A Picture Perfect Day

Today was the day that we signed up to take pictures at church for the directory. When I signed up, it was about a month ago and I had no idea what the Bullocks would be doing today.
Well...we ended up having play group in the morning. Our group met at Recreation Station for some jumping around. Recreation Station moved to a new location and most of our mommies were not as fond of the new set up, but it was still fun for the kids. After working up an appetite, we headed to CiCi's pizza. It was pretty crowded and not the cleanest place in town, but do I love a bargain and their Cinnamon rolls are totally worth it.
After playgroup, Christy and I headed to Target. After letting Brooke and Jackson try on all the flip flops and Easter Bonnets we decided we better head home for a nap. Oh, I did find a cute little spring church dress for Brooke that I couldn't pass up, so I got it!
Brooke fell asleep on the way home. I gently carried her up to her bed and put her down for a long winters nap. I finished a few chores around the house, and then decided to take a little nap myself. I had just fallen into a deep sleep for about 10 minutes and wouldn't you know the little monster decided to wake up!
Anyway, it was getting late and Penn was still about an hour and a half from home. He had to get up at 4:30AM to go to Florence, AL for SWAT team training. Poor Penn, he is always pulled in so many directions! He asked for permission to leave training early, so that he could get home in time for pictures at 6:15PM.
Brooke and I decided to play a while and then I figured I better get us dressed.
Usually for a portrait, I freak out and spend hours getting everyone perfect, but this time I figured that we would just be our natural selves. I am not that fond of Olan Mills and figured I wouldn't like the pics anyway and YES, I was correct!
Penn got home about 6:00PM and raced to take a shower and get dressed.
We headed out the door and arrived at the church at about 6:40. We were late, but it didn't matter. We still got to keep our appointment because they were running about forty-five minutes behind. After waiting only a few minutes,(YAY) we went back to take our pictures. Brooke did great and posed on command as usual. But like I said before, Olan Mills is not my favorite photographer and still aren't. I know we look cuter in person then in their pictures! They even managed to make my husband's hair look curly. Now how does that happen? I do not know.
Of course, we declined all of the overpriced packages.($250 to $800) They couldn't even talk us in to a couple of 4X6's for $80. As if!
After pictures, the Clements went with us to Jim and Nick's for a yummy Bar-Ba-Que supper. It was now about 8:00PM. I was starving and so were the kids!!!!!!!!!! We hurried up and ate, so that Christy and I could make it to the movies. We were planning to see Music and Lyrics at 9:20. I was very tired at this point and thought I wouldn't be able to make it through the night. After racing down I-65, we got there just as the previews ended! Woo Hoo! The movie was so cute, that I pretty much forgot I was tired! Also, it has some really fun toe-tappin, finger-snapping music. Penny was right about wanting to get the soundtrack!
Christy drove me home on our new cut thru road. Oh how I do love our new road!
We even saw a few deer running in the woods! Something that I get to see regularly, but was very exciting for Christy.
I arrived home to find everybody tucked in tight and I will be joining them shortly.
I have to say, all in all, it was a picture perfect day!

Never Argue in the Kitchen

Last night, Penn and I had an argument in the kitchen! During the argument, he managed to knock over his full glass of milk and I dropped a whole 2-liter of Diet Sprite on the floor. It was a totally soggy disaster! We spent the next two hours mopping and wiping down the entire kitchen. When we were finished, we couldn't even remember what we were arguing about in the first place.
And BTW, Brooke didn't bother crying over spilled milk, but she did shed a couple of tears about the Sprite. That child does love Sprite!
Anyway, NEVER argue in the kitchen, it has the potential of getting too messy!

I just got off the phone with my family in Baton Rouge and Peyton Cole is finally here! After laboring all night and all day my sister-in-law, at last, gave birth to a bouncing baby boy weighing in at 7 pounds 9 ounces. He was 21 and 1/2 inches long and has lots of dark hair with greyish blue eyes. Becky(that's my sister-in-law)was worried because a mean nurse told her to be prepared for a baldy, cone head baby! He is a little cone headed from being in the birth canal so long, but my brother(Brian) said the cone was already going away. Mimi(my mother) says he is very precious! And boy is she happy to be a Mimi for the second time around! I will post a picture as soon as I get one. Anyway, I heard baby Peyton cry a little over the phone and even his cry is so cute! You know...some babies have a horrible cry, but not my little nephew!
I was bawling tears of joy over the phone to Becky and my brother said, "You must be so weepy cause you're knocked up!" And I replied, "No brother, I am always weepy for really happy miraculous occasions!" Brian wanted us to drop everything and drive down to B.R., but we will have to wait a few weeks. I think it will be better for them to get settled into some type of routine, before we get there! Brooke and I will plan to visit in the next couple of weeks, so we can get in some kisses and hugs in person.
I just can't believe I am finally an aunt, Penn's an uncle, and Brooke has a cousin to play with and boss around. I love seeing our family grow. What a joyous day!

