First Day

We officially started a new school year today! Margie Grace enjoyed her first day in her three-year-old preschool class. She has always been so enthusiastic about school and this year was no exception. She walked right in to her classroom, hung up her backpack and immediately started playing. She was so busy that I had to beg her for a kiss goodbye before heading out the door! Once school was over, I asked her how everything went and her reply was "Awesome!" Comforting to get such a good report! I was a little worried that she might be clingy or hesitant because there is only one friend from our class last year in this year's class but she told me that she is really excited about making all new friends! Hope she maintains that confidence and positive attitude. Hope you enjoy these first-day-of-school pictures.

(I struggled this year coming up with a first day outfit since I had done crayons last year. This year we just went with fall colors instead of a school theme. I smocked Creative Keepsakes' Petal Peddlers and my Mom constructed this cute Carol pattern from Children's Corner. Red saltwaters and a made-to-match bow and MG was good to go!)

Stage Debut

Sitting in the makeup chair, getting "dirty"

MG's new friend Sarah Ann helped her on and off the stage

MG with her proud parents after her first show

Sitting on the stage following her first show -- thanks to BeBe and Poppy for the pretty flowers!


Waiting to go backstage before the performance

This past weekend Margie Grace made her stage debut in Opelika High School's production of "Oliver." She played an orphan and sat on the stage with other little orphans during the show's opening numbers: "Food Glorious Food" and "Oliver." She performed in three shows and had a great time! She really enjoyed every aspect of being involved -- everything from sitting in the makeup chair (where she got to put on her "dirty orphan makeup") to waiting backstage to go on stage to meeting all the other kids and high school students that were in the play. We got to tour the girls' dressing room and check out the orchestra pit and talk about theatre and what a live performance is. It was a great learning opportunity for her! A big thanks to our dear friend and show director Revel Gholston and his wife and our good friend Kate for thinking of Margie Grace and asking if she wanted to participate. The show was really fantastic and all the student actors are so talented that we felt truly honored to be a part of it. It was a fun experience and a wonderful memory made. She keeps asking when she can do Oliver again and has informed us that when she grows up, she wants to be an actress! Of course, when I conveyed to Neil that the make-up lady told me the West Point Community Theatre was casting for "Annie" and that MG would be perfect, he gave me quite a look. I guess we're not ready to be a showbiz family :)

Giving Thanks

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving! My extended family came to town so we celebrated with an extra-large group -- 20 to be exact. Neil fried two turkeys (takes a lot of bird to feed our group!), my Pa-pa carved them, we filled our plates and ate lots of yummy goodness all the while being reminded of all of our blessings. We missed my sister, Laura, who is preparing 24/7 for her senior show next weekend in Tennessee. We'll celebrate the holiday a week later with her.

**Neil has kindly asked that I amend my post as he doesn't feel my original writing accurately captures the deliciousness of the turkeys he so proudly prepared. They were quite delicious! He's been frying the turkeys at Thanksgiving and Christmas for a few years now and I believe these were his best ever. They were extremely flavorful and juicy (usually not how one describes a turkey) and extremely yummy. And, by supper time, they had both been devoured, proof that everyone else shared my sentiments. Good job, Neil! You have a lot to live up to next year.

Click here to view more pictures from our Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving Feast

She's been asking for weeks for me to take her picture with the harvest display in front of her school.

Our favorite "indian!"

Margie Grace's class

Family picture

Eating lunch with our friends, Davis and Katherine.

Last Thursday we celebrated an early Thanksgiving as Margie Grace's school held their annual Thanksgiving Feast. MG had a great time eating a special meal with her friends and showing off the many Thanksgiving crafts her class has been working on this month. Can't wait to celebrate the "official" Thanksgiving this Thursday!

"Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good. His love endures forever." Psalm 118:1

The Tale of the Recycled Pajama Pants

Once upon a time, like way back in college, I had a pair of pajama pants. They were nothing special -- just cotton PJ bottoms from Old Navy -- but I loved them. I loved the colors, I loved how comfortable they were and I loved that I could wear them year-round (they kept me warm in the winter and cool in the summer). I remember wearing those pants and watching movies in my dorm room on my sorority hall. I remember wearing those pants and eating ice cream late one night with all my roommates at my college apartment. I remember packing those pants and taking them on my honeymoon (Neil was thrilled). Those pants and I have logged a lot of miles and a lot of memories. Plus, they'd been washed just enough times that the cotton was good and worn in and super soft. They were my go-to pjs and I have worn them A LOT for many years. Behold, the PERFECT pair of pajama pants:

But, sadly, just like everything else, those pants couldn't live forever. For one thing, they had become thread-bare beyond repair in the seat and crotch (I've literally worn them out) and, well, they aren't exactly as comfortable as they once were (they are, ahem, a bit snug). Because of their condition, I couldn't donate them to the thrift store or hand them down to someone else. On the way to the trash can, I decided the best option would probably be to just cut them up and use the fabric for cleaning rags. At least I'd have something colorful to dust with. But the thought was just unsettling for me. That is not how a great pair of PJs should go out. And then I was struck with a thought: what if I did cut them up but instead of rags, what if I cut them down into pajama pants for Margie Grace. I was sure that by cutting them up the inseam and opening out the legs, I'd have just enough fabric to make MG her own pair of special PJ pants! I thought the idea was genius so I got to work, laying the pants on the floor and cutting them into a new creation.

