A Very Full Weekend

Katie's Ballet Recital

Katie's ballet recital was a hit! She did a great job and we are very proud of her. Here's a video of her rehearsal:

Zayne and Whitney's House Party
Katie was so excited to get to play with Nia. I love Whitney's colors in her Kitchen/Dining Room/Living Room area, it's chocolate and blue.  I like these colors, but I never would have thought it would look as good as it does in your Living Room.  Whitney has such good taste.  Maybe when I decide to re-decorate, I'll call her up. 

You can see the color scheme better in this picture

The kiddos enjoying their play time together.  Colton stayed right with them having a good time.

Sweet couple with baby boy

We had a fish fry with all the sides - notice it rained most of the morning

Whitney's Kitchen - June smiling for the camera before taking a bite of homemade chocolate ice cream

Zayne took Jon for a rock climbing adventure in his jeep

Memorial Day
We hung out by the pool today, celebrating Memorial Day. Did you get to watch "Band of Brothers" all day today on the Spike channel? Doug and I watched a little early this morning and a little more tonight, while the children were in bed. I can't begin to imagine what it was like over in Normandy.
I would like to say:

Thank you Veterans

those who fought and those who are still fighting

for mine and my families' freedoms!

Colton loved playing in the big tubby

I had the kids dressed up all Patriotic.  I wanted a picture of them together by the pool.  Unfortunately, as soon as we drove up into June & Pat's driveway, Katie noticed Jon was in the water and had to get in it immediately.  So there went my cute picture.

We were surprised how long Colton left his cap on his head

Our little mermaid! We had a terrible time getting her out of the pool

Katie and her swim buddy, Whitney

Catching up on the latest

HGTV has a new sweepstakes going on right now. You can enter daily from May 14-June 13 and have a chance to win $100,000, plus a trip for two to Hawaii.

I can't believe it's Memorial Day weekend already. We don't have much planned at all. Sunday, we are having a cook out here for Doug's Mom & Dad because she has to work on Monday. We were invited to go to June & Pat's house on Monday for supper. I clipped out a recipe from our local newspaper. They had a special section for the Memorial Day weekend. It was submitted by someone we know (he owns an outdoors store & cooks out on his grill lots during the Summer). It is a different approach to grilling chicken. Basically, he says to take a whole fryer; rub it down with olive oil; coat it with your favorite seasoning; place it on a chicken rack (drunkn' chicken); close the neck cavity up with a sausage; place a half full beverage can (pour a little bit more seasoning inside the can)on the other end of the cavity and place the chicken rack on your gas grill and cook for 1.5 hours. It sounds good. I can't wait to try it out.

While your outside enjoying the long holiday weekend, you might encounter bug bites. Better Homes and Gardens give us a simple remedy for these unwanted bites. They suggest Lavender to ease the itching bite.

For a Single Bite
Place one drop of lavender oil directly on the bite.

For Multiple Bites
*Make a blend of 1 cup cider vinegar, or the juice of two lemons, mixed with 10 drops lavender oil and 5 drops thyme essential oil.
*Add the mixture to a tub of water.
*Swish it around before you or your child gets in.
*Soak a washcloth or sponge and liberally wipe down the bites.
*Keep the water away from eyes.

Tonight is the opening night of the new "Pirates of the Caribbean" movie. Did you stand in line to see it? I would like to see it just not right now. I guess I'm getting old because I don't want to face the crowd. I'm spoiled with renting DVDs and watching them in the privacy of my own home.

Memorial Day

"Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down his life for his friends."~John 15:13~

Have a wonderful and safe Memorial Day weekend! Take care of each other and God Bless You!

Isn't Life Great?!?

http://www.foxnews.com/video2/images/50_vid_052407_foxflash_220.jpg
Can anyone tell me what the heck Ozzy is say? Check it out!

