The Auburn Blues

It has been a hard three weeks to be an Auburn Faithful. As I was watching Auburn fail miserably to LSU on Saturday night, there was at least one Auburn fan among us whose spirit did not die. Not even after the "delay of game--on the defense---sideline interference--huh?" call. She was a true fan to the end. If you know Auburn, you know every word of the following Auburn medley. If you are not, I apologize, as you will have no earthy clue what this child is saying....War Eagle.

On Sunday, we shifted gears and went to the Auburn Women's Basketball scrimmage. I went to get out of the house. Mike went to watch basketball. Emma Kate went to see her boyfriend.

A Whoa Kindof Weekend

It started on Thursday. We (Mom, Mike, EK and I) packed in mom's car and headed to Birmigham. In the rain. Mike had a very important and very anticipated doctor's appointment at UAB. It was emotionally draining for weeks as we waited for this appointment. We got to Mike's parents house were we dropped off Mom and EK and added Hoppy. Three hours later we were leaving UAB with answers and relief and a plan. I think it was the first time we had breathed in months.

Back to Alabster to drop of Mike and Hoppy for the weekend and Mom and I headed out at 6:00 pm (in the rain) and headed northeast.

Sweet cousin Kelly was getting married in Virginia, Williamsburg to be exact. After driving through horrendous weather through Atlanta, we finally called it a night near Clemson, South Carolina. We got some quick shut eye and we were back in the car at 8 am. (Only after I got a WAR EAGLE from a stranger in Clemson!!)

After 7 and a half hours of driving, we arrived at our Williamsburg hotel. We were quickly greeted by other family there and after a short rest, we headed out to a lovely rehearsal dinner.

The next day was filled with shopping and hanging with family that had scattered in from Texas and Alabama.

The wedding was that evening. Usually, the weather in Virigina in mid-October is a warmish low 70/high 60s and clear blue skies. Which made my Aunt Katie's estate the perfect place for a beautiful outdoor fall wedding. Until there was that whole double nor'easter thing.

It was cold. Low 40s, windy and drizzly grey rain covered everything.

BUT- there was still a wedding, outside, with a beautiful bride, good food and a fun band! And although it was chilly, the laughter from being with fun family kept us warm enough through the night. Well, that and the heaters.

We were unfortunate enough to catch the last half (the worst part) of the Auburn-Kentucky game. That was not fun.

We went to be late, but we were up early on Sunday and drove the entire way back to Alabama!! Then a quick trip on Monday to pick up my Mikey T and EK, a short visit with my favorite nephews and niece and back to Opelika by dinner. Whoa, whatta weekend.

Pumpkin' Patch

The three stooges and us moms headed to the pumpkin patch this past weekend. It was hot, but the girls were troopers. There were bouncy things, which were good, since Emma Kate has come to expect a bouncy house every weekend.

NieNie & Cora

I am a blog stalker. I am. And I can admit it. I have a google reader account that follows, oh, about a hundred blogs a day. Some days, when I have some down time at work, I try to clean out my google reader. Some, I follow more closely than others. I read my dear friends' blogs every day. Some crafters' blogs, I check every week to get craft inspiration. I read some mom blogs and even some fashion blogs, which is hilarious in itself.

Then, there are the blogs that I am addicted to. Women I have never met, who have gone through more than I can imagine. Pain and struggle that is almost too hard to read about. When both these women were in the midst of their greatest pain, I could hardly stand to read their blogs. But, I did. There were even days I was hiding behind my desk at work crying.

Like, the Macs. The day that baby Cora passed away I cried like I personally knew the family. I followed her blog before Cora was sick, during her brief illness and since her death. I followed the amazing thing that happened when other bloggers, strangers like me, took it upon themselves to sell crafts on Etsy to raise money for Cora's playground. Amazing. Inspiring.

Then, there is NieNie. If you are not reading this blog, you should be. I read this blog before it was about healing. I read it when it was about motherhood and family and crafting. Nie Nie blogged everyday, if not more than once. Then, there were a few days of silence. Then her sister blogged to tell us about the horrid accident which NieNie barely survived. Her sister gave updates on the blog for months while NieNie was in a medically induced coma and then Nie Nie was well enough to blog herself. Now, the blog is still about motherhood and family-- and healing.

She is strong and inspirational. So much so that this gal noticed and had her on the show. I don't get local channels (darn you Direct TV!!) so I had to watch clips in the website. You should, too.

Gosh, it makes me just sit back and realize that when I huff and puff about the chore of giving Emma Kate a bath or playing puzzles with her I am being an idiot. So, now I cannot wait to get home, hug my little girl really tight, give her a bath and play puzzles. Because I, unlike NieNie, can.

My little herpatologist.

Do you know what a herpatologist is? Emma Kate thinks she is one. It is someone who studies creepy-crawly things. Saturday the Auburn University Forest Ecology Preserve had their annual Creepy, Wonderful Critters program and we were there. Emma Kate loved it. She always loves these things.

How old was I the first time I held a snake? Oh yeah, I still haven't. This is EK's third time.

And her fourth time.....

She has no fear. Luckily, the real herpatologist giving the program, said snakes as pets for kids is not a great idea, because they generally live to be 40. FORTY years with a snake. Don't think so. But then, he said that a gecko is a great pet for kids. Yeah, thanks for that. Now, I have to really talk up the kiddo digital camera before birthday time so that EK forgets the word GECKO.