Excel

Excel is defined by thefreedictionary.com as to surpass or be superior to something.

I do not think that I excel at much, but I do excel at some things.

I excel at:

Playing hide-and-seek with Little Foot. (Every night, "Hide more, Mommy." I bet I hear it a hundred times a day.) I really excel at this.



...






....




hmmm.....





I know I must excel at other things.
Just give me a minute.






....




uhhhh..



Okay, so this just further proves my point.





Here's the million dollar question.



Why would Microsoft name a program such an uplifting name when Excel's entire purpose is to remind you that you stink?

Hello, Statistics!

Party, Party, Party, Party...Par-ty

So Saturday was the big party. Little Foot had the best time. Last year, I invited entirely too many people and found the party to be sort of stressful. This year, I scaled back the number invited and found the party to be absolutely charming.



Mrs. Carol with The Cake Box in Starkville made her cake. She made her cake last year, too. Both times the cake has been the freshest possible cake. Mrs. Carol and her husband had been at the bakery all night. I seriously encourage anyone looking for a spectacular cake for any event to let Mrs. Carol show you her talent. Besides, she is from Holmes County, so we are neighbors.



We rented a humungo jumper with a gi-normeous slide. Little wore her self out. This was a fabulous idea.



And going down the slide was so much fun. And it created so much static.



See what I mean?



And then we attempted to tackle the cake. I must admit that I was extremely nervous about blowing out the candles. I wasn't really worried about her actually blowing out the candles. I felt sure that she could do it. I was more concerned about her hair catching fire. I know it is stupid, but I am a mother. We worry about stuff like this.



There was no need to call the fire department, and Little really enjoyed the cake and ice cream.




Little Foot got to open presents. She was super excited about the stick horse her Memaw (babysitter) gave her. I will say that there has recently been sightings of a grown man with glasses and a goatee galloping through the house. Little just cackles when Paul Revere comes running through.



What Little is not excited about is her brand new "Time Out Bench." Grandma gave her this bench. You can just see the kids look of amazement. That's because they can't read. Little quickly found out what her new bench is for. I see the paint being worn off this baby real soon.



Her final gift of the day was from her daddy and I. Oh, how I struggled over what to get her. The Barbie Jeep, The Barbie Mustang, or the John Deere Gator? Since she has entirely too much pink stuff and the Gator has a bigger cargo space, we opted for the Gator. Best decision ever. Lots of room for her, her friend, and the stick horse.

Cupcakes and Baby

Yesterday evening when I arrived home from work,


We had cupcakes.....



Little Foot opened presents.....



Little got puzzles.....



She was so excited to get a new baby......



Her baby needed kisses.....



But then, Little said her baby was sleepy, cold, and sick......... (How dare American Girl send us a tired, cold, sick baby!)




But this morning, we had a sleepy and cold baby too.....



Party is tomorrow, so the birthday celebration continues.

Two

Two years ago today, we welcomed a beautiful baby girl into the world. All 9 pounds, 8 ounces, and 21 inches.




This picture is so funny to me now. This was a particularly rough evening with Little Foot. She cried, screamed, fussed, and was just overly upset. I tried everything, rocking, bouncing, bumping, walking, swaddling, swinging, and laying her down. Nothing, and I repeat nothing, would satisfy her. Around midnight, while both Daddy and Mommy are up, I decided maybe trying to give her another bottle. Daddy stayed on the couch, and as I was entering the kitchen, I decided to lay Meredith in the chair with Bubba Cat. I prepared her bottle, and by the time I returned, she was out. To this day, Bubba still soothes her.



Happy Birthday, Sweet Girl!

Back to reality

I have been out of school for four weeks. It has been so nice to not feel as pressured. But as for now, it's head in the books, fingers on the keyboard. Yuck.

When my finance instructor posted a message on the message board, you can just imagine my surprise when it was signed by the man with the red pen. That's right. Mr. You Disappointed Me, Ms. Moudy.

I am going to keep my head up, and put forth a good effort.

Well, I am going to try.

Sass

Hello. Welcome to Sassiness.

Little has developed such a little, um..., personality here lately. We never know what she is going to say next.

So this weekend, I am washing dishes. Husband is hunting. Little Foot has a complete meltdown, because I cannot come play in her room at that very millisecond.

My suggestion is that she bring a toy and play in the floor of the kitchen while I finish the dishes. Now it took some convincing, but she kindly obliged.

As she is walking out of the kitchen, she turns to me and says, "Mommy, my get a toy. I be wight back. You stay wight there."

I say, "Okay, Baby. I will stay right here. Go get your cash register."

She turns to run to her room. Before I can get back to scrubbing the caked on stickiness off of Little's sippy cups, I hear her say, "You hear me?"

And I turn, and she is asking me if I hear her. To make sure I am "hearing her", I ask, "What did you say?"

Little says, "You stay wight there. You hear me?"

Oh, Goodness. Now, this isn't all of it.

Last night, as I am getting home from work, she meets me at the door. She has my new lunch bag that I got for Christmas, might I add that I have not even been able to utilize the lunch bag. (Told you Grandma and Aunt Jenny.) The lunch bag is full of refrigerator magnets, keys, and other stuff, I suppose, seeing how I can not touch it.

Little says, "Me bag."

I reply, "I see. I like your bag."

She says, "Mommy, 'mon. Play. MereMere's room."

I tell her okay, and take her hand as she is pulling me along to her room.

She begins to play with Play Dough, so I begin to play with her cash register.

In the next instant, she yanks the cash register away from me.

Little says, "Enough," and then, she puts the cash register in her toy box.

With the second birthday fast approaching, I must make a mental note:

" 'Mon. Play. MereMere's room." translates to "Sit there. Be quiet. Don't touch anything."

More pictures

We went to Canton to see the lights, and Little Foot was so excited she got to pet a horse. The carriage ride was a lot of fun, and Little Foot could only focus on the horse. Thanks Big Daddy and Baboo.




Little's very first tricycle. Unfortunately, she has quite a temper and throws a tantrum when she is unable to just hop on it and ride it. Imagine this scenario, Little gets on her tricycle in her bedroom. She attempts to peddle. To no avail, she begins to push herself forward using her legs. This is appeasing until the wide back wheels hang on the doorway. She screams and gets off the tricycle. Upon dismount, she hits her head on the door knob. Most kids probably would cry. Not Little. She turns right around and kicks the METAL tricycle BAREFOOTED. (Start praying now.)




The terror. There are other people riding the fire truck. I decided to post this picture just to prove that I am around. What part about having kids is it that makes Mommy take every picture?