spoonful

www.thespoonfulblog.com

2010-12-22T15:36:00.000-06:00

Hello all! Spoonful is officially moving to www.thespoonfulblog.com. Please bookmark me, follow me, and change Spoonful's web address settings on your blog roll.

Massive thanks to each and every one of you for reading, really - thank you. After all the fun part about having a blog is sharing our lives, thoughts, and ideas! You all lift my spirits and encourage me on a daily/ weekly basis!

Please continue to join me as I document our life and family at my new web address!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Sometimes, the Best Things in Life are FREE

2010-12-17T00:01:00.008-06:00

Thank you Publix for this FREE yellow balloon we received on Wednesday. We had a blast playing with it, and it made my little boy giggle and squeal all the day long. It also made up for the fact that the Penny item was a box of 'off brand' Frosted Flakes. I'm a Cheerio gal.

And just because....a little recap of yesterday, a {kinda} lazy day:

awake at 5:30, too early
time reading
coffee, of course
milk in bed with Stephen Smalls
make Stephen Grande's lunch, send off to work
Dr. appointment, armed with dum dums
Chick-fil-a
play outside
clean kitchen, fold clothes
NAP!!!
general tidying of the house
SG home early from work
clean baby
leftovers
candle light dinner
The Office
bath
bed

Happy weekend to ya! Enjoy it!

A Family Drive to the House of Lights

2010-12-16T00:01:00.004-06:00

For a week or so we fell off the Advent celebration bandwagon. {For those of you who don't know - the Stephen Grande and I received an Advent calendar for Christmas last year as we planned to start the tradition of celebrating Advent as he did in his boyhood, by doing a Christmas activity every day, December 1st - 24th}

We were really on a roll and then we got busy, and a little bit sick, and down right out of the habit. But I heard a quote on the radio recently....something like "perfection is the enemy of the good enough." And I concluded that just because we missed a few days - or an entire week - is no reason not to continue with our Advent activities. After all its our first year.

Last night our activity was "a family drive to look at the crazy house of lights." This house is a stone's throw from ours. I don't know a town that doesn't have one of these.

Soon after SG got home from work we loaded up for our little adventure. Conveniently a friend of mine dropped by as we were pulling out of the drive way and dropped off some Christmas treats. Half a can of puppy chow later I was really psyched to see some lights!

{LOOK AT THOSE CHEEKS!!!}

Stephen Small was excited too, though you would never know it by his expression.

I must mention that before we got to the house of lights we took a slight detour to put some air in one of my tires. And it was confirmed this morning that I will be getting a new set of wheels for Christmas {as in literal wheels}

Got to love being a grown up.

But that's neither here nor there. Life is good, Murphy and all {that's for you Dave Ramsey folks ;) }.

Hope you all have an AWESOME December 16th!!!
Only 9 more days!!!

Me and Stephen in the 60's

2010-12-15T00:01:00.005-06:00

Photo taken {with the timer}. In our front yard. May 2010.
Edited using Picnik's '1960's effect.'

I have a new and unhealthy addiction to putting the 1960's effect on all my photos just to see what it looks like. I think its the coolest. I have not edited much in the past, but lately I'm lovin' it. The possibilities are endless.

Here is the original photo of the one above.

Stephen Small's hair is definitely longer on the right than on the left. How embarrassing.

The 60's effect gives the picture a certain nostalgia. It romanticizes it.

Often Stephen Grande and I talk about what decade we would have liked to have experienced if given the choice.
He says he'd like to experience the 70's as a trucker. Don't ask.
I say the 40's as a WWII nurse.
What era {and occupation} would you pick?

Boys

2010-12-14T00:01:00.000-06:00

As in COWBOYS. Many months back I fell in love with and bought 3 yards of the cutest cowboy fabric in the world {I think its called Barn Dance - from JoAnn's}. I've used it for multiple projects -- a diaper bag, this patch appliqued on a white t-shirt, and...

to make Stephen Small's CHRISTMAS STOCKING! Made in July and finally posting. You better believe it will be overflowing with Reese's peanut butter cups and a new set of PJ's come Christmas morn. I plan to have it monogrammed eventually. Just haven't gotten that far.

And speaking of BOYS...
How about some gingerbread boys? or rather men?

I used McCormick's recipe and I give it 2 thumbs up!

A few notes...
Dough is sticky, so be liberal with the flour when rolling out.
I found it easier to cut my dough into fourths and roll out smaller pieces instead of the whole lump.
I also discovered that cookies did best on 350 degrees for only EIGHT minutes, but mine were small. The important thing is to not overcook!

Merry Christmas!

Feliz Navidad amigos!

2010-12-13T00:01:00.000-06:00

I'm a new lady, chipper and much more optimistic than in my last post. Its amazing what getting ALL my Christmas and baby prep shopping did to my psyche. Thanks for all your kind words of encouragement.

Saturday Stephen Grande let me out on the town to GET THINGS DONE. It was great to be so foot loose and fancy free. I went to Micheal's {twice}. I ate Chick-fil-a in my car. I breezed through Kohl's.

Friday afternoon, I made a commitment to rest, prioritize, and regroup from a things-didn't-go-my-way kind of week. And even though every inch of me wanted to deep clean my bathtub {b/c it desperately needs it}, I forced myself to read for pleasure and take a nap {which is what I needed more}. I'm 60 pages into Gone with the Wind. Y'all, its good. I've seen the movie at least 20 times and thought there is no way I can enjoy this book since I'm so familiar with the story. But so far I'm intrigued. And its a nice break from parenting books.

In other news of AWESOMENESS, - I got a deep freezer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My dad gave it to me as an early birthday gift. Over Thanksgiving I started talking to him about how I wanted to cook and freeze lots of meals in preparation for the next year of my life with two small children at home. Apparently he was just the person to confide in about this. After all, he is a man who owns a commercial size roll of butcher paper.

Last week I made three different meals and either doubled or halved the recipes to freeze. Talk about an emotional high - I'm on cloud three hundred and ninety nine. Each time I place a new item in the freezer my heart rate goes up.

Worth its weight in gold is the giant box the freezer came in. Parents of young children: Why do we even buy our children real toys when what makes them the happiest in all the world is a giant box?!

Stephen Small spent the entire weekend in this box {when he wasn't eating, sleeping, or playing in the other giant box we recently received from a diapers.com order.}

With such a dandy box on hand, Stephen Grande introduced the Smalls to the wonderful world of fort building. They had so much fun doing this while I was out Saturday that they forgot to eat lunch. That's men for ya. Women don't forget to eat.

Well, I guess I better sign off. Its time to hunker down for a cold week. SG has placed weather stripping on all our doors and given me advice to not 'get out too much' in the freezing temps. I can handle that.

I'm hoping to spend lots of time with my little one, building forts by the tree, and freezing meals for the deep freeze. Tough job, but someone's got to do it :)

Bundle up!

We met someone....

2010-12-09T22:29:00.004-06:00

And it was largely uneventful.
No crying.
No screaming.
No fear.

As far as I could tell, Stephen Small's only emotion was ambivalence.
And it kinda looks like Santa felt the same way.

Small's feelings about St. Nick's candy canes were quite the opposite.
Those he could get excited about!!!! He only opened and licked three ~~and I think they're still in my purse~~.

He was also a big fan of this rocker airplane. {CUTE!}

These photos were taken at a friend's 2nd birthday party. I was grateful for the activity since it has been way too cold to play outside. We partied hard and wore ourselves out.

Have I mentioned that I'm failing at Christmas?
Well, I am.
Our Advent calender; we haven't done it all week.
And here's the real kicker. I've been drinking hot chocolate - from the packet!!!!!! Not making Killer Cocoa. Publix brand hot chocolate was the penny item this week. I couldn't resist.

In addition to - and contributing to all of my holiday shortcomings, I'm almost 35 weeks pregnant {and all that that entails}. Head colds all around the house. Not enough sleep. Meals. Laundry. Yesterday, I told Stephen Grande that the highlight of my day was buying and installing one of these. And I meant it - not in a bad way.

I'm running on fumes.
But life is good. Its all about perspective.
Tonight my husband made me hot chocolate {from the packet} and then made a marshmallow smiley face. What more could a woman want?

Hope you all have a nice weekend! I'm hoping to recuperate so I can finish strong this holiday and childbearing season.

A Post for Bloggers who use Blogger: Tutorials, Links, and Such

2010-12-07T13:55:00.001-06:00

As promised, here is a post for those of you who have blogger blogs and are interested in custom blog headers, picture collages, and bigger pictures in your blog post. There is a ton of information in this post and especially in the links I've shared. Scroll around and see if there is anything you are looking for. Hope some of this info helps! Happy Blogging.

Just a few basic things worth noting {and then I'll share some links below} :

1- Photo Editing : I edit all my photos using Picasa and Picnik. Picasa is google's free photo editing software and Picnik is a free online based site for photo editing which is connected to Picasa and may be accessed through Picasa. Picasa can be easily downloaded from google. Just make sure to read each step carefully as to not activate unwanted settings on your computer. Like anything, there is a learning curve for using Picasa, but I think the tutorials I'm sharing today will put you on the fast track to learning your way around if you are not already familiar with this software.

2- Blog Templates: Your blog template {as I understand it} is basically your blog's design or layout. The template I use on my blog is Minima Stretch. I have found this to be the best for do-it-yourself blog customization. Since blogger has made some updates recently, the Minima Stretch template is not readily available as a choice when starting a new blog. The good news is it is still accessible but you'll have to go through some computer mumbo to change it on your blog. If you are nervous about messing with your blog settings, I suggest creating a test blog and experimenting on it instead of your real blog. Copied and pasted below in red are instructions for changing your template to Minima Stretch. Found on this site here.

Find the Edit HTML tab. It's now on the Design page. Click that and go to the bottom. The links for the old templates are there. There will be no fonts and colors tab anymore. Those functions will be found under Advance in the Template Designer once you have the minima set.

Here is a picture step by step: follow the RED.

Once you select Edit html, scroll to the bottom of page and go to "select layout template."

Then choose Minima Stretch or Minima Lefty Stretch.

Okay, now that that's out of the way here are some great links and tutorials and that have helped me tremendously. Hope you like!

How to make a custom blog header using Picasa by Sarah at Memories on Cloverlane.
In this tutorial you will also learn 1) how to make a collage using Picasa 2) how to erase the border that automatically comes around the header in the Minima templates.

How to make photos bigger in blog post also by Sarah at Memories on Cloverlane. {This how to is a little outdated since blogger only has the updated editor option now, but the content is still extremely helpful.}

The Blog Guidebook This is a great blog for blog how to's and specifically talks a lot about Picnik.

I really hope at least one of you out there benefits from this information. Please feel free to e-mail me with questions OR share any similar resources!

And because I hate to have a post without pictures.....
I'll leave you with a Picasa collage.
I recently had each of these photos printed in 8X10's and plan to hang them on a blank wall this week!

Confessions and Football

2010-12-05T21:04:00.000-06:00

Confession: I'm not a huge football person. I'm a freak of nature, I know.

Another confession: I don't just love dogs. Double freak. Cold hearted freak.

I feel a weight lifted as I confess these confessions.

I will say that despite being abnormally disinterested in football, I have thoroughly enjoyed Auburn's winning season {13 -0}. The Tigers are on their way to the national championship! I'm pumped - seriously. I spent many many years as an Auburn student. Too many.

{Stephen Grande and me at an Auburn game in 2004}

Unlike many of my friends and family members, I will not be making plans to attend the championship game in Arizona and neither will the Grande.

We have slightly better things to do that day such as....have a BABY!

We'll be cheering on our team from the hospital room. I'm sure I'll be sipping on cranberry juice and maybe SG can ~~sneak a beer~~ have a coke.

War Eagle!!!

Dum Dums

2010-12-03T15:12:00.001-06:00

This brings me great joy.... a bag of 300 dum dums, 1/4th of which I colorfully displayed in a cookie jar. LOVE it. Doesn't take much to give me a thrill.

The story here is I recently had to take Stephen Small with me to the OB's office for one of my prenatal visits. Now I know some of you seasoned mothers have no fear loading up all your 5 children and running errands or making appointments but I kind of freak out a little when I have to take Stephen Small certain places. Its not the fear of embarrassment or misbehavior; it just wears me out to chase him, control him, and keep him from destroying something {he's 19 months old and he can tear up a place faster than you can say Jiminy Cricket}. All this being said, as I stepped out the door to make this appointment armed with juice, snack, books, and toys I silently prayed...

"Lord, please help me find the perfect entertainment for him while I have to sit on the exam table {have the baby's heart beat listened to and such}."

Sure enough before I'd even finished thinking this prayer, I glance in my purse and see a sucker given to us by the bank teller the day before. That was my answer. Thank you, Lord. Through this whole silly ordeal, I was reminded of a verse a friend recently shared with me....

The Lord directs the steps of the godly.
He delights in every detail of their lives.
Psalm 37:23 (New Living Translation)

Every detail...amazing - even helping a nervous mama get through a routine dr's visit with a toddler.

The appointment went so smoothly. Smalls did a little furniture rearranging in the waiting room but when it came time for me to be seen by the doctor, I sat him in his Winnie the Pooh stroller and handed him a 2 cent grape sucker. He was perfect.

You better believe I'm always going to have a dum dum on hand from here on out.

*******************************************************************************************************************

Please still feel free to send me your blog questions about headers, photos, templates, etc. I'm putting a post together early next week with some great links and tutorials!

Yeah for the weekend!

