Mallory's New Bike

Mallory's big birthday present from us finally arrived. I had ordered it from Wal-mart.com and it came this past week, making it too late for the party. Anyway, Mallory loves the bike!! Luckily it has training wheels so she can easily balance on it. She is not good at pedaling yet, she keeps trying to pedal backwards, but we will keep practicing.

I took Mallory for an eye exam last week. I was told that her eyes are misaligned and if not corrected by age 6-7, the problem can become permanent. The doctor recommended surgery. Since she is already 5, he feels that we should start a treatment plan immediately. We go this Thursday for a surgical consult in Jacksonville, FL. I was so shocked that I didn't really ask a lot of questions but on Thursday night I will have details.

Playing Picnic

Today my schedule was a little off. For starters, I had to work through lunch so I left work at 4:00. I went straight to the gym and did my 45 minute cardio workout and 20 min of weight lifting. Afterwards, I ran through Taco Bell. I spent $17.12 on 7 plain chicken soft tacos!! Tacos have certainly gone up since the last time I ate there! Since I had dinner, I didn't notice the blanket on the floor covered with food. As soon as we finished eating, Mallory begged me to play picnic. How could I say no? Luckily she allowed me to take a quick shower first.

Weekend Fun

The top photo is of Mallory right before she left for church. She wore a new dress given to her by grandma Brown. I personally love this dress and wished I had one like it. Anyway, we had trouble finding shoes that fit. She has two pairs of brown mary janes. One pair is too small and the other is too big. Luckily we had her brown sandals but they really are a tiny bit too small. I told her to not let her feet grow anymore, after all I just bought her a new pair of school shoes! She looked down at her feet and said, "Stop growing!" I guess next weekend we will be shoe shopping!

I took the second photo yesterday morning, right before we left for our weekly breakfast outing. She was decked out in her new Georgia shirt and used her Georgia purse. The shirt proved unlucky because, as you should know, the Dawgs lost.

Homework Night

A few nights a week, Mallory and I do "homework". It usually consists of counting, learning numbers, and writing. It is a totally fun time where Mallory "thinks" she is choosing her activities. Mixed in with the studying, she is cutting and gluing, which are some of her favorite activities. I like to think of it as "sneaky learning".

Mallory's New Leotard

Mallory received this new leotard for her birthday. She wore it to gymnastics tonight and I think it was fab!! Tonight I watched her walk on the balance beam (she calls it a stick), attempt to do a rolling flip except she lands flat--she does not roll!! She also hung and swung on the uneven bars. The big news: She turned a flip on the bars (with help of course). I am such a proud mother. Each time she did a trick, she looked directly at me and said, "I did it mama".

Life After a Birthday Party

Our house is still not normal. We have toys scattered everywhere and torn boxes in the laundry room. Mallory is a very lucky little girl. All of her favorite people came to her birthday party. Fortunately for her but unfortunately for me, they all brought gifts. Mallory received so many nice presents that I fear we will never again have room to walk.

A Busy but Fun Weekend

Mallory had a great birthday! She awoke ready to go to school. I didn't have to nag her about brushing her teeth or hair! In fact, she asked me to do it! She also kept telling me to look at my watch to see if it was time to go. I think she was ready to bring her cupcakes to school.

Since it was Wednesday, Mallory had gymnastics. I arrived in time to watch her for a few minutes. I saw her walk on the balance beam, first frontwards, then on tip toes, and finally backwards. She did such a good job. I was so proud of her!

She chose to eat at Chic-fil-a for her birthday dinner. She quickly ate and was ready to eat cake and ice cream. We sang happy birthday and she opened the small presents that Daniel and I bought. She got a baby doll that crawls, new underwear, and new pajamas.

She had such a good day that she fell right to sleep and didn't want to get up this morning.

Tomorrow our busy weekend will begin. Kirsten and my mom and Steve are spending the night. On Saturday we will have 2 birthday parties, including Mal's, to attend. Don and Ann, Daniel's parents, will also be visiting.

Tonight Mallory was so tired. I guess she skipped nap time. At 7:30 she brought me a blanket and asked me to rock her. How could I refuse? It maybe the last time she will ever ask, after all, she is 5 now!

A Day of Rest

After working serious overtime last week, I decided to take today off. I will also be leaving work early on Friday to prepare for our guests--mom and Steve. Daniel's dad and stepmom are also coming but will be staying with Daniel's brother, Greg.

Although I am off today, I have a lot that I am hoping to accomplish. My goals include: spin class at noon, weight lifting, pick up cupcakes (for Mal's school party), pick Mal up, drop Mal off, go grocery and present shopping, bake birthday cake, cook, clean, and prep for bed.

Birthday Party Announced
Location: Chic-fil-a
Time: 10:00 am

Date: Saturday, September 20, 2008

Be there or be square!

A Very Busy Saturday

Early on Saturday morning, Mallory said, "Mama, I'm awake, I sleep good, you get up now".

Once we did our Saturday morning chores (put dishes away, put bed sheets in the washing machine) we dressed and headed to our weekly breakfast date. Mallory once again chose Jerry J's. She had cheese grits, eggs, and sausage patties. I had a pancake.

Afterwards, we went to a "kids fun day" sponsored by our local police department. They had about 8 bouncers so Mallory had a BALL. We stayed there for over an hour.

Once home, it didn't take long for Mal to go to sleep. Bouncing is hard work. However, today, she asked if she could wear my sleep mask. I retrieved an old one and she actually fell asleep with it AND she slept for over an hour!!

Later, after GA won, we went to a street dance. The live band was okay but Mallory had a ball. She actually got in the street and danced. She was so cute but after taking this one picture, my camera went dead. Go figure!

