Congratulations Zayne & Whitney!

Zayne and Whitney finally announced their engagement this past weekend. Yes, I said finally. They've been talking about marriage for quite some time now. I'm so happy for both of them. They came to church yesterday, so I got to see the rock on her hand. Wow! Zayne, you did a great job. Whitney said that there's no set date right now because they want to wait until she graduates in May and gets settled in her job. Doug and I wish them all the best.

I have a feeling that it's going to be an exciting year next year, with babies being born (Liz & Nolan's in March and ours in April), graduations (Natalie & Whitney) and now a wedding. Whoo Hoo!

Not everyone has seen Leslie's new puppy, Charlie. Whitney was telling us a story about him yesterday and I told her about Leslie sending me a picture of him. If you don't know, Charlie is a miniature long-haired dachshund, just like Whitney's Layla. I think Charlie is 17 or 18 weeks old and is about the size of a rat. Isn't he a cutie?

After church, we went to go visit Mom and Dad for a little bit. Mom is doing so good about walking. Us sitting outside for so long was getting her stove up, so she asked Dad to help her walk around the driveway. He was on his way to get her walker, but she told him that she didn't want it. She held his hands and walked around the driveway. She said that her, Maryann and June went shopping the other day just around town. I'm glad they were able to do that with her. It does her good to get out and about. Our town has really changed in the past year and Mom's missed out on so much. Well, she's caught up now. June said they wore her out.

Our Last Day At The Beach

Part Four


This is Wayne's famous pink flamingo kite. First of all, I felt bad for him because the wind was so bad causing him to have a very difficult time putting the kite together. When he finally puts it together the little girls flog him, wanting to hold it and I'm not talking about just Katie and Alise. The wind was just too choppy to allow the kite to stay up. Every time he would finally get it up, it would soon take a nose dive to the ground. He made the mistake of letting Alise hold the string at one time because when the kite got up, it took a hard nose dive right on Wayne's head. Ouch! Wayne, I'm sorry but I had to laugh.


Our last night, we ate at "Cosmos Restaurant" in Orange Beach, Alabama. This restaurant isn't that far away from The Wharf. It was a very nice and clean restaurant. I was really sick this night, so Doug checked out the building and found the restroom right off the bat for me. After analyzing this facility, we all came to a conclusion that the restaurant had to have been named after maybe the owner's dog.



Most of you know how Katie can be such a picky eater. Well, Wayne ordered cheese dip and it came with pita chips. I didn't think Katie would like it, but I offered her to try it at least. Would you know that she loved it? That's all she would eat and took maybe a couple of bites of her cheeseburger.



When we got back to the room, we got the girls dressed and took some more beach pictures.


I was so surprised how much Doug really enjoyed our beach vacation because he normally doesn't care for the beach (sand). Yesterday, he was talking about it again and asked Katie if she would like to go back next year. You talk about shock! I turned and looked at him in disbelief. I asked him about it and he said that he wouldn't mind going back next year. In fact, he got on the computer to see how much a rental house would cost on beach in the Gulf Shores/Orange Beach area. Wow!

Oh I have to give a quick ROLL TIDE! I fell asleep during the second half, so I missed all the action. I couldn't believe Doug when he said that Georgia scored 30 points after Bama was beating their bottom. Wow! What a game!

The Wharf

Part Three

As I said earlier, I didn't feel well enough to go out to eat with the others the first night. The second night, we ate here at "Fish Tales" by The Wharf Marina in Orange Beach, Alabama. According to the internet, it was rated the #1 place to eat in Orange Beach. I was all for it because I wanted to finally be able to go to The Wharf. I've heard so much about The Wharf through "The Rick & Bubba Show". Last year, before I made reservations with The Lighthouse Condos, I tried getting us into The Wharf. Wow! If you are planning to stay at The Wharf, be sure to bring your wallet. The Wharf is a really cool place to stay, I'm sure, because there's shopping, fishing, golfing and etc to keep you entertained.


Here we are by the marina, on our way to be seated at "Fish Tales" to eat. Oh my gosh, the smoky favor of their barbeque was filling the air and it smelled so good.


