Musical Chairs-ghetto style

On Saturday I cleaned for 8 hours straight. This might sound not abnormal to some people, but it is very abnormal for me. I was nauseous with the smell of bleach by the end of the day. Our house is going on the market on Thursday and everything has to be in tip top shape. The windows are clear, the kitchen is now yellow, the toilet has a new seat...man someone is going to walk into the house and really dig it. But thank god it was not on the market this week with visitors on Saturday afternoon. What seemed at first like a great kids birthday party across the street took an interesting twist. I drove to go and get the painters and myself some lunch and in the alley was a huge blowup water slide where kids were having a blast! There was ribbons and balloons and pin the tale on the donkey all over the neighbors yard with kids running everywhere. What a great city birthday party. Barret and I started to work in the yard a little bit and started hearing some music coming from the party. A little Shaggy with Mr. Boombastic...nothing crazy. Then we heard one of the worst songs either one of us had ever heard full of the N word, the B word, the F word...you name it word and it was in there. But something was wrong with the CD...it kept playing and then would turn off and then play again and turn off. About the third time we realized there was giggles and screaming when the music was turned off...they were playing musical chairs. I mean I wish you could have heard this song...it was different. Both Barret and I were very glad no one was looking though our house at that moment...but there is always this weekend!

Cupcakes...yum!

Dear T2,

I hope you had a wonderful birthday party yesterday! I loved being there with you and getting to play with all your toys and write special notes on your chalkboard! I know you really loved your cupcakes, finger paints and new tractor that godfather peter brought for you! You have a very exciting year with a new brother on the way in 6 weeks! You are going to be a great big brother because you are possibly the sweetest child I have ever met. I never get tired of your sloppy kisses and huge hugs. You are a love my dear. I am so lucky to have you AND Becca in the wedding. I love you both dearly. I am glad you are back in VA and I miss you! Fins! Noggin!

Love you,

Aunt Mary

No Jones or Smith

So it occurred to me that in 88 days not only will I be a wife, have a husband and in-laws, but I will also have a new last name. Don't get me wrong I didn't just think about it...I have been practicing my new signature but I just really started to think think about it. It kind of reminds me of when someone asks you how old you are and you just had a birthday. You say I am 25 but really you are 26, but for the past year you have been saying 25. Except I have had my last name for 26 years...not just one. And then all of the sudden poof you say a few words you are blessed and you have a new last name. I imagine it takes some time before you remember each time what your new last name is. Not only am I getting a new last name I am getting a new complicated last name. Emery has treated me fine...I usually have to spell it because people want to write down EmOry or for some reason they think I have said my name is Mary Emily. But that is nothing compared to what is coming. Leipertz. So now we are going to have a spelling and pronuciation lesson, because if you are my family and friends you should know how to spell and say it because you are going to get asked Leipawhat too. So spelling is a little tricky. It doesn't follow the "i before e except after c" little diddy we were taught in kindergarten. Nope...it switches on you and is LEI. But is pronounced LIE. Then the next slip is that everyone wants to put an 's' on the end...but it is a 'z'....but again it sounds like 's'. So L-E-I-P-E-R-T-Z. So we got the LEI sounds like LIE and the PERTZ that sounds like HERTZ with a P. So if you remember LIEHERTZ...you can remember to pronounce it LEIPERTZ! Jones or Smith would have just been to simple. Oh and as a side note...Barret has two r's and 1 t.

That's one big tree

The other weekend I was home doing wedding things and mom took me to this tree. For those of you familiar with home, you know where the oyster field is? As you come down millpond rd and at the stop sign to the right? That is where this is...Can you believe it? See me in the bottom left corner??? This thing is huge! Strange Spring here in Virginia.

RC Cola and a Moonpie

Well little Pie is all married up and has a new last name. Along with Anna, Pie took her vows to Chuck while I cried like a baby in the background. Really I started crying walking down the aisle. I am not sure why...I had been with pie for an hour and a half before hand and not even a lump in the throat. When I started walking down the aisle the waterworks came, then thru the whole ceremony and back up the aisle...then I was fine. Very strange. I make fun of bridesmaids like that. Won't do that again. Anyway here are some wonderful pictures of the most beautiful wedding!

Blue Lights

If you know me, you know you don't want to wake me up. Once I get up, get a shower and some food in my belly I am good to go. But I am not a nice person to wake. I think my neighbor may have found that out the hard way last night. My neighbor is very nice and would probably give me a cup of sugar if I needed it...but we have a few differences, the major one being that he is Muslim. I remind myself that differences are what makes the world go around and that what a boring world it would be if everyone was all the same...but sometimes I just don't get it. I hated him for the first 2 years because he would not talk to me. He would chat all day with Barret, but nope, he would never even mutter a hello to me. That drives me crazy. At least say hello. Then I am not sure what changed but I just started yelling hello to him and making a big scene that he finally starting talking to me. He is very educated and well travelled. Everything was going well...I thought. I had been helping my friend at animal control catch some feral pit bulls that were running in our neighborhood. My phone rings and my friend asks me to please stay inside. All of the sudden there are cops and animal control officers in the back alley. Wow they must have really caught some dogs I am thinking, then I see they are in my neighbors yard with a trailer full of goats. We live in the middle of the city. My friend says she had kicked the goats out of the city the night before in a different part of town and never expected them to end up next door. Goats leave...goats come back after animal patrol had finished circling...goats are slaughtered outside my window...mary is screaming...barret is offered goat meat in the morning. God bless those goats. I haven't seen any goats lately, but then my neighbor got chickens and ducks that he kept in a crate without cleaning the poop out and we had attack of the flies last summer. He also got a dog...a beautiful black lab...that he would not neuter and let out in his yard with no fence and wondered why it ran off and never came back. Okay so last night at maybe about 1am I am awoken to a dog barking. I listen downstairs and it is not Abbey. I think maybe it is the guy down the street's dog...nope. Then I see it...my neighbor's new black lab is tied up to their new garage barking its head off. I cannot stand to see a dog tied up...I think it is the saddest thing ever...but when they start barking it drives me crazy. So I am thinking well if this was me and it was Abbey out there barking I would get her in as quick as I could so I didn't wake the entire neighborhood up. At 3am I pretty much figured he didn't care. I was livid, stomping around the room. I told Barret we have 3 choices...#1 I walk over to his house right now after I have been awake for 2 hours listening to his dog bark and probably take his head off...#2 You walk next door and explain how you are not going to live to see the morning if that dog does not stop barking...or #3 I call the cops. Fifteen minutes later we see blue lights and hear no more dog barking. Should be interesting talking to him next time.

I just don't get it...