Happy Birthday Lucy!

Today was my sister in law's birthday-- Melissa. But we call her Lucy. For my blog friends that don't follow-- Lucy is IV's mommy and is married to my brother. Poor girl!

We had Lucy's birthday party on Sunday and did a combined Birthday and Superbowl party. Her BFF Karen made her a football birthday cake, Mom made her a Key Lime cake--and we had tons of food for the evening. Ironically, the guys ate and fell asleep and it was just us girls watching the Superbowl. Which is fine because their whining and yapping is really distracting (haha)

Spencer and I gave Lucy makeup for her birthday. She is 32 and has never owned make up. On the cruise, I did her make up every night and she loved it; so now, she has her own. I even splurged and bought her MAC.

I have been asked in three separate emails in the past week about IV. IV is my nephew. They live 1/2 mile from us and I do not have custody of him, he is just always with us. He and Spencer think they are brothers instead of cousins. They are 15 months apart. We call him IV (rhymes with give) because he is the 4th-- the roman numeral IV. My brother is the third, my dad is a jr... you get it. Yes his hair is cotton white and yes he is TOTALLY LOUD and goofy. He and Spencer are opposites personality wise-- Jimmy and Lucy are going to have their hands full with him!

I don't want to talk about it

Yeah-- so we didn't show up with our A game. Games like that are not good for migraines or blood pressure! (or trying to control your language...)
We'll see you at Cameron--and next time we're bringing Lawson.
My little guy was TRUE BLUE on game night as well. Game Jersey-check! Mascot that plays the fight song- check! Homemade anti-dook signs-- double check!
Spencer was MAD that I made him go to bed before half time. He thinks he should get a bedtime extension for ACC games. If it wasn't a school night I would give in....
Oh well-- let the snarky comments from my Dook friends begin-- I can take it! (Cause you know if we would have won I'd be talking junk....)

Happiness is...a Happiness Pin

so I stole a line from Ziggy for my blog title. Does Ziggy even exist anymore? That's a google for another time...
I just wanted to share a picture of my new pin! My friend, Kim, saw this pin and knew it would be perfect for my collection. I think it is so pretty! I love it when my friends see pins and think of me. Thanks Kim!

Looks just like Jimmy

I was tagged, twice!

You gotta love being tagged! It gives you something to chat about on those lazy cold afternoons when you have nothing else better to talk about! Thanks Georgina and Stacy.....

You must post the rules before you give your answers.
You must list one fact about yourself for each letter of your middle name.
Each fact must begin with that letter.
If you don't have a middle name, just use your maiden name.
After you've been tagged, you need to up-date your blog with your middle name and answers.
At the end of your post, you need to tag one person for each letter of your middle name. (Be sure to leave them a comment telling them they've been tagged and need to read your blog for details).

Ok, I am lucky I have a short middle name!

A - Always has a "to do" list in my purse
N - Never has enough scrapbook supplies or books
N - Needs more time
E - Eager for my next vacation!

According to the cyber rules, I must tag 4: Oscar, Kim, Leslie and Lesle. But I haven't checked their blogs, so they may have already done this...

Lost!

YES!!!! Lost is back on! To my Lost fanatic friends-- let me know what you thought about tonight's episode. I didn't catch this but a friend emailed it-- when you pause your DVR it is Christian Shephard in Jacob's house!
Did you notice Charlie's hand said "they need you" instead of "not Penny's boat" when Hurley saw him at the jail? Yea, most everyone caught that one but I thought I would mention it. We have a Ana Lucia tie in now to Hurley. I want to know who was the new Parachutist. I want to know why Danielle told Ben that he was not Alex's father. Is Kate pregnant? Did you play at find815.com? Interesting!

Still my angel

Spencer had "monsters in the closet" issues tonight and ended up falling asleep on my bed this evening. I don't think I can carry him upstairs back to his bed-- he has gotten so big! I just couldn't help snapping a photo-- he still looks like a little angel when he sleeps. It makes my heart warm!

