Whirlwind weekend!

What a great weekend! Friday night I lounged around and watched Ghost Whisperer all by myself. No interruptions, no chatting through it. I really didn't know how to handle it but I soaked it up lol. Chris entertained Anna to give me a break since I have this cold. He was wonderful!!!

Saturday I got some more down time while Anna helped her Daddy do some yard work in the morning. I took a nice LONG hot shower! Which is pretty much unheard of for me lol. After lunch we got ready and headed downtown to the Sidewalk Chalk Festival. It was great fun. We have some super talented people out there. My idea of drawing with chalk is a smiley face lol. Anna was just excited to watch all the people and the dogs! She also got her face painted and did a craft and played some games! She had a great time and so did we. After a while we decided we were hot and we walked down to a pizza place that is So yummy but we don't go often because it is downtown. We enjoyed a leisure dinner because we knew that we didn't want to get back to the park to fast. Chris got a glimpse of the future while we were there. It seemed like girls were coming out of the wood work. There was a girl scout troop there and a teenager having a party. There fear of the future was palpable coming off Chris lol. The chattering and giggling, the silliness and LOUDNESS shook him to the core lol. It excited me and brought back so many memories! He said something about her not being that silly and I had to remind him how silly I was. I think he blocked it out or either I hid it from him because I wanted to impress him lol. Anyway, as soon as Chris could make his escape we were out of there and we walked back to the park. We settled in on a blanket we took and a chair for Chris and Anna's stroller and proceeded to wait for a movie to start. I know isn't that crazy a movie in the park! Anna was all excited - "We are watching a movie OUTSIDE!" She anxiously waited for it to start not running around like the other ones but focusing intently on the screen trying to will the movie to start! We got there kinda early but we got perfect seats. We were towards the front right beside the speakers. I was worried it would be to loud but it was perfect! Finding Nemo was the feature film and Anna loves that movie! She enjoyed the whole movie and ate her left over pizza during it so she even got to have a picnic lol.

Sunday of course is our church day! I made a hard decision last week. I decided I would step down from choir for a while. I am moving Anna up to children's church and out of the nursery. They typically do that at 4 but I need to do something to help prepare Anna for preschool and I was thinking this would be a good place to start. It hurts me because I love to sing and be a part of the worship like that but as always Anna comes first! The way our church does it is the kids get to stay through the first half of the service which is the music part and then they go to children's church afterwards while we have a sermon. Anna is so funny about who she will sit with I didn't want to just throw her out there with someone. Therefore, until she is a little more comfortable with this change I will sit with her. Honestly though after this Sunday I don't think it will be to long. I think she will sit with her friend McKenzie even if it is with an adult she doesn't know well. It was a relief when she held McKenzie's hand (McKenzie is 6 yrs old) and ran out of the church giggling and excited! We all took a nap that afternoon and it was kind of nice not having to worry about waking her up to get to choir practice! I always hated that part cause on Sunday she goes down for nap so late that it is usually a challenge letting her get enough sleep and still make it to choir on time.

So that was our very full weekend. Honestly, though this weekend really did make me appreciate where I live. To have so much to do that is family oriented is a great thing!

Sacrifices of a Daddy

My husband is a great Daddy. I know that he feels inadequate (as many of us parents do) but he is so wrong! When Anna was about 18 months old we would stand in the window to wave him off to work. She would put on a huge smile and give her queenly wave. I know in so many ways that was bitter sweet. Sweet because his baby loved him enough to wave him off with a smile interrupting whatever she was doing at the moment just for him. Bitter because yet again he was leaving her. Today Anna cries if her Daddy is gone when she wakes up. She no longer waves him off but she does run to him and snuggle up until the very last second. I know that he hates leaving her. He is doing a great thing for her though. He is showing her how much he loves her by providing for her. He is showing her how to be dependable and consistent. He is showing her that it is important to be there for others and to stand by your commitments.

A fathers love is so important to a little girl. He is showing her how a man should treat a woman. He is showing her that she is special and deserves to be treated like a princess! He is also showing her that life isn't all about responsibilities and worries it is also about fun and laughter. My husband is teaching Anna all of these things and doesn't even realize it! He does these things effortlessly and still thinks himself inadequate.

He is teaching her of our Fathers love! She knows already that God loves her. She knows that Jesus loves her. She loves to talk about it and read her Bible! She will have a wonderful understanding of why we call God our Father as she grows up because she will be able to see that the love God has for each and every one of us is very much like the love a father feels for his child. It is an unconditional love, a love that grows as the relationship grows, a love that only wants to see good things, better things for the child, a love that disciplines not because it is fun but because you don't want the child to hurt or suffer not just now but always, it is a love that can never be destroyed! Nothing we do can take away a Fathers love or our Gods love! Hold on to that in all you do. Now that you will always have someone on your side!!!

Chris you should know that Anna adores you. She thinks you hung the moon just for her! Thank you for all that you teach our daughter and all that you do for her (and me)!

