Bad, Bad Blogger

Yes, I've been a bad blogger. We've been super busy since July started and I haven't done a great job of taking pictures or updating here.

We had a great 4th of July with some dear friends. We've been hanging out in our downtown, going to the farmer's market and just enjoying the scenery.

Brady finally finished his lego pyramid that he built all by himself (I'm just a little bit proud!). Beckett is getting more and more of a personality every day.

Here's to a new week of blogging goodness and enjoying life! Happy Monday!

Our Weekend

Happy Tuesday! I hope your week has started off well.

We had a great weekend. Friday night we had our neighbors over for dinner. They have two kids, Luke and Abby, who are Brady's age and they always have a good time together. We grilled out, then the kids got to hunt for fire flies. We had a gorgeous night!

Brady wasn't too sure about it and asked if he could wear his winter gloves!

Saturday morning we got up bright and early and went downtown for the farmer's market. Greenville has an amazing farmer's market that has become quite the hip spot. We got tomatoes, green beans and the most amazing blueberries I think I've ever had!

Beckett decided to sleep through most of it.

After we put everything in the cooler in the car, we headed over to the Children's Museum of the Upstate

The place was almost completely empty! I guess everyone was on vacation or laying by the pool. I was really shocked with it being a Saturday morning. Beckett loved watching Brady play. Before I know it, he'll be running around, too.

I don't have any pictures from Sunday, but we went to church and then James painted the trim in our living room and hallway. It needed some definite touching up!

And yes, I just realized that Brady is wearing the same outfit as he was from Father's Day. I promise he has more clothes! :)

Come back tomorrow because I'll show you what I made with those amazing blueberries!

4th of July Plans

Can you believe the 4th of July is a week from Monday? Where is the summer going? Here are some super cute ideas for your 4th of July cookout -

These cute holders are tin cans covered in scrapbook paper A Thoughtful Place

Marshmallow pops! I'm so making these for a cookout we'll be attending A Thoughtful Place

Mason jars filled with sand. Mason jars just say "summer" to me and they have so many uses! A Thoughtful Place

And let's not forget patriotic attire for the little ones! I love this jon jon from Jolly Rompers. Beckett would look precious in it!

And what summer is complete without the $5 flag tee from Old Navy? Brady already has his!

Father's Day Weekend

Good morning! Again, I was going to have our weekend recap up yesterday, but that just didn't happen. Oh well!

We had a great Father's Day weekend! The weather was gorgeous and we had lots of fun things on the agenda.

Friday night I went to see Bridesmaids with a friend. It was hilarious and definitely a chick flick. Don't take the guys to go see it!

Saturday we had a birthday party to attend, then Saturday evening we took Brady to get his first sno cone! He loved it! He got orange, James got blue raspberry and I got Summer Breeze. In case you don't know, Summer Breeze is strawberry, peach and watermelon mixed together. My very first job was at a Sno Cone place called Country Cream. Those were the days!

Sunday we skipped church and spent the day together at Falls Park in Greenville. We picked up Subway for lunch and had a wonderful time just enjoying each other's company. I can't wait until Beckett is big enough to join in the fun!

I'm so thankful for my wonderful husband who is such an amazing father. Our boys are so blessed to have him in their lives! I love you!

A Fun Summer Weekend

Hello! I meant to get this post up yesterday, but life happened and the post didn't! :)

We had a great summer weekend. Friday night was VBS commencement. Our church did Pandamania and the kids had a blast. I have the greatest memories of VBS as a child and I'm glad my boys will, too. Even Beckett had fun this year!

Saturday was hair cut day for me and Brady, then we ran some errands that included Brady spending his birthday money at Toys R Us. That night he and I went on a Brady & Mommy Date to see Pirates of the Caribbean - On Stranger Tides. It was so good! Not what I was expecting, but so worth seeing. I was even impressed with Penelope Cruz as Blackbeard's daughter. I was very skeptical about her being cast at first

Sunday after church we went swimming with some dear friends of ours. Swimming, sun, popsicles and watermelon! It could not have been a more perfect afternoon.

