Happy Birthday Brad!

Brad turned 30 something yesterday, and the girls and I made this ribbon worthy cake.

Note how the icing doesn't reach the ends. And yes, that is chocolate lettering on chocolate icing, not an optical illusion. It says "Happy Brad". Brad drew little people around it too. His self portrait is at the top. See the glasses above the letters 'p'?

In the first picture he has his birthday pie beside him too. Georgia helped him make that on Sunday, since he was very determined to have a pie filled birthday.

Maybe today he can take a swing at the broken pinata that's still hanging in the garage from Georgia's Dec. 6 birthday party. It should be down sometime in 2009. The fact that my car hits it when pulling in isn't as motivating as you may think.

Happy (Belated) Birthday Dad!

Happy Birthday Georgia!

My baby turns 8.

Time

Georgia has an interesting school assignment this week; she's to list 5 events in her life for a timeline. She has almost 8 years worth of events to pull from, and the winners are:

1. Event: Her Birth / Date: November 29, 2000

I remember this day well. I was eating my 5th bowl of Apple Jacks that morning (I was 9 months pregnant!) and started to think that maybe when I thought I peed all over myself at 6 am (I was 9 months pregnant!) that maybe my water actually broke. Oh well, I had a 10am Dr. appt later that day so I just waited to see. Turns out yes, my water had broken. My Dr. was not pleased, since apparently the clock starts ticking for delivery at that point. When checking into the hospital the nurse asked me if I was in labor. I said "I don't know". I should know something like that though, right? I wasn't having contractions, so was I technically in labor? When my Dr. arrived for the big push, she entered the room saying "You know it's a girl right?" We did, thank goodness, since she would've just spilled the beans.

At 7:34pm Georgia entered the world. Whew. What the hell-o just happened?

2. Event: Broken Collar Bone / Date: July, 2001

When she was born, the Dr. thought Georgia had a broken collar bone. X-rays were taken our second day in the hospital to confirm, but the results were inconclusive.

At 8 months old she fell off the bed. Of course, it was under my watch. Granted, I was on watch 90% of the time, let's not forget that. The hospital staff had to document activities in the room between me and her just to make sure I wasn't a child beater and we were sent home. She had this nifty sling for a few weeks. I felt like the worst Mom ever. Thankfully she wasn't old enough to remember so she can't emotionally blackmail me with it now.

3. Event: Our move to Tennessee / Date: August, 2001

We moved back to TN from GA when she was 9 months old. The best thing we ever did. We had great friends in ATL, and still do, but it's so nice to be around family. The slower Nashville pace makes life much more enjoyable too. There's a special place in Heaven for Wayne and Diane. They took us in for a month, all of us - including the dog. Bet they miss those times - Not! It was fun, but I'm sure they were happy to get their house back when we left.

This picture isn't about the move, I just happen to like it.

4. Event: Becoming a Big Sister / Date: July 22, 2004

The day it stopped being all about her. A day to be mourned but to be celebrated as well. Maggie is now in the picture. Georgia has always been a wonderful big sis. She loves on, looks after, plays with and teaches like nobody's business. Maggie adores her. She's the first person Maggie looks for when she gets up.

5. Event: Her First Trip to Dollywood / Date: July, 2007

I know, it's just Dollywood, but Georgia and Maggie had been denied any type of real vacation until then. Sad? Brad and I had a few good trips before then, so it all worked out. They absolutely love this place, and it's cheaper than Disney. Georgia thinks it's big time, so all's well that end's well.

What would be your top 5? Mine definitely include Brad, Georgia and Maggie. That's 3. The other 2? I'd have to really think to pick those last ones; 28 years of history to sort through. That's right, 28 years.

It is on

The battle against random flea spottings is in full force. I am a complete bugaphobe, therefore the thought of them hiding in the sheets, carpet or on the cat gives me the eeby-jeebies. I'm trying to keep this "crisis" in perspective. Religious war, fleas, homelessness, fleas, and so on. It's not really working out. After the cat bath, another cat bath, multiple medicine applications, all kinds of carpet and furniture spraying and 2 of the grossest pills that make the fleas literally fall off dead, I decided to call in the big guns - Cooks Pest Control.

