Sunday afternoon picnic

Sunday after church the Emert clan packed the car for a little picnic in the Smokies. If you have never been to the Great Smoky Mountains then you are truly missing something beautiful and magnificent. So, I urge you to put Tennessee in your summer plans. :) Anyway, since we live so close we can pretty much go anytime we want and Sunday that is just what we did. Last year we found a pretty quiet little picnic area in Pittman Center that is close enough to the water and not so crowded as Cades Cove. It is absolutely perfect for a Sunday picnic.

We didn't really have a set food plan for the day but I know my hubby was dying for a big bucket of KFC. I steered him away from that yummy goodness greasy garb and talked him into just stopping for a sandwich or something light at the grocery store. And that is what we did! It was perfect. The kids each ate their food, we adults ate ours and then we walked down to the water to play. It was a lovely afternoon.

There were only a few other people down there as well. It was kind of funny because there was another little boy named Isaiah and every time his daddy (or maybe it was his granddaddy) called his name Peanut would turn around like they were calling him. And the other boy would do the same when we called for our Isaiah. At one point my Isaiah said to me, "Mommy I want to go play with that other Peanut." I find humor in that because my son has been called Peanut for so long that he kind of thinks that is his name, too. And since Isaiah is his name also he thought that perhaps the other Isaiah was also called Peanut. Cute, huh!?

Last year around this same time we went to this same place for a picnic. Below are pictures of the kids last year and this year in the same spot.

2009

2010

And as you can see they have grown. Duh.

But I am happy to say that I have not grown.

And some other fun pics....

So shiny and blue

Yesterday the kids went with their mamaw to a local park that has a splash pad. It provides hours of fun for the kids on hot summer (almost) days. I want to take them back there sometime when hubby and I can get time off together. I have yet to take them! Anyway, things were going great and they were having a fantastic time until Peanut and another little boy collided.

The other little guy was just short enough that when the collided his head met Peanut's eye. Mamaw called me to let me know as I was leaving work that Peanut had a "nice shiner." Bless his heart. On the way home I was asking him if they had fun and he said, "It was fun until I got hurt then it wasn't fun anymore so we leaved." Love him.

I expected his eye to look much worse this morning but the swelling has gone down and it is not nearly as black as I thought it might be. But since this isn't his first shiner I know that each day as it heals it will look worse before it looks better. Thank goodness we aren't scheduled for family picutres though. LOL

And for fun, here is a pic of his first shiner at about 15 months old. Peanut met a metal slide at daycare.

This was as the shiner had healed. Note: Same eye! The boy walks into everything. I wouldn't say he is careless but he just hops around not really paying much attention to his surroundings.  I keep telling him, "Son, I am not ready to visit the ER with you!" Actually, I am not sure a mom is really ever ready for that but I realize I have a boy and one of these days it is gonna happen.

Wordless Wednesday - brrrrrr

Random Thoughts Tuesday

The best part about school being out for the summer is that I can sleep til at least 7:15 before having to get up and ready for work. Although my hubby would say that is nothing new since he usually has to push my butt out of bed during the school year. But at least for the summer I can sleep that late with less guilt! ha. 

I was so proud of Miss Annabelle last night. She took swimming lessons with a group class at our gym last year. She completed and was to start a level 3 class but we just never got around to it because they said it would involve learning diving and our gym didn't offer that class because the pool isn't quite deep enough. Get all that? Well, we decided last week to sign her up for a private lesson at our gym with the teacher we thought fit her needs. It was a great lesson and she said Annabelle was doing awesome. She even swam in the big pool at her lesson alone. The whole length of the pool, meaning my girl did laps! I was so proud. 

Fast forward to last night when we were at the Track team cookout. The head track coach has a pool with a "jumping board" (Annabelle's term..cute, right). Last year Annabelle stayed in the more shallow end of the pool and if she jumped off the diving board she used her little brother's swim vest and begged one of the high school boys to catch her. Not last night buddy! My girl jumped off that diving board with NOTHING on (as far as a safety device) and swam her little self to the edge or other end of the pool. Mommy and Daddy could not have been more proud. Those lessons are paying off! :)

I stopped for coffee at Chickfila. I should have known better and just hit up McDs because I took one big swig of my coffee and blech. I got a big ol' mouth full of coffee grounds. Boo hiss!! 