Only the Best

Here is Mallory eating the gourmet pizza that I served last night. The pizza was actually of the frozen variety and cost only $.99.

In my opinion, it is better than a happy meal from a fast food joint!

Dr. Mallory to the Rescue

Thank goodness for Mal's Barbie doctor kit. Without it, Daniel would have been in trouble. While Mallory was chasing me, I slipped and landed hard on Daniel's ankle. Like a big baby, he started whimpering so I told Mal to get her doctor kit.

Tonight at dance/tumbling class, Mal's teachers said that she loves gymnastics and does really well but doesn't seem to be interested in the dancing part. I was instantly heart broken. I would have preferred dance (because I want Mal to wear costumes and be in productions) but whatever floats her boat. I guess we will switch to 1 hour of gymnastics per week starting next month. At least it's cheaper.

Tonight we talked to Lealane. She asked Mallory what she wanted for her birthday. Mallory said she wanted a puppet for her finger. Where this idea came from, I have no idea!

Just received a letter from one of my aunt's. It was an invitation to the Thigpen family reunion. The reunion is October 11, the same day that we will be in SeaWorld with mom.

Mallory Singing

There was a time when I thought Mallory would never talk. Now, I believe there will NEVER be a time when she will stop talking. The room was too dark and I do not know how to edit videos so you can't see her too well. However, you can definitely hear her.

Georgia Budget Cuts

You folks in TN or FL probably have not heard how bad our state budget is, so let me tell you. It is REAL bad. In fact, each agency had to immediately reduce spending by 6%. If you have read Lealane's blog, you would have seen that our daycare is closing as a result. Luckily Mallory started Pre-K this year but she was scheduled to return to that daycare during holiday breaks and summer vacations. I have not yet found a replacement.

To make matters worse, budget cuts have hit my state agency hard. In fact, it hit close to home. I work in the Supported Employment Program. My program serves both mental health and MR consumers. We have 5 job coaches and 1 case manager. I am the case manager and my case load consists of only MR people. Our job coaches that serve the mental health consumers were eliminated last week. Their last day is sometime in October. It is really sad and it is scary to realize how unsafe a state position can be. I only hope that this round of budget cuts will be enough to rectify our budget, if not we will be forced to reduce an additional 4%. This reduction will effect the MR side (my side and possibly my job).

Go Gators!!

Local football was tonight due to the unpredictable weather. Daniel took Mallory to her first game. As you can see, she was all decked out in a black and hot pink Ware County Gator t-shirt.

We had our hair done this afternoon so she had two french braids. She was super cute tonight!!

Favorite Photo # 6

This is my all-time favorite picture of me and my friends. Every time I look at it, I smile. We have had so much fun together and I know that we will have more fun times.

Lealane is on the left, me, and then Krystial.

About 3 years ago we decided that we would plan a BFF getaway about once a year. The first year we went to a Bon Jovi concert in Tampa and stayed in a super nice hotel.

Last year we went to the Food and Wine Festival at Epcot. This picture was from that trip. I think it is safe to say that we all had a blast. I have never before been on a vacation where I kept going. We spent many hours in each park and we would go out at night to eat, shop and hang out. The event was in October and I thought the weather was perfect, not too hot and definitely not cold. Like Krystial and Lealane I ate and drank a lot (well Lealane didn't drink but only because she was pregnant). Lealane was our tour guide and directed us to all of the fun rides and shows. I can't remember the ride's name but Krystial and I rode one in Epcot that made us real sick. Lealane instantly recognized our nausea and gave us time to sit and recover. As well as she should since she failed to mention the deaths and heart attacks that the ride had caused BEFORE we got on. She told us about them as we were recuperating.

This past year Krystial and I went to another Bon Jovi concert. Lealane had to sit it out due to the birth of her second child, a son named Owen (see the link to her blog on the right). When I first started this blog I highlighted this event and shared some pictures.

Krystial is currently pregnant and is due on 2/15/08 and Lealane has her hands full with 2 small children. I'm not sure when we will get away again but I know we eventually will. I also think that it is Krystial's turn to choose a destination and she has already said she wants to go to the Keys.

When She Is Like This......

When she is sleeping, like this, it makes me think that I could mentally and physically handle at least 3 more. Look at her, she looks so sweet and innocent. Its almost like she never causes any trouble. Luckily she takes short naps and my memory immediately returns.

This picture was taken yesterday afternoon. Recently she has become accustomed to not napping but apparently needed one on that day. She crawled into this chair and instantly fell asleep.

I received a note from Ms. Woodard on Friday. Mallory is not listening again so I walked her into her classroom this morning. Mallory is playing "helpless". Apparently while at school, she can't wash her own hands, put her shoes on, or help clean up. I assured Ms. Woodard that Mallory does all of those things at home. On the flip side, she said Mallory is one of the smartest kids in the class. She reported that Mallory has identified all of her letters and numbers, and has recognized and spelled her name. However, she says that when she asks Mallory common sense questions and Mallory just stares at her. She said she asked Mallory, as part of an initial assessment, "what do you do if you are hungry?", and Mallory didn't answer. I laughed out loud because Mallory LOVES to eat so we all know that Mallory knows this answer. Tonight I asked her similar questions such as "what do you if you are thirsty?" and "what do you if you spill something?" and she answered those correctly. My guess is that Mal wanted to play during the time of this assessment. Either that or a relationship was not yet developed so Mal wasn't comfortable talking. Probably the first.

Mallory Goes Down!!

Mallory loves my stability ball and since she started her tumbling class, she has been trying to get enough courage to turn flips on it. In these pictures, you can see what happens. First she rolls, then falls, gets up, pouts, and finally recovers by laughing.