Gonna Look Great

Like this one day!

And I'm using this site to help me.
(Thanks to Barbara for introducing it to me it!)

I will get some pics mailed to them as soon as I can because with the way things are going lately, I'll miss the whole transitioning stage if I wait too long! YOWSERS!

The Official Album Is Packed

So this is just a small handful of non-digital candids from the big day!

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Cataloging Current Chaos & Contemplations

Alphabetically.

Alabama lawmakers. Ugh. I can think of another "C" word (notice the alliteration of the title?) that could describe a bunch of them. It's definition is "not straight; bent."

Ball season. It is SO upon us. Thank you, God for sending the much-needed rain that has allowed us a slower start than originally scheduled. We'll be ready for a full line-up soon but right now, having each of the 4 kids practicing only once a week instead of twice, has been really nice! Stay tuned for what I hope will be really great ball videos and pictures.

Birthday parties. If I had more time and money I could probably come up with a few incredibly cool ideas but with a tight budget and even tighter calendar, the planning required for the March 27, May 7, May 29, and June 22 events is a little cheated sometimes. Captain's 1st bday party was with very little fanfare, poor fella. I think the other 4 might get mutually themed events...all motivated by a certain mouse we'll be visiting in February 2009. We are now in countdown mode so I think the kids would enjoy some Diz-themed celebrations. But not just a Princess or Mickey thing! No, I'm thinking something specifically related to our favorite things on our previous DW trip. Hmmm...

Blogs. Adding lots to my reader lately. Watch the sidebar because most will probably make it there in the near future.

Houses. I have a folder of online bookmarks for 12 houses. These are the ones we are interested in seriously considering once ours sells. Unfortunately, one of these 12 became a "pending" status this week. I guess that's OK, though because it's a different one that actually has my heart-rate speeding a little when I think about it.

Kids. Mine are awesome and amazing. Sometimes, in between the rebellion and disobedience, the fussing and fighting, the name-calling and hitting, my kids will laugh and play with each other and obey simple commands. Sometimes they will do what they need to do without being told. Sometimes they are fall-out-of-my-chair funny! Sometimes I look at them when they don't know it, and I just stare and smile because I can't believe how gorgeous and wonderful they are.

Living with parents. It's still good but it's still not home.

"Preparing For Adolescence." - This is a class I am teaching to 6th grade girls at the church. It's one of those classes where parents have to sign a permission slip. It's one of those classes where I had to meet with parents before we started. It's one of those classes where students are allowed to write anonymous questions and put them in a box. Yeah.

Reality TV - We're too interested in too many of these silly shows. But they are SO much fun. Project Runway was great and I will miss watching it. The Biggest Loser is new to our schedule this year and was only added because of Bama's Roger Shultz. We are now REALLY loving it and hope Rog goes all the way! It makes me want to exercise, which is a good thing but I often find myself eating uce cream while I watch it! Survivor is still an old standby. We haven't let the kids watch it this year, though. I don't have a favorite yet. American Idol is great, of course. I had high hopes for David Arculetta (sp?) but tonight's bombing worries me. Jason Castro is gorgeous. I don't mean that in a lustful way but in a way that means I truly think he's beautiful. I like looking at him like I like looking at sunsets. The Apprentice is another new one we added to our viewing list. It almost didn't make it because we were unsure we'd like it but it's been very enjoyable. I don't know if we'll watch it when the Celebrity season is over. I don't know if we'd enjoy watching regular people. (as an aside - is anyone watching Breaking Bad?? It's not a reality show but... anyone see it? It's horribly, and I mean HORRIBLY as in a bad-way, fascinating.)

Ron Paul. I am sad he won't be our Prez and will miss his campaign (this girl ROCKS!!!).

Teething. 12 teeth in Captain's little mouth now. T W E L V E ! He's not even 13 months old (will be on the 13th, though! YIKES!) These four molars have been tough but we're nearing the end. Two nights ago was restless. Last night was better but not perfectly sound. Tonight is lots of drool but a happy mood.

