Lost and Found

Okay, I've debated about putting my actual weight on my blog because when you do the math you can see just how out of control I was with my eating. But when I really sat down and thought about it, I'm very proud of the weight I've lost and I want to shout it from the roof tops!!! As of last Thursday I've lost 15 lbs!!!! Can I get and AMEN!!! There it is in black and white! I would like to lose 15 more, so wish me luck. I hope to have a good week this week because I've got to get back on the exercise wagon starting tomorrow. I've had a two week vaca due to a stomach virus and last week having something to do and somewhere to go everyday. So, elliptical here I come!



That covers the "lost" part, now let me tell you what I've found. I went to get my nails done last week and this lady in there had the prettiest color with her. She bought it at Sally's Beauty Supply, so as you can guess I went and got some of my very on. It's hot pink but not shocking hot pink. It's called Model Colour by Finger Paints and I just love it! I painted Emily's nails with it and it even looks good on her. The best part is that it dries pretty fast, which is what you need if you've got kids. Just wanted to pass it along.




Okay, sorry about the puny little picture, but I wanted to show this other thing I found. I hate getting pedicures because I'm just flat out ticklish!!! Oh it drives me CRAZY! One time, I jokingly told the nail tech not to be offended if I kicked her in the face because it was just a reflex. Needless to say, she didn't think it was too funny, so that was the last pedi I've had (last year). I put all kinds of stuff on my feet to keep them from being dry, and I just haven't had any luck. Well, this stuff works!!!




It's called Heel to Toe (Feels Like New Foot Softener) and you can also find it at Sally's. It was only a $1.47 (cost more online, not real sure why)! When you compare that to a pedicure every month, that's a huge savings. I liberally put it on my feet and then put socks on and went to bed. When I woke up, my feet were like new!!! I hope this will help you out if you're ticklish like me or you just find it hard to work in a pedicure.

Later all!!

A Few Must Sees

Hey y'all! I hope you are having a good Saturday. It's pretty low key around here. We went to bed with rain and woke up to it also. We are suppose to have some severe weather around here later, but hopefully it will pass right over us. We're keeping our fingers crossed. With the weather like it is, there just isn't a lot to blog about. Chris and I took the girls to Cracker Barrel for breakfast and that was the highlight of the day, so I thought I would tell you about a few movies I want to see this summer.


1. The Last Song- If you are a Nicholas Sparks fan, this looks like a good one! We don't let Emily watch Hannah Montana(its just a little to old for her right now), but I have to admit that when the kids are in bed I watch it and laugh out loud. One day the girls were gone and I watched it nearly all afternoon. It looks like Miley Cyrus does a great job in the movie as well, so it is a definite must see. Now when I say "must see", it means I'm going to see it, but I may wait until this one is out on DVD.



2. Letters to Juliet- I've been looking forward to this one since I saw the first preview! My cousin Jenny and I already have a date to go see it. When I go to the movies its like an escape form life's stresses. I don't want to have to think to much about a movie and I definitely want to leave happy! This movie looks like one of those "happy" movies. It comes out May 14, so I'll let you know what I think.



3. The Back Up Plan- another "Chick Flick" and I'm okay with that! I loved Jennifer Lopez in The Wedding Planner (even bought the movie). The story line sounds a little strange, but it looks hilarious! And the hot guy is just an added bonus!! My friend Jamee has had a crush on Alex O'Loughlin for a long time, so you can guess who I'm going to see this movie with.




4. Eclipse- Okay, I held out for a long time on all this Twilight stuff. People would ask me if I'd read the books or seen the movies, and I would roll my eyes and say no. I would think, "It's about a bunch of vampires! What's so great about it?" Okay, well everything about it is great!! It's a wonderful love story and not scary at all which is a total plus. I hate scary! But I will say that when New Moon came out, a lot of my Facebook friends went to see the movie at midnight! Now, I wont' be doing that. I'll give it a couple of days or I might go see it on a week night, but since it's coming out in the summer I'm sure it'll be crowed then too! I'm totally ready!!! Maggie, are you?



