Fun family night

We tried something new tonight.

Somehow I have gotten on the e-mail distribution list for Georgia State's athletics program. And recently, I received an e-mail about GSU basketball. A little light went off in my head. The kids might really enjoy going to a college basketball game on a smaller scale. Particularly since Evan is playing basketball for the first time this winter.

(I promise I'll blog soon about his basketball season. It has been a hoot.)

So, we decided to check out a game tonight. It was homecoming. I told Corin when we were going down the stairs from the parking garage that the last time I attended a college basketball homecoming game, I was in a long, corduroy Laura Ashley dress with a BIG OL' collar. Ahh, the memories.

But, back to GSU. We had a really fun family night. We were almost completely derailed when we arrived at the same time as the GSU panther in his full blue furry costume. He must not have been as terrifying as Monkey Joe, because we were able to move past it after about 15 minutes.

We got to the game late, but Pressley very much enjoyed the dancers and the cheerleaders and Evan very much enjoyed sitting next to daddy and getting the play by play on what was going on in the game.

And you can't beat a $9.00 dinner for the entire family. Well, nutritionally, you can. But where else can you get 2 hot dogs, a slice of pizza, a box of popcorn, a bag of skittles and 4-20 oz sodas for nine bucks? I dare you to try to top the economical value. (Don't worry. We'll feed them nothing but vegetables all day tomorrow.)

The game itself was a nail-biter. GSU led by a narrow margin for most of the game against William and Mary, but in the last seconds, W&M pulled ahead, and then with something like 6 or 9 seconds left on the clock, GSU had the ball - down three points. Some dude shot a 3 pointer with about 1 second left to send the game into overtime, but alas, it was not meant to be. The ball bounced off the rim and we were on our way home.

I think we'll definitely do it again. After all, how many folks have a college basketball stadium ten minutes from their front door? And did I mention the nine dollar dinner. Oh, I guess I did.

MONSTER..monster..monster JAM..jam..jam

Evan has been going through this phase for quite some time where he is very interested in monster trucks. He has a friend at school who is into monster trucks, so he'll come home and ask me questions (usually when we are in the car) about whether a monster truck can crush this or that and whether a monster truck is faster than this or that. Of course, I DON"T KNOW! Look at me. Do I look like a monster truck gal? (Hoping your answer is "no".)

So, I heard an ad on the radio a while back for MONSTER..monster..monster JAM..jam..jam at the Georgia Dome and I told Corin that Evan might really like going to that because of this fascination with monster trucks. Well, as we do with a lot of things, we let it drop for quite some time. Then, the day before "Blizzard '10", Corin called me to say that the Monster Jam was this Saturday and did I want to get tickets for Evan and me. Tee Hee.

It was very sweet of Corin to think that I might want to get the credit for having the idea to take Evan to this event. And I'm all about spending special mommy/son time on dates. But, really? ME...? Take him ALONE...? To the Monster Jam...? Tee Hee.

So, I said we should talk about it that evening. Well, then the Storm of the Century hit and delivered a dusting of snow (that then melted and turned to ice, but, whatever) and we let it drop again. Until... UNTIL... 6 p.m. on Saturday night. I was downstairs getting ready to bread some pork chops for some "oven fried pork." I had my egg and milk wash all ready to go when Evan ran in and said, "Daddy said he might take me to the MONSTER JAM tonight!" And then he ran off.

When I began to investigate, I found Corin on the computer browsing Stub Hub for some tickets to the sold out Monster Jam that was starting in an hour and a half. He did find tickets, and because the Stub Hub office is very near the Dome, he was able to order them online and pick them up on the way to the event. Best Daddy ever!

He had a great time, and when they got home (at 10:30 p.m.) he was as animated as I have ever seen him.

"And then, the Batman one jumped over blah, blah, blah..." "And, then...THEN...the Superman truck caught on fire! It was SO cool!" "OH, and then, the one called...what was it called, Daddy? Oh, yeah - Escalade. It landed and it's wheel POPPED OFF! Can you believe that? SO cool!"

Here are some pictures of the various trucks, as well as Evan looking happy as a clam. Almost makes me wish I had been the one to take him. Well, no. Strike that. I'm happy just looking at the pictures and hearing the very excited re-cap.

Who knew?

So, I'm sitting at my desk in the office/playroom trying to come up with a lesson plan for preschool music for tonight at church. Pressley had come in to play, but I didn't really pay a whole lot of attention for a while. Because she was quiet.

Then, I realized she had been whispering for quite some time. I turned around to see what all the whispering was about, and this is what I see:

She was apparently voicing over quite the dialog for a torrid love affair between Buzz Lightyear and the Barbie Mermaid. I always thought Buzz was hung up on Bo Peep. Who knew he was actually secretly whispering sweet nothings to a purple mermaid? Go figure.

As I listened more closely (having not been caught snapping the picture), I heard lots of talk of "true love's kiss" and somebody knowing "just what to do." At least she was keeping it PG. I'm gonna have to keep an eye on this one, though.

