JACKED!

So the ol' Brown family had a little excitement the other night. Unfortunately it's not the kind anyone wants. We were robbed.

Yes, like R-O-B-B-E-D. Some jackass came into our home and helped him or herself to a couple of our finer electronic devices.

this is where our TV used to sit...

this is where my work computer sat... so sweet and innocent

At first we were really sad...

And then we got fighting mad...

Now a few days have passed and Tyson seems to be adjusting well..

Not too long ago, this was the scene one Sunday morning...

Kyle's truck was stolen. But fortunatley we got that back.

Currently this is our home- in Downtown Nashville. Maybe there are certain other residents in Downtown Nashville that are not interested in keeping us as neighbors. Well, we get the point.

It's time to move on anyway- time to surrender ourselves gracefully to Surburbia. We have fought it for years but now the day is close at hand...

After all- when you see your 4 year old playing in his front and back yard at the same time...

You really begin questioning your priorities.

I Told Ya

Now everyone knows....

The SC

We are back from the SC and finally getting back to our normal routine. Here's a day to day look back at our trip...

Our drive down Wednesday morning was pretty uneventful. Riley did very well and required only one stop for changing and nursing. Tyson was amazing as usual- He's such a great kid!

We got to my Mom's house around 1 and she promptly left to fetch the always coveted Chick Fil A. I could eat there for every meal, seriously. We hung out outside and visited with my aunt and uncle, Mike and Jean. My uncle Mike was very happy to meet his new great-niece.

Tyson channeled his inner Earnhardt... Later that evening we hung out at the house. Mom made spaghetti. It was tasty as usual... Thursday evening I met up with my dear friend, Brandt, for good beer and conversation. Brandt and I have been friends since the Clemson glory days and I'm always happy that we have made the effort to stay in touch. He will be headed to Afghanistan in a couple of weeks for his job and will be there a year... I can't imagine all the emotions that he must be experiencing right now. But we had a great time and I was really glad that we had the chance to hang out before he goes and makes his official mark on the world... Goodbye and Good Luck, Brandt! I wish you the best in your new adventure!!
Friday evening I met up with two of my best friends, Heather and Ruthie and Ruthie's beautiful 4 year old daughter Alex, for dinner. They met Riley for the first time and we had a great time as usual. I never laugh as hard with anyone else as I do with these two. It's always so comforting to have people in your life that no matter how long you go without seeing one another, it's just like picking up where you left off when you do. I left dinner and went to see Heather's new baby...her 10,000 square foot new Dance Studio. She owns and operates "The Dance Warehouse" in Anderson and it is growing like wild fire. She is living her dream and I couldn't be more proud! I did not take my camera so here is a pick of Heather and Ruthie from back in the day:
Saturday was pretty low key. Tyson hung out with his cousin, Bella. This is my brother's 20 month old daughter. They were really awesome together and Bella is as adorable as they come. Here are a few of my favorite pics...

Saturday I also took some time to visit my old neighborhood and took these pictures of the home that I grew up in. We lived at 2414 Berkley Drive for 13 years...There's always a rush of emotions when I come here and it's so strange when one moment it seems like only yesterday when I lived here and then other times it's like I never did....

Sunday, I visited with my close friend Jim and his girlfriend Stephanie. I was finally able to meet their new baby boy, James. We have hopes that Riley and James will be "introduced" later in life and fall madly in love. I wanted to get a picture of the unsuspecting love birds together but James was too busy crapping on his daddy's shirt.

Always nice....

"New Moon Movie Poster"

Insert High Pitched Squeal Here __________________________!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We call it South Cackalacki

The Youngin's and I are headed down to my home state of South Carolina for the next several days. I am looking forward to seeing family, friends and that weird lady who rides her "Flag" bike all around Anderson. We think she might be family but no one is willing to get close enough to her to find out. I'll be sure to have my camera ready in case I run in to her... figuratively speaking of course.

