matching jammies

one more pic from Saylor's sleepover...can you tell they were up until midnight?

going green

The true picture should have been the 100's of plastic sacks I have shoved in my pantry. Well, not anymore. I'm going green with my NEW handy dandy State Farm totes. I love them for SO many reasons...1) obviously, the go green factor 2) no more annoying plastic sacks lingering around my house 3) SIZE, these things are ginormous, I can fit an entire trip to the store in 3 bags and 4) it makes me feel good.

ask your local state farm agent about your "good neighbor is a green neighbor" bags.

Saylor's first sleepover

All Summer Saylor Lillie has been asking for Roe to come over for an "extra long playdate." Roe spent the night with us months ago and it's been a habitual ritual of consist pleading ever since. It finally worked out on Thursday, both girls were free (seriously, who has a social calendar at the age of 3 and 4?!?!). They had an overwhelming amount of fun but a massive precedent was set since the sleepover occurred the same night as the carnival. Honestly, a parade, Planet Sub, carnival rides, cotton candy, baths, books and a sleepover...all in one night?!?! No wonder they were up until midnight.

Popsicle's at the parade eyeing more candy
the massive amounts of candy the girls collected
carnival fun

check it out

Sharyl's been beautified in preparation for Vegas...nice hair and check out her bling, bling watch.

Happy Birthday Papa Nyle

We LOVE our Papa Nyle. Hope you have a very happy birthday. Also, happy birthday to Kinzie and Mitchie.

little black dress

Wardrobe complete...vegas here we come. I stopped by Target today to pick up some swim diapers for Sophia. As I passed the clothing section, something caught my eye - it was shiny, black (a bit short but it's Vegas) and just my size. I tried it on for Saylor when we returned home and she said, "fancy mommy, you're going to look great tonight at the carnival." Carnival, not so much but PERFECT for vegas. I can't wait!

sicky pictures

My kids take the best pictures when they aren't feeling well...much like our Fall pictures last year of Saylor. She had been running a fever all week and I didn't want to cancel our photo shoot.

I guess you can call me hard core. :)

Travie Say

He's gone from lollipop's to Diet Caffeine Free Pepsi...ahh, that's what 15 years can do for you. Enjoy your 15 yr. high school reunion this weekend Trav.

at least you were mullet free - I can't say the same about me and the perm.

Did you know?

My grandma sent me all these tidbits via email...give them a whirl and let me know.

DID YOU KNOW?


Peel a banana from the bottom and you won't have topick the little 'stringy things' off of it. That's how the primates do it.

Take your bananas apart when you get home from the store.If you leave them connected at the stem, they ripen faster.

Store your opened chunks of cheese in aluminum foil.It will stay fresh much longer and not mold!

Peppers with 3 bumps on the bottom are sweeter and better for eating.Peppers with 4 bumps on the bottom are firmer and better for cooking.

Add a teaspoon of water when frying ground beef. It will help pull thegrease away from the meat while cooking.

To really make scrambled eggs or omelets rich add a couple of spoonfuls of sour cream, cream cheese, or heavy cream in & then beat them up.

Add garlic immediately to a recipe if you want a light taste of garlic and at the end of the recipe if your want a stronger taste of garlic.

Reheat Pizza: Heat up leftover pizza in a nonstick skillet on top of the stove, set heat to med-low and heat till warm. This keeps the crust crispy. No soggy micro pizza. I saw this on the cooking channel and it really works.

Easy Deviled Eggs: Put cooked egg yolks in a zip lock bag. Seal, mash till they are all broken up. Add remainder of ingredients, reseal, keep mashing it up mixingthoroughly, cut the tip of the baggy, squeeze mixture into egg. Just throwbag away when done easy clean up.

Expanding Frosting: When you buy a container of cake frosting from the store, whip it with your mixer for a few minutes. You can double it in size. You get to frost more cake/cupcakes with the same amount. You also eat less sugar and calories per serving.

Reheating refrigerated bread: To warm biscuits, pancakes, or muffins that were refrigerated, place them in a microwave with a cup of water. The increased moisture will keep the food moist and help it reheat faster.

Broken Glass: Use a wet cotton ball or Q-tip to pick up the small shards of glass you can't see easily.

No More Mosquitoes: Place a dryer sheet in your pocket. It will keep the mosquitoes away.

Squirrel Away! To keep squirrels from eating your plants, sprinkle your plants with cayenne pepper. The cayenne pepper doesn't hurt the plant and the squirrels won't come near it.

Flexible vacuum: To get something out of a heat register or under the fridge add an empty paper towel roll or empty gift wrap roll to your vacuum. It can be bent or flattened to get in narrow openings.

