Museum fun...

The Mississippi Children's Museum opened up a few weeks ago, and we took Sam for his first visit this Saturday.  I must say, I think they did an unbelievable job with it--it is AWESOME.  He had an absolute blast.  And for those of you who have girls, they have plenty of exhibits that are girly, which I think is really nice.  It always seems like museums usually focus more on masculine things, so it was great to see dress up areas, stages, ballet barres, dance areas, etc.  We were there when they opened, and we had no problems with crowds.  Sam asked me today when we are going back to the museum--I have a feeling it will be soon. 


Washing windows



Pumping gas with Dad





Working on some plumbing



Building  his house--we watch a lot of HGTV

Shopping at the Farmer's Market

Painting/Drawing in the Art Area

Working in the stone quarry

Strumming his banjo.  

Cooking waffles

Driving the shrimp boat



Racing cars

And yes, I know he needs a haircut.  I'm working on it.

Why?

Why in the world do children have to get sick in the middle of the night? Is it some unwritten cosmic rule? 

I was asleep for maybe an hour last night before the puking began.  And I am washing A LOT of sheets today.  It's not pretty. 

Here's hoping that tonight won't find me in the same situation.

Day three of...

Getting up, passing my child off to my parents, going back to bed, getting back up, showering, putting on clean pj's, eating my mother's food, watching football, and re-reading Harry Potter for the umpteenth time.  In short, it's been a glorious Thanksgiving holiday.  GLORIOUS. If you're judging me for my laziness, it's just because you're jealous.

I hope that your holiday has been just as fabulous.

The schedule for this afternoon:

1. Sit on couch in pj's
2.  Finish my book.  Again.
3.  Play Words With Friends
4.  Watch football.
5.  Eat peas, pork tenderloin, okra, macaroni and cheese, and chocolate cake
6.  Pray that the bulldogs win.

Since I've been really slacking on my blogging, I'm cheating and posting a bunch of recent pics.  I pinky-swear I'll be better about posting this month.

I cheated on Halloween this year, too.  I figured that this year might be my last year to dictate what Sam wears for Halloween, so he wore last year's cute hamburger costume again.  I'm sure next year he'll want to be something with an ugly mask.  Blah. 

A rare family pic before a cocktail party.

At a pajama party with Santa. (Santa declined to wear his pj's.) Sam was more interested in the reindeer suspended from the ceiling than in having his picture taken with Santa.

Playing in some leaves at Grandy and Mimi's.  

Praying that his daddy is still in a good mood later tonight.  Go Dawgs!

All I Do Is Win...

 I never said that winning is pretty, though.  It certainly wasn't this past Saturday night. That "W"  was ugly.  However, 6 wins = bowl eligible no matter how unattractive and sloppy our team played.  Christmas came early for Anthony this year, and he has spent some time today researching and booking hotel rooms in possible bowl locations.  And yes, he realizes that we still have a nasty schedule remaining.  Let him have his fun. 




We were fortunate enough to have skybox tickets, and at one point I thought my husband was going to throw himself to the ground.  Seriously. My mother-in-law graciously took Sam home after halftime, and that's when Anthony went into "Losing Is Not Fun With Sherm" mode.  Anybody remember that guy?  He's not cool to be around. 

Family pic.  Sam was interested in 3 things:  The Jumbotron, the band, and his Papa's binoculars.  He thought he could change the channel on the Jumbotron by using the tv remote.  Good thing he can't because I don't think the student section would be happy with PBS on during the football game. 

Sam had NO NAP at all that day, but did surprisingly well. 

 His nap the day after the game?  4 1/2 hours.  He was spent. 

Hayride & Pumpkin Patch...

Last week Sam and I went with his little school on a hayride.  Once he saw that he would be pulled behind a tractor, I think his year was made.  It was a lot of fun, and he loved getting to pick out his pumpkin. 

Not flattering of me for sure, but I have now become the mom who's never in pictures because she's always taking them. So I'm putting it up.   

Checking out the goats and the cows. 

Picking out his pumpkin.  For some reason he thought you had to sit on a pumpkin to determine its suitability.  Maybe he knows something I don't.   

Running through the hay-maze.  It was a big hit. 

Cookie Monster...

 Those of you who know us personally are well aware of our fondness for sweets.  Fondness is probably too mild of a term, but I'll roll with it anyway.  A few weeks ago, I thought I'd get into the Halloween spirit and let Sam try his hand at baking.  He had a big time.

And made a big mess.

Oh, well.

He had a ball...

