TIME TO MAKE THE DONUTS

Remember the commercial of the old man getting up early in the morning saying time to make the doughnuts? Think it was Dunkin Donuts, not sure though. Anyway, that’s it what it felt like Friday morning when the alarm went off at 2:30 a.m.  Sam and I did our “Breakfast with Santa” thing Friday morning, which means spending all day Thursday looking through sales papers, going over Christmas list from all four children.  I must add we really have great children who didn’t really ask for outrageous things. Steven wants a PSP, Jewel anything Tinkerbell, Jessica a scooter, Sage a pink Nintendo DS Lite, plus a bag of Dove candy. Once we had the kids’ lists and our list of gifts and stores in line we were all set for “Breakfast with Santa”.  See, on Friday after Thanksgiving our kids have been told we go eat breakfast with Santa, walk around the stores and show him what every kid wants and then give Santa some money to help pay for the toys, feed the elves, and reindeer food of course.

So 2:30 a.m. beep...beep…beep……….Quick shower, sales papers in hand, off to our first stop. JC Penney opened at 4 a.m. and had what I wanted!  Hey, I deserve a little something for getting up that early.  They had my George Foreman grill on sale.  At 3:30 a.m. I dropped Sam off at Target to wait in line for their 6 a.m. opening.  I went to the 4 a.m. opening at JC Penney and was out of there at 4:05 and off to Toys R Us for a 5 a.m. opening.  Got everything there and was out at 5:45 only to rush back to Target to meet Sam who was like 10^th in a line of 200.  All of a sudden the doors open and what a rush. Everyone took off running and I was cheering Sam on. Go baby, run baby, there will be a reward for you tonight if you get there quickly.  By 7 a.m. we had been to JC Penney, Toys R Us, Target and Old Navy.  Finally it was breakfast time--off to Chick Fil A for food and to strategize. Then off to Best Buy and back to Target. We got home around 11:45 a.m. dragging like you wouldn’t believe.

While waiting in line at 4:00 in the morning you meet some strange people, like the girls who just left a club and came to JC Penney just to get a free snow globe. They were probably having the most fun. There was the 50ish man who came from Dawsonville to buy a Christmas tree. Toys R Us was no different: a young couple behind me were in line for a Wii for his 65 year old parents who are addicted to his game. Then on the inside was a lawyer who was getting the Wii for his son.  The funniest part was he was arguing with his wife that they could afford a Wii off sale so what in the hell are we doing here at 5 a.m. I talked with a more reasonable mom who was just trying to give her children and get Christmas and not remortgage her home in the process. I told here we are both guaranteed a room with a view at the nursing home after standing in line for Hannah Montana.

All in all it was well worth the 2:30 a.m. wake up. I know we are going to have a lot of smiling faces on Christmas morning. We have maybe four more things to get and we are totally done shopping and it’s not even December yet!

" Dancing with the Stars"

Our little Jessica is trying out for the Dance Team at her school this week.  She is attending a 3 -day clinic to learn a routine, which will determine if she makes it or not. I picked her up at 4 yesterday and I can still hear her in my head 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8 and 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8 and 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8 and bow! I went to bed counting, woke up counting and I am sure the rest of my day will be counting. She is so excited about dancing. 28 girls are trying out for the team, 20 will make it, 5 will be stand by's and 3 will go home. I am like praying please let her make it. I wonder if we could call the dance team teachers and place a vote for her, just like dancing with the stars! So everyone call 1-800 Dunwoody Springs Charter School and vote for Jessica Shirey.

 

 

In other news our twins turned 10 last week. When they were born I didn't want to dress them alike cause I wanted them to be individual little girls. But of course that changed when my mom decided  to buy everything the same. Then I got hooked on it and every since they have the same clothes, shoes, coats, socks, panties. I always felt guilty if one girl didn't have the same as the other girl. Almost like I was cheating one twin out of something.  Well we went birthday shopping for a new outfit like we do every year. New clothes and shoes to start their birthday right. Jessica runs to these cute little pink cowgirl boots. Jewel runs to these high heels that she would never be able to walk in . When I suggested the cowgirl boots Jewel flipped. She said "LIKE I WOULD EVER WEAR THOSE!" I had to realize I no longer have twins. I have Jessica who will forever be my little baby. Jewel who is too independent until she has a nightmare. Needless to say I gave in and Jessica got cowgirl boots and Jewel got suede boots with a tiny heel. I can't believe my babies are 10. Sam and I talked of having a baby but  I think we have come to the conclusion 4 kids, 1 dog, 2 jobs are enough for us now. Then we have several adoptee from the neighborhood and all my kids at school.

