Down Home in Daphne

Pinterest Fun

2012-02-10T08:44:00.000-06:00

I know some of you have heard of Pinterest and others may have not, but it is a fun site where you can "pin" ideas. The ideas could be on anything - crafts, recipes, style, decorating, organizing, you know name, you could pin it.

I hadn't really gotten too into it until a few weeks ago when I started finding recipes. Since then I have been trying 1 or 2 a week and it has been so much fun!

Another fun aspect of Pinterest is that you have "friends" and you see what they are pinning. Then if you like it, you can "repin" it. I have really enjoyed seeing friends comments on some of the recipes and now that I have tried some I have enjoyed putting my two cents in.

Here are few of the recipes we have tried...

Buffalo Chicken Pizza
Brad really like this and is ready for me to make it again!

Outback Crock pot Potato Soup
Will become a soup staple!

Cowboy Casserole

Crock pot Chicken Spaghetti
Super easy and good! I am all about some super easy!

French Dip Roll ups
Very good! May want to cook a little longer than the directions say...could depend on your oven.

This, the french dip roll ups, is what got me on the Pinterst kick - my friend, Nicole, had these on her blog. Nicole always has fun recipes on her blog and so I thought she would for sure have a bunch of good stuff on her Pinterest "board". And thus, the journey began!

So, this is it for my pinterest post. If I get really adventurous I may try one of crafts or organization ideas.

Ladybug Decor

2012-02-09T10:57:00.000-06:00

I didn't include any pictures in the last post of our decorations, but I wanted to share (not that they were that spectacular, but they were fun none the less).

Kind of hard to tell here, but pretzel ladybugs

Goody bags for the kids (with their own ladybug antennas!)

Pictures from the last year. Our sweet girl sure has grown up!

The ladybug with all of her spots.

Our Little Ladybug

2012-02-08T10:09:00.001-06:00

Our little ladybug is turning 2!

This weekend we celebrated Paige's upcoming birthday family and friends in Huntsville. Planning this party had to be one of the hardest things I have ever done. I knew what I had in mind but had trouble finding it and when I thought I found it, it was booked. So, 5 places later we booked a house at Willowbrook and it ended up working out great!!!

Sweet kids coloring ladybugs

The one hiccup of the day was I forgot to buy a candle. Luckily soon-to-be Uncle Joe came to the rescue and got us one!

The kids loved dancing on the stage! It was perfect for a Fresh Beat dance party!

Next came Pin-the-spot on the Ladybug

We ended the day with making paper plate ladybugs

Flying with Aunt Christina, probably telling her "this way"

I know Paige had an awesome time at the party and Brad and I both had a great time too! This may be our "place" for future birthday parties!

Happy Birthday Sweet Baby Girl!!!!!!

Long Time, No Blog

2012-01-24T15:16:00.002-06:00

Sorry I have been out of the blogging loop for awhile! We had a great Christmas and our New Year has gotten off to a great start.

Since I like to use the blog as a way to record the happenings of our family I am going to try to "rewind" and blog about our holiday season.

Stay tuned for more!

REWIND: Christmas Part 2

2011-12-29T15:57:00.000-06:00

The next part of our Christmas Break took us to Huntsville.

With Katie Lane - they both loved getting in the toybox!

How cute is this!?! Both girls love to read!

Playing with Grandad and Dede

Enjoying one of Everett's Christmas gifts while sporting her boots.

It seems like we never have enough time to see everyone to see everyone we want to see! Plus, I don't even have pictures from half of the trip! This has made realize while we are getting to enjoy the moment in the moment, we better take some pictures so we can remember the moment later on!

REWIND: Christmas Part 1

2011-12-23T15:50:00.000-06:00

Where do I even begin?!?

We had an amazing Christmas holiday, filled with family and friends and most importantly filled with Jesus.

Brad and I were both lucky enough to be off for 2 1/2 weeks at the end of the year. This was a great time for us to spend time at home, visit in Huntsville and then on to DC.

Before our "break" Paige was able to enjoy her Christmas party at school. They dressed up in their PJs for the event. It was awfully warm for December that day and we put her in the coolest thing she had that was Christmasy. As you can tell, some of the kids didn't even dress up because it was so warm. Below she is sporting the Santa hat one of the Grandmas monogrammed for the class. This is the same grandma that made, yes handmade with monogramming, bags at Halloween.

The next day we went to the Breakfast with Santa at the Grand Hotel in Point Clear.

Since we had been down here I had wanted to go and see it all decorated for Christmas. I also thought it would be fun to take some pictures of Paige looking cute too. Then we heard about the Breakfast with Santa and thought that would be a perfect way to do it all.

We arrived bright and early for our 7:45 am reservation (yay us for being early!) and were able to get a few pictures before breakfast.

For breakfast they have a huge buffet. It had everything imaginable and was fantastic! The inside of the Dining Room was finely decorated and just screamed Christmas. If you weren't in the Christmas spirit before walking in, you should have been by the time you left. Around the buffet they had a working train that circle round and round - pretty cool!

This is as close as she would get to Santa. Oh well - at least we didn't have to wait in a terribly long line!

The rest of our time before we left for our 12 night journey was spent baking and relaxing. We threw in our small group Christmas party and our Christmas Eve service at church (although it wasn't on Christmas Eve) and there you have Christmas Break Part 1.

Christmas Time is Here

2011-12-06T08:47:00.001-06:00

I really do like the Paige's school. Each Christmas they put together a little Christmas program for the parents. Last year we missed it because we were in NYC so I didn't really know what to expect. I also didn't know what to expect because Paige has changed so much since their last performance at the end of school year.

Let me tell you, this girl likes to have fun. I laughed and laughed at how sweet this girl is. She loves to dance, sing, and doesn't mind performing on stage.

Side note: This was my first time use the video camera and I am by no means an expert. I will not be quitting my day job to become a camera girl! This will become obvious when you watch and see the camera shake or move (can we say Blair Witch Project!) and when you hear my comments and laughter. I was also definitely focused on Paige and not the group as a whole. Other kids could have been doing what she was doing, but I didn't really see them. Also, it may be hard to find her at times, but I kept the camera going so I would be ready whenever she popped out.

And now for the show...

Jingle Bells

Up on the Housetop

Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer

Santa Claus is Coming to Town

There was a Little Baby

We Wish you a Merry Christmas

Momma Out

2011-12-06T08:45:00.000-06:00

The week before Thanksgiving I went out of town for work. I am participating in this year long program that will require me to travel more than I used to but not too much. Overall, I think it is going to be a great year and a great program. Anyway, this week was our first meeting. Leaving Paige this go around was one of the hardest things I have ever done. It ranks right up there with leaving her on her first day. I don't know what my deal was because it was not the longest I had left her, but man it was HARD!!!!! I knew she was good hands (I think I just wanted them to be my hands :).

I had one rule while I was gone - take LOTS of pictures!!! They did pretty good so I will share a few.

I thought this was funny because this is one of Brad's least favorite games and he let her do it! Funny how little girls know how to work their daddies!

Loving the wind blown hair!

Where are my sisters? (you can kind of see one on the far left - ha!)

Picnic time!

Lunch with Daddy

2011-12-05T08:15:00.000-06:00

On Veterans' Day the Pharmacy School had a school-wide Thanksgiving lunch. Paige and I joined Daddy and we all loved it!

Such a ham!

What a big girl!

She did really good and was sweet to the students and faculty. The funniest part to me was when she realized there were cookies and reached her hand right on up to the plate and made sure she got one. This girl loves her sweets!

Survey Says

2011-12-04T12:06:00.001-06:00

Paige has never been the best napper at home. Sleeping at night we got down, napping at school we got down, but naps on the weekend are never predicable (meaning we don't know how she will do, not that we won't try, sometimes she gets her paci while other days she doesn't. Speaking of paci - this is the only instance where she gets it - she knows how to work us!).

So, yesterday was nothing new when she didn't want to go down.

What was knew was being greeted in the den by a crying child who scaled her crib and got out. Yes, she climbed out of her crib, opened the door and came on down the hallway. This was pre-paci yesterday so after we got over the initial shock of what happened we gave in and let her have the paci.

Fast forward - nap time is over and what does she do? She climbs out again!!!

Needless to say, the mattress is on the floor now (still in the crib frame). Poor thing tried to climb out again at bedtime but ended up bonking her head because she couldn't get out.

Has anyone ever experienced this with their child? Do you have any advice?

We have ordered a crib rail (this was done while we were in the initial shock phase) and it should be here by early this week. Her crib converts to a full bed so that is another option (with bed rails).

After climbing out she proceeded to bring her pillow and blanket that she had thrown over the crib into the den. Nice, huh?

Look a Likes

2011-11-10T08:30:00.000-06:00

Does she look more like Pebbles or a Who?

Lessons and Learning

2011-11-09T15:28:00.001-06:00

It’s a typical Wednesday. I find my way to Paige’s cubby at school and see a note on the cubby. A note typically means something is either going to happen or has already happened. Did Paige fall? Did she bite someone? Is she getting a new teacher? What could it be?

REPORT CARD! Well, really I guess you could call it a progress report. My little 20 month old got her first report card/progress report!

Was I expecting this? Um, no. Did I have a clue what she would actually be quizzed on? Um, no. But, this gave a good indication of what to expect for the future.

What is a “young two” supposed to know?

Nursery rhymes
Retell story from book read
Self Control
First name
Age
Gender
Recognize colors
Point to body parts
Make animal sounds
Recognize shapes
3 block tower
Recognize self in mirror
Assemble puzzle
Potty trained

How do you get graded as a “young two”? You have either mastered the skill or you are emerging (pass or fail in others – ha!).

Paige did great! She was emerging on Nursery rhymes, retelling the story, colors, shapes and potty training and mastered everything else.

None of it really surprised me and for that I am grateful. I already knew everything is yellow and every girl knows that a diamond is a girl’s best friend (she knows diamond but doesn’t know triangle, go figure!).

Way to go Paige! We are so proud of you! We can’t wait to see and hear about all the great things you are learning!

Off Weekend

2011-11-08T08:26:00.001-06:00

What do you do with your Saturday when your football team isn't playing?

1) Find a babysitter!

2) Make a list of everything you can't do when you have a toddler.

3) Go do those things!

#1 was easy. Ms. Margie had been asking us since August if she could watch Paige for us and that was easy to coordinate.

#2 a little harder than we thought. The list included eating a meal together, shopping, and a movie. That was it, that is all we could think of. So, we chose shopping and dinner. It was great to spend the time together and have an uninterupted dinner. In fact, we went to the Melting Pot where there were no TVs so that meant no football! It was a compromise because we did an eariler dinner so Brad could watch at least part of the AL/LSU game. We didn't get any pictures of us at the Melting Pot, but Ms. Margie and her daughter got some cute pics of Paige.

Bumble Bee

2011-11-04T08:46:00.000-05:00

One of Paige's favorite songs is the Bumble Bee song. The way we do it is I sing most of it and she chimes in at the very end. It cracks me up because I can only sing the first verse and then she is saying "again". I think the other night I sang it about 15 or more times on our way home from small group.

Here Kitty Kitty

2011-11-03T08:42:00.000-05:00

After Sunday when Paige wanted nothing to do with dressing up and going around to the different tailgates to get candy I didn't really know what to expect for Halloween night. Boy was I surprised! The girl absolutely loved it! She kept telling us "treat", "candy", or "more" (meaning let's go to more houses).

