July Books...

I know it's a little earlier than I typically do my monthly book update, but I just finished one this afternoon and I know I won't finish anymore before August so I thought I'd go ahead with it. By the way, where did July go?!? I feel like I blinked and it was gone! The teacher friends in our county went back to work last Monday and kids start next Monday. Is that not crazy?!? (Secretly, I love it. It means fewer people when I'm out running errands. I do love you teacher friends, though! Don't hate me!)

Not many books this month and you'll be surprised at my take on one of them!

The Art of Racing in the Rain  by Garth Stein

Let's just go ahead and get this one out of the way. I hated it. Hated it. And I know that I'm the only human on the planet that did. The story is from the dog's perspective. He watches his humans (and really is human except that he can't speak) and tells their story from his perspective. That was all sweet and cute. I truly did love his perspective. However, the story of the family totally did me in. I was miserable reading it. I just wanted the dog to be able to smack the people on the face and tell them to get back to reality! I'm not going to say much about the plot because if you want to read it I want you to! I don't want to give anything away or distract you from what others have thought to be a great story. But let me know if I'm not the only one that hated it. I'd love to talk to someone else about it!

The Hardy Boys #7 & 8

I'm sure no one really cares for an overview of the Hardys. They were up to much of the same. People were after them, they got in a "pickle," and in the end the bad guys spilled their guts about their plans. Ha!

The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

Holy cow, I loved this book. How in the world have I not read it before now? If you've been around me long you know that I am enthralled by weirdo crime novels, crime shows, etc. If Cold Case is on tv, chances are I'm watching it. (The real stories, not those silly fiction ones.) This book had been on my radar for a little while and then I picked it up at our used book sale in April. I was sucked in from the beginning and couldn't put it down. In fact, I threw James in the bed with me this afternoon and he "read" while I finished this up.

The story is about Susie Salmon, a 14-year-old girl who is raped and murdered by her neighbor. Her body is never recovered and for a while there is no link to the neighbor, Mr. Harvey. But the novel isn't really about that. It's about her family and friends and the way that each of them moves on after they realize she's gone. Susie watches from Heaven (certainly not the Heaven that I believe in, but a take on Heaven that many people probably do believe in) as many of the people make unlikely connections with another grieving person. The novel was touching and realistic. I absolutely loved it. It was not a scary murder story. She speaks about her death in a way that actually takes away from how grusome it must've been. She learns so much watching from Heaven. Read it! Read it now! :)

I also finished the camera book that I've been working on forever, Better Photo Basics: The Absolute Beginner's Guide to Taking Photos Like a Pro by Jim Miotke. It was very informative. I think I probably need to read it again! :)

So that's it for July. Not too terribly many, but plenty for how busy we've been! My extras from July and my August list have been smushed together and here's what I have:

The Thirteenth Tale: A Novel by Diane Setterfield

Bringing Up Boys by Dr. James Dobson

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Sookie Stackhouse #2 and #3 (I've put these on hold at the library - I tried to read #2 this month but it's been out) by Charlaine Harris

The Soloist by Steve Lopez

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

Sweet Little Lies by Lauren Conrad (don't judge)

31 Days to Clean by Sarah Mae (I've been working through this)

A Pentateuch study by Kay Arthur (my morning Bible study)

There's not a chance I'll finish them all, but they're in my nightstand waiting for me anyway! Any thoughts on these books? What are you reading?

Being Silly and Getting Organized...

A few weeks ago we started bathing James in our big bathtub in the master bath. Eddie thought it was easier and I was thrilled with only having to (regularly) clean one bathtub. James thinks it is FANTASTIC. We don't even have any toys in the tub and he is a wild man. He likes to have "bubbas" in the tub with him and with those plus a cup (or two) he is set! He splishes and splashes and flips and flops and pretends to swim and squeels. He sometimes gets in trouble for the wildness, but usually it's kept contained. I took a few pictures of him on Monday afternoon during the bath that I gave him before he headed to Camp Fresh. He is SO silly! (Please note the clearer-than-before photos. Special thanks to Lauren and Comer for that one. It pays to know how to work your fancy camera, my friends!)

We met Grandmama and Granddaddy at Cracker Barrel on Monday night. (This one got a one hundred on their score. Thank goodness. I was grossed out just thinking about that 83 from last week!) Before and after our meal James was being silly in the store. I found the CUTEST Georgia Bulldog hat and tried it on him. Had it not been A) an adult's size and B) $25, it might have been his for the winter this year. (Some of you will remember that I like to pay about $25 less than that for winter hats. {Those of you who don't remember - the Target lady didn't ring my hat up and I didn't know it until later. It wasn't hiding or anything - she just forgot to ring it. Whoops!}) He looked so stinkin' cute in it, though!

I've received word from Camp Fresh that fishing has been the sport of choice for James since his arrival there. On Tuesday morning they caught three fish (I think) and one of them was apparently 16 inches! (Hope I have my story straight!) James does not, however, like being close to the fish. Eddie said he was told that as soon as they pull the fish out of the water he points to the water for them to put it back. Ha! The other funny thing that I've heard is that he started undressing as soon as he got to the lake (at 9pm) so that he could go swimming. I think he's had fun and kept his grandparents busy! (Thankfully he hasn't had sleeping issues - I forgot to pack his wubbie!!!!)

While James has been gone I have been a running errand queen! Yesterday I signed James up for a different preschool - one that is TWO days a week. Pray for us that this was the right decision. I had no idea how pulled in different directions I'd feel about him going to a preschool. It would be so much easier if there was one at our own church! I also went to the library (twice - the first time they were closed and the second time they wouldn't let me check anything out because I realized I didn't have my card!). Then I went to Walmart for SCHOOL SUPPLIES. Eddie has tried to steal my thunder (James doesn't need a lunchbox!) but the best part about going back to school is SCHOOL SUPPLIES! I ordered him one from Old Navy yesterday that was $4 and will be adorable monogrammed. (I have to pack him a lunch - feel free to comment with good under-age-two lunch ideas for picky, non-peanut-butter eaters. This is going to be a challenge for my chicken nugget man!) I also went to Target, Old Navy, the doctor's office (to get an immunization record), and Sonic. Busy bee!