TGM - As mentioned in the Birthday Parties entry, we're in the early but serious stages of officially planning our next Family Disney World vacation (with Henry's family.) Even though I stuck my nose in the accomodations-planning portion for a short period of time, I have since given all authority of that responsibility to Pa Trippe. I know he will do a fantastic job in that department and I'd much rather focus on the itinerary portion of the trip. Too soon? NO WAY! Farnsworth and I do a bang-up job of this and with the wisdom of Tour Guide Mike, we are certainly expecting another smooth, relaxed, fully-packed, but well-rested vacation.

My Birthday Is In February

Don't you want to get me this?

LA Again? Sure Hope So!

How weird is it that ONE DAY after the 1-year anniversary of my Price Is Right Trip that I find out about Wheel Of Fortune coming to Birmingham THE NEXT DAY?

Do y'all remember after my failed attempts to be a contestant on TPIR that I said I wanted to try Wheel of Fortune next? After doing research on it, I soon realized that WOF wouldn't be NEARLY as easy as TPIR but I held onto hope. I signed up for the Wheel Watcher emails and assumed I would get an email about any WheelMobile stops in AL and possibly even neighborhing states.

Imagine my surprise when I clicked on Crystal's blog to do a little catch-up reading and finding THIS post! WHAT!? WM coming to Birmingham and I didn't know about it? Did I miss it? What's the date??? HURRY, little brain, FIND THE DATE! What is today's date? ACK! Panic, panic!

WHAT? It's TOMORROW?

Yep, Friday the 14th I saw Crystal's blog and was STUNNED that I hadn't gotten any emails about this and even MORE stunned to realize the WheelMobile was the NEXT DAY!

So the plans for our weekend started to change right away. (Sorry to those who were a part of our plans changing and THANKS FOR THE ENCOURAGEMENT that we should do this!)

Saturday morning we got up early and Henry & I, along with all the kids, my parents, and my Uncle J went to Bham for the big auditions! It was SO dang crowded at the Galleria but we hoped it was because of Christmas shopping and not because of the WheelMobile. Turns out, our hopes were right and we were fine. We had plenty of time to eat lunch and then get in line approximately 1 hour before doors opened at the vacant anchor store where the auditions would be held. We stood in line, filled out applications, talked to some people around us, took a few pics, and kept a watch out for Crystal so I could tell her THANK YOU in person! Honestly, if it wasn't for her blog, I'd STILL be clueless about the WM! oohh....I shudder to think about how I would have felt finding out about this TOO LATE!

So we were 5 (18 & over) out of 500 (?) who made it into the first round of auditions. I won't re-type all of the process because you can find out all about that HERE but I will tell you that just being there was a step closer to being on the show but there are still tons of other steps that have to happen.

PRAISE GOD that my name was called SECOND! YES, that's #2!!! I was the second person called to the stage!! We were F R E A K I N G out! When I say "we" I know for a fact that me and my kids were freaking! I remember seeing Mom look back at me with a super-excited look and her eyes a little teary, kinda like mine were when I saw Bob Barker! Anyway, it was an AWESOME moment! When Marty (the travelling host) was reading the name he was handed out of the giant gold barrel that held all of our applications, time started to slow down. I heard my name in slow-mo and it was VERY surreal. It was the closest thing to "Come On Down" that I might ever hear!

So I handed Captain to Uncle J (and was so thankful I had already unhooked him from the Maya Tie because of the intense body heat we were producing in that CROWDED room!) I ran to the stage, had a Polaroid snapped and stapled to my application, and was hurried onto the stage. As we were REPEATEDLY told, THE AUDITION HAD BEGUN! (Ladies and gentlemen, your audition starts the second your name is called so make it count! This is YOUR CHANCE! Own the stage!")

Well, I don't know if I OWNED the stage or not but my game-show-prep studying I had done kinda started trickling through my adrenaline-flooded brain. Be happy (check) be enthusiastic (check), be a good sport and encouraging to others (hug fellow contestants -- check) have fun (check check!)

I looked down at the kids, who had made their way to the front of the crowd so they could see me better and they were TOTALLY flippin'! It was the coolest thing! Rocky was red-faced and smiling bigger than I've ever seen him smile. His hands were in the air and he was waving 'em like he just didn't care! Awesome.

