Blogger Tip

Apparently you can run out of picture space on blogger.  Who knew?  After researching a little and talking to friends I determined the best solution was to buy 20 GB for $5/yr. 

So, if you start to run out space you may want to consider purchasing a little extra memory.  I am now good to go for a long time!

A Trip Down Memory Lane

I don't know if it is the season or what, but I have really gotten into cleaning out things here lately.  Last night I spent some time going through a really, really old container that was in our attic.  And to my surprise I found some really funny things that brought back good memories.  I didn't realize how big of a "thing" I had for bunnies and pigs.  The bunny collection may come in handy as I raise my little Zeta-hopeful.  But, I don't have much to say about the pigs, other than I must have been crazy!  Who has Christmas pig PJs?  You are looking her!  I also have 2 big bins of stuffed pigs still in the attic (should I really be admitting this on my blog?).

The first thing I found were the 4 prom souviners and to my surprise, 3 of the 4 were candles.  Needless to say the wax had funktified and melted.

Next I found an old photo cube storage thingy.  The people in the pictures may kill me for sharing these, but oh well, I am in them too!

Me and my man way back when (actually I think it was the Fall of 2000)

A classic "bathroom picture" with Jennifer and Emily

Me, Jessica and Jennifer before our Senior Prom.

Sarah and me in 1997 or 1998

Finally, I went through what I thought was an old clothes bin.  There were a few pieces of clothes but it was mainly socks.  I didn't realize I had such a thing for old socks!  Just looking through the bin made me realize how lucky I am to have Brad.  How in the world did I ever get a date with these socks?!?

Do you see the socks with toes and the ones with Cupid pigs?  AWESOME!

I think one of the best things I found was an old notebook.  My mom and I used to write notes back and forth when I was in the 3rd or 4th grade (that is my guess from reading what we wrote). I said we were "pen pals" and we pretty much wrote each back and forth about our days.  Looking back it is so neat and so special!  I hope Paige and I can have the same type of relationship I had, and still have, with my mom!

Taking it to the Streets

Yesterday our church had a church-wide service project day.  Each small group was to chose something they wanted to do and then go do it.  The church services were shortened and we all had matching t-shirts to wear.  Our group chose to take breakfast to the Ronald McDonald House in Mobile and it was such a blessing!  If you are not familiar with RMH, check out their web page - http://www.rmhmobile.com/.  There were about 20 families in the 38 room house.  The families came from all over, including Mississippi and Louisana.

Brad working hard making grits.

Group shot

We all had such a great time and we have already started planning our next trip to RMH!

A Special Visit

This weekend Brad's parents came down for a special visit.  There really wasn't anything special going on, we all just wanted to visit.  I don't know who had a better time, Paige or the dogs.

Paige and Nana after supper Friday night.

Checking out the fountain

We spent a lot of time outside enjoying the wonderful weather.  Papa Joe is always so kind and wants to help out with different projects around the house (and we let him!).  This weekend he and Brad worked on our sprinkler system.  This was perfect so that we all got to spend time outside. (We also got a lot of other projects done around the house -yay!)

Loving on Madi

Helping push the cart at Lowes.  She wanted to be a big girl and help out.

Thank you Nana and Papa Joe for coming to visit.  We all had a GREAT time!!!

New Seat

We just recently got Paige a new booster seat.  I don't really know why we got this, but it seemed like a good idea at the time (let's hope we get some use out of it).  I wanted to see how it worked so I hooked it up on one of the chairs at the kitchen table.  It had been there a good week or so when Paige finally noticed it.  She insisted on eating her snack there.  I tried putting her normaly highchair and she would not have any part of it.

Enjoying her first snack in the booster seat.

Such a big girl!

Art Show

Last Thursday night was The Neighborhood School's Annual Art Show.  The art show is done to raise money for relay for life.  A group of the teachers form a team each year and the show is a fundraiser for the team.  It is neat because some of the teachers have had direct contact through personal relationships or personal experiences (one is a cancer survivor - so neat!).

