Can you believe it ???

Today, my sweet LK is 6 years old!! Yes, SIX! Goodness... where does the time go?

It seems like just yesterday I was bringing her home from the hospital, now.. I bring her home from ELEMENTARY school every day! (insert huge sigh here) I can't believe that my baby, my sweet precious first born child, is THIS old! Although, I have to admit.. I dont know what i'm more sad about.. the fact that she's grown up too fast, or that i'm getting too old too fast! :)

This morning, her brother and I woke her up and rushed her downstairs for breakfast. Now, for those of you who know LK.. I'm sure you can imagine the attitude she gave us for this one! But, as soon as she saw the banners I had hung up, she immediately perked up! :) I had breakfast waiting and we, of course, sang "Happy Birthday" and blew out a candle on her muffin! I think she was very excited to start her day off! She was even more excited to get to school, so her class could sing to her as well! Ahh.. the days when you actually looked forward to and enjoyed your birthday! ha!

Birthday Breakfast... Blueberry & Chocolate Chip Muffins! Yumm..

getting ready to blow out her "muffin" candle!

thinking of her wish.. after she did this she asked me if I wanted to know what she wished for.. I said, "Sure!" She told me that she made a wish for her Popie, that he could see her blowing out her birthday candles in Heaven! Now, if she's not the most special girl in the world.. I dont know who is! My heart melts for her! :)

YAY for LK turning SIX!!

Now, let's all say a little prayer that Memphis does NOT seen snow and/or ice tonight through tomorrow! This momma has been handwashing china and polishing silver for 3 days now in preperation of the fanciest Fancy Nancy Tea Party of all time! There is absolutely no room in our schedule for bad weather this weekend! There WILL be a party.. rain or shine! :)

Wishful Wednesday : 3 minutes ...

Goodness.. Kesley has a tough one today!

If you could spend 3 minutes in anyone's shoes, who's would it be?!

WOW! My brain was immediately reeling, trying to figure out who in the world I should choose. Of course, there's my children. Who wouldn't want to live the carefree life of a child again?! Esp to be able to see yourself from their eyes! Priceless! And then there's the usuals.. Oprah, the President.. and so on. But when I really got to thinking about it, I chose...

'I wish' .... I could spend three
minutes in Katie Holmes shoes!

I know.. it seems a little strange, but she sort of intrigues me! I mean, not only is she incredibly beautiful and classy, but... she's married to Tom Cruise. And let's all face it, the guy's gotten a littel wacky over the past few years! Wouldn't you just love to spend 3 minutes with that! haha!

I just think she's gorgeous. She's so demure, mysterious, classy and sleek. If I could spend 3 minutes in her shoes.. I definitely would!

The best part about her.. she is always, and I mean ALWAYS, photographed with her daughter! She seems to be the most incredible mom, so hands-on!

But to be COMPLETELY honest... the ONE person who I would most like to have spent 3 min in her shoes...

Jacqueline Kennedy!

(i didn't pick her since she's no longer living)


Talk about the ipitome of style, grace and charm! Gosh - I would have loved to have met this incredible lady!

And again... one heck of a mother!

2nd runner up... CoCo Chanel! (for obvious reasons) :)

Style Me Monday ... on Wednesday!

Ok.. I am just now making this up from Monday (well, yesterday, really.. ) but I still wanted to join along in Short Southern Mama's fun! :)

She is hosting "Style Me Monday".. glimpses into our STYLE! ;) This week she is asking .. "Show us 5 things that show us a something about your home decorating style."

So...

{Monograms}

{Linen}



{Rustic Yellow}

{Fiesta Dinnerware}

{Farmhouse Style}

{Antique/Distressed Pieces}

Tueday's List : Go-To Dinners!

I am LOVING Jessica's topic for today!! GO-TO DINNERS! If for some reason my husband is unable to cook dinner (b/c we all know that i DONT!), you can bet that I'm scrambling around trying to figure something out! So, go-to dinners are the best! Easy, yet yummy, meals that everyone loves! We have several in our house!