I was so excited when I got home yesterday. For years I have begged my hubby to find some way to remove the ugly ornamental peach tree from the little spot right in front of the front door/porch (if you can call it that) area. I hate it all but one week of the year when it blooms pretty pink flowers. This year it barely bloomed 15 of those pink beauties and we suspected it was on the verge of death. I came home yesterday and that thing was gone. Excitement washed over me!! Finally. I know it sounds horrible to be so happy about the death of a tree but you don't understand just how ugly it is all year (except that one week). Anyway, hubby said he noticed it looked especially sad yesterday (probably not his exact words) and he decided to give it a little kick just to see. That was all it took. Caput. So, alas, the tree is now over the back fence to make a nice home to some little critter in the woods. And now we get to find something else to take it's place. I say we make that spot a bonified flower bed, but hubby says we need a bush or tree there. Maybe if I post pics you can help me us decide what to put there. 

The kids are excited about daddy being gone 2 nights this week because it means they get to sleep with mommy. Mommy is not looking forward to daddy being gone at all. Mommy isn't as thrilled about the sleeping arrangements she has promised the kids either. Something about 4 extra arms and legs in the bed with her at night and being sandwiched between two hot bodies sounds less than exciting! haha

26 days until we leave for summer vacation!

I made a reservation for Annabelle's birthday dinner at American Girl cafe in Atlanta. I can't wait! I am so ready for some relaxation on the beach and by the pool! 

I love fresh cherries and am so glad they are back in season. However, they are very hard to eat with braces!

Something Sunny sent my way!

Mary @ Life in a Small Town sent me this awesome award on Saturday! It was a much need sunny surprise after a rough few days. So, thank you, Mary for lifting my spirit a bit. :) And I realize how late I am in reposting this! I procrastinate and things come up. Weed through my blog and you will see this is the truth. My peeps still love me though (I think) and I hope you understand! ;) I wish you all many many sunny days!!

Playin' with Peanut

Monday was Peanut's last day of preschool for the year. He will return to preschool in the fall. I realized yesterday that 2010-2011 preschool year will be his last year in little school before heading off to Kindergarten. *sniff sniff* Is my baby boy really growing up?  Yes, yes. I know that he is. In March 2011 he will be 5. I have no idea how that happened so fast. Wow.

Yesterday his preschool had their end of year picnic at a local park. I was more than happy to take a couple of hours out of my work day to go with Peanut. We stopped by his (ok, and my) favorite place....Chickfila!! We got a couple of kids meals and headed to the park. We found a lovely place in the grass and laid our blanket out where we sat in the sunshine and enjoyed our nuggets. I want to do that again!!

Peanut's favorite thing to do at the park is climb on all the monkey bars (and any other climbing apparatus)! So, I followed behind with my camera in tow!

And just so you know, I took 50 pictures yesterday. I promise not to overload my blog with pictures of my incredibly cute boy climbing at the park though. ;) We had a really great time. He asked to leave before it was time to because he was sleepy (so he said). After we left and got back into town we headed back over to Chickfila to turn our kids meal prizes in for ice cream! It was an awesome day...just me and my boy! :)

Wordless Wednesday

LEAP FROG!

Random Thoughts Tuesday

I want coffee.
It's too late in the day for me to want coffee.
And I have a ton of water I need to drink today.

I had to miss Annabelle's award's day at school today. Darn dentist appointment.
I would have rescheduled if it had not been an already rescheduled appointment.
Oh well. My girl got two awards. A serious one and a fun one.
Details later. :)

I left poor Peanut kicking and screaming at preschool today.
I am not the nicest Mommy ever. His words, not mine.
I didn't let him take his tools.
The sink is broken in the playhouse and he needed all his Home Depot tools to fix it.
Shame on me for not allowing him to take his tools into preschool.

