I realize this is a small victory, but I'm still counting it as a victory

Today I marked off my first item on my list. I cleaned and organized the guest closet. Now, I know that from the pictures, this doesn't look very dramatic. But just having the folders organized and envelopes out where I can get to them makes a HUGE difference to me.

Also, yes, that IS a ridiculous amount of tasty booze. I keep it in the closet because the crack-smoking genius that built this house put air vents in all of the closets, making them nice and frigid, like mini meat lockers. So I don't have to waste precious fridge space in order to have a nice, cold drink when the mood strikes me.

Behold, BEFORE:

AFTER:

Organized folders, papers, envelopes, stacked suitcases inside each other until they all fit into the big blue one, and reorganized top shelf.

Another angle, BEFORE:

AFTER: 

I added the pack-n-play into the mix because it was lonely and in the way lying on the floor right outside of the closet. I also found our shredder! And lots of pretty wrapping paper! And now my tasty booze is situated next to the iciest air vent this side of the Mississippi to ensure maximum cooling. 

That's it, my friends. The closet has been cleaned. I wish I had taken before and after shots of Steve's and my closet because it was a much more dramatic transformation than this. But the organizing urge hit me fast on that one and there was no time to grab a camera.

Only 100 more items to go!

101 in 1,001

So I've heard of other people completing a list of 101 things they'd like to do in 1,001 days. That is where the idea of this list came from. I showed it to Steve and he is excited about it and suggests we print it out and hang it somewhere so we can start crossing things off. We are very much List People. Why, just today I made a list of what Sam will eat for every meal this week. I also make grocery lists. And chore lists. And meal lists (for Steve and me). And now I've gone and made a Bucket List of sorts. Obviously this is not my bucket list. My Official Bucket List will have grand and awesome things on it, such as: multiple trips to Tahiti, owning a Zaxby's for the sole purpose of eating free fried chicken, rescuing sweet, smushy-faced, needy pugs, and achieving world peace. This list is like my warm-up lap.

1. visit Paris, TN
I've heard cool things about this town, and Steve looked it up today online. Looks interesting enough. Been to Paris, France, why not Paris, TN?

2. go on a road trip
I have a feeling this will happen during the holiday season..

3. become CPR certified
When is it NOT a good idea to know CPR?

4. baby-proof the house
Not that my child will ever crawl in a forward-fashion, but here's to hoping.

5. cook a whole chicken
Oh their gooey insides gross me OUT. I'm looking forward to triumphantly placing that baked bird on a beautiful platter on the table while we all sit in our Sunday best and have a Leave It To Beaver kind of moment.

6. floss every day for a month
Flossing is not my forte. The tiny rope slips off of my fingers, my gums bleed, I never seem to do anything but gunk up the mirror. But it's good for me. I'll give it a shot.

7. have dessert for dinner
I'm looking forward to this one!! I will definitely document this with plenty of photographic evidence.

8. buy or make a headboard for our bed
It's just time already. I found a really cute DIY headboard, but I'm a little turned off by the amount of sewing... And since I don't own a sewing machine, it's KIND OF out of the question...

9. try sauerkraut
It looks like old, white hair to me, and it smells a little funky, but people go on and on about this stuff so I might just cook some up and slap it on a hotdog one of these days.

10. have a professional photographer take our family picture
 That mantle of ours is pretty bare!

11. try a new cocktail
I'm always up for new booze!

12. go to the dentist
It has been approximately six years since my mouth was scraped apart by a dental hygienist. I think it's time for a tune-up.

13. stick a toe in one (or more!) of the Great Lakes
They seem so far away, but I don't think we're ever going to live any closer. It's only about 7-8 hours away, which is really no further than going to my parents' house.

14. go water-skiing
I am 100% confident that I will face plant and get some sort of water-burn, but you never know. I could be some sort of natural out there and I don't want to miss my calling.

15. drive through the mountains in the fall
I'm a sucker for places with seasons and there WILL be a ton of photos to document this item on the list.

