How Presbyterians Party

This post should have been made almost a month ago but I am just now able to find the time to download pictures off of our camera. Some of you know (because some of you are these people) that we have a weekly small group that meets for dinner, fellowship, and prayer time on Tuesday nights. This group has grown tremendously in the last two years and we are a happy bunch of people that like to eat the weekly host and/or hostess out of house and home. We gathered for a Christmas party earlier in December and it was a blissful adult only party, minus the little ones. Sarah Marsh is attending culinary school so we are always eager to sample her "homework" each week. Our Christmas party was both delicious and delightful and although my pregnancy prevented me from partaking of a glass of my favorite "House Wine" merlot, I did put ice water in a wine glass to keep my cool.

At some point in the night, I realized that all the men were standing in the kitchen, drinks in hand, with their backs to all us women, who were seated in the living room, cackling like a bunch of hens. Eventually two men ventured to the hen house and blended the genders again. All in all, it was a wonderful evening with friends.

Who's the Daddy?

Yes, it's time for another installment of Who's the Daddy and Who's the Son? We are at Mamie and Bop Bop's house in Brownsville, TN this week for the holidays and happened upon some more pictures to show just how closely Little Philip resembles his daddy at this age. If not for 1970's picture quality, we are certain you would have a hard time telling who's who in these pictures. Well, that and Bop Bop's super stylin' butterfly collar suit.

The Gift of Slippers

From my friend, Jennifer Cooke's wonderful email forward today...

Dear Friends, Christmas is tight this year. I will be making bedroom slippers for you all as gifts. Please let me know your sizes. You'll most likely agree that it's a splendid idea, and should you wish to do the same, I've included the instructions below. Please take a look at the photo above before reading any further. How to make bedroom slippers: You need four maxi pads to make a pair. Two of them get laid out flat, for the foot part. The other two wrap around the toe area to form the top. Tape or glue each side of the top pieces to the bottom of the foot part. Decorate the tops with whatever you desire, silk flowers (this is most aesthetically appealing), etc. These slippers are: * Soft and Hygienic * Non-slip grip strips on the soles * Built in deodorant feature keeps feet smelling fresh * No more bending over to mop up spills * Disposable and biodegradable * Environmentally safe * convenient sizes: (1.) Regular, (2.) Light I've attached a photo of the first pair I made so that you can see the nifty slippers for yourself.... Awaiting your response. It's crucial that I get the right size for each one of you.

Dinner Out with Little Philip

Little Philip: "FRIES!" "FRIES!" "FRIES!"

Mommy, alternating with Daddy: "Philip, you need to take a bit of your hamburger first."

Little Philip: "NO! NO! NO!" "FRIES!" "FRIES!" FRIES!" (slams his face into the booth wall)

Daddy looks at Mommy for support, who is seated across the table from he and his son. Mommy shrugs, after all, she's new at this too.

Little Philip, seeing a glimmer of hope instead said "ICE CREAM?" "MOMMY'S ICE CREAM?"

Mommy, sensing a need to be protective over her strawberry shake, her only item for dinner due to pregnancy heartburn, attempts to hide the enormous classic shake anywhere but in her son's hands.

Little Philip again screams "NO DADDY!" "FRIES!" "FRIES!" "FRIES!" (pause) "ICE CREAM!" "ICE CREAM!" "ICE CREAM!"

Daddy tears a tiny piece of hamburger meat and places it on a napkin, attempting to wager with a two year old by saying "Philip, if you will eat just this one piece, you can have a fry."

Little Philip collapses in sheer horror and pain at the thought of not getting his beloved fry. And then, he decides to give it a try. He takes the hamburger bite, places it in his mouth and begins to chew. Mommy and Daddy praise him for being obedient, and Daddy hands him the fry.

Little Philip promptly spits the chewed piece of hamburger out of his mouth, feeling a sense of accomplishment as he opens his mouth to insert the fry. Daddy takes the fry from his hand just before contact.

Again, complete detonation, full out tears, screams of horror. Mommy looks at Daddy and without speaking says in her facial expression "DO NOT REACT! WE HAVE TO DO THIS!"

(customers look around, but then realize the ambiance of Johnny Rocket's calls for such behavior, thus the family friendly atmosphere with loud 50's music to drown out the screaming)

(Mommy, Daddy, and Little Philip repeat steps listed above for about 20 more minutes, with same said chewed hamburger meat being spit out two additional times)

Finally, Daddy shoves a juice in Little Philip's mouth just prior to the fourth attempt to spit out said hamburger sliver. By now Mommy has eaten most of the fries, leaving only a few for this teaching moment.

Little Philip finally swallows that tiny piece of hamburger and earns his fry. He refuses to eat it, until he is in the car on the way home, carrying it proudly out in front of him in the parking lot as he head to the car.

It is 7:58 p.m. and Mommy and Daddy are borrowing Little Philip's 8:00 p.m. bedtime tonight. We've earned it.

