Carried away

Wednesday night Ann and I went to the Pensacola civic center to see Carrie Underwood. I hadn't been a to a concert in forever, and this one did not disappoint. We had a great time, had awesome seats, and had friends there to hang out with in between acts.

Sons of Sylvia was the opening act. 3 Brothers, whose real-life mom's name is Sylvia. Duh. When I took one look at the skinny-panted-doc-marten-clad Emo kids though, and I heard the loud blaring guitars, I realized I wasn't in Kansas anymore... or a country music concert. The lead singer has "Edward" coiffed hair (Ann, the Twi-hard agreed wholeheartedly), and excepting one musical interlude (shown in below photo) where the brothers Sylvia proved they had some backwoods bluegrass roots, the rest of their performance was rock-heavy.

Speaking of rock, the bass player for the next act looked like he mistakenly got off the Def Leppard bus, and onto Craig Morgan's by mistake. He even "rocked out" a few times, banging his 80s hair with the music.

And what does middle-act Craig Morgan look like, you might wonder? Though I recognized almost every one of his songs that night, I couldn't have picked this Cheatham County High School graduate out of a line up if my life depended on it! Neither could these crowd members either I'd bet, if the spotlight hadn't followed Morgan up to the stands! This guy was good as far as middle-acts go, but I don't think he has the charisma, charm, looks, or voice, to make it to the top billing.

Finally Miss Carrie Underwood took the stage, changing no fewer than ten times. I lost count! Almost after every song she would change her clothes slightly, peeling off a skirt to reveal skinny pants, or a jacket to reveal a different top. The girl is gorgeous, and although she can't dance (and she doesn't attempt to, unlike poor Jo Dee Messina) her pipes make up for it! She worked the stage enough, and her set was constantly changing too, just like her outfits, to keep the show anything but boring. This dress was one of my favorites- Carrie emerged from the floor looking like a barbie doll with a "dress" made up of LED lights. She sparkled as she sang.

This set and dress was very reminiscent of the Dixie Chicks to me. Carrie looked every bit the southern bell with her full skirt as she sang from the big swing.

Another "what was he thinking" member of the bands tonight was Carrie's guitar/banjo player, who was channeling the Mad Hatter. Interesting. For a pre-concert, That Ain't Right caught on film, click Here.

Finally, our glam girl finished the evening with "Before He Cheats," the song I had been humming in my head all day getting ready for the concert. I was pleasantly surprised with how good Carrie Underwood sounded live. Her show was visually interesting, and she was sweet as she could be, besides sounding exactly like she does on her records. It made for a fantastic girl's night out.

Why receipting is so much better than giving

I am strolling down memory lane today. Not by choice, but by necessity. I keep all my receipts in a (hot pink) expandable file folder, and it recently came to my attention that it was bursting at the seams. So here I go, alphabetically pulling out piles of receipts from purchases past. It's really funny to me how the ones closer to the front are mostly things like groceries (aka evidence of my married/family life now) whereas the ones in the back are mostly makeup and clothes purchases from my single days (turns out I shopped at the Cosmetic Market and the Gap a LOT!)

Would you like to stroll with me? Here are some of the interesting ones I've found so far:

