Back To School - August 19

First day back. Summer is over. I have a 13 year old 8th grader and an 11 year old 6th grader. Been a few years since they were in the same school. Same carpool line. Emma is very excited about her little brother being at school with her. He's pretty excited to be there, too!

NOTE: He just walked in my room with his new Alabama dry fit shirt, Alabama basketball shorts and new under shorts. He can't wear ANY of that to school tomorrow!

Dress code is a lot more strict at the middle school. They have to wear a belt every single day. He has worn a belt or pants that need a belt a total of 8 times in his life. He'll be fine, but it's going to be a big adjustment! Emma will wear her cheer uniform tomorrow. She has to be there at 7:15 am to get ready for the pep rally. She always looks so cute and I'm so proud of her! It's going to be early.....for sure. They will be excited, though. It's Tuesday I'm worried about! Hopefully, they can get in bed early on Monday night.

Emma just walked in for me to help her iron her shirt. While we are waiting on the iron to heat up she says we have to leave at 7:05 in the morning. Then she asks if I will drop her off first or John Connor. Ummmmmmmmm.......You go to the SAME SCHOOL! She was like. oh. yeah. I guess we can leave at 7:10. (giggle)

And now on to memory lane......so many pictures to choose from. Be still my heart!

5 year old birthday party. Cheer theme. We had Hoover cheerleaders there for inspiration. I have a feeling Emma may be doing that for a couple of little friends soon! 

Here she is helping the 2nd graders with their dance before the season starts!

2004

 First day of Kindergarten.....seriously? Oh my heart!

 2007

 He couldn't wait to ride the bus. He'd been watching Emma go for 3 years. It was finally his turn!

Will go for either of these next two shots in the morning. I have a feeling we will be running late and no one will pose for pictures!

Home Run Hero

I had a moment last night. I guess all Mom's do and often, right?  We were at John Connor's baseball game. We got there early, so it was a long night on the bleachers. The first inning had us biting our nails. It was 2 all. We got up to bat again and our team went through the lineup almost twice. Whole new, boring game. The games usually make it to 4 innings. The time limit is an hour and 40 minutes or 10 run mercy rule at the end of the 4th. There were 15 minutes left and we were winning 12-14. Two runs or 15 minutes...which ever came first, it would be over. We had the family there! Even Grayson came to watch. He's our studly 8th grade baseball player-cousin from Trussville. They beat Oak Mountain in the area tournament on Monday night. It was their first year to play at the middle school level. Last year they didn't have a team. Let's be honest,  he was a little bored and ready to go.

Earlier that day, John Connor had been begging for a new bat. Everyone has been using "white lightning" and it was the rockstar bat. He didn't necessarily want that one (i'm sure he did). He wanted one immediately and you have to order that one. We went to Academy. He was spending his money from his birthday. I don't have a clue about bats. I didn't see one that was his size and he really didn't want any of them. We left with no bat.

Back to the game. We had a runner on 3rd. John Connor just needed a hit to get him to home. He was using his old bat. Hayden was pitching like a machine. They were fast! It was 2 balls 2 strikes. You have to swing if you get anything. He did. It was solid and went straight over the first baseman's head out to the fence! He was running so fast and we were all screaming! He was going for it. He ran around 3rd without even checking up!! He slid right into home plate and we were on our feet, throwing high 5's all around!! The umpire looked to the crowd and yelled, "Game over!". I had to control the tears. My heart was so full.

I'm so proud of him. He was so proud. Even Emma was proud! She wanted her picture made with him. LOVE these moments. So worth documenting. I think I'm still floating!

It Snowed in Alabama!

I am humbled by the beauty of this house everyday. 

I couldn't wait for the kids to get out of school. I sat in the den watching the snow fall, waiting on the schools to say they were getting out early. I never got the call. I made an executive decision to go get them at 2:30. Wouldn't you know, it quit snowing. After we went home to get warm clothes, we headed over to John Connor's best friend, Reynold's house. He has a hill! On the way over, we noticed the snow was melting minute by minute. The sun was actually peeking through the clouds! We haven't seen the sun in a week!!! There was a little stress that we had missed it. 

As you can see, it wasn't a lot of snow, but it was enough to play in, make snowballs and have fun!

 Someone is going to be in trouble with that snowball!

 Sorry, Marie! WATCH OUT!!

She can handle those boys!

I love that girl's smile! Isn't it electric?

 These two are always laughing!

So thankful for best friends and snow days! 

Instagram Photo Challenge

I'm working on Fatmumslim's Photo a day challenge on Instagram. If you aren't familiar with Instagram, it's an app you can get on your phone. It adds effects to those photos. It's gaining in popularity daily. Many compare it to Twitter because it's like telling people what you are doing at that moment.....just in pictures and not just 140 characters. Lots of businesses have started using Instagram. We all love photos and there isn't a better way to share!

