Happy Easter!

This year we did a little something different for Easter. Instead of putting together the traditional Easter basket and letting the girls wake up Easter morning and search for it, we did an Easter egg hunt. Now, I was a little skeptical the girls would like it since they are older now, but it just goes to show you are never too old for an Easter egg hunt [Mitchell!].

Each year, we dye eggs and have a contest to determine the best egg. Morgan's best friend, Addison joined in the fun [the child basically lives at my house - which is ok by me - she's sweet and I like that I know where my kids are!]. It was her first time to ever dye eggs, so we really gave her a hard time about it. This year, Morgan's egg was the winner. I was a little miffed since mine took way more skill to make, but I admit hers turned out better. We had a nice time, good laughs, and friendly competition. Morgan was mad that there was no prize, but bragging rights turned out to be ok!

Then it was time for the hunt. I kept it a surprise for the girls, so when I told them, I didn't know what response to expect. It was a response far more enthusiastic then I had envisioned (and you know teenagers don't get excited about anything family-related that often). "We're having an egg hunt? Can we run?" So clearly they thought it was a great idea - and it was a huge success. The eggs were stuffed with more than just candy - you know, things teenagers would want. For the prizes that couldn't fit in the eggs, I put numbers in their place. Some of the prizes included money, nail polish, a magazine, their favorite expensive shampoo, stickers, and gift cards to Starbucks, iTunes, and Panera Bread. Jordan found the most eggs, but Morgan found most of the gift cards. The rule was that everyone got one of those since they were the "Golden Eggs". The girls were good sports and it ended up being a lot of fun. I told them that the hunt was in place of their regular baskets, and they were all right with that, too!

Which goes to show - you are never too old for an Easter egg hunt [Mitchell]!

Conversations with the Girls on a Typical Tuesday/Thursday

M - Morgan
J - Jordan
S - Steph

Setting: In the car on the way to Target. We are listening to a Lady Gaga song that is somewhat Hispanic. Morgan is singing along, Spanish accent and all.

J: Please stop - you're ruining the song.
M: No I'm not. I was complimented today on my beautiful Spanish accent.
J: By who??
M: Mrs. Morrice [the Spanish teacher]
J: But I thought she had told you earlier this year that your accent was bad - that you had an Italian accent? [true, she did get in "trouble" for having the wrong accent]
M: Well, I got a new one [accent]
S: ?????????


Setting: At home on the couch. Jordan is grounded and bored now that it's the weekend. I had just invited Jordan to go to the movies on Saturday.

J: I guess - what else do I have to do?
S: It's your own fault that you can't hang out with your friends this weekend.
J: Yeah, but no matter how hot I look, it's still not cool to go to the movies with your mom!

Snowed In!

We finally got a really big snow last weekend. 5 inches - which is huge for Nashville! I love the snow, so I was thrilled. We were pretty much snowed in since the city is not equipped to deal with the snow. It was fun. It's been a while since the girls and I spent such a concentrated amount of time together. How did we pass the time:
1. We blew up the air mattress to turn the family room into sleepover quarters and watched two movies - Surrogates (really good) and Saturday Night Fever (I forgot how raunchy it was!) This led to a dance "competition" because everyone wanted to prove they could move like John Travolta. He is my number 1, and I must his younger-self was looking fine! Of course, the girls thought he was gross...they just don't get it!
2. We played a family game of poker - Addison (Morgan's best friend and my adopted daughter) won, which ticked everyone off since she was the only one who didn't know how to play! But she was thrilled with her $12.00 winnings!
3. We ate. A lot. Pizza, cookies, crap...
4. We went sledding - which was so much fun! I haven't been in years. What a thrill. Of course walking up the huge hill wasn't, so we really only went about 4 times. What a workout!
All in all, it was really fun. Even the girls would agree. Maybe I should make us "snowed in" more often! Enjoy the pics!

Born to Text

I really love this "moment" scrapbooking concept. I ran across a picture of Jordan when she was about 1 - and it looks like she's texting on her play phone. I have a million recent pictures of her texting (since that is how the girls spend the greater portion of their days) so I knew I had the perfect layout!

Pictures from My Very Successful Dinner Party!!

If you want to hear about the details, read my mom's blog! But here are the pictures from our evening. It was tons of fun and I would definitely classify it as a success. My mom left me with a time-line and we sat down to eat at 7:59. My target was 8:00! So see, mom, you can have a sit-down dinner party for 17! (Of course, only if you have a "Barb!") The food was delicious, and everyone was complimentary of my mom and her abilities.

The tables:



Merrill, Tucker, & Matt:


Nicky, Me, & Jimmy:




Some friends from work:

My baby's all grown up!

Jordan had her first formal dance yesterday. She looked absolutely beautiful - and so grown up! Her boyfriend is as big as a grown man - which is good for Jordan since her 4" heels makes her tower above most. I should have gotten a picture of that - Jordan towering over me!

