The talking "jenny" stain....

This cracks me up! Have ya'll seen that Tide commecial with the "talking stain"? Jonathan and I laugh at it all the time, and now, I can make myself the talking stain! Yeah, I know..."sounds" just like me, huh? hahaha
Play the video, and laugh along...hahaha

The "American Girl" phenom...

I thought I would post a little more about our experience at the American Girl Boutique and Bistro in Atlanta. We had a great time, as you can figure out from the slide show in the below post. Here's how it all came about:

Megan had been talking about wanting an American Girl doll for several months. Actually we saw the special on Oprah right before Christmas, and it peaked both of our interests. I really had not heard a lot about the American Girl dolls, and to be quite honest, never thought Megan would have an interest. Of all the baby dolls she's ever had, she's never played with them a whole lot. She's had several different ones, she's had all the accessories: bed, changing table, bath station, high chair, potty chair, stroller, and lots of bottles and bibs and clothes to play with...but she still didn't play with her dolls quite as much as I thought she would. I remember dolls being a big part of my play time as a kid. I had all kinds, baby dolls, cabbage patch kids, adoption dolls, flower kids, etc. I had names for each of them, and I actually still have them...I passed them on to Megan and they currently sit in her room;rarely played with. So when she saw the special on Oprah and expressed a slight interest, I didn't think much about it. It did, however, peak my interest greatly, and I began researching the dolls on the web. Megan caught me one day and found all the different accessories for the dolls interesting and "cute" as she said. An interest was there, but not enough for her to even ask for a doll for Christmas. So, I let it go. After all, the dolls' were only a minimum of $90 each, and why pay that much for a doll that she wouldn't even care about. Or so I thought.

Fast forward to January when school is back in session. The teacher invites the kids in her class to bring a toy to school for show and tell every Friday during the month. 2 of her very best girlfriends in her class brought their American Girl Dolls. So guess what happened. Megan came home telling me that her two friends had dolls, and she's ready for one too! I have to admit, my heart leaped. As a mother who loved dolls as a child, this is the kind of thing that would be right up my alley! But again, as a mother who doesn't have a whole lot of money sitting around, I wasn't about to spend $90plus on a doll that she might not really have an interest in. My strategy was simple. I showed her the dolls online, looked through the site explaining what the dolls were all about, etc. Then I let it go. I didn't bring it up again. But Megan did. Quite often. And each time she did, we would go to the site. I drilled it in her head that this doll is very expensive, and if she were to get one, I better not find it lying in the floor of her room where she just threw it down! It had to be taken care of! BIG TIME! Like it was a member of our family. The only thing she has ever loved that much is her pooh bear she got when she was 11 months old at Disney World. She has slept with that bear every night of her life, carried it on every vacation, to all the "show and tell" days at school, and treated him like a member of the family. I told her that her American Girl doll had to be treated that special. "Oh, I will Mama! I promise! She'll be just like my SISTER!". After talking to Jon, and forewarning him of the cost, etc, I explained my plan. I wanted to take her to the store and restaurant in Atlanta for her birthday present. Pretty steep, maybe. But, I justified it this way: We had actually returned one of her big Christmas presents back (a computer game that crashed my computer every time she used it) and gotten the money for it, which was about $60. She was upset at first, until I told her that we'd get something else. Combine that with a birthday present, and save up a little cash, and we could do it. I expected some resistance...but to my suprise, Jonathan was great about it! He was actually all for it! We booked a hotel right across the street from the North Point Mall in Alpharetta, and headed to our weekend getaway on Friday, March 21st. After arriving, Megan had her doll picked out in no time at all. We paid for it, and got her out of the box so Megan could carry her around. We had made reservations for the Bistro, and when it was our turn to go, I was really blown away at how they really "catered" to the doll!!!

"May I have your name please?" asked the hostess

"Barrett, reservations for 2" I respond.

"And how many dolls will be dining with you?" She asked.

I have to admit, I was somewhat taken aback by this! I knew Megan would bring her doll in with her to the bistro, but Ididn't expect to see what was coming next.

"One" I replied.

The hostess then get's 2 Menu's out of the box in front of us, then reaches under her table to get a mini menu FOR THE DOLL!!! It was all I could do to keep from laughing out loud! Then she walks over to a shelf, and gets a HIGH CHAIR FOR THE DOLL so it can sit next to Megan at our table.
"OH HOW CUTE" I am thinking! I am eating this up! Reliving my childhood at that very moment and loving every minute of it!

The hostess has Megan place her doll in the chair and when the doll's shirt and skirt get pulled up slightly I am amazed at the fuss that the hostess makes over the doll.

"Oh let me help you!", and she begins smoothing the dolls clothes down again. Again, it's all I can do to keep from cracking up laughing in front of her! She attatches the doll to the table right next to Megan and then places our menu's in front of us. And yes-the doll got it's menu standing up in front of her too!

