Kids

Countdown to Spring…

March 2, 2010 By kelly

18 more days. I can do this. 18 more days until spring. Two and a half weeks. COME ON, SPRING!!

I am not normally so “weather fixated”, but it’s been a cold winter by Georgia standards and this Southern girl is more than ready for some good ole sunshine. Today it’s cold (again) and we have rain and snow mixed. Mickey is bummed because our forecast originally called for up to 4″ of snow, but now we are maybe going to get a dusting or possibly an inch of snow. That’s nothing as far as he is concerned. As far as I am concerned, it’s more than enough. Brrrr. I just may hibernate today. It sounds so appealing, actually. I woke up at 1am and was awake for at least two and a half hours last night, so I’m tired and crawling back in bed to hibernate this cold day away sounds pretty good right about now. I won’t do that, but I just may sneak in a nap sometime today.

In other news, it’s “spring” picture day at Macey’s school. Oh, the irony of this crazy weather. Spring pictures in long sleeves – go figure. She looks adorable, I must admit.

I have to give a shout-out to Southern Savers because after hearing Jenny speak the other night, I’ve been back on the coupon wagon. I saved a LOT at Publix yesterday, so I am geeked up on coupon love again. Woo hoo!!

Off to do something productive around here. I think.

Happy Tuesday,
Kelly

Filed Under: Daily Life, Family, Kelly, Kids

Yikes!

January 19, 2010 By kelly

I have been such a blog slacker again. No excuses. Yes, life is busy. Yes, the whole holiday season (Thanksgiving through New Years) was super busy. Yes, I’m on the GO a lot. Still, I would like to be better about attending to my blog. I need to find a way to make it a daily priority. Any suggestions?

As usual, things are frequently clicking at a fast pace around here, but we are all doing well in our family. Here’s a mini update:

Macey is really enjoying first grade. She is doing so well and absolutely loves school. She’s having a great time taking tap/jazz once a week at a local dance school as well. And, just recently she started taking gymnastics at the Y and that’s a great thrill for her. She turned six and a half on New Year’s Day and is very proud of that “and a half”, thank you very much.

Mariana continues to think that preschool is the best thing EVER. She goes three mornings per week and always looks forward to school. She had been taking dance at the same studio as Macey, but we recently decided to let her stay after preschool one day per week to take dance there. She stays another day for a princess party. Both of her extended day activities are BIG deals to Miss Mariana. She is having a blast!

Mickey is working for himself full time now and his business is really doing well. We are so thankful for the opportunity for him to finally work from home. God has really shown us that this is the right move and the business is truly blessed. He gets “Husband of the Year” because he planned an awesome surprise for me as part of my Christmas. He is taking me to NYC for a weekend in February. I am SO excited! Giddy, actually! We are going to see “Wicked” on Broadway while we are there and I just cannot wait. Yay!!

I am doing exceptionally well these days. I had been slacking on more than just blogging and had not been in a regular work-out routine over the holidays. Well, that is no more. I’m going back to the Y to work-out a few times a week and I love it! I’m still busy with various things, but couldn’t be happier.

Hope everyone has a blessed Tuesday!!

Filed Under: Daily Life, Family, Health & Fitness, Kelly, Kids, Marriage

Happy October!!

October 1, 2009 By kelly

Okay, who can believe that it’s already October?! Seriously. This year is FLYING by at the speed of light. The years definitely seem to get faster the older I get. I guess that’s true of most of us, right? I just can’t get over that today is October 1st because it seems like it was less than a month ago that we were in the midst of summer. Fortunately, October means Autumn and I do love this time of year. It’s been a little bit cooler here lately and it’s so nice. The leaves are starting to change, it’s football season, it’s almost time to pick apples and pumpkins…ahhh! This time of the year is truly great. My only problem with fall is that it leads to winter. So, rather than dwell on dreading the cold, I’m going to enjoy all the great things about fall and have fun while it lasts.

This coming weekend, my good friend Christie and I are going to the small town of Gay,Georgia to the Cotton Pickin’ Fair. The CP Fair is a huge craft fair that is held twice a year and is so much fun! Christie and I are going to leave early on Saturday morning and head on down to the CPF. Can’t wait!!

Mickey is running in our church’s annual road race that benefits Habitat for Humanity this weekend. He’s going to do the 5K race and then he and Macey are going to participate in the 1 mile fun run. I’m sure they’ll have a blast!!