Have a great week y'all!

Hello!

Hello everyone! Everyone that is still reading these days, that is. Sorry the blog’s been pretty boring, but we’ve been super busy lately. Here are a few things that happened…………


I had a great Girl’s Weekend with Jayne and Jeannine at Jayne’s house in NC. Lots of eating and shopping and girl talk. Where did the pictures go?


We had snow! We got between 4 and 5 inches of snow on March 1st. I know, it’s crazy! Brady was out of school for two days.

We went to Return to the Green, an Irish festival in downtown. Don’t you love how we’re all color-coordinated in green?

And we wore our pj’s to Brusters Ice Cream to celebrate Pajama Day and get our free waffle cones. Brady’s was as big as his head!

Hitting the Road

Happy Thursday! We had some rough weather last night. It started pouring right after we got home from church. Seriously, I haven’t seen rain like that in a long time! But today it’s gorgeous. It’s like the world is sparkling out there.

I’m very excited because I have a girl’s weekend coming up! I’m taking off work tomorrow and hitting the road to my friend’s house in NC. She invited myself and another friend of ours up for the weekend. We’ve got lots of shopping and eating and relaxing planned. Personally, I’m most looking forward to eating a meal that doesn’t involve wiping ketchup off of someone’s face or begging someone to drink their milk. It’s funny how your definition of a relaxing weekend changes once you have kids, isn’t it? I mean, I love Brady more than life itself, but a mom needs a few days away once in a while.

Well, yesterday was a big day. I finally let one of my real-life friends know about my blog. I’m sure she’s gotten a lot of enjoyment out of reading all of my random thoughts. Unfortunately, I think she is now totally convinced that DH and I are total crazy people! So it begins……………….

Y’all have a great weekend and I’ll think about you while I’m in Sephora over the weekend. Or not!

A little bit of this and a little bit of that

Hello Blog Land! I know, I just can't leave my blog design alone, can I? Well, I love this one so much that I'm not planning on changing it again soon.

Did everyone have a good Valentine’s Day? Here’s a picture of Brady opening his Batman toy. He was sooooo excited! I’m loving my new Vera Bradley billfold. It’s so bright and cheery when I pull it out of my purse.

Our Valentine’s party was awesome on Saturday night. We have the greatest group of friends. It’s been a while since I’ve laughed that hard. We all learned a lot about each other that night! I’ll forever wonder now if I truly have enough mirrors in my house. You just had to be there! And Brady and Vivian got to spend their first Valentine’s Day together, too.

We’re having revival this week at church. To keep Brady from being out each night, DH and I have been alternating attending. Last night was my turn to go. It was so good and so nice to get out and get refreshed during the week.

So this weekend I’m going out of town. I’m so excited! Another friend and I are going up to a friend’s house in NC to have a fun-filled weekend of shopping and eating and girl talk. As I’m packing my bag and charging my cell phone, I’m also a little concerned. My DH and Brady are doing the grocery shopping this weekend. Now, back in the day, our idea of a fun Friday night was going grocery shopping together. Seriously. But as Brady has gotten older, it’s become easier for me to go out early on Saturday morning and get the shopping done. Plus I’ve really gotten into couponing and shopping the sales, so it’s almost become a science to me. I’ve got the shopping list made out, everything color-coded by store and corresponding coupons attached. I know DH will probably get everything on the list, but I’m still a little worried. I’m just imagining a grocery trip consisting of Hamburger Helper, sunflower seeds, fruit cups, Doritos and comic books. And coffee. My husband could survive six months on those items!

Happy Wednesday! Stay Dry!

T-Minus 3 Days

Someone pry the conversation hearts out of my hands!

So, Valentine’s Day is just around the corner. Is everyone ready? I spent Monday night working on the valentines Brady will take to Awanas with him tonight. They’re getting Spiderman valentines. Last night I did the goody bags and valentines for his class party at school on Friday. These are a variety of Incredible Hulk, Spiderman and Iron Man valentines. One of the great things about having children is all the fun stuff you get to do for the different holidays. I’m loving it!

