More Mama Drama

I saw the ad for Bristol Palin's interview in Harper's but didn't get a chance to read it. Sounds like she's sending some mixed messages and the criticism has begun: http://www.bettyconfidential.com/ar/ld/a/mean-betty-on-bristol-palin-glamamama.html

As for the fashion, the former first daughter of Alaska models gowns by Carolina Herrera, Lanvin, Isaac Mizrahi, and Michael Kors.
On being pregnant during the 2008 presidential campaign: “It’s not like we all sat down and were like, ‘Alright, here’s the birds and the bees.’ Truly, my parents just assumed that I wasn’t doing anything. And it was a shock for us all.”

“It was kind of humiliating. . .Great, I’m 17 years old, I’m 40 pounds overweight with a big belly on me, all my friends are at school watching this on the news. This kind of sucks.”

On taking responsibility as a working single mother (Bristol works as a medical assistant, serves as an ambassador for Candie’s foundation, and fully supports herself and her baby): “I’m on my own. I’m really proud of it. I’m a hard worker.” “I don’t have time for friends or anything like that. It’s just like, Right, crap, there is a hockey game tonight that I want to go to but I can’t. Or, I do have to go to work today, because I’ve got bills to pay.”

On dating: Bristol is not seeing anyone at the moment: “I’m in no rush. One day I’ll find a nice guy.”

On her son, Tripp: “I thought I would be somewhere warm at college with my friends, but that was definitely not possible with having Tripp. I love my baby more than anything. He’s like a Gerber baby. He’s the cutest baby in the whole world…I just want Tripp to be happy and healthy.”

Sarah Palin on her daughter, Bristol: “We’re very proud of her for taking responsibility. It’s not an easy road, but it’s the right road. Decisions were made, and we can’t unwind those decisions. Consequences are being dealt with. I’m sincerely proud of her.”

Another Beautiful Day

Well, OK. The weather wasn't so great but I've still managed to have another great weekend (and the best part is, it's not over yet!).


Friday night I had a pretty bad headache. I went to bed with it and woke up in the middle of night kind of wandering around our bedroom. Very unlike me. Saturday I kind of loafed around and just couldn't get focused during the day and took a long nap. By late afternoon the headache was gone and we got to work on KJ's room. Holy Hell what a mess! I don't know what she does up there. So, two days and several lawn and leaf trashbags later, we can now see her floor.


Today I got up super early and took care of a bunch of laundry, made my lists and did some errands and grocery shopping. Champ & I really needed a new set of sheets for our bed and I also bought a couple of things for T's room. Cosmo has been working on removing the wall paper in KJ's bathroom (I started it months ago and never finished). He's not very happy w/ me because I know that's not how he envisioned his long holiday weekend but we've got to start getting this house in shape.


KJ is spending the night at a friends and T is out w/ a bunch of her friends. I'm cooking dinner but I'm not sure who I'm really cooking for. Cosmo & I are making our honeymoon list (the things we plan to do the week the girls are gone). We've got some local restaurants we'd like to try sans children and are open to any suggestions!


Got the SEC game on; wish the weather had been better for the games. After a rain-delay, Alabama and LSU are tied in the 10th. LSU fans are getting pretty rowdy. Roll Tide!

Laughing all the way to the bank, Seinfeld & Straight Jackets

You know that saying "what goes around comes around???" Well, truer words have never been spoken. I had heard a couple of weeks ago that a certain someone trashed me to several people at her place of employment. I guess it came back to bite her in the ass.


BTW, have I mentioned lately how much I love my job??? Today I had ribs, salad, mac & cheese for lunch (good thing because I totally forgot to pack a lunch today!) and ice cream sandwiches for dessert. Then, we taste-tested smoothies at the bar. I liked the super fruit one....I think it had pomegranates, blueberry and acai berry. Delish! And then we closed up shop super early to get a jump start on the weekend. Yup. Really luv, luv, luv my job!


