Things that make a 90's kid feel old...

The first taco bell commercial aired 14 years ago. This dog has been dead for two years.
Jonathan Lipnicki

The macarena has been around for 16 years.

Most kids do not know what "rewind" is now.

Napster came out 11 years ago.

Family Guy has been on tv for 12 years.

The ages of the Boy Meets World cast.

Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey have been divorced for 6 years.

The fist state quarter came out 11 years ago.

Aaliyah has been dead for 10 years.

The ages of the Rugrats

Marilyn Monroe would be 86.

JFK would be 92.

TV guide 20 years ago...

15 years ago...

10 years ago...

ages of the Backstreet Boys

ages of the Spice Girls...

Surge hasnt been sold in over 10 years

Macaulay Culkin in 30.

This years 18 year olds were born in 1993.

What AOL used to look like

Top 5 songs 15 years ago...

The final episode of Teletubbies aired 10 years ago.

The Pepsi girl is now 19 years old.

" Clarissa Explains it All" is now 35

funny!

One of my favorite people to follow on twitter is @90sgirlproblems. A few weeks ago they listed this website of "40 things that will make you feel old" I did put all 40 but I put some things that blew my mind!! I guess 23 years old is now considered old.. YIKES!!

Make A Difference Monday

Todays "Make a Difference Monday" is dedicated to my best friend, my Mama. If you have never met my mama, then you should go out of your way to do so. She is one of those people that you can connect with right away.

I was by far born into the most loving family. My heart aches for people who do not know what this kind of love is all about.

My mama was always the "team mom" for my brothers baseball teams. And she was always the "cool mom" that everyone wanted to go on fieldtrips with us when we were in school. In highschool my house was always the cool place to hang out because everyone loved my parents. My mama would always make brownies or cookies whenever anyone came over, even if it were unexpected. My mama never missed a "cheerleading game" of mine, and never missed a basbeball/football/soccer/basketball game of my brothers. She has always put me and andrew first, and work second.

I was very fortunate growing up to be able to go on trips. This picture is from when I went to NYC for the first time. Unfortunately, I hated NYC on this trip, but looking back, I love all the memories and pictures. Not every child is able to go on trips. I am so blessed that I have parents who think it is important to view different states, and also to important to get out and have fun somewhere besides home.

This picture was taken my freshman year of college. My Daddy did NOT want me to get a dog, but my mom was a huge advocate for it! Right after we got Chanel, My mom took me to the beach to celebrate, and also to just get away! Mama is the perfect person to go on a trip with. I joke with her and say she is the perfect person to lay out with because she knows when to talk and she knows when to be quiet :)

My Mama has been the biggest supporter of my Child Life career. In March she took me to Charleston to view the childrens hospital there. My resume was so crappy when I began applying for internships, that I just started crying and said I will just wait until I can make it look better. I remember my mom saying, "Mandy, you need to apply. You never know what God can do with a small resume". I am so glad that I listened to her that day, because look where I am now! My mama has also helped me out so much during this internship. In 2 days notice, she drove me to Augusta to have my interview. Never once did she complain about the price of gas or a hotel. She has helped me out with my activity plans for the patients, and sends me encouraging letters every single week.
My mama is a huge giver. She will do anything to make anyone happy. If I say to her, "Can we go to NYC this year" or "Lets go to the beach", or anything of that sort, she will do all the research she can to see if we can afford it and to see if she has time. I know I take that for granted sometimes (since I am not the one paying), but I love that about her. I hope I am able to do this kind of stuff with my daughter one day.

Mama,

Thank you so much for all you have done for me. I hope I am as good of a mama to my kids as you were/are to me and andrew. Thank you for supporting me and loving me no matter how many mistakes I have made and continue to make. Thank you for being forgiving. Thank you for being giving. Thank you for being a Godly woman. Thank you for being encouraging. Thank you for not being a "serious mom". Thank you for giving everything and more that I have ever needed. Thank you for moving me to Valdosta (two times), back home, and to Augusta. Thank you for calling me and texting me a million times throughout the day. Thank you for paying for me to go to a private christian school. Thank you for paying for me to go to college. I cant say thank you enough for all that you have done. I love you more than words can express!! I cannot wait to see you again!!