At home I worked on getting a little bit picked up (I didn't make a ton of progress) and I cleared off the DVR. Eddie and I went out for Mexican food last night (and found out our favorite waiter is MOVING! His family has been in Mexico all summer and they've decided to open a business in Baja California. He's leaving in September. Boo!) and it was nice to eat a meal without having to worry about a child. I had to drop something off at Amy's house after dinner and we enjoyed visiting with her and Gary for a bit. Eddie enjoyed tormenting their new puppy. She's a teeny tiny Yorkie and he chased her all over the place. She must've enjoyed it, though, because she kept coming back to him!

Something else I've been working on is to get organized! A few ideas about home organization notebooks have lately been floating around the blogs that I read. As someone who does not have organization in my DNA, I need all the help I can get. I've scared you all before by showing you my weekly cleaning list, but I was getting weary of that. If I didn't get everything done I felt guilty and it just seem insurmountable each week. SO...I changed it all up last week.

The idea is to have all of my calendars, lists, etc. in one place so that they don't get scattered from here to yonder and they actually get used. Also, I'm shockingly Type-A about things like school work, lesson plans, etc., so this makes more sense in my brain somehow. (My mama can vouch for me on this. I may've had a bedroom that looked like a tornado came through it, but if I was doing homework that would be turned in I may re-write it after I was finished in order to make sure it was neat!)

My notebook categories are: My Monthly Calendar (I keep our "master" calendar on the fridge, but I'm going to keep one in my notebook as well.), Daily Checklist, Meals & Groceries, Quiet Time/Bible Study Calendar, Books/Reading List, Blog Calendar (I keep one with ideas on my computer, but I think this will be easier), Important Numbers and Dates, Gift Ideas (this is going to be FANTASTIC!), and Preschool Lesson Plans. Sound overwhelming? Nah. The "biggies" are the calendar, daily checklist, and meal/grocery lists. Feel free to let me know if you'd like me to email you the templates I'm using!

The template above can be found at http://www.theprojectgirl.com/.

I'll let you know how this new organizational system works for me. I know some of you are rolling your eyes but if I don't have a list, it doesn't get done at my house!

Enjoy the rest of your week!

Playing Catch-Up

I wrote most of this post last week and intended to post it on Friday. As that never happened, here's that, plus our weekend!

How in the world did this week fly by as quickly as it did? I guess that can be both good and bad! A lot of our week was spent here at the house but we did a good bit of getting out as well. I will go ahead and admit that we're going to be re-doing our "D is for Dog" week next week. I just didn't focus on it as much as I should have. James will be gone Tuesday and Wednesday for a little grandparent playtime so on Monday, Thursday, and Friday we'll do a little more letter work!

So what have we done this week? Let me go look at my calendar...Ha! It's just been that kind of a week!

On Monday, Eddie had Methodist Men so James and I were on our own for dinner. I'm honestly not sure what we did all day long but for supper we had Cheerios and fruit. I let him have a bowl of cereal with milk on it for the first time ever. And I let him eat it all on his own. Glutton for punishment? Probably. Eddie was not thrilled to come home and find soggy Cheerios on the floor. (In my defense, we'd gone straight from the table to the tub and I just hadn't had time to clean them up yet!)

Tuesday was our anniversary and we celebrated by going to Longhorn. Ha! Fancy, huh? I'll tell you what else is exciting - we also went to Bed, Bath, and Beyond and Petsmart. Think the "honeymoon" has ended? :) Eddie gave me a new charm for my Pandora bracelet (Mom, he says he was going to do that even before your text the other day! He wants credit!) and Eddie got the world's lamest gifts from me. I had full intentions of buying him a miter saw from Lowe's. I went to Lowe's and everything! On my way in I saw one of the workers who knows us {by name} and he asked where Eddie was. I told him I was on a hunt for an anniversary gift and he laughed. After looking at the miter saws (all twelve of them) and realizing that A) I had no idea what I was looking at and B) they each weighed about 85 pounds, I decided to buy a gift card. I hate giving gift cards. The Lowe's employee that I'd spoken with earlier laughed again and told me I'd made the right decision. Between that and the new kitchen trash can that Eddie got, it was an exciting night! Poor thing.

Wednesday was an errand day. James and I headed out for Target and Publix at 5 pm (that's the best time to go to the grocery store, right?) and didn't get home until after 7. I started supper at 7:45, we ate at 8:30, and James went to bed at 10. Good heavens we've got to start working on our schedule. Pitiful!

Thursday morning YaYa came to play with James. I spent some of the morning doing my normal routine - running the dishwasher, washing clothes, Bible Study, etc. - while they played. We had lunch at Cracker Barrel (it wasn't great - I was disappointed in it yesterday - Dad and Laura will laugh when I say that I think it's gone downhill) and then went back to Petsmart. James has been so excited about getting to look at the animals! They were a little low on stock (no cats, hardly any fish, etc. - I kept trying to convince Laura that they'd all be adopted), but it was exciting for him anyway. James and YaYa played a little more at our house before she headed out and it was time for James to take a nap. I think we'll have to work out our times better next time. She arrived about 2 hours after he woke up and got going and then when I put him down for a nap it was a little late and I know she drove right into rush hour traffic in Atlanta. Oh well! We'll learn!

Friday I spent some time doing some organizing, pondering our preschool options (another option has come up for us and I'm wondering if it's a better one), making a grocery list, and reading. Not much else got done! Friday night Eddie worked in the yard while I made lasagna for Saturday night. James was the sweetest child ever and sat contentedly in his highchair coloring and reading while I cooked for two hours. Ha! He was a perfect angel!

Here's something that didn't get old this week! I pulled out James' "pup tent" on Monday when we started "D is for Dog" and used it as our "dog house" this week. He thoroughly enjoyed playing and reading in it!

