Taking "us" time to celebrate...

I thought I'd better jump on here and do a quick post before another week got by me.
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Well, tomorrow is Mister M's last day at work for 2008. He is FINALLY taking some much needed time off. I'm not going to know how to act with him being home with me for 2+ weeks. But I'm excited though. Next week he'll even get to see how much time I actually spend at Jayla's school :-).
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Shortly after Jayla gets home from school tomorrow, Mister M. and I are heading to a hotel for the night. And then tomorrow evening, we're going out to dinner for our anniversary at our favorite restaurant. Yep, I said our ANNIVERSARY! It seems like I just did a post about that very event not so long ago. Although all of our anniversaries are special, this year is REALLY going to be. Our actual anniversary is on Wednesday the 17th. And this year we're celebrating 20 years of marriage! WHEW!!! Where did the time go?
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Jayla will be spending the evening and Saturday here with her Grandma. And from what Jayla says (thinks), she and Grandma have big plans, lol. Jayla has it in her head that she and mom will be going bowling (mom doesn't drive and doesn't know how to bowl, mind you.) and doing eachothers nails and you know, just "girl bonding" time :-). Mom seemed a little surprised this morning when I asked her about their plans. She wasn't aware of ANY of it :-). But she did say that them doing eachothers nails and the "girl time" will definitely happen. All I have to say about that is...60 second drying time nail polish! :-).
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Back to the anniversary celebration for a moment...when we get back sometime Saturday evening, I HOPE to have something very special to share with you. So check back for that.
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I know it's been a while since I've given you guys a Flower Fix, so how bout I do that now?
And last, but definitely not least, I'd like to end my post today with a special tribute. On Sunday, December 7th, this little girl had a birthday.
Isn't she the cutest little chubby thing? Well look at her now....

Simply gorgeous! My oldest baby, Briyanna turned 24 years old on Sunday. Happy Birthday sweetie, I love you and I'm SOOO proud of you! Keep up the good work.

That's it for now. I'll be talking to you guys soon. Have a great weekend...I know I will!!! :-)

We're in FULL swing now!

Happy Friday everyone.

Ok, I've got a few things I'd like to cover with you all today. So I'll wait here for a minute while ya'll go grab a drink and some chips or something........

Alrighty, ya'll ready? Let's get started, shall we?

First things first, how bout the Friday Flower Fix?
Pretty, huh? You know I love me some Tulips...and they're red, for Christmas :-).

Next, I have a cute Jayla story to tell you. Earlier this week, Jayla and I were on our way to school and she asked about Santa. She wanted to know if Santa was "really REAL". Ok, now I'm in a pickle. Do I tell her the truth or do I let her believe that he does exist? Well, for those of you who know Jayla, you know that the latter ain't gonna work, lol. So I decided to take an easy way out and ask her what SHE thinks. She proceeds to tell me that several of her classmates think that he's real, but she doesn't. I asked her why and she says (very matter of fact like), "Mom, I KNOW there's no such person as Santa! No body has THAT much money to buy THAT many plane tickets to fly THAT many places...in ONE night!" It was kind of a "DUH!" moment for me. She IS her daddy's daughter...very analytical and very much a thinker. We get to the school and it's almost her turn to get out. She gives me a kiss and tells me not to worry...that she won't tell her friends that Santa's not real. Then she says,"Besides, people can believe what they wanna believe...they're only KIDS!" lol This little girl is TOO much!

Speaking of Jayla, you may remember a few weeks ago, me, her daddy and her Grandma had lunch with her on her birthday (also Grandparents/Special Friends Day). Well, we got the picture back yesterday. Check it out....
OK....today hubby and I stuck with our tradition and went Christmas shopping. Of course our first stop was to CFA for breakfast. I just love that place. Can you tell? lol Then we headed on over to Toys R Us. I love that store! We had our version of Jayla's Christmas list (see her version below). This is THE most domesticated little girl I've ever known. Gotta love it!

