The Neyland's

Long time no see..................

2011-07-18T13:07:00.003-05:00

This is a special post just for Sarah!!! I know, I know, it's been over a year, but I blame it on Facebook! Wanted to share our latest birthday celebration- Ally Harper is about to turn 4 and we hosted her a Fancy Nancy birthday soiree this past weekend and it was FABULOUS!!!! Anyway, here is my birthday story.

Let me tell you a little about our party, I always start planning our parties WELL in advance so I can buy little by little in small sums so it's not a LARGE sum of $$ come party time. So I have been working on this party for MONTHS!!!! We started out planning to have a FN ice cream parfait party at a local yogurt parlor, but then I found the skit online about how to host your own Meet Mrs. Devine event, so I changed the theme to fit that. The skit called for Mrs. DeVine to do story time with the Explorer book, so I had to alter my plans. I still wanted it at the yogurt place but I felt it was just a little to cramped to do all I wanted to do (crafts, story time, etc...). So I found an indoor location that I could just rent the space. Which was all I really needed. So we set up craft tables, a story time area, a gift table, a favor table, a food buffet and a tea party table. I had some of my 12 y/o's friends come and assist with the crafts and they all wore white shirts and the Posh Puppy aprons I whipped up (they aren't perfect, but definitely fit the bill and looked super cute), I also made everyone headbands to wear and that was their "happy" for helping. Mrs. Devine, was the director of the children's department at the local library, she wore a platinum blond wig and a leopard cape, but she kept all that stuff so she could host the event at the library herself. We started out by welcoming everyone with a boutique buffet,,,,,,(wands, wings, crowns, necklaces, bracelets, gloves.....) you name it, we had it! Then everyone just mixed and mingled and after everyone arrived the older girls started doing the crafts with them. Next we sat down for the tea party. I had each girl an individually wrapped plate with one of everything already on it, so all they had to do was untie the ribbon and dig in. This worked out great not to mention it added a lot to the tables! Our complete menu consisted of Pink Snowballs, pink iced cookies, animal cracker (regular and chocolate/sprinkle covered), white chocolate dipped pretzel rods with sprinkles, fruit kabobs, ant's on a log (celery with peanut butter and raisins), flower shaped PB&J sandwiches, turkey pinwheels, heart shaped turkey sandwiches, white chocolate covered strawberries, brownies, cheezits, cheetos, fudge, fairy bread, marshmellows and regular and pink lemonade to drink. I also had customed printed labels for water bottles. After "tea" Ally Harper sat down and opened gifts and as she finished Mrs. DeVine chimed in "Bonjour everyone!" I am Mrs. Devine, Fancy Nancy's neighbor and I have a story to tell you! Please join me over here! So she escorted everyone to the blanket we had on the floor and she proceeded with the Explorer skit! PERFECTION!!!! They learned all the RULES about insects and exploring and about being in Fancy Nancy's Explorer Club, and I handed each girl a "Rule" card and then as they finished up everyone got their very own Membership card! After story time, we sang Happy Birthday and had cupcakes. I had Kroger make the cupcakes, 6 with white frosting, 12 with pink and 18 with purple. I made cupcake wrappers (I can send the template) to match some of Nancy's dresses. I had pink wrappers with yellow bows (used with white cupcakes, to match her "Tea Party dress"), cow print wrappers with purple bows (pink cupcakes, to match Posh Puppy) and then I had purple polka dot wrappers with orange bows (purple cupcakes) to match her signature purple ruffled dress, Then I got a mini Fancy Nancy play set from Walmart and used the doll from it and Kroger made her into a "doll cake" that matched AH's dress just perfectly. Which, by the way, was made by Boutique Ollie Girl, along with my Fancy Nancy hostess apron. Everything was perfect! We had so much fun and everything looked priceless :)

2011-07-18T13:00:00.000-05:00

Dance Recital 2010

2010-05-15T22:46:00.001-05:00

We took Brooklyn to have some dance pictures taken this afternoon to commemorate her 9th dance recital. The actual recital will be Tuesday night but I had to go ahead and post some pics! The top one is for Hip Hop, the pink is Jazz and the last is Ballet. How beautiful is my baby girl growing up to be? I am so proud of her!

new portraits

2010-05-15T22:46:00.000-05:00

Also let the two little ones get pics taken too. Ally Harper is getting geared up for her Toy Story birthday. And Christopher is celebrating his 7th month birthday!

Sunday, at the airport

2010-05-02T23:14:00.007-05:00

All my little "MICKEY"S" waiting to board the plane. The little ones did really well on the flight down. C2 slept most of the way, while AH watched a video :) Thank goodness for portable DVD players! AH did complain with her ears on the way down, but wouldn't drink or eat or even suck on C2's paci. All she would tell us was she wanted her blue "glankie" which was packed in the luggage. But she hung in there and all was well.

Sunday, EPCOT

2010-05-02T23:14:00.006-05:00

Once we arrived in Orlando, we caught the Disney Magical Express, which is a motor coach and it took us to our hotel. We checked into the Contemporary Resort, with hopes of getting the Magic Kingom view from our room, which I had requested several times. That didn't work out, but we were put on the 14th floor club level instead of the 12th clue like I thought we would be on. Which worked out great. Not only did we have private access to the club lounge complete with cokes, juicem milk, beer, coffee, cookies, desserts, appetizers, breakfast, just about anythin g you would want to snack on, we also had a GREAT view of the Kingdom! And because we were on the 14th club, we only had 12 other families staying on the floor with us, so it really was like having a private everything! A-W-E-S-O-M-E!!!!!

