Happy Birthday, Dylan!

Tomorrow is my son, Dylan's 14th birthday.  Usually when I first meet people and tell them how old my son is, I inevitably get the sidelong glance and the statement "you don't look old enough to have a son that old".  Well, I indeed AM old enough to have a son that old and had him at the very respectable age of 20, even though it wasn't exactly in MY plan to have a child at that time.  Still, even to me, it's hard to believe that I have a 14 year old son.  Seems like just yesterday I was graduating high school (although it's been 16 years this year!) and it doesn't seem like 14 years have passed since I had Dylan...but I guess that's what happens as the days/months/years fly off the calendar! :)

It was actually 14 years ago today that I actually went to the hospital to give birth to my baby boy.  Notice I didn't say "went into labor"...which I did...but only after they gave me that wonderful pitocin...much sarcasm noted there.  But the best part of my whole "having a baby" story is when I tell you that my due date was June 13th.  Yes...you read that correctly.  And yes, tomorrow is July 1st.  That would be 2 1/2 weeks AFTER my due date.  Evidently 1996 was a big year for babies in Winston-Salem/Forsyth County!  Because June 30th was a Sunday.  I remember going to the doctor on the Friday before that...the wonderful nurses, oh so sympathetic, asking what I was STILL doing there.  And then my doctor sent me for a stress test...which indicated NO stress for the baby...and then he said, well, call us on Sunday morning and IF there is an available room, we will induce you.  I still can't believe that to this day!  It was so crazy...and I did everything I could think of to make that child come out.

So, there was indeed an available room and at 11am on Sunday, June 30th I went to the hospital to be induced.  By 4pm, I was technically in labor and at 10:50pm they said the magic words...you can push now!  I thought it was almost done; however, the crack staff nurse that was assigned to me UPPED my epidural just before she thought to check and see if I was fully dialated.  If you've had a baby, you will know that this can slow down your pushing.  So...yep...two hours later at 1:50am on Monday, July 1st, 1996 I delivered an 8lb baby boy. 

And after all that...I consider him the greatest blessing that God has ever given me.  Truly, he changed my life in such a positive way.  I can't even imagine what my life would've been like if he hadn't unexpectedly come along.

So...with that being said...Happy 14th Birthday Dylan!!!

Beach Recap

I haven't really blogged about my beach trip...just while I was there.  Overall the trip was great.  We had a lot of fun...a lot of laughs...a lot of good memories.  Here's a few pics from the trip...

Can you beat this view???? Kure Beach, NC

Here's our sweet beach baby Ayden.  He just has the sweetest disposition...but he makes you work to get a smile!

This is me (on the left) and my sis with Ayden.

One night we went to the Kure Beach pier...this is me & Alyson...aka my "beach partner"...on the pier.  She called me her partner because we shared a room.  Aly loves her Aunt Jenn! :)

On Thursday, Dylan & I went to the Ft. Fisher Aquarium...Dylan got on the wrong side of this alligator! hee hee

Me & D at the aquarium

The day that Dylan & I went to the Aquarium, we also visited Fort Fisher.  I have to say...I was a bit disappointed.  The coast there is pretty...very rocky...but I was surprised that there was nothing there! In my teenage years, our church visited Fort Caswell every summer.  At Fort Caswell, they still have the concrete forts and a lot of the original buildings.  I didn't realize until I actually went to Fort Fisher that most of the original Fort Fisher is under water...since the coast line has eroded away over the years.

On our way out of Wilmington, Dylan & I decided to go to the USS North Carolina Battleship.  What was I thinking?  The temps that day were well in the 90's...so, we decided to go walk around a big metal ship...one that's not air conditioned...yeah, not smart on my part.  But, we both love visiting the Battleship and it'd been several years since we went.  It's really quite amazing to think about people living and working on this large ship and it gives me a great deal of respect for the men who served on this ship.  Especially in the hot summer months! 

And this the whole fam...from left to right...

Baby Ayden, my sister Missy, her hubby Zach, Alyson, Dad, Mom, Dylan & me!

So...there's just a little taste of our trip.  I would love to tell you that we did so many exciting things...but when I thought about what we did, other than Thursday when D & I went to the aquarium, every other day consisted of us getting up, eating breakfast, going to the beach, coming back, showering, eating dinner and doing a bunch of nothing for the rest of the evening!  We did go eat one night at a place called "Jack Mackerel's" right near the Kure Beach pier...it was really good!

