J U M P!!!

There is the coolest place called Monkey Joe's close to our house and we decided to take the kids one Saturday to jump and jump. It was cheap and loads of fun. You should take a kid there just so you have an excuse to go down the gigantic slide!

This is when Emerson still had in her hair bow!

This is really hard work on an air-filled giant balloon (note: no hair bow and we've only been there 15 minutes)

Here's the gigantic slide, SUPER FUN!!!

Wee, let's do it again Mama (someone had to hoist him all the way back to the top)!

Slip sliding down!

Yes, he did this on purpose without anyone giving him the idea first. . .Boys will be boys!!!!

An ice cream to finish the day! Don't you just love their expressions, it's a combination of shock, exhaustion and exhilaration!

(YES, that is pink eye shadow on Emerson from her play make-up set and NO it does not come off easily. Why don't they make that stuff parent friendly since we're the ones scrubbing it off the kid's eyes as they scream in pain and agony that you're ripping their eyelids off?)

The story

I figured after my last post it might be fun to explain my adoption story to you, the reader of this exhilarating blog! When I was about 8 or 9 I suddenly realized that there were hardly any pictures of my around the house. There were a couple of school pictures and then maybe 2 or 3 of me as a baby, mostly with my brother in the picture but no wall or shelf devoted to me, the little sister who was a whole 5 years younger than my brother. Instead the hall walls looked like a shrine to my brother, "the chosen one"! I began in typical dramatic girl fashion to inquire into the case of the missing pictures. I meticulously questioned each member of the family and a few family friends about my birth and babyhood. When I asked my then teenage brother he lead me to believe that I was adopted. Since I didn't look exactly like my parents and I kept wondering where I got my nose I started really thinking he could be right. I started analyzing each picture of myself in comparison to pictures of my parents and brother to figure out whose eyes I had, whose nose I had, etc. I was truly obsessed and would even ask my grandmothers if I looked like other people in the family I had never met. Finally after what seemed like forever I finally broke down to the point that my mother brought out the video of my birth. Now, you have to understand something about my mother, she is a free spirit, independent and not worried about what people think of her. When she gets an idea in her head, it is not easily changed. When I was born there was apparently a movement of women wanting to reclaim the birthing process and my mom was front and center. She decided after a very horrible birthing experience with my brother 5 years prior to my own that she would go through Lamaze classes and have a natural birth. Thank goodness for her that she has a high pain tolerance, that her labor was quick and most importantly I was relatively small! She gave birth to me in a hospital, probably because my Dad wouldn't agree to a home birth and video taped the actual event. So since there was actual proof of my birth my mother, in her infinite wisdom, decided to teach me 2 things when she showed me the video #1: Sex will do this to you. #2: Don't ask a question unless you really want to know the answer! As I watched the video, which I'm not sure I've ever seen since I realized that I wasn't really adopted or at least they loved me enough to show me the pain that my mother went through to give life to some baby. Even then I remember saying as I saw the video "how do I know that's me?" All my mom could do was sigh. My poor parents, if I'd been the first I'm sure I would have also been the last! Unfortunately I've always been WAY too analytical and even when I see proof I question it. But as I've gotten older and started looking more like my brother (you should see the male yearbook pictures I did, YIKES!) I finally came to terms with the fact that my parents are truly my biological parents and my brother only really psychologically tortured me once and after all he was only doing his older sibling duty! One day Emerson will be trying to convince Cullen that we found him on the side of the road (what my brother told me about myself) and that we felt sorry for him and picked him up. Of course that's when I will break out the video of Cullen's birth, which is G rated, for my son to learn the same lessons I learned all those years ago. However, the most important lesson from the whole experience that my parents probably didn't even realize that they taught me was. . .TAKE PICTURES OF YOUR 2ND CHILD!

Here it is

I thought I should post the picture that I used in my yearbook photos. Everyone keeps telling me they don't believe that it is me, but it really is my face. Tripp took the original picture and still didn't believe it was me in some of the photos. My own mother didn't believe it was my face and she gave birth to me, or so I think?!! That's a story for another time, my brother had me convinced I was adopted! Anyway, for some real proof here is the picture of me without my glasses on. Since no one ever sees me with my glasses off it really has confused everyone.

So, here it is. . .

Just one more

Somehow I managed to miss posting this picture previously. I have laughed so hard at this picture that I had to share. The hair, the shirt, the earrings, oh how fun it is to look back at the styles and wonder "why?" Once again this woman was a teacher at my middle school and I think she might still be sporting this hair style (and probably the blouse to match). By the way, I did not upload pictures from my past yearbooks so the peoples faces who have been erased with mine replacing are not people I know personally. Oh and yes, I look completely different without my glasses. It's throwing everybody off, even my husband!

Prayer time

Like all children, Emerson is a creature of habit. Each night she recites the same bedtime prayer but then peppers in her own little thoughts. She sometimes surprises me with her kindness and thoughtfulness when she prays for a friend or someone who is sick. The theme of her prayers lately have been about her classmate's mother who is in the hospital waiting to have her twins. Tonight I was expecting more of the same when she started her "God bless. . .," she started to whisper, at first I could hear her rattling off the names of her favorite people but then the whisper became indistinct. After a couple seconds of that suddenly she said aloud "Susie the dog, I don't know any dog named that?" I couldn't contain my laughter and then she started giggling and needless to say the prayer stopped there. Where does she come up with these things? Every day that child makes me laugh at something she says. Her little mind is always turning and who knows what's going to come out!

