beach favorites

one legged bird.

Rowan's first time on the beach.

love this face.

my boo.

blue birthday cupcakes for our baby boy!

gorgeous lighting.

birthday cupcake on the beach...

and all that was left.

Daddy. Mommy, and Rowan.

he loved the sand!!!

so glad we brought the wagon!

the sun and the fun has tuckered him out.

love this picture.

hello freckles.

thanks for looking!

shades...

these pictures crack me up.

we got these sunglasses for rowan while we are

at the beach.

loving some coupons!

spent 13.77. saved 106.

walked out with 6 Register Rewards and 4 ExtraCare bucks.

And people think couponing is not worth it.

Whatever...

:)

imagine my surprise...

when I discovered my beach memories candle holder had been featured on

Tatertots and Jello!!!

 

And then Cate left a comment saying she featured me on her blog too! Thanks Cate!

 

This has totally got me motivated to do more and share more! :)

 

 

beach memories.

I saw this idea in the Southern Living at Home catalog several years ago.

I love these candle holders (I have two.) because they have so much versatility.

I have used them as vases, candleholders, and now as a picture frame.

 I added a little craft sand from Wal-mart.

Then I added a 4x6 picture of Rowan in sepia tone that I printed

at CVS for 19 cents.

I added some seashells and sand dollars we found 

while we were at the beach.

I had some leftover jute from Rowan's party that

I tied around the base.

And there you have it. A very quick and easy

reminder of our beach memories.

And I never want to forget my sweet

boy crawling around on the beach, splashing in the saltwater,

and eating handfuls of sand.

I am linking up to Tatertots and Jello Weekend Wrap Up Party.

invites.

These are the invitations to Rowan's 1st Birthday party.

When I saw them I knew they were the ones.

emmie kate

meet emmie kate.

a new precious, beautiful bundle of love.

she belongs to our friends Libby and Ken.

her big brother is Luke.

we love them.

i made this wreath for them so

they could hang it on their front door.

everyone who passes by will know

a new baby GIRL has been born!

we can't wait to meet Miss Emmie Kate next week!

quick and totally random post.

i think about blogging all the time...just can't quite get back into it. don't know why.
Maybe this is a start.

we need milk.

i {heart} diet coke.

i got the new Christmas with Southern Living today in the mail.
totally giddy about it. can't wait till Christmas.

speaking of Christmas...going to "the" mart on Nov. 10.
Let me know if you want anything.

went to Joann's tonight. it's brand-spankin' new. in macon. i loved it!

today...i am very thankful for my job. i really do like it.

rowan discovered the moon while we were at the beach.
it was awesome. to see the world through his eyes.

ROWAN is ONE! WHOA...where did time go. Still haven't blogged his
birth story.

haven't blogged about the beach, or his birthday, or his birthday party either.

my camry has 192, 596 miles on it. and still going strong!

getting ready for the next house project...closing in our "sitting room" which
is home to our computer. installing french doors. painting it a fresh blue color.

my mother-in-law is keeping Rowan this week. so thankful for her.

i am the most tan i have been in 2 years...motherhood.

lauren is my bff. her son is the funniest little guy i know.

i love to vacuum.

i want a new couch.

my husband is the bomb diggity. rowan loves him. even though he bit him for the 1st time
yesterday. :(

i have 2 thousand-and-something gifts 2 grow reward points from pampers diapers
and don't want to cash them in.

nothing beats your own bed. and pillow.

i thought i was fat in high school and college...yeah, whatever.

and finally...

this is a picture of Rowan at the beach for the first time, on his first birthday!

I made these on picnik.com. saved them to a disc. printed them at walgreens.
adhered a magnet to the back. placed them into a cellophane bag. tied them up with jute
and ribbon. and voila...his birthday party favor!

ok...good night.

dining room

So after seeing board and batten everywhere in blogland...

I started wanting it in our dining room.

So I researched it, read tutorials, and then talked it over with Alan.

Of course, my handy dandy husband was all about it.

We started it about three weeks ago...

(I use the term "we" loosely. We all know Alan did most of the work.

And he did fabulous at that!)

and tonight we finally FINISHED it.

I love it!

So here is the dining room before we moved in.

Even though I love red, and I had a red kitchen in Athens...

I was ready to see this "paprika" color go away.

Here is the dining room after we painted the room chocolate brown.

(Notice the red candles still on the table...gotta get rid of those.)

So here is the room in the middle of putting up the board and batten.

We also added window molding and door trim.

I need to take a real "after" picture now.

I found a chandelier at Goodwill that I like better than the

one that was already here.

I painted it using some oil-rubbed bronze spray paint.

Alan hung it tonight.
I just need to recover the shades I bought for it.

(the old one is gonna be listed on craigslist if anyone wants it.)

Hopefully I will get the true "after" minus any accessories

taken and uploaded soon.

