He's Coming to Town!

No, not Santa.  PDub!  But in a way, he's bringing Christmas with him.

Being three this year, it's like PDub is seeing Christmas for the first time all over again.  When he got home from Thanksgiving, his mama read The Elf on the Shelf book to him and "Diesel", the elf, made a reappearance in his home.  PDub was awestruck.  The first person he looked for the next morning was Diesel, and he laughed with glee when he discovered him peeking out from behind the blinds.  For him, the magic of elves is real. 

For Grammy, though, this is already starting out to be a less than jolly season.  Shopping in stores with knickknacky signs that talk about mothers and daughters, not racking my brain over what to get Lib and Evelyn, and missing my phone calls and visits with Mom is taking its toll. 

So I am really looking forward to some Christmas spirit this weekend!  Thank you, God, for sending him (and Him) to me to remind me that your love is not only magic...

It's real.

Thanks for the Memories!

It's been a wonderful family filled Thanksgiving holiday and the house is much too quiet now that everyone has headed home.

Last minute changes meant that Mama Cat and Jaybird could spend Thanksgiving with us!  Papallama and I were excited to get some time with Baby Bird who is changing every single day!  He is sitting and cooing and grabbing and eating...so much activity for one little guy!  Mama at Law and her family have in laws close by, so we were all comfortable and had enough 'space' physically and mentally.

When we gather at our Thanksgiving table, we share what we are thankful each year.  (Family and health are givens, so everyone must think of something else.)  While PDub is thankful for jump castles, Papallama is thankful for shared memories.  He explained how shared memories connect us as a family.  See why he is our 'Llama'?

We sure added some memories to the book this year.

Mama Cat brought tons of snacks and kept the table full of goodies for us.  My favorites were the little acorns made from Hershey kisses and Nutter Butters.  I knew they were cute, but also yummy, too, oh my...glad they are all gone from my reach now!

Mama at Law was given a reprieve from cooking this year since just being here eight months pregnant is enough.  Plus, she is starting a new law firm, so her 'plate' was already full, so to speak.  It was fun to watch some of the plans come together 'virtually' as she and her partner shopped via email and MMS.  Can't wait to see it soon! 

The boys set up the turkey fry camp complete with satellite TV and a jumperoo for the youngest boy.  They cooked THE perfect turkey once again. 

Mama Cat and I braved Black Friday and had fun shopping for decorations and gifts.  A marathon wrapping session followed and I sent her home with a sleigh full of presents to put under one of her two Christmas trees.  Can't wait to see her retro Christmas this year!

PDub was a wonderful big cousin to Baby Bird who was enthralled with him.  He is going to be a great big brother!  Baby Bird won't be much longer in being able to follow him around.  He is sitting up and creeping all around the crib. 

On Saturday, Mama Cat and Jaybird headed home while Mama and Daddy at Law joined us for an afternoon of tailgating at the Palmetto Bowl.  While we pull for different teams, we are not divided in our loyalty to each other.  While my team got the win this year, the best part of the day was being there with them.

So overall, it was a wonderful, fullfilling holiday and like the other team is saying today...

~Wait until next year!

PDub II

First the big news!  PDub's baby brother has a name!  Porter William.  Yes, there is a PDub II on the way!  Pretty cool that all the monogrammed bibs can have another go round. 

Mama Cat and I hosted a small gathering of friends and family this past weekend just to let Mama at Law know that we love her and PDub II.  We are very excited about his pending arrival in early early January, 2012. (or sooner)  Mama at Law has decided to coordinate the boys' rooms with a madras theme and we ran with that as the shower theme.  Working together by phone, internet, and mail, I think we did a pretty  good job tying it all together.  I wanted to share a few photos for folks who may be like me...looking for ideas that are easy! 

Mama Cat loves cake stands!  We used her collection to set up centerpieces on the tables.  See PDub II's name on display?  Mama Cat used the same fabric we used under the stands to make a wall hanging for his nursery!

We ordered plainly decorated cakes from Publix and added coordinating ribbon with double sided tape.  Since this is a second little baby boy, guests generously gave the gift of diapers and Mama Cat had diaper cakes in the centerpieces, too. 

Other decor included colorful napkins and utensils, mini milk bottles (recyled Starbucks bottles) with striped straws (Etsy) and baby shoes made from plain white cups and ribbon that served up some fresh fruit. 

It was all relatively simple and Mama at Law loved the chance to see hometown friends and special family members. 



Weekends like this warm the heart. 

Happy, sappy sigh~





Here's the Scoop!

When I went with PDub to the Pumpkin Patch, I had a blast.  On the way back to school (via the bus), I remarked to P that Grammy sure was 'pooped'.  His eyes got big as saucers and a little sly grin came on his face.  "Grammy pooped?!"  Immediately, I saw we had a communication issue.  "No, P, not 'pooped in the pants poop', TIRED poop."  He just looked puzzled and we dropped that subject like a sack of...oh, nevermind!

Well, later that day, PDub and I were back at Grammy's house hanging out in the yard and P decided he wanted to 'wake'. (translation: rake)  So we went in the garage and he grabbed up Grammy's pooper scooper rake and bucket.  Not wanting to deny my first grandson the pleasure of picking up poop in Grammy's yard, I played along.  Whenever PDub saw a pile, he would happily shout, "POOP AHOY!"  What a great attitude about such a nasty job. 

