"My next 30 years"

Thirty years later the world is a better place. Thirty years later MY world is a better place. Thirty years later, he's grown into a responsible, hard-working, handsome, wonderful husband and father. Thirty years later, he has a few gray hairs poking through his red goatee. (But don't tell him I told you that!)

My husband celebrated thirty years of life a couple weeks ago. He was hesitant at first about turning thirty, but I think he soon realized just how lucky he is at that very age. He was only 18 when I met him and he had dreams of making it to the NFR and dreams of marrying a beautiful woman and making babies with her. Well, the woman and babies thing became a reality (hehehe) and he's learned to settle for "competitive softball Dad" for now. I tell him it's never too later for the NFR. Our kids will be grown one day and we'll need to do something to occupy ourselves!

To celebrate his thirty years, we threw him a shin-dig and invited a bunch of family and old friends. It was a super fun night and I hope it helped to show him just what he's accomplished in those thirty years. He's made lasting family relationships, life-long friendships, and he has a wonderful life to show for it all.

Here are some pics from the night. There were a lot of people there, some of which we didn't get good pics of. Thanks to everyone who came and made the party a night he will never forget.

Here's the birthday boy himself


Him with his girls and his Memaw and Pawpaw


Him and two of his best friends (old runnin' buddies from the single days!)


Some family and friends (I take NO responsibility for their actions!)












Dancing with both of his daughters, a very special birthday gift




Another birthday gift, a little less special, but nonetheless HILARIOUS!


It was a night full of laughs, a night full of memories that will last forever.

It's not every night that you get Happy Birthday sang to you by a group of little league softball girls and it's certainly not every night that your wife wears a mini dress in your favorite color! Only for you. ONLY for you.

Hope the first 30 years are NOTHING compared to the NEXT thirty years.
We love you now and forever.

Drama Queen #2 turns FOUR!!!

My baby is no longer a baby. Or a toddler. She's a big girl. And she knows it.

It's cliche, but, wow, time flies! Seems like just yesterday I was rocking her and cuddling her and giving her butterfly kisses. Oh wait. That was yesterday.

For her 4th birthday party this past weekend, we had a BRIDAL BIRTHDAY PARTY on Memaw's back sun porch. It was a beautiful day for a porch party. I stole the bridal idea from Traci at livingthegoodlife5.blogspot.com She did it for one of her daughters and I thought it was the cutest idea. So, we copied and we had a blast!

Of course, the birthday girl was the bride and all of her friends were the adorable bridesmaids. They looked so cute in their fancy dresses and with their beautiful bouquets that I made myself! They colored wedding placemats, drank punch out of antique glasses, took photos with their pretty bouquets, shuffled through their wedding gift boxes, and ate some suuuuuuper good cake! It appeared that they all had a fantastic time. One day they'll look back on these days and be grateful that one of their friends had a mom that could steal the best ideas EVER! **Thanks Traci**

Here's the beautiful, elegant birthday BRIDE







Here is a group shot of the bride and all of her beautiful bridesmaids


The cake...courtesy of The Little Cake Company (Muskogee, OK)


My girls...Drama Queen #1 and Drama Queen #2


Happy birthday baby. We love you so much. You are getting so big. You are becoming a smart and beautiful little girl. And thank you to all the moms for bringing your girls to my daughter's special day.

Another milestone down...

The TIN GRIN.

It's gone.

(tear tear tear)

No more metal mouth. No more tin grin. No more brace face.

All that's left now is a ridiculously mature looking 8-year-old.

That smile I'd grown so warmly accustomed to is gone. She now has a correct bite and really pretty straight teeth. And she looks about four years older than she did yesterday morning. Ugghh! I hate it. And my husband....well, he said she's not allowed to go out in public anymore and that I have to pull her out of school and start home-schooling her. He's serious. He has PDD. "Protective Daddy Disorder."

So, here's my beautiful EIGHT YEAR OLD now.



One good thing that comes out of this whole thing. She gets to have braces AGAIN. Oh yeah. In about 4 years. So, in four years, when she IS 12, maybe she'll get her braces on and go back to looking like she's 8?? Maybe???

I can always hope.

"Yummy yummy that's a pizza pie"

(please read the below in a very sing-songy manner...)

"A pizza pie is made with dough and then we throw it...into the air.
Into the air!
Yeay! Soon, we'll add some sauce, and then some cheeses...and then we bake!
Just like a cake!
Yummy, yummy, that's a pizza pie!
Yummy, yummy, you toss me in the sky!
A pizza pie is very nice;
It's good to eat them by the slice!
Yummy, yummy, yum.
Baking pizza's so much fun!"

*that's the Elmo pizza song for all of you non-mothers*

My darling daughters and I made some home-made pizzas last night. They were super easy, mega fun, and exploding with robust flavor. Not really, but hey, keep reading anyways. I'll give you the how-to in case you and your punks want to make some brilliant Italian-cafe style biscuit pizzas (haha on the Italian-cafe style). But, honestly, they are affordable (cheap is such an ugly word), fun to make, and pretty tasty. Plus clean up is almost non-existent! Yippy! More time to do laundry or clean toilets.

Here are the items needed for your "pizza pie" (please note I'm a Great Value buyer. Same thing + lower price = super savings!)



(canned biscuits ("grand" ones are good, no butter flavored, get just PLAIN or Homestyle), pizza sauce, mozzarella cheese, and pepperoni minis, or you could do hamburger or sausage or whatever toppings you wish. With older, less picky kids you can be really creative: pineapple, peppers, mushrooms, onions, etc.)

