Minnie's Breakfast in the Park

We began the first day with Minnie's Breakfast in the Park. We were able to enter the park 20 minutes before it opened and meet so many characters right away. Shea was beside herself with excitement.

Nash, however, was utterly terrified, as you can see here.

Shea just wanted to hug every character.

Nash has gone from utter terror to mild fear.

I love Shea's face here. She was more than excited.

She LOVES Captain Hook now. He's not really such a bad guy.

Nash started warming up when Hook high-fived him. He then started growling at the ole cap'n.

The breakfast was a great place for Nash to get used to meeting and greeting the characters.

Yes, Jon was there too. He's proudly wearing his Minnie Mouse button.

Shea's tickled pink!

Grandpa (Jon's dad) and I were also there.

Shea and Nash loved meeting Minnie Mouse.

Shea did not want to stop chatting with Minnie to pose for a picture.

Minnie Mouse's Breakfast in the Park was a highlight of our Disneyland visit and the perfect way to being our day there. We were able to spend some significant time interacting with our favorite characters. When we did see them in the park, we had to stand in some lengthy lines for an autograph and a momentary hug. This breakfast was wonderful!

Let the Magic Begin

Waiting to enter! They have no idea what awaits them!

Shea's face says it all as she gets her first glimpse of Main Street! Nash still doesn't know what to think.

Catching Up - Autumn

In September, we said goodbye to our Holmes house, and we bought a house in Buford, GA. I'm sentimental, and that was the place we'd lived for six years and brought both of our babies home to that house, so it was hard to say goodbye. Saying goodbye to our wonderful family and friends was even harder. I miss everyone so much!


Jon's dad came out to help us move, and his mom and grandpa visited shortly after we moved in. We had a great time with them!






We hosted Thanksgiving at our house, and we really enjoyed the space in the new house. I love filling my house with people, and I hope that we have many opportunities to do this in the future!

It's Been Awhile . . . Again

I haven't blogged since the fall, and during that time, I've been adjusting to my new life as a stay-at-home mom (SAHM). At first, this SAHM gig wasn't really a choice. I was hoping to find a job here in Georgia, but after my first attempts at job hunting failed, I settled in to study for the bar exam. During that time, we realized that we could manage to pay the bills with me staying at home. I went ahead and sat for the bar exam (which I feel like I failed), but I've stopped looking for jobs. I'll wait and see if I passed, then we'll decide what to do from there. Ideally, I'd like to have the kids in mother's day out a couple mornings each week so that I can do some work.

I must say that I LOVE staying at home with my kids, but it's been a big adjustment. I love spending time with them, having them on a schedule, getting cuddles throughout the day, and feeling that I can leave them to get some things accomplished evenings and weekends. I like that they're receiving discipline from me instead of a daycare provider.

On the downside, I have had to wrestle with the fact that I was very proud to be a working professional and now I'm "just" a mom. I want people to know that I'm an intelligent and ambitious person, and staying home with my kids now is a choice (even though it didn't start out as one). There's that darn pride again. I do miss certain aspects of my working life, especially the adult interaction and conversation throughout the day. My life revolves around taking care of my kids and cooking meals, so I'm struggling to find intelligent things to converse about that don't involve children or cooking.

I really have so much more to learn about managing my time at home and keeping our house in order. For some reason, I thought my house would be clean if I stayed at home, but that's a total farce. It may even be messier. :) I get so easily distracted that I'll sit at the computer to look up the weather to see how to dress the kids for the day, and I'll look up and realize two hours have passed and I forgot to check the forecast.

I'm going to try blogging again, but I expect it to be mostly "mommy" posts now. :) Enjoy!

Thank you God for . . .

My daughter is a born shopper. She loves to go to the stores, and the mall is one of her favorite places. On Thanksgiving Day, she really wanted to get out of the house and go to the "store." We had to explain to her that it was a holiday and that all of the stores were closed. She was heartbroken. Friday night, I told her that Nini and I were going to take her to a special store Saturday morning. She was elated. Saturday morning came, and I cooked bacon, eggs, and biscuits for everyone. Shea said the blessing for breakfast, and in addition to her normal recitation, she said, "Thank you God to the stores are open today. Amen."

It's Been a While . . .

It's been such a long time since I've updated, and so much has happened since January. Here's the highlights:

March - Jon was laid off.
April - We realized there was no opportunities for Jon in Memphis, and he pursued employment everywhere.
May - Jon began working for VeriStor, a company based in Duluth, GA. That means we have to move!
June - August - We house hunted and finally found a house we were happy with.
September - Jon moved to Georgia with all of our stuff, and I stayed in Memphis with my parents to work.
October - The kids and I made the big move to Buford, GA.