Saturday was a BUSY day for me. I went to Tifton for a bridal shower. I had to leave our house by 9:30 to get there on time and then wound up staying and visiting until after 3. That put me getting home around 4:30 which wouldn't have been bad except we had guests coming! Yikes! Eddie did an excellent job getting the house picked up, which was a great thing because I was feeling terrible on Saturday afternoon. Silly headaches! Bleh! I felt a little better by the time 6 pm rolled around. Some friends of ours and their children came over for dinner and we had a great time visiting! I love friend get-togethers!

Pictures courtesy of Lauren Train. Don't sue me for stealing them, please! :)

Cupcakes were obviously a hit!

Anyone else see John Hasty in the picture above? Whoa!

AM had a BALL playing in James' jumpy! I see one in her future!

Sunday we went to church and by the time we got home I felt horrible again. Headache city! I spent the day moving from the couch to my bed and back. Pitiful. Poor Eddie! He and James played (and James napped a good bit, too!) and Eddie cleaned up the house for me. Best husband ever! Cacky and Poppy made an impromptu visit up here to go to dinner with us - O'Charley's. James, of course, had a great time showing off!

This week is busy but not quite as busy as usual. James will be gone from tonight until Wednesday and I just don't know what I'll do with myself. I'm not a fan of these spend-the-night parties he's started participating in, but apparently everyone else enjoys them immensely! I'm sure I'll find something to keep myself busy while he's gone!

Enjoy your week as well!

Recipe of the Week: Angel Food Cake Trifle

I've posted my sweet friend MaraDare's Brownie Trifle before, found HERE. Last week when I hosted Book Club, I whipped up a new recipe based on the Brownie Trifle for those of you who don't like chocolate. (Seriously? Are there really people who don't like chocolate?) It got two thumbs up from those eating it and the bowl that I had was quite tasty. Thought I'd share it today!

Ingredients:

* Store-bought angel food cake

* Large box of instant vanilla pudding

* Strawberries, washed and cut

* Blueberries, washed

* 2 boxes of cream cheese, softened

* 1 1/4 cups powdered sugar

* 2 cups Cool Whip, thawed

1. Make pudding according to package directions. Put into refrigerator.

2. Wash and cut fruit and set aside.

3. In a large mixing bowl, mix cream cheese, powdered sugar, and Cool Whip until smooth. Set aside.

4. Pull off small pieces of angel food cake and layer in the bottom of a trifle dish.

5. Put half of the fruit on top of the angel food cake.

6. Top fruit with half of the pudding.

7. Top pudding with half of the cream cheese mixture. (It can be tricky not to "lift" the pudding and other ingredients because the cream cheese mixture is so thick. I place several dollops around and smooth those into one another.)

8. Repeat layers again. Top with strawberries and blueberries if you wish!

Enjoy!

James at Twenty-One Months...

The past few months have gone by in a whirlwind. Every time I turn around James is doing something new or has learned a new word. Unbelievable!

Height/Weight:

27.4 lbs., 33.5 inches

Naps:

They now vary based on the day of the week, how hard he's played, and what else we have going on. Some days he does take a nap at 10 and 2. Some days he merely has quiet time at 10 and 2. Then there are days where he only has the 2 o'clock nap.

Daily Schedule:

Wake up between 7:30-8:30. Breakfast from about 8 or so until 9 or so. He's a slowwww eater. A friend reminded me the other day that this is healthy! I let him watch TV while he has breakfast and I either check email, blog, etc., or unload the dishwasher and pick up a little bit. (It honestly depends on if I've gotten up before him or with him!) He eats either a waffle, fruit, yogurt, bagel, or cheese, or a combination of these foods. After breakfast, he plays for a little while, either in "baby jail" or following behind me. (If we have errands to run, this is the time we normally run them!) If he naps, he'll go down at 10. When he wakes up (if it's before Eddie gets home) we'll play or snuggle. (This week he helped me make the bed and then he "read.") Eddie comes home around 12:30 and we all eat lunch together. When he leaves to go back to work we play for a little while before naptime. He naps anywhere from 1-3 hours. When he wakes up he likes a snack. He almost always eat goldfish and has milk. Sometimes he'll eat another fruit. During his snack I get my loud chores done. I don't do anything that might wake him up during naptime because he's a high-maintenance sleeper and a grump if he wakes up before he wants to. He plays/I do chores until Eddie comes home around 6. (We also get a little "preschool" in here sometimes. We might do a little in the morning and a little more in the afternoon.) He and Eddie play until supper is ready. We eat dinner together and then the boys go to get James' bath. He loves his daddy to give him a bath! He points to the tub and says, "Daddy!" to me anytime we're in the bathroom. After bathtime we play, drink milk, read books, and spend time together until about 9pm.

Favorite Foods:

Chicken nuggets, Buddy Fruits, cheese, waffles, bagels, goldfish, Italian food, rice, baby food in general, applesauce, milk, cookies, water, macaroni and cheese. He's a *teeny* bit picky! Ha!

Favorite Toys:

His bathroom stool! Ha! He drags it all over the house. It's helpful for climbing and for sitting. The Sit 'N Spin. Blocks!

Words:
There's no way to keep up with all of his words now. Language is definitely his weakest area (he'd rather sign than speak and he WON'T try to speak if he knows {or can make up} a sign for a word) but he is saying new words every day! He is trying to repeat everything! He has a hard time with the "r," "s" or "c" (the sound for both "Sue" and "Celebrate"), the "sh" sound, and the "er" sound. That's just what I've been able to pick up on. He will not attempt to say anything that has that "s" sound at the beginning. If it's in the middle of a word, he's fine! (For instance, he won't say "Sue" or "Sassy" - he does call Anna {whom we refer to as Aunt Sassy} Tassy sometimes - but he WILL say Krissy - or "Tissy". Notice that the "s" sound stays in the middle of "Tassy" or "Tissy.") The "r" sound is something we're definitely familiar with. John had problems with "r" and "l" when he was little. I was "Wawen" for a long, long time. James says "Wow-ah" for "Shower." I secretly love it! :) He does still speak Chinese most often. I have to remind him all the time that I don't understand what "Uh uh uh" means and that he needs to use his words!

