30 days

has September, April, June and NOVEMBER!!! And what do you know? I managed to blog all 30 of them. Granted, there were a few pathetic posts here and there. This one included! But I made it on here every single day like I planned to do. What an accomplishment. Now if I could direct this type of motivation towards something productive...

Maybe instead of giving a monthly donation to the YMCA, I could actually visit the place more than once in 4 weeks. Now that is a clever idea! Maybe I could shed the 5 lbs I have packed on since I stopped feeding the babe a year ago. Maybe I could find my quads, glutes or abs. The only muscle that gets any exercise on this body is the old masseter. Yep. She's chewing juuuuust fine. Maybe I could turn the pork sausages(Sonja...) into Laura's lean meat at least. But let's think about the number of times I have mentioned this over the past year. And lets think of how many times I have followed through with this plan. Yea. Not looking too promising. I was going to start with spinning tomorrow at 5:30 am. Seeing how I left the house at 10:30 am to see patients in Crossville and Cookeville, only to return at 10:18 pm, I think I will put that off one more day. I am sure there will be another great excuse tomorrow that will justify my skipping on Thursday...

Or maybe I will thoroughly clean the house tomorrow and keep it that way for the remaining 30 days in December. That would be a good goal. But that would mean shipping Crosby off to live with someone else for 30 days and I am not thrilled with that idea. I guess the house will remain a wreck.

Maybe I should shoot for something less lofty. Like getting in bed every night before 10:30 pm. What wonders that would do! I actually follow through with that one, I might have enough energy to visit the YMCA at 5:30 am. And if I was home by 6:45 am, I could actually sit down and do my CBS lesson before the day with Crosby begins. And just maybe I would be motivated by my new found energy to say on top of the housework by doing a little each day...

Hmmm. Who knows what is in store for the next 30 days. Let's hope it is at least one of the above!

Mondays with Crosby

At 11:24 am, Crosby Fox turned 1 year and 48 weeks old!!! Only FOUR MORE WEEKS until somebody turns TWO! What in the world? Is that even possible? I kind of proved that it is possible a little earlier tonight but more on that later.

We have a diagnosis...nasty sinus infection! Hopefully a round of anitbiotics will do the trick. You know Blake is feeling pretty bad when he stays home from work. That is just not something he does. After 3 weeks of feeling bad, I hope is is feeling 100% soon. Not to mention he has tickets to a VERY exciting game this weekend in Atlanta...

Someone started out eating well this, dreary, rainy night...

Can't go wrong with black bean quesadillas with red pepper and cumin...
But how quickly he was distracted by his love... I suppose I should have put the camera down and used the opportunity address table manners... I am pretty sure there will be another opportunity for that. More than likely, tomorrow morning! Then the muscles came back out... We called dinner officially done with that sweet move and got down to play...
Because it is November 29th and we are just FOUR WEEKS away from someone's SECOND birthday, I thought I would go old school. Perspective pictures...

Crosby and his bear... The straight leg shot...didn't go so well!!!

Crosby and his bear in his chair...
Mug shot...

Only after he figured out how to flip the flash down, doing it over and over...

And finding it pretty funny!!!

Yep. It has been nearly two years since these were taken...

Sigh.

Chaos

It was kinda nuts around here today. I left for church at 8:20, by my lonesome. My boys have been snotty and stuffy and runny nosed. Me too. But I have a 2nd grade small group that I teach so I didn't want to miss Sunday School. And I am on the up, so don't think I was spreading a whole bunch of germs!! Got home around 10:15. Helped Blake clean a bit, which made me think he, also, was on the up. Crosby was pretty clear all day. After the little one had lunch, I put him down for a nap. Then I headed back out the door to participate in the "walk through" of my brother's soon-to-be (Tuesday!!!) house. So fun. Very cute. Elated for them!!! Then I stopped by Big Lots to pick candy for a project I have been working on for the Family Christmas breakfast at OCC. Ended up finding a really good deal on Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head and Matchbox cars while I was in there. A few gifts for Cros can be marked off the list! With goodies in tow, I headed back to the West Side to attempt a few Christmas card pics for a friends. The good ole cell phone died while in route so I was out of touch with the world. Uh oh. I got to the park for picture time and it was so cold that John Christopher's little nose turned as red as Rudolph's but looked more like a faucet. We got MAYBE one picture that could work... Try again tomorrow?? Got back in the car and headed to Michael's to get a few more things needed for the OCC project. Ended up with an easel, rocking chair (gotta paint it...could be interesting...) and finger paints for little bit. A few more things marked off the list!

