The Burleys

Family Pictures 2011

2012-01-03T10:15:00.004-05:00

I have been waiting forever to share these pictures! We took them back in October, and many of you probably saw the previews on Facebook. We decided not to post them here, though, because we were using them as Christmas presents and didn't want our parents to see the rest of them. But Christmas is over now, so I can finally share them all! All of the credit for our wonderful pictures goes to Mary Louise at Callan Tinsley Photography. She is ah-mazing and does such a great job putting up with our little drama queens! She will definitely be our family photographer for the rest of time!

2011 ADVENTures: Days 23 & 24

2011-12-24T08:30:00.001-05:00

For our 23rd ADVENTure, we watched White Christmas! If you know me, you know this is my favorite movie of all time. It's almost hard for me to explain how special this movie is to me. I have so many memories tied up in it, and it makes my heart happy when I watch it! It was a tradition as I was growing up to watch White Christmas every year on Christmas Eve. I remember cuddling up on the couch to watch with my family, eating Tollhouse cookies, trying my hardest to stay awake to make it to the end, watching in awe all of the dancing, singing, and beautiful dresses, and being shooed into bed as soon as it was over so Santa could come. My husband has been wonderful enough to let this become one of our family traditions as well, so I now also have sweet memories of watching each year with Camryn ... and, hopefully Ella will be old enough to watch next year, too.

For our 24th and last ADVENTure, Christmas Eve, we plan to hang out as a family all day in our pajamas, eat sugar cookies, and watch all of the Christmas specials we've DVRed - the Grinch, Frosty, Rudolph, and the Backyardigans and Wonder Pets Christmas specials.

We've enjoyed sharing all of our ADVENTures with you this year! MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

2011 ADVENTures: Day 22

2011-12-23T08:30:00.002-05:00

We made Christmas cookies for today's ADVENTure!

2011 ADVENTures: Day 21

2011-12-22T08:30:00.001-05:00

For our ADVENTure today, we made a hand and footprint reindeer!

2011 ADVENTures: Day 20

2011-12-21T08:30:00.001-05:00

Hot chocolate for the ride: Check!

Girls in their pajamas: Check!

Snuggled in the car with blankets: Check!

And we're ready for our ADVENTure ride around town to look at Christmas lights!

2011 ADVENTures: Day 19

2011-12-20T08:30:00.002-05:00

No pictures today. For our 19th ADVENTure, we piled into Camryn's bed tonight at bedtime and read the Christmas story from the Bible. As we gear up for all of the fun and activities that come along with the week before Christmas, we wanted the big people and little people alike in our house to be reminded of the real reason we are celebrating. We wanted to start our week focused on the fact that Jesus Christ was born into the world to be our Savior ... and that is Christmas.

2011 ADVENTures: Day 18

2011-12-19T08:30:00.002-05:00

"He puzzled and puzzled til his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before. Maybe Christmas, he thought ... doesn't come from a store. Maybe Christmas, perhaps ... means a little bit more!"

For ADVENTure Day 18, we watched How the Grinch Stole Christmas!

2011 ADVENTures: Day 17

2011-12-18T08:30:00.000-05:00

ADVENTures Day 17 - Christmas at Grammy's!!

2011 ADVENTures: Day 16

2011-12-17T08:30:00.001-05:00

For today's ADVENTure, we decorated a Christmas tree!

2011 ADVENTures: Day 15

2011-12-16T08:30:00.012-05:00

For our ADVENTure today, we started with some gift tag/ornaments

Added some markers and glitter pens
Put them in the hands of a 5 year old artist

And ended up with some oh-so-cute keepsakes!

2011 ADVENTures: Day 14

2011-12-15T08:30:00.003-05:00

Wednesdays are pretty hectic nights for us. There's instrumental ensemble practice, praise team practice, choir practice, AWANA ... so, today's ADVENTure was something simple. Camryn painted a Christmas picture with watercolors. She was just as happy doing this as she has been doing any of the other activities. She loves anything artistic!

2011 ADVENTures: Day 13

2011-12-14T08:30:00.000-05:00

For Day 13, we made a Christmas hand wreath. It turned out so cute and was really fun to make!

2011 ADVENTures: Day 12

2011-12-13T08:30:00.001-05:00

ADVENTures Day 12: Wear new Christmas pajamas!

2011 ADVENTures: Day 11

2011-12-12T08:30:00.001-05:00

Another fun Christmas craft! For ADVENTure Day 11, we made a Christmas suncatcher!

2011 ADVENTures: Day 10

2011-12-11T08:30:00.001-05:00

For Day 10 of ADVENTures, we did another Christmas craft. This time we made winter figurines. They turned out SO CUTE!

2011 ADVENTures: Day 9

2011-12-10T08:30:00.003-05:00

Day 9 of our ADVENTures was hang a new ornament on the Christmas tree. Camryn got a swimming ornament because she started swim lessons this year, and Ella got an Abby Cadabby ornament since Abby is one of her great loves right now. The girls had fun opening their ornaments and hanging them front and center on the tree before school!

2011 ADVENTures: Day 8

2011-12-09T08:30:00.001-05:00

Three hot mugs ...

a few goodies ...

some cuddling on the couch ...

and a Christmas favorite ...

Make for one great ADVENTure night!

2011 ADVENTures: Day 7

2011-12-08T08:30:00.001-05:00

Right before Thanksgiving, I went to a fabric store that had a great little craft section. They had all kinds of neat crafts that were perfect for kids and as an added bonus were cheap AND on sale! I picked up a few for our Advent activities. Today, we did our first ADVENTure craft which was making a snowman necklace. I think I had just as much fun as Camryn making these! Camryn made one for herself and one to give to her sweet friend Sydney.

2011 ADVENTures: Day 6

2011-12-07T08:30:00.003-05:00

Day 6 of our ADVENTures was a visit to Santa Claus! I didn't really expect to get a good picture of Ella with Santa this year. Turns out I was right. Glad I thought to snap one good pic of the girls before we left!

Camryn and Santa really hit it off ... probably because they had an entire 10 minutes to get to know each other while the mall people waited for their computers to boot back up so they could take pictures.

Then we tried to let Ella sit in Santa's lap. She had a small freak out.

So, that Santa (he is such a smart ol' guy!) decided to let Ella sit in his seat while he moved out of her sight.

Ho, Ho, Ho!

2011 ADVENTures: Day 5

2011-12-06T08:30:00.001-05:00

Day 5 - Make a Gingerbread House!

2011 ADVENTures: Day 4

2011-12-05T08:30:00.006-05:00

For Day 4 of our ADVENTures, we went Christmas caroling with our church. This is our third year doing this project, and we always have so much fun singing for neighborhoods in our community! Afterwards, we met at the church for chili, vegetable soup, cornbread, and cookies. Yum!

Caroling sheets and cards we handed out as invitations to our Christmas services at Covenant

Our caroling group

Supper at church

2011 ADVENTures: Day 3

2011-12-04T12:40:00.000-05:00

Day 3 of our ADVENTures was Christmas at Grandma and Grandpa's house!

2011 ADVENTures: Day 2

2011-12-03T09:00:00.000-05:00

For Day 2, we went to the Lights Before Christmas at Riverbanks Zoo. We did not see the lights last year, because we decided Ella was really too young to enjoy it and because we spent most of last December being sick. We were very excited to go back again this year!

