She did so good last night at dance class. I took some video but am having a !@#$&* time getting it uploaded to Y*utube. I had to explain to her that we didnt' pay for "Boy" to take dance lessons and he had to wait outside with me and Daddy.

After class was over Miss Patsy let the parents come in and see what the children have learned. Keep in mind Madison has only been once before and they didn't even really do anything then. She missed last week because we were at IOP. Well she turned it out. She didn't even pay attention to me and Stacy. She watched Miss Patsy and did what she was she was supposed to do. I was almost in tears (silly, I know). My babygirl just looked so grown up and.... well......... *sniffle*

Also want to report she got a STAR last night and now has earned a toy! Wahoo!

We headed down toward Charleston Saturday late morning. We stopped by the MIL's and then finally were off on our beach vacation. Yahoo! We had to cross the Cooper River via the new Arthur Ravenel Bridge. I am slightly scared of bridges but this is better than the two bridges that were here before this one. Not nearly as scary.

Nice family shot outside the beach house. Dontcha just love that big ol' fat Palm Tree? Of course being the "Isle Of Palms" they were EVERYWHERE. We all had on our IOP t-shirts that we got FREE at City Hall. How cool is that?

Madison and "big boy". They are like two peas in a pod those two! Katie took the pics.There are alot more but I had to share a few.

One of the best pictures I have of me and my girl. Thanks Katie!

Does she not look SO grown up! I heart these black & white beach pics so much!

I have really been a teensy weensy depressed since we got back. I just really miss laying on the beach, the breeze blowing over me, the sound of the ocean, the cool water. *sigh*

About Miss Katie:
My daughter thinks I steal her clothes!

She is an AWESOME photographer

She has a free spirit and a fun-loving sense of adventure

She will play in the ocean with my daughter when I will not

She has great taste in books and will lend them to you!

She has beautiful hair and my husband was awed by the fact that she could
put it up with no mirror!

About Miss Cheeky:
She will do a U-turn in a heartbeat!

She has the most beautiful eyes

She will follow you around a store even if you don't buy anything, with a smile!

She is the veritable wikipedia of song lyrics. No lie. I bow to her on this.

She wears cute pink sunglasses, and wears them well!

She will go places alone (without me or Katie) and cause my child undue anxiety
over her whereabouts!

**** I think my child would have happily flew back to Minnesota with Katie and Cheeky. Seriously.

Not going to inundate you with pictures all at once. I'll spread them out over a few days :)
Here is me & Cheeky chilling on the couch. Can I just say I heart this girl and we could sit and talk for hours non-stop or just sit and read. She is sweet, funny and I love hearing about her wonderful family. She really doesn't mind being your chauffer either (or if she DOES, she hides it damn well!).She's a "keeper"!

Here is me & Katie. This was our first time meeting IRL but we said "Hi", hugged each other and it was like we had known each other forever. Katie is an awesome bartender and doesn't mind sharing her liquor. I love that in a person. She is also VERY funny, I LOVE her sense of humor and she has the golden touch when it comes to kids.

Stacy and Madison were completely won over by these two. I just wish it could have been a longer visit. Time sure does fly when you're having fun!

Thanks SO much for all of the comments while I was gone. WOW I sure am feeling the love. Please know that I missed all of you very much and wondered what was going on with you daily. Now I have to do some legitimate work then i'll get caught up so please be patient if it takes me a day or so. It's good to be back!

This kid.........

finally stayed in her room all night long and earned the first stars on her chart! Whooppeeee!!! Hooray!!!! Yes we made a big deal out of it and she was pleased as punch. She got to pick out the stars (all blue) and put them on the chart. Does this mean she'll stay in her bed tonight? Probably not (law of averages ya know!) but it's a START!!!
I will be MIA all next week as I will be on the Isle Of Palms relaxing, sunning and enjoying my family. Don't hate.

Madison has taken to calling her Daddy "Big Boy". We don't know where she got it from but it is funny as hell!
Here are some pics of Big Boy tubing on Sunday

You can do it!

Hang On Honey!

It's a lot harder to hold on than it looks!

Chilling on the back of Daddy's truck

New "Hello Kitty" bathing suit Mommy bought for the IOP trip next week. She also has
Hello Kitty shades and sandals. *rolls eyes*

Only three more days til' va-ca-tion. I.Can't.Wait.

I am off of work today and Madison said she wants to play in her room so after i've
1) got her DVD in that she wants to watch
2) made her bed up to her satisfaction only to have her UN make it
3) got her some "shortcake 'nana" (V8 Splash Strawberry Banana Smoothie)
4) found "Blankie"
5) launched an un-succesful search for "Boy" (she settled for "Sister" instead) ...

I can sit down and get this post up as fast as possible before I am paged again :) Honestly she is so funny and entertaining though it's hard to even get mad when she gets bossy or crabby.

