Brett & Brittany: Married ... and a "Happy"!

Last night, Chris and I got together with TONS of old friends to celebrate the marriage of one of my closest high school friends. My friend, Brett, married the sweetest girl in the world, Brittany! And she was ABSOLUTELY gorgeous! They were married at Bartlett United Methodist with a reception following at Hillwood @ Davies Plantation. Everything was just beautiful. It was so fun to see everyone and catch up! Definitely good preperation for our 10 year reunion next year! HA! We all had a blast!

Before the wedding Candice, Tiffany, Ricky, Chris and I headed up to Bahama Breeze for BahamaRitas & jerk shrimp! YUMM!!

Robbie and Rachel

One of the groomsmen, Zach. We've been friends since 2nd grade! LOVE him!

My Deaver!

The Boys! I guess sometimes things DONT change! Love them all!

My sweet friend and fellow blogger, Kelly! Go read about her ADORABLE new puppy, Mable Anne!

Today, we've just sort of relaxed around the house! I've done a little cleaning.. really b/c I wanted to test out my new "toy"! I've been eyeing the Shark Steam Mop for a while now, but couldn't bring myself to pay $90 for it! But this morning, Target advertised it for $59. I caved.. and luckily Chris did too!!! YAY! We headed to Target and brought it home! I LOVE it!! Good bye nastly mop water and expensive Swiffer refills.. HELLO steam mop! I think we're going to get along great! :)

He also said yes to a new embroidery/sewing machine!! (probably b/c he realized how much I just paid for Easter outfits.. ha!) SO - the search is ON! Any suggestions???

21 Days ...

Day 12:

todays challenge:

We all make mistakes.

We all need another chance.

Today you get that opportunity in regards to these challenges.

It's Do Over Day.

Pick one of the previous challenges that maybe you weren't ever so successful at....

And try for it again.

Practice makes perfect.

Day 13:

todays challenge:

Ahhhh, Friday.

Time to unwind and relax.

I am ordering you to do just that today.

Your challenge is to find a way to relax and

DO IT!

and if this doesn't put you in a jovial mood to help start that relaxation.. i dont know what will...

he insisted on "peepee-ing" standing up!! OH BOY!!!! ;)

Enjoy your Friday and weekend! We have a busy one planned, but definitely looking forward to it! :)

Show Us Your Life: Typical Day

Hi Ya'll! Ok - our typical day! Goodness.. where to begin! Our days are pretty much the same every day. Chris usually gets up at around 5:45 to get ready for work. So, that means that I'm typically up then too! (although, i definitley TRY to sleep!) The kids and I get out of bed at 7 (ok.. 7:30.. ha!) and start to get ready. I am always running around. There seems to always be a "catastrophe" (as LK would call it!) in the mornings. Whether is Ethan throwing all the clean clothes out of the hampers - like this morning - or the dogs running through the house with muddy paws! Always something! So, needless to say we are racing out of the house at 8:40 to get LK to school on time! Luckily, the school is a mere 4-5 min from home!

After we drop LK off at school, Ethan and I head to his school. He goes to school in East Memphis, so it takes us about 30min to get there with traffic.

After I drop Ethan off, I go to work! I still work while Ethan is in school.. only 10-2! It gives me just enough interaction with other adults to keep me sane! ha! (and i like the extra spending money!!!) :)

I leave work at 2 and head back to pick Ethan up. He gets out of school at 2:30. After I get Ethan, we usually have a list of errands to run before it's time to get Lilly Kate. Typically, it's either the grocery for dinner items or Hobby Lobby for fabric, ribbon, paper.. you name it!

At 3:40, we head to the carpool line to pick up LK. She gets let out about 3:55. We're usually home by 4:15. By that time, Chris is on his way home too!

Now, I am NOT a cook! Luckily, my husband is! (and he enjoys it!) So, if it's something easy for dinner, I'll go ahead and start it. But usually, he will start it once he gets home. I try to help with the sides when I can! ;)

We usually eat around 5:30 or 6 and then it's bath time! I would love to have bath time closer to bed time, but E is usually a complete mess after supper.. so it's necessary to make it right after! We typically watch something as a family till bedtime. Bedtime is at 8!