• Cheapside Bar & Grill in Lexington, KY- a receipt for 3 drinks (2 whiskey sours and a Long Island Iced Tea) from New Year's eve, Dec 31st, 2004!!!!!!! Yes, I told you this chore was long overdue!
• A receipt from a boutique in Houston called Hemline (4/14/2006) on a DIVA trip to visit Conley, where I purchased a white sundress; the same white sundress that I was wearing a few years later on the night I met Brian, and still wear and love to this day.
• Makeup and hair accessories purchased from H&M in New York City (7/19/2005) during my mission trip through Kairos
• A Goodwill store receipt with clothing items for our friend Beth's "white trash Halloween bash." (10/26/2006) Next to each item of clothing I have written an 'R' for Rhonda and an 'A' for myself so we would know how much Rhonda owed me for her items!
• an H&M store receipt from my Chicago trip with Mary Anna (7/20/2007). Weirdly enough, I'm wearing today a short-sleeved cardigan that I bought on this receipt.
• Greenhouse bar in Green Hills- 12/28/2006- I only went here a few times, even though it is a really cool bar. I'm pretty sure Sarah Scott and Lana were with me this night.
• Maternal Fetal Group (8/22/2008) from a freaking expensive ultrasound that my crappy insurance didn't pay for!
• Questionable items from Spencer Gifts for Ari's bachelorette party (6/22/2007)
• The grand opening of the brand-new Nashville Sephora store! (3/17/2006 at 11:12am) My friends and I skipped work that day to attend the grand opening! I am a little embarrassed by this (and shocked now), but I spent close to $200 that day on makeup!!!
• Tayst restaurant in Nashville (12/8/2005) where Emily Borders and I split dinner and dessert, and claim to have had the best "date" ever!
• Tootsies Orchid Lounge (1/9/2005)- no idea what's significant about this night, but it's the only receipt from my favorite Nashville Honkeytonk that's survived through the years
• Target (1/25/2008)- there were too many Target receipts in my file to count, but this particular one contains the evidence from our very first purchase once we found out we were having a boy that day (from the aforementioned way-expensive ultrasound!)- a blue "daddy's little wingman" onesie

This was such an unexpectedly fun chore! Now time to go file all my current receipts so I can do this in another 10 years!

Shrimping and Saving

My sweet husband does the bulk of our grocery shopping on base at the commissary. The food there is cheaper and tax free. Since I'm the one who does the cooking, I keep a running list of what we need, and every other week I email Brian a grocery list. He shops on his lunch hour, stores the food in his squadron's refrigerator, and brings the stuff home at the end of the day. It's a win win for me. Cheaper food, plus I don't have to drag Bradley to my (not) favorite place on earth, Wallyworld.

Last grocery list I sent Brian, one of the items listed was Cooking Spray. In parentheses next to this I put (NOT the kind with the shrimp on it). Most people know I have a terrible aversion to shrimp. I think they're gross, and I don't even want to look at them, much less eat them. Last time Brian bought cooking spray it was some generic brand that had all sorts of pictures on the can, one of them being a gross shrimp. I had to look at that thing for a month until the bottle was empty. It was awful!

Fast forward to this past week, and lo and behold, what do I see whilst unloading the groceries one afternoon? Yep, the exact same kind of cooking spray, replete with the gross shrimp! And so okay, I pitched a whining fit!
I TOLD you not the kind with the shrimp!!
Is it really that big of a deal? Brian asked.
Well I have to look at it every time I use it! (yes, I am fully aware of how neurotic I am being.)

So my wonderful husband finds a fast solution, and I love him for it! Nothing a little sharpie can't fix! Problem solved.

C is for Cookie

And here we are, back up and running after yet another computer virus!

Plus after all the sadness that's plagued our family this week with Grandpa Cimpher passing away (Brian's grandpa), it's time to look ahead and find new things to smile about.

Bradley is learning new words all the time. He repeats everything we say, and astonishes me with all that he knows now. We actually are able to have conversations now! He tells me what he wants, and I understand! Last week I gave him the other half to the banana he had for breakfast. I walked away to get some other food ready. When I came back, the banana was already gone. No way he ate that so fast. So I asked.
Bradley, did you eat the banana?
No, he said shaking his head, and then he told me he gave the banana to "Cha Cha" (Chandler). I couldn't be upset because he was just so darn cute, and I was thrilled that I could ask a question that my son understood, and that he could respond back so I could understand!

One of Bradley's favorite words right now is cookie. He wakes up in the morning and I'm not kidding, one of the first things out of his mouth when I walk in the room is "Cookie?"
No, I answer, we don't eat cookies for breakfast.
Well, Grandma B sometimes does, but I wasn't going to tell him that. And so without further ado, a few pictures and a short video of the cookie monster himself!

My little songbird

Today the most wonderful thing happened! Thursday mornings we have Kindermusik. Each week we begin class by singing the same hello song where we go around the room and sing hello to each child. This morning we were in the classroom, ready for Kindermusik to start, and Bradley, who was already sitting in my lap, patted my legs and sang the words "Our time."

I suppose I should explain further that at the start of the song we pat our legs in rhythm, and the lyrics go It's our time to sing together.