Had such a good evening. T had some last minute things to pick up for dance camp next week. We had to run into Academy for some racer-back jog bras and then we went to Ulta to pick up her make-up kit. It was so funny....we walked in the door and the girl behind the counter said, "are you a bnette??" T kind of looked at her like, "um, why yes. What gave it away??" Our next door neighbors had a baby boy this week so we also bought some things at the new BuyBuy Baby store @ Patton Creek to take over there this weekend (reminds me of the Seinfeld episode, "when are you gonna come see the baby? You've got to come see the baby). http://www.pkmeco.com/seinfeld/
Baby stuff sure has changed alot since I had my kids. My girls have never really been around babies and had no idea what half the stuff was for. T cracked up over the swaddling blankets. She said they looked like straight jackets for babies. After a few laughs at the baby store, we met Champ and a buddy of ours out for dinner. Now I have a houseful of kids for the evening. Can't complain; life is good!

Coming Attractions

KJ & I saw "Shrek Forever" last night. Funny, funny movie. Also saw some great coming attractions (the best part of going to the movies in my opinion!). "Despicable Me" looks cute, there's also an animated movie w/ Will Farrell as the villain (I didn't catch the name) but Tina Fey is also in it. The "Toy Story" movie looks great, too! "Marmaduke" looks terrible. "Avatar, The Last Airbender" looks kind of cool and has a kick-ass soundtrack. I'd like to see the "Killers" with Ashton Kutcher and Katherine Heigel and "Get Him to the Greek" with Russell Brand and Jonah Hill.

I think "Sex & The City 2" is out today (tomorrow???). I have absolutely ZERO desire to see it. I luv, luv, luv'd the show when it was on HBO, hated and I do mean HATED the movie. Thought they totally ruined the franchise. As a matter of fact, last night when KJ & I got home, SATC was on and I caught the last 45 minutes of it. Yup. Just confirmed my theory. They ruined a great thing. I thought Jennifer Hudson's role was stupid and boring and totally unnecessary and I hate what they've made Kim Cattrell's character out to be. There's nothing worse than someone who refuses to grow old gracefully (Samantha turned 50 at the end of the first movie). So, no. I will not be going to any midnight showings wearing my Manolo's sipping on Cosmos.

KJ & I had dentist appointments today and then I had my yearly exam. I love my OB/GYN and can't believe I've been going to him for the last 11 years. He always asks about Champ, always asks about the girls. That's one of the things I dread about moving . . . having to find all new doctors, dentists, etc. Had to have some blood work done today; I have a tendency to get anemic. I've been taking my vitamins and an additional iron pill fairly regularly the last couple of months though.

T leaves for UDA camp on Tuesday so this weekend will be spent helping her get packed and picking-up any last minute things she may need. Monday night she has a final Bnettes practice before camp and the parents get to see the routines they've been working on. I know they do a dance to Smooth Criminal by Michael Jackson. T said they wear a vest and a tie (I can't remember if she said anything about a hat) and boy-short unitard w/ fishnets.

Today Cosmo booked flights for the girls. T is attending the PSU lax camp and is crazy pumped about it! I"m a little nervous about them flying solo but I think they will do fine. T is totally dreading the month of June.....she said it's going to go soooooo slow for her. She can't wait for her driver's license. We've been discussing vehicle options for her and I don't think we're going to rush out and buy her a car. I think Cosmo will get a company car so we'd like to trade his in before buying anything for her. I've told her repeatedly she can have my car and I'll get new but she said she'd rather have nothing. So......

On a blogging roll the last couple of days

Last week (or was it the week before??) I got to decorate my dining room for the summer and went with a beachy / shell theme. I'm not always crazy about the blue wall color in our dining room but it does go well with this beach theme.

Had to re-do the media guide photos we did up at the store last week. Some of the mom's thought all the football/lax boys should be in it so we did a re-take (2 of the boys were still missing but oh well; we're never going to find a date that's good for everyone). I tried to be as fast as I could because it was really hot and the sun was in every one's eyes but the boys were really good sports about it. Such a good group of kids. Got a couple of really, really cute photos and will just have to wait and see which one Champ wants to go with. There's also a really cute one w/ the boys holding T which I'm sure Cosmo will put on his FaceOff FB page. That one is my favorite and I hope that's the one that goes in the media guide.

