One Christmas Present Down...

***NANA, if you are reading this, DON'T LET CHELSEA SEE!**

Today I managed to mark on HUGE Christmas present off my list!

Last night, after I should have been in bed, I just happened to catch this Tweet:

Once I clicked through the link, I found out this:

(Click the pictures to see them larger)

Scotty McCreery (you know, the singer that Chelsea just saw two weeks ago and is NUTS over????) is coming to BIRMINGHAM!  Not only is he coming to Birmingham, if you are a member of his fan club (she is), today we could pre-order tickets to his concert!  (It says the 25th, but they didn't go on sale until the 26th...typo)

I stalked Ticketmaster's website and sat hitting "refresh, refresh, refresh" all morning just waiting to be one of the first to get tickets!  I did manage to get the tickets (after freaking out over finding the password because it wasn't posted until this morning), but I am disappointed in where the seats actually are.  I guess radio stations and promotions got the "good" seats!  Anyway, Chelsea is going to FLIP when she finds out she gets to see "her man" again this year!

There is also another potentially awesome opportunity at this concert:

They are choosing FIFTY people from the pre-sale to attend a meet and greet before the concert!  Wouldn't it be fantastic if Chelsea could be one of those fifty?????  That would make her year!  Unfortunately, I don't have any control over that.  But this mama can hope, right?

Merry Christmas baby girl!!!

Mama's Mumblings

Happy first week of Fall, y'all!

I can't tell you all how much I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this time of year!  Some people get excited when they see the first birds and flowers of Spring.  For me, it's that first tip of red or orange in the leaves and that first non-90 degree breeze that blows through the air.  To make things even better this Fall, the weather has been gorgeous and cool!  It's even supposed to get down into the 40's in the next few nights.  I am LOVING IT!

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Thank you ALL so much for your super-sweet words of encouragement for Jameson last week.  His Thursday was horrible, but Friday morning, he got up in a fairly decent mood, and made it to school with a smile on his face.   I helped with a small PTA event Friday afternoon during school that Jameson got to attend.  The first thing I did was grab him and ask him how his day went.  He smiled and said "It's been pretty good!"  **whew!**  That was music to my ears!  His weekend went well, too, so I think things are on the upswing!

  We took him out to eat to the restaurant of his choice Friday night:

My sushi, not his.  LOL

and then for a little dessert:

We wanted to take him to the movies, too, but there wasn't anything on we wanted to see this weekend.  Next weekend, for sure though!

 

Also, after putting his iPod Touch in dry rice overnight, it STILL WORKS!  The picture quality isn't what it used to be, but it still works!  I think he will be more careful of where he leaves it from now on.

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Saturday night was the Team Bryson March of Dimes fundraiser that I was asked to speak at.  I was SO nervous about speaking in front of all of those people.  Beforehand, I went through my story several times, taking out some things and adding others, but never actually timing myself.  Well, I think that may have been a mistake because when I looked down after I finished, I had talked for 46 minutes!  

 I was so embarrassed to have taken up so much time!  But, when it comes to Chelsea's story, I wanted to make sure I didn't leave anything out.  I was so honored and felt totally undeserving to be asked to speak.  I am very thankful that I was given this opportunity!

The benefit went great and several hundred dollars were raised!  There were wonderful singers, musicians and entertainers.  Hopefully, this event will continue to grow every year!

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I did get a slow start to my Fall decorating on Sunday.  We had planned to get everything out right after Church, but Marty got called into work and once he got back home, he left to help a friend do some things, so it was late when we actually got started.  There is Halloween/Fall stuff EVERYWHERE!  We have stuff strolled from the kitchen, to the dining room, through the living room, and outside on the front porch.  It's INSANE!  I did manage to get a few things up:

 I just wish I was one of those people who could just put everything together and know exactly what I wanted to and within a few hours, everything would be completely finished.  Instead, I piddle and fiddle, and get completely overwhelmed; never finishing anything.  I HOPE I'm able to at least get a complete look together and get the house cleaned up before Halloween gets here!  LOL

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Look what's coming to a neighboring city:

If Marty starts having cravings for hot wings, I will know! ;)

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Guess what this is:

It's a piece that just fell off my computer!  It is a casualty of the Sweets vs the printer/computer episode.  It's been hanging on for several weeks now, but last night, it finally decided to pop off.

**sigh**

I am NOT ready to go in debt for another computer, just yet!

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Well, I guess that's enough updates for now!  I hope you all have a wonderful and fantastic week!

A horrible, no good, rotten day.

Yesterday, Jameson had a horrible, no good rotten day.

The afternoons that I don't work, I pick Jameson up from school.  Instead of sitting in car rider line, I usually go into the school to try to help out wherever I can.  The benefit of doing that is that Jameson gets to leave as soon as the car rider kids are called.  It's great that we miss all of the crazy school traffic and make it home quickly.