Tub Toy / Blogger Blog Questions

2010-12-02T14:57:00.000-06:00

The word on the grandmother circuit is that this here tub toy is pretty awesome. Its a Yookidoo flow 'n' fill spout that is battery powered and continuously runs like the faucet using recycled bath water. Its perfect for my Stephen man because he rather enjoys the faucet running CONSTANTLY but then becomes a little obsessive over the hot and cold knobs. And that's where I usually end bath time in order to avoid a trip to the burn center. With this toy he is well entertained {for 20 to 30 minutes} and it keeps him out of trouble. Just thought I'd share. Buy one for all your toddler friends. I think this would make the perfect 1st birthday gift. The recommended age is 9 - 12 months, but S. Smalls is 19 months and thinks its fantastic!

Now about blog stuff. First I thank each and every one of your for reading my blog! Sharing our little lives with others is what makes blogging so fun! I so appreciate your comments, e-mails, and questions. Recently, I've received several e-mails about 'how to' do certain things on blogs like make a custom header, make collages, and make pictures bigger in the side bar, etc. I'm hoping to put together a post to answer some of these questions soon! I'm not promising any tutorials myself, but I would be glad to share some links and resources and point some of you fellow bloggers in the right direction. If you have a question about how to do something in particular please leave a comment or send me an email to sbspooner@gmail.com.

Later.

Simple Christmas

2010-12-01T12:06:00.001-06:00

We are keeping Christmas simple this year {and probably ever year}; its just the way I like to do things. My reasoning is 'Why overwhelm myself with something that is supposed to be fun?' That mindset definitely played a role in picking out our tree this year. Its a 3 footer that fits perfectly on a pub table in our living room. In future years we plan to get the real deal, let the kids decorate, and all that jazz. But a 9 month pregnant woman and a 19 month old have no appreciation for a full size tree. Bending over, sweeping pine needles off the floor, and losing ornaments on the bottom half of the tree to child's play things - no thanks! I like my little tree on the table. Sometimes you just have to adjust for your season in life.

Here are a few Christmasy links I liked....

Stay Sane This Christmas by Making Wise Decisions
Plan Your Peaceful Christmas: Prepare the Budget
Felt Christmas Garland {I'm dying to make one of these.}
Gingerbread Men Cookie Recipe {Looking for one, considering trying this one.}
Homemade Ornaments my friend L made with her son {cute!}

Happy December 1!

Thanksgiving Week Recap and some Gratitude

2010-11-29T20:00:00.001-06:00

Hello all and War Eagle! I really don't know where to begin. We've just returned home {last night} from an over-a-week-long stay at my parent's house in Mississippi. Our time was fun, relaxing, and productive all in one. It was such a treat to be with family and have so many extra hands to share in the care of Stephen Small.

{33 + weeks. My belly has officially reached personal shelf status.}

We tried to make the most of several days of 80 degree weather despite the fact that it was LATE NOVEMBER. Welcome to the south east, cold on Easter, warm on Thanksgiving, right? I will say the warmer temps allowed for lots of outside play and wagon rides. Stephen Small was in hog heaven! And each afternoon he crashed from exhaustion and took awesome 3, sometimes 4 hour naps. He has a play hard, sleep hard philosophy of which I am a huge fan.

The Grande joined us the Wednesday before Thanksgiving and boy did I miss him while we were apart. Its true what they say...absence makes the heart grow fonder. Coming home to a clean kitchen also makes the heart grow fonder. Thanks SG for cleaning the kitchen before you left! I love you for that.

T-day came around and we had our traditional feast at my cousins' lake cabin.

All day we awaited the predicted cold front. Now I remember some warm Thanksgivings in the past, but I do not recall ever running around barefooted and playing in sandboxes. And that's just what we did.

{Stephen with his cousin, Mollie}

As the sun set we forced a fire for the sake of ambiance. Then the most bizarre weather phenomenon occurred. A cold wind swept in...no rain...no gradual drop in temperature...just a huge gust of cold air. I believe the temperature dropped 15 degrees in 37 seconds. FINALLY the seasonal weather we'd craved.

The cold was ever so timely for deer hunting as well as for watching football by the fire on Friday.

Have I ever mentioned that I'm an Auburn fan? Well, I am. I went there...for 5 years...and some summers. As you can imagine my mom and dad are HUGE fans too after putting me through half a decade of school there! It really is great to be an Auburn Tiger. My sister also is an Auburn grad.

I think we overwhelmed Stephen Small with WAR EAGLES!

My family was quick to point out that I accidentally dressed him in Bama colors, a major party foul on my part.

Saturday morning came with more hunting, the strongest coffee this side of Texas, and my dad's yummy cheese grits followed by a trip to a local nursery to buy some poinsettias.

My mom's van nearly ran out of gas on the way home. We were all nervous, except for my mom. She had faith that her van would at least get us to the closest gas station - and it did. My mom loves her van.

One last wagon ride on the eve of our return home....
Smalls is rotten. And I mean rotten. He totally lived the life last week.

{Lovie, Smalls, and Doc}

I had hoped to do an individual post on what I'm most grateful for this year but it never happened. So in closing I'll leave you with 2 things that are on my mind and heart.

I'm thankful for...

1. My loving husband and all his hard work so I can stay home with our babies.

2. Both sets of our parents and their dedication to disciplining and training* us as children. Parenting is hard. Being a good parent seems downright impossible at times. I'm really grateful for all the loving discipline and correction both Stephen Grande and I received as children and the lengths our parents were willing to go on our behalf.
*Pvbs. 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go, Even when he is old he will not depart from it.

Every good and perfect gift is from above,

coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights,

who does not change like shifting shadows. James 1: 17

Thank you Lord for your many good and perfect gifts!

The Playhouse

2010-11-23T22:27:00.000-06:00

I've written about my cousins before - the ones that grew up two doors down from us. My siblings and I spent many of our formative years playing in their back yard. They had a trampoline, zip line, and AWESOME playhouse complete with heating and cooling systems. Since grandchildren have come along the playhouse has been updated from its former 'country' style to a more modern Melissa and Doug look.

While visiting my family for T-day, Stephen Small has certainly put his time in at this little house. Its so perfect and childproof. I've considered shutting him up in there and reading a book or taking a nap on the front porch. We played here for one solid hour yesterday and had ourselves the largest time!

{The play house matches the real house.}

{S. Small made hamburgers}

{He went straight for the ketch up and put it on his 'burger' - a boy after my own heart. That shows you how much ketch up we eat at our house. We love it!}

{My cousin made these quilted valences. Its the details like this that make the house so charming.}

{Oh and this ironing board - have you ever seen anything so cute?}

{I'm teaching him to be a good husband one day. This one is going in the rehearsal dinner file.}

I love my sweet boy.
Stephen Grande has to build us one of these...one day.

4D

2010-11-22T23:01:00.001-06:00

I had a 4D ultrasound this morning at my dad's clinic - so fun, right?! {FYI : all you local Greenville, MS and Delta people, The Greenville Clinic does 4D prenatal ultrasounds now. Tell all your friends!}

Now I know these pictures are blurry and you can't see them so well but I don't have a scanner and the best I could do was to take a picture of a picture. The originals are very clear and I got a video too.

This is my new little baby. And he {or she} is the spitting image of Stephen Small. It's really remarkable how much this little one looks like brother. I never got to see much more than the profile. He/she wasn't so cooperative and the umbilical cord kept floating across the lower half of the face --- and baby kept arms curled up on the side of its head. Oh well. It was still an awesome experience. We are SO pumped and ready to welcome this new person into our family and the WORLD.

If you're wondering, we still did not find out the gender - totally avoided that area altogether.

We did not do a 4D with Stephen Small so this was a real treat!

Let the Festivities Begin

2010-11-21T15:43:00.000-06:00

Hello from my birth state of Mississippi. Its always good to be here. My little man and I jumped in the car and road tripped it on Thursday afternoon. We are happily settling into a week long slew of Thanksgiving festivities and are looking forward to Stephen Grande joining us later this week. I'm always a little uneasy about traveling such a far distance alone with the Smalls. Thankfully, we had very uneventful travels with the exception of a little temper tantrum on a gas station convenience store floor {ewww}. His newest thing is falling out like a wet noodle when I want him to do something against his wishes. Seriously - falls. flat. on. the. floor. - and morphs into dead weight. I'm really trying to come up with a proper, effective, and consistent response to this tactic.

Since being here we've been doing some sock, shoe, and clothes shopping for noodle head Smalls and its taken more than one store to find his size in socks. Until now he's only had 3 pairs and they travel solo. One in the worsh, one in the dirty cloths, one in the dryer, one on his foot, one on the bathroom floor, one wadded up in his crib. They almost never ever ever EVER stick together as a pair. To remedy this situation I started pinning his dirty socks together so they don't get separated or eaten in the washing machine. My mom had us do this growing up and it is a nifty way to keep your socks in pairs. Occasionally a sock might get tangled up on the safety pin, but I believe you salvage way more socks than not by using pins.

I've also had the chance to start up that nursery project I mentioned in a previous post. I'm recovering two cushions that go in a wooden chair. I've never upholstered before so it is quite the experiment. Fortunately, for me, I'm not a perfectionist and I think/hope/pray I'll be happy with the end result.

In food and pregnancy matters....With the holidays and all I'm trying not to eat my weight in sweets. My test results came back negative for gestational diabetes (yeah!), but that doesn't give me a license to consume all the sugar in the state of Mississippi. I so craved sweets when pregnant with Stephen Small, especially towards the end of pregnancy and this time around seems to be quite similar. Clementines are helping to curb my craving. I'm really making an effort to snack on these instead of Oreos in between meals.

Lastly and relevant to the topic of my giant sweet tooth, here is my little brother's birthday cake that I just got through icing. He's 22 today and its fun to be able to celebrate with him in person. HAPPY BIRTHDAY GEORGE!

That's all for now! I'll be back soon. Wish you all a great Thanksgiving week!

Nursery Shams

2010-11-19T09:07:00.003-06:00

Here's a little peak of our guest room that is being transformed into a temporary nursery for new baby due in January! I say temporary because eventually I'd like for both kids to share a room. When they are old enough, I'll put them together and covert the guest room back to a true guest room.

The nursery project budget - $0, so far. I hope to spend no more than $20 in the end. Granted I already have a lot of stuff to work with.

I used fabric scraps and old throw pillows {that I've been hoarding for years} to make these kid friendly shams.

The baby is going to sleep in a bassinet that my grandfather built for me when I was born.
My mom graciously treated us to a mattress for the bassinet and some fun fabric for me to recover a chair with.
I'm still brain storming about artwork.

The most common question I'm asked about not finding out the baby's gender is...How do you decorate the room?

You simply make do. And I rather enjoy the challenge! We will fill in the pink or blue eventually.

Hope you all have a truly WONDERFUL weekend!

Who needs toys when you have a Volvo?

2010-11-17T20:13:00.000-06:00

Many months ago Stephen Grande purchased a used Volvo. It was a steal and he had grand plans to fix it, sell it, and make a little spending money {a hobby of his}. That is still the plan, but its taking a little longer than originally expected.

However, I feel that we've gotten our money's worth as it has become the Smalls favorite toy. It all started when Stephen Grande let Stephen Small play on the inside while he was working on the engine. Now he'd be thrilled to eat, sleep, and bathe in the there if we let him.

I'm gonna be kind of sad to see it go - one day - if it ever goes.

Who needs toys?

If I had a dollar for every hour he's played in this car, I could afford to buy my mama a Cadillac.

But then she'd have to sell her van.

And she really loves her van.

Almost as much as Smalls loves his Volvo.

Celebrating Advent

2010-11-16T20:11:00.000-06:00

I don't want to get too ahead of myself by discussing Christmas before we've even had Thanksgiving, but I do want to share about our Advent calendar in the event that any of you might be interested in celebrating Advent in a similar fashion as we plan to this year. This is a tradition Stephen Grande's family had growing up - the celebration of Advent with an Advent calendar. Each day they did something special in light of the season of awaiting the coming of Jesus the Christ Child. My mother-in-law would write down an activity, a verse to read, or something as simple as make hot chocolate and put it on a little piece of paper to stuff in the Advent calendar pockets. Last Christmas when she was taking orders for what we wanted for Christmas, Stephen Grande and I both agreed that an Advent calendar was our hearts' desire. We knew we wanted to carry on this childhood tradition of his with our children.

This morning I dug out our calendar from our Christmas storage - still in the plastic packaging as this is our first year to use it. Before I went to bed last night I jotted down a few activities to write down and stuff in each pocket to carry out in the spirit of Advent. I look forward to this being the first of many Advents we celebrate in this way and can't wait until our children are old enough to understand and participate a little better!

Here is a sampling the things I came up with:

read the Christmas story from The Jesus Storybook Bible

make Christmas cookies

hang door wreath

set up Nativity scene

have friends for dinner

go out for breakfast

make a Christmas gift for the new baby

write a real letter to a friend

watch a Christmas movie

memorize Isaiah 9:6

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

I just think this is the one of the greatest ways to celebrate the typical holiday season activities and keep the real reason for the season at the forefront of our minds and hearts!

When I googled Advent calendars there were lots for sale...some at Pottery Barn kids. I really like ours because it has the Nativity theme. Found the exact one here.

My friend Emily does an excellent job of explaining more about advent in her blog post {scroll down}.

I also found this article with a list of Advent readings.

Happy Advent!

