Valentine's Day

We had a great Valentine's Day. Little Brian was showered with gifts. My hubby and I gave Little Brian a Hugs & Kisses Elmo. It is so sweet! He blows kisses and says I love you. Little Brian is really into Elmo. He also got an Elmo's World learning call phone and some candy. My Mom and Dad gave him a teddy bear and a new book. He LOVES books.

Little Brian, Daddy and Elmo

The Elmo phone ;)

My hubby did a great job. He gave me tulips, my favorite flower. He went and bought tulips plus some filler and arranged them himself. I'm impressed. Take a peak.

I love my husband. He did great!

On Saturday, we had Little Brian’s 21 month/Valentine’s pictures made at J C Penny at the Mall of GA Since we were already there getting his hair cut, I decided on the pictures. I momentarily forgot why I had stopped using them. Little Brian was not in the best mood but despite a hour wait after our appointment time, he smiled and clowned around for the camera. Unfortunately, J C Penny does not offer in store printing. So we’re waiting to receive these great pics until the 27th. I did purchase the internet viewing so here are the best ones.

So Handsome!

This pictures is dedicated to Andrea and David over at Royal Family. (Andrea - we're joining the Thomas craze. :))

I love Mommy

Hope everyone's Valentine's Day was as great as ours.

Look-alike Meter

I saw this on Chris's page and thought it was so neat!

I'm not sure its equal! I really think he looks just like my hubby. :)

I Scream, You Scream for Icecream!

Little Brian, Mom and I enjoyed a snack today from Bruster's. I love their kids cones. Just enough for a quick, sweet treat!

I'll leave y'all with these pics.

What IS this, Nanny?

I love it!

Have a great weekend everyone!

I met my five pound milestone!

Mondays are my "weigh in" days for Weight Watchers and after last week, I met my first milestone. I have lost 5.5 pounds!

I'm very excited as I have been a little discouraged the past few days. Since I've been working out, I've gained weight instead of losing it. I know its developing muscle mass but it is still discouraging. I'm proud of myself for sticking with this and continuing to work out. My inspiration is looking great for bikini weather during our family vaca in August!

Snow Day!

What is this stuff?

Little Brian and Carter enjoying their first snow!

It's cold!

I want to say thanks to Catherine for taking these pictures. We got to Sylvia's (the boys' grandmother who they stay with) at the same time today and Catherine decided to take pictures. I was so happy for that as I was regretting not taking some of Little Brian in the snow as I was driving to Sylvia's house. Hope everyone else's snow day is great!

Catching Up and New Year's Resolutions

I know I'm way behind on blogging! I'm going to try to post Little Brian's Christmas pictures soon. We had a great holiday this year. So great in fact that next year we're going to try to limit the gifts. I swear there are more toys in our living room than in Toys R US and Walmart combined.

Anyway, now that the holidays are over, my next two things to look forward to (and plan) are Little Brian's 2nd birthday and our family vacation. After checking around , we're going to try Gymboree Play and Music or Jump Zone for the birthday party. I know Little Brian loves to be active so I'm guessing most 2 year olds will too and I'd love for them to be active someplace else other than my house. :)

As for the vaca, the only week we can go is August 17th - 24th due to my hubby's hobby/job. I know its late in the year but we have no choice. I'd rather go later than in mid season as most of the crowds have gone due to school starting back. Our annual destination is Myrtle Beach, SC. They have a lot of family activities and things for the kids plus its where my family went when I was little so we've stayed loyal! My only concern is that hopefully Little Brian will be starting preschool at Blackshear for the upcoming school year and they begin August 13. (I want to get him into the 3 day class but apparently its very popular and up in the air right now. We'll know more in mid-Feb.) He go for a week, be gone a week for vacation and then return. That seems like it would be a confusing time for him. I want him to be on a regular schedule as he will be staring at a new place, with new children and teachers. I don't want it to be traumatic for him to go then be off and then go back. I'm not sure what to do about that.

