Exhaustion has set in...am I a celebrity or something??

For the love of God, I can't seem to get enough rest or sleep now that we're back from vacation. Seriously. I just want to sleep for like 15 hours straight like I could in college. My kids are sleeping like logs every time I put them in bed, too. Suh-WEET!

This weekend I'll be getting together with a couple of old friends to meet their babies. I am looking forward to that. Otherwise, I am looking forward to the slowness that a weekend is SUPPOSED to provide. I say supposed to provide because weekends often fly by around here. i think part of my exhaustion comes from the fact that for three straight weekends before our trip, I had shows. This means getting up super early and lugging a bunch of tables, mannequins, display, etc., around, standing all day selling stuff, packing it all back up and then unloading it at home. At the end of the day, you honestly feel like you have not rested in days.

OK, well, it is off to bed for me! Sweet dreams, little blog readers.

Forgot to mention...

OK, so there were a few negatives to our trip that I forgot about...LOL

I left me Aveda universal styling creme at home, thus the minimal pics of me. I had cheesy hair the whole trip. I avoided posing for the pics. LOL.

I also had bad allergies for the first day adn the last day. Other than that, it was the bomb. Can't wait to go back...

WDW report!

Oh. My. god. It has finally come and gone. Walt Disney World! With a four year old and a 16 month old. Our trip started out crazy, with the drive from Murfreesboro to the airport taking us just under two hours. We arrived at our gate for our 9:55 Am flight at 9:22 AM. Here is Miles on her first flight ever, and Lola and Phillip on Lola's first flight ever...

It was amazing. Our resort reminded us A LOT of Opryland Hotel. It was very comfy and convenient. The first night, we headed to Magic Kingdom where we had dinner and rode Dumbo. Dumbo was on "the list". Miles had been waiting to ride Dumbo for months, so we made sure to do that a million times. We also looked around a lot. We caught the end of the parade from Frontier Land. Then we headed over to the castle. WOW. We didn't even begin to realize the wow factor of our spot. We were right in front of the castle. Literally. Thousands of people stood behind US! I actually took the pic below. It isn't a postcard!

On Friday, we started the day at Cinderella's Castle for a royal breakfast. It was lovely. (Surprisingly, the food was all really good throughout our whole trip.) Miles and Lola met all of the main princesses and got autographs and photos. We headed back to Dumbo that day, letting them ride in their dresses, I do believe. That night we went to Downtown Disney for browsing and dinner. Here is the kicker! At the dinner table...Lola started crying out, no indication why...until about 30 seconds later with no warning gags or anything, she projectile vomits like five times right at the table. The next stop was to buy her something to wear. LOL! We got her a precious tshirt. We did some walking and stopped for frozen lemonade by the water. Then off to bed it was!

Saturday, we headed to Epcot. We did lunch at Le Celliere, the Canadian steakhouse. Great experience! Above is the picture of Miles and her birthday dessert. We went to the pool that afternoon. I was so proud when Miles went down the water slide all alone. I caught her at the bottom. The intent was for me to hold her all the way down, but when we got to the top of the stairs, we learned that they do not allow that. Boo. Anyway, she came through like a champ. Loved the pool! Lola was hilarious. Phillip got in with his phone in his pocket, so I have to see about getting a new one from Cingular. LOL. I think we ended that night at Magic Kingdom, riding Small World, Dumbo and Peter Pan's Flight...

