blah - blah - blah ...

on my soapbox ...

blah ... blah ... blah ... blah ... blah ...

off my soapbox ...

well ... you really wouldn't want to know anyway ... seriously ... it's boring mindless chatter about dumb things ... people, money, diabetes, condos, and such ...

so ... moving right along ...

I read this today ... I like this today ...

"I am actually a perfect size 2 ... I just keep it covered with fat so that it doesn't get scratched!"

yep ...

happy day ... tammy

Where does time go?

whirlwind ...

between "adventures", doctor's visits, dogs in heat, and you name whatever else!!!! whew!

oh well ... makes for an interesting life!

My baby girl got the honor roll all year ... and a great report card yesterday! 2nd grade here we come!

Man ... why do our kids grow up SO fast?! I just don't get it! Life is ZOOMING by me so fast that I'm so afraid I'll miss something ...

and ... she looks more grown up everyday ...

That two year old in her footed pajama's, pitter patting so fast, that rounded the corner of the hall just a few minutes ago? ... came back around the other corner looking like this!

yep ... growing up too quick ...

happy day ... tammy

Just A Strummin' ...

Memorial Day ... a day to "remember" ... I for one, am very thankful to those who served and died so that I could have freedom in this great land.

This weekend has been much more relaxing than our "normal" ... I actually did some baking Saturday morning (which I really enjoy) ... a new cookie recipe and a Strawberry Mountain Dew cake ... yum!

Nate is off today ... and so far ... we've been to breakfast, taken the dogs to the beauty shop, and enjoyed some "family time" in the music department! LeAnna has taken interest in the bass ... so while Nate was playing around on the piano, LeAnna decided to play around on the bass with him ... the funny thing is ... while he was playing, she actually hit some of the right chords while trying to follow him ... it was too cute ...

she is destined to do "something" in the music department ... who knows what instrument she'll end up on ... we don't discourage any of them ... well ... maybe the omnichord - ha! just kidding ...

anyhoo ... not sure what we'll get into today ...

OH ... OH ... OH ... yikes ... on the way out the door to take the dogs to the beauty shop ... we discovered that DAISY IS IN HEAT!!!! AAAHHHHHHH ... not fun ... especially for me! So ... we're in diapers for the next two weeks! AAHHHHHH ... and again ... AAHHHHHH ... encore please ... AAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH ...

happy day? tammy

Never Write Important Notes With Disappearing Ink ...

So ... you know ... it's been a week! I usually don't go that long without posting ... however ... let's just say ... it's been busy beyond ...

so busy that ...

last night I dreamed ...

that I was making a list of the things I needed to remember (and I really have to do this, or I don't remember) ... and ... I remember the list being very important things that I could not forget ... I went away and came back later ... and the paper was there, but the important things I had written were gone ... only to discover ... that I had written all my important things down in disappearing ink! then I woke up!

yep ... so ... so much on my mind that I'm dreaming about forgetting to do something!

YIKES!!!

Anyhoo ... lots has transpired since my last post (a week ago) ...

on Friday, Jennifer gave me a surprise birthday party at my favorite Mexican restaurant, Tequilas with some of the girls from church! Wow!!! I couldn't believe it! I thought I was just meeting her for lunch! It was so nice ... and LOVED the cake! It was white with black polka dots and strawberry cake!!! Yum! I have no pictures to post (yet - hint, hint) ...

Friday evening, LeAnna had a birthday party to attend ... Saturday was filled with a sleepover, eating lunch out, shopping, and getting things together for a meeting at church ... Sunday was filled with church twice and work in between ...

Monday, I celebrated my last birthday in public! Next year - I'm requesting a spa weekend with friends somewhere! ha! It's hard leaving the 30's ... oh well ... better than the alternative ... we celebrated at the Cheesecake Factory Monday evening ...

Tuesday we were at the park ALL day long with the school, and then a school play for my nephew Dawson Tuesday evening ...

Wednesday was the last day of school ... wow! Hard to believe the first grade is now complete! I went to pick her up at 11am ... and she hugged Ms. Green several times while I was standing there talking ... then as we were about to leave, she dropped her backpack again and ran over to Ms. Green for one last hug ... we said our goodbyes and started down the hall ... LeAnna started crying, very politely I might add ... which made me tear up as well ... YIKES!!! She REALLY loves school ... and she had Ms. Green for 2 years in a row because Ms. Green moved up last year to first grade ... it's been a great "experience" so far at NCS ... we are grateful for the opportunity to attend there ...