We're still in the midst of a tough age. I love to read blogs where the children are a few months older than James, so I knew from others that the 18-month age and on was going to be TOUGH. And it is. He is so particular and wants to do everything himself right now. For the most part, that's ok. He is learning all the time, though, and that's a lot of fun to watch! Here's the latest thing he's learned! My chore time is about to change!

Cheese!

When James was a tiny baby, almost everyone thought he looked just like Eddie. (Aside from my own family anyway!) Recently, though, I've had a few more votes. Someone told me the other day that he has my coloring but looks like Eddie. (Translation: He's pale just like you {Translation: Too bad he didn't get his daddy's skin!}.) I've never earned as many votes as Eddie, and I think I know why. James and I were looking through Eddie's photo album this week and we came across this picture that I immediately pulled out and scanned in. Tell me he doesn't look like his daddy in these pictures! (The best part is that they're both 20 months old in these pictures!)

A Sweet Husband and Harry Potter...

Our weekend was busy and went by quickly!

On Friday afternoon James and I laid down after we got home from Bible Study and we slept all. afternoon. long. It was glorious. It was dark and rainy outside and made for the perfect napping weather. Eddie and I decided we wanted to stay home for supper since we'd had such a busy week so we just had leftovers for dinner.

Saturday was busy as well. Eddie had to spend the entire morning gone and James was an ill pill. Thankfully, he was able to spend the afternoon with him so that I could go and get a few things done around town. I'd planned to get my hair cut and colored for the first time since APRIL but my appointment was canceled. I did have lots of other things that needed to get done that I hadn't been able to get to during the week. Our anniversary is tomorrow and I needed to be sneaky and pick up several things that I'd worked on/ordered for Eddie. It was a full day even though there wasn't much fun to be had.

Saturday night I convinced Eddie that he needed to watch Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1 if we were going to see it on Sunday. He reluctantly agreed to watch it with me. He isn't a fan of Harry Potter, but it was fun to sit and talk about it and spend time together Saturday night. We rarely have just "us" time and when we do we're just worn out from going all day long.

James woke up in the middle of the night (while he's not a great sleeper, he can usually be put back to sleep rather easily) and could not be consoled unless we were holding him. I rocked him for a while and then Eddie took over and slept in the rocker with him for a while. They both finally wound up in our bed and stayed there the rest of the night. (This should've been foreshadowing, but at the time I didn't realize it was anything other than exhaustion from the long week!) I asked him on Sunday morning if he got scared in the middle of the night and he nodded and signed "thunder." There wasn't any thunder so I assumed it was bad dreams. I think it was also sick dreams. You know how you just don't sleep well when you don't feel well?

Sunday we went to church and Sunday School. James has been so excited to go to church lately! I wish I'd taken a picture of him because he looked precious in his new church outfit!

After church we came home and he napped and we picked up a little bit. My sweet cousin, Susana, came over at 2:30 so that she could play with James while we saw a movie for our anniversary date. I, of course, picked Harry Potter. I've seen all of them in the theater but this was Eddie's first. He whispered a few questions throughout the movie but I think "got" it overall. He did say that it was a lot better than he'd expected. I thought it was wonderful and the perfect movie to end the series. (How sad that it's over, though!) I can't wait until James is old enough for us to read them together! :)

After our date we came back to our house and visited with Susana and Diane. Poor little James was looking pitiful. We've both picked up something from VBS last weke. I've had a sore throat for a few days and James has been coughing up a storm, not sleeping, and has a horribly runny nose. We realized something was up when we got back yesterday afternoon and he climbed in Eddie's lap and stayed there while Susana and Diane and I visited. He never sits still. He's worse today so I'm going to have to start on the Triaminic. Hopefully he'll be able to shake it quickly but this is the same thing we spent the winter/spring battling and it usually lasted a good 10 days. :) I hate runny noses and coughs that wake up a sleeping child.

This week is more of the same. Busy, but not quite as busy as last week. Back to running errands, preschool time at home, etc. Eddie has Methodist Men tonight and we'll be going out for another anniversary date tomorrow. (I like to drag celebrations out, and also it means I don't have to cook!) This weekend is going to be BUSY with a bridal shower, friends coming over for dinner, and we *might* be brave enough to take James to see Winnie-the-Pooh on Sunday afternoon. Eeek! I'm so excited about that possibility!

Hope your week is great! My goal is MORE PICTURES! I've fallen off the picture bandwagon.

New {Old} Furniture!

We're baaaack! Did you think I'd forgotten how to blog? Truth be told, along with VBS I hosted Book Club this week at my house and I was WIPED out from all of the fun. I've taken a nap every. single. afternoon. It was glorious!

Because I didn't take the first picture at VBS this week (I'm hoping my sweet friend Mary will post the ones that she took on Facebook), I'm hoping you'll forgive the lack of Baby James pictures today. They did give me a sweet copy of one so as soon as I get it scanned in I'll be sure to share it. (We had a FANTASTIC time at VBS! I had a group of sweet {mostly well-behaved} children. It was a good reminder of how exhausting teaching is, though! James, especially, had a fantastic week. He was excited to go back to the baby room every day! Our Children's Director, Mrs. Krissy, is SO sweet and James loves her. If I asked him who he was going to see at VBS he'd say "Tissy!" I can't wait until he's big enough to actually participate in the program!)

