We Might Have a Football Player On Our Hands

If you saw the picture in the previous post, you might be wondering...

Well, I was trying to take pictures of Clinton. In order to get down on his level, I was squatting. As soon as I lifted the camera, he squinted his eyes, started laughing and then took off full-force straight at me. He tackled me...flat on my back. In case I haven't whined enough about my back on this blog, I'm in a LOT of pain. Imagine if you will, I'm on my back trying to save my precious camera from getting in the hands of a small child who is sure to destroy it and trying to protect my baby belly from 31 pounds of joyful jumping. All the while, he also had my legs pinned in such a way, that any way I tried to move sent shooting pains across my back and down into my right leg. After a moment, I realized I couldn't save everything and get off the floor without any help. I decided the camera would be the first to go. I laid it above my head and still using one arm to shield my belly, I used the other arm to force Clinton over to the side and onto the floor. By this point, my back hurt so bad I wasn't sure I would be able to get up at all, but knew I had to move quickly before Clinton saw the camera on the floor with no adults protecting it. I rolled over on my side, finally finding a position that allowed enough relief from the pain that I could move my legs. I managed to get my legs under me and crawl to the camera...Clinton, of course, never stopped laughing. When it was all over, I too, had to laugh...I'm sure it would have been a sight to see!

Laughing for sanity,

Any guesses of what's going on here?

It's Beginning To Look...and Feel...A Lot Like Christmas

Two weekends ago I had my helpful hubby pull all my Christmas boxes out of the attic. This past weekend I finally got them all completely unpacked and finished decorating my house. Clinton loves the Christmas decorations...so much so, he can't keep his hands off of them....but we're learning! So far, five ornaments have lost their lives during our learning curve. :-(

Clinton has been watching The Polar Express over and over for the past month and last week we got our Christmas CD's out and started playing them. He might just love Christmas as much as mommy does....yay!

Here are a few shots I got of our Christmas decor while playing with some settings on my camera.







Sippin' my cider,

Well, Then It Must Be True...

Rodney and I, along with all of Clinton's grandparents, great-grandparents and aunts, think Clinton is SO adorable. Yes, even me--who gets smacked in the face multiple times a day, screamed at when everything is not as it should be to a one year old, and sometimes even bitten or tackled--thinks Clinton is utterly adorable...but today someone else confirmed it.

When you scoot around the suburbs of Music City, you can't help but run into celebrities...country music celebrities. I used to work out at the same gym as Kenny Chesney and Joe Nichols. I've stood in line behind Sara Evans at Target. I've been on planes with Keith Urban and Miranda Lambert. And, yes, I even saw Hannah Montana at SuperTarget not too long ago...OMG. :-) And, yes, that was sarcastic...I'm rarely star struck....and certainly not so over teen idols. However, Clinton and I ran into another celebrity today...and I was a little star struck....because she is still beautiful and she was someone I idolized as a little girl, somehow making her different than the stars I admire today.

Anyway, we were at the furniture store trying to order a new cover to a chair that a certain little boy got food coloring on (see our Halloween day post). Last week, I got a note in the mail saying the store was going out of business which panicked me a bit since I needed them to replace my cushion cover. Today I took my private invitation letter and headed to the store for their big sale. I had to laugh because there was a time when Rodney and I were DINKs (Double Income-No Kids) and could afford the furniture in this store. Now, with one destroying every nice thing we have and another on the way, the thought of even paying the sales price was cracking me up! But I digress.... I was weaving my way through the store and passed Ricky Scaggs. It was neat to see him, but again, not star struck. We made the rounds and came by the rugs and I thought I passed a lady that looked like Naomi Judd, but wasn't really sure and honestly was too tired to try and figure it out. While I was standing in the back trying to order my new cover she came to the back to pay...yep, it was definitely her.

We got ready to leave and I weaved my way back through the store up to the front door and there she was, still looking at her rug choices. As this tired, weary pregnant woman headed to the door with the stroller in tow getting ready to the butt-bump and push to get out, Naomi was the only one who ran to get the door for me...very kind. By the way, where have all the Southern gentlemen gone? As we were coming through, she bent down to tell Clinton how handsome he was and that he had beautiful blue eyes. So, it must be true...I mean, it's not every day that a country music legend confirms what you hold to be true. :-) It's also not everyday that celebrities are friendly and helpful in public, so thanks, Naomi...you have no idea what a relief it was to my back not to have to bump and push that door today!!

