Party Time! Happy Birthday Ivory!

On Saturday Addie attended her first birthday party. Ivory, who belongs to our friends Jason and Lee Ann, turned one on August 18 and invited us to join in on the fun as she and her family celebrated with her first birthday party.


Decked out in her Elmo dress (handmade by her seriously talented mom), she worked her way through her first cupcake expertly made and decorated by her Aunt Melissa who is a baker and just happens to have an awesome name. The cupcakes really were very cute and very, very yummy. Move over Ace of Cakes.


Addie proudly wore her party hat (again, handmade!) and took notes as she watched Ivory enjoy her cupcake and open her presents. No cake for her this year, but we're workin' on it.

As the youngest party goer in attendance Addie couldn't "hang" as long as everyone else and fell asleep before the festivities were over, but she had a great time.

Thanks to the Jason, Lee Ann, and Ivory for inviting us to join in on this special occasion! We enjoyed it and were happy to be included.

Say "Pause!" 2nd Installment

Contestant from the latest season of "The Bachelorette." (Side note: we weren't watching it, he was featured on another show!)


Molly Wood, Executive Editor for CNET.com. She always wears the most interesting clothing. And by interesting, I mean, nicely, eclectic.

The View From My Beach Chair

Yesterday I had a couple of hours to myself...MYSELF...so I headed to the beach. It was a beautiful morning to be out there. A gentle breeze, plenty of sunshine, calm waters, and hardly anyone around. It was the most relaxed I have felt in a long time. So, it was interesting that when I got there and saw how pretty it was, that I wished that Sabian and Addie were there to enjoy it with me.

We had a "free" day empty of obligations so we ran a few errands, had some dinner, and then the three of us headed to the beach. The wind had picked up but it was cool, not sticky at all, and we were treated to a pretty sunset.


Nothing of note to point out today, it was just a good start to the weekend, a nice end to the week. Next week Sabian's mom will be visiting so I'm sure we'll have some things to share then.

At the risk of sounding super sappy, I am thankful for the times I have to "recharge" and enjoy some time to myself, but it is good to get back home to be with Sabian and Addie.

Double Rainbow, Double the Promise

Last night as we were eating dinner I commented on how strange it looked outside. We'd had a dreary day all day and when it came time for the sun to set, the sun was showing, along with the cloudy sky, making for an interesting palette. Sabian headed outside with Addie and, in a voice that lately has become familiar (remember the bear?), he summoned me outside.

Looking up, we saw this:




If you look right above the bright rainbow, you'll see another faint rainbow - a double rainbow! This is the second rainbow I've seen since we've lived here, but I wasn't able to capture the last one. I was at the IGA and saw it, drove home really quickly to get the camera and figured since everything is so close in Wewa, I would have time to get back to take a picture. Well, it didn't work that time, but it was cool to see this one and to share it with Addie.

I am thankful for God's promise!

Mommy Brain

When I was pregnant I ran across the term "pregnancy brain" often in the books and websites I was reading. It seems when you are pregnant you not only take on added weight and clumsiness, as well as a whole host of other "treats," but one is also prone to forgetting things. As if anything else needs to be added to the mix. What I didn't realize was that after pregnancy brain there seems to be another ailment that follows, one I can only think to call mommy brain. Maybe I am the only one suffering from it; if not, feel free to share your experiences and make me feel a little better.

Last week I forgot a lunch date, among other miscellaneous scatterbrained activities (including saying, "how cute those frogs are" while looking at a cartoon of monkeys) that were peppered throughout the week. Last night I discovered the latest product of this malady. I was fixing something to eat and noticed this on my refrigerator:

Earlier in the week as I was going through some magazines that had stacked up I ran across a call for an essay contest that I thought might be fun to enter, so I cut out the rules and posted them on the refrigerator so that I wouldn't forget. Apparently, as I was reading a different issue of the same magazine a few days later, the same blurb caught my eye and I cut it out, again, and posted it, again, right next to the first clipping, on the refrigerator. However, the second time I posted it I never noticed I had already done the same thing just a few days earlier.

Sheesh. At least I'm consistent, right?

The essay contest is about the moment you felt like a grown up. I wonder if this incident could be worked in somehow. On the other hand, it might get me signed up for a psychiatric evaluation.

I am thankful for the patience those around me exhibit, because who knows what else I've come up with and haven't had a refrigerator to show me what I've done.

Here We Go Again!

Madsen is giving more bikes away! They are now conducting a WEEKLY bike giveaway - same deal, just click on the link on the right side of my blog and my name will be thrown into the running to win a bike. And hey, I won't even care if you want to add a link to your blog or website, too. Just make sure you click for me, and I will click for you!

