Ruff-A-Doodle-Doo

Princess is So NOT happy with me this morning!


Oh well ...


She needed a change of pace and I felt it my duty to give her one!


She was so mad at me for doing this to her that she wouldn't do nothing except lay on the chair with her head down ...

So ... I took off the costume, left the room for a bit and when I came back she had the costume in the floor and was attacking it!

ha!

Oh well ...

I thought it was funny ...

Tonight we have trunk-or-treat at church ... and I'm trying to come up with something clever for my van to dress up as! .... who knows ... I'll post pics tomorrow ... =)

Last night we celebrated my nephew's birthday ... he is three! ... Happy Birthday to Jackson!

happy days ... tammy

The tea cup, minature, toy, puppy love bug has hit!

LeAnna has a "friend" ... his name is Jaden ... they go to school together ... our families have been friends for years ... his dad is a brother to Jim, who is married to my first cousin Jan ... so they have "cousins" in common!

anyhoo ...

They "eye each other" at school and exchange smiles across the lunch room ... well ... this weekend, Jaden shot his first buck all by himself and his dad caught it on video ... so this morning, him and his dad were standing in the hallway when LeAnna and her dad walked in school ... Jaden came running down the hall to her so excited to share his news ... Nate said that LeAnna got so embarrassed, she turned so many shades of red and then went and watched his video ... here's a pic ...

oh my ...

they talk about each other all the time ... and have been trying to plan a play date soon ...

yikes!

We went to see Azusa Street performed at First Church two weeks ago and LeAnna sat on the front row ... Jaden, who was in the play, just so happened to be right in front of her in one of the scenes ... he spotted her sitting there and they both became "all smiles" ... it was SO funny to watch them ... they both got upset when we had to leave before they could "talk" ... we had to get to choir practice and left as soon as it was over ...

oh my ...

oh my ...

My fly swatter is out ... and I'm in search of this love bug! Just kidding ... it's cute ... it's just so funny to watch LeAnna react to this ... and for now ... it's funny how WE are reacting to this ... but as she gets older ... I'm sure our reactions will be a little different! ha!

I guess the puppy love stage is actually the preparation stage for what is to come!

AAHHHHHHHHH !!!!!!

Okay ... dealing with it and moving on ...

happy days ... tammy

Fall Back ... NEXT Week!

Okay ... I thought ... today of all days ... surely we get to "fall back" ... I even heard someone say yesterday "we fall back tomorrow" ... I made mental note of it to check on it later (and didn't)!



Thought about it again this morning ... and decided to "just be sure" ... one more hour of sleep would do my body good!



Looked it up ... check it out here



Oh well ... NEXT Sunday we fall back .... sure could have used it today!



Did a wedding yesterday ... every bone in my body aches ... we started at 10:15 yesterday morning ... finished up at 7:00 last night ...



... slightly worn ... (very understated)



Had a hemorrhage in my left eye this last week, which is totally blocking the vision in my left eye ... thank God it wasn't my "shooting eye" ... talk about a pickle!



yep ... old and decrepit ... that's me!



the wedding was beautiful though ... and the bride and groom, beautiful as well, have begun their "happily ever after".



now ... ALL those pictures have to be edited and printed ... oh my ... was definitely snap happy yesterday!



So ... happy days today ... I must hurry and begin it ... tammy

Some Happy's ...

Good Morning ...

Well ... LeAnna is back to school today ... FINALLY!

She wasn't that eager to go back, but once she was out the door, she was fine!

Today is Report Card Day ... anxious to look at her "first one".


I have not been feeling very well ... and definitely not feeling very positive ...

I have this list that I have been compiling for a while ... and every so often I add to it ... and reread it just to keep myself positive and think on good things that make me happy.

Thought I would share my list ... it is by NO MEANS everything that "I Love" ... just an ongoing list I started a long time ago ...

It helped me today to read it ...

Maybe you could start your "own" list of things that make you happy ... it really helps just to "think" sometimes and get your mind off the negative.