Aahh, Weekends

2010-11-15T14:33:00.006-06:00

We had a good one - especially since it started with a 9:30 pm bedtime on Friday night. Rest is a good good thing.

Saturday I had the opportunity to do a photo shoot for a friend decorating a gorgeous local home for a party. In the process I learned what a Fiddlehead is. Can you believe there is such a plant?! God really outdid Himself when creating the world. The VARIETY! Its astounding.

Stephen Small had a glorious 4 hour nap on Saturday afternoon. He awoke to me and the Grande cheering on the Auburn Tigers. S.G. moved the TV to the back porch and we watched the last half of the game together as a little fam of three.

We taught the Smalls to say Wwwwwwwaaaaaaarrrrrr EAGLE Hey! And despite being not much of a talker, he caught on right away. It is the cutest thing I've seen in all of my born days.

His front row seat was thoroughly enjoyed.

After Auburn's victory we had a group over to grill hamburgers. James T III was in attendance and took over the meal {and my kitchen} in the best kind of way. He made the Farmer's sweet tea and a special sauce for the French fries. Captain Steve was on the hamburgers of course and I was totally freed up to snuggle on the porch with my War Eagle baby.

Some of our other friends brought their happiest seven month old little girl over. And I'll have you know Stephen Grande scooped her up half way through the night just because he wanted to hold a pink baby. He looks good with a pink baby, don't you think?

Sunday morning came soon and we got dressed and ready for church with minimal drama. It seems that whether we wake up at 5 am or 9 am we are always rushing to church. Its the devil. Recently I we came up with a new "all hands on deck" policy when it comes to Sunday mornings. That basically means that if you are an adult in our household on Sunday morning, you are allowed no leisure time whatsoever. All efforts must be complied to get us dressed, fed, and out the door. I can only imagine how this gets more and more challenging with more children. We might just have to take our sleeping bags up to the church on Saturday night and and sleep in the sanctuary when this second baby arrives.

The rest of the weekend involved leftover hamburgers, a baby shower for one of my friends, a bloody nose, and me making plans to head over to Mississippi later this week! I can't believe Turkey Day is coming so soon.

And on that note, I just have to say I'm grateful for the rain today - and a quiet afternoon.

Hope this post finds each of you well.

The Stir Crazies

2010-11-12T15:20:00.001-06:00

I'm not going to lie and tell you I haven't been a little stir crazy this week. We're still reeling from the post nasal drip {it came back to bite me, and the Smalls}. And of course I'm understandably struggling with ~~my ever growing size~~ the motherhood. Sleep is hit or miss, but overall we are hanging in there and very much looking forward to a weekend watching Auburn football and grilling hamburgers!

I have a little philosophy to deal with the stir crazies. And that philosophy is "When in doubt, take a walk." When I'm doubting what I should do next at home particularly because I lack motivation or because I just can't stand the thought of folding another piece of laundry or washing another dish, I know its time to GET OUT and get some fresh air.

The Smalls and I walked and played in the yard most of yesterday morning leaving my agenda to deep clean the kitchen by the wayside. It was so good for our souls. We came in around lunch time and felt like new human beings! Aunt Lu brought us over some corn chowder she made and we ate on the back porch. It was lovely.

These pictures capture an over stimulated Stephen Small playing in my favorite quilt I bought on sale at Target two years ago. I'd like to decorate {if I were good at decorating, which I'm not} an entire room - or house for that matter, with its color scheme.

I'm still working on preparing the room for the new baby and it looks like it will be early December before I finish. My mom bought some of this ADORABLE fabric for me to tackle a little project with over Thanksgiving.

I also hope to get some significant cleaning underway before the holidays. So far its going very slow.

I blame it on my largeness.

{baby belly at 30.5 weeks}

Hope you all have a great weekend!!!

Same 'ol Same 'ol

2010-11-09T22:43:00.000-06:00

I have nothing new. We do the same 'ol same 'ol these days. Coffee, Y, Publix, play outside, watch Veggie Tales, eat lunch, nap {Small}, laundry {me}, read books, try to convince S.S. that he likes to color {he doesn't}, cook dinner, bath, wait for Grande to come home, watch T.V., bed - REPEAT.

I'm thankful for our routine because I love it! I'm thankful for a little boy who likes to play outside. I'm thankful for this gorgeous weather, for a healthy nephew born today, for freezer sandwiches, for encouraging news from a friend, for the approaching holidays, and for James Dobson {who I've nicknamed Jimmy D. but I don't say it out loud because it sounds disrespectful and I don't mean it that way}.

I'm also grateful for YOU people who read my blog! Y'all are great.
Hope you're having the best of weeks!

Its amazing

2010-11-08T15:48:00.002-06:00

Its amazing how a minor case of post nasal drip can take you out for days. More so the lack of sleep secondary to the post nasal drip is what got me. And all of the combined issues lead to emotional instability, irrational spending, irritability, and sloppy wardrobe choices.

I'm thrilled to say I'm feeling SO much better and we once again have staple foods in our home such as milk, bread, eggs, bananas. Things are on the mend.

Though I can't say we've made much improvement in the way of our appearance, we are quite comfortable, me {in my faithful yoga pants that I've never done yoga in} and S. Small {in his camo and stripes}.

Whenever I'm coming off an "illness" or just feeling plain overwhelmed with the basic everyday household tasks, I make a list. I like to write down one or two single items at a time no matter how big or small. Once I can cross one thing off, then I think up the next thing to do and write it down.

I start by asking myself the question "What must be done today?" or "If I could only accomplish one thing today, what would it be?"

It helps. Hope you all are having a grand Monday!

Bookmarks

2010-11-03T21:09:00.001-05:00

Don't be deceived and think I'm all computer savvy because of this blog. I made a C in high school computer, a class known to be an easy A. Most of what I know now I've learned from the Grande. In fact, he taught me a new skill just last week - bookmarking. Its changed my life. I no longer have to write web addresses down on a post it note.

{bag packed and ready for 3 hour glucose test}

Here's a few of my recent bookmarks.

I made this cornbread minus the jalapenos and scallions. FABULOUS.

Love this tree pillow and want to make one for new baby's room.

A friend recently told me about this blog - I'm hooked.

Recently started reading this one too.

Really liked these tips on how to stay motivated at home.

Hope you all are having a great week - its flyin' by.

What have you bookmarked lately? I'd love to know.

Some Days are Better than Others

2010-11-02T21:05:00.001-05:00

And today fell right in the middle. Although this morning at 2 A.M. as I was tossing and turning with the motherhood, I would have pronounced this day a total loss from my lack of rest. But somehow thanks to some power sleep between the hours of 4 A.M. and 7 A.M, I was actually worth a little something this morning.

We voted.

And exercised.

And that's where the productivity ended. The rest of the day was spent watching entirely too much TV and napping.

Mamas get tired sometimes.

Post nap and feeling a second wind, I threw a load in the worsh and started thinking about dinner.
Bird in a basket it was. It was delish.

Hoping for better rest tonight.
I've got a lot of ironing to do tomorrow.
And I need energy to recover from seeing Ricky Martin on Oprah.

Baby Bibs

2010-11-01T20:38:00.002-05:00

I've had a whole lotta fun lately making some bibs for some babies. And by the way, I love non-traditional fabric and colors for babies. Though pale pink and blue are nice, its fun to live on the edge a little.

PREWASH BOTH FABRIC AND TERRY CLOTH.

You need: fabric, terry cloth or towel, snaps, and a bib you like to serve as a pattern. I've found the bigger bibs to be better for pattern purposes since you have more fabric to work with. There are also lots of printable templates I came across on the internet.

Trace bib shape with pen or sharpie onto fabric with the RIGHT sides of the fabric and terry cloth together.

Sew a small seam around bib edges BUT leave an opening large enough to turn bib right side out and place snaps.

Cut the excess terry cloth and fabric as seen below.

Place snaps BEFORE you sew up the opening.

Last, sew opening shut and finish off with a 1/4 inch border around bib.

I hope this all make sense.

A few of my faves....

2010-10-31T22:11:00.000-05:00

This weekend when I wasn't by Lt. Dangle's side, I was at the computer viewing, sorting, organizing, deleting, editing, and ordering my last SIX MONTHS of photos.

AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!

Never again will I let it go that long because it was some serious and time consuming WORK. There was once a time when I purchased photos monthly and I'm bound and determined to reinstate that method.

As I was looking through photo after photo, I realized that many of my very favorites were the most candid, just a moment caught in time, and not the ones that were perfectly in focus and had someone looking straight at the camera posing.

Here are some of my all time faves and the reasons why I love them!

This one dates further back more than 6 months ago, but I love it and will always love it. Stephen Grade skiing. He's a rock star on skis and this picture captures that perfectly. {Sara Walker - if you're reading- I'm pretty sure you took this one summer of 2006}

Stephen Small in April '10 playing in the park. You can't see his face, but you can still see him. I could pick this photo out of 100,000 photos of the backs little boys and recognize him as Stephen Small.

LOVE LOVE LOVE this one with the fan. I think it is so cool that Smalls is in the bokeh with a little smile of exhilaration at the air blowing in his face. After taking this one early this past summer, I tried the rest of the summer to get one just like this but in better focus. Months out from taking it, I really like the blurriness.

Here's another with S.S. in the bokeh. I don't know for sure what time of day this was taken, but I can tell by the way he's so intently focused on his drink that it was probably after nap time. Talk about the day in day out - this is IT for me, filling and refilling sippy cups.

Here I like the fact that they are not looking at the camera and the fact that Stephen Grande kind of has his tongue sticking out a little. That is something Stephen Small does all the time when he's concentrating. It's funny to see a glimpse of Grande doing the same thing.

Love the eyelashes and the angle....

Nervous smile on my wedding day. I think its cool that a few of the bridesmaids and groomsman are in the background unaware of the picture taking. {May 2006}

Totally candid here and having fun at the lake {once again - summer '06 - a good summer}. I initially thought this picture was a FAIL because of the sun, but now I think it just adds to the awesomeness.

My conclusion: The best pictures are not necessarily perfect, but the ones that capture life. I forget that a lot.

Happy Halloween

2010-10-29T23:54:00.000-05:00

From your favorite waffle house waitress and Lieutenant Dangle.

For the record, I have the utmost respect for the Waffle House staff. I borrowed the costume from a friend who actually worked there one summer. She said she made a killin'.

Hemming Lieutenant Dangle's shorts was my nap time project. He wanted them shorter, but I refused. I insisted he pull them down a bit for the picture. These modesty issues I expected to have with a teenage daughter one day, but not with Stephen Grande. Who is this man?

Routine Check-ups

2010-10-28T16:03:00.000-05:00

Hello internet friends! Life is busy. I almost hesitate to say that because I know everyone is SO busy. Its the American way and I guess we are no exception. It seems like we've had something on the calendar every single day for I can't remember how long. On my agenda this week has been taking two thirds of our little fam {myself and S. Small} to the doctor. Thankfully it was all for routine check ups. Wednesday I had my blood glucose test at my 28 week OB appointment. Y'all, I failed, with flying colors. Stephen Grande keeps joking with me that I've got the DIA-beat-is (please tell me you've seen the commercial). So...............I'm signed up to take the 3 hour blood glucose follow up test next week. {This is all screening for gestational diabetes if you're not familiar with this medical jargon.} Let's hope I don't have the DIA-beat-is because if so, literally, a spoonful is going to get pretty boring for a while. See ya later pumpkin cake, hello whole wheat toast and hard boiled eggs.

Stephen Small's appointment was this morning {18 month check up} and went a little better than mine. He had a blast in the waiting room - no one was in there so he had free reign. He played so hard and laughed to himself {love it when he does that} while I read some fantastic articles out of WORLD magazine. I kinda hated to leave the waiting room when they called our name. For we were having such a nice time!

Stephen Small checked out fairly average for both height and weight. He got one shot and came home worn slap out. He's so precious. I love him. And I'm deeply grateful to God for his good health.

Well, that's all for today. Time for our next thing - eating pizza with friends and putting together missionary care packages for the holidays! Yay.

My Mommer n' Nem

2010-10-27T13:30:00.001-05:00

My Mommer n' Nem {translation: my mama, aunt, and two good friends} have come and gone to town. The reason for their visit was to see the lovely and talented author, Jan Karon, speak at my church as part of her promotion tour for her newest book, In the Company of Others. She is most well known for the Mitford series which is a most delightful read (9 books total). If you're looking for something uplifting and meaningful, I highly recommend.

The rest of mommer n' nem's stay was filled with good food, shopping, and every hair cut and doctor's appointment I could squeeze in while I had multiple babysitters.

The only time I really got camera happy was on our trip to World Market {or if your my mom - "World Bizarre"}.

May I just say I love this store!

They have everything you never needed and MORE.

I'll have you know I bought not one thing. But as you can see below, I enjoyed photographing all the COLOR.

After World Bizarre, Grand Ma Ma {Lovie} treated my Stephen Small to a cheeseburger and fries at Five Guys which he thoroughly enjoyed with large quantities of ketchup.

Mommer n' Nem - you're welcome anytime. Come back soon!

Curb Appeal

2010-10-25T23:01:00.002-05:00

Ever since we bought our house I have dreamed of a new front door. We finally got around to replacing it a few months ago. Its amazing how one little door can totally change the look and personality of the house. I felt like the old door said "tacky people live here."

But the new door says "these people have real class."
Introducing....new door.

Here's the old one...

It had been painted layer after layer of poor paint color choices, electric blue being the worst.

It was one happy day when the old door came down and the new one went up.

