PLAYING IN THE SLEET

CAREER DAY AT SCHOOL

The 1st graders at Crestview Elementary celebrated the 100th day of school by participating in Career Day. Brianna, of course, dressed as a farmer.

CATCHING UP

Since this is a 3 day weekend for me, I thought that I would use the time to catch up on my scrap booking. Sad to say, I am still working in Brianna's 2007 book. My plan is to finish it by tomorrow. As for 2008, I will be downloading those pictures into one of those photo books. It's a lot cheaper and a whole lot less time consuming. Oh and then there is 2009....who knows when I'll get around to working on those pictures. Right now, I've spent the better part of the morning looking up recipes. Brian and I are burned out on eating the same thing all the time. Today we will be making chicken soup and I also found a Paula Deen recipe for Taco Soup in the slow cooker. That will probably be Wednesday night's dinner. If it turns out post the link to share with you.

As far as Brianna goes, she is currently selling Girl Scout Cookies. (Or should I say, I am currently selling cookies.) She's too shy to ask anyone to buy any. I know what you all are thinking: Brianna shy????? Her goal is to sell 92 boxes. So far we have sold 37. Not too bad for the first day. She lost a tooth last night. Thank goodness, because it has just barely been hanging on this past week. I was so afraid she'd swallow it in her sleep. The Tooth Fairy visited her and left her $10.

MY NEW YEARS RESOLUTION

I thought that since most of us always fail at keeping our resolutions, that I would pick something that I feel confident in keeping.

My New Year Resolution is to make sure that my house is clean every night before going to bed. We are now 10 days into the new year, and I must say that spending the extra 30-45 minutes in the evening picking up messes definitely pays off. You wake up to a clean house and you come home to a clean house. Of course it's only in the evenings when supper is getting made and homework is being done that the house gets messy. But I'm realizing that taking the time to do every night is a lot easier than doing it all in one day. Plus I'm not so stressed when I come home after work. It's very nice to walk in to a clean house.

I should note that none of this would even be possible if it weren't for our new dishwasher. I haven't had one in 2 years, so I'm so grateful to have one now. Thanks to everyone who gave us Home Depot gift cards for Christmas!

HAPPY NEW YEAR

We celebrated New Year's Eve with a night at home. We played a board game and played Wii Super Mario Brothers. We then spent the rest of the night watching Dick Clark's Rocking Eve and waiting for the ball to drop. I think this was the first year that Brianna actually stayed awake the entire time. Although, by midnight her eyes were getting heavy. So were mine.

Speaking of Dick Clark's Rocking Eve.....What in the world was Jennifer Lopez wearing? It looked like she had on a panty hose body suit! Come on now, nobody wants to see that! At one point, Brian asked me to please turn the channel because he was getting grossed out. He's too funny.

Anyway, we hope you all have a great New Year. I'll be going over to my Mom's later for the traditional Greens and Black Eyed Peas (Not that I really enjoy eating that stuff....But Lord knows I need all they Money and Luck I can get this year.)


Excited about the New Year!

Counting Down......10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1

!!!!!!HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!

Brianna gets teary-eyed and gives her

Dad the first hug of the New Year.



Someone sure does look tired!

MORE CHRISTMAS PICTURES

MERRY CHRISTMAS

SANTA CAME TO VISIT BRIANNA

Santa brought Brianna the ZhuZhu Pet Playset,digital camera,Super Mario Bros Wii,Hex Bug and Nano Bug,horse puzzle,You Gotta Be Kiddin board game,Idog Mini Pup,Now That's What I Call Music No. 32 CD,Webkinz, Spongebog coloring book and Tag Book,PJ's, and a pogo stick.

BRIANNA TURNS VEGAN.......WELL SORT OF

While sitting at Zaxby's drive thru, Brianna decided she didn't want to eat meat anymore. This is how the conversation went:

Brianna: "I don't want to eat meat anymore. Because when you eat meat, you have to kill an animal. And killing an animal is hurting nature."

Me: "Brianna, are you saying you want to be a vegetarian? Do you even know what that is?

Brianna: "Yes I know what that is and I don't want to be that, but I don't want to eat meat anymore either because that is killing animals!"

By this time, she was in tears and extremely upset. I really didn't know what to say or to do. I asked her why she was crying so much and she said, "Because the meat tastes so good!"

Well after a 30 minute conversation, she has now decided to be "part" vegetarian. She is only eating ham, bacon, hamburgers, tacos, and chicken legs.
I can't believe that this issue is a concern for someone so young. I guess that just goes to show that Brianna is not your typical 6 year old.