My list is in no particular order ...

I Love …

Warm, fresh, clean towels

Picking up where I left off, of a very good book

Clear skies at night, where the stars are bright and seem to be everywhere

A full moon, bright white or a nice hue of yellow/orange

White t-shirts on my husband

My husband in a suit, with top button of shirt unbuttoned and no tie

A good smelling man’s cologne (I associate by “smell” and I’m ALL about my smeller!)

Nice, well-kept, polished shoes on a man – to me, this tells a lot about a person

A sun-kissed tan

Krispy Kreme doughnut holes

Fudge pie

My baby, LeAnna, giving me compliments in her “own verbal way”

Being with LeAnna

LeAnna giving me kisses

Hearing LeAnna laugh

Watching LeAnna’s face when something or someone surprises her

Touching a puppy

Giving someone a gift - that I spent a lot of time finding “just the right one”

Looking for and buying Hallmark cards (could spend all day in a hallmark shop)

Singing

Hearing a good song on the radio

Hearing a song that “takes me back” to a special moment in time

Finding a “bargain Bessie deal” on an outfit!

Vacation

Going to church

My husband holding my hand

A “wink”

Smelling chocolate chip cookies baking

My furniture after dusting

My windows and mirrors after cleaning them

A clean house

Finding a new recipe that I actually use and like

Preparing a dish of a recipe that I have been dying to try and actually getting the “taste approval” of my family

Completing a project

Green

Black and White

Doing ceramics and pottery at the Firestation

Taking pictures

Doodling on paper

Journaling (blogging)

Diamond shapes (anything harlequin) especially in black and white

My bathroom light (when turned on, it comes on gradually - it's GREAT in the A.M.)

Diet Coke

Starbucks Iced Black Tea with a few shots of syrup

Finding that FINAL gift to complete my Christmas List shopping!

Finding out a secret that is POSITIVE and feeling giddy about having to keep it a secret!

Compliments from my husband

That peaceful feeling that only God can give

The feeling I get from a sincere testimony given at church from a prayer answered

A monogrammed gift (given or received)

Helping someone who has asked for help

Princess (my love dog - lovingly referred to - since this was an anniversary gift from the Nate)

The feeling I get when I feel “needed”

The feeling I get when I feel “wanted”

Weighing in the morning and realizing I actually lost 2 lbs from the previous day!

Finding a new artist whose music makes me happy

Window shopping

Gift Cards/money to make purchases from all the window shopping

A new outfit and receiving a compliment after wearing it the first time (since I take forever buying things and then hanging them in my closet forever until I muster up the courage to wear it)

Being able to say … “No, this is not new, I’ve had this “forever” or it’s been hanging in the closet “forever”! (most said to husband)

A good chick flick

Watching home movies

Looking at old pictures

Starting a new series of books and collecting them all very quickly so it takes me months to read them … I like knowing the “next one” is waiting on the shelf!

Learning something “new” about my family that I did not know (only the good stuff, not the bad stuff!)

Wrapping a present

A happy client

Fall, Autumn

Fall colors

Trees in Fall

Crunching leaves

Sweater weather

80’s Music

Catching up with old friends

Running into someone from childhood – seeing how they’ve changed

Chicken Foot

Email

Roast and potatoes

McDonalds French fries

Nashville History

Black/white photography

Shooting architectural pictures

Orbit gum

Reece’s Peanut Butter Cups

Finding a UPS package on the front porch

Fresh flowers

just a few of my happy's ...

happy days ... tammy

Blah, blah, blah, blah... blah

Okay ... will this ever end?!

LeAnna has had a low grade temp all weekend! She wakes up with no fever, but by mid-morning has a low grade ...

hmmm ....

Doc just says it needs to "run its course" ...

long course!

Anyhoo ... she's home today ... she's feeling okay, but can't go to school until fever free for 24 hours!

So ... it's a rainy, blah day ...