We went shopping together for her dress and shoes. After last year's fiasco with dress shopping (graduation and confirmation), we were both reluctant to go. We put it off until the last minute, but we made a game plan. It was pretty simple (and was modeled after my mom who had taken Jordan shopping after me last year and had fabulous results):
1. Eat lunch together first (so we remember that for the most part we like each other)
2. Start at Macy's (No independent mall stores - too long and pricey!)
3. Try on at least 5 dresses (even if they didn't look so great on the rack)
4. If none are good, hit next department store
5. Repeat
I told her I'd spend up to $150.00 for both the shoes and the dress, so if she wanted something more expensive, she would have to pay the difference. With those rules in place, we went shopping.

We had a nice lunch (Mexican, which we both adore). Then - Macy's. We went straight to the Juniors dress section. Jordan didn't really know what she wanted, but she did know she wanted a short dress with fun color. We pulled about 6 dresses to try. Then, right before going into the dressing room, we saw one that was black and steel grey. It did not meet her requirement of color, but it met my requirement of try it on even if it doesn't look awesome on the rack. Several of the dresses were really cute, but the black and grey one was by far the best. She loved it. I loved it. It was well within the budget. Bought it.

Moved to shoes (always easier, but usually pricier). Tried on 2 pairs, loved the second. Were within budget. Bought them. The total shopping experience lasted less than 45 minutes and she came in about $10.00 under budget!! We were both thrilled.

The day of the dance, I let her get her nails and toes done, and I helped her with her hair. She looked so beautiful. And I'm not one to usually gush about my kids - but I was proud. As it turned out, some of my friends were here (long story - another blog perhaps), so I think we sufficiently embarrassed her and Nathan (remember Greg and Sandy?!) Merrill cried - which made me tear up - but I kept it in check!

Nathan had purchased a really beautiful corsage - Calla Lilies. They were dusted with a shimmery something - really gorgeous! Nathan's a good kid - he had purchased his "outfit" to match Jordan's - and it did, perfectly! So they really looked great together. Here are the pictures.



Jordan said she did not have a great time at the dance. For one, she doesn't like to dance. Plus, her boyfriend doesn't know any of her friends, so she thought he wasn't as interesting as he usually is. She had brought along a pair of flats just in case her feet started to hurt, which of course they did. But the chaperones wouldn't let them go out to the car and get them and then come back in the dance, so she was miserable. But the most "awful" thing was that a girl she really doesn't care for had the same dress as her! I know to a teenager that can ruin a dance, but I told her to think about how much better she probably looked in it than that girl! The thing I was most upset about: she didn't take any pictures of her and her friends so I could do a scrapbook page for her album, nor did she get the professional picture at the dance! She said she didn't think they had a photographer, but it's not like she looked for one! Leave it to Jordan to be so oblivious as to the fact that every dance has a photographer, and getting the pictures is a must!! That girl, I swear!

Overall, she rated the anticipation and getting ready a 10. The actual evening, not so much. But I have hopes the next dance will be better for her. After all, my mom's offered to teach her how to dance! :)

Steph's Stressed - & the Season's Just Begun!

I can't believe that we are only 3 days into the Christmas season, and already I am totally stressed out!

Our tradition is to decorate the house the weekend after Thanksgiving. Usually my dad and I go to get our trees on Saturday. We have our favorite seller where we've gone for years. Dad and the owner know each other by now, and I think they both get a kick out of the haggle. I don't mind so much seeing as since dad gets such a big tree, the owner almost kicks mine in for free! But this year, dad didn't want to get the trees this weekend. I don't know why, but I can't go without him - that's the tradition! So that has thrown me off. I thought I may go ahead and do all the other decorating, but I had so much to do this weekend that I wasn't really "free" until about 2:00 Sunday. Even with the girls "help" I'm not sure I could have gotten it all done by the evening, and the cleaning ladies come tomorrow, so it had to be done and out of the way so they could clean...the outcome - I haven't started decorating yet! I hate putting it off - that means less time to enjoy it before I have to take it down. Plus, next weekend I have agreed to help a friend move (I know, what was I thinking?!), Morgan has a basketball game, and Jordan has winter formal. It's not like it will be less busy than this weekend was!

I decided to be a good mother and make memories this year. The girls and I haven't done any holiday baking in years. So, I bought the stuff to make the peanut butter cookies with the hershey kisses on top and gingerbread cookie dough & cream cheese icing. Ambitious, I know, for a non-cook! I decided we would make the peanut butter cookies today. Of course, the girls didn't want anything to do with the baking, only the eating! So much for making memories...The first batch I undercooked and put the kisses in too soon so they totally melted. The second & third rounds went a little better, but they still aren't as pretty as when my mom makes them. At least they taste good! But that sucked up an hour and a half of my day.

Moving along to the shopping. I am actually in really good shape. I am done with my family's gifts. All I have left is the girls, my boss, and maybe a friend or two. And I have the money to shop (thanks, Dave!) so that's no big deal. But when will I have time to go shopping?? I would rather shop online, but then I'm peeved when they charge you an arm and a leg for shipping and handling. I like the mall this time of year, so I will probably venture out soon, but the girls have asked for items that I won't really be able to get at the mall, but rather at places like Walmart and Target - which are not fun this time of year!

My calendar is filling up, I haven't bought an ornament for the ornament exchange (& you know I'll have to cook for that, too), my friends want to have a Christmas celebration so I guess I'll be planning that! Yeah - it's official - the holidays are here!