Brady is getting a Batman toy and a book about sharks for his Valentine’s gift. DH bought a bunch of comic books at a sale a few weeks ago, so that is his gift. I’m getting a Vera Bradley zip-around wallet in Raspberry Fizz. J I’ve been needing a new one for ages, considering the one that I have now is at least 6 years old and probably older. My Fossil wallet served me well, but she needs to be retired now.

Saturday night we’re having a bunch of friends over for dinner. All of us have small children and we don’t really go out on Valentine’s Day anymore, so I thought it would be fun to have everyone over and just make a party out of it. I’m serving lasagna, salad and garlic bread, plus German chocolate cupcakes and red velvet cupcakes for dessert! My friend is bringing fruit for the lactose-intolerant/gluten-free friends that we have. J
So what are you doing on February 14th?

He's Just Not That Into You

Good morning! Sorry I haven’t been on here lately. I’ve been suffering from writer’s block. I mean, we’ve been super busy and lots of things have been going on, but just nothing I felt like blogging about.

But here are a few things to keep you reading……………

I went to see “He’s Just Not That Into You” with the girls on Sunday afternoon. Honestly, I wasn’t too excited about this. I hadn’t read the book and it just didn’t grab me, but everyone else wanted to see it and there’s nothing like a little peer pressure to get you to fork over $7 for a matinee you aren’t even sure you want to see. But it was adorable and I’m so glad I went! J Cute, cute movie that makes me so happy that I’m married and no longer dating. And Ben Affleck is a gem in this movie. Love him.


DH and I went out Saturday for Date Night. We celebrated Valentine’s Day and our ten year anniversary of when we started dating. Ten years. Wow. We went to Trios restaurant downtown and had a great time.


The weather is giving me serious spring fever. 72F today and sunny! Just another reason to love living in the south.

Off to the dentist. Happy Tuesday!

Rolling right along..........

The verdict came in on DH – he had really bad case of strep throat. He got the shot (ouch!) and was feeling a little perkier by that evening. At least it wasn’t anything more serious than it was!

So we’re slowly on the road to recovery – finally!

Brady and I went shopping Sunday afternoon to give DH some quiet time at the house and I found the cutest Valentine’s shirt for him at Gymboree:

The good thing is that he can wear it long past Valentine’s Day because it’s not sappy sweet. He calls it his “mom shirt.”

I was sorting through his spring and summer clothes a few days ago and I’m so happy he’s at the point where he’s not growing out of everything each season. There are a lot of things I bought him at the end of last year, mostly for our trip to Boston, that will still fit him at least through the first part of the summer. Gap and Gymboree are both having big sales right now, so I’ll probably fill in the pieces with a few more items and then we’ll just have shoes and underwear and pj’s to get.

Oh, my new camera just arrived!

Finally Friday and a Big Boy Room

It’s finally Friday! I’m so looking forward to a relaxing weekend. February is a very busy month, so we’re going to be taking advantage of the calm before the storm.

Yesterday I mentioned that we’re getting ready to redo Brady’s room, making the transition from little boy to Big Boy.

As far as furniture goes, I’m hoping to find something that is good-quality and will last him from now through high school. So, about 15 years. Here’s a set I looked at when I went to Ashley Furniture yesterday:




We would be getting the bed, chest and nightstand. There’s a similar set at JC Penney, but I haven’t been able to see that one in person.

For bedding, there are a few different sets I’m looking at right now. I don’t want any character comforters or quilts. Sheets are fine because they’re ultimately hidden (if he makes his bed!)

This is the Junior Varsity bedding from Pottery Barn Kids. I love the classic colors that will work for anything.

This is the Woolrich Bear Bedding from Target. This is so cute in person and very good quality. You could do a whole outdoors/camping theme around this one.

And this is the Dr. Seuss Quilted bedding from Pottery Barn Kids. Brady isn’t huge on Dr. Seuss, but I love the bright colors on the quilt itself.

