Hello, my name is Paige and I have an addiction.

No, it's not cigarettes. No, it's not alcohol. What is it, you ask? Books. More specifically romance novels. Mindless entertainment. A requirement for me as a working mother and wife. I need the mindlessness of a good romance. I have several authors who I just absolutely love (Jude Deveraux, Julie Garwood, Johanna Lindsay, Catherine Coulter, and Nora Roberts). I MUST own their books. No library for me, they have to reside on my book shelf. While this isn't the worst vice I could have, it is a vice nonetheless. I spend way too much money on books.

I read my first romance novel at the tender age of 13. It was This Calder Sky by Janet Dailey (thanks Aunt Carolyn). I still have that copy. I have since bought the whole series in hardback.

Presently I am reading Nora Roberts. I've become obsessed with her new Circle Trilogy. I've read books one and two, but the third doesn't come out until November. I'm going nuts!!!!! *SIGH* Not only that, but I just got my book club flyer and they have 4 of her trilogies each in 1 book for only $14.99 a piece. I'm dying here!! I need (okay, maybe not need) these books. I don't currently own many of Ms. Robert's books and these would take up much less shelf space (I'm running out of shelf space) being all bound together. Oh AND shipping is a flat $1.99 for an entire order!! I need help. I CANNOT buy those books!!! It is not a smart idea right now. Not to mention Christmas is coming and I can put them on my list. Ugh, but I WANT them now!!!!!!!

What is your addiction?

Well Hell!!

Season pretty much over! I could say a really really ugly word right here, but I'll keep it clean for now. At least I will try! LOL

Lose to Vandy?!! How much worse could it get? Oh wait, we still have to play the hated Gators (who lost to Auburn last night by the way!! WOOHOO for that!!) and Tech. Is losing to Vandy that bad, you ask? Ummmm, yeah! I live in Nashville for crying out loud. It was horrible to lose to UT, but to Vandy!!! Geez. Not only that, but my in-laws are Vandy fans....................oh and my wonderful husband! Blech!! Luckily they know me well enough not to even think about rubbing it in. Well, okay I'm sure they think about it, but they don't DO it. That could cause a very ugly scene and make for a very uncomfortable week or so until I get over the damn loss. LOL

I have to say that I'm really not all that surprised about this season though. I went into it feeling like we were ranked higher than we really should have been. We lost a lot of talent last year and we didn't even know who our starting QB was until about 2 weeks before the season started. Then they went 5-0 and I had high hopes. Yeah, I should have known better considering how badly we played against Colorado and Ol' Miss, but hey I'm an optimist. I try to be anyway. LOL

Oh well, we have a pretty good freshman learning the QB position and the offense so I will look to next year. Now don't think I'm not looking to the big games we have left. We can still play spoiler to many teams. I'm guessing though that I have to pull for Auburn as SEC Champs. I just can't bring myself to pull for the hated Gators or Vols. Not going to happen. I NEVER EVER pull for either of those teams. My fellow UGA fans/friends will pull for them in bowl games (should always pull for the SEC in bowl games they say), but not me. I just can't do it.

*SIGH*

2 out of 3 ain't bad!

1. Dry in underware all day.....................check.
2. Poop on the potty.................................check.
3. Dry all night........................................not yet.

He is 3 and I think we are pretty much done with potty training. We will be working on staying dry all night, but he likes to have water close by at night so that may take a little while. I'm just happy that he will now poop on the potty. We've been working on this for about a year now. He refused to do it for the longest time. I'm so proud of my little guy!!

What a relaxing weekend!!

I love my annual girls' weekend. My best friends and I really only see each other once a year. Every year we go to the North Georgia Mountains and rent a cabin. We do nothing all weekend! LOL We may or may not even get out of our pjs. This weekend we did come off the mountain once to go get ice cream at Sweet Treats. It was fabulous as always. We watched movies, I read 2 books, Nat and Nicol were knitting, and the best part was just sitting around talking. I really miss doing that with my best friends.

I had a great time, but it's good to be back home with Michael and the kids. I missed them.

Here is a picture of our view.

HA!! I knew we were good!!

I just read an article about UGA players in the NFL. We are ranked 4th in the Nation with number of former players in the NFL. UGA has 39 and the only other SEC team with more is Tennessee and they have 40. Not only that, but the SEC has more active players than any other conference with 266. Congrats to UGA and to the SEC!!! I always knew we were the best!!

Ummm, yeah that's the solution.

Teachers with guns? Ummm, yeah I don't think so. How safe is it to have a gun in a classroom with 18+ children? I'm a teacher and I'm a mom. As both I think this is a very bad idea. I'm not anti-gun in any way, but I just can't see how this can be the solution to the violence we've seen in schools. The guns would be too easily accessible for the kids and how many teachers do you know who are comfortable being around/holding/shooting guns? I don't know many. I grew up with guns in the house and I'm not uncomfortable around them, but I would not want one in my child's classroom. This is just crazy. I'm sure it won't go past the "idea" stage, but still. The thought scares me heck out of me.

Hey Granddad!! When can we start my lessons?

We were at Granddad's on Saturday where Joshua took his first real interest in the many guitars that Granddad has. He strummed for awhile before asking if he could have a "little guitar." We gave the generic answer of, "We'll see." thinking that his interest would wain in the next couple days or even hours. This is usually the case with a 3 year old. Much to our surprise though he woke up Sunday morning and the first thing out of his mouth was, "Let's go get my little guitar Mommy." I heard that same thing several times throughout the day. I heard it again this morning. I had to run errands and as I was leaving he asked, "Momma, are you going to get my little guitar now?" Well, I bought him his very first guitar today. He was so excited when I got home with it. It was worth it for that excitement even if his interest diminishes quickly.

Here are a couple pictures we took this morning. Does he have the look of a rock star, or what? LOL


So, Granddad, when DO his lessons start?

Hmmm, who'da thought?

You Are 48% Pure

You're usually the typical girl or guy next door... But you also have a secret naughty side!

How Pure Are You?

Okay, I wouldn't have thought this was true, but after answering those questions................

You Are 28% Evil

A bit of evil lurks in your heart, but you hide it well. In some ways, you are the most dangerous kind of evil.

How Evil Are You?

Now this one I can see! LOL

This should be fun...............NOT!!

Joshua is sleeping in underwear tonight all night for the first time. I'm completely doing away with diapers with him. I'm hoping that this will start him pooping in the potty. If he goes in his underwear it is up to him to clean himself and the underwear up. See how long he wants that job. LOL

Ari is in her toddler bed for the first time at night. She sleeps in it for naps, but has always wanted to sleep in her crib at night. I'd say she will probably end up in her crib at some point tonight.

Happy birthday to me!

Well, tomorrow.

