Thursday, December 29, 2005

A firefighter

I've really enjoyed having the past couple of days off with Rylie. We've played a lot and just had a great time being together. I've gotten tickled at her talking several times. She's started calling me "Mom" or "Momma" now instead of "Mommy." :( I can't believe how my baby's growing up! We had a cute conversation yesterday while she was eating a snack. She was sitting in her high-chair saying, "baby, baby, baby" over and over.

Me - Are you my baby?
Rylie - No. I'm not a baby.
Me - But I want you to be my baby. Won't you be my baby?
Rylie - No
Me - Well, if you're not my baby, then who will be?
Rylie - Santa Claus
Me - What are you going to be then if you're not my baby?
Rylie - A firefighter
Me - Will you be my firefighter then?
Rylie - Yes!

Christmas night at mom and dad's, I was trying to get her to sleep. We were lying in bed talking about Christmas. I asked her what her favorite thing about Christmas was and she said, "Mommy!". That just melted my heart! She said that daddy was her favorite toy, lol.

Saturday, October 29, 2005

Conversations with a two year old

While on vacation:
R: Look cows!
M: Yes, I see them. What are they doing?
R: Mooeying

Today:
R: I make you happy.
M: Yes, you make me very happy.
R: Daddy joined the circus.
M: Really? What does daddy do in the circus?
R: Take care of the giraffes.

Sunday, October 09, 2005

A Day of Rest

That's exactly what we're doing today...resting. Rylie was a handful in church this morning. Luckily the lady sitting next to us had a ziplock bag full of chocolate animal crackers and Rylie ate the entire bag. That helped some, but she was still very wiggly and couldn't be happy doing anything. We went out twice to go potty (once with luck) and threatened a couple of spankings before we finally made it through the service. At least she wasn't the only kid around acting up.

She's now been down for close to 2 hours. I sure hope she doesn't get sick. She said several times yesterday that she felt bad and even a couple of times said she needed to go to the doctor. I don't know if she's really got a touch of something or has just heard me saying I didn't feel good with this cold. She doesn't appear too bad and doesn't seem to have a fever so I guess we'll just watch her and see.

Now, her and William are both taking naps; it cool and damp outside and I have my pj's on again. I've gotten a little bit of digital scrapping in and would love to do some paper scrapping today too if I can.

Saturday, October 08, 2005

...stuffheadfeversoyoucanrestmedicine

That's what I need! I've had a cold for most of the week now and my head still feels like it's going to explode from all the pressure. I've been taking my sinus pills, but haven't bothered with my nose spray. Can't use nose spray when your nostrils are closed up tighter than Fort Knox! So, it's 11:30 am on Saturday morning and I'm in my pj's. I have bathed so they're fresh pj's, but pj's nonetheless. Good thing we're not going to the Corn Maze until next Saturday. It's a shame too because it's absolutely beautiful outside. The high is supposed to be 66 and the sun is shining. I'm going to go outside some this afternoon though and take some photos of Rylie in her Halloween costume. Hopefully that will go alright if I bribe her with M&M's. I have some darling shots in mind, if she'll just cooperate. I want to finally get my pansy's planted too if I feel up to it. William is out in the woods cutting up trees that have fallen. He got most of the yard done this week and hopefully that will be the last mowing of the year. We'll just have to see how that goes.

Wednesday, September 28, 2005

Is it Friday yet?

What a day! Three people from my department were terminated today. All the budget cuts are really hitting home. For now that just means that I have to do my work plus extra that I really don't know too much about. But I'm not complaining; at least I have a job, for now anyway.

Saturday, September 24, 2005


Worn Sweater Freebie preview Posted by Picasa

My digital side

Last time I posted I was just getting into digital. I am still doing digital, but a lot has changed since then. I have learned so much and digital and photoshop! I am having a lot of fun being on the creative team at The Daily Scrap (see my links). The girls are so nice and talented. We've got a Grand Re-Opening starting Oct. 1 and lasting a whole week with so much planned. Then on Oct. 20th we're having a Halloween Party that will be a lot of fun also. Both events will have a lot of freebies and prizes.

Speaking of freebies, that's another area I've been delving into. It's a lot of fun creating kit and quite addictive! My first kit was created to match the smock dd wore at a daycare Mother's Day Tea. My second kit was created based on the colors of her Cute As A Button Gymboree outfit from last year. Both of those kits were posted for free at RAKscraps. If you ever do any digital and you've never checked out their element RAK forum, you should do so. People post free elements and kits there all the time! I have gotten some awesome stuff there. My third kit was created for the RAKs Exchange club for a freebie. I have it on megaupload if you want to snatch it up for yourself. Here is the link: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=AN4BG3UV

I also have several freebies coming out with the Grand Re-Opening and Halloween Party at The Daily Scraps, along with a monthly freebie for my ad challenge at the site, so be sure to check them out!