So, these are our options so far. The room is already painted a light yellow/cream color that we’re going to keep. Right now I’m leaning towards the Junior Varsity bedding because some of his current room accessories would blend with that really well, but I’ll let Brady make the ultimate decision.

Have a great weekend everyone!

You can truly celebrate anything!

Anything exciting happening around the world today? DH has a Guy’s Night Out to attend this evening. Our friend, Jason, is having a little “preventative procedure” done tomorrow morning, so the guys are giving him a nice send-off party tonight. Now I truly believe you can make a party out of any occasion! His wife and boys are coming to spend the evening with Brady and I, so it should be fun all the way around.


Not too much else is going on. I’m looking forward to a quiet weekend because the scheduled will start getting busy again next weekend. I think Brady and I are going to make some football cookies for the Super Bowl and I need to finish cleaning out and organized the spare bedroom.

We’re cleaning out the spare bedroom because eventually (hopefully soon) we’ll be moving Brady into that bedroom. It’s larger than his current room and we’re getting him new furniture soon, so he’ll need the extra space. I’m a little behind on doing his “Big Boy Room,” so I need to get on the ball. I’ll be posting some pictures soon of what I’m thinking about doing. I’m trying to come up with a classic, fun look that will easily grow with him. Any suggestions?

Happy Thursday!

Entertaining Journals and More

We're having a little Valentine's get-together with our close group of friends on Valentine's Day. I love planning parties, as you know, so I'm excited that everyone can make it. The menu will be:
- Lasagna
- Salad
- Bread
- Cupcakes (chocolate, red velvet and coconut)

I'm keeping it super simple. In the past I've made the mistake of making things so complicated that I don't even enjoy the event. No more! This is going to be fun! We're also doing a batch of chili for our two friends who can't eat dairy, gluten or anything else fun. Frances and Mike, I'm talking to you!

My friend, Jennifer, mentioned the other day that she keeps an entertaining journal. Just a little notebook where she writes down her parties and get-togethers, the menu, who came, etc. I love this idea and I'm starting one right now! Hobby Lobby has cute notebooks for $2, so I'm going to get one and get started. Enjoy the rainy, windy weather!

Back in the swing of things

Good morning! How’s everyone doing today? Well, two out of the three of us are healthy this morning. DH’s been in bed, sick, all weekend. He went to work today, but I doubt he stays the entire time. Oh well – at least there are only three of us, so this thing can’t go any further.

Except for the crud, it was a good weekend. I spent most of my time keeping Brady busy and away from DH so he could get some rest. We did some running around, played lots of Little Einstein’s Bingo and went to church yesterday morning.

So this week things are back to normal (mostly). I’ve felt like I’ve been disconnected from society for the last week, so I’m ready to get back into things. I was able to get a lot of housework done this weekend, so at least the house is clean! Now maybe I can get back to my cooking and baking and whatnot. My boys have been lacking in the baked goods department for the past week! I have a Starbucks night tomorrow night (pending DH’s health), church on Wednesday, DH has a guy’s night Thursday night, etc.

Have a great week!
Serah

Fresh Farm Style

Let me tell you about one of my new, very favorite blogs – Warm Pie, Happy Home! Ruthann lives in the Ozark hills of Missouri and her blog is absolutely perfect! She just sums up how I feel about so many different things, especially the joys of home and family and that cozy, country feeling that I think we all long for in one way or another.

You may not be able to tell it from my blog, but I would love to be a farm wife (as long as I was within 10 minutes of a 24-hour Walgreens!), wearing an apron and baking fresh bread every day. I think I’ve mentioned before that Little House on the Prairie is one of my favorite series and “Farmer Boy” is actually my favorite book from it. I love reading about a year in the life of Almanzo’s family, living on their farm in Upstate New York.

We may not be butchering hogs or digging potatoes, but we can take so many of their traditions and activities and just the simpleness of their lives and apply it to our own.

So go read Warm Pie, Happy Home! She has a great post about Fresh Farm Style for you to read. It will make your day!

