COWGIRL UP!

As you all are aware, Brianna was really looking forward to Western Day at school. Since she missed it while out sick, she wanted to have her own Western Day Monday. She really looked cute, almost like a real cowgirl. Too bad Mommy & Daddy can't afford to let her grow up on a farm with horses. I know she would just love that. So instead, she must settle for her playhorse "Flicka" whom she had to bring with her in the car this morning on the drive to school.

A MORNING AT MILLIKEN

WE FED THESE GUYS 2 LOAVES OF BREAD.

THE DUCKS WERE REALLY HUNGRY.

THERE WERE TONS OF FISH THAT WERE HUNGRY TOO.

IT WAS A REALLY FUN MORNING.

TIRED OF BEING SICK

After not 1, but 2 visits to the doctor this week, Brianna is still sick. The strep throat is on its way out the door, however, now we have asthma to deal with. As soon as she lays down at night and falls asleep, she immediately starts coughing, and coughing, and coughing.....through half the night. The doctor now has Brianna on a nebulizer every 4 hours plus an inhaler twice a day, plus Singulair, plus Nasonex, oh yeah, and her antibiotic. It sure is hard to remember to give her all this stuff. Hopefully the nebulizer will help in a couple of days. She is feeling better though and will be going back to school tomorrow. I am sure it will be hard to get her up and at em' in the morning. Wish me luck!

13 THINGS ABOUT HAVING A SICK CHILD:

1. Having to take 3 days off work to take care of her--After the 1st day, I was ready to go back.

2. Cleaning up puke at 11:00 at night--She was in the bed when this happened, so I spent the next hour cleaning up her bed clothes.

3. Cleaning puke off of your child at 11:00 at night--I had to put her in the shower while she was still half asleep to clean her up.

4. Having to sleep with your child--After the first occurrence of the PM PUKE, I thought it best if I slept with her to avoid the risk of her choking in her sleep. (For those of you that know me, you know how paranoid I am of the whole choking thing.)

5. Sleeping on the floor with your child--Hey, I'm a fast learner. I wasn't about to have to clean up her bed AGAIN! Thought that a pallet on the floor would be more practical just in case she threw up. Although, my back and neck are killing me.

6. Checking for fever--It sure is hard to get a 4 year old to keep a thermometer in her mouth long enough to get a reading.

7. Taking them to the doctor--They go in with one thing and come out with something else.

8. Taking prescriptions to Walmart--You stand in line to drop them off to be told that the wait will be about AN HOUR!!!!!

9. Having to go BACK to Walmart to pick up the prescriptions--I know you didn't expect me to walk around that madhouse with a sick child for an hour while we waited on the prescription to get ready.

10. Trying to get your child to eat--I guess popsicles are better than nothing.

11. Sanitizing--You can never do this too much.

12. Starting the week with strep throat and ending up with cough and congestion--Remember what I said in #7?

13. Spending all week in the house with a sick child--Yep, you guessed it.....NOW I'M SICK!!!!

OUT SICK

So, as you all know, Brianna hasn't been feeling too well the past few days. We have stayed home together the past 2 days. After her third day of fever, I thought it best to take her to the doctor. She as strep throat! (Heather, don't worry. She hasn't been around your children since Thursday, so I think they may be ok.)Which also means no school tomorrow. I really hope she doesn't get too used to this. So, since she won't be going to school tomorrow, that means she will miss out on Western Day. But don't worry, there isn't nothing going to keep my child from dressing in her new boots and wearing her cowgirl hat to school the very next time she goes.

