Kids say the darndest things!

Since my desire is to use this blog as a way to remember all the cute little things that Paige does and says, as well as all the memories we make, I wanted to blog about the line that she has been saying for the last couple of weeks. You see, Stephen's Mom keeps Paige 2 days a week while I'm teaching. She's wonderful with Paige and I'm so thankful for the bond that they have developed! Anyway, Paige is a thumb-sucker...mainly at naptime or bedtime. Very rarely does she just sit and suck her thumb. I happen to like that she sucks her thumb...it seems that it's the only "baby" thing she still does, aside from wearing a diaper! Stephen's Mom, however, thinks she should stop sucking her thumb. So while she's with Paige she jokes with her and tells her that her thumb will go flat if she sucks it anymore. Lately Paige has been holding her thumb up in the air (much like a thumbs up sign) and saying "Mamaw FAT!"...meaning "Mamaw FLAT!". Paige has trouble saying the middle sound in words quite often....fork sounds much like another four letter word that starts with "f", but that's an entirely different entry! These are the hilarious things that my daughter says that I desperately want to remember, so I blog about them to keep them in my memory longer.

Menu Plan Monday-February 25 edition

Our menu this week is going to be pretty non-existent. Softball is now in full swing (no pun intended!) and we will be gone 3 nights this week!

Monday-Softball game at home...out to eat with Stephen's parents after the game.

Tuesday-Softball game in Springdale...eat at McDonald's after the game.

Wednesday-Texas style chili cheese fries from Rachael Ray!

Thursday-Softball game in Russellville...eat out after the game.

Friday-Can't decide! Either veggie soup or hamburgers.

I have some great blogging to do in the near future...I just have to get pictures loaded onto my laptop first!

A Clean House...thank goodness

I feel pretty accomplished today! Over the weekend, I got my Mom's new Bissell carpet cleaner and I finally finished cleaning the carpets in our house last night. That thing is amazing! I don't think our carpets have been truly cleaned since we moved into our house almost 5 years ago. It feels really good to know that our carpet is more than just vacuumed...it's clean, even under the couch!

So this morning, I got up and cleaned the rest of the house to go along with my clean carpets. I washed bed sheets, dusted the entire house, cleaned the bathrooms, and did laundry. I even put supper in the crockpot! I absolutely love the feeling that I have when the task of cleaning my house isn't hovering over me anymore. Many people would say that my house is never dirty...and they'd probably be right most of the time. I like things to be put away and tidy. I'm pretty obsessive compulsive about cleaning my kitchen. I cannot stand for it to be unruly! I make my bed every single morning...no matter what. I can't stand for things to be laying out on the bathroom counter. I admit it, I'm just like my mother! I never thought it would happen, but lo and behold...it happened. Back to the point, my house is normally "straight", but today it is CLEAN too. I'm sure it won't last long, considering I have a 23 month old daughter and a husband that isn't interested in keeping things clean (although he tries, bless his heart!).

I can't wait to snuggle up in my clean, warm bed sheets tonight...what a treat! I'll be laying in bed listening to www.kxio.nu who will be broadcasting my Dad's basketball game from Pea Ridge. He has the late game tonight...beginning at 8:30. I hope I can stay awake! The weather is very "iffy" in that part of our state right now...icy and slick roads. I pray that they make it home safely or wise up and decide to not risk it and spend the night. So, in honor of my Dad's Warriors, the text color is orange for this post. I bleed ORANGE during basketball season and RED during football and softball season. GO WARRIORS! BEAT EUREKA SPRINGS!

Softball Season 2008...Opening Day!

On Tuesday, our Lady Panthers opened the 2008 softball season with a win over Rogers 4-0! We were so very proud of them! Our JV team even came back during the bottom of the 7th inning to win 9-8...again, really proud! We don't have another game until Monday of next week, but after that it's full steam ahead until May. I'm thankful that my husband and the other coach don't mind Paige and I being at all of the games...in the dugout with the girls! It's a great place for me to keep the scorebook, as well as keep Paige moderately warm. Here are the pictures from Tuesday and 2 from the park yesterday. Paige is IN LOVE with going to the park. I cannot wait for the weather to warm up so we can go more often.

