And it only took 7 hours and 45 minutes...

I'm pretty sure that's a record.

It's normally an 8 hour drive from my home in Tennessee to my parents' home in Florida, but that's with Brandon driving... :)

Apparently I drive a tad bit quicker.

I have a picture to post, but I can't get to it from here... *sigh* I'm beginning to see a trend as of late.

So, almost 8 hours on the road after an already full morning... I'm exhausted and GOING TO BED!

Night!

Only in the south...

I was going to say only in Tennessee, but this could probably be found in Wal-mart stores all across the south...

49/365

Yes, that says, "bottle opener under the brim".

Yes, there was a bottle opener under the brim.

Yes, there was only 1 hat like this left in the store.

Yes, I'm sure there are women in Tennessee walking around wearing this hat AND actually using that bottle opener... probably at family reunions and tailgate parties.

Wow!

Issues...

Issues with my camera.
Issues with my phone.
Issues with Blogger.
Issues, issues, issues.

Arg!

A seat with a view...

This was my view on the way to Lynchburg, TN today...

47/365

And on the way back...
Those are my feet propped up on the arm rest between Brandon and Evan. :)

My Monday Mumblings for today...

1. Lynchburg, TN is further from Cleveland than it seems on the map.

2. My kids do not travel as well as they used to! *Maybe it's because we have traveled so much the last few days*

3. Evan is very tolerant of my children... for that I am thankful.

4. Chandler has really taken a liking to Evan... for that, I feel sorry for him!

5. The Jack Daniel's Distillery is smelly... not really bad... not really good... just smelly.

6. The Jack Daniel's Distillery tour is educational... when you aren't chasing children and you can pay attention to the guide.

7. Our guide... slightly obnoxious. *sigh*

8. However, Evan got the opportunity to hear a "real tennessee accent".

9. I'm looking forward to only having to be in the car long enough to take Chandler to and from school tomorrow!

10. I'm exhausted!

A day downtown...

This afternoon we headed to downtown Atlanta to wander around and show Evan some of the sights...

46/365

Here we are at the Centennial Olympic Park in downtown

After the park we stopped by the CNN Center for lunch in the food court and then drove over to Zoo Atlanta.

After the zoo we loaded up and drove back to Tennessee... after a little Mario Kart, the girls crashed for the night and we lounged around watching a movie.

I declare war...

This morning we decided to play a little paintball...

I haven't played paintball in quite some time. In fact the last time I played, I ended up with bloody knuckles and decided I was done playing for a while.

45/365

Cousin Brett and Me

Brandon and Me

I have video footage, but again, my phone and computer are not cooperating! ARG!

When I do get the footage uploaded, you'll get to see my injuries and just one of the hits that I took.

After we got cleaned up from paintball, we had dinner at IHOP. Dinner was yummy and just what we needed after running around like crazy people in the woods.

After dinner, Cousin Brett and I headed off to the airport to pick up EVAN!

You'll get to meet him in tomorrow's post. :)

He was a bit tired after being awake for 30 hours so I decided not to ask him to pose for pictures tonight.

And we're off...

I'm sitting in Atlanta in Cousin Brett's room to send out this quick blog post...

and my picture isn't cooperating with me... again... ugh!

So, I took one, but I can't post it.

It was a photo of the roses that Brandon surprised me with when he came home from work today. Since we'll be in Atlanta visiting with family this weekend and won't go out on our own Valentine's date, he got me roses a day early.

We will be celebrating Valentine's Day with Cousin Brett, Aunt Karen, and Uncle Mike tomorrow at IHOP!

After dinner, Brett and I will drive to the airport to pick up Evan! YAY!

44/365

Wow!

I was at Wal-mart tonight after my girls were in bed...

43/365

It looked like Valentine's Day threw up all over Wal-mart!

This was only 1 side of 1 display of about 30 spread out around the store!

I'm so glad my kids weren't with me... It would have been nothing but desperate pleas for gigantic Valentine's Day balloons!

Tomorrow evening we are driving down to Atlanta for the weekend. We'll spend 2 nights at Cousin Brett's house (technically his parents house, but you haven't been introduced to them... yet).
Saturday night, I'll pick up Evan at the airport!! I'm so excited!

A letter to Diego

Dear Diego,

While I can appreciate the values and education that you and your cousin, Dora, are attempting to pass along to preschoolers, I do have a small complaint.

You see, my daughter, Riley, is 23 months old and as of late has developed a slightly, albeit cute, obsession with your television show.

Normally, this is not too much of a problem except that she wants to watch your show even when it is not on. I have not yet been able to teach her about the structure and schedule of the tv guide.

So, in order to remedy this small problem, I have begun setting my DVR to record new episodes of your show. Problem solved, right?

Well, in today's episode, Cousin Dora made a guest appearance. The combination of her two most beloved cartoon characters on the television all at once was too much for Riley to contain!

It could only have been more exciting if you had been rescuing Blue and Magenta from the evil clutches of Mr. Salt and Mrs. Pepper (and let's not forget Baby Paprika) while Joe (or Steve) narrated the adventure.

Ok, but back to the excitement...

This caused Riley to run down the hallway screaming "Day-go! Dora! Day-go! Dora!"

Unfortunately, this was during Jeremiah's nap.

I was using nap time to get some much needed work done around my house. *sigh* I was being quite productive until this moment.

So, Diego. I appreciate the entertainment value that you bring to my home. I appreciate that I can often sneak in a shower while you memorize my child with stories of 3 toed sloths and baby beluga whales.
I just wish your show didn't come on during nap time!

Sincerely (yet frustrated),

Jennifer Miles

Ah, to be 2 again...

Well, 23 months, but that's close enough, right?

