More camera talk

This is proof that: A. Joe's camera definitely takes better pictures than mine, and B. Joe is a much better photographer than me. The pictures that Joe took today of Nealy and Sophie are truly stunning. I still like my little point and shoot, though. I don't have the skills for all that photographic power.

Playdate!

Some of you might remember when I posted pregnant pictures of Bethel and me a while back. Well, Bethel's baby Sophie came the day after we took those pictures, and Nealy came 4 days later. We finally managed to get them together for a play date today while Bethel went for a job interview (they've "met" before, but not for long periods of time until today).

I was so excited to have Sophie over - you know how much I love to play real life baby dolls. Like this time one time with Jacks:He wasn't all that happy with me because I decided to try this outfit on him while he was still sleeping. He might have been mad at me, but doesn't he look adorable in this vintage knitted onesie? Still totally worth it....

I did a good job of restraining myself this time, and I only changed their clothes once. Luckily, I had these matching outfits from the bags of hand me downs from sister. I should have prepared more wardrobe changes before Sophie arrived, because I would not have restrained myself if I had more outfit options readily available.

Here are the pictures of their good time. Shortly after this, Nealy had a hissy fit and Sophie dozed off for about 10 minutes before deciding she needed some bottle.

Our trip to Gainesville

Nealy took her first road trip over Memorial Day weekend to see my sister and her family in Gainesville. It was a large family gathering. My Uncle Tom and Aunt Mary Lou came over for the day from Jacksonville, my parents were there, and my brother came over for the evening on Saturday. It was a really great visit.

I didn't take many pictures because we were very busy keeping up with the kids, but here are a few highlights.

Laura gave us a clarinet concert.....

Jacks took a bath with Jean Louise.....
Jacks practiced his Blue Steel.....
Carrie stole that baby.....Then Queenie stole that baby.....

Jacks played with his Chet.....

Jacks bossed everyone around.....

The biggest event of the trip was meeting the new addition to the Westmark family, Rocky. He is a Toy Australian Shepherd, and he is gorgeous. Jacks is still afraid of dogs, so he didn't make very good friends with Rocky. But isn't he pretty?
And we all made it home in one piece! I rode in the back of the big truck with the babies. Nealy slept most of the way while Jacks and I hid under the blanket to avoid seeing the scary interstate traffic in the pouring down rain. The ride home got a little rough when Nealy decided she was completely done with riding in the car, and she screamed for about 2 solid hours. So, needless to say I was a little tired long before we got home. Joe did a good job of getting us up and down the road safely.

Summer has officially begun, folks! We're going to have a great one, so stay tuned.

Nealy meets Ryan

Look at these two beauties!!

Well, this isn't their first meeting, but it's the first one where I whipped out the tiny Nikon to capture the moment. Joe, Nealy, and I were out and about when we thought we might make a visit to Drake since Jenny, Bill, and Ryan were up there hanging out. Their Aunt Bev was there, too, which is who they're both smiling at in the picture above.

Ryan came about 3 weeks before Nealy, and you can tell in the pictures that she is clearly older and wiser. Here she is staring Nealy down and sizing her up. Nealy does not seem to know that she's being silently judged.


Then, we lined them up on Jenny's desk (which made Bev very nervous), where Nealy practiced her gymnastic abilities while Ryan expressed her displeasure with her mother for not holding her up on her shoulder like she would have preferred at that moment. Already, they are both more concerned with their own agendas. So typical for a couple of prisses.


They are already quite a pair!

Pretty Girl

I'm sure you'll agree, her shirt don't lie.

Touch a Truck

Downtown Opelika had possibly one of the greatest events of Jacks's young life: the Toys for Tots Touch a Truck event. They blocked off Railroad Ave, and they had every type of large truck you can think of available for children to explore. They could climb in and around all the trucks, honk the horns, listen to the sirens, pull the air horn cords - for a little boy into little boy things, this was hog heaven. As soon as we drove up, Jacks knew that this was a party that he wanted to go to. He went running toward the activity beaming from ear to ear. He got to get in and explore a UPS truck, a school bus, a police car, an ambulance, a fire truck, a power truck (that had a cherry picker - no they didn't allow anyone in the cherry picker, thank God!!), a military truck, a Mack truck, an 18 wheeler, assorted tractors and gators, a Life Flight helicopter, and an excavator. What a wonderful event!
The line to get on the excavator was exceptionally long because they were letting kids get up in the seat while the operator showed the kids how to move the arm up and down and turn the machine around in circles. I kept a place in line with Nealy while Joe and Jacks explored the helicopter. It was finally Jacks's turn to get on the excavator, and the helicopter decided it was time to take off. So, all excavator turns came to a stand still while they cleared the area and took off. How do you explain to a 2 year old who has waited patiently for his turn that he has to wait a while longer? Luckily, the helicopter taking off provided a great distraction, and Jacks got to visit with one of his classmates in the meantime.
Whoever came up with the idea for this event really knows kids, because I can't remember the last time I've seen so many giddy children. It was a great way to spend a Saturday morning.
We took tons of pictures, so I'll try to upload the highlights.


