Crockpots and Crushed Ice

I woke up this morning and cannot make myself eat ice. Can't even stand the thought of it. Tried to force a little chomp chomp with my morning tea and again at lunch, but have absolutely NO interest in it. How can that be??? Am I dying?

Emails marked with "high importance/urgent" flags make me giggle. The sheer fact that I am supposed to take them seriously makes me seriously crack up. Does anyone else have this problem?

We're chock full of randomness today. It's because the whole world's gone Crockpot crazy. I just lost 2.5 hours to grazing crock pot recipes and scheming my stroll through Kroger. I copy-pasted 15 recipes and signed a contract (with myself) to try one new recipe a week for the next 4 months. Then I asked our friends if they wanted to go to Rico's for dinner.

Domestic goddess, I am not.

Roll Tide. (And Gooooo Dawgs). We miss our Chel-Chel.

How can it be that Pistol Britches turned 16 months old today?

Had to take him out of his high chair. He stands up and shakes his fanny during dinner. Now he sits at the table like a big boy. As in a big boy who is strapped into a booster seat with a 3 point harness. It makes me smile to look across the table and see his little face peeking over the edge of his plate.

We met Brady, one of Coop's super best buds at the splash park today with Mrs Lori. They ran between these benches 47 times.

Coop and Brady have been together since they were just peanuts.

We are so blessed to have so many faboosh friends in our lives. Friends who love us even when we eat school buses.

To infinity and beyond...

Buzz Lightyear, we salute you.

Because of you I was able to take a shower today. I even got to rinse the conditioner out of my hair without streaking across the bathroom floor to capture a little diaper booty taking off with a bottle of Tylenol or even worse, a bottle of Drain-O.

Oh, it's quite glorious. The APA tells us that a little bit of tv is ok. Everything in moderation. If it means a clean mama and a non-charred dinner, then we welcome it at la casa Davis.

Speaking of infinity and beyond...12Stone is doing a incredible series on heaven right now. It is SO thought-provoking. Today we were reminded that pain is real and temporary and we must endure it. Pleasure is also real and temporary and we are to enjoy it. Heaven is real and eternal and we are to live for it. Jesus told his disciples that this world would not be without trouble. Our hope comes in the promise of heaven. Rather than blame God for all the bad things in our lives and take credit for all of the good, we must remember that "every good and perfect gift is from above".

Confession. We just might have ended up here [again] tonight. Remember that all good things come from Him. Even naked dogs.

I don't know what happened. Those onion rings started talking to me. In church mind you. At 10:45 this morning. And they just wouldn't stop. And I'm not even preggers. Yet. Sigh. *Insert lots and lots and lots of prayers* The shadows of chemo leave a lot of unanswered questions but we know that if and when it's in God's will, it will be done. We sure would be tickled silly to have one more great big blessing to thank Him for.

Not to change the subject, but um, this little man cracks me up.

I promise he's not a hobbitt. He does in fact have clothes that fit. They're just not near as cute as these alligator trunks.

He's in this completely adorable phase where he says things like "tee tee" and "shoowee". This week he learned to meow-meow like a cat. We are so NOT cat people.

Have I mentioned how much we love a good day at the splash park? Top three reasons why I love it: 1) Yogli Mogli 2) Dress Up Boutique 3) photo ops like this one: 

Totally and completely worth the soggy britches ride home.

Lymphin' Around

I woke up doing cartwheels this morning.

Remember last October when 72 ah-mazing people surrounded Chris, Cooper, and I at the Light the Night Walk? Remember when countless others donated precious precious funds to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society to help fund research and search for a cure?

I love this picture because a) it's the only family picture we have where we are all wearing eye patches and b) it reminds me that God is bigger than baldness.

Well this year, I have the absolute honor of championing another team for the 2011 Light the Night Walk. I am teaming up with two of my most favorite causes, Children's Healthcare of Atlanta and the LLS and I couldn't be more excited!

Although we had SO much fun with our team "Walk with a Lymph" last year, and we all know "Chris' lymph nodes are bigger than ours"...we decided this wouldn't really fly with CHOA.  This year we're going with "Always Have Hope and Will". A little more PC but just as much fun. Promise. (Eye patches provided).

We would LOVE for you to join us in the walk. Because of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and gracious people just like Y-O-U, Chris has hair now. It's true.

To sign up or donate, please visit: http://pages.lightthenight.org/ga/nmetro11/AlwaysKeepHopeandWill

Relentless for a cure,
Ali, Chris, and Cooper

What'll ya have?

This weekend has been all about good food and good friends. Friday night we had the Varsity (junior).

