Josh Turner - Firecracker

This is now Zoe's FAVORITE song. I downloaded it on Apple iTunes and burned it on a CD in my car. She heard it and hasn't stopped asking for it since! When she gets in the car she says, "Mommy, Firecracker dance!" And she will keep asking until you play it for her. I must confess that I'm getting a little sick of the song. When you've heard it 10 times before you get to work it gets a little old.....

http://www.cmt.com/videos/josh-turner/174153/firecracker.jhtml

Dancing with Papa Again!

The title says it all.

The Cutest Picture Ever

As you will see from my previous post, Zoe's class attended a puppet show based on the book The Gruffalo. Anyway, I took this picture of Zoe and two of her classmates.....which I think turned out pretty darn cute! They made these shirts to celebrate "Week of the Child" at McKendree. Following the puppet show, McKendree even celebrated its annual parade around two city blocks in downtown Nashville....complete with police escorts. I was so glad to get to be a part of it. Anyway, I took this picture right before the play. I think you'll agree it's too cute!

Meredith, Zoe & Sophia

For those of you who don't know, Meredith and Zoe were born on the same day about three hours apart by the same OB. I used to work with Meredith's mother and as they were taking her from recovery following her C-section, I was just coming into recovery following my C-section. It was pretty hysterical and it's great that our children are in school together!

Time Out Papa & Nana

While my parents were visiting this weekend, the old "basketball coach" came out in Papa and he taught Zoe "time out!" Anyway, it was too cute and she was pretty funny doing it. And for the rest of the weekend she would periodically say, "Time out Papa!" Too funny! As you can see, she's still learning hand placement!

Time Out Nana!
Time Out Papa!

March For Babies

This past weekend was the March for Babies for the March of Dimes. As most of you know, this is an organization that is near and dear to my heart. My parents came down, as well as my best bud from back home, Temple. We had such a wonderful weekend. The support of my parents and Temple means so much. Thanks for coming down and we love you guys!

The Gruffalo

This past Friday Zoe's class went to see a puppet show at the Nashville Public Library. I volunteered to go with her class and was so glad I was able to go. It was a WONDERFUL show and I would highly recommend it. Enjoy the pics:0)

Feeding Priscilla & Beth

Daddy is the BEST at "pretend play" with Zoe. Tonight they were feeding her dolls, Priscilla & Beth. And before you ask, Mark named both dolls. How did he come up with those names you might ask? We have no idea....the names just popped out and they've stuck like glue. Anyway, Zoe calls them by name and her and Daddy had to feed them dinner before they went to bed. Too cute!

Too Cute for School

Since we had a warm snap last week, I managed to pull out the boxes of Spring/Summer clothes I had bought for Zoe and this was one of her outfits. She was just too cute for school!

My "Dress Up" Shoes

I went a few weeks ago and bought Zoe some shoes to play "dress up" with because she just wouldn't leave my heels alone. She LOVES shoes. We're convinced she's the next Carrie (for those of you who watched Sex & The City, you'll get what I'm talking about it). Anyway, I just had to get a picture of her wearing them because she's hysterical. And, yes, she's in a diaper again. We just can't seem to keep clothes on the child. As soon as she gets home she wants them off and doesn't want anything else on until she goes to bed in her jammies. So, what do you think of Zoe's shoes? By the way, she was cooking!

My First Turkey Picture

Daddy shot a turkey today and this was Zoe's first experience with a "turkey picture." She liked getting up in the back of the truck with Daddy and the turkey, but she didn't want the turkey to touch her. It was pretty funny actually. She didn't mind getting right next to it, but she didn't even want a feather to touch her. Too cute!

Playing Dress Up With Daddy

Four times per year Zoe's day care, McKendree United Methodist Church, closes for teacher training. They closed yesterday and Daddy took the day off to spend with Zoe. They played and played and played all day and from what I understand, had an absolute blast. Mommy was just sad she had to go to work and miss spending time with them. Daddy and Zoe played dress up and I've attached a picture of the end result. The shoes she's wearing are from my extremely large, fat, pregnant days when I could barely fit anything on my foot. I thought I would give those to Zoe to play with since she's constantly grabbing for my heels, plus they don't leave black marks on the floor. Anyway, she thinks she too cool! I couldn't agree more!

Rock-A-Bye Baby, High Five and Woo-Hoo!

