The Shirtless Wonder

I wonder if anyone can explain why my 4 year old has suddenly decided that he doesn't want to wear a shirt...ever?? The first thing he does when we get home is peel off his shirt. He walks around all night long without it. Then, after bath time, he absolutely refuses to put his pajama shirt on, he only wants the pants on. Isn't he a little too young to be acting like Al Bundy? I haven't been able to get a picture of this yet, but I hope to get one soon!

We Got 2 Good Ones!!

This year's alligator hunt was a BLAST!! We left for Pascagoula on Friday afternoon. We arrived at about 4 p.m. and met up with my parents at Tucei's Fish Camp. After going to check in at Ward Bayou, we had dinner at Big R's in Pascagoula...if you're ever down that way, don't waste your time at that place...not at all what we expected! Anyway, I know you're all just dying to hear the details of our catch....

We got on the water at about 7 p.m. and headed North of the fish camp towards I-10. It only took us about 6 minutes to spot a gator that looked to be a pretty good size. The gator was swimming in open water, which is a good sign that it's a large one. We motored as close to it as we could and then killed the engine. The gator went down as we turned the motor off but don't worry, my dad employed the "blind cast" techinque...this means that you cast at the area where you last saw the gator and drag your hook back through the water and hope to catch something. In just a few seconds my dad looks at the rest of us and says "I think I got something"...he wasn't sure if he was actually hooked on a live animal or some sort of trash under the water. He slowly reeled in his line until we reached the spot where it was obviously hooked on something. Mark had the bright idea to drop another hook in the water to see if whatever we were hooked on would react...it did. The gator took off again and the line whizzed out of the reel. Again, we reeled in the line and got close to the monster again. At this point we noticed that the boat was moving in circles. When the gator begins to move like this, it means that he is disoriented...that's good for us. We eventually got him to come up to the surface and secured him with a snare only to realize that we were missing our gun. It was still in the truck. There are other ways to dispatch a gator, but a gun is our preferred method. We toyed with the idea of taping the mouth up and just riding back to camp with a live gator...I voted to call some buddies that were still at the fish camp when we were leaving and ask if they had a gun we could borrow. They came to the rescue and the gator was in our boat and we were back at camp at 8:30.

We got the gun from the truck and set out to find our second gator. As a part of the hunt, you are allowed one gator over 7' and one that must be longer than 4' but less than 7'. Again, it only took us a few minutes to see one we wanted. Mark hooked up with the second gator and after fighting it for about 15-20 minutes, we had him in the boat too. We filled both of our tags in 3 hours!!! We then went to "check them in" and get some final measurements.

Both gators turned out to be female. The larger one was 9' 1 5/8" long and weighed 196.5 lbs. The smaller one was 6'2" and weighed 50.5 lbs. The larger one was just 2 3/8 inches short of the state record for a female gator and just 3.5 lbs. lighter.

We had a wonderful time with my parents and Mark's dad. I really hope that we get to do it again next year!!

The larger gator.

The smaller one.


Team Hosford, yes, we have an official team!!

Sneak Peek...

Below is a picture of the scale when the wildlife folks weighed my biggest gator...yes, it weighed 196.5 lbs!! We did much better this year than last year. We're headed to the fair this afternoon but I promise to post more about the hunt later!! Stay tuned!

They're Baaack!

The beast. 8'.

The hunting crew, random guy, Mark, another random guy, Robbie (BIL) and Chris (FIL).

So, I have been a hunting widow/single mom for the past 3 days....let me tell you, I have the utmost respect for single moms. I can hardly make it for 3 days without pulling my hair out. I love my little man but I just get to a point where I need someone else to talk to! Anyway, Mark was alligator hunting this weekend in Pascagoula. He got the opportunity to be a "guide" for another hunter. They loaded up Friday and headed for the coast. Friday night was a bust for them but Saturday proved to be a better night and they harvested an 8 footer.


Jake and I got a glimpse of the beast this afternoon at my in-laws house.


Next weekend is my turn...but on this hunt I will be the permit holder. I'm hoping to do better than my catch last year which was 6'10". Mark claims that they "left" a 10 footer out there for me. Let's hope I can get it!!

