Da-da-da-Diva

Nana has found a good use for my old prom/formal dresses.  Keatyn accessories with her crown and Cinderella heels.  The middle pic I took of her at church last week.  This kiddo loves her a pwincezz dress!

In other diva-ish behavior...she's still not a fan of the car wash.  But she's learning to cope, with Trace's help.  Ha!

The BIG TEN

Today, I celebrate 10 years with this guy.  He has put up with me, loved me, dried my tears, made me laugh, and given me my 2 precious little loves.

I don't know what I'd do without him.  And hope to not find out for another 50+ years.

 The way we were...

I found this one last night and texted Lu.  10 years doesn't sound like much until you think the baby sitting in my lap is now a middle schooler that's as tall as I am.
 
 We are admittedly fatter, wrinklier, grayer, and balder (cough) but who isn't after 10 years?

And all those things that gave us the wrinkles and gray hairs, are what I wouldn't trade for the world.

Not to mention the 15 extra pounds I'm still carrying around after birthing 2 babies.

Wouldn't. Trade. For. The. WORLD.

We've been talking for weeks about what we should do to celebrate 10 years.  A trip seemed to be the most obvious choice.  An adult trip, that is.  But then, this man, that didn't think he wanted children said... "I don't think I can go off and leave them, even for just a few days."

And I fell in love all over again.

So we are planning a little get away for the 4 of us between Christmas and  New Years.  Something kid friendly, and full of family fun and that's just perfect with me!  We will have years when they're grown to jet off to Aruba and bask in the sun.  I want to make memories with them now while we can.

For now, I'm happy to settle for a nice date night dinner at Ruth Chris and going home to watch our wedding video, which has become our tradition.  I need more and more Kleenex every year as I see the ones we have lost. 

For 10 years I've caught heat over our first dance.  He reminds me all the time and every time we watch the video how I was looking around and waving to the crowd.

That is something I regret.  We walked straight in to our reception, to hundreds of people and I couldn't focus.  I wanted to see the flowers, the food, the set up, the cakes, the band, the centerpieces, where the bars were, did they get the big screen for the SEC Championship game.  Months and months of planning and decisions had culminated into this one night and I couldn't concentrate on dancing with my new husband because  I wanted to take it all in.

I now give this advice to brides planning their wedding.  DO NOT let the first dance be the first thing you do.  Look around and let it all sink in, hug your family and friends, THEN go dance with your new husband. And actually look at him.

I googled Alabama's song "There's No Way," our first dance, and tonight after the video I asked him if I could have a re-do.  We danced in our living room, holding the iPad, while Keatyn bounced around us singing Ring Around The Rosie as she tried to poop.

It was incredibly smelly romantic.

But this is what our life looks like10 years later.

And it's real.

And it's wonderful.

And we are Blessed.

Turkey day in our PJs

Oh yes.  We did the unthinkable.

The unconstitutional, unAmerican, NOT what the pilgrims would have done... unthinkable.

We spent Turkey Day in our pajamas. 

AND, wait for it...

We ate spaghetti.

Gasp! The horror...

Not because anyone was sick, or cranky, or menstrual.  Just because we could.
(And we had done Thanksgiving with my family on Sunday and Jimmy's parents were in Destin. ;)
Well, let me clarify.  The 3 smartest Cofers spent Thanksgiving in our warm and cozies, bundled under blankets by the Christmas tree watching the parade and Tom and Jerry's Wizard of Oz.  Our fearless leader, spent it on a mountain, up a tree, in 15 degree weather with a wind chill of 7, waiting for Bambi.  The man is cray, cray!

I was so certain, in fact, that the kids and I would remain in our PJs that I allowed Cheeky our Elf to arrive atop my car, propped up against the garage door opener until Papa Bear returned mid afternoon and Cheeky could make his big reveal.  (The big reveal was me sending Trace out to the garage to throw away his sister's poopy diaper, tied up in a bi-lo bag ;)  Ahhh, the memories.

And he did not disappoint.

He even wrote a little note reminding us of the true meaning of Christmas and how we are to show God's love by helping others. ;)

I love my little reader!  So proud of him...

Cheeky brought some loot.

The Polar Express, new Christmas plates, popcorn, hot chocolate and M&Ms.  The ingredients for the perfect family movie night to kick off the Christmas holiday.

So, what did my kids do?  Make a pillow nest, of course. Someday when they're old and gray (like mid 30's) I pray they will remember the times they dragged every blanket and pillow in the house into the living room to pile up and watch a movie. 

(And guess who usually puts ALL those back?!?)

But it's totally worth it!  

He's Spiderman with a little side of Iron...

I can't believe another Halloween has come and gone.

And another cheap, worthless pumpkin carving kit has been bought, cussed, and then thrown away.  At some point you'd think I'd get the clue.  But I'm a sucker.  This year, I even deluxed it up with a MOTORIZED kid knife.  It lasted about 3 jabs into the good ole' jack-a lantern before it went in the garbage.  There's another $7.95 I'll never get back.  Next year, we're sticking with the tried and true butcher knife and daddy.  Sorry kids.

