This goes out to all of my Stay-at-Home Friends

Last night I volunteered to help the Clemson Alpha Chi Omega chapter count votes for recruitment. Let's stop there first - all of the lingo has changed. It is no longer Rush (now it is Recruitment), no more rushees (PNM - Potential New Members), no more Rho Chi's (they are now known as Pi Chis) and lot's of other lingo changes that I cannot remember. The parties finished at 10:50 pm. That is very late for me already, but I stayed and the alums entered the votes to prepare the bid list. The other alums are all "outside of the house working women." I am the only stay-at-home mom. I didn't get home until 4 a.m.

In preparation for the long hours, someone suggested each of us take a computer and enter the votes into an Excel spreadsheet. Everyone pulls out their laptops, except me. So, someone went down the hall and borrowed one from a sister for me to use. In order to have the list of PNMs to work with, we had to use a flash drive. Everyone is uploading the list with the flash drive, except me. Because I have no idea how to use this thing! I say out loud to the other ladies, "will someone show me how to use this?" I swear to you they looked at me like I had asked "what is email?" These flash drives must be commonplace now in the outside world, but not at my job. As my friend Lindsay pointed out to me today - 'no one has ever had to use a flash drive to get from the zoo to Chick-fil-A!' I have laughed about this all day. If I am ever going to re-enter the working world, I am going to have to take a computer class to get up to speed. I mean, I blog and I have a Blackberrry - I thought I was pretty in the know, but evidently not! I have to go - Bart needs to do his live fantasy football draft!

What is this?

This exotic creature crawled up our driveway today. This guy was a big hit with the kids. It had hair on it's back! I am guessing it is some variety of a caterpillar, but I am not sure what kind. We had a lot of rain today, so it was fun to go outside for a minute to check him out.

First Day of School!

 

 

 

 

Today was the first day of school for Mac and Sydney. Sydney is in 4K and Mac is in Mother's Morning Out. They both had a great day at school. Sydney and Bart have a tradition of posing with backpacks together.

Birthday Wishes

Today was my birthday. Thirty-one sort of snuck up on me. I guess the more birthdays you celebrate the faster the next one comes around. It always drove me crazy when I would ask my mom her age and she would sometimes say "I don't remember." I used to think, "how do you not know how old you are?!" Now I completely understand.

My sweet family got me a cake, balloon and cards. We are getting our kitchen renovated - so that will be my birthday, anniversary and Christmas gifts! Sydney recommended a restaurant for my birthday lunch - Grand Dragon Chinese Buffet. She and Bart ate there on one of their dates. It was yummy! Sydney enjoyed showing me around to the bathrooms, plates, food and most importantly the ice cream machine. She also insisted that we make a wish in the fountain. Bart gave each of us three pennies. I made my three wishes while holding Mac and dodging his ice cream cone he would not relinquish. Then it was Sydney's turn to make her wishes and here they are:

"I wish for Mommy to have a great day on her birthday."
"I wish for Mommy to have fun on her birthday."
"I wish for Mommy to have a great day on her birthday."

That is a gift you cannot buy - thank you Sydney for the best birthday gift!

Love,
Mommy

Lake Hartwell with the Armaly family

 

 

 

 

We had a great Sunday at the lake with the Armalys! Sydney and Mac have never had the opportunity to be "lake babies," and they are naturals. I grew up on the lake in Clanton and miss that feeling of exhaustion after a long day on the water. It has been at least six years since I skied, so I was hesitant in trying in front of my friends. Good news - Bart and I both popped right up and didn't embarrass ourselves! Sydney was worried when everyone fell or let go of the rope - she didn't want anyone to get hurt. She was highly impressed with Steve's wake boarding skills. She said that he was 'cool.' We topped the day off with a trip to Cracker Barrel and headed home with sleeping babies in the car. It was a great day!

Tea Party

Last week Sydney went to a tea party at a friend's house. She had a great time. They had strawberry cake and lemonade. The mommies had scones and blueberries with tea. Thank you Shely for a fun afternoon treat!

Movie Star

Sydney told me that she and Mac look like "movie stars" in this picture.

Girls Only trip to Disney World

Sydney and I took a "girls only" trip to Disney World this past weekend. We met my mom and Papa down there and stayed with them in the RV. This was my first RV experience, but Sydney is a old pro. It was a great trip. Sydney had the best time. I enjoyed being able to focus only on her. She is growing up so fast, but she still believes in the magic.



Waiting for the airplane!



After Mary Poppins walked away, Sydney asked "can we watch her fly?" How sweet to believe in the magic!



Sydney and Granny in Epcot.



We tried three times for the Beast. We finally got to meet him.



Sydney is up for anything. She loves Splash Mountain - we rode it twice. She loved Thunder Railroad - we also rode it twice. Right now, we are going through an "all by myself" phase. It is inspiring to watch her live with such zest and enthusiasm. I am sad to see her grow up, but extremely excited to see what is ahead.

New York

Bart and I just returned from our free trip to New York. Bart and I won this trip at the Chocolate Soiree. The Soiree is a social event put on by The Circle of The Children's Museum to raise money for the museum. We bought a raffle ticket for $100 to enter in one of the "Golden Ticket Opportunities." You could choose from a golf cart, wine cellar or the trip to NYC. We won! We were so excited. Our friends won the golf cart. The trip included two round trip tickets, hotel arrangements for three nights and ticket to the Yankees game. We had a really good time.

We saw two shows, Spamalot and Spring Awakening. Bart liked Spamalot and I liked Spring Awakening. The music in Spring Awakening was terrific. It is a little risque, but enjoyable. Spamalot was funny and entertaining.

I am always on the lookout for celebrities. I usually see one or two, and I have decided it is because I am the only person in the City making eye contact. My friend Kelly, who lived in NYC, confirmed this notion. In the past, I have seen Nicole Kidman, the entire cast of The Hours and Beyonce. We were walking to Magnolia's Bakery for cupcakes when I saw Mark Valley (he plays Brad in Boston Legal.) He is really cute. The next day I saw my favorite American Idol contestant, Jason Castro. I am pretty sure he was hiding from me. I think he read my lips and went back into the revolving door in his hotel. That made me laugh. If only I had a picture with Jason!

We had fun at the Yankees game. They lost to the Angels.


Our favorite part of the trip was the MoMA - Museum of Modern Art. It was great. They had a Salvador Dali exhibit that was very interesting. The museum also houses Waterlilies by Monet and many other famous pieces of art.

Melmo

Our little boy has just recently fallen under the spell of Elmo. Sydney's first love was Elmo. Mac is calling Elmo the same thing Sydney did - 'Melmo!" It just brings a smile to our faces to hear him. It also reminds us how quickly they grow up. I pulled out all the videos, books and dolls and Mac is loving it. I have to admit, Elmo is pretty cute except for the speaking in third person bit.

My Happy

I saw this broom today at Lowe's and just had to have it. It makes me smile! We are also having some work done on the house and this will make cleaning up a lot more fun! It was only $13 and comes in leopard print and zebra.

Welcome to our blog!

We are the Street family. Bart and I met at Auburn University. We have been married for almost nine years. We have a great time together. We have two beautiful children, Sydney and Mac. Sydney is a four year old who is up for anything. She told me the other day that she wants to buy everything in every store! Her favorite color is "all of them." She loves to dance, play princess, swim and play with her friends. Mac is 20 months and "all boy!" He loves to climb, play with trains and he has the most amazing blue eyes that aid his ability to melt my heart. These two make our lives wonderful and meaningful. We hope our normal, everyday happenings will tell you a little about our days raising two small children.