Brad and I didn't really know what to expect with the Art Show.  I kept telling myself it was because I was not cultured enough to understand/appreciate an art show - ha!  The entire experience was so neat!  There was children's art displayed all throughout the school and you just walked through looking at it all.  I loved that even my 1 year old had 2 pieces for all to oogle and aagle over.

As I said, the show confused me a little bit because you didn't have to buy your child's art, although I was more than willing.  You could make a donation if you wanted and then just enjoy the art.  Then, they would send the art home for the parents to keep - love it!

I can't wait to see what next year's art show brings!

Sillyness

One of Paige's new favorite things to do is to play on the dog beds in our bedroom.  She is too cute going into our room anyway and even cuter when she plops down on one of the dog beds.

Weekend Wrap Up

I never can come up with a good blog title for these weekend's where we just do it all (or so it seems)...oh well, Weekend Wrap Up it is!

Where do I even begin?  This weekend was the annual Fairhope Arts and Crafts Festival.  Last year was our first year to go to it and we have been looking forward to it ever since.  It is neat because lots and lots of art vendors come into downtown Fairhope and set up shop all weekend.  The stores also open up so you can wander in and out.  Paige and I loved it so much that we went twice and the only thing we bought was ice cream (which, she wasn't the biggest fan of, she didn't know what to make of the coldness).  Saturday morning we went with Brad, Jamie, Ella and Myles and had an awesome time!  We just enjoyed ourselves looking at all of the booths and visiting.  Then Paige and I went back Sunday afternoon to meet one of my friends from work, Lauren, and her little boy.  We had a great time at both outings just walking around and visiting.  Paige loved to people watch and she wanted to talk to everyone - too cute!  I acutally didn't get any pictures until she and I were loading up today, there was just too much going.

Saturday night we pulled out the old grill and had our first hamburgers - YUMMY!!!!!  I love it when Brad grills for us!

Daddy, where are you?

How cute is this?!?

Sunday night Jamie was sweet and had us over for dinner.  Paige loves playing with Ella and Myles!  We all enjoyed the fantastic weather!

Even Paige got in some trampoline action!

We were all sad to see this weekend come to an end!!

Friday Fun

It is hard to believe it is already Sunday and that we have to go back to work tomorrow!  I have been wanting to write all weekend but we have stayed pretty busy and I haven't gotten a chance to sit down at the computer.

I was off Friday and took the doggies to vet for their annual check up.    The blog is mainly for us human-folks but I thought it would be good to include the doggies this go around.  Ellie weights 18 lbs and Madi weighs 21 lbs.  They are down from last year - good job girls!  I have a feeling it has something to do with switching up their treats.  The vet thought they were getting a little heavy last year and recommended we give them a multi-grain cheerio as a treat instead of the milkbone.  He said they didn't know the difference and that there are only 5 calories in the multi-grain cheerio.  The girls have adapted well and now we all eat the cheerios.

Anyway, both girls did great getting their shots and having the other annual stuff done. 

Ellie, ready to get the show started.

Madi, patiently waiting her turn.

I was able to squeeze in a haircut since Paige was at school (I thought that would be easier than taking 2 dogs and a baby to the vet's office).  I haven't been able to find a hair place I like and just when I think I do, something happens (like the girl last time basically rushing through my hair and telling me there was nothing she could do for it, nice right?).  This time I thought I would try the place up at the mall and it did not let me down!  Getting your hair washed is probably one of the best parts of the haircut and this salon ensured that it was an experience for you.  The chairs had a back massager in them, you got a warm towel wrapped around your head for a little bit and you got lotion massaged in your hands if you wanted - so nice and relaxing, plus the girl did a good job.  I think I will try it again because it was a great experience and an affordable experience.

Finally it was time for me to pick up Paige.  I had decided to wait until after naptime because she seems to nap better at school than at home.  I got it wrong this day!  The poor girl had a nap early in the morning but that was it.  Needless to say, she konked out on the way home.  Instead of waking her up, we pulled into a shaded church parking lot and let her rest for about an hour and a half.

After this great nap she was ready to go for the evening!! (which was actually pretty boring since Brad had a reception at work).