This is page 1. Would you like a translation? What? You don't speak Jayla?? :-) Ok, this page says that she wants: a vacuum cleaner, coffee maker, mailbox and another vacuum cleaner :-). See, I told you she's a very "domesticated" little girl.
On page 2, again, she asks for a vacuum cleaner (ALRIGHT...we get it already, sheesh!), a mailbox (again) and a laptop. (HA...she's more likely to get the multiple vacuum cleaners and mailboxes!) :-D

We found everything on the list and even a few more things. As we browsed the store, we came across this. Oh my GOSH...you guys, this thing is HUGE! She's almost as tall as Jayla and probably weighs about the same. Needless to say, we decided against it. We were a little concerned that we might have to feed her! lol

Tonight, hubby and I are going out to celebrate our 19th wedding anniversary. We're going to our favorite place. We've been going here for our anniversary for the past 6 years. LOVE IT!!! If you're ever in Atlanta and you enjoy yourself some good ole meat, THIS is the place to go. I highly recommend it. It's a little pricey, but VERY worth it. Jayla told her teachers that it was me and her daddy's anniversary today (actually, it's not until Monday, the 17th). And she told them that we've been married 90 years!!! :-) we look great, don't we? LOL

So, what do you guys have planned for the weekend? Something fun and festive, I'm SURE! Whatever you've got planned, I hope you have a great time and that you get some good ole fashioned family time in there.

Well, I think that's all I've got for now. I need to go chill out for a bit before my hot date with my hot husband. Have a great night!

Happy Birthday to me...ALOHA to you!!

Hey ya'll!!!

Well, I told you I'd be another year older by the time I posted again. Yesterday was my 41st Birthday.

Awww, ya'll are so sweet...I can almost hear you singing the birthday song! lol

Let's see, where should I begin? Well, on Friday night, the 16th, my sweet hubby took me to dinner. Oh you guys, it was WONDERFUL!!! Here are a few pix:
I had the Petit Filet & Shrimp (Two 4 oz. medallions of filet topped with jumbo gulf shrimp) cooked to PERfection, a baked potato with butter & cheese and the fresh broccoli. YUMMO!!!

And for dessert, we shared the Warm Apple Crumb Tart with Vanilla ice cream. It was so sweet, our waiter presented this to me with a candle in it and said it was on the house. It was DEE-LISH!!
Here's me and hubby after our dinner. We had a beautiful booth in a nice, secluded corner of the restaurant. Oh it was devine. Thank you again, sweetie!

THEN...on Saturday, my actual birthday, we celebrated Jayla's birthday. Oh you guys, it was BEAUTIFUL!!! I just don't have the words to describe how everything turned out. I'm not one to toot my own horn....but this time, I've just gotta call a spade a spade, LOL. My basement was decorated like a tropical "kids" paradise. My friend, Stacey...Oh STACEY...I could NOT have pulled this off without her. She really helped me out a lot...by having so many of the things that made this party a success for Jayla. Even down to the candle for the cake. OK..., c'mon now...what kind of mother doesn't have CANDLES for their childs birthday cake? That would be ME! I mean, I HAVE some, I just didn't know where they were, ARGH!!! (I found them this morning...DUH!!) But being that Stacey was at the party and only lives 3 doors down from me, she came to my rescue in a crisis :-). (thank goodness her husband was at home) Thanks Stacey...I owe you!

All of Jayla's friends were there, we had the tropical/hawaiian music in the background, there was an abundance of food (including 6 LARGE pizzas), real coconut cups with umbrella straws, Hawaiian leis, a sunshine pinata and wonderful gifts. Ok, ok...I've talked it up long enough...HERE are the pictures:

And guess what? To add the icing to my birthday cake, so to speak, I finally got to meet Lynilu. During her travels, she happened to stop over in Georgia. Oh my goodness, she is even more beautiful IRL! As soon as I saw her, I felt that I've known her for YEARS. Such a sweet, sweet spirit. I didn't make too great of a first-first impression, because I was running late getting to our meeting place. And I HATE for people to have to wait for me. But she was very forgiving and understanding. My second-first impression was a little better :-). I had both of my daughters with me too. I was so glad they got to meet her. Briyanna found out that there was a Starbucks in the shopping plaza that Lynilu and I met in. And the good news was that it was in a Barnes & Noble bookstore. My new friend found it pretty humorous that I'd NEVER been to Starbucks before. I mean, I've been IN one, but I've never had their coffee before. So Briyanna had to help her mother out and actually order for me :-). I know, I'm a mess. She also got a not-so hot chocolate for Jayla...it was PERFECT.

