Zing Zang Zoom...The Greatest Show on Earth!

The Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus comes to town every January and for some reason we have never gone, but this year we noticed the ads on T.V. and in magazines quite a bit and my Cookie Monster kept asking to go, so I went online to Ticketmaster to check it out.
For a seat in the lower section to "Zing Zang Zoom" it would be $26 for the ticket + a convenience fee of $5.25 per ticket and a facility charge of more than $3 per ticket. Add it up and that would make one ticket cost like $35! I had to come up with a plan because that's way too expensive for our budget!
After a little research, I found out that I could purchase group tickets for groups of 15 or more at super low discounted prices. I found out that the day and time that we wanted to go would only be $12.50 a person. (no fees and under 2 get in free) SOOOO, if I got the group tickets rate, my entire family of 4 could end up going for $37.50. Hello...that's almost the same price as just one ticket at the regular Ticketmaster price!
Now all I had to do was find 15 people that wanted to go...
I decided to make the circus a Terrific Thursday event in January for the Mommy and Me playgroup and viola!!...28 circus fans decided that they too did not want to miss the circus this year!
I made a circus goodie bag for each family attending with their circus tickets inside and distributed them the week of the big event.
With our tickets in hand, we all counted down the days because we were so stinkin' excited about going to the "Greatest Show on Earth" that we could hardly stand it!!!!

Finally the big day arrived! Thurs started off with business as usual...I brought Brooke to school and Bailey and I ran errands until about 1. After school, we skipped dance class and headed straight home to take a nice long nap.
I knew we were going to be out late and I wanted the girls to be in a good well-rested mood at the circus.
After our naps, we got dressed and headed northbound.
The circus was downtown at the BJCC~7:30PM, so we met daddy and some of the other circus goers at the Jim and Nick's on 11th ave for dinner around 5 o'clock.
We got a table for 15 and filled up on tons of cheese biscuits and an assortment of yummy entrees. It was a nice time of fellowship and a great pre-cursor for the BIG event.
At around 6:15PM, we headed over to the BJCC for the Clown College that was starting at 6:30. Daddy just works about 1 block from the BJCC, so we parked at his office building and saved the $7 parking fee...WOO HOO!
On the way in the circus, we noticed the bootleg cotton candy and souvenir guy...he claimed that he was selling 1/2 price cotton candy and 1/2 price light sticks, so we fell for it and bought some. We were so thankful that we did because sure enough when we got inside, the cotton candy was $12...YES that does say twelve dollars and the light sticks were twenty!!!! (Another $16 saved! :-)
We found our way to our seats, which were super great by the way...just close enough to the action, but far enough away that you couldn't smell the animal poop! We all took turns going to the potty and then Brooke and I even went down to check out the clowns up close.
At first Brooke wasn't sure about the clowns, but after I FORCED her to take a picture with Joy the clown she decided she liked them after all. She actually even told me today that Clown Joy was her favorite memory from the circus.
If Bailey could talk, I am sure she would tell you that the cotton candy was her FAVORITE! (Originally Brooke is the one that HAD to have cotton candy because Dora had it when she went to the circus, but after she tasted it she wasn't even a fan at all!) Bailey was gobbling it up by the mouth full and even tried to swipe other people's cotton candy from under their seats. After I cut her off from the cotton candy,(she was getting a little high from all the sugar) she decided that she would eat some popcorn and had a lot of fun with that as well.
Throughout the night, she would eat, watch the show, dance a little, clap and then repeat the process. I had as much fun watching her as I did watching the real show.
Brooke was having a super fun time as well until she got a popcorn kernel stuck in the roof of her mouth behind her tooth and gums. Poor little thing was miserable for about 30 minutes until daddy was finally able to get it out at intermission.
During the break, all the mamas caved in and bought each the kiddies a $9 snow cone. Expensive sure, but at least it was in a cute little souvenir horsey cup! The kids all got super sticky and messy trying to eat those expensive concoctions, but the kids smiles made them worth every last penny.
The animals and acrobatic acts were all really outstanding and the lights and special effects helped it to make the show just plain over the top~fantastic. Actually we all enjoyed every single one of the acts, but I must say that the elephants were our absolute FAVORITES. It is just amazing what they can get those gentle giants to do...just amazing!
I tried to take lots of pics, but you really can't capture the greatness of the "Greatest show on Earth" in 2-D.
Really y'all, if you haven't been... GO...take your kids...it is too much fun!
The show ended well after 10 and we had one super tired and one super wired kiddo on our hands! We walked back to the car and this time headed south....back to the house we went.
Bailey passed out about 2.5 seconds after we got into the car, but my cookie monster was still raring to go even after we got home at around 11!
We finally all got to bed after midnight and I decided that us girls would sleep in today and have a jammie day...it is just what we needed.
All day we have been experiencing quite a bit of post circus depression w/cotton candy withdrawals and all, so when daddy got home from work we all slipped on some sweat pants and headed to IHOP for all you can eat pancakes. We knew the sugar in the syrup was bound to make us feel better. There, we stuffed our bellies full and reminisced about the circus....Good times!

