Greasy, Sandy Happiness....

Some might call me crazy but there is no better feeling than slimy, oily sunscreen mixed with gritty sand and salty hair. To me that is the feeling of summer. Carefree days on the beach building sandcastles, reading a book and making sure Lucy doesn't steal the other kids sand toys....all at the same time. We've been to the beach twice this season and when I'm there I don't want to leave. I have mixed emotions about moving back to Orange Beach but when I'm there, its home. I love that no one cares what you wear, which is good considering my wardrobe for five days was flip flops, my favorite pair of cotton shorts and a Tacky Jacks t-shirt. My hair was never brushed and rarely washed and whether or not my toenail polish was chipped was never a concern. Yes this may sound repulsive to some of you but....THATS ME. I hate showers and shaving and make up and hairdryers and flat irons, the list goes on and on. It seems to me that the only time I can really be that way is when I'm down there, on a boat or rolling around in the sand with Lucy. No, I'm not a grungy hippie that never showers and doesn't shave, well....anywhere ever. But I don't like having to be perfectly coifed day and night, head to toe. I also love that a party in Orange Beach consists of a big pot of boiled something, a cooler full of beer that everyone shares, swimsuits, flip flops and sitting around doing absolutely nothing but enjoying the company. Kids and dogs are running amuck and everyone walks home. No one is formally invited but everyone knows when and where to show up and just what to bring. Don't get me wrong, I love Birmingham as well. I love that my family is here, I love all of my girlfriends that I don't see often enough. I'm content with the fact that Lucy is in a GREAT school and has all of our extended family at her fingertips, oh excuse me, I mean wrapped around her finger. I am torn between two totally different worlds and the decision deadline is rapidly approaching (I am determined to decide before Lucy starts kindergarden....NEXT YEAR). I know God will move me toward the right decision....I just hope its soon!!!!!!!!!

Attack of the Princess Scooter...

Let me start off with a little preface so as this post goes along, you know what I am talking about...Lucy has a scooter. Its one of those little three wheeled, princess, glittered toddler scooters that is pretty easily handled by a four year old (with the exception of today). I let her ride it around in the house because it has rubber wheels and she usually doesn't try to do any fancy tricks or acrobatics with it (again, with the exception of today).

Oh what a Tuesday morning I've had. It started off pretty good. I was playing Susie Homemaker last night and had everything ready for this morning. The clothes were set out, lunches packed, EVERYTHING ready to get up and go this morning. With Mark out of town I have found that this method works much better for us as far as being on time. Lucy woke up without a fuss, hopped in the bath and got dressed....everything was flowing quite smoothly. While I was in the bathroom putting on my make up, Lucy was watching her cartoons in the living room. We were actually on schedule!!!! Then, to my surprise, Lucy comes zipping in from my bedroom on her scooter, makes a hard right turn and runs flat into the bathtub. Of course this scares me to death. As my brand new mineral powder flies all over the floor, my child has flipped into the bathtub. Not only is she screaming (not crying, laughing) the water from her bath just shortly before, has not completely drained. So here we are, the laughter has come to a screeching halt and we are both dumbfounded. Lucy is lying on her back in about two inches of water, fully clothed I might add. I am starring at her, mouth wide open and then I realize, I have powder all over MY clothes. Her hair is wet so we re-dry, her clothes are wet so we re-dress, her shoes and socks are wet and of course we can't find any matching socks. I change clothes, sweep up the BRAND NEW powder off the floor, throw it away, finish my make up and Lucy wears purple flip flops and a brown and hot pink dress to school. We were surprisingly STILL on time with about two minutes to spare!!!! So much for planning ahead!!!!

Three Times Clean....

