Playback from Dec 2007

So, I have been reading older posts - what fun! I came across this and thought I'd post it again. It still fits my life to a "T".

What annoys you about the Christmas holidays?

I just completed a "Christmas Survey for your friends" e-mail, which I love to do. It's fun to give your opinion on some topics.

One of the questions was, "What is most annoying to you about the Christmas holidays?"

For me, it is the pressure to buy expensive, impressive or just plain more presents. I sometimes feel that I am such a simplistic person. I consider myself very content, and there is very little that I wish for or yearn for in this life that I don't already have.

I think, though, what I wish for most, is a simpler time.

I wish that our neighborhood could be like Mayberry; our family be like the Cleavers; our house filled with stories and singing rather than television and movies (ironically, how would I know about Mayberry or the Cleavers without TV? I know, I know...). While I am sure that I have idealized the periods just a bit, I still remember walking to my friends homes and riding my bike for just a little while after dark. I wonder if my kids will experience that.

Don't get me wrong - I wouldn't trade a hot shower for life 100 years ago. After all, that IS a lot to ask!

My children are not old enough to really appreciate what Santa is all about. But, when they are, I want them to enjoy the innocence of this tradition for as long as they can. Is there a way for them to want something and be satisfied at the same time? I'm sure they won't as children - for that is something I hopefully can teach them.

I hope this is something that I am ALREADY teaching them.

'Nuff said. (gotcha Randy Medlin)

Sleeping babies

Yesterday I spent a blissful hour rocking Brooks. He has not been much of a cuddler since he was a baby, and I can only count a few times that I have rocked him while he slept (since getting older). This was a wonderful time for me - knowing that I have so few of these times left.

This morning, a fever rose it's ugly head, and explained why he granted this rare siesta. I have started him on antibiotics today, hoping for some clearing by this weekend. Cousin Sophia will be here and we have some major playing to do!

Kate and I enjoyed our girl time today at church. Afterwards we went out to eat, and called it our girls date. She is just getting so big everyday. I don't like it.

Here are some funnies of late:

• (talking about her new bear, Spots) "Mama, Spots is not a boy or girl. Spots is just a bear."
• (while with Daddy learning to ride her new bike) "Daddy, God and Jesus are angry." - no further explanation.
• (working with workbench) "Mama, can you help me wrench it? I just can't wrench it!"
• (just talking) "Daddy, I poop for treats!"
• "Mama, Brooks is avergating (aggravating) me!"
• Brooks always says, "Thank you welcome"

Christmas kisses

Kate, give Brooks a kiss...



Now, Brooks, give Kate a kiss...

Christmas morning 2008

What a blessed morning we had, indeed!

Brooks got a Black and Decker work bench. Kate got a box of tools and a new bike. Well, the workbench was a hit. Both the kids have been playing with it non-stop. They really love the electric drill and electric screwdriver. They also got a play-dough set where we can make "pasketti" among other things.

They had a wonderful Christmas. What else could we ask for.

Thanks, Casey!

Here is our 2008 Christmas card!

My very talented sister put it together for us. I just love it!

Merry Christmas!

Have a Merry Christmas from our family to yours!

Revised, and finished ornament

So, I ended up adding some tensile to the inside of the ornament. I really liked it! I didn't have enough to completely stuff each one, so I added only a partial amount. I think it gives it some more pop without overwhelming it.

I also had picked up these tags at Walmart months ago. I had intended on putting a monogrammed letter, but on second thought, the year seemed more appropriate.

I may just have to make more of these next year, maybe to sell for some Christmas money...

Ornaments

So, I've had this idea of what I wanted to make for this year. But it has taken some trial and error to get the technique figured out.

I was able to find the really fine glitter at Michaels. It really makes a prettier polka dot. I also used some stick glue to make the dots.

Leah gave me the idea of using a paint pen to draw the letters on the ornaments. I had recently gotten an embroidery book with monogramming techniques - which I used to make my letters.

