Bah Humbug!

I really should blog on the weekends. There's always so much to catch up on...

Happy Thanksgiving!! Thursday morning was a lazy morning for us. We went over to Vickie and Donald's at 1pm for lunch - I contributed with a broccoli casserole (some say it is the only thing I know how to make). Brandon is still in Switzerland so he wasn't able to be there with us but the kids did skype him while we were there and that was fun. Vickie and Donald had gotten a cocunut cake for Madison for her birthday and that was a nice surprise for her.



At 6:30pm we went over to mom and dad's for dinner and stuffed our faces even more. It was definitely a good "food" and family day.

Friday Emma-Leigh had a play date at her friend, Noelle's house. They went to see the movie Tangled and then went back to her house to play for awhile. Later I got a phone call asking if Noelle could spend the night at our house so I went and picked them both up and brought them home. They had a fun time together! Madison spent the night with Cameron Friday night and Saturday morning they went to their friend, David's bar mitzvah. That lasted all day - until 11pm so she spent the night with Cameron again Saturday night. Also on Friday night, Andrea came over and hung out at the house for a little while. She was in town for the week and it was nice to just chat about whatever we wanted to, uninterrupted, without the kids around. On Saturday, I had AT & T U-Verse installed - and cancelled my service wtih Directv. That took the entire day on Saturday. I am happy with the switch though - I just hope it really is cheaper than directv. We will see... Sunday EL woke up with a terrible croupy cough and just felt really bad. Damion left for the office before 8am so I decided since EL looked and felt so terrible we would just stay home from church. I ventured out to get Madison around 2pm (Damion was home by then) and then she and I went to the grocery store. Actually, I went to the grocery store while she sat in the car. Works for me! I hate going to the grocery store - absolutely despise it. Food costs so much and do I need to even mention the fact that we are broke? It has got to get better. We had a special delivery on the porch last night when we got home. Madison went to let the dogs out and said "Mom, I think April came by." It was kinda funny because I knew that April had come by, but I didn't even have to tell Madison. She knew what 2 CVS bags meant. April has been so very kind with helping me out with things we need - she's my coupon Queen hero and I strive to be like her but it doesn't look like that is gonna happen. I don't even have any extra cash to get what I need much less get good deals based on coupon cutting and what's on sale. UgH. See why my title is Bah Humbug? I know, I know - I have a lot to be thankful for but here lately it's one step forward, 2 steps back and it is just really frustrating.

I should mention that Friday night, when Madison spent the night with Cameron, they went to the football game at Reynolds. After the game, Madison sent me a text message saying "Guess what?" My stomach fell to the floor. I did not want to guess what she was about to tell me. You see, on Wednesday, while I was at work, she evidently got married because she had changed her name on Facebook to "Madison Paige Moffitt". Have you had time to guess what happened at the game? Ugh. She had her first kiss. No, not a french kiss (which I later learned is now called a makeout session"). Just a really quick pop kiss. I don't know much about this boy just yet. I just hope he doesn't break her heart. Here's a picture of him...

I haven't told Damion. I was thrilled that she even told me so I thought it was best to keep it to myself for a little while. I want her to be able to trust me down the road and the truth is, I don't know what he would do! In his eyes, she's still his little girl.

I'm pretty sure I mentioned that the first basketball game was last Monday - on Madison's actual birthday...anyway, here's a picture from that day.


So it is almost December and I have just 1 Christmas present bought so far. It seems like everybody is shopping and I'm just chillin' - not even really stressed out about getting just the right gift in time. I'm just praying that we can get our kids what they want - not that they need anything. I don't want to listen to any Christmas music - at all. I turn the channel everytime. I'm trying to get over it. I don't like to complain. Why not just do something about it, right? I just don't know what to do. It's all in God's inbox now - which is getting kinda full...things happen for a reason and I'm never one to question but now I'm rethinking all that - WHY?

Happy Thanksgiving~

Instead of my usual moan and groan today, the day before Thanksgiving, I will be thankful - because when it comes down to it, I have a lot to be thankful for...