100 Kinds of Fun!

I was amazed this past week when I went shopping at Target and the shelves were fully stocked with shorts, tanks, bathing suits, and all things summer.
It was below freezing outside!
What in the world...who wants to think about buying and sporting a bathing suit in the middle of a blizzard? The thought of getting these pastey white buns with all the extra layers of winter blubber in a little ole tankini is enough to make anyone have a panic attack. Thankfully, I wasn't shopping for me, so I was spared any drama.
I was however, looking for something, anything, on clearance to scratch my shopping itch for the day. As I was on my way to the mega clearance aisle near the toy department, I passed the little girls section.
Of course, I just had to stop and peruse the racks for a quick little looksie.
Again, more summer stuff and I thought, "I REFUSE to buy a bathing suit for the girls in January even if they are totally precious and very reasonably priced!" So I keep moving.
As I was walking away, this lady (another mom shopping for her little girl) called out, "You'll be SORRY...these won't be here long!"

SOOOOO, I totally caved and bought the girls these two polka dot cuties! Since then, they have been wanting to wear them daily. I snapped this pic of them "sunning by the pool" the other day. Even Big Ted was sunning his paws. So cute!
With that said, you can probably assume that we are starting to get a little cabin fever around here! The cold or rainy weather is something we can only handle for just a short while and then we NEED to go out and play, or go to the mall, or do something!
Which brings me back to the reason I started this post in the first place...
I racked my brains trying to think of some cheap rainy/cold day activities for this weekend and I came up with a few and so we loaded the van and headed for an afternoon of fun.
For just 100 pennies per person, you can do it too!
That's right folks... we headed to the dollar movie on Lorna Road and our entire family got to see a movie at the theatre for just $1.00 each. (Actually, Bailey was free!)
Now take note, the Carmike 10 is not exactly the newest or cleanest theatre in town, the seats are not stadium, but are very comfortable....I guess you might call it "Vintage"...it brings you back a little, but for just 100 pennies it is well worth braving the sticky floor!
The girls and I loved all the fun music in Madagascar 2 and had a blast singing and dancing along. After a while, Bailey and Daddy snuggled up and by the end of the show they were both fast asleep.