And, no, I don't have pictures...I wouldn't have taken anyway...I don't like to bother them.

Shopping with Celebrities (ha!),

Bob On My Back

Ever since Clinton was about 4 months old, he's been going to the nursery on Sunday mornings at church. Part of the security system there are these name tags you print out at the check in station that have the kids' names on them and they go on the kids backs. So, for the past 17 months, Clinton has had a sticker put on his back at least once a week and has played with a room full of kids who each had a sticker on their back. His conclusion--all stickers go on your back.

Yesterday, Dr. White gave Clinton a "Bob the Builder" sticker, and poor Bob spent the rest of the day seeing where Clinton had been.



Seeing things through little eyes,

Clinton's Personality in a Nutshell...

...loves to do what he's not supposed to and doesn't care what you have to say about it. In fact, he quite enjoys his punishments. This particular clip is one of the funnier instances we've had...they're not all this humorous. Not in the moment, anyway.



Loving the kind of patience only God can give,

Hey, Aunt Zsazsie, Am I Stylin'?

Singin' the Shoes Blues

There have been a lot of things about this pregnancy that have been different than the last, but most notably--and painfully--is a really bad case of sciatica. Click here for more details on this lovely pregnancy side effect. Some days are better than others, but most days are less than desirable.

When searching--and I mean REALLY searching--for the silver lining, I'm able to come up with a couple of good things to emerge from the situation at hand. (1) I can't do any kind of serious house cleaning. One night I mopped all the floors and literally could not stand up straight to walk from Clinton's room to mine. So serious house cleaning is out. Not that I did a lot anyway, but now it's justifiably out. (2) Clinton has learned to do a few things for himself because I must pick and choose when to pick him up...if I pick him up every time he wants, my back would be out before lunch. So, I have to ration my weight lifting throughout the day. Clinton can now get in and out of the tub all by himself. He follows me into the kitchen for his morning bottle rather than me carrying him until he's completely awake. And he can even get out of the car by himself (with some helping hands) after I unbuckle his seat belt.

But there are still some tears being shed on my part. Aside from some occasional excruciating pain, I've discovered one contributing factor to my sciatica that really breaks my heart. It seems I won't be able to wear my heels for the rest of my pregnancy...sniff, sniff. I'm a lover of heels and wore them throughout my entire pregnancy with Clinton...and even after he was born and I was toting around his carrier everywhere. I love heels not only because they make me feel sassy, but also because they make EVERY woman look thinner...and what better time to need to look thinner than when you're packin' on the pounds?? I'm having a hard time letting them go...even with the pain they cause. BUT, it seems I'll be trading in my stilettos for ballet slippers and my power boots for tennis shoes...how can I possibly go on? ;-)

"Grounded" til April,

Holes in the TV and Popcorn in My Ears

Having a boy is quite the adventure, and from what I can tell it's quite a different adventure than having a girl. Not that girls don't come with their own set of "challenges" but boys definitely test you early and often. Seeing what Clinton gets into now and the amount of damage he is able to do scares me a wee bit as to what may lie ahead in our future. I have a feeling we are going to have a lot of stories to tell as the days pass us by...

*One night last week I was making "dinner" (if chicken nuggets and mandarin oranges count as dinner) and I heard a hammering noise coming from the living room. This didn't make me immediately jump and run because Clinton has a tool bench with toy tools in the nearby dining room. So, I figured he had grabbed a fake hammer and was taking it to some poor pitiful piece of furniture in my ever-wearing house. Suddenly, mommy intuition told me what I was hearing was more than a toy hammer on a sturdy piece of furniture that could take a beating. As I rounded the corner it took me just a second to register what I was actually seeing. Somehow--and we've yet to figure out how--Clinton got his hands on a life saving device for the car that Rodney's mom had bought him several years ago. It resembles a hammer, but rather than having a flat side for driving a nail there is a metal pointed side for breaking a car window, should you be trapped in your car. This metal pointed end was being used as Clinton's hammer....into Rodney's TV. The flat screen TV that Rodney patiently waited for, spent months deciding on, and got for his birthday last year. Aaahhh! I could just see what Rodney's face was going to look like when he found out. There were quite a few dents in the screen that rubbed out, but Clinton managed to get his "hammer" through the screen in one spot leaving a little white hole just big enough to drive you crazy when watching TV...perfect. Rodney was actually quite calm about it and treated it as it was...a thing. No one lost a limb or a life...glad we can keep things in perspective.

