FUNway model

I love having daughters!

And what's really fun right now is that my youngest,  is a very girly girl! She LOVES pretend play, playing with her dolls, "cooking" in her oh so cool kitchen and playing dress up.

This is one of the delicious meals she made for me
:-).

Watching her play dress up has been super fun for me. If she's not wearing something of mine that I don't wear anymore, she's wearing one of her "fancy" dresses and sparkly  high heeled shoes. We go to the thrift store sometimes and pick up dresses for a couple bucks and she's a happy camper. She even has a garment rack to hold them all.

We've also been blessed to have a friend who attends a Mardi Gras Ball every year. Being that she won't wear the same dress more than once...I mean, who WOULD? :-) She has more dresses than humanly necessary she knows what to do with. So being the good friend that she is, she gives them to J'Bear.

Tell ya what...let's take a look at some of the treasures that J'Bear has accumulated, shall we?

This is from our "wedding collection"
Simple & elegant. Perfect for that pretend beach wedding.

This is also from our wedding collection.
Complete with a "veil" in a lovely seafoam green.

From our "bridesmaid collection".
This is actually the skirt of a 2 piece ensemble :-).

Apparently Trae is not amused by this
bright pink ensemble with
mommy made pick ups
 from our bridesmaid collection.
 Maybe it's the shoes! :-)

This is her newest piece from
her "aluminum foil" collection :-).
Notice the jewels at neckline.

Another lovely dress from our
"Bridesmaid collection"
(it looks bright red on this picture.
But it's really a brick red almost burgundy.)

And this cute little number is from
our "party line".

We opted out of showing the powder blue dress from our "bridesmaid" line. J'Bear said that it was, "SOOO 2 weeks ago!" LOL

I just love how she's so creative and watches way too many fashion inspired TV shows to know that there are LINES of clothing designs.

What type of pretend play are your kids into these days that make them feel like such "grown ups"?

I'm starting to get tired of being nice....

...DOGGONIT!!! If there is ONE thing that is frowned upon in our household, it's annoying phone calls!

ARGH!!!

I think I'm the only one in this house who knows, that when the phone rings, you're supposed to answer it. Everyone else kinda wanders around with that, Hmmm, I wonder what that ringing is-look on their face.

Ok, maybe the word, supposed to is a bit of a stretch. Especially since the invention of the Caller ID.  But when those, "out of area", "unknown name/unknown number" things come up on the display, sometimes you just gotta answer it.

Here are a few that really get my big ole granny pannys in a wad:

~"Hello, can I speak with Mr./Mrs. _______ Bibbs" calls. Ok, Bibbs is not one of the most popular last names this side of the hemisphere. So I ASSUME that since there are so few of us, one would think that we all know eachother.

NEWS FLASH - we DON'T!

For the past few...ok, SEVERAL months, we have been getting calls from a collection agency for someone with the same last name as ours, but with a first name we do not know. When I tell Mr./Miss Collection person with an unrecognizable accent that, not only does this person not live here, but we don't even know them. I get a little salty attitude...as if I'm lyin' or somethin!

Trust me people, I am not harboring ANYONE in my home. There are enough people living here!  So why do they ask me if I have a number where this mystery person can be reached?

REALLY?

I've had at least 3 - 4 collection people over the past year or so tell me that, Mr./Ms. Mystery person GAVE them our number, but they would remove it from their "list". And they have yet to do it. They've called twice this week already! ARGH!!


~"Hello, this is ______ calling from the Kidney Foundation/ADD/Disabled Vets, etc. And we were wondering if you have any gently worn clothes or household items you'd like to donate" calls. Alright, now this is a hard one. Because I'm all for helping folks out and donating stuff to a worthy cause.

However, I don't have old stuff to donate EVERY week!

I've even tried to tell them that, when/if I do have items to donate, I will contact them. They still call at least once every other week or so. Times are hard for everyone...who knows, I may need to start back wearing some of the clothes I was thinking about donating!

~Recordings from Mr/Ms. State Representative/Congressman calls. Look, with all the signs up and down the streets, posters stapled to telephone poles, stuff all over the news, and folks standing on street corners holding babies & waving. I KNOW it must be time to vote for something.