After the show, we did another activity that Brooke and Bailey enjoy. Actually, it is a nice outing for the entire family and best of all it's free! If you haven't ever been before, Pet Smart is a huge superstore that has 100s of interesting diversions for every kind of pet (or person) imaginable. And they encourage you to bring your pets or in our case, children along when visiting. We would dare not bring Teddy because 1.) he doesn't think he is a four pound Pomeranian and picks fights with Great Danes and 2.) he is a super snob and doesn't socialize well with any other animals.
Anyway, us humans think Pet Smart is very entertaining...We enjoy going to look at the other customers' dogs and the small pets and kittens that are for sell there. The hamsters, fish, and birds are some of our favorites. This Saturday, we visited the Alabaster location (we usually go in Hoover) and found out that each weekend, a local organization brings in rescue doggies that are to be adopted. Before we got there they had already found a home for 7 of the dogs.
Well, Miss Brooke fell in love with a pug mix named Grace and insisted that we bring her home....of course...we DIDN'T! Big Ted definitely would not appreciate us bringing home any kind of new family members especially another dog...and momma too...I so cannot deal with any extra poop to clean up around here.
(Brooke was so cute though because when we got home last night she promptly called her Mimi and had a grand plan of how Mimi could come over to Alabama and adopt that little dog.
She said, "Mimi you want to "dopted" Grace? She is a puppy at the store and she needs a home! Please come get her...she is sad because no one dopted her yet!"
Mimi explained that she couldn't really drive over to Birmingham or afford a dog right now and Brooke explained that she really didn't cost much.
Brooke continues, "But Mimi, Grace the doggie really needs a home and she only cost one, eight, or five."
Mimi was brought back quite a few years and remembered the time that I brought home a stray kitten. That cat became our beloved family pet for many, many years...good times!)
After we petted, played with, and gawked at every last animal in Pet Smart, we got hungry.
Sooo, we slathered on tons of hand sanitizer and headed to O'Charley's for some dinner. After all, it was exactly 100 days since Miss Bailey's 1st birthday and it was about time for her to have her first taste of ketchup!
We once again enjoyed tons of free rolls and 2 free kids meals, but you must go to the one on 119 if you want the same deal. It is just about the only O'Charley's location left in the U.S. that still offers free kids meals! (FYI, for those of you the have a lot of kids...you can even get 2 free meals per adult)
After dinner, we headed home to call it a day...
Having 100 kinds of fun sure does wear you out!

The End of an Era and Check up time!

This has been hanging on my Brookie's door for the past 4 years. At first, it housed diapers from teeny little newborn to size 4 for about 2 1/2 years. Then we filled it with pull ups. She wore them for a while and eventually only at night. She wore a size 4 and after a while needed to move up to 5's. We really wanted to stop buying those expensive things, but she seldom had a dry night and frequently filled her pull up so much that it soaked the bed. I have probably said before that I wet the bed for many years and had to take medicine to strengthen my bladder, so I was sure the Cookster would have the same problem, but in December my girl started having dry pull ups!!! And now...we have graduated to panties 24/7....WOO HOO! It has been about 2 months now and we are still accident free. She is so excited and feels so big now that she gets to sleep in panties...as for the diaper stacker, I guess I will have put it up with the matching bumper pad in the old linen closet. I have to admit, I am a teensy bit sad to see it go...the end of an era...so many first turning to lasts! ;-(
The girls had their check ups today and it went pretty well. Actually...it went exceptional well considering that daddy just couldn't get off of work to be there! He has been to EVERY one of their check ups before, so we were all sad that he missed this one. I could have rescheduled, but I really wanted to get them over with.
Brooke went first....
The 4 year old well visit consist of a weight check, (gained 6 pounds and is now 36 pounds) a height measurement, (grew 3 inches and is now 41 inches) and a vision screening. This was her first vision screening and unfortunately, my girl was having a little trouble seeing the chart with her left eye. She kept straining and and moving the spoon off of her other eye and scooting up to get a little closer. Poor thing...I hope she didn't inherit bad vision from her daddy! The lady marked her as 20/40. I guess time will tell. They also wanted a urine sample, but my big girl couldn't even squeeze out a drop, so we had to scratch that part of the exam. Dr. McCowan gave her the look over and said she was perfect! She even performed for him a few tricks... like spelling her first, middle, and last name, saying her area code and phone number, and reciting her address (zip code and all)...The doctor was pleased! ;-) Brookie and Doc have a special little bond....it's really cute. He said, "Bailey sure does have a hard act to follow!" He was on his way and then it was time for the dreaded shots! The nurse made us wait forever and a day and that built up some major anxiety for my love...so we played and took some pics of ourselves as a diversion...and then FINALLY the nurses came in with the 3 shots! Brookie put on the water works and let out a few LOUD screams.
And wouldn't you know, about a second later she was totally fine and was actually a little embarrassed that she had over reacted so much. The nurses were sweet, though and thanked her for being so brave.

