Veil Fail 2012

Livi & Communion 048, a photo by accidentalsouthernmama on Flickr.

Fine hair + Veil = Veil Fail!

Baby Girl looking Pious

Communion2, a photo by accidentalsouthernmama on Flickr.

This should be in the body of the blog, but I’m not sure what I’m doing wrong here because it won’t link.

Holy Communion

I feel like I should start my blog with…

Once upon a time, I had a blog.

Then I got a full-time job.

Then I was too tired to blog.

Life has been crazy busy, but that seems to be the norm around here.

Summer is not quite here on the calendar, but the university where I work is now in Summer Sessions and my kids are already out of school for the summer!

So, what have we been up to?

Well, Baby just completed a rite of passage for 2nd graders of the Catholic faith.

<a href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/64583500@N04/7193385984/” title=”Livi &amp; Communion 057 by accidentalsouthernmama, on Flickr”><img src=”http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7084/7193385984_2bbbb62ca8.jpg” width=”375″ height=”500″ alt=”Livi &amp; Communion 057″></a>

She just finished participating in her First Holy Communion.

As a Protestant Girl in a Catholic World, this is my second First Holy Communion.

Big had hers a few years ago.

It was sweet.

She went bonkers (and not in a good way) during the practice and we weren’t sure they were going to let her participate.

Big did muuuuch better at the actual service and has been participating in Holy Communion ever since.

Now, in Pennsylvania you can tell First Communion season by the sea of white organza dresses lining the aisles of Macy’s, Penny’s, Bon Ton and Boscov’s.

We had nooooooo problem finding her a dress!

Fast Forward to last March, and it wasn’t so pretty.

Apparently in the South there aren’t so many girls needing little, white dresses with veils.

I searched HIGH, I search low, but there was nothing.

I got online and scoured the internet.

Nothing that seemed to scream, “BABY GIRL!”

You’ve got to remember, this is Baby of the screaming bright tights!

This is Baby of the tutu skirts!

This is Baby of the hot-pink fingerless gloves!

This is Baby of, “Father had to remind me of some of my sins.” when she went to her first confession.

<a href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/64583500@N04/7193407166/” title=”Baby 1st Communion by accidentalsouthernmama, on Flickr”><img src=”http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7215/7193407166_c76f366ecb.jpg” width=”375″ height=”500″ alt=”Baby 1st Communion”></a>

Everything I found was deemed, “Rather plainish, don’t you think?”

Finally, God must have realized that our child was about to accept her First Holy Communion in the only white dress I could find!

A SLIP!

When, I got to Jackson and Macy’s.

There was a chorus from the angelic choir as we reached the top of the escalator and what did appear?

An entire, BEAUTIFUL rank of white dresses!

It wasn’t a sea, but I was willing to take what I could get!

We found one that seemed to be a Mama Bear kind of dress…

You know…

…JUST RIGHT!

I spent the next couple of weeks trying to keep her out of it.

Anything white that spends more than 5 seconds on Baby is bound to get stained.

It’s one of her super powers.

She was beautiful!

<a href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/64583500@N04/7193356194/” title=” Communion2 by accidentalsouthernmama, on Flickr”><img src=”http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7097/7193356194_536a177645.jpg” width=”371″ height=”500″ alt=” Communion2″></a>

I think she’s going to be wearing that dress to church often, because she was so pious in it!

However, if it is my child, you know there is going to be some issue.

For Baby it was

<a href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/64583500@N04/7193351702/” title=”Livi &amp; Communion 048 by accidentalsouthernmama, on Flickr”><img src=”http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7216/7193351702_f696a955d4.jpg” width=”375″ height=”500″ alt=”Livi &amp; Communion 048″></a>

Veil Fail

We got it fixed as I watched her sitting across the church with her class and I realized it was happening again…

<a href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/64583500@N04/7193363782/” title=”Livi &amp; Communion 061 by accidentalsouthernmama, on Flickr”><img src=”http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8150/7193363782_680e8e1dd8.jpg” width=”375″ height=”500″ alt=”Livi &amp; Communion 061″></a>

I like to think she was just trying to be stylish.

Yeah…

I think I’m going to run with that one…

Stylish

<a href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/64583500@N04/7193399508/” title=”Livi &amp; Communion 081 by accidentalsouthernmama, on Flickr”><img src=”http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7236/7193399508_4252ce66b9.jpg” width=”375″ height=”500″ alt=”Livi &amp; Communion 081″></a>

How to Go On Safari in West Tennessee

So, this last weekend the Accidental Family decided to take a road trip.

My family likes to explore the area around Middle-of-Nowhere-Tennessee and since the weather was gorgeous we decided to get out and about!

We decided to go to Memphis, the Pink Palace to be exact.

I spent a couple hours exploring their website, planning our visit, getting directions.

I was all set!

We got in the car, started on our way and the family decided they wanted to go to the Tennessee Safari Park instead.

My phone is only smart enough to text my parents to ask my Daddy the directions.

Situated just of Highway 412 just outside Alamo, TN, the park was pretty easy to find!

We paid our admission fee, gathered our buckets of animal food and headed into the self-driven tour.

We were instantly accosted by an emu!

I wouldn’t necessarily call the emu in this place friendly, they definitely didn’t want to be your friend unless they could see the white bucket of food sticking out your window. Actually, they didn’t care if it was outside your window or in your lap, they were all about whatever was in the bucket!

