The Rest of March

Okay so since March has pretty much been non-existent, I'll finish up this post with the remainder of March for us. Above is a picture of me and my sister-in-laws. I am usually the tallest girl in the bunch (see below), but these good lookin' gals have me by a good inch or two.

Me and some of the finest people I know at the church annual Easter Egg Hunt.

KARSON

We finally wiggled Karson's tooth out (3 days post dentist assignment). I promised to take her to Build A Bear in Nashville if we got it out (which was obviously a one-time offer). SO, I had to make good on my deal and took her on Sunday afternoon in a monsoon of a rainstorm. Opry Mills is the perfect place to spend a rainy afternoon. We did some shopping, ate some Marble Slab and rode in a synagogue. Yeah, you heard it right or at least according to Karson. We actually rode in a simulator--Mars Attack roller coaster. When we got off, Karson said, "Mom, I bet Elizabeth would love to ride in that synagogue."

Karson attended a softball clinic at Total Fitness connection to help her improve her skillz. I imagine with a team name like The Diva's, they will need plenty of help =). Cousin Elizabeth also attended. She will be playing this spring.

The kids enjoyed dying Easter eggs last week. Picking out a Paas box is no easy task. There are at least a billion options these days. We decided on Monsters and Glitter eggs this round. I gave each of the kids FOUR eggs to dye and decorate.

Here is Karson and her finished product.

Here is Isaac and his finished product.

Here is Miles and where his finished product ended up. He's not the gentlest with hard boiled eggs.

ISAAC

Isaac had his 5 year physical from Dr. Chris and is now ready to be enrolled in Kindergarten at Plano. It's amazing all the things that have to be done prior to registering. Isaac's always been a character. Here lately, every time I turn around I am finding clues in my drawers. Isaac got an iCarly toy from McDonald's complete with post it notes (heaven for him).

MILES

I feel like I have a newborn in my house these days. I'm not sure if it's the time change, allergy season or WHAT, but Miles is getting up in the wee hours of the morning nightly. It's short lived but enough to keep me and Matt from going back to sleep. His cry is just piercing and he usually requires assistance such as his blanket is missing, his water is empty, he can't find Isaac, he needs medicine, he has to pee, etc. I'm about to lose my mind. I've completely forgotten what sleep deprivation is like. Aside from the early morning interruptions, Miles is enjoying this springy time weather. He's an outdoors man. And, lately, he's learned how to ride his bike. I bet he clocked 4 hours today.

We got to spend some quality (pre-baby) time with our friends Josh and Sarah Owens eating out at El Mazatlan and then heading over to GiGi's cupcakes for a sweet treat. The Owens's welcomed their new addition Riley Jane to their family of 3 on March 23rd.

Karson and friends at the Pogue annual Easter egg hunt. I will post more about our Easter festivities in April.

-------

My dad and I celebrated birthdays this month.

Paul, Shannon and Mom threw us a party complete with homeade pizza and a cake from Riley's bakery. It was a wonderful evening until UK blew it and made everyone BLUE. I could seriously careless about college basketball (is that okay to say since I live in Wildcat country?). I prefer to watch high school basketball. It's much more exciting in my opinion.

Colvin and Debbie threw me a party also complete with Domino's pizza and a homeade strawberry cake. Pizza and cake two days in a row--does life get any better than that???

I Can't Believe...

it's already March 18. Where on earth has this month gone?

For me, March, has meant:

(1) The end of basketball season and freedom on Saturdays.

(2) The beginning of softball season--so long freedom, it was nice while it lasted. Karson is playing for the Diva's, a group of 12 from Plano Elementary. Isaac will also begin baseball which Matt will be coaching.

(3) Lots of birthday festivities and more to come at the end of the month as Dad celebrates his 60th on the 26th (along with our beloved Ms. Windy) and I celebrate my 33rd on the 30th.

(4) The Polka Dot Door consignment sale preparations and $$$ post sale benefits. Plus, I had a booming account balance at Kiddo's. Love getting cash back for clothes, and I scored a great pair of used cleats for Karson for $9.99.

(5) Seasonal allergies kicking in terribly.