I'm sad ... because I took my camera in and took pics of her with Ms. Green ... got back in the van and realized I didn't have a stupid flash card in the camera!!! AAHHHHH - yep - crazy!

oh well ...

Now ... it's time for SUMMER VACATION!!!!

Last year - we did 81 Moments ... this year ... there are 84 summer days until school starts back ... SO ... we're doing "84 Moments" this year, in the form of a blog ... I'll include the link at the end of the post ...

Last year we also did "LeAnna's Adventure Box" as a means of "summer fun" ... this year, I've come up with something along the same line, but a little more detailed ...

I have 6 boxes ... each labeled differently ...

Here's the first box ...

The "Summer Days" box ...

from this she will "weekly" draw a day of the week (Monday - Friday) ... then ... according to the day she draws, she will go to that day's box and draw what she will be doing that week, on that day ... each day has a different theme and are as follows:

Hopefully this will keep things "exciting" around here this summer! It sounds a little complicated and very busy, but ... it's just one day of the week and she will have several days ahead of time to think about it and get pumped up for it! Each time she draws and what we do will be noted on the 84 Moments blog ...

We also found out that she will have "summer requirements" as well! She has to read and complete 5 book reports, create 5 journals on things she does this summer, and learn and memorize all math facts, addition and subtraction up to 18 ... there will be a test she has to take the first week of 2nd grade - a 2 minute timed test, consisting of 25 questions that will account for 33% of her Math grade for the first 9 weeks!

YIKES!!!! I don't remember ever having work like this on my summer vacations!!!!

oh well ... thank goodness she LOVES school! Will make it a lot easier on her!

So, with all of this, plus everything else we will be doing this summer - we should have a pretty fun filled active summer vacation!

If you would like to follow our daily summer blog - you can link to it here

here's to a great kick-off to summer!

happy day ... tammy

Field Day ...

today was Field Day at school ...

I remember those days ... however - a VERY long time ago!

Nate and I were both able to go today and also had lunch with her ...

love making those "moments" to recall at a later time ...

LeAnna got 2nd place in the 40 yard dash ... she wasn't too happy here - because she missed first place by just a second ... she got first last year and was hoping for it again ...

they were "Ms. Green's Grasshoppers" ... Ms. Green made them these cute hats to wear today!!!

fun ...

First Grade is about over ... a test tomorrow ... and then a book report has to be done and turned in by Tuesday and an oral report has to be given on Tuesday morning ... this is her first one - but she says she's not nervous at all ... that's great! just hope she feels that way on Tuesday ... =0)

Next week begins our "84 Moments" ... I'll be doing another summer blog titled 84 Moments ... I'll post the link and give the details of what I've got planned for this summer in an upcoming post ...

happy day ... tammy

Priceless ...

Ever come across those "priceless" funny family photos?

I was "babysitting Cocoa" at Mom's and decided to look through some of her old pictures ...

well ... to me ... this one in particular ... is priceless!

better to post and then ask forgiveness - right? is that the way the saying goes?! hmmm ...

this is of my Mom ... I have NEVER ever seen a more priceless pic of my Mom - ever.

this pic says it all ... and I'm almost scared to ask about it ... I don't have a clue who the people are - other than my aunt in the pic with her ... but the older couple - don't have a clue ...

My Mom is not the "jokester" like her sister ... and ... she doesn't drink ... and so ... to me ... this pic is just ... well ...

Priceless!

happy day ... tammy

My Angel Is Doing Overtime ...

Let me just tell you ... it's been a CRAZY day today!!!

I had LOTs on my plate and got started early! I was dressed and out of the house by 8:30ish ... (that's early for a SAHM who also works from home) ... anyhoo ... lots to do today ... trip to the lab, client orders to be mailed, bank, talk with clients on the phone, scheduled 3 more appointments, canceled one, 3 different stores, lunch with LeAnna ("just because I really want you to" she said) clients this evening, BABYSIT Cocoa because Mom is not home for the next 24 hours!!!!!!!! oh, breakfast, lunch, and dinner ... hmmm ... oh yeah, WORK, laundry, clean, ... ahhh, I know I'm leaving out something ... oh well ...

Was on I-440 when a semi decided he wanted to be in my lane, in my very spot, while I was still in it! I slammed on my brakes and swerved into the left lane (had no choice), this landed me in front of another vehicle, and then I jumped back in my lane after he passed a bit ... CRAZY!!!! I was so upset ... it was a definite wreck waiting to happen! Thank God there was no wreck - but it left me shaking like a leaf for awhile ... "meanwhile" I pulled up beside mr. semi, quickly noted the name of the company and phone number and the truck # and made a nice little phone call to the manager of the company ... a local company "The Mulch Company" ... hmmm ... boss man was not happy ... anyhoo ...

