4 Hokies in Atlanta

Last Thursday, we set out on a nine hour road trip to Atlanta to see the Hokies play the Tide. I was QUITE nervous about this little road trip--the last road trip of any length we took was when we lived in London and drove to Edinburgh. That was insane. Anyway...


The Kiddles were Fan.Tastic! The $100 we spent on the portable dvd player was seriously some of the BEST money we've ever spent. We stopped in Augusta for the night since we didn't leave until 1 pm that afternoon and let me just say for the record, Georgia has just about the nicest Waffle Houses on the planet. Waffle House is kind of big in our little family--Mike and Devyn and Aiden die over the pecan waffles and I've never had a better patty melt. We ate SO much--but ohhhh was it wonderful! We drove into Atlanta Friday morning, dropped our stuff at the hotel and took the kiddles to the Georgia Aquarium...




From there we went to World of Coca-Cola and hung out in Centennial Park for a while. We met friends for dinner that night (if you haven't had the Ahi Tartare at Cheesecake Factory...mercy...run, don't walk! It's truly fabulous...

We spent Saturday morning at the pool and then donned our Hokie Best and drove to the Georgia Dome. We tailgated and afterwards, headed inside to watch the boys bring home a victory. Sadly, it didn't happen that way. Alabama exhausted our defense and we lost a very valiantly played game. We, however, had a blast. The kiddles were troopers, and although exhausted by 11 pm, they continued to cheer on the Hokies and promptly fell asleep in the car before we left the parking lot. The nine hour drive back home was eventless and thankfully the only mishap occurred when my sweet husband baptized his phone in the jacuzzi at the hotel. But it was a small price to pay for all this...

Ok, absence duly noted...so something to sweeten the deal...

I have taken the summer off, and in getting back into the swing of things, I've got a recipe for you! Here you go...some changes at the O home...more to follow!

These rocked our socks off...Let me know if you like them too!

Salted Nut Bars

Yield 28 bars
Total time : about 45 minutes plus cooling

1 lb peanut-butter sandwich cookies, coarsely crumbled.
1 stick unsalted butter, melted

Topping
2 cups of peanut butter chips
2/3 cup of light corn syrup
4 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 tsp vanilla extract (the real stuff!)
2 cups of miniature marshmallows
2 cups of dry-roasted peanuts
2 cups of Rice Krispies

Preheat oven to 350 degrees; coat a 13x9 inch baking pan with nonstick spray.

Pulverize (love that word!) cookies in a food processor until fine crumbs form. Add melted butter, and process until crumbs clump together. Press crumbes into prepared pan. Bake 15 minutes or until golden.

Melt peanut-butter chips, corn syrup, butter and vanilla in a saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring until smooth, about 5 minutes. Spread 1/2 cup of the peanut mixture over crumb base.

Top with marshamallows and return bars to the oven. Bake until marshmallows puff, about 2 minutes, then remove from oven. Don't let marshmallows brown or they'll turn crunchy.

Toss peanuts and cereal with remaining peanut mixture to coat. Drop spoonfuls of the topping over the marshmallows, then spread with a spatula (sprayed with non-stick cooking spray to prevent sticking). Cool bars before cutting with a knife coated with nonstick spray.

How many ways can you think of...

to get out of a dentist appointment? I have my six month check-up today. I expect I'll be no worse for the wear when it's over and done with, but MERCY. I have gone through two c-sections, one with 15 hours of natural labor, had my house broken into while I was in it, and many other things that would knock the fear of God into people but nothing strikes freaked-out fear into me like going to the dentist. At this point, Maury, Tyra, Oprah or Dr. Phil would ask, "Did something happen to you when you were younger that might have caused this fear"? Um, YES. My dentist was pure, unadulterated evil. Ok, maybe not evil, but he was nearly blind, and let's just say everytime he would use the Grim Reaper Tool (that hook looking thing that is most definitely formed from the bowels of Hell) he would miss. HE WOULD MISS. And subsequently get my gum tissue. Awesome. Thanks, Dr. Doom who forever formed my terror of dentists.