Now Baywee (as Brooke calls her)...
Baywee is 15 months today! Since her birthday, in October, she has gained a little over a pound and grew an entire inch. Today she weighed in at 21 1/2 pounds and was 31 inches long...quite tall for her age and actually not very heavy for someone of her height. She is already taller than an 18 month old and Dr. McCowan says she will probably grow a couple more inches and gain about 4 more pounds throughout the next year! I do hope she slows down a little, though...I desperately want her to stay my hip baby for as long as possible. ;-)
Doctor McCowan said Bailey looked perfect as well. She is more of a mama's girl and wasn't all that thrilled about the ole check up!
She had 2 shots, but did quite well...since daddy wasn't there I had to hold her down and couldn't get a shot, shot for the scrapbook. It's just as well considering that according to her scrapbook she has JUST been born...oh how I do want to catch up on my scrap booking...just need to take the time!!

Both of my sweet angel girls are so much fun.
They interact as sisters so well. You know, daddy and I could just sit and observe them all day long! It is such a sweet site to see our girls playing together and loving on each other so much. They both are big singers and dancers, but even better than watching them in action...we relish watching them sleep. They are both such good sleepers....thank heavens. Both girls sleep about 11 or 12 hours at night and take a daily nap too. Actually, in my opinion, there is nothing better than a sleepin' girly fresh out the bath and smellin' like a rose...AKA pink baby lotion!
"4" looks like it may prove itself to be a tough age. My girl is at the stage where she wants to do EVERYTHING for herself even when not age appropriate and especially when we are in a time crunch. Ahhh....We will see!
Brooke is soaking up so much around her...IT'S TOTALLY AMAZING! I really do have to watch what I say in front of her though, she is listening to everything that is said even if she doesn't look like she is. Often, she will bust out a conversation that I had on the phone the week before....repeating it verbatim!
She has memorized several books and can "read" them to you. She knows all of her letters and sounds and is even starting a little bit of pre-reading on the computer. Starfall continues to be one of her favorite websites and she is now addicted to her v-smile pocket that she received from Mimi for her birthday. Oh and the Leap Frog Tag reader that Poppy bought her for Christmas is another HUGE hit!
She can count to 30 and recognize 0-10, but is not into numbers as much. Hopefully she will get more interested in the next couple of months. I certainly don't want her behind in Math this early in life.
She continues to amaze me with the stuff that comes out of her mouth. She is so grown up. For instance, this evening she told me, "Mommy, Teddy is being very difficult! What are we gonna do with him?" I love it when she talks big, but I love it even more when she mispronounces words and phrases. It is such a sweet reminder that she really is still a baby and that she has so much sweetness and innocence left in her.
Her favorite group/show right now is the Imagination Movers. She loves Rich, Scott, Dave, and "Spinach" (Smitty is really his name, but she hears spinach and pronounces it spinach!) This summer we may even get a "warehouse mouse" for a pet!
She also continues to love school, church, playing with friends, and anything girly or princess. Oh, but don't get me wrong~she loves to hang out with the boys as well. She can play sweet or rough...loves balls, trucks, and dinos too! Today she said, "I miss my brother Jackson. I love him so much. I can't wait until we get married!" ({sigh})