I was not even supposed to be on I-440 ... but traffic was so bad this morning that I couldn't merge and so ... that's how I ended up there ... so I exited and took West End into town ...

While driving on Broadway near the bridge before Union Station ... a very brave homeless man started moving funny, like jumping and making his legs go out and up in the air like he was doing the splits and starting jumping out into the road RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME - STILL DRIVING! Okay ... what in the world?! And I had SO much to do today and this was all in my "beginning" of this day! (still shaking mind you from the Mulch Co. dude) ...

not to mention ... someone almost hit us head on yesterday afternoon on our way home ... IN OUR SUBDIVISION!!!! Yep ... some crazy person was driving around our blind curve (down hill) at least 40 mph and IN MY LANE! So when he rounded the corner IN MY LANE there I was ... honking and slamming on my breaks and crying out!!!! OH MY !!!!

so ... whew ... excitement ... right?! a little more than I cared for in the last 24 hours ...

then ...

had a client this evening and didn't finish up until after 9pm this evening ...

SO I'm not just CRAZY ... I'm CRAZY tired!!!!

My life is so boring ... I'm actually looking for excitement ... if anyone could recommend a source of excitement to ease me out of this state of boredom that I seem to be stuck in ... PLEASE help me!!! =0)

so ... wonder how tomorrow will go?!

happy day ... tammy

I Toe Promise ...

I sure hope everyone enjoyed their "Mommy's Day"

... it was a nice weekend!

And Nate and my LeAnna bug made me feel very special!!!

I came across this on a "fellow blogger's" blog ... and she noted at the bottom of her post that it was okay to "pass along" ... so - thanks Kathy!

I got a BIG kick out of this and it was too cute to not pass along ...

In honor of Summer and letting our piggies and heels show freely ...

The Open-Toe Shoe Promise …


As a member of the Cute Girl Sisterhood, I pledge to follow the Rules when wearing sandals and other open-toe shoes:

- I promise to always wear sandals that fit. My toes will not hang over and touch the ground, nor will my heels spill over the backs. And the sides and tops of my feet will not pudge out between the straps.

- I will sand down any mounds of skin before they turn hard and yellow.

- I will shave the hairs off my big toe.

- I won't wear pantyhose even if my misinformed girlfriend, coworker, mother or sister tells me the toe seam really will stay under my toes if I tuck it there.

- If a strap breaks, I won't duct-tape, pin, glue or tuck it back into place hoping it will stay put. I will get my shoe fixed or toss it.

- I will not live in corn denial; rather I will lean on my good friend Dr. Scholl's if my feet need him.

- I will resist the urge to buy jelly shoes at Payless for the low, low price of $4.99 even if my feet are small enough to fit into the kids' sizes. This is out of concern for my safety, and the safety of others. No one can walk properly when standing in a pool of sweat and I would hate to take someone down with me as I fall and break my ankle.

- I will be brutally honest with my girlfriend/sister/coworker when she asks me if her feet are too ugly to wear sandals. Someone has to tell her that her toes are as long as my fingers and no sandal makes creepy feet look good.

- I will promise if I wear flip flops that I will ensure that they actually flip and flop, making the correct noise while walking and I will NOT slide or drag my feet while wearing them.

- I will promise to go to my local nail salon at least once per season and have a real pedicure (they are about $25 and worth EVERY penny).

- I will promise to throw away any white/off-white sandals that show signs of wear... nothing is tackier than dirty white sandals.

So ... there you go ladies! Enjoy!

happy day ... tammy

A Mommy's Day ...

Happy Mother's Day to all Mommy's out there!!!!

I've had a very special day today ... Nate took me to breakfast this morning to Cracker Barrel and then we did a little shopping for our Mom's ... then we had 3 different events this afternoon and evening to attend ... wow! busy weekend to end a very busy week!

Very nice though ... THANKS Nate and LeAnna for a very special day ...

Mother's Day is SO special to me ...

there were "many" Mother's Day's that I spent in tears (secretly) because I wanted to be a Mommy so very bad ... I know it might sound silly ... but just to be able to get that little gift at church that they pass out on Mother's Day when all the mothers stand and wait for an usher to bring their prize around ... yep ... crazy I know ... but I'm crazy ... ha! oh well ... I never take my "mommy role" for granted ... it's such a special honor to be a Mommy and I'm proud to be one ... I love my role ...

