My BABY turned FOUR!!

Today is Ava's fourth birthday. Four years ago today on August 24th I gave birth to the most beautiful little girl I had ever seen. She is such an amazing daughter, and I thank God for her everyday.
Ava MUST mean JOY in some language, because that is what she is. She brings me more joy than I could ever have imagined!!
Happy Happy Birthday my sweet sweet baby!! I love you!

ps. the party or should I say PAR-TAY was AWESOME (a mere 73 people showed up..ha!ha!)......MUCH MORE on THAT later this weekend!

Out of the Mouths of Babes!!

I don't have time to do much blogging today as I am frantically getting ready for Ava's big party tomorrow.....but I thought I would report on Carter's latest and greatest.
FIRST, he wanted me to buy him some books from the book fair yesterday, to which I replied.."Carter, I am not buying you any more books until you read the FIVE new books I bought you this summer that are still sitting on your shelf untouched!"
Carter: "BUT MOMMMMMMM!!! I can't read those ones!!"
Me: "Why in the world not?"
Carter: "Because I don't have a bookmark." ................Like,.....Duuuuuuh??

Next, he was having a conversation with my sister about working, and why she had a job, and who was her boss..(which was a funny one because my brother is her boss, and Carter thought that was pretty cool.....His wheels were probably already turning as to what he would MAKE Ava do if he was HER boss........), and so forth. Then Hannah asked him what he wanted to be when he grew up.
Carter: "A Vet."
Hannah: "Oh, Carter, that's GREAT!! You would make a VERY good Vet!!"
Carter: pause..."Actually, I think I just want to work at PETSMART, because you get to PET the animals all day." (I guess Vets aren't allowed to TOUCH the animals....)
Some kids want to be firemen, some want to be teachers, some even VETS:-), but OH, NO my child has BIG goals of ...........working at PetSmart. petting animals all day. yay. i'm so excited i can barely contain myself.
Though I wonder if he will be able to get through the employees manual without a bookmark?

On that note, I'm off to try and get this party thing under some kind of control. Pictures sure to follow sometime this weekend.
Have a GRRRREAT weekend!!

Grosgrain Giveaway!

You know the drill....Go to Grosgrain and enter to win this adorable dress!

I DID IT!...okay okay....SHE did it!!

So we made it through the first day with just a FEW tears. Craig stayed home this morning, we had breakfast together, prayed together over Ava, and then IT happened. We drove her to school, and LEFT her there. ALL ALONE. BY HERSELF. Well, minus the five hundred other kids and the fifty teachers that were there too. (but in my mind we might as well have left her on a deserted Island with "the others"....(I've watched too many episodes of LOST I think...))
It would have made ME feel better had she cried just a little or at the very least given me one of those REALLY TIGHT bear hugs......BUT alas, that is NOT the case. And in the long run, (I GUESS......) I am glad that she didn't do that. Because after all, this is not about ME, but about Ava, and she was ecstatic about going to school. blah blah blah....
She got there and acted like the biggest little girl ever! Jumped right in with the others...(OH! OH! See? I KNEW there were "others" somewhere in this story!!!), and didn't look back.

I wiped my tears (oh, yeah, and TOUGH GUY Craig got choked up too...), and reluctantly drove off the property without my sweet baby girl. I went to the gym, the drugstore, and the grocery store, and was the FIRST one back on the grounds at exactly 11:35am. Ummm, yeah, school doesn't dismiss until noon. C'MON you didn't expect me to be PERFECT on the first day did you? I patiently awaited my 25 minutes in the car, and the first person I saw walking in, I JUMPED out of my car and went in too.

Ava had the BEST time, and has been bringing up different things about her morning all day. I know we made the right decision to send her, and I'm actually looking forward to seeing her grow there. (but don't think I don't have a lump the size of a grapefruit in my throat even now as I type......I am literally CHOKING back the tears. Hopefully this will get better.....SOON!!)

Sassy little thing!

This is one of her teachers Miss Jennifer.
Ava is showing Miss Jennifer her folder that contains the homework we had been given yesterday to do with her and bring back today. Oh, and the homework thing? She was ECSTATIC that she had homework to do!! ha! I better remember THAT moment...(because I am sure it will last for only that....a moment.)

And this is her main teacher Miss Jeanne. Ava is learning how to "sign in" each morning.
NO! I didn't stay there all morning....this all happened within the first few minutes of being there....so SIMMER DOWN will ya?
Now, does everyone reading this blog concur that I HAVE to do this all over again in the morning????

The tears have been a flowin'!!

