Worth Pulling Over . . .

Sometimes you've just gotta pull into a parking lot and shoot a little video. 

That's what Ryan did today. 

Miss Kaitlyn loves to sing.  Always has. 

Whether she knows the song or not, she's going to sing along. 

The first time I heard of The Band Perry (the group singing in the video) was when K asked me to turn up the radio.  I asked her who it was, not really expecting her to know.  Yeah, right.  

There's one country song she sings -- I'm horrible with groups and names, so I can't tell you who -- where the female singer has the most southern twang I've ever heard. 
Kaitlyn nails it, spot on.  Cracks me up.

So, anyway, as they're riding down the road today, Ryan pulls over
and documents what he gets to hear all the time. 

When K was just a wee thing, she used to perform for us all the time, whether it be singing, puppets, whatever.  Usually singing.  And she always liked an introduction -- a big introduction -- as she stood off in the hallway. 

So, honored blog readers, I present to you now the one, the only, the super-talented Miss Kaitlyn, coming to you straight from Ryan's backseat!

Enjoy the show!

I've got a little video to share in the next day or so of a certain little soon-to-be one-year-old that's guaranteed to make you smile laugh. 

So check back soon!

Mommo

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

Her children arise and call her blessed;
her husband also, and he praises her.

                                                                                                    Proverbs 31:28

                                                                                                                               
This seems like a good day to share a couple of my older scrapbook pages that are dear to my heart... 

In the layout below, Mom was expecting with me.  :)

I am the luckiest daughter in the world. 

Well, at least one of the three luckiest daughters; right, sisters?

Happy Mother's Day, Mom!

Love you!

Cj

And let me just add that
I lucked up in the mother-in-law department too!  :)

Happy Valentine's Day!

HOPE YOUR DAY IS SWEET!

Since this is a day of love ~ and being sentimental ~ I'm going to document some points of interest in the picture above.

The candy dish was a recent gift from Mom after she learned of my new-found love for all things silver.  One person's opportunity to clean out their hutch trash can certainly be another's treasure.  Thanks, Mom!

And see that spoon in the candy dish?  It was my baby spoon.  
All together now:   Awww....

The Valentine in the background was from Chip's grandparents, Grace and Earl.  I wish I'd dated it.  Earl passed away in November of 1990, so that's my only reference point. 

Just a reminder, if you're a sap sentimental like me, date your cards! 
Start today, 2/14/11!

 

~ HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY! ~

Love,
Cj

Putting Your Foot in Your Mouth . . .

When was the last time you "put your foot in your mouth"?

We've all done it at least once.  Probably more.

And it's never a pretty sight.  Not even a cute sight.  At all.

Not to mention embarrassing.

But this little one

has put a different spin on it.

I mean, seriously. 

Can putting your foot in your mouth get any cuter?

I think not.

And he isn't the slightest bit embarrassed.

I know!  Isn't he cute?

 He can get that foot up there pretty quickly, too. 

That's why he went home with green beans on his socks . . . 

Thanks for stopping by!

Cj



11 days out of 12

Yep.  A couple of days I even got wild and ran a little bit . . . which is why it's only 11 days out of 12.  My flat feet and bum knee didn't really take to the running, or to the power walking, for that matter.  I need to invest in decent walking shoes before logging many more miles.  I'm nursing a little sumpin' sumpin' in my right foot, so I took a day off and I've slowed down my pace.  Not quite as slow as the 1.8 mph as reflected in the picture, mind you.  That was just so I could get this shot . . . this shot which was taken on manual, thankyouverymuch.  

And if you're trying to figure out what is on the picture, I've made a note to dust the treadmill tomorrow.   :)

I'm working on editing Christmas pictures tonight.  It's about time, huh?

Cj

The blues . . .

Santa brought somebody a guitar . . . and their daddy likes it!

This little pink guitar has got the blues. 

Enjoy!

You know his talent all comes from me.    heeee! 

Cj

Peas, please!