So. Six months ago I finally went to the dentist after a VERY long absence. I paid the price too, with needing some dental work that was long overdue. However, Dr.Doom did NOT do the work. I had the most funny, the most gentle, and the cutest little dentist (I can say cute--even if I'm happily married, right)? I didn't allow the use of said Grim Reaper Tool and things went much smoother, even though I did sit there for five and a half hours.

Today is my check-up. Will not do the flouride treatment. Would rather have my eyeballs licked out by kittens. Hate it. Will not allow the Grim Reaper Tool. So what we have here is me, the freaked-out patient who dictates how they're going to do my treatment and the cute Saudi dentist who puts up with me for Lord knows what reason. I've been trying to think up ways for the past few days to get out of it. However, I know what comes from that: those blessed five and a half hours in the chair. Rock on. I guess I'll just put on those gawgeous plastic glasses and lay back and watch Maury while they whittle away with some awful tooth polish flavor at my teeth. Awesome.

Thoughts for the day...

Not much to blog about today, so I thought I'd just write my random thoughts...

1. There is something incredibly refreshing about hearing a three year old sing "You Are My Sunshine" at the tippy-top of his little lungs during the school Spring program. I love that kid--any kid--who steps out of bounds and truly projects his whole soul into something like that.

2. There is also something refreshing about HAVING a kid like that--our Aiden--who rocked our faces off with his rendition of "Rockin' Robin" with his white sunglasses and inflatable guitar during his classes' performance...

3. Wouldn't an inflatable guitar truly be considered an "Air Guitar"? Discuss...

4. I am on an organizing kick. So far, it's a slow process...

5. My current favorite character on tv is Bethenny from the Real Housewives of New York City. How funny is she?! Cracks me up. Every time.

6. Why is it, that at 33 years old, I am still getting zits? Can someone please explain this to me? All I know is that we, as teenagers, were LIED to in Health Class when they told us, "Oh, breakouts stop around 19 years old". Hello, LIAR. And there's only so much Extra-Strength Neutrogena face wash one can absorb through the skin in a day before our Blood Alcohol Level starts rising uncontrollably...

7. Land of The Lost comes out on June 5th. That's the night of brother-in-law's rehearsal dinner. There's a movie theater right next to the restaurant. Five bucks says I'll be enjoying my salmon sitting in a Regal Cinema enjoying Will Ferrell battle the SleeStacks. Don't judge--it was my FAVORITE show when I was little and 27 years is a LONG time to wait for a movie to come out...now all I need are The Jetsons 40 feet tall and I'll be fine as wine...

Off to get The Girl off the bus...enjoy your Wednesday!

Consider it a vent...

I've had two experiences with vents in the last week. The first occurred when my grandma's wedding ring, which I wear with mine, plinked, plinked, plinked from the top of my jewelry chest onto the floor, then plinked, plinked, plinked DOWN THE AIR VENT. Here's what followed:

1. Panic.
2. Panic.
3. Absolute PANIC.
4. Mike, Sweet Hubby, arrives.
5. Children scatter on a mission to find every single flashlight we own.
6. Mike puts his hand down the vent and announces that he's got a penny.
7. Fabulous. We're wealthy now!
8. Instead of said penny, Mike pulls out Helen's wedding ring.
9. JOY, ELATION, SCREAMING, and Bursting into tears.
10. Return to calm, and sending many prayers of gratitude upwards.

Here's the other vent:

Everyone has people in their lives who are rude, inappropriate, and just plain mean. They revel in getting in little digs here and there and just genuinely being nasty. I have one of those people. I have the esteemed pleasure or spending time with this person in regular occurrences. It's AWESOME. Sarcasm, anyone?

I'm learning how to deal with this person. It's not easy to say the very least. Frankly, it's miserable. But, I also know that I'm the better person for not absolutely having a down home conniption. What I need to do, it to pray more. Pray for patience and strength. And grace. And that that person might have the opportunity to move. Very, very far away. Is that bad? Hmmm...I'll just stick to grace and strength and patience...

Ok, 'fess up...

