Not the next American Idol

In the wee hours of the morning, Tarisa and her American Idol wrist band arrived at the stadium with the other individuals who were preparing to audition. She said there were 1000's of people there.

She had to get into a line for her group in preparation for the audition. There was a crowd song that had to be sung and then she would move on to the individual auditions.

With her is Jeremy, he was auditioning also. He auditioned 2 years ago and didn't make it. So he wanted to try again this year. Like Tarisa, he braved the concrete, port-a-potties, and lack of subsistence for hours to get his chance at stardom.

Unfortunately, neither one of them made it pass round one. But true to form, Tarisa was not upset.

She merely wanted the opportunity to show her talent. Although she was not selected, she is still the Williamson Family American Idol.

Possibly The Next American Idol

My younger sister Tarisa has decided to audition to be the next American Idol. This is season 7 of the show and it is still going strong. She had to wait in line beginning at 2:00a to merely gain access to get the tickets to audition.

After braving the crowd, sleeping on the concrete, and not eating for several hours (anyone who knows Tarisa knows this is VERY important to her to miss a meal): she got her tickets for the audition.

I am so proud of her for pursuing this dream. The auditions are on Monday, July 30, 2007. If she passes the first round, there are three days of auditions and cuts. Tarisa has a beautiful voice--she sung at my wedding. Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers. I will provide updated information as it becomes available.

It's about that time

You know it's about time to start potty training when your 16 month old goes to the diaper basket, removes a diaper and the changing towel, walks them over to you,and goes to get up on the couch to be changed after making poopie.

She really needs a potty but she isn't talking with intelligible words yet. I told L.J. that I am going to start sitting her on the potty three times a day: morning after waking up, afternoon before nap time, and evening before bath time. I don't know if it will work but I have to start somewhere.

"And they thought that would stop me."

The make shift barrier..

moving it out of the way...

the go around.

What more is there to say?

Caught 'ya

Instead of placing the puzzle pieces on the board where they belong, NyCee has taken a liking to opening the bag, in which the pieces are stored, and dumping them all out onto the floor. But when she does it, she will sit there and try to put the pieces back in the bag. But even if she didn't, could you get mad at this face?

Anywhere but here

16 months later, NyCee will sleep almost anywhere--here,

here,

definitely here,

but not here.

I am still amazed as to how she knows that she is in her bed! She wakes up every two hours. So every two hours I get up with her, put her back to sleep, and put her right back in her bed. This is our nightly dance.

Bonding

How cute is this? I told Taliyah that I read to NyCee everyday. I have heard that if you read to children at a young age, they develop a love for books. So every nite at bed time, I read NyCee a story.

Taliyah decided to help me out by reading NyCee a story one afternoon.

Splish, Splash!

Today, Lewis finally got in the pool. Usually he just sits on the end and puts his feet in. But I convinced him to get in because the pool is only 5 feet and I promised that if he felt uncomfortable floating, all he had to do was stand up. He would not drown.

NyCee and I floated to the other end of the pool and we turned to see Lewis practicing to "swim" by holding on to the pole. I encouraged him to continue to "swim" until he was comfortable. (Please note the grip of life he has on that pole. HA!)


And of course, no blog would be complete without the pool diva. Whenever we are in the pool I usually have on my sunglasses and NyCee likes to take them off of my face and put them on.

Initally, we planned a quick trip to the pool but ended up being there almost 2 hours. Although, he will probably not admit it, Lewis had a good time "swimming" this afternoon.

Weekend Hen House

Yesterday, the house was filled with the laughter and cackle of four little girls. Lewis picked up the twins so they could spend some time with Taliyah and the baby. I now understand why men say that when women get together it is like hens in a hen house. There was so much noise. But they were enjoying each other's company.


This morning there was an intense game of Memory. First, just the girls were playing and then Lewis joined in. Isn't it a rule that a father is suppose to let his children win? Not Lewis. He is insanely competitive--even at a child's game. They all accused each other of cheating and Lewis did not help by engaging them in playful banter.


