Dinner and a movie..

Last night I called my cousin, Kristy at 5:00 pm to see if I could talk her into dinner and a movie. This was not an easy thing to do since Kristy normally goes to bed at 9pm. She is an elementary school art teacher and I think it takes all the rest she can get to deal with all the kids! I convinced her it was the end of the year and they were only half paying attention anyway so dinner and a movie was just what the principal ordered. I picked her up at 5:45 and we had a great dinner at Whole Hog Cafe and then we even had time to run into Hobby Lobby and check out the scrapbook items on sale. Nothing much this week so our wallets were safe!

Next we went to see "Baby Mama". That was a very cute movie. If you have ever wanted kids and not had them you understand her dilemma. Everything around turns into babies and children. I remember the year prior to getting engaged the "baby fever" hit me and it hit me BAD! I think my now hubby was afraid to call me between 2:00-3:00 pm every day. I would watch "The Baby Story" and cry and then watch "The Wedding Story" and get extremely angry! It was his fault I did not have a baby and definitely his fault I was not married! ha! Luckily for the both of us things worked out; the wedding and the baby were soon to follow and I have been so blessed since that time.

I think Kristy and I will have to make this a monthly event. I talked to her husband first so that softened the blow and he was already prepared for her to go out by the time she got home. That worked out well! :) Kristy and I have been so close every since we were little. She is the only cousin I have that is even close to me in age and we definitely have a lot of the same ideas on marriage and kids. This summer we both plan to catch up on our scrapbooking, which also means catching up on some much needed girl talk!

Hope you are having a great week. Today we are off to get a hair cut (Ethan told me he had "hair cut" on his calendar for today) and gymnastics.

Proud to be an American...

This has been such a wonderful weekend! Monday we went to Russellville to my friends house and we had a massive cookout! There was enough food there for at least four families. The "boys" smoked all sorts of different meats from pork loin to beef brisket we had it! I met Kelly at Conway Regional and we become fast friends. I just love her and her family. Her kids are so cute and the little one Griffin is so full of life! :) As I am sure you can tell from these pictures... We stayed in Russellville all day and left just a little too late to avoid the down pour of rain. This is what it looked like driving home.. I still managed to somehow fall asleep! That always amazes hubby how I can fall alseep while he is "white knuckle" driving. I told him that just shows my immense level of trust in him to get us home safely. Either that or I was really tired.

Of course with it being Memorial Day you can't help but pause and think and appreciate what our women and men in uniform do for our country. The fact that we are free to cook out and relax and enjoy the day is a true testament to what they have sacrificed. I am so honored to know men that have died protecting our country and thankfully I am blessed to know men like Derek that have protected our country and came back home safe. Thank you Derek!

My friend Jamie lost her brother, Donovan, fighting in Iraq and I know she is so proud of her brother. He gave the ultimate sacrifice.

Currently we have another friend, Collin, that was recently deployed to Iraq. So when you think about your freedom or see a veteran tell them "thanks", and remember the families of those that are currently fighting or those that have lost loved ones on duty for our freedom.

Memorial Day Weekend...

I am SO excited to be off this weekend. It has been a while since I have had a full weekend to just sit and relax.! and that is just what I did. Saturday hubby smoked some ribs and grilled hot dogs and we were going to have a picnic outside but then the rain came. We just moved everything under the carport and still ate outside and had a great time. The kids just love "picnicking".

Saturday afternoon we went to Riverfest and had a blast! We walked across the new "River Trail" bridge which is nice except for the massive narrow staircase on either end. There were way too many people on the bridge and the staircase was way too crowded. I always get nervous about my kids around such a crowd. They love Riverfest and look forward to it every year. I don't know if any of you have seen the "Jack Links" commercials for beef jerky but Ethan thinks that is the funniest bunch of commericals so he was thrilled to see the big "monkey" out at Riverfest! :)
Sunday we played outside and grilled again. This was our grillin' and chillin' weekend. The kids had been begging to go swimming and my parents finally got their pool open so off we went at 7pm at night. We tried to convince the kids it was going to be cold and they wouldn't last five minutes in the water, but no convincing the two of them. They jumped in the water and played and swam for TEN minutes! Not Five.. so Ethan was quick to tell us we were wrong.

