Christmas Shopping!

Remember Thursday is my day to drop off Brooke at MDO and have coffee at Starbucks. Lately after coffee we have been shopping due to the fact that it is Christmas and everybody has so many gifts to buy.
Today after Latte Ladies some of us went shopping at the Galleria. My MAIN mission was to get a new cell phone. A Christmas gift to myself, since mine was looking like a HOOP T with no back and the battery taped on. Not to mention that it really didn't even work anymore. (The screen was blank and barely held a charge.)
I arrived at the Cingular kiosk to learn that the phone I wanted (the black razor)was not FREE like I thought, but was a whopping $129!!! As if I would pay that when I can get it down the road for free. I could tell this guy had no holiday cheer. That blew that!
After that, we headed to the toy store and I picked up an inflatable Pooh for Brooke's birthday in January. Next was the Disney store, but I was strong and didn't get anything. ;-) We went to a couple of other stores and then to Children's Place. I bought a jumper for Brooke.
It was getting late, so we went to eat at Jason's Deli. I have been trying to eat healthy all week, so I got the salad and half of turkey sandwich. What a good girl am I!
After lunch, we headed to pick up the kids. I still had tons of errands to run and now I can't find my phone at all! Did I leave it at the mall? Oh Well!
I ditched all the other errands and decided to go to Walmart. I got my phone at the Cingular place there for~~Can you guess how much? YEP! you guessed it FREE!! Yippee! Merry Christmas to me! I only had to pay an $18 activation. It is just the one I wanted. I walked all around Walmart and talked on it and it had perfect reception. (I have since used it in some "dead zones" around town and it works great.) I bought my other Walmart stuff and headed home.
It will take me forever to gather up all my numbers, so if your reading this and haven't given me all your digits then please send them my way. Oh...and don't let me forget to take your picture, so that when you call me your face will pop up on the screen of the phone! How cute is that?

It's Official!

It's Official, Penn gets the "Best Dad Ever Award!" I have been knowing that Penn is an awesome dad since the day Brooke was born, but now my mother, his mother-in-law~ even agrees.
My mother came to visit for the Thanksgiving holidays. After returning home, she and I talked on the phone. We discussed the fact that I was so blessed with such a great daughter, husband, church, dog, family, home, etc. And then she gave Penn the best compliment ever.
She said, "If anyone wants to know how to be a great dad they should just follow Penn around for a couple of days!"
It's nice if your wife thinks you're good, but it's the absolute truth if your mother-in-law agrees.
So...if you see Penn and think his head is a little swollen, now you know why!

Suzy Seamstress

Just call me Little Miss Suzy Seamstress! I actually repaired the hem in one of Brooke's smocked dresses today. WOW! Can you believe it? It was quite an ordeal! I even had to run out to Walmart and pick up the thread. That was hard. They had like 5 different kind! And they were all huge spools. Enough to sew a quilt! I just needed some to hem with and none of them really said "for hemming" on the label. I finally just went with the "multi-purpose." That spool should be enough to cover all of my sewing from now until the time I go to heaven. Thankfully, I had a few needles in one of those little travel sewing kits. You know like you get from a hotel. Pretty handy!
OK, I have to be totally honest and say, I hated every minute of it! Sewing it NOT my cup of tea. And the fact that I suck at it doesn't help. But...I am now happy the darling dress is repaired and that I didn't have to pay anyone to do it. I guess I will never be one of those that create a dress or even a burp cloth from scratch. I will just stick to repairs.
I think that I just love shopping to much to give it up for sewing. I would much rather go to the mall or on eBay and hunt for a dirt cheap bargain than to sew something from nothing. Shopping is just too satisfying for me, so let's just call me Super Suzie Shopper instead!!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Gobble! Gobble! Well there's a gang of family here and I must say we have had a lovely time as usual! Thanksgiving is one of my favorite times of the year. The phone rang several times today from the family who was not able to attend, so we were able to say Happy Day to those still far away!
We starved ourselves all day and then had our traditional feast around 3:00PM. We had one fried turkey and one baked turkey. The fried turkey was a little juicier! YUM! My compliments to Chef Penn. He is such and awesome turkey cooker. We also had an assortment of wines to toast the meal, followed by sweet potato casserole with pecan topping~not marshmallow, homemade cranberry sauce, green bean casserole, Watergate salad, Cajun rice dressing, corn, rolls, and apple pie, chocolate cake, ice cream and coffee for dessert. It was a mighty fine meal if I do say so myself! We eat this same exact meal for Thanksgiving every year. And then we repeat it on Christmas. It is just too good to have only once a year.
One tradition that we have in our family is to go around the table and tell what we are thankful for. OK here is an embarrassing Thanksgiving story. When I was a lot younger I remember going around the table and all of the participants were saying such profound comments about the wonderful things that they were thankful for. And then...it was then my turn!!! I said I was thankful for being CUTE! How vain! What I meant was that it must be hard to go through life with a disfigurement or maybe some type of birth defect, but the family never let me live that one down. For several years after that SOMEONE would always bring it up, and get a good chuckle.
Oh my stars...we totally forgot to do it this year. I am appalled! Isn't that the whole point of Thanksgiving--to count your many blessings? Everyone will still be here, so I will make sure we do it tomorrow because we can not wait until next year, it is just too important!
Do you have any special traditions in your family? Happy Thanksgiving!

