In Mary Mac's Words

I got this from another blogger friend and thought it would be funny to see what kind of answers MMC would give me. It is pretty cute to hear how she thinks on some of these.

1. What is something mom always says to you?

clean up

2. What makes mom happy?

when I make funny faces

3. What makes mom sad?

when I do something bad

4. How does your mom make you laugh?

she makes funny faces at me

5. What was your mom like as a child?

just like me

6. How old is your mom?

50 (yikes, i hope i don't look that old)

7. How tall is your mom?

very tall

8. What is her favorite thing to do?

go to the grocery store

9. What does your mom do when you're not around?

working

10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?

being a mommy

11. What is your mom really good at?

cooking

12. What is your mom not very good at?

playing games

13. What does your mom do for a job?

play on the computer (only wish it was "play")

14.What is your mom's favorite food?

bread

15.What makes you proud of your mom?

Being in love for me (she meant in love with me)

16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be?

Komono from My Little Pony

17. What do you and your mom do together?

play games (obviously not that great from the answer above)

18. How are you and your mom the same?

we have the same hair

19. How are you and your mom different?

our eyes are not the same

20. How do you know your mom loves you?

she gives me hugs

21. What does your mom like most about your dad?

being friends together (I guess she means that we like to spend time together)

22. Where is your mom's favorite place to go?

to the store

DADDY QUESTIONS...

1. What is something dad always says to you?

I don't know but he calls me Buddy

2. What makes dad happy?

when I play with him

3. What makes dad sad?

when I do something wrong

4. How does your dad make you laugh?

makes funny faces at me

5. What was your dad like as a child?

like Tyler (my brother? not sure about this one)

6. How old is your dad?

25 (no fair)

7. How tall is your dad?

very very tall

8. What is his favorite thing to do?

to hug me

9. What does your dad do when you're not around?

he plays tennis (huh? never played!)

10. If your dad becomes famous, what will it be for?

for being famous at football

11. What is your dad really good at?

drawing and playing games

12. What is your dad not very good at?

cooking, but he can put stuff in the oven

13. What does your dad do for a job?

works on the computer

14.What is your dad’s favorite food?

garlic bread (not so, he HATES garlic bread)

15.What makes you proud of your dad?

Being friends together

16. If your dad were a cartoon character, who would he be?

Spongebob

17. What do you and your dad do together?

play and play and play and play

18. How are you and your dad the same?

we have the same eyes

19. How are you and your dad different?

we don't have the same hair

20. How do you know your dad loves you?

he tickles me

21. What does your dad like most about your mom?

he likes to eat the same food (again, not sure about this one)

22. Where is your dad’s favorite place to go?

work


You should try this on your kids if they're old enough to understand the questions! It makes you realize where and how our children see us as individuals and as a couple! Maybe I'll try and be a little better at those games that I'm not so good at!

The Birthday Girl

After many, many celebrations and many, many rounds of "Happy Birthday!" sung, we have finally recovered from Anna's birthday WEEK! I think I say this every year, but thank goodness birthdays only come once a year - I don't think I could handle many more! Here are some pictures from the week! The big Elmo cake is the one Sam's sister made and it was AWESOME!!! Not only did it look perfect (toook her like 2 hours to decorate), but it tasted better than any birthday cake I could have bought! Thanks Pancake! It was a hit! The bottom 2 pictures were from her party at school with her class. Oh, those cupcakes were a huge mess, but the kids loved them! Also, Pancake and Big Will gave us a "wonderful" birthday present (can you hear the sarcasm?). They thought that the girls needed a pet (as if I don't have enough to do and take care of already), so they bring in a big clear bucket with 2 baby Alabama Map turtles. Oh my, they have no idea what awaits them when they have kids - pay back is "H-E-double hockey sticks"! Might I add that they gave us one male and one female - I can see it now, turtles taking over our house! Anna has named hers Tuck (from the Wonder Pets) and MMC hasn't been able to decide on a name for hers yet, although I'm not sure which one is which or if they even know. I think these turtles might find a great home at Nanny and Pop's pond at the lake house, that is if I can sneak them out of the house without the girls noticing! Oh, and before anyone replies with warnings about turtles and bacteria/germs/etc., WE KNOW! We won't let the girls touch them without a good handscrubbing!

Scary Moments

Ok, so before anyone gets excited thinking you are going to see pictures of MMC riding in her first horse show, I need to warn you that the following pictures could be scary for anyone not accustomed to horse back riding! They say you are not a real rider until you take a tumble?! Well, MMC is officially a "real rider" now.

After running all over town yesterday to get all of her stuff ready, her trainer texted me that she probably needed to come out one more time Friday and practice with all the "stuff" that would be in the ring during the show. So, off I go to pick her up from school early - let me mention that she is sacked out at school when I get there. I tell her that we are going to the barn to ride one more time and then give Jimmy a bath. She was so excited! So we get to the barn and it is total chaos out there with horse trailers pulling in everywhere, people everywhere, horses everywhere, the Blue Angels roaring overhead. . .you get the picture! Due to the bad weather the day before, the horses had not been turned out all day because they had so much going on and the horses were wild! A couple of girls had fallen off already. So, MMC gets on Jimmy (who normally has to be wacked and kicked hard before he will run) and off she goes. Everything was great until Jimmy decided he was supposed to jump a vertical jump that was about 2 feet of the ground. MMC did great over the jump (she's never jumped before), but lost her grip and was chunked off the front on the landing. All I heard was gasping and screaming and then I see MMC on the ground in shock. Gratefully, she jumps up and then starts howling crying! Secretly, I think I could have cried too! Her trainer, Carly, who thinks MMC is her own, is beside herself but does her job and makes sure MMC is not hurt. Again, thankfully, nothing hurts, but we go and take a little break and give us all a minute to calm down (Jimmy included). Poor MMC tee-tee'd on herself during all of this (again, I think I could have done the same).

So, as the saying goes, she gets back up on the horse and we are doing great again. Keep in mind not much has changed as far as the "action" at the barn. So, off MMC goes trotting over the ground poles like she's supposed to do and Jimmy is doing great. . .until, he gets a little excited AGAIN and takes off jumping over the ground poles! Little MMC is doing all she can to hold on as he is bouncing her all over the place. She hangs on the first set and then the second set, but she just can't hang on any longer as he makes the turn. Carly and I are both running after her at this point yelling, "WHOA!!! Pull Back Mary Mac! Make Him Stop!!!!" Then, off she comes again and this time in the mud puddle! We could not believe it! Thankfully, again, she was not hurt, just A LOT shaken up. We decided at this point for us to leave, take a break, let everything settle down, and Carly would call us to come back when everyone was done. I know, you all are thinking, NO WAY - DO NOT LET HER BACK ON THAT HORSE, and believe me, part of me felt the same, but the other part of me (and Sam) said she has to get back on, just once more! Maybe it's the stubborness in us both or maybe it's just that she has LOVED it so much until these 2 falls that we didn't want that to be her last memory of riding (if she is totally scared away). So Carly calls and MMC is ready to go back and ride - I couldn't believe it! I guess she does have a little of our stubborn genes. We get there, she wants on Jimmy immediately, and she rides! Whew! Third time's a charm! She was very hesitant and nervous this time and wasn't so sure about trotting over the ground poles by herself, but she did it once and we (and everyone at the barn) cheered for her and told her how proud we/they were of her for getting back on after such a rough day. All the "big" girls hugged her and told that they had fallen so many times and it was just part of riding!

Thank goodness for the helmet!!!!!

Her badge of courage - muddy from head to toe! Notice her little proud smirk!

