Summer, why dost thou pass so quickly?

I can't believe summer is almost over. I'm going to the school with Melanie and Jaime tomorrow for our first unofficial work day. I have had the absolute best summer of all time! My hubby is working 2nd shift so I have been able to spend nearly every day with him AND Camden. It's been so great considering when I go back to work I will only see David on the weekends. I've been so many places this summer...St. Louis, Atlanta, Panama City, Chattanooga...and I've had a lot of wonderful experiences and some great times even here at home. Paint nights, swim days, and several days with my niece and nephew, and seeing some great movies has made this just a down right fun summer!

But at times like this when it's all coming to an end, I find myself envying mom's who get to stay at home with their families. I guess that is just not in the cards for me at this time in my life and probably will not be in the near future, so I'm just trying to make the best of the situation and try to be successful at a career that I once loved. I truly want to find that love again, and I'm hoping to do so this year. If not, I will have to find a new job of some sort.

But on to a more positive note here are some things to look forward to in the near future. Bring on the bullets!

• Going on our annual family vacay to Tim's Ford with my mom, dad, sister, brother in law, niece, and nephew. This is always a good time! We play games, eat, swim, eat, nap, eat, take walks, eat, and sometimes go out on the boat. Did I mention we eat because we do!
• Alabama football. Enough said.
• World Series. My Cardinals are finishing pretty strongly here toward the end of regular season play. Can't wait to see if they make the big cut. If not, I still enjoy watching championship games even if I am not invested in a team who is competing.
• Friends and Family Day at church is always an awesome day. Seeing God's house packed to the gills with people that you know and love is always a blessing. I hope to see more of my friends there this year (hint, hint). September 12th, I believe.
• Camden's birthday party will be on October the 2nd and it will be a Robot extravaganza! I can't believe my little baby will be 2. **Tear**
• The holiday season will be here before we know it. I fully intend to start Christmas shopping in the next few weeks. My goal is to purchase more thoughtful and personal gifts this year.

You know, life is good. I'm so blessed and have so much to look forward to every day! Shame on me for the times when I feel so down in the dumps :)

Man vs. Food

Anybody else watch this mess? haha The host (can't remember his name, God love him, and I'm watching it right now! haha) goes around to all these restaurants and tries to eat these massive amounts of food. For example, this episode he is at Shula's Steakhouse trying to eat a 48 oz. ribeye! I love this show for some reason. I think I am jealous. I have a sickening infatuation with food, and I guess I just wish I could throw all this weight loss crap away and just embrace my largeness and eat what I want! Seriously, I know that is not what would make me happy. I'm too vain for that. But it is interesting to watch him attempt to eat like a mad man to win these competitions.

I'm Just Sayin'...

Ok, so I adore the show "Bethenny Getting Married?" BUT I am truly annoyed by these richies and their baby nurses. I mean, come on. You can build a multi-million dollar company but you cannot take care of your own baby without a nurse around? Please. Put your big girl panties on and deal with it! How do they think we poor folks handle it? I'm just sayin'...

Hotlanta and Other Thoughts...

Last Thursday night my sister, grandmother, and I went to Atlanta to meet up with my aunt to see The Phantom of the Opera. In all honesty, I just did not want to go! I feel like I have been on the road for the whole summer and just really wanted some down time. But my great-aunt and cousin were supposed to go but could not because of a family illness, and I did not want my aunt Lynne to be stuck with two tickets, so I bit the dust and went.

The play was performed at the historic Fox Theatre in Atlanta. I learned that this theatre premiered Gone With the Wind in the 30's. Cool! I was so glad that I went to the play. It was simply uh-maze-ing!! I love live theatre. I get chills and tears and all that dorky stuff when I see a play performed live. It is my secret life-long dream to act on a live stage. To me, those actors are the real deal. No re-takes. No room for error. Every move has to be on point at all times. They amaze me!

On another note, I am so obsessed with "Jersey" television shows. "Jersey Couture," "Jerseylicious," and, of course, "The Real Housewives of New Jersey" are my absolute favorite shows on t.v. right now! Love the accents. Love the attitudes. HATE the guys! Sheesh! These girls seem so strong-willed and confident, it's amazing that they choose to be in relationships with these dudes that are such douches.

Lastly, I am being such an underachiever in my last grad class. I just can't bring myself to do this work. It will be over next week, though, and then I have to try my best to prepare for this comprehensive exam!

Destination Vacation

So, I have already taken two of my getaways and have not taken the time to blog about either trip, so here goes! Our trip to Missouri was wonderful! We arrived late Friday night and spent Saturday re-grouping from the car ride and letting Camden get back in sync with David and Gina. Sunday we went to the St. Louis Zoo. It was so much fun! Camden loved the fish most of all, and he very reluctantly petted a goat at the Emerson Children's Zoo (we love some Emerson's! haha), but he was still so pooped, he fell asleep during some of my favorite parts. The next day we went to the Cardinals game. Camden behaved so well. I just couldn't believe it. Even with a 2 hour rain delay, he was a trooper the entire time! The rest of the trip we spent around the house. We love the time we get to spend with David's dad's family, and we look forward to seeing them again here in Alabama on July 23rd!

