Merry Christmas 2007!

Christmas is over!!! Woo Hoo!! Don't get me wrong, I LOVE Christmas, but it was really stressful this year with the week or so we lost due to Tad's surgery. Tad is doing very well, he can actually breath through his nose now!! The girls had so much fun the past week! We had a Christmas dinner with Josh & Anna, then with Judge & Kathy, they a Christmas brunch with my mom and sister and the spent the rest of Christmas with all of Tad's family!

Charlotte received 4 gift cards and $10 cash from her aunts and from BeBe. My sister took her to the mall to spend her $10 and she of course chose drum sticks (wondeful)! Thankfully Sarah-Grace chose a quiet webkinz, however on Christmas Eve she received a keyboard AND guitar from her grandparents, so we now have a little band going! The girls got so much stuff. I still don't know where we are going to put it all. Tad's decided to give up his office in the basement to make way for the girl's "new" playroom! I'm not sure if the amount of stuff or their new instruments helped make this decision!! They each got a bike from santa as well as a new power wheels Escalade that they can "share" and ride in together. The battery has been charging since yesterday morning, so they didn't even realized it actually moves until tonight when Tad explained it to them. Charlotte loves it because it has a real radio in it. For the record she loves the latino station. She keeps turning it on and blaring it around the house. The girls also got a new cleaning set that has a squeegee. I think they've played with that the most! They keep cleaning all thier new toys, especially the car. Tad says they are detailing it!

I'll have more pictures to post soon from Christmas and Christmas Eve, but until then I am posting my Christmas card. Anna came to our house, took all the pictures and then made the card!! She is so wonderful. I highly recommend her. I have had so many people ask for her website after they received our Christmas card that I decided to post it here - http://annacookbrown.com/. I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas!

Holiday Stressmas Season 2007

Well, November came and went and now December is flying by as well!! November was just NUTS - I had my annual Oprah's Favorite Things party (which I think went well this year - dish gloves, lip gloss, room spray, custom koozies and a Williams & Sonoma cookbook made my list), Thanksgiving with 28 people at our house and then another party with Anna the last week of November!

Last week I got to see my friend Jenny at her Junior League event!! I miss Jenny, she is so much fun - I would have never lasted at Federated without her. I can't say I miss Federated but I do miss working with her. Even better she got to meet Anna and just loved her (let's face it who doesn't she is pretty incredible). Tad had sinus surgery on Thursday. Thursday was insane - I had a small meltdown at the pharmacy and poor Anna bore the worst of it. Think Shirley McClain in Terms of Endearment - Tad was overdue for a pain pill and the pharmacist went to lunch and wouldn't give me the prescription for someone else to fill it. Needless to say, several phone calls later once I calmed down and swore off Rite Aid I got home and settled in. That night Tad had to have pain medicine every 4 hours, his dressing changed often and Charlotte got up twice in the night. His grandparents and aunt came into town Friday, thank the sweet Lord, Tad's parents and family took the girls for the entire weekend (I don't think I would have made it otherwise)!! Ian was dedicated on Sunday morning and he did wonderful!! He was so precious and we are so happy that Julie & Elliott have a church home that they love and have as a place for Ian to grow up in. Tad rested all weekend and he willed himself to be there. We were only able to stay for the dedication and most of the music before he got really dizzy and we had to leave, but we were glad we got to be there at all.

Today we had to go and have all the packing and straws removed from Tad's nose and head. He had 5 sinuses operated on and all 5 had their own packing that had to be "unpacked". He felt much better after getting all that stuff out (the pressure of it all in there was driving him crazy), but he is still pretty beat today and has a killer headache (no wonder)! I'm just on hold this week waiting for him to get back on his feet and trying to get ready for Christmas?!! Anyway I wrote most of this so years from now I will have something to explain (to myself) why I was such an absent blogger for the past 2 months!! Below are some things about the girls I didn't want to forget...

Two weeks ago Sarah-Grace had a memory verse from church, John 3:16. It took she and Charlotte all of 15 minutes to memorize it!! I was so proud. That makes 7 scriptures that they know, John 3:16, Deuteronomy 6:5, 1 Kings 3:9, Psalm 139:14, Psalm 47:1, Jeremiah 29:11, James 1:17. I hope that they keep going!!

The girls have International night next Thursday. I will definitely be taking pictures. Tad doesn't really know his heritage, of what I do know of mine it is German, Austrian, Scottish and Dutch. Normally I would have taken time to hunt down the perfect costumes that matched one of the countries I have to choose from my lineage. However due to the insanity of our life right now I opted to choose from the assortment of costumes the school has for us to borrow for free (just the dry cleaning bill once they wear them). In that spirit Charlotte will be wearing a red and gold outfit from India and Sarah-Grace will be wearing a fuchsia outfit from Asia!! It's going to be hilarious!! And, just another reason why I love their teachers, Katy & Courtney, the children will be singing "I'm Proud to be an American" at International Night.

Sarah-Grace is working diligently on a latch hook rug - I think it's so funny that she loves to do that.

Peanut, our Elf on the Shelf, is back and I swear Charlotte has an "elf lo-jack" tracker because the child can locate the elf in a matter of seconds no matter where he has "flown" to.

Tonight I asked Charlotte what she wanted for Christmas, she said "a ring, a bell and a gift card"?! The child is 2 and hysterical.

Everyone keeps asking so I thought I would give an update that Charlotte's next scan is scheduled for December 27th, it's just her regular abdominal ultrasound and AFP blood work. Her nurse from Scottish Rite called last week and stared the process to set up her appointments for the Pediatric Plastics & Pediatric Orthopedic doctors. Things are going well and we appreciate everyone's prayers.

October

Yep, so I wrote this post about 4 weeks ago and haven't had time to post it!! Oh well, at least I can do it now.

Well, we went to GA/FL game last weekend, and it was awesome! The girls went to Waycross and stayed with BeBe and Papa while we were in Florida. They had a blast too. Charlotte didn't want to come home! We got home pretty late on Sunday night just in time to get to bed for the insane week that was ahead of us.

On Monday the president of the PTO board I serve on resigned. So my week was crazy handling the transition to president, holding an emergency election to replace my former VP position and just trying to get up to speed on the by laws and the upcoming board meetings - and don't forget school lunch (it was chicken soft tacos, rice, black beans and pineapple). I'm still pretty uncomfortable with all of this. I get sick everytime I think about the school wide PTO meeting in 2 weeks - hopefully by the time it rolls around I'll be better.

Tad also, had an insane week at work. He worked basically 36 hours straight the other day and night getting ready for a very important proposal. He did come home and sleep for a few hours - well I think he slept when I finally went to bed he was still typing on the laptop and when I woke up he was still sitting in the bed typing away on his laptop.