16. give a 100% tip for excellent service
Wouldn't that make some waiter's/waitresses' day??

17. sponsor a child
Why not?

18. get a massage
Steve thought this meant that he was going to give me a backrub. HA. And HA HA HA. No man. I am talking about a REAL massage. 

19. go shooting at a range with Steve
He is SO good at this, and I want to see him in action, as well as have him teach me a thing or two.

20. donate blood
I have the universal donor blood type and yet, I am skittish to give blood because I had a Very Bad Experience with being repeatedly stuck by a very inexperienced person in high school. But I think that it's high time I suck it up and do the right thing. (And yes, you will hear about this horrific story when the Blood Drawing Day comes.)

21. go kayaking
No rapids, just an easy little river.

22. buy a piano
I'm dying to play on a more regular basis, but there is no stretch of wall to put a piano on in our current housing situation. Hopefully in the next 1,001 days I can rectify that situation.

23. grow basil
I was definitely born with a black thumb, which stinks because fresh herbs are THROUGH THE ROOF expensive. And I kind of really got hooked on basil this year. I hear that Steve has a good record of keeping tomato plants alive. Maybe he'll have a couple tips to share so I don't kill the poor plant within the first week.

24. cook and eat brussel sprouts
I want to set a good example for Sam by eating healthy foods, but how can I do that when I have these preconceived notions as to which foods are NASTY and which are yummy? My friend Aly is known for making tasty, healthy dishes, and I am going to give her brussel sprouts recipe a try.

25. eat deep-dish pizza in Chicago
This would follow the item about healthy eating, wouldn't it?

26. see the Grand Canyon
I think it's on everyone's bucket list, so that is why it's on my warm-up list.

27. take Sam to an Auburn home game
He would love all of the people and excitement. And of course, seeing where Daddy wooed Mommy.

28. buy at least one more serrated knife
I swear, every time I need a serrated knife for something, the only one we have is covered in raw chicken parts. And I know I could just wash it off, but I feel like something that has touched raw chicken parts needs to be sanitized and sterilized in the dishwasher with super-hot water and steam. Call me crazy, but I need more than one serrated knife.

29. host a dinner party
I'm not a great cook, but I love having people over and having an excuse to make a big dessert.

30. buy fireproof box for important documents
A no-brainer.

31. go line dancing
This is a very Tennessee thing to do, but heck, we're 45 minutes from Nashville; Gotta take part in the local traditions.

32. find cute Christmas stockings
I would very much love to find stockings that are cute and match and are obviously for each individual person in the family (ie, they have our names on them), but I am so consumed with worry that I will find cute stockings for the three of us, buy them, have a second child, go to order another stocking for second child, and find out that the stockings have been discontinued. It will be an ugly tailspin and will probably result in my getting rid of the three stockings (but not without tons of guilt and angst since they were our "first family stockings") and trying to find equally cute and matching stockings, but that will be impossible since I will constantly be comparing them to the original stockings. Whew. I might save this one for Day 999.

33. go fishing with Steve
He's in his element when he's fishing. We don't talk much while he's out there, but he's fun to watch.

34. ride a mechanical bull
This just looks so fun to me.

35. buy food for the person behind me in a drive-thru
Wouldn't that just make your day?

36. make a family tree
There are such creative ways to display these nowadays, and I would love to have- in writing- all of our families' names.

37. go to a comedy club
I love to laugh. Can't think of a better place to do it.

38. try a new recipe at least once a week
For a few months, I was stuck in a rut of making the EXACT same things for dinner every single week. It was good, healthy food, but geez louise it got boring! After trying a few new recipes a week ago (and having success with that!), I decided that I need to branch out and try new recipes more often. I always have a stash of frozen pizzas in the freezer, so it will never be too big of a disaster..

39. make a gingerbread house for Christmas
I bought a kit to make one the first Christmas that Steve and I were married and I think I chucked the entire thing (still in tact in the box) in the trash when we moved out.

40. come up with a really great Halloween costume
The last Halloween I dressed up, I was a redneck, sooo....