I do not need your recorded voice or the recorded voice of one of your posse calling me. That's enough to make me reconsider hitting the polls on your behalf.

~"Hello this is, so & so from  such & such calling for Mister M." calls. Now these are the source of many thorns in my side.

FIRST of all, I HATE when people pronounce my husbands name incorrectly. If you are someone who "really appreciates his business", you'd know how to say his name.

Same stands true if you are a friend/associate of his.

Second of all, this is his WIFE!...if this is just a "courtesy call", why can't you talk to me?

Third of all, he's at WORK this time of day. So there's really no need for you to tell me that you'll call back tomorrow...cuz he'll be at work then too!

And more than likely, he's at work making money to pay whoever this is calling :-).

Ok, OK...I'm stepping down off my soapbox.

I've been wanting to blog about this for quite some time. But just haven't gotten around to it cuz I've been answering the dang phone all day...until the 2 calls came this week for some unknown "family" member!

So tell me, what are some of your annoyances? Other than this ridiculously long, nit-picky post of mine.

I have issues...

Ok, I need your help.

Before I go any further, I'm sure those of you who really know me, are wondering how in the world I can make such under statements?

Of COURSE I have issues!

Of COURSE I need help!

DUH!!!

Anyway, I'm serious now...pay attention!! :-)

So, here's the thing. How do you "break up" with a company? I mean, what do you say, when they ask you WHY you're leaving them? That's the hardest thing for me to answer.

Case in point. For a few months now, we've tossed around the idea of switching security companies. We have  had the OTHER company for the 12 years we've lived in this house. Never had to use them (really). In fact, we hardly even activate the thing unless we're all gone from the house.

Fast forwarding to yesterday. This guy comes by and gives us a pretty good sales pitch about ANOTHER company. Long story short, we decided to go with them. However, I will say that I wasn't too happy about the technician being in the area and "had time" to come on by and install the new equipment  last night. Do you know he didn't leave here until after 10:30pm? ARGH!!

ANYWAY...today I had to call the OTHER company and "break up" with them. And of course they asked me why we were canceling our service. They went on and on about how they've been our security provider for the past 12 years and how the hate to see us leave. (well, we hate when your rates go up too...but you don't hear us whining...to you.) We've gotten the letters over the years telling us about the "slight"  increase in charges. And we adjust accordingly.

Why can't they do that?

Why do they make you feel so bad about leaving them?

And WHY do you offer me a better rate or better service AFTER I tell you that we're "quitting" you?

So, are ya'll honest and tell them exactly why you're leaving? Do you tell them that you're going with another company? HELP???

Happy Fathers Day...a day late

Happy Fathers Day to all the dads out there.

Just like Mothers Day, this sure is a low key day around the Bibbs household. Other than going to church (which was AWESOME, by the way!) we all just sat around and looked at eachother (and TV of course).

I called my dad to wish him a HFD, but he seemed a little distracted (by someone). So we didn't get to chat much. (I need to look into that...I'm his favorite only daughter!!!)

As far as the happenings at our house, as I said, it was very low key. In fact, I didn't even buy Mister M. a card this year. I know, I'm such a slacker wife.

Man, times are hard. And cards are expensive. And he could care less if he got one or not.  However, Jayla came through like a champ and made daddy a card. I think those are his favs anyway. Hmmm, I may need to consider that next year.

Anyhoo, I guess Jayla thought that I felt bad because I didn't get a card for Fathers Day. Because she made me one too. Check this out...

See, I toldja...I AM the best mom ever! LOL

I can't wait to show these cards to Jayla when she gets to be a teenager. So cute! So special!

SO...what are some great (or not so great) gifts that you've received on your special Fathers/Mothers day? Do tell...

Whose line is it anyway?

Me and Mister M. love to laugh and watch movies. Sadly, we don't watch them near as much as we'd like to. But thanks to some of the channels we have, we are able to catch a few good movies every now and again.

Another thing that we really enjoy doing, is talking in movie lines. I guess it's kind of an "inside" thing for us. But we are finding that a lot of people actually do it. So let's say it's an "IN" thing to do.

We're so HIP & COOL!