Oh...and props to Dylan for being a good sport in taking pics...he's not always been so cooperative, but everytime I said "let me take your picture", he flashed the grin and let me take it!  Not too shabby for a 13 almost 14 year old! :)

Monday Minute!

Wow...today was CRAZY at work.  First...we missed invoicing day (usually the 25th) because I was at the beach...and so was our controller.  So, first thing I had to enter ALL of the subcontractor/vendor invoices so we could actually do the client invoicing.  Then I had TWO weeks of timesheets to enter.  Add that to over 300 emails to sift through...what a day!  Thankfully, most of the e-mails were things I could delete without reading...but still!  Over one week, 300 emails! YIKES!

So, I thought I would give you just a "Monday Minute"! :)



Has anyone you've known personally lived to at least 100?

Nope

What material possession do you value the most?

I'm not sure.  I'm a fairly sentimental person...so that could cover a lot of things.  One thing that I have (but not at my house) that I really love is a wardrobe that I rescued from my grandparents house after my grandfather died.  My uncle had the bed but was going to THROW AWAY the wardrobe.  I had wanted it but my parents said it went with the bed.  I guess they assumed my uncle would take it...but he didn't!  Yay for me!  It needs some work, which is why it isn't in my house.  Maybe one day.

I also value my grandmother's "china" that I also got after my grandfather died.  It's not really china...my grandmother collected S&H greenpoints and traded them in for these dishes.  She must've collected a lot because I know have 16 or 18 settings!  Plus all the serving accessories! They are green & ivory with a gold trim...I love them!

What do you think happens to us after we die?

Heaven, of course!

Most embarrassing item in your house?

I don't really keep embarrassing things in my house...if it's there, it's because I want it there!

If you could rename yourself, what would your name be?

I don't know...something a little less common.  I was always one of many "Jennifer's" in my classes...I like more unique names.  But at this point, I'm kind of used to my name...so I think I will just stick with it!

Here's to an almost end to Monday...hoping for a little less hectic Tuesday!

Getting to know you Sunday!

I'm linking up with Keely's blog at Mannland5 for Getting to Know You Sunday! :) 

*To play..copy the questions..answer them..then come back here and link up*

The Questions

1.If you had 5000.00 to spend on plastic surgery what would you have done?

Quite honestly, I'm fairly content with my body, other than the fact that I'm about 4 sizes larger than I would prefer to be.  However, the thing that I DO hate are all the broken blood vessels in my legs.  Unfortunately this is a genetic issue (thanks to my dad's mom!) and they are just UGLY!!!  So, I would get those fixed...and then have some lipo done with any left over $!

2. Do you watch Soap operas and if so what is your favorite and why?

I've never been a big soap opera fan.  Plus, I work during the day...so I don't watch them!

3. Favorite clothing brand?

I don't really have a favorite clothing brand.  I love shopping at Kohl's and I've found that Dockers fit my bottom half the best.

4. An afternoon shopping spree at your favorite store or maid service for a year?

Shopping.  I'm so particular about my cleaning that I'd probably end up doing it again anyway.

5. Would you ever vajazzle?

Nope

6. Favorite Disney Princess?

Cinderella!  Although, I do love Belle!

7. Last movie that made you bawl your eyes out?

Not sure...probably The Blind Side

8. Have you ever broken any bones and if so what?

Yes..my arm.  I broke it a couple of years ago.  I was stopping at a local pizza place to pick up dinner for my BFF, her hubby, me, Dylan & Seth (Dylan's friend).  While walking into the pizza place, I tripped on the curb and landed on the palms of my hands.  The MD said when I did this, I probably shoved the bone back into my elbow and I cracked it.  It was painful the first day but it didn't take long to heal.  Because of where the break was, I didn't even have to wear a cast for more than 4 days.  They actually didn't want me to since it was so close to my elbow.  It would've been worse if my elbow had frozen.  So, all in all, not a horrible injury!

There you go!  Have a good Sunday!

Friday!

It's time for Feel Good Friday!  Today is a bittersweet Friday for me.  It marks the end of a good week for me.  A week at the beach with my family.  But it all comes to an end tomorrow.  Sad...

So, I will write five good things about this week...

#1 - Playing Guess Who at least one hundred times with Alyson.  I think she even knows HOW to play now!

