I Was Tagged by Kate!!

I was tagged by Kate to play a “who are you?” game. so here goes--the rules of the game get posted at the beginning. each player answers the questions about themselves. at the end of the post, the player then tags 5 people, posts their names, and then leaves a comment on their blogs, letting them know they've been tagged.

What was I doing 10 years ago? I was 19 years old and attending Delta State. I was a junior. I was dating Clint, while I trained to be a teacher.

five things on my to-do list today:
1. Make myself an appointment with Beth to get a check up on this pneumonia.
2. Work on paper work that I need to do while I am on medical leave.
3. Rest
4. Book airline tickets for me and the kids. We are going to North Carolina this summer to my
dad's house & to Myrtle Beach!
5. Water the inside plants.

five snacks i enjoy
1. anything 1oo calorie pack
2. Weight Watchers chocolate cakes
3. Goldfish Cheese Crackers
4. Apples & fat free caramel dip
4. If I am having a stressful day, I will indulge myself with a Sonic milkshake

five things i would do if i were a billionaire (My first priority would be to quit my job! ha ha Then I would....)
1. pay off all debt
2. save for elly's and turner's college educations and futures
3. donate to charities/church
4. travel
5. save for retirement

five bad habits
1. biting my nails (which I have not done in a few weeks and my nails look fabulous!)
2. procrastinating
3. holding in emotions
4. having a short temper at times
5. not being able to tell people no (although I have gotten a lot better)

five places i have lived
1. Greenville, MS
2. Ruleville, MS
3. Schlater, MC
4. Merigold, MS
5. Cleveland, MS

five jobs i've had
1. pro shop worker at the GGCC (Did we work there at the same time Kate?)
2. Special Education Teacher at Trigg Elem First, Second & Third Grade
3. Special Education Teacher at Ruleville Elem. Fourth & Fifth Grade
4. Domestic Coordinator (mother, wife, housekeeper, charuffeur, nurse, personal shopper--you get the picture.
5. Baby Sitter


Five people I want to know more about (a nice way of saying TAG)
1. Leslie Ainsworth
2. Angela Fratesi
3. Rhonda Cordell
4. Brooke Brown
5. Menee Harthcock

Z is for....

Y is for....

Yellow Box Shoes

Ok, so every girl has her shopping weakness. I happen to have two! The first being shopping for the kids (especially at trunk shows) and Yellow Box shoes. Yellow Box has every type of shoe from flip flops, to pumps, to sandals, to flats, to casual shoes. You simply can not go wrong with yellow box.

One of my favorite pair of Yellow Box Shoes.

I own several pair of Yellow Box flip flops. They are so comfortable on your feet and hold up really well.
My next Yellow Box purchase in the near future.

X is for.....

X marks the spot of a few destinations I would like to visit.

Vegas

I do not want to go to gamble. I would like to go sight see and ride a couple of the famous roller coasters. New York


Cancun
I went to Cancun on my senior trip and I would love for Clint and I to go back. Paris
I took two years of french in high school and I would love to put some of it to use. I do not know much, but I could order food I think!

Orlando, Florida: Disney World's Magic Kingdom

W is for....

V is for .....

U is for ...........

Urgent!

I got a comment from Suzanne. It said I needed an update. Well, I posted one under "T is for Time." I hope everyone will post and leave me comments about it. I felt like since I got told to do an update, I could make it URGENT. This killed two blogs at once. At least they are in order. I am skipping around the alphabet blogging whatever strikes me at the time. I will be posting V is for Victory and W is for Wheelbarrow soon. I even have pics I took to go with these.

T is for........

Time

Does anyone have enough of it? I am serious. I think I need at least five more hours in my day. Every day seems to be such a rush, including Sundays. Sundays are supposed to be a day of worship and relaxation, but not in the Russell household. It seems like we get up to rush to church, rush to eat lunch, rush home to do what needs to be done, get ready for Awana, eat supper, prepare for Monday, get the kids bathed and go to bed. Where is the family time in that? Where is the relaxation day in that? There is none! Is anyone else feeling like this?

Weekdays are no better! We get up, get dressed, drop the kids off at school, go to work, pick up the kids, complete tasks at home, complete any small homework items Anna has, bathe kids, and go to bed. Where is family time? Is it in the rush of eating? Is it in the middle of bath time? Is it quality time in the car with the dvd player going and the phone ringing? Help! I do not know.