Spaghetti Squash

Baby Girl Moss now has a name. We plan to name her Helen Boyce Moss. Helen is a name on both sides of the family, in that her maternal great grandmother's name is Helen and her paternal great aunt and great-great aunt are both Helen as well. Boyce is her Mama's middle name, the middle name of her maternal grandmother and the middle name of her maternal great grandfather. It is also the name of a little town in Louisiana, Rapides Parish, named for her maternal great-great-great-great grandfather/grandmother, Henry and Irene Boyce. We learned tonight at my birthday dinner with the Porter family that Grandma Porter's (Little Helen's maternal great-great grandmother) middle name was also Helen. All these years we thought it was Ruth Ellen but apparently, it was Ruth Helen. My sister Ellen, was apparently named for Grandma Porter. Whoops.

So Helen it is. Helen Boyce Moss. Her initials will be HBM which is better than the second choice which was HAM. We just couldn't bare to do that.

At 22 weeks, Little Helen is now the length of a spaghetti squash, weighing in at just about a pound now. At this point, her teeth buds are beginning to form. We've settled on colors for her room, pink and green, considering the walls are already a light pastel green. Big Philip is working on refinishing an antique twin bed for Little Philip's room, so that the crib can move across the hall to Little Helen's room. We will be taking the daybed from my childhood years and putting that in Helen's room too. I learned my lesson with Little Philip so I want to be sure there is a bed in her room for Mama to crash on for late night feedings.

Oh, and we ordered some sample squares of FLOR carpet tiles. They definitely look modern and industrial, and certainly don't feel very good underfoot. I'm glad we ordered samples first because it's just not going to work for our style of house. Little Philip plays with the five color squares, and for at least two of the textures, they are a magnet for pet hair. That is about as far we we've come in preparing for baby number two. Time is flying by!

Thanksgiving Holiday at the Mosses

We left Wednesday afternoon to head north to Brownsville to spend the holiday with the Moss family. Thursday was spent at the farm doing the traditonal Moss family things...walking through the woods, chopping wood, riding the kaboda, sitting around the campfire. These are all the grandchildren around the fire. It was smoky and very cold.

Elizabeth joined us at the farm and had a good time playing with Philip. In this shot they were riding the mule. You can see how Philip is dressed to get an idea of how cold it was that day.

Friday morning we slept late and got ready for the Egg Bowl. Renie and the women went shopping and left the men to make rotel and watch the game. Mississippi State played poorly and Big Philip gave up on the dawgs in the fourth quarter and headed to join Jamie and Bop Bop deer hunting. It was a good day for the Mosses. Not only did Mississippi State win but Jamie and Big Philip both killed 8-points. No, we do not have new wall decoration for our living room. Big Philip is waiting on a bigger deer to mount.

Bananas and Turkey

The baby size comparison this week is that baby girl Moss is now the length of a banana, approximately 10 inches long. My check up this week assured us that so far, I am not going into preterm labor as I did with Little Philip. I'm getting sweet little kicks and jabs now, reassuring me that this a healthy pregnancy. Little Philip has regressed to not responding to our conversations about his baby sister anymore. However, our affectionate and sweet little boy will give Mama's belly a big hug and kiss, gently patting and saying "Mama's baby."

We are considering doing FLOR carpet tiles for the new baby's room. We are trying to find someone else that may have used these carpet tiles. I am specifically interested to know if, when vacuumed, they pull up off the floor, possibly separating from each other over time. It is a relatively inexpensive product and the patterns are really cute and bright for a child's room. If anyone has FLOR tiles in their home or knows if they wear well with hardwoods and vacuuming, please let me know!

As we get ready to celebrate Thanksgiving with the Mosses this year, we give thanks for all of our family and friends! We wish you happy fat bellies stuffed with turkey and all the trimmings, and happy endings to all your holiday football games.

Imagining doing this with two

Daddy comes back tomorrow from a very long trip to the "motherland" (a.k.a. - Starkville, MS). Granted he "had to work" on Saturday, welcoming prospective students to campus but the historic game that ended with the 'Dawgs beating Bama had to be an exciting moment for him. Mamie and Bop, along with Emily, Martha, Elizabeth and Jamie were all there for the game. Philip ended Saturday by going to an MSU basketball game. I had emergency on call duty with BSC so I couldn't make the trip over to meet them. With NeeNee and Poppy Porter now living in Mobile, I've been flying solo, handling Little Philip, chores, and the typical weekend to-do's all by myself for what, tomorrow, will be four days. I'm exhausted, to say the least.

I've spent the weekend soaking up quality time with Little Philip, attempting to bring up potty training again which failed, again. Friday night we stayed up late, watching "red car movie" according to Little Philip (Cars). I hoped he would sleep in on Saturday after going to bed almost two hours past his normal bedtime. Nevertheless, we were up with the chickens at 7:00 a.m. We made egg in a basket and headed out the door for a few morning errands before going to Callen's 2nd birthday party. Little Philip had a wonderful time with all of his friends. It's so fun to see these little ones starting to be more social with one another. It was also good to see friends I've not seen in quite some time due to work responsibilities during evenings and weekends. We headed home right after Little Philip had a total meltdown when Mommy took one little bite of his Elmo cupcake. He never did quite recover. While Philip was napping, Mommy napped too. It was wonderful with both kitties curled up on my feet and the soft sound of Philip's soft little snoring coming from the monitor next to me.