She is so stinkin cute...

More pictures of the puppy! Spencer loves her eyes-- they are so black that they look purplish blue!

Puppy Love

Check out Little Stella Shanaynay! She has tiny, little sharp teeth; really sharp little claws; stanky puppy breath but she is SO SO SO loving! Last night, she set the record for whining and peeing in the floor.
Isn't she cute?? Spencer and IV have had the best weekend!

Cruise Pictures!

I'm back!

I'm back from the best vacation ever! I missed Spencer like crazy but otherwise, I had THE PERFECT vacation! Stay tuned... I am going to load some pictures ASAP from my cruise!

I'm a cool mom

I was cleaning out my son's backpack tonight and I found 2 lunch bags from where I pack his morning snack each day. I asked him why he didn't throw his trash away and he told me that he kept them because of the pictures. He always takes his snack bag to after-school care and he and his friends draw whatever I had drawn that day. He smiled and said he loves it when I draw on his snack bag and that he thinks I'm cool. Did you hear that? I'm cool!
Okay-- I know I suck at drawing. But to him, it is cool. And this will probably be *the only* time in his life that he will think his mom is cool, so let me have this small glimpse of glory.
The funny thing is, he is keeping goofy pictures of Christmas trees, cross-eyed killroys and animals from the Ed Emberley books-- it's not like they are works of art. But as long as we have this little "connection" on his snack bag, I am happy!

Mark it.

Today, January 08, 2008 Spencer officially became a Webkinz addict. I had to take him to an appointment and the entire way home all he could talk about was getting home and getting back online. I had to pull him off of the computer tonight kicking and screaming. I walked back to see if he was brushing his teeth and getting ready for bed and the little stinker had sneaked back online to the Webkinz arcade! Those kinz bucks are like kiddie crack....

I have a challenge--

I have a challenge for my friend Kim: She must get published on LOLcats this year! This site cracks me up--and Kim's crazy cats plus her photography is a surefire combination. All right Kim-- the gauntlet is thrown-- I expect a picture of at least one of your cats to appear on this site saying something funny in a thick accent soon!

Productive Weekend

I got a lot done this weekend! I got a ton of stuff boxed up for Goodwill. I got Spencer's room finished-- He now has a total Tar Heel room! (that was a family effort!) I got a bunch of cleaning, sorting and organizing done. But now I am sore and tired.

Spencer was very excited about the room! He scored two goals this weekend (indoor soccer) and his Barnes and Nobles order came with the Ed Emberley books. He absolutely LOVES these books (Big Thanks to Kim for suggesting them!) Actually, I love these books, too! I think I am going to order another set for IV's birthday.

Crazy Conversations today!

Ever have one of those days where everything is funny?

I started today off with a package from my friend, Kim. In the package full of awesome gifts, she accidentally included one McDonalds napkin. For some reason, it cracked me up. Everything in the care package was thoughtful, had purpose, was intended for a reason...and then this napkin. I really wish it would have been a Wendy's napkin because those are yellow and much prettier....

Then my friend Amy was doing the sweet Mommy thing and bragging about how her young child is recognizing numbers and adding at such an early age. I remember how analytical Spencer was as a toddler, how he would sort things before he could even sit up on his own and how I thought he was Mensa material.... fast forward to this morning-- I walk in the kitchen and there he is picking his nose and eating his cereal with an ice cream scoop. Lovely, huh?

At lunch today, my friend Georgina in England posted about the police coming to her house to fill out a report on a stolen car. We were giving her a hard time, asking her if they were hot and single, etc. And she posted back that they had tea and "cuddled her kittens"-- well we automatically thought "cuddled her kittens" was a quaint English expression for something dirty... but no, they literally cuddled her kittens. Seems they already had boyfriends...

Hope you are having as much fun today as we are!

wow...just WOW!

