May 29, 2008

Great Sales

One of the best parts of our trip this past weekend was the great sales my sister and I found when we went shopping. I love it when I find not just a good sale but a really good sale, and that's what we got this weekend. Here are a few of the deals I found at the outlet stores. First, I racked up for Jason at Banana Republic. Their polos were 50% off and their shorts were 40% off. I got him a few things but had to contain myself because that was one of the first places we stopped. Next, Children's Place had crazy cheap prices on their clothing - shirts for $2.99, pants for $2.99 . . . I got all of this stuff below for $40. The coat and dress alone retail for more than that!





Then, the best deal of the weekend was the shoes I found at White House Black Market. I love them, and, as my sister says, they make my feet look sassy. I won't tell you how much I paid for them, because I can't give away all my secrets, but just know even the guys were impressed! :)


May 28, 2008

Memorial Day Weekend

For the second year in a row we went to Seabrook Island with my sister, Lindsay, and her husband, Justin, for Memorial Day weekend. We've had so much fun the past two years, we think this will be an annual trip for us. We spent our weekend enjoying the beach, lounging at the pool, outlet shopping (for the girls), golfing (for the boys), walking around downtown Charleston, and eating at some really great places. We hated to leave on Monday! Here are some pictures (mostly of Camryn) from our weekend!

Chatting with Aunt Lindsay on the trip down

Day 1 - ready for the beach!

Playing with Aunt Lindsay & Uncle Justin

Playing catch with Uncle Justin

Strutting her stuff on the beach

The guys built a castle for the princess

Pooped

Fun in the evening - Mario Kart on the Wii!

Day 2 - Ready for more fun in the sun

She loved washing her hands in the ocean!

Sunday night treat - "brown ice cream"
Ready for the pool with her float

She was scared of the pool but finally let Mommy pull her around in the float

The bugs at the pool were so bad - Jason couldn't take it!



Maybe Aunt Lindsay will share some of her cute pictures with me, and I can post more later!

May 27, 2008

Got Tagged, So Here We Go!

Every once in a while, you just gotta do one of these ...

1)First thing you wash in the shower? My face

2) What color is your fav hoodie? my black Anderson College one ... it's the only one I own! I mean, come on ... could you really see me wearing hoodies all the time?

3) Do you plan outfits? I used to. Not anymore.

4) How are you feeling RIGHT now? HOT AS BLAZES!!!! Our air conditioner has been broken for 24 hours.

5) What's the closest thing to you that's red? The pajama shorts I am wearing

6) Tell me about the last dream you remember having? Hmmmm .... I've been daydreaming all day about a cool house and an air conditioner that works!

7) Did you meet anybody new today? Yes - the mom of a 3rd grader I tested recently. She was very nice.

8) What are you craving right now? AIR CONDITIONING!

9) Do you floss? I am embarrassed to admit no ... is that gross?

10) What comes to mind when I say cabbage? The word "yuck"

11) Are you emotional? Depends on the day, hour, minute ....

12) Have you ever counted to 1,000? Probably at some point in my life

13) Do you bite into your ice cream or just lick it? Bite it

14) Do you like your hair? Right now, yes. It's a good length.

15) Have you ever met a celebrity? I really think the answer to this is yes, although I can't think of anyone in particular. When One Tree Hill first came on the air, my sister and I sat at a table in a restaurant right across from Sophia Bush. She kept talking REALLY loudly about the show like she REALLY wanted us to hear and be impressed.

16) Do you like cottage cheese? Yes - had some today.

17) What are you listening to right now? Camryn singing

18) How many countries have you visited? One - France

19) Are your parents strict? Yes, especially my dad

20) Would you go sky diving? Absolutely!

21) Would you have dinner with George W. Bush? Absolutely!

22) Would you throw potatoes at him? Negative.

23) Is there anything sparkly in the room you're in? The sweat glistening on my brow because it's so dang hot!

24) Have you ever been in a castle? Yes - when I went to Paris with a group from high school. Can't remember which one, though.

25) Do you rent movies often? Nope

26) Have you ever made a prank phone call? Ha ha! Wasn't that the thing to do when you were in middle school?

27) Do you own a gun? No - I think everyone would agree that would be a bad idea for me.

28) Can you count backwards from 74? Let's see ... 74, 73, 72, 71, 70 ....

29) Brown or white eggs? White - never tried the brown. Do they taste different?

30) Ever been on a train? At Disney World!