Aunt Lizzy spent the night on Saturday night and then Sunday morning, we actually made it to church after dropping her back at home. Afterwards, it was nap time again and Mommy took a little nap before trying to get laundry done to prepare for another week. Since we now know we are having a girl, I kept peering into the guest bedroom/office, trying to figure out how to reorganize to make room for baby, without losing a guest bed and Big Philip's very necessary office space. I gave up and, instead, began prepping myself for the ultimate exhaustion, something that breaks a cardinal rule for me. First we were going to the pet store to give Riley a dog bath and then, we were headed to Walmart.

If I could knit Little Philip socks I would to avoid Walmart I would but I can't. He has just about outgrown sizes at Babies 'R Us (just across the street from WalMart) so I really did not have a choice. The boy's sock drawer has diminished to about six pair that fit, or actually form a pair , and finding time to do laundry for that one extra pair of socks to make it to Friday just isn't in the cards as a working mother. The Walmart crowd wasn't too bad, and we were only partially searched as we left. I'm not sure what the clerk thought my potential for shoplifting was, me obviously pregnant, pant legs soaked from having given the dog a bath, hauling a two and a half year old out the door who is fervently gripping Elmo slippers, with two giant rubber maid tubs balancing against his back in the cart. Incidentally, once home he refused to wear them. I think they scare him.

At the end of the day today, I filled one full rubber maid tub full of 12-18 month clothing of Little Philip's, carefully placing all of his finer clothing in quart or gallon size ziploc bags. His closet and drawers are virtually empty now, except for the massive boxes above and below where hanging clothes might go. By then it was 8:15 p.m. and I read Little Philip his quota of two bedtime books, his choices: Elmo's ABC Book and There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly. I tried to offer the books I'm a Big Brother and What Shall We Do with the Boo Hoo Baby? but he was not the least bit interested. Again, he has no grasp on what the spring holds in store for him.

Despite trying to keep the house as clean as possible while Daddy was away, it still looks like a tornado touched down. My pregnant sense of smell is ridiculously strong and I keep trying to make the house smell like a giant lemon or pine forest, but to no avail. It just smells like a wet dog. My back is killing me and the heartburn has set in a lot earlier than was the case with my pregnancy with Little Philip. So at the end of the day, I am wondering how the heck I will do this with two little ones? Countless other women have stood this test but I'm prayerfully considering my emotional strength, or lack thereof, taking stock of my time management and organizational skills as I realize that in about four months, I better have my act together because it will be showtime.

For now, I'm going to toss myself into bed, a bed I wholly intend to hog all to myself tonight, with piles and piles of pillows all around me to support my aching back. I will pray for my husband's safe keeping as he travels home tomorrow because despite the luxury of being able to hog the whole bed, I have horribly cold feet that only he can keep warm.

It's a Girl!

Our little bell pepper

As we enter 18 weeks, our little baby is now the size of a bell pepper. He or she is about 5.5 inches long now, and weighs about 7 ounces.

This coming Tuesday we will have our second ultrasound, and with any luck, we will be able to see if we are having a boy or a girl. The main reason for an ultrasound at this point in the pregnancy is to determine if there are any major birth defects visible by ultrasound. There is nothing we could do if a defect is detected and we certainly would do nothing other than pray for the best and prepare for any special needs in this child's life. However, we would appreciate your prayers that we see nothing but a very active and very healthy baby on Tuesday.

I'm keeping a list of guesses around the office and with some friends. So tell us, what are your hunches? Is this a boy or a girl?

Happy Halloween!

Today Little Philip had two Halloween parties, one at school and then again at BSC for the annual Halloween on the Hilltop. As the day wore one, he became more comfortable with his costume, even letting out a few scary lion roars. The insane amount of candy he ate today probably had something to do with it.
Philip with "Daphne" from Scooby Doo

The Pumpkin Patch

Saturday we went to Old Baker Farm in Harpersville, AL, to visit the pumpkin patch. Little Philip pet the baby goats, climbed the hay mountain, found his way through the hay maze, and took a hayride to the pumpkin patch where he picked out just the right pumpkin. We ended our visit by sitting on all of the antique tractors that were there on display. I can't remember how to load a video but if you are so inclined, here is a clip of Philip on his quest for the perfect pumpkin.

Prayers and Deep Breathing

These past few weeks have been extremely stressful and full of anxiety in the Moss house. Our little niece, Delie, was with us for a brief time along with her family as they continue to work with doctors to seek healing after Delie's accident. We were so happy to see her in Brownsville on our way back from my college reunion, with her sweet smile and even sweeter spirit. She's going to be just fine, thank God!



My mother received a back MRI result just prior to us leaving for my college reunion. The doctor ordered her to go straight to an oncologist. Words like "lesion" and "metastatic disease" associated with her spine did not sound good at all. Googling the exact phrases from the MRI results showed a bleak outcome for my mother. And so, we prayed, with no answers, we simply prayed, and asked God to give us wisdom, and peace with whatever His will held in store for us. We were incredibly relieved this past week when she met with the oncologist, Dr. Luigi Bertoli at Brookwood Medical Center. In his opinion, this latest MRI did not show any new growth from the previous MRI in 2005. In other words, "lesion" and "metastatic disease" had nothing to do with cancer and everything to do with other issues like arthritis. While still not good, this is treatable and comes as a great relief to all of us.