It's Great to be Green

Monday night we kicked off the week with a little Irish theme for our dinner at small group.  I was in charge of a side dish and thought green beans seemed like a good idea (they are green right?).  This was my first time to make these but I had them one other time at work and they were so good.  And since I am in to sharing recipes, here's another one for you.

Green Bean Salad

2 large cans of green beans (I used french style, but you can use regular cut as well)
1/2 cup soy sauce
1 stick of butter (I just used a half, couldn't be a total Paula Deen)
3/4 cup brown sugar
12 oz cooked bacon (I used bacon bits since that is what I had at home and it worked)

Drain green beans.  Mix soy sauce, melted butter, and brown sugar.  Pour over green beans.  Let this marinate for 24 hours at room temperature (I couldn't do that, something about it just didn't sound right so I put it in the fridge over night).  Add bacon and bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

Yum, Yum!!

Happy St. Patty's Day!!

Sun Shiny Days

Right now you just can't beat the weather down here!!  We have really been enjoying any time we get to spend outside.  One of the newest things we like to do is take Paige for a stroll in her little coupe.  We go round and round the pool and then do a little "off-roading" in the yard.  It is fun for all of us, including the dogs!

Can't forget the tupperware!

Sweet Madi (Ellie was on the move the entire time - she loves her outside time)

Bows

Paige finally has hair long enough for little bows.  Does she like them?  Um, let me think about this one...NO!!!  No sooner do I get one in and she is taking it out.  My goal is to put one in each day for 2 seconds and hopefully 2 seconds will turn into 3, 3 to 4, and so on.

What is this in my hair?

No thanks, mom.  Here, you can have it.

Just Beat It

We got some great news today - Paige is ear infection free!!  Poor thing had been battling an ear infection in each ear since the beginning of February and nothing seemed to clear it up.  After 2 oral anitbiotics and 2 rounds of shots (anitbiotics) we got the great news they are clear.  After being poked and proded we celebrated with a cookie.

She really deserves 2 cookies - I am so proud of her through all of this.  You would not have know she wasn't feeling good.  She slept great through the night, didn't run a fever, and ate great.

Here's to spring and hopefully no more colds and ear infections!

When Life Gives You Bananas

Make banana bread! 

Bananas are one of Paige's favorite foods.  So, these have become somewhat a staple around the house for the 2 of us to share.  I like bananas but they have to be almost green for me to eat them.  I found that I was having to throw out bananas because I wouldn't eat them once they got to a certain stage and I really didn't want to feed them to Paige if I wouldn't eat them. 

I decided I needed to do something with these extra bananas and decided that anytime I had leftover, over ripe bananas I would make banana bread.  I have only done it twice in the last month but I have really enjoyed being thrifty (and yes, this is thrifty in my mind).

With that, I will leave you with the recipe I use  -

Taken from www.kraftfoods.com.

1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened  (I used 1/3 reduced fat)

1/4 cup  (1/2 stick) butter, softened

1 cup sugar

1 cup  mashed ripe bananas (about 2-3 medium bananas)

2 eggs

2-1/4 cups  flour

1-1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp.  baking soda

**1 cup chopped PLANTERS Walnut Pieces  (I did not use the nuts)

 

PREHEAT oven to 350°F. Beat cream cheese, butter and sugar and butter in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Add bananas and eggs; mix well. Add combined dry ingredients; mix just until moistened. (Stir in walnuts.)

POUR into greased and floured 9x5-inch loaf pan.

BAKE 1 hour 10 min. or until wooden toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 5 min.; remove from pan to wire rack. Cool completely before slicing to serve. Store any leftover bread in refrigerator.  **I baked my last for 55 minutes.

It is very yummy and I am glad I found an easy recipe that I can rely on!

Hump Day

Boy am I glad it is Hump Day!  You would think with a short work week it wouldn't be that bad, but I always look forward to the weekends.

We had some nasty weather this way today.  It was dark all the way to work and then about 9:30 or 10 we heard the sirens at work.  Luckily I was able to get a hold of our dogsitter to check on the dogs earlier than usual (I could just see a tornado coming through and something happening to my sweet puppy dogs).  The dogsitter was so nice; he offered to come get the dogs and take them to his doggie daycare.  He told me he would bring them home too but I was able to swing by and pick them up on my way to get Paige.  It was such a relief to know that they were taken care.

