Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Baker-Donelson Christmas Party 2009

Kevin's work (Baker-Donelson) Christmas Party was at the McWane Science Center this year. It was such a great party and we saw lots of Kevin's co-workers and their children.

We had a special visit from Santa and got a cute family photo. McWane has the train exhibit up on the 3rd floor and it is awesome. Moseley was obsessed by all the trains!





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Saturday, December 12, 2009

Merry Christmas!

Chambers and Moseley at the Breakfast with Santa, Dec 12, 2009

James and Moseley at the Breakfast with Santa, Dec 12, 2009

Moseley and Chambers at the Do It Yourself Crafts, December 8, 2009

Moseley looking at the Reindeer at Pine Hill Christmas Tree Farm, November 29, 2009

Moseley and Kevin at Pine Hill Christmas Tree Farm, November 29, 2009






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Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Moseley's Three Year Check-up

Weight: 35 lbs 5 oz (84 percentile)
Height: 41" (97 percentile)

Jessica W. Garrison

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Monday, November 23, 2009

Totally RAD

Reactive Airway Disease, that is...

Moseley was re-diagnosed with RAD for the 2nd year. He has a terrible cough that just won't go away. Because they can't perform the necessary tests for asthma, they classify children under this category. There is a chance he will grow out of it, which would be great but in meantime he has to receive 2 different medications through a nebulizer about 6x a day.

Moseley nebulizing and streaming a Thomas video from Netflix (I love the new streaming option!)


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Sunday, November 22, 2009

Cheerio!

Moseley and I shared a chuckle a couple of weeks ago when Chambers had a Cheerio stuck to his chin.


Jessica W. Garrison

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The Sickness: Moseley Edition

Right after Chambers Pink Eye (which was obvious b/c of his flaming red eye) Moseley came down with a fever that would go away. Turns out he had a "monster ear infection." It was his first one and when the Dr asked if he showed any signs I said no. Then she asked Moseley if his ear hurt and he said no. The only indicator was a cough and a fever.


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The Sickness: Chambers Edition

Chambers had pink eye about a month ago. This was the first time he has gotten sick. His poor eyes were encrusted but he still stayed in good spirits. Because of the contagious nature of pink eye, Moseley had to take the eye drops as well. They both hated them and I found out later that they sting... Woops!


Jessica W. Garrison

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Thursday, November 19, 2009

What's up with the locals?

My friend and I go into O'Henry's Coffee some/most Tues and Thurs while our sons are peers at the Bell Center around the corner. We both prefer buying local. Today however, we chose a table in the corner b/c I had Chambers and his stroller. It was the only seat available and just so happened the only one that would get the stroller out of the way.

And here's the kicker...

Halfway through our coffee we were asked to "get up from our table." Apparently, a group comes in on Thursdays at 9a and have reserved that particular table. There was no sign that we could see when we sat down (as if that matters). This is a very busy time of day for OH and it was too cold to sit outside with a baby. Also, the situation was handled horribly. The man (who worked for OH) should have found us another table inside and offered to help us move our coffee and baby or just asked the group to sit outside or wait. Unfortunately for OH, neither of us will be going in again. I have never been kicked out of a table at Starbucks so maybe that is the way to go...


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Friday, November 13, 2009

Phoenix, AZ

We went to Phoenix, Arizona for Greenbuild 2009, an international greenbuilding conference (over 30,000 people attended). We stayed a few days after on our own dime and made a vacation out of it. Kevin's parents were so wonderful to come to Birmingham and keep the boys for us while we went. We are so blessed to have such wonderful parents/in-laws.

Tuesday, Nov 10th

Our flight landed in PHX about 11am. We checked into our hotel, the Aloft. It is right by a light rail station and bus pick-up! This is very good as we are not renting a car for our duration. The light rail drops off right at the conference center where Kevin's conference is. We ate lunch and at 1p Kevin went to his class while I took a nap. It was an awesome nap. About 6p, Kevin brought the light rail back to the hotel to get me since I wasn't sure how to use the transit system yet. We headed to Pizzeria Bianco/Bar Bianco to scope it out. Kevin had organized a Birmingham/Atlanta meet-n-greet there for Thursday night. We got there about 7p and the hostess said the wait to eat dinner was about 2 hours!! We weren't very hungry and they served appetizers on the bar side so we went that route.
Bugs! These huge sculptures were outside the Phoenix Convention Center at a little park.