Paige talking to her Daddy before the game.

Paige and Mommy before the game...self portrait!

Our team during the National Anthem...Stephen is on the far right.

Stephen (far right) and Coach Mooney during the National Anthem.

Lady Panthers on 3!

"Hold me, Mommy!"

Dinner of Champions...hot dog and tortilla chips!

Paige climbing the steps to the slide...her favorite!

Paige's beautiful smile...it melts me heart!

Softball pictures

I got some good shots yesterday at our first softball game of the season...I just haven't got to load them onto the computer yet. Maybe tonight....or maybe not! :)

Paige Driving/Dueling Recliners

On Saturday night, my parents took our family to CJ's Burgers in Russellville...yummy! Before we could go Paige had to "drive" Gran and Papa's car. She enjoys pressing the radio buttons and turning on the blinkers more than driving, but it's really cute either way. I'm sure the neighbors enjoyed hearing the horn honked over and over again!

Today as I was cleaning our carpets (with a great carpet cleaner that my Mom recently bought!), I looked into the living room to check on Paige and saw the scene above. Her purple Dora chair IS NOT a recliner, but she made it into one! I loved that she saw her Daddy laying back in the recliner and made her own...just to be like him! Make sure and notice all of Paige's play jewelry that is draped around her neck and her wrists. She loves to put it all on and walk into the room that Stephen and I are in and say "Pitty, Mommy, Pitty!" She thinks she's saying Pretty! And of course we encourage her and say that she is Pretty, beautiful in fact!

Softball games begin tomorrow, so I'll take lots of pictures. GO LADY PANTHERS! BEAT ROGERS!

Pixchef Pictures

I found this application on Facebook and I've been converting pictures to look like this all evening! You can choose whether you want black and white or sepia backtones, then "color" the parts of the picture that you want to be in color. Pretty cool! Go to www.pixchef.com to make your own!

To explain this particular picture, you'll have to travel back in time with me to Christmas Eve at my parent's house. Paige's Great Aunt Phyllis bought Santa socks for Paige and Gracie...even though they came all the way up their legs! It was a fantastic photo opportunity, though!

Menu Plan Monday-February 18 Edition

Our softball season officially begins this week, so menu planning will be difficult to say the least! However, this week we only have 1 game, so I'll still plan a "normal" week!

Monday-Chicken Enchiladas with Taco Rice

Tuesday-Softball game...chicken strips or out to eat afterwards

Wednesday-Spaghetti (carry over from last week...never got made!)

Thursday-Crock pot BBQ chicken with potatoes and veggies

Friday-My sister is giving up her Miss Tech title, so we'll be attending the pageant. She's also singing to Paige on stage...I'll be sure to post pictures! :) We'll also eat out this night.

BORED!

I know I should be enjoying my Mid-Winter Break, but I'm bored out of my head. Our team has the first softball game of the season on Tuesday so Stephen has been gone all day trying to get the field in order, in addition to practice. Paige and I have been at home ALL DAY LONG. I need to get out of the house but unfortunately there is nothing to do in the small town that we live in! I don't want to wander the aisles of WalMart and be tempted to spend money that I don't want to spend, I don't want surf the internet anymore, and I don't want to watch TV anymore. AAAHHHH!!!!! Tomorrow Stephen is going to work with his Dad, Sunday we have church, Monday Stephen has practice again, and Tuesday we have a game. So much for spending time together during Winter Break.

My Valentine

Stephen and I in May 2007 at LadyBack Yard before our softball game
Stephen and I in Gulf Shores, AL in July of 2007

In honor of Valentine's Day, I'm going to list 14 things that I love about my husband:

1. He's an incredible Daddy to Paige-seeing them together always brings a smile to my face.
2. His job is his mission field...he loves to coach his players and I love watching him do what he's gifted in.
3. He knows when I need to just get away and he's always good to let me escape.
4. He has a great relationship with his parents.
5. He's supportive of me working part time and being at home with Paige.
6. He enjoys cuddling with me!
7. He tries to put Paige and I first!
8. He is very patient and slow to anger...a great balance for me!
9. He's in the best shape of his life! He's running a marathon on March 2!
10. He's got a crazy sense of humor!
11. He's got great hair...that I hope Paige inherits!
12. He has beautiful feet...I always wanted to marry a guy with great feet. Weird, I know.
13. He loves to travel. I don't particularly enjoy it, so he forces me to get out every now and then!
14. His faith in God shows in everything he does!

