In search of...

The girls had appointments at the dentist this morning. On the way there, Kaylee asked if she could show the dentist her first loose tooth. So of course, I told her "yes". It's been hanging in there for a long time now, being pushed out by the "big girl tooth". She then shrieked "It's gone!" We went to the dentist as planned and then came home to search for her tooth. I know it was in that little mouth of hers last night. Anyway, we looked and looked but cannot find it. I'm not sure who's more at a loss - her or her mommy! I told her we would write a note to the tooth fairy to let her know that her tooth came out in the middle of the night. Hopefully the tooth fairy will still remember to visit and will leave her something special. :)

Chris Mess

Well, Christmas has come and gone and I hope all of you had a Merry one. Now, Chris-Mess time is here. Those of you with little children will relate. It's the time when all the taped in, twist tied, and even screwed in toys come out of the packaging one by one and all that's left in the living room is a bunch of ripped up cardboard! Seriously, does Mattel really think Barbie needs to be plastic strapped, twist tied AND taped to the back of the box - she's not going anywhere! Oh, and I just LOVE it when they sew, yes, I said sew, her hair to a plastic strip that is also taped to the back of the package! Grrrr. With all that safety "gear", I can't wait to take the trash out! Tonight, I've made my pile of papers, twist ties, plastic, cardboard pieces and boxes. It's all near the front door just waiting on tomorrow morning to come! I'd post pictures but I have taken the photos off of my laptop in fear of losing them as the laptop has seen it's days and is only working when it wants to. FYI, my new computer case is on it's way so Mike can build me my super computer. I'm sure when it comes in, it won't be near as "safety packed" as Barbie was! We'll see!

moving at a __________ pace.

Time is going by so fast with the Christmas holiday approaching. I don't know how I'm going to get everything done! As I stepped outside the other day, I was looking down and saw a snail on our sidewalk! Yes, a snail. It probably made it's way over here from the pond behind our home. The kids named him Gary - after the snail from Spongebob Squarepants! Anyway, I was able to take some time out of my morning to capture some photo's of it. It was a good reminder to me that we all need to take time out of our busy, fast paced days to reflect on the small things in life, especially during the holidays~ Enjoy!

You know you're a big girl when....

You know you're a big girl when you're about to lose your first baby tooth. Or at least that's what Kaylee says! Yep, it's her first loose tooth and it's almost ready to fall out. In fact, her replacement "big tooth" has already made it's appearance and pushed it's way through behind the loose one - shark like if you will! So, for now, we just sit and wait until the baby one decides it's had enough pushing around from the big one.

A few weeks ago, when we first noticed it was loose, we had this short but very cute conversation:

Us: "Hey Kaylee, do you know who visits when you lose your tooth and put it under your pillow?"

Kaylee: "Ummm, the dentist?"

Too cute!

They're here...

They're here! The Holiday's that is. Last week, we enjoyed our time with family at Thanksgiving. We always have so much fun. This year, we went over to Mike's cousin's house for dinner on Thursday and then celebrated again with my family on Saturday. Needless to say, I'm done with turkey for a while! After dinner on Thursday, a few of us braved black Friday shopping from 9 pm until 6 the next morning. I typically enjoy this event but this year, it was a bit crazy with stores opening up early and having different goods on sale at different times. I still enjoyed being with my sister and Debbie (Mike's cousin) as there are always stories and laughs to go around. Of course, I also enjoy the savings I made on certain items for the kids. Any saved penny counts these days! I hope all of my blog readers enjoyed their holiday as well.

Proud soccer mom

Yes, I admit it, I'm a soccer mom - mini-van and all. I'm the one on the sidelines cheering on the teams and then handing out the snacks at the end of the game. I'm also so very proud of my girls for sticking with a sport that they have grown to love. Yes, it was rocky at the beginning back a few years ago but we have watched both Jennah and Kaylee head out and bring on their best each and every week. They are both darn good at what they do and they make us proud. It's become one of my favorite things to do on Saturdays.

Mike is the "team photographer" and has taken several excellent shots of the teams in action. Here are a few of my favorite shots of my girls. Enjoy!!

CNA Class

Just today, I realized there are only three more weeks of CNA classes and clinicals! Time has flown by quickly. I love our class, we have become a close knit group. Everyone has been helpful and we've all learned so much form one another. We started with 14 in our class yet only 11 of us have "survived". I'm glad I decided to take on this challenge. The class has been a great experience. I've even enjoyed my clinicals! Although I can honestly say, I prefer hospital work rather then the long term care facilities. Hopefully, I can get my foot in the door at the local hospital and get a job soon! We'll see - I still have to complete 3 more weeks, a final exam and then the state boards for certification. Whew! The photo below is our class at one of the facilities we worked at - it may seem blurry but you'll find me!

Ok, so, where have I been?

Where did the time go and where has my blogging gone? Well, here is what has been keeping me busy these last few weeks:

Chef Boyardee House Party...

Birthday Parties

Publix pumpkin carving and-

Halloween treat making classes-

with the family!

Studying for college (darn, I missed one!) and classes on Monday, Wednesday and Fridays.

Fall decorating and more pumpkin carving at home...

Kaylee's Fall Festival and Parade at school

Trick-or-Treating

Clinicals for college all day on Thursdays.

Kaylee's soccer practice on Tuesday nights and Games on Saturday mornings...

Jennah's soccer practice on Tuesday and Thursday nights and her games on Saturday afternoons!

Not to mention, the Pampered Chef party I had last night along with the usual every day tasks at home. Whew, I need a vacation! LOL

home again...