S'mores?!?

This afternoon, Jake says "Mama, I need some crackers, chocolate and a marshmallow." I asked "what are you going to make with that?" He replied, just as cool as a cucumber, "spores." Ha!

Pump It Up!!

Sooooo...it's been a long time ya'll! We have been super busy over the last couple of weeks and I have really had no desire to blog at the end of the day...basically, I have been a blog slacker!

We went to Hayden's birthday at Pump It Up a couple of weeks ago. Jake, Mark and I had a wonderful time. It's always a plus for me when the adults can have fun at the kiddo birthday parties! Jake and I raced through the obstacle courses and down the slides, we bounced in the bouncy houses, it was excellent! Jake has been asking to have his next birthday party there...he doesn't turn 5 until May...

Here are some pictures from the day.

Racing through the obstacle course with Jake.

I look like I'm striking a pose...really I'm just trying to cool off my armpits!!!

Did someone say CAKE??

The whole gang.

Have You Forgotten?

I certainly haven't. I vividly remember standing in the breakroom at M&F Bank in Ridgeland watching in disbelief as the first plane hit the North tower. I thought, that would be terrible to be on a flight that runs into a skyscraper in NYC...then the second plane hits the South tower and reality sets in...this was no accident. I've been watching specials all week on the events of 9/11/2001. I can hardly believe that it has been 7 years since it all took place. I want to encourage everyone to take a minute today and just say a prayer for all of those affected by this tragedy...the loved ones left to pick up the pieces and move on. I cannot even begin to imagine what it would be like.

Random Thoughts

I don't have any pictures of Jake this time, but I do have a snapshot of our two dogs, Duke and Dixie. They were so sweet to wait for me to come back from the mailbox. Surprsingly they were both standing still, on all fours and Dixie was not barking. Duke doesn't bark unless absolutely necessary so it wasn't unusual for him to be silent.

Does anyone else feel a tremendous sense of pride upon seeing a convoy of power trucks rolling down the interstate? This has been a common sight around the Jackson area over the past 2 or 3 days. I'm not sure if it is my love of blue collar workers...yes ladies, that's right...I don't find a man who wears a suit to work every day very appealing...or if it's just the sight of all these workers coming together for a common cause. It's very heartwarming! I'm proud to live in a country where we all pull together and help one another out.

Jake threw another interesting question at me this morning. We were just riding along when Jake says "Mama, God made all people from dust." I say "that's right." He then says with the most serious tone in his voice "I wonder what he made cars from, probably concrete." That's right baby, concrete!! I love that kid.

Jake's been doing well so far in 4K. We've made major strides in getting him out of the car in the morning. He is still extremely tired at the end of the day. This is both a blessing and a curse. It sometimes makes for a long trip home full of crying and whining about various things. Last night, he was asleep when Mark brought him in the door at 5:30. He slept through dinner, snack and bath time. We finally put him in his bed at 8 and he slept until 6:30. 13 hours of sleep does WONDERS for a 4 year old's attitude. He woke up this morning with a huge smile on his face and was very cooperative when it was time to get dressed.

Just a random update on what's been going on for the past couple of weeks...I hope to have more to write about soon!!

I Don't Want to Grow Up!!

Lately, Jake has been telling me that he does not want to grow up. He wants to stay little forever. I imagine he is probably coming to the realization that things get tougher for you the bigger, or older you get. I was putting him to bed last night and our conversation went something like this:

Jake: "I don't want to go to school tomorrow, they give me too much work to do."

Me: "Well, that's just the way life goes, you've got lots of years of work ahead of you."

Jake: "But Mama, I don't want to get bigger, and they just keep feeding me snacks! It's not fair!"

This of course made me laugh out loud and he then told me that this was not funny!

First Day of School

He just keeps getting older...Today was our first day of 4K. I had to fight back the tears as I watched my BABY walking down the sidewalk by himself. He was so excited and was so proud to be going to the door on his own, with no help from his mama. I'm full of mixed emotions...I'm so proud of him and I am so excited about this new school year but I'm also so sad to be losing my baby.

He's so adorable in that shirt and khaki shorts! I could just eat him up!

Happy Birthday!!