It's Foos Ball again

Our blog friend "The Rake" makes me feel so guilty for not writing in my blog that I dedicate this entry to him. He is so faithful with sharing wonderful adventures with "The Rake and Family". I am a terrible blog writer. When I was a stay at home mom I drove people crazy with e-mail of my wonderful husband and family. Now the job, school, kids, dinner, laundry, the dog, my husband take precedence over blog writing. But today I dare to write once again about Foos Ball in fear of getting some hateful e-mail from another woman who tells me to go paint my nails.

 

I am so into the fantasy football league my husband has. They have this cool website that I actually visit and scream at if we are not winning. So far this Sandy Springs FFC is 3-0 and has won the most point scored 2 out of the 3 weeks. So now on Sunday I am watching a game trying to keep up with which of our players have scored and if not I am dialing 411 to get Tom Brady's cell number so I can see what the problem is. Today not looking so hot for us yet.  Our line up consist of

 

Cousin Tom Brady

In-law Adrian Peterson ( in law cause he didn't score for us today)

Brother Leon Washington ( who gave us 6 points)

Uncle Plaxico Burress

4th cousin Wes Welker ( who is going to be kicked out of our family if he don't start scoring soon)

2nd cousin Algae Crumpler ( who didn't score today)

My Great Aunts, cousins brother baby boy Neil Rackers ( 2nd quarter and nothing??????? WHY??????)

 

Told my husband he should have started my favorite brother Ryan Longwell who scored 10 points today. Men! Can't tell them anything when it comes to football.

 

Life is great for us so far this school year. Jewel is playing the flute, Jessica on clarinet, Steven on drums, Sam and I are on Tylenol most of the time. Grades are looking good so far. Homework getting done with the help of threatening to kill or worse yet take their bedtime snack away.

 

Sam is great and wonderful as usual in spite of the fact he just turned 38 last Saturday. I tell him he is still handsome to me even if his beard is getting whiter than Santa Claus.

 

Thanks Rake for making me feel guilty for not writing in my blog. I forgot how much fun this is.

Happy 4th of July

Happy 4th of July everyone!  Life in Georgia is great these days! We are doing a little remodeling in the house. Sam and Bill (Sam's brother) along with Steven helped install French doors leading out to our back deck.  I love those doors. I have been wanting them since the day I moved here. I'd rather park in the back lot any day, so this way I can actually use the back doors. But of course now I want to paint the dining room, put some hardwood floors down, add new blinds, once you start you never can turn back. I have the FEVER -- the REMODELING FEVER! So any volunteers call 1-800- donate to the Brady fund!

 

With the big firework day here the kids are asking where we are going? So tonight, after being lazy and playing Scrabble with Sam on the computer we began to discuss what to do. Then it hit me light a lighting bolt, or should I say a bingo. I used all my letters on my rack which entitled me to a bingo which comes with fireworks and real sound effects. I told Sam that was it! We could play Scrabble tomorrow night and every time we get a bingo we will call the kids in and say Happy 4th of July. Think about it: no crowds, no traffic jams, no kids saying I am tired. But of course we are good parents and will most likely be spending the day at Stone Mountain or the pool. But it was a great idea you must admit.

 

In sad news, in the last 2 weeks our family has suffered the loss of three our loved ones. My Great Aunt Grace passed away on my birthday. My second cousin Dean passed away this past Sunday. My sister's dog Skip Pookie Fritz passed away the day before my birthday. Then I got the news that 2 of my friends in New Jersey passed away in the same week. I told my mom I love her but please don't call me for a while. If you will, say a prayer for my Aunt Reba who buried who sister last Friday and must now bury her son on thursday.

 

In times like this it just makes you very thankful for your family and friends. I have said it before, we tend to get so busy with the worldly things we forget the most important. So if you guys don't know by now. I LOVE YOU! I appreciate each and every one of you. You're in my heart, thoughts, and prayers daily. Now start writing me back or else I will start talking about each of you in my next e-mail! LOL!!!!

BE VERY VERY AFRAID!!!!!!!

IAM BACCCCCCCCCCCCCCCK!  It's been a while since I have written. I bet you all have missed me!! With work, family, house, dog, where do you find the time to write. I usually think about sending out an e-mail when I am laying on the couch at 10p.m. trying to keep my eyes open and praying that I make it to the bedroom before falling asleep. But not to worry I am off for the summer and I can write y'all all the time!!

