A Perfect Day

Yesterday I woke up to hear Andrew getting Josie up so that I could sleep in. I love when he does that.

When I did decide to get myself out of bed, I walked out of our bedroom and found these,

A dozen gorgeous Fall colored roses!

Andrew doesn't do stuff like this all the time and when he does it is always totally unexpected. They are so very pretty.

Then I walked around the corner and found a full pot of fresh coffee.

Ahhhh, Andrew sure knows the way to my heart!

The weather was cool enough for sweatshirts, which I love love love.

And Mr. Terry dropped off a new tent for Josie that kept her laughing and jumping for over two hours!

Andrew made us a huge breakfast, like he does on all his days off, and we sat on the back porch talking while the kids played.

After baths we jumped in the truck for a drive to Atlanta to go to Whole Foods.

Everyone behaved, we got all stocked up, and then Andrew actually filled the truck up with gas!

We ate yummy chicken quessadillas for dinner and went to our DFACS meeting where we won a free night at a hotel!

Which we gave to another couple since we felt bad taking it when we don't even have any placements right now.

Josie fell right asleep when we got home.

Yup, yesterday was an absolutely perfect day.

The Return of NOT ME MONDAY

Dear Not Me Monday,

I have not seen you in many moons and I greatly miss you. I have way too many Mommy Blunders to avoid you any longer.
I hope you will still be my friend even after I tell you how great I was this week by ensuring that I did not do any of the following:


It so was not my fully potty trained daughter that peed on the carpet at Target last week. If my daughter had peed on the floor, surely I would have told someone instead of just leaving the puddle on the floor and scurring in the other direction.

I did not send Andrew to the store to secure a bottle of wine this week after a particularly stressfilled day. And I know I didn't proceed to drink said bottle of wine while emerged in a bubble bath while ignoring my husband and child outside the door.

We are a veggie loving family who always get our "5 a day the color way" so I'm sure if you asked me, I would be able to tell you when the last time we had veggies on our plate was.

I am just as skinny as I was in high school. I have not gained a single ounce. So I know that it wasn't me who had to use a rubber band to secure my jeans the other day.
And I know I wouldn't have taken a picture of such a fashion no no.

I have way more pride then that.

I love making homemade presents with lots of thought put in them. So if you see a lady running around Target looking for the perfect birthday/adoption day gift on the way to her party, it won't be me.

I feel bad for whoever did do all that.

Mom's Day Off

Amy called me last week with a wonderful idea.

After arranging for babysitters we jumped in the car and declared yesterday an official Mom's Day Off.

Which I believe should be a new tradition.

I had to take a picture to prove that we actually went somewhere without anyone in the backseat!

It was strangely quiet.

What was destined to be a great day, became even better when the coffee shop messed up our coffee order and then proceeded to make us new ones with an extra shot of espresso and let us keep the messed up ones.

You could have sent me home right then and I would have declared it a perfect day!

And the messed up ones turned out to be even better then the fixed up ones!

Of course I finished my first huge coffee and proclaimed the need to empty my bladder before I started my second one, just in time for us to be smack dab in the middle of a traffic oddity.

Every lane was stopped by a State Trooper.

They were just sitting there.

Then they all started going about 45 mph with all of Atlanta following behind.

Eventually we caught up with the rest of traffic and the Troopers turned off their lights and just acted like nothing happened.

I quit trying to figure out Atlanta traffic about five minutes after I moved here, but this one had me guessing.

I'm sure I'll never learn what was happening which will probably annoy me for the rest of my life.

We spent the day at Northpoint Mall going into whatever stores we wanted for as long as we wanted without any babies pulling at us, needing to be fed, or having to go potty a million times.

It was amazing.

However, we did learn that we are not quite up to par with the newest fashions.

Every store was selling this amazingly, disgustingly, ugly vest in some form or fashion.

Add that to the jumpsuit that Amy refused to try on so I could get a picture and I've decided I'm perfectly fine being a tee shirt and jeans kind of girl.

About five hours into our Mom's Day Off, Amy's husband and Mom started calling warning us of a major flood on the interstate and traffic jams all over the city.

We decided to leave and were slightly annoyed when there was absolutly no flooding or traffic on the way home.

Oh well, Mom's Day Off was great and I was missing my monkey like crazy anyways.

Next month, we're turning off our phones!

Not So Thursday Ramblings!

Is it too late for me to do a Thursday Ramblings post?!?!

If it makes you feel better, you can call it a Saturday Verbal Vomit post.

• Even though it is not quite Fall yet here in Hotlanta, AKA the kids ran in the sprinkler yesterday, I couldn't fight the urge to break out my jeans again. Imagine my sadness when I realized my skinny jeans are now a little skinnier then me! I guess cotton dresses allow for more dessert eating then the ole jeans do. Luckily I have lots of prenant friends and picked up this little trick:
  

  
  I have no shame.

• JP did awful again with potty training this week. And it frustrates me because I have absolutly no idea how to train him other then what I've tried. All I know is I hate hate hate poopy pants.
• Old Navy's doing their 50% off of all clearance and Amy and I both got some great stuff for the girls for less then $2.
• I found this bucket on an end cap at Target and did a little happy dance! I almost bought one at full price about twelve times but always put it back. Now I'm so glad I didn't pay full price, only I'm sad that I only got one.
  