31) Are you too forgiving? No - I unfortunately hold on to things too long.

32) Do you use Chap-Stick? Yep

33) What is your best friend doing tomorrow? Going to work

34) Can you use chop sticks? No. A fork works well enough.

35) Ever had cream puffs? Yeah ... not impressed.

36) What was the last CD you bought? I can't remember it's been so long.

37) Is your hair curly? No way ... board straight!

38) Ever walked into a wall? I am the biggest klutz there is. Of course.

39) Fav time of the year? Probably fall

40) Favorite color? Blue

41) Are you sarcastic? Yes, but most of the time my husband beats me to it.

42) Do you have any tattoos? No ... never been able to get past wondering how much I'll regret it when I'm 80

43) Do you sleep with the TV on? Depends on if I go to bed before Jason. I have to have silence to fall asleep. Jason on the other hand has to have the TV on. That conversation should be part of your premarital counseling sessions.

44) What is your favorite animal? Dogs

45) Can you hula hoop? I'm not sure anymore. My sister won a hula-hoop contest once, though. Does that make me cool by association??

May 17, 2008

Our Saturday

I love it when I actually feel like I've accomplished something during the day. Today was one of those days. I started out the day at 6:15 with a walk around the neighborhood. It was freezing but still a good time for me to think, pray, and have some time to get my thoughts together. After Camryn got up and got involved in the Disney Channel, Jason headed out to play paintball with the youth for the day. I spent the morning in the kitchen making beef stroganoff to take to work for lunch this week. Then I got Camryn ready, and we went shopping for some much needed summer clothing for me. After that we headed to the farmer's market for some okra, apples, and oranges. Camryn was an absolute sweetheart all day and loved helping me at the farmer's market. She helped put the okra in the bag and then carried it while we picked out our fruit. After a quick lunch for her, she went down for a nap, and I had the quiet house to myself. I read or heard somewhere recently that moms so desperately want some "me time" but then fill it with things that don't fill us up - like vegging out in front of the TV, etc. While activities like that are OK sometimes, I've tried to keep that in mind when I actually have a few moments to myself. So, I made a sandwich and sat down with my new book and spent some time filling myself up with good things. I also put some chicken in the crockpot to start on this recipe which we will use for sandwiches and baked potatoes this week. I still had some time after I finished so I grabbed a quick nap myself. Camryn woke up, we did a few loads of laundry, reading with Camryn, quick trip to Wal-Mart, Jason came home, and we examined his war wounds - paintballing is vicious - and then grilled hamburgers for supper. I also boiled some of the okra we bought, which Camryn tried and decided she didn't like. At least she tried it! A little lounging around, bathtime for Cam, and all in all I'd say we've had a pretty productive day!!

May 12, 2008

The Life and Times of the Church Nursery

I am all about taking my turn in the church nursery. But, it always seems that whenever my friend, Kelli, and I have nursery duty, we end the night thinking we've just had what must have been the worst night in nursery history. The last two times we've had duty, the nursery was out of Goldfish. Now, let me tell you, if there are no Goldfish, the 1, 2, and 3 year olds will literally ban together and revolt. My daughter is usually leading the charge. On those nights, we've been able to find some Ritz crackers and Saltines in the church pantry to hold these little ones over.

Last night was our turn again. We had plenty of Goldfish, so at least the night got off to a good start. To begin with, we handled lots of whining, crying, and generally wild kids. We had one little boy whose dad told us he was potty training but would let us know when he had to go. OK - we can handle that. So, about halfway through, he tells me he has to go. Well, I panic slightly, because I am not at all adept at handling anything "little boy." This is why God blessed me with a girl! But, this little guy pretty much handled everything by himself with some help from me getting his pants down and up. Whew!

So, later in the night during a moment of semi-calm, I look over at our little potty-training man and see him making "the face." Great. I say, "Um ... S, did you poop?" No need to ask - of course he did. Well, I guess because he is potty-training, his parents did not bother to bring any extra diapers. There are 10 minutes left before church is over, so we considered leaving him like he was until his parents came. However, the smell in the room was getting bbaaaaaaadddd ... so bad that one of the older kids said, "Hey! Somebody stinks!" So, we look around and find some diapers in a drawer that are probably 2 sizes too small for this kid, but they will have to do. Kelli bravely volunteered to change him since I took him to the potty earlier. We get out the gloves, the changing pad, and about 1000 wipes because we can smell how bad this is gonna be. I will save you all the details but I gagged twice during this whole process just standing there to help, and Kelli, who is almost 5 months pregnant, had to run out of the room halfway through because she was about to lose her lunch. Ohhhhhh the fun times we have in the nursery.