41. go roller skating with Steve
He's so good at ice skating and never lets me fall down. Roller skating is something I've actually DONE, so maybe he won't have to catch me so much.

42. go wine tasting
Any excuse to drink some vino!

43. take a class on how to use my camera
Because it's a little sad to own such a nice piece of equipment and know so little about it.

44. make bread from scratch
This terrifies me. Too much flour? Not enough? Rolling pins, rising, warming, baking, yeast, YIKES. So many ways for this to go horribly wrong.

45. compete in a Muddy Buddy race
This looks like SO MUCH FUN. Check it out here.

46. go on a picnic
 I've got a basket and a quilt, so why not? There's got to be a park or square of grass around here somewhere!

47. lose 30 pounds
Oy. This needs to happen sooner rather than later.

48. go sledding
The uphill half of that could help with #47.

49. go to daily Mass once a week for a month
This is a toughie to work around Sam's naps and trying to keep him occupied by myself in church, but I definitely think it's worth it.

50. go deep sea fishing
This is actually a goal of Steve's, but I like the ocean and watching him fish, so I think I would thoroughly enjoy it too (so long as I'm not prone to deep seasickness).

51. take a zumba class
Apparently I'm the only person on the planet who hasn't been to one of these classes yet.

52. write a piece for a magazine, newspaper, or website
And no, not just for my website. I'd love to write on a topic that I know something about (You: as opposed to??), such as Hypnobabies, or Extreme Eczema, or why certain people should no longer possess drivers' licenses. You know, everyday stuff.

53. get a physical
This will be scary. Especially if the doctor comes at me with one of those fat-pincher-things. Or wants me to step on a scale. Or asks me to successfully pee in a cup.

54. go for 30 days without diet coke/coke zero/diet pepsi/ any variation of a diet brown carbonation confection
I never thought I was one of those people that couldn't go without a Coke, but it turns out that I'm hooked like a crack addict.

55. do the Dukan Diet with Megan
It sounds absolutely miserable, but I would hate to be the fat friend.

56. revisit sushi
Not at the same all-you-can-eat Chinese buffet, but perhaps under more pleasurable circumstances. Maybe circumstances that don't involve me spitting the sushi back out onto my plate.

57. have a clothesline
My mama has a clothesline and sheets never smell or feel better than right after they've come in off the line. Doesn't hurt that it can save a LOT on the energy bill..

58. straighten my hair at least twice a month
It's time to switch things up, ya know?

59. eat spaghetti in Italy
I'll actually eat anything and everything in Italy, I just really want to go there. Spaghetti seems so fitting. I don't know how I could go there and not eat some spaghetti at some point.

60. take my vitamins
I recently started taking my vitamins again and noticed that the last time I had my vitamins filled was in Virginia. Approximately six months ago.

61. go on at least one date a month with Steve
Not a couch date, but a real-life, go-to-dinner-and-talk-about-something-besides-how-horrendous-that-last-poopy-diaper-smelled date.

62. go to a parade
Any kind will do.

63. read the books and magazines piling up next to my bed
This is hard. I want to start them but I feel like a failure if I get halfway through and stop. I always want to drop whatever I'm doing and finish reading it. Unfortunately, there is just not time to read a magazine cover-to-cover these days and bookmark all the recipes I want to try as well as the articles I want Steve to read, and and and..

64. cook a live lobster
I will most likely feel horrible about this. I know that chicken breasts come from a once-living chicken, and beef from a cow, and bacon from a pig and all that jazz, but actually seeing my soon-to-be-dinner thrown to its death in a pot of boiling water? Sheesh. 

65. go to a fondue restaurant
I just need an excuse to eat cheese for dinner.

66. have a banana fudge ice cream cone at Springers in Stone Harbor, NJ
Best ice cream I've ever eaten in my LIFE.

67. make iced coffee
Once I make this happen, we can stop contributing to Starbuck's ever-increasing bottom line.

