Upward Awards Night/Longhorn Field Trip

Hey everyone! Just wanted to post pictures of the past few days. Last night Bailey had her end of the season Upward Awards Night. The top picture is of her whole squad and then her individual shot she struck a pose for. The bottom picture is of my class at their field trip to Longhorn today.

Bailey had fun last night at the Awards Night and they all performed a dance which she did a great job at!

Sarah got the flute solo she was trying out for and was happy about that. She also has been running hard with track and has already reduced her mile time down by one minute and ten seconds. She is very tired when she gets home.

Todd was a sweetie and let all my rugrats come to the restaurant today for a field trip. The kids had fun and enjoyed making their own sundaes in the big kitchen. It was soooo cold today, so we took a quick shot outside, but what we all really wanted to do was get in our warm cars to head home.

Okay, here is the weirdest thing that has happened so far at the restaurant......on Monday, Todd called me to inform me that one of his cooks, who has had some mental issues in the past, murdered his wife on Monday!!!!! So when we say he works with weirdos.....we are not kidding.....glad Todd didn't tick this guy off......he is now in jail, and I am gonna assume he won't be out for a while, at least I hope not! Tifton....the friendly city!

Well, I will let you all digest that for now, and when you think you are having a rough day, you can just reflect on Todd's days at the restaurant. I told him it is like a soap opera, "As the Longhorn Turns".....maybe "The Young and Senseless".....whatever!

Race Day

Today was the big race. Todd's first 5K which is approximately 3.2 miles. He had a great time. He started off the race saying he was gonna just stick with the team, but about a third of the way into it, his competitive edge came out. He finished in 30:20 which put him 38th out of 149 runners. Which is great considering the first probably 15 runners were all young track stars from the high school. And this is his first race ever. He was saying he would like to run in other races as well. The first picture above is him all serious, stretching and getting ready. The second is the team just before they started to run. The third is Todd crossing the finish line and the final one is of all of the people who participated from Longhorn, which is 9 of the 12 who are participating in the Biggest Loser challenge. The guy with the tan hat on is Ken. He is the one who started this whole thing by asking Todd if the restaurant would sponsor him in the Biggest Loser challenge. He has lost 41 pounds so far and is 7th in the ranking for the Biggest Loser so far. One of the girls from the restaurant who couldn't run today is actually 4th in rankings. So everyone is enjoying the competition.
Well, I guess that is all for now. I am off to fold laundry....yeh!!!!

Fun Fun Fun

Well, as you can see the pictures from Atlanta do not contain an image of Sarah! She said they were rushing and she didn't have time to stop to pose....yeah right....whatever. She did have fun though. She said the governor literally walked in to the room, shook hands with 5 people, stood and posed for two shots and left! Nice people skills....great way to inspire our youth! They did get to spend time with the Senator and State Representative and ask questions.....so here is the funny thing, the Senator goes to our church and she knew the state rep as well. She said instead of asking him an important political question, she was gonna ask him why he wasn't at church this past week....but decided not to do it. She is such her daddy's child...smarta#@. Then they went to Egleston Children's hospital while they were in Atlanta because one of her classmates is there with a staph infection in his heart and blood. He was airlifted there last Friday. The kids could not go in to his room but because Conor's room overlooked an atrium area, all the kids made posters and a big banner and all congregated in the atrium. The asst. principal went up to his room and they had Conor look out, and all the kids started yelling and cheering for him. I guess his mom broke down in tears. I thought it was really sweet that they did that. Sarah knows Conor very well from not only school but he is very involved in 4H with her. He has been on all the judging teams and quiz bowl teams with her. We just pray he gets better. He was born with a weak heart valve, and he got this infection which has gone straight to his heart. They want to do surgery on him, but he has been running fever etc, so they haven't been able to do that. So keep him in your prayers. Also, keep our friend David in your prayers as well. I don't want to post about him as to respect his privacy, but just say a prayer for him as well.

Anyhow, back to the Atlanta trip. They left the hospital and went to the Varsity to eat. She was all stoked to get a chocolate milkshake from there, only to be told she had to throw it out cuz she couldn't take it on the bus.....boy was she mad! Then on the way home the bus broke down. She called me and said they were sitting on the side of the highway cuz a light came on on the dashboard that said "stop immediately". So they did, and while the bus driver was trying to figure out what was wrong, one of the kids 'accidently' locked the bathroom door. So they were stuck on the side of the highway, one hour into just having drank at the Varsity with a whole bunch of girls having to use the restroom that they couldn't get into......glad I didn't chaperone that trip!!!LOL She finally did make it home and was all a chatter about it. It made it a memorable trip I guess.