Princess will NOT go outside! Her bladder is going to bust at some point today, I just know it! Oh well ... she'll go when she gets ready ... hopefully the rain will slow down a bit - soon!

happy days ... tammy

Where Have The Last Six Years Zoomed Too?

LeAnna is better today...



She had her 6 year checkup this afternoon, which worked out great, since she wasn't feeling well anyway ... kill two birds with one stone!



Anyhoo ... checkup went great ... here's the stats ...



39 1/2 lbs
44 inches tall



FINALLY ... some weight gain! Took forever! She's had the biggest growth spurt this year!



Dr. Schull said all was well ...

She's growing up!

She's starting to "shy" some ... this was the FIRST doctor's visit that she did NOT want "consoling" ... Everytime I would walk up to the exam table she would push me away and ask me to sit down. In the past ... she wanted me standing right beside her!

AAAHHHH ... here goes those "strings" stretching more and more!

but as far as the "mystery virus" ... she's thinking it's Roseola

Yikes! Sounds rough ... but actually pretty common.

She has no other symptoms except for a fever ... which led her to this diagnosis ... within a couple of days after "no fever", she could break out into a rash all over ... not contagious though ... only if running a temp ... and for now she still has one, but it's just low grade!

The last three days have not gone as planned for her ... a little disappointed, since it's her Fall Break ... but hey, at least she didn't miss school! (always a bright side)

She's starting to get bored ... I sure hope the fever goes away soon!

After the doctor today, we stopped by the fence row on the way in the subdivision and took a few pics ...

time is passing WAY too fast for this Mommy!

happy days ... tammy

Thank Goodness For Pencils ...

Thank goodness LeAnna's "checklist" for the week was written in pencil!

She was with Granny yesterday fulfilling her checklist ... when she started not feeling well ...
To make a long story short ... I ended up meeting Granny to get LeAnna and bring her home.

When we got home she had a temp that went to 102 but she was crying so bad that I pulled the thermometer out before it beeped! So it was at least 102!

headache
tummy ache
fever
chills

Oh my ...

Called the doctor ... they do not like her having a high fever for very long ... due to being a heart patient ... so with strict orders of calling back in two hours if we couldn't get it to 100 degrees, we started our regimen of drugs, cooler clothes, laying under a fan, and holding and soothing!

She slept most of the afternoon.

By bedtime her temp was down ... but by morning her temp was back up to 101.2.

So ... same regimen today ... BUT at least it's not as high and she is feeling better!

Yikes!

She's missing cheerleading practice today ... oh well!

So ... thank goodness for pencils and erasers - or we would have a very messy checklist of things to do on our Fall Break!

Back to wearing my Nurse Hat - happy days, tammy

My Tranquil Dud Experience ...

okay ...

so what is it with me and the salons that I visit for eye hair removal?!

... this is supposed to be a "I want to treat ME today" experience ... you know ... the ones you leave feeling good about yourself?!

ha! RRRiiiigggghhhhtttttttt .....


So ... I did some work for a European Hair Design Salon last week ... they needed some shots for a couple of magazine ads ...

So ... in dealing with them, actually being there in the salon, talking with them on the phone, emailing, etc. ... I thought ... hmmm ... maybe I should check them out!

So ... I made an appointment ... LeAnna went to Granny's house today ... and I decided to take a few minutes just for "me" today ... =)

Okay ... grant it ... I haven't kept up my end of the deal (with the brows) ... they are basically "out of control" ... Groucho Marx has nothing on me! ha!

no ... not that bad ... but you know ... a wee bit out of control ... okay ... a lot a wee bit out of control!

Anyhoo ...


My past experiences at the salon in relation to my eyebrows have not been that painful ... they've just always been "weird" experiences ... but hey ... I've come to expect the weirdness!

So ... European ... remember?

Okay ... well ... so are the employees!

Like ... when you go to a Mexican Restaurant ... Americans are NOT servers! ha!

So ... in other words ... the owners (who I saw today) are just a wittle bit hard to understand ... =)

I have to really concentrate to understand what they are saying to me...