Someone's been here. Ok, a FEW people have visited but THIS particular person is in my Feed-It as being in Roanoke, Virginia. ROANOKE, people. Ring a bell? MY HOMETOWN! I fully expect a comment from said person...whoever you may be! ;)

This morning merrly rolled along until I went to stretch. Seven hours later, here I sit, a heating pad wrapped around my poor neck. About once a year, I tweak my neck. It just so happens that this time, it's two days before Lindsay's (my soon to be sister-in-law) shower that I'm hosting. So tonight must be Mike's lucky night, because it's up to him to finish filling the 10 gift bags for each guest that has to be done tonight...lucky, lucky man!

Welcome to the zoo...

I have a sign in our hallwall leading from our front door that says just that, and it's very fitting. Especially lately. Life, in all it's glory has been an absolute ZOO. Last week was spring break for the kiddles--fantastic, wonderful Spring Break. Of course that doesn't mean the week slows dwon a great bit, just a wee bit. The activities still go on...

Monday: soccer
Tuesday: gymnastics
Wednesday: soccer AND gymnastics
Thursday: soccer
Friday: gymnastics
Saturday: TWO soccer matches

Madness. Add to that the trip I took back home on Friday to help my mom and dad with an estate sale from my grandfather's estate and the drive--normally 4 hours--took seven AND A HALF--by Saturday morning I was whooped. And just for the record, people who quibble over ten cents are wackadoodle. So from 8 am until 5 pm on Saturday, I was part of another zoo--only one that involved people who will literally buy ANYTHING if it's 25 cents or less.

So Sunday I drove back home, and yesterday morning the zoo was in full swing again--back to school, lunches to make, dinner to make (thank you Hubby for the new crock pot!), soccer,etc. This week I'm preparing the bridal tea I'm hosting for my to-be sister-in-law that will be held this Saturday. Mercy, heavens...life is kind of in free fall mode until school is out.

On top of THAT, and the wedding in June, I'm finishing up my first class and I'm trying to map out the next two years--classes to take, nursing schools to apply to...

OHHHH...and the BIG news that we're thinking (seriously) of applying for a job at the Embassy which would begin in three years in either Berlin or Paris...which would mean we'd take the zoo across the pond for three years...

And then we're thinking of putting our house on the market this summer...any takers? I can make sure the elephants are OUT of the backyard and the tigers mostly stay in the garage...

Holy Wookie Cookies Bat Man...

I made peanut butter cookies Sunday afternoon. Did you get that? I.MADE. Peanut Butter Cookies. While this will come as a surprise and a shock to the people who know me best, the rest of the world is left wondering, "Peanut Butter Cookies? Ok, so what"? So what. SO WHAT?!

I love, love, LURVE to bake. Only I don't do it all too terribly often because:
1. It's time consuming.
2. My children don't need any more sugar.
3. I will eat it. ALL. Whatever IT is, I WILL eat It.

However, I was in the mood for a little sweetie dish over the weekend and so Sunday afternoon, and when I found a VERY simple recipe for Peanut Butter Cookies, I decided it was high time for some artificial goodness in this house.

Oh.My.GAAAHHHHH. Seriously? The BEST FLOURLESS peanut butter cookies EVAH. I've included the recipe here because, honestly, if I can't share the fruits of my labor, what good am I? That, and they're gone now, and Mike, nor the kids ate the bulk of them. So if I have three extra pounds on my hips, then I just figure yall should too. Aiden told me, "These are not p.b. cookies, Mama. These are so good, they're what Chewbacca eats. You should call them Wookie Cookies". Hence, they became the Wookie Cookies. Enjoy. And just so you know, they'll rock your face off. You've been warned. If you do make them, let me know what you think!

Wookie Cookies
Makes: 2 Dozen Prep: 10 minutes
Bake: 12 minutes Cool: 20 minutes

1 Cup creamy peanut butter
3/4 Cup of sugar
1 large egg
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
parchment paper (I just sprayed my cookie sheet with Pam)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Stir together first 5 ingredients in a medium bowl until well blended. (If you'd like to throw in some chocolate chips, do it now, to the tune of 1 cup).
2. Drop dough by rounded teaspoonfuls 2 inches apart onto cookie sheet.
3. Bake at 350 for 12-14 minutes or until puffed and lightly browned. Cool on a cookie sheet on a wire rack 5 minutes. Remove to wire rack and let cool 15 minutes.

