The Kid in You

Whilst traipsing about the blog world I came across a photo contest over at 5 Minutes for Mom. The Nestlé Company is looking for a photo that screams "The Kid in You" and captures the "spirit of childhood".

So, I have perused my hundreds thousands of photos and decided on this photo of my 9 year old son, after all nothing screams "KID" more than the splash at the bottom of a water slide!




Click on over to 5 Minutes for Mom to view the other entries or enter your own photo.

Career Cut Short

In this week's installment of Sincerely 'Fro Me to You, I have decided to share with you my almost celebrity making career. Because I'm sure that had one decision been made differently I would not be sitting here on my computer putting off exercising. I would be a size 4 working for the New York Ballet Company.







Ok, fine, you didn't believe me either. Well the part about delaying exercising is true. So, click on over to Kristen's place for more blast from the past fun.

Holiday Weekend Fun

What do you do when you have 6 adults and 5 children below the age of 9 under the same roof? Anything but stay in the house....


BOWLING: Not bragging, but I was the winner. My brother-in-law brought his game face but not his A-game. Sorry pal.











GRADUATION PARTY: For the oldest of the cousins, who will be attending the University of Southern Mississippi in the fall on a FULL scholarship! We are all so proud of him and we wanted to let him know! I must admit I have a bit of plaid envy over his groovy shoes! (BTW dear college friends, THIS is my first nephew that was born the year we graduated)








Wii PLAYED and PLAYED and PLAYED




ALABAMA JUBILEE FESTIVAL: We even got to "ride" in a balloon while it was on a tether rope. FUN!










ATTEMPTED ONE MORE PHOTO OF THE COUSINS: Ummm, nevermind. Maybe next time.






TOOK A HUNDRED MORE PHOTOS! But I will refrain from sharing them with you. A good time was had by all and I'm sure I speak for everyone in saying I can't wait until the next time we are all together! And hopefully sometime soon with my brother and sister-in-law who are stationed in South Korea. Thanks for letting me share my Memorial Day weekend with you!

Ready, Set......NO!

I guess it's true, close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades. Because it sure didn't matter when it came to the Princess getting her ears pierced.

This little saga began, well, almost 7 years ago when friends started asking me if I was going to get my infant daughter's ears pierced. "Absolutely not" was my answer. Like I needed one more thing to take care of at the time, after all my kids are only 26 months apart. The hubby and I decided that she could get her ears pierced when she was old enough to take care of them. Which, to me, sounds reasonable.

Now, fast-forward to about 1 month ago when the Princess asked if we could get her ears pierced. Of course, the timing was not good. We were about to go to the beach and this germ-freak nurse mom was worried about getting an infection from something at the beach. Plus, I had to do some research and find out who did the procedure under operating room sanitary conditions! So, we told her that when we got back from the beach we would find a time to go. Which brings us to Sunday afternoon. I had talked to friends and did some research on my own and decided that Club Libby Lu's would be our ear piercing place of choice. And we thought making it a surprise would be fun!

After a fun weekend with family, we decided to make the piercing stop on our way back home. We arrived at said location and the Princess went banana's over all the "cute" things in the store. I spotted the ear piercing sign at the checkout counter and pointed it out to the Princess. She was so excited and ready to commit! We signed the forms, filled out a certificate, picked out the starter earrings and headed towards the chair.

**I must interject here that the little girls who worked at the store appeared as though NONE of them were over the age of 16. I kept looking for a supervisor or store mom that would be doing the actual "surgical" procedure. But no one who fit that description was ever seen**

The ear guns were cocked and loaded with the beautiful sapphire stones and into the chair the Princess went. She was getting her ears pierced, finally. The balking began immediately after the little store girl placed Sharpie dots on each lobe. So to help ease the fear, the hubby got into the chair and put the now nervous princess in his lap. We all began our "but they will look so pretty" and the "but you have been begging to do this". The sweet brother even said, "but you won't get that certificate for your room". Nope, nothing doing. The hubby was quick to point out to the little store girls that I could get mine pierced too and show the Princess how it's done. Thank you. For all that matters he could have gotten his done for the point to be made.

So we all left Club Libby Lu with our ear lobes still intact. Maybe next time...or not.

3 Day Getaway

Off to my parents for the Memorial Day weekend. See you next week for more blogging fun! Y'all come back now, ya' hear!

Pomp and Circumstance

I love this carnival, so once again I am participating.







In honor of the graduation time of year, I decided to dig up a photo of me on my graduation day wwwwwaaaaayyyyyy back in May of 1986. Unfortunately due to my frequent instances of "some-timers" I have a vague recollection of my high school graduation.

Here's the things I do remember from that day:

**Being the salutatorian of my class and having to give a speech

**Which also reminds me that I had a scheduled upper GI (gastrointestinal) series done to check for gastritis-- inflammation of the stomach-- related to me being a very nervous individual at that time in my life. You'll be glad to know that I have since learned to relax a little.