The food was OK. I wasn't overly impressed, but I'm paying more for the experience, not the taste of the food. We watched several girls celebrate their birthday's there, and Megan was so excited when if finally came her turn to have "Happy Birthday" sung to her.

Overall, it was a great day. I got to make a really wonderful memory with Megan, and relive some of my love of my childhood all at the same time. Megan is taking really good care of her doll, whom she named Miley. (Yep, she's a Hannah Montana fan for sure!). Right now, she is obsessed with wanting to buy other stuff for her doll. More clothes. Furniture. She wants the doll to have the pet cat named Licorice. She wants her doll to like soccer, so she is asking for a soccer uniform for her. She also thinks her doll would like to be an ice skater like Mia, the current doll of the year, so she is asking for all her furniture. (Again, it takes all I can to not laugh in front of Megan, but we are taking this soooo slowly.) I find myself getting all wrapped into this too! I would like to get her a set of PJ's that she and her doll can wear and match. I've also seen a Brownie uniform for her doll, and part of me really wants to get her that! We'll see. Whatever the case, she loves all things American Girl...right now. I am waiting to see if this interest is a fad, or if it will last. She is already planning a sleep over with her friends, and wants them to bring their American Girl dolls with them. If it does last, it's a phase I can get on board with!

So everyone out there that has a daughter-I say it's worth the investment. The dolls are a little pricey, but hold their value and are very durable dolls. If you teach your child how to take care of it, they will treasure the doll for a long time. I say it's a MUST to take your daughter to the store and restaurant. One day, I want to go to the one in Chicago and let her go to the theatre there. We'll see...

Our Trip to the American Girl Boutique and Bistro

Playing Catch-Up...

Below are 5 Slide Shows of pics especially for my dear Mother In Law, whom has been patiently waiting to see her grandkids on Spring Break at the Beach...Hope you enjoy Regina!
I have tons more photos of our weekend in Atlanta, but alas, those will have to wait! I have to download them from Jonathan's camera, which will take forever since he uses such a high resolution, and then combine (and rename) the ones from my camera. It's all a very time consuming process, but I will get it done!
We haven't seen a whole lot of Jonathan since we got back from our 2 quick little vacations. He's been working a lot of long hours because he has his back to the wall with big deadlines. Looks like he's going to need another vacation after he makes it past this one!
Anyhoo-be sure to scroll down, and view all 5 posts and slides!
Later~

Our last day at the beach...

More pics...are you sick of them yet?

Hanging out in our Hotel room...

A few sunset Beach pictures...

Finally...a slide show! Our trip through Montgomery...

HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE!

Well, we are finally back home after a quick, and fun filled overnight trip to Atlanta. I will blog more about the American Girl store later, but for now, I wanted to post a pic of the kids with the Easter Bunny at the Atlanta Zoo today. We have had the best family time all weekend! We all loved the zoo today because we got to see some animals that Birmingham doesn't have...like Panda Bears chewing on Bamboo (did you know they will eat up to 220 POUNDS of Bamboo in one day!?), Kangaroo, which we learned will jump up to 29 feet in one leap, and the wart hogs and meerkat, which the kids were all too excited to inform the zoo workers that their names were "Timone" and "Pumbah" (from the Lion King). The zoo employees were very helpful standing about the animal exhibits and answering questions, or offering little tidbits of information. One of our last stops at the zoo today was to visit with the Easter Bunny. The kids were very excited to see him, and we were able to snap a quick photo....

We'll have more photo's of us at church tomorrow at the "Flowered Cross" that our church always does...provided Jonathan will actually turn over his wonderful camera so someone can take the photo like he wants. I am trying to convince him to take the tripod. He's very protective over that thing! He won't even let me hold it for long, or take very many pictures! He thinks he's the only one that can do anything with it! Haha!

Anyway, Happy Easter and Resurrection Day tomorrow!

Jen

Meet our new addition...

Megan finally got her "dream come true" (her words, not mine!) We went to the American Girl Boutique and Bistro today in Atlanta and she picked out the doll she'd been wishing for the last few months. She chose a "Just Like You" doll which shares many of her features, with the exception of her eye color...it was just impossible to get a doll with brown hair and blue eyes, so her doll has brown eyes. At first Megan was a little concerned about it. That is, until she laid eyes on her....and when she did, Megan was sooo excited! We got her the doll, and a stand to keep her safe and clean when she's not playing with her. Megan has already named her Miley (but you can't guess why?!), and has informed us all that we are now a family of 5! I have to admit, this is something that I would have LOVED to do as a child, so to have the opportunity to give it to Megan was so fulfilling for me! I had a great time dining with the "girls" in the bistro. I will include a post about all that, and include a slide show later, but for now, here is Miley's debut into the Barrett Family-

More Pics...This time, of the beach

Here are a few pictures from the beach this past weekend...they're coming in slowly. We're currently on our "American Girl" excursion and there will be plenty of pics about that too...but for now...


