THE Sleeping Beauty Princess Birthday Party

The Princess Birthday Girl! Her shirt says "It's my day. I'm the Princess!" Perfect.

So, yesterday was the big day...Jamison's Sleeping Beauty Princess Birthday Party. It turned out to be a great day (minus the cream cheese incident that almost happened, read below).

First Jamison had soccer. We played a team that I swear were professionals. Jamison is the tallest kid on her team and the other team's players were taller than her. We got beat badly (we don't keep score, but we got whooped), but Jamison scored a GOAL!!!! She was so excited. She's getting better and better each week and is really enjoying her time at soccer.

Fast forward...the party started at 4. Jamison's guests were Reese, Isabelle, Madeline, Ellie and Toshianna. Jamison was so excited and I just loved seeing the smile on her face. The girls played in Jamison's room until it was time to eat. They all ate pizza and had juice boxes and it was so quiet! I guess it's not time yet for all the talking and giggling and stuff. After pizza we made bracelets. I like having a little project for the parties and this I thought would be cute and go with the princess theme. It was hard to make the bracelets. I bought this type of string that stretches and is clear. It was kind of hard for everyone to see the string to put the beads on, but I think the the girls had a lot of fun. Luckily they all have young eyes. Tying the bracelets was hard at first too but I finally got a technique together and everything worked out fine.

Reese, Ellie, Jamison, Isabelle and Madeline

The girls during dinner. Really it was so quiet.

After that we opened presents and then had cake. Jamison got some really cute things. Mainly art stuff and since she LOVES art, that was right up her alley.

She looks so happy in this picture to me.

The Princess Cake.

Make a wish!

Overall she had a great day and I heard her say a few times that it was the best party ever. That's all the thanks I need!

Madeline, Jamison, Isabelle, Reese, and Toshianna (Ellie left a little early). I'm lovin the girls with their legs crossed!

God is in the Cream Cheese

That's right...in the cream cheese. Of course, I'll explain. Every year about this time I get a little stressed. Why, well because it's Jamison's birthday time. Each year I plan a party and each year leading up to the party I am stressed. Will she have fun, what should I have to eat, will people come, what should I buy her, etc. Usually by the time the party starts I'm fine, but before then I'm a wreck.

So, this year was no different. Jamison planned a beautiful Sleeping Beauty Party and had been looking forward to it for quite some time. So, I, of course, wanted everything perfect for her. Long story short, the kids were going to have pizza but I wanted to have some stuff for adults if they stayed. My mom made vegetable pizza and I was going to make a salad and buffalo chicken dip. I was getting ready to make the dip and all day I felt like I was forgetting something. Well I was...the cream cheese. I was about to flip when I saw in the fridge that I had two packs of cream cheese in the holder. Whew! I praised God right then and there because I knew He was all over that because He knew that would have been the end of things if I had to quickly run to the store. On top of all that, I went to look at the date on the cream cheese...12-25-08!

God is in the cream cheese!

And the Birthday Celebration Begins

My baby turns 5 on Monday and we've already started celebrating the big day. Last night my family went to Ci Ci's pizza with Lyndsey's family to celebrate Jamison and Drew's (Lyndsey's youngest) birthdays. Drew's birthday is tomorrow and he will be three.

Since our usual place in now closed we decided to go to Ci Ci's. We had a really nice dinner and the kids had fun together. Jamison and Quinn have known each other since the womb (since Lyndsey and I were pregnant at the same time). Since Jamison is having princess party we decided to celebrate on our own special night (I don't think Quinn would like making bracelets and wearing a skirt to the party, smile!).

We got Drew a Diego 4x4 truck. He really liked it, and so did Caleb. Caleb was not happy that it was Drew taking it home and not him. Jamison got two books (one a Sleeping Beauty book, her favorite princess) and some stickers. Quinn picked out a knock knock card for Jamison which is perfect since she loves knock knock jokes.

We had great time!

The almost birthday girl, eating her birthday cinnamon rolls. We had that for dessert and sang to Drew and Jam and they pretended to blow out candles.

Drew, the almost birthday boy.

Jamison and Quinn...what are they looking at?

Three friends!

What a Day!

What a day! Now, for those of you who don't know, I'm a bit of a homebody. Not that I don't get out because I do, I love to socialize, but you won't catch me being gone ALL the time, that's just not me. Today the Davis family was in rare form with major plans today.

First we had the usual Small Group. That's normal. Then after Small Group it was my turn to volunteer in the office of the church. I do this every third Sunday during our second service where I basically answer the phone and help people with various issues.

