It's Friday!

I am so happy it's Friday!  We are tired tonight and everyone    I've spent my day cleaning, organizing, and labeling my new office.  Y'all, I am an organizing, labeling, color coding freak and this office is organized now!  I'm hoping to pick up a few supplies this weekend and I am thinking it is time to buy the sparkly office supplies I've been eyeing for years at Hobby Lobby!  

See, I told you I love labels and color coding!  It's so bad I own my own label maker!  Y'all, I used it so much this morning I killed the batteries! Haha!  The new office is started to look a little more homey.  Once my permanent desk comes it will be finished and the last boxes unpacked. 

I was almost a little sad to leave my old office.  I moved in there at the beginning of our journey to have a family and that office saw my darkest and happiest days.  The ladies in the offices next to me have gotten me through some days that I really didn't know if I could pull it together and face a day full of phone calls, patients, and they always got me through it.  I'll just be a hallway over, but it was a little sad to leave my neighbors!

Friday nights are usually a lazy night for us.  It is known as pizza night and then we all snuggle in the bed while watching a movie or Disney.  It is just our normal Friday night routine and I wouldn't have it any other way.  We are always just DONE by Friday night and all I can think about from lunchtime until I get home is getting in my yoga pants and opening a bottle of wine.  Tonight we played outside while waiting on pizza and played with our neighbors for a little while.  I took this picture of Nicholas telling me "I smell your flowers Mommy!"  

I'm going to miss our little routine when Friday night football starts in a few weeks, but we are counting the days until Pawpaw's first game!  (27 in case you were wondering!)  After I got Nicholas to bed, I started going through consignment clothes.  Dear Lord, my child has a TON of clothes!  This is just what I went through tonight and it's basically just half of what he has from last year.  Ridiculous!

The good thing about it is that 80% of his clothes were purchased through consignment sales!  The 1st drop-off for this consignment season is in just 2 weeks!  I've got to get busy!

Thoughts For Thursday

1. The obvious and given #1 on the list this week is definitely the ROYAL BABY!  Since I was about 5 years old I have been obsessed with the Windsors.  I vividly remember watching Sarah Ferguson marry Prince Andrew in 1986. My mom has always laughed and said my obsession was caused when she sat me in front of the TV in my baby seat at 3 months old to watch Diana get married.  This could also explain my lifelong obsession with weddings, but that is a post for another time.  Anyway, I am so excited that Kate has joined the boy mom club and that they are so "normal".  The fact William put the baby in the car and drove them home just like any other family spoke volumes to me.  Yay for Diana's biggest wish coming true...her boys having a sense of normalcy in the middle of a crazy life.  I also saw this picture and it shocked me how much William looks like Charles at almost the same age. He is much better looking, but definitely has that Windsor look.  Also, not only did they drive themselves home (with a bodyguard in the car of course), but look how much more casual he is than his dad was.  Again, great job Diana!  He doesn't come across a pretentious snob!

2.  Wednesday was camp out day at school and Nicholas had to bring a sleeping bag and flashlight.  Well, this mom of the year forgot until Monday night, so he carried his Stephen Joseph dog nap mat from Gigi's house and a small $.99 flashlight Michael found in the garage and off to school he went!  Luckily he didn't care and thought his sleeping bag was awesome!  He laid in it all Tuesday evening until time for bed. Haha! 

3.  Take note that no matter where you live, ALWAYS lock your car doors!  Sunday morning Michael came out to his truck and noticed my car door was ajar, he shut it and on he went without thinking too much about it.  Well, fast forward to Monday morning and I get in and notice my bag I carry to work was gone.  Put two and two together and it figured out that it had been stolen, so we started our Monday by filing a police report.  Yay.  Well, within a couple of hours we found out several neighbors also had cars that had been broken into Saturday night and that a neighbor three doors down had found my bag.  The police brought it back to me that night.  Nothing was missing but...my 16 year old retainer that was in there because I had been wearing it during the day to help with my TMJ. Oh well, so much for that. Haha!

4.  I'm always on the search for good household cleaners.  I love trying new products and finding the ones that I love both the smell and how clean they make my house.  I found Windex antibacterial multi-surface last weekend and I've used it for 4 days now to wipe down the kitchen and bathroom every night and I'm hooked!  No more expensive granite cleaner for me! 

5.  I've been in the middle of an office move at work for the past week and this is my new view!  I'm loving the window!  Look for a post soon when I get settled and my new furniture comes in!

