Sunday, February 28, 2010

Weekend in Review

This weekend hosted nothing special, so there's really not much news to report. On Saturday Brayden tried rolls in the pool, and he did GREAT! In fact, the teacher pulled Drew aside and said that she recommended B take an advanced rolling class. I will be talking with his teacher next week to discuss it further; with B's tendency to have absolutely no fear of the water, I feel like I should put him in as many swimming classes that I can. I have a great fear of drowning myself, and then when you talk about my child... oh Lord have mercy. Are all momma's this way? I sure hope so, otherwise I might need to get into counseling :o) Besides swim class, it was our usual trip to Sam's for lunch as a family and church on Sunday. We took several pictures this weekend, so I'll give you those since my words escape me. Hope you all have a great week-- and remember to check in tomorrow-- I'll be announcing the winner of my Target giftcard!


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Check out the chubby baby goodness :o)
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Yeah, we're crazy. But we have fun, and that's all that matters!
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Ughh... SO mad that B's face was cutoff-- I {heart} this picture!
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I love my family!
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Hopefully his affection for jackasses doesn't last long
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such amazing posture... he did not get that from me, I assure you!
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This is his favorite toy by far. He'll crawl to his room and play by himself for close to 30 minutes with this thing.
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there's lots of cheerful screaming at my house


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Saturday, February 27, 2010

Guaranteed

It's pretty much guaranteed that these will be in his yearbook his senior year. Or worse, shown at his rehearsal dinner at his wedding. Or maybe on his first date; you know, if I want to be a mean mom like that ;o)

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Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Drop It Like It's Hot

In trying to teach B to drop it like it's hot (and let's be honest, I have less than spectacular dance moves), we've learned he's more of a headbanger. Must be a boy thing.

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Lil' Razorback

Just in case you didn't know where his loyalty stands....
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GO HOGS!

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Monday, February 22, 2010

i {heart} faces: "Hands On" fun


When I saw this upcoming theme, I immediately thought of a picture I had taken of my mom's hands wrapped around Brayden's feet in the first few days of his life. But as I was perusing my archives for that pic, I came across this one, and changed my mind. I had brought B out to the backyard to play back before it had gotten really cold. I actually focused on his hands and took this pic. I think it's so sweet how he has his arms posed, as if he is really thinking about something. I have to admit, I got a bit teary eyed as I editted this picture for this week's theme; He's grown up so fast, and his little hands and arms don't have as many wrinkles and fat. I'm so glad I captured this moment so I can cherrish it forever!
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Be sure to check out the other hand entries at the i {heart} faces website by clicking on the button on the top of this post.

