If you knock on my door...

If you knock on my door unexpectedly, I cannot promise you will see this family's best. Sweatshirts, no makeup, and toussled hair from playtime would be more likely.

If you come inside, I cannot promise you won't step on stray toys.

If you glance in the kitchen, I cannot promise you will see a sink free of dishes. In fact, you'll probably guess what we ate for lunch that day.

You see, I learned early on that cleaning can wait. I would clean myself in circles if I picked up each and every game, crayon, puzzle, or princess dress. Sometimes playtime pulls me away from those lunch dishes. Occasionally the sunshine drags us outside.

We do a family clean-up each evening. We go to bed with a neat home, ready to start again with fun in the morning. I like to wake up to a fresh start, but live life to the fullest during the day.

Life does not wait, but the mess will.

So if you're thinking of paying us a little visit?
Know that friends are always welcome.
Just enter at your own risk.

WW: Costumed Camaraderie

Daddy-Daughter pumpkin time

A beautiful princess (today & every day!)

The pumpkin menagerie

Duh... I'm Dopey!

Best. Neighbors. Ever.

Candy SCORE!

Link up with @BelleBeanDog and @TamingInsanity for  
iPhone Photo Phun today!

Also linked up to:

"I am from.." (a post from #BBCATL & writer's workshop)

I am from homemade cookies, Keds sneakers, and lightning bugs.

I am from the cul-de-sac headquarters of the neighborhood BBQ, where friendly handshakes and childlike giggles paused only for a mom's still-warm and oozing blueberry pie.

I am from the grass, the fresh, crisp softness between asphalt-blackened toes.

I am from beach vacations and open arms, from farmers and coal miners and first-generation college graduates.

I am from the watermelon fights and "I'm sorry" hugs.

From "you can do anything" to "be careful what you say".

I am from Rocky Top and European immigrants, meat and potatoes.

From the playful cousins to the available parents, and the sister so close in age we could share friends as well as clothes.

I am from handmade quilts, memories captured on Kodak slides, and a place that will, within my soul, always be frozen in time.

- - - -
This post was crafted during Bloggy Bootcamp Atlanta. Thanks to MamaKat and Francesca who led the session and found the fantastic original post "Where I'm From" by writer/teacher George Ella Lyon.

Doing our part for the economy: Check out my upgraded kitchen!

Say hello to our newly upgraded kitchen!



Considering renovation of our master bath now.... do we dare?

From heartbreak to hope

We had to leave immediately.

The invisible hand of regret had a grip on my gut. Squeezing. Choking. Working its way up to my throat where a lump had already formed as I fought back tears.

Then, a gentle hand on my knee. A finger, underneath my chin, lifting my face towards the sun once again.

"Let's just look at it."

I inhaled slowly, deeply. Then a sigh escaped my lips. "But, I'm just going to be heartbroken again."

His hand moved swiftly to grip my own. A slight tug.

"Only one look."

I shook off his fingers that were intertwined with mine. I turned and reached for the handle. And, sighed, once again. "Fine. Only for a second."

We walked, side by side, up the concrete drive. I did not want to do this again.

The opening of the door freed the distinct smells from inside. Paint. Lumber. Brand new carpet. With just one step inside, all my tension dissipated. Light streamed through the newly-installed windows. Every sound echoed through the emptiness.

"I love it. But... remember last time?"

I felt a touch on my back. "Don't worry about that now. Do you want it?"

Tears finally escaped my eyes. "Of course I do. But we felt that way last time. We were sent away."

"But, look!" he exclaimed, shoving a flyer in my hand. I saw the numbers emblazoned across the top.

I could not believe my eyes. "But... the price!"

He flashed me a toothy grin. "Yeah. So, do you want it?"

And that's when we realized. We were already home.

- - -
The Red Dress Club has become Write on Edge!
Check out the fantastic new website.