Katie and Doug really liked "Fish Tales" menu. The menus were made with wood, cut out and painted to look like a fish. Really cute! They sold these menus in their shop. Wayne showed me later that he bought one of the menus.


A boat coming into the marina as we were sitting and enjoying our meal. In the background of this picture, we were all watching a couple of dolphins playing in the water before this boat pulled in. I was afraid Katie wouldn't see them, but she did end up seeing them before they moved on.


This was our waiter from "Fish Tales". Isn't he cute? I kept thinking to myself, man this guy looks so much like Johnny Depp or Max Brady (Days of Our Lives). As soon as he left our table, I told everyone I couldn't get over how much he looks like Johnny Depp. Wayne piped up and agreed. He even suggested that he looks like Orlando Bloom. While I was buying a t-shirt from their shop, Wayne was asking our waiter if people have told him how he looks like Johnny Depp or Orlando Bloom. By the time I got back to the table, the poor guy was blushing and telling Wayne "yeah, I've been told that". He went on to say that he was kind of glad because he is studying to be an actor.


Of course after supper, we headed over to The Wharf resort to check it out. The girls wanted to ride the Ferris Wheel. Do you know how long it's been since I rode a Ferris Wheel? Oh my gosh, I think the older I get the worse my fear of heights gets. As soon as we got to the top of this thing, I gave the camera over to Doug and I held on for dear life.


We are inside the bucket of the Ferris Wheel.


The Horton's in the next bucket.


This is a picture of "The Wharf Condos" and surrounding shops.






On the way back to our room, Doug and I ran into a Publix. Whoo Hoo! We had to go check it out and get a few groceries. Katie had fun playing inside the buggy.


Here's Laura, Alise and Katie with their crab nets. We all got ready with our flashlights and nets and went crabbing down at the beach. Katie didn't like the idea of being so close to the ocean waves, so her and Doug went and played in the sand. Us girls were getting a little tired. We headed back to our room, while the boys were still hunting for crabs. It wasn't too long before here they came with two little sand crabs in their net.


Here are our crabs. We released them back to the beach, our last day we were there.



Prayer Request

My nephew, Jonathan, has been sick again. Poor thing, he seems to be sick a lot. He still has his tonsils. He had an appointment with a ENT last Wednesday and the doctor suggested having his tonsils taken out. Now, I know normally children recover from this surgery in no time. The thing is Jonathan is 14 years old and I know this surgery is much harder on older people. Susan, of course, is very nervous. I would be as well because so much can happen. The surgery is scheduled a week from Monday, I believe. Please pray that God will lay His hand on Jonathan during this surgery. Also that He will give Susan the peace and strength that she needs to get through this difficult time. Thank you!

Hanging By The Beach

Part Two

The picture above is where we stayed during our vacation. We had such a great experience there. If you are looking for a great beach vacation get-a-way, Doug and I highly recommend "The Lighthouse Condos" at Gulf Shores, Alabama. Every condo has a balcony that faces the ocean on the beachfront. So you won't have to worry, if just a portion of your balcony or none of it is facing the ocean. It is a very big building with a total of 18 floors.


Wayne and Doug went to great strengths to put this tent up, in order for all of us to be able to enjoy our vacation a little better. To defend Wayne, the wind was crazy the day they constructed this structure. Any woman would have a very bad hair day, the wind was that bad. Now, when Wayne and Doug finally got the tent together the anchors that came with the tent were not long enough to keep it to the ground. We all tried to pile the sand around the footers, hoping it might keep it still. Later, Laura told us that when she was down by the water, she looked back and could see the tent swaying back and forth.

As you can see that one leg that I'm working on was calling "RETREAT" against the wind. While the guys were playing with the girls and Doug taking my picture, Laura and myself tried to restore the tent.


Oops! I guess the wind won this battle.



I had to take a picture of this guy. Early that morning, he brought out a bag of loaf bread and began feeding the seagulls. He would actually take bread crumbs and throw them up in the air for the birds to catch. You talk about a flog of seagulls. Unfortunately, when the man left the birds didn't follow him.


I was a little surprised in the children that were there, close to Katie and Alise's age for them to play with. They both made several friends and had a wonderful time. This water that the girls are playing in was formed from ocean waves and sand, which was perfect for the kids to play in. I have to say that it was the main attraction for the small children on the beach. They shared their toys with each other. I have more pictures on our photosite.