Tomorrow is my birthday. No, I'm not going to tell you how old I am and it's not polite to ask! ;-)

Dancing With the Stars

Okay, I'll be the first to say that I absolutely HATE reality TV. But, I also have to admit that I have found ONE that I am addicted to. I LOVE Dancing With the Stars. This is the first season I've watched and I started watching it because Emmitt Smith was one of the contestants. Emmitt is my absolute favorite football player (yeah, I realize that it's weird that a huge UGA fan's favorite football player used to play for the hated Gators). A lot of people thought that he wouldn't be any good, but I knew he would. Have you ever seen him run a ball on the football field? I also used to watch him do the "Emmitt Shuffle" when he was in college! LOL He's got the moves!! Emmit is doing great and I do my part by voting each week.

I do like some of the others too. Vivica A. Fox is a wonderful dancer and I love her attitude. Sara Evans is looking more comfortable as the weeks go on and she put on a heck of a performance this week.

The show brings back a lot of great memories from college too. Instead of taking a regular PE class I opted to take ballroom dancing. I had the best time and learned a lot. I even took the class after I had satisfied my PE credits. We didn't have enough guys in the class (imagine that!) so a couple of the guys in the Ballroom Dance Society would come in to help. I was paired with one guy every time. He taught me 2 very important things: 1. If a man can lead I can dance. 2. It is always the man's fault. [Now he said that it only applied in dancing, but I prefer to apply it to everyday life! ;-) ] He used to drive me nuts though. If I even thought about looking at my feet when we were dancing he would immediately stop. He would make me look him in the eyes the whole time. This isn't usually a problem, but I was attracted to him (I had a thing for men who could dance or sing) and being the shy person that I am I had a very hard time doing that. LOL I just knew that he would be able to tell. Anyway, I had so much fun dancing and I miss it. Watching the show makes me wish I could get back into it. I was never and will never be good enough to compete, but it is great fun, not to mention good exercise.

I thought we made a breakthrough tonight.

I was wrong. Joshua is potty trained...............almost. He stays dry all day in underwear. Our problem lies in the pooping on the potty thing. He absolutely refuses to do it. I'm not sure what his hang up is at this point. He has done it a couple times, but not in a very long time. Tonight we talked about how all his friends do it and that only babies wear diapers. He said that he didn't want to be a baby, he wanted to be a big boy. I even bribed him with stickers! He was all excited to do it. We went to the potty and he sat there..........................and sat there. We were in the bathroom for about half an hour. He kept saying that he wanted to poop and he didn't want to get off the potty. Finally, I just had to give up. I put a diaper on him and within minutes I had to change him. I'm not sure what to do to get him to go on the potty. Any been there done that advice? Please share!

What are you listening to right now?

At this very moment I am sitting in my recliner watching SEC football (Florida and Kentucky) and my English Bulldog is sleeping behind me. I can hear her snoring above the sounds of football. LOL

This is a very common sound in our house. What are the most common sounds in your house?

Did I really say that I love football?

I hate football!! LOL Well not exactly, but I sure don't like close games. Today my Dawgs (ranked # 9) played Colorado (unranked). It had to be the most horrible game I've seen Georgia play in a very long time. The first 3 quarters were a disgrace. Stafford was 8 of 16 for 76 yards (I can forgive this somewhat considering he is a freshman, but this is the SEC and he needs to be ready!). We couldn't run the ball. We had 27 rushes for only 54 yards. We fumbled 3 times and lost 2 of them. Only 3 of 11 on third down? You cannot win like that. I certainly hope that they fix this before we get into the heart of our SEC schedule. We cannot expect to beat the big boys playing like we did today. Heck, we almost lost to an unranked team who had lost their last 7 games (if I remember correctly). I have to say though that we looked much better in the 4th quarter. Joe Cox came in and threw for 154 yards completing 10 of 13 passes. Our defense forced and recovered a fumble and intercepted a pass to secure the victory. Our final touchdown came with 46 seconds on the clock. Only 46 seconds people!! Do you know what that does to a heart? We only won by 1 measly point and the winning score came with 46 freakin' seconds on the clock!! I HATE games like that. Way too stressful!! At least I wasn't watching on tv. I don't know where my foam brick is and throwing anything else might break my new tv!! Michael would have been rolling his eyes too since I would have been on my knees with my head on the floor there at the end. LOL

Big sigh of relief for now. I'm sure Coach Richt will correct what went wrong today and we will come back strong next week against Ol' Miss.

2 weeks from tomorrow!

Only 14 more days and I am off on my girls' weekend. I can't wait. I need some nice, quiet, relaxing time with my best friends. My mom flies in at 7:40 am on Friday and I drive out around 9am. I'll be gone for 4 days. I've got my books all ready to go. I'm going to take some movies and I have my grocery shopping list in my head. I hope that it's cold so that the leaves will be nice. The hot tub at this cabin is actually on the screened in porch that I think is on the second level. That will be nice. It has a wood burning fireplace right beside it. *SIGH* I can't wait. If I remember to take the camera I will post pictures of the view.

New pics of the rugrats!

Is this the face of a little girl having fun or what?


Her serious face.


Joshua playing in the rocks with one of Bob the Builder's backhoes. Ari looking on wishing her brother would share.


Joshua playing with my Dad's dog, Bell. Bell loves to chase sticks and she is pretty big compared to my little guy. He wasn't scared though.


He looks so much older than 3 in this picture. My little man.

I LOVE college football!

Well, let me rephrase that. I love SEC football. I just watched a very entertaining defensive struggle between Auburn and LSU. It was very exciting and I'm just glad I'm not a fan of either team. LOL Too much stress there at the end. Now I get to watch another tough SEC match up between UT (that's Tennesse for those who don't know) and Florida. Now this is a game that I hate to watch every season just because I haven't found a way for both teams to LOSE!! Either way it is going to be a fun and exciting game to watch. SEC match ups usually are. Especially between the powerhouses of the SEC.

My Dawgs had a pretty easy game this week. We beat UAB 34-0. The game wasn't on tv, but I had the computer on watching play by play. It's not the same, but it will do. I'll watch them on CSS on Tuesday night or on Comcast On Demand if possible. We won last week too. Now that was a very sweet win. We beat the Gamecocks who are coached by the most hated coach in football, Steve Spurrier. It is always fun to beat him. He whines so badly when he loses! LOL I won't give the "I Hate Steve Spurrier and This Is Why" speech, but just know that it puts a very big smile on my face every single time he loses a football game.

Ahhhhh, football season. My favorite time of year!

GOOOOOOOO DAWGS! SIC 'EM!! WOOF WOOF WOOF (BTW~Ari and Joshua can do this cheer...............shouldn't surprise those of you who know me!)

Personality test

Okay, I was bored so I did a personality test that I found on Stefanie's blog. It is pretty accurate.

You are introverted, reserved, and quiet with a preference for solitude and solitary activities. Your socializing tends to be restricted to a few close friends. You are generally calm and composed, reacting moderately well to situations that most people would describe as stressful. A desire for tradition does not prevent you from trying new things. Your thinking is neither simple nor complex. To others you appear to be a well-educated person but not an intellectual. You have a strong interest in others' needs and well-being. You are pleasant, sympathetic, and cooperative. You are reasonably reliable, organized, and self-controlled.


