The Gingerbread Girl...

Last night we went over to Mom and Dads for a little while, and they had quite a treat for Sawyer. A gingerbread-man making kit. As you can see from the pictures, she really went to town. She consumed more icing than I thought was humanly possible, spilled tiny candies everywhere, used the mixer to sling powder all over the floor, decided her gingerbread man should have green eyes...and then ate some more icing. Basically, it was one of the best nights of her life. I think we're going to make this cookie decorating thing a tradition...its a mess, but its oh so fun!

Just In Case You Were Wondering...

Lobster Buddy is still with us. Alive and well.
I know, Im just as shocked as you.

All the Same Reasons...And Then Some

I dug up a little treasure today.
I was cleaning out our dining room hutch this afternoon (which at the moment is sort of like a bottomless junk pit) and I found the book I made Preston for our one year wedding anniversary.
I smiled when I saw the corner of it sticking out from beneath a huge pile of papers, and I cut my hutch-organizing short to sit down and look through it. I honestly didn't even know it was lost until I found it...we have a lot of stuff around here.
I remember working on this book every single day, for weeks leading up to our anniversary, and I couldn't wait to give it to him. When he opened it up to look inside, the first thing he said was, "No way...are there really 365 in here!?!?"
"Yup...Go ahead, read em all," I said. Because there really were 365 reasons why I loved him, written down in the pages of that book. One reason for every day we'd spent together as husband and wife. Surprisingly enough, all of those reasons weren't hard to come up with at all, and if I were writing that book again today, I know I could easily come up with 365 more.
Some of my favorite reasons were....

Because of your uncompromising belief in God and his word.

Because you have such a servants heart.

Because you're so good at fixing things...a real handy man.

Because we always laugh at the same things.

Because you're you re the best Math tutor Ive ever had (this made me laugh. I wrote this was back in the day when I was still in college, and Preston helped me with my Math work almost every night. He was so patient with me...I just don't get Math)

Because all of my friends and family adore you.

Because of the way you make small talk with people at the drive through window...ha ha ha.

Because you never get frustrated when I ask you, "Does Dateline come on tonight?" every night of the week. (that one made me laugh)

Because of your determination. You never let anything hold you back.

Because you always try and make the best out of a bad situation.

Because of your willingness to forgive.

Because you tell me I'm beautiful, even without makeup on.

Because of your generosity.

Because you've never gone a night without kissing me before bed...even when we're mad at each other.

Because you've made me the luckiest girl in the world.

You know, I'm not sure if Preston ever sat down and read every single reason I wrote. BUT, it still makes me happy...knowing that if he ever wants to, they'll be there.

What in the world could be better than a bed FULL of balloons? In Sawyer's book: absolutely nothing.

Today...

Today I...

Got a hair cut. Finally.

Blew up 20 balloons for Sawyer to play with, and came to the conclusion that balloon fights are way better than pillow fights.

Lost the left nose-piece on my new glasses. Don't you just hate it when that happens?

Listened to Pandora for hours. Michael Buble, Need To Breath, Jason Mraz, Ray Lamontagne, Nora Jones...Good stuff.

Had a wonderfully fabulous steak dinner at our house. Yum Yum.

Played Aggravation. Sadly enough, Preston and I were no match for Mom and Dad.

Bought Sawyer a few goodies from the dollar store. A few stickers, magnets, and plastic dinosaurs later, I became the hero of the day!

Thought about going to the grocery.

Decided to put it off until tomorrow.

Enjoyed some of the home-made cookies Preston's dad made for us last night.

Downloaded anther new song to my ipod. Gosh, I love music.

Thought about how incredibly blessed I am to have such a sweet family...felt so grateful that my little Bug is finally feeling better...and smiled, a lot.

I seriously don't think Ive ever been so mad in my life.
Preston is sick. Sawyer is also very, very sick...like, the sickest she's ever been in her life.
Why?
Because on Sunday we had to work in the nursery at church and at least two of the kids in there were sick.
Preston started getting sick late Sunday night, and Sawyer started feeling bad yesterday. She had a fever of almost 104 and was only awake about 2 hours the entire day. I called her pediatrician and they told me what to give her, and thankfully my Mom was with me, because we almost had to make a trip to the emergency room. Today, the fever is almost gone (praise the Lord) but her throat is hurting so bad she can barely swallow and she wont eat anything.
I'm just waiting to get it myself, because it seems like that's always how it happens.
I understand people wanting to go to church, but if you have a sick child, its in their (and everyone elses) best interest to STAY HOME. This isn't the first time this has happened, and I'm just honestly so angry. Bringing your sick kid to church so they can get everyone else sick is just plain inconsiderate and selfish. I know that might sound "harsh" or whatever, but its the truth. I understand not wanting to stay home on Sunday morning, and having to miss church to be home with a sick baby stinks, but what in the world would make someone think it would be best to bring them around other people who might catch what they have!?!?!? I'm just so tired of it. I told Preston yesterday that Sawyer and I are taking a little (indefinite) hiatus from the church nursery.
Tomorrow, we're supposed to be hanging out with my family, but I guess that all depends on how Sawyer is feeling. Ugh. Did I mention I'm mad?
This Sunday, I'll be staying home with Sawyer EVEN IF IT SEEMS LIKE SHE MIGHT BE FEELING BETTER, and I really wish everyone else would do the same if their kids are sick. Because I'm sick of getting sick...sick of taking care of other people who are sick (especially an inconsolable, over-tired, ultra-emotional 2 year old)...just plain sick.