We recently celebrated our neice's first birthday. Isn't she a doll? She wasn't all that interested in her soooo cute cake but she did manage to make a little bit of a mess! Enjoy the pics! Happy Birthday Shelby!!

Ruby Falls...Day 3

On our final day, we traveled back up Lookout Mountain for a trip to Ruby Falls. I had been nervous about this part of our trip since before we left. When you get here, you are loaded into what appears to be a freight elevator in packs of about 15 people. You then decend about 260' into an opening in the rock. I started to get nervous on the elevator when I realized that the elevator door was glass. You get a nice view of all of the solid limestone that you are about to be UNDER. I had a little trouble breathing when we first got off the elevator but I quickly remembered the breathing techniques I was taught in childbirth classes! They help in other situations too folks!! Anyway, you go with a tourguide on a trip that is 1 mile total. .5 miles to the falls and .5 miles back (along the same path) to the elevator. Jake was truly in awe of all of the stalagmites and stalagtites in the cavern. I really believe this was his favorite part of the whole trip. We completed the mile journey and got back to the elevator where we were again loaded on with about 12 other people. This time, the elevator operator thought he would have some fun with an elevator that was mostly female. He slowed the elevator down to a turtle like pace...this caused 4 or 5 of the women (me excluded) to squeal very loudly. He then looks at them and says "don't worry, it won't take them long to get us out of here," That didn't help the situation any!! He sped the elevator back up and we made it to the top safe and sound!!

We left Chattanooga a short while later for what seemed like the longest drive ever. We made it home safe and sound and overall we had an excellent time!

This was called "Mirror Lake."
The picture does not do it justice!

The falls.

Stone teeth as Jake calls them.

See Rock City...and Throw Up in a Garbage Can!! Day 2

So, day 2 begins with us waking at about 8:30 and getting ready to head out to "See Rock City!" Mark complains of the usual stomach ache...(he always has a stomach ache when we go on vacation) I tell him to get over it and hurry up because we want to beat the crowd as well as the mid-day heat. We all load up in the car and head up Lookout Mountain. Rock City is one of those tourist attractions that everyone wants to see, yet everyone makes fun of. It's so ultra cheesy and well, tacky. It was alot of fun for Jake as he loved climbing on the rocks and running throughout the park. It was fun for the rest of us until we got to the entrance to Fairlyland Caverns...we all went in and experienced the same darkness, the same dank odor...Jake and I looked at the displays with the little gnomes in them. We were at the Hansel and Gretel display when I hear coughing off to my right. I knew it was Mark coughing since we were the only ones in the cavern. Then I think to myself "I recognize that particular cough"...at that very moment, I look over to see him ralphing in the garbage can...how nice!! He looks up at me and says "I've got to get out of here!" I was in a panic...we stood at the garbage can for a few seconds because I think he was afraid to leave it...we finally found the exit and we were thrilled to see sunlight and get some fresh air! I was very torn between feeling sorry for him and being totally angry with him...as if he could control it! Needless to say, we got out of Rock City pretty quickly and headed back to the hotel for some rest.

Jake getting ready to cross the swinging bridge

Mark and Jake trying to make it through "Fat Man Squeeze"

Where it all went downhill

After and hour or so at the hotel, Mark decided that he was okay with going to the Children's Discovery Museum. This was a really neat hands on museum for kids. Jake thoroughly enjoyed digging for dinosaur bones and checking out all of the displays in the museum. His favorite part, of course was the gift shop...oh how I just love a museum gift shop. We ended up with a relatively cheap purchase of dinosaur goo...yes, he loves the goo.

This was a really neat display on the power of water.

Jake putting together a dinosaur puzzle.

Our last stop was at the IMAX theater where we watched a 3-D movie on dolphins and whales. I'm a sucker for anything 3-D. I love to feel like the animals are right there in front of me. It took all that I had to keep from reaching out to "touch" them! That was it for day 2.

Chattanooga or Bust!! Vacation Day 1

We left town Monday morning headed to Chattanooga, TN for a little family vacation or "vay-cay-shent" as Jake calls it. The trip up wasn't too bad, until the last 10-15 minutes when Jake decided that it was time to be there...NOW! It took us exactly 6 hours, thankfully, my passengers have good sized bladders! We checked into our hotel which was right in the middle of downtown Chattanooga. Jake of course had to go check out the pool...he was ultra impressed that they had a pool and a jacuzzi!

