Speaking "Tennessee"....

What...this blog is still around???? Well to answer that, yes and no!!! I know its been awhile. I've just been SUPER busy so I'm not going to bore you with everything that has been going on in my life for the past six months. I'll just bore you with something I found absolutely hilarious yesterday!!

As Lucy and I were driving to school yesterday morning we had, yet another, very meaningful conversation about life in other countries, languages they speak in Mexico, foods they eat in Italy, etc. Lucy learns a little Spanish in her class and loves to tell me the new words she learns and what they mean. Well her horizons were broadened when she went to stay with my in-laws for a day and learned a new word in a language in which only us southern folks are familiar and fluent. And here is how that conversation went....

Lucy - "Mom, I learned a new word in another language"

Me - "You did? What is it?"

Lucy - "Purdy"

Me - "Purdy? Do you mean pretty?

Lucy - "No PURDY...it MEANS pretty in 'country' "

Me (Laughing) "No sweetie, its just how some people say pretty"

Lucy - "Well where do they speak 'country'? In Tennessee? Poppy speaks Tennessee!!"

And we just left it at that!!!

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!!!