Kids say the darnest things

Today, after work I picked up Carley and told her we need to run an errand on the way home. I told her we needed to get some groceries at the store. When she saw Walmart, my chatty little two year old said, "Wow, Walmart! How wonderful! It is beautiful!" I started laughing because I have never heard her say wonderful or beautiful before. Then we got out of the car and she started repeating those three little exclamations over and over again. I guess I am raising a true Walmart fan and I guess Walmart is wonderful and beautiful. Who knew?

Signing Time

"There's singing time, and dancing time, and laughing time, and playing time, and now it is our favorite time, Signing Time."

If you have kids, and you do not currently watch Signing Time, you need to do so. I am so serious! Signing Time is a TV show that airs once a week on PBS. (In Lubbock it is on Sunday mornings at 8:30) This show is so good. It is hosted by Rachel, her daughter Leah (who is deaf), and her nephew, Alex. Rachel and her family write all the songs and come up with the most creative ways to teach letters, numbers, and words. Carley LOVES this show. It is her favorite. It it totally educational. Cody and I are hooked on it too. Not only have we both learned lots of signs and songs, but Carley has also learned lots of concepts (seasons, colors, rooms in the house) too. Alyssa and I learned sign language when we were in the 5th grade at our elementary school. Then Alyssa went on to take some college courses for her Speech Path major. It is a neat and fun language to know about and to share with others. Cody loves it now too. Even my dad came over and watched it one afternoon and was enthralled and started practicing. It is a very family friendly 25 minutes on TV.

When I first heard about it, it was from Cody's sister-in-law. She said it was the only show that all of her kids liked. (She had 4 kids at the time). I was doubtful until I watched it. We are all believers now.

If you or your kids watch Singing Time, please back me up here. You know you watch it and you know you love it. Give Singing Time a try and let me know what you think!

Happy Late Valentines

I know it has been awhile since Valentine's, but we have just been having lots of family time lately and I haven't blogged about it. Cody and I have had the same tradition for years and I love it. We both take an afternoon off work (usually it is actually Valentine's Day, but this year it was the 13th) . We always go to lunch at Harrigan's, which is where we got engaged, and then go to a movie. We went and saw the Bucket List. It is very good. I really enjoyed it. Cody did too. We love our lunch date because the crowds are small, the movies are cheap, and Carley is at child care anyway. I highly recommend getting away during the day together. The conversation seems so much better too.

Carley had a cute Valentine's party at Granny's with her little friends. She really got into it, which was funny. The best part of all was the present she gave us. For a long time she has been saying "I love you" kind of smooshed together like "Ilauuu". It has been precious. When I picked her up on Valentine's she came running up and said, "I LOVE YOU, MOMMY!" It was so clear and the words had a huge space in between them. Granny had worked with her all day on it. It was so sweet.

I forgot to post some of my favorite pictures of my sister's visit last week.


I love to put the girl's hair in pig tails when they are here. It always cracks me up. Here they are in their Strawberry Shortcake outfits. Thanks, Nana


Here is my little buddy, Camryn. How cute is she?


This is Carley's best friend at Granny's. Her name is Abbi and she is just the sweetest girl. Carley is 6 months older than Abbi and she keeps Abbi hopping all day long. They dressed alike for Valentine's Day.



Carley got a diaper bag and a kick gym for her baby dolls that matches the stroller and bed she got from Santa for Christmas.


Finally, here is my drama daughter posing and telling the paparazzi to keep their distance.

Who Pimped My Blog?

The answer is Melody M. Her link is on the right side of my page. Thanks, Melo! I love it! Contact her if you would like her to jazz up your blog as well!

catching up

First of all, thanks for the 31 comments last time and votes of encouragement on the hair. So far it has been a success. You blogger girls are always there for me.

My sister and her girls were in town this weekend. We had so much fun being together. We shopped, went and saw Fool's Gold, and ate some good food. It is always so fun to be around my sister and her girls. Poor little Camryn ended up with a high fever and an ear infection. She was still a trooper though. Carley is missing her cousins so much.

The writer's strike seems to be over so I am very excited about the prospects of some new TV shows. Thank goodness I have had Lost and Friday Night Lights to keep me going.

Finally, I will close with a sweet Carley moment. She loves to play with her sweet little baby dolls. I came into the kitchen the other day and she had made a make shift high chair for her baby Ariel and was feeding her "applesauce". Sometimes she is so creative and inventive. I just love watching her grow and change.

I'm not a girl.....not yet a woman

The famous poet Brittany Spears sang this lovely ballad years ago when I felt more like a girl. Lately I have been wanting to look and feel different. I am not 22 anymore, but I don't want to feel like I am 42 either. In December, I deemed 2008 the "year of the accessory" and my family helped by buying me lots of fun and cute jewelry for Christmas. This started my journey into trying to look and feel more trendy, when really, I am not trendy at all.

Yesterday I woke up and decided it was time for a new hairstyle so I called a girl that had cut a friend's hair and got my hair all cut off. I have not had layers this short since birth. We will see how it goes. I was able to somewhat style it this morning. Here I am about to go to work. I am very nervous to debut my new look. Wish me luck.

Happy 30th Jessica!

We celebrated Jessica's 30th birthday tonight. Jessica is one of my dearest friends. She was a bridesmaid in my wedding and she is part of Cody's (honorary) family. She always says we are more than family and more than friends. I love this girl and her sweet and caring heart!

Here are pictures of Cody's family as well. I have talked about the Spanns so much, that I thought I would post some pictures!

The first one is me and Jessica
Then you have Faith (Jessica and Aaron's daughter) and Carley
Below is Cody with Oleta who he calls mom
Then Aaron (Cody's oldest brother), Jessica, and their son Alex.
And Cody with his arm around Tim (the best friend that let us be their family)









Below them is Jason (the youngest Spann brother) and their son Kooper.
The next one is Brindy (Jason's wife) and their sweet new baby Peytonn Claire. Can you believe this is their 5th child??
Then Tim and his girlfriend Mandie with 3 of Jason's kids, Kooper, Peytonn, and Jaycie.
The picture with the 4 adults are Cody's uncle and aunt and then Frank and Oleta.
Cody and Carley had so much fun playing. Here is Carley cheating at Skiball and Air Hockey!