Ready to go

Paige didn't want to leave our house at first because she wanted the treats. What she didn't realize at the time was that we were about to go ge a lot of treats!

You can't see it clearly here, but she is grinning from ear to ear.

Dancing with excitement

CHEESE!

I can't wait for next year as the excitement will only be greater!

Tailgate Time

2011-11-02T08:07:00.001-05:00

This weekend was filled with tailgating!

Saturday we got to tailgate with great friends and family! I always love it when we get to tailgate with the Eckley's and Smith's and the Wright's there made it even better!

Before tailgating we got to visit with Aunt Mary!!

It was so windy! I thought we were all going to blow away.

Can you see Paige's wind-blown look?

These 3 girls were just too cute! Last year we were able to get them to sit together and get some great pictures. This year there was very little sitting.

Instead there was hugging - too cute!

Sunday was our annual tailgate at church.

This year we had a Hawaiian/Luau theme. One of our group members owns a snowcone business so they pulled their truck up and we were good to go. The decorating was so easy! We all joked that we needed to do this every year!

I was able to use some of the decorations from Paige's birthday - yay!

Workin' hard!

We all had so much fun and can't wait for next year!

Cotton Pickin' Good Time

2011-10-30T10:34:00.000-05:00

So, we are pulling out of the church parking lot and then come to an immediate stand still at the green light. Brad and I look at each other in disgust and both wonder what the problem is. Turns out there is a car pulled over taking pictures of cotton. Taking pictures of cotton? Yes, taking pictures of cotton.

In a matter of minutes we decide to be “that” car and pull ourselves over to pictures of Paige with the cotton.

Gotta love the impromtu photo ops!

Animal Flash Cards

2011-10-28T08:46:00.000-05:00

While we were gone to Las Vegas Paige started to learn the different animals on her animal flash cards. Before we left she knew peacock and duck. When we got back she knew over half of the animals. It is too cute to watch her bring us the different animals. We will ask, "can you bring us the xxx" and next thing you know she is bringing it to us. I was able to setup the cards last night (throw them all over the floor) and let her bring me each one. And, since my newest thing is uploading videos here you go!

**This is an old video but I wanted to share anyway!

A Day at the Zoo

2011-10-27T10:05:00.000-05:00

3 conferences in 3 weeks – that was the story for Brad. Nashville, Pittsburgh and Birmingham.

Birmingham – a trip we could tag along on and not get in the way too much. And that is just what we did!

While Brad attended and spoke at the conference Paige and I headed off to the zoo. We had an absolute blast! She loved looking at the animals and taking in everything the zoo had to offer (play area and train included). We both were having such a great time we totally lost track of time and missed lunch and nap time – those are the best kinds of days!

Checking out the zebras.

There was a neat play area with bongo drums for the kids to play. She loved it!

Such a big girl on the train! She wouldn't sit in my lap and wanted to do everything herself!

Girl Time

2011-10-26T09:04:00.000-05:00

I am going to do a little back tracking – mainly because I want to remember our happenings chronologically.

I feel like you hear about these great mother-daughter weekends, getting to do all these fun things, in fact, this was one of the things I dreamed of when I found out we were having a girl. In my mind I had all these great things planned for Paige and me when Brad went to Nashville. Well, poor baby got sick and we were stuck inside all weekend.

Lucky us, we had an opportunity to make up our girls’ weekend. Brad headed to Pittsburgh and we got our girl time! Our weekend was full and fun. We spent most of our time just hanging out and enjoying our time together. Some of the highlights included a little shopping, playing – inside and out, and indulging in yummy cupcake snacks (one for each day of course!).

And now for some pictures to help me remember the good weekend!

My little helper wanting to feed the dogs. She is now tall enough to get their food out of the pantry and really wants to help. Little does she know, Ellie and Madi are fed before she gets up. I guess it is a win/win when the doggies get a little extra on mornings like this.

Talking to Nanny.

This cracks me up - anytime I am on the phone, doesn't matter who I am really talking with, Paige thinks it is Nanny. I don't really understand this because I don't talk to Nanny that often when I am around Paige (it is normally in the car on the way to and from work). Well, at this particular moment, Paige found my phone and she was "talking" to Nanny. I love it!

Sunday morning cuteness!

I don't know who was more proud at this point. I got her dressed, hair and bow included, had time for pictures and was only 2 minutes late for church.

Our last adventure for the weekend was spending some time at the playground. I got some cute pictures but blogger is not letting me upload. Until next time...

ABCs

2011-10-17T21:07:00.000-05:00

Paige is really into singing her ABCs right now and it is so cute! I just had to get it on video so we will remember her sweet little voice singing this sweet song.

September, where did you go?

2011-10-06T14:38:00.000-05:00

September is gone and October is here!! It is hard to believe that September came and went so quickly!!

I didn't get to blog much during September because I was bogged down at work with fiscal yearend (yearend = me. I have to make sure we are able to close out the old fiscal year and open the new one. Everyone in my office works a little extra to make sure things run smoothly).

But, we did get to do a few fun things that I didn't get to mention...

We attended a Daphne High School football game. Auburn has a committment from one the guys on Daphne's team so we had to go and check him out. Paige was appropriately dressed in her purple and yellow, ready to cheer on the Trojans! The picture is kind of funny because she sat still long enough for us to take the picture and then she was ready to move. She and I ended up making laps at the bottom of the grandstands.

Birthday party!! Paige got to go to a birthday party for her friend Gus. Of course we had to wear our cupcakes! (I had been waiting for the perfect occiasion, like this, for Paige to wear this!)

And just because it is funny -

Paige got her first credit card offer. We didn't see that one coming when she was only a year old!

To celebrate finishing the month of September, Paige and I had a little mother/daughter outing Saturday morning. We went shopping!! I really enjoyed spending the time with her and it gave Brad a chance to watch uninterrupted football. Sounds like a win/win to me!

While we were waiting to check out Paige wanted something to play with. At first she wanted my wallet, but I knew that wasn't a good idea. So, I pulled out a pair of gym socks (clean!) and thought she would just hold them. Um, no. She proceeded to take off her shoes and put the socks on. It was too funny! I tried to get her shoes back on but she liked the way she looked so we just left it.

I had my turn in September for staying busy and it looks like October is Brad's month. Hopefully, I will not be a stranger to the blog and I can do better.

You Will Never Believe It!!!

2011-09-23T07:50:00.000-05:00

Paige let someone fix her hair!!!!

Getting these pics was one of the highlights of my day!

Garage 101

2011-09-20T10:13:00.001-05:00

While Paige was the main reason for Nana and Papa Joe's visit back in July, we also recruited Papa Joe to help set up and organize our garage. You may remember over 2 years ago they came down and cut the plywood we had bought for our windows in the event of a hurricane. Well, it has been sitting in our garage ever since. This took up about half of the garage, only allowing us to barely get one car in. Brad and Papa Joe worked hard day Friday creating a place for it. They also installed shelves and a desk top. Now our garage looks awesome!!!

BEFORE...

AFTER...

Wonderful shelves hung

Plywood up and off the floor! Sorry, this picture isn't that great, it looks pretty messy when it really isn't - I promise!

Newly installed desktop salvaged from our move and a nice new long shelf hung ready for stuff to be stored!

Feels Like Home

2011-09-18T14:42:00.000-05:00

This weekend we headed up to Auburn for MS State game!!! Brad and I were both so excited to be in Auburn, even though Paige and I weren't going to the game. There is just something special about driving in and around Auburn. Maybe it is the gameday feel, but I think there is something else to it. In the midst of all the craziness that gamedays bring, there is a certain quiet feeling as you drive away from campus. I had this feeling as I drove to my friend's, Jamye, house. I was driving and thinking about how much I loved Auburn and how it just felt like I had come home - what a great feeling!

Ready to go meet Nana and Papa Joe for breakfast

Cheering on the team!

She absolutely loved playing Morgan's piano. She thought she was hot stuff jammin out some tunes!

Enjoying some time before we headed back home

Fairytale Ball Part II

2011-09-09T08:59:00.000-05:00

So, I wanted to post a video of us dancing at the ball but couln't figure out how to do it...that is until I figured out how to work it on YouTube. So, for your viewing pleasure...

Paigie Las Vegas

2011-09-09T08:45:00.000-05:00

While Brad and I were gone to Las Vegas Nanny and PaPaw came and watched Paige for us. As usual, I am not sure who had more fun, Paige or Nanny and PaPaw. The girl loves her grandparents and her grandparents love her!

From the moment they arrived there was non-stop giggles and smiles!

One of Nanny's projects for the week was to get a bow in Paige's hair. This lasted about 2 seconds.

She loves her dancing/singing bunny!

First day of the new school year. She loved the safari hat!

Our other sweet babies enjoyed having Nanny and PaPaw too!

Sitting in front of another favorite - books.

Viva Las Vegas

2011-09-07T21:30:00.000-05:00

A couple of weeks ago I had to go to Las Vegas for a work convention. Brad was able to tag along with me which made the trip even better! I know you are probably thinking what kind of work thing does the government send you on, especially when I say that we stayed at the Palazzo (part of the Venetian). For all of you tax-concerned citizens we got the government rate for the hotel and it was only $93/night.

The purpose of the trip was to learn about the government charge cards, travel and purchase. I am the alternate POC for our District over the travel card and do some work with the purchase card too. Anyway, enough of the boring stuff!!

We had to get our shrimp cocktail at the Golden Gate!

We ate at Hugo's Cellar, downtown, for Brad's birthday. They do everything with a special touch, from giving the ladies a rose when they walk in to giving you sorbet to cleanse your palate before your entree comes. It was a great place to celebrate!

Brad and I had a wonderful time doing whatever we pleased for the most part. I think one of the best parts about the whole trip was the food. We laid out a plan of all the cuisines we wanted to hit up while we were there and they did not disappoint, except for the Italian. I probably should do a whole separate post on the restaurants alone, but here is a quick overview. We had sushi, Mexican, steak house, Asian, and Italian, all of which were pretty much around the hotel. The neat thing about that is that the hotel gave us coupons for the restaurants in there (makes total sense!). All of the food was great except for our last day and apparently we just did not have good luck in chosing restaurants. That day we had Asian for lunch and the service was terrible (the wait staff didn't know we existed) and that night was Italian (where your portions were tiny and the food wasn't that great).

At the Burger Bar at Mandalay Place - so good! Brad had a buffalo burger with blue cheese. It was neat because you got to chose your meat, your bread, and then all the fixings. We both tried to be a little different than normal and I think Brad did a better job than me by going with the buffalo (I just got plain old angus beef, I did venture out and get pesto on the burger).

Another highlight was seeing Carrot Top. I let Brad decide what show we would see. Back when Brad was at Auburn he saw Carrot Top and thought he was the funniest person ever. I had never seen him and thought it was going to be pretty stupid (knowing that I owed this to Brad after dragging him to countless musicals). Boy was I wrong!! I was laughing just as hard as Brad, if not more. I had no clue that Carrot Top's signature thing was his props! The whole thing cracked me up and I would totally go back again.

While we were gone Nanny and PaPaw watched Paige for us. I know they all had a great time!!