Anna you should know that your Daddy adores you. That all he does for you is out of love not duty! That you are his world!

Video Friday

TGIF

Its Friday and we have a fun weekend planned! Tonight I think Anna and her Daddy are going to have a date so that I can get some much needed rest to kick my cold. Tomorrow we are going to be busy busy busy. I will tell you all about it Monday! And of course Sunday is filled with church and good friends!

Hope you all have a great weekend!!!

Girly Hair

I have found some great websites for little girls hair. I copied one style for Easter and it was really easy and I think pretty cute. I took part of one today and did it for church. It was a complicated hairstyle and I didn't think I could do it all but I love the little corkscrew look. So I did a half tail, as my daughter calls it, and twisted the hair for the corkscrew look. You have to split the hair in half twist both pieces in one direction then twist them together in the other direction. After doing that she decided she didn't like it and wanted a tail (ponytail) so I pulled all of her hair up together making one big tail with the twisted parts on top. I think it looks adorable.

This was my first time doing the corkscrews and they were pretty easy. I did it with the hair damp and I did redo it once so that I could make it a little tighter.

Spring cleaning the yard!

My yard is a huge challenge for me! No, it isn't huge but it seems to get out of control rather often. If it isn't the flower bed in the front with more weeds than flowers it is the back yard with more weeds than grass. Anna and I worked out there several hours this morning. Working with my stacks of pine straw and cutting the grass, sweeping off the porch and cleaning Anna's outside toys. We worked so hard that we earned a picnic out there. Anna loves to be outside and being able to do all of this was wonderful for her. We even soaked up some sun after our picnic. I love hanging out with Anna. She makes everything so much more fun.

Hope you all can have a great friday! Enjoy some time in the great out doors with someone that makes you smile!

Fullfillment

I have writers block!!!

My life has been full. Full of fun, full of learning, full of things to do, full of love, just plain old full! I haven't really been blogging much besides pictures because I have been to busy living my life. In one way I have really missed blogging. I have great ideas for a post and then I get busy again and poof it is gone. So instead of a lovely witty post you get my day!

Anna and I went to the park this morning. We had a great time with friends. Anna played hard and is now napping hard. YAY! She learned today that throwing rocks isn't a good idea! I don't know why she and her little friend thought it would be fun to throw rocks at each other. Anna (who has a great throw) threw one right into her friends head. Luckily it was a little rock and it hurt but it didn't bust her head or anything. My daughter looked so pleased with herself. I think she was thinking "yeah, I can really throw good!" I had to explain that throwing rocks was a very bad idea. So they went and started jumping up and down trying to tear leaves out of one of the tall trees! They also pushed each other on the swings, rode bikes together (even sharing each others) and played together beautifully!

After nap I hope to go out and get some work done in the back yard cause let me tell you it is NOT pretty!!! My weeds are growing to high and I still have stacks of pine straw where I raked them up and never took them out. Maybe I will post pictures if I can get enough done. I might even go get started on it while Anna finishes her nap. That is if I can get out the door without waking her up. She seems to have a radar that tells her when a door is opened while sleeping! It is crazy!

So I hope you are full and happy! See ya when I see ya! Probably tomorrow but maybe Monday!!!

Wordless Wednesday

Happy Belated Birthday Hubby

I didn't get this posted on his birthday but I am sure he won't mind. Chris and I have had a bumpy time of it lately. I like to think we are on the downward slope of that and are getting back into good times. I know that every marriage has ups and downs and the downs make you appreciate the ups. So to help us remember the ups and remember why we married each other here are some of my good memories.

1) This one will sound funny to you all but Chris will get it. Our first date and the drive back to my house (my parents house) it took about 20 minutes to get there and we were in his moms car. It was so warm and cozy inside the car and it wasn't awkward like I thought it would be. He kept having to dim the headlights cause there was so much traffic and the click, click of it just ingrained that memory into my head for some reason. I will never forget the laughter after about the 10th click, click that filled the car. We were just both so light and happy to be together!

2) We went to high school together and we would have lunch together. He would always put his head down if there were a lot of people around but if it were just the two of us he would talk and/or listen. That is one of the great things about him - he is a great listener!!!

3) We also went to church together. One of the things he thought was so cute was how I would always run around barefooted! I think it drives him crazy now cause I still do it sometimes lol.

4) We worked at Ridgecrest the summer after we graduated high school. We had so much fun. We walked in the rain together (a lot) and it never seemed to bother us much as long as we were together.

5) We would go get ice cream a lot there too (I gained SO much weight there). But it was always fun hanging out and talking. We did that a lot, somewhere along the way we stopped. We are trying to get back to that. You don't realized how important something is for your relationship until it is gone.

6) College - We went to one year of college together before I had to drop out. We loved meeting up after class and eating by the fountain or going to Hopeland Gardens and having a picnic there. Togetherness is a beautiful thing!

