Fall is here! It’s my favorite time of the year and, even though it’s 80 degrees outside, I’ve moved to full Fall mode - pumpkin spice creamer in my coffee, new air freshener scents, hearty food, goodbye to all summer clothes and a new blog layout! Thanks to my wonderful blogmaster (?) husband for updating the layout for me. There’s nothing that gets me in the mood for Fall more than a good fair. Yesterday our church had their first annual Brentwood County Fair and we had a blast. There was a chili cook-off, pie competition, pony rides and bluegrass. You can see pictures here, courtesy of Nicholas.

September is almost gone and October is right around the corner. This month was birthday month for both of my boys. Nicholas celebrated his on the 3rd and Connor on the 17th. I was a horrible wife and didn’t do much on Nicholas’ actual birthday. I won’t even begin to give an excuse because there’s no excuse for that. To try to make things up, I got tickets for him and my mom to go see the Panthers play the Chiefs this coming up Sunday. You may think it’s weird that he’s going to the game with my mom instead of my dad, but she’s definitely the biggest football fan I know. I have no doubt that they’ll have a great time.

Connor had a great time celebrating his second birthday. He’s really starting to enjoy parties and opening presents. He had his party at the Romp ‘n Roll kids’ gym and we had a blast. It was a little more structured than I had imagined it would be, but we just let the kids run around and do what they wanted anyway. Connor was a little too wound up to open his gifts so we decided to take them home and open them in phases. He finally finished opening them a week later. Now he thinks he has a present to open everyday. He came up to me yesterday and said, “Mama, open presents?”. Poor guy. He loves all of his gifts, but is especially fond on his “tatuh heads.” I’m really loving this age (minus the tantrums and whining). He’s so funny and talks your ears off! He definitely got that from me, as I was often called “motor mouth” when I was his age. I guess he does have a pretty big mouth…

I was looking at one of those random surveys that I see on MySpace about three times a day I ran across a question that really stood out to me: “What is your biggest flaw?”. I started thinking about that one and couldn’t really decide on my biggest flaw, which in turn led me to my biggest flaw…I am indecisive! I’m sure my husband could talk about this for hours. I’m not sure why it is, but I just can’t easily make a decision. I have to weigh my options and I usually end up changing my mind multiple times. The worst part is, once I do make a decision, I have to convince myself that I made the right decision. “Did I really want the chicken nuggets instead of the chicken sandwich? I should have gotten the chicken nuggets. No, I wanted the chicken sandwich.” AHH!

Case in point, I have been searching for a new rug for our living room for at least a year. Seriously, I haven’t been able to make up my mind for a year. The other week we made a trip to Target and Nick picked out a rug that he liked that I wasn’t totally against and bought it. What? You don’t want to go home and think about buying it for six months? As soon as we put the thing on the floor I regretted the decision. “I’m not sure I like it. Do you like it? I think it looks like one of Bill Cosby’s sweaters.” Now I’m ready to roll the thing up and put it on craigslist. What is wrong with me?

So, tell me what you think. Do you like the rug? Does Bill Cosby want it made into a sweater? Am I crazy?

Here’s the one I liked the best from my year of searching:

It’s a good thing, because there are NO words to express how hilarious these pictures are. Ohmygosh I’ve laughed until my sides hurt. Enjoy! See if you can spot DJ Tanner!

I know, I know, it’s been a while. Way too long according to blogging etiquette. I’ve become the blogger I hate; the one who NEVER updates that I eventually give up on. I guess I just feel like there isn’t much going on to blog about. I already post enough random thoughts on Twitter (which I’m loving). Usually there’s a lull during the summer months, but things around here haven’t slowed down one bit. Work is busy, classes are hard and Connor is a ball of energy. I’m also trying to spend any free time I have NOT on the computer. So, instead of telling you about all of that, I will talk about the things I am so very excited about!

(Listed in chronological order)

1. CRISTIN’S BDAY EXTRAVAGANZA! - This weekend we’ll be joining our friends in NC to celebrate Cristin’s birthday! She has quite the shindig planned and I’m very excited to have a night out with friends. I’ve also never been one to complain about dining at the Cheesecake Factory. Yum! This fun filled weekend also includes the JOURNEY, HEART, CHEAP TRICK concert we are all going to on Sunday evening. At first we didn’t think we’d be able to go, but my wonderful husband worked it out and got us tickets as an anniversary present. Nothing says I love you more than live 80’s ballads!

2. VACATION - In T minus 4 weeks, 4 days, 20 hours and 47 minutes (at the time of this post) we will be leaving for lovely Emerald Isle, NC with the Australies and the Coopers. I am sooooooooo excited about the beach trip. We’ve rented an amazing beach house for the week and I’m looking forward to doing nothing.

