You Know You're in The South When.....

you're sitting in a nice salon, having your face steamed while getting a hand and arm massage and you overhear the woman next to you talking about Nascar like it is her family! Really! I was at a new salon to get my semi-yearly haircut.
Side note: I really do prefer my hair to be short, but do to scheduling conflicts, I am only able to make it into a salon 2 or 3 times a year.
Anyway, this salon is so cha cha that they wrap a steaming hot towel around your face, leaving only your eyes and your nose exposed. The nose is exposed to allow you to breathe in a minty oil that they put on the towel right below your nose. While this is going on, a girl massages a wonderful lotion into your arms and hands. It was heaven. I could barely walk across the room to get my hair cut after this procedure.
Now that the stage is set, let me explain the real reason for this post. During the hair cut, I inadvertently overheard a woman talking about her husband going to Hendricks (a Nascar racing team owner) to do such and such (I didn't catch what he wanted Hendricks to do). "Hendricks had a full plate at the time, so he is going back to talk to him again. And by the way, did you catch the race last weekend? Those Busch brothers! Everyone knew it would happen sooner or later. They bumped while trying to pass three wide. The one brother was just as mad as a hornet after that race!"
There was more that was said, but I decided to create my own conversation and I didn't catch it all. This was truly a new experience for me. I enjoy Nascar, but I can't say that I have ever initiated a Nascar conversation at the spa. What a hoot!

Only me!

Yesterday, while Jack and I were running errands in Winston, in a very busy shopping area, we happened upon a very unusual situation (for those of us in the city, that is). I was turning onto a four lane divided highway and discovered that it was blocked by GEESE! There were two adults and about 5 or 6 "teenagers". By the time I had arrived, they had already made it across three lanes of traffic. I was in a hurry and wanted them to speed things up and finish their crossing. In my attempt to speed things along, I moved closer to them. This only created confusion and the whole group decided to turn around and go back to where they were coming from! Oh the frustration!
I have to say, those geese were the only calm beings out on the road at that time. There were people stopped and just laughing their butts off. There were women in minivans, pointing the geese out to their children. Children were excited and trying to hang out their windows to see more. Jack was probably the only human unfazed by this event. I am guessing that he really couldn't see what was going on from his location in the van.
We managed to squeak past this feathered family to continue on our errands in a timely manner. I am not sure whether or not everyone else got to their intended destination. I just hate it that Emma or Will was not there with us to enjoy this very unusual event.

Snuggle time

Our kids are awesome. From the minute they wake up in the morning, until bedtime, I just love them to pieces. Now, they have their moments, just like the rest of us. Sometimes I would like to just lock them up for a bit until I can feel the love again. This usually occurs around late afternoon or at dinnertime. It is something I can count on and I have learned to deal with it (I have resorted to other methods besides the above-mentioned locking up).

Another thing I can count on is three snuggle bugs at bedtime. Something about taking a bath and putting on those jammies just turns them into sweet little bugs that I just want to eat up! What is just incredible is that they are not only snugly to me and Allan, but they are to each other as well. That just melts my heart. I realize that this is short-lived, so I relish it while I can and soak it up.

The other night I decided to capture this snuggle time on camera. Everyone was in Emma's bed giggling and loving on each other. Then, it was mom and dad's turn to get into bed with each of them and snuggle. When they are teenagers and fighting endlessly with each other, I plan to make posters of "snuggle time" and put them on the wall next to their beds. :)

Will is growing up

I knew it was coming. I really did. No matter how well I might have thought I was prepared, I was probably just fooling myself.

The week started by Will announcing that he will longer be wearing underwear with pictures. Those are for little children and now that he is growing up, he will need me to buy him some plain colored underwear, or better yet, white ones. OK, then. I could understand that.

Next, he wore cologne to school. This was HIS cologne (Aqua di Gio) that he had acquired by flirting with the cologne ladies in the department stores. When he got home from school, he told me that the girls were "crawling all over" him that day. He ended up "stuck" in the slide and one of the girls just didn't want to let him go until she kissed him. Evidently, he got away.

Because of this situation, Will decided to not wear cologne to school the next day. When he got off the bus, I asked him how things went since he didn't have the cologne to attract the girls. He said they STILL crawled all over him. It wasn't the cologne at all! It was the way he LOOKS! I was completely speechless and the conversation went no further. Really! What do you say to that?!