Another good laugh

Although I truthfully hesitate to post any more "yearbooked" pictures of myself, I do so for my own amusement. It seems that I have been made aware by many that I look quite manly. Well, that really is my face which apparently means I'm much more masculine looking than I ever thought. However, it is my face and at least I can laugh at it. So laugh with me, it's good for the heart!!! :)

1980 There was a teacher at my middle school with the same hair, scary!

1984 Is it a woman or a lion?!

1988 I have a 5 o'clock shadow!1990 Same do, more hairspray!1992 Has anyone seen my chin? 1994 I can't lie, I wanted this hair in 94!1996 Wait, I went to school with this girl, no really, I'm NOT kidding! 2000 Definitely the most hideous picture of all but I had to include it because I can't stop laughing at it. Was this really the style in 2000? I guess I blocked it from my memory. This picture explains exactly why I can NEVER be a blond!

Hopefully this silly little adventure with photo shop was fun for everyone. I am now finished humiliating myself, for now anyway! HA!

Through the years

Check out www.yearbookyourself.com, it's addicting! Here's the 50's, 60's and 70's of me. I'll post the 80's and 90's tomorrow!

1950

1958

1968
1970

I kind of look like my brother in drag!!! 1972

19761978 This one's my favorite!!!!

Bugs

This picture is for all of you who have never gotten to experience the joy of GA mosquitoes. I squished this mosquito while it was enjoying the delicacy of my O- blood. Unfortunately for it I ended its dinner and sent it on another more eternal journey! Caterpillar update: Here are the only pictures of the cocoon/raccoon that held our little friend. I snapped these the day we saw it. I was completely amazed by the metallic sheen and especially the gold spikes. It was freakishly beautiful for its 1 inch body. However, as nature would have it it provided nourishment for a bigger and hungrier predator. It had fought so hard to stay alive placing its cocoon in reach of 2 toddlers. Emerson managed to forget it was there one day, about 30 seconds after looking at it, and wrapped her arms around the column and squished it or so we thought by the dark residue leaking from its safe home. It clung to the column for a few more days and I realized it was still alive. I saw it wiggling around one morning and was so thrilled by the fact that we might actually get to witness a butterfly emerging from its cocoon. Then the next morning came and I walked outside with an extra bounce in my step hoping the see the new creature. As I walked out the door it looked as though the cocoon had popped open. I did a great big smile, walked even faster towards it and saw that something had taken a big bite out of our friends cocoon. My face immediately fell south and I felt a empty feeling in the bit of my stomach. Then as I took the kids to school (they didn't notice the partially eaten cocoon, thank goodness) I thought about all the things I should have done when I saw the cocoon in the first place like build some sort of contraption around it so that it wouldn't fall victim to any predators. I felt so guilty that the little guy had been eaten and then I suddenly Elton John's song, The Circle of Life started playing in my head and I started humming and reciting what I think are the words at the beginning but since I'm not from Africa I just sound like a redneck trying to be "cultured" as my Grandma would say! Cheesy or not, in a sort of ridiculous, curious and somewhat neurotic way I realized that our little caterpillar friend who never got to spread its wings was still doing its part in becoming part of the circle of life! I'm sure whatever ate it thanks it for the meal!!!

Random new pics

"Happy Mom" :) This is what happens when you leave Cullen alone for more than

2.5 seconds! He discovered his Daddy's powder!

He's doing "high sign" from the Little Rascals.
Showing off her tattoo!
Being silly on a tractor ride.

Writers block

The title of this post makes me sound like some arrogant writer, which I'm not. Just giving myself the title of "writer" seems a little ridiculous to me BUT when I thought about this post the title I chose was the first to come to mind so I went with it. Hey, I'm working on limited time so don't blame me! Anyway, just wanted to say sorry for my lack of recent posts (that sounds arrogant too like I think all of you reading this have been waiting with baited breath for the 1st glimpse of my newest piece of witty literary works). I have just been too exhausted to even start to write a post and truthfully my fatigue has limited my already limited brain capacity leaving me with a writers block of sorts. Of course I'm not even sure if it could be considered a writers block since there are no thoughts there to even block. I think about the silly things I want to write a post about and I mentally begin the post but after about the 1st line I stop because my brain literally feels too tired to finish the thought. However, it seems that my brain is semi-functioning at this minute since I have seemed to write a fairly lengthy post considered my current state of mind. So, if anyone has any brilliant ideas for getting my brain up and moving again, along with my body of course, then I'll be all ears. I'm so tired of being tired. I don't drink caffeine and I limit my chocolate intake which leaves me at even more of a loss for energy because unlike the majority of America I'm unwilling to jump start my body with "poison"! ha ha Don't take offense if you're a caffeine addict, I understand your pain from past experience, I was a soda sipping maniac about 10 years ago! I digress. . .not too surprising for me.
Here's the point:
HELP, I'm in need of some motivation!!!!!!!

Sounds like. . .

A caterpillar attached itself to one of the columns on our front porch and decided to go through metamorphasis for an up close and personal science lesson for the kids. I showed it to Emerson and Cullen and they were pretty fascinated. Then we went to my Mom's and Emerson said,

"Nena, there's a caterpillar on the porch that is turning into a raccoon and then into a butterfly."

Power

Here's a brief rant spurred by something I saw on TV tonight.

Everybody likes the feeling of power. And people get ridiculous when they get media fame. No matter how insignificant, brief, or even negative the attention is people relish in their 15 minutes of fame it because it gives them power. And it drives me nuts that the media takes every advantage of those types of situations to then exploit the person to get ratings. ARG, how irritating!

However, in the media's defense that type of exploitation is exactly what everyone wants to see. Case in point-The Jerry Springer Show!

Best Brother EVER!

Here is an official thank you to my favorite brother in the whole wide world! Your comments on my posts made me laugh and that's just what I needed today!!!! You're the best and I love you! :)

*Your sis, the NERD*