The next few minutes were a blur. The 5 of us first contestants were called 1 at a time to the front of the stage to introduce & tell a little bit about ourselves. I was second in line so I was called forward almost immediately after gaining a bit of composure. I told my name and then it went something like this:

Marty : (standing on tip-toes -- ha ha - I'm tall.) "So what do you, Stacy?"

Me : "Well, I have 5 children and I homeschool them so we spend a lot of time together." (it just came out without much thought. the "homeschool" word seemed to get one cheer from one person in the back of the room!)

Marty : "Allright! 5 kids! So what do you like to do in your free time? Your STACY time?"

Me : (mustering courage to attempt humor) "You heard me say I have five children, right?"

LAUGHTER! WHOO HOO!

Me : "Well, I'm a little bit of an internet nerd and I like to blog."

Marty : "You're a blogger, huh? What do you blog about? Having 5 kids?"

Me : (something like) "Yes!"

Marty : "Are you ready to play the Wheel?"

Me : (something like) "Very much so!" (Did I raise my hand in the air??)

Marty : (his arm around me turned me back to my place) "Good job!....Next..."

I was shaking like a leaf! AGH! It was all happening so fast!

When I got back to my spot, I spoke again to Contestant number 1. Niceties. Then I looked for the producers/judges/whatever. Eye contact was made and the lady with the sparkly reading glasses nodded and smiled at me and then wrote some notes! I smiled ever so Southernly but didn't stare. I actually started making even more attempts at being cheerful for the other contestants. And then I noticed the puzzle was being put on the board. Hmmm....see if you can figure it out, Stace.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Something and something.

BRICKS AND MORTAR? Could it be bricks and mortar? Why did that pop in my head? Where's the category? THINGS. Wow, it COULD be bricks and mortar!

Looked over at Miss Sparkly Glasses and wanted her to know "I know how to play this game. I am SERIOUS about playing this game. I am already playing this game."

She noticed me again and smiled AGAIN and made notes AGAIN! Even Heidi, the traveling "Vanna" noticed me already working on the puzzle and smiled at me. YAY FOR SMILES!

The game started. #1 guessed R. 1 R.

Not BRICKS AND MORTAR.

My turn. "S"

2 S's!

Think, think, think.

I know the middle word is AND -- or so I think it is but it's going so fast...and didn't somebody guess N? If they guessed N, it's not AND because there's no N up there. My brain was racing...where's that list of already-guessed letters? MY TURN AGAIN!

I guessed D because I wanted to see if it was AND but didn't want to accidentally say a letter that was already guessed.

2 D's!

Contestant #4 guessed O and there was 1 O and I figured it out! PLEASE don't get it...please don't get it...please let it get back to me...

Contestant #5 guessed something but it wasn't in the puzzle. Back to #1 and she guessed L! I knew there was no L so it was making it back to ME!!!

"H" I said loudly and clearly into the microphone. Heidi signaled for the H and wrote it in. When it came up I clearly said, "HOPES AND DREAMS!"

DING DING DING! I won! The crowd cheered! WHOO HOO!

It was daggum exciting!

Oh, I forgot that the prize wheel was spun before the round started and our prize was a fanny pack so as we walked off-stage, we received our bags with a keychain and blinky lapel pin inside!

And that was it! We stuck around to see if anyone else in the family's name was drawn but they weren't. The audition lasted about 1 hour and there about 50 people who went across the stage by the end of the "show."

As we left, the waiting room was CROWDED with another set of folks waiting for the 2nd audition. There were 3 total on Saturday and 3 more today. I'm sooooooo thankful I made it through on the first round and we didn't have to stick around for the others!

So now we wait to see if I am one of about 70 from these two days' worth of auditions that get called back for a final audition to be held in a couple of months. From blogs of others who have gone through similar procedures, I should know the answer to this within 1 month. Sigh...the waiting...

We are so pumped at the possibility! I can't believe I'm actually in the long-shot running of contestants! Think about it...there are only 3 contestants per night for maybe 150 shows per year? (note to self - read show FAQs for info like this.) If there were 500 people over 6 sets of auditions, that's me needing to be 70 out of 3000 people they saw this weekend! OK, so I at least made it to the stage for them to see me so I'm actually in the running of about 50 that went on stage per show so that's needing to be in the top 70 of 300. Maybe??