In BIG Mariana news, she has finally given up the pacifier. Yes, she turned three in May, but she was still taking the paci at sleep times. Well, she’s been talking lately about giving it up, so we followed her cues and, sure enough, she’s all done with the pacifier. WOO HOO!! It’s been almost a week and she’s been such a champ about it all. GO MARIANA GO!!

Last week, Macey participated in the Boosterthon Fun Run and Roll at her school. It’s a great fundraiser in which the students collect pledges and then run laps around the “Boosterthon Speedway” to collect money for the school. The track is about 1/16 of a mile and they cap the laps at 35. So, Macey’s goal this year was to do 35 laps. And…she did it! She also did a couple of cool down laps. She was SOOOO proud of herself! Her pledges are still coming in and are due at school tomorrow. She’s thrilled that she not only set her goal, but met and exceeded it!

Mickey is doing well with transitioning to working at home full time. It’s really been a blessing to have him here. We’re gradually figuring how how flexible his hours can be, etc. It’s a process, but it’s all going beautifully thus far.

I should get going so I can get myself and Mariana ready to head out this morning. I’m going to work out at the Y while she plays with her BFF William.

Happy Thursday!

nga_fall This is a photo I took in North Georgia last Autumn. We were on a hayride at the time.

Filed Under: Daily Life, Family, Kelly, Kids, Photos, school

Our Week So Far…

August 13, 2009 By kelly

I really need to update properly – meaning WITH PICTURES – very soon. In the meantime, I will stick to bullet points to tell about our great week so far.

Macey started first grade on Monday. She absolutely loves it! She has great teachers and is already enjoying first grade very much!

Macey also loves riding the bus home in the afternoons. Our county cut bus stops to save money and so our stop is now half-way up our street which is a longer walk than usual. It has actually turned out to be a very nice stop because now us parents get there a little bit early and we get to chat and catch up with one another. We have such nice neighbors and it’s always fun visiting in the afternoons.

I baked our favorite chocolate chip cookies for the girls on the first day of school. Cookies and milk for snack – now, how cool is that?!

On Tuesday, I took the girls to a “Sprayground” in a town nearby. It’s basically a splash pad area for kids to play in water. The girls had the best time out there! It has gotten HOT here again lately, so it was nice to go cool off at the Sprayground. The only drawback was that there was no shaded area anywhere. They had benches for parents (or caregivers) to sit, but nothing for shade. Maybe that’s in the works. I hope so!

On Wednesday, Mariana and I met up with our friend Christie and her foster daughter at Chuck E. Cheese’s for lunch. Macey is NOT a fan of CEC, but Mariana loves it, so it was a good time for us to go. That girl had the BEST time!

Today Mariana and I took a trip to the book store. That is ALWAYS fun. I love books and reading! The last couple of books I read were just “eh” to me, so I’m excited to have great new reads.

So, it’s been a fun week thus far. We are looking forward to a great weekend too!

Filed Under: Family, Kids

Four Days ’til First Grade…

August 6, 2009 By kelly

Macey starts first grade in four days. Well, technically, less than four days now since the day is almost over. The big day will be here before we know it. Wow!

Today we got to meet her wonderful teachers. Macey tends to be a bit reserved in new situations, but she was definitely happy to meet her teachers today. She’ll warm up in no time once the routine of school gets going, I’m sure. Her teachers are wonderful. So positive and sweet! We are all excited about the coming school year with them.

What do y’all remember about first grade? I have pretty fond memories of first grade. My teacher was Mrs. Lee. She had long (REALLY long) red hair and was just as sweet as could be. I had to miss a couple of weeks of school due to being hospitalized for pneumonia that year and I remember that she drove out to visit me at my grandparents’ house. That was the year that I had my birthday party at the zoo. My mom came and picked up all the girls in my class and we rode the 20+ miles to the zoo all piled into the back of a pick-up truck. (Yes, these were the early 80s.) My friend Robin B. moved away that year. I was sad that she left, but I remember being happy that I got her Social Studies book. (Those books were distributed when I was in the hospital and I didn’t have one when I returned.) That same year, a girl in my class named Stacy forgot to wear her shoes to school one day. She had to stay inside and not go to recess, so I stayed inside with her. She remembered that even into high school. It was a good year. I admit that I don’t remember many little details, but I know we had fun. I’m sure Macey will have fun too. I love that she is still at the age and stage where she gets genuinely excited about school and looks forward to it so much. I actually hope that continues for her.

