Friday, May 20, 2011

Cincinnati Trip


It has been such a busy week but I have to write about our trip over the weekend to Cincinnati. Ben's little brother graduated from Xavier University and we went down for the festivities. We drove down Friday and got there in time for a ceremony at the church. It was a beautiful church and probaby 1,000 people were there. Lucky for us, Chris reserved us a seat....on the front row...with a toddler....at 8:00. I was a nervous wreck but she actually did well. She just wanted to talk back to the speakers because, of course, they were talking to her. We got up Saturday morning for graduation at 9 and my sweet girl sat through another 2 1/2 hours of graduation. After a 2 hour lunch, which she fell asleep in my lap for, we decided to take her to the Newport Aquarium. She had a blast. She would run from one exhibit to the next saying hi fishie..bye fishie. She was such a good girl. I am so spastic though. On the trip home, I was talking about how good she was and how easy it is because we can still do whatever we did before because she just goes with the flow and how I'm not ready for another for awhile. I just want to enjoy this. The same day, we got back and I headed to the grocery and there was a little baby in a cart that was about 5 months old. She had those sweet fat legs that my baby had and I got tears in my eyes thinking of how I miss my baby and want another.. I'm weird sometimes...or maybe I am just female :) Pics to come soon!

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

What I'm Loving Wednesday

I am loving that this girl slept in her big girl bed last night!


I am loving my sewing/embroidery machine that I think I am finally getting a hang of


I am loving these tumblers that I got from Zulily this week


I am loving that this guy's business trip is only for tonight.. Oh and that place in the background.. Cracker Barrel, Yeah, I love that place too!

Friday, May 6, 2011

Show Us Your Life

So I decided to participate in Kelly's Korner Show Us Your Life today because it is talking about one of my favorite things....vacations!! We just returned from Gulf Shores, AL and had a blast! We went with my best friend and her family. Bailey loved hanging out with her three boys! It made me realize that I am probably going to have to give her a sibling at some point :) This year was interesting. Bailey is almost two now so the relaxing laying out on the beach....well it was different than years past. I was laying out one day with my eyes closed while Ben was watching her and, all of a sudden, feel sand all over my face. I then looked up to a girl with an empty shovel and a mean little giggle. Her daddy got a laugh out of it as well. Then one day while laying out, I heard Ben tell Bailey to put a cheezit on mommy's belly and of course she did.. I jumped up and screamed as the flock of birds were coming toward me! These are such special moments... sometimes I wish I could freeze time! We love Gulf Shores, it is very family oriented and is "quieter" than the other beaches we have gone to. If you go there, you have to go to Lamberts! I call it Cracker Barrel on crack!! It is so good and they give you so much food! Another vacation that I LOVED was the Disney Cruise. We went on it with my family when Baiely was four months old. I really want to go back now that she is older. They treat you like royalty on the ship. You get to see all the characters but it's not "in you face" Disney. Maybe that can be our summer trip next year??? We live in Tennessee and we love Pigeon Forge for a short trip. It is great! There is so much for kids to do.. We love Dollywood and Wonderworks. I love the shopping although Ben wishes I would stay away from that! The hubby and I are doing our first trip without Bailey in August. We are taking a cruise to Mexico. I am super excited but sad to leave my little girl. She will be as happy as she can be with my aunt but I will be an emotional wreck!










Thursday, April 28, 2011

In Prayer

Praying for those affected by the horrible storms last night. We are headed to Gulf Shores with friends from Huntsville. We drove down and stayed with them last night. We had no electricity but were very fortunate compared to others. This is SEC country. We may be enemies on the field and court but are family when it comes down to it. May God be with you all.

Saturday, April 23, 2011

Easter-Part 1

My Aunt cooked lunch on Saturday this year since everyone was busy on Easter. She had an egg hunt for the kiddos and Bailey had a blast! My Aunt watches Bailey for me while I work and is my mom's sister. We lost my mom to cancer 2 years ago and my aunt has stepped in and taken on that role for me. I am very blessed as well as my brothers to have her in my life. She will not take my mom's place, which she would never try to do but I don't know what we would do without her. Anyway, onto the pictures!

Thursday, I took her to get pictures made with live bunnies. Here she is when we got home. This is her Sunday dress
This morning, Ben went out to mow the yard and found this little guy. After thinking we were going to have to nurse a baby rabbit back to health, we googled and found out that his mom would come out at night and to put him back where he came from. We are going to check on him in the morning to make sure he is ok.

Bailey finally got to hunt some eggs. I think Pawpaw was slipping some M&Ms in her basket! I have to watch him :) I feel so blessed to have my family! Tomorrow is breakfast with Ben's family, church, and more egg hunting at Ben's mom's house.



Everyone have a great Easter!

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

How fun is this?

Pigeon Forge, TN is doing this Family Challenge promotion right now. To enter, you have to submit a video of your family and why you want to participate in the Challenge. A panel of judges choose the top 20 videos and those are voted on to see who will participate in the Family Challenge.

