Locks of Love

In case you were wondering why I have added the Locks of Love image on the sidebar, there is a reason! We have been letting Mary Mac's hair grow for about a year now and it is getting so long. She has not wanted to cut it until just recently, but I wanted to make it a learning experience for Mary Mac to realize how blessed we are! You have to have a minimum of 10 inches to donate and we are almost there. As soon as we reach that point, I am going to either take pictures or a video of cutting it and post it on the blog -so stay tuned! Does anyone have any suggestions on how to help Mary Mac understand the importance of donating her hair? I'm up for suggestions because everything I think of telling her sounds like it will be over her head.

On another note -and a Mary Mac funny- Sam and I got back from our trip on Sunday and Mary Mac and the babysitter had made cupcakes over the weekend. She wanted one after dinner that night so she pulled her stool up to the counter and she picked out the one she wanted. She took it into the playroom and within minutes she ran into the kitchen and had licked the icing off and threw the cake part away (UUGGHHH - Mommy would have eaten it!). When she asked for another one (standing back on her stool), Sam told her that she could have it but that if she only wanted the icing then give him the cake instead of throwing it away! So she starts laughing and tells Sam, "Well, blow me down!" Sam then blows on her and she falls off of the stool (being funny, of course). She jumps back up on the stool and continues to say, "I've gotta quit saying that!" It was hilarious!!! I guess, though, it's only hilarious to those who have ever watched The Wiggles - this is a famous saying of Captain Feathersword! It's amazing the things kids remember and repeat!

Future Player?

If only Mary Mac was a boy I could say that we may have an Alabama football player in the making! Oh well, she looked too cute not to post this picture! Roll Tide! And, yes, this is Sam's real helmet.

Veggie Lessons!

Ok, so I keep running out of time to actually schedule a time to have a class on how to "put up" veggies so I decided to just put it in a post and hopefully this will be helpful to more than people than could come to my house and do it. Here is a list of things you will need to get started:
1) Obviously, fresh veggies. I prefer to buy an assortment of peas (purple hull, crowder, lady peas, lima beans, etc - you get the idea), green beans, whole okra. Most of these items can only be found at a produce stand or farmer's market.
2) Large Colander
3) Large stock pot with a steamer basket/metal colander OR (my preference) a large stock pot with a pasta drainer pot in it (does this make sense?)
4) Clean towels
5) Quart sized Freezer Ziploc bags
6) Sharpie

Once you have all of these items together, you want to thoroughly wash the veggies (keep each type of veggie separate) in the colander. Put a small amount of water into the large stock pot and bring to a slow boil. Place the veggies in the pasta drainer/steamer basket/metal colander and into the pot of boiling water (make sure the veggies are not submerged in water). Cover and allow to blanch (or steam) for 5 minutes. Immediately remove from heat and rinse under cold water. Spread veggies out on towels in a single layer and allow to dry. Place in bags (1 quart size is enough for 2 adults and 2 small kids), making sure to remove air. Label the bag with what it is, how much you put in the bag, and the date and place in freezer.

To cook, get out of freezer and run water into the bag to loosen the veggies and place in your pot. Season accordingly (fresh veggies usually require a good amount of salt). I prefer to season with salt, pepper, tiny bit of olive oil, and tiny bit of Splenda (the Splenda and oil replicate the flavor of bacon fat or ham hock which is what gives that yummy flavor without all of the bad fat). Bring to a boil and continue cooking until tender and done.

Okra - DO NOT DO THE ABOVE PROCESS FOR OKRA!!! All you have to do with the okra is wash and allow to dry then cut into small, thin pieces and place in bags and freeze - EASY PEEZY! When you want to fry the okra, dump it out into a colander and allow to thaw and dry out a little before breading it with cornmeal. Then fry! Yummy! Our family prefers it cut into tiny pieces because it is nice and crispy when its fried and not mushy!

TaDa!!!! I told you all this is easy! It takes me about an hour to put up several bags of veggies! P.S. You do not need or want to do any of the seasoning during the blanching process! Hope you all enjoy!

