A New Blog!

I have started a new blog! This blog is devoted to my passion of reading and gives reviews of books that I have read and will continue to read. Please come visit me at http://blakesbookcollection.blogspot.com

Nothing at all will change with this blog just now I have two blogs! If you enjoy reading or are looking for a new book, you have found the right place!

Birthdays...

The ONLY Way to Eat a Cupcake!

We went to our neices joint birthday party today and you can see that Palmer had a fabulous time!!!

Ann Mason with her Aunt KiKi and cousins Jillian and Mia

The Birthday Girls with Ann Mason

Supper Club

From L to R: Alex, Reid, Savannah, Harper, Ann Mason and Palmer

6 under 2 1/2 years!

Tonight we held supper club at our house! People have always told us that we will meet some great friends thru our children and this has already proven to be true! Yes, all of these kids come from just three sets of parents! We have been really busy the last 2 years :) We got together tonight for some wings and the UK/Florida Game (not a good subject currently since we are losing!). Like any good hostess I cleaned my house and made it look presentable and in literally 2.5 minutes an entire Rubbermaid tub was dumped out containing about 100 toys! From there we had races around the living room, indoor ball throwing, pillow fights in my master bedroom and much more chaos! As always it was SO fun but I doubt any of us got a full "adult" conversation finished! I so am thankful for the friends we have everyday, they keep us sane and make everything fun!!!

Show Us Your Life - Dessert Recipe

Kelly's Korner Blog http://www.kellyskornerblog.com/ is hosting a dessert recipe blog hop!!! I am going to share the most amazing dessert ever! I have avoided making this because there is NO stopping me from eating the whole ball! :) Enjoy!!!

Chocolate Chip Cheese Ball
INGREDIENTS (Nutrition)
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup confectioners' sugar
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup finely chopped pecans
DIRECTIONS
In a medium bowl, beat together cream cheese and butter until smooth. Mix in confectioners' sugar, brown sugar and vanilla. Stir in chocolate chips. Cover, and chill in the refrigerator for 2 hours.
Shape chilled cream cheese mixture into a ball. Wrap with plastic, and chill in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
Roll the cheese ball in finely chopped pecans before serving
Serve with Regular or Chocolate Teddy Grahams!
YUMMY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Happy Birthday!

Today is bittersweet... this is the first birthday my Nana has spent in heaven and not here with us. She would have been 84 years old today! Nana's birthdays were always hilarious because she LOVED the attention and getting treated like a princess! I have never seen anyone love to get gifts like Nana did but most of all she loved any occasion for her family to be together. We always made it a point to get together for Nana's birthday because we knew how much she loved it! I only wish I had one more chance to buy her a shiny necklace or pair of earrings, give her a hug or even ask her to tell me more about her childhood. I wish I had one more chance to see her face light up when Palmer would come running in her house and how excited she would get when he would sit on her lap. I wish I had one more moment so that she could hold Ann Mason for the first time and look into the eyes of her 8th great grandchild!

I will not be sad today though because I know God is showering her with the gifts and love that she always relished in here on Earth! I will not be sad because I know she lived a wonderful and Christian life. I will not be sad because I know one day I will get to celebrate her birthdays with her again in Heaven when she feels no pain and does not age! What a glorious day that will be!

We think of you often, miss you much and love you always!

Changes

In honor of fall (my all-time favorite season) I picked out a different background! Not sure if I love it yet, wish I knew how to design these things! Hope everyone is having a wonderul Tuesday! I am going to see Love Happens tonight with Jennifer Aniston and I can't wait! Stay tuned for the reviews!