I moved to Nashville April 1, 2001; almost eight years ago. I was 24 years old and scared out of my mind. To this day I look back at that girl and say... "Hell yeah, you did it!", because honestly, I started talking about moving to Nashville two years before I actually took the plunge. Every time I would even think about loading up my Honda Accord and saying goodbye to the only life I had known for 24 years, my stomach would twist into knots. But you know that saying, "Everything you want is right outside of your comfort zone?" Yeah, I learned that one first hand.

There are things that I miss about my hometown and people I would have taken with me if I could have but it was the best decision I have ever made for myself. These days, trips back home are few and far between and when I am there, there never seems to be enough time to see everyone... But I always come away with a new appreciation for the place that will always be my foundation.

Proof!

...that fat kids do indeed love cake...

Diggin the New Digs

Because I needed a good reason to stay up until 1:ooam, I changed the template and layout of the blog.


I love it and would suggest that you love it too...

May 16

Happy Birthday to my Dad, Terry D Smith.


He would have turned 59 years old today...
And true to his character,
he would have celebrated it well...

In case you were seriously wondering...

BEL-FRY [bel-free] n: Slang. head; mind: "a belfry full of curious notions". OR "my daughter has a gigantic belfry".

Credit goes to GEORGE for introducing me to this word. I will forever be grateful.

The Official Introduction of Our Latest Production

This is Riley Elizabeth-

Her cheeks are the most delicious things I have ever seen- like two giant sweet potatoes hanging from her face.

She laughed out loud for the first time today. There are simply no words to describe that feeling. So there I was, laughing through my tears, physically melting into some sort of liquid bliss.

I must say it has been different having a girl. Many people warned me of this. Not that it's a bad thing, of course, but it's just different. This is my daughter. This is a little girl who will learn from me (but thankfully not ONLY me) all that it means to be a woman. And for some reason I am completely freaked out by this. I feel like I have alot crap to sort out before I can be the example that she deserves. Geez! She's only three months old and she's already driving me to therapy!!

But I just want so much for her...

First, if the picture above is any indication of her future face to forehead ratio, I want her belfry to shrink a bit...

But mostly I want her to be confident and strong.

I want her to be healthy and LOVE HER BODY no matter what flaws she may have.

I want her to respect herself.

I want her to respect her family.

I want her to respect the earth.

I want her to let me braid her hair.

I want her to let me comfort her when her heart is broken.

I want her to know I've been there too.

I want her to see the world.

And I want that world to be nice to her. Afterall, she is my little girl.

I want her to be authentic,

brave,

honest,

good,

and happy...

Just be happy, Riley Beth. Always be happy.

Random Memory of the Day

I just got off the phone with my friend Rachel.

She is one of the coolest people I know.

Rach and I met not long after I moved to Nashville and we have been pretty tight since. WOW- Has it really been almost 8 years?? That's seriously strange. I was very fortunate to meet someone with whom I would connect with so well. To still be such good friends after this long; surviving even the most fierce friendship killers like marriage and babies? Well, it's rare, but I was lucky.

This picture is one of my favorites although I will say Rach's tongue is seriously freaking me out. It literally looks like it is separate from her face!!! So I think that she and I, along with Kyle, were at the Sportsman's Grille in Hillsboro Village watching a football game. We had had several "beverages" and at this point were really having a great time. This is also where my infamous Profile Picture was taken. (I happen to think that "random foods stuck up your nose" is always funny! ) Anyway, I remember that Kyle and I were dealing with some stressful things around that time and we both needed to get out and let loose. No one else better to do it with than Rach!

She's also like the best secret keeper ever!

So there's my random memory of the day. To everyone else but Rach sorry to have wasted 2 minutes of your life.

Mother's Day 2009

I had a wonderful Mother's Day with my 3 most favorite people in the world! Kyle and I both harbor an unwavering love for the city that we live in and we try not to take its accesibility and flavor for granted. So we spent the afternoon walking around Downtown Nashville trying to put on our best tourist faces. What a lovely day! Here are a few pics...

My Torment for Twlight

I think what I am doing at this very moment is so incredibly hysterical that I felt it completely necessary to take time out of doing it just to blog about it... Seriously, I beg of you to make fun of me...

