End of the Weekend Brain Dump

1.  First and foremost...have you seen the College Football Top 25 today...our Tennessee Vols are #23!!!! (my other favorite, the Alabama Crimson Tide are #1!)  They haven't been ranked in years and my football loving heart just about can't stand the fact that ESPN Gameday and Lee Corso (who I love) is coming to Knoxville Saturday...the one Saturday that Michael has to work.  I've been waiting YEARS for that opportunity!  He is going to try to switch with someone, but I'm sure that won't really happen.  :-(

We haven't been to a game in about 4 years, I think it is time!  Notice Michael had on his Beat Florida shirt! Ha!  (Good Lord we were young and I had about 50 pounds of infertility drug weight on me! MOOOO!)

 

2. It has been an AMAZING Fall weekend here! We had a high of only 78 yesterday and I don't know that we made it any higher today!  I'm praying for a cool night of Friday night football this week when Nicholas attends his first game!  I made a pot of beef vegetable soup yesterday and we will probably have it again tonight.  Yay Fall!

3.  I made so much fun of my Dad Thursday night and then found myself saying something similar. When he left high school football in 2000, no one really even carried a cell phone, much less coaches & players carrying one during practice, meetings, and games (gasp!). Well, my dad is a little (ok a lot) technologically challenged and still has a flip phone, doesn't want to learn to text, and just now learned to take pictures with it, and even more amazing, has very little interest in using the Internet. Ha! Needless to say, he has been surprised to see players and coaches so attached to their cell phones. It was hysterical to me and then Friday night I found myself saying, wow! Times have changed in 12 years as I stalked his game via twitter. Back in the day, if we didn't go to his game we didn't know what was going on or who won until the 11:00 news came on. It has been awesome keeping up on my PHONE (that definitely blows his mind! Ha!) and seeing updates with almost every score. Now, if only Dad would get into texting, he could text me the scores. Yeah, not going to happen. :-)

4.  I'm so late to the Bridier Baubles party, but I FINALLY ordered myself a set of orange Britta Beads from Bridier Baubles.  I'm hoping to place an order for the new brown set, the safari bangles, and hopefully a necklace of some sort in red before too much longer. Better late than not showing up at all! :-)

5.  Is it too early to start working on my Christmas List?  I am trying to decide what to get everyone so I can work on my budget and hopefully start buying sooner rather than later this year.  What are you getting those on your list this year?  I'm at a loss on most of my list!

6.  I bought this book the other night and I'm excited to get started.

I am only a couple of chapters in, but the 1st paragraph of the 1st chapter sure did sound like me!

7.  It is school picture week and I am thinking about putting N in this football sweater I found at consignment sale and jeans.  What do you think?  I love dressing him like he would go to school for school pictures and it will be a Fall scene background.  I think it would be cute???

Thankful Thursday

After my post yesterday of basically having a virtual meltdown, I feel the need to write a thankful post today. The Lord has blessed me immensely and I need to spend more time reflecting on that.

First, in all the toddler meltdowns, moments of terrible twos, and just being all-boy, words can never express how thankful I am for this sweet face. I still remember all of pain and heartache I had waiting for him and I seriously think I love him more and more everyday. He has brought so much joy to our lives...more than I ever imagined!

Every time I hear the song, God Gave Me You by Blake Shelton I get chills because that is exactly how I feel about Michael. God knew exactly what He was doing when He gave me Michael. He is my rock and my calming force in my storm. Not going to lie, there are many times I could kill him, but in the end I love him so much for being a great husband and even better dad. I'm thankful for him and how hard he works to provide for our family.

As an only child, I am close to my parents and they have always been the 1st phone call in good and bad times and who I go to for advice or to talk. I can't imagine my life without them. I'm beyond thankful for all the sacrifices my parents made to send me to private school, college, and even now for Nicholas. They really are the best parents, in laws to Michael, and love Nicholas more than anyone I know.

I'm thankful for not only having a job during this time of instability in our country, but one I love and enjoy going to each day. I am also beyond thankful to have a nursing job that allows me to work "normal" hours, not nights, holidays, and weekends. God also gave me another rock in my life by putting Dr. Smith in my life. He is there when I need advice that my parent or Michael can't give me without bias.

We have a nice home, two cars that run and are reliable, we have food on the table, and wonderful friends. For all of these things there really are no words. I see people on a daily basis that can't say the same and I truly am blessed beyond measure.

I think I need to make this a weekly thing! What are you thankful for today?