 

So let's play catch up for a while. Good news on the family front. Steven passed his grade and will be heading to OMG!! 7th grade. Where is my little boy who wanted to grow up an be a firetruck. Yes he wanted to be a firetruck since he was 2. We saw a 4th of July parade and for years after that he decided he wanted to grow up and be a firetruck because they were big and made cools sounds. Now he is talking college and army. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! My baby is growing up. Then  the twins passed there grade and are heading to 4th. Then I had to buy them training bra's! Here I am standing in Wal-Mart buying bras for my 9 year olds and crying my heart out. They are too young for boobs. I still want to buy them pajamas with the feet that you zip up in the front. Then little Sage who looks like she is still preschool age because she is so tiny, is going to 1st grade. Okay I remember when I first met Sam she was only 6 months old. What did they feed her Miracle Grow? Then again my birthday is Sunday and I will be 39. I called mama the other day and asked her if she was sure I was born in 1968. She said yes, WHY? I was hoping it was really 1978, hey at least I tried.

 

The most exciting news is we went to DISNEY WORLD!!!! OMG!! What a blast we had. Sam's parents graciously let us have their time share condo for a week. Thanks Mom and Dad we loved it. We bought a 7 day pass which included 7 days at any Disney park with an additional 6 days at there water parks too. We knew we couldn't do it all in one week but have decided to spread it over several future vacation. We got no expire tickets so they are good forever. We did 2 days at Magic Kingdom and 1 day at a water park.  The rest of the days were relaxing days by the pool. It was amazing to see the look on the kids faces when we arrived. My kids were the only ones who had never been. Sam, Sage and me had all been before. We rode every ride possible and the kids and I managed to ride the Buzz lightyear one 3 times in a row. That seems to have been our favorite. We meet characters in private, we bought to many souvenirs, we did the hokey pokey in the middle of the street in downtown Disney. We laughed, complained it was too hot or lines were to long at times, we spent our time in lines singing or doing cheers or just entertaining other guest. We even cried, okay Sam and Darlene cried. We were just amazed at the kids and being Disney world and see MICKEY MOUSE!!! Something about that mouse that sends chills up my spine. You here all the time what a magical place it is. Until you go there with your kids and see their smiles and eyes light up when they see their favorite character, that's when you understand MAGICAL! As soon as we walked through the gates and laid our eyes on Cinderella castle the magic began. The greatest thing is we will never forget that first glance into Disney and even now writing about it brings back that  MAGICAL feeling.

 

 

Can you believe it's been a year!!!!

OMG!!! Can you believe we have been married 1 year as of yesterday. Some days it seems like only weeks since we were first married and then other days seems like we been together for years. We are still snuggling and kissing and sharing our every thought good or bad ones. It's amazing how far our ready made family came this year. First my children had to get use to a new school, new home, and new family. Sam's daughter had to get use to sharing her dad and her room with 3 other kids. I am happy to report everyone has survived the first year.  We have truly came together as one big family. Steven has adjusted to middle school and is making new friends and loves Georgia. The twins have grown so much in the last year that even you would be amazed at what little ladies we have now. Sage has adjusted to sharing her dad and home. Just the other week while fussing with Steven to let her in the bedroom she informed him in her little bossy voice IT WAS MY ROOM BEFORE YOU EVER CAME HERE! Right then and there we knew we had officially became a family. Sam and I are still very much in love with each other and experiencing wonderful things together.

 

So of course you know Sam had to totally spoil me this weekend. Our celebration began on Friday night when Sam and I went to the Gaither and Friends Concert. OMG!!!! The best concert I have ever been to. Sam who is not quite into gospel music as I am really enjoyed himself. We ended up with 5 cd's and 3 DVD's, Sam asked if he could take the cd's to work today. I was so excited to see all of these wonderful people I had only heard and seen on T.V. Then I got to see the excitement in Sam's eyes and what a great time we had.

 

Then Saturday night we celebrated with Sam's parents, brother and his wife and children. We went to Everybody's for dinner to celebrate Liz's birthday, our anniversary and the birth of the newest Brady. Jackson Tyler Brady who looks just like his Aunt Darlene.

 

Then finally to end the celebration on Sunday we took the  children out to lunch and then off to the park to launch a few balloons in memory of our special day. For those of you who attending the wedding you will remember after the ceremony we went to the Lake Junaluska and every let go of a white balloon to remember our day. So off to the park everyone with a balloon to mark our 1 year as a family. I can't wait to let 2 balloons go next year. 

 

 

 Hope everyone is doing well. Sorry haven't written alot lately with work, kids, husband, time slips away from you everyday. But your in our thoughts and prayers daily. We love all of you.

 

Darlene and Family