Now, that's a little bit of Heaven right there...

Virginia Born and Bred!

I am a lucky girl. I am something like a seventh generation Virginian. My parents were born here, their parents and it just goes on and on. I have ancestors who fought in the Civil War. I have a great (x5) uncle who played for the Washington Senators waaaay back in the day (1905-1910). Apparently he was recruited by the Yankees but would not play for them, simply because his mama had a FIT when he talked of going to the "North". We won't speak of mama's boys at this juncture, but I understand her point. Up North is like an entirely different planet from Down Here. There are parts of it I LOVE and would move to in a heartbeat; anywhere around Boston, Lexington, Concord, et cetera is fantastic. I don't know what they would do with me and my crazy drawl that most times I manage to put a lid on!

See, in the South, we're taught to love our state--and just for the record, Virginia is NOT a state. It's a Commonwealth. I digress. It becomes part of who we are. We even have our very own little comment about it:
"To be a Virginian either by Birth, Marriage, Adoption, or even on one's Mother's side, is an Introduction to any State in the Union, a Passport to any Foreign Country, and a Benediction from Above."---Anonymous

I love my home. I love that within three hours you can be either in the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains, at the shores of the Atlantic Ocean, in the nation's Capitol, or at the very center of the Civil War. It's remarkable, really. We have things that are truly ours--the pineapple for hospitality came directly from Colonial Williamsburg. Seven presidents. The ending of both the Revolutionary War and the Civil War happened right here. The Virginia Reel (had to learn it in middle school gym class). History comin out the wazoo. We even have our own STORE yall, and it's called Virginia Born and Bred. They're on the web if you want to check it out.

I wish that everyone could stand in the middle of Mabry Mill in the fall while the leaves are changing and just take in how breathtaking it is. I wish everyone could go to St. John's Church on Church Hill in Richmond and listen to Patrick Henry's speech, "Give me liberty, or give me death" where he orignally gave that speech. I wish everyone had the opportunity to walk the grounds of Arlington National Cemetary on Veteran's Day. Any day, it's moving, but Veteran's Day...that'll bring it home for you. I wish you could stand on the sand at Cape Henry where the settlers landed and planted a cross in the 1700s before the travelled to what would become Jamestown. Virginia is a remarkable place, and I and blessed to call it my home.

Walking into the past...

This past weekend, the kiddles, the man and I drove to my parents house four and a half hours away. We went to help them price items that we're wanted by any of my other family members from my Grandaddy's estate. Walking into his house on Saturday morning was like taking a bullet train back in time, and the emotions of going through his and my Grandma's life were quite unexpected. I had the assumption that the house would be empty except for the larger pieces of furniture that were going to be sold in the estate sale. I was so wrong...

Walking into the kitchen, sitting on the counter, was the spoon rest my Grandma used when she would cook. It's not just any spoon rest; It's a piece of china that's molded into a girl wearing a beautiful pink gown and within the skirt of the gown are the slots to hold the spoon. I remember playing with her as a little girl in my grandma's kitchen. She is now sitting next to my stove and has had a proper cleaning after all the years of use had all but consumed her, and she is perfectly spectacular.

When my grandad married again after her passing, none of us--my parents, my cousins, no one--could find my Grandma's things. We were pretty darn positive that his wife had thrown most of those things out. Her missing cookbook really pained me the most. Knowing that she had developed those recipes that she had fed us with and had perfected them over many years and that that account might be gone for good was just about too much for me. I can't tell you how many times I've mentioned to Mike over the past 12 years how much I wished I had her Coconut Cake recipe. Just as we were about to leave, I gave the kitchen one more once-over and there just as plain as day was her cookbook that she started keeping in 1959. Well that just about did me in. Leafing through it, I found so many of her favorites: Ice Box Biscuits, Hummingbird Cake and yep, in her handwriting, Coconut Cake. One funny note, Mike also found her apple and pear butter recipe. Which makes FIFTEEN QUARTS. Holy smokes. I can't recall it in it's entirety at this moment, but the one thing that sticks out in my head were the FIFTY POUNDS OF SUGAR it called for. How do you even BUY fifty pounds of sugar? Mercy. I remember it though--and it was so sweet you could chew it. As she would have said, "That's called seasoning Sugar (her name for me). In the South, we season our food".