After church we met Renee's (my stepmom) best friend Cheryl for lunch at the Cheesecake Factory. Her daughter is starting at The Ohio State University this year. They live in Houston so Cheryl was in town getting Bria all moved in and situated. Cheryl is so nice and so is Bria and it was a lot of fun to get together with her and catch up (Bria was at OSU helping with the move in).

After lunch we went to my mom's for a date we had planned. She lives in a suburb close to our church and they have recently developed its "downtown" area. My mom wanted us to walk around and see the new area and feed ducks by the creek. It is a really nice area, with a walking trail, benches and even paddle boats. Jamison decided that she wanted to skip rocks so she did that most of the time. We saw three ducks but due to Jamison's skipping huge rocks at them, they didn't come too close!

Sibling Love!

Jamison enjoying the walking path.

"Here ducks. I promise I won't hit you with these rocks."

We walked around a little and then went and got ice cream from Cold Stone Creamery. I really think that you have to get their fancy ice cream combinations to really enjoy stuff there. I just got a strawberry cone and it was just OK. Jamison did enjoy watching the lady mix sprinkles into her vanilla. Rondell had an apple pie mix and he loved it!

We dropped my mom off and then we were onto our next and last stop...a birthday party. My friend Tonya's little girl Jocelyn turned two and they had her party at Gymboree. It was SO much fun for the kids. If you've never been to one of these parties, it's a must. They have all of this kid-safe equipment and the kids are free to run around as well as participate in the activities that the place has.

Jamison on a huge tube where the instructor rocked them back and forth. It was cute.

The kids on the parachute. I wish you could see how excited Caleb is! I needed my video camera.

Me and Ron. Thanks Sara for making me take this picture, I like it.

Sara and Laura

Rondell gettin in on the action. Such a good dad!

The kids were pooped by the time we got in the car because neither one had a nap (the 20 minutes in the car for Caleb does not count). Jamison was asleep before we even left the parking lot. We had a great day!

Ten Things Thursday

I know the link says "Ten Things Tuesday", but I'm having a rough week and a half and I need to outlet something positive.

1. I am thankful that Caleb is doing better with his cold. After being up all night we went to the doctor this morning and they treated his asthma-like symptoms and he's feeling much better.


2. I am thankful that Jamison had school today. Since we've had so many power outages school has been closed all week. She was the first one on the bus.


3. I am thankful that Rondell and I have the ability to carpool right now. Not only does is save on money but it also gives us some alone time.


4. I am thankful that my mom came over tonight to make sure Caleb is breathing OK. I needed her.


5. I am thankful that my aunt takes such good care of my kids and I was able to leave sick Caleb with her and feel at peace that he was OK.


6. I am thankful that Rondell was able to download last week's sermon onto CD.


7. I am thankful for the positive emails that I received this week.


8. I am thankful for Target (that doesn't need and explanation!)


9. I am thankful for this beautiful weather.


10. I am thankful that tomorrow is Friday and that we have fun plans for the weekend.

What are you thankful for?

Not That Much Going On

There isn't a whole lot to blog about these days...

School is in full swing (not currently, but more on that later). Jamison loves school and is doing pretty well I think. It is kind of hard in Kindergarten to tell how she is doing because there is no homework or major assignments. The things that she does bring home are well done. She is excited when she talks about school and she loves riding the bus. She has had a few incidents of fighting on the playgroup, but we're working on that.

Caleb is growing like a weed and trying his best to say some words. Right now he saying ball, bye, more, here, eat, dog and trying to repeat things we say to him. He is getting his two-year molars (he's 19 months!) so he's been very cranky and extra drooly. The kids loves being outdoors and I'm dreading the cold weather when he's not able to go out as much. Rondell is still his favorite person but I'm moving up in the ranks I think.

This past Sunday we went to my friend Lyndsey's son Quinn's soccer game. Since Jamison is doing soccer too I thought it would be something fun for us to do. It was SO windy but we had a great time. We made Quinn signs and cheered him on.

Jamison and Drew (Quinn's brother). You can kind of tell how windy it is by their faces.

Caleb cheering. Can you guess how long he stayed in his stroller...?

Go Quinn, Go! He's number 37.

As we were leaving Rondell called me to see if I was OK. He explained that we were in the middle of a huge wind storm (that explains all the wind) and that Best Buy (where he works part-time) didn't have power. Well we got home to realize that we didn't have power either. We ended up not having power for over 24 hours. We were one of the lucky homes because there are people still without power (keep them in your prayers). Jamison hasn't had school the past two days (that's why it's not in the swing of things right now) and doesn't have it again tomorrow. UGH. She is so sad about that, but Aunt Roni is taking them to the zoo so I'm sure she'll forget about it for a moment.

