Not Sure Why I'm Fascinated By This

But I just can't get over my husband and the fact that he actually put on a spandex spiderman suit for me. Perhaps one of the most endearing things that he's ever done for me, seriously. So simple, but such a statement of support. Anyway, enjoy it on FOX 6 Good Day Alabama.
Here are some pics from today.

My New Love Interest

Who is that masked man? Couldn't resist this one. Yep, you guessed it - my hubby! So, I'm in need of a spiderman for a FOX 6 spot Thursday morning at 7:45 promoting the Super Power Party and he agreed to suit up... There are more humorous stories involving this experience, but they aren't really to be printed on the web for a man seriously interested in entering politics!!!! Catch me in person and I'll spill.

Don't forget to watch (or TIVO) FOX 6 on Thursday morning (April 24th) at 7:45 am for his debut. You can also find it on their website afterwards!!!!

A Scary Family Trauma

OK, so the majority of you know our two (use to be three) pets: Franklin Truman Stone (Frank) and Capstone's Majestic Fennigan (Fenn). We got Frank and Lola before John and I were married. I rescued the kittens at about a week old on the side of I-495 in Virginia (south of DC) when I saw their mom get hit by a car. She was carrying a kitten and I knew that there must more somewhere else. SO, I rescued four kittens and we took two and my co-worker Jane took two. Lola had to be put down about 6 months ago which was pretty traumatic for all involved. Frank, though, has been living a lovely life as a bachelor.

Yesterday, when I got home from the Bay, Frank was happy to see us and followed me all over the house looking for affection (he's such a sweet little cat). I noticed after about 2 hours at home that he began vomiting and noticed during one episode that a piece ribbon used to tie the balloons seemed to be stuck in his mouth. I tried to get it but he was not very fond of that plan and ran away. After a night of being ill and then refusing to eat this morning, we took him to the vet.

It turns out the ribbon was blocking his digestive track. SO after extensive surgery and $1,500 in vet bills - I'm happy to report that Frank is going to be ok. HOWEVER, donations to the Franklin Truman Stone recuperation fund can be made payable to Britt Animal Clinic. Glad vets do payment plans.

I've provided a picture of Frank for those of you who don't know him and picture of the $1,500 balloons that will be leaving our house before the little guy comes home.

After Lola died I erased a lot of the pictures we had of her (not all) because it was so sad to see them. Here's one of Frank alone with Santa - his favorite place to hang during the holidays.

What started off as "free" balloons that John brought home from a fundraiser are now worth $1,500. Plated in gold those are... plated in gold and inflated with diamond encrusted air.

Four Days at the Bay Get-Away!

Ahhhh, the smell of the water, the wind coming over the Bay and bringing with it the smell of sunscreen and seafood on the grille. The sound of my nephews and daughters gleefully playing on the beach and in the little boat that cajuns call a "pirogue." A day on magnolia river. A lunch at LuLus. Waiting on the fishermen to come home. Searching for crabs in the grass. Hunting fiddler crabs. Well, these are the things I was raised with and the life that I plan to raise our girls knowing.

I took the girls for a four day get-away at the Bay this weekend. We left the house once by car (well twice if you include going to dinner at the Blue Marlin) - the rest of the time by boat, but most of the weekend was spent on the beach or the porch with the kids and Mother and Amy just spending time together and watching to world go by.

Perhaps it wasn't smart for me to step away from McWane so close to the Super Power Party, but well, I did it. John got a bachelor's weekend and spent some time with friends, studying, cleaning the house and being in the quiet. I think we both enjoyed our weekends.

Here are some pics from the weekend. Enjoy!

Hanging on the beach with the cousins. Ellabee kept getting Chancellor and Garrison mixed up - go figure... this was Garrison for the record.

The boys haven't seen Anne Bailey since Christmas. They were amazed that she "talks" and "walks". At one point she even said something similar to "Thank you" and that brought screams of glee from the playroom.

