ctbaker in the acres

A Turtley Awesome 4 year-old

2013-03-28T15:04:00.000-04:00

Just so you know, The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have made a comeback. What better way to celebrate the cutest 4 year-old I know, than with a "Turtley Awesome" Birthday!

Oliver turned 4 on January 15th. I. Cannot. Believe. It. He's not a toddler any more...he's a BIG BOY! I feel blessed beyond measure to have this little ball of energy and happiness in our lives. He's simply precious.

Per the birthday boy's request, we went to Moe's for his big night. Fortunately, Sarah Dippity was on hand for Ninja Turtle face painting! Nana and Papa and Muzzy and Boppa joined the fun!

His eyes in this picture...crack me up!

Big bros are the best!

Oliver as "Raphael"

Now onto the party!

Turtle POWER!!!

My pathetic attempt at cupcakes. ;-)

Custom Ninja Turtle party favors by Muzzy & Me!
{We made 18 of these little get-ups in red, orange, blue, and purple!!!}

Big Ninja Turtles!

Turtles EVERYWHERE!

Just hangin' out.

Ninjas in all colors!

Then back to the house for a rip-roarin' time with presents!

Happy 4th birthday to my adorable blue-eyed green-turtle-machine! You're such a blessing to us!

At A Loss

2013-03-27T19:06:00.000-04:00

I don't even know where to start. I didn't think I would return from a 3 month break with this kind of update.

The month has been so VERY hard for us. It's bad enough when you lose one person, not to mention, two. On February 27th we lost my mom's oldest sister Elaine {"Laynie"} and 2 weeks later we lost my precious 98 year-old great-aunt Nita. It's all been quite overwhelming.

It's been exactly one month since I said good-bye to one of my favorite people on this earth. My Aunt Laynie was one of the most beautiful women - inside and out - that I have been blessed to have in my life.

I keep thinking it's all a bad dream. But it's not. And the reality of it is extremely hard to accept. It seems like everywhere I look in my house there is something that triggers a memory of her or a desire to talk to her.

Fortunately, I had the opportunity the day before she passed to sit by her bedside and tell her how much I loved her and thank her for all she had ever done for me and my boys. I prayed with her and held onto her hand so tightly, dreading the moment I'd have to let go. It was painful to leave her room. I prayed for peace and the wisdom to know when I had told her all that was on my heart. I didn't want to leave out one.single.thing.

My cousin Emily, her granddaughter, delivered the most beautiful eulogy. When she was compiling all the necessary details, she asked us to describe her "Mimi". I said in one word, "selfless", which sums her up completely. But as I use this little blog to archive these times in my life, I just have to document and share who she was to me in more than a word. She was "My Laynie" {A little possessive, ya think?}, a true inspiration.

She was born May 23,1938 and her name at birth was Claudia Elaine. When I was born my parents gave me her first name and I have always been honored to have it. My whole life we've had an extra special bond. At birth she called me "Rosebud", but as I grew up Rosebud turned into "Blossom". I can still hear her voice in my head. "How's my sweet Blossom?", she'd always ask.

Her only daughter Renee - who's more or less a big sister to me - is about 17 years older than me. So while she was off at college, my Aunt Laynie and Uncle Russ - an equally amazing man who passed away when I was 15 - borrowed me for their entertainment. I spent many nights at their house and enjoyed being spoiled! My weekends at their house were made up of special dinners out at Steak & Ale, Shoney's for all-you-can-eat shrimp night - where she taught me to peel boiled shrimp, animal pancakes for breakfast, coffee-milk on the porch, crafts, and fishing. I flash back to those days frequently and without fail I get the most warm and fuzzy feeling all over. I am so thankful for those memories. She had me so rotten that sometimes, as a child, when I was upset or feeling bad, I would call out for her, "I want my Laynie!" I'm sure it made my poor momma feel great! ;-)

On top of all that, she never missed a dance recital, graduation, sacrament, or birthday of mine. On my last birthday, even though she wasn't feeling well, my mom made sure she had a card to sign for me. I am so thankful my mom knew how important it was for me to have "just one more card". I cried as I read her simple birthday message, knowing it would be the last. I will cherish it forever.

Her kind deeds were countless! I recall one of the coolest outfits a preteen could have owned was MINE because of one of our shopping trips to Tapp's. It was an ESPRIT eggplant-colored flared skirt with an off-white top donning tiny Aborigines in beautiful jewel tones that I wore with my eggplant-colored suede flats. It. Was. Awesome! I remember her bending over backwards to help my mom on my wedding day. And then there was the time that a very swollen, pregnant girl's washing machine broke while she was supposed to be on bed rest. The laundry was piled to the ceiling. The poor pregnant girl came home to find that the Laundry Elves {mom and Laynie} had visited and left her a new washing machine and folded stacks of clean baby clothes. She was so, so good to me.

Her goodness will never be forgotten by those who knew her. In her life and in her suffering, her inspiration never ceased.

Before her diagnosis, Aunt Laynie shared her life-verse with me. I'm not sure why, but I'm forever grateful that she did. She lived every aspect of her life through this verse and it now has an extra special meaning to those of us touched as a result of her service to her family and to the Lord.

May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer. -Psalm 19:14

After 2 years of battling lung cancer, God saw that her body was growing tired. Even though I selfishly want her here with me - healthy, laughing, and baking her famous Cocoon cookies - HE no longer wanted her to suffer and wanted her to be reunited with my Uncle Russ for eternity. It's that cardinal reminder that we belong to HIM and as much as I hated to let "MY Laynie" go, the good Lord called for "HIS Laynie" to come home.

Aunt Laynie and Uncle Russ - The love of her life.

My heart aches everyday for my mom and her siblings, my cousin Renee and her girls, and all those she touched. We are going to miss her so very, very much!

October 2005 - My mom's siblings with Aunt Nita: Uncle Robert, Aunt Laynie, Aunt Judy, Momma, Great Aunt Nita, Uncle Phil

May 2008 - Laynie's 70th Birthday: Aunt Laynie, Emily (one of her 2 granddaughters), Renee

October 2011

November 2011

I love you, Laynie...and miss you so incredibly much!

{You} have fought the good fight, {you} have finished the race, {you} have kept the faith.
-2 Timothy 4:7

Phone Dump Update

2013-01-14T09:00:00.000-05:00

The CTBaker family just about got wiped out from the flu a couple of weeks ago. Whoooo! That was a doozie. Even though Shan and I had negative flu tests, Fulton and Oliver were positive. So I'm 99% sure we had it too. Sam was the only one to escape it {so far} this season.

We were down for a good 7 or 8 days total as it ran through our house. It's brutal, folks! Wash. Your. Hands!!!!

Oh! and YES, everyone but moi got the flu shot.

Fortunately, we are on the mend and were able to resume normal Baker activity in the last week.

Y'all know I like to update via pics from my phone from time to time. So here it is!

In my last post I was lamenting the fact that the boys Christmas break was a bust because of all the illness in our house. So I spent the last day before their break was over {before I knew Oliver was the next man down with the flu} trying to cram in some fun.

What did we do, you ask?

We went ICE SKATING in our "Famously Hot" city!

