Another Beautiful Day!!

Our day started early this morning. AG woke up this morning ready to play at approximately 5:38 AM. Mommy was not in a playing mood that early so we watched Barney for a little while. Then at 6:30 AM Ava Grace decided that she wanted a Banana and guess what?!?! We were out of bananas!! So - yes I was in the grocery store before 7 AM buying bananas. You would have thought she had just bought the best toy ever!! As soon as we walked in the produce section she just started clapping and screaming - "NANAS!! WANT NANAS!!" - We almost did not even make it to the check out line. She wanted those bananas really bad! She ate one before we ever made it out of the parking lot!! HAHA!!

So now on to the weather...

We have had beautiful weather this weekend! We have had a lot of fun playing outside this weekend.

We got off to a rough start yesterday. We got all ready to go to the splash pad at the park. Ava Grace had on her swimsuit, sun screen, and ear plugs were in. Then we got there and the gate was locked!! What??? It is supposed to be open after Memorial Day!! We got everything out of the car and then had to turn around and go back home. Poor Ava Grace just cried and cried!! I felt so bad. So - then when we got home I got out her sprinkler ball that she loves so much! I plugged it up to the water hose like I always do and THEN IT STARTED FILLING UP WITH WATER!! For those of you that have not experienced the sprinkler ball - it is pretty awesome! But, it is NOT supposed to fill up with water. Then it started deflating and that was the end of the sprinkler ball. The water hose was our water play yesterday - So, then I decided that we need a pool!! Unfortunately they are a little too expensive for us to handle right now so I will have to go to Wally World and get AG a baby pool... That is on the agenda for today. Our day did get a lot better yesterday though! After AG had her nap Aunt Shelby, Roman, and Gavin came over to play! They had a lot of fun! Little Gavin is into everything and LOVES Gerber Cheese Crunchies!! I think he ate the whole can!! And Roman kept Ava Grace laughing the entire time!! We had LOTS of fun!!

Here is a pic of AG from yesterday - in the driveway with the water hose. SAD - I KNOW!!

Get with the Program!!

I really need to get with it! I keep going thru my little spurts where I work out every day and then I just STOP!! I am running out of excuses... I am going to have to turn into an early morning workout girl!! That's all there is to it.

Ava Grace will keep me busy this summer - FOR SURE!! That will help too!

Let's talk about Twilight - I am only half way thru it so far. GEEZZ this is a long book! But it is SO GOOD!! I read for hours last night after Ava Grace went to bed... on time! I would like to add... and by herself! She has kind of been off schedule for the past couple of weeks and I figure she needs to get back on track since she will be home with me for June and July. I am so ADHD - so back to Twilight. If you have not read the book - YOU NEED TO! I know what you're thinking... that is a long book and I don't really like to read. Well, guess what!?!?! I DON'T EITHER! I really despise reading... it has to be REALLY GOOD for me to read it. I mean REALLY REALLY CAN'T PUT THE BOOK DOWN GOOD!! and long books SCARE ME!! I hate starting something I can't finish... which ironically doesn't apply to my workout regimen - HAHAHA!. So just give it a try!

Well, I need to go and get some more work done. Then AG and I are off to Romi's baseball game tonight!! GO BRAVES!!!!!

Only 2 more days!

Ava Grace has 2 more days of daycare and then she will be home with me for June and July! I am excited! She is starting back to gymnastics next month and she is starting a program at the library next week. I made her little schedule out today and we have lots of fun things planned for her to do! I can't wait!

Night night -

I need to run!

In the past few days I have eaten way too much! I haven't weighed yet but I think it was worth it... We actually had beautiful weather and I got lots of sun! We are on our way home to our hubby and kids and we can't wait to see them...

Kyle is playing golf... I know you are all super surprised!! Anyway - he won't be home when I get there so I am seriously thinking about running. Something about summer makes me want to run. Its the best feeling ever!

Where is the sun?

Move Clouds Move!!! The sun is lost in the clouds and I am needing a serious tan!!

But... It's ok. So far we have watched My Best Friends Girl, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, Twilight, and Little Black Book is coming up next!

Happy Memorial Day Weekend! Love Love!

Blackberry Blog...

I am not really sure if this is going to work... I never thought I would be blogging from my crackberry. I am heading to the beach tomorrow. Hopefully this will work and I can update you while I am away!!

Yay for AT&T!!

My Computer is SICK! :-(

My computer has been acting crazy for a month now...

Phone call with IT today...

