Princess Language

My girl- "Mommy. Can we just call our house a castle?"

Me- "Sure, baby. We can call it whatever you want."

My girl- "Ok. And we call sissy the queen and we are the princesses."

Me- "Sounds perfect to me. I love to be a princess."

My girl- "Well, Mommy. You ARE a princess."

Oh how I love her!!!

Happy Times

......are with Daddy on the golf course. They both love driving the cart. And telling Daddy to "go faaaaaster DaDa. Faaaaaaster DaDa." And I have to admit, that I love the golf course too. It gives me a sense of peacefulness. And not to mention it's beautiful. And we saw a Mama deer with her baby. Happy times. Happy times.

Did you know about "Best Friends Day?"

I sure didn't. Well, according to my girl, it is "Best Friends Day." She is running around the house shouting, "Happy Best Friends Day." And of course she is also shouting, "Sissy is my best friend." And she is getting Sissy to join in. Sissy is running around the house mimicking my girl in her two-year-old language saying, "Happy Best Friends Day Evertbody." It is so amazing to sit back and see their bond. This is all they have known. Eachother. My girl was 15 months old when Sissy was born. And Sissy is all she can remember. She won't ever remember NOT having a sister. And I love that. Yes, they do have their fights. And we have the occasional hair pullin' times. But more times than not, they are running around holding hands with not a care in the world. And I hope they will always have this special bond. A bond that only sisters share.

Change of plans!

The weather here in Georgia is SO different than the weather in California. It rains during the summer here. And when I say it rains. I mean like it literally dumps rain from the sky. Hence, why everything is so green. And I love that about GA. I'm not sold on the rain yet though. And the storms that go along with it. It takes some getting to used to. We were all heading out to dinner when all of a sudden we were caught in a pretty big storm. It started small and then rapidly got pretty bad. Lighting bolts were hitting the ground all around our car. The skies opened up and started dumping rain. A transformer blew and sparks flew everywhere. It was quite scary. I was holding on to Matt's hand for dear life. As were driving we decided that the weather was too bad to be driving in and that we weren't going to be able to head to dinner. So, instead we drove in a Target's parking lot. Matt literally dropped us off in the walkway to Target. The girls and I jumped out. Lighting bolts striking everywhere. We ran into Target. Got thru the door and took the girls shoes off and wiped down their soaked shoes and legs. I was literally sitting their ringing out our clothes. That is how much it was raining. Matt parked the car and ran in. He was soaked. So instead of heading to Taco Mac for dinner. We ended up at the food court in Target. And we stayed there for quite some time. Until the storm blew over.

My Girls!

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!! Sometimes I just can't get enough of these cuties. I mean, man, aren't they cute??!! I sure think so. My girls got their faces painted at the grand opening of our gym that we joined. They had some major fun with the clowns, playing basketball and getting some balloons and getting their faces painted. They loved it.

Especially Easy & Exciting Entertaining

One thing about me is that I love entertaining. I love themed party ideas. Whether it's a simple outdoor BBQ (or "cookout" for you southerners) or a planned dinner party, I love having a party. I usually coordinate the theme to match the season. That is what I like to do. For this Fourth of July we had some friends over for a BBQ, pool time and for some fireworks.

I love doing appetizers. And who doesn't like appetizers? I think they are essential. Especially if you have kids.

Here is the rundown on the 4th's Apps:

* Deviled Eggs, Candied Coated Pretzel Sticks, Cantaloupe Fruit Wedges (these are super Kid-Friendly and fun), Crusty Parmesan and Artichoke dip, and many, many other fun small snacks.

Dinner on the grill was:

* Mini Burgers and all the fixings. Potato Salad, Crunchy Broccoli Salad, Tater Tots (fun for the kids) and Corn on the Cobb.

Dessert was:

*Velvet Chocolate Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting topped with Americana Jimmies (the girls had fun with these.) And of course we sang "Happy Birthday to Amercia."

Sipping (a must have at any party):

Beer for the boys. Raspberry Spritzers for the ladies. And Raspberry Rumble for the kiddos.

Here's to some easy entertaining! Cheers!

GRITS. Part 2.

"Yes, Maam."

