give and take

life was good today. it started off with me picking up my nearby neighbor and BFF. we headed over to the cahaba village where we checked out the new sushi bar called "maki fresh." it was delicious. then, we walked over to "massage envy" where we both received a full body massage that lastly an hour. i couldn't help but tweet, "just had ears massaged. end result: eargasmic." it was heavenly.

so after our massages, we walked around and scoped out some of the nearby shops. inside one of them, we found some "head massagers." we were still on a high from the surge of endorphins and wanted to maintain the "feel good" aura we were on. we each bought our own. jump in the car, and YB has already busted hers out. it was hilarious. it was awesome. i tried mine and almost felt like i needed to shake my leg like a dog does while scratching his junk. you know what i'm talking about. we giggle. we snort. we love.so since we chose "massage envy" over a massage at ross bridge, we still had some play money leftover. what's a girl to do? yup. head to tj. maxx. i bought me a scarf, snuggie, and some polos for jay. and yes, you read that right. i said snuggie. here's another twitter status..."i am now the lucky owner of a snuggie. my current blankets gently weep." winter, i am ready! OH, so while YB and i are browsing around the home department of the maxx, i saw a white sculpture that was only intended for us to find immense pleasure in. for you see, it was a sculpture of a hand flaunting a peace sign. it was YB's signature pose. it was fate. did we buy it? hell no. but we got a funny picture with! :) here we are being dorks. peace!okay. so you wanna know why we were allowed to have such an awesome day? because in all honesty, we know that any man in their right mind would be a bit bothered if not hesitant at allowing his wife to go out, eat sushi, get a massage, and do some shopping if strings weren't attached. i'll explain why...

friday, jay (along with mitchelle) and two other hubbies took the day off from work so that they could enjoy a foursome game of golf. their tee time was at 9:00am, and i am not kidding you when i say that they played (and drank) all the way up until 6:30pm. let's do the math, shall we? that's over 9+ hours, 27+ holes, and 15+ beers per golfer. we were receiving texts and phone calls all day about what a grand time they were having. i was happy for them as long as jay walked through the door in time for me to go to bunco.

so to make a long story short. YB (the master of all minds) came up with a plan. a scheme of brilliant design if you'd say. she knew that they were all drunk and in the best moods so she called her hubby and asked if the girls could have a spa day on sunday so that the outings are reciprocated. he fell for it. before YB could call me and book our appointments, i got a text from jay that said, "have fun at ya'lls spa day." holyshat. was it really that easy?? fortunately, it was. and *that* my friends is why we are keeping our BFFs around for a VERY.LONG.TIME. gotta love teamwork!

Auburn Homecoming

friday night the mabster spent the night at lola and pawpaw's house in preparation of attending auburn's homecoming football game the following morning. the tigers were scheduled to play furman at 12:30pm so they got there early enough to tailgate and enjoy some pre-game festivities. first off, the mabster sat on lola while she got her face painted as a tiger in orange and blue. pawpaw even got his to match. how cute is that? looking at these pics made me smile. the mabster was having a great time.after they got their faces painted, they headed over to see aubie. i was curious to hear how the mabster was going to react. excitedly, she told me that "she gave aubie a high five and that she wasn't scared!" baby steps. maybe he'll get that hug next year. nonetheless, i was proud of her. later, they walked over to the "tiger walk" where pawpaw let the mabster ride on his shoulders. they all got to see the coach, players, cheerleaders, and dance to the music of the band.once they got into the game and into their seats, the mabster enjoyed munching on some popcorn during the first half. the second half consisted of her defeating a pretzel that was (in the words of lola), "bigger than her head." she watched the game and cheered with "two pom-poms" given to her my two different ladies. her belly was full, and all the excitement had finally made her weary so she fell asleep on pawpaw's lap. tired little tiger.so the game ends, and auburn takes the W with a score of 63-31. the mabster continued to cheer with her pom-poms while leaving the stadium with lola and pawpaw. they reported back to us that she was so good and had the best time. war damn eagle!!after the long drive home where the mabster slept the whole time, they arrived back at lola and pawpaw's house around 6:30pm. the mabster woke up, ate dinner, and then later made some peanut butter cookies with pawpaw. he even let her lick the spoon. so i called my mom around this time and asked if we needed to come pick her up. she told me that the mabster wanted to spend the night yet again since she was having such a great time. double score! lastly, lola painted her finger and toenails, and they both fell asleep in the same bed.before i close, i have to admit that my parents know me well. knowing that they caught these pictures of "the little things" that looking back are "big things" mean alot to me. moreover, i know that one day when the mabster reads this, she will enjoy it too. so thank you lola and pawpaw for always being the great grandparents that you are and spoiling my kid like crazy. we love ya'll more than you will ever know! XOXO

