Flash Face

We all know the flash faces that our babies make when we stick our cameras up to capture a moment. I remember Charli making silly faces as a baby, but Bryar has her best by far.

I am not sure if he is being funny, in pain or just awkward. I should probably feel bad if it is a sensitivity to the light. But who wouldn't think this is hilarious?!

All Aboard The Polar Express!!

Each year L & N Train Depot hosts a Polar Express, and tickets seem to fly off the shelves. I have tried to take Miss Charli in the past years but they sell out so quickly. Thankfully, my Mother in law heard about a ticket giveaway they were having and stood in line in early November along with her Husband to get all of us tickets to attend.

 

On Thanksgiving she gave the grandkids bags to open filled with jammies and slippers to surprise them with the trip! She picked out the cutest gown for Charli, and those fuzzy slipper boots.. Char was in girlie girl Heaven!

 

We didn't hear the end of just how excited Charli was to attend. She absolutely loved The Polar Express movie, so she knew that she would enjoy this. Plus anytime that she gets hot cocoa and cookies is a big treat!

When we arrived at the depot, the littles that were big enough enjoyed their cookies and cocoa. While Bryar spent his time being carried around by Papaw checking things out. He is in a stage of wanting to touch everything.

At 6:15 exactly the conductor came into our room for all of us to "all aboard!"

All 9 of us then headed onto the train to find our seats. After some major rule reading that made me super nervous like "If you baby starts to feel fussy, please escort them to the back, calm he/she down then join us again." Haha My boy is very loud in general, with no fussiness involved.

 The awesome narrator started reading the book, and came table to table to show pages along the way.

 

He was truly amazing, and all of the children listened so well! Minus my future ball player Bryar who was throwing my phone and tickets across tables.

My favorite part of the night was when we were leaving and there was a special guest to greet us. Oh my word, he was the most amazing Santa, ever! Bryar was not a huge fan of the jolly ole fella, so this made me super excited to go have his photo made with him soon. The crying fit Santa photos are my absolute favorite! Charli was so excited to see him, even though she was little shy. She was even more thrilled that he gave her "the first gift of Christmas" which was a bell to ring.

 

As soon as we walked out, my dear big kid of a Husband had a twinkle in his eye and said "I think I believe again. That man was to real to not be Santa" :)

 

 

We entered back into the depot and played with the model trains for a while. Before heading back out to the train to try and catch Mr. Claus again.

 

 

But he was no where to be found.....

 

When we left Charli asked if that was the real Santa. We have told her that Santa has helpers because he cannot be at all locations at the same exact time. She also wanted to know if Frosty was real. Curtis answered that by telling her that the story has been around for so long that he had to be real because were else would a story like that come from. What do you tell or plan to tell you kids when they get older? I plan to always let my babies believe in Santa, for as long as I can. But they must also know the real reason we celebrate Christmas as well.

Hopefully this will be a yearly tradition for our family from no own. We all really enjoyed it and are in the Christmas spirit. We plan to go cut our tree soon and will have Christmas decor up this weekend when the weather warms up!

Women Connect

I have been overly excited about Becky's Women's Connect project since she announced on Facebook it last week. I had this bold idea that I would have my post typed up and ready to publish as soon as she wanted. But I failed because life got in the way. By life, I mean being a Mommy.

I am Paige, and this is my little safe haven of memories where I have been blogging for more than 4 years now.

Since I started blogging my readers have seen the many sides of me. They have experienced my growth, my heartaches, and most of all the love for my family that I am probably not even worthy of. When I first started this blog, I was a single Mom of Charli Beth. We made so many great memories together during our "special" time and I wanted a place to store them, just in case something ever happened to me.

I know that may be a tad morbid sounding. But seriously, you never know life's curve balls.

After a lot of soul searching and late nights on shift at a local police department as a dispatcher, I married the man of my dreams on June 11, 2011. God knew exactly what he was doing when he placed him in my life. He is my best friend (and sometimes my enemy when my girl moods get out of whack.) If you want to read our story you can find it here; It is a good one if I must say so myself.

