Richmond, Ferrum Style

Last weekend, we went to Richmond for Leslie's birthday party and Leslie and John's housewarming party.

Oh how I needed this!

It has been a long, hard, boring winter in Williamsburg.

It was a beautiful spring evening, with some good ole friends in a good ole town.

It really made me miss living in Richmond. I love everything about that city! The people, the atmosphere, the nightlife, the shopping, the attitude, and last but not least - Sticky Rice and Nacho Mama's.

I hadn't seen the Ferrum crew in a long time! But we picked up right where we left off! That just goes to show how our group is :)

We didn't skip a beat!

Here are some pictures from our DELIGHTFUL night!

Of course we Ferrum kids, were the last ones standing!

Jay is in there somewhere - oh wait. I see a foot!

Let's not wait so long for the next time guys!

Love you guys :) Oh and Leslie....sorry about the mess :)

"Tolfers"

Greggie Poo and I had a house full of diapers this weekend. And we loved every minute of it.

Em and the babies came down for the weekend and we had a great weekend full of family time, dirty diapers, and kisses!

Not necessarily in that particular older.

I am proud of my super mom of a sister who made the trip in the first place. Our Mom had originally planned to come with her and help her with all that comes with having two little ones. Plans changed and Mom couldn't make the trip. But this wasn't stopping Em.

On Friday night, we went over to the Soderbirds :) and had a playdate with Ms. Marin! Greggie and the Soderbirds then went to a "young" dinner club in Kingsmill, called First Fridays. No babies allowed at First Fridays, so Em and I decided to come home and I proceeded to make our OWN gourmet meal. For our appetizer we had an English favorite- Potato chips and green onion dip. Many a good stories are told over this little tub of deliciousness. After convincing ourselves not to not consume the whole bag, we moved on to our main course. Frozen chicken patties and tater tots. I have become very good at doctoring up this oldie but goodie thing I call a meal. I must admit, THEY WERE DELICIOUS! Greggie soon came home and made our final course - dessert! A brownie covered in ice cream and magic shell - yum!

What can I say, we operate a 5 star restaurant at 110. We then called it an early night. We wanted to make sure we got our beauty rest for our busy day we had the next day.

On Saturday morning we woke up early to head over to Busch Gardens. I had to pull off some veteran Busch Gardens skills in order to get super star parking. And did we ever!

Stick with me kid; I'll show you the ropes.

It was a beautiful day! It was so cute to watch "Serious" Sammy Bird take it all in. He was not sure what to think of the real life sized Sesame Street characters.

And come to think of it, I didn't know what to think either. We'll have to compare notes Sam.

After we were all sore from pushing the double stroller around, we decided to pack up and head home. I have never seen a 2 year old excited to leave Busch Gardens.

But he had bigger and better things on his mind.

"TOLFERS!"

We told him after he woke up from his nap, he could watch the golfers play behind the house. So right on cue, he woke up from his nap, yelled out for his "Momma" and then quickly followed it, with "Tolfers".

Well hello Mr. Memory.

Nice to meet you.

Sammy Bird watched the golfers the rest of the afternoon. He would wait for them to make it to the green, watch them for a little bit, run upstairs to our bedroom to get the better view, and high five Bird Dog on the way up.

After a few hours of doing this, he grew tired and wanted to play golf himself!

"Tub" (Club) he kept saying. Em and I kept telling him that he had to wait until the golfers were done for the day.

I don't think he liked our answer.

Sam then went to the source where he knew he would get the answer he wanted.

Greggie!

Greggie gave him his "tub" and told him he had to play with it out front. Sam proceeded to shove 100 golf balls out the doggie door, and away he went.

With every good golfer though, one would get bored with the "putting green" and would soon want the real course.

That would go for this 2 year old prodigy as well. Sam kept begging us to go outside (out back) and play "tolf". Em and I had so much to do for our cookout that night, that we couldn't go with him. Plus, there were still golfers on the course.

Kev Fed, I mean Greggie, made up a little white lie in hopes that he would forget about golf and become occupied with something else. Greggie told him that when Bill and Brenda get here, then we can go outside. A few hours passed, and our guest started to arrive, included in this; Bill and Brenda(my in-laws). Sam magically appeared at Bill's pant leg and gave it a little tug. Then "tolf" and "outside" came racing out of his mouth.

When he asked this time, he actually got what he wanted. We all went out back to watch the little "tolfer" himself.

To my pleasant surprise, he was actually good. Em dropped several balls on the green and let him swing away. Not only did he make contact with the ball, he even made it in the hole! After everyone picked up their jaw off of the floor, we just kept feeding him golf balls all evening. Sammy was a dead ringer!

He may have only just learned how to say my name correctly, but the boy can play golf.

Our little "tolfer" is still the talk of the town on Hole 6!

Sammy, I would just like for you to remember your auntie when you win the Masters. By the way, I think you look good in green.

After a yummy dinner, we all visited and laughed the rest of the night!