The boys loved it! And surprisingly, so did we. It has been yeeeears since I last ice skated. My parents belonged to a country club that had an ice rink in the winter months when I was growing up. It was the best activity for bored children in the winter. Too bad this one is just a temporary exhibit. I'd love for it to stick around through February and it wouldn't hurt if they lowered the fee to skate. OUCH! For a family of 5...it'll set you back a bit.

Don't you just love stocking stuffers? I think they're one of the best parts of Christmas morning. This year the boys got new book lights and have been so excited about using them at night. Hey! Whatever gets them to read...right?

Oliver has become the bed-crasher. He may or may not end up in your bed on any given night. Recently, Sam has been his victim.

Any who...book lights are fairly inexpensive and come in all kinds of fancy-shmancy designs. They're great as a gift for kids and for those of us who still like the feel of a good ol' fashioned book. Go getcha one!

The weekend after the boys returned to school I went on my annual girls weekend. I just love this group of girls! We have all served on Holiday Market together and have become great friends. We look forward to each January when we can get away for a weekend of PJs, cocktails, cream cheese appetizers, and great conversation. Our itinerary looks something like this...

Friday
6:00pm- Arrive at Wild Dunes
6:30pm- Put on PJs, fix a cocktail, eat, talk, sleep
Saturday
10:00am- Wake, eat, talk, lounge, until...
7:00pm- take shower and change out of PJs
8:30pm- Dinner...This year we decided to head into Charleston to try out Stars, a fairly new restaurant. Then we headed to The Cocktail Club, which was very interesting...drinks, people, watching, etc. We stayed until the lights were up.
Sunday
12:00pm- Head out for a little shopping before hitting the road home

After the flu sweep, it was just what the doctor ordered.

This week I took the Ver-man to get a haircut and God bless his heart...he fell asleep in the chair while Ms. Robin was snipping.

Hmmmm. Maybe it was because he decided to wake up at 5:30AM!!! Lawd help!!!

I'm posting this pic simply because I love it!

This is S, F, & O with two buddies from school. I can't tell you how many times they BEGGED me to let them go "creek divin'". Even though we're having a warm snap with 80 degree temps, the mean mama still said no.

Sunday at church Oliver and his buddy Claytor were asked to pull the wagon to the altar to present the gifts. There is no other word but "precious" to describe these two. Rumor has it, they may Father Fletcher chuckle. I'm not sure what happened because we were way in the back, but I'd love to find out.

I am a bit bewildered by the fact that my little Ver is getting so big. He's now getting to do big boy things. He turns 4 on Tuesday and my heart is a little broken. More on that later! I get too weepy when I talk about it and gots thangs to do!!!

That's my little update!

Plans

2012-12-30T21:32:00.000-05:00

I'm one of those people who gets bogged down in all my plans. I have lots of little ideas running around in my head. Usually, I can make it all happen. Some way, some how. I think I get that from my momma. She's the mastermind at pulling stuff off in her sleep, with her hands tied behind her back.

I had PLANS to do lots over this Christmas break. Most of which involved making memories and being festive.

I had plans to take my boys ice skating at our local ice skating rink. It's a temporary attraction and quite a novelty considering our city tag line is "Famously Hot".
I had plans to go to several of the holiday lights hot spots. We only made it to two.
I had plans to take the boys to the Edventure New Years Eve at Noon celebration.
I had plans to make homemade pasta with my mom.
I had plans to make my Aunt Laynie some soup and yummy treats.
I had plans to make my little brother Puppy Chow because he was a little disappointed on Christmas day when he saw I hadn't made any.
I had plans to go on a date night with my hubby to dinner and to see This Is 40.
I had plans to take my Goddaughter to lunch.
I had plans to visit with my cousin who is in town from Texas.
I had plans to spend New Years Eve with my bunco friends.
I had plans to blog about our wonderful Christmas and the year in review.

It seems that my body had different plans.

Shan and I are on day 4 & 5 of the worst virus I think I've ever had. Shan's symptoms started Wednesday and mine started Thursday. Both of our flu tests were negative, but we've had the worst flu-like symptoms with no option to take Tami-flu. In addition, we've both had sinusitis and bronchitis to go along with it.

My dad took Shan to the hospital Saturday morning to make sure he didn't have pneumonia. He did not. Thank goodness. Shan's mom came to take the boys to the lake so we could sleep. I could not be more grateful. There is NO way we could have taken care of them with the 2 of us down.

John Lennon sang it best... Whatever gets you thru the night!

We are hopefully turning a corner, as we have both actually showered now and ventured to the store to get more Advil.

So the last 5 days have been a bust. And the few days before Christmas were spent tying up loose ends and visiting family. So my window of opportunity is extremely small now for all those plans!

One of my favorite sayings talks about a road to a certain place being paved with good intentions. I make lots of plans and get so disappointed when they don't work out. What I really want is a do-over. But that's not going to happen.

I happened to read this just as I was about to compose this post and it was a good thing.

So for now, I'm letting it go. I'm giving myself grace. I'm going to get done in the next few days what I can. I think the boys will understand. I hope.

Merry Merry!

2012-12-24T22:20:00.000-05:00

MERRY MERRY!

Well...

2012-12-20T16:06:00.000-05:00

Hello there.

Remember me?

Allow me to re-introduce myself...

I'm CTBaker in the Acres! I'm the mother of three blond little boys and the wife to a rockstar. Not really a rockstar. He's actually better because he tolerates me on a daily basis. God love him. This is "my place" to rant and share. It seems that I have fallen down on the job again. The only way for a blogger to end her hiatus is with BULLETS!

I last left you with Sambo's birthday. We were celebrating the wonderful 10 year-old that he is. He had a sleepover with few of his best buds. It was loud and it was stinky in my house for about 15 hours. But super fun as The Avengers, A&W Root Beer floats, and pick-up football games kept us all entertained.

Then there was the fair. I've done many-a-post about my passion for the SC State Fair, so y'all know the drill...

Then my favorite time of the year...HALLOWEEN!!! But this year I was quite glum, as my hubby had to travel the entire week before Halloween and the week of. I had to ZOMBIFY my little football players and go to the annual Pine Island Carnival all by myself with the boys because his flight came in really late. All was well, though. We met up with Nana, Papa, and cousins Kirstin and Madeline. The boys and Kirstin made a pretty spooky zombie squad and had their fill of carnival food, cotton candy, games, rides, and haunted hayrides.

The weekend before Halloween I tried to suck as much holiday out of Shan as possible. But he rallied on that Sunday before he left town again and helped me and my mom pull off The 2nd Annual Forest Acres Neighborhood Parade {last year}. We had another great turnout this year with lots of new little ghosts and goblins. The boys weren't interested in putting on all their zombie goop, so they just went as the football team and we were naturally the referees.

After a very busy, birthday and activity packed October, it was time to give thanks! We celebrated at my mom and dad's house. I was particularly thankful for a couple of reasons. My Aunt Laynie, who has been battling cancer, rallied and was able to join us. It just wouldn't be the same without her. And it was the first of many holidays that my mom and dad had all 4 children and 7 grandchildren under one roof. With in-laws and 5 different family schedules, we often can't coordinate a time that suits everyone so we stagger visits. At first, I was fearful that the Mayans may actually be correct in their end-of-time theory!