#2 - Watching the sweetest 8 month old snoozing under a beach umbrella on the beach...too sweet!

#3 - Napping on the day bed on the screened in porch with a nice beachy breeze blowing...pure bliss.

#4 - Spending an afternoon with my teenager at the aquarium and then visiting the Civil War museum at Fort Fisher...which he loved.

#5 - Six full days at the beach...what could be better than that?

Things seriously began to hit last night that vacay was almost over because I started stressing about VBS coming up in a couple of weeks, bills that need to be paid, etc., etc.  It's amazing that the moment we got here I dropped all that stuff and just didn't think about it.  But, the end is near and soon it will be time to get back to reality... *sigh*

Enough of the depressing!  It's also time for a Friendly Friday Follow!



I'm not sure how many bloggies I'll get to check out today...but I will try to catch up over the weekend if I don't get any read today!  Let me know if your visiting from either of these blog hops!

Have a great Friday!!!

Well...it's almost over...

In spite of the oh, so generous "Wilfong" and "Beach" for providing internet access for us while here at the beach, it's not very convenient.  Sometimes you can get access at the dining room table, but unfortunately the BEST place for access is in the kitchen.  Not at the nice eat in kitchen with a breakfast nook table, but in the galley style kitchen...with no breakfast nook...no table.  So, we either stand at the kitchen counter...or as I am now, sitting in a chair that I dragged into the kitchen.  It's really kind of sad...

This week has been marvelous.  The best beach weather...sunny & warm.  The water has been so clear, which is such an irony to me since the dreaded oil spill is supposed to hit our beaches sometime in July or August.  We've done next to nothing...and other than the money I chipped in for groceries, I've spent next to nothing while here.  One meal on the way down and some extra sunscreen & gatorade for Dylan.  It's been awesome.

I can't believe that today is Thursday and tomorrow is our last full day.  I'm a little glad because I miss my bed...and Alyson sleeps right on top of me...but I really will hate leaving.  I'm thinking that I will have to move here once Dylan's out of high school! :)  Only four more years...

Oh, yeah...the little sunburn on my back was much worse than I thought...no more on the back for me! hee hee!

Beach...and a Monday Minute!!!!

Well I did find an internet connection!  I'm not sure who "Wilfong" is but I thank them for having an unsecured connection to allow me to feed my internet addiction! :)

We are having a great time at the beach...I'm a little sunburnt at the moment on my back...but it's not horrible and I know that by this evening or tomorrow it'll have faded into a nice brown! I have played at least a dozen games of "Guess Who" with Aly, swam in the glorious, oil free ocean...which was just about as perfect a day as I've ever seen...played with my baby nephew, gotten a little way into Eclipse, which I've read before but felt like I needed a refresher considering the movie comes out next week, and just had a great time with the family.  There have been a lot of laughs so far...looks like a success so far!

Well...time for a Monday Minute...



Ian is now co-hosting the Monday Minute featuring a different co-host each week. Today’s co-host is Brittany from Not Your Average Teen.



The rules for the Monday Minute are simple – Copy the Questions, Answer Them, and Link Back to Ian’s Blog.

Here goes:


1.Have you ever had any feelings towards one of your teachers back in the day?

Nah...my teachers were just teachers...

2.What's the most embarrassing thing that happened while at work? (If you never worked then make something up)

I do embarassing things at work all the time...probably the time that I was trying to get up from the floor and fell back down, hitting my nose on my desk on the way down.  I didn't hit the top of the nose...I hit it on the nostril side.  It hurt so bad...and then it was funny!!!

3.When was the last time you crapped yourself?

When I was much, much younger...like four

4.What is one thing you have always kept a secret and why have you kept this a secret for so long?

Why am I going to share a secret that I've kept for this long right now on this public blog???  Seriously, I really don't know what that would be...

5.What's your best advice for us habitual coffee drinkers as to not to have to poop right after drinking it?
 
I don't really have this problem and I am a habitual coffee drinker.  I guess the obvious solution would be to go BEFORE you drink the coffee...

Maybe I'll see you again later in the week! :)

Check out my new button!

Thanks to my friend Rebecca at From My Mountain View for creating my new button!  I love it and it is so me!!!!

First of all...it's time for Friendly Friday Follow! :)  Let me know if you are visiting from here!

