Zoo Atlanta (May 2011)

So 7 months have gone by since our family trip to Zoo Atlanta. I'm sticking to the motto, "Better late than never." Yeah. So here goes!

In MAY 2011 Adam, Alaina & I headed down to the famous Zoo Atlanta.


Adam & I had been throwing around the idea of taking Alaina on her 1st trip to the zoo for many months. Our criteria: going in either the spring or fall, when the weather would be bearable. By the time we put our plan into action, Alaina was about 21 months, and if I remember correctly, the weather was already H!O!T! Like 90 degrees I think...in early May...yeah, gotta love the hot south. Better hot than cold, I always say :)

Look how young Alaina looks in these pics...(sigh)






A favorite moment: checking out Panda Bear...rolling around in the hay...


...and taking a much deserved nap...


As luck would have it, Adam was pooped on by a bird. He is a great target for some reason. This spring, he was the unfortunate landing of at least 2 messy bird poops!


A great reminder to WASH UP!


Our absolute most favorite moment was waiting around the gorilla exhibit in hopes to see the newest gorilla, born just the day before. Somehow I can't find any pics of any gorillas in my photos...huh...at this point, I don't have any clue if there were any or if so, where in the heck they are! All I seem to have is Alaina pressed up against the exhibit, which could be the gorilla habitat or possibily the tiger habitat. This is just one of the downfalls of waiting 7 months to blog. Whoops!


Whatever exhibit this is, Alaina looks cute nonetheless! Plus, I dug up a photo from the web that would be better than any one I would have taken. Here's mama Kudzoo with her precious newborn baby (also Willie B's grandchild).


It was amazing to see the gorillas in action, specifically the females in mommy mode. One mama had her hand practically glued to a toddler gorilla's leg. The toddler was pretty much bouncing off the walls, and if not for his mom's firm grip, he'd have been all over the place! And Kudzoo - she is a GREAT mom-illa! (I just made that up ;) Very protective, very nurturing, totally devoted.


This goes to prove that MOMS, no matter the species, have an unquestionably special role in life :)

Poke-E-Dot & Ghost

I'd like to introduce you to Alaina's two newest animal pals...Poke-E-Dot & Ghost. Here's the story on how we found them...

On one of Adam's latest driving adventures, he discovered a pasture near his parents' house. In the pasture was none other than a horse and a goat. Once Adam was spotted, the horse would strut up to the fence. Curiously the goat would follow in the horse's shadow. Quite an odd pair if you ask me, but then again, who asked me?!?


Well, Adam just knew that Alaina would love to meet these animals, and boy was he right. The two of them went out one day for a car ride, and when they came home I heard all about their trip.


Not only did Alaina meet the horse/goat duo, she named them as well! Poke-E-Dot seemed like a suitable name for the horse with somewhat of a dot pattern (I agree!).


I guess Ghost was a pretty good fit for the goat. At least in Alaina's eyes.


I guess it makes sense. After all, the word ghost sounds like goat. And Alaina met the animals around Halloween, when she was first hearing about ghosts (through her Bubble Guppies kids program of all places!) Plus, this goat vanishes like a ghost the second he steps behind big old Poke-E-Dot. HA!


It's been about a month or so since we've seen the pair, but we will surely be back soon. Something tells me these furry friends won't mind considering the attention they get every time Alaina visits.

Loving on Poke-E-Dot...



Let's not forget Ghost...



*Bonus: School bus on the premise! Alaina lights up when she sees an orange school bus. One day, Alaina :)

Happy Halloweenie

A little late, but I'd like to wish all my blog friends a sincere "Happy Halloweenie."


Halloween used to be my most favorite holiday growing up. I loved to dress up. I loved trick-or-treating around the neighborhood with my friends. Candy...mmmmm! I loved that my dad went all out to spook out our house. He created life-like crash scenes involving cars and/or motorcycles, complete with smoke and lights and his sound system. He would strategically hide in various places and wait until just the perfect time to whisper "BOO!" into his microphone, scaring the poor kids out of their minds. Evidence of a successful scare could be spilled candy all over the yard, curse words flying high and kids running in every direction opposite of our house. We always had Halloween spook stories to share once the night was said and done. Our house was THE house to come to for a good scare. I would have never taken little Alaina to our house back in the day. I'm certain Alaina would have found it to be way too "spoooooky."


This year, we involved ourselves in several Halloween-ish festivities. Mid-October, our Fab5+ group of old church friends got together at Rachael's house. Rachael went ALL OUT to decorate for fall. But then again, Rachael goes all out for every occasion, so I'm not surprised by her decorative brilliance. Go Rachael!



This was a multi-purpose occasion. First, we wanted to all get together before 2 new babies joined the party...Chelsea has since had her precious baby Eloise! Hillary is next. Of course we always get together to socialize and EAT! We also wanted to get the kids together for a costume picture like we have in previous years. Rachael lined up a holiday craft, which we didn't participate in since we had to leave early (Rah-Rah's school had a fall festival going on around the same time). And the real occasion was to get everyone together to celebrate Noel & Chelsea's good news regarding their foster child K. Chelsea walking in on the "surprise!"


Alaina also had a costume parade at her preschool. Adam was able to see come see all the cute kiddos parade around in their costumes.


Next came a visit to our neighbors' church for their fall festival. They set up fun stations for the kids. There was a bounce house and food and snacks and candy!


Too bad Alaina can't have chocolate...yeah, too bad it will all go to waste around here. Wink, wink ;) ;)


On Halloween, we got together with the Sawyer's (neighbors mentioned above) for a fun night of trick-or-treating! They picked a nearby neighborhood since ours is a total DUD!



