Sickies, A Pep Rally & The Park

Just like my friend Darby said, it's hard to re-cap a week of craziness when there are bigger things to spend time and energy thinking about. My 2nd cousin, Barbara, was in Haiti when the earthquake hit. She's spent most of her life's work doing missions there. One of her 3 sons, Matt, was a preacher and followed in her footsteps. He took his wife and 5 small children to Haiti several years ago to start new churches there. Not long after they arrived, he was on his way to meet a native preacher about starting a church and was killed when he was hit head on by a truck that was trying to dodge a pot hole. Devastating. But not nearly as devastating as what the people of Haiti are dealing with now. Barbara has continued to go back - I believe it's her way of staying connected to Matt. And she was just finishing up her 3 week stay, only to be held there because of the earthquake. Barbara is a go getter and feels like it's her mission in life to help the people in Haiti. That's why I know without a doubt that she was exactly where she would have wanted to be when it all happened. That night she slept outside on the ground because there was no where else to go. She says it's an unbelievable sight. When asked what we could all do to help she said it was really simple - just pray.

We've been quarantined all week. Wednesday morning when the crew was still not feeling any better I knew it was time to head to the doctor. Isn't it funny how two children can be as different as night and day? Towns did this as we were (somewhat) patiently waiting to hear the results of the 400 tests they ran on the girls...

While Cate did a lot of this...

And this...

What can I say? She was born with that personality. There's not a laid back bone in her body. She never sits still. And I have to constantly remind myself that I can't compare her to her calm and very obedient sister.
When I told her that if she could stay out of the doctor's cabinets she could pick out a sticker on the way out of the office, she finally decided that she would flatter me and do what I asked her to do...

But she wasn't too thrilled about it! I've found myself talking about obeying with a happy heart a lot lately!!
The test results showed that Towns had the flu and Cate had bronchitis and a double ear infection. No school, dancing, etc. for us for the rest of the week! We couldn't go anywhere, but I'll secretly admit that I enjoyed the down time.

We've made our nests on the couch and watched plenty of TV. And we're all pretty excited that American Idol is back on! Our favorite part of the whole season is the auditions. We don't really watch it after all that fun is over. Perhaps the best part of the show is the commercial breaks...

Seriously.

While we finished watching the show, I noticed Cate went missing. That's never a good sign! She usually tells on herself though. When I called out to ask her where she was she said 'I'm in Bebby's room getting into whooo {you} make-up"!
Caught!

She's been into getting dolled up lately. This is what happens when you let her do it herself...

Gorg!! HA! And that's not my shade of lipstick in case you're wondering. I don't do hot pink!

Thursday afternoon was Bethany's last pep rally as an Oak Park Cheerleader! She was feeling a little under the weather, but she was as fabulous as ever!


My favorite cheer - they spell out R-A-I-D-E-R-S super fast! And they nailed it!


April, I hope you've recovered from the two wild women crawling all over you, giving you a make over, etc.! Never a dull moment!!

By Friday everyone was feeling much better, and since it was sunny and almost 60 degrees we had to hit the road. We played hard at the park for a couple of hours...


Catherine, Elizabeth, and the two double strollers made the trip. Naturally!







Buggy would be hard pressed to talk if you tied her hands behind her back. In these next few she's really worried that the dog that just passed us on the sidewalk was going to turn around and come get her sunglasses and baby Elizabeth.
'Whoo {you} see that doggy back there?'

'She's about to come get my shades and Lizbeth.'

'Whoo see my sunglasses right there? She's coming to get them. Hurry. Run!'

'Wait, wait. Whoo {you} wait for me, Mommy. First I get my lipskik on."

And that's how the conversation went. It was pretty one-sided because I was laughing and taking pictures!
We escaped the dog drama and opted for a little snack...

And after a short break, they played a little while longer...


Next stop? Where else - Target! Where the nice Starbucks man gave them each straight whipped cream! YUM!!!

Starbie's and Target just wasn't the same without you, B! Can't wait to see you this afternoon!! Red carpet, baby! Ohhh yeahhh!

Another One Bites the Dust...

Just when I thought the plague was gone for good...

Towns was supposed to go meet her friend Gracie at a cute little pottery class for kids this afternoon (left you a message, Mary - and I called Memi's and they said they'd let you know we wouldn't be there). I let her lay down for a few minutes to rest before she went (per her request - very unusual), and when I went to tell her it was time to go she told me that she was freezing and didn't feel good. I picked her up and she was on fire. And Cate's starting to feel bad again, too. Will it ever end??
Have you ever played high/low?
I never really have, but yesterday was a good day for it.
My high?
Doing P90 last night from start to finish with J without stopping. And it felt good!!
My low?

