A haunting dream

Today Tressie was the last one to wake up, and as she came downstairs we all greeted her, yet she kept interrupting us to tell us that we mustn't forget to "go to the party!" Obviously, she had dreamed about being invited to a birthday party, for all day long she would remember that she was supposed to be at a party and ask us all to remember to be sure to take her to it! We would try not to giggle and gently explain to her that we weren't aware of a party. When she wouldn't accept our replies, we'd ask her more questions...who's birthday is it...where's the party...how old are they...who is it?!?...etc. But she was insistent that we take her...but where and when we didn't know!


I have always found it fascinating that God created us with such vivid imaginations... granted some more than others, and He continues to provide such rhythm to the world in which we live. He didn't have to give us different seasons, cycles,..., but He did! He gave us four different seasons, day and night, and in addition to our waking and sleeping hours, He gave us vivid imaginations! And I know that we have all had a dream or two that have haunted us to this day. Thankfully for Tressie, her haunting dream is only going to be missing a birthday party!

Happy Birthday, dearest Craig and Laura!

Happy Birthday, dear friends! Happy Birthday to you!

Last Sunday we celebrated two special birthdays...Craig and Laura's! And a yummy lunch it was! Rob and Will joined us, and eh-hem, ladies, what two great catches I think they are! Poor Anna wasn't feeling well, but she rested in the family room while the rest of the children all played so nicely...lincoln logs, polly pockets, and you've got magic!

Macy served our crustinis with cream cheese and my spinach-artichoke pesto while 'Ivey' and Oriel handled the bar; Eric grilled us some yummy cajun pork tenderloin that we served with roasted red potatoes with garlic and rosemary as well as a few extra vegetables (for our veggie friends ;); and Charley provided a delicious chocolate/hazelnut-cream cake!

Remember gals, next year we're gonna party like it's 1999!

I love how different our girls are!

Today the girls and I had a great day...you know...one of those days when things go 'better than normal'?!? We did our school work, had some lunch, flew out the door (in much less of a furry than we 'normally' fly out the door!) and drove to my doctor's office, for I had to have some more lab work done to check my thyroid levels...again! Well, the girls were so well-behaved! (I'm still bragging on them to their daddy!)

Before we left the house, Tressie tucked a few snacks inside my purse...Valentine gifts that Mimi sent them...Thanks again, Mimi! You're the best! So as soon as we got to the doctor's office, she quickly remembered them! So as I sat in the lab chair waiting to be stuck with pins and needles, while the girls sat across the room (while still in my sight, of course!) Tressie proudly passed out the snacks.

And across the room Macy whispered to me, "Momma, I don't really care to eat anything in a doctor's office." But Annie gladly took her snacks, started eating them and ran to my side to 'take care of me' and see what was going on and said, "Uh, ma'am, is that her blood? I didn't know it was so dark!" She wanted to know every detail and wasn't skirmish at all! I just think it's amazing how God made us all so different! How boring would it be if we were all similar?!?

Don't ask her; she's just the...!

This afternoon while the girls were sitting by the fire doing their schoolwork (yet another reason to embrace homeschooling!), I overheard Annie tell Macy and Tressie to not ask me about something because she knew I wouldn't give them an answer but tell them that they'd have to ask their Daddy.
They were scheming to find out if I would give them a "yes" to allow them to all sleep in Macy's room. And somehow they've alreadly learned that "if Mommy says, 'Yes,' then Daddy will say, 'Yes'!"
Is that a self-learned lesson, for I don't know any parents who teach that, yet all children inevitably learn it!
So as Macy and Tressie continued on with their scheme, Annie had it come to a screaching hault when she adoringly/respectively said, "Don't ask her! She's just the nutrition girl, cleaning girl, and teaching girl!" Then a few moments later, "Daddy...he's the king, and he makes the decisions!"
I thought that was hysterical!

A Super Fat Tuesday!

Do you ever have those days that just seem to fly by ~ too many things to do and too little time?

This last Tuesday was one of those days...super Tuesday and Mardi Gras day! There were the regular daily to-do's, and then there were the extra daily to-do's for that day. And time limitations...aghh! (I guess if it hadn't been for the polls closing at a certain time, I wouldn't have gotten much of my extra--curricular chores accomplished, so I'm actually thankful for my deadline.)

So we whisked through our day accomplishing our chores, flew up to the polls to find that there wasn't any line (woohoo...usually, there's a long line, but this year we hit the polls at the correct time!), and flew back home to put the finishing touches on our king cake and finish our red beans 'n rice! Yum! I wish more than anything that I had taken a photo of our king cake, but as soon as some of my girlfriends began arriving for a "dessert and discussion" on a book that we had all read, we cut the cake and didn't look back! It was pretty (if I ever-so-humbly do say so myself), and it was fun for the girls and I to make (and the girls loved guessing who would get the baby in their slice of cake)! And the discussion on our book was great too...we all have/been reading Passionate Housewives: Desperate for God, which is a great book and one that I recommend highly!

All in all, it was a busy day but also a productive and enjoyable day...can't ask for much more than that!

"You know...I'm not so freaky about that!"

After supper tonight Annie walked into the kitchen to tell us something, and then she saw her daddy and I hugging, and she said, "Oh, you're so much in love, I can wait!"

"Aw...yes, we love each other."

"You know...I'm not so freaky about that!"

"What?!?"

"I'm not too much into that...you know, romantic stories?!? I'd rather super-hero stuff!"

"Slurp it like an oyster!"

Perhaps we've had a little bit too much Food Network around here while we haven't been feeling well, for we've been sleeping a little here and there (thanks to cold meds!), and there have been times when the only thing on TV to watch for entertainment was Food Network.
Today at lunch, I overheard the girls' giggling and saying, "No...like this...slurp it like an oyster!" while they were eating their pizza bites. And aside from vacationing at the beach, Food Network is the only other exposure that I can imagine they've had with oysters!
One of the best joys of motherhood (among many others!) is the fun in watching the girls enjoy life's little things!