Little Philip is especially relieved, although in his sweet little world he is oblivious to such anxiety. He is quite the chatterbox and when he passes white cars, he points and says "NeeNee' and Poppy's car..."I ride with NeeNee." As we read our bedtime book and said our prayers last night, he asked to call NeeNee and Poppy to say goodnight. This is such a sweet age.



And so, we are breathing deeply, with big sighs of relief and giving thanks to God for a good medical report on NeeNee, and continue to pray for Delie's healing.



Baby report this week. At 16 weeks, baby Moss is the size of an avocado. Ultrasound is scheduled for November 6th to determine whether we are having a boy or a girl.

Fruit analogies again

One of my students at BSC said she enjoys checking the blog to see how big baby Moss is in relation to fruit and vegetables. I'm happy to report that at 15 weeks, baby Moss is now about four inches long, about the size of a big lemon or a small apple. He or she weighs about 2. 5 ounces now. I am feeling much better, but keep forgetting that my energy level is not what is would be before pregnancy, and have overdone it several days this past week. The result is a very restless night's sleep and a very painful back and tummy. My fault, I know.

A friend at work let me borrow a baby doll from her five year old daughter, to help Little Philip begin to recognize that another baby is on the way. I carefully swaddled the baby doll and let Little Philip hold the baby. This particular baby doll has blinking eyes that shut when baby is horizontal and open with baby is vertical. This was too much fun for Little Philip, who promptly began clawing the the baby's eyes to force them open and shut. Not a good sign. We then rocked the baby to sleep and put baby on Philip's bed. At first, he was not pleased with sharing the bed but then gently began to pat the baby's back, even offering his "lovies" Blue and Brown Dog, insisting of covering the baby with both the white cover (white silky) and blue covers (knit blanket). I decided to end on this good moment rather than dwell on my son potentially clawing the real baby's eyes to make them open and shut.

We've Come a Long Way!

This past weekend we went to Nashville for my ten year college reunion. I was so thankful to be there and had a wonderful time catching up with so many friends I talk to on the phone or over email weekly and really catching up with friends I had not seen in quite some time, even as far back as freshman year in 1993! It made me pull out the scrapbook when I arrived home late this evening. And so, forgive me while I take a stroll down memory lane...

Sorority parties, back in the day when denim vests and denim shirts with silver beads were the in thing.

Suite 401, Towers III, just a typical weekend night before heading out the door for a night on the town in 1995. That ugly couch in the background folded out into a sleeper bed. We paid $30 for it at Salvation Army and paid someone another $30 to deliver it. It was the site of many a slumber party, watching Tommyboy for the umpteenth time with a big bowl of popcorn.

Our first girls reunion in Destin, FL, 1998, one year post graduation. Is that the same denim shirt I had on in 1995?

Liz's wedding, 2000, well, at least the bachelorette party the night before. Don't get excited, those are candy cigarettes, a consolation prize for the "bad girls" who lost a shower game. Liz's wedding is also where I polled my girlfriends to see if I should accept Philip's invitation to join him at the beach with his family, remember, first date.

Erin's wedding, 2000, Philip's first introduction to my girls. As soon as we arrived, I got a phone call that asked me to come up to one of the hotel rooms. I entered to find the jury announcing their approval of Philip. I think I made Philip take this picture which ended with him taking about twenty pictures with twenty other cameras.

Claire's wedding, 2000. By then, Philip was becoming more comfortable being our resident photographer. Heather married in 1998, Marva married in 1999 and Claire's wedding was the third wedding of 2000. No pressure, Philip...

Insert picture of Allison's wedding here. Not sure why I can't seem to find even one picture but the nice way of saying how the night went was that I had a really, really, really, good time. I danced so hard that the strap fell off the bridesmaid dress followed by one side of the sewn in bra. That's what I'm admitting, anyone else want to confess?

Our wedding, 2001, celebrating with Nicole and Erin.

In late August of 1993, I remember my parents kissing me goodbye on freshmen move-in day. I put on a brave face but as soon as their backs were turned, the fear and anxiety took over. I didn't know one person at Vanderbilt. Had I made a mistake? How in the world I was ever going to make friends? Erin, Amy, and Marva were on that hall with me. By the end of the year, we were becoming good friends.

Sophomore year, I roomed with Marva. There are too many stories to tell there but suffice it to say, Marva was a hoot. I found myself joining Kappa Delta sorority as an upperclassman that fall, which meant more new friends in Claire, Meredith, Allison, Nicole, Heather, and others.

My absolute favorite memories were in my junior and senior year, living in Suite 401 in Towers III. Liz became our "mom", making us tortellini soup when the weather turned colder. Marva would stay up all night studying, with a chair in front of the oven, feet wrapped in a blanket and stuck inside the oven on a toasty 200 degrees. Meredith kept us in line, as our moral compass. Erin and I had our difference on occasion, sometimes ending in a pickle juice fight. Amy kept us on time to sorority meetings and inspired us by her strict early morning exercise routine. Allison taught us to dance, swaying to anything Dave Matthews, two fingers in the air, waving her signature peace sign for all to see. Claire lost her Commodore card at least seven times and all senior year, we waited to see if she would find her American Express card that was lodged under the answering machine in the common room. She did, on graduation day, when we all moved out. We had boyfriends, breakups, and bad first and last dates. There were always listening ears, plenty of tissues, or laughter when that seemed to be the answer.