*Clinton's favorite snack is popcorn...and he has learned to say it and sign it. I was surprised to hear him say it but even more surprised when he started copying me signing it. The first night he said it, he kept following me around with one of his bowls. I kept asking him, "Do you want cereal? Grapes? Fish?" All to which he responded, "Noooooooeeeee." Then I could hear him saying something but very quietly. I bent down to hear him trying to say popcorn...my heart just melted. It's such a big deal when this little person you've been one-way communicating with for so long starts communicating back...with real words. So, every new word is a big deal to the mommy who gets to hear it. It doesn't always sound the same...sometimes it's pupcorn, or sometimes it's hopcarn, and sometimes it's ppcrn...with no vowels....weird. Now that he can say it, he asks for it OFTEN. So, the "popcorn in my ears" is really him saying it over and over and over...as he loves to eat it. He was enjoying his bowl of popcorn and watching his movie the other night, when he just decided to get up, stand in front of me, pour the rest of the popcorn on the floor and start stomping on it. Thank goodness for dogs that love popcorn!

*Here is one of my more favorite things that Clinton does...one of those happy, laugh out loud moments that helps you get through the frustrating ones...jammin' in the car, wearing my sunglasses (which he insists on wearing all the time). Yes, I was driving and filming. But I was driving home from a girlfriend's house through two neighborhoods I know very well, only going 20mph, and not really even looking behind me. I just got my arm lodged between my side and the seat and tried to hold the camera steady, hoping for the best. The moment was too cute not to capture!



Remembering that things are things and this time is precious,

Favorite Things Friday - Litehouse Ranch

It's baaaaack... I know everyone has just been dying for my short-lived series to return. ;-) I really will try to remember to do this. So, here it goes...

Litehouse Homestyle Ranch dressing. Now, I know that oil and vinegar are the healthiest of choices when dressing a salad, and I have plenty of yummy vinegars in my cabinet for this. BUT like any good, Southern girl I also love my ranch dressing. I always have a hard time finding a bottled ranch that's as good as homemade...or even comparable. I stumbled across one the other day though...and it's yummy. I bought it at Sam's, but have also seen it at SuperTarget. It's in the refrigerated section with the produce.

Give it a try and let me know what you think!



Lovin' my salads,

Clinton's Tent

Last year Clinton got a tent for Christmas. For a while it sat in the playroom and Clinton was scared to get in it. And then he got to where we would take a nap in it every once in a while. Then I put it in the attic until a few weeks ago. Now it's an outside toy and Clinton loves it. Here are a few clips of Clinton with his wonderful tent.

And Now, Back to Clinton...

Okay, back to the real purpose of this blog...Clinton. Here are a couple of videos of him from yesterday afternoon.

The first video is of Clinton and Gracie sharing a yummy snack of Chex. I'm thinking Clinton is in desperate need of human influences!?


This video is of Clinton "dancing" to a song in his new favorite movie "The Polar Express". He's so excited about it, he falls down a couple of times and even smacks Addie over the head with a magazine. Then when the song is over he drops to his knees and goes back to playing with his toys just as he was before the song started.


Laughing out loud,

Waking Up to a New America...and Accepting It

Wow! What a historic night we all witnessed last night. Obviously, I am disappointed that the candidate I was supporting did not win but I also realize as an American it is now my responsibility to suppport and respect that authority our nation has chosen.

There are definitely some things I am fearful of--the two main things being the war and healthcare. Like many Americans, I wish we were not in a war--mostly for the sake of my children. I had the utmost confidence in McCain's ability to not just end the war, but in fact resolve the conflict. I am hopeful (and prayerful) Obama will be able to do the same. I am fearful of what Obama's healthcare plan is going to do to private healthcare. Private healthcare is more competitive and progressive, allowing for more cures and progress in medical science. I think there is a better solution for making sure all have access to healthcare. But once again, I will be in prayer over my fears of this.

