Pet Peeve: Getting the name right

This post is not directed to anyone in particular and is not meant to offend anyone either. It's just something that is on my mind today and unfortunately happens to me on a regular basis. I'm talking about spelling people's names correctly. This goes for hand-written and electronic correspondence like invitations, emails, Facebook messages, etc. 
I can't even count how many times over the years my name has been misspelled in communication. Granted, I don't spell my name in the most traditional way, but when you're dealing with the name Kristie, there's about six common ways to spell it. That doesn't even count one of the most uncommon I've seen: Krysti.
Now don't get me wrong. If I receive an invitation in the mail from someone associated with my husband that may have had no way to find out the real spelling of my name, I don't get upset. It's when someone is sending me an email at work, for example, and when they type my name into the "To:" line it automatically pops up with the correct spelling. Then, when they address me in the body of the email they completely butcher my name. To me that's just careless. 
Maybe it's because I have a name that people commonly misspell that I pay special attention to making sure I spell names correctly, and I admit, I sometimes make mistakes too. As a teacher I really try to spell all of my students' names correctly when addressing them. Even if it's just writing their name on a pass to come see me. 
I had an instructor in college that emphasized the importance of students' names. He suggested that on the first day of school/class, the teacher have each student pronounce his or her name so the teacher would know exactly how to say it. I though this was a great idea. I can't say I've done this in my own classroom mainly because of the fact that I teach in such a small district, and I usually know how to pronounce my students' names because I've heard them already or I've had their siblings before. But I've taken the idea from my college instructor that our names are important to us, so it's worth taking the extra step to be sure they're spelled correctly. Two minutes of searching my student list, pulling up whitepages.com or finding someone on Facebook to make sure I've spelled their name correctly on a note, an invitation or a thank you is worth the time to me. Maybe you'll consider taking the time as well.

Where did June go?

I guess the end of school along with preparing for and going on vacation really got in the way of blogging during the month of June. Oops! 


In the month that has passed since my last blog we have gone from having a crawler in the house to having a toddler! Just today Landen took about seven steps on her own. She's still quite wobbly but walking(ish) nonetheless.


We've also just returned from a family vacation on Tybee Island (just east of Savannah, GA; south of Hilton Head). We had a wonderful time with all of the family that made the trip for part of or the entire time. Seven days of sun, seafood, sleep, and sand (ick!) was just what we needed. 


Landen got her first experience of the beach including the sand (yes, she did eat some) and the waves (thought they were hilarious). I can't say I'm much of  a beach person, so I observed from pinky-toe-deep water and tried tirelessly to keep her on the beach blanket as to not get sand everywhere! I like beaches in theory. I mean the warm sun, sand between your toes, sounds of the water rushing in....beautiful, right? In reality it's really hot and I don't like to sweat too much. The sand gets EVERYWHERE no matter what. And the water is just crawling with all types of creatures that you can't even see and don't know they're there until they nibble on you! Needless to say, we spent a lot of time at the condo pool in fresh, clean water with no sea creatures, and I could always see my feet. Hopefully Landen didn't fall too much in love with the beach because this mama will always be a pool-goer.

Shouldn't complain too much, though...since it was a beautiful setting for these fun pics! I can't decide which is my favorite.

Among one of my favorite parts of the vacation was the opportunity to visit Savannah, GA. What a beautiful city! It's a large city with such a small town feel. It's so cozy and quaint. I absolutely loved it. One afternoon we explored the River St. shops which were so fun. This is a shot of just part of River St.

One of my most favorite things about Savannah was the Spanish moss growing on the trees. It made me feel like I was walking onto a movie set. In reality I kind of was....since most of the movie Forrest Gump was filmed in and around the Savannah area.

Who wouldn't want to go back to these two beautiful places, Tybee and Savannah? Looking forward to returning someday. 

Happy Memorial Day!

It's been awhile. I know. I've been meaning to blog, but we have been quite busy around here. We had back-to-back out of town wedding weekends and the week nights are usually just as crazy. 