Last weekend while we were in Tifton we got a few new pieces of furniture. Mrs. Bobby gave us a beautiful buffet from her mama and daddy's house (those are Eddie's favorite pieces of furniture - that boy loved his Grandmamma and Granddaddy!) for our dining room. I had told Eddie when we first moved in our house that I knew it might be a long time before we could purchase a buffet (it just wasn't top priority!), but that I really, really wanted one. Mama has one in the foyer in her house and it's beautiful. I've always loved the option of serving off of it and it's a ton more storage, which was important to me. (We have TONS and TONS of kitchen/dining room stuff. Between gifts from parents, from our wedding, and from working for Willow House, I have a TON of serving pieces, etc.!) We did a little re-arranging in our dining room. The wall where the buffet is now used to be home to the china cabinet. The china cabinet was moved to a smaller wall where I used to have a chest-of-drawers (for the extra storage!). I LOVE how it turned out! Now to get curtains, cover my chairs, hang pictures and the mirror, and *possibly* paint! :) (The dining room is absolutely one of my favorite rooms in our house!)

For those who have been to our house, this is from the front door looking in. The chest-of-drawers was here before. (A lesson to be learned from me - when moving your china cabinet, it is best to make a note of where things go. I took everything out, Eddie moved it, and then I went "Huh? Where do I put this stuff?")

Horrible picture, but it is taken from the foyer just inside the front door. The china cabinet was here before. The mirror to hang above the buffet is currently residing on the table. (Also note that the chairs are in desperate need of recovering. The pattern matches my mama's dining room, but obviously not mine. I just need to make up my mind and get it done.)

A better picture of the buffet. It has two side doors with fairly large compartments and two large drawers in the middle. There is a knob missing but we have it stuck inside the drawer.

Pretty mirror. I think it's going to look great above the buffet! The paper backing is coming off. Do I need to get it professionally seen about or can I just pull it off and re-do it myself? Advice?

The other piece of furniture that came home with us was my mama's "china cabinet." It's one of a pair of book cases but she's almost always used it to house her china. I had the MOST fun putting all of my books in this one. We moved out the other book case that we had in our den and put the new one in its place. It has glass doors and shelves, a mirrored back, and is a TON larger. It's so much larger that we were worried it might not work! I put all of my antique books in the top half and some of our other books in the bottom half. On the bottom I double-rowed them because there was so much room. Eddie mentioned we'd never be able to find anything anymore. Y'all will laugh at me (my family will be rolling on the floor) but at some point I'm going to try to catalog all of our books and where they are so that if we're looking for something, we can find it. It is absurd the number of books the three of us have between us. (In addition to the den, James has his in his bedroom, we have a huge shelf in our office, two smaller shelves in our office, and books in our bedside tables. Think we like to read???)

 We LOVE how great the new pieces of furniture look! Thanks, Mama and Mrs. Bobby!

James Batman decided he did want to say hi! (Excuse the blurriness!)

C is for Car...

Last week we worked on the letter "C" and the color "yellow." If I'm honest, James is totally not getting all of this, but I know that he'll pick it up one day and it's fun in the meantime. James has never actually said the letter "C." I'm not sure if he was teasing me (he's WAY smart and has a tendency to be a little smart-alec) or if he really couldn't say "C" or if it was a combination of the two. Anytime anyone asked what our letter was he said "B." However, I know that at 20 months, we have PLENTY of time to learn and correctly say all of the letters. I also know that boys develop language skills later than girls and this is really the only skill he's behind in. But he speaks "Chinese" so that makes up for it.

Please excuse the lack of pictures as well. The week just got away from me. Here's what we did:

1. We sang the alphabet over and over and over.

2. We played with cars and drove James' car!

3. We watched the movie "Cars."

4. We colored our letter "C" with yellow paint.

5. We read our "Cars" Golden Book.

6. We read If You Give a Mouse a Cookie.

7. We meant to color a cookie monster coloring sheet but I spilled my coffee on it one morning and never printed another one. :(

8. We read The Very Hungry Caterpillar.

9. We played with James' caterpillar toy that he has.

10. We also meant to do a crab handprint painting on Friday but I just ran out of time. I'll hit it the next time we do the letter "C."

As I mentioned yesterday, we're taking the week off this week for VBS. Next week we'll be back with the letter "D." I'm actually going to change things up and ONLY focus on dogs. I know that seems a little strange, but I think he'll love it. He's a teensy bit obsessed with dogs!

Whirlwind Weekend Update!

I have not one single picture for you of our fun weekend. Not one. I took my camera to Tifton and it sat on Mama's swing in her sunroom all weekend long. Oh well.

Friday I meant to post pictures of our "C" week. I got SO busy trying to get things ready for our trip to Tifton that I just totally ran out of time. I'll try to get that up tomorrow. We're not doing anything this week because we have VBS every morning. Today was FANTASTIC and when we got home at 2 I put James down and he slept almost 3 hours. Is this a taste of preschool in the fall?? If so, WOOHOO! Of course, I didn't get a single thing done because I was so wiped out that I fell asleep and woke up so groggy that I felt bad. Yuck!

Okay, back to Friday. We headed to Tifton as soon as Eddie got home from work and we got ready. Eddie's family was having a yardsale this weekend and Eddie wanted to be able to look at what was going in just in case we "needed" something. We came home with a few things (some expected, some unexpected) and enjoyed visiting with Grandmamma and Granddaddy on Friday night.

This trip, we stayed with Mom and Sonny. When we got there Friday it was already after supper time so we ate a little late. Anna and Lance were there to visit as well. I think we wound up staying up until around 11:30. James was wide awake! We put him in the crib in the same room we were staying in and I got so tickled because we had the bedside light on for a while and I told him to lay down and close his eyes. He laid so still and would squint his little eyes to "close" them! Ha! Silly boy!

It wound up being a lonnnng night. James has never been a good traveler and we honestly dread going out of town. I think he slept until around 2 and then he was up. I think that I got him to lay back down once and I rocked him once but I'm not 100% clear on that. I finally put him in the bed with us. He slept, we didn't. Eddie's alarm went off at 5 so that he could get up and go back over to his parents' to help with their yardsale. James stayed in the bed with me but he was awful. I think he was asleep but he would sit up and then flop over. I was a nervous wreck because the bed is almost waist-high off the hardwood floor. It wouldn't be fun if he fell out. We finally got up a little before 8.

