EATing Machine ....

I bet you thought I was going to tell you that Bia suddenly turned into one - not quite. But Chatty devoured almost two homemade beef and cheese quesadillas last night and an half a pineapple (yes as in half of a whole fresh pineapple) and was too full for dessert! Who is this kid? Oh yeah - this is the kid who started soccer yesterday. Way to work up an appetite in our kid Asst. Coach ESPN! Maybe I should send Bia to practice too so she can work up an appetite like that!

So tomorrow as Spark of the Week Chatty is supposed to bring in her favorite snack for the entire class. Not sure if she is like all other kids but she has lots of "favorites". I think we (as a family - mostly me since it is my job to purchase it) decided to go with Rice Krispie treats since the are prepackaged and most kids like them. I will be running by my favorite store at lunch to pick up a box for the class. This Spark of the Week stuff requires a lot of parental (I should rephrase that and say mom) involvement - but it is so worth it to see how excited Chatty is about it!

SPARK of the Week!!

Each student in Chatty's Kindergarten class is chosen as "Spark of the Week" during the school year. This is a special week for the student, they get to bring "Sparkey" the bear home for the weekend and take them everywhere they go. The teacher provided a scrapbook and each kid is allowed two pages to document the weekend's events with Sparkey. In addition the student (parent) fills out a poster all about themselves, they bring in their favorite book one day and their favorite snack another day for the entire class. Miss Chatty was selected as the very first "Spark of the Week". She was very proud of herself for earning this honor.

Before I show the pictures of our scrapbook pages let me first tell you I don't scrapbook. My mom does and she didn't pass down any of those genes to me, so normally I ask her to do all my scrapbooking for me - and she graciously obliges (thanks Mom!). Secondly Sparkey is the name of our arch rival's mascot. That would be like you LSU fans bringing home an animal named AL (as in AL the FL gator). Anyway, with that being said, Mr. ESPN was insistent that we document Sparkey's time with us with as much Arizona fanfare as possible. The funny thing is Sparkey wears a red and blue polo (U of A colors) and jeans. Lucky for Mr. ESPN the only scrapbook supplies I have (mind you they are 5 years old) is Arizona paper and stickers. We put them to good use. The hard thing about being the first kid to be "Spark of the Week" means I couldn't reference any other people's pages to get ideas from. I am sure all of the other parents are going to think we are nutty and that we have indoctrinated our kids into being Arizona fans ... oh well - we are a little nutty at times!

Here are pictures of Sparkey in Bia's car seat (she wasn't with us) on the way to the grocery store, in the grocery cart and then back at home helping us make chocolate chip cookies. I even grabbed one of Sophia's aprons that my mom made and put it on Sparkey. Note - isn't Chatty's apron cute? Mr. ESPN's cousin (who lives in London) got it for her years ago from Harrod's - I love it and want one of my own!

Is it bad that we staged the above family photo? We went to a friend's house for a party on Saturday and were watching the game but didn't get a family picture (we got a cute one of the girls, Sparkey and my friend's husband but Mr. ESPN didn't want to the other kids to think that was the girls' dad), so on Sunday I made everyone put on their shirts and our neighbor came over and took the picture! The other one of Chatty is from Sunday school, Sparkey got to participate in my first day teaching Sunday school solo! Lucky bear!

Our staged family shot -not to bad for last minute photo!

Bia had to have Monkey in the shot too!

My Favorite Store

So a few of you commented after my last post, trying to guess my favorite store. Several of you said Target. Yes I do love Target and spend quite a lot of time and money (much to Mr. ESPN's dismay) at Target but alas it is not my all time favorite. The funny thing is I hated my favorite store when I was in high school. My parents would go every week and I would dread going there. Not sure why, but it just didn't intrigue me back then. My love affair with this store started budding in college but my true obsession with this store didn't occur until I became a homeowner, and then it was all over! Mr. ESPN loves this store as much as I do (which is a good thing) and my children get excited for the treats they receive when we go there.

I am sure you can all guess it by now .... (drum roll please) Costco! Where else can you buy so many different things, get great customer service (re: returns and exchanges - they are like Nordstrom in this regard), awesome products at a great price and the best snacks while shopping? To show you all my love affair with this store I decide to take a few pictures of some of the items I have in my house from Costco. Mind you, we get a lot of food there, but these pictures are primarily non-food related items ...