Bailey, my sweet Bailey, is growing and learning so much every day as well!
She's is so smart and understands EVERYTHING that you tell her. She is pretty obedient, but can give out a heck of a disagreeable look before complying. I am sure she will be an excellent eye roller when we hit the teen years! ;-) She is into everything. She is always on the go and such a little stinker pot...my stinker pot! (I call her that cause she poops a lot)
She is pretty independent, but also loves to be held and snuggled too. She is particular about who can hold her, but gives out hugs to anybody that ask.
To keep my girl content, all she needs is a baby doll, a new purse, and some chocolate candy and she is happy for days at a time!;-)
But eventually, she gets tired and needs her beloved paci. She is completely off of the bottle, so that's good, but she still dines on quite an assortment of stage 2 baby food. You may have noticed her orange tint in the pictures...that's from eating so many carrots and sweet potatoes. Ha! We are able to get her to eat a few other things besides veges and chocolate, but she HATES anything cheesy...even goldfish! What on earth? I have never heard of a toddler that doesn't eat goldfish! She has 7 teeth and I am not afraid to let her use them. If you know of anything that I could add to her diet with a little substance and texture, please do tell...inquiring mamas want to know?
Anyway, I love that baby girl to pieces and I cannot wait until she starts talking! I NEED to find out what is really going on behind those bright shinin' hazel eyes with the thick, long lashes...it is sure to be no good! ;-)

Well...Daddy felt bad for missing the appointment today, so guess what?
He took us out to Jim N' Nicks for supper tonight. Yes ma'am, we all had some delicious BBQ and/or cheese biscuits and we told him all about our big day!
Thank you Jesus for this special day and the great, great check up for my sweet angel babies! I just pray that I can cherish every day as it comes cause I know the years ahead will go by even faster than the last 4 years and 15 months!

Partying "Under the Sea"

This weekend we had guest come from near and far to help Brooke celebrate her 4th birthday "Under the Sea" aka the YMCA POOL!
The Greystone YMCA party rules only give you a 15 minute window to decorate, so my sweet friend Kerri and I left the birthday girl and the rest of the out of town crew at the house and drove over to 280. We planned to arrive a few minutes early to decorate and get everything settled before all the guests started to arrive for the party at 2:00PM.
Well...we arrived at 1:30 and wouldn't you know a few eager guests were already there! It was totally fine though, especially since they helped us to decorate even more quickly...thanks y'all! :-)
Miss Brookie arrived shortly thereafter....
At first, she felt a wee bit shy opening the door to the party, but after a second or two got over it and was quite pleased with all the balloons and Ariel paraphernalia and was as equally excited about getting ready to go "Under the Sea".
As each of the kids arrived, they were directed to the pool. The pool is considered an indoor pool, but not exactly inside an actual building. It is just covered with a huge bubble made of a flexible material~looks kinda like a huge drop cloth~that has a revolving door for an entrance. The covered area is heated as well as the pool too...and boy was it ever toasty warm in there! Thankfully the weather cooperated because if there was thunder and lightning they would be required to close the pool!
The party kids were also encouraged to wear life jackets unless they could pass a short swim test. Most of the guests were 3 and 4, so we didn't have very many strong swimmers. Thankfully, the younger kids just put on the life jackets without even making much of a fuss. In fact, Miss Brooke loved having the life jacket on. She thought it was neat that the life jacket helped her to float on her back so easily.
We had 2 lifeguards assigned to our party...Jason and Micah were both were very nice. Micah, my favorite lifeguard, even offered to let the kids stay for an extra hour longer than the party rental permitted! I thought about it, but after playing and swimming in the pool for over an hour, and even diving for treasure, the kids were really ready to get into some dry clothes and get something to eat!!!
Everybody headed to the locker room, changed, and then went over to the party room.
In the party room, each of the party peeps were able to paint a few mermaid pictures and decorate a visor. We made a huge mess doing all the crafts, but it was so fun!
After all of that swimming and craft making, the kids and adults too, had worked up quite an appetite! So eventually, we had an assortment of snacks, drinks with umbrellas, marble cake with butter cream icing, and some good ole vanilla ice cream. Hopefully everyone got plenty to eat and drink! There were about 50 guests total, so the cake was pretty much devoured. At the end of the party, we only had 2 little tiny pieces left, so I gave those to the life guards and they gobbled them up in no time!
At a little after 4 the guests made their way to the door.
As each family left, they were able to bring home their crafts and a treasure chest of goodies...the girls' treasure chests had a Princess Ariel theme and the boys' had a fish theme.
I'd have to say the party was a success..I think that the YMCA is the best birthday party that we've had thus far. Daddy even had so much fun that he wants to book the Y again next year! But most importantly, Brooke had a great time and was so glad that all her "guests" had such a super fun time too!
After loading up all the goods, we drove home.
At home, the birthday girl opened her presents.
Each year, she always gets so many special gifts...especially for a girl that asks for donations to a charity in lieu of gifts on the invitation!
This year we collected money for Sav-a-Life. A special thank you to all who contributed, we are certainly grateful for every penny we raised!!! And...I am sure Sav-a-life will be very grateful as well.
After presents, we went over to Pizza Pro with our out of town guests for some dinner. Everyone enjoyed the pizza and the owner even let the kids hit the gong for fun!
So that was the party for the most part....everyone has gone home now....I guess its back to reality for us!
Tonight my little mermaid said, "But Mommy I am just soooo sad...I am missing all of my guests so much! Hey...let's have the same exact Ariel party again! The decorations were so 'gorjust' and the pool was so fun and the cake was soo yummy! Did you love it mommy?"
Sweet memories have surely been made....
I have downloaded all the party pics and put them into a slide show. You can view the slide show by clicking below. To get the ultimate slide show experience, scroll down to the playlist and click on song#1 and then start the slide show.
Enjoy!