I was so taken by surprise at Bradley's outburst, that at first I wondered if I was hearing things, but then he did it again and again to much laughter and applause from everyone else in the room. I know this is a small thing to probably everyone else, but to this proud mama it means a lot. I have been waiting and waiting for my little guy to start singing, and it's nice to know he's actually listening and paying attention.

Weight Loss Wednesday

Two nights ago, I dreamed I was sipping an ice-cold Coke. I could taste the sweetness and the bite of the beverage, and in my dream, drinking this drink was a covert operation- no one could know I drank it, since I have given up Cokes for my 90 Day Challenge. I woke up that morning feeling two distinct feelings. Relieved, that I hadn't caved and consumed a Coke, and Disappointed that the sugary drink experience wasn't real. And now here it is 8am and I am majorly craving one!

I haven't been taking the 90 Day Transformation Challenge as seriously as I intended, but the one goal I have stuck to is No Cokes. I still have them in my house- heck, I still have them in my fridge, but I am halfway through the Challenge, and I'm not caving in now. I went to McDonald's on my way back from Tennessee, and looked longingly at the fountain drinks. No one would ever know, I thought to myself as I looked back and forth between the Coke fountain, and the Tea. But I would know, and that's enough. So I regretfully got my iced tea that day, which didn't go nearly as well with my hamburger and fries, which made me rethink that decision as well. Kind of the point. Maybe if I have to have Coke with fast food, maybe I shouldn't have fast food at all?

The same morning I woke up from my Coke fantasy dream, I came across this verse at the top of my daily devotional:

"I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified." I Corinthians 9:27 (NLT)

All around me I am being convicted to get myself into shape. And as much as I hate running by myself, that swimsuit ain't gonna wear itself, so I have reclaimed my 90 Day Challenge goals, and am back to running 3 times a week (by myself, with my trusty stopwatch and ipod), and going to stroller class twice a week. And oh yeah... no more Cokes... even with pizza... and even with McDonald's.

Kim's Crew

This Saturday I am participating in the Pensacola Walk MS with my friend Kim to benefit the national Multiple Sclerosis Society. Kim was diagnosed with MS a little over a year ago but you would never know it by looking at the seemingly-healthy 33 year old. A few facts about MS, and why it should concern you:

• Multiple sclerosis is a chronic, often disabling disease that attacks the central nervous system
• MS is significantly more common (2-3 times) in women than men
• Most people are diagnosed between the ages of 20-50 (the ages of which me and my friends are smack dab in the middle of)
• Orange is the official color of MS awareness, hence the font color of this post
• While there are treatments available now which can lessen the symptoms of MS, there is No Cure for this disease

I am signed up for the walk in Pensacola on Saturday April 17th as part of Kim's team, Kim's Crew. The money we raise for the walk goes directly to the MS society to raise money for further research for MS as there is currently no cure. If you feel so led, you may contribute to our team by clicking here.

Spring at last!

In the somewhat modified words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.,
Spring at last, spring at last, thank God almighty it's spring at last!

What a fantastic weekend! The warm weather is finally here in Florida. Guess I had to drive all the way up to Tennessee to bring the warm sunshine back with me. Friday was Mama B's 57th birthday. Bradley and I called and sang Happy Birthday to her that morning before going to stroller class. Immediately following stroller class we went to a business meeting for our local chapter of the MOMS club. This is something I have been trying to get into forever, and for various reasons, it hasn't happened yet. Now my friend Sara is about to become the president, so I'm finally joining! They basically set up activities and play dates throughout the month to give moms and kids a chance to socialize, and even have monthly moms night outs.

Friday night Brian played soldier- at least that's what I call it. He ran around in the woods pretending to be one of the bad guys for a training exercise for his squadron. He came home exhausted and sweaty, but had fun even though he was technically working on a Friday night. I rented The Proposal and watched that after B went to bed and painted my nails. I am amazed at how all of a sudden, Sandra Bullock has become an actress I can tolerate!

Saturday was too cool for the beach, so Ann took Bradley to the zoo for a little while while Brian and I lounged around watching TLC, before heading to Zach's first birthday party later that afternoon. They had rented a huge bouncy castle for the party, which Bradley stayed in almost the entire time. Even when the bigger kids were in there he loved it and wasn't scared. We went home that night and had a low-key cookout with some of our friends, played a little corn hole, and sang a little karaoke.