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Sunday, February 21, 2010

Weekend in Review

Wow, what a weekend this has been! Sadly, I forgot my camera for most of it, so this will be an (almost) picture-less weekend in review.
Friday night was actually pretty lazy... we just sat and enjoyed the Olympics. We are proud to be called Olympic nerds, and I have fallen in love with a few athletes. I love Lindsey Vonn, namely (no pun intended... promise!), because she and I share the same name. I just think she's so cute! Also, I have a fascination with JR Celski. Have you seen the wound that he suffered just 6 months ago? It's incredible that he's back competing, much less win at these Olympics. As a sport I am fascinated by the ski jump. If you have the Wii Fit you'll know what I am talking about. The ski jump on that game is ridiculously hard, so I can only imagine what it's like in real life.
Saturday we had B's swim class. Can I just say I am a proud momma? B is doing SO good! He splashes, reaches and pulls, kicks and is even putting his head in on his own to "blow bubbles." He doesn't actually blow yet, but he doesn't choke. The teacher was QUITE impressed and asked if we'd been working on it at home. When I replied no, she asked if he had an older sibling... again, no. She kind of gasped (mind you, this is in front of the WHOLE class, so I was kind of embarrassed more than proud at this point since she was making such a big deal out of it) and was like "He is doing SO good!" I just smiled. Later in the class during the individual time B was doing well again. After he did his swimming to the teacher she asked him to do a high five and he hit right back... she asked how old he was and I told her 10 months. She then exclaimed that he was SO smart, one of the smartest she had seen in a while! Way to go little B! You're such a good swimmer and I agree, you are so smart! Probably smarter than your own good ;o) Ha! After class we continued our tradition of Saturday lunch at Sams, and then ventured to the outdoor mall so B could play at the playground. It's one of those playgrounds that has soft stuff they can crawl around on, and I had gone earlier this week with him and he LOVED it so I wanted Drew to see him in action. He played for over an hour! During our time there we also remembered that Auntie Anne's pretzels were having free pretzel day, so we got a free snack and then went home. B had to wait until after naptime to enjoy his pretzel, but I think he has a new favorite snack-- cinnamon pretzels! Yummo! A few stories from the park:
Nazi dad was there. I know that Nazi is such a harsh term, but seriously, I think this guy was a Nazi in his past life. Instead of being in the playground with his son, he sat over at a table outside of  it... talking on the phone. Every time his son would do something apparently wrong (you know, push a kid, not wait his turn) he would yell his sons name LOUDLY across the entire place. I swear people 30 miles away could have heard him. And I know I am not exaggerating it because all of the other parents were eyeing each other and raising eyebrows. I was so embarrassed FOR the man. I mean, I think that I probably run a tigher ship than most, but pullease---- I will not be screaming Brayden's name in a loud booming God voice across a park. A bit later there were 3 little girls playing (the oldest looked about 8 and the youngest was about 3) and I noticed the youngest was doing the potty dance. You know, the whole, holding the crotch, crossing the legs and jumping up and down. I looked around but couldn't see their mom in sight (they were Hispanic, and there were no hispanic adults around the park). I whispered to Drew and so we kept an eye on them for a while, but it became evident the little girl was probably going to pee her pants if she didn't go the bathroom SOON. We mentioned to 2 other parents about the girls, and they hadn't seen a parent either. At this point not only was I concerned, but I was pissed. What adult leaves their kids unattended at a park at a local mall?! ANYONE could have kidnapped all 3 of them and no one would've thought anything because the park was SO crowded. Seriously, I know we live in a relatively safe area of the country with VERY low crime rates, but that is just plain unresponsible. One of the moms there asked the little girl if she could take her to the bathroom and she took all three girls to go use the restroom. We were there for about an hour and no parents ever showed. SO, SO, shady. The rest of the day was pretty average, until right before bedtime for B-- he took his first cruising steps along the coffee table! Yay B! We put objects (namely shoes, as he has a great affection for sucking/chewing on shoes--ewww!) and he would stomp one leg as if to rev up, and then side step until he reached his destination. It was so cute, but it's one step closer to me REALLY having to keep up with him. I can't believe how fast he's growing up!
Today was pretty average; church, cleaning house and folding laundry, Sunday afternoon naps... you know, the usual. We have a really busy week this week, and are hosting community group next week which means I must deep clean my house before we host. Drew's got finals, so I am an MBA widow on top of it all :) Hope you all have a great week! (You didn't think I would end this without atleast a few pictures did you know? Ofcourse not!
 


Friday I did his hair in a mohawk.... he's pretty stylish wouldn't you say?
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His new thing is pointing and saying "dis". It's SO cute, although I have NO idea what he's pointing at (usually it's random pointing)
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It was a good day on Friday, can you tell? ;o)
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attacking his Auntie Anne's pretzel after his nap on Saturday... it was a hit!
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he was talking to me in this picture; probably telling me to buy him more Auntie Anne's pretzels!

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Friday, February 19, 2010

Stuck

Lately
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I've been finding a little boy
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who's stuck
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Of course, being the good mom I am, I grab the camera. Don't worry, he's unstuck. For now. Until the next time he goes on an adventure behind the couch, over the buckets and through the woods :o)

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Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Days

There are days when I feel like I can't even breath I get so angry, so frustrated and so impatient. And then, there are days like today, where my heart is filled with joy, our home is filled with laughter, and I can't imagine what life would be like with my little man.Thank you God for the opportunity to be his momma, on the bad days and the good.

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Tuesday, February 16, 2010

No More Redneck Jokes

As sad as it made my mommy heart tonight, I finally buckled and had Brayden's hair cut for the first time. I really had wanted to wait until he was a year, but he was starting to sport a mullet. I mean, nothing against mullets (although they are rather out of date if you ask me!), but we do live in Arkansas, and since most people think we Arkansans walk around bare foot with mullets in front of our double wide trailer, I figured we should probably break the mold a bit. Thankfully my good friend David (who also cuts my hair, if I can even say that since it's been 8 months since I have had a haircut) agreed to cut Brayden's hair, so it cushioned the first "growing up" blow. B surprised us both by being relatively calm. I gave him some Gerber pinwheel treats (something he's never had before), and he chomped away while David cut away the baby locks. B would actually grimace and smirk when the clippers got close to his ears because it tickled... it was SO cute! And I should probably note that I get the "bad mommy" award, since I didn't save a lock of hair. I just am not the sentimental type, and I figure all it will do is sit in some drawer all of B's life until I die and/or I turn over all of his belongings to him, and then he'll toss it, because let's all be honest, what grown man keeps his baby locks? Yeah, that's what I thought (and B-man, if for some strange reason you are reading this at the age of 30 and cursing me for not saving your hair, call me. I'll pay for therapy. Or a good margarita. Whichever floats your boat.) Here are a few pics of our momentous night tonight, he looks SO grown up that it's killing me. Seriously, how does time fly so fast?!

