A New Decade

Ten years ago I welcomed in the new millenium with friends at The Bound'ry, a Nashville hot spot (well, at least it was a hot spot 10 years ago...) I even remember the cute little black velvet outfit I wore. There was no question that I would be awake at midnight to ring in the new year.

Tonight I am welcoming in this new decade at home with some appetizers (baked brie, spring rolls, hot ham party rolls, and strawberry trifle,) the UT bowl game on the TV, and 2 little boys currently dressed in batman costumes beating each other over the head with styrofoam swords. I am already wondering how late I will have to stay up to keep JW from making too much fun of me. Ahh, the changes that happen in 10 years!

The media has made much talk about how this past decade has been kind of a downer for our country. September 11th got the decade off to a pretty bad start. The events that followed have changed many lives permanently.

Personally, these past 10 years have been pretty good for me. I welcomed my two precious babies into the world, and it just doesn't get any better than that.

I know the next ten years will hold many changes for our world and our family. I look forward to watching my boys grow and I pray that I will be open to the changes that God sends our way.

I could use this opportunity to make a list of resolutions and post them here on my blog for all to see like many other bloggers. But, I won't because they are all the same resolutions as many of you have: healthy eating, more exercise, weight loss, saving money, etc... Why set myself up for failure? I will instead chose to be pleasantly surprised when some of these things actually come to fruition. (see, I just listed them anyway...)

I wish you all well as we ring in this new decade. Thank you for taking the time to read my thoughts.
Happy 2010!

Christmas Craziness

In the past week, we have survived 1 Christmas program, 2 school Christmas parties, 1 firm Christmas party, Christmas with my Aunt and Uncle from West TN, trip to Kentucky to see JW's aunt and extended family, and 1 playdate today with 6 kids in my small house! And we made all these goodies today! With some homemade Chex Mix thrown in there too. Whew! It has been busy, but fun. In them midst of all this my Nana is in the hospital with pnuemonia. She contends that she will be out in time to fry the country ham for Christmas morning breakfast. We'll see about that...

Hopefully we will survive the next 3 days of Christmas chaos and then stay at home and relax until the New Year. That is my plan.

Life is good and we are blessed. The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases. His mercies never come to an end. He is new every morning. Great is His faithfulness!

The boys and I made our Gingerbread House today. We have done this the past 3 years now. One of my friends gave me a great tip- Hot Glue Gun!! Forget the icing that comes in the kit- just go with the glue gun! It was so much easier and everything really stuck instead of kinda sliding apart! I think it turned out pretty cute.

We made cookies today too. We thought we would need some to leave out for Santa. I was tired of the Christmas trees, so we went with stars and angels. The stars just have a simple icing with red and green dots and the angels have icing with yellow sugar glitter halos. This was my first time to try angels and I really like how they turned out- much prettier in person. The picture doesn't really do them justice b/c you can't see the glitter very well.

December Update

This is just a short update with a few pictures.

We have had a busy couple of weeks. We went to the Santa Brunch yesterday after church with my parents. It was lots of fun. They had a craft table and cookie-making table for the kids. The boys were really excited about talking to Santa this year. The boys then went home with my parents and spent the night while we went to our Life Group Christmas Party last night. Having Life Group adult-only once a year is really nice. We laughed that we could actually enjoy eating and have a real conversation without 15 kids destroying the house!

I thought this picture of the boys with Santa turned out great!
This was my first attempt at making Christmas tree cookies. It really bothered Will that the trees had no ornaments, but I didn't have much time Saturday morning before our get together. I hope to try again this week...maybe....maybe not...

Ryan in front of the tree in his snowman pajamas

Ryan and Will in their Christmas pajamas

Welcome December!