Ramblings of Being Real

I try to be as real as I can be on my blog and to do that I needed to blog about my mood today. Stick with me because this is a jumbled, rambling post that probably has no point. Truth is, I'm having a bad day. I'm exhausted, moody, stressed, and having working mom guilt. The toddler has had a low grade 99.2ish degree temp for 2 days, a green snotty nose, cough, and has kept me up for the past 2 nights coughing...while he slept right through it, mind you. :-) Not to mention a lovely case of roid rage from his breathing treatments. I had a hard time going to sleep last night then about 2 hours after I last saw the clock, I was wide awake. My brain wouldn't shut off. I replayed the long afternoon at work, what we did for each patient, did I forget to do something, did I ask Dr. Barker everything I needed to before he leaves for 2 weeks, and it goes on and on. I've had roughly 9 hours of sleep in 2 nights with only 2 of those last night because of my own inability to turn my brain off. I've had two busy days at work that I really couldn't miss, so there was no way I could have a "my baby is sick and I've had no sleep day". The exhaustion and the feelings of being pulled in way too many directions has hit me hard this week. My mommy heart is sad for both Nicholas and myself.

Exhaustion is a bad thing for me. I tend to be quite a bitty if I haven't had enough sleep followed by a crying meltdown and migraine. It is inevitable. Tonight when we got home The Toddler watched Mickey and began crying to eat muffins, then grapes. It wasn't worth the fight, so what did he have for dinner...not the chicken tetrazzini we ate, but muffins and grapes while watching tv. I was in survival mode and counting the minutes until The Daddy got home and I can take an ambien and hopefully get to sleep early (and yes, I've tried everything natural and over the counter before I resorted to ambien a few years ago). I'm also choosing to not say much to Michael, because in my mood a fight would be imminent. Not only have I sent my baby with a little cold to school, but now I'm feeding him junk and letting him watch more than his allotted 30 minutes of TV. Hello, my name is Amanda and I feel like the world's worst wife and mom.

I have the hours counted down, but I am taking 3 days off from work next week to spend with my sweet boy and I can't wait. I need lots of toddler cuddles and love. I'm excited to be able to take off one of my hats an just be a mommy and wife for a few days. I feel like I have two full time jobs and being a wife and mommy is by far my favorite job and it will be great to just focus on the most important people in my life for a few days.

Well, now that The Toddler has managed to knock over and break my wine glass, it's time for his bath and hopefully my bedtime soon! I just needed to get this feeling off of me and hopefully prevent a full blown mommy meltdown. Sorry for the pointless rambling. :-)

Look Alikes

Just in case you were wondering who our Nicholas looks like, let me give you an idea...
We found this picture (well, really 2 pictures) of Michael in an old album from when he was 24 months, one of me at 20 months, and then Nicholas at 24 months.

We think he looks a lot like both of us!  It cracks me up because he has my personality, type A personality, and coloring, but looks a lot like Michael.  I love to watch him grow and become more and more of his own person.  

Who do you think he looks like?

Meal Planning Monday

This week is a short work week, so I only made 1 freezer meal, but it is one that makes 2-2qt casserole dishes, so it will last us 2 weeks!  

Sunday - went to my parents for dinner

Monday - Taco soup (from my old recipe blog)

Tuesday - Crockpot New Orleans Red Beans and Rice

Wednesday - Chicken Tetrazzini

Thursday - Take out (mommy is getting her hair done!)

Friday - Homemade Pizza 

Saturday - Grill wings, assorted dips for football game watching!

Chicken Tetrazzini

3 chicken breasts cooked and cubed

16 oz thin spaghetti

1 can sliced mushrooms

Family sized Cream of Chicken

16 oz Sour Cream

1 stick of butter softened

Cook spaghetti per package instructions.  Mix in a bowl the cream of chicken, sour cream, mushrooms (drain first), butter, and cooked chicken.  Drain spaghetti and pour into a dish to cook.  Pour mixture over the top.  I cover well with foil and freeze up to 2 months.  To cook I thaw completely then cook on 375 for 30 minutes.  My boys love it!

I hate the flash was on in this picture, but you get the idea of how it looks.

It's High School FOOTBALL time!

