Catching up!

This week has been amazing--the weather is absolutely perfect (much better than the extremely hot high humidity we had been having!) Reagan and I have been out of doors most of the time--going to the park, having kite flying play dates with friends, working in the backyard--you name it! We even both splashed in the Elmo splash pad this morning!

We also had a chance to go to Walmart yesterday (yes, I gave up Walmart for a time to cut down on our expenses...and now I only go on average about once a month when we really need something and I do NOT want to drive 30 minutes to Target--this arrangement has been working really well for the whole family!) Specifically we were looking for a new kite for Reagan and clearance flowers for the backyard...and we found tons! They had lots of ground cover and a good bit of flowers on clearance for .50 to $1. If my mother in law is reading this, they have Joseph's Coat on clearance for $1 per container!!!

Today Reagan and I spent the morning figuring out where everything needs to go. Unfortunately it's going to require a second trip to Walmart because I ran out of potting soil (argh!!!)

Reagan and I also found flowers on our cucumber plants, little tiny flowers (GORGEOUS deep bluish-purple) on our green bean (or maybe they were peas??) plants and beginning buds on our zucchini plants...we should have a nice crop..IF the zucchinis don't take over EVERYTHING in sight! (They're already almost as tall as Reagan and about 4 times as wide as she is!)

On other notes, Reagan got to "climb" a tree yesterday--mostly I pushed her up on the branch. She LOVED sitting up there, enjoying the breeze and exploring the bugs, birds and leaves all around here. That's what being a kid is truly about :)

I think that's it for today...will post pictures tomorrow!!!

Silhouette Craft Cutter Giveaway

HURRY. DON'T WALK. RUN. NOW. GO!

HERE!

Thrifty Decor Chick is giving away a Silhouette Craft Cutter! There are so many amazing applications for this tool....vinyl cutting, scrap booking, making cards..you name it! And even if you don't win (although there are five chances for you to win!) she has some great package deals!

GO NOW!

Menu Plan Monday

Here is our menu for the week, and, as a bonus, I found an awesome site I wanted to share with everyone: Freeprintablegrocerylist.com! Click on THIS link to get a great downloadable menu planner with room to write your grocery needs! LOVE IT!

Monday:
Cereal
Wraps and refrigerator clean out items!
Grilled chili chicken with pasta, corn and tomatoes

Tuesday:
Eggs and Sausage
Tuna sandwiches and fruit
Senate Bean Soup and Farmhouse Honey Wheat Bread

Wednesday:
Sausage and Cereal
Leftovers
Italian Delight and vegetable

Thursday:
Toast and Eggs
Leftovers
Red Beans and Rice with Sausage, Salad

Friday:
Eggs, Toast, Sausage, Fruit--some combination (whatever needs to be eaten up)
Leftovers
Pizza or Pizza Rolls

Saturday:
Pancakes and Sausage
Leftovers from the week or sandwiches
Grill-steaks, potatoes, salad

Sunday:
Cereal
Roast, potatoes, carrots, green bean casserole; Dessert: Lemon Pie
Leftovers

Ten on Tuesday

My IRL friend, Jana, participates in Ten on Tuesday hosted by Roots and Rings. I've been reading her responses for a while now, so I thought I would give it a go!

1. If you could trade lives with another blogger for a day, who would it be and why?
Serena from the Farm Chicks. I LOVE her home, the area she lives in, and I would love to just hang around her family and friends all day getting ideas!

2. Do you prefer receiving handmade or store bought gifts? Be honest!
This is a toughie. I love homemade things but I also love vintage things (that are bought..but not at stores, usually), SO, I have to say I really like items that AREN'T store-bought. Like old pails, handmade topiaries, etc.


3. Would you rather camp or stay in a hotel?
Ok, it really depends on the bathroom situation. I need a NICE, CLEAN bathroom. If I have to take a shower with spiders or use a darkened toilet area, I'm NOT going to be happy. Then again, most hotel rooms are just covered with gross germs (hotel maids do NOT clean the rooms that well!). UGH. Ok, ok...so if I had to have a choice...I would choose camping.....WITH a camper.

4. What’s your favorite comfort food?
Anything my Granny cooks. Seriously. But especially Lemon Pie, fried chicken, HER mashed potatoes....AND her chicken pot pie. Oh gosh, my mouth is watering....

5. You’re having a really bad day at work. How do you unwind when you come home?
I stay at home all day so I really enjoy getting out and perusing the aisles at Target with a cup of coffee!

6. What’s your favorite chore?
Cooking :)

7. What got you interested in blogging?
My friend Jana's blog started my interest and I thought, how great...I get to share stories about Reagan, my thoughts..why not?

