Happy Halloween

Halloween Pretzels

These Pretzels are so easy to make! Simply melt some chocolate chips in a microwave oven - melt for about 20 seconds, then take them out and give them a stir, and continue melting every 20 seconds or so until the mixture is gooey.

Now take your pretzels or pretzel sticks, dip them into your hot, gooey chocolate, then immediately dip into some pretty sprinkles. Now lay them onto a cookie sheet lined with wax paper and let 'em cool. For faster cooling, pop the whole thing into the fridge for a few minutes. YUM!

You can use white chocolate chips as well.

Yesterday was officially the 1st day of fall. Fall not only includes leaves turning brilliant colors of reds, oranges and yellows and weather turning cool but it also means the start of football.

I am not a Denver Broncos bandwagon jumper just because Tebow joined the team. I have been a Broncos fan since the 1st time I laid eyes on John Elway...1986. Even though he and most of his teammates have long retired, I remain now, and always will be a Broncos fan! Now lets get out there and win!

Carmens 1st Day of Daycare!

My baby started her 1st day of Daycare today. She goes two days a week this year. She didnt have any problems this morning. We walked into her classroom, put her backpack and lunchbox away and she was off and playing with the other kids. I stuck around for a few minutes so that I could talk to her teachers and they assured me that everything would be fine. Before I left I called Carmen over and gave her a hug and kiss and she told me she loved me. It was so sweet (I'm already starting to tear up at just the thought of it).

I am back home now with little Eli and the house is so quiet without Carmen here. Ive been telling myself for months that once she starts school I will be able to get all kinds of work done, lets hope that happens.

I miss you Carmen. We are so proud of you!

Happy 3rd Birthday Carmen!

We started our day with a big plate of pancakes topped with bananas and whipped cream. YUM!

A birthday isn't complete without presents!

Happy Birthday Carmen, we love you!

Happy 7th Anniversary

7 years ago today we were standing barefoot on a Hawaiian beach saying our vows. Happy anniversary Andy - I love you! Muuahhh

Butterfly Love

Carmen loves butterflies!

Operation

Andy went in for his hernia operation last Wednesday and I am happy to report that he is recovering well. Nothing a few pain killers won't fix. He is not to lift anything over 5 lbs for the next 4 weeks and nothing over 10 lbs for the following 2 weeks after that. Sigh, its been a heavy load for me but I am trudging along.

I took this photo of the 4 of us the night before Andy went in for his surgery. So happy!

Christine

Eli woke me up at 4:30 this morning. We always give him a few minutes to cry because sometimes he will go right back to sleep. After giving him his time and not hearing him quiet down, I got up to get his bottle going while Andy went to change his diaper. Bottle was ready, but Eli went back to sleep. So did Andy. As for me, well once I'm up, I stay up. So I went to lie down on the leather sofa in the office. The office sits just off the kitchen and the light from the microwave oven gave off an eerie glow. The glow hit my framed Christine movie poster just right. Can you believe I took this photo in pitch black darkness (with the flash, of course). I have tried so many times to take this picture only to get glares and sunspots. I love my camera... and Stephen King!

Free Toy Story Plate

I got this cute Toy Story sectional plate today in the mail for FREE. Just collect the bar codes off of specially marked packages of Sara Lee buns and bread and mail them in for free Toy Story stuff. The plate required 3 bar codes. For 4 bar codes you get a tumbler and breakfast plate, and for 5 bar codes you get a glow-in-the-dark lunch box. You dont even have to pay for s/h. How cool is that?

Heres the website for more details: Click on the "mail-in offer" icon.

http://disney.go.com/partners/wholegrainfun/

White Lily

In our city we have what they call "curb alerts." The city not only picks up garbage, recyclables and yard debris, they also allow you to put just about anything on the curb that you dont want anymore. I have seen some pretty interesting stuff such as washers/dryers, old mattresses, used furniture, etc. The night before garbage day is a free-for all for junk collectors. I must admit, Im guilty of picking up a thing or two from someones throw-away heap.






