So ... she has me sit, or rather - lay in the chair ... immediately when I laid down, I thought ... aaahhhh ... this is the life ... I'm going to relax ... I'm going to enjoy ... I'm going to bask in the moment ... these are "my" few stolen moments of escape ...

Okay ... so I remove my glasses (which, for those who know me well, makes me not hear as well)

Then ... she takes a spool of thread and pulls off a long piece and wraps it around her neck, and starts making knots, and making things with it ...

I'm like ... okay ... so ... she's going to make a homemade necklace to wear in honor of my hair removal! =) ohhh ... a party! No ... really ... I was thinking ... "is this some ritual they perform before the hair removal ceremony" ... no ... shouldn't think like that ...

So ... all this LONG while (10 seconds) ... I'm wondering what in the world ... finally she sees me ... I keep opening my eyes, raising up ever so slightly and squinting (my glasses are off - blind as a bat) ... she says ... this is a special technique ... called ... "threading" ... then she comes at me with this woven thread that is around her neck and I quickly shut my eyes while she ATTACKS MY FACE!!!!!!

OH MY GOODNESS!!!! What in the world is happening?

My body starting reacting as if I were laying in a dentist chair ... I tense up so much ... that you could bounce steel balls off of me and they would go slinging across the room!!!!!

OH my ... I start crying ... not crying ... but my eyes are watering so bad and immediately my face starts drawing like I just sucked on a strong lemon!

She notices my pain ...

(thanks hair removal lady for the careful observance)

She says ... "this is painful ... I sorry ... your hair is so long ... it painful ... I sorry ... come every three weeks ... it not be this bad no more ..." (I knew it was bad, but not this out of control!)

I said ... "do you wax at all?"

(thought that's what I was there for!)

she said ... "oh ... well ... I don't like to wax ... only men I do wax on ... but I will if you want ... if you can just let me do this ... it will only be red for 15 min. ... if you do wax, it be red for 24 hours ..."

I'm thinking ... MAKE ME RED! BURN BABY BURN ...

It's gotta be MUCH quicker than this! I can deal with "red" for 24 hours!

So ... by this time ... tears are sliding off my face ... she walks away ... comes back with a tissue ...

"I sorry" ...

I said ... "Oh these are happy tears" ... "Happy to have the brows in control"

she says ... "no ... these are tears of pain ... I know"

(you got that right sister! ... not going to argue that point!)

Meanwhile ... in the background ... there's music playing ... and I hear a lady screaching something about "freaking out" ... how appropriate that a song as such would be played at my special "tranquil time" ...

thanks Radio People for being "in touch" with your Salon listeners ...

Okay ... so the "threading technique" ... she warps the thread into some design (European I'm quite sure) ... and then slides it across my face and it slowly pulls out one hair at a time ... by the root ... as she pulls the woven thread together in short, squeezing like motions. AND YANKS THE HAIRS OUT!

THEN ... the plucking starts ... oh my ... pluck, pluck, pluck, pluck, pluck ... all the while ... I'm dying ...

I am SO not enjoying my supposed to be "tranquil moment" ... I'm PRAYING for her to finish ... all the while thinking ... "what in the world ... why me ... how do I do this to myself?"

At one point ... I seriously considered asking her if she had some Orajel to smear on my face ... I even thought ... wait ... I'll just ask for a break ... to dig through my purse ... and I just might find "something" to numb my face with!

Oh my goodness ...

Finally she finished ... with the "removal part" ...

And she begin patting my brows ... (as if to say ... good doggie ... maybe they were that bad ... who knows!)

So ... she's patting ... and then rubbing something on my eyes ... all around ... and it's feeling good ... well ... BETTER than the removal ... this went on for a couple of minutes ... and I thought ... wow ... this is nice ...

Man ... I needed something to relax me ... I was a tight knot!

Finally ... she handed me the mirror ... and said ... okay ... you look ...

she said ... I added some make up for you ...

found out why!

