My "American Girl"

My little "American Girl" received an American Girl doll from her grandparents, Mauw & Papaw Boling for Christmas on Saturday. As you can see from Caroline's expression, we think she likes her ALOT. Her Bitty Baby's name is Samantha, oh wait she changed it. It's now Daisy. Nope, Casey. Oops still not right, I believe we are back to Samantha. I'll keep you updated on the name situation.

The First Snow

I love seeing the girls all bundled up in their winter gear.

They were so excited to see the first snow of the season.

Love that face!!

My silly, silly girl!

The Elf on the Shelf

The Elf on the shelf is watching you

What you say and what you.

The Elf on the shelf is watching you

each and every Christmas.

He knows if you've have been good or bad

and how many cookies you have had.

The Elf on the shelf is watching you.

Happy Thanksgiving

From my family to yours... Happy Turkey Day!

Wordless Wednesday

Tasty Tuesday

In honor of Thanksgiving, here is one of my favorite holiday side dishes.

Sweet Potato Rounds

1 stick of butter/marg, melted
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup coconut
2 trays sweet potato rounds - found in the frozen food section, near the frozen meat

Combine the butter, brown sugar, pecans and coconut in small bowl to make crumbly mixture. Lightly spray an oven proof pan and place the sweet potato rounds in a single layer. Place a heaping spoonful of crumb mixture on top of each sweet potato round.

Bake in a 350 degree oven until the sweet potatoes are heated through. Approx. 20-25 minutes.

Blue Man Crew

Why do they always have to choose the blue sucker?

Wordless Wednesday

A Time for Giving

The Christmas season is upon us. Believe it or not, Thanksgiving is in just 9 days and soon to follow will be Christmas. Did the year just fly by or what? I truly love this time of year, all of the pretty lights, Christmas shows on TV, time spent with family, seeing the excitement in my girls eyes on Christmas morning and remembering the birth of Jesus. Now that the girls are getting older, Roy and I feel it is very important to teach them that giving is a very important part of life, especially at this time of year. Giving a gift is always more important than receiving, especially for those in need. Our charity of choice this year is Operation Christmas Child.

It is national drop off week at churchs and organizations all across the United States. My local Mops group that I belong to just completed 12 shoe boxes - 6 for boys and 6 for girls, ages 2 thru 14. It was such an awesome experience to see all of the toys, tolietries, candy, and school supplies all packed in those boxes. Mops is truly a wonderful organization and our group is always so giving. It is so nice to share God's love with others.

The girls and I spent the afternoon shopping for goodies for our shoe box we plan to drop off tomorrow. We purchased underwear, socks, hair clips, lip gloss, crayons, markers, a coloring book, glue, a slinkie (sp?), and a ton of candy. We also included a bunch of little toys and a pretty shirt.

We are preparing a shoe box for a girl, aged 2-4.

Caroline paking our box.
(Makenzie was taking a snooze.)

Our completed box ready to go.

All 13 boxes ready to be dropped off.
I wish we could be there when the children open their boxes.

Please go to http://www.samaritanspurse.org/ to find a drop off location near you.

Happy packing!!

Terrific Tuesday

I love Caroline's imagination - it's terrific.

Her great-grandpa Phil would be so proud, just like me.

Smokey the Bear

We had such a beautiful day yesterday. The weather was so nice, the sun was shining, and there wasn't a rain drop in sight. Roy and I took the girls to the local state park for a picnic, sight seeing and trail walking. All of the leaves have already fallen off of the trees but it was still so beautiful. I love taking in the sights the Lord created for us. All of His beauty surrounds us and we need to take time to enjoy it.

We took the girls on the "Friendly Trail" which is paved and has a little old house along the way that they love so much. Before you enter the trail there is a big sign with Smokey the Bear on it. I am sure you all remember who he is right? The forest fire bear. The last time we were there, I explained to Caroline what Smokey the Bear teaches about being the forest and preventing forest fires. When Roy asked her yesterday what Smokey the Bear teaches, her response was this... "He teaches you to smoke." I wish I could have seen the look on my face. We both replied with a chuckle and told her... "Smokey teaches you how not to start fires and that smoking is very, very bad". (Papaw are you reading this)

Wordless Wednesday

Fluff

Makenzie has really taken a desire to potty train these past few days. She is really doing a great job. She is still wearing diapers but tells me when she wants to go. Makenzie has developed quite a routine while in the bathroom. It goes a little something like this...

Put the potty seat on the potty. (we have a brand new pink "Princess" potty seat - she loves it.)

Pull down her pants.

Asks me to lift her up.

Hands on knees (so we don't touch the potty).

Concentrate, really, really hard.

Pee pee (or go yellow as we like to call it).

Clap her hands.

Give me a high-five.

Wipe.

And then.....Fluff.

Yes, I said fluff. She loves to fluff the potty.

I love these special moments, even if they revolve around the potty.

Happy Halloween

What a great day!!

Yum-O

Who doesn't love a good ole' Rice Krispie Treat?