Lastly, we went to watch the fireworks on Sunday night. We went up to the VA Hospital and watched them the rest of North Little Rock. What a great way to top off a great weekend.

Catching up...

Sometimes I get so busy I forget to blog about all the fun things we are doing. I have tried to be diligent about blogging but sometimes it falls through the cracks with everything else going on. I have a few pictures to share from some of the things that have been going on over the past two weeks.

First off and the best fun was a play date! YEAH! My kids LOVE being outdoors. They would stay outside from sun up to sun down if we let them. They just love going to the park and going with Maddy and Fletcher is the best! Ella Grace and Leigh Ann joined us today and Ethan just loved EG! He had the best time playing with her. He is so sweet to little kids. He likes the "big brother" role and takes it very seriously.

The weekend was filled with a lot of nothing which can be a blessing. We stayed around the house for the entire weekend! Lots of R&R.

Spring soccer came to an end and Ethan had his "end of season" party. He was asked to play summer league but I think we are going to take a break until fall. He needs a rest from being SO busy.

The rest of our week was filled with baseball and softball and my monthly pokeno game with the girls from Sunday School.

Do they offer a class on toy organization 101???

Between Ethan and Scarlett we have WAY too many toys in our small house. I have tried finding creative ways to organize the toys but no matter how you organize too many toys it is still too many toys. I have put them all in bins with pictures on the bins so the kids knew which toys went where.. that didn't work. I have tried just letting the bins overflow and be totally unorganized.. that didn't work. I have now decided to move toys over into the closet, along with bins under the bed and along the wall. The toy bins are all organized and each bin has a specific purpose (at least for a brief time) but it is still TOO MANY TOYS. I would LOVE to hear your organization ideas for your kids rooms. What kind of storage ideas you have for you kids things. This has all come about just prior to a weekend trip to The Container Store. I am hoping to figure out what I need to do and get it done this weekend. This is our current system after just being organized. I need to take pictures day three and let you see what is looks like after Scarlett has played and then put her "toys away". I am hoping that as soon as the playset outside is finished the kitchen and all the accessories will be moved to the fort area. That kitchen has been a wonderful toy and served as great entertainment for three years but I think it will be just as useful OUTSIDE. That would free up a lot of room. That whole wall is the kitchen and the big bin full of food and dishes. All of this and this is not the bins underneath the bed. How do you organize your toys? What ideas have you come up with that have helped your kids in putting their toys away? The pictures on the bins helped but they were often ignored.

Lastly, I am excited about THIS:
We can get our hair into pony tails! YEAH! This was our ponytails prior to Scarlett's self imposed hair massacre. :) So, even a small ponies have made me VERY happy! It makes summer time so much easier. Her hair is growing really fast but now I am torn between getting it cut off into a cute little style. I love the wedged bob haircuts and figured while it is still short I should try it and see if I like it on her. I think she really wants her hair long again so that is probably the route we will take. She still ask "when is my hair going to grow back!". I think she thought her haircut was not near as final as it was. I had to laugh to myself as I was cleaning her room and moved the big toy bin and against the wall I saw something golden and reached for; only to realize it was a strand of her hair from the night she cut it. I guess we missed it as we were trying to recover from the massacre! ha!

Hope you had a great day!

Ramblings..

This has been a SLOW couple of days. Monday we had our usual Monday night baseball game. Ethan is doing so well! I received the nicest email from one of his coaches, I was so proud of him I had to share a part of it. "Carey and I are both delighted with Ethan's play - he really has great hand-eye coordination and understands baseball so much more than most kids in that age group. And he is a real pleasure to have on the team...maybe the most coachable kid I've seen in the 4 years we have played at BPAA. " It feels so good as a mom to hear great things about your child. I am so happy that Ethan is enjoying the game but it is so nice that he is learning how to work as a team and how to get along with others and respect the adults. Emails like that just reaffirm that I am doing a few things right when it comes to my kids.

Tuesday was SLOW, too! :) We were going to pick strawberries with our friends Abby, Maddy and Fletcher but the orchard wasn't "picking" that day. I was disappointed, Ethan and Scarlett were so looking forward to going to the orchard. We are going to try again Friday, so I hope it works out this time. Instead of picking strawberries I cleaned house. Not my idea of fun. I had to find a organized place to put all of Scarlett's new toys. It is organized for now and looks neat.. but tomorrow that will be a whole different story.