42/365

Oh how desperately I wanted to lay down and take a nap this afternoon!! Brandon found Riley laying on the sofa, sound asleep.

**Yesterday's post has been edited to add the picture that I couldn't get to yesterday.

Tuesday... oops.

So, I forgot about my Monday Mumblings... and I just realized I forgot last week too. Oops!

So, Monday Mumblings on Tuesday:
1. Evan arrives this Saturday. I'm excited!

2. Chandler asks at dinner every night, "How many days till you pick Evan up at the airport?"

3. Riley. Well. She's Riley. She's screaming. A lot.

4. I'm taking something to help me sleep... well, it's not FOR sleeping, but it helps with that too.

5. As you see, it's almost midnight and I'm awake.

6. It worked great yesterday. The problem is I fell asleep at 7:00. Now I'm awake.

7. I have a million things to do before Friday afternoon, but I've just been so tired.

8. I MUST get myself into gear tomorrow... tired or not. Things must be done.

9. My camera is busted... thanks Riley.

10. I need a new one.

So, this is where today's Project 365 would go.....

41/365

I took a picture on my cellphone since my camera is busted.
However, the signal at my house isn't strong enough to send the picture to my computer. ARG!

So, I did take a picture today and I did attempt to blog about it so I'm still on track with my project.

I get a GREAT signal at Chandler's school. Maybe I'll send it to myself in the morning... maybe. :)


**EDITED:**

41/365

This is what happened when I bathed the girls before dinner and then tried to lay down for a quick nap... everyone piled onto the loveseat!

Why I hate doctor's appointments...

Today was full of appointments for me. Really I only had 2, but you know how long to have to wait anytime you go to the doctor. Two appointments turned into a whole day!

You may remember I had surgery back in September... if not, and you want to read about it you can find the story here.

And for the entertaining pre and post surgery pictures click here.

Anyway, today I had a follow up mammogram...

That's about all I'll say about that. :)

Later in the day I had another appointment. Because it was the only appointment I could get on a fairly less hectic day, I couldn't be picky about the time. I had to pick up Chandler from school early and take her AND Riley to my appointment.

I'd like to tell you that this is how my kids acted the entire time...

40/365

Unfortunately, that would be a lie.

Because this is actually how they acted...

Ok, in all fairness to Chandler, Riley was really the only one acting this this.
However, Chandler did her fair share of pestering about how long it was taking for the doctor to see us.

Yes, Chandler it took a long time. I agree with you! *sigh* It always does.

A little glimpse...

My week is starting off with a list... just so I don't forget anything!

39/365

It's going to be a busy week!

Saturday...

Well, we did a whole lot of NOTHING today.

Slept in. Lounged around the house. Had a late lunch at Zaxby's. Bought 2 controllers for our Wii. Came home. Played Mario Kart. Had dinner. Watched TV.

Ummm... that's it.

38/365

Chandler is just a tad bit attached to "Cousin Brett". Poor guy has been climbed on, sat on, pushed, shoved, hugged, and probably kicked a few times too!

Cousin Brett comes for a visit...

Here he is!

The cousin that so badly wants his own post is finally getting it!

37/365

Brett arrived right around 9:00 tonight.

Chandler wasted no time getting him into the play room and showing off her Mario Kart skills.

She felt like she was really teaching him a thing or two.

What she doesn't know is that Brett, his brother Bobby, my sister Erin, and I used to have Mario Kart playoffs back when it was cool to own a Super Nintendo. :)

A little sleep would be good...

This is where I would like to be right now...

36/365

Sleeping. Soundly. In my bed.

For about the last 2 weeks I've been keeping CRAZY hours. I'm tired all day long, but I just cannot make myself go to bed at a decent time... I'm tired, but I'm wide awake!

Maybe it's insomnia. Maybe it's stress. Who knows?!?!?
Oh maybe it's "transient insomnia"... actually that sounds pretty close to what I've been feeling... thank you Wikipedia!

*sigh* Maybe I'll get to sleep before 2am this time... we'll see.

Oh for crying out loud....

35/365

Seriously, these two girls... they. make. me. laugh!

What else makes me laugh? The fact that our server at Chili's took this picture and actually thought it was good.
I mean, hello?? Did you notice that 50% of the picture is comprised of glasses, a go to box, and a to go cup?

The picture tells a story... you wouldn't understand it even if I tried to tell you... one of those, "you had to be there" moments.

So, Trish. Tara. Thanks girls. I needed a good laugh. The kind of laugh that made me cry. Hard. Several times.

This dinner came at the perfect time for me.

In with the new...

The guy from Lowe's came today to install our door.

34/365

We still have to paint it, but we haven't decided on a color yet.

We are planning to paint our house this year so we'll pick out a house color and a complementary color for the door.

I did really like the look of our old door. I really didn't give it enough credit. The look really suited the house so it was SUPER hard to pick out a new door... our decision pretty much came down to price and availability.
It was just old and drafty and had a crack in it... and seriously people, I'm not kidding about the neighbor... she watches us!
That is just too creepy!!!

Out with the old...

Say goodbye to the old front door...

33/365

Good bye old door...
I will miss you for a few reasons, but it is time for you to move on to become scrap wood or chopped up into firewood.

I will miss your big windows because they allow so much additional light into our living room, but I will not miss the fact that your large windows allow my nosy neighbor to spy on me! :)

Ummmm... that's about all I'll miss about you! Sorry.

Tomorrow the nice man who is sub-contracted by Lowe's with come and rip you out and haul you away... leaving a nice new door in your place.

Just another Sunday...

Sort of...

32/365

Brandon watching the Super Bowl

I kinda forgot that the Super Bowl was tonight so we didn't think to make any plans with anyone. It was just a lazy night at home.