Introducing... and all things DMV

I realize I left some of y'all hanging when I announced we put Ghetto Fabulous down.   So, to answer your questions, here is our newest automotive family member:

Black Velvet 

(if you please)

Black Velvet ("BV") is a 2009 Hyundai Santa Fe.  Jason is now behind the wheel of Night Rider. So far, BV has proved herself very useful and a much more enjoyable ride over Ghetto Fabulous (RIP).    Two weeks into our relationship and the features I'm loving the most include:

Some call it a plastic cargo mat.  I like to refer to it as mobile diaper changing station.

The ipod connector that charges the ipod while it plays!  Emma is also a fan of this feature since she can now request politely (whine) for kids music.  

Zack Morris Timeout: Some of you might wonder why DJ requests are a new phenomenon for Emma.  Well, Night Rider's CD player broke like 5 years ago, so Emma has been stuck with Fox News on XM for the past 19 months. Time in.

And of course a big pro for BV is that she is homegrown:

I have to say I'm extremely grateful for this little jewel that has now joined our family.  I hope she gives us lots of good, reliable, and safe rides for the next 10 years!  And thank you Shannon for yet another fitting name for her!

Now, what do you do after buying a new car? Head to the DMV...

Since we don't "buy" cars around our house often (actually EVER in our 6 years of marriage), I was at a loss concerning all the necessary next steps I needed to take in order to get her registered, insured, etc.  But, I knew she needed a tag, so Emma and I headed to the DMV.  That is where I learned that the DMV and this:

Don't mix.

I should have known we might have problems after a stranger in the parking lot stopped to tell us to "come back another day."  Undeterred, we walked into Homewood's DMV satellite branch and lasted 20 minutes in line before abandoning our position.  

What happened?  Well, of course, the line was long and of course the people in the line were frustrated. None of these facts shocked me.  It's the DMV! What appalled me, and I mean truly jaw droppingly shocked me, was what Emma managed to do--both with and to--complete strangers in less time than a Cosby Show episode.  While we waited in line, Emma managed to:

1. Sit on a stranger's foot;

2. Crawl on all fours on the floor;

3. Lay on her belly and pretended to swim by flailing her arms and kicking her legs (these motions were strangely coordinated and gave me pause to be impressed with her before experiencing the full body shiver of disgust);

4. Eat cheerios off the floor (which a stranger felt the need to point out to me and then watch to make sure I extracted the germ ridden "O");

5. Hang off the metal "monkey bar" hand rails and then suck her thumb; 

6. Shriek continuously for a period of no less than 3 minutes; 

and

7. Stand in front of and stare directly at the crotch of the woman in front of us.

At that moment, I gave up, raised my white flag and packed up our goldfish, toys, sippy cup and other ineffective kid equipment I had lugged in for entertainment. The cheers of the others in line were faint, but nonetheless audible, as we reversed our way out of line.  Noticing that we were leaving, Emma stopped crying immediately and substituted her tears with "Bye Byes" and big waves to everyone in line.  BV was patiently (and taglessly) waiting outside for us as we approached...empty handed. Thank goodness I returned, sans the public linoleum swimmer, and purchased BV's tag later that afternoon.

Never again folks, never again.

Just Because

Everyone should have a tea party on a pink pony.

Hey, why not?

French Drains and Goodbyes

I finally found some time to "document" what's been consuming so much of our summer days: HOME PROJECTS.  We need some work done around here and after getting a few estimates, we decided that we (Jason) could do some of it cheaper.  So, here's where he started last weekend:

That, my friends, is a french drain.  Armed with a pick axe, a shovel, a wheel barrow, gravel, pipe and top soil, Jason spent serious time trying to divert water away from our house.  Whew--who knew it was such hard work?  Meanwhile, I "worked" by playing more with my camera...

 

We took a quick break from our outdoor activities to say a tragic and painful goodbye...to a beloved member of our family.

We've known her as "Ghetto Fabulous" for the past 6 years.    She is a beautiful, 1998 Chevy Silverado, with only a few "imperfections."  

Like, some stains.

And some paint damage.

And the hairline crack in the windshield (just to name a few).

