The Eternal Optimist Mama

Happy Love Day + lots of pictures.

2012-02-14T08:19:00.000-05:00

Happy Valentine's Day! This day may seem cheesy to some, but I love Valentine's Day! I think of it as a day to celebrate all the people you love SO much. Some may think the day is just commercialized to sell chocolate and some may think it's sappy, but I love chocolate and all things sappy, so I love this day =) This morning, inspired by my friend Kelly, I think I'll make the kids some pink heart pancakes. She also made pink milk, but I think the colored milk will lose it's cool factor in a sippy cup. These are the goody bags awaiting my 2 love bugs this morning.

Just a little happy for them. It's amazing how happy you can make 2 little kids by shopping out of the Target $1 bin. Haha. The lollipops with capes are from their cousin Elliot!

I thought I'd take a few minutes and share a few pictures from last week/weekend. Our life in pictures is what the blog should be called!

Earlier in the week I attempted to use the Easy Button on the kids. You know those days when they can be whiny and into everything? It was one of those days. For future reference, this stupid button only mocked me by telling me "That was easy!". Haha

I loved this sweet picture I took of Rylie and her sweet language pathologist Lindsay. I cannot say enough about how wonderful Lindsay is with Rylie and how fun it is to watch Rylie work SO hard for her. Rylie is definitely making progress with her speech, slowly but surely.

You walk out of the room for a minute and what does this little guy do? He looks like he tried to do the tango with the vacuum cord here. What a little stinker.

On Saturday my sweet friend Kathlyn and her little family came up for a visit. They moved to Dothan a few months ago and we've been missing them so much. In a few months they will meet their new addition and I cannot wait to find out if it's a boy or girl. My guess is girl! Jessi and Caden came over too and we had homemade pizzas and lots of great conversation. My time with these ladies is precious!

I had to share the cute items from her shop that Kathlyn brought me in exchange for some baby items. Are these not THE cutest???

Saturday night my awesome parents came and stayed at the house so that Jason and I could go out for some shopping, coffee and then a late viewing of Star Wars Episode 1 in 3D!! We had SO much fun together. I never saw the first episode in the theater, so I was thrilled. I cannot express how blessed I am that THIS man, no other, is MY husband. We got home at 1am (my parents rock for staying that long).

This picture perfectly sums up our Sunday morning. We all slept in until 9am and this is Rowan being goofy while Jason plays us some jazz. It was so lovely.

Finally, just for my own reference, or to anyone interested, here is how I did on running this week. I amped up the frequency of my runs and I can really feel my endurance getting better. It's weird to say, but I actually look forward to running now. I crave it. Words I never thought I'd type. Hopefully I'll get better and better before my 5k in April. I ran 4 times and covered almost 14 miles!

Well, I hope ya'll have a wonderful Valentine's Day! Love and hugs and LOTS of chocolate! So, what did ya'll get for Valentine's Day? Or how did you spend it with someone that you love?

7 Things - What Have I Been Up To?

2012-02-07T08:14:00.000-05:00

Hi friends! I know it's been awhile since I blogged and I miss it! Instead of a lengthy post on what we've been up to I thought a I'd post a fun 7 things blog to get back into the swing of things. I hope to be back to posting regularly, finally!

7 Things - What I've Been Up To

1. We moved!
We didn't move out of state or out of city, but we moved across town and we LOVE our house. More room, an awesome neighborhood and a great school (in walking distance) and we were sold! Moving to this house meant that Jason got his own office and I got a playroom for the kids. Every single day we've been here we both say "I love this house".

The new place we call home.

2. Halloween/Thanksgiving/Christmas was a BLUR.
I love holidays with 2 little kids but wow they went by SO fast this year, especially since we moved the week after Thanksgiving. I'm really looking forward to Valentine's Day and a HUGE National Holiday coming up a month from yesterday, my handsome husband turns the big 4-0! Here are a few pics of holiday blur.

At the pumpkin patch with the family

Trick or treating with Wonder Woman and Superman

Rylie and Mimi on Thanksgiving

Jason and Rowan on Thanksgiving

Rylie telling Santa what she wanted for Christmas (a baseball and baseball bat).

Christmas morning madness

3. Downton Abbey
I kept hearing about this cool show on PBS via Twitter and I just was not interested. One day I was scanning Netflix and saw it and thought I'd give it a whirl. SOLD. Jason and I (and his Mama while she was here) have devoured this show. If you're not watching this show I seriously suggest you check it out, and while you're at it have some tea and a biscuit (we do when we watch the show).

4. Getting in a workout groove.
Moving and Christmas totally messed up the workout groove I was in. Once one week, 4 times the next week, it's NOT cutting it for me. This week I planned my workouts on the calendar, made Jason aware of it (he's the most awesome support ever) and yesterday morning I actually got up and workout after a cup of coffee. The added pressure of know I'm going to run the ZOOMA 5k in April kicks my booty to make sure I get my weekly schedule runs in too. So now, who else wants to run the 5k with Amy and I?? You know you want to!

My thoughts exactly.

5. Planning and executing a Very Hungry Caterpillar Birthday for the kids.
Here is where I thank Pinterest for all of the amazing ideas I got for Rylie and Rowan's birthday party. We had SO much fun with our friends and family too, and that was the BEST part. Excuse all the pics I post about this one. I was quite proud of some of my crafted decorations =)

How is he one already?

Antennas for the kids (or adults) to wear.

Favor bags!

Awesome cupcakes and smash cake!

Hungry Caterpillar food for our guests.

Banner of the food the caterpillar ate on Saturday (that gave him a tummy ache).

My 3 year old!

My Aunt Pam, Rowan and Mimi under the lantern caterpillar.

6. Jason and I said Peace Out to certain foods.
On a whim Jason and I decided to give up beef, pork and chicken and we haven't missed it yet! We've been talking about this for years and just finally gave away all the meat products and we feel great! For now we're still eating fish a few times a week but I think it's so much fun planning vegetarian menus. I keep waiting to miss hamburgers but for now I just don't. If you have any favorite vegetarian recipes send them our way!

7. Missing my blog
Life has been so busy. Rowan is walking all over the place and WOW are boys different than girls. He is a lover (cuddly and kissy) but he is SO busy. Rylie no longer takes a nap and Rowan is quickly approaching a 1 a day nap schedule, so finding time is difficult but blogging makes me happy. Even if only for my record and no one reads, this makes me happy so I have to make time for it. So, the bigger question is this, what have YA'LL been up to?

Photography Challenge Week 5

2011-08-26T10:34:00.000-04:00

Doesn't go with the assignment, but I LOVE this shot...makes me smile.

Hi friends! I hope you had a great week. We stay busy here at the Griffith household, even when we really don't have much going on. This week I've been thinking so much about expectations. I had very finite expectations of what I thought motherhood would be like, what my kids would be like and how we'd all behave as a family. Well I've been a mother for almost 3 years now and I've realized that being that rigid in my expectations only sets me up for disappointment. We've taken a few hits in the medical department. Rylie has had 2 surgeries and Rowan had one at just 3 months old...I did not expect that. Rylie is SO smart and unique in her own way, but she doesn't say much...I didn't expect that. Having two little kids isn't twice as hard as having one, it's 10x harder....I didn't expect that. I think I'm still learning to adjust my expectations and enjoy the wonderful and surprisingly beautiful parts of motherhood. My children are SUCH tiny blessings to our family, unique and beautiful just the way God made them. I can't wait to see all the many ways that they continue to surprise me and teach me more about life.

With that I leave you with my two shots this week for my photography assignment. This week it's to take a shot from a high angle. I captured my babes in a rare moment of quiet playtime together.

They put the color inside of my world.

It's hard to put into words the joy that this boy brings into our lives.

I'm linking up with the other bloggers doing the photography challenge HERE. Check them out and let me know you favorite ones! Have a great weekend ya'll!

Photography Challenge Week 4

2011-08-19T11:22:00.000-04:00

Hi friends! How has your week been? We're still getting used to our new school-time schedule here. Rylie is loving school much more. Both drop off and pick ups this week have been full of smiles and good reports. I'm still doing the Weight Watchers thing and I am losing weight! Yay! WW isn't something I'll do forever, but it's definitely helped me remember what proper portions look like, strive to get my fruit and veggies in and I still love meetings. Which leads me to this week's photo assignment: Dinner!

This week I cooked several Weight Watcher's friendly dinners and this was one of them, Pizza Puffs. I got the recipe from Loser for Life. Pizza Puffs are delicious dipped in marinara sauce with a big side salad. It's a great way to get the taste of pizza without all the fat. I'm thinking of making mini muffin sizes to put in Rylie's lunchbox next week. The original recipe can be found HERE.

I love to do all my prep for recipes before I even get started mixing!

Delicious and healthy!

Ok, I'm linking up to the photography assignment HERE. Click on over to get more ideas for dinner! Have a great weekend friends.

Photography Challenge Weeks 2 & 3

2011-08-11T11:25:00.000-04:00

Hi friends! I'm back to the Photography Challenge this week with my submissions for the second and third assignments. I combined this one to save time. Don't you like how I'm cool like that ;)

This week I happened to capture both in these shots of Rylie on her first day of preschool for 2011. When she smiles it makes ME smile, and the colors happened to be beautiful and bold! My Mama got this beautiful handmade dress downtown at the Market Days from a vendor. I wish that I could sew because I'd make a million of these little dresses!

My girl loves to smell flowers!

As for school, it went ok. I left her smiling and arrived to pick her up to her smiling but was informed that there were a fair amount of tears today. She hasn't been to school in over 2 months, so I expected a report like this, but still never fun to hear. I hope that Friday goes better, heaven knows she couldn't have looked cuter =) Any tips for making the transition back to school easier?

Linking up to this week's challenge HERE! It's never too late to join the photography challenge with me!

What Motivates YOU?

2011-08-05T10:10:00.000-04:00

Hi friends! I hope ya'll are having a good week. We're winding down our summer routine here at the Griffith household because in less than a week Rylie will be back in school for the year. Yes she's 2, but she goes to such a great preschool 2 days a week. It's good though because on Wednesday's and Friday's I'll get 4 hours alone with my little man Rowan! So, onto talking about our health!

The sunrise sky on my way out of the gym this morning!

This is definitely a perk of early workouts!

This week I've been doing some thinking on what motivates me. I came up with the three main ways that I stay motivated to be healthy, workout and eat well. I hope you'll give your thoughts on my motivators and share YOUR motivators.

1. Friends and Family

Two of my biggest motivators, Jason and Amy!

This one is SO important. Jason is my biggest fan and helps me so much. He makes sure I get to the gym 3 mornings a week, he's on board with anything healthy I want to cook, he agrees not to buy junky food and bring it in the house. He pushes me when I need pushing and holds me up when I want to stop. My sister is also a huge help. Amy is my workout buddy. We may not always workout together, but we're always asking about workouts and comparing. Maybe it's twin competition? Then there are my friends on Twitter who give me virtual pats on the back and high fives for busting my booty at the gym too. Every little bit helps! If you don't have a good support system in this area, create one! Amy and I just joined Weight Watchers meetings this week to kick up our efforts and I had so much fun at the meeting. It only took 40 minutes out of my day and I felt inspired, motivated and hopeful. Who is your support system?

2. Blogs!

(source)

My Google Reader is full of healthy living blogs and I read them at any chance I get. I have far too many to list them all but a few of my favorites are Healthy Tipping Point, Kath Eats Real Food, The Fitnessista, Carrots n Cake and Food Fitness Fashion. All of these gals have such a healthy and real perspective on food and fitness. I love reading the blogs to get ideas, feel motivated, set a new fitness goal or even identify with their struggles. Check them out and I bet you'll feel motivate too. Do you read any healthy blogs? If so, what are they?

3. Inspiration Board

Inspiration Board on my fridge.

This is a new one to me and I just made this last week. I've started going on Pinterest and printing motivational quotes and putting them on the fridge (or wherever I can find). Jason really loves when I do this. They aren't meant to guilt you into making a healthy choice or make you feel bad (so that's why I have no pictures of Jillian Michaels abs on there), they're meant to inspire and lift you up. Try hanging up some inspiration and see if it helps.

Another motivational message on our fridge!

Now I'm off to get us ready to meet Rylie's teacher for this school year. I finally found my camera battery charger too, so stay tuned for my (late) contribution to this week's photography challenge. Better late than never, right? Have a great Friday!

Challenges

2011-07-29T09:55:00.000-04:00

Blah. That's been my opinion on almost everything lately. Parenting two small kids, blah. Working out like mad and not losing a SINGLE pound, blah. Crazy hot weather in the deep south, blah. The biggest problem with feeling blah about everything is that it affects my little family, and that' NO good. Yes, yes, I'm supposedly the "eternal optimist Mama" but lately I've been nothing like it and it's time for a change. My hope is that by just putting it out there I'll be ready to change it. I feel blah about life even though life is pretty darn great right now. Ahhh. Just saying it makes me feel better. Now it's time to flip my attitude. Any suggestions on how?? The first step I'm taking is to start something new and go back to something I love, taking pictures. I'm participating in a 20-Week Photography Challenge over at A Step in the Journey .

Week 1: Self Portrait

A little goofy but here it is. I have misplaced my good camera battery, but will find it by next week for a better quality pic.

I think this sounds like SO much fun and I hope you'll join in! If you decide to do week one you an link up HERE with everyone else participating. When I take pictures I feel like ME (not the red-headed monster I can turn into sometimes). What makes YOU feel like YOU?

Health, Fitness and BBQ Chicken Pizza

2011-07-25T16:08:00.000-04:00

Cutest. Picture. Ever.

Hi friends! How was your weekend? Ours flew by (as usual). Sometimes I feel like all we do is clean this house. It never looks like we do, but we do. I heard someone once compare cleaning your house while you have kids to shoveling snow during a blizzard. SO true. Who is with me?

In my last post I mentioned writing a few healthy living post. I love all things health and wellness related. I'm no fitness model but I do love reading and learning about every aspect of healthy living. Its hard when you have 2 small kids at home to not want to eat all of their goldfish crackers or put your feet up while they nap instead of spending time on the treadmill. I have really enjoyed making an effort to workout lately though. I do RPM (spin) class Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings at 6am and I LOVE it. It's so intense but the music is fun and I feel so accomplished by 7am. I also run 2 non-RPM days a week. Despite working out 5 days a week and drinking tons of water I'm still not losing weight. I feel slimmer and more toned, but the scale isn't budging so I've returned to sparkpeople.com Sparkpeople is a great website that helps you track what you're eating (and much more) for FREE. I have a phone app too (also free) and it's SO simple to add up what I'm eating. The only thing I can figure is that I just need to reign in the goldfish and weekends full of cupcakes and pies (I'm not kidding). What do you do, besides working out, that helps you melt the pounds off? I'm up for trying it!

Now I leave you with one of my favorite healthy recipes. This is a recipe Amy and I adapted from a Cooking Light recipe years ago. It's always a crowd pleaser and it's so much better for you than ordering Domino's. I promise!