Weekend Recap Part III

Undoubtedly the BEST part of our trip was our unexpected tour of the Owensboro Fire Department! Anyone that knows Palmer knows that he is without a doubt obsessed with Firemen, Firetrucks and now Firehouses! Our great friend Eric is a firefighter and invited Palmer and his cousins Ethan and Katelyn to tour the firehouse and firetrucks! Ann Mason went but her job was just to look pretty :). Eric was such a gracious host and let the kids climb all over the firetrucks, try on the uniforms and they got to leave with official Jr. Firefighter stickers and coloring books! To see Palmer's face when he was in there was something I will never forget. The excitement and awe in his eyes were priceless and he was such a great participant and took it so seriously! Maybe one of these days Palmer will be giving someone's children the chance to live their dream in his own firehouse? When he left he waved out the window to Eric and said "Bye Fireman!" Thanks Eric!

Weekend Recap Part II

Part of the reason we went to Owensboro this weekend was to help celebrate Eric Cart's 30th Birthday! It is hard to believe that most of our friends are hitting their 30's! What a far cry from when we all celebrated our 21st birthdays together! haha We had a blast! It was such a nice dinner with good friends and good food!


PS: Click Collage for bigger pictures!

Weekend Recap Part I

It was such a busy but wonderful weekend that I decided to break it down into a few posts so that it wouldn't be SO long :) Yes, we were that busy! haha Everything was great this weekend minus the 3 hours we slept in Owensboro that was um, not so great! Annie is teething SO bad her two bottom teeth are finally breaking thru the gum and it is taking a major toll on her mood and her sleep! Palmer has been experiencing "growing pains" and wakes up needing tylenol and of course his mommas massages to help him sleep! Between these two sleep is over-rated :)
Friday we went to the Gaslight festival and had a blast! They had bouncies, food, games and rides. Palmer met a little girl named Hadley and shared a seat with her on his first ever ride! I am sure you all remember the pirate ships that go back and forth from carnivals or amusement parks, this one was scaled down but perfect for someone Palmer's age. The best part of it were that him and Hadley somehow knew to put their hands up and scream!!! I loved it!


PS: Click on collage for bigger picture!

Heros

Palmer finally got to experience what it would be like to be a true hero! He got to tour the Owensboro fire department thanks to fireman Eric today! I have never seen someone so excited.... what a wonderful day!

Happy Belated 7 month Birthday!

That's right cutie patootie, you are 7 months old! Before you know it I will planning your girly 1st birthday party, it just breaks my heart! This past month you have gotten quite the attitude and dare I say it is a far cry from the sweet little laid back lady you once were at 6 months! You are now VERY independent and have a temper that can stop Palmer and Molly in their tracks! You might be more wild than Palmer was at this age but that is yet to be determined but I will be honest... I am getting scared :)

You still have that belly laugh that can make all of us explode with laughter! You are almost crawling... I mean any day now you will hit the gas and not stop! You can get anywhere you want but it is more of an army crawl/rolling style. You ate puffs for the first time yesterday and loved them! I forgot what wonders those things did for you little ones. No teeth yet!!! I can't believe it, surely we have been teething for about 3 months and not one little tooth!

You are still the light of my life and my most very precious daughter! I love seeing how your personality is coming thru in so many ways these days! You have something about you that tells me you are going to set this world on fire and I hope you do!

Love, Mommy

Weekend Warriors!

Tex and I live for the weekends with the kiddos! Every weekend we aim for a quiet, peaceful and restful weekend and we usually end up with a jam packed, fun filled and exhausting weekend but we keep doing it again and again! This weekend we are going to our favorite festival in Louisville, the Gaslight Festival http://www.jtownchamber.com/Gaslight-Festival.23.0.html! Tex and I ran across this festival right after we were married and we have been every year since!

Tomorrow we are headed to Owensboro to spend time with family and celebrate Eric Cart's big 3-0! I am excited to see friends and spend time with family, that always makes for a good weekend!

By Sunday we will be tired and glassy eyed from all of the fun and excitement but I know it will be well worth it!

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend whether you are resting and relaxing or cheering for the C-A-T-SSSSSS!!!
Yes, UK will play U of L on Saturday and we hope to see the CATS pull out a HUGE victory against those cards!!!!