Those of you who have been long time readers know that I am PASSIONATE about my football, but may or may not know why.  Football is something that has always been a big part of my life because not only did we watch a LOT of football growing up, but it was my dad's career.  He was a high school football coach for about 28 years before retiring about 12 years ago.  He had been missing it and randomly one day last Spring the head coach for our church school called him and asked if he would be interested in coming back to coach his offensive and defensive lines.  He is happy to be back doing what he loves and my mom and I are excited that he is happy! Those of you on Twitter know how excited I've been and have probably muted me on Friday nights because you just don't care about their game! Haha! Needless to say, I LOVE HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL and I couldn't wait to go to one of his games!  Well, three weeks into the season I finally got there!  Not only was he coaching, but playing against the school I went to from 1st grade - 8th grade and my cousin is on their team!  It was a lot of fun! 

When we got there about 30 minutes before kickoff and his group was warming up right by the end zone where we came in.  I got a picture of Dad doing what he does best...coaching his linemen!

There are so many things I love about high school football: the boys that try there best every week (is it me or does high school kids look like they are about 10 now??? Or am I just an old lady?) :-) ; cheerleaders; the bands; and the school spirit!  I don't think there is anything I'd rather do on a Friday night than go to a high school football game and I really don't think I realized just how much I missed it until I started getting excited to go this season!  Being a small, Baptist academy there certainly was a lot of school spirit and I loved how many people came out to support the team that were church members.  It is awesome the amount of support their team has!  I loved the sign.  So true!

They came into the game 2-0 for the season, which was AWESOME!  We knew this week was going to be hard and probably not end well, but it ended a little worse than we expected. :-)  That's ok Seahawks fans, it's a new week and there are still seven more games to go, and 2-1 is still great!  

I'm looking forward to next Friday night because we plan to take Nicholas for the 1st time.  We wanted to wait until Michael could go with us to help in case he was a little wild. Haha!  I'm sure that will be an interesting game! :-)  He is ready though, we have stocked up on cute green football clothes and he is working on saying "Go Seahawks" and "TOUCHDOWN!!!" 

Midweek Brain Dump

I need to start doing these kind of posts. I always have so much to say, but just never sit down and type it out, so this should be fun! I started this blog as a way to journal my thoughts, so maybe I need to get back to blogging more for me and not just or scrapbook. Here are the major things on my mind lately and somewhat of a little catch up post:

1. This working mom gig is tough sometimes and this week is definitely one of those times. Michael and I have both been super busy at work, I've had a cold and laryngitis, and I have a long list of things to do at home that just don't ever seem to get done in the evenings because we are plain exhausted. This is definitely a week where I am on the verge of a meltdown 24/7. If only I had an extra 3 or 4 hours in my day to get the house picked up, laundry put away, and actually spend some quality time with Nicholas. I'm just being real here and I'll say don't let the the freezer meals and Nicholas' strict schedule fool you, I do not have myself together and my life is a mess right now! Is it time for that 3 day weekend yet?

2. School bake sale stress. Daycare is having a week long bake sale for MDA and I'm all about supporting MDA, but our class was to bring in our baked goods on Wednesday. Hello, it's the middle of the week, we are all moms that are away from home 10-12 hours a day, when am I supposed to have time to do that?! Well, I decided to go with my Nana's all time go to quick fix, rice Krispy treats. Um, she obviously did things differently than I do! First, I burned the crap out of my hand trying to press them into the pan & then I quickly realized mine weren't nice and fluffy like hers always were. They were flat and thin. Haha! Oh well, maybe that is what the peanut butter she put in her treats did for them, who knows! Nonetheless, my pitiful little treats went to school this morning sad or not. Ha!

3. My dad is coaching again after being retired from football since 2000! This has been a super exciting time for us and I'll be blogging about it quite a bit this Fall. I'm planning to attend my first game next Friday and I can't wait! I've missed it so much more than I ever thought I would. I was a crazy person last Friday. They played 3 hours away, so obviously we didn't go, but I found a few people & sportscasters to follow on twitter and I was able to keep up with the score that way. They won and i may or may not have jumped around when I heard! Haha! I think Michael was a little scared over how worked up I get over a high school football game. I mean business when it comes to my dad's team! ;-) We are also excited to introduce N to high school football soon! He has been stocked up with lots of green football attire!

4. This is the 2nd week without an episode of Dallas to watch on TNT & I kind of think I'm having withdrawals. I loved sitting down at 9:00 every Wednesday night to get my weekly fix of the Ewings. Is it January yet? I'm ready for a new episode!

5. I made several freezer meals last Wednesday (yes, I know I promised a post about it and it is coming, be patient!) and one of them didn't turn out well at all. I made 2 pans of poppyseed chicken and it was a creamy, fluffy mess. Any suggestions?