We welcomed our second child on October 5, 2011. He is the spitting image of his Daddy, and reminds me a lot of his sister most days too. Since welcoming Bryar home I switched from being a dispatcher to a paralegal to now a stay at home Mom/child care provider for 4 other littles.

My days are long and my home can probably be heard from miles away due to the CIO phase that we are going through with Bryar and the little feet running around nonstop.

My Husband Curtis recently adopted Charli Beth, and I have to say that it is one of my top favorite days ever.

I have always wanted to be a STAHM so we are making this happen as close to possible, for now.  I am open to change because like I said above, we never know the roles that the Lord may throw at us later on.

I personally spend way to much time on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram but I love it. But most of all I love my blog more. I love being able to reach out and hopefully inspire the single Mommy's out there.

 

A few little random facts about me:

 

- I hate coffee, but love the smell.

-I am dying (yes dying) to visit the state of Montana

-I am PTO secretary for my daughter's school

-I want more babies in the future

-I never paint my finger nails because I worry about color coordination

-I lust over big bows and smocked dresses for Charli

-I have only finished one year of college and hope to go back one day God willing

-I have only had a hand full of nights sleep since Bryar was born

-I wear my heart on my sleeve

-My biggest baby of all is Gunner, my Husband k9 partner

- 25, going on 50 most days

-We live in Kentucky next to my in laws on their farm

-I get overly annoyed at bad driving, lack of sleep, parents that completely suck for the lack of better words, gossip, bad "friends" and days that do not go my way (working on realizing that my days are in God's hands and not my own)

-Comfort food is my favorite - pintos and cornbread, yes ma'am

-We are all about using manners in our family and are really working hard on this.

- I live in comfy clothing; hence my yoga pants and leggings.

 

So this is me. The good, the bad, and the craziness of Mommy hood.

Our Day of Thanks

Our Thanksgivings are always very low key and this is something that Curtis and I thankful for. This year Bryar and I made a trip our to Kmart early in the morning to see if we could grab and deals, which was a total bust besides a few 2 liters. Charli enjoyed the parade and made a float out of building blocks that she rolled around the house until Bryar destroyed. My amazing baker Husband baked 2 homemade pumpkin pies to take to the dinners that we attended and boy was he proud of them. I even had to email him a picture to show off because one was just "perfect looking." But I won't bore y'all are with another picture of another pie.

 

 

Thanksgiving day was absolutely beautiful. The weather could not have been anymore perfect, so Charli spent the day outside. Bryar has had a touch of a cold and cutting a tooth so his fuss pot self spent the late morning trying to get in a super short nap. Then he had a fun wagon ride next door to Mimi's house for lunch. Poor B was not a happy camper with the lack of sleep and teething going on. But after lots of food, he perked right up.

 

We headed to my hometown in the late afternoon to have dinner with my family. I swear we all ate like kings again, especially Bryar. I love hearing people rave over just how much he is eats, and I pray he stays like this forever. (Picky eaters are not allowed in my home.) After we were finished eating, my Mom and I headed to Walmart for some super early Black Friday shopping. Curtis and the kids stayed behind to play cards and hang out. Can you believe that there was a fight over a fire pitt at the Walmart we were at? Seriously, people are nuts. It just does not make sense to be so tore up over materialized things. We didn't get much that we went for but had a great time together. To me that is what Black Friday is all about. Staying up all night, acting silly and eating food all through the night. But again this year I was home in bed by midnight. Thanking The Lord for my cozy home and calling it a night.

Huge Pork Chops & a Pink Tractor

Lately thanks to the Thanksgiving Holiday our family has had lots of time to enjoy one another company. One of the things that we all love to do is try new restaurants. We are addicted to food, especially eating out. It is such a bad habit, but it could be worse I am sure.

Curtis had been telling me about a place that he just knew that I would love in Grand Rivers, Kentucky called Patti's 1880s Old Time Settlement. They are known for 2" amazing pork chops, and their waitresses wearng old settlement attire. I had no idea what kind of treat I was in for, so we all tugged along for the 2 hour drive. Yes, two hours just to eat out. Charli was a hoot the entire way and had us crying from laughing so hard. I was so thankful that we had such a great trip with the kids being well behaved.