I had alot of fun tubing but lord I am still sore from it

I can waterski but I much prefer this!
It really feels like you are flying across the water


Me and my baby girl

Carrie took Maddie out on the tube

Maddie liked it until they had a spill on Sunday then she was ready to get back on the boat. She was such a good sport though and didn't even cry!

We are so lucky we have Carrie! She takes such good care of my girl!

Yes for those of you who are wondering Stacy did tube on Sunday and i've got a couple pics of him but they are still in the camera. Coming soon.

Some pics of our week-end. We took the boat out Saturday and Sunday
The girls in their lifejackets. Actually we found one later that was like a swimsuit w/ a built-in lifejacket for Maddie that she liked better.

Helping Daddy drive the boat. That's Casey on the right.

My handsome husband!

Yours truly, I refuse to wear sunglasses and get "raccoon" eyes so instead i'm squinting like a squirrel all the time. I can't win *sigh*

More pics tomorrow of us tubing. I have bruises from knee to thigh. I have used muscles I didn't know existed on my body. But I had FUN!

Well the stars/chart is not working worth a damn. We even tried offering her double and then TRIPLE stars if she just made it through one night. Not happening. This morning she came in after 5 a.m. (we get up at 6). I told her "You have less than an hour to go, if you go back to your bed you'll get the stars" but she climbed up anyway. *sigh* She wanted "me" to take her to Carrie's instead of her Daddy and threw my whole schedule out of whack LOL I couldn't find the shoes I wanted to wear. I hate it when little stuff like that happens. I had to "settle" on a pair of sandals. I wasn't late for work though but I am not happy with these shoes.
I know we are probably in for a fight tonight but Miss Madison IS going to bed at 8pm. She has not wanted to go to bed lately and she's tired and irritable. I know she's not getting enough sleep. Time to put our foot down I guess. I can do it (keep repeating to self).

Rebel pride y'all. This was taken at the Racetrack last Saturday night. This bunch were all hanging out happily for hours and as they got increasingly drunker well you can guess what happened. Yep a good ol' fashioned redneck fight broke out. I was videoing it on my phone and one of the guys got a little upset so I stopped. Then I erased it by accident while viewing it later dang it! It was TOO funny. It always follows the same pattern. Guy A and Guy B are running their mouths. Then a little shoving starts. Then Wife A tells Guy A "Let's Go". Then Wife B says "Kick his @ss" to Guy B. Then the wives start screaming at each other. Hilarious. Then the po-po showed up and escorted one couple out. Then we had to listen to the other guy go on about what "would" have happened if the po-po wouldn't of showed up. Uh huh. Whatever dude.

Me and my Princess at one of our favorites places to eat Cre*ek R*atz. I love the southern bbq pork eggroll. Mmmm..... they have a vinegar sauce to dip it in. That and the buffalo shrimp wrap are the only things I have ever eaten there. I am a creature of habit sometimes. Hopefully we might go there tonight!

I pass over this bridge in the five minute commute between my new home and work at the Crying Cow Bank every day. It's very beautiful and peaceful. I even saw a doe last week. Fabulous!

Sometimes my kid is just too cute to be believed!


Random Brain Dump:

I spend way more time at work wishing I were away from it. It's not that I hate my job and I actually like the people I have the most contact with I just feel restless and very, very bored. Thankfully SFG and the hub keep my spirits up via email!

I wish my husband could get to know some of my blogging buddies by reading their blogs or comments. Honestly you guys are the greatest bunch and i'm afraid due to the past events he will never give you a fair chance.

I wish people didn't think that friends you make via the internet are somehow not "real". My internet friends show more interest and concern in my daily life than people I am related to and/have known for YEARS.

I am just feeling really really bitchy and negative this morning and I hate it. Hate.It.

The song "Waiting On A Friend" by the Rolling Stones keeps playing on a loop in my brain.

I wish I would get a nice surprise today.

I am so sleepy this morning! Do I look it? LOL This is the last pic in my "haunted" house when we were moving. I am SO glad to be away from there. I love the house we are in now and am pretty sure we will end up buying it. The kitchen and bathroom both need to be re-done but that's okay. We would take that into consideration when we do the mortgage. I like the way the house is laid out and I love my huge closets in every room.
Tonight we oficially start the "earning chart" to get Madison to sleep in her own bed. I just need to put a small nightlight in the Hall so when she gets up to come to our room she can see the chart and (hopefully) think "Oops I have to go back to my own bed so I can earn a star". Cross your fingers. She picked out the stars herself and was mad because I wouldn't let her have them this morning. I explained she has to earn them so we have a little learning curve ahead of us but I think she'll catch on quickly. After five stars she gets a new toy or DVD of her choosing.