Needless to say, after all of the excitement of Friday, MMC did not ride in the show! She said she just wanted to go watch this morning and take a few more lessons before she rides in a show. I can't say I don't blame her! I just wonder how many times a mom can watch their child take a fall like those before you get used to it - I'm not sure I can take much more of it! Oh, and by the way, after the second fall, MMC said "mom, I tee-tee'd on myself AGAIN!" Oh, she has no idea! I think I hurtled the fence both times like a track star! She says she wants to ride again on her next lesson, so we'll see! I'll keep you posted! I'm starting to think that playing Chess may be easier on Mom! Just kidding!

Horse Shows and Parties

And the excitement continues with the birthday celebrations! We are having Anna's official party Saturday night at our house. It is just family though. Shouls I feel guilty that I'm not having a big party like we did for MMC's 2nd birthday? I just really did not feel like planning anything big and she doesn't know the difference - YET! MMC keeps asking when Anna's "BIG" party is going to be. I just don't have the heart to tell her that it's just a family cook-out. We were going to have it at Sam's parents lake house and enjoy the boat, the weather, the company. Unfortunately, Sam's grandmother was in the hospital all this week and is now in a rehab facility until she can get back on her feet to go home so we decided we would take a little stress off of his mom's plate and not make her feel like she HAD to host the party. It will be great anyway and Aunt Kate (or "Pancake" as the girls call her) is making Anna's cake. She has been taking cake decorating classes and we are all anxious to taste her creations! Judging by the taste of one of her first cakes, this one will be fabulous - she's a little more practice since then!

On another note. . . MMC has her first horse show this weekend. I just pray that she doesn't flip out with all of the people watching her and that she actually gets Jimmy to trot over all the poles like he's supposed to do! We will be taking an "extra" ribbon in our pockets, just in case (if you get my drift). This is a big 2 day show with people coming from all over to compete and MMC is getting so excited she can hardly sleep at night thinking about it! Today, I will be busy running all over town collecting the "stuff" and getting it all ready to compete:
1) show jacket
2) white show blouse
3) ribbons for her hair
4) Show Sheen - to make Jimmy look "pretty" (he is a boy, you know)
5) clean her boots (it has been really muddy here lately)
6) jodphur pants (i.e. riding pants)
7) boot straps
8) clean her saddle and put her nameplate on it
9) clean her saddle pad
10) polish her pin for her shirt
11) punch holes in her belt so it fits
12) wash Jimmy, comb his mane
13) make sure her new show helmet fits
14) write check after check after check!

Whew! Well, as you can see, I've got a lot to do before 8 in the morning AND none of this includes anything that I need to do to get ready for Anna's party. That's a whole separate list in itself! HELP!!!! I don't know how you all do this with more than 2 kids! I hope I remember everything and get it all done! Stay tuned . . . I'll post pictures/videos or whatever I can get from the show! Wish us luck! I have a feeling this is only the beginning!

Happy 2nd Birthday Sweet Anna!

Today is Anna's 2nd Birthday! She has been so excited all week about her birthday and that we would be singing "Happy Birthday" to her today! She is such a special little person and we enjoy every second of her! I cannot imagine life without her. The first picture is of MMC giving A a birthday hug; the second is of the birthday girl "cheesing" with Ming Ming; and the last is of a flower arrangement I made yesterday for Anna's birthday/Easter. It is jelly beans in the bottom and Peeps and then more jelly beans with the flowers in a water-filled plastic cup. It's so cute and easy to make! I am trying to get back into arranging flowers for our house each week - I love doing it and the fresh flowers just make everything better!

Oh the weather!

I know I can't say this enough, but I LOVE THIS WEATHER!!!!! It is my favorite time of the year. As Sam and I sat out on our porch watching the girls play wonderously (is that a word?) in their barefeet, we both said how we wished it would stay like this year 'round! We have done nothing the past week but stay outside and play! Poor Anna was covered in pollen last night - so far I guess she is not allergic! She got her first "strawberry" on her knees last night. She kept telling us that they were "boo-berries (she prefers blueberry to strawberry). Since Sam's family has a slight history in fainting at the sight of blood, as soon as I realized it was bleeding, Sam and I wouldn't let her see it until we got it somewhat stopped. She is definitely a girly-girl because she was starting to panic, but thank goodness no fainting! Poor Mary Mac still has dark circles under her eyes due to allergies, but she just loves playing outside that I guess we'll just keep dosing her up with her medicine and pray it doesn't get any worse! We are supposed to have rain here Wednesday so hopefully it will wash most of the pollen off and be done with it!

On another funny note, I keep forgetting to post one our favorite funny things that Anna says. She is talking up a storm these days and some things I have no idea what she is talking about - but she does! The funny word is her word for milk! She call is milk "nip". Now, I know what you're thinking and no, she only breastfed for about 1 month! We get so tickled at that because it is so appropriate - maybe she knows more than we think she does!!!!

A Mary Mac funny. . .she was singing yesterday (as she does most of the time) while Sam was changing her clothes after church to the tune of The Farmer and The Dell, but she was making up her own verses (again, as always - I think she's always going to go against the grain, out of the norm, but that's what makes her special) and she says a word that sounds like the "f" word. Well, you could just hear both me and Sam giggle under our breath but trying not to call attention to it. Regardless, she noticed and wanted to know why we were laughing. Don't worry, we didn't tell her! Another funny saying (well I'm not sure how "funny" it is) was in the bath the other night. I was doing something in her room while Sam was bathing them. I hear him asking her "Do you even know what that means?" So, curious me, I wanted to know what she said. She had told Anna to stop "freakin" out (or something along those lines but using that word). Oops! I guess I use that word more than I thought! I guess it's better than some other choice words that I could use!?

Blogger Issues and Birthdays!

I've been trying to upload the video of me and Mary Mac taking a horse back riding lesson, but I'm having issues. As soon as I can get it to work, I will post it. Meanwhile, I'd like to wish Sam, the most wonderful husband and dad a very Happy Birthday! His birthday was Wednesday and we have been celebrating since last weekend when we baked a big cookie cake for him. He got his birthday present on Tuesday because Mary Mac couldn't wait - I actually really surprised him for the first time EVER! It was a pair of boots that he has been wanting forever and would not buy for himself. We also had a little family cookout on his birthday and had a wonderful time! The weather has been awesome here so we have taken full advantage of it and played outside every afternoon and night. Literally, from the time we either come home or after Anna naps, we have been outside playing, coming in only long enough to eat dinner, and then out again until bath time. I love this time of year (aside from the pollen) because it is warm but not smoldering hot! Poor Mary Mac is paying for it though - her allergies are going crazy! She even told me yesterday morning that she needed to do a "fish face" which is our term for a breathing treatment (the mask looks like a fish) because her breath was stuck! Bless her little heart - at only 4 she already knows when she needs a breathing treatment! Can you tell we've been doing this for while? She has never been so happy to have a breathing treatment!

Gitty Up Bogie!

Just what I know you have all been waiting for. . .video evidence of me riding a horse! It was so much fun once I got over being nervous. The horse's name is Bogie and he is so old and BIG, but great for a beginner like me! Mary Mac had a ball taking a lesson with me. I'm not sure if it's a good idea for me to have a lesson at the same time because she was so distracted by watching what I was doing. But on the other the distraction may be good because she had to stay focused and keep her horse on the right track. She was so cute after the lesson after we had put Bogie back in his stall. We were walking to the car and she looked at me and said, "mom, you did pretty good - almost as good as me!" Gee, thanks! Oh well, maybe a few more lessons and I'll be up to her level! Ha! Oh, and by the way, I was sooooooo sore! I found muscles I never knew existed that day! It is also MUCH harder than it looks to "post" (up and down). It took a good 6 days to get over! I just hope Bogie recovered!

Wish Me Luck!

