SURPRISE CELEBRATION!

Friday was a great day but a pretty normal day.  Lots of phone calls and messages from friends and someone bought my coffee at my favorite coffee shop which totally made me smile.  My mom and sister were coming in to town that afternoon and Kenny was driving back from furniture market so that we could all have dinner at Restaurant Tyler to celebrate.  

Our reservations were at 7:30 so I was trying to get Elle into bed before the babysitter arrived.  I was getting frustrated with Kenny because he kept encouraging her to dilly dally and seemed to want to get a picture of me with her.  Then all of a sudden my sister walks in the door with my three best friends from Memphis.  I could not believe it! I was so surprised and totally cried.  All the screaming and crying freaked out Elle and she started bawling.  It was quite the commotion but I was so happy. My mom took some very blurry pictures ha! Kenny was trying to stall Elle as a ruse to take a video of when they came in.  

Then we were all off to dinner.  They had this decided they were going to do this weeks ago and had snuck around behind my back and had it all planned. I was so happy that my friend Lindsay was able to come.  She just had a baby 6 weeks ago! Crazy! Dinner was delicious and they gave me some of the sweetest gifts!

After dinner and drinks we were headed to the bar but made a quick swing by the Kappa Alpha house to take some pictures for memory sake.  Mollie and Tracy both married KAs and had many a fun time at the KA house.

We were praying no one saw us.

Then it was off to a bar to hang out with the college students for a little while.  We had a great time but we felt so old.  Ha! We said so many funny things about our old age we ended up making a list. 

Another blurry pic but had to include it!

A less blurry one of Tracy and I.

On Saturday morning we headed to my favorite coffee shop 929 for coffee and delicious carbs.  We sat there and chatted a while until all the stores opened on Main Street.  Then we shopped.  We pretty much went into every store. Lindsay had to get back to the baby so we gave her hugs goodbye.  Then it was time for some cheese sticks and cocktails at The Grill.  As we were leaving we decided to swing by sorority row to see the girls on Bid Day.  We got there just in time to watch them run to their houses.  That was fun and brought back so many old memories. 

We were a little confused because we all remembered running to our houses and these girls were lesiurely making their way.  Panhellinic must of changed a rule over the years.

And this is what every girl had on.Every single one.  We in our old age are just agast!  Why are they wearing these shorts? They are so unflattering. And then with the shoes.  We were so disappointed that 90's grunge fashion was back.  It looked just awful. They need to go back to the shorts and gray New Balances in my opinion. STAT!

There was a new sorority and sorority house on the row and we were dying to see it. It looked so nice!  So we might of snuck in and taken a picture to prove it.  We were so worried we were going to get called out.  The house was just as nice on the inside as it was on the outside by the way.

After that we made our way over to the Phi Mu house to check out the action (what Tracy was) and peeked in on her old room and looked for our friends composite pictures.  Then we stopped by the Chi O house (what Annie and I were) and peeked in on our rooms too.  And of course I had to find my composite pictures.  

Freshman year composite pic

-Elle doesn't even say this is me when we show her this picture.  That is depressing ha!

Senior year composite pic.

After our long day of girl time in Starkville we all ordered sushi in and watched a movie before going to bed early.  Kenny stayed in Tupelo for market so Mollie and Tracy and I all slept in our bed.  It was so fun.  How often do you get to have a sleepover when you are 30 years old.  

It really was one of the best birthdays I have ever had.  I am still in disbelief that Kenny was able to keep it all a secret.  Thank you to Annie for planning it and thank you to my mom for keeping Elle so we could shop and have lots and lots of girl time! And of course thank you to my girls who surprised me by coming in to town!

30 BITS OF WISDOM ON MY 30TH BIRTHDAY

SOME SWEET AND SAPPY THINGS ABOUT BEING A PARENT
- You can love something so much so much it hurts. Physically and emotionally the most intense feeling I have ever experienced is my love for my child.

-Having a little girl is so much fun but terrifying at the same time.

- Parenting makes you smile so much your cheeks hurt. Like seriously, my cheeks ache from happiness sometimes.

- You will eat your words on almost all the things you said about other people's parenting before you had kids. All.the.words.

- Watching your children sleep is one of life's simplest joys.