Happy Dance

2011-09-06T13:58:00.000-05:00

We were all so excited after Auburn's win Saturday we had to dance to celebrate!!

**This is my first attempt at YouTube and I have not quite figured out how to edit camera footage off a point and shoot camera.

Napmat-Napmat

2011-08-15T07:30:00.001-05:00

Well, I finally broke down and bought Paige a napmat. The poor girl has really needed one since she started in the toddler room, but I couldn't find one I liked for a reasonable price. (In the mean time she has been using a blanket from the school. Please don't think she has been going completely without.) I knew though, that something needed to be done for this new school year.

I was doing my normal facebook scan when I saw a friend, Jamye, tagged in a picture - a picture of the napmat she had ordered for her daughter, Morgan. When I saw it, I just knew Paige needed the exact same thing. It was kind of funny because when I placed the order I selected everything and then I had to list the thread color. I didn't really know what it was so I said light pink and make it look like Morgan's.

We got it in the mail last week and when I took it out to show Paige she just got so excited! It cracked me up because she knew exactly what to do with it.

We let her load it in the truck Sunday night and she proudly carried it in to school on Monday. Thank you, Jamye, for helping me find such a cute napmat for Paige to enjoy!

Here Fishy, Fishy

2011-08-14T07:14:00.002-05:00

Last weekend Granddad and Dede came down for a visit!

Before Paige took her nap we told her she would have a surprise when she woke up. Little did she know her surprise would be fun grandparents! As usual, she ate up all the attention. She loved taking books to Granddad and having him read them to her.

Saturday night we had dinner at the Oyster House in Gulf Shores. The wait was longer than we expected, but Paige was a trooper and did awesome! We found a not-so-crowded area and let her just run and play. She even got to throw fish food to the fishes behind the restaurant. Despite the wait she was so good!!! Brad and I were both pleasantly surprised.

Sunday morning was spent playing, playing and more playing. I think we were all worn out by the time Granddad and Dede had to leave after lunch! Thank you guys for coming down; we all loved being able to relax, play and visit!

Swimmie

2011-08-12T08:57:00.001-05:00

When we bought our house one of my biggest hesitations was our pool. What would we do when we had a child? How would we keep them from falling in the pool and drowning?

Since Paige was born I have been really protective of what we do outside and I try to avoid actually going in the backyard so that we are not tempted to get near the pool. At the beginning of the summer we established different rules like don't cross a certain line around the pool, do not get in the pool with out momma or daddy, don't get in the pool without floaties, and no running. While these rules were great, we still didn't feel like it was enough to keep Paige safe while doing one of the things she loved (swimmie as she would say it).

Swim lessons were in order!

We talked to the lady at our pool store and as a regular swim instructor she offered to come to the house and teach Paige to swim. So, for the past 4 weeks we have been meeting with Ms. Debbie while Paige learns to swim.

She is learning all sorts of things, like how to get in and out of the pool safely, when to close her mouth, how to blow bubbles, jumping on command, swimming back to the wall, and floating on her back. The first couple of lessons were a learning experience for all. Paige did not want to close her mouth for anything. This didn't surprise me because I don't think she has closed her mouth since she has been born - ha! She would just look and laugh at us while we would close our mouth. Same goes for blowing bubbles - Paige just loved watching us blow bubbles. Floating...she was not a fan! Poor thing just couldn't relax, well until the very end. Now, she is putting her head back and her feet in the water - yay, Paige.

I think of one her biggest accomplishments through swim lessons was improving her listening. This probably sounds really corny but Paige is just like her momma and we are pretty stubborn. She learned that there are rules and that there can be treats along the way if she listens and follows directions (cheerios work wonders). While we have a ways to go, I think Paige knows what to do and with practice we will all be more comfortable!

18 months!!!

2011-08-11T23:01:00.000-05:00

Paige, I can't believe you are 18 months old!

The past 3 months have flown by so quickly and I really feel that you have grown so much in such a short amount of time. I don't know quite what it is, maybe moving up to your new class or maybe you are just growing up!

You love to talk and sing. Just the other day we were on the road and you talked the entire way from our house to the outlets in Foley. Not all of it made sense and not much of it was sentences, but you were happy as a lark jabbering to yourself in the backseat (momma, dada, bo bo, tay tay, ellie, madi, you get the picture, any word she knew she was saying them over and over again). You are starting to repeat different words we say. For instance, I was getting the stroller out, said something about the stroller and next thing I knew you were talking about the stroller.

I think 2 of your favorite phrases are, "move, please" and "beep beep". If someone or something is in your way you don't mind at all asking them to "move, please", Ellie and Madi included (which is just too funny to watch). The "beep beep" comes from me and it really means the same thing as "move, please". You and I both use it when we are coming through and instead of saying "excuse me" we say "beep beep". Now, when I say "excuse me" you respond with "beep beep".

You love your sweet little friends at school. Daddy and I feel sorry for the teacher as there are 4 girls in your class right now and no boys. We joke that the 4 of you will end up being roommates at Auburn when the time comes. I think it is so sweet that you come home talking about the kids in your class. I have also seen you interact with them and you can see you thoroughly enjoy them and they love you too.

You LOVE school and transistioned to the toddler room with such ease. During this time your teachers changed from Ms. Ashley to Ms. Charmaine. I think you handled it better than me! There is now a sense of excitement, most days, when I pick you up. Before, you would wave and be like, "cool, my mom is here, but I am going to keep playing". Now, you come running and greet me with the biggest hug and squeeze. I don't even have to bribe you with treats for hug (something I considered after I saw other moms doing it). In your new class you do all sorts of art which I absolutely love. I think I have figured out a way to display your master pieces once I get some fishing line - can't wait!

You eating habits have changed a little bit over the past couple of months. You went from eating a lot of anything and everything to being a little more picky and not eating as much. I think the amount you eat really has to do with your growth pattern, not really anything else. We are getting used to the slight pickiness, but it really isn't that bad. Fruit is your absolute favorite. If you have chicken nuggets and fruit on your plate you chose fruit hands down and even want more. Bananas are your favorite, you even know where we keep them and ask for them by name (well, you say nana instead of banana, but we know what you mean). You wouldn't believe the number of teeth that have come in over the past 3 months; I think you were cutting 4 at one time.

We are 98% paci free!!!! We only have one paci and we only use it, if we use it at all, during naps on the weekends. Yes, you have your momma and daddy wrapped and we give in on the weekends if we need to. Otherwise we have been paci free since May!!! It is a great feeling to not have to worry about where it is and if it is clean. Letting go of it was a lot easier than I thought it would be. We just tried it one night when we were putting you down and you fell asleep within 2 minutes and stayed asleep all night. You never used it much at school except for naps and after we got rid of it at night they took care of things on their end. Since getting rid of the paci, you have taking a liking to your stuffed animals when you sleep. Sometimes you even sleep on top of your Violet dog.

2 of your favorite things to do over the summer were reading and swimming. You love to read through books and just soak it all in. We have a bookcase in your play room and the books rarely stay on the shelf. I know that as long as I have a book handy you will be happy. Another fun thing you have started doing is learning to find things in books. While Nana and Papa Joe were here you learned where to find the apple in the fairytale book. Now when we ask you to find the apply you find the fairytale book and methodically look for the apple until you find it. At the beginning of the summer you didn't know what to think about this swimming thing. In fact, you didn't like it all. Then we went to the beach and that all changed. You now love the water and love asking to "swimmie". We just finished lessons today (more on that in another blog post) and you made great progress! I think you enjoyed your time with Ms. Debbie and we established good pool rules that should help keep you safe.

Dancing - oh my goodness do you like to dance!!! It could be one of the songs off of a cartoon or in the car - you like to move! The Fairytale Ball was right up your alley. I am hoping you can teach me a few of your dance moves!

I can't believe you are 18 months old today, Paige! Tomorrow you will be closer to 2 than you are 1!! We love you so much and love watching you grow and learn!

Fairytale Ball

2011-08-10T07:12:00.000-05:00

A tradition at Paige's school is their annual Fairytale Ball.

The Fairytale Ball is an end of the summer celebration. The kids get to dress up and have a dance party. It was too cute!!

The party got started with one our favorite songs, "Single Ladies" by Beyonce. Yes, I know this may be strange to say this is one of our favorite songs, especially since I don't know the words, but I know the tune and I make up lyrics as we do things around the house. Paige loves the song and always follows me when I start to sing it.

As the music started there was nothing we could do to hold Paige back - she was the first one from her class out on the dance floor.

Paige and her teacher Ms. Charmaine

The big room was packed with happy kids and parents!

Licking the cake plate clean - you sure can work up an appetite after all that dancing!

The Dogwood Trailmaids (Baldwin County's version of the Mobile's Azelea Trailmaids) came to visit. They were so sweet, they posed for pictures with the kids and danced and danced with kids, making sure the party went smoothly.

How cute is this?!? Paige and Beua, a classmate, dancing.

Thank you, Ella, for letting Paige borrow the cute outfit and thank you Nana and Papa Joe for coming and enjoying the Fairytale Ball with us!

PS - I am trying to load a video, but seem to be having technical difficulties.

Gimme Some Lovin'

2011-08-08T20:56:00.000-05:00

I am way behind as usual...

Two weekends ago Nana and Papa Joe came to visit!

There was time to be silly and to find the apple in the book (she really can find it, pretty neat if you ask me!)

Spent lots of time in one of Paige's favorite places - outside (she says "side" when she wants to go outside)

Gave lots of hugs - nothing is better than a Paige hug.

After a relaxing day by the pool, we ventured to a favorite restaurant and got a pretty pic with the bay in the background

All the girls were interested in what Nana and Papa Joe were doing

Peek-a-boo!!!

Poor Ellie and Madi were exhausted by the end of the visit!

Thank you Nana and Papa Joe for coming down. We all enjoyed the visit and appreciated all that you did for us while you were here!!

Walgreens' Deals

2011-08-03T19:06:00.000-05:00

I thought I should give an update on my couponing adventures.

In my last coupon blog post I mentioned that I wanted to try the drug store deals. I typically go to Walgreens so I thought I should try their deals first. So, a few weeks ago I took part in a diapers deal. It was spend $xx on diapers and get $5 in register rewards. Then, I took my register rewards and used it at Publix (because our Publix accepts Walgreens coupons). Yay for saving $5!!

The deal gets even better!

Sunday was shopping day. First stop - Walgreens. I left with all things we needed, all things on sale and $13 in register rewards. Next stop - Publix. It was a great joy to hand the cashier my $13 in RRs!!! $13 off - so awesome!

So, summary - Walgreens' RRs are great if you can get the items on sale and if you can use the RRs at your local grocery store.

Ta-da!

(Ok, so she isn't smiling, but she sure looked cute!)

Weekend with the Eckleys

2011-08-01T21:40:00.000-05:00

Last weekend our good friends, the Eckley's, came to visit! We have known them forever and just love it when we get to visit with them!! They were so sweet to come down for a long weekend and we got to do all sorts of fun things.

Friday we started with a trip to the Exploruem (sceience museum) in downtown Mobile. It was great!! The kids had the best time exploring the body, how things worked and playing in the special kids area.

All loaded up and ready to go! On the way to and from the Explorium poor Matt sat in the middle seat with the girls so that Emily and I could ride together up front. I will have to say that LOVE having a big car. All 7 of us were able to ride together and we even had room for one more.