(6) A vision exam for Isaac and a scheduled physical since I will be registering him for kindergarten next month =(. A dental visit for Isaac. AND, a dental visit for Karson. I picked her up today and she immediately started breathing heavily and crying in the car. The exam went fine, but Dr. Elliott gave her a 2-week assignment to get one of her loose baby teeth out or she has to come back in. That tooth will be coming out my friends. The cost to remove it is $111.00.

(7) A baby shower in Louisville for my cousin Lori who is expecting May 1.

(8) Taking HOT YOGA classes with my sister.

(9) Lots of stuff going on at Plano: class pics., drained lunch account, Jump Rope for Heart, book fair, and what I like to call "the hard homework". Karson and her classmates are tested at the beginning of the week for Friday's spelling test words. If they pass, they receive a different set of words and homework. This weeks word list: ballplayer, chopsticks, dragonfly, handwriting, thought, biscuits, remember, hummingbird, outsmart, wristwatch, crocodile and picture. Karson has to write each word THREE times, put them in ABC order and write each one in a sentence. WHEW!

(10) And, last but not least, this stinkn' time change. The kids 8:00 p.m. bedtime arrives much quicker for some reason.

PICTURE of THE MONTH thusfar:

My mohawk lovin' boys. Who knew a dab of moose and hairspray could produce such amazing smiles???

Que Sera, Sera

The SPARKS had their last official basketball game of the season yesterday afternoon. And though I am relieved to be "free" again on Saturdays, I sure will miss seeing these little girls each week. They have come such a long way this season. Should Karson decide to play next year, I will coach again. Division I isn't that tough--the girls are just learning the basic skills. Two of my girls are in 2nd grade and won't return next year, but the other four girls will. It would be so cool if I got to coach them again--I'll keep my fingers crossed.

We all decided to celebrate the season afterwards with a trip to Culver's. I made the girls cupcakes with basketball clickers on top (thanks Deal$).

Presenting Haylea her trophy

and Kennedy

and Samantha

and Erin

and Paige

and Karson =).

Our faithful mascot Karson's Autumn Hugs bear.

Ooooooweee, what up with THAT?

I said, he said, she said, we said what up with that? what up with that? Who knew, you knew, say what, voo-doo, what up with that? what up with that? This is quite frankly how I feel about this post. And, in case you don't watch SNL, this little ditty is courtesy of Keenan Thompson's show "What up with That?" SNL's new on Saturday with Jenny from da Block, aka J.Lo, aka Jennifer Lopez =). My kids (mainly Isaac) often times make me wonder the phrase "What up with THAT?" The other night Isaac was over at Pap and Nana's house and layed some brutal truths out for Pap. They had supplied the kids with putty eggs and the following conversation was had:

Isaac to Pap: "Pap this is how my hair looks."

"Pap this is how your hair looks."

"Pap this is how grandad's hair looks."

Go ahead...

and SPOIL yourself, you're worth it. I just finished reading Tori Spelling's most recent book "Mommywood". On a side note, I like logging into our local library website, requesting top sellers and picking them up. I know it takes all the fun out of book shopping while at the library. But, seriously, if I am going to invest in reading (which is LOW on my priority list), I might as well read something I want to read. The day Beth Moore released her new book "So Long Insecurity", the library called to tell me that my book "Mommywood" was ready to be picked up. What to read, what to read...I had read a chapter or two in Beth's book but needed some of Tori's comic relief. I decided to dive into "Mommywood". Moore's book was mine to own, and Spelling's book was due back to the library in two weeks. I read Spelling's first book "sTORI Telling" and have watched her on Oxygen. Hollywood is fascinating, isn't it, especially T? She thinks nothing of throwing an elaborate funeral for her pup, leaving her stroller in a parking garage because she can't fold it, raking her own mother through the dirt, and so on and so on. I think what amazes me the most about Tori is her ability to admit she's totally imperfect and like all of us Mom's, just wants to fit in and "do it" right. She realizes the "normal" life will be hard for her being a celebrity and all. I'm sorry Tori but, it's hard being a parent PERIOD, especially a mother. You don't have to be famous to be hard on yourself both physically and emotionally. I feel bad SPOILING myself even though I know I deserve it! Don't we all need some spoiling. We spend so much time taking care of everyone and everything around us that we sometimes forget to take care of ourselves. Okay, so I'm not sure where the above paragraph came from because I wrote this post to show everyone Karson's and my fabulous nails (thus the spoiling):

I mentioned in my last post that Shannon and I were joining HOT YOGA. She called on Wednesday afternoon to see if I could join her for a pedicure--her treat! WOW, how could I turn down that offer? Well, at first, I did. I wasn't sure what to do with the boys who wouldn't enjoy my leisurely time at the Wal-Mart nail spa (I can call it spa, can't I?). I called Matt and asked in my most pitiful voice if he'd watch them, and of course, being the wonderful person he is, he agreed to do so. I chose green which I believe I have read in my US Weeklies and Glamour is the "it" color right now. I love the way it turned out.

