happy birthday eric...

Carson was in charge of putting in the liners for the cornbread and helping me stir. He worked very diligently. As soon as Daddy walked in the door, he began singing, "Happy birthday to you," just as Grandma practiced with him today. Then, we made Daddy's cake...

Pat, Scott, Kelly, and the girls came over to spend some time and share Scott's pictures of his Cuba mission trip. The pics were spectacular!! It was so interesting to hear all the stories of the people he met and the church they helped build. Thank you Scott, for sharing.

Kelly brought over her famous ham and beans. I don't even like ham and beans, but I like hers. She was so sweet to tell me how easy it was to make the 24 ingredient dish! (Okay, I'm exaggerating, but she went on forever.. It's only ham, beans soaked overnight, garlic, and on and on. Pat and I looked at each other like....ONLY??! HA!) She said it was easy, but I think her easy and my easy are quite different. We teased her about it all night. I'll stick to the 4 ingredient boxed cornbread I made to go with the ham and beans!!!!

Thanks Kelly, for bringing dinner. It was sooooo good!

After we watched the pics, it was time for cake! Carson lead us in the Happy Birthday song.

...and helped Daddy blow out the candles.

Happy Birthday Eric. Enjoy your last year in your thirties!!

here I am to worship

Carson sang with his children's choir, Origins, at church on Sunday. Their choir teacher has done such a wonderful job teaching them about singing and worship. The kids were adorable, and we enjoyed every minute of it. (Yes, there is video grandparents, but I don't know how to do that on the blog yet. So, pics are going to have to do for now.)

Carson knew all of the motions.

In between songs, he acted like a robot and made some funny faces. It was hilarious!

I'm so proud of you Carson!

It's DONE!!!

Our landscaping is finally finished!! We are so excited and happy with the final product. Since it's late fall, some of the plants are underground and will not come up until next spring, so the plants aren't as full and filled in as they will be next year.

Here is the back porch... We doubled the size of our patio a few years ago...

...and now we've added some beautiful landscaping around it! We have burning bushes, dwarf crepe myrtles, and I can't remember what the tree is.

Here is the front of our house before... (The sun is in a bad spot, so there is a glare.)

This is when it's almost finished...

The final product! There is a deep red crepe myrtle planted to the far right in the pic below. It's hard to see on the brick.

Keep in mind, it will be filled in once the spring plants come up and the bushes fill in. There is a deep red crepe myrtle in the middle below that you can't see b/c it's dormant. There will also be white tipped hostas near the porch steps in the spring.

There will be blue hostas around the front of this tree...

The side of the house before...

...and after. Isn't that a neat tree? It's a weeping something or other. We have all the names and have to take them off the bushes and learn how to care for them. :)

We are so very pleased with all the work that our landscaper did to make this just what we wanted!

a visit from Kylee

Fun at the park!

Carson's cousin, Kylee, came to visit Grandma Pat this week. Carson spent the night with them on Sunday night. He had such a great time playing with Kylee.

Look at those red headed cousins!

eagle fans

Are you ready for some football??

What's up, Chuck???

We finally did it. Carson was invited to go to Chuck E Cheese's for Lauren's birthday, and we WENT!!! Carson was so excited when we told him that we were going. Apparently, he has watched commercials about it and had quite a bit of info on that mouse.

I like the fact that it was one big room. Lauren's mom, Kelly, had a great system. They could take one token each and play. Then they had to come back every few minutes for a new token. Carson stayed with Lauren and he was given more freedom than I usually allow since the room was so open. He had so MUCH FUN!!! I am a little concerned with the fact that he has now been there and will be bugging us to go all the time. But, I guess we had to go eventually, right? Kelly could not believe we hadn't been yet.

I thought we had done pretty good to avoid it this long. Right???????

He had a BLAST!

Brad and Nora were the skeet ball champs!

Posing for pictures...

Very intense gamer...

Opening presents...

Happy Birthday Lauren! Carson had a wonderful time. We hope your birthday is the best!!

a perfect morning... and afternoon...

I had a busy morning... I ate at a local Diner where I was served chicken, a hot dog, corn, french fries, and 2 ice cream cones... built a train track and drove a train... had a sword fight with Darth Vader... went to see Dr. Sallee and got a shot and check-up... computer games... and a game of basket ball... The perfect way to spend the morning!

A long walk to the park on a beautiful day with perfect weather... with my boy... this is what life is all about...

NOT stress... work...MAP testing... laundry... grocery shopping...

more than meets the eye...

That's right! It's Halloween and Carson was a Transformer... Bumblebee to be exact. He was so excited all day. When he woke up this morning, he smiled and said, "It's Halloween!" Then, he wanted to know when we would go trick-or-treating. I told him when it was dark. All day, he waited and asked about it periodically.