BBQ Chicken Pizza

1 small can tomato sauce
3/4 cup (or so) BBQ Sauce, I use Sweet Baby Ray's spicy flavor
salt, pepper, garlic powder
1-1.5 cups grilled, diced chicken breasts
cherry tomatoes, quartered
3 green onions, chopped
1 cup shredded cheese (we like Cabot's light cheese)
1 whole wheat pizza crust or fresh pizza dough (publix has them for less than $2)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Mix tomato sauce and bbq sauce in a small bowl. Use whatever ratio you like. We like more bbq sauce than tomato. Season with salt, pepper and garlic powder.
Top pizza crust with sauce, top with cheese, chicken, tomatoes and green onions.
Bake for 15-20 minutes (possibly longer if you're using dough instead of a ready made crust).
Enjoy!

Question of the day! What health food or fitness craze can you just NOT get into? Mine is coconut water I know it's supposed to be good and hydrating, but yuck! I keep trying to like it and just do not.
Have a great day ya'll!

Long Overdue

2011-07-12T15:10:00.000-04:00

Hi! How has your summer been going? Ours has been equal parts busy and lazy. Rylie and I would love to be spending much more time outside but it's SO hot and the bugs are so bad around here. To make up for it we've been going on play dates, painting and playing. Around July 4th we had a jam packed schedule of parties to go to and last weekend it slowed down. I hate to admit that I'm already longing for cool crisp air, fuzzy slippers and gingerbread lattes. What can I say? I'm cool weather girl (unless I'm at the beach). I thought I'd catch you up on what we've been doing in pictures. Thank the Lord for my iphone because it is the only reason that I take SO many pictures.

This is a typical day around here. Breakfast with the kiddos and lots of time playing with these two.

This picture sums up another huge portion of my life lately. Working out and trying to eat healthier. My main focus has been working out 4-5 days a week doing either the 6am RPM class at the gym or running. I can't tell you how good it feels to be back in the habit of working out again. After working out consitently for over a month now, I actually feel SO much better and less stressed when I workout. I haven't seen the scale move much but my body is definitely changing shape. It's much harder for me to eat really well since most of my meals are shared with Rylie or eaten while I'm holding a little boy that grabs everything. Any tips on getting more fresh foods around here (that are quick to prepare)??

I love summer nights when I can spend time with mi familia. Sunday night we took the kids on a walk to the park near our house. I was amazed because Rowan is so little but balances himself up so well in the wagon. Sadly our visit wasn't very long because the gnats were so bad...seriously...we've never had a bad gnat problem around here. What gives summer?

I've also spent many summer mornings and a few evenings with these girls. I can't tell you how blessed I feel to have friends like them in my life. It's funny how you end up meeting some of your friends too. I met Kathlyn through her blog and twitter and I met Jessi because she used to work with Jason. They're both great bloggers and Mama's and have been great friends to Amy and I. Last night we went out to dinner and had to say goodbye to Kathlyn. Her sweet family is moving to Dothan, AL because of her husband's job (in the Army). I'll miss the convenience of meeting her for a play date at the drop of a hat, but we're already starting to plan visits down there to see her.

Well, that sums up what we've been doing around here. I really do hope to start blogging more. I'm thinking about doing some healthy living blogs because I looooove all things health and fitness. Would anyone be interested in those sorts of blogs? I'm thinking favorite things lists, healthy recipes, workout pointers or anything else related fitness and health. Have a great Tuesday ya'll.

Father's Day Fun

2011-06-20T16:10:00.000-04:00

Hellooooo =)

Hi there! Long time no blog. I do not like blogging this seldom but for now it's just going to ebb and flow. So, how was everyone's Father's Day? My Dad was in Kansas for a family wedding so I sent him a text and will hopefully catch up with him soon. He is a super-hard-working Dad. No one will ever convince me that there is a better Daddy than MINE. Go ahead and try. I won't be persuaded. He is the best.

This year for Jason's gifts I knew that Rylie couldn't help me pick his gifts out but she did help decorate the wrapping paper. Here she is decorating the paper. Maybe the In N Out hat makes her feel creative? LOL.

She also helped create a picture for Jason, she just didn't know that she did. I went through my phone and found every single pic I have in the past few months of Jason with the kids. Wow. I had quite a bit. Jason is SUCH a fantastic Daddy. He is so involved and loves our kids so much. My heart is happy when I see him with the kids and I feel very fortunate that he not only CAN spend time with them, he WANTS to. Here is his picture gift, an 8x10 collage print. We found a frame for it later.

I also made a little craft for Jason's card. I can't wait until Rylie is old enough to help me with this type of thing. I made dynamite from red tissue paper and Rolo's candy, tied it together, and made a little card that said "Daddy, You're the BOMB".

Seriously, how cute is this?

Here are Jason's gifts all wrapped up in the paper that Rylie decorated. I think he had a fun day. We went out and did some shopping as a family, I cooked a yummy dinner and we enjoyed some sinfully delicious gelato we picked up from Fresh Market.

This week we don't have much planned. I am trying to get a handle on my health and fitness lately though. I started another food journal and have planned my workouts for the week. I used to be fat, then I was skinny...now I'm in between but I'd like to lose about 15 or 20 lbs and just tone up. I've been trying to take a few habits from when I was so skinny and weed out the unhealthy habits like negative self talk and obsession over calories like I did when I was skinny. Those are SUCH bad habits and very destructive. A good habit for me is a food journal though. I like to see when my hungriest times are or where I can improve. It makes me accountable without being obsessive. I'm REALLY enjoying my gym though. Julianne and I tried RPM (spinning) which I love and tonight we're doing Turbo Kick (kickboxing). I think group exercise is just what I need to get me motivated.

SO, what is YOUR favorite workout? And time of day to workout? Right now I'm loving 6am workouts. I'm always stoked to be done by 7am! Have a good Monday ya'll!

Five Things I Love Right Now: Summer Edition

2011-06-06T10:40:00.000-04:00

Whew! Can you feel it? Summer is here and it is hot hot hot in Georgia! When I was little we spent from dawn until dusk outside all summer long. I doubt I'd let my kids to the same these days because it's just too hot! As much as I dislike the sweltering temperatures and the mosquitoes that invade my yard, I do love summer. I thought I'd share the top 5 things I love right now that are ALL about summer.

1. Loreal Sublime Bronze Spray

Last year I decided I was no longer going to go to the tanning bed. I love the tanning bed but the risks for cancer are FAR too high and I want my kids to grow up with a Mama! Last year I tried the Jergens lotion and wasn't pleased at all! This year I tried this. It's a light as air spray and I apply a light mist all over everyday and it's perfect! I actually look a little tan and I've gotten NO streaks and I don't look orange! I admit I do like to sit out in the sun for about 20 minutes a few time a week, so that little bit of natural sun combined with this, I don't look ghostly anymore!

2. Fresh Fruit (and lots of it).

I think that fruit is THE perfect snack all summer long! It's cool, refreshing and filling. Lately I cannot get enough watermelon, cantelope, strawberries and peaches. I buy some fruit on Sunday and cut it up and eat on it all week long. What's your favorite summer snack?

3. Maxi dresses

Yes, I admit, I'm VERY late to this fashion trend. I'm not really a shorts person. I wear jeans or dresses and lately it's just too hot for jeans, so I've been opting for dresses. I cannot have enough maxi dresses!! I've found them at Walmart, Ross, TJ Maxx and Plato's Closet. They're light and airy, they cover a multitude of sins and I think if I had 50 of them I'd still want more...it's a problem =)

Just an example of one of my favorite maxi-dresses lately. I found this one at Walmart!

4. OPI Hot and Spicy Nail Polish!

(source)

Before I went to the nail salon yesterday I tried my best to think of what were the summer nail color trends and couldn't come up with a thing. I stood in front of the polish and instantly gravitated towards anything with a coral, orangey tone! I decided that this is my summer color! Hot and spicy! I got my toes painted and came home and ordered my own bottle on Amazon! What summer color do you love?

5. Contigo Water Bottle

I bought this water bottle a few weeks ago at Barnes and Noble and I absolutely love it! It holds 24oz of water (the oz are labeled on the side of the bottle) so I have a goal to drink 3 of these a day, which is over my 8 glasses of water a day goal! Another cool feature is the fact that you press a button and drink, release a the button and it's closed. No screw on tops to worry about! Finally there is a latch that you can use to hang the bottle from your bag or do what I do and latch my keys onto it when I'm at the gym. With the weather as crazy hot as it's been lately, we need to hydrate!

So, what are some of your favorite things right now? I'd love to know. I think when you find something you love you should spread the word =)

*Also, to update ya'll my surgery went fine. I was shocked at how much pain I was in though. I'd much rather have a baby again than have surgery again. The pain was much worse with surgery! Everyday I'm feeling better and better though and I'm really grateful for all the help I had while I was recovering (thank you to my family and my sweet sweet friends). I'm hoping I'll be back at the gym next week, yay! Ok, I'm going to get ready and head to hang out with my sweet friends this afternoon. I love summer playdates because they're so laid back!

I Have a Confession...

2011-05-30T21:29:00.000-04:00

...I feel like a blogger bore lately. I'm not sure what to write about and I really don't have much time to write anyways. I really really miss blogging though. I miss sharing my life with ya'll and just getting my thoughts out there. So here is my new plan. Blog. Several times a week. It will make me feel better (and lately it would be nice to feel good...I've been a little down).

First off, let's get caught up. Summer is finally here! Can you feel it? It's been SO hot around here. We've been doing a little of this.

We let this girl play in the little pool or sprinkler at any given chance! Who wouldn't want to hop in there with her? Rylie is out of school for the summer and I'm on the hunt for some fun crafts for us to do. Any suggestions? No more school until August means tons of free time and we need to fill it up!~

Last week went to Atlanta for Rowan's post-op appointment with the neurosurgeon and it went great! His doctor thought that he was NOT a candidate for a band or helmet and that the stitches looked amazing. He wants us to see the plastic surgeon for a follow up in 4 months and back to see him in a year! This boy truly amazes me. He is SO sweet and smiley and loving. He's such a little sunshine in our lives.

Lately everything has gone right in his mouth...ohm nohm.

Besides time with the kids and coffee/play dates with my girlfriends, I do have one other even looming on the horizon. Without going into too much detail, I'm having minor surgery on Wednesday. For about a year now we've known about a cyst on one of my ovaries. We monitored it all throughout my pregnancy and decided not to take it out while pregnant but now, it needs to come out. My doctor will take it out through laparoscopy first thing Wednesday morning. If need be, they may take the whole ovary out (which is completely fine with me). It's outpatient surgery and I should be home that afternoon but I will have 3 small incisions on my abdomen. I've never had surgery and I'm a bit worried, but I keep reminding myself that my 2 babies have had 3 surgeries between them and so if THEY can do it, I can do it. Just keep me in your prayers please? I'm SO blessed to have my Mama, Aunt Pam, sisters and husband to help me out but I'm hoping for a super speedy recovery because I JUST got back into a routine at the gym (yep, I'll be there at 5:45am tomorrow).

I hope ya'll are having a fantastic summer so far and I promise that the next blog post won't be as heavy. SO, any craft ideas for a 2 year old? I'd love suggestions. Love ya'll!

I'm Not Dead

2011-05-18T21:37:00.000-04:00

I'm just busy with two little kids. Lately I've been 100% consumed with my R&R. Rylie wants my attention all the time and so does Rowan, it's getting...interesting. I often worry that I'm not doing enough housework, but if it's a choice between playing on the floor with the kids or having floors we could eat off of, I'll choose my kids. Here are some pictures that capture what our life has been like lately.

Lots of time in the sprinkler!

Sitting on the front porch soaking up the shade.

Tons of time playing on the floor. Rowan has mastered the

tummy to back roll and he's close on the back to tummy roll.

Baking cookies together! I'm trying to research some fun

crafts and activities to do together this summer.

Tummy time!

Lots and lots of hugs!

Friday will be Rylie's last day of preschool. I cannot believe how far she's come from the beginning of the year. The child that cried nonstop when I left her actually loves going to school. I will miss all the fantastic artwork she has come home with and her amazing teachers. I'm SO proud of her =)

So, what have ya'll been up to lately? Also, any suggestions for summer crafts/activities to do with a 2 year old?

5 Things: Playing Catch Up

2011-05-06T23:02:00.000-04:00

My girl loves flowers!

Yay. I finally made it to the weekend. Some weeks fly by and others seem to drag on SO slow. We have a fun Mother's Day planned with family and I'm excited to just relax and visit. I figured it would be easier to catch up if I just had a list. So here goes, 5 random things just to catch you up on our life!

1. Rowan is healing SO well!

We're almost 3 weeks post op and his head is healing SO wonderfully. He never experienced any of the sleep problems I worried about (not really) and his 3 incision sites look fantastic. I put a hat on him sometimes but lately I've forgotten. I was in Target today...with him on my hip...wondering why the woman at the checkout kept looking at my baby. LOL. I totally forget he has 3 huge incision lines with stitches. Ooops. Sorry folks, if you wonder about it, ask please. A nice lady at Rylie's school did today and I actually appreciate it!

2. We're joining the YMCA

She's the Y in YMCA =)

The local downtown YMCA is virtually brand new and very affordable for a family membership. There is no contract, they have brand new equipment, group classes (like body pump and Zumba) and childcare. I have realized that unless I have childcare I'm probably not going to workout. Working out just puts me in a better mood, and when Mama's in a good mood, everyone is, right? I have a date with my sister first thing in the morning at the gym. Whoo hoo.

3. Two kids is 10x harder than one.

Oh, I'm NOT supposed to lick the whisk while helping you cook?

It's our reality. It may not be that way for some couples, but this is the realization that we've come to. Neither kid on their own is hard, but together it's really hard. The past few weeks have been tough for me, I think they're just growing pains. Rylie has realized Rowan's here for good and Rowan wants to do things but really can't do much yet. This results in everyone needing my attention all the time. Plus the house and the dog need my attention too. This leads to Mama being spread SOOOO thin. I've read several great blog posts this week about not having to do it all...but wanting to do it all. It's a struggle I think all of us Mama's face. How did our Mama's do it with such grace? Mid week I made a point to adjust my attitude and it all changed. It doesn't have to ALL get done everyday. Some days it will all get done, and some days nothing will get done. I'd rather have my sanity than spotless floors. I'd rather have happy kids than dinner ready at 6pm. I'll get the hang of this eventually, I know it.

4. My husband got a new job!
I'm so proud of him! It's local and it's even closer to our house. I really think that it's the best decision for our family at the time. I hope he loves what he does at his new job (starting in a few weeks). He has so much education and experience and I think it's finally paying off for him. He makes me a proud wife.

Plus he's a great Daddy!

5. I feel SO blessed that this is my 3rd Mother's day (not counting the one where I found out I was pregnant with Rylie).

I love getting Mother's Day gift's from Rylie's school!