After we made our beverage purchases, we strolled back to the kids book section. Jayla LOVES books. So this was perfect for her. Not to mention, Briyanna had given her some money for her birthday. So she found quite a few books that she wanted to buy. ANYWAY, Lynilu got to see me in "mother" mode :-). Jayla was...um, shall we say, herself. Which meant Lyn got to see exactly what I talk about in my blog :-). But thankfully, she wasn't too over the top...therefore, I wasn't embarassed by any of her "Jaylaisms". And Briyanna was simply a sweetie. She and Lyn talked about their doggies, as they have the same breed.

Anyway, you guys, as I said, this lady is simply beautiful. I was a little sad when our visit was over. I could've chatted with her all night. She was SOOO easy to talk to and very interesting. Meeting Lynilu yesterday was the perfect ending to my 41st birthday as well as to a crazy, busy day. Had I not been so excited to get to meet her, I may have cancelled. I was almost beat from the party. But she made it so worth it and she gave me a new burst of energy to get through the rest of the evening. Hopefully, Lyn, you feel the same as me...in that we may have a new, long lasting friendship brewing. And I hope that the next time you're on this side of the country, you'll want to visit with me/us again. Thank you again for your time and your friendship.

Ok you guys...here's proof that I'm not making this whole visit up, lol.

Isn't she gorgeous?? By the way, I'm not sure if Lyn just remembered that purple is my favorite color or what. But she had on the most beautiful purple top. I'm just gonna step out on a limb and say that she wore it for me...for my birthday :-). Thanks! lol

WELP...that's it for now. Tuesday is Jayla's actual birthday. And I'm sure I'll have more pix to share with you. Until then, enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Oh, don't forget...BE INSPIRED...I AM!!! (Seriously, how could I NOT be? I mean, I've got the bestest friends!) ;-)

Amendment: OH MY GOODNESS...where are my manners??? I totally forgot to thank those special people who gave me gifts for my birthday. I am SUCH a slacker. Special thanks to Miss Marie "Rie" (Ashlee's mom) for the sweet card, the beautiful bracelet and the salsa. I love you! To Jennifer C. for the beautiful flowers and the hilarious card. You are a special friend, and I love you. To my MIL, Mattie, for the beautiful purple flowers. Mom, you are an awesome woman and I love you to pieces. To Stacey for the hilarious card and the Dr. Pepper lounging pants :-). You're an AWESOME friend and I love you to death. Thanks for all you do for me. To my daughter, Briyanna, for the BEAUTIFUL & thoughtful letter that you wrote me. I love you bunches and bunches. To Markell for the beautiful wall hanging and for your framed, SUPER HANDSOME school picture. I love it and I love YOU. And to all of you who sent cards and the wonderful birthday wishes. You ALL mean the world to me.

Friday Flower Fix & CELEBRATIONS

Hey ya'll...Happy Friday.

Once again, I'm in a time crunch. I've gotta take advantage of the alone time I have right now to start decorating for Jayla's Luau tomorrow.

First of all, I just came from the cutest Native American celebration at Jayla's school. I'll share the pictures and more details on that later on this weekend.

Second, here's your Friday Flower Fix. Let's just say I'm giving these to myself as a birthday present :-).

And speaking of which, I will be another year older by the time I speak with you again. How exciting. Tonight, my hubby and I are going on a nice evening out to dinner to celebrate my 41st birthday.

