Want to Attend a Great Party or Two...

...or three or four? Below are links to some fabulous blog parties where you can find ideas for everything from crafts and home decor to recipes and beautifully set tables. Check them out. You will not be disappointed.

S.O.S.

hElP. mE. HaVe. bEeN. ClEaNiNg. 5-YeAr-oLd'S. rOoM. sEnD. ReInFoRceMeNts.



P.S. hUrRy.

Two Turtle Ducks and a Partridge in a Parrot Tree

I love it when my five-year-old sings to me before our his nap time.

I also love how he...

Enjoys a nice cup of joe (decaf, of course) and has tried to order one at the Barrel on more than one occasion.

Has informed the office staff at his school that he is now a doctor - "a medical doctor, not like Dr. Stafford" (his principal).

Spreads his hands apart in a mystical way and says "it's all the vaz" whenever he thinks something is awesome. We have no idea what "the vaz" is, but we're guessing it's pretty great.

Until recently, called the bullets for his Nerf guns "needles".

I also love how he set the table for dinner tonight without even being asked. Yes, we all had two knives and no plates but it was the thought the counted.

Well, I'm off to join in on a rousing game of Toy Story 3 Memory. Have a great night, one and all!

Another Snow Walk, Perhaps?

Happy 1/11/11, ya'll! Isn't that a neat date? You know what will be an even more fun date to type? Yep. You guessed it! 11/11/11. But until then, I wish you a fabulous January 11.

We're all at home for another snow day today (insert tiny giggle here) and are loving it! Well, three of us are loving it. A certain teen feels as if these days off are causing major problems in her social life and has retreated to her room in protest. I'm hoping to lure her out a little later with some hot chocolate and a card game or two.

If you stopped by yesterday you noticed we all (again, minus the protesting teen) took a walk through some of the woods on our farm. John-Heath is ready to go again. He literally just asked if we could go on another "snow walk". We may just have to do that.

I had a good time yesterday with my family. It's not every day I'm able to enjoy the beauty of the woods, as my walks in them are limited by seasons (meaning I don't walk in the woods when snakes could be walking crawling in the woods), but my out-of-shape legs are paying the price. The balancing act I was attempting to do over some uneven terrain trying to keep myself upright and my camera out of the creek has left me a little sore this morning. Of course, it didn't help that I had gone out in my hot pink LL Bean house booties. I mean, who does that kind of thing? "Tyla, would you like to take a mile long hike through some snowy woods and over a hay field or two?" "Sure. Let me just slip on my HOUSE SHOES."

We're still under a winter weather advisory here so there's a chance we'll be getting a little more snow. It reminds me of times in bed when one blanket feels good, but two feel great. I think the ground could use another white blanket.

Stay warm, my friends. Oh, and if you go out to play in the snow...wear real shoes ;)

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

Whose woods these are I think I know.

His house is in the village though;

He will not see me stopping here

To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer

To stop without a farmhouse near

Between the woods and frozen lake

The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake

To ask if there is some mistake.

The only other sound's the sweep

Of easy winds and downy flakes

The woods are lovely, dark and deep.

But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,

Almost home

And miles to go before I sleep.
- Robert Frost



It's been a wonderful snow day! I'm so looking forward to another one tomorrow. Goodnight, friends.

In Hopes of Some Snow...

To bide my time this evening as I anxiously awaited the ten o'clock newscast in hopes that the Snow Bird report would bring some good news, i.e. a snow day for tomorrow (which, by the way, has yet to materialize), I thought I would create something snowy to decorate a kitchen counter. I don't know about you but since I've taken down all my Christmas items things have been looking a bit drab.

Since I only just decided to do this a mere couple hours ago I had to use what I had on hand...no running to Wal-mart, JoAnn's, Michaels, or the Hob. Lob.

First, I just painted the inside of this glass candleholder-thingy with some watered down white paint. For the face I had three options...