On Sunday, we headed to Chef Mickey's character breakfast. After that, we took the girls to Animal Kingdom. This was really cool. It is a hidden plus to WDW. I didn't realize that there was a DinoLand area that was great for kids. We rode a dinosaur themed version of Dumbo and took an African safari tour. A bit later, we went back for naps and then went to Epcot for dinner at Coral Reef. This was full of drama. We lost a stuffed kitty cat that we had just gotten the day before and it set the tone. Throughout our meal, the little boy next to us was jumping on the booth and kicking the back of the booth. When they left, Miles decided to run over to his spot and jump. On the third bounce, I was up out my seat, telling her to get down immediately. At the same time, a random server found it appropriate to lean over a rail and reprimand Miles directly for jumping on her seat. Oh. No. She. Di'n't! Sadly for her, oh yeah she did. I was already in the process of telling Miles that jumping around was unacceptable and she (the server) caused a scene, drawing the attention of all tables around us, included the upper level. Quote: Excuse me? I am in the process of disciplining me child myself and it is absolutely none of your business. (She then interrupted me, saying it was a safety issue.) me: I suggest you mind your own business. The server then came and sat down at the booth with me, actually sitting right next to me, leaning right into my personal space to try to explain why she did that. I said something to the effect of the previous statement and told her to leave me alone. (Phillip had taken Miles out of the restaurant already.) It was terrible. We left and watched the fireworks at Epcot. Monday was back to Epcot for part of the day with lunch in Italy. We went back to the room in the afternoon and had a babysitter come stay with the kids from 6 PM to 11 PM. Phillip and I went back to Epcot to finish the World Showcase alone. Later, we sat at the River Roost until almost 11PM. That is the piano bar in our hotel. We just needed to chill. We also went to the general store in our hotel and browsed.

Tuesday AM was Magic Kingdom one last time. We rode the carousel twice since Lola loved it so much. We got the last minute shopping in, a few souvenirs we';d put off picking out. Later we went back to the airport, completely oblivious to the air traffic control snafoo that had wrecked havoc on flights. Luckily, ours was not messed up. We had lunch and flew home! Home sweet home! The girls are currently sleeping like babies!

MOPS

Tomorrow is the first day of MOPS. That is Mothers of Preschoolers, for you uninformed people. LOL. It is really fun. Two Fridays a month, it last from 9:00 to 11:30. You check your kids into childcare and go to a meeting with other MOPS. They have a breakfast buffet, a speaker, a discussion time, a fun crafty project, etc. It is such a nice break. And all of the childcare workers have background checks. This is a huge plus.

One week

Exactly one week from this moment, I will be walking around Disney World with my babies and husband. I can not wait. VACATION. Time to get away...

Is it totally dorky to use one of my checked bags as a box full of snacky foods for the room? Remember, I am taking a four year old and a 16 month old. I will need lots of fruit snacks, nutrigrain bars, etc. And sense we are staying at a WDW resort and booked through WDW, we get our luggage picked up for us without any effort on our part. I am packing snacks. Lots of snacks.

last night

Last night reminded me soooo much of college and sitting outside of the fraternity houses during parties. These cool September nights always get me every year! Awwww. The memories. Good and bad. I wouldn't trade them for anything.

WDW

Only 12 days til Disney!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I could just die! I can't even fathom what it will be like to experience WDW as the parent watching her own child live a magical experience.

Speaking of magical experiences...Wednesday night at church, Miles was so stoked. They had a magician for the AWANAs kickoff.

Next week...

My line will be in Leslie's Shoppe!! This is so monumetal. Thank you, Lord. ("God Bless you, God!" this is an inside joke...to BB8 fans like Casey)

so here I am....

still up at 2AM when I have to LEAVE at 7 in the morning for a show. Typical me!

My big girl isn't a baby anymore...

PSS

September already? REALLY? Where did the summer go? I am not complaining, as I hate the heat so much I can't even put it into words. Well...I could...but you get my point. I love fall and spring. Those are my favorites times of year. I also love the holidays but my favorite seasons are the mild ones. Anyway, it will be Christmas before I know it. It will also be a year since we moved. That is just nonsense. I still have boxes that need to be unpacked. [Sigh.] That's what happens when you move with two babies. You don't have time to unpack.

I am just really looking forward to fall nights on the patio, wagon trips to Food Lion and long sleeves/layers. (Layering clothes and long sleeves that are too long are my two favorite looks. I don't know why I like the sleeves too long.)

PS

So this week I have to call Lori at Reeves Sain to see when she wants me to come in for our meeting about my jewelry line! YAY! Wish me luck...

