Busy Living

It's been a while.

We've been busy.
Living life.  Enjoying life.

Tough things, happy things...so much has happened in the last month and a half, but I have quite honestly been overwhelmed by knowing that I could never recount it all.  Most days I have to make a choice - live the moments, or worry about trying to document them.  And for now at least, I choose the former.

This is no new struggle for me - the constant battle between what I want to do, what I should do, and what I need to do.  Case in point: I started this post last Thursday night and got as far as uploading the pictures.  I worked on the text last night from midnight-1am, but still wasn't finished and ready to post. I sat down today to finish it (around 4pm) and at approximately 4:03 Mark called down the hallway, "Hey - do you want to go for a walk with us while Turner rides her bike?  Are you busy?"  Of course, because updating the blog is on my to-do list I was tempted to say I'd stay home.  But because it's important that live every moment with my precious family to the fullest...I went for the walk.  Fast forward through dinner, bath, cleaning the kitchen, picking up toys, exercising, showering, and  here I am at 12:23am finally putting the finishing touches on this post.

I wish I could say that I always make the "right" choice when I have 10 minutes to spare...sometimes I do and I devote my full attention to Chutes and Ladders, Memory, or doing a puzzle.  Sometimes I don't.  And the incredible irony is that either way, I feel guilty.  Guilty and frustrated for not accomplishing the things on my list in a timely manner...guilty if I don't spend every spare moment soaking up Turner at this age.  Most nights I choose exercise at 1030 over blogging (or reading blogs for that matter), so for those of you who have begged for an update, I am sorry.  For the foreseeable future, that's going to be the status quo around here I am afraid. 

I have taken a few pictures that will provide a glimpse into life at our house lately...

In mid-January we bid farewell to Mark's 1997 Honda Accord

And now my hubby styles around town in a sweet new Hyundai Sonata.  We love this car!

The day we went to pick up the new car, I came home from school to this.  What was previously a wooded lot behind our house...wooded no more.  For the moment we are up close and personal with neighbors and construction crews anytime we go in our backyard.  I thought I might cry when they cleared it...I was spoiled to the privacy for sure.  For the next house I guess.  Now, if they'll just get with the program and realize that their hammering before 8am on Saturdays is really disrupting my sleeping late...

One evening, Mark came to find me in the kitchen and said, "You are going to be mad...but don't.  Just come back here and look at something."  This picture is what I saw, sans my non-clothed daughter sitting in the middle of the pile of clothes. 

You see, Mark had told her to go to her room to change back into a particular shirt and pants that he had put on her dresser earlier.  He didn't know I had moved those particular clothes, so he had given her specific instructions on what items to look for.  When the blue shirt and black pants weren't where Mark said they'd be, she emptied every dresser drawer one piece of clothing at a time.  Mark found her kneeling in the clothes, (unclothed), saying, "Nope...that's not it" and tossing the piece of clothing into the air over her shoulder.  All we could do was laugh!

This time of year we watch a lot of basketball at our house.  While Turner actually enjoys watching all the sports that normally occupy our TV screen, I honestly think she enjoys basketball the most (which makes Mark almost burst with excitement).  Every game, no matter if we have a specific interest, "Daddy, who's the white team?  Are you cheering for the white team or the blue team?  Mommy, who are you cheering for?"  And she makes her decision of who to cheer for based on either color, or which parent she wants to side with at that moment.  Last week, as we were making dinner Mark had the computer sitting on the counter as he was watching the Bulldog basketball team.  Turner said she couldn't see....so she pulled her art stool across the kitchen and parked herself in front of the computer to watch the game.  Check out her little hand  and how it's placed so strongly on the counter - oh the intensity!  :) 

And, though it's not a great picture, I've had a chance to work on some applique projects and pants for Turner during the winter months.  This outfit is one of my favorite projects - bought the shirt at wal-mart, made the pants and appliqued a T to match, made the bow - probably all told about 1.5 hours of time and maybe $12? 

I had grand plans for Valentine's Day crafts and goodies - I always find cute ideas, print instructions, and sometimes even get materials.  And lots of times, life just gets in the way and the good intentions remain good intentions.  It frustrates me to no end...  However, I was happy with the way these treats turned out that we shared with Turner's friends at Mrs. Rhonda's house.  Rice Krispy treats cut with a heart cutter - easy, yummy, and cute!

And this girl...this girl is just a trip!  Astros baseball cap and a princess dress - indicative of her easy going personality and her dual loves of princesses and sports. 

She loves anything related to art, especially painting and watercolors.  She also loves to sing and dance, and is giving us a weekly preview of the dances she's learning for her upcoming dance recital.

Her vocabulary continues to amaze me and she totally cracks us up by using words phrases like "That is fantaculous!" or "Mommy, are you losing your mind?"  She's definitely a three-year-old as far as the development of her of  independence and the testing of her boundaries. She makes me laugh out loud countless times every day, yet sometimes the magnitude of parenting Turner and aiming to parent with balance and excellence makes me overwhelmed to the point of tears.  The joys of parenthood, right?

As BB and Matt's wedding is quickly approaching, we are in a season of wedding parties and showers in their honor.  Last weekend we helped host a wonderful fiesta party in Birmingham, which allowed us to finally put faces with names of so many of their friends and colleagues. 

Do you think Pop loves these two girls??!!  He's on crutches due to foot surgery two days before the party, but he was a trooper and made the trip anyway!

Can you tell that these two men are wired alike? There's just such excitement on their faces as they wait for the party to begin - I think they had been sitting there for several minutes and I am not sure that many words had been spoken.

Turner had a ball at the party, but especially loved the cheese dip.

And of course there were presents...

...which Turner of course had to help distribute and open...

The happy couple!

Ok, my eyes are starting to cross and I keep catching myself cat-napping as I type.  Sometimes that makes for interesting word combinations, so I'll just call it a night.  :)