However, in the midst of my disappointment, I couldn't help but be amazed at the moment we had just witnessed. The first African-American will be taking office and the images from Chicago were a sea of every color and race celebrating together. Many of our parents or grandparents lived through segregation and extreme racism. I grew up not in the midst of extreme racism, but definitely some prejudice...especially in the small bubble I grew up in. My sister and I both had our eyes opened greatly as we went to very diverse, liberal schools. I think we both benefited greatly from those experiences. I can't help but think of how the racial lines have slowly, but surely, disintegrated over the generations, and I wonder what lines my children may even be aware of, or more importantly, oblivious to. The first president they'll probably remember will be a black president. What an amazing opportunity my children may have if they don't even see someone for the color of their skin. Oh, I can only hope for such great things for my children...and I, of course, will do what I can to help assist with that. Walking around with the awareness of racial lines is often a hindrance to relationships, opportunities or possibilities that could be life changing. I am thankful for a certain professor at UT that opened my eyes to that.

So, that's my take. I'm disappointed because I felt McCain had some great platforms and I agreed with his proposed policies. But I will unite with my fellow Americans, and support our President-Elect and be hopeful and prayerful of the changes that are in store for us. I may even find a way to get more involved in government...we'll see, two babies are probably going to have me tied down for a while! :-)

"Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend you. For he is God's servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God's servant, and agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience.

This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God's servants, who give their full time to governing. Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor."
Romans 13:1-6

Never forget we may be under the rules of an earthly man, but we are in the hands of a loving God.

Hopeful and prayerful,

Your Prayerful Consideration is Appreciated

Tomorrow is election day. I remember four years ago hearing everyone talk about how that was the biggest election in history. I can't help but think that this one may trump it. With a possible end to the war, a fragile economy, major changes to healthcare, and a turbulent real estate market all at stake, I can't help but think we have an awful lot to consider in this election. I hope everyone has done their homework and is ready to vote, if you haven't already.

I'll be praying tonight for peace over the decision that I have come to based on the articles I've read, the debates I've listened to, and the research that I've done. I hope you, too, will be including prayer in your decision.

"Praise the name of God forever and ever,
for he has all wisdom and power.
He controls the course of world events;
he removes kings and sets up other kings.
He gives wisdom to the wise
and knowledge to the scholars."
Daniel 2:20-22

This verse has been a big part of my Bible study this fall and just happens to be the perfect verse for our group during this time. I keep saying it over and over trying to keep myself from worrying too much. I know all I can do is my small part and then it's out of my control...I have a higher power to trust in.

Voting prayerfully,

When Mommy's Away...The Boys Will Play

So, I had a few meetings for church today and although Rodney wasn't feeling 100% today he happily agreed to hang with his main man, Clinton. I love for Rodney to get some one-on-one time with Clinton--I just think it's good for dads to fend for themselves from time to time. I often get overwhelmed with how hard it is to keep up with the house while tending to a child like Clinton, but Rodney made me feel better about myself today. This is what I returned home to...






Maybe I should dress Clinton up as a tornado next year...it seems appropriate.

Happily messy,

After Recovering from Halloween

Clinton LOVED Halloween. He ate sweets all day, which is not something we do around here. He got SUPER excited every time the doorbell rang and there were kids waiting there. He loved running around the cul-de-sac with all the trick-or-treaters. And he was excited about all the people we had over for our little neighborhood party. However, he got really tired and became very crabby...especially when he realized we were going through our bedtime routine. He wasn't ready for the excitement to end. But he only cried for about two seconds in his crib and then he was out...as expected.

The next morning was one of those perfect mornings where we just sat out on the patio with our coffee and "maa, maa" (milk). I was able to get a few shots of our well-rested caveman with his happy-to-be-home daddy.

Gettin' some much needed Daddy-lovin'.




Showing Daddy what the nine year old boy next door taught us...no, Clinton doesn't have older siblings, but when he goes to school they'll think he does...the neighborhood kids entertain themselves by teaching Clinton all their tricks.


Gettin' Daddy in on the fun!


Feeling blessed,