Dr. Mom

I have a new name for my mom: "Dr. Mom" and rightly so. I am so very proud to announce that my very own mama (finally) graduated from Lincoln Memorial University with the following prestigious degree...Doctor of Education in Executive Leadership.
It almost makes my brain rattle!


Dr. Mom has been working her TAIL off for over 2 years for this. I mean nonstop working, working, working. In addition to her full time job and being a new grandma, she has been hitting the books hard. My mom has sacrificed nearly every bit of her free time to study and write and type and research and travel out of town for class and whatever else has been involved in earning this degree. To say she earned it is an understatement!!!


Mother's Day weekend, our immediate family traveled to Tennessee for the glorious graduation ceremony. In attendance was yours truly, Adam, Alaina, Dan, Stevie and of course my dad & the star of the show - Dr. Mom :)


Alaina had her first hotel experience. This wild child nearly killed herself within 5 minutes of getting to our room. She found the perfect reading spot in a chair that backed up to a wall. Thank God it backed up to something because she went tumbling backward in a flash. Thank you, wall, for saving my child.


She disappeared twice while we were unpacking a few things - out the door! She quietly opened the door and escaped into the hallway - twice. Little stinker. I think she fell or almost fell off the bed too within a few minutes. Oh the joys of having a curious, adventurous child. Alaina DID NOT do well on the car ride to/from TN, in case you were wondering. Plenty of stops were made. Whole nother story!


We arrived on a Friday night in Knoxville, the day before mom's graduation. We got to explore the town, and I must say that I loved it! Very diverse and great for people watching. Alaina enjoyed dog watching. Everyone had a dog there it seemed. We spent our night...

...strolling around town...


...eating at a yummy burrito restaurant...


...being serenaded by music...


...and swimming! Alaina could not run to the elevator fast enough.


My ladybug girl :)


Adam took Alaina for a dip in the indoor pool. She was shivering, but she could not get enough of it. I sat on the sidelines and took pictures.




Saturday morning came before we knew it. We drove from Knoxville to Harrogate early Saturday morning. Alaina surprisingly did well throughout the ceremony, partly due to all the arranged distractions and goodies...



Of course the one time she started whining/crying is the exact second when my mom's name was being called. She could not have timed this more perfectly, or imperfectly really. Well, I guess we all were screaming at the mention of the name...Joy Collins Kitchens!


After the ceremony, we ate a southern-style lunch at a historic restaurant. We also had a brief opportunity to take some family photos outside the restaurant. Brief because ALL of our camera batteries decided to die at the same time. Go figure! Poor Adam was left out :(





Dr. Mom, I love you and am so very proud of your hard work, dedication and determination!!!


P.S. NO MORE SCHOOL - EVER - EVER EVER - PROMISE!

Big Girl Potty!!!

WHOA do I have a BIG girl now! Alaina has been knocking my socks off lately with all her big girl tricks and feats. For example, today she climbed up an extra tall, extra steep grass hill at the park - NO HANDS - ALL BY HER BIG GIRL SELF! Way to go, Laina!

As a treat, we stopped by McDonald's on the way home from the park to get our *free* frozen strawberry lemonade. Lucky for Laina, this drink tanked according to both me and Adam, so she got to enjoy this "surprise" all by her big girl self. We filmed a video of her giggling to herself as she drank her "we-mom-mane" or whatever she calls it.


As could be expected, nature called just minutes later as we were heading to the bathtub to hose her down. I ran the water while my naked girl nosed around in the bathroom. She noticed her big girl potty just sitting there, lonely I guess. So without hesitation, she sat her little bottom down and went tinkle!

The proof...YES I took a picture of her pee pee :)

I didn't quite know what was happening until I heard it...THE ROYAL TUNE! This special potty plays an assortment of royal tunes (whatever that is) whenever it detects *substance* of any kind. Alaina was so startled by the music that she jumped from her potty in a panic!


A few drops of pee in the floor was no matter considering the wonderfulness of this grand occasion! Alaina was so proud of herself that she tried and tried and tried to go some more. Her little tummy muscles were working away, but no more could come out. Oh well, she will have plenty more opportunities :)


HOORAY FOR THIS BIG DAY!!

Mother's Day Highlights

Here are the highlights of my Mother's Day this year, along with a few pictures we were able to capture over Mother's Day weekend...

~ Sleeping in...until 7am! ~
Actually, I felt fully rested and was shocked to find myself "sleeping in" until 7 o'clock. I guess the opportunity was good enough for me. My life has forever been changed :)


~ Breakfast in bed ~
Adam was too sweet to me on Mother's Day. When I awoke (at 7am), I smelled the deliciosity of bacon cooking. I received a "generous portion" (as Adam puts it) of bacon, scrambled eggs and wheat toast. Yummmmm.


~ Coffee in peace ~
I rarely get to enjoy my morning coffee in peace, and I'm quite vocal about it. ;) Sometimes it takes me 2+ hours to finish my coffee because of my little bundle of joy. Alaina likes to climb on me or has an endless list of needs that comes before my morning luxury. Well, on this special day, I literally sat in bed with my coffee - just sitting and thinking, enjoying the peace and quiet, for an entire hour. Sweet joy!


~ An afternoon nap ~
Need I say more?


~ Mother's Day Cards ~
Cards of any kind are a favorite of mine. This year, I got 3!!!


~ Dinner at CB ~
The 3 of us dined with Adam's parents at Cracker Barrel. Bonus: I did not sit next to Alaina so I was not on my usual "Alaina duty." But if I had been, she was an angel this time around. Something about Poppy & Rah-Rah puts my girl on her best behavior.


~ Simply enjoying my little girl ~
Adam is good about taking the work out of being a mom on Mother's Day. He changes the diapers, takes care of meals, etc. I just get to sit back and enjoy my sweet girl. It's a special time of reflection for me.


"When you are a mother, you are never really alone in your thoughts. A mother always has to think twice, once for herself and once for her child."
~Sophia Loren

Parker's Party!!

Another Fab5 buddy of Alaina's turned *2* in April - PARKER!! Parker had a farmer-themed party at the lovely Poole's Mill Park in Cumming. Great choice, if you ask me! We sometimes visit Poole's Mill just because it's a great spot to stop and smell the roses :)


The Hull's provided lunch - Publix fried chicken with all the fixins' - another great choice! Let's not forget the delicious cake.




Some of the kids got a particular thrill out of the cooler containing the cold drinks and more specifically ICE!



It was a hot day ya'll.


Many of Alaina's "fends" were there. The girls - Alaina, Aislynn & Emma Grace :)



Happily swinging with Aislynn...



Parker decided he wanted to take a stroll with our stroller, my purse and Alaina's diaper bag all intact.


Somehow Parker ended up with Alaina's sunglasses too.


Hey, the birthday boy gets what he wants!!


And lastly, I will include this picture because it is random and it is funny. Maybe only to me, but funny nonetheless. As we were walking to our car, Kim & Aislynn joined us. In this moment, doesn't it look like Adam & Kim are the happy parents of twins?? HA!


HAPPY 2ND BIRTHDAY, PRECIOUS PARKER!!