Mary Mac has really gotten bitten by the horse back riding bug in the past couple of weeks. We had to take couple of weeks off from her riding lessons due to us being out of town and then trying to play catch up at work. I had almost decided that she was maybe getting over this phase and ready to move onto a new activity (yea, right). So, a couple of Sunday's ago I asked her if she wanted to go back to her lessons or if she wanted to try something new. She pitched a small fit at this suggestion and said she wanted to ride that day. At her past few lessons prior to this, she was not really making any progress and we couldn't seem to keep her focus and attention on her lesson - not suprising since she is only 4 1/2! So, I told her that we would go on Monday (keeping in mind that we had already paid for 2 more lessons) and then see what happened from there. Well, Monday was the day after the snow and it was FREEZING! But, she did great! She still just walked around, walked over the ground poles, trotted a little, but she stayed focused. She was so excited and had a renewed joy for riding again, so we went back on Wednesday for her regular time. There was so much going on at the barn that day - a brush fire, no power, horses going crazy everywhere - that I just knew she would not be able to focus. Wow, did she shock me and her trainer Carly! Not only was she not distracted, but she finally got the hang "posting" all on her own without Carly even really asking! For those of you not familiar with English riding, posting is when you stand and sit on the saddle in a controlled way as the horse trots! It was unbelievable - we were so excited and SHE was so excited - it just clicked!

So, back to the point of this post. In the midst of all of the riding excitement, Mary Mac has convinced me (yes, the one who has never learned to ride a horse) that I need to learn how to ride with her. Wish me luck . . . we are taking our first lesson together today. Sam and my parents think this is hilarious! So hilarious that they are ALL coming to watch and bringing the video camera. Stay tuned b/c you may just get a laugh out of this one!

PRAISE GOD!

Sorry for the length here, but for those of you who are interested in the details:

In case you haven't already heard, we got a great report yesterday at Anna's cardiologist appointment! Thank you all for all of your kind words and prayers! He does not want to see her back again until this time next year (unless she starts showing symptoms of any problems, which he does not expect to happen). YEA!!!! I love Dr. McMahon, but has taken me a long time to get to this point. I think the reason for this is mostly my fault and totally not anything he did. I was in such denial at our first appointment with him when Anna was only a couple of weeks old that I took his blountness to be a little raw on a mom of a child with a heart condition. As we have been to see him many times now, I have realized that it is his blountness that I totally appreciate since we are dealing with a potentially very serious problem. Just to give you a glimpse into what our visits are like: they take us back the first time to weigh, measure, and get an EKG. I thought the EKG would be awful this time around b/c she is now so aware of what is going on, but she was such a big girl and was so still; we then wait again until they call us back to this tiny little exam room that is taken up mostly by a huge Echo/ultrasound type machine; we get her undressed again and he watches her as she interacts with us, listens to her heart, feels her chest with his bare hands, then he lubes her up and scans her little chest and abdomen with the wand to see her heart from every angle possible. During all of this he never really says anything or talks much except small talk with us and her about how she's been growing/developing: does she act "normal" (whatever that means), has she had any other health concerns, etc. During all of this, Anna did so well and just talked to him (me having to translate, of course) - the whole time thinking, I hope they a few tricks up their sleeves when she decides she's had enough. Then he flips the lights on and says, "well . . ." and gets straight to the point! Fortunately, this time, he said that the measurements, pictures, and EKG all looked better than this time last year and that she was apparently "growing" into her abnormal valve!

On another note, as I said the other day, we did take MMC with us this time. I tried for several days to prepare her for what they would be doing to Anna and what she would see, hear, smell, feel, etc. (yes, my nursing days were coming back to me). She kept telling me that she did not want to go, but that she wasn't scared! We picked them both up from school and MMC did not say 2 words the whole trip to Bham. Sam and I couldn't decide if she was tired, getting sick, nervous, scared, or what! Well, we decided it must have been a little fear b/c when we went into the exam room she was in Sam's lap, but would did not want to watch what they were doing to Anna. We finally got her to turn around and see that it was ok and that Anna was not being hurt. She actually had asked me in one of the conversations prior to yesterday, "Is the doctor going to go inside and touch her heart?" Poor thing - that was how her sweet, innocent, 4 year old mind had processed it all! But, as soon as we were done and walked out of the exam room, her whole attitude and demeanor changed and she was her normal self (again, whatever that may be).

Needless to say, we had a long and tiring day, but in the end, it was another GREAT day!

Adventures In Target

So the other day, I saw this segment on the Today Show showing them making this recipe for Classic Lasagna and it looked so yummy that I decided, why not? Also, the night before, we told Mary Mac that if she cleaned up the playroom (and it was a disaster) that we would give her $5 for her work. She happily complied and we gave her the money and she put it in her piggy bank. After I picked them up from school that day, I decided we would try and tackle both tasks at the same - groceries and a toy (boy, is she like her mom or what? the money was burning a whole in her pocket already). In a side note, is it bad that we give her money to help instill a little money sense in this tough economic time and then put it in her piggy bank (I deposit this into her bank account every so often) and not actually spend her money? We do only let her spend the amount of money she earned AND she thinks it is her money from her bank. Anyway, so while in Target, we are riding around to the grocery section (in one of those fancy 2 bench buggies) when all of a sudden Mary Mac comes sliding right out onto the floor on her back. She is in total hysteria (more embarrassed than hurt)! When I asked her what happened, between tears, she blames Anna for pushing her out. I honestly have no idea at this time who did what - my mind was focused on groceries, getting out of there before pre-naptime meltdown, and they were both content with their little "prizes" (yes, Anna got one too even though she didn't earn it - she is only 2 and we will do the same for her one day). As we all start to calm down, Anna just simply looks at me with those huge brown "angelic" eyes and grins and says, "Mommy, I tish her!" It took me several times of hearing her before I realized that she was happily admitting that she had indeed PUSHED ("tish") Mary Mac out of the buggie with her feet. Oh my, what a little devious thing! I know, this is only the beginning! I profusely apologized to Mary Mac later that I let Anna get away with it, but I was so in shock!

Beware. . .post overload

I apologize for the overload of posts and pictures and videos in one day, but since we've been out of town a lot lately, I have not had time to upload them all and post them. Hope you enjoy - there are some really funny ones and then some that are just for my memory!

Eating Tips from the Collins Family

Here is yet another video of Anna at dinner time. Thank goodness, unlike Mary Mac, we have never really had much trouble with getting Anna to eat. She is a bit of a snacker, but she normally eats pretty well! But, I guess she has watched us trying anything and everything to get Mary Mac to eat that she decided she would do it to herself. In case you can't tell, she is feeding herself and making her spoon like an "airplane"! Too cute! She makes us laugh more and more everyday! And I am proud to say that we (as a family) eat dinner together at our kitchen table every night of the week, so this is not an unusual occurence if you were to peak into our windows each night. I don't think many people can say that these days, but this is one of those things that my parents did and I am determined to do as well. It is a great time to hear all about their day and really learn things about your children that you may not otherwise know. Now, granted, it may only be Hamburger Helper (that which I am not proud of, but resort to on certain days), but we eat together!!!!!

Anna's Check-up

Stay tuned. . . we go back to Anna's cardiologists Thursday for her annual (hopefully still annual) echocardiogram and check-up. We would appreciate any and all prayers that she will continue to do as well as she has and that we will not have to come back for at least another year or longer! My prayer is that her little body and heart will continue to grow and adapt to her defect and she will not have to have surgery to correct it! Just fyi. . .she has pulmonic stenosis, which basically means that the valve leading from her heart to her lungs is thickened and does not open as fully as it should. We have decided to take MMC with us to this visit. We have told MMC about Anna having a special heart, but we think that she is old enough now to somewhat understand that at some point Anna could have to have surgery and we don't want it to be sudden (in her eyes). We also have tried to tread that thin line of not making Anna's heart an issue, so that Anna and MMC don't think she is really any different than anyone else.

