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