Prayer Request...

Fischer is such a fortunate little boy to have so many "grandparents" in his life.  Some are biological and some are pretend, but none the less, he's a loved little boy.  Let's just name a few...  Grammy & Grampy - my parents, GiGi & Mr. Van - CJ's mom and boyfriend, Dee Dee & Papa - CJ's Dad and step mom , Nannie & Mr. C - CJ's maternal grandmother and boyfriend, Papa & Sitto - CJ's paternal grandparents, Grandma Vicie - my maternal grandmother... And those are are for real!  Except for Van and Mr. C, but they are pretty close to real.  Then we have those pretend ones...  Mama & Papa Giddens, my parents best friends, who he adores.. And then we have Papa Richard & Nannie Linda, LeAnne's parents.  

Today's blog is especially for Nannie Linda.  She was diagnosed with colon cancer this week and is currently undergoing surgery to remove the cancer.  The doctors feel very confident that they will be able to remove it all with surgery, and we will know a little more about the next steps after today.  So, let's please be in prayer for Mrs. Linda and the doctors as she goes through this surgery today. 



Fischer's note to Nannie Linda



Papa Richard & Nannie Linda

Remember me?

It's been a while! 

Just a quick little update on us.  Fischer has been paci-free for a little over a week now.  He has done SO well without it.  I must admit, his mama was more upset about getting rid of it than he was.  Call me silly, but I had a really hard time giving it up.  This was the absolute last thing keeping my baby a sweet baby. 

Friday the 29th Darah kept Fischer for me.  Owen gave up his paci about a month prior, so she hid Fischer's so Owen wouldn't get any bright ideas.  That afternoon she sent me a text to tell me he went down for a nap without his paci and did really well, so I decided it was time.  The first couple of days were rough, but not because he was so rotten without it, but because I was so emotional about him not being a baby anymore.  He asked for paci a couple of times, but when he did I would tell him that he left it at Mrs. Darah's house and the puppies got it.  Now when you ask him where paci is he gets SO tickled and says, "Mama, dog got paci". 

On another note...

Fischer took swimming lessons last week.  He did okay with it.  He screamed bloody murder as soon as he saw the neighborhood where the lessons took place, but we would hide and watch him and he did great.  She said he was one of her best 2 year olds because he actually listens to what she says.  She told us she could tell he wasn't babied and that we were great parents.  It made me feel great, but at the same time I was wondering whose child she had!  I highly recommend her for lessons, though.  She was very good with him.  If I can ever figure out how to use my video camera, I will upload a video on here. 

Deals! Deals! Deals!

While I was on vacation I found some great deals!

My mom and I love to go to thrift stores, antique stores and Goodwill's.  One afternoon while on vacation we decided to do a little shopping and headed into the nearest "city", which is about 45 minutes from my aunt and grandmother's house. 

At Goodwill I ended up with 2 shirts, 2 skirts, 5 dresses and a pair of jeans!  All brand new, with tags on them.  Take a look! (:

Antiquing has always been an interest of my mama's, and I've picked up on it over the years.  I remember as a little girl going through antique stores and picking up every piece of jade colored china I could find and looking for the name Fire King on the bottom.  Mama's pattern was jade-ite, which is one of the more popular patterns that was found in restaurants.  On our trip last week I started 2 collections of Fire King glassware.  I first ran across a white and gold pattern that was very inexpensive, so I decided to purchase it.  After that I fell in love with a pattern called Peach Lustre - Laurel.  I am in love!  If any of you thrift store and antique shoppers run across either of these, let me know! (:




Fire King

 

While searching for my new china collection, I ran across this beautiful painting.  I LOVE paintings, but unfortunately, my pocketbook does not love their prices.  This one was a great price!  Fifteen bucks! 

This is all for now... (:  I hope to post lots of pics from our vacation soon.  Stay tuned!!

We're on our way...

To West Virginia! 

We are leaving today at 4pm to head north to visit my grandmother and more family.  I'm excited to spend the next week with my parents, Fischer, and Cameron.  I'm truly blessed with great family.  I have two of the greatest parents in the world.  (:  

We will spend the first half of the week in West Virginia and Kentucky, and then we will head to Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg on Friday.  Hopefully Cameron will get to go to Dollywood or Splash Mountain while we are in Pigeon Forge.  I would like to take Fischer to the aquarium, eat lots of yummy food, and do nothing!