Happy 4th Birthday Princess Brooke!!

Brooke's 4th Birthday!

Today is January 4...Brooke's 4th birthday!!! She will be having a Little Mermaid under the Sea party on Saturday, but we wanted to have a special celebration today in honor of it being her "real birthday" and all!

Last night Daddy and Brookie baked a funfetti cake and then after they went to bed I decorated it. Brooke celebrates the same birthday as Catherine M. and one day earlier than Maddie Claire H, so we were all planning to celebrate together, but Caroline and Catherine were trying to get over the tummy bug, so we only had 2 birthday girls for the celebration. After decorating the cake, I put out some presents on the fireplace to greet Brooke in the morning.

Brookie woke up just in time to get dressed and pose by her presents before heading out the door.

It's Sunday, so of course we went to Sunday School and church to get our spiritual manna for the week....what a blessing our church family is to our life and the lives of so many!

After church, we headed over to Habanero's for the celebration. Nothing like a little Mexican food and some cake for your birthday...YUMMY!

We forgot to bring candles, so the girls just blew on the cake after we sang Happy Birthday "Brooke N Maddie"....

I am pretty sure they enjoyed the cake...both of the birthday girls devoured their piece and then went back for seconds.

Luke,Parker, and Regan all had seconds as well.

After lunch, we came home and opened presents! This was one of her favorites...a princess sleeping bag!

Brooke got several Ariel gifts in preparation for her party on Sat....here she is showing off her new Little Mermaid soundtrack...Oh and the green gum she got from the gum ball machine at Habanero's!

And every 4 year old girl must have an Ariel bathing suit when having an "Under the Sea" party! She also received an Ariel t-shirt, towel, Ariel "get wet in the pool" barbie, and I am pretty sure there was something else Ariel....oh I can't keep up with it all!

She received a few other cute knick knacks, but the most fun was had playing with the Happy Birthday balloon...even Bailey was lovin' it!

That afternoon, daddy went to work and brought home another gift for Brookie that a friend from work sent...a scratch and sniff (strawberry) NY Yankees cap. Daddy is a Cubs fan, but thought his girly looked extra cute in her new Yankee ball cap! This pic was taken around 11:00...after I let her stay up to watch "The Little Mermaid" just one more time!