Bride Wars and PJ Pants

Tuesday night some girlfriends and I went to see Bride Wars with Kate Hudson and Anne Hathaway. Well, we weren’t exactly with Kate and Anne, but I’m sure they would have had fun with us!

Cute, cute movie! A definite chick flick and thoroughly enjoyable. I know some of the media reviews haven’t been the best, but we all know those don’t necessarily mean anything.

We’re already making plans to go see “He’s Just Not That Into You” in February.


On a different note, Brady is wearing his puppy pajama shorts underneath his corduroy pants today. He just wanted to wear the pajama shorts and nothing else to school, but that just wasn’t happening. So the compromise was to wear them under his pants. The lesson learned – choose your battles wisely!

Happy Monday!

Good morning! I hope everyone had a lovely weekend!

We had a lot going on, particularly Brady. He got to make his first trip here:


I really thought he would pick out the T-Rex, but he went with a black bear instead. I guess because I kept saying we were going to “Build a Bear,” he thought he should get bear. It’s sporting a soccer uniform and he named it Captain Jack.

He also had a birthday party Saturday afternoon at Monkey Joe’s. This was our first trip to MJ and I was utterly unimpressed. We’ve been to three parties at Pump It Up (including Brady’s this past year) and it’s so much nicer, mostly because you have the arena to yourself. At MJ’s, it’s open to the public at the same time. It was just out of control. The kids had fun and the party was nice, but I could definitely pass on a return trip.

My big score for the weekend was a Martha Stewart bedding set at Macy’s. We’ve been looking for a new bedding set since ours is about 8 years old and we went in Macy’s while we were at the mall on Saturday. They were having a big sale and while the bedding I originally wanted was out of stock, we found another set that works great. The killer? It was originally $500 for the set – comforter, bedskirt, regular shams, euro shams, sheet set, two decorative pillows and curtains. It was huge! The price was marked down to $99 and when I scanned it, it was marked down even more to $49. Plus I had a gift card, so total out-of-pocket? $0! I tried to find a picture online, but it’s not available. Anyway, our bedroom has been totally transformed and I love it!Have a wonderful weekend! Tomorrow I’ll have a review of the Golden Globes!

2009

Welcome to 2009! Did everyone have a good New Year’s Eve? We went to our friend’s party and were home by 10:30pm. They have a dog and my allergies were really bothering me, so I took allergy medicine as soon as I got home and was asleep by 11:15pm. We’re such the party animals, aren’t we?

What does everyone have planned for the New Year? I’m doing goals more than resolutions this year. I’m still working on them, so I’ll post them whenever I’m finished. We do have some plans for this year that I can go ahead and share.

Brady will be starting swimming lessons in February. I hope to take some myself later in the year. Yes, you would be right to assume that I cannot swim. My husband doesn’t understand how someone who is 28 years old cannot swim, but he just doesn’t understand my family. We weren’t big water people. We went to the beach in December, for crying out loud!

My girlfriends and I are planning a girl's weekend in early April. We're thinking either Charleston or Savannah. I've never been to either, so I'll be excited no matter where we go!

We’re hoping to take a trip to Disney World in May. You can’t even imagine how excited I am to take Brady and see it all through his eyes. We’ve already promised him breakfast with Mickey and a thousand other fun things. I’m hoping to book the trip next week.

And one other big plan that I can’t quite bring myself to share yet. But if it happens, you’ll know! Any guesses?

Have a wonderful weekend!

Happy New Year!

Only a few more hours until 2009! I’ll be honest that New Year’s Eve has never been one of my favorite holidays, but I love the promise of a new year and a fresh start. I know, you can start fresh any day of the year, but a new year makes it very inspiring.

I wanted to do a “year in review,” but I just don’t have that much time right now. Maybe on Friday. I’ll also be doing a “year in preview” post.

I hope everyone has a truly wonderful 2009! It's been an amazing 2008, that's for sure. We have many hopes and dreams for our year ahead and I can't wait to see what God has in store for us.

See you Friday!