For the most part this weekend was uneventful. Unless, of course, you consider mopping, sweeping, laundry and scrubbing toilets an event. With nothing else to do this weekend, I decided the house needed a good old fashioned "spring cleaning". I started in the kitchen and from top to bottom gave it a scrub down with the last task being mopping the floor. I have a white kitchen floor so this was a grueling task to say the least. I moved tables, wiped down cabinets and even got down on my hands and knees to make sure there was NOTHING and I mean NOTHING on that floor. I had planned to eat dinner off of it later (kidding). After the blood sweat and tears that went into cleaning the kitchen floor, I was finally happy. Overjoyed actually. My kitchen had not been this clean in ages. So I moved on to the bathrooms planning to take the same extreme measures as I did in the kitchen. As I moved buckets and rags, I set Lucy up in the living room with Shrek the Third and threatened the child with her life if she were to step one toe in my pristine kitchen. I even put chairs between the kitchen and living room to make sure she did just that...STAYED OUT!!! As I was happily breathing in fumes of clorox and lysol in the bathroom I heard the drip drop of rain on the roof, well, so did Lucy. There was never a ruckus or sound coming out of the living room, or maybe I just didn't hear it because I was high on clorox, but as I went to check on Lucy I stopped dead and my tracks. Foot prints, FOOT PRINTS, MUDDY DOG FOOTPRINTS all over my kitchen floor while Lucy AND Oscar, with their evil little innocent faces sitting on the sofa watching their movie. I was livid and Lucy explained that Oscar was scared outside in the rain and had to come in. Ok, Ok, so I mopped the floor AGAIN and AGAIN threatened her with her life. I put Oscar in the garage to insure that this time my floor would stay clean. Back to bathroom number two I went. Lucy came back a time or two to ask if she could play dress up or watch a different movie. "Yes of course sweetie, just let mommy get the house clean and I promise I'll take you somewhere fun". Somewhere between me hanging out from under my bed dusting the hardwoods and vaccuming the cobwebs from the corners of the ceiling and wall, Lucy wanted to check and see if it was still raining. She informed me she was going to check so I assumed she would do what anyone else would do....look out the window. But Lucy wanted to make double sure it had stopped. As she came to tell me the rain was gone I noticed a little grass on her dirty bare feet. I got a terrible feeling in the pit of my stomach and could only think one thing....kitchen floor. I slowly and carefully walked out of the bedroom, down the hallway, across the living room and into the kitchen where I found not dog footprints but dirty little Lucy footprints on the floor and cabinets where she had climbed up to get Oscar a treat. How did Lucy check for rain you might ask? She went out into the middle of the mud covered backyard, ran a few circles and went right back into my KITCHEN. I couldn't help but laugh despite my rage so this time I gave Lucy a rag and a mop and she cleaned it up without even a fit!!!! So, I guess the moral of the story is, kids are going to be kids and don't sweat the small stuff. Since Saturday we've spilled spaghetti sauce and sprinkles from cupcakes so my floor is no longer clean anyway!!!! A good sweeping and mopping will do from now on!!!!

My Inner Stripper...

I was so excited when I arrived home from work last week to find a FedEx box at my front door. I had been expecting this package for a week or so and could not wait to dive into it. As I tore open the brown cardboard box, a shiny pink and purple shoe box greeted me under the annoying little peanuts. I lifted the top to find a TON of purple tissue wrapping up what I knew would be the highlight of my day, week or possibly even the month. Yes people, new shoes do that to me!! Moving on....as I ripped into the tissue, revealing the shoes that I was head over heels crazy about in the picture online, I began to question myself as to WHY I would order these. Don't get me wrong, they are FABULOUS. Let me say that again, FABULOUS. I mean, what girl doesn't need a pair of purple four and a half inch stiletto heels with zipper detailing and a one inch platform in their closet? Then the fun part...I tried them on and attempted to strut my previously 5 foot tall, now 5' 5" self down the hallway where I stumbled more than once. Of course my little sashay down the catwalk was enormous comedy for Lucy. I really think these shoes will be a lot of fun with the right outfit, I just haven't quite found that yet. They are a bit stripper-esque for lack of a better word but I must admit, I LOVE them and can't wait for my next pair to arrive the second week of June!!! So, without further ado.......meet ELA......

Weekend Happenings!!!

Our weekend was quite exciting and packed full of fun and not so fun activity. Friday we left for our first trip of the season down to the beach. It started off great until I realized I had forgotten my I-pod and was stuck listening to either High School Musical, Bolt or Marley and Me coming from Lucy's DVD player or the music on the radio that sounds like UFO's and Fire Alarms with a robot saying god knows what in the background. I guess that is what "the kids are listening to these days"!!! Anyway....Lucy was a little angel on the way down and we only had to stop once. We made GREAT time and had a good night with daddy. Saturday, Mark was fishing so Lucy and I went to the beach where we spent ALL day in the sand. It was not too crowded and the weather was gorgeous!!! When we left the beach, we headed to get Lucy her "hair wrap" that she just couldn't live without and on to the boat to meet daddy and see his catch of the day (which turned out to be a 25lb grouper) GO MARK!!! Since we knew we would be driving and Mark would be fishing Sunday, we went to Doc's for dinner where they seared our freshly caught yellow fin Tuna for my little Mother's Day celebration. I couldn't have asked for a more special time than spending it eating good food and in THE BEST company! Sunday things took a turn for the worse. I ended up with a cough, a swollen right eye and and headache from you know where. We did make it home around 3:00 and spent the rest of the day with my mom and family. Overall, a pretty good weekend and now I'm off to get ready to head out next weekend!!!!

