1/18/13

The Zoo


That is where I feel like I currently live, the zoo. A toddler brings so much joy to a home, and he also brings lots of messes. I used to chase after him cleaning up, and constantly taking things away from him. Now, I just let it go, and clean up after he goes to bed. I don't know why but my child will not play with his toys. He has every toy under the sun, but he would rather play with pots and pans, or the swifter. He pretty much has free reign over the house these days.




Piggyback rides are a nightly ritual

I could not get him to lay down in his bed the other night, so I thought he would get in the bed with me and "cuddle."  YEAH RIGHT.

Who doesn't need a hat to eat?


Just doing a little business on our walk.

He is currently OBSESSED with throwing EVERYTHING in the trashcan.  I  have to randomly check it, and thank goodness I did the other day.  I am now convinced this is where his New Balance I have torn the house apart looking for went.

A little bongo playing.  Notice all the randomness laying around?

Yep, that's a toothbrush holder.  Don't judge.



He even eats like an animal.


All these things are pretty normal around our house these days.  I would not have it any other way.  I hope you all have a fabulous weekend!  We have another weekend with no plans, and I could not be more thrilled!  I plan on enjoying the sunshine I have been missing all week.







1/10/13

Thursday Randoms/ iphone Dump



 Things have been pretty calm around our house lately. I am not going to lie, I am welcoming it. I feel like we have been non stop since September, and it is so nice to have some down time. Last week consisted of doing absolutely nothing, and I loved every minute of it. When my papa was in the hospital, and during the holidays I lost complete interest in cooking/meal planning. I got back at it this week, and it felt great to be in my kitchen again. We are also really trying to be conscience with our money, and not eat out as often. We made it through the entire weekend without going out to dinner, so when I went to the grocery Sunday I decided to treat us, and bought steaks for dinner. To say I am a red meat lover would be the understatement of the century, I could live on it. I was craving a good steak, and I always feel like we make them better at home.


SO yummy!


We did venture out of the house last Saturday, and went to my sister and Marc's to hang out.  Maddie and Hudson are so funny these days.  You can definitely tell that Maddie is the "leader" of the two.  Please excuse my child looking like a rag doll.






I am so excited/proud of my best friend Katie for being nominated for an Emmy.  Just so happened we are hosting them here in Nashville.  So yours truly gets to be her date, and I am so excited!  These are the news Emmy's, so I will not be running into Bradley Cooper or Ryan Gosling.  It is still going to be so fun, and I am crossing my fingers that Katie snags the award for her story.
Ticket purchased!




We kept Macy and Maddie for Ashley and Marc a few weeks ago.  Megan and Whitney came over to visit/entertain.

Such a priss.


Kids and technology.

"Mimi, take my picture with Bella."



When I said things have been calm around our house, I should have said with the exception of toddler fits.  I feel like I am going to go crazy sometimes with these fits.  I know he is just trying to "express" himself, but good Lord is makes me want to drink.  I have just learned to ignore it, and let him have his fit.

We go from smiling and clapping.....




To complete meltdown....



Then he can be so sweet, and play.



That pretty much sums up what has been going on with us lately.  We have another weekend of no plans ahead, and I plan to enjoy every minute of it.  I know when spring rolls around we are going to be non stop. I hope everyone has a great weekend!


1/9/13

NYE 2012

I have never been the type to enjoy going out on NYE.  I hate the crowded bars, ridiculous cover, and difficulty finding a ride home.  The older I get the more I feel that way.  We usually find a house party to go to, or spend it with my family.  This year we started a new tradition that I hope we continue for years to come, because it was an absolute blast.  Remember me posting about our progressive dinner party a few months back?  Well we had the idea to do this on NYE.  We had so much fun with it this time around.  It was nice to "do" something without going out, or sitting around someones house.  Even better, it was a PJ party.  Who doesn't love to party and be comfortable at the same time?   We had a different prop at every house, and by the end of the night we were ready to ring in the new year.  Everyone really got into this time with their dishes and decor.  My sister and I did the appetizers this time, and a Roasted Marshmallow Martini for our cocktail.  Everything turned out so great!  We made jalapeno poppers, Gruyere and caramelized onion spread, chicken bites, and brie with caramelized pears.  Leah made homemade lasagna for the main dish with wine, and Jina made banana pudding for dessert.  Since it was NYE, and Jina was the last house she thought it would be fun to do shots for her drink.  Good idea in theory.  Very bad idea the next morning.  Even though we all had a rough morning New Year's Day it was worth it!  We had so much fun, we all had babysitters, so we acted like we didn't have to take care of kids the next day.  I stand firm in my belief that mothers should not be allowed to drink in excess.  Fun at the time.  Terrible when your baby is screaming the next day.  I love this little tradition we started, and we plan to let the kids get involved as they get older.  I have never been one to make New Year's resolution, and I never really have that feeling of "starting fresh" for the new year.  I also never feel like I want a year to be over with.  However, 2012 was a very difficult year for my family, and I was ready to move past it.  After my Papa passed I made a vow to honor him my being a better Christian, so I guess you could call that my New Year's Resolution.  So far we have been to church every Sunday since he passed, and  we plan on being more involved.  Rather than just going to church on Sunday we are going to attend small groups, and become more involved in our community.  We started that on New Years Day.  Our church hosted "Room in the Inn" on New Year's Day, and my family took sack lunches for them to take with them the next day.  It was a great way to start the New Year, and really put things into perspective.  If you ever think you have it bad, someone else has it worse.








It was too cold to walk this time.  Leah fits perfectly in the car seat.









Need entertainment?  Break out the kids Christmas gifts. 


Christmas 2012


 I am a little late on my Christmas post, but I have been crazy busy at work the past few weeks.  This Christmas was filled with emotions.  It was very difficult having lost papa just before Christmas, it was so hard to walk into my moms on Christmas Eve, and not see him sitting in on the couch.  Even though it was a hard Christmas it was probably one of the best yet. We didn't have much time for shopping or preparing the days leading up to Christmas, so instead on focusing on the things we focused on being together as a family.  It was so nice for us all to be able to spend so much quality time, and be together during the holidays.  I come from such a strong family, and I knew we would get through this with the help of each other.  There are still hard days, but we are taking it one day at a time.  Back to Christmas, every year we follow the same traditions, and I love it that way.  I know Hudson will grow up with the same Christmas traditions we did, and we are adding a few of our own as a family.  Christmas Eve we always to go church with Luke's family, have dinner and open gifts at his grandmothers, then head to my parents for the rest of the night.  At my parents we change into our PJ's, and all of the girls are matching.  Christmas morning we woke up, and Hudson was a little overwhelmed to say the least.  We didn't go all out this year, since he still doesn't fully grasp it, thank goodness we didn't, because the grandparents did.  I woke up early to make a breakfast casserole, my parents came over, we ate, had mimosa's, and watched Hudson play with his toys.  They left and went to see the girls, and we headed over there shortly after.  We always have breakfast with Luke's family Christmas morning around 11, and then we did Christmas with them later that night.  Lots of celebrating I tell ya.  We are so blessed to have such amazing families to spend the holidays with.  It gets hectic going from place to place, but I am so thankful we do not have to travel.  I am a little disappointed in my lack of picture taking this year, but here are the few I managed to snap.











All of the gifts at my moms.





His loot from Santa.


After all of the Christmas celebrations.  We are going to have to reign the grandparents in next year.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!  Get ready for post overload, because I have finally figured out my blogger issues.  If you are having problems downloading pictures, download Google Chrome.  It works great so far!

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