A little off subject - Last night I got a pedicure with Cassie while the boys had ice cream.  While enjoying my relaxing pedi, CJ sent me the picture below of my wild child!




Fischer's Funny Face



Weekend Update

Friday night was a laid back night.  We hung around the house and watched movies.  Fischer watched The Little Engine That Could and after he went to bed, C.J. and I watched The Dilemma.   Both were cute movies.  And yes, I stayed awake! (:

Saturday morning we got up early and traveled to Buena Vista for Hallie Kate's birthday.  For those of you who don't know, Hallie Kate is Tink's daughter.  Tink would be my pretend cousin.  Someone asked us this weekend how we are related, so I explained.  Tink is my mom's step sister's ex husband's ex girlfriend's daughter.  (:  My Uncle Wes and Tink's mom, Marianne, dated for a really long time, which made Tink my cousin.  We've been friends since we were little bitty.  Our connection is a bit blurry, but our friendship definitely is not!  And by the way, Tink's real name is Laura Beth... (:  Anyway, Hallie Kate turned four last week, so we went to her party. 

Hallie Kate and her yummy cake

Bridgett, Rhonda, Tink, Tuffy

Fischer LOVES cake, but it's all a "cu-cake" to him.  When the cake arrived on Saturday, he crawled in the chair, grabbed a fork and was about to dig in when I caught him.  Little stinker! He was not about to wait on the birthday girl . 

He absolutely loved his time with Colten and Hallie Kate.  They played and played.  He actually stayed up until 1am playing! 

Hallie Kate, Fischer, Colten

Sassy & Rotten

Shortly after Fischer and I went to bed Saturday night (actually, Sunday morning!) Colten lost one of his two front teeth!  So, the Tooth Fairy made a visited to the O'Neal house and left $5!  Inflation has really taken off... I used to get $1! 

Colten *minus a tooth!*

Sunday morning we drove back to Tifton.. C.J. did homework, Fischer napped and I went to the pool.  Nothing too exciting (:

Challenge

Write a letter.  Not an email. Not a text.  Write a letter - you know, snail mail...  :)

Hodge Podge!

I've been working on this blog for days.  I've been busy at work and I haven't been able to get my pictures to cooperate, so I've given up several times.  And, as you can tell by my jacked up banner at the top, I am frustrated with my template, etc.  So, if you notice that my background changes a lot please ignore it (:

Saturday morning we went to the Farmer's Market.  If you know Fischer, you know he loves trains.  Since the Farmer's Market is in the old train depot, they have an old train there.  He had to play... and mama had to take pics! :)

Sunday we went to Berry Good Farms to pick blackberries.  We did this last year also, and Fischer loved them just as much this year as he did last.  He kept eating the blackberries right off of the bushes.  They don't use any pesticides, so it was safe eatin'. :)

 I'm scared Fischer is a little OCD.  All of a sudden everything is yucky.  He's always had a problem with dirt and sand being on his hands or feet, but it's gotten extreme.  Dirt on the ground is yucky, bugs are yucky, freckles are yucky... everything is yucky!  Yesterday he got the broom out and started sweeping up a mess he made, all while saying "Mama, yucky!"  Part of me wants to be concerned, but the other part really likes the thought of him liking things clean. 

I think it should be illegal to place any kind of gumball machine or claw machine in a restaurant.  Actually, I think it should be illegal in any establishment where you are trying to keep your child seated longer than 5 minutes.  We went to Pizza Hut for dinner last night with  my parents and we could not eat as a family.  Someone was constantly tearing Fischer away from a machine.  We didn't have to buy anything, he just wanted to look.

Under Construction...

I'm not real sure what I'm doing here!!  I do know that I wish I was better at HTML... I wish I would have paid more attention in Mr. Beadle's class in college! 

Challenge

I challenge you to spend time with friends you haven't seen in a while! Eat, drink, and be merry! (:

This challenge is easy, exciting, and much needed for most.  I thought this was well suited for my first challenge due to my motivation to blog again! 