Lady pills

Not to get all TMI here, but at the doctor's office last week, my doctor gave me some samples of some estrogen supplements. I have an IUD and apparentely this was kind of throwing me off hormonally and she suggested a tiny dose of estrogen. I can't believe how different I feel. I feel so much better physically. I am less fatigued and I don't feel as tempered. It is wonderful. I highly suggest it if you think you need it. Really. I just feel more leveled off and normal.

An IUD does not provide you with the daily hormones of taking a pill, so I was apparently lacking a little bit. And no, I am not saying I was growing facial hair or anything else gross. I just didn't feel good most of the time.

Labor Day weekend is OVER?

My goodness, I can't believe this weekend is over already. I mean, it does seem like a nice long break; however, I just didn't want it to end.

Tomorrow my baby* starts mother's day out. Bitter sweet. I have been really excited...but tonight as I tucked her in I started to get butterflies and now I feel anxious and sort of sad. I am so excited for the break I'll get every Tuesday and Thursday but I also can't deny that she is just growing up so fast. it is really true that they are grown before you know it. I mean, for example, my niece Haley will be in college in three years! COLLEGE! Haley. In. College. It was just a couple of years ago that I got to leave Mrs. Marks' English class early one snowy day to head to Arkansas for her "birth" and now she is a sophomore in high school. I say "birth" because she was not born during our visit. In fact, we left my mom there and drove back home to Tennessee. My mom stayed that week and we went back and got her the next week.

But I digress. Back to this weekend, Friday night was fun. We went to Steak and Shake (turned out badly) and then to Toys R Us to get Skylar's birthday present. Then we ran over to Target and looked for Lola some crocs, but there weren't any for her little tootsies. (I bought some off Ebay for a much better deal later that night.)

Saturday was nice, too. We had Skylar's birthday party that night and after, I went to The Bunganut Pig for the Austin twins' birthday party. We made a fool of ourselves dancing and carrying on. Matt & Brian's dad was silly and he made us crack up dancing, too.

Sunday was lazy. Tanning bed, library, antique shopping for cameos, Kroger, Dollar Tree, home for a nap, Big brother!! Gotta love Big Brother. I love Dick and Danielle. I know people hate them.

Today, Monday, was fairly relaxing. We went to my parents' for lunch. The rest of the day was spent around the house. I need to get some stuff done, but I focused tonight on picking out an outfit for Miles to wear tomorrow, packing her lunch and getting her backpack ready. Pretty boring to some people, I know, but relaxing to me.

*Miles would not appreciate being called my baby, so if you could just keep that on the D.L., I would appreciate it.

Good food in the boro

If you haven't tried Golden Eagle yet, you really should. We went last weekend and I have been dying to go back ever since. It is Mongolian stir fry, and you get a bowl when you are seated. You go to the bar and fill your bowl with your choice of meats and veggies. Then you sprinkle on your choice of seasonings and choose your sauces. In just a few minutes, a chef cooks it up on a huge grill in front of you. You also choose your starch (I chose fried rice and added an egg for 50 cents) and then you get a large bowl with all of your meat, veggies and starch stir fried together. It is absolutely delicious. I highly recommend it. My only complaint is the kids' menu. It is limited to a kids bowl from the bar or macaroni and cheese. They need to add another choice. Otherwise, I LOVE this new place. It is a definite favorite.

It is only $8.99 for one bowl or $12.99 for the endless bowl. I got the regular bowl but added extra fried rice and an egg. I received so much food, I ate some left overs that night, another full meal of left overs the next day AND Phillip had a little bit of my leftovers the next day. I would have had enough to take some home without the extra rice. Thus I'd say it is a good deal.