As for the New Year's resolutions, I need to lose some weight. I didn't lose enough of what I had gained while I was pregnant with Little Brian. So I've joined WeightWatchers. I'm excited by this POINTs plan. I had done it before Brian and I got married with good results so I'm hoping that I lose a significant amount before we go to the beach! Pray for me as I go through this journey.

I'll post pictures soon.

Shopping

Friday night, mom, Elizabeth , Little Brian and I went Christmas shopping. We were hosting my husband's mother's family party at our house the next night so I had a few gifts to buy at the last minute. We went to the Gainesville mall and they had those rides for 50 cents. We put Little Brian on the carousel one and he loved it. (Note: the real carousel closes at 7:30 p.m. What the crap?)

The ride before the scream heard 'round the world!

Anyway, after the ride stopped he did NOT want to get off and pitched the hugest fit I'm sure the mall has ever seen. On top of this, he already had a huge knot on his forehead (see picture above) from where he ran from me screaming because he didn't want to change his diaper, fell and bumped his head on our hardwoods. It's now thankfully gone down so we're attempting another go at sitting with Santa this weekend.

The Girls are Back!!

I CANNOT wait for May!! Little Brian turns 2 on the 19th and the greatest show of all time comes to the silver screen on the 30th, Sex and the City! Here's a sneak peek!

My sister is engaged!!

My sister got engaged on Sunday night! We're excited about planning the wedding. She and Robert have been dating since last January and had been talking about getting married for a month or so.

Robert is pretty good at bluffing cause on Friday night he told Elizabeth that she wouldn't be getting the ring this month cause he did know how he would pay off the ring and buy Christmas presents. Needless to say, she was disappointed. So they went on Saturday night to her company's Christmas party at Chateau Elan and he was saying how he was so tired. He works from 7a - 7 p at Scientific games in Alpharetta and normally sleeps until 3:30. On Sunday, they went Christmas shopping and she was telling Robert how she wanted to take pictures in front of our hometown's Christmas tree.

The happy couple

They went to the square and started taking pictures. After a little bit, she wanted to leave and get something to eat. He convinced her to wait a moment and proposed right there. She was so excited and surprised cause she didn't know it was coming! The reason he was tired on Saturday night was that he got up early after working all night to go get her ring. She was wondering why he was tired!

Congratulations you guys!

And now the shot you've been waiting for....

The wedding set

It is so gorgeous!!

Piano Lessons

My mom fills in for the pianist at her church on occasion. When ever he can, Little Brian loves banging the keys. He couldn't resist sitting with her while my mom practiced the songs to be played at tonight's service.

(Yes, those pjs are Halloween everyone. I totally forgot about them and now we are getting post-Halloween fun from them.)

Mom, stop taking our picture. We're PRACTICING!

Friday's Feast

Appetizer:

What is your favorite carnival/amusement park ride?

I love roller coasters! I'm the first one to try them and the last one to leave. On a side note: I am so afraid of Ferris wheels. That's a contradiction in terms, isn't it?

Soup:

How do you react in uncomfortable social situations?

I get very quiet, almost to the point where I seem snobby and it seems to make the situation worse. I'm outgoing and energetic around friends. But put me in a room with people I don't know well and have to struggle to come up with convo, I turn into the friggin ice princess!

Salad:

On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being highest, how much do you enjoy discussing deep, philosophical topics?

That would be a 3! I'd rather be discussing what unique parenting tactics Britney Spears applies daily or the top 5 rated articles on People.com!

Main Course:

Did you get a flu shot this year? If not, do you plan to?

I haven't yet, but I plan on it. I'm a type 1 diabetic and the flu could wipe me out. This reminded me to make my appointment. Throwing up and being in bed for a week does NOT sound like something I want to use my vacation time for.

Dessert:

Approximately how many hours per week do you spend watching television?

Possibly 8? Anytime Friends or Sex and the City are on, I'm not to be interrupted. :)

Have a great Friday everyone!