As many of you know, I typically head to N.W. Arkansas this time of year to visit friends and to shop the Arkansas craft fairs. I love it there in October. This year, however, it was just too expensive to fly and driving was out of the question so instead, Mike's cousin and I headed to Savannah GA and then on to Charleston SC. We were only in Savannah for a few hours - long enough to walk the Riverfront and head on to Uncle Bubba's for some good eats. We then headed out to Charleston. Talk about a beautiful historic city! I loved it! The homes are something else and the history of it all is spectacular. We took a tour the first morning and then attended a "Taste of the Low Country" cooking demo in the afternoon. It was great! I was even turned on to eating grits! I'm not talking the yukky ones I tried at a chain restaurant some time ago, these were REAL stone ground yellow corn grits! So yummy, I bought a bag and cooked them for Mike and the girls when I got home! The next day, we set out again for some shopping and some walking on our own. It's a beautiful place to visit and I'd go back in a heartbeat. I definitely had a great time with Debbie as usual and look forward to our trip next year to who knows where! Here are some pics - enjoy!

Uncle Bubba's in Savannah GA. Named after Paula Deen's brother.

This was what I ate at Uncle Bubba's - it's called Fried Swai and shrimp. Swai is a very mild white fish. It was wonderful.

Some Charleston history for you: All the homes in Charleston are called either Charleston Singles (as in the photo above) or Charleston Doubles (in the photo below). Singles are homes built one room wide in size. Yes, believe it or not, the above home is only one room in width. Doubles are built two rooms wide with the door in the middle. The home below, although it looks just as wide as the one in the photo above is two rooms wide - one room on each side of the door. They can be as many rooms as they want in depth. This was done because the people were taxed on how much property faced the street. Also, all homes are built with the piazza (or what we call patio) either on the west side of the home or the south side. This is so they get the breeze off the ocean. While we were walking, we did notice that this was true of all the homes - we didn't find one with the piazza facing any other direction!

A Charleston Double home.

On this particular doorway, you will see the white rope-like carving around the doorway. Back then, people liked to "advertise" their wealth this way - the thicker the rope, the more money the family had.

Debbie and I toured this home - it is as beautiful on the inside as on the outside. Note, it is a Charleston Single (one room wide). It is three stories high. The owner is part of the original family that lived there many, many years ago. She lives on the bottom floor which is also the only air conditioned part of the home. The second story houses the "social rooms and dining room". The third story is reserved as a bed and breakfast. The house is pink because the original owner was the town dentist and pink "is the color of healthy gums." To this day, the current owner wears something pink every day.

In Charleston, no buildings can be torn down. They all must be refurbished. This used to be the old train depot. It is now the home of the Visitor's Center. This is the back, where the tour buses pick up and drop off visitors.

This area of homes is called Rainbow Row because the colors of the houses. If you notice on the pink house (the second from the left), you will see round things under the sets of windows. These are actually "bolts" attached to rods that run through the homes to hold them together during earthquakes!

Just about all the sidewalks were slate and the side roads were cobblestone or brick.

One of many parks in the city.

The Chalreston City Market - we did a little shopping here!

This is Ashley. She is Gullah. Gullah are African Americans who live in the Low Country region of South Carolina and some parts of Georgia. They are known for preserving more of their heritage and culture than any other African Americans in the U.S. Ashley made me a beautiful basket. You can read more about the Gullah people by clicking http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gullah

I really liked the side of this home. It is a Charleston Single (one room wide) but here you can see how long it is. Also note, homes here are made of an oil wood. Most are then covered with stucco and left plain or the stucco may be carved to make it look like stone.

Thanks AAA and Legoland Florida

Florida is getting ready to open up it's newest theme park - That's right, Legoland Florida is set to open October 15th. As AAA members, we had a chance to visit the park for their AAA sneak preview days. We had a ton of fun and loved that AAA was there to give out some goodies as well. I really enjoy being a member for all the special discounts we get for hotels, theme park discounts, and even discounts on shopping! Not to mention the ongoing feeling of security I have knowing that I'll be taken care of if I should ever need a tire change or run out of gas on the road. We actually had them come by the house when our only set of keys got locked in our car! Anyway, all of us thoroughly enjoyed our day at Legoland, it was a day full of fun and surprises. If you have kids ages 2-12, it's well worth it. Here are some pics - Enjoy!

Legoland Florida

Our personal tour guide.

Kaylee on her jousting horse

Kaylee got her license to drive at the

Legoland Ford driving school.

The girls enjoying the Beetle Bounce ride.

Einstein.

Jennah gets her license as well.

Jennah and I on the double decker carousel

The plumber..

Finally

Pictures are now posted under my previous "A Magical Day" Disney post....

A magical day...

Mike and I took the girls to Disney World last Saturday. The weather was perfect - no rain! I'll admit, it did get pretty hot for just a few hours at noontime but it turned out to be a lovely day! We got there just as the park opened and headed straight for Thunder Mountain! Our girls love that ride. It's so nice now that our littlest one (Kaylee) is old enough to pretty much ride everything with one exception - Space Mountain. As a mom, I don't think she'll ever be big enough to ride it! Luckily, our other daughter Jennah LOVES to ride all kinds of roller coasters. This time, was her first time riding Space Mountain! She was excited and ok, so was I! Of course, Mike volunteered to sit out with Kaylee. I believe they went on some rides while they waited on us. All in all, a very fun day with hardly any wait times in lines. Seriously, we pretty much walked onto everything!

Yay! We're here!

The girls at Liberty Square

Kaylee has her chalk portrait drawn

Kaylee enjoys the Tomorrowland Pople Mover with Mike while Jennah and I head for Space Mountain

Jennah waits in line for Space Nountain

Aladdin's Magic Carpet ride

Alone in the log at Splash Mountain.

Daddy and Jennah on Buzz Lightyear ride

Jennah and I on Space Mountain