UAB Homecoming

so after the birthday party, we head straight to the tailgate at legion field. tony and maloney were in charge of supplying the food, and as always, it was delicious. they provided a big pot of gumbo and the fixings, maloney's infamous seven layer bean dip, and some cherry cheesecake. kickoff started at 1:00pm, so we got a little bit over an hour in to socialize before heading into the game. here's a picture of all of us with our "babies." note that maloney's claire had already gone home with her grandparents so instead she posed as karmie's "baby." crazy crackas.the last picture is of our traditional family blazer photo. it's a must do. so toshy really enjoyed herself by sitting beside daddy, eating, and watching some of the other games on tv. then, kassi got there and gave her a big hug. later, kassi put her cute green hat on toshy's liitle head, and it was adorable.furthermore, it felt awesome chilling and relaxing under the tents in the shade with the breeze blowing by. what felt even better was knowing that we just had one kidget to look after, and all she really does is sit there and chill out herself. i have to admit though that during a hot minute, i almost panicked to myself because i didn't see the mabster. then, i realized why. it's kinda crazy how your mind is so use to worrying and looking after two that given the chance of just having one, you really don't know what to do with yourself. it was awkwardly nice in a way.

later, we head into the game where toshy sat on her tita karmie most of the first half. she even rocked tita karmie's aviator sunglasses and looked so ridiculously cute. overall, UAB won with a score of 56-29. GOOO BLAZERS!!

happy birthday, maddox!

saturday morning, jay and i wake up and get toshy ready for her first birthday party without big sister since she was at the auburn game with lola and pawpaw. the celebration was in honor of maddox's 3rd birthday and it was at pump it up from 10:00-12:00pm.

since we knew we'd be going straight to tailgate for UAB's homecoming football game, we wore our game day green. toshy did too thanks to the dress and cardigan that auntie jess gave her. so since daddy is usually the one who always has the most fun with the girls during these parties in the huge bounce houses, i wanted to give it a go. so toshy and i jumped in the big inflatable with the basketball goals, and we had a grand time chasing after the balls.after an hour worth of play, we all went inside the birthday boy's designated room for some cake and ice cream. we sang happy birthday, and his batman themed cake was SO cute. happy birthday, maddox!!

drunko bunco...minus the bunco!

this month's bunco couldn't get here fast enough considering everyone decided to skip last months due to our girl's trip to new orleans. shannon hosted the great affair at her mom and dad's house, and it was gorgeous with the best fire pit ever in the backyard.

so with all that has happened in the last month, we couldn't wait to get out of our house and enjoy some quality mommy chatter. in fact, that's all we did...talk, laugh, talk, squeal, talk, laugh, again, and again. it was awesome. i don't even remember the specifics of what we talked about, but all i know is that i definitely needed that.the night was cool and crisp as we all sat around the fire pit in the backyard. it felt fabulous. we joked about next time wearing our snuggies considering we all sat out there for about 4-5 hours. we had our own special bartender (steve) who refilled our wine glasses if ever they were half empty, and the only time anyone got up and went inside was to pee. i was having a good time. some of the discussions were fun and easy while others were deep and thought-provoking. also, the fire was mesmerizing. i just love stuff like that, and it's more than wonderful being with a group of women who "get" you and vice versa.so i know you're probably wondering..."well, did ya'll even play bunco?" the answer: nope. the time ran away from us, the clock struck midnight, and we then thought, "oops. guess everyone is a winner!" so we got to pocket our own 10 bucks and call it an awesome night. guess this is proof as to why we shouldn't skip a month. drunko bunco, oh how i love thee!so do you love the shnazzy jumpsuit that seis got for yankee belle? it's pretty awesome, no? maybe it will be her new lucky bunco outfit...love it.

thursday's thirteen

1.) so i seemed to have misplaced my calendar earlier this week. i looked in all of my "secret hiding places," and yet it was no where to be found. alas, i found it. i was relieved. giddy with a sense of security. where was it? under the a load of laundry that has been placed on the couch. guess you can say that sat there all week too, eh? don't judge me.

