Weekend Review

Aren't you proud of me? I think I'm finally getting back into the swing of blogging, again! Feels so good, too!

OK, where shall I start?  Well, I'm happy to report that we found a homecoming dress for Abby! We went out on Saturday afternoon and visited several different shops, but nothing caught our eye.  We went to the store where her best friend found her dress and it was HUGE!  I have never seen so many gowns and dresses in one place in my entire life!  We had the best fun looking at them all!  However, we didn't find a single short dress under $175, which is what her friend paid.  I'm sorry, but we're talking homecoming here, not prom.  I wasn't about to spend that kind of money.  So, we were both beginning to feel a bit frustrated when we spotted a new consignment store that had just opened.  We went in and Abby, immediately, found about 6 dresses to try on.  The last one fit her like a dream and was perfect in length and in style...so we bought it.

Here's a little peek...



I was tickled with what I paid for it, too...only $60 and it looks like it's never even been worn.  Glam it up with the right jewelry and a pair of cute shoes and she'll be all set!

Poor ol' Maddie...when she heard the news that my Arkansas Razorbacks lost to the Univ. of Louisiana-Monroe on Saturday night, she crawled up under the sofa and hid from the world. She just couldn't take it! Wish I could have joined her! Sad defeat for my HOGS.

One thing I can't complain about, however, is the absolutely GORGEOUS weather we had! The sky on Sunday afternoon looked like a painting.  Definitely God's masterpiece!  Have any of you noticed how fluffy and low the clouds seem to be lately?  I can't get enough of them!  For any of you who might follow me on Instagram, my pictures attest to that!

Here's another shot I took...

So, do tell...how was your weekend?  I don't know about you, but I sure am lovin' these cooler temps!  I do believe fall is in the air!

Final Curtain Call

On Saturday night, Abby had her final choral performance.  It was a repeat performance of the one they gave on Friday night that we all attended.  The singers performed various songs from popular Broadway musicals such as Les Miserables, The Lion King, Singin' In the Rain, and Grease.

Here's what the backdrop for the stage looked like...

Friday night's performance was a packed house and Abby said the same was true of their Saturday performance. 

Here's Abby and her choral group performing a song from The Lion King.  She's the one on the far right with her hand on her hip wearing the brown shirt.

She wasn't too happy about having to wear this monkey mask.  What made it even worse is that she had it on backwards and didn't realize it until her scene began.  Oh, well!  That's her front and center.

Toward the end of the show, all of the graduating choral seniors walked out on the stage holding something that meant a lot to them (trophies, crowns, soccer balls, plaques, etc). They stood in a semi-circle and sang "100 Years".  As they were singing, they each walked up, one by one, and placed their special items on the floor at the front of the stage.  I got so choked up!  I guess I started thinking about Abby and how she'll be graduating in just 3 short years. Time flies so incredibly fast!

At the end of the performance,  we met up with Abby and presented her with a bouquet of flowers.  It was a bittersweet moment, for sure.

Brittany and Abby...

Abby and my mother-in-law, Diane...

  
I really hate to see Abby drop out of chorus, but she just hasn't enjoyed it, at all, this year.  I want her to find some kind of activity that she's enthusiastic about participating in. She's already been talking about joining the equestrian or golf team (which thrills Chris to no end!). So, I'm sure she'll find her niche sooner or later...whatever it may be...and I'll be right there cheering her on the whole way!



P.S.  I'm feeling worse than ever this morning.  My sinuses are both stopped completely up and the area under my eyes is sore to the touch. I'm guessing it's a sinus infection.  Nothing helps...nasal sprays, over-the-counter meds., etc.  I tried to go to the doc. yesterday, but was told I'd be on a long waiting list behind all of the other regular appts., so I passed. I'm going to have to go in this morning, even if I have to sit there for several hours to be seen.