Annabelle is at work with me right now.
Hubby checked her out of school after her awards day.
We all met up for lunch. That was nice.
She has set up the portable dvd player for her American Girl Doll, Chrissa and another baby doll to watch Shrek. I am just glad she didn't set it up to play in Spanish.
She left the room so they could watch while she "works."
She's been watching it in Spanish a lot and repeating the lines in English.
Smart girl. But not fun while Mommy is working.

Sometimes I hate this time of day (between 2-4 pm).
I get tired. And I *think* I am hungry.
I am probably neither of those but still it sets in almost every day (except weekends) during that time.
What would I eat if I was going to eat something?
Bad - ice cream on top of a fudge nut brownie (Chickfila, yummm)
Good - Veggies and hummus (except I ate the last of it yesterday)
That Cafe game on Facebook isn't helping. Although I wouldn't eat cartoon food.

My daughter just said,
"It's gonna be hot. Off the hook!"
Really?! I asked her what she thought was going to be hot or off the hook.
"The Baha Men just say that," she said.
Ohhhhhh.

Tonight is family gym night.
We usually go out to Chickfila after for dinner since it is Family Night and kids eat free.
We won't be going tonight. I am bummed.
I love Chickfila as much as my Peanut boy.
But tomorrow he and I will be going to his end of year picnic at the park with preschool.
I plan to swing by Chickfila for our lunch.
He will be happy.
I will be happy.
It will be fun!

I wish lemons didn't have seeds.
I hate sucking seeds through my straw.
They're slimy and gross.

Hey there, Daisy

I haven't posted anything about all the fun we have had with our Daisy troop this year. We got a late start since we are a new troop so we have just recently been able to have more fun! A few weekends ago we went to a Daisy "Camp In" where we pitched our tents indoors! It was a lot of fun and yes, I pitched a tent all on my own! :) The girls made several cute crafts and edible goodies! We had pizza and S'mores too! And we call got a cute t-shirt and matching patch! Fun stuff.

The not so fun part was all the snoring going on during the night. It didn't make for a happy camper in my tent. I tossed and turned all night. At 5 am the next morning I vowed to bring Breathe Right strips to pass out to the snorning crew before bedtime! lol

Here are some fun pics of my Annabelle at our Daisy Camp In.

Making pinecone bird feeders!

Campfire snack.

mini marshmallows, pretzel sticks, edible grass and red licorice.

So very cute and tasty!

Getting warm by the "fire." ;)

Lights out!

One of us was play opossum! 

We had a lot of fun. The more involved our troop gets and the more activities we do, the more I love being a GS Troop Leader. I am really excited about the fun summer activities we have planned and about my girls bridging from Daisies to Brownies!  

Giddyup and Good Day mate!

Annabelle and I went on a field trip with her first grade class yesterday. We visited The Little Ponderosa Zoo. I was not overly excited about going but know how much it means to my kids to be there for such events. Petting zoos and the like just are not my thing, especially with the heat and humidity of East TN. So, I of course filled out the chaperone portion of Belle's permission slip right away. teehee

We went to the store Thursday to find the ingredients for the perfect field trip lunch! Don't you remember your mom doing the same thing when you were a kid? Tell me I am not the only one! ;) I still love field trips (but don't like petting zoos...lol).

I was thrilled to find out that as a chaperone I would only be responsible for Annabelle and one of her friends. I've been on trips where chaperones had to hang on to their kid plus 2 or more. Not fun, especially at locations where the kids pretty much have free reign. Yesterday was nice.

It was hot and muggy even at 9:30 am when we arrived at the Little Ponderosa. I poked my head in their gift shop and it reaked of poop. Fuuuun! When I saw the picnic tables in the little room off to the side my immediate thought was, Great, we get to eat lunch right in there while sniffing monkey and porcupine poop. Yummmmy! Thank goodness I was wrong.

We walked through small exhibits that housed monkies (of all types), birds (parrots and such), snakes (eeek), tarantulas, porcupines and baby sheep. Quite the variety of smelly critters. Yet nothing to pet.

