My Day Friday!

Yay! It's finally Friday.  Actually since I've been staying at home the past 2 years time has FLOWN by.  Sometimes I get to Friday and think...dang...wasn't it JUUUUUST Friday, like yesterday?  Crazy I know, but true.  Today I'm linking up to Kathlyn's link up party featuring us bloggers that are willing to show `2are smiling faces every Friday.  Today I wanted to share this picture.

This is me on our honeymoon in June of 2007.  We honeymooned in Savannah, GA and Wilmington, VA.  This was at a little train museum in Wilmington.  Oh how I wish I could go back to that week and relive it just one more time.  Heck, I'd just like to revisit Wilmington and the adorable little Front Street Inn where we stayed in the Georgia O'Keefe suite.  I think we need a 2nd honeymoon on our 5th anniversary! If you ever go to Wilmington, check out the Front Street Inn.  It's such a great little town to visit!  Very artsy and lots of little shops to visit (also about 30 minutes from the beach!).

I just kicked off my weekend by meeting with some sweet girlfriends for some coffee and catching up (in fact, Kathlyn is one of them).  I think time with your girlfriends is essential to a Mama's sanity! So have a great day and join us at the link up party HERE if you want!  Have a good weekend ya'll!

I Know My ABC's

I saw this little blog survey on the Girl Meets Life blog (great blog!) and I just had to join in.  Feel free to do this on your own blog and let us know a little more about YOU.  


A. Age: 29. I've only got a little more than a month in my 20's.  Boo!!

B. Bed size: KING.  Have you seen how long and gangly my husband is?

C. Chore you hate: Putting laundry away.  I'll wash it all day, but putting it away is mind numbing.

D. Dogs: LOVE.  I love all animals (yes, I love my two cats) really but I'm totally a dog person. 

How could you NOT love my little Olive?

E. Essential start to your day: Coffee.  At least 2 cups.  My husband ALWAYS brings me my first cup (unless he's still asleep from staying up w/ the baby).  He's the best husband ever.

F. Favorite color: Pink. 

G. Gold or silver: I love silver but lately I've been incorporating more gold.


H. Height: 5’3.

Look how much taller he is!  And he's leaning over!

I. Instruments you play: None really.  I took piano lessons when I was in elementary school and wanted to play guitar as a teenager but I play neither very well. Thankfully I have a very musically inclined husband who entertains and impresses me with his musical knowledge.

J. Job title: Stay at Home Mama to Rylie and Rowan Griffith (best. job. ever.)

I love my two little bosses.  This job is hard but it's the best!

K. Kids: My two are the cutest!  I love kids. I'm often more comfortable around kids than adults =)

L. Live: Georgia...I definitely a Georgia Peach =)  The Real Housewives of Atlanta do us NO justice.

M. Mom’s name: Kris. She's the best Mama ever!

My Mama and Rylie love their books.

N. Nicknames: Pril and my husband calls me Sweetheart...which I loooooove.

O. Overnight hospital stays: Twice. Only when I've had babies.

P. Pet peeve: People that don't use blinkers, people that let their kids run loose in stores and people that act fake...just to name a few.

Q. Quote from a movie: "The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love, and be loved in return." - Moulin Rouge.  LOVE that movie.

R. Right or left handed: rightie.

S. Siblings: Twin sister Amy.  She's the best sis a girl could ever hope for.

T. Time you wake up: Whenever Rowan wakes up.  Haven't you heard? He's the boss.

U. Underwear: Yes, I'm a fan of it.

V. Vegetables you dislike: Eggplant and Cauliflower. Yuck.

W. What makes you run late: My children.  I hate being late.  To Jason and I, you're late if you're on time.

X. X-Rays you’ve had: Pretty sure chest x-ray's when I was younger and x-ray's on my teeth are all I've had.

Y. Yummy food you make: I make all kinds of yummy foods.  Yesterday I used THIS recipe to make Apple Cake and it was amazing. SO easy too. You probably have all the ingredients for it right now.