I'm speechless. Isn't this the prettiest pin? As a pin collector, I have only window shopped Jay Strongwater pins--never bought one. Val just sent this as a surprise--and boy did it. Val said a turtle represents prosperity--so she wanted me to start 2008 right. Thanks Val--Luv ya bunches chickie! Now I am planning my wardrobe around this beautiful pin....

No Show Snow

The weather dude promised us snow flurries today-- and we didn't get any. Spencer was VERY disappointed. When we watched the news, the mountains got lots of snow, Spencer wanted to make a road trip... and bring a sled. Not gonna happen little buddy. The chance of Mommy driving TO THE snow is about as good as a Nigerian businessman making me millions in an investment opportunity.

But hey, the good news is that the Carolina Classic is back at Wendy's. Oh wait-- that is bad news-- they can't be good for ya. But damn they're good!

Congrats to my girl Val-- she was laid off and rehired in the same month. I think that is a record! I am very selfish when I say I am TOTALLY glad she doesn't get her severance package but instead gets to keep on working with MOI!

Spencer and I played TMNT board game tonight-- he kicked my butt! Since Christmas, we have played games just about every night: Checkers, Connect Four, Littlest Pet Shop, Sorry, Life, etc. Sunday, we put together a SpongeBob Krusty Krab Lego kit-- it took 2 hours! Spencer was all over it and kept correcting me--stupid Lego's. No wonder those things are so expensive-- they come in a million pieces and the instructions are over 50 pages. Not a "quick" activity! But a good distraction until he can get a little bit of snow....

Happy 2008!

Happy New Year to my family and friends! Spencer and I hope all of you are blessed with health and happiness this year. Our New Years Day was spent running errands, shopping and general piddling--didn't get anything done-- but that is normal for me!
My friend Paula from down under is in the middle of a heat wave-- I just can't imagine Christmas in the heat! It has been 43C (109-110F) the past two days for her-- Santa is supposed to be bundled up and we have snowman ornaments and all of our carols are about winter... I am such a narrow minded American-- The whole world revolves around my view--hahah! Thank goodness Paula can educate me on what happens on her side of the world!
Somehow I was launched in the middle of a virtual smackdown with my Scrapbook community-- it was all in fun-- but *I did win* (Yeah Take that! Michelle!)
Spencer and I looked through all of our Christmas cards tonight and I think we got more this year than ever before-- you guys are wonderful! And so many of you sent special cards to Spencer-- he thinks he is so cool when he gets mail! I have to send a special shout out to my friend Christine in Charleston. She sent Spencer a funny Dog card (which cracked him up!) and let him know that gingerbread IS NOT dog biscuits. Too funny!
Okay-- I'm off to make my "to do" list. You guys know I have something pretty big coming up, right? I am totally psyched!

Meet Chewy

How could I forget to introduce Chewy??? Jimmy and Melissa gave IV a chinchilla for Christmas. IV named him Chewy-- and the little booger is ALWAYS hungry. I accidentally gave him too many raisins-- I had no idea he could only have one a day. He was hanging on the cage and BEGGING, doing little flips for me, ..... so I kept feeding him. Oops.
He is really soft but isn't all that cuddly. And it is really unfortunate that his turds look EXACTLY like his food pellets, but he seems to know the difference--ha ha. Spencer and IV want to "play" with him but Chewy is still a little shy-- and fast as lightening. I think he needs to get used to all the noise and his new home!

Happy Christmas!

Spencer put out cookies and milk, left food and apples for the reindeer, put on his new Christmas jammies, said his prayers and went to sleep like a good boy Christmas Eve. I, on the other hand, stayed up half the night working on "things." It was worth every second-- he was so happy Christmas morning! He was excited and couldn't "land" on any one gift for more than 2 seconds!
My favorite part of the morning was when he stopped unwrapping his gifts midway through his big 'ol stack of presents. He ran upstairs to his room and brought down a bag of gifts my dad and brother helped him buy. The first one I unwrapped was a beautiful scarf and Spencer was almost giddy to watch me open my presents-- there aren't many 7 year olds that would stop unwrapping presents and get excited to see his mom unwrap a scarf.
The rest of the day was filled with lots of family fun and traditions. I, of course, got tons of pictures! Mom and Dad got me a new computer--this one is dying a slow and painful death. I need to get all my photos off of this one ASAP and then perform an exorcism. My new PC rocks, but I HATE HATE HATE Vista. Speaking of photos, check out Spencer in his cute Christmas Jammies, Mom and Dad, and me and my buddy: Drunk Julie.