After getting settled in, we dressed for dinner and hopped in the monorail from the comfort of our own hotel and zipped over to EPCOT for dinner in Norway. We enjoyed the Storybook princess character dining at Akershur! The kids got to meet 5 princesses, and get autographs on the 1st night! And how cute was AH in her OllieGirl Belle ballgown???

As soon as we left dinner and loaded up the kids in the strollers, we started filling rain drops and honestly within 5 minutes we were in the middle of a hurricane!!! We took off our shoes and literally ran as fast as we could to shelter which started out being a margarita stand in Mexico, but because the wind was hurricane force, that didn't help much so we took off again. This time we made it to a merchandise store and waited it out there. 20 minutes and $100+ later, we were booking it back to the monorail, in wet pants and new Disney sweatshirts. Thankfully this was the only rain we had all week.

Monday, Animal Kingdom

2010-05-02T23:13:00.000-05:00

Monday night, Magic Kingdom

2010-05-02T23:12:00.002-05:00

After a day at Animal Kingdom, we decided that we would head to Magic Kingdom for the evening. This was the perfect time to go. While everyone was lined up to watch the parade adn fireworks, we went to Fantasyland and rode all but 3 rides within an hour. NO WAITS AT ALL!!! It was terrific. Above is the Dumbo ride. Notice AH showing us how an elephant goes :)

It's a Small World!

Tuesday, EPCOT

2010-05-02T23:11:00.000-05:00

2010-05-02T23:10:00.000-05:00

Tuesday, EPCOT

2010-05-02T23:09:00.001-05:00

At EPCOT, the Garden Festival was going on and the flowers were gorgeous!

Tonight we had dinner in Sweden! While at Biergarten's, AH really got into the music. We had to stick around for a second performance of the band just so she could get to dance more!

Here are the kids sporting their lederhosen outfits, or as we like to call them- their Pincchio outfits!

AH really enjoyed playing in the fountains. Didn't have a swinsuit, but we made do.

Wednesday, Magic Kingdom

2010-05-02T23:07:00.002-05:00

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Thursday, Magic Kingdom

2010-05-02T23:05:00.002-05:00

Thursday, Breakfast at Cinderella's Royal Table

2010-05-02T23:05:00.001-05:00

Thursday, Dinner at Chef Mickey's

2010-05-02T23:03:00.001-05:00

2010-05-02T23:02:00.001-05:00

Here is the note that Woody and Buzz gave the kids inviting them to the Block Party Parade. Then during the parade, their float stopped right in front of us, and Woody came and got AH out of the crowd and they all danced with her in the street! It was AWESOME!!!

2010-05-02T23:01:00.001-05:00

2010-05-02T23:01:00.000-05:00

Wednesday, Magic Kingdom

2010-05-02T23:00:00.001-05:00

Friday, Block Party at Hollywood Studios

2010-05-02T23:00:00.000-05:00

My birthday dinner at Brown Derby

2010-05-02T22:59:00.001-05:00

2010-05-02T22:59:00.000-05:00

View from the Contemporary 14th club level lounge!

2010-05-02T22:58:00.000-05:00

Satuday, Chef Mickey's

2010-05-02T22:57:00.000-05:00

Saturday, Chef Mickey's for Breakfast

2010-05-02T22:56:00.000-05:00

Saturday, Animal Kingdom

2010-05-02T22:54:00.001-05:00

Saturday, Animal Kingdom

2010-05-02T22:53:00.001-05:00

Our last day in Orlando, we decided to head back to Animal Kingdom to let AH see the FInding Nemo musical one more time. It really was incredible! She cried after it was over, wanting to know, "Where's Nemo?'' I had to tell her that we had to "find" him!
just a few snapshots og AH in her Cinderella "work" short set made by Tinkerella Creations!

And a few more snapshots of AH in her Schmoodle Boutique creation.

Meeko was the only character all week that AH was a little afraid over. Daddy had to hold her this time :)

Play time at the park

2010-04-21T16:12:00.003-05:00

Took Ally Harper to the park to fly a kite for the first time, however, one thing was missing-- the wind. She had to REALLY RUN FAST to get it in the air, but she got it! And so did Chris and Brooklyn.

Couldn't help for taking this picture. Potty training is done, but when she fell the urge, she tells you! She says "I wanna tee-tee, I wanna tee-tee", this is great but she doesn't mean in 10 minutes, she means NOW! So we carry a potty chair in the back of the truck, just in case. This time we had to stop on the side of the road! Luckily, one lane was closed, so we were able to be away from the passing cars! Unfortunately, this was a false alarm!!!

Getting Brooklyn's Disney wardrobe together

2010-04-21T16:12:00.002-05:00

More outfits

2010-04-21T16:11:00.001-05:00

This is the Jessie outfit I had made for Ally Harper.

And here are the Pinocchio outfits I made (paired each of them with store bought shirts). Top left pic was my inspiration for AH's. But instead of putting cherries, I added a couple of apples since Pinocchio carried an apple to school with him.

Todays project!!!

2010-04-14T11:02:00.003-05:00

With only a little over a week left until we leave for WDW, I am trying to complete one project a day in preparation. Today's project-- Chef Mickey Attire and if I have time, Pinocchio for everyone!

More Disney planning...

2010-04-13T15:40:00.002-05:00

Snow White at Liberty Park

Aladdin and Jasmine ready to "fly" to Disney World

Christopher's Snow White "apple themed" outfit I whipped up to match AH's. Turned out pretty good I think!

Belle of the ball..........

2010-04-10T12:49:00.006-05:00

Gotta love Ollie Girl Boutique!!! Too cute, can't wait to meet the real Belle!

