Surprise Surprise

This past weekend I headed down to Atmore, AL with a car full of some of my dearest friends to celebrate Kristin's birthday.

I came back realizing a few things:

1. I have one of the greatest group of friends ever. Cheesy, but true.

2. I cannot hang like I did when I was in my twenties. It is Tuesday evening and I am finally feeling good again. I've known this fact for quite some time, but the realization really set in this weekend.

3. I need to be on the left side of a group shot to look decent in a picture.

4. I need a hair cut. My hair is starting to seem as long as Crystal Gayle's.

5. The breakfast buffet at 2am is a good and bad thing.

6. You must be wearing shoes in a casino to be allowed to eat the buffet.

7. Gambling is just not my sport. I didn't play a single slot machine and had no desire to do so.

8. There is no point in bringing my camera (or two) to events like this. I end up taking only a handful of pictures if any. Here are the few that I did take:

Kristin opening up the scrapbook we gave her.

Betsy, Lindsey, Holly, Crystal Gayle, April, Leah, and Susan

Kristin playing bartender:

It was a fun weekend and now I am more excited than ever for our Austin 2010 trip in 4 weeks.

What a Difference a Year Can Make

Sometimes I sit back and am in awe of how big Thomas has gotten. I was flipping through some pictures on my old camera and found this little gem. I can't believe that was a year ago (almost to the day), it feels like yesterday.

He's still a cheeky little thing and so much fun.

He's needs to slow down on this growing up thing. I can hardly handle it.

Someone got his ears lowered

They day has finally come to tame the do. I felt like the hair was getting a little out of control and taking on a life of it's own.

Thomas didn't seem to mind one bit, but I know Easter is right around the corner and I want him look the most handsome.

We took him to Sweet and Sassy in Patton Creek, which is a salon geared towards children. He started out doing okay, but once we strapped him into the seat it got kind of ugly.

He was given a sucker (his first) and that distracted him for a bit.

The cutting began and Thomas did not know what to think.

It was taking a sucker and book now.

The hairstylist asked how I wanted it cut. The only thing that came to mind was keep it long enough to put in a ponytail and add some layers. Wait, this is for a little boy not me. I've never had to decide on a boy haircut, so I just told her to shape it up and shape it up is what she did.

Thomas ran around the salon like a dog that just got a bath. He loved climbing up on the stiletto shoe chair. Next hair cut we might need to take him some place with a little less sass.

Here are some before and after shots:

With wings.

Wingless

I am hoping that it will still curl up a little bit.

One more milestone down, but there are many many more to go.

What's been going on?

What have I been up to lately??? Hmmm.

Well, I've been hearing plenty of uh-ohs. Probably close to 100 times a day I hear that sweet word come out of Thomas's mouth and I will never get tired of hearing either. Sometimes he says it for no reason, sometimes it's because he's dumped an entire box of Goldfish on the kitchen floor. He did help pick them up. Surely I am not the only Mother that lets her child eat off the floor.

Friday night we got together with the Carpris and ate at my favorite restaurant. Thomas and Anna Claire had a big time together. She even patted the spot next to her inviting Thomas to sit down. He kindly obliged.

We are also slowly trying to get our house ready to sell. We've got a list going of all the things we need to repair. My Dad has been over here fixing some minor cracks.

I couldn't leave my Father to do all the work so my tool of choice was the caulking gun. I filled in some gaps around the crown moulding. It felt so good to get working on some of these small projects around the house. Brett is going to be working on the outside of the house over the next few weekends. I am quickly coming to realize the stress that comes with just the thought of selling, buying, and moving into a new home. Where, how much, when, etc etc....

I've actually gotten pretty good with the caulking gun. Call me for all your caulking needs.

We couldn't finish any project without the help of this little man, even if it is just in the form of entertainment.

I've kind of been feeling like all of my creative juices have been used up, which is a shame because I need some. I've got a few projects that I must complete in the next two weeks, so I pray I find some somewhere.

My Other Sister

I've been so worried about this sweet girl. Her name is Maggie and she has been in my family for 10 years now. When we went to pick out our puppy all those years ago, just the opposite happened, she chose us. At first we wanted the smaller puppy that was available, but she came right over to us first and we've been in love ever since.

This past Saturday she stopped eating and seemed to be drawing away from my parents. My Dad took her to the vet the very next morning to make sure she was okay. What the vet found was very concerning, a mass in her stomach the size of a baseball. The only thing I could think was "not her too".