When we arrived both kids were what their version of starving to death, so we ordered big. Charli ate ordered her first steak and potato, and Curtis and I had the house special which is the 2" thick pork chops. I completely forgot to take a picture until Curtis reminded me after I ate. But it was truly amazing. Charli's steak was quite tasty as well. I couldn't believe how good they were, and how much she ate. The girl is a piglet, like her Mommy.

After we left we walked around their town/community/area (not sure what to call it) and shopped at a few boutiques. We found an adorable Christmas area where they typically have Santa for visits. Sadly, he was not there so we snapped our on photos.

I tried to get Charli to go sit on Santa's chair to take a picture but she insisted that it would "for sure put her on the naughty list."

Even though Bryar was sporting his Turkey shirt that day, I think these are adorable thanks to to the beautiful background.

 

But this one is for sure my favorite. I would totally put this on our Christmas card if Curtis would let me. haha! The hair pulling at our house is at an all time high. But Miss Charli is a trooper about it.

 

When we finally left Grand Rivers after a quarrel over if we should stay for a couple of hours until lights came on. Both kids napped the entire way home and I finally enjoyed some quite driving time with the Hubby.

Deer Hunt

When my Husband and I first met I had just killed my first buck. I was proud and showed off the photo above to him on more occasions that I can count. Every single time I showed them off, he made fun of me, ( in a loving way of course.) He didn't grow up with the women in his family hunting, or wanting to hunt. They baked goodies and sent the men on their way to deer camp. When I helped bake this year, I felt way out of my league but I loved it. I also love hunting. I learned on Sunday, that I love hunting with my Husband even more.

We left for the land that he hunts on at 4:30. Really. I obviously love this man a lot. This was the earliest that I have ever left Bryar but we were so thankfully that Aunt Amanda came over and stayed with him. Although, sadly I think B was not prepared for someone other than Mommy first thing in the morning.

Curtis and I had the huge disagreement on who was going to kill the "big one" if it came out. I ended up winning, but karma hates me evidently. We stayed in the stand until around 9 and decided to head out because we had not seen a single thing. Not even a doe. Which I refuse to kill. Thanks to Bambi.

We headed home and Curtis crashed out for the afternoon. I on the other hand was a true southern wife, I stayed up with the kids, had Sunday lunch, went to the grocery store, then baked a cake and green bean bundles and attended a Thanksgiving meal at our church. Not to mention, it was my first pineapple upside down cake (which I am very picky about) and it was the bomb. So I was proud to the say the least.

Our freezer is already full of deer summer sausage in three different flavors, along with tenderlion. Eek! I shall have no part of that mess.

 

That's all folks.

I'm red head y'all!

So I went to get my hair colored this weekend and honestly had no certain plan. I was just looking for a change. You know the kind that makes you feel new and improved. Well, I feel that I found it!

Being at home with kids I no longer need a sassy cut to get me through the day. So I decided to go with a major color change for the winter months ahead. Most of all, Curtis really seems to like it! Score.

It is hard to get a picture of the color exactly but maybe I will in the days to come.

Garbage Bread?!

We all know that I am not the best cook by any means. I want to be the best Mommy chef ever but I have a lot of trails and errors in my future before I get to that point. A lot of days I struggle over what to fix, and if I am not struggling then we are probably eating Taco Bell. No lie. We could own a Taco Bell with all of the money we spend there.  I am sure some of you are posting a post-it not to my forehead and the moment that says "Proverbs 31 wife failure." I'll get better, I promise.. I hope? Ha.

When I first read about garbage bread on pinterest, I thought what in the world is this mess? Seriously. Who wants to eat anything with garbage in the title. I guess it's a nothern thing to call it by this name, but whatever it is so be it because it is honestlty pretty good.

Ingredients:

 

2 boneless chicken breasts
1 tsp. olive oil
1 pizza dough (I used Pillsbury can pizza dough)
8 oz. of shredded mozzarella cheese
3 oz. of shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup of Wing Sauce of your choice
1/3 cup of ranch  (blue cheese dressing)

 

Directions:

 

Cut chicken into cubes, then season with salt and pepper. Heat the olive oil in a skillet and add chicken when hot. When the chicken is cooked completely, add in 1/4 of your wing sauce to coat. Let the chicken simmer in the sauce for a minute or two. Then remove the chicken to cool.