I am on my soap box, because I feel like I need more hours in the day. More hours in the day to be a valuable wife and mother. I spend eight hours a day teaching other children and then feel like I have slighted mine at home. Please tell me, does anyone else feel like this?

Do you ever think that Gilligan had it easy? I mean, he had nothing but time on his hands.

S is for.....

So many things like.....

Snow in Mississippi in March! Sliding on the snow at Bubba's house.
Sneaking behind Anna to make a snowball.

Sister

My sister Angie with Brian (her husband to be) and her sweet baby (my nephew) Connor!

Sleeping Soundly

My dad sleeping with his grandson, Connor! Connor is the youngest of Papaw & MiMi's six grandchildren. Anna is the oldest and there are four more in the middle!

Anna & Collin sleeping snug as a bug in Mommy & Daddy's bed!

R is for....

RUSSELL

(which just happens to be my last name!)

English, Scottish, and Irish: from Rousel, a common Anglo-Norman French nickname for someone with red hair, a diminutive of Rouse with the hypocoristic suffix -el.

Americanized spelling of German Rüssel, from a pet form of any of the various personal names formed with the Old High German element hrod ‘renown’.

Q is for.....

P is for.....

O is for.....

Odd pictures taken at the zoo! So, by now you are asking yourself, "Why in the world did Tiffanie take a picture of an elephant urinating?" Well, I did not mean to! No really, I didn't! Collin wanted a picture of an elephant for his room. In a hurry, I just snapped what I thought would be a good picture. Needless to say, I was not paying much attention. It was not until I got home and loaded them to the computer that I saw actually what the elephant was doing. It goes without saying that the elephant pic is not in Collin's room!
Ok, does this gorilla have the life or what? I mean all he has to do is lay around in the sun with his feet propped up wondering what everyone is looking at! I believe I could handle his "hard" life! This is certainly one laid back gorilla!

N is for.....

M is for.....

L is for......

Like Mother, Like Daughter We both enjoy a night in Memphis, especially if it involves drinking Starbucks and eatting chocolate covered strawberries from the Chocolate Factory!

We are both very creative and sometimes get really ticky about it. We are perfectionists!
We have to keep a tight hold on the Russell men to keep them in line. It's a hard job, but someone has to do it.
We love Christmas and spending time together with family!

We also like to shop till we drop! Most times I drop before she does.

K is for....

Kitty, as in Hello Kitty!

Hello Kitty is one of the things Anna is into majorly! The other is Hannah Montana.

Whenever we are in a store that sells Hello Kitty, you can bet we are making a purchase. The Easter Bunny really hit the jackpot when Collectibles by Jeanine had their moving sale a few weeks ago. She already had a Hello Kitty t-shirt, make up brushes, note pads, etc. The Easter Bunny contributed a water bottle, pencil, lip gloss, and a few other things. At her school Christmas party she received a Hello Kitty necklace and earrings. It is funny to see her so into things at an early age, especially something that I was into when I was younger. Hello Kitty has really made a comeback along with such things as Care Bears and Cabbage Patch Kids (which she has too!) I can remember getting a red Hello Kitty headband for my birthday one year and no matter how bad it hurt my head I was determined to wear it! It is funny how we as girls, even women, can get taken in by certain things. My weakness is Yellowbox Shoes! Anyway, Anna has informed me that we willbbe having a Hello Kitty birthday this year for her 5th birthday! Don't you wish we could come up with a money maker like one of these?
Lip Gloss (Anna has pineapple flavor)
T-Shirt (Anna has the pink in long sleeve)
More lip gloss
Mechanical Pencil

J is for........

June & July!

June and July are my two favorite months of the year. This year will be the best June & July yet! First of all, the kids and I get to spend June & July together being lazy. We spend most days at the pool, the park, taking church day trips and celebrating Anna's birthday. This year Anna will turn 5! Wow, it is hard to believe she will be five. She has grown so much. She is such a precious little girl and I am one lucky Mom! The kids and I are going on another adventure this year. We are catching a plane (just Anna, Collin & me) and flying to my dad's in North Carolina for a week. While we are there other family will come in and we are going to Myrtle Beach for a few days. This will be Collin's first time flying and he is excited. Anna and I made this same trip when I was pregnant with Collin. Anna was only one year old at the time, so she does not remember flying. She is excited too! It is rare that I get to see my dad, step mom, brothers, sister, sister in laws, nieceand nephew. I am very excited. We go to North Carolina each year for Thanksgiving, but that is just not enough! It seems like it will never get here. I just wish Clint could come, but someone has to manage the farm!