Saturday was a difficult day. Mike, in going through their file cabinet found their marriage certificate from December 28th, 1940 and their original birth certificates. We found letters that my mama had written to them before I was born telling them how much each of them meant to her that she thought were lost forever. I found the letter I wrote to them from summer camp when I was Devyn's age. And my two babies walked away with something from the great-grandparents that it just seemed were meant for them: Devyn, my rocks and minerals collector was given two authentic arrowheads that my Grandaddy had found on his farm. (Next to the farm on one of the ridges were two Indian caves dating to around 1740--no kidding). You should have seen the girl's face light up! They're perfect . And Aiden was given a ceramic horse that had belonged to my grandma, complete with saddle and bridle. It was important to me that they each have something from two people who molded my life so profoundly.

I could go on and on about the things we found on Saturday. My mama and I cried our weight in tears and when we left I felt like we had just had the incredible privelege of walking through thier lives--their love for each other and their children and grand-children, and their great-grand-children. Everett and Helen were amazing people. I hope that in my life, I'll make them proud.

Trade Me Tuesdays!

Ok, it's not Tuesday. Duly noted. However, my beautiful Whitney, owner and operator of www.whitneycarolinedesigns.com is offering a GREAT deal right now for anyone who will trade her a slow-cooker recipe for a 10% off coupon! I don't necessarily want the coupon, BUT, this is a good opportunity for me to pass on one of my favorite recipes AND get her business "out there" in the process. Enjoy Sweetie!

Easy Crock Pot Gruyere Chicken

ingredients:
4 Chicken Breasts
1 package of stuffing mix (Stove Top Chicken)
1 can of cream of mushroom soup
1/4 lb of Gruyere cheese, sliced
1 1/2 C of chicken broth or water
1/2 C of grated Parmesan cheese

Place Chicken Breasts in crock pot and cover with the sliced Gruyere cheese. Combine the soup, broth, and stuffing mix and spread over chicken. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and cook on high three to five hours.

Voila! One of my favorites, and one of the easiest CP recipes of all time!

I hang my head in shame...

because I have no excuse for not updating for so long! My Lindsay has been after me--in not so subtle terms--to get my rear in gear and post something. Anything! So, here I am, six weeks later. Not a lot has happened really in that time, but it is good to be back here. Spring is starting to "sprung" in Virginia --now really, can you say "Spring is springing"? Um, no. So, it's "sprunging". It's slowly getting warmer, the birds are singing a little more and the days are longer. I spent the most spectacular weekend at my girlfriend's family's lake house in South Carolina this past weekend--ohhh...Heaven! Now, I should explain at this point, something about the area of Virginia we live in. It's very diverse. People from just about every state, every nation are here in some capacity dealing with the military. Therefore, southern culture kind of gets a little lost. If my true accent comes out around here, I would turn heads like a naked celebrity on the red carpet. My "Hi" would come out as it normally does when I'm back home: "Haaaa" (very short "i"). But I will tell you this: I was in my element this past weekend. I was with MY people--people who talk like I do, who thoroughly enjoy a good fried green tomato, who fully enjoy doin nothin but sittin on the porch with a glass of sweet tea and watchin the world go by. My girlfriend from South Carolina and I are VERY much alike--so much so that I think our other girlfriends who went with us--one from Arizona, one from Michigan, one from Ohio and the last from Texas--were gobsmacked that yes, we enjoy Fried Okra. We loooove our collards. And when I was making a thank you note for my girlfriend's grandparents, and wrote "Thank Yall"--my little Arizona girl said to me, "You spelled it wrong--shouldn't it say 'Thanks Yall'?" Yeah...no. Needless to say, it was a most wonderful weekend and the nine hour drive was completely worth it. I love my girls--and I'm looking forward to next years adventure to Lake Keowee!