3. CONNOR’S BIRTHDAY! - My sweet baby boy is turning 2 on September 17th. I can’t believe he will be 2 years old! It seems like only yesterday we were rushing to the hospital so I could bring him into this world. He’s definitely not a baby anymore. He’s potty training, knows his ABCs, can count to 10 and can speak in sentences. His current loves are airplanes, skateboards and the wiggle wiggle dance. He’s also hilarious. The other day we were jumping on the bed (yes, I know about the monkeys) while Nick was working on lights at the church. He suddenly stopped jumping and said, “Daddy?”. I told him that I didn’t think I heard his Daddy and he said, “Mama, shhhhh (finger over mouth). Hear it? Listen, listen, shhhhhh. Hear Daddy!”. I had to cover my mouth to keep from laughing out loud. We’ll be celebrating his birthday at Romp ‘n Roll this year. It should be lots of fun for the kiddos and lots of fun for me since they do all the entertaining and cleaning up.

4. NKOTB - On October 2 Amanda and I will be traveling to Washington, D.C. to see New Kids on the Block! My mom took me to see NKOTB somewhere around 3rd or 4th grade. I remember being upset that everyone around me was standing up and screaming (I had no idea this was standard concert behavior). You better believe I’ll be acting like a teenage girl at this concert. I <3 Joey!

5. HARRY POTTER - I'm making no plans for November 21 other than sitting my rear in a theater seat to see Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. Last year at this time I was happily reading the series, which I loved oh so much. Harry, I’ve missed you!

6. TWILIGHT - Let me just tell you about my new obsession. I fully blame Cristin (Go Team Edward!) for this one. Twilight! Oh. My. Goodness. Twilight is actually the first book in a 4 part series by Stephenie Meyer. It was recommended to fill the void left by the Harry Potter series and boy did it ever. Just to put it into perspective for you, I’ve read almost three 600-page books since Saturday night. Book 3 will be done by tomorrow. That’s A LOT of reading! I’m trying to pace myself because I don’t want it to be over, but it’s just so hard! Anyway, the movie version is coming out on December 12. I’m usually disappointed with the movie version of books I’ve read because it’s always so much better in my head, but I’m really looking forward to this one.

7. GRADUATION - Lord willing, I’ll be the proud owner of one big diploma come May. I’m currently wrapping up another class and have 5 left until I’m done! Feel free to join us in May as I’m sure there will be lots of celebrating.

So, there you have it!

Well, it’s been a while. Honestly, life has been extremely busy and blogging has not been a top priority. I’m working hard to finish up my MBA by next Spring so that means taking a class every 8 weeks, with a 2 week overlap during the summer. It’s really kicking my rear, but I’m determined to see it to the end and finish this sucker. If all goes as planned I’ll be graduating next May! If anyone out there is a genius when it comes to statistics or calculus I would greatly appreciate the help when it comes time for me to take Economics in the fall. Other than that I’ve been busy working and trying to keep my house clean and my family fed.

I just got back from my first trip to Nashville. I think it’s the closest I’ve gotten to the Mississippi River, which is sad. I definitely haven’t done a lot of traveling. My wonderful friend Marianne got married over the weekend and I took a road trip with a friend to go out for the wedding. While I don’t recommend 8 hour car rides, we had a really great trip. A friend of ours was able to get us an amazing rate at the Opryland Hotel. Normally rooms start out at $250 a night and we got one for $50! For those of you who have never seen the Opryland Hotel, it is massive.
This is all of the outside of the hotel I could get with my camera.

You feel like you are outside when you are in the hotel. There are trees, creeks and even a river that runs through the hotel. A lot of the rooms have an interior view of the gardens. There are also tons of restaurants and shops in the hotel. Most of the people there weren’t even staying at the hotel.

We wanted to go to the Grand Ole Opry while we were in town only to find out that Jermaine Jackson was performing that night. Jermaine Jackson? Is he a country musician now? Needless to say, we passed.

A shot of Nashville from the pedestrian bridge

Some Canadian guy performing at a club we went to one night. He was really good. I hate that I didn’t pay any attention to his name.

The cake/pie assortment at Marianne’s wedding. The reception was actually held in Hank Williams’ old home. Tammy Wynette also lived (and died) there.

Pecan pancakes at the Pancake Pantry. Apparently this is a celebrity breakfast hotspot in Nashville. We didn’t see anyone, but the pancakes were delicious! The line of people waiting to get in usually goes out the door and down the street.

As much fan as I had, I was SO glad to get home. I missed Connor so much! I don’t think I’ll be making any trips without him anytime soon.