The five families with the most votes will win:

5 Days and 4 Nights stay for 5 people
Tickets to Dollywood
Spending Money
VIP card to many of the Pigeon Forge’s attractions
Goodie Bags provided by Great American Country (GAC)

In this economy... a free trip for the family!! Yes please! There is also a tab on the website to register for a free trip if you don't want to make a video for the challenge.

Here are a few pics form our last trip to Pigeon Forge



Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Official

Well, it's official..... I am a 30 something! Today is my 31st birthday. When did I get this old? I have been told the thirties fly by. I will admit my twenties were amazing. I had so much fun with so many friends. College, first real job, meeting and marrying my husband, first house, first new car (which I will never buy new again, thank you Dave Ramsey), first pregnancy, first baby. Wow, what a busy decade. I do have a feeling my thirties are going to be the best. Bailey will be two in July. She is so much fun right now. I love watching her and experiencing life through her eyes. Twenties were all about finding myself, creating our family, creating our marriage, figuring out how to make things work. I feel like my thirties are us settling into our lives. We are so happy, we are financially stable, we know each other like the back our hands. I look forward to watching Bailey grow up, possibly adding another, and enjoying life with my husband. Twenties were fun but you can't compare to having a family and the fun that goes with that. So cheers to being 30 something!
Just in case you need a Bailey fix...

Friday, April 15, 2011

Thankful



Well I missed Thankful Thursdays mainly because I was busy with my little thankful who decided she didn't need a nap! But I want to post anyway. What am I thankful for?

This is probably the worst picture that I have ever taken but it was the proudest moment of my life. I thought I was thankful then but a few things that have happened since to make me realize how thankful I should be. We have good friends that have been trying for years to have a baby. They had some "help" and became pregnant with triplets. We were all estatic. At 19 weeks, she lost all three babies. She is almost at her due date now and I know it's going to be a rough month for her. She held them, she kissed them, she loved them, she lost them. They are now trying to figure out their next steps. They love babies and seeing them with Bailey and how sweet they are with her breaks my heart. Another friend of mine that I grew up with has a 3 year old little boy and found out she was pregnant with a little girl. She was so happy. Now in her third trimester, she found out she has breast cancer and had to have surgery and now has found out that she will have to go through Chemo as soon as the baby comes. her facebook post today says " I want to be excited for my induction but it's hard because I know what is coming after." I feel like we take for granted having healthy babies and healthy families. So, please say a prayer for my friends and hug your babies a little tighter tonight. I know I will!

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Summer Vacas!

We have been thinking about what we want to do for our big summer vacation this year and I think we have settled on a cruise! I am super excited! The thing is, I think it is going to be our first trip without the princess. I'm not sure if this mommy can handle it! Here are some pics from our cruise with her Christmas 2009.


I am very blessed to know that she will be well taken care of and not miss us at all when we are gone but...leaving my baby for a week?? Of course, I have already had the other moms say "i don't know how you can do it because I never could" which makes me feel extremely guilty and wonder if I'm a bad mom to leave her. I just think it would be a great opportunity for Ben and I to spend some quality time together. The Bible teaches God first, spouse second, family third. It's hard sometimes to work on that spouse second because you are both so focused on the baby. It would be nice to be husband and wife for a few days instead of just mommy and daddy! I just hope I don't cry for the whole week missing my girl! Right now, we are excited for a long weekend at the beach WITH my girl at the end of the month! Woohoo!!

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Thank you Thursdays!





My thank you Thursday post is simple. I am thankful for these two people that are in my life. It's the small things that make my heart melt. I was getting ready yesterday in the bathroom and out of the mirror, I saw my husband kiss Bailey on the head as she woke up. So simple but it just absolutely melted my heart. While dating, you can pretty much tell what type of husband he will be but you have no idea what type of dad he will be until that day comes. I will just say...I lucked out..Bailey and I both did!

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Weekend




Well, this weekend was a little disappointing! Our team, UK Wildcats, were in the Final Four. Ben likes watching the games at home by ourselves but we decided to go to dinner and watch the game at his mom's house. It was a very disappointing loss. I worked on making Bailey a shirt Friday and even though we lost, she was precious in her shirt saying Goooo Cats! I put a 55 on the back because that is our favorite player(Josh Harrelson). We have a busy weekend ahead of us. Ben's birthday and Easter pictures. I have to get busy on getting her Easter basket ready. I made her the cutest little egg hunting outfit that I can't wait for her to wear!

Monday, March 28, 2011

Getting to Know You Link Up




1. what inspires you?
My husband inspires me to be the best wife I can be and my daughter inspires me to be the best mom I can possibly be. Corney I know but so true!

2. what was the last thing you bought yourself?
Just went to the Banana Republic Outlet last week and got some summer dresses

3. would you rather watch a movie in a theater or from the comfort of your own home?
I love watching movies at home because I like wrapping up in blankets but my husband and I went out to a movie a few weekends ago and I had forgotten how nice it was and how good the popcorn is!