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I LOVE this picture! It's like B is saying "I'm not sure about you Mr. David!"
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"I guess you're OK Mr. David! You can cut my hair again if you want!"


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Monday, February 15, 2010

Valentines Day 2010

My valentines plans went off without a hitch... sort of. I started cooking around 5pm, and realized I had not bought foil for the occasion, which was crucial to my cooking. Off I went to the DG (thankfully it's only a mile down the road) and was back in no time preparing some of Pioneer Woman's finest. Once B went down for the night Drew came back to the kitchen to help clean up a bit before we sat down for a nice, romantic dinner. We even put on classical music in the background. We broke out our fine china-- the first time we've EVER used it in all 6 of our years of marriage :) Drew was really happy with that, since he always tells me that we should have never registered for china that we don't use :) The dessert I made was SO rich and really put us both over the top, so we retired to bed before 10 (can you tell we're old.... ha!). Here are some pictures marking our dinner extraordinare... no one was here to take our picture, and I quickly gave up trying to figure out my tripod, so sadly, there are only pics of our food, and not us :)





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I cheated and bought bagged salad-- the instructions for the recipe for PW's salad dressing made my mind spin, and I figured since I was already doing so much that it wouldn't hurt to cheat just a bit on my 'homemade' meal.
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I toasted artisan french bread in the oven, and then made oven roasted garlic cloves to spread on them. It was SO yummy!
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Shrimp Linguine was the main dish. Oh my goodness, it was sheer perfection and SO easy to make! The recipe called for white wine, so I just bought a big bottle so we could have wine with our dinner. One thing to note is that the recipe makes a HUGE batch, so I halved it and easily had leftovers.
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View from the top. Don't you just want to eat the whole bowl?!
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Drew's first helping.... we each had several!
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Ok yall, this is so sad. I forgot to take a picture of the dessert last night. It was splendid, although I agree with PW that it's tricky figuring out how long to cook it. It was actually almost TOO rich, if that is even possible. Of course, I already ate the 3rd ramekin this morning (after my workout of course ;o]), but I remembered about the 4th one so I pulled it out of the fridge to snap a pic for yall to see how mine turned out. The homemade whipped cream was yummo too, but it's in an ugly tub now, so I didn't take a pic of it.


If you're still in the romantic evening kind of mood and need a good recipe, this is definitely one to try! I've posted the links so that you can just hop on over and get the DL from the PW. Hope yall have a fantabulous Monday!

PW's instructions for Roasted Garlic
PW's recipe for Linguine with Shrimp
PW's recipe for Baked Fudge
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Sunday, February 14, 2010

Weekend in Review

Ahhh, our first "normal" weekend back into the swing in 3 weeks. There's just something nothing like sleeping in (until 7, since you know, us parents don't have the luxury of actually sleeping in anymore!) in your own bed.
Saturday Drew took B to swim class so that I could clean the house. It's hard trying to get things clean around here when you have a little mack truck coming behind you undoing everything you just cleaned! I cranked up the jams and went to work, and had everything clean by the time Drew and B got home. The rest of the day was spent watching the Olympics or dealing with B. I don't know if it's a phase he's in or what, but he gets SOOOOOOO cranky if you are not paying 100% attention to him. It's so draining, and since I don't really want to give him my attention 100% of the time, I get really tired and irritated from listening to him wail all afternoon. It's especially hard right now since Drew spends a lot of the weekends studying or reading for his MBA. It was too darn cold to take him out on Saturday, s we were just stuck. Let me tell you, by the time 7pm rolled around, I really thought I was going to lose it. I've jokingly said that sometimes being a mom makes you want to line up 13 shot glasses of tequila and down them all simultaneously. Generally speaking, that is a stretch of the truth, but last night I am not sure I was far from actually driving myself to any old bar here in Arkansas and doing just that. Of course, I felt bad when, upon finishing his bottle, he promptly threw up ALL over Drew. We think he may have gotten too much pool water in his stomach yesterday, which caused some of the excessive fussiness. Life goes on and we live and learn :)
Today we heard a great sermon at church on 1John 1. I love how our preachers bring it on Sunday mornings! Today was no exception, and was so good and refreshing for me to hear, in light of my lack of patience displayed on Saturday. If there is one dark area of my life it would definitely be anger and impatience. I am so quick to jump the gun and lose my temper. Lately it's made me wonder if I am just not cut out to be a mom of a bunch of children (Drew and I have always said we want 3-4).I'm pretty sure that in and of itself could be an entire blog post, so I'll keep it at that.
We are definitely ready for spring around here. As I was playing with B and Toby yesterday, B stopped at his window to peer outside. Toby hopped up to see what B was staring at, and I got an awesome picture opportunity (not sure why it has that extra edge on the right though)!