Our Lovely Beach Vacation

Part One

The above picture is one of my favorite beach pictures of Katiebug. Thank goodness for digital cameras because we have so many pictures. I know on one camera we ended up with well over 300 photos and there's no telling what's on the other camera.

I'm sorry I didn't keep you up-to-date on our vacation. If you haven't read Laura's blog lately, we didn't have wi-fi in our condo and Doug had to get us a cable to hook up to the internet. I'm sorry I didn't keep you updated on our vacation. When I did have opportunities to blog, I just didn't feel good. Needless to say, you will probably be reading a lot of little stories about our trip for the next few days. Ha!

Doug was nice enough to go out and take a few pictures of a sunrise for me. It was so beautiful while we were there. The wind was a little crazy at times, but the temperature was very comfortable.


Early in the morning, the fishermen came out to catch that BIG ONE. Unfortunately, we didn't see them catch anything.



Laura and I had bought the girls matching outfits especially for our beach trip. We got to take a few good beach pictures of them. They haven't seen each other in several months. As soon as they reunited, it was as if they were back where they left off. Yeah, there was a time or two where they were so tired, but overall they played so well together.

Is There A Baby In Your Belly?

Okay, I had to write this story before I forgot about it. To start off, my sinuses have decided to drain today. Needless to say, I'm thankful that I got Katie packed and ready yesterday. As far as Doug and myself, we may have to do what the Horton's are doing . . . throwing all of our clothes in a suitcase and run out the door.

Well, I had to watch my soap opera "Days of Our Lives" this afternoon. On my soaps, Phillip took Kate to the hospital because she had a bad cough. She ended up coughing up blood and the nurse took her to have some x-rays done. Katie asked me if Kate was sick. I agreed. Katie told me that Kate had a bad cough, then she starts pretending to cough. Then out of the blue, Katie asked me, "does she have a baby in her belly?" (talking about Kate). I told her no that she was just really bad sick. Katie turns to me and asked, "do you have a baby in your belly?" I asked her what did she think. "No" she responded. I asked her if she wanted me to have a baby in my belly. "Yeah" she answered. Then, she got all shy on me {smiling} and she hid her head under the pillow on the couch. I asked her if she wanted a baby, which would she want a baby brother or baby sister. I couldn't get her to answer because she seemed very shy about the whole thing.

My Hair

Alright y'all, I finally got my hair cut. Yay! I allowed my hair to grow past my shoulder and also grew out my bangs. As heavy as my hair can get, you talk about straight flat hair. I understand that's the style now though, but not on me. I haven't been to my hair dresser since Sandy was here in May. You talk about me needing help. For the past few weeks, I've just been pulling my hair back in a comb. I walked into my hair dressers place and she couldn't believe how long my hair got. She agreed with me, she didn't like my hair being so flat on the top. It's because when my hair gets long, it gets really heavy. She did like the length of my hair and I still have my flippies, which she said I'll probably always have those. That's okay because I like my flippies and she does too. She kept asking me which direction we want to go with my hair and I gave her permission to do her magic. I told her that I'm a blank canvas waiting for her creation. lol! I did tell her that I needed something simple because of me being pregnant and a three year old to take care of. She made to where I can just toss around when I dry my hair. I like it pretty good. The only bad thing is my hair needs some color, but she said that we'll have to wait until I'm 4 months pregnant. Thank goodness I'll be able to color before Thanksgiving. Yay!

I've got to tell you. Theresa, my hair dresser, got out her Chinese Calendar once again for me. It's prediction was correct when I was pregnant with Katie. This time, it's saying that we are to expect a BOY! Wouldn't that be great to have one of each? I wouldn't care a bit, if we had another girl though. It doesn't matter to me, I just hope it doesn't seem like a long pregnancy. Ha!

This evening, I'm planning to start packing up Katie, things she doesn't need right now. Hopefully, I'll be able to get some more laundry done and some things done around the house today. Wish me luck because I don't know if I'll be able all of it.

Doug sent this to me saying it was the future for Tubby. So sad, but funny! Roll Tide!

