GI Joe, The Real American Dentist

I wanted to find a dentist for the kids that was closer to our house and their school. I Googled it and found one just down the road from my office. Anastasia had her check-up yesterday and I was SO pleased with the office. It's built just for children so everything is tailored to them. They give them cool sunglasses to wear when the bright light is on. The gloves are cherry-flavored and the toothbrushes are SpongeBob. The dentist wore a GI Joe shirt. Seriously....it was a t-shirt with GI Joe on it. Heck, the place was so cool I'm going to try and be a patient. Stickers, sunglasses, a SpongeBob toothbrush and toothpaste...what's not to love?

Things You never thought you'd say

I was prepared to utter parenting mantras like "Because I said so." I knew I would one day find myself saying things my parents and even my grandparents said. What I was unprepared for is sentences such as the one I uttered to my husband recently.

"She's eating naked because she doesn't want to spill tomato sauce on the tutu." The words had barely crossed my lips before I stopped and thought how absured they sounded, yet in the context of our dinner that night, they made perfect sense. Anastasia, Ainsley and I had been to the ballet that afternoon and Ainsley had come home an inspired little girl. She was prancing around in her tutu and ballet slippers all afternoon. When it came time to eat, she stripped down so she wouldn't get tomato sauce from the ravioli on the tutu. I appreciated her thoughtfulness since we have learned tulle is pretty hard to launder.

Loop Lope

This morning I had the opportunity to run in a once-in-a-lifetime race. It was the Cades Cove Loop Lope, sponsored by Friends of the Smokies. I chose the 5k instead of the 10 mile race. I probably could've done the ten miles, but I haven't run that far since before Allie was born so I decided to play it safe.

Last night's storms cleared the way for an amazing morning. I parked at the picnic area and trudged down to get my t-shirt and race bib. It was quite a hike from the car to the registration and back again to deposit my t-shirt and goody bag. I ran into quite a few familiar faces before the race began so that was fun. The 10 mile race began first and then we walked about 200 yards or so down to the 5k start. The sun was up over the mountains now and the cove was bathed in that beautiful light of early morning. The mountains were crisp and green with the freshness of spring.

My achilles heel of racing this distance is I always go out too fast. My watch read 7:58 after the first mile....whoa Lamar...slow down. We started around the cove and then cut across the valley at Sparks Lane. The road was muddy from the rain last night so you really had to watch your footing. I skipped the two water stations and kept plugging away. There was one woman ahead of me who looked to be in her late 40's. There was a girl hot on my heels who looked to be in her early 20's. We ran together for the last mile. With less than a mile to go, someone walking the course in the opposite direction said to us "There are only three women ahead of you." Say what??? I was in 5th place at that point. As we neared the end I saw some cones and kicked it into high gear. Sadly, those cones were short of the actual finish line so I was unable to hold on to that 5th spot. Still, a 6th place overall women's finish is the best I've ever done! I'm not sure of my age division placing yet since I couldn't stay for the awards.

It truly was one of the best races I've ever run. I wish I could've snapped some pictures along the way because it was simply breathtaking!!

Hey Coach!

Anastasia's soccer coach (and the father of one of her teammates) had to be away this weekend for his son's soccer tournament in middle Tennessee so Jamie was tapped to fill in as coach at this week's match-up. He spent forever tackling his roster and arranging how the girls would play in each quarter. With the coach's daughter absent we only had five players so it took some time for him to get it sorted out the way he wanted. Yesterday I bought him on official soccer whistle so he would look the part.

The game was a tough one. The opposing team was the best we've faced all season. It was hot and the girls were sluggish. One of the girls had to leave at half-time so it blew Jamie's plan out of the water. It was a tough loss for the Dragons, but a good learning experience. They still scored some goals (including Anastasia...that girl can run!) and had a relatively good time. I'm so proud of them. They are working so well together.

A Good Laugh

Allie is terribly sick with a double ear infection and is going to need tubes in her ears. So now, after spending three days with snot all over my shoulder and wiping her nose, I too am sick. While I was at Target picking up my prescriptions today I saw this in the book department:

It just made me laugh out loud. And goodness knows I needed that today!

Who's the leader of the club that's made for you and me?

