I'll admit it...the well has run dry this past week for posts. I feel like we've been busy, but I haven't taken many pictures so I'm thinking that's why I feel like I don't have anything too exciting to share. BUT, just when I thought another day would pass without a new post, I came across all my past Christmas cards while cleaning out my photo drawer. Hey, this may not be the most exciting post for you guys (sorry:), but it was fun for me to see how our little family has changed over the years.

2001 The year we got married. We obviously used a picture from our wedding to remind everyone to send us a wedding gift if they hadn't already done so.

2002 This picture was taken in August of 2002 on our anniversary trip we took to NYC. I wanted everyone to think we were the newlyweds who traveled the world...basking in love. Oh, one other thing about this card and it bothers me to this day...I put an apostrophe in Clardys and it shouldn't be there - isn't that right, Shari?
2003 I must admit that no Clardy Christmas card went out that year. I had every intention of taking a picture of us with me being very pregnant, but Max decided to shake things up a little bit. His due date wasn't until February 2004, but he arrived in November of 2003. The below picture was taken by one of the NICU nurses and I really was going to use it on a Christmas card, but it just never happened. But, let's just pretend that it did, okay? (Melissa, does the blanket look familiar? I lined Max's hospital crib with that so I knew I had to get the same one for Mr. Will...it obviously brings good luck. :)
2004 This picture was one of those where you wait until the last minute and then you sit on your sister's hearth and she takes 100 pictures trying to find one good one. But, I will say that I could eat Max up in this picture...he had just turned a year and was the sweetest child!
2005 Well, as you can see it didn't go out until January of 2006 and it was a Happy New Year card. Can you tell someone was a little behind that year? The picture was taken at Max's 2nd birthday party.
2006 We actually had a professional photographer take family pictures of us in November of that year so we used one of those. She also took some great photos of Max that are still some of my absolute favorites.
2007 Yes, this was another year that I really didn't have anything planned so we used a picture we took from the Greenville Christmas parade and then I threw in a few others of Max.
2008 ???????

Oh, I just had to show this picture since it's that time of year again...election time. This picture was taken almost exactly 4 years ago. How cute is that little boy? I'm not lying, I could have eaten this child up when he was this age!

******My brother-in-law (better known as FBIL) just sent me the below picture with this email...

"I enjoyed going down memory lane with your blog earlier today and it inspired me to pull out an old Christmas card from your single days...My, how you have changed since you got married."

Yes, my FBIL is a Texas redneck...no denying it.

My Fall Swap gifts arrived today and boy was I excited to see the box sitting by my garage door when I got home today (click here to read what it's all about)! My friend, Dolly, was the lucky person who drew my name...it turns out that I was the lucky one!

DRUM ROLL PLEASE.......
She made me a personalized card...
...and even wrote me a personalized poem!!! Everyone...may I present to you F A L L!!!For F I got the coolest bath leaves...yes, bath leaves!! They dissolve in the water...how cool is that? A...now who can't use some pumpkin antibacterial soap??? I LOVE this stuff! L...is for LOVE this pillow! I'm just going to believe Dolly made this pillow for me (but I'm wondering where's the monogram?). So cute! L...lip smackin' good latte!! Yep, that's right ladies (and gents if there are any out there)...a gift card to Starbucks to feast on a creamy latte. Anyone want to join me? AND I got a bonus gift...some goodies for Max which included a bag of candy corn (which I can eat by the handful thank you very much)!Max says THUMBS UP Dolly!!!! Ahhh...Max loves FALL SWAP!!!
Thank you, thank you, thank you Dolly! It made my day and was so much fun! Also, big shout out to my sweet friend Denise who put this thing all together...she's my hero (in more ways than one:)!!!

Oh, by the way, I was given Sara's name for Fall Swap and I will be mailing her goodies tomorrow. I'm hoping she'll get them in a few days!

No, I'm not talking about how Max shoves his finger up his nose every 10 minutes...I'm talking about lots of dirt with lots of construction equipment that kids get to ride on. We went on Saturday morning and Max got to drive a big digger (better known as an excavator) and ride in the back of a dump truck - dreams do come true! If you ask Max what he wants to be when he grows up he will vacillate between a firefighter and a digger operator...maybe this gave him a taste of the latter and we can move on to bigger and better things.

We waited in line for an hour to ride the digger...not my favorite part of the day.Brady, Clay, and MaxNice underwear shot on the digger operator, huh?Clay's turn!Cute picture of Clay on the fire truck.My sister, Andrea, was taking pictures and she's obviously had some training on taking interesting blog pics. She managed to get a picture of the cute couple and, if you look closely, a great set of roll bangs on the girl in the background. Way to go, sis!She even managed to get a picture of me coming out of a port-o-potty...check out how my nose is turned up from total disgust!Some lovely tattoos to end the day.
Changing subjects here, I just finished watching Dancing with the Stars and my favorite is......Warren Sapp! Yes, wasn't expecting it, but he was so into it and so fun to watch on the dance floor. My least favorite was probably Susan Lucci...she needs to go eat a few cheeseburgers and then get back to me.