You know you wanna be like us! :-)

It's kinda fun to be out with friends, and an opportunity presents itself for me and/or Mister M. to blurt out one of our favorite movie lines.

Again, we're so HIP & COOL and weird & dorky!

Here are some of the movies we like to quote from:

• "LIFE" (the one with Eddie Murphy & Martin Lawrence. NOT the one about nature & animals)
• "The Color Purple" (ok, this one is most often quoted by me. As M-I-S-T-E-R doesn't really care for this movie.)
• "The Proposal" (this is our most recent addition of movies. Surprisingly enough, Mister M. likes this "chick flick")
• "Pulp Fiction" (like The Color Purple is for me, this is one that Mister M. quotes from quite a bit. And honestly, I usually have to ask, "What? What movie is that from?" He gets so frustrated...it's hilarious)
• "Jackie Brown" (like Pulp Fiction, this is one of Misters favs)
• "Shrek" - all of them (who doesn't enjoying quoting lines from Donkey?)
• "O Brother Where Art Thou?" (If you've never seen this one, check it out. George Clooney shows a totally different side of himself in this flick. Too funny!)
• "Wild Hogs" (John Travolta is hilarious in this movie. He's the main character we quote from this one.)
• "The Nutty Professor/The Klumps" (the Eddie Murphy version)
• "Friday" (Gotta love Chris Tucker & Ice Cube!)
• "The 5th Element" (I'm a big fan of Bruce Willis)

**Added 6/16/11 @ 2:25pm**
I forgot about "Rush Hour" (I & II). And another one for Mister M., "Scarface". Surprisingly enough, the lines that he quotes from Scarface do NOT contain the "F" word :-).

I'm sure there are more. But this is all I can think of right now.

Now don't leave me out here hanging. TELL me that some of you talk "movie" too! If so, what are some of your favorite movies and/or movie lines? 

So, what's on TV?

Don't know what's gotten into me lately. But I've been watching quite a bit of TV.

Ok, wait...before I ride this horse any further, know that I'm actually not even at home that much :-).

But when I am home and I'm not either on Facebook, doing some type of craft, on Facebook, scrapbooking, cleaning/doing laundry or on Facebook...I'm watching TV. :-)

And not just ANY TV either. I LOVE reality "type" shows.

Not sure what I mean? Check this out....these are the types of shows that I enjoy filling the "empty" parts of my day with.

~What Not To Wear
~ Say Yes To the Dress
~Say Yes To The Dress: Big Bliss (This is for the big girls, aka, plus sized or "Full Figured")
~Platinum Brides
~My Fair Wedding with David Tutera (Mr. Tutera does some awesome wedding designs)
~Bridezillas (This is only a "sometimes". I get too angry when I watch this one)
*Are we seeing a trend here?
~American Justice
~The First 48
~Cold Case Files
*Oooo, another trend...
~It Only Hurts When I Laugh!
~Worlds Dumbest....
* I get a kick out of seeing people humiliate themselves.
~Man v Food
~Food Network: Challenge
~Amazing Wedding Cakes
~Divine Design (I love Candice Olson)

NOTE: Added 6/10/11 @ 12:47pm

Allow me to clear a couple things up. I don't watch ALL of the listed shows EVERYday! When I DO watch TV, these are shows that I look for and/or prefer to watch. Oh, and I forgot, I also enjoy watching professional soccer.

Now back to our regularly scheduled programs...LOL...I crack me up!!

(I'm thinking it would've been easier just to say that I like the A&E, TruTV, TLC & We TV channels, huh?)

Well, that's all I can think of right now. But there are some episodes of these shows that I'll watch over, and over, and over. You should see Mister M's face when he walks in our room and one of these shows (especially a wedding related show) is on our TV. Priceless! lol

So, do you think when I'm not at home out running errands, I should see a shrink? I mean, watching these types of shows should be called...SOME type of medical term!  I mean, I have NO desire to get married again! NO desire to kill anyone. NO plans of trying ANY of the stunts I see people try on Tru TV! And NO desire to try most of the foods I see featured/prepared on the cooking shows. But I can decorate a mean birthday cake...just nothing like the ones they refer to as AMAZING!

But I sure do enjoy watching this stuff.