Supper at Schlotzsky's while we waited for it to get dark

Love those pretty lights!

Roasting marshmallows

Amazed at the "snow"

Ella and the "mayonnaise" (somehow, any time she tries to say "snowman," it comes out as "mayonnaise")

And a trip by the State House on the way home to see the big Christmas tree

2011 ADVENTures: Day 1

2011-12-02T21:30:00.005-05:00

Our ADVENTures have begun! I realize I skipped blogging the whole month of November, but there will be plenty of posts to make up for that now that December is here! For December 1, Camryn's activity was "Write a letter to Santa Claus." She wrote her own letter and also made a couple of suggestions for Ella. We put her letter in the mailbox this morning, and it is now on its way to the North Pole!

Our little "cheese"burger wanted to get in on the picture taking action, too!

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T20:55:00.010-04:00

From the most beautiful princess ...

and the most precious little fairy ...

Happy Halloween!!

We Love the Fair!

2011-10-23T21:10:00.001-04:00

The Rides!

The Food!

The Fun!

The Crash!

Our Apple Orchard Trip

2011-10-16T22:25:00.016-04:00

This past Saturday we took a trip with the Edwards family to Windy Hill Apple Orchard for their Fall Apple Festival. This was such a cute place for the kids and a great way to spend our morning. We had sooooo much fun! This will definitely be on our list of fall activities next year!

Daddy and his girls headed into the festival

Snack time!

Apple cider, apple cider donuts, and dried apple pieces. Yummmm!

Cuties in the hay!

Watching the piglets being bottle fed

The pumpkin Camryn and I picked out

Ella lovin' on her daddy

Hayride!

Blacksmithing demonstration

Picking out our apples

Pictures in the pumpkin patch

"Family" picture

Score!

2011-10-13T08:15:00.014-04:00

I've mentioned here before that we are planning our next Disney World trip for 2013. We've already been planning and working on the logistics of our trip. Camryn will be 7 the next time we go, so she'll be too big for a stroller. And, because we have a "divide and conquer" mentality when we're at DW and don't stop for many rest breaks, we knew she wouldn't be able to keep up just walking. And we don't do whining. Not at Disney World.

We figured a Sit N Stand was probably going to be our best option, but we had absolutely no intentions of going out to buy a brand new one. Camryn is already teetering on the edge of the weight limit, and we really only want it for that one week in 2013.

There is a place in town called The Little White House that is basically one big yard sale every day. It's on a main road right through town, which is great because if you keep your eye on what they have, there are some really awesome finds! So, we decided, we have until 2013 ... we'll wait for The Little White House to get a Sit N Stand. Last week, there it was. And, we could not ask for it to be in better condition. No stains, no fading ... it was just dirty as if someone had left it in a garage or storage shed for the past few months. We had no problems cleaning up "just dirty."

Guess how much we paid for it. These things retail for over $100 at most stores.

Twenty-two whole dollars!

Yep! That's all!

We were quite excited. We'd researched the strollers, so we knew when we bought it that it was missing the front baby tray where Ella will sit (the tray that goes across the front that holds drinks, etc.) We actually can't decide if this is a pro or a con. The stroller we took for both of Camryn's DW trips wasn't made with a tray. Because of the frequent in and out of the stroller at rides and attractions, it was nice for her just to be able to jump in and out without having to stop to get the tray out of the way. We've already contacted the Baby Trend company and found out we can order a replacement part for what is actually a very reasonable price. So, no worries ... we can get one if we want it. We have until 2013 to decide!

A Few Things ...

2011-10-08T21:30:00.000-04:00

The blog has been slow lately, I know. I feel like we're just so caught up in doing day to day life right now that there isn't anything particularly special to blog about. So, here are a few things that in and of themselves don't make a whole blog post but are at least worthy of making a list.

1. Having a child in public school has shifted my world in all kinds of new ways. I wish I had a nickle for the number of times since August that the words, "I just didn't expect ..." have left my mouth. And, good grief, I work in the schools! Why didn't I expect!? I think we've hit a good groove now, but change is just not something this Type A kind of family handles very well.

2. And while Camryn being in kindergarten has changed things around here, she is totally rocking it out! I love that there is something new for her to be excited about each day - ice cream day! playing on the big playground! field trip to Arby's for french fries! As you can see, most of her excitement does not revolve around academics necessarily, but kindergarten is all about fun, right? Her reading has really exploded, too! She was a great reader before, but now she absolutely craves reading. She's into chapter books now - she sat down and read an entire Junie B. Jones book the other day! She just can't get enough, and this reading/writing/literary minded mama loves it!

3. Football season is here, and Jason and I have already gotten to go to TWO games together! This has thrilled me because we figured out the last time we went to a game together was when Camryn was either 1 or 2 years old. Of course, one of the two games we went to was the Carolina/Auburn game but hey ... we enjoyed the experience of being there, right?

4. October and fall in general have to be my absolute favorite time of the year. I know lots of people say that, and I'm right there on the bandwagon. We have so many fun events planned for the remainder of this month (so there may actually be some things to blog about soon!), and I am so excited for all of them.

5. Speaking of October activities, we go to the SC State Fair in exactly 13 days. I. Can't. Wait!

6. I have never much been a fan of pumpkin flavored things. But, I discovered a recipe for pumpkin chocolate chip muffins last year and now I think I'm hooked! I've had pumpkin bread and a pumpkin cupcake recently, and they were good. I still don't think I'll be going for pumpkin pie any time soon, but pumpkin is not so bad!

7. I'm sure you've realized from all of the stores popping up and the shows on TV, there's a huge cupcake fad going on right now. I've totally bought into it. Cupcakes are my new favorite sweet treat. I'm proud to say, one of my favorite go-to places for a cupcake is Cupcrazed Bakery - and they were recent WINNERS on Cupcake Wars on Food Network! That should tell you just how good their cupcakes are!

8. If you're feeling a little sad that I haven't commented on your blog lately, I've been trying! I still keep up with everyone's blogs, but when I've tried commenting recently, Blogger is erasing my comment instead of posting it. Someone suggested I post as Anonymous, so maybe I'll try that.

9. My Christmas shopping is officially underway! I am so excited for Christmas this year. I haven't been this excited in a while. December cannot get here soon enough!

10. Camryn lost her 2nd tooth. It happened at school during lunchtime, and we're pretty sure she swallowed it! She left a sweet little note for the tooth fairy to explain what happened, and asked the TF to please still leave her a prize. Apparently the Tooth Fairy is quite understanding and left her a dollar. Gotta love that little fairy.

Summer Lovin' ... Had Me A Blast!

2011-09-12T20:45:00.000-04:00

Since summer is officially coming to a close, I decided to post some pictures of the fun we've had over the past few months. This was probably one of our most fun summers yet. We just got to spend lots of good, quality time together as a family. Believe me, we have missed those days since school started back. So, here they are!

I don't think I've really posted any summer pics since July, so here was the girls' July 4th picture:

Jason and I surprised Camryn with a trip to Chuck E. Cheese. Before we got there, I really had visions of going into some sort of germophobic shock because of all of kids running wild, but we ALL ended up having a great time!