The dogsitter has a really neat building where he has his doggie daycare.  When you in he has a tv screen where you can see what all of the dogs were doing.  Madi was sitting over to the side, laying back on a blanket (which to find out she had pulled out for herself to sit on, Miss Priss), and Ellie was in the middle of the pack enjoying her time with the other dogs.  It was too cute!

Other excitement around the house, well, there really isn't any.  I am pretty excited that we have cancelled our home phone.  This was pretty big for us because we have always had a home phone.  We had been talking about cancelling it for about a year and a half now and finally bit the bullet when we realized we had over 12,000 rollover minutes.  Our next goal is to figure out how to save money on our TV and possibly internet.  What kills me is that I hear and read about all these great deals but you can only get them if you are a new customer.  We have had DirectTV and Bellsouth for 2 1/2 years and we don't get any sort of discounts - what happened to member loyalty??

Paige is in full swing with her walking and is basically running everywhere.    We got her these squeaky shoes for her birthday with the hopes that she would start walking after she heard the squeaks.  I highly doubt that is the reason the walking has taken off but it is nice to know where she is and know that she may be into something she shouldn't be when the squeaking stops.

I try to cook dinner most nights.  This requires coming in from work and basically starting to work in the kitchen.  It kind of stinks because I would rather be playing with Paige, but such is life.  Instead, we try to place in the kitchen together, doing goofy fun stuff.  I read where it is good for your kids to watch you fix dinner, try to engage them so maybe they will like to try different things and such.  So, I do my best to keep Paige in the kitchen with me while fixing dinner and in order to keep her happy and busy we have designated 1 cabinet and 1 drawer as her's.  As you would it expect it is for tupperware and lids.  I feel bad for Brad because I would say 4 out of 5 nights he comes home to a mess in the kitchen where Paige has taken every piece of tupperware out and it is scattered all over the floor.  Oh well, I guess this is a common thing for most households with a 1 year old.

Hope you had a fan-tabulous Hump Day!

Happy Mardi Gras!

I guess that is what you are supposed to say, right?  It is Fat Tuesday and for us in Mobile, that means a day off from work.  I hate it that those parades go right by my office keeping me from going in - ha!

As usual, we have had a great time going to parades.  This weekend we hit up the parade scene and went to parade each day.  Paige loved every minute of it!  Friday night we were in Fairhope and we actually ran into her old teachers from her old school.  They were so sweet!  It is funny though becaues they recognized me instead of Paige - my baby girl is growing up!  While waiting for the parade to come by Paige enjoyed walking all around, we made many trips across the street and back.

Saturday we met up with one of Brad's co-workers for a parade in Point Clear.  We had a great time with them too!  This one was a little on the smaller side, but still fun.  Who doesn't love having junk thrown at you? (and who knows what we are going to do with 20 stuffed animals Paige got.)

Since the weather was terrible Saturday night, a lot of the parades had been rescheduled to either Sunday or Monday.  We decided we would hit one last parade for the season in Daphne.  I don't know if not many people knew that the parade had been rescheduled or if not that many people go, but boy did we get a lot of stuff!!  We are talking hand fulls of moon pies, 10 or so stuffed animals - one of which was a big Mickey Mouse that does something because he requires batteries, a box of little debbie cakes, footballs, cups, and tons and tons of beads.  All of the parade riders were so sweet because they would see Paige and say "baby" and then throw us something like a stuffed animal.

Ready and waiting for the parade to start.

Paige wasn't the biggest fan of wearing the beads but she sure thought they were fascinating to play with.

All konked out after a hard afternoon of parading.

I am really not into giving Paige the stuffed animals because they just seem dirty - yuck!  But, I had found 2 that might be ok to give her.  No sooner than she put them down that Ellie and Madi had claimed them for their own.

All in all we had a great time parading this Mardi Gras season and we have our throws all ready to go for Paige's parade next year!