We kept Nolan before Christmas while Molly and Ryan went to see Garth Brooks. 
The highlight of the evening for us?
Feeding Nolan "real food" for the first time.
Mommo's out of practice and wasn't quick enough for Mr. Nolan.   

I'll get better . . . I just need more practice!  hint hint 

Enjoy!

** oh, my **  I forgot Chip panned out and you could see the state my den was in.  This was December 22nd.  See all those packages and boxes in the floor?  Someone had been Christmas shopping that day!  :)

Happy New Year!

“We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter begins on New Years Day.”   Edith Lovejoy Pierce

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I saw that quote on one of my favorite decorating blogs and wanted to share it.  Perhaps I'll print it out and post it on my bathroom mirror.  Or maybe my computer monitor, since I try to avoid mirrors first thing in the morning . . . 

My monitor is already covered in Post-its with little reminders to myself.  One reads, "Every choice I make leads to the life I will live."  I don't have a clue who said that, but it rings true.  I think it has prevented a rash decision or two and has probably helped me keep my thoughts to myself on more than one occasion.  Imagine that.

Another one is, "How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives," by Annie Dillard.  That particular note is supposed to keep me on task throughout the day.  I should probably have that up there twice, and maybe written in red ink.

I have Jeremiah 29:11 posted on my monitor as well.  "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future."  Sometimes we just need a gentle reminder, particularly in trying times.

And there's an anonymous quote Christina shared with me last February.  I remember the date because it was in the middle of a divorce case I was taking, and I wanted so badly to share it with each of the parties.  Of course, I didn't.  It reads,  "Though no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending." 

How do you like that ~  a little motivational post from yours truly.  So are you ready start your first chapter for twenty-eleven?  I hope you write yourself a fabulous book year!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

goodbye 2010

have you been good this year?



I sure love new year's eve !!!!

This is Kaitlyn wishing all of Mommo's friends and all of our family a

Happy New Year!!!!!!!!!!

ETA by Mommo:  It started off with me practicing taking pics on manual without the flash, and getting a pic of K for a simple "Happy New Year!" post for the blog.  Then she started posing and coming to look at each shot on the camera.  Then she got a shot she wanted to use {the first pic} and said she knew just what she was going to say... Then my blog was hijacked.  ;) 

A special visit with Santa

We took Kaitlyn to the house on Hwy. 109 that has a light festival each year.  You drive through the property and enjoy all their hard work.  Tune your radio to the correct frequency and you can enjoy the music.  We were kinda late getting there, which turned out to be a blessing.  Sometimes the cars are almost bumper to bumper, but there were very few cars when we were there and we were able to take our time.

(This was on the way there.  It was hard getting a good picture in the car.  The flash was hurting her eyes...and annoying Chip. <g>  Check out her cute hat!  No, it doesn't match that coat, but it was new and she loved it!)

Toward the end of the "route," you go through a barn that is all decked out as Santa's house.  It's so cozy.  Makes me want to jump out and sit by their fire.  Mrs. Claus is there too.  There was a car in front of us, and as we sat a distance behind and waited, so as not to make them feel rushed, Kaitlyn was sizing up Santa.  Although he walked like he might be a little old, she felt like it was probably a helper; something about his beard, I believe.  But that was fine.  She still had a card she'd written -- wish I'd taken a picture of that! -- for him, and a helper was just fine.  She understands Santa can't be everywhere.

We pulled into the barn and had a nice chat with Santa.  He was such a gentle soul and spoke to Kaitlyn so kindly.  He gave us all candy canes and told us of their meaning:  Turn the candy cane upside down and it's a "J" for Jesus; turn it over and flip it around and it looks like the shepherd's crook, the ones who first learned of Jesus' birth; the red stripes are for the blood shed by Jesus, and the white stripes are for purity after being forgiven of our sins; and the candy is hard and brittle to represent that God's love and promises are rock solid.  Kaitlyn listened, wide-eyed, hanging on his every word.