And it's a Feel Good Friday!  I love Friday's as a general rule and this is a REALLY great Friday.  I'm choosing to post 5 things that made this week great!

1 - Tomorrow is my birthday!  YAY!  I love my birthday.  I keep waiting for the day that I am sad to be turning a year older, but I just haven't hit that!  I hope that's always the case!!

2 - Tomorrow I am also leaving for the beach for a week!  I can't wait.  My whole family is going - including parents, son, sister & hubby, niece & nephew.  And looks like good weather!  I'm so looking forward to this!

3 - I'm totally psyched about my new beach chair that I bought for $10!  WOOT WOOT!  I went to CVS, which oddly enough is the one of the few places in this part of NC that sells beach chairs, to get a chair...fully expecting to pay $18 for the chair.  When he priced it, he said it would be $10 with my extra card!  Of course, they only had one...so now I'm on the search for at least one more...and if they have more than that, one for my BFF!

4 - J#1, of my 3 yr old twin friends J&J, asked me to bring him something back from the beach.  I said, "What could I bring you?"  He said, "What about seashells?"  He & J#2 are totally getting seashells!  J#1 was so sweet to me Wednesday night...love them to pieces!  I might even spring for a little something that actually costs money!

5 - I have already received two birthday gifts - the first, from my BFF Ash, is a Life is Good backpack!  With flip flops on it!  Just in time for the beach!!!  I  love it.  The other gift, from Kathleen that I work with, is a 5lb bag of sour patch kids!  Oh.my.word!  I love sour patch kids!  This will be the perfect treat while I'm lounging on the beach!

Happy Friday...not sure that I'll be on here much, if at all, over the next week.  Not sure if I'll have internet connection.  If not, I'll see you in a week!

It's not *insert gift here*

We have a running joke in my family that began a long time ago when my sister (younger than me) was probably 5 or so.  Missy was always horrible at keeping gifts a secret from the gift recepient.  So, most of the time Missy didn't find out what was in the gift until the person was opening it.  One year, though, Mom either told Missy what our grandfather's birthday gift was or Missy went with her when she bought it...therefore Missy did know what was in the gift.  I do remember there were strict warnings to both of us to NOT tell PawPaw what was in the gift beforehand. 

So, it came present opening time and my sister, trying to be all discreet, said to my grandfather "It's not pajamas"...which is prescisely what was in the gift.  I guess she thought it would still be a surprise if she said "not" and he opened the gift and it was pajamas.  I'm not sure...sometimes, even now, Missy's thought processes are somewhat difficult to follow.

Enter present day.  My niece, Alyson, who is 6 1/2, is her mother made over again.  She may look like her dad, but she has all of my sister's personality...including a great deal of prissyness and a lot of attitude.  So, today, my sister called me and said "You will never believe what Alyson said this morning."  Evidently, they went Father's Day shopping last night and my sister bought her hubby a new pair of Rainbow flip flops.  These were well deserved...his current pair had been chewed up by one of their dogs and are well worn.  This morning he tells my sister that he really doesn't need anything for Father's Day...to which my sister replies, "But we've already made a point to go out and get you something."  And my niece pipes up and says "Yeah, and it's not flip flops!" 

And who says that attitude and mannerisms aren't genetic? 

And one more to round out Wednesday...

That is my mother...and yes...that is a snake.  She & my dad found it in their backyard. 

For a little perspective, my mother is about 5'2". 

Yeah...they killed it...and she picked it up.

I'm worried about my parents...just saying..

HA HA!

Change is good...sometimes...

I love Facebook...I'll admit it...I'm an addict.  I will also admit that I signed up for Facebook in order to try to stalk catch up with an old friend.  However, when I first signed up, I couldn't figure out how the whole Facebook thing worked.  I had teens telling me that they loved it...it was so much better than Myspace...and I just didn't get it.  So, I had a Facebook with two friends for about a year.  One friend knew even less about Facebook than me...the other was one of these crazy teens that was trying to convince me that Facebook was so great.

Then, one day, I'm not sure how or when...I just sort of embraced Facebook.  I stopped trying to understand it and just "did" it...for lack of a better word.  I began to find friends...people I'd graduated high school with...my roommates from college that I had fallen out of touch with...people I'd grown up with.  Suddenly I was able to keep up with my college roommate that lives in Arizona and I was able to connect with a girl I grew up with who now lives in Australia.  Irony of all ironies, the so-called friend that I had attempted to reconnect with never accepted my friend request and blocked me from even seeing her on Facebook (this is a whole other long story that really shouldn't have ended with this result...but whatever).  Anyway, I found a great deal of pleasure in keeping up with who was married, divorced, having babies, etc., etc. 