Each week Max's class learns all about a letter in the alphabet and this week the letter is B. Well, Max was asked to bring a snack tomorrow that starts with B so we thought long and hard and came up with something very original...brownies! Tonight we opened up a box of brownie mix (that I bought for .18 cents several weeks ago thanks to Ingles having them on sale and me doubling my coupon - had to throw that in), added some additional chocolate chips and whipped up some good brownies. Might I also add that I had a "1st" tonight...I did not lick one iota of brownie mix off the spoon or the bowl...but MAX DID!

Whatcha lookin' at?MmmmmmmBetter use both hands for this bite!Do I have anything on my face?We ordered some books through Max's school and we got them today...let's just say they are a HIT! We got a set of books about trucks and machines and then another set of Curious George books. Don sat down with Max tonight for a long time and read to him and helped him sound out all the words. Max does great with this...won't be long until he can read a People magazine with me!I forgot to mention that Max was actually sick and stayed home from school on Tuesday and Wednesday. Does he look pitiful or what? :( Don has now caught the bug and is feeling pretty crummy tonight too.
Well, I'm off to bed...I was up, wide awake, at 3:30 this morning and finally went downstairs about 4:00 to watch some TV. Let's just say that I'm one tired (but happy) mama! :)

Our laptop is on its last leg and we've decided it's time to buy a new one. I'm really surprised my husband has agreed to this because it just means me spending more time on a new computer figuring out all the cool things it can do (the above cartoon should be reversed...me with the laptop and Don wondering why I don't smile and laugh at him like I do when I check all my peep's blogs). But, I'm not going to ask questions or bring it up more than it needs to be.

Do you have a laptop that you love or hate? Any brands I should stay away from? I've heard some good things about HP's...anyone else? If I end up getting the computer you recommend then I'll donate $100 to the buying of all the software my new computer will need! :)


Okay, this has nothing to do with laptops, but I was so excited that I had to share. I got my first item for FREE at BI-LO this morning! Now, this may not be a big deal to many people, but I've recently gotten into couponing and this was my first freebie...yea! So what if it's a package of instant potatoes...it's something we'll use and again it was FREE! The potatoes were on sale for .80 and I had a .40 coupon that was doubled - I'm not good at math but I'm pretty sure the total came to a big fat ZERO! I bought 15 items this morning, used 12 coupons of which 10 were doubled. I only bought 2 things that were not on sale so almost everything else was on sale AND I had a coupon - the key to successful couponing I might add. I just wish we had a Harris Teeter here...word on the street is they're having triple coupons this weekend.

Oh wait, this does tie into me getting a new laptop...my current laptop won't connect to my printer so I can't print off any coupons and there are some good ones out there on the internet. Maybe that's why Don gave me the okay to get a new one??? :)

...and in the process, cut his eye. Poor thing.

On Sunday mornings, Don usually drops off Max and myself at the door and then parks the car. Well, Max unbuckled and stood up in the car before we got to the door and when the car moved he fell down between the seats. What is it about Sunday mornings being so crazy sometimes?I caught him in the middle of a sneeze - something he's been doing all day which means he's getting sick. I started having a sore throat/headache yesterday so it seems like we will have a cold at the same time. But, you know what, that's what happens when you have a child in school, right?


I just read this post again and I'm sure sounding like a Debbie Downer in it! Wow - sorry for that...life really isn't that bad in the Clardy house today! :)

What a fun morning and afternoon!

Three of my friends from growing up came over for some coffee talk this morning and boy did we talk! We all went to Southside Christian School together from kindergarten up until 8th grade which is when I moved to Texas. I go to church with one of the girls, Alison, and have seen Rachel in the past year or so, but I haven't seen Sandy in probably close to 20 years...how crazy is that? But, it was like no time had passed since 8th grade...hmmmm, I wonder if it's because we acted and talked like 8th graders this morning! Anyway, it was fun and I can't wait to do it again!

Here they are...Alison, Sandy and RachelHere's Rachel reflecting on one of our catechisms from Bible class.Sandy and I were the photographers today.Alison saying something witty I'm sure!Check out Sandy's little girl, Skye...GORGEOUS!
After I picked up Max from school we headed over to Jason's Deli to meet my friend, Tracy. I worked with Tracy for several years before I had Max. Can you say N-U-T??? Yes, Tracy is a bona fide nut...in a good way...and always has the most interesting stories about her family. :) Check out this post to see Tracy and her sweet little girl, Gailey.

I meant to post these earlier, but my dad pretty much finished the tree house in their back yard. Here's Max checking out his new living space. Well, Mr. Clardy finally comes home tonight after 10 days...hmm, I hope I remember what he looks like. Max and I are heading to the airport in a little bit to pick him up and we are both really excited about him coming home....especially Max since they get to go eat doughnuts tomorrow morning!