We're still settling in to our new house, but I'm loving all the space. Here's a picture of the house. I need to take some pictures of the inside with stuff in it, but I'm still not settled in enough for that. :) I'll be taking the Georgia Bar Exam in February, and I'm searching for a job here.

Lawyer Funny

I found a blog that is cracking me up! It's a blog with lawyer-related cartoons called Courtoons.

I put up some samples on here. FYI, these are particularly funny because I'm the bluebooking expert around my office. It's a pretty useless skill, but I do know how to cite things correctly. I even know which commas and periods are supposed to be italicized and which ones are supposed to be in normal type. I know when to use an en dash and when to use and em dash. I am a nerd, and I'm okay with that.

New Year's Day

I love family traditions. It's hardwired into my personality. One of my favorite family traditions is our New Year's Day meal. This tradition stems from my Dad's side of the family. Although my Dad has spent most of his life in the south, he is originally from Pennsylvania. While the Shea's are Irish, my dad's family also has German heritage. It is from that German contingent (aka Pennsylvania Dutch), that we get our traditional New Year's meal. Pennsylvania Dutch/German heritage dictates that pork and sauerkraut be included in the New Year's Day dinner. We also eat mashed potatoes, dumplings, warm spiced applesauce, and some token black-eyed peas with our meal. I'm getting hungry just thinking about it!

I became curious as to why that's the traditional meal and what the food symbolizes. Pork is the traditional meat because the New Year is a time to look forward and a hog can not look back. According to my sources, a German/Pennsylvania Dutchman would not eat chicken on New Year's Day because it scratches backwards. Sauerkraut is eaten because it represents wealth. I'm not all into the superstition, but I do love the meal!

This year, my Aunt Jami and Uncle David joined us for the meal. Jon missed out on it because he was at home cleaning the house for his Rose Bowl Party, but he got to enjoy some leftovers. We had a great time eating and visiting. Shea even likes the meal! I really dislike sauerkraut by itself, but a bite of it mixed with pork, mashed potatoes, and a dumpling is heavenly!

Christmas in Huntsville - Part II

We spent some of our time in Huntsville at Michael's house. His family had a bad cold while we were there, so they stayed away from Grandmama and Grandpapa because they didn't want to get them sick. We're sick all the time anyway, so we just went over to their house so the girls could play together.

Bess, Shea, and EmmaSweet Bess!

Sweet Nash!
Uncle John with Nash

Shea's about to open her present from the Shea's.

Emma is so sweet to Nash, and he loves her too!

Time to relax on the couch.

Emma is driving Shea around in the new Jeep.
It has a real radio that works. How cool is that?

Pretty girls!

Emma taught Shea how to climb a tree.
Emma and Bess got the climbing gene from their Daddy!
It didn't come as naturally for Shea.

Christmas in Huntsville - Part I

It's just not Christmas unless I make it to Alabama. When I was very little, we spent Christmas Eve and Christmas Day at Grandmama and Grandpapa's house. I remember one year when Michael and I stayed up looking out the window to see if we could spot Rudolph's red nose in the sky. Another Christmas, our car was broken down, and Mr. Stewart helped Daddy repair it on Christmas Eve. I think it was 1987, and it was actually snowing that year. I guess it was about dinner time when it was finally working again, and Mr. Stewart, whose family was already in Huntsville, followed us (or we followed him) all the way from Memphis to Huntsville to make sure we didn't break down. That was also the year that I received a diary for Christmas. I wrote in it something like, "Ham, ham, ham. All we eat is ham. Ham for breakfast, ham for lunch, and ham for dinner. I'm sick of ham." Can you tell that we had country ham for breakfast, ham for Christmas dinner, and leftover ham for other meals? My mother, of course, read my diary and told everyone what I wrote in it. They were all tickled about it, but I was not. I never wrote anything else in that diary.

I remember being upset the first year my parents decided that we were going to celebrate Christmas in Memphis, and then go to Huntsville. They were tired of lugging all the Christmas loot to Alabama and Georgia, but I didn't think it was Christmas without being with all our extended family. We adjusted, and all the family started getting together the day after Christmas. I'm the oldest grandchild, and my brother, the second oldest grandchild, now lives in Huntsville with his family. My youngest brother and my cousins are either recent grads or still in school. As we all get older, I know that we'll have to end the crazy Christmas festivities, but I'm still enjoying celebrating Christmas with my family in Alabama.

Peyton, Joel, and Aunt Michelle

Uncle John with Nash

Ray, Grandmama, Grandpapa, and Shea w/ her new USC bear

from Uncle John. She insists he's Winnie the Pooh.

Present time! We don't exchange many gifts anymore, but the kids still get gifts.

Claire, Aunt Jami, and Shea

Grandmama reading to Shea.

Uncle David has taken over Grandpapa's breakfast cooking duties.

We still have country ham for breakfast along with eggs, grits, bacon, and biscuits.