We spent lots of time smiling and just looking cute:

We had special visitors:

The weekend before school started, we had one last hurrah at the zoo

And, we bought a swingset for the backyard so the girls can swing and slide to their hearts' content!

I'm already making plans and looking forward to next summer with my girls!

Welcome to Kindergarten!

2011-08-15T18:40:00.004-04:00

Today was Camryn's first day of kindergarten! She did great, and so did we - no tears from anyone! (Well, at least not at the school). Although watching my baby grow up is bittersweet, I do try to remind myself how lucky I am to get to experience each of her special milestones. I prayed last night for a peace for us all, which I definitely felt. I've also been praying for her teacher since January, that God would place Camryn with the perfect teacher for her who would challenge her and help her love school. I think we are off to a great start so far!

Snaggletooth

2011-08-03T17:30:00.001-04:00

At 5 1/2 this little cutie has already become a snaggletooth! Loosing teeth seems like such a big kid thing ... is that really already supposed to be happening to the little girl I'd like to still think is my baby? And, she's ready to lose some more. I guess I would be, too, if I'd scored a whole dollar and a Hello Kitty electric toothbrush from the tooth fairy!

Taking Pictures

2011-07-14T10:00:00.001-04:00

Recently, I tried taking some pictures of Ella wearing this dress. It was a dress I wore when I was little that my mom saved for me. Camryn has worn the dress and now Ella. Before we left for church, I decided to snap a few pictures. Ella took a couple of good ones:

Then she decided to lunge at the camera right as I took the third picture:

This made Camryn laugh, so of course, Ella had to laugh, too.

And then, because lunging at the camera was funny the first time, she decided to do it again, which sent Camryn into a fit of giggles once she saw this picture:

I love my silly girls!

Any Takers?

2011-07-09T21:10:00.000-04:00

This is probably the time that my own Facebook account would come in handy, but oh well ...

I'm in the process of cleaning out Ella's clothes she can't wear anymore to start tagging them for an upcoming consignment sale. I have tons of sleepers, outfits, and lots of cute Christmas stuff size 3 months - 12 months. If anyone out there has a little girl or knows of someone with a little girl these sizes, I would be more than happy to sell my clothes privately rather than having to price, tag, and prepare them for the consignment sale! Anyone interested? I'm also consigning a playmat, a few hardly used baby toys, a small Disney princess rocking horse, and a Boppy. Any takers?

We had a great day, it was a super way ... to spend some time together!

2011-07-02T11:24:00.001-04:00

Do any of you have a child who loves the Fresh Beat Band as much as my kid? If so, you can sing along to the title of this post! If not, just know we had a super fabulously fun day on Friday. Jason and I decided we would head down to Columbia for the baseball team's National Championship Parade! We missed out last year because Ella was only days old, so we knew we were definitely going to be there this year! Plus, there's a special place we've been wanting to go eat (which you can see in the post below), so we decided to make a day of it. We had the best time! The girls loved the parade, and we were very excited to be part of congratulating our guys!

Waiting for the parade to begin

The parade

The National Championship team - 2 years in a row!

While we were in town, we also visited Jason's grandmother, Marmee. The girls loved seeing her, and I'm pretty sure it made her to day to watch Ella practice walking around her living room and listen to Camryn ramble on and on about what she's been doing this summer. I love opportunities for the girls to spend time with their great-grandparents.

Keep reading the post below to see how we spent the rest of our day. Blogger was not being very agreeable, so I had to divide the posts up.

Pawley's Front Porch

2011-07-02T11:20:00.000-04:00

We are big fans of Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives on Food Network. A few months ago we saw an episode where Guy visited Pawley's Front Porch in Columbia, SC. We decided we had to pay them a visit as soon as we had the chance, because their burgers looked so great. Once we planned to go to the parade, we made Pawley's part of our schedule for the day. Oh. my. gravy. This place did not disappoint! We're already scheming to go back soon so we can try some of the other things on the menu!

Our appetizer - pepper jack fries

We got so excited when the burgers came, we dug in before I remembered to take a picture! Here are a couple shots of our plates by the time we were about half way done! Jason and I decided to order two burgers and split them so we could sample a little more of the menu. We got the Fripp Island burger, which included a fried green tomato, southern salsa, and boursin cheese, the Championship Burger with a lowcountry crabcake and honey dijon mayo, onion rings, and sweet potato fries.

And, of course, we had to be super-touristy and get pictures with the Guy poster!

This is the actual spot that aired on Food Network. We had the first burger that he makes - the Fripp Island burger. It just makes my mouth water watching it again!

Ella's First Birthday Party

2011-06-28T09:30:00.000-04:00

One

2011-06-25T15:30:00.000-04:00

"The days are long, but the years are short."

I remember being up for a 3 am feeding one morning when Ella was only a few months old. I was so, so very tired and can remember thinking to myself, "I can't wait until she's one. I can actually sleep at night, we'll be on a real schedule, she'll be more independent ... " Then I blinked and before I knew it, a whole year of my baby's life had flown by.

Happy first birthday to our precious, sweet, silly, funny, happy, mischievous, giggly, beautiful little Ella. Your mommy, daddy, and big sister love and adore you more than we could ever put into words.

Seabrook Memories

2011-06-21T20:30:00.005-04:00

Five years ago we started taking trips to Seabrook Island over Memorial Day weekend with my sister and her family. We have not been able to go the past two years, due to pregnancies with June babies - Lindsay, two years ago and me last year. This year - no pregnancies! So, we finally got to go again. While we did have some very fun moments, I can't say it was the most relaxing or stress-free trip. Ella decided being away from home and sleeping in a room that wasn't hers didn't suit her ... so she kept Mommy and half the house up at all hours of the night each night we were there. Although I probably got 8 hours of combined sleep the entire weekend, here are some pictures of our happier moments!

First night, eating at the Seabrook Island clubhouse overlooking the ocean

S'mores night!

Homemade ice cream night!

Beach!

Keeping three children entertained ... not an easy task!

Hanging out at Freshfields Village before dinner listening to music

Sleepy girl because she lost so much sleep over the weekend

A little dancing on the green

Spaghetti face!

Every time we're together, I always manage to get a great shot of Justin like this one. It's just not a family vacation without it!

The Graduate

2011-06-04T19:50:00.005-04:00

Last week Camryn graduated from preschool. Although she's still attending summer camp at her daycare a few times a week, I can't believe she will be leaving A Step Above soon. It has been a wonderful place, and she has made some sweet friends and really learned a lot. We are proud of our little graduate!

Singing for the parents

Marching in cap and gowns

With her teachers, Miss Brittany and Mrs. Kim

Ella had fun, too!

Camryn and her best buddy, Sydney

Camryn and Braylyn

Camryn and Dabney

So proud of our little girl!

Love Loud Lancaster

2011-05-18T07:30:00.000-04:00

Four months ago Jason and Adam Langley, another music minister in town, started planning a community event called Love Loud Lancaster. Love Loud was a contemporary gospel concert that included over 100 singers from 6-7 churches in the area and a 20 piece orchestra. The music was fabulous, and it was such a great and fun way for our churches to share God's love in the community. Jason and Adam put in so many hours of planning, promoting, and rehearsing, and I loved sitting back on Sunday and watching all of their hard work pay off. Love Loud coincided with the Red Rose Festival, so we spent the whole weekend enjoying the festivities:

First, we checked out the Red Rose Festival activities on Friday night

On Saturday, our church joined Second Baptist in a combined Praise Team concert

After the praise teams sang, we enjoyed the Red Rose festival a little more

Camryn sliding with her friend Sara

And, finally, the big Love Loud concert!

