Dear Self

Dear Self,

You need to be reminded of something very important. You are 27, not 19. That means that if you decide to treat going to a football game as a big huge (frat) party you will not be able to or have the ability to recover like you used to.

You will not be considered cute if you are yelling (stupid made up) cheers at the top of your lungs whilst wearing an excessive amount of orange. (Unless, of course, you are the naive and impressionable 11-year-old sitting behind you repeating them with a smile at every chance.)

You do not indulge in adult beverages with any frequency anymore, and as a result are not able to consume them like you used to when you do.

As a result of these things:

You will not be able to lounge around all day in your jammies chugging Pepto and popping Advil.

You will (more than likely) not be able to sleep in until noon.

You will, however:

Still need to fix your child meals,

Play with your child,

Remove yourself from the couch, at some point, even if it's just to eat.

Keep these important lessons in mind the next time you think it is a spectacular idea to start tailgating at 9:30 in the morning when you are used to finishing breakfast with your daughter and watching another episode of Sesame Street.

Remember them again when you think it is a wonderful idea to leave at halftime because your team sucks today and go to your husband's local haunt with his buddies and have another round of Car Bombs.

And don't forget it when you are forced to go to bed at 9:30, a mere 15 minutes after your own child went to bed, because you stomach can't handle sitting in bed watching reruns of LOST.

Remember these things, or we're REALLY going to make you pay next time.

Sincerely but without much love,
Your head, stomach, and ever-aching 27-year-old body.

P.S. Thank your lucky stars that your child was RIDICULOUSLY cooperative with your childish stupidity by doing the following:

• Allowing you to lounge on the sofa watching Flip That House and Moving Up so your stomach could recover
• Accepting two fewer bedtime stories and three fewer songs than normal because rocking her before bed was making you sick
• Not yelling and whining a whole lot
• Sleeping in until 10 AM until her father actually had to wake her up

You are an angel of a child with a sweet perception of what your stupid Mama needs. It won't be happening again. We'll make sure of it.

Photostory Friday - Garden Girl

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

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Yesterday was a beautiful, albeit hot (85 degree) fall day. Livers and I had just eaten our very healthy lunch of Spaghetti O's (her), pot pie (me), snuck Oreos (me, hiding in the pantry so she wouldn't see them and want them herself), and fruit (apples and nectarines; at least I redeemed myself). I wanted to do something different for her to wear her outchange up the monotony of the day, so I took her to our local botanical gardens.

I think she's going to be a nature girl just like I was when I was a kid. (I still am, but I get really squeamish about bugs, bees, spiders, and other nature nasties.) She loved to pick up and observe leaves and rocks.

The highlight of our day was a pair of migrating hawks. We were "deep" in the woods and I could hear one overhead calling loudly. We were looking at a squirrel at the time, who happened to be giving us a piece of his mind, so I told him he'd better get a move on, because he was looking like lunch for the hawk. Livers and I kept looking up trying to find the hawk, and she kept trying to take my glasses so she could see him better without the sun in her eyes. When I finally spotted him flying high overhead I heard another one calling in the distance. It was really neat to listen to these huge birds having their own little afternoon coffee talk high above the tree tops. It obviously made an impression on her, too, because she kept saying, "hawk," all day, and whenever you asked her what she saw or did at the gardens that day she would always say, "hawk."

I hope to start taking her more often, because she's fairly cooperative without being in a stroller (a first for her), loves the outdoors, and the leaves will really start to turn soon, meaning great pictures for me.

She was very proud of the large leaf I had torn off of a tree to give her.

She wanted to throw the stick at the goose, but I managed to change her mind.

Handling some of the rocks she found.

We were inside of this really interesting "mud hut" that was made, likely by the university's architecture department, for the park. There's an opening at the top designed to let smoke out (if a fire was actually inside of the hut), and Livers was looking at the tree canopy through it.


Searching for a leaf she dropped. I promise I was sitting right next her. She wouldn't have fallen. (So don't worry, sweetie.)

This has to be one of my new favorite pictures of Livers. I don't remember what she was looking at (probably trying to find the hawk again), but something had her attention.

WordFUL Wednesday

HELP!

Missing are Mr. "Tatey" Head's right ear, nose, and moustache.

Victim: Mr. "Tatey" Head

They were last seen somewhere around the afternoon of October 4th. They are definitely not anywhere around, inside, or behind the sofa (the usual suspect) or toy-related receptacles.

They were last seen in the possession of the following anatomically challenged Rasta-baby.

Suspect in Question: Rasta-baby, AKA "Livers"

Please direct any information concerning there whereabouts or where replacements can be found to this blog. Any assistance would be appreciated.

Thank you for your cooperation and have a great WordFUL Wednesday.

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Happy SITS-Day, to One and to All!

Once upon a time I heard about this new online blogging community called SITS (The Secret is in the Sauce for those who don't know). They promised to connect women (and men) from around the world and give everyone a chance to meet someone new and exciting and to share experiences (and laughs).