Reducing Static Cling: Pin a small safety pin to the seam of your slip and you will
not have a clingy skirt or dress. Same thing works with slacks.

Measuring Cups: Before you pour sticky substances into a measuring cup, fill with hot water. Dump out the hot water, but don't dry cup. Next, add your ingredient, such as peanut butter, and watch how easily it comes right out.

Hate foggy windshields? Buy a chalkboard eraser and keep it in the glove box of your car . When the window s fog, rub with the eraser! Works better than a cloth!

Reopening envelope: If you seal an envelope and then realize you forgot to include something inside, just place your sealed envelope in the freezer for an hour or two. Viola! It unseals easily.

Goodbye Fruit Flies: To get rid of pesky fruit flies, take a small glass, fill it 1/2' with Apple Cider Vinegar and 2 drops of dish washing liquid; mix well. You will find those flies drawn to the cup and gone forever!

Get Rid of Ants: Put small piles of cornmeal where you see ants. They eat it, take it 'home,' can't digest it so it kills them. It may take a week or so, especially if it rains, but it works and you don't have the worry about pets or small children being harmed!

I've got an eater

Saylor Lillie LOVES food - much like her parents. We spent this past weekend at Josh's parents and had Sunday breakfast outside.
In this picture, she's inquiring why she can'y have 3 eggs - notice, she has TWO plates, 2 eggs, bacon, grapes and a cinnamon roll. But, normally on Saturday's here at home, Josh makes her 3 eggs.

I've got a sicky

and I'm hoping she's the only one. Sophia started throwing up this morning around 6. She's on a every 15-30 pukey interval. Poor, sweet girl.

pretty peppers

I figured I needed to show the same respect to the peppers as I did to the tomatoes. Thus, here's a picture of the first PEPPERS perfectly picked from our garden.

one sidenote, the quarter is for scale only and was not grown in our garden.

I'm not finished

I still need to finish blogging about the final days of our crusie. Don't worry, I have not forgotten. Here's a picture from Pisa, just for fun.

While the cats away

the mice will play. Although in my case, while the cat was away, I painted the dining room, organized the playroom, cleaned out a closet and worked on pictures while Josh and Saylor traveled to his parents on Saturday-Sunday. It was a VERY busy 24 hours. I stayed up till 3 am on Satuday and I was EXTREMLY excited on Sunday when I heard Sophia start to stir...I looked over at the alarm clock wondering what time it was and about fell out of bed when I saw the "9:30." It was a record for her and it could not have come at a better time.

I'll post more pictures of a room once it's 100% complete.

fresh out of the garden

you guessed it, it's our first tomatoes of the year produced right in our very backyard. Sophia LOVES tomatoes. Honestly, I must hide them from her or she'll continue to whine until she's consumed them in their entirety.

Our time at Deanna Rose

We toured Deanna Rose last week while is kc during our 24 hour tour. The girls had a blast - although you might not be able to tell from this picture...
Saylor Lillie went for a horse ride.
Sophia tried out the tractors
Here we are on the hayrack ride.
Saylor conveying her enjoyable time with the horse.
can't wait to return...

playdate with Tater's

dress up only happens at our house when we have playdates...any other time, it's bugs, animals, cars, books, puzzles, colors or food.

my little nemo

Saylor Lillie turned a HUGE leaf today while swimming...she's now going under, jumping off the side by herself and swimming. I know, I know, most children do this at 2 but my little girl is a tad more hesitant and cautious. And honestly, that's not a fault...

Anyway, we're SO proud of her. She's a little nemo (sidenote, she was swimming in our front yard this morning in her inflatable pool, preparing for her swim lessons. This pool was only used for pictorial demonstration and not for actual swim class.).

one lucky guy

I snapped a few shots of my bff's belly this past week. Her little-man-to-be has the cutest mommy, the cutest big sis (and big bro for that matter), the cutest nursery and will soon be the cutest baby. I can't wait to meet you Cash Philip.

tubers

I'm a tuber, she's a tuber, wouldn't you love to be a tuber too?

more 4th

Following our poolside adventures earlier in the day, we headed to the cabin. Sophia decided to take a little time to light off her own "firecracker" if you know what i mean... and then she proceeded to have an allergic reaction to the banana boat sunscreen which merited her the pacifer for the rest of the evening.Madeline was looking dashing in her patriotic gown

Saylor became addicted to selecting which firework was going to be next. Which was perfectly fine for me as long as she was not the one actually lighting them.

here's all 7 of the grandkiddos

this picture i added just because

and finally a beautiful sunset to end a remarkably busy, yet exciting 4th of July.