389 The Talk? Already?!

After taking the kids to feed the ducks last week we ran through the drive thru at McDonald's. I say ran through, though it was dinner time and the line was long. The girls started talking about college and it went a little something like this. (paraphrasing of course)

K: I wish we were sister's so we could be roommates at Ole Miss.
Me: You don't have to be sisters to be roommates. You don't even have to know each other to be roommates in college.
K: M, we are going to be roommates, right?
M: Yeah! It will be so much fun!
K: And if we have babies we can watch each other's kids!
Me: *brain aneurism* *heart palpitations* *major freak out*
Me: You won't have babies in college!
K: We might.
Me: No, you won't. If you do I will ground you and you will never leave the house.
(calm down people, in reality if we have to ever face this I will be totally supportive)
K and M: BUT YOU CAN'T HELP THAT!
Me: UHHHH! YEAH YOU CAN! *internal discussion with myself as to what can and cannot be said to eight year olds, one of which is not your child*
Me: You would have made some bad decisions to have babies in college.
K and M: Like what?!
Me: *CRAP CRAP CRAP* You are too young to learn about it, but before you are old enough to make those decisions we will tell you.
K and M: *blank stares*

We have of course had little discussions about them being too young to have boyfriends. One of their friends kissed another boy, so we have had that discussion. But when do you have THE talk? And do you just gloss over some subjects? I thought surely I had until she at least hit double digits.

There are so many television shows that address teenage pregnancies and parenthood. It happens. It even happens to really good kids, but I do NOT want it to happen to my child. How do I make sure that it does not happen? What will scare the beejeezus out of her so that she will run screaming from the mere thought of sex when she is older? Or at the very least running with a condom in her hand....

AND WHY AM I THINKING ABOUT ALL OF THIS IN REFERENCE TO MY EIGHT YEAR OLD!!??

Please please please feel free to leave comments with suggestions, links, humorous statements, and anything you think applies. Open a discussion. I can't be the only one with these thoughts. Right? RIGHT?!

388 Ugly Ducklings Don't Always End Up Pretty

Don't worry. This is not a blog about how beauty is on the inside (although appearance can be improved or negated by our personalities). We really did go to feed some ugly ducks. And I know they have an actual name, which I just had to look up for you. They are called Muscovy Ducks. I was just happy that the Canada Geese had left. They are so very aggressive! (hey look, my Canadian friends, I actually called them by the right name) The last time we "fed the ducks" we mostly ended up feeding the geese as they squonked (that is a technical term) and hissed at us. It was not too pleasant, and Connor still talks about the "duck" that bit his finger.
The Three Musketeers were down to only two since Kaitlyn went out of town. Connor was happy to fill in ... though Katie was less than happy to let him. Its a good thing that Mia is a sweetheart to him. She is always so very patient with him. Connor ADORES his Mia.Some ducks were a little hungrier than others. I think Katie taunted this one with bread for a moment too long. It couldn't take it anymore.Mia was also more patient with the ducks.I asked them to actually pose together for a picture, and this is what they did. Silly boogers!They did this all on their own. It was so cute that I pulled the camera back out ... just as they started to move. I did ask them to sit back down for the picture. :) After they tore through a barrel of bread they headed for the playground. Connor was in heaven being able to "wee" to his heart's content. "Wee" is a Connorism for slide. Then the girls went looking for "lucky feathers" and I cringed. The only thing I could think of as "lucky" in connection to feathers was that we would be lucky if they weren't covered in germs and disease. *SHUDDER* Sorry, that whole Avian Flu thing is always in the back of my mind.A beautiful sunset, only slightly ruined by the fact I snapped it on my phone instead of the real camera.And this view made me think of the pics of palm trees and sky ... it is the MidSouth version. Just as pretty and less sand in your swimsuit.This pic just makes me laugh..... These girls just make me laugh!Connor was plumb tuckered after our adventure. He still fought sleep, but once I got him to lay still he konked out pretty soundly. It was a little hard to extricate myself from his grip. And I almost didn't want to, such a sweet little man!

387 Another One of Those Catch Up Posts

My mommy came for a visit. She took some extra days off in front of the long Labor Day weekend, and came to see her babies (me included). Most of our time consisted of sipping coffee and chatting. We were able to get down for lunch with our cousin Barbara. And of course the requisite "Grammy is in Town Shopping" trips (thank you Mommy). We also spent some time in the backyard blowing bubbles. Grammy bought Connor a Buzz Lightyear sprinkler type toy that they had a blast getting wet in. Connor also did his first poo poo in a store potty when we were out at Marshall's (VERY EXCITING) so Grammy bought him a little pool-ish type thing. There was enough to keep us outside a good bit.