Then came the day that you could let everyone on the planet know what you are up to.  I can't say anything...I like to keep my friends up to date on my goings on too.  But, oh my goodness, the information that was now at my fingertips!  Now, I know who's got drama in their life...and who's heading to the pool...and who's going to be a new mommy...and so on and so forth.  Not only that, I now have information about people's relationship statuses...and who they are dating/married to/in a complicated relationship with...oh, my!  What a fabulous invention. *My BFF & I have a saying...we aren't stalkers, we're just curious! :)

Well, if you've kept up with the Facebook phenomenon, you know that there have been minor changes to the formats...and major changes.  Major changes that resulted in public outcries to "change back to the old Facebook format", which lead to new groups formed with thousands of people joining...hoping that Facebook would go back.  With each new change, people either embraced the new or hated it.  I, not being a big fan of change, was on the "hating it" bandwagon...until I figured it out and it didn't bother me too much.  For the most part, Facebook has stayed constant for the last few months...I know I've seen where they've made some changes that have violated some people's privacy...but I check my settings to make sure that the only things that are shared are the things I want shared.

Tonight, while scanning the recent updates...scrolling past the birthday wishes, a conversation between sister-in-laws about how to get labor started, seeing some new relationships beginning...and a few ending...I saw this as one of my friends' statuses:

Name being withheld loves that you can now like people's comments.

I had to read that several times...because I just didn't get it.  At first, I thought, you've always been able to "like" people's comments...but then I thought, no...that's statuses.  And then I looked down at the comments and realized that now there is a nifty little "like" button after.each.comment. WHAT???  Really...is that necessary??  I'm so confused.  Why would you need to like a person's comment?  Name being withheld says it's so you can be more specific with your "likes"...but really, do I need to be that specific?  I mean, if I like what one of my friends comments on another friends status, I just leave a quick little comment of my own.  Do I really need to "like" it?

Oh, my...change is good...but sometimes not very necessary!

My Mother's Cakes...YUM!

Yesterday a few friends & I hosted a baby shower for a good friend.  She and her husband have been married for about 14 or so years...they have prayed for most of their married life to be able to have a child.  In November/December they found out that she was pregnant!  This was her second pregnancy...sadly the first ended in a miscarriage.  So, after waiting the perfunctory almost 12 weeks, they announced their little addition and we were all ecstatic!  This pregnancy has been a journey, including horrible morning sickness that lasted well into her second trimester and an emergency surgery for a VERY rare condition...so rare that I can't even remember what it was called.  I only remember that their attending nurse said she'd been an OB nurse for 20 some years and she'd only seen this happen one other time.  But, praise the Lord and here we are almost six weeks before the due date and all signs are pointing to a very healthy baby girl!

At any rate, I love the opportunity to throw a shower.  For the obvious reasons...I love honoring my friends, giving them gifts, etc., etc.  But I REALLY love to throw a shower because most of the time it gives me an excuse to ask Mom to make cake squares.  My mom has been making cakes almost all of my life, although now they are very few and far between.  I only remember one birthday when I didn't have a homemade cake.  There used to be a place close to our home that rented pans and I remember going to the store and searching for just the right pan.  Sometimes I made it easier for mom...sometimes I didn't.  But, we always had beautiful hand made cakes!  As far as the cake itself, it's nothing more than a butter recipe Duncan Hines cake.  I don't know how she made them taste so much better, but she always has.  Her cakes are always light and fluffy and baked just right. 

But the "icing on the cake" (pardon the pun, hee hee) is the buttercream icing.  Nothing more than lard & sugar (as I told my friend this weekend), it just simply melts in your mouth.  I have made this buttercream icing and while mine is a pretty close 2nd, nothing beats Mom's yellow cake with buttercream icing that has been cut into small cake squares.  I'm not sure if it's the cake to icing ratio that makes it good or what...but I could quite simply founder myself on Mom's cake squares. 

So, now I have five, correction four, cake squares in my freezer that I will try very hard to ration this week.  I'm hoping to make them last until Thursday...although Tuesday may be a better goal!

