Tales of a Kindergartner

Hello all. I realize that I've already kinda done a post today. But I didn't know school pictures would be back today. :-) Would you just look at this little beauty?

She has been begging me since the first day of school to wear this little jumper to school. I kept telling her "NO!" because I knew I wanted her to wear it for picture day :-). And I'm glad I did. She looks SO cute. I'm sure I've told you before that this kid LOVES the camera. Just look at that proud grin.

I haven't given many updates on how kindergarten is going for Jayla, as there's not much to tell. The reason there's not much to tell is because she absolutely LOVES it. And that, to be honest, is an understatement. It's everything she can do not to jump out of the car in the mornings and run in the building. She's SO proud that she can walk ALL THE WAY to her class by herself like a big girl (I walked her to class the first week of school).

School lets out at 2:15 and I'm in the carpool line by 1:40 at the latest :-). I just HAVE to make sure I get the exact same spot every afternoon...as Jayla HAS to wave at me as she walks from the main building to the gym, which is where the car riders congregate until their names are called.

Friday's are hard for Jayla :-). As soon as she hops in the van on Fridays, she says, "So, mom, HOW many more days until I get to go back to school again?" And when I reply, "Only 2, honey." I hear this huge sigh from the backseat. She thinks that's too long to wait to get back to school. So I'm sure you've figured out by now that she was NOT feeling the long Labor Day weekend...LOL. Maybe I should go ahead and get her ready for the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, huh? :-)

I am so glad that Jayla enjoys school so much. She has even asked me if I'd be "one of those moms" that comes to her class to visit sometimes. Can you believe it? She actually WANTS me at her school. So needless to say, I have signed up to be a volunteer in her class. Starting in October, I will volunteer in Jayla's class every Monday morning. I am also heading up the production of the classroom scrapbook. As well as being the class photographer. So that means, I get to go on more fieldtrips. Can't wait!!

I sure hope that Jayla continues to have a love for school and learning. Her teacher sends me emails every once in a while to tell me what a joy it is to have Jayla in her class. Jayla has a monopoly on the "green stars" in her class :-). If you get a green star, that means you had a GREAT day. Since school began last month, she has only had one "yellow" star...which means you had a GOOD day. Which is still pretty awesome in my book.

Anyway, here are a few more pictures I took of Jayla on picture day. You know, just in case the professional ones didn't come out well :-). Enjoy.

That's it for today...I hope :-). Thank you for your time and for reading about my sweet little pride & joy. If anything changes with regards to how she loves school...I'll let you know. :-) Have a great weekend!

Friday Flower Fix (on Thursday) & weekend plans

But first, a special word from our sponsor: I am SUCH a ding dong!!! Here I call myself being proactive and typing up this post LAST NIGHT. So that it would be available for you all to read this morning. And not until NOW...here it is, 7:43pm...that I notice that I forgot to post it! ARGH!!! Sorry!!! Ok, now, back to our regularly scheduled post...(from YESTERDAY!) UGH!

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Hey ya'll.

I know, I know...it's not Friday yet. Well, you know that tomorrow I have an appt with Mr. "slave driver" Banks, lol. And I've also got a few errands to run in the morning. So I thought it would be best to post tonight and not make ya'll have to wait on me. I hear ya'll tapping your fingers on your tables when I'm late posting the flower fix...I HEAR YA!!!

SOOOO, with that being said, here's your fix:

Ok, by no means am I a cat person. But this picture is just cute, isn't it? (Those are cats, aren't they?) And wait, are those Christmas flowers? Oh, I dunno... they're pretty anyways. :-)

So, what have ya'll got planned for the weekend? I know you're gonna be shocked...we've got soccer :-). Well, we're supposed to anyway. The forecast calls for a 40% chance of scattered showers. Those kidders :-). Anyway, we'll see. I will say this though, if in fact Jayla DOES play on Saturday, I'm not looking forward to her 9a.m game. YES...I said, 9a.m...like in the MORNING, a.m....sheesh!!! Ok, ok...I'll stop complaining. It's only the 2nd game of the season! (which more than likely, we'll have to make up). Anyhoo...I don't think we have anything else planned...I mean, what else is there if there's no soccer???