"This week, we gave you the beginning and the end of the story – sometimes the very places we get stuck – and asked you only to come up with the middle. You were to start your piece with We had to leave immediately and end it with And then we realized we were already home."

Just another Southern night

Lightnin’ bugs and root beer floats,

    Rockin’ chairs and music notes.

Friends and neighbors chatting bright,

    Just another southern night.

Eyelids heavy, mama’s hand in mine,

    It is time for bed, and that’s just fine.

For nothing else could feel so right,

    Just another southern night.

I heart Tennessee

There's no place like home!

Best way to beat the heat!

"Don't tailgate: I'll flick a booger on your windshield"

A new generation experiences a local icon

3 & 4-yr-olds? Tough luck.

It will always feel like home.

Little Stinker

Do not be fooled by this cute little face.

In the past few days, this kid...

• Painted her fingernails with drippy, not-quite-washable craft paint.
• Spilled about 800 little plastic beads all over the kitchen. Three times.
• Squeezed an unopened tube of yogurt so hard it burst (and wow, that stuff can fly).
• Sprayed paint all over the wall. And the floor. And the table. On purpose.
• Tripped while carrying her full training potty container to the bathroom.
• Got sticky glitter putty stuck in her hair.

There is probably more... but I'm too worn out to remember!

What a stinker.

Fit for a princess

Amelia turns three in a few short weeks. Three years old! That is hard to believe. But, I have plenty of time to brood and sulk in future posts. This one is super exciting for me. I finally get to reveal Amelia's big girl bedroom!

Here are our "before" shots: This is Amelia waking up on the last morning of her baby room.

The theme was frogs, and her walls are a light sage green and white. Daddy put up the chair rail and painted everything, including the adorable custom cattails to match her bedding.

I was on a mission to find bedding that would increase the girly factor but still allow us to keep the wall colors and Daddy's special cattails. Do you know how difficult it is to find girly bedding with frogs?!?

Here she is, celebrating her new big girl bed - before Mommy found anything to put on it.

But thanks to countless Internet searches and finally JCPenney.com, I found the perfect bedding set! Bright girly colors, frogs, and butterflies. And a sale price too. Woooo hoo! Check out my princess' lovely new boudoir:


"Mommy! I very, very like it!"


Now, some details:

I found the sheer flowy pink and white curtains at WalMart. These may be Amelia's favorite part of the room. She loves to touch them and ooh and ahh at their silky feel.

The wall decor is 90% mine. I purchased plain, inexpensive white frames, a pack of coordinating scrappbook paper, and some stickers. Voila! We have feature wall art for above the bed:

Similar idea for the other wall, except I used tissue paper and photos of Amelia. This was up in her nursery also, I just changed out the paper areas with her new colors.

Most moms of little girls probably have more hairbows than they can deal with. I love the rainbow effect of multiple hairbows, so I made my own hairbow hangers. I purchased dragonfly and frog pre-painted wood pieces from the Michael's craft store, Attached some ribbon with craft glue, and clipped on the hairbows. It looks adorable on her wall!

Finally, I accented some existing wall features with stick-on mirror butterflies and pink star-shaped flowers (found on clearance at Target!) to pull in the butterfly theme. While at Target, I happened to notice some new ecclectic bug and butterfly frames and picked up two of those to fancy up her dresser:

We love, love, love the transformation. I'm by no means a Martha Stewart (or my amazingly creative friend, Cheryl), but I had a LOT of fun with it. Yay, for Amelia's room growing up!

Amelia growing up? Hmm... that's an entirely different feeling.

Moving on?

What would it take for us to pack up and move?

Well, a better housing market for one. I would rather sell our home than give it away.

We would also need a very large truck and some hulky men to haul our furniture to the new location. After eight years, we have settled into our first house quite nicely - which means we have a ton of stuff. (Remember the college days, when eveyrthing you owned fit into your car?)

But more importantly, it would take a pretty solid guarantee of improvement. It would take a job that can utilize my husband's mega brains and talent as well as keep him happy and available for his family.

