10 Things Tuesday

We had a visit from Nana, yesterday, so here are 10 things we are thankful for about her!

1. She had the quilt-tops that I made last year made into actual quilts. We LOVE them!


2. She reads books with us and asks questions. (Sophie)


3. She plays outside with us. (Sophie)


4. She laughs a lot. (Maddie, paraphrased)


5. She tells it like it is.


6. Her big heart. She takes on the roll of "Nana" to many, not just her biological grandchildren.


7. Her tolerance. The girls were in rare form yesterday (read: acting ugly). She did not berate me for my poor parenting.


8. My birthday presents yesterday. I know she wanted me to pick something a little more glamorous than a candle and a book, but those are things I never buy for myself. I love those big old candles from Bath and Body works and the book was Sew What Skirts. (Side note: I am now obsessed with those cute little skirts that the moms wear in Kelly's Kids that coordinate with their children. I know matchy-matchy is dorky-dorky, but I can't help it. I want to BE a cool Kelly's Kids mom...)


9. She thinks that I am smaller than I am. :)


10. She's always been so wonderful to me and has a great relationship with her son (Jeff). We love her so much!

Middle aged

Well, so I'm 32 today. Jeff and I decided this can only mean one thing: it's time for my mid-life crisis. I haven't actually chosen how I am going to express this, yet.
Here are my options:

• date someone several years my junior. (However, this one won't work. I AM married, after all.)
• bleach my hair
• go back to shopping in the juniors section
• get really into top 40 music (but of course, be a couple of months behind...)
• find some teens to hang with and prompt them to say I am way cooler than most 32 yr olds
• buy a sports car (don't ask me where I will put the 3 car seats)
• laugh just a little bit louder

Surely one of these will help me reclaim my youth.

If not, there's always "over-tanning" ...

To sleep, perchance to dream ...

Oh, friends, I took a nap today.

There I was ... propped up on my bed, watching The Soup reruns, and smocking, smocking, smocking ... then... waking up.

What?!?!?! Mama got a nap? What about all the stuff I needed to do? Sunday is a great day to get stuff done around here, because they ALL nap at the SAME TIME. (I'm including Jeffreen in that.)

It was glorious.

In other news, all three took a bath together tonight. I'm not sure when the last time I laughed that hard was. Or, got so wet without actually getting in the tub. :) And no, I didn't get any photos. Nekkid babies I can handle. NOBODY needs to see my toddler and pre-schooler that way. Sorry!

AND.... I heard MMM..Bop on the radio. I finally got that goofy song out of my head and now, 10 yrs later, it's baaaaack! Shoo be doo ba doo bop. yeah, yeah

Muscles, take 2

My mom came over for a minute last night, and thinking Sophie's comments on Wednesday were funny...
I say, "Sophie, tell Grammy about your muscles."
Sophie, "They're dead."

Okay, this is just getting worse.

10 Things Wednesday!

Thank you Julie for this photo!

This Wed. thing is getting to be a habit ...

Since little Miss Eliza pants turns 9 months on Friday, here are 9 things we are thankful for about her(and 1 bonus thing for momma):

1. She's cruising all the furniture, which means she is right on schedule with her development. A mother worries, you know.


2. She's definitely got her own distinctive look in our family.


3. Her hair, however, is coming in curly like her sisters. I love the fact they have a trait to share!


4. Mosquitos don't make big whelps on her. We should be thankful for small blessings! :)


5. She's a spitter, but it doesn't bother her at all. Well, that's a relief.


6. No matter what her sisters do, she laughs at it.


7. She doesn't really mind getting her nails cut.


8. She likes veggies from a can, doesn't matter what temperature.


9. She has many silly names such as Drooly Francis and Legs McGee and Pookytella (that's Sophie's contribution, she also thinks that the word "booty" is short for bootytella. Sigh ...)


10. And one for me - my pleater FINALLY came in!!! Woo to the hoo!

I was making out a grocery list when Soph says (in her usual straight-faced, deadpan delivery), "put muscles on there, Mom. Mine aren't hard anymore. I guess I need new ones."

I got her the big box of fruit snacks. That ought to do it.

Walkin' down that memory lane

Firstly, I feel I should respond to a few of the comments from the previous post:

to all of you who have lived with me at various times - I'm sorry! I didn't realize I was so obnoxious with my ABBA-love

Dallas - why, oh why, didn't I think of that!!!!!!

Chandra - don't tease me, girl

Now, Stacy chose senior pictures as the "getting to know you" topic for last week . I'm trying, Stac, I really am. Problem is, I didn't have senior pictures made. All I had was the composite that they made us take. Can't find any of those. I HATE having my picture taken. (Have I mentioned that before?) Anyways, I have enlisted the help of my mother to help locate some senior photos at her house. We'll see if any turn up.

