B for Busy.....

Busy with all the happenings in our little corner of the world.

What a vicious cycle...I blog regularly and then bam...life takes on a new and faster pace and poof....no time for anything other than "survival mode" as I call it. (I think I just used 2 sound effects in one sentence, that's a first!) There are spans of time when all I can do is make sure we have clean underwear and homework is finished.

Lately we've had piles of PTA Membership cards covering the majority of flat surfaces here at home, we've lived without milk for days at a time and we've reached into the dirty clothes basket more than once to pull out nasty (and I do mean NASTY) football practice clothes for Winston to put back on to head to practice.

I enjoy all the busy but I don't enjoy all the clutter and chaos that ensues when the busy takes over...something always gets pushed to the side and then the piles form and when the piles take over, Mama starts to twitch.

Between PTA, football, school, Sunday School and more PTA (yes it has earned 2 spots on the list these day- I really need to do a PTA blog post just for my own recollection of the madness when I'm 80 years old and can't remember), the month of September was a blur. At one point last week I had 200 emails sitting in my Inbox....and yes if you are still keeping track, I am a stay at home Mom with 200 emails. Crazy.

So..after some effort and planning.....the house is in relative order, our Bantam Raiders are sitting pretty with a 3-0 record (can't say the same for my beloved Vikings),489 PTA cards have been distributed, 200 parents have been trained properly to volunteer at our school, the dining room is not loaded down with stuff and my inbox only has 59 items....slowly, ever so slowly....the twitch...it's starting to subside....

Just in time for the holiday season!

Amidst the twitching...we had some fun too....here's a peak.....

Lilly enjoyed her first 5 girl trip without her Mama - she went to Auntie and Unc Unc's for a few days and had all kinds of fun. She even snuck in a trip to see Grammy and Granddaddy. She had a great time with lots of people who love her to pieces.

Spirit Day at School - I still can't believe our children are both in elementary school!

I love watching my Kindergarten Lilly in her element at school - being Room Mom has its perks!! As for kindergarten, she loves it, loves her teachers and after our first parent/teacher conference, we feel ever so good about how she's doing so far.

Winston has shown his stuff in his college football prognosticating (is that a word?, it is now). He is pretty well versed in all things football and college football might be his specialty. He is lending his expertise each week as he helps his Unc Unc with a College Pick-em Contest at Unc Unc's office. So far so good - Winston has gotten 7 and 8 out of 10 consistently each week so far...not bad for an 8 year old!!

A weekly conference to review his picks.....

We've had some fun with The Sparrows...dinner, sleepovers for the boys and front yard football. They are GA-bound come spring-time so we are taking in as much of them as we can before the moving truck arrives and they start their new adventures in the land of peaches and peanuts. The up side - there are some GA trips planned and some Braves games thrown in for good measure.

Huddling Up for a play against the Daddies...

We spent a lovely Sunday at Cypress Gardens....it was nice way to spend a late summer morning. We arrived before the heat did and snuck in a boat ride before it got too hot. The attempts to get a nice brother/sister picture were futile....what can I say, I am a glutton for punishment...

So peaceful in the swamp.....

Until we had to row past this guy....Winston was freaking out but this gator never opened an eye...he was snoooozing.....but yes, Winston will tell you we were VERY close to this little fellow.

The boys flirted with the Macaw in her cage...she did all sorts of tricks to keep their attention. I love this picture of my favorite boys....

And my goodness, this beauty of mine - she does take my breath away sometimes. That scrunchy face....love it.

We are back in the full swing of pigskin for the boy....season is going very well....a post all his own is coming for sure....

We've had some sleep-in-curlers nights recently and Daddy is always the one with the comb and the foam curlers....he does a much better job than I do. I hope she'll always remember that her Daddy curled her hair.

And Winston....and his House of Cards....baseball cards....we've spent a small fortune on those suckers...or at least HE has....thank goodness for all the Dick's and Target gift cards that arrived for his birthday.