Upon walking outside we were greeted by goats gallore and some silly little monkey who enjoyed showing off! We walked a little further and saw this silly fella...

He apparently thought Annabelle looked rather tasty and poked his head through the fence and nibbled her tumtum. She was NOT a happy camper at this point and the tears flowed. Sigh. The tears were short lived...

Giddyup!

We saw more animals ranging from kangaroos to camels, ostriches and deer, a couple of tortoises....

There was supposed to be a buffalo (according to the info on their site) but we never found him.

This guy was frightening. He kept getting a drink of water and staring us down with one eye. We just knew we were going to be sprayed!

Annabelle loved the baby goats!

And mommy loved this guy....

Cute huh!?

It was a pretty good day. We had our picnic lunch outside (sans poopy smell) and were headed home by 11:30. So, I took advantage of the time with my sweet girl and we enjoyed the rest of our day together by going to the Girl Scout shop. Then I thought it would be fun to go to The Cupcakery where we shared some yummy goodness!  And that my friends was the perfect ending to a great day!

This post is brought to you by the letter T

For TEMPER TANTRUM!!!

Holy smokes! I know girls are capable of throwing fits at any age (I still throw them at the age of 31..sometimes). But even after being around a boy/boys my whole life I never, ever knew they were capable of the same evil tantrums as girls. I'm serious, folks.

My precious boy managed to go from cute and funny to ugly and mean in a matter of seconds today. Why? Mommy wouldn't let him play with her autographed (by Allison Krauss, tell me you know her) fiddle. Sure, I never play it and probably never will, BUT it's special (even with it's broken string and tangled horsehair bow). 

I did not give in to the tantrum and handled as best as I could. Which means I closed my office door and rocked myself back and forth holding my hands over my ears begging God to make it stop. 

No, really. 

Peanut finally had enough and asked, "Mama, sing me a song?" To which I could not say no regardless of how big and loud the tears were. We rocked and sang You Are My Sunshine.   And again all was right with the world.

Wordless Wednesday

Random Thoughts Tuesday

I go to bed way too late. 

Actually, I was IN bed before 8 pm last night. However, I did not go to sleep until close to 1am. 

Oddly enough even after only 5+/- hours of sleep I don't feel totally drained this morning, but come 3pm I am sure I will be ready to snooze my evening away. That's not gonna happen though.

I got to chatting with a friend on Facebook last night (love that chat feature!). I am somewhat relieved to find out that I am not alone in this whole thing we call motherhood. I am glad to know that some of the same things I struggle with as a parent other moms do as well. And at the same time that it makes me happy I feel pain for those moms too because some days it just sucks to feel so guilty when it comes to decision we make (or don't make) for our kids. It sucks to feel like you don't know right from wrong in this parenting thing. It sucks to feel like you have gone wrong with one kid and at the same time look at the other kid and think "Am I going to mess this one up, too?" And in reality you haven't messed kid A up in the first place or anymore than you have kid B. There are no set answers to parenting (or are there??) but plenty of people have written books to try and prove to us that there is! Anyway, what I am saying is: thank God I am not alone in this. Other moms (whether they admit or not) know what I go through and that is comforting. :)

Speaking of mommy guilt...

I got a call this morning from Sweet Girl's teaching assistant. She has a tummy ache. Now, I am not the type to get all worked up over a tummy ache. I'm at work and there just ins't a whole lot I can do. She had a bowl of cereal for breakfast so she shouldn't be starving. So, the teacher let me talk to Annabelle.

"Do you need to poop?" 

"Are you still hungry?" 

"Do you think you are going to throw up?"

Surely she will be ok. I told her to eat some crackers and if she still felt bad to tell the teacher and I guess I would go get her. But of course now here I sit with all these thoughts running through my head. I've sent the poor child to school with a headache before and had the teacher call within 45 minutes of school starting saying she had thrown up twice, fever of 102 and looking like she had seen a ghost. The outcome of that was a yucky case of the flu. Mommy felt major guilt that day. My hope for today is that she was just hungry. Have I made her stress over that huge spelling test she is having today? Of course I can't help but think she is upset or having a bad day and used the tummy ache as an excuse. :( 

9 days of the school year left.