The solid wood door came from Lowes (or maybe Home Depot, I can't remember). I chose one with 9 window panes to allow some natural light in. After Stephen Grande completed his handy work by putting up the door, he gave me instructions to sand, stain, and polyurethane. It took me about 3 naptimes to get the job done.

Rubbing alcohol removed the stain easily from the window panes, but I put up painter's tape before applying polyurethane - which was less work in the end not having to scrape polyurethane off the windows.

I LOVE the finished result and think it looks great in the background of pictures!

both outside

and inside

I love a project....especially when its over.

My Blog is 2!

2010-10-24T23:05:00.004-05:00

As I was sitting here tonight debating over whether to attempt a post or not I realized my blog is 2 years old today (October 24th), TODAY y'all!!! I nearly missed it. Click here to read my very first post. I've come a long way since then.

I want to thank each and every one of you for reading, commenting, not commenting, and following this blog as well as literally, a spoonful. I've had a blast to say the least and look forward to blogging well into my eighties and nineties. I know that blogging from the nursing home doesn't sound all that exciting now, but by the time I'm actually there many of you will be going through the same thing and just might find what blood pressure meds I'm on sort of interesting.

{photo taken August 2009}

I must confess, I thought blogs were kinda stupid before I started one. I judged my friends and thought they were freaks to put the intimate details of their lives on the world wide web. But then I found myself obsessively following and looking forward to each new post. I loved seeing the homes of out of town friends and feeling so much more connected to their daily lives. Of course you see now I'm a total blogoholic. It has become my creative outlet and has made many ordinary days just a little more exciting. Its given me a chance to share and celebrate the simple things in life! And its perfect for keeping in touch with family that lives hours and hours away.

So to all my blog and internet friends...

I love y'all.

Sincerest thanks,

Sarah Barry

Little Arrangements

2010-10-23T22:26:00.000-05:00

...anyone can express himself with some degree of originality in the area of flower arrangement. Every home can have something in the form of a 'flower arrangement' which is not a permanent part of the interior decoration, not a life-long treasure to be taken from home to home, but a constantly changing source of beauty, a continually fresh 'finishing touch' to the surroundings.

Edith Schaeffer, The Hidden Art of Homemaking

I'm no Martha Stewart or James Farmer, but I do like to bring a little life in my home every now and then (even if I'm the only one that cares). The best is when I can do this without spending any $$$. These three little arrangements below are all from flora in and around my yard.

Coleus, planted last spring and still blooming.

Dogwood branches. I really appreciate their speckled leaves that are just starting to change colors.

Pyracantha. There's a surplus in my neighbor's yard. It's perfect now for fall with its orange berries. They turn a true red closer to Christmas. Everything I've ever learned about this fire thorn shrub I learned from All Things Farmer. If you pick some - use sharp clippers and wear gloves. The branches have some wicked thorns.

Pine cones. I'm thinking of spray painting some gold at Christmas and putting them in a huge clear bowl.

These simple arrangements aren't much, but are a nice way to add little color and 'life' to the interior for FREE.

So go look around your yard. If you are like me, you'll find it therapeutic.

18 months, Jan, and Nursery Plans

2010-10-21T14:09:00.000-05:00

This fine young fella is 18 months old as of yesterday. We celebrated with a much needed haircut. I made him a smoothie, strapped him down tight in his high chair, and went after his pretty red head to shape it into something decent. It's still something I'm tweaking as I see a longer strand every now and then.

I suppose 18 months is an appropriate age to drink a smoothie without the lid on the cup.

No spills.

In addition to getting a haircut, Stephen Small would love for you to know that we got a cat, a BIG one. Yes, we are cat owners. Her name is January Jones, Jan for short. We chose this name because the new baby is due in January and her fur is white like winter's snow that we rarely get here in Alabama. But anyways. The name has nothing to do with the co-star (Betty Draper played by January Jones) of the show Mad Men. We ~~LOVE the show~~, er ah, I mean we would never watch such filth.

Jan was a gift from my mom and dad to the new baby, but its safe to say that Smalls has claimed her for his own. We made the mistake of teaching him to "growl like a tiger" and now that's about the only thing you'll hear out of him. Some days all he does is growl. Other days all his says is "nose."

18 month olds are HILARIOUS!!!!!

After the photo shoot with Jan and Smalls yesterday afternoon, I pulled out my fabric scraps (I know its a lot of scraps!) and began brainstorming about putting a little something together for our second child's nursery.

My plan is to use our guest room as a baby's room and then put both children together in Tiger Small's room once the baby is sleeping through the night. Our house has three bedrooms and we so love having a guest room. I want to hang onto it as long as possible. So please come stay with us - we will still have a place for you to sleep! The guest room will only be used temporarily as baby's room. At least that's what I'm hoping.

Originally I wasn't going to change one single thing about this room except for putting a crib in there, but now that the baby is getting closer I feel an overwhelming urge to prepare and decorate a space for this precious new family member.

Here's a little peak at what's coming together...
hope to finish it up next week and there will definitely be a post about it.

Be back soon.
Have a great Thursday!

Handsome and Handsome

2010-10-19T16:20:00.001-05:00

I'm a very fortunate woman to have these two boys in my life.
Think I'll frame this photo and put it on my dresser.

{taken Sunday October 17th}

Lu is 25

2010-10-18T16:21:00.000-05:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AUNT LU! My sister, Aunt Lu, is 25. She's a young thing. A wipper snapper. A retired teacher, now tutor. She likes math, and TV. She enjoys country music as well as Harry Potter.

{me and Lu}

Growing up we played 'the Thing' {which was our fancy term for playing house}. We lived to play the Thing.

Our mama would say, "Girls lets go to the pool."

And we would respond "No, mama we're playing the Thing."

The Thing was serious. We drove imaginary mini vans and had unnatural numbers of children.

Come to think of it we are still playing the Thing, but its the real live Thing {minus a few children}. And neither one of us has a mini-van ~~yet~~.

Anyhow, we love you Aunt Lu. Hope you have a great day.

A Good and Ordinary Day

2010-10-15T22:21:00.000-05:00

Hello all! Thank you for your sympathy and advice on dealing with toddler tantrums. Whew! No one could have prepared me for this stage. Today, Friday, was a much better than yesterday, even with a trip to Wal-mart this morning.

Before Smalls and I left the house I snapped a photo of Stephen Grande's lunch in the morning light. I pack him basically the same thing every morning : 2 sandwiches, a bag of chips, a piece of fruit, and dessert if I have it. This is my love language - packing lunches. It goes back to my childhood. My mama could pack a lunch if anybody ever could. Occasionally, I bought my lunch at school but only by choice, not because my mama didn't pack it. In second grade I took a hotdog every-single-day. I still love a good hotdog.

During naptime I finished sewing a pair of longalls for S.S. to wear to church this fall. Don't ya love this brown gingham? Its so handsome. This was my entire motivation to learn to sew - to make children's clothes!

Late afternoon we spent outdoors, much to Peanut Butter Man's delight.

Is that the cutest hiney you've seen ever or what?!

Early in the day I had mentally committed to spending as much time outside after naptime as I could possibly stand. He needed it. And its Friday.

The old dog pen was quite the fascination. It was Kathy's. Poor Kathy.

We took it slow today. And it was nice.

Tantrums

2010-10-14T21:15:00.003-05:00

How did my sweet, lovable, precious newborn grow into a boy who now throws tantrums?!!!!

Temper tantrums.
Hissy fits.

Look at him - losing control.

Because his mother is cruel.

She wouldn't let him play outside

because it was morning,
because she wasn't properly dressed,
because she hadn't had her coffee yet.

She's cruel.

I think me and Mr. Dobson need to spend some time together.

All parenting advice welcomed.

Book Covers

2010-10-12T19:49:00.000-05:00

fabric scraps + ugly books

solution: book covers!

My Bible and copy of Jesus Calling while invaluable in content are sort of lacking in the aesthetically pleasing book cover department. If I ran the world all books would be required to have beautiful and ornate covers. But until then I'll just settle for sewing my own book covers.

This was a very fast, yet satisfying project and a great way to make use of an odd ball piece of fabric.

Here's (sort of) how I did it. And as I say with all my "tutorials," I'm not super thorough in my instructions and I've only been sewing one year. So...trust your own judgment and use your instincts when/if you should decide to make your own book covers.

1) Select a rectangular piece of fabric significantly larger than your book when book is open.
2) Prewash and iron.
3) Hem top edges as seen in photo below, but leave a small edge on both sides, top and bottom. VERY IMPORTANT. You will need this extra room to complete project.

4) Wrap book in cover to check sizing.

5) Hem sides.

6) Now wrap the cover around the book WRONG SIDE OUT.

7) Pin on one side only, then carefully remove cover.

8) Sew pocket.
9) Repeat on the other side.
10) Turn ride side out and fit on book!

Greetings from North Carolina

2010-10-11T13:15:00.004-05:00

Okay, so I'm not actually in NC anymore. But I was there just 26 hours ago and it was nothing short of wonderful. Our friends Whitney and Andrew invited us up to their family's mountain place for a weekend of relaxation and luxury.

And it was just that...relaxing, luxurious, indulgent. It is such a beautiful part of the country and I swear we saw the leaves change colors before our eyes. When we arrived on Friday SG and I commented that things were still pretty green. When we left on Sunday red, yellow, and orange abounded everywhere!

One of our group goals was to get a scenic photo of all 4 of us. Forty shots with the timer later we got a few we could live with. Thank goodness you can set my camera to take timed shots in sets of 10!

Here's a few of our "failed" attempts.

{too far to the left}

{Whitney helping us center the camera. Accidentally took 10 of these.}

{I was actually okay with this one of myself, but the others each had words of self criticism.}

Don't you love Stephen Grande's hand on hip pose? He didn't like it so much. I think his words were "I look like such an a** hole."

Oh well.We tried. And I think we took some good ones.

Backing up a little to the earlier part of the weekend, Stephen Grande and I set out Thursday evening leaving Smalls with his dear ol' Aunt Lu. We went to dinner with my in-laws and spent the night at their house which gave us an hour head start the next morning.

Friday morning we had second breakfast at Dunkin donuts. My whole goal for the weekend was to eat like a French woman, not depriving myself, but not eating every meal as if it would be my last. Portion control was key with a weekend that involved so much amazing FOOD!

{my driver}

Our first stop once we reached the mountain foothills was to eat at the Dillard House for lunch. There is no menu and the way they do things is to just serve you a little bowl of everything, and I mean everything. I could not stop laughing at all the bowls the waitress kept bringing to the table.

After lunch, SG and I pressed on to the Highlands where we window shopped till we dropped.

I fell in love and considered purchasing this antique sugar canister until I found out the price. It is 100 years old and could have been mine for $100. How cool! But not quite what I was willing to pay.

{Loved this painting!}

Worn slap out, we stopped for iced coffee and water.

And then we zigged and zagged around the mountain to Franklin to the house where we were staying.

Have I ever told you how grateful I am to be married to a man with such a great sense of direction? He really gets us around.

We arrived at the house with a beautiful view and watched the sunset over cocktails.

On the porch A. Lee discovered a beautiful young bird, whose time has passed. We all admired its gorgeous colors, but were a little freaked by Andrew's handling of a bird carcass.

After the happy hours I, the pregnant and therefore designated driver, drove my crew to Paoletti's for our 9:15 dinner reservation. It was well worth the wait. Bread, wine, Italian food, good company, a dinner uninterrupted by toddlers - it was heavenly.

Saturday morning Stephen Grande made his specialty - FRENCH TOAST.

We had a leisurely morning, barely looking at the clock. But we eventually got motivated enough to venture out into some of North Carolina's beautiful scenery.

Our "hike" was followed up with a little jam and jelly shopping at a local produce stand. I confess I have had absolutely zero interest in jam, jelly, and all things canned until very recently (like until this year). Now I wouldn't dream of passing up the opportunity to get my hands on some home canned goods. I guess that's what maturity does to ya. And an appreciation for the whole canning process.

Wrapping up our adventures, we drove back to the house for some SEC football. Because what would a fall weekend be like without it? Really. It was victories around the table for us with our vested interest in South Carolina, Auburn, and LSU.

Gumbo, made by my dad and sent all the way from Mississippi, was a perfect Saturday night supper.

We then hit the hay at a semi reasonable hour, had a restful night in the cool Carolina air, enjoyed sleeping late (for us), ate a hearty breakfast, and then began our five hour drive home.

That's it. Back to reality.

Big thank you to my mom and dad {and sister} for keeping our Peanut Butter Man for the weekend. And really big thank you to Whitney and Andrew for being the hosts with the mosts and driving me 2 miles out of the way just so I could get a picture of the 'Welcome to North Carolina' sign for my blog. Y'all are the best. The weekend was perfect! Can't wait to do it again!

25. 5 Weeks and Peanut Butter Man

2010-10-07T13:51:00.002-05:00

Good Thursday! Aren't these October days just marvelous? We've enjoyed a busy week spent scurrying around getting ready to go out of town for the weekend. The Grande and I are going somewhere sans Smalls. Of course the child still in utero will be coming along for the trip and thankfully he/she is not yet too large to dampen my physical comfort.

I couldn't help but snap this photo of myself yesterday for the sake of documenting this pregnancy - though its a little goofy.

It seems the most common question people ask pregnant women is "how are you feeling?" With a grateful heart, I'm happy to say "so good." Really, minus the first 12-14 weeks I have really enjoyed this pregnancy.

{25.5 weeks}

Exercise, diet coke, and Tums have been my vices as well as a little chocolate every now and then.

