My 8 on 8

Ok, I've read this kind of thing but never done it, so here goes nothin' (inspired by my friend from work, Katie)

8 TV shows I like to watch:
1. The Biggest Loser
2. American Idol
3. The Office
4. The Bachelor/Bachelorette
5. The Duggars
6. What I Like About You
I can't think of anymore other than kid shows.

8 Favorite Places to Eat:
1. La Fiesta
2. Roly Poly
3. Main Street South
4. Kabutos
5. Jason's Deli
6. Cold Stone
7. Cracker Barrell
8. Elizabeth's Pizza
(I tried to have 9...I obviously have lots of places I like to eat out:]).

8 Things I Look Forward To:
1. The beach
2. Watching my kids swim this summer
3. Disney World in July
4. Riding the 4-wheeler
5. Sadie's birthday party
6. The Lord's return!
7. naps
8. eating out

8 Things that happened to me yesterday:
1. Changed a record number of poopy diapers.
2. Went to a baseball game and didn't get to go in.
3. I somehow didn't have to pay my copay at the dr.
4. Had yummy Mexican for dinner.
5. Played at the park.
6. Steven and I watched The Office.
7. Had exactly 1/2 cup of ice cream.
8. Went to bed before midnight!

8 Words or phrases I use often:
1. Seriously?
2. I love you.
3. No sir.
4. No maam.
5. Hands to yourself!
6. You're driving me crazy!
7. Hey stinker.
8. I was just resting my eyes.

8 Things I have learned from the past:
1. Enjoy your life today.
2. Be the friend that you would like to have.
3. Don't smell underwear to see if it needs washing.
4. Silent children = mischief.
5. Parents have so much more wisdom than they used to.
6. Do not be anxious for ANYTHING (Phil. 4)
7. Husbands need TLC as much as your babies do.
8. God is good, always.

8 Places I would like to visit/see:
1. Hawaii.
2. Scotland with Steven.
3. Sadie's face at Disney World.
4. Mission field.
5. Colorado ski trip.
6. Jamaica (honeymoon spot!).
??

8 Things I currently want/need:
1. Sleep.
2. Bar stools.
3. A flat belly.
4. Organizing bins for the playroom.
5. New shoes.
6. To play tennis.
7. A vegetable garden.
8. Date night.

Hope this wasn't TMI. It was fun. (most of the phrases I use are directed to my children, if you couldn't guess). Goodnight!

Sadie's Logic

I love to hear what will come out of my daughter's mouth from day to day. Sometimes it doesn't make sense, she has started rambling now and making up stories with no truth to it (like the deer that bites her foot in the middle of the night, or that Papa cried at Chick-Fil-A because he was scared of the cow). But her little wheels are turning sometimes and it is funny to see it. Before I tell her two funnies I will have to share one that my Mom told me today. When I was about 3 I was riding in the car with her and we passed a very big yard sale. I asked her what it was and she told me, "that's a yard sale, honey". She said I replied "somebody is selling their yard?".
Sadie asks repeatedly why people park their cars in the grass, we see the same ones on the way to church. I have tried to explain several times that they are for sale, and the other night I thought I put it well when I said "They don't want their cars anymore, so they're trying to sell them to someone else." Her reply "They want to walk?"
Today I was getting ready for work and was drying my hair and then using the flat iron, layer by layer (my hair is ridiculously thick). She wanted to climb up on the counter and I kept telling her that the flat iron was hot and I didn't want her to get burned, or me. She calmly states "You just want to burn your hair". That was true and a little disturbing!
We had a busy, fun weekend. My cousin came with her 2 kids Friday for a quick lunch (and dress up in princess clothes, of course). That night we drove to Roanoke for dinner with some family. Saturday we had a dear friend take pictures, you can see them on my Facebook. Every other year I have to twist Steven's arm to take family photos, and I love the way these turned out! He even smiled with his teeth on a few, which is very hard for him, apparently. That afternoon we drove to Raleigh for a birthday party and had a great time with friends. By Sunday I was semi-sick with Mastitis, but a couple of quiet days later and I'm feeling better. I guess I have my limits on how much I can go go go. Speaking of going, I need to run and check on a baby (yes, I am at work, as usual). Goodnight!

Cruisin' it up!

Let me say, I love my life. Steven and I are richly blessed to have each other, our kids, and a home that we enjoy immensely. It was wonderful, however, to get away for a few days with my beloved on a beautiful cruise to the Bahamas....with no kids! We adapted quickly to not having them with us and it felt like another honeymoon. We slept until we woke up, ate whatever we wanted, laid out, read, dressed up for dinner, and had a blast. We even made some new friends. Here we are the first night at dinner...

After a day at sea we stopped at our first port called Half Moon Cay, a deserted island owned by Carnival. Here we are on the little ferry, taking us to the island.

Half Moon Cay, the beautiful blue water!

Relaxing on the beach!

We are working on getting Steven to smile with his teeth.

Eating outside with a view of Atlantis

"Cruise elegant" attire.

the perfect way to end the post, the same way I ended every dinner....warm chocolate melting cake.....yummmmm!!! (with an extra scoop of ice cream). Steven had orange sherbert, although he alternated with lime a couple nights. He didn't know what he was missing!

So much for working so hard to lose weight before the cruise. Oh well. That cake right there (x5) was worth every bite:). Thanks baby for a great trip!