Oh my goodness! I have been without Internet/phone service for the last 36 hours!!! Our provider was experiencing "technical difficulties". Oh brother.....How did I ever survive without a computer? SERIOUSLY??
I was just SURE that I had missed the most important email that had EVER been sent to me, or maybe I had won some GREAT giveaway and only had a few hours to respond, OR what if my blog had suddenly shut down and y'all were in hysterics trying to email and call and email and call...........OH MY, the HORRIBLE possibilities of what could have been are TERRIBLE just terrible.

Ummmm........NONE of that happened.......I received a few emails from an 'Amazing' business opportunity guaranteeing me to make three thousand dollars the second I signed up, and I didn't win any giveaways, so MAYBE just MAYBE I overreacted a teeny weeny little bit. (but I still shudder at the chaos that COULD HAVE ensued......)

So, glad to rejoin you in cyber/blog world after an excruciating 36 long hours! I'm sure you are DYING to get caught up with my life, so here ya go.
I'M AN ABSOLUTE CRYING EMOTIONAL BASKET CASE!!! Today Craig and I went to one last meet and greet at Ava's new preschool. I absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE her teacher, but that doesn't change the fact that my BABY is going to school. She of course is over the moon excited, and has her clothes and shoes for the morning set out and right next to her in her room. I on the other hand am trying to find a legitimate excuse as to WHY she doesn't really need to start school in the morning. (if she so much as SNEEZES in the morning, she's NOT going. Excuse me a minute while I go pwder her room with pepper)

Up to this point I have spent all my days with Ava. Just me and her while Carter is at school. She has not been involved in any other programs other than ballet. And I have LOVED every last minute of our time together. I have TRULY dreaded this day ever since the day I signed her up for preschool last February.
I seriously have not been able to talk about this today to anyone without crying! (as the tears flow now while I type)
I was with my friend Robin today, TRYING to tell her about the school, and little Drew says " Mommy, why in tha wooold is Miss Heidi cryin'?" (he's a total CHARACTER!!.....and he has been the ONLY one that has suceeded in making me laugh today!)
To say that I dread the morning, is putting it mildly.
I know it's just preschool, but to me it's the end of having a baby at home with me. (when Carter went to preschool, I had Ava at home) Sooooooooooooo, I guess I'll just have to have another baby!!??-0)
Ha! on that note......I covet your prayers for Ava in the morning, and to be frank, FOR ME!! I'm sure I will have a report tomorrow evening! Have a great night, and LOVE on your sweet gifts from heaven today! I know I THANK GOD for my precious angels everyday!!

ps. I also decided for some dumb reason today that I would read the very emotional interview in People magazine this week with Steven Curtis Chapman's family about their tragic loss, and OF COURSE I bawled like a little baby. It is an AWESOME article though, and God's amazing LOVE and GRACE is portrayed beautifully with this family. You should read it if you get a chance.

Totally AWESOME Giveaway!!

Ok, now THIS is a GREAT giveaway for everyone who needs babysitters from time to time.
Chefdruck Musings is hosting this fabulous giveaway of SIX MONTHS worth of FREE babysitting. You simply go to sittercity, punch in your zip code, and see how many sitters are available in your area! When I punched my zip code in, there were an astonishing 5,922 registered babysitters available!!! WOW! I didn't even know this kind of service existed. COOL! Go check it out......six months FREE....can you imagine?
Oh, and the cool thing is....you get to interview the applicants and pick who YOU want!!!
Go to her sight now for details on how to enter!!

Lands End Giveaway!

Win this LANDS END backpack! Go to Momma In Flip Flops for the details!

Football Mania!

This morning we got the season started with a football JAMBOREE! The Grizzlies (Carter's team) played five ten minute scrimmages against other teams. I am not a sports buff by any stretch of the imagination, but when your kid is playing a sport......well, you just can't help but get excited and "get into it"!
I did however leave "Shanequa" in her dark little corner of my head for today's game. I figure I should at least START the season without going ape at the games!! ha!ha! I'M JUST KIDDING!!!....I'm not THAT bad!!!.......?:-0)
Anyways, I am going to have to brag a little on my child here. He totally ROCKED IT OUT! Craig is paying him one dollar for every tackle he makes on the guy with the ball......and let's just say that Craig owes him FIVE bucks from today!! I was sitting behind the coaches at one point, and one of them said to the other "did you see Zawisza out there? HE'S ON FIRE! He just knocked the fire out of two plays!"
NEEDLESS to say, as his PROUD mama heard that, I'm sure my grin could have stretched the length of the field. (I was half tempted to tap them on the shoulder and say..."yeah, that's MY son you're talking about!".......but having been thrown off a sports field before.......well, decided AGAINST it! ha!ha!ha!)
So thanks for letting me BRAG on my boy here, you might get some more this season......we will see!!

Huh? Whatchu talkin' 'bout Willis?