The vet did a biopsy and sent it off to be tested. While at the doctor she experienced some embarrassing (if it were me) stomach issues that called for lots of clean up, but seemed to be acting much better afterwards. She came home on Monday and we were just waiting to hear back about the test results.

My parents got the call today and apparently the mass is benign. Our prayers have been answered. I am so grateful that she is going to be fine and that my parents still have someone to go get their newspaper for them every morning and eat all of their left over food.

Thank you God.

Look who came out to play

A sure sign that Spring is right around the corner:

Thomas's water and sand table minus the water:

Belly Buttons

Thomas became a serious chatter box over the weekend. He would repeat a lot of the things we would ask him to say. He has added Apple, Dude, and Thank You to the handful of words he can say. He also barks when you ask him what a doggie says and when you ask him what the elephant says he throws his arm up like it's his trunk and make a high trumpet sound (or something like it).

Calling all bath toys

Okay guys, we need to have a talk.

We all know how much Thomas loves playing with you during bath time.

You truly make him very happy.

But I've got bad news.

I watched the Today Show this morning and they did a report on how much bacteria is inside y'all and it's pretty sick. Ecoli bacteria, Staph bacteria, and a whole bunch more ickiness hides in your bellies and could really make my baby very sick. I just cannot have my child sucking the water out of you or squirting the water you hold all over the place. It just isn't safe. So, I must put y'all away. I've already broken the news to Thomas too. He wasn't pleased at all.

Thank you for making bath time so memorable. We will not forget y'all and you will be missed.

Our nightly routine

We spend about 20 to 30 minutes of our evenings standing behind Thomas as he meticulously rearranges our cabinets.
Sometimes, it's the only thing that makes him happy. Not sure why though.
He normally looks through the food, searching for what he wants for dinner or sorting his sippy cups.

Searching:

Reaching:

Organizing:

Must've found something good:

Bliss!

Notice that he has 4 in his hands and 1 in his mouth. He found them all and wasn't fixing to give them up.

We've been dealing with quite a fussy boy lately, but we've come to find out that he has an ear infection. If his paci is what makes him happy right now, then by all means, have one or five.

Here and There

Every year about this time, my Mother and I really start to get antsy. Warmer weather is right around the corner, which also mean that garage sales are too. For the past 6 or 7 years or so, my Mother and I have gotten up super early on Saturday mornings and drive all over certain areas of Birmingham looking for someone else's "junk" because it just might be the exact treasure we've been looking for. We've found a great deal of really nice things and paid so very little for them. It's still a little chilly so there haven't been too many garage sales, but the church consignment sales have started. We hit up 3 this past weekend.

We went to Bargains on the Bluff at Bluff Park Methodist Church, Mountain Top Church, and the Mom's of Multiples Sale. They all have children's clothing, toys, and any other baby gear needed. I was on the look out for some "sweet" clothes for Thomas. I found 10 outfits for him, all being in great condition and for the upcoming Spring and Summer seasons. Three of the 10 outfits will be for next summer. I spent a whopping $117 on everything, which figures out to be about $12 an outfit. Not too bad in my opinion. Here is a small sample of what I got:

Brett did make the comment about the style of each of them, but I quickly let him know that Thomas has the rest of his life to wear blue jeans and Polos and that he will wear this while he still can. I feel like my time is closing in quickly on being able to dress him like a little boy.

On another note, Brett and I should not be allowed to open or operate a laptop computer. Last November, during the Iron Bowl, something or someone (Brett) kicked or dropped our last laptop and crack the screen. We had to immediately run out and get a new computer because we can't miss a minute of what goes on on Tiderinsider or Rivals.com. Well, last night as I was changing the bedding in our room, I pulled the sheet off the bed and didn't realize that our computer was sitting on it and it fell on the floor. Everything looked fine, but when I tried to open it I realized that there was a problem. Of course the damage is to the exact spot that the power button is. I was terrified that we'd have to go get our 2nd new computer in less than 6 months, but luckily it still works and we are able to turn it on and off. Phew!

I am currently stuck in jury duty for possibly the remainder of this week. It is my first time to go and I kept humming the Law and Order theme all day. There are plenty of interesting people to chat with and lots of time to read so it hasn't been a terrible time at all. I am not sure if I want to get put on an actual jury or not yet. We'll see.