It was difficult for Jason to say goodbye--but I guess everything has its price.  Thanks to new legislation, we got some great government money for the old gal.  The catch is to qualify for the cash,  the trade-in has to be "destroyed."  So as we drove GF to her demise (all the while praying she would make on the interstate), it felt a bit like taking a pet to be euthanized. Nonetheless, Jason handled it very well.

Here's to you Ms. Ghetto Fabulous. Thank you for 6 GREAT years!

Watch Out Ansel Adams

Last Friday, the nicest FedEx man showed up on my doorstep with my birthday gift.  Inside the nondescript brown box was this:

To fully appreciate the gift, I must explain that my love affair with SLR cameras began when Emma was about 4 days old. My dad stayed with us when Emma was born and he had a Cannon XTI, which I used to take about 1,000 pictures of Emma when we got home from the hospital.  I was instantly in love with the quick shutter speed, the image quality and of course the subject of all my pictures! Since then,  about 2 days before every visit my Dad makes I place a phone call that goes something like this:

Dad: Hello?

Me: Hey Dad.  Looking forward to you visiting.  Listen, I know that you are getting a little older and you're trying to cut back on the luggage you travel with, and that you are flying from California to visit me, but could you lug your camera bag, camera, and telephoto lens with you on the plane so I can use it to take pictures of Emma?

Dad: (inaudible sigh)  Sure.

Well, save your back on the next trip Dad!  Thanks to the generosity of our family for my 1st annual 29th birthday (and some final prodding from Jason who is SICK of hearing me talk about cameras for the past 18 months), Momma's got herself a new camera! :)

So, below is what you've been reading for, right?  Here is what Emma's been up to lately...

At least 1 hour of "Porch Time" each day..

and trips in the Little Red Wagon..

tormenting our neighbor with incessant splashing...

and the most AMAZING bed head you've ever seen. 

(Please disregard the flannel Christmas PJs.  While they are very cute, I recognize the inappropriateness of dressing a toddler in them in July in Alabama.  However, some days, the laundry just doesn't get finished.)

So I promise much more pictures and more often!

Homegrown

Jason's grandparents are pretty awesome.  His grandfather is in his 80s and still keeps a vegetable garden. Every summer I look forward to "presents" from his garden. I was thrilled this week when we received these:

They are the BEST tomatoes you've ever tasted.  Of course not everything we received was "ripe."  So we made these:

 It was time for lunch, so we added some mayonnaise and bread and ended up with these: (I couldn't wait for a picture before taking a bite...)

While the fry'n pan was hot, we decided to drop in some of these slices.

Turns out, they are better sauteed in olive oil with some parmesan and mozzarella.

And the icing on the cake? Jason's dad showed up on my birthday with this basket from Clanton, AL.

Needless to say, we've all been pretty peachy since.

Backing Up: Yard Sale Style

As Jason gently reminded me yesterday, I'm due for an update on our garage sale.  Some gracious friends let us invade their house and yard two weeks ago for what turned into a pretty successful morning.  Despite my inability to do simple math, we recovered enough cash to get a new toy organizer for Emma and maybe some other odds and ends.  Best of all, we cleared out lots of space for new toys for Emma. 

So to commemorate the event, here are some tips I learned:

1.  "Dealers" will park their trailers anywhere on the road (or private driveway) and wait as long as necessary to "out bid" the competition;

2.  No matter what time you think (or advertise) you're sale is opening, people will show up at 5:45a.m.;

3. It's a great way to meet those neighbors you've never met;

4.$1.00 is a LOT of money;

and 

5.  It is perfectly normal to invite strangers into to your house and show them furniture you might consider selling for the "right price"

I admit that when it was over, I remembered several things I had forgotten to place in the sale. Good thing another great friend emailed me the next week and asked if I would be interested in doing another sale in August!  :)  So, we're now gearing up for round 2 on August 22!!

Busy and Babies...

Lazy summer days seem to unintentionally (and uncontrollably) morph into unrecorded chaos around here lately.  I promise some pictures and information on our whereabouts and whatabouts very soon! Until then, I'll leave you with a teaser that we have two new precious baby boys in our immediate friend family! They were both born yesterday (just about two hours  and 200 miles apart), each to WONDERFUL families.  Welcome to the world baby Jed and baby Baylor.  We love you!

Ok, more of the Eminator and our discovery of the "belted seat" for toddlers in a public bathroom later...