2.) admittedly, i punched jay after discovering said calendar. he told me that i would have found it monday if i had finished putting away the laundry then. touche' smart ass, touche'

3.) this weather has been fantastic. if it could stay like this year long, i would never complain. with that said, toshy and i are headed to the park with some friends this morning. we're trying to get the most usage out of being outdoors before this frigid cold comes upon us.

4.) i absolutely refuse allowing my 3-year-old listen to most of today's pop music. not even if brit is counting. seriously though. how do i explain to her that, "no, the counting is not educational. it's a threesome." yikes.

5.) friday night marks our monthly bunco night, and i must say, that i've never looked forward to it as much as i have this week. so much to discuss and well, i will definitely be bringing my own bottle of riesling. bring it, drunko bunco!! i don't even care to win at this point...mommy wants to see her friends!

6.) the mabster is going to the auburn game with lola and pawpaw this weekend. and can i just say that she is SO extremely excited. last year she was scared of aubie, but this year, she has announced that she will "give him a big hug." can't wait to see how that one pans out...

7.) so while the mabster is in auburn with the grandparents, we will be taking toshy to UAB's homecoming game. i don't even know who we play, but boy, am i ready to tailgate in this sunshine. GOOOO BLAZERS!!!

8.) highlight of my week: watching toshy as she tries to master her walk. it's equivalent to that of a stumbling drunk. my chuckles are flowing.

9.) we'll be attending another birthday party at pump it up this weekend...i swear i should buy stock in that place. nonetheless, let's get our bounce on!

10.) a couple of days ago, i received an email invitation to an alzheimer dance. did i forget something?...

11.) so the hubster took the plunge and got braces. in all honesty, he definitely needed them, but i never thought he'd take himself to get them done. i still remember his mom telling me that he absolutely refused when he was younger. so now he's on the verge of being 29 and so excited that he has them. in fact, his facebook status read, "is brace-faced. Now I just need some acne, and I'll be ready for the Friday night game." not to mention his virginity. see, it's silly things like this that make me love him the most.

12.) the other day, i smelled a reeking diaper from the youngest. i looked at the mabster and said, "peeeyoooh!! abby, are you going to change baby sister's diaper?" she responded with, "no, i'm not the mommy." lucky me.

and lastly,

13.) so i've hidden the majority of the halloween candy from my kiddos. my only question is this...who the hell is going to hide it from me!?!

"watch me" wednesday

happy halloween!!

halloween started off excellent. we met up with some friends and watched the parade in crestline at 4:00pm. this was our first year to experience it, and we will definitely be back. they had a ton of floats that threw out halloween beads with bats and pumpkins on them, as well as candy, moon pies, and even t-shirts. the girls loved it, and i loved watching the mabster run to pick up all the goodies that were landing towards her. it was her first parade experience, and it was a lot of fun. here are some pics.after the parade was over, we walked to the nearby playground. we let the kids run around and burn off some energy as we made our drinks and ate some yummy zoes. you know it's going to be a good night when it starts off with a parade and a picnic in the park. here are some pics...so after we all finish eating dinner, we all walk back to our cars to replenish our "drinks" (ya know, the kind that keep you oh-so warm and fuzzy on such a cold night). we make sure we have all the essentials that are needed for proper halloween trick-or-treating, and i snap a quick group picture minus a few others. so on to the strip of houses that decorated like mad with tailgate tents, scary lighting and effects, live music, and haunted tunnels. it was awesome. now *this* is what trick-or-treating is suppose to be like...so we let the kids trick-or-treat until the sun went down and everyone was exhausted (us included). i loved the fact that a lot of the houses handed out glowsticks with candy. the mabster loved wearing her neon necklace, and toshy cuddled up with tita karmie. during our trick-or-treating festivities, lola called and told us that they were back from the auburn game already and that papaw wanted to see the kids in their costumes. we decided it was a good idea to end the trick-or-treating for the night since the girls had already racked up on more than enough halloween candy.the above picture is of the mabster showing me how much candy she received. she was so utterly cute to watch as she'd walk up to each house, say "trick or treat" and then "thank you." not to mention, that she was SO happy when she got a pack of skittles. all i heard all night was, "mommy, i got some skittles!" also, i couldn't help but notice how erect and upright her bumble bee antennas were at the start of the night, and as it progressed, they were nothing more than some droopy sticks. love it.

