So it was slightly pretty outside. Slightly.

AC wasted no time at all getting on her horse.

My own child was slightly more skeptical, as you can see from the fact that he’s not even holding on, and right after I snapped this picture, the dog named Chip spooked the horse named Bear, and the boy named Alex came sliding right out of the saddle. At that point Alex’s horse days were over.

Alex spent the rest of the day running and exploring and shouting. When we were out in the pasture, I couldn’t take pictures fast enough because of the color of the grass.

The reason he’s so far away from me is because, well, he’s young and fast. I’m old and slow.

And I think this picture of Alex and AC at the end of the day is just about the sweetest thing I’ve ever seen.

Alex and I are about to leave for a farm in Bessemer, which is about 40 minutes from where we live. We’re going to my friend NK’s grandparents’ place, with the whole idea being that a farm = wide open spaces = lots of running = a couple of exhausted three year olds by 2 this afternoon. Her one month old will be with us, too. But I don’t think she’ll be doing much running.

I’ll take lots of pictures. I think y’all will be especially interested to see photographic evidence of how God obviously likes NK better than He likes the rest of us, if the way she bounces back from pregnancy is any indication. If the way I bounce back from pregnancy is any indication, God not only dislikes me…he smites me. Verily.

Hee hee.

So I’ll post pictures later this afternoon, once our day-o-fun is done.

And did I mention there will be a horse at the farm? You will no doubt hear Alex’s scream of delight around 10:30, so keep your ears open.

Hope y’all have a great day.

From what I understand we have a 50’s theme in store tonight, which makes me very, very scared that Taylor is going to try an Elvis song, at which point his AI train will crash and burn into a million fiery pieces. So, fingers crossed: no Taylor does Elvis. Specifically, no Taylor does “My Tribute.”

OH MY WORD IT’S BARRY MANILOW!!! Things are looking up indeed. And y’all – do you think Barry has had some work done? Not that there’s anything wrong with that. But his mouth doesn’t seem to work cooperatively with the rest of his face. Anyhoo, with his coaching, I think we’ll have some pretty powerful over-singing tonight, and I for one am all for it. Plus, I love the way he gives the singers really specific advice – fascinating to watch.

Mandisa – “I Don’t Hurt Anymore” – I LOVE her Oprah ‘do. She looks awesome, and I got goosebumps on the first note. I think she picked a great song, and I think this was her best performance so far. Reminded me a little of Jennifer Holliday, she did. David says it was his favorite performance so far this season – the first time he’s gotten chills. Somewhere in Houston, Beth Moore is jumping up and down – I just know she is.
Bucky Covington – “Oh Boy” – Did anyone notice that Barry had approximately 30 seconds’ worth of commentary on Bucky’s talent and song selection? And with good reason, as it turns out. This performance was exactly what I feared when I found out it was 50’s night. Bad Ritchie Valens karaoke. Boring and lame. Sorry, Bucky. It’s time for you to go home.
Paris Bennett – “Fever” – Completely superficial observation right up front: Paris, in my opinion, over-accessorizes. She does broaches, earrings, flowers in her hair, bracelets, 16 rings, etc. As for the performance, I didn’t love it. I think it’s a better song for her than some of the ones she’s picked over the last few weeks, but to use a very Bachelor word, I don’t “connect” with her. I can appreciate that she’s talented, but she doesn’t move me the way Mandisa or Taylor or Katharine does.
Chris Daughtry – “I Walk The Line” – Hmmmm. Interesting song choice for him. REALLY interesting arrangement, because it sounded like something that could be a hit right now. Here’s my only gripe. I think that Chris finds a way to turn every week’s performance into his style of music – Chili Peppers / Goo Goo Dolls / etc. But at this point I’d like to see that he’s more than a one-trick pony. I’d just like to see something different. But what does it matter what I think? This boy will be a star regardless.
Katharine McPhee – “Come Rain Or Come Shine” – Oh I’m nervous with anticipation. I think she gets better every week. And I love this arrangement. My only slight criticism is that it reminded me a little bit of a pageant performance, but that’s probably because I’ve seen this song performed with varying degrees of success in one too many Miss America telecasts. But she’s the real deal, y’all. So talented.
Taylor Hicks – “Not Fade Away” – The song is a little repetitive for me, but once again, Taylor knows how to pick stuff that is perfectly suited to his voice. This wasn’t my favorite performance of his – probably my least favorite over the last three weeks, in fact – but he’s an infectious fella, isn’t he? Hopefully next week will bring a better song.
Lisa Tucker – “Why Do Fools Fall In Love?” – Oh, I loathe this song. I feel like she’s trying so hard to be infectious that she’s missing the mark. She has a good voice – I don’t think that’s in question – but she doesn’t have that “something” that makes me care. Get this girl back to Broadway…a pop star she’s not.
Kevin Corvais – “When I Fall In Love” – Oh thank goodness Barry Manilow got ahold of him and got him to tone down the screaming. I’ve been pretty clear that I’m not a Kevin fan, but I do think this was his best performance so far.
Elliot Yamin – “Teach Me Tonight” – This is one of my FAVORITE songs – I love the Al Jarreau version. Now Elliott didn’t touch that version, but he was good, yo. Dog. Word, dog. Yo, it was good.
Kellie (Dawn) Pickler – “Walkin’ After Midnight” – Okay, how in the world does Barry Manilow not know this song? Kellie Dawn walking around the stage really distracted me – because I was terribly concerned that she was about to fall. But I think she knew how to, um, showcase, um, her, um, talents. Way better than last week. And did I hear her correctly? Did she really say, “Look y’all, it’s a pickle sign” while the judges were trying to critique her?
Ace Young – “In The Still Of The Night” – First of all, I always want to call him Ace Cannon. I have no idea why. Second of all, I don’t like this song. And what in the world is going on with Ace’s hair? And that’s really all I can say, because the rest of his performance, it did not interest me. And if he sings a falsetto note ONE MORE TIME, I’m going to scream. Bottom line? Cheesy.

