Cowgirl Champion...

As I mentioned in my last post, Lucy's cheerleading squad took home second place at the Mid-State Competition two weeks ago and as a parent I was SUPER proud of all of the girls. These ten girls have been through so much and totally deserved the honor of second place. However, the week after that competition they really stepped it up. The coaches worked extra hard with them, changed a few things and at the UCA State Championship this past weekend the 75lb Chelsea Hornets TOOK FIRST PLACE!!!! Lucy, being the adorable four year old that she is, was just beyond words and the only thing she could say to me when I went to squeeze the life out of her, oh I mean HUG her was... f f f FIRST p p p PLACE....Mommy FIRST PLACE!!! Ok and I might have cried just a little bit!!!! I don't think I've every seen her at a loss for words....EVER but I was so happy for her and the entire squad, coaches included!!! Of course before the competition we had a few stressful moments. First of all I couldn't find her little turtleneck undershirt thing (which ended up being in my car) so I washed and dried it and it was done in the very nick of time. We fought about her hair and how she didn't want to wear pigtails, she wanted to wear it down and straight like Hannah Montana and then the fact that we had left her cheerleading shoes at my parents house and she decided she would rather wear cowboy boots anyway. So here are a few before and after pictures of Lucy from getting ready to the BIG WIN!!!!...

The torture of rolling the hair on rags...
The result of rolling her hair on rags...


Mad at me for the argument over the boots....obviously she won...
Super excited about the "HUGE blue trophy that matches her blue uniform"...
This face says it all...
And finally....the whole Champion Squad....
When we got home and Lucy set her trophy next to her 2nd place one from the week before she said..."I hope next time we get a #3 trophy so I can have a 1, 2, AND A 3!!!!! But finally decided she liked the big one the best and only wanted "those ones" from now on!!!!

It's About Time....

...for an update. My life has been so crazy lately I have had no time for a blog post. So for that I apologize!!! So moving on, lets just cover the past month or so...shall we?

A few weeks ago myself and my friend Mycalee took our Hannah Montana obsessed daughters to the Miley Cyrus concert here in Birmingham. As you will see in the pictures below, it was all about glitter, sparkles and of course the right attire. The night before the concert, I went out to find the perfect accessories for Lucy's outfit and came across the icing on the cake.....a child sized, perfectly matching, black and hot pink.......FEDORA!!!! It all came together quite perfectly (in Lucy's eyes) and I thought she was pretty cute too. Olivia, of course, was equally adorable in her scarf and feathered purse.....

The next weekend was Halloween but before we set out on our trick or treating adventure, it was homecoming for the little league. The girls had practiced their dance to the Hoedown Throwdown. I made posters, sashes, ribbons, sold raffle tickets, put together gift baskets, volunteered to work the bounce house after the game. You know, all of the crap a "good mom" does, only to walk out of the house to POURING down rain. Of course the game went on and we sat in the driving rain to watch the girls in their ponchos dance and be escorted by the boys on the mud covered football field! Luckily, after much debate, Mark ran home and came back with a huge tarp and tent poles where he and a friend erected a 12' x 12' covered area in the stadium, or as I like to call it - the VIP Section!!! I don't have any pictures of the tarp simply because I didn't want to get out from underneath to take a picture of it. However, I do have a few of Lucy...


For Halloween, Lucy was Princes Aurora aka Sleeping Beauty! In my opinion, she was the most beautiful princess in the world...or at least the neighborhood.

And she racked up on candy too.....

Since Halloween, it has been nothing but cheer practice. The girls did fantastic at their competition last weekend and took home second place. Considering their squad has two four year olds, Lucy included and the other squads were mostly 6 and 7 year olds, I'd say they did an AMAZING job. Lucy has now made her trophy her new best friend. It has a special place on a special shelf when she isn't holding it, sleeping with it, or trying to sneak it in her bag for school. It is probably the cleanest item in my entire house as it has to be polished at least five times a day....


I have no idea why these pictures are so small????

WHEW....that is about it. The girls will go to another competition this weekend so I will be back with results....unless I keel over from exhaustion, cheer overload, or too much momma drama in the mean time!!!!

Me and my other half....

I got this from a FABULOUS BLOGGER - TRINA. Since my hubby is home and its kind of like a holiday at our house i thought this fit pretty well into what is going on with us right now!!!