Z. Zoo- favorite animal: Giraffes!!  I love them.

Getting Back in the Groove

By "groove" I mean the deliciously healthy lifestyle I'd worked so hard to get back into right before I got pregnant with Rowan.  Healthy isn't a diet, a phase or a project to me.  Healthy is a million tiny decisions you make every single day to be the best you that you can be...eventually they become habit and there you go, healthy lifestyle. When I was a teenager I wasn't healthy.  I ate like a teenager, but on on my frame and my metabolism it didn't look good.  When Amy and I were 21 or 22 we lost a lot of weight.  I lost 60 lbs with no magic pill or diet.  Working out and eating right.  At the rate that we lost it though it was hard to maintain.  I had NOTHING else do do besides go to college and workout and eat right.  I was a liiiiiitle crazy about it (seriously...I was skinny but CRAZY about what I ate and working out).  Amy and I loosened the reins a bit, fell into our healthy but not crazy lifestyle and then we both fell in love and got married.  When I got pregnant with Rylie I ate what I wanted and still gained a healthy amount of weight (around 25 lbs).  I lost almost all of it 2 weeks post partum and then over the course of her first year I gained 15 lbs back!  Just being in new Mom survival mode was hard for me.  I didn't make the right food and fitness choices and when she turned a year old I decided I wanted my healthy lifestyle back....4 months later I'd lost 20 lbs....then I got pregnant with Rowan.  This time I'm not waiting a year before I get my groove back.

I've had 6 weeks to cut myself a break and now it's time to get going.  I say all of this because I want you all to hold me accountable.  Ask me if I've worked out this week, poke and prod me for new healthy recipes, just keep reminding me.  Better yet, join me if you want and we'll take this journey together.  I'm trying to start with realistic expectations because I don't have time to workout for hours or the money to eat like a saint.  I'm not aiming for perfect, I'm aiming for healthy  =)  Here's my plan.

1. Drink more water!

I've got one of these Brita pitchers and I looooove it.  The taste of the water is delicious and I'm not wasting a million plastic water bottles.  I'm aiming for 8 cups of water a day (that's 4 fill-ups in my Tervis tumbler).  I ALWAYS have better numbers on the scale when I drink more water and this one habit is as easy as PIE.

2. Workout. Have a plan.

(source)

Long gone are the days that I can workout whenever the mood strikes me.  I need planning so that I can make sure they get done.  I'm starting out easy.  I'm going to commit to 2 weekdays (probably right when Jason gets home from work) and I'll tell Jason at the beginning of the week so he can write it down and one weekend day.  The 4th day will be a floating day and it'll be a long walk pulling Rylie in the wagon and wearing Rowan in the Baby Bjorn (weight resistance, right?).  That's a grand total of 4 days I'm committed to it and possibly more walks...especially if this beautiful weather continues.

3. Better food choices.

I will be the first to admit it.  I eat when I'm happy, when I'm sad, when I'm frustrated, when I'm in a hurry.  It's terrible.  The kids are both screaming during naptime? I deserve a cookie, right?  No...well not everytime at least  =)  For me, eating is the biggest part of being healthy...it's all the little choices.  Working out, you do it and it's done.  Food is a huge decision (because I LOVE food).  My focus is health.  I'm not into Lean Cuisines or 100-calorie packs.  Even if it's a few more calories...I'll choose the Lara Bar (less processed) over the Fiber One bar.  I'll choose the Greek yogurt over the Lite and Fit and I'll choose a Green Monster shake over  one of those Special K protien drinks.  The shorter the ingredient list the better.  I just know that if I focus on nutrient rich foods and not scrutinizing over each calorie...I'll do much better and feel less deprived (crazy!!).

So that's it. Nothing major.  I just want to slip back into making healthier choices because I know I'll feel SO much better.  So who is going to hold me to it? 

To Lighten the Mood I'm Joining the Link up Party!

I love blog link ups!  I've met some seriously fantastic friends through blogging and one thing is true.  We often hide behind our words and pictures of our kids (or crafts, or food that we're cooking).  It's not often that we post a picture of ourselves on our blog.  Most of the pictures I have of myself are done with the iphone, taken by myself.  I'm the photographer in most occasions so I have to photograph myself often if I want a picture to document I'm actually there.  This link up is all about showing off our mugs!

This picture most embodies me for now.  Technically there IS a kid in this pic, but most it's just me.  Rowan is a great baby, really laid back but what can I say? He likes to be near his Mama when he's awake. Most of the time since Rylie is around I need 2 hands to pick up after her or play with her or anything else she needs.  The Baby Bjorn has become my best friend.  This pic was taken on a walk for Rowan's first venture to the neighborhood park.