* for my family - my ENTIRE family - which is pretty big
* for the health of all my family and friends
* for friends who listen to me complain
* for a husband who lives for his family
* for my 2 beautiful little (are 13 and 8 considered little?) girls
* for a job
* for a car
* for a house
* for food
* for clothes

I saw a young man hitch-hiking with his suitcase this morning on Airport Rd. He couldn't have been over the age of 25. Looked like his suitcase had tags on them like he had been on a plane ride recently. It was very foggy this morning - hard to see 5 feet in front of you but while listening to "...if our God is for us, then who could ever stop us..." and watching that guy walk up the road I realized that as much as I may complain about Damion working all the time or us not having enough $ for me to go shopping every weekend, at least we have food, a warm home and cars to drive - unlike this guy. Further down the road I saw 2 people huddled together at the bus stop. Again, thankful for my transportation and the warm heat I had running in the car. When I got to work I sat down at my desk and logged into Facebook. First thing I saw was a video Kristi had posted on her wall entitled "Being Thankful through Hardship". Hardship can be many things right now - we are all facing something. I am very thankful for the things I've been given. I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving.

I have a teenage daughter....

and it makes me sad, but happy. 13 years (and 9 months ago) I never thought I would be a mom so early. It was hard...really hard. I can't imagine how my life would be without her. I am so happy this gift was given to me - and even happier about the time I received it. I would not change it. Things definitely happen for a reason. Happy Birthday, Madison!!


Deep breath = no tears :*(

okay so here's what we did this weekend - Madison had a Wyldlife meeting Friday night. I was pick up for her, Amelia and Matthew. Amelia spent the night, Emma-Leigh ran a fever...

Saturday morning we were supposed to be in the "Asheville Holiday Parade". Kristi had asked if the girls could ride in her sister-in-law's Excursion limo and I would walk with her, handing out candy canes. I knew the girls would enjoy that but since EL was running a fever the night before and was still asleep at 9am Saturday morning, that didn't happen. So when she did finally wake up, we were off to watch the parade. Sleeping beauty and Amelia decided to stay home.. here's Ethan (waving) and Aiden (red hair) on the float.

And Kristi -

After that my camera battery died - so no more pictures :( When the parade ended we met Kristi, Ethan and Aiden at the mall. Then went to Chili's for lunch. I brought Ethan back home with us so he and EL could play for a little while. They played SO well together. He is such a little gentleman! I love him. Saturday night we went out for dinner at Ianucci's for dad's birthday. Brett came home from Prague the night before so it was nice to all get together and hear about his trip.

Sunday the girls and I went to church. Pastor Bruce was not there but there was an excellent guest pastor. His name was Pete Wilson and he has a church in Nashville. At first glance he does not look like a preacher - more like a rocker. His message was great! He was talking about what to do/where to turn when life (i.e marriage, job, children, etc.) doesn't turn out the way you had planned or had hoped it would. I wish Damion had been there.

After church we went home. Damion wasn't working yesterday and we were gonna go out to lunch for Madison's birthday. She picked PF Chang's and by the time Damion agreed to go there, mom and Brett had already called wanting to know if we wanted to go skating with them. Of course, the girls wanted to go skating but we were already on our way to lunch. Then it was like I just snapped - you see, I feel like my children are spoiled rotten. They are so ungrateful. Here we were on our way to have lunch at an expensive restuarant and they decided they wanted to skip lunch and go roller skating!! They were whining and I had had enough. So, since I was driving and was fuming mad, I decided to turn around and go home. No lunch, no skating. You can only imagine what happened next. All heck broke loose in the car. Damion was even asking if we were really heading home. Yes! We are going home - we can eat sandwiches for lunch! A few hours later we went to Papas and Beer - mine and Damion's choice. The little problem with our children is this - they don't understand that we are in a recession, that their dad is a builder and there are no homes being built. The other problem is that we have created these monsters.

So here we are at Monday. The first basketball game is tonight so no birthday festivities for Madison. Her joint party with Amelia is on December 11th so she will have to wait until then for presents!

Lonely...

How is it possible to have so many friends, yet feel so lonely?

I hate this economy. HATE IT! I am so worried about Damion, every day. He is so stressed out. You can see it in his face. I admire his strength, I really do. But when he comes home, runs straight to the medicine cabinet for nyquil (at 7pm), eats dinner (in the bedroom) and goes to sleep, I get mad. Not mad at him - ok, maybe just a little but it's not his fault and I am totally aware of that. Mad at this world, the economy. I don't even really know who to be mad at, I'm just mad. I'm mad that he has to work his butt off every.single.day. I'm mad that people take months to pay him - and then sometimes don't - but are still able to sleep at night. I'm mad that even though he takes 4 nyquil and 2 tylenol pm's every night, he still can't sleep. I'm mad that his days are consumed with such stress, guilt, whatever it may be. I miss him - the way he was before the recession. When he was building houses, selling them and proud of what he had done. I'm proud of him now, for being able to keep going. I can't say that I would have lasted this long. I miss him. I miss us. I miss what little family time we had.