The girls are helping me make the pendulm swing...they are doing a great job, right!

Tug boat Master Ben

Captain Emily

We decided we would go local and eat at Cousin Vinny's Pizza for dinner in downtown Daphne. Then we ventured over to play at a park. All the kids enjoyed running around, going down the slide and swinging.

No visit with the Eckleys is complete with out games! In all the years of knowing them, and it has been quite a few, I don't think Brad and I have EVER beat them at Trivial Pursuit. Shoot, I don't know even know if we have given them a run for their money. Well, Friday night the tides turned and we WON!! A first for us! Needless to say we were tickled and proud, so we had to get a picture.

Saturday was filled with swimming and grilling out - Saturday staples at the Wright house! The Eckley's knew to bring their swimsuits and their appetites!

After nap the kids enjoyed watching cartoons. Sweet Ben let Paige sit with him.

How cute are these 2 girls!?! It cracks me up how much Emily and I think alike - we didn't even know we had bought the girls the same dress until we got to talking after we bought them (turns out we bought another dress the same for the fall).

The Eckley Family

After supper we went to Alligator Alley (I think that is the name). It is this neat boardwalk thing where you can walk and look for alligators. We saw a couple of gators! I guess it helped that a guy was feeding them marshmellows - ha!

Up close and personal!

The kids were all so great! I think one of the highlights for Ben and Kate, and probably Paige too, was playing with our Mardi Gras beads. I loved how they would dump the bag and have the best time! Madi even got in on a little of the action.

I thought this picture was too cute - the girls are deep in conversation.

Sunday morning we made it to church. Shoot, we even made it early despite the torential downpour just seconds before we walked in. Yay us - us Wright's are never on time, or so it seems.

We were sad to see our weekend together end, but I know we all had a great time and can't wait to do it again!!! Thank you Eckley's for coming to visit!

Rainy Saturday

2011-07-26T21:59:00.000-05:00

Time to catch up on what has been going on around our house.

I would have to say one of the main things is RAIN!! We finally have rain down here. I would say it has been raining off and on for about a week and a half now. After our sunny Saturday came our first rainy Saturday. While it made me appreciate the sunshine we enjoyed doing different things for a Saturday.

Our day started with a yummy breakfast at Julwin's in Fairhope. Julwin's is a cute little diner like restaurant that has pictures of old Fairhope all over - so neat! They serve a good ole country breakfast. I think we all left stuffed!

Then we ventured out to run errands. Our last stop while we were out was the library. This was Paige's first time to visit and we had a great time! I had not been to children's section before and it had so many fun things for the kids to do - everything from books (obviously) to a puppet stage, to puzzles, to stuffed animals and other fun wall activities. They also had doors so that if it got too loud they could shut the doors and not disburb the rest of the library patrons.

Paige loved picking out books and bringing them to the little table to read.

We spent the rest of the afternoon at home just goofing off. Paige even colored us some pretty pictures.

Poor thing wanted to go swimming. She put her floaties on and kept telling us "swimmy, swimmy".

To wrap up the day we went out for dinner. We have come to realize we are the parents who get super worried about how our child acts out in public. We want her to act perfect and when she doesn't we both get a little stressed out. Eating out has become more challenging for us so we decided a fun family dinner at Chick-fil-a would work. We topped it off with a trip to the ice cream store.

Yum, Yum!!

Here's to more sunny Saturdays and rain during the week (while we are stuck inside)!

Cutie Patootie

2011-07-17T14:07:00.000-05:00

Do you think she enjoyed dinner?!?

Some Things Never Change

2011-07-15T10:41:00.000-05:00

...like taking your picture in the airport before a big trip.

In the airport getting ready to board for our honeymoon 7 years ago

On the plane ready to take off for Punta Cana

Funny Bunny Paige

2011-07-13T09:31:00.000-05:00

For all the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse fans out there -

We have our own Funny Bunny Paige (instead of Funny Bunny Pete)!!

You may not want to drink from a Momma G's cup at our house - ha!

Sunny Saturday

2011-07-12T09:32:00.001-05:00

I really do think our newest thing is to go out to the pool as much as possible. I have now put off laundry and cleaning so that we can spend more time together outside - ha!

This Saturday was no different and we were greeted with this little critter -

We thought we would change it up a little and bring the water table outside (instead of keeping it on the porch and set up the baby pool.

The baby pool was a first for us and it was not a huge hit, maybe next time she will like it.

Always on the go

After an eventful day in the sun, we brought part of the pool. Actually, we got this float not knowing what size floaty stuff Paige would need and this float is too big for her, but too small for us. So, it stays inside and she totes it around. For awhile it was in her closet, you know the normal place you keep floats, then she found it and brought it out to share. I guess it is easier to watch cartoons when you have a float to sit with.

Dinner with Friends

2011-07-11T22:01:00.000-05:00

One of the things I like most about living down here is when old friends come to visit. I love it when a friend comes down to the Gulf for vacation and then wants to see us while they are down here - it just means so much to us! Friday night was one of those nights. Our friends Jamye and Steve came down to the Grand with their daughter, Morgan, for a little getaway. They were sweet enough to squeeze us in and come over for dinner Friday night. Morgan is 3 months younger than Paige and the 2 of them were too cute together.

Paige took a little bit of time to warm up, but it wasn't too long before she was off running showing Morgan all around.

I have a feeling Paige was telling Morgan the "rules" of her playroom (see how that finger is pointed, not sure where she gets that from - ha!).

While Jamye and I talked about life, the guys talked their history and the girls played and played. Next thing we knew, it was 10:30 pm! I think we could all agree that time flies when you are having fun. I love friendships where you are able to pick up where we left off without skipping a beat!

How cute is she?!?

Jamye and Steve, we loved having you over and can't wait to see you this fall during football season!!

4th of July

2011-07-09T10:21:00.002-05:00

As in true 4th of July fashion, we had our celebration last longer than just the 4th.

Paige kicked off the festivities with her parade at school.

** Parade pics provided by Nanny

Lady Liberty, aka Ms. Leah, with her sidekick, Lily

As my mom would say, only at a Southern parade would you see a local fire truck!

Paige and the other girls in her class being pulled by her new teacher, Ms. Charmaine

Sporting the shirt Ms. Charmaine made for her for the parade

Ellie and Madi got ready for the 4th too with their cute festive bows

After we got back in town we headed down to the beach to celebrate the 4th.

Reading with Nanny

Anxiously awaiting to go eat at Doc's in Orange Beach

On the actual 4th of July we took it easy and relaxed at home. We also went to a neighborhood social and then met one of Brad's coworkers for fireworks.

This year we watched fireworks in Daphne and they did not disappoint!

Waiting on the fireworks.

Paige was not scared nor interested in the fireworks. I am glad she was scared but thought it was kind of funny that she could have cared less that they were going on.

Thank you to all the men and women who have served our country and continue to serve in the Armed Forces!

Paige's Version of Punta Cana

2011-07-08T10:19:00.001-05:00

While Brad and I ventured off, Paige stayed home with my mom and Bill. I am not really sure who had the best time. From the moment Nanny and PaPaw steped off their plane all 3 were ready to go.

Paige's days were spent...

Playing dress up

Driving around town

Playing in the water table, or should I say getting soaked in the water table (perfect for the hot days!)

Enjoying time at school

Getting her holidays mixed up?? She is ready to go for her 4th of July parade while playing with her bunny ears from Easter. Funny how she wasn't that interested in the ears at Easter but now loves them! She now plays with them daily, wanting to put them on my head, her head or around her belly.

Riding in her school 4th of July parade

and the best part of all - getting spoiled by grandparents!!

Thank you Nanny and PaPaw for taking care of Paige so that we could enjoy our vacation!

Punta Cana or Bust

2011-07-07T22:21:00.000-05:00

Where do I even begin?!?

Last week Brad and I vacationed in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic at the Iberostar Grand Bavaro Hotel. It was FABULOUS!!! The trip was an adults-only trip with me, Brad, Brad's brother, Justin, and Justin's wife, Christina.

I couldn't really decide the best way to blog about the trip so please bear with me as I try to describe our journey to relaxation.

Our trip began early last Sunday morning from the Pensacola airport.

We were ready to enter the country with our customs and immigration paperwork ready to go. Neither of us were really sure if we filled it out correctly, but after getting through customs we realized it didn't matter; they just wanted a record of our visit.

A view of the lovely Punta Cana airport. It was all outdoors with thatch roofs and really big fans. It reminded me what you would think a Hawaiian airport may look like. When you first enter the airport you get in line to get your tourist card, $10 per person. Then you proceed to the line where you turn in your tourist card. It was kind of funny that no sooner did you get the card you were handing it back over. After we got our luggage we went through customs. This consisted of a guy shuffling us quickly through grabbing our customs paperwork.

On our way to the resort we had a "War Eagle" moment. The couple we were riding with were wearing their Auburn gear. Turns out the girl had graduated from Auburn and the couple lived in Birmingham. You can't go on a trip without your "War Eagle" moment!

We arrived in paradise a little after Justin and Christina and they were able to give us the low down on the resort. Above is the view from our room.

What was the rest of the trip filled with? Eating, relaxing, more eating and more relaxing.

A typical day food-wise for Brad and me included a room service delivery of coffee (with the coffee always came a small plate of breads and pastries), breakfast at the huge buffet, lunch at the huge buffet, a mid-afternoon snack of nachos while playing bingo, another snack of cheese and bread while getting ready, then on to dinner with included 3 or 4 courses. We finished off each night with an order from room service of pizza and either a club sandwich or ham sandwich. Yes, we were little piggies.

The breakfast buffet had pretty much anything you could possibly want. There was sausage, bacon, scrambled eggs, omelets, potatoes, other style eggs, all sorts of pastires, all sorts of fruit, all sorts of cereal and yogurt, and even some stuff that none of us would eat. My typical breakfast included a ham and swiss hot pressed crossiant with a little bit of fruit. I changed it up a little on a few days by having bacon and potatoes. I think Brad's plate changed every day.

The lunch buffet was not your typical buffet. It had anything and everything you could possibly want, some things you probably wouldn't want (cow tail??) and if you didn't see what you wanted you could order whatever you wanted. I heard where some people had lobster with their lunch every day. I pretty much stuck with hamburgers and nachos for the most part. I am a creature of habit and once I find something I like, I stick with it.

Dinner - yum! Each night was a different experience. We were all good about trying different things and I think we could all agree that the Japanese restaurant was our favorite.

So, what did we do during the day and at night?

Day - RELAXED!!!

Really, the resort had different things for you to do if you wanted throughout the day. Your Star Friends would come around looking for "2 million people" to play whatever.

Brad won the air riffle shooting contest the day he and Justin participated. He won a great hat!

Brad with one of our favorite Star Friends, Jose Luis.

Christina and I did water aerobics one day.

Brad, Justin and Christina kayaked. I stayed back to get my one book a year read.

Relaxing on the beach, where you (or maybe just met) had the chance of getting cold if you were in the shade.

And this is where we spent most of our time - in the pool! Here we are chatting with some of the new friends we made. As you can tell, Brad is not in the picture. He turned into a little chatty cathy with all of his new friends. I guess you can tell he has been hanging around me for a long time - I love it!