Halloween was fun. The girls were Cinderella again. Yes, again because apparently the time is soon coming when Sarah-Grace will tell me she doesn't want to be anything "pretty" for Halloween and per my friends' suggestions I'm wearing out the princess thing until she forces me not to! Plus she and Charlotte are just too cute! We had the whole family over for dinner, and several friends - 23 people in all. I made a huge pot of corn chowder, candied bacon (as an appetizer), mini grilled cheese sandwiches (Jeannie made some grown up ones), strawberry short cake and as usual I freaked out that we wouldn't have enough food so Tad ordered some pizza. Needless to say (as usual) I have a ton of food left over (except for the candied bacon)!! Anyway, here are some pictures for you to enjoy!

Mundane Weekday

Today was "mundane weekday" and it was wonderful. I dropped the girls off at school, met a friend at Target just in time to grab a Starbucks and pick up some things, spent the rest of the morning with Kathy (one of my favorite people ever), picked up Charlotte, went to the grocery store, dropped some gifts off to a friend, made dinner and then spent the evening with my girls!!

Sarah-Grace accomplished a lot today at school and was very eager to share at dinner. She worked on verbs today, division and an art project she whipped up out of wiki sticks. One of the things I love best about the class she is in is that if she has an idea to do something - she is given the time, freedom and resources to accomplish it. She is so creative and I love that about her. Case in point, the picture below is her standing beside an idea she and her friend came up with on Friday. They asked their teacher if she could trace their bodies onto a BIG piece of paper. Ms. Katy obliged them and found a roll of paper that she laid on the floor and the girls laid down so Katy could trace them. Sarah-Grace then "filled in" her outline by drawing all the bones of her body and labeling them. Yes, she copied it out of a book - but still I think it's amazing (I am her mom after all). She actually knows most of these bones because they've spent the month studying them.

When we were discussing it I asked Tad where my scapula was Sarah-Grace replied, "Just look at the picture Mommy!". So smart that one. Charlotte of course ran in circles around the house while Sarah-Grace gave Tad and I a "lecture" on her artwork. She stopped long enough to yell at us "Look Mommy these are my phalanges" while she wiggled her fingers. Sarah-Grace and Charlotte are in the same class now - this must be what Charlotte has picked up out of the month long study on the skeleton!! Oh, well I'm off to give baths.

BubbleShare: Share photos - Here comes Halloween!

Fair Pictures 2007

These are the pictures from the fair last month. I don't do rides so Tad had to go with the girls.

BubbleShare: Share photos - Share your baby pictures

Build-A-Bear

So, Sunday the girls and I went to spend a gift card we received last Christmas from our very special friends (and adopted family) "Judge" & Kathy. Here are pictures from the girls very first experience at Build a Bear - it was so wonderful. They were so excited!! Enjoy, we did!

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Ain't Nothing Gonna Break My Stride...

So, my team let me down yesterday - it hurt I'll admit it. But, NOTHING is going to keep me down when I awoke this morning to check ESPN and see that Florida lost (there may be hope yet) but MOST importantly USC LOST at HOME!!!!!!! OK, I know that I hold an unusual hatred toward Pete Carol, but I do. I'm not sure when it started or why, maybe 3 years ago. I just got so sick of waiting up Saturday nights to watch College Gameday Final only to see 1/2 of it be devoted to worshiping USC when they had played oh I don't know, yet ANOTHER team that hadn't been ranked in the top 25 anytime in the past decade. I mean give any mediocre team a schedule like that and they will dominate. A team develops character and real strength when they have to battle every week with a formidable, RANKED opponent and then get back up from that game and the very next Saturday do it again even if they are still tired, still injured, still hurting.

And then to watch Pete Carol all these years, THE most cockiest coach I have ever seen. And seriously, (yes I'm gonna say it) I swear he and Matt Leinart had a thing. I mean their interviews were just sickening!! "Oh, Matt is just the best", "No, no coach Pete is just the best", "No, no Matt you are REALLY the best". I mean seriously! The game last night was awesome! The fans were silenced!! How wonderful! No NOTHING is going to get me down today!!

Insanity in September

This week was insane. Monday the fair was in town (which I insist we go to every year no matter how busy we are in memory of my grandfather who died a few weeks before Sarah-Grace was born, loved his grandchildren like no one else and would always drag us to the fair every year), Wednesday Tad had his 1st launch, Thursday I had school lunch (corn chowder with hot ham & cheese sandwiches), also on Thursday there was a benefit for adoption I promised to go to and a Brad Paisely concert (which I missed in order to stay home and make sure Charlotte got lots of rest for yesterday), yesterday was Charlotte's 1st CT scan, a school Hoedown that I was helping coordinate and Tad hosted a hayride for and then when all that was over Tad left around 11pm for Tuscaloosa for the weekend. The only night we had free was Tuesday and it feels long ago.

Charlotte did very good yesterday. She had to have her 1st AFP blood test and an abdominal CT scan with dye contrast (something she hasn't had before) and she had to be sedated. She did well. She didn't cry for her IV - so far 4 sticks and no tears for any of them!! She couldn't eat or drink anything all day and she didn't complain ONCE. We are so blessed. Every time we are at Scottish Rite the nurses just gush over what an amazing patient she is - Tad and I truly believe God is with us and especially her on these days. A sense of calm comes over her that no one can explain. And trust me, anyone who has a 2 year old who has to sit in a hospital for 6 hours with no food, no drink and people coming in every few minutes to poke and prod your child would know it's a miracle that she doesn't cry or complain ONCE all day. It took her a little longer this time to come out of the sedation and her heart rate spiked a few times while she was waking up, but other than that she did wonderful. We should have the results sometime next week but we are expecting everything to be normal. These are just baseline tests to give the ultrasound techs a good reference for her regular screenings. Since we did all this yesterday her next round of AFP bloodwork and abdominal ultrasounds will be in December.


Below are some pictures from the Hoedown yesterday. It was a fundraiser/social event that the PTO board I am on this year hosted in response to requests for more "social type fundraisers hosted at the school". We sold Whitt's (or whatever it's now called) BBQ, had a petting zoo (with the farm animals the school has running around), hayrides, a chili cook off and a bake off (that was won by an upper elementary girl who is constantly by my side every week during school lunch preparations so I was super proud of her). I think it was a great success!!

Sarah Grace, Lexy and the new baby goat "Gretta".

Sarah-Grace with Mary Elizabeth - aren't they so cute. Mary Elizabeth had her 1st hayride and ended up loving it!!

Sarah-Grace & Tad on the 4-wheeler pulling the hayriders.

The hayride!!

Whirlwind September 07

Wow! It's been almost a month since I've posted. I just realized that today. It feels like a whirlwind since we started school and it basically has been. Tad started a new job, he has to go to an office now and he doesn't get home until around 7pm every night. But, bigger and better jobs take time and long hours in the beginning. The girls have settled into school. Tad says I basically work there for free, which lately I would have to agree with him. I am sitting on the board this year, chairing 3 committees, I've started a school lunch program - so yeah I basically live at the school. I just keep promising myself that once this month is over things will calm down - if it doesn't I think I may have to quit, or at least cut back!! You haven't lived until you have a group of kids ranging from 3 - 9 helping you cook lunch for the whole school.

