Happy Easter!

This was the best we could get of all of us this year, but here it is!

Hope you all have a Happy Easter!

He is risen! He is risen indeed!

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Egg Huntin'

If you're not from the South, this probably won't be funny to you but I cannot remember ONE occasion in my life when I hunted Easter eggs in a hat, sweater, and gloves. For James, today was the day.

It was COLD when we arrived at school for some egg huntin'.

If you know Lauren {Train}, you'll be proud and SHOCKED to know that she and I pulled into the school parking lot at the same time! Bravo, ma'am! James was THRILLED that Anne Margaret-y {he heard Lauren call her this and has since only referred to her as Anne Margaret-y} was there to play!

You'll notice that I seemingly have a GIANT child in the next few photos. There are almost exactly 11 months between these two. Anne Margaret is just a teensy little peanut. I think Will weighs almost the same as her.

 Sister was NOT happy that she couldn't go ahead and hunt! We waited about 30 minutes for the fun to begin. And that was TOUGH.

 This little boo would have LOVED it if I'd let him out of the stroller. Stinker wouldn't keep his hat or hood on. A blanket was needed!

And they're off!

After opening a few eggs and having a snack of Capri Sun, Rice Krispy Treats, and Nerds, James was off to play chase with one of his best buddies from class.

I got so tickled to look up and see that James had sauntered up to some little girls he didn't know and joined their game of hide-and-seek. He's really "hiding" here with someone who had done a decent job of disguising herself behind the pole. James totally gave away her hiding place!

Do you think they see me???

One egg hunt down, one to go!

We made it to our church's Maundy Thursday service tonight and James was especially well-behaved and even took Communion for the first time! He wanted to know what Maundy meant, where Cecelia's mama was {in the choir}, and how many songs were left, but those were the biggest "problems" we had. He was pretty thrilled that one of the members of the orchestra played the triangle {is that the real name?!} and then was HIGHLY concerned that I didn't get grape juice because Mrs. Krissy's tray just had two left - one for Daddy, one for James {never fear! she had another tray!}. This sweet thing is slowly getting better at "Big Church." He only looked at one book and didn't pull out Joey at all tonight {although if Joey wasn't a little loud and we hadn't been sitting behind all our church staff - they joined us in the balcony!- I would have!}

Happy Easter, y'all!

A List.

Between now and mid-April - heck, all the way to JUNE - we have something going on every. single. day. Not just little normal somethings but a lot of time carting children to and from out-of-town doctors appointments, heading to the beach, parties at school, parties at church, meetings, obligations, blah, blah, blah. I'm feeling the pressure of getting it all done for the next little bit so for today here's a list of thoughts:

1. James' baby, whose official name is now Lawnmower Lawson Water, is still in his tummy. He's changed her due-date to Sunday now, though. I suppose he wants to wait until after the egg hunt and the Easter Bunny.

2. We skipped church last Sunday. It was storming outside when it was time to get up and I have a problem showering when there's lightening popping all around. Normally, this isn't a huge deal. You know what changes that? When your kid says, "I'm really upset that we didn't go to church. I love the singing and the praying!" Y'all. I can't even. No more skipping...I'll just go as I am!

3. Eddie is off on Friday (although I've heard a rumor he'll be working anyway...boo!) and has scheduled Scout's yearly physical (ha!) that afternoon. James is way, WAY too excited about being able to tag along. He keeps asking if it's Friday yet.

4. One of my best buds, Fake Aunt Lib, sent Will the most hilarious birthday gift ever. I have yet to get a picture of Will in it, but it will happen soon. For James' birthday she sent him a "Fresh Prince" t-shirt. (Fresh is our for-real last name in case you weren't sure.)

 

5. Do you know what's good motivation to lose weight and exercise? Well, I'll tell you. Five year anniversary trip. Being a bridesmaid in a wedding (Fake Aunt Lib is gettin' hitched!). Turning 30. All in the same year. Holy moly, put down the Easter candy!

6. I went to look at James' school pictures today. We had Will's one-years taken in February, then the cute little pond pics I won (but bought a few of) a few weeks ago, and then baseball pics (bought the smallest package), and now school pics. I was SO set up for not buying any (many) school pics just because ick AND the smallest package is $36. THIRTY-SIX AMERICAN DOLLARS. For school pictures. And y'all, I went to look at them today and they are the most precious things ever. I called Eddie to ask where our checkbook is and told him when he answered the phone that, "I have horrible news to share with you." Horrible, because I'm about to drop $400 on school pictures. I was so hoping they'd be hideous. Happy Mother's Day, grandmas! Ha!