James and I stayed at my mama's and played around the house all morning. He rode his tricycle, watered plants, looked for the fish in her fish pond and just had a great time. We were lazy, lazy lazy. When Eddie finished up at almost 2, Poppy and Cacky took James swimming while Eddie ate lunch and got a shower. James went back over to Grandmamma and Granddaddy's house to visit for a while and I got a shower and got my food ready for Dinner Club Saturday night.

We left around 6 to go to Cal and MaraDare's for a fish fry. It was SO fun to see my friends. I hadn't seen MaraDare since APRIL and Lori since MAY. It had been far too long. The Perrys and Amy weren't able to join us and we missed them. We had such a great time that we wound up staying at their house until 10. That wouldn't have been a big deal if we hadn't planned on driving home. On the way back to my mama's we calculated how long it would take us to pack our car, hook up the trailer we were pulling with furniture in it, and go pick up Scout at the Freshes' house and then make the hour+ trip home. We (I) decided it wouldn't be worth it to try to do that, especially since Eddie had gotten up so early and we hadn't slept well. We just decided we'd try to head out as early as we could the next morning.

James slept MUCH better on Saturday night. I think we got up with him once or twice but he stayed in the crib all night long. We got up, had breakfast, played, and packed and were able to leave a little before 10.

On Sunday afternoon I left the boys at home asleep while I went to help decorate for VBS. We have the cutest theme this year! I bet some of you other churches have done it as well. It's PandaMania where God is WILD about you! I think we're going to have a great time. Pray for us, though. Our children's director expected 66 kids as of last Thursday afternoon and we had 110 this morning. That's AWESOME because the VBS numbers have been down in our area this year, but we are LOW on adult volunteers. Thankfully, we have a great group of Youth who are fully capable of being "adults" themselves and they've really helped to fill in the gaps. I think it's still going to be fun!

This week will probably be our busiest this summer! We have VBS every day this week. I have book club at my house on Thursday night. I'm going to *try* to get a haircut and color this weekend. Our anniversary is next week so we've lined up my sweet baby cousin, Susana, to come play with James on Sunday so we can go on a date. Whew! Maybe it's not that bad, but it sure seems busy! At least it's all FUN things that we want to be doing!

I'll try to post our "C" week pictures and pictures of my two new pieces of furniture later this week. And I'll post pictures of VBS if I see some that I can snag off of Facebook! Y'all have a great week!

My 101 in 1001...

I meant to publish this yesterday and we got busy. I'll post the Preschool update later today, too. Check back for pictures!

I started this list on November 1, 2010 and will give ongoing updates periodically.

Those that have a strike-through mark are complete. Those in pink I'm working on or they are on-going goals. These have to be completed by July 28, 2013 (so those of you who have said you get worn out looking at this, it's all about the baby steps! I still have 2 years!). I know it may get annoying that I post this once a month, but I think it's a good way for me to evaluate what I need to be working on!

For me...

1. Try a new recipe (and blog it!) at least once a month. (Most can be found in the Recipes tab.)

* November '10: Chili Cornbread Casserole

* December '10: Beef Burgundy

* January '11: Spinach Cheese Manicotti, Penne alla Betsy, and Chicken Parmesan

* February '11: Weight Watchers Chicken Tomato Chowder and Chicken "Fried" Rice

* March '11: Crockpot Pork Chops

* April '11: Easter Menu

* May '11: ???

* June '11: Sweet Onion Casserole

2. Take a sewing class.

3. Buy an embroidery machine.

4. Take a photography class.

5. Buy a new car!

6. Keep up with our Shutterfly photo albums.

7. Join MOPs or another "Mommy Group."

8. Go on another girls' trip to the beach.

9. Enjoy a "me-night-out" at least once a month.

* November '10: Book Club

* December '10: Harry Potter with Anna

* January '11: Beauty and the Beast at the Fox with Mom and Anna.

* February '11: ???

* March '11: Book Club

* April '11: Bunco at a friend's house.

* May '11: LOTS! Four sewing nights, Bunco, and Book Club!
* June '11: ???

10. Go see a movie by myself.

11. Go to two states I've never visited.

12. Take more pictures with me in them!

13. Buy a Cricut or Silhouette.

14. Get a new pair of "good" jeans.

15. Buy a new cellphone.

16. Learn to decorate cookies and/or cakes.

17. Go to Callaway Gardens to see the Christmas lights.

18. Continue working on our family trees.

For My Mind...

19. Read 10 nonfiction books (and blog about them!). (Extras will fall under the next category.)

(1.) The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls

(2.) The Purpose of Christmas by Rick Warren

(3.) Decision Points by George W. Bush

(4.) In the Garden with Billy: Lessons about Life, Love, and Tomatoes by Renea Winchester

(5.) Reshaping it All by Candace Cameron Bure

(6.) Better Photo Basics: The Absolute Beginner's Guide to Taking Photos Like a Pro by Jim Miotke

(7.) The Pioneer Woman: Black Heels to Tractor Wheels by Ree Drummond

(8.) Bossypants by Tina Fey

(9.) Life Lessons with Max Lucado: The Book of Genesis

(10.) The Potty Boot Camp: Basic Training for Toddlers by Suzanne Riffel

20. Read 101 fiction books (or extra nonfiction) (and blog about them!).

(1.) Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

(2.) Winnie the Pooh by A.A. Milne

(3.) The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

(4.) Pop Goes the Weasel by James Patterson

(5.) Ape House by Sara Gruen

(6.) The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough

(7.) The Mockingbirds by Daisy Whitney

(8.) Rules of Deception by Christopher Reich

(9.) The Secret of the Old Mill by Franklin W. Dixon

(10.) Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

(11.) The Missing Chums by Franklin W. Dixon

(12.) London Bridges by James Patterson

(13.) Hunting for Hidden Gold by Franklin W. Dixon

(14.) The Shore Road Mystery by Franklin W. Dixon

(15.) Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

(16.) The Lincoln Lawyer by Michael Connelly

(17.) Potty Training Boys the Easy Way - Helping Your Son Learn Quickly, Even if He's a Late Starter by Caroline Fertleman

21. Read 10 "Classics." These don't count for the above. (Extras will be included for the above.)

(1.) The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

22. Write more for myself...even if I don't ever share it!

23. Join a book club.

24. Begin working on my masters.

25. Learn more sign language.

26. Write snail mail letters to my friends - one friend a month. Who wants to be my pen pal?

27. Learn to crochet or knit.

28. Draft a will.

29. Keep up my teaching certification.

For my Soul...