Wednesday, Nov 11th

I worked out and showered then met Kevin downtown for lunch. We ate at a little italian restaurant called Foccacia Fiorentina. I got Caprese salad and Kevin got a half and half plate of pasta. After I took the rail back to the hotel and got ready to go shopping. I had mentioned to Kevin that I needed some new clothes b4 the trip and he suggested I wait until I was child-free during the trip. I took the bus to the Biltmore Fashion Park and shopped at Ann Taylor and Victoria Secret. I found everything I had needed. I headed back to the hotel and ate some dinner. Kevin had a meetup at the Rose and Crown.

The Biltmore Fashion Park has an underground crosswalk. It was inlaid with beautiful stones and surrounded by glass tiles.

Thursday, Nov 12th

Thursday we slept in. After I worked out we headed to the Arizona Science Center to see what it was like. It is a lot like the McWane Science Center in Birmingham and thanks to reciprocity, we got in FREE! It was an awesome place. We had fun doing some of the activities. Then we went to the Arizona Center to eat at Mi Amigo's. It was good but they don't have the white cheese dip here... so I couldn't get too excited. Kevin had some sessions to attend and I came back to the hotel and took a very good nap. At 5pm I took the rail back downtown to meet Kevin at Pizzeria Bianco/Bar Bianco again for the meet-n-greet he arranged. About 7 people showed up and we all had a drink. Kevin had put our name in early so about 7:30p they called us for a table. By then, the wait was 3-4 HOURS! It was so worth the wait though. I got a caprese salad and it was the best I had ever had. The Mozzarella was fresh and the tomatoes were gorgeous. Even the olive oil tasted heavenly. We also got the Rosa, which was a white pizza with red onion, Parmigiano Reggiano, Rosemary and AZ Pistachios. It was the BEST pizza in the entire world!


Friday, November 13th

We slept in and then took the 10:45a bus back to the Biltmore Fashion Park to see Paranormal Activity. Our show didn't start until 1:40p so we had some lunch first at Sam's Cafe. We split an order of nachos and each had a Margarita. Then we headed towards our movie but were still early so we stopped in a sports bar just below the theatre and Kevin got a local IPA. I was freezing so I went to Starbucks and got a Mocha. The movie was pretty scary, something about it's low budget really makes it feel real. Luckily we saw it during the day. We headed to the bus stop and lo and behold our bus pulled up so we hopped on and after a few bumps in the road (one guy getting thrown off the bus) we made it back to the hotel. I worked out while Kevin figured out what we were doing on Saturday. Then Enterprise came and picked up up to get our rental car and by the time we got back with it it was about 6p. About 7p we went over towards the Convention Center to pick up Astyn, a friend we met here, for dinner. Kevin had found this awesome venue called Tuck Shop which reminds us a lot of Urban Standard in Birmingham. The three of us went over there and had an amazing meal. They welcome sharing plates so we all three split Crostini with fennel cream cheese and cucumber and roasted grapes and brie as well as mixed green salad with fried goat cheese, pickled shallots and grapes; red beans and rice, sausage and grilled creole shrimp, citrus-brined fried chicken, white cheddar waffles, and braised collard greens. Astyn was actually staying at Aloft as well so we all came back to have a drink before her red-eye flight. We ended up playing a couple rounds of Clue which was fun, then called it a night.

They had several different board games available for playing in the lobby area of Aloft.

Saturday, November 14

We woke up early and headed to Sedona. It is about a 2 hr drive so we rented a car for the day to get out there. Our Nissan Sentra was nothing fancy but it did the trick. We saw the Red Rocks of Sedona from the Airport and The Chapel.

