Big Girl Bed

Sweet pea will be turning TWO in just one short month, and boy has she grown up in the past couple weeks.  She is no longer a baby, but a bubbly little toddler that keeps this mommy on her toes.  She is a regular polly parrot these days, so needless to say I have to be real careful of the things that come out of my mouth.  It's not like I go around swearing all the time, but sometimes things accidentally come out when I'm driving, Oops!

Last night we decided to try a little experiment and convert her crib into a toddler bed.  I was curious to see if she would like being able to get in and out of bed by herself.  She got very excited when she saw her daddy putting the bed together, and quickly jumped in to help.  Hubby said he thinks she is going to be very mechanical, because she totally gets how things work.

It was so cute because once it was put together and I put all the blankets back on she laid down and told us to turn off the light and shut the door.  We were like, okay then goodnight.  When we left the room she quickly realized she was not ready to go to bed and stayed up a little longer.  Once it was time to go to bed for real, she cried so I ended up doing what every mommy in the world has done, and laid in the bed with her until she fell asleep.  She ended up sleeping through the night like usual, and actually stayed in bed until I went and got her up.  I was a little shocked because I was sure that I was going to wake up with little eyes staring back at me.

I love that I finally get to put her little comforter on the bed, although she slept on top of it and used her blanket, which is the one you see hanging on the side of the bed.  My mom gave it to her when she was born and she has used it ever since.  I also left her crib bumper on, because I was afraid she would knock her head on the railings when she moves around during the night.

I cleared the bed for these pictures, but in reality she usually has anywhere from 5-10 friends that sleep with her at a time.  She comes by that honestly, because I was addicted to stuffed animals when I was little.

She now not only has a new bed, but a little reading spot as well.  You can already see the animals beginning to be added.

She hid behind the book because she was tired of having her picture taken.  I don't blame her, because I follow her around the house frequently.  She now automatically says cheese whenever she sees a camera, lol!

Today marks night two of sleeping in the big girl bed and so far so good.  I have mixed emotions about all of this, because on one hand I am really excited for her because she is becoming a big girl and more independent, but on the other hand she is no longer a baby, and that makes this momma sad :(  The next big girl thing we will tackle will probably be potty training, but I won't start that until the summer. 

 Hope you all had a great day, until next time, BYE!!

What I've Been Up To Lately and A Decision

I'm finally back!  I didn't really realize that it had been so long since I last posted.  Part of the reason it has taken me so long is this whole new blogger look.  I usually used Internet Explorer as my browser when I blogged, but it is no longer compatible with blogger, and my Google chrome only works when it wants to, so I have been patiently waiting for it to start acting right.  Anyways, here I am and I am glad to be back.

For those of you that have followed my Mmm Mmm Monday posts, I am very appreciative, but I have decided to take a break from them for now.  Life has just gotten too hectic lately, and instead of enjoying cooking and sharing the recipes with you, it became more of a chore, and that's not what I wanted at all.  I wanted to enjoy what I was cooking, and share the experience with you, but in the end it was just too stressful.  Hopefully I will still be able to share a recipe every now and then.  If you would like to follow my Recipes board on Pinterest click here.

Sweet pea and I have a visitor today, my nephew Caleb, so I better jump off here and make sure these kids are acting right.  Below are some photos of what we have been up to lately.  The weather here is starting to get nice again, so I am gonna try to snap of few pics of my yard to share with you in the next few days.  Until then, have a fantastic day, BYE!

Shop Til' You Drop

First of all I would like to wish my hubby a very Happy Birthday today! He turns 29, and that means one year closer to the big 3-0. Hubby and I are the same age but he is a few months older, so it's good to know he will be turning 30 before I will!! Anywho, happy birthday babe, sweet pea and I love you very much!

Yesterday sweet pea and I went up to Edinburgh, IN with my mom and aunt for some much needed outlet shopping. I was needing to get sweet pea some new shoes for the summertime, so since my mom was on Spring Break this week, this was the prefect opportunity. Edinburgh is about 1 1/2 hours away from Louisville, so it's not a bad drive at all, and it also gave sweet pea the chance to get a nap in before our shopping extravaganza began. (Although she only slept for like 25 mins.) Once we got our bellies full with a delicious lunch at Arby's we headed across the street to the outlet mall.

