Boo Y'all!

Today was exhausting! I jetted over to EBA to watch the girls' Halloween Parade then zoomed at Mach3 to get back to Louisville to work. My classroom was used for the haunted house this past Saturday and those fraidy cat kids tore the curtains down, scratched all the posters off the wall and left remnants of what I think was once a jelly shoe. Since I don't have a class until 11:30 I thought I'd have time to clean up but I KNEW it would take me awhile to get it back together. When I got back, a few students had put my room back together for me! Bless them!  

While sitting at EBA this morning waiting on the parade, I got a text from Pete's sweet cousin Rachel. She was on the way to the hospital because precious Claire Elizabeth was on her way! I was so excited for her! Shortly after, we got this picture. Aren't they just precious? I know big brother Carson is just over the moon with excitement.  Congratulations Rachel, Mark and Carson! What a beautiful addition to the herd of Lyles cousins. 

I got home today and was totally done. I decided to take a nap on the sofa until trick or treating time. The girls came downstairs and I asked them whether they wanted to go to Louisville, Waynesboro or to Millen with their Daddy who was working the fall festival there. Addie said I JUST WANT SOME CANDY! I jokingly said "honey we can go buy a bag of candy at wal-mart!". She said "AWESOME!". They had been to the church trunk or treat, and to the Halloween parade at school today. They were about costumed out it seems. Soooo...

2 bags of candy at Wal Mart 20.00

Lalaloopsy and Judy Moody movie for making all A's 30.00

Dinner at Burger King 15.00

Not having to go out in the cold for trick or treating... PRICELESS!

Woohoo for Weekends!

Y'all know I don't get all excited about Halloween. Truthfully, I don't even care for it. That's why we don't do scary costumes. We just dress up and have a good time. The girls are looking forward to trick or treating tomorrow night. They got a trial run last night at our church's trunk or treat. I worked the haunted house at school so Pete, Brian, and Alicia took the kiddos. They came home good and sugared up.

Today was the perfect kind of day. Woke up and enjoyed a fire in the fireplace while I had a slice of Pineland Bakery caramel cake for breakfast. Then it warmed up enough to run the kids outside. My kinda day!

Wordless Wednesday

Okay a FEW words... Give drugs the BOOT! This is Addie Belle  dressed up for Boot Day yesterday. Love the sunlight through that red hair.

Typical Monday

I'm not generally a supporter of labor unions, but I tell you if one were to propose the total elimination of Mondays from the work week, they might just get my support. Y'all know all that whining I did this weekend over the havoc that is Homecoming Week in my house,  and how I cannot stand the dressup stuff that goes along with it? Well enter RED RIBBON WEEK! I could not make this up y'all. I thought I'd survived the dress up week only to be told this morning that it was again pajama day. Are y'all for real? We just did this crazy mess last week! I know it's a lot of fun for the kiddos, so I just smile and cuss under my breath while digging through the laundry basket trying to find something suitable.

Ali Grace was home today because she's literally allergic to everything I think. Her eyes were draining. Her nose was stopped up. She was a sight for sore eyes. Literally. I went in to work to handle a few things and then came home to get her from my Daddy who is a total lifesaver by the way. She rode with him to take a tractor to the dealership in town before I got home and then we spent the day tinkering around the house. I did a little laundry and browsed Pinterest. Ali read a little of her book. Other than that we were about useless. Kind of like Mondays in general. Useless.

No pictures today. Photo card is corrupted. Perfectly reasonable ending to my day!

Fine Fall Day

This is one mama who's glad to see Homecoming Week come and go. The kids love all this dress up craziness, but it sends me over the edge. Both of them flip out if they can't find one essential piece of their perfect "crazy red and white day" outfit. Pish.. I've got bigger fish to fry kiddos. If you want crazy red and white day attire, you'd better tell me before the night before! Thanks to my friend Sara Jane who took this picture of Ali Grace at EBA and called it "Spartans go Hollywood". Too cute. She took another great shot of another cutie patootie in Ali's class and called her "Pippy Long Spartan". Now THAT is funny!

Pete is gone hunting in South Georgia this weekend so the girls and I just hung out around the house. Luckily, they got along beautifully and played together all day without a cross word.

We went across the road for Poppy's boiled shrimp this evening and they were delicious!

Then I took on both of the girls in a game of basketball. I had time to stop and snap a picture or two and I STILL showed 'em Mama has skills!!

Fabulous Fall is Here!

I love Fall Y'all!  Of course I love Summer because I'm a teacher  and I really enjoy that time off with the girls. However, after enduring a Georgia July and August, I'm always so excited about cooler temperatures, a fireplace, football games, and pumpkins. My bitties are such snow whites, that they have to stay indoors a lot in the late summer so brisk fall air means I get to run them outside again! This weekend the rule was if you want to stay indoors you must be reading a book. If you want to go outside, you may do whatever you want as long as it does not include a trip to the emergency room or me filing a missing persons report.