We then headed out to the Tennessee Aquarium. The hotel boasts that it is within walking distance of the downtown attractions...well, it is, but not for a 4 year old who suddenly thinks that walking is not as fun as it sounded 2 blocks ago and its not fun for the 2 parents who have to carry a 42 pound 4 year old down the street! Regardless, we made it there, covered in sweat...did I mention that the heat index was over 100 degrees, it was.

The aquarium was nice and Jake thoroughly enjoyed it. If you ever get a chance to go to the TN Aquarium, go. It was lots of fun. Jake's favorite creatures were the pot-bellied sea horses. They looked like little old men seahorses! We had a blast listening to the things Jake would say about the animals and watching his expressions when rounding a corner and seeing another display of amazing animals. He even petted the stingrays and sharks.

We left the aquarium at closing time and headed to Sticky Fingers to have some delicious ribs. After dinner it was back to the hotel for some much needed rest!!

Jake holds our map of Chattanooga

Jake and a life-sized Pot-Bellied Seahorse

Jake "inside" one of the aquarium tanks. Notice he's knocking on the glass. Would he be a true 4 year old boy if he didn't??

One of my favorite displays, the alligators!!

The Smile Award

These are the rules:

1. The recipient must link back the the award's creator (http://www.thebabblingsofmere.blogspot.com/)

2. You must post these rules if you recieve the award.

3. You must chose 5 people to recieve the award after recieving it yourself

4. You must fit the characteristics of the recipient of the award, as posted by Mere.

5. You must post the characteristics of a recipient.

6. You must create a post sharing your win with others.

7. You must thank your giver.

Characteristics for the Smile Award:

1. Must display a cheerful attitude. (not necessarily at all times--we are all human)

2. Must love one another

3. Must make mistakes

4. Must learn from others

5. Must be a positive contributor to blog world

6. Must love life

7. Must love kids

Thanks Christy for the award!! I really appreciate that you think enough of me to give it to me!! I have decided to give the Smile award to these 5 blogging friends! If I left you out, don't be mad! I only had room for 5...I love all of ya'll!!

1. Kellye - Kellye is my inspiration in the world of blogging...you can tell from reading her blog that she is a very devoted wife and mother and is one of the most cheerful people that I know! It's hard to catch Kellye without a smile on her face! Most of the time she's probably smiling because of something silly that Chad or Hayden just did! My goofiness may be tied to some of those smiles! Love you Kellye!

2. Christy - Christy is the mother of two absolutely ADORABLE little girls! Christy and I went to school together from 1st - 12th grade and I am proud to claim her as one of my "oldest" friends...not old old...but she's been around for a LONG time. We live very close to each other and like her, I often wonder why we never see each other. I know that our kids would hit it off! Christy always has a smile on her face as well! Let's make a date sometime Christy!! Love you!

3. Holly - Holly is a friend from school as well. I've always thought Holly was a very cheery person! She has two darling little boys who would make any mother beam. Holly's life is always an adventure and she shares great stories about her daily adventures on her blog! I always love to read those good stories Holly! Keep 'em coming! Much love!!

4. Ann - Ann is also a friend from my High School days! Ann has been blessed with a very loving family and two cute kiddos!! Ann has always been good at sharing her joy with others! I know that she has to have her hands full with her adorable little girl MWC...and that handsome little guy, JDC. Thanks for sharing your stories Ann!! Much love!!

5. Lynn - Lynn is a sorority sister from my days at Mississippi State...Lynn was always smiling back then and seems to be just as happy now! Lynn is the mother of a beautiful little girl, Hannah Kate. Lynn and I have kept in touch with Facebook and MySpace and I am excited to know that she also has a blog. You've always been one of my favorites Lynn!! Keep those cute pictures coming!! Love You!