Lastly we watched American Idol. I am so sad that it is coming to an end. We watch very little regular television but we are hooked on AI! I just LOVE David Cook! He is no Chris Daughtry..but he is pretty good. In honor of our final week of AI Scarlett sat down today and sang a little song for me.. you may recognize it. She was in quite the singing mood and acting SILLY! She has a natural flair for drama. :) Hope you have a great Wednesday.

Such Wonderful Times...

Scarlett's birthday party was this weekend and we had a blast! The weather held off.. THANK Goodness! It did rain for about 15 minutes just before the party but quickly stopped. Scarlett prayed a sweet little prayer and sang a little song about how God wouldn't let it rain since he could see everything and knew her friends were coming over to play. I was very glad it didn't rain, we had far more people coming to the party than our little house could hold so it HAD to be outside. :) My sweet friend Abby called to see if I had a "back up plan".. and of course I really didn't so I was growing very worried as the skies turned dark.


The kids played and played and had the best time. They all were dirty and probably tired by the time they left. Scarlett and her little friends were SO CUTE! It is so cute to me to see all the little girls playing. I have been so blessed to still be close to all my high school friends and then we all got so lucky as to have little girls around the same age. It is so much fun to watch them all play together.


My mother always makes the cakes and this year was no exception. We tried out the tiered look and I LOVED IT! My mother really gets into the whole party scene. She kinda takes over a lot of the duties and helps me SO MUCH. I am so grateful for her help. Mostly I am grateful for her cake making abilities. There is no telling how much money she has saved me over the years making cakes for me rather it was a shower, birthday party, or a "just because" cake. She is a wonderful baker and that gene was not passed on to me. Here is a picture of the cake. I thought it turned out really well.


Our playset was not finished but the kids never seemed to notice. They played and climbed on it all afternoon. There is not a lot of work left to be done, so I am guessing it will be finished this week. Ethan and Scarlett already have planned out all the things the playhouse will "be". It will be a pirate ship for boys and a restaraunt for girls.



It was a wonderful Saturday and Scarlett had the best birthday. I am so lucky to be blessed with such wonderful family and friends. By 8pm Scarlett was so showered and cleaned and ready for bed. She was so tired from all her fun. She told me before going to bed that she was "the happiest girl" and that was worth everything. Just seeing my kids happy is what it is all about!



So thanks to everybody that came and shared her birthday with us. She was the happiest! and that makes me the happiest mom.

Tagged by Leigh Ann...

Leigh Ann was tagged and then tagged all her blog friends so I thought I would answer these questions. It sounds like fun! I love being tagged and I love reading other blogger friends "tags". I always learn so much more about them. So here it goes..

I am...blessed beyond measure.

I think...about irrational fears a lot of times.

I know...my kids are my greatest joy, and I treasure everyday with them.

I wish...I had more time.

I dislike...bad drivers, any kind of seafood, and waiting in lines.

I miss...having a small baby.

I fear... something happening to my family.

I feel... extremely lucky in life.

I hear...music playing on the TV.

I crave...attention.

I wonder...how my life will change in ten years, how much my children will grow and what kind of teenagers they will be.

I love... Jesus, my family, the water, friends, sports

I ache...for families that have lost loved ones.

I care..for sick people.

I always... tell my family I love them.

I am not...a shy person.

I sing...in the car VERY LOUDLY.

I cry...when I think about anything happening to my kids.

I don't always... let my husband know how much I appreciate and love him.

I write... private notes to myself A LOT.

I win...everytime my kids give me kisses and hugs.

I lose... on days that I don't have patience and do not slow down to see the beauty in the day.

I never...eat anything from the sea! (right there with ya, Leigh Ann)

I listen.. to Keith Urban A LOT

I am scared of.. something happening to my family and FROGS

I need... to catch up my scrapbooking.

I hope...that I grow old with my husband, and we watch our kids grow.