Little Brian and the Christmas Tree

We are staying with my parents for the week while my hubby is out of town. My mom put up her tree last weekend and needless to say, Little Brian is in LOVE with it. He wants to show everyone the ornaments and takes his favorites ones off to stockpile them in a hideyhole somewhere. (We are still looking for some of them.)




Anyway, the Nativity scene is in a place he can reach without too much effort and he likes "arranging" the wise men. He gets this honest as me and my sister did this when we were little. However, it was the shepherd boy and we felt Barbie needed more choices than just Ken. That poor little shepherd boy has been glued back together more times than can count.



May the Lord bless and keep this Nativity scene from demise until the end of the week! :)

Christmas Pictures

We went on Saturday to Sears to get our Christmas pictures made. They were having "Pics with Santa" and I thought Little Brian would do better with Santa when he was one on one with him instead of the traditional Santa in the Mall. Well, I was wrong. He cried from the minute I sat him with Santa until I picked him up. He would give Santa "five" but wouldn't have anything else to do with him. So we're going to try again later.

Here are some of the best ones. I was really proud of myself for coordinating these outfits!

The family

Little Brian with Daddy

Little Brian with Mommy

On the rocking horse

Rocking horse - the sequel

Thanksgiving recap

Our Thanksgiving was very busy. Since my husband's parents are divorced, we have a few more places to visit. We started off at my dad's family for lunch and then moved on to Brian's dad's family. We spent most of our time there cause they have a large screen tv for watching the game and a pool table. Little Brian couldn't understand why he wasn't suppose to move the pool balls. We had to chase him around the room to get them back.

Little Brian ate the entire day! Anywhere we were, he was eating. I got worried that he would over stuff himself but apparently he has a hollow leg! I don't know where he put it all.

We finished off the day at my parent's house and celebrated with my mother's family. My mom spent the two days before Thanksgiving cooking and it turned out great. I brought the most treasured staple - mac and cheese!

My family at Mom's.

Me and my sister at Mom's

Thank God for my sister. She is my best friend. I don't know what I'd do without her.

The next day, Elizabeth, my friend Catherine at Carter's Corner and I went out and did our traditional Christmas shopping. We started out at 7:00 (a little later than some t=years) and went to Toys R Us. Now, I may be naive but I didn't expect the line to checkout would be wrapped around the store twice! We were like to heck with this and went to the Mall. Elizabeth and I got our mom's gifts at Macy so she's done but we still have some more shopping to do for everyone else. Catherine's sister is having a schedule C-section this Tuesday so she got her a robe and some pjs to wear in the hospital. Her sister is having a boy, James and they are very excited for his arrival.

After we hit the Mall, we went to Target. Target had the Fisher Price Lil Quad Power Wheels on sale for $49 and we were on a mission to get them. They also had the Elmo Giggle and Go Garage on sale for $25 but we were too late for that. Oh well. It was a great shopping day. The weekend was too short though. I'm needing a vacation from the vacation.

7 Things for which I'm Thankful

Andrea at Royal Family was tagged by Katie to post 7 things she was thankful for aside from the usual stuff like family, a home and peace on earth, so I thought I'd tag myself for a little pre-Thanksgiving fun.

1. I am thankful for caller ID. You never know when you need to screen!

2. Like Andrea, I am thankful for my hairstylist as well. I've been with Sherry since 2000 and she has never once disappointed me. I had a horrible color experience in 1999 and I didn't want to try to color my hair EVER again. But Sherry came highly recommended by my friend Kari so I took a chance. May the Lord help me if Sherry decides to retire!

3. I am thankful for my dishwasher. I hated hand washing dishes when I was a kid! I swore I wouldn't do it in my own house and it can never be over loaded! :)

4. I am thankful for children's hair salons. After hearing horror story after horror story of parents taking kids to regular salons, I decided to just take Little Brian to a childrens salon and I couldn't be happier with the results. However, the Jon Ric salon we were going to closed with no notice and we've moved to Pigtails and Crewcuts by the Mall of GA.