Speaking of soccer/sports...I'm gonna take after my friend, Cheryl here for a minute. And throw in a few questions for ya'll...sports related of course.

1. Did you play sports as a kid? If so, what did you play? Well, back "then" this wasn't really considered a sport. But nowadays it is...I was a cheerleader. STOP LAUGHING!!! I was! I cheered for the Midway Packers. And we wore an icky green and white checkered skirt, goldenrod bloomers, a long sleeve goldenrod shirt with a flyguy collar, golden rod kneesocks, a white vest with a big ole green & goldenrod "P" on the front AND the standard issue black & white saddle oxfords. (I'll have to see if I can find a picture for ya). Funny note about the cheerleading. I was the ONLY black on a squad of 12 cheerleaders...and the football team that we cheered for was all black...except for one guy...LOL. Oh, I also played volleyball for 1/2 a season in high school. My mom made me drop off the team because the shorts were too short...LOL.

2. If you did play sports, were you forced to play or did you actually want to play? At first I was forced by my mother. She said I was a little "plump" and needed to do something to stay active. But then, she got tired of taking me to practice twice a week and games on Saturdays. So that's when my "want" to cheer kicked in.

3. What sport did you always WANT to play or be involved in, but you couldn't/didn't, for one reason or another? Even though I was a cheerleader, I always wanted to be one in highschool. My "Packers" days were at a local recreation center. So whoever paid, "played". I tried out a couple times for the highschool squad, but I never made it. Probably for the best though, I never could get those jumps right :-).

Well, that's all I've got for today. I hope you have a chance to answer these questions. I'd love to see what your future could've been...you know, besides a blogger :-). Ya'll have a great weekend.

Thanks Gretchen!

Hello all. Well, I'm jumping on the "list" bandwagon again. I "borrowed" this one from Gretchen.

One Word Meme--answer the following questions with just one word. (NOTE: I'm not sure how some of these can be answered with ONE word. But I'm gonna try)

1. Where is your mobile phone? In the van
2. Relationship? married
3. Your hair? A MESS!
4. Work? SAHM
5. Your sister(s)?Kimmy
6. Your favorite thing? LOVE
7. Your dream last night? Weird (as always)
8. Your favorite drink? Dr. Pepper
9. Your dream car? Tahoe
10. The room you’re in? Playroom
11. Your shoes? Nikes
12. Your fears? Failure
13. What do you want to be in 10 years? Debt free
14. Who did you hang out with this weekend? Family
15. What are you not good at? Organizing
16. Muffin? blueberry
17. Wish list item? patience
18. Where you grew up? Georgia
19. The last thing you did? Taebo
20. What are you wearing?Work out gear
21. What are you not wearing? Glasses
22. Your pet? Trae (Dog)
23. Your computer? ON
24. Your life? Amazing
25. Your mood? Happy
26. Missing? Markell
27. What are you thinking about? Finances
28. Your car? Quest
29. Your kitchen? YELLOW
30. Your summer? HOT!!
31. Your favorite color? Purple
32. Last time you laughed? At Taebo
33. Last time you cried? At Taebo :-)
34. School? OVER
35. Love? LORD, Hubby, Kids, Chocolate

Now wasn't that fun? If anyone want to join in, feel free to do so. Have a groovy day!

Inspired to INSPIRE...

"If you have knowledge, let others light their candles in it."

Have a beautiful day and Be Inspired...I AM!!

GOOOOOAL!!!!

Alright yall, get ready...soccer season is in full affect! We've finally gotten a few practices under our belts, now that the rain has finally subsided. And today was the first game of the 2007 Fall Season.

You know I couldn't let the season start without getting a few pictures (more to follow). But I thought this was a cute shot of our soccer star having "Coach Daddy" help her put on her super fast cleats.

Here are a few more "before the game" shots.

She's a mess, isn't she? This kid loves to pose...even with a soccer ball in hand :-).

OPENING DAY: Let me start by saying the forecast for opening day was HOT!!! Jayla's game was at 10:30 this morning and we baked under full sun...real nice like! I think it was in the high 80's by the time we got started.