Big Boy Bed

We are now parents of an official big boy. We finally got Jake some big kid furniture after he told us that he was too long for his toddler bed. We took him to "the destination furniture store" and let him have his pick. He is so proud of his new bed as well as his new dinosaur bedding. We haven't had any major issues yet although he has asked us a couple of times if we would sleep in his bed with him! Well, that and he has asked if his little sister can sleep in his bed with him...little sister?? Maybe someday buddy!

Check out those dinosaurs!

And the Winner is....

Me!! I've officially been drawn to go alligator hunting for the 2nd year in a row!! I could not be more excited! We get to go to Pascagoula this year and search for a gator to beat my catch from last year. Mark's younger sister also got drawn this year for a different weekend, so technically, I may be going twice!! I'm going to start working on our team t-shirts! Go Team Hosford!!

I'm in Love!

The two rascals that cause all of the hair problems.


Not with the dogs...With a vacuum cleaner...I never thought I would be SO HAPPY about the purchase of a household appliance. We have had terrible luck with vacuums in our 6 years as a married couple but I do believe that bad luck has come to an end. We have found the perfect vacuum. It's a Dyson Animal. See, we have 2 large dogs who shed...A LOT!! This thing sucked up so much dog hair and dust/dirt that we didn't even know was lurking in our carpets. I hate carpet anyway but my husband insists on having it in the bedrooms...something about having something "soft" to step on when he gets out of bed...I told him we could get a small rug for him to step out on...but to no avail...anyway. I am thrilled that we finally broke down and purchased an animal. I think it is going to serve us well. Enjoy the photo of the beautiful new machine!

See all of that dirt? And...that's not all dog hair...it's excess carpet fuzz...we do clean regularly!

He Loves the Ladies!!

Somewhere in tonight's conversation, Jake mentioned to me that he likes girls...well, except for the one girl who pinched him at school. I didn't think a whole lot about it at the time, but as I was getting ready to update the blog, I decided to download pictures from Jake's digital camera. He's not the best photographer and the camera doesn't take the highest quality pictures but it caught exactly what he wanted to catch...A GIRL...IN A BATHING SUIT!! These pics were taken at my friend Jennifer's pool a couple of weeks ago. This is another friend's 7 year old little girl. At least he has good taste!!

It's About That Time!

Jake Man washing the gator.

Me and my Dad with my gator. She was 6'10".

That's right kids! The alligator hunting season is once again creeping up on us! I can't wait to get my name in the hat to possibly be drawn to hunt! I am a very girly girl but I tell you what, I love the adrenaline rush that you get from alligator hunting...you motor into a quiet spot up river and shine your light around...the number of red glowing eyes is breathtaking...I really don't know how to describe the feeling, but I certainly hope to be one of the lucky few this year! Keep your fingers crossed for us...we have quite a few family members who will be applying this year...my Mama included...so let's hope that at least one of us gets drawn.

I Wanna Be a Rock Star!

We (Jake and I) were riding in the car last night...destination Kroger. He says "Mama, look at me." I turn around to see him wearing 2 pairs of sunglasses, one Spiderman, the other HotWheels. He says "do I look like a rock star with these two sunglasses on?" As a matter of fact you do my dear!! I love that little guy!!

Sleepy Guy

This is what happens when you don't get to take a nap at school...This picture was taken at about 7 p.m. The poor child is absolutely worn out when he gets home from school now!! He can hardly hold his head up at the dinner table and often winds up asleep on the couch before bathtime!! One plus is that he is now sleeping longer on the weekends!! I really think he will adjust to the napless days pretty soon...we all had to do it, right? Please tell me that I'm not the only one who doesn't get to take a nap at work!!

I Know, I Know!

