All sorts of milestones up in here!!

As you may know, I love my Honda Odyssey. LOVE IT! Brad's been trying to talk me into getting a new car for a little while now and I don't even want a new car... the Odyssey is the bomb. Totally. And yes, I am aware that it is a mini-van :)

So, on Wednesday my van became old. 100,000 mile old. All at once it just happened. Don't get me wrong - I knew that it was coming. I grabbed the camera as I was going to have lunch with Brad because I knew that it was only 7 miles away.  Here's the spot where it happened:

And here's the proof:
The van and I have been through a lot. We didn't mean to get a van. We just went to get the carseat installed in the 4 door civic (silver, of course) and when we went to drive away we realized that Brad could no longer drive with the rear-facing seat installed :) The problem? I was due to deliver in just a week. Someone had to drive me and the baby home from the hospital! So, we found ourselves at the Honda dealer and the next thing I knew, we had a new van!  The van went with me to Pensacola and was with me as I learned my way around (just me, Bennett, and the van). The van drove from Bham to Pcola and back and forth (and back and forth over and over) (many times, Bennett was screaming and I was trying to prop a bottle just to get to our destination...oh and the rigged up DVD player singing Baby Bach and Beethoven) The van had a driveway custom made for it in Pensacola. It had hail damage (in the first month we had it!). It's taken us to Atlanta, Brewton, Nashville, Gulf Shores, Sandestin and places in between. I cried in the van when I dropped Bennett off for his first day at Mother's Day Out and again when I cried when I dropped him off at kindergarten. Anyway, happy 100,000 miles van - you've been with me for a lot!! Do you have another 100,000 miles in ya? 

Ok, so the other milestone? Bennett lost his first tooth today!! It's been loose for about a month and just in the past day or so it has been reeeaaaallllyyyy loose. Brad tried to pull it last night - and I was so relieved that I wasn't going to have to do it! Well, it didn't work and they gave up. So, this morning, Bennett crawled into bed with me and said 'Mommy, can you pull my tooth?' Something came over me, and I said 'Sure. I'll try.' WHAT? Did I just say that? I don't want to pull a tooth!! Agh!

So, I grabbed a tissue, gripped the tooth, pulled once, twice, POP!. Out it came. We were both so surprised! Right away he called Nana and Daddy to share the good news! He looked in the mirror and said 'I think I've lost 2 teeth! One on the top and one on the bottom!' Nope, just one on the bottom :) The gap on the top, I explained, is perfect for spacing for his new teeth that are coming :) Here he is:
So, the tooth fairy is on her way. The tooth is in the pillow and the water is waiting for her to walk across so we can see what color she is. (WHO THOUGHT OF THIS!???!?!?) Look at him... (He's still my baby!!)
(Yes, he's really asleep! He's such a sound sleeper!)

Oh, and one last thing... He can read! WHAT?? Level H. I'd been asking him what level he was reading on (I'd seen a few girls in his class come in the library and get book packs). He was never sure - maybe A. Maybe B. He'd read several things to us, and we were shocked at what he could do... anyway, he brought home his first book pack on Thursday - Level H. And, he corrected me when I pronounced 'gladiatorial' improperly the other night...

He'll always be my baby :)

I just love a happy ending

Happy endings. They really are the best, aren't they? Today, while I was crammed into a movie theater with Bennett and his friend Hughes, I heard Hughes whisper to Bennett 'I just love happy endings'. I had to smile. The movie didn't go as planned... I hadn't planned on a sold-out show at noon. I hadn't planned on waiting in line for 10 minutes. I hadn't planned on going into the theater just as the lights went down. I hadn't planned on not being able to find our friends (who were saving us seats!!). I hadn't planned on the boys semi-freaking out in the darkness. I hadn't planned on sitting in the far right corner of the theater in front of (and behind) a bunch of loud-whisperers (just as an aside- if you are going to whisper, do it softly. Don't whisper loudly - that defeats the whole purpose. If you want to yell at your kid, do it. Don't whisper loudly. It's just not right).

Anyway, I didn't plan on a lot of things at the movies today. But, it was a cute movie. The boys loved it. We did reunite with Hughes' mom and sister (missed getting to talk to Laci and Sydney :( And I got to hear the boys laughing and loving the movie. Happy endings all around :)

A few years ago, that sort of 'this-is-not-how-I-planned-it' event would have been the undoing of me. I would have fretted over finding our friends. I would have been stressed about sitting somewhere other than in the seats that were being saved. I would have wondered how in the world I would find our friends in that sea of people when the movie was over. I would have wondered how I could possibly escape that theater with both boys still in-tow (and not lost in the sea of little people that was milling around aimlessly). Instead, I just found some seats. We settled in and we enjoyed. The boys didn't freak. I didn't either. Ah. What a nice change. 

