Friday

Twas the week before Christmas,
everyone was cold and numb.
They were looking for a warm place,
a great country band
and Marty on his drums.

Friday December 15th at The Saloon in Roswell/Sandy Springs. $10 Doors open at 6pm. Live music starts at 8:30. Len Snow, or better Marty, goes on stage at 10:30pm. From what we hear it will be a pretty big crowd so you might want to get there early. The saloon does serve food, it seems to have a pretty decent menu. This will be a great show you don't want to miss! Hope to see lots of familiar faces.

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow

We had our first taste of snow yesterday morning, it even dusted the ground. Had it been a little bit more, I’m sure the whole city would have shut down. I hear that Nashville is a lot like Atlanta and shuts down at the slightest mention of snow.
The kids thought it was the greatest thing ever. Andrew has never seen snow, so I’m sure he was pretty confused about this strange powdery cold thing coming from the sky. Confusion didn’t stop him or Abby from trying to catch the snow on their tongues though. It only lasted about 10 minutes but the kids had fun playing in the flurries in their jammies. Don’t worry, it was fleece feety jammies.
It has been down right cold here, I mean dangerously cold. Last night at 8:00 it was 15 degrees. This morning it was 14 but with the wind chill it feels closer to 6 degrees. Now that is just cold. I like the cold but only when snow is associated with it, so let it snow. I would love to have a good snow this year, we’re due for one. Although I have no idea where the kids would go sledding since there is not a hill to be seen in our neighborhood. We will figure that out when the time comes, bring it on.

ICE!

It is named correctly because it is cold, 9 degrees in fact. A few nights ago we took the kids over to the Opry area to go see ICE! Think 1.5 million pounds of ice sculptures. It took 35 men from China 40 days to carve the ice which some of the sculptures weigh 2 tons and are 25 feet tall.
When you first walk in they give you huge parkas and boy do you need them. The adults come in different sizes but the kids are one size fits all. Well one size doesn’t fit all; poor Andrew was wearing a dress, yes again (see previous post) His sleeves were so long that his poor little hands couldn’t come out. This actually wasn’t a bad thing because it kept his hands pretty warm. After Abby started crying because her hands were cold, we unrolled her sleeves and in went her hands too.
It is absolutely amazing and absolutely cold, have I said that already. You can walk through an igloo, an ice forest complete with ice deer and ice trees. The next room you entered was by far our favorite, the ice slide!! Yes, I said ice slide. It was so much fun, adults can slide too. At first Abby and Andrew didn’t get the hang of it, but Marty started putting them on their backs and pushing their little heads and man did they pick up speed. The slide attendant was pretty sure that Andrew was the youngest to go on the slide. When I would pick him up from the bottom, he would say “more”. The kids couldn’t get enough. Next you went into the train room and then on to the nativity scene. It was breathtakingly beautiful. Of course at the end you exit into a store where you can buy all sorts of things. We hung out in there for a little bit to warm up and then the kids wanted to go again. So, that’s what we did.

Cute quotes heard around the house

Just a cute picture to go along with the cute quotes. Hope it makes you smile.

You never know what you will hear when you have a 4 year old and a 19 month old but here are a few cute things heard over the weekend.

We asked Abby what she was thankful for on Thanksgiving and this is what we got:
“I’m thankful for the food that you and daddy give me (they must have been preparing them at school) and for the presents that Santa brings me (that’s the Abby that I know)” We also asked her what she thought Andrew and Prince were thankful for and Andrew is apparently thankful for Thomas the Train, he doesn’t even have a Thomas the Train, YET. He will now on Christmas morning and Prince is thankful for the elephants. Like I said, you have no idea what they will say.

Over the weekend I was making cinnamon rolls for breakfast and Abby was trying to teach Andrew how to say Cinnamon Rolls, obviously she can’t say it herself. She would tell him “say Cimm, now say Rolls, that’s good, Cimmrolls” How is this boy ever going to learn how to talk.