Doug is working on school projects - he has to write a paper, I can hear Katie playing in her bed, while I'm in bed watching RV and blogging. Isn't life great? Have you ever seen the movie RV with Robin Williams? If you haven't seen it, you've got to watch it as soon as possible. Funny!

I've always had a terrible time keeping my cat groomed and I wanted to wait a little longer before I took her to the groomers to get her Summer cut. So while I was at WalMart, I got these special grooming tools for tangles & thinning my pets hair. When we got home, I put Katie to bed for her 2 1/2 hour nap and I thought I would try out the grooming tools. Poor Sassy! You have to understand, she is approximately 14 years old and has arthritis bad in her back legs. The tools worked pretty good. I'm sure they would have worked better if I wasn't trying to be so careful with Sassy. She is VERY sensitive in a few areas (old age), so she can get a little mad at me. This is one of the very reason why I hate grooming Sassy and why I have so much trouble grooming her. After 1 1/2 hours, I quit for the day and hopefully I will pick up tomorrow where I left off. Needless to say, she looks as if a wild weedeater got loose on her. I'm sure her groomer will be able to work with her a little better and make her look pretty again.

Since I didn't get into bed last night until 2:00 a.m. this morning due to blogging and working on my many projects, I decided to sleep in this morning until 8:00 when Katie woke me up ready to go. I went to wash a load of clothes, start where I had left off from the day before, and I was out of Tide. Ugh!!!! I wanted to stay home and do the little odd jobs that I keep putting on the back burner. But no, I needed to go to WalMart. I got Katie occupied with Little Einsteins and her milk as I got a shower. I like to leave the bathroom door open in case of an emergency and Katie needed to get to me. Well it didn't last long at all. Before long she was in the bathroom with me, trying for best to get in the tub with me. Ugh!!!!! Here I had her dressed and hair fixed for the day and she's getting all wet. First, she felt that I needed the company of all of tub toys. Secondly, As I'm stumbling over the toys trying to wash the soap out of the eyes, she's pulling the curtain back to see what I'm doing. "What doing, Mommie?" she asked. If she asked it once, she asked it a million times. As I'm trying to shave my legs - "What doing, Mommie?" she asked again. I told her, "I'm shaving my legs, baby girl." "Okay, Mommie!" she said. This is her new saying: "Okay, Mommie." If you tell her or ask her something, she'll respond with "Okay, Mommie." Isn't it cute? Apparently, I say Okay a lot because she likes to say it a lot as well. Even though Katie's hair got wet and her clothes a little damp, I just let her air dry. Oh by the way, I weighed Katie today and according to our scales, she weighs 24 lbs. Isn't that great? We knew she felt a little heavier. It must be all the cheese, cheese puffs, fries & McDonald's Chicken Nuggets. Speaking of McDonald's, yesterday she got a baby Shrek in her Happy Meal. It is so cute and Katie just loves it. She calls it Baby Shrek.

I spoke to Liz today and she is doing good. They are getting a computer next week, I think. She is so excited to get out on the web once again. She said it's been 5 years since they had access to the Internet at home. She has been going to the Library, if she needed to get on the Internet. Of course, I informed her of Photosite (since they have a digital camera) and Google Blogging. She seemed interested and appreciated the advice.

Attention Computer Geeks:
Doug just told me that Dell announced today, they will be selling their computers at WalMart now. He doesn't know if they will be limited at WalMart.


Memorial Day Poem

Unlearned Lesson

Memorial DayOf every year

The little valiant

Flags appear

On every fallen

Soldier's grave--Symbol of what

Each died to save.

And we who see

And still have breath--Are we no wiser

For their death?

~Dorothy Brown Thompson~

American Idol - Final Night!