I wonder how many 'happy endings' I missed out on because I was so uptight, controlling, and worried all the time. Not to say that I'm not still those things at times. I am. I know, you can't believe it, can you? :) But I am better, at least. It's been a long process and I am thankful that God has helped me learn to release that need-to-control and just enjoy things. I missed out on a lot with Bennett when he was little. Not anymore. Thank goodness Bennett (and Brad and everyone else!!) doesn't hold it against me. Another happy ending :)

edited to add: PS The movie was Hotel for Dogs :)

more proof that I am cooler than you thought

Ok, just straight to the point. Hugh Hefner is a scrapbooker. No kidding. I was in my scrap room, trying to find the bottom of my desk so that I could actually get some work done, and the TV just happened to find its way to 'The Girls Next Door' on E!.  The girls and Hugh were reminiscing, and they mentioned Hugh's scrapbooks. The man really does scrapbook. He said something like 'Scrapbooking is popular now, but I've been doing it for a long time'.  He has a whole room with shelves and shelves of books. Of course, the books detail all of the girls he's 'known', but still they are scrapbooks all the same.

I'm pretty sure that this is the only thing that I have in common with Hugh. I'm pretty sure that he doesn't shop for supplies with 40% off coupons and that he is totally unaware of the new CHA releases that I can hardly wait to get my hands on. I don't think that he uses 'Thickers' or has ever used a sanding block. 

Oh, and I don't have any pictures of naked women in my scrapbooks. 

I'm just sayin'...

Resolve much?

I've finally dug the family out from under the Christmas decor, gotten Bennett back to school, and gotten back to working out. My DT layouts are at the store, I've had a meeting about Giggles and Grace, and tonight church dinners start back. I'm getting 2009 going, I think.

The time after Christmas is always a really tough time for me. I look so forward to the holidays that when it is over there is a sort of depression that sets in. Strange, I know, but it happens every year. It's been a little better this year, I think. A little :)

Brad, in his normal stir-crazy fashion, started cleaning the basement when I was putting away the decorations. Then, as we got ready for supper club at our house on Saturday, he continued the frenzy upstairs. At one point, I came home to find him vacuuming under the couch! Not sure when that last happened!! Needless to say, there was a lot being sucked up in the ole Dyson... Now, you can not only eat off of the floor under the couch, but you can also walk around in the basement without breaking your neck or losing a shoe!

Ok, so after the house was clean and Brad went back to work, Bennett and I hung out for one last day (by inviting a friend over for Bennett to play with!!) and I got some scrapbooking done (please note - next area up for renovation = scrap room!! I can't even walk in there!!)  I also began to really think about what I want for 2009. I've tried resolutions, and they really don't work well for me. I always try for a while but new habits are hard to form (and old ones are hard to break!!) 

So, with a lot of thinking, and thanks to Ali's 'one word' concept, I'm going with a word for 2009. And that word is 'intentional'. I'm going to be intentional this year.  I tend to waste a lot of time, just fiddly-fartin' around (that's the technical term, in case you were wondering) and I get a lot of nothing done. This has gotten really bad since Bennett has started school. I mean, I get done what I have to, but not too much else... anyone else? Ok, maybe it's just me.

So, here are the things that I intend to be intentional about :)

1. Steeping myself in God's word. I'm going to follow our church's Bible Reading Plan.

2. I'm going to spend more time talking with God.

3. I'm going to be intentional about what I watch on TV.

4. I'm going to be intentional about how much time I spend on the internet...

5. I'm going to be intentional about spending more time at home while Bennett's at home. I want to have one day a week where I stay home (the gym is the only exception...)

6. I'm going to be intentional about my scrapbooking. I'm going to get my room in order and be up there and be creative more.

7. I'm going to be more intentional about my time with Bennett. I'm going to make sure that the time we spend together isn't just in front of the TV or in the car. He's starting to read and he's such an amazing kid. I want to savor every moment that he'll spend with me :)

8. I want to be more intentional with my time with Brad. '08 was a great year for us and I want to make sure that '09 is even better!

9. I want to be intentional about keeping things organized. 

Ok, I wanted to do 10, but 9's all I've got. That's ok, right? 9 for 2009...

Oh, I also give you permission to ask me how I'm doing. I need all the accountability I can get :)