From A to Zed?!?

Do me a favor y'all... sing the Alphabet Song. Go ahead. Sing it.

If it makes you feel any better, I'll sing it with you.

Ready. Set. Go!

A-B-C-D-E-F-G... H-I-J-K-LMNOP... Q-R-S... T-U-V... W-X... Y-Zed.

Ha! Gotcha! You heard me, I said "Zed". Betcha didn't see that coming, now did ya?!

Where is this coming from, you ask? Well... we went to Orientation last Thursday night for Junior Kindergarten. Yes, my little sweetpea will be starting full-day, lunchbox and backpack, flashcards and library cards, mommy-can't-walk-her-inside-the-classroom, big-kid-school JUNIOR KINDERGARTEN in September. September! Three months from now. Did I mention that it's in a big kid school where she'll be the littlest kid? And did you hear the part where they told me I was forbidden from dropping her off inside the classroom, that I just have to leave her at the curb with one of the aides?! September. Three months. My baby. Real school. Where did the time go?!

I digress.

As I was saying, we were at Orientation last week. One of the dads asked a teacher for clarification on the last letter of the alphabet.

Excuse me? Clarification? It's the freakin' alphabet... it's the same everywhere.

WRONG!

The answer I heard come out of that teacher's mouth was "well, Americans say Z but Canadians say Zed. It's Zed. Always Zed." And that's the point where I packed up Savannah's stuff, grabbed her by the wrist, and made a run for the nearest exit! Oh, I kid. We didn't really run away... instead I raised my hand and asked if it would be okay for Savannah to say "Z" because we ARE American.

Seriously. I did.

Orientation was setup in four different rotations. In the first rotation, we learned about the school's reading program. Impressive. Really impressive. I think I like the Canadian school system. The second rotation was play-doh fun. It also happens to be the rotation where the letter "Zed" first made its appearance. Strike One against the grand ole Canadian school system! The third rotation was a cut-and-paste center, where Savannah absolutely amazed me by writing her name. Y'all, she WROTE her name. We've been trying to draw the letter S for months, to no avail... but she learned. And she's proud. And let me tell ya, that child has one LONG name. The fourth and final rotation was an alphabet center. This station was particularly enjoyable because we got to meet Savannah's JK teacher... the hyperactive, child-loving, crazy but passionate Mrs H that will shape our little one's first year in "real" school. This is also the station where I decided I will never again sing the Alphabet Song...

Y'all, "Zed" does not rhyme with "Vee"... it just doesn't. And the Alphabet Song doesn't sound right when it doesn't rhyme... it just doesn't. And I can't bring myself to sing "X-Y-Zed"... I just can't. By those little pre-JK kids did it. Every single one of them sang "X-Y-Zed" instead of "X-Y-Z", even my sweet Savannah. And a cried a little tear.

Apparently this is just the beginning of the confusion for my sweet little S. First it's "Zed". Then it's that stinkin' extra "U" in words like "colour" and "favourite". Next it will be "Oh Canada" instead of the "Star Spangled Banner". Dare I mention that she's decided she wants a brown and white kitty named "Vlinter"... except we live in Canada, so it will have to be "Vlintre"?! Someone rescue my poor multi-national child!!

M-Train!!

I did it and I'm not ashamed. :) My fellow Georgia Tech alums are likely the only ones that will understand, but this video is freakin' hilarious!!

P.S.

I saw this dress at Ann Taylor in Vegas this week and I. Must. Have. It. Period. The end. No questions asked.

However, since the fashion goddesses at Ann Taylor have yet to break ground in Canada, it looks like I have to wait until we're in Michigan in two weeks... because I don't do online purchasing of clothes. Sorry Charlie. Must try on first. So I will wait. And want. And drool over this:



And if that isn't as cute on me as it is on this sweet little model (which is likely to be the case), the maybe I'll buy this. Or this. Or this. Or this. Or this. Or this. Or maybe all of them! Rest assured, I will not leave Michigan empty-handed.

I told you I have an addiction...