I am not sure if I will place a bow or not. What do you think? I had also thought about placing some silver tensile inside the balls to give it some texture. Any ideas?

What a sweet picture

Kate and Megan

These girls look so incredibly grown up in this picture!
They had a good time playing together in Mobile this Christmas.
We can't wait to see you again, Megan!

Pizza Pajama party with Santa

Last night our church hosted a party for the kids. It was a pizza pajama party! The kids all wore their pajamas and got to meet Santa. Most had the best time running around the room. Luckily I had a good day at work and was able to make it there on time. I got the kids matching pajamas at the Carters outlet in Pigeon Forge. I wish we had one down here!

I took SO MANY picture of the kids together, and not one had BOTH of the smiling at the same time.

Good Mama, bad Brooks.

Kate had a better smile with this Santa... Where is Brooks you say? He wasn't going to sit with Santa, not even for a sucker.

Well, it seems that all I post is funny things. Well, I'm just so glad to have funny things to post! :)

- Tonight, I decided to take the kids riding around to look at Christmas lights after church. There was fantastic display in one neighborhood. All of the sudden, Brooks exclaims, "Mama, wook! A fwag!" Yeah, that's what he noticed.

- On the way home I said, "When we get back to ___ (our town) I'm sure there will be more lights", to which Kate (unhappily) said, "Mama, we don't live in ___, we live in ALABAMA!"

- Brooks is always so silly in church. Maybe he gets this from his Pa and his Mama. Anyways, tonight during a rather lengthy closing prayer (as I am holding him), I open my eyes to him coming straight towards my face, tongue hanging out and about to L-I-C-K my face! I got tickled, to which he burst out laughing.

I am still smiling as I type this.

Christmas 2007

Look at this precious picture.

No kidding, 1 second later.

Back from Christmas in Mobile and... another funny!

We got in a little while ago from our weekend with Scott's family in Mobile. All of the cousins had a good time playing at Gran Gran and Paw Paw's house... with just a few fights... :) Oh, and there was the incident where Megan painted Kate's fingers with nail polish... :) (It's OK, cousin Megan... Kate didn't care).

As of now, the favorite presents from the grandparents are the cookie pillows. Both the kids went to bed with their pillow tonight. Scott got a beautiful assortment of UGA attire - which thrilled him! I got some cute Christmas plates, and fisherman Aubie, and some other things.

OK, so Kate has been on such a roll lately with her funnies:

While there, we all slept in the same room. Us in the bed, with Brooks in a pack-n-play and Kate on a pallet. Early this morning I felt some gentle scratching on my... um.... derriere. Thinking it was Scott, I pushed him to get him to stop. When it started AGAIN, I heard Kate whispering to me that she had lost her pillow. Oops........ Scott asked me why I "kicked" him (did I really "nudge" him that hard?) I told him I thought it was HIM, and had no idea it was HER!

The Itsy Bitsy Spider

OK, so this is another Kate funny that will make you laugh.

Last night, Scott was watching TV and eating supper (it had been a long day). All of the sudden, Kate tells him, "Daddy! Be still, there is a spider on your toe! Don't worry, I'll get it!". So she runs off to the bathroom, gets some toilet paper and proceeds to get the spider. Scott said he was too tired to even care or look, but he assumed she got it.

A few minutes later, she looked at his foot again, and said "Daddy! The spider is back!" This is when Scott looked down and saw....

The "spider" was actually the hair on his big toe.

Stubbornness runs in our family

I think that every family has a history of this. However, few can boast of having the Conway stubbornness. It drives Scott crazy when we talk about it, but the fact remains that I'm quite sure that it is the most stubborn of the stubborn genes ever created by God.

Which brings me to this post. Brooks. He as always been more strong willed than Kate. She, with some exception, is really easy going. Easy.

Brooks, however, is not.

He is the pickiest child EVER. He has whittled himself down to only a handful of things he will eat: hot dogs, pb&j, pizza, chicken nuggets, mandarin oranges, yogurt, french toast. That's about it. No cheese, doesn't really like milk (unless it's choc), no ice cream (won't even TRY it!), etc...

