Movin' On Up

...to a big boy car seat! We decided to go ahead and move Maddox up to his next car seat! His infant seat has been great, but since he is less than a month away from being 1, we went ahead and moved him a little early. I don't think he was too sure about it at first, but hopefully he will like it! I think he did like being able to see me in the passenger seat this morning on the way to church. He was having himself a good ol' time! It makes him look so big!!

Happy 11 Months...

...to the sweetest little boy in our world! In only 1 short month, Maddox will be a year old and as the first year comes to a close, it will be bittersweet. I try not to dwell too much on the past and what he has grown out of because I really want to focus on enjoying the stage he is in right now. He is such a joy and I am amazed at just how much he knows already. Here are a few pictures from his (big) day:

Taking a nice, long morning nap...

Enjoying a roll at Logan's...

Shopping for car seats with Mommy...

I hope everyone is having a happy humpday!!

Just Another Day in the Park

Yesterday we took our third trip to the park in a week. We are addicted...

Spoiled

These past few days of beautiful weather have spoiled me a little, to say the least! We have definitely taken advantage of the nice weather and have been out more than usual. We went to the park Wednesday and Friday, and we have taken several walks around the neighborhood. I have to admit that I will be so glad when Maddox is walking and he can do a lot more while we are at the park. Right now, he can only swing and go down the slide with me. He also like to crawl around... but he has to have LOTS of supervision at this point. He has really enjoyed himself, anyway! I love that we live within walking distance of the park and I think it will be our "home away from home" in the next several months. Some of my pictures turned out a little blurry b/c he is always on the move...

Mischief

Happy Valentine's Day

It is hard to believe that this is mine and Daniel's 5th Valentine's Day together! He is absolutely the best thing that has ever happened to me and I am so thankful that he is mine! We have never been big on going out on the actual day... we prefer to celebrate it several days later when you don't have to fight crowds and such.

So on this beautiful Valentine's afternoon while Maddox and I were waiting on Daddy to get home, we decided to hang out outside for a while since the weather was fabulous! He had a blast and did not want to go back inside!

Also today, Maddox has finally decided he likes his sippy cup. He tried it out at his Nana's today and she said he took it wonderfully...

And after 10 1/2 months, Maddox has (finally) decided to get his first tooth. Thankfully it has not bothered him. I tried for forever today to get a picture, but this little one is way too active for that! Maybe I can get one soon!

I Heart Priceline

I totally love, and I mean LOVE Priceline! My mom and I have used it several times on our overnight shopping trips to Atlanta. We usually end up staying in really nice hotels for only $35.00 a night! Yes... that is a GREAT deal! Our $35.00 bid has pretty much always been accepted and we always have a wonderful time. Daniel and I even used it for our hotel the first night of our honeymoon and we ended up getting the same fabulous deal!! It was awesome!

So lately I have been itching to go on a trip somewhere. I looked up several different places for us to go, and then thought... ya know what?? All I really want is for the two of us to get away for a night by ourselves. No need to take an extravagant vacation right now. Plus, the funds won't allow. So I decided to go to priceline and see if I could get us a deal for an overnight date in a couple of weeks. Usually the closer it is to the trip, the better deal you will get. Being 2 weeks away, I was not expecting my bid to be accepted. I was WRONG. Yes, we will be having a lovely date weekend in Atlanta for only $35.00.

Now, what to do while we are there? I am thinking we will probably venture over to Ikea, maybe hang around Atlantic Station. I really have no idea. But I do know that I am super excited!

Meal Planning

I have been meal planning for a couple of years now. I started off just planning for a week at a time, and have now moved to around 2 weeks at a time. We used to stick to it pretty well, but now it seems that things always end up coming up and we don't have the exact thing I had planned each night. It's not really that big of deal, though, because I still end up cooking the things I bought, maybe just on different nights. I usually do my shopping on Wednesday mornings since I am off work, and I try to plan it for early in the morning when Wal-Mart is less crowded. I used to do more couponing than I do now, but I still feel like we eat for pretty cheap every week. We rarely eat out anymore, and I have to say I don't really miss it. So, I did our shopping this morning, and thought I would share our upcoming "menu". I try my best to plan around things we have on the calendar and it ends up working out pretty well:

Wednesday - Leftover Chicken Alfredo
Thursday - Porkchops/Corn Casserole
Friday - On the Grill: Burgers and Fries
Saturday - Crunchy Beef Bake Casserole/Lima Beans
Sunday - Leftover Crunchy Beef Bake
Monday - Brunswick Stew/Cornbread
Tuesday - Leftover Stew
Wednesday - Chicken Pot Pie
Thursday - Leftover Chicken Pot Pie
Friday - Family Eat Out Night
Saturday - Share Group Progressive Dinner
Sunday - Sandwich Night
Monday - Creamy Crockpot Chicken and Noodles
Tuesday - Leftover Chicken and Noodles

I love getting new recipes from friends and trying them out. On this particular menu, I have never made the Chicken Pot Pie or the Creamy Chicken and Noodles recipes. One I got from a friend at work, and the other came from my slow-cooker cookbook. If you want to share your favorite recipe, feel free to leave a comment. Also, let me know if you would like one of these recipes. I love to share :)

On the Mend... Maybe

So the past few weeks have been crazy around here. It started out with me having a cold, then all 3 of us got a stomach bug, then I got another cold. After several days, Maddox got my cold... along with double ear infections and (possibly) RSV. Now Daniel has the yucky cold, too. Boo!! We are SO READY to be well around here and to be able to get out and do something outside. I am hating that they are predicting more snow tonight. Is it too much to ask for some warmer weather these days?? I think that would heal everyone around here.

On a different note, I am showing our house today!! I am super excited about this... someone also came and looked at it Saturday but we haven't heard anything yet. Maybe this will be "the one". Who knows. I do know, however, that it is very difficult to keep a clean house so that maybe someone could drop by and it look halfway decent, while also entertaining a 10 month old. I am not complaining, though... I am just thankful we are having "lookers".

We are looking forward to a pretty busy month this month. Our Share group at church is having several get-togethers coming up and Tucker's party is this Saturday. I am in the middle of planning Maddox's party for next month, and we are anticipating the arrival of our niece sometime soon. Daniel is on the job hunt full-force, and we are hoping to have news about that soon enough. Busy/exciting times ahead... that's for sure!

Sweet Moments

Last night while I was trying to get dinner ready, Daniel and Maddox were having some fun daddy-son time. Maddox has not been feeling great, so he was feeling extra cuddly... a rare occurance. I peeked around the corner to see what they were doing, and I caught a sweet, sweet moment...

I love these boys so much!!

In Remission

Those of you who know me well know that I have a hard time getting into reading. I kind-of go through spurts and will read a couple books, then not want to pick up another book for a year. A couple of summers ago, I went crazy and read 3 books. I realize some of you do that in a month, so I know it's not impressive. Since then, I have not finished a book. I tried reading a book or two, but just didn't get too into it and gave up. I want to be better about this. I used to LOVE reading when I was a teenager and would go through books like crazy! I miss those days. I think I might do better if I had some good suggestions for new authors, and books other people love.



I have to say, though, that I might be in remission from my lack of reading. I was reading a good friend's blog about a week ago and she was commenting on a book that she had just finished. It is:

I decided to go to the library and see if they had it. Sure enough, they did and I have hardly been able to put it down since. It is a great mix of mystery and romance and I am hooked. I can't wait to finish it and maybe, just maybe, I can get back into the swing of reading again.

Thank you so much, Jamie, for your wonderful recommendation!!!