Birmingham
On crisp autumn Friday nights, I can smell Jim and Nick’s Bar-B-Que and hear the sounds of a Gardendale High School football game from my front porch. For me, there is no better feeling than planting my family’s roots in the same town (and house) that I grew up in. The city of Birmingham being just a few miles down the road only adds to that feeling. I have lived in the Birmingham area for most of my life. A city that is rich in culture, full of things to experience, and a great place to learn and try something new.
Whether it’s taking a stroll through Brookwood Village or cheering on the Barons at Regions Field, we never fail to find something fun to do. For the past several years, we haven’t missed the Greek Festival, and I am determined to try the Jewish Festival this year, or at least go to Eli’s Jerusalem Grill in the new Pizitz Dining Hall. The McWane Center is perfect for a rainy Saturday or just whenever we want to learn and play.
By far, though, my most favorite thing about Birmingham is The Alabama Theater. It is so gorgeous and brings an immediate sense of days gone by when you enter its doors. “Big Bertha”, the organ, is second to none and if you’ve never experienced it, you are truly missing out! We try to go several times a year, whether it be for a fun date night, a play date with friends, or a girls’ night out.
We also enjoy a good trip to the zoo, usually in the spring. Our little girl, Hayley Grace, loves animals and enjoys learning anything and everything about them. At the moment, her favorites are butterflies, lions, and all sea creatures, especially mermaids! Speaking of mermaids, The Alabama Theater will be showing The Little Mermaid on July 27th. (See what I did there?)
Moms
My greatest joy in life is being Hayley Grace’s Mommy. She is precocious. She is hilarious. She is sassy and she is full of life. Her expressiveness and keen sense of humor at just (almost) four is uncanny. People are naturally drawn to her, probably at first because of her gorgeous red hair, but then it’s all about that personality!
She rarely meets a stranger, but if she does, they don’t stay a stranger for long. Her imagination keeps us on our toes–currently, she has two imaginary friends, “Josh” and “Kimmie”. They live at the end of our upstairs hallway in a hutch. One night, about a year ago, we were having dinner at the table when all of a sudden one of her toys started singing and talking in another room. My husband and I looked at each other with wide eyes, because there was no logical reason for that to have happened. Before we could say anything, Hayley Grace announced, “Oh, don’t worry, it’s just Josh. . . Josh, stop playing, we’re eating dinner right now!” And the toy stopped. I kid you not!
The most challenging part of being her Mommy is teaching her to think before she speaks. I said earlier that she is sassy . . . well, that is an understatement! Sometimes that sass borders on disrespect and disobedience, so teaching her to taste her words and check her attitude are a high priority for me right now. I have seen some improvement over the past couple of weeks. I am very hopeful that this obstacle will soon be a memory, and then it will be on to the next challenge!
Blog
I love to write. I have been writing my entire life. I enjoy connecting with people and sharing experiences with them. Writing is a great way to do that.
Expressing how I truly feel about something comes across so much better on paper (or a computer screen) than verbalizing it does sometimes. Talking about my family always makes me happy, so what better way to do that than by being a contributor for Birmingham Moms Blog? This is a place where people are going to be interested in why Hayley Grace put an empty pretzel bag in the toilet (because she wanted to know what it sounded like when she tinkled on it!) This is an outlet for those days when I feel like I’ve been defeated by a four year old, because yes, there are days like that. This is that community where I can share triumphs, struggles, and failures with other moms: to serve as an encouragement to both them and myself. Blogging is new to me, but I look forward to the treasures and challenges of it.
Great job Shay! Love you!
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