I think the title says it all! I thought I should explain that when Daddy sings this song to Zoe, he holds her like a baby and acts like he's going to "drop" her all the time. I really think she's doing the same thing to Priscilla. And, yes, Mark named the doll, although I don't know how he came up with that one! It's pretty comical actually!

Easter Morning

This is a video we shot of Zoe on Easter morning...too cute! Enjoy!

Coloring Easter Eggs

On Easter day we colored Easter eggs and Zoe just wasn't that into it....as you can see below!

What on earth is that, Daddy?
Aren't you supposed to eat eggs?

On second thought, I'd rather just peel it!

Happy Easter

I realize I'm a little late in posting for Easter, but I've been a little busy and just haven't had the chance. Anyway, here's hoping everyone had a wonderful Easter! Below are some pics I took from that morning. I think Zoe made out like a bandit....what do you think?

Zoe's Easter Basket
Are you sure that's everything, Mommy?

I love books....and Elmo!

Good Friday at the Zoo!

Gracyn Turns Two!

Zoe was invited to a birthday party last weekend. Her friend Gracyn turned two on St. Patrick's Day and had a birthday party at a place called "Let It Shine." It's a gym in Franklin, Tennessee and, as it turns out, Gracyn takes gymnastics there on a regular basis. All I can say is Zoe had a blast and I'm definitely going to have to take her out there sometime during a lesson to see how much she enjoys it then. Here are some pics....

Hey Shyla! Let's roll this huge ball!
Mommy, what does this do?

Tag - You're It!

You know, I didn't even know there was such a thing as the Ultimate Blog Party until one of my best buds, Shelley, tagged me and forced my participation. Really, that's just sarcasm because I absolutely adore her and feel honored that she thought of me. So, I have to now fulfill my end of the bargain by doing the following:

The rules are:

1. The rules of the game get posted at the beginning.

2. Each player answers the questions about themselves.

3. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog.

Here's hoping all of you out there aren't struggling like me to find five people you know that actually have Blogs.

Now, here’s the meme:

What I was doing 10 years ago:

Let's see, that would be 1998 so I was just finishing up my second semester of college at my alma mater, Southern Illinois University (Go Dawgs!). Let me say I was having the time of my life and majoring is Paralegal Studies.

Five things on my To Do List today:

1. Pray that Shelley doesn't throw up and that her girls quit puking all over her. I also need to send Shelley an e-mail asking if she needs anything....I will volunteer to do a "drive by" and throw the items into her yard. Am I a great friend or what?

2. Miss my daughter like crazy because I work a full-time job and feel like I miss a ton of things in her life. I literally can't wait until I get to leave work and go pick her up. There is no better greeting than having your daughter smile and run to you and give you the BEST hug EVER. Sorry, Mark, but you know I'm right about the hugs and the greeting.

3. Go to lunch with my posse. Two girlfriends of mine and I have created a club called "The Ex Mommy Club from Central Pike Christian Child Care Center." The name should say it all, but we all had our children there at the same time and do our best to get together once or twice per month to swap stories. I can honestly tell you we've forged a great friendship out of the "worst of times"

4. Continue to go through my house like a tornado and get rid of things I no longer need, shred documents I no longer need to hang onto and get ready to "shift" things around in my house. Sounds scary, huh?

5. Spend some quality time with my husband. I have a WONDERFUL husband and we really don't get to have much "adult" time together. Usually, we at least try to get together on Tuesday nights so we can watch the juggernaut that is American Idol. We've narrowed it down to our top three: David Lee Cook, David Archuleta and Carly Smithson. Do you agree with us?

Snacks I enjoy:

1. Any type of sour candy. I LOVE sour candy and I come by it honest because my Dad likes it too. I love sour gummy worms (although I don't indulge since losing weight).

2. Blue Corn Tortilla Chips. And I don't even need anything to dip them in. I really get a hankering for chips and those seem to be somewhat of a healthy alternative.

3. Triscuits or Wheat Thins. What can I say? I'm a huge fan! I can literally sit down and eat an entire box.

4. Anything chocolate.

Things I would do if I were a billionaire:

1. Quit my job.

2. Make my husband quit his job.

3. Move my daughter to a preschool program for two or three days per week so I could spend more quality time with her without robbing her of her friends and social activities. She LOVES her friends in her class and would miss them terribly.

4. Give my parents a load of money for all they've done for me. They're the best...I'm just sad I didn't realize it sooner in my life.