We jazzed it up this year, using marshmallows for teeth.  An ode to Granddaddy.  The kids loved it.  Apparently, so did the wildlife.  The next day, the poor guy didn't have a tooth left in his head. :(

The weekend before, Marilyn came in from Virginia.  She comes every year around Nanny's birthday and it is always so great to see her.  I forgot to take pictures of our annual Krystal dinner.  Maybe it was because it also happened to be Krystal's 81st birthday and everyone in the tri-state area decided to come buy a Krystal burger for $.25.  Since Emily is due in a few weeks with Gunner, we decided to make Sunday dinner a baby shower as well so Marilyn could be here for it.  I can't wait to meet that precious boy!

Speaking of precious boys...

We attempted this picture last year, and I swear it took a year off my life.  This time went much smoother. :)

Kissing cousins?

I knew I had maybe one more year to do matching outfits before the near decade era of "princesses" began.  In fact, if you asked her up until Halloween day what she was going to be, her reply was always "a pwincezzz"  (You have to imagine the little 2-year-old lisp)

I ordered Trace a Spiderman and Ironman costume (thank you Zulily) back in the summer and he said Spiderman was his choice.  So we needed a SpiderGIRL to match :)  On our way out the door to Keatyn's preschool party, Trace asked if I still had my Cat in the Hat costume (which I hadn't worn since I was 6 months pregnant in 2010)

Mind you, I was already fully dressed in regular clothes (shoes on and everything) but how many more Halloweens are my kids going to want me to dress up with them???  So, into the closet I went, and after some digging...
(Notice our toothless pumpkin)

I may have been the only grownup besides the HPC staff that was dressed up, but oh well.

Then, 2 nights later on Halloween...

Spiderman became Ironman.  And the cuteness of matching Spidergirl was totally lost.  But you've got to pick your battles.  I'm slowly learning.

We trick-or-treated at Kadi's parents house in Valleybrook and had a great time!  I decided my heart couldn't take chasing a 2-year-old through the streets IN THE DARK, so we went earlier this year and skipped our usual pre-trick or treating dinner.  (So yes, my children's entire nutritional intake for the evening consisted of sugar, sugar, and more sugar.)

The "more mature" generation was not quite up to making the haul this year and opted to sit on Carol's front porch swing passing out the loot.  Between my mom's recent knee surgery, Sylvia's recent neck surgery, and Aunt Gail's booted foot, they were a sad, sad bunch.  I pray all the Grands will be back to 100% next year!

So glad to have these fun family traditions on Halloween!
I secretly hope these 2 give us another trick or treat-er soon!  ;0
 
It's 6 days post Halloween, and the kids have kinda forgotten about their pillowcases of candy on top of the fridge, but Jimmy and I have managed to pilfer every Twix, Baby Ruth, Snickers, and Tootsie Roll from their stash.

We call it Candy Tax.  Might as well teach 'em while they're young.

Forget-Me-Nots

In this crazy, busy season of life, it's easy to let the little things slip by.  But the little things added up are what make life worth living.  I'm vowing, as we quickly head out of 2013 to slow down and make documenting the "little things" more of a priority.

I think I can, I think I can, I think I can...

Trace had his friend, Alex, from school over to spend the night a few weeks ago. They had SO much fun!  I pray these boys are life long buddies.  They are both shark crazy, so after school I took them to the IMAX the see the Great White 3D movie. Then we came home and made a fire to cook hotdogs and smores, and Spiderman made a brief appearance. Jimmy pulled out his duck blind tent and the boys were so excited to camp out in the living room. 

I couldn't believe they slept in that tent on the hard floor until 8 a.m.  I got up about 3 times in the middle of the night to come cover them up.  Then, we had a pancake breakfast and were off to the Hamilton County Fair to meet up with his family.  His sister was dancing at the Fair so we played for a while and then met his parents.

On the 15th of October, we celebrated one of my absolute favorite people in the world!!  My precious Nanny turned 85.  I pray we have many, many more birthdays to spend with her!

It's safe to assume, Keatyn's high school job will NOT be at the car wash.  The poor child points every one of them out when we drive by.  I always have Trace move over in his seat and hold her hand when we go through it.  Bless it, even the Sonic Cherry Limeade didn't help.

Trace's Fall party at school...

Awe, a daddy and his girl...and her dolls.  Jimmy was trying his best to watch the Tennessee game but Keatytn needed a little play/cuddle time. And what a girl wants, a girl gets.

 

CCS had their homecoming a few weeks ago and the teachers all danced at the pep rally.  Of course, I had to go get footage of Lucia shakin' her thang on the field.  That night at the ball game, the kids all ran out at halftime and did the Cha-Cha Slide.  Mr. Salter, the P.E. teacher had been teaching it for weeks.  It was ADORABLE! I'm not so sure how much attention paid in class after watching his moves.  

But he improvised well ;)

So, I had one of those full circle moments the other night.
When we were building this house 9 years ago, I remember thinking, "One day, I pray I'll be standing here in the kitchen cooking dinner, and my kids will be doing homework at this bar.
And well...

That's when life's little blessings hit you square in the face and all you can say is thank you Lord!   