68. add $10 to the vacation jar every time I complete an item on this list
Then I can make a Bucket List dream come true-- TAHITI!!!

69. go to a local festival
I'm not sure what festivals are thrown around here, but I'm curious to see. I used to go to a Peanut Butter Festival in Brundidge, AL. It was AWESOME. Festivals devoted to peanut butter are my kind of festivals.

70. go rock climbing
I mainly just want to rappel off of the top of the rock, but I understand that in order to do that, I will have to haul my butt up said rock.

71. quit using plastic bags
I really don't need 46,000 bags to keep in my house for our three tiny trashcans, but for some reason, that is the excuse I give myself when I forget the reusable bags in the car...

72. have dinner by candlelight
Ooh-la-la. Romance!

73. ride a roller coaster
Another thing I want to do with Steve. He's suddenly gotten the nerve up to ride county fair rides, and I guess if he is willing to put his life into carnie hands, he's ready for the big leagues- a real, true-to-life roller coaster.

74. completely surprise Steve
I'm working on this.

75. pick a pumpkin
I mainly want to take pictures of Sam in a pumpkin patch; you caught me.

76. wear makeup every day for a week
I'm very OK with washing my face and brushing my teeth and calling it a day hygiene-wise. I don't wear makeup or really "do" my hair or wear a lot of jewelry. But I think doing a little something more for my outward appearance might do something positive for me on the inside.

77. invest in undergarments suitable for a lady with a husband and a child
In case you're just now tuning in, check THIS out. Also, in the shuffle of moving, I am somehow without a slip, camisole, or strapless bra- things that a lady my age typically owns. My friend Vicki is going to help me rectify this situation very soon.

78. go to the Poconos
Steve thinks this would be romantic. I've never been there before, so who am I to knock it? All I know about it is what I've seen in bridal magazine ads. And that was just two people sitting in a giant champagne glass hot tub having a Very Romantic Time. In my opinion, Very Cheesy, but maybe there is another side to this great mountain range.

79. eat a cheesesteak IN Philly
Every time we go visit Steve's parents, we eat the most delicious cheesesteak in the history of cheesesteaks at Nifty Fifty's. And I see absolutely NOTHING wrong with that. But I feel like it's time we ventured into Philly and tried a cheesesteak from one of the two Very Historic Locations? Yes? Maybe decide for ourselves whose is better?


80. make something crafty
This might be dinner one night.

81. find a personally inspirational quote and work it into a piece of art or home decor
I've seen a couple things I like, but am waiting. Mainly because I'm very indecisive.

82. volunteer at least 1 hour per month
I used to volunteer all the time. It feels so good to give your time and do something for someone else. I need to quit making excuses and start making it happen.

83. watch the Phillies play the Braves
Yes, LIVE. I can't stand to watch baseball on TV. Unless of course I'm trying to nap and there's no golf on.

84. roll Toomer's Corner
Done it before and can't wait to get back and do it again.

85. get on the VIP list at Skybar
I know people. And they're going to get us on that list. And then we're going to party like we're rockstars. Or at least like we have a babysitter for the night.

86. go listen to 17th Floor with Steve
I will never live down the fact that I am the sole reason that Steve never heard this band play while we were in Auburn. Never mind the fact that we didn't meet until his junior year of college, I caused this travesty. I MUST FIX IT.

87. find curtains for guest room
Yes, boring, I know.

88. organize folders and paperwork that is piling up in guest closet
I know this is boring as well, but it nags me in the back of my mind constantly. I just haven't figured out a way to organize it all so that I can get to everything, all the time.

89. go to a concert at the Grand Ole Opry
This is another one of Steve's goals, but I know it's something we need to do while we're stationed here so close to Nashville. 

90. run with Steve (and keep up)
Oh this is going to be so tough. He's very encouraging when we jog together, but I know he's got to be wondering if I'm not walking with a serious bounce in my step due to the slow pace.

91. make a will
Hmmm... who will get my millions?? And my child that will render them socially ka-PUT after 5pm central standard time?