 I know...I'm really, really, behind.  I'm trying to rectify this problem, so please excuse my backlog of pictures. 

At the Georgia game this year, I was fortunate enough to have my entire family in town, which NEVER happens anymore.  Both brothers were in attendance, and the Bulldogs were able to pull off a much needed win against, well, the other bulldogs.  I was just glad the guys in maroon won.  It was also Bulldog Bash that weekend, so while we sweltered in the sun, Sam enjoyed himself quite thoroughly. 

Apparently it's way more fun to throw the balls out of the ball pit while telling everyone within hearing distance what color they are. 

"Red, blue, anutta blue, yellow, geen, anutta yellow, geen, arnij..."  (Obviously this is Samspeak.  I try my best to stay away from heinous spelling errors, but I'm only human.)

He could have done this for hours.  I, however, could not.  Did I mention how hot it was?

To get him out of the ballpit, I convinced him to get his face painted.  He wasn't so sure about it at first, but then he warmed up to the idea. 

Post-game.  One of the very few adult pictures I have of my brothers (and my dad.) My mom had taken one for the team and had left much earlier with a very hot and tired Sam.  I realize I look disgusting here, but have I mentioned how blooming hot is was that day?

Do we look alike? Most people think so.  Does Sam look like me?  Most people don't think so.

Dear Bulldogs,

Thank you.

Thank you for making my Saturday fabulous even though I never left the comfort of my home.  Thank you for showing the nation that we are not an automatic win on everyone else's schedule.  Thanks for battling in hostile territory against a team who, in all honesty, has more talent.  Thank you for my constant feeling of nausea for approximately 3 hours.  Thank you for trying your hardest for 60 minutes. Thank you for making my husband scream, flail, and do strange dances in the living room.  Thank you for the great publicity you gave our wonderful university.  Thank you for making me feel as if I were in college again.  Thank you for getting us just a little closer to making plans for a bowl game.  Thank you for letting me be a proud member of the Bulldog Nation. I always love you, Bullies.  It's just that tonight I love you a whole lot more. 

 I won't mention that you may have made my husband tear up with happiness tonight--not that he minded at all.   

Much love and Hail State!

Why is it that...

Sam is always waaaay more excited to see his daddy than me?  Don't get me wrong--the kid loves me, but when I walk in from somewhere, his response is, "Oh,--hey, Mom."  As in, "I thought someone was missing, but I wasn't really worried about it."

When Anthony walks in, it's like a ticker-tape parade around here.  "It's Dad! It's Dad! Come here, Dad.  Let's play basketball." 

Maybe I should start shooting hoops. 

Sometimes I feel like somebody's watchin' me...

So I may have mentioned that the house we bought last May had been sitting unoccupied for quite a while.  At least it was unoccupied by humans. 

Shortly after moving in, we awoke to the sound of bumps and thumps in the attic.  Quite unnerving at 3:00 in the a.m., let me tell you.  The guy who was working on our house at the time told us that it was probably squirrels or raccoons.  He sprayed some fox urine (yes, you read correctly--I don't know who in the world collects or sells fox urine, but it must be an interesting line of work)  in the eaves of our house, and we didn't have visitors for about 6 weeks. We thought everything was fine.

Then fall actually decided to flirt with the idea of sticking around.  Our furry friend(s?) got cold and  decided to move back in.  Not cool.  They are noisy neighbors, and they never pay rent.  We knew there was no choice but to call....The Critter Catcher.  Yep, that's his title.  Seriously. 

He came and set a  no-kill trap, and the next morning we met our squatter.

She's awfully cute, isn't she?  I was glad to know that The Critter Catcher takes the animals back out into the country and releases them into their natural habitat.  It made me feel better about evicting our raccoon friend. 

Admit it...

Pretty much every woman in the world finds it attractive if a man is musically inclined--especially the piano or guitar.  (Unless you're the guy who was almost 50, three sheets to the wind, and playing the guitar ALL AFTERNOON LONG before the Georgia game.  You, my friend, need to find another way to pick up chicks.)  But I digress...

All I know is when I was a freshman, it seemed that a guy could be a little short in the looks/personality department, yet still have plenty of dates because he could strum a tune. My friends, Sam has already figured out that music opens up all kinds of doors in the dating world.  However, his instrument of choice is the     oh-so-soothing...

Xylophone. 

Laugh now, but the kid can kill it.  I'll be happy to send him to your house for practice sessions.  Just let me know. 

Season Opener...

Saturday was eventful to say the least.  Where to even start?

