3 little Miracles

3 little Miracles

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Catching my breath . . . .

It has been a few days since I have been able to post because it has been such a crazy weekend and start to the week. My crazy busy weekend kicked off on Friday with a wonderful gathering of friends here at my house while my husband and Dad had the boys out on a man date for pizza and a movie. My day was NONSTOP from the moment my feet hit the floor on Friday morning.


Friday I woke up to a beautiful sunny day and a LONG list of things to accomplish before the party that evening. First on my list was to get beds made, laundry folded, and new loads of laundry started before I left the house for my work out. I have made it a new priority in my life to put ME first when it comes to scheduling time at the gym. Over the summer I worked very hard to establish a routine on MWF (it got interrupted a few times with sick kids and swim lessons). So after getting a few things started here at the house I spent an hour and a half at the gym and then went by the store on the way home to pick up the last minute items I needed to finish the menu for the night. Then home to cook ALL DAY until the guests started arriving at 6:30. We had a lovely time, such a good time in fact that I forgot to pick up the camera and shoot some pictures. But everything turned out great and I fell into the bed totally wiped out but satisfied from an evening spent in the company of good friends.


Menu:
  • Cheddar Cheese Wafers
  • Pecan Cheese Ball and crackers
  • Homemade chicken salad on Croissants
  • Fruit salad and White Chocolate Fruit Dip
  • German Chocolate Ooey-Gooey Butter Cake
Saturday arrived with another long list of things to do including, Preschool orientation for the boys, a baby shower for a church friend, and finally an open house for a co-worker of my husbands (which I totally forgot about until I walked back in the door from the shower and my husband said "ready to go"). The orientation went great, Jon took to his teacher right away and loved all the new toys to explore in his classroom. I worried that Davey wouldn't take to his new teacher because he was so attached to Ms. Debbie from last year, but he settled right in to exploring the room with her.

Afterward I took the boys back home and then headed onto a very lovely baby shower for my friend Valarie who now lives in SC but came up for the weekend to attend the shower from her church family here. The shower was at a fantastic restaurant called Morgan's Tavern and it was so great to see the glowing mother-to-be.

Sunday we got up as usual and got to church for Sunday school class, I teach 1st & 2nd graders and my husband takes care of the baby nursery during Sunday school hour. Then it was our turn to serve in extended session during church service and we had the 2 & 3 year olds to take care of. After church my husband took the family home and I went out for a very nice lunch with two girls in my Sunday school class who earned a reward for learning their books of the bible. I am so proud of them for working so hard and hope to be taking another small group in November for their reward. After our lunch and delivering the girls back to the respective homes, I managed to make it home with enough time for a small nap. THEN after the nap we were back in the car again to go out for a short birthday celebration for my oldest niece Cassandra before heading back to church for the 4th of our annual Awesome August Nights.

Monday and Tuesday were just typical run around days, house chores, and to the gym for a workout. Tuesday dawned bright and early with an appointment for Jon for his 2 year physical. My little man has grown so much in the past year and is now weighing 25 lb.s and standing tall at 35.5" My boys have always been long and lean (getting that from grandpa jeans) and Jon is no exception, but according to the doctor he had a rapid growth spurt over the past year he went from being in the 5% to 15% growth scale. WOW at this rate I am going to have two teenage boys in special made clothes for giants ;-)

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Tackle it Tuesday only it's THURSDAY ;-)

Instead of tackling it on Tuesday I am going to be attacking it Thursday (today). I have a party here Friday night with a group of my girlfriends and so I have a long list of things to attack today in order to be ready for the hectic running I have to do tomorrow.

SO here is my list for the day:
  • Get dressed and pray over my list of things to do today
  • Drink (3) 24 oz. glasses of water
  • Recycling to the curb
  • Post blogs for the day
  • Get boys dressed and feed them breakfast
  • Make beds
  • Unload/Reload dishwasher
  • Feed Maggie
  • Clear off mail stack from kitchen upper counter
  • Dust LR
  • Vacuum LR
  • Water plant on top of entertainment unit
  • Put away the boys folded laundry
  • Fold and put away clothes form dryer and start new loads of laundry
  • Dust dinning room chandelier space-saver-high chair and convert to booster
  • Re-arragne Dinning room
  • Move mom's tea cart to next to entry door, accessorize.