Stinky Cigars and Skin Care

Took KJ and a friend to the pool this afternoon after our pedicures (yes, I got my "go to" color....OPI's Cajun Shrimp). Unfortunately we had to leave the pool a little earlier than planned because a couple of dad's decided to smoke cigars. Ordinarily, that type of thing doesn't really bother me but tonight it was just giving me a really bad headache. Lots of frogs at the pool this evening. So funny to watch them hopping around and sometimes they jump in the pool.

Haven't really had a chance to chat with Cosmo but it sounds like the BamaLax teams are doing well in ATL. The girls & I went to the high school to watch the Spring Game and to take photos of the boys being recognized for their championship season. Holy cow. It was hot as hell sitting out there. The football team looked great and I love the black cotton uniforms the cheerleaders wore. They have lots of different uniforms but these cotton ones are my favorite. They look like they are made out of a really soft cotton and they look so much more comfortable than the scratchy polyster ones they have. They also wear really cute black ball caps with the "summer" uniforms.

Trying to clear up my TiVo so I have plenty of room for Sunday's Lost finale. Watching Oprah's show w/ Lisa Ling's sister (the one who entered North Korea illegally). Not sure how I feel about this one. Part of me thinks she knew what she was doing and would do anything to get her story (her older sister, Lisa, readily admitted that she had also entered North Korea illegally 4 years earlier under the guise of being part of a medical envoy). The other part of me feels bad for her. Another part of me gets irritated when I watch the footage of her release and feels it was a great photo op for Al Gore (he and Bill Clinton just irk me).

So the other day someone saw some photos of T & KJ and asked how old they are. I said that T was about to turn 16. They responded with "OMG, you don't look old enough to have a 16 year old." Well, I don't know about that but it sure did make me feel good. All I know is that I've been using the Clinique Even Better Clinical Dark Spot Corrector and the the Even Better Correcting Moisturizer and my skin has never looked better. The stuff's not cheap but it's definitely working. While I was pregnant (and for years after each of the girls were born) I had severe hyperpigmentation on my face (I guess that's why it's also called "pregnancy mask"). It was one of those things that everyone said didn't look bad or that they didn't really notice it but I noticed it and that's all that matters. I was horribly self-conscious about it. I had tried just about everything...including a series of very expensive micro-dermabrasion facials with skin lightening treatments and nothing really seemed to work. In addition to clearing up the brown spots, my skin also has a really good texture and firmness to it. Now, if i could just clear up the bags under my eyes . . . .

Sweet 16 and Graduations

Another one of those crazy kind of nights. Walked in the door and turned around and drove T to Devon's. She was invited to his sister's boyfriend's graduation party at the country club (between 16th b-day parties and grad parties, I think this is the 3rd or 4th time she's been to the club the last two months). Next week she will be joining Devon's family as they celebrate his sister's high school graduation at a restaurant. Not sure if they have enough tickets for her to attend the actual ceremony or not. His mom is very sweet and absolutely adores T. She's already told her she plans to go to Ttown and watch T at UDA camp this summer.

B-days in this house are always a big celebration and T's sweet 16 in July will be no exception. We've been throwing around a couple different ideas but have narrowed down the location, the budget, the color scheme and the guest list. Just need to finalize the menu.

I can not believe she's about to be 16. I can remember the day I found out I was pregnant with her and the day she was born was so special. Thursday night I was literally barefoot in the kitchen mopping the floor when my OB/GYN called the house and said, "hey kiddo! That's a big fat baby you've got there and we're just going to go ahead and schedule a C" (I had been been in that morning for a sonogram since she was almost two weeks late. Dr. Fein actually thought she was going to be over 11 lbs. She was born on a Friday (and we sat in 4th of July weekend traffic and were over a half hour late to my appointment). We were surrounded by our family and friends and my hospital room was basically a party all weekend. However, I think one of things that stands out in my mind the most about that day was that while we were celebrating, another family lost their baby that day. The nurses actually had to bring me to my hospital room a different route so that the other woman and her family wouldn't see me in all my huge pregnancy-ness (and I do mean huge). I remember getting a glimpse around the corridor and her hospital room was dark and her husband was sitting outside just bawling. I always wonder about them when T's b-day rolls around....did they ever have any children? We brought T home from the hospital on Monday, 4th of July and I watched fireworks from my hospital bed the night before.

So here's a photo of my big fat, 9 lbs. 10 oz, 22 1/2 inches long baby all growed up! Well, semi-grown up at least.