On Sunday Em needed her Kohl's fix and we did a little shopping - with the kids! Towards the end of the shopping trip, Sammy started to gain tired of bargain hunting. Is he really related to us? He was ready to go and he let us all know it. Em promised that if he was a good boy for just a little longer, that we would leave soon and he could go home and watch the "tolfers".

He was silent the rest of our shopping trip.

Oh she's that good people.

We had such a great weekend! The weekend flew by so fast, that I didn't even get one picture!

After Em and the babes left, I could still see their presence in the house though.

I moved my coffee table to vacuum. This is what I found. Yeap. Sammy Bird was here.

It's a good thing he's so cute, because NOBODY gets in the way of me and my coffee.

"Tolf" ball, Maime's "toffee", Sam do it.

Mind you, I only found the golf ball half way through.

I take my coffee with cream, sugar, and a golf ball please.

Bird Dog barely made it through her dog door before passing out. Sammy Bird gave her a run for her money this weekend.

"Oh Baggie"

I miss you guys already! come back soon.

The "Tolfers" miss you cheering for them Sam!

The Stork has delieved yet again

My lips are so chapped from kissin' on that new little baby of mine.

I am so excited to announce that Charlotte 'Charley' Jane was born on March 9th! She was 8lb 3oz, 21 inches long and 100% adorable. Huh. Funny. Those were my same stats when I was born.

I had quite the little adventure when I received the call that Em Bird was in labor. My work was awesome enough to let me take several days off to help the new little bundle get acclimated to her new parents. It's just what aunts do. I packed up my car and hit the road. Before I knew it, I was in Roanoke. Em bird was getting her epidural when I arrived at the hospital, so Mom and I grabbed lunch before I went up to her room.

Our conversation at the table went a little like this.

"How fast were you going? I hope you weren't speeding"

"No Mom, I wasn't speeding"

"Is the salad good?"

"Yeah, Mama. It's really good actually. Thanks for lunch. Work is going pretty good.... Greg and I went to this really fun place this weekend...Let me tell you about it...and...."

Interruption from Jo Bird.

"You know Emily's gonna have that baby by the time I get back up there"

Alright. Guess I'm done with my salad.

We middle children can never catch a break.

Luckily, we made it back up to the room before EmBird had that baby. We all sat in the room visiting and laughing at Em all doped up. Oh, and seeing way too much of any one person's body parts. These doctors mean business when it comes to checking dilation.

They have no time to warn the weak.

Charley scared us a couple of times. Her heart rate would drop, then race back up to normal, then drop again. Each time that would happen, Em would have to immediately switch to either her left or right side in hopes of regaining normalcy. I'm not going to lie, it was kinda funny seeing her pregnant self flop around on the bed like a fish out of water. But not funny at the time I mean? I knew there was a reason I am not in the medical field.

At one point in time Em felt a little draft and repositioned the covers around her. But wait. Oh, her water broke. Glad to see the epidural doing it's job.

When Sir Speedy came in to check Em, he had an uneasy look on his face. He quickly looked around the room to make sure everything was set out and ready to go. I looked at the cutie of a nurse and she had the same look on her face. I quickly gathered my things, threw up my gangsta peace sign and hit the road. I knew the time was close and I wanted to get out of there while the gettin' was good.

I was in the waiting room when Mom came to get me. Charley was once again saying SYKE.

BACK to her room I went. Only this time, I wasn't in there long. The Dowdy's showed up with my little man, so I went to relieve them so they could visit with Em before the stork came. Also, Em didn't want Sam to see her with wires, oxygen, and the such, so I stayed with him in the waiting room. Mommy. Scary.

It was soon go time. Everyone went back out to the waiting room. We had the easy part of waiting, while Em was takin' care of all the hard stuff. Before I knew it, Buddy Bird was in the waiting room announcing the arrival of his little girl.

When I first held Charley I realized she was perfect. I held her up and in my Indian chief voice (feather, not dot) and said "I shall call you Charley Bird". And that was that.

Our other little princess.

Oh the trouble we three are going to get into.

Sorry Charley, this is now your shadow.

I love little cross eyed newborns

Cause we're best friends

Makin sure that everything is there

Mommy make up


My first attempt at getting us all together. Sammy Bird didn't get the memo.

I think I look pretty good with a baby in my arms.

I'm such a bear

Oh my holy gracious.

My alarm clock just went off.

I overslept and missed the whole month of February.

What happened?

Did I miss anything?

Is Baby Charley here yet?

Did Dylan Bird have a birthday?

Did Sammy Bird turn 2 already?

Did Danny Bird have her 16th birthday? I mean 6th?

It snowed in Williamsburg?

That really happened on The Bachelor?

There is a blind guy, a new judge and a girl whose real name is Lil Rounds, on American Idol?

What? That wasn't a dream? Obama really is our new President?

What is the sam hell is going on here?

I clearly hibernated way too long. So much to catch up on....