My Personality

Neuroticism	28
Extraversion	7
Openness To Experience	49
Agreeableness	79
Conscientiousness	66

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Counting down!

One of my fellow teachers told me today that we only have 12 more school days until our fall break!! WOOHOO!! It's hard to believe that our first 9 weeks is almost over. I'm excited though. We will have 2 weeks off and during that 2 weeks I have my girls' weekend with my 2 best friends. We rent a cabin in Blue Ridge, GA. What do we do in Blue Ridge you ask? Absolutely nothing!! And, that's the way we like it. We get there on Friday afternoon and usually meet at the grocery store. We buy everything we will need for the weekend and drive to the cabin. Once there we change into nice comfy clothes, bring out the books/movies/gossip, sit around and do nothing. We will cook chili on Saturday and watch our Dawgs play Tennessee. Well, Nat and I watch, but we make Nicol stay away from the tv. She is bad luck! LOL We usually make good use of the hot tub on Saturday night and of course the wine or whatever. On Sunday we will get dressed to go to one of the apple orchards for candy and carmel apples. When we leave there we go to the wonderful ice cream shop downtown for some of the best ice cream I've ever had. Then it's back to the cabin. We get up on Monday morning to go back to reality. This is a yearly thing for us. This will be the 3rd year we have gone to Blue Ridge. It's nice to get away for a few days with no responsibilities and to visit with my best friends. We don't get to see each other often now that we live in 3 different states. This is usually the only time we get to see each other and we all look forward to it. Only 22 days until I get to relax!! I can't wait!!

Memories

September 11, 2001 is a day I will never forget. It was my first year teaching. I was teaching 3rd grade at Roswell North Elementary in Atlanta. Our principal came over the intercom and told us that we needed to check out email immediately. This was definitely a clue that something major was going on. They never interrupted our classes to have us check our email. I remember being shocked that an airplane would be so off course that it would hit a building such at the World Trade Center. It saddened me, but I didn't think much more of it. A few minutes later she came back on and instructed us to check our email again. About the time I finished the email about the second plane other teachers were gathering in the hallway. I remember we began to understand the magnitude of what was happening. We were getting scared. All we wanted to do was go home and call our families. We couldn't do that. We had children in our classrooms who needed us. We were to keep things as normal as possible. We were not to say anything. This was a difficult thing to do. They knew something was going on with us having to check email so often and then with us gathering in the hallway. After I took my kids to their support class (P.E.) I went into the library to watch the news and find out what was happening. The first time I saw the footage of the plane hitting the second tower I thought I was watching a computer reenactment. I could not believe I was actually watching the real thing. I remember the devastation I felt when I realized it was real. The tears began. Going back to class was incredibly difficult. I just wanted to talk to my mom, dad, and brother. The rest of the day was a blur. When we were finally able to go home I cried the whole way. I remember getting home and calling my dad. He didn't really know the extent of what was going on. He worked outside without tv or radio. He had gotten a call from his wife, but having not seen it he didn't really know. He thought it was weird that the airplanes had stopped flying over his head since he was working close to the airport. He was at a loss as to how to comfort me though. I tried to call my mom, but couldn't get in touch with her which freaked me out. Come to find out my grandfather had fallen and broken his hip. I called everyone I cared about that day. I began thinking more and more about Michael as well. I had to talk to him. He was the man I loved and I had to let him know that. I watched coverage the rest of the night. When I went to bed I remember the eerie feeling of not hearing the planes flying overhead, but hearing the military jets fly over. I didn't sleep. The next morning we were back at school. I can remember the scared looks of my students that morning. I had one student come in and ask me if I saw the plane hit that building and wasn't it cool. My gut reaction was to yell, but I had to remember that he was just a young child and didn't understand what that meant. I did let him know that there was nothing cool about what happened. I made the decision right then that we were going to sit down and discuss the events of the previous day. They were so scared. I was scared. We sat around our reading corner and talked about our feelings. One of my kids said that a lot of people survived because he saw them jumping from the building to get out. I let him believe. I remember thinking how badly I wished that were true. I'm still not sure how I was able to function that day.

The emotions are as raw today as they were on that horrible day. I'm not sure if it will ever get better. As much as it changed my life it changed the lives of the families who lost loved ones even more. My thoughts and prayers go out to them on this 5th anniversary and I hope they have been able to find peace.

I'm sorry for rambling. I've never written down my thoughts from that day so I'm sure they don't flow as they should.

In Respectful Memory of Battalion Chief Richard Prunty

A 9/11 Tribute~Please visit 2,996: A Tribute to the Victims of 9/11 to read other tributes.


Husband............Father.............Friend

Battalion Chief Richard Prunty was all of the above. He was married to his wife, Susan, for 33 years. He was the father of 2 children, Lisa and Christopher. They were his first family. Chief Prunty had another family. His firefighting family. He was Battalion Chief in the Second Battalion of the New York City Fire Department. He was a firefighter for 33 years. He lived for both of his families. BC Prunty was a soft spoken man who was a real "teddy bear." He once spent a week sleeping on his daughter's floor when she was sick in college.

On the morning of September 11, 2001 he was called to duty. He entered 1 World Trade Center with his fellow firefighters. His goal was to help as many people as possible while keeping his men safe. It takes amazing people to do what they do. Brave......unselfish. He went into that building knowing the dangers, but also knowing that there were people who needed his help. This was what he did. He gave no thought to his own safety. He went in with only thoughts of helping others. When the building collapsed BC Prunty was trapped in the lobby, pinned under an I-beam. He was losing consciousness, but his last thoughts were of his family saying into his walkie-talkie, "Tell my wife and kids I love them." Battalion Chief Richard Prunty lost his life on that horrible day.

Husband.............Father............Friend................HERO

There were many heroes on September 11, 2001 and those of us left behind will never forget. I am honored to pay tribute to one of them. I hope his family has found peace.

Thank you dear Richard for your sacrifice. Rest in peace.

I'm nervous

I few weeks ago I signed up with 2,996: A Tribute to the Victims of 9/11 and I am nervous that I'm not a good enough writer to do justice to the life lost. I've been thinking about it for awhile now and I just hope that I can get my thoughts across eloquently. This is not a strength of mine. Please just know that everything I write is from the heart.

Just call us "Bug Bite Central"

My poor kids. Last week Ari had a bite on the corner of her eye. I didn't think much of it when I first saw it, but the next day it was incredibly red and much bigger. I decided to just keep an eye on it. The following day it was less red, but it was swollen on her eyelid and under her eye. Her eye was almost swollen shut. I called the doctor and Michael took her in. They tell us to put Neosporin on it. Now on Monday she got about 10 or so mosquito bites all over her. Someone please tell me how she can be outside for 3 solid days and nights and not have a single bite, but we come home and take a 15 minute walk and she is covered with them!! Crazy! She has 2 bites behind her knee and yesterday they were hard, red, knots. Today they look like bruises. I'm guessing that my sweet little girl has allergic reactions to mosquitoes. That's just great!