After the kids go to bed, Chris and I will either watch the tv shows that we have DVR'd or I will work on notecard orders that I need to complete. I also get everything ready for the next day.. lunches, clothes laid out, etc. We attempt to be in bed by 10, but that never happens! ha! I would say that 11 is more realistic. lol

And then it starts ALLL over again the next day! So, I may not get paid for a full-time job 8-5, but I definitely WORK 8-5! :) Don't we all though?! I really dont know how some moms do work full-time and raise children?! Kuddos to you!! There is no way that I could do it! Then again, I'm so blessed that I am able to afford to stay home with them as much as I am! Thank you, Chris!! You are the best! LOVE!

so far this week & a new app!

This week is SO busy!!! And it's only Wednesday!! YIKES! I have yet again been swamped with orders to complete! And to top it off, I was sick in bed on Monday! I came down with the worst sinus headache along with nausea and chills. Thank goodness it was NOT the flu! (i was starting to get worried!) So, that meant that nothing was accomplished on Monday night! It has put be behind. Last night my sister and I went to our weekly yoga and zumba classes. Well, it kicked my butt!!! My arms and abs are definitely feeling the workout today! Yoga is NOT as easy as it looks! ha! So, today we've have tons of errands to run and more orders to finish tonight! Come on weekend!!! (although, that's not looking like it's going to slow down any either!)

Day 11:

todays challenge:

Are you ready for this?

NO COMPUTER IN THE MORNING HOURS!

I know, I know.

{unless of course you are at work...}

But only for work purposes.

Get off the dang computer and DO SOMETHING.

Hey, it could be worse.

It could be 21 days!

I have had an iPhone for a few months now and i LOVE it! I dont know how I ever lived life without it. MUCH of an improvement over the blackberry! However, I don't have cool apps! I'm just not that tech savvy, so I dont really now what's out there. I have the typical... Facebook, Twitter, my bank account, The Weather Chanel, Walgreens... I even have Shutterfly for pictures, DirecTV to set our DVR, WebMD for those quick questions, redbox, sportscenter, and urbanspoon.

OF COURSE, it's loaded with stuff for the kiddos, which has made the carpool line that much more enjoyable!

We have a construction truck game, lego game, chipmunks!, where's waldo, toy story mania!...

battleship, radio disney, pacman, the CUTEST curious george coloring page...

And of course, Highlights Hidden Pictures and a Disney Faries game! (among others)

BUT.. that's about it! Nothing really exciting! UNTIL YESTERDAY! My sweet sweet Cousin-In-Law, Kyndi, sent me the best app to-date!

The kate spade new york agenda!

I can't even begin to tell you how in love I am!!! I couldn't think of a more classy way to organize my day! Just like her line, it's classy, clean, elegant and colorful!

Here's how kate describes it..

never a dull moment.

brighten each day with the kate spade new york agenda application.

a daily calendar brimming with thoughts and suggestions for living stylishly,

the agenda application is a tool to aid in the art of joie de vivre.

pass an exhilarating hour,

savor a splendid day,

take the week with gusto,

and live a year with zeal with this charming application.

features include:

- daily events, news, and suggestions for stylish living

- monthly original artwork to be saved as a wallpaper or sent in greeting to a friend

- in-application event mapping

- fully editable calendar

- private sale information and secret sales for iphone and ipod touch users




iphone at kate spade

the best part... it's FREE!!! AND you can now get a ks iphone cover!! (yes, i have already purchased!!) :)

So, if you know of any other MUST HAVE apps!! Please help a Mama out! Save me from this world of all things 3-6yr olds! :)

Wishful Wednesday - Olympic Event

'I wish' .... I could have gone to the 2010 Winter Olympics to see one event, and it would have been the mens half-pipe!

I mean, really, is Shaun White amazing or what?! I serisouly do believe that the boy can fly! We ALL enjoyed the half-pipe in my family. Even little E, who is definitely wanting a snowboard now! ha! And how awesome was it that on his last run, he already had Gold, so he could literally do whatever he wanted too! MUST.BE.NICE! And the trick he chose.. the Double McTwist 1260! WOW! Unbelieveable!

Yay for Team USA Snowboarding!!!

Award!

This is a bit delayed, but almost a month ago, (i know.. WAY delayed!) Nicole from The Young Mama Blog gave me this fun award!

It's the Bogart Award!

"This award means you're really going places, Baby. You'll still be blogging about your great adventures 10 years from now, and I'll still be reading them."