It is a perfect December morning here- bright, sunny and cold. My car said 29 degrees as I drove Will to school this morning. It was beautiful to see the frost covering everything.
I must admit, I am glad to see November move on its way. We spent the first 2 weeks battling pnuemonia in Ryan, then Will ran a fever for a few days as well.
Although I do feel a slight panic as I realize Christmas is only a few weeks away, I still welcome it. We already have lights on the house, one tree up, and my gingerbread houses are coming out of their boxes. (I'm pretty sure JW has watched "Christmas Vacation" twice already.)
I try each year more and more to downplay the gifts of "stuff" and the ridiculous marketing and money-spending side of Christmas, and instead focus on the decorations, traditions, and family side of Christmas. We will build a gingerbread house, bake cookies and make Chex mix together. Will is already busy crafting Christmas items and is excited about our Elf on the Shelf making his appearance. It is a joy to see Christmas through his eyes. Ryan is mostly excited about getting to wear Christmas pajamas every night!

On another neat note, JW's firm moved into a new building last week. The Pinnacle at Symphony Place is a beautiful new building downtown across from the Schermerhorn Symphony Center. Nashville is really making some beautiful new additions to downtown. I am looking forward to going down there Friday afternoon to see the new building and his new office. We are also going to try to see the Georgia O'Keeffe exhibit at the Frist Center that ends in January while we are downtown.

We are all so blessed with our health and family. Hug your kids and have a great day!

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;

his love endures forever.

1 Chronicles 16:34

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!

Learning to Shine

The Kindergarten at Will's school put on a program this morning. I am disappointed with my pictures. I think my camera has been acting funny. But, I wanted to quickly share what I got.
They have flashlights around their necks because they did a really cute version of "This little light of mine" using the flashlights. I loved it!

Will and John Burton- his best little buddy
Avery, Maggie, and Will

I made star cookies for our little "stars."

The top cookies have a lemon glaze and yellow sugar glitter

These have the same lemon glaze and yellow icing dots

Southernness

Lest you think "Southernness" is not a real word, I assure you it is. Merriam-Webster defines it as "of, relating to, or characteristic of a region conventionally designated South."

This definition doesn't really do it for me. I mean, how can a region be "conventionally designated South?" It either is, or it isn't. Graciously allow me to expound....

Many factors have me thinking about the South lately:

I recently finished reading The Help, one of the most extraordinary books I have read in years. Kathryn Stockett is my favorite new author. This is her first book, but undoubtably will not be her last. She captures the mood of the South in the 1960s down to the chicken salad and starched table cloth at bridge club.

Tim McGraw (not my favorite) has a new song out titled "Southern Voice." The lyrics are catchy. I even find myself humming along "C'mon in chile, i'm sure glad to know ya." He references all kinds of Southern icons: sweet iced tea, Faulkner, Daytona Beach, Scarlett, and many others. The band Alabama had a song many years ago called "Song of the South." It is, in my opinion, a much better song about the South than this new "Southern Voice" song. It speaks of "sweet potato pie and a shut my mouth." Oh, to have the perfect opportunity to use the phrase "shut my mouth" is indeed a glorious thing!

My parents recently had a neighborhood garage sale and my mother cleaned out attics, closets, and my old room. I found an envelope full of graduate school applications that were never mailed. One was to the University of Mississippi Center for Southern Studies. That is right, I wanted to get a Masters Degree in Southern Studies. Can you think of anything more fascinating than an entire course load full of classes such as: Anthropology of Blues culture, The South in Film, Civil Rights and Liberties, and Appalacian Folk Craft? I can't. But, then I met JohnWill. So instead of a Masters Degree in the South, I got John Will. Not a bad trade-off. (I tell him I am still going to go down to Oxford some day and get that degree. We both know that's never going to happen.)

Monograms. Southerners love monograms. We love monograms on our clothing, towels, bedding, bags, dishes, silver, stationary, hair bows, slippers, and even cars. I recently had a conversation with a friend from Illinois who is a convert to our monogramming ways. She said her friends up "there" don't understand why we want our name on everything. I don't understand it either, I just know we love them. Maybe if I had my Masters degree in Southern Studies I would have learned this in History of Monogramming 101.

I took Southern Literature in college. It was my favorite class of all the classes I took for my English degree and it was taught by a beloved teacher. As a part of the class, she took a group of students on a literary tour of Oxford, Mississippi. We toured Rowan Oak, home of Faulkner, and the cemetary where he is buried. My final paper for this class was titled "Is the South in Danger of Losing its Identity?" I don't remember the answer to this question. All I remember is some vague reference to deviled eggs and funeral food. Maybe this is the answer.