Thanks to the generosity of a friend and his family, we're getting to stay at a pretty awesome resort when we travel to Florida for our vacation. They helped us secure reservations at Disney's Bay Lake Tower. Today, Matt dropped off our reservation confirmation. I was expecting a piece of paper.....clearly I underestimate the power of the Mouse.
Yup, that's our reservations in a red velvet pouch complete with grosgrain ribbon trim. How cool is that?!?!? The kids are getting excited despite the fact we still have many weeks to go. Ainsley has already had me checking the height restrictions for some of the rides to know if she will be tall enough to ride them this year. Anastasia is hoping for a trip down Splash Mountain. I'm thinking not!

Forget Me Not

After forgetting several picture days and other events in the life of our family, Jamie and I are taking a new approach.

This calendar now graces the wall of our kitchen. It isn't very pretty, but it has become a necessity. Each family member has a designated color and his/her doctor visits, school programs and work functions are written in that hue. We hung it up over the weekend and immediately it was filled with a myriad of colors. The dang thing looks like a rainbow exploded on it. In addition to each family member's color, there are colors to represent family activities, birthdays and holidays. I think it is really going to help us remember those things that can sometimes slip through the cracks in a busy family. Jamie's comment to me was, "How in the world did we ever get along without it?"

Let's go fly a kite

The girls got kites in their Easter baskets and have been dying to fly them ever since. We've tried three times in the last week but haven't gotten the wind we needed. We had a little bit of luck this afternoon.

We managed to get the kites aloft for about four minutes. Regardless of the actual flight time of said kites, we all five enjoyed some time outdoors. It has been an amazing weekend.

Soccer Sensation

Okay, so sensation may be a strong word for Ainsley's soccer skills, but she's having fun (and staying hydrated based on the insane amount of water breaks she takes!). Her team is a little sloppy, but gosh they look cute out there on the field! I so enjoy our two nights a week out on the soccer fields. It makes our schedule a little crazy, but it's only until the end of May.

My girls

I'm always posting pictures of Allie because, well...let's face it...babies are just so darn fun to photograph. But I have two other beauties in my life. Here's a recent picture of them out in the dogwood tree.

Running on Empty

They say you have to spend money to make money and the same goes for energy. It may seem counterproductive to go for a run when you are exhausted, but I've always found the opposite to be true. If I make time for exercise, I am paid back 10-fold with energy and other good stuff.


This is what my calendar looks like this month. It's insane and sometimes I wish I could light it on fire!

This week I added something to my calendar. I wrote (in pen!) "Go for a run" in big letters in Monday's box. I planned ahead and packed my running clothes in the car Sunday night. I did 4 miles on the greenway around noon. It was wonderful salve for my hectic life. I soaked up the sunshine and just generally enjoyed being out in my community. I did the same today at lunch. 4 miles on the greenway and this time, I left from my office so I didn't use the car. What good is it to be out enjoying God's creation if my carbon footprint falls heavy on the ground behind me? This plan was all well and good until the last stretch of my run which was up a brutal hill. I think next time I'll alter my route a bit!

Kick Some Grass

Anastasia had a great game over the weekend. She scored several goals and had a few assists. It was a fabulous day to be outside and we really enjoyed the game. I'm continually impressed by her improvement. She's really coming into her own as a true soccer player. I'm so proud!

7 months old

Allie turned 7 months old yesterday. She can sit on her own now and has one tooth. She has had a rough week battling an ear infection. She had three shots last week and has been on tons of heavy-duty meds. If this doesn't clear it up, we're going to talk tubes. I hope we can avoid that.

Her hair seems to be getting more red every day. She is just such a joy to have in our lives!

Family Movie Night

Family movie night is a big deal at our house. The girls spend all week trying to decide the perfect flick for us to watch. Sometimes Jamie and I will trump their decisions or offer an alternative to a movie we've seen 800 times. This week's selection was the Princess and the Frog. The girls saw it back in November with Jamie at work and then they saw it again at the Kids' Christmas Party in December. We got the soundtrack and have been listening to it every day on our commute. Ainsley adores the villain's song and we listen to it nothing short of ten times per day. She keeps saying, "Mom, don't you love this part?" I always gently remind her that I haven't seen the movie yet.

Our TV is still broken so we watched the movie on my computer, which is less-than-ideal, but better than nothing. It was such a nice night. I really needed it after the week I've had. We snuggled on the couch and over the fussing of a certain teething/ear infected baby I was able to catch most of the dialogue. The girls giggled and sang along with the movie. I loved it! In fact, I'd like to watch it again to catch some parts I may have missed in our first viewing. I have no doubt my two princesses will be clamoring to watch it again and again anyway.