We had a nice Labor Day weekend. Kim kept the girls in Augusta while I went to the game. They had so much fun and I so appreciated it. The girls love Kim and Heather. We spent a relaxing 2 days at the lake. It was nice being with Rick, Kelly, Beamer and Laura-Kate again. The girls really miss them. It's always nice to see Tommy & Connie too - they are always so sweet to open their home to all of us. Shopping at Rue 21 with Kim and Kelly was a hoot!!

Last weekend was my birthday and it was a good one. The staff and board of the school had lots of gifts and surprises for me all day long on Friday -which ended with an amazing cake and b-day song sung by the whole school at the school picnic. I got lots of wonderful cards and gifts from family all last week too!! I was overwhelmed, I am so blessed to have so many friends and family who are so kind and thoughtful. Saturday was fun too. Most of the girls that used to tailgate (but since have become mothers and therefore can't attend games anymore) came last weekend and we had a blast at the tailgate spot. Julie made the cutest cake ( it was pink and brown with a Georgia G). The actual game was well, disappointing - but oh well what are you gonna do (scoring a touchdown would have been something but we couldn't seem to get that done). Apparently Sarah-Grace was so upset after the game she was crying. Jeannie tried several reasonable explanations for helping her understand that sometimes your team loses - she finally had to move to plan B which was "you're five and you will get over it". We thought that was hysterical.

Charlotte keeps informing everyone that when she's 5 she will get to go to Kindergarten - a result of her big sister getting to stay at school all day. I'm so proud of both of them and so happy that they love school. Sarah-Grace is working very hard everyday. She's reading more and more each week. She still loves math (I think it's her favorite). She LOVES the bank game (which is basically addition in the thousands) , she's getting into multiplication and division and she still loves practical life - sewing (she threads all her friends' needles thanks to spending time with BeBe) and all things arts and crafts. The primary classroom consists of ages 3-6. This allows each child the opportunity to be the youngest (1st year), the middle (2nd year) and the oldest (3rd year). This year Sarah-Grace is a 3rd year student and so she gets special privileges and gets to give lessons to the younger students. She is really enjoying this. She's "adopted" a little girl Natalie in the class and helps her with everything. She gets a chance to be nurturing which is such a huge part of her personality. I think she may be a teacher one day.

One of the cutest stories over the past month occurred last week. Charlotte has been bit 4 times since school started - and last week she decided to do the same to one of her little friends at school. We were very upset and disappointed (not surprised) but we still had several discussions about it over the weekend. She and Sarah-Grace were talking about it with Julie. Well ,actually Sarah-Grace was tattling to Julie about it and informing Charlotte she really needed to use her words when she was upset. Sarah-Grace told Charlotte she really needed to talk to her JuJu because JuJu was a teacher and could help her "with these things". Julie and I thought this was so funny.

Well, that's all for now. I have a couple pics Megan took from the picnic of my b-day cake (the whole thing was edible) and my new haircut (she didn't take any of the girls, although you can see the back of Sarah-Grace in the second one)...

Beach Trip 2007

We did it! We squeezed in a beach trip this summer and I must say I am so glad we did because it was so worth it. Me, Tad, the girls, Josh & Anna all went to Destin. Tad got home around 10pm last Monday night and we got up and left Tuesday morning at 6am. We came home Sunday night just in time for Tad to pack and leave for the airport to catch a flight to Boston at 10:50pm and me to get the girls dinner and off to bed on their first "back to school" night! I posted some highlights below of things to remember. I'll post pictures once I get them uploaded.

• Listening to the CRAZY mine owner go off and put Fox news, AP and CNN on notice.


• Josh realizing the first day at the pool that Sarah-Grace didn't know what the ice cream truck was. Them then running at the speed of light to catch it. Apparently Sarah-Grace wiped out during their sprint but never lost sight of her target because she still beat Josh to the truck. Josh "berating" me when I got home for keeping this knowledge from her for so long.


• Josh & Tad trying to "hide" the fact that they got jellyfish stings.


• Sarah-Grace getting her first jellyfish sting. Tad & Josh were glad I wasn't there. Josh said she screamed for about 3 minutes. He said he was serious, hysterically laughing, then serious, then laughing again during the incident. They formally created the "Jellyfish Club". Only people who have been stung can be members, this wouldn't include Charlotte, Anna or myself.


• Two days later Charlotte joined the Jellyfish club. She "took a hit" as Tad & Josh would say, on the hand. They are convinced it was just a tentacle floating in the ocean. She whined for a minute and then was off.


• Somehow every seafood restaurant we ate at was on the beach or water and had no air conditioning. Did I mention it was the hottest week of the year.


• We decided we will never eat at The Back Porch again, it was horrible. We weren't real happy at Pompano Joe's, but our server was sweet.


• Josh decided he will now just rotate between Dewey Destin's and Graffiti when visiting Destin. Watching Tad & Josh eat at Dewey Destin's was worth the heat. Between the 2 of them they ate 1 lb of boiled shrimp, 1 lb of crab and a fried shrimp dinner. There was spit, bits of crab, sweat and more flying everywhere. And you should hear the 2 of them talk about the bacon on their pizza at Graffiti. I never knew bacon could be so perfectly made. Hearing Josh rave about food is hysterical, he is so animated. But I will say I experienced a little kavod at Graffiti.


• Anna still has the plastic on her phone and Josh went 6 days before charging. "Um, what you say..."


• Anna & I blog stalking. Tad & Josh making fun of us for it.


• Anna and I just knowing that we could catch those fish with a bucket and a sandcastle mold. We were determined - I still think we could have done it. We ain't afraid.


• Bad Ass Coffee being out of whatever we were there for every time we went.


• Anna and I discovered just because a place says it has bagels and coffee doesn't mean it can't really be an ice cream shop.


• "Um, what you", Um, what you", Um, what you say..."


• Redneck, or dare I say pathetic, weddings.


• The girls & I discovered Mika. And just so I acknowledge Josh, the master of all music, HE's been listening to Mika since January.


• Anna and I dancing around like maniacs to Grace Kelly and Big Girls You are Beautiful.


• Kirk Cameron, funnier that ANY stand up comic on Comedy Central, only he's dead serious people.


• Tad & Sarah-Grace fishing on the pier and some super smart dolphin eating people's catches off their lines!!


• Anna hiking almost 1 mile one way (so almost 2 once she walked all the way back to the beach) for a net that she knew was probably not the right one for fishing but she was following the boys' instructions. This is why I love this girl.


• Anna has been to the beach probably almost every year of her life. She never noticed the tiny clams on the beach. She discovered them with the girls - it was so cute!


• Apparently I threw a hissy fit because Tad didn't bring towels down to the beach - I wasn't aware of this but it was unanimously confirmed. Don't even get me started on lunch or sandwiches I didn't ask for.


• Anna remembering her grandma.


• Seriously, is EVERYONE we know pregnant?!


• Tad teaching us Tonk. Anna & Tad spanking the tar out of Josh and I at the game.


• Night swimming.


• The bird call Josh made every morning to let us know they were up.


• Sarah-Grace having to be beside Anna & Josh at ALL times.