Driving towards Sedona. Kevin looks asleep but he is actually driving :) This is the only pic we took of both of us!


The elevation is 4000 ft above sea level. In contrast, Mt Cheaha (Alabama's highest point) is only 2200 ft!

Your driving through desert and all of a sudden you come out on the other side of a mountain and see these huge red rock formations all around. It is amazing!


The Chapel - designed by Frank Lloyd Wright

The guy at the Visitors Center told us that if we went to both places we could see ALL of Sedona. The views were both gorgeous but the Chapel, which was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright was by far the most impressive. Not a bad place to worship God!

We went to Oaxaca Mexican Restaurant for lunch. It was ok but we were NOT impressed by Phoenix's choice of Mexican Cuisine. The other they have to offer made up for it though. It we had our way we'd be eating at Tuck Shop again!!

After lunch we headed back to Phoenix to take a nap and watch some football. Heaven help us if Kevin misses Alabama Kickoff!!





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Wednesday, November 4, 2009

The Boys new shoes

Both boys needed new dress shoes so we went the English Sandal route. I love these red shoes and so does Moseley.
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Monday, October 26, 2009

How We Roll

In this family, we can sleep in any position necessary... As long as we get to sleep!
Jessica W. Garrison

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Monday, October 19, 2009

Newest Trick

Uh oh, here we go!

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Monday, October 12, 2009

I just can't let go

Last week, at 10 months old, Chambers got his first real cold. For the first time he couldn't nurse b/c he couldn't breathe. The first day I pumped and fed him which was so hard. Then I decided I would work towards the end of breastfeeding. I went out and bought formula.

But I just can't stop nursing. I am too emotional about cutting off this little guy. I think it is b/c it symbolizes (for me) the start of toddlerhood.

I was nursing 5 times a day and now I am down to 2 so that is something. I am giving him formula twice a day as well as some table food. Any advice you have about the emotional part, let me know...

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Sunday, October 4, 2009

Matchy Matchy

This fall/winter I got Moseley and Chambers matching outfits. Not for school or around the neighborhood but for Church and special occasions (i.e., playdates).

I think they look cute in them, but I am biased









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Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Private Sales

Ok awhile back I got some emails for these private sales you had to be invited to. I thought it was a scam so I didn't look into it. Last month, House Beautiful had an article about them and so I decided to see what the fuss was about. You sign up (again, invitation only) and then you get access to these 24 hour "boutiques" of designer items such as clothes, decor, and shoes. They are all at least 50% off. I just look at the sites a couple of times a week to see if there is anything I need. They have brands like KitchenAid, Marc Jacobs, Cuisinart, Theory, and Dolce and Gabbana. I am not a trendy person but I have wanted quite a few things from these sites. It is also fun to see some of the heinous stuff that is sold out immediately. Like I said, not so trendy over here.

Click on the links below to get started (it is free).

Rue La La - Clothes, shoes and purses (I got a navy Theory dress for 68% off).

Gilt Groupe - Clothes, shoes, watches, purses and jewelry (I got Kevin a Hart Schaffner Marx Suit for under $300).

One Kings Lane - Home Decor and small appliances (I got Caroline's christmas present here but can't say what it is b/c she might see it :).

Haute Look - Clothes, Shoes, Purses and sometimes toiletry type goods.



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Monday, September 28, 2009

What??!

I don't know why "Baby Abuelita" (translation baby grandmom) is on clearance... They should be flying off the shelves!
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Best Friends

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My Job Here is Done :)

Moseley happily fed Chambers most of his dinner tonight.  What do they need me for?



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Thursday, September 17, 2009

McWane Science Center

Chambers in a padded Petri Dish


Mad Scientist

Jessica W. Garrison

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Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Mobile (moe-bull not to be confused with moe-beel)

Chambers started crawling a few weeks back. Commando style just like Moseley, of course. Now, I find him in the strangest of places. Usually under Moseley's chair where he might find some stray crumbs. 

One good thing is that he isn't terribly fast and it takes a lot of energy for him to go just a few feet so he is not leaving the room yet :)




Help! I'm stuck.






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