5. I love my car. I had always wanted an Expedition and my hubby surprised me with one as my Valentine's gift the year Little Brian was born. I am very thankful for the magic clicker that locks and unlocks the car with ease! My old car didn't have one and I've become spoiled with it!

6. I'm thankful that my employer believes in tuition reimbursement. Since we've grown our family from two to three, our bank account has grown smaller and smaller. I wouldn't be able to go back for my Master's without assistance. Thanks Kiel Laboratories!

7. I'm thankful for Food Network. It helped me find my inner chef. I can't get enough of Paula's Home Cooking , 30 Minute Meals, Everyday Italian, and Semi-Homemade Cooking with Sandra Lee.

Finally, I want to say that I'm very thankful for my hubby and my son as well as my mom, dad and sister! I couldn't ask for a more loving or supportive family.

From our house to yours, have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

(P.S. Start your planning now for the best deals for the day after Thanksgiving! I'll be one of the crazies you see on the news that was at the Mall of GA at 4:30!)

Bob the Builder

Little Brian has become increasingly interested in Bob the Builder over the last few weeks. While I like this program that promotes team work and prioritizing, I do not care for the scarecrow Spud. He really creeps me out. Does he disturb anyone else?

Belated Trick or Treat!

On Halloween, Brian (my hubby) came home early and carved Little Brian's pumpkin. Then he took Little Brian for a ride on our borrowed "mule." My hubby's cousin was nice enough to let us borrow his.

Needless to say, Little Brian loved it. We're thinking of getting one for ourselves.

We used this great chariot to ride up and down our neighborhood to trick or treat. My hubby got some great shots of Little Brian trick or treating. (We've had our digital camera since 2005 and just now figured out how to use it so they're a little blurry.)

Here's my baby trying to say trick or treat! He was such a cute monkey!

Happy Halloween!

After we went around, we went back to our house to pass out candy and Little Brian loved giving it out. He was scared of some of the costumes but had a great time.

Just a reminder, there's only 50 days left until Christmas. Where did 2007 go?

Burt's Pumpkin Farm & Gold Rush

These are some of the best pics from Burt's Pumpkin Farm & Gold Rush last weekend.

Little Brian loved those big orange balls.

Why is Mommy holding me on this pumpkin?

I love riding in the wagon. Daddy helped me pick my pumpkin.

What a difference a year makes!

Having fun with Daddy.

Halloween and 17 Month Pictures

Last night, Little Brian, Mom and I went to Sears to get his pictures made. I had been shopping around for a studio with the best Halloween backgrounds and props. Sears had the best ones and a girlfriend of mine recommended it, so we went there. We were able to walk in without an appointment. Little Brian did beautifully. He loves having his picture taken which is good for him since I'm a picture taking freak! He also likes being in his costume. He cried when we took it off!

My Monkey!

I love my costume!

Trick or Treat

And my favorite, the collage....

I try to have his picture made every three months and the last time was at the beach in June so I'm a little late but he didn't mind.

So handsome!

Flowery Branch Fall Festival

On Saturday, Little Brian, Elizabeth, Robert and I headed down to the Flowery Branch Fall Festival. It was spectacular!

The Branch's Festival. Note the crowd!

Dozens and dozens of the Branch's loyal came out to see what junk other citizens were trying to get rid of. It was sponsored by the local Boy Scout Troop and the highlighted attraction was the food. It consisted of maybe 20 booths, mostly resembling a yard sale in the junk that was offered. We managed to take a few pictures of its glory!

Little Brian and Mommy

Little Brian in front of the Branch's main attraction: a Caboose!

Making a grand escape!

After the whole 15 minutes it took for us to view the booths, we went and checked out the Cumming Fair. But since Little Brian was taking his nap and Elizabeth's bf doesn't ride amusement park rides, we decided to go back to my parents' house. Little Brian was just as content with playing outside with Auntie and Robert.

We're looking forward to this weekend cause we're going to Gainesville's Mule Camp and Uncle Shuck's corn maze!