Campfire time!

to the left, those are REALLY stars :)

We've been lucky enough to build a few fires since the air has gotten cooler...this morning eli begged wes to build one(at 6:30 am!) before he went to work! looks like he has the fever!

we all had fun:)

Welcome Fall! We've missed you!!!

eli was singing in this one!

So this weekend was filled with some good family moments...Saturday we loaded the kids up and headed out to the Hiwassee River...We wanted to get out of the house, since it was such a nice day (with hints of fall!) and let the kids play in the water and gather rocks and such...it took us A WHILE :) to find a spot...the river was up, so there weren't very many spots that would accommodate a four, three and one year old...we went to a place that mamaw and hanny frequent, but needless to say, there were several people there already...i guess we should have expected that on a saturday...we even drove to the ocoee(wes's idea) to see if we could find a little spot...but we had no luck, so we drove back to the hiwassee...i prefer the hiwassee atmosphere than the ocoee anyway...it's much more quaint and cozy...the ocoee is too hustling and bustling...to me...the spot that we went to first was then empty...ellie was fast asleep, so we left her in the car (with the windows down!) and let her rest...eli and addie loved it...eli was a little more adventurous, of course...when ellie finally woke up, she was ready to dive in to that freezing cold water! she's a wild woman! we had a really nice time...just being up there made me want to be there more! we regretted not throwing a tent in the car...that's the only thing that wasn't in there!the air smelled smokey...i just love that smell...i even love it the next day when you get a whiff of your clothes or hair...anyway, i'm so glad that fall is today! Happy Birthday, Fall! We sure do love that you are here!

I had a BEAUTIFUL birthday!

So yesterday i hit the big TWO-NINE...that's right...just one year from thirty...i'm not upset, though, because my life just keeps getting better and better! i have the most wonderful husband...and i am not just saying that...this is MY blog and everything in it is only what is dear to me...So, back to my honey...he is such a romantic...he always finds time to make me feel special...even though i am a worn out, frazzled, mommy...i love him more than anything...well, yesterday i started the day by entertaining my kid's every whim...not really, but that's sure what it felt like...they started out all smiles and "happy birthdays"...then after wes left for work (go figure) they were fist fighting, screaming, and making demands...so, i kept asking "don't ya'll remember that today is my birthday?!" after they all went to nap my day got way better...i had a nice little cup of coffee and looked at ETSY...when my honey got home, we got ready and left...josh and rachel helped us out BIG TIME by watching the kids for us! we went out to dinner and a movie...they were both perfect...wes gave me a beautiful necklace...i assumed that was all a girl could need on her 29th birthday...i was lucky to have such a fun night with my darlin...when we pulled in, josh and rachel and their kids were already in the car...i didn't think twice about it because they said the kids were tired...so, when we walk into the house, it was full of candles! the living room...the dining room...then i look at our dining room table and it is filled with mums! (MY FAVORITE!)Wes's lovely mom (my mama-in-law) got them for me...and helped make the house look SO beautiful! it was a wonderful night! i am so lucky to be so loved...

so today i'm feeling a little O.C.D

i have the organizing bug this week...i have been in the kid's rooms, rearranging...addie received a dora the explorer house for her birthday...and she got a growing family doll house for christmas...so since her birthday, i have not been able to sleep at night (maybe that's a little dramatic) because dora did not live next door to the growing family....so...a few days ago, i got in there and i rearranged! there is limited space when two gals share a room...i'm actually pretty good at getting rid of toys that are broken or that they just don't play with any more...i don't want them to be monsters...we buy them things for their birthdays and christmas...and then only occasionally throughout the year...but it surprises me at how much stuff they accumulate...we have been blessed with wonderful friends and family, so they rack up at their birthday parties...so, alot gets passed on...eli cracks me up because whenever he gets something he asks if it came from the thrift store! haha! he thinks that is the only place i shop! it works out good, though...i buy practically brand new things that some other kid got tired of...for dirt...and then when my kids get tired of it, i return it to the thrift store...viola! if you have never been to christ's chapel in ringgold, you must go...i bought addie a pair of tevas there for .50 cents! they have dress up stuff and toys and the price is everything you can stick in a bag for a dollar! i love that place! so, back to the dora/growing family house problem...i rearranged and now they are happily living as next door neighbors....ahhhhhh...now that feels better:) (of course i put all of the play food in the same basket...and all the dress up stuff in an under the bed container (that the kids haven't discovered yet !) and put all the baby doll stuff in a basket...of course they are all mixed up now...oh well...it was fun while it lasted!