Note: I would, actually, like to appear on, "What Not To Wear". I mean have you seen how I dress myself? My 9 year old dresses herself better than I do...oh wait, now THAT'S a stretch.

But ya'll get what I'm saying, right?

So, tell me, what are some of your favorite "guilty pleasure" TV programs?

Moment of nostalgia...

Hey everyone!

Not sure why this subject hit me today. But I was thinking that, in all the years that I've been doing this blog, I've never, at least I don't remember, told you guys about...ME!

Considering I've been on this lovely planet for a little over 40 years now...I won't bore you with my HERstory. I won't lay back on your "cyber sofa" and tell you what life was like when I was a child.

But what I will do, is share my past with you in pictures. A friend of mine got onto me recently for doing my last post without pictures. Well, sweetie...this one's for YOU!!! :-)

Before I get started with this walk down memory lane, I ask that you respect your elders...and DON'T LAUGH at my pictures! :-)

Got it?

Great! Ok...take my hand and let's get started, shall we?

6 or 7 months old
Are ya'll laughing already???

1st Birthday

Me and my momma.

Me & my momma again at my 5th birthday
(that was my FAVORITE dress! Purple velvet...
Don't get no better 'n nat!) lol

Me and my diddy at the Bronx Zoo!
I love you, Dad!!!

1st Grade
(I can hear ya'll...)

2nd Grade

My 1st Communion 

YEP! I was a Girl Scout!
(What a GOOFY smile! Guess it went with that
GOOFY hairstyle!)

Me & my sister before my 7th grade graduation.

Sweet 16!

10th grade
Man, why didn't SOMEONE talk me outta the bangs & the
Flying Nun hairstyle and the AWFUL lipstick?
UGH!

Senior cap & gown photo
Class of '84 IN THA HOUSE!!!

Jr./Sr. Prom
(YES! I had a date...but this ain't and never has been about him!)

Dec. 17, 1988
My wedding day!

Glamour Shot moment
Leather...with the collar up...REALLY?

20th (2008) wedding anniversary photo shoot
(I just LOVE that man!)

Me & Bri...my oldest dear daughter!
We're so cool! :-)

Me and my OTHER favorite guy, Markell!

Me & J'Bear...my baby girl

Me...NOW!
Well, last Summer :-)

Welp, that's about all I have for now! Any questions? Comments? CONCERNS? Lol

Oh, wait, I do have one more....

This was the temperature here, in lovely, Powder Springs, Ga
at 11:15 this morning! At 1pm, it hit 100F!

Ok, seriously...that's all for today. :-) I'm OUT.....

That's a wrap...

Well folks, today marks the end of a new era.

That "era" being 3rd grade!

Today was the last day of school for J'Bear. And needless to say, she's not quite excited. Sure, she's happy that she won't have to get up at 6:15 in the morning. Sure, she's even happy that there's no more homework. SURE, she's happy that there are no more "yucky" lunches :-).

What she's NOT happy about is not being able to see her teacher and her school friends. Nor is she happy about the fact that she's not "formally " learning during the day. (Not to worry...I'm gonna take care of the latter for her, lol)

3rd grade is a pivotal point in a childs educational career. At least here in Georgia it is. 3rd graders are not quite "babies" anymore. And they're not quite "big kids" either. They are (supposed to be) learning to be more responsible human beings. They are learning to write their names in cursive. Learning the multiplication tables and how to divide. And learning to do REAL projects/reports. And now, 95% of the owness is on the student!  No more assignments where mom (or dad) have to do most of the work.

Also, 3rd grade was the year of STANDARDIZED TESTING! Good LAWD!!! This was NOT my idea of fun!  There were 2 standardized test in the month of September ALONE!  Both within a week of eachother. Then there is the CRCT test. The test students plan for all school year long. In fact, they are taught based on this one test. CRCT testing is a week long and it happens the week after returning from Spring Break, in April.

Nothing worse than seeing the kids all stressed out about this test. Reason being, there are a few grades where this test is more "important" than others. Here's how it works. For third graders to be promoted to the 4th grade, they have to pass the READING section of the CRCT. It helps if they do well in the other parts too. But being promoted is hinged on the reading portion. For 5th graders, they have to pass the reading AND math portions to be promoted to the 6th grade.

