An Alice in Wonderland Birthday Party

We did Addison's birthday party Sunday and it was Alice in Wonderland themed. 

I honestly poured my emotions into the decorations for this thing.

My sister made this sign.. she is so crafty with her scrapbooking supplies. It's almost a little scary.

Her Mad Hatter cake.. Yummy. I had a Mommy surprise in that the top hat was a rice krispie treat! 

I made strawberry cupcakes and I ordered the toppers from The TomKat Studio on Etsy and cut them out with a scalloped circle punch and attached them to toothpicks. 

Chick- fil-a nuggets.. did you now you can order these as a cold tray and warm them up? 

Sarah helped with the "drink me" labels. She refused to do the "eat me" ones for the food. 

Addy opening all of her presents.. it was hilarious. I should upload the video b/c the things she was saying would have you rolling. 

 We played Croquet outside..

Then we sang "Happy Birthday" 

And took some family pictures... Not sure how I feel about this one? Textures aren't really my thing but I felt like this picture needed it.. What do you think? 

All NINE McPhillips in one place. It's a miracle... and I suspect a Christmas card. We will number 10 this summer.. Joseph and Tracie are expecting!! 

Hope you enjoyed our Alice in Wonderland themed birthday party.. I certainly enjoyed planning it for my sweet A-A. 

Happy 5th Birthday, Addison.

How can it be? 

How are you FIVE already?

I knew this day would be hard for me, last year when you turned 4. And I promised myself I would treasure every day for the next year.

You're officially a big girl now. 

You dress yourself. You can get in and out of the car and buckle yourself. You'd brush your teeth, if you wanted to, but I think you secretly like for me to do it for you still.

I cannot explain how proud I am of you. 

You are so smart. I can see the intelligence in your eyes. 

You are so funny too. You can spout off the one-liners with the best of them. 

Your athletic ability is uncanny- I've never seen anything like it. 

Your personality is 100% SPUNK, girlfriend. 

We may go head to head in a few years, but your determination is something that should be admired. 

Let's not forget you are beautiful. With all of your other wonderful qualities, it's hard to forget.

I am not ready for you to grow up. But your Daddy says you have to. 

And so do you. "But Mama, if I don't grow up, how am I supposed to reach stuff that is really high up?"

The amount of questions you ask may annoy me at times, as well as how you sing-song everything throughout the day, but I am also secretly so proud that you do both. 

I also secretly love how you refused to have your picture taken at school stating, "I only like my Mama to take my picture." 

You love attention but also get embarrassed by it. 

You smile is infectious. As well as your giggle fits. 

And your love for Alabama football? It will rival your Daddy's one day. 

I love your crazy hair in the mornings. 

I love your stinky feet. 

I love how you want to be big enough to not need snuggle time, but jump at the opportunity to have just a few minutes of it on the couch. 

I see you turning into a little Mama with Claire, and I love it. 

I love watching you at gymnastics- it's amazing how good you are. 

I don't care what you are when you grow up, as long as you are the best Addison you can be. 

I love you so much, baby girl. 

I want to tell you as much as the thought enters my head, just so you know. 

I love you more than a hog loves slop. 

 Love,

Mama

It's Friday, I'm in Love

Hello All! 

I am trying to get back into the swing of being a better blogger...

One of the things that has helped that, is I have decided to stop "blogging by the rules".

I have got to get back to blogging for myself and writing what I want to blog about. 

As a Mac nerd.. I was so super sad to hear of the passing of Steve Jobs. In a way, he was like a long lost grandfather to me. He didn't know me, but he impacted my life on an everyday basis. J-weezy counted every Apple product we own, and that number came up at 18. 18 Apple products that we purchase and use on a daily basis. I, myself, own 4 iPods. Which, is more than nuts. 2 iPads, a macbook air, an iMac, 2 iPhones, the wireless routers.. etc. He was a true innovator and everything he came up with, changed the lives of everyone, whether you knew who he was or not. I could go on and on about what all he has done for people, whether they realize it or not. Just have a moment of silence for our generations Thomas Edison the next time you watch a movie on your computer or iPad or listen to a rocking' playlist on your iPod in your car. 

Onto my next form of business...I have a dilemma. I blogged about it earlier and then accidentally deleted it. Blissdom, Disney Princess Half Marathon, and one of Addy's gymnastics meets are all on the same weekend. I am torn on what to do. I thought I could do Blissdom( it's a blogging conference in Nashville) and Addy's gymnastics meet (In Gatlinburg) in the same weekend, but it's not possible. I would totally go to Disney but I refuse to go by myself down there. I know people going, but I honestly can't justify the cost of a hotel room for me, myself and I. All of my internet friends are going to Nashville. I am planning on running RnR DC in March, so I should just be happy with that and go to Nashville. P.S. Before I start getting the comments on how could I not go to Addy's meet- it's one of several and people? I put in the hours every week watching her. I think I am allowed to take one or two weekends out of the year to do something for me. 

