Get Ready Dahlin Because You'll Be the New Princess in Town.

On Facebook one day I got a question on my wall from my darling cousin. She asked me my most favorite words,

" By chance did you get the package that I sent?"

Oh how I love getting

Packages!

Sure getting a package is way fun because I get to open it and see what is inside but the anticipation of the fact that there IS a package on the way.... sooooooo fantastic! Am I the only one that feels this way?

I had infact moved and the delay was getting to me...but the post office was good and it realized where I actually live and delivered the package!!!

Wanna see what she sent?

You are gonna die!!!

get ready to squeal!!!

is the anticipation getting to you too?

ok, I'll let you see...

How CUTE is this!! It is to die for cute! I am beside myself, whatever that means.... Sooo cute!

So pink so tiara, so sparkly and so princess!

I love it! I think I need to get one as well and where it from now on everywhere I go. But not in my hair...right smack on my belly!

Isn't the card just to die for as well, I cannot stand to separate the two. So I need to keep the whole thing together and just wear that whole puppy front and center on my belly button! :)

Thank you so much sweet cousin of mine. You are making the anticipation of this new baby girl in my life really exciting.

Seriously?

Ok, since finding out that we are going to have a girl, I've been looking up every online resource on crib bedding for baby girls.

This one is from www.dimplesanddandylions.com if you just wanted to buy it for me... ha!

I'm just now really understanding that a little girl around here will be fun. Someone to watch Cinderella 1, 2 and 3. I get to read American Girl Doll books and get a matching doll for us...I mean her... I get, again, she gets to wear the sweetest ruffle outfits and pink bows and such...

Who am I kidding... I still don't get that we are really going to have a girl. Seriously?

My neighbors have been so sweet and have delivered bags full of baby girl clothes and pink bottles and playmats to our door steps. Hubs and I just take out each item one at a time and just stare at it. Pink onesies, pink nightgowns, pink shirts with cupcakes, pink socks, pink pj's.

Wow!

I love pink... but seriously?

We are really going to have a girl!

I just love little boys!

My youngest son,

(soon to be renamed my middle child after the birth of his sister),

loves to get into the action.

He loves life and loves playing.

Here he stands waiting for a chance to run get the baseball that might

be missed by the big kids.

He was too cute to resist, I had to snap a photo.

I just love little boys!

Save on gDiapers with this code

This is taken from gDiapers website. www.gDiapers.com. It is just one of the reasons I love their product.

I love how cute these diaper covers are and the colors. I have taken so many pictures of my baby in just his gDiaper because of how cute the covers are.

Now until July 31st you can use my code as a gMom, g611Davis, at check out and save on a 6 pack of everyday diapers covers. They are usually $70. but when you use my code, you get $30 off and only pay $40. plus. I just have to spread the good news of bargains when I come across them!!

gDiapers loves the Earth.

For the last 40 years there have been but two choices in diapers. Cloth or disposable. That’s it. Now gDiapers offers a third option. Flushable. gDiapers puts waste where it belongs, in the toilet. Not the landfill.

gDiapers have no elemental chlorine, no perfumes, no smell, no garbage and no guilt. In fact, our flushable diapers are so gentle on the Earth you can even garden compost the wet ones in one compost cycle, approximately 50 – 150 days. Just think of the standing ovation you’ll get from the planet.

Cradle to Cradle.

Why are gDiapers good for the planet? It is simple. Our flushables are designed using the Cradle to Cradle design principles of Bill McDonough and his firm MBDC. That means everything that goes into one of our flushables gets re-absorbed back into the eco-system in a neutral or beneficial way. So you are turning waste into a resource. At the same time, you are putting poop in the toilet, where it belongs, and avoiding the landfill issue all together.

We appreciate there is a lot of information in this section, but we want to make sure that parents who are concerned about the earth feel their questions and concerns are answered, and backed up with independent scientific research. For us, it is all about being Fair Dinkum. You can also feel free to contact us…we love talking diapers!

Dog Days of Summer

The Dog Days of summer have arrived in full force.

We adopted Jingles when my oldest was 3 years old. At the time, we were living in New England. I really wanted a hound dog of some sort to remind me of my Southern roots. I was looking for the Hound breed because it is known for its lazy howling and funny yelping that would just ooze of loyal companionship and could out sniff and out track any dog on any trail.