Not to be outdone, yesterday Joshua wakes up and comes to my room and says, "Mommy, my arm hurts." I look at it and see a small red place around his elbow that I figure is a mosquito bite so I give him some Benadryl and forget about it. We get up today and it is no longer a small place. It is HUGE!! His arm is swollen almost all the way around. It has little blisters in the center and it is hot to the touch. Now I figure it's a spider bite. I call the doctor and take him in. She says it's either a spider bite, but thankfully not a brown recluse, or the beginnings of an abscess. Ummm, okay. Now what? So, we have antibiotics and I'm supposed to watch it to make sure it doesn't get bigger or he doesn't run a fever. If those things happen I have to take him back to the doctor.

I'm sure our new doctor is thinking that I am one of those moms who takes her kids in at the slightest little thing. I swear I'm not one of those moms, but I've had both my kids in her office in the past 2 weeks for bug bites for crying out loud!! LOL I hope we are done for awhile.

New look,. Whatcha think?

So, I decided to upgrade my blog with beta. I couldn't resist the ability to customize my blog colors. The red and black represents my love for the Georgia Bulldogs. You never would have guessed that, huh?

The Crocodile Hunter gone.

It really hurt my heart when I heard about Steve Irwin's death. I remember the first time I saw him on Animal Planet. I sat with my mouth hanging open at his antics with those ferocious animals he so loved. I was hooked immediately. I watched at every opportunity. I loved his enthusiasm and his devotion to wildlife. He helped me to understand a little more about those animals that are feared by so many. He taught me things I would have never known otherwise. I will miss his unique approach to teaching. He loved all animals and it showed with everything that he did.

My heart goes out to his family. My prayers go out to Terri, Bindi, and Bob. As we go back to our lives, theirs' are forever changed.

Rest in peace dear Steve. You will be sorely missed.

Ahhh, it was good to be back in Athens!

Christian and I were able to go to the UGA v. Western Kentucky game on Saturday. We scalped the tickets. It was his first UGA game. We won 48-12. Christian is ready to go to another game already. We really did have a great time.

Joshua wanted to go with us. He kept saying that he wanted to go to the football game. I don't think I'm ready to take him yet though. Most of the games fall right in the middle of naptime and I'm scared he will get bored and want to go. I may take him next year, but more likely the year after. He would be five then and I think more able to stay focused on the game.

Athens here we come!!

Okay, actually we are going to a family reunion in Commerce, but since the reunion happens to fall on UGA's first game weekend and it is only about half an hour from Athens we are going to the game. No, I don't have tickets. We are going to try to get scalped ones. I don't want to pay too much so we may have to wait until after kick off. Doesn't matter though. At least I will be in Sanford Stadium on game day!! I'm so excited. This will be Christian's first UGA game. I can't wait for him to experience game day in Athens. It really is an amazing experience. I will never forget my first game. I had to wait until I was a freshman at UGA and I remember how excited I was. I couldn't sit still. I had to stand the entire game because of the adreneline and I was afraid I was going to fall off of the bleachers I was shaking so much. I couldn't stop. My mom swears I was watching UGA football when I was 3 year old and I've been watching ever since. One of my dreams was to go to a game and my excitement was imeasureable for my first game. I still get chills when the Dawgs run onto the field. Now I get to share that with Christian. I just hope he enjoys it as much as I do.

I found my new favorite song today!!

It is called "I Loved Her First" by Heartland. It had me in tears this morning on the way to work. Here are the lyrics..............

Look at the two of you dancing that way
Lost in the moment and each others face
So much in love your alone in this place
Like there's nobody else in the world
I was enough for her not long ago
I was her number one
She told me so
And she still means the world to me
Just so you know
So be careful when you hold my girl
Time changes everything
Life must go on
And I'm not gonna stand in your way

But I loved her first and I held her first
And a place in my heart will always be hers
From the first breath she breathed
When she first smiled at me
I knew the love of a father runs deep
And I prayed that she'd find you someday
But it still hard to give her away
I loved her first

How could that beautiful women with you
Be the same freckle face kid that I knew
The one that I read all those fairy tales to
And tucked into bed all those nights
And I knew the first time I saw you with her
It was only a matter of time

But I loved her first and I held her first
And a place in my heart will always be hers
From the first breath she breathed
When she first smiled at me
I knew the love of a father runs deep
And I prayed that she'd find you someday
But its still hard to give her away
I loved her first

From the first breath she breathed
When she first smiled at me
I knew the love of a father runs deep
Someday you might know what I'm going through
When a miracle smiles up at you
I loved her first

Well, that came out of left field!

Who would have thought that the Titans would go out in search of another quarterback just 2 weeks before the start of the season? I sure didn't. They brought in Kerry Collins. Ummm, what about Billy? What about Vince? Okay, so they say that Vince will be #2, but that leaves Billy. I think I'm in shock. I never dreamed that we would have a quarterback controversy. I figured that fans would be calling for Vince to start, but I really never thought the organization would bring in another quarterback. It will be interesting to see how this plays out.

One happy dog!

We have been such bad pet owners recently. Well, for a long time really. Our very social bulldog hasn't been able to do much socializing. When she was a puppy we would take her to the Bark Park in Franklin quite often. Once we had children we didn't get to go as often. Eventually we stopped going all together. This weekend we decided it was time to become good pet owners again. We packed up the kids and Georgia and went to the Dog Park at Shelby Park. It was well worth it. Georgia had so much fun. She had other dogs to play with and lots of people who gave out free scratches. She was in doggy heaven!!

Our day at the lake

No, he's not fishing. LOL I think he found every stick on the bank of Percy Priest Lake and threw them in the lake. He was having way too much fun!!


My baby girl was having fun too. She was so hot. I wish we would have been able to go for a swim. Maybe next time.

Things you wish you could say!

1. You are a selfish, egotistical, cheating, fat ass bitch. I always knew you were a bitch, but now you are proving it to the rest of the world. You don't give a damn about those kids. The only person you ever think about is yourself. Well, guess what bitch...............you will not win. Eventually you will do something so stupid that even the judges you "think" you have on your side will see you for what you really are.

Apparently I wasn't finished. Edited to say:

I forgot to add lying and manipulative. You know the so called "trailer trash" you were so fond of talking about? Well, honey, not only did you join their ranks, but you have become their queen. You know that thing called Karma? Oh wait, I forgot who I was talking to. Let me give you an overview.............

[Karma is] a sort of luck associated with virtue: if one does good or spiritually valuable acts, one deserves and can expect good luck; conversely, if one does harmful things, one can expect bad luck or unfortunate happenings. In this conception, karma is affiliated with the Neopagan law of return or Threefold Law, the idea that the beneficial or harmful effects one has on the world will return to oneself.