Finally at 5:30, I told him it was time to get dressed and go.

First, we stopped by the Daily house.

Then, to Uncle Scott and Aunt Kelly's...

Next, Grandma and Grandpa's...

Last, Grandma Pat's...

He had a great time! When we got home, he Skyped Aunt Angie and Mindy to show them his costume. We also got a tour of their beautiful new home! It is FABULOUS!!!

By then it was pretty late, so we didn't get to Skype Aunt Carol and Uncle Steve. Carson is now konked out and sleeping peacefully...

Show Us Your Life- Halloween Costumes!

Growing up, we didn't celebrate Halloween. We always did something special with candy and going out. So, I never felt like I was missing something. Our church usually did some kind of fall party. I always thought that I wouldn't celebrate Halloween either. To me, Halloween can be about all the wrong things.

My sister (n-law), Kelly, started a tradition with her girls where she let them dress up and they visited all the relatives to trick-or-treat rather than go to peoples' homes they didn't know. I really liked that idea. It allowed the girls to dress up and get candy and made the holiday about seeing family and having fun.

I then decided that is what I wanted to do. (Thanks Kel.) So we began the tradition on Carson's first Halloween.

His first year, he was a chicken! We always called him chicken baby b/c he cried at so many things that startled him. When we saw the chicken outfit, we knew that was perfect for him.

Here he is with a family friend. We actually have a pic somewhere that says, "Eat more beef!" above Carson in a bubble, and "Eat more Chicken!" above Tucker in a bubble. How Cute!

Carson and Princess Nikki and Sam...

Carson's second Halloween, he was obsessed with puppies. So, he was a Dalmation. We HAD to get his picture with this fire hydrant.

Carson's third Halloween, he wouldn't pick what he wanted to be. Since I knew he was getting a doctor kit for Christmas, I decided he would be Dr. McCutie. (Like McDreamie from Gray's! HA!)

This Halloween, he definitely knew what he wanted to be! Can you guess what it is?????

wordless wednesday

Really?????

Drug Awareness Week-Dress up days... Parent/Teacher Conferences... Fall Parties... Principal Walk Through... all in the same week. Really????

On a lighter note... Carson informed me that he had lunch duty today in preschool. He said his job was to squirt and wipe the table, then put down the napkins. I am so impressed at the things he's learning there. Not just academics, but responsibilities and social behaviors. He was the line leader last week. What a big boy! I just can't believe my red haired little baby is now out in the world by himself, growing up. I am extremely happy and sad about it all at the same time.

time...

Where does it all go?????

I feel like I don't have much time, and when I do, I'm too tired to do all the things I need to do or want to do. Not to mention my friends that I'd love to spend time with- that I don't.

Lately, I feel like such a bad friend. I feel like I don't say or do the things I need/want/should b/c I'm so busy. I don't even feel like I spend much time with my great friend, Tammy, and I work with her everyday! It's just frustrating to feel like I'm disconnected with all of my girlfriends.

I need/must find a balance, so I don't feel like my job is sucking the life out of me. I hate that feeling.

Carson's quotes from playing Candyland with Daddy as I sit here and blog:

"You're going down!" "Grandma taught me how to win." "I looooove gingerbread men." "HA HA, Nice try!"

tired...

I am very tired... My students were WONDERFUL today. They did a great job listening and following directions. We had the best day that we've had so far this year. But, after my night last night, I am so very tired.

I am also extremely sluggish and out of shape. I know I must do something about it or it is only going to get worse. I just need to get a trainer who is going to make me get out of bed in the morning and work out... This has to become a priority. Too bad there's not a magic pill to fix it.

Right now as I blog. the brown ghost with his super headphones is running around the living room with his sword fighting duck boy... who is making duck sounds with his duck beak from Ride the Ducks... Duck boy just stole the headphones and is now wearing them as he fights the ghost with his sword... Never a dull moment with Carson... thankfully.

Now to put the clean sheets on the bed. (My comforter is still drying.)

Dinner at D'Arpino's with the Jr. Dailys

Eric, Carson, and I went to dinner tonight with Brad and Nora. We absolutely adore their parents and have become such close friends with Gary and Fran. So tonight, we enjoyed getting to know Brad and Nora better. Dinner was wonderful. We really enjoy eating there. What a great find. (Thank you Kelly!) Brad and Nora had never been there. We are having fun being a part of taking Nora to new, fun American places for her to experience. She is from Montreal, Canada and we love hearing about how things are different than here. I can't imagine living on a block in the city and having everything I need within that block and not have to go anywhere else. Sounds so interesting, eh?

Brad and Nora...

All of us...

It did take a while for our dinner to come tonight. It was pretty busy... I was soooo proud of Carson. He was such a good boy. He sat the whole time (about an hour and a half) and stayed calm and in his seat. He is such a good boy!! (GB Carson - HA! Get it Ang and Mindy?)

