Back At The Ole' Homeplace....

Our Mill Hole.

Feliz Navidad

Like any good Santa lovin' kid....Kalaya put cookies and milk out for Santa on Christmas Eve.

Nessey had other plans in mind for those delicious gingerbread men. (Also, and this note is for Blakley, you know how you say you always feel like you could have done better as a mom? Yeah well, we had plans to make homemade gingerbread cookies for Santa that night. Guess what? Thank heaven for 7-11! Bought those lovely gingery men at 9:30pm that night and placed them with care on a plate at 9:31pm for Santa. We just try to get by people- we do the best we can)

As you can see, Kalaya got a princess tent along with walkie talkies and backpack to go hiking with us in Alabama. EVERY single present was opened and promptly placed into the tent for safe keeping.
All but the drum set obviously. We are starting a band soon-- 2yrs and under need not apply. We are mature musicians here.

Loved her new Mickey Mouse earrings. ( and no Lolly, I did not just give her a box with a piece of white cardboard in it.)

Of course all presents got the good ole 'check and feel' to see if we could determine if it was super fragile or not.

Christmas Overload

Don't become a victim.

Merry Christmas 2009

Have a Merry Christmas! I hope you get all you wanted!

Eat lots of good food! (whatever that may be)

Catch up on all your rest if you can!

And try to act like a kid again!

Kalaya Hears a Who

This is Horton.

Horton hears a Who.

The Who's live on a "speck".

Horton carries the "speck" around and protects the Who's.

This is Kalaya.

Kalaya has a good imagination.

Kalaya has a "speck" too.

Kalaya carries the "speck" around and protects her "lil fellas"

Saving Private Flyin'

" Oh, hey there Ms. Maynard. Good to see you home early today. You don't umm uhhhh usually come home this early do you?"

"What are we doing here? Oh you know, a little peckin', a little scratchin', chasing a worm here and there."

"Yeah, we know we aren't in our yard but you know what they say? The grass is always greener on the other side. Am I right or am I right?! HA HA"


"What do you mean ' do I know what happened to the other chickens that lived here'? That sounds a bit threatening Ms. Maynard. You know we are the new generation of food substanance in America don't you Ms. Maynard? We've rallied ourselves together- we have a union. You can't treat us this way anymore. If you want any more of our eggs you have to respect us now."

"I'm sorry, did you just say that you don't like eggs? Well then that's great- we don't need this hostile stand off over egg vs yard scratching rights anymore. We can join together 'mano a wingo'- right my sister?!."

"I'm sorry- did you say something? You mumbled. Ohhhhh, you eat alot of chicken fingers?"

("Red Wing Delta this is the Screamin Cockerel- I'm going to need you to abort the home invasion. Again I repeat ABORT ABORT! The enemy is approaching and I won't send my men home to their chicks with any less fingers then the none you have! ABORT GENTLEMEN! We'll live to fight another day!)

It's growing!

2 Hours

2 hours.

That's exactly how much time I get to spend with Kalaya on a daily basis.

It sucks.

I work for a tax software company and guess what time is drawing near? You got it- tax season.

I work 10 hours days and on Saturdays now.

It stinks.

Nothing makes you feel more like a terrible mother then only getting to see your child 2 hours a day. I already feel like other people raise her just by having her go to a babysitter every day--- this does not help the situation.

Not to mention she's got a raging sinus infection that makes her just miserable.

What can I do?

Well that list is most assuradly shorter then my " What I can't do" list.

That includes:

I can't get her ready in the morning and spend the extra time making her look cute and fixing her crazy-crazy hair. (which let's be honest- Daddy's were not made to fix hair. Cars- yes, maybe. Little girls hair, no)

I can't make sure that she's eating well which means limiting the Bug Juice drink daddy likes to buy her and making sure she doesn't try to sustain herself on applesauce and yogurt.

I can't make sure that the TV isn't on all day long putting senseless nonsense in her head. (we're 'no tv' people now if you can't tell. Being cheap actually pays off sometimes)

I can't wipe all the " cookies" out of her nose- as she calls them- and make sure her fever is down.

I can't make sure that she gets the right amount of discipline that is becoming necessary as a sweet little 3 year old begins to realize she is her own person.

I can't do anything.

I can give a kiss goodbye in the morning and a kiss hello in the evening- followed closely by being tucked snuggly in bed.

Every morning I have to explain to her that mommy has to work to pay for her sweet little girls house and toys. It just doesn't seem right to a 3 year old though. To them, mommys job is number one playmate, snack distributor, and boo-boo kisser. No one explained to her that some mommy's have some other things to do too.

God bless the stay-at-home mom's and the dad's that work so the mommy's can. Not all of us working mom, but this one in particular, wishes everyday she could do the job that you do.

I know Kalaya won't be warped because of this 3 to 4 month little space of time where I have to work these hours. Matter of fact, I know she won't ever remember it.

