...a few things I'm lovin' right now!

{silk therapy biosilk}

I was introduced to this in High School when the Chi first came out.  It's used to protect your hair a little bit from all the heat damage a Chi can do to your hair if you use it every day like me!  I put it on my hair while it's still wet right before I blow dry it.  You can also put it on right before you Chi your hair as well...

{bath & body works coconut lime verbena body cream}

LOVE.THIS.STUFF.  I got through a bottle WAY to fast!  I just LOVE the way it smells, it reminds me of summertime & the beach...& tanning!  & yet the lime scent makes it smell so clean & fresh!  Especially during the winter months, my skin gets SO dry, so I try & put this on every night after I get out of the shower, or right before bed!  My sheets smell like this stuff!  All their body creams are just GREAT!

{maybelline falsies mascara}

I had heard great things about this product & decided to try it!  I LOVE it!  It doesn't have a silicon brush like most mascaras have now-a-days...but the brush is FANTASTIC!  It's just so full & only take a  few swipes to fully cover your eye lashes!  The brush is also curved, which really helps! I used brownish-black & always have...

{john frieda's flawless finishing creme}

ole roomie rooms Allie introduced me to this stuff a few years ago!  It made her hair SOOOO smooth!  I think she used it WHILE chi-ing her hair, but I use it after I'm finished & about to tease/poof my hair!  It's so smooth & definitely makes all your lil whispies & baby hairs SIT DOWN for goodness sake!  If you haven't tried this...I would recommend it!  

{freeze it}

oh.my.goodness I can't tell you how much I LOVE this stuff!  I read about it on a blog & decided to try it.  I used to use treseme hairspray that I loved as well, but this stuff is WAAAY better!  I can't even explain it!  Target does not carry it...I have to get it at Wal-Mart.  But this stuff is good...WAY good!  Great for the perfect poof, I even use it on Ryder's hair when I spike it up! :P

(johnson & johnson purpose face wash}

I had a friend that used this in HS, & always rememberd reading that it was as "gentle as water".  I needed a new face wash a while back & decided to try this...& I just loved it.  What I also loved about it was that it took off my eye makeup!  I just had to rub it on my eyes real good (which is okay, b/c it's as "gentle as water") & I didn't ever have to wash my face AND take off my eye make up again!  I can now do it all in one step!  I wish the bottle was bigger though...I go through this small bottle super fast!

{bath & body works lemon lip cream}

I got this in my stocking from Santa & it's the perfect little lip balm!  It's in the form of gloss, but it's like chap stick...it's a cream/balm!  I love it!  I keep it in my backpack for when my lips get a lil chapped at school.  It moisturizes & gives your lips just a little bit of sheen, but not too much.  The lemon scent it also so FRESH!

{bath & body works CO bigelow lip tint}

I have had some of this for a couple years, but just got some more & was reminded of how much I love it!  It has a peppermint scent too it, which kinda gives you good smelling breath!  I don't do lipstick, so this is just the perfect bit of color for me, but also some SUPER shine!  I have it in clear too which I wear a lot as well!  Great product!

Let me know if you use any of these products, or have any recommendations of other things you think I might enjoy or like to try!  I'm always up for some new good products suggestions!  :P

My child's a wild one!

Here is the video from a few months ago where Ryder took the stage at a wrestling match! I did NOT teach him any of these moves...but YES, I put my child on You Tube! You just had to see for yourself! :P

Back it up, back it up...YOU GOT IT!

So...remember Picnik?  I never really got into it, but messed around with it once my freshmen year!  I ran into the pictures tonight & just HAD to post them!  Each one brings back SO many memories, & even at times I'm laughing at what I'm wearing & thinking, "what was I thinking?!"  

