My Favorite Things

If Oprah can have a show about all of her favorite things then I can post a blog about some of my favorite things. Now this will not include my MOST favorite things like God, hubby, kids, etc...this is the little things in life that make me happy..make me smile....things that I enjoy....

1.) The smell of my Bible when I open it up!

2.) Flavored coffee creamers (Egg Nog right now)

3.) Clorox disinfectant wipes---use them on everything!

4.) My white out pen that I keep in my purse.

5.) Big bows on little girls

6.) Smocked dresses

7.) coordinating my kids' outfits

8.) My nativity scene--My mom bought me each piece

9.) My Happy Everything Plate

10.) My french doors--John surprised me with the doors and installation when I got home from the hospital having Molly

11.) My very nice professional Baby Plan Photographs I have of each of my Children

12.) The pottery john and I have collected...all handmade and one of a kind

13.) My plate collection in my kitchen

14.) The smell of John's cologne..Polo Blue

15.) Hugo perfume for women

16.) Glade candles and Glade plug-ins (holiday scented at the moment)

17.) My planner or specifically being very well planned!

18.) cooking

19.) funky jewelry

20.) Purses and bags

21.) A long hot shower

22.) Sesame Bath oil by Neutrogena

23.) Coffee Misto from Starbucks

24.) A clean car

25.) My mother's bracelet with each of my kid's names on it

26.) Walking around the neighborhood with all my kiddos.

27.) Hearing my kids sing praise music.

28.) Wooden spoons to cook with

29.) pajama pants

30.) text messaging

Molly Update

Because Molly is the one in our family that changes the most from week to week to month to month...I like to give Molly updates. We have not been to the doctor lately..she will go at the end of this month but she is growing like a weed. She is chubby and very well developed! She is now speed crawling, especially when she thinks she can get into something that she should not or go somewhere new..like the garage :) She pulls up on EVERYTHING..the ironing board, her siblings, the dog, the tables, the chairs, the lamp, and so on and so on. She is really interested in Lena the dog. Yes, she has grabbed her ears, pinched her skin, and even sucked on the nyla bone....YUCK! She tries to catch lena but lena is just too fast. But lena does bring her toys to Molly so that Molly can throw them for her and of course Molly does not throw them..she tries to eat them! Molly thinks her siblings are the best...laughs at them, giggles at them, gives them the biggest smiles, wants to be with them...it's very cute! I love having the older kids along with the little one...so much fun to see the contrast and the connections they have. The other day, she pulled herself up on the ironing board (yes, I iron!) and was cruising (walking holding on) across the length of the board. My goodness, I am not ready for that! I put her in her pen (cage) during the day at times just to get some downtime! She takes two really good naps. Sleeps sporadically through the night (my fault!) and eats like a champ. She is still nursing about 5-6 times a day and eats three solid meals. So far she eats banana, pear, avocado, apples, squash, peas, green beans, sweet potato, some bits of bread, rice cereal, oatmeal, and today we added some plain yogurt. I have made everything so far and I have to say it has been so much fun! I feel very accomplished in having made my child's food. The one thing I have noticed is that I am moving MUCH slower at introducing new foods to her because when I make a batch of food, I like to make sure I use it up so I end up moving slower. This week, after we are sure that she has done o.k. with the yogurt, I have bought a papaya to try with her. Maybe we will all try some. I use this great website mostly to see how to prepare things and what to try next. Molly STILL does NOT have a tooth in her head so really she could ultimately be eating some protein and soft cheeses but she doesn't have anything to chew it with so we just keep doing mush! We laugh at her because she gets in these squatting positions when she is holding on to something. She goes up and down...she is amazing at her squatting exercises...wish I was this good! She takes off her socks, hat, and bow if you leave them on her in the car. She loves footed pajamas. She likes her pacifier but isn't YET attached to it as much as my other two kids. She says Da Da Da Da...and copies noises and funny faces. She dances anytime she hears music whether she is sitting or standing. She is a very dramatic little girl in that when she is mad and crying she throws her head back and lets out a wail as if it is so horrible! She is a VERY happy baby! She is totally content to crawl and explore no matter how tired or how hungry she is...she just loves the church nursery set up where she can crawl and play all over the cushioned mats! We love our happy girl!