Dashing through the...city

We are pretty lucky that most of our family live within a 30 minute drive--so today was Holiday on the Highway day. We dropped presents off for neighbors, friends, family/cousins, godparents, and Nana Becky. I love this picture with his cousins! Christmas Day may be State RED but looking at this picture Christmas Eve is all CAROLINA BLUE baby!

The most wonderful time of the year...

Who would have imagined.... Christmas Spirit came in a green Volvo today. I got a call from my Organizational Manager asking to drop off some donations for my Mobile Meals route recipients. She (and her family) drove all the way from Charlotte (at least 90 minutes each way) and brought me 14 bags of wonderful items that my Mobile Meals folks will truly appreciate. My route has several recipients who, after paying for their utilities and medicine, have no disposable income and are in poor health. Senior Resources helps with food and driving them to doctor appointments, etc. but some things you don't think about are actually luxuries to them: lotion, warm socks, slippers, lip balm, cookies, scarves, hats, robes, toothbrushes, etc. She organized an entire team drive to support these folks and I am just so impressed! Nothing fills your heart like being part of something wonderful.

Ho-Ho-Hold the phone!

Guess who called Spencer tonight??? Santa! I was really busy wrapping presents so Spencer answered the phone for me and it was Mr. Claus himself! He knew ALL about Spencer. He talked with him about his teachers, his class, his cousins, Nana and Boppa, which presents he wants, he even knew that Mommy has told Santa that under NO CIRCUMSTANCES is Santa to bring Spencer a puppy. Santa had a few special requests himself: he wants chocolate milk with his sugar cookies this year--and Rudolph wants an apple.

At first, Spencer was embarrassed and shy; but a couple minutes into the conversation he was delighted! Santa was awesome and he sure made my little guy happy!

So... we made a gingerbread house, had dinner, got a bubble bath, and was having hot chocolate and watching Frosty the Snowman when Santa calls up-- was this a great evening or what?

Gingerbread Mess

Spencer and I built a Gingerbread house this evening. I bought a kit for us, cause they had to be idiot proof, right? Well I showed them!

First of all, you have to have hands of steel to successfully squeeze that thick, gloopy, white cement they call "icing." They might as well call it candy glue.
One of our little gingerbread men was already broken when I opened the box, so Spencer decided to eat him. One bite in, he spit it out and thought I had tricked him into eating a dog biscuit. I could NOT convince him otherwise. If you see my son, please let him know gingerbread IS NOT dog food and Mommy was telling the truth.

We managed to build the house and Spencer decorated it with lots of candy-- it was fun! but... just after I snapped this picture, the roof slid off and collapsed. SO just in case you are wondering, the tensile strength of gingerbread icing is 15 gumballs and 4 spree.

On the naughty list!

Santa needs to put tech support on the Naughty list! I have been trying to recover files for work (on my FAVORITE project no less!) for hours and hours now! It's like beating your head against a brick wall.... You know I can't get my Fa-La-La on until I get this fixed!!!

Free Rice Addict

Have you see the Free Rice Site?
You can help battle world hunger by testing your vocabulary. It is a fun game that as you "win" you earn grains of rice for the United Nations. (The advertisers on the site donate the rice.) It's kind of addictive...
Go to the site: http://www.freerice.com

Celebration Station

We met Gena, Destiny and Steven tonight at Celebration Station for a mini-holiday party for the kids. They burned through game tokens much faster than Celebration Station can cook a pizza! The kids had a blast-- Spencer could barely eat a slice of pizza with the distractions of games, presents, rides and prizes! Gena and I decided that this was an easy play date for the kids and we are going to plan another one again soon!