That's really about it. Kind of boring but thought I'd say hello to my 2 readers (wink).

100 Things About Me

I think it is so fun when people do this so I thought I'd take a stab at it (and these are in totally random order):

1. I was born in Columbus at The Ohio State University Medical Center (so I've been a Buckeye since birth!)
2. I moved to Cleveland when I was 6.
3. I have one brother, Evan and one sister, Toshianna.
4. If people ask me if I'm an only child I say yes (I am my mother's only child and grew up as the only child in my house), but if they ask if I have siblings I say yes...it's kind of strange.
5. I am a Red Cross certified babysitter (I took a training when I was 12).
6. My favorite color is yellow, it's such a happy color.
7. I currently live in Powell.
8. My first boyfriend's name was James Powell, so when I talk to friends who know him I say "I live in Powell, like James Powell."
9. I was truly saved when I was 18.
10. I love pictures and cute picture frames.
11. I love making lists...about almost anything: grocery store, Target list, To Do lists, etc. I can't live without them.
12. I love to be organized.
13. One of my favorite stores is the Container Store. I could go crazy in that place.
14. My favorite food is pizza.
15. My favorite pizza place is Giordano's in Chicago.
16. One thing on my life To Do list was to swim with a dolphin.
17. I got to do that this past May in Florida.
18. I have two kids.
19. I was in labor with Jamison for 26 hours, ending in a C-section.
20. I had a scheduled C-section for Caleb on 2-8-07, but he decided he couldn't wait. My water broke on 1-30-07 and I had him by C-section on that day.
21. I have hazel eyes.
22. I love sunflowers, they are such a happy flower.
23. I am neither a morning nor a night person.
24. My favorite drink is Coke. I'm addicted.
25. I still watch The Young and the Restless after all these years.
26. I used to have long hair until I cut it all off after I had Caleb.
27. Due to cutting it off I no longer have a relaxer (the best thing EVER!)
28. I love having my toes painted.
29. I usually use OPI nail polish.
30. I miss my grandmother terribly.
31. Rondell and I were engaged twice.
32. We've been married now for 6 years.
33. My first thought about him..."man he's tall."
34. I love to scrapbook.
35. I hardly ever do anymore.
36. My favorite show of all times is Friends. It always makes me laugh.
37. I work on the same floor as one of my closest friends.
38. I got to be in the room for the delivery of the child of one of my closest friends (one of my greatest experiences).
39. I have sleep apnea.
40. I had post partum depression.
41. I love fresh flowers and I would like to try and have them in my house more often.
42. I love pumpkin candles.
43. I graduated from The Ohio State University in 1999.
44. I have a Bachelor of Arts in Criminology.
45. I used to want to go to Law School.
46. Not anymore.
47. Jamison and Caleb are the sure people to make me laugh.
48. I'm always torn this time of year whether I like summer or fall most.
49. I love different colored pens.
50. I didn't know I was buying a Vera Bradley when I bought my Vera Bradley. I just thought the print was cute. Then I found out they were trendy.
51. I HAVE to wash my hands before I eat.
52. I hardly ever polish my finger nails.
53. I've worn glasses since I was three.
54. Jamison got her name from the lady who did my practice make-up for my wedding. Her name was Jamison and I thought both she and her name were stunning and said if I ever had a daughter I would name her Jamison.
55. I think my Jamison is stunning and her name fits her perfectly.
56. Caleb is named after Rondell's dad.
57. My favorite book in the Bible is Romans and I can't wait to study it with BSF (only 5 more years to go!).
58. I love a clean house.
59. I love fresh sheets.
60. I carry a little can of Bag Balm with me at all times.
61. My two oldest friends I've know since I was in the third grade.
62. I talk to both of my parents almost everyday.
63. My mom moved to Columbus after she found out I was pregnant with Jamison.
64. I'm left-handed.
65. I've never used the fireplace in my house.
66. Washing dishes is relaxing for me.
67. I love to wash clothes (I would like my next house to have a first floor laundry area).
68. I always carry my canvas bag with me to work and on trips (it has my planner, pens, a notebook...).
67. I love to email.
68. But I love talking on the phone more (just less time for that).
69. My kitchen walls are yellow.
70. I love my kitchen window.
71. I'd much rather have my windows open over having the air conditioning on.
72. I LOVE to swim.
73. I really want to lose weight.
74. I secretly love to color with Jamison.
75. I have always wanted to travel to Arizona.
76. I have come to love reading all kinds of blogs (it's kind of a sickness really).
77. I HAVE to shower before I leave the house.
78. I have to sleep with a fan running. I have one in my car for emergencies (what if the place where I'm spending the night doesn't have a fan...tragic).
79. I LOVE my Odyssey, it's the best thing EVER!
80. I hope that the next house we buy will be the one we retire from.
81. I'd like to buy a timeshare in Destin one day soon.
82. I love Mexican food.
83. Rondell and I got engaged at a Mexican restaurant (the second time).
84. I love my birthday.
85. I love the movie You've Got Mail...I saw it twice in the movie theatre (and yes Rondell went with me...gotta love him).
86. I always wanted three kids.
87. I'm sticking with just the two I have...no more!
88. I love skirts, but I don't wear them often enough.
89. I love to be outside but I'm not outdoorsy.
90. I don't like shopping for clothes (unless it's for my kids).
91. I love shopping for household items (Target is my weakness!).
92. I hate winter.
93. My favorite season is the holiday season.
94. I wish I had done better in college.
95. I feel I am a true friend.
96. My biggest weakness is worrying too much.
97. I want only the best for my kids and for them to be happy.
98. I love my husband.
99. I love God more.
100. I love getting mail and sending mail. Hallmark is my other weakness.