We arrived at the first vet's office to view their message board and there hung a picture of the sweetest Beagle I had ever seen. I made phone call to the recuse group

"You're Hounding Me"

they directed me to the foster pet care parent.

It was love at first sight between my 3 year old and Jingles.

A few days passed and my sweet darling Pre-schooler announces that He loves my husband and I very much, but he REALLY loved Jingles!

That warmed my heart and I knew right then that I had picked the best dog for our family/son.

The two of them are strong buddies. My son even wants to be a Veterinarian because of the love that has grown between these two.

I am forever thankful for Jingles.

Jingles getting a check up from the neck up.

Those are cotton balls on top of Jingles' head.

Good bill of health from the future doctor.

The Most Dangerous Cake in the World, (In Just 5 Min)

For some reason this blog is underlined and I cannot change the setting to make it stop.

Oy Vey!

it just looks like a very long title to this blog.

Ummm, interesting. (scoff, whatever)

So I don't have my mother's recipe posted yet... but what I do have is even faster and it is a must in everyone's life!

5 MINUTE CHOCOLATE MUG CAKE
4 tablespoons flour
4 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa
1 egg
3 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons oil
3 tablespoons chocolate chips (optional)
A small splash of vanilla extract
1 large coffee mug (MicroSafe)

Add dry ingredients to mug, and mix well. Add the egg and mix thoroughly.
Pour in the milk and oil and mix well..
Add the chocolate chips (if using) and vanilla extract, and mix again.
Put your mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes at 1000 watts.
The cake will rise over the top of the mug, but don't be alarmed!
Allow to cool a little, and tip out onto a plate if desired.
EAT ! (this can serve 2 if you want to feel slightly more virtuous).
And why is this the most dangerous cake recipe in the world?
Because now we are all only 5 minutes away from chocolate cake at any time of the day or night!

How great is this?

I suppose you can share if you just had to.

Or just decorate your plate with some ice cream and dig in!

Tell me how this works out for you.

The Toy That Keeps Resurfacing

There is a toy that will NOT go away.  Do you have one of these at your home?

Although I have tried many times to get rid of the this toy I really don't know how it is always resurfacing again and again.  

This is a Happy Meal Toy that is not a very Happy Toy after all.  It is great for a toddler who wants to push it's cute red belly over and over and over and over..... to make the chiming beeping song that just begs to be pushed again and again and again.

It is very sensitive, you know the kind, that somehow starts working all by itself.  NO one is around it but somehow it calls to a toddler from across the room.  Who then prances after his long lost red, beeping belly dino, to push it again.  sigh...

I KNOW I threw it away when I found that one of the dogs had chewed on it.  But no.... 

It somehow resurfaced.

I know I threw it out when I was cleaning out the McToy's from the toy box.

But No.... It was back in the diaper bag!  What? Yeah.  How in the world did THAT happen?  I have no idea.  So today I am cleaning out some boxes from our move and low and behold, I step on, Mister red beepy belly dino.  I know that it is the same guy because of the facial scars from the dog tearing into it's green plastic-y flesh. 

 I ask another question of this green guy.  

How on earth are these batteries lasting this long?  

It is amazing.

 This toy has a 2006 stamped on it's foot.

Move over Energizer Bunny.

So one last farewell with all of the fanfare to surely send it on it's way... 

Good bye Red Bellied Beeping Green Dino Dude.

I don't even feel sad about not donating him and sending him straight to the landfill.

(You're so welcome moms out there who might have picked this toy up from a tag sale.) 

It Takes a Village to Make Brownies

This third pregnancy has not really given me many "cravings".  I do seem to prefer Jim N Nicks smoked turkey salad, japanese or chinese foods, orange juice, tomatoes and maybe the occasional strawberry frozen yogurt. But as for a crazed craving, it's been very uneventful... well, until last night.

 

I really wanted our family's favorite brownie recipe my mom makes so yummy! My husband, who has worked to get this recipe down to an art, reported to me that we had everything but three of the four tablespoons of powdered cocoa.

Ok, this is when the situation turned from casual desire for these brownies to a full out crazed driven craving.  I must have given my husband this crazy looked because he stopped and looked at me for a second and said, "If you can find 3 Tablespoons of powdered cocoa, I'll make them."  Well, isn't that sweet, you say... well it was 9 p.m. and I was dressed in my nighty.  I had to come up with a plan...