11-20-09

In case you were wondering, why yes, I have already purchased my movie ticket from Fandango. Why yes, I will be seeing this movie on 11-20-09.

(I must apologize. I have been cooped up in this house with a very sick 3 year old all week. I need something to look forward to....)

Happy Halloween!

Ryan, Will, Owen, John Burton and Miller

We had some friends come over tonight to trick-or-treat

Owen and John Burton are Will's friends from school and Miller is JB's little brother

John Will and Will next to the pumpkins they carved

Will is a Jawa. Don't ask me what a Jawa is-- it is some random Star Wars character from Tattoine that all you die hard Star Wars fans will know.

Ryan was Superman for the second year in a row. He likes to stick with what he knows.

I was a black cat. It was too cold to be Tinkerbell.

Will with the pumpkin he helped carve.

Serious Jawa at Trunk or Treat

Superman at Trunk or Treat with Meme's witch hat

David, Will, Ryan and Dawson

David and Dawson were super cute as Batman and Robin

Fall Break at the Beach

I must admit, I posted pictures on Facebook before my blog for the first time ever!! Never thought that would happen, poor blog.
We spent all last week in Hilton Head. It was wonderful. JohnWill took off work the entire week. He didn't work at all from the beach or anything. My parents joined us for the first time in 3 years and stayed in a condo just down the breezeway from ours. It was great being there with them.
The first two days were chilly, but the rest of the week was perfect beach weather. Highs in the 70s and 80s and sunny everyday.
I didn't really do anything except sit on the beach, read, sleep and eat seafood. It was perfect. A much needed vacation for all of us.

The boys did nothing but play on the beach, play putt-putt, work puzzles (the really difficult jigsaw kind) with my mom, and play Uno with John Will.

Thanks to my parents, JW and I got to go out to eat ALONE at our favorite restaurant on HHI, Red Fish, on Friday night. We sat out on the porch and enjoyed our last night there. (I must share what I had for dessert- Cream Cheese Apple Bread Pudding with homemade cinnamon ice cream. It was amazing.)
We came home Saturday in time to see the UT football game- booo! that was a hard loss!

And now we are back to life. It doesn't slow down. There is something everyday. I can never get caught up on the laundry. Ryan still only wants to eat peanut butter, bread and chocolate milk. I still need to lose 10 pounds. Beds are still unmade. Phones ring, dogs throw-up, ice makers don't work, and the carpet is still dirty. It is wonderful and God is good.

Ryan wanted to play football on the beach everyday

Will with his boogie board

Ryan had to be pulled on his boogie board. And he is heavy.

Will at the Pirate's Cove putt-putt coarse

The 4 of us playing putt-putt

In front of the condo

Will finally lost his other front tooth! And the Tooth Fairy found her way to Hilton Head!

Recent Read that Rocked

I am not going to review this book. Nothing I have to say would do it justice. I have a kind of reverence for Pat Conroy and my menial words can't fully explain how much I love his writing.

I have waited fourteen years for this book. His previous work of fiction, Beach Music, was published in 1995. He is a literary genius and his knowledge and understanding of the South is

unparalleled among today's writers.

My family used to vacation on Fripp Island, SC, where Conroy lives. His house is small and unassuming, not even on the beach. Like his house, he is an unassuming man, not given to many interviews or media hype. Read more about him here.

This book has caused me to become some what of a book club slacker. We were supposed to read the Outlander, but South of Broad came out and I just couldn't seem to get into the Outlander. I am going to try to get back on the book club train now.

Mr. Conroy, please don't make us wait another fourteen years!

Pumpkin Predicament

Will was Child of the Week at school this week. So, today I took these pumpkin cookies to his class for snack time. I have an entire set of Fall cookie cutters. I thought these pumpkins turned out cute and were pretty easy. The ghosts were cute too, but I didn't get a good picture of them. My camera batteries decided to poop out on me so I didn't get any pictures at school today, either.