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HAPPY THANKSGIVING

This year, Brian and I are cooking Thanksgiving dinner at our house. I have been cooking since 6:30 this morning, and am only getting started. Brian will be making our turkey (if I haven't caught the house on fire by then!) Brianna is super excited. She woke up this morning and very sweetly gave me a kiss and said "Happy Thanksgiving Mommy." Then about 3 minutes later, she started complaining about her ear hurting. The doctor is closed today, so I hope Tylenol and a warm compress can hold her over till tomorrow.

Brianna made a turkey at school last week and on each feather she listed one thing that she is thankful for. Here is what she said:

I am thankful for the world.
I am thankful for animals.
I am thankful for friends.
I am thankful for my toys.
I am thankful for my family.

Yes I must admit that I am one of those "crazy, stupid" people that was out at midnight Thursday watching the New Moon movie. For you all that don't know, I love the Twilight Saga and I have been anticipating the movie release of New Moon for awhile. And although we arrived at the movie theatre 2 1/2 hours before the movie actually started, it was definitely worth the wait. So much happens in the book that I was really concerned that they wouldn't be able to cover everything. (That happened in "Twilight"-the movie. I think they didn't get the opportunity to "develop" the love story between Bella and Edward.) But New Moon made up for it. It hit on everything you would have wanted it to and it had some very funny parts to it as well. I think it was better than Twilight. If you have read the books and you are Team Edward or Team Jacob, then you will absolutely love it.
Time's review of New Moon.

BRIANNA SAID:

Brianna had this to say after getting her flu shot Wednesday:
"Why did God make the stupid flu anyway?"

Thursday Brianna learned that a new student, Michael, would be joining her class Friday.
Brianna:"Momma, his name is Michael G cause we already have Michael R."
Me: "Does he seem like a nice boy?"
Brianna: "Yes he's nice, but not better looking than Michael R! He's got the most beautiful blue eyes."

1st NINE WEEKS AWARDS DAY

Brianna received 2 awards today. One for "Excellent Attendance" and the other for "Accelerated Reader". We are very proud of our little girl.

I took a couple of pictures but they didn't turn out too good. I posted them anyway.

FUNNY QUOTE OF THE WEEK

Brianna was playing on the computer Sunday and ran into a problem. This is what she said:

"Mommy, can you come help me? I'm having technical difficulties."

WHAT SOME DADDYS DO FOR THEIR DAUGHTERS

Brianna wanted a "Spongebob" jackolantern for Halloween. After she and I finished gutting it, Brian got to work on the carving. When I tell you this man sat in the kitchen floor for 2 hours working with a drill and small knife to carve this pumpkin for his little girl. Just Precious! And the pumpkin came out really good. Here is a picture:

SKYTOP APPLE ORCHARD

Today, we took a ride to Hendersonville to visit Skytop Apple Orchard. Although the apples had already been picked for the season, it was still fun. The mountain trees have began changing their colors. It was really pretty up there. Brianna enjoyed walking through the orchard, visiting the animals and eating a chocolate covered apple.

HALLOWEEN HOOPLA

Saturday, Brianna and I went to downtown Greer for Halloween Hoopla with Heather and the kids. Brianna had a good time and got her pumpkin bag full of candy.

NO WONDER WHY I NEVER BLOG

So I originally thought that I don't blog often because I just don't have anything to blog about. Well tonight I've come up with another reason. IT'S BECAUSE IT TAKES FOR FRICKEN EVER TO POST YOUR PICTURES!! UGH!

I am not lying when I tell you, it has just taken me an hour to post those Boo in the Zoo pictures. Needless to say, my time is limited so who knows when I'll get to post any more. Is it just my computer or do you all have a hard time too?

A "CHEERLESS" CHEERLEADER

That is what Brianna wanted to be for Halloween. I tell you what, costumes sure are expensive. I don't think we have made it through a Halloween yet that we didn't spend less than $30 for a costume. Things sure have changed since I was little. Ok, now that my reminiscing is out of the way.......
Sunday, Brianna went to Boo in the Zoo with Carson and Ella. Carson was dressed up as a NY Yankee and Ella was a little cupcake. The kids had a great time walking through the zoo to get their bags full of goodies. Thank goodness Brianna doesn't like Butterfingers! I sure did enjoy it.

BRIANNA'S TAKE ON GOING BAREFOOT!

The other day I picked up Brianna from Kyleah's house. Brianna wasn't wearing any shoes and you all know how chilly it was. This was the conversation that followed:

Me: "Brianna, you need to start putting your shoes on before you come outside. Going barefoot is how you get sick."

Brianna: "No Mommy, going barefoot is how you get stung by a bee!"

CAMPING AT WABAK!