Cherubs

Spencer and IV had their Christmas program at Church tonight. All the kids were fantastic! Kelley does an amazing job with them! Spencer cracked us up tapping his hands to the beat while they were still in his pockets! My pictures were horrible...between being too far away and the lighting-UGH!
Besides the bad pictures, everything else was great. The entire family was there-- we all had supper together at the church and then watched the Christmas program. At the end of the play, Spencer and IV RAN off the stage for big hugs-- they were SO proud of themselves!

Uh oh!

Spencer and IV both received letters from the North Pole today and ironically they said the same thing--- Santa has checked the "GOOD" list and their names weren't on there! Santa said he will check it again next week (because he always checks it twice!) to see if they have been good!

IV made sincere promises to Jimmy that he was definitely going to be good so he would get presents. My poor, sensitive Spencer cried. I am positive Santa did NOT mean for the letter to upset him-- just to motivate him to behave-- but he was so disappointed that Santa thought he had been bad that he was just heartbroken. I felt so sorry for him!

After a short phone call to IV, Spencer felt much better about it and will make sure he ends up on the Good List.

Croppin' instead of Shoppin'

I have a mound of should haves (should have worked, should have cleaned, should have done laundry, really should have Christmas shopped, should have wrapped gifts, should have baked, etc.) but instead I cropped this weekend. I had SO MUCH ELSE I should have been doing, why didn't I feel guilty?

This is one of my favorite layouts from this weekend. I got a package of the Basic Grey holiday undressed chipboard and "Peace" looked almost sarcastic on a page with Spencer and IV.... since we all know just how loud the two of them are together!

Kitty Kitty

Spencer used both of his Build a Bear birthday gift certificates tonight to make an orange cat (Baxter, of course) and dressed him as Puss in Boots from Shrek. SO yes, he made a cat and then proceeded to dress him as a cat, cause that's how he rolls.

We don't normally go out on a school night, but he was really down last night and I made him a promise that we could spend his birthday certificates tonight as long as we didn't stay out late. I'm not sure if he had a post-birthday and vacation let down or if losing his grandfather and our family pet in the same week caught up with him or if he just needed extra hugs. I'm not complaining though, I'm just glad he is still small enough to hold!

He also got new Heelys tonight. I will probably regret that purchase.

On the way to the mall tonight, I put the radio on the "all Christmas" station and the 80's fundraiser song for Africa "Do they know it's Christmas" came on. Man! that is a depressing holiday song when you have to try to explain it to a little kid! I just had to change the subject with him--he's too young for that burden. You know, they would never get that many artists in a room now days. No one can go anywhere without their entourage, plus all the feuds, etc. Sad, huh?

So, besides being slammed at work, I have a holiday party this week, indoor soccer registration, need to exchange Spencer's indoor soccer shoes for a different size and I HAVE GOT TO FIND TIME to buy Spencer new pants. We ran out of time at the mall tonight. We are down to two pair of jeans and he has NOTHING to wear to church! All of a sudden, none of his pants fit!

Happy Birthday Spencer!!

Happy Birthday Spencer! I can't believe my "baby" is 7 years old today! We had a great costume party today and we had a big inflatable jumpy with a slide - all the kids had a blast! For dinner tonight, Spencer chose HOOTERS...because he likes owls. Seriously, that's what he said.

Goodbye Norm

I had to say goodbye to my Norm today. He was the best little fur buddy you could ever want. I had 15 wonderful years with my little guy- but his poor little body gave out. I will miss him so much but I am sure there is a warm spot in kitty heaven for him.

Disney Vacation!

We're back from vacation! Spencer and IV had a WONDERFUL time at Disney- we all did! I have to admit, I am whipped. I need a vacation from my vacation. We spent Saturday at Magic Kingdom, Sunday at MGM, Monday at Universal, Tuesday at Island of Adventure, Wednesday at Animal Kingdom, Thursday at Epcot and Friday at SeaWorld. Everyday was non-stop fun and I have about a thousand pictures to prove it!

