Saturday, August 29, 2009

NEW Placemats....for cheap




I found these cute little placemats the other day on Frecklebox, but just couldn't see spending $20+ on 2 kids' placemats. But, aren't they so stinkin' cute??

So, I was at Michael's Craft store earlier this week and found some felt rectangles for $.99 a piece! I brought them home, monogrammed them, slapped on some ribbon, took them to Staples to have laminated....and WALA!! My girls have similar new placemats....


And they are just as happy as if I spent that $20+ dollars!! They even look cute on our breakfast table!

Thursday, August 27, 2009

What's For Dinner & My New Fun Find...

I am thinking a crock pot ranks up there with those items you can't live without...you know, like, food, water, shelter, coffee, Facebook...and the crock pot??? I just love mine! I am able to get dinner going in the morning before my day gets hectic.

And around my house, we have the "Witching Hour" as we like to refer to it. That's the time a day from about 4-6pm where everyone seems to running low on fuel. The girls start fighting, or at least one of them starts whining....which is my BIGGEST pet peeve these days. So, with dinner in the crock pot, that's one less stress I have to worry about.

I found this fun blog called "A Year of Slow Cooking" that has 365 crock pot ideas...perfect!!

I have THIS recipe in the crock pot now. I'll let you know how it tastes!

....ON ANOTHER NOTE.....

Look what I found yesterday while out shopping...a photo scroll! Pretty neat huh? It's litterally a piece of iron with little circles on either side. You insert photos inthe little slots....really nifty. I got it at Pier 1 . You can click on the link to get one for yourself! Simple, but a great way to display photos...and if you are a picture nazi like I am, then this you'll love it!

It's the Witching Hour here....so take care until next time!

Monday, August 24, 2009

An Etsy Shopping Spree...

So, I have discovered ETSY.com If you have never seen it, you should take a peek...HERE

I got a few things the other day....like this cute camera strap (made my Mandy of LittlePrecious Boutique

...and a reuseable snack bag (made by nstitches4u)..

I got this vinyl decal for Faith's wall in hot pink (made by decalmonogram)...

...and I thought this would look cute in my guest bath (made by decalmonograms)..

... I just LOVE my new car garbage bag....it stays open for a change so I am not trying to put a piece of trash in a closed bag while driving (also made by nstitches4u)..

Gotta go.....must find more Etsy stuff to buy....

Sunday, August 23, 2009

Cute Little Toes

Faith's friend, Cora, invited us to go have a "Back To School" pedicure with her this weekend. And, of course, Miss Brooke had to tag along too...

It was fun wtching my little 6 yr old get pampered in that great big comfy pedicure chair. She was smiles the entire time...

...and no pedicure would be complete with hot pink toes with green dots on them!! Lovely!!

Brooke got in on the action too, getting her toes painted hot pink like her big sis....

Too funny..




Friday, August 21, 2009

I Just Ran 100 Miles!



No, really, I did!

I have blogged about running in the past....Here

I took up running last August, but it wasn't until May when I began logging my runs on my Facebook page.

And today is big day for me. A personal goal met.

Since May 30th, I have logged 100 miles in running!!!! And I am so excited about it. (and I ran my fastest 5k today too! yay!)

Do I like running?

No. and yes.

Running is, and has always been, a struggle for me. It's a love/hate relationship. I am not fast, and I will never win a race. But I do it....and that's more than some people can say.

Running has become more than running for me. It's become part of my personality.
After a good run,
I feel like I can think straight.
I'm refreshed.
I feel I have more patience with my family.
I feel like I have accomplished something.
I've had some "ME" time where I can sort out my thoughts.
I like knowing my heart is getting stronger by doing cardio.
I am essentially giving my family a gift by making sure I am healthy, so that I will be around for a while!
And I can eat that do-nut without guilt.

Three days a week, I get up knowing there is a challenge waiting for me....and oh, how good it feels to know I have done something for myself....cuz' Lord knows, the rest of my day is about everyone else in my family.

When I am running it's just me, the treadmill, and my ipod. No tells me how fast, how far or how long I run, except me. Ahhhhhh, ME time! I've come to love my time on the treadmill....

SO, today is a fun day knowing that, in less than 3 months, I have run 100 miles!! A definite personal goal!

Now, I am off to have that do-nut....or three....

Thursday, August 20, 2009

"Nuts" The Squirrel

Have you seen this picture yet??


Of course, if you are living under a rock you haven't. It's been every where...

And it's real.

I just crack up every time I see this cute little squirrel, who has been named "Nuts" by the media. I just love his little expresion on his face.

According to the 2 people in the picture, they set up a tri-pod to take some pictures on vacation. They took a few pics using a remote, and when a squirrel unexpectedly popped up in front of their camera, they continued taking pictures.