• Hearing Josh talk about going to a surf shop to buy some flip flops all day. Going to the surf shop, Josh actually injuring himself on a pair of board shorts he was trying on (who does this??), finding the flip flops in his size on sale, Josh buying the flip flops, raving about them in the car the first 5 minutes after he bought them (they are eco friendly you know) then 10 minutes after he had them on complaining they hurt his feet. You have to love him.


• "I still can't believe only 7 people died." Now it's up to 9 thank you very much - I knew it couldn't only be 7!! And thank goodness it wasn't 7, because then Garth Brooks would have been involved.


• Anna & Josh's laugh when they remembered a girl's outfit from 2 years ago. It's funny enough that Josh actually remembered the outfit, but his giggle was priceless.


• Josh's giggle when he and Tad watched Charlotte mimic putting on deodorant.


• Josh & awkward situations.


• Josh hates being around local bar scenes, no wait he loves them, or rather watching them.


• We finally went to What-A-Burger.


• Learning Josh likes to harmonize when he sings. Who knew?


• Playing the "most pathetic" game. I still don't believe a mixed tape isn't floating around out there with Tad's name on it!


• Charlotte freaking out that we were leaving Anna at a gas station in Alabama.

End of Summer

Well, the rest of July and the start of August was slammed. Tad was gone almost the entire time. His travel schedule was insane the past 3 weeks. I listed some highlights below.

• Charlotte is officially potty trained and has been for a couple of weeks. I started in June and then stopped because we were too hectic with my grandma's visit. I started in pull ups over the 4th of July and the following week we started in "big girl" panties with plastic lined pants over those. Every once and a while she will have an accident but now it's down to once a week, if that. The first week was not fun - it took her about 2 weeks to understand that you poop in the POTTY not your pants!! Once we explained she could have a sleep over in Sarah-Grace's room when she did poop in the potty she had about 2 accidents after that. She now calls her bottom her "shiny hiney". It's so funny.
• The girls were inseparable this summer. Example, 2 weeks ago they cried and screamed at me when I put Charlotte down for a nap because "they are sisters and they love each other". It was so sweet. Don't get me wrong they bicker and get frustrated. Well mostly Sarah-Grace gets frustrated, Charlotte really doesn't let anything bother her. I think she inherited Tad's "fog". Ha, Ha. But they really are so wonderful together and to listen in on their conversations is AWESOME.
• Sarah-Grace decided the week before last she wanted her ears pierced. We went to the store, watched another little girl FREAK OUT at the last minute and then we decided clip-on's are good for right now.
• The girls started school yesterday and Sarah-Grace is in Kindergarten. I can't believe it. They LOVE it. Charlotte was the only one not crying when I dropped her off. She was not happy when I picked her up, but she came without a fight. Sarah-Grace LOVES Kindergarten. She said today she loves it so much she wants to wake up everyday and go there - which is good because she will!! She stays for lunch now and is so excited to eat with her friends. Yesterday she spent the whole day completing equations with the bank game, "because it takes a while mommy". Today she sewed a pillow, pasted a foam castle, made an animal book by tracing and drawing animal cut outs, wrote a "book" using 5 words she made with the movable alphabet and she came home with a book she read from cover to cover - and pretty well I must say. Usually it takes us a long time to read a whole book - but her reading is becoming smoother.
• Tad officially turned in his notice at Par 3/Varolii last night. He will soon be the Vice President at a new start up company. He is sad to leave Varolii, he loves the people he works with but we feel like God is leading him to a new venture.
• It's been a pretty productive summer for me and new recipes. I made new recipes for sun dried tomato & smoked mozzarella cigars, berry Sangria, sauteed corn, green beans with shallots, broccoli with lemon, rosemary scones, balsamic chicken and a new peanut butter swirl brownie which just might replace the one I've used since I was a sophomore in college! I think Josh just might have introduced me to quicker and easier lunch. I discovered Boars Head Cajun turkey and it makes a mean wrap when you use a sun dried tomato tortilla, a little spicy mayo, lettuce and diced tomatoes, YUM!!
• We went to the beach last week - it was Charlotte's first time. The trip deserves it's own post plus pictures, so stay tuned!

Moving On...

Our room mates moved out this weekend. It was a little sad - we've been together with Rick since last October and Kelly since March!! Sarah-Grace was sad we no longer have a baby in the house and Charlotte misses Beamer (the dog). Moving was an adventure - as everything is with the 4 of us. Here are a few highlights from this weekend and a few things I'll miss:

Highlights:

• Tad and Rick somehow taking 3-4 hours to show up where Kelly, myself and everyone else is working/unpacking, then expecting sympathy because "they've had a rough day".
• Tommy "rushing" Tad and Rick at Home Depot. I put rushing in quotation marks because after 2 hours I think Tommy had a point.
• Home Depot having a time warp that only seems to suck up Tad & Rick while shopping.
• Watching Elliott, Tad & Rick HOIST the glass and iron patio table on a rope from the back patio up to the main level deck.
• Rick asking Kelly every 15-20 minutes if she still likes the roman shades in the dining room.
• Tad and Rick can't pass by a pawn shop without going in. The pawn shop guy knowing that Tad & Rick are looking for guns without them saying a word.
• Rick's face when I told him I cracked the glass shelf in their dining room hutch (I really just chipped it).
• Rick trying to tell Elliott, Tad, me and Kelly that Conyers is the bomb on the way home - and Covington is old news. This is only funny because we heard for MONTHS every random fact about, celebrity originating from, movie and TV show ever filmed in Convington. Covington was actually beginning to rival California - which if you know ANYTHING, California is pretty much the perfect place on earth.
• Rick not knowing his way around Conyers.
• Rick asking everyone every 15-20 minutes if they liked the fried chicken at the train depot.
• Rick telling us he wanted to mow the lawn before the PODS were unloaded - Kelly's face when he told her.
• Me ALMOST buying an "authentic" brass diving helmet in honor of Rick's brother. Kelly and I laughing that Rick would actually think that was cool and then he would tell us again that his brother is in diving school.
• Rick walking from room to room frantically when a project or issue came up.
• Tad & Rick trying to dig a post for the mailbox - one of them digs and the other stands and watches. Me telling them they should wet the ground first, them telling me I don't know what I'm talking about, me seeing them 15 minutes later get the hose.
• Every time I walk outside Tad standing in the garage and drinking something different (sometimes it's a Sonic drink, sometimes it's a beer or soda from a can) and Rick smoking - except when they were digging the hole.
• Tad & Rick FINALLY showing up at 3pm on Saturday at the house to start unloading/unpacking, then leaving at 5:45pm to go where...back to HOME DEPOT?!!! We finally just stopped working at the house and met them out for dinner. If you can't beat them (or guilt them in our case), you might as well join them!!

