Tater's Thanksgiving Art

Tater's5K class made Indian outfits the "authentic" way last week. His teacher used blueberries, beets, spinach and coffee as the dyes. They also beaded their own necklaces and made a feather head band. She made the Mayflower out of a huge box too. The kids had a great week. Is she a brave teacher or what? That's why the kids love her so much.


What is Tater thankful for this Thanksgiving? Mom, dad, brother, his house, food? Nope.....football! Like I've always said, he's all boy.

School pictures are in

Bubby 8 years old

Tater Tot 5 years old

This years pictures of the boys turned out so well. I'm really pleased with both of them. It's always amazing to me how much they've changed in roughly 360+ days. They've gotten taller, slimmer, and more grown up looking. In Tater's picture you can see all the bruises on his legs from his rowdy days spent playing outside. And Bubby's, he just looks like a young man. Where did the little boy go? We'll proudly display their latest poses in our entrance hall for all to see when they enter our home. Plus, I also sneak a peek almost every time I walk by them to go upstairs.

My "Family Organizer"

Tonight I purchased the 2006 edition of the "Family Organizer" calendar. I just discovered this life saver last Christmas. I absolutely love it and would be lost without it. It truly is command central in our house. It has huge spaces to write tons of stuff for each day. It even comes with 100+ stickers to jazz it up a bit (birthday, anniversary, school stuff, etc.) I got mine at my local mall and highly recommend you do the same. I'm telling you, it's the best calendar (for mom's anyway) that you'll ever find!

Letters From Home update

I received a thank you card from the people who run the "Letters from Home" project. It said they received enough letters to put them well over their goal. They mailed out 4,500 packages to our troops on Nov. 13, 2005.

Marco Island, Florida

On November 16, 2005 Darrin and I boarded a flight to Marco Island, Florida. We were going for a manager's retreat with Rooms to Go. Our flight went well and we arrived at Fort Myers around 4:00. A shiny black Lincoln limousine was waiting for us outside the airport. After almost an hours ride we arrived at the Marriott Resort & Spa a little after 5:00pm. As the bellman escorted us to our room we could see sunlight beaming from underneath the door and we knew that was a good sign. We had a gorgeous ocean front room with a spectacular view of the sun just beginning to set. We had until 6:30 to unwind and then we were to meet the RTG crew on the beach for a luau. Of course that went wonderfully. It was such a fun and exciting day. Not only because of the (free) trip to FL, seeing an awesome sunset, dinner on the beach, etc....but it just happened to be our 14th wedding anniversary as well! What a great way to celebrate, huh?

The next day Darrin was treated to 18 holes of golf at The Rookery. I, on the other hand, opted for an hour long Swedish massage at the onsite spa. While Darrin shot 3 under par and saw several alligators on the course, I was enjoying total relaxation. It was the first professional massage I'd ever had the pleasure of having and I'm looking forward to my next one. That afternoon we took in the local sights and did a little shopping in town. Later, we had a formal dinner in the ballroom of the resort. We enjoyed a finely appointed buffet with dessert and dancing afterwards.

We enjoyed breakfast in our room both mornings we were there. I think they have the best orange juice I have ever tasted in my life. Before departing for the airport Friday afternoon, we had lunch at the beach side restaurant at the resort. It was so nice...mid November, sunny & 84 degrees. Paradise!

We arrived home that evening at around 9:00pm. The boys and Nana (Darrin's mom) were waiting for us. They had made us a "Happy Anniversary" sign and posted it on the garage door so we'd see it as soon as we got home. Inside they had decorated with handmade signs, streamers & candles. They even had a cake waiting for us. Payton gave me a special gift that he had wrapped all by himself. It was a silver race car (from his toy box). I told him it was just what I wanted and he just beamed. I found it hard not to think about the boys all the time we were gone. I called them 4+ times a day. I just missed them terribly. They snuggled with me on the couch and then slept in our room in their sleeping bags that night. It was nice to get away for a few day, but there's no place like home. Our boy's smiles can out shine the Florida sun any day!

For more pictures go to flickr.com.

Oh My Aching Back...