J'Bear struggles a little with reading. Well, not actually "reading" itself...she's actually an awesome reader and really enjoys it. The part she struggles with sometimes is comprehension. AND, she reads quickly. So by reading quickly, she's missing critical points like maybe, who said what. Kinda hard to explain.

ANYWAY, we she was really a little stressed by this upcoming test. In fact, her teacher even suggested some tutoring in the subject to help her S.L.O.W. down and take it all in, so to speak. So I she was on pins & needles waiting on test scores to come back.

When the scores came back, J'Bears teacher proudly told her that she in fact DID pass the reading portion. Boy, we were SOOO excited when we get that news.

Funny story; the day after Ms. C told J'Bear that she'd passed the reading portion, she told her that she'd also passed the math portion. To which J'Bear promptly announced, "YEAH BABY! I'm going to 6th grade!" LOL Uh, no sweetie, that's not how it works. Lol.

Anyhoo, that was a long way of saying that we can rest this summer break in knowing that J'Bear won't have to retest or possibly get kept back in 3rd grade. Come August, we'll have us a 4th grader. Yeah Baby!!

So in the meantime, I need to find a way to keep this 4th grader entertained over the summer. Hmmm, what to do? What to do? There won't be any family vacations this year (trying to pay off some debt). So me and J'Bear might have some short, not too long trips. We may try and head to Mobile to visit my mom. And we MAY try and hitch a ride to Nebraska with some of our friends. Then, there's the possibility of a extended weekend with the family to Savannah. We'll see!

What's everyone else up to this summer? Anything fun & exciting? Do tell...

Be careful of what you ask for...

...Ok, we've all heard this saying before, "Be careful what you ask for"...and it continues, "because you just may get it?" Well, I've been asking for some Spring/Summer like weather and we haven't gotten it!

I can only speak for myself. But I do NOT like cold weather! Alright, hot weather is not my favorite either.

But in the interest of time, let's stick to the subject of COOL/COLD weather.

Here it is, May 16th and it's in the low 60's/high 50's here in Georgia. I'm so tired of grabbing a jacket and wearing long sleeves, I could SPIT! :-P

I do, however, realize that warmer weather will be here before we know it. And I'll be right here, doing another post about how stinkin HOT it is!

I admit it...I'm never very seldom satisfied!  I don't like to be hot because it makes me sweat. And that's yet another thing I DON'T like. BUT, I don't like being cold either...especially when it's SUPPOSED to be hot! :-)

Now, is everyone as confused as I've made myself? Perfect! Sorry bout that! lol

It is DONE!!!

Ok, so how long ago was it that I said I'd be working on that kitchen for my cute little friend? Oh, doesn't matter when I said it...cuz it's DONE!!!

YIPPY!!

And I still have an entire week before I have to deliver it to the little princess. Sad thing about that is, that gives me 7 more days to add more little girly details to it. :-)

So, wanna see it? Well, DO YA???

Okie dokie...Here it is....

The whole thing!

The Stove.
 (YEP! that's a real oven rack)

Up close of the stove top.
(YEP! that's real "pictures" of gas flames, lol)

The refrigerator/freezer.
(YEP! It has an ice maker & water dispenser)
And the hanging butterfly on the freezer is a chalkboard.

The Sink.
(NOTE: that sink is pink...not the coraly/orangey color that it appears to be.)

Up close of the sink.
(YEP! There's "water" dripping out of the faucet) :-)

The stackable washer/dryer.
(YOU GUESSED IT...there's a window to look inside the washer.
It's simply an acrylic plate with "bubbles" in it to look like water.

Up close of the washer/dryer controls.

Well, whatcha think? I really like it!  I love how girly & prissy it is.  My little friend, Megan, is turning 5 next week. And my hope is to have it set up for her when she gets home from school on Thursday. Her mom does embroidery, And she's gonna put Megans name or something on a cute piece of fabric that will hang in the opening under the sink. So once we get that installed, I'll share another picture.

Anyway, that's it for now. This was SO much fun to build. And SO much easier than the first one I did. NOW, I know what to do!! :-)

I'm out...