Katie's BFF had her birthday party over the weekend as well. The girls spent the night on Friday at Mia's and the party was Saturday. They bobbed for apples, tie-dyed t-shirts, and did potato sack races. We lit up the birthday cake with eight birthday candles and sang Happy Birthday ... Sophie was a little too helpful and she blew out the candles before Mia got a chance. They were re-lit and the wish was made, but the look on Mia's face was priceless when Sophie blew them out first.
On Monday Katie tried to convince us to take her to the Delta Fair. We even loaded up the car and headed out. We tried the back way, and there was a half mile of cars trying to turn in. The main entrance was even worse. It was registering 100+ degrees on the car reading .... NO WAY were we going to try to survive that. I was already less than thrilled about the thought of holding a screaming Connor while Katie rode the rides. I could already hear the screaming in my head.

Instead we took the kids to the Incredible Pizza Company. It is like a Chuck E Cheese blew up ... in a good way. The kids got to play games, and there was air conditioning. Win/Win! Well, it was until Katie blew through her $20 of games and wanted more. And even when she got more she continued to pout.... as seen here
Oh, and Connor rediscovered his love for the swing! The higher, the better.

386 The Big Bed Shuffle

Katie has complained about her mattress for a long time, and I will be the first to agree it isn't the best. More often than not I end up falling asleep while reading her bedtime story and scratching her back, so I have awoken with a sore back a few times. Or, to be more precise, a sore hip. We have been waiting for Connor to be ready to graduate from the toddler bed to a big boy bed, and the time had finally arrived.
We looked at a few places for mattresses, and we ended up checking out the Mattress Warehouse near our house. Connor just wanted to run in circles the whole time while Katie tried every $3000 mattress she could find. She seemed really surprised we were not going to buy her one. She seemed to have her heart set on a Tempurpedic bed (thanks, television commercials, appreciate you). Sure, they are insanely comfortable, but I wasn't planning on spending that kind of money on her until we looked for her first used car. While we were waiting for the salesman to complete a sale we looked over to see Connor with no shoes ... and no shorts. Little Mr. I Want To Wear Big Boy Pants To The Store was not Mr. I Will Tell You When I Need To Go. I am just thankful he wasn't testing a mattress at the time .... SO not how I want to choose a new mattress.
Katie picked out her own mattress. Nice and fluffy (and it wasn't too expensive). She was excited, and she hated waiting until we could go pick it up.... And then we got it home. I put the mattress pad on and the fitted sheet, she jumped onto it and said "IT'S NOT SOFT ANYMORE!" I don't know if you can see the forehead sized dent in her wall where I beat my head against it to get the ungrateful out. It never takes long for her to become unappreciative. She wanted me to leave the sheets off ... because that would be a great way to ruin a new mattress in record time. This iron bed was clearly made before the whole pillow top revolution. I prevailed and finished making her bed ... and it may never look this way again. Her old mattress made its way into Connor's room. When he stops wetting the bed we will upgrade him, but until then it is good to have a mattress that can't be ruined (yes, I have a rubber pad on it anyway). Anything is better than curling 5'9" into a 4' Toddler bed ... which I was doing every night to read bedtime stories, and a few nights I have slept there as well. My back is very excited about all the new big beds! Connor's crib converts to a full size, but we hadn't ordered the conversion rails yet. Luckily the rails to my grandma's bed fit perfectly, so we were back in business. Connor was very excited about his big bed.... until bed time. The first few nights were rough. He must have felt tiny in such a large bed, but he is getting better at sleeping in it. He still puts up a fight, but I think that has more to do with the sleep itself than where he is sleeping.

Sorry for all of the phone pics lately. It is easier to snap a pic with my little phone and keep enjoying the moment than to break out the big camera. I have been trying to enjoy the moment more.

385 Elmwood Revisited

My friends Tricia and John wanted to get away for a little photocation. I had shot Elmwood before with Candy in October, 2008 but I was more than willing to hit it again. Even scorching hot it was totally worth the effort. A great morning with friends and some good pics.

384 Capture Memphis

Help me get published in this year's Capture Memphis book!! Please take a few moments to check it out and throw a few votes and love my way.


My dear friend Tricia Spaulding is also trying to get published, and if you want to give her some love as well I would greatly appreciate it.

383 Shelby Turns Eight

Birthday parties at Shelby's house are always a blast. They rent a HUGE waterslide, so the big kids have fun! They had a baby pool for Connor and Shailey, so the wee ones have fun. And I have so much fun hanging out with Indira,Ryan, and their friends that I think I have the most fun of all. The party started at noon and we stayed until after 7. So much fun and laughter AND GOOD FOOD! I was exhausted when we got home, but it was completely worth it!! (and yes, I took more pics than this but I try to keep pics of others kids to a minimum)Connor loves him some Mia. He insisted on this shot. Such a ladies' man!And with Shailey. It took her a while to warm back up to him, but by the end of the day they were fast friends again.And the highlight! A Bieber effigy ... I mean ... pinata. All these girls just waiting to have a whack at Bieber! "Ohhh Justin! We love you, now hold still while I beat you with this colorful wooden stick!"
Happy Birthday Shelby! Hope it was the perfect start to another wonderful year!