After swimming and seeing the movie, "Ratatoullie (sp?)", there was finally sweet, sweet silence. Albeit short sweet silence as it only lasted during the car ride home--it was wonderful silence.

Family members keep suggesting that I have another baby while NyCee is little so that they can grow up together--My response: This weekend is the reason why she will be an only child.

Determination

This little girl never ceases to amaze me. She was playing with her lawn mower toy, which is incredibly loud, when she ran into the wall under the bar. Instead of becoming frustrated like she normally does, she just picked up the toy and...

turned it in the direction she wanted to go.

I grow more and more proud of her independence everyday.

What's behind curtain #2?

NyCee is such a joy to have around. She is really becoming a little clown. Everyday she is doing something to make herself and everyone else laugh.

I will take playing in the curtain over passing gas and laughing any day of the week.

Insomnia

Instead of taking an exam which would have taken 1 hour,
I chose to screw with the wireless connection router in an effort to secure the transmission and now the device is not working at all.

I called 24 hour technical support for assistance but was told that I would have to pay $29.00 for assistance because I have had the system for over 2 years.

Why didn't I just leave well enough alone?

657am:
Now, I have been up for nearly 4 hours messing with this computer, my test is not done (which is due today), my wireless function does not work and I am still not sleepy.

821am:
The bellsouth representative has been very helpful. My router is now working but the wireless function on my laptops are not. Go figure! Once this problem is corrected I will not mess with it again.

Wetumpka Holiday

On the 4th of July, my parents, NyCee, Lewis, Taliyah, and I enjoyed the holiday at home. I bar-b-qued and had the normal sides for 4th of July. Baked beans, greens, potato salad, etc. But on July 5th, we headed for Wetumpka, AL.

My grandparents, Ollie & Martha Bell, live about 2 hours away and whenever my parents come to visit they try to go and see them. Lewis, NyCee, Taliyah, and I tagged along for the ride.

Lewis and Grandaddy are so competitive. They played a game of horse shoes and Lewis lost. That did not go over well and he actually played the game alone in an effort to "improve his game" to beat granddad the next round.

Next, the whole family joined in the game. My mom and granddad had a match but my mom lost. The entire family walked from one horse shoe pit to the other and I finally asked, "Why are we walking back and forth? We aren't playing." It was explained that if we failed to walk back & forth, we may be hit in the head with a horse shoe. So of course, I joined in the back and forth stroll.
Caitlyn is the little girl who lives next door to my grandparents. I was so glad to see that there would be someone for Taliyah to play with. She and Caitlyn jumped rope and played on the water slide. By the end of the night, everyone was exhausted.


Of course when we arrived Ms. Martha had a feast prepared. Roast, baked chicken, macaroni and cheese, lima beans with okra, potato salad and a red velvet cake with pecans in the frosting. YUMM-O! Everything was delicious.

We had a much needed and enjoyable, albeit short, July family vacation.

Summer Time Buddies

My niece Taliyah is visiting for the summer. She begged her mother if she could come and see NyCee because she was bored at home. (Isn't is amazing how kids are bored at home but go to a friend or relative's house and do the exact same things that they would have done at home?)

I am glad that Taliyah is here. She can be NyCee's buddy and keep her entertained while I attempt to get in a few hours of coursework everyday. I just wonder how long it will be before Taliyah starts asking, "How many more days before I go home?" And we have to play the countdown game. August is a long way away for an eight year old.

It's True!

Black people can tan.

For years, I have teased my white friends about sitting out in the sun, flipping over like a flap jack, to get a tan. I have one friend who would go to the tanning booth everyday at lunch time. I use to tease her that she was as dark as me.

When asked if black people tan, I would reply, "No black people don't tan. We are already dark. Why would we sit out in the sun to get darker?"

But to my surprise, we do tan. I took NyCee to the pool and when I returned home and removed my suit, this is what I saw:


I had a tan. It's gone now. That's probably why my friend would get a "fake bake" everyday because the tan doesn't last long.