92. make a Christmas wreath
I've yet to hang a wreath on my door for Christmas and I hope I can knock this item off the list by this Christmas.

93. write a random letter to an old friend
Correspondence is key to making sure that we stay "friends."

94. start an IRA
It's time the money works for us and not the other way around!

95. update my voter registration
It's just time.

96. make a list before entering Target and only buy what's on the list
This one sort of makes my palms go sweaty and my pulse rise. That store does something to me. I can't explain.

97. take Sammy to at least one playdate each week
So far we've found three opportunities each week to interact with other moms/babies in some form or fashion.

98. find some good Tennessee bbq
Because it shore ain't findin' us.

99. make homemade jam
This could take care of my strawberry dilemma.

100. set up home-cleaning schedule so the toilets get cleaned more than once a month
Maybe I could get them cleaned BEFORE the ring shows up. What a novel idea.

101. blog about completing 101 in 1,001
I promise it won't be boring!

Why are 6 people scheduled for the same 2:45 appointment??

Yesterday I took Sam to an allergist to see if he could shed some light on his eczema issues and why he's constantly in Break-Out Mode. The night before I was sweating it out (out loud, of course), "What if he's allergic to peanuts?! Or wheat?! Or milk?!" Steve told me I was overreacting, he might not be allergic to anything, least of all, peanuts, so no sense in thinking about it now. I'm sure you all know that didn't help me sleep any better.

So we went to the doctor and waited in his Very Boring Waiting Room while I tried to fill out a book's worth of paperwork and simultaneously watch Sam to make sure he didn't free-fall face first off of the chair or lick the seat or tear apart the Mechanics Daily magazine. So that was difficult. And the sheet to fill out was SO CONFUSING. Maybe I'm an idiot, but halfway through, I wasn't sure if the information I was filling in was supposed to be MY info or Sam's. It started out with all of Sam's information but then.. Married? Spouse's info? Work phone number? Ummmm.. I just wrote "N/A" for a lot of it and the nurse didn't say anything else to me so I left it at that. I'm sure they're all having a fun talk about us today. "Look at the way this idiot filled out her paperwork! OMG! Let's make her wait AT LEAST an hour by herself in that tiny waiting room as punishment for being so dumb."

And since we're on the issue of STUPIDITY, while I was signing in and writing down my appointment time, I looked up and noticed that five other people had written down that they too were scheduled for a 2:45 appointment with the exact same doctor. Really? Did they honestly think that five out of the six of us were going to magically forget about this appointment? Not show up? Back out? Really? And we wonder why the doctor is "running a little behind." Yep.

Oh! And while waiting in the tiny waiting room by ourselves, I blew their minds. I opened my door back up. They looked at me like I was Rosa Parks. We were seen shortly after, and I think it's because they saw actual PEOPLE in there, WAITING on them! To be fair, I wasn't just standing in the doorway giving folks the evil eye, I needed a new distraction for Sam. He had already ripped all of the sanitation paper to shreds and pooped a diaper and drank all of his milk so we had to think on our feet.

They checked his weight before we went into this tiny, boring room. And wouldn't you know that they didn't have a baby scale! Imagine that! A pediatrics office without a baby scale. Hmm. The nurse looked at the scale and looked at me, looked at the scale and looked at Sam. Then she said, "Well, I think the only thing we can do is to weigh you holding him and then weigh you without him." Oh, AWESOME. She told me to just leave the diaper bag on for both weighs, but HELL NO am I adding (at least) ten extra pounds to that number. So she got an accurate weight, and I can't say that it was much better without the diaper bag on, but I have almost no shame at this point anyway. So what if a few random people know my weight now? And those kids heard it too? No biggie. But no need to announce it down the hallway SHUT UP WOMAN!!

After waiting a virtual eternity in the tiny waiting room with someone who desperately needed a nap (me), the doctor finally came in and checked Sam out. He told us the same things that I've been hearing since Day One. He gave us a few new prescriptions to try in order to clear up his current eczema flareups, and after that goes away, he will do some food testing.