so as soon as we get into the car at around 8:00pm, both girls PASS.OUT. we lug them into lola and pawpaw's house where we all eat a warm cooked meal and talk about the day. it was the perfect ending to a slam-packed crazy busy FUN day. i am not kidding when i say that i am ready to do it all over again. hope everyone had an awesome halloween weekend!(disclaimer: before we left lola and pawpaw's house, tita karmie put on her halloween costume for brand and lisa's party that she was attending. she couldn't wait to show me, and for good reason...it was fan-freakin-tastic. she dressed up as "saint clare of assisi (the patron saint of television)." this is no joke. seriously. google it. there really is a patron saint of the TV. i swear my older sister is brilliant. only a mind like hers can come up with this shiznit. again, it's cool if you're catholic. we appreciate the humor of our own religion. god bless you DVR.)

happy birthday, braydon!

saturday morning, we drove to pump it up in pelham in honor of braydon's birthday party. the party was held from 10:00 - 12:00pm, and i swear this place is always a good time for the whole family. i think jay enjoys jumping around in the huge inflatables just as much as the kids do. here is a picture of the mabster and daddy. see that big blur? yeah, that's daddy doing flips like the goober he is. also, daddy took toshy down the slide with him, and every time they reached the bottom, her face would turn into the biggest smile ever. later, toshy pushed the mabster in the car, and then they pounced on each other while on the pads. i love those silly girls.so once our playtime was over with, we all headed into the birthday boy's designated room for some cake and ice cream. we all sang happy birthday and watched as braydon blew out his candle on his awesome dinosaur cake. later, he opened his presents as some of his friends gathered around. happy birthday, braydon!

halloween baby shower

friday night, karla maria and i headed to our dear friend laura's baby shower. we all went to st. barnabas and nursing school together so we go way back. more importantly, laura was my nurse who helped delivered the mabster for me. words cannot express how awesome she made my first birth experience. laura is also a member of my moms group, and when welcoming her to the group, i think lisette put it nicely when she said, "we have to welcome anyone that has seen a fellow members "jibbly bits." it's the truth, right? nice. where was i?

so the invitation called for us to dress up as a famous mother. i was quite impressed with the creativity behind some of the costumes. here is a picture of us. karla maria dressed up as florence nightingale and i was mother teresa. can i just say that only Catholics themselves are allowed to dress up as their own...because if we do, it's not sacrilegious, but awesome. here's a picture. note the rosary.this next picture is of britney spears (bald britney at best) and peggy bundy. seriously? i am almost jealous that i did not think of these...OH. and look in the far left side of the pic...see the girl in all black sitting down? yeah, she was mama fratelli off the goonies. again, greatness.this next picture is of mama mia (again, jealous) and mother nature with the guest of honor. please notice that emma cate sported the pumpkin all night as well. too cute.also, here's a picture of old mother hubbard. she actually had a dog bone hanging around her neck. i hope to still be that witty at that age. beside her is carol brady (laura's mom).overall, it was a great baby shower. we played games, tasted baby food (which btw, i got all of them correct just by looking at the jar), and chatted with laura and the family for a good bit. we even busted out the "SBS, go fight, win! goooo raiders!" chant for old times sake. it was great. nonetheless, we can't wait to meet emma cate when she makes her big entrance into this world, and we know big brother will be just as excited!

fall playdate

friday, we hopped, skipped, and jumped over to YB's house for an impromptu fall playdate. since the weather was so nice and unseasonably warm, the mabster and toshy had a great time playing with the leaves and bouncing around on the trampoline. this playdate was especially fun for the mommies too considering half of them didn't have their kids since they were in school. we had a lot to catch up on and compare notes with as we all sat on the back porch while watching the kids play below. overall, it was a great day to be outside. thanks for having us, YB!