Limerick Sunday

Something Cookin'
In the oven I'm cookin' a bun
Sometime in October it's due to be done
Whether a French loaf or yeast roll it be
It surely doesn't matter to me
I just pray for a yummy sweet one!

***Please keep it on the down low until the Master Chef(Dr.) approves my dough as good to go! (AKA-Don't tell anyone because according to hubby we aren't telling for four months~as if we could wait that long!)

An International Flare!

This weekend had some what of an International Flare to it!

On Friday night, we pretended to travel to South America as we went to the Mission's Dinner at Evangel. The cleaning crew from our church is from Columbia and they catered the dinner. They made an authentic Colombian Dinner with very hard to get ingredients that had to be picked up all the way in Atlanta. I'm not exactly sure what everything was, but it was all quite yummy! My favorite part of dinner was the Tres Leches Cake from Gordo's. Gordo's is a local grocery store that sells Latin American specialty foods. I will definitely order a cake from there in the future. After the dinner, Tom Cheely from Briarwood, had a great sermon on faith promise giving. Very convicting! At the end of the sermon, we all gave our faith promise pledges for the year. It will be amazing to see how God will provide these faith promises for our missionaries around the world!

On Saturday evening, we headed from South America all the way to Asia, as we ventured out to Sumo Japanese Steak House. We enjoyed a great Japanese soup and salad and then it was showtime. We met the Nivens there and our girls really seemed to enjoy the hibachi grill. Brooke kept saying, "De man's cooking mommy!" and then she would say, "Yay Man!" and clap. We ordered a few different meats and we all tried each others. Originally, I said I wanted dessert, but when it came down to it, I was way too stuffed! Oh well, maybe next time.
After Sumo, we headed to the mall to catch a little bit of the circus. For the 21st year, Riverchase Galleria welcomed the return of the world famous First Family of Circus, the Nock Family, and an award winning cast of aerialists and acrobats. The Nock Family Circus captures the sights and sounds of classic European circus with spectacular aerial acrobats, amazing agility and strength combined with graceful artistry. Brooke watched wide eyed at the aerialists, but wasn't too fond of the clown troupe. She refused to put on her red clown nose, but did like when daddy did.
A $2 carousel ride ended our night. It is always a hit with our little one. Brooke rode the frog, and I rode the kitty, while Daddy held on tight to both of us!
What a nice weekend and don't we feel so cultured!

A little fun each day......

Mama Bullock's (that's me) philosophy is a little fun each day helps to keep the doctor away! So therefore, I try to have something fun on the books for each day of the week. Here is a sample from this past week:
Monday-story time at the North Shelby Library and a late lunch at the Red Geranium afterwards. Oh, and I can forget the scrapbook ministry at the church in the evening. Thanks honey for always encouraging me to go do fun stuff!
Tuesday-church staff birthday brunch~including singing and lots of yummy brunch food.
Wednesday-Nancy's bible study in the morning, McDonald's with the monster for lunch, and a nice church catered meal with my hubby and Cook's for dinner. (Afterwards, my beloved Penn was able to go to bible study while I worked in the nursery!)
Thursday-a visit with some friends at the hospital and then off to lunch at the Pizza Hut buffet. Can you say personal pan pepperoni? So Good!
Friday-relaxed around the house all day while playing with Brooke Anne, and then had a hot date with my hubby to the Refuge Groups pre-valentine's dinner. It was great to meet some new faces that have been visiting at Evangel. And BTW, I ate waaaaay too many desserts!
Saturday- Brooke and I cooked a hot lunch for Penn and John. They earned it while working out in the cold to build us a big screened in porch. I will update when they are finished! After a short nap in the evening, Daddy was sweet and took us out for some dinner!
Sunday-We skipped Sunday School, went to church and then out to Mrs. Beck's 60th birthday celebration. Let's just say that Brooke thoroughly enjoyed the cake! Wouldn't you say licking the plate is a good sign? I guess we will need to plan an etiquette class for the near future!