30. Make attending Sunday School and Church a priority.

31. Transfer our church memberships.

32. Do a Bible Study with Eddie.

33. Complete the Beth Moore "Revelation" study with my small group.

34. Tithe 10% of my Willow House earnings.

35. Memorize two new Bible verses every month.

* January 1: "So be careful how you live. Don't live like fools, but like those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days." - Ephesians 5:15-16

* January 15: "For we live by believing and not by seeing." 2 Corinthians 5:7

* February 1: "They will make war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will overcome them because he is Lord of lords and King of kings and with Him will be His called, chosen, and faithful followers." Revelation 17:14.

* February 15: "You can be sure that God will take care of everything you need, His generosity exceeding even yours in the glory that pours from Jesus." - Philippians 4:19, Msg.
* March 1: "A wife of noble character, who can find? She is worth far more than rubies. Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value. She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life." - Proverbs 31:10-12
* March 15: "She finds wool and flax and busily spins it. She is like a merchant's ship, bringing her food from afar. She gets up before dawn to prepare breakfast for her household and plan the day's work for her servant girls." - Proverbs 31:13-15
* April 1: "She considers a field and buys it; out of her earnings she plants a vineyard. She sets about her work vigorously; her arms are strong for her tasks." - Proverbs 31:16-17
*** I am obviously still way behind on this. Y'all pray that I can catch up. ***
36. Read the Old Testament all the way through. (I've read the New Testament more than once but get bogged down in the Old!)
* Genesis
37. Complete Beth Moore's "Daniel" study.
38. Buy a Bible timeline book.
39. Get over my "no Christmas before Thanksgiving" rule and start listening to Christmas music in November. It makes me happy! Decorate house the Friday, Saturday, and Sunday after Thanksgiving!

For others...

40. Send out Christmas Cards (on time!) 2010, 2011, 2012.
41. Take meals to friends who have babies, are ill, or have a death in the family.
* I took a meal to Eddie's co-worker and his wife, who broke her leg in March '11.
42. Volunteer at the church.
* Spring Bible School - March '11.
43. Volunteer at an elementary school.
44. Throw a party/shower for friends or family members at least 5 times.
* The Perry's shower with the lunch bunch. I didn't do much! Just brought an appetizer to Dianne's!
* Co-hosted a shower for Kate in February.
* Shelley and Samantha's Sip 'N See in April!
45. Volunteer to teach (children's!) Sunday School.
46. Send birthday cards to friends and family.
47. Sponsor a Compassion child.
48. Help another family by Christmas gifts for their children.
49. Bake homemade Christmas goodies for friends and family at the beginning of December.
50. Deliver teacher goodies to school at least once a school year.

For my marriage...

51. Go on a planned date once a month.
* March '11: Eddie's birthday date out to dinner.
* April '11: James had a spend-the-night party with Cacky and Poppy and we went to the Old Book Sale and a Thai restaurant for dinner. (And Publix. Life is exciting!)
* May '11: Had Susana babysit. We saw the Hangover 2. Probably going to try to do this once a month!
* June '11: James had TWO spend-the-nights this month. The first with Grandmamma and Granddaddy when we went to St. Simons and the second with Papa and YaYa to the lake.
52. Pray for my marriage daily.
53. Take a "just us" trip for more than a weekend.
54. Go on a 5 year anniversary trip back to the Caribbean.
55. Go away for a weekend together.
* Went to Atlanta for our shopping trip.
* St. Simons in June '11.
56. Encourage Eddie.
57. Turn off the TV and computer at night!
58. Eat dinner at the kitchen table.
59. Read The Love Dare together.
60. Start exercising together.
61. Be intentional about becoming a Proverbs 31 woman.

For my child...

62. Pray for James daily.
63. Read to him daily.
64. Put him in preschool.
65. Pray out loud with James.
66. Take James to the library once a month.
67. Start a savings plan for college.
68. Take James to the zoo.
69. Take James to Disney World.
70. Start our at-home preschool time each day.
71. Go to Burt's Pumpkin Patch.
72. Begin to teach James about spending, savings, and tithing.
73. Begin the Jesse Tree Devotions at Advent each year.

For my health...

74. Complete Couch-to-5K.
75. Run in a 5K.
76. Get back to wedding weight.
77. Drink 2 thermoses of water daily.
78. Take my vitamins daily.
79. Go to the dentist twice a year. 2011 2011 2012 2012
80. Go to the eye doctor once a year. 2011 2012
81. Start cooking with more fresh fruits and veggies.
82. Eat fewer processed foods.
83. Floss every night for a month.
84. Get a massage.
85. Do Jillian Michael's 30-Day Shred for THIRTY DAYS! (At least 3x per week!)
86. Do yoga once a week.

For My Wallet...

87. Organize and use my coupons at every grocery trip.
88. Set up our budget and stick to it.
89. Continue menu planning each week.

For My Home...

90. Paint the dining room.
91. Curtains in the kitchen, den, dining room, guest bedroom, and master bedroom.
92. Rugs in the kitchen, den, dining room, and foyer.
93. Complete my weekly cleaning list!
94. Hang pictures!
95. Recycle! Set up recycling bins in garage.
96. Organize office.
97. Organize garage and PARK IN IT!
98. Complete the swing set building project.
99. Decorate another Christmas tree in our dining room at Christmas.
100. Frame and hang more pictures of our grandparents and great-grandparents.