Later all!! Have a good, safe weekend!

Busy Week

The past couple of days have been very busy for us. The day I have dreaded since they wheeled me through the hospital doors holding Emily in my arms has finally arrived. We registered Emily for "big school". Kindergarten is looming in the wings like a bad rash, but seriously what can you do about it? Just embrace it as the right of passage that it is (this is totally how I talk myself out of crying every time I think about it)!

Tuesday was spent mostly getting our things in order. We went to get Emily's shots. Let me just tell you, you couldn't pay me enough to give little kids shots!!! But with the help of our favorite nurse Joan, Emily did just fine.



Because Emily did so well with her shots, she got to pick supper. Cheese pizza...big shock there!



Wednesday, we went to register Em for school. I was excited to see so many of her preschool friends there. I hope she has some familiar faces in her room on her first day.

Shawna and Em


Today Emily had a dentist appointment that went wonderfully! She went back with the nurse all by herself and the best part.. NO CAVITIES!!! Gracie ran around like she owned the place. She went behind the counter and sat with the receptionist. They gave her balloons and all kinds of stuff. Now the rest of the afternoon was not as smooth. Not even close! Em had a STAGE 4 fit(stage 5 being the worst it can get) in Target and I'll spare you the rest of the gory details because it was bad. But we made it through and as they say..."the rest is history".

Oh yeah, I wanted to take the girls pictures in their new dresses before we got home. We have a Robert Trent Jones golf course close to where we live so I thought that would be a great place. When I stopped to scout out a location, I noticed a big pretty fountain in the middle of the front pond and all I could do is in envision myself trying to keep Gracie out of the water, so I decided on something different. Plus I didn't know how I was going to get a picture of them without the huge "No Trespassing" sign being in the shot, so we went down the road a little bit to a gift shop that my former high school teacher owns. She had a pretty iron bench on the porch and I thought it would workout fine. As you could see, Gracie was not having any of it. She was way overdue for a nap.



I just couldn't get the shots I wanted, so I decided to cut my losses. We'll try again soon.

We've made it to bedtime, so I think I might sit back and enjoy the quite.

Later all!

Pardon The Absence

Hello blogger friends! I hope all is treating you well. Life is much better for me! I just got over a stomach bug that was from the pit of H-E-DOUBLE HOCKEY STICKS!!!! I was out of commission for nearly a week. But after a trip to my mother's house to recoup (wanted to give Chris a break) I feel much better. I want to thank my parents for letting me come back home, although I was sick, it was sure nice to be there. I want to thank Chris for putting up with me at the beginning of the week and taking such good care of me and the girls. And also my mother-in-law for helping with the girls! And she was the real winner! She caught the same bug we had, but we all are doing MUCH better.

It was so nice to be back to a normal routine today. Em went to school and Gracie and I played and did house work. While G was asleep, Emily and I played and played and played. We also fit a little time in for Em to have a pedi.



Sweet feet!



Little Miss Gracie has not been in the best of moods lately! Not sure what the problem is, but if I leave or act like I'm leaving the room, she has a total meltdown. Most of the time I was sick, I was holding her. Her favorite things to say now are: Yeah, Okay, and I don't want to! Man, it seems so early for "I don't want to"! But never the less, it's here.

Gettin' tired of the whole picture thing.

Gracie didn't want anything to do with Emily sitting next to her. She scooted all over the bench trying to get away form her.

We had the best day today and are looking forward to a busy week! I hope all of you had a good weekend. Later!

We Made It!

Yesterday, my mother and I had a day of sewing planned. I wanted to make Emily a few outfits for the summer and an outfit for her to wear to Alabama's A-Day game. Please don't think I'm leaving Gracie out. She has plenty to wear....too much actually, so it was all about Emily yesterday.