Our beach trip was pretty much a bust! We left early Sunday morning and arrived in Panama City around 1:00. The sun was out and beautiful, so we went to the pool and lounged there until we could no longer see the sun. We went to our favorite spot, Captain Jacks, for some all you can eat crab legs! YUMMY! (Yeah, Weight Watchers does not exist in PCB! LOL) The next morning we woke up to thunder, rain, and massive waves. We piddled for a while and realized the sun wasn't going to come out anytime soon, so we went for lunch and a movie. We watched "Grown Ups" and it was hilarious. I've always had a crush on Adam Sandler, so if he's in it, I'm buying it! After the movie, the sun was still nowhere to be seen so we did some shopping! That night, we visited a little spot known as Coyote Ugly (you may have heard of it) and saw things that would make a stripper blush! haha I had more fun making fun of the people there than their drunk tails had making fools of themselves. Friends, please ask me about the "Penalty Shots" if I forget to tell you! haha The next morning, still no sun. We decided to head home a day early. I can shop and watch movies at home...with my child there. No sense in staying away when the weather is like that. I was so glad to get home to my Bubby! I missed him tons, but it was so nice to have some "me" time. I think I deserve it once a year!

A couple of days later, I got to celebrate my 29th birthday with my hubby and baby. We went to Staples and got me a fab new laptop, and had lunch at Logans. My mother-in-law desperately wanted to see Camden because they were leaving for Missouri for a few days, so I dropped him off at her house and went to Ulta for some new makeup and then to Alana's volleyball game. Pretty good day! Now, I'm looking forward to celebrting birthdays today with my Book Club pals. Can't wait to see my girls tonight for "Guys Night Out"/"Amandameliapalooza"!!!

Bye, Bye Binky!

Well, I shall begin chronicling my effort to wean my little 20 month old from his pacifier. While we were in St. Louis, I kept telling Camden that when we got home we were going to throw his pacifier aways. I repeated it over and over again. My plan was to give it to him for naptime and bedtime only for a few days then to get rid of it. After he took his nap today, I told him he had to leave it in his bed, and he did. Fast forward a few hours, and we were playing and he says "Pa-pey?" I respond by saying, "Pa-pey is gone. Where did your ball go? Can you throw the ball?" I totally changed the subject, and it worked, so I built up some confidence to take it even further. I sat down to rock him with his sip cup and blanket and some good reading and he asked again. I took the opportunity to say, "Pa-pay is gone-gone. Pa-pay is for babies and you're a big boy! You don't need a pa-pay anymore because they are for babies." Surprisingly, he responds by saying, "Gone-gone." He does fine and falls asleep without it. Now, he has not made it through the night, so I have not counted it a success yet, but I'm hoping we are on the right track! We will see how this night goes :)

The Final Countdown!

Well, folks it's officially the last week of school. WHO-'effin-RAY! (haha) My little darlings are getting weaker by the minute, and in turn, making me more and more thankful to be nearing the end of the school year. This has actually been one of my best years, but it's still nice when they come to an end! Here are some plans that we have for the summer:

• First stop-Missouri. We are heading to Missouri for Memorial Day weekend. The zoo and a Cardinals game are two of the destinations on the agenda. I can't wait to get there. I love David's family that lives there. We will get to see baby Lydia for the first time, and just visit with some great folks! I can't wait to get there.

• Next Stop- my Bestie Lora and I are taking a girl trip to the beach. We really wanted to get a big group of gals to come with us, but it didn't work out that way, so we are heading that way alone. We will still have a blast, of course, because we always do. I'm looking forward to sunning by the pool all day and shirking some responsibility for a few days. It's hard being a mommy, wife, student, and working a full-time job. I think I deserve a little R&R. I will miss my boys like crazy, but they will be fine without me, and I'll be able to come back refreshed and ready to attack my last class EVER at UNA.

• Final stop- Family vacation...destination TBA! Of course, no summer would be complete without some time with my boys! We have flirted with the idea of going to the beach, but who knows. We will definitely make a weekend getaway to Chattanooga to take Camden to the aquarium. He will love it! He adores "shish" (fish) and "wa-wa" (water), so I know he will be thrilled to be surrounded with them.

I am also looking forward to spending time with my boys every day! With David working 2nd shift, we will get to spend all of our daytime hours together. I know that will make this summer even more special. Of course, I can't wait for those sporadic scrapbook sessions with my favorite working gals, Jaime and Melanie, and a few swim days with my Besties. I HEART SUMMER!