1. Cut out some stickers using my Cricut.

2. Cut the facial pieces out of some type of paper and glue it to the glass using a little Modge Podge or Gorilla Glue (the latter may have been overkill because that stuff is AWESOME!).

-OR-

3. Use some of my craft paint to create a face.

I decided to paint on the face. All it took was a few squirts of my Americana craft paint and I had a cute as a bug snow votive.

Finally, a little Epsom Salt was added to the inside on which the candle would rest...

...and little more salt was added to the tray to give it all a snowy look.

I know what he's missing...a scarf! I'll have to add a little material around his neck tomorrow.

This is the same candleholder as it looked this past fall, with a wonderful smelling candle set inside a bunch of coffee beans.

The two little snowball candles were a gift from a teaching buddy (thanks, Angie) who said they were to remind me of "my own two little snowballs". I have been holding off lighting them until I had something to go along with them.

The counter as it currently looks. It doesn't show up very clear here but the cup and saucer candle (another gift from a teaching buddy - thanks, Kim) is lovely when lit. The picture in the black frame was a gift from John's brother-n-law. It is an aerial view of our house and part of the farm that he took one day as he flew over. And, of course, my baby boy's handprint. Although, he has started telling me he is "not a baby boy anymore".

It is now a few minutes after eleven in the p.m. and I still see no snow falling outside my window. I really think I'm about to cry. :<(

I'm linking to...

Carrie @ Dittle Dattle for Amaze Me Monday

Susan @ Between Naps on the Porch

Cheri @ It's So Very Cheri

The CSI Project

Roeshell @ The DIY Showoff

The Cottage Chick @ Cottage Instincts

Kaysi @ Crafts Keep Me Sane

Kim @ Savvy Southern Style

Tutorial Tuesday @ Hope Studios

Becca @ Blue Cricket Design

Whatever Goes Wednesdays @ Someday Crafts

Vanessa @ Southern In My Heart

DIY Club's DIY Project Party

One Year Later

Today marks the one year anniversary of a little project I started called "my blog". On January 9, 2010 I published my first post. Since I didn’t do so then I thought I would share with you a few lines explaining how it all came about. It really is remarkable at times how something so completely unrelated to another something can bring about the creation of yet something else. Okay, so that last sentence is probably seriously flawed, grammatically speaking, but I think you understand the idea behind it.

I had begun thinking I needed to start writing down stories for posterity’s sake, that my children would one day appreciate reading about cute things they did as kids and of family stories that predated their own lives. So, during the last couple months of 2009 I bought a very nice, large, black leather journal. I did write in it some, but as I hate physically writing (though I’ve been told differently, I don’t think my penmanship is very attractive) it didn’t last long. I think I knew in my heart it probably wouldn’t.

On the Wednesday before Christmas of that same year a local news station reported on a young boy of five, Dylan Snider, who had been seriously burned over most of his body in a back yard accident. I can’t tell you how much this story broke my heart. My own little boy was not much younger. I felt sick at my stomach thinking of what his mother must have been going through.

As it always happens in the news world, after a few initial stories little else was being reported on Dylan. By this time I had become somewhat consumed with thoughts and prayers for this child and his family and wanted to keep abreast of any new information concerning his condition. So, I began to search for possible news updates on the internet. And that’s what led me to discover the blog of Stephanie Nielson.

Ms. Nielson, known as Nie Nie to her readers, had been sharing the events of her life, faith, and family via her blog Nienie Dialogues for some time when she and her husband were nearly killed in an airplane crash in August 2008. They spent months recovering in a hospital burn unit while their four beautiful, young children were cared for by relatives (I swear these kids are some of the cutest you’ll ever see, the youngest reminds me of John-Heath’s good buddy Cooper).

I don’t remember what day it was when I first began reading her blog but I think it must have been while we were still on Christmas break or on a weekend because I started to read and I read and read and read and read. Within a couple days I had pretty much read all the posts on her blog and few, if any, did not move me in some way, especially the ones in which she focused on her children or her struggles to recover.