I tag... anyone that reads this. :)

Happy 5th Birthday To My Little Princess

Today is my sweet little princess' 5th birthday! She has been such a wonderful blessing to me (on most days) ! There are days that I get very stressed out with her. She has such a strong will and attitude with a capital "A" but those are the days that I am gently reminded about that day at the ultrasound when I was told I was having a girl! I was so excited I cried. Husband has to often remind me of that day when I am at my wits end and ready to explode. I wouldn't trade all the drama for anything in the world. I love being "the dainty diva's" mom and can not believe she is five years old! Even right now as I type this and she is crying because her burrito has to cook for longer than one minute and she wants it to cook for ONE MINUTE and no longer! :) I have thought a lot about the things I love most about Scarlett:

*Her sweet sensitive side that is not always seen.
*The way she will hold my hand and tell me "it will be all right, mommy" if she thinks I am having a bad day.
*She still wants to sleep with me and wants me to "hold her like a baby".
*I love the way she loves her daddy, and how well she knows that she has her daddy wrapped around her finger! She will talk baby talk to him and get whatever she wants! :) She is learning well! ha!
*I love that she is very determined about everything. She does not give up on anything. Yes, it can be exhausting on days when the answer is NO.. but you gotta love that tenacity.

There is so much I love about her that I could go on and on. I am so thankful to have my little princess and be there for it all! The good the bad and the crazy! She can make me laugh constantly. She is very creative and very detail oriented. A perfect lefty! She comes up with her own ideas, for example.. this is her "FROO FROO" face. Why is it called that? Who knows, but that is what she has named it and she will forever call it that. She has a vast array of faces and they all have names.
She can strike a post in an instant and has been able to do that since she was VERY little!

Here she is not quite a year old. That was her very first Valentine's Day. My mom made her little dress and headband and was so excited that she finally had someone that she could make things for. Scarlett is always so excited to see her Nana coming. She likes to go to her house and help her cook, clean, and just "hang out". I enjoy watching my mom and Scarlett interact together. After three boys, Scarlett was the first (and so far only) granddaughter. I love the fact that she can be such a tom boy! She will jump down and play in the dirt as quick as she will put on make up. She just loves being where the action is.

I love her sense of style. She is an accessory queen! We like to call her our own little Gwen Stefani. :) She will wear two shirts, a skirt and pants, and several bracelets, necklaces and if it has pink.. any shade of pink, that means it matches. She is so carefree and silly! She can change from drama mama to silly little girl in a instant! She wants to smell all her food prior to eating it. At a birthday party recently when asked if she wanted cake and ice cream.. she replied "Can I smell it?" and she ask that question about all her food prior to eating. She is a daredevil. She is not afraid of anything! I am afraid of roller coasters and rides that get off the ground. Not her! If her height didn't stop her she would be on every single ride possible. Here at Magic Springs Ethan was holding on for his life and not Scarlett. She threw her hands up and gave out a "WEE" as they went down the hill. I could go on and on about all the things I love about her. Her daddy loves the way she always cocks her head to the side to have her picture taken, how she could eat her weight in cheese dip, and just how silly she can be. We all have our favorite things that make up our Scarlett.

We all love so much about her and are so blessed to have such a sweet "diva-like" little princess in our lives! Hard to believe she is five years old. It seems like just yesterday I was at the doctors office being told I was having a little girl. Little did I know just how much fun it would be!
Today was no exception to the madness and mayhem around our house. We left early this morning and went to Chuck E Cheese and played for a few hours. One of Scarlett's little friends went with us. Karley is leaving for Disney World so she will not be at the party so we had our own party today.
The kids had so much fun! We came back home for cake and ice cream and more play time. The video is from the cake and ice cream. You will notice you hear Scarlett telling Karley she has to SING! :) She wanted to be sure and be the center of attention at that moment. Tonight is Scarlett's birthday dinner of choice and guess what she wanted. She wanted Cheeseburgers, Macaroni and Black Eyed Peas! Not the normal, but definitely what we are having for dinner.

I hope you had a good 5th birthday, Scarlett! We all love you so much and are so thankful to be your family. I am so happy to be your mommy! I love you my little diva princess!

Crunch Time...