Paw-Paw Dalt

Paw-Paw Dalt passed away yesterday afternoon around 4:30. Momma, Daddy, Lady, Pat, Mike and Ruth were all there when he went. Lady said she couldn't have planned it better. He was 90 years old this past Monday (the 19th). He had been put in ICU two weeks ago from the nursing home for pneumonia. When I was home that weekend he coded twice; once on Saturday and once on Sunday, both times because he quit breathing. He was put on a ventilator and never got better. I'm so glad he didn't suffer any longer. I'm also so relieved that they finally decided to make him a no code. This has really reinforeced talks within my family of our wishes for life support or not if something happens to us. It's so imperative that people get their wishes down BEFORE something happens to them. It's such a hard decision for the family to have to make.

The funeral home in Amory already has two bodies in it, so they weren't going until today at 1 to make arrangements. With Aunt Myra coming in from Ohio, the visitation won't be until Sunday; she wanted to make sure she was there for that. The funeral will be Monday afternoon. I hope this time since it's Dalt that all of Aunt Shelba's and Aunt Janice's white trash crew won't show up. After Maw-Maw's funeral last summer, we all hoped we wouldn't have to see them again. I know that sounds terrible, but you don't know these folks. I'll spare the details, but lets just say things were stolen from family member's homes in which they were staying and plus there were across state lines illegally to be there in the first place.

Despite my relationship with Dalt over the years, I am saddened by his death. I'm so thankful that we did build some kind of relationship during my college years and after. It would have been nice to have known him better as a child, but I always said Grandpa had enough love for me to make up for what Dalt didn't have. I credit William for making me see that Dalt had calmed down and changed as he got older and that it would be all my fault if I never gave him a chance. I'm so glad I listened to him. He was still my grandfather and I love him and will miss him.

I must do better

I said this before, but now it's been over 3 months since my last post. I MUST do better about keeping up with this thing. So much has happened and my main reason for this blog is to keep up with Rylie and now so much has gone by that I haven't documented. If you are reading this, kick my butt if I don't post again in a week...please!!!

Today Rylie was sitting in her high chair having a sucker after lunch (long story...I'll get to that in a minute). I was on the computer and all of a sudden I hear her calling Jennifer. What? Where did she get that from? She's only 26 months old; how in the world does she know my name? I asked her if that was what she was saying and she said yes. So I asked her what my name was and she said "Mommy Jennifer". I just laughed so hard. I had to call William in there to hear her. Of course she pretty much had stopped it by then. I asked her again what my name was and she said, "Mommy, you're name is Mommy." Oh well. After that I went into the den to get a splinter out of William's foot. She finished her sucker while I was working on it and kept calling out "Jennifer" then. Too funny!

We have been working on potty training for a little while now, but especially the last two weeks. We started giving her surprises when she would go to the potty to encourage this behavior when we were at mom and dad's two weeks ago. She sure did like that idea. Problem is now she goes CONSTANTLY and expects a surprise each time. She was doing really good this morning and had not gone in her diaper at all so I told her we would put on her Pooh panties for a surprise. These are real underwear; not training pants. She did so good for a long time. After a while she decided she wanted to color. Before I got everything out I asked her if she needed to use the potty. Of course not. I put her in her highchair and she went to work on another masterpiece. ;) In just a few minutes she had pulled off the top of her sippy cup and was playing in the milk all over her tray. As if that wasn't bad enough, when I went to clean the mess up, I smelled it. Ugh! Why hadn't she told me she needed to poop? Why, she would have had to stop playing for a minute. I picked her up and rushed her to the bathroom. By the time I got her underwear off it was all down her legs and everywhere! It got all over her, the toilet the bathmat and everything! I tried to clean it up and finally just put her in the tub and turned the shower on. Poor thing it scared her, but William and I were both right there. I bathed her and he dried her off while I went to wash all the dirty stuff. I just threw the poor Pooh panties away; I didn't even want to try to clean those things. YUCK! I feel a little bad now because she loved them, but I told her that she shouldn't poop on Pooh and now they were ruined. I know; bad mommy moment. But with my grandfather dying, my killer headache, the milk mess she had already made, this was the last straw. She told me later I was mean. :(

Now, the little thing is down for a nap after lunch and a sucker (I sure couldn't tell her no now) and I finally have a little piece and quiet. William is taking a nap too, of course. Poor thing had to get up with her this morning a little before 7 so he's tired. Boo hoo. Oh well, if they're going to sleep then I'm going to take advantage of the free time!