UPDATE ON THURSDAY 13

So, of the 13 things listed from my posting Thursday, only about 1/2 have gotten done. I did get all the laundry done, except for the clothes we have just recently dirtied, everything is clean and put away. Brianna found some cowgirl boots at Target yesterday. They are pink of course and look really cute on her. Can't wait for Western Day this week. I did manage to clean my house yesterday, maybe not as clean as I would have liked, but it looked better than it did. Although today, you would never know it! As far as QT goes with my husband, if you call spending 2 hours outside painting the shed together QT, then I can mark that off my list too. I really planned on taking Brianna to Milliken today to feed the ducks and fish, however, she says to me this afternoon, "Something's wrong with me." It must have been because she hasn't done anything today except lie around the house with no appetite. She did make an attempt to go outside to help her daddy and I paint the shed, but after a few minutes she was throwing up. Luckily, I guess that only thing she had eaten today was a green Popsicle. She hasn't been sick in quite a long time, so I guess she's due. And as far as cooking dinner for my family, I still plan on doing that. I am planning on cooking meatloaf, real mashed potatoes, green beans, and crescent rolls. If anyone is hungry, I'm sure I will have leftovers. Oh yeah, I can now check "blogging" off my list. You all have a great week. I'll be posting some pictures from Western Day this week. Stay tuned.

IT'S JUST THURSDAY, AND ALREADY I AM THINKING ABOUT THIS WEEKEND. KEEPING THAT IN MIND, HERE IS MY THURSDAY THIRTEEN:

13 THINGS I NEED TO GET DONE THIS WEEKEND:

1. SCRAP BOOKING--I just have Christmas 2006 left to do and I will be ready to start 2007.
2. LAUNDRY--It seems like the laundry basket is always full.
3. SPEND SOME QT WITH MY HUSBAND--Even if that means sitting outside!
4. WASHING MY FILTHY CAR--I sure am glad my car is dark gray, it really hides the dirt.
5. CLEANING THE HOUSE--Anyone up for a party? I'm having a house cleaning party.
6. FINISH PUTTING UP HALLOWEEN DECORATIONS--I still have to hang bats and lights up.
7. FINISH READING MY NEW NICHOLAS SPARKS BOOK--I used be able to sit down and read a whole book in one day. Now, I will be lucky to finish it in a month!
8. BLOG--It seems like that is a weekend necessity.
9. LOOK FOR BRIANNA SOME COWGIRL BOOTS--She will need them for Western Day at school.
10. TAKE BRIANNA TO MILLIKEN--She loves feeding the ducks and fish.
11. COOKING SUNDAY DINNER--It's been awhile since I have cooked a big dinner.
12. COMING UP WITH MORE IDEAS FOR THIS CRAZY THURSDAY 13--Why couldn't it be done once a month! Every Thursday.......COME ON!!!
13. TRYING TO FIND SOME TIME FOR JUST MYSELF--I would love to be able to just lay in a hot tub of water till my toes get wrinkly, or go lay in the bed just because there is nothing else to do, or watch a movie that I have been dying to see,or give myself a pedicure, or go window shopping, or...........I could go on and on.

MACY "MAE"

BRIANNA GETS HER EARS PIERCED

Brianna & I were in Walmart this morning when she saw a pair of pretty earrings that she wanted. I told her that those are for pierced ears. She said she wanted them. I asked her if she wanted to get her ears pierced and she said yes. We had to drive to another Walmart for them to do it because the one here didn't have anyone on staff. When we pulled up in the parking lot Brianna said, "I don't know about this." I told her that it would sting a little, kind of like a shot, but then it wouldn't hurt anymore. I just knew that once in the store Brianna would change her mind. She sure did surprise me. She was such a big girl. She sat so still, holding my hands as ladies on each side of her prepared to pierce her ears. They clicked the gun at the sametime. Brianna said Owwww, and immediately started crying. She cried about 5 minutes, never once wanting to look at her pretty new earrings. We had lunch at McDonalds right after and she was fine. I didn't want to pierce Brianna's ears when she was a baby. I didn't want it to be my decision. I wanted her, once older, to decide if she wanted it or not. I have to tell you that I am so glad of my giving her the opportunity to make that choice. I really, really enjoyed sharing this moment of her life. My precious little baby is growing up so fast.