I told Mama at Law that I thought we should all take a lesson from PDub's attitude.  Whenever we are faced with a poopy job or challenge, let's just say, "Poop Ahoy!" and approach it with an attitude of discovery and accomplishment. 

Because in life, poop happens.

Poop ahoy, matey!

You Gotta Have Friends

This weekend is the annual reunion of Grammy's college friends and I am looking forward to seeing some of the best girl friends anyone could hope for.  It got me to thinking about friendship this past day or so.  Some people gather friends like my furniture gathers dust...quickly and without effort.  I, on the other hand, tend to keep most people at arm's length.  Not that I am not friendly.  My dad, the small town politician, took me on the campaign trails with him, so I am at ease with perfect strangers.  I guess I just don't care to share my every thought and feeling with more than a handful of people, if that many.  Makes me an awful facebooker.

A lay person talked to our children at church about friendship last Sunday.  He made some great points.  Friends are people you know and spend time with.  Friendship is an important relationship.  So that best explains why I consider myself very blessed to have a few important friendships.

This first (I know it's corny) and best friend I have is Papallama.  I love spending time with him, and I can trust him with every thought and emotion I may have, whether I am right to think or feel that way or not.  He's my go-to guy for advise and support, and we have alot of fun most of the time.  When we're not having fun, I couldn't think of a better person to be miserable with.  Ha!

Two other dear friends are Mama Cat and Mama at Law.  They also are two people I love hanging out with and who listen and want to know about my comings and goings.  But they are also daughters, and there are things that mothers and daughters aren't meant to share. 

I would be remiss if I didn't mention work friends.  Not colleagues, but friends.  Ms. M is one such friend.  In another time, another life, we might not have matched up, but the years we spent together at a little brick schoolhouse were some that I will always treasure.  She has that one virtue that any friend of mine is going to need...she is a good listener.  I hope I was for her, too.  And I knew as she did, that the thoughts we shared were for our ears only.  Good friends will honor that, no matter what. 

Then there are school friends, like my sisters that I am meeting up with this weekend.  We shared a special time in our lives and had a camaraderie that is only experienced by living with a person for years and seeing them at their best and their worst.  They are the ones who can send you into a side splitting laugh at the drop of a hat. That's why I am going to spend a whole weekend away from my best friend to see my girl friends. Plus, I will probably need to defend myself when the storytelling commences...

Dogpatch, here I come~

Pumpkineenies

I love fall!  Finally, the humidity starts to subside and the world around me puts on a completely new costume to entertain me. One of my favorite fall activities when I was a little girl was going to the county fair.  Daddy-O would hand me a dollar's worth of dimes and I was set for the day! (Sometimes he might give me a few extra dimes if it was an exceptional fair.)  So, it should come as no surprise that when Mama Cat was born in October, Grammy did not let that keep the family from attending the State Fair with 2 week old in tow.  It must have made a lasting impression because Mama Cat is as crazy about fall and fairs as I am.  While two states separate us, we engaged in parallel fall excursions with our favorite pumpkineenies. 

Mama Cat took Baby Bird to the county fair!

How tall must you be for that ride?

Blue Ribbon Mommy

Baby Bird gives his day at the fair two dimples!

Grammy and PDub headed for the pumpkin patch!

Been a long time since Grammy took a hayride!

I have to admit that petting zoos aren't my favorite, but these three seem to enjoy it.

This is just the start to this wonderful season!  Still to come are so many possibilities...apple picking, mountain scenic tours, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and oh yeah, football...right, Papallama?

Go, Cocks, Go!

~Happy fall, y'all~

It's Showtime!

People (in general) think toddlers and preschoolers are cute, and because they think these little people are so cute, they like to use them for show.  Now these same people are usually only seeing the little people for a few minutes at a time, sort of like an audition, I suppose. So they see cute and assume that the little person is cute 24/7.

PDub is cute.  Cute as a button.  He has grown into this little expressive fellow with a winning smile and friendly demeanor.  So he has been recruited for some performances where cute is required. 

The first was an unveiling of a portrait of his great grandfather in a pretty auspicious ceremony.  Now I am certain that the attendees were hanging on every word of the three speeches that preceded the actual unveiling.  PDub was not as impressed.  Of course, we knew a three year old's attention span might not last for, oh, more than five minutes, so we had a plan B.  Mama at Law would take him into a back hall and entertain him with an iPad or iPhone until curtain call.  Problem was, Mama at Law, picked up a stomach bug on the way to the courthouse and was throwing up whilst trying to entertain P.  Poor Mama at Law.  She told PDub that 'Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star' made her feel better, so while she heaved, P sang. 

 When they were summoned for the unveiling, you would have never suspected the mayhem that had been going on backstage.  His performance was flawless.  He waited for his cue, gently pulled off the velvet veil, and pronounced, "ta da!" for the waiting eyes.  He waved sweetly to his great grandfather who beamed with pride and then Mama at Law escaped out the back door to continue her battle of the bug.

Next performance? The wedding of his uncle.  PDub will be appearing in tuxedo and carrying a ring.

Need cute?  Call his agent.