On Thursday, he announced that it was time that he made cookies from the cookbook that Nana had given to him. He chose Snickerdoodles because they are Nana's favorite and I never make them (mostly because I really don't care for them). Since he is now Mr. Big, I decided to let him do it all. He read the ingredients, read the instructions and then mixed them up. Not even an egg shell went into that batter. I had to help with the cream of tartar because it didn't want to come out of the jar, but otherwise, it was all Will (much to Emma's dislike, of course - she ended up crying in her closet). When it was time, Will rolled the dough into balls and then the sugar-cinnamon mixture. At this point, he allowed his sister to help, thank goodness. While I was helping Emma with the rolling, Will decided to get out the cooling rack and place the hot-out-of-the-oven cookies on it (using a hot pad for safety, of course). He was awesome! When the first batch was cool enough to share, he took the cookies to the neighbors. One neighbor invited him to eat the cookies with tea outside on their lawn. So, we all joined the tea party and had a lovely evening!

Enjoying tea and snickerdoodles on the lawn

Jack enjoys his milk from a tea cup!

Part of me is sad to see Will growing up so fast, but another part is so proud of his progress and accomplishments. So life goes....

New Patio Furniture!!

After searching the globe for the perfect patio set, I realized that I had found it. The problem is that I found it last year, at Costco, in Indiana. After fruitless searches, it was determined that nothing else would compare to the set that I LOVED from last year.

Being the determined person that I am, I made it my mission to obtain this patio set before summer was here. Most of my searching came up empty, but I was bound and determined to get THE patio set.

This is an abbreviated version of my ordeal....

I thought I had hit the mother load when I found it at the Costco in Greensboro, but lo and behold it was "sold". Darn. I was fortunate enough to get the sku from the manager there. He then did some searching for me and he found one in Charlotte. GREAT! It is only an hour from us and I could pick it up the next day. Everything was arranged. While getting ready for church the following day, we received a phone call from the Charlotte Costco and the manager said that they didn't have a set. It was sold under the wrong sku and was no longer in their inventory. He corrected the situation by having one from Georgia shipped to our local Winston Salem Costco. It finally made its way to Winston and Allan picked it up with a neighbor one night last week. Thank goodness for neighbors! He happens to be a salesman for Callaway and has a huge utility truck that he uses to display his golf equipment. We decided that this would be better than putting the table on the roof of our rental van (why we had a rental van is another long story!). Good thing! Because the table was so heavy that they needed to use a fork lift to put it into the utility van. Once it arrived at our home around 9pm, we were on the phone calling up neighbor #2 who happens to be a US Marshall and is built like a brick - house. He came to the rescue and helped Allan carry it up the 2000 deck steps. After all of that we have our furniture!! Hooray!!! WE LOVE IT!

Here is the table.......


And we discovered last night that it came with a cover that is so big that it covers the table and all six chairs! How awesome is that?!


Thank you Allan for spoiling me!
xo

My Mother's Day

Me and my awesome kids on Mother's Day!

Words cannot describe the joy and love that I felt both for and from my children this Mother's Day. As the children grow older, they are able to express their own feelings of love in so many different ways.


Jack showed his love with wet kisses, bear hugs and lots of loving looks using his enormous chocolate brown eyes. He started showing his love at 3am. He was SO tired as he didn't nap at all on Saturday, but he just couldn't sleep. We loved each other a lot while rocking, hugging and finally flip flopping in our bed. Note: Daddy helped with some of the loving and eventually had enough love and slept on the couch!


You would have thought Mother's Day was a day to celebrate Emma as excited as she was for it to come! She made a MOM sign for the refrigerator and gave it to me the minute she got out of school on Thursday. On Saturday, she couldn't stop saying how excited she was for Mother's Day to come. She has made a note for me almost everyday of the past week, saying "hape moth da Mom". She is insistent on sounding out and spelling words on her own. :) Sunday morning, Miss Emma came bouncing into our room with her rat's nest hair and sleepy eyes. In the sweetest voice ever heard, she whispered "happy Mother's Day, I have to go potty". After going potty, she showered me with kisses and was off for the kitchen to make more Hape Moth Da Mom signs and help Will make me breakfast. She continued to shower me with love throughout the day with out-of-nowhere kisses and hugs.


For Will, Mother's Day was all business. He woke up and went straight to work in the kitchen. He fixed a tray of granola, water in a travel coffee mug ("because kids can't make coffee") and a bowl of Fiber One cereal. He brought it to me in bed with a huge smile and a nice juicy kiss. Then, he was off to more Mother's Day business. He made a vase out of paper, went outside and picked some flowers from the yard to put in it. He presented this to me with a huge explanation of why they weren't nicer flowers and why there weren't more, the reason behind the gift, how he made the vase, etc..... Thankfully, Will isn't past the hugs and kisses yet, so I got lots from him throughout the day.


