Different kind of Tag....

I got this idea from Andrea S., and it made me feel so good when I read her blog, that I hope you will all feel good after reading this too.
Since so many “tags” are about me, I thought I’d copy Andrea S. and follow her “tag” by posting two things I love about those of you on my blog list. (See under “friends with blogs”). So, “friends with blogs”, this is for you who are so dedicated to reading and commenting on my blog. It makes me feel special that you take the time to read snippets of my life, so cheers to you all!

Andrea S. – You gave me this great idea and I just think you are beautiful inside and out. You are not only one of the SWEETEST and most talented people I have ever met, but you have such a great sense of humor and you always crack me up.

Chaunette – You are super creative and are always achieving your goals. You make me want to get my butt in gear and do more.

Emily S. – The first time I met you at Cinco’s you totally cracked me up about being kicked out of Pottery Barn. From then on, I knew I would like you. I admire your job as a labor and delivery nurse and I totally want you to be my nurse the next time I have a baby.

Jessie B. – The more I’ve gotten to know you, the more I think you are so cool. You have an awesome sense of humor and I really want to hang out more.

Jessie G. – You are beautiful and from what I’ve witnessed, you are a great mom and wife. You’re one of those people, like Chaunette, who is always achieving goals and even though I often feel like I could never be the creative home-maker like you are, I feel inspired to be better when I’m around you.

Kari C. – I have too much juice on you to post in two things. Ha ha. I feel like you are another sister even though I haven’t seen you in ages. Even though I can still picture you as little Kari Robbins following “dinosaur” through the halls at church when you were 15, you have impressed me with being such a great mom and such a strong woman.

Mimi K. – Meems, what can I say? You have been a great friend to me and will always hold a special place in my heart. Brass Monkey will live on in my heart forever. J You are one I can be completely myself around and I love ya.

Natalie L. – You just exude talent, and you have been SUCH a great friend. You have one of the most pure singing voices I have ever heard and could listen to it forever. You also have such a cute little laugh, and it’s contagious.

Paula R. – You are super cute and super stylish, and I need you to tutor me on how to look like a million bucks at all times b/c you do. It’s been so fun to get to know the bride of the missionary who helped changed my husband’s life. P.S. – I know you’re a former teacher; so don’t judge my grammatical errors too much!

Rachel D. – You have such a funny sense of humor and I didn’t expect it of you, which made it even better. You are so quick with your comebacks that I’m jealous! J You also make the gosh-darn-BEST chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever had!

Rachel H. – I don’t know if I can reduce this to two things, but I’ll try. I feel like you will be my best friend forever and always even though we live a country apart (even if you did almost kill my dad…. he has never forgotten that). You are my soul-sista, and I can be 100% myself (whatever myself is at the time) around you and you will never judge me or stop being my friend, and I cherish our friendship. Wanna make-out now? Ha Ha j/k obviously!

Rachel M. – You are a super nurse and I think you are da bomb. You are so easy to talk to and have a conversation with. I have always felt comfortable around you and you are just cool.

Sam Z. – You are my #1 neighbor and I’m so glad that we are friends. You are thoughtful, funny, down to earth, and so cool (even if you are such a youngin!).

Shaylene L. – I’m so glad that we got back in touch after all of these years! You and Aaron were mine and Travis’s first “church couple”, and it was great for Travis and I to have you in our lives back then. I’m so glad you are back in my life!

Shellie K. – Shell! Homie! Sista! First you are freakin’ hilarious, as everyone knows, but you are also a great listener, great workout buddy, great secret-keeper and just a great friend. I’m so blessed to have you in my life. Peace out. I love your guts.

Sherry D. – You were our first neighbor as a married couple and you were such a great neighbor! You were always so selfless and helped me out so much when I was pregnant with Sydney and after Sydney was born that I will always be indebted to you.

Stacy J. - You are always doing something new and cool and I am always so amazed to find out what you are accomplishing next! I really don’t know how you are a mother of 5 and have 50 different jobs/ projects, etc. going on at the same time. AND you are sane! And your projects/jobs are always great. Your kids are great too. How DO you do it?

Stephanie P. – I miss you!!! I’m still mad that you up and moved to Tennessee, but I can’t be too mad b/c I love you and your family too much. You are so funny and I love your sense of humor. You have GREAT kids who are so well mannered. I love that you have such a strong faith in Jesus Christ and aren’t afraid to “shout it from the mountain tops”. You bring light to everyone who is in contact with you.

Tara P. – You probably won’t read this b/c you haven’t blogged since, what? February? But, I always looked up to you when we were teenagers and thought you were so super cool, and I still do.