Join me in the link up party and post a picture of your pretty mug!!  Here is the original post from my friend Kathlyn and the link from my sister Amy's post!

My Sweet Boy Rowan...

Wednesday Jason, Rowan and I made a trek to Atlanta for a special appointment.  I've been a little reserved about talking about his appointment and possible condition until we had a diagnosis, but since we now have one I'm ready to talk about it.  To begin at the beginning.

Neurosurgery appointments? I'm a pro at them!

When Rowan was born he had a long-ish head.  Duh. This is really common with newborns unless they're planned c-section babies.  Besides his head looking a little long, he had a huge purple bruise on it and some sort of scab (supposedly this was from bumping up against my pubic bone...ouch, poor kid), so he generally just looked like he'd been on the losing end of a fight.  At Rowan's first appointment with the pediatrician we talked about the fact that his head may look this way because of a condition called craniosynostosis.  Wow...now that's a word.  Here is the definition:

Craniosynostosis is a congenital (present at birth) defect that causes one or more sutures on a baby's head to close earlier than normal. Sutures are connections that separate each individual skull bones. The early closing of a suture leads to an abnormally shaped head.


She consulted with a nuerosurgeon and reccomended that we make an appointment with him to examine Rowan further and possibly take some CT scans.  Fast forward about 5 weeks to Wednesday and our appointment with Dr. Reisner.  After looking at Rowan and feeling of his small soft spot he explained that he was 90% sure of Rowan's condition but wanted us to get a CT scan done on him and he'd call us in the next day and discuss. He told us that regardless of the scan he was pretty sure that surgery would be the solution, which I knew already because of my hours of research on Google and the information and help of my friend Karen whose son happens to have the exact same kind of craniosynostosis.

 Tiny hospital bracelet to get his CT

Rowan did SO good on our trip yesterday.  The kid slept the ENTIRE day, through the appointment, through the 2 hour wait for the CT, for the CT itself, all the way home.  Here 
are some pics of my boy getting his scan.

Yesterday when the doctor called he confirmed our suspicions, Rowan has Sagittal 
Craniosynostosis. To quote a medical website (they explain it better):


There are different types of craniosynostosis. Sagittal synostosis (scaphocephaly) is the most common type. It affects the main (sagittal) suture on the very top of the head. The early closing forces the head to grow long and narrow, instead of wide. Babies with this type of craniosynostosis tend to have a broad forehead. It is more common in boys than girls.


We discussed surgery options with the doctor and he said that he'd like to do surgery between 3-4 months.  He told me that if Rowan were his child that he'd do the first surgery option which will result in an S shaped scar under Rowan's hair (when he gets hair) but he won't need to wear a band or helmet afterwards to reshape his head (they'll do that during surgery).  The second surgery option would be endoscopic (less invasive) but require him to wear a helmet to reshape his head and bi-monthly visits to the doctor's office in Atlanta.  So we'll be scheduling his surgery soon.  His surgery will be far more major than Rylie's two outpatient surgeries have been.  He'll be at Scottish Rite hospital for a few days, he'll be swollen and all bandaged up but the doctor did assure me that this is a very routine procedure for them to perform.  As nervous as I am about having my tiny boy in the hospital for something like this I do feel confident in the doctor and I know this is what's best for Rowan.  The only lasting effects of this will be a wicked cool scar he can show off if he ever wants to shave his head and impress girls with a cool story.  I'll keep everyone posted as far as his surgery date and any news and if you have any questions about his surgery or condition, just ask.  Love all of ya'll!!

What Have I Been Up To?

In it's most simple terms...life.  Another busy week passed by at light speed. Rowan is 5 weeks old and he's becoming more and more awake.  What can I say?  He's been a pretty sleepy baby so far (at least during the day), but this week I've noticed more time awake, much more eyeball time.  Plus he's smiling AT me which is very exciting!

How sweet is this little smile?