I take credit for the cracked screen. It's been that way for a couple of months and still worked just fine. But when Towns dropped it last night before we headed out for B's very last basketball game ever at Oak Park (can you tell it's a little sentimental?), it didn't survive. Its replacement has been purchased, and I dare anyone under the age of 4 to touch it! :)

Heat Wave

The 3 ft. icicles hanging from our fountain in the back have finally disappeared for the first time in over a week, and it's supposed to clear 40 degrees today. Can you say HEAT WAVE?! It's been in the 20's for as long as I care to remember (ok, a week or so). And I couldn't be more ready for spring! I detest being cold. I'm trying to think of a good reason to be thankful for this weather, but I'm having a hard time!

Today is going to be a good day...

Show and Tell!
Catherine got to go to school with Towns today (since she didn't get to go on Friday because it was a snow day), and you couldn't force the smile off of the child's face! She got Catherine dressed and ready for school last night, and once Bethany and I saw her attire we convinced her to change her into something more school appropriate! Call me crazy, but we love buying preemie outfits for their baby dolls - which is what Catherine is wearing. It sounds ridiculous. I know. But I vividly remember going to Walmart in Andalusia as a little girl and my mom buying me real bottles and baby clothes for my big ol' Real Baby. The girls get a kick out of it and it's a little nostalgic for me. So why not? And please notice the ribbon in Towns' hair. Not a bow. I'm one sad mama. She's been ready to go to Kindergarten for a while now, and recently she's decided that ribbons are much more the Kindergarten look rather than bows. And she's learned how to tie her shoes. Just one more thing that makes her more grown up and less dependent on me!! Broken heart is all I have to say.

I can happily report that the patient has made a speedy recovery and is at school this morning. She was a pretty sick baby, but I also know Cate and know that she knows how to milk it. As you might be able to tell from the smile on this face...

That's after I got her all snuggled up in our bed and let her watch TV before she went to sleep Friday night. She's a mess! I haven't a clue where she could possibly get that from...

Target Rehab

The McClendon family needs help. Maybe even a 12 step program. Why? We're addicted to Target. Hopelessly addicted! Today the girls and I went to look at houses with a real estate agent (J was in meetings all day so we were solo), and we based our likes and dislikes of them according to their distance from Target. We didn't realize we were doing it until much later when it hit me and I called us out on it. Sad! We go all the time. Sometimes twice a day. And the bad part is that most of the time we go for no reason at all. Please tell me we're not the only ones?! I have a friend from church who's right there with me. Every time I'm there we see each other, so it makes me feel somewhat better to know that I'm not alone!

And come Christmas this year, I'll definitely stay away from Target when buying presents for the girls. Apparently things like this are just as much fun as new toys...

A house full of new things to play with and that's what my kitchen looked like the day after Christmas!
In case you have a hard time believing how bad this addiction is, I have proof. Seems like every picture on my iPhone has Target scenery in the background...




Random, but see the guy right above Towns' head that has a beard and an orange hat? He scared me. I thought he was about to blow the place up. I saw him get out of his car and walk into the store alone. He stood there leaning against that post for at least 20 minutes. Just staring at people. I know this because I hung around pretending to be shopping on the dollar aisle just to see if he could be waiting for someone, but since he came in alone I had a feeling he wasn't. I didn't want to falsely accuse him of being the Target Bomber. But I was also having visions of them shutting the place down and sirens going off because we were being held hostage. Scary. I was making several different escape plans in my head and was ready to dial 911 on my phone. I told the manager on duty about him and she went to see what he was all about. Never found out what came of it, but seeing that picture just reminded me of him! I ended up feeling really guilty. For all I know he doesn't have friends or family and wanted to hang out at Target and people-watch just for some interaction. Who am I to say he can't go to Target for no reason at all? We do it all the time! He was looking mighty suspicious, though!!!
Moving right along...
On one of our Target trips we got Starbie's and sat down for a little while. Towns had $9 that was burning a hole in her purse (she gets it honest, B!) and I tried to let her pick out things she wanted while making her stay within her budget. She wanted make-up and blew the budget by $6. We'll work on that. And we'll work on her make-up applying skills, as well. :)
I had to get done up right away...



Speaking of make overs...

Bebby has been so sweet to play with her sisters on her break. They're loving her like crazy! She always talks about how she can't wait until they're older and she'll be their best friend. She hopes they'll tell her all their secrets and think she's the coolest person on Earth. I think we're already there, B! You just don't know how much they love you!! It only gets better from here...now if they would stay out of your stuff it would be much better, right?!