Angie K. - I'm so glad that you have a blog now! I love you because you are just REAL. You are a wonderful mother (I adore your kids and want to Sydney to marry Aidan), and you are a wonderful friend. You are so talented and creative and I always have fun spending time with you and your family.


Okay, so if you read my blog and aren’t on my blog list, then let me know b/c I don’t want to leave anyone out! I love all of my Amigos/Amigas! I want to give you a shout out too, so don’t be shy!

Mama

My wonderful Mom had her birthday a few days ago and I wanted to dedicate this post to her. There are so many things I love about my mom. I'll just name a few (in no particular order).

1. There has NEVER been a doubt in my mind that she loves me, my siblings or my Dad.

2. She's stylish.

3. She never meets a stranger and can strike up a conversation with anyone anywhere.

4. No matter where I am with her, we always run into someone that she knows. I'm not kidding...any state I've ever been in with her there has been someone she's known. Even when she and I went to Ecuador together she ran into a few people from the U.S. that she knew.

5. Little kids and babies LOVE her. She can take anyone's crying baby/kid and make them laugh instantly and make them feel completely comfortable with her. It's amazing. I've tried to watch and learn, but I think it's just something she was born with.

6. She can do anything. Literally, if she decides she wants to do something, she'll find a way to accomplish it.

7. She's sarcastic.

8. She likes to have fun and she likes to make sure the people she's with are having fun.

9. She's bold. She goes after what she wants.

10. She's very creative and has great ideas.

11. She's an awesome teacher.

12. She knows the scriptures so well you would think she was a theologian.

13. She has an unwavering testimony of Jesus Christ and His gospel.

14. She loves her family fiercely.

15. She has Parkinson's disease, but you would never know b/c she works out three times a week with a personal trainer and exercises the other days, so that she can move.

16. She's a very strong person with a strong personality.

17. She's a southern belle and did her best to instill that in me....which I love...I'm proud of my southern belle roots.

18. She's thoughtful.

19. If I'm having a bad day, when I talk to her I always feel better.

20. She's become such a great friend to me in my adulthood.

21. She taught me relish the moment and make the most of it and just to have fun in life.

22. She taught me to respect myself and to hold my head high in any situation that life throws at me.

23. She taught me to search for my own beliefs and knowledge and own them.

24. If the dictionary had a description of the "Perfect Mom", her picture would be next to it.

I love Mom so much and am forever grateful for her love for me.

Are we better yet???

Okay, so I'm a little frustrated to say the least. Addyson, Sydney, and I all have strep throat. That would be bad enough in and of itself, but this is Addyson's 3rd time since April and Sydney's 2nd. They also both have ear infections. They both had one less than a month ago. The pediatrician is like..."It looks like they never got better from their last strep and ear infections...let's put them on a stronger anti-biotic".....duh! Why didn't you put them on the strong one to begin with D.A.! So, my poor little ones have basically had strep and ear infections for a month. Now Mommy has it and no one is happy. I'm such a bear when I'm sick and to top it off, the girls aren't sleeping well, so neither am I. I'm a bigger bear when I haven't had enough sleep. Travis was so sweet yesterday, though, b/c he came home early from work and took the girls out to McDonald's so I could take a nap and not worry about dinner or the girls for a little while.


This leads me to my next story.....


So, Travis hurries and get the girls, puts them in the car and heads off to M.D.'s. He gets there and realizes that he has to pee. So, he has to take both girls into the men's bathroom. He tells Sydney to hold on to Addyson and to not touch anything or let Addyson touch anything. Then he goes over to the urinal. Now, Sydney has only been in the men's bathroom when she had to go potty and I wasn't there. She's never seen a urinal, more or less seen anyone use one. So, while Travis is standing there, he sees Sydney come up by him from the corner of his eye, and she's like...."DADDY! What are you DOING! Are you going tinkle on the WALL???!!" When Travis told me this I just started laughing. SOOOOO funny! He said no one else was in there, which was great. He had to explain to her that this is a special potty for Daddy's when they pee standing up. I just hope she doesn't try it at home.

Girls' Night Out?

You know you're getting old when you and your girlfriends go "out" to a wedding! HA! Actually, we had a great time. My friends' brother (Lisa's brother) got married, so Shellie, Lazette and I went together to his reception. We had a great time and afterward went to the bar at Cinco's and ordered virgin drinks. The bar-tender totally laughed at us, but we quickly became friends with him and he gave us our drinks and dessert for free. The place was deserted, actually. There were three very drunk people there and then us three. One of the women who was drunk off her gourd kept coming over and talking to us and trying to get Lazette to flirt with her son..... even after we told her Lazette was married, she still kept on and on and on. It was funny. Lazette was just laughing and shaking her head. It was a fun night. The bartender said he would remember us and our "sassy" drinks next time we came in with our families. We'll have to put him to the test. He made a mean virgin pina colada and virgin Mango margarita. :)

The "Fab Five" after the reception.