The last cute thing heard around our house is from Andrew and you will hear it at any given moment, it happens to be his favorite song right now. It took a day or two for us to figure out what he was saying but now, it’s so clear. Abby has a CD called Hide ‘Em in Your Heart, courtesy of Ella and Evan last Christmas. It has always been one of Abby’s favorites well now it seems like its Andrew’s favorite as well. He will sing “A da do, ME” Ok, it might not seem like much but what he is trying to say is the bible verse Philippians 4:13, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. So he’s missing the all things through Christ who strengthens part, but he has the I can do and me part down. Too cute!!

They make me laugh every day.

Done

Well, as of last night I have finished the Christmas shopping. . . for the kids. We have actually made decent progress with the rest of the family but it is such a relief to have the kids done. I did a lot of shopping online and bought a few gifts on Ebay also. Marty finished up the stocking stuffers yesterday at Cracker Barrel. No laughing, they have some great things.
I didn’t want to have to face the mall after Thanksgiving unless absolutely necessary so the kids and I went to Opry Mills last night while Marty was at work and did a little bit of shopping. It’s amazing how good the kids can be when they have the promise of a cookie hanging over their heads. I know some love the thrill of the deal and the craziness of the mall but I guess working retail for so many years has tainted me. For all of you hitting the stores at 4:00 am, good luck and I will be dreaming about you as I am snug in my bed fast asleep.

The Dream has Begun

Mark you calendars, save the date, do whatever you need to do, but let it be know that Marty is considered a professional drummer. WOOHOO!!!
Marty’s first paid gig, did you see that paid, as a drummer is going to be on Friday December 15th in Roswell. How crazy is that that his first show is going to be in Roswell, it couldn’t get much better than that. He will be performing with an up in coming country artist named Len Snow. The Atlanta Opry, didn’t even know such thing existed, is held twice a month at the Saloon in the Roswell/Sandy Springs area. You can go to: http://www.theatlantaopry.com/ to get more information about the saloon and the Atlanta Opry. Marty’s show will begin at 10:30, yes PM, and he will have two 45 minute sessions with a 30 break in between.
We have only heard the CD that Len has put out so we have no idea how the show will be like but hey it’s paid isn’t it. Everyone is welcome to come, but I will warn you that there is a $12.00 cover charge, which a portion of that goes directly back to the performers. I guarantee a good time and hope to see you there.

50 things for my 50th post

Well, this is my 50th post and I am going to steal an idea from Keri. For my 50th post, I’m going to write 50 things about me (or my family). I bet you didn’t know, or maybe you did. . .