The winner of 2007 American Idol is - JORDIN SPARKS! Wow! What a night on American Idol? I believe it was one of the best American Idol Finales ever. I'm so glad Jordin ended up being the winner of the competition. I think she is the youngest winner yet, if I'm not mistaken. She has a great voice. It was great seeing most of he past American Idol winners perform. I think they did a great job. I liked the duet between Reuben & Jordin. Have you heard the new song, Jordin will singing on tour? Isn't it pretty? Like Simon, I felt Jordin was able to pull it off better than Blake because he is more hip hop/rap than slow sappy. I think they both did a great job and I know they will do great down the road. Did you guys see CeCe Winans (I think that how you spell her last name)? Laura - remember seeing her at the Women of Faith Conference? We've probably seen Melinda singing back up for CeCe and didn't know it. By the way, check out Chris' eye makeup. I wouldn't have noticed if it wasn't for Rick & Bubba pointing it out on their show. Doug came home and asked me about it. Now that I see his picture, I can see a little eyeliner.

I have a funny Katie story to tell. We are trying the potty training thing with Katie, but no stress. If she doesn't feel like it that day, that's fine. No problem! Hoping to entice her to want to go potty, we recently purchased one of those donut looking potty seat, you set on the lid of your standard toilet. I've noticed Alise has one of these in her home, this actually encouraged me to purchase one. Well from time to time, Katie will tell me she wants to go potty. Yesterday was one of those days. The only difference is she actually pee-peed in the toilet. Her eyes lite up, along with mine. Oh, I made it such a big deal. We clapped, sang and cheered. I took her to her room and explained she could now put a sticker on her board because she went to the potty. Then, we had to call Daddy at work and let him know what had just happened. She was so excited. I thought we could go a little further with this celebration. So, I suggested we put on a pull up and wear our Dora panties on top of the pull up. Oh, she was so excited! "I wear Dorie panties!" she said. Every hour (past 4 hours), I would tell her we needed to go potty before we pee-peed in our pretty panties. Nope, didn't work! That was it for the potty training day. How she quits so easily. Today, she was straining as if she was pooh-poohing. I asked her if that is what she was doing. Normally, she would tell me - NO! This time, she agreed that she had to pooh-pooh. I told her we needed to go change our diaper when she was done. I picked her up and headed to her bedroom to change her. When we got to the bathroom door, "I pooh-pooh in potty." she said. I didn't understand what she was saying at first, so I agreed and got to her room. Aggravated at me by that time, she said it again but with exasperation in her face. Okay! I thought I could empty her poopy diaper in the toilet to where she could see it and know where it goes next time. I started out trying to be clean and mess free about the whole poopy situation. It didn't end up that way. She was excited to sit on the toilet with her poopy floating underneath her. Every few seconds, she would remind me the poopy was in the toilet. Unlike Alise, she doesn't like me leaving the room (she comes looking for me), so I made myself comfortable on the edge of the tub until she was finished. Not thinking about the poop, I helped Katie slide off the toilet. Spreading poop over her donut and toilet lid. Yuck! Thinking, what have I done, Katie noticed the poop. I was trying to teach her to bend over, so I could wipe her bottom. I was having a difficult time because she was intrigued in the poop on the seat. Ugh!!!!! I had a terrible time keeping her little hands away from the toilet seat and still wiping her bottom. I lost it when she finally touched the poop. Yuck!!!!! Why does she have to be so curious about her bodily functions. Before it was over, I had her striped and washing everything. What a mess?!? I finally got her wiped up and back on the changing table ready to put another diaper on her. Here she goes putting her hand in her butt crack. Yuck!!!!! "Stop that!" I said. She just laughed, as if she knew all of this was getting next to me. I got the diaper on and we headed back to the bathroom to wash our hands for the fifth time.

Entertainment Update

Have you seen the clash on "The View" between Rosie O'Donnell and Elisabeth Hasselbeck? Wow! No matter if you personally like Rosie or not, she is really digging herself a hole on this show. From what I understand, Rosie is doing all of this (personal attacks to others - Trump, Pres. Bush, Iraq War & now Elisabeth) deliberately because she is tired of being on this show and sharing the spotlight with other women with opinions (some different opinions). Personally, I don't agree with Rosie on a lot of moral and political issues. However, I do think she is a good actress. Sometimes, I wished celebs would keep issues like morals to the priests/pastors and politics to the politicians, such as Leo DiCaprio. He is cute and I like his acting, but the whole greenpeace issue is getting on my nerves. I understand everyone has an opinion, including myself, but I necessarily don't want to know what my favorite actor thinks.