101. Commit to completing this in 1001 days!

So Happy Together...

This morning James and I got going early and ran a few errands. We were back home by noon and we shared a quick lunch from Panera's drive-thru. (Eddie couldn't join us today.) After lunch I informed the little one that it was time for a nap. He protested, but quickly settled down and went right to sleep. When he awoke two and a half hours later it was thundering, lightning, and pouring down rain outside. The noises scare him if he's by himself so I scooped him up out of his bed and he and I snuggled in my bed while he had milk. This is our newest thing and it's my favorite thing EVER. After a nap, he asks if he can take his wubbie and paci and climb into Mama's bed. I. love. it.

Being a mama is tough work. I'm not sure you can really understand how tough it is until you're actually there. James is busy and he wants to be independent. It doesn't always work that way, though. I get frustrated with him so easily because he wants to do everything himself and it takes him ten times longer to do anything than if he'd just let me. I'm learning. I'm learning every day.

But it's moments like those after a nap, when we're snuggled up and he kisses and hugs me because he loves me when I feel completely happy to be here and with him. I'm so glad I'm his mama.

Sons are a heritage from the Lord,

children a reward from him.

Psalm 127:3

Happy Fourth of July!

We've had the most fun this weekend!

Friday night our town was putting on a Wynona concert to be followed by fireworks. We decided we didn't want to brave the crowds so Eddie picked up dinner and brought it home for us. We enjoyed a lazy evening together!

On Saturday Eddie worked out in the yard ALL day long. It looks SO much better. I wish I could help, but I have absolutely no interest in yardwork whatsoever. I'm better at keeping James occupied inside. James is absolutely devastated when he knows Eddie is outside working and he can't go. He just cries and cries and cries. :( Pitiful.

We went to Outback Saturday night for supper. James was very well-behaved this time and no one told me that I had my hands full like the last time we were there. We had to go to Target afterwards and we had a very sleepy baby on our hands. He was ready to go!

Sunday we got up and went straight to Lake Blackshear. We skipped church so that we could get an earlier start. Our first stop was the Lee's lakehouse. Mary Beth, Dutch, and Sarah Beth were in town for the weekend so we got the babies together for a visit. (Mary Beth is one of my oldest friends {in terms of how long I've known her, not her age!}. We met when I first moved to Tifton when I was in first grade. Her mama, Mrs. Lynn, and my mama met while standing in line to sign our siblings up for preschool. They've been great friends since then. Mary Beth and I grew up together. Then, my senior year of college and her first year of graduate school we lived together in Athens. I was way too busy that year and missed a lot of the "roommate" experience since I was up most mornings before she and Megan were so that I could drive to Gwinnett County to teach, but it was fun anyway!) Sarah Beth was super-friendly to James right off the bat but he didn't seem interested in her at first. He was much more interested in exploring the Lee's house! We wound up on the back porch and I thought I was going to lose my mind trying to keep him from pushing the screens. YIKES! (He, of course, enjoys antagonizing me!) When it was time to go James gave Sarah Beth several kisses. I didn't get pictures but I know that Mr. George did!

We headed over to the Freshes' lakehouse around 11:30 and got there before anyone else. James enjoyed entertaining Grandmamma and Granddaddy before lunch. We had spaghetti and James showed them how messy that meal can be! He almost just needs to be hosed off after we eat it! Over the next few hours, Nancy, Caylor, Royce, Nanie, Sue, Haley, Jeannie, Ansley, and Harley joined us. (It was girl-heavy at the lake this weekend!) James swam all day long and I enjoyed the break sitting in the shade on the dock! Later, we grilled hamburgers for dinner. Delicious!

This is the only picture I took of our fun with the Fresh family! I must've been too busy talking! Mr. Tommy (a.k.a., Granddaddy, a.k.a., Eddie's daddy) is driving the boat. The ladies are Mr. Tommy's sisters - Mary Nell (Nanie) on the left and Sue on the right. Royce is Mary Nell's husband.

I thought we'd probably leave before the fireworks but it became apparent that we may as well just stay since it was so close to time for them to start. The neighbors three doors down do a show every year and we just don't bother trying to go anywhere else anymore. It is a GREAT show - not some little rinky-dink backyard bottle-rocket type fireworks, but the real deal. They shoot them off of their top dock and we really have a great view! I was worried James would HATE them because of the noise. He doesn't like loud noises EVER. I think our saving grace was that some other neighbors WAY on down the sleugh shot some before the "real" show started. They were farther away and not as loud. He warmed up with those. When the real show started he LOVED it! He kept saying "Wow!" and "Whoa!" and Mrs. Bobby said she thought his fingers were going to fall off from all the "More!" he was signing! Ha! He absolutely LOVED them. I was very impressed!

We left the lake around 10:30 and James slept the entire way home (of course). He'd been up since 7:30 and had only had a 20 minute nap the entire day. He wound up sleeping until 9:30 on Monday morning! Whew! Worn out little boy!

Monday I was lazy! I'm not sure why, but I just could not get going! James got up and he and I had breakfast and played for a bit and then he was so exhausted that he took a bath and went back to bed at 11:30 and slept for THREE hours! By 2:30 when he woke up from his nap he'd only been awake for 2 hours of the whole day! Ha! Eddie worked outside again for a bit and then he came in around 4. We all piled back in our bed in hopes that James would want another nap. I'm not sure he ever fell asleep but Eddie and I both dozed. Last night we picked up dinner and came home and watched more fireworks on TV. James was not nearly as impressed. Scout has been going crazy from all the fireworks around our house so she joined us inside and James was beside himself to have her to play with. He hugged her and smelled her and tried to sit on her and just had a great time. Scout kept getting up and walking off so I'm not sure she enjoyed it as much, but I guess it was better than the alternative which was to go back outside in the "war zone!"

I hope that everyone had a great 4th of July weekend as well! What will we do next year when it's on a Wednesday?!?!