Then tomorrow, at 2pm the party will begin!!! Jayla's Hawaiian Luau is tomorrow and I think I'm just as excited at she is.

SOOOO, with that, I leave you for now so I can go get some decorating done. Lord knows I don't wanna be running around (even more than normal) like a crazy woman tomorrow :-).

I hope ya'll have a WONDERFUL weekend. Love you all! Toodles!!!

C'mon...it's PARTY TIME!!!

Mornin everyone!

I don't have much time this morning, so I'll try and be brief. (Oh, stop CHEERING!!)

How bout a little breakdown of what's going on these days:

~Monday, I worked at Jayla's school. And I now have a new child to work with. Remember the one who liked to sneeze and cough all over me? Well, she has been moved to another group. Honestly, I can't say that I'm sad about that. :-) I got a new kid in my group so now I've got 3 boys. They're great kids. The new one, however, is a little class clown. I asked him what his name was (even though I already know it) and he says, "Just call me Turkey!" :-) Ok, Turkey it is. Then he decides that he likes the name "Mailbox" better. ANYWAY, I could see, rather quickly, that I was gonna have my work cut out for me with him. But I can handle it. Little does Mr. Turkey Mailbox know, that he'll be sitting next to me next week. Kids this age are so silly...and so CORNY!! :-)
~Tuesday...what did I do on Tuesday? Huh...I dunno! I THINK I went to the grocery store, but I can't remember.
~Yesterday, I met with my friend, Laura for lunch. Laura is taking a class on Multicultruralism. She's take classes to be a counselor. ANYWAY, she needed to "interview" friends of hers that were in a different ethnic group than her. I was her first "subject". It was REALLY interesting. And I think we actually opened eachothers eyes to some things. It's amazing what we take to be the "norm" in our own cultures. I'll have to get more info from her on our interview and I'll give you more insight. But until then, trust me, it was interesting. AND...she bought me lunch! :-). And last night was my weekly Girls Night. We had a BALL!!! No one was really interested in scrapbooking, so we just sat around and talked, laughed and ate (DUH!). Then we played a board game. SO much fun!!! I think we're gonna do that more often.
~Today, I'm going to get my hair done (finally). My daughter is giving me this hair appt as a birthday gift. How sweet, huh? I like to look pretty when I can. :-)
~Tomorrow, I will be working at Jayla's school again. They are having a Native American Day. Not sure what all they'll be doing, but I'm gonna help out. Hmmm, wonder what Mr. Turkey Mailbox will be up to for this event? :-) Then, tomorrow after I pick Jayla up from school, a friend of hers is picking her up to go to a birthday party/movie. THEN, tomorrow evening, my hubby and I are going to dinner for my birthday. We'll be going to the same place we went to last year. Talk about YUMMY!!! Can't wait for that!!
~THEN on Saturday, ALL of my birthday party planning will come to a head. I've been crazily working on making Jayla's Hawaiian Luau just perfect for her. I can't WAIT for it to all come together and to celebrate her turning 6 years old. I'll be sure to take pictures and share them with you. Saturday is also MY 41st birthday!!! I can't believe how quickly my 40th year went by. And last, but not least, I will hopefully be meeting up with Lynilu on Saturday evening. She called me last night and she sounds SO sweet! Just like I thought she would. I'll keep ya'll posted on that front too.

WELL...that's about it for me. I've gotta go get ready for my "prettin up" appointment :-). I hope you guys enjoy the rest of your week and have a GREAT weekend. And remember...

BE INSPIRED...I AM!!!

The GRADUATE!

I can't believe that this coming Friday is the last day of school. Markell successfully completed his first year of middle school and Jayla, her year of Pre-K.

For some reason, the county we live in is no longer allowed to have graduation ceremonies for the Pre-K classes. Bummer!!! I remember when we first moved to Cobb County back in 1999, Markell had one...talk about cute.

Well, even though Jayla's class isn't going to have a ceremony, they did get to take cap & gown pictures....