So finally after a few days off and being able to catch up on other neglected things around the house, I'm getting to the blog. :) 


Tomorrow is Memorial Day and we celebrated with Scott's brother, Ryan, his wife, Katie, and they're three month old son, Hayes, coming for a visit yesterday and today. It's so fun watching Landen check out Hayes. If he's crying, she's studying the source of the noise (which keeps her noise level down for a change). It's funny that our family's former tradition of late night visiting has turned into four tired parents ready for bed at ten o'clock! 


Today, the whole family attended a baby shower for one of Scott's cousins who is expecting a baby girl in September. Quite a change has occurred at these gatherings as well because over the past year six babies have been added to the family. There are babies galore....with more to come this fall! 


I'll introduce you to the baby family...

This is Annabelle, the first of the 2010-2011 baby boom.

Next came Landen.

Then we rounded out the summer with the twins, Avery and Addison.

Then this winter we welcomed Everett...

And Hayes...

Plus we're adding two more (that we know of) this fall. Let's just say that things are going to be crazy (and fun) as we watch all of these little ones grow.

Now that all the excitement is over for the weekend, I think we'll take tomorrow to just relax and enjoy the nice weather. Thank you to all of the servicemen and women past, present and future for protecting our family, American citizens, and many others around the world. 

Happy Easter!

I just wanted to share a couple of Easter photos today. Overall we had a good day...although it got off to a rough start in the morning. I'll just say that among other things, Landen's flower headband ended up in a puddle and we lost a shoe before even stepping foot into church. The day did improve though as we had a good time with family. We were all quite exhausted by Sunday afternoon after two busy days filled with family, friends and excitement.

Landen enjoyed spending some time with Uncle Dan.

Landen and Hayes (2 months) enjoyed their first photo shoot together. Well, I can't say Hayes enjoyed it. He seemed a bit terrified or not-so-thrilled to be photographed. Of course, he had a great photo shoot with his mommy at home later that day! :)

Our dear Landy is getting so big and even getting her top two teeth right now. Her turtle, although technically a bath toy, is getting a lot of "chew time" these days.

We hope your Easter was wonderful!

Gotta Love This...

Two of my favorite things in one place: fonts and fashion! A friend recently showed me this new project by atipo.es that displays typefaces on models' faces. I'm in love with this image.

Next, I must post this video of Landen laughing. I shot it with my awesome birthday gift from my mom and dad - a flip video camera.

Is there anything that makes you smile more than a laughing baby?! 

Fashion Do & Fashion Don't

I've been looking forward to doing a fashion post. (I've been looking forward to a lot of posts actually but the time to do them is rarely there!) So here you go. 


Fashion Do: Wearing Jewel Tones


Jewel tones compliment any skin color. These are the deep plums, sapphires, emeralds, etc. While pastels and pale colors may compliment some skin tones, they don't work for everyone. Jewel tones look good on anyone and give a rich quality to your look.


Check out some of the jewel tones here:

Fashion Don't: Forgetting Your Feet


No matter how hectic your morning is or how busy you are, please don't bypass putting thought into your footwear. I'm not saying that you have to wear 4" platform heels for a night of dinner and shopping with the family, but make sure your shoes match the tone of your outfit. If comfort is key for you, find some cute (yet supportive) flats to do your running or even a pair of low-profile tennis shoes to pull off a more sporty look. And remember, heels can be comfortable if they are well-constructed and fit properly. It just takes a little time to find a style and brand that is comfortable for you.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

It's a pretty big holiday in the McCormick house...and by 'big' I mean that we each plan what green item of clothing we're going to wear a day or two in advance. Landen was getting into the holiday spirit on Wednesday when she wore her "I'm a McCutie" onesie. She saved her sparkly "Kiss Me I'm Irish" shirt for today though. 

Not only were we preparing for St. Patty's Day, but the weather was nice as well so we were able to take a walk. It was Landen's first time sitting up in her stroller because back in the summer/fall she was in her carrier when we went out. So here's a photo of her enjoying her first big-girl walk...