Update to Phone Line

After reading my post about the phone line, Sam made it a point to fix it as soon as he got home Friday afternoon! See, I told you really is handy! Seriously, he can fix anything! Weeellllll, almost anything! If anyone wants to help him get this surround sound wired, we are taking volunteers. I decided to finish our painting projects yesterday and paint our bedroom and Sam decided he would finish hooking up the surround sound. Neither one of us expected to still be working on it until late last night. I certainly do not know anything about wiring the surround sound AND I was up until almost 11 last night painting (AND STILL NOT FINISHED!). Sam had to sleep with Mary Mac and I slept in the guest bedroom since our room was in shambles and covered in painting supplies. It was really weird to sleep in separate rooms in our own house knowing that we were both there. I mean I'm used to sleeping in my bed alone when he is out of town or sleeping in the guest bed if one of the girls is sick, but it was just plain weird! I don't ever want to do that again!

What do country boys, phone lines, alabama, and apologies have in common?

These are all things going on in our house these days!

1) This is a true testament to the fact that you can take the boy out of the country, but you can NEVER take the country out of the boy! I say this affectionately because this is one of the things I LOVE about my husband! He just got back last weekend from an annual hunting trip to Texas with his dad and brother and uncles. They drive to Senora, TX which is very close to the Mexico border and this makes for very long trip for them. They got back late Sunday night and this below is a picture of what I found the next morning soaking in bowl by my kitchen sink - I just wish the picture showed the detail of the "stuff" that he was soaking off! EEWWWWW!

2) My wonderfully handy husband has decided that he needs surround sound in his Men's Den. So, for reasons of which I still do not understand, he felt that the phone jack that was in the same box as the cable outlet needed to be cut (his defense is that he doesn't need or want a phone in there!). Well, after 2 days of fighting with what I thought was my internet connection problem, we realized that none of our phones had a dial tone! OOOPS! Apparently the one he cut is the main line coming into the house (although he will disagree). So if you've called our house and we still have not called back? Now you know!

3) Although last weekend was officially the start of football season, this weekend is when the fun really starts as this is the first home game! The girls and I are all decked-out in our Alabama gear today for Friday Spirit Day! Mary Mac took the one of Anna and I by herself - a photographer in the making!

4) Finally, and as a mom, most importantly! We have been have struggles lately with Mary Mac in pushing her limits on just what she can say to people before getting in trouble with her sassy mouth. Her class in school this year is more like a "real" classroom and less like daycare with the grandmotherly types that loved her and thought anything and everything she said or did was so cute and funny. Well, she came home earlier this week "On Yellow" for the first time which means we did not have a great day (Green for good, Yellow for not so good, and Red for Bad). The note said that she was talking back to her teachers all day. That night Sam and I sat down with her talked to her about watching our mouth, saying sweet things, minding grown-ups, listening with our ears and following directions, etct., etc. (You get the picture!) We weren't mad at her or getting on to her - we just felt like this was a perfect "teaching" opportunity since she was so upset about being On Yellow! Well, it made me feel like we had done our jobs as parents when she informed me that she had told her teachers the next morning that she was sorry for talking back to them. We did not tell her to do this or even mention it, but she felt in her heart that she needed to express her sorrow for acting like this. I wasn't sure if she really did this or just told me that she did, so this morning I asked them if she had apologized and they said that she came up to them first thing that next morning to say she was sorry. I guess she felt she needed to "clear the air" first thing and start off on a new foot that day! Will this last? Who knows, but it warms my heart that maybe, just maybe what we told her and tell her on a daily basis might really stick inside that little horse-obsessed brain of hers! I just love her to death!!!! And Anna, too, of course!

And these are some priceless pictures, especially for Mary Mac since she is not a girly girl! Anna really loves playing dress up and being a princess. And I have to admit that it is so wonderful to do these girly things for a change. Mary Mac is getting into it too now that Anna likes to do it. Sam walked in when I was taking these pictures and said that I was trying to corrupt his little country girl! Oh well, these may be the only pictures of Mary Mac in a princess outfit so I am enjoying them thoroughly!