So, I have gotten stubborn. Tonight I made lasagna (a great recipe from our church's new cookbook, BTW). He won't touch it. He is crying for a hot dog. He has been crying for a while now. I even put him in the bathtub... I hope he will change his tune once he gets out.

But, I kinda doubt it.

I have got to get that book about raising strong willed children. I'm sure that there is some Conway blood in that author's past. Somewhere.

More pictures

Should have posted this photo earlier!

Gatlinburg, Cades Cove, 2008

Here it is!

So, here is my favorite picture that I have taken of my kids! (Allison, this is the big one!) I still cannot believe that I got this picture... and only about 15 minutes later Kate was crying from tiredness and "sick of taking pictures"...

I have tried to get our Christmas card posted, but it is coming up 4 really funky shades of green. I will keep trying.

I hope that your kiddo's pics have been as rewarding as mine!

A funny for Mimi

Today, Mom offered to watch the kids so that I could get some much needed Christmas shopping done. Brooks has been sick and I wasn't going to be able to get him out anyways... Kate wanted to go along at the last minute, so I obliged.

We were waiting in line to get lunch and Kate was getting a bit restless. She tried to undo the tie on my pants (lounge outfit) and I quickly told her to stop. Well, wouldn't you know, the very next question she let out was:

"Mama, what panties are you wearing today?"

My sweet Aunt Bill

My Great Aunt "Bill" died last night. She was my Grandaddy's older sister. This was a picture that I took of her at Grandmama and Grandaddy's 65th anniversary party. She was a feisty and sweet lady and we are going to miss her!

Funny faces and Candy Trees

I have tried to get pictures of Brooks running for quite a while. He really has the funniest faces when he runs. Scott hopes he outgrows this... HA!

Here is probably our only crafty project of the holidays... Mom did this with us when we were kids. We would decorate something (trees, bells, stars, stockings) with construction paper, then glue on candy. Each night we would get a piece of candy, and as the candy disappeared we knew that Christmas was closer and closer. We just loved this as children, and Kate and I had fun doing this today while Brooks was asleep.

By the way, we were at the dr's office this morning. Brooks started running a fever again last night. He now has an ear infection *sigh*. I hope he feels better soon.

Can you even believe the excitement on her face? (sure....)

Thanksgiving 2008

I anticipated that this Thanksgiving would not as nice as previous, because there were several family members that weren't coming up. But, I am happy to say that we had a wonderful time, ate some fabulous food and enjoyed catching up on each other's families. I think that Scott and I had the best time with my cousin Ashley and her husband Kevin. We enjoy them so much - even if it is only once a year...

Brooks started with fever on Thursday night, which continued through Friday night. Both the kids were coughing, but only Brooks is now. You know the kind... where they get so chocked that they gag. Bless him, it is no fun.

I have BUNCO tomorrow night, and I hope that we have fun. Christmas BUNCO is always a special treat!

Sorry that I have no better update than that. We have tried to have a relaxing weekend... and for the most part uneventful!

Patience

Dear Patience,

It seems that you are having a difficult time finding me these days. Perhaps it is because you have somehow lost my address... just in case, here it is: *********, ************, ***, ******* (if you can't read it, it is encrypted, but I'm sure that your computer capabilities will be able to decipher it.)

I have also wondered if you were hiding from me. I have lost so many juice cups... have you been hiding in there? Maybe you are under my daughter's bed. There are so many stuffed animals "sleeping" under there.

No, I bet you are hiding in our Christmas trees! There are so many pretty things there, and my children find themselves constantly touching this area. That's got to be it.

So, I implore you to find you way out of our Christmas trees and back into me. I am very scared of the thought of you hiding until after New Years! My kids would be so happy for you to make your presence known to me again! In fact, that's all I want for Christmas. I hope you aren't asking for some kind of ransom... we are in a recession this year and I would hate to use some of the kid's college savings to tempt you out.