How come I never take you to the airport anymore?

So...I am a big fan of When Harry Met Sally. As pitiful as it makes me sound...it is still one of my favorite movies. I watched half of it very recently, in fact, on Lifetime or WE or some such network. What does that have to do with anything, you ask? Well, I'll tell you. (But I warn you, you still might not really get it. I think I might be getting set for some rambling.)

OK, so there's this line in WHMS where Billy Crystal says he has never taken a girlfriend to the airport at the beginning of a relationship. Because eventually the relationship moves on and you don't take her to the airport anymore, and he never wanted anyone to look at him and say, "How come you never take me to the airport anymore?"

Sometimes that's how I feel about the blog. I wanted readers. I still want readers. I want to tell you about my life and sometimes maybe even make you laugh a little. I appreciate that you care. But, with that comes a lot of pressure - even if it is self-imposed. Sometimes (just every once in a while) I wish I had never taken you to the airport at the beginning of our relationship. I feel that I have spoiled you (those three or four of you who read regularly) by posting at least once and sometimes twice (or even three times) a week. And I put this pressure on myself to post, even when I don't have much to say, because it would break my heart to have you ask me why I never take you to the airport anymore.

Does that make any sense at all?

No?

OK. Fine.

Then here are some pictures of the kids playing in the snow during "Blizzard" 2010. I don't really have a whole lot to say about them. Except this: The first photo, where they have their tongues out... you can't even see the snow, but trust me that there were a few flurries flying around and they were trying to catch them. That last picture of Evan, I'm told, is him trying to throw snow at daddy. Apparently daddy didn't get the shot off until E was done with his follow-through. Oh, well.

The kids (and by "kids", I mean Evan and Corin) had a really good time playing in the snow. They sledded and sledded until there was no snow or ice left. Can you see from the top right photo how much Pressley enjoyed the snow? The girls stayed inside and stayed warm mostly - though I've got to say I'm not sure I've been really warm in about two weeks. So glad I don't live up north...like in Tennessee. I'm just not cut out for being cold.

I could try to promise you that my next post will be more coherent and less rambling, but seriously, I can't possibly make that kind of promise. Any more than I can promise you that I'll continue to post once a week - or more.

THAaaat one died a long time ago...

Happy new year. Sorry I've been absent for a while. We had a great time celebrating the coming of 2010 by spending New Year's Eve with some of Corin's oldest (strike that: most enduring) friends, who came in from Chattanooga to attend the Chick-fil-a Bowl (ahem, the PEACH Bowl)* with us. The game did not work out so well, considering these are friends of Corin's from his days at UT and UT got, how shall I put this...squashed...in the game. But we had a great dinner, a fun time with friends, and then a late night playing some Wii. Oh, well. Go VOLS! anyway.

All the while, the kids were at Camp GranNan and Poppy having a grand old time.

(Clockwise from top left: Poppy and the kids watching a movie; Evan building with K'nex; kids watching t.v. from their "little tables" while eating dinner-or so it would appear; Evan building with the Tinker Toys Poppy thought he just had to have; P talking to mommy on New Year's morning.)

Then, on New Year's Day (after sleeping late and eating breakfast/lunch at The Majestic - yay for grandparents!), we headed over to the home of some of my oldest (correction: longest suffering) friends for a traditional new year meal of black eyed peas and greens. Not collards. Kale. I gotta hand it to Jennifer: She managed to make the least offensive kale dish I've ever had. And I mean that as a sincere compliment. I think she would agree, but luckily she's way too busy and successful to have time to read my blog. :o)

Since then, we've set about trying to keep the kids entertained before they headed back to school (however briefly if this "blizzard" actually comes to pass). Anywho... Mom and I took the kids to Fernbank on Tuesday for the last hoorah. We'd already done nearly everything else I could think of to do in this frigid weather. The kids really enjoyed it. Pressley went from glass case to glass case saying (loudly) and THAaat one died a long time ago....and THAaaat one died a long time ago. Over and over and over. Really. Like 50 times. It was cute.

We also [Kerry, look away] met a real live snake. A corn snake. Named Mazola. If not for a very strict no-touching-the-snake-unless-you-are-at-least-four policy, Pressley would have been all about petting this guy. Even holding him, I bet, if given the opportunity. She asked lots and lots of questions. When the man told her that the snake eats mice, she said "But I don't see any mices around here!" The man assured her that they would get one for him. E seemed to like the snake a lot too, but he was much quieter and stayed a little further back. He did not seem to be interested in touching the snake, despite the fact he met the age restriction.