The week immediately following Thanksgiving could quite possible be deemed the busiest week of my life. It's the week of the Junior League of Columbia's Holiday Market. This year our theme was "Be Merry and Bright" and my placement was Holiday Market Co-Vice Chair with one of my favorite people on the planet. It is a week filled with TONS of hard work, events, shopping, damage control, and TONS of hard work.

We turn a warehouse-type building into a shopping wonderland with the most festive decorations and close to a hundred vendors from all over the country. My friend Erin has some amazing pictures of the Holiday Market decorations on her blog.

After 6 years on the committee, next year Misty and I will be graduating to Co-Chairs of the market and we are so thankful for the leadership of Karen and Erica this year, or "Karica" as we call them, they have well-paved the way for us.

As usual, I couldn't have pulled that week off without Shan's help. He is the BEST! Any who... here are a few highlights.

Here are just a few other tidbits and pics from the by-and by...

I turned 3*!
We duked out a pretty good Gamecock football season
The Ver-man completed his first soccer season and got a trophy!

We found lots of things to keep us "occupied" while Shan was traveling for two weeks. Face-Time on my phone became our favorite thing and he was able to join us as we made our Potato-Head Vampire and during Halloween festivities.
Oliver went on a trip to the farm and pumpkin patch with his buddies from school. I'm not sure who had more fun... him or me.

We also attended our 3rd and final Thanksgiving feast at the preschool. We received our 3rd Indian Tribe from Mrs. Frannie and my set is now complete. It was a precious, yet tearful moment for this mommy! I've been at that school now for 11 years and Oliver will be off to big-boy school next year. I'm trying to savor every moment in the "Jesus Bubble" that I can!

As I mentioned earlier, our hearts were full on Thanksgiving as we celebrated with my mom's side of the family. Not only were all my siblings in one place, but my mom's were too! She is one of seven. Her oldest brother and youngest sister passed away when I was a little girl. But we were so very thrilled to have the five of them all together!

Well...it's been a pretty busy fall. And we will soon be celebrating Christmas! I can't believe it. Where has this year gone?

I hope to better maintain my blog for my boys and hope too that y'all will stay along for the ride.

XO,

Double Digits

2012-10-15T07:00:00.000-04:00

TEN years ago today, I saw the pinkest, most perfect little baby boy I had ever seen. My life changed for the best at that moment. I had become a mom!!! I had never loved so hard or deeply in my life. God blessed us with Samuel Waddell Baker and continues to bless us with him each and every day.

Sam is compassionate and with his heart of gold he is eager to please. He adores his family, has a true passion for the Lord, and he makes me smile every single day. His sense of humor is beyond his years and he gets a huge kick out of corny jokes and any time I get a good "stab" in at his dad. He loves all things "boy"- riding his bike, playing outside all day long, basketball, baseball, football, and most recently, soccer.

His beautiful big blue eyes are without a doubt a pair of the kindest I've ever looked into. If the eyes truly are "the window to the soul", then he's got a good one for sure! His smile and giggle still melt my heart just like they did the first time! That blond peach-fuzz that was on his head the day he was born is now a thick blond mop, complete with a signature Dennis the Menace cowlick. We disagree weekly on how long/short it should be, as he has grown very particular in how he wears it. I'm unsure of his exact height but...I'm only a head taller than he is and he rubs it in every chance he can get.

He seems to be a pretty good little writer. His art skills are fantastic and he appears to be a natural on his guitar! He is helpful around the house and an excellent big brother to F & O.

Last night, when I tucked him in, I said, "OK bud! It's your last night in the single digits. Tomorrow we'll welcome you to the double digits. How does that feel?"
He just grinned and said, "Good."

Yes, Sambo! It is good. You are an amazing gift that has forever stolen the hearts of many, many people. I feel sure God has lots of greatness in store for you in this next decade of this life.

Happy 10th Birthday! We love you!!!

Let's see...

2012-10-14T06:30:00.000-04:00

Where was I?
Here I am. Back again after almost a month. I'll spare you the mumbo-jumbo about how crazy my life has been with Shan traveling, Holiday Market obligations, Sunday School prep, soccer x3, 4th grade chaos, etc.

If I had to dedicate this post to someone other than my children...it'd be Beth. I get frequent reminders from her to update my blog. So this one's for you, Beffrey!!! Thanks for following me!

I'm going to back up about 5 weeks ago and highlight my precious Fu-bird's 7th birthday. All I have to say is...

Move over American Girl Store! This is how boy-moms do it!

It was "A Very Lego Birthday". In lieu of a party, Fulton wanted to make a trip to LEGOLAND in Atlanta. Since parties can be kinda "spancy", it was a pretty good trade off on our end. If you have a Lego-crazed child, you MUST go. It's very affordable and great entertainment for the whole family. We made it an overnight trip only because my boys ~~and I~~ have a sick fascination with hotels, but it can totally be done in a day trip.

Any who...here are the highlights in pics.

My sweet boy was all smiles. He really enjoyed himself as he was completely surrounded by EVERYTHING LEGO! There was a Lego 4D theatre, a Lego Master Builder Academy, Lego City which was amazing, and a Lego Cafe with a pit of rubber bricks to build life-size creations and so many more exciting things to do.

Sam and Oliver didn't have any complaints either. They got to take advantage of all the fabulous attractions too. We were all in complete awe of Lego City with their perfect replicas of all the hot spots in ATL. The possibilities were endless for everyone to be creative and have a fantastic time.

On his actual birthday we continued the Lego madness. One of his new favorite things is Lego Ninjago. I don't get it, but all that matters is that he does. We had a Ninjago-style dinner at one of his fave Japanese restaurants. It seemed like the perfect spot! Muzzy, Boppa, Nana, and Papa joined us and we topped our awesome weekend off just right!

Monday following his birthday we had his celebration of life at school. That darn thing gets this sappy momma every time! To say it's flying by sounds so cliche...but it really is. We all enjoyed celebrating sweet Fulton. He is growing into such a fine handsome boy and we love him TONS!

I'm so far behind with this post and can't believe that we will be celebrating Sambo's TENTH birthday on Monday. So stay tuned for more catch up posts and Sam's bday!

Analogies and Updates

2012-09-18T12:09:00.000-04:00

I've been working on analogies with Sambo. When I was drumming up examples for him this one popped into my head...

Laundry:Mountain::Blogging:Agglomeration
Relationship- What happens when things are neglected.

I have great intentions with both my laundry and my blog. I love the end result - fresh smelling clothes, fully stocked drawers and closets; organized thoughts, memories, and pictures documented for my boys, friends, and family. It's always the process of both that wipe me out. Washing, drying, and folding...I can handle that okay. It's the getting them from the baskets to the drawers that I can't stand! I'd live out of baskets for weeks if I had some where to put them that was out of the way. With blogging, it's finding the time at night and early in the morning when I'm super tired to jot something into a blog post, upload and edit pictures, and publish the post. All of the above requires time and energy, which I have very little of these days. Unfortunately, my housework and blog have both been neglected in a bad way over the last couple of weeks. And I now have that "mountain" and an "agglomeration"!

