Rainy Friday

Busy week! Last Friday T & KJ spent the night at the dance studio for their annual sleep-over. They had so much fun. Unfortunately, the sleep-over ended at 7 AM! Chris drove up to the studio to get KJ and brought T her weekly chick-fil-a biscut. She stayed until 12:30 PM for her regular dance class and the dance team preparation class.

Sunday Chris had a game against Franklin HS. Both Varsity & JV won their games but things got a little ugly during the Varsity game. Two players from each team got ejected. I don't know if it was just gameday jitters or senior-itis. From the game, Chris headed up to Birmingham-Southern to play a couple quarters in a Magic City men's game. We had the Motley Crue concert that night and had such a good time w/ T & Austin. Chris said if Motley Crue isn't too old to play, he isn't too old to go see them. They really put on a good show. It was a weird crowd -- folks mine & Chris's age (and older) and then kids T & Austin's age. KJ spent the night at a friend's house and went to school w/ them Monday morning. They must have been up late because Monday night KJ rolled herself up in a blanket like a burrito and fell asleep face down on my bedroom floor for over 3 hours. She was so out of it.

Monday T was still super tired so I let her stay home from school. She had lax practice that night. Tuesday KJ was still very, very tired so she stayed home from school. That night the freshman dance team marched in the Mardi Gras parade at Patton Creek. Whe had such a good time! I had never gone to that parade before and it was such a nice night to be outside. Several local business had floats, the high school jazz band played at Cajun Steamer, Sweet & Sassy had the pink stretch limo out, the drum line marched, the fire trucks were there, the mayor was there and KJ got lots of beads and even a moon pie! I caught a insulated wine bottle carrier from my favorite store, Wrapsody.

Wednesday T-bone had her first lax game of the season. They played a great game vs. Spain Park. The girls still have a lot of work to do but played well. T didn't score but she had a couple of nice shots on goal. KJ had her first softball practice Wednesday night, too. Fortunately, lax & softball were at the same fields so we weren't running around like crazy people.

Thursday T & I went to the mandatory dance team meeting at the high school last night. Sheesh. I am NOT looking forward to auditions. 38 girls showed up at the meeting last night; only 16 spots are open. I just can't believe a high school of our size is only allowing 16 girls. IDK -- maybe 20 would be more appropriate???

So today is just a dark, dreary stormy day. I love it. Lots of tornado warnings/watches, lots of thunder & lightening. Poor little Trixie. She won't go out in the rain so she's a little out of sorts today. We've taught her how to "sit" and now we're working on "lay down."

I think all my chicks will be in the nest tonight. Hopefully all this rain will cancel Saturday's practices too. KJ is supposed to have both softball practice tomorrow and her first lax practice of the season. I'm really looking forward to her lacrosse season. I love watching her in the goal. She does so well and stays remarkably calm during the games.

Let Me Eat Cake

Came across this photo of an Eiffel Tower cake. Looks delicious so I thought I would use the Eiffel Tower cake as my main photo and dedicate today's post to cakes. I like the Eiffel tower cake because it looks very "spring-y." The weather here has been horrible so I guess I have spring on my mind. We've had rain this week, freezing cold, tornado warnings, etc. Blech. My toes have been cold for days. Today, however, the sun is trying to come out. Still a little chilly out though.

Exciting stuff this week: Trixie ran away from me on Wednesday. I thought she was a goner for sure. I opened the back door to let her out and went back inside to get some shoes. When I walked out onto the back deck, she was no where to be found. Great. Just freakin' great! KJ is absolutely totally paranoid about the dog as it is and now she's disappeard on my watch. I called Chris in a total tizzy (he was in a meeting in Tuscaloosa, not much he could really do). I left the back door open in case she came home, got in the car and drove around the neighborhood screaming Trixie's name and shaking her treat jar (she likes that). Nothing. I call Chris again. At this point I'm close to physchotic. I hang up with Chris and there she is, sniffing my flip-flops. Whew!!! I was not looking forward to telling KJ I lost her dog while she was at school.

