time out....
busy lives in process!

So some days nothing really happens that is blog worthy and I don't blog. (Of course that is all my judgment call and some of my dedicated blog subscribers might differ.) This week that has not been the case what so ever. A lot is going on at the ol' Kepley Casa, and I've just been busy to be quite honest. Not to mention the computer went into permanent hibernation and it took a while- a couple days in fact- to figure out what was going on.

Grace Anne has reached a milestone.. she can roll over from back to tummy. She is really good grabbing her toys and basically getting her hands on what she wants, she just rolls right over!

Daddy went to an interview, well actually more like three interviews, in St. Louis and we are hoping to hear good news soon.

Mommy and Grace Anne have had an interesting day!!! The dogs played in a mud puddle and tracked in mud all over the freshly mopped floor! After mopping it a second time, I found out that the washer is clearly leaking more than it had been... the laundry room and kitchen floors had standing water.. finally got that soaked up with towels and I had wet dirty towels that I was scared to wash because I didn't want to recreate the same problem!!(notice mop in picture)

Whew! What a Week!!

Any plan we had has changed 17 times. On Wednesday I received an email saying that my mentor was leaving the middle school and there would be a 6th grade math position open-- the perfect job at the perfect location... wow perfect grade, perfect subject... but was it the perfect job? Yes, 5 months ago it was the perfect job, it was what I wanted... it was ideal... BUT, then little Miss Grace Anne Kepley came into my life and shook things up! So... yes we have very little income coming in and logically this is the worse decision I could make, but my heart says to stay with my baby and today I told the principal at the middle school thanks for consideration but I couldn't do it yet. She admired my honesty and told me to come find her when I'm ready to go to work, but she understood and was a firm believer that family is first.. which makes me want to work for her one day-- great lady! I have always felt like she portrays similar mannerisms as my Mom and its kinda cool.

After the Wednesday night contemplation slash breakdown at the Kepley house, I got very little sleep. Grace Anne coughed all night and I stressed about stuff as I typically do... Then Thursday came along... Kris has been interviewing various places and Thursday he returned a call for a phone interview. They asked if he could interview right then and by the end of Thursday they had him booked on a flight to St. Louis for a face to face interview next week! The job would be in Nashville which would require a move so there are still a lot of "if"s. I believe it may just be a sign that following my heart is the right decision and that eventually something has to open up for him!

This weekend we will filled with company and rain. Grandma Jeanette and Papa Tommy along with Granddaddy are here to visit us and the sweet baby girl.

Jet-Set Babies Wear WINGS!

We don't have this book, but the title says it all and we really need to add this to our library! This past week Grace Anne received her very first postcard from abroad. One of Gran Gran's friends has a son studying abroad. Tyler is an architecture student at UT and he is in Poland for the semester. Him and his friends went to Milan, Paris, and London over Easter break and he sent Grace Anne a postcard. Of course Mommy and Daddy were tickled and love it! We hope she gets to see Europe before too long, but her Paris postcard was an awesome start to being a jet-setter! (particularly appropriate since Mommy realized she was pregnant while in Paris last year!!!!)

Grace Anne met Neyland!

Well, not General Neyland obviously.. but THE stadium... THE home of the football Vols.. THE place aspiring football players dream to play one day.. THE best dang place to be on a Saturday in the fall.. yes, Grace Anne got to go to Neyland Stadium on Saturday and I'm pretty sure she felt right at home!Saturday we attended the Orange and White game at UT after Mommy took her comprehensive test for her masters--which only took 3 hours and 45 minutes and 19 pages (so, I was a little tired). She loved the scoreboard beside us because she could see the lights and watch the clock count down! Of course she had a fabulous big bow and UT attire for the event!

Worn out!

PS: I have made a promise to my fans and followers... I WILL be better about blogging... I'm sorry!

TULIPS...
DOGWOODS...
It's SPRING TIME in TENNESSEE!

So, yesterday Grace Anne and Mommy went for a walk on Cherokee Blvd.! It was beautiful with the dogwoods in full bloom. The annual Dogwood Art Festival is currently going on and today Daddy, Mommy, and Grace Anne went down to Market Square to check out the artisans and shops! We had a great time spending the day together. On the way home we took a couple pictures of Grace Anne with the beautiful tulips at Catholic.I wish the pictures were better.. I'm not a professional photographer by any means... and my "subject" was tired after a long day out and about! But, Mommy is a big fan of tulips and they always remind me of my great aunt who covered practically every inch of her yard with tulips each year.

Cough, Cough go away.. don't come again another day!