This weekend, some of the girls and moms from my Girl Scout Troop went camping at Camp Wabak. We stayed in a cabin that thankfully had indoor plumbing and air conditioning. Unfortunately, the air conditioner didn't play a big role in our weekend because we were drenched from all the rain. Thank goodness, we all had ponchos to keep us somewhat dry. While at camp the girls got to enjoy many fun activities. They participated in team games. They played a cute game that had them passing a hula hoop around the circle without letting go of the other players hands. We also took a hike up the mountain to the observation deck that overlooked Big Boy Mountain. Thank goodness, we didn't have to hike up that thing! After lunch, we got to enjoy a rest period. (Sure wish we had more than just one on our itinerary) After resting, the girls got to enjoy arts and crafts. They made a bookmark and several other things. They then got to go onto our final activity before dinner, songs and games, followed by a dance party. Unfortunately, Brianna sat this one out. She was just pooped by then. To be honest, so was I. Instead, we headed back to the cabin and Brianna and I went over all the new songs we had learned. I jotted them down so that we could sing them in our troop. At 5:45, we headed back out into the rain to go for dinner. Dinner was great. They served pot roast, rice and gravy, corn, mac & cheese, salad, and rolls. Once finished, we took another walk in the rain to head back to the cabin. We were supposed to meet everyone at a campsite to roast marshmallows, but the girls were soaked from their knees down and they opted to sit that one out. THANK GOODNESS! Instead, we all took hot showers, put on some dry clothes and had some arts and crafts of our own. Our camping trip ended this morning, and wouldn't you know it, the sun was shining brightly as we left!

ANOTHER FUNNY QUOTE FROM BRIANNA

Yesterday, Brianna and I went to the McDonald's drive thru window. The boy taking our order could not quite understand what I was trying to order. Finally after 4 attempts, he told me to drive around. Brianna's response to this situation:
"He needs to go to the doctor and get his ears checked!"

BRIANNA HAS A SECOND HOME

Sorry I haven't had much to write about recently about what Brianna is up to. When she is here, she is mostly doing home work, using the computer to access her school's Compass Learning (excellent program by the way) or watching Spongebob. She continues to make me laugh at least once a day. Mostly it is her funny sayings or other times it's just how dern sweet she can be. Brianna is spending time with her friend Kyleah. Brianna has had a few sleepovers here with Kyleah, Friday night for example. But she mostly spends her time at Kyleah's house. Heck, I bet her Mom and Dad could even claim Brianna on their income tax return! I miss her while she is there, but I know she is having fun and is being taken care of. I remember when I was little. I always wanted to go sleep over with my Grandma or over with my friends, Amy & Amber.
(I always dreaded getting that call from my momma that I had to come home and wash dishes.)

As for me, I am about to start my 2nd year as a Girl Scout Troop Leader. I am excited, but I am also a little apprehensive. Brianna had a little bit of a problem last year trying to separate me from "Mom" and "Troop Leader". I'm hoping that this year, I can separate it for her.

As for Brian, on September 19th he started a new job at D3 Technologies in Greenville. He is still doing electrical engineering on airplanes; however, they specialize in commercial planes instead of military so that is a little different. His contract is temporary right now so we just have to see how it goes.

As for us, we celebrated our 10 year Anniversary on September 4th. We took a road trip up to Cherokee. For the 10th year, you give the gift of tin/aluminum. The tin represents how your marriage is durable, how it can be bent but not broken. I gave Brian a tin box full of promises that I intend to keep. These promises will hopefully take us 10 more years.

OBAMA SPEECH TUESDAY

I know there is a lot of controversy regarding Obama's speech to our school children Tuesday. The White House has now posted his address on their website. Please click here to read.

NO DATES FOR MOMMY AND DADDY

Friday is mine and Brian's 10 year Anniversary so tonight I talked to Brianna about our plans for the evening. Here is how the conversation played out:
Kristy: "Brianna, Friday is Mommy and Daddy's Anniversary so we are going to do something special. Do you want to stay the night with MyMy?"
Brianna:"What, I'm not special enough for you to spend your Anniversary with?"
Kristy: "Yes, you are special but sometimes Mommy and Daddy would like to have a date with eachother to spend time together."
Brianna: "Mommy, dating is something you do before you get married."
Kristy: "Well, if that's the case Brianna, what do you do after you get married?"
Brianna: "You have a baby!"