Sunday Funday

Thanks to all of you who gave me suggestions on how to "fix" my header. I played around with it for a good portion of the day yesterday and finally decided that I had to delete the customizations on my blog. That's always a scary thing to do because you never know if you can get things back the way you had them.  In fact, what happened with mine is that my profile picture and all of my sidebar pictures shrunk. I figured out how to enlarge my profile picture, but am still working on my sidebar pictures. Hopefully, I can get everything figured out soon without too much added stress.

I simply can't get over how cold it is here this morning...low 40's! It's only supposed to get up to about 62 degrees today. What happened to that warm weather we'd been having where I could run around in shorts and flip flops?  Boy, do I miss it!

Since we had fairly warm weather on Sunday afternoon, Abby and I decided to run to Wal-Mart and pick up a few seed packets to plant.  We bought ourselves a little greenhouse and went to work. I'm growing four o'clock flowers and Abby's growing coneflowers. Should take about 8-10 weeks for them to germinate.

The busy bee herself!

I couldn't resist showing how pretty the blooms are on my butterfly bush.

After we finished our planting, I decided to take Abby over to the parking lot at our church for her first driving lesson. I am happy and relieved to report that she did GREAT! We spent about an hour practicing all of the basics.  She drove from one large lot to another and practiced her parking skills several times, too.  I got so tickled at her because it was incredibly windy and every time she got out of the car, her hair would get sucked straight up.  Thankfully, I had my camera with me to capture it all!
 

As you can see, for Maddie, it was just a "chillin' out" kind of day.  Hmm, now that I think about it, for her, it always is!

   

Sure hope it's warmer in your neck of the woods!  I'm so ready for summer...how about you?

Drivers BEWARE!

Yesterday afternoon, I took Abby in to for her driver's permit test.  We had intended to do it while she was on Spring Break, but we forgot that she needed a Certificate of Attendance. So, we had to wait until she went back to school to get it. We sat in the Driver's License Bureau for about an hour before her numbered was called.  That wasn't too bad considering I've heard from people who've waited there for 4 hours!

I wished her well as she walked into the testing room.  She was a ball of nerves, even though she's been studying diligently for about a month or so. As I sat there and waited, a girl about Abby's age came out of the room.  She motioned for her mother to come over.  As soon as her mom walked up, the girl threw herself down on the ground!  She stood up and marched over to the check-in desk.  She pitched an ever-loving FIT in front of a packed room!  She stomped her feet repeatedly and wiped tears from her eyes.  She, obviously, was yelling at her mom, too, even though the woman just stood there passively.  I'm certain she was mortified that her teenage daughter was causing such a scene! My guess is that the girl didn't pass her test and she was taking it out on her mom. Talk about some good entertainment!

Needless to say, about 10 mins. later, Abby walked out of the testing room with a big ol' grin plastered on her face.  I looked over at her and asked, "So, did you pass?"  I am thrilled to say that the answer was, "YES!"  Whew...what a relief! 

        

Of course, Abby informed me that she wants me to teach her how to drive, rather than Chris.  She seems to think I have more patience that good ol' dad...and I have to agree.  However, after going through that with Brittany, I'm not sure how much more my poor nerves can take!  We're going to take baby steps by starting out in our church parking lot.  It will be a long time before we venture onto the crazy interstates of Atlanta!  Just one step closer to 'letting go'.

Changing It Up

Ever since Abby became a teenager, 3 1/2 years ago, she has been pleading with me to paint her bedroom and make it look "older".  Oh, I had plans...BIG PLANS!  However, we thought we were moving, then Chris lost his job and those plans got put on the back burner. So, Chris and I decided that I would paint her room and surprise her while she was on Spring Break. Good plan, huh? She went to Six Flags Over Georgia with one of her friends and I got BUSY! I wish I had taken a photo of her room before I started painting it, but the color was called Lavendar Bubble and it had a lot of pink undertones.  Her comforter was primarily pink and she had pink curtains, as well.  Just too much of a good thing.