Things I'll miss:

• Rick recounting the fire drills his father used to have in the middle of the night.
• Rick's weird but sort of sweet fascination/adoration with his dad. I really think deep down Rick thinks his dad is a super hero.
• The fact that Rick's mom is a super hero - or at least she thinks she is.
• Starting an argument with Tad and then finishing it with Rick.
• Rick starting an argument with Kelly and then finishing it with me.
• Kelly's expressions when Rick talks, talks with his mouth full, sings, sings with his mouth full, or just stands there.
• Laura-Kate's smile, her dimple, the way she stares at the ceiling in our den, the fact that most every time Rick handed her to Kelly or me she would stop crying, the fact that most every time Rick would take her from Kelly or me she would start crying, her sleeping on our green chair, her little grunts/sounds.
• Tad & Kelly wondering why everyone else in the world isn't more like them - people would be much more happy and content in life, less stressed out and have more people they got along with.
• Kelly to talk to, run errands with and laugh with.
• Having the house not be empty when Tad travels.
• "Venus" and "Fly Trap" playing Wii tennis - Tad and Rick not knowing which one was Venus and which one was Fly Trap.
• The bon fire party we won't be able to have at Rick & Kelly's new house.
• Tommy & Connie's lake place because now we have Rick and Kelly's to go to on Labor Day, Memorial Day and 4th of July!!
• "That's a good point."
• Me hearing every morning Kelly tell Charlotte, "Are you sure your mommy said you NEEDED cheese" or "Did your mommy tell you you could have some" everytime Kelly opened the pantry door.
• Laughing a lot at ourselves, our family, our kids, our friends & our lives.

Game Night

Well, we were gone most of last week at the lake for the 4th of July. We had lots of fun and sun. The pontoon boat is so wonderful with the girls. On days were we got out late, Charlotte would nap on the boat in the shade. I took the girls to see Ratatouille. Unfortunately Sarah-Grace had to pee 3 times during the movie. The last time being the 10 minutes before it ended - so we missed the end of the movie. We went straight from the movie to Borders to buy the book so I could see how it ended - and to stop the flow of tears from Sarah-Grace. We didn't take any pictures at the lake (bad parents!).
But here are some from the past game night with the old group that Anna took (great friend!). You know, no matter what church we go to or where our lives take us - this group will always have a special bond. No matter what.

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Ho Hum Summer Week

Not much going on this week. We started our bathroom revamp and had all the wallpaper taken down - it looks so much better!! We also had a few other things painted so we've had to be around the house while the painter has been here the past few days. Tad's out of town pretty much the whole week. The girls and I are just hanging out. I've listened to the theme song of Hannah Montanna more times than I can imagine!! I don't even know where these dvd's come from. I didn't even know we had it and Rick informed me the other day Charlotte can recite the episode word for word. Nice. Great things I'm filling my children's heads with.

Last night I tried 2 new recipes. I made chicken parmesean fingers and pasta w/ broccoli tossed in a lemon garic sauce. It was from the children's section of my Barefoot Contessa cookbook. The girl's actually loved it.

Charlotte is in her own element. Tad asked her the other day when she was going to start going pee pee in the potty and she said "when you train me". She also now sings a song that starts with John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt and ends with Jesus Loves Me. It's quite comical.

Sarah-Grace has decided it's her job to potty train Charlotte. SO far in the past 2 days Sarah-Grace has taken Charlotte potty about 6 times and I've taken her once. Oh, well - at least she's going!!

Day at the Lake

Hi Everyone! Here is a slide show of the day at Lake Lanier this past weekend. Enjoy!

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Woo Hoo, An Update!

Yes I know I've been absent from blogging. The past few weeks my grandmother was here, it was Tad's birthday, Jeannie's birthday, Father's Day, I officially became an aunt and we threw Judge & Kathy an anniversary party. We haven't really been at home much - so when I have been at home I've been doing things like you know, sleeping & eating. So here is a few little words on all our activities and some slideshows to go with it!

My 80 year old grandma and her best friend have been here for the past few weeks. The last time she came down here was right after Sarah-Grace was born. We had a blast. She got to see my house, the girls school, we took her out on our boat and we played cards until I thought my mom would pass out. But most importantly we laughed. We laughed a lot, so that's the best memory of all. I had Anna come over to get some pictures - so we could have a generations picture and while she was snapping photos she took some of tad & the girls. Below are just a few - LOTS more to come. I'm hoping Debbie will send me the picture of grandma on the boat that she took - it was so cute! My grandma, her friend and my mom all left yesterday to return to Pittsburgh - my mom will be there until next week sometime then she comes back home.


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After 10 little girls born in Tad's generation of family members, the Thompson family finally welcomed a new little man in our lives Saturday, June 16th at 11:22pm. Elliott "Ian" Kent Rogers, JR officially made Tad an uncle and me an aunt, and broke the run of girl cousins! We are very excited. Little Ian is so sweet and a very good baby. Elliott is on cloud nine. Here is Ian's blog - check it out!!
http://www.elliottianrogersjr.blogspot.com/


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Random

Hi everyone. We've been taking it easy at our house the past 2 weeks. Sarah-Grace had her first tennis lesson last week, and did well. Charlotte had her first ultrasound last Wednesday - everything looked good. We've been visiting a new church that we like. We went out on the boat last weekend for the first time time this summer.

This week Sarah-Grace had church camp every night and loved every minute of it. That is until she knocked Trevor over on the concrete floor last night and almost gave him a concussion!! My 80 year old grandmother is here visiting from Pittsburgh so I will have pictures to post soon.

Highs & Lows

Hey everyone! It's been a crazy past 24 hours. Tracee graduated!! We were so proud and she looked so pretty. I can't believe she will be moving out on her own this summer?!! She is going to have so much fun. She is going to be an amazing nurse - or whatever else she might decide to change her major to.

Onto other news, Tuesday night our neurologist called me around 11pm. Both the MRI and the genetic testing results had come in. There wasn't anything the radiologist had to say except for what the doctors can already see by looking at Charlotte. However, the results of the genetic testing officially diagnosed Charlotte with a genetic syndrome called Beckwith Wiedemann Syndrome (the following site is very helpful http://www.beckwith-wiedemannsyndrome.org). This syndrome is the cause of many things, it's why she was premature, its why she was so big for her gestational age, it's why her left kidney is larger than her right and it's the explanation for all the little things doctors have noticed or commented on. She is doing fine and so are we. We now have to go to Emory to see a pediatric geneticist and he along with our pediatrician will begin a regular screening process for Charlotte that she will continue until she's in adolescence. Children with this syndrome have an increased chance of growing abdominal tumors - so they have to have regular ultrasounds to ensure nothing is growing. They already have our first ultrasound scheduled for next Wednesday at Scottish Rite and thankfully the pediatric geneticist at Emory is taking new patients so we have our first appointment with him Aug. 22nd. Other than that she will just be monitored over time and with time her physical characteristics will even out. All of us have to undergo genetic counseling. So this summer is going to be a lot of research and doctors visits!!

I appreciate everyone's prayers for us. I know this wasn't the outcome we had hoped for, but it's good that we know what we are dealing with. We are SO lucky to have a pediatrician, Dr. "May", that was observant and diligent enough to get to the bottom of Charlotte's little intricacies. She was just as disappointed yesterday on the phone as I think we were. It's really comforting to know we are walking through this process with such great doctors that really care about Charlotte. We are very blessed. Thank you again and keep praying for us.

