Puppies on Parade

Isn't it amazing how much influence a toddler can have over grown adults? For example: Yesterday afternoon, Lily and I stopped by my parents house for a short visit before Josh got home from work. Nonna, Pappa Neal, and I were all sitting in the nursery cheering on Lily as she played. She jumped up and decided it was time to go for a walk around the house. She grabbed her "puppy", a little pull toy on a string. Only she wasn't going to go alone. (right now she hardly ever goes alone; she usually grabs someone by the finger and pulls them along with her.) First to go was Pappa Neal. After one lap around the kitchen leading her puppy and Pappa Neal, Lily decided that Nonna and I needed to be in on the fun. But what was missing? Oh yes, we all needed a puppy of our own! So picture this: Lily in the lead pulling her puppy, followed by three grown adults (each carrying his/her own puppy or dog that was assigned to us by the toddler) parading through the kitchen, living room, and back again!

Setting the Record Straight

For all those who read the last post...Josh graciously pointed out that I mispelled mannequin. My interpretation "manican" (which makes perfectly good sense if you ask me) was not even the alternative spelling "manikin" according to dictionary.com. Maybee I'm knot the impekable speler I thot I wuz...

(Christa, I'm right there with you...)

a little 80's nostalgia

Yes, I am a child of the 80's. I grew up with mushroom haircuts, cabbage patch kids, and legwarmers. Although I'm probably somewhat of a delinquent one since I still don't know most of the music (unless of course, it's Contemporary Christian classics such as Carman, Sandi Patti, Wayne Watson, and my then hero, Amy Grant...what can I say, I was sheltered) or movies (Josh is bringing me up to date slowly - I did finally watch Top Gun in college).

One of my favorite childhood memories was the TV show "Today's Special." It was the greatest thing that ever happened to me as a kid. Anybody else with me? Here's the low down: Jeff was this manequinn who came to life at night when the store closed. He and Jodie (maybe the store clerk?) would have these adventures that sometimes would involve Muffy the Mouse (who only spoke in rhymes) and the security guard Sam. Good thing this show was teaching wholesome stuff, cause it had quite an impact on me. I even named my two goldfish Jeff and Jodie. My recollection of the show was lost for years until my friend Lauren brought it up last night, and all those warm, fuzzy memories flooded in. Except we couldn't come up with the name. Thankfully, we live in 2007, so the answer was just a "google" away. AND, I even found the show intro on You Tube. Sure, the 80s may be fun to relive at times, but I'm happy here with my technology in the new millenium.

Hittin' the Park in Hi-Tops

Last night, the three of us were having a sweet moment as we put Lily in her pajamas. She was on her changing table, talking away, and Josh and I huddled next to her, chiming in as we could. Right now Lily is big on "boo-boos". She's scraped her knees a couple of times and learned that a "boo-boo" gets a kiss from Mommy and Daddy. Now she likes to pretend she's got at least one boo-boo somewhere on her body- last night the faux boo-boo was on her arm. After we both kissed her arm, she pointed to Josh's arm at his imaginary boo-boo. (After almost ten years together, I should have known what was coming.) Josh took full advantage of the situation and said, "Oh, what's wrong, Lily? Are Daddy's arms cut?" Wow. When Jesus talked about loving your neighbor as yourself, he must have had Josh in mind. :)

The Beach!

Well, we're back from the beach. We had a great time relaxing and enjoying God's beautiful creation. And most importantly, we survived the plane ride. Lily actually did great. On the way there, she almost gave me a nervous breakdown as she kicked the man's chair in front of her during take off. (He made it very obvious though that he could feel it but thankfully never said anything). After that, Missa and I passed her back and forth, tried to keep her interested in the Elmo DVD and stuffed her full of crackers. She'll do ANYTHING for a graham cracker. Once we arrived in Mobile, my parents, who left the day before, picked us up at the airport and we comically packed into the minivan (it was a rental; not the gold mini for those who are wondering). You've never seen so much stuff. I guess I learned my packing motto from my parents: better to have brought it and never used it than to wish you'd have brought it. Our beach house wasn't available for a few hours so we had some time to kill. We stopped in Foley, AL at Lambert's Cafe for lunch. Lambert's is the home of the "Throwed Rolls". It was like Cracker Barrel on Steroids. Tons of people inside and out waiting for a table. The place was huge and they really did throw the rolls across the room. Here's Missa catching one:



Lily got a big kick out of it.

Uncomfortably stuffed of comfort food, we packed back into the minivan and drove to our final destination. It was a nice change being in a beach house rather than a hotel because it was so quiet and private. The only people on the beach were our neighbors, and they didn't come close to utilizing the beach as well as we did. Another Jeffrey (my maiden name) motto: be on the beach from sun up to sun down. And we were most of the time. I must say this trip was a little different than other beach trips now that I have a toddler. There wasn't quite as much time to just veg out by the ocean and read my heart out. Don't get me wrong, everyone was great to help out so I could have free time, but there were still those moments of self-sacrifice that come with motherhood. And I just had to let go and ask the Lord to make me more selfless.

Once we were on the beach, we were all glad that we had brought so much stuff. There was never a dull moment with the rafts, innertubes, frisbees, boogieboards, footballs, baseballs, tennisballs, bocceballs, and even golf. It was a blast just playing like little kids and laughing hysterically at one another. Here's Josh and I riding a wave:

James and Dad playing catch

Here's the view from our deck:


and of the house from the ocean:

Lily loved the water, but she didn't care for the sand. She was happy to sit in one of our laps under the umbrella and eat some crackers.