Night - a little of this and a little of that

The resort had a couple of shows in their theater while we were there. We enjoyed the ones we went to. Here Christina and I are posing with Michael Jackson after the Michael Jackson show. Some of the other shows included a magic show, Dominican night (which we did not see) and Boogie Nights.

The other nights we were at the ship karoking and dancing (yes, Brad and I actually danced, probably a first for us, but hopefully not a last!). The karoking was fun! The other people may not have enjoyed but I didn't really care. After hearing some of the others we agreed we needed an up beat song to liven up the crowd. So, we gave our best shot at "Sweet Home Alabama"!

There you have it - the short and sweet story of our relaxing vacation! We missed Paige like crazy and we both talked about how we couldn't wait to get home to get our big Paige hugs (she gives the BEST hugs)!!!

Funnies of the Week

2011-06-23T09:51:00.002-05:00

I wanted to share 2 fun memories from last week.

Smores

Last week was "Camping" week at school. As a special treat the kids got to enjoy smores! Ms. Ashley told me that while the other kids were a little reluctant to try this treat, Paige dug on in without any hesitation. After the other kids saw how much Paige was enjoying it, they too started to dig in and enjoy.

Errands

Brad had a conference Sunday afternoon in Point Clear. That was one of the reasons we chose to relax around the pool for most of the weekend because we knew we wouldn't have Sunday afternoon. I decided to put off the normal errands until meeting time. Whew wee. Paige and I were both exhausted by the time it was all said and done. Getting ready seemed like we were going to the beach again, but this time we were just going up the road trying to get things checked off.

One of our stops was Target. I found these cups that I thought might be fun for Paige to try. I was right! I normally let her hold on to something while we shop - just makes the trip so much smoother. This time she got to hold on the cups. By the time we got up to the check out register she had taken one of the cups out of the package and was trying to drink from it. Instead of making a scene by taking it away from her, I did the unthinkable and let her hold on to it while she "drank" from it. She didn't want to let go, thus leading to the pic above. And yes, I took this while I was driving. I tried at the stop light but the pic came out blurry so right after the light turned green I very carefully took this picture. Don't worry, there weren't any other cars around and I was going like 2 mph.

How Sweet

2011-06-21T21:48:00.000-05:00

Happy Father's Day!! (well, a couple of days late!)

We made our Father's Day a weekend long celebration by the pool. It involved swimming, realaxing, grilling out (DELISH!!) and just being together.

Paige is blessed with a fantabulous daddy and I don't know what either of us would do without him!!

Yes, another pool pic - where else would we be?!?

How sweet is this!

Our little artist in the making.

Happy Father's Day to all the fathers out there!

To the Beach

2011-06-14T08:10:00.000-05:00

When I was writing our weekend recap I forgot to include a couple of my thoughts on how a child changes everything.

I am amazed at how a simple task of going to the beach can turn into a 2 hour ordeal just to get half way down there only to realize you left some of the stuff in the car and the keys were in the room. Yes, that is how both mornings started. After chasing Paige around the room trying to persuade her to put on her swimsuit, telling her we were going to the beach to see Myles and Ella and that she had to wear a swimsuit if she wanted to go out. Somewhere while getting ready you fit in putting on the sunscreen and making sure it is in the beach bag.

Then there is getting yourself ready - definitely the easiest task of the morning.

Then you have to fill up the bag with everything you could possibly need - sunscreen, snacks, camera, room key, phone, floatie thing, hat (Paige's least favorite accessory), and the swim coverup because she decided she didn't want to wear it and it wasn't worth the battle to make her wear it. Then there is the cooler - we need our drinks, water for Paige, and Paige's cup, plus you have to fill it up with ice on your way to the elevator.

So, bag and cooler are packed. Then you load yourself up with baby, overflowing bag, cooler, beach chair, and umbrella. Next stop - towel station. Add 3 towels to the mix and you are ready to head down to the beach. Only then you get stopped both days by the security guard making sure you knew you couldn't have glass in your cooler (apparently Brad looks like he is rule-breaker).

Whew! We made it!

And it was all worth it just to see her sweet smile as she rode the waves, played in the sand or relaxed in the pool!!!

Sand, Sand, and more Sand

2011-06-12T22:11:00.000-05:00

I think this is what we are going to be finding in our house over the next few days and maybe even weeks - ha!

This weekend we made our first beach trip of the season. Jamie and Matt invited us to tag along for Ella's birthday party weekend. I am not sure they really thought we would come when they invited us, but we are not ones to turn down an opportunity to go to the beach.

We headed to Destin and stayed at the Hilton SanDestin. Some of you may remember last year we stayed at the SanDestin resort and did not have a good experience. Well, the Hilton is in the SanDestin complex but on the beach side and run by Hilton. It was so much better than we could have hoped for or expected. The rooms were a good size, they had fridges and microwaves in the room, they provided beach towels so we didn't have to worry with our's, and there were so many other neat things the resort had to offer.

After last weekend I was apprehensive about Paige and the pool and the beach for that matter. Boy was I wrong!!! The girl absolutely loved all of it! She even cried a little when Brad was taking her out of the ocean today. It was a such relief that she loved it all.

Reading, "Happy Birthday, Pookie" so that we could practice saying Happy Birthday to Ella.

Friday night at Pompano Joe's - SO GOOD!!!!!

Paige plopped herself down right on the sand, me on the other hand had to sit on a towel...to be a kid again

This pink thing is a "puddle jumper" and Paige did really well with it!

Can you tell she liked the water?

Sweet Myles and Jamie

Having fun in the pool

Sweet Grayson and Paige

The Birthday Girl, Ella, who turned 5.

Happy Birthday Ella!!

Now we are looking at our calendars trying to figure out when we can go back to the beach. I don't think it will be soon enough!

Fun in the Sun

2011-06-11T09:48:00.000-05:00

We finally had the normal weekend at home we had all been wanting for a long time! No one was sick and we had no plans other than celebrating our special days. So, what does a normal weekend include? The pool!!!

Poor Paige didn't know what to think about the pool at first; she just wasn't the biggest fan. I had all these high hopes that she would just love it and would be swimming/floating/
whatever around. I bought all the gear that I thought she would need and we ended up using none of it. Instead we pulled out the raft from last and eventually she was good to go.

I have a feeling that the more time we spend in the water the more she will like it - that is what I am hoping for at least!

Farmer Frye

2011-06-10T05:32:00.000-05:00

You may be wondering who Farmer Frye is. Well, she is the girl that sits next to me, Janet Frye. The people at her husband's work gave her this name and I love it! Not only does she grow a variety of veggies, but she shares!!! She has also inspired me to want to start a garden. I am not sure if this will really happen, but it sure sounds good.

Anyway, last week she brought be a big ol' bag of zucchini, squash, banana peppers, green peppers and cucumbers. Paige and I enjoyed having nice fresh veggies at dinner (Brad is not too big into these). I had a little bit of zucchini left and decided to make some yummy zucchini bread. This was my first zucchini bread experience and I think it turned out pretty well. You would be amazed at all the different recipes there are out there for zucchini bread. I went with a pretty simple one this time and if Janet brings me more zucchini I am going to start trying these different recipes out! I loved that the only thing I had to buy was sour cream (and that was by choice because of the recipe I chose) because of my stock piling from couponing.

Packed up and ready to be taken to work.

Then, on my birthday, Janet surprised me with my favorite - okra!!! I absolutely LOVE fried okra - Brad too!!! Needless to say, we were both excited and devoured every bit.

Summer can officially begin now that we have had fried okra!

Pirate Paige

2011-06-09T09:12:00.001-05:00

When Paige moved up to her new class she got a new schedule. This schedule is way more interactive and a little more structured than what she was used to in the infant room. I don't know who is more excited about this, me or Paige. I love that she is getting stimulated more and that she is learning and having fun at the same time. I think she enjoys being a big girl with the other kids - she is very independent.

Each month we get a calendar of what is going on in the class. The infant calender was pretty simple. It told what they were "learning" about each week - transportation, dinosaurs, etc. Well, the toddler room kicks it up a notch. There is a theme each week and different activities that go along with this theme. Along with that, every Wednesday is "bring a book" day and every Friday is "show and tell" (yes, my 1 year old is doing show and tell...the teacher says it helps with sharing - works for me!).

"Pirate Paige"

We all know that hat didn't stay on very long!

This week's theme was "Islands and Pirates". Ms. Ashley arranged a sweet little treasure hunt for the kids out in the side yard. Hats were made for each child, the kids made telescopes and they got to decorate their goodie bag. Then it was off to the field in search of treasure. We got to send a little something for her to find and Ms. Ashley took care of the rest.

Paige's hat, goodie bag, and all of the treasures she found including a stick (you have to look pretty close, but it is there with the silly bands).

Now week's theme is "Camping" and I know smores are on the agenda!

New Helper

2011-06-08T09:37:00.000-05:00

Paige became my little helper over the weekend! I got the steam mop out and all she wanted to do was push it around. I needed to go ahead and get it done so I gave her the swifter and she went to town!

Imagine my surprise when I gave her the actual swifter cover/pad thing to see if she could actually do some cleaning and she took it off!

Maybe cleaning will be a little bit more fun now that we have a little helper in the mix!

7 & 29

2011-06-07T21:45:00.000-05:00

7 & 29 - 2 important numbers we celebrated this weekend.

7 - Brad and I celebrated our 7 year anniversary over the weekend!!! Our actual anniversary was Sunday but we celebrated Saturday night. One of Paige's teachers, Ms. Margie, graciously offered to keep Paige so we could enjoy and evening out just the 2 of us. Brad treated me to a quaint restaurant in Point Clear, The Wash House. Everything about it was wonderful!!! We may just have to make up a special occasion to go back! I love you honey!! Thanks for a wonderful 7 years!

29 - Monday was my 29th birthday. I don't know if I should really be admitting my age to everyone but there it is in all of its glory - ha! I joked with my mom that this was an important year because you always hear every year after this as the xx anniversary of my 29th birthday or '29 and holding'. I have reached the magical mark! My gift to myself was taking the afternoon off and just relaxing. I spent some time by the pool and some time piddling around the house (while it rained - just gives me an excuse to take off another sunny afternoon for more pool time!). Then Brad and Paige took me out to dinner. We tried a new place, Rosie's Grill, in Daphne. I had the hardest time deciding and finally decided that it would be fun to try something new. We all really enjoyed it and think this will be a place we bring visitors so look out if you are coming our way (the menu is a mix between mexican and american - perfect for those not wanting mexican!).

Hmmm....what should I get?

Birthday Kisses!

Yay for a family picture!

Silly Goose

2011-06-04T09:32:00.000-05:00

After riding in the car Monday, this chick was ready to get out and play! I am glad I had my camera to capture some of her sillyness.

Anytime she finds a blanket or towel she puts it on the ground, says "night, night" and lays down. It doesn't matter what time of day it is and it doesn't matter if she is tired or not. So funny!

Can you see the love in her eye's? So sweet!

Yes, we have a big exercise ball in our den that sometimes gets used. Paige may play with it more than Brad and I use it for sit ups, but that is ok! Seeing this picture reminds me of how much P likes balls - doesn't matter what size it is.