Trimming of the tree!

Generational Gift

I have said many times in my blog, how blessed we are to have grandparents still living and for my children to know, love, and experience their great grandparents is awesome! Today was one of those days! My grandparents came up with a great idea about 5 years ago...they decided that because it was hard to shop for John, our kids, and me that they would buy us our Christmas Tree each year! They don't need to do anything at all in my opinion but it is very important to them to stay involved in all of our lives and they know this is a wonderful gift! They don't just take us to Wal-Mart or even Lowes. They take us to Tallahassee Nurseries to pick out a tree every year! The kids get so excited and love this tradition. We all walk around the big beautiful trees lined up in rows, smelling so sweet and pick out our favorite 6 footer! The trees at Tallahassee Nurseries are beautiful. The guys will take them off the rope and spin them around for you (they are not bound up in netting like most places) to make sure that its the perfect one. I love the big fat trees! We all put our 2 cents in and always come away with a beautiful tree but more importantly a beautiful memory! Today was Molly's first time "picking out a tree" with us. Tallahassee Nurseries is always decked out perfectly for the holidays with big beautiful Poinsettias all around, trails lined in garland, hot cider to enjoy, fish in the pond to look at, big beautiful wreaths done up with ribbon hanging on every post and today, two guys playing Christmas Carols on the trombone. It was great! A wonderful Sunday to celebrate the second Sunday in Advent (my hubby taught our adult S.S. class today about the 2nd theme in Advent...JOY) and making great memories .....generation to generation to generation!

Boutique Shopping

Do I contradict myself a lot on this blog???...oh well. In light of my recent post on being content, this post will seem out of place. I'm not really contradicting myself. I am content but I have found a new love...boutique shopping whether it be online or in town. Now I am grouping all the cute boutiques in Tallahassee in with the "stay at home mom" businesses, local crafty people, far away crafty people that sell their stuff on etsy.com and my own friends that I am very jealous of, that have great talent! I will start with the actual boutique like stores! I love little shops such as these...Coton Colors and Pottery, Loli and the Bean, Learning Express, Cookies and Tea for Me, Kids pointe, Best Beginnings, Gammy and Gee, and Spriggs. Now some of these are probably chain stores but they are little, cutesy, and I love the sweet, very special, meaningful things you can find for people in these stores. And I never use to go in them b/c I figured they were too expensive but I have found, if you shop the sales and look in the store often..you can find some nice things that are very reasonable and they usually carry things that are quality at a reasonable price as well. I bought my "Happy Everything Plate" which I just love at a tent sale at Coton Colors and b/c they said there was something wrong with it (which I cannot find to this day) I got it for 75% off the usual price! I love having nice things in the house to make it look pretty! An old friend of mine recently started selling jewelry on Etsy.com. I had no clue what it was so I looked it up and boy have I found a great thing... It is a site where people sell all things handmade. I think the prices are great for the most part. I have found ALL kinds of things and it is so fun to look at what people have created by hand...everything is so unique! I went to a craft show the other day at Cookies and Tea for Me. It was all "stay at home moms" that had some kind of talent that they were using to make things to sell.....cute bows, pillowcase dresses, monogramming, etc. I hit the jack pot. I loved the pillowcase dresses and had never heard of them. I looked them up on etsy.com and there is like a million on there!!! Found a seller that I liked and she is making me matching custom candy cane pillowcase dresses for my girls for $12 a piece! Hot diggity dog!!! I have really gotten into bows for my girls and there are a zillion different moms making bows...around town and online. It makes me feel good helping someone out that I know is trying to make money so they can stay at home with their kids. One lady makes the most intricate, beautiful hair clips from felt!!!! So cute. I got my neice the cutest little ditty bag with her name monogrammed on it for $18..from a stay at home mom with her own business....a Christmas Present of course and at least it will mean something and be of value for years to come instead of buying some toy or game that I am not sure she will play with! A couple of the girls at my church are now selling their dresses that they make for girls and monogram online...I just love all that big bow, monogrammed, put my initial on it, polka-dot-it, beaded, bright colored kind of stuff...it is my thing right now I guess!!!!