{This was our Francie's Favs intramural team...after a volleyball game one night & YES, we fit ALL those people in Pooh's car!  I'm sure we had just finished driving around campus being loud & being followed by campus safety!}

{one crazy weekend we decided to go camping...it turned out to be ALOT of fun!--if you know ME,  you know this is funny!}

{@ the Battle of the Ravine freshman year!}

{this was taken Thanksgiving break in Georgia!  I LOVE HER!}

{Beta date night!  Bowling!  WOOT!}

{YES, I put a picture of myself in a bikini on my blog...shoot me now.  Spring Break OH EIGHT...so freakin' much FUN!  We went to Destin with our pledge class!  Sorry for the RAUNCH hair!  :P}

{EEE spring outing in Memphis!  I miss my black girl phone (gold rzr) & that shirt...too bad I threw it away when I was fat.  :(  }

{this statement could not have been ANY more true!}

{here's another from our camping trip..my UGGS were so new & CLEAN & that belt with those jeans...uhhh okay!?  lol...}

Hope you got a good laugh & a lil blast from the past!

Valentine's "Mantel"

My entertainment center is my mantel....so here's my Valentine's decor!!  I'm linking up with Beth @ The Stories of A2Z!  She's already got a TON of great looking Valentine's decor over there...so go check her & all the other ladies out!  

The "LOVE" sign I made out of burlap, some foam stamps & acrylic pant, the frame was from goodwill & I just painted it red & sanded it down a little bit.  The tree branches are from my back yard, with Hobby Lobby heart shaped ornaments on them, boa is left over from my SUPER easy Valentine's day wreath! I got the heart shaped plate at Target, & the books are from goodwill as well.  I made the stand up picture frame as well, that YES...still needs a picture in it!  :P

{These pictures are terrible!!  But you get the idea...}

That's about it!  Thanks for stopping by!

Blog-i-versary!

Two years ago TODAY I started this lil ole blog!  I didn't know anything about blogging back then (still don't know a whole lot...but I know more!)!

You can check out my first post HERE!  I was ten weeks pregnant & hadn't even been to my first doctor's appointment.  I just knew I wanted to be able to look back on life & see what was going on!  I am so glad I have blogged all the important things going on in my life since then!

And just to think that a year ago my little man was only 4 months old!  You can see what we were up to then HERE!

My how time flies when you're having FUN!  Thank you to all my faithful readers & followers!

my lil PB&J kinda man...& 16 months

Well, 16 days ago my lil man turned 16 months old.  Is that even possible?  Man am I behind!  & get this...we JUST went to his 15 month appointment last week!  No one told me he needed one until I saw lil T who was born the SAME DAY as Ryder had his & I was like oh em gee!  So...I'm behind.  Life happens I guess.

He devoured a PB&J sandwich today!  But he ate the WHOLE thing!  I was so proud of him, he doesn't always eat so great!  He made just bout the biggest mess ever, but I didn't care!  :P

& this is the face you will get if you ask him to "show me your teeth..." & yes, he still only has 2 little teeth down there on the bottom!  ha!  one is coming in beside them though!

16 month stats:

Weight:  23 lbs. & 10 oz. (50th %tile)

Length:  32.5 in. (80th %tile)

-Mainly 18 month clothing, some 12 months

-Size 4 diapers

-Has FINALLY said "Mama" {insert happy dance}

-LOOOOOVES fruit!  Will eat blueberries, bananas, apples, grapes all day if I would let him!

-I don't have to put him in time out very often, he's actually be behaving, besides not getting his way here & there.

-He can say shoe, sock, duck, lips, woops, uh oh, mama, Kati, dah dah, Pops (pop pop pops), KeeKee (Tee Tee), drink, up, juice, G, hair (haaaah), hat (one of his favorite)....all I can think of for now!  :P

-Speaking of G (Uncle G, my brother)...he taught him "boom boom" for when he has to "use the bathroom" with some motions that go along with it..& believe it or not my kid can do it!  & at the appropriate time!  Oh my goodness gracious!  No freakin' tellin' what Uncle G is gonna teach my kid!  :P  Sadly, he does it AFTER he has gone...not before.  :/

-We are working on pictures books at night & he's doing really well!