Well, the big birthday party is on Saturday and we are in a bit of a crisis. We bought this big cool playset for Scarlett for her birthday and I had accepted the fact that it would not be put together for the party due to timing (we did not purchase it until Monday morning). But, you would have to know my mother to know that if she gets an idea in her head NO ONE is going to rest until it is completed. So, my dear dad has been her everyday working on this monstrous wooden thing in our back yard that I really need(want) finished by Saturday. We all try to help, but my dad is definitely Mr. Fix It and would rather do majority of it by himself. If he is not doing the work, he is constantly checking on you and redoing your hard work. So, I read the manual and get the screws out of bags and ready to go, which is no easy feat. Take a look at these screws. There are more screws to this thing and I have ever seen in one place! My hopes are fading on the fact of it being together by Saturday, except for one glimmer of hope because my mom and dad are both off work Friday and TRUST ME my dad will be here at sunrise if my mother has anything to say about it. :) She really is a wonderful woman.. she just wants things done QUICKLY! :)

Here is how much we have completed: and here is what is should look like when finished:
The weather did not cooperate tonight and we only were able to get the ladder together. Scarlett has her "papa" won over and as he was packing to leave she ran and gave him a big hug and told him "Thank you for getting my swing ready for my party!". He told her he would be here every chance he got until her party and he would have it ready! :) So, there will have to be a good reason if it is not ready because I know he will do his best.. with me right there beside him reading the manual and handing out the screws.

**I should mention that hubby was unable to take off work, it is a really busy time at work for him, or he would be right there beside me helping to hand out the screws and reading the manual! :) That and he has been doing the running around of the kids this week for me. Thanks, Honey! :) **

I'll let you know...


Have a good week!

Baseball Fun

Ethan had his fifth game of the season last night and he is really doing well. I just love watching the little kids out there before the game. Scarlett was able to wear her "bling" shirt to support her brothers team and she was very excited about that. The back of her shirt says "little sister" in the rhinestones and was supposed to say ETHAN's little sister.. but she decided she did not want his name on her HER shirt.. so it just says "little sister". Ethan was worried no one would know that was his sister but I assured him they would know.. believe me they know! :)


I was able to catch some pictures of the boys during their pre game warm ups.. how cute is that! They all line up on the chalked line and stretch (with a lot of playing in between). They also practice their swing and their aim during "target" practice. Ethan has a little chant he says to himself when he is getting ready to hit during each game. He repeats "see the ball, hit the ball" to himself several times and it must be working, he got a line drive down third baseline last night! It is so exciting to see the boys hit the ball and take off running! :) Next, off to the field and let the game begin. Ethan played second base last night, just like his mom! :) I have to remind myself several times during the game to let the coaches tell him what to do and me keep my mouth shut! Do you know how hard that is! I find myself yelling "Ethan, get ready" "get the glove on the ground"... all those typical baseball mom chants.. but I am trying to let the coaches steer him right and me just keep quiet in the dug out. NOT EASY! I also have to say his last name everytime I want to say something to him since there are several Ethan's on the field at any time and we have a two on our team. Ethan may ended just having to go by his last name! :) I always did and it worked out well. Lastly, we got our baseball team pictures in last night and of course I bought way too much.. but it was his first year playing so hubby went along with it. I just had to order the Baseball Magazine cover photo and it turned out so cute! I am glad I did pay the extra money just for that. I was torn between the Wheaties box cover and Magazine cover.. but I think I made the right choice, don't you?Hope you all have a great week! I am still getting things ready for the party. Thanks to my sis-in law who sent me some great Mexican appetizer recipes.. I am going grocery shopping today and finish up the decorations. I think it may be all prepared by Saturday afternoon.

Fun Filled Saturday

This Saturday was a fun filled day! It started off really cold. I had spent all week doing the "change out" of winter vs. summer clothes and did not leave any jackets or anything out of the bins. So at 8am this morning I am digging for a jacket, and long sleeve shirts for all of us to wear to the soccer fields down by the river. His soccer season has been extended due to all the rain we had in March/April. The river rose so high that it flooded the soccer fields several times and with that washed away his larger goals, so the boys are playing with these small goals! It makes for an interesting game. He scored three goals, which was exciting to watch. He loves playing soccer!

Next stop McDonalds for lunch and more play time! They over heard me mention McDonalds and the battle ensued.. and guess who won.. you got it the kids! We then stopped by the local nursery and picked up four hanging plants that are so pretty. We bought two Wandering Junes and two Ferns. The Wandering Junes reminded me of my grandmothers house growing up, she always had a lot of these hanging plants all around her yard. Next stop HOME!

My friend from Russellville, Kelly, was in town and they stopped by and the kids played in the back yard all afternoon. We had a soccer shoot out, baseball game, jeep driving, trampoline jumping, sand playing kind of day!