6.  We have known for quite sometime that our child has my type A personality, but now we are seeing more of my OCD side as well.  Last week he lined all of the cards to his matching game in a line turned the same way and this morning, he ever so carefully ate his cereal to not make a mess.  He is truly my child!  Haha! 

7.  I'm way late to the party, but since Google reader has gone away, I've joined Bloglovin and you should too!  Come follow our little blog there! 

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Easy Summer Recipe, Crockpot Green Beans

Pretty much of my all time favorite home cooked meals include fresh green beans.  After attempting to cook them without success for several years, I finally found a method that you can't go wrong, the crockpot!

3 cups fresh, snapped, green beans
4 cups water (or cover to where the beans are floating)
4 slices of uncooked bacon, cut into small pieces
1 small onion peeled and diced
2 beef bullion cubes
salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients, cook on low for 8-10 hours.  EASY!  You could also add 6-8 small red potatoes for another easily cooked veggie!

Weekend On The Lake

We just came back home from an awesome 2 days at our friend's lake home.  It is so relaxing and it has such a nostalgic feel to it there that you can't help but feel a long way from reality.  It is less than 5 minutes away from the house I lived in growing up and going to the lake there brings back about a thousand memories of being on the lake with friends and family.

Nicholas was terrified of the water the last time we went in June, but this time he jumped in as soon as we got there and swam for hours.  He got out of the water once and said "I rove the rake Mommy!"  That was my favorite thing I heard all weekend!  Waterside of any kind, especially lake and ocean, have always been my happy place and I love that my child loves it too!

He and Michael even went for a kayak ride.  Nicholas thought that was the coolest thing ever!

We were there around 8 hours yesterday and when we left around 8:45 I knew Nicholas was DONE.  I think that is an understatement.  He didn't make it 4 minutes before we turned around and here is what I saw.  That my friends is a record for time it took to fall asleep in the car! 

Today we went back for a few hours to help out with a dock that broke yesterday.  They were pulling away from a dock that was being used to dock the boat and it literally fell in the water.  Today everyone went back to help repair it.  Fine with me.  Nicholas got to swim again and I got some more relaxation time. 

The other thing about going to the lake is the food!  Our friend is a professional chef and he can grill some AMAZING ribs!  Needless to say we all left full!

Thanks to our awesome friends for a wonderful weekend!  Can't wait to do it again soon!

Thoughts For Thursday, A Little Late

Well, it has been yet another crazy week and I never got around to my weekly brain dump, but here it is.  Better late than never I guess!

1.  We have found the best time to go to the pool is evening.  One reason is that it wears Nicholas out and he is relaxed and calm when we get done, but the other is that we are usually the only ones there.  FABULOUS!  He gets to play as loud as he wants, splash all he wants, and it is just relaxing to be there when it is so calm.  A glass of wine and calm pool is definitely my happy place!

2.  I have been doing my own mani/pedis for about a year after having them done professionally for years to save a little money.  I have a few classic favorite colors that I use with different seasons, but my new favorite is Essie Saturday Disco Fever.  Perfect for Summer!

3.  We are headed into the final few weeks until DISNEY and I am starting to think about packing.  Any good tips or things I definitely need to take with me?

4.  I've accumulated quite the "party box" in the past 3 years.  After we have birthday parties I am putting our leftover decorations in this huge box and putting it on a shelve in the garage  until the next party rolls around.  I didn't have to buy any paper good or silverware for the pirate party thanks to this box.  It also holds my balloon wreath and other things I don't want to mess up.

5.  Tuesday afternoon I came home to find a cooler on my porch.  I knew when I saw it was from my dad, but I was so happy to see what was inside!  He has a huge garden and he packed up several peppers, squash, cucumber, zucchini, and green beans.  The very best part was that he actually snapped and seasoned my beans for me!  Just another reason why I think I have the best dad ever!  :-)

Nicholas helped me unpack them all and kept running around saying "Pawpaw left me a supise (surprise)! VEGGIES!"  Hahaha!

6.  I've managed to read 6 of my Summer books from my reading list.  I had hoped to read them all, but I still have American Wife left.  I am hoping to start it this weekend.  That is probably more books than I have read in a long time.  I am glad I set a list and stuck to it.  I think next year I may do a book club on the blog.  Would anyone participate with me?