Loving this Stormy Night

Really great storm rolled thru here this afternoon / early evening. The rain started after I picked T up from Bnettes and drove her to the dance studio for Video Night (the week after recital the classes get together and watch the DVD from the recital). There was some wicked lightening and then the rain started on my drive home.

It has been such a crazy, crazy week and I think the weekend is going to be just as wacky. Last night T had Bnettes until almost 6 PM and then had BamaLax practice over in Mt Brook from 6 to 8 PM. Meanwhile, Cosmo and the Varsity team got together to meet w/ a rep from Balfour, the ring company (I think our high school rings were from Josten's). It sounds like all the boys contributed to the overall design of the ring and I think Cosmo was happy with the cost.

On our way home from all-stars, we stopped at the restaurant because neither of us had dinner. T sat with the boys and stole JayBird's onion rings all night. I ended up chatting w/ a couple of mom's and had such a great time! One of the mom's I don't know very well and never really thought we had anything in common. Boy was I wrong. I don't know if it was the alcohol or what but man did I get an earful. Turns out we felt the same way about several people.

T is going to a grad party tomorrow night at the country club and Cosmo has the first all-star tournament of the season this weekend. I think KJ & I might like to see Shrek Forever in 3D.

Someone sent me the link for the following YouTube clip. It is SO adorable! Reminds me of that scene from Rudy where he mimics the coach's motivatinal speech word for word (something like "we're gonna win, win win, we're gonnna fight fight fight").
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xByMtCSslHs (I really like the part where she says something about "I love my hair!!!" So freaking cute and I think we could all use a pep talk in the morning!

A little golf, a little lax, some dance and even some Beef

Last week was the Regions bank Charity Golf Classic. Tons and tons of fun! I don't know thing one about golf (I even stink at mini-golf!) but I still managed to have a great time. Thanks to my dad when I was little and to my hubby, I know enough about each sport and can hold my own (and recognize names from various sports, too). Actually (or unfortunately, however you want to look at it), I probably know more about sports than most women (except for maybe Erin Andrews and Suzy Kolber). So last week during the Pro/Am I got the watch the following tee off (photos are on my facebook; just too many to post here): Cory Reamer (Hoover HS alumni, AL alumni and just signed as a free agent w/ the NY Jets!!), Brody Croyle (AL QB, KC Chiefs QB), John Parker Wilson (Hoover HS alumni, AL QB and is now w/ the Atlanta Falcons), Cornelius Bennett (Birmingham native, AL alumni, played for the Colts, the Bills and Falcons), Jay Barker (AL alumni, now married to country music singer Sarah Evans....not much of a country fan so I'm not very familiar w/ her music or her; just know she went thru a bad divorce and so did Mr. Barker and our friend Tim lived near him and his first wife in Highland Lakes). I missed Charles Barkley by a few minutes but did get to see Bo Jackson, American Idol Winners Ruben Studdard AND Taylor Hicks (he played the harmonica before teeing off) and I also got to see the man himself, Mr. Nick Saban. I enjoyed golf legends Fuzzy Zoeller and Ben Crenshaw (never did see Fred Couples) and Bubba from the Rick & Bubba show (super friendly guy; shook a lot of hands). Um, let's see.....I also saw Phil Niekro (baseball hall of famer), the FSU football coach (Jimbo?? Jembo?? Honestly, it's FSU so who really cares??) and the football coach from South Alabama. I'm sure there were a bunch of other folks I'm forgetting. But anyway, it was a lot of fun and I got to eat lunch each day out on the course in the tents.

T had her dance recital Saturday. Whew was it long. She did great, don't get me wrong, but it was very, very long. I luv, luv, luv her "No rest for the Wicked" jazz routine, the hip-hop dance was a million times better than it was in rehearsals, her "Miss Otis Regrets" tap was awesome and I loved seeing her on Pointe. Devon and his mom came to watch her and he bought her the most magnificent bouquet of roses (2 dozen to be more precise). The roses are the most unusual color I have ever seen....they're not a traditional blood red rose but they're not a pink either. Kind of an antique looking red rose; hard to explain. Maybe more a soft, gentler red??? Almost a rust kind of color. Afterward we went to dinner @ Kobe's on 280 and then took the kids to the country club for a friend's sweet 16.