Speaking of Addison.. she has been saying some of the funniest stuff lately. So, I am going to share her cuteness. The other day we came in from gymnastics and she was complaining about her leg cramping. I asked her why it was cramping. Her response? "I don't know. It must be from all that dominating." 

She was asking questions about Steve Jobs' passing and I was telling her how he created Pixar too. She looked at me and said, "You mean, he made computers, iPads, iPhones, AND TOY STORY??!?"

And last, but certainly not least, we are less than one month away from Rock N Roll Savannah.. how can it be?? Is it time already?? My training has been going swimmingly. I have missed a few runs and I won't be getting up to 13 miles before the race like my training called for- I will most likely stay at 10 miles for the rest of my long runs. I am feeling great- very little soreness. My right hip gets tight and my last half, it gave me some problems, so anything I can do to strengthen it or stretches for it would be greatly appreciated. 

Here's the thing about running... it's addicting. You start for one reason or another, maybe it's a goal or to lose weight, but it ends up grabbing you. It's always there. Those runs are always ready for you. Every bad run or hard run would have discouraged me in the past. It would have made me think, "What are you doing? You are a crazy person." But now? I think, "You can get through this and it's going to make you a stronger and better runner in the end." I would have never thought in a million years, that I would be conditioned enough to wait until the day before a race to sign up. Those kind of people used to freak me out. But guess what? I am one now. I decided Thursday night, to run a 10K on Saturday. It's crazy to me that I can be a conditioned enough runner, to be prepared to run one. Sure, I am in training. But even once training is over, I just can't see me going back to measly 3 mile runs on an everyday basis. I know I can run 5-6 miles at least 3-4 times a week. 

Source: leahremilletblog.com via Rachel on Pinterest

So.. I guess I need to start planning my race schedule for 2012.. I am thinking the Mercedes Half in Birmingham and then onto DC for Rock N Roll in March. Who's with me??

Getting my Olympic Outfit Ready

This post is a total brag fest on my 4 year old. 

My little A-A has been invited to join a competition gymnastics squad. Yep. She is the youngest on the team, by the looks of it. Kristy talked to me last week about it a little, and then when we went in on Tuesday, she was all, "here is your packet. Why doesn't she start tomorrow?" So, we head to the secret gym that I didn't know existed and are now part of the cool kids club. 

If you follow me on twitter, then you know my Mama Bear has come out more than once about Addy and her gym mates, from bullies to teachers not paying attention to her not getting the coaching I felt she needed. Well, look no more. Because this is basically one on one coaching. This squad won State this year. You know what that means? I better start preparing my "mother of the Olympic athlete" speech. 

Her 45 minutes of gymnastics a week just turned into 3.5 HOURS of gym time. 

This is whole different level, people. These girls are GOOD. It took Addy a little bit to warm up, but within 15 minutes of this class, she had already mastered her back bend. She is totally coachable and I think is super impressed with the bigger girls. It doesn't hurt that one of her instructors was an Alabama gymnast, either. 

She gets to travel with this squad starting in December. And she was kinda ticked she didn't get a trophy after Wednesdays practice. But, maybe she will get over it. 

I said she would be the next Dominique Dawes. 

Someone else said what about the next Keri Strug? I said. No. Duh. She hurt her ankle! 

Maybe we can compromise on the next Shawn Johnson. After she competes in the Olympics, she can go on to win the coveted Mirror Ball trophy on DWTS. 

Come on. You know you'd watch. 

Here are some videos from Wednesday's practice. Maybe we should re-think the Olympics? :) Either way, I am super proud of her for this opportunity. She loves gymnastics so much and it's a thrill to see her face accomplish something. 

She told me she is ready to learn to switch bars. Umm.. alright. Let's get on that! 

Untitled from Rachel McPhillips on Vimeo.

Untitled from Rachel McPhillips on Vimeo.

The Girls.. In Video

I found a video of Addy the other day when she was Claire's age. You could only understand about every 4th word she said, but I started crying. I don't have a ton of my girls on video. Pictures? Of course. Oodles. But video of their sweet voices? Nope. I vowed to change that.
Starting with Addison's very first joke that she learned from Nana.

Untitled from Rachel McPhillips on Vimeo.


Here is another one of Claire talking about eating hotdogs and going to the Zoo.