Swimmie lessons for Ally Harper

2010-04-10T12:49:00.005-05:00

We are almost done with the 7 weeks of swimming lessons for AH at Maley's swin school.
She loves going every Thursday. And she is such a big girl while she's there. She sits on the step while the teacher is with the other kids, and does exactly what teacher tells her to do. This past week was the first week to school under water! Notice her face in the bottom right pic! Love it!

Brooklyn & Pawpaw on Easter

2010-04-10T12:48:00.004-05:00

Easter at the Martin's

2010-04-10T12:48:00.003-05:00

More Easter 2010

2010-04-10T12:47:00.001-05:00

Beinets for breakfast while watching Princess and the Frog, then on to dying Easter eggs. Pretty good morning if you ask me!

Easter egg hunt at the Ag Museum

Easter morning

at the Neyland's after Easter Church service

Cinder"ALLY" and the Easter Egg Hunt

2010-03-27T22:28:00.001-05:00

We took AH and C2 to Renassiance today for the BIG Easter Egg hunt. She had soooo much fun finding eggs. This is also one of her cute Disney World outfit. She loves her Tinkerella Creations Cinderella short set.

Night time prayers

2010-03-21T22:29:00.002-05:00

So last week, I began saying a bedtime prayer with AH. I would say part of it, then she would repeat it. Well to my surprise, only after a few nights, she is able to say it by herself. Soooo sweet!!!

Translation:
Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep. If I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take. Amen

A day in the country

2010-03-21T22:21:00.000-05:00

While out of town for the basketball tournament, we stayed at Granny and Pawpaw's down in Franklin county. Friday, when spring was actually here (since it snowed today???) we visited my cousins house and AH had a great time with all the animals. She got to play in leaves, feed the goats and rabbits and then we visited Uncle Tracy's chicken houses and she got to hold a baby chick, which was less than a day old. She said it was "so cute!"

Go SEC!!!!

2010-03-21T21:49:00.001-05:00

Made the trip to New Orleans on Thursday with Granny, Ally Harper, Christopher and Chris to take in a few basketball games. Four games in one day is a lot of basketball, but the kids handled it pretty well. As for Saturday's games, Chris and I went down with just Christopher for the 2nd round of games and had another great day of basketball. Even though my bracket is now shot since Kansas lost, it sure was fun. Now go SEC-- Go Kentucky!!!

AH's vacation wardrobe

2010-03-17T09:51:00.003-05:00

We are absolutely LOVIN' our princess short sets from Tinkerella Creations on Etsy.com

Jessie Project

2010-03-15T08:59:00.003-05:00

Well, I've still got the sewing bug, so here is the latest finished project. AH is in love with Toy Story and especially Jessie the yoddling cowgirl, so I made her a Jessie outfit last night. Gave it to her first thing this morning and she LOVED it! (Again, the photos on the right were my inspirations-- and if you haven't ever seen anything made by Tinkerella Creations, you MUST check out her stuff .) http://www.etsy.com/shop/tinkerellacreations?ga_search_query=tinkerella&ga_search_type=category&category=clothing.children&ga_page=&includes%5B0%5D=tags&includes%5B1%5D=title

Christopher's First Baseball series in Oxford!

2010-03-15T08:56:00.000-05:00

Here we are enjoying the weekend in Oxford for the Louisville series.
It was a little cold, bu we bundled up!

Jasmine Project

2010-03-12T10:03:00.002-06:00

So here is the finished product of AH's Jasmine outfit. The pics on the right were my inspirations! I'm very satisfied with the outcome.
Gotta give credit to Tinkerella Creations for the pic on the bottom right. Check her out at http://www.etsy.com/shop/tinkerellacreations?ga_search_query=tinkerella&ga_search_type=category&category=clothing.children&ga_page=&includes%5B0%5D=tags&includes%5B1%5D=title

More sewing pics

2010-03-12T09:57:00.003-06:00

Here are a couple of outfits I made for Christopher to wear to his first Ole Miss baseball games this weekend! I think he likes them :)

And the other night we tried Christopher in the jumper. I think he liked it too. If we canjust keep AH from wanting to send him swinging!!!

And last but not least, this is the scene I walked into a couple of days ago. I had laid C in his crib while AH was watching tv, and as usual C began to cry, but I continued to load the dishwasher. Well after a few minutes, C got quiet, so I went to check on him and this was the scene. AH had climbed into the bed with him and hijacked all his pacifiers! She had all 3 in her mouth at one time. PRICELESS! She is SOOO funny! But it did make C quit crying for a while :)

Random Pics

2010-03-12T09:56:00.002-06:00

A day at the park with mommy and daddy. AH loves her some Liberty Park!

And here she is helping Granny at the barn!

And "driving" pawpaw's 18 wheeler!

And last but not least, here we are at the Mad Hatter's tea party, which followed the Mississippi Metropolitan Ballet's production of "Alice in Wonderland".

Pippy and Pals

2010-02-28T09:25:00.000-06:00

So... we cleaned out some of the garage last week and AH found all of Brooklyn's Madam Alexander dolls. So they are on display in her room now. Well today she came running thru with the "Pippy Longstocking" doll. I told her who it was and she started repeating it. "Hey Pippy", "it's Pippy", etc. so I decided I would let her watch Brooklyn's old Pippy DVD and make her a Pippy costume. SHe was soo cute, I couldn't help but take lots of pics. Later while we were sitting around Saturday afternoon when Chris heard some voices in the backyard. It was Randa, along with Chris and Aiden Brunetti. The Brunetti "men" were in town visiting while Jennifer was in New Orleans participating the the Marathon. It also happened to be Aiden's 2nd birthday. So Ally Harper really enjoyed sharing her swing set with Aiden. She never gets to have company over and I was pleasently surprised at how well she did share :) WTG AH!! Randa and James had planned to cook out for dinner, so the kids stayed at our house while the guys cooked across the street and then they brought all the food over. Along with a cake for Aiden! I dug out birthday suppllies and a few happies and we turned the evening into a true birthday party. I think the kids really had a BLAST. I know mine slept like a champ last night!