And yes, it's real. Here they are on the TODAY show, where they state that the photo is 100% real.

So, enjoy a laugh today when you look at the picture.... I know I will...

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Good Friends, Good Food, Good Times

This past weekend we had a back-to-school get together with our neighbors in our cul-de-sac. I have blogged about my wonderful neighbors before HERE. We have a great relationship with our neighbors. All of our kids are around the same age and play together so well. What a blessing!!

So, we all got together on Saturday and celebrated the end of the summer! We all brought a few things to eat and our lounge chairs. I think we started at 530pm and didn't come in until midnight!!! Fun times with great people....and the food was fabulous!




Monday, August 17, 2009

1st day of school

Summer is officially over at my house. We are finally back on a structured routine!! (yay for structure)

Faith started school today....my big 1ST GRADER!!!

She thought she was hot stuff today as she repeated over and over, "Mom, don't you think it's cool that I am in the FIRST grade now??"

What a precious girl, she is. I just love me some Faith. She makes me so happy.

At breakfast this morning Ryan and I were telling her about the day she was born...how I had horrible contractions (we called them belly ache pains) and we went to the hospital and waited and waited until they finally decided to do a c-section and cut all 9 pounds 5 ounces and 22 inches of her out of me!!!

And here we are 6 and a half years later putting our sweet little frist born on the bus to head to first grade. sniff.sniff.

So, here are some pictures of my sweet "Baby" Faith, as she headed to 1st grade today.

Having breakfast with Daddy...I think I caught her with her mouth full...oops..



She's so cute, I could just eat her!!

She's ready to head to the bus stop.





Here comes the bus!!! (If it looks a little dark, that's because it was 6:40a.m....yes, that's right. The bus comes at the butt-crack of dawn around here!

Load it up!

Faith is ready to head to school!

.....and away it goes...

Sunday, August 16, 2009

Chuck E. (Shoot Me Please) Cheese



As a back to school treat, I took the girls to Chuck E. Cheese...or as I like to refer to it..Chuck E. (Shoot me please) Cheese. Definitely not my favorite place to go, but Faith (and now Brooke) loves to go...so as a last summer hoo-rah we went for lunch.

The girls enjoyed it, and if I am being honest, it wasn't that bad for me either. I went with a friend of mine, and she helped me watch Brooke, who was all over the place at times.


Friday, August 14, 2009

Show Us Your Life-Favorite Vacation Spot


DESTIN, FLORIDA
Today over at Kelly's Korner, she wants us to show you our favorite vacation spot. My favorite spot is either Honolulu, Hawaii or Destin, Florida. But since my old computer crashed, I have lost my pictures of our Hawaii trip....so for this post, you are going to see pics of Destin, Florida.

Destin is where I call home. Ryan and I lived there for 7 years before moving to South Carolina. Let me tell you, BIG MISTAKE! We should have never moved away from Destin...but our family is in South Carolina and we wanted to be closer to them. The move was worth it because we get to see family whenever we want, but oh how I wish we were back in Destin. I miss is. I miss the people, the sites, the beaches and the all-around way of life. The quality of the people there are just different than where I live now...everyone is so friendly in Destin and welcoming.

But I will get off my soap box...you came to see my pics of Destin right???

Here is the ultimate picture of relaxation....the white sand, crystal blue waters, and a white chair to relax in...Ahhhhhh

There are no bad picture of the beaches of Destin...every picture is so calming and peaceful..

There's nothing better than gulf coast sand between my toes...

Even my 2 year old stopped to enjoy the scenery...

The kids love to play in the water all day!

If you have never been to Destin, I highly recommend it. It'd definitely a place for the whole family!

Thursday, August 13, 2009

Blowin' Bubbles



We love early evenings here at our house. Around 7pm is the best time to go out and let the kids play. The intense heat and humidity subsides, and there's usually a nice little breeze that blows. The neighbors and I like to sit out and chat while the kids play. Just a plain, old fashioned summer night....and school starts on Monday, so we are enjoying these last few "late" nights outside.

Tonight was "Meet the Teacher" at school, so Faith and I went to her school to meet her teacher, Ms. Pohlman. Silly me, forgot the camera...so I have no pics to share.

But when we got home, we decided to blow some bubbles out in the driveway with our new big bubble wands, courtesy of Granny Carolyn.

The girls had a good time...such a good time that we ran out of bubbles, and had the other kids on the street chasing bubbles with us!

Simple entertainment, but oh so fun to listen to my girls giggle with excitement as they chase bubbles!





And as a bonus, we had a beautiful rainbow in the sky tonight! A great way to end the day!