As hard as this job is, as much as I want to just run away some days, I LOVE being a Mama. There is no better job in the entire world than MY job. I get to teach, love, guide and play with 2 darling kids all day. I only hope that I do it with an ounce of grace and patience like my Mama did/does. I'm so excited to celebrate Mother's Day with my babies, my husband and my family who is full of fantastic Mama's. Cheers to all of you wonderful Mama's that read my blog. Ya'll inspire ME!

I love my babies!!

Have a great weekend!

Jalapeno Cheddar Hummus

2011-04-26T07:29:00.001-04:00

I have a recipe you need to try. Even if you don't like hummus, you'll probably like this hummus. One good thing about this hummus is that there is no tahini involved. I love tahini in hummus but I haven't bought any in ages and the ingredients to this are simple and cheap. I used THIS recipe from the website Eat Live Run and added a few changes to it. What you'll read here is my edited recipe but feel free to use the original recipe, either way it'll be delish! This time I tried peeling my chickpeas beforehand. Do not do this if you're short on time. It takes awhile. Next time I do, I'll sit down in front of the tv and do it when the kids are in bed. It's oddly fun and results in a much creamier hummus. Just squeeze them and the peel comes right off!

Peeling them is oddly cathartic

Jalapeno Cheddar Hummus

Ingredients:

2 14.5-oz cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed and peeled (if you so wish)

1 jalapeno pepper, chopped and seeds removed

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

2 T warm water + more to make it as creamy as you want

2 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp chili powder

1 cup freshly grated sharp cheddar cheese (I used Cabot 50% Light Cheddar)

Directions:

Peel chickpeas, set aside, throw away skins. Combine the chickpeas, jalapeno pepper, olive oil, water, cumin, chili powder and salt in a food processor. Process until smooth (adding more water if you desire to thin the hummus out a bit, I added about 1/4 cup more.

Add the cheddar cheese and cumin and process again until everything is well combined.

Aaaaaahhhhmazing

Perfect slathered on crusty bread w/ a big salad (I had 2 little pieces actually).

Let me know what you think. I doubt you'll be disappointed with this recipe, I'll definitely be making this often! Have a great Tuesday ya'll!

On the Road to Recovery

2011-04-25T11:25:00.001-04:00

Good morning! I've been meaning to write an update on Rowan and our hospital experience but I've been SO busy (as you can imagine). I have to figure out how to streamline this blogging thing because I DO love it. First off, Rowan is doing amazingly well, now let me tell you a little bit about our journey.

Jason, Rylie, Rowan and I went up to Atlanta on Monday because Rowan had a pre-op appointment for blood work and paper work. The blood work was NOT fun. Apparently this kid's veins are hard to find. The good part was that when we were done we went to my Aunt Amy and Uncle Stan's to stay the night. They really spoiled us with delicious, healthy homemade food and tons of hospitality. Rylie loved it there. Here she is riding in Stanley's chair and "helping" Aunt Amy do the dishes.

Rylie playing at Rowan's pre-op appointment.

Washing dishes with Aunt Amy

Jason and I slept about 3 hours that night. We had to get up and feed Rowan near midnight because he had a midnight cut off for formula. We got a little sleep and then woke up at 4 because his cut off for pedialite was 4:15am. We drove 40 minutes to the hospital and started admissions. I was scared that Rowan would wake up starving and mad but he slept until they started taking his vitals and even after that he was sweet. Amy and Julianne (my sister's) were there and he cooed and smiled at them both. All the doctors came in for a chat (anesthesia, neurosurgeon and plastic surgeon) and prepped us on what they were doing and then they took him back. We even had a GA Tech student ask if we'd donate the bone that they took out for a study they're doing on the cells in children with this condition. Absolutely! I have to say, as much crying and worrying as I did before his surgery, on the day of I felt calm and confident that it would all be ok.

Still sleeping when we got to the hospital at 6am!

Rowan just before going off to surgery

We went down to breakfast and after breakfast my friend Karen stopped by with her husband Paul and little Patrick (who had the same surgery 5 weeks ago!). They could not have stopped by at a better time. What a bright spot in our morning. Sitting there waiting to hear from the doctor's and boom, we get to see how happy and well adjusted little Patrick was just 4 weeks after surgery. They also gave us great comfort and reassurance and 2 venti coffees!!! It was a bright spot in our stressful morning. Being the great bloggers we are, we forgot to get a picture together, LOL. I'm sure it's not the last time I'll see her though, next time!

After taking Rylie outside to play and downing even more coffee we went up to the room and the doctor's starting coming in to let us know how things went. The anesthesiologist had to put a central line in because they couldn't find a vein (and now he's bruised from head to toe where they kept trying to find a vein). When Dr. Reisner came in (the neurosurgeon) he explained that they got into surgery and decided that the best option would not be an ear to ear incision, but 3 incisions that they could take the bone out endoscopically and then the plastic surgeon could also work to reshape his head that way. It was a little less invasive, yay!

Rylie playing while Rowan was in surgery.

When we finally got to see our baby he did not even need to go to the PICU as expected, he went straight to a regular room. He looked really good and was chugging pedialite as the nurse was wheeling him in.She took him off the gurney and handed him straight to me! He had an IV in his foot, a central line on his chest/shoulder, a turban on wrapped head and a drain coming out of it.

Rowan fresh out of surgery and drugged up.

Thankfully we got a sleep room every single night we were there. One night my Aunt Amy even stayed with Rowan so that Jason and I could both sleep. It was amazing! He still did pretty well despite all of the interruptions. On the third day they took the turban off and the drain out and unhooked everything. We could finally see the incisions. It was horrific for me, but he did fine with it. He only took morphine the first day and then the rest of the time only tylenol!

Day 2, a little more swollen, but still lookin' good!

He even grinned and "talked to me(day 2).

The bandages came off and this is what we saw!

Being sweet right after they took the turban off and the drain out!

The nurses and doctor's were amazing. Very sweet and patient. At one point Rowan woke up while Jason and I went to grab coffee and the nurse was walking him around the nurses station while he flirted with all the nurses there when we got back. There were playgrounds, little outside garden areas, a koi pond and some little nooks to just sit outside and take a break when you needed it. And we needed it at times. As horrific as an experience as I expected we did have highlights. Playing outside with Rylie at the koi pond, my sweet friend Karen stopping by to bring the MOST amazing basket of goodies for us (trail mixes, fruit, chocolate, magazines, gourmet popcorn and a balloon and stuffed animal for Rowan...that Rylie is obsessed with). I am SO glad to have met Karen and her family, they are very dear to us. I also got to meet another Twitter friend, Kelly, who was nice enough to stop in for a visit! The time I got to spend with my Aunt Amy was wonderful. The kindness we were shown over the past week has been unreal. We felt all the love. Rowan's speedy recovery, lack of swelling and resilience is amazing. To God be the glory =)

Taking a breather outside with some coffee.

The basket of goodies (minus the balloon) that Karen brought us.
We named the dog Choa (Children's Healthcare of Atlanta) and Rylie takes him everywhere!

Happy, sweet and delicious even after skull surgery.

Since we've been home Zande my MIL has been here and she has been amazing. She's gotten up with Rowan every night (twice a night) and Jason and I have slept better than we have in years. My parents and sister and brother-in-law have helped me more than I can even write about. My grandmother and Aunts too. I don't have enough space or time to say thank you enough. I'm sorry if this post is a bit of a mess. I've been trying to have time to sit down and write it for days and haven't had time or I've been too tired. Thank you all so much for your prayers and support. I'll keep ya'll updated on our buddy and please keep him in your thoughts/prayers. He's doing amazingly well but SUPER clingy (and 15 1/2 lbs). I'm SO blessed and happy that the surgery is over and we're on our way to recovery!

Have a great day ya'll!

Here We Go

2011-04-17T22:16:00.000-04:00

My happy little buddy.

Tomorrow morning we leave for Atlanta. All weekend I tried to relax until today and I cleaned and packed like crazy. It's not easy packing for the entire week when I'm not entirely sure what I'll be facing. My friend Karen has filled me in, but I'm notorious for over-packing.

Look! I over-packed and put a kid in there!

I tried to focus all of my attention on relaxing and enjoying my kids and my husband and my family. I know that my sweet little boy is in God's hands (there is no better place to be). My emotions hit me in giant waves though. Saturday morning I was rushing around and I got the mail, in there was an envelope full of little prayer slips. On each one was a handwritten note from people that chose to pray for my sweet Rowan. Jason's Aunt Pat's church sent it to us. I opened it and immediately burst into tears, tears of gratitude. What a wonderful thing. I appreciate every single person praying for my baby and our family. I really do feel the love surrounding our family.

What a wonderful ministry!

Saturday night we had planned to have a Girl's Night Out to celebrate our 30th birthday with some girlfriends. It really was the perfect way to get my mind off of the surgery and just relax. Amy and I met Jessi, Erin and Cherish and The Black Cow and had dinner (I had Shrimp and Grits) and then we went down and had coffee at Fountain City. Lots of laughing and girl talk. Perfect. When I got home my Mom and husband had gotten both kids in bed and asleep, it was a glorious thing.

We had SO much fun!

Today was absolutely crazy busy. I hope I packed everything I need for the week. At this point I'm so tired I just don't care. Tomorrow Rowan has a pre-op appointment at Scottish Rite and then we're staying with my sweet Aunt Amy and Uncle Stan for the night. Tuesday morning we have to be at the hospital at 6:15am...whew. Poor little buddy can't eat past midnight, I'm just praying that goes okay. I'll keep everyone updated via Twitter (follow me there if you want real-time updates) and if I have time I'll try and update my blog in the hospital. Thank you for all your prayers and well wishes. I know my baby will be okay but we have a bit of a journey ahead of us. Love to all of ya'll. Now I'll leave ya'll with a few pictures I took of my sweet boy this weekend. Here we go!

One of the hats we got to cover up all of his stitches while his head heals.

He is SUCH a sweet baby!

He's winking at the camera =)

It's My Birthday =)

2011-04-13T07:57:00.000-04:00

Hi! Today I'm 30 years old. I know to some that may seem young, and to some it may seem old. To me it seems old. I did SO many things in my 20's. I met and married my best friend. I bought a home with that husband. I had one little girl and then a boy 2 year later. I feel like I've lived a lifetime in the span of 10 years. I guess, to me, 30 just means that I'm really really an adult now. Just don't tell me I have to act like one.

I seem to have lost my blogging mojo in the past week. I'm caught up trying to get ready for Rowan's surgery next week, enjoy my birthday and spend as much quality time with my two darlings as I can. I'm generally optimistic about Rowan's surgery because I know he'll be fine, but I do have moments of total panic where I just want to hold him tight, kiss his soft warm velvety head and never let him go. One thing I am realizing from this is that my support system ROCKS, which I already knew, but really and truly, my family is blessed beyond words. So please bear with me. My blogging mojo will return very soon. For now I'm going to celebrate the first day of my 30th year and kiss on my little fuzzy headed boy.

Have a great Wednesday ya'll!

It's a Friday Five Post!

2011-04-01T07:22:00.000-04:00

Hi friends! It's been another busy week around here. School, a speech appointment and trying to stay busy indoors (because of all the rain) have kept us going this week. Oh and I also ran 2 days this week, yay! I plan to get one weekend run in too, so GO me! I CANNOT believe that it's April already but I am so thrilled that next week is Spring Break. That should mean plenty of time hanging out with my Mama and the kiddos.

All the kiddos. I watched them while Amy ran on the treadmill =)

To kick off a fun weekend here is a Friday Five post. Don't call LAME on a Friday Five either. I think these are fun, so there. This one is on the topic of "Connections". Let me know what your answers to these questions are or blog about them on your blog. Also, don't forget to have a great weekend!

Friday Five: Connections

1. Nowadays, just about everyone knows a couple who first met online. Among couples you know, who has the best story?
Jason and I! We met on MySpace back in May of 2006. Well actually we "met" on MySpace before that but we met in person in May. Jason friended me and told me he was trying to just "meet people in town with common interest" okaaaay. Then one Sunday afternoon as I pulled into Publix with my Mom and Amy I saw this tall, dark and handsome guy putting his cart away and thought "is that the MySpace guy??? He's WAY cuter in person". I sent him a message, he gave me a call, we met a week later and the rest is history. We got married 13 months to the DAY after we met in person.

Jason and I on my 26th birthday

2. Who among your real-life acquaintances might you never have been friends with if you hadn’t gotten to know each other online first?
I'd say Kathlyn. We did visit her booth down at Market Days on Broadway last summer but I really got to know her by reading her amazing blog. I'm so glad we got to be "real-life in person" friends. She so talented and just a fun person to be around, I feel like I've known her for ages. It's much better to be real friends AND blog friends.

Amy, Kathlyn, Rowan and I at the Pioneer Woman book signing.

3. Of people you know online only, who would you most like to meet in real life?
I'd say the Pioneer Woman but I've already met her =) Definitely my friend Karen in Atlanta who daily helps me keep my sanity. Plus she's an awesome Mama and blogger too. Also, Sarah who probably lives down the street from me and is ridiculously talented (Seriously girl, we should do coffee sometime).

4. In the past 365 days, what’s the longest you’ve gone without connecting in any way to the Internet, including email?
I cannot think of the last time I was unconnected. I tweeted while in labor. I'd say pre-iPhone. I'd rather be connected than unconnected, some of you people help me retain my sanity!

See! I took this pic of Jason sleeping while I was in labor.

I took it to tweet and decided not to. Technology kept my mind busy

while I labored all night long.

5. Who is the least-connected person you know in real life?
My Mamaw. No email or texts for her! She sends good old fashioned hand-written cards, or calls on the phone and believe me, her cards are priceless!

Rylie and my beautiful Mamaw!

Rowan the Wonder Boy

2011-03-26T08:17:00.000-04:00

Hi. Have you seen my boy Rowan? I can't help but adore him. I think he's Rowan the Wonder Boy because he's SO good. He only wakes once at night (and sometimes he sleeps the whole night through like last night!), he smiles and coos all the time (even in his sleep), he usually only cries if he's hungry or sleepy, and he's just a generally happy kid. I couldn't ask for a better 2nd kid. I think God knew we already had alot going on when he decided to send us this little boy.

Lately I've been thinking TONS about his upcoming surgery. Until this week I've blocked it out of my mind. In my head I figured I'd been through 2 surgeries before with Rylie, I know how to handle the feeling of handing your baby over to the nurse and trusting that they'll bring them back a little bruised and broken but generally ok. Well this week our little friend Patrick had surgery. He had the same surgery, at the same hospital that Rowan will have in less than a month. I've been forced to face the fact that even if I don't want to think about it, my boy will have major surgery. Stitches I can see (from ear to ear), a fair amount of swelling and probably visible blood (when they take the bandages off). Far from the slightly swollen and red eyes we had with Rylie.

I faced it, worried about it, cried about it and after all that I'm realizing that I WILL be ok. HE will be ok. Patrick is recovering so wonderfully I can't help but to be encouraged that Rowan will do the same. I feel very blessed that I have a friend like Karen that will give me the low down on things to bring to the hospital, things to be aware of and just the reassurance that we will all be just fine. Until then I'm going to hold my baby tighter, gaze into his pretty blue eyes and kiss his sweet velvety head as much as possible.