Every few months it happens....I bend the wrong way and instantly I know what I've done. At that point, however, there is absolutely nothing I can do about it. It's too late. I've aggravated my sacroiliac and my sacroiliitis is going to flare up again. Well, that's exactly what happened this past Wednesday. All I did was pick up a small bag of groceries out of the back of my MDX and that's all it took. I've been down in my back ever since. This has happened enough that I know what to do. I have a ready supply of the necessary anti-inflammatory medications and Flexaril on hand. Luckily this time it wasn't bad enough to warrant a trip to the doctor's office for a joint injection. Plenty of rest and inactivity did the trick this time, thank goodness. My husband is a trooper when this happens. He takes good care of me and may even enjoy being "Mr. Mom" (for the first day or so anyway). Although the heating pad is still my best friend, I am on the mend at this point!

Operation Christmas Child

Each year our family participates in Operation Christmas Child. In the past we've always filled a shoe box for a boy. This year, however, we chose to fill one for a girl between the ages of 5 - 9. It's always such fun finding items to place in the box. You have to be pretty choosy when you know that one child's entire Christmas will be in that box. Of course I always try to find the largest box possible. This year it was a Nike tennis shoe box courtesy of my husband's new tennis shoes. We included a notebook, pencils, sharpener, ruler, markers, crayons, coloring book, diary, Barbie doll with extra clothes, play-doh, hair goodies, brush, mirror, 2 pair of socks, undies, calculator, nail clippers, lip balm, necklace, bracelet and tons of candy. See what I mean? You can get a ton of stuff in a shoe box with a little creative packing. I used up every single nook and cranny. We always include a card and hand written note from each of us as well as a family picture. I can't think of a better way to spend $30, can you?

A Visit to Mayberry

This past weekend we visited Mt. Airy and Pilot Mountain, N.C. My in-laws moved to Pilot Mountain the weekend before. They have been waiting for this time in their lives (retirement) for many years. We were anxious to visit them and check out their new digs. My brother-in-law also came down to join in the fun. We toured the new home place, went to a flea market, saw Aunt Bea's and just visited. We're excited about having them a little closer to us. Before this they were 8 hours away, now they're only 3. And, we wound up with some great furniture. Since they are "down sizing" they don't quite have room for everything they once thought they needed. Yeah for us! Want to see more pictures. Go to Mayberry pictures at flickr.com. (just click on them to enlarge them)

Vanilla Coke Campaign

Oh my gosh... I just found out that the Coca-Cola Company announced today (Nov. 4) that they will discontinue the production of Vanilla Coke by the end of 2005!! My husband and I have been devout Vanilla Coke drinkers since it was introduced in April 2002. What in the world will hubby and I do without our daily doses of VC? We will be unable to function and that's all there is to it. I have already penned my letter to them practically begging them to reconsider their decision. I implore you to please join our letter writing campaign to hopefully change the minds of the executives who have made this unbelievable decision. Let me thank you in advance in case you do decide to help us with this matter. Here's the address you'll need to send your letter to:
Coca-Cola Company

Vanilla Coke Campaign
P.O. Box 1734
Atlanta, GA 30301

For now, I suppose I'll hoard up all the VC I can possibly find and then ration it until this passes and VC production is back to normal.

Letters From Home

The "Letters From Home" organization has started their 2005 holiday campaign. This years campaign is entitled "The Gift of Freedom." They are attempting to send 15,000 letters and/or Christmas cards to soldiers serving over seas and would greatly appreciate your help. The deadline for sending in your cards is fast approaching (Nov. 13). Will you please take a moment to contribute to this worthwhile cause? My family and I plan to send out at least 20 by the deadline! Visit their website at Letters From Home to learn more. I'm sure our brave and courageous soldiers would greatly appreciate it.

Update: On 11/8/05, I mailed out 32 cards with a hand written note in each. Merry Christmas, soldiers!

Create Your Very Own Postage Stamps

I ran across something interesting in the latest issue of Nick Jr. magazine. There are two websites that enable you to create your very own personalized U.S. postage stamps. Okay, they do cost a little more than the average 37 cent variety, but they are personalized. You upload a picture of your choice to either site, place the order and your stamps will soon be in your mailbox. It's a super cool idea I think, especially for the holidays.

• Zazzle.com
• Photo.stamps.com

Bubby is an "All Star"

Yesterday Bubby brought home his report card for the first nine weeks of second grade. He did really well. But, he was most proud of his perfect attendance certificate. This is a first for a member of the Hawk family I do believe! He's already informed me that he doesn't want to miss any school for the rest of the year. Boy is that a change from last year, when he'd come up with every imaginable excuse not to go to school. I'm so glad that he loves school this year. I think his teacher has a whole lot to do with his change of heart. Way to go, Bubby! (Oh...he didn't have any tardies either)