What this is basically saying dumbass is that what goes around comes around. You WILL get yours. I just hope that I'm around to see it so I can laugh my ass off and you better believe that I will be laughing.


2. Just go to bed already. You are not going to win this fight. We go through it every night with the same results.................you in bed sleeping.

3. Stop lying to us. We know you lie. We talk about it later. We deserve for you to be honest with us. It doesn't make you look like a better person when we know it's a lie. Give us some credit.

With the 5th anniversary of 9/11 coming up......

I've been thinking about that horrible day. I've been thinking about the innocent people who lost their lives. I've been thinking about the heroes who went into those buildings to help and never made it out. I've found a way to pay tribute to these people by honoring their lives. I have signed up at 2,996: A Tribute to the Victims of 9/11. The idea behind this site is.................

We will honor them by remembering their lives,
and not by remembering their murderers.

They are in need of more people to sign up so please visit the site and help us to remember those who lost their lives and changed ours forever.

I'd like to thank BusyMom for the link.

Teacher Rant

Okay, I understand that you think that your child is the center of the universe. Really, I understand that. I'm glad that you are so involved with his or her education. I am happy to talk to you about it at anytime..................during the day. I have to ask, though, that you do not ask me to call you in the evenings. I have a life and a family outside of my classroom. I have a planning time everyday and I usually stay at least an hour after school. If it is so important that you just have to talk to me about it please try to arrange for one of those times. I understand that you may work and it is hard to schedule things like this, but really this is your child and that should take precedence. If you don't work, I don't think there can be an excuse as to why you can't make a meeting or phone call during the day. I don't even mind if you bring younger siblings.

Oh, and when you ask me to call at a certain time please have the courtesy to not be on the phone!! I hate a busy signal!

Rant over.

Pluto not a planet?

I'm not sure how I feel about scientists now saying that Pluto is not a planet. As a teacher it really messes things up! LOL I have to teach a Space unit to my first graders and everything that I have in my unit about the planets includes Pluto....................every book, every activity, every poster, every model of the Solar System..................EVERYTHING!! It could be very expensive to get new stuff for this unit. I don't even have the time to do it slowly this year. Where we usually do our Space unit in the Spring and then take the kids on a field trip to the Adventure Science Center's Planeterium, we have to do it in the Fall this year because they are closing the Planeterium for renovations after Christmas. This means that I start teaching about Space next week!! Anyone want to donate to a good cause?

The 80s are back?

I just have one question........................Didn't these people learn ANYTHING from our fashion mistakes? While out grocery shopping today I saw a couple teenagers wearing short denim skirts with leggings. It was like stepping back in time and not pretty! What next? Leg warmers and off the shoulder shirts? Parachute pants? Looking back at some of the things we used to wear as teenagers I have to wonder what the heck we were thinking! Now the music was good, but the clothing fads were scary!!

The papers are signed!!

Finally!!! We signed the papers today at 3pm. The house is no longer ours. Now maybe the stress I've been living with for the past few months will go away. I'll be able to concentrate on my kids, both my 2 wonderful babies and my 1st graders. This has been a horrible experience that I hope I never have to endure again.

We didn't make as much as we thought we would on the house. And, when all was said and done we paid the damn real estate agents (ours and theirs) $2000 more than we actually made on the house. How screwed up is that? I'm thinking about changing jobs if I can make that kind of money on one house. If we had the extra money to keep paying rent and mortgage we would have told them to forget it and put it back on the market. Unfortunately, we didn't have that luxury. We were pretty much forced by financial circumstances to accept it. Oh well, lessons learned.

I'm just really glad that it's over.

Never again!!

I will never ever sell another house!! It is a very frustrating ordeal. We've been told that it isn't always this hard, but this has been one of the worst experiences of my life!! Two contracts have fallen through at the last minute...........like the day of closing. Today we found out that the appraisal came in $5000 less than what we are asking. Now a month ago the appraisal was at least what we were asking, if not more. The new lender wouldn't take that appraisal though. They wanted their own appraiser to do it. I swear that an appraisal is not really based on anything but the appraiser's opinion. How else would you explain such a big difference in numbers in just a month? It's all very frustrating. I'm almost to the point of never even buying another house.

*YAWN*

Going back to work is tiring. I've been back for pretty much 3 weeks with only 5 days with kids and I am completely exhausted. I guess my summertime naps did more harm than good. LOL Friday can't get here fast enough. Michael told me today that I could sleep in on Saturday. I can't wait!

As for my class....................I have a pretty good class this year. We had Parent Night last night and it went well. I have a lot of parent volunteers which is always nice. I had about 6 people sign up to be Room Mother. I guess it can't hurt to have a Room Mother Committee. LOL That should make things easier for me and for them. I'm hoping for a great year.

Should I or shouldn't I?

I've been bouncing around whether or not I should join this whole fantasy football thing. I love the game and I stay pretty informed about the players and their stats. I'm just afraid that worrying about my players' stats will take away from my enjoyment of the game as a whole. I'm also very loyal to my favorite players and would have a hard time picking others for my team. LOL I know that my favorites aren't always the best, but I would still feel disloyal if I didn't choose them. It is a dilemma. If you have any thoughts or experiences please feel free to share.

YES!!!

I can now get a different prospective about Titans games from people who know a lot more than I do!! The Titans have gotten several people to blog about the games. I will definitely be checking out what Eddie George, Drew Bennett, and Mike Keith have to say. There are others I'm sure I will check out as well, but those 3 will be weekly visits. I'm sure I will learn some very interesting things about the game.

It's football time!!!

Can you believe that football season is almost here? I'm so excited! The Titans first preseason game is one week from today!! Only 27 more days until Georgia's first game of the season!! I can't wait!!

My child cracks me up!!

Today we went downtown to meet up with my father-in-law and brother-in-law for lunch. We went to a little place called Hot Diggity Dog. When we told Joshua where we were going he asked if he could have a "cold diggity dog." I cracked up!! I love 3 year olds!

Baby Fever

*SIGH*

A good friend of mine had her baby today. She is just way too cute and it really makes me want another one. I love the sounds newborns make. I love their cries. I love to watch as they recognize a voice. I love the bond of breastfeeding. I miss all these things now that my 2 are no longer babies. Hopefully we can have our 3rd one soon. Honey?

Welcome to the world little Hallie Reece. I look forward to watching you grow.

Back to school

The summer is officially over. School starts back tomorrow. I get a whole new class of first graders. I have to remember what it's like to have them at the beginning of the year. It's really hard when they cannot do much on their own. You really forget that as the year progresses and it's a major shock at the beginning of the next year. I'm excited about the start of a new year. I'm also a little sad that the summer is over. I enjoy staying home with Joshua and Ari. Only 9 more weeks until our Fall Break though. Then I'll get 2 weeks off to rest and relax. There is a light at the end of the tunnel!! LOL

August 15, 2006

This is our latest closing date. We got another offer on the house tonight. We went to meet our agent to get the specifics. We countered and as we got home our phone was ringing. They accepted our counter offer. We should actually make more money on this one than we did the last contract. Please, dear readers, say a prayer that this one goes smoothly. I'm not sure how much more I can take.