Just a glorified scrapbook

Well, I sat down with every intention of finishing this post last night (that I started 3 weeks ago) when I realized I had just gotten out of the hot tub with a glass of wine, and then taken a sliver of Ambien.  Probably not the best combo to compose coherent sentences.

So I went to bed.

You're welcome.

Some night, most nights, the stars just don't seem to align for me to sit at the computer loading pictures and typing on the blog nearly as much as I'd like.  Take tonight, for example.  As I write this, some obnoxious type of music is blaring through the computer speaker from a PBSKids.org game Trace was playing 5 hours ago.  And I have no idea how to turn it off. I guess I'll have to wake my 6-year-old up to show me how.

See...stars not aligning.

Anyhoo...I read quite a few blogs.  I have for years.  I just recently added 2 new ones to my weekly rotation.  :)  I realize these women spend A LOT of  time writing, editing, composing, and posting these daily blogs. For some, it is their job. Others, a hobby.  They talk about everything from their faith to fashion to family to food.  I honestly don't know where they get the time, nor the topics.

I started this itty bitty blog when Trace was 16 months old as a way to remember his childhood.  I MAY have 3 readers (2 of which are my mom and grandmother ;0)  Needless to say, I'm not doing this for anyone but myself. Since I can't remember the last time I actually developed a picture onto paper, it has become more like an online scrapbook/photo album. One that I pray in 20 years will bring us tears of joy and laughter as we look back and remember our "babies" as babies.

I simply photo dump all the pictures from my phone every once in a blue moon and try, try to remember the circumstances behind them.  Most are of no significance.  Just everyday life.  But I don't want to forget a minute of it.

So, if you're still here...enjoy. 

My favorite kind of Friday night.  The kids made a pillow nest in the living room and snuggled in for good ole' Tom and Jerry's Wizard of Oz.
They may or may not have clothes on under those blankets. That's just how we roll.

(Oh look, K put on a shirt!)

 Drinking "smoothies" from the Nutribullet.  (Sneaking in the spinach amongst all the yummies... just call me Jessica Seinfeld. :)

   Trace hasn't been fooled.
 
We had to upgrade our big boy bike to a bigger bike. I'm going to be looking down on this kid in about 5 years.  (And I realized at 7:15 a.m. as he was walking out the door for school, that he's outgrown ALL of his pants from last spring.  Yes, mother of the year sent him to school in high waters. This is what happens when you leave for the beach for Fall Break and it's 75 degrees outside, and come home to winter.  Wasn't there supposed to be a "Fall" in there somewhere???)

I've often said, if you're born a redhead, you're always a redhead at heart.  My little fireball has lost the strawberry blonde locks she was born with, but boy is she still FiRe-Y!!!  Sisty gave her her first trim and saved all the red baby hair for me.  sniff,sniff
She is such a blondie now, but who knows how long that will last!
 

Last Wednesday we took the elementary kids from church to Morning Pointe Assisted Living for a back to school party. (told ya this post was old)  It was PRECIOUS to see the 2 generations mingle.  They played get to know you activities, ate cookies and ice cream and ended the night with a game of Pictionary.  Trace had to draw "Math" and they got it.  So cute!

Ms. Retta texted me this sweet picture of Keatyn saying the prayer before snacks at school.
"God our Father..." is a stable at our house.  Love her!

She can keep the "fire" as long as she keeps the sweet. 

Sometimes the simplest moments, mean the most. 

Summers End

We have been squeezing the last few drops out of summer.  When you go back to school in the middle of August, when it still feels like the inside of an oven outside, it makes for tough times.  Penny and I took Xander and Keatyn to the splash pad the other day and I made sure every drop of water was dried out of K's hair before we picked Trace up from school.  Nothing's worse for a 6-year-old than jumping in the car after an agonizing 7 hour day of 1st grade to find your mom and sister smelling of sunscreen and pool water. Luckily, she didn't spill the beans. Or if she did, no one could understand her ;)

Why can 2 kids never look at the camera in the same picture?!?

August is the birthday month around our house...Jimmy, Sisty, and Granddaddy.  Sugar shock anyone?

We were back and forth, but reluctantly decided to go to my 20th class reunion.  I'm glad we went, but I'm glad they only come around every few years. High school was not my favorite.

When you can hear the band from your front yard playing at the Friday night football game, it's safe to say you'll win the award for "lives closest to the school."

Memorial Day, we went to Kadi's mom and dads pool for a little R&R. If there's such a thing with 2 kids running around.  (It was fully fenced and we had it to ourselves...R&R)

Dad's new truck.  It's safe to say, he's in love again.  This may be T's one day!

Or hers.

A last of the summer boat ride and Amigos on the water.

Her lovee somehow ended up overboard, swimming with the ducks.  So we didn't let her have it the rest of the night, because it had "duck tee tee" all over it and needed to be washed.
(That's one way to break the lovee habit ;)

My salsa queen.  She ate half a bowl before we even got our water.

Feelin' the heat...

 
Dunkin Doughnuts on a Saturday morning.  Heaven on earth!

Bring on FALL!!!