My two children are sleeping soundly in their rooms completely unaware that their normally sane and appropriately age acting mother has now morphed into an undercover 13 year old. God, I'm really seriously embarrassed about it. I'm vegging out on my sofa eating Gummy Worms deep in the throws of a Twilight Tantrum. Currently, I'm watching the movie, reading about the new movie online and I if I turned on my car right now, the Twilight Soundtrack would naturally be blasting from the speakers. Not only am I drowning in a teenage vampire super massive black hole (Seriously, Muse now officially rocks my brain), I'm taking someone with me... (Sorry Britney, it's too late to turn back now.....)

Many of you know of the Twilight Books and now of course, the movie, which for the record isn't anywhere near as amazing as the books but it didn't suck and Rob Pattinson IS pretty yummy. He's also an extremely talented musician with two of his songs included in the movie. AND BREATHE.......

YEP, I'm sucked in... I'm a Twilightmom. Yes, "Twilightmom." It's kind of like the phrase... "Yes I have herpes." You've accepted it but you don't really want to talk about it. And for legalities I must say that I did not coin this phrase. It's from the fabulous Website twilightmoms.com. Go there!

Listen girls; If you have any sort of insecurities or instabilities present in your life (not that you HAVE to have these things), this phenomenon will slither its way into your pores. It's kind of like... well, herpes. Once you got it, you got it. There's no cure; only ways to moderately contain it.

Whatever... So I feel like I'm ready to announce it to the rest of the world! I'm even getting a bumper sticker for my SAAB 93, which I sometimes imagine is a shiny silver volvo. Yeah, it says "DRIVES LIKE A CULLEN".

My husband is thrilled.

I Love My Mom... Seriously

Mother's Day is this weekend, so even as cliche' as it is, I thought that I would spout off some random thoughts (and Fun Facts!) about my mother...

-I think my mom is one of the most fair and honest people I have ever had the pleasure of knowing.

-She was a world traveler before she was 5! My mother was born in Manila, Philippines and lived in Fairbanks, Alaska for two years

-Her middle name is actually "Lou"- as in Sandra Lou -and I think that is both unfortunately cute and hilariously funny at the same time.

-I may not share her views on certain things, but I respect her devout faith and strong convictions.

-She has always encouraged and allowed me to find my own way and to be my own person.

-My mother was sort of the "ugly duckling who turned into a swan"- Growing up, she was not the most physically attractive child. She was twiggy skinny, had flaming red hair and a blanket of freckles covered most of her scrawny frame. But in her late teens and early twenties, she came into her own... and wow... did she make up for lost time!

-My mother is really good at Pool- you know, Billiards. At age 25 she won an all male pool tournament, knocking out 26 men; all experienced players and many twice her age.

-She and her husband have a really strong and loving relationship. But they have had their battles. I admire her commitment, persistence and strength to see it through to where it is now. He is a lucky man.

-My mom has a beautiful voice and should share it with people more often.

-I'm not exactly sure what my mom's "job" is but I know she's really good at it.

-I would say 99.99999% of people who know my mother really really like her.

-My mom always ends a phone conversation with me by saying "okloveyoubye" like it's one big word. It kind of gets on my nerves but at this stage in the game, if she didn't say it, the course of the universe would change drastically.

-She could survive on a diet of chocolate ice cream, roast beef subs (from Publix) and pistachios.

-She is an incredible "Nana" and her grandchildren adore her.

-She has always displayed a perfect balance of being involved without being intrusive. She shares her opinions but has always allowed me to form my own.

-She is irrevocably goofy and has a great sense of humor.

-I feel like a million bucks when I make my mom laugh.

-She ALWAYS compliments me on everything from how great my house looks to how pretty I am. Not a good standard to set for my husband, but at least I know I can get it from my mom!

-My mom had a very close relationship with her father. I know she misses him everyday.

-My mom is very simple- She isn't drawn to overly extravagant things and doesn't seek to impress others with material nonsense. She impresses others with a deep substance that shines just as bright.

-I am a good mother because of her.....

Happy Mother's Day Mom! See you in a couple of weeks!!