HARVEST DAY

Brianna & I went to Harvest Day in Inman Saturday. We met Heather and Carson there. We didn't get to see too much of them because Brianna was wanting to go ride the pony ride and do some other things. As you all know, horses are one of my daughters favorite things. So when she found out there were ponies there she could ride on, that was all I heard about. She just loved it. Next, she wanted to ride on the Pirate Boat. She was a little bit scared at first, but by the end of the ride she was loving it. We also rode on a train down the street. That was fun. The cool breeze felt nice. After getting her face painted we headed out to find a funnel cake. I wasn't about to leave until I had one of those. We sat down to eat it just as a guy from the Spartanburg Herald showed up. He wanted to get a quote for the story he was doing on the festival. To see what he wrote in Sunday's paper click on www.goupstate.com/article/20070930/NEWS/709300340 .

13 THINGS I LOVE ABOUT MY DAUGHTER:

1. Her funny little sayings.

2. The way she says her prayers at night.

3. The scar above her lip.

4. The warmth of her face when I kiss her cheek.

5. Her cute little country/yankee accent.

6. The times when out of the blue, she looks at me and says, "I love you Mommy."

7. The relationship that she has with her Daddy.

8. Waking her up in the morning with a kiss and "tickle spiders".

9. Her strong will & determination.

10. Listening to her tell me about a memory that she has from when she was younger.

11. The way she prises in a new dress.

12. The innocent look of her face as she sleeps.

13. The way she makes up stories and tries to pass them off as though they really happened.

I could go on and on about the things I love about Brianna. Fortunately for you, this is Thursday Thirteen.

A NIGHT AT THE MOVIE

Well, not really. It's more like a night watching a movie at the house in the living room. What can I say, it's much cheaper! You all know how Brianna just loves horses. I saw that FLICKA was on HBO, so I thought we would have a movie night. I popped some popcorn and sat down for a night of relaxation. Or so I had thought. Brianna watched it for about 10 minutes and was done. It probably would have went over a little bit better had she not already seen the movie at the theater when it first come out. If you are wondering, she did sit thru the ENTIRE movie there.
Brianna watching the movie FLICKA with her horse "Flicka".

AN EVENING WITH CARSON

Carson came over tonight for a short play date with Brianna. She had gotten him a WEBKINZ for his 5th Birthday, so he came over so we could help him get it started. He named his pet bulldog Willy. After playing WEBKINZ, Carson and Brianna played a game of Whack-a-Mole. They also played with the cleaning station. They both swept and mopped my kitchen floor and made it squeaky clean! He should come over more often:) They had a good time playing together. He is a very sweet little boy and very well behaved. Brianna wants me to mention that they love each other.(When they aren't fussing.)

BRIANNA & PRETTY / CARSON & WILLY

PLAYING WHACK-A-MOLE

GETTING READY TO CLEAN!

13 PLACES I LIKE TO SHOP AT:

1. Wal-Mart - Isn't there a saying, "If you can't get it at Wal-Mart, you don't need it"?

2. Goody's - I love shopping there because everytime I get to the check out counter, my stuff always rings up cheaper than what I originally planned on paying for it.

3. Bloom - Here lately that is where I have been primarily doing grocery shopping. I can "shop happy" there.

4. Kohls - I have gotten some nice dresses there, and they really have cute outfits for Brianna.

5. Goodwill - I just love it when I walk out of that store with a really nice shirt or pair of shoes that I would have paid 3x for in the retail store.

6. Yard Sales - Another person's "trash" could be my "treasure". Who knows what you will find at yard sales, but I mostly look for stuff for the house or clothes for Brianna.

7. Target - Love the clearance sections there.

8. Dobson's Gifts - They have really cute things for gifts there.

9 & 10. Lowes & HomeDepot - I know some of you may be surprised, but I really do enjoy going there. I love just looking at the things that I wish I could do in my house.

11. This-N-That - I always get so many compliments on the jewelry I get from there and for $1 you couldn't ask for anything more.

12. Dollar Tree - Come on, How can you not love this place. Uh hello, any place that has everything for $1 is my kind of place. (just don't buy any toys from China)

13. Westgate Mall - Not any store in particular. Alot of times I just like to go there to "window shop", just to get out of the house to have something to do.