The Nutcracker

Emily has been taking ballet now for 4 going on 5 years..wow time has flown. Each year her ballet company gets a block of tickets for the yearly performance of the Nutcracker by the Tallahassee Ballet. They do a shortened school performance that is about an hour long and a little cheaper. We have gone every year except one I think. Today, Emily and I went together to see the Nutcracker again. It is splendid. I can't say that I am into all that artsy show kind of stuff but I love it! The dresses, the music, and the lights just have a way of getting you in the spirit. Emily watched every minute of it so intently. I think it is worth taking her out of school to go see it! She wants to try out for it next year. I think I am correct in saying that the Tallahassee Ballet allows girls over seven who have had three years of ballet try out for some of the smaller roles. She said she wanted to either be an angel or a candy dancer during the kingdom of the sweets part. I said, "well ,what if they want you to be a mouse?" She said, "I don't want to be a mouse!" So this summer we will check it out and see what the auditions are like. I know the rehearsals will take up time and that is something we will have to discuss but I actually think Emily is pretty good at ballet and she seems to love it so we will see! It was a fun Mommy/Daughter outing!

Being Content

Confession: I have struggled with contentment and still do at times. Being content is so big and so important. I have struggled with this on and off my whole adult life. Not sure why..probably just a character flaw! I really am very blessed and I know this but there are sometimes that the need to buy more, want more, and get more has been to my detriment. John doesn't struggle with this as much. Our old TV is a big joke around here. We must talk about getting a new TV on a daily basis but it has become a symbol of our dis/contentment. We do not need a new TV...we want a new TV. We go back and forth...why do we want a new TV...to watch more TV so that we can spend more time doing something that we believe is silly and takes time away from our family....It really is a big joke to us now!!! Lately (probably over the past 6 months to a year)....I have grown in contentment! I don't know if it is being more aware of money/paying off debt/reading what Dave Ramsey says/figuring out my place in the world/getting down and dirty with my inner weaknesses/looking at my blessings/realizing life is so short/etc..etc. But I feel more and more content! I tell John all the time..."I love my home!" I don't feel the need to move, expand, or get more. Now, I do have my days...but I really feel like God is doing a work in me! I feel like we all struggle with things and have different convictions based on what our strengths and weaknesses are and I feel like God is doing a work in me where this is concerned! I love it and it actually makes me excited! I have to say that we have some friends that have more and less than we do and I have to say that recently I have been "Jealous" not of the friends that have more but of those friends that are content with less! Maybe I shouldn't use the word jealous but maybe admire instead....and not that these friends are poor and live in a mud hut but that they seem very content and happy to live exactly within their means! I love it when I see God strengthening me in an area or working on something or knocking me in the head with something...bring it on! I was cooking on the stove yesterday and the rain was hitting what I guess is the metal on the stove vent...I always hear the rain in the kitchen more due to the old vent we have above the stove and it made me think about my old vent (yellow in color) and I laughed because I love that sound when it rains! It's the little things sometimes right! When John and I are somewhere and we experience something better or new that we don't have...I usually ask him, "Are you jealous?" and he usually replies "No." It helps to have a partner to bounce your feelings off of....and truly, how can we be greedy and discontent when we look at what we do have...just holding Molly this morning and kissing her chubby cheeks makes me feel like a million bucks! Read these verses yesterday...Hebrews 13:5 and Philipians 4: 11-12. Good stuff!