Dancing Girls

I just found this video on my camera that I had forgotten to upload and it just makes me laugh out loud! Poor Mary Mac has very little rhythym (sp?), but by golly, Anna can keep a beat even at the ripe old age of 22 months (notice how serious she is even when Mary Mac tries to distract her - she just does right back into her dance). I took this video one random Friday night when we were having a family night at home and just turned on the music really loud in the kitchen and POOF, the girls just started getting down! It was one of those spur of the moment things that just makes me smile from the inside out to watch our sweet angels having such unabandoned fun with nothing but little music. It's amazing what music and dancing does for our souls! By the way, please excuse the song, I know it's little much for the little ones to be dancing to, but it just came one and we went with it! Also, I apologize if Anna's "moves" are offensive to anyone - NO, I did NOT teach her that! I have not a clue where she learned it!

Snow 2009

So for those of you who have been living in a cave the past week or so, yes, this is our yard here in the deep south this past weekend! Can you believe it? We certainly could not! We had a ball! I'm not sure who had more fun -the adults or children? It was perfect, though, because it was snowing when we woke up and it was enough to make snowmen and snow balls and sled! Then, when we were all tired, wet, and cold, the sun came out and it all was melted by late afternoon!

Meaning of my playlist

This past weekend while helping my Papa get back on his feet after surgery (p.s. thanks for the prayers; he had surgery to remove the cancer in his mouth and we are waiting on the pathology report to give us the "all clear"), we were talking about some of our favorite songs. It didn't dawn on me until then that I had never given you fellow bloggers insight as to why I have the songs playing on our playlist. I guess most of you think it's probably just random, but there is meaning to this madness. Each one of the songs playing has some sort of meaning to me and/or my family. They either remind me of someone or the words mean something, etc. - you get the idea! For example, Sweet Pea: that is what many of us called Mary Mac as her nickname when she was born (and some still do); Wild Horses: you guessed it, because of MMC's love of horses; Daughters: such sweet words for parents of daughters. So, now you all know! Does anyone else choose certain songs for their playlist for a reason?

We Survived!

YEAAAAA! We survived the crazy week! We woke up at about 6:00 am Eastern time and had to drop Sam off at another show in Birmingham to help our other employees tear down booths and bring back a new lawnmower. This, I have to say, is a huge advantage to doing what we do. One of the factories that we represent at the shows is Poulan which makes lawn care products. We have to order samples of products for the shows and we usually sell them customers at the end of the show so that we don't have to pack it up and ship it back. So Sam, after a very long 2 summers of cutting the grass in our huge yard, decided to order one of Poulan's riding lawnmowers in to the show and pay (at or below cost) for it instead of selling it. I may actually volunteer to help with the yard work with this lawnmower . . .well, maybe not!!!!!

Thanks to Sam's mom for keeping them all week - I know she is probably still trying to recover! The catering at the house was FANTASTIC! We had a FANTASTIC show! Hopefully, this show is a sign that maybe we are coming out of this awful economic time!

The girls were so glad to see us and we were so glad to see them! It was a nice break (although we worked our tails off), but a very much needed one. I feel refreshed and ready to take on the months to come (terrible two's are on the way)!

Off We Go

Everyone, please wish my mother-in-law good luck as Sam and I leave first thing Monday morning for one of our bi-annual trade shows. I know, it sounds wonderful - a trip without kids to Orlando for 7 days, but let me assure, this is no pleasure business trip mixed with a little business! Obviously, we are having the leave the girls in the care of Sam's parents for the whole trip. The girls are thrilled to be able to spend the whole week with Nanny, but I'm a little sad and will miss them so much. It will be a well-needed break from them, but not really a "break". The one good thing that we discovered last year is that we (just like vacationer's to Disney) can rent whole houses in a neighborhood that is nothing but vacation rental homes. And most of these homes are better than the average person's residence - complete with a pool, hot tub, cinema room, billiards room, and about 6-8 rooms and almost as many baths. So that does make it a little better than having to stay in a hotel and go out to eat for every meal. We have hired a company this year (after learning last year how hard it is to try and cook for 30 something people after a long day at work) that will be bringing us fully catered dinners just as we arrive home. Last year, by the time we got home and started cooking, it was close to 10 before we ate and then we had to be up at the crack of dawn the next morning. It was exausting, but it is exhausting regardless of the cooking part. We (the women) are soooo excited that we can actually come home and kick our feet up instead of going straight the kitchen!

Just to give you a little insight to why these weeks are so hard and exhausting:
1) It's like going to market in the retail business, but we are in the hardware industry and WE are the ones setting up all the booths
2) We will be setting up booths in about 40 different locations (that is not the number of booths, just "locations". This means physical labor, putting together all sorts of things, "setting" the product so that it looks like a store (i.e. The Home Depot), labeling everything with prices, making it all look "pretty", cleaning it up, etc. We usually get to the convention center around 7:00 in the morning and work all day until around 4:30.
3) On Thursday, the show actually begins and we have to "man" all of the above booths and sell our product to store owners/buyers/etc. This is not physically hard, but it is just draining, especially after all the set-up. It's a lot of standing around chit-chatting with the numerous (hopefully) poeple to come by the booth. Talk about SORE FEET ! The shows last through Saturday from 7:00 am - 6:00 pm. Now you know why we don't want to have to cook!
4) As soon as the show is over on Saturday (and I mean to the second), we have to begin the tear down process! Every new person in this business is always amazed at how it takes days to set it up and only about 4 hours to tear it all down! It is mass chaos!!!! People throwing stuff, boxes flying, big fork lifts flying around moving huge crates around! You better be on your toes or you will get run over or hurt!
5) And this is only the beginning for our office because as soon as we get back the next week, we (or should I say Maria) begins placing all the orders that we received from the show.

That is about all that takes place during our show weeks and we are glad that these big shows only come 2 times a year! As much as it is hard work, we all work hard during the day and play hard at night! We have a great group of people that work with us and we enjoy (and appreciate) their help more than they can understand!

This post is more for those of you who have always wondered what we (and my parents) do for a living. This pretty much sums it up since these shows are what provide the income for our company for several months to come! Sorry if this bores you to death and is not about our precious girls, but oh well - now you know!

And here are the pictures

I hope you enjoy these as much as we have. Like I said in my previous post, I got some really good ones of the girls and then there are some funny ones that are just sooo each of their personalities. We also got a family picture on the beach. There was no one there so I propped my camera on the big box that hold all the beach chairs and put one of our shovels in the sand so I could know where we would stand. Sam thought I was nutso and that it wouldn't work, but oh I proved him wrong. It's one of the best family pictures we've taken in a long time (hence the reason there have not been many family pics posted on the blog).

We have been crazy this week trying to get caught up from being gone last week (but totally worth it) and trying to get organized because Sam and I leave for a trade show (along with my parents and it's business related) on Monday for a whole week. Sam's mom is keeping the girls, so please say a prayer that she will have an easy time with them.

On the note of prayers, I have a few prayer requests that I've been meaning to post. So to all of you blogging prayer warriors, here are few to add to your list:

1) Sam's sister is struggling through the trials and tribulations of infertility. She has been going to a specialists for several months now and last month developed a softball-sized ovarian cysts which put a halt in the treatments until it resolved. She just found out this week that it has resolved and her that her folicle count is down in the normal range (she was diagnosed with polycystic ovarian syndrome) and she can begin the treatments this Friday.