The sand was soooo cold at night! But that of course doesn't stop the kids from wanting to build castles!












Thank the good Lord the pool was heated because even though it was about 72 degrees outside, the wind was horrible and made it seem so much cooler! You were actually warmer in the water than outside of the pool!






Granny-I'll share more beach pics with you later...I just don't want to post em all here...you are my most faithful blog reader, but I know that ANYBODY can pull this up and see it...sooooo....

Pics from the weekend...

Here are a choice few photos that I know you've been dying to see (any by you, I mean Regina-the only person who probably reads this blog! haha)

On the way down we decided to take our time and stop in Montgomery at the capital building. Megan and Ryan both had a great time running around the grounds, which was totally vacant since it was a Sunday and everything down town is closed! Perfect photo ops!!!

We're hoping that one day Ryan can actually stand still and smile at the camera when we ask him to. Right now, it's just a little too much for his nearly 4 year old body to handle...thus the silly poses he gives us.

Ahh, yes. Sweet girl has had a camera shoved in her face often enough to know just how to pose and smile! She went through the phase that Ryan is in now, which is what gives us the hope we have as stated above.

More pics to come soon...It just takes FOREVER for them to download from the camera, and then upload to the site because of the resolution that Jon uses on his camera. It does take nice pictures though.

The Barrett Beach Bum's and Bama Bound!!

Well, as I sit and type this, I am also driving down the road with my family on my way in from the quickest beach trip I've ever taken! Jon's cell phone can act as a modem and has allowed me access to the internet while we are driving through the southern portion of Alabama...Dothan to be exact. I found out on Friday evening that we would be leaving on Sunday morning to go to the beach with Jon for a few days while he had a job to check on in Port St. Joe, Fl. We stayed in Mexico beach...which is perfect for spring break since it's far away from EVERYTHING! There is literally nothing down there. It is so quiet, and family oriented, and just what I love out of the beach experience! When I go, I don't like to be around crowds...I don't like all the filth that tends to come with party-going, beer guzzeling, niave and down right trashy teens and college students. Panama City would have been next to impossible to have a quiet vacation...not to mention NO VACANCY on such a short notice. We called our hotel on Saturday just to be sure we could get in and they assured us that they would have plenty available for us, since they don't attract the Spring Break crowds being so far away from everything....aaah....music to my ears!
So, we left Sunday and took our time getting down there. We made a quick stop in Montgomery, Alabama, and took pics of the kids at the Capital. I personally have never been there, so it was interesting and pretty to see. Megan had a blast and can't wait to get back to school and show her teacher the pictures of her standing on the capital steps. Not to mention on the way back in to the state on our way home today, we stopped at the first Alabama rest stop and the kind ladies at the info desk gave her a HUGE poster of the State Capital and told her to give it to her teacher and hang it in the classroom. Megan was ecstatic! She can't wait...
We got a book of Alabama "facts" and played a little trivia game...but the best and most surprising part was when our little Ryan informed us that "Bob Wiley" is the governer, and the "state birwd is the wellohamma" (state bird is the yellowhammer)...when asked how he knew that...he told us "Mrs. Hunt told it to me". Remind me to thank Mrs. Hunt for teaching him all the little facts about the state that I never even thought to teach him! haha
Anyway, we just passed a sign that says "Montgomery 83miles"...so we have along way to go...but at least I have the internet to keep me busy as the kids watch their 2nd movie of the day, and Jon keeps an eye out for the speed limits, and hidden cops so we don't get a ticket...it's bad enough we have an expired tag right now! (never got a notice, but we're getting the tag renewed this week...we're only 2 weeks late! gimmie a break! haha)
I'll post pictures later, as I don't think I can make it happen right now...but we got some really good ones.
Anyhoo-until next time!

Didn't know we were so talented, did Ya?

Don't send a lame eCard. Try JibJab Sendables!

OH CHAAALIE!

Recently, Megan began trying to talk with a bit of an accent. A British one. I'm not really sure why, and who she heard talking this way to peak her interest, but she was actually cracking me up. I told her about this video that I saw on You Tube, and let her watch it. Both of the kids thought it was so funny, and laughed so much! There are even other video's of other people "acting" this part out! People are so strange...as am I for watching it, laughing at it, letting my kids watch it, and now posting it here for your strange enjoyment as well....

The Tooth Fairy Delivered!!!!

EXTRA! EXTRA!

READ ALL ABOUT IT!

Missing Tooth does not keep the tooth fairy away!

Megan found a nice $5 in her tooth pillow this morning!

Turns out, you don't need to actually leave the tooth for her!