Will keep you posted! In the meantime, read the "About Video" portion of this guy's youtube video. It tells a pretty good synopsis of the process he went through.

My Babywearing Baby

How sweet is THIS?

It's That Time Of Year!

Call me pitiful but I only get my hair cut once a year and THIS is that time of year! I don't intentionally wait this length of time, it's just that I will be fine with this cut until 12 months pass and then I'll be sick of it! And I certainly don't have the time to go get a cut just because.

The girls got theirs cut today too so we're gonna share with you our little modeling session we had after our visit to the salon!

After 3 Months...

I guess I'm finally ready to share some pictures from Captain's birthday!
I better get TONS of comments on this! It's taking a lot of courage to put THIS much out there for y'all to see! In fact, I'd love to have the number of comments equal the number of views so if you watch this, PLEASE comment - just to let me know who saw it, OK?

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Bugs Bunny, Bugs Bunny, RAH RAH RAH!

The reason I use the above title is because I just finished thinking the phrase that comes beforehand. Yup, a long post just got wiped out when I hit "publish" and "Fricka Fracka Firecracker" is kinda my way of not using vulgar language.

What was deleted?

A much-too-descriptive list of why this week is wearing me out. So now you get the slimmed down version:
Previously - Monday - School (We've completed 142 out of the 170 days that are required) and Bible Study. Tuesday - "Holiday" (He-Man turned 4 and Henry took us all to the Galleria.) Today - State House (details below) & church (started back teaching the class I was teaching before Captain was born.) Tomorrow - State House again and all 3 children have ball practice. Friday - pre-scheduled field trip with other homeschoolers to the Biscuit Stadium. Saturday - All 3 ball practice and a Health Fair. Sunday - Church and Toby Mac Concert (Pray rain comes before or after but not during because it's at an amphitheater!)

The following looks long at a glance but it's all copy/pasted/combined from emails floating around an email list I'm on. This is in reference to the public hearing at the State House today regarding HB199 which seeks to legalize and regulate Certified Professional Midwives in Alabama. It was an AWESOME event. I'm just too tired to re-cap myself so I thought I'd let you see what others wrote.

In a nut shell we PACKED the room by 9:30 with standing room only after that!!! It was a pleasure to witness such well-prepared, articulate speakers,
and I am not talking about the opposing side!!

The three "fors" gave compelling testimony -- a skillful blend of
(conscientiously limited) endearing, emotional testimony with bold,
factual evidence. I was impressed with the grace and professionalism that each
possessed and I think they are all a credit to the women of Alabama.
I would love to be able to give a description of their testimony, but
I am afraid I would not do them justice, so I will only say that they
were informative, effective and befitting of the role as our
repesentatives.

Ida, from NARM was wonderful with being able to answer all of the Committee's questions on ceritifcation/accredidation, statistics, and how midwifery programs are working in the other 42 states that have midwives. I would have been impressed even if she had been on the other side. My favorite quote from her was, "If you want to lower your infant mortality rates, stop sending your healthy moms and infants to other states to get their birth certificates."

The three "againsts" seemed to not know much beyond their scripted
diatribes about how allowing midwives to operate would be akin to
dooming the entire society of Alabama to medieval-like conditions.
According to the opposition, women should be forcibly made to give
birth in hospitals (because the furtherance of the human race is at
stake here!?!?).

The first doctor who spoke gave a brief summary of statistics, all of
which were eventually "debunked" so to speak, after it was revealed
that the statistics mainly reflected a high mortality rate throughout
the "black belt" and amongst women who take illicit drugs during
pregnancy. He even admitted that the other states with midwifery programs had lower infant and maternal mortality rates but said, (paraphrase)"There's no evidence that those states have lower death rates just because they use midwives."

The second doctor who spoke puts childbirth in the same category with pneumonia and heart disease. To paraphrase, he said something like, "Yes, childbirth is natural, but so is pneumonia, heart attack..." and something else I don't recall.
Er, call me crazy but someone who thinks pregnancy should be placed
on a list of "pathologies" should not be representing women's
interests.