Here's the entire song...

Here is the entire song! (See blog below.) I found it on the Internet of course! It is a really old hymn. I can't believe my choir friends didn't know it. I bet Connie would have though. It is called I Am So Glad That Our Father in Heaven. Take a look and see if you like it. Maybe the Evangel Heavenly Girls Trio could sing it one Sunday morn for an old-timey style worship!

Jesus Loves Even Me

While in the shower each night, I think of so many things to blog about! The same happened tonight, but it would take hours for me to get it all down. I went with this one cause it's short:
This song is stuck in my head:
I am so glad that Jesus loves me,
Jesus loves me, Jesus loves me
I am so glad that Jesus loves me
Jesus loves even me!
Help me out? What is this song? Does anyone know any verses other than the refrain?
Anyway, I know I am a wretched brat and my life is darn near perfect! It just can't get much better. Awesome husband that vacuums, a sweet sleeping toddler with her lips pursed in such an irresistible way that you can't help but kiss them, a lovely ladies night out to Habanero's and Starbucks, a warm roof over my head, etc., etc., etc. The list goes on for miles.
So...I am starting to feel as though times of trials are near. I'm scared. Please pray that I will be able to handle it. I know it seems silly, but I'm just speakin' my mind.
I am so glad that Jesus loves even me!

Iron Bowl Weekend

Iron Bowl Weekend is the weekend where Alabama and Auburn play each other in football. It is a really big deal and all of the residents of this state go absolutely crazy all week long!
To get into the spirit of things, of course I planned another playgroup pep rally this year. It a tradition! All participants were to wear their teams colors if they wanted to attend. We were going to meet at the picnic area at the zoo for the pep rally, then go to visit the Tiger and Elephant mascots in the zoo, and end with a super tailgating feast!
But...it was a little too cold to be out at the zoo in the weather for 3 to 4 straight hours, so we moved the fun to the Clements house. Thank you Christy for saving the day!
Upon arrival to Christy's, the children played a little and then everyone made a spirit ribbon for their favorite team. I let Brooke wear an Alabama cheerleader outfit and I even wore some crimson and white too! I thought it would be fun to go for the underdog. Besides, Penn hates Auburn more that Alabama and he said to cheer for them.
All the kids got tattoos of their team and then we had some tailgating fun. I brought an assortment of drinks, chips, fruit, and sandwich making stuff. Everyone fixed a plate and we had a grand lunchtime. Of course Brooke loves any meal that Cheetos are involved.
After tailgating, we went outside where the "real cheerleaders" JM and Liz pepped us up with some cheers and even taught us a few too! The kids attention spans were a little short, but the mommies really got into it.
After the kids played in the yard a while, each mommy and child decorated a cupcake with chocolate or vanilla frosting and then put the appropriate colored sprinkles on top. Brooke really LOVED putting on her own red sprinkles!
After a while, everyone left. I took JM up to the church for a yearbook meeting and then Brooke and I went home for a quick nap.
Around 5:00PM, I woke her up to go to the nursery. Penn and I went over to the Kitts for some dinner, lots of dessert and some great fellowship. It is always such a great time!!! We thoroughly enjoyed listening to the Lowmans share.
We love you Kitts!
On Saturday, I slept in until 10:00AM! We hung around a while and then went over to the Lowdens to watch the Iron Bowl game. For the game, I wore blue with an Auburn button. John warned me not to show up in red, so I followed his instructions. I didn't want to anger the host! There I ate TONS of food until I couldn't even see straight. I especially overdosed on Penny's peanut butter candy! YUM! Please do not make that again anytime soon. I think I gained about 5 pounds just from eating that alone! We all had a great time. Thanks for having us over John and Penny!!!
On Sunday, it was off to Sunday school, church, and then out to lunch. We had Brickworks and then Penn headed to the office. He wanted to work today, so that he could take off on Wednesday and Friday.
Back at home, Brooke took a short nap and then we went to the church for the Covered Dish Thanksgiving Dinner at the ROC. All the food was so, so yummy and I ate way too much AGAIN! I have decided that it doesn't matter if I get fat because we are about to try to get pregnant again and I'll be fat anyway, so I might as well eat and enjoy it! Don't ya think?
Anyway, it was another great weekend for the Bullocks and now its time to gear up for Thanksgiving. Which BTW... I'm totally dreading for some reason! Please pray I will get into the thankful spirit and that I can be a gracious hostess to all of my lovely guests that will be arriving SOON!!!