The Baby Test

In the past year, six of my sweet girlfriends have had six--sweet baby girls--all girls! In the next three months, there will be three First Birthday Parties--one each for Lilian Ashleigh, Kylie Eliza, and Makailyn Thea. Then later on this year, our little group will celebrate the First Birthdays of Laynee Adele, Eden Avery, and my sweet Ruby Eileen. In addition to THAT, there will be Savannah Katherine's second birthday, and all our the little boys...there are three, no four of them! We are so blessed to have our amazing friends, and it got me thinking how perhaps we should all have taken the following test BEFORE the one that gives the two blue lines, because this is the best darn estimation of what the first years of having a child are truly like (minus the beautiful little gummy grins, the sweet smell of their little heads, those little chubby arms reaching up from the crib and SO many others...)
(Oh...and at least two other babies will be born this year in our group!!) Note to self: don't drink the water!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Are you considering having children? To determine whether you are truly prepared for the experience, we suggest you take this set of simple tests...Naturally, one must multiply these by the number of children you have, if you're a multiple Mommy!

MESS TEST
Smear peanut butter on the sofa and curtains. Now rub your hands in the wet flowerbed and rub on the walls. Cover the stains with crayons. Place a fish stick behind the couch and leave it there all summer.

TOY TEST
Obtain a 55-gallon box of Legos. (If Legos are not available, you may substitute roofing tacks or broken bottles.) Have a friend spread them all over the house. Put on a blindfold. Try to walk to the bathroom or kitchen. Do not scream (this could wake a child at night).

GROCERY STORE TEST
Borrow one or two small animals (goats are best) and take them with you as you shop at the grocery store. Always keep them in sight and pay for anything they eat or damage.

DRESSING TEST
Obtain one large, unhappy, live octopus. Stuff into a small net bag making sure that all arms stay inside.

FEEDING TEST
Obtain a large plastic milk jug. Fill halfway with water. Suspend from the ceiling with a stout cord. Start the jug swinging. Try to insert spoonfuls of soggy cereal (such as Fruit Loops or Cheerios) into the mouth of the jug while pretending to be an airplane. Now dump the contents of the jug on the floor.

NIGHT TEST
Prepare by obtaining a small cloth bag and fill it with 8 to 12 pounds of sand. Soak it thoroughly in water. At 8:00 PM begin to waltz and hum with the bag until 9:00 PM. Lay down your bag and set your alarm for 10:00 PM. Get up, pick up your bag, and sing every song you have ever heard. Make up about a dozen more and sing these too until 4:00 AM. Set alarm for 5:00 AM. Get up and make breakfast. Keep this up for five years. Look cheerful.

PHYSICAL TEST (WOMEN)
Obtain a large beanbag chair and attach it to the front of your clothes. Leave it there for 9 months. Now remove 10% of the beans.

PHYSICAL TEST (MEN)
Go to the nearest drug store. Set your wallet on the counter. Ask the clerk to help himself. Now proceed to the nearest food store. Go to the head office and arrange for your paycheck to be directly deposited to the store. Purchase a newspaper. Go home and read it quietly for the last time.

FINAL ASSIGNMENT
Find a couple who already have a small child. Lecture them on how they can improve their discipline, patience, tolerance, toilet training, and child's table manners. Suggest many ways they can improve. Emphasize to them that they should never allow their children to run riot. Enjoy this experience. It will be the last time you will have all the answers.

Now, about this cold...

It's currently 34 degrees. The local weather dudes are reporting this as, "bone-chilling" and "frigid" and "icicle-like". People are dressing like it's the South Pole and cars are being warmed up in the morning like it was Fargo. WHAT?!! People. This. Is. Not. COLD!

This is what it was like every stinkin winter when I was a child. Forget that--it was bitterly--and I do mean bitterly, cold. I clearly remember walking to the bus stop in 4 degree weather. FOUR DEGREES YALL! Mike was fondly reminiscing of the days when treking across the Drillfield at Virginia Tech meant having bodily fluids being FROZEN to your face when you got to your destination because 1) Blacksburg can get cold as a witches t** in a brass bra and 2) the Drillfield itself is just pretty much a beautiful, glorified wind-tunnel. You put buildings made of limestone on the perimeters of a concave field that big and see what happens. People walking just get blown over. One girl, walking near me on my way to McBride one day just up and disappeared when a big ol gust came and took her away. (Kidding, but you get the picture).