{1} Breakfast

Of course, the staple.. "Breakfast for Dinner". Gosh - do we love this one! We change it up a bit, depending on what's in the fridge, but it's typically either homemade waffles (that MUST be made on a round waffle maker - no squares in this house!) or scrambled eggs with cheese. The one dish that is ALWAYS on the table... Ore Ida's Southern Style Hashbrowns! :)

{2} Soup and Grilled Cheese

Yes - we are a soup lovin' family! :) Nothing like a bowl of warm soup on a cold day! Our faves - loaded cheesy potato (o'charlie's style), maryland crab w/veggies and good ole homemade chicken noodle! We also use whole wheat toast for our grilled cheese - it's extra yummy! My husband bought me the panini pan and press that matches our cookware for Christmas, so sometimes we eat paninis instead of grilled cheese! Either way is delish!

{3} Hot Dogs and Mac & Cheese

This is definitely the kids favorite!! This only really gets cooked when it's just the kids eating. But they love it! We have started buying them the organic mac (Annie's Homegrown) and they just gobble it up! Talk about quick and easy too! I usually give them a veggie to go along - they love corn, anything green and of course, salad!

{4} Ham Steaks

We typically buy a 3 pack at Costco for around $11 and they are super yummy! It takes just a few minutes to brown up each side and we're good to go! The kid's love ham with just about anything.. mashed potates, rice, veggies.. anything!

{5} Grilled Chicken

I LOVE grilled chicken!! Whether it's seved as a sandwich or over rice, it doesn't matter! We eat A LOT of grilled chicken in our house! The kid's love chicken & rice, so that's probably the most used way for the chicken. But we use it for just about anything... quesadillas, spaghetti bakes, chicken tacos. Grilled chicken is just good no matter what! We typically buy the frozen bulk bags and just thaw them out when needed. I love to serve grilled chicken with lots of veggies... zucchini, squash, asparagus.. mmm, yummy!

{6} Fried Rice

This is sort of our "left over" meal. If we happen to have left over grilled chicken or pork, we chop it up and make fried rice! I buy the "veggie packs" at Kroger (and they're usually 10 for $10!) of the Stir Fry Veggies, so i mix the veggies, rice and the left over meat together - add a little Stir Fry sauce and Viola! Super easy and the kids love it! It's about the only way I can get them eat such a variety of veggies all at once! :)

{7} Spaghetti Bake/Lasagna

This is another "left over" meal. Again - if we have left over chicken, I cook some pasta noodles - add some sauce and cheese - and bake! It's super easy! I'll also do lasagna this way! I like to add spinach to either of these dishes. I buy the spinach leaves in the produce section, chop them up pretty fine and spinkle them in! The kids never even know they're there!

Well, those are most of my "Go-To Dinners"! I hope you enjoyed! Head over to Jessica's page to see more! :)

randoms from the iphone!

I was going through my iPhone the other day and came across some adorable pics...

It was cold and he wanted to play with his wagon... so yes, I gave in! :)

Family Game Night!!! Nothing like a little Toy Story Yhatzee to liven up the place!

We went to pick LK up from school and C acted like he was asleep in the car.. Ethan had a fit!! He was yelling, "Daddy.. watch out!" ha!

ABSOLUTELY HILARIOUS!!! She hates that her Daddy took this pic! ;)

my little man.. :)

OH - and like the new picture size?! I think I am loving it!! :)

Guess what the 28th is...

THIS GIRLS ....

6th BIRTHDAY!!!
#4 reason why I love her so much.... she can already accessorize! :)

(#1 - she's my baby, #2 - she loooks just like her daddy and #3 - she acts just like her momma!)

My family... 1 husband + 1 LK +1 E + 2 puppies = my heart! (gotta love it!)

you know you're a mom when ....

you walk around ALL DAY long with a stain on your shirt! Smack dab in the MIDDLE of your shirt... and you dont even notice! Not until late in the afternoon/early in the evening.. after you've taken and picked up 2 kids from school (2 different schools), ran about a dozen errands AND had multiple conversations with other adults.. does your husband finally say to you,

"What's on your shirt?"