AHHHHHH. Time to go back home.

Walked in to hear Mickey's voice coming from the bonus room with a weak sounding "We're up here" from the dad. Uh oh.

Blake: "Did you not get my text???"

Me: " My phone died. Why? Are you feeling bad?"

Blake: "Yea. I have fever...101."

Me: Uh oh.....

Me: "What time did Crosby wake up?"

Blake: "3:15"

(his text from 4:26pm was requesting I hurry home because he was feeling bad. Meanwhile I am leisurely strolling around Micheal's..opps)

I had no sick food to whip up. So, I removed the PJs Crosby had been wearing since last night and put on actual clothing for the first time around 6:00pm. We headed out to get soup for the dad. He requested Gatorade as well but I forgot that. Got the mom and babe fed while hearing the dad upstairs gagging after about bite number 6 of his chicken noodle soup. Not good. Decided it would be best to bathe Crosby and get him in bed so I could run back out to get Gatorade. Did that. Put little one down and headed out the door. Got Gatorade and gasoline for the sliver bullet and headed back home. Delivered the Gatorade to the hubs and heard the babe screaming in his bed. Never fell asleep apparently. Finally got him to bed around 8:45.

Woah!!!!

I was supposed to be working on projects ALL DAY LONG. Oddly enough, I didn't get started until 9:00pm. And here it is 1:47am and I am blogging about it. Why? I am not sure! How many more days are there in November??? I can't fail now...

I am pretty sure I will be dreaming about this...

or this...

Now. Just a few more things to get done before I call it a day... sigh.

Fun Times

Having dinner with these gals and their hubbies makes for a fun Thanksgiving weekend tradition! Looking forward to next year already!!!

Family Shot

I barely pulled out the camera over the past two days and am now regretting it. It probably has something to do with the fact that we all have clogged sinus cavities. Or maybe it has something to do with the fact that Blake give me Tylenol Cold to take. Great idea, minus the NIGHTIME formula part. Yeah...now I know why could hardly keep my eyes open on the way to Columbia today. And why I took a nap after lunch, forcing myself to get up after an hour because I didn't want to miss the entire Iron Bowl!!!

Seeing how I have already taken a second dose. I should stop now. As we all know, Ambien and Blogger do not mix well. I don't want to know about Tylenol Cold Nighttime and Blogger!!!! WAR EAGLE!!!

Happy Thanksgiving

We have so much to be thankful for! Hope you had a wonderful day!

Tokens

Sarah, so generously, gave Blake and me tickets to the live Tokens show at the Ryman. I had heard it being advertised at church and on Facebook. I never really took the time to see what this "Tokens" business was all about. I heard a few people say they were planning to go. They are fun people. Surely it must be fun if fun people are going. Right? When I saw Sarah comment on Facebook that she had 2 tickets, I thought, "Why not? What else do we have to do on Sunday night? It will be something different for us to try." So, I sent a message telling her I would take them.

Best decision I have made in a LOOOOONG time. It was absolutely phenomenal. Here is the rundown of the guest, taken from the Tokens website:

Our musical guests included Keb' Mo', Cherryholmes, Buddy Greene, Odessa Settles, and The Nashville Choir, all supported by Our Most Outstanding Horeb Mountain Boys, led by Jeff Taylor and featuring Chis Brown, Aubrey Haynie, Byron House, and Pete Huttlinger. Shane Claiborne, author of Economy of Love and Irresistible Revolution, gave us tangible experiences of neighborliness. And our Tokens Radio Players--Greg Lee, Barry McAlister, Merri Collins, and David Fleer, along with special guest Darrell Waltrip

We had a great time. The musicians were spectacular. The skits were HILARIOUS. The interviews were interesting and inspiring. Not to mention that it was my first time at the Ryman! (Yes, I have lived in TN for the better part of my life and, no, I have never been to the Ryman. Pathetic...)

I owe a big ole THANK YOU to Sarah for getting me there! And I would HIGHLY recommend that you make it to the next show. I know I will be there!!!