Crunchy Grass

2011-06-03T08:38:00.000-05:00

Summer is here! And our grass is dead!! There has been little to no rain for months. It cracked me up the other night as we went out to play and all you could hear is crunch, crunch, crunch on our grass. Luckily, we are not alone with the crunchy grass - I think our whole neighborhood is this way. Poor Brad though, he loves his yard. I am the mean wife who won't let him water the grass. During the month of April he watered it off and on and our water bill quadrupled (and I was out of town 2 of those weeks!). When I say quadrupled, I mean it was like 4 times from the month before - not cool!!! So, now we get to look like the rest of the neighborhood. Ok, now that I am done rambling about nothing, I will leave you with the star of the show...

It is almost like she is in camo if it weren't for the pink shoes!

"Look, I can see myself in daddy's truck!"

I love it when kids "stop and smell the roses" - such a good reminder to all of us how we need to slow down in life and not take things for granted.

Race Day

2011-06-02T08:41:00.000-05:00

Another one of the reasons we came to Huntsville for Memorial Day weekend was to run the Cotton Row race. We are going on vacation this summer and needed some motivation to get in shape. A few years ago I ran the 10k and I thought that I lost some weight and toned up as a result. So, I thought why not do it again...I did it 3 years ago, how hard can it be, right? Wrong!!

Who knew that it could be so hard?!? I trained 3 days week for 12 weeks by jogging and walking on the treadmill. I was already going to the gym on a regular basis during lunch so this became part of my night routine. I stuck to it even though I was out of town 2 of the weeks. My main goal was to finish - just cross the finish line. I knew my time wouldn't be as good as last time, I knew I could last and make it through. With all of that being said, I finished in 1:12:14 - not great, but I finished!!

Seconds from the end!

My cheerleaders! Brad also ran the 5k. Way to go Brad!!

Nana was there to cheer us on too and Papa Joe ran both the 10k and the 5k - wow!!

Brad and I both really enjoyed preparing for the races and hope to keep it up!

A family that runs together, stays together!

Memorial Day Weekend Fun

2011-06-01T20:41:00.000-05:00

We enjoyed a long weekend up in Huntsville for Memorial Day. Even though it was long weekend, it sure didn't feel like it and didn't seem long enough!

While up visiting we got to cook out with the Wright's...

Paige loved playing with Laney, Justin and Christina's dog.

Visit with Grandad and Dede...no pictures - sad!

And visit with sweet friends...

Sweet Rebecca and even sweeter Katie Lane

The girls were too cute playing together!

This cracked me up - Paige plopped on down on the car and Katie Lane just started pushing.

We were so lucky to get to see our friends Andrew and Lisa. They are having their first baby, Ben, in August. We can't wait for him to get here. One of the highlights of the weekend was getting to go to a baby shower for Lisa and then we got to even eat dinner later on. Ben is going to be one lucky boy with parents like Andrew and Lisa!

More to come on the rest of the weekend...

Couponing

2011-05-25T11:30:00.002-05:00

So, I think I am officially the last person on earth to start couponing and definitely the last person to blog about it! I just got really started back in March. My friend Rebecca had told me about some great websites over a year ago and I would peruse them for ideas, but never really did anything with the information. That all changed when my dad started sending me his Sunday morning inserts (kind of nice, right!). Getting my coupons in the mails has become one of the highlights of my week. The people at work enjoy it too because I pass the coupons on to them after I get the ones I want.

Anyway, I am so amatuer at this! I only shop at Publix (haven't gotten into the drugstore thing yet) and I only buy the stuff when we absolutely need it or it is on sale (Publix has good buy 1, get 1 free deals each week).

I think half the fun is the search for the coupons and the other half is waiting for the deals to come. There is a thrill of handing the cashier my organized stack of coupons!

Do I get the $90 worth of groceries for $10? Um no, that is not me. I am the one who is lucky to have one great deal week. One deal that I leave the store saying, wahoo! Like this week my good deal was cokes. They were buy 2, get 2 free and I had 2 $1 coupons. Other good deals have included paper plates , diapers, Shout, and dog treats.

I thought it would be fun to share the websites I reference and some of the other groups I have joined. 1) http://www.southernsavers.com/. This one is based out of Atlanta I believe and is good to list all sorts of good deals, not just limited to coupons. They have a section that goes over all of the different coupon policies which is nice when I start to question what I can and cannot do. 2) http://www.frugalfairhope.com/. You may think this would only be helpful if you lived down here, but I think it could be useful for anyone. They do list the stores that are "competitors" of each other and those stores may not be in your area but I don't really do the competitor thing (maybe I should). They are good to list other deals as well too. I also print coupons from Target and Rite Aid, both of which can be used at Publix.

Since reading these 2 sites I have joined RecycleBank to get coke and yogurt coupons. Recyclebank is pretty easy. You just do little quizes to earn points and the points get your coupons. I have also started doing the Swagbucks thing, http://www.swagbucks.com/. The jury is still out on this one. You earn points by using swagbucks as your search engine. Then you are rewarded points. Sounds simple enough but it will take awhile to get anything that I really want. I figure it can't hurt to try; I am wanting to get a Paypal gift card or maybe Target. Finally, I do the Pampers Rewards, which I have mentioned before. Both of the websites listed above are good about listing bonus point opportunities. You really could not buy diapers and potentially get stuff (i.e. a Starbucks gift card) through these bonus points - kind of a neat concept.

Well, I guess that is about it. Now to decide if I am going to go to the store today to take advantage of this week's deals since I won't be able to go to the store this weekend!

Happy Couponing!!

Moving On Up

2011-05-24T20:58:00.000-05:00

I feel like there hasn't been too much happening around our house other than sickness and this past weekend didn't disappoint. Poor Paige woke up Friday with a 103 fever. Our poor baby spent most of the morning sleeping and lounging around (lots of snuggles and couch time!), but luckily after eating a late lunch she was up moving around. She still had a slight fever Saturday so we stayed all day. Finally, Sunday arrived fever free. We went to church and I don't know who enjoyed it the most. Sunday night we had our end of the year cookout out for small group. But, I was too busy visiting or chasing Paige around to take any pictures.

Enjoying some fresh air after being couped up. Please excuse the outfit, she refused to change tops so the PJ top worked for the backyard.

I have been thinking about what in the world I could write about for the blog since there has been absolutely nothing going on. All I could come up with were the few things I left out of Paige's 15 month post. The girl has turned into a "Fresh Beat Band" fanatic. The "Fresh Beat Band" is a show that comes on NickJr; it isn't even a cartoon. It is a group of 4 kids/teens that are in a band and they do stuff and sing. Paige LOVES the music. I have been trying so hard to get a video of her dancing but it just hasn't happend. I was able to catch her mesmerized by their singing and dancing.

Let's see - other exciting stuff...I forgot some of the words Paige is saying. One of my favorites is Sarah. Yes, Sarah, how random is that? Are there any Sarah's in her class at school? No. Do we have any Sarah's in our family? No. The only connection I can make is that there is teacher at her school who is Sarah and Paige loves her (but Paige loves everyone at school). Another one is bubble. It is too cute how she will look at the bubbles in the tube and just say "bubble, bubble".

Also, Paige has kind of moved up to the next class at school. They have been working on transistioning her for awhile now, but it hasn't been as much as I originally thought. Well, yesterday when both classes were coming in from outside Paige decided she would just join the big kid class. They tried to get her back in her class and she wouldn't have any part of it. The move was scheduled for next week but I guess one week won't hurt her! She is so ready to be with all of her old friends, Gray, Lucy and Beau. Funny story about Beau. Paige's new teacher, Ashley, told me that they were sitting next to each other at the table today and Paige said, "No, No, Beau Beau". Gotta love Miss Bossy Pants. Do you think she hears no alot?

One more Paige funny from school, just to show that the girl's got sass. Today she walks into school, marches to the room, almost plows another boy down to take his seat at the breakfast table to get to his leftover waffle. The girl was on a mission and nothing was going to get in her way!

15 Months

2011-05-17T14:10:00.000-05:00

Paige you are 15 months old!!

(actually you turned 15 months last week, but it always seems like I am behind.)

Gone are the days of taking pictures of you in your crib. I don't think you would sit still for one minute even if we tried.

So, what are you up to these days? Everything!! You took your first steps the night before your 1st birthday and haven't looked back since. Your walk has turned more into a run. In fact, you have already worn out one pair of shoes and you got your first pair of real tennis shoes over the weekend, size 4.5 (boy do you look cute and so grown up!). At school you would rather walk than ride when moving from room to room. It is too cute to watch you move on along like a big girl. You are also wanting to walk to the car now. You know what bye-bye means and take off for the garage door and once in the garage you expect the garage door to be open and ready for you. This presents a challenge for us because you do not like to hold our hands, but with a little persistence on our part you will get used to it.

Your vocabulary has really picked up. Some of your favorite words are ball, book, dog (followed by your dog sound, not quite sure it is a ruff-ruff or woof-woof just yet), please, thank you, yum yum, outside (you say 'side'), dada, yes and no mam. Speaking of 'please', we have all been working hard to get you to say please and thank you when asking for something. Funny story from school - Ms. Melissa asked you if you would like a cracker, you replied, "yes" while moving your head up and down. Ms. Melissa asks, "Paige will you say 'please'?". You reply, "no" and refuse to say please. We were all laughing because you would just not say it and you knew you were supposed to. Lesson learned - momma and daddy needed to work more with you at home on this one and boy have we! So much so, that when I saw Ms. Carrieann last week she told me you were one of the politess kids in the school. She thought it was great that you would say 'no mam' (I wondered to myself if that was because that is what she hears all the time at home, either said to her or her fur sisters - ha!). We love listening to you talk even when it is just babbling that we can't understand.

Over the past 3 months eating has not really been a challenge. You would eat almost anything we offered anytime we offered it. Maybe that is why you weigh 24 lbs and wear 18 month or 24 month clothes! You are starting to develop a taste for certain things. For instance you love peanut butter and you are starting not to like grilled sandwiches (including grilled cheese - what kid doesn't like grilled cheese? I am hoping this will pass because I love grilled sandwiches.). You and I have our "thing" with peanut butter and can eat it right of the jar together (I don't know if I should be admitting this on our blog as some may find it yucky that we eat it right out of the jar). You continue to love fruits and veggies, especially bananas and green beans. I love that you go for the green beans before anything else on your plate or that you will specifically ask for a banana for breakfast or snack. You are drinking from a straw when given the opportunity. We were a little reluctant to try this but when you get sweet tea on the other end, who can resist? You are also learning that chocolate can help make boo-boo's better.

Books are probably your most favorite toy. You will read on your own or you will bring one to us and want to sit in our lap to read together. "Reading" normally consists of me reading the pages really quickly while you try to turn the pages. I love that you have such a great interest in books and I hope it continues. Balls are another favorite toy. It doesn't matter if it is big or small, one you can hold or one you see in a book or on TV, you love balls. I have recently learned that soccer may be in your future because you love kicking them so much...we will see where that takes us.

"Firsts" for the past 3 months include going to Willowbrook's high tech nursery (but not your first nursery experience) and my first time to leave you with your daddy. I have left you before while I was with daddy but never without. I think I was more affected by this than (isn't that the way it seems to work with kids). Daddy did teach you one neat trick while I was gone and that was to say "cheese" when you take a picture. "Cheese" includes the cute little smile along with you right up on the camera - see picture 1 of the post to know what I am talking about. I love it!!!!