  
  
  
  
• I actually sold a custom dress to a friend from high school! I was so excited! I finished it up last night and it is perfect! I finally figured out exactly how to do it. Now to master other styles!
• I also sold a monogrammed shirt for a little boy that I used to go to church with.
• Amy and I are going out today without any babies! It's been a long time since we did that! And flash flood warnings or not, we're going!
• Today is also grocery day and I haven't even started my list. Going without one is not an option since we easily triple our cost if we do.
• Gap Photoshoot contest started up again this week. You can bet your booty I'll be entering Josie. And yes, I still think she is way cuter then the kids that won last year.

Ahhh, now I can start my day.

Alfredo Bake

A few days ago, a friend asked me if I knew of any good, family friendly recipes that I could share.

I immediatly thought of the Alfredo Bake that my Mom makes.

We love this dinner.

I love it cause it's simple, quick, and I can put it together in the morning and just throw it in the oven when we are ready to eat.

Am I the only one that spends the morning feeling like I have nothing to do and dinner time running around like a chicken with my head cut off?

Do chickens really run around with their heads cut off?


Hmm, better stick to the recipe!

The ingredients are simple:

Two cooked chicken breasts, two jars of alfredo sauce (or you could whip up your own!), a box of spiral noodles, veggie of choice (we usually use green beans or broccoli), and some italian cheese.

Boil up some water and cook your noodles for about two minutes less then the package directions.

While that's boiling go ahead and chop up your veggies and your chicken. You could totally use frozen veggies too.

Drain your noodles and put back in pan.

Add the chicken, veggies, sauce, and some cheese. I add garlic too.

We love us some garlic.

It should be a little saucy. It is going to bake and if there isn't enough sauce it will be too dry after it cooks.

All of this can be done up to 24 hours ahead of time and stored in the fridge until you're ready to cook it up.

Then pour it all into a baking dish and cook at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes.

That's it!

I serve it up with garlic bread and a little salad to round it out, but it is filling enough to eat all by itself.

Plus it makes a ton so you can have lunch all set for the next day too!

Wordless Wednesday

At Least We Learned "A"

Our first week of learning the alphabet went pretty well. Josie gets all excited whenever she sees an A on TV or on a sign.

But I almost lost my mind that week.

JP was having some serious issues with potty training. As in, he refused to go on the potty.

I'm all for kids learning at their own pace, but his Mom and I both agreed that he knew when he had to go and was being defient by going in his pants.

I had tried everything; rewards for doing it, timeouts for not doing it. And nothing was working.

So I had to take a break from any teachings that would not result in the end of poop in underwear.

Luckily, we seem to have found something that works, Potty Charts.

And of course, if JP gets one, Josie thinks she needs one too.

He still isn't telling me when he has to go, so I just make him try every hour.

We're going on our third day accident free, which is a first since he started coming in July!

If the rest of the week goes as well, we'll be starting our ABC activities again next Tuesday.

And for the record, my heart goes out to all of you trying to potty train little boys!

A Dress For A Pumpkin

Amber dropped off the fabric for Miss Olivia Kate's Halloween dress last week.
Which made me seriously happy since I was homebound all week and fighting a serious case of cabin fever from all the rain.

How fun is this fabric?!?!

I can't wait to see the Little Pumpkin wearing it!

But since that Little Pumpkin is taking her sweet time coming into the World, I had to find a subsitute model to be sure the sizing was right.

As long as Olivia Kate doesn't inherit too much of her Daddy's height, I think it will fit a one month old perfect!

I hope it works Amber! I can't wait to sew more for her!

The Girl With The Curl

Oh Baby Girl.

I'm sure there will come a day that you try to straighten your lovely locks.

But Mommy is in love with each and every curly, bouncy, spiral curl on top of your sweet little head.

Ample Storage Space

We just wrapped up a fabulous weekend.

Most of which I spent having a love affair with my new bookcase.

I make up excuses to walk through this room a million times a day so I can run my fingers over it and tell it how special it is to me.

Not only do I think it is just gorgeous, it has solved all my storage problems.

And by all, I mean all.

Come on, y'all know you wish you had a place to store your two year old when you need a break!

She Sorta Gets It

My friends are Fertile Mertiles.

Seriously, someone is always pregnant.

I think we will be well over 40 before we can all go out for drinks together at the same time.

Since there are so many swelling bellies around here, Andrew and I thought it would be a good time to start introducing the idea of adoption to Josie.

We've known from before she came home to us that the fact that she is adopted would never be hidden from her. We assumed it would be obvious since she wouldn't look like us.

Imagine our surprise when she showed up looking exactly like Andrew!

Never the less, we want her to know how awesome God is and how perfect his timing is.

So last week, after we saw Amber, I started to talk to her about how Baby Olivia is growing in Amber's belly and that all babies grow inside a belly before they are born.

Then I told her that she grew in another woman's belly, but then God brought her to me when she was born so I could be her Mommy.

