A dish best served cold...

Okay so most of my friends know that I can be a little anal. They have all heard the story of the Red King, it is an old post, you can look for yourself, so I won't repeat it. It is enough to say I like having all the pieces in a toy set.

Well, about 6 months ago, Owen lost/hid one of the lug nuts on his little build-it truck. I took a deep breath and waited for it to resurface. Finally about 6 weeks ago, I found the stupid thing and the truck rolled on 4 wheels again.

Of course, it is his toy and I have to let him take it apart and play with it so no surprise, one week after getting the truck back together, one of the wheels goes missing.

Here is the sad little 3 wheeled truck.

So,I took another deep breath and waited and watched. Apparently I didn't watch all the right places because the wheel finally showed up on Sunday on Lisanka's blog!

It seems that Lisanka had a little help from an inside man - Jason!!!!

I suppose the funny part is that it took me almost 2 weeks to see Lisanka's blog. Since Lisanka never blogs, I never look at it. Finally in desperation all of her children and Andrea and Jason asked me if I had seen Lisanka's new post. With a very innocent Jason at my side, I looked at her blog and there it was, the wheel!

To be clear, Lisanka did not call me "fat", I know she does not think I am "fat" and if she did, she would not say it. I threw the "fat" part to give her back a little of her own medicine. We have already worked out a deal to trade the "less than flattering" dress for the wheel. The trade has been delayed by my illness. I am not and never could be upset with Lisanka, I love her and she loves me. However, I know that all of you were in this against me and I will remember and I will get you back one day. You know what they say about revenge...

It was a Merry Christmas and then...

I have not been blogging like I wanted to because we have had such a busy few weeks getting ready for Christmas. We really had a great time with our families.

First was several weeks of cleaning and shopping and cooking and procrastinating and decorating and then at last, Christmas.


This is the house, I planned to put up lights, but ended up just using the cool Christmas Bells my mom-in-law made for me.

The good thing about having company coming over is it gets me motivated. I finally mowed the yard; raked the pine straw; and got on the roof to cleaned off all the leaves and pull some ferns that were rooting in the shingles.


Here is the tree, put up high to keep Owen away from it, still he managed to break 5 ornaments by using balls and other toys to knock the ornaments from the tree, like a carnival game. The little stinker! (Notice the nativity set from last year. We still have the Red King. You might notice that baby Jesus is missing. Owen hid Him this year. It took me two weeks to find Him but finally I stumbled upon Him on Sunday night behind the baby fence. It was my Christmas miracle, at least I had not already ordered a new one. I am getting a little less compulsive I think. LOL!)

We had a quiet Christmas morning with the boys.

Owen was really, really excited about the Soccer ball "Santa" brought him. Owen got lots of balls: 6 soft balls, two bathtub basket ball sets, a shirt with balls on it, a blanket with balls on it (made by his Mommy) and a really cute little t-ball toy. He is in ball heaven. He also got a Little People Farm and a very funny purple horse to bounce on.

Really he loved the ball, I just can't get a good picture of him.



Ross got a new Wiimote and Boom Blocks and Ben 10 toys and lots of Legos. He was really really excited about the new Legos.


They both got new PJ's but clothes don't count, right.


Ross also got a vintage Armatron. Jason found it on Ebay, remember the joystick controlled robot arm that Radio Shack sold in the 80's. Jason had one too. I did wonder, who really got the Armatron for Christmas? Hummm....

We spent Christmas afternoon/evening with Jason family. That is always a lot of fun.

Jason got a subscription to a wood working magazine.


Jason's Dad volunteers as a Santa every year and always gets a picture with all the grandchildren. From the top clockwise we have Noah, Peyton, Ross, Owen, Kylee (aka Hannah Montana), Ella and Ashlynn. Notice that Peyton has a firm grip on Ross' hair.


Owen would not let any other Santa near him, but he had no trouble with Papaw Santa.

Friday and Saturday I got to hang with my sister at her house. Ross loves playing with her boys.

Then Sunday night we hosted a bunch of cousins from Daddy's side of the family at our house. That was a blast too, a little crowded but I think the more the merrier!
Here are some of my cousins:





Can you see the big kids playing with the little kids?


Then on Monday, Jason's brother came over for dinner. I am including these pictures because I thought it was hilarious. Owen, Ella and Kylee were alone in Owen's room for about 30 minutes, but it was enough time to do this. They must have had a good time.