Megan is super excited, and is ready for round 2 with the other bottom tooth.

It's not loose yet, but she's wiggling it around trying to get it that way!

Phew! What a day/night/week it's been!

THE INCREDIBLE DISAPPEARING TOOTH!

Well...the tooth is gone.

LITERALLY GONE!

I made chicken soft tacos for dinner tonight to try to keep Megan from having to chew on hard foods with her newly loose tooth! After about the 2nd or 3rd bite, she was freaking out about her mouth bleeding, and low and behold, her tooth was gone! No where to be found! We looked in her taco, we looked all on her plate, the table, the floor, everywhere. I'm guessing she swallowed it. When she came to this realization-she went into sheer panic! She said she never felt anything hard in her mouth or anything, so we are both scratching our heads trying to figure that one out. She was excited about loosing a tooth, but to actually LOSE it freaked her out a bit. I think she really thought it meant that the tooth fairy wouldn't be coming! It took forever to convince her that the tooth fairy still knew about it and she would still have a prize under her pillow in the morning! As a matter of fact, I don't think she is convinced yet....

Even little brother felt sorry for her loosing her first loose tooth, so he went and got out his magnifying glass and started looking everywhere for it! It was so cute! He said "Megan, I hep you find yow toof!" (so sweet!)

A little over a year ago, I had begun anticipating her loosing her first tooth. I went to Christmas Village Arts and Crafts show in November '06 and found her a tooth pillow to safely and securely hold her tooth when the time came. I have held onto that pillow every since then, and today I was so excited to finally be able to give it to her! Now....we have no tooth to put in it! hahaha! How's that for karma!?

But anyway, she wrote a letter to the tooth fairy and we're going to place it in the pillow tonight. We're keeping our fingers crossed that the tooth fairy stops by and leaves a really good treat for a devastated little girl! She really wanted that tooth!

Here's a little video I shot of her soon after the milestone moment happened...

Here's a slide show of pics....enjoy.

LOOSE TOOTH ALERT!!!

Well, it's finally happened! Megan finally has a loose tooth! I can not tell you how HUGE this is for us (er-I mean, her!)!! It's been killing her that every kid in her class has lost at least one of their teeth, and until today, she hasn't even had a loose one. Today, I was sitting outside my classroom door while my little ones were napping, and my cell phone rings...it was her teacher. I always panic thinking that it's going to be that phone call where Megan just vomited in class-ugh! But it was her teacher wanting to give Megan the chance to tell me the good news! I was so proud for her that I literally got a little teary eyed! Megan was so excited, and apparently, biting into the mini pizza lunchable is what did the trick today!

OH MY BABY GIRL!

It's just another reminder that she's growing up,

and she's hitting those milestones a little too fast!

When the tooth is gone, I'll be sure to snap some

SNAGGLETOOTH PHOTO'S!

7 years and 7 days later...

Well, I had every intention of posting these pics before now, but we've had a crazy week, and there's literally been no time! Last Monday evening, we celebrated Megan's birthday by going out to eat to the restaurant of her choice. And, she chose Logan's Roadhouse. Why you ask? Because she likes to throw the peanut shells on the floor. Yep, for no other reason really...she just likes to make a mess! haha! Well, I'm sure the bread rolls had a little to do with it too, she loves that! Anyway, we gave her presents here at home prior to going out, and she got a pair of Yellow Box flip flops from Dad that match some Mom already have (she was excited about that). Ryan gave her a Hannah Montana doll, that sings the "True Friend" song, and says her favorite saying from the show.,..."OH SWEET NIBLETS!" *Hey, it's a girl thing...if you watch the show, you get it!


Then mommy gave her the biggie! The gift to end all gifts....a card. Haha, but not just any card! One I made for her...explaining her birthday present to her. We'll be going to the American Girl store in the Atlanta area during Spring Break, and she and I will dine in the Bistro at the store (Dad didn't have an interest, so this is a "girl thing' as she put it!) While we are there, she'll get to pick out the doll that she wants. This is a biggie for Mom too....because those dolls are not cheap! And I've already told her that after she gets that doll, if I see it laying around in the floor, HEADS ARE GONNA ROLL! AND IT WON'T BE THE DOLL'S! hahaha! I think I have her scared enough to take care of it! Her card also had a countdown marker in it, so she can keep track of the number of days until our trip. She's so excited, and quite frankly, so am I. This is definatly something I would have LOVED to do when I was a kid, so I am quite sure I'll enjoy it too!


Anyhoo-here are a few pics from her day:



Her whole class enjoying Pizza that I took up to the school. Another classmate was celebrating his birthday too, and his Mom had already sent cupcakes....Megan loved that I brought Pizza for everyone.





Birthday girl, eating her lunch!








Getting ready to rake all those peanut shells on the floor at Logan's