I love you, Stephen! And I'm so thankful that you chose me to be your wife!

A Broken Heater

Yesterday when I walked into my house after a long day at school, I got a whiff of an overwhelimingly NASTY smell...my MIL informed me that she accidentally burned Paige's chicken at lunchtime. No big deal, I thought, I'll just burn candles and spray my odor eliminating stuff. Well, as the night progressed, I kept smelling the odor and thought that it might be more than the lingering burnt chicken scent. I went to bed like normal trying to convince myself that it truly was the chicken. However, when I woke up this morning I knew otherwise. I woke up at 5:30 this morning (way too early for me!) freezing to death. I knew it then...the heater was broken. The scent was still here...something along the lines of burnt dust. And the smell was strongest in Paige's room-I'm such a horrible Mom for letting my daughter sleep in that room!

I called our landlord's son and told him about the problem (our landlord is an older lady and problems really stress her out). Meanwhile, my MIL and Paige were still in our cold house! I had them go to my parents house for the afternoon, hoping that Paige would nap there...WRONG! I had to end up bringing her back home to nap, but I'm thankful that I did because not 15 minutes after we got home, the "heater fixer man" showed up (Heater fixer man is the technical term, mind you!). Turns out the motor on the heater had burned out, hence the burnt dust smell in the house. He was able to go to the local hardware store (that our landlord owns!) and get a replacement. I'm enjoying warm air coming out of my vents as I write. Thank you, God, for modern conveniences such as heaters in the winter and air conditioners in the HOT Arkansas summer!

Paige and Ty

Last night the Junior High and High School had P/T conferences from 3:30-8:00 pm. Some of our best friends both work with Stephen and at Junior High and they have a little boy, Ty, would is just 7 weeks younger than Paige. I offered a week or so ago to keep Ty while they had conferences....the kids had a blast together and I wondered why we hadn't done it before??!! I picked Ty up from his school at around 3:30 and by the time we got home, it was 3:45. Ty normally takes a nap after he gets home from school and since Paige didn't get a great nap while at Nanny's yesterday, I thought I'd try to lay them down at the same time. Much to my surprise, it was a success! Both babies slept for around an hour and a half! I fed them supper after they woke up and then we headed to Fred's for necessities...diapers, laundry detergent, and NyQuil! They loved riding in the cart together!

After Fred's, we went back home and started bathtime...fun for the babies! While my bathroom ended up looking much like a water park with all the splashing and dumping cups of water over each other's heads, it was fun for them and it really wasn't that messy!

When bathtime was over, I lotioned and clothed each baby and told them they could sit in the recliner together and watch some nighttime Noggin channel while eating popcorn...what a treat! I wasn't sure if Ty liked popcorn or not, but I know that Paige LOVES it (she is my child afterall and we do share some characteristics...not many, but some!).
All in all, I think these two had a great time together and we will definately have to do it more often!

Menu Plan Monday-Feb. 11 Edition

I think our family ate out more last week than we have in a long time! We had tons of basketball games to attend and it was just easier, but I hate the way that I feel after I eat out that often. Thankfully, this week is a LITTLE bit calmer...not much, but a little bit! We've still got basketball to go to and Stephen has P/T conferences this afternoon and won't be home until late, but this week will have a meal plan!

Monday-I'm babysitting our good friends son while they also have P/T conferences, so the babies and I will have chicken strips, green beans, and maybe some baked french fries for treats.

Tuesday-French Bread "nacho" pizza

Wednesday-Chicken spaghetti and Pepperidge Farm 5 cheese bread...I made this a few weeks ago and froze half of the batch so all I have to do is pop it in the oven!!!!

Thursday-Homemade Hamburger Helper...my favorite is the Cheesy Hashbrown, so I'm going to attempt to make it at home instead of out of the box-we'll see!!! * I just remembered that Thursday is Valentine's Day!!! I'll probably try to make something a little more special!