The other picture is of my husband after spending the day up in the attic spraying in insulation. His dad came down to help him with that and putting in a new hot water heater. It was a rainy, yucky, and cold day to be doing the attic, but they got it done. He was covered in dust and he said his back was hurting from having to bend down so much, but he will survive. Tomorrow is the hot water heater installation, and it is supposed to be just as yucky! Hope all goes well for that.

Well, I guess that is the latest on our end. Hope everyone has a great night.

Hugs to all!

And he keeps going....

Todd lost 3 1/2 more pounds at this weeks weigh in. That makes his total 15 1/2 pounds so far. He is looking good and people are starting to make comments to him that he looks like he has lost weight. He was excited this past week cuz he went to get dressed and he had to retire one of his belts cuz there were no more holes left for him to use. We had to go buy him a smaller belt, and he also put on a pair of pants that haven't fit him in a verrrrrry long time. He is going to be running his 5K this weekend. I am proud of him, even if he does have a few weak moments. He is working hard at it, so I guess the rewards are okay once in a while.
I dropped Sarah off at school really early this morning because she is taking a trip to the capitol in Atlanta today to meet the governor. This is part of that TALK (Today's Aspiring Leaders...Kids) program she was accepted into. She is excited....not to meet the governor, as she already got to do that in 5th grade with another program she excelled at, but she gets to eat at the Varsity! That is a landmark "greasy spoon" restaurant in downtown that she used to like to eat at when we lived in Atlanta. How funny her priorities are....such is the life of kids. I will post pictures of her tomorrow, as I gave her strict instruction to take pictures for the blog!
Have a great day!

Back Online with Updates

We finally have our internet up 100%. It was very aggravating being stuck home with a sick child, only having children's shows on tv to keep her happy, all the house work done, my stamping order delayed via UPS so no new stamps to play with, and no internet for me to mess around on the computer. So Bailey and I decided to break out a puzzle we got for Christmas to make the time go by faster.
One thing about me, I become obsessed when I start a puzzle. I have been known to stay up all night to finish it. Well this particular puzzle was very challenging and I had to throw in the towel the night we started it. We finally finished it on Saturday.....it was a funny moment when it came to putting in the last piece. I always have had this "thing" about being the one to put in the last piece.....I don't know, call it obsessed, call it an accomplishment thing, call it my competitive side, whatever.....but Bailey was very insistent on being the one to put in the piece....we actually kinda had a tussle over the piece. It was at that moment that I realized my child was just like me. I had to "let" her put in the last piece. It was the first time I haven't put it in. I actually kinda laughed at myself at how pitiful I was about a puzzle piece. I gave her the piece and let her put it in, and just seeing the sense of accomplishment on her face was so worth it. I know this probably sounds dumb to most, but it was a funny moment for me.
I don't know what it is about puzzles....I love to do them. I don't make the time always to do them, but when I do, I enjoy it. It is relaxing to me. I remember when my mom was at Roswell Cancer Institute just before she died, I spent a lot of time down in the family waiting area doing a puzzle....it was a puzzle of the "New York Daily Times"....why I remember that I don't know. I just remember that being a form of therapy for me. It basically distracted me from what was happening in my world. It is funny because I look back at that time and sometimes feel guilty that I was doing a puzzle instead of being in the room with my mom. I try to analyze that at times and wonder if it was a reaction of perhaps going back into my childhood where there were no cares in the world.....maybe that is what puzzles are to me....an escape. Boy Dr. Phil would have a good time analyzing me, don't you think?
Anyway, things are finally getting back to normal. Bailey did go back to school on Friday but still has a nagging cough. She did cheer for her game on Saturday, but was very tired by the end of the day. I think it is gonna take a few more days for her to be back to normal. We went to church yesterday in the morning and she was very clingy to Todd. We went to Valdosta to go to brunch at one of mine and Todd's favorite restaurants. Todd took us there for our Valentine treat. We then went to the mall and got Bailey some new sneakers. Headed home and then went to church for our small group Lenten study. By the time we got home, Bailey was exhausted and went to bed by 7:00. It is now 9:15 in the morning, and she is still sleeping. Now we did have a very bad night of storms here, so she may not have slept well during it. I know Todd and I were up quite a bit just listening to the thunder, wind and rain, so I am sure she probably heard it as well. I just know I am glad there was no school today, so she was able to catch up on the sleep she needs.
Well, I guess that is all for now. I hope you all have a good week.