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It's been incredibly cold this winter-- far below our normal averages, and in turn has caused quite a bit of snowfall. I am sure Brayden probably thinks that the ground should ALWAYS be white. I can't wait until it's warmer and we are able to go outside and play more... I think it will make my days just a tad easier since he's such an active little guy. 
Since we have to budget for babysitters for community group, getting a babysitter for Valentines day was  pretty much out of the question (besides, we don't really celebrate Valentines day anyways). But, I thought it would be fun if I made a homemade meal at home, and we had a nice romantic dinner after B went to bed. So tonight I'll be cooking up some of Pioneer Woman's finest, and we'll be stuffing ourselves silly before settling down to watch the Olympics (I know, I know. You're so jealous of our wildly entertaining life, but please, hold yourself together). If I remember, I may even take some pictures of our dinner, and post them later this week. You know, to show off my mad culinary skills :) I hope you all have a great Valentines Day and are able to spend it with someone you love! Have a wonderful week!
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10 Things I Love about Drew

Today ends the Valentines Extravaganza held by Momma M over at My Little Life. It's been really fun reading everyone's stories, and reminiscing over my own.This being Valentines Day, the theme is 10 things you love about your love. So, without further ado, my list :o)
10.  His smile. Not his goofy, trying to make me laugh smile, but his GENUINE smile.
9. His desire to provide and work hard for his family. I always say that we'll never go hungry because I think Drew would do ANYTHING to provide for us. Definitely makes me feel secure and well taken care of!
8. His desire to be a hands on dad. He really doesn't shy away from doing anything with Brayden and is soooooo helpful in making sure that I have time away or time to focus on other things besides just B.
7. His love for the Lord. It's what first attracted me to him, and it hasn't changed since. He posesses such a deep knowledge of the Word and is so helpful in explaining things to me in a way that make sense (sometimes those Biblical commentators use big Seminary words and just confuse me!).
6. I love how we both see eye to eye on finances. One of the top reasons people get divorced these days is due to financial fights, and to be honest I don't think Drew and I have ever fought about money. We just totally see eye to eye. I love how he sees things about 20-30 years down the road. While I am a planner, sometimes I tend to get stuck in the moment.
5. I love the way he leaves little notes in the kitchen in the morning on his way to work. Sometimes he'll even hide them so I get them throughout the day :)
4. I love how he loves that I am rough and tumble. I am sure that my tomboyishness is a turn off to some men, but Drew lets me scrub around most days, and is totally fine with me knowing more football stats than him (not that I am bragging or anything, as he readily admits the fact).
3.I love how handy he is. He is Mr. Fix It! When I was preggo with B, I wanted a bookcase, but I had this specific picture in mind. I told Drew what I wanted, and we went to Lowe's bought all the materials and he made the bookcase I wanted for a fraction of what it would have cost me at Walmart! Hooray for handy husbands!
2. I love how much he helps around the house. I know that there are some husbands out there who will sit on their bums watching their wives clean circles around them... but not my guy! He's so good about pitching in with the laundry (I abhor folding clothes), cleaning up dishes after dinner, washing the showers in the bathrooms for me, etc.
1. The way he makes me want to be a better person. He's constantly challenging and encouraging me to believe in myself and to push myself to be the best. 

Happy Valentines Day Babe! I love you so much and am so blessed to be able to walk this journey with you. Thanks for being my man!
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Saturday, February 13, 2010

Valentines Extravaganza: Favorite Picture

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My sis took this picture of us during Thanksgiving when we were down in Baton Rouge visiting my parents. I absolutely LOVE it! I can sort of see Drew's goofy grin even though it's a silhouette :o) This one is my most recent fave!
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