This is such a milestone. It’s a “number” grade and they learn so much more than we used to at this age. Macey’s ready. She’ll do awesome. And, I am looking forward to every little bit of it.

So, here’s to first grade…in four days.
Kelly

Filed Under: Kids, school

Well…Hello, August!

August 2, 2009 By kelly

My goodness! August has arrived already. Does this seem surreal to anyone else? I seriously feel that summer has just flown by. It doesn’t seem real to me that school has been out for two months already and is VERY close to starting back again. Wow. We have had an incredible summer and have had so much fun – maybe that’s why it’s flying. Still, it does baffle my poor brain that it’s August. Already. Woah.

So, what have you all been up to lately? That is, if anyone is still out there checking this poor neglected blog. (Sorry about that!) Here are some recent happenings with our family:

Macey turned six on July 1st. I posted about it on her birthday.
We spend the weekend of the 4th of July with family. On the 4th, we went to my Uncle and Aunt’s place with my mom’s side of the family and spent the whole day swimming, eating, playing games, swimming more, eating more, having a hayride and watching fireworks. It was a WONDERFUL day!
Both girls attended our church’s second session of VBS called “Crocodile Dock” in July while I worked doing “Logistics” for elmentary. We all had a great time! VBS was a huge success.
About a week after her birthday, Macey got her ears pierced. Our original plan had been to wait until she was older, but we have no regrets. Macey had been talking about it for ages, but never really wanted to go through with it just yet. So, the week after her birthday she revisited the subject, we talked about it in depth (how it would hurt a bit but short-term and how she’d have to take care of them, etc) and she was ready. She was SO brave! She held my hands and squeezed her eyes closed tight when they did both ears at the same time. Never shed a tear. She now has beautiful pink rhinestone flower earrings and is so proud of them.
I posted about camp in July too. Mickey and I were so blessed by being able to work at camp this year. It was just so incredible. Words fail to express how awesome it was! I cried and cried on the last morning when the kids left – it was just so emotional! The adults made a “prayer tunnel” to pray over the kids as they were leaving and that was SO powerful, beautiful and emotional. We really loved it and can’t wait to go back!!
We joined our local YMCA a couple of weeks ago. We’re going to love it – I can already tell! So much to do as a family there. We went to our first “family swim” today since it was rainy outside and we couldn’t go to our neighborhood pool. We had a ball!
PePaw (aka – Scott, Mickey’s dad) is coming to stay with us for about a week. He’ll arrive on Tuesday and we’re all excited. One thing he is going to do while he is here is build a “playhouse bed” for Macey. Basically it will be a playhouse underneath and a bed on top. Macey is so excited! It’s going to be so cool! I’ll have to post pictures of the before/after of her room.
Macey starts first grade one week from tomorrow. On Thursday of this week we have our “meet and greet” with her teacher. She is OH SO EXCITED about school! I’m serving as a committee chair for PTA this year, so that’s exciting too.
Mariana is excited about starting preschool in late August too. We hope she is in the same class with her sweet best friend, William.

All is well with us. Busy as can be, but great. I hesitate to say that I will update my blog more because that seems to backfire on me. So, I won’t say that, but I’ll hope it and try harder. Thanks for bearing with me.

Blessings,
Kelly

Filed Under: Daily Life, Family, Home, Kelly, Kids

Six Years…

July 1, 2009 By kelly

Six years ago today, a lifelong dream of mine came true. I became a mommy. All my life I had dreamed about becoming a mommy. I prayed to be a mom and always knew it was the calling of my heart. On July 1, 2003 that prayer was fulfilled when Macey was born.

I’ll never forget seeing that precious baby girl for the first time. I noticed that she had a head full of hair which I suspected all throughout my pregnancy. (Hello, heartburn!) I noticed that she had round full cheeks. And, in those few short seconds I waited to hear her cry so I’d know she was strong and healthy. She cried and my heart sang. Seeing the love and emotion that washed over Mickey as he took in the sight of his new daughter was incredibly amazing too. I got to hold Macey skin-to-skin once she was cleaned up and that was just awesome. To hold our daughter, to cradle her to me and to just be with her was beautiful. I was a mommy, at last, and we were a family of three. We could not have been more grateful and we continue to give thanks for our girls every day.