6. We have begun to talk about the possibility of expanding our family, but as of right now that is definitely on hold. We are leaning more towards the side of not having any more children and I think part of my heart is mourning that Nicholas will be our only baby. It is a decision that makes the most sense for our family for several reasons. Who knows, we may change our minds, but right now this is how we feel.

7. What would a post be without a couple of pictures of my sweet boy! I think the last one of these pictures speaks volumes about our last couple of weeks; bed head, only one slipper, and eating junk for breakfast! Yep, pretty much sums it up!

Meal Planning Monday on Sunday

This week I'm doing things a little differently.  I'm not doing my usual Sunday meal prep, but instead I'm taking the day off on Wednesday to get some things done around the house and I plan to do 15-20 meals then.  So, there isn't any pictures this week, but here is our weekly meal plan:

Sunday - Grilled lemon pepper salmon, baked potato, corn on the cob

Monday - Crockpot ranch chicken, garlic potatoes, broccoli

Tuesday - Baked cheese ravioli

Wednesday - Crockpot Salisbury Steak (never made before, will post after I try it once), mashed potatoes, carrots 

Thursday - Poppy seed chicken, broccoli, bread

Friday - Pizza Night

Saturday - Mexican Night, (TBD)

Baked Ravioli 

1 bag frozen mini raviolis

1 14oz can tomato sauce

1 can tomato paste

1 14 oz can Italian stewed tomatoes

garlic powder to taste

salt and pepper to taste

8 oz mozzarella cheese

In a blender or food processor mix the tomato products and seasonings.  Layer the frozen raviolis in a 9x9 square pan, pour sauce over pasta, cover with cheese and bake for 25-30 minutes on 425!  

I'll post about my cook-a-thon later this week!  I'm going to do stuffed shells, chicken pot pie mix, chicken tettrazini, swiss stuffing chicken, poppy seed chicken, chicken rolls, some marinated meats, a roast, and a taco soup batch (most of these will do 2-3 meals, so I should have about 20 meals when I get done! Yay!)

Being A Boy Mom

There are just some questions people like to ask that are just plain rude.  We got married in 2005 and by 2006 the question started coming, "when are you having a baby?"  Our plan was not until our 3rd anniversary and everyone thought that was crazy.  Then when the 3rd anniversary came and went without an announcement, people acted like we had been married for 10 years and were never having children.  That question REALLY got annoying when we were struggling to get pregnant and wondered if we ever would.  Finally right before our 5th anniversary when we started telling people we were pregnant, the next annoying question started, "do you want a boy or girl?"  Um, in case you've forgotten, we have prayed for a HEALTHY baby, not a boy or girl for the past 2 years, we aren't picky!  Following our ultrasound showing a healthy boy, people then changed it to "awwww, well, maybe next time you'll have a girl" or "boys are so sweet and love their mom", as if I was mourning not having a girl.  LET ME TELL YOU THAT WAS NEVER A THOUGHT OF MINE!

I have never, not one time, wished Nicholas had been a girl.  I LOVE having a boy and I am beyond blessed to have HIM!  He was absolutely, without a doubt worth every month and tear of sadness while I was waiting on God to bless us with him.  My heart gets sad every time someone says something about him not being a girl or makes comments about him being "all boy" like it's a bad thing.  Just last week when I was showing off his pictures, I heard a few similar comments.  I wouldn't trade the trucks lined up on my hearth right now, or the collection of pirate dress up clothes or pirate ships we've started accumulating, or the obsession with bugs and dirt for all the Barbies, pink, and dolls in the world!

The Lord knew that a boy was perfect for me.  I LOVE having a tee ball set, multiple balls, and trucks scattered around my yard.  I love how excited and eager he is to run and play.  I LOVE how he plays with his toys, his Daddy, his Pawpaw, and his Granddaddy.  It makes my heart happy!

 My sweet boy may not join Alpha Delta Pi as my legacy one day and he may not be my future shopping partner, but he sure is everything I ever dreamed of...and so much more!  Not one time have I ever wished he was anything but this sweet, loving, precious bundle of energy I love more than anything on this Earth!

I thank God every, single day that he blessed me with this boy.  We may or may not have more children, but if we do, my heart tells me that I would be 100%, completely ok with another boy.  I am excited for the days of camping, baseball, football, hiking, and all the other boy stuff I've never done before.  God knew exactly what He was doing when He gave me this bundle of energy and love 2 years ago, I know that if He decides to bless us with another child in a couple of years, He will give us exactly what we need!

