Bye Bye Broom

I'm so tired of it.

Sweeping.

Mopping.

..and then stepping on a crumb.

I've affectionately named these renegade crumbs, "Houdini Crumbs".

After my last sweeping episode, I decided I was done with the whole broom thing.

I pretty much think they're worthless.

I'm going to jump into the Swiffer world and try that out for awhile.

What do you use to keep your wood floors from "Houdini Crumbs"?

I'd really love to know.

For the sake of my sanity.

Back For Another Birthday!

Ahh...it feels good to be back in the blogging world.

I'm about as consistent as the weather here in Oklahoma when it comes to blogging, so I hope I can keep it up this time!

One of the last times I posted on here, we had just celebrated Ethan's 1st birthday.

Well, a few days ago we celebrated his 2nd!!

Wow. Time flies.

I'll share with you some pictures from the little birthday party we had.

I wanted to keep it really simple.

The theme we chose was "Snowmen". Ethan loooves to watch Frosty the Snowman. However, in the last two weeks or so he's become incredibly attached to Elmo!

So, we had a Snowman themed party where he received mostly Elmo themed gifts! Needless to say, he was a happy little two year old. =)

Silly Birthday Boy =)

See? He really is an Elmo fan.

And yes, Ethan is entirely too close to the TV

I wasn't kidding when I said I kept the party simple.

I decided to make Ethan's cake this year.

I wanted to do something like THIS (but boyish..with letter E's and little snowmen) My cousin's wife made them for their daughter's 3rd bday and I thought they looked awesome!

In the end, I decided to go easy. (Although I was completely stressed out decorating this cake. I have a whole new appreciate for cake decorators)

Eagerly waiting to blow the candle out!

Ethan wanted Daddy to feed him his birthday cake.

(He's currently on a self-feeding strike. Not sure what that's about)

One of the many Elmo gifts of the night!

Bubbles are always a favorite with Ethan!

Saying goodnight to "Papaw"

We kept the party small. Bob's parents, my parents, my siblings and their spouses attended. My best friend and her husband and son also came (they're considered family too =)

...and of course my little nephew was in attendance!

I watch him during the week (it's been great practice for how I'll handle having two children in the home when Emma arrives).

He had been sick, so I hadn't seen him all that week.

So glad he came! Cutie pie.

After all the fun and excitement, Ethan was ready for bed!

I'm so thankful for the generosity and love of our family and friends.

Ethan was blessed with all kinds of neat things!

I have a two year old.

Oh my goodnes.

Remember Me???

Hello, ladies!

It's been a ridiculously long time since I last posted.

I'm here to tell you that I've recently joined forces with a friend I met through the wonderful world of blogging we all enjoy so much!

Please check out our new site: Dirt, Bugs & Mommyhood

I'll be seeing you over there from now on! Stop by, we'd love to have you!

Ethan's Birthday Bash-Part 2: The Party

Back for another round of party pics! We've already gone over the decorations...so here are some pictures of what went on during the par-tay!

Hangin' with the grandmas beforehand

Daddy's got the camera ready to roll!

Papa, Nana, Grandpa and Grammy
Ethan sure loves his grandparents!

I decided to throw a game in the mix.

Guess the number of the Jelly Beans...

My friend, Kayleigh, writing down her guess...


..but my brother's sweet girlfriend, Shannon, walked away with the prize!
There were 1,114 Jelly Beans. She guessed 1,123.

I assured our guests that I didn't count the JB's with my fingers. I played the part of a pharmacist and used a knife to count them and slide them into the container. ;)


Ethan having fun with Uncle Matt and Aunt Kim

Oh..and by the way...Ethan is going to have a cousin come August 30ish!!
We're so excited for Matt and Kim!

He loves his daddy...

1st crush??


Ah, yes my friends, this is when Ethan's birthday party excitement started dwindling.

Certainly not a flattering picture, but I had to throw it in for the "memories"
=)

Not a happy camper...and his pants were undone...lovely.

But when present time rolled around, he magically perked up!
I'm so thankful for our generous friends and family!

I love this.
It looks like he's reading his card aloud for all to hear. Hehe. So cute.

I'm pretty sure I was more excited about this toy than Ethan was.
But it was actually MADE IN AMERICA!! Gotta love it!

One of the gifts from my parents was a huge, super cute, bath towel. He outgrew his baby towels a long time ago. So I was glad to get a big-kid one for him to use!

Another grandparent gift.
Bob's parent's got Ethan ready for the summer with this cute hat to help protect that soft baby skin of his from the sun!

Woah! He was overly excited about opening more presents!

Ethan and Nathan. Silly little dudes.
=)

All in all it was a great day!
Bob and I made a video montage of Ethan's 1st year, and played it for the guests.
I hope to show it to you gals soon, too!

Coming up next...Birthday Cake!

Ethan's Birthday Bash-Part 1: The Decorations

Ethan recently celebrated his 1st birthday! (Feb. 25th)

Saturday, we threw a birthday bash for him at Nana and Papa's house.
It was so much fun to plan. But I gotta tell you, parties STRESS ME OUT! I don't know how professional event planners do it.


Here are the decorations from the celebration!









Stay tuned for the next Birthday Bash installment!

Family Fun

At the end of January (yes, this is majorly LATE), we took a mini vacation and visited my cousin and his sweet wife Amber. My mom's side of the family wasn't able to get together during Christmas, so this was our time to catch up and visit. It was a fun weekend!

Here are some pictures of the trip...

I was so excited to see Ruthie Jane! I hadn't seen her since May and I knew she'd grown like crazy! She's such a funny little girl!

All the other family members stayed at a nearby hotel. We had the privilege of staying with my Preacher Man cousin, Amber, and Ruthie Jane. It was wonderful! Amber was such a great hostess!

In the guest bedroom, Amber had a cabinet filled with lots of goodies!
She made sure we had everything we needed!

Yesssss...I love magazines.

Ruthie Jane made sure Ethan had a little basket of his own, too!

Excited about his gift!


After we all settled in, we headed over to the church's fellowship hall and had a super yummy dinner. You see that basket of hamburger buns? Amber made those!
And they were oh, so tasty!!


I'm tellin' you what, I could've drank ALL of this Sweet Peach Tea! It was heavenly!


Homemade Pecan Pie....scrumptious!

RJ playing around after dinner. She's so much fun!


My Preacher Man cousin getting a big smile from Ethan =)

He started getting a little sleepy.....crying followed shortly thereafter.

After dinner, we all gathered in the living room and played some Family Feud. And let me tell you, there were some serious feuds going on...but that's the fun of playing games with family! THE GIRLS WON! (Of course!)

Ethan still wasn't in the best of moods....he had a bit of a meltdown, so my cousin volunteered his time with my little cranky boy and gave me a nice break!

Preacher Man read to Ethan, sang to him, played with him. He was a happy little boy by the end of the night!

RJ and Ethan playing a little before bedtime. They're a hoot!

The following Sunday, we went to church with Preacher Man and family. It was a wonderful service, and my cousin sure knows how to proclaim the Word of God!!

I'm so mad that I didn't even get a picture of Amber and myself! I started getting sick on the way there, and by the time we headed home I felt horrible. So, it's probably good I didn't get a picture with me in it...I would've ruined it for sure!

Thank you Preacher Man cousin, Amber and Ruthie Jane! We had a fantastic weekend getaway!!
Love you guys!

If you haven't met Amber yet, make sure you do!
Three Meals & A Baby