Allan, I believe, really appreciates what my job as Mom entails. So, he and Will got together and decided upon a gift. This was the gift of all gifts. One that had lots of thought put into it, one that evoked surprise (remember, I am the woman who could never be surprised) and shock. After Will's baseball game on Saturday, they all took me to an undisclosed location. I thought I had the surprise figured out, like I always do. I was fully prepared to pick out a bicycle with the help of a professional at this special location. When we pulled into the parking lot and I saw the BERNINA sign, I was speechless! They were buying me a sewing machine!


This is something that I have wanted for a long time. However, I didn't want just any sewing machine. I wanted a good one that would last until it was time to sew for my grandchildren. One like my mom's that has lasted over 30 years. I wanted a Bernina. Well, I got my Bernina. I was so surprised and excited that I didn't know what to do. I argued with Allan that now as not the time, that it was too much money, blah, blah, blah. But with after looking at Allan's adorable, loving face and watching the kids jumping up and down with excitement, how could I refuse? Now, I am just tickled and can't wait to use it. I have to take some classes and of course, purchase some thread and fabric before it can be enjoyed, but that will be coming soon! For now, here is a picture of THE Bernina. Emma requested that my first project for her be a butterfly. Hmm......I may have to get a little more creative than I thought!

Thank you, Nana!

Hi Nana! It is me, Emma. I wanted to say thank you again for the polka doted dress and the glitter lip gloss. I wore both to church on Sunday and received lots of compliments (on the dress, not my eye). As you can see, it fits me perfectly. I especially like it because it is like a wedding dress with lots of ruffles underneath. I love you. XO

Curtains make a difference!

We finally found curtains that we liked for our family room and kitchen! Did I say "we"? Actually, I, Tanna, found them, Allan fussed about the cost, I justified and pleaded and then Allan gave in and hung them for me. :) Nonetheless, they are up and we both LOVE them. It makes such a difference in the rooms. They add such color and warmth. Not that our winter was cold and drafty, but I am guessing that this upcoming winter will be a lot more cozy with the curtains up.

Here is the kitchen....

Allan hanging some of the curtains......This is the family room. Unfortunately, because of all the back light, the shot isn't the best. The curtains are red with tan stripes. They just "pop"!

And here is my 9th wedding anniversary gift that I bought for myself - a mirror to match our console! I don't normally go out and buy my own anniversary gift. In fact, I generally insist that Allan follow the gift guidelines based on which anniversary it is. However, we have both been wanting a mirror for the entryway and I came across a smoking good deal (at Pottery Barn, of course!). So, this year Allan is off the hook.

Do I Need Help?

OK. I admit it. I am turning into an old woman.

First, it was the bird thing. My high school friend (her name will be omitted to save her dignity) and I are obsessed with watching birds and figuring out what kind they are. This concerned us both because it is something "our moms would do". Nonetheless, it is a subject that comes up almost every time we talk and we really dig birds.

Now, it is the gardening! I knew I had a problem when I told my mom today that I had bought the last of my flowers for this year and she laughed. Well, she roared, actually. This is something my mom enjoys with her friend. Something that she can dabble with and enjoy in her spare time.

What is up with me?! I LOVE it. I am obsessed with looking at flowers, flower magazines and garden centers. I could spend hours looking at my flowers, dead-heading, watering, planting, watching for seed growth, etc. This is something grandmas do, not mothers of toddlers! I should be watching for children falling off lawn chairs or crossing the street illegally, not new buds or leaf growth!!

The first step to recovery is admitting the problem. I have done it. We'll see how I do.....

Here are some photos of my latest obsession. Fear not! I will post more as they mature and grow throughout the summer. I also have to note that these are just a COUPLE of my flowers. I just haven't captured them all on film yet.

Rocket Man

While taking our weekly spin through Costco after church on Sunday, we came across a couple price reductions that we hard to pass up. We purchased a Tiger Shark kite that is purple and very intimidating which will be the perfect toy for our upcoming beach vacation. We also found a rocket that is blasted by a pump that you push with your foot. I thought it looked a little cheesy, but the guys in the family were all geeked out over it, so I gave it a thumbs up. Let me tell you, that rocket will soar!!!! It is hysterical to watch Jack jump with all his might on the pump and make the rocket fly (pretty high). Then comes Emma, who throws her whole body into jumping to really make it soar. The real Rocket Man is Will. He stood on the driveway and aimed the rocket to fly over the deck to the other side of the house. Allan and I were on the deck and about fell out over how far he got this thing to fly. It was awesome!

Point: Listen to your kids (husband included) when it comes to picking out the fun toys!

Here are some shots of the fun new toy.