Ok, so here are the rules for this award:

- link back to the blogger who sent me this award

- post where I would like to be in 10 years

- pass it on to 10 awesome bloggers

Let's see.. 10 years! Goodness, this takes some thinking! Well, I'll be 37! (WHAT!.. that's scary!) We will probably have one more little Stickles kiddo running around and SHE'LL (ha!) be about 8 or 9, E will be almost 13 and my sweet LK will be DRIVING! ----ok, maybe this imagination of 10 years down the road is a little too much for me to handle! ahh!--- Now that all the kids are in school, I'd love to go back to school and get a "big girl" job! ha! No need to stay home anymore!

Time to pass on ...

Natasha - a day in the life

Caroline - simply smithwick

Jessica - love from texas

angie - just shy of a y

cassie - meet the boussons

kelsey - the seattle smiths

leigh - la bella vita

angela - tales of a short southern mama

taylor - the undomestic momma

life @ the white house

Have fun ladies!! :)

Top 2 Tuesday!

Today, the undomestic momma is doing .. "your Top 2 favorite stores"! Well, I have lots.. but these are definitley my ultimate faves! :)

{1} J.Crew - LOVE it! .. just take a peek at my closet! ha!

{2} Pottery Barn - they recently closed the Memphis store.. BUT we still have the outlet AND they were nice enough to send me a 20% off coupon!! how sweet of them.. i will most definitely be taking them up on that offer! ;) Runners up:

Target - of course!

Baby Gap

Banana Republic

Hobby Lobby

Tuesday's List - What's In Your Purse??

Oh goodness.. did Jessica pick a good one or what?! You never know what exactly you'll find in my purse. It's almost as if I'm Mary Poppins at times! ha!

First off.. the purse... this is my current handbag..

I, like Jessica, carried a larger handbag/baby bag instead of a purse for quite a while after Ethan was born. It's only been in the past 6-9 mos that I've switched back to an actual purse. It was just easier to load all of my stuff and his stuff into one bag. Now that he's in MDO and preschool, though, he typically has his little Stephen Joseph backpack that we take with us. Besides, he likes to be a big boy and wear it on his back! so cute!

Now... the contents... Mommy Essentials..

{1} KS wallet - i keep all the important stuff... insurance cards.. not typically used credit cards.. things like that.

{2} VB Card Holder - this has all the important stuff.. debit cards, costco card, extra cash (if i have any.. ha!) and my DL. If I lose this.. I lose my entire life!

{3} Checkbook - this doesn't get used much.. really just to write those tuition payments every month.. ha!

{4} KS make-up case - i dont really carry much makeup with me (i just buy the expense stuff that BETTER last all day!). but i do always have a container of mascarra and burt's bees! the rest of it is filled with hand lotion, hand sanitizer, emory board, extra hair bands, MOTRIN! and bobby pins. - i'm sooo interesting.. ha!

{5} KS sunglasses - these baby's are a few years old now and begging to be retired!! looks like they will be joining my ever growing list of "Mother's Day Wants"! :)

{6} iPhone - THE most important! i'd be lost for the entire day without it! it contains instant access to facebook, twitter, my emails, my bank accounts.. MY LIFE!

Mommy Must-Haves!

{1} Daily Planner - i love polka dots and happen to find this cute planner at Target one day! I just love it! And boy, does it fill up quick!

{2} Cold Medicine - i hate missing dosing times, so i carry one with me. i'm such a mom! ha!

{3} Hide-Away Pacifier - for those spur of the moment melt-downs! gotta be prepared! if his blanket would fit in my purse, i'd carry that too! :)

That's the whole kit and kaboodle! Somehow it all fits nicely in my not-too-big handbag! Complete with key fob that desperately needs to be replaced! And, of course, my point and shoot! NEVER leave home without it!! :)

Show Us Your Life : Collections

Today, (well, Friday) Kelly's Korner is showing us "collections". I'll be honest. I dont really collect anything good! ha! But, I tried to think about what I like having around and what I seem to have alot of, and this is what I came up with...

{1} Fabric scraps

Ever since I learned to applique (which I haven't done in about 2 months!) I have started picked up fabric wherever I see it. The clearance section at HobLob is GREAT for this!! For applique, you only need small amounts of fabric and the clearance section always has the super cute fabrics in small pieces! PERFECT!! I'm a sucker for it everytime!! ha!