I bought these Reese's for me (and Stephen Grande), but it seems like Stephen Small is the one who can't handle life without them. He's having throw yourself down fits over these things. My hopes were to display them on the counter in this lovely blue bowl, but the constant site of them is not worth the constant battle. I do allow him to have one every now and then, but not to replace meals. I'm thinking of re-naming him Peanut Butter Man.

Shifting gears a little, thanks for all your complements on the cowboy bag! It sort of sent me into a sewing frenzy and motivated me to finally buy a pin cushion. I've been working on several sewing projects that I hope to share soon.

This is a sweet spot in my stay at home mama days; Smalls has been consistently taking a 3 hour afternoon nap which has allowed time for me to not only get my chores done, but also have time to read, sew, blog, talk on the phone. I'm embracing this time as I know its sort of the calm before the storm. Not a bad storm, but a 7-10lb bundle of joy that eats every 2.5 hours kind of storm.

When Smalls is not napping, we are out here - in the great outdoors.

Stephen Grande planted these Spider Lilly bulbs {also know as 'naked ladies' for having no leaves on their stems} in the spring. It has made my day every day to look out and see a pop of color circling the pine tree in our front yard.

I'll leave you with a glimpse of Peanut Butter Man's demostration of what he thinks his strength to be.
He tries to pick up everything and everybody, no matter the size. The other morning he even tried to lift Stephen Grande up off the floor.

I'm thrilled that he has that much confidence, but it's kind of sad to watch his struggle.
Well, I'm back to packing. Hope you all are lovin' life these days.

Be back soon.

Diaper Tote

2010-10-05T17:20:00.001-05:00

We left our beloved green and yellow polka dotted diaper bag at Bobbi and G's* house way back in July.
Ever since we have been carrying a plastic grocery sack to the nursery. Its appalling.

*Stephen Small's grandparents on the Grande side.

So finally...last week I set out to make Stephen Small a diaper bag he can be proud of. Once again with sewing I learned that slow and steady wins the race. My first attempt was hurried and therefore unsuccessful. I do love the finished product - second time's a charm! And the cowboy fabric is definitely one of my top 5 favorite fabrics of all time.

Tote tutorial from Sew, Mama, Sew! click here.
I adjusted the measurements slightly b/c I wanted a smaller tote.

A Fall Weekend and an Attitude Change

2010-10-04T17:35:00.000-05:00

We produce an environment other people have to live in. We should be conscious of the fact that this environment which we produce by our very 'being' can affect the people who live with us or work with us. The effect on them is something they cannot avoid. We should have thoughtfulness concerning our responsibility in this area. We should be artists in doing something about the environment we are creating - artists before God, of course. We have His help because we are artists in this sense, in the hands of the Holy Spirit; for if we are Christians, He is dwelling in us, and we can ask for His power to help us.

Edith Schaeffer - The Hidden Art of Homemaking

It was a gorgeous October weekend.

Family time, a fish fry with friends, perfect 70 degree weather, a visit from Stephen Grande's brother, time to shop and exercise by myself on Saturday morning, and a Sunday morning of worship were just a few of the good things we enjoyed this past weekend.

But even despite the idealistic circumstances, my disposition on Saturday morning was one of frustration and negativity. This mama was in a good old fashioned bad mood. I held it back most of the morning, but the shopping (which was largely unsuccessful) just pushed me over the edge. (I don't enjoy shopping these days. There is so little time for it, so I feel immense pressure to get what I need in a short amount of time all while sticking to a budget.) I felt as though I had wasted hours of valuable time and still didn't have what I needed. Anger, irritation, and anxiousness dominated my emotions and I was on the verge of being seriously unpleasant the rest of the day. Things were looking ugly.

My mind kept coming back to the paragraph at the top of the post found in Edith Shaeffer's book, The Hidden Art of Homemaking, a book I read this summer. I was so grateful to remember these words, to remember that I affect the environment of others around me, for better or worse.

I desperately did not want to ruin my family's weekend (and therefore mine) by allowing my frustrations to get the best of me and to turn me into an unattractive person to be around.

I'm sure my mom and dad are reading and thinking - wish you would have thought about this more during your Jr. high and high school years.

So that Saturday morning, after some major internal conflict, a silent prayer, and a few tears on a very understanding husband's shoulder, I changed my attitude - or rather God helped me change my attitude.

And the rest of the weekend was simply wonderful - beautiful.

I'm so grateful.

Praise God for fall weekends

- and attitude changes.

Wrastlin'

2010-10-02T23:19:00.000-05:00

There's lots of wrastlin' going on at our house these days. It mostly takes place in the mornings while I'm dealing with the dishwasher. I'm not much for wrastlin' myself, but I'm okay with the boys wrastlin.'

I love this next picture. Stephen Small is plotting his next move....

Back for attack....

I know you can't tell from these pictures, but they are really good at wrastlin.' They might just be the best I've ever seen.

Pictures taken 9/13/10

Important Meeting

2010-10-01T14:34:00.001-05:00

Happy October 1 everybody!

I'm wrapping up a very important meeting right now.

In attendance: me.

I feel somewhat strange for enjoying these sort of meetings so much. You know the kind where you clean out your purse, budget, plan, think, read. It feels so great to get (sorta) organized. It's my idea of fun - makes my little world go round.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

I'm planning on getting some things done around the house.
And I'm hoping to make Mimi's apple cake and The Pioneer Woman's olive cheese bread.
So I guess better schedule in some exercise too.

I'm enjoying

2010-09-29T22:38:00.000-05:00

Suave's Rosemary Mint shampoo and conditioner,

apples in season,

a Zelda Fitzgerald biography by Nancy Milford,

and lots of time on the back porch.

What in this world are you enjoying these days?

Quiltin'

2010-09-28T19:40:00.002-05:00

I don't aspire to become a quilter any time soon. Though I have a large (VERY large) spot in my heart for quilts, I just don't have the time and space to take it seriously at this point in my life.

I do however understand the basic concept and thought it would be a great way to use some scraps to make Stephen Small a toddler pillow case. I completed the project in July and never posted, so better late than never!

Here's my very unprofessional how to:

1) cut fabric into squares (any size you wish) - I think these here are 4" X 4"
2) lay squares out and plan the quilt pattern

3) sew individual squares (right sides together) forming strips

4) sew strips (right sides together)
5) once finished, use quilted piece to sew into a basic pillow case or sham - I made a sham.

tips:
pre-wash all fabric
have your iron handy to iron down seems

Stephen Small has rested his sweet little head on this for over a month. I've washed it many times and its held up nicely.

Hope you're inspired! Happy quiltin'.

New Kicks

2010-09-27T22:11:00.000-05:00

We've been in a mood, and its one of the negative variety.

But you know what turned this frown upside down?

A beautiful fall day - NO
Going to eat Mexican with 10 of your mom's lady friends - HECK NO
A leisurely 3 1/2 hour nap - NO

What? What is it? What turned the frown upside down?

A new...pair...of...SHOES!

We love em!

We're proud of em.

And-we-have-plans.

Plans to show these shoes around the town.

Around the town, with an upside down frown.

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*Daddy (Doc) - I know how you are not so much a fan of onesies on older babies. I promise he only wore this b/c it was nap time and he had salsa all over his shorts.

A Picnic

2010-09-23T15:57:00.001-05:00

Thank you. Thank you. THANK YOU.... for your comments, advice, and insight on the witching hour(s) that I spoke of struggling with in this recent post. I have since felt a renewed energy toward my long afternoons with the Smalls. We have changed our routine a bit and have spent time on the porch, walked, bathed, and watched many a Veggie Tale during these hours. After hearing what other mamas are doing I feel less guilty for letting him play alone for some time and better equipped to handle the home stretch of the day. Y'all had some great ideas!

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This morning I ran around like a chicken with my head cut off. For one, SG and I stayed up too late last night. For two, I had an OB appointment that took an hour longer than I expected. The nurses forgot about me in the waiting room. Darn nurses. Really, they felt terrible and I could sympathize with them being that I once was a nurse and still pretend to be one a couple weekends a month. Unfortunately, I missed my ladies' Bible study because of the mishap. But all is well.

Brother and I still had time for our picnic. (Stephen Grande has started to call Smalls - Brother, and its starting to stick.)

I have a creative friend who is always planning fantastic kid-friendly activities. She asked us to join her and her girls for a picnic after Bible study.

The picnic was so fun except I WENT TO THE WRONG PARK.

I had gotten there a little early being that I missed my Bible study.

So Stephen Small and I went on with our sandwiches.

and Cheetoes (the child is going to turn in to a Cheetoe - he loves em).

We then packed our things after hearing from my friend that I was indeed at the wrong park.

Fortunately the parks are in the same neighborhood, so it took one minute to get to right park . We visited, we swang, we avoided two major falls. It was SO fun.

And then I got so blazin' hot in my maternity jeans.

So we quickly called it a day.

I see many picnics in our future. Picnics make me feel old fashioned. And I love feeling old fashioned.

Hope you all are having a great week! Friday is coming fast.

Good News of the Very Best Kind!

2010-09-21T13:50:00.003-05:00

It has taken me a while to jump back into blogging this week {or do anything of a fun and light hearted nature}. A dear family in our community lost their 17 year old daughter in a tragic car accident this past weekend. And as sad as I have been about their loss, I cannot even fathom the depths of pain her family and close friends are going through.

I've wrestled with the question : How do I live in a world in which my children might die?

The thought is too much to bear. I told Stephen Grande that I fear I would cease to be a person if I lost a child - feel like I would shrivel up and die myself if something happened to one of my own.

My pastor opened our worship on Sunday with the only comforting words that exist - All we have is our Savior.

How true. For those of us who know Jesus as our personal Savior - we have eternity with Him. We have life after death. We will see our believing loved ones again. This world is not all there is.

So when I wake in the middle of the night, sick with the thought of my worst fears coming true, I am only consoled by the knowledge that Jesus lives and He is mine. I know that if my earthly life goes completely downhill from this point on- if I, like Job, only know pain, loss, sickness, and strife for the rest of my days - if I never have another good day - I still have been saved from the ultimate death and suffering of hell. And I have a life in heaven to look forward to!

That is good news of the very best kind!

That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. Romans 10: 9

and

he who believes will have everlasting life. John 6:47

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For much more eloquent words on this subject read this article, Trying to Make Sense of Tragedy, written by one of my former pastors.

What's Going On Around Here

2010-09-16T18:10:00.001-05:00

Hello friends!

Black is back - as in coffee. After weeks of drinking no coffee and more weeks of drinking heavily diluted with milk coffee, I'm now able to enjoy it my favorite way - plain, black, & strong. One cup a day. A switch has flipped here in the 22nd week of pregnancy and I've said bye bye to most of my food aversions and hello to afternoon naps. I can't keep my eyes open in the afternoons. Maybe I should save my coffee drinking until then.

Speaking of our afternoons, Help?!?! Mothers of young children and mothers who have had young children at one time...WHAT DO YOU DO IN THE LATE AFTERNOONS WHEN YOU ARE AT YOUR WITS END?

Come 3pm Stephen Small and I are so over each other. Its like emotionally and physically I'm ready to check out when I really need to be stepping up and checking in. It comes down to the fact that I'm weary and ready to do adult things like drink diet coke and watch the Barefoot Contessa and he wants to play with permanent markers and sneak plastic forks in our oven (which later melt and smell horrific). Do you provide a lot of structure, watch videos, go outside? Just curious as to how you make it during the home stretch before dinner, baths, and daddy coming home.

Stephen Grande's suggestion was to have porch time - this is my second day doing it - structured, designated porch time. Its really gone well except for a little great escape out the back door (I've since barricaded it).

I don't even want to explain this scene. Yes, this is our back yard and that is our pile of rubbish. I'm not even going to show you what's around the corner - that deserves its own post.

But since I have you here in the back yard I will share my little corner of it. A friend of mine gave us some pumpkin seeds mid August. We got them in the dirt a little too late to have by Halloween, but assuming all goes well, we can enjoy them throughout November. It has been a joy to look out my kitchen window and watch their progress.

What else around here?

We are having turkey burgers for dinner.
I bought a new robe recently and I love it.
My church is doing a ladies Bible study on Esther that I'm excited about.
Baby is flippin and kickin.
SG and I have a date tonight to clean out our guest room closet.
Stephen Small is getting a haircut by me this weekend.
I felt cheap at the grocery store this week and bought non-organic milk for the first time in months.

And last but not least - I put 3 new recipes on literally, a spoonful.

Hope you all have had a great week! Tomorrow is FRIDAY!

Beginner Sewing & The Makings of a Bedskirt

2010-09-14T20:40:00.004-05:00

Several folks have asked me recently, "How long have you been sewing?"

My answer : only one short year.

I'm still SO inexperienced. In fact, I don't even have the vocabulary to explain most of the projects I take on or ask an educated question in the sewing store.

However, I have enjoyed learning this skill tremendously and I've seen it benefit our budget in more ways than one, just hemming and mending alone have more than paid for my sewing machine. Baby gifts, children's clothes, & home decor (pillow cases, bed skirts) are some of the funner(word?) projects I have accomplished.

I tell you all this to say : be encouraged. If you want to learn to sew and didn't grow up standing over your grandmother's shoulder at her sewing machine, its quite possible! I am the prime example. I'm not super skilled and my projects still have a lot of imperfections, but 9 times out of 10 I'm please with my creations!

a few tips...