I am not sure what I am going to do when Bia is potty trained, I think I may still buy these because I use them so often; We also buy diapers and pull ups at Costco

Pre-gym membership we purchased this ... it has gotten some good use

A glimpse into my pantry (absolutely love my walk in pantry)

Costco items that I can see in this picture - baggies (all sizes), paper towels (Casey-remember how i said I was a paper towel whore - here's proof), rice krispie treats, oatmeal, trash can, crock pot, Pam, BBQ sauce, 100 calorie snack packs, croutons, sliced almonds, Kleenex, pancake mix, plastic utensils, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, fruit cups (I keep finding more every time I look at the picture)

Aren't these adorable? $5/each at Costco - for Bia next summer!

Chatty's radio ... Christmas gift from Nana and Poppa last year

Pictures - I upload them online and pick them up at my local store

Some of the books we've read (yes we need a bookcase)

Disclaimer - the Tax textbooks were not purchased from Costco

Bath towels - super absorbent!

Storage bins - I have these in every closet - they are great!

Suitcase that has traveled all over!

My wedding rings (the pic is a little blurry)

Picture Frames (note - these are last year's Christmas pictures)

Wine Glasses ... because you can never have too many; they also have great selection of wine!

Stars - makes me feel like I live in Texas!

These are actually from the Costco Home Store

This is just a small taste of what we have in our house from Costco ... there is quite a bit more. I seriously love this store and could go each week and leisurely browse through it. The nice thing is we have about 4 that are in close proximity to our house so I can always get my fill! So don't be surprised if you run into me at your local Costco!

Disclaimer - This post has not been paid for or endorsed by Costco

Blisters and Bunco

So remind me never to buy Asics running shoes. They do not like my feet and they cause me to have huge blisters on my heels! Lovely! As soon as I got on the treadmill yesterday I could tell there was going to be an issue and like a dumba-- I continued to run (fast for me) for 3 miles. I could barely walk when I got off and even took my shoes off (don't judge - I did leave my sweaty/green and white striped/with blood on the heel socks on) during the core class I took afterwards. Then I proceeded to limp out to my car!

Last night was my Bunco group. I ate way too much food. My neighbor had some fabulous stuff and I gorged big time. What can I say I like to eat and drink! Good food + good drinks + good friends = lots of laughter! Chatty is riding the bus home from school today (reward for behaving the past few days) so I need to book out of here a little early ... good excuse huh?

Stay tuned because next week (or this weekend if I get motivated) I am going to do a post about my love for a certain store! Don't ask me why I feel the need to post about it but is by far one of our family's favorite stores and both girls know it by name!!! Stay tuned ....

Surprise!

Wednesday evening when I walked in the door from the gym I was greeted with the following:

Bia: "Mommy, Mommy, Mommy"
Me: "Hi sweet Bia!"
Chatty: (Jumping out from behind the wall and yelling) "Surprise"
Me: "Hi Chatty - what's my surprise?"
Chatty: "I went diarrhea twice today!"
Me to Mr. ESPN: "Not quite the surprise I was looking for when I got home"

Yes my kids say the loveliest things (and get super excited about it) - but they were oh so happy to see me which is the best feeling in the world!

BTW - Chatty is feeling fine and shows no sign of illness other than her Surprise from yesterday!

Shoes and Prescriptions

So I bought two pairs of running shoes last weekend. The results:

1. Wore pair 1 (Saucony) yesterday to run 6 miles and my feet were sore after mile 1 ... I won't even explain the throbbing that occurred by the time I completed mile 6. Needless to say they will be returned.
2. Wore pair 2 (Asics) to No Limits Cardio (intense boot camp style class - non-stop for 60 minutes) and my feet were sore. Not sure how they would feel running, may try them again tomorrow on the treadmill.

I had also purchased some insoles. I am going to try them in my older running shoes (Adidas) and see how they feel in them. I wish I could find a good shoe without breaking the bank. Why is being healthy so freakin expensive? It would be so much cheaper to sit at home and eat McDonalds and drink Coke all day!