I have been working 'round the clock filling orders {To my customers out there...I'm loving all your great ideas for theme parties. I am so thankful that you let me bring them to life.}! The volume of orders I've been filling has kept me crazy busy. It's been great!

School. School. School. Sam is in 4th grade. Need I say more? The homework is a completely new concept for these Montessori folks here. Up until now we have only had monthly book reports and quarterly research projects. So all you mommas who've been doing it all along...KUDOS!

We have all had the crud. Head, chest, ears, scratchy throats...UHG!!! School is definitely back in!

I am so excited that Shannon and I just started teaching an adult Sunday School at church. We have been spending lots of time getting our ducks in a row for that. Look for a post really soon.

We celebrated Fu's 7th birthday. This year he chose an "adventure" over a party. So we headed to ATL for Lego Land! Stay tuned for that post. It was so much fun!!!

Shan and I actually got a weekend away by-our-selves for the first time in 7 years. We had been away with friends, but not alone. That post is soon to follow also. It was long overdue and much appreciated.

On top of all that I start subbing this week for our school district. I decided to do that rather than return to work full time. I think it will be great!

I'll be doing a little catching up this week on this here blog. I appreciate all of you who have sent me messages to find out how Fulton's birthday was and what's been going on. Thanks for sticking around and being interested in CTBaker in the Acres!

Now...On to tackle the mountain.

My Fears Came True

2012-09-08T23:30:00.000-04:00

Tonight I had just finished telling Sambo & Fu-bird the story about the night before Fulton was born. It went kinda like this...

I had just polished off a #21 at San Jose - our traditional pre-delivery last meal. I was sitting in my bed, anxious {imagine that} about having another boy {didn't know what we were having, but I was worried}, worried that I didn't have enough love for 2 children - much less 2 BOYS! I now have 3 and can't imagine it any other way. I didn't even have a boy name picked out and had to frantically call Muzzy at the last minute for family name suggestions.

Worried. Worried. Worried!

The next morning, September 9, 2005, Fulton Barnes Baker {which suits him perfectly} was born.

A second son! {No one told me I'd be so completely and instantly enamored.}

It was true.

All my fears were coming true and somehow...

It couldn't have been a bigger blessing!

Sam said "Wow, Mom! God works fast! And He made sure all that stuff worked out."

Fulton said, "Yeah! 'Cause you love me and Sam and Oliver to the moon-and-back-and-back-and-back-and... . He does work fast!"

Today, I am so thankful for God's plan! I have these 3 amazing little boys. And I love each one as much as the other, in all kinds of different ways.

Tomorrow, we celebrate the 7th birthday of the Twinkly Little Spirit of my darling Fulton!

We love you more than you will ever know, buddy! Thank you for being a part of God's lesson to me that there are no limits on how much a mother can love 1 or 101 babies.

You are such a special gift to all who know you.

Happy 7th Birthday, sweet boy!!!

Love,
Your Crazy Family

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Football Friday Widow

2012-09-01T08:44:00.000-04:00

For about 13 years, on Friday nights, Shan has officiated high school football (and various other sports) for SCISA. In other words...he's a referee! My husband is quite possibly one of the most level-headed, decent, honest guys I know. I'm pretty sure the games he calls reflect his character. The parents, kids, and coaches who recognize him never fail to mention what a great guy he is. They're right.

What started out as a hobby, shortly after college and a means to have a little extra cash for us as newlyweds, has gradually turned into a passion for him. He loves it! And I can't argue with a hobby that he gets paid for.

Me? Well...I'm the Football Friday Widow.

Years ago, before children, I would go hang with friends, third-wheel to parties and our favorite night-life spots. When Sam and Fulton were babies I'd hang with my mom and dad and they'd treat us to dinner. Now, we just do random stuff - movie night, pizza night, sometimes an evening with hunting or fishing "widows" and their kids, or like last night... it was a random fast food dinner and a trip to Target with my momma.

We tried on "fashion glasses"

And bought a couple of mini-packs of Star Wars Legos

Which we successfully assembled

And I had one little guy who wasn't feeling too hot, so I tucked him in early.

We find things to busy ourselves until he walks through the door. The boys are usually asleep by the time he gets home, but I wait up for him because it's always nice to have someone greet you when you come home...no matter what the time may be.

Sometimes I think it'd be nice to have normal Friday nights with Shan, but I'm thankful I have my buddies to entertain me and my momma near-by to keep me company. After-all, being married to an entertainer for 40-something years she was the "band widow" and has Friday nights down pat.

GAME ON

2012-08-30T11:34:00.002-04:00

It's game day, y'all!

You can feel it in the air! Everywhere you look there are Gamecock fans of all ages, shapes, and sizes decked out in their Gamecock spirit wear {including the Bakers}. It's an awesome sight to behold. Last year, I actually started a post on this particular phenomenon, but never uploaded the pics. Oh well! If you live anywhere near Cola., SC...you don't need my pics to understand.

Any who... I haven't posted about CTBakerDesigns.com in a while. And I realize I'm a little late in posting this, but I have recently created some fun theme invitations, as I had a client planning a tailgate engagement party. And NEVER FEAR! If you are not a Gamecock fan - I can change the culahs {colors}!!!

No need for fancy tailgate spots for a great party! Why not have a team spirit shindig in the comfort of your home?!?

Go for it! And GO COCKS!

New Finds and Faves

2012-08-28T06:30:00.000-04:00

Don't you love it when you stumble upon something and it suddenly becomes your new favorite thing? I do! That seems to have happened to me a few times recently.

A while back I was browsing the blogisphere and I read about a blogger's quest to find the perfect mascara. I saw some of the comments and reviews of other readers and thought mascara is such a personal choice. I think like most beauty products, there is not one perfect fit for all. You sometimes have to try a hundred to find the right product. Then I noticed I was getting low on my own mascara last week and had just been getting caught up on Just Ask Beth. I saw she had posted about a fairly new affordable drugstore mascara. I was in a pinch and decided to give it a whirl... and I LOVE IT too!!! And it's only about 8 bucks! Go get you some.

{source}

The other day on FB a friend asked which meal plans others had tried and liked. I commented that I had tried Emeals and Saving Dinner. Both are subscription meal planning services which are really good, but I only felt guilty if I didn't use the suggested meals, so I didn't re-join. THEN another FB friend commented that she had just discovered the iPhone APP and Website for non-iPhone users called Food On The Table. It's awesome! It's free! And it's made me excited about planning meals again! Try it! You have nothing to lose.

It allows you to select your local stores, customize dietary needs and likes, and it automatically syncs with the local circular specials. You can select your meals according to what's on sale. I used the app and shopped by it on Sunday. It was kinda fun!

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Then, there was the other day when I was cruising the streets of the Acres and I couldn't find a thing on the radio. I stumbled up a local station, 92.1 FM The Palm. I LOVE IT! From my understanding, it is a station that was started by a couple of our own home-grown superstars from Hootie and the Blowfish. They play "handpicked" music and I have heard so many awesome tunes from 10,000 Maniacs to Brandi Carlisle and old-school Dave Matthews. So glad to have found it! Makes me feel a little college-y again.

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Any who! Just wanted to pass those along. Try them on for size. You never know...they may become your faves too.