Happy Birthday to me!

Today was a great 33rd birthday. Penn is in D.C., but gave me my cards and presents ahead of time. I also received many other cards, gifts, and well wishes from other family and friends. Thanks everyone! The best present of all was my angel-faced girl who brought sunshine to my day!
No taking off the poop diaper today! That was a relief~we were off to a good start. I taught Brooke to sing the Happy Birthday song this morning and she sang it to me several times today! Can you say melt my heart?
Brooke did destroy the house with her toys this morning before we could get out to storytime, but hey who cares!
We headed to storytime. There was lots of traffic. We caught a train and some terrible construction, so we were quite late for storytime. Oh Well!
We did enjoy the little bit of storytime that we were there for. We got to make a turkey and we sang turkey songs. Gobble Gobble!
After storytime, we went to the park. There we fed the ducks and geese some crackers. We almost had a catastrophe when Brooke tripped and fell where there was tons of bird poop all over the ground. Thankfully she missed it all. None got on her! Whew! I would have freaked out. I don't remember ever seeing so much poop at the park before. So gross!
We played on the playground a while and then got hungry.
It was time to have a birthday meal. Yes, I did go to the Red Geranium AGAIN! It is just so yummy. I had my favorite dish there and some chocolate peppermint cake for dessert. I told them it was my birthday, so they gave me about a fourth of a cake. I almost ate the entire thing without exploding, but decided to leave a morsel or two for later pleasure. Brooke and I finished it off for a late night snack. That girl can eat some cake. Like mother like daughter!
Brooke had a great nap after lunch and then we went out shopping. Nothing like getting some new shoes on your birthday!!!! All in all it was a pretty great day!

"Good enough, and then some"

LSU’s JaMarcus Russell spent a lot of the first half on the run, pursued here by Alabama’s Wallace Gilberry (92) and Dominic Lee (96).

Saturday was a great football day! Penn, Brooke and I hung around the house and watched Auburn lose. It was really great.
Then, we got all dressed up in our purple and gold gear. Brooke wore one of her cheerleader outfits with pig tails and all. She's such a cute little tiger! She can say "GOOO TyTys!!" on request.
We met friends at the Cheesecake Factory for a yummy dinner and some cheesecake for dessert. You can't axactly go to the Cheesecake Factory w/o getting some. It was my 2nd time getting the "White Chocolate Peanut Butter Truffle Cheesecake." It has a Nutter Butter crust. YUM! I think it may be my new favorite. I even ordered some coffee to go with it! I love coffee and dessert. Everything tasted just sooo fabulous. At the end of the meal, everyone was quite satified and beyond stuffed.
After dinner, we headed over to the Clements house to watch the Alabama/LSU Game on television. The kids played, the guys had a beer bash, and the ladies talked over some wine. It was a nice time with family and friends. Thank you Clements for having us over!
The Tigers took the Tide of course. Geaux Tigers! Here is an article from the Baton Rouge Advocate. Read all about it!