Terrible Threes Update

The last two weeks have been like a breath of fresh air around here.  Nicholas LOVES his new class and he is TAKING NAPS!!!  Also, since last Thursday he has only had 2 accidents and those were both poo accidents! ***knock on wood***  I am so happy that I can't even explain it to you!  Finally since we took his paci away in February he is napping at school!  PTL!!!!!  He is back to his sweet, funny self at night!

This week we are trying a little bribery to keep up the good potty habits at school. Every day that he goes without an accident, he gets an icee on the way home in my refillable cup.  He is also allowed to go swimming for 45 minutes after dinner.  My favorite quote of the week was when we got back in the car from getting an icee on Monday, I told him that if he goes potty in the potty and eats his dinner he could go swimming. He then said "and NO CRYING!"  Hahaha!  I laughed so hard because clearly we say that too often!

I think the best thing we have done is start time out in his room when he can't calm down.  He has to go sit on his bed until he calms down.  Once he is calm, he can come out.  It has worked better than anything.  Spanking does NOTHING for our child and counting to three is useless, he just counts with you.  Haha!

There is a downside, but just one, to the school naps.  Now that he is getting all of the sleep he needs, he doesn't sleep until noon on the weekends anymore.  Today he woke up at 7am ready to go...at least an hour before I normally would have been!  Oh well, I will take it if he isn't overtired during the week!

Weekend Wrapup

This was the 1st weekend in months that we have had NOTHING on our calendar!  It was amazing!  We decided not to plan a thing and just have a lazy, relaxing weekend.  Friday night Nicholas and I met my mom at the mall and I went bathing suit shopping.  Trying on swimsuits is NOT my favorite way to spend a Friday night.  It became clear to me quickly that things sure have changed and just pulling a swimsuit off the rack days are long over!  I finally found one I loved and I wore it yesterday and I felt a lot less self conscious in it with the cute little skirt hiding my big butt and hips!  

***I did have a picture of me in the swimsuit here, but it got a creepy amount of downloads, so I deleted it!***

 We spent the day at the pool yesterday and it was fabulous!  There were only a few people there and Nicholas had so much fun swimming!  We came home, Nicholas crashed in his bed, and we had a fun date night at home!  Michael boiled crab legs and lobster tails for us.  We ate like it was our last meal and I don't know the last time I felt so full after dinner!

 Told you we ate a lot!  YUM! 

Today we took Nicholas to the theater to see Monsters U.  It was his first time to go see a movie and he did sooooooo good!  He loved sitting in his own seat and loved the movie on the big screen!

He got his own little kids snack pack with popcorn, fruit snack, and sprite and he thought he was so cool!

We all came home and crashed.  Michael and I took a 2 hour nap, while Nicholas slept for 3!  It was a good lazy day here!  Nicholas slept so good that now we need to get some energy out of him, so we ended up taking him to the pool for about an hour this evening before his bath.  

I love relaxing weekends but working 5 days a week and not having time to do anything during the week, it is hard to get anything done unless it is done on the weekends.  Next weekend is jam-packed full, so I'm glad we had this low key weekend!

A Busy Day for Nicholas

On Friday Nicholas had a very busy day!  We started the day with our 1st visit to the pediatric dentist.  I was very nervous about this appointment because most days I would rather brush the teeth of an animal in the zoo than to brush my wild man's teeth, so I didn't think he would do very well.  My friend Amy works with dentists in the area and she gave me a name of a great pedi dentist, so off we went to our 1st appointment!  We got there and the office was adorable!  It had a safari theme with Madagascar playing in the waiting room.  Nicholas immediately went to read in the big tree where the toys were kept.

When it was time to go back Nicholas ran right back and got right on the chair, but wasn't so sure about laying down for her.  We tried everything, but ended up just sitting next to me on the chair.  They were able to brush about half of his teeth before he said he had enough.  The dentist came in and looked him over and he did well with that, just no cleaning for us!

Nicholas had a great report at the dentist.  No cavities, teeth were clean and pretty, and we don't have to go back for 6 months!  Yay!  If anyone in the Chattanooga area is looking for a new pedi dentist, I highly recommend Dr. Chad Eslinger.  Nicholas really liked him and I did too.  He has an office in Cleveland and Ooltewah, with a new one coming soon to Ft. Oglethorpe.

