Dumpster Diver

Today is trash day in my neighborhood. And, while Rhett and the dogs and I were on an afternoon stroll around the cul de sac, I stumbled upon this:


Isn't it a beauty??? It was sitting at the curb, next to someone's pile of trash. I continued walking, then made an about face. I checked it out, and there were no visible signs of damage, so I picked it up and brought it home. The cul de sac is only the middle part of my neighborhood, so I still had quite a ways to walk before I made it home. I am sure I looked pretty WT carrying it on top of the stroller. Luckily, only one neighbor saw me.

I can't wait to plant some pretty flowers in my new, FREE planter!!!

What would YOU do?

Let me start off this post by saying that I am not a confrontational person. Whenever something scary is going on, I am the one who tucks my tail between my legs and turns the other way. I am never one to intentionally initiate a confrontation, especially with a stranger. As terrible as it is to admit, I am a coward, but at least I'm honest!

So, today, Rhett and I were meeting my mom for lunch and as I was getting him out of the carseat and into his stroller, I hear this terrible screaming and lots and lots of cuss words. I looked up, and across the parking lot was a man... no, I don't even want to call him a man, he was more like a big, fat, gross, slob!... So, there was this slob screaming the "f" word among others at this woman. Telling her to give him his wallet or he'd do something to her. (The wind was blowing so I couldn't hear everything). He was so loud that I grabbed my cell phone to call the police because I was sure he was going to hit her. So, I stood there hoping he would look my way and see that there were other people in the parking lot that could hear him acting like a fool and belittling and berating this woman. But, he did not, she handed him the wallet and they both walked inside. She followed him like a whooped puppy dog and her face was all red as if she were crying or had been hit. Now, I know there are 2 sides to every story, and granted, I couldn't hear the words she was saying back to him. But, she looked like she had been beat down on, either emotionally or physically, or both. So, I just couldn't sit there and be quiet. So, as I walked into the restaurant, they were standing in line in front of me. So, below is how a little conversation between the slob and myself went:

Me: "Hey, you know that EVERYONE in the parking lot could hear you talking to her that way."
Big, fat, gross slob: (as he throws his arms out to his sides) "SO!"
Me: "SO, I almost called the cops!"
Big fat, gross slob: (again, as he throws his arms out to his sides) "Go for it!"
Me: "Well, I would, if I were her."
Big, fat, gross slob: "I guess that's why you and I don't date."
Me: "No, trust me, that's not the only reason!"

At that point, he turned and walked away. I wanted to go talk to the girl, but I was in line and the lady behind the counter was waiting to take my order. I realize that those last words were not very nice on my part, but I opened my mouth, and they just came out. Trust me, it even surprised me! I am usually the type to not say anything and then think about it over and over and think to myself, "I should have said this or that". I often wonder what I look like when I am standing up for myself or someone else. Do I look as scared on the outside as I feel on the inside? My adrenaline was pumping so fast that my hands shook for about 10-15 more minutes after that.

I sometimes watch that Primetime Live show, "What would you do?" and always put myself in the situations and really think, "would I stand up for someone who was being beat up on" (emotionally)? I really surprised myself today that I got involved. I got a good scolding from both my husband and my mom afterwards though. I do realize that there are crazy people in this world and that he most certainly could have had a gun. I didn't realize it at that moment though. And, I hope that I embarrassed the slob enough to think about his actions the next time he goes crazy on his girlfriend/wife in front of a bunch of people. I don't know if it did because I sat in the restaurant and watched him and he continued to lecture her, this time quietly, for the remainder of their time there. They both left and he walked her to her car and continued to lecture her (I could tell by his actions), and then he left. She sat in her car for quite a while thereafter. I wondered if she was crying, etc., and again, I wanted to go talk to her. But, I decided that I had gotten involved once today, and didn't want to risk mine or Rhett's life by getting involved again.

So, did I do the right thing today by stepping in? What would you've done?

High School Reunion?

I am helping to plan my 10 year High School Reunion and calling upon all blogging friends to help me out. We are stumped as to where, when, what to do, etc. We have 1,000 ideas, but then when we actually put pen to paper, or ask fellow students, they all go up in smoke! So, if any of you have attended your H.S. reunion and had a good time, please let me know all details! Likewise, if you were on the planning committee of your H.S. reunion, I would like details as well!!! I am talking ALL details: decor, location, attire, menu, time, season, contests, prizes, etc. I know that there are some crazy creative people out there in blogland, so please, please help me out! I have only attended two reunions in my lifetime, and neither of them were worth writing about.

THANK YOU!

Easter Buckets?

