Hipppp Hipppp Hoooooooray!!!!

Mr. D...being fabulous as usual...took the big journey into the Best Buy on tax free weekend and bought me a new laptop! I imagine it was like going into battle at 4am on black Friday.  Never the less, I am ever so thankful for his efforts.

That said--- a blog post! Sorry, not one with photos because I do not have photos on this computer.
We are having a fabulous summer-- and it is winding down at a rapid pace.  We only have a week and a half before school starts again.  And, in the mist of that week and a half- we have a not-as-big-as-last-year second birthday party! This weekend we will be swarming with grandparents, aunts, uncles, family, friends and more! I can hardly believe how fast this two years has passed!

I am also now in full "getting ready for school" mode-- again thank heavens for a working computer.  This will be a big year for me.  In addition to my teaching, and room parent duties for Shelby's class.  I am also in charge of ALL of the school's social events.  Whew! I am looking forward to the year ahead, but can say with all honesty that the summer off has been great for me!

I have worked all summer on organizing our home.  Thanks to a fellow blogger friend of mine I have implemented a toy rotation system that has literally changed our lives.  We were swimming in toys and now we have 12 toys each week in the main living area.  It has made everyone happier and within the span of a month Shelby will get the opportunity to spend time playing with every one of her toys.  She is busier, the house is cleaner and we are all less cluttered in every way!

Shelby has also spent the summer learning her letters, letter sounds and numbers 0-9.  She is a whiz.  I plan to make a video of it soon.  She is impressive for 23 months.

We are enjoying our food co-op that has been organized through our church.  Each week we get a food basket of local fresh fruits and vegetables.  We have had a summer of wonderful meals....and even some things put up for the winter.  I have also experimented with some new recipes, but nothing blog worthy.

I have spent the summer reading! I love to read but it has fallen on the back burner over the last few years.  I am calling this my summer of the trendy trilogies.  My Kindle has really gotten a work out!

OK- more later.  I have a bunch of people coming in less than a week and there are certainly things around here that need to be done!

More later-  thanks for sticking around!!!

a post--- of sorts

Whew!! We have been VERY busy this summer.   I know this blog is perpetually behind.  There are many reasons for this, not the least of which is that my computer is coming to it's last days and to start it up is an effort I am not willing to put forth most days.  I can't blog/upload pics from the ipad, so I guess the motto of snack time at my school applies here.  "you get what you get and you don't pitch a fit"... you know because we live in the south where the words get and fit rhyme.  Bwahaaaahaaaaaa.


Let's see, what all has happened.   Well, in May we went to my Brother-in-law Boomer's graduation.  You can read about it HERE thanks to my (much better of a blogger) sister-in-law.  I have pretty much known Boomer his whole life.  I think he was about 4 or 6 month's old when I met him.    He is a really awesome guy! 

After that I had all of the end of the school year stuff.  Now I am off for my first non-working summer since 1992- yes, in 20 years!!  I joined a food co-op through my church and have been enjoying the best produce Alabama has to offer each and every week.  We have really enjoyed it! I have even learned the finer southern art of "putting stuff up" for use in the winter.  I have tried lots of new recipes.  I think my family has really enjoyed me being home and having extra time in the kitchen.

Mr. D.'s grandmother Ruthie passed away.   She was a fabulous lady.  She was classy, always dressed to the nines and never without a fabulous purse.  She was so dear.  I always liked her and especially enjoyed our last visit together watching her play with Shelby. Here is the link to that visit.  They were peas in a pod.   Meredith shared some lovely words about her here.  We have so many wonderful memories of Ruthie!

Mr. D.'s other Grandmother is not doing well either.  We are certainly hopeful for her recovery.

We have been on the move this summer.  Shelby started ballet.  She takes it on Tuesdays.  It is a beginner class to help us gauge her interest.  We have successfully gauged that we will try again when she is three or four.  She really isn't fond of this class right now.   I thought it would grow on here like Gymboree did, but alas we have 3 classes left and she is just not jazzed about it.  She does however look fabulous in her ballet gear! 

I think I mentioned before that we quit Gymboree.   We have been very active at the YMCA.  We have had such a fun summer there.  I have been meeting my friends and working out and then we take the kids swimming.  Shelby is a fish in the water and fearless.  We are going to take more swim lessons.  She loves it and does amazingly well for a child who isn't even two yet.    I have been taking Aqua Zumba on Thursday nights and while I am in class, Mr. D. has been taking Shelby for a night swim.  She loves being in the water.

We have visited with both of Mr. D.'s families this summer in Georgia and in South Carolina. You can see Meredith's recap of the SC trip here.   We have also spent some time with my family.   Shelby and I went there for almost a week while Mr. D. was out of town and my living room, kitchen and dining room were being painted.   I have been working on my photography skills and I have taken some really good photos of Shelby this summer.  We have also been working on decluttering around the house...which is a project in itself.  


I have been reading books, researching projects and relaxing this summer as well.   It has been fabulous! I am so glad for the opportunity to take the summer off.  