Charlotte's MRI

Hi everyone! Just wanted to write a quick post about the MRI today. Charlotte did great. We fed her the biggest breakfast ever at Waffle House this morning before 8am with eggs, bacon, waffles, toast, grits and sausage. It was a good thing, because she wasn't able to eat or drink anything until 5:50 tonight. She didn't cry when they stuck her with the IV or when they pushed the sedative through (which the anesthesiologist said burns really bad). She didn't cry at all. She's a trooper and the nurses at Scottish Rite are just amazed by her. We will get the results next week (hopefully) and we aren't expecting any abnormalities. This is just a standard test the neurologist ordered. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers.

Hectic Blessings

It's been a hectic past week but a wonderful one. Laura-Kate is perfect. She never cries or fusses, she loves to cuddle, she slept through the night last night and she is just beautiful. Kelly is doing an amazing job, she is so relaxed and just glowing. Rick is even doing well. He and Sarah-Grace were left alone today with the baby and they changed a dirty diaper together with no help. They were very proud.

Last week we spent a lot of time at the pool. We love our new pool. Sarah-Grace is swimming everywhere with her swimmies on and she goes right down the water slide. Charlotte is a crazy girl. She refuses to go in the kiddie pool. She will latch on for dear life if you try and wade her out to the "deep" end (a whopping 1 foot) where the mushroom is. But, put her in the regular pool and she screams for you to let her go she can swim by herself. She even wants to go down the water slide. She gulps in a mouthful of water and comes up coughing and choking (a sign that most children take to mean they are drowning) and she just squeals and plunges her head back underwater.

Tad was Scoops again last week at our Bruster's fundraiser. He spent 3 hours in a huge waffle cone charater costume in 85 degree weather. Sarah-Grace was so proud and excited. She hasn't stopped talking about him doing this since last year. Charlotte was freaked out the entire time. We even showed her Tad's face in the costume and she still didn't want anything to do with him. She kept asking when "Tad" would be there. She didn't even like me speaking to Scoops.

A few more updates, Charlotte has started saying "actually" all the time. For instance, when I asked her if she had snack at school today she responded, "actually, I had goldfish". Sarah-Grace went to the dentist for the first time on Monday. She did a great job. She went all by herself and never asked for Tad (even during x-rays). She got a diploma for doing such a great job brushing everyday and now she's obsessed with flossing.

Charlotte has her MRI on Friday at 2pm. Please pray for us (mainly for the fact that she has to fast for 6 hours beforehand - no fun during lunch). We have at least 3 more weeks until we get any results from the genetic testing. We're just waiting.

Laura Kate

Hi everyone! Laura Kate was born today, on Mother's Day. A very fitting gift to a very deserving couple!! Here are a few pictures...

Kelly's Family Shower

Below are some pictures from Kelly's shower last weekend at our house. Anna is an incredible photographer (as you'll see below) and was so gracious and generous to take pictures all day!! (Anna has a website and makes incredible cards, announcements and all kinds of cool stuff so you should check her out at www.annabrowndesigns.com.)

The shower was lots of fun and an all day event! Everyone is just so happy for Kelly & Rick and we all can't wait to see little Laura Kate.

Rick & Kelly opening gifts.

This is Sarah-Grace and her cousin Madison. They love to play together.

This is the 3 muskateers - Madison discovered she had a new playmate this visit, Charlotte.

Kristi (one of Kelly's sisters) and Connie (Kelly's mom) signing the baby frame.
Charlotte eating cake.
The dessert tray.
The "punch" we had in honor of Kelly's grandmother who passed away a few years ago. It's actually green koolaid with sliced oranges, chilled of course.

Elliott's gift to the baby.
Kelly & her mom in our backyard.
Tracee & Sarah-Grace

Rick with one of the gifts for the baby.

Our clothesline gift to Kelly.

Aunt Karen rocking on our back deck watching the girls.

Sarah-Grace waiting for her turn on the trampoline.

Brag Blog April '07

Well, I still don't have the Disney pics because they are on Tad's computer and we aren't in the same city right now (a common occurrence lately). But hopefully I will post them next week. This weekend is Rick & Kelly's family shower. I am feverishly trying to get all the Teacher Appreciation Week projects together and get ready for the 30 people that will be here on Saturday. I'm STRESSED. But, I wanted to take a minute to jot down some things about the girls that I notice as I'm racing around them (my way of alleviating some of my guilt).

• Charlotte's language and sentences have just exploded over the last week. I swear when we picked her up in Waycross last weekend, she was talking more than Tad & I had EVER heard her. It must be something in their water.
• Sarah-Grace brought her first completed division worksheet home today!! ALL the answers were right, some of the numbers were still written backwards - but she computed the answers correctly!! I was so proud and made a big deal, to which she replied, "Mommy I've BEEN doing division - where have you been".
• When we were at Disney our friend Kevin took his little girl and Sarah-Grace to the campsite playground. Savannah lost a toy at the playground and Kevin told her it would be alright - he would just buy her another one. Then MY child informed Kevin "You can't just keep buying her things to lose". Yep, I wanted to die when Kevin told me what she said.
• Charlotte refers to the movie Charlotte's Web as "My Web".

Christmas 2006

hi everyone! I don't have much time to blog, it's been a really stressful week and it's only TUESDAY!! I wanted to post some quick pics from Disney but all I could find were pics from christmas, so I decided to post these instead. Stay tuned for more pics from Disney!!

Walking for Charlotte

Hi everyone! I am participating in a WalkAmerica event April 28th that raises funds for March of Dimes. If you aren't familiar with March of Dimes it is an organization that funds research and development to understand and prevent prematurity, birth defects and infant mortality. This event and organization is very near and dear to my heart because of our experience with Charlotte and also because of the experiences my friends and family members have had with complications and prematurity.

I am hoping you will help support me in whatever way you feel moved, either through a donation, by joining our team and walking with us or through your thoughts & prayers. If you would like to donate please know donations don't have to be large to make a difference. Tad and I have started a "Dime Bank" where we are emptying any change (especially dimes) we have at the end of each day into the bank. Sarah-Grace is collecting her dimes as well.

I have a personal web page that you can visit to read more about the event, why I am participating and where you can choose to make a donation or join our team if you feel moved to do so. You can visit this web page by clicking on the following link: http://www.walkamerica.org/kgraces

I appreciate each and every one of you, your thoughts and prayers for us and for Charlotte where overwhelming and that experience was life changing for us. Thank you for your love, your support, your friendships and God bless you all!

Kimberly

Down the Drain

SO, I totally forgot to write the most interesting thing about the past 2 weeks in my last blog. I was consumed with duties and details last week leading up to the auction. Myself along with the PTO board worked non-stop. I had about 4 hours sleep Thursday through Saturday night. Thursday was so nuts, Tad was gone, I had more shopping to do for last minute details, I baked 130 cakes that day and made the mousse filling, then I had to get 14 dozen roses for the centerpieces I had to make. Friday morning I was exhausted from the day before plus no sleep. I had to be at the 1818 club again first thing in the morning to put out a fire, then more shopping, then off to the school to make 15 centerpieces, deliver the centerpieces, fabric and candles to the club later that evening. I was doing SO great on time. All I had to do was unload my car (the centerpieces, fabric, risers, candles, etc.) then I would be off to the house to finish filling the cakes and then start glazing them - with the schedule I had stuck to I would be home around 8pm and in bed by 11pm.