I hated to graduate, wondering if my good friends would fade away after graduation. Despite the distances, relationship, career and family choices we've each made along the way, we're all still great friends we can call on anytime. I thank God for this past weekend, which made me realize what a blessing my friends are in my life. I love you all!

Ten year reunion, Vanderbilt Class of 1997.

Practicing for Senior Portraits

Somehow, this picture perfectly captures the sweet spirit of our little boy. It is also the kind of picture a mother looks at and can barely comprehend how quickly time flies.

Balloons

Please Daddy, come home and blow up my balloons! Mommy isn't strong enough to blow up the balloons you bought for me and I am very frustrated, having tried to blow each and every one all by myself.

That Other Moss Family

Yay! We finally have our cousins blogging! George and Beverly, along with their children, are online. The blog was created to help family and friends continue to be updated on and pray for their daughter Delie, who was kicked by a horse a few weeks ago. Thankfully, she did not suffer any serious head or spinal injury but the accident did severely damage her eye. She is in the process of seeing multiple doctors to repair both the bone structure around her eye and well as to determine what can be done to restore as much sight as possible to her eye. Each night Little Philip thanks God for all of his cousins, naming each by name. "ZeeZee" is now pronounced correctly as "Delie" by Little Philip, thanks to recent extra bedtime prayers for our sweet cousin. And so, the other Moss Family can be found at http://mossfarm.blogspot.com/. We encourage family and friends to continue to pray for Delie's ongoing recovery.

Fruit Analogy and Preparing for Reunion

In keeping with the fruit theme, Baby Moss number two is now the size of a small lime at 12 weeks. We have my Vanderbilt ten year reunion in three weeks and I'm thinking any cute little dresses I currently own will not be making the trip to Nashville. My friend Mandy's rubber maid tubs of maternity clothes may be getting their second wear a bit earlier than anticipated. My sorority sister, college suite mate, and long time friend Amy Wohlken is due with her first baby the first week of December. When I called her today to ask about what to wear to the big class party she said "don't worry, you'll look way skinny next to me." Oh Amy, I hate to say it but after all those times I got passed over by all the good looking Vandy guys that were after you, your words were music to my ears!

Vandy girls at SATCO in Nashville in November of 2005.

We Went Potty!

I'm going on the potty now,

it makes me proud, 'cause I know how.

I use the potty everyday.

And then I flush it all away,

And everybody says hooray!

(the really annoying song our potty sings)

OK, so we're not quite everyday. In fact, we just went potty for the first time tonight on our little potty. There was a brief errant stream that Mommy caught and then she quickly whisked me three feet to the side to my potty, where I continued my evening constitution. I was so amazed to see what Mommy and Daddy have been talking about these past few months. It seems pretty easy, so I think I get it now. Besides, Mommy looked so funny jumping around cheering for me that I think I'll need more entertainment like that soon. That, and I get a canister of play dough when I go potty. Seems like a pretty decent deal.

The Phone Game

Big and Little Philip have come up with a new game. Daddy hides the cordless phone somewhere in the house and Little Philip pushes the page button. Little Philip then squeals with excitement as he runs from room to room trying to find the phone.

On a rainy day or when all else fails, we highly recommend this game!

Kumquat

So, each week I get these random, often annoying and numerous, emails from babycenter.com, just to remind me that I'm pregnant. I'm so thankful for these reminders because I could so easily forget with all the nausea, exhaustion, backaches, sleepless nights, and hormones. At any rate, this is week ten of pregnancy and I am actually starting to feel less nauseous which is a very good thing. All other symptoms remain very much present, especially the rapidly exploding waist, which has me thinking I need to fish out those stored maternity clothes a bit earlier than I originally anticipated. Here's this week's update from babycenter.com.

Though she's barely the size of a kumquat — just an inch or so long — and weighs less than a quarter of an ounce, she's completed the most critical portion of her development. Now is the beginning of the fetal period, when her tissues and vital organs mature rapidly. Her liver, kidney, intestines, brain, and lungs are in place and starting to function, and they'll continue to develop throughout your pregnancy. During the next three weeks, your baby's length will more than double to nearly 3 inches.

I couldn't remember what a kumquat was so I found this image. It's not a fruit we buy regularly. Over the next few weeks and months, I think babycenter.com will compare baby's size to more common fruits like limes, oranges, honeydews, and cantaloupes. With our genetic mix, I think watermelons and giant pumpkins may be a better comparison. Remember, Little Philip was 9 pounds and arrived 10 days early.

It's funny that this week babycenter.com refers to baby as a girl. If you ask Little Philip, he will tell you Mommy is having a baby girl. If you ask him if he wants a brother or a sister, he will tell you he wants a sister. We shall see if he is right sometime in November. And yes, I am finding out the sex. I think we've had quite enough surprises lately!

Catching Up

Ok, so we've had a lot of exciting news to handle lately and I've been terribly remiss in downloading pictures from our camera, let alone sharing news on our blog. So, forgive me while I catch up.

This past weekend: Aunt Helen and Uncle Randy came through town , along with Mamie and Bop. They were here for a wedding in Selma and Randy was here for a softball tournament. Little Philip was sure to show his affection, showing off that he gives really good, big, sloppy kisses.