Last week we went to a new local restaurant, Beef O'Brady's. We couldn't make the "friends & family" night they had but decided to go on a Tuesday or Wednesday (can't remember which; the days are running together). I had never been to a Beefs before but Cosmo & Tbone had been to several different ones in FL while at various lax tournaments and have always like it (it's a family friendly sports bar/grill). George, the owner, is a wonderful guy and was so happy to have fulfilled his dream (he was in the corporate rat race for years and years). Lori, good friend and neighbor of the owners, is helping w/ their marketing and community relations. She couldn't be more perfect for the job. She is crazy friendly and made it a point to personally welcome us and visited our table several times throughout our visit. She's asked Cosmo a couple of times for some lax memorabilia and I'll have to keep reminding him. I had the asian chicken salad (delish!) and KJ had a friend shrimp (she reported it was also delish!). Cosmo had a sampler appetizer for his entree and was also very happy w/ his selection. Ran into lots of folks we knew so that was fun and it will be a nice place to watch the games.

Now on to the lax portion of this post.....after winning state championship #2 last year and #3 this year, the boys have asked Cosmo several times about having a championship ring made. One of the mom's volunteered to have the ring company come out to a local restaurant one night, get input from the boys and design a ring. Cosmo sent out a memo clearly stating, "the boys have shown an interest in having championship rings made" and he even made a comment about "keeping costs low." He finished his memo off with something along the lines of "even if you have no interest in purchasing a ring, please join us for a bite to eat." Well, don't you know, one crazy-ass parent IMMEDIATELY responded with some obnoxious comment about how he would "love" to participate but can not afford to." Dude, are you serious? #1, don't need to know your financial status. Times are tough for everyone. We got it. #2, I don't know if this putz thinks Cosmo is making money off these rings or what but that it so not the case. I don't think this yahoo realizes that Cosmo is strictly a volunteer. He does not have a son on the team (never has, never will). He does not get paid for his services. He does not get paid for his time. He doesn't even get reimbursed for gas for away games (Louisiana was a bus trip this year but this and in year's past he's traveled to Memphis, a couple of times, Atlanta, Greenville, SC, etc.). I don't think yahoo realizes either that most of the time the paint to line the field and the game balls come out of our pocket. I know Cosmo truly loves coaching but I also know he can truly do w/out some of the parents. There are some parents that will do anything they can and are the first to volunteer, some parents are the first the bitch and complain about something and some parents we've never even met. Same goes with the kids, some are great on and off the field, some we only see the first day of practice and never see again after the last game of the season.

just happy she's alive

Anne Hutchinson and Miss Otis

Friday was KJ's 4th grade Wax Museum. They've been learning all year about the Revolutionary War and Colonial America and key historical figures. KJ ended up as Anne Hutchinson, a Puritan who was killed in an Indian Massacre. In her research she discovered that the Hutchinson Parkway in NY, also known as the Hutch, was named after her. Drove up and down the Hutch thousands of times and had no idea. The kids worked so hard and looked so great. Some really cute costumes. Last night she had a friend's b-day party at the new Embassy Suites. She was really looking forward to it and I think they were going to swim and hang out all night. She's probably not going to be a happy camper today.

Last night was T's rehearsal for today's dance recital. Holy cow. It was long. She had to be there at 6 PM and I think we walked out of the BJCC after 11 PM. I was exhausted. I had literally walked in the door from work, changed my shoes and turned around and headed downtown. T drove from the house to the BJCC and freaked out a bit. She's driven on the highway before, no biggie, but I wasn't paying attention and forgot she didn't exactly know where she was going so we had a couple of hairy moments on 65.