I'm still adjusting to having Rylie plus one.  It's not much different...besides the lack of sleep and the acceptance that my house will never be as clean as I'd like for it to be.  No matter how much I clean up, when I sit down to feed Rowan, Rylie will do circles around the house pulling stuff off of the shelves.  Half the time she's just bringing toys or books to me to show me or ask me to play with her...but it creates a trail of junk all around this joint.  Oh well.  Right now I'm blogging with this little guy sitting ON me  =)

This week Rowan has been sleeping pretty well.  He seems to get up about 2 times a night.  As long as he goes right back to sleep we're good...only one night he seemed to want to be wide awake from 2-4.  The best thing is that Jason helps me by always taking the first night feeding.  This simple fact makes him amazing!  I don't feel so dead in the morning if he can do that.  Rylie has been more and more interested in Rowan lately.  Not so much that she tries to pick him up or anything...but I think she knows he's here to stay now.  Monday I even got a few Valentine pics of them.

 Haha

Sweet pea 

I love her!

I could take a million pics of my kids and it would never be enough. They aren't always the easiest subjects to shoot, but they sure are adorable!  I'm SO excited for Valentine's Day...not because of anything super spectacular but it's a holiday that I simply adore.  My Mom offered to watch the kids for us on Saturday night so we're going to The Black Cow!! I'm so excited.  Everybody I know in town seems to have gone already and RAVES about it.  A real dinner date with my ridiculously handsome husband is more than I could ask for...so I'm a happy girl.

Other than diapers, bottles, books, crayons, Yo Gabba Gabba and stickers (one of Rylie's new favorite things EVER) that's about all that's going on.  I do feel blessed that I made a few friends last year and they do help keep us busy too.  It's nice to know other Mama's close to your age and to get out of the house and just visit.  This week I got some friend time with our sweet friend Kathlyn and her little man Caleb.  We met up for coffee and she gifted us with this adorable shirt she made Rowan and a TOO cute hooded towel (no picture yet) that she made.  This girl is SO creative and tons of fun!

I also can't wait for Sunday, my sweet friend Jessi and her little man Caden are coming for dinner.  Jessi offered to watch our little ones while we went for a Valentine's dinner since her hubby is out of town, but since my Mom also offered we decided we just wanted to visit with them.  What should I cook?  I'm so glad that Jason worked with Jessi before she became a SAHM because she's such a great friend.

So that's about all for us.  Back to the land of reading books, coloring and taking care of my little man.  I hope ya'll have a good weekend, I'm sure we will.  Tomorrow Rylie and I have an appointment for her to see a speech therapist.  The girl can read or recognize well over 100 words but doesn't say that many, so we're going to see if we can get her talking a little more.  Speech therapy can't hurt...so I'm praying she'll give them the time of day, LOL. She's not too interested in strangers.  Say a prayer for us if you will?

Reading with her Mimi

This girl also LOVES to color!

So what are your plans for Valentine's day?  Or the weekend in general?  I think we'll be adding a walk to the park to our plans as well.  I hear it's supposed to be gorgeous outside.  Also, any dinner ideas? I want to cook something on Sunday night that's kid friendly but also super delicious!  Have a great weekend ya'll!

Valentine's Day Goodies!`

Hi there! It's the month of looooove.  If you know me, you know that I love Valentine's Day and with the big day nearly a week away I had to post about it. We always made it a fun day growing up.  My parents would have flowers and candy waiting for us downstairs when we woke up.  As I got older my Mom would still buy us (and still does) Valentine "happies" and my Dad would sometimes bring us roses!  The first Valentine's Day that Jason and I spent together was the first one I'd ever been IN love.  Yes, he was my very first (and only) love.  He went all out with gifts, cards, candy.  We even watched one of my all time favorite movies, You've Got Mail.  Since then he's done a great job with Valentine's Day.  It's a day to celebrate not only the one you're IN love with, but also the other ones you love.  Here are a few of my favorite Valentine "happies". Spread the love ya'll!

1. Optimism mug from The Peacock Shop on Etsy

I love being a "glass half full" kind of girl and this mug is SO me.  I think drinking coffee out of it every day would be a great start to any day!  Anything in this shop would be a great gift for V-day, my friend Kathlyn is SO creative, check out her other items too!

2. Black Heels to Tractor Wheels by Ree Drummond

I am a huge fan of The Pioneer Woman, Ree Drummond.  I love her blog, I love her cookbook and I just plain think she's the bee's knees.  She tells it like is and is humble despite the fact that each of her blog posts has about 40,000 comments on them.  Is that crazy or what?  This book is her novel and it's about how she went from city mouse to country mouse and fell in love in the process.  I'm SO excited to read it. I love myself a good love story.

