Thanksgiving Holiday

We had a fantastic Thanksgiving with my parents this year! They came down late Wednesday night so we didn't get to see them until Thursday morning. When Ella Ann woke up I told her that Mimi and Grandpa would be here soon and I should not have done that because she got up at 7 a.m. and my parents got to our house around 9 a.m. so I had two solid hours of, "Moooommmmm! When are they going to GET HERE!?!?" So needless to say when they did walk through the door Ella Ann jumped in their open arms. Rane made his way around the corner and smiled so big at them. They were both beyond excited to see the grandparents. Spencer worked each day in the mornings but was home by noon so he didn't miss too much. Mom and I prepared appetizers to snack on during the day and we had our Thanksgiving feast at The Palm in Buckhead. The dinner was so good and we all ate way too much, especially Rane. He had turkey and all the fixins and couldn't get enough of it! We were there for over two hours and both kids did great. No crying, whining or complaining occurred. We really enjoyed just sitting at the table talking and enjoying the food and atmosphere. The restaurant is inside the Westin so after dinner Mom and I took the kids out in the lobby to check out the big Christmas tree...certainly the highlight of the evening for Ella Ann. Rane managed to yank off a few huge ornaments but no harm done. It was a great night.

Friday while Spencer was working we went to the mall (I know, we were CRAZY) to take advantage of a few holiday deals. Honestly it was manageable, even with the kids. We didn't stay long and after a quick lunch at home Mom and I went to Atlantic Station (outdoor shopping area) and did some more shopping. That evening I cooked dinner and we finally got to open up and read from our "Thankful" jar. Last Thanksgiving I took an empty oatmeal container, decorated it, cut a slit in the top and cut strips of construction paper to lay beside it with a pen. The outside of the jar says, "I am thankful for...." and whenever we felt thankful or thought of something we would write it down and put it in the jar. I encouraged friends to write in it when they were over at the house and our family. We collected a lot of blessings over the year and we had so much fun reading them! It was great to read what we were thankful for back in January (Rane) and throughout the early part of the year. It was much better than taking a piece of paper and writing them all down last minute because we would have never thought of it all doing it that way. Some were funny, some were sweet and others brought a tear to our eye (well, not Spencer's...he doesn't shed any). Now I am going to make a paper chain out of them and put it on our Christmas tree (which, by the way, we got today!). That night Mom and I went to the movies and saw "New Moon." I saw it last week with Jana and I loved it so much (of course!!) that I went with my Mom to see it again! She read all the books in like a week and read them again so she was just as excited as me to see it! It was so fun!

Saturday after lunch my parents went home. We had a great time with them and we were sad to see them go. I drug out all of our Christmas decorations yesterday afternoon and Ella Ann was thrilled to have it all on display. Now comes the hard part....keeping little man away from the ornaments, lights and from just pulling the tree over period. He is one determined little boy so we may just have to break down and buy a little fence to put around it...no joke!

My parents brought down my Dad's old rocking chairs that were his and his brother's when they were little. I rocked in both of them for years at my grandmother's house so now it is 3rd generation. The kids LOVED them! It was the longest I've ever seen Rane sit in one spot!

They also brought one of Ella Ann's toys that they had stored for us and Rane enjoyed playing with that too. He does really well walking with a push toy.

Ella Ann wanted to "sleep" with Mimi and Grandpa.

The little people before we left for our dinner Thanksgiving night.

Spencer gave Rane a lime and he really liked it!

Dancing out in the lobby.

Playing in the kitchen.

I found Mickey's Santa hat in a box of decorations and Rane loved playing with it.

Dad brought down a pack of fake mustaches and we were all going to put one on and take a picture (there's a story behind it) but we forgot. Ella Ann spotted a nice, furry one and wanted to wear it, i.e., suck her thumb while holding it, but as soon as she put it on she hated it but I made her keep it on for a picture.

Fall Fun

We had a beautiful day here today so this afternoon we all got outside and played in the yard. We love, love, love our backyard! Ella Ann asks to go outside even when it is pouring down rain! She is loving the trampoline, as is Rane. We put him in there with her and he loves to be bounced around like a piece of popcorn! Today they got in it and the static electricity took over their hair!

Spencer raked some leaves into a pile and Ella Ann played and jumped in them forever!

I had to go in and make a dip for tomorrow and when I looked out the window over my kitchen sink this is what I saw.....