Look how happy and proud she is! Besides the fact that this girl LOVES taking pictures, she was so excited to wear this "crap & gown" lol. See, she even had her little nails done :-). As tradition would have it, we'll be taking Jayla out to dinner this weekend at the restaurant of her choice. Markell chose Applebee's. And we think Jayla is leaning towards Red Lobster. Not because she loves or even LIKES seafood. But because she says they have the BESTESS macaroni & cheese :-).

Congratulations baby!!!

He's a DOZEN!!!

Today is Markell's 12th birthday! Has it been 12 years already?

Most of you who read my blog may not know Markell's story. But it's a good one...especially for those of us who have been blessed to have him in our lives.

I'll try to be brief.

Markell is my nephew...he's my sisters son. My sister was young when she had Markell and wasn't able to take on the roll of a mother at such a young age. So my DH and I discussed it...albeit quickly, and decided that, instead of letting him get adopted by strangers, we'd take him in and become his legal guardians. So 4 days after Markell was born, me and my oldest daughter went to Mobile, Al to, hopefully, meet and bring home our newest family member. Well, we got him from Social Services the day after we arrived in Mobile and 3 days later, brought him back to Atlanta to start his new little life.

Markell was 7 days old when he came to live with us. We have loved him and raised him as our own since 1995. THIS is why I can't believe that it's already been 12 years!

We have always wanted a son of our own and taking in Markell was the next best thing. I love this boy more that you'll ever know. And I wouldn't change a single thing about our decision. He's an awesome, energetic, sweet kid and adds his own little "flavor" to our world.

Ok, before I get all misty...allow me to share some photos of what a 12 year old looks like :-). I just did a mini photo shoot of him in our backyard...can you believe it?...he actually LET me take pictures of him this time. Hmmm, maybe being a dozen does something to a guy, who knows, he may let me start taking pictures of him more often. :-) Enjoy!

Ok, I tried! This last picture sheds a little light on my "hopes" mentioned above. Maybe things haven't changed...he still doesn't like me taking pictures of him. But c'mon...he's SO handsome...it's always gonna be worth a try.

Happy Birthday MARKELL!!!! I love you, bunches & bunches!

Out on the town

This past Saturday, my hubby and I went to a birthday party. Our nieces mother, Sharon, celebrated her 60th birthday. The celebration was a surprise party given to her by her husband & her 5 daughters. And everyone was asked to wear their semi-formal best. I don't know about you, but I love to get dressed up. Every once in a while, it's just fun to be able to wear something other than jeans or pajama pants...lol. And even more fun to be able to dress up and go out in public with other ADULTS...lol.

Anyway, to make a long story short, the food was awesome and I HEARD that the Martini's were delicious (I don't drink anything stronger than Dr. Pepper or Gingerale!) Everyone looked beautiful and the surprise went off without a hitch.

Oh, and the most fun part about this was, hubby and I spent the entire evening out. My mother in law, kept the kids for us and we got a hotel for the evening. Woo HOO!!! So after the party, we got to spend the night in a beautiful hotel room, without having to hear a little knock at our bedroom door at 4:30 in the morning saying, "DADDY...I've gotta potty...REALLY BAD!!" :-)

Well, here are some pix from our evening.

Here's me and my hubby. We clean up pretty good, don't we?

This is our nephew, Derron and his lovely wife, Shirlene. It was Shirlene's mother who was the guest of honor.

My hubby and his nephew, Derron. These guys are just like brothers. I love to see them having a good time together.

Me and Shirlene, sharing a rare moment.

Here's all the guys. 4 of these guys are Shirlene's brothers in law. The others are her husband, her uncle and her mothers husband.

Well, that's all the pix I have to share for now. I'm waiting to get some more. Oddly enough, I didn't get one single picture of the birthday girl or Shirlene's other 4 sisters. As soon as I get them, I'll share. They are some BEAUTIFUL women!!!

Thanks again to Derron & Shirlene for inviting us to such a special event. And a special thanks to Sharon, for welcoming us in the celebration of her birthday. Love you guys!!!