7. I had to order a portable DVD cord today. Just the cord. This is the second time we've lost one. I think I'll find them one day with all the socks that I haven't been able to find over the years.

8. Will is still not walking or talking for anyone who is keeping score. He has until the end of the first week of April to beat James. I think he's not too worried about it. And neither am I. He sleeps and that is what's important to me. He does say a few words, but he has to have a few more before his 15-month checkup in May. And no, I don't think there's anything wrong with his ears. I do believe he has a case of the my-brother-never-stops-talking-and-brings-me-everything-I-needs.

9. I'm hoping to take a huge stack of books with me on a trip we're going on soon. And I hope that I'll read a bunch of them instead of none of them. A few that have been sitting on my nightstand for quite some time. Maybe 12 hours in the car will be a good time to read.

10. I made this meal this week and it was fantastic. SO good. Eddie loved it. Too spicy for James, but he likes plain noodles anyway so it wasn't a big deal.

That's all for now! Millions of things on the to-do list and not much time to get them done!

Sugar 'N Spice Vox Box

I signed up for Influenster back at the beginning of the year. Influenster is a website that you can go to review and read reviews of products. They give you a score based on your social media plus how often you review things. I honestly haven't done much with it at ALL but my score at this writing is an 84. (If you'd like an invitation, just let me know! I'll just need an email address.)

I was sent a Vox Box to try this month. I was seriously so excited to get my hands on it and see what was inside. I'm actually pretty impressed that almost everything is something that we would normally buy - but most of it was a brand I hadn't already tried!

I'll start with the Vaseline Spray and Go Moisturizer. I have to say that I was a little bit sad at first because I thought they'd sent me a tanning spray, but then realized it's spray lotion. Who knew?! I need the tanning spray, but I was excited to try it! I was left a little disappointed. I just don't really understand the point of spray lotion. It was good, not greasy lotion. But you still have to rub it in so it's not hands-free. I do think it would be great for travel (although I'm not sure on an airplane...we just travel by car...ha!). Throw it in your suitcase and hit the road without much worry that your things will be lotioned when you get there! Overall, I wouldn't buy it in the store, but I bet I'll use it until it's gone! That said, the Vaseline brand is one of my favorites and I wasn't disappointed with the lotion itself.

I had the BelVita breakfast biscuits the day after I got them. I gave up my normal smoothie in favor of these. They were actually really good! Sort of a cross between a graham cracker and a granola bar. We have a hard time with granola around here because so much of it contains or may contain nuts, but these just contained wheat and soy. (We do avoid soy, but it's in everything!) They were 6 (!!!) Weight Watchers points in case you're wondering. But four biscuits {shockingly} filled me up! They were super tasty. If you're needing a grab-and-go breakfast, I'd recommend these!

I'd never heard of Dickinson's, but was interested in trying them. These are Dickinson's Original Witch Hazel Oil Controlling Towelettes. I bought another brand of makeup-removing wipes the same day my Vox Box came in, but I put those on hold to try these instead. I won't say these removed all of my makeup (nor do they claim to do so!), but they were VERY refreshing. I also REALLY like that my face didn't feel sticky after I used them like some wipes do. I could certainly see using these after being outside. I'll probably throw them in my travel bag in a few weeks! I think Eddie would even like these. With just a few ingredients, I'd even use these to wipe our kids faces. I LOVE that they were individually wrapped. I really, really favor that over a pack that can get left open and dry out. Since these, unlike baby wipes, wouldn't get used quite as often they would dry out a lot easier. I got a LOT of coupons in my box for this so if you'd like to give them a try, let me know!

Nectresse is made by Splenda. I have switched over to Truvia for my coffee and only use half a packet {at most} in that. I have to say I was a little wary of Nectresse. I did a {little} research and found the while Splenda use has been frowned upon, this is their "natural" sweetener answer. The ingredients are erythritol, sugar, monk fruit extract, and molasses. It's a 0 calorie sweetener that is made from a real fruit, but it's still processed. I didn't notice a bit of difference in my coffee (which is POSITIVE, in my opinion...I don't like the after taste that some products have), but I probably won't make the switch. In all honesty, I just don't use much artificial sweeteners during the day!