FIELD TRIP TO GRAMLING FARMS

Brianna had her first field trip of the school year today. She visited Gramling Farms. She was so excited to tell me all about it. She got to ride in a buggy pulled by 2 horses, one named Bo the other Brownie. She also got to see how apple juice was made. She went on to inform me that apples have stars in them; when you cut them open you can see it. The people at the farm also taught her about corn. She learned how corn was made and how it was used to make grits and cornbread. She was also shown how clothes were washed in the old days. There were animals there that she got to pet; big horses and little ponies, sheep and rabbits. I asked her what her favorite part of the day was, she replied "when the corn got naked!"

I THOUGHT WEEKENDS WERE FOR REST

For those of us with children, there is never any "rest". It seems like there is always something to do. Saturday was spent around the house mostly. We did go to Haley's 7th Birthday party, then Brianna & I went to eat Mexican food. It was really yummy. Brian spent the day trying to figure if he finally wanted to call it quits with the "silver bullet". Don't get me wrong, it has been a really good car the past 4 years, but I really think it's just about on its last leg. The same guy we bought that car from has a 2003 Ford Ranger for about $4600.00. We have been driving it all weekend to see if its worth it. Brianna really likes it. She likes riding in it; she says she can see everything. So now it's just a matter of trying to figure out the finances of it all. It want be easy, but if we are going to do it, we may as well while Brian is still employed. We got our moneys worth with the "bullet", maybe we will be just as lucky with the truck.
Anyway, today was pretty busy around here. For some reason, Sunday's always are. I called Heather this morning to see if Carson wanted to go to the zoo and park with Brianna. I know she is always so busy, and always has something to do. I thought it would help her out if I took Carson off her hands for a little bit. Especially since she helps me out so much with picking Brianna up from school. So we did the zoo thing, ate our packed lunches at the picnic table, then played on the playground. Carson and Brianna were "exploring", looking for dinosaur bones in the sand. It was really cute. They played so good together and behaved so well, I treated them to icecream, with sprinkles of course. The things these 2 kids say to each other: its like they are brother and sister. I am really glad they are close, especially since Heather and I have been friends for as long as we have. We really are like family. After dropping Carson off, we spent the day down at MyMy and PaPas. I visited Macy while Brianna played. When I tell you, that Macy has got to be one of the prettiest little girls I have ever seen. I know I may be a little biased, being that she is my niece, but she is just so darn cute. I hate to say that too much around my brother because she looks just like he did when he was a baby. I don't want him to get a big head or nothing. After leaving Moore, we had a quick visit by Granny's and then our regular Sunday trip to the grocery store. I then came home, put groceries up, got dinner started, did 2 loads of laundry, ate dinner and now I am sitting at this computer blogging! I must be out of my mind! I have supper dishes sitting over there in the kitchen with spaghetti remnants hardening on the plates as I type. I really have to get going. I still have a busy night ahead of me. It's 8:30, I still have to wash dishes, get Brianna bathed, make blueberry muffins, finish the rest of the laundry, get school and work clothes ready, and maybe if I'm lucky, I will have all this done in an hour. Wish me luck!

13 PICTURES FROM "WALKING WITH DINOSAURS". BRIANNA HAD SUCH A GOOD TIME. IT WAS WORTH THE MONEY FOR THE TICKETS JUST TO SEE HER EXCITEMENT AS SHE WATCHED THEM.IT WAS SO AMAZING TO SEE THESE LIFESIZE DINOSAURS. SORRY SOME OF THE PICTURES ARE SO DARK, BUT MAYBE YOU WILL STILL SEE JUST HOW BIG THEY WERE.

9-11-01 REMEMBER THOSE LOST.

SUCH A DIVA!