This is Rhett's first Easter, and I wanted him to have a very special Easter basket for the occasion, but I couldn't find any that I just loved. So, I decided I would make him one instead. I decided that I would use a bucket instead of a basket, and after a couple of trial runs, here is the finished product! I like it so much that I decided to make one for my niece and one for my nephew, and to offer them for sale, just in time for Easter, over at my other blog, Pink Hearts and Polka Dots. If you are interested, head on over to see some of my other designs (I'm currently working on a third design, so check back often for more options). Or, shoot me an e-mail at pinkhearts.polkadots@yahoo.com . I can customize them in any color combination and even match them to a special Easter outfit. These would also be cute containers in a playroom, art and craft cubby, or make a cute container for a birthday gift.

Hey, Babe!

This weekend, we went to one of our FAVORITE restaurants with some of our very FAVORITE people! Babe's Chicken Dinner House is a great hole in the wall restaurant that serves the best fried chicken you have ever tasted! If you live in DFW, and you have never been to a Babe's, then you really MUST try one out. They are usually located in smaller towns within the metroplex inside an old downtown section. If you do not live in DFW, you MUST visit our wonderful metroplex AND one of these FABULOUS dining establishments! You will not be disappointed.

Since I've been gone...

Here is a short recap of life over the past week and a half without blogger:

Rhett turned 9 months old on March 13th! He had his checkup this past week and weighed 22 lbs. and 29.5" long. His growth slowed down a bit, putting him in the 75% for both height and weight. The doctor said we could now introduce table foods and to really hit the sippy cup training hard. He is really great at drinking from a straw, but really struggles with the cups that have to be turned up to drink from. He is eating table foods like a champ. He has really stepped up the babbling, and has started to make his "s" and "f" sounds. Since he began pulling up, he has become so much more independent. He plays very hard and stays very busy with all of his toys. We had some issues with his sleep during the last couple of weeks, so the doctor recommended sleep training, but thankfully, we have not had to come to that yet. I might have just jinxed myself by typing it, but he has once again returned to championship sleeping. He also got his 2nd tooth sometime over the past couple of weeks. Maybe that also contributed to the lousy sleep.

This is Spring Break, so some of my friends, who are teachers, had the week off. We met up at a big mall in Dallas on Monday and enjoyed catching up and letting our babies get to see each other after a long time apart. These two girls are friends of mine from childhood and we all had babies within a couple of months of each other. I have no pics from our day at the mall. I cannot remember to take my camera anywhere with me!
We went to the zoo yesterday with Betsy and her family. If you would like to see some more AWESOME pics, then check out her blog. It was CRAZY CROWDED!!!! This was the same zoo that we attended Boo at the Zoo at. I thought it was crowded then, but I cannot even begin to describe the line and the amount of cars when I was leaving. Thank goodness we arrived early! It is such a beautiful zoo and we got to see almost all of the animals before we left to have lunch with Jeremy. Thank you, Betsy, for inviting us!

Today, we went to our friend's house. Rhett had a playdate with Devin and Corbin and I enjoyed catching up with their mommy, Jessica. We ate lunch at this really good Tex Mex restaurant in Watauga. Jeremy grew up with Jessica's husband and they are still really good friends, talking on the phone several times a week. Though they don't live too far from us, we don't get to see them very often, but I am glad that we got to take a little time today to let our boys play together. Jessica, we really need to get the boys together more often! I hope that they can be as great of friends as their fathers are!

The rest of our spring break entails cleaning this house!!!! I don't know how it gets so messy! It seems like I just clean and then turn around and a tornado has hit most of the rooms again!

Rhett and I are headed to East Texas for a baby shower this weekend. Hopefully I will remember my camera then! I think there should be some beautiful spring flower displays that I won't want to miss!

I hope that everyone is enjoying Spring Break. I am so happy to be back online!!!!

Down, but not Out!

A NASTY computer virus knocked down my computer surfing and blog posts for the last week or so. We are back up and running now and I have many a blog to catch up on! The virus supposedly is very common amongst social networking sites, aka Facebook. Needless to say, I have been forbidden to ever get back on that site. We had to change all passwords for safety's sake. Let's hope we're all better now, and that I don't have to deal with this mess again!

I really can use power tools!

I installed these knobs in Rhett's bathroom without any help from anyone! I really am a handy dandy girl that can use power tools! They are straight, level and everything! I am wondering now what else I can use the power tools for! ha!

Rhett's Regatta

(Trashcan shaped like a smokestack)

As I mentioned in my last post, here are some pics of my little guy's room. It is hard to believe that one year ago we were making plans for this room, getting things painted, ordering furniture, etc., and now he is here. Our lives are so much better because of him!

I knew from even before I ever had children that if I ever had a boy, his room would be done in a nautical theme (much to the chagrin of my mom and husband). I knew that I wanted stripes on the bottom, a solid color on top, and a large manilla rope in between used as a chair rail. I knew I wanted to do something on the ceiling (exactly what would go up there changed many times, but I am happy with the outcome).(Trying to get a better picture of the manilla chair rail, but you can see his sailboat shaped diaper stacker too.)