It surely was a super fun day...and let me just say...WOW...do I love that little girly! She brings such joy to our home everyday, but don't let her make you any promises.

You see, she promised me she'd stay "3" forever and what happened??? She went against her word and turned "4" on me...all I can do is just love her inspite of it! ;-)

Happy 4th Birthday my Sweet Angel Girl!!!

2009...Resolution Time!

It is 2009 already...WOW...time sure does fly!
To ring in the new year we went to 2 different house parties. The girls went with us to both and we all had a great family time. We ate tons, drank a little, talked a lot, watched some football~Geaux Tigers, played cards, and popped firecrackers (when I called them fire crackers this morning, Brooke said, "What's that?" so I quickly explained that they're the same as fireworks. "Oh!" she said.) What do you say...fireworks or firecracker?
I digress.
We stayed out till well after midnight and the girls were great! Both played and danced the night away, but Bailey did fall asleep at 11:55PM...she just couldn't hang for even 5 more minutes! Thankfully, Connie R. offered to stay inside to snuggle with her while I went outside with the others. Boy was it cold, but my little Brookie Cookie was excited to ring in the new year and is always up for celebrating in such a festive way! After fireworks, we decided we better head home since the girls were with us. We finally made it home well after midnight~Bailey stayed asleep, Brooke headed to bed around 1, and Hubs and I went shortly thereafter.
This morning, we slept in a little bit!
After getting up and about we were ready to go again. We wanted to have a little more family fun since Daddy was home, so around 11:30 we headed to Chick-fil-a to collect our special New year's coupon for a free chicken biscuit and to eat some lunch.
After lunch, the girls played a while in the play area and then we headed to see "Bolt" at the movie theatre.
The movie was greeaattt! Brooke watched it wide eyed with her popcorn, candy, and drinks and Miss Bailey fell fast asleep about 20 minutes into the movie and slept the entire time. Woo hoo!
Hubby liked the movie, but had to slip out in the last 5 minutes to go hunting with a friend. When the credits rolled, Brooke became hysterical because it was over and that Daddy had missed the end. She wanted to watch it again!! For $6.50 per person...uuummm NO....we'll have to wait till it comes out on DVD.
After the show, we drove over to Wally World to pick up a few party supplies for Brooke's Ariel birthday party coming up next week.
It was such a nice day and a really great start to the new year...can't wait to see what 2009 brings...
Anyway, if you would like to see a few pics from our fun time, CLICK HERE!
NOW...on to my resolutions:
I think I'll go for 10 this year!
1.) Exercise at least 30 minutes 2-3 times a week (I know this doesn't sound like much, but when you haven't been exercising ANY in years...at least it's a start)
2.) Lose 15-20 pounds...I've got to get ready for my 20 year reunion in a few years...maybe I will be looking fine in 09! ;-)
3.) Read the Chronological Bible~I gave it to hubby for Christmas last year. He read it and now it's my turn. I am looking forward to reading the bible in the order of how the events occurred. I think it will be a nice change from the Women's one year bible and the calendar of readings from Jeff that I have read in the past. Oh and I want to read Knowing God too. Hubby is reading it first, but it shouldn't take him all year to finish.
4.) Soften my voice level and tone~Brooke says I "yell" too much! It is hard for me to keep a nice low and even tone when I get all fired up...especially when I am saying something for the FOURTEENTH time! I know, I know I need to simmer down...
5.) Speaking of simmering down...I need to COOK MORE!
6.) Scrapbook more...this is one from last year that I failed miserably!
7.) Pray more
8.) Play outside more
9.) Have more patience
10.) Go to Sunday School MORE...like every week!:-)

OK...so I guess that's a start...let me know if you have something that I should be working on and please leave a comment and share your resolutions with me!

Happy 2009!