I know I have mentioned this before, bit I really, really love pumpkin everything. I was going to make more pumpkin muffins this week because the boys love them so much. Well, 4 grocery stores later and I now know there is a shortage of canned pumpkin because of a freeze last year that ruined the pumpkin crop. WHAT?? Seriously, how am supposed to make all my yummy pumpkin muffins and breads? Out of town friends, are you experiencing this same predicament as well? Or is this a middle Tennessee issue only? If things get desperate, I might need someone to ship me some canned pumpkin.

On delightful pumpkin note, I had the Pumpkin Spice Latte at Starbucks this past week. My disgust at spending $4.78 on a grande disappeared with the first sip. It was heavenly. It was even worth being awake until 11:30 that night because I forgot to say "decaf" when I ordered it at 7:30 at night on my way to a meeting at church. I might go get another one in the morning!

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups whole-wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 large eggs, slightly beaten
2 cups granulated sugar
1 can (15 oz.) LIBBY'S® 100% Pure Pumpkin
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) mini chocolate chips

Directions

PREHEAT oven to 350° F. Grease thirty-six 2 1/2-inch muffin cups or line with paper bake cups.

COMBINE all-purpose flour, whole-wheat flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt in medium bowl. Combine eggs and sugar in large bowl. Add pumpkin and oil; mix well. Stir in flour mixture until moistened. Stir in morsels. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups.

BAKE for 20 to 25 minutes or until top springs back when lightly touched. Cool in pans on wire racks for 5 minutes; remove from pans.

Fall Festival Recap

We survived last week. It rained everyday. It was Spirit Week (which meant each day had a "dress-up" theme.) I was late the day I was supposed to be lunchroom mom. I put our Silent Auction basket together and turned it in, finally. And Friday night was our Fall Festival. It got moved inside b/c of rain, but was still pretty fun.
As I write this on Sunday afternoon, it is a beautiful sunny day without a cloud in the sky. As much as we have complained about the rain (12 straight days,) we really should be thankful. Thankful that we have clean water to drink and water to nourish the ground that grows crops. I'm sure those with flooded homes do not feel that way. Or the residents of Tent City (Nashville's homeless area downtown under the bridge next to the river.) Yes, rain is a blessing, but can also be a curse at times.
All I know for sure is that I am very glad to see the sun today!

Little Brother had to have a Lipscomb Bears t-shirt to match Big Brother. It is a little big!

Our finished basket. The grand total worth was $260. One of the smallest amounts there!

Will eating cherry Italian Ice

Ryan copying Will (even though he didn't have Italian Ice!) For some reason, he looks about 16 to me in this picture. How did he get so big?

This is hilarious! We have a little stream that forms in our side yard after lots of rain. So, the boys thought it would be fun to ride down into the water. They were soaking wet, but it does look pretty fun!

Coming soon: Whole-wheat Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins. I made some this afternoon and the boys have each eaten two! Delicious and healthy!

Random Rainy Day Ramblings

All apologies to my Aunt Emily, who is my most loyal reader! It has been quite a while since I have posted. Life is crazy. It has rained for a week straight here and it is making me quite crabby. I am sitting here drinking coffee having a rare quiet moment on this rainy Monday morning. I should be at the Y working out, or grocery shopping, or cleaning, or doing laundry, but instead I am just going to sit here and write.

An attempt to catch all 4 boys in their UT wear! I have never seen JW so happy after a UT loss as on Saturday after the FL game! We all got together at MeMe and John's for the game and grilled out steaks. The boys had a blast.

David and Will in some new pirate costumes from MeMe's new dress-up trunk!

Remember how Will knocked out his front tooth on the 4th of July? Well, it is still a huge gap. Bless his heart, he looks cute but I am beginning to wonder when that tooth is going to make an appearance.

Boys in their matching Halloween pajamas reading with Daddy before bed. They love Chicka Chicka Boom Boom!

Jenni, Stacey, Ami, me

I went out with some friends for a belated birthday dinner last night. We ate at Catina Laredo, a new Mexican place here in Nashville. It was delicious. They make fresh guacamole at the table. I am never wearing this shirt again because I just realized how huge I look!! (maybe I really am that fat, but please oh please, just let it be the blousy shirt!!!)