The second we pulled away, she declared that was, indeed, the real Santa.  I must say I agree.  I don't think a helper can make you feel so good inside.  It was definitely the magic of Santa ~ and a magical memory for me.

The next little piece of entertainment after leaving Santa was Frosty dancing on a "frozen pond."  And he was busting some moves, let me tell you.  It was hilarious.  Even more hilarious was Kaitlyn saying, "Whatever he's getting paid, it's not enough."  At least his face was concealed by his costume, so the humility level would be low.  She had a big time with him, doing the little "stirring the pot" dance and saying, "Go, Frosty; Go, Frosty; Go, Frosty, go."

All the while, Kaitlyn is wearing a hat she got for her birthday from Whit, Janet, and Lillian.  She loved it so much, she didn't want to take it off.  Mommo loves it too.   ;)   Finally, after at least 45 minute, it came off.   She was giving me a hot flash!  ha!   Good times!

I still need to devote an entire post to Kaitlyn turning eight!   I've got some pictures from her birthday dinner at Famous Dave's.  I'll just do that post a little out of order. 

Merry Christmas!

GO TEAM!

In the past week, we've cheered for different teams. 

Last Friday we went to Mt. Juliet High School's varsity girls basketball game.  Our niece Sally, a freshman at MJHS, is a starter on the girls varsity team.  That was a lot of fun.  Particularly since they won.  Perhaps we should have stopped there.  GO BEARS!

Saturday morning Kaitlyn had her first basketball game.  They fell victim to a really good team.  It may be a stacked team.  I'm just sayin'.  I think the score was 19 to 5.  It may have been more than 19, but, honestly, why keep counting?  It still wasn't a hard loss to swallow simply because it was so much fun to watch.  Kaitlyn had a blast, as we evident by the smile on her face the whole time!  GO HAWKS!

Later Saturday we rooted for Kentucky in their battle against North Carolina which ended in heartbreak.  Last-second shot.  sigh.  North Carolina isn't at the top of my list of teams I reeeally hate to lose to, but they're in the top three.  'Nuff said.

Sunday we got all fired up for the Titans vs. Jaguars game.  Let's just say that flame was extinguished pretty quickly.

Kaitlyn had another game Monday night, and I think they learned a thing or two from being "schooled" on Saturday.  I think the score was 8 to 0.   I'm positive about the 8, because Kaitlyn scored half of those!  woo-hoo!  GO HAWKS! 

Then they had another game last night.  Another loss, though nothing like the first game.  Again, these games are so much fun!

Sorry no pictures to share yet.  I'll have some of both of our ball players soon.  Just wanted to post real quick and let you know part of what's been keeping us busy.  =)

Cj

@ five months

1983.

It's probably not who you expected.

Seems like yesterday, and seems like a lifetime ago, all at the same time.

I tuck this picture into the branches of my Christmas tree each year.  When I pulled it out tonight, it took me by surprise how much Nolan resembles Ryan at five months. 

Cj

Happy Post Thanksgiving!

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving celebration with their family.  Ours was a bit different in that it was just Chip and myself making the trek to Kentucky.  Our family has reached that point where not all of the grandchildren and great-grandchildren can attend each family gathering.  I knew the day would come, and I want to handle it with grace.  It's all part of aging and the whole cycle of life thing.  It makes you stop and own up to your age, though, and that kinda stinks if you still think you're 40. 

Whatever.

But enough of that.  Thank goodness I'm not still 40 or I wouldn't have these precious pictures to share with you!

And you know I love me some baby feet!

That's it for now.  Nothing crafty to share.  It's been nothing but transcripts since my last post.  And a little turkey.  Speaking of little turkeys, Miss Kaitlyn has her first basketball game Saturday.  I can't wait!

How 'bout a little peace and quiet . . .

Chip and I were delighted to have the opportunity to watch Nolan Sunday afternoon.  He's such a good baby.  I knew we could enjoy both him and the Titans game.  But seriously?  This is what we got instead . . .

Blog it . . ..