Nealy was thrilled to be there....her excitement was hard to contain.
Jacks ran into his friend Minor. They had to plug their ears when the helicopter flew away.


Jacks FINALLY got his turn on the excavator - I think we got about 40 pictures of this for a play by play account of these 3 minutes...

Heirloom Rockers

My mother just returned my newly refurbished rocking chair for Nealy's room, and the end result is amazing. It was originally a caned chair, although it has not had caning in it for more years than we know (Mom cannot remember if it has been caned in her lifetime). It has been upholstered several times over the years, but it is much more beautiful caned which my mother generously had done for me. If I was a better blogger, I would have a before picture, so I hope you can still appreciate the after shot without the before. I'll tell you that it has most recently been upholstered in icky green velvet. Here it is with the cushions on it that my mother made to match Nealy's room:
The coolest part about this rocking chair is that it belonged to my great grandmother Mamie. I like to think of all of the babies in my family who were rocked to sleep in this chair, including me and my sister and brother, my mother, my grandfather, and all my cousins and assorted aunts and uncles. If that chair could talk.....

Jacks also has an heirloom rocker in his chair which belonged to Joe's great-grandmother. There's something so special about having that kind of personal family history in each of my child's rooms. Here's Jacks's rocker with his super cute cowboy themed cushions:I hope I'm carrying on a long and wonderful family tradition by keeping these rockers in action.

Sibling Love

Awwwww....look how cute. The babies are sitting together in perfect harmony. Everyone looks peaceful and happy. Maybe things are going to be okay around here.

Wait a minute!! Somethings gone wrong. Abort, abort. Someone save the little one!

Happy Mother's Day

Check out the awesome cake Joe had made for me. The ISS teacher at my school has been taking cake decorating classes all year, and she brings her class projects to Drake for everyone to enjoy each week. After hearing me rant and rave about Mandi's cakes this school year (cakes which helped me make it through my painful pregnancy), Joe decided I needed one of her cakes for Mother's Day. Isn't it gorgeous? The bottom layer is yellow cake, the top layer is strawberry, and the heart on top is a yellow cupcake. Now my whole house smells like cake. Who could ask for anything more?

I also got this super cool ring - it's a rose for Nealy (remember, her middle name is Rose) and it's orange so I can look spirited on game day. And Joe also got me a new notebook (I've been trying to keep my lists organized in a notebook lately) that he decorated with really cool stickers that he made and pictures of the kids. I also got a new Auburn license plate for the front of my car since the plate I used to have up there got cracked years ago. Happy Mother's Day to me!!! You'll have to excuse me now because I have laundry to finish (you can't completely stop everything just because it's Mother's Day).
I'll leave you all with Nealy giving you the stink eye - yes, YOU!
Happy Mother's Day to all the mamas out there, especially mine. We love you, Queenie, and we can't wait to see you on Tuesday. You'll get your Mother's Day treat then. Love you!

Some fun pictures

Hey - you lookin' at me?

Doesn't it look like she's smiling, here? She's pretty close to doing it all the time.

At the doctor.....she's working on a very important project - in her pants.

Yea!! She finished what she was working on with great success. Look at this smiley face!

Jacks says Happy Cinco de Mayo to everyone. He wanted to make sure his shirt that Joe made for the occasion was visible in the picture.


Here he is indulging in his newest addiction - dum dum suckers. One just isn't enough. He wants to open one, taste it, put it in a bowl, then start again. He will come to see me and Joe separately to quiz us on what color his sucker is, even though he knows exactly what color each one is. (he likes to ask us the same kinds of questions we ask him all the time - if he gets quizzed on something, I guess he figures it's only fair to return the favor) Before we know it, he's got a bowl full of suckers, all barely licked. If we're lucky, we can get the entire bowl of suckers away from him when he momentarily changes interests.
I hope he has some teeth left when we get around to his first dental visit!


see bowl of suckers as I found them in the refrigerator this morning. I guess my definition of making something disappear differs from Joe's. I would have put them in the trash...
Joe and I had a little afternoon date to a Kentucky Derby party last weekend. Yea for my first drink in a million trillion years!! Don't we look dapper? My hat was very Justin Timberlake - oh yeah! And Joe learned to tie his new bow tie for the occasion.