Now here's a bit of a side story to this whole pajama rebirth. In early December, Margie Grace's preschool is having a "Pajama Day" where everyone wears their favorite PJs to school. It has been on my mind exactly what to dress her in that day because I've felt like she doesn't have any PJs that are extra special enough to wear to school. I buy the lion's share of her pajamas at our semi-annual consignment sale where I can get about two weeks worth of PJs for the price of two or three pair at Target or Wal-Mart. They are fine pajamas for around the house but I wanted her to have something a little nicer and a little more special for school. A new pair just wasn't in the budget for us (the financial belt is tighter these days since I've gone to part-time) plus I couldn't justify buying a new pair when she's getting a brand new pair for Christmas (holla if that's your family's Christmas Eve tradition, too!) So, the idea to remake my old pants into something new for her couldn't have come at a more opportune time. Behold the pajamas reborn:

I was so clever, I cut the new pants out using the bottom edge of the old pants so that I didn't even have to hem them. I had some red ric rac in my box of leftover trim that I used to spiff up the bottom cuff and cute them up a bit (nothing makes me think of fun kids' clothes like ric rac!) I got a red T-shirt at Wal-Mart for $3.50 and appliqued an "M" on it using some of the leftover fabric from the pants. I just love the way the whole set turned out and I couldn't be happier that my old pants got a new makeover -- spared from the trash and reborn into something Margie Grace can use. Plus, she really got a kick out of the fact that those used to be my old pants! She doesn't know this but I added extra fabric to the waistband so in the next couple of years, I can let it out and she's got room to grow. Unfortunately, I don't think these pants will be with her through college. But, hey, they've had a good run!

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Fun Stripes

Margie Grace loves to wear dresses to school. But on Tuesdays she stays after school for gymnastics so she has to wear pants, especially something comfortable that she can move around easily in, because she doesn't get a chance to change between preschool and tumbling class. So earlier this fall I picked up a handful of Garanimals T-shirts at Wal-Mart with the goal of making cute little outfits by putting an applique or monogram on the shirts and making her a matching pair of pants for each. Monday night I finally finished the first set (any spare time that I had for sewing in October was spent making a Little Mermaid costume! So, I'm a little behind . . .). I'm really pleased with how it turned out. I found the perfect purse applique to tie the outfit together. When I was done, I thought it was still missing something so I riffled through my ribbon drawer and found just enough of my scraps to make a precious matching bow. I'm really pleased with how the outfit turned out and Margie Grace really loved her new purse outfit. Now I've got until next Tuesday to make another set!

Busy Friday

A picture for Bebe (and cousin Rachel) in front of the Theta float

I had to stop this group of Alpha Chis and introduced them to their star pledge of 2025! :)

MG and Bebe checking out the back of the AKL float (Uncle John's handiwork).

MG in front of Uncle John's float

Poppy gave MG the best view for parade watching!

Just like most weekends during football season, this past one was filled with fun and activities. This past Friday was a particularly busy but fun day for us. It started on a somewhat unpleasant note. Margie Grace had an appointment at the pediatrician's office to get her seasonal flu shot. While we were there, the nurse went ahead and gave her the H1N1 vaccination as well -- a two for one opportunity that MG wasn't too thrilled about. I talked to her in advance about the shot and what was going to happen -- I wanted to be up front -- but, even as brave as she is, it still hurt and she still cried. The big Dora sticker she got from the nurse did help soften the blow a bit, though. And, I reminded her of our post-shot plans and she quickly dried her tears. From the doctor's office, we grabbed a Happy Meal and headed to the park for a picnic lunch and play time with our moms group from church. A friend of mine in our Sunday School class has started planning casual weekly get-togethers for the other SAHMs or part-timers like me to get the kids together for playtime. Margie Grace loves playing with the other kids and I've enjoyed getting to know some of the other moms from church. We stayed at the park for over an hour and then went home to rest up with a nap before the evening schedule commenced. After nap and a quick snack, we met up with Neil and went to campus for the homecoming parade. MG's Uncle John was in charge of building his fraternity's float so we wanted to be sure and check it out. (Cuz we didn't see him for like a week as a result.) We found John's float, looked at all the others, saw Aubie and watched the "parade" -- Aubie, cheerleaders, Tiger Paws, the women's basketball team (random?) and a massive herd of sorority girls -- march on by. We then loaded up, left campus and made it to our last stop of the night. One of MG's friends was having a campfire cookout birthday party so we closed the day out with a weenie roast and s'mores! It was a very eventful and fun day!