It's official.......

The buyers were officially declined today. My agent said that there is another offer that should come in tonight. Let's hope that it is a good one and that it goes smoothly.


Oh, and the stupid tv went out today. Just what we needed.

Stress, stress, and more stress

I swear that I am NEVER EVER selling a house again!!!!!!!!! This is way beyond ridiculous. My agent called again today to tell me that we are not going to be able to close on the house tomorrow. Why is this so difficult? Now I am responsible for July and August mortgage as well as August rent on the apartment. Ummmm, yeah and we are supposed to get that kind of money where? I guess I should call my dad and ask for help, but I'm pretty sure that won't happen. He has never helped before so why should this time be any different? I'm beyond my limits of stress at this point and I have to go back to work tomorrow. This is going to be fun.

Football is almost here!!!

I'm so excited!! We have little over a month until college football starts. Georgia's first game is Sept. 2 against Western Kentucky! I can't wait!!!!

Here is the entire schedule. On these days you will find me in front of the television or the computer. LOL

My wonderful Auburn cousin, Kenan, is trying to score me tickets to the UGA/Auburn game. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Date	Opponent	Location	Time (ET)
Sat, Aug 19	Football Picture Day	Athens, Ga.	TBA
Sat, Sep 02	Western Kentucky	Athens, Ga.	TBA
Sat, Sep 09	South Carolina	at Columbia, S.C.	7:45 p.m.
Sat, Sep 16	UAB	Athens, Ga.	TBA
Sat, Sep 23	Colorado	Athens, Ga.	TBA
Sat, Sep 30	Mississippi	at Oxford, Miss.	TBA
Sat, Oct 07	Tennessee	Athens, Ga.	TBA
Sat, Oct 14	Vanderbilt (Homecoming)	Athens, Ga.	TBA
Sat, Oct 21	Mississippi State	Athens, Ga.	TBA
Sat, Oct 28	Florida	at Jacksonville, Fla.	TBA
Sat, Nov 04	Kentucky	at Lexington, Ky.	TBA
Sat, Nov 11	Auburn	at Auburn, Ala.	TBA
Sat, Nov 25	Georgia Tech	Athens, Ga.	TBA

Happy Birthday UGA VI

Today is UGA VIs birthday. He is 8 years old!!!

Latest on the house

So you may or may not know, but we have still not closed on the house. Yes, we are still stressed. I did get a call from my realtor today and it is now looking like the closing will happen on Wednesday of next week. Let's keep our fingers crossed that it actually happens. I'm not getting my hopes up at this point. I do know that it is with a different mortgage company so maybe they will have it done when they say they will. I won't believe it though until I sign the papers. I'll keep you posted.

Ari's tan lines!!

Can you see it? I know this is a really silly thing to get excited about, but I am. I have lived with incredibly fair skin my whole life and I really didn't want my kids to have to do the same thing. I'm very happy that it looks like Ari will tan pretty easily. Joshua is darker than before Florida too, although not as much. He may have a little bit harder time in the sun, but he is going to tan better than I do.

Pictures from our Amelia Island vacation.

Joshua loved to play with the water hose we were using to put more water in the pool.


Even Georgia enjoyed her vacation!


Ari looking to see where that water was coming from!


Joshua and Daddy


Our quiet day at the beach.


Ari and Christian on the beach.


That's an awful big smile for a boy who didn't like the beach!

I'm back!! Did ya miss me?

Vacation was a blast. I'm sunburned from head to toe and it feels great!! My kids are going to tan!! I'm so excited about this! I didn't want them to have to deal with the whole fair skinned thing I deal with daily. They are so cute right now with their little tan lines! Granted, they don't tan as much as some others, but lots more than me!!

Ari got sick our first night there with a high fever and throwing up. She was really clingy for most of the trip. I'm not sure if it was b/c of her not feeling well or all the people she didn't know. She ran a fever off and on just about the entire trip. If it comes back now that we are home it is off to the dr. She wasn't real thrilled about the pool at first, but by the end she was trying to turn away from me and let go. She also learned how to open the gate to the pool so we had to keep an extra vigilant eye on her. She didn't like the ocean at all. She would hold her legs up if you tried to put her down. Just means that we will have to go more often! LOL

Joshua was great. He loved seeing his cousins and his Uncle Payne. Not to mention his Namma. We accidentally left his stuffed animals he sleeps with at home, but we told him that we left them to keep Daddy safe. That seemed to work pretty well. He talked about them, but never cried for them. He LOVED the pool. He would swim all over it with his swimming vest on. He didn't like the ocean either. He would cling to one of us the whole time we were in the water and run from the waves. He even started back to the car all by himself. LOL

I loved seeing my family and being at the beach. Well, maybe the pool more since I absolutely HATE sand, but it was fun. Michael flew down on Thursday and since the house still hadn't closed we didn't get our alone weekend in Tampa, but we were able to get a room on the island for one night. It was great to have some alone time with my husband.

The house still hasn't closed!! Yeah, we aren't too happy about that!! The buyers have tried using another lender since the first one can't seem to get it done. We should hear something this week. My agent said that this one is already in underwriting. We did, however, put the house back on the market. This means that we can accept another offer if one comes in and we haven't closed on this one yet. Keep your fingers crossed that this comes to an end soon. Otherwise we are pretty much screwed with the mortgage and rent. Not something I want to have to deal with at the moment. I'm stressed enough as it is.

It's good to be home and I think I slept better last night than I did the whole vacation. I can thank being in MY bed for that. I love that first night back home in my own bed. Now it's back to reality though and I have to clean the house today and get ready for my inservice tomorrow. School starts back on the 26th with a week of inservices and the kids come back on Aug. 1. Summer is pretty much over and I have to wonder where it went! LOL It is just never long enough!

Finally!!