In addition to the inspiration I felt while reading along as she chronicled her life, pre and post-crash, I also began to realize how meaningful her blog would one day be to her children. Surely, my kids deserved the same level of devotion. So, I began to explore the steps in creating a blog.

After thinking long and hard about a name (some of my original ideas had already been taken) I decided upon one. I knew I wanted a name that reflected our family and lifestyle and "Tire Swings and Fireflies" seemed to fit the bill.

And here we are one year later.

And what of the two people who were each an unknowing impetus for my journey into bloggerland? Happily, both have made miraculous, albeit long and painful, recoveries.

Nie Nie is still blogging (and I am still stalking her a few times each week). Check out her site and see for yourself.

Dylan, whom doctors gave a “one in a million chance” of surviving his injuries, is now back in school and acting like most any other 6 year old. In fact, I think he may have just turned 7. He still has years of surgeries ahead of him and he is currently on a donor list for a small intestine transplant, as his had to be removed just a few days after his accident. Please keep him in your prayers. You may not know this but without a SI one is not able to eat. Can you imagine living life and never being able to enjoy eating solid food? You can view a news report featuring him one year after his accident here. He also has a Facebook page called Pray for Dylan Snider.

Well, that's it for the story of my blog's birth. I hope you all have a great rest of the weekend. As for me, I'm going to be keeping an eye on Snow Bird. There just might be a snow day in our future.

Meet Johnny Ricker

I have a confession to make. If you are member of PETA you may want to read no more. I also suspect I might lose a follower or two due to my disclosure. But, here goes...

I hate cats! Well, I use to hate cats! Are you still reading? You are? Awesome. Then I'll continue.

I actually had a kitten once, long ago when I was a little girl. I named her Sandy, which makes me think I was about 8 or 9 and had recently seen Grease, as I can think of no other reason to have named a gray cat Sandy. Anyway, I loved my little kitten but was afraid it was going to get eaten by a dog in our neighborhood, so I took her to the country to live in my grandparents' barn. Then something must have happened.

I'm not really sure when or why I began to dislike critters of the feline persuasion. I just know that for almost 30 years I did. To be honest, I loathed them. That is until one showed up on our porch a few months back and John-Heath was instantly in love.

I was initially determined for John to rid our home of this creature. Were we seriously going to keep a cat? I think thought not! But somehow a 5-year-old has a way of breaking down decades-old barriers. Quite simply, his love for this cat just melted my heart. Once he named it (yep...Johnny Ricker), it was all but over.

Turns out, Johnny Ricker (who also goes by Pepper, the name Ren gave him) belongs to our neighbor, Mr. Scott. We figured this out on Halloween night when we took John-Heath over to trick or treat at Mr. Scott and Ms. Rachel's. For a while, it seemed that Pepper was doing quite a bit of commuting back and forth. Now, he mostly just hangs out here.

He may not hang out here much longer if John-Heath keeps loving him this much!

I do have my limits, though. He must remain an outdoor cat. However, this hasn't kept John-Heath from trying his best to sneak him in from time to time, often successfully. But in the end, he usually gives his secret away by saying things like, "You don't need to look in my closet, Mom." Or the best one yet...

Once, as we were returning home from church and talk turned to Pepper's

whereabouts (he had not been seen any that morning before church), John-Heath announces, "Well, I didn't put him upstairs in my bedroom, that's for sure."

How can I not love this cat!

P.S. So far, Pepper has turned out to be a pretty good little pet - unlike Carrot Jello's naughty little sweetheart! If you want a good laugh (or maybe a good cry) stop by and check out her last two posts.

7 Stages of a Snow Day for a Teacher

One of the perks of teaching school is that it keeps you young, even if it's just young at heart. We are only one day into a new semester of school and it has begun. Talk of a possible snow day.