Once again, the Lil Stingrays are about 11 strong, 9 of which are girls. This season, they all moved up to the U8 league, so now the rules are a little different. Score is still not kept at this level, but they are now actually playing real positions, such as goalie. And they do throw ins, corner kicks and goal kicks. I was amazed at how they all got the hang of it so quickly. Could be because just about all of them have been on a soccer field for one reason or another, since they were babies/toddlers. So they have an idea of what all that means.

Here's Jayla and Coach Daddy kicking around a few before game time.

I love this picture of Jayla. She looks so focused and determined. Look at her hands. This pic was taken as each player approached the goal before the kick off of the game. They had to dribble the ball twice and take a shot. What form!

Here, Jayla is checking out the competition on the next field. In U8, they play 5v5, so they split the teams up between 2 fields. The field next to the one Jayla is on started a few seconds beforehand, so Jayla was checking out the flow of the game :-).

Time for a much needed water break.

I LOVE this picture. This is Jayla and the head coaches daughter, Ashlee. These two beauties have been playing together since they were 2 and playing soccer together since age 3. Ashlee played goalie for the first time today...she's following in her brothers footsteps. He plays goalie for the Stingrays. The girls had just given eachother a high-five right before the game started.

Jayla scored her first goal of the season today in the 2nd half. You should hear this girl cheer when she or someone on her team scores. And in the midst of her cheering, she runs to her daddy, gives him a high-five, a big hug and tells him she loves him :-). Then she looks over at me on the sidelines to make sure I saw that she scored.

I was all ready for opening day today too. Check out me and Jayla's matching foot wear :-). You see, I also made myself some fashionable soccer ear wear...lol. I know, I'm such a soccer nerd mom. :-)

This last shot is another super sweet one. The cute blonde, Gracie, has also been a team mate of Jayla and Ashlee's since they were toddlers. Gracie's brother also plays on the Stingrays. The girls are sitting on the bleachers after their game eating snacks and watching their brothers play their first game of the season.

And speaking of the boys/Stingrays, they played AWESOME today. Boy, I sure wish Markell had been there. The boys beat their opponents 8 - 0 today! What a way to start off the season.

Well, it's on now!!! I absolutely LOVE soccer season. Sure, I complain about the heat, the rain and cold sometimes. But it's all so worth it. The kids also love it...I think THAT's what makes it so fun. I'll be sure to keep ya'll posted on both teams' standings. So far...so good!!! Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

I'm back, Friday Flower Fix, Sympathy

Happy Friday Ya'll!!!

I can't believe it's been an entire week since I've updated my BLOG. And it's not even because I've been crazy busy or anything. I guess I just haven't had much to write about. However, I do have a little update for you.

Remember in my post last Friday, I mentioned that my mother and her husband were gonna be in town? Well, they made it and we had a really nice time together...talking, laughing and eating. One of my favorite combinations (other than the #1 at Chick Fil A...lol). My sister and Markell came too. It was so nice to see him. He's getting so tall! He brought his new friend over with them too. He was a cute little kid too. Markell thought it was pretty funny that his room was empty...and somehow, he still managed to have a good time in there jumping around...and shaking the chandelier in the dining room below :-). He says that school is going, "Ok" (try to imagine how a 12 year old would say, "ok", lol) Anyway, he looks great and seems to be doing well.

OK...now on to the flower fix. Before I share the picture, I have something to say. Every week, the flowers that I choose, I choose for you guys, my readers. I try and pick something that I think will possibly brighten your day and something that you'll enjoy. Today will actually be no different...other than, these are more for me than for you. (I'll explain after the flowers)

Alrighty, about the flowers. I chose these particular flowers for ME. Why, you ask? Because I think someone is trying to kill me. And I thought it would best if I saved my family the trouble of picking out flowers for my grave. Funny thing about this is, I KNOW who's trying to kill me. It's this man. Remember him? I'm not sure what my problem is, I keep putting myself in harms way. Now I have an idea how a drug addict feels. You are drawn to the drug...it calls your name...it makes your friends call you to remind you to "take it". ARGH!!!

Please people, don't cry for me or my family. I've lived a beautiful life. Almost 41 years to be exact. I had just always hoped that my end wouldn't come this way. "This way" being, while wearing shorts, a tank top, sneakers, carrying a HUGE water bottle and sweating like a pro football team in training. I guess I should just make the best of the time I have left and continue trying to look my best in the process. Hmmm, maybe knowing that I only have 100 more years to live isn't so bad. I'll just take it day by day...or should I say, MonDAY by WednesDAY by FriDAY???

