "bubble gun." He loves watching them go in the wind. It's so fun to watch his surprise every time we or he pulls the trigger. Too cute. Here are some pictures of he and his daddy playing with it.

The Very Wicked White

Colin and I were in Target the other day. Colin still has a hard time believing that you can buy alcohol in a Super Center, so we were perusing that isle. We came across this wine. It was like.... 2 bucks or something (not really, but not too far off).  Anyways, we brought home our fun label and popped it open.  Plugh!!!! It was so gross!  Not that we actually thought it was going to be good, but my my, this far exceeded how bad  we thought it would be.  To defend the wine, I have to say I detest sweet wines, and this was the sweetest, so if you like sweet, maybe it would be tolerable.  Colin and I threw the rest out.... something I can say I've never done with wine before.  But I still stand by the idea that packaging is everything.  

A Special Gift From a Friend

This beautiful gift came from my friend Emily.  It was special on it's own, because it is a beautiful sweater from a wonderful person that my little princess will wear.  But it is extra special for two reasons: it was hand-knit and Emily prayed for Emma Jane while she knit it.  There is no greater gift than a prayer.  It means so much to us.  She wrote this lovely letter that went with the gift.  Thank you so much, my special friend.  We'll cherish it forever.

This is the gorgeous sweater that Emily hand knit.... it was her first ever!

This is the touching letter that arrived with it...

Happy Easter

This is the first of many Easter treats that will be making their way into our home.

Our First Day Back

Today was Ms. Emma Jane's first day at Mrs. Tonia's.  Drew, the ever-protecting big-brother, was there by her side.  They both did great.  It was a bit of a rough morning for Drew when I left, but as usual, it took him all of 20 seconds to get over that I'm sure.  He's a pretty flexible little guy.  Emma, of course did great.  She just looked up at me with those adorable little eyes, blinked a few times from behind her blanket, and showed me that she was going to be a big girl by being brave and not crying (or not realizing what was going on... I know, I know).  I however was not as brave.  I boo hooed all the way to work.  But then I found solace in my girlfriends once I got there, who were great by the way.

It was a pretty pleasant day, all in all.  I didn't mind work, and the nightly routine went well.  It wasn't until I realized that it was already Drew's bedtime that I got sad again.  I forgot how quickly the night flies by.  It seemed like I had no time with them at all.  I felt as if I may have had an hour with them today.  I really don't like that feeling, especially after having them all day every day for 10 weeks (12 weeks with Drew because of Christmas vacation).   

I know that they are doing well.  I am very happy with where they are during the day and I know it's good for them, but I am very sad that I am missing so much time. I miss all of the activities that we did together during the day.

They are such blessings, and I know that for whatever time I get with them, I should be very thankful. 

This is a picture of the kids today. Drew is such a good big brother. He puts his hand out on the other boys' chests when they get close to Emma, as if to say, "Just know.... I'm here, watching.... waiting for you to make a mistake." haha

Wrapping It Up

I usually like to keep it happy and up-beat here, but I also want to keep it honest. I'm quite sad because today is my last day of maternity leave. I go back to work tomorrow. I'm trying to be as positive as I can about it. It's only 3 months until summer break. Then I'll be home again. But there's that part of me that just can't imagine being away from my children right now. It's a crime that maternity leave is so short (and I took extra time without pay!) I'm just soaking up as much time with them as I can. Right now I'm typing with one hand because I'm holding Emma. Her head is on my shoulder, and I'm giving her a bijillion kisses on her head as I type this. There is nothing better than the smell and feel of a baby's head and the sound of her little coos. I never want to forget this moment... the way that this feels. I've got Celine Dion's Miracle album playing on iTunes as we sit here too. It's a very sweet moment. I'm going now so that I can really enjoy it.

Mountain Bike Memories

Our Biking Mosaic

With this beautiful weather upon us (which I hear is suppose to go away for the next seven days...just when I was getting use to it), I've been thinking about how to take full advantage of the outdoors, which has lead me to remembering my mountain biking days. We had some great times. Colin and I were so committed to racing in 2006 and we traveled all over the Carolinas to do so. We raced the state series and the Charlotte series. So that ended up being about 2 races a week from March 'til October. It was crazy, but so much fun. We made some really great friends and got to travel all around with them. It was such a neat experience.
I also went on a great girls trip for a weekend up in the mountains. For those of you that know me well, this next part is going to really shock you. We stayed at a girl scout camp (it was sooooo cold and there was no hot water in the primitive bathrooms. There was a thin piece of plastic between me and the outside when I slept. Thank goodness for my extra cozy NorthFace mummy sleeping bag and the forethought of sleeping with my riding clothes in the bag with me so that I wouldn't have to put freezing cold clothes on in the morning). It was really beautiful. We stayed for two days and two nights. I'm not sure how many people went, I think between 40-50. It was great. We had a great meal the second night after riding (catered lasagna... the Dirt Divas really know how to do it up considering where we were and what we were there for) and a great bon fire afterward. We did a lot of hanging out by the lake too. It was such a great time.
I'm so proud of myself for working so hard. Like I said, Colin and I were really committed. We rode just about everyday that we weren't racing (the beauty of being in this area is that there are a TON of trails to keep the variety going). It's almost time to get back on that bike.... maybe even win a few more medals.