(Mostly) Wordless Wednesday

2011-03-23T07:39:00.000-04:00

Morning! Hope your Wednesday is wonderful. Rylie has school, Rowan and I have a few errands to run and I have family dinner with my family tonight, yay! Here are some cute pics I've taken over the last few days. Hope ya'll have a good day!

Look how happy this boy is! He truly is one of the sweetest

babies I've ever been around.

How cute is she in her little crochet hat? She likes when I say phrases in French.

That's how I got this adorable smile, I was reading a French travel poster.

This boy is a sleeper. A sleeper AND a keeper =) He's getting up

about once a night. Night before last he slept the WHOLE night through.

At 2 months old ya'll!

I don't realize how much bigger than Rowan she is until she

does something like this. Wow she's long-legged.

This boy is fascinated by his mobile. He'll sit under it and talk, coo or just run

in place under it. LOL. SO cute.

Rylie vs. The Water Sprinkler

2011-03-21T06:42:00.000-04:00

How's it going? I'm a cute BeeBoo! Also I am the

best little sleeper there ever was!!

Morning! How was your weekend? We had a low key weekend here. Friday night we had dinner with my sister Amy and her family. I'd had a contractor in my house for 2 days, so for me, cooking anything was impossible. Amy is such a wonderful cook and it's so nice when someone else cooks a homemade meal for you to enjoy! Saturday was low key as well. Jason and I did some housework and then Jason went to work for 1/2 day. We like when the Daddy is home on the weekends but sometimes he just has to work. Rylie and Rowan and I watched a few episodes of Yo Gabba Gabba and I thought this picture was so cute.

Snacking and watching tv together. Oh the fun they'll have together

in the years to come =)

Sunday evening Amy, Elliot and my Mom joined us for a walk to the park and then some hamburgers for dinner. I love having my family here for dinner. The boys played on the floor side by side (they don't really get playing with eachother yet) and we spent as much time as we could outside. After dinner Jason turned the water sprinkler on and before we could stop her, Rylie ran straight for the water. This was Rylie's first experience with the water sprinkler and we just had to let her play. She had NO fear and ran straight for the water, gasping and grinning the whole time it would fall on her.

Run run run from the "rain"

Face the water and scream with joy!!

Take a spill on the wet grass and never miss a beat.

Sit under the water and enjoy the view =)

The water sprinkler made this girl happy and exhausted!

I hope ya'll had a great weekend! We have a fun week ahead to look forward to. My Uncle Mark will be in town (my Uncle Mike is already here) and we are planning at least one family dinner to visit together. I love being around my family, especially my Uncles. They tell the MOST fantastic stories and they remind me so much of my Pop. It makes me miss Pop so much but I feel happy that my Uncle Mark and Uncle Mike remind me of how wonderful he was. We also have a play date on Tuesday which is exciting! I love coffee time with my favorite ladies, and our kiddos have fun too =) Have a great Monday ya'll!

Just a Day in the Life

2011-03-17T07:57:00.000-04:00

Lately the weeks have seemed to go by in a complete blur. How did I used to have time to count the days until the weekend? Don't get me wrong, I still love the weekends, but lately it's like I blink and another week goes by. Tuesday I attempted to take pictures of my day, just a typical Tuesday around here. Breakfast, play date, lots of coffee, family dinner...you know, that sort of thing. I'd love to see a day in YOUR life too. I think you get to know someone even better when you can identify with them on a basic, everyday level, you know? So here's my Tuesday!

Around 6:00 I started my day by feeding this boy. He's been doing one middle of the night feeding and one early morning feeding lately. The time change has worked in his favor. He usually takes this bottle and goes right back to sleep, YAY!

After that I had coffee with Jason and then he got ready and went to work. When he got in the shower, Oliver and I got back into bed for 20 minutes. I believe Foster (the cat) also joined us).

After Jason left I had the breakfast of champions (ha ha). More coffee and a PB&J (hey, it was natural pb, low sugar jelly and whole wheat bread). I watched DVR'd Bethenny Ever After while I ate breakfast and then jumped in the shower and got dressed.

After I got ready I fed this boy and got Rylie dressed. I try to make her eat breakfast but she really is not a breakfast eater. She's more of a brunch girl. It was pouring rain, thankfully it let up a bit and I loaded us up and we headed over to Amy's for a play date with Amy, Elliot, Erin and Kendal.

On the way to Amy's we listened to the Glee Soundtrack Volume 4. I happen to love the Glee soundtracks ya'll and I'm not afraid to admit it =) It was cheerful music on a dreary and wet day.

At Amy's house Rylie got to play with Kendal and I think she had a blast! Kendal is 11 months older than her and it was so cute to see Rylie trying to help Kendal build a lego tower and Kendal spin Rylie around in Uncle Matt's computer chair. She had a blast and I had fun chatting with Amy and Erin.

As soon as we got home I had to eat (it was nearly 1:30) so I had a salad and a little flatbread pizza. YUM. Again, not really healthfood, but not too bad either.

I strapped this little boy on and got down to cleaning up around here. Every single day I make the beds, sweep, pick up around here and do the dishes. If I'm lucky I also do a load or two of laundry. Wow. That's just basic upkeep around this house! I didn't take pictures of chores...all of you Mom's know, they aren't cute, but they ARE neccessary.

I settled Rowan down for a nap and went to read to Rylie. After we read about 10 books I put her in bed with her juice and a stack of books for her to read. This usually keeps her happy for 90 minutes or so and it gives me sanity.

After the kids were in bed I settled in for my three C's. Coffee, computer time and cuddling with Ollie. I love this time of day. I can take a deep breath. Catch up on my google reader (or blog) and renew myself for the 2nd half of the day. Of course 10 minutes into this, Rowan woke up. Oh well. It was fun while it lasted.

I forgot to get pictures of family dinner but it was great. It doesn't matter what we eat or where, I love my family! The showcase of this dinner was dessert anyways. Amy made this beautiful (and delicious) Chocolate Chip Walnut Pie. BEST part of dinner (besides the company of course).

The past few days, as soon as dinner is over we head outside until it's bath time for the kids. Rylie LOVES it outside. On this day she had a blast with her Daddy =)

Ollie wanted to come outside too but each of us had a kid...so on this night he had to watch. He's still adorable.

When I made Rylie come in she cried and cried. Poor girl, she could live outside and be happy. Snuggling in bed with her brother made her happy though!

Next up was bath time for the kids. I always bathe Rowan first and then I either hand him off to Jason and then bathe Rylie or I take him and Jason bathes Rylie. Good to know we've already found our groove as far as bedtime routine with the kids goes.

I know this is Jason's favorite part of the day. No matter what's going on I make sure he gets to do this. Last night alone he read her 12 books at bedtime while I put Rowan down. I'm so happy they love doing this together.

After some cleaning up around here I hopped in bed with my laptop (and Jason with his) and we did this until bedtime. Sometimes we watch tv and sometimes we decompress on our computers. We don't care as long as the time is spent together!

SO...maybe busy, maybe mundane, but that's a typical Tuesday here. Hope you enjoyed. Today we're headed off to drop Rowan off at Nana's and then take Rylie to speech at 9:30. It feels impossible to get us there on time but somehow we always make it. I hope you have a great day! What does a typical day look like for you??

One Fun Weekend

2011-03-14T07:59:00.000-04:00

Good morning! I think it's safe to say that the DST time change is kicking my booty. My busy weekend isn't really helping on meeting my sleep quota either, but the fun I had was worth it the lack of sleep that I experienced!

Rylie's favorite part of the weekend =)

On Friday Amy, Kathlyn and I (and Rowan) headed up to Atlanta for a meeting (for her), some fun browsing the mall and meeting The Pioneer Woman at a book signing. I was a bit nervous about how Rowan would do on the drive up and I don't know why, he slept the entire drive. After Kathyln's meeting we headed over to Borders and had an hour or so to kill until they started giving out book signing writstbands so we walked across the street to a place called Tw!st. We were excited to see their huge tapas menu so we each ordered something and decided to share. Here is a pic of our dishes.

Our selections from left to right: Crispy Duck Confit with Warm German Style Fingerling Potato Salad, Queso Fresco with Chorizo, Roasted Poblano & Fried Flour Tortillas, Grilled Pork Ribs with Balsamic Glaze & Jalepeno Slaw

They were all SO delicious and plenty of food for all 3 of us! Rowan was such a sweetheart! He just chilled out in his Baby Bjorn or in my lap while we ate.

My sampling plate and Rowan and I at Tw!st

We walked back over to Borders, grabbed our wristbands and were informed that we were in group D. Yep, we'd gotten there about 30 minutes after they started handing them out and were already in the 4th group! People are serious about meeting Ree Drummond, that's for sure! We stashed our wristbands in the car for safe keeping and headed back to the mall. Immediately we found Starbucks and were delighted to discover that this weekend you could get a free mini-treat with the purchase of a coffee! We each got Birthday Cake Pops and 2 mini Red Velvet Whoopie Pies to share. Heaven! I do have to say that I'm more of a cake pop girl. It was like cake and icing all rolled together and dipped in chocolate. How can you go wrong there?

Shopping, coffee and cake pops, what more could we ask for?

After our little snack we headed off to browse the mall. We stopped in Teavana (which was amazing) and Vera Bradley and even drooled over kitchen supplies in Williams Sonoma. In the far back of the shop I found a kitchen supply I HAD to have, but I'll get to that later. Around 4:30 or so we headed back to Borders and WOW was it busy already. Women everywhere with Ree's books and many of them wearing her favorite boots too! When Ree speaks (about something she loves) women listen apparently! I love that so many women read her blog and her books because I think she's such genuine person and a real trail blazer as far as women bloggers go! After drinking even more coffee, she finally arrived and when she let us know that her husband (who she calls Marlboro Man) and boys were there, the poor man got swarmed by women wielding cameras and books for him to sign. I think his big cowboy had was like a magnet!

Marlboro Man and their boys before they got swarmed.

Here we are waiting in line. We had so much fun chatting while we waited.

Rowan...passed out. This is how he was ALL day =)

Finally after all the waiting and lines we made it up to Ree. We tried to think of something clever to say and never came up with anything so we just made small talk. Ree was SO gracious and charming. She even told me twice how beautiful Rowan was! Everyone knows that The Pioneer Woman loves babies!

Yay! We finally meet!

I could not have had a better day, and Rowan was amazingly easy. We got home late and then I chatted with Jason until late. Since Rowan had been asleep all day he woke up nearly every hour that night. Great! He loves to travel, but he slept the entire day and was awake all night. So Saturday was a fog. We did some cleaning and organizing and then on Sunday morning I finally made use of what I'd found at Williams Sonoma.

Star Wars pancake molds!!

When I saw these I knew I had to have them! I'm sure I'll use them for years to come. Hopefully Rowan and Rylie will like Star Wars as much as their Daddy does. Sunday morning we were a bit out of sorts because of the time change so around 10am I made pancakes with these. They weren't perfect at ALL, but good for my first attempt.

YUM!

So that was our fun filled weekend. How was yours? You know, after all this talk about blogging (because Ree Drummond started out as just a regular "mommy blogger" it got me thinking, what are some of YOUR favorite blogs? I'm always looking for new ones to follow! Hope ya'll had a great weekend!

Easy Delicious Bean Burgers!

2011-03-11T06:00:00.007-05:00

Do you like beans? I do. I don't think I've met a bean that I dislike. I like some more than others but honestly Rylie and I could crack open a can of kidney beans and nosh on them all day. Beans are delicious and nutritious too! They've got protein and fiber AND they're tasty. I love veggie burgers too, so why not combine my love and make a yummy burger. I got the idea for this from this recipe on Kath Eats Real Food website (which is a wonderful site). Kath is a R.D. and has wonderful recipes on her site. Here is my take on her Bean Burgers. This is a single serving recipe, if you want to make them for the family...just use more beans and veggies!

First I sauteed a few veggies. You can use whatever you like or have in your fridge. I had some bell pepper, garlic and green onion.
While those softened I took 1/3 cup of beans and mashed them with a fork. I had navy beans but black beans and kidney beans would also work really well. I'd already opened a can of navy beans, so that's what I used.

Next, I threw the veggies in with the beans, added 1 tbsp whole wheat flour and some seasonings (I used salt and Tony Chachere's seasoning) and form into a patty.
Cook in a flat nonstick pan (with cooking spray) for about 4 minutes on each side. I plopped mine down and when I could shake the pan and the burger slid back and forth, I flipped it.

When the burger was browned on each side I toasted a whole wheat english muffin, melted 1/2 a slice of sharp cheddar cheese and added a bit of ketchup (because I love ketchup ya'll). This burger was amazing! Crisp on the outside and creamy and delicious on the inside. Plus it's so easy. Just use what beans, veggies and seasonings you have! Let me know if you try it and what you think!

I hope ya'll have a great weekend! Today I'm having fun in Atlanta with Amy, Kathlyn, my little Rowan and The Pioneer Woman!! Can ya'll tell how excited I am about this? LOL. Expect a full post on our fun day and follow me on twitter if you want updates in real time =) Also, if you see my husband, give him a hug because he is AMAZING for taking off 1/2 a day to watch Rylie so that I could do this, he really is THE best husband. Happy Friday Ya'll!

Rainy Wednesday + March Madness Update

2011-03-09T17:12:00.000-05:00

He looks cute here but wow has this boy been grumpy since he got his shots =(

How is it going on this dreary and rainy Wednesday? Today has been a bit crazy around here. I got Rylie off to school, got myself ready, cleaned up a bit, caught up on my DVR'd stuff (important, I know, ha) and then off to Rowan's 2 month check up (in the pouring rain). The news was all good. Rowan is 22 1/2 inches long (he's grown 2 1/2 inches) and 12 lbs 8 oz. So he's definitely growing but still smaller than Rylie was at 2 months old, she was really a chunk of a baby! My pediatrician said he's on target for all of his 2 month milestones and looks perfectly healthy. She wrote down his surgery date and said she was going to add him to her prayer list at church (how sweet). Then he got 3 shots! Ugh, Rylie barely cried for her first shots, Rowan screamed like I've never heard in his whole 2 months. My poor baby. After Rowan's appointment we ran through and got lunch for me (a salad, yay!) and picked Rylie up a little early since we were in the area. Look how adorable she is in her rain coat. I love this girl!

Tomorrow we're planning on taking it easy around here because Friday will be SO busy. We're headed up to Atlanta to meet Ree Drummond! I'm so excited, not just to meet one of my favorite blogger/authors, but to spend a day with my sister and sweet friend Kathlyn. Who knows what else we'll get to do while we're up there, hopefully lunch somewhere cool and possibly a little shopping! I'll be leaving Rylie here with Jason and bringing my boy. He's usually pretty easy going, so lets hope Friday is no different. Now onto my March Madness update.