Ella Ann and her Daddy engrossed in deep conversation. They sat like this for a very long time just talking.

Fear Conquered

I did it! I conquered my fear of baking with yeast! I know, you are just as excited as me! I have never baked any bread from scratch that involved me working with yeast. I don't know why really, I guess I was afraid since it is "alive" and all. Well I found a Kosher cookbook in the back of one of our cabinets this weekend (the people that own our house are Jewish) and after looking through it I found, what appeared to be, an easy bread recipe...with yeast. I made it Saturday night when everyone was sleeping and Spencer was out of town so I wouldn't have any disruptions or questions as to what I was doing from one very nosey little person. The recipe required me to knead the bread for 10-15 minutes, which I thought sounded like forever, but once I got started I really had fun doing it. It was quiet in the kitchen, just one light was on, no one was talking and I was alone with my thoughts. It was nice! So I let it rise in the fridge and I baked it the next morning.......

the finished product. I know you want a bite, don't you? It tasted wonderful and Spencer agreed! I will be doing this often now!

Not much is going on so far this week. I am just running errands and getting ready for my parents to come down for Thanksgiving tomorrow. We are going out to dinner for our Thanksgiving feast, we will attempt to shop on Black Friday and Mom and I are going to see "New Moon" that evening. I can't wait to have them down...we have missed them! Mom and I are going to prepare a bunch of appetizers for Thursday day to much on until dinner, which is always fun.

I took the below pictures of Rane yesterday who was carrying around a balloon weight in his mouth. I was standing in the kitchen and couldn't see him crawling on the floor...all I could see was a big white balloon moving across the room!

Day 2

It's day 2 of my 30s and so far so okay. I mean can I really say "good".....I'm 10 years, now, away from 40. What's good about that?!?! I loved my 20s (warning, I'm going philosophical now)....such a fun time in my life...the absolute best time, I should say. I know I really don't have much to compare it to, I was a teenager before that but still, I don't think my 20s can be topped. So many wonderful things happened in that decade (wow, already going past tense...so sad). I went to college and met my best friends, my ADPi sisters, I went to date parties galore, stayed up super late (never, ever do that anymore) talking with my girlfriends and laughing with them so hard that my abs were sore the next day, lived with 4 of my best friends my senior year and loved every minute with them, I met my husband, dated him for 1 1/2 years and then we got married. It was just "us" then....we came and went as we pleased, went out to dinner, went on fun trips together and we were dirt poor (not a bad thing). We got our first pet, a cat, and that's all we had to care for, besides each other. We moved to Atlanta and bought our very first home. Five months later we brought our first baby home from the hospital. Three years later we had our baby boy. My parents also became my friends. Not that we were enemies by any stretch of the imagination, but I guess I realized they often have good advice, know what they are talking about, are really fun people to be around and can not only be my parents but they can be my friends as well. All these big events and fun times happened in my 20s. How can the 30s top all of those mile markers I do not know. I am not dreading my 30s or anything, it just weird to be here...in them...already. I cannot believe how fast the last 10 years have gone. I know I have lots to look forward to in my 30s, God willing. I really look forward to, as Spencer reminded me of yesterday, stability. We didn't have much money for most of our 20s and the future was uncertain as to where we were going to live, move, make it, etc. In our 30s we will be able to relax because Spencer will be DONE with all this medical training that I'm so-o over, as is he. We can actually enjoy the fruits of Spencer's labor.....side note, nice I get to enjoy those fruits without having to go to work! The friends I have now are my friends for life and our relationships will only deepen over the years. Hopefully we will have another baby and I get to watch my babies grow into children in this decade. Extracurricular activities will start with them in the next few years and Spencer and I get to cheer for our kids at ballgames, recitals, and at school. We will finally be close to our family. We just have 2 years left in Atlanta, sad for sure, but it will be a whole new world for us to be close to our loved ones and our children will grow up with their grandparents and cousins. What a blessing to us and to them. Spencer and I will get to go to Europe together in this decade, or to some far off, spectacular place. So with that said I will focus on the positives of being 30....of course I will NOT dwell on the onset of bags under my eyes, wrinkles, slowing of my metabolism, butt sagging, and the aches and pains of getting older. No never, not me!