Cooking Lessons Anyone?

Ok, so since I have already had 2 requests on our blog and several verbal requests, I am considering doing a cooking lesson for anyone interested in learning to "put up" fresh veggies! I actually learned from my grandmothers. When Sam and I first got married (and since he is a "country boy") I called my grandmothers for some advice on how to put up veggies. I actually still use the notes that I took from their lessons and I would be glad to pass along these precious tips that you just can't find in books or cookbooks anywhere - I got them to good ole' fashion way - word of mouth from the experts! Hopefully these are some things I can pass on to my girls when they grow up! My next lesson that I want to learn is how to can things and I will pass this along as well!

If anyone is interested in this, let me know and we can plan a day at my house to do it!

Rainy Days

Well, as I write this post, I look out the window at the rain and accept that we must settle in for a weekend full of rain, due to the long-lasting TS Faye! Oh well, at least this was not a bad storm for my family in the Tampa area and Mobile area, so we are thankful for that. I can tell that we have not had one of these rain-filled weekends in a long time because the girls are already stir-crazy and it's only 11:00am. Did I say the girls? I should say WE ALL ARE! But at least our yard is loving this very much needed rain!

I have to brag on myself this morning. All summer I have been gradually buying fresh veggies from our local produce stand and farmer's market and putting up veggies for the winter (for those of you not from the South, this means freezing them for later consumption). This morning I have already made a trip to the farmer's market (in the rain, I might add) and blanched and put up about 10 cups of peas and 6 cups of cut okra. I am so excited about doing this because I am always craving fresh veggies in the winter and unless you already have them put up or you have someone in your family (i.e. my grandmother - who is no longer able to do it) then there's no hope of fresh until next summer! So Yea Leigh! I am prepared this year!

On another note (totally unrelated to the above), there are some amazing things happening this past week that can only be credited to God's Grace and the persistence of His Prayer Warriors! A family in our neighborhood (whose kids I babysat when they were about the same age as my girls) has experienced first hand the power of prayer and God's Amazing Grace! Their middle child, Carter (age 20), was on a camping trip with some of his Sigma Chi pledge brothers from Bham Southern about 10 days ago and fell off a 50 ft cliff into a creek and was unconcious and underwater for about 4-8 minutes before his friends could get down to him. One of the boys is a pre-med major and started performing CPR while still in the water (which his docs say saved his life because his body would likely have gone into shock if pulled out first) and was able to get him breathing again and a pulse back before he was airlifted to the local hospital. Well, here we are more than a week later, and Carter has improved tremendously and his team of docs expect him to make a full recovery! From the time of hearing of the accident, e-mails went out immediately to who-knows how many people all over town and the Prayer Warriors went to work! Wow, you cannot believe the amount of out-pouring of prayers that have taken place in this past week for Carter, all in the name of God! AND, add to the fact of his miraculous recovery, an article was in our local paper this week about Carter, his accident, and how only by the Grace of God is he even alive, much less doing so well! In the article the author actually used religious terms in his writing!!!!! The article stirred up so much talk about Grace, Faith, etc. in our town and it is amazing! If you had told me 15 years ago that this cute little blond haired boy would be used by God in this way, I would have called you a liar!!! Anyway, he is doing amazingly well considering he shouldn't have even survived and if you want to check out his Caring Bridge site for more updates and to hear his parents (who are the sweetest people)profound thoughts, emotions, and feelings every day of his recovery go to http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/cartercrutchfield. Praise GOD - that's all you can say about this!!!!

Days of New

Well, we are finally getting adjusted to our new school schedule (they go all day on Mon/Wed/Fri and only half days on Tues/Thurs). I can't believe how much Anna has grown up in the last 2 weeks. She is becoming much more independent and will actually go play by herself in the playroom! She is also becoming more verbal, which is so nice (and so darned cute!)!

