Ella and the Chop...

Ella and Layton are like peas and carrots most of the time. They enjoy playing together. Sometimes, Layton gets a little too rough for Ella. They adore spending time together though.

Weekend Activities...

Over the weekend, Ella got another pedicure. You can tell from the picture that she is loving every minute of it.

Layton made some more faces for the camera.

We went to Outback Steakhouse.

Wow. We are so much fun. (Read that last bit in your best Ben Stein voice).

Mmmmm...Spicy...

Friday, my family went to Maria Bonita to eat. Maria Bonita is a quaint restaurant in downtown Athens. Having eaten there before with little success, I was skeptical to try it again. I was thrilled this evening. The service was fabulous and the food was excellent. After we ate, we walked about downtown and took a few photographs. Have I mentioned that Layton is obsessed with making crazy faces for pictures? I think the one of him sitting in front of the Confederate memorial is hilarious! Also, notice how girly Ella looks. She is sporting her Vera Bradley purse which was also purchased in downtown Athens at Trinity's Gifts and Interiors (formerly Grayson Scott Interiors).

Belles and Beaus...

Recently, some young women I know took a huge step. They opened their own business! It's bound to have been a huge undertaking, but Lacy and Kate have handled it with grace. I have been in several times already. They have tons and tons of cute stuff!! In fact, I purchased something that has me squealing with glee! I'll let you guess what it is. I am planning a post about this item for next week. If you are in downtown Athens, make sure to stop by Belles and Beaus. You will not be disappointed!

Dinner with the Family...

We recently ate dinner at the Village Pizza. It is a great pizza parlor located in downtown Athens. The owners are friendly and keep the atmosphere casual. They serve excellent bread sticks, grinders, and paninis. I don't even know how to spell that. The BLT is to die for!!! Ella insisted I make her picture with the flowers out front. I have no idea why Layton is making that silly face while sitting on a bench. He likes to pose and make silly faces right now. I suppose it is just a phase.

Don't They Ever Get Tired of Being Cute?...

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun...

Last night, some ladies I know had a girls' night! We went to the Limestone Tavern for drinks, song, dance, food, and FUN! These were some of the snapshots I took. Lacy has some on her blog too!

The Tavern is having its own version of American Idol for the next several weeks. There is a $500 prize for the winner. Vote for Lacy! :)

More later......

Hadley...Nuff Said...

Plugging a Cyber Contest....

So, I have never done this before, but I'm gonna do it now. One of the blogs I stalk is having a contest. Mommiedaze is giving away a product from Bags by Annie. I love to wear an apron while I'm cooking and cleaning. I probably don't wear an apron often enough...as evidenced by the splashes of grease, bleach, and other food items all over my clothes. I only have one apron at home. There are a number of vintage inspired aprons made by Annie. They remind me so much of the ones my grandmother used to wear when she was teaching me how to make various treats. I couldn't resist blogging about it; I think I am going to have to get one of those aprons. My grandmother will be so proud! :)

Name This Blog...

Greetings my followers! I need an actual name for my blog instead of just random titles that are changed from time to time. Suggestions? You are all invited to help give it a name!

Blurry Photos I Told Steve I Would Put on the Blog...

Friends Mix Well with Water...

We were blessed to spend Sunday afternoon with our friends Angela, Nathan, and their adorable girls, Alexis and Lily. We had such a good time! The children loved getting to swim and play together. Layton thinks Lily is the sweetest girl in the world. Hadley and Charsy had a blast jumping off the diving board and harassing the younger children. It was more difficult to get them to hold still for a photo! Alexis and Ella had a lot of fun too. They were like two peas in a pod!

Moving on Up...

These two photos are from the last day of school the girls attended. It was Hadley's last day in elementary school and Ella's last day of kindergarten.

Wow!!!

Five of you! That's impressive. I am up to five followers! In real life, I can't even get five people to eat lunch with me. Apparently, I am easier to tolerate in the blogging world! :)

My Little Women in Downtown...

Because everyone in my office is out of town and my babysitter is out of town, the girls have come to work with me today. They are fairly well behaved at my office. For lunch today, we walked to Luvici's. It's a southern food restaurant that serves plate lunches as well as a la ca rte items. The girls love it! Then, we walked another block to Bennett's to look at shoes. Both Hadley and Ella loved the Presbyterian Church's garden that is nestled between the original structure and the Rogers Center. The Rogers Center was acquired some time ago by the church and renovated to house the youth Sunday school rooms, a lovely kitchen, eating area, and a beautiful parlor. My family attended First Presbyterian Church. I didn't transfer my membership to Jay's church until after my father passed away.

Overall, it has been a decent day thus far. I have gotten some work done, taken my girls to lunch, walked a little bit (go exercise), and been able to create a new blog post. I promise to get more pictures of the little ones up soon.

The Most Favorite of the Favorites Listed So Far...