5. Give our house to someone I know would love it and who needs it. I'm guessing Mark would want to give it to his buddy, Shannon, so he could finally get ahead.

6. Buy my husband the biggest piece of property I could find in Tennessee (I'm talking thousands of acres) so he could build us our dream log cabin and hunt as much as he wanted.

7. Buy my husband and I a rather large piece of property (with a house) close to my parents so Zoe and I could spend LOTS of time with them and Mark could still hunt as much as he wanted.

8. Buy my husband and I a rather large piece of property (with a house) close to Mark's brother and wife (Steve & Patty) and his Dad so Zoe and I could spend LOTS of time with them and Mark could still hunt as much as he wanted.

9. Payoff anything Shelley, Temple, Jo Anna and Julie needed so they could do anything they wanted.

10. Payoff anything for my stepsister, Heather. I gotta tell you, I admire that girl. She didn't take the easy road, went to school full time, worked a full time job and still managed to find time to raise two children. She's now an R.N. I'm so proud of her and she deserves it.

11. Payoff anything for my husband's family (specifically Steve, Patty & Herman). I'm sure he could think of others.

12. Give a ton of money to Mighty Rivers Regional Worship Center f/k/a Cairo Baptist Church. This is the church Mark and I were married in and they have the BEST pastor EVER. We love Larry and miss that church terribly.

13. Are you thinking by now, "Man, she sure does want to pay off a lot of stuff." If you're a billionaire, who cares?!? There's plenty to go around!

Three of my bad habits:

1. Fretting. I'm terrible. And I'm especially terrible about fretting over my daughter. My husband gets onto me and I'm really trying to work hard at it. I just can't seem to help myself sometimes.

2. And I am the WORST micromanager (I'm right there with you Shelley). I believe this is why she and I get along so well (among many other reasons).

3. OCD. I have a serious case of it. Just ask Julie (I work with her and she's also an awesome friend). She will consistently ask me, "Will it drive you crazy if I take these files and turn them this way?" I begin shaking and develop a serious twitch at the thought of it.

Five places I have lived:

1. San Antonio, Texas;

2. Carbondale, Illinois;

3. Paducah, Kentucky;

4. Nashville, Tennessee;

5. Mt. Juliet, Tennessee.

Five jobs I’ve had:

1. A personal injury law firm in Paducah. I managed to work there for four summers, the last being the summer before my freshman year of ...... HIGH SCHOOL! Can you say start them young and "slave labor." I fetched coffee and made copies.

2. Kroger. I was a checker....enough said.

3. A large insurance defense firm in Paducah. This was an awesome law firm I worked for through my senior year of high school and my first two years of college at Paducah Community College before I transferred to SIU.

4. SIU Campus Admissions Office. This job sucked....enough said. You do what you have to do to get by.

5. My current job as a paralegal, which is AWESOME!

Five people I want to know more about (a nice way of saying TAG!):

1. Temple. One of my oldest, nearest and dearest buddies. I don't think there is honestly anything she could say to surprise me....I really just want to annoy her and make her participate. Love you Tempie!

2. Patty. My favorite sister-in-law because I absolutely adore her. She's the best.

3. Nikki. After quite a rough patch, we are just now getting to a better place. I'd be interested to see her answers.

4. April. This is one of my posse from the "Ex Mommy's Club" because I want to know even more about her.

5. Christina. This is the second member of my posse from the "Ex Mommy's Club" because I want to know even more about her, too.

And just for the record, I don't know anyone else with a Blog. Shelley turned me onto blogging and I haven't quite turned anyone else onto it yet. Oh, well. At least I'm tagging others via e-mail!

First Time at the Park

Today was Zoe's first time going to the park. Sad, isn't it? With all the illness we've had, asthmatic issues, etc., I've been too scared to get her out. But, today was too pretty not to go and visit the park. She had so much fun and she really enjoyed riding in her red wagon. This was a gift from Papa and Nana at Christmas, but we're just now getting to use it. First, we didn't have any room in the car to bring it home with us, but Papa and Nana brought it to us when they came to visit this weekend.

We took a ball to the park thinking we would kick the ball around with Zoe, but she wasn't having it. When we took her out of the wagon, she started crying and ran back to it. She was trying to climb in it saying, "Zoe get in." It was hysterical. She was like Cleopatria....such a DIVA!

I Love My Sunglasses

I am the Queen Bee!


Hi Mommy!

The Little Red Wagon