DAN NICHOLAS PARK

OUR MINI VACATION

We took a little vacation Friday and Saturday. There is a park in Salisbury NC called Dan Nicholas Park. We discovered this little treasure last year when we did the Thomas the Train ride. It is just wonderful. I would really recommend any of you to go there. We left to drive up there on Friday afternoon. Brianna got to ride the carousel and train, and we visited the wildlife zoo and reptile aquarium. You know that Brianna just loved that. We then took a small hike thru the woods. Brianna said, "Momma, you have to watch out for anacondas and the diamond-back rattle snake!" I swear, the things this child says truly amazes me sometimes. After our "hike", Brianna played on the playgrounds there. They have 3 different ones. We then left to go get checked in at our hotel. Brianna loves staying at hotels and this one had an indoor and outdoor pool. So as you can guess, we jumped right in. It was alot of fun. I was just so excited that she can now stand up in the 3 foot water. She was just paddling around in there trying to swim. We got out and had dinner and guess what! Yep, she wanted to go back in. So we did. After breakfast Saturday, we went back to the park. They have a lake there, so Brianna and Brian started the day off with a little fishing. As soon as Brianna's line got thrown in the water, a fish bit on to it. I was just so excited, I went ahead and reeled it on up for her. (I know, I know, I was supposed to let Brianna do it.) But that's okay because she caught 3 more. It was so much fun watching her catch those fish. After fishing, we took a trip the paddle boats. She wanted to ride in the Swan. It was a lot of fun, except for having to wear smelling life preservers. After the trip to the lake we walked up the park area where Brianna rode the carousel and train, visited the petting barn and aquarium. We then took a walk to the gem mine. They gave us a big bucket of dirt and we had to pan for gems. We all really enjoyed that. She would say, "My gem, oh I love it! That's my favorite." After ice cream to cool off, she played a quick game of putt putt. If Brianna would just learn to hold her club right, she might would do okay. She had to get assistance from her Daddy alot. She then played in the little water park area for just a short time. There were just too many kids in that one place, all fighting for water. We made one more trip to the gem mine to hunt for some more treasures and a quick visit thru the wildlife zoo before returning for home. Brianna was asleep before we even got on the highway. We really had a lot of fun and it was nice to get away. I hope that you all like the pics.

BRIANNA "READS" A BEDTIME STORY

13 OF BRIANNA'S FAVORITE BOOKS:

Our "Little Fergie"

Fergie's "Big Girls Don't Cry" is Brianna's favorite song on the radio right now. I had to get out the camera when she was singing with the Ipod. Sorry, it's sideways but I had to post it anyway. It is just way too cute not to.

Brianna Starts Dance Class Tuesday

Brianna is wearing her new leotard for her dance class. She is so excited. She will be taking a tap/jazz class every Tuesday. Starmakers will come to her school once a week to instruct the dance class. I can't wait to see Brianna's new moves.

LABOR DAY WEEKEND

It was just another weekend around here except for the fact we had Monday off work. YEAH! Saturday, Brianna & I did our weekend running around. Brian put the netted gazebo up in the back yard so that we could sit outside and not get ate up by bugs. He probably knew that was the only way he was going to get me to sit outside with him:) I did some things in the house while Brian and Brianna played baseball outside. She is pretty good. Sunday we visited Granny. She doesn't get to see Brianna that much since Brianna started school. Granny even offered to watch her while I did grocery shopping. How could I possibly turn that down. Those of you with children know how much more you spend when you take your child into the grocery store with you. Brianna also got her Halloween costume Sunday. I know what you all are thinking: Yes, I am aware that Halloween is more than a month away. I didn't want the costumes to get picked over. Brianna got a purple pixie costume. It is very cute. I do think, however, that I made the mistake of letting her know that we have it. I can't keep her out of it. By the time Halloween rolls around, her costume will probably be torn up.
Then there is Labor Day. This is a day that we get to have off of work, free of "labor". And what do Brian and I do? We spend half the day pressure washing the house. We must be out of our minds. On the plus side though, it was a very pretty day and it was nice to be outside spending time with my husband (he looks really sexy soaking wet:).