XO,

40th Fanfare

2012-08-27T10:04:00.002-04:00

I have been reveling in these amazing morning temps the last few days. It's been almost fall-ish! The 90 degree heat of the afternoon is a little more tolerable when you have a brisk morning. I guess I can thank hurricane Isaac for sending some kookie weather pattern our way, but I sure hope he takes it easy on the Gulf.

Any who, we had a great weekend! It was very productive, yet relaxing for the most part. We knocked out a few to-do list projects, which always feels good. And we went out for a yummy dinner in Harbison with Shan's family for our annual celebration of his and his brother's birthdays. It was a beautiful, crisp night and we literally had to drag the kids to the car kicking and screaming from playing in the fountain and on the playground outside the restaurant.

Thanks to my S-I-L for taking a couple of pics that I stole from her FB.

Should this caption be...The 3 Stooges or Like Father, Like Sons?

I love Fulton "eyeing" the cake. Mrs. Baker had a cute reason why she put a 12 on the cake to honor both Shannon and Randy. Shan's is the 14th and Randy's is the 24th. She also said she didn't think it'd be safe to put 81 candles (38 and 43) on there. ;-)

Poor Kirstin.

We also celebrated the 40th birthday of my dear friend Anne Stuart on Friday night. Her hubby, sister, and sisters in law threw her a fantastic BBQ and party. My slack self didn't take the first picture either. Sometimes I'm just too lazy or having too much fun and I forget. I got a great but very dark video at the night's end, but will NOT be sharing that! ;-)

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In the last year or so we've started attending and hearing about lots of great 40th birthday celebrations... trips, fabulous parties, surprise gifts, etc. It kinda reminds me of when everyone was getting engaged and there was so much pressure for the guy to come up with the most creative scenario. So I'm saying it now...the heat is on! Shan and I have two years to get it together.

Our birthdays are 2 months apart and we celebrate our 15th wedding anniversary that same year so we want to do something out of the ordinary {for us}. I love that we get to celebrate that milestone together. We've thought of doing a once-in-a-lifetime trip together, individual parties, surprise/no surprise, a joint party for the 2 of us, a group party with several others who turn 40 at the same time, a mountain/beach weekend with friends...all kinds of stuff.

So many great options! What to do, what to do???

I'd love to know how other folks celebrate milestone birthdays. What's the best you've ever heard about or attended?

XO,

Get into the groove...

2012-08-23T09:36:00.000-04:00

So far, so good with the first week of school. We are gettin' into the groove!

This week I have been super busy, but trying to stay super organized too. During the summer I threw all meal-planning, laundry schedules, and anything "organized" out the window. I have a lot of catching up to!

This week, I've got the boys back on their "Hamburger Helpers" chore chart, I started a meal plan again, and have been trying to get my laundry system back in gear. So, it's not just the first week back for the boys...it's the first week back for mom.

While meal planning I thought about how great slow cooker meals are. I have always loved my using Crock Pot, but I think it only made it to my counter top once this summer. I decided to drag it out and dust it off.

{And you might have gotten married around 1999 if your Crock Pot looks like this...}

{Someone please tell my husband that I ~~want~~ need this one! Mine is 13ish years old and the plastic lid is now cracked.}

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I am hoping to return to work a couple of days a week this school year and thought it'd make my life easier if I did a few crock pot meals a week. So I started shopping around my favorite blogs and Pinterest for some new recipes.

The first first one I found was an Easy Crock Pot Lasagna... and it was! And it was also very tasty.

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Ingredients

1 pound (16 ounces) ground beef {I used ground turkey.}
1/2 cup diced white onion
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 (24 ounce) jar spaghetti sauce {shhhhhh! Don't tell my family!}
1/2 cup water
1 (15 ounce) container ricotta cheese
2 cups mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 whole egg
2 Tablespoons fresh parsley or 2 teaspoons dried parsley
6 uncooked lasagna noodles {Whole wheat noodles work just the same.}

Directions

In a large skillet brown beef and onion. Add garlic and cook for one minute. Drain.
Add spaghetti sauce and water and simmer for about 5 minutes.
Mix ricotta, 1 1/2 cups mozzarella, 2 Tablespoons Parmesan, egg and parsley.
Pour 1 cup of spaghetti meat sauce into a 4 to 6 quart sized slow cooker. Place half of the noodles and half of the ricotta mixture on top of the sauce. Cover with 2 cups meat sauce. Top with remaining noodles (If the noodles don't fit exactly break them to fit) and cheese mixture and meat sauce.
Cook on low for 4 to 5 hours or until noodles are soft. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup of mozzarella and remaining parmesan. Cover with the lid to melt the cheese and let it sit for 10 minutes before serving.
Do not overcook and don't try to speed up the process by cooking it on high.
*Works best with a 4 to 6 quart size slow cooker.

No complaints from the fam, except for maybe a certain 3 year-old who happens to currently detest all food, so it's a keeper!

Next up...

This yummy Crock Pot Mexican Chicken and Rice from a blog I love called Skinny Mom. I'll let you know how that comes out too.

I'd love to hear if your family has any tried and true crock pot recipes.

Now, on to my pile of laundry!

XO,

Summer Highlights 2012

2012-08-21T12:48:00.001-04:00

We are always a little sad to see the lazy hazy days of summer come to a close. This year, because of the school calendar changes, we had an extra week or two to enjoy. It was wonderful thing. It allowed us to squeeze in a couple of extra adventures.

I thought I'd share our summer highlights...

(There are a gazillion pics, but I blog mainly to preserve the memories for my sweet boys.)

Edisto with Friends

We had a great Memorial Day trip to Edisto with friends. (I posted about it here.) It was definitely a highlight so I re-posted it!

Boppa's Birthday
My Dad's birthday is June 1st. We celebrated at mom and dad's with my brother (Uncle Clayton, Aunt April, Madison, and Emma) and his family. The kids had an awesome time playing chase, kickball, and splashing with Oliver in the baby pool. They love seeing each other and I just wish it was more often! The moon that night was an amazing sight...I snapped a crummy pic with my phone that doesn't do near the justice.

The Baker Beach Vacay

Mid-June we savored every minute of our 10-day stay at the beach. We go with Shannon's family every year to the Garden City/Surfside area. His mom and dad, as a tradition {along with 4 or 5 other couples}, enjoy the "camping life" and we stay in a condo near-by with Shan's brother and sister-in-law (Uncle Randy and Aunt T) and and their girls (Kirstin and Madeline).

This year we were so delighted to have Shannon's cousin David and his children, Robert and Katie come in from Texas to visit. They stayed with Shan's Uncle Terry at our same complex. There was a lifetime of memories made among the cousins. TOO MUCH FUN! We are excited that David's wife Kitin will be able to join us next year. This year she was concentrating on some much need r&r at home and recovery. We are beyond happy that she is now in remission!