Meal Planning Monday

Sunday - Smoked BBQ, Baked Beans, Vinegar Slaw
Monday - Slow Cooker New Orleans Rice and Beans
Tuesday - BBQ Sandwiches, chips
Wednesday - Slow Cooker Salsa Chicken Wraps
Thursday - Chili Mac
Friday - Pizza Night (girl's night out for Mommy!)
Saturday - Grilled Salmon, Baked Potatoes, Corn on the Cob

Vinegar Slaw
1 head of cabbage, shredded
1 green bell pepper chopped
1 onion chopped
2 carrots chopped or shredded
Shred, chop the veggie and place in a large bowl
Marinade ingredients:
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup vinegar
1 cup cold water
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
Combine the above ingredients in a small bowl and pour over veggies.  Stir well and store in refrigerator for a minimum of 24 hours and serve cold. This picture is right after I mixed and shook it in a tupperware bowl.

New Orleans Rice and Beans

1 pound dry red beans

1 green bell pepper chopped

1 onion chopped

3 garlic cloves, chopped

1/2 pound andouille sausage

3 tablespoons Old Bay seasoning

7 cups water

Cooked Rice

Place first 6 ingredients in a 4-6 qt slow cooker, cover with the 7 cups of water and cook covered on high for 7-8 hours.  Serve over cooked rice.  Fast, easy meal that my entire family loves (especially my baby that LOVES beans!)

Crockpot Salsa Chicken Wraps (a Pinterest inspired meal)

4 boneless chicken breasts

1 cup salsa

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 packet of taco seasoning

1/2 cup sour cream

6 tortillas

Place chicken in crockpot. Cover with taco seasoning and a mixture of soup and salsa.  Cook on low for 7-8 hours.  Shred cooked chicken with a fork and stir in sour cream.  I serve as a wrap by placing in tortillas with rice and black beans.  

2 Year Well Visit

Friday we finally made it in for Nicholas' 2 year old well check at the pediatrician's office.  My mom went with me for backup because sometimes we have to wait awhile at our peds office and it's always nice to have backup during the long wait. :-)  We had a great visit and Nicholas was very good!  We only had to wait about 30 minutes and he was happy to watch Mickey on my phone while we waited.  

Now that he is 2, we weighed on the big boy scale and had our blood pressure checked!  Haha!

Nicholas is still on track to be very tall and skinny, just like his Daddy!  He is off the charts for height at 37 inches! She said that is closer to being on the 3 year old chart! Haha!  He is also 31 pounds and that is only in the 75th percentile.  His head is 19 1/2 inches which is perfect!  I knew his smart little brain was just right! :-) She said he is very healthy and definitely not too heavy for his age.  He is just a healthy, growing boy! :-)  We didn't get a shot and we don't have more until he is FOUR!  YAY!!!!  He did have his finger pricked for an anemia/lead screening.  He passed all of that without any problems and is perfect in every way!  We are beyond thankful and blessed for our healthy boy.  We prayed for him to be healthy for so long and the Lord definitely answered our prayers in so many ways!

Two Year Old Photo Shoot

Back in the Spring I won a drawing for a couple of free prints from a local photographer at a consignment sale, so we gave her a try at Easter for baby chicken pictures.  We LOVED her work and how well she worked with Nicholas.  He is HARD to get just the right shot of because he is so busy, but she tries so hard and definitely earns her money working with Nicholas! Ha!  Anyway, we went to visit her at her studio last Saturday and I picked up my order plus a disc of all of his pictures this afternoon and I AM IN LOVE!  They are even better in person than they were on the online proofing page!  Here are my favorites:

 My mom got this one for her house in a large canvas and it is gorgeous!  I'm wishing I had done the same!  

I got this one in an 11x14 and it is precious!  I'm trying to decide where to hang it now???

 These next two are HILARIOUS and totally capture his fun personality!  I've framed them in red frames for his bedroom.

Meal Planning Monday

This week I struggled coming up with just the right meals.  I ended up going with a few staples and a favorite from another blog.

Sunday - Grilled Salmon, baked potatoes, asparagus
Monday - Bowtie Fiesta Pasta from Erin's blog at Blueeyedbride.com
Tuesday - Crockpot Ranch Chicken, Rice, Brocolli and Carrots
Wednesday - Meatloaf Minis (posted here 2 weeks ago), Pinto Beans, Mashed Potatoes
Thursday - Individual Chicken Pot Pies
Friday - Pizza Night

Crockpot Ranch Chicken (adapted from a Pinterest recipe found here)
4 Frozen Chicken Breasts
1 pkg dry ranch dressing mix
1-10oz can cream of chicken soup
Place frozen chicken breasts at the bottom of the crockpot, cover with dressing mix and pour soup over them.  I pour 1 1/2 empty soup cans of water over it to keep it moist, then place on the crockpot.  Turn it on low and set the timer on the crockpot for 6-8 hours (depending on how fast your crockpot cooks). Serve with mashed potatoes or rice with veggies!  A sure hit at our house with both the big and little boy!