One of these two kiddos suggested I take a picture of this and "blog it."  Can you guess which one?  And I might have been reminded to get a picture of his little hands holding her fingers.  I might have more blog posts if I had her someone here to keep me on my toes.

Four months already ???

Well, four months and a few days for this post, but the pictures were taken on the 1st.

Lucky for you I'm all proficient in my Shutterfly Studio collage creating, or this would be an extremely photo-heavy post.  You may still consider it such, but please indulge me...

These are the shots where he's studying my camera. 

As soon as I would peek out from behind it, he was all smiles.  

Would ya look at that.  Somebody's got a belly!

And you know I had to take those socks off and get some baby toes in the pictures!

                          

And finally, a layout.

The lace I used was given to me by Nolan's great-great-grandmother, Grace, years ago.

Thanks for stopping by!

Cj

Halloween recap

Hey there!  I mentioned doing a little fall crafting, and I did it on Halloween day.  Over a year ago -- or maybe longer -- I bought yards of burlap for a project I never completed.  Okay.  I never started it.  But I knew the burlap would be put to good use eventually.  So many possibilities.  I've seen some cute burlap table runners in blogland.  I decided to start simple, and I made a runner for the chest in the foyer.   

Cute huh?  My next one may have hemmed sides and a 3-inch ruffle on each end.

Things I learned for next time: 

Don't work with burlap right after you've dusted your house.

Don't wear black pants.  Please.

Use a tape measure instead of "eyeballing" it.

Don't work with burlap right after you've dusted your house.
Yes, that deserves being mentioned twice.

Here's a shot of the chest in the foyer as we waited for trick-or-treaters.  What's significant about this picture, you ask?  Well, it's the yellow melamine bowl.  That was the bowl we used for our candy when I was a kid on Sunset Drive.  And now I always use it for our candy. 



That bowl also held lots of green beans, and macaroni & tomatoes, and mashed potatoes in its day. 
No, no, not in my house.  On Sunset Drive.  It's my candy bowl, remember? 
Me having a bowl for mashed potatoes would give my family a good chuckle.  ;)

 Here's a shot of the front porch.  Instead of putting mums in my planters this year, I just added pumpkins.  Much cheaper.  I'm hoping they'll last through Thanksgiving.  It doesn't show up very well in these pictures, but there's a grapevine draping thingy (I can't think of the word I'm looking for!) with some burlap ribbon woven in it and hung over the door, along with a "boo" sign, and a spooky spider web is stuck to the storm door.  That Kaitlyn is full of good ideas!  ;)

 

Oh, look.  You can see Chip sitting in his chair with his laptop, and you can see part of my still-summer mantel.  The smart thing to do would be go straight to a Christmas mantel, but I am determined to celebrate Thanksgiving in true fall style.



And since these pictures were taken on Halloween day, it's only fitting to end the post with a cute little pumpkin.

And a cute little '50s diva!

Thanks for stopping by!

Cj

Happy Halloween!



  

My little monsters spent a little time with me Saturday.  Kaitlyn only had about an hour after basketball practice, which was just enough time to get a craft done. 

We used a treat bag she'd gotten last year as our inspiration. 

I cut out the hair, but the rest of the handiwork is hers.  

When I told her we could sew the mouth, she said, "I call the pedal!"   

And you're not going to believe this, but I couldn't find my camera.  Ryan already had Nolan in the car seat, ready to get home and get K ready for a 1:00 birthday party.  But I kept looking, because I'm stubborn that way.  I sometimes hide my camera when I leave the house.  (Robbers:  Steal my computer, tv, whatever, but please don't find my camera!)  And it would be a little counter-productive to leave myself a Post-it saying where I'd hidden it, so I often find myself looking for it.  Ironically, it was where I usually put it, I just didn't see it the first time I looked. 

 I got Kaitlyn to stop for a quick picture while her daddy was waiting for her to leave.  I reeeeally wanted a picture of K and Nolan together, too, but I didn't think Ryan would go for that...