Words I would use to describe you -

Loving

you love give hugs

Strong Willed

Daddy says you get this from me

Smart

Daddy says you get this from him

Giggle box

your laugh is contagious and I just love to hear it

Fun

there is never a dull moment at our house

No Fear

there isn't too much that scares you, including going down the slide head first, yes you have tried this

Everywhere

You are always on the go and on to something new

Sweet/Caring/Sharing

You bring your fur sisters their toys and chewy sticks, it is so sweet to see you share

Did you know that there is a new way to sit in chairs?

Happy 15 Month Birthday sweet baby girl!!!

Crazy Weekends

2011-05-15T22:30:00.000-05:00

The past 2 weeks have been kind of crazy around our house. I can't believe half of May is already over.

So, where do I begin? Last weekend we had all these great ideas of what we could do for Mother's Day. It was going to start with some shopping and dinner at Sea n Suds. Well, we go shopping, phase I, complete, but then it was nap time. Paige took an unusally long nap so we didn't make it out for round 2. We also didn't make it to Sea n Suds either because poor baby had a fever (high fever at that!). So, we opted to stay home and boy are we glad we did. Poor Madi then got sick and by 11:30 pm she had blood coming out places where it shouldn't and it was off to the emergency vet for Madi and Brad. Poor thing ended up getting diagnosed with HGE and had to spend 2 nights recouping and getting rid of the yucky bug.

With Paige's fever Saturday we didn't feel like we should go to church and expose other kids to whatever she may have. When she got up she was fever free so we decided we could go on with phase 2 of Mother's Day weekend and that was brunch at Bimini Bob's. It was our first time to go there for brunch and it did not disappoint!

Me with my sweet girl that made me a mom!

Sweet plate Paige made at school!

Our week was fairly uneventful, which we were all grateful for, but Brad was out of town for work for a couple nights (no biggy!). I did have a moment where I felt like superwoman - Tuesday morning our morning started with getting Brad to Target to meet his ride at 6:30, then breakfast with the girls in the Chick-fil-a parking lot, then Paige to school, Ellie and Madi to doggie daycare, and then finished up at Publix at 7:25. Pretty good I thought!

Then came Friday...

Paige had her 15 month check up (updates about that in another post, can't believe she is 15 months!) that morning and I decided I would take her on to school for the afternoon so I could run a few errands and get somethings picked up around the house. Well, Ellie had other plans. I am not sure if she got what Madi had, but it was headed that way and with the first sign that it could be the same I was calling our vet and getting an appointment. Poor Ellie ended up spending Friday and Saturday nights at the vet's office getting fluids and resting. Luckily we were able to pick her up tonight.

So, back to Sea n Suds...Brad and I had really been wanting to go and were disappointed that we couldn't go last weekend. We told each other we would go this Friday or Saturday night. After Ellie getting sick, Friday night was out. Then Paige had a birthday party to attend Saturday afternoon and it didn't make much sense to drive down to Gulf Shores when we were basically on the Causeway. Knowing that we made the right decision to eat closer to home, we were still disappointed and decided that today we would go. We made it for lunch - yay!!!! Let me just say that I absolutely love their shrimp sandwich. This is the place where I learned to like shrimp sandwiches and it was oh so good, perfect little shrimp on a lightly toasted bun with just the right amount of tarter sauce!! I am already ready to go back!!! Plus, you can't beat making your own cocktail sauce.

Loving ball time at the Little Gym.

Can't beat a breezy sunny day at the beach!

In my mind I already have some relaxation plans for next weekend. We will see if it really happens or life has something else up its sleeve.

End of Year Program

2011-05-05T08:30:00.001-05:00

It is hard to believe that it is close to the end of the school year! The Neighborhood School puts on an annual End of Year program and since we missed the Christmas program we knew we had to be there.

Paige was very cute, of course, but didn't show out as much as I thought she would. Ms. Melissa had told me how Paige loved dancing to all of the songs and was all about being with the big kids. After Paige's part was done, she came and "sat" with me - "sat" meaning we walked all around the church and then spent some time in the lobby while the pre-K graduated (we didn't want to be "that kid", which we may already be).

Getting all dolled up before we leave

Patiently waiting to sing

Singing, "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star"

The graduate, Ella, with Myles

The program was so cute and so special, especially for those pre-K families. It is hard to imagine Paige graduating, but I know these years will fly!

Easter Weekend - Part 2

2011-05-03T07:30:00.000-05:00

Saturday afternoon we grilled out and spent time with Brad's family.

Paige enjoyed searching for more eggs.

After lunch we hopped over the see the new addition at the Ready house, Cameron!! He was so sweet! It made me realize how much Paige has grown over the last year. Kevin and Susan are going to be great parents!

Sunday we celebrated Easter at our old church, Willowbrook Baptist. It was our first time to bring Paige to the nursery and let me say that was an experience (a great one, don't worry). Willowbrook is so high-tech and child-oriented. Each child must register on their first visit. Brad, Paige and myself all got our picture taken and Brad and I got finger print, or something like that. Then, we got this print out that had all 3 of our pictures on it, with the class name and everything on it (so neat!). We gave the "in" slip to the teacher and we were off to the service with our pager. Another awesome thing was how staffed this room was. Our current church doesn't always have enough help and I sometimes worry about Paige. Willowbrook was ready this Sunday! They also have a neat little lobby in front of each room so that the parents won't block the hallway when they are dropping off their child (how cool is that!?!). When we went to pick up Paige, we placed our pager on this thing - not really sure what it was - and got an "out" print out with our pictures again. We gave that to the teacher and we were off. I loved it!!!!

We were sad to go so early on Easter, but knew we needed to get back and get back to real life (this was going to be my first real time at home in 2 weeks). Now, we are real life is here and it is off to work for us...

Easter Weekend - Part 1

2011-05-02T07:41:00.003-05:00

What a fun and busy weekend we had! We hadn't been to Huntsville since Christmas and just like the plane ride, we didn't really know what to expect from our walking little one. I don't know which was better, the plane or the car. Either way, I don't know that we will be traveling for awhile. 5 hours is just a long time for a baby to sit and it isn't that fun for her (I am sure all of our friends with young kids who are reading this are going to want to come and visit now - ha!), but we made it.

Geared up, ready to go.

When we go, we all go; including our fur babies.

Paige got to meet her first cat, Simon, at my dad's house.

She also loved laying out on their soft rug, silly girl!

Saturday morning we went to Ben's soccer game.

Run, girls, run! I guess they wanted to play too.

We tried to get a picture of the 3 munchkins, but it just didn't really work out.

Next was an Easter egg hunt with Billy, Rebecca, and Katie Lane.

We started with hunting eggs...

and moved on to playing with all of the awesome, fun toys! I love the screened in porch at Willowbrook!!

Peek-a-boo!

Tornado Relief

2011-05-01T21:46:00.000-05:00

We down in South Alabama were not affected by the terrible tornados that hit our state last Wednesday. I haven't blogged in awhile because I didn't really know what to write and didn't really feel right blogging while there were so many bigger things going on.

Brad and I really struggled with all that happened.

1) Being from Huntsville and having so many family and friends there made us very concerned about what happened up there. There were a couple of tornados that swept through doing damage mainly in the Harvest area. Thankfully, that is not where we have any family or friends. But, with all of the storms the entire county was without power. From what we hear, they are slowly getting their power back today (you know, the official reports from facebook - ha!).

2) I don't know if it is because Brad works for a university or that we are big football fans or what, but we were both really affected by the tornados that terrorized Tuscaloosa. I think back to our college days and how clueless we were and how that could have easily been us. You never think it is going to happen to you. Then I think about Paige, and I think about what those parents were going through. That may have been what broke my heart the most. The parents unable to reach their children, rushing to Tuscaloosa only to find that the tornado took their child's life or they were lucky enough to find the child's life spared. Finally, there is the prespective of the professor. Brad said he couldn't imagine losing one of his students. It is just unimaginable.

As I said, we struggled with what we could do to help. Did we need to go up and volunteer? Could we donate supplies? What exactly could we do? We decided what would be best was to donate supplies through our church and we offered our house to our friends in Huntsville without power. No one took us up on the offer, but a few friends came down to the beach. We decided our way to "help" would be to have dinner with them (this is not helping at all, but we enjoyed the company!!!)

Friday night we had dinner with Dustin, Heather, Skyler and Heather's family at the Hangout in Gulf Shores. If you haven't been there I think you should try it out. It is a lively restaurant with something always going on - like waiters dancing on the table to "Cotton Eyed Joe" or triva games. There is also a huge sand pit out back and other things for kids to do. Just to warn you, and I may sound old for saying this, it is kind of loud there, but the entertainment was great.

**Sorry for the bad pictures - I left my camera at home and used the blackberry.

Enjoying all everything about the Hangout

Heather and P posing in the big Hangout chair

Skyler enjoying the sand

Saturday night we met up with Matt, Emily, Ben, Kate, and Matt's parents at Cosmo's. Matt and Em had told us the liked this place and everyone in our small group loved it, but we had never been. Brad and I thought this would be a fun opportunity and it did not disappoint.

The girls were so cute sitting next to each other at the head of the table!

As we enter into this week, we continue to pray for all of those affected by the tornados!

In Christ Alone

2011-04-26T09:15:00.001-05:00

Easter is such a special and celebrated time for me as a Christian. This year we went to Huntsville to spend time with family for the holiday. I enjoyed being back at our old church and hearing our pastor preach a sermon of peace and promise.

And from one of our favorite songs, "In Christ Alone" -

There in the ground His body lay

Light of the world by darkness slain

Then bursting forth in glorious Day

Up from the grave He rose again

And as He stands in victory

Sin's curse has lost its grip on me

For I am His and He is mine

Bought with the precious blood of Christ.

He has risen, He has risen indeed!

DC Rewind

2011-04-25T21:15:00.000-05:00

Time flies when you are having fun! It feels like yesterday that we were up in DC enjoying our time with Nanny and PaPaw.

While we were up there we got to do lots of fun things. The most fun was probably relaxing and getting to spend time together! We all had the best time playing with Paige - I really don't know who enjoyed it the most.

One of the first things Paige showed Nanny and PaPaw were her dancing skills. The girl LOVES to dance!

Dancing to the singing Easter bunny.

Sunday we went to the National Zoo. It was neat seeing all of animals.

Taking a break from riding in the stoller

After the zoo we went to eat at the Cheesecake Factory - YUM! I think this may be our new tradition - go into DC, then stop for dinner at the Cheesecake Factory, and while we wait venture to the ever-so crowded indoor playground at the mall. Let me just tell you this playground is crazy, kids everywhere. You would assume they were unsupervised by the way they were acting, but don't worry, there were parents all around (letting their kids go CRAZY!!). My momma bear instincts had to kick in when one little girl tried to push my baby out of the way - I don't think so!

Showing off her new trick, "Cheese!!!" It really is too cute because she walks up like right next to the camera to say cheese. Brad taught her this while I was out of town for work. I love coming home to new tricks!

Nanny had these awesome purse books for Paige to play with. They were perfect for her because she loves to carry stuff around and she loves books.

Being silly and having fun were at the top of the agenda.