Untitled from Rachel McPhillips on Vimeo.

Say Whaatt?!

I've been throwing around starting a "say whhaatt?" segment here on the 'ol bloggity blog strictly based on things that the girls say. Addy has some hilarious things come out of her mouth and I really want to document it. I have been known to say some stupid things in my life and so I will post those here so you can all point and laugh at me too and not just John. So, if you hate "Kids say the darndest things.." then, you probably won't like this post.

Last week, I told Addy that I had a headache- hoping to get some sympathy out of her. She turned, looked at me and asked, "Why does your head hurt? Did you do something to it? Or is it just the voices in your head?"

Yesterday she was wanting to play on the ipad and I told her no and then she proceeds to throw a fit and say, "But my ipad(her leapfrog) doesn't have any angry birds on it!"

There is a picture of my dad and I out the day I got married and she asked, "Is this the day when you married Boom Pa?"

The amount of questions Addison asks will make your eyes cross.. seriously. It goes something like this. 

A: "Were you at the beach in this picture?"

Me: "No. I think that was a party for when we got married."

A: " When you got married?"

Me: "Yep."

A: "Why did you have a party?"

Me: "Because thats what people do to celebrate."

A: "Where was I?"

Me: "You weren't here yet."

A: "Was I in your belly?"

Me: "No. I wasn't pregnant yet."

A: "Well, where was I?"

Me: "Uhh..."

A: "Tell ME!!"

Me: "Well.. you weren't in my belly yet, because I wasn't married. You have to be married to have a baby." And then I ran away and asked God for forgiveness for telling my 4 year old a lie. 

And for my stupid comment of the week- I don't know why I have been quietly laughing about this lately, because I said it months ago! 

When the first pictures surfaced of Ryan Reynolds as the Green Lantern, John and I were talking about it. And then, the first trailer came out. And I just *knew* something was missing. So, I thought about it. I asked John, "Hey! Where is his bow and arrow?" John replied with, "What bow and arrow?" I was getting all exasperated, "You KNOW! His bow and arrow!!" John looked at me. "That's the Green Arrow." 

Ohhh... Whoops. Can't keep all those Super Heroes straight. 

Friday Updates!

Yesterday, as I was putting Addison's hair in a pony tail, I noticed a small piece of hair that didn't want to be a part of the pony tail party. It wanted to be free. I also noticed how said piece of hair was pretty short. And soft. And looked newly cut. So, I started inspecting and then interrogating. She wouldn't tell me much except that she had done it at MeMac's and used kitchen scissors. 

I started getting to the bottom of it, when I refused to give her a second snack until she told me the whole story. (Taking food away, works for us. Don't judge.) She apparently, snuck into the kitchen, grabbed the scissors from the counter, ran behind the couch and cut her hair, then hiding said hair behind the couch. 

Call me mean, but I told her if she ever cut her hair again, that I would shave her head or cut all of her hair to length in which she cut her hair. She promised she would NEVER do it again. We shall see...

On Tuesday, I drove up the Memphis for a photography get together from a forum, and I couldn't drive all the way to Memphis and not meet Natalie for coffee now could I? Most definitely not! 

I also got to meet her fabulous little girl, who is nothing short of exactly how I picture Addison to be in a year. Scary...

Hope everyone has a fabulous weekend!! 

This weekend deserved a Ta-Da!!

This weekend was a little on the crazy side. Friday started with a bridal luncheon for John's cousin that was getting married. And then of course, the McPhillips had a get together Friday night full of laughter, stories, pictures, pizza, and wine. (This is the reason I fit in so well.) I seriously love his family. All the cousins, aunts, uncles, babies-- they are just fabulous to be around. 

Saturday started with Addison's very first gymnastics jamboree/recital/thing. I would be lying if I said that I didn't tear up at times. She looked so big, yet so tiny and vulnerable. She thought it was going to be a normal class, I think, because when she saw all the chairs, she freaked a little. But, calmed down and did her thing. 

Our first Ta Da! of the day. 

I had Dad video it, so you can see the Olympic goodness in my 4 year old. She dominates every event except the beam. Which I can't blame her, that thing freaks me out too. Instead of posting a bazillion pictures, I'll just post the shortened video. Dad took to heart when I told him I only cared about her being on it. He literally videoed her sitting and watching the other girls perform. Well done, Boompa. Well done. I now have 40 minutes of precious Addison video, of which I am only going to post about 5 minutes on here.



The part she was most excited about was her medal. Seriously. The running medals are rubbing off on her because she couldn't wait to tell me about it.

One last Ta Da!! 