Mommies and Showers

Why is it that when i take a shower, my kids ask where we are going? Am i not entitled to shower daily without leaving my home? Not that i shower daily....not by choice, of course...I would love to shower daily...When Wes showers, they don't ask where he's going...Just wondering?

Mighty Morphin Cavity Ranger

so most people don't care much about hearing of kids, other than their own...but today wes and i took eli to see kung fu panda at the 2.50 theatre and he said something that the world should know...so now, i will share it with you...brandon...i'm not really sure if i have other readers, but someday, future fans can read this in the archives...so on the way to the show, eli tells us that when he grows up he is going to be a dentist and a power ranger...so there you have it...not only does today's youth care about good dental hygiene, but justice as well...goodnight

My Bubba...

now, when i say BUBBA, i don't mean it in the redneck sort of way...you must say it with an indian accent...not native american indian...i mean, india indian...SHOUT OUT, ZUBIN! anyhow, i love my brother, so much...he just posted an awesome blog about childhood memories...it's hard to think about childhood, without thinking of brandon...we really had some good times as kids...and i can always count on brandon to bring the skeletons out of the closet...such as old pictures of my frizzy permed hair (daddy was dating "edie" the manager at regis hairstyle, at the time!) and extremely buck teeth...with a HUGE gap in them...as a matter of fact, i believe he has some pics on his myspace of when we were little...lets just get it all out in the open...thanks bubba...brandon and i have always had a dry, sarcastic sort of humor...i often wonder where it came from! we lived out in the country...with our grandparents...hmmmm? i'll be thinking about that one...we were just laughing, the other day, about how we used to fight....i mean, literally, fight...brandon threw rocks at me almost every day while we waited for the bus...(no car riding for us:) we were raised by our grandparents!) i hit him in the head with a hot wheel or something one time...and brought much blood...i was a scrapper, but brandon fought to kill...but luckily, I'm Still here!!! wooohooo! the funniest thing that i can remember that i did to get even with him, was to throw his beloved transformers over the fence...our neighbor bush hogged pretty often, so they were obliterated before too long...HAHA! i never realized that our poor dad was working seven days a week...and his hard earned money bought those transformers...oh well...anyway, we had some good times...love you bubba!