Today's dance recital should be pretty good, I really like the theme and there are lots of props this year. One of the little girl's classes is dancing to Dolly Parton's "9 to 5" and they are wearing big bouffant wigs and carrying briefcases. T's hip hop song is to some song about shopping and they come out carrying shopping bags. Her pointe class (yay! her first year on toe!) is a circus / big top / big show theme and she wears a white, white wig and a little top hat and fishnets. Doesn't even look like her. Her jazz dance is awesome. She totally rocks it. Her sweet, sweet friend Sarah told her she was so good, that she couldn't look at anyone else. She told T she totally owned that dance and really made T's night (which was good because that hip-hop dance is not T's friend. She mised a LOT of Wednesday night classes this spring to go to her lax practices/games and it shows. She is not nearly as comfortable with the hip hop dance as she is with the two jazz, one tap and pointe dances). I have begged T for years to take a tap class and she finally took one over the summer. Her teacher told her she was very good but she just never felt it. I talked her into taking the class full-time and last night her tap routine was the only dance that got a big response from the kids and moms at rehearsal. Lots of oohs and aahs. There are only 4 girls in the tap class and the song is a really sassy number about Miss Otis sending her regrets.

After today's recital she has a friend's Sweet 16 at the country club so I will take her & Devon straight there from the BJCC. Another long day. Tomorrow she needs to get in one of her Bnette costumes and take some photos at the local businesses that sponsored her in this fall's football media guide. Never ends in this house.

Smokey. As in....

.....the Smoke Monster from Lost, Smokey Eyes (more on this later!) and Smokey the Bear (also a nickname for my uncle).

So Lost is on tonight (can I get a Whoop! Whoop!). I think there's only one or two episodes left. Finally! All my questions will be answered! (I seriously doubt it but it's nice to dream!!).
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My mom had three brothers: John, Charles and Michael (she was the 2nd child, the only girl). My two oldest uncles had nicknames, Michael, for some reason, did not. My Uncle John came out of the Navy w/ the nickname Zip. EVERYONE called him Zip. It just stuck. He passed away when T was a little girl and we were living in Cincinnati, he was my Godfather. So, I had to have been in my early 30's when he died but don't think I ever, not even once, called him Uncle John. The second brother, was nicknamed Smokey when he was a little boy. He was a little chubby in the face and had a buzz cut. His grandfather, my great grandfather, was a forest ranger (I may have this part of the story wrong; my great grandfather was also in WWI and had one of those weird hats) and Charles used to plunk that hat on his head and everyone said he looked like Smokey the bear. It stuck. He's in his late 5o's/early 60's and he's still referred to as Smokey.

T & I are totally obsessed w/ learning how to make a "smokey" eye; I think we just need to break down and sit at the MAC counter and ask for help! Last night I bought CoverGirl's new smokey eye pencil (or something like that). The directions on the packaging are so freaking small I need a magnifying lens. Professional grade.
So, as you can see these three things are totally random and have absolutely nothing to do with each other. Reminds me of that song from Sesame Street when the girls were little...One of these things is not like the others, one of these things doesn't belong. Randomness will only prove my point later in this blog. And now, on to the randomness!

Everyone has something they like to do and something they get a great deal of enjoyment from. Some people like to garden, some like to do crafts. I suck at both of those things. Some like to go for a run or a hike or engage in some other type of physical activity. Some folks collect stamps or other paraphernalia. I like to read. A lot. I like to travel. A lot. I like to read about travelling and I read when I travel. I enjoy decorating. More specifically, I enjoy decorating my dining room table. I luv, luv, luv to set the table based on the seasons and holidays. I love to layer patterns, fabric and textures and create a warm, inviting table.

I also like to blog. My blog is about whatever pops into my head. Some days it's politics, some days it's fashion and make-up. Some days it's lacrosse. Actually, there are a lot of days I blog about lacrosse (pretty much from January through June/July). Some days I blog about my kids. Some days I blog about my hubby. Some days I blog about both. Some days I blog about my kids, my hubby AND lacrosse all in the same post! Crazy, I know! Some days I blog about my hair or a particularly good mani/pedi. Whatever. If you don't like what I blog about, please do us both a favor and stop reading. Stop reading immediately. You obviously can't handle what I blog. Please stop misinterpreting everything I type and please stop leaving snarky, vague, oblique references on other social networks. I am a 40-something, free, white American citizen. I pay my taxes. I volunteer my time and give back to my community on a regular basis. I help my friends and family when in need. I am entitled to my opinion. You are also entitled to your own opinion. Here's a thought, why don't you start your own blog and post something? Why don't you own up and put yourself out there once in a while? I think you are the meek, ignorant type that would rather complain than actually speak up. That passive/agressive type that would rather call/text all her girlfriends and say, "Can you believe she/did said that???" If my blog offends you so much, why don't you leave me a comment once in a while? Why don't you call me on the phone (you have the number) and discuss? I'm open-minded about these things. Since you are obtuse and slightly ignorant, I will break it down into simpler terms for you.....while I don't necessarily agree with everything Howard Stern, Rush Limbaugh or Anne Coulter say or do, they are entitled to freedom of speech. I am entitled to freedom of choice. I choose to change the channel or choose not to follow their blogs. Get it now???