This is me getting my bronze medal after the Spartenburg race. These girls were locals and fierce competitors.
This is a mosaic of my fall trip with the Dirt Divas. We had a blast!
These are some of the great people that we met along the way. They really are great friends. I still keep up with them on Facebook. One day I'll be back out there.

This is a collage of the NORBA race that we went to. Colin raced this day on this trail. I did not however. I just enjoyed watching all of the pros. We got to meet our "biking heroes" and see a lot of cool gear that had not been released yet.... some of it never was (like the gold brakes).
My bragging corner. I know, I know, I'm not 10 anymore, but I have to have my bragging trophy and medal corner. I mean, how many times am I going to get to be the North Carolina State Champion and Charlotte Series Champ??? My guess is just that once.

Pay It Forward Thursday

Today the most incredible thing happened to us. Coming home from a play date with Peter over at Amy's, we were running late for lunch, so the kiddos and I went through the Chick-fil-a drive-thru for lunch.    I pulled up, noticed the very nice, expensive car in front of me and waited my turn.  I placed my order, and pulled up behind the car again at the window.  She was a very nice looking lady and I thought to myself, "Wow, nice life." Just a brief, fleeting moment. I didn't spend much time thinking about her (I had two kids with me, so not too much time for that), but I genuinely thought, how nice for her.
Anyways, she pulled off, nothing noteworthy so far, I know. But then I pulled up and offered my card to the lady at the window and she said to me, "The car in front of you paid for you."  It was so unexpected that I didn't even understand and I'm still trying to give her my card.  Then I asked her if she was serious and she said yes.  She gave me my food and told me to have a terrific day.  I asked, "so that's it?  I don't need to do anything else?"  And with a big smile, the lady said, "That's all Ma'am, have a terrific day."  

Wow!  I've never had that happen before.  The truly remarkable thing was that this lady who paid for our lunch wanted absolutely no recognition for it.  That part was so difficult for me.  For a girl who always writes thank you notes, I didn't know how to handle this part.  So this is what I've decided to do:

Pay It Forward Thursdays.  

This is my way of telling her thank you.  It is my commitment to do something unexpectedly nice for a perfect stranger once a week.  It does not matter whether I think they are deserving or not, after all, this lady had no idea what type of person I was and she still bought my family lunch.  The motivation is just to make someone's day, no thank you's or any recognition expected.

I would love for you all to play along.  Please feel free to use the artwork and post this on your blog and encourage your readers to do the same.  

Also, I would love to hear your stories as well.  Comment here and tell me your pay it forward stories.  You can leave a link to a post on your blog or just tell me about it.

Anyways, I hope it fills you with the same happiness and hopefulness that I get from it.

Have a terrific day!

A Night Out With The Gang

Tonight we went out for a fun, kid-friendly dinner with our friends (something we are going to do once a month from now on).  We had a great time.  Not everyone was able to make it (Chad had a hot date apparently, and Jill was helping out at her church's consignment sale), so maybe next time.  I can't believe our group* is growing so quickly with children  So here are a few of the moments from our night.  I didn't get a picture of everybody like I should have... you know, those cheesy pictures that we all take of our over-smiling friends gathered around the dinner table.  They're never very attractive, but I love them for some reason.... maybe it stems from my love of food.

(*see It Takes A Village).


"Why is "Aunt Mandy" holding me while my daddy feeding me lemons!?! Wait a minute.... I LOVE lemons!!!!"

Mary and Brandon smilin' it up for the camera.... Jay and Mandy obviously don't care about my photography...haha

Uncle Dan-O with Emma and Drew. Nice tuxedo shirt. I was bummed he didn't wear his checkered Vans like last time.

Gearing Up For Spring

Spring is almost here, so it's time to freshen things up.  So the other day I went to the Clinique counter and got my "spring colors."  It's fun to be pampered, have someone apply your make-up for you, and of course it's fun to buy new make-up.  Now I just need to freshen up my home with some spring cleaning... ugh.

Creative Crop

This week's assignment at I Heart Faces is creative crop. At first I couldn't decide which photo to crop, then I found this one. I cropped it through the camera. I love this photo and was so happy to hear that I could use it for this challenge. I hope you all enjoy it as well.

Picture Challenge 8

This week's picture challenge at 4 Little Men and Girly Twins was the first picture in February Folder that is NOT OF YOUR KIDS. I have posted this picture before, but this is the first one, and I have to say that it made me smile to think that this was the one because it is a very special one to me. This is the gift that my grandmother had left at my aunt's house for my 8 week old little girl.  My grandmother had passed away a couple of days before I received the gift.  Great Nana's Gift is where you can read the whole story and see what the gift was.