I is for....

Ice Cream! (The Real Kind)

My favorite ice cream is Dippin Dots banana split! I love to eat Dippin Dots more than any other ice cream. The only problem is that you can not get it in Cleveland. When we go to the Nelco (Greenville's theater), I ALWAYS get Dippin Dots! Clint and I recetly went to Tupelo for a Young Farmer and Ranchers Conference. Upon driving in, I saw it sitting on the left hand side of the road. There in all its glory was a Dippin Dots store! I look to my right and I see Starbucks! I am on cloud nine. I made turn left and I went into Dippin Dots and got a large banana split Dippin Dots. Then, I made him cross the road to Starbucks where I got a white moca capucino. I think about my situation and realize I am one lucky gal. I am on a weekend with my husband, without my kids (who I love dearly), eatting Dippin Dots, drinking Starbucks and I can take a long hot bath when I get back to the hotel! Yes, I was excited. Then it happened! Clint took another right and turned in at Baskin Robbins for plain ole strawberry ice cream. He said Dippin Dots are not real ice cream and he did not want Starbucks! I will forgive him for that. Hey, all husbands have flaws and his happens to be not knowing what "real" ice cream is! If anyone wants to open a Dippin Dots in Cleveland, I will certainly keep you in business!

H is for.....

Heather!
Heather is one of my best friends. We did not grow up together. In fact, we did not meet until she married one of Clint's friend's, Micah. Heather is a great friend. She is always there when I need her. She is a nurse, so that really comes in handy. We enjoy doing many of the same things. We like to shop, scrapbook, go to the beach, and have girls night out. We took our families on vacation together last year to Gulf Shores on the Fourth of July. We had a wondeful time. We spend alot of time together at bunko, supper club, church, scrapbook nights, and any other random times. Heather has two sons, two cats and two dogs. She is as busy as I am! I am lucky to have as many wonderful friends as I do. Heather, I am glad we became such good friends!

G is for.......

Grocery Shopping!
If you have never taken your children to the Children's Museum of Memphis, you should! It is highly educational. There is a mini Kroger inside. The children shop and then use the cash register to check themselves out. They even get a receipt at the end. It is fun even for parents!

F is for.....

Family! ( and we have alot)

I do not have all my pictures on my new lap top, so some family members are left out. However, I am positive you will be seeing all of them in the blog at some point and time. Anna, Collin & Grandmammy on her birthday.
Anna, Pop, Collin and Bubba on Collin's birthday.
DJ and Lauren
Grandnanny, Collin & Anna on Christmas Eve.

More Easter

Holidays are very festive in my family and I get to take lots of pictures. Here are more Easter pictures. Mommy & her Easter babies!
There is nothing like a little Easter choke hold to start your day off right.
Claire liked looking at the Easter bunny loot.
Megan and Matt.

We hit the jackpot with the Easter bunny.

E is for......

Easter!

On Easter Sunday the entire family went to church with Nanny. We then went back to Nanny's to eat lunch and hunt eggs. Family Easter picture after church.
Collin, Bubba and Anna before church on Easter.
Collin found both of the prize eggs!
Anna hunting for an egg in Nanny's flower bed.

Anna and Jessi dyeing eggs.

D is for...

Daddy! Collin & daddy Christmas Eve.
Daddy & Anna hunting Easter eggs.
Daddy took us to Memphis for the weekend. We ate at Texas de Brazil! Since the kids behaved so well, Clint took us on a carriage ride. This is daddy learning a little history about the old cotton district in Memphis from our driver. We had a wonderful weekend.

Uncle Buddy

As most of you know, my Uncle Buddy is working in Afghanistan. He has been working there for two years. He comes home for visits every couple of months. Anna and Collin love him very much. When they went to see Santa they asked Santa to bring Uncle Buddy home for Christmas. Imagine our suprise when he walked in the door Christmas Eve! He had been planning it for months, but only Jan and mom knew about it. It made me want to believe in Santa again. Well, Buddy cam home again a couple of weeks ago for a visit. When he left to go back to Afghanistan or "Ganistan" as Anna and Collin call it, we went to the airport to watch his plane leave. These are pics of the kids waving to Uncle Buddy as the plane flys out of sight.

C is for....

Collin!Collin Easter morning before church.
Collin during the Easter bonnet parade. We made his hat together, and Nanny helped! We also made a great team.
Collin riding a pony at his 3rd birthday party! Giddy up partner!
Collin flying an airplane at the Children's Museum!