I'm really looking forward to Thanksgiving Day. At least I know he'll be home all day with us, at least I hope he is.

In an effort to...

not complain. I will blog about my weekend...

Friday night was a bit uneventful. Madison went to see Roberson get drilled by Reynolds and I ran to the grocery store...ALONE. I vowed to never take the girls again the other day and I stuck to it! Madison ended up spending the night with Cameron and Damion, EL and I went to bed early. We were all so tired!

Saturday morning I was up early and started cleaning. Kristi and the boys came over that afternoon and we headed for lunch at Papas & Beer :) then did a little shopping at Wal-Mart and then Target. It was dark by the time we got home but with a few (okay a lot of) tears, Ethan and Aidan were able to hang out for a little while and jump on the trampoline :) they were all smiles! Cameron spent the night with Madison - I had rented a movie for the 3 of us to watch. Winter's Bone. I thought it would be good - the previews made it look great. It was terrible. Total fail.

Sunday I was up early again to finish typing some reports for work and then to get ready to go to the airport to send Brett off to Prague. Only problem was, I didn't get to. I really thought that if I got there at least an hour before take off that it would be fine. Only it wasn't early enough. I was heartbroken. The girls knew I was upset. It was the ONLY thing I had wanted to do on Sunday. As tears were coming down my face, EL asked if I was crying. All I could say was - "one day you will appreciate the love you have for your brother and sister."

Sunday afternoon the girls and I headed over to Kristi's house for food and football! I picked up pizza on the way and took some chips and salsa. She made chili cheese dip and chocolate/oatmeal cookies :) It was fun. I kinda screwed up and brought pepperoni pizza with me - only to be reminded that they are vegetarian. I'm such an idiot. I completely forgot! After the Bucs vs. Panthers game we took an excursion to Goodwill. My first trip. It was quite an experience! There's all kinds of junk at Goodwill. Needless to say, I didn't buy anything.

It turns out Damion was home about 10 minutes after I left on Sunday afternoon. I had no idea he would be done working and home that early. Normally he would work until dark, sometimes later. It seems he's only happy when he's working anyway. Okay so "happy" may not be the correct word for it. I guess when he's working he thinks he's making a difference and when he isn't working, he's not making a difference? Does that even make sense? Anyway, he was in a very bad mood when we returned Sunday evening. In fact, I haven't really talked to him much since then at all. Not that we are mad at each other but when he comes home, he eats dinner (in the bedroom) and then goes to sleep. There is no family time. It's like we have 2 separate lives. Uh oh, I wasn't supposed to complain. See? I just can't help it. That is why I haven't blogged in a few days. I feel like a broken record...

Happy Birthday to my dad!!! Today is his birthday - or was it yesterday? haha. For years we had always thought (and celebrated) his bday on November 15th. A couple years ago he got a copy of his birth certificate and discovered that it is actually November 16th. Funny, huh? Don't ask me how he's gone his whole life not knowing when his birthday is...not his fault though. To me it's the 15th, it's just all I've ever known! LoL

It is raining today. As much as I love the rain, it sure is making for a rough day. I am extremely tired and just dragging. I was up late last night doing the normal stuff I usually do only last night I had to give a couple little puppies a bath. I found a flea on Maggie and just couldn't stand the thought of little creepy crawly bugs on my dogs or in my house! So I scrubbed them for an hour last night and I know that may not have done the trick but I felt better. Every thing they have come in contact with has been cleaned. They had the medicine stuff on their backs not even 4 weeks ago so I don't know what the deal is but hopefully the bath will help. They go to the groomers in 2 weeks and I have plans to get more flea medicine for them too. No more fleas! They are nasty.

Sarah was skyping Brett last night when I was over there. He looked tired. His luggage was lost when he landed on Sunday/Monday but today it was found :) I was hoping he and Brandon could meet somewhere for a drink in a cool bar but they are 385 miles away so it probably will not happen.

Plans are under way for Madison's 13 birthday party. She and Amelia are having a joint party which will alleviate some of the expenses. She is looking forward to it.

Hope everyone has a great rest of the week!

We are all just too busy....

Isn't that the problem with all of us? We are too busy - there's just not enough time. I posted this video to facebook this morning but those of you that didn't get a chance to see it, please watch it now...