Weekend Recap...And Some Other Things...

Let's see...
Friday night Preston came home with some goodies from work (the perks of having a husband who works in the food business) which included some of the most delicious boneless chicken wings Ive ever had in my life. Usually every Friday night we have pizza, followed by a red box movie after we put Sawyer to bed. We rented two movie's and ended up watching one called Nights in Rodanthe. When I saw the movie was based on a book by Nicholas Sparks, I got excited, because he wrote the book that was later turned into my favorite movie, The Notebook. Let's just say Nights in Rodanthe was NO Notebook. It was so depressing! I know my poor husband was about to die while we were watching it, and I'll be surprised if he ever lets me pick out a movie again. At least we got to spend some time just relaxing together. After the movie, we decided to go on to bed...we were both exhausted from staying up way too late almost every night last week!
Saturday morning, I went to a friends baby shower while Preston and Evan took Sawyer and Kendall to play at Incredible Dave's. The shower was great...sweet women, wonderful food, and its always so fun to watch someone open cute little baby things! I came home around noon and Preston and Sawyer came in about ten minutes later. She was exhausted, and ended up taking a three hour nap. Later that day, we dropped Sawyer off at Mom and Dads because it was DATE NIGHT!!! We went to an early dinner at Macaroni Grille and it was SO GOOD! After dinner we ended up going to a furniture store to look around because we've officially begun the search for a bedroom suite for Miss Sawyer. After the furniture hunt, we decided to go to the new Gigi's Cupcakes for dessert! Unfortunately, we when got there (at just 7:45) it was already closed! We ended up going to the always yummy Homemade Pie Kitchen for an upside down cupcake :) After dessert, we went to a friends house to visit for a while before heading back home.
We had SUCH a fun night together, and I'm already looking forward to our next date!
This week we don't have much of anything going on. Today has been very low key, just picking up the house, playing with Sawyer, and a little bit of laundry. Thursday night, we're all going to stay the night at Mom and Dad's, and as always there will be lots of food, games, and fun followed by a HUGE breakfast the next morning. I'm SO excited.
Preston is off work a few days next week because he had some vacation days he had to use before the end of the year or else he'd lose them. I think I'm going to talk him into taking me and Sawyer for a little day trip up to the Newport Aquarium. We'll see. I think the weekend after that I'm going to plan a girls night...my friend Jordan and I have been talking about having one for a while, so I think we're going to try and make it happen.
In other news, Sawyer learned a new bible verse, Psalm 118:1, "Give Thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever." I got a really sweet video of her last week singing her new song in the tub, so I'll have to post that soon. She's precious.
I guess that's it for now...Hope everyone has a good week :)

Lookin at Lights...

After dinner Wednesday night, Preston and I decided we should go for a drive and look at lights! We bundled Sawyer up, and were out the door within 5 minutes after I suggested we go.
We go to the same neighborhood every year...the houses are beautiful and some of them have a crazy amount of Christmas lights, which is always neat to look at.
Sawyer was super excited about our adventure. She kept saying, "Ooooohhhh, Loooook! Mama, take a picture! Those lights are gorgeous!"
This year, I just so happened to bring my camera with me so I took a few pictures of our favorites. (I like the first one the best.)

Still More Boots...

I think Ive mentioned before Sawyer's love for boots. Lately, the only shoes she wants to wear are her pink polka-dot boots, and most of the time I just let her. Last Friday while we were playing in the basement, Sawyer found herself a little treasure...a pair of her Daddy's work/rain boots. As soon as she saw them she started begging to put them on, and they just looked so funny on her I had to get out my camera!