Ally Harper's 3rd birthday party plans

2010-02-13T01:02:00.001-06:00

I know, I know, her birthday is still months away, but that's all part of the fun for me. The planning and the anticipation are priceless to me. So this year, we are planning a Toy Story Cowboy party. We bought Toy Story 1 & 2 on Ebay a while back and AH loves watching them both. Also, both movies have been in the Disney vault for years and they will be re-released in March. Then Toy Story 3 comes out in theaters on June 18th; therefore the toys are back in town. So why not celebrate with them??? So save the date- we will celebrate this year on July 25 at Reunion Farms.

Snow day February 12, 2010

2010-02-12T20:47:00.001-06:00

Christopher enjoying the snow!

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Ally Harper enjoyingthe snow!

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Brooklyn enjoying the snow!

2010-02-12T17:02:00.001-06:00

More snow!!!!

2010-02-12T16:57:00.001-06:00

Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo

2010-02-10T20:52:00.001-06:00

Ally Harper's Cinderella dress that Granny made for the Disneyworld trip.

Ally and the Fire fighter.

2010-02-08T16:53:00.000-06:00

AH loves going to eat at Nagoya for Japanese. I promise, I think she eats her weight in rice and broccoli when we go.

New look.

2010-02-04T11:05:00.003-06:00

Just wanted to show off my new bedding and paint color in the bathroom. Love it. It look s so new and fresh. The blue is very relaxing.
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Potty trained in 3 days or your money back!

2010-01-30T14:55:00.016-06:00

This is THE END of diapers for ALLY HARPER!!!

So, I decided that it was time for Ally Harper to be potty trained. We started this several months before Christopher arrived, but she didn't seem to be interested so, I decided to just wait until after he arrived. I had heard so many people talk about how children regress when a new baby arrives, so I didn't want to go through all the trouble, just to have to start over. But now I am dedicated to getting this done. So I did some research online and finally decided to purchase this eBook that guarantees you can have your child trained in 3 days or your money back. So what do I have to lose! So here goes.

Saturday, January 30th
Started 3 day potty training this morning
Put AH in panties and she through all the pull ups in the trash!

1st accident-- tee tee'd and poo'd in panties, sat on potty for a minutes, but nothing happened so we flush the poo and put on clean panties.

2nd accident-- tee tee'd while lying down on blanket watching Barney. Put blankets in the wash and AH in the tub.

Next up, lunch, then nap time!

Tee tee'd in potty 1st time before nap time, but then never went to sleep.

Checked on her several times, she was just lying in the bed. After a while, I checked her again, and she had tee tee'd in bed. Changed sheets and panties and now time for round 2. Will update later!
Gonna be a LONGGGG 3 days :)

3:15pm- got AH from her room, never took a nap, but did tee tee in potty when she got up!

4:15- Reminded AH to tell me if she needed to potty and she took off toward the bathroom, so I put her on the potty and she tee teed again. So we are sitting at 50% right now.

Note to self: BE PERSISTENT!!!! Currently it's 4:41pm

5:35pm: Reminded Ally Harper to tell mommy when she needed to potty, and she took off toward the bathroom, so I went with her and she tee tee'd!!! Yeah! So this makes us a little better than 50% now, but as I was posting this update, she walks up next to me and I hear tee tee hitting the floor, so I scoop her up and rush her to the potty but she left it all on the floor :( so we're back at 50%, but I'll take it. Because she is learning for sure! Fun times. (6:22)

Dinner time came and went, next up was bath time. Took her to the potty before bath time and she didn't hesitate. Next stop- bath.

After bath, we did the pj thing then had a little night time milky before brushing teeth and trying to potty one more time. She didn't want to potty this time, so we went back into the den and rocked a couple of minutes. Then I asked her if she wanted to go show brother how she pottys like a big girl and she took off. Used the potty without any hesitation and then climbed right into her bed! Perfect :) I consider today a success especially since we finished up better than 50%. We had 4 accidents and 5 successful runs, now if she can make it thru the night without wetting the bed. Keeping my fingers crossed. More to come tomorrow! Good night!

Sunday, January 31
2am-- I woke up because I heard Ally Harper say something in her bed, so I ran in there and scoop her up and she tee tee'd on the potty with no problem and then went straight back to bed. Perfect! Then she slept thru the night and I didn't hear her again until 7:50. When I went into her room this morning, she was STILL DRY!!!! YEAH ALLY HARPER. I took her straight to the potty but she was not able to do anything at the time. She had her morning cup of chac ka lot (chocolate milk) and then when I told her to let me know if she needed to potty, so took off to the bathroom. Christopher and I were right on her heals. She tried a couple of minutes, but]then wanted me to put the baby down. I left her on the potty for just a second while I put Christopher in his crib, but when I got back AH asked for tissue. She wiped then flushed and said bye bye to her tee tee. I'm really not sure if she did anything, but whatever. Still dry panties!

10:30am-- we ran to the bathroom and she pottied with not problem. Can you believe we are still wearing the SAME Minnie Mouse panties from last night at 8pm??

To be continued.......

12:00pm-- had 1st accident of the day! You would know it would happen while sitting on the couch too :{ Better luck next time.