Never having met a stranger, Ellabee made fast friends with a little girl named Lilly whom she said we would be seeing "yesterday"... meaning, tomorrow.

Anne Bailey is a bit fearless on the boat. She refused to be held and when we were in the river (and the adults felt it safe to let her do so), she stood at our feet while we held her lifejacket and "surfed". Seriously, feet shoulder-width apart, arms out for balance and a big smile on her face.

Perhaps a new tradition I could get use to. while the men cleaned the fish, the ladies sat on the beach watching the children and drinking champagne - hey, it's five o'clock somewhere... and well, it was almost five in this picture.

Hanging out on the swinging beds on the porch.

Chancellor, not to be confused as a boy that cares for the little girls, spent most of his time asking Ellabee to hang out, carrying Anne Bailey around and asking where they were.

Ready for the boat. Hat on my head and snack trap in my hand.

Anne Bailey took right to the sand and much to the shagrin of her momma and the bath tub, she stayed coated in wet sand!

Anne Bailey also loved sitting at the picnic table on the beach. Many a picnic was held here this weekend.

Trip to Tallahasse for Cousin Henry's Wedding

Ellabee was very excited to head south to Tallahassee for our Counsin Henry's wedding. It was her first wedding and you would have thought we were going four hours farther to Disney World! While she definately tested her limits (especially after it was well beyond her bed-time), I would say that a good time was had by all. I wish I had pictures of her dancing on the dance floor - where she literally started break dancing AND had to stop in the middle of the whole shebang to take her shoes off!

While the highlight of the trip was the wedding, equally exciting was navigating our way south, a stop at the Dothan mall for a ride on their itty bitty carousel, making the wedding cake (for 300) with Mimi, and spending time with Uncle Ben! (We missed you Aunt Jen!)

So glad we had our trusty navigator with us to direct the way. She even was convinced that we didn't know the way and continued to ask her daddy if he REALLY knew how to get to "Tawahassee". We assured her that he did.

Anne Bailey was less concerned and slept a great amount of the way down.

A stop at the Dothan Mall afforded us a chance to ride the carousel - and for mommy to get in trouble for letting Anne Bailey get off the horse while the ride was in motion. I asked the high schooler working the carousel if she had ever tried to reason with a 16 month old. Oh well, it was an experience.

Mimi was in charge of decorating the cake for the wedding (for 300 guests)! It was DELICIOUS and Ellabee wanted to get into the game. Mimi had the forethought to bake a little cake that Ellabee could assist with decorating... and she was only one who could (or WOULD) eat it

The cake decorators.

Anne Bailey meanwhile was thoroughly entertained by her Uncle Ben.

too cool for the wedding. Ellabee was excited to see the pretty ladies and the princess (Brittany). I have to admit my glee to find out there was a young boy Ellabee's age there who acted up during the entire service - taking the pressure off our own little terror.

No, I didn't intend for Ellabee and me to match dresses - but everyone thought I did. I'm just not the mommy and me type - right?

Notice the crocs with the dress! We don't really own dressy shoes - nor will she wear them. When we tried to purchase appropriate shoes for her to wear with a dress she informed us that we could buy the sandals she was trying on, but she wouldn't wear them... crocs it is.

Hangin' in the Hood

I'm certain that our family and friends get sick of hearing how much we love our neighborhood and our neighbors. Many ask us why we live in Southside and why don't we move to the burbs. In fact, we've wondered that ourselves a few times over the past five years. I've figured it out though - this is why we love where we are... our neighbors.

The other day, Gran D and Uncle Woo Woo came over for some porch sitting time and to catch up on each others lives. They proceeded to start working with Ellabee on her alphabet - actually, I should say that Uncle Woo Woo took the challenge. He's coming back in a few nights to work on her lowercase!

Uncle Woo Woo drew an uppercase letter and Ellabee traced it - all the while chanting the letter!

Ellabee loved spending time with her adopted grandparents.

Growing up!

OK, I knew that cutting teeth, walking, feeding yourself, even picking out clothes was a rite of passage for a youngster - but no one prepared me for the fact that she would one day want to take a shower by herself!