2) My grandfather (my mom's dad) has been diagnosed with mouth cancer and is scheduled to come to Birmingham to have surgery on it in about 3 weeks. My grandmother has Parkinson's disease and he is the primary caregiver for her so we are all worried about him being "out of commission." P.S. Papa, I hope you don't mind me posting this!

3) My other grandfather (my dad's dad -same one that we just lost my grandmother) had to have a pacemaker put in on Monday and we just moved him into a Rehab facility for the next 2 weeks. Since he has no one at home to help him now and he has to have 24 hour help for the next 2 weeks and we have to be out of town all next week for work, this was our only option - as much as we didn't want to! He is ok with it all and realizes it is only for a short time!

Needless to say, my parents have been a little stressed these day!

Ahhh the Beach!

Well, in the midst of all the sickness, we (me and the girls - Sam was out of town) were supposed to be going to the beach for a few days to get away. We have not been anywhere since before Christmas and for us, that is VERY unusual! We are always on the go and traveling here and there! I was dead set on us going to the beach this week and enjoying a week away and, hopefully, a great week without anyone being sick! So, last Friday, I had so much to do at work and so much to do to get us ready to leave that I wasn't sure we would make it down here or not. My mom had planned on coming with us Saturday and staying until Wednesday, but she also had soooo much to do that she just said for us to go without her. We had a birthday party to go to Friday night and Mary Mac and Anna had a birthday party Saturday morning. When I told Mary Mac that it was going to be Sunday at the earliest before we could leave, she had the most disappointed look on her face . . .so what is a mother to do? Of course, as you all would do, I worked my tail off Friday and Saturday morning and we had attended parties, washed clothes, packed, and on the road by Saturday morning 11:30!!!! I couldn't believe it either, but, that' what mom's do! And I have to admit, today is the first time I've blogged since last Friday. Let's just say, it took a little while to catch up on over a week's worth of everyone's fun-filled lives and all the new additions to families! But, I'm back! So here's our week's story of events:

We took our time driving down and made several stops "to get our wiggles out." Anna is not the best traveler. . .Mary Mac has been a very good traveler (like her mom) from day 1! Mary Mac and I got so tickled at Anna "getting her wiggles out." She would shake her arms and make silly noises, but it worked! We do what works, don't we? Another little trick up my sleeve that works with Anna (not Mary Mac) is to always pack plenty of snacks. She ate the whole way down! But, then again, so did Mary Mac. I am convinced she is in a growth spurt. The child has eaten like a pig the past several weeks (aside from the week they were sick)! I feel like we can't fill her up! For the first time in her little life, she has a little pot-belly and she is sooo proud of it.
It has been a fabulous week with my girls!!!! We haven't really done anything special and it's been way too cold to really go to the beach until yesterday and today, but nonetheless, GREAT! It's been one of those weeks that I feel so blessed to have such special and sweet little girls and LOVE being a mom! It makes me realize that the good times we have with our babies far outweigh the bad times!
We have eaten out (a lot), played at every playground within a 10 mile radius, watched movies, and of course, shopped a little bit! A funny story about Mary Mac . . .I took them to The Fresh Market (my fave grocery store that I sooo wish we had at home) and we were getting stuff to cook for supper since Sam was coming that night for the weekend. We were trying to figure out what vegetable to cook when Mary Mac said,"Oh, Mom, let's get that corn that still in it's suit!" I just died out laughing, as did the older lady standing next to us. The lady looked at me and and said, "I think that's the cutest thing I've heard in a long time!" Well, me too! She was referring to the ears of corn that were still in the shuck or husk or whatever you want to call it. I've had so many people say to me that they were the most well-behaved children they had seen in a while. I don't know about you guys, but that is one of the best compliments that I can get! As hard as we try, I never feel like we are doing enough!
I took some really great pictures of the girls that I will post later (some of you may have already seen them on Facebook since I can send them from my phone). I can't believe how well the girls have gotten along this week. Don't get me wrong. . .we've had our drama and issues, but for the most part, Mary Mac thinks it's pretty cool that Anna wants to do EVERYTHING that she does. I'm sure this will get old very soon to Mary Mac, but it is so funny to watch them interact.
Anna has become our little comedian! Her latest thing to do is to walk around with her pants pulled down to her ankles and announcing to anyone in the general area that she tee-tee'd or poo-poo'd! Again, it's really funny now, but sure to get old soon! Also, her favorite thing to tell someone that she doesn't want messing with them is, "No Way!!!"

As much fun as we've had this week, I'm kind of ready to get back home to our normal schedule (AND SCHOOL). Mary Mac even told me today that she missed playing with her friends at school which is a welcome statement considering she had gotten to where she didn't want to go to school. As I'm typing, we're in the process of packing up all the toys. The wonderful thing about my parents having a place down here is that we are able to keep a baby bed, toys, sippy cups, food, bath stuff, beach stuff, etc. down here and it limits what we have to pack. So, as much as I'm ready to get home to our house, I am kind of sad and teary-eyed already at all the great memories that we've created this week and that how quick these days go by! I just pray that these are not only memories for me, Sam, and my parents, but also memories for our girls! Oh what fun!!!!!!

Wow what a week?

As if we had not had enough sickness in our house this past year, we found ourselves battling, yet again, with another a round! We all started coughing and had lots of congestion the weekend before. It was one of those moments that you think, "oh, yea, here we go!" Mary Mac had fallen out of her bed the other night (which is a first since putting her in a big girl bed when she was 2) in what appeared to be a restless night. I was terrified that she had possibly hit her head on the bedside table because she was kind of out of it and shaking. I wasn't sure if it all just scared her and I was being paranoid or if she really did hurt something so I decided to sleep with her so that I could keep an eye on her. Of course I did not sleep much after that - between her coughing all in my face (literally) as she tossed and turned all night! By the way, she did not hit her head. I found a huge bruise and mark on her shoulder several days later! So, of course, I started coughing and getting congestion a couple days after this event. I had to take Anna to the doctor on Monday to have her ears rechecked from the previous illness and at this point Anna was great! Well, that lasted about 12 hours and on Tuesday she started the same cycle. Keep in mind that up to this point, I have not slept since the Thursday night before when Mary Mac fell off the bed and then she and I were both up and down the other nights coughing and having to blow or noses. Sam leaves Tuesday to go out of town for a show in Nashville and I was feeling lousy! Our lousiness continued (with all 3 of us) until Wednesday night when Anna began coughing ALL NIGHT and then my ears started killing me. I could feel the pressure in my ears and I could also feel one of my eardrum's bulging. I woke up the next morning with crud coming out of my ears.

That's when I said, "I've had it . . . We're all going to the doctor TODAY!" So, after several hours in doctors' offices and many prescriptions later, Mary Mac and I both had ear infections in both ear and sinus infections and Anna was diagnosed with bronchiolitis. So, between antibiotics, ear drops, decongestants, breathing treatments, we were all SO glad to have our Daddy back at home yesterday. Or, should I say, I was the one that was most happy! It was a tough week with Sam being gone and us being sick, but we made it! We made it through another round! I pray that we can all stay healthy and well for a long time now!

Random pics

Here are some random pictures from the past few weeks. They are all of Anna due to the fact that Mary Mac has announced to us that she no longer likes to take pictures. I guess we will have to sneak up on her to get one!

Anna decked out in her camo - the camo does not "fit" her, but the frilly lace does!

Scarf Dancing

Watching Care Bears with Papa on Mommy's iPhone

Pennies From Heaven

Has anyone ever heard the term "pennies from heaven?" Well I had never heard it called that until my grandmother passed away on Christmas and several weird (and I say that in a good way) things happened and my grandfather told me about this phrase. Basically, it means that when our loved ones are watching over us from heaven that they send us little messages so that we know they are there - such as finding a penny in our path! These are just a few "pennies from heaven" that we have had the privilege of experiencing in these past weeks.