"Good enough, and then some"
LSU’s 28-14 victory Saturday night over Alabama wasn’t the execution-style dispatching LSU fans might have preferred, given the blood in the water for this Crimson Tide season, but the Tigers executed well enough to remain unbeaten at home.
JaMarcus Russell threw three touchdown passes, matching a career high, and the Tigers played turnover-free and maintained control of the game despite being without some of their most dependable players on both sides of the ball.
On the best and coldest football-weather night of the season in Baton Rouge, a crowd of 92,588 — the second-largest in Tiger Stadium history — saw LSU spread its offensive workload to extend its longest winning streak of its series with Alabama to four games.
Russell threw touchdown passes of 30 yards to Early Doucet, 19 yards to Dwayne Bowe and 17 yards to Jacob Hester. Freshman tailback Keiland Williams scored the game’s first touchdown on a 38-yard run.
That ended a five-play scoring drive of 1 minute, 26 seconds. The next, which gave LSU a 14-0 lead midway through the first quarter, lasted 1:51.
“I think in the first half the offense was spectacular going down the field and moving the football against a very quality defensive front from Alabama,” LSU coach Les Miles said.
“We scored 28 points in 55 snaps. That’s not bad. We’ll take that every time.”
The No. 12-ranked Tigers (8-2) kept alive their slim hopes of playing for the Southeastern Conference championship, winning their third consecutive SEC game for a 4-2 conference record.
“This team is gaining speed,” Miles said. “It is going to be a team to reckoned with.”
Alabama (6-5, 2-5) fought gallantly and aggressively but lost its second game in a row, this one more palatable than the 24-16 loss at home to lowly Mississippi State a week earlier. The Tigers said the Tide made LSU earn their seventh victory in seven home games.
“We knew it was going to be rough, and it was,” said LSU defensive end Chase Pittman, who came up with the game’s only fumble, an Alabama turnover that ended a scoring threat at LSU’s 18 in the final minute of the first half.
“We fought hard in all four quarters.”
Another game of run-pass balance helped LSU gain 418 yards of total offense — 211 on running plays, 207 on pass plays.
Alabama gained 369 yards of total offense, the most by an LSU opponent this season.
The Crimson Tide also became the first LSU opponent in Tiger Stadium this season to score against LSU in the first quarter. Kenneth Darby gave them that distinction with a 29-yard pass from John Parker Wilson.
Nikita Stover scored Alabama’s other touchdown on a 6-yard pass from Wilson to pull the Tide to within 21-14 with 9:04 left in the first half.

You Gotta Love Thursdays!

I originally signed up for MDO on Thursdays to get my cleaning for the week done without having a little messerupper in tow, but...it has turned into others things that don't have much to do with cleaning!
For instance, I started a group called the "Latte Ladies" Our chat group voted on the name. Cute huh? Anyway, we meet each Thursday at Starbucks in Alabaster around 8:30AM. We meet for good coffee, juicy talks, and a "latte laughs" HE HE! That's original material! Today Becky, Penny, and I had coffee for a couple of hours and then parted ways.
I was on my way to Walmart and remembered I left my cell phone at home in the church laundry basket on top of the washing machine and felt totally naked w/o it. Detour! I also wanted to stop by the vet to visit poor Teddy and then it was home to do some nursery laundry and other boring stuff. Forget Walmart!
As I reached the laundry room to find my phone, it started to ring. HELLO! It was Rachel. She called to invite me to an Open House at Grandview Estates tonight. In the process, we decided to go and get manicures and out to lunch today. HEY! My dull drab day of laundry and misc. chores was turning into a regular pamper me day!
We headed to the nail salon right away. It is not my favorite salon, because I think the Asian guy dislikes me for some reason. I think he talks about me in another language! I hate that, but it is soooo convenient. It is placed right at the entrance to Weatherly.
After manicures, we drove over to the Red Geranium to meet Rachel's mom. She had never been before, so she was quite excited. I myself~ was there just last week with Christy. I need to stop going so often, but it is just so delicious. Any hoo, as we walked in, it was decorated beautifully for Christmas and the aroma of Fresh Apple Cake filled every nook and cranny of the little lunch spot. I quickly decided NOT to order anything low cal.(Yeah, like they have anything anyway!) I decided to go for their nearly world famous chicken salad on croissant, again!!!! Can you say FAT grams? I added some yummy Vidalia onion potato chips and some tasty Frozen Fruit Salad for good measure.
The lunch was too GREAT! What a nice little MDO outing! I highly recommend it to you mommies out there!
After lunch, we went over to the church to pick up the girls.
Brooke and I headed home to meet Daddy for a short nap and then we were off again. Today was Alex's 6th birthday party. He had his party at Oak Mountain Bowling Lanes.
It was an all boy party, but Brooke just loves Al Lex (as she calls him) so she got a VIP invite. We thought even the little ones might want to really bowl, so Christy and I put bowling shoes on her and Jackson too. She was all about it and took off running after a ball that one of the boys threw down the lane. Wham! She slipped on the oil slick just past the fowl line. It happened so fast~all I could do was watch with my mouth open. It looked just like one of those old cartoons when a character slips on a banana peel. OUCH! After the little slip and fall incident, she was a bit gun shy. She wanted nothing to do with the bowling balls. She did observe from a distance and cheered for all the boys everytime they knocked down a pin. After bowling, we had pizza, homemade cupcakes, and some Blue Belle ice cream. Everyone seemed to have a delightful time. Happy Birthday Alex! You're such a big boy now!
We headed home around sevenish. We arrived home and played for a few minutes and then Rachel came over to pick me up. We had agreed earlier to go to the Grandview Open House. We pledged to each other not to buy anything. We were just going to look!!!!
Well...I talked Rachel into getting some Tastefully Simple stuff and I fell in love with Inviting You Stationary. So I got a little something too! So much for our pledge!
We returned home about 9:00PM. I must say it was a really nice day!