After dinner, Nora and I went to get Starbuck's - her favorite! And made a few stops at some of our favorite stores. Thank you Brad and Nora for going with us. Nora, I am so enjoying getting to know you. I know we are going to be such great, long lasting friends. We seem to have so much in common. I had a a fabulous time!!! ---Posted at 10:16 p.m.

****NOTE**** It is now 2:32 a.m. I have been awake for 45 minutes. I woke up to Carson sitting up in bed and throwing up his dinner - which he has not done for ages. He has acid reflux and hasn't thrown up b/c of it in a long time. I'm hoping that is all it is. Please don't let it be the flu... He did eat a lot for dinner and dessert when he got home.

Anyway, I am on my second load of laundry. My brand spankin' new comforter is now shoved into the washer, and I'm hoping it will come out okay. It barely fit, and I'm probably not supposed to put it in there, but I couldn't let it sit and not at least try to clean it tonight! One more load, and I'm going to bed. I have the bucket next to Carson and I just pray it was just reflux- not flu. My stomach is now a little queasy, but I'm also hoping it's just from the grossness of it all...

As tired as I am, and I know I'm going to be soooo tired tomorrow. I wouldn't trade it for anything. I remember the years of praying for moments like these. It makes me appreciate how lonely it it was before him, and how this is night is better than the best day without him. I love being Carson's mom, and I'm so happy that I get to take care of him.

so you think you can dance...dance...dance...

While waiting for the carpet that Daddy just cleaned to dry,

what better to do than dance???!!

Tara, I hope you had a RELAXING birthday! Thanks for being such a lifelong, dear friend that I know I can always count on. Love you and Happy Birthday!!!!

feathers and muffins

For Columbus week, Carson made an Indian headband...

Carson was in charge of making the cornbread muffins for dinner. He put the liners in the pan, stirred up the ingredients, and helped me scoop them up.

This is a picture he took of the muffins...

Trip to KC

We had a blast in Kansas City! Saturday was full of shopping... Pottery Barn, Williams Sonoma, Archivers, and more!!!

After our day of shopping, Carson was ready to swim! At 10:00, Daddy took him down and they swam for a long time.

Sunday morning, we were ready for the game! Unfortunately, the Cowboys fans were ready too... HA!

We bundled up with MANY layers and headed to the game!

Almost there...

Are you ready for some football?

After Carson saw KC Wolf... he fell asleep for the whole first half. He was really worn out.
We did not enjoy big, standing, annoying, yellow guy who wouldn't sit down! He stood through most of the game, even when nothing was happening!
Thanks Johnsons for going with us. We had a great time! Hailey- There's bread in here!!!

fire safety week at preschool...

To the tune of "Frere Jacques"

Never ever play with matches.

If you do,

If you do,

You will burn your finger.

You will burn your finger.

Shame on you, shame on you.

Never ever play with matches.

If you do,

If you do,

You will burn your house down.

You will burn your house down.

Shame on you, shame on you.

Carson sang this song for me today. They are learning about fire safety in preschool this week. The lyrics kind of crack me up!!! But, he's having a blast at preschool. Grandma says he can't wait to get there in the mornings.

And tonight at small group, I met one of the ladies that wasn't there last week. She asked which on was our child. I told her Carson. She said, "Oh Carson, he has the red hair, right?"

I said, "Yes."

She said, "Oh, he's such a sweet boy. I just love him."

AND, his choir teacher told Eric again tonight what a nice boy he was, how well behaved he is, and she just loves having him in class...

Sorry, I just had to brag on my sweet, little guy. I'm so blessed to have him. I am so proud of what a great kid he is.

introducing...

I just wanted to spotlight my loving, caring, fun, creating, gotta-have-a-planning, organizing, decorating, encouraging, cheerleading, never-sit-stilling, scrapbooking, God-loving, sister-n-law and best friend------ Kelly. She has FINALLY started her blog. Stop by and see her. I know I'll be reading on a regular basis. Her blog is called Dancing In The Rain, and she sure does dance through life and helps me to dance when I don't feel like dancing.... I love you Kel.

my obligations this week...

Monday- Faculty meeting after school- cancelled due to power outage at school ALL afternoon

- finish CSIP research tonight

Tuesday - faculty meeting after school

-Bunko tonight

Wednesday - CSIP meeting after school until 6:00

- ? go to Spfd to get supplies for pumpkin our class must decorate for fall fest???

Thursday - Grandparents' Day

- planning after school

- life group at church @ 6:30 (Carson's choir practice also)

Friday - Fall Festival --work 5:30-6:00

That's my week... will it EVER slow down? It's supposed to slow down by now...