Yesterday it wasn't quick enough.

The second I saw him in the hall, I knew something was wrong.  He actually looked like he was sick.  But the second he saw me, he started crying.  He started crying so hard, we had to leave out a side door just so we wouldn't have to walk through the whole school full of kids (many of which were already pointing and staring at him).  He wouldn't tell me what was wrong and every time I would ask, he would start crying harder.  After what seemed like an eternity, I managed to figure out that his girlfriend told him that she didn't want to be his girlfriend any more.  (Or the girl that he thought was his girlfriend wasn't really his girlfriend to start with, but just a friend that is a girl).

Really?  We are going through this at TEN years old?

We were fortunate to not have to go through this with Chelsea (and hopefully never will) so now we are going to have to go through this for the next 10-15 years with Jameson?  I don't know if this mama's heart can take it.  

Then, after we got home, I found his iPod Touch in the WASHING MACHINE!  Definitely NOT where that belongs!

Then, he ended up with four hours of homework/classwork to do.  He checked out of school Tuesday due to a headache, and got behind on his classwork.  So, he had to finish that before class today.  He also had several tests to study for.

And finally, to end his horrible day, there were ants in his bed where he happened to lay his leftover sandwich yesterday morning while he was getting dressed.  I had no idea he didn't finish his sandwich and I especially didn't know he left it laying in his bed!  So, we had to strip down the bed, clean, mop, vacuum and remake the bed before he could go to sleep last night.

He told his daddy, "Could this day get any worse?"  Bless his heart!

I'm praying that Jameson has a much better day today!

Slinky Cat

I'm pretty sure our cat, Sweets, is a Slinky in disguise:

Scotty McCreery's Biggest Fan!

For Chelsea's graduation, we wanted to surprise her with a very special gift.  She is obsessed with last season's American Idol winner, Scotty McCreery, so we surprised her with tickets to one of his shows.  That was in May, and she has literally been counting down the days until the concert.  Fortunately, the concert date got here before she exploded!

She planned her outfit for weeks and this is what she came up with:

We didn't realize the hat could be shaped until she wore it like this all day.

I think she had on every single item that's in the Scotty McCreery fan club store!

She was all set, until she saw something that I made for her....

I told her she could still wear her original shirt, but once she saw this, she wanted to wear it!

The complete outfit!

She's ready to hit the road!

After the LOOOOONG drive, she's ready to be out of the car!

Jameson just wants to be back at home, playing on his computer.

Waiting in line!  One of the perks of getting there REALLY early...being right in the very front of the line!

We finally managed to get a little smile on Jameson's face...however, right as we were finally allowed in, he got sick and {almost} passed out.  He didn't eat much all day, so between that and the heat, it was just too much for him.  Once we got some food/drink into him, he was 100% better.  What is it with my kids and passing out?  Chelsea does the exact same thing.

See?  All better!

Waiting, waiting, waiting...

I think I'll just take a nap!

Jameson bored out of his mind.

The only shot of the two of them together.

Chelsea wasn't going to let the threatening looking rain clouds dampen her excitement!

After a LOOOOONG wait, the man, Scotty made his grand appearance!  Chelsea is beyond excited!

Here he is!  He was even better in person than on the radio!

 

Isn't that smile the absolute best?

Jameson still wasn't feeling it.

Oh wait!  Is that Jameson participating??

What?  I wasn't doing anything!

Marty enjoying the show.

See....I really was there!

The Band Perry.
 I was just floored by how humble and thankful the group was.  Their singing wasn't bad either!  LOL

And here is the headliner....Brad Paisley.

But Brad wasn't the one we went there to see. So after about 5 songs, we decided to beat the traffic and head out.  I'm sure his show was awesome, but this concert wasn't about us, it was all about our very special little girl and her love for Scotty.

These videos are worth it all!

I hope you all have a wonderful week!

A fun Homecoming Parade on a short notice!

Every year our schools have a fun and festive Homecoming Parade.  It's nothing fancy, nothing elaborate, but it's fun and friends for everyone!

This year, homecoming was decided at the last minute.  The announcement was made just one week before the parade and a week and a day before the actual game!  Nothing like a little short notice to get everything pulled together!  Despite the non-notice, it went well and everyone had a blast!  And that's all that really matters, right?

Spencer and Jameson hamming it up

Waiting....

Waiting.....

STILL waiting....

We hear something!!!

Not too bad on short notice, was it?

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!  I'm so excited that Chelsea finally gets to see "her man" tomorrow night!  Pray that she isn't too disappointed that she's not going to get to get up close with him.  We aren't sure if she grasps the concept of a concert yet.  We will all still have a great time, I'm sure!