What a Sunday!

We have been working Christmas all day in our house. I am exhausted.

Pictures:

Abby taking a quiet time in her room after lunch.
Another shot of the crooked tree.

Abby finding the Santa hat.

She wore it for hours.

Hanging candy canes on the tree.

Relaxing, reading Rudolph on the couch.

More quiet time reading in her room.

The finished product!

Well, almost. We discovered that our tree skirt and bow (for the top) are way too small. Hopefully, get that added next weekend.

But I can't stop staring at it. Thank goodness we don't have a dining room table!

Can't Stop Smelling....er, Smiling

Stu, Abby and I had plans to go look for a Christmas tree tomorrow. The idea was to cut ours down at a local farm. With the threat of rain, we changed our mind and bought one at Lowe's tonight.

My house smells (almost) overwhelmingly like pine trees!

I could not be happier.

Lost my camera again, these pics are from my phone.

Daddy screwing in the tree and Abby watching from the side.

"Where are the light's Daddy?" She asked 100 times.

End Result: An incredibly crooked tree.

Stu had plans to go out for his friend's birthday, so he got it secure and we are going to work on it tomorrow. I am just really hoping that it doesn't tumble to the ground in the night!

Christmas has started at the Staples. Abby keeps asking to "play Christmas" since the decorations were brought down.

Soon enough, soon enough.

Tonight, I will sleep peacefully with this new wonderful smell in my house!

Turkey Time

I forgot my camera on actual Thanksgiving, but did remember it for dinner tonight at the Staples.

Chris and Abby at the kiddo table.
After dinner, watching Ice Age. The kids were glued.

Well, until they fought over a pillow.

Sweet Abby!

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My sweet hubs went to HH Gregg last night at midnight to get me a new laptop.

It is taking some getting used to, but I know that I will love it.

Christmas came early for me!

I'm So Excited!

(Did anyone else just vision Jessie from Saved by the Bell?)

It is really sad that I am so excited about this.......

But I paid $7 (with tax) for this!!!

4 boxes of Ritz crackers, 2 boxes of Uncle Ben rice, and 2 jars of pickles.

I finally got my stuff together and was able to use my coupons productively.

I ended up only paying $0.36 for the pickles!

This just motivates me even more to keep couponing.

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I could go on and on about this.....but I have a 5K to walk (yes, walk) in less than 12 hours, so I need some sleep. Then some turkey to tend to.

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But I will share this picture of Abby in her new pj's.

Deeply concerned about a dead bug on the window sill.

Cheesing it up!

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Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

Loving the Camera/Potty Training

Abby has been hamming it up for the camera lately.

She is constantly saying, "Take a picture, Momma!"

After Daddy dressed her Saturday morning. The shirt was too big, so we did have to change later. (And more on Daddy watching her in a minute).

So excited about her pig-tails.

The full shot.

Go ahead, get your laughs out. Yes, she has on giant plastic panties. And no pants. And purple socks. And white sandals that are 2 sizes too small.

If you look extra close, you can see faint red lines on her knees. Stu got up with Abby on Saturday morning. I woke up to him saying over the baby monitor, "Oh Abby that is not coming off". Knowing that can't be good, I got up and was greeted by the sight of my child completely covered in non-washable red marker. She had covered both hands and arms, her legs, her feet, even between her toes!

We soaked her in the bath for 30 minutes (the water was pink), and it is STILL on there. I am soaking her once more in the morning before day care to hopefully get the last of it off.

Stu claims that he was on the couch and she was behind it and he thought that she was just playing.

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Tonight was Grandma Susie's visitation. She had an excellent turnout and it was great to see all the people who's lives she has touched.

I pretty much spent the night making sure these 3 kiddos behaved. They ran wild for 3 hours! I am exhausted.

Someone else was too.

She slept the whole way home.

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Potty training update.....excellent!

Yes, I am too lazy to change the sheet once it is full. But Abby doesn't seem to mind.

She is doing so awesome with the #1 part. She even went in her first public restroom tonight! We have tried in the past, but she would never actually go. She is still wearing pull-ups, but more of a precaution. And she is good about telling me that she needs to go.

#2 is a whole different story. She blows her diapers out without a peep. But at least we are progressing!

Susie Q

Sweet Grandma Susie passed this morning. She has been sick for the past year, in and out of the hospital. Unfortunately, it had gotten worse lately. She came home on Friday, visited with all of her loved ones and her sweet daughter and daughter-in-law (Stu's aunt and mom) took care of her 24 hours a day until the end.

Here is the last full family picture that we took.

I don't know exactly how to word this, but I know that she is in a great place. It is a sad day when people leave us, but it is a joyous day when they enter Heaven. We will miss her greatly, but hopefully we take peace in the thought that she is with her husband and son.

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And because I like to keep my posts somewhat "light", here is a picture of Abby tonight.

She was so excited to wear big girl panties. Pants optional. This potty training is definitely going slower than I expected, but we will get there!

Tis' the Season!

For giving that is!

I went to the grocery store tonight and saw that the Red Kettles are out!

What a great way to share that extra spare change!
This charity holds a special place in my heart - it is sponsored by the Marine Corps. Drop off an unwrapped new present at any Toys R Us. Easy to pick up when you are shopping for your own little one.

My entire childhood, my family sponsored a child each year. It was so much fun to pick a child out and shop for them. I think Abby's Day Care is participating in this and I am so excited.

If you are interested, here is the website.

