Friday Fill In

...here we go!

1. It's cold and forming condensation on my wine glass, it sure is humid here.

2. I love tomatoes with mozzarella and balsamic vinegar.

3. My favorite health and beauty product is Aveda hair products....if my hair were longer, I imagine I would walk around sniffing a lock of hair all the time.

4. After a nice long ride....and we were at the beach. (taken Memorial Day '08)

5. Well, first of all I did not realize Will's birthday party is in a week. I am on the hunt for some great party favors, since my old standby of the foofoo cookies will take too long. I really do not like putting together that bag of crap kids get at parties.

6. How sad, I don't even remember; those were the cast of characters in a recent dream and it was fairly unremarkable since I can't even remember.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to veggie pizza with the family, tomorrow my plans include menu planning and finding the birthday party favor crap mentioned above and Sunday, I want to sleep in!


Friday fill in courtesy of the talented Janet...

Photostory Friday: Giving up Bunny

Livi is a thumb sucker. She has always been a thumb sucker. I think I even have a sonogram of her sucking her thumb. Trust me, I tried to get her to take a "binky"....but no, she has always wanted her thumb. Along with the thumb, she wants her bunny. My brother calls her a "secret sucker". She holds one ear of her bunny in her thumb sucking had, while rubbing the other ear with her other hand. Over the years she has rubbed a hole in that ear.

One year went by then another....

Six days before her second birthday, her Daddy deployed for 15 months. This shot appearred in the Austin paper. It was also one of my first blog entries: Stuff Portrait Friday: Freedom. Probably not the best time to try to take the bunny to stop the thumb sucking....(the only time she sucks is when she has the bunny.)

Fifteen months later in Dec '07, Bunny is the one thing she wanted to bring to the welcome home ceremony. She was worried her Daddy forgot Bunny. Again, not a good time to take Bunny away.

That summer we moved......remember the chaos of that summer:
Went to the beach '08 for a week
We SOLD a house.
Lived in Oklahoma for almost a month....most of it without Husband
Lived in Ohio for three weeks
Bought a house in KY and painted every square inch of it

By now Livi is three and a half years old. She still has Bunny

Last night, on her own free will, she announced she was ready to give up Bunny. We have had a tiny gold ring in a princess Limoge box. We promised her when she was ready to put Bunny away for good, she could have the princess box and the ring. Going to sleep was a bit rough, there were a few tears., but she did it. All by herself! First thing this morning...Thursday, May 28, 2009, she earned that golden ring!

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ABCs of our weekend

For some reason I am in a severe blogging funk....these ABC posts are such an easy way to get my random chaotic thoughts together. So, from last Friday until now....

Attended the kids preschool graduation

Brought to tears to see my little boy and girl end another year

Cried....okay, I cried. I did. But not the big honking "ugly" cry, just a few leaky tears.

Drove to Ohio for the long weekend

Eat (okay it should be ate, but I need an E word) lots of good food

Finally downloaded the pics from my camera...eeks guess how many I took?

Grandkids galore...all of my in-laws grand kids were there this weekend. It is so nice to live close enough to drive up for the long weekend.

Happy to get to hold my new nephew.

I love seeing how patient and gentle Will is with his younger cousins.

Josie's toots make me keep a can of Febreeze very close by me.

Kids played on the slip-n-slide

Love that my mother-in-law keeps pinot grigio on hand because she knows this is my favorite!

Made it home from OH in less time, despite getting lost. I used Google maps on my Iphone mid trip to find our way back! whew hoo!

Nine shows on my DVR from the long weekend...."Medium" is playing now.

Olivia has a song in her heart that is bursting out of her mouth 24/7....how's that for a positive spin on she talks non-stop!

Photos are finally downloaded. I need to make copies for my in laws.

Quite the rain showers today....soccer was even cancelled, a rescheduled rain game.

Really nervous for Will's first half day camp next week.

S'mores by the fire....sugar 'em up and hope they crash right at bedtime. Very fine line of timing there.

Today was the first real day of summer break for us! The kids even slept in just a tad.

Ugghh....is this thing almost done.

Very good grilled burgers tonight...cumin and oregano, then topped with cheddar and cilantro. Yummilicious

Welcomed Baby A into the world...congrats to my sister-in-law M and her husband A.

Xpect lots of grins and giggles when a new baby is around.

Ya'll still reading this because I need to go get some

Zzzzzsss.

Nighty night, y'all!

Peony surprise

When we moved to this house, it was late summer. The flower beds behind the house had already come and gone. So I cleaned them out, saved what I thought wasn't weeds, and hoped for the best. Then even in March or so, I cleaned out some more stuff. I seriously did some weeding and digging up stuff.