1)My parents have a Christmas cactus at their house that they've had for several years. These are supposed to bloom around Christmas, but for some reason, theirs had never bloomed - EVER and they had no idea what color it was! That is, until this year. The day before my grandmother passed away, it bloomed!!! And, not that this was enough, but the color of the blooms were the same exact color of the sweater that she had picked out to be buried in!!!!! Who knew?! Also, the sweater she picked out had a jeweled bow on it that was very festive looking. It was like she knew that she was going to be with Our Saviour on his birthday!

2)Before she got really sick, my grandmother had ordered Christmas snowglobes for the great grandkids for Christmas. Grandaddy gave them to me to give the girls, but I kept forgetting to get them out of my car. Finally, while cleaning out my car, I found them and put them in the house, still in the box. The box was just a gold box with no pictures, words, etc. As soon as I cleaned my car out, we had to run some errands, I loaded the girls up and off we went! Well, out of the blue, Mary Mac says, "Mom, do you know what would be perfect for my playroom?" Since it was just a few days after Christmas and new toys and all of the decorations were put away, I was not expecting her answer. She said simply and matter-of-factly,

"A snow-glo!"
me: "What? You mean a snow-globe?"
MMC: "Yes, ma'am, that's what I meant. You know, the round things that have white stuff blowing around inside?"
me: "Yes, I know what you're talking about." I then went on to tell her about what Mamaw had bought for her and Grandaddy wanted her to have it, blah, blah, blah
MMC: "I know, she told me!"

Well you can only imagine what or how I felt by this statement being that we had only buried her the day before. Not to mention, I have no idea how she even knew what a snow globe was. We don't have any of them in our house, not even as Christmas decorations. When we got home later that afternoon, I opened the box and gave it to her. With her sweet innocent little voice, she said, "That's perfect and beautiful and just what I imaginated (that's how she says imagined)! Can I put it on my shelf in my playroom so that when I miss Mamaw I can look at it and remember her?" Oh, can we just say that the tears were FLOWING by this point!!!! It just reaffirms to me that our loved ones are watching us and wanting us to know that they are ok and definitely in a better place! Also, does anyone else think that maybe as adults our hearts are so hardened that we ignore these things until a child makes you stop and think, well, maybe?

A Whole Lotta Nothing

Not a whole lot has been going on around here these days. It has been so nice to have a little (and I mean, little) down time. I have been crazy busy though trying to play catch up at work and at my house, but we have not had any plans on the schedule the past week other than the usual.

A funny story about Mary Mac: every night as she is getting in her bed, she always asks for us (whoever is doing bed-duty) to tell her a secret. I have no idea where or why this started, but never fail, she asks EVERY night! So, the other night as Sam was putting her to bed, he was at a total loss of what to tell her, so he tells her that we were going to get my grandmother's (the one that just passed away) jewelry box and that she was going to be able to pick out something for herself to keep for when she was older. I had no idea he had told her about this and was really not planning on saying anything to her about it until we actually did it (you moms/dads know about that anticipation thing with kids). The next morning after she got out of her bed, this was our conversation:

MMC: "Mom, when are going to have our treasure hunt?"
me: Ok, I think, hummm, treasure hunt? "Well, I don't know! What treasure hunt are talking about?"
MMC: "You know, the treasure hunt with Gran?"
me: "Oh, well, did Gran tell you she was going let you have a treasure hunt at her house?"
MMC: looking so confused (as was I), "You know, Mom!"

At this point in the conversation, I just happen to glance Sam's way and see this look on his face that means "Oops!" I say to Sam, "What is she talking about?" Sam then finally confesses that he may have mentioned to her about going through the jewelry last night as her "secret". OOOHHHHHH, I finally get what she's asking about - the mind of a 4 year old makes me laugh! Her little brain had processed all that information about picking out a piece my grandmother's jewelry as going on a treasure hunt! So cute!

Needless to say, my mom and I finally had a chance to go through her jewelry and I picked out a few pieces that I wanted to keep for myself and the girls. We also found a drawer full of silk scarves. My mom was not sure what we were going to do with the scarves when I immediately thought --- SCARF DANCING---- The girls love to scarf dance at ballet, so why not put those scarves in the dress up box so that they can scarf dance anytime????? They found them last night and had a ball running around with them and dancing. I told Sam that I bet my grandmother was smiling down at them dancing, and laughing saying, "why didn't I give them those scarves a long time ago!??" These are just couple of ways that I have found comfort in remembering her and we will be able to enjoy for years to come!

Christmas Pictures

Well I guess in the midst of all the craziness we did get to take a few pictures during Christmas. I did take a video of the girls coming down to see what Santa brought them and will try and post it later.

Pop and his girls at my aunt and uncle's house

(Anna was asleep and this is one of the many nights of fever for Mary Mac)

Our Family On Christmas EveAnna playing in her "house"Mary Mac guarding the door of their new houseAnna just "had" to try on her new Dora big girl panties. No, she's not potty trained yet, but very interested - so why not buy panties? Every girls loves great panties don't we?Peek-a-boo! A rare moment of them playing so sweet and together in their new learning tower that Gran and Pop gave them for "helping" mommy in the kitchen.

Happy New Year to all of you bloggers out there! I really cannot believe it is 2009! Wow, it feels like just yesterday we rang in the New Year in NYC in 2000! And now, here we are just on the threshold of another decade gone by!

I know I know...where have we been?

Ok, so sorry for the lack of posts and a lack of pictures on this post, especially from Christmas! To be honest, I'm not really sure if we got any pictures from Christmas this year - so sad, but true! We have had a heck of the past several weeks and to keep from boring you here is a quick synopsis of our lives: the girls have both had colds off and on for about 3 weeks now; I got food poisoning and then was in a panic to try and get everything finished before Christmas after being in the bed for 2 full days; we went to Mobile to see my mom's family and Mary Mac had a fever virus at the same time that lasted for 5 full days; we had to put my other grandmother in the hospital that same weekend; Christmas Eve and Christmas morning came and went in a flash; my grandmother (the one in the hospital) passed away Christmas day (more on that later); more family Christmas events and and gatherings; planned a funeral; more family (as in my brother's family and Sam's sister's family came in town)! Whew!!!! I know it's a lot in the span of about 2 weeks. We are all still trying to grieve and celebrate and recover! When I get caught up at work and home, I will post more on the loss of my grandmother and the special things that have taken place as a result as well as my thoughts and feelings in regards to our loss! We are also all still battling with colds and have had to put sweet Anna on another round of antibiotics for an ear infection. Oh the fun the winter time and kids! I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Excitement is building

The Christmas excitement is building at our house and Santa is trying to finish up those last minute gifts! Its been a struggle though the past few days as I have been suffering from food poisoning since Sunday morning! I am finally on the mend, but just trying to build my strength back up! Needless to say, I have been worthless and have not felt like getting those last minute things done. We are supposed to be going to Mobile Friday for the weekend with my mom's family! Hopefully I can get it all done before next week AND get everything organized for our annual Christmas Eve Chili and Cheer for our family, friends, and neighbors!

I also have a prayer request for those of you who are prayer warriors. . .one of our beloved babysitters aunt's is undergoing a biopsy on her lungs. Please pray for a good report and quick recovery! Also, we are praying for all of us (and all of you) that we all stay healthy and happy for this joyous time of year as we celebrate the birth of Our Savior!

More Pics

These are Sam's tacky good luck pants for the Auburn game!!! If you can't tell they have tiny script A's all over them - he should have worn them this past weekend! Too funny!
Snowflake at work again - if you can't tell he spelled out "Hi Mary Mac, B Good 4 Santa!"