3. Tiffany Notes Love Disc Charm

I love love love this necklace. I think it's perfect.  With this simple charm it says everything that needs to be said on Valentine's Day. I love you.  Three words that can change your life!  Plus, it's from Tiffany and Company.  What girl wouldn't swoon when they see that little blue box on Valentine's Day? Simple perfection.

4. Hot Pink Roses and Travis

Maybe I'm really cliche but I love pink roses.  Not a dusty pink.  HOT pink roses.  They make me happy.  Jason gave me pink roses when we'd been dating for 3 months and I always think back on that exciting day and can't help but to LOVE me some pink roses.  Also THIS song by Travis makes me think of flowers.  I listened to this song (Flowers in the Window) a million times when we were dating.  Love me some love songs and pink roses!

5. A Hot Date with the Man I Loooooove.

One of my favorite self portraits from our honeymoon

Nothing in the world beats face time with this man.  He's my best friend, my partner, my loooove.  I can't get enough of him folks.  We've been together nearly 5 years and I've yet to get sick of him.  There would be nothing better on Valentine's Day (or a day near and around there) than to have face time with him alone.   I'm hoping to try out one of two places for dinner that I've been dying to go to if we get someone to watch the kids (and we have had a very generous offer ).  Every single day I thank God for this man and I can't wait to have many many more Valentine's Days with him.

What are your favorite Valentine's memories or happies that YOU want for the day of love? I think today Rylie and I are going to go old school and make some V-Day cards for loved ones.  She is totally into coloring right now and Lord knows I need to be crafty  =)  I hope ya'll are having a great weekend and one last thing...

Happy 1 Month Birthday to Rowan!!

You make this life even more wonderful with your delicious cheeks!

A Trip to the Park

His shirt says it all  =)

Morning! It's just another day here at the Griffith household.  Rowan is napping (for now) and Rylie is running around from room to room as usual.  She plays in her room, runs to the kitchen and asks for stickers (she knows they're on top of the fridge), then she'll run into the living room and color at her little table and chairs and run back to her room to read some books.  LOL.  Repeat pretty much all day.  When Rowan's asleep and I'm not cleaning and working on the massive amounts of laundry we make, I go in her room and we play.  She's a huge fan lately of sitting ON you.  For some reason it thrills her soul to climb all over whoever is in her room.  We also read, of course, we read LOTS.  Every single day I'm amazed by how many words, colors, letter and numbers and shapes she recognizes.  Sometimes I ask her to find a word on a page (that honestly I feel sure she doesn't know) and she'll point to it and look at me like "you big dummy", don't YOU know that word too??  Tonight I'm excited because it's family dinner with my little family and Amy and I are cooking together.  Yay. She's my favorite person to cook with.

This weekend was so nice and mild outside.  I think it's just a tease because it's only February 1st, you know it's going to get colder at some point before spring makes it's appearance for good!  We took advantage of it and headed outside on Sunday to take the kids to the park.  We live about a block away from a school (and it's playground), so Amy and I loaded our boys in their carriers and my Mom kept a hand on Rylie as we all walked to the park.  

Wheeee! Swinging is so much fun!!

The boys totally slept through the trip to and from the park.  I know someday soon they'll be wanting to join in on all the fun  =)

The day before we were at the park my Dad came over after dinner just to spend time with Rylie.  This girl loves her Papa!  I think he just wanted her to be able to enjoy the nice weather outside.  They just walked around, played with a huge stick she found, checked out our huge back yard and I'm sure had some good Papa/Rylie conversation.  It was so cute that I had to take some pics of them from my spot inside (feeding the little man).  Aren't they the cutest?

I hope everyone is having a good week!  I'm feeling a mix of complete exhaustion and happiness and total contentment.  Every single day, in the midst of all the laundry, bottles, tears, giggles, stacks of books and buckets of diapers there are moments of pure joy.  I leave you with one from last night.  My amazing husband kissing on his Mini-Me.  Jason continues to amaze me everyday with what a fantastic Dad/Husband he is....and I'm crazy about the mini version of him, Rowan...aren't they adorable together?  have a great Tuesday ya'll!

**Just a note: Depending on your computer size, ect. the formatting of these pics may look off.  I just wanted to make them bigger for your (and my) viewing pleasure.  So just disregard how weird it may look in the template I'm using for my blog and just enjoy the pics.**