The Not So Wicked, Wicked Witch

The book signing-and-reading was a blast!

Guess who came back?

This time Craig transplanted him out of the neighborhood....

Cuties

Nat and Mia were pumped about Trunk or Treat tonight!!

Natalie decided to forgo the Dorothy pigtails and opted for a tiara
instead. Judy Garland should have considered this look.

Girls' Night Out

Craig has been traveling a good bit recently, so one night this week
Natalie and I treated ourselves to a Girls' Night Out. We had a yummy
dinner at Sal and Mookies, followed by ice cream of course, then
tripped over to Renaissance to the Barnes and Noble. While we were
there, I took the opportunity to indulge in a little retail therapy.
This picture indicates how Natalie entertained herself. She is a born
shopper!!!

S to the I to the M to the K

Sweet Pete, guess what I found in my kitchen this morning???

Don't Say Cheese

Apparently smiling on demand is harder than it looks.

Two words for you. Wallace and Gromit.

I Spy...

I spy a few of our favorite things:

Broad Street
Lemuria
Where The Sidewalk Ends
Cadoozles Fun Pencil
Pink (anything)
Cheese Grits
Purple Purse
ACCESSORIES

She's Got the Look

I'm not sure what the look IS, exactly.... But she definitely has a look...

Girls Beach Trip

These are from the GBT (Girls' Beach Trip) at the end of July. All the girls weren't able to make it (wanh!! wanh!! wanh!!) but we managed to pull it together and have an OK time anyway!

Natalie and Xenia were a colorful pair. I can't wait to see this same picture in 10 years. (Wait. Yes I can. Because I'll be 10 years older. And they'll be TEENAGERS probably wearing skimpy bikinis and fighting the boys off with a stick. So, scratch that.)

This was the first year that Natalie could really enjoy the surf. This is Natalie, um, enjoying the surf. See all that enjoyment on her wittle face??

My favorite part of the beach trip is the quest for those beautiful beach pictures that everyone else seems to have. This is the closest we came, and it doesn't even really look like HER.

Most of the rest of the pictures are of the back of her as she is running away from me, squinting, throwing sand, waving sticks.... We did attempt to entice them into a fun game of photographer. And the truth is, this is one of my favorite pictures from the whole outing.

Oh, and then there was this!!! Tawny took the girls down to the dock to check out the bayside wildlife. They took notebooks and drew pictures of what they saw. It included a heron, some crabs in cages, and some shells. Look how intently she is studying!

Look at me! I can fly!!! And have I mentioned that Natalie has way more fashion sense than I do? How cute is she?

Pumpkin Patch 2009

Autumn has finally arrived around here. This is a good thing for many reasons, in my book, not the least of which is that our air conditioning is broken AGAIN.


We made the annual trip with our friends to the pumpkin patch yesterday. To the cold pumpkin patch. To the overcast cold pumpkin patch. To the overcast cold windy lip-chapping tooth-chattering pumpkin patch.




But we look happy nonetheless, right? A rare family portrait (one of us is invariably behind the camera - thanks, Lisa!!). Natalie is already developing the pre-teen look of "I can't believe my parents dragged me out to this stupid event when I could be at home watching Hannah Montana", isn't she?


I grabbed the chance to snap a shot of my two most favoritist people. They actually do look happy, don't they? What a pair.




Not to be outdone, Natalie wanted in on the action, so we gave her the camera to take a picture of us. Which equates, roughly, to this.... eh....




This is Natalie with her buddy Anna. They were actually still for 2.4 seconds, and I got lucky. Ish.


This is actually a better one of the two of them, on the hayride. I am still picking hay out of my jeans pockets and purse.

I mentioned it was cold, windy, and lip-chapping, right? Luckily daddy is always prepared.

After the fun-filled (read freezing cold) hayride, it was time to pick out our pumpkins. I think she studied every single one.

And time for one last pose before we go. I don't know what cracked Natalie and (another) Anna up about this cow so much, but they sure thought it was funny!!
Unbelievably, we went back out later in the day for the Jackson Street Festival, and froze some more!! But it was fun to stop by and see our friend Amy who has a new children's book out. She'll be signing it at Lemuria on Halloween! Stop by!!

Pepper Alley

Natalie was most excited this morning that today was “Pepper Alley” day at her school! You and I know it more commonly as a “Pep Rally,” but that hardly matters…

She wore her cheerleader outfit, and was looking forward to the day’s festivities, which apparently involved:

1. The homecoming court presentation – aka the girls in their pretty dresses
2. A Real Live football player coming to visit her room – hers was #5 and he was “really cute and handsome” (I think she saw a picture?)
3. And, the mother of all treats, real and actual CHEERLEADERS

She was describing to me this morning all about cheerleaders, and what they do, and how they wear their hair, and that they have pom-poms (making a real point that she doesn’t have any pom poms like theirs, only Barbie and MSU ones, and her MSU ones aren’t the little ones, they are the ones with the long sticks, which is Just Not Right)….