{2} Antique Silver

When I was planning for LK's fancy party last month, I immediately called up my grandmother for permission to use her silver platters. She, of course, agreed. What was even better is that she told me that I could keep them! :) She said that they would have been mine one day anyway, so why not now?! I was ecstatic! I LOVE things that have been passed down in families, I think it's so special! I couldn't have been more thrilled. So, lately, I've been expanding my silver collection. I like antique things. Things that have been passed down for years. I just dont think the modern day "Macy's" silver has anything on the old stuff. It's so ornate and just plain gorgeous! So.. I've been on the search for cake stands, pitchers, mint julep cups.. you name it!

{3} Fiesta!

This is the "casual" dinnerware that I chose when we got married. I just LOVE it!! I get things in all sorts of colors. I love getting all the pieces and even going to the antique stores and getting pieces from the 50's!

{4} Purses

I dont know if this really counts as a "collection" but I sure do have a lot of them. My biggest weakness is Kate Spade! :/ I wont tell you how many b/c well, it's a little embarrasing, but it's enough to probably fund a new government project! ha! And with Kate, it's not just the purses.. it's the accesories, the shoes, the jewlery, the dinner ware, my china... It gets really bad ya'll, really it does!

and then, of course, there's Vera. She's no better. She makes my heart melt with every new pattern that comes out. Again.. Vera is making me contribute to that project again! ha!

So, that's the closest to "collections" that I have in my house! :) Told you.. nothing too exciting!

getting caught up ...

Goodness - where did the time go?! This past weekend just sort of flew right by! We really didn't do a whole lot, but I certainly was busy. By the end of last week, I was up to my elbows in notecard and invitation orders. (although, definitely not complaining!) So, this weekend was dedicated to working on all those orders. Here's a few...

and this ridiculously cute baby shower banner!!! i just love how it turned out!

Other than that, not a lot went on. Chris picked up poison oak from somewhere, so he spent a good part of Saturday morning at the minor med for a steriod shot. He just LOVED that!! (esp the shot in the behind! ha!) Saturday was extremely nice outside, so we got out and ran a few errands and did a little overdue shopping. We all settled in Saturday night for "Family Movie Night" and rented some great flicks. The kids picked out their faves and C & I picked out "Away We Go". It turned out to be a really cute movie! I was pleasantly surprised! :)

Sunday, we went to church in the morning and then went back in the evening. Chris and I have a joined a young couple's small group, with about 5-6 other couples our age. We all have small children too. We are REALLY looking forward to it. We definitley feel as though these are people who we can relate too and are traveling the same path as us in life. It's something that we've really been searching for lately, so it's such a nice feeling to know that you just might have found it! :)

I'm sure you remember the super cute monogrammed items that my sweet friend, Adair sent me from this post. I promised to update when I got the rest of the loot. Well, the other day she sent me LK's shirts! ADORABLE!!! We absolutely LOVE Adair's items!!! I can't wait to place my summer order! :)

Now.. to get caught up in "21 Days".. (i did these on the correct days.. i just didn't post.. SORRY!!) ;)

Day 6:
todays challenge:
Sometimes we get so busy that we forget to stop and rest in God's presence.
And instead at the end of the day, as we're drifting off to sleep, we give him what's left.
If even that.
But how much better would things be, if we began AND ended our day with intentional time with Him?
Today's your chance.
Wake up a few minutes early and spend that time being with Him.
And at the end of the day, before you're even a tad bit sleepy, sit aside time to be with Him once again.
Make it personal.
Make it intentional.
And see how it may just be the sweetest time you've had all day.

Day 7:

todays challenge:

Today's challenge is simple.

Find a way to help a stranger.

Be creative!

Day 8:

todays challenge:

Doing something fun today.

Dance in the living room.

Have a picnic in the park.

Go shopping.

Just HAVE FUN!

Day 9:

todays challenge:

Let's start getting things DONE!

You know that to do list that you've been staring at or thinking of for FOREVER?

Today you get to tackle one of those tasks that has just not been attended to for

quite some time.

You will feel SUCH a sense of relief when it's finally crossed off the list.

Day 10:

todays challenge:

We're almost half way there!!!

And with 11 more days to go, we definitely need to be working on patience.

Let today's focus be on just that.

Lots of deep breaths.

Breathe.

Patience.