I have always loved this tea cart, it belonged to my mother and was in the house we grew up in. When we moved in with them 6 year ago she gave it to me for our part of the house. We moved it to our room when Davey was starting to walk, but today I decided to brave it and bring it out of hiding. Love Love how it looks here by the door. The lamp we picked up tonight at Target and I moved the other back to my office desk.

  • Clean Jon's sace-saver high chair an convert to boster
  • Sweep hard floors and mop today if there is time
  • Wash mirrors and touch up windows from little finger prints
  • Clean ceiling fan in kitchen
  • Take down all fan light globes and wash
  • Wipe down kitchen counters and wash cabinet doors
  • Clean out fridge in prep of party food
  • Boil Chicken for Chicken Salad for tomorrow nights party
  • Clean bathroom

Extra things to do if time allows:

  • Dust master and boys room
  • Run vacuum in master and on area rug in boys room
  • Weed entrance flower bed
  • Transfer plant to hanger by entrance gate
  • Transfer plant in kitchen to new SL@H pot
  • Bring better order to office
  • Put away Southern Living at HOME business supplies in work closet
  • 20 min on elliptical

Dinner date with my parents and the kids at IHOP. Then finally Wind down time tonight after boys go to bed:

  • Water patio plants (ahhhhh just me, the sounds of the neighborhood, and the soft sound if the water spraying from the hose)
  • Finalize menu and grocery needs for tomorrow nights party
  • Check emails and blog.

I love the peace of me, my plants, and my patio at night.

One of my favorite moments of the day is in the evening after the boys have gone in for bath time and I get to step outside as the sun is setting on the river behind us and tend to my plants on the patio. I love being barefoot out on my patio, hearing the sounds of the neighborhood, and the soft sound of the water as it sprays softly from the house onto the beautiful blooms and greenery. This is not my time of weeding or picking up toys, its just me, the water, and the plants. Ahhhhhhh what gentle peace the Lord offers me even at the simplest of tasks.
This plant still has to be planted in the hanger by the gate sometime tomorrow (HOPEFULLY)
This flower bed is on my list for tomorrow, I need to get it weeded and then lay new straw.
LOVE my Hydrangea bushes along the entrance walkway. This fall I am thinking about cutting the Hydrangea back to divide them so I can spread them out in their beds more (right now I have one bush per raised bed when I think 2 per bed will fill the side of the house better).

Playing in the Mud

Not sure why, but it seems to me that boys are born to play in the mud.
I don't remember as a little girl, being as attracted to mud as my two boys seem to be. Every time they go out into the play yard they seem to find some small source of water to help to create a muddy spot that they can then cover themselves from head to toe with. Jonathan seems to be MORE attracted to the mud then Davey, as is evident from the pictures.


Sometimes I wish I was not so grossed out by yucky stuff and could just get in the mess with them. Maybe someday I will just toss it all to the wind and go for it ;-)

Side note, I have been missing my camera for 3 days. I had looked everywhere in my house, went through my Southern Living roller case, and Southern Living kit box (I had taken it to a party to take pictures of my table), looked through the car, and dug through my purse, it was no where to be found. Yesterday afternoon my mother came downstairs and said she had found my camera. She said she had looked outside her dinning room window and looked down to see my camera laying on top of the canopy for the covered swing which my husband had moved from our covered patio into the yard the night before. So for three days after I had taken these photos, my camera has been outside on top of the swing, yeah Mommy brain at work again ;-) Praise God we didn't have rain.

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Setting Goals and Working on ME




I have been working on ME this summer. I am trying for the first time in my life to focus on my physical and mental health. All of my life I have battled with my weight and have been loosing the battel for just as long ;-) So when a gym was established in my community my husband encouraged me to once again try to establish a workout routine in my busy life. I want to change my life for ME first and then for my family. I hate that I often do not have the energy to keep up with my boys, and it really hurts our quality of playtime. My boys have so much energy and they deserve a mother that can run, bike, swim, and roll around right along side of them as much as possible. I LOVE my boys and I don't want to sit on the sideline of their lives and I desire to be a better example for them not only spiritually but physically as God would have me to.