Happy Mudder's Day!

Hope everyone had a wonderful Mother's Day! Cosmo and the girls brought me breakfast in bed and then I read (in bed) until noon. It was wonderful! KJ & I took Trixie for a lovely walk at Ross Bridge and washed both my car and the dog when we got home (Trixie really liked jumping in and out of the little creek). Cosmo had all-star practice late in the afternoon and we met him out for dinner and had strawberry shortcake back at the house for dessert.
I'm catching up on my TiVo and watching the Amazing Race finale. Good God I hope those 2 stupid models don't win it all. They are the epitome of ugly Americans and are an embarrassment. I luv, luv, luv the Cowboy brothers and think they played a great race.

T has been so incredibly busy we've barely had a chance to chat. She's had a couple of projects /research papers due and Friday was her lax team end of year party. They had a company come out and set up lazer tag, hamster wheels, Wii and X-Box. It was really a lot of fun. Each of the girls got a dog tag with their name and jersey number and a phrase that best describes them. T's said "The Intimidator." Very true. She plays the game hard and she plays the game the way it was meant to be played. Not everyone can play lax, it's not for wimps.

Saturday was Devon's sister's dance recital and afterward she went out to dinner with his family. I think last week (or maybe the week before??) was the Belles ceremony so we talked about our favorite dresses. We both agreed that our neighbor Callie had the prettiest dress. I luv, luv, luv'd the color palette she used. She's probably one of the smallest/shortest Belles but she had the biggest, fluffiest dress and it was extremely flattering. Our friend Kristy also had a very pretty dress, an ice blue to match her beautiful eyes and her dark hair and KJ said Mary Scott had the best hat. Some of the girl's dresses didn't seem to fit very well in the bodice area and the pastels weren't very flattering to their skin tone/hair color. I can't tell if one of the girls' dresses was poorly made or if it was the way she stood in every one of her photos, but she looked 9 months pregnant. It was very strange.

Me & My Pal Sue

I had one of the weirdest experiences of my life the other night. A total "6 degrees of separation" kind of feeling. Cosmo & I have TiVo'd the NBC show "Who do you Think you Are?" this season. I started to watch the Susan Sarandon episode Tuesday or Wednesday but something came up and I only got 10-15 minutes into it. So, I tried to watch it again Thursday night while Cosmo was up in Huntsville for the evening. O.M.G. What a show! My dad went to high school w/ Susan in Edison, NJ (I think her name back then was Tomlison or something like that). We always joked that my dad going to high school with her was his big claim to fame. I think she even signed his yearbook. Cosmo & I, on the other hand, went to high school with the girl "Flo" from the Geico commercials.

So back to Susan . . . Apparently, she never knew her maternal grandmother. Her mother's mother disappeared when the mother was just a toddler. The family actually thought she was dead. Well, as they investigated, they found out that she had a really tough life. As they tracked her life through birth certificates, death certificates, marriage certificates they discovered the grandmother was pregnant by her 19 year old neighbor when she was 12 years old, married at 13, ultimately ended up being married 3 times, etc. So, the really weird part was they tracked her grandmother down to Rockland County, NY! Not just Rockland County but Garnerville, Cosmo's home town. Doesn't end there. Not just Garnerville, but her house was on the first street as you entered his childhood neighborhood. He had to pass her grandmother's house EVERY day of his life and if it's the house we think it is, he would have even delivered newspapers to her for years before she passed away in 1984. No lie. We have literally driven past this woman's house millions and millions of times! The most amazing part of the show (to me) was the family resemblance Susan and her grandmother shared. Susan's mother only had 2 photos of her mother, one was a laminated, tore up photo from the newspaper or something and another was taken at at the World's Fair in the 30's but the photo was distorted because it was actually a reflection from the fun house mirrors. The grandmother's 3rd husband sketched his wife and when Susan Sarandon held the drawing up to her face, the resemblance was uncanny. She looked so much like her grandmother it was crazy! The grandmother also had a bit of a wild, independent streak (very rare for a woman of her time). She was a bit of a showgirl, hung out in some of the famous New York City night clubs (ie. the Copacabana, etc.) and lied about her age as it suited her. The sad part of the whole show was that her grandmother lived 1 1/2 hours from her growing up and they never even knew each other. So close.