The first few days and weeks were admittedly tiring and trying, but we made it. Looking back now, it seems like the blink of an eye. Who would have thought that six years could pass so quickly? Macey has gone from a beautiful, helpless, chubby, happy and charming baby to a lean, beautiful, sweet, imaginative and caring little girl. She is officially a “first grader” although school won’t resume until August. She can read, write, add, subtract and begin to tell time. She loves to draw, create and cook. She is a big fan of music and always has fun singing and dancing. She is a joy. A delight. She’s our sunshine.

Having these two girls has blessed our lives immeasurably. There are times, sure, when things are less than perfect, but the sum of our life as a family could not be more perfect. And, to think, this all started with Macey’s birth six short years ago. How blessed we are! I have heard it said before that with parenting the days are long, but the years are short. I could not agree more. I am thankful for every moment with our precious family.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MACEY!! We love you more than words could ever express and we always will!!

Filed Under: Family, Kelly, Kids

Summer Mini-Vacation Photo Recap Part 1 – Nashville

June 23, 2009 By kelly

Be prepared for photo overload. That’s all I’m sayin’. These are some of the highlight photos from our trip to Nashville, TN. We went up on Thursday, June 18th and stayed in Nashville until Saturday, June 20th. We had a wonderful time. Nashville is GREAT!! Love it there!!

Our first adventure was dinner at Rainforest Cafe. Here are Mickey and the girls heading in:
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Here are the girls in front of the sign:

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The girls LOVED Rainforest Cafe. They loved all the animals and decor of the restaurant. It was a lot of fun!! After dinner we hit Build-a-Bear Workshop and each girl got to create a stuffed animal. Macey chose a frog which she named Freddy. Mariana chose a HSM bear which she named Gabriella. We walked around Opry Mills a bit and then called it a night. Our first evening in Nashville was quite fun!

On Friday we got ready to head out to the Nashville Zoo . We stopped at a Shoney’s near our hotel and had their breakfast buffet and then went right out to the zoo so we could be there when they opened. That was a wise plan because it was already HOT first thing in the morning.

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We really enjoyed the Nashville Zoo. It was beautifully laid out and had so much to see and do! Here are some highlights from our visit:

Hyacinth Macaws:

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Mariana looking cool in the play area:

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Macey in the snake tunnel:

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Macey talked her sister into coming into the snake tunnel too:

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How cool is this play structure?!
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There were flowers and plants all over the place. So pretty!
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There was also beautiful scenery such as this wagon near the old plantation home and barn:
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We got to see so many animals. I won’t post pictures of all of them, but here are a few.

We all thought the girafffes were cool and, of course, we thought of Grammie (Mickey’s mom) when we saw them. She loves giraffes!
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The elephants were so pretty too:
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Alligator Cove had quite a few gators in a pond. The girls were very fascinated with them.

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I thought this stump was pretty cool looking:
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Macey pointing up at the gator that was floating “above her head”

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The girls got a souvenir cup with fun straws. What is better than a cool drink on a hot day?!
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Loved the lamps in the Asian section of the zoo:
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The photos don’t cover nearly all of what we saw and did at the zoo. Our visit there was SO much fun and I’d highly recommend the Nashville Zoo to anyone visiting or living in that area. We would love to go back and may visit again in the fall when it’s a touch cooler.

On Saturday evening, we went to Aquarium for dinner. Another hit with them – they loved it!! The atmosphere there is what really makes it. The food is okay (somewhat spendy), but it’s a lot of fun to see all the fish, etc. My camera battery went kaput when we got there, so these are the best photos I have from my phone.

The view from our table: 023

The girls thought it was VERY cool when the SCUBA diver swam by our table:
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Here are Mickey and the girls as we were getting ready to leave after dinner:
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After dinner, we went to Stingray Reef to feed the stingrays and ride the carousel. The girls weren’t altogether too sure about feeding stingrays, but they liked it when other people did it. The stingrays literally come right up to the edge of the tank to be fed shrimp. It’s cool to see! The carousel was a hit with the girls too – they always love carousels. Our second night in Nashville was a lot of fun!!

On Saturday morning we went to breakfast at the “famous” Pancake Pantry in Nashville. Our friend Christie had recommended it and said that we’d probably have to wait in line, but that it was worth it. So, we tried to get there early in an attempt to beat the crowd. I have to say that we did NOT beat the crowd, but we only had to wait about 10 minutes and we did beat the “big” rush. The lines was super long just after we got there and was even longer when we left. The food was fantastic! I asked our waitress about the sweet potato pancakes and she recommended them highly, so I got those with some traditional buttermilk pancakes too. DELISH!!