Shellie, Lazette, Lisa, Keri and me

MoiLazette

ShellieLisa and Aidan

Keri (in the middle) Lazette and the drunk mom
Shell and her "sassy" pina colada
Lazette downing her virgin mango margarita
Me suckin' down a very tame pina colada

The bartender who laughed at us and told us jokes.

Dancing Queen

Sydney had her dance recital last Saturday. She had two performances...one for ballet and one for tap. She did a great job! I was so proud of her. Travis was out of town, but got to go to the dress rehearsal the day before (which was really bad), but I recorded her performances for him on Saturday which were MUCH better. My Mom, Dad and Memama came as well as my friend, Andrea Busse, and her family. Mom and Dad got her two red roses and Andrea got her an entire bouquet of colorful roses. Andrea made me so proud when she told me that Sydney was the best dancer in her class. Andrea was a dancer all growing up and even into adult-hood, so, needless to say...I was beaming when she told me that. I was only watching Sydney, so I really wasn't watching the rest of the kids!

The first pictures are ones I took when Sydney was getting her "professional" pictures taken and while she was waiting her turn.

These pictures are of her dancing at her dress rehearsal. I didn't get any at her actual recital because I was filming it.


She's looking in the mirror and dancing to the song "I feel pretty". That song has been on my mind all week. All I can think of is the movie "Anger Management" and the car scene where Adam Sandler and Jack Nicholson are singing that song. Hilarious.
After the recital she got her award and her flowers.
Gavin Busse, Sydney and Grayson Busse. Sydney has known them since she was 18 months old. The STAR dancer and Mommy.
Sydney and Memama (Sydney is standing on a chair...Memama is short, but not that short).
"Grandma", Sydney and "Grandfather".

Sydney doesn't call them "Annie" and "Poppy" anymore.

Scooby Scooby Dooooo!

Scooby Doo! Where are you?

Daphne

For Sydney's 4th birthday party she wanted a Scooby Doo party....of course. She's obsessed with Scooby Doo still. So, I decided to have a "Solve the Mystery" party. I think it turned out great and she had so much fun. She always calls me Daphne, so, I had to dress the part, right? It was fun dressing up as Daphne, and Sydney loved it, but some of the other kids kind of freaked out when they saw me with bright orange hair! It took them a little while to realize that it was really just me. Syd's friend, Grayson, asked me why I painted my hair orange. ha ha. I herded all the kids outside on the screened in porch so we could dance to Scooby Doo music, (which Travis burned on a CD for it the night before) and so the kids could color, but REALLY so the kids wouldn't see Travis hiding all of Sydney's presents. I tried to get a picture of everyone, but some of the kids didn't want to gather up, so I don't have a picture of all the kids together.

Travis gave me the signal, so I opened the door, and the kids all ran inside. Sydney noticed right away that the presents were gone. I gathered all the kids up and told them "We have a mystery to solve! Someone has stolen Sydney's presents!". In the place of the presents was a clue that Sydney found, so I read it and they had to play musical chairs to get the next clue, then they had to play "pin the collar on Scooby" to get a clue, then a pinata, then eat cake and icecream, and then they got the last clue to go into the front spare bedroom. The kids all went in looking for clues and then Travis, dressed as a pirate, jumped out at them. They all screamed and I started throwing these soft balls and stuffed animals at him, and so they loved that and really go into it. Only two kids got scared...one was only 2, so she didn't understand. The rest, however, thought it was hilarious. Travis laid down on the ground defeated and one of the kids grabbed the clue, and then we had to "un-mask" the pirate. Sydney thought is was so funny that Daddy was a pirate and the kids got all excited that it was Mr. Travis all along. ha ha. The kids finally found the presents, so we opened them and then played. It only lasted 1 1/2 hours, so it was great. I think it was definitely a success.

Musical Chairs

Pin the collar on Scooby

Another Clue!

Pinata!

Cake and Icecream!

The next clue is in here!

The Pirate stole the presents!!

Hitting the pirate with stuffed animals!

Unmasking the Pirate! It's just Daddy!!Finding the missing presents. (Thanks Andrea for recording this!)

It's amazing how much we parents do to make sure our kids have a good time! Who thought that planning a 4 year old's birthday party could be so much fun! I think I had as much fun as the kids! I think Travis did too. I was so busy that I didn't get a chance to take many pictures, but my friend Elena did, and my friend Andrea actually videoed the party. Isn't that so sweet??? Sydney loved watching it. I'll try and post it on youtube for my in-laws to see. I've never done that, though, so I might need some help from you guys!

Opening the presents!