If you remember my post from last week, I was joining with a few other bloggers and vowing to get fit together. Last week I introduced myself and my goals for the month, so today I'll tell you how I'm doing on my goals. My first goal was to drink 8 or more cups a day of water. Easy. I've been doing that everyday without a problem. I rarely drink more...but I easily reach my goal, so yay! The second goal was 3 structured workouts plus 1 or more long walks with the kids. Done! Last week I did 2 days of Jillian Michaels DVD's. I have a full arsenal of her workouts but lately I've been sticking to Shredding one day and 6week6pack one day and the third day I always run as my workout. I'd like to add one more day of working out eventually to make 2 running days and 2 cross training days. Someday. I love the walks with my sister because those make me sweat AND their fun. My last goal was to make healthier choices and eat more REAL food. I've done well, not perfect, but I've done much better. I've really tried to eliminate the junk and just think about what I'm eating and I feel great. I'm all about the 90/10 rule. 90% of the time I'm trying to eat really good and 10% fun. I still need to get my booty to the store and buy more fruits and veggies, but it won't be today!

Friday I'll be posting a recipe for a Bean Burger that I tried yesterday and LOVE. It's super simple, great for you because it's high in fiber and protein, and great because it's one of those "use what you have" recipes that you can just improvise with. I will definitely be adding them to my lunch menu each week. I hope ya'll have a great day and stay dry!

Our Weekend in Pictures

2011-03-07T06:31:00.000-05:00

It was another fun and busy weekend here in the Griffith household. Friday night my sister and brother-in-law invited us over to dinner at their house. We had such a fun time with them hanging out and having a delicious meal. My sister sure is a great cook! Saturday morning Rylie woke up first (Rowan was asleep and Daddy was too because he takes the first night shift with Rowan) so I slung her into our big bed and we had fun being lazy in bed. I can't wait until we have a bigger house and a tv in my bedroom, then we'll definitely do Saturday morning cartoons in bed =)

Lazy Saturday morning in bed with Mama

Eventually we all got up and going because we had a busy day, it was Jason's birthday! We had fun giving Daddy his presents and then it was time for housework. Trying to catch up on laundry and cleaning up around here is a big job. It's amazing how fast this house can get messy and how piled up laundry can get with two big people and two little people. I finally got in the shower and when I came out this is what I found.

Daddy and both kids watching Yo Gabba Gabba...SO cute.

After Jason got a shower he needed to do some work downstairs in his make shift office so I took a few pictures of Rowan with his new blankie. My fantastic mother-in-law crocheted it for him and it's SO beautiful! Rylie has 2 crocheted blankets that she loves and she wasn't about to share one with Rowan, so now Rowan has his very own. Thanks Momily-in-Law!!

Cutest baby ever with his new blankie from Mae Mae!

For Jason's birthday he wanted a date with me and then dessert with family at my Nana's house. I decided that for dessert I'd make The Pioneer Woman's Cherry Cake Pudding. Um. DELICIOUS. While I made the cake Rylie had her quiet time but a certain little boy wasn't sleepy at all so he "helped" me make it. See, this is my helper and I headed into the kitchen.

I face him out so that he can look around and he only wants to look up at his Mama =)

I didn't get any finished pictures of the Cherry Cake but let me tell you, it was amazing. It was definitely more like cake than pudding, but OH so good! There was cool whip and cherry sauce involved and will someone please come get it from my fridge before I eat another piece. Here is a picture of it before it went into the oven. You can check out the original recipe to see a picture of the finished product.

MMmMmmMMMmmm

Jason and I went to Mongo for dinner which is a Mongolian Grill. We chose it because it's generally healthy. I had brown rice and then I filled a bowl with all sorts of veggies, a small bowl with chicken and shrimp and a tiny bowl with sauce (I chose spicy peanut sauce and chili sauce) and they cook it up and bring it to you. Mine was chock full of veggies and delicious! After dinner we headed over to Nana's and met everyone for cake!

Here is Rylie helping Daddy read his cards.

We had such a great day and I think Jason had a great birthday as well. I'm SO blessed to have known him almost 5 years of his life and I hope there are many more years to come because he is the most wonderful Daddy/Husband in the world!

This week is going to be very busy. Today I have a doctor's appointment (Amy and Nana will watch my bebe's) then Wednesday Rowan has his 2 month check up at the pediatrician, very excited to see how much he's grown! And on Friday I think I'll be heading up to Atlanta with Amy and hopefully Kathlyn to meet The Pioneer Woman, Ree Drummond at a book signing! I can't even tell you how exciting that is. I just love her and the thought of a fun day with the girls (and Rowan)? Whoohoo!

So how was ya'lls weekend? Anyone else want to meet us in Atlanta on Friday? It'll be fun and you know it!! Have a great Monday ya'll!

Happy Birthday Daddy Craft

2011-03-05T07:00:00.001-05:00

Today is a very special day, it's my husband's birthday! I won't say how old he's turning today but he IS older than me. He's such a wonderful Daddy and such an amazing husband I just couldn't ask for a better person to journey through life with. The past 8 weeks have been so hectic with Rowan here. He's an easy baby but he does wake up about 2 times a night and he takes some of my attention away from Rylie, it's just a fact of life. The good thing about this is that I've noticed Rylie's attachment to Jason grow and grow. Not that she didn't love him before Rowan was born, but she definitely preferred me. Now I can easily say she sometimes prefers her Daddy. They have fun together reading and dancing and rough housing like little girls and Daddies do. It's SO sweet to see their relationship blossoming.

I took this before school yesterday morning...aren't they cute?

For Jason's birthday I wanted to also include something from Rylie, that she made herself, so I chose a picture frame. The girl LOVES to color, so I chose a simple wooden frame and paint markers.

See her already grabbing for the paint markers?

We put on an old shirt, put down some old colored on paper and got to painting. I had to help her aim them straight up and down because otherwise no paint came out, but she got the hang of it eventually.

Working hard on Dad's present.

Above is Rylie with her finished present for Daddy. Doesn't she look proud of herself? I know it's a very simple project but I think Jason will really like it and if anything, it's a great keepsake for Rylie's first present she made for her Dad. So if you're reading this blog babe, Happy Birthday we love you TONS!!

March Madness!

2011-03-02T10:01:00.000-05:00

So last week I posted about getting back in the groove of my healthy lifestyle. A lifestyle that got a little off track when I got married, had a baby, spent a year trying to figure it all out, getting healthy again and immediately getting pregnant (cue the double stuff oreos...yum). Last week I told ya'll that I was starting slowly with my goals to be HEALTHY. Not go all calorie crazy or workout 6 days a week, but simple, achievable goals. Well I did great last week! I drank tons of water, I planned (and got in) my workouts and long walks lugging the kids around the block and I made better food choices.

Long walks are fun because this girl LOVES her wagon...definitely some weight resistance for me!

I got up my nerve to step on the scale yesterday morning to see if my work had made a difference and the batteries were dead. I'm taking that as a sign to wait another week (plus I have to re-charge the batteries). Today I realized that one of the bloggers I read, Brittney from Running In High Heels, is doing a March Madness: Let's Get Fit Together link up and I'm all in. Who doesn't need more motivation when trying to get back on track? This challenge will include a post today introducing myself (if you don't already know me) and explaining our goals. So who wants to join me?

HI! This is me...and my darling girl.

So, if you don't know me, HI, I'm April. Mama to two adorable kids (seriously, just look at them). Rylie is 2 and Rowan is almost 8 weeks old. I'm trying to find balance in life with two young kids, a delicious and wonderful husband, great family and friends and a healthy lifestyle. It's not easy! I'm not interested in getting fit if it includes anything drastic or anything that I can't do for the rest of my life (like diet pills, extreme workout plans, counting every calorie or microwave calorie portioned meals that come in a box). It may take longer to reach my weight goal by doing it that way but I'm willing to just go slow and steady. I know what it's like to white-knuckle a fitness program, lose a ton of weight and not be able to keep up the pace for the rest of my life...and I'm not willing to go back down that road.

Here are my goals for this month. I'm making these achievable but folks, it's still SO hard to even get these in, so please...check in with me to make sure I'm up and at em'.

Drink 8 cups of water a day or more.
3 structured workouts a week plus 1 or more long walks lugging the kids. Extra workouts when I have the time are highly encouraged. Doesn't it feel GOOD to sweat it out?
Making healthier food choices. This includes cutting out the fried foods (easy one for me), upping the fruit and veggie intake, making the healthiest choice possible when we're out to eat and trying to eat less processed foods.

So that's it! I'll check in next week and see how it's going. Obviously I'd like to see the scale move down too, summer IS approaching soon, but reinstating healthy, life long habits is what is key to me. So join me in March Madness and link up if you want! Let's do this =)

We Have a Surgery Date

2011-03-01T06:32:00.001-05:00

Isn't he the most precious boy ever?

We DO have a surgery date for Rowan. Rowan's surgery will be on April 19th at 8:15am. We have to be there 2 hours early and we're probably looking at being there 2-3 nights. We have 1 pre-op appointment (I need to make today!) with anesthesia and I have to set up blood donation with the Red Cross. The surgeon has to use blood sometimes and says parents often give a unit of blood (if they match the baby) so their baby can have their blood. I'm glad it's still far enough away for me to not really think much about it yet. We're mainly focusing on day to day with our 2 adorable kiddos.

Rocking my two precious bebe's.

So, how was your weekend? Ours was as laid back as it gets around here. Friday night we spent time with the family. Rowan and Elliot wore their darling Peas and Carrots shirts and we couldn't help but get a million pictures of them together. My mother-in-law was correct when she said that this was the first of many silly matching outfits we'll put on these boys. I will not deny this.

Other than dressing up our boys in cute outfits we just did some cleaning, shopping with my Mom and sister (which was fun!) and dinner with my grandparents on Saturday night. We also made several trips to the park to swing and go down the slide. I love that we have a park in walking distance from my house because my girl LOVES to swing and go down the slide. I'm amazed at how brave she is to go down this slide alone!

Giggling with Mimi before sliding down all by herself!

This should be a busy week for us! I kept with my goals from last week and made my 3 workouts and one long walk. I've been drinking TONS of water and making better food choices...not perfect, but MUCH better. My workouts are planned for this week and I"m sticking to it! Tonight night we'll have family dinner (one of my favorite nights), Wednesday Rylie has school, Thursday Rylie has her first speech therapy session and I have a coffee date with Amy and Kathlyn and Friday is another school day. I'm telling you the weeks FLY by around here. In the meantime I'm trying to enjoy every delicious moment with my kids. I know they will not be little forever. I came across this poem and it made me think. Stop focusing so much so much of my life on the toys on the floor or dishes in the sink. Have a great Tuesday!

Mother, oh Mother, come shake out your cloth,

Empty the dustpan, poison the moth,

Hang out the washing and butter the bread,

Sew on a button and make up a bed.

Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?

She’s up in the nursery, blissfully rocking.

Oh, I’ve grown shiftless as Little Boy Blue

(Lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo).

Dishes are waiting and bills are past due

(Pat-a-cake, darling, and peek, peekaboo).

The shopping’s not done and there’s nothing for stew

And out in the yard there’s a hullabaloo

But I’m playing Kanga and this is my Roo.

Look! Aren’t her eyes the most wonderful hue?

(Lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo).

The cleaning and scrubbing will wait till tomorrow,

For children grow up, as I’ve learned to my sorrow.

So quiet down, cobwebs. Dust go to sleep.

I’m rocking my baby and babies don’t keep.

by Ruth Hulburt Hamilton

My Day Friday!

2011-02-25T13:15:00.001-05:00

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

2011-02-23T15:11:00.001-05:00

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

2011-02-21T21:04:00.000-05:00

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!

2011-02-18T14:37:00.000-05:00

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...

2011-02-18T11:36:00.000-05:00

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?

2011-02-10T15:22:00.000-05:00

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!`

2011-02-06T06:58:00.001-05:00

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

2011-02-01T10:05:00.000-05:00

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.**

No Clever Title...Just HI

2011-01-28T11:27:00.000-05:00

Look at my delicious boy! 3 weeks old!

Hi from the Griffith household! Sadly it's a bit of a sick house here. I went to the doctor yesterday to make sure I didn't have the flu (For shame! None of us had flu shots this year...next year will be different). Thank God I don't have the flu but I do have an awful cold/sinus infection. I'm doing my best not to give it to anyone but Rylie is coughing/sneezing and Rowan has actually been sneezing a little too. Boo! Hopefully we can keep Jason healthy.

This week has been very long. I'm still struggling to find balance and figuring out the logistics of juggling two kids. Jason's boss was wonderful enough to be flexible about when Jason comes into work on Wed/Fri, this means that Jason can now drop Rylie off at preschool twice a week for me. Yay! Oddly, as happy as this made me, I miss our little time together driving to school, but I'm so glad that Jason and Rylie can use this as Daddy/Rylie time and that I don't have to get out with both kids that early.

More Daddy/Rylie time

Now my issue is how do I get Rylie out of school? She walks but we go across the street to park and so I just carry her...so carrying her and Rowan might present a problem. Montene was sweet enough to sit with Rowan on Wednesday so that I could run in and get Rylie so I'm hoping we can meet up and do that for awhile. Another issue I'm trying to figure out is how to sit still and feed Rowan while I hear Rylie doing things like pulling trash out of the trash can, chasing the dog around the house giggling (while he's terrified) or standing on top of her little table and chairs. LOL. I know she waits until I'm feeding the baby to do these things.

One thing I've learned through this struggle to find balance is that it's ok to ask for help. Just ask Jason, he'll tell you that I don't ask for help. I never have (this is NOT a good thing). I hate asking someone to watch my kids, or pick something up for me, or help me in any way. I'll accept help...but ASKING, that's another thing. With two babies I've been forced to ask for help and the results are awesome. Jason has been a super-star Dad helping me 1/2 the night w/ Rowan and then going to work the next morning. Amy and my parents have helped me SO much by watching Rylie for me. I don't know what I'd do without those three...they amaze me. My Mom is ALWAYS there for me and she has a full time (stressful job). Of course my sweet mother-in-law Zande was amazing when she was here. I don't even have to ask her to help me, she just knows and she just does. I'm so blessed to have her in my life. Even my little (God)sister Julianne has helped out. I'm learning, ask for help, the worst you'll hear is no. If people can't help, they'll tell you and it's not a big deal. It's taken me almost 29 years to learn this lesson folks =) Better late than never.

Playing with Papa

I have to admit. I cannot wait to get back to spending more time with my husband (we are like ships passing in the night). He takes his shift, I take mine and we spend 30 minutes in the morning having coffee together. We do make a point to spend time together in the evening, but we're exhausted folks...but I know this too shall pass. I also cannot wait to start working out again, I just have 3 1/2 weeks left. I know it'll be SO hard to find time to workout, but it makes me feel good about myself and dangit...I'll make time for it. Plus I miss time for my crafts and cooking. I need a creative outlet and getting crafty and cooking up new (and old) recipes is how I get creative. I keep telling myself that as soon as I get out of newborn survival mode then I'll have time. Regardless of all that's going on and how fast life seems to be flying by, I have THE best life. I have 2 really good kids. Rylie is unreal smart and SO much fun and Rowan is really a good baby ya'll. He is. He's a newborn and he requires us in the middle of the night (which is the worst part), but otherwise, he's perfect. Sweet, low-key, and calm. I just adore him. Being the Mama of two is twice as nice and I'm loving it!