I told her that while she was growing in the other woman's belly, she was growing in my heart.

To which she replied in a loud, excited voice, "And then me POPPED OUT!"

Ahhh, not exactly.

We'll work on the logistics later!

A Little Bit Country

If I had known a pair of pink boots would bring a little girl so much happiness I would have bought them a long time ago.

And if I had known that a pair of pink boots would make the cutest little girl even cuter, I would have put them on her feet everyday.

And if I had know that a pair of pink boots would bring out the cowgirl in this little country girl I would have put her in overalls!

Nah, a tutu is more our style of country!

A Girls Gotta Sew

Last week Amber asked if I could make a Halloween dress for Soon To Arrive Olivia Kate's first Halloween.

I of course said yes, and then started to stress.

Most of the dresses I've made Josie are cute, but far from perfect.
And I sweat everytime I wash them since I'm convinced they are going to fall apart.

So to ease my fears of Baby Olivia Kate's dress unraveling while she's out trick or treating, I decided to try to make a professional looking one for Josie.

And we ended up with this, my new favorite dress for Josie Kat.

Yes, those are chickens and eggs!

All the seams are done correctly, or as correctly as they can be for a girl who desperatly needs a sewing lesson. And the measurements are actually right.

I was so excited about my successful dress that I decided to whip up some Summer skirts too!

You know, just in time for Fall.

Please excuse the awful tones in these pictures. I'm teaching myself Photoshop at a painstakingly slow pace and I gave up on these!

Josie picked out this Kitty Cat fabric a couple weeks ago and it made an adorable skirt.

And one more for good measure.

This one goes perfect with the flower bows we made the girls.

See, sometimes Photoshop decides to be my friend!

I can't wait to do Olivia's dress. And I really can't wait to see her in it!

Be Still My Beating Heart

A year ago my Mom and I came up with a brilliant idea to take up some of the empty visual space in our breakfast room.

Why Andrew and I added a breakfast room to our house is beyond me. Talk about useless space.

My Mom had met a guy who loved to build furniture. He had made a few things for my Mom's house so when we were trying to come up with an idea, he was our solution.
The plan was simple, have him build a custom bookshelf for the wall and then just drive it down from Minnesota to Georgia.

Simple, right?

After a few glitches and no time for anyone to drive it down, my poor, poor Step Dad got stuck with the job of wrapping and shipping this mammoth of a bookshelf.

It seriously took him three days.

But I am happy to report that the work was more then worth it!

Introducing my new and improved breakfast room!

As you can see, Josie is a huge fan!
She spent over an hour loading toys into the cabinets on the bottom.

The beadboard back is to die for.

I have never been so sad that I am not a hoarder.
Everything in our house already has a home, so I'm having a hard time figuring out what to put on the shelves!

I could stare at her all day long.

I am totally in love with it.

The new storage, the display areas, the warmth it adds to the room. All perfect!

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you Mom and Bill! It is gorgeous.

Fed Ex, I love you.

Nothing teaches patience like waiting for a delivery man to bring you a package.

And when that package is acutally six packages, the waiting is even harder.

But they did arrive and after an hour and a half of unwrapping, I am the happiest little lady in the World!

Stay tuned to see how much happier this sad, empty, lonely wall is now!

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday

"You not come in here Mama. I can do it meself."

Yup, looks like she's got it covered.

Daddy's Girl

Oh how she loves having her Daddy home.

He makes the best Princess at the "Birfday Perty."

And his tickles are the funniest.

Yup, it's feels good to have her Daddy home.

We Finally Had A Cookout

Last Summer we had all of our friends over for a cookout at least two times a month.
This year, not a one.

So when Andrew had an actual Saturday off we thought it would be the perfect time to get everyone together.
I couldn't believe it when everyone was able to come on such short notice!

Everett brought over his T-Ball set!
After Josie got nailed in the head by Luke's amazing swing (ouch!) she was ready to play!

She got a pair of boots at a consignment sale and refuses to take them off!
Luckily she has lots of pink shirts that match!

It is crazy how much all of the kids have grown this Summer.

Hmmm, looks like Ean isn't too sure about Josie pushing him!

Mr. Terry had the four wheelers all gassed up so we could take them out.

The weather was perfect for a cookout. We all spent the whole night outside.

I learned pretty quick that my yard might be gorgeous, but it's not the best place for wild two year olds anymore!

Julian had soaked himself with fishy fountain water within the first half hour of the cookout!

After we got Scott to quit hogging the four wheeler Tiff and I got a turn.

I hadn't gone for a ride yet so I had a blast. Even if I did scream the whole time!

Sheena even took Julian and Unborn Baby Cruz for a ride!

Just don't tell her Ob-gyn!

With any luck, this will be the last time we all hang out before Baby Olivia Kate makes her grand enterance!

I am pretty sure at least one, usually two at a time, of my friends has been pregnant for the past three years!

It was a great night full of fun, laughter, and love.

Our friends really are the greatest.

We ended the night with the girls in the kitchen and the guys watching the Georgia game!

Amy, Andrew has made up his mind that he wants to steal Matalie, so I'd keep an eye on him!