The products I was most excited to try were the Colgate ones. We usually buy either Crest or Colgate, but Eddie and I both usually opt for the whitening ones. Colgate included the 360* Optic White Toothbrush, Optic White Toothpaste, and Optic White Mouthwash. As I've gotten older (boohoo!) I've noticed that my teeth are way, way more sensitive to whitening products so I was interested in how I'd handle these. I LOVED them. The toothbrush was a little different at first - it has whitening cups and polishing bristles. One of the claims that it makes is that it cleans your teeth, gums, tongue, AND cheeks. I can vouch for this. I felt it! I really, really like this toothbrush. The good news is they make a sensitive one as well. I didn't really feel much sensitivity, but I may pick this one up next time to try it. The toothpaste and mouthwash both tasted great!

Overall, I'm very impressed with the products in my Vox Box. I loved being able to try a few new products and most were things that I wouldn't have normally tried otherwise. Let me know if you've used any of these things!

I was given all of the items above in a Voxbox from Influenster, but all opinions are my own!

Snack Time Comedian.

James has been cracking me up this week.

This morning he came into my room before we left for storytime at the library and asked me to "...check his forehead to see if he was having a meltdown." As I tried to keep a straight face I assured him that he felt fine to me. While I've known I had a little hypochondriac on my hands for a while now, this is the first time he's gotten mixed up about a fever. Oh, mercy.

He's also CONVINCED that he has a baby girl in his tummy. He's told me several times that we need "...just one more baby...a girl," at our house and I've told him that's not likely going to happen {and hopefully not anytime soon if it does!}. He's taken it upon himself to have one for us instead. Just this afternoon he told me that he'd be having her on Saturday at the hospital. I told him that we had an Easter egg hunt at church on Saturday and he shook his head and replied that he couldn't go but wanted to know if he could borrow Eddie's cellphone to call us when she arrives. When I asked what her name was going to be he sighed and said, "That's the hard part, naming a baby. But I think I'm going to call her...Lawnmower."

Writing these down now so I don't forget later!

Play Ball!

We got up before the sun yesterday to kick off baseball season in these parts. We had a lonnnng day ahead of us so we got up and prepared for that. We needed to be at the ballpark before 10 (and in retrospect we could have arrived at 10 but we didn't have a jersey yet) so we left the house around 9:15 to get to the fields, park, and find our team. I packed a cooler of snacks to keep the boys occupied. We live a good bit from the ballfields so going back and forth wasn't an option yesterday. After the opening ceremonies at 10 we had to be back by 12:15 for pictures and then had a 1:00 game. SO...we made plans to leave after opening ceremonies, go by the bank, get gas, grab lunch, and head back. We'd also decided if we had a LOT of time to kill we'd just head to the library. It was way too cold to be sitting out and watching extra games so that was NOT an option in my opinion. Both boys did great! James had a whiney morning but once he got his jersey and saw his team he was a little happier about playing!

The game itself was just hilarious. Playing is certainly not serious when you are three years old. The first inning James was pretty focused (again, for a three year old), but after that he wasn't all the interested in the game, as seen in pictures below.

He had fun and is excited about upcoming games after a two-week Easter/Spring Break break!

There are about 40 pictures below. Sorry, not sorry. ;)

Warming up by running the bases:

Team pep talk in the dugout. Because life is chaotic with 3 year olds, someone who is an absolute GENIUS made signs with their names and hung them above the bench. They each had a designated spot.

Pep talk with YaYa.

First inning:

First at-bat...he stretched/loosened up on his way to hit. We have no idea where he learned this or why he did it.

Cheerleaders! Please note the attire. It was stinkin' cold for the fourth day of spring in Georgia.

Still the first inning...this is where James began to lose steam and get distracted. It only took 10 minutes.

He was cooooold.

Second inning:

He did okay until second base. Between second and third he ran like a penguin/duck (and a coach asked if he'd had an accident) AND he decided to skip from second to home. One of the coaches got him back on track. (He's being carried in the pictures below...)

I think these are from the third inning but I'm not entirely sure. The second and third ran together a bit. Suffice it to say he was OVER it by then. He decided to entertain the crowd instead. He even told us he was trying to be a clown.

As he was sitting here a ball went right past him to the outfield and he didn't even notice.

And then he decided to make conversation with the opposing team's fans.

Thankfully it's just three innings and we were outta there! As was the case at practice, snacks were his favorite. He said he had fun and he'd like to play again! Another game on April 13th!

Thanks Grandmama, Granddaddy, Papa, and YaYa for coming!