Will is now loving school. This past week he told me the only thing he didn't like about school is when they go to computers on Friday. (I think they work on keyboarding skills and he thinks that is boring.) He also told me this morning that he wished it would quit raining so they could go outside during recess. I'm with you there, Will!

This week is Spirit Week and we will wrap it up with the big Fall Festival and Silent Auction on Friday night. Hopefully my room mom duties will slow down for a while.

Ryan still looks at me like I am breaking his heart when I drop him off at school. But, he always says he has had fun when I pick him up in the afternoon. He's just a momma's boy and would rather spend the day with me. I guess that is okay.

I am still teaching the young 2 year olds on Sunday mornings at church. I taught them all summer session and will continue on this entire school year. My friend Ami (in the above picture) is my co-teacher. I have really grown attached to this group of precious children. (Much more so than I expected to when I was asked to teach!) I have gotten to know the families, the personalities, and I now feel quite protective of my "babies." I am going to stay with them until they promote. It has been quite the unexpected blessing. I love how God works in small ways through a group of 2-year old children.

Labor Day Update

JW has taken the boys to his office for a little bit, so I will take this opportunity to update the blog. They know that Daddy works in a big building downtown and they always want to go see his office, so today (being Labor Day) was a great chance for JW to show them around his building. Not that big law firms EVER close, but maybe it will be a little slower!

Ryan is playing soccer this Fall. It is hilarious. He had his first practice this past week and he was so excited. He actually knew what to do and followed directions perfectly. I think he is going to have a lot of fun.

Will opted not to play any sports this Fall, which is fine with us. He is still adjusting to school, but he had a great day Friday and I am optimistic he is going to eventually love it. We had 2 little boys over one afternoon last week and they had a great time playing. I am glad he seems to be making friends easily. I have enjoyed getting to visit with the moms too! Guess I am making new friends as well!

I am still coming to grips with the fact that I have taken on the dauting task of being a Kindergarten Room Mom. I am only slightly exaggerating here, as it is a huge responsibility at our elementary school. One other mom and I are the room moms and we are both "New." We took it as a bad sign that the other "seasoned" Kindergarten moms snickered at us as we were writing our names down on the sign-up list. I left the meeting last week with information overload and we have another meeting this week too. We'll see how it goes...

We are all trying to stay well in the midst of the horrible Middle TN allergy season. I have already had one sinus infection and Will has been coughing for what seems like weeks. I am not looking forward to another Winter like we had last year. I plan to get us all flu shots and hear rumors about a vaccine for H1N1 too.

Our new minister, Josh Graves, started at Otter Creek yesterday. I am very excited to get to know him and his family. I think he is going to do great things for the church family at Otter Creek.

Tomorrow I turn 34 and I have realized I am now officially a "soccer mom," "room mom," and "lunchroom mom." All I need now is a minivan and my suburban life will be complete! Seriously, it is still strange to realize I am 34. I don't feel like I should be 34. I feel like I should just be in a perpetual state of mid-20s. Guess that's not how life works. As my Dad says, "there is only one alternative to getting older."

Happy September, Everyone!!

Ryan talking to some fellow teammates
Ryan running with the ball

Not sure what this move is...

JW and Bill

John Will had a great opportunity Saturday night. He attended the Jackson Day Dinner here in Nashville. A friend of his from work asked him to help out as a member of the advance team for Bill Clinton, who was the keynote speaker. JW had a great time and got to chat with Clinton, Gore and Ned Ray McWherter.

More Spray Paint Fun

This cork bulletin board was one of many things left in our basement when we bought this house (along with a perfectly good TV and a radio.) I couldn't let a perfectly good bulletin board go to waste. I have been needing something for Ryan's room to hang all the cute things he makes at school. So....
I spray painted the board and wood letters and found the little wooden balls glued at the bottom at JoAnne's. I think I spent around $5-7 total. I know it is not a masterpiece, but it looks cute in Ryan's room and will serve its purpose well to display all his cute school artwork!