1. My birthday is September 1st
2. I have 2 kids- Abby is 4 and Andrew is 19 months
3. I have only lived in 3 houses. The house I grew up in in Roswell, the house Marty and I bought in Buford and now here in Nashville.
4. My first baby was a 4 legged one- Prince, our Italian Greyhound.
5. My sister and I are 5 years and 7 months apart, she’s older haha
6. Marty and I have been married for 6 years.
7. I have worked for Hayward Baker for 7 years, almost 8
8. Andrew’s birthday is April 8th
9. Marty and I have been together for 9 years, that just blows me away; I know it’s nothing for some of you.
10. I have 40 more to go, ok I cheated
11. My kids have the same initials, AMW, and it wasn’t planned that way. Abby is Abigail Mackenzie and Andrew is Andrew Martin
12. I did want 2 “A” names though, so that was planned
13. Andrew would have been named Emma if he was a girl, Andrew fits him much better
14. Abby’s and Marty’s birthday is on the 14th. Abby August 14th and Marty May 14th
15. Marty’s first paid gig as a drummer is on December 15th, more to come on that later but mark it on you calendars because it’s in Roswell, GA.
16. Marty and I were married on June 16th
17. I was 17, just days from 18, when I got my drivers license
18. My first car was a grey 1988 Chevy Blazer
19. Since then I have had a 2000 Mercury Cougar and now my beloved Honda Civic
20. Marty has had a Honda Passport, a Ford Expedition and now a Ford Explorer just since we’ve been married
21. Spring is my favorite season, I love the flowers blooming
22. Marty was going to be the DJ at my first wedding, no I didn’t get married.
23. Marty and I actually met for the first time when his brother and sister in law invited me to his aunts’ house for Labor Day. Weird I know.
24. We later met again at the Opryland Hotel for a clogging convention.
25. We now live 2 miles from the Opryland Hotel, quite ironic
26. I clogged for 23 years
27. 12 of that on a competition team, Clog’n FX
28. I competed up until 2 weeks before Abby was born, maybe that’s why she can’t sit still
29. Marty also danced on FX
30. Marty’s brother still dances on FX, it was a family affair
31. I am 8 months older than Marty, not really considered robbing the cradle
32. I am 32 years old
33. My favorite shows are Desperate Housewives and 24, opposite ends of the spectrum I know
34. Marty and I auditioned for the Amazing Race a few months back, since the show is now airing, I guess we didn’t make it
35. I am very indecisive and despise making decisions
36. I minored in Spanish but probably couldn’t speak a lick of it now
37. I take that back, I can speak the Spanish we (the kids and I) learn on Dora the Explorer
38. I don’t want to admit it, but Andrew has my temper.
39. I used to hold my breath when I was little and didn’t get my way, Andrew will pull that trick one day I’m sure
40. I was also very attached to my blanket growing up; he is very attached to his.
41. My baby blanket actually got lost in the move, yes I still had it
42. I was a mommy’s girl
43. I miss my mom every day
44. I have the most beautiful kids ever, inside and out, good and bad
45. I am amazed every day at the things they do and the fact that I am their mom, what an honor
46. I have to work everyday at being a mom, sometimes it just doesn’t come easily
47. I was scared to move to Nashville but I have complete confidence that Marty will make it as a drummer
48. Marty is my best friend and marrying him is the best thing I have ever done
49. I am married to my one true love, period
50. I am blessed

Pictures of the decorations

I can't get the pictures to upload to my other post. After working on it for 2 days, I've given up and am just going to give it it's own post. Here are pictures of the Halloween decorations.


all 13 pumpkins


scary skeleton in the flowerbed

Happy Halloween. . .a day late

I hope everyone had a safe and happy Halloween. I also hope the tummy aches aren’t too bad this morning, that is the only reason the kids go out trick or treating isn’t it? So the parents can “go through” the candy and “make sure it is safe”. Basically that means that the kids better hope they don’t like the same candy as the parents, because the likelihood of it still being there in the morning are slim.
We had a great Halloween. The weather was perfect, we had rain early in the day but it cleared up nicely. We were able to sit on our front porch and wait for the little ghosts and goblins. I took the kids to a few houses on our street and Abby got the concept this year. She had a blast!! She would run up to the door and ring the door bell and say either “Happy Halloween” or “Trick or Treat” She also took good care of Andrew who was in the wagon. She made sure and always got something for him. There was even a time or two that she would tell the person, “He can’t have that, he’s too little” One lady suggested that she put the candy in her bag, but she informed her that she wouldn’t know which one it was and she didn’t want to get them mixed up. I did have to bribe (I have always said I am not above bribing) Andrew with candy in order to stay in the wagon. Both kids did really well with the masks and costumes. We were a little concerned about Andrew but they didn’t seem to bother him too much. Abby was also the perfect candy giver outer. She would hold the candy bowl and tell them Happy Halloween. Andrew on the other hand, would have preferred to not give out any candy, that’s just means more for him.
Our house looked awesome and Marty did and excellent job carving the pumpkins. We do cheat a little and get the fake foam pumpkins, but that just means that we can add to the collection year after year. This year we had 13 pumpkins. Complete with Cinderella and the kids’ names. Hope everyone had a frightfully good time!

PS. No comments on the choice of costume. GO VOLS!!


I can't get the pictures of the house to load. I will try again later.