We started at the Stride Rite outlet to get sweet pea taken care of first, so she would be in a good mood while we tried on shoes. She did really well trying on all the different styles, but screamed bloody murder when we had to measure her foot. (I worked at Stride Rite in high school and college, so I remember how the kids hated getting their feet measured. It may them think they were at the Dr's office)

Sweet pea found this Lego table to play with at the Osh Kosh store, and I wasn't sure if we were going to get her to leave quietly, or drag her out kicking and screaming! Surprisingly she pushed in all the chairs and left on her own free will.

Since we went on a Wednesday, and Indiana schools had their Spring Break last week, the stores were really easy to shop because they weren't crowded at all. Once we let sweet pea out of the stroller she would not sit still. It was so hard getting a picture of her, and this was the best I could do. We eventually had to coax her back in with a cookie, because it was just getting too hard to shop and keep any eye on her at the same time.

mom, sweet pea, aunt debbie

We ended up shopping for 5 hours and sweet pea did really good for the most part. There was a little whining involved, don't get me wrong, but no major melt downs, until we got to the car! Everyone was getting hungry at that point and she was extremely tired since she had only slept for a short bit in the car on the way there. Once we all ate and started down the road, sweet pea succumbed to Mr. Sandman and took a little snooze.

We all had a blast and got some great stuff. Some of the stores prices were a little ridiculous for an outlet mall, but we each found a few things. Sweet pea got a new pair of tennis shoes and sandals.

Mommy got a new white long sleeve shirt and headband from the GAP.

And the greatest deal of all were these winter coats that I got sweet pea for next year at the Children's Place, for only $4.99 a piece! That's right folks you aren't seeing things, they were FOUR DOLLARS AND 99 CENTS A PIECE!! I couldn't decided between the two so I got both at that price. The best part is that the purple one has a fleece liner that can be zipped out, so it is actually 3 jackets in one.

Well I better jump off here and get ready for work. Tonight is kids night at good ol' Chick-Fil-A so I am sure the dining room will be hopping and I will be filling ALOT of drinks! Until next time, BYE!!

Easter Weekend Wrap Up

Not only is this post about the awesome Easter weekend that we had, but it is also my 100th post. I can't believe that I have already hit this milestone, because I literally feel like I was just writing my first. Time sure does fly by, and so did this weekend! Not only did we dye eggs with hubby last week, but we also dyed some with my mom. Since sweet pea got a little practice dying them at home, she was a pro by the time we did it at Nana's house. She was like a mad scientist dunking the eggs into all the different cups. It was hilarious!

Needless to say, once we got home she went straight to the bath. She had a ton of fun though, and that's all that matters.

Sunday morning we went to church and once we got home the Easter bunny had dropped by to leave a few things for sweet pea. She didn't waste any time digging in to see all the goodies that she had received.


We had a quick family photo shoot before having breakfast and then heading over to my parents house for the rest of the day.


After we stuffed ourselves with ham and all the fixins, the kiddos headed to the backyard for an egg hunt. Sweet pea was too cute running around trying to find the eggs.


After the hunt and a little dessert, we wanted to get some pics of all the kiddos. My mom's yard is just beautiful right now, so it was the prefect back drop for the photo shoot. My nephew looked so adorable in his little newsboy cap. He and sweet pea had matching seersucker outfits from The Children's Place. Look at that face, I just want to squish it all the time!

My sister and I with our babies. Boy have times changed in just a few short years.

She is such a silly girl, but I love her more than she will ever know.

It was so hard to get a good picture of all the cousins, because one of them was always moving. I thought this one was pretty cute though because they were all looking in the same direction.

Overall the weekend was fabulous, and I am so sad that it went by so fast. Hubby's birthday is this week, so we have some more celebrating to look forward to this weekend. Well I better get to bed now, because sweet pea and I are going outlet shopping with my mom tomorrow. Hope you all have a great night, BYE!!