Friday-Spaghetti!

I'll try to reflect on the weekend on another post....

The BEST banana nut bread ever...SERIOUSLY!

I got this awesome recipe from a teacher that I worked under for most of my college experience. I got it several years ago, but until this past Christmas I never attempted making it-I thought it would be too difficult. Boy was I wrong! It's super easy and so delicious!
Banana Bread:

You need 1/3 cup softened butter and it's really best to sit it out on the kitchen counter and let it come to room temperature. And it needs to be REAL salted butter, not margarine. Don't be tempted to soften this butter in the microwave...it just really doesn't work well.

Grease your bread pan and preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Cream the softened butter and 1 cup of regular white sugar.

Add 2 eggs to the butter and sugar mixture. Blend well.

Mash 3 ripe bananas. As you can see, mine were very ripe. They don't have to be quite this ripe! I like to mash mine in a shallow bowl with a fork.

I mash the bananas individually and add them one at a time to the batter.

Add 1 and 2/3 cup of all purpose flour.

Add 1 teaspoon of baking SODA.

Add 1/4 teaspoon of baking POWDER.

Add 1/2 a teaspoon of vanilla. ( I like vanilla, so I don't measure this exactly!)

Add 1/3 cup water.

Add pecans...I have no idea how much because the original recipe doesn't call for them. Add as many as you like!

Pour the mixed batter into a bread pan. I've used disposable ones before and they work well also.

Add 4 heaping teaspoons of butter to the top of the uncooked bread. I actually use good ol' Parkay here (of of the tub or from the stick).

Add brown sugar to the top of the butter and uncooked bread. Again, no measurement, just to cover the top.

Place the bread in the 350 degree oven for 55-60 minutes (or until the center is cooked) and this is the finished product!!!

Here's the entire recipe and ingredient list:

1 Cup sugar

1 and 2/3 cups all purpose flour

1/3 cup softened butter (real butter!)

1 tsp. baking soda

2 eggs

1/4 tsp baking powder

1 and 1/2 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 3-4)

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/3 cup water

4 pats of butter

brown sugar to coat top

*Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease the botton of a loaf pan. Mix sugar and butter, add eggs. Add bananas and water. Add remaining ingredients. Pour into loaf pan. Put 4 pats of butter on uncooked bread then sprinkle with brown sugar. Bake for 55-60 minutes.

ENJOY!

Build A Bear and Paige's First Haircut

Part 1: Paige at the Build A Bear Workshop!

I know you've all been on the edge of your seats waiting on the Build A Bear Workshop and First haircut pictures, so here they are.....

Paige after she picked out the "shell" of the bear she wanted to make.

Paige rubbing the "heart" of the bear before putting it inside her.

Paige placing the heart in her Bear.

Paige with her new teddy bear. She loves it a lot and it must go everywhere that we go now!

Part 2: Paige's First Haircut!

For some reason this week I decided that maybe cutting Paige's hair would stimulate some much needed growth. I've seen little girls that are younger than her with full out ponytails...soooo NOT fair! I'm thankful that we have been able to graduate to a small "ponytail", if you can call it that, but I'm ready for much more. So, I was advised that maybe trimming her hair could jump start some new growth. I made an appointment with Michelle, the hairdresser that does my hair, my mom's hair, my sister's hair, several of my aunts hair, and all of my in-laws as well. There was simply no other person that I would trust with this task...because it would be so challenging and all-ha! Paige was a bit traumatized at first and didn't want to sit in the chair all by herself, so she sat in my lap. I had taken her to the doctor earlier in the afternoon and she hadn't gotten a great nap, so she wasn't in the best of moods. Thank goodness my Mom showed up and was able to operate the camera! I wouldn't have wanted to miss this first in Paige's life!

Paige before getting her "new do"...

I was seriously trying not to cry!

Paige was NOT wanting to cooperate! She just needed a little lovin'!

She was doing better once we got her a "ball"...aka gumball...out of the machine. She didn't know that they were to chew, so it was a great way to keep her occupied!

Our ever-trusted hairdresser, Michelle, giving Paige the popular "bob" hairstyle!