**I also remember my best friend from my previous school being there (hey Karen).

**Oh yes, and after graduation all of my classmates, all 18 or so of us went to somebody's house and watched a couple of movies. I do indeed remember one of them being "Children of the Corn". I'm not sure I actually watched the movie, being so nervous and all.

**"We got the style and we got the kicks, cause we're the class of '86" --what in the world did that mean???? But that's something else I remember! Funny.




Yep, I'm looking pretty young there. And yes, for you observant types I am sporting a MULLET. That's another day and another 'Fro Me to You Carnival. So hop on over the Kristen's and check out some other carnival participants.

Top 10 Reasons

you may have missed the final American Idol of 2008.

You:

1. live under a rock

2. were at work

3. have small children and were watching Teletubbies to keep the peace

4. were forced invited to have dinner at your in-laws

5. experienced a power outage

6. had a failure of your electronic recording equipment

7. got the new WiiFit today and could not stop playing it

8. were worshipping the Lord at a Wednesday night service

9. were under a storm warning and the weatherman held your Fox station hostage

10.were not smart enough to remember that your DVR only records up to the exact hour and you missed everything after they announced the winner of AI 2008 (this sounds like I may know what I am talking about)


Have no fear people, I have done an extensive YouTube search for you because "I am your brother, your best friend for ever..." Ahem, anyway, I have found the rest of the American Idol that I you may have missed. Unfortunately it begins with the judges review of both candidates. This would be where they decided to retract all their statements from last night, you remember where they handed the competition to Disney Dave. Ummm, hello, he lost by 12 MILLION votes. Looks like Archuletta will be headed to Orlando to work. Next stop Disney's Aladdin float. I can totally see him singing "It's a Whole New World". Come on, you KNOW you can too.

Anyway, without further ado, I present you with the last several minutes of American Idol 2008:

Let's Get Ready to Rumble........

Wait a minute, hold on, I have to make sure I have my TV on the correct channel. Ok, it is the right channel, but it looks like the beginning of a professional boxing match. Hello, are you kidding me?? This IS supposed to be a singing show Mr. Director Man.

Wow, I totally should have waited about 15 minutes, pressed play on the DVR and fast-forwarded through the boxing introduction. Wait, the guys even have on shiny boxing robes. C-O-R-N-Y! Oh dear, they even scared up Jim Lampley. Is that Brylcreem in his hair? I'm just asking.

Looks like the powers that be at American Idol are going to continue with the boxing theme. Soooo, when you can't beat them, you might as well join them. With that being said, I will rename my title and proceed on with the boxing singing show.

Welcome sports, er, AI fans!! Tonight will be the battle of the David's: Little David Archuletta vs. Rockin' David Cook. I predict the competition will be fierce and tough. But being the last show and all the stops pulled out, the competition could be like Muhammed Ali vs. Pee-Wee Herman, Sugar Ray Leonard vs. Tiny Tim, Super Dave Osborone vs. Little Disney Dave. You get the picture. And in my humble opinion, the superior boxer, of course, being David Cook. (Hey, it's my blog)

Round One: *DING*

David Cook
"I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For"-- Wow, he's got the pancake make-up on pretty thick tonight and the spiky up-do going on. Looking good. He seems a bit stressed, but sang the song great. I loved the ending. Fabulous. The judges seemed to have liked it. This is a good start for my buddy Dave. WOOT! Rock on bro'.

David Archuletta
"Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me"-- Seems he's going for the big money right off the bat with Elton John. Let's see what junior can do. One question, why does the child squint so much?! Oh my, he really pulled that one off. That might be the best yet for him. Yikes, look out Super Dave C.

Results: David Cook came out swinging with some jabs and hooks, while David Archuletta got in a few uppercuts and cross-punches before the round was over. Looks like round one has ended in a tie, sending each David back into their corner.

Round Two: *DING* *DING*

David Cook
The southpaw comes out with a heavy barage of punches with the song "Dream Big". Personally, I really liked the sound. It's not a song I am familiar with, but it was David's usual great performance that sets him apart. The judges thought it was just ok. Whatever. I am getting the feeling here they have decided they want Disney Dave to win this thing.

David Archuletta
"In This Moment" was Little D's choice for his second song. *YAWN* Here we go with the hand waving mosh pit. Seemed like a safe choice for him. Nothing spectacular, pretty much his status quo. The judges liked it, especially Simon, despite the fact he thought Little D's song title was a bit "cocky".

Results: In keeping with the boxing theme, this round's performance reminded me of the Three Stooges. You remember when Moe would put his hand on Curly's forehead to keep him away, and Curly kept swinging his arms trying to punch Moe but just couldn't reach. Round two winner: David Cook!