Over the summer my 16 year old niece has been coming over MWF for a few hours, allowing me to go to Snap Fitness and workout. I love my gym time, it is sometimes hard to do, but I love how I feel afterwards, I love how I have time to be alone in my thoughts as I workout. The energy and self confidence as the pounds begin to slowly disappear is wonderful. Over the summer I have lost a little over 15 pounds, but I have a goal of loosing 40 more before the end of January. My overall weightloss goal is MUCH BIGGER then that, but baby steps is what I need to take for now as I establish a new ME, and a NEW lifestyle routine.

So NOW here is the gauntlet that my husband has thrown down. He has suggested that since I am wanting a Blackberry Curve, that my reward for loosing the first 40 will be the Curve. UGH, he is right it's a good motivation, but I sure would like to get it sooner ;-) SOOOOO here is to loosing 40 pounds!!


Monday, August 17, 2009

My Gratitude List


So I am following Ness's example over at the best nesst and creating my gratitude list for Monday. I think this is a fantastic idea, because as busy mom's we need to always step back and check ourselves and recognize the GIFTS the Father has given us each day.


If you do decided to do this-I would love for you to leave me a comment so I can follow and go by Ness and let her know too since she started this!
1. My relationship with Christ and how He daily lifts me up
2. My family.
3. The boys laughter
4. Getting together with friends and playing Liverpool Rummy
5. Gatherings with my family
6. Big Fish FM and the music that makes me feel in His presence
7. Church family
8. cuddles, hugs, and kisses. (I liked this from Ness so much I had to leave it for me too)
9. Reading time with the boys
10. Curling up on the sofa after the boys bed time . . . . . ahhh peace

Sunday, August 16, 2009

My little man turns 2!!

Today we celebrated Jonathan's 2nd birthday.
It is so hard to believe that 2 years ago today I checked into the hospital in the early hours of the morning to have you Jonathan. You were scheduled to arrive into our lives by planned c-section because mommy had a c-section with your brother Davey and because they were worried about both you and mommy. I had a very long and challenging pregnancy with you JonJon and we spent most of the 2nd half of it in a large red recliner in the doctors office 3 days a week for monitoring. During that time when it was just you and I in the quiet of the room with only the sound of your heart beat surrounding me, I talked and sang a lot of songs to Jesus and your sweet little ears. To this day you stop what you are doing to listen to me sing and if your close enough you brush your hands across my lips, its as if your remembering some of the songs I sang in those moments alone in the big red chair.
Now my little man you are still my little cuddle bug, but you also seem to have so much more energy then I remember your brother Davey having at this same age, and you have NO FEAR. I can not believe how fast you are growing and how much you love exploring your expanding world. In just a few short weeks you will begin your first year of preschool and I am waiting on pins and needles to see if you like school and how much more you will change from being with other kids three more days of the week.
So, today I am looking back:


  • You were 32" at your last Dr. appointment in February



  • You weighed 21 lb. 14 oz.



  • You have started wearing pull ups because you LOVE taking off your clothes and diapers as SOON as you have pee peed or pooed and so we pray you are on the verge of potty training. You have pee peed a few times for us on the potty just before tub time, so we are crossing our fingers that you will be a quicker trainer then big brother.



  • You are a CLIMBER, I can not believe how fast you can get up on something and then get down before you get caught. Which is why several months ago you graduated to a toddler bed since we couldn't keep you in the crib anyway.



  • You are very quick to crawl up in mine or your Dad's lap when your ready for a snuggle, but as soon as the moment passes you run for the hills and back into trouble.



  • You favorite food is any kind of FRUIT.



  • You have traveled to the Adirondack's, Beaufort, SC, and Myrtle, Beach SC.



  • You won't go to sleep without blankie and usually when we go in to check on you after you have gone to sleep, you have pulled Pooh Bear, Shark, and Bear into bed with you.



  • You do what we call "Baby Cussing" when we tell you "NO" or when you don't like what Davey is doing to you.