I wondered what would come up back there. To fill in some of the blank spaces, I ordered a complete foundation garden from Spring Hill Nursery. I mean, it comes with a diagram and all the plants! How easy can it get?

Much to my surprise one of the few things I thought might have been weeds were these peony bushes! The bushes are so full that the blooms make the branches droop. They are so gorgeous.

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Manic Monday

If you could completely redecorate any room in your house at no expense to you, what room would you choose? The master bedroom. Every other room in the house is pretty much done. I absolutely love West Elm or Pottery Barn. One day we will get to it. It definitely always seems like our home is a work in progress.

Which hour of the day do you feel goes the slowest? That moment just before my alarm clock goes off....I wish kids came with a snooze button. You know, just bop them on the head and they go back to sleep for nine more minutes! Yeah, wishful thinking...I know.

If your birthday could be in a different month of the year, when would you have it? Anytime during the school year. I never got to bring cupcakes in for my classmates since my birthday is in the summer. I did have one teacher that did half-birthdays! I would totally bring my chocolate chocolate chip cupcakes with cream cheese frosting!

Fleur-de-Lisa hosts the original Manic Monday here

Friday fill in

1. If we had no winter, the kids would never get to ride those fun sleds.

2. Things that come out of the kids' mouths a perpetual astonishment.

3. If I had my life to live over I would try to relax a bit. *pic taken at the pool from my neighbor in TX**

4. I try to live in the time of here and now inside of four and twenty hours.

5. If you've never been thrilled then I am sad for you.

6. To be interested in the changing seasons means I need to check my allergy meds.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to pizza with the family, tomorrow my plans include soccer for the boy and Sunday, I want to veg!

Photostory Friday: sunshine

This week we finally had some sunshine and warm weather that I have so desperately been craving. The kids were able to play in the sprinkler for a bit. The picture below the big hair post just below this one was taken this afternoon as well.

After getting a handful of shots of the kids, I thought I would take some pics of the flowers in the garden. Yellow flowers against the blue sky are one of my favorite things.

As I ventured over to the flower beds, Will and Livi both had to come over to hop in the frames. The crazy pics never get old for a 4 and 5 year old. I think he is still missing Monkey!


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tuesday with tommie

WHAT I’M READING: the latest Real Simple magazine

WHAT I’M WATCHING: Whatever is on the DVR, I haven't watched TV the last two nights! So I know Gossip Girl, Castle, Charm School, Medium, House, Desperate Housewives, Daisy of Love....oh yeah, some good "trash TV" as Will calls it.

WHAT I’M LISTENING TO: Josie snoring.....and Gossip Girl.

WHAT I’M WEARING: jammies

WHAT I’M EATING: had chicken quesadillas for dinner earlier

WHAT I’M ENJOYING: first day to let the kids run around in the sprinkler. They would run through the sprinkler, then come hug my legs. Lots of silly laughter!!

WHAT I’M SNIFFING: not much, spring allergies are not my friend. My nose is kind of stopped up!

Happy Tuesday, y'all

Note: tuesday with tommie pic circa summer 1991....bride's face blurred to protect the innocent.

Let me just say, a great deal of hair product and Aqua Net went into that hairdo.

Mother's Day: an interview

Picture of Will and me at the Mother's day tea at his preschool. Blurry, but the only one I could get on my Iphone. Also he is smooching his lips, so that I wouldn't see his food! silly boy!

Will: I really love it when my mom tickles me.
Livi: I really love it when my mom snuggles me.

W: My mom likes to snuggle.

L: My mom likes to love on me.

W: My mom always tells me, "Stop, chewing on baby." (**a little baby he sleeps with, no child is getting gnawed on my my little boy!)

L: My mom always tells me to "Clean my room!"

W: The best thing she does is love me.

L: The best thing she does is snuggle me.

W: It makes her happy when I kiss her until she laughs.

L: It makes her happy when I love on her.

W: My mom loves to cook
L: My mom loves to do the house blessing.

W: I like it when she hugs me.
L: I like it when she cooks dinner.

W: The best thing she cooks is pasta.
L: The best thing she cooks is cheesy pasta.

W: When my mom shops she likes to buy Cheese Its and chex mix

L: When my mom shops she likes to buy food.

W: My mom’s favorite household chore is getting it up and down (cleaning both floors)

L: My mom's favorite household chore is to clean the floors and use her new vacuum.

W: My mom’s favorite TV show is 'trash' tv
L: My mom's favorite TV show is the news.