What'll ya have?

So glad you asked. One naked dog. One large FO. One cheeseburger. One chili burger. An order of rings. And two cokes. Um, yum.

Saturday we met Chris' old rugby friend Doong and his sweet girlfriend down at the Cheesecake Factory for lunch. Woulda snapped a picture but Coop was a wild child. He ate a grilled cheese and two orange crayons. We ate a loaf of bread, two bites of a grilled chicken/avacado sandwich, and some dulce de leche cheesecake. Scrumptious.

Tonight we rocked it down at Mary Mac's Tearoom with the Bassett's.

Little G and Coop are the same age and are a hoot when they're together. They ate a red crayon, some applesauce, some fried chicken, and 24 yogurt melts. We ate fried catfish (oh. my. stars), some tomato pie (heaven), fried green tomatoes, okra (fried of couse, but started to get embarrassed about the amount of fried ____ in this list), and some cinnamon rolls. And my all time fave. You guessed it. Table Wine of the South. Slurp.

Chris and Big G used to tear up the town. Now they are two of the sweetest, funnest, bestest daddies in all the world. They still tear up the town. Just with toddlers in tow.

Next up on the Google Search: Detox Diet. Kidding, we all know I have zero, zilch will power.

Random ramblins: I might have gotten hooked on Words with Friends this weekend. I have been battling my boss and I am starting to think she is totally making up her own words. I mean "fatwa"? Come on now. Good thing I came back to (almost) tie the game with "tush" and "tramp".

We also just found out that two of our very besties are moving to our little neck of the woods. How fun is that!? Both great big surprises that have got us turning cartwheels and bakin' "Welcome Home" cookies by the dozen.

And if you haven't yet, you MUST go see "The Help". Run. Skip. Jog. Jump. However you must go, please go. Goodness gracious, it was EXCELLENT. Totally thought provoking. An absolutely beautiful (and horrid) tale of mankind and human nature.

At the end of the day, without fail, we must always remember to remind others: "You are kind. You are smart. You are important." And if not, welp, you might just end up eating pie. :)

Balloons

Something caught my eye today. Made me stop and think about how much I need to thank Coopster for.

It was a red balloon. Tied to a Ben and Jerry's sign. Contain yourself. I nearly shrieked with glee when I saw the balloon dancing in the wind. (It wasn't until just now that I even thought twice about the fact that it was tied to a BEN AND JERRY'S sign. Some crazy phenomenon there.) I had to remind myself that I am a grown up (kinda) and that I was on my lunch break (not at the circus) and that the pediatric dentist man walking towards me might have peed his pants when he saw my lack of self control.

Coop is mad about balloons. Loves them to pieces. When I saw that single red balloon, I had to contain myself from reacting with childlike adoration. It made me think and thank. That little (ok, maybe not so little) 25 pound pistol britches has taught me, or reminded me rather, about how much joy we can find in the simple things.

"You will live in joy. The mountains and hills will burst into song, and the trees of the field will clap their hands!" Isaiah 55:12

What happened after the balloon sighting was not so-much adult like. I might have gone into the Loft dressing room and danced like crazy for 2.5 minutes straight. My intention was to try on a darlin ruffle top, but when the music hit me, I just couldn't stop. Danced like a madwoman. Arms flailing. Fists pumping. Sprinkler sprinkling.

Nothin Runs Like a Deere

 It's summer time. Know what that means?

 Ice cream on my cheeks, running barefoot in the grass, grass stains on my knees, and waitin' for the crickets to come out.

Why does Mama always make me go inside and take a bath? 

C25k

We are addicted to frozen cookie dough balls. Um, yum.

I'm sitting here savoring every single bite of mine tonight thinking about all the fun we had this weekend. We made it to The Melting Pot Friday night (holy goodness), had lunch at Ricos Saturday (first time eating two handed there to date), went to our good friend Jesse's 30th surprise party, ate dinner at Adam's Piano Bar (LOVE!), laughed our socks off at the comedy club, and lollygagged at the outlets. We have had the very very best weekend together but have missed our little fella like absolute crazy. How can it be that we have forgotten how to function without him?

He had an absolute blast down at the farm with my parents. My mom and dad are going to guest blog about all of their adventures as soon as dial up makes it's way down to the countryside :)

After we got Coop down tonight I decided to hit the pavement running. I know. Insane. I used to be a runner. Ran all the time. Fast. Slow. Long. Short. I loved it. I decided to give Couch to 5k another shot. My purpose this time? Quiet time. In 30 minutes I prayed for countless friends and family members. I thanked God for approximately a million and one gifts. I practiced being still and waiting. I asked Him some questions. He asked me some questions. It was just fabulous.