Yesterday, Katie and I went to Walmart, which is a huge milestone for me these days. lol! I haven't been to a Walmart in probably a month. I had a list of things that we would need for our trip and I didn't want to depend on Doug to get them. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure he would have done a great job. I just knew in my mind exactly what I wanted and didn't want to put that pressure on him, in case he was to get something different. Katie loves Walmart and I probably bought more stuff for her. I needed a new toothbrush. While I was picking out one that I like, Katie pipes up and begs me for a Hello Kitty automatic toothbrush. She is terrible when it comes to brushing her teeth. She sat in the buggy giving me a hundred and one promises to brush her teeth better, if I get this toothbrush for her. I told her that we would get it for the trip, so that made her day. Of course, Katie helped me pick out the best candy and gifts for her and Alise to share. Too funny! Everything she wanted, she made sure to tell me "I'll share it with Alise Mom". I've been having a hard time here lately reminding Katie the way you say Alise's name. You see, Katie has a Barbie movie that the main character's name is "Annelise". So, Katie's been calling Alise - Annelise. Every time she says it, I've been correcting her and then she says it correctly. Laura, you'll have to forgive her next week when she's calling Alise - Annelise.


I took these pictures of Katie when we were on our way to ballet class. She loves to pose in her leotards. I have more pictures on the photosite.

Katie has discovered acorn nuts. As most of you know, we are surrounded by oak trees. This time of year, we hear a lot pings and dings from acorns falling off the trees. If you have never been exposed to the tiny falling grenades, it will make you jump or scare you a little especially if they hit the car. The first time Katie heard this, she froze and asked me "what was that?" We've been walking around in the yard just about every evening and the first time she saw an acorn, she picked it up and told me "Mom, I found a coconut". I don't know where she's heard the word coconut. After giggling over the word coconut, I corrected and told her it was an acorn. "Oh", she said. I showed her how to roll or throw them down the driveway and she thought that was the best game. I just encouraged her because Doug and I hate acorns. They cover our yard in the Fall and then the next Spring, we have to battle oak trees seedlings. Now every afternoon, we have to pick up and throw acorns down the driveway.

Beautiful Fallish Morning

We had such a beautiful fallish morning today. Katie and I had to be a part of it. I bundled up Katiebug, got her all set up with Cheerios and juice and away we went. We just walked through the neigborhood, checking out all the activities going on throughout our little neighborhood. Everyone was busy, visiting with other neighbors, walking around like us, and lawn services out and about making the lawn look their best for Fall. The temperature was 65 degrees and a light cool wind blowing. A lot of our trees' leaves are turning yellow, orange, red and brown. The oak trees are beginning to drop acorn nuts onto the ground. I've noticed that the trees are heavy with nuts and our Bradford Pear has quite a big crop of pears (tiny pears) this year. You know, you always hear that if there's a big crop of fruits and nuts, then that means we are headed for a long winter. We had a pretty snowy winter last year. I wonder, if we are headed for another one. Don't get me wrong, you won't hear anything bad out of mouth about a snowy winter. I love it! I guess it's because we don't see much of it every year.

Our vacation is on countdown and we are so excited. I've been emailing Laura all morning with list, ideas and other information. When I reminded Katie that we are getting closer to our vacation, she's been more concerned over what she wants to take on the trip. lol! Isn't that typical of kids? Of course, she wants to take her Barbie movies and a few Barbie dolls. I think I'm going to limit that to 4 Barbie dolls (2 Barbies per girl). She told me that when we go to the beach, we are going to see a Diamond Castle in the sand. I told her that we will be staying in a pretty big house that looks like a castle. Her eyes got all big, "really?" she asked. Then she got all excited again. Unfortunately, she thought we were leaving today. I had to remind her again that it will just be a few more days. I've been making my list of things we don't need to forget like Katie's sandbox toys, medical supplies, specific clothes for Katie to have her picture made with Alise, and etc. As most of you know, I like to be prepared - sick or not.

For the past few days, Katie's been on a big Christmas kick. Of course, she wants every toy she sees on TV and she tells me "I tell Santa Claus that I want that for Christmas". I tell her that's a good idea. She's requested to watch "Frosty the Snowman, Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer and Santa Claus" movies. She's dug out her animated Frosty the Snowman stuff dolls and have been playing with them. I'll be laying in bed, sick, and I'll hear the song "Let It Snow, Let It Snow" playing in her room. One of her snowmen dances around and sings.