What are your middle names?
Ashley and Mark - we both go by our middle names, first names are Rowland and Melissa

♥How long have you been together?
Together about 6 years, Married for almost 5

♥ How long did you know each other before you started dating?
About 5 years!

♥ Who asked who out?
Very long story but it just sort of happened.

♥ How old are each of you?
I was 22 and he was 35 - I know I know!!!!

♥ Did you go to the same school?
Nope, he went to Barry (now Hoover) and I went to Erwin (when it was ok to go there)!!!

♥ Are you from the same home town?
Both from the Greater Birmingham Area but not the same part

♥ Who is the smartest?
Well as he has 13 more years of wisdom than I do, I'd say him!!!

♥ Who majored in what?
I think we both majored in Partying!! Now we major in Parenting!!!

♥ Who is the most sensitive?
ME - Hands down!

♥ Where do you eat out most as a couple?
We don't eat out much in Birmingham but when we are in Orange Beach we ALWAYS go to Doc's.

♥ Where is the furthest you two have traveled together as a couple?
Probably West Palm Beach

♥ Who has the worst temper?
Luckily neither one of us really has a temper but if I must answer, I'd say me.

♥ How many children do you want?
I want 2 so it doesn't really matter how many he wants....right?

♥ Who does the cooking?
He does. I'm lucky not to burn my Lean Cuisines at lunch everyday. When he is gone that is dinner too!!!

♥ Who is more social?
Me me me!

♥ Who is the neat-freak?
Unfortunately, neither of us are!!

♥ Who is the most stubborn?

Me again, although I'm trying to give in a little more!

♥ Who wakes up earlier?
It depends, when he is fishing he does (they leave the dock no later than 6am every morning). When he's home, I do.

♥ Where was your first date?
On our first REAL date we went to Fox Valley. Mark even wore dress shoes (this is a HUGE deal) and that's when I knew he loved me!! HA!!

♥ Who has the bigger family?
I do. 3 Brothers and 1 Sister. He has 1 Sister.

♥ Do you get flowers often?
I think the last time I got flowers was when I had Lucy (almost 5 years ago)!!!

♥ How do you spend the holidays?
With family!

♥ Who is more jealous?
No jealousy issues in my house. Unless he has chocolate and I don't but most of the time he shares!

♥ How long did it take to get serious?
We went from friends to serious overnight (or at least it seemed that way)!

♥ Who eats more?
He does...he eats EVERYTHING!

♥ What do you do for a living?
He fishes for 6 months and is starting a new "business venture" as we speak. I work for a real estate investment company.

♥ Who does the laundry?
I don't let him do the laundry. EVERYTHING will go in the dryer if he does!

♥ Who’s better with the computer?
Me for sure!

♥ Who drives when you are together?
He does mostly.

♥ What is "your" song?
We don't have a song but if we did I'm sure it would be something like Ray Lamontagne's Three More Days!

Nautical Wheeler....

People always ask me, what does your husband do? My answer, he fishes. This always gets a shocked response and wonder why I live in Birmingham and why he lives in Orange Beach for half of the year. Well, my answer is this....it just works for us!!!! While he does live 300 miles away from May to October it IS better that I am in Birmingham for several reasons. #1 - When he is fishing, he works 12-14 hour days, EVERY DAY (so we wouldn't see him anyway) #2 - There are so many more jobs for ME in Birmingham #3 - When he works that hard for six months while he is away, we have a full 6 months of good quality "daddy time". Is it difficult to be a single mother half the year....YES. Do I wish my husband was home every night....YES. Could I ask for a better husband, father, provider, best friend....ABSOLUTELY NOT!!! So, if your still wondering what "fishing for a living" is.....MEET MARK or in the words of Jimmy Buffett my NAUTICAL WHEELER, where he is and what he does from May - October.....

The past few weeks....

(Lucy and Jacob at the pumpkin patch)



Wow...its been awhile! My world has been pretty much turned upside down in the past few weeks and "blogging" has been the last thing on my mind!! So the readers digest version of whats been going on in Wheeler World is as follows....