How thankful would I be if I won one of these?!

Addie Goes to Kindergarten

Last week Addie and I accompanied my friend Libby to Marianna where her sister, Miriam, is a kindergarten teacher. We were there to help Miriam set up her classroom and get it ready for open house and the new school year. To brag on Addie, she was great. We left at 8:30 that morning and didn't get home until after 6, and then went on to church that night. She was tired, but she did so well all day.

Thanks to Mrs. Wright (Libby's mom) for watching out for Addie when she got bored with her playmat, and to Miriam for having us that day. We had a lot of fun.

I know we are years away from Addie going to kindergarten, but I sure hope she has a teacher like Miriam someday. It did get me thinking just a little about her going off to school and I am happy that we have a while to wait for that to happen. I did get a glimpse into the world of a teacher and wow is there a lot of preparation involved.

Thank you to all of the teachers out there!

Say "Pause!"

Tivo can be a wonderful thing. Most of the TV we watch now is recorded, and even if we are watching live, it is nice to be able to rewind and catch that word or joke we missed. It can be an annoyance, too, when your husband decides to pause a show every two seconds to talk about what just happened, instead of just letting it go and talking at the end. But, I digress...

Speaking of pausing, it is a necessity at times. For instance, when the doorbell rings, the oven timer goes off, or when babies decide they need some more attention. It is at these times when Sabian and I catch a glimpse of whatever show we are watching, mid pause, and chuckle because we've "caught" someone or something in a humorous state of pause.

Introducing the first installment of, Say "Pause!" I've decided to share these funny moments with you, my loyal readers, no matter how few and far between you may be. I appreciate that you read these ramblings and I figure the least I can offer is a little laugh, maybe a smile for your day.

The following "pauses" are from the last couple of weeks:

B.J. Novak from The Office on Conan O'Brien


Shaq, also on Conan O'Brien


Chris Wallace, on Special Report with Bret Baier


Glenn Beck, from his own show

I promise we don't try to pause on a funny moment; these are strictly spontaneous.

Feel free to offer your own thoughts about Tivo and other recording devices or, simply enjoy these fun moments.

I am thankful for Addie's lengthy nap today!

Lions, & Tigers, & BEARS (yes, BEARS!), Oh My!

Last night we were headed to the beach to enjoy a free evening, just the three of us. It had been several weeks since we'd made it to the beach, so it was time to go feel the sand between our toes. After we were about five minutes down the road that leads to the beach (takes about 20 minutes from Wewa), this is what happened:


Yes, that is right, we saw a black bear cross the road in front of the car, stop and stare at us, and scamper off into the woods. Right before this happened I had turned around to catch Addie on video, since these days it seems when we get in the car she becomes a chatterbox. A LOUD chatterbox. When Sabian told me to turn around I did what any sane person would do in that situation - I promptly turned the camera...off. Sigh. I promise, we did see it. Up close.

I am thankful that the bear's first reaction was to run away from us.

Orlando, Sans Disney World

It's hard to believe, but it was two weeks ago tomorrow when we left to go to Orlando. Time is really flying. It was a short trip, just Thursday through Saturday, but it was good to get out of town and do some fun things. We went to the AG's General Council, which brought some friends from Illinois down south, so we were able to spend some good time with them. We were able to attend the services Thursday and Friday night and then Saturday we did a little shopping. I wasn't leaving Orlando before I got to pay a visit to IKEA.

Addie seemed to enjoy her adventures on the trip, which, at least this time, did not include a trip to Disney World. We'll make that investment when she's actually old enough to remember it! Hopefully that will be when we can take advantage of the Florida resident discount and the manageable drive from here to there.

Despite skirting Mickey Mouse land, Addie did get to go swimming in a big pool for the first time and she loved it. She didn't make much noise, and she barely tore her eyes away from the water, but we could tell she was really enjoying herself. And, as I am sure every kid does this when they hit the water, but she sure was kicking her legs like she knew what she was doing. Can't wait to get her back in the pool.






I am thankful that we had the chance to get away and that Addie did so well on the trip there and back.

PS - How appropriate is it that our long-legged girl has giraffes on her swimsuit?!

Hello, Claudette

Well, here we are again. Our services have been canceled for tonight, yet our rogue youth group will get together anyway to hang out and say goodbye to those who are headed off to college this week. Apparently Claudette, Ana, and Bill would like to send them off with a proper Florida salute. So be it. We'll be enjoying burgers as they swirl around us. For now, it's just rain and a little wind. Hope our makeshift "carport" stands firm.

I am thankful for a warm, dry house and for rainy afternoons that make napping even sweeter.