Last night JV had a scrimmage game against Mt.Brook's JV. Very, very exciting game. Considering most of the team is first year players, they played awesome. There was some great passing and some good plays. Nick W did a great job in the goal and I think Trent M and Graham M each had a goal (one of them was the game tying goal, one of them was the game winning goal). Despite the freezing cold, the game went into double-overtime and we ended up winning 3-2. It was so cold last night, KJ sat in the stands in her "snuggie." Opening day is Sunday @ Old Berry Middle School. I hope to God it's sunny out.

T has her first lax game next Wednesday night. Tuesday she's marching in a Mardi Gras parade and Thursday is a mandatory Buccannettes meeting. Monday is a course selection meeting @ the HS. Next week is done before it even started.

Tonight the girls are spending the night at the dance studio for it's annual sleep-over. T was asked to help out w/ the little girls and KJ is attending for the first time. I think Chris & I were in Cabo last year so she didn't get to go. KJ got her ballet recital costume this week. Very pink. It's cute w/ a Japanese theme (long flowing sleeves). Her ballet recital song is Reflections from the Disney movie Mulan. Now she just needs her tap and jazz costumes. I think the tap song is from 42nd Street and the jazz song is Car Wash. T hasn't gotten any of her costumes yet. Both girls need new shoes -- jazz, tap & ballet -- and new leotards and tights. It never ends.

Happy President's Day

Hopefully, most of you are enjoying a day off! I also hope everyone had a wonderful, romantic Valentine's Day! Ours wasn't really "romantic" but it was a fun, family day. We drove over to Atlanta for a college lax game: Loyola vs. Notre Dame. It was great for Chris to see some of the coaches and players he's done some lacrosse camps w/ over the years in action.

From there we drove over to the Alabama club game. I can't remember who they played (Georgia State? Georgia Southern? IDK -- there was a little confusion). I had a bad headache and took a long nap in the car. Anyway, it was great to see Conor. He bent his stick so he didn't play much but I think he was glad to have his old Coach there. One of the parents from the other team actually thought Chris was Conor's dad. It was kind of funny.

From there we drove up to the American Girl store. KJ got the little doggie "Sugar" and some accessories and an outfit for one of her dolls. We also did some shopping while we were there. Chris got some cool shirts at the Lucky Jeans store and T bought some stuff in Forever 21.

From there we went to the Hard Rock Cafe for dinner and ran into several folks we knew. Cheersport was in town this weekend so T got to see a bunch of her friends. One thing about my 2 daughters, they like to party! I love this picture of KJ dancing on her chair at the Hard Rock while Chris is trying to eat and here's a photo of T & our server warming up the crowd with a little "When I say Hard, You Say Rock...."

Sunday was our great-niece, Eva's baptism. She is so dang cute! She has big beautiful dark eyes and she's so cute and chubby. I don't think she's fat, I think she's just a real solid baby and very healthy. She's got a great little smile and she likes the camera.

Abe vs. Barack

I am thoroughly appalled at the constant comparisons between Honest Abe Lincoln and our current President of less than a month, Barack Hussein Obama. You're kidding me, right? Last night the girls & I had dinner @ Salvatore's before their dance class and they had a couple of TV's going. Usually they have ESPN on but last night they had CNN or one of the other news networks. They were airing a special on BHO and Abe. Honestly, I was a little in shock. How can you seriously, with journalistic integrity, compare a man who can't even fill his own cabinet to a man who led this country out of it's darkest days as a nation? The Civil War vs. politicians who can't even pay their own taxes? I truly don't think one president should be compared to another; each president is elected for different reasons. It's like comparing apples to oranges.

So I guess Spring has sprung here in the Southeast. I've noticed several daffodils blooming in my neighbor's yards. We don't have any. I think one year, when we first move here, we planted daffodils and tulips. I think we planted the bulbs upside down or something because they never bloomed. I do not have a green thumb and I really don't like dirt under my fingernails.

Octo Mom

Yay! The sun is out! Yesterday's winds and rain were just plain crazy! Sounded like my house was going to blow away.


Lacrosse was cancelled last night due to the weather. Thought we were going to have a nice family dinner for a change but then Chris remembered he had a BYLL board meeting. Poor guy is killing himself this season -- the store's been really busy, he's busy w/ his "regular" job, we've been busy w/ the girls' activities, stuff to do around the house, etc. I don't think we'll have another "free" weekend until school lets out in May.