Jason singing his solo

Jason and Patti leading one of the songs

Our friend Anna singing

Cardboard testimonies

Jason directing

I am SO proud of my husband and all of the hard work he put into helping pull this event off!

Catching Up

2011-05-12T08:25:00.000-04:00

There are so many events I've intended to blog about, and for one reason or another, it just didn't happen. So, here's my attempt to catch up.

First, sickness has hit this house in a mighty way, and I'm ready for it to be OVER! Here's the short version of what's occurred over the last 6 weeks so I don't take all day explaining our various illnesses. Doctor visit #1: Ella has an ear infection in her right ear. Doctor visit #2: Ella has allergies and an ear infection in her left ear. Doctor visit #3: Camryn has croup/her reactive airway disease acting up. Doctor visit #4: Ella's ear has still not cleared up, and she has reactive airway disease. (I've lost count of the number of breathing treatments we've done in the last 2 weeks between these two girls). Doctor visit #5: Mommy has a double ear infection. (Funny fact: Ella and I are currently taking the same antibiotic). The day after my ear infection diagnosis, I developed some sort of tonsillitis/strep/torturous throat pain that had me standing in the kitchen crying because it hurt so bad. I mean, really, not a single tear shed through two labors/births, but give me a sore throat and ear infections, and I'm a whiny mess. And finally, Doctor visit #6 will occur today when Jason goes at 11:30 am for a sore throat and cough. I love our doctors, but I'm really tired of visiting them.

Ok, now on to happier things ...

A couple of weeks ago, we had Ella's baby dedication at church. We were so excited to have all of our family there to share this with us.

Grammy came ...

So did Aunt Lindsay, Uncle Justin, and Keller

Also, Papa and Debbie

And, last but not least, Grandma and Grandpa

Aunt Alison, Uncle Isaac, and Caleb were there, too, but they had to leave before all the picture taking commenced to get back home for a friend's birthday party.

The day before Ella's dedication, Papa and Debbie took a trip to the zoo with us.

A couple of weeks before that, Grammy came for a visit. We had so much fun that weekend. We spent Saturday doing what girls do best, which was shopping all day. That night, Jason and I were supposed to go on a date while Grammy stayed home with the girls. Because I was worn out from shopping all day, and Jason was tired because he had to work all day, we decided just to order pizza and stay in. That turned out to be a really good decision, because that was the night of the big hail storm. We were glad we stayed in, instead of being caught out in the middle of it! Here are some pictures from our fun that weekend.

Ella sported a cute little bum on the way to church Sunday morning:

The Kids Choirs sang in church that morning. Cam was precious. It's sad for this mama that this is her last year in the preschool choir.

While the hail came down outside, Grammy and Cammy dyed Easter eggs

I also forgot to post some of Ella's big firsts. These are a few pictures from the first big girl meal she had where she fed herself.

That same day, she also decided to take a few steps behind her walker ... well, maybe more than a few. Once she realized what she could do, she walked all over the house.

And, finally, there's this little gem that I found while looking for pictures on the camera.
Ohhhh, how it makes me giggle. Camryn got Just Dance Kids for her birthday, and this is her shimmying and shaking her way through one of the songs.

Easter 2011

2011-04-26T15:10:00.000-04:00

Fun Girls Day ... Turned Sad Girl Day

2011-04-21T21:20:00.031-04:00

For the last week, Camryn and I have been planning a fun girls day. We started our day with this:

I told Camryn she could pick any recipe from her cookbook, and we would make it. She chose the Fairy Godmother Wands (aka french toast sticks). Man, does she love to create things in the kitchen!

They were really, really good!

After that we got dressed to head out. How cute is she?!?

First stop - the library. Camryn always considers it a treat going to the library, because she loooovves to read.

And that's just what she did the whole way to lunch.

We went to one of her favorites - McAlister's

Where she decided to order a peanut butter and jelly sandwich (crazy kid ... we could have stayed home for that!)

Then I introduced her to one of my favorites ...

Oh. my.

Of course, we had to get the one with pink icing

After that, we came home to do whatever she wanted to do ... which was play restaurant in the playroom.

I think it was around McAlister's that I wiped her eye, because I noticed something yucky in it. Before we left, I had to wipe her eye again. By the third round of wiping, I knew what was coming. Yep. Girls day ended with a full blown case of pink eye. Camryn ended up confined to one little spot on the loveseat faaaaaar away from Ella. She cried once because she said her eyes hurt. She cried a second time because she didn't want to go to the doctor. And then she cried a third time because I had to break the news to her that she wouldn't get to go to school today and have her Easter egg hunt. That's a pretty tough pill for a 5 year old to swallow. I think we'll have to have a girls day redo sometime soon. Besides, it will give us another reason to go back to SAS!

P.S. Please excuse the crazy spacing. I decided to let Blogger win tonight.

And the Winner Is ... Well, Sorta!

2011-04-18T07:45:00.003-04:00

Yeah, yeah ... I know that the men's college basketball tournament has been over for quite a while now, but I forgot to post who won the 2011 Burley Bracket Battle's coveted trophy! But first, a few facts:

1. Camryn has filled out a bracket every year since she was one year old. We read her the mascots, and she picks the one she likes best. This year was a not a good year for her. Maybe next year we need to have a discussion that a #16 seed will probably never beat a #1 seed no matter how cute their mascot may be.

2. Jason was still watching basketball at 12:30 am the first day of the tournament. The ESPN announcers said that after the first day, out of over 5 million brackets filled out, there were roughly 300 perfect brackets and only 5 brackets that didn't get a single pick correct. One of those 5 brackets without a single correct pick happened to be my mother-in-law's! (I can post this because she had a good laugh about it, too!) In her defense, she did have a few other really good brackets that had a shot of winning it all for our group!

3. Before the tournament, I read an article about the Vegas odds on certain upsets and favorites. I was so serious about filling out a good bracket, I let this guide some of my choices. Did no good. Moral of the story: Making your picks based on cute mascots is probably a better strategy than following lame articles about Vegas odds.

So who was the final winner? Let's just say the Burley Bracket Battle did not end without its share of controversy this year. I filled out a total of 4 brackets. When the tournament began on Thursday, I realized my #3 bracket somehow did not make it into our group. I thought, "Oh well, no big deal. I picked too many upsets in that one anyway." WRONG! That bracket ended up being the WINNING bracket although no one could see it because I didn't get it into the group! Out of the entries that actually were in the group, Jason's was the "winner" but overall had less points than my bracket that no one could see. So, for the rest of the year, Jason and I get to fight about who the real winner is! Either way the trophy stays at our house for a year. Now to decide which closet I can stuff that trophy into until next year's tournament challenge ...

Ella's First Zoo Trip

2011-04-08T20:53:00.006-04:00

We decided to take advantage of the beautiful weather and headed to the zoo today. This was Ella's first zoo trip!