Marshmallows

Rice Krispies

Caroline loved helping me today.

Finished product...

Happy Halloween!

To-Do List

Tonight as I was putting Caroline to sleep she told me that her throat hurt and asked for a drink. This is usually a tactic she uses to stay up a little later, her throat hurts, she needs to use the bathroom, she needs to tell us something important, or she needs just ONE more hug & kiss.

Here is our conversation...

Caroline - "Mommy, my throat hurts. Can you make me some warm milk and honey?"

Me - "I think your throat is okay. I haven't heard you coughing today."

Caroline -"Well, will you put it on your To-Do List for tomorrow to make me some warm milk and honey?"

Me -"Sure Caroline, I will do that. I don't want to forget."

I couldn't help but laugh at her. She knows me so well. I can't accomplish much w/o my trusty To-D0 List.

Happy Birthday Baby Brother

Happy "Late" Birthday Unc Frank

Love, Caroline & Kenzie

Face Painting

Caroline has been begging me for weeks to do some face painting. And the wonderful mom that I am, I have been putting her off. (not my cup of tea - face painting) Well, today was the day. She had seen a commercial on Noggin about a project for face painting the characters Rintoo and Tolee from the TV show Ni Hao Kai- Lan. She so badly wanted to have her face painted like Tolee.

I have never done face painting before and realized today that I could never make a career out of it or join a traveling fair as a Carney. :) Caroline thought she looked awesome though. Thank goodness.

Before

During

Finished product - not my best work.

Kenzie had to get in on the action as well.

I just improvised this.

She loved it!

Good Morning

I was lucky enough to wake up to this yesterday morning...

Caroline - "Good morning Mommy."

Me - "Good morning Caroline, did you have good sleep?"

Caroline - "Yes."

Me - "Good, I'm glad."

Caroline - "I'm glad you're my mommy."

That just made my day... all day.

CEO

I woke up this morning to find a card on the kitchen counter from my husband. This doesn't happen very often and when it does it always puts a smile on my face.

It read...

Being a stay-at-home MOM means you're the CEO, Director of Operations,

and Head of Finance of your own company.

A company that has pooped on you, literally, but still, IT'S A COMPANY.

Love,

Roy

Best Friends

Tonight the girls were playing dress up and putting on a recital for us in Caroline's room. They were so sweet dancing arounda nd 'round in circles in their pretty dresses. Roy and I loved watching them and can't believe how fast the two of them are growing up.

Every morning after the girls wake up, I ask each one if they had good sleep and if they had sweet dreams. This morning I asked Makenzie what she had sweet dreams about and she said..."Friends mommy". And I said, "Which friends'? And Makenzie said "Elizabeth". This just broke my heart because her friend Elizabeth just moved to Tennessee. They where in preschool and Moppets together. I hope that we can keep them in touch. Makenzie is only two years old but understands she has friends. It's so sweet.

So tonight Roy and I asked the girls who their friends were and Makenzie said that Caroline was her friend. So sweet!! We asked Caroline the same question and she said that Emma, Claire, Maggie and Rylie were her friends. We said, "What about Makenzie"? Caroline responded, "Makenzie can't be my friend, she lives with me".

Alrighty then.

Cutie Pie

I just can't resist this cute face.

Fall Fun

I took the girls last week to pick out their pumpkins at a local farmer's market. They had a blast deciding which pumpkin to choose, whose would be the biggest, etc... You get the point. Caroline was very excited to get home and decorate hers with the Mr. Potato Head decorations. She loves this little pumpkin so much she actually put it on a pillow, with a blanket to rest and gave it a "guy" to hold while it slept. How cute!! If you notice, the Mr. Potato Head is holding his "guy" awfully tight. :)

At the local farmer's market.

Me with my girls.
Enjoying some fun during Pumpkin Fest at Whipker's Greenhouse.

Bedtime Story

How sweet is that sleeping baby? She isn't a baby anymore, so big at two years old. I love watching the girls sleep. They are so peaceful, innocent and without a care in the world. I could just kiss that face all day long. Oh ya, I do. :)
I laughed so hard when I went in to wake Kenzie up from her nap. I found her sound asleep with her book still on her lap. I guess she just couldn't keep her eyes open anymore.

Sweet dreams baby girl, I Love You!!

While I was gone...

Here are just a few of the things I accomplished while I was away from my blog....

A Thank You card for my wonderful mom for helping me paint the new playroom.

Pictures to come soon.

"Super Mom" faces for our Mops Bulletin Board at church.

"Super Mom" Birthday hats for Mops.

Isn't she just so cute?

Birthday invitation for Makenzie's 2nd Birthday Party.

(sorry it's sideways)

Go Colts!!!

Who could resist these cute little pink Colts fans? I know I can't!!!

Pictures of Caroline and Taylor Swift

Caroline and I just before leaving to see Taylor Swift in concert.

Caroline and Grace in their new concert t-shirts. How cute!!!

Taylor Swift - outfit # 3 or 4 I think.

Taylor Swift singing Love Story.