Now, I don't normally post items I receive via email yet this one just screamed, "POST ME ON YOUR BLOG!" So, I will. It was sent around by a friend about a year ago but, based on the talk at school, forecasts, and even a prediction by a local palm-reading janitor, it is sooo relevant for today. Enjoy!

For all you adults out there who don't work in the school system, I ask
you to revisit your childhood for a brief moment. Step back to the
days when you were a lad in school, when you would run to the window and
then to the T.V. to wait patiently for the Snow Bird report. Do you
remember the feeling? The feeling of glee, the feeling of excitement,
the feeling that the world was yours for the taking and nothing could
hold you down. I can tell by the smile on your face that, yes, you do
remember. Now take that feeling and multiply it by 25. This is what a
teacher experiences.

The buildup for teachers begins days ahead of the predicted storm. I
accredit this mostly to the fact that, unlike students, teachers usually
watch the news on a regular basis and therefore understand how the seven
day forecast works. This prior knowledge of what could happen sets in
motion what is called "The 7 Stages of a Teacher Snow Day."

The 7 Stages of a Teacher Snow Day

Stage One: What?....Really!
The initial rumor of snow ignites a momentary glee that cannot be
contained within the soul of a teacher. Much like the feeling you get
when you win a raffle, you are excited and can't believe that it could
actually happen to you. You smile, skip around, and begin thinking of
what chores and errands you will catch up on if you are so lucky.

Stage Two: The Decline
In stage two the educator, still excited about the possibility, thinks
back on all the times forecasters in Middle Tennessee have been wrong.
This begins to make him or her ask more questions about the report. How
much are they predicting? What's the anticipated high and low
temperature? How warm will the ground be? This is immediately followed
by the checking of various long range weather reports on-line and
speaking with other teachers to see, "What have you heard?"

Stage Three: The Professional Emerges
Somewhere after stage two, reality sets in, and the old school marm that
lives in the depths of every teacher begins to show her face. The fact
that they have a very serious job to do comes to mind, and they are
reminded that there are state tests quickly approaching for which their
students are not yet ready. It is during this stage that teachers lie
to their co-workers and families and tell them that it would be better
if they had school. This way they won't fall behind schedule or have to
redo plans.

Please note: This is purely a self-preservation stage designed in the event that school is not cancelled.

Stage Four: Excitement Sneaks Back In.
It could not be suppressed for long. You are now closer to the
anticipated wintry mix, and the forecast still looks promising.

Stage Five: Anger
This is a very common stage. Once again the enthusiasm has been snuffed
out and replaced with the thoughts that there is no way we're getting
out of school. You are then reminded of the 13 unpaid, use them or lose them "inclement weather" days built into the school calendar. You begin to get
angry at the transportation director for being willing to risk the
safety of our students, the school board for not being willing to
compensate us for unused snow days, and that blankety-blank weatherman
for getting our hopes up to begin with. I am warning you to stay clear
of any educator you may believe to be in this stage.

Stage Six: Cautious Optimism
You are preparing for bed the night before what could be a day off. To
the common observer everything looks normal. Lunches have been packed,
clothes laid out, and alarms set. You avoid discussing it with your
spouse, and you tell your children to go to bed at their normal time.
Everyone knows that the slightest bit of hope could jinx the whole thing
and you will wake up to sunny skies with a high well above freezing.
You slip in your bed and say a last silent prayer. Being prepared for the
worst, you very quietly hope for the best.

Stage Seven: Uncontrollable Enthusiasm.
You spring from your bed and race to the T.V. You find the first local
news channel and look for those wonderful county names scrolling across
the bottom of your screen. You flip from channel 2 to 4 to 5. You even
take a look at Fox. Your mission is to find the channel whose scrolling
ticker is closest to your county. Finally, you find one
that says Overton County...you know yours is coming up. There it
is....Stewart and....and...and SUMNER! Thank you, Jesus!!!