Back to Normal

Well, I think we have survived the week. Bailey went back to school yesterday. She still has a nagging cough, but I have cough medicine to give to her for that. I stayed home from work still since I had the sub lined up already and santized the house from top to bottom. Knock on wood, I think the rest of the family has avoided getting the flu.
My internet has been on the fritz so I am going to cut this post short as it may go out at any minute. The cable guy is coming today to hopefully fix it.
Just wanted to update you all on Bailey.
I will post more later.

Poor Bailey....

Poor thing....she is still running a temp of 101. We are at least eating now which is a step in the right direction. She got to eat a little dinner last night and had oatmeal for breakfast. Ginger ale is her drink of choice today. I went up to her school to meet her teacher to get all her work she is missing. As soon as I got home she wanted to get it all done so she could get it out of the way. We did all her worksheets and now all she has left to do is her reading, which she is working on as I type this. She has a little bit of research she has to do for her ILP class, but I don't want her touching the computer until she is germ free.....can't take the chance of anyone else getting it. Todd was supposed to be off today, but got called in because Danny is stuck in Nevada due to plane/weather delays, so it is just me and Bailey today. I had to run Reilly to the groomers this morning for her spring haircut. She always looks so cute when she gets it done. Sarah has to stay after today for track and to try out for a flute solo for the band. I hope she gets it. She has a fierce competitor this year in band and it is gonna come down to the two of them. Sarah gets nervous when she has to compete against her. I don't know why she lets this girl bother her so much but she does. Such is the life of a teenager.

Well, I am going to just hang out with Bailey today and hopefully have better news tomorrow.

Pitiful....

My Bailey has a bad case of the flu. We were up all night last night with high fever, coughing and throwing up. Just got back from the doctors and she tested positive for the flu, so we are out of school until Friday. I hate it for her. She looks pitiful....like a limp ragdoll. Her temp is at 102 right now, and the doctor gave us a prescription for phenergan, as she can't keep tylenol down to lower her fever, and tamiflu. I gotta go get the prescriptions in a few minutes. I just hope that we all don't get it. I guess my actions with the germex the other day didn't work....oh well such is life. Well I just thought I would let you all know.
Love ya!

Fun Night Out

Well, I ended up having a fun day yesterday. We went to Bailey's game and after we got out, we started a local hunt for a dress for me. I was really not having any luck. I did find a dress I can use for church on the clearance rack at Cato, but nothing I want to wear to the wedding...so I bought it just because it was such a good deal. I then found just a basic black dress which I ended up buying also just because I don't have one, and it also was on a good sale. So I came home with two dresses, neither of which I will use for the wedding but hey....I have more of a variety for church now. Todd thought the basic black dress was fine to wear to the wedding if I didn't find anything else.
After I got done shopping, I dropped the girls off at home and then headed out to pick up my girlfriends, Susan and Beth for a fun girls night out. We were celebrating Beth's birthday. She has been wanting to see the movie 27 dresses, so we went to see it and then did dinner afterward. The movie was a good one, not to mention there was a very cute guy starring in it. We had some laughs in the theater, including sharing the laughs with complete stangers who were getting to hear all of our conversation as we were waiting for the movie to start. We headed to dinner afterward where we enjoyed more conversation and laughter. It was so nice to just get out of the house and spend some time with friends. I am learning now that I am older, how important that time for myself and time to foster friendships is. I felt refreshed and reenergized when I got home. You know the old saying...if mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy.....well there is a lot to be said about it! I feel like when I get that time to be someone other than Todd's wife and Sarah and Bailey's mommy, I am a better wife and mommy. Don't know if that makes sense or not but I hope it does. I actually got a great night sleep and I believe it was because I wasn't needed by anyone for a few hours....my mind got to relax a bit.
We got up this morning a bit late for church, so the girls and I just hung out and relaxed for a majority of the morning. I probably could have forced myself to get up earlier, but the saga of our church and the incompetent pastor continues which has once again put a bad taste in my mouth. This week I learned that he is doing whatever it takes to get rid of the preschool....an excellent program that has been in place for 30 years, has touched so many lives, not to mention is also my source of income! He cut our assistant preschool directors salary totally out without even having the decency of telling her himself and without telling the people that make up the "church council". He is just doing what he wants. I have prayed and prayed about my bad feelings I have been having toward this pastor and the church as it is today, and I am not feeling any better about it. I don't know if it is time for me to look for a new church or if it is God's way of teaching me patience. This pastor is on a power trip and is ruining everything that drew us to the church in the first place. I have never been a part of a church that has had this much turmoil, and that is not what church is suppose to be about. I just wish I knew the answer as to what I am suppose to do. Well, enough of that.....I am raising my blood pressure thinking about it....
The girls and I went out around lunch time to an outlet store here in town and I finally found my dress for the wedding today. I actually found 3 dresses there that I loved, so as of Friday I had 2 dresses to my name, and as of today I have 7....I think that is the most I have ever owned! And the best part is I spent less than $100 for the 5 dresses I added to my wardrobe. That is what some women spend on one dress, so I feel good about my bargains. I have that guilt feeling that I have spent too much on myself...but I am working on letting it go. I never buy clothes for myself unless I get a gift card for Christmas or my birthday, so I know I shouldn't feel that way. It is just hard when you put your kids first always, to accept it is okay to spend it on myself.
Well, I guess that is all for now. I hope you have a relaxing rest of the day. I am going to hang out with Bailey tonight as Sarah is at youth, and Todd is helping with the Valentine's Banquet at church tonight. Talk to you all later in the week!