If you could find it in your heart to return to us, our home will be blessed with happiness and gratitude!

Sincerely,

Our Family

Clockworks

My Dad had a write up in our local newspaper today! It is a great article and here is the link to the article, with an accompaning video. I'm so proud of my Dad!

Late night Walmart shopping

I'm sure that many of you mothers out there shop late nights at Walmart, for all the obvious reasons... the children are at home asleep and you can go by yourself! So, tonight I took off after Scott got home, because the grocery trip was thwarted earlier today by cranky children (well, mainly cranky Kate).

I was a Mom on a mission - dressed in a hip looking jogging suit, wearing a UPS hat that really didn't match. I was there to get this over with and get back home! Most of the people I encountered were families, and many were chatting with each other as if they were long lost neighbors.

Well, there was a single guy I noticed in the produce section. I noticed all he had in his cart was a pineapple. He probably was a wonderful person, but if I could be frank, he just wouldn't be my type, and I think I might know why he was single and late night shopping at Walmart... but I digress...

Later on I see him again, and he is just sauntering around with a pitifully filled cart. It seemed to be filled with a "dating list" of food. I couldn't help but snicker at what he had inside (and this is what I can remember):

• that lone pineapple
• Kashi go lean cereal (he needed it)
• a small bottle of wine
• Velveeta cheese (?)

The first casualty of the Christmas season

Well, here was the first fatality of this year. Not even a veterinarian could repair this damage (especially considering that I still haven't found the legs).

What a lovely little horse ornament. I collect Breyer ornaments, and I sure did like this one.

And, yes, I have put the treasured ones up higher. But, you have just so much upper space, right? So, my children got into T-R-O-U-B-L-E yesterday. I felt the fear of my other ornaments, that they could have a similar fate.

And, nobody else wanted to lose their legs.

Guess what? Brooks had a normal poop today!!!!

"The Nutcracker Suite"

We had a fantastic time at our "spay day".

Our under the radar service project was spaying/neutering 27 animals for a local organization. It was fantastic fun - the girls had them down and ready, and Dr. B and I rotated between 3 tables for 3 hours. We also had volunteers to cart them back and forth. My back was a little tired from leaning over that time, but how fun is that? We did a lot of people a lot of good, and it felt good in return.

Afterwards, Scott pulled out my Christmas trees and I got them up. I had forgotten that last year I had purchased 2 after Christmas on sale at Lowes, so I put both of them up. I thought I would not put up our big one this year, but alas, I miss it! So, that one is going up next week! And, how could I forget, that this was the first year that Kate really could help me out - and she did a great job!

Then we were at the Weekley's to celebrate Meredith's 16th birthday! She is very excited to get that drivers licence - oh how I remember those days.

Today has been a downer day for me. Lots of reasons, none of which matter much. These days come and go, and I'm thankful that there aren't as many as there have been in times past. Anyway, I'm sure that things will look brighter tomorrow.

Say that a little quieter....

Tonight at Chickalay, Kate said her prayer a little too loud:

"Dear God, thank you for Mama, Daddy, Brooks and Me. Thank you for our food. And, please help Brooks' diarrhea go away really soon. In Jesus' Name, Amen."

It's a Wednesday

Well, not much got done at our house today. I woke up with a headache that hasn't stopped all day. We went to the barn this morning and saw Reed, then we picked a WHOLE BUNCH of pecans for me to crack. The kids loved it.

Brooks had a dr's appt this afternoon for a well baby 2 year. Since he still had diarrhea from last week (8 days now), I thought we'd get that checked out too. He took care of that by having a toxic explosion at the office. That was the worst smelling diaper ever. Of course, it got on his pants...

So, by the time we got out, it was almost 5pm, and that wasn't enough time to get home, get a bath, eat and go back to town for church. And, since I didn't have a change of clothing for him, I couldn't just go to Mom and Dad's. So we are back here at home.