Make sure you start at a time in your life when you have some extra time on your hands. I started when Stephen Small was taking two good naps a day and sleeping through the night.
Be willing to mess up. The first 3 or 4 things I made were laughable, one being a Christmas stocking for Kathy, our former dog.
Don't let the machine intimidate you. There is a learning curve, but once you get over it trouble shooting your machine becomes second nature. You can always take it to a local sewing store and have them take a look if its out of sorts.
Have a buddy, someone to learn with or someone that has more experience. This makes it fun and you can share sewing patterns and techniques.

Okay, since when did I declare myself the expert on giving beginner sewing advice?

Apparently just now!

Showing you my new bed skirt was the real reason I sat down at this ole blog.

I think it may be my all time favorite. I made it for our master bedroom. My goal was for it to be neutral, elegant, and sort of rustic all at the same time. To my delight, I think the finished project has these characteristics.

I basically started with a bed sheet, cut to the size of our box springs.

I then cut and measured the actual skirt fabric to size on three sides, pinned little 4 inch pleats, and stitched it all up!

*If you have one sided fabric, you will want to place, pin, and sew fabric RIGHT SIDE DOWN.
My fabric was the same on both sides. Also, if you want to hem it, then I think its best to do it BEFORE you sew it to the sheet.

This is what it looks like when you flip it to the pretty side.

The finished product in its proper place.

I love it.

I sleep better at night knowing its there.

Small's attributes

2010-09-13T13:52:00.009-05:00

Stephen Small is adventurous

hilarious...

notoriously messy...

a little mischievous...

and he's never afraid to try new things.

I'm so thankful for his darling little face and each new aspect of his personality I see each day.

He's my baby.

I often joke with him that he has to live with me until he's 40, although I'm pretty sure I don't really want that.

No, I really don't want that at all.

But I would love for him to come visit.

Because he's my baby.

Sunday Dinner

2010-09-12T18:34:00.012-05:00

Sunday dinner has always been a personal favorite of mine, the kind of meal that you sit at the dining room table for. Unfortunately for me, we typically have scrambled eggs or leftovers in a messy house that has been overtaken from the earlier weekend days. But this Sunday I managed to pull it together and invite a few friends over.

Before you get too impressed let me tell you, I did-not-cook-a-thing, unless you count making sweet tea as cooking. I asked all in attendance to bring 1 easy side dish and the menu came together as a fantastic potluck meal.

My contributions were :

a semi - clean house
Publix fried chicken
Mary B's tea biscuits
sweet tea

It was such a pleasure to visit with friends. We all have such busy lives, young children, mortgages - it nourished my soul to slow down for a meal together.

A few of the simpler delights that brought a smile to my face were children eating at the little red table I recently painted,

using real napkins, real china, and silver,

and the yummy dessert complements of Aunt Lu. I'm pretty sure my child will never eat a butter bean again now that he knows these goodies exist in the world.

Hope you all had a wonderful Sunday.

And that you consumed less calories than me. I know I can say I'm eating for 2, but I'm pretty sure I ate for 5 today.

Marital Advice

2010-09-09T18:23:00.017-05:00

Photos were taken by SG on his dove hunt last weekend and are irrelevant to the content of this post except for the fact that they are pictures of men.

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Never go to bed angry, stay up and fight. - Phyllis Diller

We posted that quote on our refrigerator the first year we were married. And ya know, we rarely fought that year. But as the years have gone on we've had our share of arguments. I'm not talking about knock down drag out fights (though there have been a handful of those), but more of the typical and predictable disagreements that married people have simply because men and women are different and people are only human.

Fortunately Stephen Grande is as sensitive and kind as they come. Really, he is. But he's not a mind reader.

And over the course of being married for 4.5 years, I've learned that best thing for him (and me) is to: BE DIRECT... to not have expectations and expect him to perceive what those expectations are, but rather TELL HIM what I'm thinking. Not in a militant sort of way, but in a gentle, yet very straight forward sort of way. I know it sounds SO SIMPLE, but really its easier said than done.

Here's an example: "I'm growing resentful that you have not taken me out to dinner in a while. I just want to get out of the house and be with you."

(Usually, this is followed up by a timely date planned by him, babysitter arranged and all.)

Another example: "If you consider getting another dog right now, I'm leaving."

(Okay, that's sort of a joke. Remember Kathy.)

I'm not saying that I get whatever I want just because I tell him directly. However, I've found it simply to be a much better way to communicate and most always results in a better response than nagging or crying for "no reason" (and then being angry because he should know why I'm crying).

So that's my marital advice : BE DIRECT. Don't let your frustrations build and then explode on your man for not taking out the trash when really all you wanted was to go out to dinner.

The end.

Meet the Masons

2010-09-08T19:59:00.011-05:00

"Would you fix me a glass of milk? And bring it to me in a Mason jar."

- My Dad

I believe in drinking out of real glass; I come by it honestly. Life is short - why not?

I know real glasses sweat and leave rings on the table, but that's what coasters are for.

Recently, our (real) drinking glass collection whittled down to nothing. They were broken, stolen, abandoned, and abused. So for weeks I was on the lookout for some new, inexpensive replacements but could not seem to find any to suit.

Meanwhile, on the home front my favorite glass became a lonely mason jar that once contained some homemade jam or jelly. That lonely mason jar also became my favorite vase and pen holder and container of everything it could contain. It was one busy mason jar.

It the midst of all this - can't find new glasses that I like - and I'm in love with this one mason jar drama, the Pioneer Woman posted this awesome post, The Beauty of a Mason Jar.

And so it was. So it was that I became the proud owner of 36 gorgeous mason jars of all shapes and sizes. I love them, each and every one.

And since I've been back to Wal-mart, the prices are marked down even more than when I bought mine. So run. Run. Go get your Mason jars before their season has passed.

Look at their uniformity - so beautiful.

They are rustic. And elegant. And I take so much pride in them.

Here's one with my peach tea this afternoon.

Here's a larger one serving as a votive.

And the small ones - I've used for greenery arrangements.

It really doesn't take much to make me happy. Are there any other old souls out there that love Mason jars in the way that they should be loved? I know PW does.

"Children's" Artwork

2010-09-07T19:00:00.001-05:00

So I have these beautiful new built-in bookshelves and I've envisioned filling at least one of them with some framed children's artwork. My hope was that by the time the shelves were completed S. Smalls would be old enough to scribble me up a little something or even better, finger paint or volunteer his hands for little hand prints.

Well, he's just not that into it. Coloring - naw. Painting - could care less.
The best I've gotten from him is penciled chicken scratch on my grocery list.

So as strange as it is, I took matters into my own hands (more specifically fingers) and did a little finger painting of my own, creating a nice little collection of faux children's artwork.

I wanted the art to mean something so I chose three Bible verses and let those scriptures be my inspiration.

Genesis 9: 16
Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.

Psalm 1: 3
He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.

Isaiah 40: 8
The grass withers and the flowers fade, but the word of our God stands forever

Did I mention that I received the highest average in Art my ninth grade year?

Well, I did.

I can't wait to re-do this project when my children are old enough and replace my "masterpieces" with authentic children's art.

Here are a few more verses and passages that I think would be great to use as inspiration for this project....

Psalm 127: 1
Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain.

Psalm 24: 1
The earth is the LORD'S, and all it contains, The world, and those who dwell in it.

Luke 6: 26
Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?

Psalm 19: 1
The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

Genesis 1 - the creation passage

Oh the possibilities are endless!

I missed these two.

2010-09-06T20:24:00.006-05:00

Over the long weekend my two boys, my two Stephens, my heart and my soul...traveled across state lines, 6 hours away, without me...WITHOUT ME. They ventured to Mississippi to visit my parents for the holiday weekend along with Aunt Lu and Nick. Stephen Grande enjoyed some serious dove hunting and man time while my mom and sister looked after my babe.

My reason for staying behind - it was my work weekend. I do admit I had some mild separation anxiety (okay major separation anxiety) before sending them off, but I knew I would enjoy the alone time - and I did enjoy my time.

But oh how I missed them! I'm so glad they're home. I'm thankful for my answered prayers of safe travel.

I love them to pieces.

Hope you all had a great Labor Day!

My Poor Little Smalls

2010-09-01T20:30:00.000-05:00

My little baby has a cold. Poor fella. He woke up at 11, at 1, at 6. He gets even more precious when he's sick.

After our sleepless night, we spent the early morning in the quiet. Playing.

A three hour nap was followed by lunch on the couch.

While watching a little bit of Toy Story.

Seriously....precious.

Pajamas stayed on until well after noon, mine included.

A few moments were spent "reading" books.

Feeling better, we moved outside to enjoy a glass of ice water, infused with last night's table arrangement. His idea, not mine.

At 2pm I put on my jeans (for the first time since May). Thought it was a nice way to ring in September.

Along with making chocolate chip pumpkin muffins.

We are tired. But I can't complain. It was a good day.

And I think Smalls is gonna beat this cold.

Baby Gender

2010-08-31T22:57:00.004-05:00

My 20 week ultrasound appointment has come and gone. And we DID NOT find out if the baby is a boy or a girl.

I was tempted...quite tempted, but with Stephen Grande's support and determination to wait for the surprise, I held out.

We did not find out Stephen Small's boy-ness before he was born and we did just fine. I will admit his "home from the hospital outfit" was not much to get excited about. I recall packing a zip lock bag with a white onesie, a pair of socks, and a yellow swaddling blanket.

My family had fun placing bets over what Stephen would be and when he would arrive. Funny to look back and see that the majority thought he would be a girl.

Baby pool for Stephen Small

My exciting news today is that baby Spooner #2 has 10 fingers, 10 toes, and all major organ systems in place! We are SO grateful and praise God for a good report.

Wall Galleries

2010-08-30T16:34:00.015-05:00

If I were a decorative concept...

I'd be a wall gallery. "I was born for wall galleries," I told my family the other night while we were hanging this one above my living room sofa.

Mine and Stephen Grande's dear friend, James T. F. III, was over for dinner last week and while he was over I pleaded for his consultation concerning some of my art and furniture arrangements. He's a talented designer of both landscapes and interiors. After 45 minutes of his expertise, my house was transformed into something so much better than I ever could have thought up. Thank you James!

Most of these pieces of art were Christmas gifts, wedding gifts, hand-me-downs from family, note cards framed in frames from Kroger, and pieces of posters cut out. You see, I have so many smaller pieces and a wall gallery was the perfect solution. It serves as a larger piece of art.

Over our bed we made a gallery of folk art - interestingly enough all these pieces are done by Mississippi artists. This arrangement was just the pop of color I was looking to incorporate into our bedroom. I think it will play nicely off the neutral bed linens.

Just a couple of tips James shared for hanging wall galleries:

1) Lay (or is it lie?) all the pieces out on a large table or the floor before hanging. Check your spacing...because spacing is key to a successful wall gallery.

2) Use some sort of adhesive putty to secure all the frames after hanging. This will keep them from becoming crooked.

And now...because you asked...here is a peak into our new cozy TV room.

Here's one side. Note new rug that is bound Berber carpet. I've been very pleased with it so far.

And here's the other side with our fancy built ins...I still have a bit of work to do as far as arranging and filling them in.

I'm so thankful for such a talented husband. He essentially built this room with his bare hands. He truly has a God-given gift.

The Muffin Man

2010-08-29T20:50:00.003-05:00

We had a fun/crazy/kid-filled/slide show watching/grilled pimento cheese sandwich eating kind of weekend visiting the Grande's side of the family in Auburn. Every year his mom and dad organize a gathering complete with their 5 children, 2 son-in-laws, 1 lovely daughter-in-law, and 7 grandchildren.

Stephen Small experienced pure JOY as he rough housed with some of his cousins in the baby pool. The other highlight of his weekend was hogging a toy truck that sings "Do you know the muffin man?" when you honk the horn.

It was fun. Lots of fun.

It got rowdy.

Georgia, the only female cousin participating in the baby pool, was very brave to partake of these waters. She's one tough little cookie, probably thanks to having two older brothers.

Just look at them...

We are all RELATED...

and this picture is not everybody

and there are more coming, as in they have not been born yet....

and two of Stephen Grande's siblings aren't even married (because they aren't old enough).

Eventually we will have to have family reunions in which we make t-shirts and wear name tags.

Here's to the large times that keep on getting larger!
And thank you to my sister-in-law, Anne, who gave up her room for us.
And thank you to Gary and Jill for having us all!
And thank you to the muffin man for entertaining a select few of us (under the age of 2).

Whirlwind

2010-08-27T12:42:00.007-05:00

This week has been a whirlwind of activity for me! Dentist, baby doctor, Wal-mart, Target, Home Depot, Joann's, Publix, Pier 1, World Market, Bed Bath & Beyond, CVS, church pictures, flea market, Aunt Lu's --- I've been EVERYWHERE.

My mama visited us for the past few days and I took full advantage of the extra set of hands and FREE babysitting. We loved having her here and so appreciate all her swiffering, cooking, babysitting, and air conditioner filter changing she did. I also greatly benefited from her decorating and furniture rearranging advice. Thanks Mama! We love you.

I don't know if my nesting instinct is just in high gear or if I've gone totally manic. But I must say I'm in the business of getting things done around here. Finishing up those projects I've mentioned before and getting our life/house in order have become my obsession before 1) I start to waddle and 2) before new baby comes in January. Though I am a lover of simplicity, sometimes the process of getting simple is very un-simple and messy. Sort of like to clean out your closet, you have to first take everything out of the closet. That's where I am, making messes to eventually create more order.