Another southern thing has been floating around our house. And this is of course is a southern thing as well. My girl has been saying "Yes, Maam" to me, to her teachers, to my girlfriends, to the starbucks man. And yes I said man. I don't think she quite understands that she says "Yes, Maam" to females and "Yes, Sir" to males. As she has been caught saying, "Yes, Maam" to a man or two. Many of us around here have had a few laughs with this one!

"Bye. Bye, Mama. I'm going to Target."

Yes. These were the words of my girl. As my husband says, "she is a reincarnation of you." And that she is. I love to shop. She loves to shop. Like mother. Like daughter. So glad I have girls. God knows what's best. And He sure did bless me with my two little ladies!!!!

By the way- this was her outfit of choice. I think she was a little confused and thought she was possibly going to dance class with those frilly socks and bright white shoes!

G.R.I.T.S.- Girls Raised In The South. Part 1.

OK, so I think I'm going to start this GRITS thing as a series. Why you ask? Because my babies are changing and they are adapting to the good 'ole south and I want to document these things they say and do. And it's funny. And it's something I never knew was possible. Us. Living life in the south.

So today, My girl and Sissy were playing store and restaurant (Two of their favorite things to play. They are quite imaginative). Sissy was taking my girls order. She usually takes the order and then "cooks" it in her playroom. While taking her order she says:

"What do you want? Cheeseburg (for cheeseburger in her 2 year old language)? Brocli (for broccoli)? What do you want?"

My girls says." Sweet tea, please!"

Matt and I just looked at each other and said....WOW!!!! I guess my girl is picking up on everything around here. More than I thought!

As you all probably know. Sweet tea is a southern thing. If you were to ask someone for sweet tea in a restaurant in Cali they would look at you like you were crazy and ask you what it was. When I visited Birmingham, Alabama a few years ago we were at a Ruby Tuesday's and I asked for Iced Tea. The waitress brought it over and I dumped my sweet and low in it and proceeded to take a sip and was struck by the sweetness. Well sure enough, she brought me sweet tea. (FYI. Usually they ask you in restuarants around here if you want it sweet or unsweetened.) But that was my "Cali moment."

Girlfriends ROCK!!!!

Thanks to my girlfriend Lindsay who sold my Kenny Chesney tickets for me while we were in North Carolina. You rock girl. And I owe you!

Kenny Chesney Tickets For Sale!

I have two Kenny Chesney tickets for sale. Unfortunately, our weekend plans have changed and now we are unable to go. :(

Here are the details:

Kenny Chesney at Turner Field in Atlanta, Ga. Poets and Pirates Tour!
Sunday, July 13, 2008 at 3:30pm (THIS SUNDAY!)
Section 115L
Row 22
Seats 103 & 104 (These are FABULOUS seats. You will NOT be disappointed!)

We paid (face value) of $110.00 per ticket.

Will sell for $150.00 (total) for both tickets.

Please leave me a comment or contact me if you are interested!

Thanks,

Amy

Why do they even mess with this Cali girl???

A few minutes ago as my girls and I were finishing up lunch, our tornado sirens in our neighborhood started going off. I look around at the sky and think, "are you serious?" It is blue skies outside. Not one dark cloud in the sky. But then I remember. I remember the last tornado that came by (our first!) and we were playing out in the cul de' sac. The girls were riding their bikes. Then the siren goes off. Blue skies. But one side of the sky was pretty dark. So today I'm thinking, "hmmmm.....is this for real or what?" I go outside and my neighbor was in his yard and I ask, "are those the sirens?" He says, "Yes." And we both just shake our head and wonder. I turn on the TV. Nothing. No beeping like we have heard before. Nothing. No storm warning. Nothing. So after 45 minutes of nothing, I'm beginning to think it was just nothing. Maybe it was a test. But if it was a test, why wouldn't they notify us? Well maybe because anyone but me would know it was just nothing if you look up into the sky. But I am not fond of those sirens. And when I here them I literally freak out. I call my husband in a panic. I start planning my move back to Cali (mom, I know you would be happy to hear that!) :). I just freak out! I look around at all myneighbors and they are just going about their business. Going for walks. Grillin' on the deck. Playing at the park. Just being normal (unlike me). So I guess I will just go about my business and in the mean time, try to freak out less.