Finally just when everything started to calm down we were struck down by a vicious stomach bug. Ross went down first Monday night, then me 6 hours later and then Jason 6 hours after me. It was a bad day on Tuesday. Today is better, we are all still a little shaky but better. Thankfully Owen was passed over, although, he hasn't been himself either.

I am very glad this happened over vacation so I didn't have to worry about getting Ross to school and Jason gets an extra day off work to recover. Yuckkkk, we never ever want to do this again.

I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year!

My Friend said it made me look FAT!!!!!!

I used to wear this dress but a "friend" at Church told me it made me look FAT...it has plenty of fabric to make a CHRISTMAS pillow, the color is red velvet ...if you know someone that would like some fabric like that ..would y'all let me know...now here is a picture of the item...if you want it...JUST LEAVE A COMMENT...I am willing to trade dress for blue plastic toy truck parts, especially if it is mine to begin with!!!!!!

Our Thanksgiving Trip to Orlando Part 1

We drove down to Orlando on Sunday and got right down to the fun.

On Monday, we went to Disney World. My brother Jon and his family (all girls) went to the Magic Kingdom to see all the Princesses. Jason and I and my sister Nancy took Ross, Owen and her son Jack (all the boys) to Epcot. It was a very sunny but comfortable day and we had a blast.


Me and Nancy at Epcot.


Jack and Ross

First, we took the boys to one of the interactive science halls and got to see a game show about Velcro (aka Hook and Loop). It was really a cute show that probably hardly anyone sees which is a real shame.


Ross and Jack got to play in the first game competing to build a skyscraper out of velcro covered shapes. They won!


Jason and Owen watched with interest. Then the boys got to watch Jason play.



Jason had to put on a Velcro apron and pull baby dolls off a conveyor belt, give the babies a Velcro diaper and a Velcro bottle and stick them on his apron. The Dad with the most babies on his apron won. Of course Jason won even though most of his babies had no diaper on.

Yeah, It's Alive, It's Alive.....

Jason got my computer going and finally told me how to override the "anti-scripts" software so I can blog and Facebook again. Hurray!!!!

Now I have a lot of paperwork to catch up on, just as the Christmas crunch is coming down on me. Oh well, what to do, go to do chores or blog? Blog of course. I need to finish the dishes but I will start catching up from Thanksgiving.

We drove down to Orlando to be with my birth mom and her family ( I will explain all that in my next blog). These pictures pretty much sum up the car trip with Owen, he was literally crawling the walls trying to get out and frankly, I was ready to jump ship too!





No more car trips with Owen for a while!

Ann without her computer: Day 6 and counting

Apparently I broke my computer big time!!!!

Luckily I know Ross' passwords so I can use his computer some. Still...I want my computer back!

Nothing new to report. Went to Payton Emmertson's baptism last night, that was awesome. Tonight is Cub Scouts. Still haven't gotten any Christmas decorations up. I will start working on that this weekend.

I want my computer!!!!!!!!!

I killed it...

...my computer that is. I let down my guard on facebook and foolishly clicked something I should not have and got a really really bad virus. So, Jason had to take my computer down and is trying to put it back together. One big problem is that we can't remember where we put the original Quicken disks. I really miss my computer. I need to run the checking account; I need to finish some PTA business; I need to email; I miss facebook; I need my Christmas card list and I can't get to any of the pictures I want to post. Ughhhhh!!!!!

So for those of you who have emailed or facebooked me, I am temporarily out of action.

As for what else has been going on, yesterday Lisanka taught Owen how to blow kisses, the little stinker, I have been trying to get him to do that for weeks. He is really cute, I will try to put up some video.

Also, we had a great time this weekend at Jason's office Christmas party. Happily Jason works with two of our good friends, so the 6 of us had a blast. They played Dirty Santa too. One of the funniest gifts was a framed $20 bill. I managed to sneak the bill out of the frame when Jason wasn't looking but he noticed and took it back. But then it was stolen by a Dirty Santa. Oh well... It was nice to go out with Jason and not be Mommy for a while. Thanks to the Odom's and the Constantine's for babysitting.

One funny thing: the kids in Primary were practising Christmas songs. Sister Jones was teaching them Stars Were Gleaming (pg 37 in the Children's Song Book). Part of the first verse goes: Ah that singing, hear it ringing, earthward winging, Christmas bringing... After they sang the song a few times, Ross, raised his hand to ask What flying earthworms had to do with Christmas, you know "earthworms winging"?