BSC's First Football Game: It was incredible! BSC won 43-13 and the crowd hit 4,000. Remember that BSC has 1400 students and this is DIII football. Little Philip loved the excitement. In this picture he is gripping the arm of a friend, Tyler Peterson, who also works at BSC.

Labor Day Weekend: We shared in the celebration of the baptism of Gavin Bekurs. Of course, the Bekurs are from Louisiana which means they celebrate with a big mess of boiled shrimp, red potatoes, and corn. Yummy! Little Philip enjoyed jumping on the trampoline with his friend, Sadie, Gavin's big sister.

Labor Day we had some friends over for a cookout. Kate is Philip's friend from Trinity TCDC. Kate can count to ten and we are hoping she will rub off on Philip. Their teachers tell us that they are very good friends and play well together...for two year olds. Kate is getting a baby brother in November.

Our friend's Mandy and Brad baptized their baby boy, Matthew. Mandy's aunt made the christening dress. Aren't Mama and baby boy beautiful together? Matthew is a spitting image of his father but I took the picture of Mandy because she looks so incredible only ten weeks after baby.

Pregnancy brain will not let me remember exactly when but Mamie and Bop did come for a visit in August, when Bop was here for his continuing veterinary education conference. Little Philip loved having his grandparents here, especially lounging around in pajamas Saturday morning. That's when we told Mamie and Bop that we were expecting another baby. Little Philip handed them a book to read to him. The title is I'm a Big Brother. Mamie cried immediately. It worked on the NeeNee and Poppy Porter too, just a few days earlier.

Our News

So, a few weeks ago I ended a post with Maybe we'll have some exciting news in the near future but for now, we just wanted to say hi to everyone!

At first, we were in denial. Three pregnancy tests, two blood test, and the final proof of an ultrasound and audible heartbeat confirmed it. Now that the shock has worn off, we are happily settling into the reality that number two is well on the way. Our little surprise bundle of joy is expected sometime around April 8th.

Chatterbox

Many of you know how terribly concerned I have been about little man's speech development. I know he is a boy and boys develop later but when his daddy dropped him off at school one day and his little friend Alex (yes, a boy) said "That's Philip's Daddy" we got a little more concerned. We are happy to report that Philip seems to be recovering and making up for lost time. We don't always understand it but we are relieved that something has clicked, and he now understands that talking gets him places.

"Atticus, where are you?" (Atticus the cat claims the first prize for Philip's first four word sentence)

"More, more, more!" - Little Philip
"More what, Philip?" - Big Philip
"uuuummmmmm, Daddy?" - Little Philip

"Riley go out" - Little Philip telling Riley to leave the kitchen while we eat.

"My Mommy"
"My Daddy"

"More juice please."

"Dirty whocks" - (dirty socks)

"sticky whiaper" - (stinky diaper)

And when we say our evening prayers, we always thank Jesus for all eight of our cousins, naming each by name, and then thanking Jesus for Mamie, Bop Bop, Mama Em, Papa Papa, MeMe, Uncle Jamie, Aunt Emily, Uncle Roy, Uncle George, Aunt Bevery, Uncle Robb, Aunt Ellen, Aunt Lizzy, NeeNee, Poppy, Mama Gel, Papa Bear, Memaw and Papa Julian.
The names help us work on pronunciation.

Once down to bed, we listen for at least an hour each night as Philip talks and sings himself to bed. Man we love that little boy.

BSC Move In Day

Today, I welcomed 507 new students to the BSC family. That's a record number in the 151 year history of Birmingham-Southern College. This is my fourth BSC Move In Day. This is the year the freshman that entered BSC in my first year of employment, will be graduating. Already, I'm sad to be seeing so many wonderful students leave the College but I also know that they are doing what it is I, and others at the College, have prepared them to do. Many will be doctors, lawyers, accountants, missionaries, ministers, among the many potential career paths available to BSC graduates.

At the new student convocation, I teared up as usual, looking around at the faces of all the new parents, preparing to leave their sons and daughters in our care for the next four years. Now that I am a mother, I understand the reason mothers in the convocation dabbed at the corner of a their eye with tissues, even catching a glimpse of a few dads doing the same.

It's another great year on the Hilltop!

The Importance of Reading Food Labels

Daddy was sweet and brought home a fried chicken dinner tonight, grabbing some green beans to make the dinner a bit more nutritional than simply potatoes and chicken. Dill green beans. They might be the most disgusting thing we've ever attempted to eat.

Nothing Much

Nothing much to report from the Mosses lately! We've just been enjoying the last few glimpses of summer before the new academic year begins at MSU and BSC. Little Philip is growing like a weed, babbling always, using words often, and making sentences rarely but with persistence. We are finishing up some work on the house, painting the fascia boards around our roof (new roof, not a fun purchase). We are considering taking down the only three trees in our front yard because they have severely destroyed our sidewalk and driveway, and some roots are pointed towards the house foundation. It's a big cost so we are trying to decide whether or not it is worth it. We can't fix the sidewalk unless the trees go. But we love trees, even the ugly half dead ones we can claim in the front yard.