Later, in an effort to watch just one second of television that is not animated,** I turned to the cooking channel while the kids were not paying attention. Do you know that they both came and climbed up in my lap and watched Paula Dean with me and were mesmerized. Who knew? (Also, who knew that I like to use italics so much?) Paula was making some "light" chicken salad to stuff in some tomatoes, and every couple of steps, Evan would say, "That doesn't look too hard to make." It was super cute. I mentioned to Corin that night at dinner that Evan thought the chicken salad didn't look too hard to make - several times - and he took offense. He did say it more than once, but at least I conceded that he didn't say it nearly as many times as his sister had said "THAaaat one died a long time ago!" earlier in the day.

Two post-scripts:

*Just so ya know... I love me some Chick-fil-a, and I appreciate Mr. Cathy's generous contribution to my scholarship fund and all, but must everything be "sponsored"? Why can't we just call the Peach Bowl the Peach Bowl? And the...well, dang, I've already forgotten what the Outback Bowl and the Tostidos Bowl used to be called. Citrus maybe for the Outback?

**Also so you know...we don't watch a ton of TV around here, but I've been sick and it has been COLD, so it has been on more than usual. Please don't call DFACS. I promise to appropriately stimulate my children as soon as either I feel better or it gets warmer. Preferably both. That's all.

Dear Santa

Dear Santa:

When a 3 year old girl asks for make-up for Christmas, it is not always a good idea to comply with the request. I understand that your intentions were pure and that the make-up you brought is "soap and water washable", but, I declare! That stuff is the biggest mess I've ever seen. And I'm not sure our upholstered furniture will ever be the same. Additionally, I'm certain that the looks I get in public from random strangers on days that I forget or don't have time to wash her face on the way out the door will not be looks of approval. Surely I don't need to tell you that a 3 year old does not understand the concept of less is more - nor does she necessarily have the skill set to color in the lines.

I just thought it might be helpful for you to know this for future reference.

Sincerely,

A mom at her wit's end

Merry, merry Christmas wrap-up

Oh my goodness, we are so blessed. We have had such a wonderful Christmas.

Since I last posted, we have had lots of quality family time with both the Pressleys/Bainbridges and the McCarthys. On Monday night, we went to a restaurant with GranNan and Poppy, Beth, David, Will and Abby and then went back to GranNan and Poppy's house for presents and dessert. We all had such a good time. The kids got lots of great gifts that they were excited about, and of course, they got to spend time with their cousins, which they always love.

On Tuesday, the kids and I went to visit my sweet Granny at her apartment. We took some petit fours that the kids helped me make and visited for about an hour. The kids were quite literally bouncing off the walls and I was worried that we were way too much for Granny. But she seemed to thoroughly enjoy our visit. When we left, she said we had made her Christmas by coming to visit - and that made my day. (She later reported to my mother that the kids were sweet and cute and "peppy" on our visit. That is one way to describe it....)

Late Tuesday night, Kerry and Kate arrived from New York. We always enjoy their visits so much. They spoil the kids - but in the good way. They never say no when the kids ask them to read a story, climb in a tent, play a game, etc. They just love our kids and that makes my heart happy. The next afternoon, Gran and Grandaddy and Lilly (the beagle) arrived and the kids' joy was made complete. We did lots of cooking, playing, reading, etc. Kerry and Kate and Grandaddy took the kids and Lilly to the park. Check out what happened to Lil' P when she stopped moving for a second.... Yep. She fell asleep in the swing. Multiple times apparently. Poor baby. So much excitement...so little rest.

We turned out some really excellent meals while the McCarthy clan was here and enjoyed sitting around the table and just being together.

Don't worry. Pressley is not actually drinking champagne. That is "special kid champagne" in her glass - otherwise known as ginger ale.

Before we knew it, it was Christmas eve. The kids went to bed a lot later than usual. We read 'Twas the Night Before Christmas and the Christmas story out of their kids Bible story book. Then waited for them to go to sleep. And waited. And waited. Corin and I finally got to attend a Christmas eve service at Briarlake for the first time in many, many years. When we got back from church, Santa had not yet arrived, so it was a late bedtime for us.

But as usual, it was well worth it. Santa was good to the kids. Despite the fact that Santa's elf who used to make Batman legos is not making them anymore, Evan got some gifts - including other legos - that he really seemed to enjoy. Pressley got the Princess Vanity that she so desperately wanted (though we have since discovered that Santa probably could have just brought the vanity stool and she would have been perfectly happy).

Finally, after a fun day of playing with all the new toys, we headed off to South Carolina to spend Christmas evening with my mom's side of the family - 26 strong this year. What a fun bit of controlled chaos that always is. Pressley and Sydney, who don't see each other nearly enough, became fast friends and bonded over a little Leapster fun. "Baby" Michael was trying hard to keep up with the big kids this year and he was just as cute as he could be.

All in all, it was just a perfect Christmas. In all the excitement and fun of the season, we tried very hard to keep the focus on the one true Gift we celebrate this season.

We hope that you and yours had as blessed a Christmas as we did. Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night (well, early afternoon...).

P.S. I discovered this nifty collage feature in Picasa, so I was able to share a lot more pictures than usual in the body of the blog post, but if you still want more, check out the Dec. 09 link under Albums.