Take this potted plant I picked up 2 weeks ago. I drove by it on the way to get my much loved morning iced coffee and thought about it the whole way. I hurried back home hoping it was still there and sure enough it was (it was garbage day and wouldnt be there much longer). I pulled up, flipped a u-turn and tossed the dirty pot into the back of the car. The plastic pot has a hole on one side and I had no idea what kind of plant was growing in it but I'm a sucker for plants and pots.

Once I got it home, pulled out the dead parts and gave it a good drink, I set it on the back porch and waited.





















One of the buds finally opened this morning and what a nice surprise to find it to be a white lily! Orange tiger lilies are all over the place down here, they seem to be a Tennessee weed. Pretty isn't it?

Easter Bunny

Carmen LOVES the Easter Bunny! She attended 3 Easter Egg hunts. Friday we went downtown to the one sponsored by the city, Saturday she went to the church sponsored hunt and Sunday we held a hunt of our own in the backyard. Lucky girl.

Wonder Horse

Yesterday I couldn't stand being cooped up in the house on such a beautiful day so I fed the kids, loaded them up in the car and took off for the Goodwill. What a wonderful surprise to see this beauty sitting in the toy section! As soon as Carmen saw it, she ran up and wanted on. What an awesome find for $25! Wrestling it into the back of the 'Rango was a different story.

We really wanted to get one of these Wonder Horses (aka Hobby Horse) for Carmen for Christmas last year but they were both too expensive ($130 and up) and were sold out of stores. Also, the new ones are interactive whereas they play sounds, music and they light up when bounced on. I just wanted a basic horse.

Carmen loves her new Wonder Horse and luckily at this age doesn't know the difference between new and thrifted.

Siblings

Carmen and Eli are bonding well together. Carmen is getting over her jealousy and is starting to help out. She loves to put Eli's empty bottle on the kitchen counter when we are through with it. Eli is starting to sleep through the night thank goodness. I love my family!

3 weeks old

Its hard to believe 3 weeks have gone by since Eli's birth. He keeps us so busy - day AND night!

Snow in Memphis

Can you hear Carmen saying "more." So cute, and that laugh just kills me!

Valentines Day Quilt

I came across this cute Valentines Day quilt last week and instantly fell in love with it. The colors are vibrant and sweet, the pattern is simple and I have gobs of leftover Valentine scraps from previous projects. With that being said, I rolled up my sleeves and got started.

Here's the link to the full tutorial including pictures.

http://www.modabakeshop.com/2010/01/hugs-kisses.html

Here's my stash that I had to work with.

The quilt only took me 4 days from start to finish. I think I could have easily done it in 2 days, but Carmen needs constant companionship. Plus, I'm 8 months pregnant, its not easy getting up and down to cut fabric and press blocks every few minutes. I had to pace myself!

Here's the finished project.

And what quilt would be complete without a matching pillow case!?

Carmen loves her quilt and pillow. Mission accomplished. And now she can enjoy it for a few weeks before Valentine's Day!

A touch of heartburn

Nothing is worse than heartburn. I have to admit, I don't think I've ever had heartburn until I was pregnant. When I was pregnant with Carmen I lived on Fruit Smoothie TUMS during the entire 3rd trimester. They actually weren't too bad. I have 6 weeks to go this time around and heartburn is just now coming into the picture. And hoooo-boooy is it bad. The best cure for heartburn? Ice cream! And lots of it!

Nap vs no nap

Some days Carmen will nap for 2 hours, other days... no nap. Today is one of those "no-nap" days. Heeegghhhh. Instead, I got her up out of her pack-n-play and made her sit and quietly read a book in her rocking chair. I'm too cute to nap is what she seems to be thinking here.

1st snow of 2010

The weatherman has been preparing us all week for snow and it finally hit us lastnight. What I woke up to this morning was a big disappointment. Snow they say? Pffft, all we got was a light dusting. Totally pathetic, but this is, mind you, the South. Still, it was pretty to look at and Carmen had fun playing in it while it lasted.

Even the dogs loved it.

Welcome 2010

Now that Christmas is over and the New Year has begun, its time to start taking down the decorations. Andy had a little helper this year. And boy was it COLD outside!