Four of our little guys getting a wagon ride: Front to back, Zach, the birthday boy, Wesley, Bradley, and Joseph

Wes, pulling about 120 pounds of kiddos

Bradley in the bouncy castle

Sunday after church we had a little scare with Bradley. We had finished eating lunch, and B asked for an egg (a cadbury mini egg that he asks for by name that reside in our candy dish on top of the bar). I gave him one, and one to give to daddy. Just as he put the egg in Brian's mouth, he must have sucked the candy down his throat because he started to cry, and had trouble breathing. After a few swats on the back, and getting him to drink some water he calmed down. You could tell it really shook him up though because he was all clingy and cuddly for about 20 minutes after the incident. I'm sure it won't be the last time he chokes on something, but it sure gave us all a scare! I held in the tears during all the commotion to try and keep Bradley calm, but once everything was settled down again, I excused myself to the bathroom and shed several tears of relief!

We spent most of Sunday outdoors. We played with bubbles in the backyard with Bradley, and once he went down for his nap, I read out in the back yard, and Brian tackled yard work, pressure-washing, and washing the cars out front. I even made myself go for a late afternoon run by myself to keep up my rejuvenated commitment to becoming a skinny mini! We rounded out the evening with some homemade chicken fingers and our nightly routine of watching FRIENDS. It was a fantastic weekend, that has gone on to becoming a fantastic start of the new week. I heart this weather!

Easter weekend in TN

The Lord is risen! He is risen indeed!

Bradley and I went up to Tennessee for several days for my friend Tadd's wedding, and also got to celebrate Easter while we were there. We arrived on Thursday afternoon, and apparently brought the warm weather with us from Florida. The sunshine, low 80s and no humidity made for plenty of time spent outside while we were there.

Things Bradley enjoyed this trip:

• Being chased up the stairs
• Using the doggie door to go outside
• Throwing rocks into the pond and making a splash
• Swinging out back (for 2 minutes, then he was onto something else!
• Chasing Juju (Laura & George's wiener dog)
• Playing at the park with G&G
• Going to McDonalds and playing at that playground
• Playing with all of Laura's and my old fischer price toys with Grandma
• Learning where the fruit snacks were kept and asking for them by name
• Learning his colors and learning to count
• Blowing and chasing "buhboos"
  
  Things Mommy enjoyed about this trip:


• Amazing home-cooked food (ie. the seared filet that Laura made with a blue cheese cream sauce, and the to-die-for coconut cake made by mom)
• Spending the day shopping, eating, and getting pedis with Laura
• Getting to eat at some of my favorite restaurants (Royal Thai, Blue Coast Burrito, Calypso Cafe, Mellow Mushroom)
• Going back to bed after Bradley got up with Grandma at 6:30am
• Reading a book in its entirety (Shutter Island- way creepy!)
• Seeing her best friend from high school Tadd get married
• A long lunch with old co-workers
• The gorgeous weather, and Tennessee scenery
  

Chasing the bubbles out back one afternoon

Throwing rocks into the pond

Dying Easter eggs. Notice the blue hands on both me and Bradley, hence the reason for the bib!

Laura and I in our matching dresses

Showing us the car he found in one of his eggs. Bradley hunting Easter eggs didn't go as smoothly as I'd hoped! He wasn't as excited about finding the eggs as he was wanting to stop and eat every piece of candy, animal cracker, and fruit snack that was in each egg.


Family Easter photo

Bradley with all of his Easter eggs... check out the enormous ones Grandma B found for him!


We had the most fantastic trip up to Tennessee. It was a bummer that Brian couldn't go with us, but a blessing too that because he didn't go, Bradley and I were able to stay for longer. Thank you mom, dad, Laura, and George for everything!

Blackjack!

Life with a 21 month old is interesting, to say the least. And before Bradley hits 22 months in another week (a few days, now that this blog got delayed), I wanted to document his milestones, and our daily routine at this point since I haven't done that in a while.  So bear with me as this is a long post mostly for me, so I can remember everything about this age.