No one tells you in college that work... well... sucks. No matter how much you love what you do, it becomes just work after a while. It eventually gets old. When children become the #1 priority in your life, work is just another pull away. Just another thing nibbling at your time (and sanity).

No one tells you that, if you demostrate a decent work ethic and use your brains, you will eventually land yourself in management. Management, where you do much less (if any) of the actual work you once loved and instead deal with more budgets, reports, and personnel issues that you ever knew existed.

My husband is an awesome worker, detail-oriented and always reliable. And our little family is happy where we are. He is busy at work and always feels that tug of home life pulling at his sleeve, but we're appreciative of what he has and what he is able to provide for us. We are lucky to have a solid income to keep our family comfortable. But sometimes we can't help but wonder what our life would be like downsized.

Could my husband and I both work part time? Could we embark on a journey towards "Equally Shared Parenting"? Could we move out of the city suburbs and into a smaller town where pressures are less and cost of living is cheap? Could we do more for our girl by giving her less material things and more togetherness?

We are open to moving one day... but Atlanta is a wonderful place for us right now. What would it take for us to pick up and move? A guarantee of togetherness. A guarantee of comfort. A guarantee of true happiness. A guarantee of reduced stress. Maybe even a white picket fence.

Does that really exist? Has the competitive capitalist nature of the modern world burned away that utopia?

I really don't know. But I will keep dreaming!

Visit Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop for more writing prompts!

Wordless Wednesday: Mo' Money

Perhaps this is motivation for continuing to work...

My southern scenery when I take back roads to the office:

 
 
 

Know what day it is?

November 20th marks "Universal Children's Day" according to the United Nations. It is a day to promote understanding among children, benefit the welfare of children, and to celebrate childhood.

I don't know about you, but every day is about my child. It is always children's day in this house!

So while I wish her & the other kids out there a happy Universal Children's Day, I will instead devote this post to a celebration of my own childhood.

For me, childhood happiness was...

• Homemade play-dough
• A blue & white swing set
• Riding bicycles in the cul-de-sac
• Summertime trips to the beach
• Spitting watermelon seeds over the porch railing
• Making whirlpools in our round backyard pool
• Care Bears, Monchichis, and Cabbage Patch Kids
• My first record player - and first cassette player
• Sledding with neighbors after a winter's snow

Happy Universal Children's Day!

Where I live

My crazy week of surprises (and some heartbreak) caused me to miss this week's writing prompt from Mama Kat. But I really liked one of the choices: show us where you live.

Better late than never!

The view out my window


This is a photo taken from the upstairs landing, looking out our big window above the front door. Sometime last fall.




Where do I live? I live somewhere I love. We're suburbanites all the way, about 20-30 miles out of the 6 million+ population city of Atlanta. The city offers us things we wouldn't get in a smaller town. We can fly nearly anywhere non-stop. We have professional sports of every kind - football, baseball, men's & women's basketball, hockey, and men's and women's soccer. When we manage to get out sans child (ha!), we have opportunities to see touring Broadway shows and fantastic concerts. The aquarium is fantastic. The Botanical Gardens includes interesting things for all ages. Yeah, we've got pretty awful traffic. But that's the beauty of working from home! (Sorry, my dear traffic-stricken husband.)

But living in the 'burbs, we also have those things you don't get in the city. We have roads through the woods, trees branching out overhead. We have nearby small farms with goats and llamas. When we want to visit a playground, we have our choice of several within just a few miles.

We've lived in this home for 8 years. And within the past couple years, we've finally begun to turn several neighbors into really good friends. There's something wonderful about knowing that people who live so near actually care about us. And we feel the same. We keep an eye out for each other - when a lost dog is wandering around, when a strange van is parked outside someone's home. As we've endured some tough times lately, my neighbors have been supportive and caring.

I like where I live. It really is my home sweet home.


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