It's hot in Alabama. It was 103 today and we are expected to have 100+ days ahead as well. The drought continues and that means our entire backyard is a complete lost and part of our front yard is finally surrendering to the heat as well, turning yellow quickly. It is killing us but there is nothing we can do under mandatory water restrictions and heat that will not let up. So, we plaster on the sunscreen and bugspray and muddle through.

All this is to say, the break in the blog is due to nothing more than "nothing much to say" lately. Maybe we'll have some excited news in the near future but for now, we just wanted to say hi to everyone!

Over the River and Through the Woods...

Little Philip has returned from almost a week away (as in out of state, somebody get proud of mommy!) with Mamie and Bop Bop Moss. He had a wonderful time in Brownsville, visiting all of his cousins and getting lots of love and kisses from his grandparents. Daddy was in Starkville and around Mississippi all week for a staff training retreat. That left Mommy at home, alone, up to no good. Yep, this wild woman had it made and made the most of it. I removed old caulk and re-caulked the tub, organized all the closets, and did a little laundry. I know what you're saying "whoa there, Mama! Don't over do it!" But it felt good to live a simple life, exercising a bit, but not enough. Cleaning a bit, but not enough. And sleeping without the white noise and occasional toddler noise on the monitor next to the bed. I took up the entire king size bed, and all the pillows. If only Direct TV has a sleep button on it, I would have had it made.

By Saturday I was losing it and ready to have my men back. I missed my husband terribly and really learned to appreciate the little things he does. I hate taking out the trash, trying to get the lawnmower up the deck stairs and into the backyard, changing the litter, picking up the newspaper out of the front yard. It's pathetic, I know.

We drove to Florence on Sunday to meet the Mosses and MeMe Floyd to pick up little Philip. He was a little confused when I picked him up. He fussed and reach for his Mamie. It was very sweet and I'm so glad he bonded with his Mamie and Bop Bop! We can't wait for pictures!

Six

Philip and I celebrated six years of marriage on Saturday. We celebrated by having a night out together, sans Little Philip. NeeNee and Poppy Porter spent the night at our house to take care of little one while we went out for a good movie (Evan Almighty), an excellent dinner at Village Tavern, a late night coffee, and a luxurious stay at the recently renovated and restored Historic Tutwiler Hotel. I wish our bedroom and adjoining sitting room (wait, we don't have a sitting room) each had their own plasma TV.

It was wonderful being alone again, just the two of us, trying desperately not to talk about our wonderful son or to call home and check on him. We need to do it more often. It reminded us how important it is to be husband and wife before father and mother.

Two

Our little boy turned two on Friday, July 13th. We celebrated his birthday for several days, to be sure everyone had their chance to sing to him. If you ask him how old he is he will tell you "two" and try to hold up two fingers. Saturday we went to the McWane Center with friends and had a cupcakes and juice boxes in the snack room before heading back up to play with the Bob the Builder exhibit and see the aquarium habitats. Philip loved the octopus that was showing off by walking up the wall, right at eye level for Philip.

On Saturday we celebrated his birthday with NeeNee and Poppy, as well as Aunt Lizzy, Aunt Ellen, and Uncle Robb. Philip loved being with his family and especially enjoyed the many, many helium and mylar balloons that Poppy had for him. On the other hand, Riley (the dog) is terrified of any room where one has found its perch. One of the balloons has frogs all over it. When we asked Philip was what on the balloon he immediately hit the ground and started to hop all over the room saying "ribbit!" Apparently they have recently read a story about frogs at school but Miss Margaret says they never get past the first few pages before the entire class starts hopping all over the place.

On Monday we had a little birthday at Philip's school and brought cupcakes for the class. Philip is every one's new best friend since he was the reason everyone got cake.

We can't believe our little boy is already two! We blinked and here we are. Being a parent is so much fun!

Instructions While Mommy Is Away - the Sequel

It was November 12, 2006 when last I left Philip explicit instructions on childcare while I was away at a conference. I was terrified at leaving my son for such a long time. After all, Daddy was likely to feed him "man food" instead of the healthy options I was attempting to force feed my finicky son. So let's see how the instructions have changed as Philip heads into the big second birthday this FRIDAY THE 13TH!

November 2006 instructions: Little Philip will wake around 7:00 a.m. Change his diaper but only after you hug and kiss on him a lot to help him wake up happy. He will want some hot maple and brown sugar oatmeal. Make sure you BUCKLE HIM into his seat and put a bib on him. He likes to sing while he eats his breakfast. Help him learn his basic words like "cat" and "dog" and "juice."

July 2007 Instructions: Little Philip will still wake around 7:00 a.m. He will NOT want maple and brown sugar oatmeal. He will probably ask for fish sticks and chocolate milk but he may not have any. He may have cereal and milk or cinnamon toast and grapes. No need to buckle him in the seat anymore since he wriggles out anyway. Instead of "cat" and "dog let's work on sentences involving two or more words that end or begin with "please" and "thank you."

Dearest little one, Mommy has given up on Daddy sending you to school in matching clothing. Your teachers have been warned about this week. Please don't spend these three days eating Swanson's pot pies while I am away, even though that is what Daddy will eat. Corn dogs do not count as healthy alternatives. Be sure to raise your head in the tub so that Daddy will remember to scrub that nasty black line of dirt that gathers on your neck after a hard day of play. We don't need to buy stock in neosporin. Be sure to tell Daddy you love him every now and then but most importantly, ask for Mommy constantly so that Daddy will know how Mommy felt when he left her for a business trip a few weeks ago. Say "mama" over and over and over and over, for at least an hour on the monitor and repeat around 5:00 a.m. each morning.