My Saturday then continued with a maternity session, some light yard work, and the gorgeous wedding. It was outside and I don't think they could have asked for a more beautiful day. Tracie and I were told we were the life of the dance floor and passed our "sorority girl"dance moves onto another generation. You know, where you just shuffle your feet or move your hips and do all your dancing with your hands? It takes talent to not spill your drink too. 

We also may or may not have been the leaders of "Come on Ride This Train"... let's not play. You know I spent the summer before 8th grade watching and learning the dance on MTV. You know you did it too. Just admit it. 

We ate breakfast with the cousins- Marie, Dave, Sarah, Scott, Ashlyn, Jay, Joseph, and Tracie. Even MeMac showed up! Then it was back to do some more yard work and trip to the 'Mart before the girls arrived back home. 

It was a jam packed weekend, but super fun! 

Project 52-- Week 2

So.. I have been a slacker on the Project 52. There will be some changes, because I have started a Project 52 will a group of 14 other photographers, so that will be on the photography blog. I will not be doing a "Me Monday" because I think it's a little too much work. We will still have the one family photo a month and I have some great ideas for that one! :) 

Since we were snowed in this past week, we had some opportunities to have some mini photo sessions with the girls.. I am trying to get some individual pictures of the girls for the frames above their bed, but so far, Claire isn't cooperating on looking and smiling. 

We also got to introduce a "new" Princess movie... Beauty in Beast. Which is what Addison is watching in this picture. Totally in love with Belle! 

Happy 4th Birthday Addison!

Dear Addison,

I haven't been ready for this day. I can remember so clearly the day that I found out that I was pregnant with you. Sitting on the couch waiting for your daddy to come home so I could tell him to news. I blurted out the news as soon as he walking in the door. 

I also remember everything about the day your were born. All of that excitement. Your Aunt Sa Sa had snuck into my room and decorated it the night before I was to be admitted for induction. It was complete with Princess crowns. 

I also remember the very first time I saw you. You were so alert and wide awake. All bundled up in that blanket. 

I have loved every second of watching you grow up into a little lady. You are so beautiful, inside and out. You ask me questions every day about God. You never forget to say the blessing when we sit down to dinner and you try so hard to be patient with your little sister- even though she refuses to talk. I sometimes catch you totally acting like the big sister you were born to be. You love her so much.

You are a Daddy's Girl, through and through. He loves you so much and you love him. You have a such a bond that at times, it has made me a little jealous. ;) 

You love bath time. You are a whiz at the iPad. You hate going to bed. You are sassy and a little bossy. 

When I look at you, I see the best qualities that I have and the best that your daddy has. You are a perfect combination of sweet and sassy. 

I love you so much, baby girl. Happy 4th Birthday.

Love,

Mommy

Weight Watchers Week 1

            So, Week 1 was okay. I really had some moments of actually of trying to adjust my eating. In general, I really like fruits, vegetables, salad, but I am having a hard time with the portion control thing. And craving salty foods. I think it's because I am not drinking enough water, even though, I drink 4-6 glasses a day. I am going to try to bump that up to 6-8 glasses a day. 

I started at 150 lb

Week 1: 147

Not bad I don't think. Of course, who wouldn't love to be able to lose 10 lbs in a week, but let's be realistic. I have noticed that some things that I thought were okay to eat ARE NOT. Like, some frozen dinners. Some of those things are REALLY bad for you. And some things aren't that bad. Like some pizza. Yes, I said it. No, it's not pepperoni. It's the Mediterranian Chicken pizza from Papa Murphy's. 4 points a piece.. and when you feed your child half on your food... really not bad at all. 

I really hate not being able to eat what I want, but I know that I can't just eat what I want. I have to exercise control over my eating. I know this will get easier over the next couple of weeks, but I am trying to build life long habits here! 

Anyway, let's leave you with this shot of Addison that I took over the weekend. I am taking a natural light course in photography, and she really hates to model, but you wouldn't know it by this picture. This is probably my most favorite picture that I have ever taken. Period.         

Gymnastics...

Addison started gymnastics on Monday night. It was kind of a last minute sign up, but I knew I just HAD to get her in. And, I guessed right. I was super nervous for her, because, well, this is a first step in being a big girl. Not a toddler. A little girl. I know we have to get her a leotard now. Maybe with a tutu. 

We signed up and we had to wait on our class to get called. She kept asking, "Why haven't they called me yet?" Well. They finally did and she took to her teacher. Held her hand the whole time. 

They started on the balance beam, and she was the first one up. She raised her hand to go first. I was so proud.

They had to kick their legs up and try to meet the girls hand and Addison is moving her teachers hand so she didn't have to kick as high.

Can you see her in the background? Teal shirt? She started climbing over everything after jumping the vault and everyone else in her class followed.

Waiting her turn for the trampoline.

I was such a proud Mommy. She has some real natural talent and a love at such a young age for gymnastics.

She kept getting in trouble for getting up on the bars without a teacher and doing flips. No instruction needed.

At the end of class, she got a bracelet and a stamp. It was LOVE. I had to take her out to the car kicking and screaming. I'm pretty sure she wants to live at gymnastics. On Tuesday morning, she woke up and asked,"Can I go to gymnastics after school?" And immediately broke down crying when I said it was just for Mondays.

I think she liked it. Hard to tell. 

Steps to be a Big Girl..

Addison took another step towards being a big girl on Saturday. It's been a few weeks since we started talking about getting our ears pierced. She even got in the chair once, but ended up not wanting to do it. So we left.

I asked her at lunch on Saturday if she was ready. Her reply? "Almost. Not quite yet." So then to my surprise, a few minutes later, we were walking down the sidewalk and she turned and said, "I'm ready to get my ears pierced now." So, we found a place that had two people working so they could do both ears at the same time. She didn't really say much, but you could tell she felt like a big girl. The women were so professional, talking to her beforehand and not flashing the guns around. On the count of three, they did it. And a look of panic kind of crossed her face, but then the women proudly said, "Way to go! You're all done now!" And she was cool. She was so proud.

Of course, I immediately had to leave because Claire was pooped herself so I left her with John while I went to the car to change Claire. He obvi, in daddy mode, didn't check the "prize" we let her pick out, because it was none other than REAL lipgloss. And it wasn't 5 seconds before that mess was clumped on her face. But, look! Sheer joy!

She couldn't wait to tell Ms. BaBecca or her friends at school. She's been good about letting me clean them and hasn't complained. She practically strutted around Saturday. 

This Girl...

I have been pretty MIA lately and I apologize. The girls have been keeping me busy and while I have taken quite a few photos, there aren't enough hours in the day to allow for me to edit and trying to come up with something that doesn't resemble garble for the blog. 

My little Addison has been through some behavioral problems in the last couple of weeks at school. I'm not sure what is going on, but I think we finally got it cleared up. She has been picked on a lot, and I have to wonder if she finally started standing up for herself with resulted in going to time out 5 times in ONE day for hitting. It was a rough week for us. 

BUT, she never ceases to amaze me with some of the things she says and does, and here is a post completely dedicated to my first born. 

Her "tricks" as she calls them are becoming more and more bold and "dangerous" as she calls them, but it is stunning to watch her teach herself how to do hand stands, rolls, jumps, and her new attempt at a front walkover. The girl has never had any gymnastics training and I feel we could have a future Olympic Gold Medalist gymnast on our hands. She is so petite for her age, she weighs about 35 lbs, which is pretty thin, but she eats ALL THE TIME and never stops jumping. Her legs are ridiculously muscular. 

Some of her new sayings include: 

" My panties are getting too close to my butt." Which means, she has a wedgie.

One of my favorites is, "What woo say?" Like, she just can't believe what you have just told her and she MUST hear it again.

"Don't do that Mama or am I going to give you a BIG tear up!" I have idea where she would've picked THAT one up... :)

Seriously.. Kid. I can't take it. You are getting too big.

Yesterday, as we were driving, John said, "Oh look, there's so and so( I don't even remember who he saw)!" 

Addison, without missing a beat exclaimed, "Holla!"

She is obsessed with Lady GaGa right now, as well as the Zac Brown Band. Her favorites are Paparazzi and Telelphone and ZBB's Sic 'em on a chicken( do not play this for your children, it's the most redneck thing I have ever heard and now I must listen to it on command.)

We have started working on Yes Ma'am and No Ma'am-- hello? It's the South, we have manners, people!

She also loves Alice in Wonderland.. which, honestly, this child watches more movies that I never saw growing up. But, I guess it means, I get to enjoy them with her and nothing makes me more happy. She is really getting into wanting make-up and lip gloss is an absolute MUST for her. She loves snuggling with me in the mornings and getting to snuggle on the couch after Claire has gone to bed with Mommy and Daddy. She loves to watch Gossip Girl and Tori and Dean with me and LOST is a Tuesday night must-see for her. 

She definitely has that red head temper but can be so sweet and loving it will bring tears to your eyes. She always thanks you for the smallest things and tells me how much she missed me when I was gone( even if it's just 10 minutes). 

I just can't wait to watch her rock the world, but I REALLY don't want her to grow up!