Yesterday was a great birthday. Spencer and the kids made it super special. Spencer got home from work late morning and had a beautiful arrangement of flowers waiting for me after I got home from the bank and my favorite cupcakes....red velvet with cream cheese icing. We got outside and enjoyed the fantastic weather and when the kids were up from rest time we surprised Ella Ann by taking her to the mall to ride the Pink Pig and chat it up with Santa. She was on cloud 900! She was so excited to ride that stupid Pig. I made Spencer ride it this year since it was just us girls last year when I took her. I'm sure Spencer thought it was just like riding the Rockin' Roller Coaster. Well we did it for Ella Ann anyway, she loves it and that's all that matters. She actually talked to Santa and got her favorite thing of the day when she hopped off his lap, a candy cane. We put Rane on Santa's lap as well for the picture and of course what does he do? Turns around, looks up at Santa and starts yanking at his beard. It was so hard to get him to turn around and look at the camera and leave the poor man's (real) beard alone! It isn't the best picture, I have to say, but at least we have it. After that we headed to the Highlands for sushi and sashimi. Man it was good. I ate my weight in raw fish and couldn't have been happier. Spencer had a cooked meal but kept snatching off my plate so I think I'm converting him. The waitress sang "Happy Birthday" to me and we all ate the green tea ice cream I received...Ella Ann, I thought, was going to pick the dish up and lick the bottom of it, she loved it. Ella Ann sang "Happy Birthday" to me no less than 15 times yesterday. It was sweet.


Here are some pictures from our day....

Smelling each and every flower in the bunch!

Tickets in hand and ready to ride!!!

They are ready!

Here they come!

Stickers from the Pig, candy cane from Santa....the day couldn't have gotten any better for her! Oh and you want to know what she asked for from Santa? A Snow White costume, Cinderella gloves and skirts. No I didn't prompt her, she thought of those on her own.

Mmmmmmmm!

The Big 4-Year-Old

Ella Ann turned 4 on Monday. I cannot believe she is FOUR. Where has the time gone? I know it's only going to go by even faster the older she gets and the busier we get. She is a one-of-a-kind little girl and when God gave her to us He blessed us beyond belief. She is a precious, caring, sweet, compassionate, independent, beautiful little girl and we love her to pieces. Of course I have mentioned that she is very, very stubborn, head strong and set in her ways....already...hmmmmm....don't know where she got that from. Now that she is getting older she can pretty much take care of herself, which she has really been doing since she turned 3. She rarely wants help with anything and what I hear out of her mouth the most is, "Noooo! I CAN DO IT!" "Okay, you do it then," is my usual reply....this always means I have to add in 5 extra minutes to whatever I was doing or wherever we were going because just because she wants to do "it" doesn't mean she's speedy. I love it, though. I enjoy watching her in action and doing her thing. In the evenings we tell her to go put on her pjs and off she goes. She then will brush her teeth without us asking, get her books out that she wants to read for bed and is ready for us to read to her each night. She brushes her teeth in the morning, dresses herself, puts all her own shoes on, lines up her backpack, ballet bag, lunch box and shoes at the door each night before school. I rarely have to ask. She also makes her bed each morning, but sometimes this task requires some nagging! She enjoys helping me prepare food and bake...her favorite! She is learning how to crack eggs...yeah, it's not messy at all! Ella Ann also helps me set the dinner table, takes her plate to the table, cleans up after herself and helps me clear it. She loves to dress up in at least 5-8 wardrobe changes a day, including an array of costumes, jewelry, shoes and head gear. Ella Ann loves anything to do with arts and crafts, markers, coloring, glue (the fav) and paint. She is really into princesses too, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White and Ariel. Today her favorite is Ariel, along with dinosaurs...which she told me at rest time today. When she dresses up in a princess costume, she will sashay across the house while waving her magic wand. Her saying of choice while waving, "Bippty Boppity, Boo! Glory to God in the highest!" She's a nut, what can I say? She loves, unfortunately, to endlessly tease Rane. She will throw a ball and say, "Go get it Rane!" Baby Rane will dash across the room on all fours only to have Ella Ann swipe it away right in front of his face. He doesn't mind, though....yet! He just smiles at her! Ella Ann also loves to make up songs all. day. long. She sings super loud too. It usually involves "praises" to God, songs about painting (if she's painting), food (if she's eating), nature, animals, etc. You name it, she will make up a song about it. The other day at Target she was loudly singing one of her songs and a lady passed by and said to me, "I wasn't expecting a concert at Target today!"