Cheerleading practice three nights a week.
Mark came home for a week!!!
Sat through two little league football games in the rain
Went to the Auburn vs. Ball State game and sat in the rain
More cheerleading practice
Work Work Work
Had a great time at the Pumpkin Patch with Amber and her family UNTIL it started raining
Mark went back offshore
More cheerleading practice
Little league game tomorrow (hopefully NOT in the rain but its not looking too promising)
And finally, if my long lost husband returns from his fishing adventure by tomorrow morning, we are off to the Orange Beach Shrimp Festival and will be back on Monday to start all over again!!!

I have lots of pictures to share (eventually) of my cute little cheerleader, the pumpkin patch, and the Auburn game, however, Mark is determined to catch a HUGE tuna this week and took the camera so he could prove it.....which probably jinxed him!!!!!

Maybe one day life will stop getting in my way and I'll have a much better blog!!!!

TGIF!!

Car Talk....

Lucy and I usually have our deepest conversations in the car. I knew the day was coming soon that she would ask the dreaded question "Mommy, where do babies come from?" Well that happened this morning and it was a little different than what I was expecting. I got through it quite easily and didn't have to make up TOO MANY "cover ups". So, here is how our conversation went this morning....

Lucy - Does he do it on the table or just on the floor?

Me - Does WHO do WHAT on the table or floor?

Lucy - When God makes people, does he do it on a table or on the floor?

Me - OOOOH (as if I COMPLETELY understood the question NOW). Actually, He puts a teeny tiny little seed in a mommy's tummy and it grows and grows until its a cute little baby. Then the mommy and daddy go to the hospital and the doctor takes it out.

Lucy - So it grows like a flower?

Me - It sure does

Lucy - Well how does the doctor get it out?

Me - (THANK GOD I had a C-section) Well when you were born the doctor cut a little opening at the bottom of my tummy and took you right out kicking and screaming and you were the cutest fatest little baby and we loved you SOOOOOO much.

Lucy - Well God must have put a medium sized seed in your tummy.

Me - You think?

Lucy - Yeah because I was a BIG FAT BABY!!!!

All I could do was laugh at this point!!! And thank God for putting that particular "medium sized seed" into my tummy!!!! I am so blessed to have the family that I have. If it weren't for the crazy "Wheeler-isms" from time to time, my life would be so very boring!!!

Muddy Butterfly Ringworms....

WOW....what a week it has been. I think it is about time for a girls night. Thank heavens we're having one this Friday. This past Saturday as usual, Lucy had a game. If you live in the south, I'm sure you have noticed the never ending RAIN so yes, we sat in the pouring rain Saturday while the adorable yet extremely muddy cheerleaders and football players splashed their way to a 34 to 6 victory!! Did I mention the game was an hour away? So after we drove the long road home while soaking wet, we changed and went shopping in the pouring rain. Although while shopping, the rain didn't bother me quite as much! Oh and WAR EAGLE!!!

Sunday we went to my friend Mycalee's daughter Olivia's birthday party. My plan to go to the beach was immediately vetoed when Lucy saw the Hannah Montana invitation!! It would have been pure torture for the child to sit at the beach while missing ANYTHING Hannah Montana! We had a great time and they had the most incredible face painter. Lucy was painted as a butterfly (picture below, thanks Mycalee) and I thought she was going to have a come-apart when I told her later that night that it was bath time. Before that we stopped at the gas station on our way home and when the lady behind the counter asked Lucy about where she had been to have her face painted so pretty, Lucy told the lady, and I quote "when I was born, my face was like this"!!!! She kicked and screamed long enough about bath time and having to wash it off that I finally gave in and let her take a bath the next morning!!! By that time, the pillowcase had turned into a colorful smudge of butterfly and Lucy was ok with washing the rest off of her face!



On Monday morning we woke to Lucy scratching her shoulder and off to the doctor we went. Turns out she has a ringworm (YUCK) which apparently had just popped up....so don't worry parents that were at the b'day party!!! The doctor prescribed a cream and Lucy also had a flu shot. While we were at the pharmacy waiting on the prescription to be filled, Lucy felt the need to tell EVERYONE she came in contact with that she had a ringworm. Everyone we passed in every Walgreen's isle, behind the counter and EVERYONE who works in the pharmacy now knows that she has a "yucky, itchy ringworm on her shoulder-wanna see it"? So now you all know as well!!!

Hope everyone has a fantastic rest of the week!!! We are off to the Auburn game this weekend so I'll post about that next week - if I can't think of anything in the next few days!!! WAR EAGLE!!