In the middle of all this Scarlett went to a Rock Star Makeover birthday party. She came home with a purple feather boa, blue glitter hair, sparkle eyes, and a pink braid..and a big chocolate ring around her mouth. :) She had so much fun at her little friends birthday party. Lynnleigh is her first friend that she made on her own. She is so cute with her friends.

Today is Sunday and the start of a new week. My little princess is turning five on Thursday so this week's post will be all about her and a look back.. mostly just for the mom in me to be sentimental, and to feel sad for just a little bit. :)

Hope you all have a blessed Sunday!

Birthday Week has begun...

Yesterday afternoon when we returned home from shopping there was a big box from Disney.com on our front porch. I knew I had not ordered anything.. so the excitment began. Scarlett just knew it was for her since it was "her birthday week". Ethan ran to the porch first and read the label and then yelled, "you are right, Scarlett.. it has your name on it. It is your birthday week!". Scarlett was SO EXCITED. We had to run into the house and rip the package open and this is what we found. A new Little Mermaid swimsuit, towel, shoes, sunglasses and a beach tote. She was just beside herself with excitment! She ripped her clothes off and begin taking tags off as fast as she could try it on! She looked so cute! The big package was from her Auntie Lolo, Uncle T, cousins Jacob, Lillie and Lauren and Nannie D. They all live in Tennessee so they will not be able to be here for our big party. We miss them! :)

In the meantime, we are planning a "Fiesta" for next Saturday. I need good party food ideas for a fiesta. We will have the usual salsa, cheese dip.. but what about finger foods? Anybody know any good, easy mexican style finger foods? It is not as easy as I thought to find fiesta decorations! and games???? I need help! Lots of ideas for this Fiesta are needed. I have a week.. that is plenty of time, right? ha! We will see if it all comes together in time and if it does not, I must remember the backyard will be filled with four and five year olds that could probably care less if they have food at all, they just want to play.

Hope you all have a great weekend!

Yo Ho HO! A Pirates Life for ME!

Today was a beautiful day outside! Just the perfect weather for an adventure. My kids decided they were going to play "pirates". I wondered to myself just how they were going to do that.. and the things they came up with just amazed me. They played on their "pirate ship" for over two hours. They even came up with a play and by scene 13, Ethan, the Pirate Captain, was tired and ready for a snack. :) Apparently he was a grouchy and mean captain. Here are just a few of the pictures from their adventure. I just love to watch my kids use their imagination and come up with ideas and adventures all on their own. Today was no exception. I was having so much fun just sitting back and watching.

They built a compass and telescopes:





















They had "shipmates". One was in charge of the left, right, and Clifford the Big Red Dog was in charge of the plank.
Scarlett was in charge of fishing, while Captain Ethan was steering the boat although at this particular time I do remember the Captain yelling "man overboard" and went to save his fellow pirate AKA "KEO".















They would occasionally put their "underwater scuba" gear on and hunt for buried treasure.. and yes they had even placed treasure in the yard to look for. It was so funny to see both of them with big football helmets on and jumping overboard to search for treasure. I was informed by the Captain that a pirate always yells "EUREKA" when he finds a treasure! (I think he had a few facts mixed up.. but who cared.. I was enjoying the show). Pirate Princess Scarlett told me that "...argh! Keep you hands off me treasure..." she sounded serious so I did! :)



















They had thought of everything. They would drop a line for fish, and they had an anchor that they would drop down when they "docked". Somehow it seemed Scarlett was in charge of all the hard work. Captain Ethan stayed at the front of the boat and "steered" while yelling out his orders! :)



















I hope you enjoyed our adventurous day! I leave you with a picture of my beautiful pirate princess who just happens to be turning FIVE in a few days! I am so busy planning a big Fiesta.. but I am sad! It is so hard on me to think that this is it.. this is my last baby, and she is not even a baby anymore. :( She is ready for kindergarten! Ready to be more independent and I am sad! I would love to just keep them little forever.. but I know that would mean missing out on the next phase, the next wonderful adventure and finding out what God has in store for both of my kids. I feel extremely blessed! and so lucky I have my very own Pirate Princess! :) I forgot to mention the pirate belts! Don't ya just love them! For all those times you thought you wouldn't need those old curtain tie backs.. just look what you could do with them! Have a great day!