Our Hotel Room

Yes I am still alive! We've been incredibly busy lately and tonight is the first time I've been able to "force" myself to sit down and write....so....where to start. I think I shall start with our 6 year anniversary...that's right...6 wonderful years!! I have known Mark for just about all of my life and I have always...ALWAYS...had a crush on him. I never dreamed that we would get married, have a beautiful child and such a beautiful life together. I love that man with all that I am. He is a wonderful friend, husband and father. I couldn't ask for more! To celebrate our anniversary, we headed off to New Orleans on Saturday June 7th. We stopped for lunch at Middendorf's and had some wonderful fried catfish and softshell crab...that place brings back so many wonderful memories from my childhood. See, my grandparents lived to eat. It was nothing for them to come down to my parent's house, that trip alone took them an hour, and then drive us all the way to Middendorf's to eat lunch on a Saturday...that's almost 2 and a half more hours. The restaurant hasn't changed a bit over the years that I have been going there and the food is still every bit as delicious!! We finished our lunch and headed on into the big city. We stayed at the JW Marriott which comes highly recommended by me. They were super nice and the room was beautiful. We ate dinner that night at Acme Oyster House which is another one of my favorites! I had the oh so delicious chargrilled oysters!! YUMMY!! We spent the rest of the evening wandering Bourbon Street and ducking in and out of all of the local dives. Our drinking of adult beverages ended when we went to the bar in Razoo and ordered one Bud Light and a double Malibu and Diet Coke...the bartender says "$17.50"... I thought Mark was going to pass out!! I tried to tell him that the double that I ordered was like $12 or $13 and his beer was $5! Next time we think we'll bring our own cooler on wheels and drink out of that! Only problem is that my White Russian daiquiris won't keep in a cooler!

We woke on Sunday and exchanged our anniversary cards before heading off to eat beignets for breakfast. We wandered the French Market for some souvenirs and headed out of town at about 1 p.m. It was a wonderful weekend! It doesn't hurt that I absolutely LOVE New Orleans!! I don't know why I'm fascinated by the people in New Orleans (locals, not tourists). I find myself looking at people and wondering what their story is, how did they end up there...what was it like to grow up in New Orleans...what did you do during Katrina...did you stay, did you leave...did you have to suffer with the masses waiting for rescue? Most people would never want to live there but I would love it....I think.

A Morning at the Museum

Studying an exhibit

Jake with a Triceratops family...complete with babies hatching out of eggs!

We took Jake to the Natural Science Museum on Saturday morning. They are always running some sort of special exhibit. The feature now through January is dinosaurs. Anyone who knows Jake has probably heard him go on and on about every kind of dinosaur there ever was. He even knows the scientific names of many of them and can pronounce them better than I can. He loves the museum anyway but the dinosaurs were just an added bonus. They are life sized dinosaurs that move and make noise. Jake was expecting dinosaur bones...which are fascinating to him too...but got a big (scary) surprise when he walked into the exhibit room and saw the T-Rex! We had a great time exploring and talking about all of the animals at the museum. Of course, we had to stop by the gift shop on the way out....UGH....I wish they would hide museum gift shops so that we parents aren't forced to try and explain to our children why we don't want to pay $15 for a toy we could get at Wal-Mart for $5. We made it through with a $3 purchase of dinosaur "goo".

And on to a New Chapter

Jake ended his stay at his old school with the end of the year program on May 23rd. We all got to enjoy a very relaxing Memorial Day holiday before it was off to a new beginning at his new school. We are still trying to learn the ropes as parents but Jake hasn't skipped a beat. Thankfully, there are 2 kids in his class at JA that were in his class at his old school...instant friends. We've had some trouble adjusting to the fact that there are no naps when you get to 4K! When I came to pick him up on his first day, he was absolutely worn out! He wanted to know if I had his blanket in the car so he could take a nap on the way home...it has made bedtime much easier on me. So far, so good. We're looking forward to the rest of the summer and next school year at the new place....the next battle is sure to begin in August when I have to make him wear a uniform...he's very picky about his clothes. Hope he likes navy and white!!

Last Day of School

My guys

The Jake-man himself...it was a challenging hair day!

For some reason, the American part of the skit involved all of the children dressing up like farm animals...I haven't quite figured that out yet

Jake had his end of the year program at school on May 23rd. The 3 and 4 year old classes put on a little program and then we all enjoyed a pot luck lunch. Jake's class sang a song using Japanese words and also sang God Bless America. Did you know that there is a line in God Bless America that references the light from a BUG? When Jake sings the line that goes " stand beside her and guide her, through the night with the light from above "....it comes out as the light from a bug....with a whole lot of emphasis on the g in bug. He cracks me up! Anyway...I've included some pictures from the event. There weren't many good ones...it's hard to photograph kids who are constantly bouncing!