How Sweet It Is!

Bethany's birthday festivities started Friday morning with impromptu kitchen decorations and swiftly wrapped presents.  I'd been so caught up in planning her "Sweet 16" birthday dinner that I hadn't really considered when we'd let her open her gifts from us.  She asked me the night before if we could pretend like Friday morning was her real birthday morning.  How could I say no to that?  So I woke the girls up at 6 a.m. to get it all underway.  They hopped right out of bed and got dressed immediately because they were just that excited.  If you have a secret, don't tell Cate.  She went straight to B and told her not to come in the kitchen because we were decorating for a surprise party which sent Towns into hysterics.  The reason behind it was likely twofold. She tells everything you tell her not to, and she loves to push her sister's buttons.  Go figure.

Cat out of the bag or not, it was fun celebrating B's big 16th birthday at the crack of dawn...

In true Bethany fashion, we cut right to the chase and let her tear into her gifts...

She loved her new boots from Grandymommy and Pop...

And tortoise shell Ray Bans are a must for a new driver...

Time for candles in a bagel and the birthday song...

The little ones always get a big kick out of singing to their Bebby!

Quick group shot before she headed off to her last school day as a 15 year old...

Friday night was major.  She'd been talking for a couple of months about inviting her friends over for a birthday dinner party.  After I got over a last minute anxiety attack about cooking for 10 without a double oven, we managed to pull it off without a hitch.  J took the girls out for a date night while lots of teenage girls invaded the house.  I invited B's mom to come tackle it all with me.  One thing's for sure...if all else fails, we can waitress for a living.  It was a fabulous night spent celebrating an even more fabulous young lady...

I went with the cliche "Sweet 16" theme.  As in table decorations of giant lollipops, pink cotton candy, and M&Ms to match the party colors.  They might as well be cute and edible, right?!  So functional!  I do believe all the girls had a great time.  I came to that conclusion when April and I could barely hear ourselves talk because the dining room was roaring with laughter.  It did my heart good.

I think they all enjoyed themselves.  Check that one off the list!

Today brought quite possibly the most exciting part of the birthday celebration.  B's mom took her to get her license this morning, and after some unexpected complications and delays (DMV key MIA, two hour delay in taking her test, etc.) we finally met in Birmingham for what B thought would be us picking her up like normal.  She knew she was getting a car, but didn't know what kind.  We told her that it wouldn't be ready until noon today.  She thought it would be sitting in the driveway when we got back home.  Little did she know, it would be sitting right where we were supposed to meet in Birmingham.  I was hiding and waiting to catch it all on camera.  She got out of her mom's car and saw the brand new Honda Civic parked next to her with the keys laying on the front seat...

With a Starbucks gift card attached and ready to be swiped, naturally!
She was ecstatic... 
Sounds like the perfect surprise for a 16 year old, right?
 Until she pulled the door handle and nothing happened.  That would be thanks to yours truly who didn't think that the car might automatically lock when I shut the door after placing the keys so nicely where I knew she'd see them.  Genius.  I wanted to cry.  I wanted to throw up.  I wanted to beat my head against the pavement.  Brand spanking new car right there in front of her and she can't even open the door to smell just how new it is.  Talk about a heart breaker.  I was physically sick.  And after the day she'd had, she was too.

We called a locksmith and after two hours of not so patiently waiting, this angel from heaven zipped into the parking lot in a AAA truck, unlocked the door in 3 minutes flat, got back in his truck and drove off without so much as asking for any form of payment.  I know that's what AAA is for...if you're a member.  We're not, and he was not the locksmith that was supposed to be on his way.  I didn't realize that until we'd been on I65 heading north for ten minutes and the real locksmith called to ask where we were.  Pretty sure that nice AAA man was a God send.  He totally deserves credit for saving the day...

 

If there was a National Lampoon's 16th Birthday movie, this would be it.  Goodness.
After that, it was as if nothing had ever happened and B was back to her old, excited self...

 

She and Ellie were ready to roll...

I will beat myself up about that episode for years to come, I'm sure.  Thank the good Lord above for great friends who had Towns and Cate and told us not to worry about a thing.  What a day!

As I'm typing this, I'm nauseous over the fact that I'm home all alone.  Normally that would be sort of fabulous.  But the reason I'm home alone is because Bethany picked the girls up from playing with their friends and took them to Zen Beri.  They've been planning it for months.  And they quickly let me know it was a sisters only trip!  My nerves will never be the same.  I trust B totally.  It's just that feeling of fear and loss of control.

Regardless of all the drama...

Hope your birthday was the best ever, Bebby.

You deserve all of that and more.  And I have a feeling it's one you won't soon forget!

We're headed to spend a few days at Callaway Gardens...Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!

16!

Today's the day!  The day we've been counting down to for practically years.  It first started when Bebby turned 13...

 

 A real teenager.  Three more years until she turned 16...we talked about that a lot!