Tearjerker, ain't it? We need to slow down. I am so guilty of rush rush rushing all the time. Damion too. This song spoke to him more than me, if you can even imagine that.

Okay so catch up to what we've been doing since last post...I don't even remember the last post so here's what I can remember...haha. Tiff and the girls came to visit this past weekend. We hung out all day on Saturday. First to lunch at Twisted Crepe for the entire fam (except Damion who was, as always, busy working).
Here's a not so great shot of me and my siblings...

and Riley discovered a little cup that her daddy kept filling with coke (a big no no). She was in heaven!

And a picture of me and EL.

She was all I had on Saturday - Madison went to Dollywood with her Wyldlife group and had a great time. The only downfall? Damion recieved a speeding ticket on his way to drop she and Bayley off...he was trying to do something for me when I should have just taken them all along :(
ok so anyway, lunch at Twisted Crepe then Brett, Sarah and Riley had to go home so Riley could take a nap. So me, mom, Tiff, EL, Jaidyn & Ayla went to Old Navy. It seemed like we were there F O R E V E R. The girls wanted to try everything on and have a "fashion show" for us. They were having fun and we were in no hurry so why not? After that we went back to my house but only to turn right back around and leave to head out to mamaw and papaw's. It had been SO LONG since I had been out there. I think they enjoyed the company. Then it was back to mom and dad's for potato soup and salad. It was delicious! Jaidyn came over and spent the night with EL Saturday night. They got along very well together but stayed up way too late.

Sunday me, mom, Tiff and the girls (except for Madison - she didn't get in bed until 1am the night before) went to church. After church they went to the mall - Madison included. EL and I stayed home and worked puzzles, watched a movie. She was exhausted and needed some down time. So that's it! Pretty boring, huh?

I should blog about my new personal shopper. LoL. Not really. But it does kinda feel that way. You all know I'm trying to do the coupon thing? Well I haven't really gotten the hang of it yet. I know it will take time but April is really trying to help me out and I appreciate it SO much. She's an expert, I'm telling you! I am looking forward to the day when I am as knowledgable and successful as she is at grocery shopping :)

Fall is in the air!

Super excited about cooler weather!

The weekend was lots of fun. I love spending time with family and friends! Here's a recap...

Friday night was Brandon's send off dinner to Switzerland. We went to Ianucci's in Hendersonville. For some reason, I didn't take any pictures. But we had a fun time! On the way home the song you are hearing played on the radio. Damion hummed/sung/whispered it. It moved me just a little bit.

Saturday we hung out at home and cleaned the house. I took some pictures of the inside for the realtor. (Please, someone buy our house!! It's lovely!) At 3pm, it was time to go to Hoopla at church. There were SO MANY people there! Brandon and Alejandra came with the kids and Emma-Leigh loved that. Here are a few pictures...

Emma-Leigh and Jennifer doing the Monster Mash.


Kaly as Scooby Doo

EL and Jennifer doing the jump rope contest

EL milking a cow!

EL doing the bouncy ball thing - and falling flat on her face :(
Oh, you're wondering where Madison is? She's too cool to hang with me. She and Bayley were off scoping out the guys. Lord, please help me.
After Hoopla we stopped by Brett & Sarah's church for Trunk or Treat


EL was being so shy for some reason so Brett had to help her trunk or treat. Such a good uncle!

So Sunday was Halloween. It was pretty low key in the morning. Damion was working and Madison spent the night with Bayley so it was just me and EL for a little while. Later on in the afternoon Madison & Bayley came back to ride the golf cart - only Damion had the key to the garage and we couldn't get into it. Bummer. But they stayed busy by making cookies and then they got all dressed up! We went over to Cindy & Randy's at 5pm - without Damion. He still wasn't home and I had decided that we weren't gonna wait. It was totally fine with me to have 2 cars over there - but the problem was that we needed the golf cart - and it still had not been decorated. He eventually came around 7pm with the golf cart - no decorations. At that point, the girls didn't care. They were just happy to have it.

Pay no attention to the crazy man in the background / window - it's just Randy.



Look at them on the golf cart! They think they are so cool scooting from door to door on that thing. And they really were - until it died.

We suspect it needed oil - the oil light came on. Damion and Randy pushed it home and that was the end of the night. Cindy had made us chili for dinner so we went in and devoured that while the kids sorted their candy. What they didn't want they put in a bowl and gave to the trick or treaters! haha.

So here we are at Monday again. One year ago since Cassie passed away. Tiff misses her like crazy.