My daughters are simple. Cheese + pepperoni = YUMMY

First step: Bang your biscuit can as hard as you can against whatever surface you choose. Countertops work wonderfully. Make sure small children are out of the kitchen. Hopefully the can will slightly explode allowing the biscuits to escape. If not, throw the can away and call Pizza Hut.

No pic available here. I couldn't "bang" and "click" at the same time.

Second step: Separate your biscuits and place one on a plate. Roll them with a rolling pin, or if you lack such fancy household items, you can do what I did and smash it real good and flat with a spatula.



Next, spoon some pizza sauce onto your nicely smashed biscuit crust...



Add the cheeeeeese pleeeeeese...



Add your pepperoni or whatever topping you have chosen...



Transfer to cookie sheet (non-stick or spray with non-stick spray). Cook at whatever temp the biscuit can calls for and for around the time + or - a few minutes. Just watch them. When the cheese is melted through and your biscuit crust is good and golden - they're done! Remove, let cool slightly, and devour.

Here's one of the final products. This is pre-oven. Post-oven pics are not available - hungry mouths devoured the beautiful products before good ole' Mom could grab her Sony.

Sorry... blame my nerds.



Here's the wonderfully creative chefs behind this Italian masterpiece...





Hope your pizza pie creations are just as drool-worthy as our's were. If they aren't, I hope you don't have my number.

Drama Momma

I may be tootin' my own horn here, but I have to give credit where credit is due.

My daughter, age 3, has recently decided to venture into her own business. It's every woman's favorite place to be, every juicy rumor's birthing center, and every broom's worst nightmare. It's a SALON. She takes this job very very seriously. She tries really hard to give each customer exactly the "do" that they would love. The "do" that would get them noticed. The "do" that sets them apart from all the other "do's" in the city. The "do" that could land them a job, get them a man, or even cure a bad self-esteem. She's a magic-maker, a wish-granter, and a woman's best friend.

Now, with any talent, doing hair takes practice. That's where good ole' Mom comes into play. She has done her sister's hair. She has done her aunt's hair. She has done her grandma's hair. She's probably even done her boy cousin's hair. Well, last night she asked good ole' Mom if she could "Make my hair beautiful". Of course, I was much obliged.

This was the outcome. I was very pleased. I do think my "do" sets me apart from all the other moms in town. I do think my "do" helps my self-esteem, and I'm pretty sure my husband was totally appreciative of my new "do". He used the phrase "hot momma".

I call this a success!
(sorry, no make-up)



Here's the really great part of my new "do". The back! It shows so much individuality. And she used all my favorite colors!



She said last night, "If you wake up real early and wake me up, I can do your hair for you to go to work". I told her that wasn't necessary. A hairstyle that beautiful is meant for a night on the town where everyone can appreciate it, not for a lonely office suite.

**I have a feeling that statement will soon bite me in the butt.**

So, if you see me at Wal-Mart and I'm lookin' like a movie star, you'll know. I've been at the salon.

Let me know if you are interested in a "do" of your very own. She has some open appointments.

Stylin',
Drama Momma

Take my picture, take my picture

Here's some shots I took a couple weekends ago of Drama Queens #1 and #2 - PER THEIR REQUEST. It's before #1 had a softball tournament and she was fierce looking, or so she thought! Drama Queen #2 of course had to be in the shots too. Can't have one feeling less important or less picture-worthy.

I don't know if it's just my kids or every kid, but they love close-ups of their faces. Like they want to see up their noses or something. Or see how bad their eyebrows need tweezed. Not sure, but they like them as close as humanly possible, like so close that their heads look the size of watermelons. Who knows? It's probably just my weirdo strange kids.

Clooooooose up of #1 (she's been brushing good - no misc. gunk in the braces!)(and she has a neck tattoo - she wants to be a UFC fighter when she grows up. hahaha)


Clooooooose up of #2 (She has a rose tattoo. She wants to be a biker chick when she grows up!)


Here's both the drama queens in all their glory


The lighting in this one is a bit junky. I need to write a letter to Sony later today. Maybe they'll move the sun or maybe just pay for me some photograhy classes. :)


Hope you enjoyed. I'll let you know how it turns out with Sony.

Drama Momma

School lunches are AWESOME...

Do you remember your first day of third grade? I only somewhat remember mine. I remember I had a wonderful teacher, Mrs. Carolyn Robertson. I remember I had on brand-spankin' new white Keds. I remember my hair had been rolled in sponge rollers the night before and I looked like a Texas pageant queen. I remember my best friend Brianne was in my class and I wanted to get there early and make sure that I got a seat right next to her, you know, so we could compare Keds. I remember that it was the highlight of the year. You got to see everyone's new school clothes, you got to hang out with friends you didn't see over the summer, and you got to eat those yummy school lunches. Okay, so the school lunches part is a lie. But still.

Well, my big girl experienced her first day of third grade last Thursday. She was very calm about the whole thing. She found out her teacher and she was very excited. She was excited about seeing her friends she hadn't seen over the summer, she was excited about her new class in a new grade, and she was excited about the school lunches (that's NOT a joke, my cooking could obviously use some work!). She says, "School lunches are awesome". Hmmm, I'm working on it, okay?!

This is my baby on her one and only first day of 3rd grade



She's letting her hair grow out. I think it looks beautiful!


These are her new "kicks". That's teen-slang for shoes for you old folk.
Let it be known that I'm a momma who let's her children make their OWN decisions! Thus...these shoes...


I hope her year in 3rd grade is as good or better than mine was. She's getting so big so quickly. It hurts me to the bone. Yep, all the way to the bone.