So here I am...eating my cookie dough ball (it's gone now) and basking in the glow of the weekend.

Chris might have surprised me with an iPad for our versary. I'm hooked. I won't dare admit that we just FaceTimed each other from across the foot of the bed. It's true. We lost our connection and for some reason he's not answering now. Guess I'll throw a pilla at him.

5 Years!

Today is mighty special. 5 years ago today I married my love.

He was feelin' kind of lucky :)

We got married in the dark, without air conditioning, food, or proper music and had the ABSOLUTE time of our lives. Our cake melted. The preacher got stuck in an elevator. We didn't get to have our pictures taken. The heat got so bad that the sprinkler system triggered an alarm and the fire department showed up. The limo forgot to come and get us. We made it all the way to Savannah and realized that we left our passports back on the island. It was 2am and they were in our preacher's hotel room.

We will never run out of memories to laugh about and we absolutely love it.

We got married and Chris got sick. Really sick, but no one knew what it was. We dealt with a long season of unemployment when Chris' company unexpectedly shut their doors. We dealt with the silly gun case. Silly silly silly gun case. We had our first baby. We learned to savor God's grace. We got to know cancer. We kicked cancer to the curb. We bought our first home.

We have learned to love each other inside out and upside down. We have learned that you have to be able to laugh at yourself. We have learned how to change diapers and flush ports. We have learned not to take a single second of this precious life for granted.

Know what we love most about this particular anniversary?

Chris' hair.

Happy Anniversary to my love, my rock, my very best friend.

Wild Goose Chase

Thanks to "I am Mama-Hear Me Roar", I am on a wild goose chase.

I just fell in love with this fabric. And I've got to have it. Got to. It's absolutely beautiful and it's absolutely from Target. I am having trouble finding it. It's rectangular tablecloths made into drapes. Faboosh. BOLO.

I must admit. I've been known to run like the wind to Target 5 minutes before closin' time just to chase some crazy wild hair. Abby J and I redecorated our entire apartment one night at 9:59pm at Target on a crazy Waverly Whim. We drove home just beaming from ear to ear, eating our Krystal Chiks. Glory days.

I would sneak right out to Target right this very moment, but this snuggle bug's all tucked in dreaming of Puffs and Legos and lift-the-flap books.

Oh, and he loves his new jammie jams so much (thankyouverymuch Target for $5), that he sang me a song before he went to sleep.

Memory Lane

Coop and I just got back taking our sweet friend Chelsea out to dinner. It was a going away dinner. And I might have boo-hooed the whole way home. Chelsea was two when I met her. She'll be 19 in October.

Two out of three of these little girls are off at college now. The third one's not far behind. Goodness.

Chelsea (pirouetting with hand on hip in the middle) is heading to the University of Alabama on Friday. Avery (far left sporting the sweet braided pig tails) is starting her second year at Georgia. Dana (cutie patootie on far right) just started her Junior year of high school. Courtney (the sweet thing below sitting in that itty bitty wagon) wasn't even born back in the beach ballet days. But she's starting high school this year.

Do the math. These girls are making me OLD! Love them all to pieces. They (and so many other young girls) have been such an incredible part of my life and I am forever blessed by the moments we've shared over the past 15+ years.

It wouldn't be fair to post these precious old pics without showing you how absolutely beautiful these girls all are still today...

Avery and Dana

Chelsea and Courtney

"One generation shall commend your works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts." Psalm 145:4 

Recycled

One of my favorite things about blogging is being able to look back and remember what was happening exactly one year ago. For us memory-impaired folks, this is so much fun. It's like living recycled days for the very first time, time and time again.

Mama Potts used to be able to tell us all kinds of things that happened "one year ago today" or "five years ago today". I loved hearing her tell of the stories of the past (well most of them anyway, except that one time in 5th grade when Sarah Doberstein poked me in the eye with her umbrella on the school bus and my mom drove down the street to confront her mama and daddy about it.)

One year ago today Coop looked like this:

Our sweet friend Susan gave him this precious monogrammed blanket before he was born and now his toes reach past the end of it when he lays on it. How can that be anyway?

A year ago Chris and I were worried that Coop was going to be the only 4 year old who still required a swaddle blanket to sleep at night.  We were debating whether it was acceptable to cut the bottom of the swaddle off since his toes were about to poke through it. Now we're shoppin for big boy jammies.