I have a service project to help with on Saturday. I'll tell you more later....

Christmas pics outtakes... Take 2!

OK, so my first attempt didn't work! Honestly, Allison, I can't wait for you to see my perfect picture - because I know you are as crazy about that great shot like I am. You too, Rebecca! Anyway, the "perfect" picture is being saved :) for the Christmas card... but here are some that didn't make the final round...

Way tired of picture taking at this point (really, just way tired!)

Halloween pics

Kate was a clown. She wore the same outfit that my Nana made for my Dad when he was a little boy! Mom made a fancy collar for her and topped her off with red ribbons in her pigtails. She was just adorable!

Brooks was a UPS driver, just like his Daddy! He carried around a UPS box to collect his candy in - a pumpkin just wouldn't do! He got so many compliments and he was a trooper to wear that hat all night!

Cades Cove

The mountains were at their finest this year. We got to go to Cades Cove and take a trip back into time. The mountains there are just breathtaking - and we all have memories that we'll cherish!

I wish these pics could convey the beauty we saw. It was just wonderful!

Tears of joy

I didn't cry when my children were born. Not that I wasn't the happiest that I had ever been - but the emotions didn't come out that way. I didn't cry when we got married. I cried only afterwards, seeing my Dad crying his tears of joy. But, early Friday morning, I cried my first tears of joy that I ever remember having.

After finishing a wonderful week at Pigeon Forge, Scott and I packed most of our stuff up in anticipation of coming home on Friday. I was ready. I love vacations, but as Scott knows, I get homesick pretty easily and I was ready to see our home and sleep in our wonderful bed.

Little did I know that there were other plans in store for me. I woke up around 1:30am with diarrhea and vomiting. Well, this continued until 5am - the last time I vomited - and I told Scott I was ready to go to the hospital. After getting lost on the way (thanks, GPS) we got there and thankfully, there was no one waiting. I remember sitting in the triage room and I could hardly think. Scott said I was white as a sheep. I kept asking for something for the nausea and they said they would, as soon as they got an IV started.

Well, the first guy tried twice and said my veins kept blowing. He apologized and said he would get someone else to try - much to my relief. Another nurse came in and she got it in the first try. I was so relieved that tears just started running down my cheeks. She said, "Oh, Honey, why are you crying? Do you just feel that bad?" I just shook my head "yes" but I knew I was crying because I knew I was about to get some relief from my nausea.

I just knew I had food poisoning. But, the ER doc said that there were 5 other people there with the same signs/symptoms. Something nasty was going around. We had eaten at Cracker Barrel the night before - and I ate 1 pancake. I told Scott that if he mentioned the word "pancake" to me again, I would vomit on him. But, I don't think it was that.

Having to be out of the condo at 10:00 and we didn't get discharged from the hospital until 10:30am, we were left with a dilemma. Feeling as badly as I did, we decided to get a hotel and stay one more night. I was in no mood to get into a car for a 6-7 hour car ride. It was good that we did, because Scott came down with the same symptoms that afternoon. He went to a private practice and got meds for himself. We both slept most of the night (except for getting up for diarrhea) and handled the kids pretty well... YES, WE HAD BOTH KIDS THIS ENTIRE TIME. Luckily they haven't gotten it.

So, after paying way too much for a hotel night's stay, we left around 9:30am on Sat morning to come home. That was the fastest ride ever - we made it home in 6 hours flat. I have slept most of the time since getting here. Scott is faring better - since he only had the diarrhea part of the virus.

So, blog buddies, I'm so glad that this weekend was a bad one to meet for lunch - and I'm really glad that no one showed up! I am dreading work tomorrow, mostly because I am so tired! We'll see what happens... I plan to get you caught up on Halloween pics and mountain pics soon.

Blog lunch!

Our next blog lunch is this coming Saturday at 11:00am at Eastside Grille. I haven't heard if anyone is interested in coming, so please let me know if you would. I don't want to be there by myself! :) If we cancel, the next meeting will be in January...

