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.)