- Cooking and singing are two things I hope Elle grows up and says "my mom was a good cook and she was always singing some silly song."

- Becoming a parent makes you see your own parents in a whole new light.

- After you a while you start to think becoming my mother wouldn't be such a bad thing.

- Epidurals are legit.

- So is that numbing spray they give you when you leave the hospital.  (okay I realize those weren't sweet and sappy but felt they needed to be included.)


SOME THINGS ABOUT MY HUSBAND
- Good husbands are hard to come by.  I have realized over the last 7 years that I have one of the best ones out there.

- Watching your husband that you started dating as a college student read to your daughter and tuck her into bed will make you fall more in love with him than those crazy nights of dancing after football games.

- If you can travel well together then you can get through anything.  Am I right?

- It is nice having a husband who I NEVER have to worry about what he is going to come out of his closet wearing.

- Sometimes a pizza in and a movie rental is just as good as a nice dinner out at a nice restaurant. What matters is the idea of a date night.


SOME THINGS ABOUT HAVING A SISTER
- Having a sister is a pretty special thing.  That is why I pray to have another girl one day so that Elle will have a sister.

- No one can make you so mad so quickly and then you get over 5 minutes later like a sister

- Having a sibling is important so that you text them them late at night about random and totally strange things you just remembered from your childhood.


SOME THINGS ABOUT FRIENDS
- 1 good friend is worth 5 mediocre friends.

- It is hard as we get older to maintain friendships.  It takes work on both ends.  True friendships will float through the years.  But there is never a doubt that friendship has faded when you pick up that phone or see them for a visit.

- My closest friends are the ones that I haven't talked to in a few weeks and then she calls me to tell me something she saw on Teen Mom.  We talk about that and other stuff for 5 minutes and get off the phone.  It doesn't have to be deep and serious conversation all the time.  Those friends are always the ones that are there for you when you need them for the hard things.

JUST SOME SILLY BITS OF WISDOM

- Tanning bed tans=trashy. Natural glow from the sun= you have never looked better, thinner, happier, healthier....

- You will pay for that tan later.  Le sigh...there is botox for at least some of that...right?

- Crawfish and a Strawberry Abita might be the best pair on those first days of Spring.

- Some days counting calories and worrying about what you are eating is pointless.  Sometimes these days can run consecutively when you are on vacation or it is that time of the month.

- A fairly new one to me- working out A WHOLE LOT does actually produce results

- To add to that - muscles look way better than fat.  Who'd of thunk it!

- Never underestimate the power of rap music to make a good workout happen.

- SEC>ALL OTHER COLLEGE CONFERENCES

- Cheese and crackers are a totally suitable dinner when you husband is out of town.  Cheese is good.

- Birthdays don't matter all that much to me.  I truly try to thank God for every day that I am given on this earth.  

THE DAY BEFORE...

Tomorrow is a huge birthday for me.  And since I have been silent on this blog for the past week I thought I would pop in and do a total photo dump before I post my predictable 30 Things I Learned by My 30th Birthday.

I have been absent because we have been out of town a lot.  The trips were unplanned and very last minute and well funerals aren't something you want to do an entire blog post about.  But we tried to enjoy our time together as as family none the less and still managed to have a little fun out on the road.  So here we go.  A little of what has been going on the past week or so.

 We stayed in Jackson one night and took Elle to Sal and Mookie's.  We've never been there and this place is genius.  Pizza, pasta and an ice cream parlor built in to the restaurant.  Those are three of Elle's favorite things in the world.  We had a great time and the food was tasty.  

 After Sal and Mookie's it was back to the hotel for books and bed time. 

Thought this was a sweet moment.

 The burial for the funeral we attended was at this tiny little church and Elle and I played on the chapel steps during the service.  I was sweating just a bit but she was having a good time hamming it up for the camera.

 When we got home from our trip, Kenny was so excited to find these in the mail. With the weather being so cool and only a few more weeks until our first home game.  Aaaaaagh!!!!

 We took Elle for donuts one morning.  She was so excited about her chocolate sprinkle donut she picked out.

 Elle sleeps with so much stuff.  This isn't even all of it.  We are trying to teach her how to choose what "friends" she wants to sleep with but she isn't really grasping the concept.  But I mean.  This is pretty sweet right.  Don't mind Ariel's nip slip in there.  It is purely innocent.