Well, I worked like a dog from about 11:30 AM until around 8:00 PM, about 30 mins. before Abby was due home.  I can't remember the last time I was that tired! WHEW! Climbing up and down a ladder a bazillion times and moving heavy furniture back and forth by yourself really takes its toll.  Plus, I don't know why, but every time I start a painting project, I'm all energized and enthusiastic, but as it's nearing the end, I just want it to be DONE! Ok, enough of my complaining!

Here's how it all turned out!  Needless to say, when Abby walked in and saw it, she was so EXCITED!

I took her plain white lampshade and hot glued some black ribbon to it to jazz it up.

I bought a $5 frame from Wal-Mart and took a sheet of scrapbook paper and placed it in a mat and made this picture. There's a similar one hanging on the other side of her dresser. I hot glued a strand of black ribbon and pearls to the back of them for hanging. 
 

I bought this removable chalkboard at Hobby Lobby. Brittany wrote her a little message on it when she was home for Easter.

This is a mug rack I found at Wal-Mart that she hangs her necklaces and bracelets on.

Just a few cute knick knacks for her bookcase.

One more splash of purple to tie everything together.

Yesterday, I got another 'wild hair' and decided to paint Abby's bathroom. I had painted it a bright yellow color about 5 or 6 years ago and I never was too keen on it. So, I decided to go drastically different with gray walls.  Abby and I both love how it turned out! Doesn't even look like the same bathroom!
 

   
Of course, today my left side feels like I've been whacked by a sledgehammer! Who knows what I pulled or strained, but it was worth it in the end!

Party Time!

I don't know about you, but the weekend flew by much too fast! Thankfully, we had gorgeous weather to enjoy, so I really can't complain. I did wake up yesterday morning with a pounding headache and ended up missing church.  I'm pretty sure I can thank all of the pollen floating around...that stuff is everywhere!

Most of Friday and Saturday were centered on the festivities of a Quinceanera that was given in honor of one of Abby's best friends, Elina. A Quinceanera is s celebration of Latina womanhood that takes place when a girl turns 15.  It has very significant meaning and it highlights God, family, friends, music, food, and dance. On Friday night, Elina had Abby and a couple more of her close friends over to hang out for awhile. Then, on Saturday, Abby had one of their mutual best friends, Miranda, over to our house in the late afternoon because they had planned to go to the party together.

Here they are all dressed up...

   
The party went from 5 PM until 11 PM.  When Abby got home, I sat up with her for a little while to hear all the details.  Abby had created a Powerpoint presentation for Elina and her family to show during the party since no one in her family knew how to do it.  She scanned about 60 pictures and put them to the song "Cinderella" by Steven Curtis Chapman.  I wish I could have seen it as I don't think there was a dry eye in the room!  Abby said that Elina and her daddy had their first dance together, then she danced with each of her 3 brothers. Her mom read a poem that she'd written for her that talked about how Elina was a gift from God.  Abby said, "Mom, it was so sad and sweet."  So, sounds like it was a wonderful and memorable celebration that I'm sure Elina won't soon forget.

Abby's last words to me before we called it a night were, "You know, Mom, we should start planning my Sweet 16 party." Even though it's 7 months away, I'm sure she got all kinds of ideas from Elina's party. That girl of mine sure keeps me on my toes!  

Happy Monday, everyone!

On The Mend

Well, it's been a long past few days.  Abby ended up missing Friday from school, too, which makes a total of 3 consecutive days. Poor thing had swollen tonsils and lymph glands and had absolutely no energy or appetite. When she got up on Saturday morning and still wasn't feeling any better, I decided to take her to see our family doctor. He ran a strep test and one for mono.  I held my breath the entire time as we waited on the results. Thankfully, both came back negative, but he decided to go ahead and treat her as though she had strep, just to be safe. He asked if we'd like for Abby to get a steroid shot to help perk her up and I asked the cost of it and explained our situation with Chris being out of work.  He looked at me and said, "For you, it's FREE!"  I wanted to hug that man right there on the spot! Unfortunately, though, Abby opted not to get the shot...she completely chickened out! 