8. Are you currently reading a book? What is it?
The Well Trained Mind by Jessi Wise and Susan Wise Bauer--highly recommend!

9. Do you have a favorite artist?
As in painting? No. Music? Vivaldi!

10. Have you ever met someone famous?
Yes. Enough said.

Happy Father's Day

To a wonderful husband and father!

(And my Dad, Dad-in-Law and Paw-Paw too!)

Of Cakes and Men.....

Josh was sweet enough to order a birthday cake for my birthday last week. When he called and the baker asked if he wanted a half or full, he ordered the full--thinking it was the size of a regular birthday cake that you'd bake at home. No other information was forth-coming from the baker..like how many the cake fed or how much the cake cost. So Josh went to pick it up...and this ($44 later) is what I ended up with!

(And in case you're wondering why he chose a cake in blue and orange..they're Auburn University's colors--go Tigers!)

Blah,blah,blah,blah,blah...

This week has been less than exciting. Well, ok, it started out pretty exciting. Sunday we ended up at the hospital for labs and x-rays after Reagan scared us and her doctor half to death by refusing to get out of bed for the entire day (not her personality, or a three year old's personality, AT ALL). She also had a fever and was throwing up and sobbing over stomach pains.

The labs and x-rays came back ok..blood work was a little off, but she was sick...to be expected. By Monday she was feeling much better--just a little stomach pain, but now completely stuffed up, coughing and running a fever. The rest of the week continued in that vein with lots of sleepless nights, breathing treatments and the like. And finally, today, she was well enough to head to playgroup with her friends.

We broke our fast food rule this week week and had fast food--twice. We won't be having it again any time soon. But desperate times call for desperate measures...and I consider getting a little less than three hours of sleep desperate times.

In other important news, Reagan caught the world's largest beetle and we kept it for a day and a half. I'm telling you, this thing was huge. I'll post pictures as soon as I figure out how to get them off of my phone and onto here! We found him in our backyard (which makes me rethink spending time out there!) and I'm convinced a bird must have dropped him as we found him on his back. (When I told my friend that story, she said "Dropped him from where???? The Amazon!??!?!?")

At any rate, I'm happy to report that Daddy and Reagan let him go tonight while I was at the office. Daddy finally convinced Reagan that Mommy Beetle was looking for her baby. Reagan allowed him to be released upon the conditions that Daddy 1-waited for the rain to stop and 2-he was released in a nice patch of grass. Beetle bug apparently didn't care where he was released as he made a beeline for anywhere in the opposite direction of our home!

Quick Update

Reagan has been sick. I'm exhausted. Will blog more hopefully tomorrow!

Company Girl Friday

I haven't participated in Company Girl Friday, mainly because I've really been neglecting my blog in favor of Facebook....I miss blogging, so I'm back.

We've had such a busy week--celebrating my birthday on Wednesday and trying to get numerous projects done around the house (in between much complaining over the large amounts of rain--apparently we (in general) can never be satisfied with the weather.)
We've finally managed to plant all of our vegetables and flowers. They've already started popping up and I can't wait to taste the first produce from our garden. Better yet, I can't wait until we purchase our dream home and plant apple trees and blackberry bushes too!

This year we planted zucchini, sugar pumpkins, cucumbers, spaghetti squash, peas, green beans, lettuce, bell peppers, scallions and tomatoes. For flowers we planted a cutting garden mix of zinnias, cosmos, sunflowers and Ireland bells--such pretty little green flowers!

All in all, we've enjoyed a great week with lots of hard work thrown in, but that's part of what made it such a great week. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

And, I'll leave you with this picture:

Evenings...

For the last few weeks our bedtime routine has included the following:

Mommy: Ok Reagan, it's time to go to sleep now.
Reagan: ONE MORE MINUTE! (She always asks for one more minute of cuddle time no matter how long we cuddle.)
Mommy: No. How about we sing a song instead?
Reagan: TWO SONGS, MOMMY!
Mommy: No. I said one. You choose.
Reagan: NO, Mommy! TWOOOOOOO!
Mommy: (sighing) OK, fine. Which two?
Reagan: Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and Jesus Loves the Little Children!
And we sing.

Tonight I embraced it as the tradition it is turning into, instead of one more thing that has to be done before she falls asleep.

Mommy: Ok Reagan, it's time to sleep now.
Reagan: ONE MORE MINUTE!
Mommy: How about we sing one song instead?
Reagan: NO! TWO, MOMMY!
Mommy: Ok, which two? (As though I don't know....)
Reagan: Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and Jesus Loves the Little Children!
And we sing.

I hope I get a million more nights like this.