IT WAS TO COVER UP MY "RED" SWOLLEN FACE!

HA!

oh well ...

Just another moment in my life ...

thanks Ms. Hair Removal Lady for the experience! I will probably NEVER do this again ... the European way that is!

Anyhoo ...

I am, at the moment ... looking for simple ways to calm myself and enjoy the rest of my day ...

happy days ... tammy

A Fall Break Week ...

Last night we celebrated my mother-in-law's birthday at Chappy's on Church St.

We enjoyed ourselves and found out that Kid Rock was in the restaurant with us ... we saw him when he walked out, but refrained from running up to him to snap a crazed pic ... ha! only kidding ... I don't think anyone cares about him unless Pamela Anderson is by his side and she belongs to another now ... so ... anyhoo ...

Here's a few pics from the evening ...

Nathan got off work early yesterday and took the girls to see Miley Cyrus' bus ... Kaitlyn's grandpa is one of the custom builders at a company that is customizing a bus for "Hannah Montana" aka Miley Cyrus ... talk about excited!!!! Here they are laying on "her bunk" ...

Kaitlyn, her grandpa, and LeAnna ...


LeAnna is on Fall Break this week ... she has carefully planned her week out ...

Today I was so busy ... but we did manage to "check off" her to do list .... which was to go to the bookstore and Pizza Hut buffet for lunch!

She wanted to buy some new books with her birthday money ... bless her heart ... she politely reminded me that "I forgot" to take her to the book fair at school two weeks ago ... and that it was a WHOLE week long and we could have gone there before school or after to buy books ... I remember promising that we would go and do the book fair thing ... but in my flurry of plans the last two weeks, somehow "I forgot" ... yikes!

LeAnna doesn't whine or complain ... but in her "polite way" of "reminding" me of things, she definitely gets her point across ... and of course I felt so bad for not taking her ... (she talked about the book fair for days before it actually opened) ... oh well ... definitely not "mommy of the year" material!

Today, coming out of Pizza Hut ... her curious/observant characteristic kicked in ... she said ... "Mom, if there was only one man left in the restaurant (which there was), how come there are six cars in the parking lot?" ... I said, "well, maybe they belong to the employees" ... she said, "aren't the employees supposed to park in the back?" ... my reply, "Oh, LeAnna, I don't know ... you think too much!"

ha!

oh well ... she is really observant ... I'm just glad that it's not affecting her in Kindergarten like it did in Preschool ... the teacher in Preschool said she could barely follow instructions, because she was too busy watching what the other kids were doing! Hmmm ... wonder where she inherited that? Maybe that's why she's been labeled a "daddy's girl"! =)

Her and Daddy have been having fun on the 4-wheeler ... they have been riding every afternoon ... and she's having too much fun!

Tomorrow's check list for LeAnna ...

* eat lunch with Dawson at school with Granny
* pick up Dawson from school
* go to the bounce factory
* play with Dawson and Jackson until church time

Thursday ...

* Target (to spend birthday gift cards)
* lunch with Kaitlyn? (this day or Friday)
* cheerleading practice

Friday ...

* Firestation to paint ceramics
* lunch "somewhere" and with "somebody"
* cheer at high school football game on Friday night


LeAnna decided that since she was getting a "fall break" that we would go to Disney World! hahahaahahahahahahahah

oh well ... in her mind ... this would be a great idea! =)

Once she found out "NOT" ... she changed her plans and came up with the above ...

oh well ... happy days ... tammy

The Celebration Continues ...

Busy, busy ... that's how I stay ... I really wanted to post some birthday pics before now, but it's been crazy busy around here! We had family come in that was here until yesterday .... so we ran around with them all weekend ... plus in the middle of all of that ... I had work to do ... sooo ...

LeAnna had the best birthday last Thursday!

Here are a few pics of how the day went ...

she was surprised when she walked into the kitchen and saw all the decorations ...

Princess gave her a present first thing that morning ...

birthday pancakes!

flowers that Nate and LeAnna sent me ... a "thinking of you today" in honor of LeAnna's birthday! How sweet was that?!