http://www.nbc.com/who-do-you-think-you-are/bios/susanS.shtml

3-time Varsity State Champs! (can I get a whoop! whoop!)

Sunday was State Championship day and the weather was so crappy! UGH! Second year in a row we've had severe weather (last year we had tornado warnings and had to huddle under the stadium!). JV played at noon and lost therefore ending their 3-year championship run. Girls Varsity played at 2 PM and had a couple of delays due to lightening strikes. Boys Varsity was scheduled to start at 4 PM and didn't start too much later than that. (for a full recap of the weekend's action, check-out Cosmo's blog at http://www.bamalax.blogspot.com/) Varsity played a GREAT game! It was a very clean game from both teams, no rough hits, no nasty parents, not too many bad calls, etc.

After the game the team had their end of year at a local wings place. KJ had her lax game at the same time clear on the other side of town. Being the good mother that I am, I drove her all the way over to her party and then all the way back to Cosmo's party. The boys were really pumped up and gave Cosmo a standing O. It was pretty cool.

This is Cosmo's nasty lucky lacrosse hat. He wears it constantly and I would love to throw it away but I promised him I'd bury him in it. The brim has holes in it and their are stains all over it (honestly though, he looks really cute in it!).

Last night was our first family sit-down dinner in a long, long time and it was wonderful. Cosmo & I bought new patio stuff (cushions, umbrella, table, couple of reclining chairs) and we had candles everywhere. T had her iHome rocking and we just sat and visited and caught up with each other. The crickets were chirping, we could hear the frogs in our neighbor's pond and KJ said it sounded just like eating in the Rainforest Cafe. We had such a nice night she actually said, "this was fun! let's do this EVERY Monday!!"

So,

I love my job and all the wonderful perks that come with it. The spa recently switched over to Aveda products (which I have ALWAYS loved!) and they've marked down some of the discontinued spa products for $5. I bought some professional hair repair serum, some glycolic cream (great for my dark spots in the summer!) and also bought some lightening cream (again, got to get those dark spots!). I also bought some OPI nail polish and a bunch of pedicure products for T. Friday I had an incredible 50-minute massage right smack in the middle of the afternoon and felt wonderful! Like I said, LOVE my job!

Lacrosse season is winding down. T's team didn't make it to the semi-finals and KJ's team lost by one last night in overtime. It was a rough game but we all went out for ice cream last night as a team and that seemed to make everything all better. Cosmo's varsity played against their cross-town rivals last night and it sounds like I missed an awesome game! Parents have been calling him and e-mailing him all day about what a great game it was, great crowd, etc. He told me last night he was so proud of those boys and they "totally brought it" last night. He said they really stepped up. State Championships are tomorrow for both JV and Varsity.

T went to the Crawfish boil last night w/ friends and is at her friend Kate's Sweet 16 party tonight. She went to dance this morning and we ran a bunch of errands today after I picked her up. Despite a horrible record, she personally had an outstanding lacrosse season and racked up a butt-load of goals. Not bad considering this season she has juggled lax, studio dance AND b-nette practice twice a week. She scored the only 2 goals in Wednesday's game against Vestavia and has played with braces on her knees and a thumb brace most of the season. Very proud of her.

KJ, Cosmo & I went out for dinner tonight and also checked out some new patio furniture. I'd like to put down an sawgrass or sisal rug but think it may leave a big fade mark in the off-season since it's not a covered deck. We picked up one of KJ's friends for a sleep-over and I took a magnificent bubble bath using some of my new spa products. Got to gear up for the big day tomorrow! KJ was so funny at dinner, she gave Cosmo a big speech about it's not if you win or loose....