I DID, however, find some photos that I wanted to share. Since, you know, we are all feelin' nostalgic and such.

This one is the closest I found to my senior year. It was actually taken my first semester at Harding. That's my friend Brad. We had just gone to his BC function the night before dressed as David and Goliath. (Brad's, like, 7 ft tall) Just want to say a quick apology for the white socks. Also, brown lipstick was very in in the mid 90's.

Next, a photo of someone I was a senior with, even though the picture was taken in college. That's for you, Barrett.And now ..... a jersey picture. Also, I have the biggest teeth in the world.This picture has nothing to do with high school or college, but it's one of my favorites. I'd just had Eliza, (ignore the jammies and face and hair) and had all my girls in the bed with me. I was feeling so blessed and emotional and then it hit me - I only have two arms! How do I hold them all? It worked out. Also, Mads looks like Eddie Munster.And this one is because I just feel like humiliating myself. I had all 4 of my wisdom teeth taken out less than a month after Eliza was born. Jeff decided we needed to capture this moment. Fortunately for him, I was still a little drugged up at the time. I'm sure he was thinking, "Woo! What a hottie I ended up with!"

How can I resist ya?

Well, people, I just got back from watching MAMMA MIA and it was FAN-TASTIC! We (my sister and mother and myself) were bouncin' around and singin' all the words. I'm sure we were Quite Entertaining to those around us. I've been an ABBA fan since I was little girl riding around in the car, listening to the Super Trooper 8-track all of the time. They sang all my favorites, tonight. :)

Seriously, though, there were men in there. Watching the movie. I had to wonder what kind of man would go see the ABBA movie when Batman was coming out this weekend...

Oh, and the girl in the movie was named Sophie. She was absolutely adorable, so I sure hope that doesn't translate into an influx of people deciding to name their child - Sophie. You know what I mean.

Oh, but I really, really loved it. I know it's not for everyone, but I can't remember the last movie that I liked, much less loved. It was My Kind of Movie. Now, please excuse me. I need to go sing into my hairbrush.

One more reason ...

I shouldn't try to go to the bathroom when the kids are awake :

10 Things Wednesday

Let's get ready to be thankfullllll!!!!!!!!!

1. Sophie and Maddie have talked non-stop about WOW (vbs) all week. (of course, Sophie and I have also had the running argument: who wore the rainbow coat, Jesus or Joseph? She also informed me that God ate some dirty grain and some cows and got really sick. Alright, Jenny, just what are you teaching in that class? :) )



2. I'm thankful that, although it is always wonderful, WOW is over for another year... Cause I'm exhausted.



3. Indoor play areas, because, kids, it's hot, I tell ya.



4. I'm thankful for all the people who make me laugh out loud. There seems to be more and more of 'em lately!



5. My husband being a good sport and agreeing to participate in the WOW skits. They needed him to be part of a "jungle mafia". It's hard to be a jungle tough when all you own are polo shirts... they eventually found someone a little rowdier dressed.



6. The inventor of the "pillowcase dress". No easier way to dress a little girl.



7. The inventor of fast food.



8. Red toenail polish + sharpie = ladybug toes!


9. My friend, Melissa, has started hospice care. She has lived much longer than expected. She has been a blessing to many of us and I am thankful for her faith.


10. All the prayers for my mom. I may not be able to talk about it, but I am so grateful for the support you give her!

Oh, please

Here it is only Monday, and I am already frustrated.

Have you seen that commercial for Candy Land? (or it could be for Memory, I forget ...)

The point of the commercial is to take time to play with your child. They get out the game and the background fades and all you focus on is this lovely mother and her lovely son playing together. I love this sentiment.

HOWEVER, I have to take issue with a few things:

• She is playing with one child. Yes, I realize many have one child, and then there are many who don't. Where is the version that has the lovely mother playing with her lovely 4 year old, while her lovely 2 year old keeps disrupting the pieces and having her set it all up again, and her lovely baby crawling onto and then sitting in the middle of the board? Hmmmm? Haven't seen that one, yet.


• She MUST have a million hours in the day. Her house is SPOTLESS. She, herself, is SPOTLESS. Obviously, she has put these two things way ahead of spending quality time with her child. (I say, as my bitterness gets the best of me.)


• Nobody is eating the pieces.

So, maybe this is reality for some people. It sure isn't mine. :)

Eating socks

Yesterday, at playgroup, it hit me: in the stay-at-home-mommy world, the bloggy world, the facebook world ... we really only know each other as mommies.