Another year passed and she turned the big 1-4...

 Only two more years to go!

It became so real last year...

 15!  Learners permit in hand, she chauffeured us around for an entire year.  That day was the day we started the real countdown.  It didn't seem like today would ever get here, but here we are!  And here she is...

The most beautiful 16 year old in the world!

Happy birthday, Bebby!

We love you!!!

Book Report Addict

Know how I always say that Towns is beyond obsessed with school?  Well, it's gotten even worse.  Book reports.  My child was introduced to the world of book reports last week.  We might need to go the intervention route before it's all said and done.  She's only required to do one every month.  Since last Thursday, she's done two.  And the third one is in the works.  All kidding aside, it absolutely thrills my soul that she loves school as much as she does.  Having such an amazing teacher who creates the most fabulous learning environment doesn't hurt the situation either.  Her first book report was so fitting...

She painted one of our pumpkins pink, dressed in pink from head to toe (just like Pinkalicious), and took strawberry cupcakes with pink frosting and pink sprinkles for her class.  Seeing a theme here?
Cate and I walked her in to school that morning because she had more than she could carry.  Mrs. Propst offered to let her go ahead and do her report so I could make use of the big camera in my hand that I took "just in case".  She started out being a little timid, but by the end of it she was taking questions from the class...

 And of course, this review from Mrs. Propst will be on our fridge for a good, long while...

I'm not a proud mom or anything. Ha! I love that she is so excited about her school work.  And I really love helping her with it.  We didn't think twice about driving around the neighborhood at 8:00 the other night to look for fall leaves in shades of red, yellow, orange and brown for her second book report on the book Let It Fall.  This is what I live for!

Now for some serious business.  Do you know what this is?

(Besides a not so great iPhone picture?)
It's a picture of the very last time Bethany I will ever take Bethany to school since she's almost the legal age to drive herself. When she reminded me of that this morning I couldn't decide if I should be excited about that or want to cry a river.  More the latter, I do believe.  Now excuse me while I go prepare for a birthday dinner party, dry my tears, find anxiety medication, and sign papers to buy a car.  Pray for us, won't you?!  I wouldn't exactly call the thoughts of her on the road all by herself comforting.  But she could not possibly be any more excited.  Rightfully so... 

High of 70 and Sprinkles

Did I miss the memo that summer temps now last through Thanksgiving?  It's not unusual to see us like this given the fact that it's still 70 degrees here...

Short sleeves and bare feet!
This was the other day when J tried to teach Cate to ride the scooter that he brought home from work because it had been sitting there for months going unused.  Who knows whose it is.  But if it can double as something dangerous, then it automatically has major appeal to my husband...

Buggy wasn't interested in those kinds of tricks.
She was just trying to get the hang of getting her foot just right...

It didn't come easily.  She practiced and practiced...

And her daddy was there to give her lots of love when she fell and got really frustrated...

So sweet.
Since we're on the topic...

There's a lot of love in that picture.
Lots of Chi O, ADPi, Phi Mu love.
We all go way back to our good ol' Auburn days. And as it stands, no major life-changing event goes without celebration!  Oakes hosted us in her beautiful home to "sprinkle" Anna Kate and Baby Libby with essentials and fun goodies.  I always wish the hours lasted for days because it ends way too soon for my liking.  Roommate, you are in for such a treat being the mom of two precious little girls! 
Naturally, we lined up a few photo ops and put our Canons to work for us...


I didn't realize how worn down I looked until I saw these larger than life on the computer screen. Good grief!

I was not a member of this club...

I dare you to try to find a group of cuter pregnant women.
It simply can't be done.
It's funny how the conversations differ as we get older.  We used to talk about the damage we did on the Plains.  Now we're talking about the damage our children will do when they get there a few years on down the road.  And poor Virginia.  With all the labor and delivery talk, I'm not sure she'll ever be the same again.  You're such a sport, VLD!
It was a great day spent with even greater friends who really feel more like family!

This is all over the place.  Now I'm moving on to Christmas crafting which is how we spent our Fetch Day.  That's Veteran's Day to most folks, but somehow Cate heard Fetch Day.  I think she could be her own reality show.  She's the funniest, most expressive kid ever.
Anyway, we spent our morning making Christmas ornaments...

I believe I see lots of craft supplies in store for Christmas because there's nothing more that those two love to do than draw, color, write, and "make".

They roped their daddy into buying them mini Christmas trees from Target that (of course) needed to be decorated...

They stayed in their PJs for a few extra hours since they were way too busy to be disturbed.  That almost sent my OCD self over the edge.  My day doesn't go right if we don't stick to our schedule.  I'm working on that.  And for Pete's sake, it was a holiday.  I have to remind myself to relax. :) We also made another fun Christmas happy.  Can you guess what it was?

If you do guess and you make it for yourself, you probably should be smarter than me and not give your children needles so freely.  We had a lesson in how to use them without stabbing ourselves, and somehow we avoided any catastrophes...