This is probably TMI but why oh why is Diflucan a prescription drug (which requires a co-pay and a visit to the Dr.)? Why isn't it OTC? And also why is the dosage only one pill when most GYN's prescribe two? Seriously - it's not like a woman can't self diagnose in this situation. And the other option - lovely cream! Those of you who have never had to use either of these, count your blessings! OK - sorry just had to put that out there because it has been annoying me for a couple days now!

Blessings and Such

We received the news this weekend that one of our closest friend's dad has bone cancer (or at least that is what they think he has as of now). Such a hard thing to hear and my heart breaks for our friend. He is Chatty's godfather and already has had to deal with several illnesses with his parents including breast cancer and kidney transplant. Heartbreaking. I know a lot of people are dealing with medical issues right now and my heart breaks for them too. I also realize how fortunate I am and have been throughout my life. So I want to try and remember to do a little more thanking of God rather than complaining - because you know what - I am blessed beyond measure!

Speaking of Blessings - the girls, Mr. ESPN and I all had a wonderful time at Princess A's party. We went over early to chat and watch football (it is going to be a long/tough year for our Alma mater - but awesome win by my Seminoles!!). Bia didn't want to wear her costume at first but once we got it on her (and threatened a nap if she took it off - yes I am that kind of mom) she left it on.

Don't you just love Bia's grin?

The Birthday Girl - Princess A - such a cutey!

Bia right after she put the costume on -she wasn't too happy with Dad here!

Princess Chatty with her ghetto fabulous (I love that phrase) Dollar store crown!

Two sweet princesses - too bad Chatty wasn't looking at the camera!

Pearly Whites & Princesses

So I completely forgot to blog about our exciting visit to the dentist this week! As you can tell by the lack of pictures in this post, I didn't take my camera with me. All of the girls had appointments to get their teeth cleaned. Mr. ESPN met us there so he could manage the troops (aka wild Indians) while I got my teeth cleaned. It was Bia's first visit to Dr. Angel (yes that really is our dentist' name). She was extremely hesitant at first but warmed up by the end of the visit and let the dentist count her teeth and brush them a little. Chatty was super excited to go back to the dentist. She did great and we could see from her X-Rays that she should be losing a few more baby teeth soon! You could see the dollar signs flash before her eyes as she thought about all the loot she would be raking in for those teeth. I tell ya the excitement never ends around here - not!

I am taking a 1/2 day off today and meeting my good friend A and her daughter for lunch. Afterwards A and I are going shopping. Maybe with her help I can actually find some clothes for work. Plus I need some new running shoes. I swear I go through a pair every 2 months or so. Yesterday I ran six miles and my feet were killing me. I came to the following conclusion: 6 Miles + Current Running Shoes = Painful feet for Mrs. ESPN! Tomorrow we have a princess birthday party for our good friend ANC! Luckily Chatty can still fit in her Cinderella dress from last Halloween (hopefully the Velcros will hold otherwise we may have Cinderella's Flasher Cousin). I asked my neighbor if we could borrow a princess dress for Bia .. we had to stage Operation Princess Dress Handoff last night so her 3 year old wouldn't see her giving it to me! She texted me last night and we met in the middle of the street for the hand off and low and behold her daughter runs out complaining she couldn't find her dress. Good thing her mom had put it in a bag! Have a great weekend!!

Bargain of the Year at the ESPN House

So last Saturday I went shopping by myself. As if being by myself wasn't luxury enough, I thought I might actually find some clothes that: a. looked good on me, b. were a price I was willing to pay and c. would be appropriate for work and/or weekend wear. So I start shopping - hitting all my favorite stores - Nordstrom, Ann Taylor, Ann Taylor Loft, GAP, etc. and find nothing (other than 2 plain t-shirts). Why is it that when you are ready to spend money on clothes, you can never find anything? I was getting a little disappointed and then I decided to go to White House Black Market. I was perusing through and found a dress I had my eye on for the past month - it happened to be on sale for $60 so I decided to try it on. Fit like a glove (Mr. ESPN's favorite term)! But then I started debating whether or not I needed another black cocktail type dress (I wear a ton of black) ... but then I open my purse and see I have a 20% coupon. Since I didn't find anything else that day I decided I would treat myself. Good thing I did because when the sales girls scanned the tag it came up as $30 before my coupon! So I only paid $25 for a dress that was originally $158! I was very proud of my bargain shopping! Here's a picture I found on the internet of the dress ... I am planning on wearing it to Kingston Queen's wedding and my friend A's wedding too with my sexy black shoes I posted about here.