 

 

Preheat oven to 425°F.

 

 

On a well floured surface, roll out your pizza crust. I used the Pillsbury pizza dough in the can, be sure to not roll it to flat. (I made this mistake the first time and it made the center of my bread a little soggy I believe.) Pour ranch or blue cheese dressing ontop. You can add 1/4 wing sauce, then add chicken. Spread 8 oz package of cheese over top, then roll in a pin wheel motion and make sure to press in seams.

 

You can always add more wing sauce to make it spicer if you would like.

But I am a wimp.

 

Spray a baking sheet lightly with non-stick cooking spray. Place the garbage bread ontop and bake for 20-25 minutes.

 

Be sure to know your oven before baking it!

 

I always have to lower my heat and time frame of baking.

I believe next time I may try something a little different and add peppers, onion and pepperoni!

Yum!

 

Dentist Fun

On Wednesday, we were able to celebrate Thanksgiving at Charli Beth's school with a lunch that was parade by the stuff. I have always thought that this meal is such a sweet thing for smaller schools to do, and what a treat it is to be able to bring anyone you want. Char was very blessed to have Nana, MeeMee, Daddy, Bryar and myself attend her lunch. She was over the moon excited telling everyone who Nana and MeeMee were.

After the lunch, I signed Charli out of school for her dentisit check up and cleaning. If you know Charli, then I am sure you know that this is one of the biggest moments for her. She absolutely loves going to the dentist and I must say that our pediatric dentist does rock.

I actually had a dentist appointment before hers and since we finished early I decided to go ahead and head into her appointment to let the kids play. I have never in my life seen a doctor have such cool video games and such. (Elliot & Elliot for you local ladies that may wonder) Bryar even enjoyed the toys and touch video games.

 Seriously though, I am pretty sure that Bryar grew over night? He looks huge here.

 

Charli was so excited to have another "clean report" and to know that she may be loosing her first tooth soon - even though we have heard this three times now. As we left she had to call Daddy, Nana and MeMee to let the m all in on her report! We then headed to the place that keeps all dentist in business, Riley's Bakery. I let Char get a couple of cookies and I may or not have purchased extra items for myself! Hopefully, Miss Charli will loose a tooth by her next appointment until then, we'll be brushing and flossing like crazy!

Letter To Myself - 25 & Mom of 2

Lately, my Mommy heartstrings have really been tugging at a few things that I am failing at. We all go through the slap in the face moments when we realize that we are kind of sucking. Most of the time I am realizing that I am sucking as a wife, but I am pretty sure that was last week self conscious woe that kept me feeling guilty. But today, I know that I rock as a Mom and a Wife but I do know that there are a few things that I must work on to become an even better one.

Do I feel that it is necessary to blog out all of my fails? Never. But I do know that I come back and read my posts from time to time and one day I may be failing at these things again so this is me writing a letter to my self at 25 and a Mom to two.

Dear Paige,

There are times in your adventure of Mommy hood that your children are going to make you angry, disappoint you and confuse you. But is it honestly necessary to tell them exactly how you feel every single time? Not at all. I know that you are not good at this, but you must pick your battles with everyone especially your kids. They will remember the smallest moments, and sadly the ones that you really do not want them to remember they will. Don't you remember your kitten named Grits? If not, just ask your Mom.

That cell phone is still going to be there when you are finished rocking the baby to sleep. Put it down. Social media is only a lust that can wait. You will still be Boots, Bows & The 5 oh when Charli gets finished reading her book too. Their questions can wait, moments with your babies cannot. They are growing every second, and these times you cannot get back. You can scroll down and catch up on all of the instagram photos later.

Isn't a tad ridiculous that when you see Bryar snuggling Charli Beth that you automatically think "I have to post a photo of this to IG" and your second thought is I pray I remember these moments forever?