Here is my plate before:
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And…after:
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What can I say?! Those were some DELICIOUS pancakes! If you’re ever in Nashville for breakfast, definitely give the Pancake Pantry a try. Get there early, but still expect a line.

After breakfast, we went back to the hotel for a bit. Mickey took the girls to the pool while I got us packed up to leave. Our next stop was Chattanooga. And, that will be tomorrow’s update.

In case it wasn’t clear by the pictures, we had a ball in Nashville. There is so much to see and do there. We hope to go back in the fall, as I said above. Great city!!

Stay tuned for more pictures tomorrow…

Filed Under: Entertainment, Family, Kelly, Kids, Photos, travel

Big Girl Room

June 16, 2009 By kelly

As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, we have recently updated Mariana’s room. Our friends Carey & Traci had a beautiful twin bed that their daughter Allie had outgrown, so they generously gave it to us. Mickey’s dad (aka PePaw to the girls) is going to be building a play-house bed for Macey this summer, so we decided that this new bed should go in Mariana’s room since she was starting to get too big for her toddler bed. Well, she loves it! She thinks it is so cool! And, we do too! Although, it’s sort of bittersweet because it’s hard to think of our “baby” in a big girl room. Anyway, I have a few photos to show her room before and after, so here they are…

This is the only “before” shot I have. It was taken standing in Mariana’s bedroom door and looking into her room. You can see her sweet little toddler bed there.

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Now, here are a couple of “after” shots. Isn’t her new bed so pretty in her room?

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Another shot of Mariana’s new bed. I got her new bedding at Wal-Mart yesterday and we just love it. It’s so soft and sweet. I wish the sheets were showing so y’all could see them too. They are green with white dots. The whole set is really cute. I think it all looks so pretty and just perfect for Mariana.

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Just for fun, here is one more shot of Mariana’s room. This is standing in her doorway and looking to the left. You can see her curtains and part of her dresser.
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So, that is Miss Mariana’s newly updated big girl room. Did y’all notice how the dollhouse used to be a book case and now it’s not? Well, we’ll see how tidy the actual book case stays once she gets used to it being there. Right now she is doing very well with the “take one book at a time and put it away before you take another one” thing. I’m sure there will be a time when I’m busy and she’s bored, so the book case is sure to be a prime target at that point.

Kelly

Filed Under: Home, Kids

What a wonderful weekend!

June 15, 2009 By kelly

We had the best weekend! It was somewhat busy, but was SOOOO much fun!!

Saturday evening, of course, was the Father/Daughter dance at our church. This year the dance was called Hop With Your Pop and it was so much fun!! I got to go to take candid shots, so I got to be a small part of the fun. Here are some pictures:

Macey prior to the dance:

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Mariana:

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Sweet sisters in their 50′s attire:

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The expression on Macey’s face says it all – they LOVED it!

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Twistin’ the night away:

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And, here are the loves of my life at the end of a most WONDERFUL evening:
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Needless to say, the Father/Daughter dance was a smash hit for our family! It was so awesome to me to look around and see all the daddies there with their daughters. There were so many dads that would be out on the dance floor to twist, hand jive, hula-hoop, hokey pokey, etc. all in the name of love and fun. It was just terrific. I am so grateful to those at our wonderful church that made it all happen!

Sunday was another great day for us. We went to church and attended the Contemporary worship service in its new location (Fellowship Hall). It was a truly great service. Afterwards, we went out to lunch with some of our good friends and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. We all took naps yesterday afternoon which was niiiiiiiiiiice. We hit the pool for a bit on Sunday afternoon. Some friends had very kindly and generously offered us a twin bed, so we went to their house last night to get it for Mariana. (She loves it, by the way!) We went to dinner with them and, once again, had a blast!

So, it was an all around great weekend and was just full of happiness and blessings for our family. Hope everyone else had a great one too!!

Blessings,
Kelly

PS: Some of you might have taken notice that this is the first time I have posted pictures of the girls’ faces. For a long time, I didn’t post because I just felt like my blog was “too public.” But, I have come to realize that it doesn’t even matter if this blog is public. Many of you also post pictures of your children too. So, I’m posting photos now and trusting that it’s all good.

Filed Under: Church, Kids, Photos

Countdown to Spring…

Yikes!

Happy October!!

Our Week So Far…

Four Days ’til First Grade…

Well…Hello, August!

Six Years…

Summer Mini-Vacation Photo Recap Part 1 – Nashville

Big Girl Room

What a wonderful weekend!

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