7) I forgot our first Christmas - We started dating in Nov. 1990 and I didn't know what to ask for so I asked for a pink paper clip lol. How silly is that! He found one and presented it to me in a ring box lol. He also gave me a beautiful pink sweater and matching skirt. He has always had good taste. In clothes and girls te he he!

8) We dated all through his college days and grew closer and closer. Always hanging out after my work and his classes. We talked a lot and played a lot. He didn't mind my child like playfullness, although he was way more mature than me lol. He would smile and shake his head at my silly antics.

9) We got married after he got his degree. We moved away from home (which was a good thing for us). We were very happy. I was having a little health issue that wasn't great for us but we got through it. I started doing temp work and he was working as a manager trainee for an electrical supply place. I couldn't cook worth a hoot. One night I cooked baked chicken. I baked it so long that it was dry as a bone. My wonderful hubby sat there and ate it even though I was begging him not to cause it was AWFUL!!!

10) Chris lost his job shortly there after and that took a toll on our relationship. We worked through it and even went on a trip to Vegas. It was fun to walk around and look and see and just be together. No stress, no worries - just us!

11) We use to babysit 2 little girls (they aren't so little anymore). I loved watching Chris with them. He had so much fun with them and wasn't afraid to play with them. It made me sure that he was going to be a good Daddy! I was right too!!!

12) Anna joined our family! He was so good with her. He cherished her and was in awe of her. It was/is amazing to watch him with her. He was/is so gentle and loving. It reminds me of all the good in us!

13) Laughter is not uncommon in our house. I love that and it is becoming more common now that Chris has a new job. Not to mention Anna is getting pretty funny lol.

This is to be continued...

Easter Picture Contest!

I am entering a new to me contest lol. I think it has been around for a while but I am just finding it. Go HERE if you want to check it out. It is called iHeartFaces!

Works for me Wednesday

When Chris started back to school for his Masters degree I discovered pretty quickly if I wanted something grilled I would have to do it myself. He was swamped with work, school and homework. I received a few quick lessons and off I went. Now I love to grill and don't tell Chris but I think I do better than him lol.

My favorite marinade is McCormick's Tomato, Garlic & Basil Marinade. I put it on for about 30 minutes usually but sometimes I will do it the night before. I put my grill on medium, unless I am in a hurry or waiting on something else to cook that will take a while. I put the chicken on the grill and give it just a few minutes on one side and then flip. After the initial flip I don't pay attention to the time. Chris says five minutes one side and then flip and repeat. I however don't wear a watch and I don't pay attention to time lol. I think I do it more often than that. Probably every 3 minutes or so. I do that until they "look" done. I will then get a knife and cut into the largest one to see if it is done. I think your average piece of chicken takes 20 minutes. If it has the bone in it will take longer. Pork chops don't usually take as long and hamburgers depending on thickness can run from 20 - 30 minutes.

Monday night we decided to take our pieces of chicken and make chicken sandwiches. Way better than even Chick-fil-a!

Oh another little tip for ya. I got it from Rachael Ray. I have tried numerous ways to make the perfect hamburger. I heard if you put a hole in the middle it would cook more evenly. That didn't really work for me. I bought a hamburger patty maker thing - you know the press that you can use to make perfectly shaped burgers. Then Rachael Ray said to make the center thinner and the outside thicker. As it cooks it would puff up in the middle and it would cook perfectly. Guess what, it works!!! I was so excited to find the way to make a perfect hamburger. So now I use my press thingy to make sure they are big enough and then I thicken up the edges! Much better than my charcoal looking burgers lol.

Mommyhood

It is not always a fun job. It is not always an entertaining job. It is NEVER an easy job! But it is a rewarding job. Over the past few days/weeks I have seen Anna growing so much. The way she talks is changing and the way she acts with people well lets just say it is short of a miracle.

She is actually talking to some of the guys at church that before she would act all coy with. She has even given a few high fives! They have been working on that day for a very long time. She is learning proper english so her sentences don't sound as wacky as they did before. (Her studder is all gone too!) Best of all I have been successful at teaching her manners! That was very important to me and it is so rewarding to know that it has paid off! She says please and thank you like it is natural to her. Unless of course she is being shy and won't say anything! She says Ms. and Mr. not always right but she gets it in there most of the time. Today between her few little temper tantrums she has been such an amazing little girl. She came in and saw me doing the dishes and she brought her chair over and grabbed the silver ware and started putting them up! I mean, wow!!! I was just so impressed with that. So her reward was to do the Cha Cha Slide (her favorite dance ever lol). She loved it. Today we have also started doing a puzzle. It isn't a kids puzzle, it is a 550 piece puzzle. She is loving it. We have done the outer edges and now are working on the center. I thought I would share a picture with you guys!
Having a baby changes everything! Having a little girl (or boy) changes everything too. You learn things when they are a baby and then it goes out the window as they grow. Life is ever changing and I find that I am enjoying that! New challenges, new joys, new frustrations, new sorrows (like not being called Mommy any more!) Everything is new again!

Wordless Wednesday

Mommy's little helper!