Big Birthday Bash

Well, Ashleigh's 5th Birthday Party was Saturday. Almost a month early, mind you, but at least now it is done for another year! Why so early? Well, we'll be in Gatlinburg, TN the weekend before her birthday, which is when we'd normally have it. The weekend after Thanksgiving would have been a disaster, the weekend before that the community center wasn't available which left us with this past weekend. My first time inviting loads of kids, along with their parents I don't necessarily know, so no way I was having it at home. Plus, I figured people knowing how to get to the party would increase their chances of attending!

I was very pleased with the turn out. Quite a few people called to say they couldn't make it for one reason or the other and I was beginning to panick, I'll admit. But then most of the kids she talks about regularly from preschool starting showing up and before I knew it, we had a pretty full house. And we ran out of almost all the food, etc. which is also a good sign, I think.

Here's Ashleigh with one of her Lollipop Pillows. They were meant for decoration, but were great entertainment for the kids!


Abby enjoying her lollipop before the party started. I figured sticky fingers were a small price to pay for her happiness!

My big centerpiece, so to speak. They don't allow you to use tape, tacks or anything on the walls, so I had to change my decorating plans on the fly.
The cake! And yes, I made it. I know it's not as pretty as a professionally done cake, but at least I knew it would taste good!

I had variations of this on the tables. Different colors & candies, you get the idea!
An overall shot of the counter where I set the food up.

These got loads of comments. Multi-colored marshmallows on lollipop sticks, dipped in chocolate and sprinkles. They were pretty, but I don't think I could've eaten one. They were all gone, though...
Blowing out her candle. She loves having the number candle rather than several little candles.

A kinda-sorta group shot. I say that because there were at least 10 kids who didn't want to be in the picture. Including sister Abby and cousin Elana!

At home with quite a load of gifts! Did I mention TEN Barbie Dolls? I did mention Barbies though. She really liked everything she got. And there's more to come-KT and I are waiting for her actual birthday to give her a gift.

Have to share photos of her modeling this! Mentioned to my cousin/good friend that Ashleigh needed a raincoat and she got this super cute Stephen Joseph raincoat with matching boots! And my aunt got her the matching backpack.

Whoops!

It's been awhile, and this post will be really short. Just wanted to share some photos from a princess birthday party the girls went to Saturday. We had a great time at the Clemmons' home celebrating Caiden's sixth birthday! Got tons of cute pics, even if Abby was out of sorts with an unfamiliar place and did NOT cooperate with the photo session. I would post a group pic, but don't want to put other people's children's photos online without their permission. Probably wouldn't mind, but still...

Ashleigh was ALL ABOUT posing! Rachel got more candids during the party, but I don't have copies of them yet.

Can it get any hotter?

Wait, don't answer that, because I know the answer is a big, fat YES! Some mornings, the heat and humidity just make me angry as soon as I walk out the door. Ugh. I've lived in Mississippi all my 36 years and you think I'd get used to it. Not so much. I feel like writing Mother Nature a letter and asking her to please turn down the heat. Also, if it's not too much to ask, keep any and all bugs and creepy crawlies out of our house! I can't stand bugs either. Eewwww!

In other news:

Surprisingly to me, I felt more sadness over the announcement of Jon & Kate Gosselin's divorce than Michael's Jackson's death. Trust me, I think that's bizarre and I'm the one who feels that way. Divorces always sadden me. And I guess since Michael Jackson has gone crazy and all I don't feel as connected to him. Not that I should feel connected to Jon & Kate at any rate.

Really Sad

One of my best friends is moving to Arizona. 

I am not happy.

I haven't been this sad since Kelley moved to Texas.

The situations are very similar: leaving me behind is a co-worker who I like very much who also knows how to do their job well. Trust me, this is hard to come by. The differences are that Anthony is a guy so we didn't spend time together outside the office, but he and my husband did.

Anthony is a computer nerd in a cool way. Who will help me with my dilemmas now? I'll be left to muddle through on my own. Will the new guy we hired do a good job? I'm sure. Will we have the same kind of friendship? Doubtful. Anthony and I get excited over the same things like cool fonts and awesome vector art. Free cool stuff really gets us wound up. We have a lot of the same tastes graphics-wise, but we are quite different as well. We compliment each other and help each other out. I help him make ads more "girly" and he helps me de-frill my ads on occasion.

I hear that Flagstaff, Arizona is a great place. But right now, I will hold a grudge against it. Not against Anthony and his wife; I wish them all the best. They are doing what's best for their family and I can't fault them for that.

But Flagstaff? You totally suck.

New Newspaper!

Well, after a few months of keeping quiet, I can finally spill the beans: The Commercial Dispatch has launched a new publication in Starkville, The Starkville Dispatch!

I've gotten to do some pretty interesting things, like put a newspaper in a bulldog's mouth, see below.

I think it's pretty cool that we're starting a new newspaper when so many papers around the country are going out of business....and did I mention it's FREE?

Check it out at http://www.thestarkvilledispatch.com/

#dispatch

Happy Anniversary, Baby!

Fifteen years ago today, I married my best friend, Kenneth. I know that is rather corny and cliche, but it is true.

I honestly can't imagine life without him. I can always count on him to be there for me when it counts. I've never doubted his love for me and never had a reason not to trust him completely. He is a wonderful father to our children, which is a good thing because I couldn't be married to him otherwise.

Now, don't get me wrong. He makes me mad regularly, drives me nuts and has habits that annoy me. I will readily tell you if we spend too much time together, we'd kill each other. And he'd tell you the exact same thing about me. When we get angry with one another, there's never any worry that this will be "the end." And I think that's what a happy marriage is all about. It's not about never fighting and always getting along. It's about always being yourself, speaking your mind and knowing that at the end of the day, your spouse loves you in spite of yourself.

Now that I've gotten all that out of the way, here's a photo from our wedding. What a difference 15 years makes!

Rambling...

Well, I'm not exactly keeping up with the once-a-week pledge I made when I started my blog again. But I'm still doing better than some folks, like MY SISTER who hasn't updated her blog since April 1st! Then again, I'll never keep up with Kelley who posts almost daily. In my defense, I do update my status fairly often on Facebook. It's just so easy to do from my phone!

Things have been pretty ho-hum. Our dog, Rusty (aka Little Paw, Monster) is settling in quite nicely and his made himself a part of the family. I just realized I haven't posted a photo of him here, so here you go:
He's a long hair miniature dachshund and will be two years old tomorrow!

Ashleigh got her first "major" haircut this weekend. It was to her waist and while beautiful, was totally unmanageable! No amount of conditioner could make it easy to brush. The only "easy" thing to do was keep it in a French braid and if you rarely ever wear it down, what's the point of having it? I got Kenneth to take her because I didn't want him fussing at me that I got it cut too short! I love my hair dresser and would've liked her to do it, but I wanted him in charge of it! After they left, I began to freak out a bit? What if he cut it off above her shoulders? Would I end up freaking out? In the end, we are all happy with the outcome. Here's a before & after shot. (Her hair is wet in the before.)
It is SO MUCH EASIER to deal with now!! I miss the super-long hair, but we've got to be practical!

I'm currently reading this. It is very interesting and just a little scary! But I managed to buy quite a few organic things this weekend. I want to do the best I can because I owe it to my children to give them the healthiest foods & environment I possibly can. And I owe it to them to be the healthiest Mom I can be!

Just love this picture of Abby. I took it while she was eating breakfast at my parent's house Mother's Day morning.

And to be fair, I'll post one of Ashleigh that shows her face! Also taken Mother's Day morning at my parent's house.