My ROCKIN' baby!!!!
I Love it when they hold their helmets! I don't know why, but I do! I just find it very cute!

This might have been when the "rewards program" was instated.........
NO! Craig is not mad at him.....he's "demonstrating" a tackle technique!!

Here he is coming off the field after the buzzer went off....#91!

It was HOT and VERY humid today........Carter was DYING, so after the game he needed a "quick fix"! Aaaaahhhhhhhh!

FINGERPRINT FRIDAY

There is a song by Steven Curtis Chapman that says:
I can see the fingerprints of God
When I look at you
I can see the fingerprints of God
And I know its true
You're a masterpiece
That all creation quietly applauds
And you're covered with the fingerprints of God
So look around and see where YOU can see God's fingerprints. Is it in nature? Kids? Animals? Where do you see them? Here's how to join in. Find where you see God's fingerprints today, post a picture, and go here to link your post with others who are participating!

Real Food and Idiocracy

Tonight Craig and I had a "date night" after attending a parents meeting at Ava's new school. We entered a restaurant for the first time in ten days. (that's a long time for us....) I behaved and had only what is pictured above, but I can not say the same for Craig. Ha! He has NO will power. He had some kind of gumbo FOR STARTERS, and then proceeded to have jambalaya with two biscuits. Oh, Craig.........obviously you entered a league way above you.....step aside and let the GIRLS do their thing!!
HA! First day off of the detox, and I have sailed through flawlessly thank you very much!!! hee...hee...hee....

Josh and Hannah kept the kids for us tonight. We got home, and after a few games of Mario Kart, Josh and Craig disappeared. At first Hannah and I didn't think that much of it, because, well, they're strange like that. BUT THEN I heard some sort of buzzing sound, and I knew RIGHT AWAY what was going on. "HANNAH, THEY'RE SHAVING THEIR HEADS!!" Hannah had a sheer look of panic on her face, and we both sprinted up the stairs. UH HUH......THAT'S what we found!!!! Two complete IDIOTS shaving and REshaving (Craig) their stupid little heads. Hannah was just as ticked as I was the first time Craig did it, and true to protocol for such idiotic behavior, started calling Josh names!! (well deserving names I might add) COME ON PEOPLE....somebody tell me what in the world is this absurd obsession with stubbly bald heads?? Seriously, they look like they belong to a cult or something. GEEZ!!!!!

DEtoxinated...(i hope), and BACK at it!!!!

UH HUH!! I haven't graced the doors of a gym since Carter got out of school in May. BUT, with my success on my detox and well on my way to my weight loss goals, I decided that I'd better kick it in high gear and RETURN to the land of working out.
OH BOY.......WOW........YIKES..........Why in the world I thought that I could just "pick up where I left off", is beyond me. I strutted in there like I owned the place only to be reduced to a big pile of sweat and blubber within the first ten minutes. It took EVERYTHING in me to finish my workout and by the time I was finished I was D-U-N done!!
BUT, ,my new gym is ROCKIN'!! If you have a LifeTime Fitness near you, you totally need to check it out, and if you live near me and want to work out together......Come on!! (achem.....DEANNA....achem, achem)
Speaking of my detox, I am thrilled to announce that tonight will close out the detox part of this "journey" I have embarked on. I am also happy to say that I didn't cheat one tiny bit, and did EXACTLY what I was supposed to do. In the last nine days I managed to lose four pounds, to which I am very happy about. Hopefully more pounds down in the weeks to come. I will post my weight loss weekly here on this blog. (hopefully weight loss that is!:-)
So I'm off to lick my wounds right now.....(my whole body feels like a bowl of jello....)
Have a great night!

Tammy's Birthday!

Last night we celebrated my friend Tammy's birthday.........out to eat........at a mexican restaurant, my favorite food of ALL time........oh, yeah, at my FAVORITE mexican restaurant.............and my meal is pictured below.
That's it. Nothing more. Not one tiny bite. Now tell me the justice in this??........................Aaawww, Happy Birthday to ya anyways Tam! At least the MOVIE was great! (except, don't think I didn't almost shove your box of candy down your throat everytime I heard you digging in it, happily chomping away while I sat there with my ....my.....my......oh yeah, my NOTHING......ggrrrrrrrrr)

Welcome to my Life......

Starting Player!!!

We are soooo excited for Carter!! He made a STARTING defense end position for his new football team this year! This is a HUGE accomplishment, because last year he barely played at all. He was the smallest on the team, and one of the youngest as well.
To say that he is totally pumped to be a starting player this year is completely putting it mildly. We are pumped too!!! Yay Carter! We are SOOOOO proud of you, and we CAN'T WAIT for the season to start! LET THE GAMES BEGIN!