I'm back!

Well, hello there!

After a great weekend with the girls, I have been re-inspired to blog!  I want so badly to be great at this, so here is my second shot.  Rather than making up for lost time, I am just going to start over! (:

I spent last week at Callaway Gardens for a GACE Conference.  I had a great time meeting new people, learning new things, and of course, eating great food.  We had lots of guest speakers who had great ideas, stories and advice. 

After the conference I had a weekend with the girls in Sautee, Georgia.  We had such a great time!  We woke up Saturday morning and as we were sitting around drinking coffee we started talking about other people's blogs (Lauren - I raved about yours all morning!), and how much we loved reading them.  We then decided that all four of us were going to commit to blogging!!  We gave each other "assignments".  My assignment is to challenge my readers.   So, occasionally I will challenge you to do something you may not have thought of, done in a while, or even want to do.    Get ready! (:

We spent the day by the pool catching up. After the pool we got dressed and went to dinner at Chophouse at LaPrade's.  We really enjoyed their food!  After dinner we hung out at the marina and took pictures.  We acted like we were in college again!

Meet Dixie! Dixie is the grand dog of a couple we met at the marina.  Her mother was in South America meditating for six weeks. (:  We didn't ask too many questions about Dixie's mom. 

Sunday was a very, very long day... I had not seen Fischer since Tuesday!  The drive from North Georgia to South Georgia seemed like it would never end.  When I got home Fischer met me outside with a big hug!  When I walked into the house I had a huge surprise!  While I was gone, CJ and a friend put new floors in our den/dining area... !!!  I am SO excited. Now I need a rug... Suggestions?

ABC's of me!

A - Age: 26 (Less than one month until 27!!!!)

B - Bed Size: Queen :(

C - Chore You Dislike: Putting away clothes!

D - Dog: None!

E - Essential Start to the Day: Check the weather, police reports and facebook on my phone first thing every morning!

F - Favorite Color: Green

G - Gold or Silver: I love both!

H - Height: 5'1" I know... It's sad!

I - Instruments Play(ed): None!

J - Job Title: Career Services Coordinator - Moultrie Tech

K - Kids: Fischer - 23 months today!!

L - Live: South Georgia.

M - Mom's Name: Loretta

N - Nicknames: Bridge, B, Bird, Birge, Meadows, Meadowwood...

O - Overnight Hospital Stays: Kidney Stones and Fischer's birth!

P - Pet Peeves: People "shushing" me.  I hate it - don't know why!

Q - Quote from a Movie: "Hot dog, Jake! Look at the size of that thang!"

R - Righty or Lefty: Righty

S - Siblings: Randy (or Bubba to me!)

T - Time You Wake Up: 6:15

U - Underwear: The bigger the better!

V - Vegetables You Don't Like: Pretty sure I like them all, but my least favorite are green beans

W - What Makes You Run Late: ADD...  The. End.

X - X-Rays You've Had: Teeth, Back, Kidneys...

Y - Yummy Food You Make: Cubed steak, meatloaf and baby back ribs!

Z - Zoo Animal Favorites: Monkeys!!!

Finally...

I have a chance to post something new! 

We had a great weekend full parties and friends!  Friday night I had girls night at Brittany's.  We sat around and ate pizza and talked about life... and people!  While I was gone, CJ said that he grabbed some chap stick out of a bowl on the table. Fischer got the bright idea that he would go play with the bowl and CJ got on to him twice.  On the third try he got smart! He covered his eyes, peaking out of his little fingers and tried again!  He thought that if he couldn't see daddy, daddy couldn't see him!  Precious!

Saturday morning we got up and ate breakfast, played for a little while and then Fischer was pitching a fit for his paci.  We have a rule that he can only have it in his bed, so when he pitches a fit, he sits in his bed with paci and blankie!  Well.... we all three ended up falling asleep for two hours! Oops! :)  It was sooooo nice!  That afternoon, Cassie and Tripp came by for a few minutes and while they were there Fischer decides it's time to start opening doors.  I thought it was coincidental and didn't think much of his door opening abilities.  After they left, I walked to the back of the house and then went back into the living room, and he was GONE!  OUTSIDE!  He scared his mama just a little bit, but he was just fine.  Lesson learned - use the deadbolt!