So by now everyone's heard about the mom who gave birth to Octuplets AND had 6 other kids at home (3 of which are disabled). I'm still not sure how I feel about this whole situation. Having gone thru the infertility process myself, I understand why 8 eggs were fertilized and implanted, I guess I just don't understand why a single mom of 6 would WANT to have more kids? Don't get me wrong, I love kids and wish we had one or two more but Chris & I are certainly in a different position than this woman (BTW, I'm not implying that a woman has to be married to have children. I know several women who are single mom's by choice). Last night on CNN or FoxNews they had sevearal "experts" discussing this topic. The one lady was a psychologist from California and she was not very happy at the idea of her tax dollars going to feed and clothe this family. Another woman was a family lawyer and she said we all need to just butt out and let this woman raise her family. Unless the children are in imminent danger and are being abused, Child Protective Service will not get involved. She also pointed out that years ago it was not uncommon for women to give birth to 10+ children. The host of the show pointed out that back then, families and communities were much closer knit than they are now (true -- growing up, I could walk from one grandparent's house to another's and also walk to 2 Aunts & Uncle's in NJ). Now, Octo-Mom is being critized for having a website seeking donations. She just can't win. Honestly, is what she's doing any different from Jon & Kate? They already had their hands full w/ twins. Did they really need try to another child? They have book deals, a TV show, make personal apperances, etc. They have certainly "cashed in" on their fame and their family, why shouldn't she? Is she getting so much criticisim because she's unmarried? Now, there's a lot of debate about her looks. Has she had plastic surgery and Is she trying to emulate Angelina Jolie and all those Jolie-Pitt kids? Is Octo-Mom one of those women who has to be the center of attention? A media whore so to speak?? Only time will tell.

Wow! Is it tuesday already?

I haven't blogged in almost a week. What's up w/ that?

Been pretty busy around here. Friday night was the Sadie Hawkins dance. T went w/ some friends and had a good time. They went out for dinner and then on to the dance and then back to Sara's to hang out for a little while. T said the dance itself was a little lame. I think she likes the dress shopping and socialization aspect more than the actual dances. She likes to plan what group she's going with, where there going for dinner and where they're going afterward.

While T was @ Sadie Hawkins, Chris had a Hawks night @ the lax store. KJ & I got up there around 7 PM and it sounds like the store was busy. Lots of little boys running around. Chris fires up the popcorn machine and offers refreshments.

Saturday morning T had her regular dance class and then she stayed afterward for a class designed to help w/ upcoming dance team auditions. Katie's mom picked her up for me, took her to lunch and then dropped her off @ Pelham HS for rehearsal. The dance team was participating in "Every Heart Beat" which is a dance showcase sponsored by Liz Cochran (the current Miss Hoover) as part of her pageant platform. After I got KJ ready for the Father/Daughter Sweetheart dance, T & I headed to the program. It was pretty good. A little longer than I had anticipated but still pretty good. Several dance teams from various high schools and a couple of dance studios participated. There was a lot of talent on the stage that night. The Pantherettes were really good. Very original choreography.

Chris & KJ had a good time @ the dance. This was Chris's 10th consecutive Father/Daughter Sweetheart dance. After the dance they went to Johnny Rockets for milkshakes. He's been doing that since T was little.

Saturday & Sunday Chris had a couple of former Duke lacrosse players come in for a 2-day clinic at the High School. I think he said one of the guys had just graduated last year and I'm pretty sure all of them are currently playing lacrosse in the MLL. The guys flew in Friday night and were up at the store early Saturday morning for a "meet & greet." Anyway, Chris really lucked out. The weather was absolutely spectacular both days. The News had an article and a couple of photos in Monday's paper.

My toes are SO cold

I have a short-sleeve t-shirt on w/ my pj pants this morning and I'm quite comfortable. The only thing is my feet! My toes are so cold! I have socks on but my feet are bitter cold. I think it's only supposed to be barely above freezing today. Fun! It was so cold last night Chris cut his lax practice short. He usually practices until 8 PM, he was HOME by 8 PM. T is supposed to have lax practice tonight, too.