The time change. . . I DON'T LIKE IT!

I used to take the time change in stride, it was just another day. That was until I had kids. It messes them up, it messes me up and I would love to see it come to an end. I know we do get somewhat of a break next year since we gain a month, but come one let’s just do away with it all together. I am tired of my kids waking up at the ungodly hours that I have seen on my clock the past few days. Monday we heard Andrew’s happy voice at 5:37, yes AM. Abby gave us a little bit of a reprieve, she didn’t climb into our bed until 6:06, again AM. I know they will get adjusted, probably better and easier than I will, but Abby and Andrew are early birds anyway. No need to make it any earlier.
Another thing I really don’t like is the fact that I need to turn my headlights lights on at 4:30, ok this time PM. It gets dark here so early, I am not kidding, we had our headlights on yesterday at 4:30. We are on the far east side of the Central Time Zone so we get the sun earlier in the mornings and the moon earlier in the afternoons. I’m not even going to say night, because 4:30 is not night to me. How many months until March?

Oh, if you have an hour, a day, a week or month to waste

Then this is the way to waste it. I will go ahead and warn you that it is a total time suck, before you know it an hour will be gone. If you like riddles and thinking outside of the box then I think you will enjoy it. You do have to be little computer savy in order to complete some of the levels. Who am I kidding, it starts right from the beginning. I am up to level 35 and have hit a wall, let me know if you need any clues along the way because I have written my answers down, and so should you.
Enjoy!!
http://www.weffriddles.com/

Please say a prayer

I am going to ask a huge favor of all of you but please say a prayer for one of my coworkers. Last Wednesday Joe found out that his wife, Stacey, has a large brain tumor. Stacey went in for surgery on Thursday afternoon but they were unable to remove the entire tumor. Stacey and Joe were told going into the surgery that it looked like it had the growth pattern of a benign tumor but after surgery they found out that it is in fact cancer. They have an appointment with the oncologist on November 1st to set up a game plan. Stacey continues to be in great spirits, which is a true testament to her faith, and is focusing on only the positives.
They are both 32 years old and have a 2 ½ year old little girl and an 8 month old little boy. Please say a prayer for the whole family, my heart breaks for the babies.

Abby go?

Andrew said his first 2 word sentence this morning and it was "Abby go?" Not Mommy go, or Daddy go, but Abby go? He was sitting on our bed this morning and Abby was playing in the bathroom hiding behind the shower curtain and Andrew looked at me and said "Abby go?" with his arms thrown up like where did she go. It was too cute. He loves his sister and is constently calling for her, so much so that it drives Abby crazy. She will tell him "Andrew you're peating (repeating) yourself" Sibling love.

Already?

This morning on my way in to work my car turned over to 100,000 miles. My little Honda Civic that Marty and I bought in August 2001. We traded in my sport black 2 door Cougar for the more practical 4 door Honda Civic. It was a good move but sometimes I do miss my little sports car.

The first one

Well it’s official; I have bought my first Christmas present. Yes, I know it is a little early but I just had to get it. Isn’t it cute? Abby loves loves loves taking pictures but she has gotten turned off of her camera because she likes ours better since she can see the picture on the back (my how times have changed) Somehow I stumbled upon this cute little Fisher Price Pink Digital Camera and knew that we had to get it for Abby. I searched on line and found it ranging in price from $59.00-$129.00. Walmart.com had it for $59.00 but of course was sold out. So on my way home yesterday I stopped my Wal-Mart and was pleasantly surprised to see that not only did they have one, but it was also on sale for $54.98. I love a sale. For all you mamas of boys, they also have them in blue.
I am so ready for Christmas. I love the Christmas tree, the decoration, the kids in their matching Christmas jammies and I really love seeing the kids’ excitement on Christmas morning. It will be crazy this year, Andrew will be more into it and I can’t wait to enjoy those 15 minutes of pure craziness and wrapping paper tossing. Bring it on!