Please send cards and flowers to.....:-). Be Inspired ya'll....I AM!!! Have a beautiful weekend!

Friday Flower Fix & Weekend

Happy Friday everyone!

This is gonna be a short post, as I'm finding that my arms are a little achey and sore now too. I'm SURE it's because of...HIM! (see previous post)...lol. Not to mention, there's not much to say today.

I am excited to say that my mommy and her sweet hubby will be in town this weekend. And they're coming over tomorrow for a little family cookout. Markell and my sister are coming too. Can't wait to see everyone.

Here's your fix:

Have a beautiful weekend!

APB....

WARNING:

I am PERSONALLY putting out an APB (All Points Bulletin) on THIS MAN!!

(Don't you smile at me, mister!)

Yeah, he LOOKS nice enough. But he's a MAD man! And I would go so far as to consider him ARMED & DANGEROUS! So if you see him in your travels (he could be ANYWHERE)...DO NOT approach him...don't even look his direction. Trust me....I KNOW!!!

He will not look like the picture above when you see him. He may actually look a little something like this: (you may also see part of me in the background....oh, wait, that's not me...sorry) keep reading.

He's a MAD man I tell you...a MAD MAN!!!

Earlier this week, at the coaxing of my dear friend, Stacey, she and I, along with some other friends joined a cult. You may have heard of it... What is WRONG with this man? What is wrong with the masses of, formerly sane people who follow him? What is wrong with ME???

I took my very first Tae*bo class this past Monday. At a CHURCH of all places. One would think that a man as EVIL as Mr. Blanks would never be found in a church. But there he was...up on those HUGE white screens, with his shiny bald head, rock hard abs, taped up hands and a big ole smile on his face!

All was well until the words, "Taebo Live - ADVANCED" popped up on the screen. Hold on a second...Advanced? But wait...this is only my FIRST class! Personally, I don't think he knows me well enough to say that our relationship is now ADVANCED.

What kinda girl had he heard I am? So what I haven't lost the baby weight from my first pregnancy...22+ years ago. So what I haven't worked out in almost 6 months. So WHAT, Stacey asked me to do this over a week ago and I hadn't had "time" (due to sleeping in)! These, my friends, are NOT reasons to suggest an ADVANCED meeting.

And as if "ADVANCED" wasn't enough...he has this really strange way of making you "do" things that you wouldn't normally do. He says things like,"OK...DOUBLE time!" Double time? Isn't that something you get paid when you work on Sundays? OH NO...not to Mr. Blanks. To him, it simply means, "remember that one thing I JUST showed you how to do with your leg kicking straight out to the side, as you balance on your other leg, while punching vigorously....do it TWICE as fast!" I'm sorry folks, the man is CRAZY! Oh, and "one more time", really means EIGHT more times! You'd think that a man as popular as he has become, would know that "one more time" is simply that...ONE more time! Sheesh!

Mr. Blanks and I spent a little over an hour together on Monday morning, after my husband went to work (yes, I said MORNING). I'm sure he's a really nice guy and everything...but I'm not sure he's the type of guy I should be spending time with. I mean, you should see how he makes me sweat! And I'm much too much of a lady to let this continue. Ok, I went back yesterday...but still! :-) Yesterday, he was nice enough to make us think that we'd have a nice morning lounging on mats on the floor. But really, is a body supposed to bend like that?

I am currently experiencing aches and pains in places on my body that I didn't know I had. I've given birth to 2 children. And not even that pain compares to this. Do you know how hard it is to get in your vehicle and not be able to turn around to back out of the driveway, without moaning in agony? DO YOU?!?!? Have you ever longed to bend down to kiss your 5 year old and not have to ask her to help you stand back upright? I use to be able to do these things...but not anymore. And turning to a new sleeping position in bed without screaming...FORGET about it!

People, I beg you...at ALL costs, stay away from him this SLAVE driver! He will work you...he will make your muscles burn like an inferno...he will show you the real meaning of "double time"! And from what I've seen, he will also help you look AWESOME!