Well, we are finally all moved!! It was a long, hot, and tiring process, but it is all done now. I have unpacked most of the boxes. The apartment is livable now and even the kids' rooms are set up the way I want them. Our room is another story. We have lost one of the clamps to our bed frame so we can't put the bed together. I'll be calling the store where we bought the bed to find a replacement. I swear that laundry multiplies when you move. I know I didn't have this much laundry at the house. Before we could even start to reduce the amount of laundry we had to buy a replacement plug for the dryer. Our plug had 4 prongs and the outlet had 3. Then I had to wait until the apartment maintenance man could come over and put the new plug on. I probably could have done it, but I figure why should I have to now that I can call someone to do it for me! Not to mention the fact that I HATE doing laundry and will do just about anything to put it off! LOL I was all set to start cleaning all of our clothes when I found out (the hard way) that the hose that drains the water from the washing machine had a hole in it. I had bleach water (b/c you know that the first load of laundry was whites) all over the floor. I'm just hoping that it doesn't bleach the carpet. I had to make yet another trip to The Home Depot for yet another part. I was able to replace this one with a little help from Michael who moved the washer out so I could get behind it. And, wouldn't you know, as soon as I got the old hose off water starts gushing out all over the floor again!!!! I ended up having to wash even more laundry with all the towels I used to clean up the mess. It just wasn't my day! LOL Now all is working fine and I only have 2 or 3 more loads to go which is good b/c Pirates of the Caribbean is tomorrow. Oh, and we leave for Florida! Not sure which I'm more excited about!! ;-)

This is why I had kids!! LOL

At bedtime on July 4 I am lying beside my handsome 3 year old. We are talking and singing because he is afraid of the fireworks he is hearing outside. We sing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" and the "ABC Song" so that the fireworks will go to sleep and we talk about school and fireworks to keep his mind occupied so he doesn't hear the fireworks. While we are talking about the fireworks my very observant son informs me that, "Momma, you are pretty like fireworks!" Now ladies and gentlemen this is the reason I had kids!! They do know how to feed the ego!! ROFL

After I was finished showering my son with much deserved kisses for that comment he was able to go to sleep. I had a smile on my face for the rest of the night!! How much better could it get than such a sweet compliment from a 3 year old?

Can't wait for July 7!!

No, it's not because we leave for Florida that day. That is the day that Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest comes out!! I am so excited!!! I watched Curse of the Black Pearl again last night. Most people think I'm nuts, but Johnny Depp as a pirate is just sexy as hell for me. I have to admit though that Orlando Bloom is giving him a rum, I mean run, for his money! I really have a thing for pirates! LOL I think I've read too many romance novels involving pirates!! Thanks to Johanna Lindsey!! She has a great series about the Mallorys and I just read the latest installment last night. Yes, I read it all in one night. I'm kinda, um.................obsessive like that! LOL

Anyway, I can't wait until the new Pirates movie comes out. I will definitely be there!!

I'm in 2 year old hell!!

The terrible twos have kicked in full force just in time for him to turn three!! What is up with that? He should be getting out of the terrible twos, right? I mean, he is turning 3 on Friday. Maybe it's just because I am home all day since school is out and he is bored because he doesn't have all his friends from daycare to play with, but he is driving me nuts. He doesn't get his way........he cries/screams/whines. He takes every since toy his sister is playing with away from her. He protests naps and bedtime with the same crying/screaming/whining. His sister even thinks about touching a toy or sippy cup he deems is "his" and he screams. He doesn't listen when we tell him something. He screams "NO!!" to us. We've done time out on the stairs and in his room and yes we have even spanked him. Nothing seems to work. Does anyone have any ideas on how to survive this stage or how to change the behavior? I'm at a loss and about to pull my hair out!

Has it really been a week?

Wow, I can't believe it's really been a week since I last posted. I guess that means that there isn't much going on in my life at the moment.

Actually, that isn't true. We close on our house on Friday which means we are packing up the house and the kids and moving. I've been pretty busy trying to get things packed up around here. I hate moving. I think I hate the packing and unpacking the most. Well, I guess I hate the moving of all our stuff too. LOL Heck, I just hate the whole process. I swear I was the one who said that the next time we moved we were hiring movers to come pack, move, and unpack! Um, that didn't happen. I probably won't update for another week or so since I have so much work to do. I do, however, take breaks to play on the computer! I'll be checking in with everyone.

Joshua's first movie!

I took Joshua to see is first movie yesterday. We went to see Cars. He seemed to really enjoy it. He was really well behaved throughout the movie even though there were times when he wanted to leave. Luckily, something on the screen always redirected his attention. He loved the music. At one point he was dancing to "Route 66" when he turned around and said, "Dance Momma!" The whole theater heard him. At least they all laughed! LOL I hope he remembers his first movie experience. I still remember mine. My cousin took me to see Lady and the Tramp. I was about 3-4 years old and I was so excited. I couldn't wait for my cousin to pick me up for our "date." It is a memory that I will always treasure and I hope that Joshua feels the same way about his first movie.

Do you have a memory of your first movie?

Note to self...............

Move cooling cake out of reach of hungry 2 year old!

Where are they coming from and why are they in my house?

I swear every single time it rains I can walk into my laundry room and find an ugly slimy slug. Where the heck are they coming from? Why are they coming into my house and how are they getting in? I'm not squimish about them. I just pick them up and put them back outside, but I don't want one of the kids or the dog trying to eat the thing. Anyone know how I can prevent them from coming inside?

Happy Father's Day!!

He is the love of my life and the most wonderful father to our kids. I couldn't have picked a better man to fall in love with!! Thank you, Honey, for everything that you do for us. We love you!!

WOOHOO!! Going on vacation after all!!

It has been decided that after the closing on the house and we get settled in the new place the kids and I are going to Florida. I've planned to leave no later than July 7!! I can't wait!! Amelia Island here we come!!! We are going to be there the entire week and Michael is going to fly down on the 13th. He and I are going to drive to Tampa and visit Busch Gardens and just have some quality time for the 2 of us. We don't get a lot of that with 3 kids. My mom is going to keep those wonderful children for us for that weekend. I'm feeling much better about the summer now. It was depressing me to think that I wouldn't be able to go on vacation.

Here we go again!

Well, the offer was countered and finally accepted on the house. We close on June 30. This is also Joshua's 3rd birthday and I feel really bad about having to move on his special day. Maybe we will celebrate a little early for him. Anyway, I'm now in the process of looking for an apartment for us to move into. I'm just a little hesitant to put down a deposit on anything thinking of what happened last time. I will wait until sometime next week to make it a little safer for us. Please, everyone keep your fingers crossed that this contract doesn't fall through. I need for this to be over. It is entirely too much stress for one person to handle. It makes me short tempered! LOL

Awwww!

Tonight before I go downstairs after my shower I peek in on the kids. Ari is sleeping peacefully in her crib. I tiptoe to Joshua's room and what do I find? Joshua AND Daddy fast asleep. Michael has bedtime duty when he is home by order of the 2 year old so he takes him upstairs, brushes his teeth, and reads him a story. Tonight he never made it out of the bed! LOL They are so cute sleeping up there together. My poor guys are completely exhausted. Michael was up early this morning after working until midnight so he could watch the kids while I went to CPR class and Joshua played outside for 3 solid hours today. I guess the day just wore them out. Maybe I'll let them sleep and not worry about disturbing Michael. He deserves an undisturbed slumber.

*SIGH* Is it football season yet?