A Visit with Friends

This morning sweet pea and I got to spend some time with my friend Hannah and her little girl Kaylee, whom we hadn't seen in a long time. They also brought along their cute new addition to the family, Maximus. Kaylee received him for Easter and he is the cutest most cuddliest little thing I have ever seen!! Look how sweet he is when he's sleeping.

Sweet pea was so excited to have some other playmates besides mommy. You know us mommies can get a little boring sometimes!


Sweet pea is totally into the dress up phase right now, so I think I am going to get her some more things for her birthday.

She was not very fond of Maximus, because he is still in the nipping stage and she just doesn't understand that he is not trying to hurt her and is just playing. She did however finally warm up to him when they were leaving and gave him a little kiss on the head, it was so cute!

We kept him occupied with an Easter egg while we chatted and caught up on each other's lives.

Since Kaylee is on Spring Break this week, we are gonna try and get together and go to the zoo. Hopefully the weather will get a little warmer, because we are having a little cool spell right now, and I think I have been spoiled by all this summer like weather that we had been having.

I will hopefully be back with an Easter wrap up post tonight, if I can sort through all my pictures. Until then hope you all have a nice day, BYE!

Mmm Mmm Monday #18

I hope everyone had a lovely Easter weekend with lots of food and family time. I know we had a blast and I will be back in another post with all the cute pics from yesterday. Tonight I wanted to share one of the recipes that I made yesterday for Easter lunch. It is my Nanny's recipe for Broccoli Cheddar Casserole and it was delicious! Unfortunately I forgot to take pictures for you all and by the time I remembered it was pretty much gone. Guess it was a hit! Here is how you can make your own.

Betty's Broccoli Cheddar Casserole

You will need:

2 pkgs frozen chopped broccoli

3 tbsp butter

1 large yellow onion, finely chopped

6 tbsp flour

1/2 cup water

1 8 oz jar cheeze wiz

3 eggs beaten

ritz crackers for topping

Cook broccoli according to the package directions and drain. In a large skillet saute onion in butter until limp. Add flour and cook, while gradually adding the water. Next, add the cheese and mix well. Add drained broccoli and beaten eggs and stir well. Pour mixture into a round casserole dish. Sprinkle cracker crumbs on top and bake at 325 degrees for 20-25 minutes, or until cracker crumbs are golden.

Even though there are no pictures, you all can imagine how delicious this dish is. My dad who is a great cook even said that it was the most delicious dish at lunch besides the ham (which he made). I am glad that I am able to keep these dishes going in our family, since my Nanny no longer cooks anymore.

Sweet pea and I have some friends coming over tomorrow that we haven't seen in a while, so we are very excited. What do ya'll have going on tomorrow??

Eggcellent Color Choice

Last night hubby, sweet pea and I decided to dye some Easter eggs. This was the first time for sweet pea, and hubby and I hadn't done it in years, so it was a blast for all. Sweet pea is totally into coloring and painting right now, so I knew that she would LOVE this project! I didn't buy any of the crazy dye kits with the glitter and marble eggs, because I knew pea would be happy with anything I bought, so I just went with the basic kit. I love watching the tablets dissolve in the vinegar. Hubby did all the prep work before we let sweet pea loose.

The kit came with the little wax crayon so she colored a few, but didn't understand why it wasn't showing up. She then thought it was chalk and wanted to color on the chalkboard wall.

She got bored waiting for the eggs to soak in the color, so she colored with chalk while she waited. The chalkboard wall I painted a while back in the kitchen is her new favorite spot in the house.

Getting some help from daddy.

Once they were all dyed we decorated a few with some stickers and those little wrappers that come in the kit.

Here are the eggs in all their glory.

Aren't they pretty?! Hubby said when he was little they used to eat the eggs that they dyed for Easter breakfast, so I guess I know what we will be having on Sunday.

Do you all have any Easter traditions?? I love starting traditions with my own little family and hope when sweet pea gets older she will remember all those special things we did as a family. If I don't see you again before Sunday, I hope everyone has a wonderful Easter. Until next time, BYE!!

Hop on over to At The Picket Fence for Inspiration Fridays, I am!