Sam and I had a nice break from the girls last week, even though it was a business trip. I kept telling Sam that I was looking forward to my "vacation", so before we even got to the airport he had asked my 3 times if I was enjoying my vacation yet. We went to Chicago to work one of our shows and I loved it! I think I loved it because it reminded me so much of New York, but cleaner and with a lot more parks and "green" stuff! We were gone for a full 7 days; Mary Mac is finally old enough now that she realized that we were gone for a long time. She kept asking us on the phone (which is unusual because she normally won't talk to us on the phone) when we were coming home - awwwweeee! I'm not sure if she wanted us to come home because she missed us or she was looking forward to her "surprises" we brought! I'll take either option - at least they missed us! They were both so excited to see us when we got home - I think it was a good break for all of us. Of course, they both looked like they had grown a foot in one week!

A Mother's Reflections. . .

I'm writing this post more for myself than anyone else's benefit, so just bare with me as I work my way through my thoughts on this post. I have lots of friends (both bloggies and non-bloggies) that are pregnant right now with babies (#1, #2, or #3 children) and those that have just had babies and hearing all of thier stories makes me kind of reflect on my family's lives over the past few years.

The day of Anna's birth and those days that followed are still a bit of a blur, but there are a few things that really stand out in my mind of the emotions and feelings I had (I know, Sam, you remember my weeping very clearly I'm sure!). These emotions were very raw and real and I am so thankful that I had a husband and family that allowed me to express them and deal with them. I think my mom was really worried that I ws suffering from Post-Partum, but I am very confident that that was not the case at all!

So, you're wondering, what emotions and feelings were you dealing with? Well, the biggest one was the idea that somehow I was "losing" Mary Mac as my baby - I mean, up to that point, she WAS my baby and in a matter of a few hours, she WASN'T - she was my Big Girl/Big Sister. I felt so guilty for taking her baby-hood away from her so young and forcing her into this world of being a Big Girl at the ripe old age of 2 1/2. i mean, Sam and I made this choice for her and never consulted her on it. How selfish could we have been? We wanted another child, not Mary Mac - she was happy and content being the only child. I vividly remember seeing her for the first time after having Anna and immediately I noticed (whether in reality or just in my head - dunno?) that she had grown like a foot and had these enormous hands and feet, that is, compared to this new miracle that we had been waiting on for almost 9 months, who was so tiny and fragile.

Another major emotion was my fear of how I was going to be able to raise not just 1 fearless and confident female, but 2! Mary Mac was already growing into this confident, yet sweet little girl and, for the life of me, when Anna was born, my brain just went blank as to what I thought "we" (Sam and I) did to get her to this stage of life! How on earth can I repeat this? The answer I have realized is that "we" did not do anything - the "we" in this equation was not just Sam and I, but also our faith in God as our guide to raise these little earthly beings! The other answer is that as Anna is getting older and developing her own little personality, I realize that I shouldn't have wanted to make a "clone" of Mary Mac or try and repeat her! Anna is her own, sweet, funny, loving little person - all by herself - curls and all! And Mary Mac is her own wild, fearless, confident, loving little girl, too! Wow, what a blessing we have in these 2 miracle babies!

Looking back, I can't believe I really had those crazy feelings and emotions, but I don't think I am the only mom that goes through this! I'm just going to chalk it up to being totally normal with just a little hormonal influence added to the mix! So, for those of you who are thinking that I am writing this because I have baby-fever? WRONG! No fever here! I think, for now at least, I will just enjoy everyone else's babies and live vicariously through you all. The thought of going back to All Things Baby world is sooooo not appealing to me! so if you find me smelling your sweet baby's head (yes, Molli, you were right - that smell is distinct and wonderful!), don't worry, just consider it my "fever medicine"! I'll get over it really quick - like, as soon as they start crying!