Mommy loves her Philippians.

Tightwads

Renie has officially been bitten by the tightwad bug. Every since we moved back to Birmingham, it has been a great joke to make fun of my mother for keeping a compost pile. She mainly kept in the kitchen rather than in the actual pile out back, just because my father was supposed to go dump it after meals and tended to forget. Bring on the fruit flies! For us Mosses, after realizing how expensive fertilizer is, let alone grass seed and sod to replace dead areas from either the dog or some unknown disease/tree root, why not try starting a compost pile? If nothing else, it makes you realize how little you eat regularly that can go in the pile. Our usual fare is a no-no for any compost pile: no chicken nuggets, fishsticks, leftover pizza, nachos, spaghetti, omelets. Yep, it's definitely time to overhaul the family diet too. I might just plan a small veggie garden (I can hear the groans coming from Philip now).

Onto the next tightwad symptom. This one is a good one for anyone in Birmingham or anyone planning to visit Birmingham. Active Culture is a website that promotes all sorts of freebie or really cheap events in the Birmingham area. Since we recently joined the Birmingham Zoo, we are entitled to get in free next Saturday to any organization, museum, or event associated with the Birmingham Cultural Alliance. It is called a reciprocal day. We will be celebrating Little Philip's 2nd birthday at the McWane Center, an extreme hands-on science museum, aquarium, and IMAX theatre complex for kids of all ages. There will be Bob the Builder exhibit which is sure to excite our little on. His birthday friend, Max, will also be there along with a few other little two year old friends. Then, if he's not too exhausted, we'll head over to Vulcan Park to go up to the top of the Vulcan statue for the best view of the city. All this would normally cost about $60 ticket prices but we'll enjoy it all for free thanks to Mommy's sleuthing. So, being a tightwad isn't so bad afterall!

We Feel Like Dancin'

Renie found a new online addiction and just had to share. Trust me, you've never seen my husband move like this before so it's worth the wait for the video to load:

http://www.dancesisterdance.com/myvid/index.php?v=f52c1e8610f24a

Who Are You?

We have a stat counter on our blog that says we have lots of folks visiting our blog but we are curious to know who each of you are. Would you take a moment to post a comment on this posting and let us know who you are? First name or username is fine. Don't put last names for security purposes. Thank you!

Wild Kingdom

We spent Saturday morning at the Birmingham Zoo, trying out our new family membership. Zoos have changed a lot since I was a little girl. Philip got to talk to the animals, pet the animals, and feed a few. He wasn't so sure about a few but as soon as we would leave the exhibit he would ask for "more."

Father's Day and Anniversary Present

It's no secret to Philip that I want to get him a really good charcoal grill for Father's Day. A really good grill means that this gift will also be a combined anniversary present. After searching for the elusive combination charcoal and gas grill, I am convinced there is no such thing. This invention may be where we can make our millions. So, after much online research and reading many "grillmaster" opinions and online discussions, I think I've decided to get Philip this one:You know, nothing fancy, just a basic outdoor kitchen with a custom limestone surround, just a wee bit of slate tile for flooring which is hardy enough to withstand a grease splash. While I would want our firepit seating area to be a bit further from the grill for safety reasons, the reflecting pool that seems to be just out of frame is reason enough for my compromise. I figure we will mortgage the house, donate a kidney each, maybe sell plasma for a the next millenium and then maybe, just maybe, we could afford a hotdog to test this bad boy out. At least this girl shares her man's dream!

OK, the real grill for consideration is the Weber Performer, a charcoal grill that is gas lighted to cut the charcoal preparation time to about 10 minutes instead of 20-30. We have a fake Weber grill now so the combination of the two grills should provide enough cooking area for a larger crowd but the Performer would be ample for our standard family meal which might include grilled vegetables.

If we suffer a serious financial disaster between now and the big purchase, we can always go with this model.

2007 Moss Family Beach Reunion We are fresh back from the annual reunion at the beach and had a great time. We also got to see Memaw and Papa Julian in Daphne and Grandmother and Grandaddy Wettermark in Mobile on our way down to the beach. In Daphne, Little Philip chased some guineas across the field and loved it when they all started cackling together before they went up to roost at night. Once again, Renie and little man stayed the entire week but Daddy spent most of the week with us before heading to Starkville for new student orientation days. This reunion had a little more activity than usual, with cousin Jimbo Moss marrying Britney Wilkes on Saturday evening. Little Philip loved the music and dancing and stayed up way past his bedtime. During the week we dined on the traditional Moss BBQ shrimp, along with some shrimp poboys and shrimp casserole, etc. While last year's trip made for some interesting beach strategy with a not-quite one year old, this year was a blast for little man, who loved the sand, surf, and sun. He also loved getting to know all of his cousins better. Daddy got up early one morning and went out to the beach to watch the sunrise. We took his word for it and saw pictures later that day. All in all, it was a wonderful week of memories, but Maggie Moss was never far from our thoughts as this was the first year both she and Boompah were not with us.