I was tagged by Sassafrass Jane for this survey ...

Silly Things About Me
Started today at 11:14 am

1. What time did you get up this morning? 6:00 am
2. How do you like your steak? Medium - still a little pink in the middle
3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? Can't remember- we usually do Netflix now
4. What is your favorite TV show? Grey's Anatomy, Private Practice, ESPN's College GameDay
5. If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be? North Carolina
6. What did you have for breakfast? Skittles & Diet Coke - breakfast of champions!
7. What is your favorite cuisine? Seafood and/or Italian
8. What foods do you dislike? tomatoes - although I love tomato sauce and everything made with them.
9. Favorite Place to Eat? Mastro's
10. Favorite dressing? honey mustard from Nello's
11. What kind of vehicle do you drive? Infiniti M-35
12. What are your favorite clothes? At the moment nothing I own - I am so bored with them!
13. Where would you visit if you had the chance? France - the whole country - the Provence region, Bordeaux region, etc.
14. Cup 1/2 empty or 1/2 full? Depends on the day
15. Where would you want to retire? Part of the year somewhere on the southeast coast (NC, SC, GA or FL) and the rest of the year near my daughters and their future families
16. Favorite time of day? Meal time!
17. Where were you born? Daytona Beach, Florida
18. What is your favorite sport to watch? College Football
19. Bird watcher? No - too boring for me
20. Are you a morning person or a night person? Night - although not too late
21. Do you have any pets? None at the moment - two kids and a husband is plenty to take care of
22. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share? Not that I know of
23. What did you want to be when you were little? Corporate Lawyer
24. What is your best childhood memory? Spending time at my Granny's house
25. Are you a cat or dog person? Dog
26. Are you married? Yep - 11 lovely years
27. Always wear your seat belt? Yes - good thing otherwise I wouldn't be typing this today
28. Been in a car accident? Yes - passenger in a head on collision and driver in a minor accident
29. Any pet peeves? Oh so many - some include arrogance, rudeness, laziness
30. Favorite Pizza Topping? love pretty much anything and everything on pizza
31. Favorite Flower? love tulips and lilies and pretty much any other kind of flower
32. Favorite ice cream? hmmm - homemade vanilla ice cream
33. Favorite fast food restaurant? In-N-Out - hands down the best burger!
34. How many times did you fail your driver's test? Zero
35. From whom did you get your last email? A customer regarding a sales tax issue (I am at work)
36. Which store would you choose to max out your credit card? Costco, Ann Taylor, White House Black Market, Pottery Barn
37. Do anything spontaneous lately? Not really my style ...
38. Like your job? Yes - a little boring but great boss and benefits - can't complain
39. Broccoli? With melted butter, salt and pepper
40. What was your favorite vacation? Italy - Venice, Florence, Tuscany and Rome - it was amazing!
41. Last person you went out to dinner with? Mr. ESPN for our anniversary two weeks ago
42. What are you listening to right now? People in the office talking
43. What is your favorite color? Red; but to wear I prefer black
44. How many tattoos do you have? Zero
45. Coffee Drinker? Only occasionally and it has to be something frilly - lattes, frappuccino, etc.

What time did you finish this quiz? 11:28 am

Now I am tagging:
Cousin J
BMB
Queen Kingston
Dee
Mrs. Cottrell

Sunday Night at the ESPN House ...

After baths the girls played in the family room - first it was pile on top of daddy (couldn't get a good picture of this), then ring around the rosie and then just random goofiness ... here are a few pictures ...

Bia and her new puppy - we retired the old one, he was looking very worn!

Not sure what they are doing here - but they were having fun!

Stopping for a moment to pose for Mommy!

Wild Child with her Wild Hair!

WWF throw down Sister Style!