So, I thought I would try a little something new. I like to call it "getting to know each other". (I am a very original thinker.)

This week's topic: How I Met My Husband (and, yes, for those of my wonderful friends still living it up as a singleton, I will have a more universal topic next week!)

When Danna Met Jeff ...

Our first meeting - we were both dating other people at the time. Met up at the ASU student center. I was with my friend Andria. He was with his then girlfriend.

My first impression of J: oooh, he's whipped! He and his girlfriend are dressed just alike! (white t-shirts, khaki shorts, tennis shoes. I have since learned that was a coincidence.)

His first impression of me: wow! She's the cutest thing I've ever seen! (um, just playin, he doesn't remember meeting me that day. Obviously, his loss.)

Let's try this again...

When Danna Met Jeff (take two) ...

(A photo from our early days...)

Two years later .... Jeff moves back to Jonesboro after having worked in Pine Bluff. We hung out some in groups, but didn't think much of it.

At Southwest we used to have these coffee houses every now and then, and one night when I was pulling up I saw his 4runner and all of a sudden, I got excited that he was there. I was late and so when I walked in I just went and sat down instead of getting anything to eat. He hopped up and went and got me a brownie (the only thing that was left) and called me later that night for a date. We've been together ever since.

Not a very romantic story, but that's our story.

The cool thing was, I was used to dudes playing games in college. I like you a lot today, tomorrow we should just be friends, the next day I think we should get married, and so on (ad nauseum).

Jeff was never like that. He never flirted with other girls. He never changed the way he treated me from one day to the next. And get this - we actually had the dtr (determine the relationship) and said the "Iloveyous" before we ever kissed. TMI? Probably, but I don't care. I have never been treated with that much respect.

There you have it! Now, some may not care about that story one whit. If that's the case, it's fine. I needed to write this down anyway, because according to Crystal, I'm going senile. :) I would LOVE to hear how you all met your hubs!

Engagement photos!

Our very first minute as husband and wife. (not the best picture, but oh well.)

10 Things Tuesday

Here we go, 10 things Tuesday (Friendly Edition)

Things I am thankful for today:

1. Acquaintances who have turned into friends! Shout out to Amy R., Erica, and Crystal. :)
2. Talking to an old friend from HU this week. (And making 2 new dresses for her sweet Mary Presley)
3. Seeing a picture of an old,old friend on another's blog. Those are the kind of surprises that are fun, fun.
4. We have a fun playgroup to go to tomorrow! Can't wait!
5. Sophie is branching out and making new friends! Can I get a woo woo?
6. I love our Sunday School class so very much.
7. Facebook! again ...
8. I'm still best friends with my hubby after all these years ... okay, it's only been 6 years of marriage, but still.
9. We got the stripes painted on the girls' wall!
10. We are now the proud owners of Barbie Mermaidia. (And the proud watchers (4 times!) )

Weirdness of the day: the girls come to me today and say, "you are mommy and we are your poops. We're mommy and the poops!"

Naps? Not so much ...

I've mentioned before about Maddie's enormous laugh. Most of the time I love it. During naptime, however ....


Today, just as I finally sat down to eat lunch, I hear Maddie hee-hawing in their bedroom. I mean the girl is cracking up, losing sound and then coming out with one of those huge howls of hilarity. Really having a good time. I rush in there because I am so afraid she is going to laugh her face off. ..

What was causing this glee, you ask?


Well, I opened the door to give them what for.

I see her sweet, sweet, older, wiser sister .... was .... mooning her.

Yes, mooning her. Pulling her tiny pants down and flashing her even tinier booty.

And so I closed the door.

What in the world possessed her to do this? I can assure you that I have never, ever mooned anyone. Not anytime, nor anyplace.

I'm just hoping this was the first time and she hasn't been letting her little light shine all around the town.

Sunday Sunday

A little story:
Tonight I asked the girls what kind of sandwich they wanted: ham, turkey, or roast beef.
Jeff, thinking he is the king of comedy, pipes up from the living room, "nose bleed? did you say ham, turkey, or nose bleed?"
Sophie, rolling her eyes completely out of her head, says back, "Daddy, it's roast bees, not nose bleed. ROAST BEES."
And that is all. I'm tired. :)

The Magic Age

Another blog post, another blog post without photos. Sigh ...