Not a great picture, but the only picture of Mommy (the photographer) and her girls

Hello Spring!

2011-03-21T20:45:00.000-04:00

Let the Battle Begin

2011-03-17T21:30:00.000-04:00

This year ... it's not just about bragging rights

This year ... it gets serious

That's right ...

This year ... there 's a trophy

BURLEY BRACKET BATTLE 2011

My New Song

2011-03-16T07:45:00.001-04:00

Camryn spent almost all evening working on "a surprise" for me. This is what she finally presented to me:

At the bottom was a song she wrote:

Just in case you can't read it:

My Mommy's the best

Mommy's the best

I love my Mommy

because she cooks good food for us and

that's why I love my Mommy

Love that girl!

Tis the Season!

2011-03-14T14:20:00.005-04:00

For consignment shopping, that is! I know there are some great consignment sales going on all over the state right now, from Anderson to Fort Mill to Columbia to Rock Hill. This year I consigned and shopped at the Upscale Weesale in Rock Hill. Now, I shopped and consigned at sales when we lived in Anderson, but I've never seen anything the scale of the Weesale. It is truly a thing of beauty. The lady who runs it has to be one of the most organized human beings I've ever met, and because of her organization, she puts on a great sale.

I consigned over 100 items this year because we are seriously becoming overrun with little girl clothes due to my tiny addiction to shopping for them. I don't apologize for this, though, because that is one of the reasons I wanted little girls so badly - to play dress up with them! :) Anyway, I made $260 off of the things I sold and still brought about 40 items back home! I was super impressed and super excited since I said whatever I made would go toward buying the girls' summer wardrobes. I also shopped the Weesale but only came home with 4 things. As I said, I have an addiction to buying clothes for my girls, but for some reason, I can stand at a consignment sale or shop and talk myself out of half of the things in my hand. Don't know if it's because I think I can get a better deal on new clothes or what, but I am really bad about this! I was very happy, though, with the 2 smocked dresses and the cute summer dress I spent a little less than $40 on. Think about the price you pay retail for smocked dresses, and that's pretty darn good.

I also found this precious Hello Kitty water cooler for $3, and it has been the cutest addition to the new playroom. Camryn thinks it's the best and drank half the jug of water before lunchtime the first day I put it in there. Chickie-poo was making a beeline to the bathroom for potty breaks about once every 10 minutes!

So, with my earnings from the Weesale, I spent a day shopping by myself (heavenly!). I hit up Carter's, the Gymboree outlet, and Gymboree, got some great deals, and got a pretty good jump start on the girls' summer wardrobes. Plus, I even found some things on clearance racks for next fall. AND, I still have close to $75 left over!

Ella's stash

And Camryn's ... I know her's looks smaller, but I really already did have several things for her that I bought on sale at the end of last season!

Now, here's where I will do a bit of educational preaching. I get teased (and get a few eyerolls) over my fondness for Gymboree, which is often quite overpriced on their clothing. However, you can shop Gymboree and get great deals on clothing if you just wait for the right times! For example, when I went the other day, they had (and still currently do!) 30% off everything in the store, including clearance items. In addition to that, I had a 20% off coupon for my entire purchase, including sale items. Voila! My entire purchase was almost 50% off! In addition, I earned Gymbucks (click here if you're not familiar with that program), which is 50% off a future purchase if I stay within a $50 budget.

Now please don't think I send my kids to daycare wearing Gymboree (learned my lesson a long time ago there!) I am definitely a Wal-Mart and Target shopper for clothes I know Camryn will somehow manage to ruin within a 2 week period. However, for church and for times we're going out that I don't want Camryn to look like a ragamuffin, I love buying Gymboree. What I pay for outfits there (when I'm using coupons and shopping during sales) is the same thing I'd pay for a nice outfit at Belk or another department store. So, all of that to say, get on the Gymboree mailing lists, get coupons, shop sales and Gymbucks periods, and Gymboree suddenly becomes not all that expensive.

And, finally, it has been a while since I've posted a few cute kid shots. First, this is how I found Camryn in bed on Saturday morning ... reading to all her fairies and Tangled figurines. Sweet, sweet girl.

And then there's this little bitty girl, otherwise known as "Miss Trouble" around here lately. She crawls, pulls up, chews on, and pretty much gets into anything and everything. She keeps us hoppin' and gives us some serious attitude when she doesn't get her way. But, gosh, isn't she cute!?

5 Years Old

2011-03-03T07:50:00.002-05:00

Can anyone else believe this sweet girl is 5 whole years old? Gracious. Why did I blink and let the time slip by so quickly? We have watched Camryn grow up so much during this past year. She is such a little girl now ... it feels like all traces of our baby are gone. We've watched her mature so much as a big sister, and she is truly a fabulous one. We are so, so proud of her.

This year we wanted to do something different and special for Camryn's birthday this year. So, instead of putting a lot of money into a big party, cake, and decorations, we surprised Camryn with tickets for her, Mommy, and Daddy to Mickey's Magic Show. She loved it! I was bummed that my camera died as soon as we got there until they announced we couldn't take pictures anyway.

The next day, we came back home for a small party with family. We all enjoyed spending time together, and Camryn got enough fairy, Barbie, and Rapunzel stuff to keep her entertained until her 6th birthday!

Look What I Got Today!

2011-02-22T21:55:00.001-05:00

Have you ever heard of HouseParty.com? I found out about it through one of my coupon sites. You sign up to get emails about upcoming parties sponsored by various companies, fill out a survey at the House Party website, and wait to see if you're chosen as a party host! Every once in a while, I would fill out a survey or two as we were sitting watching TV at night. Just last week I commented to Jason that I was going to stop filling them out, because it was a waste of my time. Then, lo and behold, I got an email saying I'd won a Johnsonville Sausage Party. It made me laugh out loud.

Today, my party kit came in the mail. Mercy! There was tons of free stuff! Coupons for FREE Johnsonville Italian Sausage, FREE Prego sauce, FREE Sargento cheese, a recipe booklet, 2 packages of deli bites, 2 summer sausages, paper plates, napkins, a spaghetti scoop, and apron and an oven mitt. Oh yeah, and 16 coupons for more free sausage and several $1 off coupons that I'm supposed to give to my party guests! Anyone wanna come over and eat some sausage? I gotta start planning a party!

The Sweetest Valentines I Know!

2011-02-14T11:30:00.004-05:00

First, there's these two cuties:

Then there's Jason's grandparents:

They've been Valentines for 63 years. The State paper did a special Valentine's Day article about them (link below). Make sure you also watch the video that accompanies the article! I'm sure you'll agree with me that they're some of the sweetest Valentines you've ever seen, too!

Valentine’s Day: With a song in their hearts - Life & Style - TheState.com

Twinkies

2011-02-03T07:45:00.001-05:00

Everyone is always curious to know if Ella looks anything like Camryn did as a baby ...

Camryn in 2006

Ella in 2011

Laundry Fail

2011-01-28T07:45:00.001-05:00

The other day I didn't have time to eat breakfast. So, I threw the vitamins I usually take in the morning- a multivitamin and a fish oil softgel- in the pocket of my black dress pants and decided to take them at lunch. At lunchtime, which was eaten in my car on the way to a meeting, (welcome to the life of a school psychologist) I completely forgot about the vitamins.