Friday, June 10, 2005


Celebrate Posted by Hello

Trying Digital

I was inspired by a few girls at LM to try digital. I know I said I would never do such a thing, but I have found that a lot of the stuff out there now looks so real and not as fake as some of the other stuff has. There have been some great layouts posted at LM that are digital so I decided to give it a try. I was a little intimidated because I have PS and everyone talks about how difficult it is to learn and to use, but I'm finding that not to be the case. I've used it a little here and there over the years to alter photos, but not much else. I get a lot of help from site like e-scrappers and they really make it user friends. So, anyway, I decided to just jump in there and give it a try. Above is my very first attempt. Not great, but I wanted to try something really easy to start with. The page was already done so all I did was alter my photo and put it in with the subtitle and the top.

For my second layout, I used a kit from shabby princess. She has some great stuff and lots of cool free kits!


I'm really having fun with this and learning lots of new things about PS. I don't think I would ever want to go totally digital, I love the textures in paper scrapping too much, but this would be great for the occassional pictures or a theme album. Next month we're starting doing a photo a day over at LM and I think this would be a great idea for those pictures. And it's so cheap too! I've found a ton of free kits and stuff online the past few days; it's really amazing what all is out there.

An update

Wow, I can't believe how quickly the time passes. Here it has been a couple of weeks since I posted again. William left yesterday with Jay for his trip to Haspin. I'm glad he did get to go; I know how much he looks forward to this ride every year, and I know with the weather as hot as it is it will be his last ride until well into the fall. He called last night and while I was talking to him they got pulled over by a cop. Luckily, they didn't get a ticket, but the 4-Runner has a tail light out; we had no idea. We'll have to get that fixed as soon as he gets back. I sure hope he's careful and doesn't get hurt.

I am sick again! Ugh!! At least it has been a while now, but I've had so much stuff this year; more than I've ever had. I've had the stomach virus, flu and now a really bad case of bronchitis. When I was at the doctor Wednesday my WBC count was 16.9! Last year when I had pneumonia it wasn't but 11 or 13. I freaked out a little when I saw that! I know it's great to have connections with the doctor's office. I figured it was Strep, so I went to see Geneva and had her do a quick strep, which was negative. She talked to the nurse and she said Dr. Lawrence said they'd just treat me and not have to work me in. My temp then was 102. The dr. did listen to my lungs and said they sounded ok, but that it was just really high up in my chest. She said I had a really bad case and I need to stay off work until next Thursday. I'm hoping I'll feel good enough to go back Monday or Tuesday; we'll see. I sure don't wont to relapse with this stuff either.

Wednesday evening William's parents came up to get Rylie for the weekend since I'm sick. He was worried they wouldn't want to keep her since he's going to Indiana, but I told him to just tell them it was for me and not him. They didn't mind, though and picked her up at 5 Wednesday to keep her until Monday. This will be the longest I've ever been away from her and it's extremely hard!! But I know there's no way I could have taken care of her with me being as sick as I am. I talked to them last night and they said she was doing great. Wednesday night at Bible study, she went to her class fine, but she wouldn't let Sherra leave. Sherra said she just sat in the corner the whole time and as long as she was in there, Rylie would participate. After classes when they were back in the auditorium and G.W. was speaking, Sherra looked away from Rylie for a second and she walked up the aisle to G.W. and was hugging on his legs. She said she went and got her and she didn't protest. The whole congregation got a kick out of that one (no pun intended ;).

I'm feeling a little better each day, but my chest still hurts pretty good today. At least my fever is gone and I can actually breathe through my nose again. My head has just been packed with infection and blood (you think it's bad to read that, at least you don't have to see it -- eww!). I'm just still very weak!!

Friday, May 27, 2005

Long time no see

I can't believe how much time has passed since I have posted here. Things have been so busy. The first weekend in May, Rylie and I went to MS for Mother's Day. William went to see his mother. The weekend after that William's parents kept Rylie and we went to Memphis on Saturday night and stayed with Scott and Andy. Then last weekend was Bryan and Chris's graduation. Thank goodness this weekend is a 3 day weekend. William is going to Memphis tonight and then to Savannah tomorrow to work on his bikes, but the rest of the weekend if free and I'm so happy! It will be nice to just hang around here for a while. Next weekend is Avery's birthday party and JoAnn and Alan's anniversary parties. The following weekend is William's big trip to Haspin, IN and Rylie and I will be in MS to celebrate Father's Day a week early. There has been way too much going on lately; I'm ready for things to settle down a little bit!

Thursday, May 05, 2005

Will this week ever end?

This has been the longest week! I've been so busy with work and William's been busy with the shop, but it still seems to be dragging along. I'm so ready for a little break over the weekend, but Rylie and I will be going to see Momma on Saturday so that won't happen. I love visiting with my family, but things are always so rushed. At least I'm not going on Friday night this time.

