Baby Mama..... Erin, not me, to be clear

Over Thanksgiving break I took some maternity pictures of BABY MAMA (aka Erin) at the park.  She is so. stinkin. cute. pregnant!  Carey was also there. Ditto on the so stinkin cute for him too (hi Carey). Here are some of my favorites -- the countdown is on for the arrival of Barrett!

This one made their Christmas card this year!!



Beeeaaauuuu-tiful!



small human ... riiiiggghhhttt over here.

love this little booger already

we got a hot one comin in

Dove

Isn't it shocking how sometimes the most ordinary thing sparks a memory that is so clear, so distinct, so touching, that you feel it with all your senses? This has been happening to me every day for almost 2 months now, and I finally feel an urge to share.

For the past year I've been having trouble with insanely dry skin, so, I have been through every soap on the market trying to get some relief. Two months ago, after a failed attempt at another shower time soap regiment, I picked up a box of Dove soap...and hence my little daily walk down memory lane began...

Every day when I get in the shower I am surrounded by the smell of Dove soap...so simple, so un-newsworthy to most people, but not to me. That smell takes me back to my grandmother's house (Gran), & to so many times with a woman we are sadly losing a little piece of each day to Alzheimer's. My sister & I used to love to spend the night at Gran's house. She had shag carpet that creaked at the seams when you walked on it, a pair of fuzzy house shoes with a slight heel that clonked on the tile she let us wear after our baths, and a vanity dressing area with hundreds of shades of eyeshadows and one of those day/dusk/office lighted make-up mirrors. The bedroom Erin and I slept in had a 4 post bed with a comforter on it that looked like you could fall from 3 stories up and still land softly. She'd always have the heated blanket on when it was cold, and she kept a special night gown for us - an oversized Spud McKenzie dog t-shirt (whatever that was, I guess a big deal in the late 80's) that I was obsessed with wearing. Her bathroom had yellow carpet, an avocado green tub, and yellow and green wallpaper with flowers all over it. We took a bath in there....always with bubbles, and ..... dove soap. Gran always smelled like Dove soap at night, and her hands were so soft I can remember telling her that I hoped my hands felt like hers did when I got really old...lol.

For some reason, all these years later, after a Sunday night Wal-Mart trip for groceries and soap, I have come across such an amazing way to begin/end my day. I think it's a blessing actually, because there's not been a day go by in 2 months that she hasn't crossed my mind. I know one day soon she won't remember me, but it sure is comforting to know there are things I have that help me never forget her house, her touch, her smell, and .... Her.

OMG I MADE PINTEREST!

Okay, so I accidentally hit a tab I had never explored -- the STATS tab, and it took me to the blogs that have viewed....just saw that someone saw my post on the STORYBOOK BABY SHOWER idea and posted me to pinterest -- so cool that I didn't even have to post myself. LOL.... PS - Erin should get total credit for this pin! :) 

Lately....

Let's seeeeeee.....maybe a little list of what's been going on lately will help:

1. Work....a lot   and master's classes....a lot
2. Crafting - you'll see all of it soon!
3. HOG football!  Although we had a pretty embarrassing loss to LSU, I'm still SO proud of the season and have had a blast watching them this year (still hate the BCS system). 
4. Hosted BUNCO at my house.  I cooked pizza and wine and my dress up theme was sweatpants and pjs....not exactly winning hostess of the year, but we still had so much fun! 
5. My 6th graders are doing a "spare change angel tree project" this year....I'll keep you filled in on the details of our quest for spare change and great presents for a child in need.
6. Hunting/Fishing season are upon us yet again...Nate killed a deer, so my freezer cannot hold anything other than deer meat and crappie at the moment.
7. Teacher holiday breaks are AWESOME! I have never had breaks like this....I LOVED my time off during Thanksgiving (a full week), and Christmas 2 week break is around the corner.  What a perk! 

We went to see our  friends John and Liz for the Arkansas vs. Tennessee game, and had a wonderful weekend trip.  It made me really miss Fayetteville, and our amazing friends so much! Friday night we went to the Promenade in Rogers, and I spent a chunk of our life savings in Sephora...I mean, what is a girl supposed to do? Suffer through life without the new Urban Decay Naked eyeshadow pallett? I think not.  Tailgaiting Saturday was a blast -- thanks Abra and Zach for your AWESOME tailgaiting spot!  To top it off, Arkansas won!

miss this 'ole lady!

she likes to kiss my Dad, too....on the lips

Officer Flippo .... solving ALL the world's problems

LOVE this part!

WREATHS

I got inspired by Pinterest (shout - out Krystal Harris for showing me this very addictive site a few months ago) and made some wreaths for gifts -- L.O.V.E.!



Christmas wreath for my mom







Bunco gift



rAnDoM.... random picture, I know, but we went to our friends Amber and Holland's birthday parties at Northridge a few weeks ago. Somehow the only picture I came out of there with was one with Haley Rae - my oldest friend in the world!