Happy Monday!

Getting to know You Sunday!

Playing along with Keely from Mannland5...To play..copy the questions..answer them..then head over to Keely's blog to link up!




The questions..


1. If you could have one of Superman's, powers which one would you want? Superhuman strength..Flight..Superhuman speed..X-Ray vision..etc

Probably flight...I'm not patient.  I don't see the point in driving 12 hours to Florida when I know I can get there in two by air.  I don't mind driving and if I'm traveling with fun people, the long drives are easier...but I don't want to do it all by myself!

2. The best thing I ever won is....?

I'm not sure...I've won little things at little in-home parties...but I've never really won that many things.

3. Have you ever skyped with a bloggy friend?

The only person I've every skyped with is my mom...she lives 2 minutes from my house...it was a novelty for us both! :)  Dylan has it set up so he can skype with his family in Florida...but I don't think he's ever used it!

4. What is your favorite Summer month?

June, of course!  That's when my birthday is...and school's out...it's just a great month!

5. Pool, Lake, or Ocean?

Ocean...I love the ocean.  And the beach...hey, did I mention I'll be at the beach in a week???

6. One of my favorite Summer memories is.....?

There are so many...our family vacations...my birthday...but I guess the BEST was the summer Dylan was born! :)

7. What's your favorite secret bargain?

I don't really have a secret bargain...but I do love the deal I'm getting with TWC for my digital cable/DVR...I think I pay less than my sister who just got the digital option added...but no DVR!  You just have to ask and be persistent!!!!
 

8. Do you plan on or have you been watching the World Cup?
 
Dylan is really excited about the World Cup...praise the Lord he's at his Dad's this weekend or it'd be on the TV all weekend long!  But, he'll be home tomorrow...so I guess we probably will be watching it...*sigh*
 


Happy Sunday!

Comments...

Well, it just recently came to my attention that you couldn't leave me comments on my blog! I think I have it fixed...so, I'd love to hear from you if you are reading my blog! :)

Saturday morning

So...it's Saturday morning...it's quiet in my house...and I have no formal plans for today.  However, I feel like there are a ton of things I need to do because...hallelujah...I leave for the beach in one week from today!  AAAAAHHHHHH!  Can you tell I'm excited? 

OK - so, short post so I can get my tail in gear.  Must get a baby gift today...tires rotated...a few other things for the trip...ok, so I do have some stuff to do!  Off I go!

Feel Good Friday!

There's so much to feel good about today!

#1 - It's Friday!  That's always something to celebrate!

#2 - School's out!  YAY!  I don't know why this excites me so much since I don't have a child that I have to nag to do his homework or get ready in the morning.  Occasionally I have to wake him up, but from there he does it all himself.  But there's just something about knowing that school is out that just lightens my heart and makes me want to sing (Alice Cooper, of course) and smile!

Now - my something good that happened this week....

We have these twin boys in our church - J&J - that are 3 1/2.  They are adorable...well, when they want to be.  (Aren't we all adorable when we want to be?)  Anyway, I usually eat dinner with them on Wednesday's at the meal prior to church...and this Wednesday, let's just say I wasn't feeling it.  Not the boys...but just life!  Their grandmother (who is their adopted mother) asked how my day had been and I said, "Good" without much conviction.  I said...I just think I'm grumpy.  Well, J #1 said "Don't be gwumpy" and gave me the sweetest smile.  Then he proceeded to do everything within his 3 year old power to make me smile.  He dipped his food in lemonade, because he knew it drives me nuts and when I'd BEG him not to do it, he'd just grin at me.  I guess you could say he was baiting me...but honestly...even though I think this is gross and disgusting...it made me smile. 

Of course, I tried to tell him that if he dunked his food in lemonade that hair would grow out of his ears...which he didn't believe...and to which his grandmother said, "Maybe Miss Jennifer's not such a good influence after all".

And then, last night...my BFF, who happens to be their Godmother, posted this on facebook:

From The Mouths Of 3 Year Olds:


1. Adam and Eve came from the Garden of Lies where they lived in a poor, "wittle", old house...


2. They did NOT have children, they claimed I was making up the names Cain, Abel and Seth...


3. They had a dog named Chloe that was soooooo sweet, J #1 said...


4. Moses said, "Let My People GO, ...please and thank you"..


5. They sing John 3:16 to our own special tune...and know ALL the words!

and I had to smile again...