Let's see, Donovan, Kaleigh, Rylee and Henry have all had birthdays recently.  Everyone is getting older and cuter.   Shelby will be two in just a couple of weeks.  Her party is coming together......but it will not be as big of a party as last year..........(or will it??).  I am most excited about her favors that are coming from a fabulous baker in NY.  http://www.kreatedbykristan.com/

Mr. D. and I celebrated our 13th Anniversary.  We didn't take a trip this year but have planned a family trip for the three of us at the beach in the fall.  We did have a nice dinner out which was fabulous.  Mr. D. has big things going on at work so I was glad to be able to snag him away for some one on one time.  I can't imagine how tired he must be from working so much lately.

What else??....My friend Cookie (Courtney, or Ki and Avi's Momma) had a new baby girl this summer.  They named her Mila.  Oh, and I got a new car-- a Nissan Murano.  I love it.  My cousin Kim (or Rylee's Momma) is having a baby boy in the next few weeks too.   I am hoping Bryce is born on my birthday, but Kim has assured me that she is not wanting to wait that long!  It's hot, I don't blame her!

Shelby is teething right now and a hot mess.  I think these last four molars have been worse than all of the other teeth combined.  I am so glad to have been able to be home with her during this time.

Thought are already turning to fall...........back to school, Gamecock Football, crock pot cooking, Patriots, Halloween, and of course planning what Shelby and Henry might wear at Thanksgiving and if we decided to attempt Christmas pajama pics EVER again.   I know this will be a different Fall than usual with all that Mr. D. has going on at work, but I am definitely looking forward to cooler air and will be thankful for any family time we get.   

in case there was any doubt...

...Shelby loves a ring pop!!

Shelby at 22 Months

Here are some things about Shelby at 22 months.

* She is a very quite little girl.  Even though she can be a chatter box she still uses a very quite little voice.
* She has started taking dance class.
* She is well into what some people call the Terrible Twos.  She is very head strong.   The phrases "No", "Stop that" and "MINE" are part of her daily communications.
* She sometimes plays to rough.
* She continues to love music and dancing.
* She is a whiz at the IPad.  She impresses us on a daily basis with her IPad gaming skills.
* She loves to go "Swim Swim".  She is actually a very capable swimmer for her age.
* She is so afraid that she is going to miss something that it is difficult to get her to nap or sleep when we travel, or if someone is here.
* She loves to go shopping.  She hates to go to the car wash and will scream "No, don't go" as we are driving into it and then cries until we are out.
* She loves to help.  She enjoys trying to do anything we are doing.
* She loves Brady.  When he gets to be too much for her she tells him to "be sweet"... of course, I haven't heard him say anything to her when she gets to be too much for him.
* She has recently become the most unpredictable eater.  One day she loves something, the next day she refuses it.  Eating is somewhat of a challenge.
* She says lots of cute phrases like "Thank you Mama", "Here I am", "There you are",  "Where are you?", "that's funny", "gotta go"and "See you tomorrow".  She also interacts with Mickey Mouse Club House when they ask her questions.
* She enjoys watching Mickey Mouse Club House and Little Einsteins.  Here newest loves are Tinkerbell and Peppa Pig.
* She can sing her alphabet and count to 13.  She readily recognized a dozen letters, a few numbers, some colors and most of her shapes.
* She has a playful sense of humor.  It is fabulous!
* She loves hanging out with her Daddy.
* When she is going to bed she tells us "good night" and "sweet dreams".
* She sometimes shows interest in potty training, and sometimes she doesn't.
* She loves to run, and she LOVES to climb.  She is fearless.  (and thank heavens she is coordinated)
* She is in a toddler bed now.  She wakes up and comes running to our room waving her little hand and saying "hi Mama, hi Daddy, hi Brady."  If she gets up in the night I walk her back to her bed and she goes back to sleep. Such a good girl!
*She continues to be the most wonderfully sweet precious little blessing!!!

the kitchen

 As you all know, I am trying to catch this blog up! On April 14th my school held it's biggest fund raiser of the year.  As part of the fund raiser there is a silent and a live auction.   Each class is required to make something to be auctioned off.  I just have to show you what Shelby's class made.  It is precious.  Her teacher got the idea from Pinterest.  

They transformed a thrift store entertainment center into a child's kitchen.  It's fabulous.  The person who bought it put it in their classroom as a surprise to the class.   When I go in there the children are always playing in their new kitchen.

Strike out Ovarian Cancer

On April 21st, we had a couple of special guest babysitters.

They came so that Mr. D. and I could play in a bowling benefit for Ovarian Cancer Research.  Ovarian cancer claimed the life of my good friend Julie's mother. Hopefully soon they will have an early detection test to save lives for this disease.   Here are a few pics from the bowling.   Our team name was "Livin' on a Spare".   Natalie came with her Dad since Jesse had to work.  Tiffani and Bryan of course, and me and Mr. D.

 Natalie's Dad won most spares in the whole tournament. 

Alice's Birthday Party

On May 4th, Alice had her birthday party.   Most of my readers know that her mom Erica is the party theme queen.  In fact, we call her Erica-the-great.  This year the theme was Mad Scientist.   I had the cute invitation to scan in, but seeing how this is a month and a half later... I have no clue where that got off to.  Maybe I will find it one day.  In the meantime- enjoy this photo recap.   Please note, I did not get a photo of the birthday girl blowing out her candles.  Her party was on a Friday night and I had to leave to early to get the little one to bed.