But, heavens to betsy! I sure will remember it and it sure does hurt.

All I want for Christmas is time.

Who Ya Gonna Call?

Take A Look- It's In A Book.....

Makes me feel like singing the Reading Rainbow theme song---

"Butterfly in the skyyyyyyyy. I can fly twice as higgghhhhhh....

Contradiction At It's Best

Store For Sale By Owner.

Store Is Not For Sale!

The Early Bird Catches The Christmas Worm

Kalaya gets her own tree this year. Yes, we know we are early but you know, we just couldn't help ourselves. We're just festive, cheery people! She had a blast putting it up and thank goodness for prelit trees.

Mister Pre-Lit Tree creator-man....you are my hero.

Old Friends, New Blessings

What a wonderful thing long lasting friendships are! God definitely knew what he was doing when he put myself and my three best friends from highschool together. He must have also had a sense of humor. Who would have imagined the self proclaimed clumsy band nerd, the sports star, the new kid in town, and the music ministers daughter would all end up in a friendship that lasts a lifetime?

And now, almost 14yrs later, we're still together. Yes, miles seperate us now. And yes, our families and jobs make it difficult for us to see each other as we like. But when we do get a chance, it's like no time has ever passed.

I miss my girls.

I often think about what an enormous blessing the Lord has given me. I have had good Christian women as my support and my greatest source of laughter for years now. I couldn't ask for more than that.

Sure we look grown up with all our gorgeous kids. We're supposed to:) Doesn't mean we don't know how to still act like kids ourselves and that's the joy in it.
I am so proud of the women and mothers Hollie, Lauren, and Blakley have become. I look to them as role models and comfort. I thank God for them.

Eat Your Heart Out Rachel Ray

Toes---it's what's for dinner.

(there's no visual with this-it's just the audio. It was dark out)

This Is The Day That The Lord Has Made!

What a country little girl I have! She's so adorable when you get outside with her. So many plans and ideas and not enough time to do them all. We are constantly picking flowers, planting flowers, looking at bugs, hiking through the woods or going on walks, looking for animals and enjoying all the great outdoors has for us. This week, thebible verse she is learning is " This is the day that the Lord has made!"

We say it every morning and sing the song whenever we can.

Just saying it every morning certainly makes my day look brighter and more beautiful.

What a wonderfully and majestically awesome world God has created for little ole me!

Halloween Review

Who ya gonna call?:

Ghostbusters!:

Dora pumpkin:

Boots pumpkin:

Kalaya and Chase at the fall festival:

Vaquero Tio:

Someone stepped on her blue suede shoes:

Justice's 1st Halloween:

Elvis and a Cowboy walk into a festival:

Cowboy Alex:

Sweet Elvis:

Happy 1st Birthday Gus Gus!

Local Singing Talent Looking for Good "Doo Wop" Girls to Sing Back Up

Are You Un-American If American Adventures Made You Hurl?

KK and Eric had Kalaya and I over for a fun filled weekend. We were planning to go to the zoo but since the weatherman said it would rain- we cancelled that.

Did it rain? No. Are weathermen EVER right? No comment.

Instead we decided to go to American Adventures. Good idea right?! You don't pay to get in or park and you only have to pay for what you ride. Sounds like a winner to me.

What turned out to NOT be a winner is the fact that every little kiddie ride there made me want to upchuck all over the child in front of me. (Notice the grimace on my face- also notice the pallor of my cheeks resembles the yellow of my sweater very closely)

I have NEVER been sick on rides in my entire life. But after having Kalaya, something totally changed and amusement park rides are right on top of my "Don't Do" list along with....

3.) perm your hair because everyone loves curls (Amusement Potential 1-3 seconds after completion) Once you've made your transformation into A.C Slater, are the curls really going to attract the right kind of men anymore? No, I think not.

2.)Trying to not think about polar bears (Amusement Potential: 1-5 minutes) This is especially hard,because by trying too much, you remember what you were trying to avoid thinking of. If you try too little, you end up thinking about polar bears anyway.

and number one---

1.)Push your eyes for interesting light show(Amusement Potential: 1-5 minutes) See a variety of blobs, stars and flashes. Try to make out things-is your subconscience trying to send you a message? Can you control what you see by pressing different areas with different forces? Would it be possible to somehow see the same effects on TV?
Basically, I've learned my lesson (about all four of these)

Kalaya loved the roller coaster. Although the excitement was rooted in a seed of sheer terror initially.

But was quickly proceeded by pure enjoyment.

Karen won the jackpot on Deal or No Deal in the arcade and for our hard spent $15, Kalaya got a bracelet, bubbles, a piece of candy, and three rings.
Not to say Kalaya didn't do her job to earn her own tickets....

I hear Fame calling, they want their dancer back.