A Little Trip to the Zoo - actually, the Train at the Zoo

John and I took the girls for a 30 minute trip to the Zoo today so that they could ride the train. It was really cold, but the girls enjoyed it and we were able to enjoy some outside time. While most of the weekend has been a washout - the sun is peeking out now. So I'm going to cut this short and get outside in the glorious sunshine.

John took Ellabee to the pool (inside pool - don't freak out) and AB is down for a nap - so I'm hearing the Sunday paper and a cup of coffee calling my name.

Riding the train with Daddy.

Excited to get going

What a Joy Best Friends Are

John and I decided to celebrate the start of Spring with a cookout. So our festive spring celebration took place among drizzle and nasty weather... so what if it was 50 degrees out, we moved the party inside and enjoyed our friends. While John and I are so thankful to have such incredible and caring friends - I find myself more and more thankful that our best friends have children that are or are becoming best friends with our children.

It's a blessing to know that as they grow, they will have a circle of friends to encourage them. Regardless, I know that these children have been raised like my children and while we differ here and there - the most important (and perhaps only thing to cling to) is that their parents seek Christ as much as we do.

Praise the Lord for friends - and community.

Anne Bailey and Capp actually were able to play together without the big sisters interupting...

Especially because they were otherwise engaged.

A little Gardening

Yep, you read that right. Although, I'm not sure what I did can be termed gardening. I spruced up our planters on the front and bought some ferns for the porch. I also took a pair of shears and snuck into the vacant lot next door that was owned up until last year by some avid gardners and helped myself to some of their handywork... or actually, I should say God's handywork... Their beautiful dogwood branches and some blue bells have made a gorgeous bouquet for us to enjoy on the porch.

Don't be fooled, I will admit to having to call my mom and ask what I should put in the planters. She knows me well - said it would be very hard for me to kill petunias.

And, we got Kimberly Queen ferns for the front. They take full sun and are a little heartier than Boston Ferns. Do I have y'all fooled into thinking that my brown thumb has greened up a little?

New Things All Around!

Well, I'm sick of having a ho hum attitude, so like mostly everyone in my family - when stuck in a rut - find a project. I've thrown myself into Shrimp & Grits with a passion and can honestly say that I'm enjoying it. It's rewarding to see a line of stuff that I've made that people value enough to pay for it! One of the best compliments from this week was "it looks just like you would buy it in a store." Well, I kindof am like a store, I suppose!

Work is starting to wind down and while that is something to be joyful about because the last three months have been rough - it does come with a bittersweetness of shutting that chapter of my life and transitioning into the unknown. Don't get me wrong - I am super excited about heading off to Restoration and am very eager to see what all the Lord has in store for me there ... I'll just really miss the revelry of McWane and the fun and laughter with my friends there.

So I've been uploading images on Shrimp & Grits all night and then got a wild hair to change the look of the blog. I'm going to work on that bus picture off to the side down there in the bottom left hand corner. I like the picture, but wouldn't that be cuter if it could be personalized. SOOOO, I'm going back into my roledex of memories when I was writing html in DC for the National Guard to see if I can remember the code. I know it's just a simple direction of a graphic to somewhere out in cyberspace, but I have to remember how to plant the photo out there in "cyber space".

I have no pictures to show (MOTHER EMAIL ME THOSE PICTURES FROM LAST WEEKEND!) other than stuff that I've been making so I won't bore you with those - but I did just want to write... for the sake of writing. Good news to share this week is a weight watchers update. After 3 months of .5 - 1 lb a week weight loss, I picked up some exercise and am happy to report I lost 3.5 lbs this week AND have hit a total weight loss of 65 lbs. Now there's a picture I can show y'all. I stumbled upon this pic from last Easter... it's now my encouragement "before" picture that I'll give People magazine when I'm on the cover next year :)

April 2007 - Easter











A Saturday in September 2007













March 2008 - 65 lbs and counting! 35 more to go!