As the weekend begins...

Hello all. It is 7 am on Saturday morning, as I sit in my bed typing this listening to the quietness of the house. Todd just left for work, and the girls are still sleeping as we had a late night last night. Sometimes I just love this quiet time. I often use it as a time to just think of all the blessings in my life, and then other times I use it to think through the day ahead. Today is kinda a combination of both.
I just checked all my email, and got an email about Todd's Uncle Al having to go for an angiogram/angioplasty on Tuesday. Please put him on your prayer lists as he goes through this procedure. Heart issues are always scary. My husband's family seems to have a lot of issues with their hearts and it scares me because it makes me really think he is predisposed to all of this, and I think are we headed toward a future of problems with his heart. That is why I am glad that he is taking his health so seriously now with his change in diet and exercise. Maybe with the Good Lord's help he will avoid all of it. I just hope he maintains his desire to be healthier.
Yesterday, I felt like I was in my car and running errands all day. I worked in the morning. The girls had a half day at school, so once I got out of work and got them, we headed to the doctor's office for Sarah's physical....yes I was able to get one scheduled. While we were there, four people came in the office totally sick (the flu and strep are going around like crazy here), so I am like a germaphobe.....giving the girls germex every 5 minutes, telling them not to touch anything, etc. They both thought I was nuts, but I really don't want it in my house! Anyway, we get in the exam room and Dr. Johnson has me look at Sarah's spine as he thinks she has scoliosis. I can see it definitely has a curve to it, so he gives her the okay for track, but wants us to get xrays done for the scoliosis. He thinks it is nothing major, but just wants to be sure. So we head over to the hospital to have the xrays done. We actually got in and out of there fairly quickly for a hospital, but still I was not planning on that being a part of my day. At that point we basically had 15 minutes to stop home before having to head out to get the girls haircut. We finished there and then headed home to pick up Todd and head to Valdosta. We grabbed a quick bite to eat while we were there and then went on the quest for new dresses for the girls. We hit Kohls and had no luck whatsoever, which is strange for us because we usually find everything at Kohls. Todd did find a new pair of running sneakers. He needed a new pair with all the running he has been doing. He is actually going to run a 5K race at the end of this month....can you believe it?
We then headed to JCP and hit pay dirt. Sarah found a very cute dress that she looks adorable in....grown up too.....but we had to buy a cardigan to go over it since it will be so cold in NY when she wears it. It is white and black with royal blue accents. Bailey found her dress there as well. She is so cute in it. It is lime green with white polka dots on it and tiny silver crystals speckled on it, which is her favorite part. She had to find a cardigan as well for it. That is the hard part, as March in South Georgia is totally different then March in NY. We have all spring dresses on the racks. My girls were not comprehending that there could be a lot snow on the ground when we go up there. We tried to find dresses they could utilize for the wedding up north, but also wear for Easter service down here. Not an easy task, but it is done. We still need to get shoes for them, but I know that is going to be a fight because they are both looking at open toed styles that are great for here, but not going to work with having to wear tights/nylons to keep their legs warm up there. We will see. Being the mother of two girls can be very trying.....especially when it comes to clothing and being "in style". I am thinking warmth, they are thinking whether or not they look cute. I know I did it too when I was a girl, but it still doesn't make it right! LOL
Now I have to search for something for myself as I only own 2 dresses that I wear on a rotating basis to church each Sunday. Todd was looking in my closet late last night and stood there saying, "I can't believe you only have two dresses". I told him that is what happens when you are a 40 year old mom....your kids come first and you buy stuff for them before you buy something for yourself. So he is insisting I go and get myself a few dresses. I think I will take him up on it! LOL I am gonna go to Cato which is a store I like here in Tifton today to see if I can find something. Bailey has a game today at 11:45, so I am gonna try and go after it is over. I am supposed to go out to dinner and a movie with my girlfriends tonight, so I should have a little time to look today.
I did come home to a "prize" in my mailbox yesterday as well. Todd is taking me to see Celtic Woman in Savannah on March 2nd. We are going to head there the night before the concert so we can spend the entire day in Savannah and then do the concert at night. It should be a fun time and a great chance for us to just get away for a night. So the tickets came in the mail yesterday, so it kinda gave me something to look forward to!
Well I guess I have rambled on enough already, so I will close this post for now. I hope you all have a great weekend!