That's a summary of the barrell full of laughs going on up in here these days. Don't you want to come visit? You better bring suckers. Love to all - K

Mama got a new camera!

And, by the way, since I'm so on top of things today with Nealy's one month picture, I'm happy to report that I got my very own camera! The camera situation in this house is officially WAY too difficult for me. Joe has 2 Canon Rebel SLR cameras, and although I am so grateful that we have access to such wonderful cameras and my husband has amazing talent when using them, they are too much for me. I want a little camera that takes a good picture, doesn't add extra bulk when it's in my pocket, and is super cute. Yes, I will admit it. I require a camera that is cute.

So, about a week ago, I ordered a little Kodak Easy Share because it was the buy of the week at Walmart.com and it came in pink. Good deal and cute!! So, it came, and I spent a couple of days with it before I determined that it was not my camera. It was a little too bulky, it didn't take a very good picture, and the shade of pink was more of a dusty rose than the preferable baby pink. Ew.

I boxed up the little Kodak, and Nealy and I made the dreaded trip to Walmart. Yes, that store is evil. Yes, I am forced to shop there because I am poor. The evil Walmart powers that be know that they can hook us with their low prices and super megalo store that has everything you need, so we're stuck. These are dark days, my friends. Anyway, I was sent to customer service by the door greeter, who must check all returns when they walk in the store. She admitted to me that I would probably have to go to the camera desk, but since I bought the camera online I needed to go to customer service first.

Ok, has anyone been to customer service at a Walmart lately? There's usually about 5 or 6 associates gathered in that area, but only ONE of them is on shift. And it doesn't matter how many people are in line for help, that ONE person is going to get to you when she can manage the time. And if you need a manager for some reason, don't think he or she will come running to assist. They will also take their own precious time in taking the 15 steps necessary to help.

Before I even get to the desk, I am informed that I need to go to the camera desk (since she sees the return in my hand). Before I willingly went, I said that I was told to come here since I bought the thing online. No, no, go to the camera desk. Ok, if you say so.....

Well, they have their own issues going on back there. Between three of them, they are having major problems with figuring out the cash register. So, I wait. And wait and wait and wait. There isn't even a line!!!! Finally, one of the girls decides to come and help me.

Okay, here's the part in the story where I admit that I have returned things to Walmart that I don't know if they actually came from Walmart or not. Walmart, at least to me, is known for taking anything and everything back from whatever four corners of the earth that thing came from. They aren't picky. I figure if I have the item in perfect condition along with my invoice, I'm gold. No problems. Well, it was apparently more than anyone at the Walmart could handle.

When did you buy this? Where is the date? Why are you returning this memory card? Why are you returning the camera? What's wrong with it? What? You say it isn't cute enough for you? What do you mean?
I DO NOT NEED WALMART ASSOCIATES PASSING JUDGMENT ON ME!!!!!
So what if the camera isn't cute enough? Don't give me the stink eye!

After dealing with the think tank at the camera desk, guess where we had to go? If you guessed customer service, then you get a gold star!!! So, back to customer service Nealy and I a-go! In the meantime, I've selected a new Nikon Color Pix in plum to replace the Kodak, but the camera associate won't let me hold it for the trip back to the front of the store. Are slightly chubby women in black framed glasses and spit up in their hair and a tiny infant in tow the new threat to society? It has been quite a while since I'd nearly given up hope and started muttering under my breath to Nealy, my only friend in this god forsaken store. So, maybe I did seem threatening! Who knows?

So, after alllllll that hot mess, I still had to do some shopping. How glutton for punishment am I that I will still buy things in that horrible store after they've tossed me around for the better part of 30 minutes? That is the evil of Walmart. As long as they get you in the door, they figure you'll buy what you need since you've already entered the small country that is Walmart.

Luckily, we have a happy ending. I got my super cute camera. It is so tiny and adorable, and it takes really nice pictures. Be expecting more from me, since I can take my own pictures now and I don't have to harrass Joe to do it. And maybe you'll actually get to see Joe in a picture or two! Wouldn't that be amazing?

Happy Derby Day to everyone. Go drink some bourbon.