Now what would Pregnant Lucy do? hummm, My side kicks, Ethel's still live up in Connecticut so I'd have to do this one on my own... hummm

I went the lazy modern gal's route.  I posted my need for powdered cocoa in my status of my Facebook profile.  Apparently, my cousin who lives in Florida was the only one looking at updated status's at that time of the night.  

hummm... I went straight for the neighborhood google group email, (it is to be used only for fairly important request and announcements... I'm thinking this qualifies, kind of).

Now, how does one beg for cocoa via public neighborhood email?

I began my begging with a buttering up greeting...

"Hello Neighbors,

I first want to say what a sweet and neighborly neighborhood we all have the pleasure of living in.

I'm making a selfish request for my pregnancy craving. I'm craving one of my mom's recipes and I am short 3 Tablespoons of powdered cocoa. Does anyone have some cocoa that we can borrow?  

Sincerely,

Your Pregnant Neighbor, 

Annette

I waited, and waited...

"Dang", I texted my husband, (come on admit it, you text your family members who are in the same house, the same room, or sometimes right beside you).

BINGO!!!! after waiting 6 long minutes...three neighbor reply emails and a phone call... ha!! score!!!  wahoo!!! One neighbor said she was on her way to deliver the cocoa to the pregnant lady!  

Now, the guilt and shameful greed set in as my sweet neighbor who was armed with her husband and flashlights at 9 pm, walked away... sigh... I feel so bad...my selfish, selfish gluttony... tears almost swell...

Well, now I really, really need some guilt curing chocolate! Get cracking on those brownies dear!!! 

I had my favorite made to order extra crispy corner piece and went to bed.  I told my hubby that we really needed to hide the brownies because my son will sniff them out.  "No, he will not see them, I'll just cover them with the container's lid."

  

This morning I asked my darling son if he knew we had brownies.  He said, "Yes, I do and I only had one."

Here is the picture of of the shape of his one piece.  Only one...but it was the size of TEXAS!!!

I'll grab my mom's recipe and share it with you! :)  

But Beware of what the cravings for these brownies will make you do!

Trapping and the Call of the Wild

My oldest son loves to go to his grandparent's house.  Even since he was a toddler he enjoyed the adventures visiting  my parent's home would bring.  On one of his first trips he saw a baby mouse, got sit on a tractor, observe a turtle for a few days in a box, (well it was a box turtle, ha) and feed the deer, raccoons, squirrels, bunnies and birds and whatever else roams their property.  

He has a very strong tree fort with zip line, a place to roast marshmallows, and hot dogs, golf cart rides, and as much cutting and nailing that his little heart desires.  Each time he visits he somehow leaves something undone on his mental list and cannot wait for the next visit to check off those activities.  

One such activity that has been on his list a few times is trapping an animal.  My father is the ring leader in these adventures so trapping somehow made it's way into the approved boyhood to manhood musts.  

My son is very much an animal lover and like most kids his age, he wants to be a veterinarian when he grows up so he can have all the animals he wants surrounding him at all times.

When my father located an animal friendly trap the time had come to see a wild animal up close and personal.  

This is a WILD animal remember.

This is NOT Chip or Dale... this is a wild animal!  Ok, we named him Chippy

How cute is he!  

They trapped this adorable Chipmunk and then brought him into the house,  Oh how we loved looking at him and seeing how adorable he was until we saw rodent nugget poop and it was time for "Chippy" to head back outside again.

There is just no telling what adventure waits for my darling son when he once again gets to take a trip to see his grandparents.  But there is one thing for sure, there will not be a dull moment.

I'm Passing Out, But the Toddler's Happy!

There are a few childhood summer experiences that every child  cannot grow up without.  

1.  Camping in the backyard, yet only making it partly through the night even after swearing to your parents that you are able to make it all night.

2.  Catching Fireflies at dusk, and putting them in containers only to forget them and they all go belly up from not enough air and banging into the jar all night.

3.  Giving your Parent CPR after hours of popping bubbles, blown from a tiny plastic stick inside a sticky spilling container.

Just to name a few.  

Good ol' Toddler's favorite word is "a-gin, a-gin".  He does not grow tired of repeating these words/demands and is happy to say it louder if you by chance might not have heard him the first 45 times.

Bubbles are cheap entertainment and great to the very last drop... Drop meaning the one blowing on the bubble wand.