RING RING RING

Me: "Hello, this is Nikki"
IT: "Hi Nikki, this is blah blah"
Me: "Oh" (thinking WHY are they calling me from IT right now)
IT: "Ummmm... we ran some tests on our end and your computer is really infected with viruses!"
Me: "WHAT? Really? Like how bad?"
IT: "Well, let's look at it this way. We ran the scan on all computers in the entire company and..." then with EXCITEMENT he said "YOU'RE NUMBER 1!!!!"
Me: "Oh WOW!!"

So, Congrats to me! I AM NUMBER 1!!! (Second to NONE!) Unfortunately, I am number one on the WRONG LIST!! I am really not sure what happened to my computer! I have 600+ virus instances... whatever that means...

Poor Bessie is getting FedExed to Memphis tomorrow - I sure will miss her and hope she has a safe trip across the state line...

It may be a while before you hear from me again...

LOVE LOVE

ELF Cosmetics - $1 Makeup!!

Not sure if you do this or not - but I usually look at my blog and then start looking at the blogs I follow... then the blogs that the people I follow follow... and this is how I heard about ELF Cosmetics...

So, this makeup is really $1! Crazy - I know! I have never worn it before but I figure I can't go wrong with a dollar. I bought some eye liner, lip gloss, fingernail polish, eye shadow, and a eye shadow brush from them yesterday. I can't wait to get it. I will let you know how I like it when it gets here. Below is the link and to top it off... as if $1 makeup was not already a GREAT DEAL! There is a code that you can enter to get an additional $7.50 off your order.

This makeup has also been featured in different popular magazines: Lucky, Good Housekeeping, Oprah's Magazine, Elle, In Style, and the list goes on and on...

COUPON CODES: CAROLINA or SAVINGSELF

http://www.eyeslipsface.com/shop.asp

BYE BYE CHRISTMAS CLUB MONEY!

Okay, so last Tuesday Kyle went fishing at his Mom and Tommy's cabin. On his way home he hit a deer!! It totally messed up the front of the Envoy - So... all week we have been calling and getting it fixed! Geezzz!

Well, since he has been without anything to drive, Tommy has been so NICE to let Kyle use his truck. Today Kyle went to play golf at Musgrove and he rode with someone. Guess what!?! I BACKED INTO TOMMY'S TRUCK!! Are you freakin kidding me!?!?!?!

So, needless to say I am super depressed and have cried pretty much ALL of today. I am sure State Farm is LOVIN' US this month... or should I say WEEK!!!

His whole passenger door will have to be replaced and my bumper is cracked down the right corner and my right tail light is busted out. You would think I was going 60 mph!

So that is 3 cars that we have messed up in 1 week! Everyone keeps saying... it's ok! It's just a car! and I keep saying... it's NOT OK! and I don't know where we are going to get the money for the deductibles?!? I guess we will find it somewhere... BYE BYE CHRISTMAS CLUB MONEY!!

So ready for the beach...

Sunglasses... check... Margarita Bucket... check... New Books... check... Float... check cell charger... check

I am so excited! And Ava Grace is excited to be going to visit Bray Bray and Sarah. They are going to pick strawberries, they are going to the zoo, and who knows what else!

Yay for Memorial Day Weekend!!

Book Ideas...

So, I am going to the beach for Memorial Day Weekend!! YAY!! I am so excited. It is just going to be my sisters and me. NO KIDS! I sound like such a bad mother saying that... but every mom knows that you need a break every once in a while! I will miss Ava Grace like CRAZY!! But will enjoy getting my tan on in the pool for the weekend!!

With that said, I need some new book ideas. My fav books are all books by Sophie Kinsella - the Shopaholic Series and the Undomestic Goddess.

So, please give me some titles of good books that I should buy for my alone time in the sun. I am going to the book store in a couple of days to stock up!

Pretty Flowers

Check out my pretty flowers from my sweet hubby and lil Ava Grace for Mother's Day!

Ava Grace gave me a dozen yellow roses and hubby gave my a dozen red roses!! I was very surprised!!

Mother's Day Quotes

"A man's work is from sun to sun, But a mother's work is never done." -Anonymous

"The most important handshake of your life will happen when your newborn infant's tiny hand grabs hold of your index finger." -Anonymous

"When you can see the handwriting on the wall, you are probably the mother of a toddler." -Anonymous

"To love children is to love God." -Rhonda S. Hogan

"Separation anxiety happens to babies at nine months; to mothers their whole lives." -Anonymous

"Little boy to his mother: 'Before I tell you what happened, Mom, remember the Lord will never give you more than you can handle.'"

"A pediatrician was once asked by a mother what was the best time to put her children to bed. He replied, 'While you still have strength.'"