Nicholas went to school after his dentist appointment before I picked him up at 3:30 to go to his 3 year well visit with Dr. Spraggins, our pediatrician.   Nicholas LOVES Dr. Spraggins and kept asking when she was coming in the room to see him!  He did so well there!  He jumped right up on the scale and let them weigh and measure him.  He is now 35 pounds and 39 inches tall!  75% in weight and 90% in height!  He is still a big boy!  She thinks he is doing great and was very, very happy with his speech.  She said he is exactly where he needs to be!  We don't have to go back again until he is 4, but sadly that won't be as much fun since he will get shots again then. (we do have to go back for a flu shot and we all know that he will have at least 2 sick visits!)

I was so proud of my big boy!  He did so well at the pediatrician's office and the dentist said he did just as well as 60% of his patients, so I'll take that!

Thoughts for Thursday

1.  It is officially Fall to me now.  High school football is back in action with practice starting this week on Monday and it is only 43 days until the 1st game of the season! Let the countdown begin and GO SEAHAWKS!  Pretty sure Nicholas is going to be their biggest fan this year!  He loves to hear the song Boys of Fall and will ask for "Pawpaw's team song" then says "go seahawks!"  I'm proud!  Ha!

2.  Nicholas started in his new classroom on Monday and he was so excited!  He has been begging to "be a bunny" for weeks.  He has done so well this week.  He even took a nap everyday but Monday!  He will stay in this class for a year before moving up into the PK4 class next July. Hard to believe he only moves one more time before he graduates. Hold me please. 

3.  My mom and I are planning a wedding shower for my cousin's fiancee and I am LOVING our theme!  Lots of black, silver, pink, and sparkle!  I can't wait to share more with you soon, but here is a sample...

My mom was worried Hobby Lobby may start to miss us after one of us was there almost daily for a couple of weeks buying for the pirate party.  I think between the shower, Fall, and then Christmas, they won't even know we left!  We may have a problem.  Ha!

4.  Has everyone stocked up on their TOMS for Fall?  Zulily has a great deal right now!  I bought mine yesterday and I can't wait to wear my herringbone print in the Fall with jeans to football games and to work on the days I don't have patients.

5.  There are a couple of songs right now that I have to turn the radio up and sing, but Tuesday Nicholas started singing along to this one.

Maybe that should concern me a little?  Hahaha!  We call it the tailgate party song. We are just trying to get in the mood for football season! :-)

6.  I've already started making my Christmas gift lists!  I LOVE buying for other people and my goal is to start early this year.  I'm going to buy a gift every couple of weeks in hopes to not have much all at one time come November/December.  We will see how that goes!  

7.  Nicholas goes for his 3 year well check on Friday and I am excited to see how big he has gotten.  I've also got to call and make an appointment for him to see a dentist.  I'm way nervous about this.  He HATES to have his teeth brushed and I can only imagine how this will go.  I'm already praying for the poor girl that has to clean his teeth!

8.  I just found this picture on my phone and it made me laugh.  We go to our community pool on the weekends and enjoy spending time with our neighbors. Well, apparently when you have a 3 year old you have to pack like you are going on vacation not 6 hours at a pool a block away. Here is what went the last time... 

Good thing I have a bigger cargo area in this mommy-mobile! Haha! 

Summer Recipes...Shrimp Boil

Since I've posted a couple of good ice cream recipes, I thought you might need a good Summer meal to put with that dessert.  This has become our go to meal for having people over during the Summer and it is our favorite!  Enjoy!

3 pounds of shrimp, unpeeled and raw
8 ears of corn, cut in half
15-20 small red potatoes cut in half
2 pounds of Cajun sausage
Any Cajun seasoning of your choice, to taste

Fill a large pot with water and seasoning, bring to a boil.  Once water is at a boil, add potatoes and sausage, cook for 20 minutes.  Add corn and cook for 10 minutes.  Add shrimp and cook for 3-5 minutes.  Drain water, dump on newspaper, and serve with your favorite beer! :-)

 Y'all, I am telling you that this is the BEST thing my husband cooks!  We have had several boils with friends and everyone wants to do it again every time.  It is so good, this is the remnants of what I ate the last time.  Oink!

Father's Day 2013

We had a wonderful day on Father's Day!  Nicholas couldn't wait to give Michael his card (sadly, his present arrived 2 days later), he actually ran out of his room while getting dressed in nothing but his undies to give it to him, so there are no pictures. Haha!  We spent the day on Saturday together at the lake with friends and my heart just melted at how much fun my two boys had together.