Once I got home that afternoon I decided the laundry that was piling up on the floor needed to be taken care of. I took off my pants, threw them in the wash, and .... completely forgot about the vitamins.

How do I even begin to describe to you what the laundry smelled like when I opened the dryer after that load was done? Fish oil geltab that dissolved in my pocket. Hot, damp laundry shut up in a small space.

Bless.

I redid the whole load but washed the black pants separately. With the strongest smelling detergent I could find in my laundry room. On the heavy soil load. With an extra rinse.

I'm still not 100% sure the smell is completely gone. So, if you're sitting in church on Sunday, and you smell a fishy smell you can't quite put your finger on, look around. I'm probably sitting in the row behind you. Wearing my black pants.

Ella's 6 Month Pictures

2011-01-23T08:00:00.003-05:00

Last weekend we had Ella's 6 month pictures taken. As a bonus, we also got a few great sister shots and family shots. We could not be more pleased with how they turned out - they are beautiful. Our photographer was Mary DeCrescenzio of Callan Tinsley Photography. We would definitely recommend her to anyone!

Lovin' the Snow Days!

2011-01-12T20:30:00.000-05:00

We have loved the past three days! Due to the snow, the four of us have been couped up inside and have had nothing to do except spend time together - fabulous! During the past three days we've: eaten big bowls of grits with butter and cheese while watching the snow fall, stared out the window, played together, been lazy, watched TV, lived in our pajamas, played games, taken long naps, watched two Tinkerbell movies, drank big cups of hot chocolate, made chocolate chip cookies, played in the snow, cleaned up, made messes, snuggled, played in the new playroom, and enjoyed (almost) every minute of our time together!

Some Thoughts on Christmas

2011-01-03T09:30:00.003-05:00

1. The Christmas season this year was hard for us. I remember doing the advent box with Camryn on Dec. 1, Dec. 2, and Dec. 3 and thinking, "Wow! These days are going by pretty slowly. Maybe this year the Christmas season won't fly by!" The next two weeks after that are a blur of sicknesses and things that went wrong or broke. We finally started to see the light at the end of the tunnel the week before Christmas, and then before I knew it, it was here and gone.

2. If you didn't get a Christmas card from me this year, please don't be offended. No one did. I usually get Christmas cards out the 2nd or 3rd week of December, and if you will refer to #1, you'll understand why that just didn't happen this year.

3. Christmas cards were just one of the many things that didn't quite happen this season.

4. We spent way too much money this year on Christmas but realized this is the first year since we've been married that not a single bit of it went on a credit card. Every penny was paid with cash. Thank you, Dave Ramsey.

5. On Christmas morning, there was a moment I stood up and surveyed the room. There were toys everywhere and two sweet little girls in the middle of it all playing contentedly side by side. It made my heart happy.

6. It was hard to get Camryn excited about presents this year. It was almost like she turned 14 overnight and didn't think it was cool to be excited about her gifts. However, one of the best moments of Christmas was when she opened her Leapster and said, "I've always wanted one of these" (translation: I've wanted one since October when I played with it in Target). But after she said that, she looked up, paused for a minute, then practically threw herself on her daddy and hugged him for the longest time and told him thank you. Then she came over to me, put both her arms around my neck, hugged me so tightly and told me thank you ... all unprompted. I had to wipe away some tears.

Christmas 2010

2010-12-29T07:10:00.000-05:00

2010-12-25T07:00:00.003-05:00

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

From the Burley Family

ADVENTure Day 24 - Make Christmas Cookies for Santa

2010-12-24T12:30:00.003-05:00

ADVENTure Day 22

2010-12-23T16:45:00.000-05:00

Make a present for Ella with Sarah Ellen

ADVENTure Day 21

2010-12-21T20:10:00.002-05:00

Make a Christmas ornament

ADVENTure Days 18, 19, & 20

2010-12-20T19:30:00.000-05:00

Day 18: Christmas at Grandma & Grandpa's

Day 19: Read a new Christmas book

Day 20: Wear matching Christmas pajamas

Need A Little Christmas

2010-12-14T06:20:00.001-05:00

Things have not been going all so great around here lately. Saturday after we went to see White Christmas (which was a total disappointment, I might add ... maybe more on that another day), we came back here with my mom and ordered pizza. Sometime after supper, I started feeling really badly. I threw up once before bed and thought maybe it was just the pizza. Not so much. That was the start of a 24 hour virus that had me in bed all day Sunday, missing Camryn's children's musical at church. I'm so glad, however, my mom was here to help take care of the girls. When Daddy is a minister, Mommy is pretty much on her own when it comes to Sundays!

I felt better yesterday but still stayed home to recuperate. I decided I needed to wash everything I may have touched, so I started laundry. It literally took me all. day. long. to attempt to dry one load of towels. I say attempt because they never really got dry, even after separating one load into three smaller ones. So, apparently our 2 year old dryer is giving out.

Next, Ella was fussy all evening. I assumed it was because she had not really napped well at daycare. Took her temp before bedtime - 101.6. And, she was up crying twice last night and required rocking, which never, ever happens around here anymore. So, a doctor's trip is in our future today.

And, the icing on the cake - I woke up this morning to no running water. I woke Jason up, and he assumed the pipes had frozen, so he told me to turn on the hot water and leave it running. I did and it went from a tiny little stream to a trickle to nothing at all. I was staring at the clock, because I knew in an hour and half (if I'm lucky that she'll actually sleep til normal time this morning) Ella would be awake and I'd have to make a bottle. So, I called the water company. Verdict: someone went around the county last night opening up fire hydrants, so we will be without water "for a while." This equaled a 5:45 am trip to the gas station to pay $6 for 3 gallons of water and Princess Ella will today be drinking bottles made from artesian water.

My Christmas spirit is going straight down the tubes right now, people.

ADVENTure Days

2010-12-13T18:09:00.006-05:00

Go on a date with Mommy to see Tangled

Go with Mommy, Daddy, Aunt Lindsay, Uncle Justin, and Grammy to see the Broadway production of White Christmas

Watch How the Grinch Stole Christmas

ADVENTures - Day 9

2010-12-09T21:20:00.001-05:00

Make a gingerbread house

What's Been Going On

2010-12-06T21:25:00.003-05:00

Once again, I've let too much time pass between posts. Here's what's been going on around our household lately! For the 2nd year in a row, we're having fun with our advent box. I actually had my act together and got started on Dec. 1 this year!

Camryn loves going to the box each morning to find out what her activity for the day will be!

This year she's able to read the activities herself ... BIG girl!

So far we've written a letter to Santa Claus, hung Christmas window clings in her bedroom, sent a Christmas card to a special friend, visited Santa Claus, gone Christmas caroling, and hung a new ornament on the Christmas tree. Here are a couple of pictures of Cam mailing her very first letter to Santa, which she wrote all by herself. Her top two wishes were a Snuggie and a pillow pet. She's really hoping Santa comes through for her!

We also took our annual trip to the tree farm to find the perfect Christmas tree. This year we found our tree in record time. I'm not sure if it was because there were several other families there looking for trees, so we felt like we had to lay claim to ours before someone else snatched it up, or if it was because I was more agreeable this year because I was ready to get the baby out of the cold. Either way, we ended up finding a great first Christmas tree for Ella!