William's parent came up for a visit on Monday afternoon. As usual, they brought supper for us. We're so fortunate to have them close by! It was wonderful because I drove over 300 miles at work on Monday alone so I was exhausted!

Rylie threw up on the way out the door Tuesday morning so I stayed home with her. I was afraid she had a virus because one is going around her daycare, but she was fine the rest of the day and ate like a horse. We had a good time together though. The shop workers that were here that day brought a little dog with them. That afternoon after her nap, I took Rylie outside and we played with Fluffy for a little while. She loved playing with him and although she wanted in my lap the whole time, she petted him from the very beginning and just laughed when he licked her.

The shop is coming along. The door and window are in, they have started on the roof and the electrician has started on the wiring. Hopefully it won't be too much longer now.

Full and Content Posted by Hello
I really wanted to do a layout that I just loved and was totally my idea. I use so many sketches and ads for inspiration that I feel like I've gotten in a rut. I just let loose with this one and I really like the results. Not only do I really like it, but I have another early picture of Rylie scrapped now. I feel like I acomplished something.

Sunday, May 01, 2005


Adrenaline Posted by Hello

Saturday, April 30, 2005

Thankfully it's Saturday

We had a fun day today. Rylie and I met Beth and Avery at the LSS. They were having 25% off everything so we didn't want to miss it. The girls were really good. They had so much fun carrying around our baskets and then playing in them. The ladies that own the store had fun playing with them too.

Afterward, we went to Chuck E Cheese for lunch. Rylie is so well behaved compared to most kids her age. She know to always hold my hand and listens pretty well. I guess it's because we don't give idle threats to her so she knows she will get in trouble if we say she will. I didn't have any trouble out of her until it was time to go, which is to be expected. She was worn out and fell asleep on the way home. Unfortunately so didn't sleep but about 30 minutes all day.

Jay brought a friend with him and they spent the day with William. They went to Rick's and worked on their bikes. Rick came home from the hospital today after his wreck. He's really lucky he didn't get hurt any worse or hurt anyone else.

Rylie surprises me almost every day with what she has learned. Today we were sitting on the couch together when I decided to work on counting with her. I held up one finger and started, "one" then she immediately said, "two, free, fo, five." I couldn't believe it! That's the first time I've heard her count on her own like that. She even knew seven when it was time for it, but after seven she said, "fo". Haha. We then worked on 1-5 for a little while until she was tired of it. Sometimes she will forget four, but most of the time she got them just right. She would give me a high 5 when we got to 5, too, lol.

I started on William's riding scrapbook tonight. I'm always nervous about starting a new album; I want it to be good, but I finally have to just dive right in. I got one 2 pg. layout done of his latest ride a few weeks ago. I think the layout turned out nice and he likes it too. Hopefully he can watch Rylie some tomorrow and I can at least get one more layout done; that will finish that last ride.

Friday, April 29, 2005

It's raining, It's pouring

It's supposed to get bad tonight. It just started raining now. As long as it doesn't get too bad it should be a good night to catch up on sleep. I think I will turn in early tonight. The baby had a hard time getting to sleep last night so we were up late with her. Then she woke up before 6 this morning. Tonight I had to put her to bed with her etch a sketch so she could "write", lol. Best $5 I think I ever spent on her.

I finished my last layout for 2003 last night. It's not my absolute favorite, but I like it alright. I'm just glad to have that year finished. I've done several in 2004 and 2005, but I still like a lot finishing them. Right now I'm going to devote my scrapping time to doing an ATV book for William. I have everything I need; I just have to find the motivation to get started. I have the first set of pictures sitting on my desk hoping for some great idea to strike me.

Tonight I was flipping through the channels to see what was on while Rylie was in my lap. She started asking for "Puppy Doo Doo" which is what she calls Scooby Doo. I don't know why she adds the extra "Doo" on the end all the time. We try to reinforce that it's just "Puppy Doo" but she doesn't listen. I hope this phase doesn't last too long.

Wednesday, April 27, 2005

Welcome to my world

Nothing like 5 o'clock traffic without any traffic lights in town. A hawk got into one of the main substations a little before 4 this afternoon and took out much of the county's power including all the traffic lights. Thankfully they had most of the lights working by the time I left work so traffic wasn't all that bad.

This morning on the way to daycare there was a car in front of us with a loud exhaust. Rylie heard it and said, "Daddy's car; vroom vroom." I guess she thought since it was louder than normal it was William driving; maybe that should tell him something.

They got the slab poured on the new shop today. They should start framing it tomorrow. We're so ready to get this shop done! William will love having his own space and I'll love having all the lawn stuff and things for his hobbies out of the house. Rylie will love her new playroom too.