My sweet angel

I absolutely ADORE my child. My friend, Melanie, took this picture for me. THANK YOU Melanie. She was taking my nephew's pictures and my brother and sister in law wanted to get a picture with Preslei and Caden too! Preslei thinks Caden is HER baby, no one elses.......seriously. I think she may need a little brother or sister soon!

Preslei says, "shhhh.........don't tell my Nana and Pop-Pop about the pictures!!!! Aunt Cori is going to surprise Nana and Pop-Pop with a picture of us!!!

2009 Halloween/Fall Festival Bash

Can you believe that Halloween is just around the corner? Well, I have always liked Halloween, not necessarily for the ghouls, ghosts and monsters but for all the kids dressing up and having a good time. I decided to do something fun this year. It's actually kind of sad to me that Trick or Treating isn't what it used to be. I remember as a kid, going to the "good" neighborhoods and just going door to door saying, "Trick or Treat!!!" Well in this day and time, I would NEVER let my child do that! I mean, you just can't trust anyone anymore. So, I thought, how cool would it be to have a big Halloween/Fall Festival party at our house this year!!! I debated whether to make it just a fall festival and host it after Halloween or actually host it on Halloween. So, after talking with Lauren (who is going to help me host it) we decided to do it on Halloween. That way, kids will have a safe place to go and have fun and wear their costumes on Halloween night! All the planning is of course, in the beginning stages, but we are going to have a hay ride, photo booth, arts & crafts center, pumpkin painting, bounce house, a costume awards show, etc. I am getting all excited just thinking about it!!!! :^)

I'm hoping this will be a big event that people will enjoy! I am trying to plan things like this for our kids and friends' kids because I think it is a shame that nothing is ever offered in Cairo for kids.

Recipes.....I want YOUR recipes

So I was thinking last night how fun it would be to hear some of your recipes. I read a recipe on Kelly's Korner blog and tried it last night. I'm not sure if I didn't like it because my sinuses are going crazy and I can't really taste anything or what. But I did love how it was quick and simple. Who can go wrong with a casserole?! So, I'd LOVE to hear some of your recipes! I'm always wanting to learn how to make new things!!!

Catching up......

Ahhhh the joys of life! Toddler relaxation.

Gotta love new friends!

Living in a small town kind of limits the "new" friends you make because you practically know EVERYONE. I love meeting new people but I don't really have a lot of close friends with kids. Recently, well a couple of months ago, I met my new friend, Wendy. I had always knew her name and knew who she was but never really "knew" her. Wendy has a daughter, Grace (1 & 1/2). There is also Lauren. Lauren and I had gone to school together since middle school but as with most classmates, you tend to drift apart when you spend time with different friends and groups of people. Lauren and I reconnected last year and she has two girls, Brownyn (4)and Blakely (almost 2). After chatting on Facebook and Myspace, I realized how alike Wendy, Lauren and I are in many ways and we have the same parenting beliefs and style, which is VERY hard to find in other people lately. I am a firm believer in exposing your children to as much possible. I have always wanted my children to grow up very cultured and exposed to all sorts of things. It is such a nice feeling to know I have a great new friends who want the same thing for their children.

My biggest pet peeve is immature parents that refuse to grow up and just leave their kids every weekend to go party. Sorry, but that isn't what being a parent is about. Once you have children, your life should revolve around them.



My family and Wendy's family decided to go see fireworks on the 4th and we had the best time. Granted, it was hotter than HELL but it was worth it. I only got to take one picture before my batteries died! :(




Next weekend, we are going to Destin for a mini-vacation and is having the absolute BEST photographer (http://www.b4photography.com/) take some pictures. Brandi took our pics last year and did an amazing job so I jumped at the opportunity again this year! Seriously, if Brandi didn't take a vacation to Destin every year, I would fly to Dallas just to do pics with her.

For once, thank God for delayed flights!

No one ever wants to hear the words, "I'm sorry ma'am, your flight has been delayed." Well, for once, I'm glad those words were spoken to one of my very best friends, Carol. Carol lives in Anchorage, Alaska, well Ft. Richardson, AK to be exact. Carol and I met while she and her family lived in my town a few years ago. Her husband, Toby, and I went to school together but never really knew each other. He enlisted in the Army and met Carol, they married, had two children, moved from Ft. Campbell, KY to Ft. Richardson, AK. Toby was deployed to Afghanistan and got injured and later got out of the Army, which is why they moved here. After living here for about 2 years, Toby decided to re-enlist and they moved back to Alaska in December of 2006. During their time living here, Carol and I became very close. The funny thing with our friendship is that we fight like cats and dogs if we are around each other for too long! We are more like sisters rather than friends, seriously. So, I had the trip of a lifetime in April of 2007. I went to Alaska, and let me just say, it is breathtaking. Toby deployed to Iraq that summer and came home I think the following January. We cried together about his deployment and rejoiced in him homecoming.

Carol was the first person other than Keith to know that I was pregnant. I remember waking up at 4am and taking the pregnancy test and thinking, OMG, who can I call?! Well Alaska is 4 hours behind us so I called Carol!

So being that I hadn't seen Carol in over two years and Preslei is now an addition to the family, I was soooo excited when Carol called and said that her flight had been delayed a day. Carol had been home in KY because her grandfather had passed away. So as soon as she told me she was in Atlanta, I called into work and said I wouldn't be in on Monday because I was going to Atlanta to spend a few hours with Carol. Preslei finally got to meet her Aunt Cay Cay! The closer I got to Carol's hotel, my eyes became filled with tears. As we stood at the hallway, I just cried. (This is when I wished I would have listened to my gut and brought the video camera) Carol bent down and said, "Hey baby girl!" and Preslei went running for Carol. Ahhhh, it was so sweet! So, we hugged and cried and cried and then did what Carol and I do best. We shopped.

I never knew how precious a mere four hours could be!