She's a track star.....

Well, Sarah made the track team......yeah....I have to be honest though, I am surprised. She was very excited and seems pumped for it. Although I wasn't real happy when she got in the car and informed me she needed to have a physical done by Monday! So I guess if we don't get an appointment by tomorrow we are SOL. I was a little miffed that they expect that to happen that quick. What do the kids do who's parents work full time? Sarah was telling me the coach said they can get it done at the walk in clinic. I tried to explain to her that the clinic costs way more and that if I couldn't get an appointment with her doctor in the morning then oh well, I guess it will wait until Monday and the coach will just have to get over it. She can't expect these kids to get it done that quick. Doctors appointments are not given out just to accommodate the track team. Whatever......
My day was exciting as I started out with my annual boob squeeze.....mammogram time. I have to say our hospital actually does a very good job with it...they are so sweet there and really know how to squeeze your boobs gently....LOL I then headed to Bailey's school to work in the library. I got home and had to spray paint 18 cereal boxes red. We are making our Valentine "mailboxes" for the preschool and let me tell you.....nightmare! I have a blister on my finger from pushing the paint can down, and to top it all off the paint is not covering all the wording on the boxes even after 7 cans of paint!!!!!!! So I have decided that I will wrap all the boxes in red paper and say screw the paint. I am very aggravated about it. I have wasted a ton of time today trying to get it done. The things I do for these kids......I mean do you all feel sorry for me or what!
Well, I guess that is our news for today. I hope you have a wonderful evening. As for me, I am gonna go put on my pjs and relax the rest of the night! I deserve it today!

The Pounds Keep Coming Off!

Todd had his 2nd weigh in yesterday and he has lost 3 more pounds. He is down to 188. He really only has around 3-8 more pounds to lose before he reaches his goal. I really wanted him to suffer this week on the scale, which sounds ugly, but he admitted to cheating on it when he went to Atlanta, and then the girls busted him on Friday cuz he took them to dinner and he ate a big ol' plate of french fries when I wasn't around......and I have been being so faithful to "our" healthy eating habits. So I took revenge and ate 3 brownies in front of him on Sunday nite. LOL
All kidding aside, I am really proud of him.
Sarah has decided she is going to try out for track this Friday, so she has been running everyday after school and even did it all weekend. I hope she makes it, but being that this would be the first sport she has ever attempted, I will be surprised if she does. I am assuming the chosen athletes will already fill the spots up. Maybe track won't be the same as let's say the school cheerleading team....ahem.
Bailey did well this past weekend at her game. She was all excited cuz she got to "lead" the cheers. She got the "most Christ-like" star this week. Being that it is a Christian league, they have that as a recognition. Her coach said she did very well in encouraging and helping the other team members and leading in the cheers. She was pleased.
I am gonna take the girls sometime this week to go and get new dresses for my nephews wedding, and they both want to get their hair trimmed, so I guess I will do that as well. Today is really just a day of catch up for me because I am so far behind in just the little things. I am hoping after today, I will feel like I am caught up.
Be sure you all vote today, if you haven't already.
Hugs to all!