carving pumpkins

tonight was a family night filled with a teamwork process of carving pumpkins. daddy gutted the pumpkins, or to put it nicely, cleaned them out with the help of the girls. actually, i wouldn't label it "help" since toshy sat there and the mabster squealed the whole time at how gooey the inside of the pumpkins were. nonetheless, they all enjoyed it. here they are on the back porch getting their hands dirty...so for years, we have this process down. jay always "guts" the pumpkins while i "cut" them. i tend to be a bit OCD at times and like things done my way. so i encourage (or beg) jay to clean my pumpkin out for me so that i can cut out my desired design. the mabster hangs out beside me, and i give her a pen. she starts to stencil in what she wants her pumpkin to look like. it was a mess. so i ask her if she thinks her pumpkin should have triangles or circles for eyes. she chose triangles. same question for the nose. she chose a circle. so on and so forth. we get started on hers, and it was quick and easy.

soon after, i am hard at work and focused on cutting out a "lil boogaboo" monster for toshy's pumpkin. my hand is still aching. i almost forgot how tedious carving pumpkins is. with that said, it was totally worth it, and we were all proud of how they turned out. yay for family time and carved pumpkins!

school halloween party

the mabster had her first ever school halloween party today with ms. lisa and her classmates. of course i was there to snag a couple of pics and document the fine affair. she dressed up in her bumble bee costume, and all the munchkins looked adorable. ms. lisa read them a spooky "little bill" story, then they had some snacks and treats, and sang some songs. as school ended, everyone received a halloween cup with a bunch of fun treats inside. i'd like to personally thank whoever stuck the whistle/straw in there...yeah, that was definitely mommy's favorite on the car ride home. hehe. here are some pics...

thursday's thirteen

1.) confession: when jay and i were younger, we blew our money like it was monopoly play cash. if we wanted something, it was ours. no matter what the price tag. we were idiots. but now with this crippling economy, we've buckled down. we've saved. we've paid off credit cards that i thought would never go away. and now. now we're walking around like a huge weight has been lifted off our shoulders. *sigh* damn, this feels good.

2.) our halloween festivities begin tomorrow at the mabster's big girl school. they are having their class halloween party where they get to dress up in their costumes and sing songs and the such. can't wait. kids really make the holidays fan-freakin-tastic.

3.) note to self: don't bother fussing over a shower before taking the girls to "kids gym." they will bathe us in bubbles anyway. score.

4.) with all the talk on the message board about everyone's favorite scary movie, i am itching to rent one and have a frightfully good time clenching on to hubster after the munchkins are asleep. maybe some old school stephen king's "IT" and "Pet Cemetery." eek!!

5.) friday night, i'm attending a friend's baby shower. of course it is halloween themed (i love themes), and we are encouraged to dress up as a famous mother. i have a white sheet. therefore, i'm claiming easy and going as mother teresa. shut your mouth. of course, i can pull off being mother teresa.

6.) saturday is going to be SO.MUCH.FUN. we have a birthday party to attend that morning, and then on to the night's events. even if it rains, it will not stop our trick-or-treating with a heapful of fun friends.

7.) so jay surprised me with my own iphone earlier this week. still learning the ropes of the thing, but i lurve it. i mean, lurve it. quick internet within my fingertips every second of the day? it's all too much. but i'll take it! now for some apps...

8.) i am fairly certain that someone slipped my toshy some crack the other night. she refused to go to bed at her normal bedtime, and all she wanted to do was babble uncontrollably and shake her head at me. she was so intent and swears that she was telling me something. i love this age. seriously.

9.) these next 4 comments are some samples of my twitter statuses simply because i don't have enough time to think right now. enjoy. running in the rain with 2 kids in tow. this too shall pass.

10.) (in reference to mayor langford) "the world is mad and they want to take it out on someone." really, LaLa? seriously? go find your unicorn. and wow. a hitler comparison. shame on you. why am i still watching this?

11.) two words: cybex elliptical. i can hear me swearing already.

12.) two blowouts and 2 baths before nap time? (insert sarcasm here) sweet child, you are too good to me!

and lastly.

13.) i need to purchase a 2010 calendar before this motivational mojo wears off. so much to look forward to. SO.MUCH. such a planner, am i.

wordless wednesday