Monday ALL DAY LONG...

I'm too old for a weekend in Athens. I admit it. I am. The kids were up and at 'em this morning. I felt like I'd been hit by a truck. I felt terrible. We had lots of teachers out today and I knew it, so there was no way I could call in. I dragged myself to work, hoping Mountain Dew and Hershey's kisses could get me through the morning. I got to school and things were okay until 2nd period when I had to separate a fight between 8th grade boys in the bathroom. Soaring blood pressure did not do much for my sinus headache AND I broke a nail. THEN when I dragged myself out to the car this afternoon the battery was dead! My friend Shannon stayed with me until I could figure out what to do. I decided to do what any good Southern girl would do. I called my Daddy! ( In the South we sort of change the vowel sound so it sounds more like "DEddy" than "Daddy".)  Anyhow, thankfully he came and after a trip to NAPA I was able to drive home. He also fussed at me about my tires not having enough air and fixed that too.

Ali Grace had a good day and was happy to head to basketball practice tonight. Addie B on the other hand- not so much. Between the cold weather, recovering from a wild weekend, and me feeling generally yucky, we made the executive decision to ditch basketball practice tonight. Addie's practice doesn't end till 8:30 and she's usually asleep by that time. Tonight, we're snuggling on the sofa watching Princess Protection Program. Sure am hoping for a better day tomorrow.

My Bulldog Babies

 We capped off this weekend in style! The girls and their cousin Colten had lunch at Zeb's in Danielsville. My brother and I were raised on Zeb's brunswick stew and my parents used to eat there when they were students at UGA. I remember going to Zeb's when you had to climb down these rickety stairs into the smokehouse to go to the restroom. Cats would run everywhere when you got down there. That's why I never get sick. Zeb's built up my immune system.  Here's a pic of the kids posing in front of a Dale Earnhardt poster that's been hanging there since I was their age!

We got to campus early and Pete ignored the "closed to the public" signs at the UGA practice field and told the kids to run out on the field.  Ali Grace did not want to get arrested and did not buy the excuse "they left the gate open."  Hence, she's not in the pictures. The two hellions amongst us had no problem bucking the rules. Notice the two of them on the 50 yard line.

RUN Addie Belle! I hear sirens!

After the UGA Mens' OT win against Auburn, we were excited to watch the UGA Women take on the other team from Alabammer, the Tide. Today was the Cancer Awareness game and the kids got free pink jerseys.  

They also got tickets to Hairy Dawg's birthday party and shared a cupcake with him in the hospitality room!

Of course Woody and Jessie came to the game with us.  We had a great time even though the game with Alabama was never really a game. I think UGA won by more than 20. Georgia was never behind  the entire game.  We loved watching some great plays though and the kids enjoyed the magic show at half time. 

We got home to Vidette just in time for a fire in the fireplace, hot chocolate and the Superbowl. This weekend, as always, it was GREAT to be a Georgia Bulldog!

Cooper Cousin Day

We woke up early this morning and headed to Athens!  We love Athens and the Georgia Bulldogs and so meeting Colten Cooper at Stegeman Coliseum just about put the girls over the excitement edge!  We met Beth and Colten at Loco's for lunch. I had my regular hot Cuban sandwich and then headed to the game. Our tickets were in the nosebleeds but we did not mind! The game was VERY exciting and we had a great time. Georgia ended up with an overtime win! We're looking forward to heading to the UGA Women's game tomorrow!

We ended the day at Gumlog barbecue. This whole in the wall joint is legendary in Northeast Georgia. It was soooooo good!  After getting back to Uncle Ernie's house, we enjoyed some of Colten's birthday cake and the kids played and played. Uncle Ernie was judging a bird dog field trial today so he couldn't go with us. Other than that, it was a perfect day!

Ali and Colten at Loco's

Addie, Woody and Jessie getting ready to watch the game!

Ali trying to be such a pre-teeny. She was much too cool for our conversation tonight.

Warning: Wild Weekend Ahead

We had to make a trip to Wal Mart in the rain tonight. I know I am nuts! Ali had to have new school supplies and Addie wanted to get her "reward" for making such good grades and not having her stick pulled all year so far! (Knock on wood!)  The picture of Ali reminds me of myself when I was a kid. I used to LOVE to organize my notebooks when I was in school. I have no idea why since now I couldn't organize a sock drawer.

We also had to go look for a new Georgia shirt for Addie Belle. She has plenty of red and black dresses but we thought with the weather being ugly, a dress might not cut it this weekend in Athens especially since she yelled hysterically all the way to the car tonight "MY SOCKS ARE SOAKED!"  We had to run in a torrential rain and when we all got back into the car we were cracking up laughing! Addie again said "Did anyone hear me? MY SOCKS ARE SOAKED!"   