We got an unexpected visit from Ryan, Kacy and Maryann today. Ryan and Kacy were at Perdido Bay last week and stopped by on their way home. Kacy said she had never been to the gulf, so it was special for her. Ryan and Kacy agree that they are ready to go back to school, so they are planning to apply to Duke University next May or July. I wish them all the best of luck.

Oh My Gosh!

Ike hasn't hit the main land yet and every one's worried about gas. It's so bad here that our gas prices went from an average $3.79 to $4.10 a gallon in just a few hours. Our local reporters have found it as high as $4.50 a gallon. They are saying it's from the gas infirmaries shutting down off the Texas shore. Doug had to get a couple of gallons in order to mow our grass tomorrow. He went to BP and it was $3.99, but he said that there were lines at places like Walmart & Jet-Pep, where they sell much cheaper gas. All you hear on the news or radio is about the gas price hike. Wayne and Doug have been talking on the phone about it and Wayne reported that their gas prices are at $6.00 a gallon in OLLA (Louisiana). AAA agents have advised people that the problem is basically coming from gas stations that receive their gas everyday. Since the infirmaries shut down, apparently those daily gas stations didn't receive their usual daily delivery. This can excite some gas station owners and make them feel forced to raise gas prices because they don't want to run out. This effort from the station owners doesn't help the cause, in fact it makes things worse. The public in turn will go into complete chaos and loading up on gas because their afraid that the gas stations are either going to continue to raise prices or they will run out of gas all together. Of course, all of this is true. AAA advises that everyone just calm down and gas stations do not need to raise prices because this is considered price gouging and is against the Alabama State law, if it is in the state of emergency. They added if you don't need gas right away, don't get any because it will just add to the chaos.

I can't believe this is the last weekend before our BIG beach trip. Of course, I'm a little concerned because there are reports coming out of flooding at Dauphin Island, which is 35 miles West of Orange Beach. The flooding is from Hurricane Ike surges. Doug's already freaking out because gas prices are suppose to rise all week and we're driving to Orange Beach. I just hope it will be beautiful because I know the high temperatures around here are suppose to get down around the lower 80's. Yes, I love the Fall season because of the colors and much cooler weather.

I may have not been out and about these past few weeks, but Doug has been bringing home movies. I didn't think I would like "Transformers", but surprisingly it was pretty good. I absolutely loved "Baby Mama" with Tina Fey. Oh my gosh! I wasn't feeling very good at the time when I was watching it, but I had to laugh at a lot of the scenes. I highly recommend this hilarious movie!

My Little Miss Bubble Queen

Katie relaxing while taking a tubby. She longs to be a mermaid one day

Miss Bubble Queen

On a side note: I'm still experimenting with cutting this sickness in half, in order to have a great beach trip in a week. During the day, I've been taking Zophran to help with the nausea. So far it works pretty good. The pill lasts about 8 hours before needing another one. In the past few weeks, I've been taking a Penegran at night for the nausea and it helps me sleep. Personally, I don't think it help too much with the nausea, but it does knock me out. Well, last night I tried a Zophran instead of the Penegran. Nope. It doesn't work as long as it does during the day. Darn! I was so hoping to find the cure, but around 5:30 I began getting sick. I finally had to go to bed at 6:00. Allison suggested I try Lemon Heads or Lemon Drops and Laura has suggested trying anything with ginger like ginger snap cookies. So, I'm going to be making a grocery store trip today. Thank you for all the advice on the situation. I know y'all have got to be tired of reading about my sickness all the time. I'm sorry. I promise one day, I'll be singing from the mountain tops when the sickness finally goes away and I can write about something else. Then, you'll get to read several months or years about the new baby and baby blues. lol! I bet you can't hardly wait.