I love our little home. And I'm so grateful for it and how far its come.

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend! And enjoy your homes, no matter how orderly or chaotic they may be.

Dish and Diaper Mats

2010-08-23T14:00:00.002-05:00

Many months ago I came across Darby's dish mat tutorial.

Fast forward a few months later and I discovered Christian's simpler adaption of this idea on her blog Modobject at home.

These mats are SO useful, I honestly don't know what I did before life without them.

The diaper changing mat is great to take on long car trips, can be easily rolled up and toted in a diaper bag, and would make an awesome baby gift.

The dish mat is perfect for drying pots and pans that are too large for the dishwasher and for not-completely-dried dishes out of the dishwasher. This too would be a fantastic gift!

So here is my attempt at a rough around the edges tutorials. I'm not great at tutorials, but I love to share how I do things and maybe give a little inspiration.

Step 1) Supplies: You will need a piece of fabric (prewashed), a piece of terrycloth (prewashed), and a sewing machine.

I used a large inexpensive towel (from Wal-mart) and cut it in half.

Step 2) Cut your towel and fabric to size of your choosing.

I trimmed off the decorative boarders of my towel as to make the terrycloth easier to work with.

Step 3) Place fabric right side down on terrycloth and sew around edges (about a 1/4" to 1/2'' stitch). Think pillowcase. Leave a 4-5" gap open.

Step 4) Clip corners. Then using your 4-5" opening, turn mat right side out and stitch up opening.

Step 5) Lay mat flat and pin around all edges.

Step 6) Sew a 1/2 inch boarder around entire mat.

Step 7) Give your mat a whirl in the washing machine and dryer. Feel free to iron if you are a serious person or just go on and put them to good use.

Enjoy!

A Quote and our Sunday Best

2010-08-22T13:56:00.004-05:00

Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important. - C. S. Lewis

photo taken by SG

The Day the Painters Came

2010-08-20T18:00:00.002-05:00

The painters have come. The painters have gone. I was thrilled with their work, their speed, and their expertise. Stephen Grande and I discussed how long it would have taken the 2 of us to paint our living room ourselves in between work, taking care of Stephen Small, and finishing all the other projects we've started. We both agreed it was money well spent.

The whole painting day was a deviation from our normal routine. Painters arrived at 6:55 am.

We ate breakfast on-the-go - Oreos - so we could clear the kitchen in time for them to start on the ceiling (we had the kitchen ceiling painted in addition to the lr).

A long walk kept us out of the way for some time.

Then we made it back for an early lunch in my bedroom.

And although we loved watching our living space transform before our very eyes, the paint fumes became overwhelming, so we camped out at Aunt Lu's for the afternoon while she and my brother in law Nick were at work. The Smalls napped in his pack n play while I swam alone, in the quiet. Just me, a float, a tall glass of ice water, 45 spf , a Real Simple, and a Pottery Barn catalogue. I didn't even open the book I brought. That would have been too much for my paint-fume-fried brain.

Around 3:00, we came home to this...

a brighter, fresher living space.

Just looking at the new color makes me relax.

Dinner was definitely not the norm... Chinese take out.

All in all it was a good day.

Now what's on the to-do list for the weekend?

I'll think about that tomorrow.

Have a great Friday night.

Making Things Happen

2010-08-18T21:00:00.001-05:00

If you know us personally (and maybe you can gather this from my blog), we are do-it-your-selfers. Well, maybe not so much me, but Stephen Grande is for sure. He could build us a shelter with his bare hands from the ground up. Really, he's got skills... and a great eye for design.

Over the course of owning our current home (1.5 years) he has built a screened-in porch AND knocked out a wall to renovate our flooded, earthworm infested, un-usable, dilapidated sunroom.

And I can say after months and months of living amongst half-done projects, we are finally wrapping up some of the major and minor details. Even the porch that has been usable for a while now has had unfinished areas to paint, screens to secure, furniture to purchase, paint, and arrange. We have been taking care of some of these last details THIS WEEK and it feels so great to be at what I call "the fun part" of a project, the cosmetic and decorating part. -- NOT that I am a talented decorator. In fact I'm extremely insecure about my purchases and decisions. I can recognize what I like, but have trouble putting it all together. I'm basically sticking with the safe route which is all neutrals for wall colors, larger pieces of furniture, and rugs. Color (which I am a fan of) can be incorporated with art, fabric, and accessories.

So here's where I've been all week....

Finishing painting this children's table and chairs (given to us by a friend of a friend). The color is Ladybug red by Martha Stewart.

I've ordered two large area rugs for our living room and sunroom. A local carpet discount store will bind up the edges. They should be ready early next week, and I'm really anxious to see how they will turn out. Surely I can't go wrong with such a neutral color. Barbados is this particular carpet's name. It was either that or Casanova Sans. I think those names are fairly dramatic for carpet.

Found some great basket organizers from Lowes. I bought 7 to tuck into our newly built-in shelves in the sunroom. How great are those little chalk boards! I'm still debating whether to write on them with colored chalk or white. Thoughts?

More painting - I painted the back door with a fresh coat of white. I also rearranged some artwork to be seen in more "high traffic" areas of the house. Can you believe I had that ol Rooster hiding on a shelf that was hardly noticeable?

My next project is to sew a bed skirt out of this imitation linen for our bed. Its a little darker than it appears in this photo.

So much to do...so little time. I'm trying to take full advantage of the "honeymoon phase" of pregnancy, the second trimester. I'm no longer nauseated 24/7 and I'm not yet too large and in charge. But that day is coming soon!

We've been holding out and saving for these projects for as long as we've lived here. I'm sure my friends and family will be glad for me to stop talking about them and actually make them happen. We are so grateful for our home and the means to improve it. SG has jokingly said that the money spent to fund these projects can be considered my "cut your guts open prize" since I will most likely have a 2nd C-section. You know, instead of a"push prize." I don't expect everyone to get that, but those of you in your childbearing years are probably familiar with this new phenomenon. It's sort of along the same lines as the babymoon.

Well, off to bed I go, I should have been there an hour ago...I have a painter coming at 7 am. That's one thing we are NOT doing ourselves - painting our living room walls and kitchen ceiling. And I'm so confident it will be worth every penny considering I might loose my sanity if I had to do it myself. Also, SG despises painting. He rejects it from the bottom of his soul.

Good night.

Savoring Summer

2010-08-13T10:00:00.000-05:00

I'd be a liar if I told you I wasn't longing for fall. But yesterday we did what we could to savor some of this summer season and weather that will remain until mid September.

We began the day with a long, 100 degree temperature walk with friends.

Then Smalls and I took a quick trip to the Farmer's market for peaches and tomatoes. Cheese Its and Diet Coke sustained our blood sugar through this errand.

He did not make home without falling asleep in the warm car. Sometimes I can hardly withstand his preciousness.

Afternoon was spent at the pool with Aunt Lu and Nick.

As early evening came we snacked on sweet peaches. I love this series of pictures below that capture S's little hands and features so perfectly. It makes me so thankful for good cameras and technology because what mama wants to forget these little details.

After a long day we headed home to a quiet house and turkey wraps for dinner.

I'll post recipe later today on literally, a spoonful.

Mother's Evening Out

2010-08-12T15:00:00.003-05:00

Last night I had the joy of a). going out to dinner with friends in my Sunday school class and b). doing a little shopping afterward ALONE, without my wiggle worm named Stephen Small.

Unfortunately I am a SLOW and particular shopper. I wish it weren't so, but its my reality. It takes me awhile to make a decision. Reason being...I most often know exactly what I want, but what I want usually can't be found. I set the bar too high with my specific taste. Typically I pour over the decision of settling for 2nd best and most often walk out of stores empty handed. I struggle with this most when shopping for clothes. It has been a problem for me since my childhood. Really. A real problem.

However, last night I felt as though I hit the jack pot. I went searching to find Stephen Small some fall play clothes and I found Stephen Small some fall play clothes. It was like manna from heaven. I found what I needed! What I wanted! Cute stuff. And in my price range.

It all came from Kohl's, which I have a new love and respect for.

I also made a quick stop in Joann's to buy a yard of this vintage - looking cowboy fabric. I've been eying it for weeks.

The big reveal of what I'm going to make with it will hopefully be sooner rather than later. My final deadline is Christmas.

The whole eating and shopping experience was so luxurious. I felt so re-charged and productive.

Thank you Lord for the simple things in life like eating a chicken salad sandwich with friends and buying cheap clothes at Kohl's.

Life and Caffeine

2010-08-10T13:00:00.002-05:00

Hello blog friends. Has it really been over a week since I last visited my ol blog?!!!!

Honestly, I don't know where to begin today as I'm so out of the habit. I guess I'll start by saying that this little bug has moved from 2 naps to 1 a day. And thus went my blog/computer time. Me on the computer when S. Small is awake is not a pretty site. He pulls my hair, bangs on the keyboard, basically attacks me from all sides. He's cruel. And its not worth the fight.

But regardless of how much he tortures me I just love him to pieces. And I LOVE LOVE LOVE our days at home together. Wild horses would have to quarter me in the streets to convince me I should do something else with my time. Its worth every dollar I don't bring home and more!

Now that he's getting on up in age (15 months - so old, right?) he's needing a little more guided play. So we color, read books, watch Veggie Tales, sing, eat snacks. Some days (okay, most days) I have zero to show for my time except a well fed, somewhat clean, and very loved boy. I'm totally okay with that. I know these days are precious and they are flying by.

And although this season of mothering a toddler and pregnancy is wonderful, its not without its headaches and frustrations. Thankfully, I am greatly aided by a drug known as caffeine. And if it makes you feel better, yes, I drink it in moderation. I'll have you know I've barely been able to stomach coffee these past few months and only in recent weeks have I been able to drink a little tiny bit of coffee with a healthy portion of milk. Normally I'm a fool for strong black coffee that makes your stomach hurt. But this unborn babe has me strictly on homemade cafe au laits.

I've also become a lover of diet coke. And the one I allow myself daily, is truly a savored treat. Beverages, in general, I LOVE. It is not necessarily the drink itself, but the ritual of sipping on something while doing a favorite activity or getting through a dreaded task. Nothing helps me tackle a big pile of needs-to-be-folded laundry like turning on some music and crakin' open a DC.

Well, that's all for now. How I hope to be back sooner than a week and a half.

Cousin Cousins

2010-07-31T16:46:00.019-05:00

Growing up we lived 2 doors down from my mom's older sister and children. Needless to say, proximity made us more like siblings than cousins. Together we carpooled to school, took tennis lessons, played Nintendo, rode bikes, borrowed summer reading books, went to camp, etc. I remember doing a lot rollerblading too; it was all the rage. Older cousins would babysit the younger cousins. You get the idea. We were tight.

Now that we are older, we love congregating at any opportunity. This weekend, 2 of these said cousins (Ellen & Bibba) are in town to visit me and Aunt Lu, along with Ellen's children Mollie and Mac. We are having the largest time. And I've enjoyed hitting them up for some home decor advice. They both have great taste and are very handy and resourceful.

Here's a glimpse at our Saturday lunch and fun by the pool with our cousin cousins. That's a termed we've deemed for our children -- cousin cousins. It just feels strange to call them 2nd cousins or 2nd cousins once removed. Its too formal.

Lunch - we picked up Moe's. And I think I've officially converted from the Homewrecker to the Close Talker as my usual order. YUM - O.

Mollie Mo in her cute suit! 3 going on 21.

And crazy ol' Smalls. He's the best.

Well, time for me to get back to the fun. I'm waiting on the crew to return from Fresh Market and whip up some fabulous dinner!

Crayon Roll

2010-07-30T14:06:00.008-05:00

I made this super cute crayon roll for my cousin's little girl, Mollie, whose birthday is just around the corner.

Tutorial found here.

I don't know who first thought these things up, but I'm pretty sure they are one of the sharper crayons in the box (or in the crayon roll).

Have a great weekend!

*And thanks for all of you people's reassurance about the climbing thing AND for the recommendation for door safety locks. We will be investing in some SOON.

Productive Day

2010-07-29T16:55:00.013-05:00

Today:

Lots of worshin', cleaning, straightening, some cooking and now we are waiting FOR OUR COUSINS who are coming to visit for 3 days. They'll be here in an hour!

Don't you love a productive day... and a visit from family members who are also friends.

I know I do.

Climber's 15 Month Check Up

2010-07-28T16:24:00.006-05:00

Good Wednesday afternoon! Hope this post finds you well.

I took S. Small to his 15 month check up this morning. He checked out quite nicely in the 20th percentile for weight and 40th for height.

Afterwards, I treated us to Chick-fil-a for lunch - a little tradition I've begun. If you go to the doctor, you get to go out for lunch - and that includes me, when I go to the doctor. I actually began this tradition when I was pregnant with S.S. I'd go out to lunch after seeing my O.B. Sometimes I even sat down (alone) in the restaurant, usually because I was too hungry to make the drive home.

Dr. T (our pediatrician) inquired as to how much S is talking. "He only says 2 words," I informed him. Common for little boys was his response.

And a little boy he IS.

This picture shows you what I've been battling. CLIMBING. He moved the chair to reach the front door lock. Oh MY! What's a mama to do?

A few spankings have been dished out when I've found him standing straight up (all 30 and 3/4 inches of him) on the dining room table.

I love him, but he's crazy. And I have a lot of work ahead of me.

Better go. I need to make sure he's not on the roof.

I love Mondays!

2010-07-26T15:00:00.001-05:00

Welcome Monday!