"A mother's life is easier than you think. All she has to do is: Accept the impossible, Bear the intolerable, and be able to smile at anything." -Anonymous

"A little girl once asked her mother: 'If Daddy can't get all his work finished at the office why don't they put him in a slower group?'" -Anonymous

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!! I hope everyone has a great day with their families!

Happy Tears

Well, I had a moment tonight with Ava Grace. I usually let her stay up a little later than usual on Friday nights with hopes that she will sleep a little later on Saturday morning. We played and had so much fun tonight. Before she went to sleep we read about 10 different books. Seriously! We read that many! I would read the book and then she would turn the pages and act like she was reading it. She is so funny! Then as I was getting ready to get up from her rocking chair and put her in the bed she grabbed her Famous Blankee and started cuddling to go to sleep. Ava Grace is usually a really good snuggle bunny - but at night we try to do the whole nighttime routine and put her in the bed and let her go to sleep on her own. We found out that if we rock her to sleep every night that she starts to wake up in the middle of the night and cry - I think it upsets her because she went to sleep with us holding her and then she wakes up and we are gone. Anyhow... tonight I decided that I was just going to rock her for a "little bit!" And she fell asleep in my arms...

While I was sitting there looking at her sweet little angelic face I just started crying out of nowhere. It is just amazing to me that God gave her to me. That He trusts me as a mother to one of His children. I can not imagine my life without her. I know I am not a perfect mother and I am sure I don't always make the right decisions but it is so comforting to know that God is by my side in the decisions that I do make to pick me up and put me back on track when I fall short of His wishes. I just sat there and prayed to God to please just take control of me and my life. To help me make the right decisions with Ava Grace and with my life. To take any negative thoughts that I have and wipe them from my mind. I want to see the positive in everything and everyone and live my life for Him. I want to thank Him a million times for giving me the gift of being a mother. After I finished praying to God something amazing happened to me. The burdens I had on my heart really were lifted. I could BREATHE - seriously after I finished I took a deep breath in and everything felt clear in my heart, mind, and soul. I didn't feel so bogged down. I felt light.

I know this is a long post. But as soon as I put my little baby in the bed I knew that I needed to share this feeling with you. Everything that we are able to do, the friends and family that we have, the things that we have, the places that we get to go... it is all a gift from God. I know He has given me these gifts for a reason.

I cried some powerful happy tears tonight. Thank you GOD!!

Week 1 and 3 lbs lighter!!

So... I kinda unofficially started a diet last Thursday. I always have to say unofficially because that does not make me feel as deprived. It is not really a certain diet but I am just limiting how much food I take in. I really want to lose 10-15 pounds and I am really determined right now. Then I am going to reward myself with a shopping trip and a new bathing suit!

Basically I am just not eating as much during the day and I am eating my regular supper at night. I have also been doing ab, butt, and leg exercises. And the BIG ONE is I have been drinking HUGE amounts of water every day.

Why did I start on Thursday? Well, besides me just getting in the right mindset last Thursday... I also thought about it and I have always started a diet on Monday. Then when I get to the weekend I am really wanting to cheat. So - Thursday was the golden day to begin. This week I am going to try to walk more to burn some more calories.

Well I weighed this morning and I have lost 3 pounds! YAY!! Hopefully I will update you with more good news on my blog next Thursday!!

Night Night!

Blog = Stress Reliever

I am not really sure what it is about blogging and reading other blogs - but it is really a stress reliever for me. I love it! I have not blogged in a while and boy can you tell! So here goes...

Well, last week and weekend was crazy. Some others and myself gave a baby shower for my bestie Stephanie on Saturday and it was Super Fun!! She got lots of really great stuff! She has already had a work shower and then this shower was her 2nd. and guess what?!? She STILL does not have any bottles! So... I am going to get Baby Brycen some bottles this week! Poor thing! Then Saturday night my sister had a surprise 30th Birthday for her husband and it was a lot of fun. It was at Mellow Mushroom and I LOVE PIZZA from there. It was so good!!

Sunday was a fun and relaxing day! We went to church and then we went to Kyle's great aunt's for Mother's Day. They always do it the first weekend in May. We ate lunch over there and it was yummy! Ava Grace got to play with Chloe Beth, Andrew, and Austin so she had a great time. Then we left there and went home and Ava Grace took a LONG nap! YAY!! and the best part was that I went to sleep too! That made it a perfect Sunday!

This week has been a little crazy with my computer and work. My computer has been acting CRAZY! Shutting off when it is not supposed to and coming on when I don't ask it too. It seems that it is a tad bit possessed but I think it is getting better. So, with that said I better get back to work and get some kids signed up for camp. Hopefully the Swine Flu will not mess things up in the cheerleading and dance camp world!!

Have a good day!