Karson couldn't get over how cool my toe nails looked and had been begging to have her nails done. I took her yesterday, and she chose a violet purple and flower nail art. She couldn't wait to show them off this morning to her friends. Karson has never been much of a girlie girl. I'm really not a girlie girl either, but really what is a girlie girl? One who gets her nails done? Gets massages? Likes great hair cuts? Count me in if that's the case--it's fun being a girlie girl and even more fun sharing it with my lovely little girlie girl.

Weekend Recap (NOVEL)

1. FRIDAY: both kids had Valentine's Day parties at school. I sent them off that morning with valentine's in hand and a jar full of fireballs for their teachers.
I had planned to go to HOT YOGA that morning with my sister. She took a class last week and LOVED it. We decided to try it each Friday for a few weeks. She unfortunately had to cancel because of a tax appointment. I improvised and tried my own YOGA at home. I started DVRing WKYU's Power, Mind and Body last week. I figured I needed to actually practice doing some YOGA moves before taking a class and looking like an idiot. Since I don't own a YOGA mat, I opted for some leftover carpet remnants from the garage. After 30 minutes of connecting with my mind, body and soul, it was over. I liked it a lot and am looking forward to next Friday's session.

Matt then coerced me into going with him to Panera Bread (which takes lil' coercing) for our weekly Cinnamon Crunch bagel and coffee. Panera has quickly become one of Miles's favorite places. It's also nice having something special to do with just Miles, Daddy and Mommy. Afterwards we picked up Isaac from school, changed the oil in the van and headed home. Matt had a prayer meeting that afternoon and arranged for some babysitting at Mamaw Deaton's house for the boys so I could attend Karson's vday party SOLO.

Since her class has 25 children, I didn't want to add two more to the chaos. However, the kids were more mellow than usual and did well handing out their valentine's. They also made ice cream sundaes which I thought was a cool idea. Karson's valentine's this year were pixie sticks and a heart. I wish I could attend more of Isaac's festivities but time simply isn't on my side. He's only at school for 2 1/2 hours, and it's all I can do just to get there on time to pick him up. He took LEGO valentine's to school with tootsie rolls.
Matt and I are big fans of district basketball especially the Greenwood Gators. We've been following the Gators for years. I love high school basketball!!! I also love people watching--it's almost more interesting to me than the game itself. Greenwood faced Warren Central on this icy eve. We headed over to the Dragon's liar and cheered on the Gators who got slaughtered. They lost one of their best shooters two weeks ago to an ACL injury =(. They have such a great team but have a hard time hanging with teams who have such strong, inside, HUGE players like George Fant who scored 30 points that night.

2. SATURDAY began earlier than I would've liked. Karson and I had to be at Briarwood Elementary at 9:15 for basketball pictures which meant I would spend the morning rushing around like a crazy woman (which my kids are totally use to). After pictures, we headed over to Cumberland Trace to wait for our game. One of my parents, Curt White, approached me and suggested I teach the girls how to set screens. I was initially hesitant about the idea but respect Curt a lot. I've taught two of his kids at EEP, Karson has played on one of his ball teams, and he's a fellow WC girls coach in Division III. We have thirty minutes of practice prior to the games so I decided to teach the girls to set screens. They picked it up very quickly and seemed to enjoy the contact =). Long story short, they set LOTS of screens during the ballgame. The screens looked more like body checking in football but did the trick and some of my girls even manged to score off of them. Thanks CURT for the tip--I may pick your brain next week. Karson wanted to go home with MeMe after the game. The boys did too, but I convinced them to go with us instead. I like for Karson to get one on one time with MeMe since the boys get it during the week.