ROUND 3: *DING* *DING* *DING*

David Cook
"The World I Know" by Collective Soul. I love this song and love the amateur Cook's rendition of it. I repeat, I would buy his album. The judges liked it but thought it was just ok. Simon thought it was the wrong song at the wrong time. What does that British guy know?? Sheesh.

David Archuletta
Well, the underdog is going all out with a combination punch by singing the Beatles "Imagine". He is still singing with his eyes closed. Good song choice for the little guy. The tweens will really be texting this evening. As he listens to the judges I can only think of the YouTube video made of him constantly licking his lips to a song called "Lip Gloss". Go see it!

Results:It brings me great sadness to announce round three went to the tenacious Little David A. This round sent David Cook back to his corner for an ice pack to his forehead.

PREDICTION:
Tonight's battle was a real bruiser. The guys went head to head in the ring with punches and jabs galore. I'm not going to say David Archuletta TKO'd David Cook by any means. However, Super David Cook got a couple of good rounds in before Disney Dave sent him back to his corner in the final round! This one is going to be close folks. It will all depend on what style the voter likes. I am still going to have to go with my favorite David Cook as the winner.


Th-th-th-that's all folks! That's a wrap. Keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars. Now get on outta' here and get to voting! And be sure to head on over to BooMama's and check out all the other American Idol reviews!

Happy Birthday to You

Seems like yesterday; however, this was Caleb just 9 short years ago:




And this is him today, on his 9th birthday:



As a class project, Caleb was asked to write a poem about himself. His poem describes himself perfectly, all the way down to the Legos surrounding the poem. Well, except for the word "weird". When I asked him why he put that he responded, "I couldn't really think of anything else to put." The word Peanut is significant because this is what we nicknamed him after seeing him during our first ultrasound.





I guess if I had to add a few more things about him they would be:

*Loves dessert (obviously related to yours truly)
*Loves sushi and anything with teriyaki sauce
*Eats no red meat, not even with teriyaki sauce
*Tender hearted
*Enjoys helping others, ex. rounded up a group of kids in 1st grade to welcome the new kid, a victim of Hurricane Katrina

And last but not least:

*mamma's Boy, nothing wrong with that. NOTHING!


The Lord has truly blessed me with this little boy who is slowly turning into a young man! Happy Birthday, Caleb!

I are educated

This note was spotted by my friends at a local fast food restaurant here in big town Alabama. It HAD to be shared with the blog reading world.



Apparently we is short of English teachers too!

Saturday: Sushi and Swimming

If that title is not an alliteration then I don't know what is! Happy Ms. Wilfong?? I did learn something in English class and actually used it correctly. I think.

Anyway, let's get to Saturday's activities. Nothing special on the calendar today, the hubby is working all day and we had a birthday party to attend tonight. So, we spent the better part of the morning in our jammies and playing the Wii. I think sometimes you just have to do that for sanity's sake. Today was our day.

This afternoon I received a phone call requesting the princess spend the night with her best friend. The child's social calendar rivals Miss America's. So, I packed her up and sent her on her way (thanks Amy). Which left me and my favorite son with a little one on one time. Ok, he's my only son, but he's still my favorite one.

After a trip to super Target, we decided on one of his favorite things for supper. Sushi. Yep, an almost 9 year old that loves some sushi. This is the child who wouldn't eat a hamburger or steak for any amount of money, not even for the Wii game of his choice. Tonight we tried three different sushi rolls: a cucumber roll and two different types of crab rolls. They all were delicious.







In the last photo he had just stuffed a HUGE piece of sushi in his mouth. I think somewhere in the sushi handbook it states the sushi pieces must be consumed in one bite. And that's just the way he eats it, and always with chopsticks. Always.

Next on the agenda was a birthday party for one of his classmates. The party was held at the University of Alabama's Outdoor Pool complex. It's a very nice place for a swimming party. There is a huge slide, a lazy river water and the water is heated, which is good since the party was from 7-9pm. And it's not really that warm in Alabama at night yet.









He swam his little heart out and I think the final count for going down the slide was 21 times!! Needless to say, about 5 minutes after his head hit the pillow he was sound asleep.

Today was a fun relaxed day and I got to spend a few precious hours with my baby boy, who will be 9 on Monday. Where has all the time gone?

Happy Anniversary

I am once again participating in We are That's Family's 'Fro Me to You Thursday. I enjoyed it so much last week, I thought I would participate again this week. I love looking at photos from the past and looking at hairstyle's and clothing. Good times!

**This is a post I made earlier in the week, so I hope it is not cheating.


Thirty years ago, May 13, 1978, my mom and step-dad were married in Mobile, Alabama.





I would be the little brown headed cutie on the bottom left with the FAB-U-LOUS blue dress with the itchy looking lace collar! Nice. Thanks mom for the groovy dress.

I just wanted to wish them a very happy anniversary and here's to 30 more filled with love, laughter and good health.

If you stopped by today please leave my folks a happy comment in honor of their special day! Thank you!