I am That Mom

I am THAT mom that postponed taking my daughter to the doctor when she complained of an earache and when we finally went to the doctor he couldn't see anything because there was so much gunk in said ear and it was so swollen. I am THAT mom who asked the doctor if my daughter was OK to go to school even though her ear looked so bad (he confirmed she was not contagious and Chatty really wanted to go to school) . I am THAT mom who got a call from the school nurse saying her daughter was in the nurses' office complaining of an earache and had large quantities of fluid draining from said ear. I am THAT mom who was told by the school nurse that her daughter spit in another student's lunch because she didn't like what they said to her ... yeah that would be me! I am THAT mom who dealt with a cranky kid with an ear infection all afternoon while trying to work from home and clean the house. I am THAT mom who is having a beer and watching college football!

September 11th

I wanted to commemorate this day by thanking all those men and women who have served and currently serve our country in the armed forces and other areas of public safety. I would personally like to thank my brother Lee who is currently serving in the Navy, my friend's husband Trent who is a fireman and former Marine and my friend Laurie's brother Mark who is a policeman for their services to our country. I sincerely appreciate all that you and your comrades do for my family and me. You are what makes this country so great!

Bia's Bedroom

When Bia was born we didn't paint her room or anything and then a few months ago when she graduated from the crib we switched hers and Chatty's room. Bia's old room (Chatty's new one) is a little bit bigger and could better handle a full size bed (which the crib converted to) that Chatty sleeps in. When we moved Chatty into Bia's old room we painted it and little by little I have been adding a few things. It still isn't complete but here are a few pictures. Trust me it looks better in person. I wish I had more patience to do stripes like my good friend Laurie, but alas solid blue is what we have.

They had to have their picture taken before they would leave the room!

So now you all know Chatty's real name .... and yes I made the bed right before I took the pic!

I know the green frame over the cork board doesn't go, but I haven't had a chance to find a pink one to hang on another wall.

Since we had painted Chatty's rooms three different times, I was feeling guilty that Bia was left out. Bia is attached to her raggedy Dalmatian puppy and would take it everywhere if we let her. Last year when the Disney store was closing we found a Dalmatian comforter set for $15 and bought it. It has been in the closet this whole time. I am not a huge fan of character bedding but since Bia loves puppies we decided to pull it out and paint her room. I turned the comforter on the wrong side so it only shows the spots because I think it looks less tacky. Bia loves it and keeps saying "Daddy paint" since her daddy painted her room. Pretty cute.

We have a bed frame but started her with the bed on the floor. This works well because she can climb up on her own. Yes Bia does sleep with all of that stuff - she is a hoarder of animals & blankets!

Not too fond of the curtains - they were some I had in the linen closet. Any ideas? I think something with a valance would be good ...

Anniversary & Weekend Recap

Ok -so we only took two pictures (three if you count the one I took of myself before dinner that was fuzzy) and I look huge in all of them. I swear it didn't look that bad when I was standing in front of the mirror before we left! The waiter and hostess didn't know how to use the zoom on the camera (edit - I edited one of the photos of the two of us and have re-published this post). Other than the lack of pictures (and bad ones) we had a great evening. The girls had a blast with Nana and Poppa for their sleepover - thanks guys! The rest of the weekend we spent swimming and hanging with the neighbors, painting Bia's room (I will try and take a few pics of the room, but we still have a few touch up things to do) and figuring out the new computer. It is amazing how they are all so different.

I am Alive ...

I am alive and yes we purchased a new computer and then returned it and purchased another new one today! Lovely, I tell you! It was a busy but fun weekend, with the exception of my beloved Seminoles losing a close one tonight! Ugh - I told Mr. ESPN I am going to start having to take the Tuesday after Labor Day off because of all the drinking and celebrating associated with the Noles first game of the year!

Will try and post more details about our big weekend tomorrow but as a fore warning I failed to take any pictures this weekend. If I post old ones, would that be bad? Oh wait, I did have a couple taken of Mr. ESPN and I at dinner on Saturday night so I can post those ...