  

Edible Owl Birthday Sculpture

This is a birthday cake!

But really... Have you EVER seen a more amazing cake?  Look at the detail!

Look at the owlets that surround this owl cake!  Can you believe this?

This cake was created for our neighbor's son turning 2 years old.  All the adults swooped in to take a picture of this cake to show friends and family.

This is better than some ice sculptures that I have seen!  

This has to be called an Edible Owl Birthday Sculpture.

Yeah, but how did it taste, you ask.  Great, I'm hooting about it aren't I?

The First of Many Hats

After writing my last post, I started thinking about the many hats my husband and I really do wear as parents. I listed them, (see blog post below).  I wanted to get an account of what it is we do as parents.  The list I made helped me see why we are physically and mentally tired by the end of the day.  

Do you want to know something that surprised me the most after my newborn was home the first week?  It was the fact that there is no weekend "ahhhh T.G.I.F." feeling.  My sweetie came home on Friday with the feeling of work done and things accomplished a "TGIF" feeling.  I was, however, thrown into the reality of there is NO "ahhhh T.G.I.F" feeling.  As parents, we don't have a different feeling on the weekends.  Parenting is a 24 hour, 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year and 365 days a year job!  (So that is what makes me tired, oh I get it now!) 

But having the honor of wearing those many hats all started with putting on my favorite hat of all, ( I wear that hat daily).  To what hat I'm I referring?  Hey, no sneaking to the picture at the bottom of this post to get a hint...

Ok, I'll tell you... the hat of being the bride. 

 

Hey, it is not a one day title.

 Once a bride always a bride.

 

 It's a sorority, each of us share similar experiences on that special day.  

We cry sweetly when others join us, because we very much remember our first day as a bride.  Isn't it the most wonderful feeling?  Dressing up, gathering good friends and family, walking down that carpeted path clutching onto our daddy and embracing our dream boat darling groom's arm.  Saying those vows and making those dreams of  life together as one a reality.

I love being the bride, I love my dream boat darling groom too.  

With all of this talk, I think I'm gonna flip through my wedding albums now and put on my wedding pearled tiara.  What? It's a perfectly wonderful "Stay-cation" for rejuvenating the mind.  Go put on your "actual" bride's hat and join me... you know you want to.

Now Accepting Applications

Have you ever thought about the responsibilities that go into being a parent?  If the responsibilities could be named and listed into a job description, like below, would you still apply or qualify to be the parent that you are today?

Now accepting applications-

Family seeking fun-loving,  teacher for our home.  Applicant will be responsible for providing total educational development and daily personal care for children of multiple ages. Applicant will assume the following roles: cook, housemaid, nurse, taxi driver, administrative assistant, accountant, athletic coach, social director, computer technician, household and automotive repairman, gardener, course instructor in multiple subject areas for developmental levels, and various other responsibilities. This is a full-time position-approximately 120 hours or more per week. Qualified candidates must be able to work well under pressure, multi-task, and prioritize work loads while maintaining a friendly, enthusiastic attitude. Quick thinking, good memory, and a varied background in extensive subject matter are a must. Promising candidates will be resourceful, adjust easily to distractions, and display creative, hard-working leadership abilities. Organizational and problem solving skills are a plus. Previous teaching experience and/or college preferred, but is not required. If you're interested in working in a fast-paced, ever-changing environment, this is the position for you! For more information on this exciting opportunity to earn fulfilling, one-of-a-kind rewards, please apply in person today.  The salary is very small to no money.  Your reward is in the lives of the children you work with and viewing what they have learned.

After reading these qualifications, thank goodness these are not requirements and put in written form before becoming a parent.  Many future parents would walk away from the beautiful parenting opportunity. Who can measure up to these standards?  You do everyday!  It is really not easy to parent our children.  God gives us strength and lets our children mean so much to us that we happily do all we can to make their life the best they can be.  We want the best for our children.  

Great job!  It is a very honorable job you are doing daily.  The reward is far greater than money.

Literacy and Children

Conversation between Mom and Son.

Son:  Mom  can I see the iPhone a minute? 

Mom:  Well, hold on it doesn't have much charge let me get 

to a stop light and I will plug it in for you first.

Son:  I'm not going to play a game.

Mom:  Just a second let it charge almost done.