Have you seen Criss Angel? Do you know who he is? He is an illusionist and I've seen him before on TV. He freaks me out! Despite the name "Criss (Awful close to Christ) Angel, it's as if he made a deal with the devil. I don't know, but there's something about him I don't like and I don't want to find out. Guess what? Cameron Diaz has been spotted hanging with him. Can you believe that? She seems so cute and sweet. Why does she like the bad boys? What happened with Timberlake?

Another one of my favorites is making a come back on TV. On June 4th, "Hell's Kitchen" is back on Fox Channel! Doug and I love this show. I don't know why, but we find it funny! Yes, we have a sick and twisted mind.

Memorial Day

"Your silent tents of green We deck with fragrant flowers; Yours has the suffering been, The memory shall be ours."--Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Take care and God Bless!

Good To See Another Monday

Yes, there are still pictures of the horrific Katrina Storm circulating. Doug forwarded these to me and I thought I would share them with you. According to his message: These photos (at the beginning of the storm) were taken by a man from Magee, MS. Magee, MS is approximately 150 miles North of Waveland, MS, if you know where that is.

Yes, we made it through another weekend. Friday night, Millard and Peggy picked up Katie to spend the night with them. Doug and I didn't know what to do without Katie with us. We thought about going to the movies and I wanted to see the new "Shriek" movie. So, we ate at "Sweet Pepper" for supper. We both got the Club Sandwich, but I got fruit and Doug got potato salad. Their potato salad is a lot like German Potato Salad (served warm). I don't much care for German Potato Salad, but Doug likes it pretty good. We were stuffed! We headed to the movies and we started rethinking the whole movie thang, especially when the parking lot was FULL! The top movies being viewed was "Shriek the Third" and "Spiderman 3." Doug got us some movies that morning, so I suggested that we go home and watch those movies. I didn't have to see "Shriek" that bad. On the way home, we stopped by the GMC car lot and looked at few SUVs. We still have a little over a year before our car will be paid off and I've been complaining to Doug about what an inconvenience it was to go shopping with the truck. The third door (the way it opens) is very difficult for me to place my purchases in the back seat. Thankfully, he understands and we are hoping to put up with it for another year or two. However, we are shopping and getting ideas (what is best for us and what we need it for?). We both have been attracted to Yukons and Tahoes, but we're not fond of the gas mileage. We're not writing it off completely because this will be my vehicle, which means low mileage. I might fill the truck up with gas once every three or four weeks (this is how I inherited the truck in the first place). At the car lot, we were looking at the Yukons (getting price & MPG ideas). Then, we spotted a GMC Acadia. NOT BAD! We had one of the salesmen to come and open it up for us. One of our biggest concerns while shopping for a vehicle is the ROOM. With our long legs, we like lots of room in the back seat. We were pleasantly surprised how nice and roomy the Acadia was in the front and back seats. Get this it even has a third row of seats, just like a Yukon & Tahoe. I like that! You can fold the second and third seats down if you need the room and it has a neat little hide away compartment. The price and mileage was just right - Price: $29,000-$36,000 MPG: 18 miles in the city & 26 miles on the highway. If and when we get an Acadia, Doug wants the color white with leather seats. If your SUV shopping, you might want to check out the GMC Acadia. http://www.gmc.com/acadia/acadia/index.jsp.