Introducing...Lobster Buddy

Friday night, Preston and I went to another one of his work dinners so Mom and Dad took Sawyer out on the town for a few hours while we were gone. They told us before we left that they were going to get pizza and then to look around at the pet store (which I didn't think anything of because we always go to the pet store to let Sawyer look at all the animals.)
We were in for a surprise when we came home.
When I saw Sawyer the first thing she says to me is, "I have something to show you Mama!"
"What is it?" I asked.
"Lobster Buuuddddyyyy!!!!!" she replies, as she grabs my hand and takes of running for our guest room.
When I opened the door...to my horror....there sat a hamster in a cage. Sawyer was so excited her little eyes were the size of half dollars. I about threw up. I tried to sound excited because I didn't want to spoil her fun, but still. A hamster. I gave Mom and Dad the evil eye and they were laughing their heads off. They really thought it was hilarious (they would NEVER let that thing in their house.)
If you know me at all, you know I'm not really an "animal person." I mean, I don't mind them, if they belong to someone else and I don't have to be around them for an extended period of time, but I would never want a pet of my own.
I had a few pets growing up, although my mom wasnt much of an animal lover either. I even had two hamsters of my own once when I was bout six, but that didnt last long. I'll save that story for another post, but I'll just let you know it ended with my Dad throwing one of my over-sized hamsters (that had escaped from its cage in our basement months before and turned into a wild beast) across the street into the woods after he finally captured it in one of my play-purses. Now, for whatever reason, I'm deathly afraid of them. Like, seriously, seriously scared.
We got "Lobster Buddy" out of his cage (we let Sawyer name him, and I have to no clue how she came up with that one, but we just went with it) and Sawyer was so sweet. She said, "Oh, Hi Buddy! You're cuuuute! You're a cutie! You don't have to be scared now...I'm your Mommy!"
Well that completely melted my cold little anti-animal heart and I couldn't bear to tell her that he wouldn't be staying around for long.
I don't know how long this is going to last. Sure, Sawyer likes him, but when we're home alone together (which is the majority of the time) I cant even get him out of his cage to play because I'm too scared to hold him. And she wont pick him up by herself either. Preston, however, is quite the hamster wrangler. I just keep thinking she needs to be a little older to have a pet, one that she can take care of herself. She hasn't asked to see him all day today and its almost two now, so that's a good sign. Maybe she's already forgotten about him. Probably not. But when she does, Lobster Buddy is moving to a new home. Don't judge me :) No two-year old needs a pet!
So, if you know anyone who wants a FREE hamster with the cage, food, and all that other good stuff, let me know! Until then, we'll be enjoying our new furry friend when DADDY comes home.

Are You a Big Man?

This morning, When Preston went to get Sawyer out of her bed, I could hear them talking as he carried her down the hallway. This is how the conversation went...
Sawyer: Daddy, I want soooooommmmmeeeee....cheerios!
Preston: Okay, cheerios it is...
Sawyer: Daddy?
Preston: Yeah, Bug?
Sawyer: (In the most serious tone) Are you a big man?

I heard Preston giggle a little under his breath, and I just started ROLLING!!!! Where in the world does she get this stuff? Her question alone was funny, but the way she asked it was even more funny. Needless to say, her "are you a big man?" comment has definitely been our quote of the day, and I think it will be for a while.
Absolutely HILARIOUS.

What We've Been Doin...

This past Friday night my friend Amy and I went out for a girls night! We decided earlier in the week on dinner and a movie, and while we knew what movie we'd be seeing (The Blind Side,) we still were undecided on where to go eat. We left the house and headed toward the theatre, both hungry, talking about all the places we had to chose from. Would it be Rafferty's, BW3's, Panera, Mcalisters, Tumbleweed????? The options were endless.
Here comes the funny part and its almost embarrassing...
We ended up having dinner at the always-delicious...Taco Bell. After discussing all of our options, we both remembered (at the same time) there is a Taco Bell right by the movie's and it sounded good to both of us! Amy and I have been friends since the 4Th grade, and as she would say, "we've always been taco-bell partners." We really do love it that much. As we ate that night, we sat and talked about all the math classes we skipped in college (we went to the same school,) to go shopping and eat Taco Bell! It was great spending the evening with her...just like old times.
So like I said before, we saw The Blind Side after our gourmet dinner. We both agreed it was the best movie we'd seen in years. Really, if you haven't seen it, you should. Its awesome. So awesome in fact that Preston and I went to see it again the very next night!
Saturday, we had an all-day annual meeting at the downtown Marriott to attend for Preston's work. We had to be there at 2:30 that afternoon and it didn't end until 9:30 that night! They had award ceremonies, a dinner, and the entertainment this year was a comedian who was hilarious. It turned out to be an excellent date night!

Some other random things...

I made crock-pot lasagna for the very first time last night. Mom, Dad, Mamaw and Papaw came over to eat with us and everyone LOVED it, so I'll post the recipe soon!

Mom and I are thinking about having a cookie swap. I really like the idea, I guess it's just finding a day amongst all the busy-ness to schedule it.

Ive been a real slacker about going to the gym. I haven't been since Thanksgiving...I know, shame on me.

Sawyer is loving The Bernstein Bears right now. We just bought four more of the DVDs on eBay, and they're on their way!

This might be the saddest thing ever. We went to Oxmoor Mall last week so Sawyer could play on the big boat, and IT...WAS....GONE!!!!!! You should have seen her little face as she looked at the big empty space it used to be in. She was so confused, and disgusted...as was I. What in the world are we going to do this winter!?!?! How is she going to burn off all that energy!?!?! I guess this just means more trips to indoor playground at Chick-Fill-A.

I guess that's just about all we've been up to lately. Hope every one's doing well!

Pretty Pretty Princess...

We like playing dress up around here! Jordan gave Sawyer this play-dress for her birthday, and she loves it. What a little "priss" my girl is...

It's a Bird...It's a Plane...

It's flying Sawyer!