After our doctor gave us the prescription for the antibiotic, Cephalexin, we walked to the checkout window to make sure we didn't owe additional money. I told the nurse that the doctor had run a strep test and a mono test and she went back to check with him.  She came right out and said there was no additional cost.  I was so blown away by his kindness and compassion.  He definitely earned BIG brownie points from me!

Now, soon after I got the prescription filled at Wal-Mart, I came home and gave Abby her first dose.  About 4 hours later, I gave her the second dose.  She went upstairs a little later to get a shower and she called down to me from upstairs. She had broken out in hives all over her chest!  I 'googled' the medication and, apparently, that's one of the signs of having an allergic reaction to it. So, I gave her some Benadryl to counter the effects and stopped the antibiotic altogether.  By Sunday morning, she was feeling much better and is now back to her old self.  She had the day off from school yesterday, so that gave her a little extra time to get fully recuperated and to get her homework caught up.  It was back to the grind bright and early at 5 AM this morning!

So, looks like my nursing job has come to an end.  Hopefully, Chris and I will stay well.  Taking care of a sick hubby...now, that's a real challenge! 

Sickly...

A few days ago, Abby came home from school and fell fast asleep on the sofa, which isn't like her.  She complained about her throat hurting and her stomach feeling a little "off".

 

Well, she's been home for 2 days now and hasn't been feeling well, at all.  She's been running a fever and has been very lethargic. This morning when she got up, I took her temp. and she had a fever of 102.6...highest it's been yet. So, I've been giving her lots of fluids and Ibuprofen every 4-6 hours. I just can't stand it when my girls are sick. They may be 15 and 20, but I still think of them sometimes as being 3 years old. I don't like it when they're under-the-weather, but I sure do love taking care of them.

With all of this talk of sickness, I think Bella and Maddie have convinced themselves that they're sickly, too...      

What a pair, huh? Of course, Bella never passes on the opportunity to hop up on the sofa and snuggle with Abby. They're pretty tight, as you can see.

So, please say a prayer for my girl that she's on the mend soon...I would appreciate it so much! I will do my very best to pay y'all a visit sometime today, but my "nursing job" takes top priority. Have a wonderful day!

The Visit

Well, Brittany and "the boyfriend", Connor, arrived at our house on Thursday evening.  They came inside, grabbed a quick sandwich to eat, and we all stood in the kitchen and visited for awhile.  He was very quite..I think he was nervous. Hey, that's a good thing...I want to keep that boy on his toes!  I figured that since he's from Mississippi, he'd speak with a slow Southern drawl, but he spoke so fast, I could barely understand him!

When they got up on Friday morning, I fixed them some waffles and sausage for breakfast.  Later on, they went to Dave and Buster's for a few hours. We went out for Mexican food later that evening.  We couldn't really visit because we sat in the room with live music and it was deafening!  Lesson learned.

On Saturday, Brittany talked us into going to a local wildlife preserve.  We all had a good time...just wish the weather had been warmer!

Here's Abby feeding a sheep that was making an attempt to escape.  I can't blame him!

Chris and Brittany fed carrots to a donkey...

Who loved to show off his amazing choppers!

I laughed so hard!!!  I kept trying to convince Brittany to give him a little sugar, but she wouldn't go for it.

There were roosters everywhere...in trees, on tops of poles and buildings, etc. Watch out below!

Who could resist a herd of buffalo?

It was feeding time for the deer.

This duck was having a time splashing in the cold water!

AWW!  Just look at this bunny's pretty baby blues!

Isn't that the sweetest face ever?

This peacock loved to show off his dazzling colors!

I still have some more pictures and stories to share.  Hope you'll come back to hear the "rest of the story"!