I guess I have plenty of time to worry about peanut and wheat allergies. But I don't have NEAR enough time to make my scale reading lower before my next weigh-in.

He can't just ask for a tie

I've been debating for a while about what to do for Steve or what to get him for Fathers' Day. He's hard enough to buy for on Christmas and his birthday, but throw in another gift-giving occasion? I'm pullin' my hair out over here. So far he's requested new underwear (I consider that a necessity more than a gift, and after noticing the condition of Steve's underwear, a DIRE NEED) and sunglasses he already got. Neither of those are "it" and nothing sounds like enough for the man who hangs the moon for Sam and me. I don't think I can ever fully express my love or gratitude to him for what he's done and continues to do for us. 

I tried mowing the lawn for him before he got home from work on Friday (I used precious nap time! It was HOT! I used more nap time for a shower! Did I mention how hot it was?), but I don't think that was met with enough enthusiasm to be considered a true gift. Nice gesture? Yes. Gift? No.

I bought him a new Polish pottery casserole dish! Hmm, the dish itself might be more of a gift to me, but the food I prepare IN it is for him! ... Nah, not really a valid gift.

I cooked breakfast. Wait, that's part of my job description. I probably can't classify that as a gift either.

I organized and cleaned out our closet! That's a gift, right? I think it probably makes me feel better than it makes him feel, but I know he likes things neat and organized too. Still, organizing a closet, cutting the grass, cooking meals. That stuff seems so everyday. I feel like mountains should move or angel choirs should start singing or he should get a new truck in order for him to know how much he's appreciated.

Lucky for me, Steve is the kind of guy who doesn't need all of those things to be happy or to know he's special and loved. 

We spent some time this morning looking at photos from way back when Sam first made him a Dad.

Love at first sight

Not so much when it came to that first diaper..

But he came out on the other side just fine

Nothing has been the same since. I've watched the love of my life turn into the father of my child and never miss a beat.

Well, I ended up making him a collage of Sammy and Steve pictures in a frame for his desk at work. I also got him some new undies. And since the grill at our house is officially ka-put (NOT COOL during prime summer grilling time!), there was a coupon for him to pick out a new grill.

Happy Fathers' Day Steve! You're the best!! I love you!!!

Disclaimer: I can officially set Best Dad Standards because I had the BEST DAD growing up. Love you Dad!!!

Just a thought

Steve, Sam, and I were taking a walk around our neighborhood yesterday evening (no doubt trying to hold out for a 7pm bedtime) when we turned down a street where one of the soldiers in Steve's company lives. I met him and his wife at the brigade ball we went to. Y'all remember that, don't you? I'm surprised I remember that. Since then, they moved a few streets over from us and we both keep saying we'll have the other one over, but it never happens. I just wanted to oogle at their house for a minute and see some different scenery, but lo and behold, they were outside finishing some yard work.

We never had a chance to really talk before. The ball was loud and people with no sense were trashed (me!) and overall it was just tough to have a decent conversation. So we caught up. And I have uncovered a whole new appreciation for the sacrifices our military are making every day for us.

(For storytelling purposes, I will call the wife "Sue" and the husband "Joe.")

Sue was looking at Sammy and telling me how cute he was. I knew they had children (it was the reason they "upgraded" to the house they are in) and inquired about them. She explained that Joe had three kids from a previous marriage and they had one daughter together. Since she and her husband deployed at the same time, the three children were living with their mother and their daughter was still living with her grandparents. She left her daughter when she was only three months old. And hasn't "lived" with her since. She's now eighteen months old but has no real understanding that these two people she sees occasionally are her parents. In fact, she's slightly scared of her dad.