-He wants to do anything anyone else is doing!  & wants to be right in the middle of things!

-Loves to color with his big crayons Mimi & PawPaw got him for Christmas!

-He is obsessed with putting everyone else's shoes on!  & he'll just wear them around the house while he's playing!

-Will show you his teeth when you ask...

-Will open his mouth when you ask...(to see that there's nothing inside so he can have another cookie)  He finally learned how it works!  :P

-Loves to drink out of a straw!  ALL.THE.TIME!

-He has learned how to work his sit N' spin!

-Also said the word "Pooh" yesterday, which is his lil blankie!

-He bit me once, but he was totally playing...but it hurt!  Luckily it hasn't happened again!

-The kid won't watch TV for anything...except maybe when a commercial has music on it, like the iPad commercial.

-You can definitely say he is curious about his "body parts" when we take a bath & change his diaper!

-He can point to multiple body parts including feet, nose, eyes, ears, lips, mouth, teeth & hair.

-He understands simple commands like "go find your pooh" "bring that to mommy" "where's your sippy" "let's go change your diaper" "time to go bye bye" "go put that back" "go get a book" "lets put on your coat" "you want to eat breakfast" etc.

-He uses a fork for some things, but still uses his hands for most cause it's just easier!  Haven't mastered the spoon...I don't really want him to try!  :P

-We're brushing his teeth twice a day & he LOOOOVES it!  He'll even go & get his tooth brush when it's NOT time to brush his teeth!

-We are done with PACIs!  YAAAAYYYY!!  It didn't take him long at all!  I just cut the tip off those suckers & he didn't want them any more!  

-He has started to take a longer morning nap & still an afternoon nap.  It just depends on what we've got going on that day as to how many & how long.

the "a" word...

Abortion.

This is what was preached on this morning at church.  Uhh...such a depressing word. As Jason started stated facts about abortion, I literally got a knot in my throat, & almost grabbed my coat, purse, Bible & Starbucks drink & walked out to go pick up Ryder from the nursery where I had just dropped him off, & go to Target to do some shopping.  I didn't want to be depressed the rest of the day or week, thinking about all the facts he was telling us.  But then I started thinking. I needed to hear these facts & didn't need to just ignore them because they were what was going on in our world today.  This is a REAL thing that is happening every day around us.  Sometimes I think if I just ignore something, then it really isn't a problem & I don't really have to know about it. No big deal.  So...I decided to face it & be a big girl, because THIS.WAS.REAL.

Abortion was legalized in 1973 with the case of Roe vs. Wade (one thing I CAN remember from college).  :P  About 1.5 MILLION abortions take place every year in America.  This is about the same as the casualties of the Revolutionary War, Civil War, WWI, WWII, Vietnam, Korea & Persian Gulf combined.  That seems so OUTRAGEOUS to me. America's definition of a human life is someone with a beating heart & someone with active brain waves.  Well, you know what...babies have a detectable heartbeat around 6 weeks & brain activity shortly there after.  So why isn't an abortion the act of killing or murder?  Something seems awfully messed up with our system...but what's new?

As a mom, it made it even harder for me to sit & listen to Jason's sermon.  I couldn't imagine my life without my little man!  Being someone who didn't get pregnant at just the ideal time or age, being in the middle of college, not being married & just a child myself, abortion could have been an easy out for me.  No one would have known that I had sinned & I could have just stayed in school, gone on to graduate with my starting class & no one would have ever known what I had done.