Whew, that was harder than I thought!

I am THAT Mom!

Tonight was curriculum night at Jamison's school. I am that mom who loves these meetings, parent/teacher conferences and basically anything to do with my child's school. I LOVE that kind of stuff and the excitement about tonight was no different.

The last time we were in Jamison's class was the day before school started for her assessment. That was only for a few minutes so I was not able to get a real feel of the room. I got to do that tonight. I arrived 20 minutes early (of course!) and walked about the school a little before heading to Jamison's classroom. Outside of her classroom they had this craft that each child created that had his/her picture on it and was cut out in the shape of a person. There were three fill in the blanks...What do you like to do, what's your favorite color and I can to ____ all by myself. Well, Jamison likes to walk her dog (keep in mind we don't have a dog, but Jamison has an imaginary one named Steve), her favorite colors are red and pink (this I already knew) and she could help me all by herself. How sweet.

The meeting went really well and it was nice to meet some of the parents. Mrs. Dutko went over basically what they do on a daily basis and it seems like a lot of fun. She's been a teacher for 23 years (she had to have started right out of HS or something!) so she has this system down. She has a lot of energy (she's going to need it to keep up with Jamison) and is very enthusiastic about the children which is great. There are so many activities for the kids to do that is fun as well as learning. I can see now why Jamison likes to go there everyday.

I will say that it is all overwhelming. When Jamison was in preschool I, of course, took that seriously but this seems like so much more like REAL school and the real start of her school education. I felt almost teary leaving the meeting to realize that this is the beginning and she's not a little girl anymore. I want Jamison to succeed so much it hurts at times and I'm sure I worry more than I should...is she fitting in, how can we control her aggression, did we make the right decision (yes, we did), and so on. I have to remember that she's a smart cookie and that she'll be just fine!

Sniff...

Today is THE Day

OK, I'm a little dramatic but I am very excited that BSF, Bible Study Fellowship, starts back up tonight. I started BSF last year after my friend Sara invited me. I was a little overwhelmed when I first arrived but it turned out the be a WONDERFUL experience.

Basically, it's a bible study that lasts for the entire school year (September-May). For the entire year you discuss one subject (last year we studied the book of Matthew). BSF itself consists of 7 year-long studies. This year we are studying the life of Moses, next year John, then history of Israel and the Minor Prophets, Acts of the Apostles, Genesis, and Romans (I can't WAIT for Romans!), then it'll go back to Matthew. It's thorough. The study uses a four fold approach...first you answer questions, then you meet with a discussion group to discuss the questions, then you hear a lecture on the subject that you answered about and just discussed and lastly you received notes to sum it all up. Talk about thorough.

Since I'm newer to actually studying the Bible this study is great for me. It really breaks down the specific subject and relates it to other areas of the Bible. I learned so much last year studying the book of Matthew and it really gave me a greater insight to all that Christ did for us.

BSF is an international organization so if you have the time once a week to attend this study I would highly recommend it. It is a major commitment but one that is well worth it.

My Little Soccer Player

So for the past two or three weeks Jamison has asked if she could play soccer. She has never really expressed an interest in a sport before so I was excited when she did and immediately started looking for a program that I could sign her up for. We live in a strange place and by that I mean, we have Columbus taxes, Powell mailing address and Worthington Schools so I never know what city to look for activities. I usually go with Powell because we're so close to the actual city of Powell.