I, for one, would think that those good people up there in the Northwest where it's oh, say 32 below ZERO like it was yesterday would tend to get a wee bit torqued to hear a two-bit transplant to Virginia, who's likely from, oh I don't know Texas say that 32 degrees is a bit chill-inducing. 32 is balmy, Friends. BALMY.

So here's what I have to say. Buck up. To all my Southerners whom I love and adore, BUCK UP. Buy a scarf for once in your days. Put on a toboggan (yes--a toboggan is a hat--a sled is a sled). Gloves people. And quit yer yappin. It will soon be just the way we like here in the South: hot, muggy, humidity-laden and moquito infested. Yep, July is lookin better already. I'm going to go enjoy my hot chocolate while I can.

p.s. If you happen to live in Texas, please don't take offense at the aforementioned comment. It's just an example.

Take a Big Whiff...that's the smell of change Baby!

So things they are a-changing in the fam. What, pray tell, could usher in even MORE change than we've already had? Plenty, dear friends.

1. We have made the (tough) decision to enroll Aiden and Devyn in a different school next year. Lots of reasons really. Primarily because God has blessed us with the opportunity to educate them in a manner we always wanted for them, so we are taking Him up on the offer. In addition to that, Aiden would not have had the same first grade teacher that Devyn was blessed--and I truly mean blessed--next year. She now teaches 2nd grade and while Devyn's teachers have been great following her first grade year, they have NOT been a Mrs.J. She.Is.The. POO. It breaks my heart that Aiden wouldn't have her next year--so, due to that and the aforementioned reason, the kids are both moving to a different school. Together, which they're very stoked about, I might add.

2. Mike has a new job in Naval Warfare. We are headed to an LHD, or Landing Helicopter Dock in the terms of a Naval Assault Ship. This means, NO BAHRAIN IN SEPTEMBER!!! WHOO HOOO! Hallelujah and praise the Good Lord.

3. I am venturing back to school to take a class in the language of medicine, which may be a stepping stone to a new career for me...I'm merely getting my feet wet right now, but so far it's a good, tepid temperature, and not too shocking to the spirit! When I was three years old, my "Grown-Up Job" was going to be nurse. That's all I wanted to be. Then, when I was around 16, I went insane and decided to major in something else entirely and I mean ENTIRELY different. I enjoyed it, but still, it's not where my heart lies. There is still a very, VERY large part of me tht wants to be in the medical field as an RN, so that's what I'm pursuing. Trust me, I'm scared to bits. I don't know what lies ahead of me...but, I do know I'll regret it for the rest of my days if I don't give this a good hoo-ra. I will either come out completely crazy as a June Bug or a bonafide Registered Nurse--either in Pediatrics or Obstetrics...

there's more, but it's bedtime for the kiddles...

The Wish List

Remember when the Sears WishBook was ACTUALLY a BOOK and not a pamphlet? Such a travesty. Nearly ruined Christmas this year when the Target Wish Book was MUCH bigger than the Sears WishBook. I digress...

Wishes for this year...and there are nine of them...

1. That the scheduled deployment to Bahrain will be 90 days and NOT 180. Read: 3 months. NOT SIX.

2. That the Hokies will actually win a Bowl Game tonight. Because it's rarely happened before. I love them, but BOY do they choke when it matters.

3. That I will continue on my quest to truly simpfly our family life and spend more time together doing silly, fun family stuff.

4. That my children's confidence will continue to grow, and their understanding of God's love for them, as well as ours, will grow..and grow...and grow...

5. That the endeavour I am about to begin will be fruitful, and won't leave me shaking my head...

6. That my husband will continue to have a fulfilling Naval career...

7. That my extended family will find peace after losing my grandfather last month.

8. On a selfish note, that the four of us will be able to travel to London this fall after our scheduled trip was cancelled when the last deployment was extended.

9. Finally, for laughter, joy, sadness that makes us grateful, anger that makes us mature, and melancholy that makes us comfortable to fill our home and the lives of the four of us.

Happiest of New Year's to you!