31 Day Photo Challenge

I’m going to start this tomorrow. I miss doing the 365 project but I don’t want to commit to a photo everyday. This is much more doable right now. Some of these will require a little thought.

Baby Shower

Finally, baby shower time! I’ve been waiting for this day for awhile!

We had such a great turnout and really fun time.

This is the gift table before everyone arrived. Love the “Baby Luke” banner my friend Karen made.

Did you notice the little monkey? That is a diaper motorcycle cake!

HHe was the hit of the party. So easy to make too! We just watched a You Tube video as we were making him. It took a pack of size 1 diapers, 2 bibs, 2 pair of socks, 2 receiving blankets, a bottle for the headlight covered with a wash cloth, and some pretty ribbon. I bet he will be put on a shelf, too cute to deconstruct. I got the idea for this hospital survival kit on Pinterest. I included some flip flops for the shower, some candy, breath mints, hair ties, face wipes and a magazine. I’m so over bakery cakes so I decided to make monkey cupcakes. Saw these on Pinterest also. Are y’all as addicted to that site as I am? It just makes finding ideas so much easier. The ears are supposed to be mini Nilla wafers, but they still turned out ok. Some were cuter than others. I think that got progressively worse the more I made. I started giving them names, like “drunk monkey”  “bar fight monkey”  I did make 60 after all. Hey maybe that Publix cake would’ve been a better idea. Ha! This is the mother to be, my daughter in law Brandi. We played a couple of fun games. I passed around a bowl of small candy pieces and told everyone to take what they thought they needed for the game. Most people took giant handfuls. Well, the game was for every piece of candy you took, you had to tell something about yourself or offer up some parenting advice. It made for a few good laughs!Then I passed out play dough to make a baby. This is the winner! Mary, you did a great job!

Karen made this ribbon wreath for the door. I think Brandi will reuse it for her front door when Luke is born.

Loved these little treat bags filled with animal crackers. Oh Pinterest, what would I do without you?

I’m so thankful for everyone that came out to make this such a special day. We are patiently waiting your arrival Mr. Luke Waylon…..

Gender Reveal Party!!!

Have you heard? I'm going to be a Nana! My oldest son and his wife are due on August 23rd. We are over the moon and although it's bittersweet because my sweet Mama isn't here to experience this with us, I really feel she is watching us and maybe even had a part in it.

Here is the happy couple!

He really is happy, I promise!

So, I threw them a gender reveal party. I've been reading about them and they've become pretty popular. These are the cute invitations we sent out. We found them on Etsy. Just ignore that I didn't mark out my address...oops

We even got our dogs in on the fun. This is Creed and he decided to join the pink team!

This is sweet Marley (aka Harley). He thought it was going to be a boy!

Waddle it be? Repurposed Easter decorations Ha!


I tried the upside down balloons with the marble inside to kind of hold them in place. Thanks Pinterest! Of course this is the table before all the yummy food was put out. We had a little bit of everything, but we did do the top five cravings that the mom to be was having.


More decorations...............



Ducks in jello with gummy fish, but the jello was so dark you couldn't see the fish. Ha! The styrofoam balls were supposed to be bubbles.




Such a cute cake! I later found out that my middle son removed one of the ducks prior to the cutting of the cake and then changed his vote in the sign in book. Boys!


We played a fun little game just to prolong the anticipation. I asked my daughter in law a series of questions based on old wives tales. Her answer was supposed to determine if it was a boy or girl. So we tallied them up and team blue won!



Team Pink! ( which was just about everybody)



Team Blue!

Finally cake cutting time!! The waiting was killing everyone!!

It's going to be a ............................


BOY!!!!!!!

I couldn't be happier!! As a mother of three boys I know how much fun they can be!

Lao Sticky Rice

We are hooked on Lao sticky rice. I finally learned how to make it and could eat it every day. It has to be sweet or glutinous rice, which you probably can only find in an Asian grocery store. You have to let it soak in water at least 2-3 hours but I think overnight is best. Once it's finished soaking just rinse it off good.

You need a bamboo steamer and a pot thingy for it to fit in. You can find these at any Asian grocery store as well. Bring about 3 inches of water to a boil and place the bamboo basket containing the rice right on top.

Just place a lid on top so that it steams.

After about 15 minutes you flip the rice so that it cooks evenly. Some people have the ability to just somehow flip the basket and the rice just turns right over. Me, not so much. I take a big spoon and flip it. Once it is translucent and sticks to itself and not your hands it's done. They have cute little bamboo baskets to serve it in, but I don't have any of those. I just piled mine on a plate. As you can see below, you can just make a ball out of a piece and dip it in some sauce.

You could dip it in soy, Siriracha, or whatever you like. I made a homemade Siriracha type sauce. I just put 3 garlic cloves, 1 tsp of salt, and some red cayenne pepper in my mortar and pestle and made a paste. Then I combined half a cup of vinegar and half a cup of sugar in a saucepan until it dissolved then added the paste in. It's rather twangy but quiet addicting.


This post has made me hungry, think I'll go have some for a late night snack!

Project Life

Have anyone of you tried Project Life by Becky Higgins? I don't have the time for scrapbooking, at least not enough to make it look good. This product seems to simplify the process.

I was inspired by this video I saw posted on Facebook. I love the idea, the song, all of it.





I tend to take pictures and leave them on my camera or computer and never really do anything with them. This may be just what I need!

Fetch!

Well, it's the beginning of a new year and I really want to use my blog to document our days, however boring and mundane they may seem. I know how fun it will be for us to look back and read these posts, so I hope that I can keep up with it. I hope I don't bore you too much, but ultimately it's for me and I already know I'm boring! Ha!

This morning in particular, I was trying to take note of the simple things. Like every time I boil tea I'm reminded of how much my Mama loved the smell of it when it was just boiled. That makes me smile.

And how much I love the smell of bacon. mmmm.......

I was able to get a great shot of this boy that I love so much.

We went outside to play a little fetch with my dad's dog. He got a golden retriever and this dog has been so good for him. They bonded right away.

His name is Harley, but we've been calling him Marley. The names are so similar he certainly answers to both!


He gets so excited when he sees a ball! Baseballs seem to be his favorite.


This also makes me smile.


We had to run to Chuck's mom's and do a few things for her, but not without first stopping at QT for a healthy snack!


Yuck!

Auld Lang Syne

Things have been not so good around here lately. So this is what I do when stressed.



I've been baking sugar cookies. I never got around to it at Christmas time, so now is a good time as any.

We are having a low key New Years. Today would have been my Mama's 66th birthday. I miss her so much it hurts. I have high hopes that 2012 will be better to us. I'm not really making any resolutions, although I do have plans to blog more, take more pictures, and just document our life better. Wishing you and yours a Happy New Year!

Red Maples

Really enjoying the beautiful fall colors!

Family Time

It was a great day for a picnic!