(as if devine intervention applies to something so trivial)

YES. YES, YES!!! You jump around your living room as adrenaline shoots
through your veins like a bullet. You smile, you dance, you thank God
for his unbelievable kindness to you. However, in a moment of sudden
panic you are jerked back to reality. You begin to think they got it
wrong. It could be a mistake, you say to yourself. Quickly you search
for the remote which went flying out of your hands earlier. Finding it
behind the sofa you look for another station to verify the fact you do
not have to go to work. Once again you see it, and the ecstasy and
elation starts all over again.

You think about going to get back in bed but, if you are like me, you are
now much too awake to even dream sleep. Besides, how could you waste
even one second of this glorious day off? Instead you pour your coffee
into a real mug instead of a travel one. You slip on your house shoes,
grab a blanket, and once again soak up the delight of knowing you are a
teacher, and it is a snow day in Middle Tennessee!

What Santa Brought

Okay, please don’t think me too boastful but I want to share with you a few of my Christmas presents. I usually don’t do this sort of thing. I’ve always thought that when someone asks if you’ve had a nice Christmas they are doing so to be polite and they don’t really want the lowdown on everything you did and every present you received, much in the same way that when someone asks how are you they don’t really want the 411 on every ailment that has beset you in the last month (though I did know a lady once when I was in high school who did this, bless her heart. Always. Every. Single. Time.) So, I guess I’m going against my own code of conduct here, but it can’t be helped. I don’t have enough willpower to keep it from spilling forth from my mouth.

Do you remember my Christmas wish list? I had said that if I got even one thing off that list I would be just tickled pink. Well, can you believe I got all 4? Yep! Santa was very good to me this year, with a little help from my mom and dad, my sister and her family, and, of course, John and the kids.

My sister bought me a sewing machine. Nothing fancy, just a very basic one. I was floored when I opened it! I think she just wanted to see what I could really do with it. Well, actually I know that’s why she bought it because she said so..."I just wanted to see what you could do with it”. This was followed by a sly little laugh.

My sister was also somewhat responsible for my new Cricut Expression. I guess she had seen on my blog where I wanted one and told my parents, who then bought it for me. Again, I was floored!

Then my hubby knocked my socks off by getting me the cute little antique desk I had seen at a local store AND remembering what I had actually asked him for long ago (which was the hidden present in that wish list post). Just so you’ll know it was a bottle of Irresistible perfume by Givenchy. Although, I did find out that he thought it was called Invisible and had to check with our school secretary to find out its real name. But, hey! I can’t complain. My husband, whom you'll remember has made a career of being a lousy gift giver, came through in a big way this year.

And, as if this wasn’t too much already, my niece, the one who bought me my lovely little D&B purse a couple years ago (the one that was never returned by some lovely person after being found in a Wal-mart buggy on Black Friday), gave me a sweet Coach bag.

But the creme de la creme was the little set of lotions my daughter bought for me with her own money. She actually used the money she won for being a top magazine seller at her school to buy us all gifts. This was my most favorite gift and I will keep it always, just as my mom still has a bottle of Wind Song perfume my teenage nephew gave her one Christmas many years ago. He passed away just two months later and that bottle has been kept in her dresser ever since.

Well, there you have it. Wishes do come true - and it seems publicly posting your Christmas list via a blog really helps!


I'm Tyla, and now I need to learn how to sew.

My Top 5 of 2010

Since my first year bloggiversary is just around the corner - please, no gifts. Well, okay, if you insist. Just email me and I'll be glad to give you my mailing address ;) - and since I am still in somewhat of a list-making mood thanks to the whole it's the start of a new year and we need to make lists feeling everyone has at this time of year, I thought I would delve into the repository here at Tire Swings and pick out some of the favorites - 5 of them, to be exact. These are a combination of my personal favorites and some of the most read posts.

I See London, I See France

Sadly, this is an entirely true story.

Kindergarten, Here He Comes

This is a love letter, of sorts, to my son.