Happy Mother's Day to my mom "Nana" and my mother-in-law "Granny" ... hope you have the best day tomorrow ...

happy day ... tammy

Lunch Friends ...

Today ... LeAnna had friends for lunch ... at school!

Denise, Miquela and Brayden ...

Brayden was a little shy (can't imagine why!) to get in the picture - I think he thought it was "lame" However, he got to see Kennedy and I'm sure that made his day! =0)

LeAnna was TOO excited about them being there ... it's been talked about for months and finally happened ... before school let out! AND we just have a little over a week left for Summer Vacation!!!

I've been "planning" ... I'll post soon what we're going to do ... last year we did "LeAnna's Adventure Box" ... we have something on the same order, but a little more "advanced" ... have to do "something" to keep her occupied and things exciting - she IS getting older! AND I want her to enjoy her summer's ... my summer breaks were some of my most memorable times growing up ...

I can't even begin to describe how busy things are right now ... thus the reason for infrequent posts lately ... hopefully SOON things will slow down a bit ...

and ... lots on the agenda the next few days ... SO ...

happy day ... tammy

almost a statistic ...

... and I thought last week was busy!!!!

wow!

I failed to mention that last Friday, LeAnna had a sleepover with her teacher Ms. Green! She and 3 other girls and 1 boy in her class got to do this because they had read over 100 books since January, and had completed a comprehensive testing on each and passed. There were 3 other classes involved (1st and 2nd grade) - a total of 15 students that attained this reward! We dropped her off at the schools church at 6pm and picked her up on Saturday morning at 9am. I was a little bit worried that she might "call" to come pick her up - but she did great and loved it! The plan was to purchase a disposable camera for her to take pictures of her "night" and I forgot! AAHHHH!!!!! oh well ...

Very neat ... she had been so looking forward to this since the quest began in January!

She is such a good reader and truly enjoys it ... our last note home was she was reading well into a 3rd grade level. Very proud of her!

It was a crazy busy weekend with David's birthday on Saturday (which we celebrated on Sunday) - Happy Day Dave! And Judy's birthday on Sunday (which we celebrated on Monday) - Happy Day Aunt Judy!

and dinner for our family on Tuesday evening, here at the house ... dumb me, had my camera out 'on purpose' and didn't take one stinkin' picture! SO mad at myself ... I've been doing this lately ... NOT taking pictures and then regretting it! I've GOT to add "take more pics" to my 2009 Goals ! and then make myself do it!

today - I "volunteered" to "serve" at school ... this week is Teacher Appreciation Week and we served dinner today to all teachers (kindergarten through 12th) plus other staff ... yep, on my feet in one spot for 2 hours ... didn't wear the right shoes ... yack! oh well ... at least it felt good to put my "word" into action! ha!

I've got an overload of clients right now that I'm working on and I'm behind ... which is not good ... and more work hours right now for my other job ... AAHHHHH !!!!! BUSYYYYY!

AND ... just thankful that Kaitlyn saved me from being a statistic this evening at church ... I had just come out of the bathroom, was chatting with someone at the water fountain and didn't have a clue that the back of my skirt had gotten caught and not pulled down all the way ... AAHHHH ... can you imagine me walking in front of the whole church to go praise sing?! Thanks Kaitlyn for saving me the embarrassment of becoming a statistic that I used to myself, make fun of as a teenager! ... you know the old lady at church with her dress tail caught in her underwear! yep ... happened several times at church and to the same poor little lady ... oh my ...

... I'm tired!

So .... that being said ...

happy day ... tammy

Prom Night ...

Wow! What a busy week!

unbelievable actually ... that's usually the way it is with me though ... when I'm busy -I'm BUSY ... and it all seems to happen at once!

oh well ... no dull moments around here!

this afternoon ... I went and took pics of Marshall and his date for the prom ... WHAT?!?!?

man ... this little guy (who's not so little anymore) wasn't even born when we got married! And now he's going to the prom?!

yep ... made me feel old ... crazy!

anyhoo ... him and his date looked great! here's a few pics ...

where in the world did the time go Mr. Marshall?! It was only yesterday that I was chasing you around the yard, naked, because you thought it was funny at 3 years old to remove all your clothes and run outside!

... and as I sigh ... he drove off in his dad's sportscar ... yep ... old.

happy day ... tammy