Sallie

Self-checkout

We just returned from a wonderful trip, just Steven and I, that I will dedicate a post too as soon as I have my new power cord for my laptop and can download pictures. Until then, I have a subject to complain about...very quickly since I'm sharing Steven's computer and he is waiting for me to finish :).
There is something about the Self Checkout at the grocery store that is so appealing to me, and against my better judgement I have been drawn to it several times. Yesterday was one of those times. I was getting some things at Walmart with both of the kids and they were actually being very good. I'm not sure why I like the self check out, I think it's partly because I love scanning groceries (I'm just a big 3 year old) and also because I like to bag my things a certain way. Two items into this I knew I'd made a mistake, every other thing I scanned had an error message about weight that the employee had to come put her number in over, and over. I'm sure she was getting frustrated, too, but she actually had the audicity to tell me that "FYI, these lanes are for people with less than 20 items...". I wanted to punch the stupid computer if it told me one more time "unexpected item in bagging area, please remove...". So, hours (not really) later, we finally leave Walmart, and I promised myself I would NEVER again do self check out....no matter how tempting. I'm a slow learner, what can I say.
Goodnight!

A busted lip x 2

I am at work tonight, as I often am when I blog. When it's quiet in the unit I have the time it takes to sit down and generate thoughts with clarity enough to write. We have been enjoying the spring time weather, playing outside, and today took the kids to the local Children's Museum. I highly recommend this to anyone locally who has not taken their kids. Eli liked it but Sadie absolutely LOVED it. It was basically real life condensed down to little people level where pretend play was at a maximum...perfect for an almost 3 year old. We walked in to the "medical" section and saw 2 little girls, 4 or younger, very solemnly rocking their babies. Sadie quickly joined them and Steven had a little moment when he realized that it truly is built into us, the mothering nature. Meanwhile, Eli is climbing onto the rocker to see how fast he can make it go, with no regard for the babies. Which is why he currently has a busted lip. He received the first injury last night while playing outside and trying to climb the steps. Tonight Steven said he came in the bathroom to find Sadie playing with water (her favorite act of disbodience) and Eli crying, with a busted lip on the other side of his mouth. Apparently it quickly became bedtime.

Eli is truly all boy, he shrieks if he hears the door chiming open, even if it's 10:00 at night and pitch black outside. He can't stand the thought of someone going out without taking him outside to play. And if anyone goes near the shed with the 4-wheeler in it he really goes crazy. He could ride that thing for hours, without making a peep. It is quickly becoming a family tradition to take a 4 wheeler ride around the neighborhood and through the field.

Steven was putting Sadie to bed the other night after a meltdown over her pink paci (it was MIA, and the blue one was just not cutting it that night). After she calmed down he asked her to tell him a story, maybe one about Noah. She replies "There was a man named Noah, he had a beard like Byron (my brother, who almost always has facial hair), and he threw his pink paci over the boat." We tell her the right stories, I promise, she just has an active imagination. This is getting long enough and even thought Sadie makes me laugh every day I can't seem to think of anything else funny. Goodnight!

My favorite man

The other night I was getting ready to put Sadie to bed and she was telling her Daddy goodnight. Their conversation went something like this....
Steven- "Goodnight baby, I love you. You know you're my favorite little girl, right?"
Sadie- "Yes, Daddy. And you're my favorite man."
It was a sweet moment to witness and it made me reflect on their relationship and how it has progressed over the past 3 years. Steven wasn't really sure what to think of Sadie as a newborn, and to be honest the bond probably wasn't instant. But right after we brought her home from the hospital they laid on the floor and had a serious heart to heart.


That first year of her life she was all about Mommy. Steven thought she was cute but wasn't sure if she really cared if he was around or not. But she was watching him, realizing that this man that came home every night was pretty special. Here they are when she was just 1 and she's starting to get the idea that Daddy is fun!

It only took another year and me being pregnant with #2 for their bond to grow even stronger. He started putting her to bed and telling her Bible stories, having tickling/wrestling matches, and playing "something's on my back" (she rides on his back, he pretends to be a deer and says "something's on my back!".

One of my favorite things to see is my sweetheart with our babies. They both get so excited when he comes home. Sadie now gives Steven "a hug, a kiss, and a backscratch" (which consists of a very brief scratch and 2 pats). He takes her to the bank and post office in the truck. And of course the 4 wheeler rides take his popularity up a hugh notch. She is definitely on her way, or quite possibly already there, to being a big time Daddy's girl.

I am thankful for my husband, now turned Daddy, and our sweet little life here. Soon coming will be some pics and tales from Eli's first birthday party last weekend.

Goodnight!

Girl's Weekend

I can finally post about this now because it's over (sadly), but I just had a wonderful weekend in Lafayette, Louisiana, with 3 of my favorite girlfriends. How did we end up there, you ask? Well, it all started with a little romance. My friend, Rachel Thorpe, decided to move out to Louisiana for A BOY several months ago, and apparently it was the right decision because she is now happily engaged to be married in May. We four have been friends since we were kids/teenagers and not had a get together with all of us in almost 7 years. So....Rachel Price suggested to Julie Hylton and I that we make a surprise trip out to see Rachel T. for a girls weekend in Louisiana. Amazingly we worked out all the details, leaving 3 husbands and 7 children behind (Jonathan, Julie's youngest, got to tag along since he's only 8 weeks old - he was a great traveling buddy!). Rachel T. was surprised to tears and we spent the next 60 hours talking, laughing, shopping, and getting to know Reagan, Rachel's soon to be husband.
We've come along way from MTYC Senior Teen week and Skyland Bible Conference, but we still know how to have late night chats.


Rachel Price and Rachel Thorpe


Julie Hylton and me...


Eating at Prejeans...yes, we ate alligator!


Reagan!!! So cute together. We approve, Rach. :)

I can't leave out Jonathan, our handsome little traveling companion. He did great!

The bond of true friendship is strong, and I am so thankful for these girls! May we have many more fun weekends. Love you girls!!