And some of them got kinda scary!

As we drove the 2.5 mile loop, we encountered any number of emu, but then there were the deer…

the bison

the water buffalo, the llamas, and, oh, yeah…

the ostrich!

…who saw a white bucket and came running…closer…

….and closer…

…and closer…

I ran out of food, so I closed that window… FAST!

In addition to the wide variety of animals inside the safari, there were a few more outside in the barnyard.

Including Baby’s boyfriend, Jerry the Giraffe…

He didn’t kiss her this time, but he was more than willing to eat a few carrots from her!

While Big wasn’t too thrilled with the roaming wild animals, she fell in l-o-v-e with the pygmy goats and has decided she wants one.

She’s thinking it would make a good dog.

I’m thinking she’s nuts.

- All pictures were taken by myself at the Tennessee Safari Park, a place that got multiple thumbs up from the ENTIRE family and was a morning of good fun! We definitely recommend you visit if you are in the area, and I didn’t receive any compensation for saying so! http://tennesseesafaripark.com/

Coming Up Flowery

I’m not exactly sure if “flowery” is actually a word to anyone except Baby, but that is the word she is currently using to describe our yard.

Spring Time has hit Middle-of-Nowhere, Tennessee early this year and we have been watching our flowers bud, blossom and bloom all in a matter of days (okay, maybe weeks, but it felt like days!)…

I would like to take credit for the beautiful flowers in our flower beds, but I can’t…except for the one sitting here on the bench…

We like tulips, and I would like to thank the former owner of this house for planting the bulbs for me!

The whole yard is in bloom!

Including the trees…

So excuse me while I go outside to enjoy the fresh air, the flowers and allergy season!

Spring Break…FOR MAMA!

Ha! Take that! I am getting Spring Break…

BY MYSELF!

I’m not heading to any tropical locations where I can spend the days drunk and acting crazy and the nights drunk and stupid.

I’m spending my Spring Break at home…

Trying to catch up on the past 6 weeks of housekeeping fall out from my new job.

Yesterday was all about getting the cat to the vet for her shots and getting the house sprayed for bugs (gotta love the South!)…

Today is technically all about laundry…

A TON or two of laundry backpiles that have piled up here and there…

I’ve been missing clothes, but you know as well as I do that until my mini-chicks hit a couple of sizes bigger, my clothes won’t just up and walk away!

In the Accidental Household, I am the laundress (some assistance from the mini-chicks).

If it gets washed, I have had some part in it getting wet.

If it get’s dried, I have had some part of getting it into the dryer.

And, if it gets folded and put into your room, I either supervised, folded or carried the basket.

Now, whether it gets put away or not is something totally different. I tend to lose interest after it gets to a particular room…CURSE YOU, A.D.D.!

So, technically I’m washing clothes today, that’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

However, between me and you, what I’m really doing is throwing clothes from one machine to the other and reading in between loads! MWAHAHAHAHAHA!

I could be doing the floors, I could be paying bills, I could be washing my car, but no! I’m taking the day off-ish and reading.

I have a stack of books, from work and the public library, just waiting for me to read them! They WANT me to read them! They NEED me to read them! And, on the off chance you think I am reading something intellectual…I’m not.

I’ve got some Lauren Child (yes, of Charlie and Lola fame), some Lisa Kleypas, some Diedre Martin, some Kasey Michaels, some J.D. Robb and some Ilona Andrews all waiting to say hello.

I’m not planning to leave this house, except to get the mail out of the box directly outside my door.

The kids normally go to After Care following school, and I have notes for them to come home on the bus to their house after school so I don’t have to go pick them up!

I know it’s strange to think of me having Spring Break while the kids are still in school, but I’m good with strange.

My house is so peaceful and quiet! I didn’t even turn on the television. The only noise I am hearing is the hummmmmm of my laptop fan (I haven’t started my laundry yet)

So, without further ado, I must bid you adieu so I can get to my reading laundry!
Sooooooooooooo nice!

Anywho…

Wacky Wednesday

Yes, it’s been awhile.

But it’s all good now! I’ve got a new laptop and life is happy!

So, for today’s feature, it is Wacky Wednesday!

Now, you need to guess, which outfit is the one for Wacky Wednesday?

Is it this one?

No, that was for for a Monday (sans the glasses).

Is it this outfit?

No…this was what she picked out for school picture day! I hope we can see her tights in the class picture! They are what makes this outfit AWESOME!

I know, how about this outfit?

If you guessed this one, you thought wrong! This was for a Thursday.

Let’s try this one?

Uh-uh…this one was just cute. She wore it on a Friday. (Pay no attention to the clutter on the counters)…

So, what DID she pick for Wacky Wednesday?

A pair of tights covered with a pair of inside out leggings, a backwards shirt, and…

…painted on freckles with a sticker on her nose (I have no idea what’s going on with her eyes in this picture). AND…

…mis-matched shoes.

She’s pretty happy with her outfit.

Baby has been planning it for weeks!

The outfits above are all things she picked out herself, with much thought. She thinks they are beautiful and in no way are they wacky. I’ve decided that so long as the clothes are appropriate for the occassion, to let her go ahead and wear whatever makes her happy. I have to wonder if she will grow up to be either an a.) fashion designer or a b.) stylist.

Should be fun to watch!