Off to see the wizard

Duece, Jesse-Grace and Amelia waiting for the curtain to go up.

Last week Amelia and I attended the opening night of our local community college theater department's presentation of "The Wizard of Oz." We went with our good buddies Duece and Jesse-Grace and their mom Hollie.

The show was really good, and Duece and Amelia were thrilled to learn two of their friends from preschool had roles in the play. Jesse-Grace also picked out some of her classmates in the cast.

I was extremely proud of how well the kids behaved during the show. I had been kind of concerned because they'd been in school all day and were already tired when we arrived for the 7 p.m. curtain time.

They all did great behavior-wise. Amelia, though, almost didn't make it through the second act as she tried her best to find a comfortable position so she could go to sleep. Thanks to the relatively restrictive seats she wasn't able to curl up and go to sleep so she got to see the whole show.

May your day be happy and blessed

Should Santa even bother?

I've been very careful this year to make sure Santa truly understands the interests of my girls so he can bestow upon them gifts they will love and use for a long time.

How do I accomplish this, you ask? Via email, of course. What? You didn't know Santa has email??

The jolly old elf is very plugged into 21st-century technology. I remind Amelia at least once a week that Santa knows when she's misbehaving and if she's too naughty he'll send me an email informing me that one or more of her gift requests have been removed from her list. It's a very effective tool for reforming her behavior.

Anyway, I have placed a lot of thought this year into what it is that Amelia and Lola really enjoy so that any gifts they receive will be welcomed and used rather than quickly ignored as has happened in the past.

However, I wondered the other day if Santa should even bother bringing them any of his elf-made creations considering how much fun they had playing with a box.

Lola discovered first just how much fun could be had with a box. She spent the better part of the morning climbing in and out of it, wearing it on her head and trying to trap our cat, Mojo, in it.

She also determined it to be the perfect perch from which she could watch "Blue's Clues," her current favorite television show.

The next day Amelia showed Lola just how much more fun could be had with the box when she began pushing her around the living room in it.

Box racing, as Amelia so named this game, was super fun for both girls. However, the box had to be retired after Amelia climbed into it one too many times causing three of its four sides to collapse.

Recalling the fun they had with the box as well as the 15 minutes Lola spent stacking cans and boxes from Grandmaw's pantry is what keeps me from adding anymore goodies to the girls' Santa list.

After all, I am hoping the less they get this year the more they will appreciate what does show up under the tree; and if they don't like any of it, then they can just play with the boxes.

This makes my heart happy

For the first time Amelia has written her own letter to Santa Claus. This is a big deal because, although she has sent him letters in the past that were composed with my help, she wrote this one all by herself.

In her letter, she asks Santa to bring her some stick-on fingernails, a whoopsie doo doll, a Belle doll, a Barbie camper, a styling head and Giddy-up and Go pony.

I am so happy she took the initiative to write her own letter to the jolly old elf with whom she's scheduled to have her photo taken tomorrow. She intends to present her list of desires to him at that time.

People who are not parents may not know this just by glancing at her list, but for those of us who begin being inundated with toy catalogs in August, it's evident my little lady has expensive taste. The pony alone is sold at the manufacturer's suggested retail price of $200 while Barbie camps in nothing but luxury because her ride is priced at $80.

I haven't discussed Amelia's list with her but I am pretty sure Santa, who is feeling the effects of the recession just like us regular folks, may not have the budget to create all these items for my dear little girl.

The happy couple

Jeff and I attended my 17-year high school reunion Saturday at which we had our photo snapped my one of my classmates. I love this photo! We almost never appear together in photos because one of us, most often me, is always behind the camera. I am so grateful to Monica for making us stop talking long enough to capture this snapshot.

You're probably wondering why we had a 17-year reunion. Well, the simple answer is because we can. That's just how we members of the DHS class of 1992 roll!

We had a blast, got to catch up with some old friends and even sprung for a night at the newly-remodeled Lake Guntersville State Park. The hotel is much nicer since the tacky 1970s decor has been replaced by new and modern furnishings. As always, the views, when not obscured by mounds of fog as they were when we got up Sunday morning, are spectacular.

Check it out for yourself. You'll find yourself refreshed and rejuvenated.

Playing keep away

Amelia truly loves Lola, but there are times when she's just had enough of her little sister bothering her.

One of those times came the other night when she was trying to pay attention to a show on television, but was being continuously interrupted by Lola. In an effort to get Lola to leave her alone, Amelia came up with what I consider a pretty ingenious plan. Check out this photo below to see if you agree.


By getting in the play yard, Amelia was able to watch her show in relative peace and didn't have to contend with Lola screaming, which is what would have happened had we put her in the play yard. Quite the smart chickie, if I do say so myself.

Christmas is coming

Around here the signal that Christmas is coming is the arrival of the girls' ornaments. I always try to order them at the end of October or the beginning of November to allow time for personalization and shipping.

This year the creators of the ornaments wasted no time in getting to my order as I received them in what has to be record time.


I always try to choose ornaments that signify a big event that occurred during the year in each girl's life. This year for Lola was centered around her having major surgery to correct a malformation in her skull, which is why she got a boo-boo bear. Amelia started kindergarten so I went with the precious school-themed ornament for her.