We have a busy week ahead. Ali Grace's last Jr Pro football game is tomorrow afternoon (sniffle sniffle) and Aunt Bonnie is here visiting the Ponderosa for a few days. Should make for a fantastic week! 

A few pictures from the weekend...

Check out this Percheron gelding. This is the first time I've actually SEEN a Percheron outside a stall. Hard to tell here just how massive he is. Unbelievable! I really enjoyed watching them in the Draft Horse Show.

Shout out your colors Spartans!

Since Mama and I were out for Fall Break today, we were able to drive into town to see Ali Grace and the EBA Jr. Pro Cheerleaders cheer at the pep rally today. She was really excited about us coming to see her. I am really trying to be at most of her "events" because I am well aware that in a few short years she will be mortified at the very thought that I may show up. The girls did a fabulous job! I have had many people tell me "I don't know how you teach middle school kids Algebra. I'd lose my mind!" WELL.. I personally think it's probably a lot easier than teaching a bunch of 8-10 year old girls to cheer like pros! I was so impressed by them and so proud of their hard work!

Thought it was cute that the Senior Class led the school in the singing of the Alma Mater today.

After school, we came home to enjoy the great weather outdoors. Since the pecans have started dropping, we had to move the cattle out of the orchard. That's always an adventure. Two kids who won't stay out of the way, two farmhands who are deathly afraid of cows, me in my easy spirit pumps (the same ones that survived the lab fire),  and my parents who sometimes still think they're 30.

The pecan orchard was so pretty today and Addie and I had a great walk following the cows out of the orchard and into the next pasture. We finally realized that Nanny and Poppy had left us in the dust so we turned around and walked all the way back. It was a great walk. We harassed the fire ants, wondered about why cows walk the same path all the time, and talked about school.  Addie told me all about how Ms Jane had told the story of David and Goliath on Wednesday. She told me that she told Ms Jane that she already knew that story from church but that it was really cool to hear it again. Silly girl. I just love her to pieces. 

 After the work was done, Poppy fried shrimp he'd gotten from a friend right off the shrimpboat this morning. They were sinfully good.  Tomorrow we are headed outta here early to the Georgia National Fair in Perry! The girls are so excited that we are going on a trip with Poppy! I am looking forward to the Draft Horse show and the girls want to see the llamas! Strangely, it's only a few bucks more to get in the Georgia National Fair than it is the Burke County Fair.  I haven't been to Perry since my days as an agriculture teacher. Ali Grace has been, but when she was only about 3 months old. Pete made her bottle in the cattle barn. She's had a healthy immune system and I attribute it to her early exposure to the livestock barn!  

I need a weekend to recover from this weekend!

 I had visions of a wonderful, restful weekend with my family. We'd have a great time at the EBA football game, we'd have great food, we'd watch the Dawgs beat some team wearing orange! We would NOT run Ali's 4-H project right down to the deadline... Well.. The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry.
Saturday morning after our Friday night ER visit, I was confident a little pink eye would not ruin our day! Poor Ali Grace wanted Aunt Beth to see her cheer Saturday morning SO BADLY! I told her it was fine to miss the game if she felt bad, but she was determined to cheer. She really felt awful! We put in her numbing drops, then her antibiotics and then bought her a pair of blingy sunglasses, and did the best we could do! She made it until half time, and then conceded that she needed some rest. We did the best we could to laugh about it, and at one point we chanted "You say PINK! I say EYE! PINK! EYE! PINK EYE! She didn't find it humorous.

Ali cheering with her sunglasses! Uncle Ernie said she looked like she should be on an episode of Celebrity Rehab!

The two yahoos had a great time running around Rogers Field together. Nanny could barely keep up!


Addie and Colten were pretty much joined at the hip all weekend. They were up EARLY this morning for breakfast at Poppy and Nanny's. I don't think Addie even brushed her hair until mid morning!

No telling what the three of them talked about while sitting on the fence this morning!

I hope they always love each other this much!

We never intended to run it right down to the wire getting Ali's bee project done, but this week was just ridiculous! Thank GOODNESS for Aunt Beth, the resident elementary teacher, who helped Ali lay out her poster design. 

We think her project turned out really well! She worked hard on it, as did the other eight college degrees involved.  :)

Shortly after Ernie, Beth, and Colten headed home, Ali Grace finished up the final details and Pete drove her into town to put up her display at the fair grounds. We're looking forward to next weekend at the fair, and seeing how Ali Grace did! 

And just so the weekend could end with a bang, Addie Belle Bennett lost her SECOND tooth in two weeks! 

I was pretty consumed with Ali Grace this weekend given her pink eye, her ball game and her 4-H project, but Addie Belle gets the FUN AWARD this weekend. She and Colten partied it up. Up and down the stairs, up and down the road, up and down the fence, etc.. It was crazy, but I love crazy. It keeps me from going insane.