Thankful Thursday

Today I am Thankful For:

* The fact that it is Thursday and tomorrow is Friday!

*That my precious daughter has slept 2 nights in a row, hallelujah!

* That my family and friends are healthy and happy!

*That we get to see our family this weekend in Owensboro and Palmer and Ann Mason get

to play with their cousins... and shhhh it's a surprise but Palmer is getting a bike and helmet!!!

*That my husband continues to love me even with new haircuts and hair colors and spit up on my clothes!

*That my sister calls me everyday at 8:45 am on her way to work and it starts my day with a smile!

*That I go to bed everynight and thank God cause I am so excited about my life!

*That I have the funniest kids in the world to keep me laughing all day!

*That I get Tuesdays and Wednesdays to do nothing but spend time with Palmer and Ann Mason!

*That it is getting ready to be fall, my ALL TIME FAVORITE season!

*That in exactly a month we are headed to the beach again, and this time Tex will be with me!

*Today be thankful for at least 1 thing in your life, it makes the day seem a little brighter!

"Be thankful for what you have; you'll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don't have, you will never, ever have enough.”

Before and After

Ann Mason has decided that she is 2 and not 7 months... therefore she wants to feed herself! Yesterday was a day where I just decided to go on and let her and see what happens! Here is what happened....

Loving Every Minute of her new found Independence!
Posing in all of her glory for Mommy!

My sweet girl is all clean! Maybe we should wait for a while before she feeds herself again!

The Next Tiger Woods or Something Like It

Palmer got his Halloween outfit today in the mail and I haven't stopped laughing ever since! We tried it on immediately and he thought it was by far the greatest thing he has ever worn! I totally think he could win best costume this year! haha (I am a little biased) Here is my Scottish Golfer....

The Insane Assylum!

I am sure that most mothers go thru various emotions day in and day out... There are some days that run as smoothly as well oiled machine and then there are other days that feel like we just crashed and burned in that well oiled machine!

For some reason the past 2 days we have been on the crash and burn side of life :) My sweet, sweet angel has turned into some creature from the lagoon that squeals, screams, cries and wakes up all hours of the night!!! What happened? She is moving everywhere, gets more dramatic by the second and has apparently become nocturnal all in the past week! If she wasn't so darn cute I would go even more crazy!

Then Palmer who has been such a GOOD boy lately has become obssessed with sleeping with his light ON! This coming from the child that HAD to have it pitch black in his room to sleep for the last 28 months of his life! So last night Palmer decides he wants to stay up and watch the VMA's on MTV! So finally we get him to bed and add a nitelight to his room thinking that was a great "compromise" and all of a sudden he loses it, starts crying and then I hear the dreaded gagging noise, followed by "Mamma come look!" Sure enough he puked all over his bed! So at 10:15 Tex and I were changing sheets, pjs, brushing teeth, etc...

We finally got him back down with the nite-light and got 2 hours of sleep before Ann Mason woke up for Round 1 of the "screamfest"!

So, Tex and I are starting new with this "crying it out" with Ann Mason because she was sleeping thru the night before the move! So, last night Dr Russell told us to start letting her "cry it out" and we tried our hardest! When we did this with Palmer he would never cry over 8 minutes (8 minutes seems like 2 hours when your baby is crying) so last night she started screaming and Tex and I laid there and decided to really be committed to her "crying it out"! 25 minutes later she was still screaming!!!! We finally got so worried that this time "something was really wrong with her" and we rushed in to pick her up and she started laughing! Seriously?

What is wrong with my children????? :)

Wordless Saturday!

In Rememberance

The Future Memorial for 9/11

It is so hard to believe that it has been 8 years since one of the most horrific events in our countrys history. I hate to admit that it was only when I was listening to the radio this morning did I remember that it was indeed September 11th. I then immediately thought about all of the people that lost their loved ones on this day 8 years ago and how I bet they would never forget this day in a million years. I was sad that I wasn't more conscious of today's date because I never want to forget what happened that day.