Note to self: Patience is key!!!!!

Another accident, but at least she stands still and yells for you when it happens. I am able to get her straight to the potty, but again, she left it all on the floor.

2:00-- wants to go outside to play, but told her she must tee tee first, and she did :)
Daddy brought her in after a while, but didn't need to potty then, so back outside. Next time they came in I took her to potty and viola!!! Tee tee in the Potty!!!! Good girl, now back outside--3:05

4:30-- tried to take a nap, but had NO interest in that. She asked for a cup of milk and I told her she must tee tee first and she did! Laid her back down, but as of 5:15 still wide awake so she is now watching TV.

5:35pm-- Brooklyn came home and was congratulating AH on her success, so I said lets go show sister how you tee tee in the potty, and again she took off to the bathroom and tee tee'd without a problem.

Wasn't able to get AH to potty after dinner tonight; however, she did potty before bed time, so keep your fingers crossed that tonight goes as well as last night.

Day 3:
Monday, February 1
Well, all was good until 5 am when I heard AH calling for me. She had tee tee'd in the bed :( so we change clothes and sheets, but then she wasn't going back to bed. I turned on a video for her but that still wasn't good enough so Chris got up with her. She did potty for him once already this morning, so I guess were tied 1-1. More to come later. 7:00am

Day 3 update:
Ally Harper made it all day without an accident, except for the one she had at 5am. So proud of her. She even made #2 tonight in the potty! Here's to another good night (hopefully). 8:45pm

Tee tee'd before bed and then off a sleep.

Thursday, February 4th- 2 complete nights and days without an accident!!!! So proud of her.

Thanks for reading and riding the journey of potty train with us.

Brooklyn's injured knee :(

2010-01-28T21:41:00.000-06:00

A couple of weeks ago Brooklyn began complaining that her left knee was hurting. I really didn't give it much thought at first just figured it was a bruise or something. Well after several days and several complaints I decided I should at least take her to the ortho doctor, in case there was something truly wrong. Everyone knows that I have a bummed knee (already had 3 surgeries), so I really didn't want it to be something wrong and us not get it addressed, so off to see Dr. Barrett at Mississippi Sports Medicine.

Well it's a good thing we went. After x-rays, they were able to see that her left patella (kneecap) is dislocated. This is probably due to a stretched tendon in her knee and also could be contributed to her age and immature skeletal system.

So treatment is:
1) wearing specialized knee brace during any activity
2) Aleve for pain management
3) physical therapy 3 times a week for 4 weeks

And the doctor will re-evaluate in 4 weeks.

More Disney costumes

2010-01-26T16:28:00.004-06:00

Granny's Cinderella costume she made for Ally Harper. Thanks Granny!

Ally Harper's Minnie Mouse costume Granny made!

The Bachelor-- now that's good TV!

2010-01-25T22:57:00.006-06:00

So tonight I was watching The Bachelor, when I heard Chris comment "I can't wait for the episode when they all catch mono!" I nearly spewed V8 Splash across the room. I know he doesn't like the show; however, he was at the computer paying enough attention to make comments! Anyway, after his comment, he proceeded to come into the den to lecture me on what good and funny TV is. I informed him the only reason I still watch this train wreck is because "my friend Lincee" writes the funniest blog www.ihategreenbeans.com dedicated to the show and it is the highlight of the week to read it. I don't even erase the episode until I read her blog, because she always catches something I didn't. I told him that she writes the funniest things, and he said "even funnier than me?" Ummm YEAH! Well then he said that he would write me something funny and I say "bring it on". Next comment was priceless----

Chris says.............."I'm going to write a review of tonight's dinner!"

(You had to be there because that's a whole other story :( new dish gone wrong) but I couldn't deny that his comment was pretty darn funny. And then a few minutes later- I heard him mumbling in the kitchen "I'm still hungry".

Poor guy! But at least dish gone wrong brought some satisfaction- our daily dose of laughter :)

AND JAKE KEPT VIENNA????? What's up with that?

Mirror, mirror on the wall............

2010-01-24T01:26:00.001-06:00

Who's the fairest one of all? Ally Harper is!!! We are planning our trip to Disney World, so I am introducing Ally Harper to all of the princesses and characters she not familiar with. This is the first costume we have bought and she loved it! Granny has also made her a Minnie Mouse costume. It's too cute. I will try to post a pic of it soon.

First pair of pointe shoes!

2010-01-22T23:20:00.001-06:00

After nine years of dance instruction, Brooklyn has finally about to start dancing on pointe. We went this afternoon and had her fitted for her first pair of toe shoes (pointe shoes). She was so excited. Usually it takes a good while to find the best shoe and the best fit. There was a classmate of Brooklyn's there, and took her about 20 pair of shoes and about an hour to finish. When it came Brooklyn's turn, it only took about 25 minutes, and I think she ended up with the first pair she tried on. (However, she tried on about 10 -12 pair). Now Monday, we will let her dance teacher check the fit and if all is well, I'm sure I will have her dancing around the house all the time! Love it!

Update: Shoes approved! Let the dancin' begin!

A day at the park

2010-01-20T01:40:00.000-06:00

If you can't tell, there was some serious playing going on this afternoon!

Welcome to the world Baby Bruin!

2010-01-18T01:25:00.004-06:00

Our great friends, Doug and Amy, from Nashville welcomed their 3rd baby into the world on January 15. Bruin Travis Boyles weighed 9 pounds 6 ounces and was 22 3/4 inches long. Mom and baby are doing great and we can't wait to meet him! Also welcoming Bruin home are big brother Carter and big sister Loxley.