Shoe Heaven

What you are about to read is the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help me God.

This pair of shoes was $3.48. Not lying.

How cute are these?

This pair was $2.48!

Target, I heart you.

This pair was $3.48. I know. I know. I looked for my size.

(You can't really see it in the pic, but they are pink. Hello color.)


This pair was something like $2.78.

I don't know why, but the new Target by my house had a MAJOR shoe sale. And I was glad to do my part to stimulate the economy. I didn't know what size Charley would be vs. the time of year, but this deal was too good to pass up.

She may be a little Eskimo in the middle of July, but she WILL be the cutest little Eskimo in the middle of July.

Also, the little sneakers may be too small, so Sammy bird may be passing those along to his BFF Jackson.

Kelly, if Em Bird has not passed along these to you yet, just wait my friend.

Jackson's 1st birthday is coming up and we Englishes are re-gifters.

Its just what we do.

Just act surprised.

And just when you thought I was done with the shoe sale at Target, out pops these little pics.

Your eyes are not deceiving you. The sneakers match.

If Sammy Bird and Dyl Bird had a song playing everytime they see each other it would be "So Happy Together"

I hear it playing in my head while I watch them interacting with one another.

Not really.

I just made that up.

They go together like peas and carrots.

Both the sneakers and my baby boys.



Last. But certainly not least. My little Danny Bird. Aka Squirt.

Chocolate ballet flats for under $4. Period.

Target, you complete me.

Okay...so this is why....

This is why I haven't been blogging.


My house has been in complete shambles.
Between Christmas traveling, New Year's Eve house guests, and this remodeling project, I've been pretty darn busy.

Oh, and because our kitchen AND dining room is piled in our living room, I couldn't find the laptop.

I have found it now, thus, let the party continue.

Our floors are finally finished! Thank you Baby Jesus. The remodeling process was a messy one, but one that was well worth the wait.

Dust, noise, and grout stains everywhere. Oh my!

Here is the finished product! Minus a little clean up on the base boards.

They look great!


So now that the floors are all said and done, I wanted to catch you up on, ummm, euhhh, Christmas?

Christmas in January is the cool thing to do.

This year we went BIG for the Christmas tree. I'm talking 'National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation' big.

As part of the Junior Women's club, we won a silent auction for a "cut your own Christmas tree".

Boy, was Greggie excited!

In all actuality he really got into it and we had a fun afternoon of picking out our tree, tape measure and all.

In our living room we have high ceilings, so before we left, we measured twice to cut once.

Here she is in all of her glory!

It's a 6 1/2 foot truck bed friends.

Once we had it decorated....


Speaking of 'Christmas Vacation', we had a bird's nest in our tree! Don't worry, I put one of Grandma's fake birds in there to make the nest feel useful.

I'm serious 'bout that Clark.


Our mantle.

And that was basically it. I went lite this year because I knew it would be a construction zone at 110. Two inches of dust and Christmas decorations do not mix with me or with Santa. You just don't mess with the fat man.

Below is a picture of the English girls the day after Christmas. We know where the massage chair hook up is. What can I say, 7am and annoying Target shoppers can catch up with you.
I knew life was better at Macy's.

p.s. I sooo totally got Danny Bird the pink hat she is wearing. You can wait until the next time you see me to tell me how cute she is!

This picture below just makes me smile. Who knew mattress shopping could be so fun for a 22 month old? Coke, popcorn, carousel rides, stuffed animals and a really fast ride in a monster stroller thingy from your Unkie in a camo hat.
Top that Brittany.

Here's to going Green

Well.
For several decades now, Greggie Poo and I, have heard numerous accounts of how our environment is effected by how we humans treat it.

And they all have gone in one ear and out the other.

Maybe its the invincible attitude that our generation has, but I have always thought someone else would take care of it. Although I didn't know who, I just assumed someone would. Anyone.

And while several advancements have taken place in the world towards the reversal of the damage we have done, there is still so much we humans can do.

Therefore, as of 2009, the Storcks are now recycling. That's right folks. We are jumping on that bandwagon.

Our New Year's resolution is to start recycling and to be mindful of our waste.

Cue the patriotic music. (Mom, please stay seated)

So here's to going Green.

We are rinsing out milk jugs, crushing drink cans, and de-labeling spaghetti jars. We are taking this very seriously people.

Even Bird Dog is climbing aboard the wagon. She has decided to donate her poop poos to the local greenhouse, so they may add it to their fertilizer. So something stinky, can add nutrients to the soil and help grow a beautiful flower.

EWWW. Gross!

Who do you think we are?! Crazy hippie people living in a tree house over in California?

Baby steps people. Baby steps.

Let's just start with the basics please.
Paper, aluminum, glass, and plastic.
No poop.

So what was your New Year's Resolution?

Recycling? Dieting? Volunteer more? Make love, not war? Read more?

I'll be digging through my trash while I wait for your responses.

Happy 2009!