They truly are precious and God has given them wonderful grandparents...and a wonderful set of Godparents...and wonderful people surrounding them to help raise them.

Feel good today...it's Friday...it's Summer...School's Out!!!!  YAY!!!

Just another day...

Generally I like the people I work with.  It's uncommon to get along with everyone, but there are not really any employees at my workplace that I don't get along with.  The one girl I couldn't stand is no longer here...so, really I like the people for the most part. 

However, there are days...like today...that several of them annoy me at once.  I guess I could take partial blame in this and admit that I'm a bit on the tired side today...but on the other side of this, is it necessary for my co-workers to daily remind me of my past mistakes or my personal shortcomings?  For instance, is it necessary to be constantly accused of spending my first  two years of college drunk and/or naked?  Because I got pregnant when I was 19 and had a child?  Or is it necessary for them to contanstantly remind me that at almost 34 I am still not married?  Or is it necessary for them to point out (incorrectly I might add) that my clothes don't match?  This last one elicited the mouthed "bite me" because when this was mentioned I was on the phone with another employee who was asking me to do something.  I know that I have made mistakes in my past...I mean, I have an almost 14 year old child.  Don't need the reminder.  And trust me, there is no one MORE aware of the fact that I am still single than me.  As far as fashion advice goes, I would have to say they can just back off because the two offenders of today are both married and I am almost certain they are daily inspected by their wives before they leave their respective houses.  So, really...is it necessary that I be reminded of all of this daily???

Sorry for the rant.  Its just been one of those days...

Getting to Know You Sunday!

*To play..copy the questions..answer them..then come back here and link up*



1. If a person has a booger in their nose. and you can see it, do you tell them?

If I know them, probably...if I don't know them or know them well, I don't.


2. What are you passionate about?

Kids.  I love them...I think what they have to say is important and I think grown ups have a lot to learn from kids!  And I'm passionate about keeping them safe and I do not deal well with people who mistreat their children.

3. How long have you been blogging?

Well, officially here on blogger...over a year...I had a blog at xanga for a while, that I kept up pretty well, but I finally dropped it...which is a long story.  At any rate, I've been seriously blogging for only a couple of weeks...


4. What is your favorite "summer" drink?

Water...and lots of it!  I occasionally like to have a Coke or lemonade...but that's a year around kind of thing.  I don't have favorite seasonal drinks! :)


5. What is your favorite type of music?

I like most any type of music, except rap.  And I don't like really intense heavy metal...if you can't understand the words, then it's not truly music for me!


6. Something I do before I go to bed is......?

Usually watch TV


7. My Summer vacation plans are...?

Beach in less than 2 weeks!  After that...not much.  We are entering the high school years.  Dylan starts soccer workouts the week after school gets out. *sigh*

8. My favorite must have, can't live without, beauty product is?

Chapstick...never leave home without it!

Feel Good Friday!

This has been a truly fabulous week.  Starting off with a Holiday on Monday is always a good way to begin the week.  Here's a few things that have made this a GREAT week:

• spending time with my family on Monday
• and then again on Tuesday evening!
• our company controller did reconciliations on health/dental insurance, which netted me an extra $60 in my paycheck
• my BFF brought me silly bandz from the beach!
• tonight is "Game Night" for our Children's Ministry at church...we are going to have a blast!
• 2 weeks from tomorrow is my birthday!!! WOO HOO!
• 2 weeks from tomorrow we leave for our family beach trip...WOO HOO HOO! :)
• Ash called me yesterday to invite me to go with them for a weekend trip to Caswell in September for Zac's bday!  So excited!!!
• Got a new computer at work...it's quite fab!

It's just been a good week all together!  Happy Friday!

Little froggies...

Last year, my mom retired from working.  She'd been a church secretary at three different churches over almost a 20 year period (not at the same time, of course).  The last church is actually the church we attend...which is good and bad.  The good is that she knows everybody...the bad is that everybody knows her and she worked ALL THE TIME.  Seriously...at least 50 hours a week...and most weeks more.  So, when she retired and finally got her replacements trained (yes it took 2 women to replace my mother!), all of the sudden she had a lot of free time.  I guess when you go from working so much to not really having anyone counting on you...it's hard to know what to do.  My dad is still working...my sis had not yet had her baby...Alyson was still in daycare since she hadn't started Kindergarten yet...Dylan was too old to really need her...let's just say she had a hard time and felt really lost for a while.  Not to mention the fact that she was dealing with a serious case of anemia...so she didn't feel well...