And, speaking of Miss Ella, she has learned to sit up on her own! Here's our precious little Christmas baby showing off her new skill!

And, I just had to add this one, well, because there's not much that's cuter in my book than a sleeping baby with her tush up in the air.

And, finally, here is a video of Camryn making Ella laugh every time she says, "Boo!" As you can tell, Ella's not a huge laugher yet ... actually, her laughs sound more like she's just giving you a courtesy laugh, but I thought this was cute nonetheless. Sorry for the TV noise in the background. I was trying to catch the moment and wasn't really thinking about the obnoxious TV!

Catching Up

2010-11-18T14:50:00.001-05:00

Well, gracious. Other than my coupon rant that took about 5 minutes to write, it's been a while since I've updated the blog. Let's see if I can play a little catch up. Hold on to your hats, though ... this has the potential to be all over the place.

Let's start with the Friday before Halloween. If you remember this post you know we don't have the best luck when it comes to finding/keeping pediatricians. I shared in that post that we decided to follow the doctor we found here in town to her new practice in Charlotte, because we loved her so much. As we were checking in to see her for Ella's 4 month appt. we were informed by the receptionist that our doctor had already left the practice after 2 months to go into full-time hospital practice. What!?! No mention of this when you called to remind us of our appointment yesterday? I almost had a crying fit right there in the waiting room.

Fast forward a few weeks, and we've now switched the girls over to my sister's pediatrician, who I really like. Good thing since we've been burning up the road back and forth to her office in the past week. Last Thursday I took Ella, because she had some yucky, goopy eyes. Virus. On Monday, we were back again, because she quit taking all of her bottles. Ear infection. But, wait - we're not finished yet! Back again yesterday, and the poor baby now has croup. And, bless her heart, you'd never know she was sick. That sweet little angel has just smiled and smiled and smiled through all of these sicknesses. I just love that baby.

What else?

Halloween. Camryn dressed up as an angel for Bible character night at AWANA. Then we had her school's fall carnival. And, finally, she dressed up as Princess Belle for our church's carnival. She was definitely a beauty, and so excited to get all dolled up.

Posing with Brady at the carnival

Playing games ... this kid would dominate at Plinko if she ever made it on The Price Is Right!

A little Cornhole

Camryn and her other princess friend, Abby

Every good princess needs to get tatted up!
We didn't dress Ella up this year. That poor baby is so hot-natured, we figured she would have pitched a fit if we tried to put some hot costume on her. She did sport her Halloween pj's and bib, courtesy of Grandma!

Between the school and church carnivals, you would not believe the amount of candy Camryn came home with! More than anyone in this house needed to eat. So, I took a cue from something I've heard that some dentists do, and I paid our daughter to give away her candy! That's right ... I gave her a big bag and told her she could keep as much of her candy as she wanted. BUT, if she decided to give any away, I would pay her $1 for every pound of candy she got rid of. Believe me, it was a win/win situation. She kept plenty of candy which she's still working her way through and made $3.50 for what she gave away!

The girls had Fall and Christmas picture day at school. They also did sibling pictures. I went ahead and took a couple of pictures of the two of them together at home, because I wasn't sure how well Ella would do that day. Good thing ... now that we've seen the pics, I don't think we'll be ordering any of the two of them together.

Once November rolled around, they also had to wear their cute fall dresses to church.

Earlier in the month, Chick-fil-A sponsored a Daddy-Daughter Date Night. Oh so cute! Jason had to RSVP, and there was a hostess station and table service that night. Precious.

Headed out on their date

Camryn came home with lots of cute freebies, including a coupon for a free kids meal. Gotta love that Chick-Fil-A!

And, finally - just some pictures I've taken recently...

Have I mentioned how much these two love each other?

The two of them cuddled up watching TV. I know, I am awful. I let my 4 month old watch TV ... something I would have NEVER let Camryn do as a 4 month old. Oh, how times change.

My littlest bug wearing her first pair of jeans. Good grief, she's cute. And chunky.

And last but not least, an updated family picture. Man, I love the other three people in that picture!

Coupon No No

2010-11-11T06:15:00.001-05:00

Most of you know I ~~Facebook stalk you~~ keep up with your lives through Jason's Facebook account. Today as I was perusing, I noticed one of Jason's friends asking for some tips on how to save money during the holidays. As I read through the comments, I almost choked at a woman who advised the friend to buy the Sunday paper for the Proctor and Gamble coupon inserts which, as she said, could be used on "any Proctor and Gamble product" no matter what the coupon was written for. She said the $7 and $10 Crest whitening products could be used toward Tide detergent, diapers, etc.

What?!?

This, ladies, is why we are often treated like criminals when we use coupons. If you do this, thanks for playing, you have essentially stolen from the store and made coupon life difficult for the rest of us. Although the store will likely still be reimbursed for the coupon value when it's all said and done (too much to explain - just trust that they probably will), there's always the chance they WON'T and you have just caused them to lose $7 -10. While it may not seem like a big deal to you that a huge company like Wal-Mart, Target, etc. loses a few dollars here and there, you will ultimately end up paying for it when the store raises their prices, quits accepting coupons, etc., in order to account for money lost. Additionally, you are just flat out lying by presenting as if you are buying a product that you really are not!

Ok, whew ... sorry. Just had to get up on my soapbox for a moment. I could not believe someone would be so blatantly dishonest about coupon use when those of us who are trying to simply save a buck here and there are working so hard to use them the correct way. I don't want to save money so badly that I'm dishonest in the process of doing it! I truly believe that God honors my attempts to save money for our family and use it wisely where our groceries are concerned (Proverbs 31 woman), and if I am being dishonest or, in essence, stealing, there is no way He will continue to honor my efforts!

An Afternoon In the Kitchen

2010-10-29T08:10:00.000-04:00

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

Blueberry Muffins

Lasagna

Roasted Vegetable Soup

I sure do love a good afternoon in the kitchen!

One Year Ago Today

2010-10-26T21:30:00.000-04:00

One year ago today we saw this:

One year later, our family is complete because of this:

"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be."

Psalm 139: 13-16

State Fair 2010

2010-10-25T09:10:00.002-04:00

Growing up, my family never went to the State Fair. I also don't remember any of my friends going to the fair with their families. Maybe it just wasn't a Cheraw thing. Then I dated and married myself a Columbia boy, and the State Fair became an essential part of my life! Every October, I get so excited about our annual trip to the fair. There's nothing I look forward to more than walking through all the buildings, playing the games, riding the rides, and of course, yummy fair food!

Isaac is freakishly good at carnival games. We all tried this game and all missed, but Isaac got all three rings with very little effort!
Camryn wanted a picture of the duck with a 'fro.

I couldn't get a good picture, but we saw more ducks go down the slide than we ever have!
Mr. B and the seriously mean rooster

Lunchtime pics!

This is what happens when sisters-in-law try to take a picture. First Alison ...

then me.

That's better!

The fellas

Burley men

Cute cousins

Tired girl

Riding the Dizzy Dragon

Watching the dog show

The fam

One of Cam's favorites

Checking out this year's sand sculpture

A little tribute to Anderson

Camryn's first ferris wheel ride

View from the top

She loved it!