4. household chore you don't mind doing?
mopping

5. coffee or tea?
Both, I love my starbucks but I am from the south so there is nothing better than sweet tea!

6. what could you eat every day and not get sick of??
French Fries- they are my weakness

7. what's the last book you read?
Not a huge reader- Dave Ramsey Financial Peace was probably my last

8. do you think you look you "look" your age?
I think so...maybe a little younger on a good day :)

Thursday, March 24, 2011

No Jesus

Just wanted to share a cute story about my little Miss today... When I try to get her to go to sleep I sing Jesus Loves me. I have done it since she was a little baby. Well, little Miss did not want anything to do with a nap today, which, as I am writing, she is still running around. I laid down with her in bed and, as soon as we laid down, she started yelling...No Jesus No Jesus! So, I guess she associates Jesus with naptime. Guess we are going to have to start working on putting some positives around Jesus's name!! After an hour of her doing everything but sleep, I finally gave in and let her be. Sometimes, battles just aren't worth fighting!

Zoo Date






Sunday was beautiful so we decided to take a trip to the zoo. We invited bailey's little boyfriend and his parents along and had a blast. The kids loved the animals and making the animal sounds. Baker is just too cute for words and my little monkey...well, I think she's pretty cute in these pictures too. Mommy had to buy her some new sunglasses at Janie and Jack and she loves them. I have to admit that it really excites me that she loves to wear sunglasses! I had one sleepy little girl Sunday night. She took about a 30 minute nap on the way home from the zoo and probably walked five miles while there!

Monday, March 21, 2011

Thank You Wildcats!!!

This has been a GREAT weekend in our house. The weather was wonderful, I got to shop, and Ben's team won! We are trying to move Bailey back into her room (yes, we are those parents) and she hates her crib so we decided to move her into a big girl bed. I found Pottery Barn bedding that I loved so I went Saturday and bought it. While at the mall, my favorite kids store, Janie and Jack had a 25% off coupon so I bought a few things there. Now that comes to the title of my post...thank you Cats! Ben hates spending money..he thinks I can buy everything I need at Walmart :) He was in such a great mood because of the Wildcats win, he didn't even say a word when he looked at the bank account!! Now, if I can just get them in the Final Four, maybe I can do a little shopping for myself!! Oh, and to Ben's grandma that I know is reading and wanting Bailey pictures.... we went to the zoo yesterday so I will post pics soon!

Isn't this just precious????

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Happy St Patty's Day!!

It's St Patty's Day and I'm off work. I had this day planned where I would dress bailey in her cute outfit and take her to ben's office and tehn we would go to lunch. The, ben found out UK plays at 1:45 today si he is leaving work early!! There goes my plans! Bailey's grandparents are coming over to watch the game today so at least they can enjoy her in her cute outfit! We aren't big on corned beef ad cabbage so I think we are going to go with Spinach Dip and cookies!! It is gorgeous here today so we may try to get Daddy to take us to the park after the game! Everyone have a great day and GO CATS!!

This time last year... Sniff sniff




Tuesday, March 15, 2011

The "Rotation"


I love looking for and trying new recipes! It's very hard for me because my husband is the pickiest eater ever!! No beans, no onions,no fish and pretty much no vegetables. Do you ever have one of those nights that you cook something new and your family loves it? I always ask Ben if it gets put on the rotation. Our Friday meal was one of those, Spinach Cream Cheese Lasagna. I found the recipe off of Faithful Provisions I added some ground turkey to it to keep my husband from freaking out at the "green stuff." He ate it, the baby ate it, and I ate it until we were stuffed..Then, we ate it the next day for leftovers!!! Unheard of in our house! Now, do you ever have those nights that you cook dinner and you think you would be better off throwing it in the trash and going to Wendy's?? That was our last night. I didn't get home until 6 and we were all hungry. I had laid pork chops out which we usually grill but it was raining so I decided to pan fry them. I guess I let it sit too long because I was peeling potatoes so when I put the pork chops in the pan, they started smoking. Then I was going to make mashed potatoes so I decided that I could peel them, cut them, and put them in the microwave. They didn't cook right and I couldn't even mash them up. I've been getting into the organic craze a little lately so I made Annie's Mac and Cheese. It was good but nothing compared to some Velveeta Mac n Cheese. So, last night, we had burnt pork chops, lumpy potatoes, and mediocre mac n cheese. Too pitiful for even a picture! Tonight is Taco Turkey night with Rotel dip so I know it will be a good dinner night!!

Monday, March 14, 2011

Spring Cleaning

Friday was beautiful outside and the sun was shining in my windows...my incredibly dirty windows. It started with me steam mopping the hardwoods then it went to steam cleaning behind and under the couches, then cleaning off the window seal, to then cleaning the windows. As you can see, I had some help from my mini-me. Don't let her fool you, when she wasn't helping, she was messing. Sometimes I feel like I am in a race to clean up faster than she messes up... Oh well, I wouldn't trade a clean house for her in a million years!