Happy Anniversary Mr. & Mrs. ESPN

Tomorrow marks 11 years for Mr. ESPN and me. To celebrate Chatty and Bia are going to Nana and Poppa's house for a sleepover. Not sure who is more excited about this - Chatty, Poppa or Mr. ESPN! We plan to relax and enjoy a kid free night and go to dinner. We still haven't decided where we are going to dinner.


Honestly it doesn't seem like that long ago we said our vows. Neither one of us is the super mushy type (not to be confused with sentimental and emotional - which I am, him not so much) but I did want to acknowledge this day and tell you all he is a great husband, dad and friend! It hasn't been easy but it's been fun (most of the time). We frustrate each other to no end but I never doubt his love for me or mine for him! Yes we got married young but I know we got it right! I love you Mr. ESPN! By the way you still owe me that trip to Europe!


Since we were married ages ago, aka before digital prints, I had to take pictures of my pictures (since my computer at home broke - see previous post) rather than scan them in. Since that was the case I only posted a few (for some reason I couldn't find one of all the guys and the ring bearer). I wasn't too thrilled with the way they turned out so I went on scrapblog and played with them (Casey - scrapblog is addicting). I love sepia and black and white photos. Let me know what you think.

Friday Facts and Findings

1. First - Chatty's first time riding the bus home from school today - hope it goes well!
2. Football - watched my first two games of the college football season last night - so glad to have it back on my television
3. Feet - sore, ran 6 miles on Wednesday morning (at 5:20 am no less!) and then 3 yesterday, good thing Friday is my day off!
4. Fried - our home computer. We have delayed purchasing a new one and now it looks like we may have to purchase two, one for the kids and one for us since this one is fried. Mr. ESPN is supposed to talk to his IT friend at work today to get some advice about what to purchase!
5. Future Bride - meeting the future Mrs. Kingston for drinks this afternoon and to give her the belated Bridal shower gift I have. The gift is different but fun I think ... will post about it next week.
6. Frustrated - got to work this morning for a 6:00 a.m. conference call and it was canceled ... UGH!! At least I can leave early right??
7. Fancy/Frilly - trying to decide what to wear and where to eat for out anniversary dinner tomorrow night. I am going to make a quick stop at a couple stores to look for something.
8. Food - my neighbor's nanny is making Thai food for us on Sunday night, I better take an extra dose of Prevacid so I can handle all the spiciness!
9. Fall - is it really coming to the desert? It isn't supposed to break triple digits this weekend! Woo Hoo! I never thought I would be so happy to see 95 degrees!
10. Friends & Family - looking forward to some quality time with both this weekend!

Have a great and safe Labor Day Weekend!

The Season Starts this Weekend!

Warning to my friends/readers who don't care for college football - go ahead and skip this post because all it talks about is my love of college football! I'm telling you this is your fair warning!

T Minus three Days until College Football starts ... who do you think is more excited, Mr. ESPN or me? Truth be told it is probably a pretty close competition ... he may win out but only by a slight amount. I tease him all the time that the real reason he married me is for my love of sports - I guess it is the southerner in me! He told me our Netflix subscription will end this week as we won't have time to watch movies with football on. Yes we are that couple that purchases the college football television package (and the NFL package) so we can watch all the teams we love. We have discussed that when we retire we are going to travel to different college stadiums to tailgate and watch games. We have several must see stadiums on our list (including but not limited to) the Big House (MI), Between the Hedges (GA), Doak Campbell Stadium (FSU), Death Valley (LSU), the Swamp (UF), TX Memorial Stadium (UT), among others. By the time we retire we will have several season's worth of stadiums on our list.

So in honor of the upcoming season leave a comment or post on your own blog the following.

• Favorite Team
• Team you Cheer for other than your Alma Mater & Why?

My answers:

• Favorite Team - Arizona Wildcats (mine and Mr. ESPN's alma mater); it's tough being a Wildcat fan because we haven't had the best of teams but hopefully we are finally turning the corner; Chatty cheers on the Go Cats with us and I think Bia might get into it this year too.
• Team you Cheer for other than your Alma Mater & Why? Florida State Seminoles; I am from Florida and my big brother and I grew up watching and cheering for them; I think he is the reason I love college football and sports in general; we still chat after a lot of the FSU games; Chatty loves the Go Noles too.

Can't wait to see your answers!