my granny grant

so you may not know that my beautiful little daughter is named addie after her great grandmother...also known as my "granny grant"....she passed away about five years ago...my grandma, joan, talks about her every now and then...she told me that every time she hears addie's name, she thinks of her mom...this makes my heart swell! my grandma is so special to me...it is strange to think of myself, as a little girl, visiting my granny grant...and now, when my daughter visits her grandma cross, i wonder if she is storing memories of her that she will think of long after grandma is gone...
we used to visit granny on sundays...she always had the best dinner prepared for us...biscuits, and potato soap, roast, etc...a huge spread...(we would always hear her whistling, as we walked in the door...she couldn't really whistle that well! it was kind of breathy, but she would be giving all that she had! EVERY TIME!)...she would be up and down constantly fussing over whether you had enough to eat and drink...she always had a bag of fruit flavored tootsy rolls...and always spoiled us with candy...
we went there every christmas eve..she had the biggest most beautiful christmas tree...and a big picture window, where you could see it as you came down the driveway...this was when i still believed in santa...
we lived with my grandma, so we visited granny about once a week...it was a very comfortable place...the other night, i lay in bed and tried my hardest to imagine every detail of her house...and to my surprise, i could still see most of it as if i had just been there last week! it made me sad...i don't even know what made me think about her...maybe it was eli...he told me, the other day, that addie was in heaven...and i said, "no she's not!" he argued with me, back and forth, that yes, she was in heaven! so, finally i said, "eli! you sweet baby sister is right here...she is NOT in heaven!" and then he said, "Not her...the other addie...grandma's mommy" so was like ah hah! and then i guess that is when i started thinking about granny grant...i try to tell them things about her, because she is a part of who they are...and addie shares her name...
so, back to her house...she had a storm door to the side of the house, which is where everyone would come in...just down the hallway, on the right was my grandma's bedroom from when she was a teenager...i couldn't imagine my grandma, a teenager! now, it seems a little easier to imagine, seeing that i have been out of school for ten years! gasp! then to the left, was a bathroom, with carpet! i remember the toilet was cushony and every time you sat on it, it pinched your butt! beside the bathroom, was a kind of junk room...this is where the grand christmas tree lived during the off season...the men just pushed it into this room and would push it out each christmas! we (me and brandon) would open the door every time we were there, just to look at it! i remember the smell of the room! it was musty and cold...then to the right, was a den...now that i think about it, granny was kind of cutting edge for those times...i guess! she had a black leather couch... and red, black and silver lenoleium(?) this room led you to the dining room, where her big table sat...behind the table was a china cabinet...and on top of that china cabinet was a huge container of peperment sticks...it was always full! the only thing i remember about the kitchen is that it was green! and all of this circled into the living room...she had a little chair in the corner, with a picture of her parents (my great great grandparents) on the wall...i always thought they looked like the old painting of the farm couple...you know, where the man has the pitch fork...and then to the left of the living room, was the "blue" room...and that is where the kiddie table sat during our dinners...i remember the old furniture with the wash basin and chenille bedspread, of course...granny's room was kind of peach...and lonely...she had a picture of my great uncle, gary, in his army uniform...not really sure which war he was in....and she had a tray of fancy perfume bottles...and in the living room, there was a big tv, that sat on the floor...can't remember what you call them! and behind the front door, in the corner, was a small shelf with pictures of all of the kids and grandkids...and i remember the only picture of me was one of when i was a baby...and now that i think about it, i was only four years old, so that wasn't too far in the past, at that time...can you believe that all of this comes from the memory of a four year old? i could probably remember more, if you want me to...and we wont venture to the outdoors, because that's a whole (nother) (sorry, i had to do it) post...
i was in the first grade, at the most, when she came to live with us for a while...me and brandon were little jerks...we used to get so mad, because she sat in the recliner in the living room and read every commercial that came on...i mean any kind of writing in an advertisment or tv show, she read...non stop...and now, i would love nothing more than to have my little granny sitting in my living room reading sub-titles out loud...
there...if you are still with me...you probably know granny grant...or you are sentimental...or you just didn't have anything else to do...but, back to my point...i wonder what memories addie is making about her great grandma...my little precious, joanie...i love her so much and just can't really face the facts that history is repeating itself... i can't believe that my firecracker grandma is now someone's great grandma...
she made addie a handmade doll on her first birthday that says grandma+ addie...on the dolls belly...and there is a heart around their names...and addie loves that doll...she sleeps with it every night...and has peed on it several times...it looks kind of antique(from all of the pee) i just can't imagine looking at it when addie is my age and i am, possibly a grandma...wow...and i am sure that my grandma looks back on her life...when she was having her babies...or even when she was a baby...and i just think of how fleeting it all is...
i am so thankful for my family and our little life...i hope my grandma lives forever, but in the mean time, i am trying to get every little tidbit out of her...any memories that she has...one day i will be an old great grandma, if the lord wills it...and i want all of my children and grandchildren and great grand children to think as hard as they can about every little detail that they remember about me...i miss my little granny grant...

five little birds

so i have this new hobby...who would have thought throwing old bread out to the birds every day would be something i look forward to?! when i go to my grandama's house, she always has the prettiest birds in her yard...and of all kinds! well, she told me that if i would just throw bread and seed out to them every day, then they would come! so, i am starting to see all different colors...they come here every day to get a little snack...so, i guess that kind of means that i have pet birds:) i mean, i feed them EVERY day! this morning i have clay and ethyn graham, along with my little darlins...so we were watching the tree to see what decided to show up...and it was hilarious because there was a red bird that we named ethyn...and a frisky bluejay named eli...a pretty little bird that looked like he had a mohawk...of course we named him clay! and then, on the ground were two little baby birds named addie and ellie...i am not kidding! and the kids just ate it right up! even ethyn, who is five, and sometimes too cool for school, was like "oh, wow! i am really high!" so i guess the talleys are now officially "bird watchers"!

the ice breaker is the hardest part

here is is! this is the long awaited blog of nichelle talley...i'm sure it will be all that you have anticipated and more! i don't have time to write much, but for now i will leave you with this...apparently, cream cheese makes a lovely mohawk...when you smell poop, it could be from two sources...and some days you look at the time and it is 10:57 am and you wonder how it is that you have accomplished nothing, even though you are a domestic goddess...but life is still good and even these moments are fine...now show me some love, Janet, Jenny, Karen and Libby, and start your own blog!