Zoo baby!

I don't know about the rest of you, but on my goodness, to say all the rain we've had in the last month was making me stir to the crazy would be an understatement. So, yesterday, I packed up the boys and we headed to the zoo. Our first trip this year... it was crazy fun and crazy busy!!!! I guess lots of Kentuckians had the same idea. "i know, since it's the first nice day in like 123456433 days, let's go to the zoo." Anyway. We had a blast. The boys' favorite part? The playground and the carousel. Go figure.

Easter Blessings to you!

Who could resist this little bunny?



Or this one??? (yep, he's totally rocking his cowboy boots with basketball shorts. nice.)

Hope your Easter is filled with blessing and reminders of the awesome Jesus that we serve. Oh praise the name of Jesus!!!!

April is...

CHILD ABUSE AWARENESS MONTH!!!! So, what are YOU doing to help prevent child abuse? I believe that preventing child abuse is everyone's business. When I used to work for state government, particularly the Division of Child Abuse and Domestic Violence, I felt like I was doing all kinds of things to support the prevention of abuse. I was involved in awesome Public Service Announcement projects and video series that went to teachers about the recognition of child abuse. We hosted live media events in the Capitol and placed pinwheels in local businesses. Good stuff.

Now, almost a year after I left state government (insert hallelujah chorus for my new part time gig here!), I feel like I'm not doing enough. Sure, I work with children and families and I help teach parents what to do if they get "stressed to the max." But what about in my daily life? Am I helping parents enough? Am I praising the hard work of mommies that I know and love? Am I taking care of myself in ways that allow ME to be the best mommy and not lose my cool over frustrating events at my house?

Well, let me take this opportunity to say to all my mommy friends.... YOU ROCK!!! PARENTING IS HARD WORK AND YOU ARE AWESOME! YOU ARE NOT ALONE WHEN YOU FEEL FRUSTRATED AND NO, YOU ARE NOT THE ONLY ONE WHO HAS EVER YELLED AT YOUR SWEET CHILDREN!!!!!! Take some time for yourself. Take some time for your marriage. Support local agencies who work with children who may have bee abused. Pray for the safety of your child and their friends. Sport a nice little blue ribbon on your shirt this month. Those things work together to help stop abuse.

You can also partner with Prevent Child Abuse Kentucky on some special activities throughout the state for Child Abuse Awareness Month. www.pcaky.org

Sunny Days, Chasing the Clouds Away

Well, we had a once in a lifetime fun-filled Friday night. We took the boys to see Sesame Street Live - "Elmo's Green Thumb." It was at the Brown Theater in Louisville and was oh so fun. The boys were high-fiving each other on the way there saying "ELMO!" We really enjoyed the show. Jacob's favorite - Oscar the Grouch. Jonathan's favorite? Cookie Monster. It was so funny when they started singing "sunny days, chasing the clouds away..." all the parents in the audience were bringing the house down. I guess we were living vicariously through the kiddos? Ha!

It really was fun. I feel so grateful to have the opportunity to do special things like this for our boys. We are blessed beyond imagination. May we never ever take it for granted.

Oh - and as a hint, take cash if you ever go to anything like that! Of course, there's Elmo balloons and binoculars and cotton candy and t-shirts and M&Ms and the list goes on and on. The boys eyes were open to ALL those things of course. We only had enough cash with us for parking, but did manage to find one sales guy selling cotton candy that took debit cards.

Meet our newest cousin

Welcome Lucy May Pickering! She is gorgeous. Proud parents are Josh and Melissa. Melissa is Billy's "baby" cousin. Yeah!!!

Idol Recap

American Idol Recap (from my little view)… “Off we go “ – oh I can’t believe I say this, but I miss you Simon!
Jacob – “Man in the Mirror” – I love MJ. I don’t usually love Jacob but tonight– I thought he was great. I think it’s cute and sweet that he wouldn’t sing a song about “doing the nasty.” That made me smile. I really thought he was great! Steven liked it. Jennifer liked it. They both called it beautiful. Randy liked it. I wish more people would stand up for the morals they believe in. Way to go!!