Love,

your spoiled rotten, ungrateful, little brat :)

Happy Birthday Carrie!!!!

Today is a VERY special day. It is one of my best friends birthday!!

Happy Birthday Carrie!!!

After the first week of meeting Carrie, I knew that we would become close friends during our internship.

After knowing her for several months now, I know we will be close friends for the rest of our lives!!
Carrie is one of the most selfless people I know. She is who I called at 3am to take me to the emergency room! Its hard to find a friend like that :)

This woman is such a strong Christian and inspires me to be a better person every single day.

Carrie,

I love you very much and wish you the best birthday of your life! (Even though we are both at home sick). I thank the Lord every day for allowing you to be a part of this miracle he has planned out for me here in Augusta. The internship would not be the same without you! Thank you for being a friend that I can cry with, laugh with, stress over work with, and pray with! Your friendship means more to me than you will ever know!!! I love you!! Happy 22nd birthday Care Bear!

-Midget Mandy

CAMP

This weekend, I was blessed to be able to go to a camp for kids with cancer. This camp was really cool because not only the kids came, but their entire family was able to come. Due to privacy issues, I am not allowed to post pictures of the kids faces on here. I wish I could because every single one of them would melt your heart!!

All of us interns making signs to hang on the families cabins
freezing our butts off on the golfcart taking luggage to all the cabins.

Friday night, a magician came in to entertain the kids. They were LOVING it!

The rabbit trick was their favorite.

After the magician, we had a bonfire and made smores.

My favorite group of girls!

Two of our supervisors.

Stephanie and Me

I was the counselor for the girls at camp. After breakfast on Saturday, the first thing we did was went to the climbing wall. I was too scared!

A sweet little girl keeping me warm while we watched the others climb!

We had a spa day on Saturday.. The girls spilled some of the paint and ended up dipping their brushes in the mess! It was so cute!

The girls decided on my colors... and sparkles

We also did ceramics.

All the interns had to decorate for the dance on Saturday night.

Us again.

Some of the party favors.

The DJ

My lens popped out from dancing so hard. :)

Steph and I dancing silly and being the entertainment.

Carrie and LM

Me and Care Bear

Each kid that has cancer had to make a target and list out different things that they hated about cancer. I walked around the room reading some of their responses and couldnt stop the tears from flowing.

On the last day, the campers and their families were asked to make a page for their family for the camp scrapbook

The campers also made a stress hand. They filled it up with flour. On one side they wrote out things that they love, and on the other they wrote things that they hate about cancer.

Time to go home!

Carrie.

The best driver award goes to LM!

Our awesome HUGE duffle bag that we were given!

our tshirts

the back.

This weekend was a life-changing weekend for me. I have been around "sick" kids in the hospital, but seeing them in a normal environment was something that made me remember these are still normal kids who like to have fun and be goofy. I had so many emotions this weekend. I laughed. I cried. I held in tears. I cried happy tears. I am still experiencing all of these emotions. Hearing the "well" siblings talk about their sick siblings was something that broke my heart into a million pieces. They talked about how they know when their brother/sister is going to be sick and how they take care of them. The parents had meetings all day and talked about what all they were experiencing. It was really neat to see how all the parents bonded and ended up exchanging information when the camp was over. All the mamas were blessed to have a spa day where a spa came down and gave them massages, manicures, pedicures, and a hair cut/style. The children who have cancer were asked to write a letter to cancer and to express their thoughts. Those were also heart breaking to read. So much more happened this weekend, but I cannot go into a whole lot of detail.

There were children there who were diagnosed with cancer two weeks ago and are just now losing their hair, there were children there who have just finished their last chemo treatments, and there were children there who have been battling this horrible disease for a while now. But they were all so positive and so supportive of each other. It makes me realized how I get stressed out over stupid little things, when things could be so much worse.

I have been inspired from every single family that went to this camp, and my life will be forever changed because of them.