We took the boys to Wendy's for burgers and then I headed to the grocery (for food and Valentine's gifts for the kids). Matt decided to take the boys bowling--he's a brave soul. As I was wandering down the aisles of Kroger (sans the ginormous CAR shopping cart that I usually try to maneuver), I was racking my brain on what to get the kids for vday. I decided on more LEGO valentine's for Isaac since he loves them more than life itself. They are the sticker puzzle type where you match up the pieces to the numbers~HEAVEN for Isaac!
I got Karson some I LUV U Peeps--I didn't even realize they made vday Peeps. And I got Miles some lifesaver heart shaped gummies. I debated on whether or not to get them balloons, flowers, chocolate, etc. but walked away (who are we kidding, I would have been buying those for me). After leaving Kroger, I decided to swing into Toys R Us and attempt to find some small toy for them. Good luck with that, eh??? I did manage to spend only $16. I got Karson a small Jasmine doll for her princess set, Isaac some Club Penguin characters and Miles a color changer car.
As soon as I got home with the groceries and goodies, I had to head over to MeMe's and pick up Karson for a birthday party at Southern Lanes. Here she is with her friend Jailynn. They had a fun time inhaling smoke and bowling together. Karson also got a strike--my little athlete. Speaking of being an athlete, Karson has scored at least one basket in every basketball game since January 16 (I probably just jinxed her).

Here's Karson puckering up to each of the mini golf animals. What a ham!!! Southern Lanes is a great place to have a party, and there is SO MUCH for the kids to do; however, I think they need to do better about designating certain areas of bowling that are smoke-free. I'm sure that's impossible to do on a Saturday, but I felt like I was sitting in a chimney inhaling fumes the entire time. Ugh--that's got to be one of my biggest pet peeves. In fact, I choose to wait longer at restaurants for tables in non-smoking areas. First available, no thanks. After Jailynn's party, we went to Colvin and Debbie's for dinner to celebrate John and Grandad's birthdays.
Nana had gotten the kids some Valentine's goodies, one of which was a talking Pete the Parakeet. Pete is non-stop laughs. I'll try to post a video soon of Pete in action RE-Peteing.

3. SUNDAY oh boy, what a morning!!! The kids were thrilled with their new Valentine toys and candy. Sundays are always extra busy at our house. I think the busyness of Friday and Saturday makes us lazier than usual on Sunday. We move slower, get ready at the last minute, scarf down breakfast, etc. Once the kids are herded out the door by 9:00, we're good. Isaac took his new Club Penguins in the van with him. Once we made it to the Cumberland Trace road stoplight, Pap and Nana pulled up right beside us. We opened the van doors so the kids could say hello. Lo and behold, once the traffic started moving, one of the penguin body's flew out of the van and into the moving traffic. Isaac LOST it and we were at a crossroads~count our losses or make an illegal turn immediately. Matt chose an illegal turn as we made our way back to the scene of the drop. We pulled into the Minit Mart parking lot and Matt looked like Frogger waiting for the cars to clear so he could find the missing penguin part. Oh...the things we do for kids. After wet-wiping down the battered Jester penguin, we were on our way. I knew my morning had just gotten more stressful at that moment because we were going to be right on time for church, and I still needed to set up for my Sunday school class. All worked out and the day went smoothly.
I had a taste for Baker Brothers for lunch. Is this place not just the BEST? And, the owners little girl Cayhill is in my EEP class this year. The kids had chosen McNatsyness for lunch, and I didn't want to comply. Matt whipped into BB's, and I picked up sandwiches for us. Thank you coupon mint for the BOGO free coupon. We took our delicious food over to McNasty's and let the kids have their nutritious burger and fry meal.
Matt's parents grabbed the kiddos later this afternoon and he and I went to see the movie Valentine's Day on Valentine's Day. Cheesy, eh? I like cheesy, give me cheesy any day (that would be a great shirt slogan). For my vday gift, Matt got me the movie Couples Retreat and big box of chocolates. I got him a bag full of goodies. I tried paying attention to everything he said he wanted that week: new running shorts (check), chapstick (check), a water bottle for his gatorade powder (check)--I also threw in some mints and peanut butter M&M's. Hope each one of you had an extra special Valentine's Day! Thanks for reading our weekend novel!