 Kenny has been traveling home from Tupelo Furniture Market some nights and one night he just happened to come home right as I was about to shut Elle's door for the night.  She was so happy to get some good night hugs and kisses from him and I snapped this pic.  Makes my heart melt.

It was pouring down rain one morning this week and Elle was so excited to wear her rain jacket. 

Alright, well like I said.  Tomorrow is my birthday.  Tune in to read some insightful but probably useless things about the wisdom I have gained over the last 30 years!

START OF A NEW YEAR

Tuesday morning I took Elle to the pool.  We are trying to soak up our mornings there before they adjust the hours.  Summer is winding down and that feeling is in the air. That feeling of a new year.  I always feel like the start of a new school year is the new year.  Not January 1. Even when I was out of school and had no children, August and the feeling of fall approaching felt way more exciting.

We enjoyed our last morning swimming and having lunch.  It was a fun morning.  She is at such a funny age and requires me to be in the pool the entire time.  She wants to jump to me and swim to me and splash me.  We stay so busy.  I like when Kenny comes and can help out because when I take her by myself I am wiped at the end of it but it is still so fun.

Looking so amused at me trying to capture the moment.

Wednesday morning was Elle's first day of 2 Year Old Preschool.  Her teacher is one of my favorite from when I worked there years ago and I am so excited that Elle has Mrs. Meg and Mrs. Angie.  We had open house on Tuesday and Kenny and I took her to see the classroom and get accustomed.

The morning of preschool I actually remembered to get some pictures and take a video of me asking her some questions about school.  The pictures are sweet.  But I know from seeing other people's pictures that she will grow up so much over this next year.  I will look back at this picture and see such a baby face.  But that day she seemed like such a big girl to me.  Okay, going to go cry into my pillow now.

All ready for her first day of preschool.  Sweet girl.

A WEEKEND WITH FAMILY

This weekend we made the last minute decision to travel down to my hometown.  My aunts and uncles and cousin were coming into town to help my mom move my grandma out of an assisted living home to a nursing home. I was really up in the air about going just because we have been out of town so much lately but I a so glad we went.  It was so fantastic to see some of my family and let them get to see Elle.  

Elle was in heaven with all the extra attention.  She immediately took to my Aunt Pam.  She loves anyone that will get on the floor and just play and chat with her. We had to go through a ton of boxes of my Grandma's (who is a real life hoarder) and 3 of those boxes were filled to the brim with costume jewelry. So we made Elle a box of fun things to play dress up with.

Playing in her jewelry box with Aunt Pam.

Pam took Elle out Friday morning to pick flowers and made a little arrangement for my mom.  Elle loved this so much and they ended up doing it every single morning we were there.

Picking flowers for Cece.

Friday night, Kenny and I got a babysitter and we went out for dinner at a "cool" dinner time.  7:30 instead of 5:30.  We went to my favorite Hattiesburg restaurant, Crescent City.  The wait was a little long so we went and had pre-dinner cocktails at Robert St.John's new bar The Branch.  It was such a great time.  Kenny and I can't wait to go on a date to get drinks there.

Blurry pic of my mom, her brother-Uncle Mike and Annie at The Branch

Pam, Kenny and me at The Branch.  

My family from Texas also came in to town and we had not seen each other in forever. It was so nice catching up with them in person! Everyone has changed so much.

We took the opportunity to take a bunch of family pictures with my grandma in her new room.  

Not sure why this is so blurry.  I have better ones.  Oh well.

After visiting my grandma we all hit up a hamburger/sports bar to eat and hang out while we watched the braves game.  After dinner we headed back to my mom's to talk and put Elle to bed.  Not before she hammed it up a lot.  Like I said.  She was loving the attention.  Eventually conversation ended up on Naked and Afraid (imagine that) and we all ended up watching an episode. While a couple people pooed pooed on it. Most people were as into it as I am.  

Elle sporting Aunt Pam's glasses and thinking it was so funny!

I am so glad we made the trip down to see everyone.  It is so important to me that Elle knows her family and feels loved and supported by them.  This weekend gave us some time to see people and laugh and for her to play.  It was a great weekend!