Well...that's our week in a nutshell. Now Daddy's at work and I'm going to hang around. When Brooke wakes up from her nap, we will go out for a little valentine candy shopping.
So, please make sure to plan a little someone fun each day. It sure makes for a nice week. Especially when it keeps the doctor away!

On the Road Again!!

We just arrived home from a weekend trip to Knoxville, TN. Penn, Brooke, and I hit the road around lunch time on Friday. We were headed to see some of our Louisiana friends that had moved to Tennessee after hurricane Katrina. They have family in Knoxville, and knew that it would be a good place to raise their children.
The Lorenzs(Kerri, Mark and Evan) had been building a house for the last 5 months or so and they were finally able to move in last week. Kerri wanted me to come over and help her with some decorating. She also needed help organizing everything for an Elmo birthday party for Evan!
We arrived around dinner time on Friday and decided to go out. Kerri's mother(Mia) and Mark's mother(May May) were also in town for the weekend excitement. Mia had just traveled from New Orleans that morning and decided to stay in to get some rest. We were wanting something fast, so we decided on Golden Corral. There, the kids could be "wild" with no worries. Everybody had lots to eat and we even got some coffee with our desserts! It was a nice treat to warm us up. Did I mention tat it was about 20 degrees in Knoxville? Buurrrr! We headed back to the house and the kids were sent to bed. Most of the adults stayed up late talking and arguing over where to hang up artwork and how to arrange the knick-knacks. Kerri wanted everything in its place~in a jiffy!!!
The Bullocks all slept together in one of the bedrooms. (The room is not furnished yet. Pretty soon it will be the new baby's room. He is due to arrive in July. How exciting! A baby brother for Evan.) SO, Brooke slept in her pack and play and Penn and I slept on an air mattress. Well...that was quite an adventure~kinda like camping out! We had a small leak in our mattress and every few hours we would say time to pump it up, again! It only took a few seconds to inflate and it was pretty comfy otherwise. Penn wasn't a huge fan of the sleeping arrangements, but he made do.
On Saturday, we threw an Elmo 2nd birthday party for Evan. I brought all the Sesame Street stuff that Brooke used from her 1st birthday and used it for Evan's party. We all pitched in to get ready for the party. Penn even did his share of the chores~including vacuuming! (I am pretty sure he has a "secret love" of doing floors! But don't say anything cause it may embarrass him) Kerri's dad and stepmom live in Knoxville, so they brought over the cake from their house. Judy(the stepmom) made a Cookie Monster cake and an Elmo cake from scratch. They were beautifully decorated right down to the last detail. We had lots of time to visit and eat. Us Louisianians know how to prepare party food! The party seemed to be lots of fun for the kids too! It wasn't a huge party, (only 4 kids) so that made it virtually stress free and actually kinda relaxing.
After the party, the kids took a much needed nap and Kerri and I went off shopping. She was on a mission to get some sheers to hang up in the bathroom and I wasn't allowed to go back to Birmingham without hanging them. So finally...we found something, but when we brought it home~it was not what we had envisioned!:-( We decided to start over! But first...we needed some food.
We agreed to go out to Ruby Tuesday's for dinner. May May wasn't felling well. She was having a flare up of fiber myalgia, so she stayed in. The children were on their best behavior, so we had a nice long dinner at Ruby Tuesday's. Afterwards, we ALL went out for a little more shopping. We got a new TV for the Lorenzs living room and some different sheers for the bathroom.
We arrived back home after nine, and the kids were exhausted. But if you know Brooke and sweets...you will know that she remembered there was king cake back at the house, so she insisted to have some before her bath. Mia had brought it all the way from a bakery in New Orleans. SO yummy! She brought a plain and a cream cheese filled. The best one was the cream cheese. The kids went to bed along with everybody else and Kerri and I stayed up decorating and watching movies.
We finally went to bed around 2 o' clockish.
On Sunday, we woke up kinda late and hung around. We had more king cake and then packed up to head back to Birmingham. Penn drove a while, and then we stopped at McDonald's. I drove the rest of the way home while my two little love bugs slept all the way home.
We arrived in Birmingham at a fairly decent hour. We unpacked and played around the house until bedtime.
It was a nice family weekend, but it sure is good to be home~to sleep in our own beds! (And I am sure Penn will 2nd that!)

No Snow!

It is not as cold and wet as predicted, so no snow for us! Knoxville got a little but it has since washed away. The trip is still on, but we will probably leave in the morning instead. I think Penn will go with us since he will not be able to work on the porch this weekend.
We are off to get an oil change, Daddies orders!