A year ago I had just finished my maternity leave (moment of silence please) and took a 5 minute "cat nap" in my car down at our corporate office only to wake up drooling on my seat belt strap with sleepy creases on my cheeks to find that I had drained my car battery by turning the key forward to have AC and tunes as I snoozed. Security officers had to jump start my car just so I could go home.

A year ago Chris had just finished chemo, "juice" session #3. A year later I am still marveling at how much grace and strength he has. We're coming up on five years this Friday and mercy me, I fall more and more in love with that man every single day. (I won't lie, we sure are hoping that this year leaves us with nothin' much to talk about.)

He had some night sweats back in July but we are praying and praying that they were just because it's 164 degrees outside and that's all. Kudzu survivors out there, do you ever stop worrying about every little teensy weensy little thing? My faith tells me to take a deep breath and live in the now, but every now and then I start to sweat and have to fight the urge to let my noodle Google.

We broke our tradition of taking a trip on our anniversary last year because we had to spend it sitting at the Cancer Answer. This year we're having a jam-packed mega-date weekend (in town) complete with a trip to the comedy club, Ricos, the movies, the Melting Pot, and who knows where else. We are just beside ourselves we are so excited.

Pistol Britches will be spending the weekend down on the farm. I bet his Grammie and Poppy Tots are counting down the days until they get to spoil him rotten. My mom even says that she can't wait to see him throw a fit because fits don't bother grandparents like they do mamas. Only thing is, Pistol Britches probably won't throw a single tantrum down on the farm. He'll be sweet and  sugary and my parents will wonder what on earth I've been talking about for the past week. :)

Laser Hair Removal, Jammies, and Tantrums

Why is it so gosh darn hard to find cute little baby toddler boy pjs? Coop and I did laps around Macys until they closed Thursday night trying with all of our might to find something a little less plastic monkey-eating-banana applique or grafitti-graphic-tee with 3-feet-too-long-spandex pants ish. We love Walmart's $5 organic jammie sets, but I just can't bring myself to purchase anything with Thomas or Spider Man. Yet. I know the day's a-coming but for now I want something sweet and cute like his Little Crab jammies back when he was itty bitty.

I need new shampoo. I like to pretend that I don't use Pantene, but the build up and funkyness has started telling on itself. Suggestions?

I haven't been to Hobby Lobby in over two weeks. I was a craft-adulterer and went to Joann last week to pick up some fabric for the playroom. I still feel guilty and could really use some melodic wordless hymns in my life.

Haven't finished the curtains yet, but hubster made this little gem this past week and I L-O-V-E it so so much.

We started letting Coop sleep with 2 books in his bed at night. It's our latest scheme to land a few extra nanoseconds of sleep on the weekends. I've rolled over twice in the early early mornin' to catch him sitting there reading. "A told B and B told C, I'll meet you at the top of the coconut tree." Oh my.

I heard a commercial for laser hair removal twice this week on the Bert Show. Both times I shook my head in shame remembering that I am sometimes guilty of shaving just my ankles in an attempt to avoid shaving my legs. It's true.

Mini Chris has had a total of 5 meltdowns this weekend. One happened while we were out to dinner at Chili's with some of our closest small group friends. Oye. Somewhere mid tantrum, a cup of applesauce grenaded itself all over me (and Adam and Madelyn sitting next to me) and our waiter tripped and dropped two baskets of bottomless chips. It was quite lovely. We've implemented a new rule. Eat at every restaurant only once. Not sure how this is going to work with CFA.

Another grand mal fit happened this morning when we made him come in from playing outside. He got so mad that he wedged himself under the couch and pounded his fists and growled at me. I had to walk away twice because I couldn't stop laughing. #mommyfail.

Oh Coop.

Show Us Your Life: Blogging Tips

I've never done this before, but I'm in sweet tea coma from our emergency-our-AC-is-out-again-lets-go-somewhere-NOW dinner out at Monterreys, so here goes. I'm linkin' up with Kellys Korner to play along with her "Show Us Your Life Blogging Tips".

I don't really have any tips, but her blog got me to thinking about this blog and why I bloggity blog in the first place.

I started blogging when my sweet, sweet Mama Potts passed away. She was the QUEEN of diary keeping. She wrote daily for years and years and years. She had the 3 lines per day, 5 years per book kinds--decades of them. I treasure them so so so much. I miss her like crazy but knowing that her life is scribbled down in those old weathered books somehow brings her right back to me.

I reeeeally really started blogging when Chris got diagnosed with cancer. Oh the kudzu. And when Super Coop came along and hung the moon for us.And when Chris had his infamous gun at the airport incident. And when we had to go to that ridiculous sperm bank. Had I not had this little outlet, I would have spent millions of dollahs at Target and would have gone through 3 or 4 therapists by now.

