Little Finny Foo Foo

August 2003. My baby was born after 23 hours of HARD, NON MEDICATED labor.  Yeah, thats how I roll.
When he was born at 8 1/2 pounds and 20 inches long I looked at him and said "He looks just like Peter".  And he did. Exactly.
we have baby pictures that I wouldnt be able to tell apart without dates on them.
whereas Peter was long and skinny, Finny Foo Foo was my plump, roly poly Michelin Man. He was just such a LOVER!


Finn is my little ray of sunshine. He is always So happy and sweet and loving.  He loves having his back scratched and his tummy tickled.  He finds joy in everything and just makes me so happy.
I LOVE YOU FINN!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!
Here are a few of my favorite pictures of Finny over the past few years. Birthdays, Vacations, Fun Pictures, First Day of School etc.

pbbbbllltltttttt

happy birthday. woooooooo.

Another year, another grey hair another line in my crows feet.
I wont lie, this year kind of sucked.
Since my last birthday post 1 year ago things have really changed.
I have started back to school full time. I am hardly ever home. I hardly have time to cook or clean. My house is a wreck and my kids live on cereal and PB&J sandwiches.
My husband finally has a good job, but works 2nd shift, so I hardly ever see him.
I go to bed late, wake up too early and feel like crap most days.
I have yo yo'd with my weight, struggled with my diet and my self esteem has taken a nosedive.
I have great intentions to go to the Y, but wake up feeling like garbage and decide to sleep instead of doing what I need to do, thus perpetuating the cycle.
I yelled too much at my kids and lost my temper too easily. i even had THREE friends take me aside in concern, asking if there was anything they could do to help me out and point out that I was not the same Sarah they used to know.
I attended a friends wedding as a bridesmaid and had a severe case of PMS with bloating and cramps the day of. I felt like humpty dumpty the whole night.
Peter had a health scare that just about broke my spirit.
I have struggled with my testimony and faith.
I have struggled with my callings at church.
I have struggled financially.
I have struggled with depression and anxiety.

BUT on the plus side this year was also really great:
I started back to school full time. I am almost done and in a few months will be starting off on a career that I really love. My in laws are living with us for the summer, watching the kids and helping out with the house. I am able to come home to a straight house, happy kids and they get real food other than sandwiches and cold cereal.
Yes I dont get to see charles as often, but he no longer works weekends so I get to see him all weekend and in the mornings before I go to school
I do go to bed too late and my kids do wake me up too early. Maybe that is something I can work on.
I have finally made up my mind, made the commitment and have the resolve to stop the madness once and for all with my diet and exercise. I have enlisted Charles to help and am forcing him along.
I have made the concerted effort to stay calm with my kids. I have really paid attention to my "hot buttons" and "trigger issues" and if I feel something coming along I can diffuse the situation easier.
I had three friends pull me aside and tell me I wasnt the same Sarah they used to know and they were concerned. It proved to me that I have loving and caring friends who are looking out for me.
I reconnected with old friends and made new ones at my friends wedding, humpty dumpty and all.
Peters health scare turned out all right in the end. A lot of "why me" and crying etc, but he is completely healthy and fine thanks to his medicinal regiment etc.
I have struggled with my testimony and faith. Then I was called to give a talk in church. My first talk in 12 years. It was exactly the lesson I needed to learn. It made me go back and revisit memories and feelings from my past. It made me realize what I was missing and how to get it back.
I have struggled with my callings, but realized that I just need to have an open mind and work hard and the blessings will come. I struggled with the Activity day Girls, but opened my heart to them and they are the nicest, sweetest most loving group of girls, who just want to love and share. They are so creative and fun and I have found myself so impressed with them and their sweet spirits.
I have struggled financially, but now charles has a really good job and is bringing home a steady paycheck plus commissions plus really great insurance. We can pay the bills, have leftover money and see a bright light at the end of the tunnel. We have set up a savings account, set up a coin and tip jar and see our savings and finances really picking up. In a few months I will have a job making money as well.

We got to go to Disney World, all expenses paid. We had a great time as a family.
We got to go to Disney On Ice, The WBT Skyshow fireworks, apple-picking, to the beach, to a UNC basketball game and had a feature story on Carolina news 14.
Finn started Kindergarten and despite all the notes and telephone calls home about him, he did exceptionally well on his report card.
Peter was in 2nd grade and did so well. His teacher and his PE teacher worked extra hard with him and I saw so much improvement.
We planned, booked and paid for a cruise to the caribbean with charles family for his mom and dad's 50th wedding anniversary. We planned, booked and paid for fun excursions for this cruise(when I say "we" i really mean "I")

so despite all the bads, there were a lot of goods.
So bring it on life, I am ready for this next year. Hit me with your best shot.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SUNSHINE!!