LeAnna's party at school ...

they had "fire safety day" at school on Thursday as well!

We had family that came in to celebrate and we all went to Tequila's for dinner ...

there were 21 people that came out to help us celebrate!

It came time to "sing" and they gave her the first bite!

THEN ... they "tried" to make a mustache with whipped cream and she did not like this at all!

later she said ... "Mom, I don't think I want my birthday at Tequila's again!" (ha)

then ... we went back to the house and had birthday cake and opened gifts!

her last gift was from Granny and Papaw ... she was led outside with her eyes shut to see her new ...

... pink and white camouflaged 4-wheeler!

My Uncle Ray and his wife Billye came in from Alabama for her birthday ...

Granny and Papaw celebrating with LeAnna ...

Granny Mays came in from Clarksville to help celebrate ...

She had such a great birthday and we are appreciative to all our guests who came out to help us celebrate!

On Friday ... I went to lunch with my uncle and his wife and then we went to the cemetery to clean the graves and put out a new arrangement ... while I was on my hands and knees, cleaning my dad's marker ... I got that "weird feeling" again ... and when I stood up ... I looked around and realized that my entire family on my Dad's side was all there around me, all lying within 15 feet of each other! This realization still causes me to stop and pause, even if for a moment ... just to think that a Mom, a Dad, and four children are all dead ... the entire "tree" gone!

Weird ... I know ... but ... these are just my crazy moments!

We had family all weekend that came in to see family that was in ... (did that make sense?!) Anyhoo ... busy, busy ... but nice to spend time with family!

Today ... is my mother-in-law's birthday ... Charolyn Batson is celebrating "young age" today ... =) She's having some difficulty dealing with this day ... but I reminded her that having a birthday today is MUCH better than the alternative! =)

Happy Birthday Granny! We love you muchos!

Happy Days ... tammy

Happy 6th Birthday ...

Today is LeAnna's 6th Birthday!

We woke her up this morning with a decorated kitchen and a present from Princess! She had birthday "pancakes" (what else?!) with a candle to blow and Nana came over and gave her a special CD with songs about her on it!

We had a party at school today at 2pm ... they ate cupcakes and watched a Dora Video ... I sent off for a video that featured LeAnna as a character and the episode was all about her ... =) The kids got a kick out of this!

Then we left school and went to a "new" store ... Justice - Just For Girls ... LeAnna now has a new addiction ... she fell in love with this store! So we spent some time in there looking at everything ... she's hoping for some money for her birthday so she can go back and spend it!

Tonight we're having a family party at Tequila's (Mexican restaurant) and then back to our house for cake ... I'll post some pics from the day later ...

Happy Special Day, tammy

You Strike That V ... You Dot That I ... You Curl That C ... T O R Y

Tonight was LeAnna's first game to cheer at!

She was a little nervous, but did just fine!

They are all so cute out there!

Here's a few pics ...

And ... a video ...

Tomorrow is LeAnna's 6th birthday ... we're doing a small party at school and then a family party tomorrow evening ... she is SO beside herself ...

Six years ago at this moment ... I was as big as a beached whale!!! My water actually broke at 35 weeks 6 years ago today ... remember it ALL too well!!!!! Funny to look back on, not that funny at the time! My doctor politely told me that my stomach was the size of two week OVERDUE twins the day I delivered (5 weeks early) ... so you can imagine the size of my tummy!

AAHHHHH ... anyhoo ...

Happy Days ... tammy

The Pumpkin Lady ...

... a little "front yard" decor ...


I am SO excited with how my "pumpkin woman" turned out!

I got this idea from one of my Gooseberry Patch cookbooks ...

I love these cookbooks ... at the bottom of each page is a "tip" for cooking and decorating ...

In my "Autumn" book, there was a tip to make a "pumpkin man" instead of a snowman ...

And this is what I came up with ...

However, to me .... she ended up looking like a little old lady!