The auction chair, Debbie, came with me to unload and drop off. We made a quick pit stop to the bathroom. She had been on the phone ALL day and was talking to her friend while she was waiting on me. When I went to stand up and, pardon my "graphic-ness" here, pull up my pants when I felt something fall out of my jeans pocket. What may have dropped out you ask? Well, that would be my car keys. Any where did they drop you may ask? Well, that would be in the TOILET AS IT WAS FLUSHING!!! Yes, that's right I flushed my car keys (9 keys, keyless entry, gym card, Kroger card, Publix card all attached) DOWN THE TOILET!! And apparently the 1818 club has the most powerful toilets in the world because it didn't even hesitate. It didn't clog, didn't back up, just flushed them straight out to sea - with Nemo I suppose.

I was panicked and mortified. I had to interrupt Debbie to use her phone and call Tad - which was oh so fun. He had to come bring me the back up set we have - thank the good Lord. Then I had the oh so fun task of walking out to the main desk. Now, the 1818 club is a members only club for many distinguished people in gwinnett county. They have an incredible seafood buffet on Friday nights so it's usually packed. I had to walk out among these people and explain to the front desk lady that I just flushed my keys down the toilet. Of course she couldn't hear me because of all the people around (and I was trying to whisper) - she said 'YOU DID WHAT?" so loudly everyone had to turn around. I just wanted to die.

SO, I waited on Tad, set up every table while I waited, didn't get home until 10pm and didn't get to bed until 2am. Tad refused to let me hold my keys when he came to pick me up. He walked me to the car and put them into the ingnition for me. It's going to be a long time before I live this one down.

I'm still here

Sorry it's been a while. In the past 2 weeks Tad was out of town 7 of the 14 days and part of that time he was hospitalized in Colorado. He had to take some serious down time last week, which invloved resting, doctor's visits, more blood work and then he took another trip to TEXAS. Then the annual fundraising auction for the girls' school was this past weekend. Every year I say I'm not going to help and every year I do. Case in point, this year I was the decorations committee chair, the silent auction chair, the check out chair, I made 130 mini choclate ganache cakes - yeah and pretty much I was the honorary auction co-chair. I was EXHAUSTED after Saturday and so I slept for 2 days straight and I actually left the house today. But, we raised a good amount of money so that's rewarding!!

The next few months are NUTS!! Kelly is moving in next weekend!! I am so excited. The boys are in for a rude awakening - and some serious trash tv on every night!! I have Sarah-Grace's birthday, spring break, 4 showers, one wedding, a bar mitz vah, Teacher Appreciation Week (I'm chair of the committee - go figure), Laura Kate's arrival, baby Rogers arrival and on and on all in the next few months!! I'm excited but I'm a little overwhelmed just thinking about it.

On a random note, Charlotte just started saying Sarah-Grace this week - she use to call her just Grace. Sarah-Grace is obsessed with babysitting, she is constantly "babysitting" her dolls and keeps asking about her new cousins that are due soon. Both the girls will watch a new DVD until it won't play anymore. They are still watching the first season of Full House. I wish I could record everytime they are watching with their headphones on and the show starts because they both belt out the theme song. It is SO funny - neither one off them can carry a tune and because Charlotte doesn't know most of the words or can't enunciate the words she sounds, well, challenged.

Pink Monday

Not much to report today. We really didn't do much over the weekend. We did hang some pictures and replace the fan that fell in the keeping room. Yes, that's right it fell right off the pole last week at 10pm. It would have killed or seriously injured our children had it fell on one of them, but we are just thanking the Lord that it didn't. And now it's gone and a much lighter and securer one is in it's place.

I was dropping the girls off at school this morning when I realized Charlotte's eye was pink. SO we ran out of the school and to the doctor's office where we sat and waited and waited and waited for them to tell me she had pink eye. Every mother knows you NEVER go to the doctor on a Monday morning unless it is absolutely necessary, and unfortunately pink eye is absolutely necessary. At least our doctor had mercy on me and not only wrote one prescription but a refill just in case this nasty junk comes back in Charlotte's eye or if one of us happens to wake up in the next few days with it. God bless that woman!! Then we had to pick Sarah-Grace up from school and lug everyone to the grocery store to get the prescription filled. FUN. It was lots of FUN. Charlotte has never had eye drops before so her first dose went really well. - mainly because she had no idea what was happening. Of course she got wise to the eye drop bottle and her second dose involved screaming and being held down. Fun, it's really fun.

Sarah-Grace helped me make dinner and fold laundry (she LOVES to fold towels - and I love that about her). We made my grandma's easy mac & cheese, pork chops and green beans. I'm always recommending this recipe for "during the week meals" so I thought I would blog it and share it with all of you. If you make it please write me and tell me what you think! Thanks grandma Grace Wills!!

Easy Mac & Cheese
2 cups UNCOOKED elbow macaroni noodles
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 1/2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
4 cups milk (I use 2% but my grandma uses whole milk)
(my grandma adds 1 tsp dried minced garlic but I don't)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Put UNCOOKED macaroni, salt, pepper and 2 cups of cheese in a casserole dish. Mix with a spoon. Pour milk over the cheese/noodle mixture. Bake for 1 hour total. I usually check on it after 45 minutes and mix it around with a spoon then put the last 1/2 cup of cheese over the top. It's SO easy and only 1 dirty dish when it's done!!

Brag Blog 2-23-07

Attention!! This is a shameless "brag blog" to document the little accomplishments my babies have made lately. SO, if you don't want to hear about them, then don't read any further. I don't want to be obnoxious about my kids, but part of the reason for this blog is to have an online journal of my memories and the girls' milestones. Here are a few updates:

• Sarah-Grace read 3 books this week and for the first time actually seemed to be comprehending the story and not just reading the words. She also kicks butt at the bank game (this is advanced math work in the montessori class)!
• Charlotte started repeating her prayers and scripture this week. It is so sweet. She even had her baby doll kneeling, putting her hands together and telling the doll to pray with her.
• We had parent teacher conferences today. They showed us a picture that Sarah-Grace drew of us this week and she wrote the sentence "Trampoline How Long Will It Stay Up" on the bottom of the page. The teachers told us how sorry they were that we may not be able to keep it. This is the first time that we knew Sarah-Grace knew anything about it!!
• Charlotte keeps saying Uncle Jesse every time she sees Full House or just thinks about it. I think Sarah-Grace has had Full House on the TV so much Charlotte actually thinks he will come if she calls him enough.
• Ms. Joan's been teaching the children about dinosaurs at school. As usual she makes up a song to help them remember what she's teaching them. She sent a paper home and I figured I would just see if Charlotte could recognize the song. Um, yeah she now knows 4 dinosaur names and what their traits are. I don't know why I think that is so cool. Ms. Joan's the best!!
• Sarah-Grace actually asked to come in from the playground today and help the teacher's clean the shelves and equipment in the classroom instead of playing anymore outside. No wonder they absolutely adore her at school!!
  