Dogwood Delight

I'm having a crummy week. I'm feeling overwhelmed and stressed with all that's going on and how little time I've had lately to take a deep breath and relax. Fortunately, we have been blessed with the arrival of more springtime beauty. Our dogwoods are out in full force and the iris have just started to bud.

Our back yard looks so lush, so colorful and so peaceful. I love all the colors!


So today, I am thankful for spring and all the promise it brings, even if I don't feel very promise-full this week.

Wagon Train

Last night Allie got to ride in the wagon for the first time. She LOVED it. We did over a mile on the greenway and she was happy as a clam the entire time. Ainsley rode with her in the rear-facing seat. She liked having someone to look at. Looks like Allie will be spending more time there now that the weather is warm.

A Major Milestone

With a baby in the house, most of the sentences involving the word "milestone" center around sitting up, crawling and walking. But this week, a 5-year-old member of our family hit a milestone of its own. Our van now has 150,000 miles on it.


It had 49,000 on it when we purchased it in May 2005. It's been put through the ringer as it has hauled us to Florida, soccer practices, doctor visits, grandparents' houses, holidays and everything in between. It's covered in stickers, dirt and a fine layer of Goldfish and graham crackers. On a hot day, the front floor board still reeks of the Route 44 lemonade I spilled there last summer. I'm not a huge fan of minivans, but ours has been good to us. Here's to hoping we can get a few more miles out of it before it drives off to the big car lot in the sky.

Easter Weekend

We had such a wonderful Easter weekend. This is the weather that we were able to enjoy ALL weekend long....

Just stunning! Spring has certainly sprung all over Tennessee. We spent the weekend with Gran and Pop. We arrived at bedtime on Friday night after a 5-hour car trip. The girls did pretty well considering we were sans DVD player. Saturday morning we woke up to a nice thunderstorm, but by lunch time the weather cleared and we were ready to hunt eggs!

Gran and Pop have a GREAT yard for hunting eggs (aside from some carpenter bees which vexed our little hunters). We hid eggs for over an hour while Allie and Gran relaxed in the swing on the back porch. It was such a fun afternoon. We grilled steaks for dinner and then finished the evening off with one of Pop's favorite flicks....The Apple Dumping Gang. The girls really enjoyed it.

Sunday morning the girls were up and ready to get their baskets.

Allie was unimpressed by the whole deal, but her sisters had a good time and seemed to enjoy the baskets. Allie is recovering from a double ear infection and is teething, so we left her at home with Gran and Pop while the rest of us went to church. I must admit I was less than thrilled about being at a "strange church" for Easter. But then I was reminded that among the community of believers there are no strangers. We were warmly greeted at the church that has been on the town square for more than 100 years. It was a lovely service with GREAT music. Music is a very important part of my worship experience and the pianist at church yesterday was amazing. I enjoyed singing my favorite hymns despite the fact that they were projected onto the wall and not sung out of hymn books. It was a beautiful celebration of our risen Lord. Ainsley was bummed to discover that communion was wafers and not bread, but she took it without much complaint. After church we had lunch with Gran and Pop before hitting the road for our trip home. We arrived to find our yard had grown about 12 inches of grass while we were away. In just two days spring has turned our street into a verdant wonderland. The dogwoods are starting to come out and should be in full bloom by the end of the week.

All in all it was a wonderful weekend. It was a lot of traveling, but well worth it as always.

Sunday's Coming

Today may be dark, but remember....Sunday's coming.

Contributing to the Delinquency of a Minor

I have a confession to make. Allie has slept with me every night for at least the last week, perhaps longer. I'm typically not that kind of parent. I'm not a co-sleeper, although I completely understand why that works for some families. Allie is teething and wakes up crying about 2 hours or so after we put her down for the night. The only way to calm her is to put her on my chest. She conks right back out and sleeps until morning. I'm doing it out of desperation. Sure, I don't really sleep that well with what equates to a 15 pound sack of flour on my chest, but I sleep better than if I was up all night trying to calm her and get her back to sleep in her crib.



What's happened to me? I used to be hard core. Now I'm learning that I'm just a big 'ol softy who is letting her baby get away with anything. I'm zonked though, and could really use a good night's rest. Despite my fatigue, I really do enjoy snuggling with her. She is my last baby (Got that God? L-A-S-T B-A-B-Y!) and she won't be a snuggle bunny forever.