(I have been having issues with uploading my pictures

and photoshop will not open...ugghhh)

I have an excellent blank slate to work with...

just don't know how to accessorize at the moment.

Moving on to the next project...

(Thanks Boo, Love you!)

eleven...

months, that is.

Rowan turned 11 months yesterday!

I am just finding it so hard to believe.

At eleven months...

You my sweet, precious, 24.2 pound boy are...

wearing size 4 diapers.

wearing size 12-24 months clothes.

saying "mama" and "dada".

We think you said "dog" yesterday at your

G-ma and Papa's house.

cutting your third tooth.

enjoying riding in your red wagon and playing

in your baby pool.

just like momma when you get hot...those cheeks turn bright red!

eating lots and lots of table food.

You tried chicken and a peach for the first time on Saturday.

You loved both of them!

so BUSY! Momma feels like a broken record. I constantly

tell you "no-no". We have started "popping" you on the hand.

(This stage makes me feel like I am a horrible mom.)

still taking 3-4 bottles a day...

but we started introducing whole milk last Friday.

So far, so good!

still takin two naps...well sometimes it is only one long one!

destroying the house. You love to knock stuff off of tables

and throw stuff. Oh...just making momma crazy.

showing no sign of walking...and I am so ok with that.

such a joy!

We are so glad you are ours and

every day we love you more!

the best homemade ice cream ever...

plus it's low fat and has very little sugar.

We had banana and it was delicious!

Homemade Ice Cream

Mix together…
1 can fat free evaporated milk
1 can fat free condensed milk
1 cup splenda


Mix well, then add…
1 tub of fat free cool whip
1 tablespoon vanilla
Add whatever fruit or flavoring you would like.
(i.e. chocolate or coffee)


When thoroughly mixed pour into freezer.
Add skim milk to full mark.

i'm back...

many posts below.

:)

the moment

i had been waiting for my whole life!

May 21, 2005, 3:00 p.m.

i didn't take my eyes off of him.

his bottom lip quivered.

i beamed with pride.

i had found the one my heart loves.

i knew he was the one long before he did.

but not before HE did.

God's plan is perfect.

he is much MORE than I ever thought I would need.

I love you Boo!

Happy 5 Years!

The best is yet to come...

today...

you were so happy.

you turned 10 months old.

we went to Hobby Lobby and Wal-mart.

you fell asleep (in your carseat) holding your foot. it was funny.

you got called a girl for the umpteenth time.

you said momma while crawling around on the kitchen floor behind me.

you lunged at your daddy when we got home.

you ate tomatoes, cheese, and pinto beans.

you jumped up and down with glee in your crib

instead of taking a nap.

you belly laughed when your daddy "got you" under your chin.

you fell asleep tonight on my chest...mmm.

and

you were so precious sitting out in the grass...

with nothing but a diaper.

while daddy cut the grass.

and the sun was going down.

i ran in and grabbed my camera...

and i am so glad i did!

what a great day!

10 months old!

Can you see his little tooth peeking through? :)

i could eat him with a spoon!

whew...

I'm BACK!

We have had internet for two weeks now but,
I haven't really known where to start as far as blogging...
Still don't but here goes...

So since I have been gone...
Rowan turned 8 months old!
We moved into our new house!
We unpacked, unpacked, and unpacked...
And believe it or not we are still not done.
We totally redid our landscaping in the front yard.
Alan and our nice neighbor Tommy removed the fence from
our front yard!
We celebrated Easter in Alabama!
Rowan turned 9 months old!
Rowan got his first tooth!
Alan worked an insane schedule for almost three weeks!
Can you say single mom?
Rowan started crawling!
Alan got into graduate school at Mercer.
He is getting his Masters in Environmental Engineering!
I celebrated my First Mothers Day!
Rowan said "Moma"! :)
We painted our front door red!
Rowan turned 10 months old TODAY!
We celebrate our FIVE year anniversary tomorrow! (5/21)

Lots of pictures to come!

House updates.

The Before!

The During!

The later DURING!

And after!

(Well kinda, the door got one more coat after this.)

This is a sign we ordered from Lowes.

It's on our mailbox!

I still need to take an AFTER picture from the road now that the

door is completely finished!

What a difference a little TLC makes!

front door...

New paint. New hardware.

So much better!

momma's day...

Happy Mother's Day to all you fabulous mothers!

Happy Mother's Day to my momma, my sister and my friends!

And thank you to my husband and my beautiful baby boy for

making my very first Mother's Day so special.

I am so thankful God has given me the opportunity to be a mom...

Oh how he has changed me!

Hi!

We had Rowan's 9 month photo session done on Tuesday!
Can't believe our big little boy is NINE months old!

You can view the gallery by going here.
Click on clients at the bottom of the page and then enter "sing0420".

Help us choose, help us choose! I love them all!