Socks with Sandals? Is this allowed?

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If you're the mom of a 3-year old, are 6 months pregnant again, and you're almost 2-year old insists on wearing socks and these sandals (and nothing else will do), then yes in my book it is allowed!!!!

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Happy Labor Day!

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Labor Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the first Monday in September. The holiday originated in 1882 as the Central Labor Union (of New York City) sought to create "a day off for the working citizens".

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Congress made Labor Day a federal holiday in 1894.[1] All fifty states have made Labor Day a state holiday.

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Traditionally, Labor Day is celebrated by most Americans as the symbolic end of the summer.
Labor Day has been celebrated on the first Monday in September in the United States since the 1880s. The form for the celebration of Labor Day was outlined in the first proposal of the holiday—a street parade to exhibit to the public "the strength and esprit de corps of the trade and labor organizations," followed by a festival for the workers and their families. This became the pattern for Labor Day celebrations. Speeches by prominent men and women were introduced later, as more emphasis was placed upon the economic and civil significance of the holiday. Still later, by a resolution of the American Federation of Labor convention of 1909, the Sunday preceding Labor Day was adopted as Labor Sunday and dedicated to the spiritual and educational aspects of the labor movement.

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Today, Labor Day is often regarded as a day of rest and compared to the May 1 Labour Day celebrations in most countries, parades, speeches or political demonstrations are more low-key, although especially in election years, events held by labor organizations often feature political themes and appearances by candidates for office. Forms of celebration include picnics, barbecues, fireworks displays, water sports, and public art events. Families with school-age children take it as the last chance to travel before the end of summer. Some teenagers and young adults view it as the last weekend for parties before returning to school. However, as of late, schools have begun well before Labor Day, as early as July 24th in many urban districts, including major southern cities in the United States such as Atlanta, Miami, and Los Angeles. In addition, Labor Day marks the beginning of the season for the National Football League and NCAA College Football. The NCAA usually plays their first games the weekend of Labor day, with the NFL traditionally playing their first game the Thursday following Labor Day.

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Information copied directly from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Labor_Day

ROLL TIDE!!

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Alabama is off to a great start for the 2008 College Football season with a 34-10 victory over Clemson!

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ROLL TIDE!

Laying in Mommy and Daddy's Bed...

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I am not a night person - I am ready for bed almost as soon as I get home from work. This, however, is not an option! But seriously - Brooklyn goes to bed around 8 pm every night and we start the process with Bella after we put Brooklyn in her crib. Last Sunday night they did not want to go to bed so they decided they wanted to lay in Mommy's bed with Mommy - "just for few minutes", according to Bella!

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The Girls

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Just a quick picture before we left for school one day!

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Last Weekend

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Brannon works all day Saturdays, so it is just the girls! The girls are up early (usually before 6am) on Saturdays...so I cleaned the house and got the laundry started - all before 8 am! Nana had called and the girls were going to spend the day with her. So...I got them dressed and we headed out the door. We stopped for a biscuit at a local place that is sort of on the way. On the way from there to Nana's my truck stopped - in the middle of the road in the middle of nowhere! I didn't even know the name of the road I was on! As it turns out - we were only about a 5 minute drive from Nana's house. So she came and got us and Pop's brother-in-law and son came and pulled the truck out of the road to a little parking lot (I use the term loosely)! Brannon was already on his way. Turns out my transmission line had become disconnected! We knew it was the transmission (1) because the truck didn't die - it just wouldn't move and (2) we knew we had a leak and (3) we could see the line of transmission fluid on the road!

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Turns out it was an easy fix and Pop had it fixed before we even got back there on Sunday to pick up the girls from their sleep over!

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Things I swore I'd never do as a parent....

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You know the old saying you're a perfect parent until you become one...(well or something like that anyway)! Before I had kids, there were things I swore I'd never do...
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Before I was a parent:
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I swore I'd never have a child sleeping in my bed.
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I swore I'd never lay down with my child just so he/she could fall asleep and then sneak out once they were asleep.
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I swore I'd never threaten my kid with time out (you know - "do you want to go to timeout? if you keep that up then you'll be in timeout") and then not follow through with it.
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I swore I wouldn't cook more than one meal a night - if the child is hungry enough, then he/she will eat what is cooked.
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Now that I am a parent:
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Bella slept in our bed for almost 6 months before finally returning to her big girl bed. She still occassionally ends up in our bed at night.
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Bella wants to sleep in her bed but she likes me to lay down with her until she falls asleep and I do so! I can't help it - the snuggle time is priceless.
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I find myself always asking them "do you want to go to timeout" - but don't always follow through with it.
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I find myself trying to cook what I know Bella will eat (Brooklyn will eat anything!). For instance, I cooked Santa Fe soup the other night and Bella even helped me cook it and said she was going to try it - but then she insisted she wanted Noodle Soup - so I made her Noodle Soup..
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I know there are more things that I probably swore never to do - but these are the ones that come to mind right now!

New Blogs to Keep up With

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I added links to the others pages to the "Blogs We Read" section so you would know when they had been updated! I haven't been very good about updating their individual pages - but will try to be better about that!