  • You are a man with attitude wearing diapers ;-)


My little baby, I lay him at the Master's feet daily and pray he will grow to be a man of God and call His name freely. I am praying already for the woman that God has set aside for you, that she too will grow strong in Him and will be worthy of the gift that God has in you.
I love you JonJon, Happy Birthday!

Friday, August 14, 2009

Show Us Your Life - Favorite Vacation Spots



This week at Kelly's Korner the Show Us Your Life activity is Favorite Vacation Spots.



My favorite vacation was 4 years ago when we took a trip to the Adirondacks of New York to visit my husband's parents for a week, attend his brother's wedding, and then we tacked on another week with my parents at a sweet little cabin on Loon Lake. 


My husband and his parents on the Bay Pond Park (Rockefeller Adirondack estate land) 
where they were caretakers (they are retired now)



We rented a 2 bedroom cabin on Look Lake in the Adirondacks that was so peaceful and made you want to stay forever.  We loved our time there even though the spiral staircase scared
 the heck out of me with Davey being only 1 month old at the time.  I refused to carry him up and down the stairs my husband had to do it every time.  On our first day we had to use rope to tie around our suitcases and lift them up to the loft because we couldn't carry them on the spiral staircase.  It was quit the sight to see! 




This is the view from our canoe and looking back at our dock and screen deck up on the bank in the trees.



In addition to our time on Loon Lake, we took a one day driving trip into Canada to visit Upper Canada Village and then drove down to the 1000's Islands region to cross back over into New York, up to the Saint Lawrence Seaway and then back to our little cabin. 









We rounded out our trip to the Adirondacks by visiting the Adirondacks Museum and then the next day we locked the cabin door and headed home to North Carolina. What a wonderful relaxing vacation, and so glad we shared it with my niece Calli and my parents. 






Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Wish List Wednesday


Because God doesn't allow money to grow on trees . . . . . . .


A PINK blackberry Curve


More beads for my Pandora bracelet.




Pink Warriors scarf from Ford Cares



Tickets to the Rascal Flatts concet in Virginia Beach, VA in September


Favorite GO-TO recipe for Summer





My favorite GO-TO quick summer recipe is Corn Salad
Sadly when I finish mixing it I could eat the whole bowl if it weren't
for the fact that I was serving it to my family or church crowd ;-)


2 large cans of corn (drained)
1/2 medium onion finely chopped
Md- Tomato chopped into 1/4" cubes
1 cup of DUKE's Mayo
(more OR less depending on how juicy you want your finished salad)
Salt, Pepper and Emeril's Original Seasoning to taste

Chill and serve in your favorite cute dish alongside pork, burger's,
fried chicken, shrimp or any other of your favorite summer grilled meats.

Another Project checked off the LIST

Tonight due to some bad weather in our area, our church services had to be canceled (literally the road our church is on was under water). Our community saw 10 inches of rain in a period of 6 hours and the ditches and drains just couldn't keep up. SO with time on our hands . . . .




I decided to make good use of the evening, I asked my husband to help me replace the curtain rods in the boys room with these cute rods I found at Wally-World for just over $13 each.

Out with the Old and IN with the NEW - YEAH!

Today I finally switched out my new dishes for the ones that David and I got when we first got married. When we married 8 years ago our color scheme around the house was blue and white.



However, when we moved 6 years ago I had begun my collection of Gail Pittman's Hand-Painted Siena dishes and recently had enough place settings to finally fill my china hutch. SO, knowing that my sister was wanting my blue and white dishes, I FINALLY took them out of the hutch and sent them over to her house.










My china hutch actually used to be my husbands gun cabinet before we got married, but he never actually used it for his guns because they were mounted on the wall. SO, I talked him into letting me convert it into a china hutch by installing a few shelves and having glass mounted in the door openings (the doors used to have plexi glass in them). Thankfully my husband isn't as into hunting these past 6 years and his guns have been moved to a case under our bed.

So my next project is to update the hutch by giving it a good sanding, update the molding and hardware, and then decide between re-staining it OR painting it black with an accent color inside. IN addition, I need to update the base storage to make it more useful. Right now the base cabinet is one big space without a shelf, this makes it harder to store things because when I want the bottom platter I have to take everything on top off, not fun when a 2 year old wants to get in there while you have the door open :-)