Enter in her tadpoles.  My mom has the softest heart.  She doesn't want to see any living thing hurt or injured and she definitely doesn't want to be the person who hurts or injures the living thing.  My parents had a "simple set" pool that they had drained and then decided it was a goner.  So in early Spring, the pool was laying on the ground, but had places where puddles formed.  Evidently, frogs laid eggs in the puddles and all of the sudden they had hundreds of tadpoles!  So, very carefully, mom moved as many tadpoles as possible into Dylan's old turtle sandbox, where many of them lived very happily throughout the first part of the summer.  Here are a few pics...

She enjoyed those little tadpoles so much last year.  And so did the rest of us...watching them change and become frogs...they were so cute!

So, tonight we were at their house to pick up some stuff and she & dad had been working out in the yard.  Evidently they had collected rain water in the pool cover on their new pool...and wa-la...more tadpoles.  So, we emptied bucket by bucket of water from the pool cover, saving as many tadpoles as possible...back in the little green turtle sandbox turned tadpole habitat.  There's probably still a few left (we got tired of trying to bail the water)...so we will probably have to work on it a bit more this weekend!  I'll try to keep you posted on the progress of the tadpoles!

By the way...if you are reading my blog...I sure would like to know it! :)

Three Day Weekend Recap

Well, on Friday...after rushing home from work...stopping by my parents to pick up a last minute duffle bag for Dylan, I got Dylan dropped at his friend Seth's house so they could go to the lake.  Seth ended up having to run the sound for a school chorus concert...so they didn't quite get away as quickly as they wanted.  Friday night we had terrible storms...I think I already wrote about this...but I had the good TV all to myself, watched shows I had DVR'd that Dylan has no interest in and basically vegged all night!

So, how much did I get done on my to-do list?  Let's see...

#1 - Buy a bathing suit - didn't happen.  Didn't have the $$.  Will put off to this weekend, but I'm determined to get one this weekend so I can make sure I'm not running around the week before I go to the beach looking for a bathing suit.

#2 - Clean out the fridge - oh, I did this...and am I EVER glad I did.  I thought my shelves were frosted glass.  Guess what?  They're not.  My fridge looks brand new!

#3 - Clean the house - done...I even mopped.  Of course, now that Dylan's back...it doesn't look quite as clean. *sigh*

#4 - Clean out my car - this didn't happen either.  I forgot about it...and then I ran out of time on Saturday and Monday afternoon it was raining...so it wouldn't have done me any good.  So, I will try to get that done this coming weekend.

#5 - Find out about Netflix on Wii...I think I might have this figured out...just trying to determine if the cost per month is worth it.  We'd have to rent 9 movies per month in order for me to justify it.  I think I might wait for a bit.

#6 - Clean out bathroom cabinet - SO got this done and it looks SO good!  I was so excited about all the space I opened up and got my towels in the cabinet and out from underneath the sink.  I'm still loving what I did!

#7 - Go to grocery store - I did do this...and not at 6am...and didn't have a panic attack! :)  Also, I was determined to only spend $55 (because I had a $50 Verizon rebate card and a $5 Wal-Mart card) and left spending only about $9!  What a blessing!  Of course, I forgot a few things and had to go back...but it wasn't too bad.

# 8 - Sleep in - yeah...as already stated, this didn't happen on Saturday.  Monday I slept in until 7:15am.  Yeah...not exactly what I had in mind.  But it worked out because I needed to be up to bake a cake.

The weekend was really good...can't complain too much.  Spent Saturday night with good friends at Bowman Gray (it's like Nascar with much more drama).  Sunday morning, I helped lead worship in The Oaks Clubhouse, which is what we call our children's area and did a little shopping at Kohl's and my Wal-Mart trip...lazed around Sunday afternoon...played a little Wii by myself, since Dylan didn't come home until Monday.  On Monday, we cooked out at Mom & Dad's and we had a blast!  All in all a good weekend.

I am getting more and more excited as we get closer to our family beach trip.  I just can't wait for lazy days on the beach, playing with a certain 6 1/2 year old in the water, chasing a sweet crawler down the beach and just having wonderful family time. 

I can almost hear the ocean...