Again, Snowflake rolled the tree!

Pictures I Promised. . .

Merry Christmas from our house (literally) to yours!

My Little Kitchen Helper
Snowflake on the fan

A Country Christmas

All I have to say is . . .AAHHHH! What a nice weekend we had! Sam's mom, his 2 sisters, and I planned a girl trip to go to A Country Christmas this past weekend in Nashville. We went all out too. We got a room at the Oprland Hotel with a balcony overlooking the Delta Atrium and it was awesome! Our balcony actually looked directly over the huge waterfountain that they had programmed to with music every hour. The decorations were amazing and I have no idea how they take care of all of the plants they have planted - I struggle with the 3 or so real ones in my house! Thursday we went to the Grinch Ice exhibit where they recreated scenes from the movie but it was all made of ice in all the bright colors of the movie. It was freezing in there (obviously) at a cool 9 degrees and they gave you a coat as you went in. They also suggested not leaving your camera on because the cold would run your battery down - had no idea that was possible! Then that night we went to the Rockettes show and had fantastic seats - center section on the 7th row! I don't know if you all would agree, but I personally think I have legs like that naturally. . .HAHAHAHAHA!!!! Friday we went on the General Jackson Showboat and then to the Grand Ole Opry which is being held downtown in its original place, The Ryman Auditorium. It was neat to be there and listen to all the old-school country music. The only names we knew were Marty Stewart and Emmylou Harris, but it was good none-the-less. Then our final day was spent at the Treasures Craft Show and just walking around the enormous resort. That night after watching the SEC spanking game until half-time, we had tickets to the Louise Mandrell Dinner Show. She was so cute and funny and totally talented! I think she played about 15 different instruments and sang and danced. Well, lets just say she tried to dance - that was not her best talent! We all agreed that she needed to be nominated for the next season of Dancing With The Stars because she could use the training and she is talented enough that she would be able to make huge improvements! We had a fantastic time together and it was a nice break from the kids. Thanks so much to my sweet and wonderful husband for not only letting me go and leave him with the girls for 4 days, but for also encouraging me to do things like this and making sure that I have nothing to worry about while I'm gone! I loved spending time with Sam's family too especially without kids around - they make me feel like another sister and I appreciate that more than they know!

Thanksgiving, Christmas, and More. . .

Sorry for the lack of posts this past week - as was everyone else, we have been busy decorating, celebrating, and cheering (in a few short words)! We had a great Thanksgiving this past week. It was kind of quiet which is unusual for us at holiday time. Normally we have all of my family (and I mean ALL) at my house for Thanksgiving dinner, but with several circumstances out of our control, my parents went to my brother's house to celebrate with them this year, my grand parents and extended family stayed in Mobile and celebrated, and Sam's siblings all went to thier in-laws, so it was just Sam's parents and our family. It was cozy, relaxing, quiet, and perfect. Not to say that I didn't miss the chaos and hope we can resume it all next year!

Friday, after seeing the possible weather forecast, all of us decided that we did not want to go to the Auburn - I know, Crazy!!! So instead we opted to try and sell our tickets on eBay. And that we did - so not only were we able to watch the game on big screen in the comfort of dry warmth, in recliners, enjoying some munchies, and watching the Tide Roll, but we also were able to pad our pockets with a little cash! Sweet!!! Now, what am I going to spend my $200 on? Hummmm?

We also had the chance to put the finishing touches on our decorations at home (I will post a picture when I have more time). And our elf has been up to NOOO GOOOODD! Our elf, affectionately named Snowflake, has been visting us since last weekend. Sam says we may have been a little premature on his visits because we are already running out of ideas. My favorite Snowflake moment so far was last Wednesday:

I had been trying to get things prepped and prepared as much as possible so that all I had to do Thursday was put it all in the oven so I let the girls just have a hay-day in the playroom - so long as they didn't bug Mom! Ha, that was just a dream! Anyway, after I was finished I went to the playroom and it looked like Toys R Us had puked in the floor of our playroom! I was sooo tired and exhausted (and didn't feel great from the lovely productive cough I had) that we put the girls to bed and I didn't even think about the playroom OR Snowflake. I would just worry about all of it in the morning before the girls woke up. Well, morning came a little faster than I wanted and the next thing I know, both girls were in our bed wide-eyed and bushy tailed! It immediately hit me - oh no, I forgot Snowflake!!! I looked at Sam with those "oh, sh**" eyes and said I would be right back. He quickly mumbled "it's done." So off we all went to see what Snowflake had done ( I think I was more anxious than the girls). We finally found Snowflake - he had cleaned the playroom spotless, left a note to the girls (reminding them that Santa would be very upset if they let the playroom get messy again), and he had hopped on Lucy (one of the 100 horses we have) and was standing on top of the ceiling fan! It was perfect!! Man I love that Snowflake!!! I wish he would continue this kind of mischief all year!

Other than this great event, Snowflake has rolled our Christmas tree (before it was decorated, of course), taken ornaments off the kids tree in the playroom, taken the stockings down, made a bed out of a Dora lunchbox and slept with a stuffed giraffe, made snow angels on our kitchen table, and made a mess out of cereal in the pantry. Like I said, we are running out of ideas - please provide some new ones if you have any!!!

Sorry for the long post, but it's been a long week and lots of activities! By the way, Mary Mac trotted yesterday at her horseback riding lesson - actually she trotted 4 times and trotted a post (basically that means that they put a pole on the ground and the horse trotted over it). She was so proud and excited! She is riding a horse named James Brown - gott love the name! Her only problem is that her legs aren't quite long enough so when she kicks him to make him go, she's really just tapping his sides and not his underbelly! (not sure if that is the correct term, but I'm sure Sam will correct me) Oh well, she will grow!

Program Video

Here is the video of the Thanksgiving Program.

Thanksgiving Program

Our little turkey getting ready to go on-stage

Nanny and Mary Mac
Pancake (aka Aunt Kate) and Mary Mac

This morning was Mary Mac's annual Thanksgiving Program at school and here are some pictures. Sam and I weren't real sure if she was really going to "perform" or not since lately she has had a little stage fright at other events (refer to posts about Halloween and ballet). So we were delightfully excited when she did actually perform instead of the usual hands-in-mouth! Her class were turkeys and we've been practicing the songs for a while now! Anna's class does not yet get to perfrom, although I think Anna would do better than some of the older kids! She will get to do it next year, so stay tuned . . .

Random Video of Mary Mac

I have been trying to load this video of Mary Mac singing in the car for months - since her birthday actually - and this is the first time I have been able to get it to upload with errors! Hope you enjoy as much as I do! This was the morning of her birthday party and she had gone with me to pick up her cake. She just started singing this and it made my heart melt because it was so heartfelt and a perfect song for her day! This Is The Day! Please notice how she says "have's made" instead of "has made" - too cute! Oh, and yes, I was driving and taping at the same time but be assured that I just pointed the camera back there hoping to get her face in the picture and my eyes were on the road the whole time! Promise!!!

More Photos

Just a reminder that the Family Photo Album over there on my list of friends is a link to even more pictures of our family. I add pictures all the time to it and there are more pictures there than I usually post on the blog! Enjoy!!!!!

New Music

I keep forgetting to post that I've added some new songs to my playlist! I love these songs so much that I open our blog everyday at work just to hear the music AND read new posts! So if you are reading via Google Reader, click on our blog and hopefully you will hear the new songs! Hope you enjoy!