It's by far my favorite social media outlet right now. I love to see small details of my kids, friends and cool photographers. I think it keeps me thinking creatively when taking pictures. I love to get involved in challenges like #fmsphotoaday. See that? That's a hashtag. Chantelle has created this hashtag so that everyone involved in the challenge can tag their photos and we can all enjoy them. If I'm struggling with the days prompt, I will search that hashtag and am always inspired to create my photo for the challenge.

If you have a twitter account you should consider making your instagram name the same. That way others can tag you and it will show up in your twitter feed, as well as your notifications on instagram. Mine is lucysinspired.  I guess it's obvious that I use that name everywhere! I tried to think of a clever name for my blog/twitter/instagram, etc. I finally decided why change? Use what you have. All of it, everything I post is about what inspires me.

I always take the photo with the camera and then open it in the instagram app. That way, I'm not pressured into deciding what effect I want to use. I can also take pictures throughout the day and then pick which ones I want to upload to instagram.

Of course, you can start anytime! Just pick up on the 15th. Or you can go back to the beginning and start there. It's a fun challenge. You just take pictures and can be as creative as you like! 

Here is the day by day for October:

If you are on Instagram, look me up @lucysinspired. 

Emma and John Connor have Instagram accounts and a very fun photo feed. John Connor's silliness @thespazz_jc and

 Emma's creativity @emmafarmerrr

its a ruff start so far!

Yes, we are moved in. Are we unpacked? NO!!

That's not entirely true. 90% of the boxes are unpacked. My closet is still a disaster and I have to dry my hair in the middle of the room. I know...not the end of the world!

I have lots of photos hung on the walls thanks to Laura and Brandy! They came over and we knocked it out!!

The first night we were all in, John Connor had to do a poster for Star Student. It was a bit difficult with all the crafty supplies boxed up and out in the barn. (they are all still out there, too!) We made it work. Printed pictures on the handy Epson 4x6 printer. I love that little thing! It's so convenient! He even added a hand drawn friend...I think he named him Harold. He's a funny kid!

Monday morning, Jazzy followed me down the street. Tuesday she jumped in the car as we were leaving. She's so confused! She is needing lots of extra attention this week.

It took me until yesterday to find out what buses the kids ride. We've been doing the afternoon car rider line. My kids love to be picked up! They enjoy their friends on the bus, just not riding it. Emma only has to ride a couple of days. It hasn't been too bad. Until today! It took about 20 minutes at Emma's school. Thankfully, a sweet friend, Emi, took John Connor home!

We are still looking like the Clampett's live here. It will all get put away eventually! For now, I'm going shopping. I HAVE to cover a couple of windows!

Socially Acceptable

Jumping on the bandwagon. It's fun at first. I'm always a bandwagon NFL fan. I love the winning team. That one and which ever one Tom Brady is on. He's so cute, right? Mark Sanchez is easy on the eyes, too. That's not what this post is about..how did I get there? I'm about to be 40...Is it the cougar coming out of me? please laugh here....

So, jumping on the bandwagon. 3 years ago, I was trying not to get on the Facebook bandwagon. Seriously, I was on Twitter before that and I didn't even know what it was!! I thought Facebook was that silly place that my little sister would go to check up on her ex-boyfriend. (sorry N, if you are reading this! xo) Really, it was just something the college kids were doing. I had a few friends jumping on and they were having a little fun with it. Talking to high school friends...really? did I want to go there? Don't get me wrong, I love my high school and the friends from there, but all the drama that was from high school. I guess I expected it to be on Facebook!! Well, I was right about that part.....and not the high school friends!!

It is my life now. I am on Facebook for hours a day. I don't play games, I don't stalk people (wink) and I don't update my status every 5 seconds. If I have to pee, you don't have to know it. It's my network. It's how I find out who won the game, that a tornado touched down, that LSU 's busses can't leave the hotel because someone painted a 50 yard line in front of it! That's hilarious, you have to admit! I also make new friends and find old ones. I find people that live within 10 miles of me that I have SO much in common with. We pull together and do things to help each other. It's how I keep up with EVERYONE! If someone has a baby, I check Facebook to find out when. It's life events, the world around us and right next door. Someone will say, "I don't have time for it.". Ok, neither do I. I make time for it. I want to know how my friends are and seriously, there is a contest, I can win a new pair of jeans!! I did! On FACEBOOK! I got them and yes, they fit PERFECTLY! It's like the yellow pages with a friends recommendation. You need something? Ask for it on Facebook. You will find it!

I do a lot more with this social network, too. I help businesses find more customers. over 800 million people are on Facebook all over the world. It's the best marketing tool you can have. You have to utilize it in a way that benefits your business. There are no HARD-CORE numbers that prove the ROI, but when someone walks in your store almost every day and says, "you have a great Facebook page", it makes sense. You may even be lucky to have someone make a purchase and say, "The only reason I even came here was from your Facebook page." They probably won't, but you can't NOT be on there!