Little Mama testing the bottle out on her hand like Mama does.

Have a great weekend ya'll!

A New Adventure!

2011-01-19T15:54:00.000-05:00

Hi! I keep meaning to update my blog and I never find just the right moment. This is the 3rd day that I've been working on this blog, LOL. If this is any indication of how busy my life will be...yowza! I'll figure out a good schedule in the next few weeks. For now we're sort of flying by the seat of our pants. I'm trying to keep some of Rylie's routines completely the same but I know that we'll need to change a few things to add Rowan into the mix at some point. Lately I'm craving the need to have more deeply set routines (yes I know I have a newborn, but they need schedule too).

This weekend we celebrated Rylie's 2nd birthday with a small group of family and friends. In our little house, a small group was a house FULL but Rylie had a great time and I was amazed how quickly Jason, my Mom and I could pull together a great little party on such a short notice.

Strawberry Shortcake Birthday time!!

Rylie and Mimi ready to party!

I thought this was so cute! Caden looks so serious with his party hat on!

We had such a fun day and kept the whole affair low key. Pizza, icecream, cookie cake and some of our sweet friends and family...just perfect. Rylie got some great presents, mostly school clothes (which she always needs) and books! She is still going over and over her new books, this kid can recognize more words that most 1st graders. What can I say, she loves to read!

The rest of this week has been great as well. Zande, my mother-in-law is here and besides her helping me with Rowan (which is amazing beyond words...I've gotten real sleep!), the whole family just loves her being here. On Rylie's actual birthday (Sunday) she took Rylie outside and Rylie took off down the street so Zande grabbed her jacket hood and off they went! Look how much fun they had!

Rowan is a complete hunger monster lately. I was worried the first few days he was home because I'd have to practically beg him to eat and he'd sleep nearly ALL the time. Well that's not the case anymore. This boy can put some food away and he's definitely giving us much more time to see his bright eyes =) Often in the evening/morning of course.

Rowan (on Rylie's boppy pillow) watching his mobile!

See, I DO have eyes!

Rylie is getting more and more interested in him and I think she understands now, he's not going anywhere. She definitely likes him. She'll now kiss him, try and help with his bottle and point out each body part carefully. My favorite is when she rubs his little fuzzy head.

Rylie's new favorite activity in the whole wide world. Coloring!!

Sweet kisses from his crazy-haired sister.

I'd be lying if I didn't admit that I'm a little apprehensive about next week. Next week it's all on me. Jason is back at work, Zande will be back in Virginia and I'll be on full time duty for 2 kids. I know that I'll be fine, but I do know that we'll be adjusting for awhile. I think the best way to look at it is that we're off on a new adventure! Here we go!

My New Life: Mama of Two

2011-01-15T07:34:00.000-05:00

After one week home with our little man I can definitely say that things are changing and we're adjusting. I don't have a true idea of how this new life as a Mama of two is like until all my help is gone, but I'm getting the hang of it. Jason and I have been taking shifts with Rowan at night and I can honestly say, after a full week home he has his days and nights mixed up. I'll admit, I thought Jason just wasn't feeding him enough at night and making him burp, but I was wrong, you could set off a bomb next to him during the day and he's out and at night he's Mr. Personality, and hungry. Great. How could you be mad at a face like this though?

His sleepy daytime nature worked in our favor yesterday when we had his newborn pictures taken by Holly Tye . We put him in every kind of position possible for a full two hours and he went along with anything. I can't wait to see the pictures she captured because they're always amazing. Rylie would NOT cooperate with her pictures when we did them 2 years ago. The only one Holly was able to capture w/ her eyes closed was when Rylie blinked in a picture. LOL. They all turned out amazing but Rylie is bright eyed in each shot =)

Look how chubby and bright eyed Rylie was for her newborn pics!

I'm learning how different two siblings can be. I hear this all the time but my two, so far, are night and day. The only physical feature they seem to share are long limbs and their tiny cleft in their chins (like their Dad, Aunt, and Grandpa all have). Rylie was a little clone of me, Rowan seems to be a clone of Jason. Rylie was a piggy of an eater, Rowan has to be tickled, talked to and undressed to get a full bottle in. Rylie required complete silence to get a full nap in (still does) and Rowan could have a marching band parade through and still sleep through it. The last one is a doozy though. Rylie was generally awake during the day and asleep at night, and Rowan has this quite backwards. I've been doing some research this morning at how to change this, so we'll see if I can start changing it up before my sweet mother-in-law goes home and I have to do most of the nights (and all of the weekdays) all on my own.

I'm also learning how many dear people in my life I have to be grateful for. My husband who has been the most amazing help. He tried with Rylie but was a bit clueless, we both were. I, admittedly, wanted to take over everything for Rylie to make sure it was going like I wanted it to. With Rowan I've let go of some of the control and it's so much easier, plus if I ask for help, Jason will always help me. Its amazing, he is amazing. My parents are so much help and support I can't even blog about them without getting teary eyed. I'm 100% sure that they are the most supportive parents on the planet. If I can grow up to be 1/2 the parents they are I'll be doing good. My sister and brother in law are always there for support too and my sister is always there to share middle of the night tweets with me, which is oddly comforting. My little sis Julianne comes to play with Rylie and totally helps take stress off of me. My MIL Zande is now here and she will make this week so much easier I'm sure. Plus my small but invaluable group of friends that support me with visits, texts, blog comments, Facebook wall posts and tweets...I wouldn't trade my small group of amazing friends for the world. Big life events have a way of making you take notice of all the good things in life.

Another "good thing in life"? Rowan's best friend and cousin, Elliot.

These two are destined to be besties just like their Mama's are!

Well, today we have a party for Rylie! She turns two tomorrow and I hope to get a chance to blog about her party. Because we knew Rowan should be here (on Monday actually), we didn't plan a huge deal. Word of mouth and evites is all I did this year. A few friends and family, nothing special but it's all about Rylie. This little girl is the most amazing thing that happened to me. She makes me happy every single day. Even on the days when she frustrates me the most, the happy times FAR outweigh the bad. She still doesn't say much, but this child is the smartest kid and amazes me every day at how many words she can read and recognize. She is a tiny masterpiece of God's design and I'm so lucky that I get to call her MY daughter.

Rylie excited for her school birthday celebration yesterday.

Isn't she a doll?

Ok, I'm off to start getting things ready for Rylie's party. Hopefully my friends and family will come to see us and not the house =) Have a great Saturday!

Meet Rowan!

2011-01-11T08:00:00.000-05:00

Morning! It's 6am and I *think* and I'll have time to get this blog post going. We'll see if either one of the kids wakes up before then. Fingers crossed! Rowan is finally here! His due date is just under a week away but he was not waiting one bit longer. Here's his birth story in as much of a nutshell as possible.

Wednesday morning I had a doctor's appointment and when the doctor checked me he said "that's weird" (not words you really want to hear at that point). He then told me that my cervix was really long (has to be short to have baby, as in, they barely feel any) but that I was dilated to 4cm. Wow! That's 40% of the way there! With this information he told me that if I didn't have the baby before next Wednesday, he'd see me then and induce me on Thursday. So that was the plan in my head. Induction on Thursday. Well needless to say, I went about my day having lunch with a dear friend, picking Rylie up from school, normal household chores. I was having contractions all day though. Despite my efforts, I was too busy to really sit down and time them properly...hey, I'm a busy woman! By the time we put Rylie to bed and sat down to watch a Star Trek I decided to time them and then I started getting nervous. They were regular and they were not backing off, but didn't seem to be getting worse. Finally after going back and forth with Amy and Jason about what I should do I called the on-call doctor and she told me to come in to check them out. Thankfully my Dad came down here to stay with Rylie and Jason and I were on our way.

The triage nurse hooked me all up and said I was indeed contracting every 1-2 minutes (not the 3-5 minutes I'd thought...wow) and to calm down because my heart rate was faster that Rowan's. She also checked and said I was at 5cm now. At this point they admitted me, started an IV, got some labs from me and I went ahead and ordered my epidural. The contractions were picking up and I didn't want to wait until I was in crazy bad pain before I got it (last time I got it at 2cm). It took awhile (as usual) and then I got my epidural. Getting it this time was much different than last time. It took twice as long and honestly now my back is still a little sore, but hey, it worked! The nurse started up the pitocin to kick my contractions into high gear and instructed us to try and sleep. Hahahahaha. Like I could sleep! My Mom and Amy (and Julianne) kept me company some, but Jason slept and I ate ice chips and tried to rest.

At around 5:30 the nurse checked me, I was about the same, then she sat me up to get my vitals better and my water broke. From then until Rowan was born it was a little crazy. When the doctor finally came in she said she didn't think I'd have to push long, so I tried a few pushes and then she made me wait because Rowan's heart rate kept dropping during each contraction/push. She told me that she'd have pediatrics come down just to watch and assist if needed because there was cord around his neck. Suddenly there was about 12 people in the room all urging me to push NOW. In about 30 minutes or less of pushing Rowan was here. Jason had no time to cut the cord or gaze at the baby. The doctor quickly cut the cord from around his neck and handed him to the nurses. He was completely white and limp. They gave him oxygen and continued to try and stimulate him to wake up and we got a few whimpers. After a few minutes he had great color and needed no more help.

Rowan Carey Griffith

7 lbs. 1oz. 20 inches

7:07am

It was a bit of a whirlwind, just like when I had Rylie! Rylie went from no interest in him to now semi-interest. She now imitates everything I do with him with her baby doll. I don't know what it is but I seem to love her exponentially more now that Rowan is here. Not that I don't adore him, I just treasure her every little expression, laugh and hug. She is such a ray of sunshine.

Oh how I missed this girl.

So far my recovery seems to be about the same as it was with Rylie's. My back is a little more sore from the epidural but otherwise everything seems the same. Rowan looks (to most people we know) just like Jason. A complete mini Jason with the same features and expressions. Sometimes I look at Rowan and think "you look just like your Daddy" and I look at Jason and think "you look just like my baby". LOL. We've had a few hard nights of adjustment, not because Rowan is a tough baby but because we forget how no sleep feels...or little sleep. We've divided the night into two shifts the past 2 nights (because the first night we both got only 3 hours of sleep). I'm quite proud of Jason for bravely taking the first shift alone. He'll wake me up around 4/5am and I lurch out of bed feeling awful I slept so long. LOL. This kid definitely sleeps and eats better during the day, so clearly we need to switch up his body clock.

Maybe being a big sister isn't all that bad!

Thanks for all your prayers and comments. I'm praying that over the next few weeks our family will adjust to the changes. I knew there would be major changes but now I'm feeling them and I'm just praying that they don't seem overwhelming. I love my little family SO much so I'm just praying that this transition goes smoothly. Or as smooth as possible. I cannot believe how blessed I am to be the Mom of two beautiful children! Today we go for Rowan's first check up. Friday he gets newborn pictures taken AND my wonderful mother-in-law arrives and Saturday we're having a small birthday party for Rylie because she'll be 2 on Sunday! Don't get me started on that or I really will cry! I hope everyone is having a great week and staying warm. Please keep us in your prayers =)

Countdown to Rowan

2011-01-03T12:00:00.000-05:00

Hi! I'm 38 weeks today and I can't believe it. On some days it seems like this pregnancy has flown by and on other it seems like it will never end. I am equal parts SO ready to not be pregnant anymore and holding my baby and also anxious about lack of sleep, how Rylie will react and just being able to handle it all. Most of the time I'm just ready to not be pregnant anymore though =) I'm sure it's perfectly normal to also feel a bit guilty when I look at Rylie and think how she has NO idea how much her little life is about to change. Sure, she'll love having a brother someday, but she won't be my one and only concern anymore. I'll have to share my attention and affection with someone else and that will be a huge change for her. Thankfully she's not generally super clingy and she is quite wonderful at entertaining herself for long periods of time. I'm trying to take these last 2 weeks (or less) and soak up every little Mommy/Rylie moment I can because time flies at light speed now, I cannot imagine how fast it will fly by with 2 kids. I've loved having her as my one and only sidekick day by day for almost 2 years, now the two of us get to take a new adventure together...Rowan! I cannot believe how blessed I am to be a stay-at-home Mama and not miss one single moment with them because boy is it ever going by FAST.

Thank you Rylie for teaching me SO much over the past 23 1/2 months. You've taught me what it is to be selfless and to love someone more than I ever imagined possible. You've taught me patience and how to act completely silly and ridiculous just to get one smile from you. Every single day of my life is happy because YOU are in it. I love you my little sunshine!

And now for an update on Rowan's room. It's really coming along. I love it because it's SO different from Rylie's ultra girly room.

Of course we went with the Space Ship theme! This meant that I added (or let Jason add) touches of Star Wars and Star Trek (only original Star Trek folks).

Since Rowan's room is the biggest room we put the futon in there in case we need to sleep on it or our guests can. I like it and so does Rylie (and the animals), they think it's their couch. I love the ABC and number picture prints we got from Etsy and the "Rocket Man" painting from a local craft show. Oh and that's the consignment store bookshelf I mod-podged a few months ago!

I didn't want to buy another changing table so we just got a white dresser and I had Jason spray paint the knobs w/ a $1 can of spray paint. Gotta love spray paint! The rocker is Rylie's old (pink) rocker that Jason dyed to match Rowan's room!

I love his cozy rocketship bed!! Now we just need a baby to put in there!

SO, what do you think of Rowan's room? I hope you enjoyed his room tour and please pray for our little family and the upcoming changes that await us =)

Happy 2011

2011-01-01T16:15:00.000-05:00

We had such a nice and relaxing NYE around here. We went up to my Mom's and had dinner with my parents, Amy, Matt and Elliot and Mamaw. Amy made delicious Ranch Oyster Crackers (an old NYE favorite in our family), Amy and I made Pasta E Fagioli and I made THIS dessert, Cake Batter Blondies. AMAZING. So easy you must try them, and festive too! Thank God we have leftovers. We had a great time hanging out and came home by 8:30. Jason and I watched some Star Trek and stayed up just late enough to get a Happy New Year's smooch before rolling over and going to sleep =) I borrowed this little New Year's survey from Karen (who I think borrowed it from someone else). Much easier than summarizing my year myself. I hope everyone has had a great start to 2011!!

1. What did you do in 2010 that you’d never done before?

I became an Aunt. I became pregnant with a baby boy! I took my girl to her first day of preschool.

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

I don't really make any but I do like to make some goals. I'm still coming up with my goals but here are a few I have in mind so far:

Read more books (I'm already doing great on this w/ the help of my Kindle).
Invest more time in my friendships (with new, old and family friends).
Workout 4-5 days a week (after the baby of course)
Refocus my food efforts on healthful foods (less processed, more nutrient rich), just the way I was eating before I got pregnant and decided to eat a little more junk food.
Spend more time focused solely on Rylie, Jason (and eventually Rowan). Distraction free. TV off, smartphone down.
Read in my Chronological Bible each day (a cool Christmas gift).