I rarely have use for an alarm clock as Bradley normally wakes me up every morning somewhere between 7 and 7:30am. We eat breakfast together not too long after getting up, and Bradley now exclaims "Cha Cha" for Chandler, and asks for juice by name. A typical breakfast for us is fruit and cereal. Mondays and Fridays we go to mommy & me stroller classes, and for the past 6 weeks we've had toddler story time at the library on Tuesdays, but now that's over until the fall. Kindermusik is on Thursday mornings.  We play inside, go out back and blow "buh-boos" (bubbles), eat lunch, and then Bradley naps from 1-4pm. This is when I get the bulk of my housework and emailing done, as well as showering! When B gets up from his nap he usually has a snack- animal crackers, goldfish, or fruit snacks- his favorite- although now he also knows the word for cookie, and so he stands in front of the appropriate cabinet asking for them by name. (See, there's a positive and a negative to his vocuabulary exploding)

He watches Sesame Street in the mornings, and there are certain segments he does not like, and certain ones that he does (Elmo!).  In the late afternoon when I'm trying to start on dinner is when I usually give into the "momo" requests, and let him watch an Elmo dvd so I can cook.  We give baths every other night, and the bedtime routine commences at 7:30 getting into pjs, brushing teeth, and reading books, with lights out at 8pm.

Bradley is a stubborn little boy who does Not want to stop what he's doing to come and get dressed or have his diaper changed.  It frustrates me to no end to wind up in a battle over something as simple as getting his shoes on so we can leave, but I guess in his little world, that's about all he has to assert his independence over.  I try to stay cheery when I'm making my requests, and then when that doesn't work (when, not if), I count to three, and then after that, he gets a swat on the bottom.  I will ask Bradley, do you want a spanking?  And he shakes his head and says no, and then I respond with, then come here!  Sometimes this works.  Sometimes not, and I have to follow through with my threat.

In the past week or so, Bradley's learned the phrase "I dooit" which means he wants to do something himself- mostly brush his teeth, or feed himself, so I let him!  Below is the first time I let him feed himself an entire cup of yobaby yogurt.

Snug as a bug in a slanket!  I bundled him up to watch Sesame Street on one particularly chilly morning.

Reading books with Grandma Anna

B still has his buddah belly, and weighs 28 pounds.  We haven't started potty training although we do have his little potty sitting out and sit him on it from time to time when he shows interest.  Bradley loves to wave bye bye to people and cars, and even the excrement in the toilet.  He repeats everything now, and is learning to count.  He can throw a ball in the air and catch it, which other people say is amazing for a toddler his age.  He still doesn't sing, which discourages me a little, but I know he loves music, so I know he will come around.  I can't believe my little guy is quickly approaching two!  

First summer bbq

What better way to spend a warm Friday evening than a barbeque with good friends? We are so blessed to have great friends who also happen to be great neighbors. Jess and Wes live next door with their son Wesley, who is 6 months younger than Bradley, and right next to them on the other side lives Kim, David, Catalina (age 5) and Andrew, who is 6 months older than Bradley.

So that's what we did. Wes grilled burgers, Jess made quesadillas, David brought over homemade Chilli's-esque chicken crispers, I made some velveeta shells and cheese (hey, it's what I had on-hand!), plus we had hot dogs, and potato salad. Jess bought the boys all matching shirts, and the kids played, the adults hung out, and we celebrated what felt like the first official night of summer.

All the girls, L to R: Ami, me, Jess, Kim, & Catalina

the boys in their matching frog shirts, Bradley, Andrew, & Wesley

Four friends, and sometimes running partners!

Even dogs like Cats

Chandler was all snuggled up on the couch with me last night watching the Kentucky game, so I decided he needed to have some blue on, too. In case you missed it, the Wildcats are now on their way to the Elite Eight!! In the words of Austin Powers, and Dick Vitale,
"Yeah, Baby!"

A Bradley-less Blue bash of an evening

Saturday, Kim and Greg had us over to their house for dinner. Kim made these amazing Chicken Chimichurri fajitas with drunken peppers and onions along with Mexican rice that my mouth is still watering over!

After dinner, we drove downtown to Pensacola where we dropped the guys off at the civic center to watch a minor league hockey game. We girls were supposed to go too, but once we found out that UK played at the exact same time, we opted to go to a sports bar to watch basketball instead. We've definitely got our priorities straight!