My top three: Mandisa, Katharine, Elliott – and Mandisa was in another league altogether
My bottom three: Bucky, Lisa, Ace
Should go: Bucky Covington
Will go: Lisa Tucker

This morning Alex and I went to the grocery store and the library (I do apologize. It’s clearly “WISE BERRIES,” at least according to Alex’s personal pronunciation guide). It seems to get more humbling by the day, this process of going out to public places with a three year old (um, I don’t know if y’all heard or not, but he had a birthday last week).

The thing is, I see these mamas who literally have four kids with them, and they’re doing FINE in Walmart or Target or wherever. FINE. And then there’s me, Mother of One Child, using every reserve of patience that I have so that I don’t snap and push the cart away from my person at a high rate of speed, leaving Alex in the middle of the cereal aisle, where he would apparently sit and scream, “THIS ONE! THIS ONE! Baby Einstein dot com cereal, Mama!” until someone rescues him or Jesus returns, whichever should come first.

So here’s what I wonder. Once you get above one child, do you just not hear the whining anymore? Or do you become numb to its effects? Or are you just so worn out that you lack the energy to get worked up about All The Demands? Because I’ll tell you what – I don’t know how people do it when you factor more than one child into the shopping equation. Couple the whining with Alex’s constant “No want to go home, Mama” reminders, and you’ve got a recipe for Mama On The Edge. I honestly think Alex would be his very happiest if we left the house as soon as he woke up, ran errands to Walmart, Publix, Target, Family Christian, Steinmart, and Party City ALL DAY LONG, then topped off our day with supper in a restaurant, followed by some form of church service. And ice cream afterwards. Anything – ANYTHING – but the routine of being at home.

We did have fun at the library Wise Berries, though. I couldn’t help but laugh at myself when I checked out my books…Little Miss English Major, Reader of Fine Literature, brought home the following: Wynonna Judd’s autobiography, Shopaholic and Sister, and some Yada Yada Book Club novel. The last two have cute, colorful, swirly drawings on the front and come just short of saying “TAKE ME TO THE BEACH. I AM MINDLESS ENTERTAINMENT. I AM ESCAPIST LITERATURE.” So we’ll see how those go. I couldn’t resist the Wynonna book because 1) I love her, but mainly 2) did y’all see her with her mama and sister on Oprah last summer? They have some issues. ISSUES. DEEEEEEEP issues. I’m rooting for Wynonna, though – she seems like a good girl.

Okay – there’s your jumpy narrative for the day. I’m going to try to get this house into reasonable working order while Alex is asleep. I’ve already filled up half a garbage bag (do y’all ever do that? Just throw away toys when your kids are asleep because you’re so sick of stepping over them that you could scream?), and I’ve got a good two hours of cleaning left. I’ll be back later tonight with an Idol re-cap.

Let the cleaning begin.

I just read Tracey’s comment about American Idol, and I figured there’s no need to wait until tomorrow to discuss some Idol-y business. Normally I’d just answer T.’s comment in the comments, but it’s pretty far down the page, I don’t know if anyone will see it, the fate of the nation depends on this discussion, etc.

So here’s the issue. Simon (one of the AI judges, for the uninitiated) recently predicted on Larry King Live that the final three contestants will be my favorite Taylor Hicks, Chris Daughtry, and Kellie (Dawn) Pickler. And everything I’ve read in the few hours that I’ve been home has offered the same reaction to Simon’s Pickler prediction: HUH?