I'm so thankful for Mondays after my work weekends. The rest and quietness of home is so longed for and enjoyed. And although I like and appreciate my job, after super busy work days (like this past weekend) it is confirmed that my place is most definitely in the home rearing my youngin(s).

Barefoot, pregnant, and in the kitchen is my most favorite place to be.
Yes it is.

I love home people. I can't help it.

But when I'm not there, SG does a fabulous job handling things.

On Sunday morning he served up our family's traditional french toast breakfast to our sweet boy (who had a very runny nose and could not make it to church).

Grande makes killer french toast by the way.

Yum.

He took these pictures thinking I might want to blog about this. He was right!

The Stephens have a fantastic time together on their "boy" weekends. And I'm always welcomed home with hugs, kisses, and usually a warm meal (that SG cooks!)

Hope some of you love Monday as much as me!

Visiting the Fam, New AC

2010-07-23T16:35:00.001-05:00

Hello blog friends, new and old. Over the past week I have ventured to my birth state of Mississippi and am now back home again. I always love being with family and it is such a treat to have extra willing and able hands to help me handle my lively Stephen Small.

We spent the weekend in Jackson for a cousin's baptism and then Stephen Grande and I parted ways - he home to work - me on to my parent's house.

While there, Stephen Small practically ate, drank, and slept in the ice maker. Who needs toys?

Lovie (my mama) bought him some new p.j.'s at Pennies. I don't think I've been to J.C. Penny's in 20 years. That store has some great maternity clothes by the way, not a huge selection but I found some great jeans and and a couple of shirts.

Some of the other things we enjoyed were Gino's for lunch one day, a trip to the local fabric store, a visit with one of my high school friends and her little boy, and of course HAPPY HOUR. We always have happy hour in Greenville.

Our visit was short, but fun.

Wednesday morning we set out early for the 6 hour drive home across state lines. (My mom drove us back).

We made a stop by Wal-mart before leaving town. Lovie treated me to some pens and new legal pads. Oh the lists and budgeting to be done! It makes me giddy to think about such things.

For Stephen Small - snack cups (are these not the coolest things?), a car shade thingy, a portable DVD player, and the movie Toy Story.

He had it made in the shade on the way back.

But all his new gadgets and goods did not keep him from boredom towards the end of the trip, which you can only rely on self entertainment to cure.

Thank goodness for that little clothespin or me and Lovie might have lost our ear drums.

Once we arrived at my house, we were welcomed by a broken air conditioner.

That night was a little rough (sleep wise), but I still made it to work the next day. (For those of you who don't know, I'm a postpartum nurse. Normally I work about one weekend a month, but Thursday I put in an extra day since my mom was in town to babysit!)

Stephen Grande and I came home from our long days to a delicious taco salad for dinner. Thanks Mama for all your help!

Okay, normally I would stop the post here.

But to bring you fully up to date I must tell you that we purchased brand spankin' new AC (named Murphy) this morning. That's for all you DR fans.

I just had to share this news. It was such a significant step in our home ownership lives.

Well, I think that's all for today. Nap time is almost over and I've got worsh' to fold.

Have a great weekend!

Your (literally) very cool blog friend,

SB

The Envelope System

2010-07-15T15:30:00.000-05:00

For quite some time, SG and I have been fans of Dave Ramsey, like HUGE fans. If you are unfamiliar with him you need to go check him out STAT. He is a Christian financial teacher, counselor, & adviser.His primary messages are to get out of debt, stay out of debt, live within or below your means, build wealth, & become a giver. All of this leads to FINANCIAL PEACE. And who in their right mind doesn't want that?!

One of the ways Dave suggests staying on and sticking to your budget is to use the envelope system. This involves designating envelopes to certain spending categories and putting the allotted cash (yes cash, it still exists) in each envelope. There is nothing like the physical, tangible payment method of cash to serve as a true ceiling to your budget.

I, the household money manager, have 3 envelopes: groceries, gas (which I don't use cash for, but keep up with my receipts), and miscellaneous. Under the miscellaneous category falls clothing, gifts, sewing stuff, etc. This category varies in amount from month to month.

Recently, I've grown tired of paper envelopes in my purse. They are all white, look the same, and cause me to fumble clumsily through my purse at the check out line. And over time they fall apart.

So this little dilemma inspired me to sew some substantial brightly colored envelopes using fabric scraps. They will last longer, are easier to locate in my purse, and can be easily thrown in the worsh'.

Here's a little step by step.

1) Find a nice size envelope and use it as your pattern. Keep in mind that your end result will be somewhat smaller than your pattern.

2) Cut out fabric and lining front and back.

3) Sew fabric and lining right sides together like you are making a small pillow case. Leave a small opening to turn right side out. Do this for both the front and back of your envelope.

Turn right side out. *The purpose of this is to secure the lining. I'm sure there are better and easier ways to do this, but this worked best for me.

4) Place right sides together (right sides: the side of the envelope you want to show on the outside), pin, and stitch up on 3 sides.

5) Turn right side out and sew button or place snap.

That's it. Fun in a nerdy kind of way.

I'm the nerd in the family (for all you Dave fans).

Hope to be back soon, but in the mean time...as Dave would say...

"Act your wage."

Sunflowers

2010-07-12T10:43:00.019-05:00

One of the many responsibilities S.E. Spooner LLC has is helping tend to and take care of a local family's farm.

Earlier in the summer this required Stephen Grande to put on his finest farmer hat and plant 7 acres of sunflowers seeds. They have bloomed. And they are gorgeous. breathtaking. stunning.

We went out for a family outing just to photograph them.

Stephen Small was eager to follow his daddy in the fields.

They picked a few for Aunt Lu who was having a pool party that night. I photographed.

And we just took it all in.

What a beautiful world we live in!

I can't wait to go back later in the year and see these fields when even more are in bloom.

Thank you all for the congratulations and well wishes regarding my last post. I'll keep you updated!

Have a great week.

January 2011

2010-07-09T15:45:00.006-05:00

We.

Are.

Having.

Another.

Baby!!!

And I think he (or she) is the spitting image of Stephen Grande. I guess we'll know for sure in January!

We're thrilled! And very grateful!

My energy is coming back as I enter the second trimester so I hope to be back on the ol' blog more frequently. But for now, Stephen Small and I have some fresh-out-of-the-oven chocolate chip banana bread to devour and an episode of Veggie Tales to watch.

Have a great weekend!

Tuesday

2010-06-30T15:00:00.002-05:00

was a long day.

Because Monday night was a long night.

Reason being, this precious, adorable, most sweetest boy of mine woke up in the night not only once, not twice, but three times. He was in fits, screaming fits.

I still don't know what it was...his teeth? a nightmare? his appendix?

He still hasn't told me.

All that to say, Tuesday morning I threw away my mental to do list all in the name of recuperation and lack of sleep.

I declared it a "fun" day since that's all I was good for. My "fun" consisted of sewing these 12 burp cloths for future baby gifts. 6 boy, 6 girl.

Little in this life gives me more joy than a completed sewing project and a stack of cute fabrics.

Come 2 o'clock (still in pajamas) I felt a desperate need for a sugar rush. So with no chocolate on hand I opted for my cousin's most perfect sugar cookie recipe.

It ended up being a good day. A long day, but a good one. And thankfully all slept well last night.

Good Lighting and Decorating

2010-06-29T14:44:00.013-05:00

Our newly renovated sun room, wreck room, teen room, toddler room (whatever you want to call it) has excellent lighting. With windows covering nearly 2 full walls I know I can capture lots of great photos in there at all times of the day.

Now I just need to get the room spruced up and decorated. I went with the neutral wall approach which was hard for me since I'm a colorful gal. But I have watched one too many "Designed to Sell" shows lately and I chose a neutral white-ish color. Not that we are selling our house anytime soon, but I hate to paint! And I don't want to regret painting a room Persimmon Red in 3 months (or 3 weeks). Plus I've learned you can get your color whims out in accessories.

Two of my favorite decorating blogs are At the Walker House (my friend Sara, LOVE her style!) and the very well known Little Green Notebook. Wish I could borrow these ladies brains while I shop for a rug, chairs, and fabric for pillows. I confess I am NOT a decorator. I do appreciate a beautiful room and recognize what I like. However, I really struggle in putting it all together over time. Decorating is a process.

I'm just excited to have a room that's a blank slate. My goal is to make it comfortable, fun, & budget friendly. I'll let you know how it goes! All decorating advice is welcomed.

Catching Up

2010-06-28T13:03:00.015-05:00

Since our river trip, we've had quite a full week. Long days of work, home renovations, swimming, exercise, a dentist appointment, and lots of meal planning and cooking have occupied our family life.

Today I want to do a little look back through June since I've been so negligent in documenting this month.

After I left my friends in Memphis and swung through Mississippi to see family and pick up Stephen Small, my brother accompanied me on the long trip home to Alabama.

We stopped at a roadside fruit stand to buy some peaches and tomatoes, definitely one of the many highlights of our trip.

I was so grateful to have my brother along given that toddlers get pretty restless on 6 hour drives. Thanks George!

Once at home we spent many afternoons swimming at Aunt Lu's. Brother George stayed for several days. Stephen Small especially enjoyed bonding with his Uncle Tater.

Teaching Stephen Small to eat ketch up was one of Tater's contributions during his visit.

Other happenings in June...

I've taken full advantage of a near by Farmer's market. Its a great outing even on these 100 degree days. One of my favorite things to do is take my camera and get some good photos. I love all the color in one place!

No matter what we end up doing during the day our mornings consistently begin with a cute earlier riser sitting on the couch with a cup of milk and a graham cracker.

Most often, couch time is followed by breakfast and then a trip to the YMCA. Can I just say I love the Y! I love getting out of the house, I love the childcare there, my gym friends, and the fans you can angle directly on you when you work out!

Many of our (I mean Stephen Grande's) nights and weekends have been occupied working on our new room. And I'm proud to say it is 98.5% finished, all but some paint touch ups and electrical stuff. Stephen Grande has lovingly labored to give us this new space and we love him for that.

The new floors don't match our original hardwoods, but the flooring was FREE from my parents. They had it leftover from re-doing the floors in all their bedrooms. We plan to put a transition strip down and much of the floor will be covered by a large rug. We are going to love this extra space!

Lastly, I've been fervently working on meal planning and grocery shopping this month. I want to get better at both. This venture has inspired me to try some new recipes. I posted 4 of them on literally, a spoonful. Check them out!

Well, I've hit the highlights as best I could. June has flown.

Come on July!

The River

2010-06-21T05:00:00.002-05:00

Hello everyone! Happy official first day of summer!

I feel that I've joined the ranks of bloggers who feel the need to apologize for their constant lack of blogging. Life is very full around here lately. All good, but full.

Stephen Grande spent the majority of the weekend working on the new room that is scheduled to be done NEXT WEEKEND!!!!!! In case you don't already know, we have been working on a sunroom renovation project since February. It's been a slow process, but we can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel.

By late Sunday afternoon after all his hard work, we were ready for some serious recreation. Since the Alabama river is a mere 15 minutes from our house AND since we are the owners of a really awesome boat named Dumbhead, we ventured to the redneck riviera for some sun and swimming.

Dumbhead pictured below, in all her glory. Many of you might not know, but this boat was given, yes, GIVEN to us by some dear friends of my family. When they learned of Stephen Grande's passion for all things boat, they thought he would be just the right owner for their unwanted and neglected piece of aluminum.

We have loved it to say the least....all but the sitting in my side yard part. To be honest when we moved to our street we were a little concerned about the neighbors. You never know who is going to not mow their lawn or keep junk in their yard. Well...he who is without sin cast the first stone. Those neighbors with the unkempt yard and not only 1 but 2 boats in their yard/driveway would be none other than little ol' us, the Spooners.

And as if we weren't rivertastic enough cruising along in Dumbhead yesterday, we were escorted by our relatives in this fine piece of aquatic machinery (see picture below).

This would be Lucy and Nick's boat, also a gift, given to them by my aunt and uncle. If I remember the story correctly, they (my aunt and uncle) saved up one of their salaries their first year of marriage to buy it. When I first heard this story, I thought..."don't tell Stephen." I don't want him to know there are women out there equally committed to buying boats. I fear he will regret that he married the wrong woman.

I will admit that compromising our curb appeal is all worth it when we find time to take these family river trips.

Stephen Small had the largest time. He played so hard and we all know what that means: a good night's sleep for mama.

We even convinced some of our friends to join our redneck fest.

And I brought along a little picnic snack-supper. We still went to Moe's when we got back to town.

Aunt Lu took a family photo for us.
That's pretty much it. A perfect way to spend Father's day.

I'll conclude with our family's finest display of class, Uncle Nick drinking a beer while skiing. Our hearts were so full of pride.

Hope y'all are having a great start to the week. This river rat will be back soon (hopefully).

Summer Reading

2010-06-11T09:35:00.015-05:00

Just thought I'd give you a look at what I'm planning to read this summer. There is no guarantee I'll make it through all these books as I am a very slow reader, but I do have high hopes.

I finished Real Love for Real Life a couple of weeks ago and I LOVED it. I came across it on a friend's blog and the topic intrigued me. It is about care giving, not the nursing home kind of care giving, but care for all those around you throughout the different seasons of life. I highly recommend it to any person who has responsibilities of caring for others, which is basically everybody. It is beautifully written. I found it so inspiring and encouraging.

Here's a little peak inside.

What is on your reading list this summer? Have you read any of the books pictured in the top photo? If so what did you think?