The third to speak against it was a nurse-midwife and after some
confusion about which side she was on, she went on to explain her
opposition. To be honest, I quit listening about this point, but I
did catch on that two of her primary objections were these: NO births
should be in the home, citing that too much can go wrong; and that
CPM's lack the intensive nursing training that she equates with being
able to handle "any" (presumably inevitable) emergency.

Let me share the experience that best sums up the way the hearing went. I think this illustrates the mood of the hearing, the effectiveness
of our speakers, and the faulty logic used by the opposition.
At the hearing, a 50-ish, professional looking man asks to sit down
in the chair available next to me. We strike up a conversation. He
is a pediatrician prepared to speak in opposition to the bill and I
politely addressed some of his concerns (he had some
misconceptions). He spoke to me afterwards,(quote) "you know, this
really isn't as straightforward as I thought- and it (midwifery)
isn't as dangerous (or something like that) like the medical side
presents... (and still quoting) "I am really glad that I didn't have
a chance to speak out in opposition. Can you send me more
information?" He hands me his card- not only is he a pediatrician
bI tut he is xxxxxxx.

Hearing the well-versed testimony in support and the not-so-
articulate and lacking in data of those opposed really gave him
something to think about.

I think that many folks who went in there thinking they were opposed
to this left feeling like he did- wanting more information- and
entertaining the idea that this might not be such a bad thing for
mamas and babies afterall.

Happy Birthday To Me

33 years of blessings have lead to this amazing place in my life. I couldn't ask for anything more!

From February Blog

Thank you, God!

Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii-YAH!

In case you didn't know, that's the sound of the chop that was done to my hair. Here are a couple of angles. The second one is an homage to fellow blogger, Crystal :)

After the hair-do pics you see how big I have gotten.

Thanks to Rocky for being the photog.

Dependability

I KNOOOOW that I'm not the most dependable person in the world and I've done my fair share of optimistic planning only to not be able to follow through but after this week, I'm going to work EVEN HARDER at not saying I'm going to do something if I don't know that I can.

Why?

I've been on the receiving end of no-shows.....or as the eBay world calls it.... "non-paying bidders."

3 out of 5 completed auctions I had listed on eBay turned into non-responding sales. 3 out of 5!!! I wanted to get this stuff OUT of my house ASAP and now I'm having to deal with stuff AND no money AND going through the eBay process to dispute the claims (eBay charges for listing the items and then charges a % of final bid. One of my items sold for over $100 so it's a significant charge for it!)

And then I sent out an email trying to sell some other things that were a little too good for regular old yard sale fodder and I had a couple of requests (commitments in my head) only to have those to fall through, too.

Sigh.

I'm truly not grumpy...it's been a really good day! In fact, it's my birthday :) I have forgotten this fact numerous times during the week and even a couple of times during the day. It's amazing how age has made me less focused on birthdays! I think I have confused Rocky pretty bad. I told the kids this was the year that I started going backwards in age and that I was 29 again. David believes me and tells everyone very matter-of-factly that I'm NOT 31!

Prayers are lifted for our house closings to go through smoothly tomorrow. I did post where they were postponed, right? Yeah, I think I did.

Prayers also for the numerous children I am hearing about these days with massive health challenges. 4 kids in particular who have cancer. There IS HOPE yet I don't have access to all 4 of these kids to tell them about it. I'm praying about approaching the family of 1 particular child, I've already approached another of the children's parents (to no avail) but 2 of the families are more distant (but local so I'm praying for an opportunity for me or another person to share with them.) I'm really wanting to start a local Manna Relief fund.... I don't have the time, that's for sure, so I'm praying someone who DOES have the time and desire will come forward.

Henry is ready to watch a little bit of our Malcolm In The Middle DVD box set. More later :)

Do We Look Alike?

Do we look alike? Henry thought so. 

Indie and I took a self-portrait during the Bama/Miss St game last week. Sure wish our smiles were as big during a Bama game THIS week....sigh....Roll Tide anyway....