Just a Cute Story

I forgot to add this cute story of Katie

Tuesday, Peggy decided to go with us to ballet class. She thought it would be a good idea to find out where Katie's class was located, in case she would have to bring her one day. On our way to ballet, I was telling Peggy about the doctor visit. I was telling her about the baby kicking and flipping around. Out of the blue, Katie chimes in and asked Peggy "that baby kicked my Mommy?" Peggy agreed with her, which made her say it again a few more times. Mind you, Katie still doesn't know about the baby; however, we think she is putting two and two together. She still hasn't asked if I have a baby in my tummy, but I'm sure it won't be long.

Katie has been taking such good care of me. She still comes up to me and ask how I'm doing. One day, I wasn't doing so great. She told me, "Mommy, you need to tell people that you don't feel good and go to bed."

I'm Still Among The Living

Okay, I'm trying to update my blog because I've got a lot of people concerned about me. I want to thank all of you that have called or emailed the past couple of days, it makes me feel loved. Yeah, I'm still here. I have a feeling this is going to be a very long pregnancy unless I get some relief. lol! I asked Doug the other day, if it was April yet?

Doug and I had our last appointment with Dr. Long on Tuesday. I told the doctor and nurses about my many problems. Dr. Long recommended Miralax for one of the problem, which I will spare you with all the details. Ugh! When I told the nurse about how I have to go to bed around 7:00 because the nausea gets so bad at night. All she did was nod and agree that sickness will do that. What a pregnant person wants to hear is "oh, don't suffer like that. Why don't you take this miracle drug and you'll feel 100% better." I waited and waited for her to say something, but nope. Nothing. Darn! We got to see the baby again. It makes you feel good when you see that your baby is all nestled in his little space and doing well. He was having a good time. His little feet were kicking and the arms were flying around. The tech tried to take some pictures for our scrapbook, but he wouldn't be still long enough. Needless to say, you can't tell anything by the pictures that we received. As the tech was trying to show us his eye sockets and jaw bone, the little stinker decided to flip around. I guess he just didn't want to be bothered. You know, Katie was the same way. As Dr. Long was dismissing me, he said that everything is looking great and for us to let them know when the baby arrives.

During the night hours while I'm lay in bed watching TV and trying to relax, Doug and Katie are really bonding. He's done so good getting her ready for bed. I do as much as I can before I go to bed and then Doug finishes up later. Before I found out we were expecting, Katie always cried for me when she needed something. Now, she hollers for her daddy. Last night, he turned on one of her new movies, "Barbie and the Diamond Castle" for her to watch in her bedroom. When the movie was over, she began hollering "daddy, the movie's off". He'd go back there and get her all fixed up with another movie. It's been cute listening to them and their conversations.

I haven't gotten out of the house much. I just haven't felt good enough to want to go to the store. I have been wanting to get out and walk around the neighborhood for some kind of exercise. Monday morning, it was nice and cool. I thought, this would have been a perfect opportunity to walk a little bit. Unfortunately, Katie didn't want to leave her Noggin time. I tried my best to talk it up and make it fun. Would you believe that she cried, screamed and fussed one whole block? Yeah, we only went around one block and Katie was none too happy about it. With all the screaming and crying, "I don't want to walk!" She got the neighborhood dogs to barking, which made her fuss even more because she said that the dogs were scaring her. Once we got back home, she was so happy and began giggling. Ugh!

Mom's been going so good. With the help of Susan and Maryann, Mom and Dad were able to go to church together last Sunday. Susan said it was a very emotion moment. She said that everyone in the congregation stood up and clapped for Mom's return. Then, their Pastor Bro. Terry stood up and sang a song that he dedicated to her. Mom said they really know how to make a person feel special. Maryann told me that she took some pictures of Mom and Dad before they left for church. It was a very special day for all of them.

Did You Hear?