An Inconvenient Convenience & a Reader Question

I have a love/hate relationship with our dishwasher, or any dishwasher for that matter. The convenience, of course, is nice, and loading it is easy. But, my least favorite chore is to empty the dishwasher. I can't stand it. Bring on the toilets, let me scrub the floors, but please don't make me empty the dishwasher.

It wouldn't be so bad if I could just take the dishes out and put them away. However, inevitably there are dishes that are still wet and need to be dried, or worse, still dirty and need to be washed. Washed?! Didn't they just go through a high heat washing and drying cycle? What's worse is that once they've gone through the cycle and come out the other end still dirty, the food is now a part of the dish itself and must be chisled off. Hand me a dirty dish that has already been through the dishwasher and it is lucky to make it back into the cabinet. I'd almost rather throw it away. Seriously. Wasn't the purpose for putting it in the dishwasher for it to come out clean? This only means I'll have to spend more time cleaning something that would have taken less time to wash by hand in the first place. Would this mean that I should just forget the dishwasher altogether and simply wash by hand? I'm not sure I'd go that far...

Unfortunately, and I suppose in a sense, ironically, once the dishwasher has completed a cycle I like to get the dishes out and put away so I can start filling it again. Lucky for me I have a husband who knows of this love/hate relationship and will take on this horrid task, but there are times when he is not around and to avoid keeping dishes from sitting in the sink, I have to get the clean ones out of the dishwasher. And so the process starts.

So, this begs the question, what is YOUR least favorite household chore?

I promise I am thankful for the convenience a dishwasher provides (for I have lived without one), but I am even more thankful for a husband who offers to empty it whenever possible.

Are you a product of the playpen?

Recently I have been scouring craigslist to find a good deal on a playard. Once known as a playpen, I have wondered, more than once, when and why the word "playpen" seems to have disappeared and when the new, more modern word "playard" has come into existence. Not only has the word changed, but the style has as well. Years ago you might find something like this:

But now you're more likely to find something like this:In the midst of my search and my wondering about this, I stumbled upon this article that talks about this very thing. Just sharing for the sake of sharing in the event that any of you have wondered about it, too.

Pigeons, Pedestrians, & Paris

If you were a pigeon or pedestrian on a certain early morning in Paris in 1976, you may have seen your life flash before your eyes thanks to French filmmaker Claude Lelouch.

Mr. Lelouch shot a short film using a camera mounted to his car while racing through the streets of Paris. This film is called C'était un rendez-vous. Translation: "It Was a Date."

If you have a need for speed, or you simply like the thrill that comes from holding your breath for eight and a half minutes, this film is for you. I recommend watching it, if nothing else than to see how it ends. If you Google the film on your own, be forewarned - Wikipedia will spoil the ending for you if you read the synopsis before watching it.

You can watch it here.

Avoir un voyage agréable! (Have a nice trip!)

Phew...

Everyone is busy, but do you ever have those stretches of time when the days run together and it is everything you can do to remember to eat a meal? I remember once, when I was still living at home with my parents, I walked out the door, got in my car, and realized I had forgotten my shoes. But, that's another story.

Life in Wewa does get busy, and busy it has been. These last couple of weeks have been filled with miscellaneous activities and even if Addie and I haven't been directly involved in said activities, it's been enough to keep up with Sabian's schedule and to make sure he has what he needs to do what he needs to do. Who says being a stay at home mom means you simply stay at home? Trust me, there's no couch sitting, bon bon eating going on here! At least, not lately...

In the midst of it all last week Addie and I were fortunate enough to accompany my friend Libby to Marianna, where we stayed the night with her mom and attended her sister's Pampered Chef party. We also spent some time running around with her sister-in-law and her three kids, who were great at entertaining Addie. One of our stops took us to a thrift store, where we found two pairs of size 18 shoes.

Addie may end up being a tall girl, but I can pretty much guarantee she'll never wear these. She wasn't too impressed by them. She did get some attention from an older gentleman who sat down on the glass top table next to us and talked to her. That is, until the top of the table broke. Oops.

Among other things, today we tagged along with some of the "Golden Ager" ladies from church and headed to Graceville to do some shopping. Sabian drove the bus, leaving bright and early. Addie was quite the trooper to and from Graceville and while we were shopping. Here she is riding along, hanging out, listening to the ladies.

There's not much time to breathe before we leave for Orlando on Thursday but at least it makes the time go by fast as we are looking forward to spending a couple of days away. In the meantime, I'll leave you with a photo of Addie and her latest favorite snack - her toes!

I am thankful for a sweet little girl. She really is a lot of fun these days.

PS - I just realized in all of these pictures she is in her car seat. I promise we do let her out.