My brother Pat(a.k.a. Sunshine) is 41 today.
how did he get his name? Well he was always such a grouch, so we called him sunshine and it stuck.
One time we were driving past a Shoneys and it said "sunshine special. $3.49"
I laughed and said, HAH, sunshine special!
my mom said "I wonder what it is? Crab cakes and Sour grape juice?"

so Happy Birthday sunshine. I love you.

funny sunshine story:

This is set waaay back in about 1993.
Pat used to go out to the bar after work and come home "not all there".
one night, about 3am, I heard my door open and heard someone come in.
Next thing I know I see my brother at the window on the right hand side of my room. He is trying to open my window. Then I hear tinkling. he was peeing in my air vent. He went out of the room and back to bed, not even paying attention to me,.I thought maybe I had imagined it and it was all just a dream.(a very disturbing dream)
So in the morning I checked the vent, and sure enough he had peed on my floor.
A few nights later the same exact thing happened, except he went to the OTHER window on the left had side of my room and peed on the floor and around the vent. I tried talking to him, but he was sleepwalking or something.
a few nights later he came into my room again. This time he opened one of my drawers. I junmped out of bed and shook him and yelled.

me: PAT!
pat: huh??
me: What are you doing?
pat: hey im in here. get out of the bathroom and wait your turn
me: Pat this isnt the bathroom, this is my bedroom. You are about to pee in my drawer!
pat: huh?
me: This is NOT the bathroom, get out.
pat: oh, crap...

pat ran out of my room and kind of stumbled into the real bathroom.
from that night on i slept with my door locked.
when he got married my friend Lindsey said we should to to Home Depot and get one of those vent covers and paint one side pink and the other side blue abd write "his" and "hers".

Oh sunshine.

happy birthday, even if you are an April Fool.

Happy Birthday Corey Feldman

When I was 11, 12 an 13 I had the HUGEST crush on Corey Feldman. He was just my favorite person in Hollywood. I saw all of his movies, I recorded every single Entertainment tonight piece that may have even mentioned his name, I watched MTV all day to see the Video "Baby you can Drive my Car" just to see him. My walls and doors were PLASTERED with every magazine page from Tiger beat, 16, Bop etc. I had pictures of his crazy side, his sensitive side, his meloncholy side.(I mean look at that picture. How could any tween during Corey Mania resist that mug??) I had all the articles about him, I knew his favorite color, I knew he didnt eat meat(That was OK, I could eat my steak in private) I was OBSESSED. If anyone joked about him, made fun of him, talked bad about him, I was his #1 staunchest defender. Nobody crossed Sarah on Corey Feldman Rampage. And for those girls that were the Corey Haim girls. Pfft, hand to the face.

Then 1990 rolled around, Newsies was released in theaters and my new obsession was born. Christian Bale. I am still a diehard Balehead to this day, and he is still #1 on my list.

I am sorry Corey, I just outgrew you, but thanks for the memories! ( and thanks for not responding to the 15 letters I wrote to you, thus breaking my 12 year old heart. I will bill you for THAT therapy session.)

I wonder what happened to all my posters??

----------------------------------------------------
ANYWAY onto my REAL story

As many of you know Charles has two colors. uber white and lobster red.

yesterday at work they were outside all day. ALL DAY! It was a nice sunny day with a deceptively cooling breeze. With a breeze you always think "Oh hey, this isnt bad, I'll be fine!". You never think about the UV index or the suns scorching rays when there is a nice breeze to keep you somewhat comfortable. You cant feel the sun searing your flesh when the wind is gently blowing your hair and keeping your pits dry.

It wasnt pretty.

Charles came home and was a GLOWING Neon Red. All he needs are rubber bands around his hands and can go join his comrades on someones plate at Red Lobster. YOWZA.

His face is so burned his skin is puffy and his eyes are practically swollen shut. His skin is tight and shiny and red.

Luckily being a balm maker I had some pure aloe butter I scooped out and shmeared all over his visage. It seemed to help a little bit and now his skin is as smooth as a baby's butt!!

But thanks to his adventure without sunscreen, he has a new nickname.

So, please to enjoy Red and Nerdy's sunburn. This picture hardly does it justice You have to see it in person to appreciate the "Glow". Even his lips are sunburned.

Maybe I can call him "Old Glory". He has the red sunburned face, and the rest of his body is still super white, and the blue eyes. He isnt a human being, he is an American flag masquerading as a salesman! Do I have to take off my hat and put my hand over my heart when he walks by??