Christopher is 3 months old!!!!

2010-01-16T01:19:00.000-06:00

Fire forks!

2010-01-10T01:07:00.000-06:00

Ally Harper is such a picky eater, but every now and then, she will surprise you. I took her to Nagoya a couple of weeks ago and she ate her weight! She loves going there. She calls it fire fire, because they cook on the hibachi grill and she gets so excited. She had my soup, a scrabbled egg, all her rice, most of my broccoli and even some of my zucchini. I also gave her a pair of chopsticks to use and she loved them. I didn't break them apart so they just pinched the food and she could eat with them. It worked great so we brought some home. The next morning I scrabbled her an egg and when I handed her the chop sticks she screamed "FIRE FORKS!" It was so cute and funny. She seriously cracked me up!

RUN DMC!!!! We love Dexter!

2010-01-03T01:00:00.001-06:00

We sat around the house this year to watch the Cotton Bowl. And even though we were proud of the victory, we were also glad we didn't go this year. What a terrible game. I had a tension headache before it was over, but I'm sure that is nothing compared to what I would have had if we would have made the trip. Christopher cries so bad in the car, that we all would have had a migraine grade headache before we made it to Dallas. When the game ended, I looked at Chris and said "oh, I'm so glad to be at home already". And how did we celebrate the win you may ask. How else, we went and ate breakfast at Cracker Barrel! I know that's pretty random, but that's what momma wanted :)

Happy New Years!!!!

2010-01-02T00:56:00.000-06:00

One CRAZY amd COMPLICATED Christmas

2009-12-28T23:44:00.000-06:00

Randall Allen, a friend from Trustmark, always tells me that when I involved, everything is complicated. And even though I hate to give him the satisfaction, I will say it this once.I MAKE THINGS COMPLICATED :) Someone, make sure Randall sees this, and tell him this is my birthday present to him (January 3rd).Soooo, the week of Christmas was ONE CRAZY week.

I will start with Tuesday, the 22nd. We are all sitting around Mrs. Diane's house hanging out and I get a phone call from Brad, Brooklyn's dad. (Back story: Brooklyn is with him for Christmas this year from the day she gets out of school til Christmas day at 6pm: however, he leaves to go back off shore on Wednesday the 23rd, so he had agreed to allow Brooklyn to come home then, that way she could spend Christmas morning with Ally Harper and Christopher.) Phone call went down something like this:Brad's not going back to work as scheduled due to an eye infection. He wants to keep Brooklyn since he will be home. So all of our plans flew out of the window. Now instead of her being home Christmas morning, we will be getting her that day at 6pm. So she will miss helping with "Santa" Christmas eve and the next morning, she will miss lunch with the Neyland's too. But at least she will still be able to go to the Martin's with us. So that's what the plan was.

Now, we move onto Wednesday. Wake up call at 8am and it's Mrs. Diane. Chris' nephew, Jordan, was in a bad car accident this morning at 2am. They are at UMC. After collecting all the information, Jordan is in pretty bad condition. Broken leg, both pelvic bones, shoulder, elbow, bruised lungs, ear lacarations, along with a tear in the aorta of his heart. Long story short, Chris spent all day at hospital with family. (Update: Jordan is doing much better. Already had several surgeries and is now at home in wheelchair. Still has a long road ahead of him).

Thursday: Chris spends all day at hospital again, I stay home with babies and cook and such. Not much going on. Lunch plans have changed locations due to the accident. We will now be having lunch at Mrs. Diane's instead of Lauren's. We also will need to be at Diane's around 10:30 so we can open gifts before lunch and then get to the hospital for 12 visitation.

Thursday night (Christmas Eve): Attend church service at Broadmoor, go to Mrs. Diane's afterwards for a while then head home. No need to do Santa stuff, because we have decided to wait until Brooklyn comes home. So we enjoy a non eventful night, until around 11 when all hell breaks loose. Chris starts not feeling well, and within minutes he is in full stomach virus mode!!!So, I sleep on the couch, he stays up most of the night.

Friday: We wake Christmas morning, and Chris directs me to pack a bag and take the kids to my parents for the night. We don't know how long he will be sick and we can't chance the baby getting it. So I leave him at home on Christmas all day. He's sick, and home alone. Can't eat or visit or anything. So this again changes when "Santa" is coming. Not a big deal though, what's one more day? AH and C2 don't know. So the babies and I go to the Neyland's at 10, expecting to open gifts then have lunch, but once again, plans change. The doctors have decided to go ahead with one of Jordan's surgeries, so hardly no one is at Christmas lunch, but we go ahead and eat what's done and let the kids open some presents. Then we load up and head south. I get to pick up B around 2 and then enjoy Christmas with the Martin's that night.
Saturday: We head home around noon, as Chris is finally better. We open gifts that night and after the babies are asleep, Brooklyn helps with "Santa". Then off to bed to redo Christmas eve and morning.Sunday (Dec. 27th): Santa came! Babies open and play with gifts, then we go over to Diane's and celebrate with them. Luckily for Chris, there are leftovers, and we get to have one more gift opening session. Finally, all the Christmas festivities are over, and just in time for new years!

A visit from Ms. Cynthia

2009-12-20T18:52:00.000-06:00

Ms. Cynthia, our former nanny, came by to drop off a couple of gifts for us. Even though she doesn't work with us anymore, she still loves her some Ally Harper!

Happy 2 month birthday Christopher

2009-12-18T17:26:00.000-06:00

Santa Little Elf

2009-12-17T00:44:00.001-06:00

Ally Harper found Christopher santa hat this evening and came running into the room saying "ho, ho, ho". As I said, never a dull moment.