Well have they ever delivered! SITS has gotten so huge since its inception a few months ago that this little Southern girl is overwhelmed sometimes! I think the concept is wonderful. I know that I have met some great people through SITS who help me feel better as a mom by hearing about the experiences and who give me great ideas through their creativity.

The only thing that makes me sad is that I don't have the time to commit to SITS like I'd like to. I read every morning about a great blog to try out, but being a busy mom I barely have time to spend quality time with my husband, let alone check out the daily read. However, I am happy that on the days I have had the time that I got to discover (or continue following) some of these wonderful people:

Angie, AKA John Deere Mom
Mrs. Apple Joos, who is recently back from her self-imposed sabbatical and ready for action
Maternal Mirth, a closet NKOTB-lovin', super-hip mom who's livin' it large in LA
Jaci at Ravings of a Mad Housewife, whose wit, candor, and realism I so admire
cherry's jubilee, a woman whose creativity I'd like to steal for a day

I want to start now and try to make a little more time to explore all of the great blogs that SITS has to offer. My next great blog read might be right around the corner!

Happy SITS-Day, everyone!

Things I'm Thinking of Thursday...

Stupid me forgot to put the info up for each picture before I closed the window out.

I finally got an internet connection. Hooray! Seriously, if a fly farts in the wind near our house we're going to lose our internet, and seeing as it rained all day yesterday, you can figure how that went. Anyway, I absolutely LOVE Flickr, and I may love making mosaics from its pictures even more. I think I'm going to make it a more regular feature on my blog, because the world is always a little brighter with some pretty pictures.

Today's mosaic is things I've been thinking of today. Some of these I think of on most days, so I'm pretty much using it as an excuse to look up pretty pictures. From top left, they are:

1. Fall leaves, especially red ones. They really steal my heart.
2. Sunny days. It was very dreary yesterday, so it was a welcome sight for the sun to peak through today. At least my drought-ridden part of the world received rain!
   
3. Babies. I have one, so they're always on my mind. And I'm babysitting an even littler one, so it was double time today.
4. Fall for Greenville. This is one of my new favorite traditions. It's this weekend and involves lots of food. And for some, beer. (Not me. I'll have the occasional Woodchuck, but that's about it.) Pictures and tales will be shared next week.
5. Rainbows. My favorite thing ever, and I'm surrounded by them at home so they're always on my mind. (I hope I don't get Willie Nelson in my head.) This is my new favorite, non-Livers picture. And now my desktop background. If I lived in San Francisco I'd so want that house.
6. Crafting. I have so many projects I'd like to make it makes me giddy. First up, making curtains for our bedroom. I'll finally, after three-and-a-half years, be able to block out the sun during naptime. And I'm in LOVE with this person's craft room. I might have to do some overhaulin' here soon.
7. More crafts. I just thought this was pretty.
8. Christmas. I know it's two and a half months away, but that doesn't mean I can't be waiting for it like a little kid. In less than a month I'll start putting up lights! I know this makes me sound like a crazy person, but I'm the Clark Griswold type with my yard, and in order to make it bigger and better than last year I'm going to have to start early to avoid the 12-hour marathon session from last year.
   
9. Fall again. And rainbows. I love this picture :)

If you want to play along, go to Flickr and use this website (CLICK HERE) to make your mosaic. Just pick nine (or less or more if you want) things on your mind and see what you come up with on Flickr. If you do it, let me know in the comments and I'll check ya out!

Happy Thursday!

This Sucks Thursday

If I see one more picture of a frustrated stock broker, I'm going to lose it. Seriously.

Yes, CNN.com, we all know that the economy sucks, but do you have to show us the same pictures every day? How about an old picture of the military testing atomic bombs in the 50s? Or original artwork meant to accompany Dante's Inferno. Even better, mix it up and show a cute kitty. That's throw us for a loop and momentarily take our minds off of the insanity of the world. Anything but day after day of this:

or this:

or this:

Fluffy kittens. Sunshine and moonbeams. A picture of AIG executives forced to have their business meetings at a rustic cabin with no running water or electricity and having to hunt and gather for food. Because we all need a break, even temporarily, and would like to see and hear some goodness and happiness.

That's all I'm saying.

Photostory Friday - I Heart My Daddy

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

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For the most part I would have to say that my Livers is a Mama's Girl. She gets VERY upset when I leave. Last weekend I tried to go to the grocery store alone, and she got so upset that I had to bring her with me. Whenever Daddy leaves she will give him kisses (sometimes with prodding) and go on her merry way. If I leave the room to go to an area out of her reach she usually pitches a fit. She usually is OK with Daddy leaving (though sometimes she'll pitch a fit).

This doesn't mean she doesn't love her Daddy. She has started to do the cutest thing with him. If he falls asleep on the sofa (or pretends to), she'll get this look of concern on her face and will run up to his face and kiss him to wake him up. It's absolutely precious! When she realizes he's OK she'll gently run her fingers over his head and carefully grab a few strands of hair and tell him that it's "cute!". Seeing her so loving with her Daddy just melts my heart!