I looked there first but the only class offered was one that was baseball, soccer and basketball combined and it was on Monday evenings (and that's when I go to BSF). Rondell and I talked a little about whether that would work but I didn't pursue it. I checked a rec center in Worthington and they didn't have a soccer only class and most classes were during the day. I also checked Dublin but same story, during the day... I was starting to get a little bummed but was also trying to convince myself that since Jamison just started Kindergarten that maybe she needed to focus on that and that soccer could wait. Then I was talking to a judge who lives in Worthington and knows everyone and asked him if he knew of anything. HE DID!!!! So he gave me a name of an organization that has sports programs for kids in the Worthington school system. I looked them up online and found a perfect program: six weeks, Saturday mornings, descent price, played on the fields of her elementary school, and they give the kids a ball. How perfect...but I had already missed the registration deadline. The web page said that I could contact a rep to see if there is space available after the deadline. So I called, left a message and then asked everyone to please pray for her to get on a team.

Well, prayer works! She got a spot. I was so excited I didn't know what to do. I had three days to prepare her but I was up for it. On Friday I discovered (because I have no idea about anything regarding soccer) that she needed cleats and soccer socks. So I ran to the store and got her some cute Adidas pink and black cleats.

When we arrived I was in for a big awakening...it was packed. I thought I was doing good by getting there 25 minutes early but there are like 20 teams there and different time slots so it was busy. I felt like the only mom in Worthington who did not know about this cool thing! We found a parking spot after much circling and we were off. As I found her field I saw a friend of mine and realized that her son in on Jamison's team (God is so good). So it was nice to catch up with her while we watched the kids play.

Jamison had a great time and listened really well to the coach. They do practice for a half and hour and then have a scrimmage. She was so excited to run around and kick the ball. And of course she made a new friend, Addie.

I'm so glad she got in and had fun. We can't wait for next week.

Here are some pics:

Dressed and ready to go!

Setting up for a drill

This is Jamison about to kick the ball into the net. She has a pretty mean kick!

Jamison and Addie working on a drill

Going after the ball in the scrimmage...Go Jamison!

A New Member of the Family

This is my Aunt Roni, my mom's sister. She is the WONDERFUL person who comes into my home everyday and takes care (good care) of my children. She loves my kids like they are her own. She does wonderful things with them on a daily basis: reads to them, takes them to the zoo, takes them on walks, pushes them on the swings for hours, cooks them breakfast and lunch...I could go on and on.

Well, Jamison came home from school the other day and had a picture that she had drawn of her family. When I got home and saw it Aunt Roni asked me if I noticed something. I did notice that there was an extra figure in the picture and I thought Jamison had drawn Steve, her imaginary dog. But then Jamison informed me that it was Aunt Roni (note: you have to understand that that the figure was smaller than me, Jamison and Rondell and all brown, that's why I thought it was a dog). Aunt Roni was so touched that Jamison thinks of her as part of her immediate family. I asked Aunt Roni if she wanted to keep the picture and she did.

We all love Aunt Roni and don't know what we'd do without her!

Note: Don't tell her that I put her picture on the Internet, she hates pictures, but I love this one of her and Jamison. It shows there love for one another.

Family Fun Day

Since Rondell has been working a second job we don't spend as much time together as a family as we used to. Well, since we all had Labor Day off I decided to make it "Family Fun Day." I decided that we would spend the entire day, just us, and do some fun things.

First, after breakfast, we went to the Dublin Spray Park. I love this place. It is so much fun for the kids to run around in the water and play. The weather was so beautiful and it was perfect for the water. Both Caleb and Jamison played for quite a while and I think they really enjoyed the first part of "Family Fun Day." Rondell would chase them around and that was so fun for me to watch. I love watching Rondell play with the kids and watching the smiles on their faces!

Here are some pictures:

Testing the waters

She just melts my heart

Finally, a picture of them together

I could just look at this face all day

After the Spray Park we went to our favorite place...Chipotle! I think we could eat Chipotle everyday if the budget would allow. After lunch was family nap time. We usually do this on Sundays after church and it was nice to sneak in another day.

For dinner we cooked out, another favorite thing. Ron had brats, the kids had hot dogs and I had a hamburger. The food was really yummy, I even made macaroni and cheese (hi Tonya!). After dinner it was time to settle down because Jamison has her first week of school with more than just the one day.

Overall it was such a nice and relaxing day. I just love those three wonderful people and I'm thank God daily for them.