Praying for safety as we, along with lots of other folks, travel for Thanksgiving. We have so much to be thankful for. One huge blessing involves my cousin, Leah, and her husband, Jay. He will be able to leave the hospital and spend time AT HOME for Thanksgiving!!!! What a gift...

Imposter

Who is the dark headed girl posting her picture on the blog???

As Crosby would say, "I nu nu know???"Oh wait. That is me.

Woooooooooooah... Went in for a highlight and came out with total darkness.

I'm not one for self portraits but I didn't know if people would recognize me at church on Sunday. And I kinda need opinions. Was this a huge mistake???

So, maybe don't tell me if it is really bad...

Mondays with Crosby

At 11:24 am, Crosby Fox turned 1 year and 47 weeks old!!! I cannot believe his 2nd birthday is just around the corner. Man do I have a lot to plan for in the next few weeks. Too bad I end up waiting until the last minute to get it done! At least we have a date and invitations picked out. And I have someone that can make a shirt to MATCH the invite. How clever is that!?! Now I just need to commit and order them. I hate committing. What if there is a cuter invite out there? I have issues...

Crosby and I spent the whole day at home. Well, almost. We did run to the bank, take recycling and pick out paper for a birthday banner I need to make. (Yes, Jill...I make them! And you can count on one for Ann Cortner so no worries! And I will give you the number to the cake lady. She lives in C'Town and made your shower cake!) That only took us 45 minutes, tops. Crosby had nap bed head. I had no shower. We were looking good! I just wanted a day here with nothing on the agenda. We could stay in our PJs all day. Time to take a nap if I wanted. And I did. It was nice to have nothing to do. I need to have one of these days once a week. I think I will start now. Kinda like I am going to start exercising at least 3 days a week...

On days we stay home, someone wants to be a fussbucket...

Not sure what that is about. I guess he is bored with all of his Christmas/Birthday toys from last year. Good thing we are about to trade a few things out and add a new things too. Maybe that will turn this half cry/half laugh face into a big ole grin...

This one is growing like a weed...

I am already needing to let out buttons on longalls I just knew would never fit this fall/winter...

And talking. He is saying everything now. Repeats everything. Remembers everything...

While driving on Old Hickory Blvd last night, we had a conversation that went something like this:

Cros: Lulu's house

Me: Does this look like Lulu's road?

Cros: Yea. Lulus car. BuBuddy's car.

Me: Are you thinking about Lulu and GranBuddy's driveway?

Cros: Yea.

Me: What else was in the driveway?

Cros: Tractor (referring to the Kubota he talked GranBuddy in to driving him around on in the dark with the head lights on...)

Me: Was there a dog in the driveway?

Cros: Greta

He is obsessed with his Music Together CDs. He has started to sing a few of the lines which is pretty adorable. We seriously have to listen to 1 of 2 CD's every time we go somewhere. He asks as soon as he gets in the car. "Music? Music? Music?" He will continue to ask until he hears it...

He still sleeps like a champ. We had lots of 4 hour naps this past week. Mother's Day Out days are hard because he only gets an hour and a half. It can make for a crabby boy around dinner time. Good thing dad walks in the door and chases the crab right out of him!

He is confused about this new tree. We had to call out a stump grinder before we could plant our maple. I asked him where his stump went. He said "I nu nu know??" Then he pointed to the ground and said, "Dirt!" That was all he could find. He is missing the stump already...

He isn't a big dance but he decided to bust a few moves before heading down the slide...

He was feeling it for a few seconds there...

Pointing out an airplane in the sky while swinging. He can multitask just like his mama!!!

He literally is changing overnight. We get to see new tricks every single day. I sure do love this stage with my boy. Who am I kidding? I have loved every stage with my boy...

Making a call

If he could figure out how to setup an account, he would own a cell phone...

Shutterfly

Shutterfly is offering 50 free cards to anyone who posts something about them on their blog! How great of a deal is that??

Why would I mind sharing that I have used them to buy prints and calendars. I even made "Crosby's 1st Birthday" photo album a few months ago and it turned out soooo cute! He loves pulling it out and reading about his birthday. He points out all of his friends and family. It turned out super cute...minus the one misspelling that Blake and I missed. Uhhhhhhhhh. I wish Blake had never even pointed that out. But that has nothing to do with Shutterfly...

Go on over and visit them yourself! And you can see his birthday book below!