THE THINGS THIS LITTLE GIRL SAYS:

Brianna is selling Entertainment Coupon Books for her school. I came home from work one day this week and got approached by the little "Sales Lady". She said, "Momma, I have this coupon book. Look, it has Bi-Lo coupons in it, you shop there. These coupons will save you money. Oh and Steak and Shake, have you ever ate there? Do you like it? Oh, Back Yard Burger-We like it don't we? At every turn of the page, this is how she responded, Have you ever ate there? Do you like it? Have you ever driven past it? Have you ever seen the sign? If I sell 10 books, I get to go to GattiTown. If I sell 20 books, I get to ride in the LIMBO to GattiTown!"

Later this week we had this conversation while getting ready for work/school:

"Momma, why do you wear a bra? What does it do?" I said, all girls/ladies wear them when they get bigger. She said, "Granny's got a whole bucket full of bras!"

"Momma, why do some people call me "BriANA". My name is "BriANNA"? I asked her, what her teacher calls her and she said "Britney". "Nobody knows my name!"

GLAD WE GOT THOSE FIRST FEW DAYS OVER WITH!

I must say the first 3 days of school went better than I thought it would have. I didn't have to argue with Brianna in the mornings to get up and I didn't have to argue with her at night to go to bed. To be honest, come night time, she was more than ready to go to sleep. The only thing she has a hard time doing is getting ready in the morning. I have to make sure that I am ready when I get her up so that I can stay on her to get herself ready. Other than dealing with that, she did really good. She didn't come home one night last week with homework, but I am sure that will all change tomorrow. In Kindergarten, she had homework every night and it was always a chore to do it. So I am definitely not looking forward to that, neither is Brianna.

For all you parents of small children:Do you have just a hard of time as I do getting your child to eat breakfast? I have to make Brianna eat something in the mornings, then she has lunch at 11:00, and by the time she gets home in the evenings she is starving and can't wait for dinner. No wonder she's so dern little.

OUR FIRST GRADER!

Brianna started school today. She is such a big girl. She didn't even want me to go in with her, but at the last minute she opted for me to walk her in "just for today" to make sure she could find her class. I was sure to get a big hug and kiss from her before we left the house because I knew she wouldn't want to give me one in front of her class.
When I arrived home from work this evening, I found one tired little girl. She said she did good in school today, but she was so tired afterward. Looks like we will have to shoot for a 8:30 bedtime. Wish me luck!

TRIP TO ATLANTA

Last weekend, we took a trip to Atlanta. We wanted to do something with Brianna before the new school year started. We arrived Saturday morning and headed out for the Georgia Aquarium. This is a helpful hint for those of you that may want to go one day: GET YOUR TICKETS BEFORE YOU GO!!!! Thank goodness we didn't have to stand in that crazy line. It was weaved in and out up the steps and down the street. The aquarium was great. They had many different exhibits. Brianna's favorite was the Beluga Whale and the Sting Rays. However, I will say it would have been a better experience had it not been so crowded. After the aquarium, we rode back to the hotel. We stayed at the Hyatt Regency Atlanta. I don't think I've stayed anywhere so nice. The hotel was beautiful and in a great location. Brianna loved riding up and down the glass elevators in the atrium. Sunday, we went to Zoo Atlanta. I think this was probably my favorite. It wasn't too crowded and there were tons of animals. They had a huge reptile exhibit. For those of you that know my child, you know that she was just so delighted to walk through and look at all those scaly creatures.

We ended our trip in Atlanta with visit to the Hard Rock Cafe. It was just a block from the hotel, and Brian or myself had never ate there so we thought we would give it a try. Although I must say, I thought Brian was going to turn around and walk out when we walked in and saw a 6ft picture of Jon Bon Jovi. If you don't know already, I love Jon Bon Jovi and my husband absolutely can't stand him. Brian calls him "Anchovy". Our meal was fast and delicious. But they do not how to get you. You must exit the restaurant thru the gift shop. How can you not go there and get a Hard Rock T-shirt.

We came home Monday. I'm so grateful for my family to have been given this great weekend. We may have only planned on staying 1 night, but I'm glad we stayed 2. Brianna needed 1more blast of fun before school and Brian and I needed some down time.


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FISHING WITH HER DADDY

Brian took Brianna fishing this morning. She called me at work this morning and said, "Momma, I just caught a cat fish!" She was so excited. To my surprise, she was still fishing with her Daddy this afternoon at 2:30. I couldn't believe that she hadn't lost interest. Heck, 4 hours fishing is enough for me yet alone a 6 year old. She caught a total of 9 fish(2 she caught all by herself). I know....she is quite the angler.