A New "Big Girl" Room for Mary Mac

We had not planned on doing anything anytime soon with Mary Mac or Anna's bedroom furniture - that is, until we realized that the furniture we REALLY wanted for Mary Mac was going on sale, but only through the end of July. So, not knowing if it would go on sale again anytime soon, we decided to go ahead get it for her and really give her a room with personality (Mary Mac's personality=horses). So within a week's time, we bought the furniture, ordered the bedding, matched the paint to the bedding, and painted the walls accordingly (or should I say, I painted the walls since Sam was out of town). It's not totally finished yet, but I am so proud of it I wanted to go ahead and post pictures of it. I meant to take a "before" picture, but forgot! So, for those of you who didn't know what it looked like before - she had hot pink upholstered twin headboards with bright colored striped bedding and the walls were just a khaki color because I knew we would be changing it in the near future (just didn't imagine it being this near). For now, her old stuff is now located in our other guest bedroom (which was being used only for storage), so we have plenty of sleeping room for any guests! Mary Mac is so proud of her Big Girl room that she likes to just go up there by herself and read or play by herself on her "horsey" bed! The plan to finish out the room is to have a girl that Sam's family knows paint a fence on the bottom half and maybe a horse on one of the walls - hence, the idea of the bottom walls being green (i.e. grass) and the top being blue (i.e.sky)! Hope you enjoy! By the way, this is it for furniture for Mary Mac's room - she will have this furniture until she can afford to buy her own!

First Day of School

Well yesterday was the first day of school for the girls for this next year. We had a week off last week and now they got to move into their new classes yesterday! Anna (just as I suspected) was not very excited about her move -she is definitely our child of habit! Mary Mac, after a little hesitancy, warmed right up to her new class after she realized that all of her friends were still in the class with her. Ms. Patty said that Anna had a great day and actually fell right to sleep on her nap mat on the floor - for that I am floored! I was really worried about my sweet little angel, but she was so glad to see me when I picked her up! We actually had a great night last night after getting home from school. Sam and I decided that she was so happy to be home with us that she was not going going to whine or fuss or hang on my leg - just full of gratefullness!!!!

On a side note, Anna has decided that she really loves this one baby doll that someone gave Mary Mac when she was a baby (Mary Mac was never "into" dolls - only animals!). She loves it and carries it all over the house with her, calling it "BaaDaa" which is her word for baby doll I guess! It's so cute! At least one of our girls is a "girly girl"! Sam doesn't know what to think about this!

A Whole Lotta Nothin'

Well, the reason for the absence in new posts is that, well basically, not a whole lot has been going on around here! We have actually enjoyed not doing anything and the girls have enjoyed having all of our attention. This is the last week of this "school year" (if you wanna call it that) and the girls will be off next week. After that, they both move up to their new classes for the next year. Mary Mac is very excited (although I'm not sure she's realized that this means that she will not get to see her wonderful teachers that she loves so much from this past year), but in her mind she has figured out that moving up to another class just means that she is that much closer to going to "Big School"! She wants me to reassure her everyday that "when I am 5, almost 6, I WILL go to big school?" Anna, on the other hand, has no clue that her world as she knows it is about to be turned upside down. She is attached to her teacher's hip (literally) and does not like change at all! Also, they will be going all day on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and she will have to learn to nap at school! This will be interesting, but I am confident that Ms. Patty and Ms. Patricia will whip her into shape just like they did Mary Mac! Anyway, that is all from here right now. Sam is going on a fishing trip today for the weekend and I am going to try and take the girls to another Rodeo - wish me luck!

Dabberdoo

I almost forgot to post that I am having a Dabberdoo party tomorrow at my house. For those of you not in town, you are more than welcome to go to the website and order stuff directly from there - just be sure to put my name in the Consultant's Name box at checkout! If you have no clue what I'm talking about - this is something I sell from home that started out primarily as a stationary-type company that you could customize note cards, calling cards, bag tags, etc., but it has now moved more into the gifty-type stuff that is monogrammable. I know it sounds cheesy, but it is really cute stuff and we still have several of the stationary things available. We have great wedding gift items, birthday gifts, baby shower gifts, etc. I actually have a lot of the items personally and I love it! So, if you are interested (or at least just visit the website) go to www.dabberdoo.com and click on the Shop Online tab. Molli - will you tell your mom about it? She told me to let her know next time I had a show and I wrote a note on your sister's invitation to tell her, but just in case, I thought I would tell you too!