"What do you mean, what's on m.... OMG! This has been on here all day!! I bet I looked ridiculous!"

Yes.. you are officially a mother!

Show Us Your Life : Where Do You Shop?

Today, Kelley, is hosting such a fun "Show Us Your Life"! As I'm sure most of you can tell by now... I have a slight major shopping addiction! (and yes... it's uncontrollable, so it's an addiction! ha!)

These are my faves:

Clothing

J.Crew - about 99% of mine and my husband's clothing comes from J.Crew. We have a store here in Memphis, but I love to online shop from there! They hold GREAT "Final Sales" and I tend to get weekly or semi-weekly emails that there's an extra 20% off sale items! LOVE the Crew!

Next up, Banana.. if I'm not wearing J.Crew, then I'm wearing Banana.. no doubt! I just love the classic, clean lines of this brand! I'm not one for lots of colors and frills, so I just am drawn to the simplicity!

For the basics, everday stuff.. GAP! They have great prices!! (and super great sales again!) I love that I can shop at GAP and Banana (online) and put everything in one shopping cart with one shipping fee!

There are several smaller boutiques around the Memphis area where I usually get my jeans!

My husband's favorite... Vineyard Vines!

Kid's Clothes

You will more than likely see my kiddos dressed in Baby Gap! For mostly the same reasons that I buy my own clothes. I hate to see them in "overly dressed" items.. like huge flowers stiched all over their jeans! I hate that! Just give me basic colors, color blocks and maybe a basic floral design! Baby Gap always has the cutest stuff! And again, it ALWAYS goes on sale!

I also love J.Crew's Crewcuts brand! It tends to be a little more pricey, so I really pick and choose with their stuff, but it's just too stinkin cute!!!

A lot of times, on school days, you will see Ethan in Target clothes! I dont typically buy a lot of their stuff their, but when I happen to see something cute in the Clearance section, I snatch it up! They tend to have cute stuff, at a DEFINITELY reasonable price and it's usually pretty well made! PERFECT for E to wear to school, get dirty in and if he messes it up... not for me to worry about! :)

Guitly Pleasures

OK.. I dont tend to shop at these places VERY frequently b/c, well, I spend WAY too much money every time I do! But I love them just the same!

(CB always has GREAT prices.. I just go overboard! I see a price tag of $5.95 for a set, so I think I need 3 sets! haha!)

(LOVE TLON!!! Think Pottery Barn Kids but not quite as expensive!!!)

Home Furnishings

I think you all know by now about my PB obsession! ha! Just about everything in my house is from PB. Chris jokes that our living room is "page 93"! I usually do pretty good with my shopping here though! I rarely pay full price for anything! It's also VERY convient that we have an outlet in town!! (Guess where I go when I'm bored.. ha!)

Same is true for PBK! I get just about everything for the kids here! Their bedroom accents, playroom and bedroom furniture, bedding, toys.. heck, even their baby pjs! (I absolutely adore their baby clothes!)

Everyday & Random

At least once a day I am either at Target or Hobby Lobby! I just can't seem to break away. There is just always something I need at either place.

Food

I LOVE LOVE LOVE Whole Foods!!! I try to give the kids (and us - New Years Resolution) more healthy, mostly organic foods.. so Whole Foods we shop! I have to be careful though.. the price can QUICKLY add up!

Most of my everyday shopping is done at either Kroger or Costco. I like to get things that I know we use alot of in bulk.. hence, Costco. It's just more cost effecient! We definitely buy all of our meats there! Then, I divide and freeze. Works out perfectly!

I'm probably at Kroger once a day too! It's our go-to place for all the essentials and "quick runs" to the store. LOVE Kroger!!

Well, I think those are most of my faves... excited to see everyone else's!! :)