Cutie Pie Cheerleaders and a Giveaway!!!

This weekend was Lucy's first "official" game. She was so excited to put on her "real chee-leader dress" and head out to the stadium. Other than having to get up at 7:00 am on a Saturday and me being sick, we had a great time and the girls did really good!!

Lucy and her best cheer leading buddy Chloe (who is just adorable).

Very proud of herself after the halftime "show".

All of the cuties breaking it down at halftime!!! (Lucy is front row far right)

Secondly, since I haven't kept up very well with the book review I thought I would do one now...with a twist. A while back I won, YES WON, a book from a great blog Happily Ever After. She read the book The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd, loved it and had a giveaway on her blog for this book. So I am doing the same, #1 because I think any woman would LOVE this book (yes it is a girly read) and #2 I have WAY too many books and from now on will be giving away every book that is reviewed in my blog!!! SO leave a comment with your e-mail address and on Friday Sept 18, I will randomly choose a winner!!! Good Luck!!!!

Finally (almost) Recovered....

I have finally gotten over not knowing what day it is after the long weekend and while my brain is temporarily unscrambled I thought I would update everyone on the Wheeler/Wiseman Labor Day Festivities!! First of all let me just say WAAAAAARRRR EEEEAAAAGGGLLLLLEEE!!!! I didn't realize how much I missed football season and am super happy that we had a Tiger victory since last year those were few and far between!!!

My mom called me last Thursday, at the last minute as usual, and asked if we wanted to take a family trip to Calloway Gardens in Pine Mountain, GA for the long weekend. Of course we wanted to go. I will never pass up a trip with the family (especially when the parents are paying)!! So we packed up the Suburban and headed east. As we set out on our "Griswold" adventure the first fight was over what movie to watch. The choices were Hannah Montana, which everyone IMMEDIATELY booed (except for Lucy of course). Lucy started yelling at Ryan telling him he never lets her do ANYTHING and he gave her a long drawn out story about how it was a special DVD player and kid DVD's didn't work in it but promised he would watch it with her when we got there (yeah right). Surprisingly she bought that load of crap and then we continued the argument. No I couldn't agree to watch the best of Will Ferrell because who knows what Lucy would come away with after that, NO we couldn't watch Superbad for the same reasons. Finally we decided on DodgeBall which I know isn't exactly "mommy approved" but hey, it got the 26 year old uncle Ryan, 23 year old Aunt Emily, 20 year old Uncle Josh, 4 year old Lucy and myself quiet for at least a little while!!`I think, after raising five children, my mother is now deaf to stupid arguments in the back seat! My dad decided that he would follow us on his Harley therefore my mother drove at least 25 miles UNDER the speed limit the entire way. This of course fired everyone up and had them moaning about how long it was taking. I think I even heard a few "are we there yet's" and NOT out of Lucy's mouth. FINALLY we arrived (four hours later thanks mom). First we went to the beach where they had enormous slides and rock wall type things in the middle of the lake. We all ran like kindergartners to the playground out into the water wanting to see who could be the first to the top. Josh was the first, Ryan eventually made it up, there was absolutely no hope for Lucy myself or Emily. You would have to be Superman to climb these things. After awhile Lucy and I gave up while Emily was so determined to get up the floating 30 ft high rock wall she never quit (but never made it either). Next we went to the pool for a few cocktails and relaxation after what felt like a few hours of The Biggest Loser in the lake! Later that night we went to see the Hot Air Balloon Festival, grilled out, sat on the back porch to watch Lucy entertain us with cheers and dances, had a few more cocktails, got yelled at by the kids in the next Villa to shut up, the boys yelled a few choice words back and we went to bed. The next day we headed to the Wildlife Safari and let me tell you, it is SO MUCH FUN. We fed the giraffes, zebras, ostriches and other animals. We also found that Pine Mountain Georgia is all about free love in the animal kingdom. We saw Ligers (lions mixed with tigers) and Zorses (zebras mixed with horses) and I think I saw a Unicorn on the way out!!! The rest of the time we just hung out, laughed harder than any of us had laughed in awhile, argued like old times and had one of the best Labor Day weekends EVER!!! I really hate my husband and Uncle Phillip (who is 32 and lives in Portland, OR ) couldn't make it, we sure did miss them!!!