The First Best Day of My Life

Another love letter - this one to my daughter.

What's In a Name?

The story behind our names.

Anything and Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Me

There are actually 5 installments in this series. This is part 2.

I hope you enjoyed reading some or all of these as much as I had going back and re-reading them.

Well, I'm off to get a few things done before bedtime. School starts back for teachers tomorrow and students on Thursday. I don't know which is worse, starting back with just two days left in the week or beginning on a Monday and having a full first week back.




P.S. Hopefully, I'll be able to get a new header up in a day or two. This plain look is for the birds.

Here We Go Again

With the beginning of each new year there comes a litany of resolutions, goals, desires, and/or the basic to-do lists, and yours truly is most certainly not immune to the attraction of wanting to accomplish something in the forthcoming 365 days.

Each year I tell myself I am going to lose weight, get fit, live healthier, and become more organized. In those early years I would take the time to write out my goals. Later, I would actively think of things on which I should focus and then tell John so that he could keep me on track. The past few years these goals have been more of the fleeting thought variety - sorta like this...

Tyla: Hmm, look at the calendar. It’s January 1. I really need to lose a little weight this year.
John: Hey, do you wanna go out and get a bite to eat?Tyla: Sure. Sounds great!Kids: And can we stop off somewhere for ice-cream on the way home?Tyla: Sure. Sounds great!

Actually, if I had followed through with my resolutions each of the years I’ve been making them (which has been as long as I’ve been married) I would be putting both Jillian Michaels and Adrian Monk to shame. But, of course, like so many others I fall into the 92% of Americans who fail to keep their New Year’s resolutions.

However, this year is going to be different. I can feel it in my bones. So, I’m making a list once again. And this time, I’m making it public. That way, if you see I’m not doing what I should to keep on track with these resolutions you can give me a swift kick on the backside. Those of you in Utah, Wyoming, and other various and sundry places will have to just send me a virtual kick.

For 2011, I want to...

1.) Be the kind of person God wants me to be. I guess I could stop right here. If I’d do this everything else would just fall into place.

But for the sake of argument, though, here are the rest...

2.) Be the kind of mommy every child would want to have.

3.) Live a healthier lifestyle (less of things like sugar-laden coffee, fried foods, butt in the bed on the computer, butt on the couch watching t.v. and more of things like walking, water, and vitamins)

4.) Live a more stress-free lifestyle (this one will go a long way in making numbers one, two and three doable). Don’t be so quickly and easily ruffled.

5.) Get organized. There is happiness and calmness to be found when everything else can be found. Get rid of the clothes. Realize that yard sale is never going to happen. Toss out the stained, torn & out-of-date. Donate the rest. Also, for once and for all, organize your photographs. Give them, at least, somewhat of a fighting chance should a tornado hit the house.

Well, my friends, that’s about it for this year’s list. I’ll keep you updated from time to time on how it’s going. If I suddenly, for no apparent reason, stop blogging you will know I have either died or I am not meeting my goals and I’m too embarrassed to tell you.

Happy 1-1-11

Well, we made it. It is officially the New Year - at least here in Tennessee. My friends on the west coast still have a little longer to go.

For some reason I just had a flashback to when I was in school on the first day of class upon returning from Christmas break (of course, I am a teacher, so I have always been in school). We would all greet each other by saying something like, “I haven’t seen you since last year” - and then laugh at our ever-so-original joke.

So friends, it’s good to talk with you again. I’ve not written anything since last year. Oh, my wit is just OUT OF CONTROL tonight. It must be the sausage balls and banana punch.

Happy New Year’s. I wish you much joy and happiness.

P.S. Be sure to eat some hog jowl and black eyed peas for luck! My fellow Southerners should already know this.


P.S.S. I'm going to take a little break from blogging for the next few days to enjoy the remainder of my days off from work. But, I'll see ya back here next week. Until then, take care, ya'll.