My Mother is the one with all the talent! I can do basic sewing, but Mother was going to teach me a few things yesterday. She did all the cutting of the fabric (whew!) and appliqueing. I sewed all the seams. She was going to teach me how to make a buttonhole but our day got cut short, and we only got to one outfit. My in-laws had the girls and they called and said Gracie wasn't feeling well, so I had to pick her up early. I'm so glad I did! Poor Gracie was pitiful. So, Mother finished the buttonholes on the top and and the hem on Em's bloomer, then she brought it up to the house last night.

This is us in action.






The finished product!

Mother thinks the top is too long, but honestly I think it's all perfect because it was made with love. Corny I know, but the truth. I can't wait to show you all the other things we make.

Bathing Beauties

We started our day out with the breakfast of champions! I had egg whites and peanut butter toast and Gracie had a cupcake.



Then we headed outside for a photo shoot. I found an old outfit of Emmy's that I had totally forgotten about. It looked so cute on Gracie. I'm thinking we may need a different color bow though.

On the way home from picking up Emily, we rode around the neighborhood with Emily hanging out the sunroof of the car. Don't worry, I only went 5 miles an hour.

Future Miss Alabama!

It was down right hot today, so the girls and I ran to Dollar General and grabbed a sprinkler. Gracie wasn't too sure about it at first, but she warmed up to the idea after awhile.

I'm glad Emily can't read because I hate this bathing suit and she totally loves it. Yes, I bought it, but I never thought it would be her "go to " bathing suit. But despite the suit, I still think she looks cute.

I hope the weather is as beautiful tomorrow as it has been today! And please let it be that way on Thursday!

Easter Sunday

After church Sunday we ran up to my in-laws house to take a few Easter pictures. I'm so glad because we didn't have any time before we left to snap any pictures in our Easter best.

Sophie Clare



Emmy

Boy, the girls looked thrilled don't they.

Maggie, Jamie and Sophie Clare

The girls with Grandmother and Pop

After we changed clothes Emily wanted to show me the baby chickens.

We had lunch at Chris' grandmother's house. I'm not sure what was wrong with Em, but she obviously wasn't happy.

Short and to the point! Hope y'all had a Happy Easter.

New Again!

I hope you remember that on this Easter Sunday that He's Alive.....and that all things are new again!

Have a safe and happy Easter!

Gettin' Ready for Easter

As usual I'm up to the last minute getting the girl's things ready for Easter. Thursday, Mother was going to show me how to hem Emily's Easter dress (I know it's probably the simplest thing in the world but I wanted Mother watching me to make sure I had it perfect). Well, let me just tell you, it's near impossible to sew with kids around. The girls were having none of me sitting still, so mother ended up doing it all. Oh well, maybe next time.






My Mom has all her sewing things "just so". But after Gracie got finished with the embroidery thread, it may take mother awhile to find what she's looking for.



Friday night, Chris and I went on a date. We had such a good time. After almost nine years of marriage he still makes me laugh! As long as I'm not having to pick up after him...things are great!



The one thing that trumps getting flowers from your husband is getting flowers from your daughter. Emily picked these for me at her grandmother's house. I just love them!

Today, we went down to Mother and Daddy's to celebrate Easter. My brother Jeff and his friend Eric came by to show us what they had been doing all day.

Emily helped Mother and I get supper on the table. I hope she still enjoys helping the kitchen when she gets older!

I know this window doesn't seem like much more than just a window. But today as I was washing dishes I thought of all the times I stood at that window looking out over the backyard thinking about things. (and onetime I watched a dog run off with our Christmas ham, but that's a story for another day) And today I watched as MY girls ran and played in the backyard! I'm so thankful for the life God has given me.

Of course, after we finished eating we had to hunt eggs.

Me and my brother. Hey big brother....where'd all that grey hair come from? Just kidding!

Well, a fun time was had by all! Now I just pray we get a good nights rest!