Well, last night was rough. Grace Anne coughed and coughed. Finally, when I couldn't differentiate between the cough and the cry I ended up in her room on her floor because it was so much easier than going back and forth between her room and ours! Regardless she sounded miserable and we broke down and took her to see the doctor just in case. He took a good look at her ears, nose, mouth, and listened to her lungs. He even ran the RSV test... but it was negative luckily. So, looks like its a cold. The pediatrician said it isn't allergies because babies this young really wouldn't have developed like a pollen allergy. Anywho.. we are just going to have keep suctioning her nose and hoping it clears up.

As far as the other happenings of the day... a huge milestone.. Grace Anne spent 2 hours without Mommy or Daddy. Yes, it was a nerve racking experience. I know most parents don't wait 5 months and the first outting for Mommy usually isn't the dentist.. but even at nearly 5 months it was incredibly hard.(Technically she was away from us at a month old.. but only for 20 minutes and she stayed with Aunt Beth then). Daddy was texting me and I was texting Kathy (Grace Annee was at the Riggs house with Kathy). We both knew she was in great hands! She of course did fine, but to us it was a horribly long 2 hours. (not to mention that I was having dental work done!) We all survived, but its reconfirms how much we want Mommy to stay home this coming school year. :)

Watch out.. this smile is
CONTAGIOUS

Wow! So much has been going on that I'm behind on blogging. Please forgive me...

Saturday Poppy came to visit. He was amazed to see how much Grace Anne had changed since his last visit. She really is focusing, interacting, and laughing. Saturday night we dyed Easter eggs with the Riggs (which I need to get pictures from GMa to post!).


Sunday, Grace Anne had a basket full of goodies from the Easter bunny... and then we spent the entire day in Cookeville, Tennessee with Gran Gran's cousin. It was so much fun and we were embraced in their established traditions. If they will have us--- we will go back every year!! I am posting lots of pictures of Grace Anne hunting for eggs and spending time with the relatives. As a kid I loved the Cashman relatives and really want Grace Anne to be exposed to that part of the family as I feel that they shaped a lot of my beliefs and traditions in some form.

Also, Grace Anne has started sleeping in her crib! She slept in there half of Friday night (that half od the night Mommy slept in the floor... yes the floor... I couldn't just leave her!) and then every night since she has slept in there the entire night. She has woken up in the middle of the night, but after being fed she has gone back to the crib. It is a major milestone and I'm proud she has done well, even with her stuffy, allergy nOSe!
Daddy's job search is still in full throttle... but we aren't getting very far. It stinks that we are in the financial situation we are in and really have no control. We keep thinking it'd be great to just wake up from the nightmare! We keep getting these curve balls and eventually our bad luck will run out! Kris is willing to eat rice and beans everyday and shovel poop in order to keep me at home with the baby (which I didn't expect him to be so adamant about the subject)! But, I must say, it is times like this that I'm so thankful for my upbringing and my parents teaching me good financial habits--gosh I miss my Mom! :)

This week the job search will continue and Mommy hopes to get the tax stuff to the accountant and possibly get good news from him (because Mommy is probably getting a crown at the dentist tomorrow so we need a tax refund.. haha). Hopefully we will fit some walking into our schedule.. the allergies and 85 degree weather has kept us inside the last two days. And... Hopefully, Aunt Beth will get to make a visit the end of the week/weekend!

Mommy's Little Sweet Pea..
may actually be a sweet potato!

Well, somehow.. from day one.. maybe day three or four.. Mommy started calling little Grace Anne her Sweet Pea. Every night I tell her I love my sweet pea... Daddy never called her sweet pea... it was a Mommy thing. This week we started baby food. Grace Anne wasn't learning how to use the spoon with cereal alone! She needed something tasty.. so I bought sweet potatoes, pears, prunes (yeah I know that sounds not so tasty... but its baby food and it all looks nasty), squash, and peas. I started with pears, which I was nervous to start first as I don't want her to get hooked on only the sweet stuff... she needs to love vegetables! So pears were okay, but when sweet potatoes came along she quickly learned the concept of using a spoon. She loved them! Yesterday introduced squash, which she ate a decent amount of.. and made a mess with a substantial amount as well. Finally, today I tried the peas out... and well.. it was one of those moments that we refer to as a Kodak moment but somehow my handy camera wasn't handy. She absolutely hated them. It was the funniest face I've ever seen and they started coming back out very quickly!! Needless to say, we will be buying stain remover! So, that's why I'm not sure sweet pea is nearly as appropriate as sweet potato! haha

Oh, other huge milestone... we may be teething. Daddy and Mommy are convinced there is more to the slobber and sucking on her hand! The sqweals and tears followed by grabbing of the lower gum is also a major indication! It's funny since Mommy's tooth chipped and half broke off and fell out. It appears Mommy is losing a tooth and Grace Anne is getting one!