Be a listener. Stop thinking and open your ears and heart when Charli speaks to you. She needs you and Bryar will too. But right now, they both need you in different ways learn to be the Mom you need to be for both of them without spreading yourself to thin. (Because when you do, you become unnormally evil then it lashes out on your Husband.)

Fights are not something you want them to hear. Bryar even at his young of an age can be molded by this. Show Curtis the respect and love that you want Charli to show her future Husband. Pray for Curtis with Charli, most all show her how to be the Christian that you pray for her to be.

Help Bryar become more independent. Mommy isn't always going to be there for him to be rocked or loved on every time he is ready for bed. I have no advice on this one, because obviously you have been trying lots of things.

Learn to not be frustrated when they do not get something correct. Frustration on one side, causes it to become on both sides. It makes you sad to see someone aggravated at you and especially with your work. Remember "the golden rule" when you get snarky with Charli for misspelling a word that you two have worked on a million times.

Lastly, remember that Motherhood is a tough journey, no one said it was easy but the Lord did make you strong enough for the job. They say it takes a village to raise a child so remember that this journey is NOT all on you and it is okay to have a few minutes to yourself or with your Husband. You are lead by wonderful examples, two that you are blessed to be able to call Mothers. So follow the path that you know best and their advice, you will get through the crummiest days and nights.

Now go to bed before Bryar wakes up, again.

Keep calm & Mommy on,

You Tired of Sucking As a Mom Self 

Babysitting Lately

In the last couple of weeks, I have found my love for pinterest that everyone else has had. I have pinned future home ideas, meals, date ideas, crafts and motherly advice. I am not sure why I was not obsessed before, but now I am pinning way to much just like I post way to many photos of my kids on facebook - like it is even possible to post to many though?!

So the week of Halloween I wanted to do a little bit extra with the childern that I watch during the day so I found a few ideas and got to work with them. First of all, who every thinks of these crafty keepsake ideas I just want you to know that I love you! Seriously. How precious are baby Bryar's feet made out to be ghost? Really though, his feet look huge when he only wears a size 4 shoe.

The kids also made bats just like they did in Charli's classroom for her party. Soon we will be making blessing trees with the oldest child. Charli has already started on hers and it has been lots of work in the spare time of homework, girl scouts, and etc.

Poor baby Bryar has been having a rough spell lately it seems. I cannot lie and say that watching childern is an easy task for any of my family members. I have heard a lot of people say that it takes someone special to do it, but honestly I am just thankful to be able to keep these kids, have fun with them and spend time with my family. But, in all honesty it does take a toll on everyone. It isn't just an adjustment for the kiddos coming into our home, it is for us too. We not only have to adapt to the new child and them being in our home. We also have to get to know their personalities and if/when things get broke or it gets really loud we just have to adjust too. All in all though, it has been a great expereience so far!

 

Bryar never randomly falls asleep but on this day playing with the kids completely wore him out evidently. He is such a stinker lately and I can tell that he is going to be the run for my money out of the two. I just love it though. I was always so scared of being a boy Mom (and sometimes still am when I think about the future) but God knew exactly what he was doing when he blessed me with a boy.

Veterans Day Parade

On Saturday, the littles and I attended our first ever Veterans Day Parade. I am honestly ashamed to say that I come from a town that does not celebrate Veterans Day with a parade or any other large gathering to show our appreciation. So I was honored to take both kids and explain to Charli the importance of the day.

I wish that I would of been able to snap photos with my handy little iPhone but holding Bryar to would of became a little tricky. With every float, band or veteran that passed the entire crowd stood up or clapped. I can honestly say that I have never been so emotional during a parade for so many obvious factors.

One of my favorite things about the parade was seeing how many elder veterans came out to show their support and most of all their pride America. Our country may be turning into a country that I personally believe it was not founded on and so many things seem to have become out of control. But we do live in a country that is more blessed than most others with so many more things to be thankful for! This is all thanks to God and these brave men and women that have served for us.

Just To Make You Giggle

Before watching the video you must know that I did make him suffer through this about 5 times before I decided to capture it. I cannot stop laughing because his cry is so dramatic!

click here!