There are other social platforms out there. They may not all work for you. I love Pinterest and blogging. They fit with most of my clients. I am still learning everyday. I did get a likeable book today. It's all about social media and how it works. Not sure why I need that, but I'm sure I will get something out of it. If I do, I will share it with you. It is the reason I decided to write this post! 

BTW, I am still trying to take a photo a day. I've missed a few. I decided not to post here because after the 2nd day someone unsubscribed. It hurt my feelings and I stopped doing something for them. I guess that was the wrong decision. Maybe I will bring it back...or you can just keep up on my Facebook page!

One more thing.....Roll Tide! Congrats on the National Championship!

Pre-game with John Connor

 Post game with Emma!

January 1, 2012

I got a new camera for Christmas. The Nikon 1. It's so adorable! I got the white one. Yes, it's the Ashton Kutcher camera. Is that the reason I bought it, maybe? It's fun and easy to carry with me. Right now I have a tiny purse. The camera won't fit inside. That's kinda against the point of buying it....oh well (wink)! John Connor is sitting beside me on the couch. Glad to have them home from my Mom's. They always have the best time hanging out with Mimi and Ruru. Our cousins, Cooper and Libby were there, too. I snapped this photo. I'm going to try.....photo of the day, or something close to it!

It's a new year. A new beginning. Connor was sitting out by the pool Friday night. He said he was reflecting on the day....it was a bad one. I told him to reflect on the year. Last year at this time, things were not so great. It really picked up at the end of 2011. I'm hoping that's a good sign for 2012. He has a lot of great things to reflect on! We are so blessed. We started this new year off by going to church with his Grandmother, Momba. She has cancer and has been feeling well for a few days. She wanted everyone to join her this morning. That was a huge blessing. We were so glad to be there. So glad to share her joy in her church. So many blessings. I hope you had a great start to the new year. I know it's going to be GREAT!

~Cheers to 2012~

Oh Angel Tree, Oh Angel Tree

 

That's Papaw...he came to John Connor's choir performance....which has nothing to do with the following story! 

John Connor had a project at school. It was voluntary. I think about 60% of his class participated. They divided the kids into groups of 4 or 5 and gave them each an Angel from the Angel Tree. They all had to do chores at home for the money to buy for the Angel.

He asked every day what he could do. He helped his Dad in the yard one day, did the dishes, swept (kinda), cleaned the fishbowl (he usually does this without having to be paid), he helped me decorate the Christmas tree (you would think that wouldn't be a chore....believe me, it is!)

The parents were all invited to the class today for a Holiday Tea. Each group did a power point on what chores they did at home, what they bought their angel and why they enjoyed the project. They even came up with the words to a song they sang....usually to a Christmas tune.

John Connor's group was hilarious! At first, no one really wanted to talk and by the end, they were all talking over each other!! Then came the song......John Connor said that he wasn't going to sing.....then ended up being the only one to sing......the whole time! He was so off key and grinning the whole time! I was such a proud mama and he was loving every minute of it!! Such an entertainer!

It's hard to post when it's not perfect.

Do you feel that way? I need to change the picture on the top of my blog. That's why I haven't blogged this year. It's only been 4 days, but hey, it's 4 days of 2011 that I haven't shared anything with you!! So, instead of worrying about what my header looks like, I decided to post something. Even if it's nonsense!

This was our Holiday photo card for 2010. I had a sweet little pic of my littles faces on the back. Ashley Warren took this photo at a fabulous warehouse downtown. I loved so many of the pictures. I think I will have to buy a photo book of about 20 of them!!

 
My 2011 OLW is Commit. I already feel like I've not committed to certain things. I haven't committed to blogging for one. I was a little worried about my workout routine, but I've got that under control...whew! I am going to commit to my tennis game. I have been stuck at the same level since my second year of playing. I think it's been 5 years now! That's too long to be a 3.0. I thought I was going to get bumped up to a 3.5 level this year. Didn't happen. Probably because I was waiting on it, instead of committing to it!! I totally want a pair of those Nike ID shoes that say COMMIT on the back of them. You know, like Melanie Oudin? She is the cutest USA tennis player!

side note: do you LOVE the "Roll Tide" commercial? It's totally an ESPN commercial and I'm watching football right now. Even if I weren't an Alabama fan, I think I would LOVE it! I never say "roll tide" unless I'm at a football game and they make a first down. I do love to hear it and love the tradition of it all!

Ok, back to commit. Maybe I should commit to saying Roll Tide more often? haha! not going to happen..... A couple of other things I need to commit to are my kids. Just little things like, homework with John Connor. He hates it and I need to commit to figuring out how to make it better for him. I need to commit to be a good role model for Emma....she watches EVERY single move I make! She wants new jeans....just like mine. She said mine aren't baggy like hers.....uh, hey cute, little, skinny girl! that's because I could stand to lose a few...or buy a bigger size! ugh You get it, just make sure I am the person I want her to be.....

While I'm at it, I will commit to a few things that are so easy. I commit to eating chocolate as often as I can! I commit to going to the beach at least once a month and more during warmer months! I commit to having fun!