In memory of all the people that lost their lives today and all the soldiers that have lost their lives fighting to keep us safe. Keep their friends and familes in your prayers today.

5 Years and Counting...

5 Years of Marriage

3 Moves

2 Babies

1 Dog

and ALL the love in the world!

I love you now more than the day we married... you continue to be my best friend and biggest fan! Our lives are exactly as I had hoped for (maybe even a little better!) May our love stay strong and our friendship everlasting, I love you!!!

An anniversary is a time to celebrate the joys of today, the memories of yesterday, and the hopes of tomorrow. ~Author Unknown

A successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person. ~Mignon McLaughlin

A happy marriage is a long conversation that always seems too short. ~Andre Maurois

Our wedding was many years ago. The celebration continues to this day. ~Gene Perret

A wedding anniversary is the celebration of love, trust, partnership, tolerance and tenacity. The order varies for any given year. ~Paul Sweeney

Ann Mason 6 month Appt

With everything going on we just now made it to Ann Mason's 6 month appointment! Even though in just 6 short days she will already be 7 months old! I looked at her the other day and got tears in my eyes cause she is getting so big! I already want a 3rd....I know I am crazy! She is growing so fast and doing so many new things, such an exciting age! Here are some things Annie is doing right now!

* 16 pounds exactly (44% in weight)

*25 and 3/4 inches long (31% in height)

* 22% in head circumfrence (this is a far cry from your brother that has always been in the 97% for head!!! :)

* You are sitting up like a pro and love it!

* You are teething like a crazy person but still NO teeth! I wish they would just come thru to help you with the pain!

* You are still such a happy baby although the teeth are posing a big challenge for you right now. Tylenol and orajel seem to be our best friends right now!

* You can interact with Palmer and you want to steal his sippy cup all of the time. You know have your own sippy cup with water which you seem to love!

* You are SO interested in mommy and daddy's food and I hate to admit it but you LOVE pizza and I have fed it to you a few times :) Also you have tried mashed potatoes and you love to suck on pieces of fruit!

***You are such a joy and we are loving watching you grow and trying new things everyday. It won't be much longer until you are fully crawling! Watch out!

Random but Fun!

I know I am being a horrible blogger but I wanted to post pics but don't have a lot of free time right now! :) My wonderful husband and awesome sister surprised me with a birthday dinner with all of my friends Saturday night! It was such a nice "adult" night out and we had so much fun and laughed so hard! Thanks so much for all of my great friends who came, I had a blast!

The other pics in this collage are of my babies.... mostly from Cracker Barrell (Palmer loved the rocking chairs) and some from just playing around! I will definitely write more later! Happy Labor Day Weekend, enjoy your Monday off!

PS... If you click on the collage it will make it much bigger!

Busy, Busy!

Here are some pictures from our new house! We have been SO busy moving and setting stuff up! It is AWESOME and we love it here and are so thankful that we found this place. Living in the "country" isn't too bad either! haha We welcome visitors anytime!

PS... If you click on the collage it will make it bigger!!!

You Know Your 29 When....

You know your 29 when..... you buy new tires and a water pump for your mini van as your birthday present, get up and change diapers, make lunches, drop the kids off and go to work!!!! haha

I have to admit that I woke up feeling a little sorry for myself this morning on the day of my 29th birthday. The last few weeks have been tiring to say the least....

Then I started getting calls and messages from all my amazing friends and family and something clicked! Even though this actual day isn't probably how I would want to spend my birthday this past year as been one of the most amazing years of my life!

As I look back on my 28th year I realize that my life is exactly where I always hoped it would be. I was blessed to give birth to my gorgeous daughter this year, watched my ever-growing son turn 2, celebrated 5 years of marriage with my husband and made even more precious memories!

I hope that my 29th year gives me as much joy as this past year! Bye-Bye 28, Hello 29! My last 12 months of being a "twenty-something"!