Does 3 posts in one day get me off the hook for the next few days???

crosbysfirstbirthday

Click here to view this photo book larger

ReLeafing Day

The Nashville Tree Foundation partnered with Nashville Electric Service, Cumberland River Compact and Impact Nashville to plant 300 trees in our area of town. We were the lucky recipients of a flame amur maple !!!

Right around 8:30 am, these two gentlemen showed up with shovels in hand and planted our new tree...
Part of the aim for this project was to plant "power line friendly" trees. Since our front yard already has 2 trees and isn't very large, we decided to plant it in the back. We lost a maple last year and thought this would be a nice replacement. Maybe we will look out our back door in a few years and see this smiling back at us...

Thank you Nashville Tree Foundation!!! We love our new tree!!!

2nd runner up

I just found these pictures from last year! This was the other costume that Crosby had to wear for Halloween. I am pretty sure this scarecrow wouldn't have scared a thing...
In fact, I am pretty sure he was one of the cutest scarecrows I have ever seen! Just look at the straw "hair" sticking out of the top of his hat...

I meant to post these last year but they were on Lulu's camera. I loaded them to my laptop a while back and just found them. I had to share. I love finding pictures of my chubby boy that I didn't even know I had...
I think I am going to keep looking...

Reminiscing

I did it last year on this very day. I thought I would do it again one year later.


The words could read the same. Only this year, he is approaching 2. And I am pretty sure I love him more now that I did back then...

(I have been trying to post this for a few hours and it won't upload. Who knows. Kinda ruins the feel of the post but I am tired and can wait no longer..)

Reliving the best day of my life over and over and over never gets old. I pray it never does...

Gold for cash

Although I am pretty sure this "gold" has lost all of it's value...

A.) Why did I never use this????

B.) Why can't I throw it away???

Liquid gold gone to waste. It's almost painful to admit I allowed this to happen. There were times that I cried over a spilled half ounce. I should be ashamed. I am. So, I'll just hang on to it a little while longer...

"She"

So my settings are totally off in these pictures but that is not the point. He had just gotten his hair cut (for the 2nd time) the day this picture was taken. I thought it turned out pretty adorable...
He was wearing green pants, a shirt full of red tractors, corn, trees, cows, horses, etc. and red Keds...

The hair was considerably shorter than it was when we entered Snip Its...

Yet he was still referred to as "she" 2 times that day!!!

The other day, he was wearing a blue long sleeved polo shirt, blue and white gingham pants and sky blue Riley Roo shoes. The child was practically BLUE from head to toe. A stranger passed us as we sat eating our cupcakes on the side of the street and she says, "Oh, I bet SHE loves eating that!!!"

"Yes, she does..."

Seriously? Does he look like a girl? There is no smocking on his chest. There is no pink. What it the deal? Do I need to shave his head and dress him in camo? Or have "BOY" tattooed on his forehead.

Of course I don't want to embarrass anyone so I just go along with it. But really? Does he not LOOK like a boy??

Mondays with Crosby

At 11:24 am, Crosby Fox turned 1 year and 46 weeks old!!! We spent this Monday hanging out in Franklin. Peek A Boo Playhouse in Cool Springs, to be exact. It was pretty fun! Crosby played in the kitchen for about 2 minutes...

He scaled the rock wall a few times with a little assistance from mom...don't tell him I told you that part. He thought he did it all by himself! He is pretty sure Climb Nashville should be our next stop. I am confident the Brocks would disagree! One day my little climber. One day... The remainder of the time was spent following children around as they rode in this police car...

He was being so sweet and had such good patience. But as soon as they got out, he jumped right in. The fire truck wouldn't do. He wanted to be in the police car...

He agreed to leave his ride long enough to sit at a picnic table with Margaret for a moment...

Then he had a great idea...

He would just push her all over the place! Seeing how Margaret likes to roll backwards, he got quite the workout trying to push her forward!

We had a little lunch afterward at Wolfgang Puck. Margaret was more than happy to give a big "cheese" for the camera!

Is she precious or what??

Then there is Crosby, doing his latest trick...

The fake laugh...

Anytime the adults start laughing at something...

He busts out in "laughter"...

It is totally fake...

But totally hilarious!!!

The love is totally real between these two...

Well, that is until they are ready to go!

Would you LOOK at those faces!!! Totally unstaged!!! Crack me up why don't you??