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?

My twin sister gave birth to my nephew Elliot! He's perfect! Also my cousin Marybeth gave birth to her son, Colt, on the very same day that Amy had Elliot.

4. Did anyone close to you die?

No. I did have a dear friend lose a baby though and I watched her deal with it with such grace. She amazes me with her positivity, love her.

5. What countries did you visit?

Just the good ole' USA.

6. What would you like to have in 2011 that you lacked in 2010?

A son =)

7. What dates from 2010 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?

Jan. 16th, Rylie's first birthday and Nov. 19th, Elliot's birthday!!

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?

Well in the first 4 months of 2010 I lost 20 lbs. Yay! I was very proud of myself, and then I got pregnant. In 2011 my goal is to lose all the baby weight plus about 10 more lbs. I know I can do it!

9. What was your biggest failure?

I don't feel like I really "failed" at anything this year really. I wish I would have read more books and watched less Bravo =)

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?

Other than being insanely pregnant? No. This kid seems WAY harder on my body than Rylie was. He definitely wants to make sure he's the baby of the family =)

11. What was the best thing you bought?

I didn't do much buying this year besides groceries, baby stuff and gifts for other people...so I'm not sure.

12. Where did most of your money go?

Rylie and medical bills (again, Rylie).

13. What did you get really excited about?

Becoming an Aunt, becoming pregnant with a baby boy and yes...discovery Glee!

14. What song will always remind you of 2010?

Anything Glee related.

15. Compared to this time last year, are you:
– happier or sadder? Happier, but I'm just a happy person generally.
– thinner or fatter? Fatter...I'm almost 38 wks pregnant.
– richer or poorer? Ask the husband. He's the money.

16. What do you wish you’d done more of?

Dates with the husband.

17. What do you wish you’d done less of?

Computer and dvr.

18. How did you spend Christmas?

With my family here in GA.

19. What was your favorite TV program?

Glee Glee and Glee

20. What were your favorite books of the year?

The Big Stone Gap series by Adriana Trigiani. I sped through the first book, got the 2nd book on my Kindle for Christmas (read it in 4 days) and am now working on the 3rd book. Check them out.

21. What was your favorite music from this year?

Glee. I sound like a broken record but it's the truth ya'll.

22. What were your favorite films of the year?

I so haven't had time to watch movies this year. Or at least anything new.

23. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?

We went to Thai House with the family and had cookie cake. It was perfect. I turned 29. SO trying to hold onto my 20's.

24. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?

More time alone with Jason.

25. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2010?

Hah. I was actually getting better (and into) this whole fashion thing before I got pregnant. Now I'm just determined to make my old maternity clothes work. 2011 will definitely be more fashionable.

26. What kept you sane?

Family, friends and Oliver.

27. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2010.

"Keeping it light" on Facebook, especially with family members. And just keeping my mouth shut period on FB, good and bad.

Post-Christmas Post

2010-12-30T07:09:00.001-05:00

Hello lovlies! How was your Christmas? Mine was wonderful...despite the fact that Jason, Rylie and I were all sick...we had such a great time. We had several gatherings with family and friends and then on Christmas morning everyone came over here to watch Rylie open her gifts from Santa. I got SO many nice presents from everyone (and so did Rylie and Rowan). I must have been insanely good this year! My most used gift so far is my new Kindle. My husband is SO thoughtful! He even pre-loaded my Kindle with the second book in the Big Stone Gap series. I finished the 2nd book in 4 days and immediately bought the 3rd book, straight to my Kindle. You've got to love technology =) I cannot even run through the list of fantastic gifts I got, but I want for nothing! That is for sure. Here are some pictures from our Christmas festivities!

Cute little monogrammed onsies for our boys!!

Rylie on Christmas morning! Lovin' her toys!

Coloring with Mimi and Mamaw on Christmas morning.

My darling little nephew, Elliot's first Christmas morning.

By the time Monday was here we had all of the decorations down and in the basement. I love Christmas but it felt SO refreshing to get this house clean! Today I am 37 weeks 3 days pregnant. I had Rylie at 39 weeks exactly and I'm feeling like this baby is not trying to break her record at ALL. I've spent this week cleaning up, organizing a few areas of the house and making sure I have all of the new baby essentials I need. My hope is that if I'm ready...he'll show up...in a timely manner =) I don't think that's how it works, but I can try. Today I have my weekly NST (non-stress test) and then an ultrasound to check his weight and fluid (amniotic fluid) and then an OB visit, not with my primary doctor but with the doctor that actually delivered Rylie, so we'll see how it all goes. Please remind me...a watched belly never contracts...is that the old saying?

I'm hoping to have time to write a New Year's post. This has been such a busy and amazing year. I have so many hopes and so many question marks when it comes to 2011. There are definitely some amazing things to come!

Busy Day + It's the Simple Things!

2010-12-15T15:43:00.000-05:00

Hi! It's Wednesday! This week is flying by so fast. This morning after I got Rylie to school I met up with Jessi for coffee. I just love her because being friends with her is SO easy. We never run out of things to talk about! They're going to Texas for two weeks for Christmas and I'll definitely miss her! Then Amy and Elliot showed up and we met up with Kathlyn and Caleb. I just love making friends from the blogs I read and love and we always have SO much fun with Kathlyn! The rest of my morning/afternoon was a blur of activity. Now Rylie is asleep and I can blog =) So, onto some cute pictures!

The morning after Rowan's shower I started unloading all the boxes and bags and throwing out all the tissue paper. Rylie was in heaven! She played with, rolled in, slid around in the tissue paper for almost an hour. If you get her a Christmas gift, put it in a bag please? She's addicted to tissue paper! I love this kid! Have a great day ya'll!

Tissue paper is fun!

She was even sliding in it, LOL!

Here, let's stuff it in this diaper pail!

Ooohhhh, what's in here?

Rowan's Baby Shower!

2010-12-13T07:20:00.001-05:00

This weekend my sweet friend Jessi threw me a wonderful baby shower for little Rowan. I was so excited to celebrate this kid. I looked around all everything blue and boyish and it made me so happy. Don't get me wrong, I am a girly girl. I love everything pink and Hello Kitty, but I'm ready to have my world also filled with rocket ships, trucks, dirt and anything else boys like =)

Jessi planned a "Milk and Cookies" theme which I thought was totally cute. I've never thought of it before, but I'd love to another party with the same theme because it's so much fun. We had an array of cookies to eat, a beautiful cake and a huge pitcher of milk. Delicious!

Jessi even had cute little treat bags so that the guests could bring home more cookies with them as party favors! What a great idea! We have definitely been enjoying some cookies the past few days, there was quite a variety! Jessi made some butterscotch cookies that were amazing (definitely making those this week!).

We had a nice turn out of guests but these two kids stole the show, Rylie and Caden! I wish they'd actually play with eachother instead of just waving and smiling at eachother, but hey...maybe that's their game, to be coy? LOL. Aren't these two adorable?

We had so much fun with the "How Big is her Belly" game. Two people actually won with an exact measurement of my belly. It was amazing how accurate their pieces of yarn fit around my belly perfectly (Julianne and Aunt Reba!). Then we ate and opened gifts. I got so many nice things for my boy. I came home and immediately had to look at everything again. Here we are playing the game and opening gifts.

It's hard to believe that all the things I opened will be used on MY little boy in a month or so. He's not a figment of my imagination! I feel so blessed to have a sweet friend like Jessi throw this shower for Rowan and I. It was a fun and special day that I'll always remember. Thanks friend!

Me, Jessi and Caden in all our BLUE =)

Blogging Challenge on Pause

2010-12-09T16:15:00.000-05:00

SO, as you know I've been doing a month-long blog challenge. Each day there is a different topic to write on. Well I got bored with that for a minute. I'll go back to it. I think I got stumped on the challenge yesterday because it wanted me to tell a song that described my mood. Well my mood changes often these days, so I wasn't into it. Today I just decided to blog about my life. Right now. I also wanted to share some pics that I've taken this week that just make me happy. So join me.

Today I had my usual NST and OB visit. Turns out that little Rowan is head down now. Yay! I hope and pray that he stays that way. Look at this little profile. I'm amazed how much he has filled out in the past month (last time we saw him on 4/D). He looks pretty squished in there but at least he appears to be headed towards the exit now =)

I want to squeeze him!

Would you just look at those cheeks?

I was at the doctor's office for a loooooong time today. My doctor must have been incredibly busy today. In fact the entire place was buzzing today. I'm glad we got to see my sweet little boy's face though. It made the almost 3 hour visit worth it.

In other news, I'm looking forward to my baby shower for Rowan this weekend! My sweet friend Jessi is throwing it for me and I just can't wait. I'm so ready to celebrate the upcoming arrival of this little boy. I live in the land of baby dolls and pink princess clothes right now, so switching gears to now have a boy is going to be SO different. I'm sure I will have lots of pictures to share from Saturday. Yay!

Finally, Christmas. I'm really trying to get in the spirit. It's hard this year for some reason but finally my presents (that I've ordered for people) have started coming in and I'm getting excited. I think I'm feeling down because I feel huge and have NO energy. I want to be baking cookies and shopping until my feet fall off but I can't, my body just won't let me and I'm frustrated. Thankfully I have the BEST husband in the world and he's helping me out so much. Cooking dinner, doing the dishes, giving Rylie a bath every night, doing much of the housework. I know he feels bad for me because this pregnancy has been so hard on my body lately and I just could not love and appreciate him anymore. He is amazing.

OK, I'm going to share some pictures from this week that just make me happy. Enjoy. I hope they also make you smile =) and I'll get back to the challenge soon.

We fully support almost-nekkid reading in this house =)

Playing with Daddy at her eye appointment. They're so cute!

She fell asleep on the way home from Emory, only slept 10 minutes, but still cute!

She was surrounded with her favorites, her book and her blankie!

More reading...what can I say? She loves books, she's SO cute!

Blog Challenge Day 7

2010-12-07T07:37:00.000-05:00

Morning! We're 7 days into my blog challenge and I'm still rolling along. I view it as a daily blog exercise, like a yoga practice, I think it will help stretch out my writing abilities and just get me in the habit of writing more often. I like it. I have so much to do here today because we were gone ALL day yesterday to Atlanta, plus my sister is stopping by with my nephew Elliot and I can't wait! I love that baby and I can't wait to see him with Rowan, they'll be a cute pair of boys! Rylie will be outnumbered but I doubt it will even bother her, she has no interest in tiny, squirmy babies so far =) Onto the challenge!

Day 7 - Your dream wedding.

I already had my dream wedding, so I'll just tell you a little about it here. Jason and I wanted a small wedding. I am not into having 400 people that I barely know watching us in one of our most special and intimate moments of our life. The venue we chose would only hold about 60-80 people so it was perfect. Here is the chapel:

Nestled back in the woods it overlooks a lake.

There are beautiful stained glass windows and a stone floor (needed VERY little decoration).

The day went by in a flash but I can tell you that it was beautiful. Jason and I picked out all the music ourselves. My Uncle Mike (and Uncle Stan) did the ceremony for us. My color was PINK because if you know me, you know that's my color. Our song to leave to was a Nick Drake song, Northern Sky. It was perfect. The reception was at the Lodge at Callaway and it was amazing. A huge brunch with tons of food. We'd designed the reception tables ourselves and my Mom and Aunts arranged the flowers and our bouquets with beautiful hydrangeas and pink roses. It all went by in such a blur and I wish I could do it again. I do know that I would not change a thing. I only have a few pics on this computer but just know it was a perfect day. Simple and beautiful. The best thing was that at the end of the day I drove off on my honeymoon married to my best friend!

Ready to get married!

Saying our vows.

Romantic =)

Fun at the reception!

Love.

An Emory Checkup and Day 6 of the Challenge

2010-12-06T17:28:00.001-05:00

Hi there! Today was a LONG day. Today Rylie had her post-op appointment with Dr. Lenhart at Emory. We headed up around 10am, grabbed lunch at a little (pricey) diner off of Ponce de Leon and made it to the doctor's office right on time. It was the perfect time because we were the only people there (which is SO rare). Everyone thought Rylie looked so cute in her Santa outfit and so far her eyes look great. There is still a slight deviation on occasion to turn inward but with patching and glasses they seem confident that her alignment will stay straight. All we can do is persist with the vision therapy. She is doing much better with glasses and now that she's over this sinus infection we can patch again. We just adore her doctor, it's such a blessing that she was assigned to us! Thankfully though our next appointment is in 4 months...whew...no more long rides up for awhile. Right now Rylie and I are chilling out to Yo Gabba Gabba and my husband is cooking Shrimp Stirfry for dinner because he is THE best husband in the world. It's true. The folks at the pediatric opthamology reception desk even insisted he looks like George Clooney (which I won't argue with...I know my man is handsome!). Ok, now onto Day 6 of my Blog Challenge!

My cutie pie at her appointment today!

Day 6 - A photo of an animal you'd love to keep as a pet.

This is hard because we already have 3 pets if you don't include our fish...and I think we're pretty full up on pets here, but if I could choose any pet I'd choose this:

I would love love love to have a Labradoodle. I know, weird name, but it's a Labrador and a Poodle mix and I just think they're SO beautiful. I my little Oliver though...but I wish he had a big clumsy playmate and I think one of these would be awesome! At this point we'd probably adopt a pet from a local shelter though. My favorite website is Petfinder.com . I browsed their site for 10 minutes for this challenge and had to get off of it before I ran out and added another mouth to feed here at the Griffith household. I love our cats...but I am SUCH a dog person. What kind of animal would you love to have?

I leave you with a picture of the dog I love most in the entire world, my Olive (Oliver Phinneas Griffith).

Blog Challenge Day 5

2010-12-05T16:18:00.001-05:00

Yep. It's already day 5 of my blog challenge and I'm still keeping up. I'm a little impressed with myself actually. My sister did day 4 and 5 on her blog today and it was a great post! Check it out if you have the chance. Today has been a great day. The baby slept in past 8am, we got some cleaning done around here and around lunchtime we headed out to Target as a family (after my husband made us awesome Tuna Melts for lunch). Rylie was so great in Target and I even ran into a dear old friend, we made plans to catch up during Christmas break and I can't wait. Then we drove over to Starbucks and had coffee (and a Cranberry Bliss Bar) as a little family. I love love love our little coffee dates as a family. The three of us sitting all snuggled up in the big leather chairs at Starbucks w/ a cup of hot coffee and a treat = pure happiness for me. I don't know how that will change with Rowan but I think we'll come to love the 4 of us just as much as we love the 3 of us. I love little Elliot so much I can only imagine how much I'll love my own little boy!Ok, moving onto today's challenge:

Day 5 - A photo of yourself two years ago.