If you couldn't tell, Alaina dressed as a GA cheerleader this year. The Belle thing just
didn't work out. Maybe next year. Addison was a poodle girl. And a cute one at that!



The girls had the best time, despite shivering and occasionally getting spooked out by a few sights along the way.


Lucky for us, Daddy is a ghost buster :)


When we returned home, we decided to stop in and wish Mr. Tracy & Mrs. Christine a happy halloween. Alaina LOVES Mr. Tracy! And his dog Abbie.


Last year at Mr. Tracy's house...

Then Mr. Kenneth & Miss Aimelie got home and we ventured down the street to visit them for a bit. Aimelie is always a hit with the girls!


Before long, the night was over and another Halloween had come and gone. But even though the holiday is gone, the loot remains!

Alaina with her "punkin patch"...



Happy Halloweenie to all, and to all a good night :)

Top 10 Things Ya Missed

Hey ya'll! Did ya miss me? So obviously I've been off the blog beat for months now, but I'm determined to somehow catch up. I'll start with my top 10 list of news you may have missed in my blog absence - the PG version anyway. Here goes!

#1: Alaina started preschool

...in October...2 months behind her classmates, but who really cares? We decided to enroll her both for her and for me. I wanted her to have some social and learning time away from her typical home environment. And let's be honest...every mama needs a break now and then! Her Tuesday/Thursday 9-12 schedule accomplishes the purpose.


The first few weeks, Alaina didn't want to go and cried when I dropped her off. However, lately she welcomes the idea of preschool and just walks right in and mingles with her friends and teachers. Ms. Michele and Ms. Karen are excellent teachers from what I can tell! They have a theme of the month (sharing, etc), a color and shape of the month, chapel time, singing, crafts, stories, snacks, and Alaina's most anticipated activity of the day...playing on the playground!


We are blessed to be a part of the preschool program at Canton First United Methodist Church.


#2: Adam got yet a new job

What number are we on now? I literally don't even know. Somewhere between 5 and 10 in the past couple years I guess. He's still working as a contract engineer, just for a different company. Thankfully, ADAM LOVES HIS JOB!


#3: I am on my way to being an *extreme* couponer

Well, maybe not *extreme*, per se. I'm definitely becoming more skilled in the craft of couponing. Truthfully, most of my free time is spent couponing these days. It's not for everyone, but it's for this frugal jew. (haha, I'm not really a jew, unless you ask my husband. He terms me a jew because of my frugality. Whatever.)

I've got the 2" binder full of coupons, plus a travel coupon book that fits in my purse. I'm constantly on the lookout for the latest deals. I'm at at least 50-60% savings at this point. Currently, I get 1 Sunday paper delivered to my home a week. I also have online coupons sent to me via email, and I LOVE Target's web coupons. I shop at Publix, Kroger, Target, Walgreens, CVS, Rite Aid, and really anywhere that has a steal of a deal. Couponing has become my thang!

Example: I scored these 2 items for less than $1 total!!!

#4: Alaina's Acorns

Speaking of taking up new projects, Alaina has found one of her own. Collecting acorns! She and I have been scouring the backyard for acorns. We started with a small red bucket...


...then upgraded to a medium sized blue bucket...


...then ended up with a large blue tub!

(picture this tub FULL of acorns, which it was until *someone* discarded them. The squirrels will be happy. Alaina, not so much!)

She's collected hundreds for sure. And there's probably thousands left in our backyard. Our fallish backyard rocks!

#5: Church change

Our family recently left BridgePointe Church, and we are excited to be a part of a new church plant. Our former Executive Pastor at BPC has been called to pastor a brand new church, and we are excited to be a part of it.


#6: Alaina turns sporty

I'm not so sure Alaina will be a dainty little princess. Sure, she's still resistant to sand and dirt. However, she hardly ever asks to play with a baby doll or girly toy. More often, she goes for a good book or a ball! She loves to kick a ball, throw a ball, hit a ball, anything that involves a ball. She sooooo does not get this interest from me!




#7: Alaina takes up dancing

Alaina is quite a dancer, and she welcomes an audience. Her favorite time to "entertain" me is as soon as she wakes up from her afternoon nap, when she's well rested and ready to bust a move! As an audience member, I'm asked to sit in the rocker in her room. Alaina then gets her meowsic keyboard ready, and once the music begins, her little body dances away!


#8: Transition from Crib to Toddler Bed = SUCCESS!

Alaina has been sleeping in her "Big Girl Bed" for months now! It was a rough transition at first, but after a month or so of method testing, Alaina started sleeping through naptimes and bedtimes in her very own big girl bed. Adding the rail helped tremendously.


I'm so proud of my sleeping beauty :)


#9: Movie Nights

For months now, we have been having family movie nights. Alaina's movie attention span is tremendous, so this is a family tradition that we all enjoy. After dinner and a bath, Alaina puts on some comfortable jammies and sets herself up on the couch. She sometimes brings blankey bear or her blanket or Simba to the movie party. Sometimes books are allowed to join. She requests snacks - usually grapes, pretzels and/or teddy grahams, and we ALWAYS have to cut her off. This girl is a snacker by nature! Alaina gets to choose the movie, and the latest favorites are Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, Ice Age, Finding Nemo, Princess and the Frog and Tangled.


#10: Alaina's Yankee Accent

Last, but not least, I should probably mention that somehow, someway Alaina has developed a bit of a yankee accent. How in the world did this happen? Nothing against yankees, but there ain't a yankee in our families, so you can imagine why we are puzzled. Song has turned to "swong"...God has turned to "Gwod"...so on and so forth. Funny girl ;)