I do have pictures....TONS of them. I just haven't had a chance to deal with all of that yet!!!!

Wordless Wednesday....Attention to Detail....

Lucy LOVES Play-Dough and we often re-create ourselves or people we know in squishy glory. This week - Uncle Ryan.....
What a perfect replication of my brother made by future sculptor Lucy Wheeler herself. What is the big black wad on his hip you might ask....The can of dip in his pocket!!!!!

Below - Uncle Ryan's Play-dough version of Lucy and my other brother Josh. With the direction of Lucy of course - She wanted Josh to be a baby with a purple diaper (please don't ask me where she gets these ideas)!!!

Mommy I want.....

....and want and want and want. My my how times have changed in the few short decades since I was a kid. Sure when we went to the grocery store or heaven forbid my mother took us to Wal-Mart I would beg for candy or bubbles or some other random little thing that we happened to pass while searching for necessities such as toilet paper or peanut butter. When I was on my best behavior (which was rare since there were FIVE of us) I would occasionally be treated to a candy bar or something in the $.50 range. When I think back I cannot recall EVER asking for something outrageous because I just knew there was no hope on God's green earth that my parents would buy me something I didn't NEED nor did I ever dream they would buy me some super luxury such as a computer of my own for no reason at all and most likely not for any other occasion. So, with that said, WHY WHY WHY does my FOUR YEAR OLD think she MUST have every new gadget and gizmo, no matter the price for no rhyme or reason whatsoever?

Side note - I have decided to be thrifty and efficient this year and start Christmas shopping early. Usually I cram it all in in the few weeks prior only to stress and am usually unable to find the most popular and sought after items. SOOOOO.....last night I asked Lucy what she might want Santa to bring her this year.....

When I raised the question "So Little Miss Lucy Bug, what do you think you might want Santa to bring you for Christmas this year?" After a few seconds of deep thought she asked me if Christmas was tomorrow. Then of course I had to tell her how there were so many new babies born this year that Santa had to get an early start so EVERY kid could get what they wanted. Without hesitation she spouted off her list as if she had been secretly planning the glorious day that I would ask her the simple question. She began with the usual, a new baby, some new red shiny shoes and then without missing a beat told me she wanted a new laptop, an i-pod touch, Hannah Montana to sing at her birthday party (in January), new bronzer because she didn't like the color of mine (who knows where that one came from), another puppy (which WILL NOT HAPPEN) and last but not least, a great big bottle of GLUE. I didn't question anything, I simply wrote it down on a list and told her I would get it to Santa. I also told her that Santa would have to review the list and she would have to be surprised on Christmas morning. I sure hope she's not TOO disappointed when she only has a baby, sparkle shoes and a huge bottle of glue under the tree. Ok and maybe a few other surprises that I feel are AGE APPROPRIATE!!!!
But who could say no to this face? Not Daddy, Not Nanna, Not Pop or Uncle Ryan or Josh or Phillip or Aunt Emily.....nope....I guess I'm the only one. Which of course makes me the bad guy!!!!

Fat Foot Results.....

I sucked it up yesterday and went to the doctor. I HATE Doctors!!! Not as people of course just because I don't usually go to the doctor for anything GOOD. One of these days I'll be pregnant like everyone else I know and that will change but until then....I HATE DOCTORS!!! When I got to the doctors office I was in terrible pain and it was painfully obvious because I was pretty much hopping on one foot. The girls at the front desk could plainly see that it was difficult for me to walk back and forth from my chair to the desk every five minutes to hand them my insurance card, paperwork, drivers license, you name it and I guess it would have been too easy for them to ask me for it at ONE time and saved me quite a bit of agony. Anyway, when I finally got back in the suffocating little closet of a room, the nurses came in with there cheery faces and asked what the problem was SOOOOO I showed them. It certainly didn't make me feel any better when they both gasped and squealed EWWWWWWW when they saw my foot. Then in comes the doctor who knows my husband and had no interest in my rainbow colored elephant foot. Oh no, he wanted to know all about fishing in Orange Beach. Were they catching a lot? How's the season going? When does HE come home? Excuse me doctor but could you please take a gander at MY problem? I promise to bring you a cooler full of grouper if you waive the co-pay!!! Waive the co-pay he didn't but for the low low price of $25 dollars, I found out that I WAS NOT pregnant and my foot was not broken!!! Apparently to have an x-ray it must first be confirmed that you don't have a bun in the oven (and maybe just to squeeze a little more from my insurance company) but what do I care!!!! Three hours later with a pat on the back and a "Tell Mark hello and bring me some fish" I'm home, still in pain and all I have to give to that doctor is a little finger wave (you know which one) and a haha, I get this (see below) and you got my $25 bucks.....