The highlight of her trip was the little pool we set up on the covered deck.



the view from the upstairs deck at sunset:



In the evenings, we'd either go out and eat fresh seafood (yum!) or stay in and cook our own meal. This place called the Shrimp Basket had all you can eat shrimp, so of course, we ate their twice! Then we'd come back to the house and watch movies and play games. The favorite game this trip was Balderdash. That's the game where everyone comes up with their own definition of the word and you try and guess the correct one. Man, we laughed so hard.

Oh, and remember Josh's foot fetish? Well, here's yet another example: Josh taking a pic of his feet

and then one of mine and Missa's feet

Does this call for an intervention?

(One more, because I couldn't end on pictures of feet.

I knew this day would come. The day that I would fly for the first time with my very "active" toddler. And now that day is here. In two short hours, I will board an airplane with a hundred or so unsuspecting passengers. I guess my greatest fear is being "that" mom with the out of control kid. Not that Lily is usually out of control (though she has her moments) but just the fact that there is nowhere to go. Nowhere to hide. So, following much of your advice, I've stocked up on crackers, cheerios, VeggieTales DVDs, and am ready to face the unknown and give her whatever she wants that hour and a half. Maybe the Lord thinks I need a little faith building. ;)

All that to say, we're off to the beaches of Gulf Shores with my family for the week. I'll be back soon with plenty of pictures and an update of how our flight went. Here goes nothing!

8 Random Facts

I was tagged by my friend and college roommate Katie to give 8 random facts/habits about myself.
The Rules:
1. I have to post these rules before I give you the facts.
2. Each player starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves.
3. People who are tagged need to write their own blog (about their eight things) and post these rules. (**if you’re a non-blogger, you can email them!)
4. At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.
5. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

My eight random facts and/or habits:

1. Coming up with these lists are always hard for me. It's like the minute you ask me to think of something- my mind goes blank. I'd like to be able to blame this on pregnancy/child bearing, but unfortunately, it's always been the case. One summer during CrossCamp, someone (probably Jason) was asking Josh and me about our dating relationship. At that point, we had been together for 3 years. This person asked me what some of my favorite memories were and...blank...I couldn't come up with anything at first. Then I think I came up with 4 fun things we'd ever done. Of course, this became a major joke (for Jason) and sore spot with Josh. I guess this is my disclaimer if I can't come up with eight random facts.

2. I am a rule follower. It makes me nervous to try and get around them somehow...even in silly stuff. The other night Josh and I were eating with friends at the Village Grill. There was a long line to order so Josh decided to call in a to go order so we could visit while we waited. Immediately I panicked. That's not how the system works. Clearly, a "to go" order is supposed to be taken home and not eaten in the restaurant. But it all worked out. We picked up our "to go" order and sat back down and ate it. And nobody came after us.

3. This one piggy backs off #2. I still wear my retainers every night. My purple, tie-dye, glow in the dark retainers from 8th grade. The orthodontist told me I should or my teeth would move back to their original positions. I was also the kid who actually wore them all day every day for 6 months after getting my braces off. That was awkward. There's no "cool" way to take out your retainers at the lunch table (right Kristen?)...thank goodness I only had to wear my head gear at night...

4. I sleep with my eyes partially opened. This made me the "freakshow" on every overnight bus trip with my youth group. It can be painful since my eyes dry out so easily. But now I've got this great gel that keeps them hydrated so we can even sleep with the fan on high.

5. I have never done anything to my hair. By that I mean, colored, dyed, highlighted, etc. Probably because I'm too scared. And that I don't want to have to keep it up. But I am finding more and more gray hairs so I know my day is coming...

6. I take off all my jewelry when I get home. Now if we're having people over then I'll probably keep it on until they're gone. But I can't stand showering, lotioning, or sleeping with jewelry on. Yes, even my wedding rings. Surprisingly, I remember to put them on almost every morning...to keep the pick up lines to a minimum. ;)

7. When I wear my hair curly, I wash my hair upside down in the shower because it curls better. Now, I have some doubters, but all I can say is it works for me. If you're interested in trying for yourself, I'd be glad to go over logistics with you...it will seem awkward at first.

8. I have a hard time with endless tasks. Sometimes I just don't want to put forth the effort knowing that I'll have to do the same thing over again. Two primary examples: laundry and making the bed. I am working on this. It's a lot better than in my college days. There was a period in college (maybe my low point), where I decided that making my bed was just too much. So I reasoned that I wouldn't have to make up my bed if I never unmade it. And so for about 6 months, I slept in my sleeping bag, on top of my "made" bed. In the morning, I just tossed the sleeping bag in the closet. Brilliant, I know.
There were days that I would be in too much of a hurry to fold my clean clothes. So I'd just move them in a heap from the dryer to my bed. Then they must have magically disappeared because I wouldn't "see" them for days. Bedtime would come, and I'd just slip under my covers, under the heap of clean clothes, and go to sleep. The Lord has really used Josh to clean up this area of my life. I'm still a work in progress, but I have come a long way.

So there's my eight random facts/habits. Hope you enjoyed them. Here are the eight people I'm tagging:Lauren C, Simri, LeRay, Kristyn, Jeffie, Angie I, Sarah, and Kimbo. Have fun!