Hailey – Janis Joplin’s “Piece of my Heart” – good start. Man, her hair is big. That would make me nuts. She has a cool rasp to her voice. But if I’m honest, it sounds a little screamish sometimes. I do like her overall image though. She’s had some rough weeks but the last few have been better. I like her, but tonight was just okay. Judges all seem to like it. “Wow” they say.

Casey - oh my, never know what this cat’s gonna do. Holy moly, he’s playing the bass. Impressively talented. “Have you ever seen the rain? “ CCR – I’m a little young for them, but I do know this song. I like this performance. I think he is entertaining. Randy says “you made the upright bass cool.” Steven says “you’re a true musician.” Jennifer said something about front row… Overall very good.

Lauren – “Natural Woman” – not a fan of the shorts with tights/boots combo, but I think she can flat out sing! Her performances are sometimes a little flat to me. Maybe it’s because she’s so young. I mean who could really make her feel like a woman? This one is just okay for me. Wonder what the judges have to say? Steven just said you just growded up – what?? The judges liked it more than I did.

James – “something about a guitar” – by a Beatles guy. Ummm. I like the Beatles, but don’t know this one. Let’s see. I really like this guy’s story. I work with a lot of kiddos with tourette syndrome, so I TRULY admire him!!! I actually really like this performance. I do not understand this song, but I really really like this performance! Rocker goes a little softer. Judges agree with me. Maybe I could get a gig on idol? I mean who wouldn’t want a mommy’s opinion?

Scotty – “That’s alright momma” – ELVIS – okay lets do it. I love Elvis. I like Scotty. I’m anxious to see what happens here. A little interaction with the audience. Cute. He’s having fun and that’s important. I liked it a lot. I think he’s a doll and has a bright future in Country Music. His confidence has really grown and that really shows. What in the world is up with the little girls mobbing him on stage? Weird. Judges also liked it!

Pia – Tina Turner - man, Pia is beautiful. Weird outfit, but she is so pretty. I don’t know this song, but from my perspective, she’s doing awesome on it. Jennifer looks like she’s on a bouncy ball. What’s up with that? Wow – Pia has an amazing voice!!!! She’s been my favorite from the beginning. Steven – “you killed it.” Jennifer – “amazing.” Randy – you delivered.

Stefano – Percy Sledge – “When a Man Loves a Woman.” Stefano usually reminds me of a Glee cast member, so let’s see what happens. (ps – I love Glee, so that’s not a bad thing.) Pretty good if you ask me. But still Glee-like. Can’t really describe it better than that. He’s a cutie though. Prolly gonna keep getting lots of young girl votes. Judges like him a lot. Randy didn’t like it as much as Steven and Jennifer.

Paul- Johnny Cash – oooh. This could be good. OH WOW. I love this. He is Billy’s favorite this season. Very very very good in my opinion! He is so original. He dances like a freak, but I really really like him. He is an amazing performer. My personal favorite of the night! Hooray! Randy loved it. Steven loved it. Jennifer loved it. Yes.

(AI producers if you happen upon my bloggy, feel free to contact me for my monetary reward for the commentary. Thankyouverymuch.)

Run the Bluegrass

Well, I reached another fitness milestone yesterday... (drum roll please) I RAN THE LEXINGTON HALF MARATHON! Hooray. 13.1 miles to be exact. And I didn't stop. And my time was pretty darn good (2 hours 9 minutes)!


It was so much fun to run with with of my very best friends, Whitney and some of her sweet running buddies from Lexington. Whitney and I met at Transy - she was really my first friend there. On my 18th birthday, she brought me a twinkie with a candle in it and really... the rest is history. She is an amazing friend and an amazing mother of 4 precious little kiddos and I'm so thankful to call her my friend. She's the kind of friend that whenever we're together, it seems as though we were never apart. Even though we don't see each other regularly, we always have fun together. AND, did I mention that we ran a half marathon??? I'll say it one more time - we ran 13.1 miles!!! It was a beautiful course - through the Kentucky Horse Park and beyond. The sun was coming up, momma horses and their foals were galloping in the distance - just a perfect perfect morning. We wore these cute little butterfly wing headbands and we were just too cute.



Happy Monday - and can I just encourage you- if you have a certain fitness goal in mind - take it easy. Rejoice in baby steps. Sing hallelujahs for big steps. Pace yourself and BELIEVE YOU CAN DO IT!!!!!