Sorry for the ranting!!! Its the foot, it puts me in a bad mood!!! Hope everyone is having a wonderful Thursday!!!

Wordless Wednesday....BROKEN?

Ok, maybe just a FEW words....last night as I was trying to take Oscar outside for a bath, I was pulling the hose out of the garage. I didn't realize that it had gotten hooked around the brush guard that goes onto Marks Jeep. This thing is VERY heavy and big. I yanked the hose and hard as I could and when I did it lifted the brush guard and it fell over smashing my foot. The results.....

Obviously it is the left one and don't say anything about my toes...I know I know!!!!

Lovely yes???? Don't worry, since I can't walk on it, I'm off to the doctor (no I didn't go when it happened) and HOPEFULLY its not broken. Hope you all enjoyed these disgusting pics!!!!!

So much to say....

I have so many things to write about today I don't even know where to start. Friday, I left work around two o'clock to head south for the weekend. Of course I had forgotten just about everything that I meant to pack so I had to run home before we hit the road. When I pulled up there was a box on my doorstep and it contained these.......

Yes, I DO love them although they will most likely end up next to the purple stripper shoes in the back of my closet. I ask you ladies, who doesn't need a pair of spike heeled silver gladiator shoes in there closet?

On to the beach...

We arrived at the house around 6:30 and immediately went to eat. Eating is the main event when we go to see Mark but this time it was Mexican not shrimp. I have eaten enough shrimp this summer to carry me through the next year. So here we are at the restaurant not exactly looking our best....

Home and to bed. Saturday, since Mark wasn't fishing, we decided to go to the pool for a few hours (or 8). We had a great time spending the day with daddy and some friends and somehow Lucy and Mark ended up very much resembling Scuba Steve.....

I beg you if you ever see my husband to NEVER mention this lovely picture!!!!

After swimming ALL day, we went to EAT AGAIN with our good friends Jimbo and Stephanie...this time it WAS shrimp!!!

Sunday morning Mark did have to fish so we went to Tacky Jacks for a quick breakfast (one of everything) and of course had to have our picture made by the "pokey nosed fish" as Lucy likes to call it. I have a picture from EVERY weekend beside this fish. Lucy seems to think it is a fascinating work of art.....that stinks apparently...

Thats about it. I won't bore you with a book review today (because I haven't quite finished this weeks book). Hope everyone had a fantastic weekend!!!! Happy Tuesday!!!

Never miss a beat....

I really do try not to spoil my child. Mostly I fail but I have gotten better about not giving her EVERYTHING she wants. I do, however, LOVE to surprise her. I love to see the look on her face when she gets in the car and I've randomly picked out a toy or candy or something that she really gets excited about. I love the huge hug and super dramatic "OH THANK YOU THANK YOU MOMMY. YOU'RE MY FAVORITE MOMMY IN THE WORLD (as if I was competing with some of her other mom's). I LOVE YOU ALL THE WAY TO THE MOON!!" And hearing those words melt my heart. So this week's little surprise was the Hannah Montana movie and a huge bucket of Double Bubble!! When she opened the beautiful wrapping (a Wal-Mart bag) and dug inside I thought she was going to pass out with joy. She even told me she loved me to the moon and BACK....now that my friends is A LOT of love!!! Last night as I was packing for the beach, I set Lucy up in the "big chair" and turned on the movie while I packed for the beach this weekend. When I came back into the living room (about 10 minutes later). I found her like this......


Double Bubble bucket in one hand and yes that is the trash can she pulled out of the pantry so that every time her gum "tasted yuck" she could spit it out and throw the other one away without missing a second of the movie!!! Pretty clever kid, HUH? Of course I would hate for her not to be able to get up and scream, dance and replay the Hoedown Throwdown two thousand times a night!!!!

Scatterbrained and Forgetful...