Son:  a disappointed "k"

Mom:  Here, it has some charge, what is the emergency?

Son:  I'll show you in just a sec...

Suddenly quiet in the backseat... a nice change.

Son:  Here, read it when you can.

I love it that my child is literate!

How sweet is this?  (said in a squeaky high tearful voice...)

Mom:  This is so dear to me sweetie, thank you.

Son:  You're welcome, I just wanted to tell you.

Two Boys and It's a Girl?

The news, my husband and I received yesterday at 11:30 a.m., changed our lives.  

We found out that our third child is this creature called a "girl". 

You've heard of these, right? 

You know what I'm talking about?  Have you seen them out in the world?

Well, just in case let me describe them to you. They have these giant bows on their head, they wear these click-itty sounding shiny shoe and ruffled coordinated outfits that include tights and tiny purses, something sparkly and have this pinkish glow around them. They point their toes, wear bracelets, princess crowns, twirl and giggle. 

Can I tell you just how foreign this to me?  Given, I am a female.  I was once a little girl and I could even be described as a girly girl, which means I loved princess things, wore pink, and took gymnastics so pointing toes and twirling were a must.

But I am a mother of two boys and have been for over 8 years now. Boys have been fittingly described as "noise with dirt".  Their outfits are t-shirts and shorts or camo with jeans or sport type pants. They wear neutral rubbery Crocs, tennis shoes or maybe an occasional saddle oxford for events where they must dress up.  My boys watch Star Wars, Thomas the Tank Engine and There Goes the Fire truck.  They play with legos, robots, swords and rocks and sticks.  They are very far from a pink, twirling, bow headed, ruffled, princess loving, dance class taking, flower and heart drawing creature, as one can get.   

"A girl,  Are you really sure?", I mean mistakes happen in these ultra sounds. The lady doing the ultra sound is not above making a boo boo.  She might need a closer look and not just a glance to come to such a quick and final judgement.

The news was such a shock and so unclear to me.  

What does this even really mean?  

I lay there in disbelief. 

I now realized I was questioning the nice ultra sound professional and making her prove herself and her findings.  After the third spotting of the "area of proof" and the little white arrow she used to point and describe to me this proof, I stopped repeating, "Really? are you sure?" I lay still with a glazed expression and stared at the computer.

Thank goodness I was not alone at this moment.  I gathered my husband, son, and mother into this tiny room with me.  I'll describe their reactions and you tell me if I was the only one who over reacted to this shocking, yet blessed news.  

As I was drilling questions at the nice lady for the burden of truth, my mother tears up and cries, "finally, finally, finally".  My father who is on the phone shouts, "Praise the Lord!!"  My husband, was in as much shock as I was, starts to get really quiet and backs himself against the wall with a dazed expression.  We sent a text to my sister, who replies, "Are you serious"?  My 22 month old baby boy was the the only one that acted sane in this moment.  As he sat in his stroller he blew kisses, babbled and pointed to the computer screen, (a very sweet baby bonding moment).

We all really were not prepared for this news.  I was prepared for "It's a boy", so I could say, "Ha, I knew it"!  We have everything this child needs, whew!  That is not such a strange way of thinking, I mean, that is the news my sister and I have received 4 times now.

When the Nurse asked me, "So what do you think?"  I wanted to reply, "What in the world do I do now"?  But my parents have taught me to "smile and wave" in every circumstance, this includes receiving shocking news. It is derived from the old southern way of, "Saving face in light of unpleasant circumstances".  

Not that this the most ideal way of dealing with difficult and unpleasant situations. Also neither is the news of this baby being a girl unpleasant. But instead of saying what we really mean or wearing our actually feelings on our face, we smile brightly instead. We appear strong, determined and capable of handling all things that head our way. 

As unhealthy as that may sound, let me share another way Southerners handle unpleasant circumstance.

The quote is, "Southerners have their own way of dealing with things, like drinking too much."  This quote was on a commercial years ago advertising a detox hospital.  So we can either smile and wave or drink too much.  Cheaper than therapy! ha 

So you know that I had to reply to the nurse, "Oh, this is exciting", I grin showing as many teeth as I can, I even pull out my beauty pageant experience of "smiling with my eyes".