Nicholas is such a lucky little boy to have Michael as his Daddy.  Michael loves to spend his all of his free time with him and rarely plans anything that we cannot take Nicholas along.  He is a super hands on dad.  He has been from day one and I pray that Nicholas learns from this and applies it when it is his turn to be a Daddy! (You know, in 40-50 years!) :-)  I also feel lucky to have such an amazing parenting partner in Michael.  I couldn't survive my schedule and trying to balance work and home without him and his help! 

We had lunch with Michael's family and as always it was great to spend time with them as we are not able to do so very often.  Nicholas was so excited to see his Granddaddy that as soon as we drove up and he saw Michael's dad he started yelling "HI GRANDDADDY!!!" and waving like his hand would fall off!  One thing I'll say for Nicholas, he loves his grandparents more than anyone and I love that!  It reminds me of my relationship with my Nana. 

Michael's grandfather hasn't been in the best health lately, so we stopped in to see him.  Nicholas kept giving him hugs and kisses.  I know it made his day to get those sweet hugs! 

That evening my parents came over for dinner.  As soon as Nicholas saw my parents were here, he came running in from the backyard yelling "Gigi!" however, as soon as he realized my dad was there he ran right passed her and said "happy Father's Day Pawpaw!" tackling his leg with a big hug.  Totally made my dad's day, and franky, mine too!  Nicholas went into the "haven't had a nap, 3 year old, independent, cranky mode" while they were there, so sadly I didn't even think to get any pictures.  This is one of my very most favorite of my dad and Nicholas following a football game last Fall, so I'll just share it!  

I really feel like Father's Day is a special day for us.  I'm so fortunate that I was given not only the best dad ever, but a wonderful husband that is a great dad to our son, and a father-in-law that has always been there to help out when we need him and is a great dad to Michael.  Nicholas has so many wonderful examples of great men in his life and  so thankful for that.  I'm hopeful that he will be like them one day and that he will learn from their examples.  

I'm thankful beyond words that my Dad has always been there for me, made countless sacrifices over the years for me, and that he continues to be a rock in our family.  He has always been the Christian leader of our family and has shown me how to live a Godly life while also teaching me to have my own opinion and to stand up for what is right, even if it comes with consequences for me.  I thank God everyday, not just on Father's Day or Mother's Day, for giving me my parents and for Nicholas to also have them in his life. 

Catch Up Post

Well, as you can see, I've been busy with the pirate party for a few weeks.  In the middle of pirate party planning I also had a kidney stone, ER visit, a day at the lake, Father's day (a separate post for that special day tomorrow) and a family wedding!  Needless to say, blogging took a back seat for a few weeks!

Three weeks ago we joined some of our friends for a fun day at their parents' lake house.  I grew up about 2 miles from their house and it is always fun to spend a day on the lake out there!  Our little man was super-styling on his way to the lake in Daddy's truck!

 Nicholas was afraid of the water all day until it came time to ride on the "pirate ship" aka boat. He LOVED riding on the boat.

Nicholas was most content all day when he was fishing with his friend Jackson.  Jackson is a very sweet little boy who lives across the street and comes over to play with Nicholas a lot.  It helps me in the evenings when I'm trying to get ready for dinner and Nicholas LOVES his "Paxon".

 

The next Friday I started feeling like I was having a kidney stone around 3:30 in the afternoon and by 4:00 the next morning I was in ER with a full blown attack.  My big hospital I work at just opened a new smaller ER closer to our house (not as busy as the large level 1 trauma center downtown) so I went there and got some IV pain and nausea meds, a CT, and was back home by 6:30.  I slept through the morning and by 2:00 in the afternoon I passed the stone.  

I debated putting a picture here, but Twitter told me it wouldn't be gross, so here it is...

It is just a black rock!  Pretty cool actually!

The next Saturday we went to Atlanta to a family wedding.  My little cousin got married to a very sweet girl, Kaitlyn.  It was good as always to see my dad's family as we don't see them very often.  

I LOVED and I mean LOVED their cakes!  The groom's cake is very possibly the best one I've ever seen!  

Even the back of the cake was cute!  (Yes we are a fraternity/sorority loving bunch!)

Here is our family at the wedding.  Ignore the cranky toddler.  :-)

That pretty much catches you up other than Father's Day, but I'll be back with that tomorrow!  I love that Blogger let's you schedule posts, don't you! :-)