I hate this time of year. I looked in my closet yesterday and was so disgusted w/ my clothes. I'm so bored w/ everything already but it's too early to even start thinking about spring/summer clothes. Plus my skin is so dry and itchy. My hands and my legs are so dry I can't stand it.

Chris has been talking about going skiing for spring break instead of going to the beach. His way of thinking is that we can go to the beach anytime. He's been working so much lately, he wants to have a nice family vacation and do something unusual. T is getting older and there's not going to be too many more family vacations she's going to want to attend. KJ is all for the ski trip and is DYING to learn how to ski/snowboard. She (and Chris) want to go ice skating, sled riding and have hot chocolate by a big roaring fire. T says no way. She said Spring break = beach. No questions about it.

Today is "National Signing Day" and although Justin did not accept a lacrosse scholarship, he called last night and asked Chris to come to the high school when he signs his letter of intent to Samford. Very cool! This is the kind of stuff Chris lives for!

I have toasted buns

Yes, I used my seat warmers A LOT today and tonight while I was running about town. I can not believe how flippin' cold it is today. Chris is out there tonight having lax practice. Sheesh! I think if I was on his team I'd quit. Seriously. It's THAT cold out tonight.

blah

dark, rainy dreary Monday. I went to bed last night w/ the beginnings of a headache and woke up w/ a full-blown migraine. I drove the girls to school, came home and put a mask over my eyes and slept for about an hour. I'm feeling a bit better but still have a dull ache over my right eye.

Looks like T's lax practice will be cancelled tonight due to the weather. These poor girls haven't had a single practice yet. Hope they don't get too far behind.

springsteen?

how freakin lame.

Ab Fab (absolutely fabulous!)

Totally gorgeous day today! About 65, lots of sunshine, blue skies and a light breeze. I've got plenty of windows open.

Chris made us bacon & eggs for breakfast this morning and then we all went to the lacrosse field to set up some new nets. While Chris was stringing the nets, the girls & I walked around the track (me, T, KJ & Trixie). I only did a mile but it was so nice to be outside getting some sun on my face! Poor Trixie. We totally wore her out. She ran around the track and on the football field like a champion -- her little legs were going a mile a minute. There were lots of other folks up there w/ their dogs, too. I get a little nervous w/ Trixie around some of those bigger dogs, they look at her like she's a delicous little snack.

We had taken two cars up to the field so I came home w/ the dog and showered while Chris & the girls went to Dick's for new sneakers. Since T didn't take PE this year, we never bought her sneakers at the start of the school year. KJ got her pair in August before school started but has outgrown them. They stopped at Buffalo Wild Wings on their way home and grabbed some lunch.

Yesterday was a nice day, too. T had dance bright & early, Chris had lax pretty much all day. He had his regular Saturday high school practice and then had men's practice immediately following. We were supposed to go out last night to celebrate one of his buddy's b-days but we just kind of "nested." A couple of the guys "drunk dialed" Chris from the bar wanting to know where we were.

Two-A-Days was on MTV2 yesterday (both seasons) and it was fun watching all that drama all over again. I can't believe the show's first season was filmed during the 2005 football season. Seems like just yesterday! Good lord! It was all any one could talk about in this town. My friend Julie's little boy is in the opening credits (as a face painter) and KJ made me slow down and pause it on his face each time we watched a new show.

Last night Chris brought home Hancock w/ Will Smith (he just doesn't make a bad movie in my opinion) and a kid movie for KJ to watch. We also have been catching up on season 2 of Friday Night Lights. Chris TiVo'd the first season this fall and we started watching it. He bought season 2 on DVD and has also been TiVo'ing the new season 3; hopefully we'll get all caught up!

Chris mentioned that he heard Michael Phelps was caught smoking some "illegal" substances. Give the kid a break. Seriously. I told Chris the guy's been training his whole life for the Olympics and I'm sure he's been drug tested for years and years -- this may have been the only time in his life he's done something like this. On the other hand, after his historic Olympic wins, he is a role model to millions of young kids . . . this doesn't look too good (and I'm sure his endorsement deals are in jeopardy).

So tonight is the SuperBowl and I could really care less. I have some reading I'd like to do.