I found all my pieces at a little place set up in Bellevue behind Taco Bell ... a family from a farm in Pegram is set up there selling their "goods" and I was very excited to find them!

Just wanted to share ...

happy day ... tammy

LeAnna's Spa ...

"LeAnna's Spa" was the theme ...

... and it happened on Friday evening ...

The guests started arriving at 6:00pm ...

We had pizza, chips, grapes, chicken salad and drinks at about 6:45 ...

Then about 7:15 ... the "spa treatment" began!

The lights were lowered, the candles were lit, the music was turned on and the atmosphere became tranquil ...

one little guest said ... "I feel like I'm at a real spa! and it even smells like a real spa!" ... (yep - that's what I wanted to hear ... tried very hard to make it as real as possible)

Below is a picture of a tablecloth that I started for LeAnna when she turned one ... every year we put her hand prints on it with her age and I use it as her "gift table cloth" each year. I'm so glad I did this ... hopefully one day, it will be a full cloth for her to have as a keepsake ... =)

These were her balloons ... she was so excited with them ...

the giant 6 said "LeAnna's Spa" down the side.

The gift table in the foyer ...

This is another tradition I started when she was one ... it is a 21 year candle ...

every year we light it and burn down to the next year.

Let the spa treatment begin ...

The girls made their own homemade lip gloss ...

... and lotion ...

here ... the girls are "soaking" for their manicures ...

after the manicures ... the girls each received their own personal fan to dry their nails with

and the pedicure soak ...

and the facials ...

this is my favorite ...

LeAnna (1st from the left) is not excited about this "green stuff" on her face, wanting it to be over quick!

Michaela (2nd from the left) looks "zoned"

Miquela (3rd) looks as if "this is the life!"

and Kaitlyn (4th) ... well ... she decided to eat her cucumbers ... right off her face!

... Aahhhhh ...

... had to have this shot ...

too much fun!

"in hopes that the wishes come true!"

... funny story about the cake ... notice the front messed up and partially gone? and the side scraped up? Well ... Friday afternoon ... while cleaning up the kitchen ... I had the vacuum out and was doing last minute cleaning ... and started smelling smoke ... I thought ... OH my goodness, the bag needs changing! So I take it apart, change the bag ... still smell smoke! Happen to look up on the stove (where the cake was sitting) and the box is about to catch on fire!!!!! Somehow the eye of the stove got turned on and the box was burning! I grabbed it and removed the cake ... put the cake in the refrigerator because the icing had started sliding off the end of the cake and threw the box away ... about 5:00pm ... took the cake out of the fridge and it smelled burnt! horrible! Nate decided it would be "wise" to taste it! Thus ... the missing piece in the front ... you could taste a little burn, but it wasn't too bad ...we actually cut and ate the pink part and when no one was looking - Nate threw the rest away!

She had so much fun opening her gifts ...

LeAnna and Mackenna

Alexis and LeAnna

after the "spa treatment" ... the girls retired upstairs with their sleeping bags, pillows and popcorn to watch a movie before bed ...

... after "not much sleep" they were up and at it again ... this was taken at breakfast

four girls left on Friday night and four remained

Each girl received their own robe with their name monogrammed on it ... a pair of house shoes, and a whole bag of "spa goodies".

LeAnna loved her spa party and said it was the best day ever!

I, for one, am in desperate need of a "spa treatment" myself! ha! We had a great time but I'm relieved this is over with!

Woo-hoo ... now ... I wonder what we'll do next year?! .... hopefully I'll be fully recovered by then! ha!

I couldn't have made it without my Mom, Aunt Judy and Renee who assisted ... we soon found out that we could have used a lot more hands! We were SO tired but it was worth it to me to see LeAnna's face and how happy she was at her party.

Her actual birthday is this week on Thursday ... which, we're having a family party! AND ... having a party at school on her day too!

It's Party Week!!!!

Thank God for Fall Break next week ... we will need it! =)

Happy Day ... tammy