Individual Chicken Pot Pies (adapted from my recipe here and this Pinterest find)
1 can of 10 Jumbo Biscuits
1 10 oz can of chicken
1 can of mixed veggies
any additional veggies you want to include
1 can cream of chicken
Salt and Pepper to taste
Cook any raw veggies until they are tender (or if you use canned you can skip this step).  Mix all ingredients and pour into biscuits that have been pressed into a muffin tin.  Cook at the temperature on the biscuit can (mine was 375) for 20 minutes and Voila!  Quick and easy way to feed your picky kids veggies!

Sunday Funday In iPhone Pictures

We had a Sunday Funday for sure today!  We have been wanting to take Nicholas down to the north shore of the TN River to play for the past year, but just haven't ever got there.  After we got up and got ready this morning we decided to go eat at a cute pizza place at the park and go to the splash park!  Needless to say, someone LOVED IT!

Nicholas had only been to one splashpark before and that was almost a year ago when we went to Destin and there was one at our resort.  He loves water and this was perfect for him!  I die at the cuteness of him playing in the fountains.

After we FINALLY pulled him out of the water, we changed him into some dry clothes in the back of the car (obviously while still parked) and walked back to the area where we had lunch and ate some ice cream at Clumpies.  

I get kind of sad when I see how big he has gotten.  I can't believe he sat on a stool and ate every last bite of his ice cream with a spoon without any help or without getting any on his clothes.  Where did my baby go?!

We came home after that and he fell asleep right before we got home.  I just can't believe how big and grown up he is.  He will be 25 months old Wednesday and that just doesn't seem possible to me!  He has been in his new classroom for 4 weeks and we can tell a HUGE difference in him.  He is speaking in complete sentences, talking a lot more clearly, and showing interest in the potty.  I can only imagine what he will be like after he has been in there 6 months!  

Twitter/Blogger Girls Night Out

Over the past four years since I have been on twitter and blogging, I've made so many good friends!  I know a lot of people don't understand and make fun of me for my "online friends", but to me they are so much more than that.  They are the girls that understand my daily struggles, the first to support me when I'm down, and the first to be excited for me when something exciting happens.  Several of these girls have become close friends and I'm so thankful for that!  I've got friends all over the country and it is awesome when I get to spend some time with them.

Last night I went to dinner with Courtney and Ashley, who both live in Chattanooga, but have become friends through social media, and Lauren, who lives in Florida, but was in town to visit!  We went to one of my favorite places in town, The Boathouse.  They have amazing margaritas (although poor Lauren got a margarita on the rocks and it was more like a mini-rita) and seafood.  Seriously, it is the most fabulous atmosphere of sitting right on the river and eating tasty seafood!

I HAD to have the grilled oysters!  They are so good, but I'm wishing I had gone with 6 raw and 6 grilled.  I always love getting the oysters when I go there.

I forgot my camera at home, but this was the best we got on my phone.  I love these girls and I'm so glad we were all able to get together for an evening!  Can't wait to do it again soon!

Zoo Trip

We have a small, but nice zoo in Chattanooga that we have been to a couple of times, but lately Nicholas has become OBSESSED with animals and animal sounds.  For his birthday my parents gave him a membership to the zoo and we took him for the first time last weekend.  HE LOVED IT!

 My big boy was so excited to go!  He was fascinated with all the animals and just stared at them.

As soon as he would see one of his favorites he would point and yell what they are and what sound they make.  Here he is saying "MONKEY! EEEEEEE!"

When we saw the jaguars he kept whispering "meow".  I just busted out laughing.  Not quite buddy! 

 The "pirate birds".  We are also obsessed with pirates these days.

 I didn't know for sure what he would think about the petting zoo, but he liked the animals, but we had to make him touch them.  He wasn't so sure about that!

Nicholas loved the zoo and has talked about the animals all week.  He even pointed to the zoo and said "MONKEY!" when we drove by on the way to work and school Monday!  I am sure we will be back several times over the next year.  I'm already getting excited to for Boo at the Zoo and Holiday Lights (which we went to last year and saw Santa with Tate!).