One day is a field trip.

Another day is only a half day.

I'm excited and I don't even go to school!!

I don't like being put on hold. If you call me do not put me on hold to answer another line within seconds of me saying, "hello." I'd rather you tell me you gotta go and will call me back in a few. The silence on the other end of the line is boring. 

Yesterday on my morning commute Peanut was singing, "tonight's gonna be a good good night." He cracks me up when he sings. He can go from one song to the next making you think what he is singing is all one song. This morning he was singing something along the lines of, "I don't want to go to school today because I will miss my mommmmmyyyyyy." Um, yeah..there's that guilt thing again. 

My "fancy" Nantucket blend k cups I use in my Keurig were only $7.99 for the box at my local store. I feel like I don't love that coffee as much as I do my $1 cup from McDs. How sad is that? I tried to tell myself it was the turbinado sugar or the Non fat Caramel Vanilla creamer I  used but I made a different cup today and it still didn't tickle my fancy. Boo. 

Mother's Day recap

My hubby (and kids) were awesome to me this year! They got me a gift certificate this fabulous salon and spa and I plan to use it this coming Saturday for a facial and spa manicure! A whole Day O' Beauty as my wonderful hubby says! I cannot wait.

They also treated me to lunch at my fave restaurant. And we won't even talk about how many points my lunch ended up being, but let me say it was delicious! The kids even behaved for the entire meal. No whining, fussing and we only had to tell them about 3 times to stay out of the chop sticks. Success, if you ask me! ;)

We also did a little shopping after lunch. We were actually looking for a few things for hubby but I sweet talked him into letting me hit up Old Navy. They have their Cabana dresses on sale for $15 right now and you know I just needed one more. lol I'd much rather spend my summer in sun dresses than shorts and at such a great price I couldn't pass up this one little dress especially since Annabelle told me I look "so hot" in it when I tried it on. Love her!

 
When we got home we let the kids play outside for a while. I had hoped to get some pics of us all dressed in our church clothes, but I failed to do so. I had been in them far too long and just wanted to throw on a tee and shorts. So, no dressed up pics but I think hubby got some pretty good ones of us in our play clothes.

Wordless Wednesday

Random Thoughts Tuesday

Long time no blog.

Busy at work, busy at home.

Nothing spectacular to blog about? 

All of the above, please.

Another month has come and gone. 

Time flies and I'm not sure I was having a whole ton of fun.

Ok, I had some. 

Hubby and I ran another 5k. It was fun! 

See, don't we look super happy?! ;)

We are doing another race this month. We have become racing fools. I love it.

There are only 12 more days left of the school year (for students). I'm thrilled my sweet girl will be done with 1st grade! I am so ready for summer and I know she is, too! In fact I am so ready that I might consider going ahead and packing for our beach vacation. Although I'm pretty sure it won't make my beach vacation get here any sooner. Guess I will just wait.

I woke up with a sore throat today. 

I was positive all this rain we've gotten had washed away the pollen and I would be free of any issues related to it. Not so much apparently. boo.

Yesterday Annabelle came home from school and I noticed her cute purple and white striped skirt was dingy. I asked if she had been rolling around in the dirt or something.

She replied with, "No, I had cheese balls in my lunch."

Great, she is still using her clothing as a napkin. >sigh<

Thank goodness for Shout.

We went to the local Farmer's Market this past weekend for the first time.

It was the coolest thing ever. (I'm sure my  hubby thinks I'm a dork for saying so!) 

But, anyway, I had fun. And I was bummed I didn't have my camera (or at least I thought I didn't) because there were so many photo ops. We bought strawberries, bread, cookies, radishes and a rose bush. 

All grown or hand made by local folk. I can't wait to go back this weekend.

Oh, we found the camera in the car when we got home to unload our goodies. Drat.

You may notice a change or two coming soon.

If you do, be prepared for details of said change as well. 

And it is good!