MDO Open House

Today was the Mother's Day Out open house. Phillip took the day off and we brought both girls to see just what Milesy would be experiencing. She went in there and played like a champ. We met her teacher and saw where she'll have her nap and snacks. They also did a little tour. I was familiar with the other stuff, but Phillip got to for the first time where Miles will be doing yoga, aerobics and zumba. Yeah, I said Zumba, as in the Latin dance. Can you even imagine? I just can't quit cracking up when I think about Miles doing yoga. She loves it. I just keep thinking that she is the kid who is going to toot really loud in front of everyone. You know what she will do if she does pass gas in front of them? She won't be ashamed. No. My child will simply say, "Scuse me! I tooted," and move on. That's Milesy for you. You try to teach them to always say excuse me and they learn to ALWAYS say excuse me. Maybe I should work on good old fashioned denial for in-public toots from now on, you think?

More developing news on the Brown Family front

So tonight is the first night of Lola sleeping in her new room. I was really worried that she would cry and fuss; however, being the sweety-pateety pumpkin-head boss hogg sleepy head that she is, she went to sleep easily. She is in there sleeping like an absolute log. I am so proud of her. Miles, on the other hand, is still pulling her little stunt that she started last week. She is in our room, sleeping with Phillip while I sit up doing this. UGH. Now if I can just coordinate the two of them, I will be flying high.

Sooooooooooooo...

The time has finally come. I almost have my own dedicated studio. All of these years, I have worked in my kitchen or living room of my house with things thrown around everywhere, making a total cluttered mess of my abode. No more. As of the past couple of days, I have actually accomplished setting up my studio upstairs. Finally.

This is a huge deal to me, people. I have my OWN area of the house where things can permanently stay AND they aren't in the middle of our living area. No more mountains of beads, huge work table or mannequins making it hard to get into the utility room. No more bumped noggins on the corner of my table, all in the name of trying to sneak a juice box from the fridge. No more feeling mortified when someone comes over, since my normally large kitchen had become a tiny perimeter surrounding a jewelry studio.

I am so happy.

Things are going VERY well. I have a meeting with Reeves-Sain next week about my jewelry and I am already confirmed to put my stuff in Leslie's Shoppe in the next week or two. This is a big deal. I really, really need to be able to make a somewhat dependable monthly income on this "hobby"; these developments definitely point me in that direction. I also got so much publicity from the MTSU Pigskin Preview. It was worth every penny of being a sponsor.

last night

We had a lot of fun at the MTSU thing. It was fine for the first two hours but then it began to pour huge drops of rain and people went pouring into the hosts' house! Thus the party was over because it was a large crowd. My door prizes were a great thing because the man kept announcing my name and Brownbag Studio and commenting that it was some beautiful custom made jewelry, yada, yada. I was very pumped! There was also a sign with the sponsors listed and my name was listed as Dusty Brown & Brownbag Studio. They spelled it right! YAY!

After it was over, we ran home and Phillip changed shirts since he was soaked. We headed over to Bluesboro where there was a party for Beth Murphy's 30th birthday. We hung out in the little private room off to the side, so we didn't have to fight for seats or sit in the middle of a dark, smokey area. That was a big improvement. Sometimes it can be terribly hard to keep a seat in that place. Plus I don't think we reeked of smoke nearly as much as normal.

I made some great contacts last night. I met a friend that I had never hung out with before and she was super funny and cool. I also got an opportunity to talk to Leslie from Leslie's Shoppe. We had talked briefly a few times and she was uninterested in selling my jewelry, but after last night...BIG NEWS HERE...I will be selling jewelry in Leslie's Shoppe. I am super stoked. This is the opportunity that I have been trying for since last year! Things are really falling into place for me. I have gotten a lot of good exposure lately.

I have a good feeling about everything right now. Today and tonight I worked really hard to get most of my jewelry stuff moved upstairs into one of our bedrooms. We are turning it into my studio. Right now, the kitchen has become my studio and it was totally cramping us. Hopefully this will make me more productive. We''ll see!

Tonight

We had fun at the Pigskin Preview but it poured on us at 9Pm. It wasn't suppossed to be over until 11PM but we left after it starter raining. We went to Bluesboro. FUN.

At the preview, I got lots of publicity. It was awesome!