"Please get my hand, please get my hand!"

Finally, we got to dye Easter eggs. I don't think Paige really knew what to think about it.

Thank you, Nanny and PaPaw for letting us come visit! We can't wait to do it again!

A Tale of Two Plane Rides

2011-04-22T00:32:00.000-05:00

For the past few days Paige and I ventured up to DC to visit Nanny and PaPaw. It was just us girls and I knew the plane rides would be somewhat of a challenge compared to our last trip (crawling vs. walking, 2 adults vs. 1 adult). Of course Paige was an angel, but boy does a 2 1/2 hour direct flight wear you out! I am so grateful we didn't have a layover and that the flight was any longer.

Before our flight began we made our way through security. I was blessed with many nice people along the way helping me get all of our stuff (stroller, backpack, purse, and shoes) all ready. Even after the flight ended someone got the stroller for me and made sure I was taken care of - so nice!

Now for flight 1 - on our way up United decided it would be a good idea to switch our seat without telling us until we got on the plane (totally NOT COOL in my book - Brad has a fear of crashing, I have a fear of someone being in my seat). With this move we were able to sit by an interesting woman. This was an elderly overweight, handicapped, entitled diabetic woman who forgot snacks for herself, but brought her dog. She couldn't find the seat belt, then it wouldn't buckle, then she expected the stewardess to provide her a snack because "she was diabetic and might get light headed". Hmm, let me think about this one...I was responsible for a child and I knew we would need water for the flight. So, I checked with the gate attendant to ensure that drinks would be served on the flight. If they hadn't, we would have stopped by the gift shop to make sure we had water. Not this lady - she had the stewardess give up her apple and the lady sitting in front of us gave her a granola bar. Side note - I normally can handle all of the above qualities when they are dosed out individually and maybe I could handle them all together had United not switched my seat, but for some reason just this hit me wrong.

We survived the flight without any problems. Paige sat amazingly in my lap (I was concerned about her wanting to get up and move) the entire time and even took a nap the last half of the flight.

Happy to be off of the airplane!

Totally different story on the way back!

Did anyone lift a finger as I went through security with a baby on my hip, a purse that weighed as much as the baby, an overstuff backpack, and a stroller that needed to be collasped so it could go through the x-ray? NO! Am I really surprised? No, it is DC, they are not from the South and don't really understand helping others out. But, I did get a compliment from a lady behind me. She was impressed that I could do it all with one hand. We do have a really good stroller that does allow for it to be collasped with one hand, but boy would it have been nice to have an extra set to help with all of it.

Seat 10D did not show up for the flight. I still can't decide if this is a good thing or not. Paige had a fantastic time moving all around during the flight. I normally am a rule follower and when the pilot has the "fasten seatbelt" sign on, I have it on. Not this time! I totally ignored what the pilot had to say and only help Paige when the stewardess said it was needed. Otherwise, Paige spent her time climbing up and down in the seat next to me. She also made all sorts of new friends visiting with everyone around us. The girl doesn't meet a stranger and one friend would just not do. Needless to say I was worn out silly by the end of this flight and was so grateful to see Brad on the other side of the gate.

Paige perched herself on this little ledge and made it her seat.

So, my thoughts on traveling with an infant...

1) Don't do it alone unless you have someone on the other side of the gate to greet you.

2) Consider purchasing a ticket for the infant. Having the extra seat was wonderful on the way home. We survived the flight up there but were saved with a nap.

3) I don't know if it is better to bring lots to do with you or not. Paige was more interested in the Sky Magazine than the toys that brought. Also, I couldn't really reach the backpack where all the toys were when there was someone sitting next to me. Maybe if you are traveling with the person next to you, bring lots of stuff.

4) I am still not sure about taking a DVD player. I think P is a little young right now to actually watch it and I don't know how I would have gotten it out for her to actually watch. I also don't know where we would have watched it. All of this goes back to the traveling with 1 adult thing...it may work with 2 adults.

5) There is a huge difference when traveling with a crawler vs. a walker. The older they get, the more they want to move around. I am not quite sure what age it is where the child actually sits still through a flight.

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More to come on the rest of the trip!

Lucky Ducky Derby

2011-04-16T08:19:00.000-05:00

Last Saturday we ventured over to Mobile for the Lucky Ducky Derby fundraiser for Ozanam Pharmacy. Ozanam is a chartiable pharmacy in Mobile and Brad sends many of his patients there to use their services as his patients cannot afford their prescribed medicines.

The derby itself was so cute. You could purchase an individual duck to enter the race or you could purchase a "quack pack" (5 ducks). They then dumped the rubber ducks into pond at Providence Hospital and let the ducks "race". Racing included pushing the ducks with big water hoses from a firetruck and then referees picking them up in their canoes. They had 77 awesome prizes - the prizes ranged from handmade jewelry, year long gym memberships to include a personal trainer, and restaurant gift cards. They sold over 2000 ducks so we weren't sure how we would fair on the prize horizon, but to our surprise we were a lucky recipients of a Panera gift card - how awesome is that!?!

We all had a wonderful time supporting a wonderful cause!

Doing what she loves - dancing!

Egg Hunt

2011-04-14T20:19:00.000-05:00

I have been out of town with work for the past couple of days - my first time to leave Paige with Brad. And to no surprise, everyone survived.

While I was gone, Paige had her first Easter egg hunt at school. She came home with a big ol' basket of eggs and I think she had a good time picking them up.

So, here's the deal - each child was supposed to bring a dozen filled eggs and the filling could not be candy. I racked my brain and decided I would do goldfish but I put them in a baggy because I didn't like the idea of food touching the egg. Am I crazy??? We get the eggs out tonight and most are filled with unwrapped fruit loops and cheerios. There were a few candies (despite the "no candy" rule) and a few other balls and blow up towels (something like that, I am not really sure what they are). Am I totally strange for wrapping up the goldfish? Brad told me I was "that mom" but the thought of Paige eating food out of an egg is just yucky to me.

New Finds

2011-04-09T07:24:00.001-05:00

I feel like I am constantly looking for good deals on clothes for Paige on the internet. There are just so many options and new ways to shop for kids these days.

Well, I found 2 new neat places to shop.

1) http://www.diapers.com/

Yes, that is right, diapers.com has clothes. Before we had Paige a friend of mine told me about the Gifts to Grow program by Pampers (it is a reward program for buying pampers diapers) and I have been collecting points since Paige's birth. I finally decided I needed to use some of the points - this is after I let a Starbucks and Sam's giftcard get by me. The reward I chose was a gift card to diapers.com and I used it to buy Paige a pair of sandals.

2) Zulily

Zulily is an online shop where they list daily discounted deals on children's clothes, shoes and accessories. They also have a few things for ladies and few things for around the house. I signed up for these emails with the hopes of finding good deals on smocked dresses. There definitely has been some good deals, but I hate paying shipping so I haven't pulled the trigger on the dresses yet. Instead, I found 3 cute other outfits that I couldn't resist and made my first Zulily purchase. And to make it even better, Zulily is so addicting! I can't wait to see what is going to be on sale each day.

We are ready for the 4th of July!

Won't she look so cute in these?!?

New Game

2011-04-08T09:17:00.001-05:00

Paige has a new favorite game.

She loves to take the magnets off of the refrigerator and take them one by one over the the rug in front of the sink. It is too cute!! Brad and I both just love watching her go back and forth.

And when one magnet comes off the rug, she says a big, "Uh oh!"

Love her!!!

Craziness

2011-04-07T21:16:00.000-05:00

I am sure most people reading follow the news and know about the impending government shutdown. I on the other hand live in LeeAnn-world and don't pay attention to the news and if it weren't for my mom and stepdad, I would have no clue that I wasn't supposed to go to work Monday if the budget hasn't passed by tomorrow night.

Yes, that is right, no work and no pay come Monday until a budget is passed.

My question to all the Senators and Congressmen - what have you been doing the past 6 months?!? The new year started on 01 October, meaning we needed a budget in place then to work. If we are already 6 months plus behind for this year's budget then one can only imagine what the FY2012 budget will be like.

A co-worker of mine and I were talking about it and she had a great idea. Start docking Congress' pay for ever day after 30 September that the budget is not in place. They do this all the time in housing industry. Let's say you are building a house and it is due on a certain date and you don't finish on time, you start getting money docked. Same goes with daycare. Just recently in Paige's newsletter they had a note for the half-day kids that for every minute past 3 p.m. they were going to charge $5 or something crazy like that. Apparently they were having a problem and I bet they have solved it now (either the kids are picked up or they are making some money!).

I just don't get it!!

On a happy note, if I get to stay home I am going to find all sorts of things to do. Maybe I will clean out the house again and look for things to sell (so we can pay our bills - ha!). Or maybe I can take up a new hobby. One of Paige's teachers offered to teach me how to smock, maybe now is the time to learn.

Here's to hoping the budget gets passed very, very soon!

Epic

2011-04-04T21:22:00.000-05:00

We just finished a series at church title "Epic: Piecing Together God's Great Story". Our pastor took us through the Bible in 6 sermons, explaining in laymen's terms in a chronological order. I hate to admit it, I found one sermon somewhat boring because it was so history heavy. Brad on the other hand was very intrigued and couldn't wait to hear more.

This week it was my turn to get excited. We get weekly emails from the church with different updates and when I got this week's and saw that the sermon would be on the book of Revelation I knew I wanted to be there. I didn't think there was anyway to truly understand all that is in the book in one sermon (shoot, is there any way to truly understand it in a lifetime?) but I was looking forward to hearing the pastor's take on the book and learning more.

Pastor Mark did not disappoint! Really, I should be saying God did not disappoint. Pastor Mark walked through the book, explaining the different ways people look at the end days. (Will the church be on Earth for the tribulation or will they be in Heaven?) It was so neat! If you are interested in scratching the surface on this deep book of the Bible, I encourage you to listen to the sermon - http://www.icotes.org/.
Another thing I found interesting was that the title of the first sermon was "Paradise Lost". It came from the book of Genesis and he talked about the fall of man. This last sermon was titled "Paradise Restored" - stemming from Revelation 21-22. I know this was planned, but it really puts things into perspective.

Paige dancing while on our way to church listening to The Cathedrals, a Southern gospel group. We've got to start her out right!

We Work Hard for the Money

2011-04-02T20:30:00.000-05:00

Today we participated in our first yard sale! It was a lot of fun and we made a little bit of money. Like many neighborhoods, our's organizes a community yard sale day. We had seen it done before but never really thought we had enough stuff to participate. Well, this year we had 2 big items we wanted to attempt to sell. This inspired us to look around the house for stuff we could part with. We didn't have much, but like I said, we had enough to make a little money and enough to take to the thrift store down the road.

We really didn't have that much stuff, but amazingly made some money.

Paige enjoyed the time outside! We had to put the little hat on her to keep her head from sunburning. She was not fan! Luckily, it velcro's on.

While we were busy with the yard sale, Ellie and Madi were at the groomer. They came home styling in their pink leopard bandanas!

Blogger Tip

2011-03-30T06:50:00.000-05:00

Apparently you can run out of picture space on blogger. Who knew? After researching a little and talking to friends I determined the best solution was to buy 20 GB for $5/yr.

So, if you start to run out space you may want to consider purchasing a little extra memory. I am now good to go for a long time!