I think it’s really sweet that she is so excited about her school. She was singing “When The Saints Go Marching In” for us last night and practicing her “Go Saints!” cheers. Little Miss School Spirit. I can’t help but wonder what she will be like in ten or twelve years. I couldn’t have been anything farther from a cheerleader in high school. I was shy, and quiet, and unsure of myself (heck, I still am in a lot of situations). I hope that she can find that right mix of strong and gentle, self-confident and sensitive, smart and social…

But, even now, oh, I want to be Just Like Her when I grow up!!!

It's State Fair Time!

We went to the fair yesterday and had a great time! Natalie and I both loved munching on some grilled corn, going down the big slide, and sharing funnel cake with our friends. We enjoyed the Farm Bureau petting zoo (a little plug there formy company) and Children's barnyard, and the circus too!

She is getting to the age where she will remember these events as she gets older. I hope she will have good memories! I know I will. Do you think, in 40 years, she will come pick me up at the retirement home and say, "come on, mom, let's go to the fair - I know how much you've always loved it!"? I sure hope so. And that I can still eat that corn
with my dentures.

Heartthrob

Speaking of the Wizard of Oz....

Natalie is, as of this summer, a Big Fan of the Wizard of Oz. Mostly due to the fact that her buddy Xenia is also a Big Fan of the Wizard of Oz. But it's not just about Dorothy. Or Glenda (with a Guh, for you Wicked fans). Or munchkins or singing or flying monkeys.

No, dear ones, it's about one thing. The Scarecrow.

They loooooooove him. I mean really. Truly. Love. Him.

I'm trying to remember who my big heartthrob was at age 4 or 6. I'm betting on Luke Duke (I was always a sucker for the brunette). But even my feelings for him couldn't hold a candle to the scarecrow crush that is going on.

Bear with me on this one.... I am about to (seemingly) switch subjects.

So Natalie and Xenia were in the backseat today trading knock-knock jokes. Which they barely get at this age. There was a lot of giggling involved. Anyhow, it went something like this:

Xenia: Knock knock.
Natalie: Who's there?
Xenia: Boo.
Natalie: Boo who?
Xenia: Boo, hoo, don't cry!!
(hysterical giggles)
Natalie: My turn. Knock knock.
Xenia: Who's there?
Natalie: Underpants!! (giggle giggle)
Xenia: (giggle giggle) Underpants who?
Natalie: (giggles, followed by the realization she doesn't quite "get" it): Underpants YOU!!
(more hysterical giggles, because they said "underpants")
Xenia: (still giggling) Knock knock!
Natalie: Who's there?
Xenia: The SCARECROW.
Natalie: (did not miss a beat) HeeeellllllLLLLLOOOOOoooooo.....

Oh, dear. It was one pack of cigarettes short of a Mae West imitation. I promise you, if Natalie had any etchings, or even knew what one was, she'd be inviting that Scarecrow up to see them!!! (Is that inappropriate? Oops.)

Pretty darn funny.

Just don't ask her to sing...

Guess who Natalie is going to be for Halloween??

Except I apparently need some help with her hair. Cause that is pretty jacked up.

T is for Tie

This week in Natalie's class is brought to you by the letter "T" and the number 15.

Because it is "T" week, today is "Tie Day." (see right). Natalie told me this morning that it is Tie Day, and she CAN wear a tie but she doesn't HAVE to wear a tie. I asked her if she wanted to wear one, and she considered it a moment, then answered, "Yes, because it is good to follow the rules." That's my girl. It IS good to follow the rules. Well, at least it's good to make an effort to LOOK like you are following the rules so that every now and then you can get by with breaking them. But I digress...

You'll see she is sporting one of Craig's ties. It's actually one of his reTIred ties... but it holds great sentimental value. You see, this is the tie that we picked out together the spring we were engaged, lo, these many 15 years ago. (Craig choked a little on the cost but I talked him into it - a harbinger of many conversations to come.) This is the tie he wore to the job interview that landed us here in Jackson (and, if I recall correctly, to subsequent job interviews after we were moved down here). This tie was the beginning of our transition from devil-may-care grubby college students, to the family you see before you today.

There is a lot tied up in this tie. Not the least of which is, today, that sweet little sassy pre-schooler who is just a little too smart for her own good, and a little to precious for mine. I do love her so. Who could have predicted, fifteen years ago? She suits us to a T!

Just Call Me Nancy Drew

Here is how the conversation went:

Mommy: Natalie, did you happen to cut your baby's hair?

Natalie: Noooo...

Mommy: Really? What is this? (holding snippets of brown doll hair
gathered from the bathroom floor)

Natalie: (crickets)

Mommy: (eyebrows)

Natalie: Well, I didn't cut my baby's hair, I cut my BARBIE'S hair.

Mommy: Oh.

Natalie: Mommy, you always know whatever I get into. (impish grin)

(for now, at least....)

Cotton Candy: The Sequel

It occurs to me, I haven't shared with you what life looked like AFTER
the cotton candy. Or, rather, the cotton candy crash....