Let the Driving Begin!!!

Tire rotation, CHECK. Oil Change, CHECK. License renewed, CHECK. Bank run, CHECK. Full tank, CHECK. Packed bags, snacks, sunscreen, CHECK. Whew....what a day and after all of this, I am still at work for another hour. After some serious thought, prayer, stress and tears (Lucy's not mine) we have decided to break the seal and head to the beach for the first time this season. Any other time I would be SO excited to get down to the Gulf and relax. However, I was kind of looking forward to just ONE more weekend at home before what seems like the never ending drive up and down interstate 65. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely cannot wait to see the hubs and Lucy needs to see daddy every weekend. I am also super happy about getting to sit on the beach for one whole day....WOO HOO. I guess that is the part that gets to me, all of the stress of getting ready to go, driving four hours, bed, play all day Saturday, back in the car for four more hours on Sunday. I don't know why I am complaining. I do LOVE the beach and if I didn't get to go every weekend I would complain about NOT going. So....SUCK IT UP ASHLEY...is what I keep telling myself. This is the life we have chosen for now and it seems to be working out just fine, fantastic in fact. So, there is my little rant for the day......and don't tell anyone but I really can't wait to get there!!!!!!!

To Kindle or Not to Kindle???

There is nothing better than snuggling up in the bed, lying on the beach or just simply relaxing with a good book. I am an avid reader and jump at the chance to live in "another world" even if for only a few minutes a day. When a new book from one of my favorite authors hits the shelves, I'm the first one in line to buy the $25 hardback. This is where technology steps in...I have been researching the Kindle for a little while now and wonder if it is right for me. I have several questions that are still unanswered despite all of my internet research. Number one, and the most important of course is...How will it hold up while I'm on the beach, wind blowing and sand in the cracks? A good ole paper book I can turn over, shake out the sand and continue my blissful line or two before Lucy dumps a bucket of saltwater into my lap. Could a Kindle take it? Number two, is it worth the price? Sure I'll spend $25 on a hardback that not only I can read but share with someone else. Or I can download a Kindle book for $10, have it in seconds and save gas and half the price. Its a tough one! I wish there was a Kindle sample fairy that would drop one off, for free of course, so that I could test drive it, on the beach, in the bed, and of course give it the good ole' kid proofing before I decide to spend $300 on something I may or may not use. If anyone has one or knows someone who does, reviews would be greatly appreciated!!!!

CRAZY Days of Summer

Well, its that time again. Mark has left for his fishing job at the beach and somewhat "single" motherhood begins...AGAIN. Its only been a few days since he left and, of course, we miss him like crazy. For those of you who don't know, my husband Mark works down south, on a charter fishing boat during the spring/summer and part of the fall. In total, about half the year. Lucy and I stay home and travel four hours every weekend to be with him. There are pros and cons to this arrangement, the biggest pro being that we get to go to the beach every weekend. This is the time of year when I begin to realize how much I take the little things for granted. The times when daddy would give Lucy a bath at night and I could sit down and read a line or two of a book, daddy dragging the trash to the street in the rain, running to the grocery store ALONE, taking a shower with the door closed, you know, the VERY LITTLE things that we don't think about everyday. It really makes me appreciate everything, no matter how small, that he does when he is here and the fact that he leaves every summer to work extremely hard (as blissful as fishing in the Gulf of Mexico everyday may seem) so that our family has everything we need and more. On the other hand, as stressful as it all is to take on alone sometimes, I really cherish all of the time Lucy and I have together and adore the little moments I share with her. Such as, snuggling up to watch a girly movie, the extra hugs I get, holding her had in the parking lot of the grocery store I used to go to alone and letting her help me make dinner for two. I'm not sure why I am so emotional about it all this time. Its not like we haven't done it before. Maybe its because I haven't been to the beach yet and I'm a little jealous!!!! Oh well, we'll see him this weekend and I absolutely cannot wait!!!!!