Oh yes and for the love of Pinterest!

Ahh, I have forgotten to add my Pinterest projects I have tried!

For Debs party I created some stick canisters to keep with the LumberJack and Jill theme.  If you follow me on Pinterest, you'll find these under my "Green Crafts" board.  They were really quite simple, the only time consuming parts were collecting the sticks, breaking them to size of container, but its great because the random size made them look charming, and gluing them on.  They stayed together well at home and I meant to tie them with raffia, just ran out of time to go to the craft store.  Note, if you make them and intend to travel with them, tie the raffia or some type of ribbon around them.  2 out of 3 made it.  The third pulled out of the bag with most of the sticks glued together to look like a raft and there was my can. ; / 

Tonight I made the ranch taco meat for dinner. Most of the recipes you see will call for chicken - I was out but had some frozen pork roasts, so carnitas is what it became.  Super easy- I cooked the roast in the crock pot, about 12 oz water with some cracked sea salt and garlic to taste and about 2 teaspoons cumin.  Once cooked (about 3 hours later) I added one packed of dry ranch seasoning and 1 packet of taco seasoning.  The recipe said to cook about 30 mins +, well we went to the park and then Publix and ate afterwards, so they simmered on low for about 2 more hours. Super delish and easy!  Jason enjoyed them and if you're watching your weight these are tasty and satisfying (the sodium content may be an issue). I'm looking forward to my leftovers for lunch!


I'll keep you posted as further projects are created!

Busy Week!

I will post pictures super soon, but have to get the software re-installed. 

Last week was full of activities!

Monday we took my oldest nephew Reed shopping for his birthday- that "kid" (he turned 17) loves clothes!  Mary Eloise did so well and enjoyed looking at all the clothes and trying on some shoes.  I tried a precious red and white polka dot pair of puddle jumpers on her and she loved them.  She kept looking at her feet, but her feet fit well in them and I really hated to spend money on shoes when she doesn't even walk.  Then I put some pink crocs on her feet; she got this funny look on her face and tried to shake them off!  What can I say, she has style and taste like her mama!  On Tuesday, we went out to lunch with our besties Allison and Vivian.  Mary Eloise and Vivian insisted on sitting on the same side of the table and it was precious!  They fed each other chips and cheese dip and shared a quesadilla!  They even gave their mommies enough time to eat and enjoy their food and talk.  We then ran errands to pick up a gift for the shower we hosted this past weekend.  The girls were so precious asleep side-by-side in the car.  We also traveled out to Vivian's Paw-Paw's pharmacy- there is always a treasure to be had from Vacca Drugs, so each girl got her very own light up bunny rabbit fan toy to play with. On Wednesday, our friends Ali and Fitz and Amy came over to play.  Mary Eloise and Fitz are only 3 weeks apart in age.  Fitz sits up very well and has been for quite some time, it has just been in the past month and a half that Mary Eloise has mastered this task.  Mary Eloise was crawling all over Fitz trying to get him to look at what she was doing and playing with.  They both settled for some empty puff containers (Mary Eloise thinks they are megaphones) and remote controls.  Once they left, she was zonked out! We always have the best time when they come to visit and it was so nice to have Amy visit too!  Mary Eloise adores her daughters and watches every move they make.  Thursday was my work day, so it is always visit with Vivian and Allison day.  She has a wonderful time over there and I am so very thankful to have Allison in town and able to watch Mary Eloise.  It has saved me so much heartache from having to return to work.  On Friday, Mary Eloise got to go over to her Mim and Pops (Jason's parents) house and show them all of her new tricks.  Her favorite is dancing; when she hears music she just sits there and bops back and forth- it is too cute! 
Saturday was her 9 month birthday!  My how time has flown!  We went up to Florence visit Ya-Ya and Poppy (my parents) and for me and Jason to help with a wedding party for our friends Deborah and Tyler.  Vivian got to come over to my parents house during the party and she was so excited to play with M.E. and Julianna (my 4 year old niece).  Juls said Vivian is way more fun than Mary Eloise because she is not a baby. Too funny, but Juls adores M.E. and M.E. follows her every move.  On Sunday, we played with Julianna and then went and took pictures with my friend Amelia.  She does wonderful photography and had live chicks. I wasn't sure how M.E. would be with them, but she loved them!   She petted them very sweetly and sat up and watched them flap around-- it was so precious and I cannot wait to see them!  My friend Hayden came down to the park to see Mary Eloise and she was so excited to see Uncle Hay-hay!  After pictures, we strolled down to UNA (where I went to college) to see the lions.  Such a neat thing to have 2 lions on campus.  We have Leo and Una.  They were out sunning and playing and we got to see Una play with her ball and then chase after Leo!  Mary Eloise loved it!  She flapped her hands with delight and kept looking for them to come back out (they ran inside their habitat for dinner).  She then rode the lion ride on, like the horses that used to be out in front of stores when we were little that you payed a quarter to ride on.  She seemed to enjoy it and looked around.  We then went down to the river and watched the boats.  She got very excited when one pulled up close and then did circles.  Afterwards, my parents took us to dinner at Ricatoni's. It is a super wonderful Italian restaurant in Florence.  M.E. loved the bread and ate some spaghetti noodles, but mostly made a mess.  On Monday, it was my birthday and M.E.'s present to me was to sleep and snuggle until; 8:15!  So nice and it is so heartwarming to wake up and see her sweet grin :)  We got up and went for a walk with Ya-Ya and the dogs and then for lunch went to Trowbridges.  Trowbridges is an old soda fountain with wonderful ice creams, actually their Orange Pineapple is listed as one of the 100 foods to eat before you die and they have been listed in many magazines!  Afterwards we returned home, M.E. was happy to pick up Mille and we all had an early bedtime last night. 

We're also on lucky #7 tooth watch for M.E.  2 weeks ago, she cut 3 upper teeth so easily, but this one is keeping her a bit fussy.  We go for her 9 month well visit tomorrow and I am anxiously awaiting her length.  So far she has been 95+ percentile in height and weight for her age- she is about as big as most 1 year olds.  Can't wait to see where she is now. 

I promise to update with pictures soon!

Start me up...

"Time will fly, just you wait" I have heard this statement a million times and over the past 9 months have said it a million more. Where does the time go? Apparently, I started this blog, according to the start date over 2 years ago, but didn't do anything with it; well, there is no better time than the present. I also have much better subject matter to discuss now than I did 2 years ago.

About me and my life....

I am about to celebrate my 32 anuual day of birth, I have a wonderful husband, Jason, of 6 1/2 years, and Mary Eloise, also know as M.E., my precious, wonderful, smart, adorable (insert any, and every other synonym) 9 month old. I am a nurse and love my job! I have a great boss that allows me to work some crazy hours, so that I can be a full time nurse and be a full time mommy. I love the outdoors and running, reading, and crafting.

About the past 9 months....

I nannied for many years, so I thought mommying was right alongside it and would be just a new extension. It sort of is, but I wonder now, more than ever, what did I do with all my time before. Although, I now enjoy all my time spent much more. Learning to get up and get moving and out of the house has been my biggest challenges. I am not much on getting up early, but learning to love 7:15 is much easier with a sweet smile to look forward to. I love watching her funny personality develop each day. M.E. is getting busier by the day and beginning to venture around our house. Just yesterday, she crawled into the kitchen, despite going in there several times a day, this was her first time crawling in there (I was exceptionally thankful I had mopped that morning, lol). I love teaching her new things and watching her learn them.


So from here on out, look forward to the many adventures in my life and in our family's.