NOT MUCH GOING ON HERE

I don't have too much to write about so this post will be short. This past week at work drug by; I mean really slow. Sad thing is that this weekend has flown by. Friday night, I picked up a new computer desk from some guy on Craigslist. We got a pretty good deal and it looks really nice, but boy did Brian and I have a hard time getting it in the house and put back together. We started unloading it at 7:30 and didn't finish putting it together until after 11:00. Then by the time I hooked all the computer stuff back up and got our mess cleaned up it was almost 1 o'clock in the morning. Saturday, we slept in a little then I finished cleaning up the house. After lunch at McDonald's, Brianna and I decided it was hot enough to take a swim. We took a ride to Camp Mary Elizabeth to play in the pool there. It was wonderful;not too crowded and we had a great time. Today, I went fishing with Brian. We just went to Cannon's, but it was a nice day and there was a cool breeze. We fished for about 3 hours. Brian ended up catching only 1 catfish. Oh well, I guess that is better than none at all. As for me, it is now 8:25 and I'm in the middle of doing laundry and trying to get my work clothes out. Ya'll have a good week.

BRIANNA WENT TO THE RODEO

My Mom and Dad took Brianna to watch the rodeo in Anderson Friday night. Brianna was so very excited; she even took her cowgirl hat. Mom said she kept in on the entire night. Brianna loved the bull riding. Her favorite part was when the bull called Eagle Eyes knocked the guy off of him and drug him around. She says, "Eagle Eye is the best bull. Nobody can stay on him-not for 8 seconds!"

HUMP DAY! THANK GOODNESS

It's only been 3 days, and this week has already been the longest one ever!!! Work has been absolutely crazy, but what else is new there? Brianna has finally gotten better. The last time she had a fever was Sunday morning, and other than complaining about her head hurting Monday;she is doing well. Her rash is even beginning to disappear. She lost her 3rd tooth Sunday evening. She was so excited to learn that the Tooth Fairy left her $5 dollars for it. Sure wish I had Tooth Fairies like that around when I was little.

VACATION IS OVER, TIME TO GO BACK TO WORK

Since returning from New York Wednesday night, Brianna has been sick. She has caught a fever virus from one of her cousins. According to Aunt Gina, temperatures will be as high as 103.5 and will last about 3 days. After the fever has broke, a rash will develop. Just to be on the safe side, I took Brianna to the doctor on Friday. She checked Brianna for every possible infection and could not find anything that would make her have a fever and since Brianna was exposed in New York to a virus, she concluded that it was probably Fifth's Disease. I assure you it sounds worse than what it really is. From what I've read online, it is basically a fever virus. The only thing you can do is to give Motrin and Tylenol and wait it out. Today, thank goodness, Brianna finally developed the rash and she hasn't had a fever since 5:30 this morning.
In addition to taking care of a sick child, we really haven't been doing too much of anything. We rented a couple of movies and other than the occasional trip to the grocery store, we really haven't been out much. It has been a nice change. I think I was trying to get rested up as much as possible since I will be returning to work tomorrow. I'm dreading it already.
One thing that I have gotten accomplished this weekend is that we managed to get unpacked from our trip. This may not seem like a big thing to you, but since most of the time we live out of the suitcases for 2 weeks upon returning back from trips--this was a huge deal! I also found time yesterday to update my blog. It needed a change, but it sure did take alot of patience! Between dealing with "Blogger" and this crazy computer of mine; I about pulled my hair out---SERIOUSLY!!!


Well, I must say that I have definately blogged more this weekend than I did the entire month of June. So maybe I will find the time to keep it updated. But then again......

As a side note, I thought I would put this in here cause it's cute:
It's 8:37 tonight, and my little girl is sitting in the living room watching ETV. She is watching Nature inwhich they are discussing Grizzly and Polar Bears. Not only am I impressed that she actually found this on tv and decided to watch it, I'm also thankful that it's something other than that fricken yellow sponge!

LOOK WHAT BRIAN & BRIANNA HAVE BEEN GROWING IN OUR GARDEN!

Photo Session at Reedy Falls;Courtesy of Aunt Shirl

BRIANNA'S TRIP TO THE BEACH

BACK FROM VACATION

It has been over a month now since I have blogged. But in my defense, I was on vacation for a little bit of it. We went to New York to see Brian's family. We were originally going to drive, but on a whim we found airline tickets for really cheap so we flew instead. We arrived in NY on July 1st. It was great to visit with the family that we very seldom see. If we are lucky, we get to visit twice a year. Brian went to NY last Thanksgiving, but has been since last August that Brianna and I have been back. Brianna spent the week playing with her cousins, going on shopping sprees with her Nana, taking a trip to the beach, and visiting the aquarium. She even made brownies with her Uncle Kevin. Although we only got to stay for a week, we enjoyed our time there!

THIS IS HOW I KNOW BRIANNA WATCHES TOO MUCH SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS!