The Blog Wagon

Like my cousin, Hayley, I too have fallen off the blog wagon. I could name some other people that also have but I won't. You know who you are. So my life has been extremely hectic since school started back. Yes, school is back in session in these here parts. We are on our second week. So far so good. I seem to have a really good group of kids on the bus which helps my mood everyday tremendously. Because of the economy we are going to be furloughed for 3 days sometime this year. As long as it doesn't mess with my insurance I will always welcome a day off. Did I mention how hot it has been the last week or so? Add about 20 degrees and that is the temp on the bus. I can't wear anything nice, I just sweat it out. Yuck. Since I'm doing BodyPump or Flow in the mornings and driving the bus in the afternoon heat I just sweat all day long. Nice. Smelly. Do you lose calories thru sweating I wonder? I know I have Dr. Pepper seeping out of my pores.

Well, I need to relax and not use my brain for awhile. ( no comments about that comment please)

Amicalola Falls

We decided to go to Amicalola Falls today. We didn't want to waste this wonderful weekend with no humidity by staying inside. Days like this only come around every blue moon it seems. So we had a great time hiking up to the base of the falls. I got my workout in by pushing Sam up in the stroller as far as I could go. After you get to the base of the falls you have to climb 242 stairs to get to the top. No thanks, I'll drive. We took a lot of great pictures while we were up there. I had to pee so bad the whole time. Andy kept telling me to go behind a tree but there were a million people up there so I opted out of that one. Of course as soon as we got up there Griffen pooped but then begged to ride on our shoulders on the way down so that was a smelly good time.

After we changed both boys, we found a porta potty for me and then went to the playground. It was a really nice play area with mulch thank goodness and not sand. Griffen was having a really good time until he walked behind a girl that was swinging and got smacked right in the head and thrown back about 3 feet. Scared the crap out of me! Now he has mulch imprints on the side of his face. I think he was more shook up than scared. Poor baby. After that we changed both boys again ( Sam still has diarrhea from TN, and I guess getting hit just scared the sh*t out of Griffen). We then took this long ass dirt road back to a Baptist church that is in the middle of know where. Along the way we did find a spring that Andy got water from so now we will all have geartia ( I know thats not how you spell that) and will be having diarrhea for several weeks. I should know, I've had this before. Fun times.

On the way home we stopped and ate at Ruby Tuesdays where Griffen inhaled a huge bowl of mac n cheese, and okay, I admit, I inhaled a wonderful Triple Prime Cheddar Burger. Yes, this is why I'm fat. BUT we DID NOT order the Chocolate Tall Cake. I was really wanting it though.

So all in all, we had a really good time and I'm so glad we were able to get out and take advantage of this beautiful weather.

Our Trip to Tennessee

So we made it back from Pigeon Forge Monday evening. It was a really fun time had by all. And get this, the only things we came back home with besides what we had originally taken with us was a new cooler, a new Tennessee hat for Griffen, and a bad case of diarrhea for the boys. Yeah, we've got some sore bums in our house. My guess is that it was the change in the water because obviously Sam's not eating a whole lot at this point. Oh well.

Dollywood. Dollywood. Dollywood. If you have never been to Dollywood, I suggest you go. It is a wonderful, beautiful, and exciting park! It would remind you more of Disney World than Six Flags. The whole place is shaded and up in the mountains. Beautiful. We only ventured to one side of the park for Griffen but had a really good time. I can only imagine what else it holds. The food was really good also. We ate at a country cookin' buffet and it was pretty tasty. And no, we did not see Dolly or her boobs anywhere. A little disappointed.

The next day we went to Cades Cove to try out our new camera some more. We saw tons of deer and I actually came up on one that was bedded down in the woods. I was maybe 5 ft. away when I saw her. I would have never seen her had she not been chewing some cud and moving a leaf beside her face at the same time. We didn't see any bear this time. Last time Andy and I came we saw 2. We did see a couple of turkeys, snakes, and what I thought was a fox. And tons of squirrels when we stopped for a picnic. Did you know that squirrels do not care for grapes? After Griffen threw grape after grape at them he finally figured out that they did not like them. They will eat whole peanuts, bread with mustard, rice crispy treats, chocolate chips, turkey and cheese, and Cheese Nips. I'm sure they would have enjoyed a swig of Dr. Pepper too had they been given that opportunity.

So that's pretty much our trip to Tennessee in a nut shell. hahaha

Packing........Again

We are going to Pigeon Forge, TN this weekend. Andy was not able to go with us to Myrtle Beach so we are kinda throwing this together last minute so we can finally have a family vacation. Even Samuel will be joining us this time. This will be our very first vacation as a family of four. Actually this will be the first time Andy and Griffen have ever been anywhere together. So our plans are to maybe go to Dollywood. Andy is excited about this cause he might get lucky and see a certain someones assets, if you know what I mean. I have heard that Dolly does walk around the park quite often though she is in disguise. I'm wondering how she disguises those bad boys, or should I say bad girls. LOL Anyway, if I see her I will let you know.

Packing for a family of four sucks. It takes me a week to get the laundry caught up. Andy wears about two outfits everyday and I have to soak Griffen's clothes cause they get so dirty. Sam's have puke all over them and mine, well I'm really picky about how my stuff is washed. Especially my bras which I hang all over the laundry room to dry. It's like my own holiday bra garland. So packing for two little boys is not easy. They need play clothes, nice clothes, swimsuits, sandals, tennis shoes, socks, hats, burp rags (alot), blankets, bottles, formula, binks, music for nighttime, puppies (Griff's lovies), baby wash and the list could go on forever. I think that if I just pack myself my contact solution, glasses, and an extra pair of contacts I can live without everything else.

There's a restaurant in Pigeon Forge called Calhoun's. I don't know if there are any anywhere besides that area. They have the best ribs and steaks. And if you live in the South you have to get the corn puddin'. WOW! I could eat a trough of this stuff. It's just a real thick creamed corn but it is so sweet and soooooooooo yummy. I've never seen it on a menu anywhere else. I also get their Ale Steak. It's cooked in some kind of ale (ya think?) and it has black pepper and I think it's dried mustard on top. It is sooooo good. Have you figured out that I like to vacation just to eat at different places? There is also this place called Bullfish. Of course they have steaks and seafood but it's a bit pricey. Then there is Texas Roadhouse which I know are everywhere. And they have breakfast places called Log Cabin Pancakes or Pancake House or just every name you can think of with the word Pancake thrown in. These places serve really good grits. Gotta have my grits and their pancakes are pretty good too. What's that Weight Watchers? That's not on my list of things to eat? I'm sorry you're breaking up Weight Watchers, I can't hear you. We must have a bad connection, I'm gonna lose you. What? Oh well, I'll call ya back later.........when I'm done eating.

Fat Girls Don't Lunge

Got up early and went to BodyPump today. I haven't been in over a week. I could really feel the burn even though I think I need to add more weights. I feel the burn at the time but I haven't been getting sore the next day for a while now. I guess I'm ready to step up to 14lbs. I've been doing 10lbs. I really enjoy BodyPump except for the lunges. I can not do a lunge. I don't know why it is so hard for me. It hurts in all the wrong places when I do one. Like my feet. A lunge should not hurt your feet. Guess it's time to go shopping for shoes............again. Seems like I'm always buying shoes for someone.

Anyway, so my class consists of man and women. There are about 15 women and your token man, usually old and gray. I am by far the largest one in the group. It's kinda embarrassing. I know they are thinking that I really need that class and I agree though I'm not really using that class specifically to lose weight. It's really more about the toning and strength training. So all the women have on cute little workout clothes with the spandex pants and the tight racer back spandex tops with their cute little athletic shoes on their size 7 feet. Gag me. They either have no boobs or big boobs, cute perky ponytails, and hardly sweat at all. Then there is me. I wear sweat capri's, sports bra because I have in between boobs, and a maternity tank top. I wear a size 10 shoe so sneakers look like boats on my feet. My hair is really short and at 8:30 in the morning it's lucky it gets brushed. And then I sweat like crazy. So people probably think I'm fat and weak and just can't take it but actually it's really kinda easy (again I think I need to step up the weights). Except for the lunges of course. I really enjoy lifting weights and some of the steps that others hate I really enjoy and think I'm quite good at.

Oh well. At least I'm trying. And at least I know that way back in the day, I did look good.

Going to the Carnival

Every year in Jasper we have the same carnies come in and set up their rides. They usually set them in the same exact place every year but every so often they will switch it up a little I think to get people in there thinking there might be something new to ride. So anyway, our local paper calls it a "fair". Doesn't a fair have to have animals? and vendors selling their wares? All we have are rides and your usual cotton candy and funnel cakes. So wouldn't that be considered a carnival? Really I would like to know what you think.

Last night we went to said carnival/fair. Sam slept the whole time......thank goodness. Griffen's first ride was on a very squeaky train that went around in a circle. This train was so loud you could hear it clear on the other side of the park. You would think paying $25 for 28 tickets would pay for the cost of a can of WD40 for that sucker. Griffen enjoyed the first round and then I think he thought it was pretty lame cause he wanted to get down and do something else. Next up was the bear ride. It was these gigantic bears that you climb into and then it spins around slowly. Griffen did not enjoy this ride at all. I think it was being more enclosed that freaked him out. Either that or he found it to be incredibly boring. After that came the ferris wheel with daddy. Now this is a ride that we could have all three gone on but it cost 3 tickets apiece. I chose to sit this one out for many reasons. I'm not afraid of heights but I am afraid of sitting in this tiny enclosed basket that swings from side to side while way up in the air. Also I wanted to take pictures and Andy is not the best at taking pictures. And I didn't want to use all our tickets cause on the big kid side of the park they have some pretty cool rides that I like. Griffen can also be kinda hard to handle and I didn't want to be the one trying to hold onto him that high up in the air. So he really enjoyed that ride and I will try to post a pic soon.

After those rides, Andy and I rode some big kid rides that were great. We rode one called the Tornado that spins high up in the air and then you can control your own spinning in the pod you sit in. Of course Andy had us spinning so fast when we finally came down I had to sit a minute so my eyes could adjust. It kinda felt like a good drunk. Then we rode the Spider. This was my favorite. It was also a spinning ride but was super fast too. After that we used the last tickets for me and Griffen to ride the Merry Go Round.........twice. He really wanted to ride it but when we got on and picked out a horse he threw a fit about getting on it. Once it started up though he loved it and would then push my hands away. He did not want me to hold onto him. He's a big boy and could do it himself. We were out of tickets after that but then some lady came up and gave us some of hers that she wasn't going to use and we rode again. Griffen didn't want daddy to ride just mama.

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Let me just mention some of the attire I saw last night real quick. Since this is a small town a big attraction like this draws all kinds. And I mean all kinds. The mullet is alive and well here in Jasper. So are tube tops on fat girls, daisy dukes on fat girls, very small bras on very well endowed fat girls and the list could go on. Now I may be a fat girl too but I would like to think I am a very well dressed fat girl trying to keep it all in not hanging out.

Myrtle Beach, SC

So this is how farmers take a vacation.

Two weeks before scheduled vacation: everyone is stoked, Sam's going to mom's, Griffen's getting toys ready to bring, Andy is getting his stuff done and people lined up to take care of one chicken farm, and I'm getting a pedicure.

One week before scheduled vacation: Tyson catches chickens at one farm, Andy so excited that he can actually go to the beach with Griffen for the first time, Griffen starts having a runny nose, I'm not looking forward to putting on a swimsuit, and then mom calls and says she has a highly contagious summer cold.

Two days before scheduled vacation: Andy finds out that we are getting chickens back on the farm that just left on Tuesday which is four days from now and doesn't have enough time to go to the beach just for the weekend and still get the chicken houses ready, Griffen is blowing snot everywhere, Sam goes to Mom's house while I pray that he doesn't get too bad sick.

The week of the scheduled vacation: Tuesday comes around and theres a problem with the chickens we were getting so they've been put off till Friday, Griffen cares nothing about the beach or the 5 swimming pools that are at our disposal, I forgot my razor so after about 3 days I look like a monkey, and Sam has rolled over by him self for the first time.

Actually Griffen and I had a great time with Dad, Robin, and the girls. I really needed to spend some quality time with Griff. He was such a good boy and very fun to watch do new things. We ate a lot of really good food including a Brazilian grill where they bring around big haunches of meat that they carve off for you (yummy) and some really good seafood and grits. We were also able to drive down to Charleston and tour around on horse and buggy. We had excellent weather and no mishaps. So other than Andy not being able to join us but then turns out he could have and then Griffen not really caring about swimming, we had a great vacation. The weekend after the Fourth we are actually planning on going to Pigeon Forge, TN to go to Dollywood. This time Andy is going but again Sam is not.

The Joys of Border Collies

Thanks to my cousin Hayley I now have new material to write about.

Last Father's Day I wanted to get Andy something really special. So I did some research, a lot of research, and finally found a Border Collie breeder in Alabama. We already have a female named Baby that Andy has had since before we got married so she is probably 10 yrs. She is a real working collie and helps us with our cows. Unfortunately, Baby is pretty deaf now so is not quite as much help as she used to be. So my thinking was, lets get a puppy for her to help us train in the art of herding cows. I contacted this breeder and he had 3 puppies left. I looked at pictures on line and found one that I thought was really sweet and had the markings I wanted. He told me that she knew basic commands already and had already been around cows so she shouldn't be afraid of them. She sounded perfect so she was delivered to me on Father's Day. Andy had no idea I was doing this. When he saw her he was soooo excited! I think it was the best day of his life. The puppy had already been named Happy because of her personality and we couldn't think of anything that suited her more.

A day in the life of Happy begins like this. Wake up after a not so good night sleep, wait she didn't sleep at all, she barked all night long. For those of you that have had or will have a Border Collie, they have a very unique bark or at least both of ours do. They kinda sound like they are being strangled as they are barking (I wish). Anyway, so she wakes up and proceeds to go hunting for trash wherever that may be. She then will bring it up into the yard and shred it into pieces making our yard look like white trash heaven. I have found, just to name a few, pink insulation, pieces of water hose, beer bottles, McDonald's wrapers, feed sacks, dead animals, ect. Continuing on with her day, she then proceeds to follow Griffen around like a shadow (her only saving grace) or actually herds him around. They absolutley love each other. Then she finds my bulbs in the garage that I was going to plant last fall. She eats them. She then finds a brand new bag of potting soil. Oh how she loves to play in the dirt.....all over the garage. My favorite is when earlier this year I just got back from the grocery store and had popped the trunk on the van. I had to run inside to do something and it took me a couple of minutes to get back outside to unload the van. When I came outside there was Loafer and Happy out in the grass drinking a gallon of milk. Of course Happy would not be strong enough to lift a gallon of milk up and out of the van like a Great Dane would be able too, but I know she was brains of the operation. So as her day winds down, she finds it necessary to kill a chicken that has gotten out of the coop, chase a baby bunny until it gives up and dies and then proceeds to bark all night long, again.

By the way, did I mention how much Andy loves this dog? He sleeps with her in the hammock. She rides in the truck with him (after she finally quit throwing up), she goes with him to the chicken houses, and she plays fetch with him. She is mans best friend. (not womans) Not once has this dog herded cows. She is the most useless animal ever. I will never get him anything alive for Father's Day again. This year he is getting a coffee cup.

Day to Day

At the request of a certain Jessica, I'm going to try to post at least something everyday. The last few days have been kinda hectic. As some of you know my dad lives in Oklahoma City. They have come home for the summer to enjoy our wonderful wet heat instead of their dry heat. Anyway, a couple days ago my dad started to not feel well so Robin took him to the doctor and they ran some tests. Of course because this is Jasper they didn't want to do anything further with him because they are not equipped both mentally and with equipment. So Robin took him down to Canton where he has been admitted and we found out this morning that he has viral meningitis.........again. About two years ago he went thru this same exact thing. You would think they would vaccinate him or something.

Samuel had his 2 month check up today. He is right at 12lbs and 24in. He is doing so well and is just flying off the growth charts. I had them check him out real well since he had been around dad too.

Griffen is currently staying a few days at Grandmommy's house. (my mom) Every so often he'll get to go there and be spoiled just a little bit more and when he comes back it will take me 2 weeks to retrain him. Oh well. It's been a much welcome break.

If you follow me on FB then you know that I have been working out. I go to Bodyplex here in Jasper and they offer all kinds of classes. I am taking a strengthening and toning class called BodyPump. It is really fun. I have gone twice and this morning I felt like I knew what I was doing better. It is really hard for me to mimic what someone else is doing and keep up with music but today was much easier since I kinda knew what to expect. Tomorrow morning I am going to try BodyFlow which is a mix of Yoga and Pilates. So Saturday I will probably be put in traction because I've worked myself too hard and have torn every muscle in my body. Maybe I'll get a bed beside dad.

An admendment to Post "1 year ago"

I forgot to mention that on March of this year, Andy and I were sealed in the Atlanta Temple. Griffen was also sealed to us that day. It was a perfect day. Perfect weather, perfect landscaping, and perfect Griffen (he did so good!). Oh, and Andy was on his best behavior also. :)

So this is my Life.......

Hi, I'm Lacey. And I'm an alchoholic. Just kidding, I'm a Dr. Pepper-aholic. So this is the first time I've ever done any blogging. I'm still not sure what to do so I'll just talk about what I think ya'll will think is interesting. For those that don't know me well I will start out with a short summary of me today and then you can scroll down and read about the last several years.

I am married to a wonderful man named Andy. He is 12yrs. older than me so our maturity levels are pretty up to par. Okay thats not the only reason I married him. We are farmers so we grow corn for feed and hay, we contract grow chickens for Tyson, we have about 100 head of cattle, 2 horses, a handful of dogs, cats, kids...........the list just goes on. I also drive a school bus for middle and high school. No, it is definitely not my dream job. I hate it actually. But insurance is such a blessing to have. I'm only gone for about 4 hours a day total so I'm pretty much a stay at home mom.

We have two boys, Griffen is almost 22 months and Samuel is 8 weeks. Griffen is like a "high", you just can't get enough of him. Sometimes he is wild and crazy and sometimes he is, wait, nope there is no in between, just wild and crazy is my Griffen. He has blond hair and hazel eyes and looks just like his daddy except Andy has really dark hair. Not sure where the blond is coming from. Griffen is not talking yet but communicates very well. He loves to give hugs and open mouth kisses which are just the best! He is a very big helper to mama now that little brother is here. His absolute favorite thing to do is go with daddy on the tractor or the truck or the Ranger or anywhere daddy goes Griffen wants to go too. We can't wait to go out on Grandpa Hank's boat this summer and learn how to swim in the lake. Griffen will be starting preschool in the fall and will be in the same class as some of his church friends.

Samuel just arrived but it seems like he has been here forever. He is the easiest baby ever! He is very mellow and laid back and will smile all day long. He has a lot of dark hair and will probably have hazel eyes also. Some say he looks like Griffen but I don't see it. Sam's features are closer together than Griffen's are. Sam loves to eat every two hours on the dot until bedtime. He almost sleeps the night thru.

We are very proud of our two boys. They were a long time coming.

I'd like to give a shout out to my cuz Hayley and my aunt Sharen. They got me started doin' this. Hope ya'll enjoy!!

5 years ago

Andy and I had been married for about a year. That was the toughest year of my life. I was very independant and was not used to someone always being there. I had to cook and clean and actually take care of someone other than myself. I was working at a vet clinic and was really enjoying it. I bought a female Great Dane cause I had always wanted one and then the next year I bought a male. I bred them and sold the puppies keeping the best looking male for myself. It was my little hobby. My female's name was Timpanogas or Timpy for short. My male's name was Nebo and their son's name was Loafer. Only my peeps in Utah will understand the names. I loved those dogs. Timpy was my pride and joy. I felt like we were sisters almost. We just had an understanding. After she had her second litter and the pups were about 5 weeks old, someone stole my Timpy and to this day I don't know what happened to her. I have never had closure and I dream about her all the time. Nebo passed away last summer. We think he bloated. Big dogs are bad about doing that and it's so quick there's really no time to help them. It was a very sad day. We had a little memorial service for him in the back yard. Loafer was my stubborn boy. He was so sweet but just a complete butt head. He also grew to be much bigger than his father and was somewhere in the vicinity of 200lbs. Nebo had been around 170. This past February, Loafer went missing. He was fixed so I know he wasn't looking for any female companions. Someone stole him too. That has become a problem in our area and not just with my dogs though it's usually much smaller dogs people are snatching. Anyway, somedays I miss Loafer and some days I don't. Remember I said he was a complete butt head.

3 years ago

Let's see. It is very hard to remember what happened when. Okay, we were trying really hard to get pregnant. I had been diagnosed with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome or PCOS and had a lot of cysts on my ovaries and I wasn't ovulating. So anyway, after a year of the fertility medicine Clomid I still wasn't pregnant. I had also had a laparoscopy to bust the cysts on my ovaries to help get everything moving. Finally the doctor told me that I just wasn't going to get pregnant on my own. So at that point our options were IVF or adopt. Either way we needed to start saving money. I stopped all the drugs and we just didn't try anymore. The next month I was pregnant. I miscarried at 10 weeks. A couple months later I was pregnant again. I miscarried at 8 weeks on the Fourth of July. That next fall I trained to be a school bus driver and got my CDL license. In November I got pregnant again (with Griffen) and was sooooooooooo sick. I never actually threw up but I was queasy all the time. I lost a lot of weight really fast. Only to gain it back as the pregnancy progressed and then some. I had to quit driving the following May right before school let out cause I was having complications with Griffen. I was on partial bedrest for the rest of my pregnancy. Griffen was born, after a horrendous labor, on Aug.24, 2007.

1 year ago

A lot has happened in a year. This time last year I was getting ready to go to girl's camp. I was 1st counselor in Young Women's. That was a long week for me. I left Griffen ( then 10 months) with my mom and that was the longest I had ever been away from him. When I came back and picked him up it took a while for him to get used to me again. It just broke my heart.

I had started Weight Watchers and was very successful at losing 12 lbs. I had had some blood work done that February and it was not good. I had borderline high cholesterol and my insulin was very high. So I lost the 12lbs and had my blood work redone in June. My cholesterol was excellent and my insulin was right where it should be which led to me ovulating really well I guess because the next month I was pregnant again. Of course we didn't know we were pregnant until the week before Griffen's 1st birthday. I felt queasy one day but nothing came of it ( like I was getting a bug) so I thought maybe just maybe I might be. So I took a test and sure enough. I was only like 5 weeks so it was really early. Anyway, that was the easiest and fastest pregnancy. I didn't gain very much weight. I had no complications. Meanwhile, I'm still driving a bus. One day in October it had started to rain. Just a misty rain. Just enough to wet the road. But it hadn't rained for a long time so there was a lot of oil build up on the roads. I was driving the bus and had only made a couple of stops so far. I was coming up on a road that T'd into mine from the left and on the right was a pastue. I just happened to look to the left and saw this truck come barreling at me with tires squealing. My first thought was "Oh shit" and I gunned it trying to get out of the way. I was too late and he was too fast. He T-boned me right in the middle of the bus. Bent the frame on the bus and totaled his truck. No injuries on the bus but I was sent to the hospital to get a drug test (mandatory- and yes I passed) and an ultrasound cause they knew I was pregnant. So that was scary but exciting at the same time.

In December my brother Bret got out of the Navy. He had just toured in Afghanistan for 8 months and was glad to be home. He finally got to see me pregnant. When I was pregnant with Griffen he was going thru his boot camp and all and actually didn't get to come home and see Griff until he was 4 months. Anyway, in March I took my maternity leave so I could get ready for Samuel's arrival. April finally came and so did Sam on Earth Day. I have started Weight Watchers again to lose my baby fat and have also joined the gym to get into shape and tone up. I want to be an active mom for my boys.