The funny part is he was totally serious, we finally stopped laughing long enough to explain about "earthward winging". He is a nut!

Y'all keep your fingers crossed for my computer!

My Computer is in the Shop...so I decided to copy Annie's Tag

I foolishly downloaded something I shouldn't have on Facebook and got a very bad virus. So, my computer is "up on the rack" so to speak in Jason's office being cleaned up and updated. Since I don't have access to the pictures of our Thanksgiving trip to Orlando, I will blog about that in a few days. In the meanwhile, I thought this looked like fun.

I got this from Annie's blog, see 4 Against 1 on the left. You are supposed to copy the list and bold any of them that you have done. Like Annie, I have also added a little commentary where needed. So here it goes:

1. Started your own blog obviously
2. Slept under the stars Right after college with a bunch of friends on the beach at Dauphin Island. Jason was there too with his date (not me...hummm) it was fun but damp.
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to DisneyWorld about 15 times, including last week.
8. Climbed a mountain It was at Girl's Camp, we didn't mean too, but we got lost.
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo in our elementary school Disney review, I was Captain Hook, really
11. Bungee jumped (Jason did but he isn't allowed to do it again, I watched along with his date, again not me.)
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child (I am adopted, that should count.)
16. Had food poisoning Bad Chili
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty (I saw the Statue of Liberty but it was already restricted thanks to 9-11)
18. Grown your own vegetables (Ross and I grew a couple of peppers and tomatoes, it is a start)
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you're not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping no comment :P
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied once but it didn't last so I decided that money can never truly satisfy
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelos David
41. Sung karaoke with Stacey Hearn Singleton
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant missionaries aren't really strangers though
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance (I rode in an ambulance with Jason)
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing It was very nauseating, I need to keep moving.
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain At least once I can think of...I wonder when it is supposed to rain again? Oh Jason....
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie (does a church video count?)
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check not on purpose
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone my knee cap, ouch!
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating It was a fish.
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone's life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous soon to be former VP Dick Cheney at KBR
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby Two!
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit I wasn't being sued, I was called to testify on behalf the my old boss, but then the defense decided they didn't like my testimony...
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Read an entire book in one day more than once, most recently Breaking Dawn

Mamaw's 80th Birthday Party

Last month Jason's Grandmother Frances turned 80. We all spent the last few months working on a surprise party for Mamaw, especially Jason's mother. It turned out wonderfully and Mamaw was completely surprised! We had a lot of family come in from out of town. The best part of the party was the night before and the night aftewards when everyone went to Mom and Dad's house to visit. Jason's sister put together a beautiful scrapbook filled with pictures and notes from friends and family. I got to help put together a slideshow for the party. It was really fun to see pictures of Jason's family. I might share a few in another post. Mamaw has 2 sons and 2 daughter-in-laws, 5 grandchildren(all married which includes me), and now 10 great-grandchildren. That became an unplanned part of the surprise, Jason's Uncle Thomas couldn't attend the party like he had planned because his oldest daughter delivered her third child a few weeks early just in time to give Mamaw the good news at the party. Mamaw's brother came down from Kentucky with his son and dughter-in-law. Her nephew came from Georgia with two of his children and their children. Mamaw's Sunday School class and some of her friends from Westminster came too. She was so happy she cried so we all cried. It was a great day! Great Grands Kylee, Owen and Noah Obviously, the cake. Oldest Great Grand Ashlynn with Owen Grandson Matt with Great Grands Ella and Noah Granddaughter April with Owen and Kylee Angela's Family Great Niece Kathleen with Great-great niece and nephew Grandson Chris with Great Grand Peyton Uncle Jason keeping the kids under control The Great Grand Kids gift to Mamaw (they call her Nena cause Jason's Mom is also Mamaw). Owen charming the older ladies as usual. Mamaw's Sunday School Class Great Nephew John with Jenny Great Niece Kathleen with Great Great Nephew Jackson At this point you are probably wondering where the birthday girl is? Well, I realized after these pictures, I mostly took video and then got busy eating and chasing Owen and visiting and playing cards. I will try later to download at least the first video that captures her entrance and reaction. It was a really good day! Happy 80th Mamaw, you mean as much to me as my own grandmothers and I hope you are around for many, many more birthdays and many, many more great-grandchildren.

P.S. One tip, when Walmart says their cheese tray feeds 25, they really mean 125 normal people.