W: At shops she likes to apples and bananas.

L: At shops she likes to buy mommy chips (tortilla chips).

W: At the hotel, she likes to swim in the pool.
L: At the hotel she likes to help us go to bed.

W: and L: If she could go on a trip, she would go to Disney world

W: I love my mom because she is my mommy

L: I love my mommy because I just love her.

This weekend, Will's soccer game got rained out.....so both he and Husband were able to go to Livi's first ballet recital. She is in "creative dance". It was quite cute to see all these 3 and 4 years old dancing to their songs.

Friday Fill In

And...here we go!

1. Apples are to oranges as laundry is to cleaning.

2. So happy it is the weekend and that's all I have to say about that.

3. I think I hear the quiet house, kids are sleeping.

4. You're a grand ol' flag. (Will is learning this for his preschool pre-K graduation.)

5. Do what you want to do, but have fun while you are doing it....it was raining cats and dogs today. This is the street in front of our home....when it rains, get your raincoat and boots.....Then go have some fun!

6. The kids were dragging every tw0 and four wheeled toy out of the garage and behind him was a Radio Flyer wagon; in the wagon was a bucket filled with bottles of bubbles and sidewalk chalk.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to Livi's ballet recital, tomorrow my plans include grocery shopping and Sunday, I want to have my favorite meal for Mother's Day!

Friday fill in courtesy of the talented Janet...

Having a week like this

Louisville Zoo, originally uploaded by tommiea1.

Ever feel like this....?

yeah, me too.

Photostory Friday: No Monkeying Around

These are no ordinary plate of cookies. Oh no, it is not.....

and a close up of just Monkey..

If you missed Livi's original performance of : Have A Rainbow Day movie, take a peek.

After Monkey visited us in early March, I wanted to send his mommy an unforgettable thank you gift. I knew she had blogged about a fabulous cookie-maker extraordinaire...Laura of A Dozen Eggs. Here is her where she blogged about them.

She even has a blog of all her other fabulous cookies. But, the most awesome thing about Laura and these monkey cookies.....She sent a sample of the cookies she mailed Monkey's mommy! We
absolutely enjoyed them!

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tuesday with tommie

I am sure this is supposed to be one of those one word memes circulating on Facebook. But this is my tuesday with tommie...I get to change it.

Where is your cell phone? sitting beside me
2. Your significant other? Husband
3. Your hair? newly cut and colored
4. Your daughter? talkative
5. Your son? methodical
6. Your favorite thing? right now it those cute red sandals I bought last week
7. Your dream last night? I don't remember
8. Your favorite drink? diet DP or white wine, do I really have to choose
9. Your goal? peacefulness
10. The room you’re in? living room
11. Your church? the kids' preschool is at a church
12. Your fear? Something happening to one of the kids
13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? HAPPY
14. Where were you last night? home
15. What you’re not? messy
16. Muffins? Monday
17. One of your wish list items? not much really
18. Where you grew up? podunk Oklahoma
19. The last thing you did? put the kids to bed
20. What are you wearing? jammies
21. Your TV? playing DVRd 90210
22. Your pets? Josie, the tooting French Bulldog
23. Your computer? laptop
24. Your life? is pretty much an open book
25. Your mood? relaxed
26. Missing someone? friends from various places we have lived
27. Your car? Volvo XC70
28. Something you’re not wearing? socks
29. Favorite store? Gap
30. Your summer? coming up pretty soon
31. Like(love) someone? yes
32. Your favorite color? cranberry red
33. Last time you laughed? today
34. Last time you cried? last time I was a "woman"

Manic Monday

Fleur-de-Lisa hosts the original Manic Monday here

What's the best summer job you ever had? babysitting...the mom would tip really well after having a glass or more at the end of the evening.

Tell me about the worst date you ever went on.: I had been teaching for a couple of years. There was this super cute student teacher. We did the standard first date: dinner and a movie. When he picked me up in this car that looked like its next stop should be the scrap yard...I really tried not to judge. He was just finishing up school. He walked around to open the door, kind of impressed. He was a coach, didn't seem like the type! Once he got in on his side, he said, "That door is a wee bit loose." uumm, excuse me...what do you mean loose, define loose. I kid you not, after the dinner on the way to the movie, the freaking door fell OFF! Now that I look back at it, it just sounds funny.

Do you think the age for a driver's license should be raised (currently 16 here in the U.S.)? Since mine are more than 10 years from the age, I really have no opinion. Granted most of my friends did get in wrecks within a few months of getting their permit.

future driver in 2019

future driver in 2020

pics randomly found on my Iphone from recently....the kids love taking pictures of themselves.