Yep, that's me!!! I was so excited last week to share with everyone the books I had read and this week I just forgot. What I also forgot was to put up a few pictures of cheer leading and the new haircut. My brain doesn't work the way it once did so I found it difficult to remember to take pictures AFTER the haircut and BEFORE Lucy got all sweaty during the football game. So anyway, lets just roll it all in to one Book Review/Picture/Wordless Wednesday post shall we?




They obviously don't have their uniforms yet so hopefully I'll remember to take my good camera and get some better shots!!

And on to the haircut...

Below...Lucy's "I haven't had a nap today, its 3:30, I've cheered in 100 degrees all day" face...

And as for the book review....

I have read two this week that are definitely worth mentioning. The first is Undertow by Sydney Bauer. It is a very interesting drama about a teenager who drowns in a boating accident and her friends mother charged with murder. It will keep you on the edge of your seat and introduce you to the sickening world of dirty racist politicians....

Secondly, I have started the Left Behind series and finished the first book just yesterday. If you are a Christian it will bring you closer to God, if not, it will give you something to seriously consider. I would recommend this to anyone who is looking for answers. Although it is fiction, it is a great way of explaining the book of Revelations so everyone can understand. It has certainly made me realize that the end is near and how to be prepared...


Well, that's it!!! I think I'm all caught up for now. And just for giggles, here is a picture of Lucy and her cousin Cate at the lake last weekend...

When the Hornets Rock the House.....

.....they rock it ALL THE WAY DOWN!!! Cant you just feel the cool breeze blowing through the stadium, the smell of hotdogs, and the excitement of the crowd when the players run onto the field for the first time. Yea, me either. I feel 100 degrees of stale air making me sweat like a pig as I sit in a high school stadium, leaning into my neighboring cheerleader mom praying that a tiny cloud will cover the sun if only for a millisecond so maybe the back of my shirt will stop sticking to my neck. Yes, this is little league football my friends and it has officially begun.....in AUGUST!!

Obviously, I had my first experience as a little league "cheerleader mom" this weekend. Lucy was beside herself and boucing off the walls with anticipation of her first "real game". We got to the field at 11:30 for the noon kickoff. We gathered at one end of the stadium so the coaches could count the girls and get them in line. They walked down to the sidelines and seeing the delerious smile of enjoyment on Lucy's face got to me and I thought I felt a tear run down my face. I was mistaken, it was sweat. Lucy did an excellent job of doing the cheers and was the most incredible at holding her waterbottle (which contained orange gatorade-Her favorite) to her mouth and cheering at the same time! I will admit, despite the sweltering heat I was a very proud momma on Saturday and absolutely cannot wait to do it again.

After the game we went to Sweet and Sassy to get Lucy's hair cut. Since she wanted short and I wanted long we compromised and....Ok, She won.

Later that night, we had to make a run to the grocery store. Keep in mind Lucy had not had a nap after all of these exhausting events and was a bit loopy for lack of a better word. She stood in the cart the entire time we were in the store yelling...WHO ROCKS THE HOUSE? THE HORNETS ROCK THE HOUSE AND WHEN THE HORNETS ROCK THE HOUSE THEY ROCK IT ALL THE WAY DOWN. On the all the way down she started standing and shook her little tushie "all the way down". Other than a few odd looks from people who I assume did not think it appropriate for a four year old to shake it like that, we got a few laughs and I wasn't THAT embarrased. Thankfully on the way home she fell asleep in the car and saved me from having to explain to the neighbors why their kids were waking up because of a booty dancing, screaming little girl outside!!!

I left my camera at home but I promise to post cheerleader and haircut pics tomorrow!!!!

Calling All Readers....

As I have fallen deeper into this addictive blogging universe I have noticed a lot of "special" weekly posting ideas from some wonderful bloggers and thought I would start my own. How original am I?! Since I don't do a lot of exciting things, unless of course you think driving A LOT, working in real estate, or every step Lucy takes is exciting. Which I have to admit, I think Lucy is pretty exciting! Ok, I'm getting side tracked...I do love to read and I am always looking for a new book. I love to hear of books that other people have read and try them for myself. So my, oh so original idea, is to do a book review every.....what day is it?....oh yea, TUESDAY and it will be called, WAIT FOR IT, WAAAAIIIITTT FOOOOOR IIIIIIT....Ashley's TUESDAY BOOK REVIEW!!!! Don't you love it?!! So, enough of my idiotic rambling and on to the good stuff (or at least I think books are "good stuff")....

