Are you ready for some (Fantasy) Football?!

And so the season begins. Last night Sam had his first fantasy football draft of the year. I think he is playing in two leagues this year, so our Direct TV Sunday Ticket should be put to good use as he flips back and forth, checking on the progress of his players. Yes, he will also have his laptop (sometimes TWO laptops) set up on the end tables in the living room while he watches the games. You've got to stay on top of those players, or they will start to get slack!
I'm sure we will have many updates on the teams this year, so I decided not to stick around for the draft last night. His second draft is on Wednesday, and he will be gone, so I have escaped that oen as well - Whew!

Mail Time

Susie got a package in the mail today, and inside she found a soft and fuzzy bathrobe. She took off the tag immediately and brought it to me so I could help her put it on - hood and all. Thanks Aunt Kathi, Uncle John and Jordan!

But she can't even hold up her bookbag

That's right folks, Susie started school today. She is in a two morning a week program at a Christian preschool in town. It is the same one Jimmy went to when he was two. The cut off in South Carolina is September 1, so Susie just sneaked in with two weeks to spare. She is the second youngest and one of only two girls in the class, but she has a bigger brother and a stubborn personality, so I know she'll do fine.
This morning she saw the basket of clean clothes and chose her "doggie" t-shirt to wear. She also wore her "school shoes" (sneakers), but only because Jimmy and I wore sneakers too. And as we headed out the door on this overcast, rainy morning, she decided she needed her sunglasses, and she wore them most of the morning according to the teachers.
When Jimmy and I dropped her off she walked straight into the classroom, only stopping for a second when I asked her if I got a kiss. Then she was off, with her sunglasses and all, to the "baby" corner of the room to push the baby in the stroller.
At pick-up time she gave me a big smile when she got in the car, and happily climbed in. She didn't have much to say on the way home, just lots of smiles and squeals. Ms Leigh said that she had a good day and gave Susie a big kiss on the cheek before she closed the car door. Jimmy and I were planning on going swimming this morning, but the weather didn't cooperate (thanks, Fay), so we ran some errands instead. It was a boring morning, but we got a lot done that we wouldn't have been able to do with Susie in tow (even though we missed her).

Alpha Course... just do it!

Last spring I took a course at our church called the Alpha Course. It is a 10 week course in exploring Christianity. Our family has become more involved in our church and their activities, and I felt like a "basic" course in Christianity would be a good thing for me to feel more comfortable with the church stuff. I really enjoyed the class itself, and the small group discussions were very relaxed and open, so I felt comfortable enough to ask what may be considered "dumb" questions.
Skip ahead to this week... the co-leader of Alpha (at our church) called and asked if I could be at the church at noon on Wednesday for a minute or two. I was very curious and a little apprehensive, but I said yes, that's possible. Well, it turns out they were making a short film (very short) to be shown before Sunday's sermon. He wanted me to be one of the people to answer the question "what do you think of Alpha".
So after Susie's "Meet the Teacher", we drove the two blocks to our church and I (along with three others) gave my little spiel. I am a big believer in Alpha, I think that everyone can get something out of it, whether you already have a great relationship with the Lord or if you are really just wondering what all the fuss is about, whether you are an athiest or if you are a devout Catholic or Presbyterian who has always done what was expected, but didn't really carry it past Sunday morning. So I have told many people, from close friends to almost strangers that they should check it out. Oh yeah, the best part is that it's free! Our church just asks for a donation to pay for the food they serve (you eat a homecooked meal before each session).
If you want more info, you can go to the website. http://www.alpha.org/. You can also find a course close to you. I think there are 3 or 4 churches in Summerville that offer it two times a year.

Bouquet of sharpened pencils

Oh, the joys of fall! While it would be easier to get into the mood if the weather were a little more crisp, we spent the better part of the day shopping for school supplies. It took over two hours and three stores (plus a grocery store for dinner supplies)... and we are only shopping for preschool!!!
School supply shopping always makes me think of that scene in "You've Got Mail" when they talk about how great fall is and bouquets of sharpened pencils - I'm not sure of the exact quote. Ironically, the hardest thing for us to find today were the pencils... of course, they weren't normal yellow #2 pencils, but Jimmy's list included "2 Kindergarten Pencils (flat)"... WHAT??? I never realized that a degree in early childhood education was a pre-req for raising kids past the age of 3. I do pretty well when I have to decide which diaper creme or sunscreen will do the best job while using the least amount of chemicals on my kids' skin, but I had no idea what a Kindergarten Pencil (flat) was until today. Even now, I wonder if it's a typo, and it was supposed to say "Kindergarten Pencils (fat)". Doesn't that make more sense? Anyway, the third store of the day was a teacher supply store - it's called Education Station and it's the type of store that is stocked with alphabet posters and Melissa and Doug toys. I asked the knowledgable former teachers at the counter and they knew exactly what I was looking for. But there was still one more choice to make - eraser or no eraser? Now, to a layperson Mommy, it seems logical that you would want an eraser close by (i.e. on the end of your writing utencil), but now that I've googled the "Finger fitter pencil", I see that no eraser is recommended to keep kids from being preoccupated with correcting their mistakes. So for all my effort, I still may have fallen a bit short. Ah well, Jimmy doesn't start preschool for another 2 weeks, so I have time to exchange them.

I can't believe she's TWO already!

So on August 11 Susie turned two years old. She seemed to immediately get older and more mature, while (miraculously) acting less like a "terrible two" - at least for a week or so. We celebrated her birthday this weekend with some friends and family. Pop and Gramma came to visit from Colorado and Susie seemed to really enjoy her party, even if she didn't really get what the fuss was all about.


Susie was a little in awe of her cake, at least the sight of it. She wasn't so impressed by the taste, as she only ate enough frosting to die her mouth black.

I don't mean to brag, but this is one mommy thing I do fairly well... I have managed to make special cakes for all of the kids' birthdays. Susie has been on a Minnie and Mickey kick lately so there was no question about what theme her party should have.

Susie loves having her nails painted. She even sat still so I could do her toes in bright red for her party. But when I took a picture to show them off, her toenails got camera shy.

Susie had her two year checkup on her birthday - and the poor kid had to have a shot. Bad mommy, scheduling like that. She was a trooper though, she cried a little for the shot and screamed bloody murder when they put a band aid on her thigh - this kid does NOT like band aids. After we removed the band aid, they gave her a special necklace since she had to have a shot on her birthday and she was fine. She is in the 90th percentile for height and head size, while 50th for weight. So she isn't as skinny as she looks, she's just tall... very, very tall. 35.75 inches, which is just a quarter of an inch shorter than Jimmy was at two... so she is very, very tall... yes, Mommy is still adjusting to the idea of being the shortest in the family

And so we begin...

After a long break from updating our friends and family on the "SC Brubakers", I have been inspired to begin again. For the first time since my sister-in-law set up her blog (sorry Laura!), we logged on this weekend and I decided it was time to rejoin the land of the 'net. There is just so much that has happened since I updated our old family website (which is about to expire in a few days). I don't think there is even a mention of our little Susie on that old site - and that just isn't right! So I will try to fill in some of the gaps as we go along, but my main focus will be on the present. It seems like I can retroactively date posts, so anything before August 18, 08 is an attempt at catching up, while (logically) anything after August 18, 08 is a new update on us.