Spencer and IV are over 48 inches now and could ride most of the big rides-- little dare devils rode EVERYTHING they were tall enough to get on! They love the roller coasters but their favorites were the water rides where they could get wet (my least favorite!) We had beautiful weather everyday -- we lucked up!

I am working on my scrapbook from this trip, so be warned, I am going to make you look at it if you come over !!!

Girls Weekend Away

We had another girls weekend away at the beach. A long weekend of Christmas shopping, lounging, and fun! My friend, Dee and I had our picture taken with Surfin' Santa--we were at the beach and the money went to a local charity so we decided it was ok to look goofy!

On a sad note, keep Spencer's Grampa Clarence in your thoughts and prayers. He is very sick right now.

As he shouted out with glee

To celebrate his great report card, I took Spencer to Build-A-Bear tonight to get the Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer he has wanted since the catalog came out last month. Spencer had picked out the outfit, sound, collar, etc. so this was our FASTEST trip to Build-A-Bear ever! The sound module plays the Rudolph song and of course the nose lights up! This kid LOVES Christmas!

Finally!

Spencer finally tied his own shoes today!!! For the past year or so we have been trying to get him to learn how; but he gets frustrated so easily. Dad spent the past couple of days working with him and then last night we practiced over and over-- He finally got the perfect bow! He spent most of the evening tying IV's shoes for him...it was so sweet!

I did WHAT??!!! on November 4????

I put up my Christmas tree. That's right. You heard me. Don't judge me Earl! Spencer has begged for a week to put up the tree-- it is very important to him this year. I pick and choose my battles and this one I decided not to push back-- if it was this important to him, then I could put the tree up a few weeks earlier than normal. He was SO EXCITED. He orchestrated the entire evening-- he picked out new ornaments, he chose dinner (Papa Johns Pizza), he invited the family over--- my little guy had already made up his mind and there was no stopping him!
I have always LOVED Christmas, so I am thrilled that he has inherited this appreciation for the season. Getting ready for bed tonight, he reminded me that we need to get book presents for him to win playing "hide the pickle ornament" and he wants to make Christmas cookies with me for my Mobile Meals route folks... he is really in the Spirit! I love this little guy so much-- he can make you totally decorate the house a month early--while you are still snacking on Halloween candy-- and actually feel good about it!

I was tagged...

Robyn (aka Where's Jelly?) tagged me to post a question and tag 3 people. Robyn's question was where I would like to travel. Her question was great since that is something I have really been thinking about lately!
My question...Which magazines do you subscribe to?

When I was getting the recycling together yesterday, I realized I have a slight magazine addiction: Reader's Digest, Taste of Home, Simple and Delicious, Parents, Working Mother, Entertainment Weekly, Family Circle, The Week, Ladies Home Journal, Redbook, Creating Keepsakes, Scrapbooks Etc, Ranger Rick,...Okay- that last one is Spencer's so it shouldn't count against me!

..and I tag...Lesle, Kim and Leslie F!

Halloween 2007!

We had perfect Halloween weather this year! Warm enough to just wear a costume without jackets but a cool evening to feel like fall. Fall Festival at the church was fantastic-- Games, Hot Dog Supper, Cake Walk, Costume Contest, Hay Ride and Trunk or Treat. Spencer and IV rode the Hay ride three times this year!

Spencer and IV also had a Halloween party at their after school care. Spencer dressed as Dale Jr and IV as Jeff Gordon. For Fall Festival, Spencer switched into his Optimus Prime Costume--but he hated the mask. I tried to warn him....

Spencer received LOTS of goodies, of course!

Up for the Big Stinking Challenge!

Well the Jax girls came through... Check out their perfect Spam-o-lantern! I dared them, and they braved the slime and the smell. Do they know how to party or what?
Three big redneck cheers for Val, Jen and Christine! haha!