My friend Kim and I with our blue shirts and coozies, and new matching basketball key chains, thanks to the sports bar owner.

Nick, filling out the winner's bracket

Yeah, we did! Go Cats!

Throughout the evening, we met several other UK fans, and made some new friends. We also mercilessly harassed the North Carolina fan who was sitting at the table next to us with his wife, who was from Kentucky, and there to watch the UK game.

Checking out the competition. Nick is a Syracuse fan (the name of the sports bar is New York Nick's), so we had fun harassing each other all night.

Yeah okay, so he kind of has the dirty old man thing going on in this picture, but really, he was a nice guy!

Bracketology!

Brian and Greg are definitely in a Bromance.

After their game was over, the guys met up with us, and the four of us walked over to Seville, a bar complex in Pensacola that I've been hearing about for 2 years; 7 bars inside one building. With the hockey tickets we got in free, so we went in and headed straight for the piano bar. Besides Kim and Greg paying the pianist to play the UK fight song (which they didn't know, so they did a lame generic fight song with "Go Wildcats" inserted into it), we also met a guy from Kentucky who payed them to let all of us get up on stage and do the C-A-T-S cheer. I love meeting Kentucky fans wherever I go, and there's nothing like tournament time to bring the Wildcats out of the wood works!

Later on we moseyed over to the dance club portion of Seville, and at one point I was on the dance floor dancing to "I'm on a boat" and just laughed to myself. I had no idea that song actually got club spins! Kim and I commented several times how glad we were that we were not in "that" stage of life anymore as we noticed all the girls in their tall shoes and tiny dresses lamenting their boy drama in the bathroom. Hey Kim, I said during one bathroom trip (cause, you know, girls always travel in packs), darn it, I forgot my spandex dress tonight! Yes, it was nice to just be able to go and have a good time in our UK shirts, jeans, and tennies.

We had a great double date night, and are so thankful to Ann for babysitting Bradley for us so we could go. It's a rare thing these days to be able to enjoy a basketball game without a toddler clamoring for my attention. It's even rarer that we go out-out for a date night, so it was a lot of fun.

Lions, & Tigers, & Llamas, Oh My!

This past weekend I finally got to meet my (quasi) new niece, Jaelynn. She's now 6 months old, but this was our first time getting to see her. On Saturday morning we took a trip to the Gulf Breeze Zoo, and the weather was perfect. Actually, I feel like a bad mommy because I forgot a hat and sunscreen for Bradley, so with the Florida sun, his cheeks are still a little rosy a few days later.
I snapped a picture of this peacock, with his tailfeathers up on display.


"Pretty bird, pretty bird"

Bradley loves getting to feed the animals at our zoo. The goats were particuarly enthusiastic about the feed today.


Check out the giraffe's tongue!


Grandma Anna and Baby J feed the giraffe

Daddy and B take a break

I snapped this picture, and moments later, Ann and I were both spit on by one of these culprits. All of a sudden, regurgitated llama food particles were spewed all over both our arms. Seconds later we smelled something awful and realized it was us that stank! After slathering on some B&BW lotion, the odor eventually went away. I knew that camels spit, but Llamas? Who knew?

The cougar with the cougar! ha ha


The Kangaroo mama and her Joey



First cousins, Bradley & Baby J


Thanks Grandma Anna for letting us ride the carousel! (Weight limit, Schmeight limit!)

Brian got this monkey to eat out of his hand. I loved the little baby monkey hanging onto its mama. Apparently, these are spider monkeys, so Brian and I had to quote our favorite cheese-tastic line from "Twilight,"

"Hold on tight, spider monkey."

And thanks to Grandma Anna, Bradley now recognizes Bella and Edward from the movies and can name them. Great... Another Twihard in the family! Speaking of, Jaelynn is a spitting image of Brian's sister Heather! She sat on my lap almost the entire time Sunday evening while we watched New Moon. I stayed awake for it all this time!

Aunt Amanda, Uncle Brian, niece Jaelynn, and cousin Bradley

Bradley gives baby J hugs and kisses

We had a fantastic weekend, and a great time meeting our new cousin/niece Jaelynn.