By the way, my Mother's Day was a great one. I got a new dress, new shoes, and new jewelry for church, got a pedicure, and a new mommy-book I have been wanting. I got to sleep in late, we picked up lunch so I wouldn't have to cook, I actually found time to sit and read an entire magazine, and everyone was able to take long naps after church. What a good day!

May 11, 2008

Strawberry Pickin'

Last week, our awesome babysitter, Emily, and her sweet mom, Stacy, asked if they could take Camryn with them to pick strawberries. Of course, we said yes -as long as they took pictures! Here are the pictures of their fun morning. They said Camryn had such a great time and did a good job picking the berries! They also took her to Chick-fil-a for lunch, so she was one spoiled girl by the time the morning was over!


May 8, 2008

Chicken Broccoli Casserole

This is one of the first recipes I ever made when I started taking an interest in cooking in high school. I pulled the recipe out and made it this past week, and it was still good! When I made it, though, I used all low-fat and fat-free ingredients and it was very tasty (fat-free cheese, spray butter, Healthy Request soup, etc.) The real test was that both Camryn and Jason ate all of theirs, including the broccoli!

Chicken Broccoli Casserole
1 package frozen broccoli
1/2 cup mayo
1/2 cup sour cream
1 can cream of chicken soup
2 cups cooked chicken
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese
1/2 cup fine bread crumbs
2 Tbsp. melted margarine

Cook broccoli. Cut chicken into chunks. Blend mayo, sour cream, lemon juice, soup, and cheese. Place broccoli in casserole dish. Top with part of sauce, then add chicken, and the rest of the sauce. Top with bread crumbs and drizzle with melted margarine. You can also sprinkle extra cheese on top if you would like. Bake 25 minutes at 350 degrees.

May 5, 2008

Mother-Daughter Banquet

My weekend with my mom was such a nice one. We really enjoyed the Mother-Daughter Banquet so much! The food was great, and the decorations were so pretty! So many ladies from the church put a lot of effort into decorating the tables with different themes. Some ladies even set the tables with their own china! I wish I had taken more pictures but I didn't want to be "that dork" walking around with the camera. There were almost 300 ladies in attendance so the place was packed. Such fun! That plus shopping and an early Mother's Day dinner made for a great weekend!

May 2, 2008



Five Things I'm Looking Forward to this Weekend!

1) My mom is coming to visit! Yay!! We'll have so much fun, and Camryn will enjoy spending time with Grammy.

2) Mother-Daughter Banquet at church Saturday morning. Mom, Camryn, and I are going together, and I can't wait because I think this will be a fun and sweet time for the three of us. I've heard the food and the table settings are going to be awesome, so I'm excited to see it all. There are a couple of groups from the church who have really put a lot of hard work into this.

3) Shopping Saturday afternoon! More fun girl time in the form of shopping! One of my favorite past times! Plus, Camryn usually scores big when Mommy has extra money to blow!

4) Church on Sunday - the music Jason has planned is going to be incredible so I can't wait! Plus, the choir is singing Midnight Cry - another reason I wanted my mom to come this weekend ... that is one of her favorites - and my friend Stephanie is singing and is going to blow people away. As I've joked to other people, we are having church on Sunday!!

5) Nap on Sunday afternoon ... always my favorite part of the weekend!

May 1, 2008

Motherhood

There is a contest going on at 5 Minutes for Mom, and I thought why not give it a try! So, here's my entry ...


Motherhood is ....

Knowing from the first moment you lay eyes on her that nothing else in your life will ever be as important. It is cherishing the shape of her eyes, the curve of her nose, her laughs, her giggles, her cries, her sighs, the way she smells after a bath, the way she smells after playing outside all afternoon. It is watching her discover a leaf, feel the wind blow on her face, feel the rain as it falls on her, and squish play-doh in her hands. It is wanting to give her the world but also wanting to teach her it doesn't revolve around her. It is dreaming of the person she will be when she is older but never wanting her to grow up. It is wanting her to embrace life and all it can be but never wanting to let her out of your arms. It is wanting God's guiding hand on her every minute of her life and wanting her to be blessed beyond measure. It is overflowing, never-ending, and undefinable love.