I ordered Lola's ornament from Advance Healthcare Shop, which specializes in products for medical professionals. Amelia's ornament is hand-crafted by a woman who sells her wares through her Etsy shop, which can be accessed by clicking HERE.

Since last year was Lola's first Christmas, she got a "Baby's First Christmas" ornament, and Amelia got the matching "Big Sister" ornament. Other ornaments in Amelia's collection include: a sterling silver cradle for her first Christmas, a teddy bear in a stocking, a Dora the Explorer that she picked all by herself, and a ballerina to mark her first year of dance class.

It's my hope that when the girls grow up and get married I can pass these ornaments on to them to use in their own homes the way my mother did with my childhood ornaments. I just think it's a precious tradition that I pray they one day truly appreciate.

Headed in the right direction

Lola had her six-month post-op check-up today at Children's Hospital in Birmingham with Dr. John Grant III. He gave her a stellar report and said she doesn't have to come back for a year. Yay!!!!

I am thrilled with this news and so pleased with her progress since she had surgery on April 29 for unicoronal crainiosynostosis, which means the left coronal suture in her skull had fused too early and, thus, required surgical correction.

I snapped a few photos of Lola while we were waiting to see Dr. Grant, who, by the way, is a fabulous doctor should you ever be in need of a pediatric craniofacial plastic surgeon. Lola was getting antsy so I got out my camera in a bid to try to distract her for a few minutes.

Here she's playing "Where's Lola?," which is our version of peek-a-boo. It's her favorite game.

I bet she crawled 40 miles in that tiny exam room. She was tired so she fought her sleepiness by moving continuously.

After she'd explored every nook and cranny in the exam room, Lola turned her attention to the wheels on her stroller. They held her attention for a few seconds until she decided the cord to the otoscope was much more interesting. Of course, she completely ignored the bag full of toys I brought for her because they were all safe, clean and child-friendly.

Down on the Farm

Jeff, Lola and I accompanied the entire kindergarten today on a trip to Down on the Farm corn maze and pumpkin patch in Rainsville.

The kids all had a blast, but were exhausted by the end of the day. In fact, Jeff, Lola and I had to leave early because Lola had her fill of farm life and wasn't about to tolerate another second of it.

I am so happy to have gotten to go on the field trip because I was able to see first hand just how much fun everyone had.

The giant blue combine that's had slides added to the front and back of it drew the kids to it like metal to a magnet.

Amelia thought it was fun to "milk" the pretend cow, but she said she's glad we don't have to do this everyday to get our milk.


The real cows captivated Amelia who could have petted these precious calves for hours. She also cracked up when they used their long tongues to reach through the fence to nibble on her jacket.


The goats also got lots of attention from Amelia who plied them with "greener" grass from the other side of the fence.


The snorts and grunts from the pigs proved hilarious to Lola who laughed every time they made the slightest noise. She also enjoyed it when momma managed to get the turkeys to "talk" to her. I never dreamed when my daddy taught me many years ago how to call a turkey that I'd one day use that skill to entertain my child.

The corn pit was the absolute favorite part of the trip for most of the kids. Amelia even let her classmates bury her in corn. She opted out of the merriment, though, when they got a little over-zealous and started covering her face.

Lola had fun in the corn pit too. Both girls had corn in their shoes and pants. I am still finding kernels of corn in the house after they fell out of the girls' pants.

Ballerina girl

Showing off her ballet skills.

Trying to master the shuffle-step in tap class.

Amelia is now in her third year of dance. She is loving it, and her teacher has bragged that she appears to have natural abilities when it comes to dance, especially ballet.

Her daddy, Lola, grandmaw and I got to sit in on class last week so we could see how the girls are doing a little more than a month into the class year. I have to say Amelia has shown some real improvement over last year. It makes my heart happy to see her doing so well and enjoying herself so much.

Halloween fun

We had a great Halloween. Princess Aurora from "Sleeping Beauty" and her little sidekick Lola the cow had tons of fun and got lots of candy.

Isn't she lovely?

Look at those eyelashes!

Cute, cute, cutie pie!!!!

It too forever to get one photo of the both of them facing the camera.
Lola was not in a cooperative mood.

The girls trick-or-treated our neighbors after which we attended our local community festival. We then treked to the church attended by our favorite friends the McClendons where much fun was had by everyone.

On the way to the church Amelia's day caught up with her so she grabbed a quick nap and I jumped on the chance to snap a photo of her literal translation of "Sleeping Beauty."

Amelia and her best buddy Duece had a blast riding the train. They also had so much fun in the bounce house. I was worried we'd have to drag the both of them kicking and screaming from it, but getting them out proved easy once the outside lights were extinguished because neither of them care too much for the dark.

Lola really enjoyed crawling all over the inflatable Twister board at the church, although she didn't care much about jumping on it.

Lola's best friend Cooper is trying to coax her into standing up on the board, but she's having none of it. She didn't care at all for walking on a surface that moved with her every step.

After the festival at the church, we all loaded up and headed over to the McClendon's house. The kids were so excited to have some more time to play together and the grown-ups really liked being able to snag a few minutes of conversation. We are so blessed to have found such wonderful friends with whom we all "click."