What hit me hardest is that she said something like, "So I don't really feel like a mom." I literally launched Sammy her way, knowing that holding my sweet little sack of potatoes couldn't make up for not holding hers. I wanted to put some sort of band-aid on that GIANT hurt and give her back the first year of her daughter's life that she missed. I wanted her to see the first smile, the tiny mannerisms, the first infectious laugh she got when you made a silly face. The feeling you get when you walk into their room first thing in the morning and are met with the happiest little person on the face of the earth. The frustration you feel when she WILL NOT GO TO SLEEP for the love of GOD, and then the almighty sense of accomplishment that comes after sticking it out and seeing that angel lying there in a crib. I wanted her to have all of that.
But that's part of being in the military. You agree to put your life on hold, lay it down if necessary, to do the job. But anything that involves missing birthdays, Christmases, first teeth, and your own child's first year of life is more than just a job.

I don't know if any of you watched the Lifetime series "Coming Home." I only heard about it because most of the filming took place here at Ft Campbell and there was a big write-up in the newspaper about it. Well, I watched it nearly every week, and it was like a scheduled time to cry every Sunday night. It documented soldiers coming home to their families. Some of the stories involved elaborate setups, other just hid behind their car and popped out to surprise their children coming home from school. All of the stories (even though some were cheesy), were a reminder of how much soldiers and their families give up every day for our country. The stories that hit my waterworks the hardest were the soldiers that were coming home to children they'd never met. Babies that were born while they were gone. The looks on their faces and the feelings they must have been having. I can only imagine.

Steve hasn't deployed yet. It sounds like it could be quite some time before he goes over (next year), but I'm aware that it could always been sooner. And I am in no way prepared. My closest friend here is getting ready to say See Ya Later to her husband for a year. Her son is Sam's age and loves his daddy just as much as Sam loves Steve.
It hurts my heart to think about all of the firsts he'll miss while he's away.
It hurts my heart to think about just how much she might miss him.
It hurts my heart that there won't be much I can do to make it hurt any less for her.

(We do plan to see if wine will help the situation, scientific go-getters that we are.)

All of that to say, thank a soldier when you see them. That means a lot. They give up so much to ensure our everyday freedoms and all too often we take them for granted. Also, hug your spouse and your kid. Even though they might not be going anywhere, you never know how much time you have left with them.

There are seriously a ton of pictures in here. You've been warned.

Here we are, home again. Vacation was so fun, and the beach. was. amazing. I couldn't have dreamed of water to be such a temperature, to be so clear, and to have such tiny, non-breaking-til-you're-knee-deep waves. Ahh... Heaven. Obviously I have ten thousand pictures to share with you, so let's get to it.

After arriving at my parents' house and saying hellos and taking a BIG BOY BATH (read: no baby tub), Sammy played around on the floor..

And then in the air..

Yes, at the last minute, I scrapped the idea of taking along the entire gigantic jumperoo and instead opted for a Johnny Jump Up. Best decision. He loved jumping in it just as much and it only took up 1/8 of the car space that the jumperoo would have eaten.

One stop while we were "out" was to the new Enterprise High School. (The old high school was torn apart by a twister that blew through in 2007.) The new high school looks more like a college campus than a public school, so we took a few peeks around to see what it was all about. Here we are in the "lobby" (ooh-la-la, a lobby) next to the Wildcat. Liz and her class were the first ones to graduate from the new high school. It makes me sad that I can never show Sammy where I went to school, but I'm happy for Enterprise that they got such a nice new schoolhouse.

And this would be our old librarian. Well, she's not old. She's just our FORMER librarian. You see, many moons ago, Mrs. Haglund was the librarian at my elementary school. And she stayed there for quite some time. And then we all left elementary school and she transferred over to librarianize the high school (obviously so she could hang out with all of us again). She and Sammy are in the new gym checking out the lights to make sure they're up to par.

There was time to play at the house (or to sleep, if you're Steve- Is this his idea of babysitting??)

WAKE UP ALREADY. I give you 12+ hours of sleep every night; what more do you want from me old man??

Sucking his toe...
Ok, I'll stop with these photos. I have literally, a hundred just like them. All equally cute, all equally similar. But there are other photos to see!

Sammy with my Grandmama Linda

And Liz graduated!

The whole family. Five former Wildcats.