While waiting for the doctor, I sit quietly behind closed doors thinking.  I have 2 boys, my sister has 2 boys.  We know how to play boy things at our own homes. At my parent's house there is a very large toy box full of ramps, dirt movers, mini semi trucks and loads of Hot Wheels.  We understand their boy energy, boy toys boy behavior it is our norm.  I mean, my goodness, my father just built a giant tree fort, do you get how we are all thinking here?  Between my sister and I, there are LOTS of "babies first dino" to every color Sword and light saber.  We have all sorts of blue clothes, blue blankets, blue socks, boy names, boy movies, boy McDonald toys, boy electric ride-on toys, boy themed books, even boy iPhone game applications.  

  

We have ZERO items for a girl!  

We are SO unprepared!

We have 4 months to get ready for her, (both mentally and with purchases).

Where do I even start?

My husband and I had a good nights rest. 

 

We are shocked and happy, we're... Shappy!

The Object of My Desire

I must have this for every meal these days!  

I crave this!

I dream about this!

I need this!

I have got to have this!!

Each pregnancy makes me look at fresh produce in such a different way.  

It makes me chant...

Gotta have salad, Gotta have salad, Gotta have salad.  Repeat this with me... Gotta have salad...

 See, It's starting to look really good to you too, right?

The Farmer's Market starts this weekend!!! slurp! 

 They will become my new best friends!  

They might get a little scared when they see the crazed look in my eyes... hehehe

In One Ear and Out the Mouth

So I'm in the garden playing with my sons and I find my angel needs a little repair from the winter. 

I remove the roly polys and snails and turn the angel up right on the bench.  

My youngest son, who is very new to talking, points at the broken wing and then to the hole where it once rested. I say, "That's right honey, the wing is broken.  I need to glue it back on. 

He studies the statue and then touches it's feet while looking up at me with a bright smile and says, "tickle, tickle, tickle".  In these past 22 months with him, I've never known how much he understands .  But now I know that, Tickle tickle tickle, has made it's way into his brain waves. 

He makes a momma proud.  Next week we will begin Latin verbs and Geography.

Ten Top Reasons To Live in The South

For years the South has been the place people flock for their retirement.

  Why do they pick the South to spend their golden years?  

Because once they visit they know they will love living in the South!

I will tell you my Top 10 Reasons I love living in the South.

1.  The people take the time to get to know each other and make connections with each other that will last a life time.

2.  The landscape is full of flowers and beautiful for most of the year.  The soil is rich and the plants thrive in the weather.  So the grass is greener, the lakes are fuller and the forest are thicker.

3.  You can play sports year round.  There are chilly days, but not so bad that going outside will kill you.  Yes, there are places to snow ski in the south as well.

4.  The food is fresh and from the vine.  The fresh garden vegetables are amazing.  Also there are lemons, limes, oranges... ok you get the point.  The growing season it very long.

5.  Seafood is just a stones throw away.  Seafood is fresh from the Gulf and very good.

6.  There are many Museums, Zoos and Art and Music Events to attend.  Southerners pride themselves in the fundraisers, events and galas to help fund their love of culture. 

 7.  Living in an area where others flock to vacation means there is always something to do.  Outside sports, fishing, hunting, gardening, swimming, skiing, hiking, sailing... again, you get the point.

8.  Living in the south also means that family and friends are a focus for most people.  When you get to know someone here, you will also get to know their connection to the ones they know and love.

9.  The practical things like, the cost of living is lower.  It doesn't mean that it isn't as good as other places.  It is very much the opposite.  It is as good and less expensive... imagine that! 

10.  I have not mentioned my most favorite thing and that is the air here.  The smells of the flowers.  The Southern Magnolia is an Evergreen tree.  It's blossoms grow as large as your face!  I know this because I sink my face into it as I breathe in the citrus and floral scent that is like no other!

The smells in the south also include, honeysuckle, orange blossoms, gardenia's and Jasmine just to mention a few.  The air can get so fragrant that it is intoxicating.  Sit outside on your porch at night and listen to the tree frogs and night time bugs... ahhh, really amazing!

Those are my picks for the South's life style.  If you have never visited here, then pick a deep south state and get ready for a wonderful time.  

Oh, just one more thing, we talk different here too.  It's ok, Y'all will be alright.   We also will come right up to you and shake your hand, hug your neck and ask you about your mama.  The South is our home and we want to welcome you here. Now come on in and have some iced tea or lemonade and tell us about what's been happening in your life lately.