Saturday, we went to my Class Reunion. I can't believe it's already been 15 years. I may have dreaded going to this reunion for the past few months, but in the overall it turned out better than I had expected. I did feel bad for Doug because he didn't know anyone, but I introduced everyone to him. It was good to see everyone and I appreciate the fact that all of us treated each other respectfully. We left the reunion and picked up Millard, Peggy & Katiebug to go out for Peggy's Birthday Dinner. She wanted to eat at Logan's Roadhouse, which I thought was a good choice. Millard & Peggy got their Chopped Hamburger Steak, Doug got the Prime Rib, Katie got Popcorn Shrimp & I got the Ribeye Steak. YUMMY! Peggy & I needed to get a couple of baby shower gifts, so we stopped by Parisians and I was surprised that they didn't really have what we were looking for.

At church Sunday, Katie had a blast in Sunday School. She loves going to the inside playground and she got to go twice. She was a mess, when we picked her up. Her hair bow was out and her hair was every where. Her dress and feet were dirty! What a sight?!? She jabbered all the way to the car from her class.

Today was party day! Jon was out of school for the Summer and Sue needed him to stay with me while she was at work. June dropped him off around 7:30 this morning. Bless his heart, he look exhausted! Whitney called me later on and asked if we were going to be home this afternoon. She wanted to come and spend the afternoon with us (she hates staying at home alone). Sure, the more the merrier! I had fun! I steamed some hot dogs, I like steamed dawgs. We had dawgs, chips, ice cream & cookies for lunch. Jon, Whitney & myself had a lot of catching up to do. As soon as Nicholas got out of school, he came over to join the fun. We vegged out and watched movies most of the day. Jon wanted to see "The Benchwarmers" & "Little Man." In a way, I wished I hadn't let him know we had "Little Man." Even though the movie doesn't show anything, it's a little too suggestive. Jon fell in love with our TiVo/Directv. He thought it was so cool! While Nick was here, he had to check out eBay. He seemed disappointed because he couldn't think of anything he needed. June came by after 4:00 to pick up Jon & visit. Sue was suppose to meet June & Nicholas at a local photographers to view some Senior pictures Nick & Leslie had done. Well, Jon left his wallet here, so Sue got to come by after all and visit a little bit. We hardly ever get to see Sue & Tim and the kids unless they are at June & Pat's house. So, it was nice to see her and Jon. Katie hated to see everyone leave at the end of the day. She had a ball with Jon, Nick, "Whibby" (Whitney) and of course, June. We will have to do it again! I told Whitney, we'll have to make this a weekly thing. She agreed as she was giggling and told me until she could find a part time job.

Parent Awareness Alert!

I wanted to make you aware of a document Doug forwarded to me about a new form of Crystal Meth. Some of you may already be aware because this message has been circulating for the past few months. There is a candymeth similar to Pop Rocks Candy thats being given to our children. This message was checked out by Snopes and is very true. I've attached a picture of this candymeth at this top of this blog. Here's the article from Snopes.com: http://www.snopes.com/horrors/drugs/candymeth.asp. Please be aware and pass along the information.

American Idol

I have to say, I was very disappointed Melinda was voted off last week. I think she is very talented, but I feel there were a few very talented people voted off. So, who will it be Jordin or Blake? Such a hard decision. I like the rap thing, but I like Jordin's style of singing much better than Blake.

McDonald's - Shriek Happy Meals

Have you been collecting the Shriek Happy Meals? They are so cute! Everyone of them talk and there are a total of 8 in the collection. My favorite thus far is Shriek & Donkey. Katie favors them as well. So far, we have Shriek, Donkey, Gingy, Prince Charming & Puss in Boots. We ended up with a second Donkey, so Daddy insisted he take it with him to work and put it on his computer. It's funny how we are all young at heart.

The next Happy Meal toys after Shriek is from the new upcoming movie "Surfs Up." Watch for it!

Memorial Day Celebration

Our Flag

There are many flags in many lands,

There are flags of every hue;

But there is no flag, however grand,

Like our own Red, White, and Blue.

~Mary Howliston~

Take care of each other and God Bless You!