My dear, sweet, husband had worked his hardest to secure a place for us to stay as a family after the ballgame.  On our way into town, we decided to find it and check it out. Well, let's just say that after seeing it, I was extremely skeptical, and that's an understatement.  I think what I actually said was, "I hope nobody's cooking crystal meth next door."  Seriously.  Not exaggerating.  Not even a little. 

However...maintaining Anthony's gameday mentality is a must.  It's what he lives for, and I didn't want to ruin the day.  I can deal with just about anything for one night, right? It's okay if there are stray animals on a gravel road with dirty diapers in the driveway--I can deal.  I just kept telling myself that.    

Moving on.  Sam's performance was pretty darn good.  Except for the fact that we've been working on potty-training, and he chose Saturday to have stomach issues.  TMI.  I know.  He really was great.  He loves a cowbell, and he loves Bully, so Saturday was a great day for him.  He ate an inordinate amount of sweets, but that's no real surprise. 

Anthony went into the game and left the 2 of us at our tailgate to watch the game there.  I got to see us come out of the tunnel, and then....kids throwing a football knocked over the satellite.  I didn't get to see the game at all.  Ask me how unhappy I was.  Just ask me. 

I'll tell you.  I was furious.  We had warned them multiple times to watch out, but they didn't seem to care.  And they were old enough to know better.  I was bitter to say the least.

Anthony came out at the half to get some tylenol for a headache, and we decided that we would leave a check for the people whose house we rented, mess up the sheets, and head home after the game.  Thank. The. Lord. 

It was a long day with some complications, but Sam was great, the Dawgs played well, and I didn't have to stay in a crack-house.  Pretty good day. 

Gameday Eve Schedule...

1.  Arrive at practice facility in my shiny ride.  Check out my rims--8 1/2 inches. 

2.  Sign some autographs.  Go over my playbook one last time with the coaches.  Looks like I need to be on my best behavior tomorrow.  I don't want any penalty flags thrown, and I certainly don't want to burn all of my timeouts. 

3.  Pre-game meal.  Nothing gets me ready for gameday like PB&J with juice. 

4.  Watch some game film. 

5.  Take one last nap---with my pom pom. (and my books, xylophone, blocks, and George sheets.) 

We're ready.

Can I Get An Amen...

I'm pretty sure I complain about this every year.  Does anybody else have the trouble that I do finding something appropriate to wear to the first football game of the year?  It is such a pain, and it stresses me out every time.

For those of you who live in cool weather climates, this isn't a problem.  For the residents of the Dirty South, it's a massive issue.  I don't know about you, but I hate buying super summery stuff this late in the fall, especially when Labor Day is this weekend.  On top of that, all stores are pushing their fall/winter merchandise, which I won't be able to wear until at least October because of the heat. 

My criteria for football wear:

1.  In the heat I prefer a dress--nothing binding, lots of breathing room.

2.  Something that doesn't require "special" undergarments.  Who wants to deal with that all day?

3.  An outfit that isn't too short, but not too long.  I'm not that tall.

4.  Something that I can wear with fairly comfortable shoes, but I'm willing to sacrifice some comfort for  some cuteness.

5.  And the kicker for this week--they've asked MSU fans to wear white.  Since I'm chasing Sam at the tailgate, I can't even go into the game, but I'd like to at least try to be in the spirit.  I'm hoping cream will count, because it's all I've got.

Next week they're asking for people to wear maroon, which is a whole 'nother bag of tricks.  I wish other schools knew how good they have it when trying to buy something cute in their respective colors. 

Blue? Easy.  Red? Beyond easy.  Purple? Not quite as easy, but doable.

Maroon?  Wow.  Just wow.  I usually end up in something magenta and call it a day.

If anyone out there has some secret football-wear store, fess up.  And don't tell me to wear a jersey with jeans.  Homegirl doesn't do that. 

Hail State!

Ain't Life Grand...

A few weeks ago, we packed up and headed down for our annual trip to the Grand Hotel.  We've gone the past 3 years, and we love it.  When I'm down there, I sometimes feel like I'm on a second honeymoon--except that I'm with a 2-year-old.  My fabulous in-laws were gracious enough to take us down, babysit a lot, and foot the bill.  We booked a ton of pool time and quite a bit of lying around time.  I even got a massage courtesy of the husband.  Lazy days = happy mom.    

We fed the ducks...

 

...and fed them some more...

...and a little bit more just to make sure they were full. 

Like his Elvis face?  This was before he broke his grandparents' camera.  Thank you.  Thank you very much.

Family pic.  Excuse my frizziness.  It was humid. 

One more

Now you know where Sam's curls came from.

2009

2010