Ballet Practice
Yesterday, I made it through ballet practice. I was talking to one of my new friends, Kim, about Katie pee-peeing in her leotards last week with Doug. Kim started laughing. She said that she felt so bad for Doug because there was no clothes to change her in. I explained that I've been really sick lately and he was helping me out by taking her to practice. Kim and another lady (don't know her name yet) made me feel better by say that they are surprised that their little girls haven't had an accident yet. Both of their little girls just turned 4 years old. It was fun swapping girl stories. While Katie was in practice, I went over to the ballet store and picked her up a skirt and an extra pair of tights. I know, I know. I said this will probably be the last month Katie will be taking ballet. I just hate taking that away from her because I might get sick on the way to practice. I'm still hoping the morning sickness won't be so bad this time around. When I got back from the store, I finally got a sneak peek of them practicing. Anna does so well with all those little girls. When I saw them, they were all laying on the floor and stretching their necks and arms out. They were all lined up in two rows. Katie looked like she was having so much fun. I heard Anna say pretend you're an airplane. Katie was grinning and laughing with her arms stretched out. That morning, I preached to her about telling Mrs. Anna if she has to go pee-pee. Sure enough, one of Anna's helpers came out with Katie. Katie was jumping up and down and running around. I had a terrible time getting her to calm down to go potty. She didn't do a thing, but at least she told them that she had to go potty. lol!

On the way home, Katie talked my ears off about ballet. She told me what they did like running around in circles, dancing and playing with her friends. It was so cute hearing her talking about her experience. She told me, "Mom, I like my teacher. I have fun with her and she gives me pink ballet stickers."

Doctor's Appointment
Tomorrow is a big day for me and baby Mason. I get another once over at the doctor's office and if the baby is still measuring 9 + weeks old, we will be released next week from Dr. Long's care. You get a sense of relief that the baby is still doing great and growing, but at the same time you get a sense of fear. You know in your heart, you're baby won't get the weekly supervision from here on out. Actually, the baby won't need the weekly supervision and constant blood testing like you need at the very early time of pregnancy. Peggy and Millard are planning to pick Katiebug up tonight to spend the night with them. I don't like to stay away from home too long after an appointment because the way I've been getting sick, but I hope to stop off at Target to pick up a few things that we need at home. Poor Doug has been the grocery shopping Dad for the past few weeks. There are certain things that I can't expect him to pick up like Mr. Clean Magic Erasers. I'm sure I'll make it just fine.

Remember When
As a teenager, the big nightly soap opera was "90210". I really like that show and couldn't wait to get to school and talk about it with my girlfriends. At one point during college life, I stopped watching the show that is until I got married. Doug was a big "90210" and "Melrose Place" guy. We picked up right where we left off with the two shows until they were cancelled. Well, now "90210" is back with all new faces and a few old faces like Kelli, Brenda and The Peach Pit. As I was laying in bed sick, Doug told me that it was on. I had to stay up and watch it. It reminded me a lot of the old one. I hope it changes times or nights because right now it comes on at the same time "House" is on. The new "House" premiere's is suppose to come on next week and I don't want to miss it.

Tide News
Did you hear about this? On the local news, it was reported that Clemson's football coach, Tommy Bowden, called up Nick Saban, Alabama's football coach the other day. Literally, he asked Saban what the Clemson team did wrong during the game last weekend. He was desperately seeking help on how to get his team back in shape and ready for the next game. Wow! The reporters didn't report what Saban's response was to Bowden's questions. By the way, Alabama went from a #25 in the poll to #13. That's great! Plus, be watching the news stands for the new Sports Illustrated because the Tide made the front cover. This magazine went on sale last night.

Beach Trip Worries
I'm beginning to get a little anxious about the beach trip in 3 weeks. This anxiety is because of back to back hurricanes out in the ocean. If you don't know, there are currently three storms out there - Hannah, Ike & now Josephine. All three should pass by in the next week, but still what's to come next. Ike's path is headed for the Gulf, which could be bad news for the coastal states again. Like Laura, I'm hoping our hotel will be there in the next few weeks. Isn't that terrible to think that way?

NOLA Evacuees
Lastly, our local news reporters interviewed a few of the NOLA evacuees last night. The reporters asked them how their stay has been in Alabama? Every person they interviewed could do nothing but complain about Alabama's hospitality. Yes, they had a dry roof over their head. Yes, they have food in their bellies. Yes, their pets were being taken care of in a near by parking lot reserved just for the pets. But all they could gripe about is that they haven't received any money from the State of Alabama and they have to spend their own money. Oh and on top of that, the food that's been given to them to eat for free, taste terrible. Mayor Langford of Birmingham evaluated the situation and applauded Alabama's hospitality for these evacuees and the way all the shelters have been organized. He did add with so many different types of people, you can't accommodate everyone.