Our week in review

First and foremost, I am sorry that it has been over a week since I posted last. It’s been crazy here at work and only having dial-up at home, I refuse to do anything major on the computer. So here is our week in review.
The kids were battling a cold early last week but thankfully everyone is on the mend now. Andrew’s asthma kicked back in with just the slightest bit of cold weather (ok, so it was 33 degrees here with frost covered grass) and we had to start giving him breathing treatments again. Poor little man. He doesn’t mind them too bad; I guess he knows that it will make him feel better. Luckily, we haven’t had to give him any treatments since last week though. He did go to the doctor on Thursday for his 18 month well check and for a sick visit too. Poor thing screamed the whole time during the exam. He just doesn’t like strangers. He weighs 21 pounds 2 ounces and is 30.5 inches long. He is now in the 3rd percentile for weight and the 5the percentile for height. At 18 months Abby was 20 pounds 9 ounces and was also 30.5 inches. Andrew has actually lost weight since his 15 month appointment, but I’m not too worried about it because it was the difference between two different doctor’s offices. One was done fully clothed and the other was with just in a dry diaper on. If you have ever seen Andrew eat then you wouldn’t be concerned either, he eats more than Abby most days. We were much happier at this doctor’s visit. I’m glad that we did give them a second chance because we really liked the doctor that Andrew saw (the one that saw Abby couldn’t take Andrew, so we went with another and in fact are going to change Abby’s doctor now because we liked her so much) We also noticed small blisters on Andrew’s hands, they looked like ant bites but new ones kept appearing. So we also had the doctor check those out. It ends up that he has Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease, no relation to Hoof and Mouth disease in cattle. It’s a virus and it just has to run its course. The little blisters are going away and they haven’t seemed to bother him at all, more bothersome for mommy and daddy. Poor thing also has this HUGE blister on his thumb from being the thumb sucker that he is. I have no idea how he can still suck it, it has got to be very painful.
On a fun note though; Eddie, Gidget, Bailey and Matthew (BIL, SIL and niece and nephew) came up for the weekend. We had an awesome time and it was just what we all (especially Abby) needed. We didn’t do too much, we let the girls play and play and they really played good together. It was good to see them playing together again. We did go over to the Opryland Hotel and eat. We saw the water show which is pretty impressive. During the show, Abby, Andrew and Bailey were sitting on the bottom step being big kids and all the sudden the water shot way up in the air. You have never seen 3 kids turn high tail and run so fast in your life, it was one of those moment that you really wish you had your video camera. After the hotel we went shopping at Opry Mills and then took a stroll through the grounds of the Opry House. Before shows at the Opry, they always have a band playing at the entrance, so we let the kids go listen and dance to the music. I feel sorry for the band because I’m afraid the kids were stealing the show. Too cute.
That is our week in review, believe it or not but that’s the condensed version. I will do better on keeping you updated.

PS, Marty has a valet job now at Maggiano’s. Good pay and great flexibility. He needs his time out of the house too.

You want to eat where?

Yesterday we took at road trip to Chattanooga (more on that another day) On the way down Highway 24, Abby says "we need to go to the owl place to eat"
me: "what honey, what do you mean?"
Abby: "the owl place, we need to go there to eat"
me: "honey where?"
Abby: "The owl that I just saw on the sign, we need to go there and eat"

Then it hit. She was talking about Hooters. Oh my!

The open road

Yesterday I was able to do something that I haven't done in a very long time. My boss is on vacation this week so he left me his Tahoe because I had to make a trip to Chattanooga to set up for the AIA Conference. I left yesterday set with 308 songs on my Ipod and I was ready to sing my heart out. And that's exactly what I did. I actually enjoy road trips by myself, it's nice to have your thoughts to yourself and not have to fight over the radio or a movie for that fact. I sang anyhting from 311 to Chris Tomlin to Little Big Town to Justin Timberlake (did I just admit that) you name it I sang it. I will say that my favorite song to pretend I can sing to is the new song by Carrie Underwood Before He Cheats. Thakfully I've never had to experiene it but I'm not sure that I wouldn't have a similar reaction. I just love this song right now

Right now he's probably slow dancing with a bleached-blond trim, and she's probably getting frisky...

right now, he's probably buying her some fruity little drink cause she can't shoot whiskey...