Slip N Slide - WooHoo!

Okay, so in reference to the Slip N Slide that Sam is talking about below, here is the video. One is of Anna on it then the other is Mary Mac - pay attention to her "Warning - Don't Try This At Home"! (YOU WILL NEED TO PAUSE/MUTE MY PLAYLIST MUSIC AT THE BOTTOM OF PAGE) And, yes, I did partake in the fun (not showing the video though!). How many 31 year old moms can say that they have Slip N Slid'd with their kids? I can't remember the last time I did that - ohhh, yes I can, I think it was actually at a Sigma Nu Crawfish party! Yikes!

A HORSE OF A DIFFERENT COLOR

A little change from the norm, it's Sam posting this time. I want to give a thanks to my wonderful sister-in-law, Molli, who influenced my wife when we were in Clearwater on vacation that we needed to do some remodeling! Molli, you probably don't know you did this, but we are now elbows deep in blue, green and crimson paint! Leigh and I spent Saturday and Sunday painting our dining room blue, then started painting my "playroom" crimson and next on to the bedroom for some green fun. What else is there to do on a hot sunny weekend? Lay out at the pool? Go to the lake? Sit inside and have a cold one? Nope! Paint! (Although, Leigh and the girls did go a few rounds on the slip-and-slide and you should see the videos!) I must say we did a darn good job for two amateurs, but we are not for hire so don't think about asking. Any way, Molli, just wanted to say thanks and next time we come visit, please don't have any home projects going! Got to go, my trusty paint brush is at home calling!

Comments Anyone?

Not to burden anyone, but I would love for people reading our blog to make occasional comments! I absolutely love reading the comments, but more importantly, I would love to know who is actually reading our blog. If you're unsure about how to do it, just click on the Sign In link at the top of the page and register to make comments. It is totally free to sign up and you don't have to set up your own blog to when you sign up - so go ahead, what's stopping you! Please don't embarass me and make me think I have no friends! Ha - just kidding - I know that you're out there! Love you all and would love to hear from you!

Pictures from the Beach

These are a few of my favorite pictures from the beach! You can click on the collage and it will open it in a new window so that you can actually see the pictures.

Surfin Up, Dude!

Here is a video of Mary Mac riding a buggy board by herself. She kept telling everyone on the beach that she was "Just Surfin' Up, Dude!" This was the 2nd ride and I cut the camera off just as she starting screaming about the salt water splashing in her eyes! I mean, how funny is she - with her sunglasses and floaties on! It's all about the look! Gotta look good doing it!

Anna Is Walking!

I love watching babies learn to walk. No offense, Mimi (Anna's great-grandmother who has Parkinson's), but you and Anna now have a similar walking style!

Long Awaited Tribute

5 Years! Like I say all the time - Wow, what a whirlwind it has been! I can't believe that it has already been 5 years since that very beautiful, blessed day that Sam and I exchanged vows in front of our families! If someone would have read into my future 7 years ago and told me that in 2008 I would be married to the most wonderful husband and dad, have 2 beautiful little girls, living in Tuscaloosa, and living my dream life (country club mom included!) - I would have totally laughed in their face. I was so far from this "place" at that time! Well, fast-forward to today! What a life I get to live and love! I could not ask for more! My husband is a hard-working, kind, loving, caring, affectionate, devoted husband and dad to myself, Mary Mac, and Anna. In just 5 short years, we have gone from young, carefree newlyweds that had no idea what we would do for a living or where we would be to settled, not-so-newlyweds with 2 little angels, great jobs, a great house, and our perfect little family! As we celebrated our anniversary at the beach (where else would we celebrate?), we toasted to our love, our family, and many many more years to come! I can only pray that our girls will find such a "Hero" for a partner as their dad is to me! I truly could not do it without him - he is my partner, my rock, my one and only, and always my voice of reason! And, this is why I married the most wonderful man in the world, Sam! I LOVE YOU!