This is part of the downtown area of my hometown. I love downtown Athens. It is one of the nicest places around. There are restaurants, children's clothing stores, churches, hardware stores, gift shops, legal offices, accounting offices, and the court house. The court house sits in the middle of what is known as the "square." I think I am going to use my actual camera (not the one on my phone) and take some good shots of downtown for the blog. In one of the photos I took while out walking to lunch, you can see a "Spirit of Athens" banner attached to a light fixture. The SOA is a local community organization that is dedicated to revitalizing the traditional business sections of downtown. There are several plans on the table to keep downtown Athens beautiful and busy for years to come. Please click here to visit the Spirit of Athens blog.

Another Favorite Thing...

The picture above is one of my favorite things. It is my Vera Bradley 2009 Agenda. There are lovely pockets in the front and back. The pages are large enough that I can write tons of information on each day. I like to use a paper clip to attach invitations to the applicable page. The Agenda folds in half and fits neatly inside a purse or laptop case. And yes, that is the poison control hotline in the upper left corner. There are some things a mother has to have handy!

Blurry but you get the point...

Ella loves a pedicure more than anything else on earth. I recently took her to get one. I was unable to get a decent picture on my phone, but you get the idea. She loves a pedicure!!

My Favorite Things...

Recently, I took a survey on Mommiedaze. It's a blog I like. The survey was all about bloggers and who you are...if you get paid...do you receive free products...etc. Of course I don't receive any compensation for my posts; I don't receive free products either. Much like in real life, I am a big, fat, nobody on the blogging scene. It's a hobby that allows me to rant about anything and everything and to show off my herd of children. I think my mom looks at it from time to time. My husband probably checks it to see what kind of security breach I have created. It's Cody's homepage....or at least he lied and told me it was. I made a decision though. Instead of reveiwing products for compensation and freebies, I am going to review products I use everyday just for fun.

Today's product: Head and Shoulders.

I LOVE Head and Shoulders shampoo. When middle nugget was a baby, she had excema. The pediatrician recommended that I use Head and Shoulders to help with the cradle cap and excema problem. It worked like a charm. I got used to the smell of it on my small child and have been using it ever since. Heck, I buy it at Costo in the large containers that you can never actually empty. Who am I kidding? We have a gaggle of children, so I buy everything at Costco in huge quantities. Anyway, back to the review of the product.....the smell is light and clean. My hair feels clean all day, and I have been able to avoid build up by alternating between the 2-in-1 and regular shampoo. What else should a review include? Oh yeah, fiscal responsibility...it is more expensive than Suave and other low cost brands, but in my opinion it is worth the extra expense because of the smell, functionality, and sentimental value.


Overall: I give Head and Shoulders five out of five stars.

There is no such thing as 100%...

I have always assumed that when the pediatrician recommends a vaccination, that the shot would prevent the ailment. This is not entirely true. Some vaccinations actually do prevent the ailment, and other shots are not 100% effective.

The varicella vaccine is a shot that can prevent chickenpox. It is called varicella because the varicella virus causes chickenpox. Up to 90% of people who receive the vaccine will not get chickenpox. People who get chickenpox after having the vaccine have a milder form of the disease.

As of right now, my children fall in the 10% who get the chickenpox anyway. If you haven't had the chickenpox or the 'vaccine'....stay away from my house.

Pet Peeve....

I have a cell phone. I have a land based phone line for my house. I have three land based phones lines in my office. I have two email addresses; one is for home (web based) and the other for work. I have a facsimile in my office.

I get slightly more than zero cell phone reception in my office. I have no windows. My office is the innermost room of a cement building. In the event of nuclear apocalypse, my office is a safe place to be.

Why is it that some people refuse to accept that there are other ways to get in touch with me besides my cell phone?

If you call my cell phone while I am at work, 9 times out of 10, I will NOT answer. My cell phone will NOT ring. If my cell phone does ring, it is because I happen to be standing out front holding my cell phone. If you have a question related to what I do for a living, call my office. Plain and simple.

Even though I have told a certain client at least two dozen times not to call my cell phone during business hours, he still ONLY calls my cell phone. Inevitably, when I leave for the day, I will walk outside and hear my phone chime alerting me to voice mails I didn't know I had. Then, the guy gets mad at me for not returning his call until after 5:00. Time after time I am greeted with...."I only deal with business during business hours. Call me tomorrow!!" Time after time I remind him...."You know my office phone numbers. You know my email address. Please use one of those two methods to contact me during the day. I don't have any cell phone reception in my office." Without fail, he calls my cell phone the next day.

The 'Carnival'...

A while back, we took the nuggets to a "carnival." I am using that word loosely because the newspaper wasn't quite accurate about the "carnival." There weren't many rides. Layton only got to go on two, and an employee of the event kept trying to get me to go on the road with him. The kids really enjoyed the fun house and sno cones though. :)