But I think I know the reason.

Just for the record, my picks for the final three are Daughtry, Hicks, and Katharine McPhee.

I think what Simon gets, however, is that Pickler is going to be the favorite of a great many teenage boys because they think she’s, um, well, um, a hottie. I was unaware of this phenomenon until I found myself in an AI discussion with some teenage guys from church last week. Now they didn’t come right out and say that she’s a hottie, because that would’ve been, you know, awkward since I’m basically old enough to be their mama. But what they did say was stuff like “Yeah, I definitely think I’ll be voting for her” and “Who cares how she sounded?” and “It doesn’t matter that she gave the worst performance – she’s Kellie Pickler!”

Ergo, Simon’s prediction.

The only thing about Simon’s theory that really gives me pause is that I’m not entirely sure that teenage boys are the most loyal voting demographic. I didn’t survey the guys I was talking to, but I should’ve asked them how many of them actually voted. My guess, though, is that Simon figures the following: Daughtry pulls in the teenage female vote, Pickler pulls in the teenage male vote, and Hicks pulls in the older folks – you know, the ones of us over 30 who are sitting around in our rocking chairs while we clean our dentures.

So I am resolved to vote each and every week for two people: Taylor Hicks and Katharine McPhee. And if you have your own top three picks – or any AI thoughts at all – SPEAK UP, for the love of pete. :-)

I’m sort of ready for this final 3rd birthday post because, quite frankly, I’m running out of ways to title them, though hopefully inspiration will strike between now and next year. And aren’t y’all excited about another full week of birthday posts only 51 short weeks away?

All righty – here’s the thing with me and parties. I don’t really like them. So I always make a point to give people an out when I invite them to something, and really, no one is more surprised than I am when someone shows up. My wedding is the perfect example. We sent out a good many invitations because David and I grew up in the same town, belonged to the same church, went to the same college, etc. But for a couple of months leading up to the wedding, I was a completely atypical bride, assuring people across East Central Mississippi that really, it was okay, they didn’t have to come, and I would completely understand if they had something more important to do, like cleaning out closets or washing cars. I even scheduled our wedding for 10 in the morning, because it seemed like people wouldn’t want to wake up in time to be there, and maybe I could escape the bridal spotlight. Have I mentioned that I have issues about being the center of attention?

Anyway, since most of our family is in Meridian, and since Alex shows no signs at all of shunning attention, we invited all of our family to his party, though I had full confidence that no one would come. But you know what? They did. So many of them, in fact, that I had to make a mad dash to the grocery store right before the party so that we would have enough hamburger meat to feed the masses. Oh! That reminds me of a Tip For Entertaining: when you serve grilled hamburgers, consider using homemade pimento and cheese instead of your standard American or cheddar cheese slices. I stole the idea from one of our favorite restaurants, Jim N Nick’s, and it was a hit. But you must must must grate your own cheese – none of the pre-grated business, no matter how convenient it seems. Enough about that.

So Alex loved the whole event, even though he did get a little freaked out when everyone cheered after they sang “Happy Birthday.” Mama claims that she was the reason he settled down fairly quickly, but I think it had more to do with the Blue’s Clues cake. White cake with buttercream icing, Merritt – just like you like it.

And the presents? Oh my word. It was sort of embarrassing, the volume of them. I came thisclose to putting a “no gifts” disclaimer on the invitations, but I knew David would tell me I had gone overboard with the I-will-not-spoil-my-child mantra, so I let it go. Everyone was so generous – great books, adorable clothes, fun summertime toys, a funky MSU painting for his room, money, gift cards, etc. – and I was really very humbled by the thoughtfulness of this thing they call gift-giving.

After he opened his presents, Alex and the other kids went outside to play (I think I’ve discussed in the past that, despite my best efforts to the contrary, our child loves the outdoors). And everybody else stayed inside and talked and drank coffee and laughed and drank coffee and visited and drank coffee because apparently the more caffeine you introduce into a family gathering, the more successful said gathering becomes.

Sister had laryngitis all weekend, which actually made her the ideal audience for my mother-in-law’s 15 minute story about looking for a jacket at Steinmart, and I promise you that I overheard the words “turquoise” and “cutey cute” at least 10 times, along with “three-quarter sleeve” and, unless my ears deceived me, “sexy,” which I believe was the final straw in Martha’s decision to return the cutey cute turquoise three-quarter sleeve jacket. But I can’t be certain.

All in all, it was a fine Birthdaypalooza ’06 indeed. And it’s over. Really and truly. I promise. No more talk of Alex’s birthday.

Until next year.