Hickory Shower

This weekend was good! Kelly's shower went very smoothly (although her friends got a little stressed out at the baby picture game). As usual, I have to post a list of things to remember over the weekend.

• Next time I play the baby picture game and I have the mom of the prego girl bring the baby picture I'm going to make sure the prego girl actually sees her baby picture and knows which one she is! It's all good, Kelly figured it out in the end.
• Kelly & I are so very lucky to have Tad and Rick, or so they like to tell us very often.
• When running into random delivery guys Rick will stop to give them tips and suggestions on how and what to deliver in their box.
• When in a situation where the car that is waiting on Tad is moved or hidden, Tad will continue to walk and act like he knows exactly where we are and what is going on - even when he doesn't.
• "People" talking like Anna Nicole Smith.
• Rick STILL being upset at Anna Nicole's death.
• Tommy is really reading up on mother & baby articles lately.
• Everyone trying to sneak out of the room and leave Rick sleeping on the couch (instead of snoring all night and keeping Kelly up) - AGAIN.
• When Rick asks a server's opinion on a particular beverage and she tells him that the beverage in question is pretty nasty - Rick will still order the beverage, take one sip and agree it is nasty. He just likes to taste it himself.
• After the above mentioned beverage is consumed Rick will give you his honest and passionate opinion about the people in his life.
• Rick snoring so loudly in the car he actually woke himself up.
• Gabe's dog Louie likes me. He really likes me.
• Skittles in Zima is apparently still tastey - even if you're not in college anymore.
• Meeting Dwight - he's really much sweeter and better looking in person.
• When Tad feels guilty about going on a ski trip its a great time to "stop" by the outlets in Gaffney.
• Kelly winning the bet about the first question Rick would ask after receiving his "man daiper bag".

Charlotte's B-day 2007

We got back from Seattle and its been a whirlwind since then. Charlotte's birthday party was last Saturday so we had family in town all weekend. We spent Sunday afternoon celebrating Judge's birthday and I had a blast. I've never been to a "garage sale" that was that exciting as the one Kathy hosts!! I have a billion things to do for the auction - I say every year I'm not going to help and this year I'm "not helping" by soliciting 8 donations and chairing the decorations committee. I know I bring it on myself, but I can't wait until this is over!! This weekend I'm hosting Kelly's shower in Hickory and then, oh yeah, today was Valentine's Day - so I've been just a little busy!!

Below are some pictures from Charlotte's birthday party. It was tons-o-fun. She pretty much refused to open gifts after about the 3rd one because she wanted to eat ANYONE's cake that was left sitting on the table. She discovered you can't eat M&M's out of a cup with a plain fork. BUT, if you dip the fork in icing and then dip it into the cup, the M&M's will stick to the fork and you can eat them!! When it was time to go she kept saying more party. When we explained the party was over she looked at Tad and said "This party fun". Yeah, she pretty much melted his heart and guaranteed a great party next year. Tad video recorded the party with Kelly & Rick's new DVD camera (thanks again y'all!). And now the girls stay GLUED to the TV in the playroom because they keep watching the party over and over again.

Today the girl's got the first season of Full House on DVD for Valentine's Day. Sarah-Grace has NOT stopped watching it. I figured they could watch it on really long trips - she figured she could try and watch all 22 episodes TODAY.

And here's just some random things I feel like blogging because I don't know when I'll have time to blog again...

• We were officially welcomed to the neighborhood association with 2 "nasty-grams" yesterday. One for the trailer we've had parked out front for about a month now and one for the trampoline we put up without consulting the architechture committee. I sure hope they let us keep the trampoline up or they are going to have 2 upset little girls and about 8 pissed off Thompson, Tully & Rawlins family members.
• Tad & Rick can both do toe touches on the trampoline?!! This is just wrong.
• Rick flails his arms like a helicoptor when jumping on the trampoline.
• I think the rendition of the BEE GEE's song with the beat box guy on American Idol was the BEST audition EVER!! I would totally buy that single if it was made.
• I think I might possibly hate Spencer on The Hills more than Jason from the Hills. I never thought that was possible - what's up with his grill? He looks like a vampire. Plus he's just cheesy and creepy. Yuck.
• Tank & Jessica are the closest I've ever come to reality MTV. They actually know a couple who were on a show!!
• I love Anna & Josh - especially after around 10pm when it's late and we're goofy and tired and just being ourselves, and even our "couple-selves".
• I don't get Ali-G or D'Ali-G or whatever the heck that silly show is. I just don't.
• If you've ever read my blog or heard me talk about our friends Matt & Beth who are adopting a little boy Eli, I thought you would want to know he is HERE. He came home last Thursday and he is just stealing every person's heart he comes in contact with. Seriously, you know people were going to fuss over him, but you can just hear in people's voices and see in their faces when they talk about him he is SO special. And he has such special parents to watch over him. Talking to Beth on the phone today you can literally HEAR her smiling. He is an answered prayer and we are so happy for them.

Shopping in Seattle

I love this city!! It's so clean, and pretty, and busy and interesting..and clean. Honestly, I love it here!! I am sitting at my desk in the hotel room and in one window I can see the Puget Sound, the Space Needle and some incredible snow covered mountains (which Tad will be attempting to ski on tomorrow). I've walked more in the past 2 days than I have in a month. I ate a piece of the best pizza I have ever had at the Italian Specialty Food Shop at Pike Place Market this afternoon. I bought more of my FAVORITE cookies of all time at Three Girls Bakery in Pike Place Market (here they call them Chocolate Drops, up north they call them thumbprint cookies or black eyed susans). I only got hassled by 1 fish guy today. I spent an hour looking at vintage estate jewelry at this fabulous antique store - I LOVE old jewelry. I would so rather have a piece of vintage jewelry than anything new. I think that all the old colorful sapphires and diamonds they used to use are so rare and beautiful. I also LOVE vintage aprons. I always stop to look at them whenever I see them. I stopped by the old Bon Marche' flagship store which is now Macy's and it makes me want to puke. The store is beautiful and has so much history to have the ugly Macy's sign and nasty star logo down the side of it.

Yesterday I went to the Nordstrom Rack and got some great deals - they get all their stuff from the 7 story Nordstrom flagship store 2 blocks away. The shopping here is incredible - you name it, they have it. Even the department stores are amazing. Anyway, I'm enjoying my vacation and I think Tad is enjoying work. He won Sales Rep of the Quarter today. Everyone I meet here just gushes about him, so I think he likes it here too. Some of his co-workers we've known for years, either from other companies he's worked for or I've worked for so it's always nice to see and "reunite" with them. And some of the "new" co-workers that I've never met are just as sweet and friendly (and they read my blog - so I have to give a "shout out" to Erin - you are so sweet). I think it's pretty nuts that the weather here is nicer and warmer than in Atlanta. The past 2 days here have been gorgeous and in the high 40's low 50's. Oh, well. We'll be home in just a couple of days.