Sorry Guys!

2009-12-17T00:31:00.004-06:00

So today I was out Christmas shopping with AH & C and we were in Target. Since C has gotten here, I have found it to be much easier to put AH in the basket part of the shopping cart and C in his carseat in the top part. The only problem with this is keeping AH from opening whatever I put in the cart. Anyway, today we had been in there for a while, and the buggy was getting pretty full so as we approached the toy section, I decided to let AH get out and walk a while. She had such a good time. She found a wooden kitchen, complete with faucet. That was her favorite. She kept standing there saying "wash hands mommy, wash hands". Too cute. Well C began to get fussy, so I told AH it was time to go. Well that didn't go over very well. Finally I noticed a little toy shopping cart and had a bright idea. I would let AH push her own little cart to the front of the store. So I showed her the buggy and you would have thought it was the best thing since sliced bread. She took off in front of me with her cart and away we went. And as she past other shoppers, she would say "Merry Christmas" and when she bumped into something or someone she would say "sorry guys!" It was so funny. I'm really not sure where the sorry guys came from, but it sure sounds mighty sweet coming from that sweet mouth! She is a Hoot! Never a dull moment!

Brooklyn's 5th grade Honor Chior Program

2009-12-17T00:30:00.000-06:00

2009-12-17T00:20:00.000-06:00

Pink toenails!

2009-12-16T23:09:00.004-06:00

I painted Ally Harper's toenails for the first time the other day. She was so proud. The next morning,she climbed in bed with us and looked at Chris and said "toesies?" and Chris said yeah I see your toes and she responded "Like 'em?" It was too cute!

Christmas at the "KRANKS"

2009-12-16T22:45:00.005-06:00

Christmas at the Kranks has been changed to Christmas with the Cranky! Brooklyn was a colicky baby for the first 4 months of her life. She would cry if you looked at her wrong. There were many nights I would load her in the car and travel the interstate from one exit to the next, only to turn around and head back the other way, over and over and over. It was hard, but once it was over, it was over. She was a dream when it came to her toddler years and truth be known she is still a great kid. And then came Ally Harper. It took us a while to even figure out that she knew how to cry. She spoiled us big time because she came here a happy baby and has remained one ever since. She may be full of energy and a little high strung, but it doesn't get any happier! And now we are faced with Christopher. He isn't colicky like B, but he is a cranky baby most of the time. I shouldn't say that about him, he really is just spoiled and wants to be held all the time, but when you do put him down he turns into a CRANK! Anyway, the other night, Chris thought he had found the cure. Christopher was crying and Chris was up walking him around when he came close to the TV where there happened to be a soccer game on. As soon as they got close, Christopher quit crying and as long as he stood there with him he was happy. So Chris decided why not put him in the Boppy seat in front of the TV. This is surely going to work! RIGHT?

Notice the look on Chris' face. He was telling me "I have found the solution!"
Yeah, right!! That lasted all of 10 seconds! Then it was back to crying, so Chris picked him back up and sat down in the chair closest to the TV. He should be able to see soccer from here, right?Yeah right again! This is how that little solution turned out. Back standing in front of the TV! Did I mention Christopher is a little spoiled??

There's a new tinker in town....

2009-12-16T22:42:00.000-06:00

Tinkerbell came on Disney the other night and Ally Harper fell in love. S0 for the past week, it seems as if that movie has been on a 24 hour loop (I recorded it on the DVR), thank goodness. So anyway, after several days of AH asking for Tinkerbell, I decided that I would "make" her a costume. I gathered up several green things and Presto-- instant TinkerAl. Only one problem. When I put the green swimsuit on her, she must have remembered wearing it at the beach last summer and thought thats what we were doing. She kept saying "beach" and "lotion" (aka sunblock). It was pretty funny. Needless to say, Tinkerbell is now one of her favorite things.

Our visit with Santa

2009-12-05T22:39:00.005-06:00

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

2009-12-05T11:30:00.000-06:00

So we woke up this morning to SNOW! Which I must say for myself was pretty exciting. I got the kids up and dressed everyone as warm as possible and out we went. The kids from next door were out also. So I made sure to snap a quick pic of Brooklyn and Ally, along with Landry and Presley Horn.

Ally found her a snow shovel.
Then they all proceeded to scrap the snow off of Chris' car with the shovel. Paint job :{
Brooklyn had started making a big snowball, so Ally Harper decided that
Sister needed a little help.

Here Sister, I'm done.
Christopher's first snow!
Brooklyn making a snow angel.

Christopher was glad to be back inside. Where it was nice and warm.
Ally Harper, not so much! She pitched a fit!

My newest project

2009-12-04T16:29:00.003-06:00

I am wanting to learn to applique, so here is my first project. Ally Harper's "present" shirt and matching pants. Still need to do some work on the pants, but all in all-- it's wearable. Now on to bigger and better projects :)

Mommy's big man!

2009-12-03T12:21:00.000-06:00

Christopher had his 6 week check up this yesterday morning. We also had to get shots. He did really well, and so far so good. Still no bad reactions :) As for how Christopher is doing. He is GREAT! He weighs 10 lbs 3 oz and is 22 inches longs. So in 6 weeks he has gained 4 pounds!!! That puts him the 50th percentile. After shots, I took the babies out for a little Christmas shopping, however; the weather didn't cooperate very well, so we didn't last very long.

We have been blessed with the most precious gift this holiday season!

2009-12-03T12:02:00.000-06:00

2009 Christmas Portraits

2009-12-03T12:00:00.000-06:00

Monkey do & monkey see, 1st there were 2, now there are 3!