But, don't ya'll fret none...I, for one, have learned my lesson...I am NEVER going back again...NEVER!

At least not until Monday morning! LOL

Weekend recap & Inspired to INSPIRE...

Happy Sunday everyone! (Before you read any further, please understand that I DO know how to seperate paragraphs...however, Blogger doesn't nor will it save any changes I make to show that separation.). Ok, that was just a special word from your sponsor...lol. Carry on....

Did you all have a nice weekend? Mine was very nice...relaxing, just like I like it. Weather permitting, this will be the official first week of soccer. It's been raining for the past few days. So much this past Saturday that the power went out for close to 2 hours. And it's been scattered thunderstorms since then. The weather report says it's supposed to be scattered T-storms throughout this week. So we'll see what happens with soccer practice. Did you know that soccer fields don't like the water? :-) Especially the ones on a flood plain...which ours are.

Speaking of soccer, we went to purchase new cleats for Jayla and coach daddy. And not only did we leave there with those, but we also got more shin guards for Jayla and a new balls for both she and daddy. Jayla's ball was either lost or stolen at the beginning of last season. So maybe this new pink one will be easy to keep up with. Every season, Jayla wants me to take a picture of her new soccer gear. However, she didn't think anyone would be interested in seeing her shinguards, she says those are "personal"...lol.

It's always funny when we are able to get coach daddy out and shopping...the man goes crazy. As I mentioned, he got himself a new pair of cleats, which he really needed. And a bright orange soccer ball. He also looked at another pair of "coaches cleats"...you know, for game days (insert rolling eyes here). The ONLY reason he didn't get them was because they didn't have anymore in stock. So we all know what that means...that's right, "I" will be going by there over the next few weeks to pick them up for him. I guess that'll be the time I can pick up my new soccer magnet for the van...hee hee.

ANYWAY...sorry to bore you all with my soccer ramblings. I just really love soccer season and I'm excited that it's about to begin.

So with that, I thank you all for your patience. And now, before I attempt to "inspire" you...lol, let me explain why I chose this quote. I simply LOVE entertaining and having guests over. My door is always open to friends and family who want to visit. So when I saw this picture and this quote, it seemed so welcoming to me. Not to mention, I want everyone who enters our home to feel welcomed...so come by anytime.

"May each soul that steps inside, feel the joy where love abides, and the warmth of God's true love He sends us freely from above."

NOTE: this isn't my home...but it sure screams Southern hospitality, doesn't it?

Have a great week!!

I'll get my OWN birthday gift....

I'm thinking this is what Trae said to himself, once he saw that we didn't get him a birthday gift a couple days ago.

As I was on my way out the door to run errands today, my mother in law stops me and asks me to come look at something. We get to the deck door and find this...

Do you see it? Go ahead...try and look a little closer. Still can't see it? Ok, how bout this one...

Me and mom, for the life of us, couldn't figure out how this little guy climbed up a flight of 16 stairs. I thought I'd better take a picture of him, just in case he decided that getting back down was even more of a challenge, and decided to jump for it :-). Also, I wanted to show Jayla when she got home from school.

Mom told me that Trae wanted a closer look at this little shelled creature and almost got his nose snipped :-). So she made him go back in the house and started having a little conversation with the little guy...yes, my MIL was talking to a turtle (that she didn't even know, mind you!)

I went ahead and left for my errands. While driving, hubby called me so I told him about our new pet. After trying to figure out where the little fella came from, it became very clear that Trae must've found him. Now, as I mentioned in Trae's birthday post, the ole boy weighs in at 71 pounds. And with that size, comes a big mouth. He can actually pick up a soccer ball and carry it around the yard...it's true, I've seen him do it! So now it's all becoming a bit clearer. Trae found this new "toy" in the yard and brought it up on the deck so my MIL would have someone to talk to. Ok, that's a stretch. But he DID bring it up there. Can you imagine the look on that turtle's face? LOL

Later in the day, on one of Trae's many visits to the backyard, my MIL told him to pick up the turtle...which he did, and to take it back where he got it from...which he did. He's such a smart boy. Now you'll all be glad to know that no turtles were harmed...scared to death, but not harmed.

Maybe it's for the best that he went back into the woods. I mean, I sure don't need someone living with me who's camera shy! lol