Rain, Schmain.

Auburn City Fest was planned for Saturday, but so was the biggest spring storm to move across the Southeast so far this year.  City Fest is a rain or shine event, so we hoped to get in a little fun before the rain came. Emma Kate and I headed out about 9:30  We had one little shower, but we stayed out there until 12:30. 

We had a lot of fun and look forward to it again next year!

Slow Down Right Now

After a whirlwind month of March, I took a break and took a breath after Mikey T's birthday.  I was looking at pictures of Emma Kate and realized that she is not a baby anymore. Um, excuse, me?? When was someone going to tell me that?  I knew it would happen, but it is shocking when you actually realize it has happened.  She is has a full vocabulary and is completely potty-trained.  She can entertain herself and for the most part knows that markers and scissors are for paper, not hair and walls.  She has official chores and is actually helpful.  It is exciting and devastating at the same time.
So, after a crazy month full of moving, egg hunts, Easter, basketball, playdates, family visits, and birthday celebrations, we actually had a few days where we had absolutely nothing to do.  That is when I decided to be a "yes" mommy more.
I realized  I spend a lot of energy telling Emma Kate "no" when she asks me to stop and play with her, read her a book, fix her a snack, go outside, or any thing else she dreams up.  Then we have a battle for thirty minutes on why I am just soooooo busy and she needs to find something else to do.  Instead of all that negative energy, we could have spent that thirty minutes doing some thing fun, sufficing her and feeding my soul.  I realize that too soon will come a time when she no longer wants me to do "arcs and cwafts" or read her "just one more book. no two. no free, cause I am free (three)....no just four, four books."
Then I will look back and see that the laundry could have waited, or the dishes could have stayed in the sink a little longer.
So, we have been doing an activity every day when I get home from work.  We have colored and made necklaces.  We have made cards and baked cookies.  Monday, when she asked if she could put glue on her hands, my knee-jerk reaction was "Ew, gross, no! That is going to be a mess to clean up."  But then I thought, "Why not?? Of course you can put glue on your hands! In fact, I will too!!!! And then we will peel it off together and laugh and have fun!"   So, just the other day, we covered our hands with glue and waited for them to dry.  Then we peeled it off and giggled so much it hurt.  A good hurt.
Now, when I am cooking dinner and she asks if I can play dolls with her, I don't say no. Instead, I say, come up here and help me stir. Then we make a big deal about how she "made" dinner.

These are simple things that I always intended to do with my child, but somehow life got in the way.  I am so glad my heart finally jumped ahead of my head and figured it all out.

(Picture on the top is this year's Easter egg hunt, picture on the bottom is last year's.....**sigh**)

Every night at dinner (I do insist that we eat at the dinner table as much as possible), after we say our blessing, we all ask eachother what our favorite moment, saddest moment and funniest moment of the day is.  She usually says the same stuff, but just the other night I asked her, "Ok, Emma Kate, what was your favorite moment today?"  And she thought very hard with that little crinkle between her eyes.  I fully expected her to say "When I went to school or when I went to the basketball game."  Instead, she looked right up and said, "Right now,"  and then Mike and I both said, "That is mine, too."
We are still crazy busy and barely hanging on most days, but at least we have slowed down enough to just enjoy "Right now."

When good plans fail.....eat Mexican

I had planned a surprise for Mikey T's birthday.  Have been thinking about it for weeks.  I was going to rent one of the gyms in town, and let Mikey T think a gym had become available for an extra Mighty Mighty Raptors practice (which is much needed, I might add. They are starting the season off...a little....um....slow)  All the basketball boyz were going to be there, except we would have a beautiful 34th birthday cake and pizza...lots of pizza...basketball boyz love pizza.  We would yell surprise and laugh and have fun. We would sing happy birthday and eat and they guys would all shoot basketball.  That is how I pictured it my head for weeks. 
Except, as it got closer, I was running out of options. Gyms all around town were not available ro CRAZY expensive.  That is fine, I thought.  I will find an outdoor goal with a covered patio where we can eat and laugh and sing and all that stuff mentioned before.  But, with every outdoor goal, I found a broken rim OR a sign that says "For residents only, tresspassing not allowed" (there are a lot of apartements in a college town). 
So, I changed my plan again. I would just invite the basketball boyz over to our house. We would eat and laugh and all that jazz, minus the basketball. But, there is no parking for 12 cars at my house. And we have nothing for 12 twelve-year old boys once the pizza is gone.
Sooooo, we decided to move it to Unc's house, where there are big screens and playstations.  Except, we would have to cut down the numbers to just a few basketball boyz, and who do we leave out? Who do we invite?  As the day loomed closer and closer, the plan fizzled out to four boys coming over to eat a pizza and play playstation.  And they didn't have rides, so we would have to go get them, and it was a Thursday and I was working late........plop. 
Thursday afternoon, the day of the birthday, there was no pizza. No gym and no cake. There was no big party and NO surprise.
Mikey T was over at Unc's house when I got off work and I called to see what he wanted to do? Could I at least cook his favorite meal?  He was at the pool and perfectly content to stay there.
Mom stepped in and decided that we would go to the Mexican place in town and at least have a birthday dinner. 

AHHHHAAAAAAAAAA, my chance at a surprise. When Emma Kate announced to the entire patronage that she needed to poo-poo (yes she still announces it...loudly), we snuck over to the waiter and told him about a birthday. He asked if it was for the "nina?" "Oh no," I told him, "the 34 year old man at our table!."

Ten minutes later, there were sombraros and drums and a loud rendition of Feliz Cumpleanos!!!  I HAD surprised him! Not the pizza-basketball-cake contraption I had envisioned, but a birthday surprise nonetheless.

Emma Kate was on her A-game, keeping us laughing with her little sayings and funny reactions. At one point Mike was leaning on her and she yelled at him to get off of her.  He said "But it's my birthday."  And she said "Happy Birthday, but I am not yo PRESENT," with attitude.

So, it was a successful birthday. It was not the super surprise I had in mind, but it was family and laughter and it was just right.

P.S. When you live in a college town where there are an unbalanced number of 21st birthdays celebrated, you don't get a free bowl of ice cream or flan. You get a tequila shot.  Probably why he asked if if was the "cumpleanos de la nina."

Long Time, No Blog.

I know, it has been ages.  And I would like to tell you I am going to take this opportunity to catch up on Easter, Basketball and such (even a Beauregard Beauty Pageant), but I am not. I am just going to take this opportunity to tell my best friend to have a very happy birthday.
This guy....

turns 34 today. 

We don't have anything big planned, but we have a big weekend that includes Auburn football and seeing the new Auburn Arena.

So what can I say about this 34 year old man?  I love him. We laugh, a lot.  Our years together have been a roller coaster, to say the least, but we have always been fans of thrill rides.

We are a lot differnt. And we are a lot alike.  We love sports, especially youth, high school and college sports.  He taught me to love golf and I taught him to love to travel.  He is a great daddy....just ask these two.

So, HAPPY BIRTHDAY MIKEY T. 

We love you.

Even though you are old.

My AWESOME nephew.

Pledge HERE