Feel free to share any of your favorite charities. So many people/children don't get to experience Christmas, so this is a perfect time to share the love.

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This has been a picture-less week. And today was p.j. day at Day Care. Abby was adorable in her heart p.j.'s and Minnie slippers. But Stuart has been working long hours, so I am dropping Abby off and picking her up from day care. This makes for a very loooooong day.

5K Fun and Ramblings

Today was a beautiful day!

A few weeks ago, I signed up for the Mayor's Challenge (A free 5K in downtown Nashville). After I found out that I could bring a stroller, I knew Abby was coming too!

Mom and I before the race.

This is a horrible pic of me! I have on no makeup and my eyes are closed!

But I love that Abby is pulling me away. She needs my attention 24/7!

On the stairs of the Capitol.



She was so pumped up before the race.

She wanted me to chase her!

A shot when we finally made it to the start line. People as far as the eye can see. It took us 6 minutes just to get to the start.

I swear, this bugger was uphill the.whole.way. Pushing a child that weighed 100 lbs. And was asleep (dead weight). But I finished! I might not be able to walk tomorrow though.

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A few updates:

• Stuart's grandma is home from the hospital. She is being kept comfortable. We went to visit her Saturday night and she was resting.




• Speaking of Saturday, it was Stu and I's 6 year anniversary. We went to hibachi and a movie. Did you know for 2 adults to go to a night movie it is $20.50? That is insane. We saw Tower Heist. It was good, but not $20 good. But we were both grateful for a date night!

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Abby got her fall assessment at school. Some things I expected, some I was surprised by.

Needs Improvement: Knows First and Last Name (I don't think we have even told her what her last name is!), Verbalizes needs and wants, and Participates in imaginary play with friends.

Excels at: Holds Scissors correctly and achieves forward motion across paper (Her teacher actually told us that she is one of the best cutters in the class), draws a straight line, knows all her colors and knows all her shapes.

Teachers comments: "Abby is doing great! She surprises us still with how well-developed she is, and we will just continue to encourage her to verbalize more frequently and with more volume"

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I hate Daylight Savings with a passion. There is nothing worse than leaving work when it is dark.

But Abby and Stu got to have this conversation one "night" when he picked her up at 5.

Abby: Daddy, can you get the moon for me?

Daddy: Well honey, it is pretty high. I don't know if I can reach it.

Abby: I can't reach it either. Do you have a ladder?

Daddy: I do have a ladder, but I don't think it will go that high.

Abby: You need a Minnie Mouse ladder.

Imagination my ass. Poor Abby is just to shy to talk in school!

Need a Laugh

Tonight, we needed a laugh.

I don't talk much about Ali, but she is a hilarious dog.

I was sitting on the couch tonight and I hear her go behind it. She knows she is not allowed back there, but will randomly go back there every few months. She always gets stuck.

She doesn't get stuck because of her size (even though she is overweight), she gets stuck because she is TERRIFIED of the cords (She went in the other way). It looks like she is touching them, but she really isn't. And she is shaking her tail so hard that she is blurry.

We usually have to move the furniture or unplug everything to get her out.

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The reason that we need a laugh is that Stuart's Grandma has been in the hospital for a few weeks now. She has taken a turn for the worse and if she makes it through the night, they are sending her home to be comfortable tomorrow. We are all very sad tonight and she was the center of our Baby Jesus talks.

Prayers for her tonight and going forward. I hope she is at peace however the outcome.

We love you MeMaw!

Running Around Like Mad

The main feedback that I have gotten from Abby's Day Care is how shy she is.

I swear, she just saves it up for when she gets home. She talks non stop from 5:30 to 8. She talks so fast that she starts stuttering and not even making sense. Stu and I crack up every night.

I got her new shoes at the Sugar Babies sale (hello...Stride Rite for $3!).

She broke them in.

We honestly did over 100 laps around the house. Even Ali gave up after awhile.

She comes up with the funniest things.

After a few laps, she said "Let's go around with sunglasses on". So we both put on our sunglasses on and we were off!

Then we wore stickers for a few laps.

Then laps that we walked.

Then laps with Ali on her leash (Ali did not enjoy this).

She crashed pretty hard tonight.

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Tonight is reminding me of how much I love Nashville.

CMA's Baby!

Maybe one day......

Where's Waldo (Abby)?

This is the picture that I took of Abby sleeping last night.

Seriously, can the girl have enough stuff in her bed?

****And yes, The Big Dog (Abby's name for Clifford) does wear underwear.****

1st Weekend in November

What a beautiful weekend it turned out to be!

Saturday, we went to our favorite, The Discovery Center.

Not a good picture, but check out the hair with the BOW in it.

We met our friends there. How cute are these kiddos?

My friend, Tracy, has 3 girls! Ruby 6, Riley 2 and Reagan 3. Bless her. But Abby loves hanging out with them. They are moving in January and I will be very sad as she is my Discovery Center partner!

Today we went to church and then I ran errands all afternoon (be jealous of my exciting life ;).

I had promised Abby to take her back to the park though.

We went to the one right down the road. Abby loves the swings.

And Bunny loved it as well.

She was even brave enough to try the tire swing.

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During bath time, I walked into this:

"Uh Abby, what exactly are you doing?"

"Getting my forehead wet Mommy."

That girl has a wild imagination.

Check out that potty chart!

She earned a sticker Saturday night (Yes, I wrote the date and time on there)!

And last, but not least.......check out that money shot!