Saturday evening we had a wedding party for a dear friend, Kate.  It was a "Firsts" themed party and we were assigned to their first beach trip!  We took a cooler and some beach games - football, frisbee, etc.  Others had things such as first anniversary, first Halloween, first rainy day, etc.  There were some great gifts given. 

Sunday is typically church day, but this Sunday was homework day in the Adams house!  CJ is doing SO great with his school right now.  Calculus is giving him a run for his money, but he's sticking with it.  Sunday afternoon I had a baby shower to go to for Maria Falotico... She looks precious with her little baby bump.   :)

All in all, we had a great weekend!

Say Cheese!

Fischer has really started talking a lot these days.  I think he was slightly delayed because he would point and mommy would give him what he wanted! 

His first words were the normal ones - mama, daddy, bye-bye...   After those he surprised us with "Outside!"  The baby LOVES to be outside - hot, cold, rainy, snowing... It does not matter! 

Wednesday, my mom was getting Fischer out of the car to go to school and she was having a hard time.  She got frustrated and said "Oh Jesus" and Fischer immediately repeated and said "Oh de-zus."  He's absorbing everything! 

I caught him on video last night talking, which does not happen often! Notice - he's not very interested in me at all!  Take a look!  :)

Baby Back Ribs - Crock Pot Style

Ingredients

1 slab of ribs
Juice (I usually use apple, but any would work)
1 Medium onion - sliced
Barbecue Sauce (Sweet Baby Rays is my favorite)
Brown Sugar

Pour an inch of juice in crock pot. Cut the ribs in half and place in crock pot. Scatter onion over the ribs. Set crock pot on low and cook for 4-6 hrs. (My crock pot cooks fast, so it usually only takes 4 hours) Once the ribs are cooked fully, take them out of the crock pot and place on cookie sheet.  Mix brown sugar and barbecue sauce and spread on ribs.  Place ribs in oven and bake on 350 degrees for 10 minutes. 

Very easy and SO tasty!

Another...

Crazy week!  I can't wait until I can write something that is actually exciting!  Monday was a "snow day" for Moultrie Tech, so I stayed home all bundled up.  My mom has been sick and hasn't seen Fischer in over two weeks, so she came and got him for the day.  While he was at her house he got sick.  We had to take him to the doctor and the poor baby has an ear infection.  The BEST news about our visit to the doctor is that they actually take our insurance!!  After almost two years, they take Aetna again! 

Meanwhile, while at the doctors office, I decided to pick up something I did not want - a stomach virus!!!!  So, I was out of work on Tuesday, too!!  Wednesday I felt great, but CJ decided he wanted the funk, too. So, we have had a week of sickness... Thank God it's Friday! 

As for the weekend - we don't have much planned.  Tonight we are going to eat baby back ribs! I have the best crockpot recipe for ribs.  I will post it in case anyone would like to try it!   Tomorrow we have Milly's birthday party.  I cannot believe she's 2!  Sunday we will go to church and CJ will work on homework! 

Hopefully next week I will not have a sickness to talk about!! 

Focused on Curious George

On the way to Aunt LeAnne's... 

Where do I start?

This has been a CRAZY week... 

Tuesday (which was my Monday) started off wild because we had Late Registration for students who are attending MTC this quarter.  Our new Financial Aid Technician started that day, and because it was so crazy, she did not shadow the other Financial Aid Tech - she followed me.  I assist Financial Aid when needed, but I sure do not need to be training anyone.  Meanwhile, every student who came into my office said "Your eyes are red!"...  Which leads us to Tuesday...

Wednesday I woke up with pink eye! Yay!  The last time I went to the doctor was in March of 2008 (other than having a baby!) and guess what I had then... Pink eye!  So, Wednesday I played hooky and spent the day at home. 

On Wednesday while I was at home, Fischer and I were sitting on the sofa and I got him to say I Love You!   It sounded a little more like "I wub boo". It melted my heart! 

As for this weekend, it's going to be very laid back - thankfully!  CJ's mom (Gigi) is coming to town and we are going to dinner.  Tomorrow night we are eating dinner at home with some friends.  Sunday we are going to church! :)