Love my sister. Don't know how she walks in those shoes.

There she is with her diploma! (And her gorgeous, Auburn-colored flowers.)

Here we are partying. I drank a bit. Someone else got my camera.

We don't dance at our parties. It's too close to having sex standing up. So we just stand around and drink instead. (And if you have sex standing up later, that's your business.)

And we finally made it to the beach. Paradise.

Do you see that?

It's coming closer..

I think I've seen this species before.

They typically hail from the Northeast. But sometimes they migrate South...

It's not a Guido..

It's a Steve! Still hot, even with that farmer's tan.
Onto something FAR LESS SEXY. The fact that I personally screwed up every family picture I was a part of.

My mouth was always open, or my tongue was out, or I had my hands flung across my bosom like my top was fixing to fly off. This was the best of them all.
How sad is that???
(Side note: In all of these pictures, Steve was staring straight at the camera. Sam never did, and I only did once. But my hands were across my chest and that wasn't acceptable.)

After taking pictures that didn't work, we scratched off some lotto cards hoping to win big.

Only one of us won big. $5?

Mixing drinks..

Sammy's first day at the beach. Could he ask for anything more??

He isn't a huge fan at first..

Oh well. You're goin' in anyway.

He eventually got used to it and took to surfing.

So apparently those are all of the beach pictures. Oh who am I kidding? I have at least a hundred more. But I think I've posted enough. I will leave you with some red-neck-ness.

This is Steve's and my first place. Newsflash: the girl who bought it spruced it up. HA HA HA.

She painted the front and back door with the leftover paint that I used on the kitchen. She installed a security system (or is fudging it with that ADT sign). She added shutters. Steve said, "Why didn't we think to add shutters?" I told him that we didn't care that much. Also, it would have cost money, and we didn't really want to sink money into our fabulous "modular home." Now you all know the redneck truth about us. You HAVE to admit that it's one of the nicer trailers that you've seen though. Seriously. (I'm sure everyone who lives in a trailer says that.)

I'll be your weatherwoman soon enough

We made it! To Alabama, that is. I'm happy to report that we didn't leave the dogs at home or forget Important Things like underwear or baby food or DIAPERS, and that we made it here in one piece, in relatively good time, and without incident.

Of course, I've already taken a bazillion pictures, so while Sam is napping and everyone is out running errands, I figured I'd update here and post a couple pictures so that it's not Picture Overload when I get back home.

First off, The Trip.

Our trusty captain, er, lieutenant.

Milk face!

Miss Odie, basking in the sunshine on top of her towel.

Crazy Marci, head shoved up as far as it can go under the seat.

Ol' Blue Eyes did a fantastic job on the trip.

While planning and organizing at home before the trip, I forgot the tiny detail that Auburn was NOT on our way to my parents' house. Two different interstates. Hmmm.. Added an extra hour or two to our trip, but we needed to take this picture there anyway.

And this one.

It was so HOT out there. Poor Sammy was sweating his little heart out, but he was a good sport while we snapped shots of him.

And while we're on the topic of heat, who comes up with the heat index? I think they should let me decide these things. I've got twenty plus years of sweat experience under my belt, and frankly, I don't think the weather people are aware of just how hot it is since they are updating the "weather" from inside their air-conditioned offices. Take for instance, while we were in Auburn, the temperature was 96 degrees. The Heat Index was 99. Ok, that is way off. I was outside, in the sunshine in the heat of the day, and it felt closer to 200 degrees. As unrealistic as that sounds, don't you think people would take those types of readings more seriously?

Scenario:
Do I wanna go for a run right now at 1pm? Let me check the heat index. OH WOWZERS 246 degrees!! I think I'll wait til dark when it feels closer to 90 degrees.

See? I think that's more helpful than guesstimating two degrees higher than the actual temperature. Weather people. Psh. Consider that my resume and application.

I will leave you with one more picture before I soon freeze up your computer with ridiculous amounts of beach pictures.

WAR SAM EAGLE!!!