I had a very interesting conversation at our Sunday school 4th of July bash last night. It all started when my friend's little girl launched into a very dramatic speech on how her daddy said she couldn't wear a bikini. In fact she said that she hadn't worn a bikini "in her whole life" (she's 6). That led to a discussion on, if we do allow our little ones to wear bikinis, at what age do we stop it. That led us to the topic of "the magic age".
Growing up in my house, there was a magic age for everything. Can't cut your hair until third grade (for reals). Can't go to "sleep camp" until you are 9. Can't date until your 16 ( for really reals). I didn't get my ears pierced until I was 11!
So, we started talking about what our magic ages were for our kids. Some said they couldn't pierce their ears until 7, some said 5, some were contemplating piercing their babies' ears. Others said no more two pieces after kindergarten, some said upper elementary.
No boyfriends until Junior high, some didn't care, some said college! (I think they were joking.)
What was most interesting to me was that while we all get along pretty well, I don't think there were any two people who were of one mind on all things. There was no "magic age" that we could all agree upon.
For the record, our girls can:
pierce their ears - when they ask and are old enough to take care of their ears themselves
wear bikinis - there's no need, there are plenty of other cute options to choose from (Except for Eliza, because that girl in a bikini is pretty cute)
date - daddy says never, mommy says it depends on how well she knows the boy's parents

I realize that these issues are not super important, but it was kinda fun to think about. :)

13 Thursday

Wouldn't you know it, just when my camera completely breaks down, there suddenly appears five million zillion things that I want to take pictures of! Stink. I've narrowed it down to 13 in honor of 13 Thursday:

13 photos I wish I had ...

1. The playgroup we had yesterday that just kept growing and growing ... the kids were all fantastic, the conversation was hilarious ... I wish I had a photo to go with the experience.
2. I finished a little red sailor dress, but got no photos of the handiwork.
3. The 6 girls, like good little ducks, trailing behind their swimming teacher, Miss Erin.
4. Sophie jumping off the diving board for the first time.
5. The look of pure pride on Sophie's face after the jump. (or maybe the look of relief on mine that I didn't have to cause a scene and go push her off ... not that I would have done that ...)
6. Maddie and Sophie having a sword fight with their noodles in the pool this afternoon. Yes, girls have sword fights, too. Those princesses have to defend their castles, I guess.
7. Eliza eating spaghetti for the first time. Okay, eating is not the right word. Help me out here. What exactly is it that babies do with spaghetti?
8. All 3 girls sitting in the floor playing with puzzles.
9. The look on Sophie's face when she realized Maddie was under the impression that Goofy's name was, um, "Poopy".
10. The girls laughing and cutting up in the floor this evening, as we made "watermelon toes" with pink and green nail polish and a sharpie. (thanks, Barrett!)
11. The results of our toe-painting!
12. Eliza pulling up on the chair, and the crib, and the basket, and the shoe, ...
13. The girls tomorrow when they wear their new matching watermelon dresses.

Well, I've got the memories. But I'm pretty forgetful. :(

Why baby

Why would babies rather chew on dried up leaves and bugs and paper than sweet little colorful chew toys?

Why do they develop the "pulling up" instinct before they develop common sense?

Why do they have blow-out diapers only when they are wearing white?

Why do people insist on screaming, "look at those legs!" every time they see my daughter?

Why do kids love to pick their nose but scream when us mommies get anywhere near it?

Why do they put on shows all day long, but then duck their heads and refuse to even say hello when they finally get an audience?

Why, whenever I say to myself, "what should I wear today?" does my daughter always suggest my wedding dress?

Why do they take such comfort from a ratty old blanket?

Why do they talk about seeing their buddies all morning and then ignore them when we meet up?

Why will they eat their peas one day, and the next day insist they are yucky?

Why do they love princesses so very much?

10 Things Tuesday

It's 10 Things Tuesday!

Today, I am thankful that

1. Today was a "running day". I really don't like getting up so early, but you know the old cliche' - I always feel better when I do.
2. I get to smock a lot now and I LOVE it!
3. I'm thankful that my old camera lasted as long as it did! RIP, camera. Godspeed.
4. There is actually a movie coming out that I want to see! (Mamma Mia) I can't remember the last movie I actually wanted to go see ... Not much for movies, me.
5. The Cubs are about to play on t.v., which makes my hubs happy. And when hubby's happy ...
6. I think we finally decided on the girls' paint colors for their room. They are blush and bashful, two shades of pink, one is much more delicate than the other. :)
7. Bug spray. The mosquitos are back.
8. Swimming lessons are going along swimmingly.
9. I get to see my sister tomorrow!
10. My children are still naive to the extreme. Example: today there was a very old person taking a smoke break behind the Waffle House. Maddie asked, "What's that?" Sophie says, "Let me tell you. When you get really old, you get sick a whole lot. He's just taking his temperature."