This photo was taken at my baby shower for Rylie (one of the 3 I had) almost exactly 2 years ago. I think this picture is one week shy of being 2 years old. I had the most beautiful shower and there were tons of people there that I loved. It was a wonderful joyous day for me! It's hilarious to me that almost exactly 2 years later here I am doing this again! I'd have told you that you were nuts if you'd told me I'd be having another baby in 2 short years but here we are. Having Rylie has completely changed my life. As a Mama you're constantly elated, proud, full of love yet worried, frustrated and worn out. You can have a range of those emotions all in an hour! There is nothing better in the world though. Rylie is my joy every single day....even on the hardest days. It helps that I am on this journey with Jason, my best friend who has grown into the most wonderful Dad. He definitely takes care of us, his girls, and I'm sure that little Rowan will rock our world in such a good way. I cannot wait to meet him and complete our little family (yes, I'm pretty sure we will be done after our little man). I leave you with a picture of the girl that came only a month and 3 days after the above picture was taken...this little girl makes my heart sing =)

"Helping" decorate the Christmas tree

Have a great Sunday and come back tomorrow for day 6 of my challenge!

Blog Challenge Day 4

2010-12-04T16:56:00.001-05:00

Hey! How's the weekend going? I've had a pretty great weekend so far. I woke up just before 7am because Rowan had the hiccups (that wasn't annoying at all, haha). We had a low-key morning around the house and then I went shopping with my Mom, Rylie, Amy and baby Elliot. We hit Toys R' Us which was INSANE. I've never been there when it's been such a madhouse. Then we ran over to Wendy's for lunch which was just as crazy and finally Sears. Elliot did SO well on his first shopping trip, what a trooper, he slept the entire time! Tonight I'm hoping we can actually finish our Christmas tree and watch a Christmas special, we have about 5 different ones on DVD so we'll have our pick! Now onto the challenge topic for today!

Day 4 - Your favorite photograph of your best friend.

Hi. These 2 are my besties on the day I got engaged.

This was easy. I have 2 best friends, my husband and my twin sister, Amy. I have TONS of favorite pictures of these two but I chose one each of them and then one of the 3 of us together.

The first is of my sister and I. I chose a silly picture because we are silly. Amy is such a great friend and sister. She usually knows what I'm thinking, she has great advice and she's always, always always honest with me. I learn so much from her (I hope she learns anything from me). I feel like I am the most blessed person in the world because she's MY sister, my twin!

Next up is my handsome husband. Growing up I was worried I'd never find a man that understood me. I'm silly, when I get angry or upset I get quiet but when you're my friend (or love) I'm totally devoted. He absolutely gets me. The weirdest, most bizarre thing that I find funny...he does too. When I get quiet he forces me to talk about it so that it doesn't get bad and build up. Plus, I know he's totally devoted to me too. I'm telling you, I still swoon when he kisses me. He is the man for me. Here is one of my favorite pictures of us. This was our very first picture together taken with my phone. We'd known eachother (in person) about 2 weeks. It's sort of amazing how crazy I already was about him at this point. Now I look at it and think WOW...I love this man!

I'm 4/4 so far on the challenge. Whoohoo. What will tomorrow's challenge be? You'll have to stay tuned to find out =) Have a great Saturday ya'll~

Blog Challenge: Day 3

2010-12-03T06:51:00.000-05:00

Morning! It's Friday, so TGIF! We have nothing major planned for this weekend besides actually decorating our tree. Yesterday I couldn't find the lights...so here it still sits. A nekkid tree....pretty sad. I'll probably get more Christmas shopping done and possibly wrap a few gifts. Yay! I love Christmas. So, moving on to Day 3 of my month-long Blog Challenge. I've thought and thought about this one, here is the topic: Day 3 - Your idea of the perfect first date.
Don't laugh, and don't ask questions...just go with it, but I only had one first date. I married the man I went on that first date with, so with this question I can only describe how wonderful that night was =)

Jason and I had known eachother a week or two and hung out a few times casually before he asked me out on an official date. It was a Friday night and I remember obsessing over which shirt to wear with my new jean skirt. I finally decided as he pulled in the driveway to pick me up. I'm pretty sure I introduced him to my Dad (yes, Mama, you were out of town...heck out of STATE when this happened). He opened my car door and we were off to dinner at Sushiko. This is one of those places that they cook the food in front of you. I think it's good first date material because you can talk but you're still entertained (in case of any awkwardness). We had a great meal and I do remember him giving me his jacket because I was cold (even though it was June). We debated icecream afterwards but decided on coffee (a mutual love of ours) and went to Books-a-Million. This particular location later became a very frequent spot for us. We had coffee and chatted and looked at books until the placed closed down (or until my curfew was almost up...yes, even in my mid-20's I had an early curfew). He drove me home and the rest is history.

This was a few weeks after our first date. It was taken at one of

our favorite places, Books-a-Million, the place where we ended our

first date.

I can say that Jason has always been the most considerate dater. He never picked me up late, he always (and still does) opened the car door for me and he never took me on awkward dates. Boys and girls, chivalry is NOT dead. I think a first date should be old school, no matter what age you are. Chivalrous, the boy should pay, something light and fun. Even now, when we get date nights I treasure them. Any little moment I can steal away with the man I'm crazy about is very special to me...even if it's just a coffee date. I look back on that first date and still get butterflies because it was really the beginning of our little love story and I thank God for sending me someone that I'm SO excited to spend the rest of my life with. Thanks for reading my sappy ( and possibly boring) take on dates. If you're single, enjoy them and have fun! If you're married (with kids) do the same but treasure them...they're SO important!

Day 2: Blog Challenge!

2010-12-02T12:43:00.000-05:00

So it's day 2 of my December blog challenge and I'm still here! The challenge of the day you ask? Here it is:

Day 2 - A photo of something you ate today.

This morning I woke up craving oatmeal. We got up early...well Jason did (5:45am) and as I drank my coffee I started googling things like healthy breakfast cookies or loaded oatmeal. I ended up at one of my favorite websites Kath Eats Real Food. Kath is a registered dietitian and one of my favorite healthy living bloggers. I knew she'd come through when it came to a good oatmeal recipe. This is the recipe I decided on: Baked Banana Oatmeal. I cut her recipe in half (hers serves 4) and added about a teaspoon of natural peanut butter to my wet ingredients. This turned out to be filling, good for me and a hit with Rylie! I ate around 7:45am and it's nearly 1pm...and I'm still pretty full. The middle is yummy and oaty (yep. I'm saying that's a word) and the outside is chewy an delicious. The bananas caramelize and and it's a little bit of heaven. Great way to start a day.

Come back tomorrow to find out what day 3 of the challenge has in store for me. I can honestly say that I haven't even read challenge #3, so it'll be a surprise to us all! Now I'm off to get some lunch and finally put some lights on my little Christmas tree. It's about time! Have a great day =)

5 Things I'm Obsessed with Now

2010-12-01T07:18:00.001-05:00

Morning! It's finally hump-day! I hope you're having a fantastic week. After yesterday's dreary day of rain rain rain all day I thought I'd post something happy. 5 things I'm totally obsessed with now. What are you obsessed with right now?

1. Agadir Argon Oil and Conditioner

My hair is curly and unbelievably dry. No matter what time of year. I describe my hair as feeling like a horses tail...but it can be pretty. What keeps it in place is hair mousse and that makes it crunchy and dry...which I hate. My sister-in-law actually suggested I try this stuff when I was up for a visit in October and low and behold when I came home my Mama had some. I've been using it for a month or so and my hair is SO soft and healthy! I wash with regular (cheap) shampoo and then use this conditioner and a tiny bit of the oil before I use mousse and a diffuser (on my blow dryer). It also smells SO good! I'm obsessed with it! You can find it online or at hair salons.

2. Yankee Candle's Peppermint Swirl Jar Candle

It's no secret that I love all things Christmas (music, decorations, food, ect.) so it's no surprise that at this time of year Jason and I would fill our house with Christmas smells. He loves candles as much as I do...we have at least one burning nearly all day at our house. We usually each pick a holiday "flavor" we like and then also buy a pine-scented candle because we have a fake tree and want at least the idea that our house really smells like pine. This year I chose the Peppermint Swirl candle. Peppermint and vanilla swirled together for a perfect balance of Christmas cheer. Smells like a candy cane and sugar cookies all in one. I'm loving it!

3. Online Christmas Shopping

(original image found here)

Yep, some people thinks it takes the joy out of Christmas but not me! I get even more joy by scouring the websites for cute things, looking up coupon codes or plucking items off of someone's Amazon wishlist (a link to mine, haha). It's so exciting to see the packages start trickling in everyday. I don't do ALL my Christmas shopping online but I can tell you that the vast majority of my Christmas shopping will be delivered to my door. My tired and pregnant body is very happy about this! Here are some of the sites I love best! Which sites do you love for shopping?

4. Celestial Seasonings Candy Cane Lane Tea

Confession: I want to be a tea drinker...but I'm really not. I do like the occasional cup but I am SO much more of a coffee drinker. Every year they have this tea available in our local supermarkets and every year I squeal with delight because this is a tea (a green tea at that) that I actually love. It tastes like peppermint vanilla (haha...sort of like I'm drinking the candle I talked about earlier). Try a cup of it and I'm pretty sure you'll be a fan. You can buy it here or almost anywhere (I got mine at Walmart), but do it soon because it's only a seasonal tea!

5. A 30-Day Blog Challenge

My beautiful cousin blogged over on her website at Ciao Bella about a 30-day blog challenge and I'm all over it! I love a challenge, especially when it comes to my blog. Click on the link to her website if you want to read each days challenge. I thought it would be a perfect time to start today since it's December 1st. Hopefully I won't miss any days...that'll be the biggest challenge. In 30-days we'll see just how well I did. Here is challenge numero uno.

Day 1 - A photo of yourself and a description of how your day was.

The pic is posted above. It wasn't taken today but that's because it's only 7am here. It is one of my favorite recent pictures (it was taken about a month ago while waiting on surgery for Rylie's eyes). I can only tell you my plans for the day so far. They are ambitious as usual...especially when I feel like I'm lugging around a bowling ball strapped to my belly all day. Rylie has school this morning so it'll be a mad rush to get a shower, get her dressed and fed (she won't eat much in the morning), get her to school and hopefully no tears today. Then I'm off to pick up Amy and I some Starbucks and meet our friend Jessi at Amy's house for some girl time, gossip and good coffee. Amy really can't take Elliot out in public yet so we decided to bring girl time to her. I'm sure we'll jabber away and kiss all over my precious nephew...he is SO yummy. Then I have to run a few errands before I pick Rylie up. I'll let her watch her favorite show (Yo Gabba Gabba) put her down for a nap and try and get my little Christmas tree up (we'll see if that happens). Then I'll probably spend the rest of my evening cooking dinner, playing with my girl and spending time with my handsome husband...you know...the usual good stuff. Join me back tomorrow for day 2 of my challenge or join in with me! Are you up for the challenge?

Thanksgiving and Weekend Update

2010-11-28T17:30:00.000-05:00

How was everyone's Thanksgiving? Thanksgiving morning we woke up to Rylie's right eye swollen like someone had punched her in her sleep. We called around (to her pediatrician and the one's that treat her at Emory) and decided on Benedryl and monitoring it. Thankfully it lessened during the day...what a way to wake up on Turkey Day! We spent the morning finishing off our lunch contributions (mashed potatoes and Jason's yummy Mac n' Cheese) and watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade, it's really just background music to our TG morning.

We went to lunch at my Nana's house around noon and I grabbed baby Elliot for awhile before anyone else had a chance to. He is so amazingly delicious. I'm pretty sure a bomb could have exploded 2 feet away and he would have continued sleeping. Just look at this precious little man!

I love him more and more everyday! Rylie had a ball playing outside in the leaves with my parents, Grandpa and Aunt Amy. It was a beautiful (warm) day and she just wanted to sit in the leaves and play.

We had such a nice day eating and visiting with family. It was low key and relaxed. We went home around Rylie's naptime, all came home, took naps and woke up and went back to Nana's for a little more food and fellowship. It was a great day. Rylie even got close enough to Elliot to kiss his tiny little feet (if you know Rylie you know she loves feet...so how could she resist these tiny feet?).

The day after Thanksgiving we slept in (no Black Friday craziness for us) and we woke up to find Rylie's other eye (left one) swollen shut and the right eye was fine. After talking to the after-hours nurse we decided we needed to find a solution to this issue. My Mom and I went to 2 different acute care places that had 3+ hour waiting times (and they'd JUST opened) so we decided we'd hit the Pediatric After Hours when they opened up at 1. When we finally got there 15 minutes early they were FULL up. So my Mom let Rylie play out in a huge waiting area and I sat in the packed (germ filled) waiting room. By about 3pm we left with a diagnosis of sinusitis and conjunctivitis (Not pink eye...this was all sinus related! She got Jason's sinuses apparently). We came home and put her in bed and went to Target for her prescriptions and did a little Christmas shopping while we were at it (yay!). Since my Mom had put up with our huge sinus ordeal all day with me (I thank God for her...what would I do without her?) I decided to make Potato Pancakes with all my leftover mashed potatoes. If you have leftover mashed potatoes you MUST try this. If you're super weird about exact ingredient amounts then disregard my recipe and google one, when I cook I guesstimate.

April's Potato Pancakes

2.5-3 cups of mashed potatoes (these were the Pioneer Woman's recipe)

2 eggs

3 green onions chopped

1/2 cup milk (only b/c my mashed potatoes had thickened significantly)

1/3-1/2 cup flour

All purpose seasoning

Cajun Seasoning

(generous helpings of both of the above spice blends)

Mix all of the above ingredients.

Heat a cast iron skillet with olive oil (or butter).

Drop potatoes by heaping tablespoonfuls into the cast iron and smash down with your spoon.

Give it a few minutes until you can tell the sides are brown and then flip over.

Let cook a few more minutes and then let cool.

Serve with ketchup or sour cream.

This week I'll be focused on getting up my Christmas tree and organizing Rylie and Rowan's drawers. Jason finally set up most of Rowan's room. I think it looks great so far. I'm looking for some finishing touches...and then we'll add the essentials like diapers, lotion and all the other stuff you need in a little baby room. I'm also looking for a space/rocket themed rug and maybe more art. Besides that I have MOP's on Tuesday (hope I can make it), Rylie has school on Wednesday, I have an NST and OB appointment on Thursday and Rylie has a check up at Emory (in Atlanta) on Friday. So it's another crazy week. I hope everyone had a great and relaxing Thanksgiving!

Three Things I'm Thankful For

2010-11-24T06:23:00.000-05:00

Here are just three things I'm thankful for...in pictures of course =)

My baby

My amazing husband

I'm thankful I get to meet this little man soon!

I'm thankful for SO many things but I don't have to leave my house to find 3 of the things I'm most thankful for! God has blessed me with such a great little family. A daughter that is smart and precious and is just my little side kick all day. A husband that takes care of me, loves me and makes me laugh ALL the time. And soon I'll get to meet my last little blessing, my little Rowan, who I think is going to be a rascal. I cannot wait to hold my little man. I could write a list a million things I'm thankful for but these 3 are my heart.