Ok, so for my first TUESDAY BOOK REVIEW I am actually going to tell you about a series of books that I have finally finished and can't say enough good things about.


Janet Evanovich - The Stephanie Plum Series

If you love mystery/suspense/funny books these are for you. Stephanie Plum is a lingerie buyer who loses her job and goes to work as a bounty hunter for her cousin. There are fifteen books in all and every one of them will have you laughing out loud and unable to put them down. They make for excellent light reading and I have read all of them in about two months (yes they are that good). Everything about the books makes you want to read the next one. The hysterical situations and the sexy, crazy, over the top characters will have you reading late into the night! I don't want to give too much away but I would recommend that you start from the beginning although you don't have to. All of the books are listed on Janet Evanovich's website here. Check them out and let me know what you think. Also, if anyone else does a book review, let me know. I would love to hear about what everyone is reading and check it out for myself!!

What's with the 'tude?

Oh how I would love to say I have the sweetest most perfect daughter on earth. If I ever say that, please know that I am lying. Lets start at the beginning shall we? Nine months (and two weeks) prior to January 18, 2005 I became pregnant. Oh what a joyous occasion to find out I was having a baby! A month or two later while I was throwing up in the toilet or parking lot or nearby bush, I began to wonder if babies were all that wonderful after all. A few more months pass and though the puking has subsided, I now have acne and have gained 65 yes SIXTY FIVE pounds by the end of nine months. But that wasn't it...oh no...Lucy didn't come until TWO WEEKS later. But when I went into the hospital and had her twenty four hours later by C-section all the pain and discomfort was forgotten. I fell instantly in love with this perfect child! As she grew throughout the next three years I became more and more attached - if that is possible - savoring each milestone. Poopie diapers were perfectly acceptable dinner conversation, throwing food was adorable, pulling everything out of my wallet was hysterical and coloring on the walls was just "one of those things". Terrible twos were never an issue and threes were just as easy.....then we get to four and I SWEAR we skipped from three to sixteen. What happened to hugs and snuggles and random kisses and hold me mommys? I don't understand where my baby went. Now I just get attitude. I hear things like, "If I can't have a cookie then I won't be your daughter" , "If you make me wear that I will NOT go to school", and "this is ridiculous," yes she says ridiculous, "I'm calling Nana". I HOPE beyond hope that this is just a phase. She only seems to do this at home, with me. When we are in public she is 99% of the time very very well behaved! Just wondering if I'm the only mother out there with a sixteen year old in a four year old's body or have a really been through some crazy time warp?

Life's Little Lessons....

I am not usually one to get sappy and give advice. As far as I'm concerned, I don't feel fit to give ANYONE advice. I can only stick to what I believe in and let God lead the way. Today something happened that really made me wonder if I was doing everything right as far as raising my child. Most of the time I'm pretty easy going. If paint spills on the floor or something gets broken because of Lucy, its no big deal. No yelling, no time out just a hug a good clean up and move on with our lives. This is "small stuff" and for the most part I "don't sweat it". Then there are other times when maybe I've had a bad day at work, tired or just in a mood that I fly off the handle at the smallest thing. These are the only regrets I have in life and today it really made me realize that I don't need to worry about the ridiculous little mishaps of everyday living. I believe deep down in my heart that all I can do is teach her right from wrong and pray for the best. I want more than anything for her to be well rounded, responsible and able to make her own decisions without an overbearing mother hovering over her or telling her that something she wants to try or experience is wrong (with limitations of course). I only want to give her more love than she can stand, be a shoulder to cry on, a guide when she is lost or confused or a best friend to laugh with. When I got some bad news this morning a song got stuck in my head and brought in so many emotions I didn't know what to do with myself. So here is the song and I think it rings true for all parents. So my little piece of advice courtesy of Crosby Stills and Nash.....

Teach, your children well
Their father's hell
Did slowly go by
And feed them on your dreams
The one they pick's
The one you'll know by.
Don't you ever ask them why
If they told you, you would die
So just look at them and sigh
And know they love you.

And just to clarify. This had nothing to do with events at my house but some family friends lost a son this morning and it has really gotten to me. Please say a prayer for this family, I can't imagine what they are going through.