I knew that abortion was wrong, but being in the situation I was in & dealing with everything I was having to deal with, I would be lying if I said that I didn't think about it.  It just seemed like it would be an easy way out.  As Jason said today, when we sin, we shouldn't try & cover up that sin by committing another act of sin, which is what an abortion would have been.  I am SOO glad that I knew it was wrong & knew that it would be a mistake.  I choose to face the battles ahead of me & do what I knew was right & I am SOO thankful that I did!  :)

We all sin every day, I just happened to sin in a way that would really show for 9 long months, & even after that it would continue to show every day for the rest of my life.  Luckily, not all sins are that way, but what if they were? Would you be out doing some of the things you are doing?  What if you had to wear a beer bottle around your neck every day, every where you went to show that you had been out partying the night before?  Or  what if you had a bottle of prescription pills tied around your neck that you bought off the street last week to get high when you felt down?  What if....?  Just something to think about (little off subject!  :P)

I knew I had to write after walking out of that service today.  I had been there, when I used to tell myself that I would never dare think about getting an abortion!  Luckily, I had been taught that it was wrong, & sadly not all woman are taught the same.  I can't imagine having to live with myself after making a decision like that.  On the outside, it might have seemed like the "easy way out" for me, but on the inside, it would have only made the situation worse.

I am so happy & proud of my decision today & I wouldn't trade all my heartache, hard times, tears & fights for not having my little man asleep in his crib in his bedroom right down the hall.  CANNOT.IMAGINE.

Thank you Jason for being real with us & helping me to not ignore the facts of life today, as sad as they may be.

we love lunch dates!

Last Saturday Allie called & said her & Amy were coming to town for a little shopping & wanted to see if we wanted to have lunch with them...well OF COURSE!  Allie said if she was going to eat lunch here, then it had to be at Stoby's!  I should have known!

We had a great time & probably sat there & chatted for two hours!  Luckily Punkin' behaved himself for the most part & we got to chat & catch up on a lot of things that were WAAY past due!  :P  

Thanks for inviting us to lunch Auntie Allie!  We loved seeing you & Amy!  =)

Holy Guacamole!

This has become a easy, yummy "throw together" favorite of mine that doesn't take too many ingredients to make or much effort!  I made up this recipe...sorda..I copied Cantina Laredo's just from watching them (minus the cilantro)!

Ingredients:

3 avocados (less or more...doesn't matter)

small white onion

2 tomatoes (I LOVE them, but 1 would work!)

onion powder

garlic salt

Make sure your avocados are nice & ripe...mine were a little over-ripe but that's okay!  They were just a lil bruised on the inside.  Slice them down the middle to half them...

It should look a little something like this...get the pit out by jabbing it with a knife or squeezing it out into the trash can.

I love my handy dandy avocado "scrapper-outter" I just scoop all the insides out with it & put the contents in a bowl...If you don't have a avocado tool, a spoon works great.  If your avocado is on the hard side, you can cut length wise & horizontal with a knife to get the goods out easier.  

...

While the avocados are the only thing in the bowl, use a fork to mash the chunks up as best as you can...

I throw in a SMALL squirt of lime juice to help it from not browning in the fridge!  If you have a lime, you can squeeze half of that in there for some good stuff!

Next, I dice up my tomatoes as small as I can...

...mix them in the bowl with the mashed up avocados.

I have learned to grade my onion...it makes a super fine juice like mixture.  This was a small onion & I used about half of it.

This next part I totally guess on...just toss a few shakes in there of each & mix it real well.  I taste test it to see if it needs more!

My final pics were too bad to even post!  Now...go to the grocery store & get yourself some stuff to make some yummy guacamole!

Random Phone Pics!

{I made these with my new Silhouette for mom!}

{I let Punkin' "color" the other day with a pen in my new agenda!}

{The kid LOVES shoes!}

{Look at those BIGGO Patterson theighs!  :P}

{Why are they so sweet when they sleep?}

{My bro & his sweet g/f}

{He came out with his baseball glove on like this the other day!}

{My first vinyl project with my Silhouette!}

{He did this to himself!}

{Loves to say the word "duck"!}

{Crazy Christmas lights!}