  After watching me laugh for so long over it, he now thinks it is hilarious. I also did pick up ltitle Kirby in the background that was crying too... No worries and my house is typically not that loud, B just found that walkie talkie somehow and started playing with it.

Randoms About The Kiddos.

I thought that it would be fun to post some random facts about both of my littles to look back on later. Obviously, I will have more facts for Charli Beth since she is older and very talkative.

Charli Beth:

1. She cannot pick a favorite color. It honestly changes every day.
2. Horses are her favorite animal.
3. She has a huge fear of swallowing something in her sleep. (This is no joke. So real I almost took her to the ER one night because she thought she did.)
4. Her math skills are amazing. I have NO idea where she got this. Not from me!
5. Instead of ridiculous she says dick less, and then I die.
6. "Dang it" is "bang it" to her.
7. She has asked for a cheeseburger in her sleep, and held her finger in the air all night after dreaming she was stung by a bee.
8. She majorly freaks out about bugs,.
9. Every night before I come to bed, I have to go move her back onto hers because he is always falling off.
10. She is like living with a member of high school musical. The girl breaks out into song and dance all the time.
11. Her dream career is to be a horse trainer.
12. She changes Bryar's diapers better than Curtis.
13. She is in Girl Scouts, and is starting CloverBuds (4-h) next week to learn more about horses.
14. CB is kind of like a man, if she stirs cake mix or heats something in the microwave, she has in deed made the entire meal.
15. When we go to my parents church, she sings with the adult choir, and holds a hymn book like she can actually read it. It is honestly, the sweetest thing ever. I wish I was brave enough to take in a camera to get a photo.
16. Veggies are her favorite. Papaw calls her his " little turnip green" because they both love them so much.

Bryar:

1. He has only slept through the night a handful of times.
2. He would rather have a straw sippy than the regular.
3. When I eat he baby cusses me out by screaming "rah rah baba ba yahh" until he gets a bite of it too. Curtis says it is so embarrassing, but I know this is only the beginning.
4. When I give him a bite, he thanks me with an open mouth kiss. It's the sweetest thing.
5. He is really bad about hitting smaller babies in the head then hugging them. We are really working on this.
6. He loves to wrestle with Charli, in which they both love to give me heart attacks.
7. I cannot sing a lick, but he loves it a lot and falls asleep instantly...or maybe that means he hates it?
8. Bath time is his favorite. When the water is going down the drain, he cries and yells bye.
9. He really loves to throw things, from little people (toys of course) to balls. We are working on this, but his listening skills are still a working progress.
10. We dance a lot when he hears any time of music. Mostly just head boppin' but he is a country white boy, so I am sure this is all of the mad dance skills he will develop.


Anyone want to play along? Leave me a comment and let me know if you post random facts, I would love to read them!

Halloween 2012

Our family tradition has always been to go to my Grandparents house with the rest of my family to trick-or-treat in her subdivision, hand out candies, and eat tons of yummy food while fellowshiping with our loved ones. The last two years have not been any different for our family even though we live in a different area. Last year, Bryar was way to small to fit in any type of costume so we headed over late and cuddled the entire time. This year was much different and filled with lots of brother/sister cuddles!

It took me forever to figure out what I wanted Charli Beth and Bryar to dress up as. But once Charli decided on Dorothy, my decision for Bryar was soon made as well. While I was shopping at the local Lil Angels Consignment Sale I found a dorothy costume for super cheap, and then (BAM!) I found a lion! Perfecto. They were both in perfect condition and a great price, so I could not pass them up! Then even better I found glittery slippers too!

Charli Beth has never been much on candy or trick-or-treating. I know what kind of kid is she? But honestly, it makes me happy. We typically always walk our row of houses then head back to Maw's to hand out candy. I thnk this makes Charli feel "big" or something along the lines of.

She was so sweet all day calling Bryar her "little lion" and taking great care of him when he would tumble over due to his huge belly. (Ha!)

 After lots of good food and family time, we headed back home way later than we meant to finish up homework and get ready for the next day! Charli was exteremly excited about Halloween this year, and said it was the best one ever. Hopefully, we will continue having successful Halloween celebrations and family time in the years to come  - along with a year of Daddy not having to work so we can join the fun too.