I have zero zilch nada memory skills. I can't even remember the memory strategies I teach my patients. It's that bad. The other day we were talking about when Coop started sleeping in his own bed. I said around 6 months. Apparently it was around 3 weeks. Thank you Blogspot :)

My very very very first post explained why NOT to blog, but what I think what I've learned over these past years is that its totally ok to jump head first into blogland. Being vulnerable and honest with myself (and others) has helped me grow in more ways than I ever dreamed. I used to say that I don't blog for anyone but myself and our little family and I really don't think anyone reads this crazy banter, but God has brought us to and through so many things in the past year that I think He's doing a work in me and at times even through this silly little blog. Besides, it will give me so much to laugh at when I'm at the old folks home. That is if Obama keeps SSI around long enough that I can afford to put myself in one. (Ha-my first and ONLY ever ever ever political comment. That stuff's for the birds).

Blog on, blogtastic bloggers.

Update

Thought a 24-hour-later update was in order. First, thank you ALL for your sweet words of encouragement and seasoned advice. Seems as though Coop's not the only little one who has ever mysteriously developed this bizarre seizure disorder. Apparently this ailment becomes significantly worse around age 3.

Woo Lawd.

So get this. He was an absolute ANGEL today. A doll baby. A champ.

I dropped him off at Lori's this morning sweating and praying and pacing the floor. I promised to come and get him the instant he growled or hissed or roared at her or one of his sweet friends. I grabbed my phone between patients just absolutely sure she had texted me to tell me that he was in a padded room awaiting my arrival.

Nothing.

And when I picked him up this afternoon, he gave me a big smooch and patted my back and spoke to me in Cooperese. He sang like a songbird as I scooped him up and put him in his car seat.

Thank you Jesus! We rewarded him with a spin around the merry-go-round (ye haw) at the mall and a big ol heaping spoonful of homemade banana pudding.

We know we aren't out of the woods yet (he's not 3 yet, or 30 as my mom reminded me through bouts of laughter), but for now, all is quiet and happy on the Cooperfront. Guess we can take back the helmet and knee pads.

Tater Salad

I found two receipts wadded up in my cup holders this morning. $71.29 at the Shell Station and $69.60 at Kroger Fuel Centers. One was dated 7/30, the other 8/2.

Two receipts for two tanks of gas that have all but saved the day at the Davis house.

Something's wrong with Cooper.

I went to give him a hug yesterday and he all but fell out onto the floor. He screamed. He kicked. He growled. He hissed. He hollared. He threw himself on the floor and contorted his body into unrecognizable shapes. He pounded the floor. He wretched. He rared up. He scowled.

I, being a sensible and attentive mother, got right on the phone with the pediatrician to report that my child has suddenly developed a seizure disorder.

These episodes happened (no lie) 7 times within 30 minutes last night.

The only solution? Strap him into the carseat, blast big hair band music, and drive around in circles for hours. H-O-U-R-S.

It's. bad. I. mean. bad. Really. Bad. Just like that, my angelic little Super Coop has transformed into a crazed mad man. Capable of fits of epic proportions.

I drove around in circles last night, exhausted, drinking sweet tea, and praying that this will pass. And soon. My friend Jill laughed hysterically when I told her of this hope. Aye.

After several loops around Buford Dam and an unplanned inaugural trip to the public library (it was that bad y'all, that we ended up at the LIBRARY), he finally stopped bucking out of his car seat long enough to meet up for fam night at Rico's. We walked in, Coop's hair standing on end, my clothes half off, sweat pouring from my brow, to find...Ron White. And his mistress. Sitting right there. Watching as our freak show continued in the restaurant. Chris and I passed our relay baton back and forth with glee. We chased our monster around and around as he grabbed bottles of Ne-Hi soda from the drink display and banged on the front glass. To borrow from Kelly Stamps, I was CHAWED. Absolutely chawed.

Ron White walked up in his floral print shirt and old man sandals and told Chris "Now that right there's cute".

We are absolutely certain that we will be the topic of his next stand up routine.

So. Tell me, how in the WORLD do you effectively discipline 15 month olds???? We have ignored the tantrums. We have implemented time out. We have spanked (yes.). Other than purchasing a family set of straight jackets and hiding in our house until he turns 16, what oh what are we to do? I would so go purchase some ridiculous book on parenting, but I can't seem to corral him to the car without being hissed at and hollared at.

If anyone sees my sweet Super Coop, please send him right back to me.