Today was a snow day, and we found out a little while ago that school's out tomorrow too. Bethany is beyond thrilled and Towns is beyond disappointed. She was looking forward to taking her favorite Christmas present for show-and-tell tomorrow. She was going to take her new baby Catherine since the trampoline won't squeeze into the Tahoe. We're keeping our fingers crossed that Catherine will get to go to school with her Monday!
We could have been outside playing in the snow flurries, but Cate woke up sick this morning. Fever, horrible cough, etc. One day back at Mother's Day Out and look what happens! She's been a really good patient, and that might be because she's had some really good nurses. It pays to be the baby of the family because everyone goes overboard to make sure she's happy and comfortable. Bethany did her make-up and toenails and let her lay in bed with her to watch Strawberry Shortcake. And Towns has really gone above and beyond...


Once she fell asleep, Towns got every last blanket and lovey we own and got her 'cozied up' as she says. Smooth sailing until Buggy threw up all over everything. Lovely!

She's pretty pitiful! She keeps saying 'hold me tight, Mommy'. Don't get me wrong, I hate to see her so sick but I love it when she needs me. She's the most independent one in the bunch, so this doesn't happen very often!

Country Living

Tuesday morning we headed out for a 4 hour drive down the Natchez Trace in Mississippi for our Christmas visit with my side of the family. My mom's oldest sister, Jane, and her husband Charlie live on acres and acres of land in Kosciusko (fun fact: it's also Oprah's hometown). They have everything we don't. Horses, cows, 4 wheelers, tractors, a barn...basically just wide open space. Which is something we are definitely not used to, but enjoy very much when we have the opportunity to go. It was fabulous to barely have cell service. Great to just sit and be still. It's slow paced and the only thing you have to do is only what you want to. I think we all needed it! Of course, for Bethany it was wonderful for a couple of days but I don't know if she could survive much more than that! :) The whole crew was there, and that made me one happy lady. I love big get-togethers and wish we could do it more often.

When we walked in the door all the kids were having a fit to tear into presents. And it looked like a wrapping paper factory blew up just 5 short minutes into it...

B got loads of gift cards! She's not a shopper or anything (HA!)...

Cate immediately had to see what her new princess towel was all about...

YaYa and Pappy gave the girls these little poochies, and they have barely let them out of their sights...

Jane and Charlie have 3 Jack Russells, one being a puppy. Sweet Pea (bless her) won Cate and Towns over right from the very start. Between the two of them, the poor dog never got a chance to put her paws on the ground the entire time we were there. Towns was 100% convinced that Sweet Pea was her baby and that Jane and Charlie were only the babysitters. She didn't understand why we weren't bringing her home with us...


This face says it all...

She's silently begging me to round up the children and get them OUT of her house!! We apologized several times for any trauma they caused and hope that she wasn't scarred for life!

It was birthday mania while we were there. My mom's birthday was on the 29th (won't reveal her age!) and Anna Grace turned 11 on the 30th. We do love a good party...

Oops! I guess the cake spilled the beans in the age department! When Jane turned 40 years ago, my mom went overboard and sent her black roses. You know what the say about payback!




The birthday cake was, no doubt, enjoyed long after the parties were over...

That's right. Eating cake right out of the boxes. Granny nearly died! But in the grand scheme of things, does it really matter?!

Aside from presents and partying, we spent the days primping just for the fun of it...

Getting manicures with bright orange nail polish...

(It's no wonder why my children are obsessed with Mary Catherine!)
We spent lots of time outside...

Correction: they spent a lot of time outside. I only got out there once. I like being warm and dry way too much! April, here's your proof...


We did a ton of what you see in the background of this one...

And it was just what the doctor ordered!!


(Granny would kill me for this one - she didn't have her 'face painted' and her 'lips on'!)



And I have to show you this one...

I love it! And this one...

Their house is so quaint and inviting...it felt like home for our few days there! Thanks Aunt Janie! We had a ball!
Bethany was a doll and kept the girls quiet and entertained for the first couple of hours on the trip back home...

And being that it was New Year's Eve, we stopped for fireworks when we crossed the Alabama state line. Which, I might add, are totally illegal to shoot in the city limits. But if you know my husband, you know that's never stopped him. He's lit them and thrown them at us for 3 days straight...right B?! It's a miracle we haven't been blown to smithereens! We kept it safe for the younger ones, though. Sparklers all the way!


After all the fun, I tried to get Cate to sleep so that Bethany, Towns and I could make a Target run for a few last minute beauty essentials for B's big NYE party. But as you can tell from this one, she was way too fired up...

So J stayed home with her while the rest of us went out for bronzer and green teas! :)
And here's the finished product...

Beautiful!!!!!
I only hope Towns and Cate turn out half as sweet and smart as you, B!
You make me proud!
Happy 2010!