On a side note, I am happy to report that I have completed my Christmas shopping! Woohoo! I did a lot of it online so that helps speed up the process. I am only lacking a few last minute things for stockings and gifts for school/teachers. I'm going to wait until they all decide what the class will do before I buy anything though. Oh, and Sam and I haven't decided what we are doing for each other - probably not much since we are trying to cut back this year. The girls are getting one big thing each and a few small things and that is it! Mary Mac is pressuring me daily to start decorating (after seeing a neighbor who has already decorated), but I think we'll wait until Thanksgiving weekend when we have more time! There's just too much going on this week to even think about it.

Two Words . . . Roll Tide!!!

Ok, sorry for a delay in posts! We have had a crazy week or so with 2 deaths of family and like-family and trying to play catch-up while also attending to the daily chores! I have not posted yet (and can't believe I haven't) on the excitement of our football team !!!!! ROLL TIDE!!!! We have been to all the home games and will go to Auburn game! And if Sam's letterman status will allow, we have ordered our tickets for both the SEC Champiuonship and bowl game (whichever we make it to). However, I will not get to go to the SEC game because my sweet mother-in-law wanted all of the Collins girls to go to Opryland for A Country Christmas and we just happened to plan it for that weekend - this was planned way before we even had an inkling (is that a word?) of the success. Oh well, I'm sure Sam will have a ball and I am looking forward to my girls trip!

As for Mary Mac and Anna, they are great (as usual)! We had a bit of a melt-down last week at ballet with Mary Mac. For those of you who know her, this is SO Mary Mac! Anyway, it was parent visitation day at ballet and I had totally forgotten! Sam had a meeting so he was no where to help or watch and Anna had to tag along. Anna could not understand why she couldn't participate (she is taking on Thurs. mornings) at this class. Well, the class starts and Mary Mac is just standing there staring at the parents and not making a move while all the other little "princesses" are gracefully dancing and showing off for their families. I look at her with those "mommy" eyes to say, "you better start participating or we're leaving!" She then proceeds to yell that she has to "TEE-TEE" - never fails! Makes for a great giggle from the crowd. Since I had Anna in my lap one of the teachers had to take her. Well the teacher comes back in, but no Mary Mac in sight. When she finally creeps back in with her hands in her mouth, she runs to me to tell me her stomach hurts. So who knows? Does it really? Not sure so I take her outside to try and keep her from disrupting the other dancing beauties! We have a long talk and she loudly proclaims that she hates ballet and never wants to come back. Stomach is suddenly better! Needless to say, we leave the studio AND forget her bag with her tap shoes in it. So, the next day I decided to have a serious talk with her about it and see if she really wants to quit or if she just didnt' like the parents watching. She, finally after my little speech about committment (you think a 4 year old "gets" that?), looks at me as seriously as possible and says, "Mom, I have a new thing now?" Taken aback by this statement I ask, "Well, what is your new thing?" She says in a "like duh" kind of way - "Horseback Riding!" So, I guess it's settled - she is not going to be our little princess ballerina - but, honestly, she's never been and I really don't see her ever being like that. We'll stick with horses for now!
Maybe there is hope for Anna! I did notice Anna last night (as I watched Dancing With The Stars) that she picked up her babydoll by hands and started spinning her doll around like she was dancing with her - sooooo cute! And pretty smart too! She just kept saying"dance, dance dance".
I'll have to post on Mary Mac's horseback riding lesson yesterday - she actually got her horse to jump! And she's only 4!

Finally Halloween Pictures

Ok, so I have to admit that none of these pictures are great, but these days we are finding it hard to get any good pictures of the girls together. Mary Mac has mastered this lovely fake smile that she does in almost every picture unless I take it while she's laughing or talking. She must get this from her Pop! And Anna is constantly on the move these days so she is usually trying to run away or busy doing something besides posing for pictures. Just a reminder . . . Anna is Dorothy (the cutest Dorothy I've ever seen) and Mary Mac is a unicorn (I wasn't very creative with the rest of her costume, but she didn't care). She was happy as long as I painted a rainbow on her face and she could take her rainbow ribbon with her. I really wanted to a paint her whole face into a rainbow, but she wasn't so sure about that. Oh, and the deal with the rainbows is that she always says that unicorns are magic and that they are the ones who make all the rainbows in the world. I think we've watched a little too much of My Little Ponies!

Dorothy (aka Anna) - doesn't she look so old with her hair in a pony tail?

Rarity (aka Mary Mac) - caught her before she could give her fake smile!

At the Parade/Pizza Party

Mary Mac and her friend Marion dancing to the Blue Brothers (story below)

And here's Anna Gettin Jiggy With It! (is that even still cool to say - just kidding I know it's not but it's the only funny saying I could think of to go with her picture!) She had a ball dancing with the Blue Brothers and was trying to get to the front (um, I'm having flashbacks of my childhood - OHHH, Sam and I are in trouble!)

Halloween

With all of the excitement of Election Day and after our weekend with the stomach virus, I almost forgot to post about our Halloween fun! The girls looked so cute in their costumes (I forgot my camera to upload pics, but I will soon, I promise!)! After picking them up from school, we rushed home to get all of our "gear" on and get ready for the neighborhood parade and trick-or-treating. Our neighborhood has an awesome tradition (a tradition that many neighborhoods around the area have tried to copy, but ours is still the best) that has been taking place ever since I was a little girl living in the same neighborhood. On Halloween night, all the kids and parents gather together (and a local firetruck) and have a costume parade down ones street and then we have a pizza party for the kids before the trick-or-treating begins. This year was special because it addition to the tradition, one of our neighbors (whose family has had a band for YEARS) and his dad were dressed like the Blues Brothers along with his twin 6 year old sons - so cute!!! Well, next thing we know we hear loud music coming from one area of the cul-de-sac and notice that they have broken into a scene from the Blues Brothers and are dancing and lip-syncing to the music. It was so much fun and the kids all had a ball dancing around with them to the loud music. While I told this neighbor that he had now raised the bar for next year, there was a true purpose to this performance. The elementary school that is adjacent to our neighborhood (where all the kids go and ours will go) is in the process of re-building a community playground. They had to tear the old one down last year due to it being un-safe and falling apart. They've had big fundraising events and have almost raised all of the money, so this little impromptu performance was done in an effort to raise more money for the playground through tips! What a great idea! I'm not sure how much they raised, but I saw just about everyone putting money in the tip buckets, so maybe they raised the final amount!

After the parade and party in the neighborhood, we then took off on our Halloween pimped out golf cart. I found battery powered lights in purple and orange that we hung on the golf cart to look like a spider on the top. It was too cute! The girls thought it was so cool! We made it down 2 streets and decided it was too cold for Anna (who had on short sleeves) and so we dropped her and my parents off at the house and Sam, Mary Mac, and I continued on to more houses for more candy (just what we needed). Our final stop was to one of Mary Mac's friends in the neighborhood who was also having a party for the kids with blow-up bouncy things, more pizza, candy, etc. You get the picture!!! We then went home and were able to spend a little time with Sam's sister and her triplets (yes, that is 3 six year olds - 2 girls, 1 boy) who had just come in town for the weekend for Alabama's Homecoming. It was a great night and I am so thankful that we are able to provide such fun for our family and spend it together!

By the way, we had big plans to take the girls to the Homecoming festivities on Saturday, but Anna woke us up in the middle of Friday night with the stomach virus! YUCK! Hopefully we are all done that now!

It's Election Day!

I have to apologize for Sam's comment about voting for Obama and not being welcomed at our blog. Although it is no surprise that we are hard-core Republicans and McCain/Palin supporters, I still welcome you even if you are not of the same opinion! So with that said, do your civic duty and GO VOTE! I've already voted this morning and am anxiously awaiting the results!

GO VOTE!

This is Sam once again wanting to remind everyone to go vote tomorrow and if you vote for Obama you are NO LONGER WELCOME AT THIS BLOG!