Whack-a-mole!

Discussing strategy

More games

Isaac and Mr. Burley riding the Fireball

Buying the infamous Krispy Kreme burger

Cam sporting all of her stickers while we wait for Daddy's burger

Fried Milky Way ... soooo much better than the fried cookie dough last year!

Always have to have a carousel ride

About to dig in

First bite

Mission accomplished!

Some Thoughts

2010-10-21T13:10:00.000-04:00

1. I had a second child and the laundry somehow doubled! I usually don't mind doing laundry, but now I feel like I do it all. the. time. We could never have another baby, because if we ever did, I'd have to quit my job just to keep up with the laundry!

2. SAS Cupcakes. Best discovery I've ever made. Period.

3. I applied for the Disney Mom's Panel and didn't make it. I've been referring to myself as the big ol' Disney loser lately. Seriously though, I think they get 20,000+ applicants each year, so I'm not too torn up about not getting chosen. The only thing that's really sad is I can't apply again for another 3 years, because you have to have been to Disney at least once in the past year, and our next trip won't be til 2013. Bummer.

4. Which leads me to another question ... anybody know how to potty train a 4 month old? Jason's and my rule is that we don't take anyone to Disney who's not potty trained, and since we want to go back so badly, we just thought ....

5. Let's make it clear that I am kidding.

6. But on to a more serious question. How do you mamas handle discipline when your child lies? Yep, we've had some issues with fibbing in our household lately, and although I won't point fingers at the culprit, there is only one child in the house who is verbal right now. I have punished, I have pointed out that we are disobeying God if we tell lies, I've said how much it hurts mommy's feelings and disappoints me ... yet, we still seem to have some fib-telling that creeps in on a semi-regular basis. Usually said culprit is being untruthful, because she thinks if she tells the truth we will be mad or she will get in trouble. Any suggestions?

7. I have been on a new recipe kick lately! I've gotten so tired of the same old recipes over and over again, so I've been looking on line and checking out my recipe books. So far the one new recipe I tried was a flop with Jason. Camryn and I both really liked it, though. How funny is it that my husband is a pickier eater than my 4 year old?!

8. I have missed being able to shop for all of the sweet baby clothes at Babies R Us. I finally got to go shopping again for Ella's winter wardrobe the other day and walked out without a single thing in my hand. I even had a great coupon and a gift card to use and couldn't find one darn thing. They either didn't have what I was looking for or didn't have Ella's size when I found something I wanted. I was sooooo disappointed!

9. I miss having a Publix nearby. It's hands down the best and cleanest grocery store. And, I wasn't even couponing yet when I had one in town. Ohhhhh the damage I could do there now!

10. I am so excited about tomorrow. SC State Fair, here we come!

Never Before Seen Footage!

2010-10-18T08:15:00.001-04:00

Or in other words, just some pictures I haven't posted before!

Pumpkin Love

2010-10-12T18:32:00.003-04:00

Do you know what the best part of Halloween is? Not dressing up in costumes or carving pumpkins. Not trick-or-treating or decorating the house with fall decor. And I'm really not into the haunted houses or any of the scary stuff.

THIS is the reason I look forward to Halloween every year. Yuuuuuuuumm!!!

Family Update

2010-10-11T20:30:00.000-04:00

It's been a long time since I've posted anything more than just pictures. So, here's an update on all of the Burleys:

Heather: I went back to work 3 weeks ago today. Bummer. I hate it when people try to cheer me up by saying I should be thankful just to have a job. Of course I am, but what would be really nice is if I could just stay home with my baby. Thankfully there wasn't too much work piled up for me when I got back, and I've been able to ease back into things relatively slowly. It's hard work trying to balance everything, but I think I've done pretty well falling into a routine of work, cleaning, and making sure everyone's taken care of and fed.

Jason: He has been working away on things at church. Between Christmas stuff, the church anniversary service, technology updates, and every day responsibilities, he had been working so hard and so much that he took a couple of days off last week to regroup and breathe. We're turning our walk-in attic space into a playroom for the girls, so he's been working with our builder on that project, saving a little money by doing the job themselves when they have a free day here and there. It looks great already, and they'll be done pretty soon!

Camryn: Having a baby around reminds me more and more each day that she is definitely not a baby anymore. Our big girl has started reading and loves trying to read anything she can get her hands on. She loves to practice writing her letters, and we're so proud of how much she loves learning. I look at her all the time and am in awe of how beautiful she is. She is the best big sister and loves making Ella smile!

Ella: She really is our little ray of sunshine. She is such a happy and sweet baby and is always smiling. She loves being where the three of us are and has already started crying if she's left alone or put down. Yeah, she's just a little spoiled! She seems to have adjusted to daycare really well, which was a huge answered prayer. The ladies in the baby room tell me every day how pretty and sweet she is. My only complaint right now is that we're going through a phase where I'm up for an hour and a half in the middle of the night running up and down the stairs to put the paci back in her mouth every time it falls out. It's maddening and quite tiring when I have to be up at 5 am the next morning to get ready for work. It's as if once I put the paci in the first time, it's a free-for-all for the rest of the night. Otherwise, Ella loves her mommy, already adores having her daddy's attention, and thinks her big sister hung the moon!

So that's what's going on with the Burley family! I'm sure there will be more pictures of these beautiful girls to share soon!

Ella's Three Month Pictures

2010-10-04T07:40:00.000-04:00

3 Months Old

2010-09-26T15:32:00.005-04:00

My Big Baby Girl

2010-09-23T19:30:00.001-04:00

Even though she's a big girl now, I can still catch a glimpse of that sweet baby face every once in a while ...

Ouch!

2010-09-19T18:00:00.000-04:00

Wednesday night Camryn learned a life lesson. Never touch a lightbulb to "see how it feels" when the lamp has been on for quite a while. Can you see the huge blister on her hand? There were two smaller ones that went along with that one that are harder to see in the picture.

Look What I Can Do!

2010-09-16T19:20:00.001-04:00

Ella just happened to roll from her tummy to her back this morning when Jason and I were both home! I put her on her stomach for tummy time, looked away for one minute, turned around and she was on her back. She did it probably 7 times in a row ... and then refused to do it again for the rest of the day!

Precious Baby

2010-09-15T08:15:00.001-04:00

Oh, this baby ...

just melts my heart!

31st Birthday

2010-09-13T08:00:00.001-04:00

For my 31st birthday I ...

~ was woken up at 3:45 am by Ella, but I know it's just because she wanted to be the first to tell me Happy Birthday!

~ had a breakfast of orange juice, Botato Rounds, and Boberry Biscuits, which my husband brought home to me after taking Camryn to school

~ got lots of sweet birthday phone calls and texts from family and friends

~ wanted to spend hours and hours in my bedroom after my husband rearranged the furniture for me and put our new comforter on our bed

~ went to the pawn shop for the first time

~ had a Chick-fil-a cookies and cream milkshake

~ tried a new recipe for dinner (thanks, Sandra Lee!)

~ had birthday cake with Funfetti icing

~ and best of all, went with my big girl, mom, and sister ...

to see the Broadway production of this ...

Nothing better than watching Camryn's little face light up as she sang along with every song she knew. What a fabulous night ... practically perfect in every way!