She finally did it!!!!

This may not seem like big news to some of you - but for Steven and I it was HUGE!!! Emma came and told Steven that she needed to go to the potty. (That is not that unusual - she does that a lot....................after she has already gone in her diaper!) So he (being a good daddy and all) took her back to the bathroom and put her on her potty...........................and she actually went in it!!!! This may only be a one time shot for a while - but I DON"T CARE!!!! Who would have thought that two people could get so excited over something that we all do everyday and don't even think about it? Below is the picture I took after Emma had done her business. She wanted to catch up on her reading :-)

In response to Terri's comment .......No she is not flipping to a naked man :-) He actually has on a light orange shirt. She was shopping for new clothes for her daddy! (it is an LL Bean catalog)

Cry Baby!

Emma has decided that she doesn't like wearing her "seat belt" all the time. Coming home yesterday evening she kept trying to get it off and screaming "seat belt off".

If I can just wiggle my arm through............

Quit taking my picture Mommy!

(By the way - don't ask me how I took these. You really don't want to know :-) )

Pizza anyone?

We stayed over at the Hill House for dinner one night. Pizza was on the menu - but Emma has never been a big pizza eater. I was in for a surprise. She ate a whole piece all by herself! I am very blessed to have a child that will eat almost anything we give her.

I know this thing unfold somehow.........There we go!!!
Now if I could only get some out.................

Why?

This morning I was watching the news and of course the number one story was the tragedy at Virginia Tech. I still cannot believe it. How does something like this happen? Thirty two lives were lost at the hand of one disturbed young man. How is it that he was able to get to the point where he felt the need to leave his room and start shooting at people? There have been reports about him, mentioning some disturbing papers and screenplays he wrote and was taken to 'task' for and had to see a counselor. How was he allowed to have guns in his dorm room? How and why?????? There was also a story about WKU looking into a text messaging alert system if something like this should happen here. But is that really enough? School shooting are becoming more frequent. I look at my daughter and want her to be able to go out and experience life, to grow and learn. I want her to be able to go to school and not only feel safe and secure to be actually BE safe. By the time she starts school, will that even be possible.

I went to high school in Connecticut in a fairly small town. We only had one high school (but it was HUGE!). I remember at the time feeling like we were 'watched' way too much. There was always a couple of security guards parked out front by the main drive to check the students comings and goings. And of course we had 'hall monitors'. It all seemed a bit much then. Now almost 20 years later, the school is starting to resemble a prison from the outside. There is a large fence and gates across the drive. There are now armed security guards monitoring not just the students, but everyone. It is not the most attractive look for a school to be surrounded by a fence and armed guards, but after all that has happened the last few years, it may not be a bad idea. I know that some schools have metal detectors at the entrances. Again, not very attractive but not a bad idea.

Please, stop for a few minutes today and pray for the victims of Monday's tragedy and their families. Pray for our children, that we are able to keep them safe, yet allow them to venture out into the world to learn and experience life. Pray for us, as parents, that we will be able to guide and teach our children. Then, take a few minutes to hug and love on your children. Because no matter what we do they will grow up and lose their innocence. Treasure each moment that you have them.

Thanks for 'listening' to me babble.

Mommy Brain???

After Terri posted her thoughts on 'Mommy Brain', it really got me thinking about it. It is a phrase I have used for years, not only on myself but on friends that had kids long before I did. I used to be one of those people that could remember the most unimportant little details about almost everything. Then I turned 30! I could tell that I was losing brain cells. My girlfriend was pregnant with her first child at the time and relied on me to remember things. I still remember one day when she asked me a simple question about a date - I looked at her, my mind churning, and realized that I had no idea what she was talking about. She looked at me in horror and said "Oh no!!! Now what am I going to do? My calender is broke!" To this day, she doesn't rely on me to remember anything!!!

I could tell that I wasn't as "sharp" as I used to be, but I didn't think it was too bad. Until I got pregnant that it. Good grief - I thought the baby was sucking my brain right out of my head. And if that wasn't bad enough, then once Emma was born, what little brain power remained must have been left at the hospital. There are days that I realize if God had not permanently attached my head to my body - it would get left somewhere. This is not a good thing!

Now to give those of us with 'Mommy Brain' credit...................we are busy women. We have a person that is dependent on us for everything! Plus, the house, meals to prepare, loads of laundry, shopping, a husband, and for some of us a job outside the home. We have to by necessity, become major multitaskers. Some days I do okay with the whole multitasking thing, but other days..........................not so much! I now have to write everything down. If it doesn't get written down - it most likely will not be done or remembered. And once I write it down, I have to remember where I wrote it!

Quiet time for me is pretty much a thing of the past. It does happen occasionally but usually in very small doses. The shower, the car (after I have dropped Emma off and before I go to pick her up), when Emma goes to bed (and Steven is out of town) and the rare times I am home by myself. These are the times I attempt to get my brain back in gear. Sometimes it actually works for a short spell. But 9 times out of 10, as soon as I have to contemplate doing two things at once or remember something that has nothing to do with the task at hand I am once again at a loss! I would love to think that it will get better, but I am pretty sure that it just isn't going to happen. Once a mommy, always a mommy! And all I have to do is look at my own mother, she also has to write things down :-)

Hoppy Easter!

I hope everyone had an enjoyable day yesterday. I also hope you managed to stay warm! It was definitely cool here, but at least we didn't have snow :-) We went to the Hill House after church and had a BIG feast. Before we ate, I took Emma outside for a few pictures. She looked so cute in her dress and matching coat. Scott, Bethany and Ethan ended up joining us for dinner so we had a houseful. After we ate, we bundled up Ethan and Emma and took them outside to do a little egg hunting. It took Emma a couple of minutes to figure out what was going on - but once she did - boy was she on a roll! I think she had a good time hunting eggs, but I know she had a better time opening the eggs and seeing what was inside!

Update

For those that have been asking about Greg - here is some new information.

They took him back into surgery on Friday morning to finish connecting his new liver. They connected the bile duct and fixed some bleeders. He came through this second surgery very well. After a couple of days he was taken off of the ventilator, but he was coughing so much and due to the pain meds he was having problems breathing, so they have had to put him back on. Hopefully, today they will be able to take him off of it again. He is by no means out of the woods yet, but he has overcome the first big hurdle. He has a long recovery ahead of him. They are hoping to start some rehab with him by next week. Please keep him in your prayers, and also pray for the donor family.

Doodlebops

I took Emma to see the Doodlebops last Friday night. Since she was DeeDee Doodle for Halloween, she got to dress up just like her again. Unfortunately, she would only wear her pretty pink hair while we were in the hotel. Once we got to the concert, the hair stayed in the bag!

We went to see the show with my friend Jody and her four kids, Mitchell and Cassidy and the twins. Luckily, the twins are due to arrive until October. I would have loved to have seen us with 5 kids at a concert! Yikes!

Emma really seemed to enjoy it. She was mesmerized for the first part of the show. She just sat there and kept looking at me and pointing to the stage going "Doodlebops". (As if I didn't know) But would you believe that after intermission (the show started at seven), Emma climbed up into my lap and went to SLEEP!!! I don't know how anyone could sleep with all that noise, but sleep she did! Needless to say, she was a bit surprised when she woke up and we were outside in the middle of downtown Nashville!

"Big Bootie"

Here are the pictures I promised of the Apples playing "Big Bootie"

It was really too funny. Everyone tried really hard to get it and by the end - I think they all did!