Chocolate Chip Cookie Kinda Thursday

Today was a rough day. Well the day wasn't too bad. The evening was rough.  Ali missed a day of school going to the doctor this week and we've played literal hell catching up. I would home school if I could. I am not kidding one bit. I never imagined myself saying that but I swear I could. Not that Ali's school isn't wonderful. It is. It really is. The environment there is just wonderful. I am so thankful for the Christian influence there. I am thankful for Ali's good friends who are great kids. But, wow wouldn't it be wonderful to move at your own pace and if a kid understands a concept, wouldn't five problems suffice rather than 30?  I know some folks homeschool for the wrong reasons but I totally get those who homeschool for the right ones. I really do get it.  Now moving on...

This cold evening with endless makeup work and homework SCREAMED for chocolate chip cookies.  We ate cookies and watched Secretariat tonight! It was a great movie although I wanted to see more of Secretariat's training and was hoping to see more of Claiborne Farm and Churchill Downs since Pete and I have been there a few times. I also didn't like that they left out the part about Lucien Laurin's son being Secretariat's first trainer and that the son coaxed the father out of retirement to train this great horse. And I DEFINTELY think it's a travesty that the scene before the Derby did not include the singing of at least PART of My Old Kentucky Home. This is unforgivable. AND furthermore,  Oh well.. Ali now wants to be a jockey when she grows up and we watched the youtube video of the '73 Kentucky Derby 3 times.

I have an unspoken prayer request tonight for a situation in my life that I thought I could help but I cannot. I need to accept that this is a situation I cannot fix and as hurtful as it is to me, I have to stop letting it affect my own family.  I need help understanding that this really isn't my business and I have to let it go and let the people involved handle their own issues from here on out.  Life sure ain't easy y'all. I am so very happy for the upcoming weekend.

:)

This morning Addie gave me the scare of my life! Nothing is scarier than not being able to find your child! Last night, I was almost sure she slept on the sofa. She has a habit of falling asleep on the sofa and she's gotten too big for me to carry up the stairs. Since Pete dislocated his shoulder last year, he has no business carrying her either so we just leave her there. If she doesn't sleep there then she'll sleep on the daybed in the playroom or in her own bedroom. I could not find her in ANY of these places this morning and when I saw the front door unlocked I came unglued. About the time I screamed for Pete, this is what I saw:

She was in my bed! Somehow she'd come down the hallway at the same time I'd gone through the dining room and we'd passed without me knowing. She scared me to death!

I had parent night at school and so Pete took the girls to eat ribs with Mama and Daddy. You can tell by their greasy faces and stained shirts!

I am so proud of Ali Grace's progress report! She has all A's except for an 89 in Math. She is cracker jack! She works very hard and I'm so so happy that she seems to have hit her stride. She has a 102 average in Spelling!

Addie came home with a whole stack of papers with E's. She despises handwriting and even her handwriting sheets had E's this week!  Go girls!

I'm 35 and I still need my Mama! (and I'm not ashamed to admit it)

We had a hectic day today. I took Ali Grace to school with me because she had a dr's appointment at 9:15 and I wanted to avoid getting a substitute. Don't ask me WHY I have a hard time taking a day off of work. It's an affliction. A curse. A serious problem! Ali had a flu shot and a Hepatitis A vaccination today.  Anyhow, after her appointment Ali Grace came back to school with me for a few minutes and then Nanny picked her up and took her to Subway for lunch. They had such a nice afternoon together and I was not surprised that she and Nanny hung out the rest of the day rather than Ali going back to school for the afternoon.  :)  When I came home today, I REALLY wanted  some barbecue pork chops. Nanny makes the BEST barbecued pork chops ever. I told her I'd bring the pork chops if she'd cook them. The were delicioso! My mother is a fabulous cook.

This is the face of abject misery. Ali has had a hard time getting her homework done lately. Her grades are still ridiculously high, but she is having some trouble getting all her classwork done. Her pediatrician upped her dose of Concerta slightly. She had gained half a pound and grown 1.5 centimeters since November. We were hoping for a little more weight gain but were very happy about her height! She is so very very tiny and so we're keeping a watch on her weight since Concerta tends to fool with your appetite. 

We cannot wait till this weekend! The kids are so excited about visiting their cousin Colten. We're going to a UGA basketball game together and spending the night at Colten's house. Again, I probably shouldn't have told the children until later in the week! They have been CRAZY asking when we're going and what we're going to do! I'm so glad they are close with their cousins. Addie Belle and Ali Grace dearly love Colten, Emma and Sarah. This weekend we'll get to see Colten and weekend after next, we hope to see Sarah and Emma. I'm not making the mistake of letting the cat out of the bag about the latter trip! I've already answered a dozen questions just today about the trip to see Colten this weekend!! I've learned from that mistake!