Annual Cheesy Beach Pics

Cousins

Kirstin 13, Robert 11, Sam 9, Katie 8, Madeline 7, Fulton 6, Oliver 3

The Fabulous Baker Bunch

Some Shady Characters

The Beach Boys

Soaking It All Up

And later...back at the camp

All Beached Out

As a newlywed and new mother I couldn't understand why in the world someone would want to stay in a camper for a week at a family campground. I personally, was accustomed to the oceanfront vacays my parents always took us on. Camping was out of the question. But MY HOW TIMES HAVE CHANGED! I am now the mother of a 9, a 6, and a 3 year-old boy and they love every minute of it. We are surrounded by the ocean, pools, mini-golf, playgrounds, duck ponds, nightly activities, an arcade and a camp store. there's no need to leave the campground. Never a dull moment.

There are some fantastic qualities to a family campground. I have never seen so many walks of life in 1 place...more so than Disney World. And they have some really funny rituals - too many to get into - but funny nonetheless.

But there is one I just can't resist posting about. It's the Golf Cart Strip where there's a whole-lotta-hands-slappin'-goin'-on! Decorated carts, loud music, dancing...etc. Think Vegas on a very mini scale!

Let's take a look...Shall we?

(see video below)

Awendaw

My cousin Allison, her husband Ed and their son Kyle opened their beautiful home in Awendaw to us again this summer. We spent a relaxing long weekend on the boat, cruising the Intercoastal Waterway. I was so excited to get to go this time, as Oliver is old enough now to participate in the festivities.

The big boys enjoyed a day of off shore fishing. {Poor Shan got sea sick so he wasn't having that grand of a time, but S & F loved it!} Allison, Oliver, and I boated to Bull Island and played in the tide pools, collected sea shells, and had a picnic lunch. I can't complain at all...lovely day.

The next day we all went out on the ICWW and attempted to go shark fishing but the bait fish were a little hard to find. So instead, we took an amazing and long scenic tour. I snapped some pics of my dream house, a famous shrimp boat, a precious blue house boat that I must have, and my boys enjoying their life at sea. We topped our day off with dinner at the IOP marina. It was a another lovely day!!!

Sam and Fulton ADORE their big cousin Kyle. He is very musically inclined and oh-so-cool to my 9 and 6 year old. When we weren't on the boat, they were having mini jam sessions in Kyle's room and Shan and I were enjoying catching up with Ed and Allison and soaking in the amazing view from their home.

I have to admit...I'm sold on life-on-the-SC-coast. Shan just has to say the word and I wouldn't hesitate to change my blog name to "CTBaker left the Acres".

Our trip had a bonus...On the way home we stopped to visit my best child-hood friend and her family in Mt. Pleasant and got to meet her newest sweet baby girl, Aldyn Parrish Gage.

She is so sweet and tiny. I can't wait to see her again!

I feel like we lived in the water, sun, sand, and bathing suits this summer. We had a few trips to the coast and some refreshing days at the pool with friends. All-in-all...I wouldn't have changed a thing! In fact, it just might be a tough summer to follow. We were blessed with an awesome opportunities.

Now, if I could just get in school-year mode. Hmmmph.

XO,

Ready. Set. Go!

2012-08-20T16:08:00.000-04:00

6:15 came awfully hard this morning for mama, but not for these guys!

They were chompin' at the bit! I think Fu and Sambo were both feeling extra "big" today, as they have both bridged to the next level at school.

You know all the things mamas say on the first day of school about time flying by and all that stuff...well, it's fo-real! I felt all of that and more this morning. They both looked so grown up and I didn't have to do a thing to help them. Very bittersweet.

They were ready to roll well before it was time to go. The dreary rainy morning wasn't stopping them like it was their mama. Fortunately, I convinced them to let me drive them instead of walking (scootering). And at 7:15 they were on their way to another school year.

I am now the proud mom of this adorable 1st grader...

Fulton's 1st day of 1st grade - Mrs. Geiger's class

And this handsome 4th grader...

Sam's 1st day of 4th grade - Mrs. Brown's class

When Shan texted me to find out how their first day went, I was happy to send him this pic...

Everyone is all smiles!

I think it's gonna be a great year!

XO,

Back to School Prep

2012-08-16T20:30:00.002-04:00

In the last week or so we have been making lists and checking them twice. I love the excitement back-to-school time generates. New shoes, backpacks, a few fresh pieces of clothing, and the school supply displays popping up all over town cause a sense of giddiness among parents and students. It's kinda like Christmas.

When the boys got their classroom placements we also got... dun-dun-dun ...The LIST! Each year we get all hyped-up and rush out and battle the Black Friday-like crowds to get all the specifics. Some of the teacher requests crack me up. They ask for certain brands, colors, styles, etc. I can remember my mom taking me to pick out my new Trapper Keeper and getting a pack of pencils or Erasermate pens (remember those??) and loose-leaf paper. That was it! I think it has kinda gotten out of hand. And I really don't know how, when, or why. Whatcha gonna do? They need their stuff.

But I happen to be a bit of a school/office supply junkie and the drawers of my craft room look like the early stages of hoarding. Sooo shopping for school supplies is right up my alley. I actually get a little jeally that I don't get to use all of it. Pencils...I love the smell of new pencils. And there are few things more awesome than a brand new pack of Crayola markers!!!!

Any who...

So what's in The Pig bags?

Let's see...

1 clipboard

14 (yes, fourteen) composition notebooks

2 spiral notebooks

2 1" binders

1 1/2" binder

1 small sketch pad

1 pair of scissors

1 set of watercolor paints

1 box of colored pencils

1 zipper pouch

4 boxes of #2 Ticonderoga pencils

2 packs of wide-ruled notebook paper

2 boxes of washable markers

3 boxes of tissues

24 glue sticks

1 red pocket folder

1 pack of TWISTABLE colored pencils

Antibacterial wipes

PHEW!!!!
That would be the teacher-requested school supplies for S & F We're not quite there with O yet.

And along with buying all those very particular supplies, I like to buy a few surcies for our teachers and make them a Teacher's Tackle Box. I remember being a school-based speech therapist and #1 loving little surcies from parents and students and #2 being so thankful when they were useful. It's nice to feel loved and appreciated!

These pics are actually from last year but I'm putting together the same thing for them this year. My friend Misty did a similar one last year too.

I will be happy to share my PDF files for you to print your own labels. Just contact me by leaving a comment below or on Facebook.

So the last couple of days have been spent doing all the back-to-school prep work...cleaning out and organizing their clothes, locating lunchboxes and backpacks, and packing up the school supplies. The boys are super excited about their Back-to-School Rally tonight. They'll get to drop off their goodies and meet their teachers. Good times for the Baker boys!

What do y'all do to get ready for the new school year?

Stay tuned for highlights from our last minute vacay and "Summah 2012"!

XO,

Olympic Overload

2012-08-12T00:00:00.000-04:00

I don't know about y'all, but the 2012 Olympics have really cut into my shut-eye! I'm dyin'! We have so many awesome athletes that I am totally sucked in. Thankfully they end very soon and I'll have a week to get back into the sleep groove before the rude awakening of school on August 20th. Geeze!!!

As for my boys, they have taken on a love for the Olympics, just like their momma. Every morning they ask which events are on the schedule for the day. They cheer our people on, hoot and holler, and even act it out a bit. They were super jacked when they saw wrestling and thought it'd be a good idea to try it out on each other. Ummm! NO...STOP!

And then there was rhythmic gymnastics.

Two words...

Help me.

(Roll film.)