Right now, he's probably up behind her with a pool-stick, showing her how to shoot a combo...

And he don't know...

I dug my key into the side of his pretty little suped up 4 wheel drive, carved my name into his leather seat...

I took a Louisville slugger to both head lights, slashed a hole in all 4 tires...

And maybe next time he'll think before he cheats.

Right now, she's probably up singing some white-trash version of Shania karoke..

Right now, she's probably saying "I'm drunk" and he's a thinking that he's gonna lucky,

Right now, he's probably dabbing 3 dollars worth of that bathroom Polo...

And he don't know...

That I dug my key into the side of his pretty little suped up 4 wheel drive, carved my name into his leather seat,

I took a Louisville slugger to both head lights, slashed a hole in all 4 tires...

And maybe next time he'll think before he cheats.

I might saved a little trouble for the next girl, Cause the next time that he cheats...

Oh, you know it won't be on me!

Ohh... not on me...

I dug my key into the side of his pretty little suped up 4 wheel drive, carved my name into his leather seat...

I took a Louisville slugger to both head lights, slashed a hole in all 4 tires...

Maybe next time he'll think before he cheats. Ohh..

Maybe next time he'll think before he cheats...

Ok, so it's not the classiest of songs but it lends itself to one heck of a car ride all out singing fest.

I told Marty that Mike's speaker had probably never been that loud and I made the comment that thank goodness no one could hear me singing. He then graciously reminded me that Mike has OnStar. Well, if they were listening in then they got one heck of a concert.

Our old house

Abby has been going through a funk lately. That's the only way I know how to describe it. She had been missing people and things really bad lately. The other day Marty put on a CD that Ella and Evan gave her for Christmas, Hide 'Em in Your Heart. Ella and Abby used to listen to it on the way to school most every morning. Well, Abby came into the kitchen when her favorite song came on and she was in tears. She told Marty that she missed Ella and she wanted to listen to the song in Keri's vancar (for some reason Abby calls their minivan a van car) Marty's heart broke. Then last night Abby told us that she missed our old house with the pretty flowers. Mental note: plant pretty flowers for the fall. She also said that we used to have beautiful trees. We have one lonely tree in our front yard now. She remembers and it is so sad that she is so heart broken. Marty told her that we will move back to GA in a few years and yes we will move close to Ella, Abby said "Thank you for making me so happy daddy" Poor thing.

How could anyone not like the cow?

Well, Abby not only didn't like the cow, she was terrified of it.
We woke up on Saturday morning and Abby said that she wanted to go to Chick-Fil-A for lunch, it's the only restaurant around that has a play area. It worked for us because we had some errands to run on that side of town anyway. We set out armed with socks, lots of little kid feet no telling where they have been, and run our errands. We finally, ok so it was 11:00 am, make it to Chick-Fil-A for lunch. We walk in and see that there is a birthday party. Ok, we'll eat quickly so the kids can enjoy the play area before it gets even more crazy with the birthday party. Then in walks the cow. I think, oh great free entertainment. Abby thought otherwise. She did not like the cow at all, remind you that the cow was way on the other side of the restaurant. We eat quickly and head to the play area, great the play area is in a seperate room Abby will be fine. Marty leaves us at Chick-Fil-A and goes to Home Depot, his play area. We get socks on and I try to send the kids off to play. Abby is still really preoccupied by the cow. And then it happens, the cow looks at her and waves. You would have thought that the world was coming to an end. I could not get her calmed down and had to call Marty to come get us.
Mommy guilt set in big time because instead of trying to help her work through her fears I just got frustrated. I shouldn't have and I feel really bad for the way I made her feel. Poor punky, she just didn't like the cow.