Fashion Fiesta!!

So I don't usually do these little Mr Linky, bloggy tour things. I just don't. It's not my M.O. But this time, I have something to say...

Hi. I'm Aleesha. And I'm addicted to clothes. It's true. And I have pictures to prove it. If I pass an Ann Taylor or H&M, I break out in hives if I don't go in. No lie. I MUST have it.

Big Mama wanted to know what we all wear on a daily basis... what's our uniform... what piece of clothing we can't live without.

This is my closet. Just for clarification, I'm supposed to share it with Todd. And I do... he gets 1/5 and I get the rest... that's fair, right?! :)

What do I wear? Two words: Black pants. They're my staple. And while I'm sure people think I never do any laundry, I really do own enough pairs of black pants to go the entire week without doing laundry. That's just sad.

I wear them with cute little short-sleeved shirts, ya know, in the 4 months out of the year where there's not snow on the ground...

I wear them with 3/4-sleeve shirts when it's supposed to be Spring but really isn't...

I wear them with sweaters and hoodies in the winter; i.e. October - May. And I own more hoodies than any warm-blooded gal from Georgia should!

But I don't just wear black pants. The Southern part of me loves skirts. Wait, that's not the Southern part of me... that's the SHORT part of me. I love skirts because I don't have to hem them. Can someone please explain to me how it's possible to be 5'4 and still have to hem petite pants?! So skirts it is! And I get a lot of funny looks because I wear skirts even in the winter, with 184 inches of snow on the ground. Look at these... can you picture how cute they are with tights and tall boots?!

I tried to see if I could figure our a way to take a picture of all of my skirts, but I couldn't do it. Y'all, I own 29 skirts. TWENTY-NINE. I just counted. Twice. Because I didn't believe myself. I have purchased nearly all 29 of those skirts in the last 18 months. Oops.

If I'm not at work and it is again sometime in the October-to-May-this-winter-will-never-end timeframe, then I'm likely wearing this exact outfit. It's yoga pants and the world's softest hoodie. Oh, and did y'all know that you can buy Yoga Pants at Ann Taylor?! You can. I swear. I did it. And now I proudly wear them every where. Grocery store. Wal-Mart. Walking the dog. On a flight cross-country with my boss. With no makeup. And a ponytail. Classic.

And shoes, we mustn't forget the shoes! This is my shoe closet. It's one of the three closets in the house that stores my shoes. It's a difficult decision every morning, it really is. I'm in love with ballet flats. I know, I know... there's some rule out there about little short people like me not wearing ballet flats, but I say phooey to that. They're comfy. And cute. And they come in such fabulous patterns!

So that's my closet... err, closetS! And that's my wardrobe. Nothing terribly thrilling. But cute. And comfy. And very interchangeable.

One more note: I hate jeans. I despise them. They are of the devil. I'm too short. And too curvy. And I refuse to get jeans hemmed. But I do own two pairs. And on the rare occassion of all my yoga pants being in laundry, you might just spot me wearing this:

Look at that concentration! And yes, it's jeans. And a hoodie. And curly hair because it's raining. And bare feet because... well, I know it's cold out, but my little tattoo hasn't healed yet.

Happy Fashioning!!

"Momsense"

This is absolutely hilarious!!

Fat?!

This is the conversation that was heard at our dinner table tonight:

Mommy: I feel fat.
Kiddo: I'm fat.
Daddy: Well, if you two are fat...
Kiddo: (interrupting) Daddy, you're the fatest. You're the SO hugest.
Daddy: Am I the...
Kiddo: (interrupting again) Daddy, you're the so hugest in the whole wide world.

Yes, I almost fell out of my chair. Oh that kiddo!!

I need an intervention!

Do you think there's a 12-step program for an addiction like mine?!?

I think the monogrammed cookie was the last straw...

... or maybe it was the multi-colored flower...

... or the M&M duck...

... or the tulips on the house, because a plain house wasn't enough...

Clearly, I have too much free time on my hands. And this needs to stop. Anyone want a cookie??!