Friday Fill In

1. Apparently there's some sort of diva at Will's soccer game...she is modeling Husband's sunglasses. She was striking poses as I was trying to take pics of Will at his game.

2. Soccer on a sunny day is the best.

3. 2009 has had WAY TOO MUCH winter so far.

4. Moment I got sentimental.....Will's kindergarten registration this morning that was it.

5. For too long I've been waiting for spring.

6. I am not obsessed with my Iphone; I am not!

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to Will's soccer game, tomorrow my plans include more soccer and Sunday, I want to surf Etsy for some fun stuff....bet you thought I was going to say sleep in!

Friday fill in courtesy of the talented Janet...

Photostory Friday: Shake your tail feathers

This week I was able to chaperone a field trip to the zoo with Will's class. Just as we entered the zoo, we could hear a peacock....it was hooping and hollaring very close by. You can only imagine how startled eleven four and five year olds were when this beauty swooped down just in front of them. I, myself, didn't realize peacocks could fly! I was hoping he would fan his feathers. But he just walked on by, still rambling his distinct cry.

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

tuesday with tommie

Doing something a wee bit different for tuesday with tommie: The ABC’s of me…
A - Age: 40
B - Bed size: Queen, not nearly big enough when one kid or the other climbs in
C - Chore you hate: cleaning the shower
D - Dog's name: Josie
E - Essential start your day item: coffee with lots of creamer
F - Favorite color: cranberry red
G - Gold or Silver: platinum
H - Height: about 5'3"
I - Instruments you play(ed): clarinet
J - Job Title: domestic diva
K - Kid(s): 2 - Will and Livi
L - Last movie seen: Twilight
M - Mom's name: Ramona
N - Nicknames: tommie
O - Overnight hospital stay other than childbirth (if applicable): jaw surgery way back when

P - Pet Peeve: While in waiting areas, (like at gymnastics), people who have to talk super loud, like you are really interested in what they have to say.
Q - Quote from a movie: "Son, you got a panty on your head"
R - Right or Left Handed: Right
S - Scared of: the kids getting run over in a parking lot. I still make them hold my hand.
T - Time you wake up: 7 or when the kids wake up
U - Under the water or Up in the air:..under the water.

V - Vegetable(s) you dislike: brussel sprouts
W - Ways you run late: I rarely run late...but not setting the alarm would be a reason
X - X-rays you've had: do dental ones count?
Y - Yummy food you make: I can make some mean muffins.
not sure where Z went!!

borrowed from : Juliette at Wait 4 the News, my old TX neighbor who now lives in Maine

Manic Monday

Just another Manic Monday…

Describe to me your favorite lounging clothes. Believe it or not, the t-shirt pajama pants from Old Navy are super soft. They are too long for me, of course. So I usually just cut them off. They just roll up a bit and do not fray. Now, the flannel ones I do have to hem...

PS, you know it has been a good weekend, when most of the laundry on Monday morning is pajamas and outside play clothes! Let's just say, it was a good Monday today!

If you promised to never lie again in your lifetime, in what area would it be hardest to uphold the promise? I am a people pleaser, so this is a hard one. Probably along the lines of making an excuse to do something that I really don't have to do.

Give a one word answer to the question “why is life worth living”. Absolutely easy peasy one....one of the happiest days of my life: Husband coming home from his deployment

Friday fill in

1. Join me in a great afternoon of fun and sunshine.

2. Put a little sunshine and happiness in your day!

3. Happiness is seeing tulips along the walk around the neighborhood.

4. Dressing in her brother's swim suits and confused is how Livi dressed while we were washing my car this afternoon.

5. I'm waiting for spring to stay.

6. A glass of wine is hard to resist.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to veggie pizza with the family , tomorrow my plans include haircuts for the boys, yardwork, and just being outside in this gorgeous weather and Sunday, I want to sleep in & make some crab cakes!

Friday fill in courtesy of the talented Janet...

Photostory Friday: What Do You See

What do you see? Just a wee little candy that holds magical powers over the kids. I am so not above bribing them. These are the mini M&Ms. Yes, those tiny ones that barely register chocolate in my mouth. But for the kids, they are magic. Will and Livi both practically potty trained themselves using them. Once for pee pees, two for.....well...for two!

But this afternoon, the mini M&Ms were used in a sorting activitiy. Using the animal characters from one of my favorite children's books: Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?

Yeah, yeah...still making them work for those itty bitty pieces of chocolate.


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