I'm tired of baseball (could be because my Braves are horrible!!!) and I hate basketball. Soccer does nothing for me. I NEED my football!!! I'm afraid my Bulldogs aren't going to be very good this year with all the players we lost last year, but I'm still looking forward to the season. I've been looking at the University of Georgia schedule and I can't wait even though I don't get to go to the UGA/Vandy game this year. September 2 is the first game. How many days away is that? I need a ticker at the bottom of my blog to count down!! I may have to look into that! LOL I am going to try to get tickets to at least one home game. Hey, if you know anyone with connections let me know!! ;-) I want to take Christian to his first UGA home game. He is a newly converted Georgia fan. When I met him he was a Gator fan. Yeah, that went over really well in my house!! LOL I've converted (brainwashed) him though so it's all good!! To seal the deal with his conversion he needs to experience Game Day at UGA. He will forever be a fan if he can have that experience. At least I hope so since it makes it so much nicer to be at my house during football season!! I'll be getting him some new UGA merchandise for the coming season too. Gotta get rid of that blue and orange junk!!

Notice.....

There are now ads on my blog. Be proud that I was able to do this "technical" computer stuff all by myself! LOL I really am computer illiterate! Now, feel free to click on these links at anytime. Help me make some extra money and maybe find something cool for yourself in the process!! ;-)

The house saga continues!

This really is a huge PITA!!! We got another offer on the house today. They are offering more than the asking price, but they want............get this...................$3500 in moving expenses (our agent nixed this before he even brought the offer to us) AND $6500 in closing costs. WTF? I don't think so!!! They also want other small stuff like title insurance, repair fees, warranty, our refridgerator and stove, and all blinds. Are they completely out of their minds? That is a lot of money and we don't have that much equity in the house to begin with. We haven't even been here for 3 years. I'm thinking of countering with what they are offering and closing costs ONLY. We are putting in a call to my brother-in-law who is a mortgage broker to see if the $6500 in closing is legit anyway. They can also have the refridgerator, stove, and blinds. I'm not giving them anymore money though. I've decided that I'm selling this house on MY terms and if the potential buyers don't like it then they can buy a different house. I refuse to get screwed. I'm content with staying here if it comes down to it. Yes, the gas to and from work everyday is still going to be an issue, but otherwise I love my house.

The zoo is always fun!

Elephants...................giraffes.........................and tigers...................oh my!




Joshua in his "Cool dude" shades!



Ari is having fun in the bamboo forest.


Hey, 16 year olds are good for something..............carrying around cranky 1 year olds on a hot day at the zoo! Just kidding Christian, you know I love you!!

Sneaky Little Monkey!!

Does dog food really taste that good?

Ari will sit right beside the dog food bowl with her back against the wall and stealthfully slide her right hand into the bowl and pick out a piece of dog food. When she thinks I'm not looking she will then slip that piece of dog food into her mouth. As soon as I say her name she takes it out of her mouth and gently places it back into the bowl only to repeat the whole process a few minutes later. We do the same routine several times a day. I will move her away from the bowls and give her a toy to play with, but she comes right back within minutes. I'm guessing that dog food is a wonderful tasting food that we are all just missing out on!! LOL

Even though it is gross it is the funniest thing to watch. She really thinks she is pulling something over on us. She even gets this little innocent look on her face when she sits down. Like she has no intention of doing what she knows she shouldn't be doing. I love it!!

End of an era.............goodbye #9!

It's a very sad day for this Titans fan. Confirmation came today that Steve McNair has been traded. Not only has he been traded, but he's been traded to the Ravens of all teams! I knew there was a strong possibility he would go, but I was hoping against hope that it would not happen. Being a lifelong football fan I understand that this happens, but I hate it. It hurts my heart to see those players I love leave my beloved team. Steve was the last of the Titans who initially won my heart. I had no intention of being a Titans fan. I grew up a Dolphin and thought I would forever be one. Then the Oilers moved to Nashville. I went to a game in Memphis. It was fun, but no allegance change. I went to a few games at Vanderbilt. Still no change. They changed their name to the Tennessee Titans and came to the Coliseum. I was lucky enough to get tickets to every home game. That first year in the Coliseum was amazing for me. That team played with such heart. They seemed to be able to find a way to win and it wasn't always pretty. With each game I became more and more of a fan. I finally realized that they had my heart during the playoff game against the Bills. I wasn't able to be at that game, but I was sitting in front of my tv biting my finger nails watching. I remember calling my mom when the Bills went ahead with 16 seconds left. I was in tears. I was jumping for joy by the end of that conversation though with the Music City Miracle. It was at this time that I knew I was a Titans fan forever. They made me cry. The only other football team that has ever been able to make me cry is my Georgia Bulldogs and I live and die Georgia football!! Steve was a major part of winning my heart that season. They have made me cry several more times over the years, but what a ride it's been. The memories will be forever etched into my heart. I do miss all those guys from that season and I will miss #9 as well. I wish nothing but good things for Steve in his new home. Except, of course, when he plays my Titans! ;-)

To Steve................Thanks for the memories!! You will be sorely missed!!

Well hell!

Not only was the sell of our house postponed, but now it has been cancelled. The couple buying our house are now separating and can no longer buy it. Geez people. You would think that if someone was having marital problems they wouldn't be trying to buy a house. Right? They have to have been having these problems before they put an offer on our house. I mean really, it's only been under contract for a month. This is getting to the point of ridiculous. Don't they have to pay a penalty for breaking the contract? What happens to the earnest money? I guess that is something I need to talk to my realtor about.

I have decided that I am going to look at the positives here.

1. We have more time to find the "perfect" house.
2. I am home to keep the house presentable since we are out of school for the summer.
3. We learned a few things about offers, counter offers, and closing costs. (This could help us make a little more money on the sell.)

This is going to be a good thing for us. Please remind me I said this when I am stressing out later! LOL

Chirp.........chirp............chirp!

Anyone hearing crickets around here? I swear that there is nothing going on in my life at the moment. Not really. Friday was the last day of school for the kids. I still have tomorrow and Wednesday then I am out for the summer! WOOHOO!!! Mom came to visit this weekend. She was coming to help me pack for the move, but alas we are not moving at the end of this month. That has been postponed until the end of June. Ugh!! So, we didn't do much. She went to check out a few houses with me. I have a very short list that I need to get to my realtor so we can go look at them tomorrow. I'm so over this whole house hunting thing. I'm tired and frustrated. I just want a place to live so my kids can play outside. That is my main consideration at this point. They love to be outside and where we are now the yard is horrible in back because we can't grow grass and the front slopes to the road too much for me to be comfortable with them playing out there. Please keep your fingers crossed that we can find a place soon.

Am I ready for this?

OMG!! We got an offer on our house this morning and we accepted. It is now under contract to be closed on May 31!! Umm, we haven't found a house for us yet!!!! We have less than a month to find a place to live! I don't want to be homeless!!! I did find a house that I absolutely loved yesterday, but unfortunately there is a contract on it. Is it horrible of me to wish that the contract falls through so we can get it? I really really LOVE that house!!!

Wish us luck on finding a house soon.

Geez, sometimes people amaze me.

As you all know we have put our house on the market. We have been kicked out of our house almost daily. This evening I got a call from the scheduling people asking if someone can come by and look at the house between 8-9pm. Um, no. That is awful late to be viewing a house especially when you have 2 kids who have to get up rather early to go to school the next morning. Come on people, think just a little.