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Happy Blogoversary!

Today is the blogoversary of my very first post - 2 years ago!!!

So - happy blogoversary to me!

Sunday with Nana and Pop

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On Sunday, we went to the Bass Pro Shop (the one that just opened in Spanish Fort) with Nana and Pop (Brannon's mom and her husband)!! Bella and Brooklyn adore their Pop and Nana, too - but Pop trumps everyone! Every time the phone would ring on Saturday - Brooklyn would say "Pop, Pop". Too cute - they love him! We were going to eat at Wolf Bay Lodge for supper but when we got there we discovered they are only open for lunch on Sunday - drats! So Lambert's was the closest place, so we stopped there! Lambert's is known as the "Home of the Throwed Roll" - they literally throw hot rolls at you! It is a fun atmosphere and the girls enjoyed it!

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In front of the restaurant, they have a wooden train and a wooden truck and the girls liked climbing/crawling through the train!

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Pop, Bella, Brooklyn and Nana

I have no idea what this face is about - but I managed to snap the picture and got it!

Then of course, Bella wanted her picture taken too!!! She must have been right in the middle of saying "cheese" when I snapped the picture!

An Unexpected Visit....

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On Saturday morning, I received a phone call from one of our friends in Atlanta asking if we'd be up for visitors later that day! I was very productive Saturday morning having done 4 loads of wash, cooked breakfast, cleaned out the girls' toys (again), cleaned both their rooms and the bathroom - all before she called! Of course - I would not have told them no if my house had not been cleaned, but it was nice that it had been cleaned!!! The girls and I went on with our day - had some lunch, took naps and waited for Daddy to get home. Then we had supper and waited for our visitors to arrive!

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Brannon and Scott are both Chiropractors and they met at Life and when they finally decided to introduce us wives to each other - we all became fast friends! Miche and I are both accountants! They have three kids - Jacob will be 6 in October, Lauren turned 3 this past April and David will be 1 in October (Lauren and Bella are 14 weeks apart)! I used to be Jacob's girlfriend - but then I went and had a baby and couldn't devote all my attention to him, so he dumped me!!

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Here are some pictures from their visit!

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All the kiddos: (L-R) Jacob, David, Bella, Brooklyn, and Lauren


Jacob, David, Bella and Brooklyn

David and Bella

Playing in Brooklyn's room

Bella has a Mumbo (from Happy Feet) stuffed animal that makes the dancing feet noise when you push his paw and Jacob liked it - so they proceeded to wrestle over it!

Somehow Bella prevailed!!

Jacob "catching a fish" with Brooklyn!

Brooklyn was fascinated with David!!

Giving David a kiss....
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While the visit was short - it was great to see them all!!!

A Trip to the Library

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The girls love to go to the library. When I was home with them - we would go every Thursday for Wee Ones Story Time. Bella can point out the library on the way to school - with no prompting from me!! And she is always asking about Ms Dorothy...

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On Friday, we stopped by for a few minutes and got to see Ms Dorothy and, of course, check out a few books!

Not sure why the pictures are so dark - guess I should have changed the setting it was on...oh well - you get the idea!

Wordle

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My friend Lesley posted today about a Wordle. It is from http://wordle.net/ and it takes and creates a picture of words used on your blog...Obviously, lately I've been talking alot about Bella because her name is the largest and there is no mention of Brannon or Brooklyn! I'm attributing this to the many posts of Bella's birthday! You can click on the picture and it will take you to a larger version.

Happy Birthday, Mi-Mi

Today's is my mom's, aka Mi-Mi, birthday!!

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We hope you have a great day.

Breaking News...

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Bella informed me last night that she would be having a baby boy and I'd be having a baby girl!
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Bella's 3-year Well Visit

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I took Bella for her 3-year well visit on Friday. Click here to read the details!

314th Security Forces Squadron

The 314th Security Forces Squadron deployed to the 386th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron at Ali al Salem Air Base in Kuwait on Monday, August 4, 2008. Here is a list of the soldiers who deployed:

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TSgt Christopher Warden

SSgt Adam Bennet

SSgt Benjamin Long

SSgt Simon Estrada

SrA Henry Williams

SrA Daniel MAncias

A1C Michael Middleton

A1C Brian Ameen

A1C Glenn Marigliano

A1C Jacob Ellis

A1C Damon Drake

A1C Miguel Merriweather

A1C Cary Lapouble

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TSgt Christopher Warden is my brother-in-law. I heard from my sister today that they did arrive safely in Kuwait. Please keep these soldiers and their family as well as all other soldiers and their family's in your thoughts and prayers!

Even More of Bella's 3rd Birthday

Finally - the pictures of her opening her "prizes" as she calls them! She got so many nice things - she is a very lucky little girl!

After opening all her "prizes", she went around and gave everyone a hug and told them thank you for her gifts.

The party lasted about an hour and half and by the time everything was cleaned up, deflated, taken down, and put back in the house - it was supper time. Bella was asleep by 5:30 that night and did not even eat supper! She had a great birthday and we appreciate everyone who came to celebrate with us!