Look at that sweet smile.  Right.  She could care less about the camera at this point.  She's wanting to fish a pumpkin out of that jar of mixed candy you see there. 
And she knows her daddy is waiting . . .
and Mommo is wasting her pumpkin digging time. 
I've got her number.

Here's the back of her "card."  Even though we're always telling each other "It doesn't have to be perfect!" ... and that usually works ... she wasn't pleased with her commas.  She thought they looked too much like 1's.  So we made a small, last-minute "repair" and we were good to go!

 I don't have any pictures of Nolan from yesterday, but here's a couple from last week.  He's growing like crazy!  And smiling like crazy.  And I promise you he was singing "Your are my Sunshine" with me!  Such a shame there were no witnesses.   ;)

There will be pictures of these two in their costumes next week.  Plus, I'm doing a little fall crafting today which I'll share with you.  Stay tuned!

Happy Halloween!

Cj

5.1 in 2nd

"5.1 in 2nd."  That's going to be the title of the scrapbook page that will one day be made to go along with this post. 

Here is Miss Kaitlyn on her first day of second grade.

She's very proud of her backpack. We do these pictures each year.

Okay.  So back to the title of the post, "5.1 in 2nd."  

Students are tested near the beginning of the school year to determine their reading level.  Books in the library are "ranked" by appropriate grade-level reading abilities.  The kids will read a book and then take a computer test on the book which will indicate their level of reading comprehension. 

Miss Kaitlyn's AR (accelerated reading) score was 5.1, meaning that upon entering second grade, she was reading at the level of a student in the first month of fifth grade.  Now, how cool is that!?! 

She currently has the highest AR score in second grade.  I think that means that she has read and tested over more books, not that she's necessarily reading at the highest level.  But I could be wrong... 

So we know she's got the smarts . . . if only she had more personality!  Ha! 

Thanks for indulging Mommo's brag session. 

I'll leave you with a layout I did about Miss Kaitlyn this summer.

Journaling reads:  "Kaitlyn traded in her dance slippers for ball cleats.  She loved performing, but I think she's more comfortable in her cleats.  And while the recitals were fun, it's just hard to beat a Little League game.  The whole family comes, lawn chairs in tow.  Ryan keeps the books and helps out where needed.  Fun times for all of us, with great memories being made.  The ballpark burgers aren't bad either.   :)  

Spring - Fall 2009"

Her last dance recital was May 2009.  She's played three seasons of ball since then.  There's a spring league and a fall league.  She loves it.  We all love it!

Happy Saturday!

Cj

Kiddo update

We got to keep Mr. Nolan for a bit last weekend, and I discovered something.  If you're babysitting and you need, say, 30 minutes to get something done around the house, put the baby on this little play mat and you're good to go. 

Not that I do that.

I waste spend that 30-minute window of housecleaning opportunity and watch him entertain me himself.

I've gotta tell ya, that picture is actually quite misleading.  I think he's in some sort of a self-induced trance here.  Typically, his hands and feet are in continuous movement when he's "playing" on his mat. 

Case in point:

I need to talk to him about that.  It makes it really hard for Mommo to get good pictures...

And looky who's discovering his hand!  And it's always the left hand.  Wonder if that means he'll be a lefty like his big sister, and his daddy, and his Mommo...

I think he'd like to say hi to you-all real quick before we move on ...

Hi!

Miss Kaitlyn has been on fall break last week and this week.  I was hoping to have a "Camp Mommo" while she was off, but it just didn't happen.  She did come spend a day with me, although I think her plans were more to come over and play with Amanda, a little neighbor girl. 

We did get a little craft time in before Amanda came over.  I'm so glad "our" scraproom is back in order so there can be more of this taking place:

This girl is in her element when she's crafting. We've designated one of my scrapbooking t-shirts as her painting shirt.  We started that when she was younger.  She hardly makes a mess now, though, at all. And did you notice which hand she uses?  =)

Hope you enjoyed the quick update on the grandkids!

Cj