2009-12-03T11:59:00.001-06:00

Cute little cousins

2009-11-28T18:51:00.000-06:00

Here is Christopher and Hayden, my 1st cousin, Shelly's little girl. They are 5 days apart in age.

too much turkey = naptime

2009-11-28T18:41:00.004-06:00

So, after all was said and done on Thanksgiving, Chris took Ally Harper into my parent's room for her to take a nap. Well things didn't quite work out as planned. Notice who is asleep. Priceless.

Thanksgiving at the Martin's

2009-11-28T18:41:00.000-06:00

We were late arriving at Granny's for Thanksgiving, but there were still some family there visiting. Of course, we were able to visit with my brother, Tracy, and his family (Marla, Gabby & Ethan). My aunt, Anna, and her daughter Julia, and their family was still there too. So Christopher got PLENTY of loving.

Daddy "Can I have pony for Christmas"

2009-11-28T18:34:00.000-06:00

While visiting at Granny's on Thanksgiving, Chris made the mistake of taking AH to the barn to see the horses. All she could say was pony, pony, she wanted to ride a pony. So Chris, who is not a big horse fan, brought her back to the house and told AH to ask Granny if she could ride a horse. So of course, Granny jumped at the opportunity. So we all trekked down to the barn and Ally Harper got to "ride" Honey. Not much riding took place, she really just sat on Honey, but that was plenty. Sitting did make for one happy little girl.

A memorable drive down to Granny's

2009-11-28T18:23:00.000-06:00

After having lunch at The Neyland's, we loaded up and headed to the country, aka Franklin county. It takes about 2 hours of travel time to make the trip and all the kids did a great job travelling. As we were approaching the Franklin county line, a highway patrol came around a curve with blue lights flashing. And yes, they were flashing for us. So Chris pulls over and M21 comes up to the window and asks for licenses and then retreats back to his patrol car. In the meantime, Ally Harper (who was sporting her "Kramer"hair) was watching the situation, obviously very intently. As the cop hands Chris the ticket (65 in a 55mph zone) Chatty Patty in her car seat blurts out "CHICKY FRIES" "CHICKY FRIES". That poor baby thought we were at a drive thru and she was getting her some chicken nuggets and fries! Guess that means we eat at Wendy's at little too often :) IT WAS HILARIOUS!! INSTANT CLASSIC ALLY HARPER MOMENT!!!!
Christopher must have thought it was pretty funny too, we caught him smiling just after that.

Thanksgiving at The Neyland's

2009-11-28T18:00:00.000-06:00

Christopher's birthday buddy

2009-11-28T17:53:00.003-06:00

Last Tuesday, we got to have lunch with cousin Angie and her friend Rachelle. Rachelle had her baby girl on the same day as I had Christopher. So they will forever be birthday buddies. How sweet is she?

Hotty Toddy!

2009-11-22T22:21:00.002-06:00

So on Thursday, Chris decided he wanted to find tickets for the Ole Miss vs LSUx game on Saturday. With the upcoming arrival of Christopher we didn't get season tickets so finding tix to a big game wasn't easy. But luckily we got 4! So Saturday morning, the Neyland's were on our way to see the rebels play. We had such a good time. Got to see all our friends, and enjoy a priceless game! Rebels win 25-23!!!!!! The kids were great. Ally Harper would get so excited when everyone would cheer. She had her own pompom and she learned how to use it. As for Baby Christopher, he woke to eat and then fell back to sleep. Then he even stayed asleep from about 5:30 until we took the Gluckstadt exit around 10:00! Could not have asked for better timing. What a GREAT family outing and looking forward for more to come. Hotty Toddy!!!

One month old

2009-11-22T22:18:00.001-06:00

Believe it or not, Christopher is already one month old. My how time flies.
He is doing so great. He sleeps well, and eats even better. I took him to be weighed and he is already up to 9 pounds! I was shocked. When we left the hospital he weighed 5 lbs 8 ozs, so he is averaging 2 ounces a day. So let's just hope this habit continues, because I don't know if I can handle another non-eater! (meaning Ally Harper!)

Happy Birthday Chris

2009-11-11T22:11:00.000-06:00

Just wanted to wish my sweet husband a happy birthday today. I love you!!!!

Aunt Marla's little camper

2009-11-08T15:20:00.002-06:00

Wanted to dedicate this pic to Aunt Marla and the fam. Christopher is sporting his "Little Trooper" camping gown. Maybe on the next camping trip, one of you can borrow it to keep a little warmer.

there's a first time for everything....

2009-11-08T15:08:00.005-06:00

We took Christopher out and about for a little while yesterday. We went to Renassiance and walked around for a while and had lunch outside at 5 Guy's burgers. It was okay, but nothing special. Mugshots is 100% better!!! And get this, Brooklyn was eating her burger and she said I can't even see my hamburger, sure enough I checked between the bun and NO HAMBURGER PATTY :( Brooklyn asked "How do you forget the hamburger on a hamburger?"

Also we gave Christopher a real bath the other night in the BIG tub and he loved it! I hope he contunes to like bath time as much as Ally Harper. And then yesterday, we were all trying to get dressed at once to make it to a soccer game. So Brooklyn was in one bathroom and Chris in the other, so Christopher got to bathe in the kitchen sink. I think he liked it better then the tub :) Too cute, however I didn't get a photo because as I previously stated everyone else was in the shower.

Meeting the Martin's for the 1st time

2009-11-01T16:56:00.001-06:00

My brother and his family travelled up on Halloween to visit Christopher for the first time. We also celebrated my dad's birthday which was the day before. It was great to get to visit with everyone.