What I didn't expect was all of the cute things I would actually find that I used in his room! PBKids and Land of Nod, some of my favorites! I got these great ship flags that I tied together to use as a valance.

My friend, Betsy, found the cutest Tommy Hilfiger sheets that we had made into a crib sheet. She got my vision from day one, thanks Betsy!

My mom, grandmother and myself made the bumpers in a patchwork pattern, and I think at this point, my mom really got my vision! I had the words, "Sail Away with Me" embroidered on the bumpers. I also had a pillow embroidered with a cute nautical quote. I put that pillow in his rocker. Betsy's mom made the bed skirt, and it came out great!

We knew that if we were having a boy, we were going to use our old TV armoire that was in our family room as the changing station. My husband and father in law built that armoire, so this is something very special to put in Rhett's room. We matched the crib to the armoire, and Betsy's sister GAVE us a rocker! How awesome was that. I decided to leave it white instead of trying to make it match the rest of the furniture, and because of that, added a quilt rack that resembles a latter to balance that side of the room.

I LOVE THIS ROOM!! It makes me smile every time I go in there. It is a totally different color than anything in the rest of the house, and I think he can grow with it for a little while-- it isn't overly baby. A lot of love and hard work went into that room! My sweet hubby and dad worked their booties off to get it perfect for Rhett. These pictures do not do it justice (I really need to work on my photography skills), it really is CUTE! Even if I do say so myself! :)

Fun Day

This weekend, we made a little trip up north and played around on the four wheelers. I had never been before, and think I expected it to be a lot less frightening. I had my expectations set a little high, even telling my husband that I wanted my own four wheeler. I even wanted to paint it pink. Upon arriving, I realized that pink or not, a four wheeler of my own would only wind up collecting dust in the garage. I feel bad for my husband and father in law having to put up with all of my whining! I am definitely a girly girl, not to mention a CHICKEN!!!! I did have fun, but think that next time I will leave the hardcore riding to the boys. I'll stick to flat ground!Pink gear

Ready to go home

Father in LawCute Hubby and a DAREDEVIL!!!

He Pulled Up!

On Tuesday, Rhett decided that he was bored with sitting, and decided to pull himself to his feet! I am so proud! We lowered his crib to the lowest possible setting so he would not feel the need to do that in his bed and go right over the top! It doesn't make for very pretty bedding now, but safety first! I should post pics of his room sometime! :)

He's a maniac, maniac on the floor!

Betsy gave Rhett a pair of baby legs. The other day, after he crawled out of his pants, I decided to try them out. Well, if they weren't so tight, he would have crawled out of them too. They wouldn't stay up, and ended up looking more like legwarmers. My husband even said he looked like he was from the movie "Flashdance". ha!

New Boots

I have wanted a pair of rain boots for a while now. I think they are adorable and wanted them just for stomping around in the yard. I never bought my self any because I just couldn't justify spending $40+ on something that I wouldn't wear a lot and would just get muddy and gross. So, my SIL got me a gift card to JoAnn for my birthday and said that it could not be used for my crafts, it had to be for me! So, I roamed the aisles twice since then, and decided, these rain boots would be my purchase! I love their polka dots and bright colors. Thanks Taffy, I love them! They are the perfect accessory for working in the yard!

Fast as Lightning

Three times in the past week, Rhett has crawled right out of his pants. They seem to fit him just fine, but for some reason, they can't seem to keep up with his lightning fast army crawling! Every time he does it, I just can't help but laugh!

My little boy scout

Jeremy's mom bought Rhett this little boy scout outfit so he can be like his daddy. We're not sure if we'll go the boy scout route with Rhett, but he looks cute wearing this little outfit nonetheless!

Sam's Birthday

Rhett's best buddy, Sam, turned one this weekend. We were glad we got to help him celebrate! Since Sam has a brother not much older than him, he has all of the toys that he needs. I know that boys (even if they are only 1) don't really appreciate getting clothes as gifts like girls do. So, I racked my brain for months trying to figure out what to get this little man. Then, I had an excellent idea. His family is making an annual trip to Gulf Shores, AL this summer. So, I decided to fill a sand castle bucket with necessary accouterments for a fun-filled vacation. Instead of a card, I decided to take the "beach" theme a little further, and included a message in a bottle. The message included a poem explaining the gift:

For your trip to the shore...
We hope you get to play and explore.
Splash in the water, build castles, and collect shells,
Or bury your dad using this pail.
All the while wearing your tee,
To let everyone know "the pretty lady's with me!"
Wear your sunglasses, hat and sunblock while in the sun,
So you won't look like a lobster when you're done.
All of this is for your trip to the coast,
But fun is to be had the most!

Happy Birthday, Sammy! We love you!