Piegon Forge update

We are here! The color is beautiful - but not quite there yet. It has been fun watching the trees turn more color every day. The ride up here was fantastic, thanks to the DVD player that we borrowed. That thing is incredible!

The kids have really been cranky so far this year. They have their moments of happiness and more moments of pitiful. Brooks WOULD NOT sit in Santa's lap today - so Kate had her picture by herself. :(

Mom, Kate and I did marathon shopping this afternoon! I got some great deals! Tomorrow we are hopefully going to enjoy some of the outside. The weather has been FANTASTIC! Low 70's and low 50's. Couldn't be better. We are also going to dinner with Dr. Bartley and Ginger tomorrow night - we miss them so much.

This computer is so slow - I will check up on blogs after getting home. Please pray for our country tomorrow. At this point, I feel like our country needs more prayers than ever.

See ya'll next week!

We are leaving for the Mountains of Pigeon Forge in the morning... looking forward to a week of vacation! I will be catching up on my blogging from there (I hope...) but until next time - you guys have a wonderful week!

Have you ever realized how much God watches over us?

I haven't blogged about this because I wanted to be able to dedicate the time and just the right thoughts to this post. Don't worry - nothing bad is coming!

Many of you know, and some don't - that Scott works for UPS. There are hundreds of employees at his hub, and although he has been there for 12 years, he had yet to achieve the job security of full time status.

For the first 9 years, Scott worked part-time, at night. He also worked day jobs to make up for the difference. When Kate was born, I so wanted to stay at home with her. We knew that until he started driving the package cars, that wouldn't be an option. Wouldn't you know that the week she was born, he was called to start cover driving. This meant 40+ hours a week, day work, and I could stay at home.

So, for 3 1/2 years now he has been cover driving (filling in for other drivers). News trickled down that they were taking 3 more cover drivers for full time status. Scott was #4. We had both decided that it would just take a little longer. Then, Scott ran into his manager at the grocery store. He told Scott "Congratulations" - that he had made full time. We had no idea! His manager said he didn't either - he thought they were only going to take 3 people, not 4.

Since he went full-time (guarantee him 40 hrs a week), most of the other cover drivers haven't been working. The economy has affected the volume so that the extra drivers aren't needed. Had he not been promoted, Scott would be working at nights again, and I would be working more at the clinic.

And, to boot, I just got a raise at my job.

Our family is so thankful that God is taking care of us. We try to impress that on our children, too.

My question - how has God recently blessed you?

Uh, what's your Manager's name?

I'm glad that the kids are visiting Gran Gran and Paw Paw in Mobile. But, I really miss them. I haven't gotten to enjoy them much for the last 2 weeks - between working and being sick.

And, tell me this wouldn't make you mad:

I am at BaM buying some books for X-mas. At the checkout, this cashier (I won't name him, but I know his name) asked me if I had a club card. I politely said, "no". He then asked me if anyone had explained how the card worked, and again I replied, "Yes". I really thought that this would work. I mean if I'm interested, I'm interested, right? He then proceeds into this l-o-n-g spiel of "yada yada yada, save money... yada yada yada... special deals..." He gets to the end and again asks if I wanted to get the card. I said, again, "No thanks."

Then he chuckles a bit and says, "Wow, I guess you must be one of those lucky people that has money trees growing in their back yard."

Say what?

If I hadn't spent 30 minutes there already,
If I had 2 presents that I knew that I couldn't find anywhere else,
If I had time when the kids were home to come back (how do you pick out a book to read with children with you?)...

Just rubbed me wrong.

Then I just thought of all those snappy comebacks I wish I were talented enough to come up with:

1. No, I don't have money trees. I just have an honest job and work hard for my money.
2. I went to school a long time to make the money I do, and I use it wisely.
3. Yes, if I bought one of those club cards, I would be tempted to spend more money there than I do. I would just rather not.
4. Do you treat all of your customers that rudely when they politely refuse a request?
5. Uh, what is your Manager's name?