I've Got Bama Fever

Hey you Bama fans, how do you like my new Bama Pride layout? Ha! Ha! All the pictures were taken by myself or Portrait Innovations (Katie & Alise). I wanted to draft out a layout for the football season, but as you can understand I ran a little behind.

How about that game Saturday night? How exciting! I hit the bed around 7:30 p.m., but still watching the game. I screamed and yelled right along with the rest of them. I felt like I was dying, but forced myself to stay up because I couldn't stop watching this exciting and very surprising game. Wow! Was that really JP throwing that pigskin? Ingram made his mark all through this game. Don't forget the perfect plays by Walker! This is exactly what Bama fans have been waiting for a very long time. And you know what? The Tide and Saban were able to deliver. Congratulations to them for a fantastic beginning to the season! I finally had to pass out by 9:00 p.m. and missed the rest of the game. Trust me, I didn't want to miss it. Doug woke me up at 11:00 and told me the final score Alabama 34 - Clemson 10. What a great game! Doug told me that Katie stayed up the whole time. He said between the plays, she would get out in the middle of the floor and began her ballet dancing. lol! She's a character! He said the more Peggy laughed, the more she danced.

I hope everyone had a good Labor Day weekend. We pretty much hung around close to home this year. We did visit Mom and Dad on Saturday evening. I hated that I wasn't much to visit with at the time, but they seemed to understand that was my down time. Kevin, Maryann, Whitney and Zayne were also there visiting. Maryann and Whitney were a lot of help getting Mom's clothes re-organized and cleaned out. Whitney was so sweet to cook supper for everyone. Unfortunately, the smell of fried food was really getting to me and I had to go outside for a while. Ugh!

Whitney and Leslie are loving rooming together. Whitney said that they cook every other night together. By the way, these two girls are very good cooks. They both love to cook and trying new recipes. Leslie told me that they've been going through some the recipes I gave her, which makes me feel good. I told Doug, they know how to get on their aunt's good side. lol! Whitney said for her class project this year, she has to find someone whose expecting a baby and do an evaluation as they go through their pregnancy. I feel honored because she asked me, if she could use me for her research for next few months.

Us ladies were catching up on the latest, when June called Mom on her cell phone. Their beach trip to the Gulf was cut short because of Hurricane Gustav. They tried to cancel their reservations last week, but they couldn't get their money back because at the time an evacuation had not been set into place. They got down there Friday night and by 9:00 Saturday morning the hotel personnel contacted all guests and told them that they had to be checked out by 10:00 a.m. Talk about last minute notice. June told the hotel host that they would try to be out in an hour, but they just got out of bed. She said they checked out by 10:30 and was on the road home. June said the north bound traffic was terrible, as you can imagine. It's too bad that they didn't get to enjoy their beach vacation, but I'm glad they got home safe. Nicholas came home with June and Pat because Spring Hill cancelled their classes until this storm blows over. He told me that he is loving Spring Hill and the whole campus life.

Gov. Bob Riley said that Alabama welcomed a little over 12,000 New Orleans evacuees. There are shelters all over the state offering people a place to stay and food. The news crew interviewed lots of the NOLA people from the BJCC because Gov. Riley was there visiting. He was up from Montgomery to welcome NOLA and to see if there was anything that Alabama could do to help. Right off the bat, someone asked if the State of Alabama would be offering financial help to the evacuees. Oh me! This interview was taken before the storm even hit shore. I really feel for these people having to be taken away from their familiar surroundings and not knowing if their home will still be where they left it or what they might come home to. How scary? What gets my goat is when people look at a awful situation as a profitable opportunity. I really hope that was not the initial intent in this person's question. God be with them if it is. Please remember all the storm victims in your prayers.

If I hear one more reporter ask the question, "Can a woman Vice President of the United States be able to run the country and be able do her motherly duties at the same time?" I think I'm going to scream. I think that decision should be left up to the woman who is considering the job and not the press. Sarah Palin's husband is the stay at home Dad and I see nothing wrong with that choice. That's exactly what it is a choice between a husband and wife. Just like I made the choice to stay at home with my babies until they begin school. Okay, I'm done ranting.