Here's to prepping for Christmas in November, and being thankful all the while!

Adios October!

I'm in the business of getting myself caught up on a lot of things.  Laundry, work, emails, and blogging (of course!). I'm working backwards here, so bear with me...

Sunday night was a big night for Towns.  It's something she'd been waiting for and asking about since she moved up to the first grade Sunday School class in August.  First grade Bible presentation...

I really don't think I've ever seen her so excited about anything in her life.  She's been waiting on that "big girl Bible" for a few long months.  She was out like a light that night because she had a big weekend with Grandmommy and Pop so we didn't get to dive into it, but last night before bed we read the Christmas story from the book of Luke. She's become a really good reader (I was worried there for a bit), and has developed a love for it like her Bebby.  It's precious to hear her reading from her own Bible.  We jumped over to the next book where I pointed out John 3:16.  Unlike the version we all learned as youngsters, this particular one reads exactly like one of her favorite songs from VBS.  "For God loved the world in this way, he gave His One and Only Son, so that anyone who believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life." The thing about that song is that it's of the rap variety.  Like all VBS songs, this one will forever more be burned into our memory, so you can't help but say the verse in the same beat as the song.  Listening to her rap John 3:16 as she read it was a little weird, but it works so we'll go with it.

 Still moving in reverse order...
On Halloween, Towns got to pick out a book character to dress up as for school.  We were so close to going for Pinkalicious, but opted for more low-key (i.e. cheaper and easier).
Can you guess what she was?

If You Give a Cat a Cupcake!  For some reason she's a cat who likes pointing to her tail??
Halloween isn't complete without a class party, you know...

I've said it before, but I really do love that Towns likes us being at her school.  The shelf life on that isn't long, or so I've heard.  But for now I'm loving it...

After a quick trip around the circle for everyone to use good adjectives to describe their characters, it was party time.  There was no shortage of crafts and sweets!
 Towns was hard at work making her Halloween bookmark and ghost Tootsie Pop...

These sweet girls all sit at the same table...

I could eat them with a spoon!
After the party, Mrs. Propst turned them loose on the playground to run off the half ton of sugar they'd consumed.  I was thanking her for that.  And after school, I couldn't resist a picture of the three amigos...

Fancy Nancy (Emma), Harry Potter (Conner), and Towns.

Mid-October brought a field trip to the pumpkin patch.  We went to Lyon Family Farms which is just over the TN state line.  It was a first for us, and I do believe we liked it better than Tate Farms.  It wasn't nearly as crowded and had more things to do that the girls enjoyed. While we loved going to kindergarten at our church, Towns didn't get to experience a lot of "firsts" that you do when you get to real school.  Like riding on the bus for the first time.  It might as well have been a bus heading straight for Disney World by the excitement level Towns woke up with that morning.  Goodness.  If you haven't learned this yet, she very much dives in and rolls around in anything school related.  She enjoys it to the fullest.  She was all smiles lined up with her class waiting for the bus to pull up in front of the school...

She and Emma are always right up under Mrs. Propst if at all possible.
Cute little 1st graders...

When we arrived, the class gathered for a group shot...

I didn't get the best picture, but it's all about the memories anyway.  And there were lots made...




Do you spy two little munchkins in this one?

Ella joined us.  It's was for the best, and Ella's like family so it's always easier to have her with us.  When they're not together, they're asking why they can't be together so most days they're together.  Togetherness.
Yep, that pretty much sums those two up!

At least five people that day asked me if they were related.  Not because they look anything alike, but because they absolutely, positively love each other and go everywhere hand in hand.  Sweetness!
When we went on the hayride to the pumpkin patch, the little ones found their pumpkins right off the bat.  I told them to pick the smallest one they could find because they were carrying it...not me!  Towns wouldn't hear of picking a small pumpkin.  She wanted one big enough to carve and it had to be perfect.  Therefore she had a little meltdown because she couldn't find just the right one.  Emma put her arm around her and they set out in search of "the one"...

She finally found one.  That might have been because the wagon was about to leave us if she didn't hurry it on up!  Once the pumpkins were chosen, it was a free-for-all on the playgrounds and the inflatables...

That slide was all but vertical.  Towns said it made her stomach do a flip!

After several hundred trips down the slide, it was time to call it a day.
Apparently the school bus is better than what I recall. Towns begged to ride it back home instead of riding with yours truly who could offer her a DVD player and the ever so healthy convenience store snack.  I totally get it, though.  And I can't say that I blame her.  But what I can officially now say is...
Adios October!

Not before I mix business with pleasure and tell you about the Smitten & Company sample sale, though!  Ready to ship samples at a discount...can't beat that!  They'll all be listed by tomorrow, including lots of Thanksgiving and Christmas samples.  What's even better?  Free shipping, naturally.
Now go shop!