Michael, our lovely Cooks guy, said everything had to be off the floor for him to spray (not bomb). Clearly he's never been too far inside my house. Let's have a look:

Georgia's room before picking up. This looks good for her room actually.

Let's move on to Maggie's room. She is the master at making messes. Again, this looks good for her too.

There's her softball glove for all the playing catch we do in her room.

Off to the bonus room. I wish I'd taken a 'before' picture, but the 'after' should give you some idea of the magnitude of toys.

And my favorite, the coat/catch all closet upstairs. I didn't even bother here.

Back downstairs to the den. It wouldn't be a room in my house if miscellaneous junk wasn't everywhere.

It took forever to get this mess off the floor. Plus, we all -including the cat- had to leave for 2 hours for the spray. Instead of risking additional fleas at the vet, Kiki hung out at Brad's office. We dropped her off and split. Kind-of rude I know, but it was lunchtime - we had to eat.

The Cooks guy was only here for 20 minutes!! It took hours of cleaning up for a 20 minute visit. I forgot to mention I had to vacuum the entire house too. You know how often I vacuum the whole house at once? Never.

While I was at it I had Kiki shaved. Those little boogers weren't going to hide in her hair. Georgia lost her mind when she saw her. It was a great opportunity to talk about loving people (cats) for who they are on the inside vs the outside and blah, blah, blah, you know the rest.

Notice random item in floor - Cooks guy wasn't here that day.

To Bathe a Cat

To bathe a cat, you have to feel pretty gutsy. Or you have to know it doesn't have front claws.



I saw a couple of fleas on Kiki, our kitty. This will not do, so I decided to give her a bath. I've done this before with a Persian that always pooped on himself, so I know how incredibly difficult it is.

The girls and I were off to the tub with Kiki. I had to clear all objects from the bathroom that could hurt someone if knocked around, understanding that a wet cat can cause some "get me the heck out of here" damage.

Georgia and Maggie situated themselves on the toilet for the show, while I armed myself with my grossest shirt and latex gloves. Notice Brad isn't mentioned yet. He's coming up.

The water flows, the cat freaks, and Georgia starts crying. "You're hurting Kiki!" she's wailing at me. Not helpful as I'm trying to hold onto a slippery mass of hysteria. I tell Georgia that I'm not hurting the cat. If anybody was to get hurt it'd be me with her back claws. She isn't buying it. Maggie desperately wants to cry in a show of compassion towards the cat but just can't muster up real tears.

The bathroom door swings open and there's Brad - with a camera. "I can't get a good shot of her" he complains as he directs me to turn her for a face shot. Brad is nothing if not helpful.



Lots more tears from Georgia, general unhappiness from Kiki,complete boredom from Maggie, and photos from Brad. Relief from me to finally be done.

Back to School Again

The completely awesome "Back to School Again" song from the American classic, Grease 2, is on repeat in my head the entire months of August and September. How cool were those Pink Ladies?!? Minus the smoking of course. Forget East High (High School Musical), Rydell High was the place to be. I digress.

School is back. I thought after the long, hot Summer, I was ready to get this ball rolling. In reality, getting up early, packing lunches, folders, and backpacks isn't all that appealing. But a must. Georgia was rezoned this year - much to her dismay and my delight. She did really like her old school, but her new school is much closer and smaller. The new school playground has been voted Worst In Class though, and that is okay. Priorities please.

Georgia was very happy Day One. Well, she was happy until she actually got into the classroom. I'm afraid her first impression was less than impressive.

Nice "I hate this face", huh? Let's get a closer look.

No worries, things have improved.

Maggie and I started this week. Let me say, my class is quite interesting this year. Turning my back for too long is not an option.

Here's Maggie on her first day. Shoes were added later.

She seems to like her class. It's right next door to mine and is connected by an interior doorway that only has a curtain separator versus an actual door. The result is Maggie periodically appearing in my room to show me things. And to point out that every stuffed animal in my room looks like one she has at home. Coincidence? I think not.