I love this little girl and I am thankful for her and all of her quirks and qualities each and every day I have with her.


In the below pictures (an added bonus to you!) Ella Ann and Rane are playing in her "house" that Spencer made out of a lawn mower box. I colored on it last night so now it has grass, flowers, windows, a TV and a sidewalk. They are in it every day and love to hide in it. Rane decided to eat a toy cookie. Eventually he put the entire thing in his mouth! It looked like he was trying to swallow a hockey puck! He is SO funny!

Of course Ella Ann was the one to give it to him!

A Luau for Ella Ann

Today we gathered all of our friends, except for the sick ones, and Papa and Nana to celebrate Ella Ann's 4th birthday (her birthday is actually on the 16th). The weather was absolutely perfect for her Birthday Luau! Gary and Gayla drove down on Friday afternoon, which was a tremendous help for us because they stepped in and took care of the kids while Spencer, who is still sick, rested a little (after mowing the back yard and putting together Ella Ann's birthday present...of course) and I prepped for the big day today. After dinner Friday night Ella Ann was begging me, at 6:30 p.m., to go to bed because she was "tired." Yeah right! The kid was wide awake and I knew she would be! The only reason she wanted to go to sleep was to hurry up and make Saturday morning get here! Well little did Ella Ann know that you actually have to sleep to make the night go by faster! Spencer and I went to bed at 10 p.m. (after I decorated and prepped everything possible before the party) and Ella Ann was still sitting in her bed talking to her animals. She still got up bright-eyed and bushy-tailed at 7:30 a.m.! I got up at 6 a.m. and finished up decorating her cake and having my coffee before the chaos ensued. She was SO excited when she walked into our dining area and saw all of her luau decorations and party favors for her and her friends! Each child received a beach ball cup with their name on it, a lei, sunglasses, tattoos and a party blower. They were set to party!

Gayla helped me do everything that morning before the party, during the party and after the party. I don't know what we would have done without her and Gary. Since Rane is still pretty puny someone had to hold him the entire time and Gary took care of that. Spencer and I were able to mingle with our friends and enjoy Ella Ann's party. We all had such a good time! When all the kids arrived, we tattooed them (do I need to actually tell you they were fake??), fed them and threw them outside! I know you are just dying to know what we ate so here it goes: fruit and cheese kabobs, "fish" for goldfish (take a pretzel stick, dip it in the "water" i.e., cream cheese and "fish" for the goldfish, Gayla's yummy bean dip, veggies and dip, banana chips and cake. Ella Ann received a picnic table from Nana and Papa for her birthday so it was great to have that for the kids today. The weather was starting to get warm by the time her party started so we mainly stayed in the backyard the entire time. After we ate the kids hunted for a treasure chest full of chocolate gold coins in the yard, made modeling clay sea creatures, ate cake and Ella Ann opened all of her gifts. The highlight for the kids was the trampoline Spencer and I gave Ella Ann. They would get in the tent and jump and jump and jump away! I think they all loved the cake as much as the trampoline! Lots of sugar + a trampoline = lots of crazy kids! Actually, it was all very low key and contained. No tantrums, meltdowns or screaming occurred at all. Everyone obeyed, played well together and had a good time. We invited all of Ella Ann's group of friends and 4 little girls from her preschool class....10 total, plus the little brothers and sisters. Three kids couldn't make it but we still had a good crowd.


Ella Ann received lots of wonderful gifts from friends and family and has played with all of them all day long. I don't think tonight, though, she will have any trouble at all going to sleep and neither will the rest of us! I am not done baking, though. I have to make PINK cupcakes with PINK icing and PINK sprinkles for Ella Ann's preschool class on Monday!


Of course we took a lot of pictures so HERE they are! Some are below so that my Dad can view them.

Jumping at 8:30 a.m. this morning! She was dressed and ready for the party before 8!

The party favors.

My childhood best friend, Molly, had a pool birthday cake when we were little and I remembered it so vividly and have always wanted to try and recreate it. I hope I would have made Molly and her mother proud!

The diving board. The gummy yellow things are the beach balls. I iced bathing suits on the bears.

The food!

Jumping with Audrey and Caitlyn.

They found the treasure and are eating it!

Erin, Lucy Kate and Ella's mom, was helping Ella Ann with her sea creature.

Opening presents!

Grandpa and Mimi gave her Sleeping Beauty and the whole shebang! The crown lights up and flashes!