Any who... It's been a good ride for the US of A! I'm so very proud of our athletes and thankful for them inspiring my boys to be future Olympians... even if they're the 1st male rhythmic gymnasts! ;-)

Whodja get?

2012-08-11T10:07:00.000-04:00

I went to a small Catholic school growing up. It was a sweet everyone-knows-everyone community, that included the teachers. There was no suspense in which teacher you would have the next school year because there was only one teacher per grade and that teacher was most likely the same teacher that had been there 30 years prior. So what you saw was what you got. Like it or not.

This is a BIG year for us. You may recall my post on my boys bridging to Upper El {Sam} and Lower El {Fulton}. Oliver will only be going into 3K at his preschool, but it's his last year there until he joins his brothers at the Montessori school. So BIG things are happening here! So much anxious energy can be felt coming from all of us.

My boys have had the great anticipation of "the letter" all summer long. I love it. With summer coming to an end, they ask everyday if "the letter" announcing their classroom placement has come.

Then the other day... it came.

And they were all smiles when they found out their placements.

We feel VERY blessed with all three of the awesome "picks" for the 2012-2013 school year. I've heard nothing but good about Sam and Fulton's teachers. As for Oliver's teacher, well, we go way back (here and here). And we just adore Mrs. Frannie. She's like a family member. Sam and Fulton have both had her and now Oliver. So exciting!

It's gonna be a great year!

So tell me, whodja get? Are you excited about your child's class placement this coming year?

XO

Doing the "Write" Thing

2012-08-03T07:30:00.000-04:00

Well, here we are. Winding down another summer.

May 20-something seems like yesterday. Yet, May 20-something I thought, how am I going to make it until August 20-something?

For some reason I was dreading it.

Maybe it's the "dynamics" I have going on in the house right now. Ya know...three very different ages. Three very different stages. Three very different and precious personalities. There's no doubt that I love each one of them more than life itself for who and where they are, but it all seems so daunting to manage sometimes.

But somehow I have managed another fun, long, hot summer with my little peeps.

Overall, it's been really good and I didn't go into "Crazy Mommy" mode as often as I thought I would.

And lately, I'm all for "whatever works". I think you kinda have to be that way as a mom of 3 boys!

In our effort to maintain order and reinforce our expectations for S & F, Shan and I decided to do something different this year and have tried not to raise our voices.

I'm not saying that hasn't happened at all, because inevitably there will be days when certain people choose to blatantly ignore your instruction. But it has NOT been our go-to summer parenting method like it has been in the past.

Any who...

We have decided to make them write. Yes. Write.

Kinda like your teacher may have done.

Depending on the severity of the offense, it could be 10 to 25 times of a particular statement such as "I will not..." or {for Sam} a paragraph/essay on "Why he shouldn't..." or "What would have been a better choice".

It lasts as long as they make it last. It's legal. It's portable. All you need is a notebook and a pencil. I don't think it's anything that will land them in a shrink's office either. And the best part, they learn from it.

We've reached a point where writing for a consequence is as painful as having to lose the Wii or TV for a week and it appears to be as bad as having to sit in time-out or being reprimanded in front of your friends.

I don't have to fight them to do it. They just know that they can't get up or move on until they've finished. One takes longer than the other due to the drama involved...but we won't mention any names. ;-)

Recently, I went back through the notebook and started laughing at some of "The Best of Summer 2012". I thought I'd share a couple.

So without further ado...

I posted this one on Facebook a few weeks back and got a barrage of "likes" and hilarious comments. I think lots of people can relate.

I realize we clearly have a throwing problem.

And what I love on a couple of these is how they tried to weasel out of writing the whole sentence or change it to a shorter sentence, only to have to re-write it per mom and dad's request. Ha! And then they REALLY loved us.

All I can say, is it's just a day in the life of a mom of three boys...doing whatever works.

I have been told by very wise women that I will look back and laugh at these days. I already am. And I love that some of it has been documented...in their handwriting!

XO,

Let the Games Begin!

2012-07-31T17:57:00.001-04:00

We are LOVING the Olympic games in the Baker house right now! The boys have been staying awake way too late to watch as many events as they can. Our favorite events so far have been swimming, synchronized diving, mens gymnastics, and ladies gymnastic trials. I am so impressed by the talent the young athletes possess. Simply amazing. And by young I mean...y.o.u.n.g.! Missy Franklin and Gabby Douglas... Yeah. I could be their mom!

Any who. We were so excited about the summer games that we decided to have some friends and neighbors join us for the opening ceremonies on Friday night.

We had a spread of barbecue and some awesome summer sides - coleslaw, hash brown casserole, fresh watermelon and berries, fresh baked sourdough bread, and cupcakes! Our friends gave their dishes Olympic names.

I made some "Gold Medal Surprise" pineapple punch for the kids and Shan whipped up some festive "Johnny-All-American" blue cocktails for the adults. We also served water with raspberry and blueberry garnished ice cubes. (I was kinda slack about taking pictures. Sorry! This is all you get.)

I made some simple decorations and had little trivia game for the kids. I made a wreath of the Olympic rings. Easiest thing EVER! I should have done a tutorial, but oh well. In case you can't look at it and figure it out and you want to know exactly what I did, just comment or shoot me an email. I made a "torch" with a glass cylinder and some tissue paper, and I made some cupcake toppers from some flags I found on a home school website.

Our trivia question was "Guess the number of countries participating in the 2012 Olympic Games. (Hint: It's the same amount of gumballs in the jar!)". Our precious winner who guessed the closest said 180. Can you guess correctly without Googling? ;-)

As with any Baker function, children are always welcome! They played so hard outside and inside, ate lots of watermelon and cupcakes, and guzzled their signature punch. They even held out until the USA was on parade.

Overall I thought the Opening ceremony was fantastic and filled with great symbolism of the history of the UK with impressive theatrics and music. I loved hearing tributes to Queen, Pink Floyd, and The Beatles. And the Mary Poppins scene was awesome! Who couldn't appreciate that?

The boys are really enjoying the games. They like to act out each event. It's so funny! I think it's a great source of inspiration for them. Fulton has expressed that he'd like to take gymnastics...I think that's pretty cool. Oliver, however, may have to join him...(here's a video clip.)

I just love that he "sticks" the landing does the gymnast's salute! Tweet-potatuh!!!

I hope y'all are enjoying as much of the Olympics as we are. It has given us something exciting to look forward to during these last couple of hot weeks of summer!

XO,

Currently

2012-07-25T10:00:00.000-04:00

Currently loving... our 3 day STAYcation. Shan's parents volunteered to keep the boys at the lake for a few days and we gladly took them up on it. So refreshing!

Currently reading... My So-Called Life as a Proverbs 31 Wife by Sara Horn. Such a cute easy read on a topic in which lots of women I know struggle!

Currently waiting for... God. I've been doing lots of praying and sorting through which path I should follow in my "career"/"purpose" and which steps to take to get there. Just waiting on some guidance from Him.