~Poor, Poor Teddy~

Teddy has been sleeping in the bed with Penn and me almost every night since the day I brought him home.
And well...last night he unintentionally got the boot!
Penn and I were sleeping and heard a loud whimper. Penn jumped up and turned on the light. There was Teddy lying on the ground. Penn accidentally rolled over and pushed him out of the bed. Oh my word!
Now you see~Our bed is very high off the ground and Teddy is only 4 pounds. And...I have seen one too many episodes of Animal 911 and know that a fall like this could cause major trouble~~even death for such a small animal!
Penn proceeded to examine Teddy and made him walk a bit. Teddy could barely walk and just dragged his back legs behind him. Oh NO! Were his back legs broken into bits? Will he be paralyzed for life? Will he died due to internal bleeding? We must get him to the animal hospital right away is what I thought! I always panic in these types of situations! Penn said we should wait it out, so he put him back in the bed with us. How stupid! Did the poor little fellow not just fall out of there minutes before?
I just laid there and petted him until I couldn't keep my eyes open anymore. He made it through the night and was resting peacefully. I decided to let him rest and I would get Brooke and myself dressed to bring him to the vet.
When I woke him up, he was walking better. Whew! He still appeared to be in a lot of pain and refused to eat or drink. He even bit Brooke when she tried to get near him.
We brought him to Weatherly Animal Hospital and left him for evaluation. They ruled out any broken limbs and decided it was a back injury. The vet treated him with steroids and some pain meds, too. They said he should be confined for several days to not further injure his tiny little back. He said if he does too much he could have to be rushed to the emergency room for back surgery! Yikes! I decided to board him at the vet where he can be confined and receive his medication. I knew if I brought him home, he would want to get on the couch or bed or even try to play with Brooke if he was feeling better. You know how sometimes medicine makes you FEEL better even though you are not well yet! I hope I am doing the right thing.
Brooke and I went to visit him this afternoon. She was crying all the way home saying "My Teddy, My Teddy!" She didn't understand WHY? he had to be in that cage. She kept asking for him for about an hour until I could get her to sleep for an afternoon nap. I know it will be safer for him to be at the clinic.
Please pray for a speedy recovery for my sweet little Teddy. Also that he is not too scared, cold, or lonely at the kennel!!