Currently excited about... the gradual face-lift the interior of my house is slowly-but-surely getting. It's been a long 8 years since we've done anything to our house and we're finally going room by room! Oliver's room- 90% complete, Up Next {in this order}... Master Bedroom (we're moving downstairs into what is currently my guestroom), Sam's room (No more sharing! He's getting his own room.), Fulton's Room (Not a complete over-haul because he and Sam had their room repainted a few years ago. So we're just doing some updates and re-arranging because we don't want him to feel left out.) Hall and Stairwell (repainting), Laundry Room (We're doing some built-ins...desk, cabinets, folding counter etc.), Kitchen (Repaint and put in a new microwave), Living Room and Dining room (Repaint), Den (Repaint and FINALLY reupholster my chair and ottoman)

Currently missing... my boys! While I have loved the quiet time to ourselves, I am really starting to miss them. I am not used to being away from them, especially for more than a day or two.

Currently trying... to eat more "real" food. I'm not being hugely successful, but I'm learning and making an attempt.

Currently working... on several invitation projects and a logo! Loving the original themes... 50 States...50 Years Anniversary, Cheer party, Pinewood Derby party, and a Hot Rod party

Currently enjoying... The last few weeks of summer. I am looking forward to a routine and everyone going to their own "places" each day, but I love the lazy days of summer too!

Currently using... my Kindle Fire, LOTS! I have had issues falling asleep recently. I think it's mostly because I'm stewing in all the things I need to get done and dreading how long it's going to take. UHHHG! So my Kindle has become my new BFF from 11:00pm-1:00am.

Currently wearing... a different ring on my right ring finger because I STILL can't find my 30th birthday gift, ruby and diamond cocktail ring. I lost/misplaced it a couple of weeks ago and it makes me want to barf when I think about it.

Currently planning... A fun Summer Olympics Opening Ceremonies get-together with a few neighbors for Friday night. Can't wait! I should probably warn them that I get so excited I cry.

Currently singing... whatever pops into my head. Y'all know I love to sing all.the.time., especially when I have the house or car to myself.

Currently needing... to get my mojo back. I think I've had so much going on recently with our house projects, the lax summertime schedule, and entertaining the boys daily that I have yet again, pushed "me" to the side. S & F are not wild about the gym nursery and pushing 100+ pounds of baby and stroller while watching 2 wobbly bicycle riders as I hit the pavement doesn't make for a very thorough workout. Ok. Those are crappy excuses. So I need prayers for my mojo to return. Thanks.

Currently learning... to make more time for me and more date nights with my hubby. We deserve it and have been simmering on the back burner for a long, long time now. We have discussed several ways to "afford" it so money isn't an excuse. And we have also discussed making better use of our time so we can't say we don't have "time" to squeeze it in.

Currently listening to... the morning news and the click-clack of the keyboard.

Currently wishing... for Fall! I can't wait for cooler temps, the beautiful blue sky, and designing and planning fun fall parties for people.

Currently doing... what I can to keep O a baby. He is using the potty, sleeping in a big-boy bed, going to Mrs. Frannie's class 5 days a week this school year, and just in the last week started calling me "mom". Noooooooo! It's all going by so fast. I promise to never blink again!!!

Currently praying for...lots! Personal growth in several areas, comfort and healing for family, peace, patience, and the ability to bite my tongue during hard times (including the hours from 4pm-8pm), and for guidance as a servant, wife, and mother.

Currently dreaming of... our next family road trip. We had so much fun back in April and I can't wait to do it again! We've been throwing around some ideas. Y'all got any in particular for me?

This is a borrowed post from the girls at Jones Design Company and Lemonade Makin' Mama!

Okay it's your turn if you want... give me a run-down of what you're doing "currently" in comments or blog it and pass it on!

XO,

It's ok! I've got rocks!

2012-07-20T15:37:00.000-04:00

Y'all know most of my Fulton tales, as I have posted many over the years. Here's another one.

In a convo with him he was telling me all about some Pokemon card launcher thing. I acted interested, but truly had no clue what he was talking about. He went on to say that he wants me to buy him one.

I told him I thought he should earn some money to buy it. His response...

No! It's ok! I have rocks!

Me: Rocks?

Fulton: Uh huh. Lots of nice ones.

Me: (clueless) Well what are you gonna do with the rocks? Can you use them with the launcher?

Fulton: No! I can spend 'em.

Me: Spend 'em? You can't spend rocks, honey.

Fulton: Uh huh! Sam said people used to spend rocks a long time ago instead of money! I can just use those.

Me: Aww! Hun, you have to use money now. That would be awesome if we could use rocks though.

He left the room to quiz Sam on why he'd tell him he could use rocks to buy stuff. I tuned out their exchange as I chuckled to myself in the kitchen, seriously wishing I could use rocks as money. Since I have 3 boys, I think we'd be considered really, really rich and every time I did S & F's laundry...it'd be payday!

How cool would that be?!?!

I love these little conversations. They are precious and hilarious all rolled into one! These are the moments I want to freeze and keep forever.

Well, we are all back under one roof. Sam is home from camp. Happy as a clam. Lice and tick free! Praise God! (Remember last year's post?) I scrubbed his hair really well before I let him sit down on the sofa just to be sure! ;)

Happy Friday, y'all!
I wonder if I pay my sitter in rocks tomorrow night if she'd be offended? Or maybe I could bring back the rock bartering system.
Hmmmm?

XO,

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Bullet kinda week

2012-07-19T16:51:00.000-04:00

It's a bullet kind of post...

Sam has been at camp and I've been busy entertaining F & O at camp F-O-C this week. We've done a field trip or two, arts and crafts, and today we're baking a cake! They have really had a good week and we've enjoyed our time together. BUT they are really missing Sam and looking forward to picking him up tomorrow morning.

Sam seems to be having a fabulous time at camp. He hasn't written me (no surprise there), but his counselor did. So I know he's alive! I have also been checking out his cute pics on Bunk1.com. I love seeing his little face. I can even spot him in a blurry pack of 100 kids or as a speck in the thick backdrop of trees on the high ropes! It's kinda like Where's Waldo: Camp Edition.

(Pics from Bunk1.com)

While Sam has been away, we have been sure to be sending him lots of mail and few care packages. Fulton has enjoyed writing and sending mail to Sam. His notes have been short but so sweet. He cried a couple of nights because he was really missing Sam. So sweet!

His care packages had a few "down-time" camp staples in them... Construction paper for paper airplanes and such, mad libs, tattoos (of course.), and a standard pillow case for his bunk mates to sign as a keepsake.

In BIG exciting news... this adorable 10 year-old has grown up into this handsome guy who is getting MARRIED!!!!

We are so excited to have Noel join our family. She and Nic are 2 peas in a pod. Nic was born when I was 15, so he's kinda like my own. We have a very special relationship and his happiness is super important to me. I think he made a great choice in picking a mate.

Ironically, when Nic was a little boy, my mom bought him this book...

Who knew?

Oliver's big boy room is coming along very well! just gotta get some sewing done and some pictures on the wall and we'll be good to go. Shan finished his cute bookshelf the other night. It's perfect! So thankful for a handy hubby!

Shan and I have been enjoying some quiet time in the evenings this week since F & O have been doing the VBS. It's been so nice! We enjoyed a date night with some friends too. The time together has been long overdue and welcomed more than you can imagine! Now we are off to the VBS finale and a pot luck supper!

More later..

XO,