I am NOT HAPPY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am having a difficult and serious problem with my lovely daughter Brooke. She took off her pajamas and diaper for the 3rd time this morning!
The 1st time she had on a pajama top and bottom. She just pulled down her pants and ripped off her diaper. Thankfully I had just changed it thirty minutes before and it was a totally dry diaper. I still changed her bedding just in case there were a few booty germs floating around out there. I thought we would just not let her wear two piece pajamas anymore! Problem fixed!
Well...NOOOOOO the second time she was wearing a bunny suit that zipped all the way up and she just zipped herself right out of it. I found her jumping up and down in a pool of pee pee. Arrrrggggg! There were also spots of TT all over the carpet. It looked like a BOY had went potty on the floor. I was very upset to say the least. And...Miss Brooke did get a major spankin'for it. I tried to make it clear that she is NOT to touch or take off her diaper, anymore!
After the 2nd TT incident I started dressing her in a flannel onesie type pajama with tons of snaps. I thought for sure that she would not undo ALL of those snaps.
Well...this morning Penn got to sleep in late (he has to pull an all nighter) and he was ready to leave for work around 8:45AM. We had not heard one peep from Brooke. I think she slept late because it was so dark and rainy this morning. Anyway, we started to get a little worried and then we heard Wah! Wah! Penn went up to get her right away. She couldn't have been awake for more than 3 minutes.
I was still relaxin' in my comfy bed when he yelled down the stairs, "Brooke took off her diaper and it had POOP in it!" I seriously thought he was making a joke and he bellowed, "NO REALLY!"
I jetted up the stairs and had a nervous breakdown right there in Brooke's room before breakfast and everything! Penn was worried about leaving me. As if I can't handle a little poop!! It is just the thought of having to face this laundry and cleaning nightmare EVERY single morning. Stinky poop is sooooo full of germs. I just don't want my little one getting sick. Also, I am out of different types of PJ's! Maybe I could try some type of diaper lock or duck tape! What's a Mommy to do? Suggestions please!
On a cuter note, after all my ranting, raving and cleaning up~Brooke tapped my shoulder, clasped her hands and said "Mommy, Our Fater" and started to pray. We knelt down together and prayed. It was so sweet! She is not even 2 yet and already knows to call on her Heavenly Father in a time of crisis. How could I stay mad at that sweet little angel face girl?
OOOPPS! Got to go. I think Brooke just broke something!

Check this out!

Brooke and I go to storytime with some friends each Monday. It is at 11:30 for 2 and 3 year old at the North Shelby Library off of Cahaba Valley down by Herdmont Park. You know Brooke really isn't 2 yet, but she behaves like a 2 year old and so we just fib a little each week. (Please don't tell!) Anyway, we love going and look forward to it, but it is cancelled for next week. :-( Although we are very disappointed, the story-time lady wanted us to cheerfully pass on this special announcement to our home schooling friends! Please tell your home schooling friends too!
If you didn't already know, next week is National Book Week! In honor of this special time the North Shelby Library will celebrate with a special appearance from Father Goose. His real name is Charles Ghigna and he is a great children's author, poet, and guest speaker. To find out more details about this special event please go to the North Shelby Library Website.The librarian said this would event would be best for ages four and up~all the way through grammar school!
So...mark your calendar now for Monday, November 13 at 11:OOAM. I know it will be one of those "worth it" type field trips. Best of all it's FREE!

Hot Date!

Last night Penn and I went on a hot date! Actually it was a triple date. We went out with the Lowdens and the Sniders. We met at Flat Rock Grill in Patton Creek. It is one of my favorite restaurants. I absolutely love their rosemary bread and garlic butter. YUMMY! I also love the stuffed grouper and filet combo platter, but last night they did not have it on the menu. I tried to talk the owner but he would not make it for me. Bummer! I had to settle for the stuffed grouper alone. I had a sweet potato and side salad to accompany it. We had some drinks with our entrees. My food was so delicious. I was stuffed and probably did not need dessert, but you only live once. Jesus may come tomorrow~so eat pie today! For dessert, we ordered our favorite peanut butter pie with Mr. Goodbar type crust. They also gave me a complimentary 1/2 size Hershey brownie with a candle in it. Penny or somebody told them it was my birthday! They were fibbing!
Anyway, that brownie was to die for. It beats out the pie for our new fav. I ate some pie AND the brownie. I probably gained 5 pounds.
After dinner, we all went over to the Lowdens for an after dinner drink. I was such a nice time. I LOVE date night!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thank you Nancy for babysitting our little Cookster. I know Brooke had a big time with you!